Meta Lays off 11,000; Disney+ Hits 164 Million Subscribers; Twitter Rolls Out Grey Checkmark & “Official”; Zoom Adds Email & Calendar Features

Meta had announced a big layoff, and they weren’t kidding. Today, in a message to employees, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced it would be a little north of 11,000, or 13% of the workforce. Reuters reports that Zuck took responsibility for figuring revenue growth that wasn’t as high as he expected. Meta will pay 16 weeks of base pay and two additional years for every year of service, all remaining paid time off, plus shares that would vest by November 15th, and healthcare for 6 months. Prior to the layoff, Meta had over 87,000 employees.

Disney Plus picked up 12 million new subscribers in the 3rd quarter, hitting over 164 million worldwide…with Hulu and ESPN, they hit over 235 million. According to techcrunch.com, they passed up Netflix for a 2nd time, with Netflix reaching 223 million subscribers. They did show an operating loss, but never fear, a price increase they just dropped will help with that. Yeah…I’ll pay it. 

The blue checkmark is getting a cousin…as it turns out, Twitter has started using a gray checkmark and an ‘Official’ designation. Several high profile accounts that are actually verified…like the New York Times…got the badge and verification today. 9to5mac.com says the check and designation appear on both the profile page and next to the name of the account in the timeline.  The ‘Official’ label will include “government accounts, commercial companies, business partners, major media outlets, publishers and some public figures.” Twitter hasn’t said how anyone else might apply. Twitter Blue accounts will keep the blue checkmark. 

Zoom is adding email and calendar features, in the hope of taking on other workspace platforms. According to engadget.com, Zoom feels they have a shot at drawing users away from Microsoft with 365 and Google’s Workspace in areas besides video conferences and chats. I would say good luck with that! It seems pretty unlikely that companies will change over their email systems from long established Microsoft or Google to go with an upstart that just took off big time during the pandemic. 

I’m Clark Reid, and you’re technified for now.