Past issues Subscribe

Jul 7 2023

How hot. Threads v Twitter. $60,000 Turntable.

Jul 6, 2023
David Akin's Roundup
Clippings of #cdnpoli, #media, and #tech content aimed at those with an interest in Canadian politics and policy. And sometimes Canadian postage stamps.
With Twitter crumbling before our very eyes, are you looking at other Twitter-like apps? I've been on Mastodon for a while and, on Thursday, I activated my account on Threads, the Twitter-like app from the good people who brought you Facebook. If you're on Mastodon or Threads, please follow so I can follow your contributions on those platforms. 
Canada
Harper said on Twitter that he and Orbán discussed "the importance of centre-right parties strengthening their collaboration" during a meeting on Thursday. [Global]
The deal comes after just over a month of negotiations following a decision by Stellantis to stop building the plant in Windsor, Ont. [Global]
From the provinces
More than 650 new nurses have been registered by the Nurses Association of New Brunswick, representing an "unprecedented" volume in a six-month period in the organization's history. [Telegraph-Journal]
Click to donate $3 a month to support this newsletter!
Elsewhere
Vladimir Putin’s useful idiots
Too many European politicians are failing to confront Russia. [The Economist]
This past June was the hottest June globally on record in terms of sea and air temperatures, according to a statement by the EU-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service. [Global]
North America's trading partners are in Cancun for two days of meetings to take stock of the last three years under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. [Global]
Media
Elon Musk Really Broke Twitter This Time
The social network has never seen chaos quite like this. [The Atlantic]
Ok, let's talk about Threads ...👇 By July 6, Meta's Threads app had been downloaded thirty million times, becoming the most rapidly downloaded app and surpassing the record set by ChatGPT. - DA
Threads, Meta’s text-based app seemingly built to rival Twitter, is live. The app, billed as the text version of Meta’s photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries and millions signed up within its first hours. [AP]
Meta launched the Threads app on July 5, a text-based Twitter rival connected to your Instagram account. Here's everything you need to know. [TechCrunch]
Who pays the price for the news media's essential political role?
Don Pittis: The market model for Canadian media is failing. News is essential to our political system, but it's not cheap. Can markets be left to fix it, or should we follow the European method of regulating, taxing and spending on quality news? [CBC]
Click and donate $5 a month to support this newsletter!
Tech
Arrived at a party where you don't know a soul? You can change the settings. [Mashable]

Jony Ive’s LoveFrom has collaborated on the Linn Sondek LP12-50, a limited edition turntable that’s available to reserve now for an eye-watering $60,000 (£50,000). [The Verge]
Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 2011: Sc # 2484: Roadside Attractions - 3: Design: Fraser Ross (Semaphor Design)
The third and final issue in this annual series to feature the kinds of places across Canada you’re like to stop and take a selfie if you’re driving by. The Akin family has had their picture taken around Shediac’s lobster more than a few times but the other three are still on our bucket list. From top left, lobster in Shedia, NB; Wild Blueberry in Oxford, NS; Giant Squid in Glover’s Harbour, NL; and the Big Potato of O’Leary, PE.

Previous Issues

Load More