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LinkedIn games are really cool

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I actually have a weakness that I’m ashamed of, and it isn’t that I’ve watched all of Glee (yes, even the terrible later seasons) or that I’ve read an incredible amount of Harry Potter fan fiction in my life.

My little weakness is playing LinkedIn games.

To answer the plain query: Wait, LinkedIn has games? Yes. In May, LinkedIn launched three puzzle games via LinkedIn News, like New York Times game knockoffs. There’s the logic puzzle Queens (my favorite), the word game Crossclimb (pretty good), and the association game Pinpoint (not great, but oh well).

LinkedIn is taking the classic tech strategy of seeing what works for one more company after which trying to copy that success, even when it could appear odd to play games on knowledgeable networking platform. But it’s no wonder NYT Games inspired that inspiration. In a way The New York Times is a gaming company now – from December 2023 users I spent more time within the NYT Games app than within the news app.

LinkedIn isn’t alone. Everyone has games now. Apple News. Netflix. YouTube. There are so many games we are able to take pleasure in. And yet, once I finish my various New York Times puzzles, I still want more. It’s not that I feel like playing Crossclimb LinkedIn before Connections, however the games are adequate to provide me that sweet dopamine rush.

I often play LinkedIn games in the course of the workday (sorry to my boss). Sometimes it’s because I’m on LinkedIn to envision facts or look up a source, but then I remember I can spare a number of minutes for slightly game. Other times, my mind is foggy from gazing the identical draft of an article for too long, and taking a break to resolve a colourful Queens puzzle makes it easier to return and revisit that Google doc.

But it turns on the market’s a scientific explanation for why we love these quick, once-a-day puzzles a lot.

I recently spoke with DeepWell DTx cofounder Ryan Douglas, whose company relies on the concept playing video games (moderately) can have a positive impact on mental health. In some cases, the transient distraction of a game can pull us out of a negative thought spiral or help us approach an issue from a brand new perspective.

“If you’re playing Tetris, for example, you can’t have a long conversation in your head about how terrible you are, how much you suck, what’s going to happen next week, and so on,” Douglas told TechCrunch.

On a neurobiological level, Douglas explained that after we play, we activate the limbic system within the brain, which is answerable for coping with stress. But even when these stressors are simulated, they accustom the brain to coping with that stress in some ways.

“You start learning on a subconscious level, creating new neural pathways at an accelerated rate and preferentially selecting them on a subconscious level to deal with those problems in the future,” he said. “If you deal with (the stressor) in that particular environment, you gain agency. You have control.”

That’s to not say we must always play Pokémon all day—the video game development tools DeepWell creates are approved for therapeutic use in 15-minute doses. Maybe that’s why we’re so infatuated with games like Wordle, and other games The New York Times (and LinkedIn) has written which have a finite ending. You solve one puzzle a day, and then you definately move on to the following.

Wordle creator Josh Wardle spoke to TechCrunch about his viral success even before The New York Times picked up his game.

“I’m a little suspicious of apps and games that want your endless attention — I worked in Silicon Valley, for example. I know why they do that,” Wardle said. “I think people have an appetite for things that clearly don’t want anything from you.”

But Wardle is correct—after all my beloved LinkedIn games want something from me: my attention. And to be honest, I’ve spent rather a lot more time on LinkedIn in recent months than I ever have.

According to LinkedIn’s data, my behavior isn’t an anomaly. The company found that latest player engagement has increased by about 20% week over week because the starting of July. LinkedIn has also seen strong traction in users starting conversations after playing games. After you finish a game, you may see which of your connections also played, which I imagine some people see as a chance to #network. I don’t do this, but on the other hand, most of my LinkedIn conversations are just me messaging my friends “hi” because for some reason I find that funny.

So go on LinkedIn and have a good time as much as you may… after which, about 4 minutes later, return to the relentless grind of worldwide capitalism.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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AI-powered application integration platform UnifyApp raised $20 million from ICONIQ Growth

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AI chat bot concept illustration with people surrounded by dialogue bubbles

Nowadays, it looks like every company wants or already offers an AI services or products. It’s a extremely good time for startups constructing an AI product on this space, however it’s not without its challenges – the technology continues to be in its early stages, and while many firms are interested by trying out generative AI solutions, they’re slow to implement them.

There are many reasons, but crucial appears to be the fear of hallucinations of artificial intelligence. “You can’t use (AI) in manufacturing in large enterprises if it lies,” said Pavitar Singh, co-founder and CEO of UnifyApps.

Singh thinks his startup has solution for this: UnifyApps essentially connects an organization’s SaaS applications and data together and allows firms to construct and deploy their very own AI chatbots to speak with all their information. He says this approach minimizes AI hallucinations because UnifyApps agents can essentially confirm one another’s results against the corporate’s data.

UnifyApps is recent to an already crowded space – big firms like Workato and Zapier already offer similar “unification” services, as do tons of other startups. However, Singh believes his startup’s AI-centric approach gives it a bonus because it leverages the power to create AI chatbots. “Enterprises can create as many agents as they want: they can help with HR, sales, marketing, legal or finance,” he said.

Companies could also be hesitant to adopt generative AI, but UnifyApp has already attracted greater than 20 customers, including one among the world’s largest banks and a big telecommunications provider, Singh said.

Good traction is an important search for a young startup, and investors appear to agree on that. The company just raised a $20 million Series A funding round from ICONIQ Growth, lower than six months after UnifyApp closed a $11 million seed round.

Singh founded UnifyApps last yr after spending greater than 11 years as chief technology officer at Sprinklr, a customer experience management platform for global brands that went public in 2021.

ICONIQ Growth doesn’t have many early-stage startups in its portfolio, but on this case, the corporate knew Singh well. “Pavitar was a mad scientist, a genius who built all the amazing products for Sprinklr,” said Matt Jacobson, general partner at ICONIQ.

ICONIQ invested in Sprinklr’s Series D in 2014, and Jacobson spent a few years on the corporate’s board. He says he was so impressed with Singh and what he was doing at UnifyApp that he couldn’t pass up his investment within the startup.

“The stakes are much higher when it comes to AI applications,” Jacobson said.

UnifyApp has 150 employees across offices in Gurgaon, Dubai and New York.

As for why the corporate has such a big team, Singh said UnifyApp desires to ensure that its product is error-free so that giant enterprises can “safely adopt it.”

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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Block limits TIDAL investments and closes TBD decision in favor of Bitcoin mining

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Jack Dorsey’s Block is reportedly scaling back its investment in TIDAL, the music streaming platform once owned by Jay-Z. shareholder’s letter on Thursday. Block can be shutting down TBD, the corporate’s Bitcoin-focused division that previously got down to construct a decentralized Internet, dubbed “Web5.” These cuts will allow the corporate to speculate in its Bitcoin mining and cryptocurrency portfolio.

“We are reducing our investment in TIDAL and liquidating TBD,” Block said in the letter. “This gives us space to invest in our bitcoin mining initiative, which has good product market fit and a healthy demand pipeline, as well as Bitkey, our bitcoin self-management wallet.”

Here’s the newest effort by the corporate behind the Square and Cash apps to chop costs. According to. Block has laid off employees in recent weeks Fortuneand apparently told employees not to debate board member Jay-Z in emails or Slack messages.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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Crypto CEO kidnapped in Toronto, released after paying $1 million ransom

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The word Bitcoin can be seen on the display of a Ledger Nano S hardware wallet next to a symbolic

According to him, the CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency company WonderFi was kidnapped and held for ransom on Wednesday CBC. Dean Skurka was reportedly forced right into a vehicle in downtown Toronto during rush hour and escaped unhurt after electronically sending $1 million (possibly CAD) to his kidnappers.

The CEO of WonderFi is the most recent cryptocurrency star to fall victim to a brutal attack. This is the 171st case of physical violence geared toward stealing cryptocurrency, a security company tells CBC.

Skurek’s company reported results for the third quarter the day before the incident, generating C$41 million in revenue over the past nine months. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price rose above $76,000 this week, reaching a brand new record high for the digital currency.

WonderFi is endorsed by Shark Tank co-host Kevin O’Leary and is some of the well-known publicly traded crypto corporations in Canada, in response to Cointelegraph.

This article was originally published on : techcrunch.com
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