How TikTok Can Avoid a Ban in the US

Happy Friday, folks! I’m Jordan Parker Erb. Before we begin, I have some ~professional news~ to share.
There won’t be a newsletter on Monday (we’ll be off figuring out what 2023 is) and then Tuesday’s edition … will be my last! I’ll be moving into a different role at Insider, and Diamond Naga Siu, a senior reporter on our tech analysis team, will be taking over the newsletter.
I’ll be back in your inboxes on Tuesday to say goodbye — so hold onto your tissues until then.
For now, we’ve got a lot to cover, including more of the year’s top stories. From burnout among open-source developers to the downfall of Andreessen Horowitz’s buzzy tech publication, Future, it’s a packed edition.
Let’s get to it.
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Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
1. Could TikTok vanish from the US? Amid security and privacy concerns, there’s a renewed push for TikTok to sell its US operations, and government bans on the app are raising questions about a full ban for consumers in the United States. We broke down how TikTok could avoid a ban.
2. These are Microsoft’s most significant departures and hires of 2022. The company’s most significant departures include executives who resigned following Insider’s reports on misconduct allegations. Microsoft also made some notable hires, like ex-Amazon Web Services executive Teresa Carlson. See who joined and left Microsoft this year.
3. An Insider reporter asked ChatGPT to write her cover letters. The writer gave the bot some real job descriptions, then sent the cover letters to hiring managers — both of whom said they’d have given her an interview, but that the letters lacked personality. See what hiring managers said about the AI cover letters.
4. An anonymous worker describes cheating on an exam to boost their career in the tech industry. The worker told Insider that they used “exam dumps” to pass technical certifications, and that the answers were easy to find online with a quick Google search. But even though it gave them an advantage, they now see it as harmful — they explain why.
5. Here’s how European VCs are advising their founders ahead of a looming recession. We asked investors from firms like Lightspeed, Balderton, and Kiko Ventures what they’re advising their portfolios. From focusing on the long-term vision to watching their runway, here’s the advice they shared.
More top reads from 2022:
Marianne Ayala/Insider
6. Open-source developers are burning out — and it’s putting the entire internet at risk. The internet and many of the world’s largest companies rely on open-source software, which is built by developers who make little to no money. This year, developers told us that they’re fed up, and some are quitting and even sabotaging their own projects. Why that’s bad news for the rest of the internet.
7. Intuit gave most Mailchimp employees a 10% raise this year. But morale remains low. Despite the 10% raise, doled out in April, Mailchimp employees told Insider that people nonetheless felt belittled and were quitting in droves. Inside the attrition at Mailchimp.
8. Following Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian software developers used code to inspire, launch attacks, and defend their country. Insider talked to Ukrainian developers about how they were mounting a defense both online and off, from attacking Russian websites and creating bots to combat disinformation to picking up artillery. How eight developers fought back.
9. Eighteen years after news-aggregator website Digg, Kevin Rose is staking his redemption on a new kind of media company. Rose, an early internet entrepreneur, founded a members-only club, called Proof, for people who buy and sell one-of-a-kind art on the blockchain — a move that put him back on top as a pioneer of the new-new internet. Inside Rose’s meteoric resurgence.
10. Earlier this year, Andreessen Horowitz’s buzzy tech publication Future shut down. The publication from prestigious venture capital firm a16z was supposed to be the next big thing in media. But a year and a half later, the publication is dead in the water. A look at what happened.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.