Forbes - Twitter's main character 💸

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5 things we learned

Twitter’s main character. Here are the next steps in Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to graduate from being one of the loudest voices on the social network to its owner, and why the Tesla’s CEO’s version of “free speech” could demolish Twitter’s vital ads business while some investors are betting the deal won’t complete.

Russia’s buyer of last resort. Russia’s richest man Vladimir Potanin has largely escaped western sanctions giving him a free hand to scoop up banking assets hit by the turmoil of the war.

Edward Snowden played a key role in the birth of an anonymous cryptocurrency. The notorious whistleblower revealed he was one of six people involved in the launch of $2 billion market cap privacy coin zcash.

TikTok Live has a child safety problem. A Forbes investigation has found that men are sending gifts and inappropriate messages to teenage girls livestreaming on the viral app. 

Insider lawsuit hits controversial healthcare startup. SoftBank-backed mental health unicorn Cerebral is being sued by a former executive over allegations he was fired for speaking up over patient data breaches and overprescription of medications.

The good

$100 million for Ukrainian refugees. The huge pledge from Russian-born tech investor Yuri Milner–who is worth an estimated $7.3 billion thanks in part to early investments in Facebook and Twitter– will aid the 5.4 million people who have now fled Ukraine.

The bad

The new ecommerce powerplay will clutter your Messages folder. As emails and social media ads have become less effective, retailers are increasingly turning to SMS texts which some claim are seven times more effective than Instagram ads.

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Do this

May You Live In Interesting Times. Was the unfortunate title of the 2019 Venice Art Biennale. Back after a pandemic enforced three-year hiatus the 59th edition of the arts festival returns with the main exhibition devoted to women creators. April 23-November 27, La Biennale Di Venezia. 

Watch

Are we alone? The James Webb space telescope has entered its final stage of testing after being blasted into orbit by NASA four months ago. Listen to Nobel Laureate John C. Mather, the leader of the team at NASA that built the Webb, explain what it could reveal about the universe. TED, free to watch worldwide. 

Listen

Afghanistan's unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Soaring unemployment, hunger and severe drought, exacerbated since Taliban rule, are causing Afghans to take increasingly desperate measures to survive, such as selling their own kidneys. Gimlet Media, available to listen worldwide.

Read

Eternal youth. Life sciences breakthroughs have convinced some in Silicon Valley that immortality could now be a realistic possibility. Author Pater Ward explores the startups, scientific institutions and tech billionaires driving the quest for eternal life, and it’s potentially devastating consequences. Melville House, from $25.00 

Taste

Alcohol-free wine. If you're a sober-curious wine-lover but refuse to accept a life of sugary mocktails, Surely Wines has you covered. Their Cabernet Sauvignon offers all the fun (and taste) of the real thing, but without the hangover. 

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