This brilliant camera tricks your boss to think you’re working

Good morning! For years, Sridhar Ramaswamy and Vivek Raghunathan worked at Google, where they helped build the advertising technologies that made the search giant one of the most profitable businesses ever devised. But eventually, they grew weary of the compromises required when a company has to choose between serving its users and monetizing their eyeballs.

The two executives left Google and turned their frustration into a new search company, Neeva. It has no ads, thereby decluttering its results and eliminating the need to profile users for ad targeting. Instead, it hopes that people will value what it’s offering enough to pay $5 a month for it.

I spoke with Ramaswamy, Raghunathan, other members of Neeva’s impressive team, and some of its investors about why they think the time is right to take on Google—and why they believe a critical mass of people are ready to pay for an alternative. Read all about it here.

—Harry McCracken

tech

Inside Neeva, the ad-free, privacy-first search engine from ex-Googlers

Sridhar Ramaswamy and Vivek Raghunathan helped turn Google into an ad giant. Now they’re starting over with a service whose only customers are its users. Read more.

branding

Never mind Wimbledon, Naomi Osaka and her brand partners are acing this moment

Missing two Grand Slams is far from a commercial calamity for Nike, Beats by Dre, Hyperice, Sweetgreen, and Tag Heuer when sports culture is pop culture. Read more.

co.design

A freak accident or the first of many disasters? A look at why the Miami condo building may have collapsed

Discovering the cause of the catastrophic collapse will be vital to other buildings in Miami and around the world. Read more.

The best work–life bags of 2021

Bag designers want to accommodate your new, post-pandemic lifestyle. Here are our six favorites. Read more.

remote work

This brilliant camera tricks your boss to think you’re working

It’s only a concept, but the idea will soon be within reach. Read more.

work life

This is how the most productive people protect their time

While productivity hacks are helpful, the real key is being vigilant about what makes it onto your calendar in the first place. Read more.

impact

USPS needs electric vehicles—but they don’t need to be electric cars

There’s a lot of focus on the potential for a new, electric mail truck. But many urban deliveries could be made by much cheaper and faster two- and three-wheeled “light electric vehicles.” Read more.

impact

At this intersection, drivers have to ask the bikes to stop

In more bike-centric countries, like the Netherlands, it’s the bikes and pedestrians whose travel gets prioritized. Read more.

co.design

How to deal with criticism when people hate your designs

Google Health designer Anna Iurchenko shares five techniques for receiving critical feedback so you don’t get hurt. Read more.

NEWS

DIDI on NYSE: What you need to know

The Chinese ride-hailing behemoth Didi Global will debut on the New York Stock Exchange this week. On Wednesday, June 30, it will begin trading under the stock ticker symbol DIDI (of course).

According to Barron's, Didi is expected to potentially be one of the biggest IPOs of the year. Didi is offering 288 million shares with a starting IPO price of $13 to $14 each.

The company is sometimes referred to as the “Uber of China.” It operates in around 4,000 cities in 16 countries. Didi's biggest market is China and surrounding Asian nations.

Didi’s aspirations go far greater than ride-hailing. Its app currently features services related to bike sharing, gas stations, and personal finance, and the company recently invested in its own autonomous-driving unit.

podcast

How do you know if you’re about to burn out?

In this episode of The New Way We Work, we discuss how to identify and combat burnout before it hits you, and why it has become such an epidemic in today’s workplace.

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