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Daily Archives: February 23, 2022

Canceling an Online Subscription Shouldn’t Be a Nightmare

CNET: “…Rather than resorting to questionable practices and alienating customers in the cancellation process, companies should focus on being transparent and building a sense of trust. Customers should have full control over the cancellation process, which should be clearly defined and devoid of unnecessary barriers. The language throughout the process should be non-judgmental and should communicate clearly what the customer can expect going forward — specifically in terms of any applicable refund, how their data will be handled, how they can export their data and how they can sign back up in the future if needed.  This is the ethical way to do it, and it’s how some companies, like streaming giant Netflix and online collaboration platform Basecamp, already operate. Companies that take this route prove that canceling a subscription doesn’t have to be a nightmare — the experience can be just as friendly and manageable as signing up, and can go a long way in establishing trust with other customers. But too many services still apparently believe the dishonest approach is the best way to retain customers…”

Howard University to digitize its archive of thousands of Black newspapers

NBC News: “…with the help of a $2 million grant announced Monday, Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center will make available countless articles that captured in real-time the impact of historical events on Black people that have long been difficult, if not impossible, to access. By digitizing its extensive Black Press Archives, anyone will be able… Continue Reading

The end of passwords

MIT Technology Review: “Companies are finally shifting away from notoriously insecure alphanumerics to other methods of authentication…enterprise-oriented companies like Okta and Duo, as well as personal identity providers like Google, offer ways for people to log in to apps and services without having to enter a password. Apple’s facial recognition system has taken biometric login… Continue Reading

Carbon bias in index selection

Cosemans, Mathijs and Schoenmaker, Dirk, Carbon Bias in Index Investing (January 23, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4016221 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4016221 “This paper presents evidence of a bias towards carbon-intensive companies in popular value-weighted stock market indices that are tracked by index funds and ETFs and serve as benchmark for active equity strategies. The average carbon bias… Continue Reading

The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule Download Report

Freedom House Report – Freedom in the World 2022: “Global freedom faces a dire threat. Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy—a form of self-government in which human rights are recognized and every individual is entitled to equal treatment under law—are accelerating their attacks. Authoritarian regimes have become more effective at co-opting or circumventing… Continue Reading

How many people died believing vaccine misinformation?

Washington Post Opinion: “…In a just-published nationwide survey of 18,782 people across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Covid States Project asked about four vaccine misinformation claims, asking respondents whether they were “true” or “false” or if a respondent was “not sure.” Five percent said they thought that vaccines contained microchips; 7… Continue Reading