Facebook spent much of Thursday attempting to quell the fire caused by the New York Times’ report about executive inaction and politicking on Facebook’s many crises over the past three years. 

It also chose Thursday to publish its latest note from Mark Zuckerberg about some of the “toughest issues” Facebook is addressing. Thursday’s note, the second in this series, addressed “Content Governance and Enforcement.”

“Just as a free society will always have crime and our expectation of government is not to eliminate all crime but to effectively manage and reduce it, our community will also always face its share of abuse,” Zuckerberg wrote. “Our job is to keep the misuse low, consistently improve over time, and stay ahead of new threats.” Read more…

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The gaming industry has a well-known diversity problem.

However, amid the bustle at PAX Australia, the largest gaming convention in the southern hemisphere, a new exhibit put underrepresented games and developers at the forefront.

Led by Australian curator and Rumu gamerunner Ally McLean, the NEXT exhibit featured six games that shake things up, including one by an all-woman developer team, a creator with autism, and a game that examines life as a transgender teenager.

“I know that diverse teams make awesome games, and I know that there are barriers to diverse teams getting to do things like show their games at PAX. It’s expensive, it can be prohibitive, especially coming all the way to Australia,” McLean told Mashable. Read more…

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Does the world really need a new version of Dumbo? Hard to say. What we do know for sure is that it’s awfully hard to say no to that face, which looks somehow even more heart-meltingly adorable in “live-action” (i.e., realistic-looking animation). 

If you’re already invested in his journey, mark the date on your calendar: Dumbo arrives in theaters March 29, 2019. Read more…

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These days, even your teddy bear might be out to get you. 

As the inevitable creep of “smart” features and products continues to turn everything from your refrigerator to your thermostat into a connected device, it’s worth taking a moment to consider just what you’re giving up in exchange for this wannabe Jetsons future. Thankfully, Mozilla has done a lot of that work for you with a new guide dedicated to just how insecure many smart devices are. 

It’s right in time for the end-of-year shopping season, meaning you have no excuse to buy your parents one of these potentially compromised electronic gadgets as a holiday gift. And, if you send them the guide, they won’t have an excuse for buying you one, either.  Read more…

More about Smart Homes, Iot, Smart Devices, Mozilla, and Tech

Community first, eh?

A New York Times report published Wednesday is full of bombshells about how Facebook has handled (and mishandled) its last two years of turmoil. Amidst allegations of pettiness and tales of public relations coups, the report reveals how hard Facebook tried to remain in the good graces of politicians, even at the expense of the “transparency” and “community” it champions.

Notably, on more than one occasion, Facebook chose to appease and avoid confrontation with Republican politicians, rather than take aggressive action to combat Russian and Trumpian propaganda. 

More about Facebook, Russia, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Trump

Most internet challenges are bad, but Dog Cheese is good.

Dog Cheese, since you asked, is a fun game where you throw a piece onto your dog and see what happens. There are very few rules: the cheese must land on the dog, certainly, but we understand that what occurs next is outside your control.

Dog Cheese appears to have begun with the following tweet from Matthew Elias, which reads: “Fuck beer pong, we playin dog cheese.” Agreed!

Now, lots of people — and dogs, and the occasional cat — are playing Dog Cheese. Soon it will be more popular than beer pong. Just kidding, but what if it was? Would be cool. Read more…

More about Twitter, Memes, Social Media, Culture, and Web Culture

Tech CEOs, beware: If you piss off Mark Zuckerberg, he might order his employees to stop using your company’s products.

The Facebook founder was reportedly so enraged by criticism from Apple CEO Tim Cook that he personally instructed executives to stop using iPhones in favor of Android devices.

That’s one revelation from a new bombshell report from the New York Times, which details the social network’s many failures to properly address Russian interference in the 2016 election and subsequent privacy concerns raised by critics. But the incident highlights just how personally Facebook’s founder took the criticism from Apple CEO Tim Cook. Read more…

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It was a sad day in the world when Toys ‘R’ Us officially closed it’s doors in the U.S. For all we know it could come back in one form or another someday, but it probably won’t be the same and neither will Geoffrey. (Poor Geoffrey.)

But if you’re looking for a new one-stop toy shop, especially with the holidays around the corner, Amazon is here to fill the void, with plenty of deals ahead of Black Friday to help you out. (It’s worth noting that Walmart also has a killer selection of toys and is looking to pick up the slack that Toys ‘R’ Us has left behind.”

SEE ALSO: Toys that give kids a head start in STEM without screen time Read more…

More about Toys, Black Friday, Mashable Shopping, Shopping Amazon, and Mashable Deals

Trivia time: Which is bigger?

1. The amount of money the U.S. government spent on K-12 education in 2017

or….

2. The amount of money Americans spent on holiday shopping in 2017

Prepare to let out a big, fat “yikes.” In 2017, the U.S. budget for education was $69.4 billion. Meanwhile, Americans spent a whopping $1 trillion on holiday shopping between Black Friday and Cyber MondayThat’s enough money to send 8.3 million people to a 4-year college. Enough to buy every San Fransisco resident an apartment. Enough to literally purchase Apple. 

What we’re saying is: That’s a lot of dough.

Of course, giving and receiving gifts is awesome and makes you warm and fuzzy inside — no one is disagreeing with that. And we are the last ones to weigh any objections to spending money and getting good deals wherever we can find them. But there’s also a dark cloud hovering over that ginormous pile of cash we’e spending. In 2016, 60% of all online sales went to 10 of the biggest retailers, none of which has a proactive social mission. Welp. Read more…

More about Social Good, Gift Guide, Mashable Shopping, Shopping Solo, and Gift Guide 2018