Hey Snackers,
Prince Harry launched a travel startup.
Just as Brexit hit a fresh low and Argentina entered a currency crisis. Add to that the 1st decline in American manufacturing in 3 years and the Dow dipped over 1% Tuesday.
A side-hustler reveals Facebook's test to hide your "likes"
#AnxiouslyWaitingForLikes... Been there. You post a pic of you and that friend — or worse — a pic of just you. After 5 minutes you've got 2 likes. After 10, 6. After an hour, 14. DELETE POST. The like-struggle is real. Facebook is aware and just confirmed its test to remove the number of a post's social media affirmations from public view.
Side hustle... Jane Manchun Wong enjoys one as a "reverse engineer" — while you're reading Snacks, she's mining code, searching for deep-app irregularities. We'll let her describe what happened next in her own words:
- "I observed that Facebook has recently begun prototyping this hidden like/reaction count feature in their Android app by reverse-engineering the app and playing with the code underneath."
Facebook confirmed it's testing a way to hide the likes from your followers/friends, but still showing you. Letting go 100% is hard.
This is a classic cost-benefit analysis... It's testing to see how users react first before it makes the thumbs-up invisible. The cons could hit Facebook's bottom line (less user engagement and potentially ad revenue), the pros are mostly for society (less anxiety). But Facebook could win valuable PR points if it makes the right decision — just as it separately faces political tech-lash over its privacy problems and anti-competitive size.
Walmart's new arithmetic: add dentists/therapists, subtract guns/ammo
Toothpaste or teeth-whitening?... Both. Last week, Walmart sneakily updated its website to reveal it wants to be a doctor when it grows up: Starting September 13th, a Georgia location will add medical services. This week, Earth's biggest retailer is taking a fresh stand: guns. Big one. Here's what's in and what's out:
- Out: Walmart will stop selling handgun ammunition nationwide or any handguns in Alaska (the last state where it still does that). And it's politely requesting shoppers not openly-carry guns in its 4,700 stores.
- In: Walmart's still selling deer rifles and shotguns.
"The status quo is unacceptable..." — Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. Both he and Walmart's founder were avid hunters. Plus, the chain enjoys 20% of all US ammo sales. Now he's expecting these policies to drop that market share to 6%. Two recent shootings within Walmart stores pushed these moves — here's how they fit in:
- 1990s: Walmart stops selling handguns south of Alaska.
- 2015: Stops selling assault-style rifles.
- 2018: Raises minimum gun-buying age to 21.
- Last month: Yanks violent video game displays.
Corporate policies > Government policies... (lately). Investors have been rewarding companies that jump into political issues where consumers crave government action, but aren't getting it. Picture Nike with social issues, Starbucks with employee pay, or private Patagonia on the environment. Walmart saw gun standards as its "responsibility" — now it's even sending letters to Congress to follow.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Starring: Disney enjoyed 50% of all ticket sales this past summer — but the overall box office slipped 2%
- Social: The NFL teams up with Chinese karaoke-ish app TikTok to try pandering to Gen-Z
- UnGig: Uber and Lyft's stocks both hit all-time lows as investors lose confidence in ride-hailing since profitability ETA is so TBD
- Hit: Hurricane Dorian arrives for the insurance industry next with $25B in expected losses
- Holidays: Boeing falls another 3% on word its grounded 737 Max jets will remain that way through the end of the year
Wednesday
- The first earnings report from Slack since its Direct Listing
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