• If you're unemployed, or are self-isolating and have extra time on your hands, learning how to code could help your career.
• According to jobs site Indeed.com, the two most in-demand jobs of 2020 are software architect and full-stack developer, both of which require a proficiency in coding.
• Tech company HackerRank polled over 116,000 software engineers to find out which languages are associated with the highest salary.
• From C++ and Python to Ruby and Perl, here are the top 15 coding languages associated with the highest salaries worldwide, along with online courses to learn them.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

More than 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April, according to Labor Department data. If you recently lost your job, or just want to learn something new, consider learning what the job site Indeed says is 2020's most in-demand skill: coding.

Analysts at the site combed through its database to find the best jobs of the year based on three factors: average pay, the job title's growth on the site over the past three years, and the number of postings for the job for every 1 million total listings on the site.

The most promising job was software architect, the person who makes high-level decisions about the design and standard of code used in a platform. In second place was a full-stack developer, or someone who has the complete coding skills to make a platform.

While some hiring managers don't require a job applicant know a specific coding language (the coding skills are often transferable across languages), it does help to know which languages are associated with the highest-paying jobs.

HackerRank, a tech company that focuses on competitive programming challenges for both programmers and recruiters, surveyed over 116,000 software developers and students to figure out what coding languages were associated with the highest pay worldwide.

Below is the complete list of languages, along with how they compare to the salary of the average developer, which according to HackerRank's survey is $54,491.

SEE ALSO: 15 email etiquette rules every professional should know

C++ is associated with an average global salary of $55,363.10

The salary for this language is 1.6% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: Try this interactive Udemy tutorial for beginners or this Udacity intermediate course for people with coding knowledge. 

JavaScript is associated with an average global salary of $55,690

The salary for this language is 2.2% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: Software engineering teacher Mosh Hamedani has a free YouTube course on Javascript, CodeAcademy has a free beginner class, and Learn JS has a free, interactive tutorial.

Python is associated with an average global salary of $56,670.90

The salary for this language is 4% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: YouTube channel CS Dojo has a video explainer for absolute beginners, software engineering teacher Mosh Hamedani has a helpful YouTube video as well, and Udemy also has this free introductory course.

TypeScript is associated with an average global salary of $57,433.70

The salary for this language is 5.4% higher than the global average salary.

Where to learn it: It helps if you know JavaScript, as TypeScript builds off this language. However, FreeCodeCamp has a beginner course in TypeScript and KoderHQ has a free interactive tutorial.

Kotlin is associated with an average global salary of $58,196.60

The salary for this language is 6.8% higher than the global average salary.

Where to learn it:FreeCodeCamp has a beginner YouTube explainer and KotlinLang.org offers an interactive tutorial for people with coding knowledge.

C# is associated with an average global salary of $58,469.10

The salary for this language is 7.3% higher than the global average salary.

Where to learn it: CodeEasy.Net has a beginner tutorial on the basics of the language, and there are multiple videos on the language available on YouTube.

Prolog is associated with an average global salary of $60,648.70

The salary for this language is 11.3% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: There are a few websites that offer free instruction on how to learn Prolog. 

R is associated with an average global salary of $61,629.60

The salary for this language is 13.1% higher than the global average salary.

Where to learn it: Edureka! has a helpful YouTube tutorial for beginners and Codecademy has a course for beginners.

Pascal is associated with an average global salary of $62,773.90

The salary for this language is 15.2% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: Pascal Programming has a bunch of free online tutorials and Udemy has a course that costs $12.

Swift is associated with an average global salary of $65,171.50

The salary for this language is 19.6% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: FreeCodeCamp.org has a YouTube series on the language and Hacking with Swift has a helpful online course. 

Objective-C is associated with an average global salary of $66,697.30

The salary for this language is 22.4% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: Udacity has a free course on the language and Tutorials Point has a helpful intermediate-level guide.

Ruby is associated with an average global salary of $72,146

The salary for this language is 32.3% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: Codecademy has a great course for beginners, and FreeCodeCamp.org has a helpful YouTube explainer.

Go is associated with an average global salary of $72,691.30

The salary for this language is 33.4% higher than the global average salary.

Where to learn it: This helpful e-book is great for people with a coding background. Beginners can also look to this online course or Udemy's $12 class.

Scala is associated with an average global salary of $77,159.60

The salary for this language is 41.6% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: CognitiveClass.ai offers a great beginner tutorial. You can also check out this interactive course.  

Perl is associated with an average global salary of $84,025.50

The salary for this language is 54.2% higher than the global average salary. 

Where to learn it: Many online Perl courses assume a basic understanding of coding. If you have no basic coding experience, check out this "Perl for Newbies" course, or consider taking a free, introductory course in another, more common language like Python or JavaScript before venturing into Perl. If you have a basic understanding of coding, check out TutorialsPoint.com or LearnPerl.org.

Many companies use the term artificial intelligence, or AI, as a way to generate excitement for their products and to present themselves as on the cutting edge of tech development.

But what exactly is artificial intelligence? What does it involve? And how will it help the development of future generations?

Find out the answers to these questions and more in AI 101, a brand new FREE report fromBusiness Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, that describes how AI works and looks at its present and potential future applications.

To get your copy of the FREE slide deck, simply click here.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Prabhakar Raghavan has been elevated to lead Google's search business as part of a major company shakeup announced this week.
• He will also oversee Google ads, Assistant, commerce and payments, as well as Google's Geo business.
• It makes Raghavan an incredibly important figure in the Google's new org chart, which is being streamlined under Sundar Pichai.
• In the same week as these changes were announced, so was news that antitrust regulators are closing in on Google's ad and search business.
• Do you work at Google? Contact this reporter securely using encrypted messaging app Signal (+1 628-228-1836) or email (hslangley@protonmail.com).
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

It was all change at Google this week, with several long-term executives getting shuffled into new roles in the biggest org shake-up since Sundar Pichai took the reins as both Alphabet and Google's CEO.

One mover is Jen Fitzpatrick, previously the head of Google's Maps business, who is transitioning to lead Google's core engineering team of 8,000 employees.

But the biggest announcement was that Prabhakar Raghavan will step up to lead the entire Search and Assistant division. He replaces veteran Ben Gomes, who will take a new role focused on Google's work in the education space, although Search Engine Land reports that he will remain a technical advisor on search.

At the same time, Jerry Dischler just became the new head of Google's ads organization and will also report to Raghavan, a Google spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.

For Raghavan, it means he's now in the position of overseeing all of Google's search, ads, Geo, and commerce and payments — and he just became even more of a critical player in the company org chart.

Prabhakar was previously leading Google's ads and commerce team, and before that was in charge of G Suite in Google Cloud, so his move to leading search has caused a bit of head-scratching to outsiders looking in.

But Raghavan has a long career history in search stretching back to his days at IBM and Yahoo, as Pichai pointed out in a memo to employees this week, not to mention that he published more than one major text on the subject.

The shakeup means that Google's search and advertising products are now led by one person. When cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page stepped down from the company in 2019 they talked about wanting to "simplify" the management structure at Google, and this week Sundar Pichai took another step to doing just that.

"While there are many separate teams working on different parts of the user journey, from the user's perspective, it's just Google helping," wrote Pichai in a note to employees this week.

"I want every user experience to feel like this and I've been thinking about how we can best achieve it. So, when Ben and Jen — who both just celebrated their 20th Googleversaries last year — mentioned they were ready for new challenges, I took the opportunity to make some changes across our flagship knowledge products and help them work together more seamlessly."

Putting search and ads under one chief could feasibly help Google better monetize its core moneymaking business, but it also comes at a time where both these areas are facing a potentially huge antitrust storm.

The Justice Department and states are reportedly gearing up to bring antitrust cases against Google as soon as this summer, and this week, Bloomberg reported that Google's search business is being probed by antitrust investigators.

Gabriel Weinberg, CEO of search engine DuckDuckGo, told the publication that he had spoken to state and federal regulators who have asked how Google should give consumers alternatives to its own search engine on Android and in Chrome browsers, Bloomberg said.

As Covid-19 continues to attack Google's ad business and antitrust regulators close in, Raghavan is now front of center of it all, and might have just become the company's new MVP.

SEE ALSO: Google shakes up its Search and Maps leadership as company veterans move into new roles

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet

• Twitter users on Saturday noticed that President Donald Trump's account was recommended when they searched the term "racist" on the platform. 
• "If an account is mentioned often alongside certain terms, it can become algorithmically surfaced together as a recommendation," the spokesperson said.
• The president just over a week ago put forth an executive order to increase regulation faced by social media companies, including Twitter, after it placed a fact-checking label over his tweet. It later labeled another one of his tweets for violating its rules about violence.
• Despite his ongoing war of words against Twitter, the president sent 200 tweets out on Friday, which is the most he's ever used the platform in a single day. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Twitter users on Saturday noted that when they searched for the word "racist" on the platform, Twitter pointed them toward the account of President Donald Trump. 

"The top result for racist on Twitter is the president of the United States," The Verge's Tom Warren tweeted. 

Business Insider was able to replicate this on Saturday afternoon by searching for both the terms "racist" and "racism."

A spokesperson for Twitter on Saturday told Business Insider that the president is listed under these terms as a result of the company's algorithm, which is triggered by user behavior. 

"If an account is mentioned often alongside certain terms, it can become algorithmically surfaced together as a recommendation," the spokesperson said.

As Insider previously noted, it's been a rocky few weeks between the president and Twitter. On May 28, he issued an executive order in an attempt to regulate it and other companies like Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube. The order directly followed the company's decision to fact-check his tweets and was issued the day before it flagged another one of his posts as violent.

Despite the ongoing beef, the president has continued to use Twitter to disseminate his platform amid ongoing nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd. On Friday, Trump tweeted or retweeted exactly 200 posts during the day � the highest volume posts he's made within a 24-hour span ever, surpassing the 142 tweets he sent during a single day during his Senate impeachment trial. 

Throughout his administration, the president has often faced allegations of racism or stroking white supremacist ideology, though he has denied them and reiterated he believes himself to be the "least racist person in the world." 

When PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor asked Trump at a press briefing Friday how he planned to combat racism in the US amid ongoing protests surrounding the death of Geroge Floyd, Trump pointed toward recent economic gains amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"And by the way, what's happened to our country, and what you now see � what's been happening � is the greatest thing that can happen toward race relations, toward the African American community, the Asian American, the Hispanic American community, for women, for everything," Trump said.

The White House did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment on Saturday.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak

• Designers in the Czech Republic are working on the country's first 3D-printed tiny home. 
• The structure can be built in only 48 hours, with the help of a robot called Scoolpt.
• The tiny home also floats on a pontoon, but can sit on land, and is largely self-sustaining.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A tiny home with a view will soon be available in the Czech Republic. The design, Prvok, will be the first 3D-printed home in the Czech Republic, and will float on a pontoon, though it's also able to stand on land. It's innovative in more ways than one; The structure will be built in only 48 hours, and can save up to 50% of the building costs of conventional buildings, its proponents say. 

Creators Michal Trpak and the Erste group have started putting the concept into production, with 3D printing happening this month. They are clear that they hope the project will "change the construction industry forever," making custom homes and construction more affordable and less wasteful than traditional methods. 

Here's Prvok being printed, and what the finished product might look like. 

SEE ALSO: A reopened Dutch restaurant is using robots to implement social distancing by serving and seating customers � see how it works

Prvok is built using Scoolpt, a robot arm used in auto manufacturing.

Using 3D printing technology, the house can be built about seven times faster than using traditional methods.

It can print about six inches per second, for 48 hours total to construct the 463-square-foot home.

25 workers total are needed to complete the house, compared to an average of 65 workers on a typical build.

Scoolpt uses a new type of concrete for this printing with fibers that form organic shapes more easily.

After 28 days, the concrete hardens completely to the equivalent of a typical bridge.

3D printing also eliminates at least 20% of carbon dioxide emissions from traditional construction, which accounts for nearly half of total emissions in the country.

"In the future, the owners can crush the building once it has run its useful life, and print it again with the same material directly on the location," sculptor Michal Trpak said.

A sketch shows what the interior of the home, which is being built this month, will look like.

The house will have three rooms: a bedroom, living room with a kitchen, and bathroom.

The house is equipped with green technology, like a recirculation shower and reservoirs for drinking and utility water.

These additions make the house, which is designed to last at least 100 years, partially self-sufficient.

It's designed for year-round habitation in the city, country, or on the water, and the first model will be produced later this month.

• Quibi's sluggish growth since its April debut has made it the butt of some media jokes: "Yes, Quibi still exists," cracked the headline of a June Marketplace episode.
• Business Insider got the inside story of how people who have developed or worked on shows for Quibi feel about the service post-launch.
• Most of the people said it showed promise and was producing high-quality programming, but were disappointed with the initial response.
• "I genuinely thought it would do better," one person said. "I'm not using it as much as I thought I would."
• The insiders also described a demanding workload on Quibi productions, which was intensified by the pandemic, as well as extensive notes from Quibi's content execs, on everything from the graphics to the talent on screen.
• If you have a tip about Quibi, contact the author at arodriguez@businessinsider.com, or message her on Signal at 347-770-5933.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

Not long after the mobile-video service Quibi launched, its cofounder Jeffrey Katzenberg ruffled feathers with a quip to The New York Times that one of the company's core bets was not panning out.

The startup, which had raised a mammoth $1.8 billion from venture backers, had hired publishers like BBC, ESPN, and E! to create short-form news and lifestyle programming. The slate, called Daily Essentials, aimed to help make Quibi a habit for its target audience of 20- and 30-somethings who spend their days glued to smartphones.

"The Daily Essentials are not that essential," Katzenberg told the Times' Nicole Sperling in early May. He also blamed the coronavirus pandemic for Quibi's anemic growth since launch.

The remark didn't sit well with some people who were actively working on Quibi's Daily Essentials.

"It was disenchanting and concerning," a development exec at one of Quibi's content partners told Business Insider. "You're talking about hundreds of people working on various Daily Essentials ... It leads all of us to ask and wonder, what exactly the future is for the 'essentials'?"

"What exactly is the future" is a fundamental question that plagues not just those working on the Daily Essentials, but other Quibi insiders, as well.

During May and June, Business Insider spoke with 10 people who had developed or worked on shows for Quibi, including four who were actively involved in productions at the time. The people asked to remain anonymous because they did not have permission to speak about Quibi's productions.

The people described a demanding workload that was made more complicated by the pandemic, as well as a stringent content-development team at Quibi that gave feedback — on everything from the graphics to the talent on screen — well beyond what rival platforms like Netflix typically give.

Most of the Quibi insiders said they'd used the service themselves and thought it showed promise and was producing high-quality programming. But, like Katzenberg, they were disappointed with the initial response, and some found themselves not considering Quibi content "essential" in their own media diets.

"I genuinely thought it would do better," a person who had worked with Quibi's content team said. "There was a lot of excitement in development … I watched a few of the shows. I'm not using it as much as I thought I would."

It spotlights a core issue for the subscription service as it prepares its next slate of programming. 

Quibi commissioned top publishers and Hollywood studios to create short-form programming that was as good as the shows and movies you'd find on Netflix or traditional TV.

But the programming — like "Chrissy's Court," a celebrity-infused take on reality court shows; reboots of "Punk'd" and "Reno 911"; and thrillers like "The Most Dangerous Game" — isn't drastically different from what's available on other platforms. The in-between moments of the day that Quibi's 10-minute-or-less episodes were designed to fill have mostly dried up during lockdown. And Quibi has yet to land a cultural hit that forces people to take notice, like Disney Plus' "The Mandalorian," Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black," or Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale."

Quibi was fighting an uphill battle by launching on April 6, amid a global coronavirus pandemic and with WarnerMedia's HBO Max and NBCUniversal's Peacock on its heels.

The subscription service, which starts at $4.99 per month with ads, gained some early traction with the help of a 90-day free-trial offer that helped drive 1.7 million app downloads in the service's first week. But the service soon sank in the US iPhone app rankings. By May 29, it had fallen out of the top 200 in the iOS app store, according to the analytics firm App Annie.

As Quibi battles to build a subscriber base alongside established video services like Netflix, newcomers like HBO Max, and digital platforms like Instagram and TikTok, Quibi's programming can't just be good, it needs to be unmissable — if not for the general public, then for a passionate subset.

"Nothing has broken out," said Alan Wolk, cofounder of and lead analyst at TVREV. "Quibi hasn't found its niche yet. And then the second part of that is finding a niche that's going to get people to actually subscribe and pay."

Quibi execs are very, very involved in productions and tend to give a lot more notes than competitors

The pandemic has created challenges for Quibi's production teams, which, like the rest of the industry, were forced to pause or shift to remote work.

Quibi thinks about its content in three main buckets: 

• Movies "told in chapters," or episodes
• Scripted and unscripted series that are similar in quality to what you'd find on TV
• Daily Essentials, or timely news and informational programming that is released daily 

Its launch slate of shows and movies was mostly complete by March, when the production shutdowns rippled throughout the global TV and film industry. The Daily Essentials were still in production, as were some shows due to hit during the summer and fall.

The pandemic pushed Quibi's production partners to work even harder to stay on schedule. 

"This process was difficult as it was to begin with," a second development exec working with Quibi said. "The pandemic added so many layers of complication … The workload was really tough, also because of the feedback that came back and forth that I would call nitpicking in some instances."

Multiple insiders said that Quibi's content execs gave extensive notes to production partners on what the shows should look like, down to the graphics, set decorations, on-air talent, wardrobe, and zoom of a shot. 

The feedback, the people said, went beyond what execs at other mobile-first platforms like Snapchat Discover and Facebook Watch, or at Netflix, typically give. Some notes were more extensive than what TV networks provide.

"There are notes and then there are Quibi notes," one of the development execs said. "Quibi from the start of an idea, to the title of the show, to the set design, color scheme, pixels in the graphics, I don't know that there was a detail that Quibi isn't involved in."

The intense feedback was partly because Quibi was endeavoring to create content people hadn't seen before, and had very specific ideas about how it should look.

The workload was also compounded by Quibi's Turnstyle feature, which shifts between portrait and landscape orientations as viewers rotate their devices. It requires two cuts for every video.

"A lot more goes into it than just creating a separate angle for format," another person said. "There's a whole decision-making process on the graphics and styling."

Quibi has touted Turnstyle as a key tool that will unlock new ways for content creators and advertisers to tell stories on smartphones. But, so far, it hasn't been enough to make Quibi stand out for audiences.  

"All of our shows and partners are having to work harder and smarter since COVID forced us into an industry-wide remote reality," Becky Brooks, head of lifestyle programming for Quibi, said in a statement to Business Insider. "We're exceptionally grateful to our partners at how quickly and efficiently they were able to pivot and stand up quality shows."

The streaming service was going after mobile-forward millennials, but is still learning who its real audience is 

In the weeks since launch, the insiders said they hadn't noticed major shifts in the kinds of notes they were getting from Quibi execs. They thought Quibi might need more time to gather and analyze the data before changing course on its content strategy.

Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw and Kelly Gilblom reported in May that Quibi was starting to reassess some of its upcoming slate.

For the most part, production teams are still working off Quibi's initial assumption of who its audience would be, namely, mobile-forward 25- to 35-year-olds. One person described that target audience as a "premium, film watching" audience. Another person described them as young professionals in their early 30s who were very plugged into culture.

Bloomberg reported, however, that the early audience for Quibi had been older and more female than Quibi executives anticipated.

The data Quibi has provided to production partners has so far been limited, said some of the insiders, who declined to share details due to non-disclosure agreements.

But it's not unusual for a streaming service, especially one as young as Quibi, to play its data close to the vest. Netflix, which has been releasing originals since 2013, only said last year that it would start sharing more data with producers.

Quibi has shared some stats with the media: The company says 80% percent of Quibi's viewers complete the episode they are watching, multiple outlets reported. And the app had signed up 1.6 million subscribers to a free trial and been downloaded 4.5 million times, The Wall Street Journal's Benjamin Mullin reported on June 3. 

Quibi needs more than good shows. It needs a viral hit.

Some of the people working on Quibi productions also wondered if the company had backed itself into a corner by restricting how users can share its content on social media.

The Quibi app blocks users from taking screenshots of the content. Mobile apps from competitors like Netflix and Hulu do this too, but users can capture content on web browsers and desktops, Business Insider's Paige Leskin reported. 

Netflix has also leaned into using Twitter and other social platforms to promote its programming, including shows like "Tiger King," which inspired memes and went viral.

"The original sin of Quibi is that it's a closed ecosystem," one of the development execs said. "They created this walled garden that you could only see these things on Quibi.

Quibi also gives its content partners a limited set of assets they can share on social media and other platforms.

Two people said they had been pushing Quibi to allow them to use more clips from their shows and promote their content earlier, in the hopes of making it more discoverable.

Quibi has started experimenting with sharing some of its content on social platforms in recent weeks.

On June 1, Quibi released a full episode of "The Nod with Brittany & Eric," a daily show exploring Black culture that stemmed from a popular podcast, on its social platforms in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The special episode honored the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade and discussed police brutality.

"We look forward to even more topical episodes and are excited for the future," Ryan Kadro, head of news programming for Quibi, said in a statement to Business Insider.

The video had 12,200 views on Twitter and 682 on YouTube via Quibi's official accounts, as of the morning of June 5. It was also shared on Facebook and Instagram, and through the creators' own social channels.

The social-media response wasn't overwhelming, but Quibi could lean more into this kind of experimentation to try and kickstart online conversation around its programming. But whether it will be effective is another question.

"Quibi wants to be the future of streaming and how people get daily information and entertainment," another of the development execs said. "We're all wondering how that can happen in a world where you need that organic conversation to really blow up."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence

Digital transformation has just begun.

Not a single industry is safe from the unstoppable wave of digitization that is sweeping through finance, retail, healthcare, and more.

In 2020, we expect to see even more transformative developments that will change our businesses, careers, and lives.

To help you stay ahead of the curve, Business Insider Intelligence has put together a list of 30 Big Tech Predictions for 2020 across Banking, Connectivity & Tech, Digital Media, Payments & Commerce, Fintech, and Digital Health.

This exclusive report can be yours for FREE today.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Many technology companies have shared statements of support as protesters across the country advocate for an end to systemic racism and police brutality.
• But many of these same companies struggle to hire and retain people of color and women from all backgrounds. 
• Business Insider tracked what enterprise tech companies have said publicly about the ongoing protests, along with their diversity statistics for leadership and their overall workforce, and asked how they plan to promote more diverse and equitable workplaces.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Across the US, people are marching to protest the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people who have been killed by police.

In response, tech companies have jumped on board, crafting blog posts and tweets to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. But while their messages say they stand against racism, employees within those companies have often told a different story.

Silicon Valley has long been a mostly-white boys club: Underrepresented minorities like Black and Latinx people still only make up single-digit percentages of the workforce at many major tech companies. When you look at the leadership statistics, the numbers are even bleaker. 

Making a corporate statement opposing racism should just be an initial step, says Aparna Rae, the cofounder of Moving Beyond, which helps companies make diversity, equity, and inclusion part of their business operations.

Companies should immediately "acknowledge the pain, suffering, and secondary trauma experienced by people of color employees, especially Black employees," she said, while equipping managers to offer time off, mental health resources, and no-meeting days. They can also support Black employees by providing white employees with resources to become better-informed allies, she said. 

Beyond the systemic racism they may deal with in their everyday lives, underrepresented minorities face barriers to breaking into tech that their white counterparts are less likely to face. 

Word choice in job postings can deter underrepresented minorities and women from applying in the first place, and if they do apply, tech interviewers may have unconscious biases that lead them to gravitate towards candidates like themselves (which can mean white males only hiring white males).

Once women and people of color are hired, they may face pay gaps and harassment. According to a Glassdoor survey, 43% of US employees have seen or experienced racism at work. While it's become common for major tech companies to hire diversity and inclusion executives, many startups don't make it a top priority early on, which can affect the way the company grows. 

And when the culture of a company is unwelcoming to underrepresented minorities, it affects their retention rate. In the past year, the tech industry has seen memos circulate from employees at Google and Facebook describing the racism and discrimination they have faced at work. In one memo, a former Black Google employee wrote that they "never stopped feeling the burden of being black at Google," and current Black engineering director Leslie Miley also shared shared how he was accosted at least once a week while wearing his badge because he doesn't look like the employee his coworkers expect.

Women and people of color have also been disproportionately impacted by layoffs during the coronavirus, says Evelyn Carter, director of Paradigm, which works with companies to improve their diversity and inclusion efforts. She says it's partly because layoff decisions are often based on tenure, and, for the aforementioned reasons, women and people of color are more likely to be in junior positions instead of leadership. 

"That influx of diversity is going away if folks aren't intentional about all their decisions in the employee life-cycle," Carter told Business Insider.

In recent years, companies have published their diversity statistics and pledged to increase hiring of people of color and women. In many cases, progress for these companies has been slow. 

Moving Beyond's Rae also said that companies should be publicly and explicitly detailing their plans to diversify company leadership and boards of directors, and focus on approaches grounded in data. 

"We are reading, 'We support Black Lives Matter," and, 'We don't condone racism,' but ultimately, when this dies down, is it going to be business as usual?" Rae said.

The value of making plans public is that it invites feedback and suggestions, and helps employees and outsiders hold the company accountable.

In that spirit, Business Insider put together a list detailing what 17 enterprise tech companies have said publicly about the ongoing protests, along with the diversity statistics at each one. We included statistics both for the company overall and in leadership. In addition, we asked each company what it plans to do in order to improve diversity and inclusion within the company:

SEE ALSO: Google Cloud lures 2 key hires from SAP and rival Amazon Web Services

Google

Statement: "The events of the past few weeks reflect deep structural challenges. We'll work closely with our Black community to develop initiatives and product ideas that support long-term solutions—and we'll keep you updated. As part of this effort, we welcome your ideas on how to use our products and technology to improve access and opportunity."

You can read the full statement from Google CEO Sundar Pichai here. 

Diversity statistics:

White: 51.7%

Asian: 41.9%

Black: 3.7%

Latinx: 5.9%

Native American: 0.8%

Leadership diversity statistics:

White: 65.9%

Asian: 29.6%

Black: 2.6%

Latinx: 3.7%

Native American: 0.5%

You can read the full diversity report here.

Statement on how it plans to improve: "We're committed to building a workforce that is more representative of our users and a workplace that creates a sense of belonging for everyone. As you'll see in our recent diversity report, we've taken concrete actions to steadily grow a more representative workforce, launching programs that support our communities globally, and building products that better serve all of our users."

Google released its most recent report in early May. 

Microsoft

Statement: "Our identity, our very existence is rooted in empowering everyone on the planet. So, therefore, it's incumbent upon us to use our platforms, our resources, to drive that systemic change, right? That's the real challenge here. It's not just any one incident, but it's all the things that have led to the incident that absolutely need to change.

We can't do it alone. I'm grounded in that, I realize that, but together I think we can, and we will drive change.

We need to recognize that we are better, smarter and stronger when we consider the voices, the actions of all communities, and you have my assurance that Microsoft will continue to advocate to have all those voices heard and respected."

Read the full statement here.

Overall workforce diversity statistics:

White: 53.2%

Asian: 33.1%

African American/Black: 4.5%

Hispanic/Latinx: 6.3%

American Indian/Alaskan Native: .5%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: .2%

Multiracial: 2.1%

(As of 2019. Includes Microsoft's retail operations and does not include Microsoft's portfolio companies, like LinkedIn)

Leadership diversity statistics (executives):

White: 67.3%

Asian: 23.9%

African American/Black: 2.7% 

Hispanic/Latinx: 4.4%

American Indian/Alaskan Native: .4%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: .1%

Multiracial: .9%

How it plans to improve: Microsoft referred Business Insider to its Diversity and Inclusion report, released in November 2019. When asked whether Microsoft plans to take any new steps, Microsoft said it had "nothing to share."

Amazon

Statement: "The inequitable and brutal treatment of Black people in our country must stop. Together we stand in solidarity with the Black community — our employees, customers, and partners — in the fight against systematic racism and injustice." Read more about the response to Amazon's statement, including from some employees, here.

Overall workforce diversity statistics:

White: 34.7%

Asian: 15.4%

Black/African American: 26.5%

Hispanic/Latinx: 18.5%

Native American: 1.3%

Two or more races: 3.6%

Leadership diversity statistics (manager-level):

White: 59.3%

Asian: 20.8%

Black/African American: 8.3%

Hispanic/Latinx: 8.1%

Native American: .6%

Two or more races: 3%

 (Includes both corporate and warehouse operations)

How it plans to improve: Amazon and Amazon Web Services did not respond to Business Insider's requests about whether the company plans to take any steps to create a more diverse workforce and equitable workplace.

Twilio

Statement: "Twilio cares for and stands with the Black Community. It is our responsibility and honor to speak out against hate and violence. Silence is a message in itself. We choose to speak up."

Message here.

Diversity statistics: 

White: 40%

Asian: 21%

Black: 3%

Latinx: 3%

Pacific Islander, Native, Other: 1%

Two or more races: 2%

Leadership diversity statistics: 

White: 59%

Asian: 15%

Black: 1%

Latinx: 3%

Pacific Islander, Native, Other: 2%

Two or more races: 1%

You can read the full diversity report here.

How it plans to improve: 

Twilio is working on a blog post on these issues to be released later with more details. Business Insider will update when it's published.

Atlassian

Statement: 

"What has happened to many other Black lives, all over the world, is not acceptable. I have a responsibility to say Black Lives Matter. I believe we all do. Like many of you, Scott and I are angry and sad. We believe, above all else, in respecting human rights. Equality is not a privilege, reserved for some and not others. Now, more than ever, we must come together and support one another. We must listen, and learn. And we must speak up and fight for equality and justice. We should continue to expect unrest until governments and companies (including ours) are held accountable in upholding equality and justice. And as this unrest grows more loud, more violent, and more painful, we need to do own our part in creating a more just and equitable world. Anything less would be complicit and complacent." You can read the full statement from Mike Cannon-Brookes here.

Diversity statistics:

White: 59.3%

Asian: 27%

Black: 2.6%

Latinx: 5.5%

American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander: 0.2%

Two or more races: 3.4%

Leadership diversity statistics:

White: 64.7%

Asian: 31%

Black: 0%

Latinx: 1.7%

American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander: 0.9%

Two or more races: 0.9%

You can read the full diversity report here.

How it plans to improve: Declined to disclose. 

GitHub

Statement: 

"This week has been a horrifying, sad reminder of the centuries-long pattern of systemic racism in the US. And that our criminal justice system is in dire need of reform. GitHub stands with the Black community and will not be silent on violence and injustice," GitHub CEO Nat Friedman on Twitter. 

Diversity statistics:

White: 69.2%

Asian: 13.7%

Black: 5.5%

Latinx: 7.5%

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.4%

Multiracial: 3.7%

Management diversity statistics:

White: 71%

Asian: 16%

Black: 4.5%

Latinx: 4.5%

Multiracial: 4%

You can read the full diversity report here.

Statement on how it plans to improve: "To build the best platform for our community, we need to build a company that reflects the world we live in today. At GitHub, diversity, inclusion, and belonging is an ongoing commitment—something we're accountable for and that we all create together. Our focus on both hiring and retaining employees from underrepresented backgrounds is essential to the success of our company and community. We know we have a lot more to do."

VMware

Statement: 

"There is no place in our world for racial injustice. I am thinking of our employees, customers, partners and communities who are hurting and angry. My prayers go out to you. We must be better and make the world a better place for everyone in it," VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger said on Twitter.

Overall diversity statistics:

White: 57.6%

Asian: 31.1%

Black: 3.2%

Latinx: 5.8%

Multiracial: 1.8%

Other: 0.5%

Leadership diversity statistics:

White: 67.1%

Asian: 26.2%

Black: 1.5%

Latinx: 3.8%

Multiracial: 1.1%

Other: 0.3%

You can read the full diversity report here. 

How it plans to improve:

VMware says its vice presidents and above are assigned a D&I goal to: improve the representation of women and underrepresented minorities, ensure that at least one woman or underrepresented candidate is interviewed for all open positions, and improve the company's culture through their leadership actions.

It has also piloted several new programs to identify and hire underrepresented talent. Recently, VMware rolled out a training session called the Inclusive Leadership Initiative. It also started a Getting Real Campaign to tackle topics like race and privilege. You can read more about these initiatives here.

McAfee

Statement: 

"At McAfee, inclusion and equality are part of our DNA. These principles guide the way we treat one another, the way we do business, and how we operate. We vehemently believe there is no place for racism, discrimination, or Injustice in our society, and we cannot stay silent when we see such unfathomable acts or behavior."

See the full social media post here.  

2019 diversity statistics:

White: 57%

Asian: 22.5%

Black: 5.9%

Latinx: 7.9%

Native American: .3%

Pacific Islander: .4%

McAfee did not share leadership diversity stats.

You can read the full diversity report here.

How it plans to improve: McAfee team members are encouraged to share their reflections, observations, and words of support during this time. Partnering with the McAfee African Heritage Community, the company has also published an internal guide for allies.

McAfee leaders will be participating in open forums and town hall meetings. In addition to unconscious bias training, McAfee will hold sensitivity training with a focus on racial equality for all McAfee team members.

Okta

Statement: "We are listening. We are learning. We stand in solidarity with our Black and African American communities. We will work to achieve viable solutions to resolve racial inequality and are committed to financially supporting nonprofit organizations working toward improving racial equality through Okta for Good." See the social media post here. 

Statement by CEO Todd McKinnon: "Racism of every kind is unconscionable. The images and news stories we are seeing about the treatment of black people in America today are incredibly tragic. I stand with my black colleagues at Okta and the entire community as we work together for a more just and kind society." See his social media post here. 

Diversity statistics: Not publicly released. The company says it will be releasing this summer. 

You can read the full diversity web page here.

How it plans to improve: CEO Todd McKinnon has "committed to listening and learning from our black team members," the company says. Okta has also offered a number of "safe space" sessions for members of its black community, led by a clinical psychologist. And Okta is hosting allyship sessions and internally sharing resources (books, articles, podcasts, etc.) on how to better support team members, peers and communities.

Cisco

Statement: 

Via CEO Chuck Robbins in an email to employees:

"People across the globe, who are already facing the worst health crisis of a lifetime, are now painfully reminded about the racial divide, xenophobia and inequality that remains all too prevalent today. Sadly, these issues are not new, nor are they specific to one part of the world.

For many of us, they are rooted deep in our history as we have seen this hate for centuries and I am frustrated by the lack of action and change.  ... I have spoken with many of you these past few days and I see your pain and your rage. As a team, we have never shied away from the tough conversations or tackling challenges, however insurmountable they may seem. This situation is no different. We must lean in to our conscious culture and support each other now more than ever."

Here's Robbins' Twitter statement. 

Overall diversity statistics (2019):

White: 52%

Asian: 37%

Black: 3.8%

Hispanic/Latinx: 5.6%

American Indian/Alaska Native: 0.2%

Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0.2%

Two or More Races: 1.3%

Executive Team diversity statistics:

White: 62%

Asian: 23%

African American/Black: 0%

Hispanic/Latinx: 15%

American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%

Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0%

Two or More Races : 0%

Statement on how it plans to improve:

"Diversity, inclusion, collaboration, and technology are fundamental to who we are, how we create the best teams, and how we will succeed in this age of digital transformation. Our work is focused on achieving four key business outcomes: Diverse leadership and workforce, inclusive and collaborative culture, community engagement and impact, and inclusion and collaboration industry leadership. 

We view inclusion and collaboration as the bridge to connect diverse perspectives, spark new ideas, and imagine new possibilities. We challenge the status quo and inspire innovation, unleashing the full power and potential of our people. This is the heart of our approach to creating a Conscious Culture where everyone takes responsibility for fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and respectful environment." 

Intel

Statement: 

"Black lives matter. Period. While racism can look very different around the world, one thing that does not look different is that racism of any kind will not be tolerated here at Intel or in our communities.

To our black employees and communities inside and outside Intel, I hear you and see you. You are hurting deeply. You are angry. You are tired."

Read the full memo to employees from Intel CEO Bob Swan here. 

Overall diversity statistics:

White: 45.8%

Asian: 38.2%

Hispanic: 10%

African American: 4.9%

Native American: 0.8%

Multiracial: 0.3%

Multiracial: 0.1%

Executive diversity statistics:

White: 61.85

Asian: 29.4%

Hispanic: 5.7%

African American: 2.3%

Native American: 0.9%

Multiracial: 0.0%

Statement on how it plans to improve:

"We believe a diverse and inclusive workforce is key to driving our growth. ... It is clear that we must keep focusing on the progression and retention of key talent and build a deeper culture of inclusion." - Barbara Whye, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer

Box

Statement:

"We stand in solidarity with the Black community against racism, hate, and injustice. Silence and complacency have no place in our world. Our values and our humanity call us to action. Through Box.org, we are committed to financially supporting non-profit organizations working towards improving racial equality. Get vocal. Stand up. Join us."

Message here. 

Diversity statistics:

Black: 3.1%

Latinx: 8% 

Box did not disclose its percentage of white, Asian, or otherwise identifying employees.

Leadership diversity statistics:

Box did not disclose. 

How it plans to improve: 

Tiffany Stevenson, Box's chief talent and inclusion officer, said Box thinks about inclusion using three pillars: hiring, thriving, and belonging.

For hiring, Box has increased its timeline for searching for qualified candidates for open roles, so it gets a wider pool of applicants, while proactively thinking about how to hire underrepresented people.

For "thriving," Box focuses on learning and development, like manager trainings around hiring and performance reviews, so they're thinking about their biases, Stevenson said. 

"Belonging" is really about making sure people feel comfortable to be themselves at work, she said. That means acknowledging that people have different proximities to racial injustice and incidents of police brutality. Some may just see it on the news, but for others it could be something they or someone they know has experienced.

That means making sure managers don't pretend its "business as usual" right now. Box has been holding allyship meetings this week for employees to talk about what it means to be an ally and what they want to see Box do to address inequity. 

Slack

Statement:

"We are horrified and sickened not only by George Floyd's murder and the larger context of police brutality against Black people, but also by the pattern of violent response to largely peaceful protests. We stand in solidarity with our Black employees, customers, and community." 

See the full statement here as well as what CEO Stewart Butterfield posted internally here. 

Diversity statistics:

White: 52.2%

Asian: 28.3%

Black or African American: 4.4%

Latinx /Hispanic: 7.9%

Middle Eastern: 1.1%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.4%

American Indian, Indigenous, or Alaska Native: 0.1%

Two or more races: 4.2%

Not listed: 1.3%

Leadership diversity statistics:

White: 69.1%

Asian: 15.8%

Black or African American: 5.3%

Latinx / Hispanic: 2.6%

Middle Eastern: 1.3%

Two or more races: 3.3%

Not listed: 2.6%

Slack says it has no Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, American Indian, Indigenous, or Alaska Native people in U.S. leadership roles. 

You can read the full diversity report here. 

How it plans to improve: 

"As we outlined in our statement, our teams are working hard to determine how we can best partner with the broader community and support meaningful, structural change.

In addition to our existing Diversity Office Hours and channels for employee feedback, we've implemented a number of immediate measures in the past week including:

• Listening sessions with our Black Employee Resource Group, Mahogany
• Offering guidelines for Slack managers on how they can support Black employees
• Sharing a resource list for managers to better educate themselves on White supremacy and oppression of the Black community.

These measures are only a first, basic step and we look forward to sharing more on the actions we'll be taking in the coming weeks," a Slack spokesperson said.

It also currently has programs to recruit and hire underrepresented interns, support higher performers who have "historically lacked access to this type of support," and train and hire formerly incarcerated people. 

Salesforce

Statement:

"We stand with the Black community against racism, violence, and hate. Now more than ever we must support one another as allies and speak up for justice and equality."

Message here.

Diversity statistics:

White: 61.6%

Asian / Indian: 25.6%

Black / African American: 2.9%

Latinx / Hispanic: 4.3%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.3%

American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.2%

Multiracial: 2.8%

Not listed: 2.2%

Leadership diversity statistics:

White: 73.7%

Asian / Indian: 17.2%

Black / African American: 1.5%

Latinx / Hispanic: 3.3%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0%

American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.1%

Multiracial: 2.8%

Not listed: 1.4%

Salesforce also reports diversity statistics for tech roles, and non-tech roles. You can read the full diversity report here. 

How it plans to improve: 

"Our primary focus is standing with and supporting our Black employees in this time of incredible grieving, pain and loss," a Salesforce spokesperson said. "BOLDforce, our Black employee resource group, hosted an Equality Circle for the Black community and allies to share their stories, experiences and support for each other."

Salesforce hosted a virtual event on Tuesday featuring prominent Black business leaders and celebrities, to talk about race and injustice. The event was moderated by chief philanthropy officer Ebony Beckwith and CEO Marc Benioff.

The spokesperson also pointed out other ongoing initiatives:

• An Equality Mentorship program and a partnership with the Executive Leadership Council on an in-house program focused on underrepresented minorities (Black, Latinx, and Indigenous)
• Fair, equitable, and inclusive business processes, including a working towards equal pay for women and minorities, and trainings on inclusive business practices.

Zoom

Statement:

"COVID has brought pain, loss, ambiguity, and despair for many, in particular, vulnerable communities. The Black Community in the United States has been severly impacted and coupled with the pandemic has also experienced shocking and senseless killings that have occured or been brought to light over the past couple of weeks involving Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. 

To be clear, the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on vulnerable populations and the individual and institutionalized racism and violence that the Black Community continues to endure is not new. However, as I watch the news, listen, and read, I know I am on my own journey of learning. While I don't pretend to be even close to truly understanding the multi-faceted experiences within the Black community, I am now, more than ever, open to listening, learning, understanding, and leading our voice — as a company that connects the world — to take action for social and racial equity." 

Read the full letter from CEO Eric Yuan here.

Diversity statistics:

Zoom doesn't currently release diversity statistics but it recently hired a chief diversity officer, who started June 1, who will be in charge of that going forward, a Zoom spokesperson said. 

How it plans to improve: 

Zoom declined to comment, beyond saying that its new chief diversity officer, Damien Hooper-Campbell, will be leading these initiatives. 

Hooper-Campbell's role will be to "lead the design and implementation of Zoom's global diversity and inclusion strategy with a focus on its current and future employees and its products. He will also be responsible for establishing Zoom's university recruiting program and initiatives."

Dell

Statement: 

"The murder of George Floyd is an atrocity," CEO Michael Dell told employees in a letter. "We all stand in horror, grieving as a nation alongside his family and his community. To see a man killed, a life ended cruelly and senselessly is something that will haunt me forever. But for people of color in communities all over this country and around the world – that footage is not a surprise, it is all too familiar. The fault lines of our society are laid bare. From the devastating and disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 to the devastating impacts of police brutality, the long-standing racial injustice in America that began 400 years ago is impossible to ignore. And the people who have been ignored are now demanding to be heard. We are listening."

Diversity statistics (US only in 2019):

White: 69.9%

Asian: 14.2%

Black / African American: 4.9%

Hispanic / Latinx: 7.7%

American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.5%

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 0.2%

Two or More Races: 1.7%

Not Specified: 0.9%

Leadership diversity statistics:

White: 77.4%

Asian: 11.4%

Black / African American: 2.9%

Hispanic / Latinx: 6.2%

American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.3%

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: 0.1%

Two or More Races: 1.0%

Not Specified: 0.6%

Statement on how it plans to improve:

"Meaningful change requires intentional listening and action. It requires space for the uncomfortable conversations and standing up and standing together for change. We at Dell Technologies – like all companies – have a role to play in addressing the racial injustice being witnessed right now. We must learn from others' experiences and hold ourselves accountable for doing things differently. There is hard work to be done, but we are committed to doing the work and leading by example."

ServiceNow

Statement: 

We embrace diversity, inclusion, and belonging as one of our top talent and business priorities. We are building a more diverse, inclusive global workforce and a culture in which everyone can be who they are and thrive. Belonging is the breakthrough. It allows employees to feel safe, valued, and seen. ...

I believe every employee deserves to be treated beautifully and fairly. It's about leading with compassion and empathy. For example, this means we are creating an open environment for our LGBTQ+ employees, we are diversifying our recruiting practices, and we are training our employees about the effects of unconscious bias.

- Pat Wadors, Chief Talent Officer

Diversity statistics (US only in 2019):

White: 57.4%

Asian: 31.4%

Black / African American: 2.1%

Hispanic / Latinx: 6.2%

American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.3%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.3%

Two or more races: 2.3%

Leadership diversity (US only in 2019):

White: 70.0%

Asian: 22.9%

Black / African American: 1.3%

Hispanic / Latinx: 3.5%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.1% 

American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.0%

Two or more races: 1.3%

Statement on how it plans to improve:

"We are encouraging and embracing open, honest, vulnerable dialogue within our company, especially with our Black employees," said Chief Talent Officer Pat Wadors. "Their voices and needs will help shape our response."

• Layoffs in the tech industry keep coming as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
• Dave Fano, best known for his years at WeWork, is back with a career-coaching startup. He's helping people land new jobs during the COVID-19 crisis.
• He offers 5 tips on what to do immediately after losing your job, whether it's a layoff or a protest resignation.
• These tips involve writing a modern resume, updating your LinkedIn with an eye to keywords, looping in and mining your network, and doing the real work, not tricks.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Despite a surprisingly good jobs report for May, the layoffs in the tech industry keep rolling, with more than half a dozen tech companies cutting employees so far in June, according to Layoffs.fyi. All told, 490 startups have cut 63,580 employees since March, when COVID-19 hit the US in force.

The good news is that there are still over 800 tech companies on Layoffs.fyi who say they are hiring for thousands of jobs.

But competition to land a job is fierce, for the first time in years.

Dave Fano, founder of career coaching startup Teal, believes the difference between the people who immediately get a new job and those who struggle is tactics.

"There's so many people that need help right now and there's basic tactical stuff like how to write a resume (a lot of the old advice is wrong), and things like LinkedIn, which makes it more like SEO and content management than it is job searching," he says.

Teal offers a 6-week job-search workshop done in a cohort. It covers things like writing a modern resume, interviewing tactics, and how to search-engine-optimize (SEO) your LinkedIn profile to show up for recruiters. Doing the training in a group also helps with the hardest parts of job searching, loneliness and accountability, he says.

Job searching is "not a skill that most people get," he says, because most of us "just don't do it often enough."

Fano is best known for his years at WeWork as Chief Growth Officer, where he led multiple departments and grew his team from 300 to 3,500, during the office sharing company's heyday. He left about five months before WeWork attempted to go public and then imploded.

He left because he had an itch to turn all of that hiring experience into a new kind of company, he said, a subscription-based career coaching company. It came out of stealth just as COVID-19 struck, so Teal is currently specializing in job searching. The six-week course is supposed to cost $400, but it's half-price for anyone who's lost their job because of COVID-19.

For those who lose a job either through a layoff or, in these troubled political times, quit in protest, Fano teaches his job-searching students that these are the first things you should do:

1. Tell your networks on LinkedIn and elsewhere that you lost your job and are looking for a new one. 

"Once you've grieved and gone through the emotional process, say, 'Hey, I'm looking for work," Fano says.

Some people are ashamed of being laid off and fear that announcing their job hunt publicly will reflect badly on them. But you shouldn't be, "especially in this economy," he says. By writing a public announcement about your situation and your search, you are allowing people to reach out and help you.

"Make it easy for your network to help you. Don't assume that people know," Fano says.

2. Mine your network. Your network isn't just the people who follow you on LinkedIn. It is everyone in your whole career "you've ever had an interaction with," says Fano. "Have the courage to reach out."

He says one of his students reached out to an executive the person knew 10 years earlier, as the executive's dog walker. The exec listened and gave the person a lead on a great job. 

"When you reach out, people want to help," he says, especially in times of crises like today.

3. Do the work. Don't just "spray and pray." Don't just take a standard resume and cover letter and apply to a ton of jobs. "You need to put in the work and apply to each job with care and quality and a tailored application. And you should put it into a person's hands," he said. "Only apply online as last resort."

Think of yourself like a prospective investor. You may wind up investing a lot of your time and energy into this company, so do the research, including meeting connections.

4. "SEO" your LinkedIn resume. Include words that will help your profile be found by recruiters. This includes using keywords in your Headline, About section, and Experience section. Find the right keywords by examining job descriptions, looking at LinkedIn profiles of others, and using a Google keyword tools.

"Make sure your LinkedIn Profile has exact titles and permutations of titles," he says, such as associate product manager and lead product manager.

"We're seeing people get more job interviews, from zero — just crickets — to having inbound recruiters hit them up on LinkedIn, all by fixing their LinkedIn profiles," Fano says.

5. "Don't rely on tricks. Rely on showing why you are awesome," Fano says.

For instance, some people are worried about ageism and think they should hide dates like their college graduation. Recruiters see right through that. Focus on creating "good content. Don't do tricks," he says. Remember that content can include blog posts, videos and other ways you can show off your skills and your passion for your career.

• Now read:
• Microsoft's 'trailblazing' plan to solve climate change will create a lucrative new market, Morgan Stanley says
• A former WeWork executive says the company is gearing up for another layoff, as it continues to shift to a real estate mindset
• Cisco is buying 400-employee startup ThousandEyes, which launched by using thrown-away computer servers and an unusual source of seed money

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence

• Offices, hotels, and malls have been emptied by the coronavirus. While some are reopening, the disruption has created a new normal. 
• The coronavirus has provided the largest experiment ever in remote work. Experts say it will forever change our relationship with the physical office.
• Flex-space providers like WeWork, Knotel, and Convene, rental startups like Sonder and Zeus Living, iBuyer Opendoor, and brokerages including Compass and Redfin have laid off or furloughed staff. 
• Companies are also rethinking their office footprints and warehouse needs. 
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

The coronavirus threw the real-estate world into disarray, as people empty out of offices, hotels, and malls and work from their homes. The spread of the virus and the economic disruptions that followed are transforming how people and companies finance, operate, and occupy real estate. 

Big firms are rethinking office needs — and some commercial real-estate deals are being put on ice. A surge in e-commerce, meanwhile, is fueling demand for warehouse space at companies look for new ways to reach customers.

We've also been tracking a slew of layoffs in the venture-backed real estate world, as empty short-term rentals and coworking spaces have hit once-buzzy industries hard.

Here's the latest news on how commercial and residential real estate is being upended, and how experts think these markets will play out in the long run. 

Have a tip about layoffs or major changes in this space? Contact this reporter through the secure messaging app Signal at +1 (646) 768-4772 using a non-work phone, email at anicoll@businessinsider.com, or Twitter DM at @AlexONicoll. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Here's everything we know right now: 

Latest news

• Bankrupt Neiman Marcus's $80 million flagship store in the glitzy Hudson Yards mega-mall is now being marketed as office space. It's another black eye for the city's retail market.
• Burning through cash and nothing coming in: We talked to 7 VC investors about what's keeping them up at night in their proptech portfolios
• Inside a 'big short' bet against malls: Investors are claiming wins, and a research analyst who said the wagers were misguided is out
• WeWork's US head of real estate is leaving the coworking giant as the firm works through a major turnaround attempt
• IBM is ditching a big WeWork office it has been renting in NYC — showing risks for the flex-space model as the pandemic prompts big companies to rethink real-estate needs

State of the commercial real estate market

• Lease obligations are 'suffocating' retailers — and a potential court fight over a Victoria's Secret flagship NYC store highlights a wider battle between tenants and landlords
• Big investors poured billions into student housing — thinking it was a recession-proof bet. Then the pandemic emptied campuses and turned that thesis on its head.
• Facebook is eyeing offices in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Denver to act as 'hubs' to support 50% of its workers staying remote — and it's a move that could upend Silicon Valley and NYC real estate
• Warehouses are the new darling of commercial real-estate thanks to a surge in e-commerce, with firms like Macy's and Boeing selling while Amazon snaps space up
• Knotel and insurance startup Rhino didn't disclose its CEOs were brothers when it struck a complex financial deal. Now a key partner could be on the hook as Knotel scrambles to pay bills, slashes staff, and plans to shed portions of its portfolio.
• Macy's is slashing the size of its brand-new global headquarters by nearly 40% in another drastic step to cut costs
• WeWork's revenue growth rate was cut in half in Q1, as the company burned through nearly $500 million in 'free cash outflow'
• Global firms are cutting down on their real-estate footprint as CEOs across industries are considering a permanent switch to remote work
• Meet the 4 dealmakers driving Blackstone's $325 billion commercial real estate portfolio. They walked us through how they're thinking about opportunities in the downturn.
• A blockbuster Facebook office deal is a make-or-break moment for the future of commercial real estate. 3 leasing experts lay out the stakes.
• Neiman Marcus just filed for bankruptcy, and it could mark a major blow to NYC's glitzy Hudson Yards — one of the most expensive mega-malls in US history. Here's why.
• Inside the drama over control of the iconic Chrysler Building: A real-estate tycoon and a prestigious college are renegotiating a critical $150 million deal
• The CEO of real estate heavy-hitter Eastdil explains the types of deals that are must-do right now — and warns that a 'de-retailing' trend is set to accelerate
• As WeWork and flex-space rivals stumble, 18 million square feet of space in NYC is at risk. Here's what that means for the real-estate market.
• Airbnb and RXR Realty are scrapping a partnership at Rockefeller Center that the home-sharing giant had touted as a '21st-century hospitality model'
• The lender to a trendy Brooklyn hotel is looking to offload an $80 million mortgage as the hospitality sector craters — and it's the type of deal distressed-debt investors have been waiting for
• Real-estate tycoon Aby Rosen is abandoning $600 million worth of acquisitions as the coronavirus slams New York City's multibillion-dollar sales market
• Major tenants are delaying big leases in NYC as they re-think their office space needs for the post-coronavirus world
• Blackstone bet big on 4 huge Las Vegas casinos. Then the coronavirus brought Sin City to a halt, right as the PE giant was trying to unload one of its multi-billion-dollar jewels.
• Airbnb-backed corporate housing startup Zeus Living is asking landlords to renegotiate their leases and withholding April and May rent until they sign
• Knotel is scrambling to pay millions in bills that started stacking up before the coronavirus hit, and hasn't paid April rent at some locations
• Leaked documents from Knotel show the WeWork competitor struggled to hit financial targets well before the coronavirus hit
• 'This is the day of reckoning' for companies like WeWork. 10 real-estate insiders lay out the future of flex-offices, and how employers are preparing now.
• Hospitality startup Sonder is pushing ahead with plans to open its largest NYC apartment hotel yet as coronavirus cripples the travel industry
• 7 charts show how the coronavirus could clobber real estate, from retail vacancies of nearly 15% to plunging office rents in Texas cities
• A surge in grocery deliveries is creating a huge opportunity for industrial real-estate developers. Here's how the coronavirus is transforming retail and warehousing.

The future of real estate

• Silver Lake just added to a string of recent travel bets by leading a $108 million investment in vacation property startup Vacasa
• Companies need to add contactless-entry tech to safely reopen offices. Here are 7 firms ranging from startups to huge conglomerates that are set for a surge in business.
• Robots, remote hires, and insourcing: A top UBS exec lays out how the Swiss bank is tackling the future of work and thinking about real-estate needs
• A smart home startup that raised $41 million from Amazon and Bain just launched an app that lets landlords and residents give remote access for deliveries, guests, and self-guided tours
• Zillow tapped a former US surgeon general for advice as it restarts its iBuyer business. She laid out how the company will get home-flipping up and running safely.
• Here's which real-estate tech startups will soar and which will flop in the new normal of how we occupy space, according to 7 top proptech VCs
• 10 CEOs from Coldwell Banker, JLL, Cushman Wakefield, and more lay out a post-pandemic future of how we'll buy, build, and use real estate
• The office as we knew it is dead
• Mandatory temperature-taking is largely seen as a critical way to return workers to offices. But some big NYC landlords are worried about its effectiveness.
• The future of real estate could be virtual open houses on Facebook. Coldwell Banker's CEO explains why the in-person industry needs to embrace going digital.
• 'We should be prepared for a new normal': 3 real estate experts on how the coronavirus is transforming offices and accelerating the rise of industrial property
• What to expect when you're back in the office: 7 real-estate experts break down what the transition will look like, and why the workplace may never be the same
• Virtual tours are being hyped as a way for commercial real estate giants like CBRE and JLL to keep deals flowing. Here's a look at how they work — and what factors they can't replace.
• Real-estate services giant JLL explains how the coronavirus could usher in a permanent 'paradigm shift' towards more remote work

Layoffs, pay cuts, and furloughs

• Airbnb-backed Zeus Living slashes almost half of its remaining staff less than two months after a round of layoffs
• Leaked WeWork document reveals a huge reorg under way for people who manage its buildings. Here's how the new structure works — and the complex process for staff to save their jobs.
• WeWork is rolling out global layoffs over Zoom and has kicked off talks to slash jobs in the UK as the coworking giant struggles to cope with coronavirus fallout
• Flatiron School slashed at least 100 jobs and is permanently shuttering some campuses as part of bigger WeWork cuts. Here's everything we know about the layoffs WeWork is quietly rolling out.
• Read the full memo Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky just sent to staff announcing 1,900 job cuts. It lays out severance details and which teams are getting hit the hardest.
• SoftBank-backed Compass is cutting pay and offering equity in exchange — a month after it slashed 15% of staff
• Some of WeWork's outsourced cleaners just lost their jobs — even as the coworking giant keeps offices open and charges members for space they can't use
• SoftBank-backed iBuyer Opendoor just slashed 35% of staff after the coronavirus forced the startup to halt its home-flipping operations
• Real-estate brokerage Redfin is furloughing agents and laying off 7% of staff as housing demand plunges
• Peter Thiel-backed insurance startup Jetty lays off 40% of staff days after pausing the sale of all new policies
• Flex-space unicorn Knotel just laid off 30% of workers and furloughed another 20% as the coronavirus cripples a once buzzy industry
• Days after laying off 20% of its workforce, Brookfield-backed Convene furloughs more than half of remaining employees due to coronavirus closures
• Brookfield-backed Convene just laid off 20% of its workforce as the coronavirus upends the flex-space and events industries
• Airbnb-backed Zeus Living just laid off 30% of staff as the coronavirus upends travel and hospitality startups
• The coronavirus is slamming iBuyers, and firms like Zillow and SoftBank-backed Opendoor are halting their capital-intensive home-flipping businesses
• SoftBank-backed real estate brokerage Compass just slashed 15% of staff and is pausing marketing as coronavirus slams the housing market

SEE ALSO: The ultimate guide to Wall Street's summer internships: Here's how they'll go virtual, and how to impress remotely

SEE ALSO: POWER PLAYERS: Meet the bankers, traders, investors, and lawyers seeing huge opportunities in a wave of corporate distress and bankruptcies

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak

• I drove a $34,115 Buick Encore GX, an all-new subcompact crossover SUV.
• The new Encore GX is larger than the previous-generation vehicle, but it has a smaller motor. If that's not confusing enough, the three-cylinder engine is actually more powerful then the old four-cylinder unit.
• The Encore GX combines appealing styling with premium options and a fun driving experience, as well as surprising versatility.
• The Encore GX also rises above mass-market competitors from Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan to challenge some smaller, entry-level luxury vehicles.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Buick Encore is a young-person's car that wears a badge long associated with more mature individuals. It shouldn't work, but it does, yielding impressive sales for the brand and cementing Buick's crossover-driven comeback from near-death during the financial crisis.

As a one-time Buick owner — my parents gave me their Regal in the 1980s — I've approached the Encore with skepticism since the "cute ute's" debut over half a decade ago. I'll never forget the first time I drove one, in 2014. Man, is this thing small, I thought.

But over the years, the Encore has stood out because it's part of a brand that's thought of as "near luxury" and is supposed to rise above the mass market and prepare buyers, in the General Motors' logic, to graduate to a Cadillac someday. 

That old brand ladder doesn't apply anymore, but for the Encore to make good on its brand promise, it needs to be comparable to a small BMW utes, even though one might want to match it up against Mazda and Kia.

For 2020, Buick has rolled out the all-new GX level of the Encore, and I spent a week testing it in New Jersey and New York. Here's how it went.

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!

Behold! The 2020 Buick Encore GX Essence. My $34,115 tester wore a "Chili Red Metallic" paint job. Before extras, the vehicle started at $28,500, and the base GX is about $24,000.

This isn't my first time at the rodeo with Buick's popular "cute ute." Back in 2017, I put the first-generation of the crossover up against the ...

... BMW X1 � and the Buick triumphed in the comparison!

Read about the Buick Encore's upset win.

The 2020 Encore GX is the second-generation of the subcompact hatchback, built by GM Korea and exported to the US. The GX is actually larger than the old Encore, which remains in the lineup.

The Encore is the smallest crossover in Buick's lineup. Crossovers have revived the brand and helped it shake off some of its stodgy image. Our GX Essence is the top trim level, above the less expensive Preferred and Select.

The Encore's design is sort of snazzy, and it hides some of the more plasticky elements in a good way. My tester enjoyed a $650 Sport Touring package that improves the front end. The headlamps are LED units with daytime running lights.

Buick went back to its old red-white-blue tri-shield badge badge design several years back, and it was a great call. The classic emblem sits nicely on the black-and-red grille, between chrome wings.

The fog lamps, scoops, and aerodynamic elements could threaten to overwhelm a vehicle this size, but the Encore hold it all together.

The wheels were 18-inch machined aluminum, what Buick calls "Medium Android."

The cute ute also had disc brakes on all four corners.

Small utes, unlike big SUVs, present from the rear more like European hatches or wagons. The Encore offers a winning look, with a trim back window, a slightly floating roofline, and an integrated spoiler.

The tail lights are perhaps a tad overcooked.

Viewed from a low angle, the Encore looks almost sporty.

The Sport Touring package is noted at the rear. For less than $700, it brings a lot to the visual party.

The dual exhaust ports and pseudo-diffuser might not be for everybody, but they grew on me.

The tri-shield is as proud on the liftgate as it is on the front grille. Buick, after all, was the original General Motors brand.

Here's something cool: The tri-shield projects in light on the pavement when you approach the rear of the Encore with the key fob.

Cargo volume is solid. Without the second row of seats in use, you have 24 cubic feet. That goes up to 50 cubic feet with the second row dropped.

There was space for a hat, but also for a pair of dining chairs ...

... And the Encore can easily handle grocery runs.

OK, time to pop the hood on the 2020 Buick Encore GX Essence and see what rude beast lurks at the heart of this ute.

It's a turbocharged. 1.3-liter � wait for it � three-cylinder engine! Before you scoff, this little guy makes a peppy 155 horsepower with 174 pound-feet of torque. A smaller three-banger is available: 1.2-liters of turbocharged fury, making 137hp with 162 lb.-ft. of torque.

The smaller engine is mated to a continuously variable transmission, but the 1.3-liter pipes its power to the front wheels via a nine-speed automatic. Fuel economy is 30 mpg city/32 highway/31 combined. An all-wheel-drive version of the Encore GX can also be had, but it starts at $31,500.

The Encore GX's interior has a split personality. The brown-and-black, two-tone upholstery is attractive, and most of the components exude a premium vibe.

But the Encore also some relatively inexpensive looking and feeling stuff here and there. Overall, the car punches above its weight, but it doesn't surround you with a luxury vibe.

The instrument cluster is a straightforward analog-digital combo.

And there's a head-up display that rises and retracts at startup.

The back seats are a bench design and they echo the color scheme of the front.

I thought the snug quarters would be challenging for road trips, but I took four family members on a 200-mile jaunt in the Encore, no complaints.

Legroom for even an un-large adult isn't great.

And there isn't much space to stretch out. But my rapidly ascending 14-year-old son offered no complaints.

The Buick's terrific infotainment system runs on an eight-inch touchscreen that's framed in chrome.

The system is used across GM vehicles. It renders crisp visuals, is brisk and responsive, and has 4G LTE Wi-Fi connectivity as well as OnStar, GM's safety and communications platform.

GPS navigation is faultless and reacts well to voice commands.

The system also features a suite of apps, as well as easy Bluetooth device-pairing and connectivity through USB ports. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available.

Topping it all off, this little Buick has wireless device charging, a feature that I see more often in luxury brands.

So what's the verdict?

The Encore part of the Buick lineup is a little weird right now, with the older, smaller Encore still in the picture, packing a four-cylinder engine, while the newer, larger GX gets the — believe it or not — beefier three-pot. 

But once you wrap your head around that, you can sit back an enjoy the Encore GX's charms. It really does manage to downsize some traditional Buick charms, such as smooth and quiet driving, while adding some youthful zest. It's definitely not your father's Oldsmobile, if you catch my drift, and it isn't even you father's Buick, although some of it is.

I put the vehicle through its paces and it came shining through. Puttering around the suburbs and running errands? Check. Road trip to the East End of Long Island from New Jersey with four of five family members in residence? Check. A bit of spirited motoring on some twisty roads? Check. The only thing I couldn't do was sample the Encore GX's 1,000-pound towing capacity, enough to pull a small trailer.

The Encore GX has a suite of driver-assist features — emergency braking, lane-keep, forward-collision warning, and so on — and advanced cruise control, but it doesn't offer any serious semi-driving tech. It hasn't yet been rated by the US federal government for crash-testing.

As far as the buying decision goes, it's a bit odd to consider a Buick that's so wee, if your impression of the brand is still large, vanished freeway cruisers like the Park Avenue. But plenty of consumers have taken to Buick's cute ute with an open mind: the Encore sold over 102,000 units in 2019, and the addition of the GX to the lineup should help Buick to attract entry-level customers.

I owned a big Buick for a while, and I'll be the first to admit that the Encore has always taken me some getting used to. But every time, I can't help but fall for the cute ute.

Welcome to Wall Street Insider, where we take you behind the scenes of the finance team's biggest scoops and deep dives from the past week. 

If you aren't yet a subscriber to Wall Street Insider, you can sign up here.

It was another tough week for the nation, with an outpouring of anguish and frustration continuing through days of protests. You can keep up with our newsroom-wide coverage here. 

Business Insider took a look at how execs at big companies around the country are responding to the deaths of George Floyd and other black people in America and addressing protests against police brutality, and wrote about how leaders can use their visibility to join broader conversations about race and racism and promote actions for change. Business Insider has also spotlighted some of the most influential leaders who are fighting inequality and driving changes in corporate diversity and inclusion.  

Despite social unrest across the US, investors were largely optimistic about the country's economic prospects after months of setbacks due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

US stocks surged this week, boosted by early signs of a labor-market recovery. And the IPO market came roaring back, with Warner Music Group raising $1.9 billion in the biggest initial public offering of the year. Other companies including marketing-software firm ZoomInfo as well as Shift4 Payments priced shares above their expected ranges and skyrocketed in their first day of trading. 

Shift4 Payments was the first company to appear in-person to celebrate a market debut at the New York Stock Exchange since the pandemic took hold. Shannen Balogh talked with Jared Isaacman, the payment-tech firm's CEO, about what it was like live-streaming a bell-ringing to Shift4's over 700 employees and how the company pitched itself to investors without meeting them in person. 

Read the full story here: 

The CEO of Shift4 Payments walked us through the 300-meeting virtual road show it took to launch its IPO

It was a busy week for real-estate news as well.

Silver Lake added to a string of bets in the struggling travel sector by leading a $108 million investment in vacation-property startup Vacasa. WeWork cofounder Miguel McKelvey is out, and his job as chief culture officer at the coworking giant won't be replaced. And Neiman Marcus's flagship store in the glitzy Hudson Yards mega-mall is now being marketed as office space.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the weekend, 

-Meredith 

PayPal power players

Digital payments have taken off amid the pandemic, with consumers and merchants alike looking for more ways to digitize the way they pay, both online and in-person.

PayPal in turn has seen record transaction volumes and sign-ups this year. Shannen Balogh took a look at the people who are driving PayPal's growth, launching new products, and positioning the payments giant to take off in an increasingly digital world.

Read the full story here: 

Meet the 8 PayPal execs shaping the payment giant's future as its stock rockets to record highs and e-commerce surges

Big bets on the future of retail space

Months before the pandemic hit the US, investors were placing bets against the future of shopping malls, while a major asset manager was positioning billions of dollars in mutual funds it controls on the other side of the wager. Dan Geiger took a look at how these complex bets were made, and how things are shaping up for each side in light of the pandemic. 

Read the full story here: 

Inside a 'big short' bet against malls: Investors are claiming wins, and a research analyst who said the wagers were misguided is out

What's in store for Wells Fargo's next wealth head

Wells Fargo has been searching for a new wealth and investment management head since February, when it announced a reorganization and leadership shuffle across business lines. The firm is primarily considering outside candidates as CEO Charlie Scharf, less than seven months at the helm of the scandal-plagued bank, continues shaping a new set of execs poached from rivals.

Rebecca Ungarino took a look at what's at stake for Wells Fargo, and what's in store for whoever takes over running the $1.6 trillion unit.

Read the full story here: 

Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf is looking at outsiders to run the bank's sprawling wealth business. Here's why it may be one of the toughest jobs on Wall Street.

Chatting with Webull's CEO

Webull started as a mobile app for market data and analytics. Now, the fintech that's pitched itself as a Robinhood rival has a slew of product launches planned for this year. And it's going after just about everyone in the crowded field of brokerages and wealth tech. 

"We will go after the Robinhood demographic. We will go after the robo-adviser demographic. And we also want to go after the advanced trader demographic," Webull CEO Anthony Denier told Rebecca Ungarino and Dan DeFrancesco.

Read the full story here: 

Robinhood rival Webull is plotting an aggressive growth push. The fintech's CEO laid out plans to add everything from robo-advice to wonky options trading.

On the move

• EmeraldRidge Advisors — the new fund coming from Tom Conheeney, Steve Cohen's former right-hand man — is adding some star power. Vincent Daniels and Porter Collins plan to join the not-yet-launched firm, sources told Business Insider. The pair of portfolio managers are most well-known for being featured as characters in the movie and book "The Big Short."
• Citi is forming a new investment banking team, combining the firm's activism and shareholder defense, data science, and corporate finance advisory groups. The new global unit, called strategic advisory solutions, will number more than 80 bankers and will be led by top activism-defense banker Muir Paterson.
• WeWork's head of real estate for the US, Canada, and Israel is leaving the company after two years. The executive, Aaron Ellison, had helped spearhead growth during the heady runup to the firm's peak valuation of nearly $50 billion.

Corporate finance

• Some cash-strapped US oil companies can't even afford Chapter 11 bankruptcies. That means they have to wait things out or liquidate.

Hedge funds and investing

• Stock-picking hedge funds are suddenly back in vogue— a welcome shift for an industry that's hemorrhaged billions
• Coatue's $350 million quant hedge fund pulled money out of the market in a move that exposes the dangers of data-driven trades

Law

• The post-pandemic law firm will consist of smaller summer classes, more remote workers, and a less decked-out office, a top legal recruiter predicts
• A Boies Schiller lawyer who represented a key witness in the Trump impeachment proceedings is jumping ship to Jenner & Block — adding to a list of 30-plus BSF partner exits

Fintech

• Buy now, pay later startup Affirm just launched a high-yield account with an eye-popping rate. Its CEO explains why the startup wants to cater to both saving and splurging.
• Startup Hippo is buying an insurer that has licenses to sell across the US — here's how the unicorn insurtech is flipping the script on incumbents
• $3 billion Carta is looking for a new COO, and WeWork's former CEO just turned down the job

Real estate

• Burning through cash and nothing coming in: We talked to 7 VC investors about what's keeping them up at night in their proptech portfolios
• Companies need to add contactless-entry tech to safely reopen offices. Here are 7 firms ranging from startups to huge conglomerates that are set for a surge in business.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid

• The protests raging across the country over the death of George Floyd have resparked conversation surrounding Silicon Valley's own longstanding racial problem. 
• Black founders and venture partners say that there is a systemic issue of racially-motivated exclusion in the startup ecosystem, citing the fact that 3% of venture capital partners and 1% of startup founders are black. 
• Monique Woodard, a former partner at 500 Startups who now runs her own fund, laid out her advice for what her well-meaning peers could do to spark change. 
• "Black entrepreneurs don't need a separate water fountain," Woodard said at a virtual event hosted by BLCK VC."You have to fix the systemic issues in your funds that keep black founders out and keep you from delivering better returns."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The venture capital industry has a dismal track record funding black founders, but a recent flurry of specialized funds devoted to underrepresented entrepreneurs risks creating a segregated startup landscape, according to a prominent VC investor.

As protests rage across the country over the death of George Floyd, numerous venture capital firms have issued statements condemning racial injustice and police brutality. Some have gone further and rolled out new programs.

 SoftBank and Andreessen Horowitz, for example, announced new venture and donor-advisory funds this week that will be charged with backing startups founded by African-Americans or people from other under-invested communities.

But at a gathering hosted by BLCK VC on Thursday, venture capitalist Monique Woodard cautioned against a venture firm establishing such a fund as a substitute for committing money to black founders from its existing funds — in other words, only setting aside a small sum of money and resources to avoid dealing with systemic issues in the firm pipeline.

Such thinking, she warned, could lead to a "separate but equal" mentality in the VC industry. 

"Black entrepreneurs don't need a separate water fountain," Woodard said."You have to fix the systemic issues in your funds that keep black founders out and keep you from delivering better returns."

Andreessen Horowitz has already pushed back against similar criticisms, and pointed toward a track record of funding diverse founders as proof that the new fund simply compliments those efforts.  

'A failure that can't be donated away' 

Just 3% of venture capital partners and 1% of startup founders are black, statistics that are being used to illustrate a damning lack of opportunity for startup founders and VCs outside Silicon Valley's traditional networks. 

Woodard, a former partner at 500 Startups who has actively tried to grow diversity in the industry for years, noted that the push to donate to charities or commit money to donor-advised funds was helpful.

But venture capitalists could drive even more meaningful change by acting in their capacity as investors, and writing checks for often-overlooked black founders who enter the startup ecosystem with more barriers to accessing seed capital from family and friends. 

"Not having startups led by black founders in your portfolio is a failure that can't be donated away," said Woodard, who now leads Cake Ventures.

Venture capitalists opening up their calendars for office hours with black founders should also be ready to offer more than their time, Woodard added. 

"Black founders are often overmentored and underinvested. Check your desire to open up office hours and mentor exclusively, versus your ability to write a check," Woodard said. 

With the same token, Woodard said that LPs should also seek out black venture fund managers, who often choose to start their own funds because partnerships at a blue-chip VC firm aren't often available. Putting money in those funds could be an invaluable boost to the community, Woodard said. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We tested a machine that brews beer at the push of a button

• Agility's Digit robot has human-like arms and legs.
• Digit was announced in 2019, with plans to begin shipping orders later this year.
• The robot is designed to work anywhere a human can and perform simple tasks. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Someday, your packages might be delivered by a robot that stands, walks, and hands things over to you.

Agility Robotics announced its newest model, Digit, in 2019. Digit has legs, a torso, and arms, designed to complete many of the same tasks human workers do in warehouses and factories. Agility says that it specifically envisions Digit being part of last-mile deliveries.

Ford became Digit's first buyer, with plans to use it for package delivery. Researchers are working on ways for Digit and Ford vehicles to communicate with each other. Adding arms is a major improvement over Agility's last bipedal robot, Cassie, according to the company. "Arms are simultaneously a tool for moving through the world — think getting up after a fall, waving your arms for balance, or pushing open a door — while also being useful for manipulating or carrying objects," CTO Jonathan Hurst explained. 

Digit will start shipping later this year, for a price in the "low-mid six figures."

Take a look at how it works. 

SEE ALSO: The company behind this $599 robot shaped like a bean claims it solves sleep problems if you cuddle with it � here's how it works

In 2017, Agility launched Cassie, a two legged robot used mostly for research.

In 2019, Digit was first introduced, adding a torso and arms to the two-legged base.

Agility says that Digit can perform many of the same basic tasks that human workers can.

They can work in offices and warehouses.

They're flexible and designed to work with minimal programming, so they can be more useful than heavy machinery built for only one specific purpose.

The torso has integrated sensing, and arms with four degrees of freedom.

Feet look almost hoof-like, designed to function on any terrain people can walk on.

Digit is designed to function outdoors as well, with sealed joints.

In one video, Agility shows the unboxing process.

According to the first product announcement from 2019, Digit should be up and walking within five minutes.

Source: Agility Robotics

Digit is comparable in size and weight to "a small human" according to Agility. Before being put together, it comes in two boxes that fit in most vehicles.

Battery installation and putting pieces together doesn't take any additional tools.

Digit can lift up to 40 lbs and catch itself from a fall.

Compared to Agility's earlier robots, Digit is better equipped to climb stairs and navigate different terrains.

• Rust, started by Mozilla, is an up-and-coming programming language used by a host of major tech companies and startups alike that's one of the fastest growing languages, according to Microsoft's GitHub.
• The developer site Stack Overflow found that it snagged the top spot as the "most loved" programming language for five years in a row. It also found that Rust developers make a median salary of $130,000. 
• Here's how developers at Amazon Web Services, Facebook, Discord, Dropbox, Fastly, Cloudflare, and Sentry use Rust — and why they love it so much.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In the past four months, Discord's app has become faster and its engineers have been able to write code more efficiently, too.

How? It's all thanks to a programming language called Rust. 

After first using the language to build a game downloader tool in early 2018, Discord decided earlier this year to completely ditch the Google-created programming language Go to embrace Rust, instead.

"When people want to play a game, they want to play it as quickly as possible," Jesse Howarth, staff software engineer at the gaming chat company, told Business Insider. "When you're developing something, you want to develop as quickly as possible."

That's where Rust comes in. Rust is known for being easy to write, secure, and memory efficient, and developers see it as an alternative to Go or legacy programming languages like C++ and C.

"You can get the performance, but it is easier to write code without having bugs," Howarth said, comparing Rust to C++. "You don't have the mental burden of thinking about memory management and pointers that turn people off of C++."

Discord is only one of many companies that have picked up Rust in the past few years, which Mozilla originally developed for its Firefox browser. It's widely used by companies like Amazon Web Services, Dropbox, Fastly, Microsoft, Facebook, and more. Facebook is even using it to build its new cryptocurrency project, Libra, and Rust's adoption grew 235% in the past year, according to data from Microsoft's GitHub, making it one of the fastest growing programming languages. 

"It's by developers, for developers," Fastly CTO Tyler McMullen told Business Insider. "Rust is clearly one of the most loved programming languages out there. We're pretty jazzed to be supporting it."

As McMullen says, developers are not only using Rust more, they adore it too: Rust topped Stack Overflow's list of favorite programming languages, according to its recent survey of 65,000 developers — for the fifth year in a row.

And knowing how to code in Rust pays well, too: According to the same survey, Rust developers in the US make a median salary of $130,000. 

How Rust began

Mozilla first launched Rust in 2010 when it was building a new browser core for Firefox. Most browsers, including Google Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge are written in C++, but Mozilla was dissatisfied with it, and wanted to build a completely new programming language that was more efficient. But Mozilla didn't want to just keep a budding language to itself or create it for a single purpose: It also wanted to build a community.

"We didn't want Rust to only be a language for building browser engines," Nicholas Matsakis, principal research engineer at Mozilla, told Business Insider. "We knew if we wanted to build a new language, it had to be widely usable."

Initially, Matsakis says the team thought of Rust as a more efficient replacement for C++. Most browsers, including Google Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge are written in C++. However they also put careful consideration and focus into figuring out how to solve another major pain point for developers: that they spend a disproportionate amount of time weeding out bugs. 

"That was the problem we were trying to solve," Matsakis said. "Could we get a level of control while protecting ourselves from those kinds of bugs so developers can focus on building the thing they're building?"

Besides Firefox, Mozilla also uses Rust for projects like Stylo, used for designing web pages, and its monitoring server.

Mozilla made Rust an open source language, meaning it was free for anyone to use, download, or modify. As more developers began experimenting with it and learning to use it, the positive reviews started spreading and companies like Facebook, Dropbox, and AWS started adopting it. 

Why companies like using Rust: 'Things kind of just work'

Discord decided to start using Rust because the company had issues with memory and speed when using Go.

Go, like many other programming languages, uses a memory management process called "garbage collection" that systematically runs through a program to free up memory that's not currently being used. Rust does not use garbage collection. Instead, it allows developers to encode "ownership" to keep track of memory. When memory is no longer being used, it's immediately freed up, which is faster and more efficient than waiting for a garbage collector to check that it's free. 

After Discord switched over to Rust, Howarth says that its app worked faster, and its engineers are able to develop more quickly as well.

The memory efficiency drew Dropbox to Rust as well. Since 2016, Dropbox has used it for building file uploading features, storage, code libraries, back end servers, and more. Dropbox software engineer Sujay Jayakar says that Rust has been a "huge success" for Dropbox and "a delight to program," because it gives programmers more control. Rust combines the best pieces of many long standing programming languages like C++, but adds innovations of its own, he says. 

"The benefits of Rust have been a huge, huge win for us," Jayakar said. "We've been able to move quickly. We don't need to spend as much time hunting down bugs."

Why the decrease in bugs? 

Beyond its memory management model, developers like that Rust's type system — how programming languages assign properties to different software components — prevents variables from being null (or having no value attached to them). This avoids the dreaded null pointer exception which occurs when a program references something that doesn't have a value — and has been referred to the "billion dollar mistake." Null pointers often crash programs, and Rust prevents them.

"You've heard of the 'billion dollar mistake' before," Facebook software engineer Mark Thomas told Business Insider. "Rust doesn't have that."

Facebook first started using Rust two and a half years ago with projects called Mononoke and Mercurial, which help engineers at the company track and monitor code changes. Facebook software engineer Thomas Orozco estimates that it made Facebook's programs about 10 times faster. 

"Things kind of just work when you do them in Rust," Orozco told Business Insider. "You can do the simplest thing you can do, and you get good performance out of it."

Most recently, Facebook picked Rust to implement core features for its new cryptocurrency Libra because of its security features – something that's especially crucial for that project. 

Rust has a steep learning curve, but it pays off 

One challenge of Rust is that it has a steep learning curve, developers say. However, once engineers understand it, it pays off quickly. 

"Over the past year, we've found that even though Rust has a high learning curve, it's an investment that has paid off," Ben Maurer, tech lead for the Libra-focused Facebook subsidiary Calibra, told Business Insider. "Rust has helped Libra build a clean, principled blockchain implementation."

Dropbox's Jayakar echoed that once a few people became proficient, they could make quick progress. 

"It paid off very very quickly," he said. "We were able to get our server in production and in our performance budget with a very small team at a very accelerated schedule." 

Another challenge, according to Cloudflare CTO John Graham-Cumming, is that since it's a newer language, some libraries — which include code needed to support and run an application — are not as developed. Engineers need to stay on top of new updates as the language matures. Still, he adds, these challenges are minor. 

"I think it's going to be one of the major languages that people use to write fast, safe code," Graham-Cumming told Business Insider. "I think it will coexist with other languages like Go for a very long time."

Why Rust has grown so fast

Rust has been able to grow in large part because of its open source developer community.

That's what originally drew AWS to it. 

AWS started toying with Rust in 2012, and it got more serious about it in 2015 and 2016 because more of its customers were talking about it as their preferred language, says Peder Ulander, general manager of open source at Amazon Web Services. 

"It's a way for us to go after that developer community early on," he said. "While it started within our infrastructure, it started to make its way into other teams."

Today, AWS uses Rust for its storage and compute platform, as well as its serverless product Lambda, which allows developers to run and scale their code without having to manage the servers. Rust is also core to AWS's open source virtualization-technology project Firecracker. 

"It's a very friendly and safe programming language," Ulander adds. 

Since Rust is open source, developers have also built a plethora of tools to help support Rust. It's still maintained by Mozilla, and other companies have said that the Mozilla team is especially supportive.  

Discord, for example, has a symbiotic relationship with Mozilla's Rust team. The Rust team itself uses Discord, so Discord's team can hop on their shared chat if they have any questions about Rust. 

"One thing worth noting is the Rust community is really doing a great job," Howarth said. "There's a lot of community libraries out there that people are working hard to work really well and a lot of thought that goes into it."

Fastly's McMullen agrees that the developer community around Rust is very welcoming. 

"It doesn't matter if you don't know C: The Rust community is welcoming to people of all these different backgrounds," McMullen said. "The community around the languages are indicative of the people who started the language."

Mozilla's Matsakis works with the Rust open source community, and he says one of the first things the team did was create a process for submitting changes and improvements to the language. Today, he sees developers using it for servers, embedded systems, cryptocurrency, and more.

"The community drives and helps us steer and ensure the language and meeting people's needs," Matsakis said. 

Finally, developers say Rust has grown so fast simply because developers love it.

"Rust is growing very fast to a large degree because people really enjoy writing it. It shifts the mental model in how you program," Armin Ronacher, director of engineering at Sentry, told Business Insider. "People that start working with the language, they develop a new sense of how to write code and it's very appealing."

The future of Rust

Today, developers use Rust in web applications, servers, game engines, operating systems, virtual reality, and other systems-intensive tasks. And now, Rust is increasingly being used for embedded devices – where before, the older programming language C has reigned supreme – as well as with WebAssembly, which is used for running modern web browsers.

Other languages have come and go, Facebook's Thomas says Rust is here to stay, thanks to its reliability, robustness, and ability to stop prevalent bugs. 

"You don't need to be on your toes when you're coding in Rust," Thomas said. "Rust is the first language in a long time that brings something new to the table. Other languages promise a lot but don't bring real improvement to the developer ecosystem."

AWS's Ulander predicts that companies will increasingly pick Rust as a default language for infrastructure projects. He says the last few years have been the "awkward teenage years" where more people are paying attention to it and starting to learn it. Now, Rust is in the middle of a "growth spurt."

"It's easy to use, extremely well put-together, the community is engaging and very easy to participate in, and you have all the needs of documentation that makes for a very good developer experience," Ulander said. "That's usually the biggest challenge. Rust gives them that sense of security and fun."

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at rmchan@businessinsider.com, Signal at 646.376.6106, Telegram at @rosaliechan, or Twitter DM at @rosaliechan17. (PR pitches by email only, please.) Other types of secure messaging available upon request. 

SEE ALSO: The 14 most loved programming languages, according to a study of 65,000 developers

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A cleaning expert reveals her 3-step method for cleaning your entire home quickly

• Every week, Parrot Analytics provides Business Insider with a list of the nine most in-demand original TV shows on streaming services in the US.
• Netflix's "Lucifer" returned to the list this week after news on the series. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Netflix's "Lucifer" is back on the audience demand charts this week.

The streaming giant had renewed the series for a fifth and final season, but TV Line reported this week that star Tom Ellis has signed a new deal that could lead to a sixth season.

Every week, Parrot Analytics provides Business Insider with a list of the nine most in-demand TV shows on streaming services in the US.

The data is based on "demand expressions," Parrot Analytics' globally standardized TV-demand measurement unit. Audience demand reflects the desire, engagement, and viewership weighted by importance. The list is ranked by how much more in demand the top series are than the average TV show in the US.

SEE ALSO: The top 9 movies on Netflix this week, from 'Clueless' to 'Uncut Gems'

9. "The Witcher" (Netflix)

Times more in demand than average show: 29.5

Description: "Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster-hunter for hire, journeys toward his destiny in a turbulent world where people often prove more wicked than beasts."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 1): 67%

What critics said: "I wouldn't say it's the Game of Thrones killer Netflix were wishing for, but The Witcher is still worth a watch." — New Zealand Herald (Season 1)

Season 1 premiered on Netflix on December 20. See more insights for "The Witcher."

8. "Lucifer" (Netflix)

Times more in demand than average show: 29.7

Description: "Bored with being the Lord of Hell, the devil relocates to Los Angeles, where he opens a nightclub and forms a connection with a homicide detective."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 4): 100%

What critics said: "The more I think about it, the more I stand by my belief that the majority of season four is among the very best episodes the Lucifer has to offer." — AV Club (Season 4)

Season 4 premiered on Netflix on May 8, 2019. See more insights for "Lucifer."

7. "Money Heist (La Casa de Papel)" (Netflix)

Times more in demand than average show: 31.7

Description: "Eight thieves take hostages and lock themselves in the Royal Mint of Spain as a criminal mastermind manipulates the police to carry out his plan."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 4): 75%

What critics said: "Money Heist does an exceptional job of crafting intricate, layered stories, but it needs to be extra careful depending on how Arturo's story plays out." — Tell-Tale TV (Season 4)

Season 4 premiered on Netflix April 3. See more insights for "Money Heist."

6. "Defending Jacob" (Apple TV Plus)

Times more in demand than average show: 36.7

Description: "In this gripping, character-driven thriller, a shocking crime rocks a small Massachusetts town and one family in particular, forcing an assistant district attorney to choose between his sworn duty to uphold justice and his unconditional love for his son."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 1): 71%

What critics said: "'Defending Jacob' has great ingredients, but the portion size is off." — New York Times (Season 1)

Season 1 premiered on Apple TV Plus on April 24. See more insights for "Defending Jacob."

5. "Harley Quinn" (DC Universe)

Times more in demand than average show: 36.9

Description: "Harley Quinn has taken down the Joker and Gotham City is finally hers for the taking…whatever's left of it that is. Gotham has become a desolate wasteland, left in ruins, following the huge earthquake caused by the collapse of Joker's tower. Harley's celebration in this newly created chaos is cut short when Penguin, Bane, Mr. Freeze, The Riddler, and Two-Face join forces to restore order in the criminal underworld. Calling themselves the Injustice League, this group now stands in the way of Harley and her crew from taking sole control of Gotham as the top villains of the city."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 2): 88%

What critics said: "Harley's choice to drag her feet instead of seizing control at such an opportune time doesn't quite gel with the determined woman we've come to know during the previous season." — AV Club (season 2)

Season 2 premiered April 3 on DC Universe. See more insights for "Harley Quinn."

4. "Titans" (DC Universe)

Times more in demand than average show: 40.8

Description: "'Titans' follows young heroes from across the DC Universe as they come of age and find belonging in a gritty take on the classic Teen Titans franchise. Dick Grayson and Rachel Roth, a special young girl possessed by a strange darkness, get embroiled in a conspiracy that could bring Hell on Earth. Joining them along the way are the hot-headed Starfire and lovable Beast Boy. Together they become a surrogate family and team of heroes."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 2): 81%

What critics said: "Titans is not going to blow anyone away but it will still appeal to established fans and has some nice moments for fans of DC Comics history." — JoBlo (Season 2)

Season 2 premiered on DC Universe on September 6. See more insights for "Titans."

3. "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (Disney Plus)

Times more in demand than average show: 46.6

Description: "From Dave Filoni, director and executive producer of 'The Mandalorian,' the new 'Clone Wars' episodes will continue the storylines introduced in the original series, exploring the events leading up to 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.'"

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 7): 100%

What critics said: "Its impressive visuals and balance of action and focus on the characters makes it feel as if the series had never left." — Flickering Myth (season 7)

Season 7 premiered on February 21 on Disney Plus. See more insights for "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

2. "The Mandalorian" (Disney Plus)

Times more in demand than average show: 49.0

Description: "After the fall of the Empire, a lone gunfighter makes his way through the lawless galaxy."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 1): 93%

What critics said: "Even those suffering Star Wars fatigue will delight in this knockout series following the adventures of hard-bitten bounty hunter Din Djarin." — 3AW (Season 1)

Season 1 premiered on Disney Plus on November 12. See more insights for "The Mandalorian."

1. "Stranger Things" (Netflix)

Times more in demand than average show: 58.3

Description: "When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 3): 89%

What critics said: "There's a new scene stealer in Priah Ferguson, who plays Lucas' sister Erica, whose bratty attitude translates into hilarious disposition for the entire group." — US Weekly (Season 3)

• Stack Overflow, a popular Q&A site for developers, surveyed 65,000 users about the programming languages they use, and which ones they have no interest in continuing to use.
• Based on those responses, Stack Overflow compiled a list of the "most dreaded" programming languages. 
• This survey was conducted in February, before the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic in March.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Some programming languages are known to cause massive headaches for developers.

Sometimes it's because these languages hard to learn. Sometimes it's because they're older and more likely to have bugs in the code, or even crash. Or sometimes, writing in a certain language is simply frustrating. 

Stack Overflow, a Q&A site for developers with 50 million unique monthly visitors, is especially well-positioned to identify the top languages that developers are coding in. Last week, it released its annual survey where it asked over 65,000 developers about themselves and their programming habits. That included the languages they love the most, and the languages they dread.

To find out the "most dreaded" languages, Stack Overflow asked developers what language they use, but have no interest in continuing to use. 

Sadly for many developers with headaches, some of their most dreaded languages are also the most popular in terms of how widely they are used.

Notably, this survey was conducted in February, before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic. Different routines and challenges around remote work may have affected developers' choices, but we'll just have to wait until the next survey to see how, if at all. 

For now, here are the "most dreaded" programming languages, according to Stack Overflow, in descending order. You'll find the top source of dread at the bottom of the list.

SEE ALSO: Stack Overflow, the site where millions of programmers get their questions answered, is reducing its workforce by 15% because of coronavirus

10. R

R is used for statistical computing, graphics, and data analysis. It includes various statistical tools, like classification and modeling, and makes it easy to create graphs. 

9. Java

Java was first developed by Sun Microsystems, which has since been acquired by Oracle. It's one of the most popular programming languages, and it's a core language for companies like Twitter and Netflix, as well as many Android apps.

8. C++

The programming language C++ dates back to 1979. The Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup created it while he was working on his PhD thesis, as a way to add additional features to an older programming language, C. Today, it's still one of the most popular programming languages, as it's the core language in many operating systems, browsers, and games.

7. Ruby

Ruby is an open source programming language created by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto, who blended the best parts of his favorite languages to create it. It was released in 1995, and since then, it's become one of the most popular programming languages, with several conferences and meetups based on the Ruby language. Ruby developers also earn some of the highest salaries: a median salary of $71,000 globally and $130,000 in the U.S.

6. PHP

PHP, which stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, is an open source programming language for web development and creating interactive web pages. It also works well with databases, and has been used by Facebook and Yahoo. (Yes, the "P" in the language's full name stands for "PHP.") Today, it's one of the most popular programming languages. 

5. C

C is one of the oldest programming languages and still one of the most popular today, developed by American computer scientist Dennis Ritchie in 1972. It was designed to be a general-purpose language, for programming a wide array of computer systems and hardware. Many popular languages today, including Java, PHP, and JavaScript, have their roots in C. It's also one of the highest paying programming languages in the US. C developers make a median salary of $125,000.

4. Assembly

Assembly is a programming language that helps developers program a specific computer device or architecture to handle operations and commands. While a computer's processor only understands strings of 1's and 0's, Assembly helps developers write commands for these processors.

3. Perl

Perl is a family of programming languages that's over 30 years old, built by programmer Larry Wall. It's used for prototyping, large scale projects, text manipulation, system administration, web development, network programming, and more. It's also one of the highest paying programming languages. Worldwide, Perl is the top paying programming language, as developers make a median salary of $76,000. In the U.S., Perl programmers make a median salary of $130,000.

2. Objective-C

Objective-C is based on the C programming language and is used to build OS X and iOS operating systems and apps. It was developed originally by Brad Cox and Tom Love in the 1980s and used for NeXT computers. Eventually, Apple took over the language to use for its iOS and Mac OS X.

1. Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)

Microsoft VBA, or Visual Basic for Applications, takes the top spot for the most dreaded programming language. It's built into most Microsoft Office applications like Word and Excel to automate repetitive tasks, like cleaning up tables, building a pop-up reminder, and formatting documents. 

• As Americans continue to take to the streets to protest police brutality and systemic racism, chief concerns for protestors include personal safety and digital security.
• Your smartphone harbors tons of personal information and can also be used as a tracking device.
• Here are some precautions that can help prevent surveillants from potentially taking advantage of your data.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Thousands of Americans are protesting police brutality and systemic racism across the nation following the police killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd.

Of the precautions that protesters should consider to stay safe is how to prepare for your phone being broken or lost. It could also be confiscated by authorities, who could then potentially access information about you and those you communicate with. Scores of data are located in the apps on your phone, and your smartphone can also be used as a tracking device.

All of which is to say safeguarding your phone against external forces might be a good step to take before attending a protest.

Here's how to prep your phone before joining a demonstration.

1. Leave your phone at home if you can.

As Vice reports, perhaps one of the most surefire ways to prevent your phone from falling into the hands of someone you don't want it to is to participate in the protest without it.

You can instead coordinate with others by word of mouth. Establish meeting places and contingency plans for regrouping in case the crowd is dispersed and you lose track of each other. Familiarize yourself with the city grid and streets. 

You could also buy a burner phone to use solely for the demonstration, The Verge reports. They expire after a certain number of days and can cost anywhere between $1 and $100 — Digital Camera World rounded up some in February.

2. If you do take your phone, back up your photos, contact numbers, and other data beforehand.

Losing or breaking your phone could mean thousands of photos, notes, and other data could be lost. Consider backing up your phone's contents to a computer or to the cloud, according to Gizmodo.

As PC Mag notes, you can also temporarily delete apps from your phone and then reinstall them at a later date.

3. Encrypt your phone.

By using an encryption key, or password, to unlock your phone, you're creating a barrier between your phone data and anyone that could potentially take advantage of it.

For iPhone users, if you use a passcode to get into your device, then you're set — it's already encrypted.

4. But consider relying on a password to unlock your phone instead of a fingerprint or facial recognition.

If law enforcement asks you to punch in your password to unlock your phone, you retain your Fifth Amendment right to refuse, as Gizmodo reports.

But biometric methods, such as unlocking with your fingerprint or face scan, aren't as protected in case you're taken into police custody. Officers could still potentially hold your phone up to your face or press your finger to the device to unlock it.

Consider deactivating Face ID and use a strong password instead. 

5. Consider disabling WiFi, Bluetooth, and location services on your phone.

These functions can track your location, a feat that some companies and brands are able to take advantage of for advertising purposes, according to Consumer Reports.

If you don't need Wifi, GPS, or Bluetooth, you can switch them off to prevent your exact location from being monitored. As CR notes, some smartphones are designed to switch these settings back on by default, so be sure to keep tabs on whether or not they stay disabled.

You can read how to stop your iPhone from tracking your location here.

You can also put your phone in Airplane Mode to prevent tracking, which shuts off WiFi, Bluetooth, and cell data in one fell swoop. As The Verge notes, doing so prevents cellphone carriers from communicating with cell towers to locate you. It also shields against stingray attacks, which is when a device masquerades as a cell tower to connect and gain access to phone data. In 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union found 75 law enforcement agencies across 27 states in the US that owned these types of tools, as The Markup notes.

But Airplane Mode differs depending on what phone you have, so disabling it isn't always an airtight solution.

You can also simply turn your phone off and only use it when you need it. But that can make it more difficult to quickly take photos, record videos, or be able to quickly make an urgent call. 

6. Use anonymous messaging apps to communicate.

Phone message encryption has its limits, such as in the case of an iPhone user messaging with an Android user — the text automatically converts to SMS, which isn't encrypted. So experts have recommended using secure chat apps such as Signal or WhatsApp, according to The Markup.

Signal has seen a spike in user downloads as protests have been held across the US.

As Consumer Reports notes, the app provides a setting that deletes messages soon after the recipient reads it, which can help protect both parties on either end of the conversation in the event that one of them loses their phone.

7. You should also disable notifications.

If you don't do so, and your phone is lost or confiscated, others may be privy to the messages and alerts that appear on your home screen, as The Markup points out.

You'd be protecting both you and the people sending you messages by preventing their texts from appearing.

SEE ALSO: The face mask is a political symbol in America, and what it represents has changed drastically in the 100 years since the last major pandemic

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet

• Silicon Valley futurist Paul Saffo blasted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to take any action on aggressive posts from President Donald Trump that many – even some of the social network's own employees — felt were encouraging violence against protesters. 
• Saffo, a renowned forecaster who actually predicted the rise of a world dominated by a company like Facebook, said Zuckerberg's decision presages the decline of the social network.
• He said he sees the social network ending up like AOL, the once dominant web portal that was overtaken by new players led by Google and Facebook.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

A renowned Silicon Valley futurist says Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's refusal to take any kind of action on President Donald Trump's aggressive posts is an omen of the decline of the iconic social network.

Paul Saffo, the veteran forecaster who has predicted major tech trends over the past three decades, said Zuckerberg's refusal to flag or delete Trump comments that many — including some of the social network's own employees— feel were inciting violence towards protesters has caused serious harm to the 16-year-old company. Facebook could not be reached for comment.

Saffo is well-known for predicting major trends in technology, including the expanded role of sensors and robotics, and the  transformation of the global economy. He predicted the rise of a world dominated by a company like Facebook. In 1994, a decade before the social network was born, he described a future dominated by "those who control the filtering, searching and sense-making tools we will rely on to navigate through the banal expanses of cyberspace."

Facebook quickly emerged as the dominant social media platform and a tech powerhouse now worth $645 billion. But the social network also became controversial as a massive platform notorious for spreading hate speech and misinformation.

Saffo compared Facebook to AOL. the once dominant portal at the dawn of the Internet age in the 1990s whose influence and reach subsequently shrank as it was overtaken by new players including Google and Facebook.

"This is Facebook's AOL moment," Saffo told Business Insider. "Its forward advance is going to be stalled."

'It's a complete mystery to me that he would do that'

President Donald Trump is better-known for his use of Twitter, though his tweets there are usually also posted on his official Facebook page. Twitter, however, recently began fact-checking some of the president's posts. That prompted Trump to issue an executive order intended to crack down on social networks.

Zuckerberg appeared to take Trump's side, slamming Twitter's decision and saying "that Facebook or internet platforms in general shouldn't be arbiters of truth."

That triggered a wave of criticism against Zuckerberg. "It's a complete mystery to me that he would do that," Saffo said. "It just totally puzzles me."

The controversy escalated on May 28th, when Twitter placed a label on a Trump tweet that threatened violence against George Floyd protesters in Minneapolis, requiring users to click through a warning that it was "glorifying violence" before viewing the post.

Facebook chose to leave the post alone entirely, prompting a backlash that included a virtual employee walkout. Late on Friday evening, Zuckerberg pledged to revisit Facebook's rules on posts related to state violence.

'We're right on the cusp'

This all comes amid growing worries about Facebook's role in the spread of misinformation and hateful content, and its impact on democracy in the US and other countries.  Last year, cofounder Chris Hughes said Facebook should be broken up as he criticized Zuckerberg's "unprecedented and un-American power."

Facebook, which now has 2.6 billion users, continues to expand although the pace of growth has slowed. Saffo says Facebook is wrestling with mounting criticism as new social platforms and technologies are emerging.

"We're right on the cusp," he said. "The current social media order is more or less 20 years old and we change social media about every 20 years."

Saffo predicts the rise of new immersive platforms based on virtual reality technologies. Facebook is pushing into that market with Oculus, its suite of virtual reality hardware and software products.

But Saffo said he doesn't see Facebook, given its internal turmoil and the controversial policies Zuckerberg has embraced, leading that trend.

"Can a company like Facebook cross over into that world?" he said. "I think the answer's no." He added: "I would say Facebook is going to start down the path of AOL, a long slow slide into oblivion."

Got a tip about Facebook or another tech company? Contact this reporter via email at bpimentel@businessinsider.com, message him on Twitter @benpimentelor send him a secure message through Signal at (510) 731-8429. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Claim your 20% discount on an annual subscription to BI Prime by clicking here.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Pikes Peak is the most dangerous racetrack in America

• A public school in the Philippines held a cyber graduation ceremony for sixth graders.
• Remote-controlled robots wearing caps and gowns received diplomas with screens displaying students' faces on top.
• Graduates and their families watched through a Facebook livestream.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Graduates of the Senator Renato Compañero Cayetano Memorial Science and Technology High school will probably remember their sixth-grade graduation forever. On May 29, the school held a socially distant graduation ceremony for sixth-grade students using four robots, while families watch through a Facebook livestream. 

As COVID-19 has spread around the world and closed schools and offices, people have found increasingly creative ways to connect using virtual tools.

A group of eight elementary school students held a virtual graduation ceremony in the popular game "Minecraft." Students at the University of Pennsylvania were inspired by that ceremony, and recreated their entire campus in "Minecraft," even holding a relay event in the virtual world.

BBT University in Japan took a similar approach to this school outside of Manila, using "Newme" robots and Zoom to let students experience a version of graduating. 

Here's how the sixth graders did it.

SEE ALSO: A reopened Dutch restaurant is using robots to implement social distancing by serving and seating customers � see how it works

The graduation audience was empty, all students and family watched from their homes.

A few teachers and administrators were there to take photos and make sure everything went smoothly.

Prerecorded videos of each student played on tablets connected to the robots.

A prerecorded video from the mayor was also played on a large screen.

As students had their turn on stage, their faces were shown on the screen.

That screen was also used to display families' reactions at home, like this mother.

Teachers pressed "play" on each video for all 179 students to cross the stage and receive diplomas.

The robots were remote-controlled as they were guided across the stage.

Folders with lists of students kept the event running as planned.

Administrators attached diplomas to the robots' arms, the closest thing possible to handing it to them directly.

The remote-controlled robots were made by the school's Taguig Robotics Team using recycled parts.

The robotics team has reportedly won several awards at international competitions, and used those schools to give sixth graders a chance to graduate.

"We know how deeply symbolic a graduation ceremony is for graduates and their parents ... this is why we came up with a program that can help them celebrate their accomplishment while respecting health standards and policies during the COVID-19 community quarantine," Mayor Lino Cayetano said.

The mayor also clarified that the safety of the students was the school's first priority.