Ben Schott

Meta’s Mediocrity Is Actually the Message

Facebook Inc., you may have heard, has changed its name to Meta. Setting aside, briefly, the vital debate on Facebook Inc.’s myriad evils, and focusing specifically on the name and brand, there are some elements of note. Given there is no “good” name for a “bad” company — and that nothing…

User Indulgence Is the New User Interface

Twitter doesn’t have an edit button. Despite a chorus of protest over many years, the company has declined to bow to user demand — indeed, as Covid-19 raged, Twitter trolled its 330 million users with this taunt: A tweet saying "You can have an edit button when everyone wears a mask". This…

Covid-19 Has Made Us All Dashboard Junkies

As Covid-19 picked up speed and ferocity, digital dashboards were everywhere. Published by global health organizations, national and local governments, medical centers and media outlets, pandemic dashboards visualized an evolving narrative of life and death — from case numbers and mortality…

Covid’s Emotional Toll on the World’s Youngsters

As Covid-19 drags into a new school year, and second waves threaten many countries lucky enough to have escaped their first, the more intangible consequences of illness, lockdown and quarantine are becoming gradually apparent. According to a disturbing new report from Save the Children, the…