Month: July 2016

They're everywhere! (credit: Pokemon Go)

Sometime over the weekend, Niantic's Pokémon Go went from being a fun time waster for nostalgic Nintendo fans to a bona fide viral hit that's drawing mainstream media coverage and questions from well-meaning but confused parents. The humble geolocation game has shot to No. 1 on the iTunes App Store download and earnings lists and is already threatening to surpass Twitter in daily users on Android devices. Nintendo stock is up about 25 percent today on news of the game's success, and Spotify says all five of its most-streamed songs over the past week have been Pokémon-related.

This is officially a phenomenon.

In the wake of the game's stratospheric success, you could already sense a few embryonic media storylines brewing over the weekend. Here are some of the major angles we can already see developing around Pokémon Go and some instant, skeptical analysis you can break out when you want to show off your industry smarts at your next dinner party.

(credit: Simon Fraser University - University Communications)

The European Union's proposal for a chapter on energy and raw materials in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement was leaked on Monday, just as the fourteenth round of talks between the EU and US got underway in Brussels.

However, the EU's plans have been criticised by the European wing of Friends of the Earth. Its economic justice programme coordinator Paul de Clerck said: "The EU's leaked proposal on TTIP and energy is in complete contradiction with Europe's commitments to tackle climate change, and the Paris agreement. It will flood the EU market with inefficient appliances, and consumers and the climate will foot the bill. The proposal will also hinder measures to promote renewable electricity production from wind and solar."

Green MEP Claude Turmes told the Guardian: “These proposals are completely unacceptable. They would sabotage EU legislators’ ability to privilege renewables and energy efficiency over unsustainable fossil fuels. This is an attempt to undermine democracy in Europe.”

Elon Musk has teased that he will release a "top secret Tesla masterplan" later this week, amid speculation that everyone's favourite eccentric tech billionaire is trying to distract attention from a recent spate of bad publicity.

In a tweet posted on Sunday, the electric car firm's chief said that this release would be "Part 2" of his plan—seemingly referring to a post he wrote almost exactly a decade ago, entitled "The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me)."

It discussed Tesla's early forays into affordable, non-sports electric cars, the vehicles which would become the Tesla 3 sports sedan, and the Tesla S four-door car, so there's a good chance he's about to preview a major new release.