Today’s Big Story

The Future of the Web

The age of being 'very online' is over

How much time do you spend online? Yeah, I’m not exactly sure, either. But I’m certain it’s more time than we think. But how we spend time in front of our myriad of screens is changing.

According to Mashable, there was once a time when memes and internet-born jokes were a novelty enjoyed by relatively few people—the kind who would describe themselves as ‘Extremely Online’. Maybe you'd take pride in quoting a niche Vine that only a few select IRL friends will have seen and spent your evenings connecting with mutuals on Twitter or scrolling niche fandom accounts. Crucially, you had an understanding of internet culture that the average person probably didn't. But now? In 2025, it's very difficult to make that claim, right?

Because while internet trends and buzzwords were once an inside joke, it's now practically impossible to keep anything on social media a secret. Just look at influencer Ashton Hall's six-hour morning routine, which has blanketed the online landscape over the past few days. Or look at the trajectory of “BRAT summer”, a concept which was cool for, approximately, five minutes and is now being referenced by Facebook mums as part of their daily vocabulary and was used in Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

Of course, some blame Twitter. Many people who once made their internet usage a personality trait called the old Twitter their home. But since the site has been taken over by Elon Musk and renamed to the aptly apocalyptic-sounding X, a lot of internet veterans are struggling to find a place where they can share the memes and internal monologues they once relied on the little blue bird for. Some of those who migrated to TikTok are now facing the fact that the app might not exist for much longer, with the new ban in the U.S. looming on April 5 and many creators looking for alternative ways to share content online.

A new survey from The Verge and Vox Media addressed this moment of internet fragmentation and they concluded that the future of the internet is likely smaller communities, with a focus on curated experiences. “In this emerging AI era, the very ideas of community and human connection are poised for redefinition. Brands and platforms will weaponize the terms in a bid to capture the attention of their ideal audiences.” But where are communities really headed? How should this evolution shape how creators and media companies build products and marketers engage with their audiences? These are the questions that will define the next phase of the internet.

Trump’s Tariff ‘Liberation Day’

It’s a little over a week away, but the details are still a mystery

For over a month now, President Donald Trump and his administration have been promoting April 2 as a kind of tariffs Super Bowl, during which all of his many promised import taxes will go into effect. But, as he has demonstrated many times before, Trump once again appears to be offering a lot of hype and little action.

White House officials are trying to tamp down expectations of the tariff “Liberation Day”, and are planning to spare specific sectors from wide-ranging tariffs expected early next month, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Now, a significantly reduced batch of tariffs will be announced, and more could follow later, although both reports said the situation remains fluid and the ultimate decision could change. Late on Monday, Trump told reporters “I may give a lot of countries breaks, but it’s reciprocal … but we might be even nicer than that. You know, we’ve been very nice to a lot of countries for a long time.”

According to Axios, stocks jumped in early trading after reports that the much-hyped day of tariffs might not be as harsh or broad as previously expected. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration will likely impose reciprocal tariffs on about 15% of nations with ongoing trade imbalances with the U.S. If the administration does hold back on specific sectoral tariffs, that could spare industries like autos and pharmaceuticals—goods that he says should be produced domestically.

DNA Dox?

23andMe files for bankruptcy as experts urge customers to delete data

I have a very privacy-focused friend who I remember warning me to never give my DNA and personal information to 23andMe, and I was like “Why? What’s the worst that could happen?” Well, the answer to that rhetorical question is still unclear, but now that the company has declared bankruptcy, there are certainly some exciting possible outcomes …

23andMe's saliva-based kits have been helping customers learn about their ancestry since 2006, but it’s recently been struggling with weak demand for its testing kits. A past data breach also damaged its reputation, so the $50 million company is trying to find a buyer, but will continue operating while the bankruptcy court facilitates the sale process. According to Reuters, the company's shares fell 50% to 88 cents on Monday after co-founder Anne Wojcicki, who made multiple failed takeover bids, resigned as CEO.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a “consumer alert” regarding the "trove of sensitive consumer data 23andMe has amassed," reminding Californians that they have the right to direct the company to delete their genetic data, destroy their test samples and revoke permission for genetic data to be used for research. And since the company will continue its regular operations while going through the Chapter 11 process, users will have access to their accounts and can at least partially delete their information for now.

The Shaky Future of Plant-Based Meat

Does America just want good, old-fashioned red meat?

Personally, it’s hard to beat a good steak—seared and juicy, packed with flavor and protein. But, I know people have all sorts of reasons to cut back on their meat consumption or cut it out entirely. And for a while, it seemed like plant-based alternatives were coming to replace traditional meat entirely.

Guidelines such as “Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants” may have disproportionately appealed to liberals in big cities, but the meat backlash has been unavoidable across the United States. The Obama administration passed a law to limit meat in school lunches. And then, meat alternatives such as Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat have flooded grocery-store shelves, and fast-food giants started serving them up in burgers and nuggets. But suddenly, meatless meat isn’t sounding so appealing.

Rather than continued growth within the industry, declining sales, mounting layoffs and shuttered factories dominate headlines today. Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger are in trouble. Of course, it doesn’t help that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is touting the benefits of fast food chains cooking fries in beef tallow. But the reality is that a lot of people today are interested in eating more wholesome, homemade and simple foods, which processed meat-alternative products simply don’t deliver.

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Keep it simple.