Civic Features

French voter outreach nonprofit A Vote partnered with Tinder on "Match with Democracy" campaign. It got these information cards in front of the electorate, with links to additional info. Not the worst use of this dating app!

"Earlier this year, the Mozilla Firefox Profiler became the first major web browser developer tool to display carbon emissions alongside performance and resource utilisation metrics."

Belatedly sharing The Verge's postmortem tribute to Google's Trusted Contacts app

Skype (owned by Microsoft) offers free calls to Ukraine

"Stay connected by calling to Ukraine for free and translating your Skype and phone calls from/to Ukrainian language. To help further, we support Ukraine through these non-profit organizations and you can as well through Skype Credit donations.

I need to do a full roundup of Ukraine support within tech products, as there have been many. Quick props to Google, for having the courage to put one right in the top corner of Gmail (!), and matching another $5M in donations not just for employees but for their billion-plus users (assuming this notification went to everyone).

Airbnb has activated its excellent Airbnb.org housing program for Ukrainian refugees and promoted it right on the Airbnb.com homepage. I like the program because it leverages Airbnb's core strength, a huge network of shelter, in times of great need.

And lastly (for now), Gorillas instant grocery delivery service has added virtual products that make it easy for customers to add Ukraine support to their orders. It's a savvy way to make the app feel like a place to do good when the company is struggling with its labor relations.

Snapchat's Run for Office 'mini' is already producing mainstream-app results:

"In the first partial week, more than 24,000 Snapchat users expressed interest in working with one of those organizations to explore running for local positions, such as a school board or city council. Another 46,000 users nominated a friend to run." (Axios)

This feature follows the winning formula of mainstream social app (Snapchat) + NGO partner (Run for Something) + civic data provider (Ballotready).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbHuSHGZf5U

Google launched a whole bevy of climate features across its products. Nest thermostats got the Renew program, which can shift energy usage to times of day with more clean energy, among other things. Google Maps and Flights will promote more fuel efficient routes, and Google Search and Shopping will highlight climate-friendly options for queries about products like cars and appliances. The bikeshare stations in Google Maps have already made my own commutes easier.

Airbnb.org boosted its existing refugee housing program by announcing it will fund temporary stays for 20,000 Afghan refugees, in addition to any stays donated by hosts.