I think that many of the same people offended by the Quick Bar would be the same people that are willing to (and often do) pay for a client. What reasons could Twitter have for being averse to a freemium model in this area of their business? $1/month to go advertising free? I'd pay it. Since they introduced it, I've always found the trending topics area of Twitter to be the worst thing about it. I, like so many others, object to having it stuck in my face every time I open their app.
That would be a huge mistake. Doing that kills the value of their product to advertisers. You've just taken away the customers most desirable to advertisers (those willing to spend money). Ad pricing falls off the cliff.
Being "on the ground" I can attest to the accuracy of this story. I saw some real squabbling going on today over dwindling salt supplies. Motivations seem mixed; some rumours say salt guards against radiation others that due to radiation poisoning seawater, salt will soon be scarce. Both equalling hilarious.
As someone who lives in China, I can vouch for some of the ideas expressed here. They have a phrase that basically says you need a car and a house before you're considered eligible for marriage. For a number of reasons, however, many of the things described in this article can't last forever: younger people (known here as "jiu ling hou" or post-90s generation) typically are far less concerned about saving money, and love to spend. The one child policy has been relaxed too - if you were both single children born after the 80s, from an ethnic minority, live in one or two of the biggest cities or live in the countryside and your first child was a girl you can have a second child. Also a little-reported and not officially recognised fact is that the statistics are not as bad as they seem. In China, you must register your child (for a "hu kou") in order for them to get an education etc. In the countryside many families will choose to only register their first son so as not to incur fines. This means that there are likely millions of women and girls out there not recognised by the state.
So there's millions of Chinese women and girls out there who've never received an education, and this is a country that is trying to build a middle class...
Yeah they actually did a census last year that was supposed to be the first to include these "unofficials". But yes, this does mean that lots of women have never received an education. The rich/poor divide here has to be seen to be believed.
