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	<title>Rest of World - The Platform Economy</title>
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	<link>https://restofworld.org</link>
	<description>Reporting Global Tech Stories</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 10:01:16 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<copyright>Copyright 2026 Rest of World</copyright>
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	<item>
		<title>China’s “Are you dead?” app only feeds loneliness anxiety</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2026/sileme-chinese-app/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ananya Bhattacharya</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2026/sileme-chinese-app/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How human digital behavior thwarts our connection – and some healthier approaches to solving isolation.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[The popularity of the Chinese app Sileme — which means “Are you dead?” — has me questioning what personal connection in the digital age means to someone like me, a...]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Six years, two presidents, and one app: TikTok’s U.S. saga explained</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2026/tiktok-deal-oracle-china-us/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2026 03:35:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Damilare Dosunmu and Itika Sharma Punit</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2026/tiktok-deal-oracle-china-us/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ByteDance says a group of investors led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX will set up a U.S.-focused TikTok to avoid a federal ban.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[China’s ByteDance has struck a deal with a clutch of investors to set up a new U.S.-focused TikTok that complies with the country’s regulatory requirements. ByteDance will retain a 19.9%...]]></content:encoded>
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	<media:credit>Munira Mutaher/Rest of World/Redux </media:credit>
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	<item>
		<title>“I Deliver Parcels in Beijing”: Chinese literary sensation reaches U.S.</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/hu-anyan-deliver-parcels-beijing-book-china-interview/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Viola Zhou</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/hu-anyan-deliver-parcels-beijing-book-china-interview/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hu Anyan, a former courier who wrote a best-selling book about the grueling job of delivering packages, discusses life, technology, and the future of work.
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[Hu Anyan has held 19 jobs in six cities across China — selling bicycles, running a clothing store, working in a bakery, making 3D architectural renderings, doing night shifts at...]]></content:encoded>
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	<media:credit>Wang Zhao/Getty Images</media:credit>
	<media:description>A delivery man pushes a trolley along a street in Beijing on September 20, 2022. </media:description>
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		<title>China’s biggest delivery app brings its disruptive playbook to Brazil</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/meituan-brazil-launch-food-delivery/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gabriel Daros</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/meituan-brazil-launch-food-delivery/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Meituan’s arrival is likely to transform the delivery industry — which has already seen the unlikely partnership between rivals Uber and iFood.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled to China in May, where he signed several deals including a five-year $1 billion commercial agreement with Wang Xing, the co-founder and...]]></content:encoded>
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	<media:credit>Victor Moriyama/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:credit>
	<media:description>Food delivery couriers rally during a national strike in Sao Paulo, Brazil. </media:description>
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		<title>What was Builder.ai and why did it shut down?</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/builderai-ai-explainer-bankrupt/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2025 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rest of World</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/builderai-ai-explainer-bankrupt/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The AI startup promised to make it easier to build apps and websites. Employees say the company’s tech wasn’t up to its marketing, which helped pave the way to bankruptcy. ]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[This article is adapted from Rest of World’s recent feature: Inside the collapse of Builder.ai What did Builder.ai actually do? Builder.ai was founded in 2016 by Sachin Dev Duggal, a...]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>What Meta&#8217;s dispute in Nigeria means for its millions of users</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/meta-nigeria-fine/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 May 2025 08:23:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Damilare Dosunmu</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/meta-nigeria-fine/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Facing a penalty for data breaches, the social media giant is threatening to pull WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram from Africa's most populous nation.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[Meta is in trouble in Nigeria. Local authorities have fined Meta $290 million for regulatory breaches, prompting the social media giant to threaten pulling Facebook and Instagram from the country....]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Uber and Chinese-owned rival 99 have a common enemy in Brazil</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/sao-paulo-motorcycle-ride-hailing-ban/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Gabriela Sá Pessoa</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/sao-paulo-motorcycle-ride-hailing-ban/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The ride-hailing rivals are taking on the government of São Paulo, which banned motorcycle taxis.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[“Uber Moto: Rio de Janeiro has it,” declared a digital billboard along one of São Paulo’s busiest streets last month. “São Paulo doesn’t.” The ad, from Uber, is the latest...]]></content:encoded>
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	<media:credit>Veronica Grech for Rest of World</media:credit>
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		<title>Uber wades into a fierce price war to stay competitive in India</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/uber-india-price-war/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Apr 2025 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cheena Kapoor</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/uber-india-price-war/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Upstarts and political pressures are forcing Uber to play by new rules as they reshape India’s ride-hailing economy.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[India’s homegrown ride-hailing startups are forcing Uber to rethink its strategy. In February, the Silicon Valley giant ditched its commission-based pricing for two- and three-wheeler segments, allowing drivers to pay...]]></content:encoded>
		<media:content medium="image" url="https://restofworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-Redux-h_20.93099833-768x432.jpg" width="768" height="432" />
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	<media:credit>Andy Ridder/VISUM/Redux</media:credit>
	<media:description>New Delhi, Indien. Blick von der Dachterrasse des Vivek Hotel in New Delhi auf das pulsierende Leben dieser Großstadt. © Andy Ridder / VISUM</media:description>
		</item>
	<item>
		<title>Xiaohongshu’s global pivot: The surprise winner of the TikTok ban wants to keep its new users</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/xiaohongshu-rednote-expands-overseas-tiktok-refugees/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2025 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Peiyue Wu</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/xiaohongshu-rednote-expands-overseas-tiktok-refugees/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The China platform faces political risks and e-commerce challenges in its overseas push ahead of a possible IPO.]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[Xiaohongshu, the Chinese social media platform known as RedNote, has been forced to adjust its overseas strategy after unexpectedly attracting millions of so-called TikTok refugees. But working to retain —...]]></content:encoded>
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	<media:credit>Rest of World</media:credit>
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		<title>How a Chinese giant is disrupting Saudi Arabia’s food delivery</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/delivery-app-keeta-hungerstation-saudi-arabia/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Mar 2025 10:00:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kinling Lo</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/delivery-app-keeta-hungerstation-saudi-arabia/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Can Keeta, Meituan’s global brand, use the Middle East as a springboard for other international markets?]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[Keeta, the international arm of China’s biggest food delivery app, Meituan, has become the third-largest food delivery platform in Saudi Arabia just four months after its overseas debut. Its aggressive,...]]></content:encoded>
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	<media:credit>Keeta/Rest of World</media:credit>
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	<item>
		<title>Everything you need to know about Xiaohongshu</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/rednote-xiaohongshu-what-to-know/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 21:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Rest of World Staff</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/rednote-xiaohongshu-what-to-know/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As fears of a TikTok ban grow, Americans are turning to Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book.” Here’s how the lifestyle app became a global phenomenon.
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[Xiaohongshu, which translates to “little red book” in Chinese, is a lifestyle e-commerce and social media platform. Think Instagram meets Tiktok: an app whose feed offers an infinite scroll of...]]></content:encoded>
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	<media:credit>Getty Images</media:credit>
	<media:description>A phone screen showing Xiaohongshu, which translates as &quot;Red Note&quot; or &quot;Little Red Book&quot;, on January 15, 2025 in Suqian, China. </media:description>
		</item>
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		<title>U.S. TikTokers flock to Xiaohongshu, baffling and bonding with Chinese users</title>
		<link>https://restofworld.org/2025/tiktok-refugees-rednote-xiaohongshu-chinese-users/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=feeds</link>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jan 2025 22:02:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kinling Lo and Viola Zhou</dc:creator>
		<guid>https://restofworld.org/2025/tiktok-refugees-rednote-xiaohongshu-chinese-users/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Americans are joining the Chinese social media app en masse to protest an imminent TikTok ban. ]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[American high school student Venus Rios sparked a flurry of chatter when she posted this week on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, writing in Chinese characters.&#160; &#8220;Hi Chinese netizens! I...]]></content:encoded>
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	<media:credit>Rest of World</media:credit>
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