Nigel Farage is the latest celeb selling personalised video messages

1. Cameo and Memmo: the lockdown rise of video shout-outs

Companies

What do ex-Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, football pundit Glenn Hoddle and rapper Vanilla Ice have in common? They are among the “growing number” of celebrities selling personalised video messages online.

During the past 12 months, many celebs, sports stars and political figures have supplemented their lockdown income by offering video shout-outs to customers via websites such as Cameo and Memmo, with prices “ranging from around £15 to several hundred pounds”, Sky News says.

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With the pandemic hitting the entertainment industry hard, lockdowns have prompted an increase in celebrities signing up to Memmo because they have “a lot more time on their hands”, said co-founder Gustav Lundberg Toresson.

Memmo has more than 3,000 people in its “talent base” while Cameo has more than 40,000 “talents”, The Guardian reports. A personal video from “Mr Brexit” Farage will cost Cameo customers £75.

2. ‘Hacking forum’ exposes data from 533m Facebook users

Technology

Data from approximately 533m Facebook users has been leaked online. According to Business Insider a user in a “low-level hacking forum” exposed personal information from Facebook users in 106 countries, including 11m in the UK. It included data such as “phone numbers, Facebook IDs, full names, locations, birthdates, bios, and, in some cases, email addresses”.

The data appears to be several years old but it is “another example of the vast amount of information collected by Facebook and other social media sites and the limits to how secure that information is”, The Guardian reports.

3. Mid-sized firms can ‘spearhead UK’s economic recovery’

Economy

The UK’s economy is set for a “significant boost” from mid-sized businesses planning to invest and recruit following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

According to a survey of 500 business leaders, accountancy and advisory firm BDO found that 86% of businesses plan to recruit more staff in the next six months and 75% predict a return to pre-pandemic revenues within a year. Describing mid-tier firms as the “engine of the economy”, BDO partner Ed Dwan said they can “spearhead the UK’s economic recovery”.

4. LinkedIn staff enjoy RestUp week

Companies

Nearly 15,900 full-time workers at LinkedIn will this week be enjoying some extra rest and recuperation. As part of the professional social network’s “RestUp” week, staff will be given the chance to recharge their batteries in order to avoid burnout.

In a statement to news agency AFP, a LinkedIn spokesperson said there is “something magical” about the entire company taking a break at the same time. “And the best part? Not coming back to an avalanche of unanswered internal emails.”

5. Mansion from The Godfather relisted with a $105m discount

Property

Fans of The Godfather could get their hands on an iconic piece of real estate that features in the classic 1972 film. The mansion in Beverly Hills will set them back $89.75m (£64.7m), but this is a $105m (£75.7m) discount from its $195m (£140m) asking price in 2016, Yahoo! reports.

The famed Hearst Estate, which is also known as Beverly House, was built in 1927 and sits on 3.5 acres of prime Los Angeles real estate. It has been put back on the market after the owner declared bankruptcy on the property.

In The Godfather, the mansion was the home of movie producer Jack Woltz, who “woke up with a severed horse head in his bed after crossing the Corleone family”.