Five stars, Zero trust

Jan02
by on January 2, 2026 at 4:23 pm
Posted In: Insider, Opinion


Five stars used to mean something. People still read reviews before buying software. They just don’t trust them the way they used to. And no, this isn’t about fake reviews or obvious scams. Those are easy to spot. The real problem is more uncomfortable. The review economy didn’t collapse. It slowly drifted away from its original purpose. User reviews began as authentic buyer guidance, but they’ve morphed into strategic assets for businesses. Scroll through any app store or e-commerce site: everything is “top-rated” and lavished with praise. If every product gleams with a 4.8/5 rating, those stars start to lose…

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A 2025 recap for Tech & AI

Dec31
by on December 31, 2025 at 10:28 am
Posted In: Insider


2025 was the year technology stopped being tomorrow’s promise and became today’s anchor. What began as a surge in generative AI and platform innovation two years prior crystallized this year into concrete shifts in how people work, governing bodies legislate, and markets invest. Across continents and industries, the arc of technology bent toward practical impact, regulatory reality, and economic weight. At the heart of the year’s story was artificial intelligence’s jump from novelty to infrastructure. LLMs and multimodal models moved beyond demos into everyday workflows, influencing how documents are written, campaigns are conceived, products designed, and code generated. Enterprises that…

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A New Era for TNW.

Dec22
by on December 22, 2025 at 6:32 pm
Posted In: Insider


My name is Alexandru Stan, and this article continues the dialogue I began following the acquisition of TNW. Following the recent transaction, TNW Spaces remains with the Financial Times, while we continue the mission of the website, the events, and the global community. We already have a dedicated team at tekpon operating the platform, events, and community initiatives. Our objective is to expand and strengthen the team as TNW accelerates its next chapter. TNW is already a global media platform with millions of readers. We’re not starting over. We are building forward. Why TNW matters today Technology is entering a…

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Engineering’s AI reality check

Dec19
by on December 19, 2025 at 12:49 pm
Posted In: Insider


Most engineering leaders cannot answer the one question their CFO is about to ask: “Can you prove this AI spend is changing outcomes, not just activity?” Every December, roadmaps get locked, budgets get approved, and board decks are polished until everything looks precise and under control. Underneath, many CTOs and VPs are still working with partial visibility. They have a feel for their teams, but not a reliable view of how work moves through the system, how AI is really changing delivery, or where time and money actually go. For a while, that was survivable. Experience, pattern recognition, and cheap…

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Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

Dec16
by on December 16, 2025 at 8:31 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


Not long ago, like many of you, I read what I feared might be The Next Web’s final article. In late September, TNW’s co-founder announced that the tech conference and news site would be winding down, no more events, no new stories. It felt like the end of an era; the news hit hard. Yet, just a few weeks ago, a twist arrived: the tech platform Tekpon acquired 100% of TNW’s media and events brand from the Financial Times, ensuring that this nearly two-decade legacy will continue to thrive. While, myself, trying to read people’s opinions on this topic, I…

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