9 great reads from CNET this week
What the heck was all that going on with GameStop and Reddit? We dig in. Plus: Talking alien encounters and getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
We were hardly done obsessing about Bernie's mittens when that GameStop thing blew up. You couldn't have missed it, even if your thoughts rarely drift Wall Street's way. It's a tangled tale of startled short sellers, a highly motivated Reddit community and skyrocketing stock prices, with a dash of Elon Musk for good measure.
It certainly consumed our thoughts, and the bandwidth of a handful of our writers. We've been tracking all the action and the reactions, the fluctuations and frustrations, the bits and pieces and the bigger picture. It's made for quite a week.
You can get a taste of that here, among the in-depth features and thought-provoking commentaries that appeared on CNET this week. So here you go. These are the stories you don't want to miss:
Reddit's GameStop short squeeze is the new Occupy movement, and it terrifies Wall Street
Commentary: The gains are rooted in disdain for existing financial institutions, tapping into the same emotions as the protests from a decade ago. And it has institutional investors freaking out.
AMC, GameStop stock swings: Reddit's 'insane' campaign becoming a 'train wreck'
Investors congregating on social media pushed up GameStop's stock value to spite Wall Street short sellers. But experts say it can't last.
Harvard's Avi Loeb more sure than ever we were visited by alien spacecraft
The renowned scientist made waves claiming the interstellar object 'Oumuamua might be extraterrestrial. Now he's doubling down.
I just got my second COVID-19 vaccine dose. Now what?
The Pfizer shot offers protection from the worst of the virus, but it doesn't offer a return to normal life. Not yet, at least.
My kids can't stop playing terrible video games
Commentary: Can't they just like what I like?
Dogecoin: The joke cryptocurrency that somehow became real
It started with a tweet, but in a matter of months it was one of the world's most highly valued cryptocurrencies.
How coronavirus vaccine selfies help fight the battle against misinformation
Misinformation on vaccines has run rampant on the internet, but some people are hoping vaccine selfies could help open a dialogue with skeptics.
Unsolved mystery of Russia's missing hikers may have finally been cracked
The mystery has spurred countless conspiracy theories, but we may finally have the answer.
A recipe for Apple VR headset success
Commentary: It's time for Apple to get fully into VR and for Google to take another stab at it.
