Personal Tech: What’s Hot (and What’s Not) This Black Friday

Tips to optimize the tech in your life. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, November 8, 2018 [NYTimes.com/PersonalTech »]( Each week, the Personal Tech newsletter rounds up the best stories about technology and how we use it in our everyday lives. That includes tips about troubleshooting devices, advice on being a smarter shopper and news stories about the tech companies that make your gadgets and apps. [The line outside a Best Buy store before it opened on Black Friday in Overland Park, Kan., last year.]( The line outside a Best Buy store before it opened on Black Friday in Overland Park, Kan., last year. Charlie Riedel/Associated Press [Tech Fix]( [What’s Hot (and What’s Not) This Black Friday]( By BRIAN X. CHEN To help shoppers get started, here’s a cheat sheet of the products to track, and the ones to ignore. ADVERTISEMENT [How to Tell if Those Black Friday Deals Are Actually Worth Buying]( By ALAN HENRY Black Friday and Cyber Monday mean hundreds of online deals, discounts, and in-person doorbusters, but these tips will help you tell which ones are really worth your money. Tech Fix [How to Buy a Great TV This Black Friday]( By BRIAN X. CHEN Black Friday tends to be when prices for great TVs drop to their lowest. But there are pitfalls, so we put together a playbook for how to snag the best TV for you. [Online Photo Printing for the Holidays (and Any Time)]( By WIRECUTTER STAFF Want to share photos this holiday season (and other times)? We have recommendations for cards, photo books, and photo printing services. [How to Buy a Used Phone Without Getting Fleeced]( By WHITSON GORDON New smartphone season is here, but last year’s models can offer similarly impressive features at great discounts. These tips will help you grab one without regretting it later. [Delay, Deny and Deflect: How Facebook’s Leaders Fought Through Crisis]( By SHEERA FRENKEL, NICHOLAS CONFESSORE, CECILIA KANG, MATTHEW ROSENBERG AND JACK NICAS Russian meddling, data sharing, hate speech — the social network faced one scandal after another. This is how Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg responded. [How Facebook Wrestled With Scandal: 6 Key Takeaways From The Times’s Investigation]( By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE AND MATTHEW ROSENBERG An investigation by The New York Times revealed how Facebook fought back against critics during a flood of crises — with delays, denials and an influence campaign in Washington. State of the Art [How Google Photos Became a Perfect Jukebox for Our Memories]( By FARHAD MANJOO Google Photos, introduced in 2015, has become one of the most emotionally resonant pieces of technology today. It is also shaping our narratives along the way. [Are You Ready for the Nanoinfluencers?]( By SAPNA MAHESHWARI Influencers are so 2014. And microinfluencers are so last week. Now advertisers see value in people with as few as 1,000 followers: the nanoinfluencers. Tech We’re Using [The Essentials for Covering Silicon Valley: Burner Phones and Doorbells]( By JACK NICAS Reporting on secretive technology companies sometimes means finding people who don’t want to be found. Jack Nicas, who covers Apple, relies on some old-school methods. [May A.I. Help You?]( By CLIVE THOMPSON Intelligent chatbots could automate away nearly all of our commercial interactions — for better or for worse. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [personaltech_newsletter@nytimes.com](mailto:personaltech_newsletter@nytimes.com?subject=Personal Tech Newsletter%20Feedback). Snapchat Co-Founder on Finding Balance in the Digital Era December 4 in Washington, DC Explore digital overload with Snapchat cofounder Evan Spiegel, Representative Tim Ryan, author of “A Mindful Nation” and Danah Boyd, principal researcher at Microsoft Research and the founder of the Data & Society research institute. The conversation will be moderated by Katie Benner of The New York Times. Buy tickets [here](. We’ve got more newsletters! You might like Bits.  Get the latest technology news and buzz from around the web. [Sign up for the Bits newsletter.](  ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@NYTimes]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Personal Tech newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018