Welcome to Things We Read This Week, a weekly post featuring articles from around the internet recommended by New York Times team members. We will be sharing articles we read and liked, things that made us think and things we couldn’t stop talking about. Check back every Friday for a new post.

Newsbiz

Upworthy Was One Of The Hottest Sites Ever. You Won’t Believe What Happened Next

Through its mix of catchy headlines and viral social distribution, particularly on Facebook, Upworthy was labeled one of the fastest-growing media sites of all time back in 2013. But then Facebook tweaked its newsfeed algorithm and everything changed. NPR dives into what has happened since. - Recommended by Chase Davis, Editor, Interactive News

Tech Talk

Using CSS Variables Correctly

Mike Riethmuller expertly explains CSS Variables and how to use them effectively in a project. He highlights the benefits of separating logic from design with some great examples including using custom properties for modular scale headings as well as proper scoping to reduce the use of media queries. Good read for anyone who cares about organized CSS. - Recommended by Natalya Shelburne, NYT Beta Web Developer

A Brief History of the UUID

This meandering history of the UUID, by way of introducing a new k-sortable UUID implementation called “KSUID” gives this workaday unique identifier the attention it deserves. As a developer, I’m always eager to pause and learn more about the widespread computing concepts we often take for granted, and this post doesn’t disappoint! - Recommended by Jeff Sisson, CMS Web Developer

About Design

Matter’s seventh class of media startups has a focus on security and rebuilding trust in media

By taking a human-centered, prototype-driven approach, the entrepreneurs in this program are looking at media in a unique light. For example, one of the companies created an SMS platform that connects users and journalists in a two-way messaging-based conversation and another company is working to open up podcasts to search engines for greater discovery in audio storytelling. The Times is an investor in Matter which makes it all the more important to leverage Matter’s design-thinking and entrepreneurial processes in our everyday work. - Recommended by Hannah Cassius, Product Manager, Customer Product

What Works in e-Commerce [PDF]

Meta-analysis of experiments is an excellent way to reflect on the value contributed by A/B & multivariate testing programs. This paper from the research team at Qubit delivers a sober analysis of 6700 e-commerce experiments (contrasted with the usual case study hype) and highlights the value in applying behavioral psychology to experiment design. - Recommended by Shane Murray, VP, Data Insights Group