Remember the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live?

“Isn’t the special?” was the catch phrase she used to cover up being really judgmental.

According to a new study from the University of North Carolina, a lot of us might want to work harder at covering up just how judgmental we are…at least, if you work in HR and vet candidates based on their social media channels. It seems the practice known as cybervetting is just about making judgments about moral character.

Researchers conducted interviews with 61 HR professionals ranging from in-house staff to executive recruitment consultants to those working at staffing agencies.

“One of the things that cropped up repeatedly was that cybervetting not only judges people’s behavior, but how that behavior is presented,” said Amanda Damarin, an associate professor of sociology at Georgia State University and the study’s co-author. “For example, one participant noted that his organization had no problem with employees drinking alcohol, but did not want to see any photos of alcohol in an employee’s social media feed.”

Press release: https://www.newswise.com/articles/study-highlights-pitfalls-associated-with-cybervetting-job-candidates

Now that we don’t need instructions from Two Wild and Crazy Guys about who not to invite when we can all go out and have fun again, we can take a look at The Naked Collective’s North American Product Launch.

The Irish start-up has Acosta Canada & Acosta USA to put its vegan friendly Mude range of drinks in retailers across North America. The company launched in Ireland in 2020 and has secured distribution deals in the UK & Italy. The company claims its products are especially popular among health & wellness conscious B2B and B2C customers due to its patented Superliquid^® that contains natural ingredients.

Press release: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/the-naked-collective-partners-with-acosta-to-launch-mude-health-drinks-range-into-north-american-retail-834211963.html

L-Spark, a Connected MedTech industry accelerator has announced that its client MySafe Society has been awarded $3.49 million from Health Canada’s Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP). The harm reduction solution was founded in 2019 in response to Vancouver’s opioid tragedy.

MySafe uses Dispension secure kiosks to provide safe quantities of pharmaceutical-grade opioids to eligible participants. The system also creates opportunities for consistent monitoring, education, and assistance to manage drug use. It also reduces drug overdoses. The kiosks are equipped with a Verified Identity Dispenser (VID) system that is equipped with biometric palm vein technology. The VID provides accurate verification of a registered user’s identity before they can access the restricted products stored inside.

“In addition to directly addressing the toxic drug supply, MySafe greatly reduces the need to acquire money and drugs through the informal economy, which is life-changing for people caught up in the desperate pursuit of procuring drugs. Early results of the MySafe Project evaluation indicate that all participants were able to decrease their use of street opioids and most reduced their engagement in the street economy,” said Dr. Mark Tyndall, Executive Director of the MySafe Society.

Press release: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/l-spark-medtech-accelerator-startup-dispension-industries-enables-health-canada-to-scale-up-mysafe-project-with-its-automated-distribution-technology-845385624.html

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Kate Baggott is a former Managing Editor of B2BNN. Her technology and business journalism has appeared in the Technology Review, the Globe and Mail, Canada Computes, the Vancouver Sun and the Bay Street Bull. She is the author of the short story collections Love from Planet Wine Cooler and Dry Stories. Find links to recent articles by following her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-baggott-9a0306/

• B2B News for Friday, 5 March: Cybervetting Job Candidates, a Naked Product Launch & a B2B Overdose Prevention Deal – March 4, 2021
• B2B News for Wednesday, 3 March, 2021: the Thrill of Embargoed News, New CFOs & Disclosure Rules with Morals – March 2, 2021
• B2B News for Monday, 1 March, 2021: Appointments, Mergers and Product Launches to Start the Month – March 1, 2021