retail therapy
Bankrupt Toys ‘R’ Us seeks $16MM for exec bonuses.
Obviously, they need to retain the top talent that drove them to bankruptcy in the first place. | learn more
retail therapy
The DNVB encyclopedia.
Andy Dunn has created a list of what he calls Digitally Native Vertical Brands. These are companies that are born online, sell their own products, and own their customer relationships. I hadn’t heard this term before this week. Now I […]
tech, startups, internet
Why micro-influencers on Instagram are growing.
This doesn’t look like it belongs in the tech section on the surface. But this is yet another example of how tech is enabling new classes of business – the niche lifestyle media brand. Remember, until very recently media was […]
on the blockchain
Thoughts on the state of bitcoin and ethereum.
About 3 weeks ago Union Square Ventures partner Albert Wenger shared his thoughts. They’re worthy of a quick read. | learn more
tech, startups, internet
The war to sell you a mattress on the internet.
Fast Company dives into the murky world of mattress reviews and affiliate relationships. | learn more
tech, startups, internet
How a spontaneous mesh network helps connect Puerto Rico.
I was introduced to the concept of an emergency mesh network in the book CyberStorm, where a series of events occur that take out all internet infrastructure on Manhattan. goTenna’s mesh device is making this fiction a reality in Puerto […]
oh, chicago
Illinois now 2nd largest producer of CS grads.
Some positive news for our fair state! We’re now awarding nearly 10% of the nation’s computer science degrees. | learn more
fun facts
An AI bot that messes with email scammers.
Some beautiful mind created an AI chatbot that automatically holds conversations with email scammers (did you ever win the Nigerian lottery?), effectively tying them up for hours. | learn more
under the microscope
Stem cells can now grow in 3D.
Until now, researchers and doctors had to grow programmed stem cells on 2D surfaces. This means they needed a lot of space. Now, Stanford researchers have figured out how to do this in 3D with a special polymer-based gel, reducing […]
big ideas
IBM’s Watson for Oncology is falling short of expectations.
“Three years after IBM began selling Watson for Oncology to recommend cancer treatments, it’s falling short of the lofty expectations IBM created for it.” After reading this, I feel like the criticisms are valid, but mostly a mismatch of marketing […]