blogger better: 2016-02-07

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Imagining Snapchat’s Future

{rss:content:encoded} Imagining Snapchat’s Future http://ift.tt/1Xr3S9O http://ift.tt/1PUnWQi February 14, 2016 at 08:00AM snapchat-repeat-bg

Snapchat could be used by over 1 billion daily active users in time and substantially accelerate how many videos and photos people share and consume. But there’s more to be done and questions to be answered. Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1PUnWQi Imagining Snapchat’s Future D.J. Sherrets http://ift.tt/1Xr3S9O
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DHL, the international express delivery company, started its business by offering free plane tickets to people on the street. For the trouble of giving up their baggage allowances, passengers were handed a free round trip plane ticket to Hawaii. Founded as a courier service in 1969, DHL used the spare capacity in travelers’ luggage to transport high value documents. To understand why it… Read More

http://ift.tt/1oAsS2s How DHL Pioneered The Sharing Economy http://ift.tt/1RAstbF

Astronaut and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin moves toward a position to deploy two components of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP) on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. The Passive Seismic Experiments Package (PSEP) is in his left hand; and in his right hand is the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector (LR3). Mission commander Neil Armstrong took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. Image Credit: NASA

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy committed before a joint session of Congress that before the end of the decade America would put a man on the moon. This was not an empty political promise to get elected, but a commitment of a sitting President boldly exposing himself to political ridicule in the face of failure. If we can take ourselves back to that moment, it would be fascinating to… Read More

http://ift.tt/1SNtXAU The Probable, The Possible, The Delusional http://ift.tt/1PTLp3U

What New Mobile Hardware To Expect At MWC 2016

{rss:content:encoded} What New Mobile Hardware To Expect At MWC 2016 http://ift.tt/1R1wh3A http://ift.tt/1Vc0UEs February 13, 2016 at 07:00PM hoteles-sagrada-familia-barcelona

Mobile World Congress, the biggest tradeshow specifically focused on mobile, kicks off in just over a week’s time in Barcelona so here’s a quick rundown of some of the big hardware-focused announcements we’re expecting to land during the best part of a week of fully mobile-focused news… Read More

“The theme of LA is diversity.” That is what DoorDash’s Kevin Huang told me in our conversation about how expanding on-demand marketplaces into LA differs from other markets. As an LA-based enterprise and marketplace investor, one of the most common questions I get from entrepreneurs is how to expand marketplaces into LA. While this includes all the usual difficulties of… Read More

http://ift.tt/1XpVTd9 How To Expand Your Marketplace To LA http://ift.tt/1Tf33QO

How Tech Can Shut Down Patent Trolls

Patent trolls, more formally known as Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs), pose a major threat to American businesses. A study published by the Boston University School of Law revealed that more than six times as many patent lawsuits are filed today as in 1980. More than 10,000 companies have been sued at least once by a PAE, and litigation by PAEs using acquired patents is increasing at an… Read More

http://ift.tt/1LlHY0G How Tech Can Shut Down Patent Trolls http://ift.tt/1obutM8

I’m a Soylent believer. If you know me personally, this may be hard for you to understand, given that my favorite foods are bread and cheese and that I feel Seamless should always win Best Overall Startup at the Crunchies every year until eternity. My love for Soylent — credited to both the taste and to the overall affect it has on my mental and physical energy — should be… Read More

http://ift.tt/1oy1t10 Soylent, The Easiest Thing To Tear Open Since CDs http://ift.tt/20QIfoK

I want to play again. My arms are sore from shooting a virtual bow-and-arrow and slashing robots with a lightsaber. My heart is racing from dodging drone missiles and defending my teammate. And my mind is spinning from the possibilities. I want to play again. And I won’t be the only one. The game is called Raw Data by virtual reality startup Survios. It’s perhaps the most… Read More

http://ift.tt/1Rxb3N4 Survios’ First-Person Shooter Shows How Addictive VR Will Be http://ift.tt/1QcATHa

When John Kim and his team were working on a community-based application called Smile Mom — which was designed to connect nearby moms — they ran into a problem: They wanted to integrate messaging, but couldn’t find an off-the-shelf solution they liked. Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1QZYWpP Sendbird Looks To Help Developers Add Chat Functions To Any App Matthew Lynley http://ift.tt/1QcbeOL
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When John Kim and his team were working on a community-based application called Smile Mom — which was designed to connect nearby moms — they ran into a problem: They wanted to integrate messaging, but couldn’t find an off-the-shelf solution they liked. Read More

http://ift.tt/1QZYWpP Sendbird Looks To Help Developers Add Chat Functions To Any App http://ift.tt/1QcbeOL

Life360, the mobile application designed for families, announced today that it has acquired the private messaging application and Y Combinator grad Couple (formerly known as Pair), based in Mountain View. Not a pure talent acquisition, Life360 sees Couple as being a potential initial entry point into its larger platform, which now counts over 55 million families using its location tracker… Read More

http://ift.tt/1Qcd8z3 Family App Life360 Acquires Couple, A Private Messaging App For Two http://ift.tt/1TX9kBq

YouTube wants to win the love of musicians by solving their biggest problem: how to turn popularity into cash. So today it announced it’s acquired BandPage, a startup that helps artists show off and sell concert tickets, merchandise, and exclusive fan experiences. Founded in 2009 and having raised $27.6 million, BandPage began as an app that let musicians create a special Music tab on… Read More

http://ift.tt/1V9kOzW YouTube Acquires BandPage To Attract Musicians With Money-Making Tools http://ift.tt/1KKNy1C

YouTube wants to win the love of musicians by solving their biggest problem: how to turn popularity into cash. So today it announced it’s acquired BandPage, a startup that helps artists show off and sell concert tickets, merchandise, and exclusive fan experiences. Founded in 2009 and having raised $27.6 million, BandPage began as an app that let musicians create a special Music tab on… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1V9kOzW YouTube Acquires BandPage To Attract Musicians With Money-Making Tools Josh Constine http://ift.tt/1KKNy1C
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As the world’s big messaging apps add more features to keep their users locked in for longer, other apps are tapping into messaging features in the hopes of creating more stickiness of their own. In the latest development, Flipagram, the app that lets you sew together pictures and video snippets with one minute of music to create packaged stories, has added a direct messaging feature. Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1XnWjk2 Flipagram Adds Direct Messaging To Share Photo Stories Privately Ingrid Lunden http://ift.tt/1Ll5AlX
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Microsoft’s New App “Fetch!” Tells You What Kind Of Dog You Are (And It Can ID Your Dog, Too)

{rss:content:encoded} Microsoft’s New App “Fetch!” Tells You What Kind Of Dog You Are (And It Can ID Your Dog, Too) http://ift.tt/1oxc24A http://ift.tt/1LkX46u February 12, 2016 at 04:37PM fetch

Even Microsoft’s new image recognition app has no idea what kind of dog I have. Oh well! If you don’t own a mixed-breed mutt saved from the kill shelter, however, you might have fun with the company’s latest Microsoft Garage project: Fetch!, a new iPhone app that looks at photos of dogs to identify its breed. Or, in the case when it can’t make an exact match, the app… Read More

SEO Doesn’t Have To Be A Shot In The Dark

To many startups, search engine optimization (SEO) is a task that sits on their company’s back burner. With features to launch and customers to support, the idea of spending time fiddling with your title tags can seem like a fool’s errand. That’s especially true when there’s no guarantee that your hard work will result in a single additional visitor from Google. Read More

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J SEO Doesn’t Have To Be A Shot In The Dark http://ift.tt/1LkZJNF

Runkeeper is set to become the latest fitness startup to be acquired by a workout gear company. Jason Jacobs, the startup’s co-founder and chief executive officer, announced today that his company has entered into a definitive agreement to be purchased by ASICS Corporation. Read More

http://ift.tt/1TcnIVA Fitness App Runkeeper To Be Acquired By Running Shoe Maker ASICS http://ift.tt/1O6kooq

Zenefits Under Investigation In California

The hits just keep on coming at the embattled cloud human resources software provider Zenefits, as the California Department of Insurance has begun an investigation into its licensing practic Read More

http://ift.tt/1ithjXm Zenefits Under Investigation In California http://ift.tt/1o3YnBw

Uber is asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to settle two cases: Philliben v. Uber Technologies, Inc. and Mena v. Uber Technologies, Inc., which have since been consolidated into one case on behalf of Uber passengers seeking restitution for every $1 Safe Rides fee charged to every Uber customer in the U.S. In addition to divvying up $28.5 million among… Read More

http://ift.tt/1O5xodO Uber Proposes $28.5 Million Settlement Over Safe Ride Fee Class Action Lawsuit http://ift.tt/1QaZH2l

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” the saying goes. Well, if you’re running a startup that sells to other startups, you might be putting all your eggs in one blender. B2B companies whose customers are other early stage B2B companies put themselves doubly at risk: Not only are startups failure-prone by nature, but an early stage company with strong fundamentals… Read More

http://ift.tt/23ZKZiN Startups Selling To Other Startups: A House Of Cards? http://ift.tt/1TbgIZh

No one wants to go to a car dealership. We’re in the era where everything can be done online, so it’s crazy you can’t buy a new car straight from the web. Every site and startup that claims to help you do that just dumps you on a contact form to request more info or a meeting with a car dealer. But Drive Motors does exactly what you imagine should already happen. It’s… Read More

http://ift.tt/1Sk93ZJ Drive Motors Lets You Actually Buy A Car Online. How Did This Not Exist? http://ift.tt/1Sk6oPN

Sleep++ 2.0 Proves That There’s Still A Market For Apple Watch Apps

{rss:content:encoded} Sleep++ 2.0 Proves That There’s Still A Market For Apple Watch Apps http://ift.tt/1o3L4AY http://ift.tt/1Tf8iBc February 11, 2016 at 09:59PM Sleep++

The Apple Watch was supposed to become the new thriving platform and App Store for third-party apps. 10 months later, it’s hard to name popular Watch apps. And there are reasons why the Apple Watch App Store isn’t as vibrant as the iOS App Store. But some developers, such as David Smith, have found ways to make your Watch more useful. Read More