blogger better: 2016-05-15

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Startups to Congress: Strong data security keeps us competitive

Over the past few weeks, Twilio has had the opportunity to meet with members of Congress and their staff who have taken on the difficult task of balancing security and privacy. We were struck by the sincere desire to understand how actions proposed by those in Washington impact smaller technology businesses. It’s been clear to us for some time that in order to get the full picture,… Read More

http://ift.tt/1qBWcpE Startups to Congress: Strong data security keeps us competitive http://ift.tt/1NErgQT

Camellia Labs' Chime, a single-cup brewer for traditional, Indian chai.

In the world of kitchen appliances, everyone wants to be the next Keurig, it seems. First, there were single-cup coffee brewers that followed and claimed to be better than Keurig, from Nespresso, Mr. Coffee and Lavazza to name a few. Later came cold drink machines like the Bartesian for cocktails, or PicoBrew for craft beer. And most recently, the Juicero cold press juice machine promised to… Read More

http://ift.tt/22jFMAi Camellia Labs debuts single-cup chai brewer, Chime http://ift.tt/258BoWv

This week’s Technotopia features Haseeb Awan, founder of a YC bitcoins startup who is creating a new way to reduce currency volatility. Haseeb is pretty bearish on the current financial markets but he sees the growth of Asia and India as a true powerhouse that will be able to use all of the cool new stuff the world is building in a very real way. You can download the podcast here or… Read More

http://ift.tt/1kSq3Ie Technotopia: Haseeb Awan on why the sun is rising on Asian startups http://ift.tt/27LtCEg

Twitter and Betaworks are teaming up in a new fund

{rss:content:encoded} Twitter and Betaworks are teaming up in a new fund http://ift.tt/1U5OH1V http://ift.tt/1MEonwP May 20, 2016 at 11:25PM Twitter

We’re hearing from multiple sources that there’s a new fund coming out of Betaworks, and Twitter is chipping money into it. Twitter is investing at least $10 million in the new fund, according to one source. We don’t know the total size of the venture. In the past, Betaworks has focused on smaller seed investments and has stayed away from outsized funds. Another previous… Read More

There is no shortage of advice when it comes to which tools software companies should use to run their businesses. We’ve all come across numerous “Top 100 resources for startups”-type posts at least once as we Google our way to entrepreneurial success. But after reading just one of them, it’s not hard to go from “I have no idea what’s out there” to… Read More

http://ift.tt/1TvJww5 Startup spending guide: Where to spend money http://ift.tt/1WGXtcP

Ad targeting startup Metadata is announcing that it has raised $2 million in seed funding. Co-founder and CEO Gil Allouche said the company’s technology offers an effective way for businesses that sell to other businesses to find and target new potential customers through advertising. Companies connect their Salesforce and other CRM accounts, then Metadata uses third-party data to help… Read More

http://ift.tt/1FgObaV Metadata raises $2M to help advertisers target users who resemble their existing sales leads http://ift.tt/27J7MBf

Lenovo video teases return of Motorola’s iconic RAZR flip phone

{rss:content:encoded} Lenovo video teases return of Motorola’s iconic RAZR flip phone http://ift.tt/1sHaZ4k http://ift.tt/1OElTfm May 20, 2016 at 09:45PM ILY5M

Motorola’s RAZR surely stands as one of the most recognizable phones of yesteryear (although myself I preferred the Samsung Trace) — and while the brand has been desultorily maintained by Verizon, a new video from Lenovo suggests a more serious throwback device is nearly at hand, so to speak. Read More

In the wake of the passing of Title III of the JOBS Act, crowdfunding equity platform FlashFunders has relaunched its site with new features. The new features allow users to crowdfund investment under Form C, which allows for up to $1 million in a single Series from anyone, not just accredited investors. FlashFunders launched on the scene a little under one year ago, offering a web-only way… Read More

http://ift.tt/1WGOx7x FlashFunders relaunches with crowdfunding support with the pass of Title III of the JOBS Act http://ift.tt/1U4kV0a

Google and Levi’s team up on a “connected” jacket that lets you answer calls, use maps, and more

{rss:content:encoded} Google and Levi’s team up on a “connected” jacket that lets you answer calls, use maps, and more http://ift.tt/1WGOAk7 http://ift.tt/256cMO9 May 20, 2016 at 07:31PM jacquard 1

At Google’s I/O conference today, Google’s Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) research unit offered an update on its interactive textiles project announced last year, Project Jacquard. ATAP’s Ivan Poupyrev announced that the company was collaborating with iconic clothing company, Levi’s, to launch a connected jacket aimed at urban cyclists that… Read More

For me, fitness trackers are all about motivation. I used to go for a run every single day, and then quit, and then went to yoga every single day, and then I did nothing every single day. Now, a little older and a little more sore, I find myself worried less about working out all the time and am more focused on eating healthy and taking enough steps throughout each day. This can be… Read More

http://ift.tt/1sGkTDv Fitbit finally gets design with the Alta sports tracker http://ift.tt/1qyWxcD

Microsoft brings Skype to businesses’ iOS and Android apps

{rss:content:encoded} Microsoft brings Skype to businesses’ iOS and Android apps http://ift.tt/1TjxIiq http://ift.tt/1NBDoR0 May 20, 2016 at 04:07PM skype-logo

Microsoft is further opening up Skype to businesses. On Thursday, the company launched its Skype for Business SDK – tools which allow iOS and Android developers to integrate Skype’s messaging, audio and voice capabilities into their own mobile applications. The idea is to allow Skype to power the communications experience inside applications, so developers can focus on building… Read More

Let’s face it. Some tech conferences have lost their way. While TechCrunch Disrupt remains a firmly curated, media-driven, event, with hundreds of journalists attending, a couple of other conferences have really gone for scale. A minimum of 15,000 people, thousands of companies, echoing halls — and a lot of investors (and journalists) turning their badges around so they don’t… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1Tj6OXP The Europas — It’s time for different type of tech conference Mike Butcher http://ift.tt/1YI1sUx
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The Europas — It’s time for different type of tech conference

{rss:content:encoded} The Europas — It’s time for different type of tech conference http://ift.tt/1YI1sUx http://ift.tt/1Tj6OXP May 20, 2016 at 12:00PM awards3 (1)

Let’s face it. Some tech conferences have lost their way. While TechCrunch Disrupt remains a firmly curated, media-driven, event, with hundreds of journalists attending, a couple of other conferences have really gone for scale. A minimum of 15,000 people, thousands of companies, echoing halls — and a lot of investors (and journalists) turning their badges around so they don’t… Read More

http://ift.tt/1Tj6OXP The Europas — It’s time for different type of tech conference http://ift.tt/1YI1sUx

Houzz wins “Best App” at the inaugural Google Play Awards

{rss:content:encoded} Houzz wins “Best App” at the inaugural Google Play Awards http://ift.tt/254t6yE http://ift.tt/1OCFLzm May 20, 2016 at 05:00AM googleplayawards2016

Interior design and decorating resource Houzz is the overall best Android app of the year, according to Google, which this evening announced the results of the first-ever Google Play Awards at its developer conference, Google I/O. While in previous years, the company had rounded up large numbers of apps for “Best of” lists, the new Google Play Awards instead follows… Read More

In today’s tech-driven business world, the title “serial entrepreneur” is a coveted badge of honor. It’s easy to understand the appeal of the phrase. It suggests that someone is so full of groundbreaking ideas they can’t channel all of them into just one company. Instead, they choose to focus their genius on creating an array of world-changing, money-making… Read More

http://ift.tt/1U3klgh It’s time to remove “serial entrepreneur” from our vocabulary http://ift.tt/1YGUeQx

UberMedia connects cross-channel ad impressions to actual store visits

{rss:content:encoded} UberMedia connects cross-channel ad impressions to actual store visits http://ift.tt/27FwOB4 http://ift.tt/1UKORA4 May 20, 2016 at 01:22AM mobile payments

Mobile ad company UberMedia is expanding its measurement and attribution business in a big way. You may remember UberMedia as the company that owns social apps like Echofon and UberSocial. While that’s still the case, it has shifted its attention over the past few years to its mobile ad platform, which uses the apps as a source of data — and which can tell advertisers whether… Read More