What marketers can learn from the economy of convenience

 If you think about it, money is a ridiculous concept. Without going into a William Jennings Bryan gold standard history lesson, let’s just say the idea that I can hold this thing, this little cloth rectangle of varying denomination, and exchange it for tangible goods and services is, at the very least, a system of belief. How we carry our money, and how we’ve evolved to think… Read More http://ift.tt/1TadbLz What marketers can learn from the economy of convenience http://ift.tt/21LlZ...

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DARPA kicks off $2m Grand Challenge focused on intelligently splitting up radio spectrum

{rss:content:encoded} DARPA kicks off $2m Grand Challenge focused on intelligently splitting up radio spectrum http://ift.tt/21LfAN8 http://ift.tt/1MHIcQn March 26, 2016 at 01:12AM  DARPA has a new Grand Challenge underway, but it’s not an automation moonshot like the self-driving car challenges of the early 2000s or the recent Robotics Challenge. The Defense Department’s R&D wing wants to revolutionize something with a bit less sex appeal, but plenty of real-world applications: radio frequency spectrum splitting. Read More ...

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Live is having a moment

{rss:content:encoded} Live is having a moment http://ift.tt/1MqBdAD http://ift.tt/1LNSpQl March 26, 2016 at 01:00AM  Twitter, which turned 10 this week, has apparently made Live its entire organizing principle. At an all-hands meeting last month, Mark Zuckerberg declared live video a top priority for Facebook. Clearly, Zuck’s directing his fight toward Twitter’s Periscope, a mobile live streaming app which itself competed fiercely with Meerkat. Read More ...

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Beware the pitfalls of Silicon Valley

 A recent article in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung titled “Will Facebook Enslave Us?” captures a sentiment prevalent among companies around the world: admiration for Silicon Valley — albeit, with a dash of fear. International media outlets eagerly cover disruption developing in labs up and down the San Francisco peninsula. Boards of directors are spending hours debating how… Read More http://ift.tt/1LNtAnF Beware the pitfalls of Silicon Valley http://ift.tt/1RBsK...

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500 Startups brings its ‘Distro Dojo’ program to LA for post-seed startups looking for big growth

 500 Startups has been aiming to globalize its brand and work toward attracting the attention of young, cool companies outside the Bay Area echo chamber. This has taken 500’s investments into distant corners of the world, with dedicated funds and accelerators scoping out what has amounted to a prolific number of investments. Today, TechCrunch has learned that 500 Startups is launching… Read More http://ift.tt/1XpVTd9 500 Startups brings its ‘Distro Dojo’ program to LA for post-seed startups looking for big growth http://ift.tt/1MHhQ...

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With Privacy, you can create virtual debit cards to protect your online payments

 Meet Privacy, a new startup with a confusing name but an interesting product. Privacy lets you generate virtual burner card every time you need to enter your credit card number on the web. Your actual credit card number stays safe, and you get more control over your online subscriptions. Read More http://ift.tt/1RixrHT With Privacy, you can create virtual debit cards to protect your online payments http://ift.tt/1LNk4...

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Snapchat reportedly acquires Bitmoji maker Bitstrips for $100 million

 Fortune is reporting that Snapchat, the ephemeral messaging platform that has today become the number one free app on the App Store, has agreed to acquire Bitstrips, the folks behind popular emoji-creation service Bitmoji. Though we haven’t received confirmation from Bitstrips or Snapchat, Fortune’s sources say that the deal is “in the ballpark” of $100 million. The… Read More from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1pLYJ1d Snapchat reportedly acquires Bitmoji maker Bitstrips for $100 million Jordan Crook http://ift.tt/22A0kbw via IFT...

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Netflix is voluntarily making videos look like garbage on AT&T and Verizon

 If you’ve tried streaming Master of None from your tablet running on Verizon on AT&T, chances are it looked like a big pile of unwatchable pixels. According to the WSJ, it turns out Netflix is quietly capping videos on these networks so that you don’t burn through your entire data cap in just a few hours. Read More http://ift.tt/1UQAx8P Netflix is voluntarily making videos look like garbage on AT&T and Verizon http://ift.tt/1VNB9...

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Snapchat reportedly acquires Bitmoji maker Bitstrips for $100 million

 Fortune is reporting that Snapchat, the ephemeral messaging platform that has today become the number one free app on the App Store, has agreed to acquire Bitstrips, the folks behind popular emoji-creation service Bitmoji. Though we haven’t received confirmation from Bitstrips or Snapchat, Fortune’s sources say that the deal is “in the ballpark” of $100 million. The… Read More http://ift.tt/1pLYJ1d Snapchat reportedly acquires Bitmoji maker Bitstrips for $100 million http://ift.tt/22A0k...

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Tinder rival Bumble is majority-owned by European dating behemoth Badoo

 It was already on public record that Andrey Andreev, the low-profile Russian founder of European dating behemoth Badoo, is an investor in female-led dating app Bumble, the Tinder competitor founded by ex-Tinderer Whitney Wolfe. However, TechCrunch can now reveal a number of previously unreported details of Wolfe and Andreev’s partnership. Read More http://ift.tt/22KFwL1 Tinder rival Bumble is majority-owned by European dating behemoth Badoo http://ift.tt/1MpHs...

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Switcher Studio turns your iPad into a live video editing studio

 While improvements in camera-phone technology have led to our mobile devices slowly but surely replacing clunky single-purpose cameras, most heavy editing and production still has to be done on desktops. This is especially true for live video, which often requires a full mixing board and production studio. Enter Switcher Studio, a mobile production suite that lets you use an iDevice for live… Read More http://ift.tt/1SaZqre Switcher Studio turns your iPad into a live video editing studio http://ift.tt/1LMxp...

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Badoo launches photo verification for safer, more efficient online dating

 Badoo is today launching photo-verification and verified profiles to make online dating safer. Most folks don’t know that Badoo is the silent giant in online dating. Globally, the 10-year-old company is bigger than any other online dating platform, including OkCupid, Match.com, eHarmony, and yes, Tinder. The service has 300 million registered users in over 190 countries, and President… Read More http://ift.tt/1WO0B3v Badoo launches photo verification for safer, more efficient online dating http://ift.tt/1RDjn...

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Badoo launches photo verification for safer, more efficient online dating

 Badoo is today launching photo-verification and verified profiles to make online dating safer. Most folks don’t know that Badoo is the silent giant in online dating. Globally, the 10-year-old company is bigger than any other online dating platform, including OkCupid, Match.com, eHarmony, and yes, Tinder. The service has 300 million registered users in over 190 countries, and… Read More from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/1WO0B3v Badoo launches photo verification for safer, more efficient online dating Jordan Crook http://ift.tt/1RDjnwi via...

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Carissa Romero to talk diversity and inclusion inside Silicon Valley at Disrupt NY

 We’re excited to announce that Carissa Romero, a partner at diversity consulting startup Paradigm, will be speaking on the TC Disrupt New York stage in May. She’s going to share what it’s been like working with top tech companies like Airbnb, Slack, Pinterest and Dropbox around improving diversity and inclusion in their respective workplaces. Before joining Paradigm,… Read More http://ift.tt/1UNdvkx Carissa Romero to talk diversity and inclusion inside Silicon Valley at Disrupt NY http://ift.tt/1ZzOk...

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Who has their hand on the tap of deal flow?

 Universities in the U.S. are a wellspring of innovation, but they are almost certainly killing off some (really) good ideas too early. Investors should be paying more attention to how innovation is treated at the places it originates. Read More http://ift.tt/1MpoQVl Who has their hand on the tap of deal flow? http://ift.tt/1LM7H...

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As Silicon Valley chills, Europe’s tech gets hotter

 We are accustomed to hearing that European tech is perpetually in Silicon Valley’s shadow. Now there have been suggestions that the local tech scene is starting to feel Silicon Valley’s valuation woes. If true, this should raise alarm bells, because if European technology startups struggle to raise money from wary investors, it could hit the brakes on Europe’s budding… Read More http://ift.tt/1UPzfec As Silicon Valley chills, Europe’s tech gets hotter http://ift.tt/1ZyAs...

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Apple offers a workaround and patch for older iOS devices stuck halfway through the iOS 9.3 update

{rss:content:encoded} Apple offers a workaround and patch for older iOS devices stuck halfway through the iOS 9.3 update http://ift.tt/1Puhbj2 http://ift.tt/1MxKKAs March 25, 2016 at 02:21AM  It seems that some iOS users on older devices are running into a snag during the 9.3 update. If you have an iPhone 5S, iPad Air or earlier model, you might want to wait a few days for the update to the update. Read More ...

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Apple’s iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro are now available for pre-order

{rss:content:encoded} Apple’s iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro are now available for pre-order http://ift.tt/1o84RyM http://ift.tt/1LEarEy March 24, 2016 at 08:28AM  Apple’s unveiled its new four-inch iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro earlier this week, and now the two devices are up for pre-order in the first wave of countries. Read More ...

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Apple plans unscripted, app-focused show for its first original TV content

{rss:content:encoded} Apple plans unscripted, app-focused show for its first original TV content http://ift.tt/1VKK2qW http://ift.tt/1UEqSEs March 24, 2016 at 10:15PM  Apple’s plans for its first original TV show don’t make it sound like a swing-for-the-fences, House of Cards-style project. Instead, it’s working on an unscripted TV series about apps and app developers. There are some big names attached, though, including musician Will.i.am and TV executives Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens. (Silverman was previously co-chairman at NBC…...

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The top 8 startups from Y Combinator Winter ’16 Demo Day 2

{rss:content:encoded} The top 8 startups from Y Combinator Winter ’16 Demo Day 2 http://ift.tt/1XQVRdH http://ift.tt/1SjZGXl March 24, 2016 at 10:12PM  Supersonic planes, food harvesting robots, and instant HIV diagnosis were some of the ideas that wowed us on Demo Day 2 for Y Combinator’s Winter 2016 batch. We queried investors and TechCrunch’s writers to come up with our top 8 picks from all 59 startups that presented. Check out our coverage of the 60 YC startups from Tuesday plus our 7 favorites. Additional reporting by Megan… Read...

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