David Lidsky's Blog, page 2608
October 17, 2016
From Audi To Zoox, 17 Companies That Are Driving Change In The Car Industry
Along with GM, these innovators are finding ways to improve the basics of modern transportation.
Along with GM, these innovators are finding ways to improve the basics of modern transportation.
Audi: In 2015, started test-driving an AI-laden prototype nicknamed "Jack" that lets drivers easily switch to autonomous mode via buttons on the wheel
Updates From Our Most Innovative Companies
Roku takes over smart TV operating systems, 23andMe revolutionizes research, and more.
Roku takes over smart TV operating systems, 23andMe revolutionizes research, and more.
As it introduces its next generation of TV sticks and players this fall, the country's most popular enabler of cord cutting is already thinking beyond set-top boxes. Roku today commands 49% of the U.S. streaming-device market, ahead of Google and Amazon. But behind the scenes, the hardware maker is steadily becoming more of a streaming platform, an interesting move considering Roku's origins as a Netflix spin-out in 2008. In the past two years, cable providers, including Time Warner, Charter, and, soon, Comcast, have added their own streaming services, and dozens of new TV shows, on Roku, making the platform even more of a one-stop shop for television. Meanwhile, smart-TV makers such as Sharp, Insignia, and Hisense have installed Roku's in the back ends of their products, giving users access to Amazon Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu, and more. "We believe that the [operating system] phenomenon is now happening with TVs," says Roku CEO Anthony Wood. "Our business is to distribute our system to as many TV screens as we can and then monetize that base." The early results are promising: Just two years into its smart-TV efforts, Roku claims 15% of the market (behind Google's 18%) and has seen its media and licensing sector grow from 20% to 44% of gross profit. And with 10.6 million subscribers across cable, TV, and devices, Roku can sell valuable demographic data to advertisers and marketers eager to reach cord cutters. "One aspect that's an advantage for us is we're a neutral party, we don't make our own content," says Wood. "We're a level playing field for content providers to compete on." —Nikita Richardson
Four Tech Companies That Are Taking Networking Offline
Meetup isn't the only tech company getting people to connect in person. Here are four others that are leveraging digital networking for real-world meetings.
Meetup isn't the only tech company getting people to connect in person. Here are four others that are leveraging digital networking for real-world meetings.
Recent updates let users browse upcoming events by date and category, while Featured Events, curated by real humans, surfaces activities in major cities.
The Recommender: What Execs From Converse, Lululemon, And Bleacher Report Are Into Now
Exquisite lingerie, handmade shoes, and a little dark chocolate.
Exquisite lingerie, handmade shoes, and a little dark chocolate.
Twelve things the Fast Company community is loving this month.
The Social Mediators: 7 Young Social Stars Share Their Rules For Engagement
Seventeen lessons in audience building from Baby Ariel, Eva Gutowski, Jerry Purpdrank, and more.
Seventeen lessons in audience building from Baby Ariel, Eva Gutowski, Jerry Purpdrank, and more.
Like their predecessors, today's social influencers are young, savvy, and creative—and can serve as powerful vessels for brands looking to expand their reach. But this generation is even more business-minded than the last. Here, we profile seven stars and get their 17 rules for social engagement today.
How We Should Elect Our President In 2020
Hard to believe, but this bonkers election cycle is nearly over. Here are some ways that entrepreneurs and educators would fix the system.
Hard to believe, but this bonkers election cycle is nearly over. Here are some ways that entrepreneurs and educators would fix the system.
In a few short weeks, this bizarre, seemingly interminable election cycle will come to an end. And no matter who wins, one thing is certain: Our process for electing the president of the United States is ripe for disruption (Russian hackers notwithstanding). So we asked Fast Company's influencer community to offer solutions. More than 50 of them weighed in with ideas. Here is a sampling.
Can GoPro Rise Again?
After a dismaying 2015, CEO Nick Woodman is refocusing, betting the company's future on software, new audiences, and a bit of Karma.
After a dismaying 2015, CEO Nick Woodman is refocusing, betting the company's future on software, new audiences, and a bit of Karma.
Nick Woodman, the founder and CEO of GoPro, flew into Vail, Colorado, yesterday on his private jet. He is here for the GoPro Mountain Games, a weekend-long festival of kayaking, rafting, rock climbing, and just about anything else you can do at an off-season ski resort while wearing a mounted action camera. Woodman, whom college buddy and current GoPro colleague Justin Wilkenfeld describes as less "a 9-to-5-type guy" than "a hippie surfer," wanders through the tent-covered meadows wearing flip-flops, shorts, and a tank top alongside throngs of action-sports enthusiasts. Passing a funnel-cake vendor, he sniffs something else in the air. Colorado is a popular destination among the GoPro community not just for the adrenaline rush of extreme sports, but also because of plentiful legal weed. When he asks a GoPro events coordinator what he is doing later, the junior staffer avoids eye contact with his boss, shrugs, and a little too adamantly insists, "Nothing. Why?"
Mary Barra Is Remaking GM's Culture—And The Company Itself
To keep pace in the race to reinvent transportation, the General Motors CEO is shaking up America's biggest car company.
To keep pace in the race to reinvent transportation, the General Motors CEO is shaking up America's biggest car company.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra was walking the stage at the J.P. Morgan Automotive conference in New York on an early August morning, making a dramatic point-by-point case for the company she leads: that GM, despite all its challenges and varied competitors, just might be the strongest and most well-positioned business in all of automotive transportation.
Now GoPro Wants To Win Over The Risk-Averse, Too
Because every day is an adventure.
Because every day is an adventure.
With new audiences key to the company's growth—and 43% of customers confirming that content featured on the company's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts influenced their purchasing decision—GoPro has increasingly been using social media to showcase its cameras' edge in capturing regular life, from weddings to pet tricks. Already, lifestyle footage is boasting a higher average engagement rate than sports content. (Daily mentions by GoPro's 478 "social media influencers" haven't hurt.) The company is also developing a slew of original programs in several categories, including sports, recognizing, for example, that couch surfers thrill to 15-foot waves, too. Here are four markets that GoPro is actively engaging.
Why Chat May Be King Of The New Mobile Landscape
Tech giants and hopefuls alike are betting on messaging apps—and conversational interface—as the future of mobile.
Tech giants and hopefuls alike are betting on messaging apps—and conversational interface—as the future of mobile.
Like tens of millions of teens across the world, 15-year-old Emma rarely surfs the web or tries out new apps. Instead, she conducts her digital life through a collection of social apps, from Facebook to iMessage to Instagram to Snapchat. On all of them, she's messaging. "There are always messages for me to check," she says. And though she picks up her phone every 15 minutes or so, her friends still complain that she's slow to respond. We are all becoming like Emma that way: Recent studies show that Americans use their phones to message far more than anything else. Increasingly, companies eager for our attention online have to be part of these conversations. And increasingly, they're doing it through chatbots.
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