David Lidsky's Blog, page 2726
May 12, 2016
The Failed Race To Build The Hyperloop Of The 1870s
One hundred and forty years ago, several inventors tried to build an air-powered transit system. They failed miserably.
In 1885, the New York Times published an obituary for an inventor named Rufus Henry Gilbert, who had died alone and broke at the age of 55, "due to exhaustion, brought about by chronic inflammation of the bowels." He was "penniless and heartbroken," another source writes.
Caffeine & Content: Why Mountain Dew Is Launching Its Own Multichannel Network
Marketing director Sadira Furlow on working with YouTubers directly, and what cutting out the content middleman does for the brand.
The rise of multichannel networks (MCN) such as Maker, AwesomenessTV, Machinima, and more—consolidating thousands of YouTube channels and creators under one roof to maximize ad revenue—over the past few years has been well documented. They became a one-stop shop for brands to reach the growing legion of digital entertainment stars, and the millions of young consumer eyeballs watching their every video. But now Mountain Dew has decided to take a chance, cut out the content middleman, and deal directly with YouTube content creators by setting up its very own brand MCN.
Why Growing Up Weird Can Be Great For Your Career
The cofounder of Chatbooks grew up with 11 siblings on a petting zoo in Florida. It was great preparation for an entrepreneurial life.
To understand Vanessa Quigley (née Munns), the cofounder of Chatbooks, it helps to first know a bit about her father, Ranier Munns. She says he grew up in a "micromanaged, strict, and super-conservative" household. He went on to start a law practice with his brother. But he also married Quigley's mother, April, whom she characterizes as "a wild and crazy artist" who "helped him tap into his wild side." Quigley's parents bought a five-acre piece of property surrounded by orange groves outside Orlando, and decided to start having kids. Vanessa was the first; 11 more would follow. Once, at a family outing to a restaurant, someone asked Ranier what orphanage they represented.
Sorry, Trump: Ending Borders Could Jump-Start The World Economy
Imagine a world with literally no borders. It's a world where the economy is a lot stronger.
Forget, for a moment, about Donald Trump and his calls for a Mexico border wall and a ban on Muslims coming to this country. Imagine, instead, the opposite: We welcome any and all immigrants who want to come here, with no restrictions on visas and passports. Imagine, too, that all other nations do the same, that everyone can move wherever they like. There are no borders. Anyone can move, live, and work wherever they want.
These Artists Flood 3-D Maps Of Earth To Simulate The Effects Of Climate Change
How an ambitious art project helps people look at their world—and its future—in a whole new way.
Throughout time, mapping the Earth hasn't simply been an effort to accurately model the planet, but to define reality. Behind the great cartographers have stood monarchs, republics, emperors, sultanates, and even corporations like the Dutch East Indies Company. A range of entities have dictated maps' purposes, edited their features, and created political boundaries.
6 Habits Of Creative Managers
Managing creative teams effectively requires some additional skills. Here are six you need to know.
Managing teams is tough enough. But when you're managing teams of people who need to be highly creative to fulfill their job functions, a new level of complexity is added, says Michael D. Mumford, PhD. He is a professor and director of the Center for Applied Social Research at the University of Oklahoma and author of Pathways to Outstanding Leadership: A Comparative Analysis of Charismatic, Ideological, and Pragmatic Leaders.
How Giving Up Meat For A Month Improved My Productivity
Eating plant-based whole foods for a month affected my work in unexpected ways.
Food occupies so much of my mental space. Throughout the day, when I'm at meetings or writing stories, my mind often drifts to what I'll be eating for lunch. On a good day, I'll spend time plotting how to get myself a healthy, filling salad; on a bad day, I'll eat the nearest thing I can get my hands on, then spend the afternoon regretting my decision while battling a food coma.
May 11, 2016
Twitter's Neighborhood Tech Center—For Its Own Neighborhood—Turns One
The mid-Market area is full of Twitter employees and locals who could use a hand, technology-wise. At the NeighborNest, they meet.
If you've ever walked by Twitter's headquarters in the mid-Market neighborhood of San Francisco, you know that the area—which is also home to Uber, Square, Dolby, Zendesk, and others—is a bustling tech corridor. But at the same time, mid-Market overlaps with the city's notoriously down-at-the-heels Tenderloin district and is full of people who live far, far outside the bubble.
The interests of Twitter's employees and those local residents intersect at the NeighborNest, a tech/community center located on the ground floor of an apartment complex on Market St. across from Twitter headquarters. On Tuesday, the center celebrated its first anniversary with a party that included appearances by Twitter COO Adam Bain and San Francisco mayor Ed Lee, a cake, and a hearty rendition of "Happy Birthday" led by neighborhood kids. (The 3,000 children who live in the Tenderloin are part of the constituency that the center was designed to serve.)
In the Vegas Desert, Hyperloop One Digs Traditional Transportation's Grave
Today, Hyperloop One successfully completed its first public propulsion test.
In the forbidding, scrub-filled desert north of Las Vegas, a grave is being dug: not for a mobster, but for traditional forms of transportation that take hours to travel a few hundred miles.
Watch This Drone Get Pierced By A Spear At A Russian Renaissance Fest
They didn't have drones during the Renaissance, folks.
You know what can really screw up a Renaissance fair? One of those pesky drones.
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