David Lidsky's Blog, page 2733
May 3, 2016
Let The Head Of TED Show You How To End Your Speech With Power
Chris Anderson offers three much better alternatives to, "Well, that's all my time, so, uh, thanks for listening."
If you've held people's attention through your talk, don't ruin it with a flat ending.
May 2, 2016
Marissa Mayer Isn't The Only CEO Poised For A Massive Payday If Fired By A New Owner
The news that the Yahoo CEO could net a $55 million severance package made for breathless headlines this morning.
Last Friday, Yahoo filed an amended 10-K document that revealed if CEO Marissa Mayer is fired within a year of the sale of the company, she will net nearly $55 million in cash severance, benefits, and accelerated stock options.
IBM's Watson Helps Design LED-Filled Dress For The Met Gala
The collaboration between Watson and Marchesa is part of a larger IBM effort to introduce its supercomputer into creative industries.
At the Met Gala in Manhattan tonight, one model will be wearing a "cognitive dress": A gown, designed by fashion house Marchesa, that will shift in color based on input from IBM's Watson supercomputer. The dress features gauzy white roses, each embedded with an LED that will display different colors depending on the general sentiment of tweets about the Met Gala. The algorithm powering the dress relies on Watson Color Theory, which links emotions to colors, and on the Watson Tone Analyzer, a service that can detect emotion in text.
How The New, Improved Chatbots Rewrite 50 Years Of Bot History
SmarterChild and other bots of yesteryear had hearts where their brains should have been. The new ones don't.
The critically unloved 1999 film Bicentennial Man seems like an odd turning point in the evolution of chatbots, but for Robert Hoffer, Robin Williams's performance as an intelligent robot was an inspiration.
How Nest Is Trying To Keep The Connected Home Secure
Alphabet's own Internet of Things outfit is working to stay one step ahead of hackers—and ahead of shifting consumer privacy expectations.
If you use Nest's home automation products, you can have them automatically detect when you're home or away. If you are out, your Nest Thermostat can automatically turn down your heat to save you money while you're out, your Nest Cam can start monitoring your house for movement when you're not there, and your Nest Protect smoke detector can test its alarm when nobody's home to be disturbed by it.
Are Chatbots Really The Future Of Web Design?
Here's what working designers think of the conversational interface trend.
Adrian Zumbrunnen was terrified of what conversational interfaces meant for him as a UX designer. "The conversational interface is scary," he says. "Will I still have a place in this industry when pushing pixels around is no longer the thing that designers do?"
Suffering From Professional Envy? Here's How To Turn It Around
You can beat back the worst outcomes of jealousy, and gain self-knowledge, with a few smart strategies.
A colleague hired at the same time as you gets promoted into a new leadership role. You weren't actively gunning for that role yourself, but still, the speed of his ascent has alarms ringing in your head. Indeed, you soon find it hard to think of much else.
This Is Exactly How Hard It Is For Mom Entrepreneurs
A new report details the multiple hurdles that women face when starting their own businesses after becoming mothers.
The U. S. economy is $2 trillion larger now than it would have been if women hadn't become a growing part of the workforce since the 1970s. That's according to a recent report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC). The report revealed how closing the gender wage gap could impact our economy even more. At the last Census count, women-owned businesses added $1.6 trillion in revenue. Imagine the impact to the economy then, if more mothers started their own businesses. But it's not so simple.
How To Get Your Lazy Coworkers To Pull Their Own Weight
You may not be their boss, but you can still whip your colleagues into gear—without them even realizing it.
I remember how excited I was for my first job. I was 16 and a sales associate at American Eagle Outfitters—I couldn't wait to learn about denim colors and how to use the fancy-looking cash register.
May 1, 2016
This New York Project Fuses Energy Microgrids With Blockchain Technology
A microgrid using TransActive Grid's model could let you directly sell energy generated from your rooftop solar panels to your neighbor.
If in the future you find yourself selling your excess solar panel energy to your neighbor via secure blockchain, you'll have one startup's actions on President Street in Brooklyn to thank. That's where experimental microgrid provider TransActive Grid has posted its first two TransActive Grid Element meters inside residential units so that residents can exchange energy via a nascent blockchain marketplace. They've already made it a reality: Early last month, two Brooklyn residents completed the first peer-to-peer energy exchange, swapping watts for U.S. dollars.
David Lidsky's Blog
- David Lidsky's profile
- 3 followers
