David Lidsky's Blog, page 2885
September 23, 2015
Lee Daniels: "I'm giving voice to those who don't ordinarily have voice"
As Empire, Fox's high-octane smash, returns for its second season, creator and executive producer Lee Daniels explains why the show resonates with viewers and what's happening below the surface.
Fast Company: Empire's first-season finale in March was the highest-rated for a new series in the past 10 years. How do you approach writing a show that has connected with so many people?
September 22, 2015
Most Instagram Users Are Outside The U.S.
More than 75% of Instagram's users come from outside the United States.
Instagram just released its latest user numbers, and there's big news for the global market: 75% of users of the Facebook-owned social network come from outside the United States. According to the company, more than half of the last 100 million users to sign up for the service come from Europe and Asia. Instagram added that Brazil, Japan, and Indonesia are among the countries that added the most users to the service.
Quirky Files For Bankruptcy, Agrees To Sell Smart Home Subsidiary Wink
Popular crowdsourcing platform Quirky is cutting its losses and giving up ownership of Wink.
Quirky, the popular crowdsourced invention platform, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and selling Wink, its subsidiary specializing in connected home products. According to a Wink blog post, the electronics manufacturing firm Flextronics is likely its new corporate parent. Although Wink did not disclose any numbers, Flextronics is allegedly offering $15 million to acquire the company.
Edutech's Monetization Problem
Everyone wants to learn online, but startups are trying to figure out how to get users to pay the bills.
A few years ago, MOOCs—massive open online courses—were all the rage. Publications, Fast Company among them, wrote about new startups like Coursera, EdX, and Udacity that offered the promise of free learning and professional development to anyone in the world who wanted them. However, in 2015, many of these companies and their compatriots in the edutech space as a whole discovered an unfortunate truth: It's damn hard to make money from MOOCs.
Today in Tabs: Trashbags & Chill
We have met the pizza rat, and he is us.
The internet was captivated yesterday by a video of a rat, headed home to Queens for some trashbags & chill with bae, trying to carry a whole slice of pizza onto the L train platform. Only fourteen seconds long, the video is nonetheless a masterpiece; a titanic struggle between the great American archetypes "vermin" and "unhealthy food"; a roller coaster of optimism, loss, defeat, and new hope, played out against a backdrop of authentic New York filth. It ends on an ambiguous note, the rat eyeing the pizza with… longing? Determination? Despair? It is impossible to say. Either way, the struggle itself is enough to fill a person's heart. One must imagine pizza rat happy.
Amazon To Offer $67 Prime Memberships On September 25
After Transparent swept the Emmys, Amazon is offering a Prime discount.
Amazon is using its original show Transparent's sweep at the Emmys to offer sharply discounted Amazon Prime memberships. On September 25, Prime memberships will cost only $67. This is one-third off the normal $99 subscription fee for the service.
Linda Boff Is GE's New CMO
The move comes after former CMO Beth Comstock was recently bumped up to vice chair.
GE just named Linda Boff its new chief marketing officer.
E-Book App Oyster Is Closing Shop As Google Hires Its Cofounders
Oyster, an e-book subscription service inspired by Netflix and Spotify, is shuttering—and Google has scooped up its top execs.
Oyster, the e-book subscription service and would-be Amazon competitor, is calling it quits. In a blog post published Monday, the Oyster team announced that, in the coming months, it would be "taking steps to sunset the existing Oyster service."
The Levo 100 List Aims To Debunk Millennial Stereotypes
The Levo 100 features stories of successful young people, from Austin Brown to Chelsea Clinton.
Millennial-focused leadership platform Levo is launching the Levo 100 today: a list of 100 millennials trying to "redefine the world through their careers."
Beacon: How Does "The Uber of Private Flights" Work?
Imagine calling an airport 15 minutes before you have to leave and securing a flight? Well, if you have the money...
Last week saw the launch of Beacon, a startup airline offering unlimited flights along the NYC to Boston corridor for a monthly fee. Starting with a dozen flights between the two East Coast hub cities per day, Beacon promises a schedule and seating load so dependable that users need only give 15 minutes' notice before a flight to guarantee their seat. Frequent NYC-BOS commuters, prepare for takeoff.
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