David Lidsky's Blog, page 3253
May 27, 2014
Rap Genius's Mahbod Moghadam Resigns After Annotating Santa Barbara Killer's Manifesto With Awful Comments
The cofounder's tacky annotations were apparently the last straw.
Despite the big, outlandish rap-bro caricatures its three founders put forward, Rap Genius envisions itself the "Talmud for the Internet," the foremost annotation platform of Western civilization. And aside from bombing Google with spammy search engine tactics (for which the service was swiftly punished) the Rap Genius guys have mostly managed to avoid negative press lately--which, all things considered, is a good thing for a company looking to one day become a serious knowledge resource to rival the likes of Wikipedia.
Why The Rubik's Cube Fascinates Designers
Google's Rubik's Cube isn't just a cool game: it's an argument for the future of computing.
"The Rubik's Cube is universally understood by everyone in the world," says Richard The of Google's Creative Lab in New York. And while a mechanical toy invented 40 years ago seems simple in theory, it can be tremendously complex to conquer. It holds a particular fascination for The and for Google, who together created the Chrome Cube Lab, a series of browser experiments riffing on the Rubik's Cube.
Meet The Topshop Alum Who Could Change How You Dress At Work
Whistles CEO Jane Shepherdson is bringing some surprisingly chic wardrobe staples to American women.
The concept of "work clothes" is almost comical in an era when office environments vary so widely from disturbingly casual (your living room couch) to uncomfortably conservative (the oldest old-school firm on Wall Street). Yet people tend to need--and more importantly, want--a specific set of clothes that they wear for work and work only. And women in particular often complain about the lack of wear-to-work options for those who can't afford Armani suits.
How To Make An Instagram Mood Board, Courtesy Of Nail-Art Phenom Fleury Rose
Lazily scrolling through your feed is just the beginning to mining creative inspiration from Instagram. Fleury Rose delves into her process.
Fleury Rose is an Instagram poweruser. The nail artist, and one of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business, can spend an hour or two getting lost in her phone. "What I usually call it is an Instagram worm hole," she told Fast Company.
In A World Awash In Kindles And iPads, Niche E-Readers Flourish In Unlikely Places--Like Submarines
Ohio-based e-reader and audiobook company Findaway has carved out a market for itself in places where popular consumer products like the Kindle or tablets don't make sense.
Imagine going to investors with this pitch: You want to create and sell an e-reader. Never mind this "Kindle" thing everyone's talking about. Oh, and furthermore: Rather than connecting to a universe of downloadable content, your e-readers will come preloaded with a limited number of books. And be locked down, forever, with only those titles.
Sallie Krawcheck's Next Act
If Sheryl Sandberg is encouraging women to lean in to their careers, Wall Street veteran and 85 Broads owner Sallie Krawcheck is helping them to reach out and make the connections they need to reach the plum, ever-more-senior leadership roles.
After an impressive decades-long career on Wall Street, Sallie Krawcheck found herself jobless after "exiting" as president of Bank of America in 2011. That was the second time Krawcheck had unceremoniously left an employer in financial services. But this time, she wasn't going back.
May 23, 2014
Will Drones Make The U.S. Navy Migrate To The Cloud?
One of America's most influential think tanks feels the Navy should migrate to the cloud. Is that really a good idea?
The U.S. Navy loves sensors. The same gyrometers and motion detectors that fuel smartphones and Microsoft's Kinect also keep drones in the skies and aircraft carriers in sharp order. But the Navy--which is the size of a large global megacorporation and also saddled with a huge bureaucracy--also has problems dealing with the flood of data that sensors create. The RAND Corporation is arguing for something unorthodox to deal with that data influx: A cloud for the Navy (PDF).
Amazon Tightens The Squeeze On Hachette
"What we are seeing is a classic case of muscle-flexing."
Amazon's standoff with Hachette escalated this week as the world's largest online bookseller stands accused of making it harder to buy books from Hachette imprints. The New York Times reports that Amazon is allegedly resorting to strong-arm tactics to negotiate a better profit-sharing deal, as Wall Street hounds Bezos & Co. to institute better margins.
A New Ad Campaign Is Designed To Save You In A Hurricane
With hurricane season starting June 1, a new eye-catching logo will pop up across New York City.
You know your area code, you know your ZIP code, but do you know your hurricane zone? That's a question that a new ad campaign, launching this weekend, hopes to answer for residents in New York City. The New York City Office of Emergency Management and design studio C&G Partners have collaborated on a new hurricane awareness campaign called "Know Your Zone," and it aims to help New Yorkers prepare for hurricane season, which starts on June 1.
WikiLeaks: The NSA Has Been Recording Phone Calls In Afghanistan
WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange said the revelation will help the country seek remedy in international courts or elsewhere.
When The Intercept unveiled an alleged National Security Agency program that has been recording every cell phone call in two countries, it focused its reporting on the Bahamas and omitted the name of the other country over fears of increased violence. On Friday, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange decided to reveal the identity of the unnamed country: Afghanistan.
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