Randi Zuckerberg's Blog, page 38

The Blurred Lines of Work Dynamics in the Age of Connectivity

Originally posted on Paypal Community on October 2.

Can you even remember a time when we had separation between our personal and professional lives online? Before the days of weekend and late night emails from your boss, before your eager new coworker friended you within five minutes on the job, or before someone you met once at a work event felt it was appropriate to ask you to endorse them online or retweet their random charity bike ride? In a world where we know more and more about one another, a world where you can Google someone you’re interviewing and immediately get an entire dossier on their lives to date, how can we better navigate the increasingly muddy waters of the web within our work and home lives?

We all know people who take an extreme viewpoint on this. Some people are ok with sharing absolutely everything about their lives online: what they ate for breakfast, their children’s potty training misadventures, their wild experiences at Burning Man – and they couldn’t care less if it’s their boss or their grandma seeing it. At the other end of the spectrum, there are people who don’t share anything. You won’t find them on Twitter or Instagram, they’ll tell everyone and anyone who will listen that they aren’t on Facebook, as if it’s a badge of honor, and a Google search turns up next to nothing.

But most of us fall somewhere in between. And that’s where things get complicated.

7 Professional Connectivity Tips

Greater connectivity in the workplace provides us with so much opportunity. There’s more freedom to work remotely or work more flexible hours. Mobile devices enable a greater percentage of the population to be their own boss and work as freelancers. And having access to endless information at our fingertips allows us to quickly and easily gain new skills and seek out valuable connections and job opportunities. Knowing more about our co-workers means that we feel a deeper connection to them because we’ve seen pictures of their children, or know that they also love skiing. However, nothing is ever 100% positive or easy, and with the new opportunity that all this connectivity brings, it also brings some new challenges in how we navigate relationships with our co-workers, and try to maintain a bit of that old-fashioned personal and professional life balance.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to connectivity and our professional lives:

1. Understand that your online reputation is not just what you post about yourself, but also what your friends post about you. You could be the most rigorous person ever in controlling the image you portray to the world online, but what your friends and strangers say about you also shows up online. So make sure to surround yourself with people who truly have your best interest at heart, and stay on top of your search results and online profiles to make sure you’re in control of the areas you can be.

2. If you have a “digital doppelganger” (someone with the same name as you) who has unsavory search results, consider your options. Like it or not, the first thing someone is going to do before meeting you is search for you online. If you have a common name, or someone with the same name as you who shows up first/poorly in results, consider using a middle initial or a nickname to differentiate yourself, and make sure potential interviewers know that!

3. Be authentic, but balanced. Nobody wants to be friends with someone whose online profile is totally sterile or who only posts promotional pieces about the company they work for. On the other hand, it’s also off-putting to see someone who sits next to you at work, sharing their breast-feeding chart on Instagram (I actually saw this happen!). It’s ok to show that you’re a human. And it’s ok to admit that you’re not perfect all the time. But if you took a glimpse at your last 5 posts at any moment in time, they should present a balanced, accurate look at who you are, both professionally and personally.

4. Which means…we need to cut each other a bit more slack. I’ve definitely had experiences where a co-worker was taking FOREVER getting back to me over email, and then suddenly, I saw them post on Facebook. Wait a minute? They’re online, and they have the time to be posting pictures, but they’re not responding to me! How rude! I’m offended! We have to remind ourselves that we live in a world where we now go online all the time, both for business and for pleasure, and just because someone is online doesn’t mean that they are always working. (Unless it is work hours and they work for you, and they should be working. Then that’s just poor decision making on their part!)

5. It’s totally ok to not be friends with your colleagues on every single social network. It’s perfectly acceptable to tell your colleagues that you keep your social networks limited to close friends and family. Or just leave them pending in “friend purgatory” until they get the hint on their own. What you don’t want to do is accept some co-workers and not others, or have to unfriend people who you work with because you feel uncomfortable with them seeing your posts. Ouch.

6. Set boundaries on your own personal tech/life balance. Believe it or not, it is ok to not be reachable 100% of the time. Unless you are a doctor on call, the world is not going to end if you step away from your phone for a few minutes. People will treat you how you demand to be treated. Everyone has fire drills once in a while that require working later or longer than normal, but if your boss is making a habit of emailing you late at night and you’re making a habit of responding right away, you only have yourself to blame. Setting the precedent of responding right away actually makes it harder to then suddenly set boundaries at a later date. You can train your co-workers that you don’t respond to emails late at night. Or that you unplug a bit more on the weekends. Being responsive doesn’t mean being on a leash – it means responding within a reasonable, acceptable window – and often times, waiting a little while helps guarantee that your reply will be more thoughtful. And if you’re the one initiating the late night emails for whatever reason (maybe you’re a late night person and that’s your most productive time), a courteous thing to do is to let people know that you don’t expect an immediate response.

7. Find a messaging protocol that works for you. If you have a client who sends you text messages all the time, but you’d much prefer if they emailed you, tell them! There are so many ways to reach people these days – it’s really helpful to let people know how you prefer to be contacted. And it’s okay to send people gentle reminders from time to time, such as “hey there – I know text messages are really fast, but it’s hard for me to keep track of our correspondence – can you please email me moving forward?” If you truly don’t want business contacts to call or text you, consider not even putting a phone number on your business cards.

Connectivity can be both our best friend and our worst enemy in the workplace. But if you put the same thought and energy into your online presence that you put into your job, you’ll find that the blurred lines can actually serve as a tremendous advantage.

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Radio Show Recap: Healthcare & Technology

With technology changing all the many facets of life, it was only a matter of time before healthcare became another conquest of the digital world. Never before have we been so connected to medical information and medical providers as we are today. Now, instead of relying on self-medication or grandma’s passed down remedies, a throbbing red lump can be instantly diagnosed via Skype while a live consultation with a physician is only a mere click away—and all you need is an internet connection.

Yesterday’s “Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg on SiriusXM” hosted Ron Gutman, CEO and founder of the interactive healthcare company HealthTap, and Erik Douglas, co-founder and CEO of CellScope, the world’s first smartphone enabled first-aid kit. Here are their thoughts on telemedicine and the future of healthcare and technology.

On 3D printed organs: “No more waiting in line for heart surgeries. It’s the future of medicine.”—Ron Gutman

On Walmart’s health initiative: “Consumerization of medicine and thinking of healthcare as any other product we buy in a store gives us more accountability as healthcare providers.”—Erik Douglas

On finding medical advice online: “Look at the source. Only get answers from real doctors.”—Ron Gutman

On the CellScope OTO device: “This is the evolution of accessing care from home.”—Erik Douglas

“It’s the middle of the night, your child wakes up crying, you go to the medicine cabinet and use common technology we all have in our pockets.”— Erik Douglas

“We designed this to be as good or better than the standard office otoscope.”—Erik Douglas

On HealthTap’s accessibility: “Any mobile device or logging in online can connect you to a doctor instantly.”— Ron Gutman

“The customer in healthcare is called a ‘patient’ although the last thing I am when I’m sick is patient.”— Ron Gutman

On Ron’s TEDTalk: “The best way to connect with people is to just start smiling.”

“After about an hour of running, when things get difficult, I have a good thought and I smile. Then I feel better.”—Ron Gutman

On the crossover of tech and home healthcare: “We first started with microscopes for the smartphone for either hard to reach places or where services haven’t been available before.”— Erik Douglas

On how they got access to 63,000 doctors on HealthTap: “We build a community of doctors who invite each other. It’s called peer review. Every question and answer is peer reviewed by other doctors.”— Ron Gutman

“Healthcare starts and ends in trust.”—Ron Gutman

“Privacy and value are two very important questions when discussing healthcare.”—Ron Gutman

On patient engagement: “Doctors need to provide the opportunity to help better understand what’s going on and how to alter behaviors.”—Erik Douglas

“When patients go to the doctor they often feel that they want to come home with something. That’s the problem with the overprescribing problem with antibiotics.”—Erik Douglas

On telemedicine: “Let people access care easily like banking.”—Erik Douglas

“Target problems you know people have, like ear infections”—Erik Douglas

On why they created HealthTap Prime: “For immediate access. It’s virtual care. You want patients to say, ‘this was easy’.”—Ron Gutman

On virtual doctor’s offices: “You can’t replace the in-person interaction for a lot of issues, but there are some that can be done virtually absolutely.”—Erik Douglas

“Within 5 years from now every doctor will have a virtual office and a real office.” —Ron Gutman

“Ecommerce didn’t reduce regular commerce. There is no shortage of stores out there.”—Ron Gutman

On providing telemedicine in places without internet access: “You go to places that don’t have running water but have amazing cell reception because connectivity is so important them.”—Ron Gutman

“There are more cell phones than toilets in the world.”—Randi

Caller Frank: “Iodine is a personal database that’s collects the clinical and consumer data to create the Yelp of medicine.”

“If you have diabetes you want to know what medicines work best for someone like you with your symptoms.”—Frank

On self-diagnosing: “On the internet every headache becomes a brain tumor in 4 clicks or less.”—Ron Gutman

“How can we present the right data to the doctor and to the patient to help them come up with the best use of the information?”—Erik Douglas

“A Cellfie is the new selfie.”—Erik Douglas

“Steven ruptured his eardrum and Dr. Topol diagnosed him on the Colbert Report.”—Erik Douglas

On how the CellScope OTO came to be: “Parents talk to each other and ask how they’re solving problems. Ear infections are the most common reasons kids go to the doctor.”—Erik Douglas

On insurance: “Insurers see the ability to help people better and reduce costs. In this country healthcare is super expensive. Virtual care can save hundreds of millions of dollars.”—Ron Gutman

“Provide better care and reduce costs.”— Ron Gutman

“I want to see more apps that are extensions of medicine.”—Ron Gutman

An app Erik Douglas can’t live without: “AliveCor. An iPhone based EKG heart monitor.”

To learn more about Ron Gutman and HealthTap, go to HealthTap.com.

For more information on Erik Douglas and the OTO, go to CellScope.com

Join “Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg on SiriusXM” next week for the most exciting stories in tech and business, only on SiriusXM Channel 111 at 9am PST/12 EST!

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Meet Jibo, the First “Family” Robot

Meet Jibo ($599), an 11-inch-tall “family robot” that’s able to see, hear, speak, learn, and help with a variety of tasks around your house. Think of Jibo (currently available for preorder and set to ship in April 2016) as Siri with more physical capabilities. Jibo can sing and dance. He can greet you and remind you to call mom.

Essentially Jibo is like a real-life Rosie, the robot maid from The Jetsons. He’s designed to sit on a table and do various voice-activated jobs, like look up movie times and buy your tickets. He can tell children’s stories and snap family photos using face recognition. He can place Skype calls and handle communications for which you would normally use a phone.

But Jibo’s potential extends beyond engaging in casual conversation and completing chores. Cynthia Breazeal, Jibo’s developer and a pioneer of social robotics at the MIT Media Lab, sees the machine as playing a big role in educating children and aiding the elderly.

While all of this sounds a little creepy, people seem to like Jibo. A crowdfunding campaign, launched in August, raised more than $1.5 million from more than 3,500 people, easily surpassing its $100,000 target.

What do you think? Should we let robot servants into our lives? If we outsource every daily task, will we eventually rely on a machine to have other, more intimate experiences for us? Learn more about Jibo here and tweet us your thoughts @dotcomplicated.

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Ello There!

Were you an early adapter on Twitter back in 2007? Do you have your first name as your Gmail account? Were you on Facebook with a .edu address? If you answered yes to any of these, you’re probably already signed up and posting away on Ello, the new, slightly mysterious social media platform that launched to much fanfare to the general public over the past week.

If you haven’t jumped on the Ello train just yet, the site, which is still in beta, has been active since earlier this summer, but really started to take off with those in the invite pool after Facebook tightened its policy on not allowing people to have accounts under pseudonyms. This was seen as offensive to many, particularly those in the LGBT community, . Facebook has since changed their policy to be more inclusive, but the timing for Ello was fortuitous.

So what’s the fuss about?

Ello’s goal, as stated in the company’s manifesto is to be a social network that is explicitly anti-advertising and design-focused: “We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity, and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership.”

Who knows for how long. Facebook, Twitter and various other platforms resisted ads until, you know, they started making money. But that Ello has made “no ads” a part of their policy and instead plans to focus on providing partnership and premium opportunities to make revenue sounds promising.

For sure, Ello is pretty. Courier font in the manner of old typewriters and pleasing circles for avatars on a stark white background is easy on the eyes. Having spent some time on the site this week, it’s clear that the biggest hurdle for users so far is searchability. There’s no easy way to find your friends or figure out who in your network is already on board. The easiest way to do that? At the moment, it’s searching on Facebook and Twitter to see whom amongst your friends has posted there about joining Ello. You can also filter the people you follow into ‘friends’ and ‘noise’ which makes it easy to separate real conversations from news feeds and babble.

The best policy to abide by on the Internet – as we’ve seen from leaked celebrity nude photos, company Twitter gaffs, and the like – is to never put anything anywhere that you’d be embarrassed about if it got out. On Ello, that kind of thinking is paramount, as the entire site is public – there’s no such thing as a locked account or a privacy limitation yet, although the company has those features listed in its upcoming features. There is already a zero-tolerance policy for abusive behavior. This is in some ways freeing – you don’t have to remember if you put your aunt on limited – and in other ways pretty scary. We’ve gotten used to who is on our friend list on Facebook and what we feel comfortable sharing, so adjusting to the completely public Ello could put a damper on the candor with which we share with friends on other networks.

Any new social network takes time to build up an audience and create a place for safe, engaging conversations. It’s unclear what Ello’s role will be in the long run or if it will even have one beyond the initial buzz, but it’s exciting to see a new player in the  increasingly limited space for social media conversations that has been so dominated by Facebook and Twitter over the past several years.

Have you hopped on the Ello train yet? What kinds of conversations can you envision having there vs. elsewhere online?

By Laura Hertzfeld

 

 

 

 

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Radio Show Recap: How to Get Your Startup Funded (The Investors Tell All)

Finding your passion and turning it into a lucrative business is no simple feat. The amount of competition is high and the rate of success low, which is why oftentimes investors are needed to get things off the ground. But how to do you go about getting an investor, how much do you ask for, and how do you pitch someone your idea?

Professional investors Jim Scheinman of Maven Ventures and Josh Elman of Greylock Partners tackled these questions on this week’s “Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg on SiriusXM,” and listened to three budding entrepreneurs pitches for their ideas, giving them priceless professional feedback.

Here are their thoughts on the world of investing:

On billionaire Peter Thiel’s belief that college is unnecessary:  ” You can have this amazing experience and set your network for life in college.”— Josh

“The American educational system is broken—that needs to be addressed. But the answer is not to drop out. You make life long friends and gain an educational experience. But we do have to address the underlying problems.” —Jim

On companies like Blueseed that are stationed in international waters to combat US visa problems: “We all recognize that great ideas and great talent are coming from everywhere in the world. Immigration is an important issue that we’re working on fixing.”— Josh

“At the very least it’s going to bring to the forefront a topic that we need to talk about and extend the Silicon Valley need for outside talent.”—Jim

On the European cellphone ban lift on planes: “There’s the issue of common courtesy in small spaces. Carrying on a loud conversation is not the most polite thing.”—Josh

“You often get stuck with two people gabbing behind you anyway.”—Jim

On when to look investors: “You don’t need to raise a lot of money. First understand the product. In the early stages, focus on raising money for salaries.”—Jim

On who to ask for money: “Friends and family are a great place to start. Or use your own money. Work for free or for $100,000 you can hire a team for a year.”—Jim

“So many opportunities to raise money: AngelList, Kickstarter, crowd-funding.”—Jim

On when to seek out venture capitalists: “By the time someone is trying to raise money they should have a really good idea of what they are making, proof that it’s been put in the hands of people, and that people want to use it. Bring that service to billions.” —Josh

“When they find the right match, they’re bring a partnership to their team. Not just a funder.”—Josh

“You’re not just hiring a board member. They become your partner in that business you get a strategic partner.”—Josh

Caller Jocelyn pitched her idea for a medical device that measures the amount of pain of patient is in. Josh and Jim responses:

“How is this problem already being solved?”—Josh

“There’s a massive market for this. Everyone has pain at various times at their life.”—Jim

“Crowdfunding is a great way to figure out if you have customers.”—Josh

“Do people want it? Can you get it in their hands? You can sense demand that way.”—Josh

On becoming an angel investor: “Through AngelList, you can actually invest not just support.”—Jim

“Invest alongside the entrepreneurs with as little $1000 to work with professional investors to understand how we think about it. “—Jim

“If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s a dangerous sport right now.”—Jim

On common mistakes when pitching: “Many companies lack of a clear artistic vision. Is the product worth fighting for? Are you passionate about your idea? Is the passion about the idea worth bringing into the world?”—Jim

“Starting a company is the hardest thing you’re going to do for the rest of your life.”—Jim

“When things are down you’re going give up. It’s human nature. With a startup, you can’t.”

“Make sure you have the right team. It’s best to partner with different skill sets and have a clear tech lead. A very strong coder.”—Jim

“Have focus. Choose only ONE thing to focus on.”—Jim

“Have a big vision and big picture of the world and the problem you want to solve.”—Josh

“Ask ‘why now? What is it about the world today that needs my product?’”—Josh

“Ask ‘Why me? Why should I be telling this story?’”—Josh

“People worry both too much and not enough about numbers. We want to see the projections for how you think it’s going to look but you can’t predict how much money you’re going to make.”—Josh

Caller Eileen got feedback for her company The Glassbreakers, a woman mentor-matching project:

“Are you serving a need that will grow? Focus either on your consumer business, putting together women who are mentors and mentees, or toward the enterprising software.”—Jim

“What type of business are you building? Social consumer or selling to enterprise?”—Josh

“Choose one. If you go on parallel paths you probably going to fail at both.”— Jim

“The key questions are how big a company will we be and how much will people pay on consumer side?”—Josh

Caller Emerson got feedback regarding his startup, StudyRoom, connecting classmates and providing tutors:

“Make sure students are engaged, make sure it sticks. If you see the need, demand grows.’—Josh

“We’ve seen 7 or 8 companies in this space. When there are a lot of companies already out there, it’s a challenge to invest in one. Why is that the case? Wrong idea? Wrong time? Was tech not there? Or is it a problem not worth solving?”—Jim

“It’s hard to get people to learn a new habit. How do people currently solve this problem? You can find a tutor anywhere.”—Jim

“I can’t live without Twitter. It’s my pipe to the world.”—Josh

“NextDoor. It’s Facebook for neighborhood updates and questions.

If you lose a dog, post it on NextDoor and neighbors will match it back to the owner. It’s a feeling of community.” —Josh

“I invested in Epic— to inspire the next generation of readers.”—Josh

“Shots. It’s a selfie-based network for young adults where it’s safe from bullying.”—Jim

Join “Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg on SiriusXM” next Wednesday when we discuss health and technology. Only on SiriusXM, Business 111 at 9am PST/12EST.

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Wearable Tech–It’s Not Just for Adults

Parents concerned about the whereabouts of their children (especially those who don’t remember to check in) may soon have their fears alleviated by a new wearable GPS device designed specifically for kids. The Japanese-made Docotch 01 watch, to be released in the U.S. in March 2015, helps parents keep close tabs on their youngsters. The device has a built-in GPS for location tracking, and sensors that let parents know exactly where their children are and if their surroundings are safe.

DoCoMo unveiled the parent-friendly device yesterday in Tokyo and explained that it’s waterproof, dustproof, and has batteries that last for 72 hours. The watch also has a panic button that sends as many as six emails in one go if a child runs into trouble, while text messages can be sent to a parent’s phone.

Over 900,000 people report children missing each year. If devices can be a powerful tool in solving these cases, wearable tech doesn’t need to be limited to the fully grown.

What do you think? Would you want your child to wear the Docotch watch or another monitoring device? We love to hear from you. Tweet us your thoughts @dotcomplicated.

 

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Build Your Own App with DWNLD

Ever think about building your own app?

Introducing DWNLD. It’s like a WordPress for phones that makes it affordable and easy for any content creator to convert their website or social stream into a personalized app. DWNLD has an an easy-to-use platform and foolproof templates (no coding required) for a monthly hosting fee ($15, cancel at any time).

Once you register, DWNLD can import your web content into its content management system and generate a native app. Typically, rolling out something like this would require a big upfront investment, but DWNLD makes the creation of apps affordable and simple, so that anyone can build one. More importantly, it does this extremely well.

Just enter your site’s URL, and the DWNLD software scours the site and generates a fully functional preview of your app within six seconds. Customize it, then publish the app to the App Store with a tap. (DWNLD’s staff will screen that you own the site, that it’s not pornography or spam, etc.) The longest wait in the process is three to ten days Apple will take to approve your app.

Fashion-industry brands like Milk Studios’ Made Fashion Week and model/personality Coco Rocha have been early adopters, and DWNLD is also being used by actress Kristin Cavallari, model Molly Sims, web magazine xoJane, and about 200 others. And you don’t have to be famous to reap DWNLD’s benefit. Imagine going into a job interview and having all the great content you’ve produced in one, mobile place.

The beauty of DWNLD is that its final products feel as sophisticated as those designed by major companies with millions of dollars to spend.

Right now, DWNLD only lets customers build iOS apps, but it’s working on an Android solution.

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Radio Show Recap: Parenting in the Digital Age

When should you introduce your children to technology? How much is too much? How is technology changing the approach to parenting? These concerns are as Dot Complicated as it gets. While children should be kept tech literate, screen time should not replace outside time or friend time. Randi’s book DOT explores technology but also teaches kids that it’s good to put the gadgets down and play outside.

On this week’s radio show, Randi addressed the conundrums that can come with parenting in the digital age. She was joined by Sarah Granger, author of ‘The Digital Mystique,” Sara Kloek and Lorraine Akemann, the founders of Moms With Apps, and David Atchinson of the parent commerce site Zulily.

Here are their thoughts on raising kids in a digital world.

On the new radar gun for text messaging while driving:

LORRAINE: “I like it! It will keep me honest.”

SARA: “I worry about privacy implications.”

SARAH G: “I think the threat of having that out there will help.”

On anonymous apps like Whisper and Secret:

SARAH G: “We’re getting to the point where it’s a little dangerous. Many apps aren’t that anonymous. There are ways to track them and find an IP address.”

LORRAINE: ” There’s accountability in having a credible online profile.”

On parental controls on Netflix and Amazon Fire:

SARA: “When parents are able to make the choice, better decisions are made.”

SARAH GRANGER is the author of ‘The Digital Mystique’ and founder of the Center for Tech, Media & Society.

On how ‘The Digital Mystique’ began: “When my dad passed away, everything stopped. After grieving online people started reaching out to me. I hadn’t thought about how to grieve online. Most people just want to know how to get through their day online.”

On how to monitor young teens online: “The best thing to do as parents is communicate. Pick a central point in the house so that when kids are online see them and be involved.”

On how young to start kids with tech: “The iPad has saved my life on so many flights I can’t even tell you.”

“Pay attention to healthy limits solves the problem on its own.”

On over-sharing parents: “Educating what the difference is between public and private on social networks. Education is Step 1.”

“Most people only need to see one picture of your kid a week.”

Fave app: DoorDash food delivery

Recently deleted app: Foursquare

@sarahgranger

Sara Kloek and Lorraine Akeman started Moms With Apps after meeting on Twitter:

On how Moms With Apps began: “We all just launched new apps and  needed to connect to learn the app marketplace. We did what moms do best—support each other.”

On monitoring kids online: “Balance the need to explore. Establish healthy habits early on.”

“We started making apps because we couldn’t find what our kids wanted online. Things that helped them figure out how to read or do their times tables.”

On changing skillsets: “I’m on my kids about typing and my kids already onto using the microphone.”

On what apps to create: “You see the need because you have the living room lab.”

On when to start kids with technology: “We think parents know best.”

On using tech as a reward or punishment: “Technology is a tool to solve problems. A reward is self-motivated and intrinsic.”

On using location tracking: “Carriers have parental tracking and most parents want to know where their kids are especially if they aren’t responding.”

“There are laws that prevent tech companies from sharing things from kids. There are federal government barriers. ”

On when to allow teenagers to private screen time: “That’s a personal decision between kids and parents. Circumstances change with age. ”

Lorraine’s favorite app: Yahoo weather.

Sarah’s favorite app: Clearsky.

@momswithapps

David Atchinson is the SVP of Marketing at Zulily, the flash sales web site for children’s clothing and accessories. David was a member of the founding team and the first marketing employee. Zulily now has 3.7 million active customers in just 4 years thanks to social media.

On reacting to quick changes: “Sometimes things don’t pan out or work. We’re trying a lot of new things. Once we find something with a backbone, that’s when we’ll decide to invest more resources. We’re staying up on new developments.”

On emotional connection to their brand: “It’s a combination of experience and newness everyday.  We’re scouring the planet for what moms and women want on a daily basis. Six am, when we launch sales, comes whether we’re ready or not.”

The key social media technique: “Focus on daily execution not giving up.”

The key to staying on top of trends: “Adding personality. It’s about newness and engagement.”

On getting people out in the real world once you buy something online: “We focus on mom and kids. Being a parent is a very active thing. Being active is part of having fun. It’s natural.”

App he can’t live without? “Dropbox—all my kids pictures are there.”

“Facebook. My wife is constantly posting things about me so I need to keep on top of what I’m doing and be part of her conversation.”

App he deleted: “Sixteen gigs isn’t what it used to be so there are no gaming apps.”

@zulily

Join “Dot Complicated with Randi Zuckerberg” next week when we talk to leading investors in Silicon Valley. You can even call in to pitch your ideas!

In honor of the Rosh Hashanah, Randi has narrated Wake Up World , an interactive book for the Jewish New Year that turns your smartphone or tablet into a shofar you can actually blow—proving once again how tech can help with tradition! 

L’shana Tova!!

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Apps & Honey for the New Year

 

It’s that time of year again. Time to ask for inscription in the (Face)book of life and be absolved of all our digital sins. Technology is making atonement far more complicated than it used to be: Our sins go beyond what we say out loud to every shortsighted tweet, every time we use caps lock in a text message by mistake, every time we have a ‘Damn You Auto-Correct’ moment. So how can we make up for our online sins and use tech to do some good during the High Holidays?

Last Rosh Hashanah, I caught more than one elementary school-aged kid looking bored as can be at services, sneaking a game in on her iPad, hoping she wouldn’t get in trouble. While I’m not sure this is any different than the comic books and novels we used to try to sneak in to temple when we were kids (not that we ever got away with it!) perhaps there’s an opportunity to use apps and devices that teach about Jewish tradition in a fun and engaging way – rather than ones than remove kids from it. I am not condoning whipping out a phone during High Holiday services this year, but there are some new and fun ways to learn about what’s going on up on the bima before they get to temple.

As a religion, Judaism constantly encourages the ongoing interpretation of stories and traditions in ways that reflect the culture of our times. The Passover story of the four children forces us to pause and think about out how all types of children both in ancient times and today might approach and understand the story of the Exodus. Rosh Hashanah traditionally falls near the beginning of the school year as well as marking the new religious year and teaches about the sweetness of learning. I’ve been working with G-dcast, a studio that makes apps and interactive web stories that teach about holidays and traditions in a fun, unique way. We all know the shofar is by far the coolest part of the High Holidays and the new app Wake Up World! allows kids to blow into the microphone of their tablet or smartphone (Android or iPhone) and make the sound of the different shofar calls. I did the voiceover for the app and the final product is something I was really proud to show to my 3-year-old son – and even more proud when I saw him laugh hysterically while blowing into the phone and hearing it make shofar noises. It brought our whole family closer together.  Wake Up World! not only teaches kids the Hebrew words and meanings of the shofar blasts, but also includes a story that makes the holiday relatable and fresh. Just as the experience of sitting in synagogue for the holidays can be both a very individual activity and one that makes you feel part of a much bigger community, our devices can bring us together, too.

We talk a lot in the tech world about disruption – like Uber disrupting the town car industry or Nest disrupting how we heat our homes. Disrupt in this sense means to take a new approach that questions how we have always done things. But when it comes to our kids, technology often seems more like an interruption than a disruption. The focus, often rightly, becomes how can we limit phone time/YouTube time/game time — rather than asking if games and technology can enhance our real life experiences? I don’t think these concepts need to be mutually exclusive.

The Jewish app world has exploded in recent years. There are apps to tell you when sundown is to light the Shabbat candles and apps to send a prayer to the Western Wall, apps on how to bake challah and one of my favorites – Whack-a-Hamen for Purim. Of course, you can take a good idea a bit too far – I’m glad there’s not an iMohel DIY circumcision app, although there are probably some engineers in a garage building it as I write this… Perhaps not EVERYTHING needs to be disrupted…

We have an opportunity to go beyond the obvious and learn something from the rest of the tech world to make something that is relevant, fun, and can compete with the Fruit Ninjas and Angry Birds of the world, while teaching something more than hand-thumb coordination. G-dcast’s apps are making inroads in this space, but like everything we most admire about tech, the sky really is the limit to creativity. Taking the time and energy we currently spend making apps and devices that improve the adult world and shifting some of that to technology that would enrich our kids and their spiritual lives? That would be a real disruption.

By Randi Zuckerberg. 

 

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How to Buy Art Online

Not everyone has the ability to walk into a gallery and buy the work they love right off the walls. But thanks to the internet, you can now find quality pieces from great unknown talents, as well as prints by well-known, established artists. Check out our favorite sites for buying art online. Bare walls, be gone!

20×200. The site to buy affordable art online sells limited edition prints of varying sizes, with inspiring stories behind each one.

Auctionata. This European auction house sells undervalued works, like a 1797 William Hogarth engraving, or a 1960 Jacques Hartz photograph of Duke Ellington.

Photographers Gallery. This site for prints is pretty extensive: portraits of Saint Tropez beach goers are mixed in with abstract landscapes and city scenes.

The Tappan Collective. Founded by two L.A.-based art enthusiasts, The Tappan Collective sells limited-edition prints and original work from young, emerging artists. A lot of the art (which starts at $20) has a cool, Los Angeles vibe—muted pastels, retro-looking beachscapes—perfect for making your walls Instagram/Pinterest-friendly.

Canvassed. A marketplace that houses emerging and established talents. Choose from a Mick Rock portrait of Andy Warhol or a Skip Arnold long exposure. There’s even on-demand support.

Saatchi Online. Saatchi Online, an outshoot of London’s famous Saatchi Gallery (which its founder donated to the public in 2010!), sells work directly from artists, many of whom aren’t represented by galleries, and lets them keep 70 percent of sale. For most of the pieces, both the original work and prints are available.

Photos.com by Getty Images. This stock photo giant offers custom prints (on canvas, birch wood) from artists like Slim Aarons or from Life magazine’s archives.

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