Blippar, the U.K.-based AR startup that raised more than $130 million, may be nearing the end of the road. The company has been burning through cash in a bid to pivot in search of a profitable AR business model, and now shareholders are in dispute over whether to throw Blippar any more money to aid … Continue reading AR startup Blippar in danger of becoming a blip as shareholders fight over future funding
Entrepreneurship
Facebook moves to shrink its legal liabilities under GDPR
Facebook has another change in the works to respond to the European Union’s beefed up data protection framework — and this one looks intended to shrink its legal liabilities under GDPR, and at scale. Late yesterday Reuters reported on a change incoming to Facebook’s T&Cs that it said will be pushed out next month — meaning … Continue reading Facebook moves to shrink its legal liabilities under GDPR
Why Your Health Is the Key to Your Success in Business
Take care of yourself, and your business will take care of itself. Be honest: Are you working at your absolute peak? Just look at The Rock. Sure he's charismatic and a strong actor, but how does he fly across the world to record back-to-back films with barely a moment to rest? It's because he's in … Continue reading Why Your Health Is the Key to Your Success in Business
Limiting social media use reduced loneliness and depression in new experiment
The idea that social media can be harmful to our mental and emotional well-being is not a new one, but little has been done by researchers to directly measure the effect; surveys and correlative studies are at best suggestive. A new experimental study out of Penn State, however, directly links more social media use to … Continue reading Limiting social media use reduced loneliness and depression in new experiment
Vacation is a poor substitute for leisure
For many of us, rest in the historical sense—the active version—is only imaginable after a lifetime of work, in retirement. More than two thousand years ago, the Roman stoic philosopher Seneca wrote a letter to his friend Paulinus, urging against a certain type of rest: I do not summon you to slothful or idle inaction, … Continue reading Vacation is a poor substitute for leisure
The end of the internet startup
We haven't had a major new technology company in more than 10 years. Silicon Valley is supposed to be a place where a couple of guys in a garage or a dorm room can start companies that change the world. It happened with Apple and Microsoft in the 1970s, AOL in the 1980s, Amazon, Yahoo, … Continue reading The end of the internet startup
Crazy Work Hours and Lots of Cameras: Silicon Valley Goes to China
A group of Silicon Valley executives at the investment firm Sinovation Ventures in Beijing in August. It was part of a trip to China their companies organized to explore how the country has rapidly become a tech power to rival the United States. One Chinese technology executive said he worked 14 to 15 hours a … Continue reading Crazy Work Hours and Lots of Cameras: Silicon Valley Goes to China
China’s obsession with short videos has its internet giants worried
Take a subway ride in China and expect to see a lot of commuters’ eyes glued to TikTok videos on their phones. Video clips like TikTok’s are now consuming nearly nine percent of Chinese people’s time online, a 5.2 percent jump from 2017, according to app analytics firm QuestMobile. Apps such as TikTok — which … Continue reading China’s obsession with short videos has its internet giants worried
SoftBank’s debt obsession
The Wall Street Journal and others reported that Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of SoftBank, will take into account the killing of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi when considering whether to receive additional investment from Saudi Arabia in future Vision Funds. Saudi Arabia is the largest investor in the current Vision Fund, having pledged … Continue reading SoftBank’s debt obsession
Snapchat’s PR firm sues influencer for not promoting Spectacles on Instagram
Influencer marketing could get a lot more accountable if Snapchat’s PR firm wins this lawsuit. Snapchat hoped that social media stars promoting v2 of its Spectacles camera sunglasses on its biggest competitor could boost interest after it only sold 220,000 of v1 and had to take a $40 million write-off. Instead, Snap comes off looking … Continue reading Snapchat’s PR firm sues influencer for not promoting Spectacles on Instagram
Eric's playground 