In 1973, Stanford sociology professor Mark Granovetter published an empirical paper called The Strength of Weak Ties. Professor Granovetter is one of the pioneers of social network theory, and is “unofficially” short-listed for the Nobel Prize in Economics. His work influenced approaches to everything from analyzing links between virtual communities in Second Life to building strong product teams. Read More>>
Monthly Archives: April 2016
1 million people are now connecting to Facebook without leaving a digital trail
More than one million people are now connecting to Facebook through the Tor “dark web,” which maintains their privacy and leaves no digital trail. The number of Facebook over Tor users over an average 30-day period has about doubled in less than a year, now hitting 1 million. Tor allows anonymous web browsing by sending data through multiple encrypted steps. Read More>>
Paid search rules for ROI on mobile: report
Lead generation and direct online sales represent the two most important objectives for mobile marketers and paid search is the key mobile channel for achieving these objectives. Paid social can be similarly easy to measure effectively. However consumers often have a lower purchase intent when using social media than when searching, so the objectives for this channel lean more towards branding and traffic. Read More>>
Why Building Your Startup In “Stealth Mode” Is A Bad Idea
“Stealth mode” is the period when startups build a product or company in secret in order to gain a competitive advantage before they launch. Building a company in secret cripples the development of an early customer base and eliminates any opportunity for valuable feedback. So share it, get feedback, and improve it. Read More>>
Continued space investment growth not guaranteed, investors caution
Space companies have seen huge investments in recent years. Despite this, investors and analysts warned that there is no guarantee this growth will continue in the coming years. Investment climate can change quickly depending on the overall economic picture as well as industry-specific events. For now, however, there’s little sign of a slowdown in space investment. Read More>>
Researchers Teach a Quadriplegic’s Hand To Move Again
Researchers have briefly restored a 24-year-old quadriplegic man’s ability to grasp a cup and perform other everyday tasks with his hand, wrist and fingers. Researchers described their experiment in brain-machine interfaces as a way to bypass a severed connection between brain and limbs and restore some independent movement to those with grievous injuries. Read More>>
Ebay’s mobile Craigslist competitor Close5 has quietly grown to 7 million downloads
The online classifieds space has been dominated for years by Craigslist, despite its failure to adapt to newer technologies, including mobile. That has left room for newcomers to angle their way into the market. Ebay has also been quietly growing its own local selling marketplace amid this competition, and says that its Close5 app has been downloaded more than 7 million times to date. Read More>>
Why Your Company Wants to be a ‘Cognitive Referent’ (Hint: Space X)
Companies that come to epitomize a nascent market can capture greater success than other startups. For startups jockeying for position in nascent markets, pressure is intense to come up with a viable business plan before running out of money. Unlike mature industries, nascent markets offer little certainty and plenty of ambiguity. Is there a roadmap or strategy that firms can follow to gain cognitive referent status? Read More>>
Lessons From The Epic Fails Of Well-Funded Startups
In the startup world, failure is a given. When startups are well funded—and have a growing number of staff members and stakeholders, it’s not quite so simple. Funding doesn’t always guarantee success. These five startups failed after rising close to $100 million and more each from investors. Read More>>
Facebook Offers New Video Elements, Adds To App
Facebook plans to place a video tab right in its Messenger app to further flex its live video muscles. It is also rolling out a number of new video-based features, including Video for Groups and Events, with which users can more easily share live video with particular friends and family. Read More>>
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