Author: JD Rucker

It isn’t common for a startup to be met with as much scorn and criticism as Color. Even before it officially launched, it was being called a waste of VC money, just another image sharing app, and confusing to use. It just didn’t seem like it could be used for anything… useful. Now, our friends at Namesake found something that can be an effective use of the app. Party Trolling! Click to enlarge. …

The question often gets asked by businesses to their marketing firms, “Do we need an app?” The rise in popularity of mobile internet use has prompted the need for more easily accessible mobile functionality for websites. The real question is, “Do we need an app or a robust mobile site?” “We went with mobile sites,” said Jarvis Allison at Albuquerque Ford. “We considered an app but we just couldn’t imagine people downloading something that they’re only going to use every two and a half years.” Many business sites have a mobile variation of them. Web companies are making entire business models around…

Microsoft announced this morning that they are moving forward with plans to buy Skype for $8.5 billion in cash from the investor group led by Silver Lake. The agreement has been approved by the both boards. What does this mean for both companies? For Microsoft, it gives them proven technology that is in a state of growth and that has high revenue potential based upon the direction of the telecommunication industry. For Skype, it’s cash. It isn’t clear whether or not the company needed cash, but it’s unlikely. Over the next few months, we’ll see how it shakes out, but this could be a sign of Microsoft’s…

For the last two weeks, one of the largest security breaches in online network history has been grinding along. As of today, the Sony Playstation Network is still down. To make things worse, Anonymous, who claims to not be involved with these particular hacks, pointed their scowl at Sony today in a release titled, “SONY, I AM DISAPPOINT.” Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it just did. In the release, they outline four points of contention in the way Sony and journalists are handling the situation and pointing fingers at the group who has never been known to get involved with direct theft…

In 1975, Three Days of the Condor with Robert Redford highlighted the profession of CIA researcher, a non-combat, non-covert department of the spy organization. Redford played a standard “knowledge worker” who was propelled into the world of espionage. He got the bad guys, got the girl, and learned to shoot a gun. While most of us in a similar position will likely not be chased by the government, it points to a necessary section of most organizations that gets less glory than the “front line” professions but that, for all intents and purposes, helps drive the world for everyone. The business of…

Just as 8-Tracks led to tapes, tapes, led to CDs, and CDs led to MP3s, so too is that way we do our transactions changing. This is the early stage – it’s hard for most people to even imagine paying for things with their cell phones – but both technology and trending pop culture are pushing us all in that direction. Will credit cards and even cash someday be replaced by mobile devices as the preferred method of payment when out in real life? That’s the question that CreditSesame attempts to answer by taking a look at the way society is heading with regards to mobile payment mechanisms. “What’s in your wallet?”…

Missing “Star Wars Day” is a crime against geeks across the world. If you are wondering when Star Wars Day is, you already missed it – May 4th. Fortunately, there are always ways to make up for it, such as by enjoying this excellent and ever-so-true comic by our friends at Calamities of Nature. Much love to Tony Piro for running this excellent comic. Click to enlarge. …

Building a startup represents the 21st century equivalent of the “American Dream.” It’s not a direct comparison, as it has become a global endeavor and it’s also much harder to break in than it was in the early parts of the 20th century when “the dream” was really first born. What does it take? What are they doing right or wrong? How can they succeed? This graphic by our friends at Focus takes us through the various challenges and pitfalls associated with starting a tech company. Click to enlarge. …

Your employees are the DNA of your business. When lines of communication are broken or fragmented, the value and efficiency of your business break down as well. SIS Systems Research surveyed a pool of 100 employees at different businesses and discovered they utilize a wide variety of tools to communicate. With the myriad of communication devices and methods available today, it would make sense to that organizations should be able to improve communication processes to save both time and money. Unfortunately, the growth of these new communication technologies has forced users to split their…

When people make predictions about future technologies that come true, they are seen as visionaries. When people miss terribly with their predictions, they have infographics that live forever telling of how wrong they were. Such has been the case for many futurists over the past century and a third. It’s often easy to make a bold prediction when it is supposed to come true in the distant future, but some predictions were proven to be exceptionally wrong looking a couple of years ahead. Bill Gates, for example, said spam would be solved in 2 years. That was 2004. We’re still waiting and hoping for…