Author: knjohn

TV Is Losing Ground to the Internet Where It Really Counts | WIRED

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AS A SPATE of new shows from Netflix and Amazon prove that some of the best television being made streams rather than airs, TV will take a financial hit. PwC’s annual five-year forecast for entertainment and media released today has revised downward the growth rate for ad spending on television. Last year, PwC predicted advertising would increase 5.5 percent annually over the next five years; now PwC says that rate will slow to just 4 percent annually through 2019.

And those are just the global figures. In the United States, TV ad spending is growing by just a little more than 3 percent annually on average. By contrast, spending jumped 5 percent between 2013 and 2014, the most recent years that PwC makes available.

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Here’s How Disney is Controlling Your Mind | Page19

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5623927306_e3b611175a_bWhat does it take to be the Happiest Place on Earth? You can use a lot of words to describe it—fantastic, magical, paradisiacal—but one thing it isn’t is accidental.

Though the atmosphere might feel fanciful, at The Magic Kingdom, every sight, sound, and smell has been painstakingly calibrated and adjusted to create an atmosphere. Be Our Guest, by Theodore Kinni, goes in-depth to explain just what kinds of sugar and spice go into everything nice at Disney.

Smell

Have you ever wondered why you can smell popcorn first thing in the morning at Disneyland? Much like a real estate agent spraying fresh baked cookie smell all over a house he’s about to show, the popcorn smell is used to create a cozy and festive atmosphere.

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Doorman Raises $1.5 Million To Eliminate Missed Package Deliveries | TechCrunch

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Everyone has, at some time or another, experienced the frustration that comes from missing a delivery – that is, coming home only to find a delivery notice stuck to your door. A company called Doorman is trying to solve this problem by allowing customers to schedule their own deliveries as late as midnight, seven days a week. Now Doorman has $1.5 million in seed funding to continue to grow its business, and is also now launching its first API.

The API will allow partners to integrate Doorman’s scheduling functionality directly into their own websites and applications.

The funding was led by Doorman’s advisors, Motus Ventures, and included participation from WTI, MicroVentures, and VGO Ventures. Prior to this round, the company had raised $375,000 from smaller VCs and angel investors.

Doorman was founded by Zander Adell, a former Pixar Technical Director, who felt the frustrations of missed deliveries first-hand, he said. Though today there are a number of options for same-day deliveries from retailers like Amazon or via courier-based services like Postmates, deliveries from other online shopping destinations are still routed through package delivery companies like UPS and FedEx. With these companies, consumers have less control over the timing of a delivery’s arrival.

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  How to Make Your Office an Inviting Place to Work | Getentrepreneurial.com

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newrelic-0891The office is your space to be productive. It’s where you do most of your work, spend most of your weekday waking hours and where you need to be able to focus. The same can be said for your employees. Because of this, many business owners focus on productivity – on having the right equipment in the right spaces to ensure every task can be accomplished on time.

What about making your space more inviting? What about making it a place that you and your employees want to show up at every day, where collaboration that leads to measurable results can happen and where each person can be the best they can be to reach company goals? It all starts with making your office a little more inviting. Follow the 10 tips below to get started.

  1. Eliminate Awkward Silences

Silence happens. While many business owners see silence as a positive, a sign that progress is taking place, many others see it as a distraction. While distracting noises and loud music might be detrimental to a positive working environment, other sounds may be more beneficial. In fact, one study found that work output increased 6.3 percent by adding background noise.

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Rare Apple I computer put into recycling | BBC News

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A San Francisco recycling centre is seeking a woman who may have handed over a rare Apple I computer by mistake.

The machine was among other components and computers the woman wanted to dispose of after her husband died.

Only about 200 of the first-generation Apple computers were made.

The company recognised the value of the old computer and sold it to a private collector for about $200,000 (£131,000).

Tiny memory

The recycling centre, called Clean Bay Area, has launched a web and media campaign to track down the woman so she can receive her half of the cash they got for the machine.

It has produced a short video it is asking people to share to see if they can reach the donor.

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Women pay 76 cents to men’s $1 at shop promoting wage equality | mashable

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You pay what you earn at a tiny shop in Pittsburgh that is take a strong stance on gender equality.

Elana Schlenker’s pop-up shop, Less Than 100, sells gifts like ceramics, paper crafts and art by independent makers. It’s like a brick-and-mortar Etsy, except for one distinctive attribute: men pay more.

“I don’t think anyone should be discriminated against, but the wage gap is a pervasive problem and we need to recognize the ways in which our (often unconscious) biases are perpetuating it. I hope the shop sparks conversation around the issue,” Schlenker told Mashable in an email.

Specifically, Less Than 100’s pricing reflects the current average wage gap in Pennsylvania. Women there are paid 76 cents compared to every dollar a man earns for the same job.

It’s not that items are being marked up for men, technically. Rather, women are getting a discount. According to the shop’s website, women pay 76% of any item’s full ticket price, and men pay the full amount.

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This Texas Gas Station Turned Camels and Karaoke Into a $30 Million Business | Inc.com

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Texas-Gas-Station-Inline_30545Editor’s note: This tour of small businesses across the country highlights the imagination, diversity, and resilience of American enterprise.

Come for the cheap gas and tacos. Stay for the livestock and karaoke.

This is a typical Saturday night at Fuel City in Dallas. Two police officers direct traffic as cars line up for unleaded gas at $2.39 a gallon. All three taco windows are mobbed, as are the carts peddling elote en vaso (corn in a cup). Customers wander into the karaoke trailer (complete with disco ball) to belt out Tejana favorites, country classics, and oldies. Out back, longhorn cattle snooze on the ground. The zebra remains standing.

“Our slogan is ‘Where dreams come true,'” says Fuel City founder John Benda. “Maybe that’s a little corny. But that’s what I want this place to be.”

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5 Horrible Traits That Push People Away | Entrepreneur

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There are certain horrible habits that some people have that simply drive others away. As the old saying goes, every person has something good to offer. But for some, it’s when they leave the room. Are people happy when you walk in or overjoyed when you walk out?

Here are five horrible traits that push people away, how to recognize if you have them and how to get rid of them for good.

1. You’re a downer.

We’ve all been around these people. They whine, they complain, they talk about how much is going wrong in their lives and they want to tell you every detail of it.

How do you know if it’s you that’s the downer? Pay attention to what you’re talking about the most. Did you complain about traffic as your opening line when you got to your meeting this morning? Did you make sure to tell those around you how little sleep you got last night, how hard you’re working or how busy you are?

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California’s Water Crisis Is The Result Of Market Failure As Much As Drought | Co.Exist

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3046647-inline-i-1-californias-water-crisis-is-the-result-of-market-failure-as-much-as-droughtWeak pricing signals. Poor accounting. Byzantine rules. These are just a few of the reasons why California is in the midst of a water crisis. A lack of rainfall is perhaps the least of the state’s problems.

California’s situation is symptomatic of escalating water risks all across the world, where water is typically undervalued and, as a result, used incredibly inefficiently as more people than ever need it.

“There’s no room to hide anymore, this is where finance hits reality,” said Piet Klop, senior advisor of responsible investment at Dutch pension fund manager PGGM, who spoke with me recently about escalating water risks globally.

At meetings I attended across the state this month with water-savvy investors, the California drought always loomed large. In addition to fallowed farmland and depressed earnings, they acknowledged a larger more profound reality—the devastating drought and growing climate change impacts are likely the “new normal” for California.

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