Category: News and Views

Pop Goes the Algorithm | wfs.org

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As a musician and writer, Ben Novak drove the car he could afford in 2004: a 1993 Nissan Bluebird. The vehicle propelled him around his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, just fine. Novak’s main complaint about the car concerned its radio, which could capture only two FM stations out of the dozens broadcasting in the city. As somebody who spent every spare minute imbibing or playing music, Novak found this no minor aggravation. But he didn’t have money for a new car, so he left the dial fixed on the BBC, his only acceptable option.

Being stuck on the BBC had its benefits. Novak was well armed for cocktail conversation on current events, and he could always crack off a new piece of intellectual fodder when chitchat grew stale. More important, he didn’t miss a short BBC report on technology developed in Spain that, the person being profiled claimed, could predict which songs would turn into pop hits.

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FAA Bans The Use Of Drones To Deliver Packages | TechCrunch

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The FAA made it plain this week that Amazon, or anyone else for that matter, won’t be able to deliver packages using a drone in the near future. In a document soliciting feedback regarding drone policy — a “Notice of Interpretation with Request for Comment ” — the FAA calls “delivering packages to people for a fee” a non-hobby or recreation-based drone activity.

 

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As such, the FAA wants to ban it. A recent court case set the FAA back regarding its wish to ban commercial drone usage in the United States. The agency is appealing that ruling.

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Starbucks Brings Back Lemon Cake After Customers Gripe | Bloomberg

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Starbucks Corp. is bringing back the sliced lemon cake.

After the coffee chain bought gourmet-baking company La Boulange in 2012, it used the acquisition to add fancier pastries to U.S. locations. Now Starbucks is discovering that some customers liked the food better before, prompting another round of retooling.

“We’ve got a few products that we are going to bring back from the old menu,” Troy Alstead, chief operating officer for Seattle-based Starbucks, said in an interview. “Some customers missed a few things.

”Starting this week, the company will begin reverting to selling slices of banana, pumpkin and iced-lemon loaf cake — old favorites — in its U.S. stores. Starbucks will be using new La Boulange recipes and existing suppliers to create food that more closely resembles its previous fare.

Getting the menu right is critical to Starbucks’ U.S. growth strategy. In a saturated coffee market, the company is trying to entice more customers to add a pastry or croissant to their latte orders. Starbucks also faces mounting breakfast competition from fast-food chains: McDonald’s Corp. has been offering pastries at some locations this year, and everyone from Taco Bell to Burger King is trying to boost morning sales.

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Increase Revenue During Off-Peak Hours | Restaurant.org

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The recent recession did more than adjust people’s spending habits – it also changed how and when they eat. The days of three strictly observed standard meals are now past. As a result, snacking and off-peak food service continue to emerge as growth opportunities for restaurants.

Because of financial tightening, more consumers have focused on deals and smaller purchases, including for their food. They’re ordering less during main meals – which can make them hungrier during the day. This makes them graze and snack more often, as well as eat during non-traditional hours.

According to Technomic’s 2012 Snacking Occasion Consumer Trend Report, 48% of consumers are snacking at least twice a day, up from 25% in 2010. As restaurants have adapted to this trend, their share of the snack market has increased from 17% in 2010 to 22% today.

Thirty-seven percent of consumers have broadened their definition of snack to include a wider variety of food and beverages. Sixty-two percent admitted that snacks are typically an impulse purchase as well.

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LeVar Burton Raised $1,000,000 in One Day To Revive Reading Rainbow| trendhunters.com

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Kickstarter projects and similar sites are amazing because they allow entrepreneurs, or enterprising helmsmen, to fund ventures with small amounts of money from a large number of people via the internet.

LeVar Burton recently took to Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website, to raise funds to revive a popular children’s television program he used to host called Reading Rainbow.  The educational PBS series ran from 1983 until 2006 and Burton is looking to bring it back.

The former Star Trek actor is not the only one to benefit from this online fundraising platform. Kickstarter projects can relate to any kind of product or service, including clothing, inventions, apps and art. Whether you are interested in financing tech-integrated desks or affordable belonging tracking devices, there is no shortage of innovative ideas on the site

100 Kickstarter Projects – LeVar Burton Raised $1,000,000 in One Day To Revive Reading Rainbow TOPLIST.

Why Millennials Are Immature, Entitled and the Best Hire | Entrepreneur.com

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As it has been pointed out countless times in the media and through anecdotes, millennials in the workplace feel entitled to undeserved promotions and raises, are addicted to their smartphones and job hop every few years. The litany of complaints goes on, but of course no generation is as bad — or as good — as reported: Generation X was more than just a bunch of slackers and Baby Boomers’ strengths shook off their juvenile delinquent label.

In the case of Generation Y, twenty-somethings bring new perspectives and habits to the workplace that add value to their employers, even though those strengths also carry inherent weaknesses.

Whether you’re managing millennials or are a twenty-something yourself, here are the unique and creative talents Gen Y brings to the table, the lessons they still need to learn and the opportunities they have to establish themselves as the next generation of leaders.

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Instagram Ads Are Getting Instant Recall | Adweek

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Instagram ads, just six months old and limited to a select group of 15 brands, are already showing promising results, according to exclusive data given to Adweek by the social photo-sharing site. Internal performance figures on ad partners Taco Bell, Ben & Jerry’s and Hollister provide a peek under the hood of how this platform will fare when it goes wide in late spring. More ads are on the way, thanks to Instagram’s $40 million megadeal with Omnicom.

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