Culture
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Everything an outsider needs to know about LA
It’s not a surprise to regular readers that we’re bullish on the promise of the LA startup ecosystem. Will it be “the next Silicon Valley”? No. No place will. The same way no place will replace Hollywood as the center of filmmaking. It’s not even at the level of New York’s tech hub at this point. But that doesn’t mean... -
Driver dustup at Uber’s LA office illuminates the difficulty of moving offline industries online
Funny thing about this whole trend of using mobile to disrupt the real world: It means you have to have contact with the real world. And when you are disrupting an industry that hasn’t seen much change, technology, or innovation, not everyone understands the rules of engagement. We’re used to stories of Uber clashing with politicians, but apparently even... -
Occupy Democracy: Loomio attempts to re-invent group decision-making… as a co-op
Eighteen months ago, Richard Bartlett was camped out with a group of demonstrators in a civic square in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city, as part of the “Occupy” movement that swept the globe. Bartlett, an engineer turned artist turned activist, was engrossed in what he says was his first experience of genuine democracy. Like their peers at Occupy Wall Street,…
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Andreessen and Thiel debate whether we’re still innovating
Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel will pretty much debate anyone, anytime, anywhere about most anything. They’re both frighteningly good at it. It’s not fun to be on the other side of the barrage of obscure facts and rhetorical tricks both can easily employ. So, The Milken Institute decided to sick them on one another. At an event earlier this week,... -
Sebastian Thrun: “Grave times require radical thinkers”
If you are a traditional educator, this video will likely infuriate you. In it, Udacity founder Sebastian Thrun and I talk about what is working with online education and what isn’t. He’s plenty critical of the movement he’s part of — citing the 90% drop out rates of a lot of massive online courses. “I’m the first one to... -
Kia ora e hoa ma: PandoDaily is in New Zealand
Last week, PandoDaily brought you Australia (more stories to come), this week we go even further towards the Antarctic to bring you a country of even more modest size and first-rate flat whites (which, for the uninitiated, is a style of coffee y’all should be drinking). The native Maori people call it Aotearoa, “Land of the Long White Cloud,”... -
Hard yakka: Why Atlassian’s founders are the pride of Australia’s startup world
A few years ago, Mike Cannon-Brookes was invited to speak to a student entrepreneurial society at a Sydney university. The co-founder of Atlassian, one of Australia’s most successful software companies ever, showed up to the venue in cut-off jeans and a T-shirt. One of the workers who was setting up the venue mistook him for IT support. When Cannon-Brookes walked…
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Built in LA report shows that the LA startup ecosystem has come a long, long way
There has been no shortage of talk both in and out of Los Angeles about the rise of the LA startup ecosystem over the last 12 to 18 months. As someone who’s been on the ground and deeply embedded in the community, I can attest that it has been a period of astounding growth and maturation. The problem has always... -
Apple continues to “think different” — it’s just that “different” is, well, different
It’s been 16 years since Apple told the world to “think different,” to take note of the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, and the “round pegs in the square holes.” The advertisement-turned-business-philosophy began as an indictment against IBM, became a rallying cry for creatives and Apple pundits, and now, almost two decades later, it still describes Apple today. Despite... -
Sydney vs Melbourne, rival cities but sisters in startups
Many countries have strong rivalries between their two leading cities. New York vs San Francisco, Shanghai vs Beijing, Toronto vs Vancouver. In Australia, it’s Sydney vs Melbourne. This past week, I have been reporting from Sydney and meeting as many people as possible from the city’s startup ecosystem in that short period of time. Since announcing my arrival in the…
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Who says education can’t be lucrative? The early days of Lynda.com
We certainly couldn’t spend a month focusing on online education and not include Lynda.com. The 17-year-old company grabbed the Valley’s attention when it raised a whopping $103 million series A deal lead by Accel Partners in January– a hefty series A by any standards and the most ever raised in a single round by an edtech company, according to... -
In cash-strapped Aussie venture market, a bird flies into a vacuum
here’s a gap in Australia’s venture capital sector as big as the Outback. While the country has enough serial entrepreneurs and angel investors to be able to support young companies at the seed stage and enough interest from large national institutions and American VCs to flesh out the big growth rounds, anything in between falls into a void. Silicon Valley…
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Strewth! PandoDaily hits Sydney
It took more than 15 hours in a stinky plane, but I’ve arrived in Sydney to bright sunshine and a calendar full of meetings with startups, investors, and tech companies. I’ve got only four days in the city, but I figure I can use that time to get a whiff of what Australia’s gutsy, under-the-radar entrepreneurs are up to, and…
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Beyond the broadcast: New social tools encourage one-on-one sharing
Here’s a question: If something is shared online, but wasn’t broadcast to Twitter or Facebook, was it ever really shared at all? (Ha! And you thought the pond that inspired “Walden” was deep.) The answer, of course, is “yes,” and direct communication is becoming increasingly popular on the social Web. Take Pocket, the read-it-later service formerly called, well, Read... -
Digital Public Library of America: Big moment for open access, or too big for its own good?
Yesterday, the official, albeit beta, unveiling of the Digital Public Library of America took place. Bear with me because it’s kind of a big deal. The DPLA stitches together far-flung material from archives, libraries, and museums and makes it available to anyone with a yen for searching digital databases. Anyone who has stumbled through a university or research center’s digital…
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Forbes’ Lewis DVorkin says banners aren’t dead, and content is content – even if it’s bought
Banners aren’t dead, Forbes is not driven by marketing, and content is valuable, whether it comes from staff writers or paying customers. Those were the key themes Lewis Dvorkin, chief product officer of Forbes Media, struck on at tonight’s PandoMonthly in New York. Forbes, a traditional business magazine that has successfully transformed itself for the digital era, has faced criticism…
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Xbox One will do random authentication checks
In other words, the Xbox One will periodically “phone home” to Microsoft to verify that users own their games. That said, a user will not have to buy a new license for used games. [Source: Polygon]
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Google, Verizon, and Acer help tornado victims
Google has teamed up with Verizon and Acer to offer Chromebook stations with free Internet to tornado victims in Moore, Oklahoma. [Source: Google]
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Is Gmail getting a redesign?
Leaked screenshots of a possible Gmail redesign reveal five tabs at the top of inboxes to allow for better organization. Like Google+ Circles for your emails kind of? Google has not commented on the authenticity of the images. [Source: The Next Web]
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Four simple strategies for monetizing your video
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Forget Aereo: Broadcasters sue Aereokiller
Aereo wants to kill broadcasters, Aereokiller wants to kill Aereo. But in this case, the enemy of my enemy is not my friend, as Fox, NBC, ABC and Allbritton Communications sue Aereokiller for providing broadcast television over the Internet. [Source: Variety]
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John Doerr: “Venture capital has changed and I need to adapt”
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Tumblr's David Karp in his own words
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Is the Internet of Things the future of narcissism?
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Google reportedly working to bring wireless networks to the developing world
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is deep into an effort to build, fund and help run wireless networks in emerging markets like sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The plan is to connect more than a billion new people to the Internet. [Source: Wall Street Journal]
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Twitter account of UK’s largest TV broadcaster hacked by Syrian Electronic Army
ITV is the latest victim of the Syrian Electronic Army’s attacks. The AP, Financial Times, the Daily Telegraph and the Onion were all attacked previously. This comes days after Twitter unveiled two-step authentication to prevent such a thing. [Source: Reuters]
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Lessons from Segway: Why John Doerr no longer makes $1 billion predictions
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Google and Microsoft collaborate on new YouTube app
Google will work together with Microsoft on a new YouTube app for Windows Phone, after Google had demanded Microsoft remove an unauthorized version from the platform. The collaboration will bring the Windows YouTube app up to pace with YouTube’s API terms of service. [Source: The Verge]
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Google planning to fund wireless networks in emerging markets
Google is reportedly funding, building, and helping run wireless networks in emerging markets. Markets include sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, and will be used to make internet available to those outside of major cities, as well as improve connection speeds in urban centers. [Source: The Wall Street Journal]
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LTE comes to AT&T’s prepaid service
Starting today AT&T GoPhones will be able to support LTE network. Before, only high-end contract customers were able to use AT&T’s high-speed LTE service. [Source: GigaOm]
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Google Glass user calls it too “creepy”
Reports are now beginning to come in about user experience with Google Glass. One user found that the wearable device was too creepy and made those around him feel uncomfortable. [Source: BGR]
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“As an entrepreneur, you have to rely on luck. Honestly, being an entrepreneur, in my opinion, is 95 percent luck; four percent knowing when to recognize it; and one percent hard work. I mean, that’s the equation.”
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Better Place to file for bankruptcy
Electric car company Better Place is reportedly planning to file for bankruptcy in the next few days. According to Fortune, over the last seven months the company has seen two CEOs come and go. [Source: Fortune]
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Facebook Phone will not be sold in UK
UK network EE has confirmed that the HTC First — also known as the Facebook Phone — will not be available in the United Kingdom. According to Forbes this is so that Facebook can increase the customization experience of its Home screen before it gets released across the pond. [Source: Forbes]
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iPad software tech maker Erply raises $2.15M Series B
Erply, a startup that makes iPad-oriented and cloud-based software for retailers, has raised $2.15 million Series B. Funding was led by Redpoint Ventures. [Source: TechCrunch]
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PayDragon sees spike in mobile grocery ordering
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Yahoo places bid on Hulu
Yahoo has entered into the bidding storm for video streaming site Hulu. According to AllThingsD, other possible contenders placing bids for the company include DirecTV, Time Warner Cable, and Guggenheim Digital. [Source: AllThingsD]
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Samsung’s Galaxy S4 camera outperforms the competition
According to a French firm that specializes in camera optics, the camera inside Samsung’s Galaxy S4 smartphone outperforms the iPhone 5 and Nokia’s Lumia 920. The iPhone 5, however, is better than Samsung for video. [Source: BGR]
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Amazon launches App Engagement Reports
Amazon today launched a service aimed toward developers called App Engagement Reports. The reports are aimed to help developers track app performance and revenue. [Source: TechCrunch]
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SuccessFactors CEO leaving post in company shake-up
In 2011, cloud-based human resources software company SuccessFactors was acquired by German software giant SAP. Today it’s been announced that SuccessFactor’s CEO Lars Dalgaard is leaving his post to become an investor. [Source: AllThingsD]
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Kickstarter and the view from the trenches of TechShop
