"Is it possible we can send a million tweets about happy cats but not stop patent extortion? We’re a community that believes in big dreams and blowing up obstacles. We can do this. We just have to try."
- A software entrepreneur, on the madness of software patent trolls
Vine cofounder Dom Hoffman is teasing some new features on the eve of Instagram’s purported video launch. Details are slim, but it looks like the new Vine will have video effects like fish-eye lens and possibly text on screen and even messaging, not unlike Snapchat. [Source: AllThingsD]
It’s called “Emma” and it’s based on the Emma Lazarus poem, “The New Colossus,” (“Give me your tired, your poor…”) [Source: FWDus via Ad Age]
An unsettling, misogynistic dating book written by a popular Redditor (which among other things encourages lonely men to “grab her hand and put it right on your dick”) has raised over $16,000 on Kickstarter. But while Kickstarter calls the book “abhorrent” it’s refused to remove it from its site. [Source: Betabeat]
Data stored on Leaseweb’s servers, which housed “petabytes” of photos, music, files, and other documents for Megaupload, has been deleted in a “data massacre,” according to Kim Dotcom. Dotcom’s lawyers are said to have asked Leaseweb not to delete any Megaupload data while the company faced legal action in the US.
[Source: RT]
Stratasys, a 3-D-printing company, has acquired MakerBot, another 3-D-printing company, for $403 million in stock and $201 million in performance-based earn-outs, AllThingsD reports. The news comes after the unveiling of MakerBot’s new factory in Brooklyn.
[Source: AllThingsD]
Photo editor on Android, Aviary, has released the latest version of its app. New features include a better “enhance” tool as well as added filters. [Source: CNET]
TechCrunch is reporting that Wired editor Michael Copeland will be leading Andreessen Horowitz’s ‘content strategy.’ Copeland has covered the VC world for a variety of outlets, including Wired, Fortune, and Business 2.0. [Source: TechCrunch]
Despite reports claiming Apple’s upcoming iPad mini 2 housing a retina display, one analyst believes they won’t be ready for the upcoming shipment. According to an analyst from NPD DisplaySearch, the retina displays will ship sometime in 2014, whereas the latest upcoming batch will contain the iPad’s current display. [Source: BGR]
Today Facebook unrolled a new feature for its commenting system. Now users are able to comment with more than just words, being able to attach photos as comments. [Source: CNET]
Gnip, a startup that resells social data from the likes of Twitter and other social giants, has announced a shuffling of the executive ranks. Now, it’s former COO and president will be CEO. [Source: AllThingsD]
Facebook has redesigned its Page Insights, the tool that lets Pages user monitor their performance. This is the its first update to since October 2011. [Source: TechCrunch]
Despite some controversy with its transition to the Cloud, Adobe’s CEO says its Creative Cloud Suite is actually doing quite well. According to the company, it has 700,000 subscribers, up from 479,000 in the first quarter of 2013, which exceeded the company’s original expectations. [Source: GeekWire]
Viacom has joined Twitter’s Amplify program, a partnership for media companies to better implement second screen experiences. The first Viacom-Amplify will be the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on August 25. [Source: VentureBeat]
Dan Bricklin, the co-creator of VisiCalc and “father of the electronic spreadsheet,” has been hired as the CTO for Alpha Software. In addition, the company announced the launch of Alpha Anywhere. [Source: AllThingsD]
Videopixie launched today, providing a marketplace for people who have rough video footage and editors. The service works by users uploading their raw footage, and then vie bid for the job by making a quick teaser trailer with the footage. [Source: TechCrunch]
Google today launched a new AdSense scorecard aimed at telling site owners their performance. The scorecard is divided into three categories: revenue optimization, site health and Google+. [Source: TechCrunch]
Everyone is wrong: The surprising advantage to being a working mom
A case for saying yes to YouTube Funding
What the data reveals about how to make SaaS secret sauce
This video shows why Vine is going to be a huge deal
Fred Wilson: For Foursquare, it’s not about the check-in. It’s about “maps with people in them”
Vine and #music show that Twitterers would rather talk than listen
Chris Hughes’ eventful first year at the New Republic
Virtual gaming headset Oculus Rift raises $16 million from Spark Capital, Matrix Partners
Fred Wilson on Twitter’s “huge, enormous” mistake
Fred Wilson: Venture capital as we know it will cease to exist
How Tennessee’s Southland Summit could topple SXSW
PandoMonthly New York with Union Square Ventures’ Fred Wilson, the full interview
Fullscreen raises a big Series A to prove that YouTube’s a viable platform
Whatever Facebook launches on Thursday, you’re going to hate it
Meet Work–Bench: New York’s first “post-accelerator” program for enterprise startups
The controversial Anu Shukla returns with RewardsPay
DailyLook reveals its secret to customer loyalty and high conversions: Sell looks, not items
Fred Wilson on why corporate VCs suck
The evolution of synth
Content marketing gets its magazine moment
Online, unplanned, and unorganized
Is Waze overvalued or is Foursquare undervalued?
Quantum venture firm QWave announces its first round of investments
Smalltime Crowdfunding Crooks: Tracing a Kickstarter fraudster to other crowdfunding scams
Lock ‘em down: Soluto expands to the iPhone to help small businesses become more secure
FiftyThree raises $15 million from Andreessen Horowitz to move beyond Paper
With 8 million users, Rounds is the Google Hangouts you’ve never heard of. Today it adds co-browsing
Quarterly Co. is back from the brink thanks to its new CEO, Netflix co-founder Mitch Lowe
Matrix Partners’ Antonio Rodriguez on his investment in Oculus Rift
Memo to non-Valley, non-NYC ecosystems: No one you want cares about the cost of living
Plug ‘em in: Let’s make electrical outlets a little smarter
WITN: “Can I go on record as saying this is a horrible idea?”
Kabam raising $50 million for employee liquidity amid IPO drought for game companies
News Flash: Rich people continue to like buying things
A new entrant in the search for the perfect mobile ad unit
Why you’re on a startup roller-coaster
Tech’s second boom: What’s different this time?
Well-played law of attraction between Grammy Award-winner Skylar Grey and Gigg’s CEO
Crittercism launches the Fathom Mobile Command Center to help large companies manage the shift to mobile
Enough with the news-reader apps – it’s time to support media that really matters
Fine menswear etailer Combat Gent raises $1.84M and adds former Gucci board member as Chairman
Monetizing content beyond eyeballs and clicks: Urtak rolls out ad products to cash in on online polling
Pindrop Security raises $11M from A16Z and others to help prevent phone fraud
