Weekend Briefing No. 41
Welcome to the weekend! Ok… the winter coats are out. This week we got an early taste of winter with a little polar blast, the Keystone pipeline bill was voted down in the Senate, nuclear talks with Iran are progressing and Uber is acting like a jerk then apologizing in a Twitter rant. But here are some cool stories you may not have heard yet.
WEEKEND BRIEFING //
A first look at Toyota’s hydrogen fueled car. Mirai, which means “future” in Japanese, represents a turning point for the automotive industry. The groundbreaking vehicle can travel up to 300 miles on a single tank of hydrogen, refuel in less than five minutes, and emits only water vapor. As this technology goes mainstream, it has the potential to greatly reduce our dependence on oil and slash carbon emissions. Check out the video of the Mirai.
Facebook is dead. At least for companies that are looking to engage with their community. Forrester Research just released a report entitled Social Relationship Strategies That Work. According to the report, in February 2014 large brands’ Facebook posts reached just 2% of their fans (a number that was falling by .5% per month). With the recent Facebook announcement, it looks like that number will fall off a cliff. Instead of spending time and money on Facebook, add a social element to your own web presence and look to more engaging platforms like Instagram. REI’s Instagram photos deliver almost 3,000 times more engagement per follower than its Facebook posts. Learn more here.
Millennials are earning less. By most economic measures, the young were hit hardest by the global financial crisis. The recovery hasn't been very kind to them, either. When adjusted for inflation, the typical worker’s weekly pay for a US Millennial is 5% lower today than it was 10 years ago and UK Millennials is 10% lower today in the same period. Check out these two charts from Quartz.
Interactive map of NYC tech scene. Endeavor just put out a really fun interactive map that shows the connections in Silicon Alley. Find out how founders, seed investors and universities are all connected and inter-related. Thanks to Joel Montgomery for the heads up on this.
Yes… they do know it’s Christmas in Africa. Good intentions, idiotic execution. The just-released reboot of the 1984 star-studded song for “Africa” — Do they know it’s Christmas – is just as bad as the first one. Classic aid porn. Apparently, we haven’t learned anything in 30 years. It’s more media identifying all of Africa as helpless and reinforcing the “white savior industrial complex” for a new generation. This is the only thing that Bono does that sucks. Learn more here.
SOME THINGS I LIKE //
“Corpses” wake up in morgues from time to time. But happily for the coroners, the cases are quite rare.
A New York City man ruined his $100-a-month rent deal. He tried to get a neighboring building knocked down. All New Yorkers are screaming at their phone or computer right now.
ABOUT THE WEEKEND BRIEFING //
The Weekend Briefing is a digest of the best stories from around the web about meaningful innovation curated by Kyle Westaway – author of Profit & Purpose and Managing Partner of Westaway & Co.
Follow me on twitter for updates throughout the week.
Have a restful & thoughtful weekend.