What You Need to Know Today: May 29
Good evening, Early Risers!
Here’s what you need to know today
Tech
Google is testing our trust. “…you’re the product if the product is free.” (The Verge). Yesterday, Google announced free unlimited storage of photos at its I/O event. Your reaction to Google’s tempting offer says a lot about your trust in the company, says Thomas Ricker. “If you’re paying $99 per year for 1TB of DropBox storage then the company’s motivations are clear. If it’s free, then, well, how does the company make money?” Read more on Google Photos.
Career
If this was your million dollar idea…think again. Young entrepreneurs are drawn to dating products like a moth to a flame. But the truth is mainstream Silicon Valley investors don’t fund dating products. What about Tinder, CoffeeMeetsBagel, Hinge…? There’s exceptions to every rule, but even these apps carry a best-by date. Here’s the reason why investors rarely fund dating.
Could you describe the ruckus, sir? It seems ETR founder Mark Ford has stirred up a Breakfast Club-worthy ruckus with his latest essay about why college students are better off with a degree in Liberal Arts. Mark explains, “…people who majored in the humanities began their careers making less money than their counterparts with professional degrees. But by their mid-50s, these same people were making more money than their non-liberal art counterparts.” Read what all the ruckus is about here.
Personal Development
“They haven’t used it. We limit how much technology our kids use at home.” – Steve Jobs in 2010, commenting on the just-released iPad. Every parent has their views on how much is too much when it comes to technology for their kids. Surprisingly, several Silicon Valley tech execs limit their children’s use more than we think. However, one famous marketer wrote a valid and controversial article about setting no limits on his children’s use of technology. Here’s his argument.
Falsely shouting fire in a crowded DC transit station. “Transit officials in Washington have voted to temporarily suspend all issue-oriented advertisements on the region’s rail and bus system, a move that comes as the agency was asked to consider an ad with a provocative cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.” (NYTimes). The metaphor “shouting fire in a crowded theater” is a paraphrasing of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.’s opinion in the United States Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States in 1919, where Holmes ruled it was a violation of the Espionage Act of 1917, to distribute flyers opposing the draft during World War I. The First Amendment holding in Schenck was later overturned by Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969. American Freedom Defense Initiative’s Pamela Geller, confirmed Thursday she submitted the cartoon, of the Prophet Muhammad with the caption “support free speech.” Geller plans to explore legal options.
Did you like today’s news brief? Tell us what you think about Google’s free Photo storage? Are you comfortable? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Check out what you missed in the last Daily Brief here.