What You Need to Know Today: July 13
Good afternoon, Early Risers!
Here’s what you need to know
TECH
Meet Reddit’s new CEO. On Friday, Reddit’s interim CEO Ellen Pao stepped down after only eight months on the job. Her replacement, effective immediately, is former CEO and co-founder of Reddit, Steve Huffman. Huffman left the day-to-day operations of Reddit in 2009, three years after it was acquired by Advance Publications, and he went on to co-found Hipmunk, an online travel site where he will remain the chief technology officer, says The New York Times. Here’s a summary that explains why Pao left, what caused the Reddit revolt, and what the future of the “face of the Internet” looks like.
Why the Apple Watch is flopping. “The Apple Watch is flopping because it’s very well executed, but not very well designed. In terms of utility, it’s hard to use, and not solving meaningful problems. In terms of fashion, it’s a piece of technology that inherently falls short of timelessness, and yet doesn’t keep up with fast fashion, either.” Celebs who were the first to sport the Apple Watch are dropping it fast. Read the full story.
Worse than having your credit card stolen. “Social security numbers, once stolen, act as a skeleton key for stealing your identity. It’s what makes them so valuable to hackers, for whom SSNs fetch a much higher black market price than credit card numbers.” On Thursday, the government Office of Personnel Management released the damage report of one of the largest hacks in American history. Over 21 million government workers have had their social security numbers compromised — that’s over 7% of everyone in the entire country, reports the Mic. One proposed solution is to ditch SSNs altogether. Here’s what that might look like.
CAREER
Healthcare facing similar problems… Like we’re seeing with social security numbers, doctors offices are facing similar problems keeping sensitive information safe now that healthcare clinics rely more on technology to store patient files. The demand for security professionals is higher than ever before.
Artisanal “air” coming soon… “When Frederic Tudor, aka the “Ice King”, started his worldwide ice delivery service in the early 19th century—sailing massive blocks of ice as far as Europe and India—he probably didn’t realize he was launching an American obsession.” Wired covers the obsessive world of artisanal cocktail ice.
+ This is why higher pricing sells.
Not all traffic is good traffic. One software startup is seriously regretting their company’s name right now. “Many will mistakenly land on the website of Grexit—a software company that has seen a 20% increase in traffic on its website in recent weeks. Google now lists the company as a “related term” in Greece and the euro trends,” says Quartz. The problem? “We’re getting irrelevant traffic that’s just bouncing off and messing with our conversion rates,” says Nitesh Nandy, cofounder of Grexit. Before you roll your eyes and think ‘first world problems,’ the lesson here is how important naming your company really is. Here’s how to do it right.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
How to surprise the reader. Andrew Kevin Walker wrote the blockbuster Seven, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. He was also a writer on many other big projects including Sleepy Hollow, The Hire, and Fight Club (you might notice in the credits that the three cops who attack Edward Norton are named “Andrew”, “Kevin” and “Walker,”) says Eric Barker. Surprise is about defying expectations. In Seven, we expect Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt to catch the killer in a climax. Instead, the killer turns himself in. This steals away our expectations and we’re left wondering “what’s going to happen next.”
Best airplane reads for entrepreneurs. A patent has popped up online showing a nightmarish airline seating configuration that would no doubt result in an even more miserable economy flying experience than usual. (Wired UK) In case you’re stuck on an uncomfortable flight this week, here are 11 of the best short reads for entrepreneurs.
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