Think, Thought, Imagine: Daily tech, media & more (11/16/15)
Quick News (read the headlines and you’re done)
Oxford Dictionaries Selects an Emoji as Word of the Year [in other news, Oxford changed the definition of word] - WSJ
NY Judge Rebuffs Fantasy Sports Companies' Bid To Block Ag's Move [so? likely will have to shut down soon (in NY)]– Reuters
Sweet channel launches on Snapchat Discover [why interesting: you don’t know what “Sweet” is, and neither did anyone else – it’s the first unestablished property added to Snapchat’s Discover] – LA Times
Rdio Is Shutting Down and Pandora Is Buying Up the Scraps [reminder: Rdio was one of the og”ish” streaming music services – Pandora bought the “scraps” for $75 million – at one point Rdio was valued at $500 million] – The Verge
Please Explain (someone’s gotta do it)
Google Glass Successor Dumps Some Glass [as in, some (yes, some) of the “headsets” they’re working on are audio only] – The Information
Uber Drivers Can Now Pick Up Riders Headed In The Same Direction As Them [SF only for now and context that Lyft and Sidecar already have similar features - see quote below for some detail] - TechCrunch
“The new feature allows drivers to set a destination, and Uber will then filter requests so only those going in that direction will be shown as possible fares.”
Google Voice Search Gets Smarter, Now Understands Complex Questions And Their Meaning - TechCrunch
“That means you could ask Google a question like “Who was the U.S. President when the Angels won the World Series?” and it could respond, “George Bush.””
Great Reads (why settle for good?)
Biography of a Face [on a successful face transplant. yup] - NY Mag
“For the moment, the face belongs to no one. It floats in a bowl of icy, hemodynamic preserving solution, paused midway on its journey from one operating room to another”
Look, Listen (and um, learn?)
Listen: California - Grimes
Watch: Blue Angles in 360 degrees [watch on your phone] – USA Today’s Facebook Page
Watch: The Devastating Effects That Sleep Deprivation Can Have on the Human Body [yup, another reminder] – Laughing Squid
Culture (more)
Designer Sneakers: Why Men Are Ditching Dress Shoes for Them [this probably isn’t news to most of ya’ll, but noteworthy whenever a publication like this talks about it] – WSJ
Industry (we're so Hollywood)
Nielsen NRG Acquired By Mark Penn’s Stagwell Group [Stagwell is an investment advisor run by Mark Penn, a political analyst (per Deadline)] - Deadline
Why It Could Get Harder to Watch Your Favorite Shows on Hulu [on how networks are shifting to keep more of their content on their own ecosystems (read: apps)] - recode
Sony’s Crackle Aims for Defining Hit With Scripted Series ‘The Art of More’ [why care: the first "premium content" Crackle has run (Joe Dirt doesn't count and "Comedians in Cars" is too different) - they had been promoting “cheap and old” content before – this, at least on the face, is a strong pivot for them, or maybe and always planned "step 2?" (side note: early reviews are tough)] – WSJ
Google Trends
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Starwood Hotels – bought by Marriott for $12 billion (11.9 in stock), creating the world’s largest hotel company
Rob Ryan – the New Orleans Saint’s defensive coordinator was rumored to be fired (head coach says no)
Top YouTube Videos
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Watch: Our Pick — Grabbing Feet on the Freeway
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