Think, Thought, Imagine: Daily tech, media & more (12/16/15)
Quick News (read the headlines and you’re done)
Google to Make Driverless Cars an Alphabet Company in 2016 [and has been rumored, will try and compete with Uber (in which Alphabet, aka Google, has an investment through its venture arm GV)] - Bloomberg
Self-Driving Cars Must Have Driver Behind The Wheel, California Says [still a proposal though, and while they’re one of the early states to approve testing, they’re being what Google thinks is overly cautious (to put it lightly)] – LA Times
Woman Sues Airbnb After Finding Hidden Camera In Her Rental [why interesting: look, it’s one (shitty) apartment renter, but as we’ve seen with Uber, one incident involving press worthy companies (esp. “new economy” ones) can shift the discussion, and often actions, of these and similar companies] – ars technica
Uber May Replace Its Five-Star Driver Rating System With Emoji [why interesting: seems like a small change, but the psychology around this is pretty interesting and also reflects our changing way of expressing how we feel (i.e. we express ourselves with emojis daily, so why not express our business satisfaction as such)] - quartz
Facebook, Uber Ink Partnership So You Can Hail Rides From Inside Messenger [it’s not just a link either – ordering, mapping, payment all take place within Messenger - reminder: Facebook’s messaging app has been adding “business offerings” as well as a personal assistant called M so this makes sense (but is also significant)] - recode
Please Explain (someone's gotta do it)
Pandora Is Going To Have To Pay Labels More For Their Music [i.e. streaming rates went up – explain: instead of partnering directly with labels (as Apple did), Pandora relies on a governmental system setup that determines rates and terms for use of copyrighted works by a panel of judges - went from 14 to 17 cents per 100 plays of a song (ruling lasts five years)] – The Verge
Look, Listen (and um, learn)
Look: The New Ghostbusters
Search(ed): Year in Search 2015 - Google
Listen: Zeitgeist 2015 [music blogs are definitely still hoppin’ (and choosing great music) – one of the songs] – Hype Machine
Culture (more)
The Top 20 Albums Of 2015 [because different strokes] - Dazed
Do Gorillas Really Weigh 800 Pounds? [because just like other things you hear all the time (*cough* drink eight glasses of water a day *cough*) what’s the truth? Read: both are in fact not truth] – adventure journal
Industry (we're so Hollywood)
Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Studios in Deal to Form New Company [along with Participant Media, Reliance and e-One – to be called Amblin Partners with Universal as distribution partner] – NY Times
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