Think, Thought, Imagine: Daily tech, media & more (1/12/16)
Quick News (read the headlines and you’re done)
CBS, Warner Bros. Said to Consider Online Version of CW Network [and another one] - Bloomberg
Visa Checkout Announces Walmart, Starbucks As Merchant Partners [think PayPal competitor] - TechCrunch
Google Now Has an Official Virtual Reality Boss to Take On Facebook’s Oculus [the point: they’re serious] - recode
Uber China Raises Financing at $7 Billion Valuation [but reportedly harder than one might think due to strong competition from rival Didi Kuaidi] - Bloomberg
‘Serial’ Podcast, Needing More Reporting Time, Goes Biweekly [this season has been less “buzzy,” but still seeing about 3 million downloads in a week (per episode)] – NY Times
Elon Musk Says Apple Is Working On Electric Cars, But Doesn’t See It As A Threat [he says you can’t hide it when you’re hiring a thousand engineers to do it – and he thinks it’ll expand the market] – The Next Web
Twitter Brings Periscope Live Video Into the News Feed [why interesting: Twitter has been “right now” with text, but not video, this changes that – reminder: Periscope is the live streaming video app Twitter bought last year] - WSJ
EA Announces Origin Access, $4.99 Monthly Subscription For PC Games [context: EA already has something similar on Xbox One – the point: as with music and TV/movies, subscription services continue to look like the inevitable future] - Polygon
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Announces $100M Philanthropic Education Fund [Cool. But a reminder Mark Zuckerberg donated $100 million to New Jersey schools and it’s been (hotly) debated how effective that was (someone wrote a book on it actually)] – TechCrunch
Please Explain (someone's gotta do it)
Uber Invites Developers to Build Apps for Customized Passenger Distractions [developer will be able to give you (pre-approved by Uber) entertainment timed to your ride - think a short news briefing or a customized playlist (even getting tasks done) – more from Uber. Sounds rad] – NY Times
Look, Listen (and um, learn)
Listen: Be Apart - Porches [the video if you’re curious]
Culture (more)
Signs of the ‘Human Age’ – NY Times
“In a paper published Thursday in Science, the researchers presented evidence for why they think mankind’s marks over the past 65 years ushered in a new geological time period.”
Industry"ish" (we're so Hollywood)
Icahn Buying Up Time Warner Shares: Sources [context: he tried to break TW up back in 2006] – Reuters
Why Disney Won't Need Wearable Wristbands at its New Shanghai Park [because smartphones – context: Disney launched their “MagicBands” (in Orlando) to customize the park experience for each visitor, but times they are a… changed] – Ad Age
Google Trends
View the full list
Ciara – sang the national anthem at the College National Championship and wore a dress
Pretty Little Liars – aired last night
Istanbul – bombing attributed to ISIS killed 10 people
Olivia Munn – says she and Aarong Rodgers are not engaged (yet?) via an adorable text conversation with her mom
Scott Eastwood – Clint’s son in consideration for Han Solo role
Top YouTube Videos
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Watch: Our Pick — 3 Misconceptions About Juice Cleanses [science.]
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