WEEKLY REVIEW  |  June 8, 2017

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TECH

Move over, Apple. Google Photos has arrived.

One photo enthusiast claims the Google Photos app snuck onto his main home page, and now he’s ready to switch. Why? Cost. Google offers unlimited storage for photos and videos in the cloud. Search. Google uses machine learning and advanced image recognition to accurately identify people, places, and things.

 

Ambient computing: Is it really our future?

Long-time tech journalist Walt Mossberg paints a not-too-distant future where computers will continue to fade into the background or completely disappear. Your home, office, and car will be filled with computers and sensors lying in wait for an action or even a thought from you.   

MARKETING

Three marketing catastrophes to avoid.

Chaotic workflows. Long review and approval cycles. Poor cross-team communication. Learn from these horror stories and start putting into practice the ways to avoid these all-too-common marketing pitfalls.

Remember Tickle Me Elmo or Furby? Welcome the fidget spinner.

NPR’s Planet Money investigates why the fidget spinner has become the must-have toy. Unlike the big sellers of the past, the spinners have become a phenomenon without the typical branding hype. A street vendor in NYC, an IT guy from Seattle, and Toys“R”Us could be responsible for the craze.

Can your creativity fit in a Crayola box?

Have you ever wondered who names the crayon colors? It could be you. Crayola is sponsoring a naming contest for its first new blue pigment in the last 200 years. Really. Suggest the winning name and you could become a part of Crayola history.

DESIGN

What happens when AI names paint colors? Stoner Blue?

Neural network experiments are popping up everywhere we look. One research scientist decided to let AI step up to the plate and create new paint colors and their corresponding names. A neural network algorithm, which predicts the next character in a sequence, was pressed into duty. You won’t believe the results.    

Move over spinner, the smartbike is hot on your heels.

Add the Wink Bar to your current bike to make it smart. You get turn-by-turn directions, GPS tracking, strong headlights, and Bluetooth. And if that’s not enough, Wink Bar’s smart technologies give you a safer ride and the peace of mind that comes with being able to track the whereabouts of your bike.   

INFLUENCERS

How to explain the ad game to a five-year-old.

A five-year-old plays the ad game with her mom, a creative director. The simulation of what it’s like to play advertising in real life wasn’t much fun for the daughter. She never wants to play the game again.

Twitter user offers “Women Who Design” directory.

Get inspiration from other women designers. Or why not inspire others with your creativity? Women Who Design is a freestanding directory that pulls in Twitter profiles of women who work on different aspects of design. You can also nominate a designer with inspirational design work.

EVENTS

Loads of fun on Saturday, June 10. Get up early and attend the Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic. Then visit the artist studios at the annual East Bay Open Studios. Like folk music? Then shimmy on over to the 2017 SF Free Folk Festival. Prefer film classics instead? Austin Powers kicks off 2017’s Film Night in the Park series at Dolores Park. And, if Sunday, June 11, is your day for mouth-watering mac ‘n’ cheese, then head over to the Great Mac ‘n Cheese Melt-Off.  

AND JUST FOR FUN

Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

What is it about animals that we just can’t get enough of. Catch a glimpse of the winners of the inaugural awards for funny animals pics. Founded by a wildlife photographer, the competition is open to anyone with a funny animal photo.


“If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”

Vincent Van Gogh