Archive for the ‘ start-up ’ Category

What Happened to 3rd Ward?

Jessica Holsey was leaving the office of her sustainable event supply company, Susty Party, last Tuesday night when she noticed a large group of people smoking and drinking in the front hallway. Since her business rented a coworking space on the second floor of 3rd Ward, the Brooklyn art studio-cum-teaching-space-cum-design incubator, the sight wasn’t as completely out of place as it may have been in a Midtown law firm, but the swarm of people was still unusual for a weeknight. “They asked me if I had heard that 3rd Ward was going to be shut down at midnight,” Ms. Holsey told The New York Observer. It was already 9 p.m.

Ms. Holsey made a frantic call to her co-founder, Emily Doubilet, still upstairs, to inform her of the news. “She said something like, ‘It’s dead, it’s over, we’ve got to move. Now.”
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Science Says Your Dad’s Prius Makes Him Feel Like One Groovy Cat

Uh oh, cool guy alert. (Photo: Getty)

Uh oh, cool guy alert. (Photo: Getty)

Hybrid cars are good for the environment, but it turns out they’re really good for something else, too: raising baby boomers’ self esteem. This is great because as a generation, they’ve always been sorely lacking in that department.

That’s right, acid flashbacks and trend pieces about millennial narcissism aren’t the only things lifting the spirits of middle-aged Americans these days. Totally souped up hybrid cars are making consumers over the age of 60 feel much better about themselves because of three variables: social value, price and quality, according to DailyFusion.net. Social value is fancy science-speak for “making you look cool.” Read more

Can Ultra-Rich Virgin Galactic Ticketholders Stomach New Mexico Long Enough to Get to Space?

Excuse me but where is the nearest Ritz? (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Excuse me but where is the nearest Ritz? (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

There’s a whole mess of celebrities who’ve already signed up for $ 250,000 trips to outer space on Virgin Galactic, who’ll be embarking from “Spaceport America” in southern New Mexico. But first, the area is going to need more luxury hotels and fine dining establishments, because my God, a roadside motel? Not even for the chance to go to ACTUAL SPACE.

This analysis comes courtesy of the Las Cruces News, which reports on the proceedings of the recent International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight. Apparently one of the speakers was former PayPal senior manager and current Virgin Galactic ticket holder Michael Blum. He’s pretty psyched about his upcoming trip: ”I’m going to space,” he said. “Less than 600 people have been. It’s a big event.” Read more

Amtrak’s New Texting Service Is For Reporting Crimes (But Not Juicy Couture Tracksuits)

Look at this dumb thing. (Photo: Flickr)

Look at this dumb thing. (Photo: Flickr)

From the crappy coffee to the disgusting trash strewn about, there’s a lot to complain about the Amtrak experience. While it’s tempting to use the rail line’s new text-message complaint line about that crinkled candy wrapper shoved between two seats, it’s actually intended for use in cutting down on crime. Read more

High-Tech Earbuds Will Tailor Songs to Your Crappy Mood

Well they sure look fancy. (Photo: research.microsoft.com)

Well they sure look fancy. (Photo: research.microsoft.com)

Sometimes, people have a hard time understanding how to leave you the Christ alone when you’re in a crappy mood. But since technology is constantly striving to be better than people, a new pair of earbuds can not only detect your bleak mood, but lift you out of the mean reds through the power of pop ballads. Read more

Shooting Off Those Last Few Texts In Bed Is Ruining Your Sleep

BB. (Photo: Flickr)

BB. (Photo: Flickr)

Here’s a novel idea: Once you hit the pillow, turn off your phone. A new study (aren’t they all?) reveals that those spate of pre-slumber text messages are leading to a poor night’s sleep.

The Psychology of Popular Media Culture surveyed nearly 100 annoying college students about the quality of sleep and the average number of texts they send every day. Results showed that the more text messages sent, the worse off the night’s sleep is – probably due to all those tired fingers. Read more

Picky Daters Get the Last Laugh Thanks to Niche Dating Websites

"Hey I like ur photos"

“Hey I like ur photos”

Once upon a time, if you started rattling off very specific criteria for a mate, your mom would tell you to quit being so picky and stuff a copy of The Rules in your Christmas stocking. Not anymore, though, because now there’s the Internet to cater to your pickiness.

The Wall Street Journal reports that we’re living in an unprecedented golden age of super-specific dating sites. There’s Farmers Only, GlutenFree Singles, and, of course, Atlasphere, “an Ayn Rand appreciation site with a dating component.” Read more

Refinery29 Raises $20 Million to Keep Making Aspirational Rain Boot Slideshows

(Screengrab: Refinery29)

(Screengrab: Refinery29)

To survive in this materialistic, stuff-oriented world, one must have an arsenal of beauty and fashion websites at the ready. One such site, Refinery29, has just raised another $ 20M, in a Series C round of funding. The company will use the cash to expand its mobile offerings, which means it’ll soon be easier than ever to take in endless hair how-tos and moody street-style pics from the comfort of your iPhone. Read more

Booting Up: The New York Stock Exchange Wins This Round

Can  get a souvenir jacket? (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Can get a souvenir jacket? (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Twitter has chosen the New York Stock Exchange for its IPO. ”This is a decisive win for the NYSE,” said the exchange’s head of global listings, rubbing NASDAQ’s face it in. [The Verge]

Glenn Greenwald is bailing on the Guardian for a new media venture funded by (wait for it) Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar. [Reuters]

Let’s everybody have a sad trombone for Yahoo! earnings. [AllThingsD]

Got a debit card? Then you can now email your friends money, thanks to Square Cash. [The Verge]

“While the collection is largely typical of the artist’s whimsical tongue-in-cheek work, there is one thing different about his latest creations: Banksy is sharing them on the social Web.” [New York Times]

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Brace Yourself Because IRL Favoriting Seems Pretty Inevitable

Like so. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

Like so. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

Ever find yourself wishing you could CTRL + F your messy desk for your cough drops? Log off and get help. But you’ll probably be delighted to learn that Google has landed a new patent that, if ever implemented, would basically allow you to favorite something in the real world.  Read more