Buzz Feds

A championship ring is a unit presented to members of the winning teams in the North American professional sports leagues and college tournaments. The rings are manufactured from white or yellow gold with diamonds and they feature the name of the team, logo and championship number. As mentioned, the rings get to members of the winning team. While this is actually the case, it doesn't mean that you can't have the rings with you. If you intend to choose the units for a buddy or you're a ring collector, there are numerous championship rings available in the market that you could go with. The options include:

Authentic rings 2004 Philadelphia Eagles championship ring for sell

These are the real rings that are directed at the teams after winning. Players might decide to sell them in the case they are having financial troubles. Since they are authentic and created from gold, you ought to anticipate to spend the a good amount of money. Player rings select around $10,000 where those owned by legendary players select as much as $500,000. When buying the rings you should remember that newer ones cost more compared to old ones.

Replica championship rings

In the event that you aren't operating on a sizable budget you can go for replica rings. These ones usually are stated in china and select as little as $50. Their qualities vary with regards to the companies where they are manufactured. When coming up with the purchase spend some time to analyze and make certain that you purchase the rings from a top quality manufacturer. You must remember that the yellow gold-plating on the rings can come off whenever you wear the rings; therefore, you need to use them for display-you shouldn't wear them.

College and minor league rings

If your favorite team plays in the minor ring or you can't afford rings from the national league, you ought to select rings from the minor league. While they're cheaper and from the minor league, they're almost of the exact same quality as those from the key league. Most of the rings are produced from solid gold, but there are always a few that are produced from other materials. When making the purchase, stay away from the ones that don't have the manufacturer's markings.

But that's changing. The populist backlash against the tech giants this year bled into the halls of the Senate, culminating in one of the first significant efforts to regulate some of those companies — the introduction of the Honest Ads Act. That proposed law would have required people placing political ads on internet sites such as Facebook and Google to follow the same transparency rules that apply to television, radio, and print.

While that bill stalled, the push for regulation is only going to continue. And the proposed rules could cover a lot more than just political ads.

For example, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner has held meetings with experts looking into whether or not tech companies intentionally make products addictive, according to Axios. The meetings come as a growing number of such experts are warning that the dopamine hit you get whenever your Instagram post gets 100+ likes may not be incidental, but an intended result of the design of such features.

Expect to see additional inquiries along the lines of Warner's. And don't be surprised if you see more bills proposed that might target not only political ads and addiction, but privacy and the industry's arguably anticompetitive practices.

Of course, the chances of any new regulations being put in place by an antiregulatory Trump administration or any new legislation being passed by a Republican-controlled Congress — even in this political climate — is next to zero. But it is significant that more policymakers are keeping a closer eye on the tech industry.

Disney will become Netflix's biggest rival, and a war will begin
Netflix has room to worry in the coming year, because Disney is clearly gunning for it.

The Mouse House's bid to purchase much of 21st Century Fox is clearly aimed at Netflix. But even if the government blocks that deal, Disney is poised to become Netflix's biggest rival.

Next year, the Hollywood giant will launch its first standalone streaming service. That service will be packed full of the conglomerate's impressive collection of movies and television shows, which includes everything from Mickey Mouse to Luke Skywalker. Additionally, Disney-owned ESPN will finally launch its own streaming video service, which should be enticing to those cord cutters who are tired of missing their favorite sports.

But Disney could be in an even better position to challenge Netflix if the Fox deal does go through. In addition to gaining a majority stake in Netflix-rival Hulu, the Mouse House would get access to more live sports, an even broader assortment of valuable intellectual property, including the movie rights to Marvel's X-Men, and a great collection of television series from the FX network.

All of this comes in the wake of Disney announcing that it plans to pull its library from Netflix. That move alone is going to force Netflix to spend billions of dollars to develop new TV shows and movies to replace what it's losing from Disney. Those efforts could succeed — or they could be flops.

Disney, for its part, doesn't have to worry as much about flops. It already has every weapon it needs in its budding war against Netflix.

Tech companies will pour more money into Hollywood — but get little in return
Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook are all investing heavily in developing original movies, television shows, and other video content. Each is slated to pour in billions of dollars in the endeavor.

Their ambitions are understandable. For Apple, being able to offer some great TV series in Apple Music would help set the service apart from rivals such as Spotify and Pandora. It would also give Apple a way to squeeze more money out of customers after they buy one of its gadgets.

Meanwhile, Google and Facebook hope to grow their ad businesses by getting a piece of the lucrative television ad market. And Amazon hopes to drive subscriptions to its Prime service, because Prime customers tend to buy more things from it than other consumers.

But motivations and money aside, the tech giants' efforts aren't likely to produce many hits, if this past year is any indication.

Apple's first original shows, "Carpool Karaoke" and "Planet of the Apps," were not only critical duds, there's little evidence they found a significant audience. Google produced shows for YouTube featuring stars including Ellen DeGeneres and Kevin Hart, but viewership has been mediocre. And Facebook's new Watch video service has performed poorly.

While Amazon's had more success both critically and commercially, that success could be undermined by the recent sexual misconduct allegations against its former studio head and against Jeffrey Tambor, the star of one of its most high-profile shows.

Apple appears to have learned from some of its mistakes, hiring a pair of A-list producers to head up its video effort. But it's hard to see how Apple Music in particular can set itself apart from all the other video services with just a handful of shows. It's going to need to build up a much deeper library and is going to need to develop a blockbuster, must-watch show. Good luck.

For its part, Hollywood seems glad to take all the "dumb money" flowing in from the tech companies, as a connected source told New York Times tech columnist Farhad Manjoo earlier this year. To date, the tech giants, aside from Netflix and Amazon, haven't shown that they know much about how to produce great content besides writing a fat check.

But the truth is that the tech companies' seemingly bottomless pits of money can't buy hits. You can hire the best talent in the world, but you also have to know how to get people to watch what they produce. And that's something the tech companies don't seem to have figured out yet. So, get ready for another year of flops funded by dumb tech money.

Scientifically speaking, the sound is just waves of pressure transmitted through air, water or solid materials. And music is basically those same vibrations, only arranged in very specific patterns. Barking dogs, jackhammers and symphony orchestras are all really just vibrations. But I’ve never been overcome with emotion when listening to a jackhammer. So why does music make us feel so many feelings? From the words of Natalac, founder of Natalac Records, “Music has the ability to create a state of arousal, causing pupils to dilate, blood pressure to rise, and the brain to fire. Humans experience pleasure from music as much as they do with many stimulants such as food, sex, and drugs”. At the opposite, some people say that compared to stuff like language and vision, music could vanish from our species and the rest of our lifestyle would be virtually unchanged. But it hasn’t vanished... so why?

There must be some evolutionary advantage to having music, right? Pinker says no. Instead, he calls music “auditory cheesecake”. What he means is we didn’t evolve to love cheesecake, specifically. Instead, our hungry ancestors learned to go nuts for anything sweet, high calorie or high fat they could find. So cheesecake is nice, but it didn’t drive our evolution. Music, he says, is more like a side effect of things like language, and sensing our surroundings and responding to sounds like crying or growling. But not everyone agrees with the cheesecake idea. Music stimulates just about every region of our brain, even the reward pathways that crave things like drugs. Nobody has to teach crave things like drugs. Nobody has to teach babies to dance to a beat, they just do it. I bet nobody taught you what music sounds happy or sad. You just…know. Some neuroscientists now think that music shares the same fingerprints as a human movement. One way early humans gained evolutionary advantages over other species is because they were so good at being social.

From military marches to lullabies to One Direction concerts, the emotion in music can truly bind people together. But where do we get emotion from simple vibrations? Thalia Wheatley, a scientist from Dartmouth College, did a very cool experiment that suggests we may sense emotions in music the same way we sense emotions in human movement. She gave people simple controls that would create either melodies or animations of a bouncing ball. Half of them used the controls to create a melody. Other people got the very same controls, only instead of controlling music, they controlled the bouncing ball. The results were amazing! For each emotion they tested, the slider positions for the melody were the same as for the bouncing ball. Happy bouncing balls and happy music shared the very same controls. Same with sad, angry, peaceful. Emotion in music and movement seem to use the same patterns. I know what you’re thinking: This is just because of American pop-cultural norms that have been reinforced in our society for centuries, right? Well, they did the same experiment in a culturally isolated village in Cambodia, and they found out that the melodies and movements were almost exactly the same as the US!

Researchers have shown shows that motion and music go together beyond just dance moves, but may just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to figuring out why music can create so many feelings. Just like we can sense sadness by watching someone walk, and we know a happy dancer when we see it, music seems to move us because we move. Our connection to music overlaps with movement because we’re running different programs using the same hardware, and those programs are part of what makes it so great to be human.

With tech dominating much of our day-to-day lives, “viral” is likely to be used for an internet video, rather than an actual infection. Psychologists and digital marketers from all around the world have analyzed what makes a music video so shareable that everyone is talking about it; they are looking for patterns in order to come up with some kind of formula.

By looking at the music videos that went viral in the last few years, get noticeable that some of them are “impressive”. That means videos that show something really unique, something that takes a huge amount of time and effort to make. Others had the “cute” element, usually by introducing kids to the video. Others still were just plain weird or wacky. But the most common element by far among the videos that went viral was “humor” - about fifty percent of them were comedic in some way. The average video length from my sample was 4 minutes and ten seconds, with the longer ones being much more recent, and only 12% didn’t clearly show humans or animals. However, because the music videos that go viral usually are of the highest quality, most of the time quality matters more than the story itself. The key is to have the quality that makes millions of people get to their friends and say “you definitely gotta to watch this!”. Virality is evident for electronic music videos, as they typically have the highest number of re-shares on YouTube. According to Anton Cullen, producer of the electronic dance track Breaking Through, “I believe electronic music get shared so often because it’s usually energetic, making an immediate emotional connection with the listener. The music matters most but the video accompanying it greatly enhances the listening experience. That makes the whole experience more likely to go viral.”

Now, if you’re making your own music video and you are hoping for it to go viral, let’s reverse engineer these ideas. So let’s say you have the first draft of your video. Ask yourself: Would that be funny? Would that be cute? And is it impressive? If the answers to these questions are “no,” I struggle to imagine lots of people watching a video like this and then rushing to their friends to tell them all about it. So what could we do to change that? The most obvious answer might be to introduce some mind-blowing, world-class tricks or some funny actions. That could go viral, but they would need to be impressive at the same time. In order to make a video go viral, you really need to think outside the box.

Jonah Berger, in his book Contagious, explains why YouTube videos go based on six key points. Those six points – what Berger calls STEPPS - are Social currency, Triggers, Ease of emotion, Public, Practical value and Stories. “The easiest place to start would be cats… There are definitely some cat things that become popular, but that really doesn’t tell us anything about why most things go viral. It’s like noticing that Bill Gates, Bill Cosby and Bill Clinton are all names that start with ‘Bill’ and deciding to name your child Bill because that will make them famous. It’s messing up correlation and causation.”

However, making a music video is often the result of a large effort, as it involves several production steps and tools. From coming up with the idea all the way through to adding the final touches in post-production might take a large amount of your time, and it might require lots of your resources. Desperately trying to find the formula for viral success may be overwhelming, and distract you from what should really be your focusing. That is doing the best that we can and put all our attention to a quality final product, rather than just desperately hoping that everyone else will help share our video and get it to work.

I was at Georgetown Law pursuing my LLM in securities and financial regulation, and Amra was working as an economist on World Bank projects. One night over dinner, we were discussing just amongst friends how to make a face mask out of your kitchen ingredients. A friend suggested to put these recipes on a blog and that this sort of content was much more relatable to an everyday consumer than the advice from Cosmo or Vogue; let’s be frank, most people cannot afford to spend millions on cosmetic surgery or tens of thousands on skincare. After our guests left, Amra stayed up all night trying to figure our HTML, CSS and JavaScript and set-up our first blog on Blogger. Shortly afterwards (only 3 months later), our DIY posts were receiving over 100,000 unique monthly visitors. This was when brands began knocking on our door.

Gene: Please tell us what exactly your company does?

A&E is a leading New York-based digital marketing agency with a focus on social media, influencer marketing, business growth and photo/video production, i.e., making brands explode digitally. We work with Fortune 500 companies and growth stage brands to boost ROI through social media, spectacular content, innovative digital strategies and influencer marketing. Currently, we are focused on releasing our proprietry technology, A&E Influencer Analytics, for brands to be able to quickly find influencers who share their target demographic. Brands are able to search and analyze the influencers, anywhere from their engagement and reach to their growth rate.

Gene: How do you use your influence as a leader to give back?

We work with a variety of non-profits, like Rescue Dogs Rock NYC, WWF, and BCRF, to donate and raise awareness about their causes through our social influence. We have worked on everything from photo production for Rescue Dogs Rock NYC to promoting Earth Day and World Rhino Day across our social channels for WWF.

Gene: Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you founded your company?

In the beginning, I was flirting with the idea of raising capital (much to Amra’s opposition), thus we had gone to a sort of speed dating investor event. Investors would switch chairs while entrepreneurs presented their companies. One of the venture capitalists came over to our table and asked “so, how do you plan to scale this?” We both turned to each other and then back to the investor and asked “what do you mean by scaling?” Now, I can look back and laugh about how much we didn’t know but I suppose that is part of the journey - being open to learning and stepping outside of your comfort zone every single day.

Gene: What project are you working on that truly inspires you?

I believe we are all connected: humans, animals and the environment; as humans with this sort of a super brain and with our technology, we have an enormous responsibility to take care of our environment and of the animals we share this Earth with. Hence, we work with Rescue Dogs Rock NYC; they are a truly inspirational group of individuals because of their humility and selflessness and all in order to rescue and save abandoned and abused dogs and puppies. They are a diverse group of volunteers. A variety of people, from stay at home moms to truck drivers, who rescue, raise funds to treat and foster abandoned and abused dogs. Amra and I are huge advocates for animal rights and environmental conservation. Hence, Rescue Dogs Rock NYC and WWF really resonate with us.

Gene: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

As a digital marketing agency with a focus on social media, I think Amra and I stand out because ultimately the proof is in the pudding: we have invested an enormous amount in our content, capturing images from some of the most desirable destinations around the world, have a following (about 2.3 million), and have worked with industry leaders like Johnson & Johnson, Uber, HTC, and Avon. Many agencies only recently started their digital divisions after working for decades on TV and magazine campaigns.

As a technology company, there are only a few influencer platforms that serve as directories to find influencers and analyze their following and engagement rates. Furthermore, these influencer platforms certainly do not have the background of working with brands as influencers and as a social media agency as Amra and I already do with A&E.

Gene: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?

This is one of my favorite questions because I do not believe in individuals as mentors; I believe in the market as a mentor. In other words, do not listen to individuals because if they knew, they would do it themselves. Listen to the market and what the data tells you. I have never been more wrong than when blindly listening to “mentors” because their experience is limited not only to their industry but to their time, that time when they succeeded in their craft. The market is a lot more objective.

Gene: What are your “5 things I wish I knew when I got started”

1. Create a product that the consumers actually need and can afford. With technology and the Internet, you are able to reach a wide consumer base for a fraction of a cost; hence, work on having a quality product that people need and can afford. This is your priority. In other words, there are options outside of taking VC (or angel) funding. Focus on generating a healthy revenue rather than over leveraging your company. Then use whatever revenue the product generates to support your operations. Be resourceful, like using influencer marketing, social media and e-commerce, to reach a wide consumer base. Lastly, one does not need a fancy office space and rockstar employees to get the ball rolling; hire contractors or part-time employees, and park into a humble office space. Focus on generating actual sales rather than supporting fancy operations.

2. You don’t need mentors. Listen to the market.

3. You don’t need rockstar employees to get your operations off the ground. Find individuals who are committed and consistent.

4. Don’t be afraid to bargain with your contractors and employees. Remember that salaries and hourly rates are whatever the market dictates them to be. Some people need jobs more than others; find those individuals and offer them positions.

5. Don’t take on an enormous amount of debt until you have a proof of concept that the market actually wants to buy your product. See point #1.

Gene: If you could spend one day with any person (alive or not), who would it be any why?

My day would probably be spent with Walt Disney because of his ability to imagine the unimaginable, persevere against all odds, and never take no for an answer.

Over the last 20 years, the music industry has shown a noticeable change in many ways. Not only by the means of the formats in which songs are being recorded on; from vinyls to 8-tracks, from cassettes to CDs, and now streaming and digital downloads. Gone are the days where music was fulfilling the entertainments and arts. Today, the music industry has been moved into the business & competition sector. The entertainment doubled in size for its audiences due to artists promoting themselves privately using digital platforms.

About two decades ago, music was being produced by a few major record labels; Sony, MCA, Universal, RCA and Warner Bros - granted with all rights to control the market and allowing them to decide how music would be promoted to their listeners. Forget the days where buying records from local music cassette stores was still considered a ‘thing’.

These days, audiences have been granted their independence, as their favorite artists perform for them via social media outlets. Listeners can easily stream their favorite music from their smartphones or watch music videos on YouTube. This trending practice has created stronger bonds between the artists and their fans, with the rise of social media allowing more contact to be made. Back in the days, labels spent millions of dollars for music videos to be played on live TV, but this has been replaced with musicians funding music videos at their own expenses, allowing them to collect a larger revenue.

In late 2005, musicians made use of the growing social media platforms and turned them into a free stage show, where no producers, managers, or campaigns were needed to perform. Nowadays, these platforms attract various listeners worldwide who generate income for artists through advertising. As a result of this, many independent musicians have been discovered on social media. Streaming platforms such as Soundcloud and Spotify give listeners the chance to discover new sound according to their taste - and it is no surprise that hits are being discovered everyday.

This year’s Grammy’s nominations have shown that Pop and R&B are performing at a sensational rate. This is due to the outstanding albums released throughout the year by Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar and Bruno Mars - performing at the top of their game.

Once, social media served as a rising platform for these talented artists. Many more musicians are being spotlighted on the internet and reaching remarkable success. Henry Kassir, a Beirut based contemporary R&B artist previewed his upcoming album through Youtube. The 19 year old’s single release ‘Nightfall Interlude’ has been receiving an increase in streams and recognition on social media. Even though it is only a sneak-peak of the upcoming project, it successfully shares the image of passion and art Henry Kassir is trying to convey through his sound and images. These types of musicians inspire other artists and welcome them to share their own creations within the music industry.

In 2012, as Editor-in-Chief of the content operating center of V.SOHU.COM, Shang Na created the internet drama, Diors Man. In 2014, she produced the internet drama Fleet of Time, and the internet variety shows Secretly Greatly, all of which proved influential in the industry. Later on, Shang Na produced the movie A Hero or Not, an upgraded version of Diors Man, which was a box office hit, raking in RMB 1.16 billion. After the completion of A Hero or Not, Shang Na produced the TV drama. She is Pretty, the internet dramas Solaso Bistro and I are Not Bullied By Girls and the movie Twenty.

SHANG NA
The movie A Hero or Not earned RMB 1.16 billion at the box office. What made it so successful?

In the current market, a successful movie should feature a sense of blockbuster and meet the real expectations of audiences. With the enhancement of aesthetics in Chinese cinema, Chinese audiences have growing expectations of the quality of the films they watch. When we produced A Hero or Not, the most important thing was to create a sense of comedy blockbuster. The thought of blockbuster and high expectations are not equal, so a successful movie should strike a balance between its position and promotion for best market effect. I believe that it’s poor content quality rather than program length that can deter an audience. We will not follow the market blindly. We always seek to take the lead and reshape it.

You achieved remarkable success in your time at Sohu, why did you leave?

I left Sohu because I saw a market opportunity. Before the Chinese internet film and television industry began in 2014, the video industry competed for traffic by purchasing copyright and expanding coverage of various content. The copyright competition led to exorbitant prices offered by producers and great reluctance from internet video platforms. Those online video platforms had been investing heavily and had differing opinions on the success of such investment. In my opinion, the model adopted by Diors Man and A Hero or Not can generate strong intellectual property through the platform of Sohu and enlarge their value in the film industry and the traditional market. I think establishing Sohu Pictures to support the platform is a great concept. I devoted considerable effort to this undertaking, but there was no way to implement it, so I left in December 2014.

In 2016, you returned to your role as Vice President of Lajin Entertainment Network and CEO of Lajin Pictures. Was the internet variety show The Birth of Star your first work there following your return?

In 2016, independently-produced internet variety shows had a break-out moment. Lajin Entertainment Network better positioned itself against its competitors in the entertainment industry. The Birth of Star was a pioneer in presenting such content. We are not a TV show production company, and we don’t have our production team. We have an overall strategy: to build a network platform integrating movies, TV, reality shows and actors. The Birth of Star was our first major undertaking in this area. We knew we had to choose the right people, get to know them through the program and enhance their market value. I don’t expect the program to be a blockbuster, but we needed it to become a recognizable brand. The brand aspect of the project was related to the strategic layout of Lajin because there were to be film and TV projects later. Through idol cultivation shows like The Birth of Star, we choose industry players with great potential and sign contracts with them. Then, we introduce these players to the company’s film and TV projects, and the growing influence of individuals will bring about new projects.

With international recognition, you are the only judge from Chinese Mainland participating in the semi-final round of the International Emmy Awards. What is so unique about judging these awards?

I was astonished and honored to have received the invitation to judge the International Emmy Awards semifinals. I feel so lucky to be able to participate in the judging of these top international television industry awards, and I was also curious about the operating mode of this kind of global judgment and how the judges maintain independence and impartiality. When watching these programs, I found that the production level of TV dramas are nearing those of the United States, and the overall quality of TV dramas has dramatically improved. More and more countries are inclined to produce contemporary themes that reflect strong social values and social topics, which is consistent with the principles we have always adhered to. At the event, I met many industry professionals and exchanged opinions on the film and television industry. I also introduced the current development of the Chinese TV drama market. This was a rare opportunity for us to get to know each other.

Since 2015, some Chinese film and television companies have been cooperating with Japanese television broadcasters to work on TV show remakes. Some indications making Chinese versions of favorite Japanese TV shows has become a trend. What’s your opinion of the remake of Japanese TV dramas?

In the years since China’s reform and opening up, many Chinese social phenomena have coincided with those of Japan, especially in China’s first and second-tier cities. When we obtained the adaptation rights of Monday no Aru Restaurant (A Restaurant with Many Problems) and Saikô no Rikon (The Best Divorce), we didn’t notice that both of them were written by Yuzi Sakamoto (a famous Japanese screenwriter who wrote Tokyo Love Story). Our reasoning behind acquiring the rights was mere that the social commonality of the two dramas matches the typical phenomena of contemporary Chinese society. The originals are excellent and were highly praised in both Japan and China. Therefore, we did not hesitate to enter negotiations for the adaptation rights. In the process of negotiation, we found that the Japanese people are very concerned about the copyright of their work, and are especially cautious about the copyright of high-quality works. For example, some comic book authors do not sell remake rights, because they fear to destroy the originals through poor performance from actors. Also, they have very high demands when it comes to choosing partners. It’s not a matter of simply purchasing copyrights. In the negotiation process, they wanted to know our company’s production strength and the general direction of production. Meanwhile, they wanted to know the standard of our previous works. We provided a very detailed adaptation plan, analyzed the Chinese market, and demonstrated the strength of our past works. After many rounds of negotiation, we were granted the adaptation rights. The Chinese version of Monday no Aru Restaurant (“Solaso Bistro”) was lead-acted by Jiao Junyan, who forms a female “vengeance alliance” with the six other actresses. From the broadcast of its first episode on March 23 on V.QQ.COM to the broadcast of the last episode, it gained more than 150 million natural hits, more than 100,000 bullet screen comments per episode and a Douban rating above 6.0. From controversy, in the beginning, because it’s a remake of Japanese drama, with its growing reputation following its initial broadcast, this is no doubt indicative of an upswing for remakes. Saikô no Rikon (The Best Divorce) will be our next remake, set to be shot in 2018. The project is currently in the preparatory stages.

The internet in general has revolutionised the way people communicate, they can now have instant conversations with anyone around the world, share data with each other in a blink of an eye, run entire businesses online from the comfort of their houses. Internet allows people to stream real-time information across various platforms; businesses can provide their customers with accurate and timely information to help them make best decisions.

One step forward and we now have devices connected to each other, sharing data, giving people the entire control even from far away and benefiting them. The concept of Internet of Things has been around for quite some time now but in the past few months has really gained traction.

According to The Guardian, “It’s about connecting devices over the internet, letting them talk to us, applications, and each other.” Sounds cool, right? And it definitely is.

The idea of Internet of Things (IoT) can be better understood through the concept of smart offices, cars and homes. Our mobile phones have apps that are connected to the digital systems in our cars, offices and houses and allow us to control all these things through a few taps on the screen. For example, Google Maps allows you to get real-time traffic updates and navigation that is sent to your car’s navigation system which resultantly guides you through better and safer routes under a crisis or bad weather.

Similarly, you can control your entire office or house through your smartphone. All you have to do is digitalise that particular system and connect it to your phone through an app and voila! Heat Genius is one such example that lets you control your house’s heating system through your phone. You have a warm room and cosy house waiting for you while you are on your way. This concept will flourish further and we will see a lot more smart devices connected to our phones, sharing data and making our lives easier.

But What Does All of this Mean for Businesses?

We all know the potential the Internet of Things hold: they allow businesses to efficiently gather data from multiple sources. And businesses that have proper data from their customers and those who know how to make good use of that information can incorporate it into their marketing campaigns and open doors for revenue generation that even they probably hadn’t thought about. Data from their customers’ homes, offices, mobile phones and cars can help them see how long users spend on specific parts of their websites, how they are using their products and what are their preferences. All this real-time information that businesses gather can be used to their advantage.

The incorporation of smart devices with houses, offices and cars also means that businesses can start offering better services and products. For example a bank may offer their clients an app to stay connected to their account and handle all the transactions and banking processes through their phones or stores both online and brick and mortar may allow shopping and payments through mobile phones bringing more convenience to the customers.

However, there is another side of the picture which is not as pretty.

The Downside?

Digital world doesn’t come without loopholes and security risks. The Internet of Things is no exception and the risk of hackers breaking into the devices to steal valuable customer information and data is real for businesses. Developers like Incubasys have been working tirelessly to improve security on Internet of Things for the businesses and their customers. The future is still brighter than ever.

Ava DuVernay’s new short film for Jay-Z’s single, “Family Feud,” has a vision for America’s future ― and it’s one forged by people of color and run by powerful women.

The eight-minute video debuted on Tidal at 4:44 p.m. Eastern time on Friday. Though typically protected by a paywall, viewers can now watch using Tidal’s free trial, available only during the holidays.

“Family Feud” imagines what America’s future will look like more than 100 years from now, with people of color fighting fierce battles and a council of women known as the “Founding Mothers” rewriting the U.S. Constitution.

“What else is there to say,” DuVernay tweeted Friday, referencing the female leaders in the film. “I believe in our power. And I appreciate these dynamic artists who came out on a Saturday to represents all kinds of women at the table. Not a seat. ALL THE SEATS!”

The film by DuVernay, the brain behind “Selma” and the upcoming “A Wrinkle in Time,” features a blinding all-star cast, including transgender activist Janet Mock, Native American actress Irene Bedard, and actors like Michael B. Jordan, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Chastain, Brie Larson, Constance Wu, Mindy Kaling, America Ferrara, Rashida Jones, Thandie Newton and others.

Jay-Z’s family ― Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Carter ― also make an appearance.

After the release, a few of the film’s stars shared a powerful group photo featuring the “Founding Mothers.”

It is impossible to ignore the symbolism in the film. Many saw it as a celebration of black identity and communities of color ― including indigenous communities.

Others praised a future based on the values of women of diverse backgrounds.
The first scene, with Dawson and Jordan, “focuses on errors,” the director tweeted. “All families hurt each other. Mistakes are made. Expectations unmet. Jealousies fester.”

DuVernay also pointed out that the film features two U.S. presidents, an idea that she said Jay-Z was eager to accept.
“I loved the idea of [there] being Co-Presidents of the United States in the future. And that a Native American woman was one of them,” she wrote. “This country will not stay the same.”

DuVernay also thanked those who appeared in her film in a series of tweets.
After a year of Women’s Marches, protests led by indigenous communities, the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and the ascension of the #MeToo movement, the film’s message couldn’t be more timely.

Watch a preview of Jay-Z’s “Family Feud” in the video above, or watch the full version here on Tidal.

Chef David Wilcox spent his career thus far wandering, from Michigan to Venice to Maui to up and down the California coast. So it's no wonder that his new Los Angeles restaurant, launched earlier this year and focused on engaging diners and the community, is named Journeyman.

When and where are you most creative?

When the music is on and I'm able to stop the world.

How did you get your start?

My mom and dad had sex… I sold weed and spent my free time on a farm in Michigan. I started teaching myself to cook with the produce I would take home from the farm, and throw dinner parties.

What are you working on right now?

Just opened Journeymen in Los Angeles. It is a restaurant that aims to serve great food, and offer a unique experience. We are also addressing the need for a holistic approach to restaurant management.

What is success to you?

It comes one day at a time. Little successes developed from building good relationships in my personal and work life. Everything is built on relationships.

Do critics matter?

Most have too much influence (Michael Bauer in San Francisco). Some can help guide us towards a better understanding of the culture we are in. We have a dining public that relies less on a critic's opinion.

Obviously you've seen success in your career but can you tell us about a time you failed?

I fail all the time. It's how we learn. I don't put weight on failure other than an opportunity to grow. Bread is a great example… You can learn from failure as much or more than from success.

Do you think about legacy?

When I look at my son every day. Guiding him into being a thoughtful, kind, and confident young man is the future.

What advice do you have for someone looking to break into your industry?

Have a strong work ethic, integrity in what you do, be humble, and have a great attitude.

Did you ever give up (or want to give up)? What were the circumstances?

Felt defeated, sure. The answer is to always get a fresh perspective, usually through travel.

What trends in your field do you find most exciting or are you most optimistic about? What about your field is frustrating? What would you like to see change?

A return to cooking/fundamentals. The pursuit of cooking as a craft and not as art. Science is a useful tool, don't be a slave to it. Recognize we are part of nature, and honor that relationship. Don't bastardize everything for the sake of hubris. I'd like to see the amount of waste restaurants produce reduce drastically.

How do you plan to build on your success so far? Is there anything you fear will set you back?

Run businesses that challenge the status quo. Be equitable in how we run things. Train people holistically. Invest in our people and communities. Spend our money as a vote. Our only concern is to follow through every day on these things. Set backs come. Your attitude and how you deal with them is what makes things work.

What was the first moment you knew you were going to be able to do this as a job – not necessarily your first big break or success, but the first time you thought, "This is it, this is my career"?

With the joy I found in learning to cook while working on the farm.

What's been the biggest choice you've had to make in your career so far?

To move to LA and be away from my son for a few years while seeing him less. He's here with me now, and helps me at JM.

What is your morning routine like?

Make Oriia breakfast, have coffee, start bread…

What are you most excited about for the future?

Travel, more work, spending time with my loved ones, being present and enjoying the process.

What are you most worried about for the future?

I don't worry, however, I would like to see a world that makes a change for a better future for our kids. What that means is another story.

Are you good at giving advice? What is the best advice you've ever given?

Just listen…

Are you good at receiving advice? What is the best advice you've ever received?

Be humble. Just listen….

What makes a person beautiful? What makes you beautiful?

A person's spirit. Who they are underneath all that skin, flesh, and bones. I try to be thoughtful and considerate to those around me.

If you're a New York native that finds yourself triggered by the concept of shimmying behind the wheel or summer all year around, be prepared to change your ways. LA-based alt-rock band Best Coast, composed of dream duo Bethany Cosentino and Bob Bruno are sonic sunshine. Their sound will instantly conjure images of all your favorite cult 90s romantic comedy classics, think Cheap Trick, No Doubt, or a edgy, more-relatable Beach Boys, that is somehow manages to simultaneously project romance and irreverence.

Most impressive of all, however, the band's longevity — mostly owed to their inimitable rapport. After almost a decade in the game, Best Coast can boast that they are truly one of the industry's most sought-after and celebrated twosome in the business. This, of course, has a lot to do with Cosentino and Bruno's respective talent as individuals, but together they have a real creative connection. Even after so many years, one will self-consciously send the other the bare bones for a potential song, only to have their partner exclaim it's genius. It's evident in their sound that they approach each track like it might just be their break-out hit, quickly realizing their on to something when they can each play it for days on repeat. Their creative energy is both endless and enviable — as well as a real testament to their chemistry.

Dropbox believes that extraordinary things happen when diverse minds come together, so we caught up with dreamy duo Best Coast to talk their unique meet-cute, Hilary Duff standom and hear how they fuel each other's creative energy.

I have to mention this because I don't hear of it very often, Beth, you started in a drone band right?

Cosentino: We actually both did. We were in that band together. He was behind the scenes more, that was really the first time we met, collaborated musically, and hung out.

So how did that initial meeting come to be? How did you guys pair up?

Bruno: We met before that band happened just through mutual friends.

Cosentino: The first time we ever met was at a party where a girl tried to jump out of her window.

Bruno: It was 2 or 3am.

Cosentino: We both didn't know what was going on, but we kind of kept it cool so we survived. Our first meeting was some weird wild time that may say something for our relationship.
Did kick off like, I do music, you do music, let's hang out?

Cosentino: We just have the same friends. We also have a lot of the same interests. We both really like weird pop culture stuff.

Can you give me an example?

Cosentino: Back then we were really into—

Bruno: Hillary Duff.

Cosentino: Hillary Duff movies.

Bruno: The first time we hung out one on one really was the movie with—

Cosentino: No. We watched the movie with Hillary and Hailey Duff. We went to see that in theaters.

Ah, Material Girls. A classic.

Cosentino: Material Girls! Such a classic.

I mean a shared passion for Hilary Duff is a great basis for chemistry. What else makes your connection unique?

Cosentino: Yeah, I think our chemistry is unique because we're really close but we also don't spend a lot of time together outside of music. We really love and appreciate each other and our humor together is what really helps us. We're kind of mean to each other but in a lovingly teasing way. The thing is that we know when the other person is in a mood. He's also super supportive if I'm having a bad day and vice versa. We're really good friends that don't always hang out and also love to roast each other. I feel like it's a brother and sister sort of thing.

It's so funny because I feel like we don't get to see a lot of duos out there, with artists in particular egos often run amok. In bands they need more people around to distill all the different personalities. It's actually quite rare and amazing to see bands made up of a pair.

Cosentino: I think it's a good balance. A lot of the time it's me in the spotlight or whatever but Bob doesn't mind that. That's a difficult chemistry to find because sometimes you have one person that gets more of the attention and the press while the other person is bummed. That can cause weird drama but he's usually like, "Are you sure they want me to come?" Bob would rather stay home but at the same time, he's such a huge part of what we do. I just think we have something that's really rare and special. The way we keep it tight is by not being on top of one another when we're not making music.

Do you find that each of you take on a certain creative role? Does one of you take the lead on a melody while the other concentrates on lyrics?

Bruno: Beth primarily will write the skeleton of the song then she'll email me or send the file. We're changing it up on the next record where I'm writing things of my own and sending it to her. We're just trying to change things a bit.

When you're not together, how do you communicate? Is it all sending files back and forth over Dropbox?
Cosentino: Definitely, and text, email. It's cool because in the past everything was my thing, I did everything and I would send it to him. His role was really to take it and finish it. It's a really cool thing. He always knows how to make the songs that I write sound really cool. As we've evolved and made more records we've started to try things differently. I asked Bob, "Would you try to write some stuff on your own then send it to me?" The funny thing is that we're both self-conscious and not super confident. Sometimes I'll send him something that I think is awful and he says it's so good. When I started to ask him to write things he told me that it might suck, then when he would send them they were super good.

What is the thing that really gets you going? What gives you the "eureka" moment?

Cosentino: If it makes you feel happy or changes your vibe. If you feel like your mood shifts that's when something catches me. If somethings really catchy and theirs this part you can't get out of your head that's when I know. I just feel like in the studio a lot of times one of us will do something and it's just stuck in the other's head for days. That's a good sign.

I'm curious what success looks like to you two, because you've done so well and could even be considered veterans in this industry by now. Do you feel like you've made it?

Cosentino: Yes to some extent.

Bruno: We don't have to work. We haven't had to work almost since the band started which was pretty incredible.

Just the response was crazy from the outset?

Bruno: Yeah.

Cosentino: Yeah. We toured a lot and we worked for the cool opportunities that luckily afforded us well. For me, playing shows and having a room full of kids sing back to you a song that you wrote five years ago that you can't personally stand anymore because you've heard it so much, you see how psyched they are to sing it, that's when I know that we've done something big. I'm a 90's kid. Bob and I have some of that weird pop culture stuff in common, but he's much older than me so it's cool that we have that juxtaposition of his knowledge with the cooler older stuff, and my knowledge of the teeny bop stuff.

What went into formulating the sound?

Bruno: Beth had clear ideas before we did any music together. She just wrote to me about what she wanted to do.
Cosentino: We'll usually go into something with an idea but a lot of the time it changes as we go. But when we started I had a specific idea in mind. I wanted it to be girl group inspired but also kind of punk. I grew up listening to a lot of pop punk. That was also another thing we bonded over which was Phil Spector and 50s classic pop. The people we were in the band with didn't even like The Beatles and we just thought, What the fuck? How do you not like The Beatles.

Have you felt any pressure to evolve with the times?

Cosentino: I do. I don't think he does. I get self-imposed criticism of myself. I've noticed the harder you try to change something, the more obvious it is. The best route is to be organic with what you do.

Do you ever have to check each others egos?

Bruno: Through our jokes but it's not a conscious thing. It's not really checking egos, were always just making fun of each other. Having that kind of vibe we never have to check each other. It's like a weird psychic connection that's weird sometimes.

If you are a pop culture stan, this might be the moment you've been waiting for for many moons. There have been various rumors about comedian Louis C.K.'s questionable behavior around female colleagues over the years, but nothing to substantiate them — until now.

The New York Times has published an explosive report on C.K.'s sexual misconduct, which spans two decades, with five women going on the record to claim the star asked to masturbate or masturbated in their presence. Two female comedians, Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, who were forced to witness C.K. masturbate have called his behavior "abusive" and immediately felt backlash from the tight-knit comedy community when they shared their story.

"I think the line gets crossed when you take all your clothes off and start masturbating," accuser Wolov said.

The New York premiere for Louis C.K.'s new film, I Love You, Daddy, about a television producer whose 17 year-old daughter begins dating a 68 year-old film industry giant, has been canceled. C.K.'s team also canceled his interview with Stephen Colbert tomorrow night.
The film — which reportedly includes masturbation jokes — already felt ill-timed in the reveal of Harvey Weinstein's predation. It also pays homage to Woody Allen's controversial film, Manhattan, in which Allen's character dates a minor.

Popular comedian Tig Notaro, Louis C.K.'s protégé, told the Times she now feels "trapped" by her association with her former mentor.

"Sadly, I've come to learn that Louis C.K.'s victims are not only real," she told the Times, "but many are actual friends of mine within the comedy community," like the aforementioned comedic twosome who told her their account.

C.K.'s representation refused to comment to the New York Times on his behalf, except to say he will not be answering any questions. Literally unreal.

Also – not an episode so it doesn't count – do yourself a favor and start out with this jam from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Season 1:

How many TV shows can lay claim to creating a holiday word? (Yes, we see you, Festivus. That’s good too.) But The OC’s Chrismukkah episode was such a perfect blend of all that made the teen dramedy better than it had

The Office has plenty of classic Christmas episodes (maybe spend the day just watching those? I don’t know your life!) but for our money, you can’t beat your first. Two words: Oven mitt. The  second season episode is the Dunder-Mifflin crew at their early-years best, with Michael’s total obliviousness at odds with his burning desire to be loved. You get early romance moments from Angela and Dwight not to mention an ultra-cute Pam and Jim scene. Yes, please.

In a truly sadistic holiday episode, This Is Us catches up with the Pearsons in 1989, when Kate goes to the hospital with appendicitis and the family runs into a dying Dr. K. That entire sentence should be illegal! In the present, the family catches up at Randall's house, for his first (and last, though he doesn't know it) Christmas with his biological father. William reconnects with Jessie and has the unique honor of being outed to his son by his granddaughters, which is adorable. And if you're wondering if this is the episode that ends with Toby near-fatally falling through a table, it sure is!
The new season of Black Mirror doesn't release until Dec. 29, so if you need to scratch that existential itch on Christmas Day you can revisit Jon Hamm in "White Christmas." The episode premiered to a world with no guarantee of more Black Mirror beyond Season 2, and it proved that the series hadn't suffered since skyrocketing in popularity. We get to know Matt (Hamm) through flashbacks and through his behavior toward a strange piece of technology called the "cookie." He seems like a good guy, but are they ever, on this show?

Dre worries that his children are too materialistic, especially around the holidays. His parents agree on a minimalistic holiday for the family, which the children don't take well. Because this is a TV episode, characters learn the true meaning of Christmas and value their families. But because it's black-ish, that message is delivered with more charm and brilliance than we deserve.

Cory gets overwhelmed by Topanga's presence and conflicting Christmas traditions when she spends the holiday with his family. They fight on Christmas Eve Day, which Shawn informs us is very bad indeed. Confused and guilty, Cory finds himself visited by the ghost of Christmas Future (Feeny, of course), who shows him how spectacularly his life will nosedive without Topanga. Their differences make the relationship strong, and Cory learns to embrace that.

Greendale's most gloriously dysfunctional study group gets transformed into claymation misfit toys in this Christmas special, guest starring John Oliver in his role as Professor Duncan. Abed searches for the meaning of Christmas, but instead of payoff, he gets a Lost DVD, which...sounds about right.

Fair warning: This is one of the saddest episodes of How I Met Your Mother – but it’s also great. When Robin discovers she can’t have children, she takes over narration duties from Ted and the result is a heartbreaking exploration of what you do when your life takes a turn you didn’t expect. And that ending with Ted? He’s sometimes TOO MUCH, but here, his thoughtfulness and love are just right. Sniffle.