In time, we will learn whether or not Facebook’s Graph Search will revolutionize the way that we, as individuals, interact with social media and information.  But Graph Search’s recent unveiling does provide an opportunity to reflect on the current state of personalization and discovery and an opportunity to consider our aspirations for this technology.  

As interesting and as ambitious as Graph Search is, Facebook is still thinking too small. When it comes to true personalization, Graph Search is, in a sense, answering the wrong question by still forcing us to ask questions in the first place. 

With the abilities of today’s computers (particularly for Facebook given their scale of operation) and with all of the information about ourselves that we’ve voluntarily put out there for everyone to see, what we should be working towards is enabling relevant information to find me rather than my having to search for it. 

Read More

If you thought the holiday shopping frenzy might slow down after the weekend’s black friday deals, think again. Today is cyber monday, which has become the black-friday equivalent for large online retailers, minus the camping out and stampeding shoppers, of course. If you prefer to shop from the comfort of your own home, but still want to get some deals on early holiday gifts, The Cyber Monday Trap can help you out. 

We’ve got everything you need to know about the online deals, many of which will last through the week. Predicted as the year’s biggest online shopping day, there are big tech sales from retail giants like Amazon, as well as deals for shoppers more interested in stylish finds. Unfortunately, cyber monday is also a big day for hackers and identity thieves, so it’s best to know how to stay private online while you shop. 

Happy shopping!

-Kelly

Having gone to library school, one of the top questions I am asked (inching out the incredulous, “you have to get a masters degree for that?”) is whether or not I think books are “dying.”

I think our object worshipping culture makes that unlikely, but I’m fairly certain that paper books will be a whole lot less common in the coming decade and good riddance—I am no technophobe.

One thing that I do wonder though, as more and more of us make the switch to digital reading, is how this will affect the way we learn. I’m particularly fascinated by the study of haptics and reading. The theory being that humans learn, in part, through touch, and that the physicality of the book affects the way we absorb and retain its contents.

The jury is still out on how touch screen technology will figure into all of this. Which makes Apple’s recent move into the textbook market, and other moves to make textbooks free and widely available in digital formats interesting developments.

Apple recently announced their plans to make K-12 textbooks available on the iPad with a price cap at $14.99 per book (a mere fraction of their current cost) while touting recent studies that show increased literacy test scores among iPad using students.

So while paper books wont go the way of the dinosaurs, I’ll go out on a limb and say that paper textbooks will. Whether this is good for student pocketbooks and bad for their brains remains to be seen.

-Laura

In my business experience, I recognize at least one basic truth: If a consumer or business identifies a need, trust that an entrepreneur will quickly recognize the opportunity, and just as quickly figure out how to fulfill that need with a specific product or service. The case for electric cars is not driven by a specific consumer need, but rather by a larger, well organized global initiative to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

As a replacement for actual consumer demand, federal and state governments have stepped up to offer would be buyers – and manufacturers – incentives to make sure electric cars are getting due consideration in the competitive market for automobiles.

Consider the 2012 Nissan Leaf, which has a sticker price of $37,250 but  qualifies for a federal taxpayer-funded rebate of $7,500.  Meanwhile BIG subsidies are saved for those who manufacture electric vehicles.  The Tesla Roaster, for example, has received over $500,000 in federal grants and loans to produce their $120,000+ playthings for the Hollywood rich and frivolous.  Meanwhile, GM has received hundreds-of-millions in federal grants to produce the controversial Chevy Volt, an electric-gas hybrid most famous for battery explosions.

According to GM’s CEO, the average family income of the Chevy Volt buyer is $170,000 – which is a mere pittance compared to the buyer of the taxpayer-subsidized Tesla Motos, whose average family income exceeds $250,000.  One may wonder, if EVs are so desirable, why the average working family of four should be contributing hundreds of dollars per year to make sure that billionaire Elon Musk can build hot rods for those that certainly can afford to buy them without help.

James Holman, an economist for The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, claims that when all government subsidies paid to GM and its suppliers to produce the Chevy Volt are considered, each Volt sold in 2011 cost us – the American taxpayer – about $250,000.  Now, critics of Holman point out, with merit, that this calculation considers only the Volt’s first year sales – which GM admits were disappointing and far below projections.  So I guess we should be happy – if Volt sales take off, our relative tax burden may fall precipitously – perhaps even less than $100,000 per car sold!

But hey, let’s forget about the economics – it’s the Earth that matters, right?  According to the 2011 Annual Greenhouse Gas Report, 14% of all emissions originate at the exhaust pipes of vehicles used for transportation.  In contrast, 21% of these emissions are belched from power stations, which are still dependent on – you guessed it – fossil fuels.  In the US today, there are about 300M cars registered.  By 2020, JD Powers and Associates estimates 100,000 of these will be electric, requiring those same fossil-fueled power stations to charge their Lithium Ion batteries.  A good trade off for the billions spent in taxpayer money?  You do the math.

-Gary

Business woman and COO for Facebook Sheryl Sandberg’s illuminating talks on the issue of women in business, particularly the absolutely astonishing (and oft noted) lack of women in the tech industry, was the seed of inspiration for the Women in Business Trap (check out this video where Sandberg recounts a hilarious and sad story about pitching in an office whose head had no idea where the ladies bathroom was).

The trap is awash with studies and surveys pertaining to women, and their career choices and opportunities.

One recent survey that’s gotten a lot of buzz (and some controversy) suggests that contemporary women are more drawn to flexibility than high pay—which has led some to suggest that this may, in part, explain the lack of women in high paying (high stress) leadership positions. Flexibility and free time are certainly high on my list of priorities (at least until someone will pay me to go on bike tour), but I’d never tied that to my gender before and I don’t know if I’ll start.

Says Meghan Casserly of Forbes with regards to a new study out of the University of Ottowa that asserts women may be evolutionarily programmed to react aggressively to other women, “If “bitchy behavior scales” are science, I’m of the opinion that this sort of study should not be published.” While author of the study, Tracy Vaillancourt, makes the compelling counterpoint that we cannot adequately address and/or change what we refuse to acknowledge.

Finally if you’re a lover of census data studies, PBS news hour breaks down US census data on maternity leave. Turns out a majority of first time mothers are getting it, though receipt of it is highly corelated to ammount of time spent in school (more time, more likely to get leave).

-Laura

Responding to a second round of customer backlashes (the first resulting from a price hike) Netflix has decided to nix plans to split into two services—Netflix for streaming and Qwikster for through the mail DVD services. The flip flop has some praising CEO Reed Hastings ability to nix an idea that has time and effort already sunk into it and others questioning his ability to act as CEO going forward.

Will the decision save Netflix’s tanking stock or slow the loss of customers? Follow the Netflix Trap to find out.

-Laura