School’s out! You probably don’t want to think about tests and finals right now, but it might be worth bringing back the painful memories. Good study materials are one of the keys to excelling in school. Unfortunately, I hated taking notes, highlighting my reading materials, and making review guides. It wasn’t laziness–I felt that these activities interfered with real learning. Luckily most of my friends were more concerned with getting good grades, so I’d generally find a way to bring enough value during review sessions to piggyback off of them. Today technology has removed the need for making friends in your classes thanks to Course Hero. It’s a Redwood City, CA based company that “was founded in 2008 by a Cornell University student who missed a class and realized there had to be a better way to get caught up than awkwardly asking a stranger for notes.” Luckily this guy skipped straight past abusing friendships and instead built a platform that “provides a suite of digital educational resources that help you learn as efficiently and effectively as possible.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
business development,
California,
customer service,
education,
engineering,
Internships,
paid,
recruiting,
software development,
web development
I always get confused by the terms modern and contemporary. To me they sound like they should mean the same thing, but they don’t–at least when you’re talking about art. Modern means that it was “produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s,” while contemporary means it was produced very recently. MOCA is the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and they are the only museum in L.A. that is entirely dedicated to contemporary art. Their definition includes works that date back to 1940, so I guess some of their contemporary art may also be modern art–though I definitely could be wrong about that.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
arts,
California,
development,
Internships,
marketing,
member services,
museum,
non-profit,
online marketing,
public relations,
social media,
unpaid
A lot of people like to listen to something while they’re working, studying, driving, or exercising. I’m not one of these people, but when I do listen to something, I prefer to be a passive listener. That’s why I like the radio. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of crap on the radio. The Internet is full of great “radio” stations, but discovery can be a pain. TuneIn is a Palo Alto, CA based company that “enables people to discover, follow, and listen to what’s most important to them — from sports, to news, to music, to talk.” They offer access to more than 100,000 live radio stations and 4 million podcasts. They have 50 million users, which seems pretty big considering that I hadn’t heard of them before.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
bilingual,
broadcasting,
California,
copywriting,
editorial,
engineering,
entertainment,
Internships,
mobile,
music,
operations,
product management,
radio,
software development,
web development
Over the past 7 years, I’ve heard from a lot of frustrated college grads who can’t find jobs. Some of the most frustrated have been international students. They came to the U.S. to get an education, and they’d love to stay here and put that education to use. Unfortunately, the current laws make that extremely difficult. Right now we have a system that is both unfair and economically damaging. We can do better, and FWD.us is a San Francisco, CA based non-profit lobbying organization that wants to make that happen as soon as possible. It was “started by key leaders in the tech community to promote policies to keep the United States and its citizens competitive in a global economy—including comprehensive immigration reform and education reform.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advocacy,
California,
Colorado,
fellowship programs,
Florida,
Illinois,
Internships,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
New York,
North Carolina,
online marketing,
organizing,
paid,
policy,
public policy,
research,
social media,
software development,
Texas,
web development
It’s hard to feel any sympathy for software developers. They’re one of the most employable groups of people on Earth, and they can apply their skills to almost anything they want. However, they’re working in the technology industry which is defined by constant change. A piece of software that used to need to run on a single platform is now expected to work on all kinds of devices. Xamarin is the answer for developers who want their software to work for as many people as possible. The San Francisco, CA based company allows developers to write “apps entirely in C#, sharing the same code on iOS, Android, Windows and Mac.” Why do something four different ways when you can do it once?
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
customer service,
design,
engineering,
Internships,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
paid,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
sales,
software development,
technical support,
training,
user experience,
web development,
writing
When online video really started taking off, a ton of companies went to work figuring out how to monetize all of the new content. Most were focused on advertising, and they generally seemed to converge on the pre-roll ad as the most effective (and possibly most annoying) format. For every type of media, advertisers will try to find a way to use it to get their messages noticed; however, images seem to have been largely ignored even though they’re a huge part of the Internet. Sure, a lot of companies have put ads alongside images, but Luminate is putting them in the actual images. The Mountain View, CA based company has had a lot of success with this format considering that they are “serving more than 180 million users and over 6 billion image views each month.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
analyst,
California,
data,
design,
engineering,
graphic design,
Internships,
mobile,
sales,
software development,
web development
I’m sure some of you are dying for a puppy update. Garçon is now 11 months old and is doing great. Here’s a picture of him with his littermate Henri. Anyway, Amy and I are ridiculously attached to the little guy, and want to do everything to ensure he’s safe, but he’s still a hunting dog. He’s going to run around off leash in the woods and occasionally get himself into somewhat dangerous situations. That’s why one of my first big purchases for the dog was a GPS enabled tracking and training collar from Garmin. It’s expensive hardware, but cheap marital insurance. It’s not a product for most consumers, but there is a similar solution from a company named Snaptracs. They are based in San Diego, CA, and they’re behind the Tagg Pet Tracker. It’s a system that “allows you to track your pet’s location and activity from your computer or mobile device.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
animals,
California,
Internships,
marketing,
unpaid
Textiles have played a huge part in human history. It may not be on the level of agriculture, but they have been truly significant on both a functional and cultural level. That should continue for the foreseeable future, which is why the Textile Society of America exists. They are a Berkeley, CA based non-profit that “provides an international forum for the exchange and dissemination of information about textiles worldwide, from artistic, cultural, economic, historic, political, social, and technical perspectives.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
arts,
California,
curation,
history,
Internships,
member services,
museum,
non-profit
You’ve probably looked at thousands of ads already today, but chances are that you haven’t thought about how they got in front of you. Behind all of those ads is a group of people who made a complicated set of decisions to get that specific message to you in a specific place at a specific time. Managing those kinds of decisions at scale is really hard. Centro makes it easier. They’re a Chicago, IL based company that works “to improve the lives of those working in the advertising industry by building media management software that helps marketers engage with audiences across all digital channels in the most successful manner possible.” The goal is put all of the options in one place so that advertisers can make the best decisions for themselves or for clients.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
accounting,
advertising,
analyst,
business development,
California,
Canada,
finance,
Georgia,
Illinois,
interactive media,
international,
Internships,
marketing,
media,
media planner,
New York,
online marketing,
paid,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
sales,
sem,
software development,
Texas,
Washington DC,
web development
I’ve always been able to hit balls a really hard. Baseball was my sport growing up, and power was a big part of my game. When I picked up golf, I brought the power over from my baseball swing. The problem was that my big swing often resulted in a lost ball because my accuracy wasn’t quite there. I needed help and didn’t want to spend a lot of time taking lessons, so I eventually gave up golf. It’s too bad that Zepp Labs wasn’t around then. They’re a Los Gatos, CA based company that “empowers athletes and coaches with meaningful performance information to help them immediately improve their game.” They’ve developed 3D motion capture technology that works with your smartphone to give you the kind of analysis that used to be reserved for professionals.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
baseball,
California,
community management,
engineering,
golf,
Internships,
mobile,
paid,
physics,
social media,
software development,
sports,
web development
I live to be outdoors. For me it’s mostly about fishing, but I enjoy hunting, hiking, kayaking, and pretty much anything else that gets me out in the wilderness. The tough thing is that I like to get away from civilization, but civilization is constantly encroaching on the wilderness. We need to find a balance, and that means getting more people involved in outdoor activities so that they’ll stand up to protect what needs to be protected. It’s better to share our special places with other enthusiasts then have them get turned into strip malls. The best way to get more people involved is to start them young, and that’s what Bay Area Wilderness Training is all about. They’re an Oakland, CA based non-profit that was “founded with the idea that California’s bountiful wilderness areas are a vast – yet untapped – resource for local youth-serving organizations.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
accounting,
California,
development,
education,
environmental,
Internships,
Logistics,
marketing,
non-profit,
outdoors,
outreach,
sports,
training,
unpaid
Have you ever thought that you accidentally liked something on Facebook because a post suddenly showed up in your feed from a site that you recently visited? It’s creepy, right? It’s called retargeting, and it’s amazingly effective. For at least the last few years, advertisers have been tracking your movement around the web and showing you ads based on where you’ve visited. Taking to Facebook was the obvious next step, and that’s the specialty of Triggit. They are a San Francisco, CA based company that “enables advertisers and agencies to build, run, measure, and optimize retargeting-driven display campaigns from a single platform.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
administrative,
advertising,
analyst,
California,
communications,
data,
engineering,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
sales,
social media,
software development,
web development
Amy and I have spent 30+ hours in the car over the last week. We listened to the radio, we listened to Spotify, we listened to two Yankees games (one via the MLB At Bat App and one on the radio), we talked, and we listened to a book on tape. After a few hours of one, we’d get bored and switch it up. Maybe we should have “stitched it up.” Stitcher is a San Francisco, CA based company with an app of the same name that lets you access “over 20,000+ radio shows and podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, Android or PC–anytime, anywhere.” The focus is on news, sports, talk, and entertainment, so it’s kind of like Pandora for non-music audio.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
California,
data,
editing,
editorial,
fashion,
humor,
Internships,
news,
public policy,
radio,
social media,
software development,
sports,
style,
web development
A lot of thoughts come to mind when the name Hilton comes up. Hotels. Paris. Conrad Hilton’s appearance in Mad Men. Some of these thoughts are more positive than others, but the most positive should probably be for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. It’s an Agoura Hills, CA based non-profit “family foundation established in 1944 by the man who started Hilton Hotels” that provides “funds to nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people throughout the world.” The foundations assets are more than $2.4 billion, so they’ll be doing a lot of good for a long time.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
California,
events,
foundation,
grant making,
Internships,
investment,
non-profit
Travel decisions are almost always open to outside influence. If you know where you’re going, you may need help figuring out how to get there or what to do once you get there. If you don’t know where you want to go, the possibilities are truly endless. That’s why marketers love the travel market (it helps that travelers are often exceedingly willing to spend money to travel). Just like in every other industry, marketers in the travel space are getting much more sophisticated. Sojern is a San Francisco, CA based company that is leading that trend. They have developed a “robust audience engagement platform [that] is powered by machine-learning technology, enhanced programmatic buying (real-time bidding), and data insights.” The goal is to engage travelers and affect their decision-making process, and it seems to be working.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
accounting,
administrative,
California,
data,
design,
finance,
graphic design,
Internships,
marketing,
Nebraska,
New York,
online marketing,
paid,
sales,
travel
About this time last year, Amy and I were visiting my parents for Easter. Our wedding was a couple months away and preparations were going very smoothly. And then Amy had her one and only “bridezilla” moment. She realized that she was totally in love with a dress that she had once seen in a picture online, and had to find it. Without being able to look at any pictures because I wanted it to be a surprise, I helped her track down the exact dress at a store only 45 minutes from my parents house. She tried it on, loved it, and bought it. The only issue was that she had already spent a bunch on another dress. What do you do with a never worn, beautiful wedding dress? You put it on Tradesy. They’re a Santa Monica, CA based company that can help you “turn your closet into cash.” It’s a marketplace for new and gently used fashion.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
customer service,
design,
e-commerce,
fashion,
Internships,
marketing,
merchandising,
mobile,
operations,
social media,
software development,
style,
unpaid,
user experience,
web development
I’m not a big gamer, but when I do play games on my mobile devices, they’re usually pretty simplistic. Some people prefer a more immersive experience–they take mobile gaming seriously. Those people probably like the games from Gameloft. They’re a New York, NY based company that allows its “fans to play games anywhere, anytime, and on any digital platform.” In fact, more than one million Gameloft games are downloaded every single day. That’s what happens when you develop great games in-house while at the same time you’ve “built the world’s largest distribution network” (for games of course).
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
animation,
arts,
California,
design,
game design,
information technology,
Internships,
Louisiana,
mobile,
New York,
operations,
paid,
social media,
software development,
user experience,
video games,
Washington
Health is all about information. There was a time when we didn’t know how unhealthy smoking was. Now we do. Many people will live longer, healthier lives because of this knowledge. Any tool that can help both doctors and patients make more informed decisions is immensely valuable. Healthline is a San Francisco, CA based company that has built “the largest, most clinically accurate classification of health information available on the web.” They offer this resource both to consumers in the form of Healthline.com and to brands in a variety of solutions.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
analyst,
animation,
blogging,
California,
design,
editing,
editorial,
health care,
Internships,
journalism,
medicine,
paid,
production,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
software development,
video,
web development,
writing
I am anything but a film buff. I typically watch the same bad movies over and over again while I’m doing something else. It takes a lot for me to sit down and watch something with 100% focus. That means that I don’t pay much attention to the Sundance Film Festival, but I’ve heard of it and know it’s a big deal. The organization behind the festival is Sundance Institue. They’re a Park City, UT based (with offices in LA and NYC) non-profit “dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences in film and theatre.” The Institute was founded by Robert Redford in 1981 and since then has “provided a space for independent artists to explore their stories free from commercial and political pressures.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
arts,
California,
entertainment,
film,
information technology,
Internships,
paid,
theater,
unpaid,
Utah
If you’ve watched as much Seinfeld as I have, you’re familiar with Lloyd Braun. He’s the guy who George Costanza’s mother wants George to be more like. Anyway, the real Lloyd Braun was Larry David’s lawyer and manager. I’m not sure how similar he is to the tv character, but let’s hope it’s not very. Anyway, the real Lloyd Braun moved away from the legal side and started a company called BermanBraun. The company recently rebranded as Whalerock Industries, but it’s still “a media company for the 21st century, one where the best and brightest minds come together to create world-class content, spanning all mediums and screens.” They’re based in Santa Monica, CA, and they’re behind some brand that you may be familiar with–for instance they’re managing Moviefone for AOL.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
administrative,
blogging,
California,
design,
editorial,
entertainment,
film,
interactive media,
Internships,
journalism,
marketing,
media,
media planner,
online marketing,
paid,
planner,
product management,
sales,
seo,
software development,
television,
web development,
writing
I used to like golf, but I quit playing about ten years ago. It started when I signed up for P.E. Golf during my Freshman year of college. To pass I had to play ten rounds of nine holes during the semester. I didn’t play my first round until October 1st. The course closed on October 31st, and it was a really cold fall. The last few rounds were played in a face mask and gloves. After that experience I started to realize that I’d rather catch the fish in the ponds on the course than hit a little white ball around. Then I broke the head off of my driver at a driving range and decided never to play again. It happened to be a Callaway Big Bertha. The Carlsbad, CA based company aims “to deliver the best performing products the game has ever known—products that perform so well, they literally put the joy of the game in your hands.” It didn’t quite work out for me, but it has definitely worked out for lots of other golfers.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
accounting,
California,
engineering,
finance,
golf,
graphic design,
Internships,
Logistics,
planner,
product development,
research,
sports
It used to be that most websites were the same for everybody, but today almost everything seems to be personalized. Whether I log into Facebook, search on Google, or visit a jobs website, there’s a very good chance that my experience is being altered based on data that they’ve collected about me. Sites with this customization based on who is logged in used to be referred to (and maybe still are) as portals. Liferay Portal is free and open source software that allows anyone to build this kind of web experience. Liferay is a Diamond Bar, CA based company that was started in 2004 and “houses a professional services group that provides training, consulting and enterprise support services” focused on the Liferay Portal software.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
communications,
consulting,
customer service,
design,
engineering,
events,
information technology,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
planner,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
software development,
technical support,
user experience,
web development
It’s easy to forget how important certain ecosystems have been to the development of human civilization. With agriculture, industry, and transportation, we can make any place on this earth habitable. In many parts of the world there are groups of people who are still living close to the land–they depend on nature for their survival and their ways of life. In fact, there are “nearly 400 distinct indigenous peoples [who] depend on the Amazon rainforest for their physical and cultural survival.” That’s why Amazon Watch was founded in 1996. They are a San Francisco, CA based non-profit that partners “with indigenous and environmental organizations in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability and the preservation of the Amazon’s ecological systems.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advocacy,
California,
communications,
conservation,
development,
environmental,
Internships,
media,
non-profit,
Washington DC
I barely shop in retail stores any more because I know that I can almost always find a better price online. Retailers have realized this and started getting much more aggressive about pricing merchandise competitively. The problem is that few people are willing to drive from store to store just to save a few bucks. That’s why you should do a little pre-shopping on Find&Save, a site run by Wanderful Media. The former seems to be the sole product of the latter at this point; however, the Los Gatos, CA based Wanderful Media is aiming “to transform the $4 billion business of traditional advertising circulars through digital innovation – just as joint media ventures such as CareerBuilder and Cars.com strengthened the industry’s position through the use of new technology.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
advertising,
California,
design,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
retail,
software development,
user experience,
web development
It wasn’t long ago that the term “educational data” meant whatever was written in a teacher’s grade book. Today there are all kinds of software solutions to help teachers, administrators, and school systems better educate their students. The problem is that every piece of software works a little bit differently. Integrating one or two applications with a student information system may not be a big deal, but it can get out of hand with a few more apps. Clever is a San Francisco, CA whose software solutions “sync with your school’s student information system to provide an amazing experience for teachers and students.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
business development,
California,
customer service,
education,
engineering,
Internships,
software development,
web development
Every time that Amy and I move (four times over the last six years), we say that we’re going to do a great job setting up our new place. When we move to the next place, we end up repacking the framed pictures that we never got around to hanging on the wall. Interior design isn’t our strongpoint. Next time we move, we’ll have to use Houzz for inspiration. They’re a Palo Alto, CA based company that offers “a collaborative platform for home remodeling and design, bringing homeowners and home professionals together in a uniquely visual community.” It’s kind of like Pinterest, but only for home design and decor.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
analyst,
architecture,
blogging,
California,
community management,
data,
design,
e-commerce,
editorial,
engineering,
graphic design,
interior design,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
sales,
sem,
seo,
social media,
software development,
web development,
writing
A year or two ago subscription boxes were the hot business model. Startups were finding anything they could to shove in a box and send to customers once a month for 20 bucks. Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of jewelry business pop up. Not fine jewelry, just designer stuff made from non-precious materials. You know why? Because the margins on those pieces are insane. The two business models actually fit together nicely, and that’s what RocksBox is taking advantage of. They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that lets you “experiment with different looks, discover the latest designers, wear new pieces all the time, and only buy the jewelry that you truly love.” It’s a little more like Netflix (the old DVD version) or Rent the Runway for jewelry than other subscription boxes, except for the fact that you can keep anything you like for 20% off retail.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
analyst,
California,
communications,
community management,
fashion,
Internships,
jewelry,
marketing,
online marketing,
operations,
public relations,
social media,
style
St. Patrick’s Day is one of my least favorite holidays. It didn’t used to be, but after moving to Chicago and being inconvenienced by all of the idiots “celebrating,” I’ve lost my patience. However, you have to think the inconvenience is worth it for local businesses–all of the people who are partying are also spending money on drinks, food, and taxis. Maybe these merchants can make up for the headaches of serving these revelers by using Clover. They are a Mountain View, CA based company that replaces the “cash register, payment terminal, receipt printer, and barcode scanner with an all-in-one solution.” They also have a name that made them exceedingly appropriate to feature today.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
engineering,
holiday,
Internships,
local,
mobile,
retail,
software development,
web development
Back to the Future Part II was on this morning. It’s hard to believe that we’re only a year away from that “future.” The future never looks like what we expect it to, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try shaping it. Institute for the Future is a Palo Alto, CA based “independent, non-profit research organization with a 45-year track record of helping all kinds of organizations make the futures they want.” Their focus is on foresight, but it’s not as much about predicting the future as affecting it.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
development,
Internships,
non-profit,
research,
software development,
unpaid,
web development
Today is Pi Day! It’s a holiday loved by math educators and pastry fanatics alike. While some may say that all of the celebration is irrational, I roundly support it. Anyway, math is on my mind today, so I thought we should take a look at Motion Math. They are a San Francisco, CA based company that creates “awesomely fun, rigorously educational learning games so that children, regardless of their previous success in school or socioeconomic background, find delight in understanding difficult concepts.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
California,
education,
engineering,
holiday,
Internships,
math,
mobile,
paid,
software development,
video games,
web development
