Sad Imzy is Shutting Down

A Reddit of sorts that wanted to only post positive an evergreen stories shows the dark side of only wanting to promote good things as the website Imzy recently sent out this email about their decision to close up shop after two years:

"We are sorry to say that after nearly two years of building Imzy, it is time for us to shut down the site. 

Some of you have been here since our launch into beta and some are brand new. We’ve loved getting to know all of you and seeing you build communities and make new friends. Unfortunately, we were not able to find our place in the market. We still feel that the internet deserves better and hope that we see more teams take on this challenge in the future.

Our final day of operation will be June 23rd. We want to give you time to gather any content you’ve made and exchange contact information with friends. If you have a new home for your community, I recommend creating a pinned post directing members there. 

You might be wondering what’s going to happen to your data now. Well, nothing. We have always valued your privacy and we will continue to do so. You can request your data here.

The /Imzy community will open to allow everyone to post. This seems like a good place for us to gather, share memories, and say our goodbyes. 

Thanks for spending your time with us. We’re really going to miss this place. 

-Dan"

Travelmate Fully Autonomous Suitcase

There are a lot of cool inventions and IndieGoGo campaigns that I keep an eye on but this one struck me as something a little more futuristic yet simple at the same time: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/travelmate-a-fully-autonomous-suitcase-and-robot-technology--2#/

It's a robot suitcase that follows you around without the need for you to drag it. 

Ray Dalio Roasts NYT

In an interview that followed the culture of Ray Dalio's Bridgewater in the Times there was an interview set up. What follows is a journalist from the New York Times being shocked when 95% of the audience agrees that the media has a serious issue with it's portrayal of the news.

While the Times is by far the most reputable of any of the news sources with the possible exception of CNBC (IMO) it was interesting to see the journalist who as many of us do in our respective industries seems to have blinders on when he sees the audience reaction to the big problem that we have with evergreen, positive, and accurate news coverage.

His response was as you would respect and expect that it's about clicks and numbers and if it's not bleeding it's probably not leading. Thats the issue with the news that if it's not portrayed negatively with a catchy headline we are probably not interested in reading or watching it.

Watch the interview here and make your own assesment: ritholtz.com/2017/03/the-culture-principle/

CloudBleed Vulnerability

A recent vulnerability was discovered in popular DDOS protection service Cloudflare. Third party sites like Zendesk which handles customer service responses for hundreds of thousands of websites was one of the many sites possibly affected by the vulneribility and Epik domains was kind enough to send out a friendly notice to their members as part of their proactive approach to any type of hacking attempts.

More information surrounding this is below as well as preventive measures:









The Cloudflare vulnerability, so-called CloudBleed opened the possibility that sensitive data, such as account names and passwords, may have leaked from some sites. The exact extent of any leak, if it occurred, is still unclear.

Besides keeping good passwords, there are several additional measures you can take for securing your account:

1. Enable WHOIS privacy for your domains
2. Enable 2-Factor or 2 step SMS authentication
3. Enable IP address restriction
4. If you are an Epik or Domainer you should always enable free Max-Lock which will block all transfers out requests so you dont lose a valuable domain.

Social Impact Fund

A $2 Billion fund is on the "Rise" that is seeking financial and social returns. It's great to see social causes that can make a positive impact on society and be profitable for investors. Of course the most rewarding feeling is that intrinsic feeling one gets at the end of the day.

TPG is heading the Rise Fund has had success in the growing economy of Myanmar with a company called Apollo Towers where they had 0 cellphone penetration to 70% in a short period of time. For those who are unfamiliar Myanmar just recently opened up to allow more than a few thousand tourists to visit their country each year and is poised for immense growth.

Board members will consist of Bono; eBay founder Pierre Omidyar; Jeff Skoll, who served as the first president of eBay; Laurene Powell Jobs; Richard Branson; Reid Hoffman; Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments; philanthropist Lynne Benioff; and investor Mo Ibrahim.

More information to come...

The Ted Williams Book

Recommended by Warren Buffet and referenced in a recent podcast with the lesson and quote of the day: "Hit according to your style".

Apply probabilities to hitting and to get more hits swing at strikes and not balls. If its good you have to be swinging and not sitting by as the balls pass you by.

Enlighten yourself.

Facebook & Google Safety Check

Facebook has a safety check to let your friends and family know that you're safe in an emergency situation. After a Tsunami and the Earthquake in Italy this came into the eye of the public and helped us realize how great of a tool Facebook is for protecting the world in times of crisis. The most recent one that popped up today was for the Oakland Warehouse Fire:  https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/?crisis_id=1761642987430823

Today Google has announced something called Trusted Contacts (read more here https://blog.google/products/maps/let-your-loved-ones-know-youre-safe-our-new-personal-safety-app/) this uses your cell phone to let trusted contacts know your last known whereabouts.

For example: "Invite a trusted friend to virtually walk you home if you feel unsafe
Elliot stayed at the office later than normal and notices it’s awfully dark out. He opens Trusted Contacts and shares his location with Thelma. Now Thelma can walk him home — virtually. When Elliot gets home, he simply taps the banner at the top of the screen or from the lockscreen and stops sharing his location."


It's great to see technology improving our lives and having two of the top tech companies compete by bringing innovative ideas and products to this world.