Google employees walked out | Google employees walked out to protest sexual misconduct | Femtech funding continued to increase
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Google employees walk out in protest of sexual misconduct. (Mason Trinca/Getty Images)
Google employees walked out to protest sexual misconductWhy it matters: This is the latest in a growing trend whereby employees, perhaps even more than customers or shareholders, are holding the C-suite accountable for corporate governance shortcomings. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.) (tiered subscription model) (11/1)Femtech funding continued to increaseWhy it matters: Venture capitalists were late to the game on this one. But I guess late is better than never. Look for the funding total to top $400 million this year and grow exponentially in the years to come. PitchBook (10/31)An initiative was launched to build a DNA "Inventory of Life"Why it matters: To get the smart scoop on this story, I tapped SmartBrief Infrastructure Editor (and resident amateur scientist) Evan Milberg for his take: "The Earth BioGenome Project could be a huge breakthrough in environmentalists' ongoing efforts to learn about and conserve species. And with 75% of the world's global food supply coming from just a dozen crops, this effort could be vital to finding genetic sources to conquer drought and protect the world's food supply." It is also worth noting that the folks at the Wellcome Sanger Institute who are spearheading the project are pretty good at this stuff; they played a big part in mapping the human genome. BBC (11/1)Winter stopped coming for Dish Network subscribersWhy it matters: Dish Network is in a money spat with AT&T, which owns HBO and Cinemax. At this point, HBO and Cinemax are not available to Dish watchers. The spat could get very interesting if it isn't settled by the time Game of Thrones returns for its final season next year. Ars Technica (11/1)
Sit Tesla. Stay Tesla. Roll over? It is hard to tell these days when Elon Musk is being serious or just having a laugh, but the Tesla boss says the cars will soon be able to fetch their owner by driving themselves to the location of their owner's phone. The feature, known as Summon, also allows owners to take their car on a "walk" by moving down the street while pressing a button on the app. CleanTechnica (11/1)
Hmm...
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A special report on data innovation This is actually a series of articles about how today's ever-expanding reams of data are being used in innovative ways. I learned how governments are using data to communicate with citizens in new ways. I learned how employee-generated data can both help and hurt workers. I also learned that soccer star Lionel Messi actually creates more space for himself on the field by walking or jogging, instead of running. Financial Times (subscription required) (10/31)
This is Cool
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Could data centers all end up underwater? It might not necessarily happen at the hand of sea ice melting, mind you, but by design. Over at Microsoft, a data center pod has been submerged under the ocean off the coast of Scotland. It's a 40-foot-long structure designed to hold 864 servers for up to five years, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hopes to replicate the project around the world. There's an actual benefit to this sort of project. Literally half of the world's population, billions of people, live within 120 miles of a coastline. Having data centers that are easy to build and scale up or down where people need them could reduce latency for real-time services -- a problem in some areas. (H/T Bridget Reed Morawski) ZDNet (11/1)
Palm to Forehead
Crocs are still a thing I gotta hand it to Crocs. When a former SmartBrief colleague of mine wore his pair of royal blue Crocs to the office back in 2003, I would have bet a lot of money that the sandals were a fad that would be gone in the blink of an eye. I would have lost a lot of money. Vox (11/1)Have you ever owned a pair of Crocs?
Vegas! Vegas! Vegas!California Pacific Airlines is a new airline starting up in Carlsbad, Calif., which is 30 miles north of San Diego. The airline plans to target short-hop business travelers bound for other cities in California, Nevada and Arizona. I grew up in Carlsbad (Go Lancers!) and also spent a good chunk of my 20s in the area. So here is a local tip for the airline: Fly wherever you want during the week, but when the weekend comes point all your planes toward Las Vegas. As someone who made the spur-of-the-moment decision to load up in a car with my friends and drive from Carlsbad to Vegas on numerous Friday nights, I promise you a flight option would be a hit. You could even appeal to locals by blocking out a few tickets for last-minute sales via app-based dynamic ticket pricing. And maybe even partner with Hotel Tonight to make the last-minute jaunt all the easier. Do it. Trust me. Bloomberg (tiered subscription model) (11/1)The flirtatious habits of randy pandas I just really like saying, "Randy pandas." Nature (free content) (10/31)
About the Editor
Your humble WYWWer
My name is Sean McMahon and since I joined SmartBrief in 2003, I have produced content on a variety of topics including finance, energy, infrastructure, politics, telecommunications and international development. I enjoy traveling and playing/coaching/watching soccer. Go Barca! When I am in Vegas, Pai gow poker is my game and you can usually find me chillin' at the Hard Rock Hotel or the Voodoo Lounge atop the Rio. Today's edition of WYWW was edited whilst thinking about midnight road trips to Vegas and listening to "Heaven or the Highway Out of Town" by The Refreshments and "Waking Up in Vegas" by Katy Perry. If you like WYWW, hate WYWW or want to submit a story, shoot me an email. Yes, I actually read them.
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
