It is easy to get lost in the social media world and spend a lot of useless time on it. Not to mention the money you might spend on so-called online marketing experts offering training courses to get you more Facebook likes or website visitors. Even hiring a social media consultant doesn’t necessarily guarantee you a great outcome. There are now thousands of social media platforms available, from the big hitters like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter to lesser known social sites like Wanelo, a place to find products, or Fark for submitting newsworthy stories....

Their infographic, based on sharing across 14 million domains, is below. And it contains a lesson for startups about making assumptions about your customers. Entrepreneurs tend to immerse themselves in a geeky, tech-savvy world, and they can forget that most people don’t know what an API is, or care about super-minimalist design. As the data show, Apple’s iPad announcement and the Facebook IPO – veritable news tsunamis in the tech world – are but blips in the year’s overall sharing....

Participating startups get: Image Credit: Wikipedia 

Over the past decade, Austin has invested heavily in organizations that provide a strong backbone to facilitate progress in this sector, including the Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) at University of Texas at Austin to bolster startup creation and Pecan Street, an initiative that is now the world’s largest smart grid demonstration project. Last week, CleanTX, the cluster development organization for cleantech in Central Texas, in conjunction with ATI and economic research firm Civic Analytics, released its inaugural economic impact study on the region’s cleantech ecosystem....

While great entrepreneurs with great ideas are what draw the gaze of Revolution, Case respects the big ideas that disrupt larger industries. However, there are two quintessential mistakes entrepreneurs make when seeking his investment. First, failing to have a crisp description of what your company does ultimately detracts from the idea, especially at a place like SXSW where time is of the essence. Second, if you think there is no competition in your field, it’s an indicator of naivety and makes people think you don’t actually have the next big idea....

Billboards are a traditional but reliable bet in the publicity industry, because they are a way to easily give exposure to a brand or a product. Most billboards are huge, which is why they capture people’s attention – and that attention is what a company entering the United States is targeting. StickerRide is an advertising platform and mobile app that connects brands with drivers, offering targeted and efficient on-vehicle advertising....

A recent study from Columbia University showed that being busy is the best way to combat your procrastination. The data was publish in the Journal of Personality and Personal Psychology and was derived from five different studies that focused on the activity of users of a popular productivity app. This research was conducted through the analysis of 28,000 users of the productivity app in an 18-month span. The main data points were the frequency with which users reschedule deadlines and the busy-ness of their schedules....

Talk vs. Text Apparently, most millennials would rather be able to text than talk on their smartphones. According to new research from OpenMarket, 75 percent of millennials would forego the call function on their device as long as they were still able to text. The research polled some 500 millennials in order to come to this conclusion, and, we can all admit, that is far from surprising. The texting generation has used this medium to communicate everything from jubilant happy birthdays to soul-crushing break ups....

Remember! Apply now to Tech.Co’s Startup of the Year competition, which will give you a chance to join us at Innovate! and Celebrate 2017! Register now and get ready for a fantastic 3-day journey. Here Are This Week’s Tech.Co Top Stories:

I visited the TechStars NYC office when it was just 15 days old and the paint on the walls was still drying, and spoke with TechStars founder and CEO David Cohen and New York Managing Director David Tisch. They shared some insights about why they expanded to take on the Big Apple, how the program is going as well as advice for entrepreneurs looking to startup. They also shared that the New York community has been extremely supportive and the local investment community of 27 investors and venture capitalists offered funding to the New York program....

Series B is typically the third round of funding that a startup raises, after seed and Series A. The size of a Series B round varies, but the startups below were funded to the tune of $5-66 million. Fast growth is determined by the Mattermark growth score, which takes into account monthly unique website visitors, weekly mobile downloads, social media metrics, number of employees, and equity funding. Zenefits (ranked #1), for example, is focused on growing their sales and marketing teams....

There will, of course, be regular updates to Apple’s iPhones and new versions of cheaper Pixel models. However, 2020 will likely see some brand new and innovative models from the likes of OnePlus and Oppo. So, what can you look forward to this year? We take a look at all the rumors and speculation. Google Pixel 4a seriesSamsung Galaxy S20 seriesApple iPhone 12 seriesApple iPhone SE 2OnePlus Concept OneMotorola Edge PlusSamsung Galaxy Note 10 LiteSamsung Galaxy Z FlipHuawei Mate Xs...

The growth in population has led to increased usage of energy has contributed to higher industrial pollution, among other issues. Not only is there is more litter, but ther’es unfulfilled energy requirements due to high cost. This deficit has had an impact on the scientists and environmental conservation efforts. Thankfully, there are now more sources of energy which are both affordable and eco-friendly. Companies, institutions and even individuals are gaining their sense of responsibility in conserving the ecosystem....

Although more and more brands are discovering the power of influencer marketing, many are still taking a “bigger is better” approach, choosing influencers based solely on their number of followers. This is partly because until recently, brands haven’t had access to meaningful data on influencers; it’s also partly because, intuitively, a bigger audience just feels like a surer bet. But studies show this isn’t always true. A recent survey published on Marketing Dive showed that engagement levels on Instagram decreased significantly as audience size increased – dropping from roughly 8 percent for influencers with 1,000 followers to 4 percent for those with 10,000 followers....

Anthony Levandowski, a self-driving car engineer and cofounder of Uber’s autonomous trucking company Otto, is the messenger of this religion, which he has so confidently named Way of the Future. While your imagination is likely running wild on the purposes for such a religion, documents filed with the IRS show that it’s primary focus will be “the realization, acceptance, and worship of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed through computer hardware and software....

Every four years, the Olympics is rebranded (more accurately, it’s co-branded) and it’s a process. The design firm for the upcoming 2016 Rio games (the winner: Brazilian design group Tatil) was selected in 2009. From 139 interested agencies. The final logo was revealed in 2011, after being created under strict security in a room that could only be entered with a thumb-print and had no Internet access. The team created 50 logos before they finalized a design, which, says Creative Director Fred Gelli, represents Rio’s landscape, landmarks, color and warmth of its people....

Founded by Joshua Riley and Tushar Jain, Ruckus Fermentation offers patent-pending technology that simplifies the entire fermentation process, allowing for easier production of wines, ciders, alcoholic cocktails, and others by literally anyone. All you have to do is pour your desired beverage mixture into the Bootlegger Bottle, close the lid, and let it ferment for at least 12 hours at room temperature. While sales of home brewing kits have increased in recent years, the number of people who keep up with the hobby apparently don’t match up with those entry stats....

Fluidinfo is basically a database. You can add any object – a person, a place, a book – and anyone can tag it. For example, I added the tag “kiramnewman/articles/read” to two blog posts I read. Sometimes, tags have “values;” I could add a tag called “Rating” to those blog posts, then add a value of 1-10 based on how much I enjoyed them. You can control who has permission to read or change your tags, but objects are visible to anyone, just like Wikipedia entries....

The company’s new policy bans ads for fasting apps and weight loss supplements. TikTok is also putting increased restrictions on other weight-loss-related ads. These include limiting publication of “weight management products” so they are only visible to users over 18 years old. These new restrictions have been put in place to reduce the exposure of potentially harmful imagery and language to TikTok users — a predominantly teenage demographic. So, what will TikTok be bringing into play?...

Appery.io This is considered one of the most superior computer software that enables to develop application that are compatible with Android/iOS/Windows platforms. This software is based on cloud and allows to make use of its integrated components. Also, it has Apache Cordova framework. It eliminates lots of download work and gives a lot of storage space as it is completely based on cloud.One can develop a customized UI making use of the visual editor....