Since launching in February of 2013, the GIF search engine has quickly become an essential tool in our modern age of daily GIF consumption (hello, BuzzFeed). The SEC filing states that the company has raised $2.4 million of a $2.5 million round; the remaining $100,000 in equity will be raised through Alphaworks, a new crowdfunding platform created by Betaworks. This is the first round of funding since the company was launched out of Betaworks with $1 million in seed funding....

While the White House has tried to make a push to encourage more girls to enter STEM and boost women founders by passing two laws, The Inspire Act and The Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act, there still is a gender gap that needs a lot of filling. Near the nation’s capital, Arlington, VA has a thriving startup community that supports female-led companies, startups in STEM, cyber security, defense, and everything in between aimed at improving the status quo....

In a 2013 TED talk, circadian neuroscientist Russell Foster shared with the audience the findings behind his years of research on sleep – debunking many of the myths or popular beliefs we have about sleep. According to Foster, we can only be in our most productive state if we get enough hours of sleep at night. By failing to do so, we end up unable to solve even the simplest problems or to perform the simplest tasks during the next day....

And while it’s true your actions alone aren’t going to make environmental issues suddenly go away, you should still be proactive in reducing your organization’s ecological footprint. It’s both the socially responsible thing to do and will ultimately save your business money, which definitely represents a strong incentive to going green. In other words, there’s no excuse not to take a good look around your work space and consider what you can do to change your habits, namely in terms of paper consumption....

Jigsaw was named after its focus on physical results, if you were wondering. No relation to that serial killer from the ‘Saw’ franchise. How It Works Social media, and Twitter in particular, has a problem with online harassment. Users join together on the basis of a shared interest and then brigade individuals over perceived disses. Earlier this year, Reddit tweaked its user blocking rules in an attempt to contain harassment....

According to leaked documents given to The Intercept, Google is returning to China with a bespoke search engine for Chinese citizens. Unsurprisingly, condemnation of Google’s return to China has been swift and unyielding with Amnesty International’s Patrick Poon stating “It will be a dark day for internet freedom if Google has acquiesced to China’s extreme censorship rules to gain market access… In putting profits before human rights, Google would be setting a chilling precedent and handing the Chinese government a victory....

This was a tough decision because the position is an added expense. Yet, after getting some great advice from colleagues and doing my research, we decided the only way we could grow, prevent turnover and recruit new employees was to bring in someone who not only knew employment law and best practices but could advise us on a number of other HR-related areas. Hiring an HR professional depends on a number of variables....

Sound familiar? It can happen to even the biggest companies — they rush to market without properly testing via focus groups and tarnish their reputation in the process. This unfortunate plight is the conundrum all tech startups face: When should you begin selling your product? The Benefits and Risks of Selling Early Most tech companies waste too much time and money trying to perfect their products. If it’s viable, get it out there!...

Given the ubiquity of hacking stories, you’d be forgiven for thinking all hacks are much the same. However, no two hacks are alike, either in the methods used or the data targeted. For example, some hacks will target banks, seeking to gain access to internal networks to siphon off money. Others go after social media sites, looking for user account information to sell on the dark web. As the old adage goes, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it....

Royalty free photo Brand Is Nothing More Than Recognition Let’s boil the concept of ‘brand’ down to its simplest form. Brand is really nothing more than recognition. It is when your name is associated with the service or product you provide. So then, how can you build brand in your market so that potential customers think of you when they are looking for what you have to offer? That’s easy!...

Your second office can be one of the best places to work for your staff, but it has to be justified. You need to know whether now is the time to cash in or whether it makes sense to wait to expand. Here’s how to expand and promote your services without any hassle. What is Your Existing Business Like? Your business has to be in a good place before you can even consider an expansion....

Meanwhile, owners enjoy the recurring revenue, captive email list, and referrals that come with paid membership platforms. At the same time, there is no way for them to dodge the responsibilities and challenges of nurturing their community. If you’re looking into building your own member-based startup, you have to organize your business and member information from the get-go. Here are four ways to begin: Find Membership Software That Works for You Your employees may have the time and headspace to understand the complexities of a customer relationship management (CRM) platform like Salesforce....

The price shift comes hot on the heels of Netflix’s recent price hike, which saw the service’s $8 a month tier rise to $9. Is it a response? And what does this all mean for the rapidly evolving streaming TV market? Hulu’s Basic Package Now Just $6 a Month Hulu’s pricing changes weren’t all positive, though: As their most basic ad-supported tier goes down, the gap between it and the ad-free $11....

The study looked at individual differences in bitter taste preferences and how they’re associated with various antisocial personality traits. Researchers at Innsbruck University in Austria surveyed nearly 1,000 people for the study. The participants first had to categorize certain food and drink items as bitter, sweet, salty, and sour. From there, they had to rate those same items on a six-point scale, with the items on the list including foods like bacon and drinks like coffee....

However, times appear to be changing. Google and Apple have both released cheaper variants of their flagship iPhone and Pixel phone models — and they’re selling like hotcakes compared to their top-of-the-line stablemates. Indeed, the success of the iPhone XR and Google Pixel 3a “budget premium” smartphones hints at a comparatively less enthusiastic reception for the iPhone XS and Pixel 3 premium models. So, why are consumers choosing to go cheap with their new phones (beyond saving money, of course), and what does their success mean for the next wave of smartphones from Apple and Google?...

iPlum doesn’t really stand out from the crowd through its user interface – it looks dated when compared to other VoIP apps – but it does provide a solution that works. After signing up, you can decide whether to use the free version of the app or agree to pay $1 per month and reserve an available US phone number. By the way, you get 30 minutes’ worth of free credits at signup, which you can use to call or text any US number, and then it’s 1 cent per minute for external calls....

But you know what they say about having your cake and eating it, too. I wanted something more. I wanted to change the world. After a few false starts, I mapped out what my “ideal job” looked like. Living in San Diego, I thought being the CEO of a beach-themed company would be exciting. I could make cool products, have an active outdoor lifestyle, immerse myself in a beach environment, and travel to exotic destinations....

When her parents got a second VCR she began editing from one tape to another. What she didn’t know is that she was throwing fuel on the fire that was her burgeoning interest in video production. She’s had a crazy career since then, graduating college, quitting a corporate job, and ultimately becoming a YouTube sensation. Throughout it all though she’s realized that consistent content creation and maintaining brand friendliness is what keeps her going – after all, she wants to be a positive role model for kids....

Noting Vox Media’s grab of Ezra Klein from The Washington Post, Bankoff cites that one of Klein’s reasons for joining Vox Media (aside from the company’s Chorus platform) to lead Vox was precisely because of the culture that the company has cultivated. The corollary to this company culture, however, is a requirement for finding talent whose skills, personalities, and ambitions are already largely reflected in the culture in which they will join....

*The Ferenstein Wire is a syndicated news service. For inquiries, contact information for the editor is here. The new SAT has been overhauled to emphasize 21st century skills, including statistical and scientific literacy. I’ve posted some “difficult” science and statistics questions below, so readers can see how they would fare, if they were taking the SAT. (Note: questions are screenshots from Khan Academy videos and answers to each question are contained in the links to the Khan Academy videos under each header below)....