May of 2019, I was accepted to the Eli Whitney student program at Yale University. At 52, I am the oldest freshman in the class of 2023. Before I was accepted, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had seen the infamous YouTube video of students screaming at a faculty member. I had seen the news stories regarding the admissions scandal and that Yale was included in that unfortunate business. I had also heard the students at Yale referred to as “snowflakes” in various social media dumpsters and occasionally I’d seen references to Ivy League students as snowflakes in a few news sources.I...…May of 2019, I was accepted to the Eli Whitney student program at Yale University. At 52, I am the oldest freshman in the class of 2023. Before I was accepted, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had seen the infamous YouTube video of students screaming at a faculty member. I had seen the news stories regarding the admissions scandal and that Yale was included in that unfortunate business. I had also heard the students at Yale referred to as “snowflakes” in various social media dumpsters and occasionally I’d seen references to Ivy League students as snowflakes in a few news sources.I...WW…

Every web developer inevitably runs into situations where they need to make visual design decisions, whether they like it or not.Maybe the company you work for doesn’t have a full-time designer and you need to implement the UI for a new feature on your own. Or maybe you’re hacking on a side-project and you want it to look better than yet-another-Bootstrap-site.It’s easy to throw your hands up and say, “I’ll never be able to make this look good, I’m not an artist!” but it turns out there are a ton of tricks you can use to level up your work that don’t require a background in graphic...…Every web developer inevitably runs into situations where they need to make visual design decisions, whether they like it or not.Maybe the company you work for doesn’t have a full-time designer and you need to implement the UI for a new feature on your own. Or maybe you’re hacking on a side-project and you want it to look better than yet-another-Bootstrap-site.It’s easy to throw your hands up and say, “I’ll never be able to make this look good, I’m not an artist!” but it turns out there are a ton of tricks you can use to level up your work that don’t require a background in graphic...WW…

Hey, news industry, you’re doing it wrong.As part of a USC Annenberg class looking at how to create new journalism products, I asked some of my fellow USC students what got in the way of their news consumption today. It was a pretty open question, but they had some common answers. Here’s a selection of some themes:“Whenever I try to search for anything that’s not immediately breaking, like if I wanted to learn more about Betsy DeVos, it’s hard to find backlog articles or archived pieces.”“I don’t find it super appealing all the time to sit down and read a huge article online, but you don’t...…Hey, news industry, you’re doing it wrong.As part of a USC Annenberg class looking at how to create new journalism products, I asked some of my fellow USC students what got in the way of their news consumption today. It was a pretty open question, but they had some common answers. Here’s a selection of some themes:“Whenever I try to search for anything that’s not immediately breaking, like if I wanted to learn more about Betsy DeVos, it’s hard to find backlog articles or archived pieces.”“I don’t find it super appealing all the time to sit down and read a huge article online, but you don’t...WW…

Her name was Hanako Abe. Raised in Fukushima, Japan, she lived through the devastating 2011 tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster and emigrated to America to attend university. After graduation in 2018, she settled in San Francisco and worked in commercial real estate. She posted a smiling selfie on Instagram Thursday, announcing her excitement for a new year she would not live to see. Shortly after 4 PM Thursday, she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking in the SOMA district of San Francisco, just 27 years old. Another woman, Elizabeth Platt, 60, was killed...…Her name was Hanako Abe. Raised in Fukushima, Japan, she lived through the devastating 2011 tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster and emigrated to America to attend university. After graduation in 2018, she settled in San Francisco and worked in commercial real estate. She posted a smiling selfie on Instagram Thursday, announcing her excitement for a new year she would not live to see. Shortly after 4 PM Thursday, she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while walking in the SOMA district of San Francisco, just 27 years old. Another woman, Elizabeth Platt, 60, was killed...WW…

1. If we can hold restaurants accountable on Yelp, ultimately improving the food industry, why can’t we hold news producers accountable? 2. When journalists and news outlets compete for our trust instead of our clicks, we all win. 3. If the media is unable to hold the powerful accountable, people must hold the media accountable. 4. We will not have a reliable media until we have a liable media (liable to the public). 5. We need a metric that aligns the interests of news producers and news consumers. 6. People today are gathering their news in isolation. 7. News gathering is better when...…1. If we can hold restaurants accountable on Yelp, ultimately improving the food industry, why can’t we hold news producers accountable? 2. When journalists and news outlets compete for our trust instead of our clicks, we all win. 3. If the media is unable to hold the powerful accountable, people must hold the media accountable. 4. We will not have a reliable media until we have a liable media (liable to the public). 5. We need a metric that aligns the interests of news producers and news consumers. 6. People today are gathering their news in isolation. 7. News gathering is better when...WW…

Member Feature StoryAt a London CCTV center, operatives monitor thousands of citizens every day. But does the public realize how surveilled they are? And do they care?0:0012:51leven years ago, a giant mural appeared in Newman Street, central London, of a boy in a red jacket painting the slogan, “One Nation Under CCTV” in stark white capitals. His actions are filmed by a painted policeman next to a barking dog. Right above the mural was a real live CCTV security camera.The mural was removed promptly by Westminster City Council, who ruled it was “an unlicensed commercial,” but its point...…Member Feature StoryAt a London CCTV center, operatives monitor thousands of citizens every day. But does the public realize how surveilled they are? And do they care?0:0012:51leven years ago, a giant mural appeared in Newman Street, central London, of a boy in a red jacket painting the slogan, “One Nation Under CCTV” in stark white capitals. His actions are filmed by a painted policeman next to a barking dog. Right above the mural was a real live CCTV security camera.The mural was removed promptly by Westminster City Council, who ruled it was “an unlicensed commercial,” but its point...WW…

Feb 7lockchain is a truly transformative technology in terms of ensuring transparency in nearly every sector of the economy. As the records of DLT (distributed ledger technology) transactions are kept on a public register, hiding or altering any of them unilaterally is next to impossible. This technology thus has the potential to prevent any abuse of power by intermediaries or other third parties.The Digital Marketing and Advertising industry is one of the early blockchain adopters, and it is no wonder: this sector has always been plagued by transparency breaches.Average annual losses from...…Feb 7lockchain is a truly transformative technology in terms of ensuring transparency in nearly every sector of the economy. As the records of DLT (distributed ledger technology) transactions are kept on a public register, hiding or altering any of them unilaterally is next to impossible. This technology thus has the potential to prevent any abuse of power by intermediaries or other third parties.The Digital Marketing and Advertising industry is one of the early blockchain adopters, and it is no wonder: this sector has always been plagued by transparency breaches.Average annual losses from...WW…

Feb 7Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn’t just unusual — it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Or at least that’s what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I’m glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing. Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten.AMI, the owner of the National Enquirer, led by David Pecker, recently entered into an immunity deal with the Department of Justice...…Feb 7Something unusual happened to me yesterday. Actually, for me it wasn’t just unusual — it was a first. I was made an offer I couldn’t refuse. Or at least that’s what the top people at the National Enquirer thought. I’m glad they thought that, because it emboldened them to put it all in writing. Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten.AMI, the owner of the National Enquirer, led by David Pecker, recently entered into an immunity deal with the Department of Justice...WW…

A private zoo owner thought he was taking good care of his bear. Activists say he was torturing her. The epic fight that ensued cuts to the heart of society’s reappraisal of the inner lives of animals. the fall of 2016, Bradley Gerwig’s phone began to ring and ring. Morning, noon, and night, callers from around the world bombarded the 77-year-old’s landline at his modest ranch home in Keymar, Maryland, a blip of rolling farmland an hour northwest of Baltimore. Most callers were polite but firm as they implored Gerwig to turn over custody of Lily, an Asiatic black bear with floppy ears and...…A private zoo owner thought he was taking good care of his bear. Activists say he was torturing her. The epic fight that ensued cuts to the heart of society’s reappraisal of the inner lives of animals. the fall of 2016, Bradley Gerwig’s phone began to ring and ring. Morning, noon, and night, callers from around the world bombarded the 77-year-old’s landline at his modest ranch home in Keymar, Maryland, a blip of rolling farmland an hour northwest of Baltimore. Most callers were polite but firm as they implored Gerwig to turn over custody of Lily, an Asiatic black bear with floppy ears and...WW…

May 11, 2018On the 11th May 1812, Spencer Perceval, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, entered the House of Commons. He was on his way to attend an inquiry into a set of Orders of Council he had issued. Perceval was, at the time, the leader of the most powerful democracy on Earth, one whose empire was already beginning to spread across the globe, despite the loss of the American colonies and repeated wars with France. Despite this, he was surprisingly approachable, rarely accompanied by any kind of guard. This was very much the case that afternoon and as Perceval walked through the lobby...…May 11, 2018On the 11th May 1812, Spencer Perceval, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, entered the House of Commons. He was on his way to attend an inquiry into a set of Orders of Council he had issued. Perceval was, at the time, the leader of the most powerful democracy on Earth, one whose empire was already beginning to spread across the globe, despite the loss of the American colonies and repeated wars with France. Despite this, he was surprisingly approachable, rarely accompanied by any kind of guard. This was very much the case that afternoon and as Perceval walked through the lobby...WW…