Weekly Roundup #17 — Real Flying Vehicles, Chatbots, Freebies and More
Five brief recommendations of things I found to be impactful
Why I Left Buzzfeed
You may have already seen some videos on Youtube of former Buzzfeed employees explaining why they left the company. They mostly have to do with the strict (and strange) rules Buzzfeed places on their employees. This video from Chris Reinacher stands above the rest with unexpected twists and many hidden gems. I had to watch it a couple of times to catch everything.
Forging Voices
Voice recordings are still widely regarded as reliable proof of evidence in both court and society. Companies like Lyrebird and Adobe are going to upend things with their new voice-generating software. A few companies have been doing voice mimicking for a while, but the difference with Lyrebird and Adobe is they’re opening the technology to the masses. With as little as 1 minute of someone’s recorded voice, Lyrebird can literally put words in the mouth of their subject. Check out some examples they’ve done (it’s still in early beta so they’ve got some “robot” to iron out).
Awesome Free Things For Entrepreneurs and Startups
As an entrepreneur who prefers to bootstrap, I’m constantly on the lookout for high-quality free services. Freebie Supply stands out among the many curation sites by delivering high-quality recommendations wrapped in a clean, no-nonsense design.
Amazing Facts About Chatbots
Did you know that 1.4 billion people use Messaging apps? And that 37% of Americans say they’d readily make a purchase through a chatbot? Perhaps it’s time to start exploring how chatbots might help your company. Here are 11 amazing facts about chatbots.
Another flying vehicle
I have somewhat of an obsession with personal flying vehicles. I want it to be the future so badly. And I want to be able to skip over traffic (safely of course) without having to pay an arm and a leg for a helicopter. Google’s Larry Page has backed a new startup called Kitty Hawk. They’re building an ultra-light and all-electric aerial vehicle that’s completely legal and will go on sale at the end of this year.
