By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET  The Politics of Tech Google+ has now been in Beta for two weeks and has hit the 10 million user mark. Of course, if you choose to compare that number to Facebook’s 750 million, it doesn’t seem like much. The point is that growth so far has been extremely promising. We will be discussing the developments much more in the coming weeks and it is going to be very interesting to see how things progress. [The Atlantic]
A little Google+ humor based on limited access to the Beta. [comic]
Movie rental giant Netflix recently announced pricing changes. They have made their DVD rental service and streaming service mutually exclusive at $7.99 each and $15.98 for both. This comes only 7 months after the most recent price increase last November. At lot of customers are not happy, but it looks like many investors are. The question going forward is whether this will hurt Netflix’s ability to dominate the market like they have in recent years [Huffington Post]
A new poll indicates that 1/3 of iPhone owners are under the impression that they currently have access to 4G networks. This is, of course, wrong. Current generation iPhones doe not have LTE technology, nor is it being planned for the iPhone due out this Fall. [retrevo]
This 360 panorama of the last space shuttle’s flight deck is truly amazing. [The Last Shuttle]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Here’s some tips on how to beat the heat this summer, from a roofer who’s used to working in scorching weather. [CNN]
Good news, nice guys. New research on baboons reveals that alpha males are significantly more stressed out than beta males. [Time]
According to the British Medical Association, doctors being Facebook friends with patients is a no no. [Wall Street Journal]
New research shows the widespread use of search engines and online databases has affected the way people remember information. [NY Times]
Does summer make you nostalgic for the better days? According to scientists, it’s totally normal. [Psychology Today]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Does the Chinese web search giant serve two masters? [New York Times]
The Netflix price hike may begin a search for more options by consumers. [Chicago Sun Times]
Google anti-trust case watchers: begin placing your bets now, please! [Reuters]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 15, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
Why avoiding office politics is NOT an option! [Fortune]
Why President Obama walked out of the debt-ceiling talks in the cabinet room. [Washington Post]
Why failure to reach a deal on the nation’s debt-ceiling could actually be a good thing. [CNBC]
The end of the era of the engineer: why one engineer argues this sector of the economy will add less value in the years to come. [Forbes]
Rupert Murdoch’s family agrees to appear before the British Parliament. [NY Times]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET Traffic at the Kentucky Speedway
Last week I told you about Kentucky Speedway finally getting to host it’s first Sprint Cup race. Since it was first built 10 years ago, the folks at Kentucky Speedway have been longing for one of the coveted Sprint Cup races to visit their track. The previous owners went as far as suing NASCAR to get a Sprint Cup race (at that time called the Nextel Cup).
So, after 10 long years of waiting, how did the Quaker State 400 turn out?
It definitely wasn’t what you would call smooth. Being located in the small town of Sparta, KY, the highway system was not at all prepared to handle the more than 100,000 fans, racing teams, vendors, etc. that descended. Due to this, these good people waited for hours in traffic and walked for miles to get to the event they payed top dollar to see. In some cases fans had to be turned away entirely! All of the frustration from fans manifested on the Facebook page for Kentucky Speedway. The comment released by Track General Manager Mark Simendinger received over 1,100 comments, most of which were not exactly glowing. The statement from Simendinger only said that he was aware of, “challenges related to traffic” and that they were planning improvements.
The problem with that statement should be fairly obvious. As GM you better realize that NASCAR fans are what drives the sport forward. I believe that NASCAR executives, drivers, teams, and owners realize this, therefore, when something like this angers and frustrates fans as much as it did, it should jump to the top of your priority list. Do not try and sugarcoat it. Thankfully, it seems that they were mostly just slow reacting to the fan and media backlash.
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (the organization that manages Kentucky Speedway along with several others) has responded by offering fans that missed out on the race a ticket exchange opportunity. Any fan with a Kentucky Speedway ticket will be able to redeem it at any Sprint Cup race at an SMI track for the rest of the year or at the 2012 Kentucky Speedway race. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is also offering a few incentives to the fans that missed out.
This is well and good, however, as the title suggests, the point of all of this is that first impressions are important. I’ll say now that I am a fan of anything I deem to be a positive thing for the state of Kentucky. I believe that having a Sprint Cup race in the state (making it Kentucky’s only professional sporting event) is a huge plus. That is why it is so disappointing that the Quaker State 400 offered such a poor fan experience. Sure, the Sprint Cup will be back in 2012, but what about after that? I can’t imagine NASCAR executives lingering in Kentucky very long if they do not see marked improvements next year.
Kentucky Speedway has begged for 10 years, changed ownership, and made extensive improvements and expansions to the track, all in the hope of having a consistent NASCAR presence in this state that is home to many fans of the sport. Now we are left to hope that it wasn’t all naught.
Oh, by the way, Kyle Busch won the race and took over the points lead. So there’s that.
By Zac Byer, on Thu Jul 14, 2011 at 11:00 AM ET RP Readers, here’s your opportunity to prove to one and all that you could sit for the SAT without breaking into a cold sweat:
Jon walked to work at an average speed of 6 miles per hour and biked back along the same route at 10 miles per hour. If his total traveling time was 2 hours, how many miles were in the round trip? Your choices are A. 6, B. 6.25, C. 7.5, D. 8, or E. 10.
Chances are you could probably narrow your choice down to two or three possibilities. But, what if you are a high school junior, enrolled in a school that is overcrowded and underfunded, sitting in classes taught in two languages, and nobody in your family has ever taken the SAT before? What are your chances then?
***
My friend Jack did not have to deal with those challenges when he was preparing to apply to college. The road was pre-paved, and Jack smoothed it out along the way as he studied for the SAT, applied to college, and eventually accepted admission at the University of Southern California.
When he got to USC, Jack caught the entrepreneurial bug. It’s like the “politics bug” – once you catch it, you have a hard time running away from it. Not far removed from taking the SAT himself, Jack started tutoring some family friends for the test. Two students quickly turned into ten, and Jack found that he had written enough of his own material to create a full-fledged pre-college outreach program. That’s how Study Smart Tutors was born.
***
This is a brief look into entrepreneurship and education. They are two worlds we don’t think of colliding; but, when they do, the reaction sparks unlimited possibilities. Like in any chemical reaction, however, there must be just the right amount of reactants…
• 1 Part Risk: Jack graduated college and decided to grow Study Smart Tutors. He turned down stable jobs that most recent college grads now dream of, trading them in for a seat behind the wheel of his own company. Recently, I asked him if he was nervous to take on the gamble that is entrepreneurship as a twenty-something. “Now is the time with the least risk,” he said. “When you’re young and unattached is the time to bet big.” Of course there are still nerves and concerns, and by Jack’s own admission, “things aren’t perfect, especially when there are no regular paychecks or bankable guarantees.” But he understands the risk he is assuming, and he knows that it will be more difficult to take these chances as he gets older.
Read the rest of…
Zac Byer: Entrepreneurship and Education . . . A Much-Needed Marriage
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Thu Jul 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Texas Congressman Ron Paul (R-14) is not running for re-election to the House to focus on another run for the Presidency. One famous Republican strategist believes he could present a strong candidacy. [The Daily Beast]
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) proposes a solution to the debt-ceiling debate. While embraces on Wall Street, it has received a less enthusiastic reception on Capitol Hill. [Bloomberg]
Obama, the budget, and the art of political positioning. Or, “Politics as Kabuki Theater.” [Huffington Post]
Thanks to Rupert Murdoch, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown finally gets his “revenge.” [The Telegraph]
Austrian man is allowed to wear a pasta-strainer in his driver’s license photo. A pious follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the man argued the pasta-strainer was religious headgear. [BBC News]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 13, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
So that how it got its name! [comic]
Free to a good home. . . [Craigslist]
Chinese superheroes. Enough said. [picture]
The boy makes a fantastic point. [comic]
Great way to waste time. A little browser game called Hunting Arrows. [Hunting Arrows]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 13, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET Approximately 300,000 youth are sexually exploited in the United States every year. Read the emotional story of one young woman’s escape from a life of prostitution. [CNN]
One of the newest methods of helping children with autism involves tutus and plies. [Time]
The secret to triumph: it’s all in the head. [Newsweek]
For a dose of reality, check out this infographic depicting what it’s life to live on less than $2 a day in a developing nation. [Good Magazine]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 13, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET Even though historic British tabloid News of the World printed its last paper on Sunday, the newspaper’s phone-hacking scandal continues to live on. [CNN]
Twitter’s worth fell about $3 billion since February, meaning your tweets are a little less valuable. There’s even a (not so) scientific formula to prove it. [Esquire]
Elizabeth Smart recently signed on to ABC News to serve as the network’s permanent “abduction expert” when such cases should arise. [NY Magazine]
In an age when politicians can tweet thousands of followers with the click of a mouse, eloquence and well-developed arguments are more necessary than ever. [Newsweek]
In honor of the last Harry Potter movie coming out this weekend, here’s a look back at ten years of journalists documenting the pop culture phenomenon. [Time]
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