Industry News Digest: May 6

Hi everyone,

this week’s industry news digest has success stories from Jimmy Kimmel to Arianna Huffington, social tips to remove awkwardness from networking, hilarious notes from kids, and insane technology conspiracy theories– aka, all the ingredients for a fun Monday afternoon read.

Business

“12 Successful People Share The Biggest Career Risk They Ever Took”

I don’t know how many of you aspire to have a career like Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston, but this list reveals a common theme. The successful had the confidence to go after what they wanted, no matter how risky it seemed, which reminds me of Malcolm Gladwell’s finding that having the confidence to apply to an Ivy League school is just as indicative to future success as actually attending Harvard or Yale.

The funniest quote from the list comes from chess star Magnus Carlsen, who says: “I decided to be a professional chess player. At that point, it wasn’t a particularly risky decision, because I was already, you know, quite good.”

Technology

“11 of The Wildest Technology Conspiracy Theories”

This list from Business Insider is my favourite of the week. Read about crazy conspiracy theories like invisible warships, how Facebook was invented by the C.I.A and how light bulbs that take longer to burn out are being hid from the public so we spend more money.

“Bacon Over Business: 6 Tips for Keeping the Conversation Flowing at Tech Events”
Being notoriously awful at small talk, I always like articles like this one from VentureBeat. My two favorite tips from the list about how to keep the conversation flowing at networking events are ask open-ended questions, and read the news for emergency talking points.

Education

“Zynga & NewSchools Team Up to Launch an Accelerator for Educational Gaming Startups”

Zynga and NewSchools Venture Summit are teaming up to create educational online games for the classroom. With $1 million in funding, we will see if they can top the greats like Math Blaster and JumpStart Adventures.