Microsoft and Xiaomi to collaborate on AI, cloud computing and hardware

 After Microsoft signed a deal to test Windows 10 on Xiaomi devices in 2015 and then Xiaomi bought a trove of patents to help run other Microsoft services on its devices in 2016, today the two companies announced another chapter in its collaboration. Xiaomi and Microsoft have signed a Strategic Framework Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work more closely in the areas of cloud computing,… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/23/microsoft-and-xioami-to-collaborate-on-ai-cloud-computing-and-hardware/?ncid=rss

Noticed vs. missed

Will they notice that you've left?

There are lots of ways to be noticed. You can be loud. Argumentative. You can be sour, difficult, a bit of a diva. You can take umbrage at every opportunity, crack jokes at the expense of others, or merely scowl.

You can use hyperbole, drama and shame to get your way.

You can spam people, yell a lot, interrupt our day. You can create a scene, engage in a scandal and bully others. Your brand or your personality can be the one that we'd all prefer never to hear from again soon.

Or...

You could be the one we'd miss if you were gone.

It takes quite a bit of emotional labor to pull this off. Consistent effort to contribute, to see possibility and to be patient. If it were the easiest or most direct path to a short-term goal, everyone would do it.

Because we live in a world now based on connection and trust, because we work with our ideas and our emotions instead of our muscles, because our reputation is what we have to offer, the effort is probably worth it.

       

from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/528092771/0/sethsblog~Noticed-vs-missed.html

Amazon’s latest Prime perk is free shipping on its deals site Woot!

 Eight years after Amazon snatched up the daily deals site Woot!, the retailer is now leveraging the site to serve as another perk for Prime members. Woot! this morning announced that it will begin offering free shipping on purchases from its site to all Amazon Prime members. Woot!, which was founded in 2004, is no longer the household name it used to be back when Amazon acquired it in 2010… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/22/amazons-latest-prime-perk-is-free-shipping-on-its-deals-site-woot/?ncid=rss

"Is the noise in my head bothering you?"

The monologue that runs in our brain is loud. It's heavy-metal loud compared to the quiet signals we get from the rest of the world.

All day, every day, that noise keeps going. It's the only voice that has seen everything we've seen, believes everything we believe. It's the noise that not only criticizes every action of every other person who disagrees with us, but it criticizes their motives as well. And, if we question it, it criticizes us as well.

Is it any wonder that projection is more powerful than empathy?

When we meet people, we either celebrate when they agree with us or plot to change or ignore them when they don't. There's not a lot of room for, "they might have a different experience of this moment than I do."

That noise in our head is selfish, afraid and angry. That noise is self-satisfied, self-important and certain. That noise pushes intimacy away and will do anything it can to degrade those that might challenge us.

But, against all odds, empathy is possible.

It's possible to amplify those too-quiet signals that others send us and to practice imagining, even for a moment, what it might be like to have their noise instead of our noise.

If we put in the effort and devote the time to practice this skill, we can get better at it. We merely have to begin.

       

from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/527884044/0/sethsblog~Is-the-noise-in-my-head-bothering-you.html

Amazon expands its TechStars Alexa Accelerator to London, starts search for second cohort

 Amazon continues to tap into the developer community to expand the ubiquity of its Alexa voice-based assistant, and it’s taking the strategy international. Today the company opened applications for the Alexa Accelerator, the program for startups building solutions and services for voice-based assistants, which Amazon runs in conjunction with TechStars. Most notably, as part of this… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/21/amazon-expands-its-techstars-alexa-accelerator-to-london-starts-search-for-second-cohort/?ncid=rss

Status roles

"I don't have much, but I have more than you do..."

The second episode of my podcast is out today, and it's the result of perhaps fifty blog posts I wrote but didn't post, because the topic is too important and it's too nuanced for something as short as a blog post.

Status roles are at the core of who we are. They change how we spend our time, our money and most of all, our imaginations.

We define ourselves in relative terms, not absolute ones. More stuff, more power, less this or less that. Who's up and who's down?

It's about the Godfather and professional wrestling, about business cards and politics.  It's about Baxter and Truman. And it's about how fiction works, and real life as well.

Everywhere we turn, we see status roles on display. Some people are moving on up, while others are moving down. This creates tension, drama and the need for resolution.

Here's a page with all the ways to listen and subscribe for free.

Ask a question and see the show notes about this episode on our show page.

       

from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/527708272/0/sethsblog~Status-roles.html

Mixer, Microsoft’s Twitch competitor, adds game sales

 Twitch has long since allowed its streamers to generate revenue from their channels through things like subscriptions, virtual tipping, and game sales. Today, Microsoft is adopting one of those features for its own game streaming service, Mixer, with today’s launch of “Direct Purchase.” The addition will allow streamers to promote purchases – including game titles and… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/20/mixer-microsofts-twitch-competitor-adds-game-sales/?ncid=rss