Tag Archives: Iconoculture

EUROPEANS SWITCH OFF TO CHARGE UP

by Gwyneth Holland Europeans are famed for their love of the good life, but the influence of global commerce and always-on tech toys and tools (plus the need to improve productivity in the wake of the eurozone crisis), has compromised their easygoing pace. While connectivity is key for harried midlifers and three-screen teens alike, they […]

Silvercar strips down the car rental process

by Stefania Revelli WHAT’S HAPPENING Silvercar simplifies the airport car rental process to four steps and one 2013 silver Audi A4 — one  make, one model, one color, one choice. Users make an online reservation, download the Silvercar app, access the car for their needs, and return it when they’re done. Separating it from traditional […]

“Mommy penalty” pushes women’s wages down even further

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING Even though women have made big strides in recent decades relative to education and career, they continue to make less than men — on average about 7% less for comparable positions. And a recent survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that women with children typically make […]

THE BEAUTY BUSINESS GETS INTERESTING

by Stefania Revelli Unretouched makeup ads. Plus-size models. Airbrush bans. In the last few years, the beauty category has experienced some radical image changes. But many of these shifts were still suggestive of beauty based on physical attributes. Today, sometimes-contradictory character traits like strength, vulnerability, authenticity and individuality are getting more notice as part of […]

MEAT Podcast, Episode 16: The Consumer Electronics Show download

by Mike Garrison, Andrew Hawn, Katie Elfering and Traci Croft Media, Entertainment and Technology Strategists give a download of the Consumer Electronics Show 2013. For more information and to listen, click here.

BRAZIL BEYOND SAMBA

by Becky Sun Brazil is more than samba, futebol and rainforest. It’s a rising economic powerhouse — not only because of agriculture and natural-resource exports, but increasingly because of its beverages, fashion, personal-care products and more. China is one country that’s discovering this Latin American giant. Brazilian Gate, a bar in the trendy pedestrian-only zone […]

Mexico’s biggest bakery creates website to promote its wind energy

by Gabriela Boylan WHAT’S HAPPENING Bimbo, the largest bread and pastry company in Mexico, has launched Bimbo Verde Parque Eólico (Green Bimbo Wind Park), a website that invites people to be part of a virtual wind farm. In October 2012, Bimbo inaugurated Piedra Larga, celebrated as the world’s largest wind farm for the food industry […]

Frankfurt airport caters to Chinese shoppers

by Ann Kathrin Weldy WHAT’S HAPPENING Frankfurt airport operator Fraport AG has launched a free personal shopping service for travellers from China. The personal-shopping staff assists them in making purchasing decisions and obtaining sales tax refunds (Spiegel.de, 23 November 2012). The Chinese are known to be keen consumers and many shop for bargains at the […]

Hip Moscow restaurant teaches gourmet kids’ recipes

by Victor Sonkin WHAT’S HAPPENING Ragout, a hip Moscow restaurant, is offering courses for parents of toddlers, teaching them to cook diverse high-quality food (Ragout.ru, November 2012). The courses are scheduled over three days. The first day is devoted to children aged 5-8 months, the second to children aged 8-14 months, and the third to […]

Sweet equality: Teen petitions Hasbro for a gender-neutral Easy-Bake Oven

by Nina Elder WHAT’S HAPPENING To McKenna Pope, not all Easy-Bake Ovens are created equal. The New Jersey teen’s 4-year-old brother, Gavin, asked for a dinosaur and an Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven for Christmas. When the family went shopping, they saw that the mini cooker was available only in pink and purple, and therefore chose not to buy […]

School! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Steve Jobs. Bill Gates. Michael Dell. Mark Zuckerberg. College dropouts and zillionaires all. Why pay crazy money for school when you could be making crazy money instead? More Millennials are asking that question and just saying no to college (New York Times, 30 November 2012). Skyrocketing tuition and explosive student […]

A “BIG” ALERT

by Charlotte Beal The food trends that need to die. The home design trends we’re sick of. The top beauty picks of 2012. Media and future-casting companies are swirling with their picks for year-end content, but Iconoculture is different. Our Big Ideas 2013 series, rolling out now, dives deep into five influential market shifts that […]

Could Nate Silver-style algorithms predict recipe success?

by Tory Davis WHAT’S HAPPENING Lada Adamic, a computer scientist at Facebook and the University of Michigan, has developed an algorithm with her team that predicts how well a recipe will turn out. She can predict how many stars a dish will receive on AllRecipes.com with an 80% success rate (NPR.org, 19 November 2012). Her […]

From lyricist to physicist: New York City schools incorporate hip-hop into science classes

by Lisa Parks WHAT’S HAPPENING Music has often been used to teach complicated ideas. Columbia University professor Christopher Emdin is finding that rap can help high school students rhyme their way into scientific literacy. Emdin, Wu-Tang Clan hip-hop artist GZA and the founders of the lyrics website Rap Genius are launching a program in 10 […]

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 96 other followers