April 14, 2017

This week United Airlines angered millions when a video surfaced of a man being brutally dragged off of an overbooked flight. People not only felt horrified at the violence of the incident, but they also questioned why the company needed to overbook flights in the first place. As this video shows, though, the answer is not so easy.

Questions:

 

  1. Should airlines be allowed to overbook flights?
  2. What risks do airlines face if they do not overbook a flight?
Continue reading...

April 13, 2017

travel-troublesThis week United Airlines has faced a surge in public anger following the release of a video that showed a passenger being dragged off of an overbooked flight. Along with its plummeting reputation, the company’s stock price has also experienced quite a bit of turbulence since the incident. At its worst point United shares fell 6.3 percent, reducing the the airline’s market value by $1.4 billion. United’s CEO has repeatedly apologized for the way the company handled the situation Continue reading

Continue reading...

April 7, 2017

instagram-businessBy the end of the year, the photo sharing app Instagram expects to earn $3 billion from ad sales. That’s a huge jump from the $60 million the social network made in 2015. In that time, Instagram has collected more than 600 million users, a number bested only by its parent company Facebook. About 8 million of these accounts belong to companies who use the platform primarily for promotion.

Soon, though, some brands will be able to develop closer relationships Continue reading

Continue reading...

April 5, 2017

Since YouTube’s founding, the video sYoutube-mobileharing site has prided itself on being a platform that anyone can use to express themselves. This concept catapulted the site to instant success and led to a $1.65 billion buyout from Google in 2006. Along with becoming one of the search engine giant’s most lucrative advertising outlets, YouTube is also the most valuable video platform on the Internet by far.

Despite this lofty status, though, major advertisers like AT&T, Lyft and Johnson & Continue reading

Continue reading...

April 3, 2017

The looping animated icons known as GIFs have provided websites with a unique visual element since the dawn of the Internet. Of course, today’s GIFs do far more than just attract eyes to otherwise dull sites. People use them constantly in social media and text message conversations to express emotions that are difficult to convey with words. And as this video shows, companies like Giphy think that these moving images will soon turn into major money makers for content creators Continue reading

Continue reading...

March 31, 2017

HannaKarpEven before the days of iTunes and Spotify, musicians depended heavily on the money they earned from touring to supplement their album sales. And while streaming services have recently provided a big boost of revenue for the industry, the vast majority of musicians still don’t make enough money from their recordings to earn a living. As a result, performing live is often the best option for musicians who want to see a monetary reward for their efforts.

Of course, touring Continue reading

Continue reading...

March 27, 2017

peasapWhether you’re on a long road trip or just heading home from work, chances are that you won’t want to pick up dinner from a gas station. After all, the nation’s fueling stops are better known for roller-grilled hot dogs and unhealthy snacks rather than fine dining. But with many American eaters on the hunt for fresh and convenient options, gas stations around the country have started meeting this demand by bringing restaurants on site.

For instance, in Leesburg, Virginia, Continue reading

Continue reading...

March 14, 2017

While identifying colors might seem like a simple preschool task to some, it’s a serious job at the Pantone color factory. This company creates color guides that act sort of like dictionaries for artists and designers. In order to create consistent colors every time, Pantone depends on eagle-eyed employees to check for flaws. Along with these dedicated staffers, this video also shows some of the machines used by Pantone to create such vivid hues.

Questions:

 

  1. Why does Pantone require Continue reading
Continue reading...

February 24, 2017

OakLabsAs e-commerce companies like Amazon become more and more popular, traditional retailers have scrambled to find ways to bring people back into stores. Along with placing scannable QR codes by items, brick and mortar outlets have also tried large internet kiosks that allow customers to browse their online stores. Despite retailers’ best efforts, though, these attempts at modernizing haven’t caught on with consumers. After all, who would walk into a place just to check its online store?

The startup Oak Continue reading

Continue reading...

February 21, 2017

KellyAs winter winds down, people across the country will start throwing their fleece jackets into the wash for one last spin before months of closet storage. While many people won’t think twice about one load of laundry, unfortunately the environmental effects of this routine task will linger for a long time. Unlike cotton or wool, synthetic fleece releases tiny plastic fibers into wastewater that flows into lakes and rivers. These non-biodegradable materials then bind with other chemicals and cause health Continue reading

Continue reading...