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A lot of people hate the last episode of Black Mirror; “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too”. They think it’s lazy. They think it’s not as profound as it could have been. They think it’s pointless. They think it’s childish. They think it’s superficial. But here’s what everyone is missing (except one blogger I reference below): That’s exactly the intention of the episode. While almost all writers and critics are analyzing this episode based on an expectation of abstract messaging through its content, this episode is actually delivering a very direct, explicit, self-deprecating, warning through its intentionally poor caliber of writing and directing: “You want to keep pressuring us to make more episodes about what you want to hear? Even though we’ve said what we want to say? Fine. Fuck you. Here you go. Here’s some cookie-cutter, superficial shit. And there’s more where that came from.” It’s not just about ‘what…

People all around the world look forward to the new products Apple has in store for its loyalists every year. The rumor mills predicted larger iPhones for 2018 and were right in doing so. Tim Cook confirmed suspicions yesterday when he unveiled the company’s new lineup of phones at the company’s annual September event. The iPhone nomenclature has become slightly more confusing and the price tags a little bit more prohibitive. But there are a lot of interesting cosmetic and functional upgrades that the engineers at Apple have fashioned to justify those costs. The event was mostly about the new iPhones, but there were a few other things to take note of. Here’s a recap of everything important announced at the Steve Jobs theater in Apple Park yesterday. iPhone XS The successor to the iPhone X is called the iPhone Xs. That’s pronounced ‘ten s,’ not like the XS in…

It’s that time of year again. Apple has asked members of the media and devotees from around the world to “gather round” for a special event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its Cupertino campus. And they will, because this year’s event, like every year, promises newer versions of the iPhone and other Apple hardware. So far 2018 has been a pretty sparse year in terms of hardware upgrades for Apple products. WWDC came and went without any announcements about new phones or laptops or watches. The event focused instead on revamping software across Apple’s four platforms. But they did launch a new iPad and MacBook Pro at different times earlier this year. It appears that the electronics giant has most of the good stuff saved for this September event. Here’s what there is to look forward to. New Apple iPhones for 2019 Apple is definitely going to come out…

It’s officially game over at E3 2018, which means it’s time for us to take stock of the achievements unlocked by the exhibitors at this year’s event. So let’s dive right into it. Microsoft Has Created A New Studio and Bought Four Others For a while now Microsoft has been hamstrung by the low number of marquee exclusive games offered on the XBox. They’ve now taken some big steps towards ameliorating that situation. The Redmond-based company announced at E3 that it is setting up five new studios internally in an effort to create more exclusive titles for the XBox One. Four of those studios will be acquired. The fifth is one, called The Initiative, it’s setting up itself. The studio will be helmed by Darrell Gallagher, who was previously head honcho at Crystal Dynamics, the operation responsible for the Tomb Raider games. Fortnite Made A Controversial Arrival onto The Nintendo…

Many of our good intentions to go greener or support charity are hard to execute and even harder to sustain. In a lot of cases ‘baby steps’ are the answer–small changes that are easy to make and easy to stick to. Like switching to compostable packaging. Or now, something as simple as changing your default search engine. We spoke to Christian Kroll, CEO and Founder of Ecosia, a social startup trying to empower everyone to easily do good. You just search the web, and they plant the trees. Well, there’s a little bit more to it than that… What is your background? What else have you been a part of? I studied Business Administration and was involved in the stock exchange and online trading. I was quite good at it and could’ve made a lot of money, but already during university I realized I didn’t want to work on something corporate…

Self-driving technology is among the sexier technologies out there, but the sector has taken a mildly un-sexy (although still largely appealing) turn lately. The future you envisioned where you sit back in a car as it weaves through traffic all by itself is a little more distant than you might have first thought. Or it might be just as distant as you thought, depending on how sanguine you were of the capabilities of the technology. Either way, it’s clear by now that cars won’t be doing the whole self-driving thing for a while–not unless we’re prepared to risk the lives of anyone who ventures out onto streets. What seems more likely is that the technology will be used to get us groceries and laundry and stuff like that, like a futuristic Postmates. That’s right, it turns out self-driving vehicles will be just as interesting to Amazon and FedEx as they…

Holy hell, a lot of crazy, incredible things happened in 2017. Donald Trump got promoted from his role of Irrelevant Loud Rich Idiot all the way up to Leader of Everything; at any given moment, a hurricane was ruining someone’s life somewhere; North Korea became the final piece of proof that you can always tell exactly how insane someone is by their haircut; and investigative journalism uncovered evidence that literally every man in the galaxy is a pervert. And that’s just some of what went down. Outside of celebrities and politics, it was a huge year for business, technology and the startup landscape as whole. On SnapMunk, we tried to cover all the big stuff, provide helpful advice and insight into how to succeed as a small business, and every once in a while, just throw you some good old fashioned entertainment. So for your reading and ruminating pleasure, below are the business, technology…

I am, for all intents and purposes, what you would call a social media laggard. I joined Facebook only in 2009. I was graduating from the 10th grade and my friends warned me we would lose touch if I wasn’t on any social media (I have since lost touch with almost all of them). I made it onto Twitter in 2013, well after it was an upstart Internet phenomenon. I have made a grand total of 159 Tweets since then, at an average of about 40 Tweets a year. I joined Instagram earlier this year and have literally never logged into my account since. All that said, for someone with such an apathetic history with social media platforms, I have really enjoyed using Snapchat. And not just because I installed the app at the behest of a girl I was into. Over the course of making headway in that relationship, I…

Did you know that 3 out of 4 startups won’t be successful? It’s bleak to think about, but the reality is that decisions made during early startup stages can greatly affect if the company succeeds or fails. Read on to learn about six common mistakes made during early startup stages so you know what not to do when it comes to the early stages of your company. 1. Lacking Focus A lot of startups have a great amount of ambition and aim to accomplish big ideas and goals. This is great for brainstorming sessions and boosting team morale, but it can also result in losing focus about the big picture. Startups that lack focus and aim to accomplish too many things often spread themselves too thin and will eventually fizzle out. 2. Overthinking and Analyzing It’s important for startups in their early stages to be decisive, overthinking and analyzing can also backfire and cause…

One unique way to raise money to make your idea a reality is through crowdfunding. According to Fundly, crowdfunding campaigns have raised $34 billion worldwide. They are projected to grow to over $300 billion by 2025. Additionally, Forbes Magazine reported that crowdfunding in the real estate industry surpassed $3.5 billion. These are eye-opening figures that help to show the power of this increasingly more popular way of raising money. But to make the most of this opportunity, you need to know your options! Read on to learn more about the different types of crowdfunding. Donation Crowdfunding This type of crowdfunding raises money by way of — you guessed it — donations. One of the best-known websites for this type of crowdfunding is GoFundMe. This platform allows users to set up an account and accept donations based on helping a cause or charity. This is a common way to raise funds to help…

Up until recently, convenience was defined as being able to talk to your appliances to control them. Today however, that’s old news. Home automation is increasingly becoming more advanced, and while devices can’t yet read our minds, they’re getting pretty close. A startup called Intellithings is on the road to launching RoomMe, a patented smart home sensor that detects who has entered a room, syncs with smartphones and other smart home software, and leverages user data and customization to automatically adjust devices to serve preferences around things like temperature, lighting, entertainment and even security. The list of other controllable devices, as you would imagine in the IoT world, is quite extensive; RoomMe can be used to control TVs, lights, thermostats, lamps, cameras, coffee makers, ceiling fans, smart outlets, and window blinds. In essence if it’s a HomeKit, Wink, Nest, SmartThings, or WeMo device, you’re good to go. There’s also iOS and Android SDKs…

Websites are great for showcasing your products and services, however they’re only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to addressing questions and concerns your customers might have. While businesses used to rely on phone and email communications, in today’s rapid society, those solutions aren’t enough. The key to success in today’s competitive landscape is to address customer concerns as soon as they come up. There’s where live chat software, such as SalesIQ comes into play. It enables you to cut call center costs by allowing customer success representatives to communicate with multiple individuals at once. Aside from cutting costs, you’ll also boost customer satisfaction. Now, imagine for a second you were able to go beyond simple conversations and proactively engage prospects when they’re most likely to make a purchase. With SalesIQ, you can trigger chats based on on-page times or targeted landing pages. With built-in geolocation, you can…