Weekly Links #20

Here is a weekly selection of important information bits, thoughtful opinion pieces and interesting analyses from the digital and technology world. Published every Thursday.

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• Want a Steady Income? There’s an App for That
  
  An intriguing concept that the Oakland-based startup Even is working on: A service which evens out income volatility and prevents people from having to access highly expensive loans to pay their bills. Considering the rise of the “gig economy” (also called the “Uber economy”) with millions of new contract workers as well as considering the traditionally large low-income sector of the U.S., the demand for such a service and its impact on personal well-being could be huge.
• The billion-dollar, one-person startup
  
  Good general point the author makes: Startups within the technology sector need less and less employees in order to accomplish their business goals. Because for each and every internal function (like cloud infrastructure, payroll, location information or messaging) there is now a specialized service provider.
• When it Comes to SEO, Airbnb Has Some Catching Up to Do
  
  Surprisingly, Airbnb has become one of the hottest and highest valued companies in tech without putting any serious effort in search engine optimization. It suggests untapped potential as well as a widespread overestimation of the importance of SEO for online success.
• German car makers, Baidu preparing ‘anti-Google’ bid for Nokia’s Here maps
  
  What an unexpected alliance. If this acquistion actually happens, one might have to expect an even closer partnership between Baidu and the German car makers. Like Google, Baidu wants to build a self-driving car. Mercedes, Audi and BMW could join forces with Baidu to work on that goal together.
• Inside the School Silicon Valley Thinks Will Save Education
  
  I wonder how different the world view of kids who go to this type of school will be compared to those who “enjoyed” a traditional form of teaching.
• Medium adds Creative Commons licensing for writers
  
  Very good.
• Circa: What went wrong
  
  Circa was once hailed as the possible next big thing in journalism, but things did not develop as good as expected.
• Groupon Tries to Move Beyond Reputation for Discounts
  
  Groupon today is pretty much a different product than Groupon 2 years ago, and it more or less focuses on the U.S. only.
• Sony Pulls Hozier, Adele, Miguel, Others From SoundCloud In Licensing Impasse
  
  As I wrote here, this year is a challenging one for SoundCloud, because various parties need to be pleased.
• Head of $100 Billion High-Tech Saudi City in Town to Meet With Silicon Valley Firms
  
  Saudi Arabia plans to build a $100 billion high-tech port city along the Red Sea.
• Now It’s Official: More Google Searches Are Coming From Mobile Than Desktop
  
  A milestone.
• Nick Bostrom: ‘I don’t think the artificial-intelligence train will slow down’
  
  I do not think anyone can slow it down. There are too many commercial incentives, so many companies and researchers will keep pushing AI.
• Avatar Airlines is Back and It Wants Your Money
  
  The first time that I hear about a commercial airline project that wants to get financed through crowdfunding.
• Watch Elon Musk announce Tesla Energy in the best tech keynote I’ve ever seen
  
  I am sure there a hundreds if not thousands of great companies that develop innovative and sustainable smart energy solutions. Thanks to Tesla and its founder Elon Musk, this is now becoming a sexy topic. That’s great for raising awareness and creating demand.

And recently on meshedsociety.com:

• I accidentally deleted my blog and realized what freedom really means
• Secret and why the first users of a social app should not be (male) thirty-somethings who work in tech