Internet Manipulation — Messaging — Kickstarter Fulfillment — Role-Models — The Role of Press 

Gruvi Weekly Digest #9 — A weekly catch up on what we found interesting at Gruvi.

It’s no news that technology is evolving at a fast pace. Sometimes it’s used to make our lives better, to help us stay in touch with the people in our lives and to enhance our experiences. But there’s also a dark side to all this evolution that we need to watch out for. And there are industries, such as printed press, that are taking a hard hit. Ultimately, it’s all about navigating this landscape of increasingly available choice wisely.

Ben, CEO

How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations via The Intercept
Want to take someone down online, discredit them, ruin their relationships, etc?—?here’s the 101 from the CIA outed from Snowden’s leaks. Beware, you will have slightly less faith in humanity after reading.

Matt, Operations Lead

Messaging is just getting started via Medium
Really interesting piece on the future of Messaging apps. We’ve come a long way from SMS and there’s still a long way to go.

Mirona, Gruvi’s Go Getter

Just released: The largest independent analysis examining Kickstarter project fulfillment via Kickstarter
We tend to heard and read a lot about projects successfully financed through Kickstarter. But unless we count ourselves among the backers, we seldom get information on how those projects were carried and implemented after funding. Turns out there are plenty of examples of projects that, for reasons including not being implemented at all, do not reward their backers.

Julio, CTO

How to be like Steve Ballmer via Medium
Funny-but-true piece with some interesting points: “I bet you could learn a lot from Steve Ballmer. More than you can learn from Jobs. You’re not like Jobs. Jobs was a handsome lustrous-haired genius who hooked up with another genius in his early 20s and formed a new, globally important (and immediately successful) company. Ballmer was a funny looking bald non-genius who joined a growing company as employee 30. Which is more like you?”

Johnny, Lead Developer

Access Denied via The Awl
John Herrman discusses the shifting balance of power between publications and their subjects in the modern era and the changing (perhaps weakening) role of the press, from Trump to games critics to protest reporting.

Dario, Developer

Showtime launches first-ever boxing match in virtual reality via Mashable
As a boxing afficionado and a fan of pugilistic arts in general, I alwaysgreet upcoming prize fights with a smile on my face. When the time for a PPV comes I do my best to enjoy it to the fullest. That means clearing my schedule ahead of time (of course), calling up a few friends over to my place and ordering food. All of those factors are pretty much in my control. Being able to mold the experience for myself is what it’s all about.One important factor, however, is out of my control. The way a fight is viewed from the perspective of a camera. If I was able to customize the way I view a fight, I just might be able to pick up on stuff I feel is important. That would make me happy. Very, very happy.It is a promising technology and if it guided properly it just might do wonders for a huge number of sport fans, including myself.

Franco, Graphic Designer

Simplicity Wins over Abundance of Choice via Nielsen Norman Group
As the number of choices increases, so does the effort required to collect information and make good decisions. Hoa Loranger observed how customers deal with a soda-dispensign machine that offers 100 different flavours.

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