Startup Talk: Most Americans Say Digital Revolution Has Improved Their Lives
by October 8, 2015 5:37 am 128 views
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MOST AMERICANS SAY DIGITAL REVOLUTION HAS IMPROVED THEIR LIVES: Most Americans are highly connected to technology and believe the Digital Revolution has improved the quality of their interactions with their local communities, according to a new poll released today by The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) and National Journal.
The 24th quarterly Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll asked Americans across the country how technology is reshaping their lives. The poll explored how in many cases the Digital Revolution has made their lives easier, and how, in some areas, it has given Americans cause for concern.
Among the findings, 79% say the Digital Revolution has had a positive effect on their ability to stay in touch with people important to them, and three-in-four say it has positively affected their ability to obtain information about important issues. More than half (53%) think technology is improving life by making it easier to keep in touch with people and making it easier to buy products from anywhere. To see in-depth poll data, visit here.
UALR TO HOST ‘VIRTUAL REALITY’ OPEN HOUSE IN EMERGING ANALYTICS CENTER: The Emerging Analytics Center (EAC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) will host an open house event on Oct. 16-17, where attendees will explore and experience the dynamics of virtual and augmented reality, university officials said.
EAC’s Work is centered on interdisciplinary projects and it covers a wide range of topics from the development and use of large-scale one-of-a-kind systems to every day portable technologies such as smart phones, glasses and tablets as well as pioneering applications for these technologies in many disciplines and markets.
At the open house event, featured virtual reality applications will be demonstrated using a 26-projector immersive CAVE, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, a 180-degree immersion dome, and a variety of mobile devices. To learn more or get free tickets to the event, click here.
TEXAS OIL & GAS STARTUP GETS BACKING FROM FORMER CHESAPEAKE CEO: Billionaire Aubrey McClendon, former CEO and founder of Chesapeake Energy Corp., is part of a group of venture capitalists fronting more than $8 million to an Austin, Texas-based startup that is creating a proprietary database to help oil and gas companies make faster, more precise acquisition and divestiture decisions.
RunTitle announced on Tuesday (Oct. 6) that it had closed on $8 million in Series A financing led by Founders Fund. Joining in the fundraiser were McClendon’s Deep Fork Capital, existing investor Austin Ventures, and several individuals. The Texas startup will give it an opportunity to expand amid a crisis-level oil price environment forcing the historically slow-to-change oil and gas industry to seek out innovative data and software solutions.
RunTitle said it will use the proceeds to accelerate hiring on its engineering, sales, and marketing teams and to continue growing its proprietary dataset of mineral title information. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel, one of the first investors in Facebook, is also a RunTitle backer.
SAS BOSS: ARKANSAS EDUCATION SYSTEM NEEDS MORE INNOVATION, MORE STEM FOCUS – The chief executive of data analytics software giant SAS told a roomful of Arkansas business leaders, educators and economic development officials that making sure Arkansas children get a good education and are able to go to college is critical to the state’s future business success. Read Talk Business & Politics coverage of CEO Jim Goodnight’s Arkansas trip at this link.
NANOMECH LAUNCHES A TRANSPORT DIVISION: Springdale-based NanoMech recently launched its own transport division to address the trucking and railroad industry requirements for increased sustainability, performance, reliability and efficiency. The division incorporates NanoMech’s lineup of products aimed at the transportation industry and creates a new segment in the company, said NanoMech CEO Jim Phillips. Read more here.