Chanatown

Article first published as Why I Still Heart Pandora Radio on Blogcritics. It's funny - I have been a Pandora user for years now, and was even considering purchasing some stock in the Internet radio company.  I had been monitoring the share price for a few weeks, but then noticed one day the price drop over 10%. A quick Google news search found the reason: an announcement of iHeart Radio's improved web application that included what was deemed by many as a "Pandora killer", the ability to create customized radio stations based on one's musical tastes.  So, how does the beta release stand up to one of my favorite apps? Will Pandora indeed be doomed? Find out after the jump.

Article first published as Apple and Google's Popularity Described in Three Words on Technorati. After reading an article on Apple and Google's respective positioning as the top two most admired companies in the world , I couldn't help but 1) agree with the rankings, 2) further reflect on what makes them so great, and 3) come up with three words for each company that offers some additional reasoning on their climb to the top.

Having read and enjoyed Dan Ariely's first book, Predictably Irrational , I was excited about plunging into the follow-up titled The Upside of Irrationality . Also, after reflecting on how SuperFreakonomics (a similar book with some overlapping experiments) can save education , I set about reading Ariely's work with the mindset of an educator. Below are three chapter connections as they apply directly to the classroom.