In The News

Textizen is Philly's answer to narrowing digital divide

Government Technology Monday, June 11, 2012

Government Technology reports on Code For America's work on Textizen, a citizen feedback platform launched last week for Philadelphia.

Neighborhood-specific questions are posed via colorful posters in public places like bus shelters, along with instructions as to how citizens can make their voices heard.

The PCPC is currently seeking input to revise two of the 18 district plans within the city. In the densely populated central district, people can text in views about the city’s recreation sites. Two separate questions are being asked in an effort to gather input that will help direct continued investment in the area, a haven for young families.

Original source: Government Technology

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After Philly launch, on-demand car service Uber eyes San Diego

TechCrunch Monday, June 11, 2012

After launching its on-demand car service in Philadelphia last month, Uber continues its expansion spree by launching in San Diego on Friday, reports TechCrunch.

With 1.3 million people in the city and 3.1 million in San Diego County, there’s a pretty big population for Uber to go after. And the population there is pretty well off, with about 30 percent of households having an annual income of $30,000 or more. That means plenty of potential riders with cash to spend on a premium car service.

Original source: TechCrunch

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Philly VC funds investing heavily in water technologies

Environmental Leader Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Philadelphia-based Meidlinger Partners and Conshohocken's Enertech Capital are among those who have invested heavily in water management products, which have raised more than $400 million in equity and debt over the past five years, reports Environmental Leader.

Altela, a US company that uses a highly efficient thermal distillation technology to desalinate and decontaminate wastewater, has raised $10 million to date. Enertech has invested in the company, and it is backed by Yates Petroleum and Merrion Oil and Gas. Altela is focused on fracking operations and has projects underway in the Marcellus Shale. Its technology meets new regulations for clean water discharge and has been validated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the US Department of Energy.

Original source: Environmental Leader

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Why a Philadelphia cleaning equipment company is on Pinterest

The New York Times Tuesday, June 05, 2012

The New York Times writes about Philadelphia-based Equipment Trade Service Company's interest in Pinterest.

Mr. Schuster, who happens to be the Web manager of a cleaning-equipment business called Equipment Trade Service Company, played around with Pinterest a bit. The next morning he told his boss, David Hart, the company’s owner, that they needed to be there. Mr. Hart got it right away and soon the company, which is based in Philadelphia and has 23 employees, had its own Pinterest presence. “Our customers want to see good product pictures before they pull out that credit card,” he said. “Pinterest is great for that.”

Original source: The New York Times

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iPads await Lower Merion kindergarteners this fall

Tablet Times Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Five year-olds in 14 of Lower Merion School District's kindergarten classes will have access to iPads for reading and math instruction, reports Tablet Times.

After a pilot project in one kindergarten class at Belmont Hills Elementary School last semester, George Frazier, director of information systems, and Jenn Goldberg, education technology specialist, were encouraged enough to recommend that the district expand the program.

Original source: Tablet Times

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'With art Philadelphia,' campaign ponders the most artistic mile in the country

The New York Times Friday, May 25, 2012

Five city institutions have combined to launch the "With art Philadelphia," advertising that makes the city hard to ignore as a visual arts destination, reports The New York Times.

The campaign, with a budget estimated at $2 million over the next two years, is being sponsored by the tourism marketing organization and more than a dozen other organizations, associations, foundations and institutions.

They include the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the State of Pennsylvania, the Barnes, three other museums and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

Original source: The New York Times

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SnipSnap clipping away: 123,000 downloads and $555,000 seed round

Friday, May 25, 2012

Gigaom reports on Philadelphia-based Snip-Snap's continued rise, including a recent seed round of $550,000.

The app, which launched last month, allows people to scan coupons they find in a mailer or newspaper. It reformats the information in the app and makes it easy for people to present the barcode at the point of sale for redemption. Users can get set alerts to warn them before a coupon is about to expire or remind them when they enter a store where they’ve saved a coupon. The app also offers the ability to share coupons online through Facebook, Twitter and email.

Original source: Gigaom

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WSJ gushes over Philly's food, culture and design

Wall Street Journal Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Wall Street Journal's insider's guide to Philadelphia touts "miles of green space," among other assets.

All this art wouldn't do much good if it couldn't be accompanied by an excellent meal. Fortunately, Philadelphia is awash with tasty picks, from Mark Vetri's fine-Italian Vetri to the quirky Talula's Garden, which opened just last year and has already earned national acclaim. But don't worry -- the cheesesteaks will always be dripping with juice. Some things never quite get old.

Original source: Wall Street Journal

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NYT: New Barnes more comfortable and user-friendly

The New York Times Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The New York Times cites state-of-the-art lighting and avoidance of plastic fakeness as winning points of the new Barnes Museum, which opened in Philadelphia this week.

Barnes’s exuberant vision of art as a relatively egalitarian aggregate of the fine, the decorative and the functional comes across more clearly, justifying its perpetuation with a new force.

As a result, his quirky institution is suddenly on the verge of becoming the prominent and influential national treasure that it has long deserved to be. It is also positioned to make an important contribution to the way we look at and think about art.

Original source: The New York Times

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Why Philly's water plan is a breakthrough

National League of Cities Monday, May 21, 2012

The National League of Cities gives Philadelphia major kudos for its groundbreaking water conservation plan.

To stem its discharges, Philadelphia is intent on filtering out, block by block, the fast, storm-induced runoff of pollutants -- litter, oil, antifreeze, pesticides, bacteria from pet waste -- that accumulate on concrete and asphalt surfaces, then wash into and pollute streams and rivers.

All this matters in dollars. Federal Clean Water Act rules could have obligated Philadelphia to spend as much as $10 billion for a system of massive tanks and tunnels to hold overflows -- the "big engineering" solution many cities are following. By contrast, the cost of Philadelphia's new water-conserving, storm-mitigating green infrastructure may be as little as $2 billion.

Original source: National League of Cities

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NYT likes how Philly food trucks roll

The New York Times Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The New York Times dives into Philadelphia's rapidly growing food truck culture, which still has plenty of room for growth.

In fact, the indie food-truck operators who tweet their location of the day to those in the know in Philadelphia have been retweeted by the likes of Le Meridien, a luxury hotel in Center City across from a plaza where many trucks set up.

That a hotel would promote trucks across the street in addition to its own upscale brasserie is an indication that food trucks, as overexposed as they seem, have their merits: they churn out reliably good, affordable food that you wouldn’t find on an average menu. And in Philadelphia, the scene is far from reaching its saturation point.

Original source: The New York Times

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Blogger/entrepreneur who founded Philly-based Anikto writing book on digital outcasts

Austin American-Statesman Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Kel Smith, who is speaking today at St. Edwards's University on disability technology, is profiled by the Austin American-Statesman for the work he has done for his company, Anikto, and his upcoming book digital outliers.

The idea that designers should think about accessibility because it's in their own best interests in addition to being altruistic makes a lot of sense.

For companies selling products online, for instance, "You have to understand that people who have a disability that prevents them from leaving the home will be shopping from home. You don't want to have barriers for that purchasing decision," he said.

Source: Austin American-Statesman

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With "Made in America" in Philly, Jay-Z helps Budweiser get back on music stage

Ad Age Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Ad Age goes behind the scenes of Jay-Z's big announcement on Monday, which aims to breathe new life into the old Budweiser Superfest music series.

Rebranding the event "Made in America" is a play on words: It underscores the Anheuser-Busch brand's American heritage, as well as a song featured on Jay-Z's 2011 album with Kanye West, Watch the Throne.

Company execs say this is part of an effort to target a younger, more multicultural demographic.

Original source: Ad Age

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Main Line-based Cleaversoft's PuppyWars draws 8,000 iOS users

International Business Times Tuesday, May 15, 2012

It was only last month when we followed up on Rich Siegel of Main Line Delivery and his latest app venture, Cleaversoft, and now International Business Times checks in on how they're "raising the bar on cuteness."

Siegel said he was partially inspired by the addictive gameplay of his first game "BeardWars," but he also noticed that there was no "great" app centered around man's best friend.

"We saw other dog apps out there and wanted to blow them out of the water," Siegel said. "I think we have the best app for dog lovers on the App Store now."

Original source: International Business Times

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Philly based Curalate launches in a big way, caters to brands who want image analytics

TechCrunch Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Philadelphia-based Curalate, a service for brands to search and track images across social networks, officially launched today with $750,000 in seed funding from NEA, First Round Capital and University of Pennsylvania-focused MentorTech, reports TechCrunch.

Although the site is only officially launching today, in its beta format it has already managed to pick up more than 150 brands as customers, its co-founder and CEO, Apu Gupta, tells me. That speaks to how, up to now, there hasn’t been an analytics service available quite like the one that Curalate is offering.

Gupta notes that while there have been a number of companies that have jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon and started to offer analytics to measure how brands are resonating on the social network, Curalate is the first to look not just at what a brand is posting on the site, but it can also track what regular people are posting. In other words, not just the sweater as J.Crew pins it, but as you or I might pin it, too.

Original source: TechCrunch

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