Category: Entertainment

How a former Apple executive is streaming international chefs into your kitchen

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It might seem odd that a company that offers virtual cooking classes with chefs from around the world who whip up exotic, local dishes has its roots in Buffalo wings, but that’s where the story began for Jenn Nicken , the founder of The Chef & The Dish .   Nicken, after all, hails from Buffalo, New York, where she says “wings” are the equivalent of pizza on Mulberry Street or poutine in Toronto. “They’re a part of your life,” she says. “You go for wings and beer. They’re at birthday parties.”   This wasn’t something Nicken was acutely aware of when she was working at Apple back in the iPod days. She helped launch that product across North America and then moved on to become the head of marketing for Apple/iTunes’s entertainment division in Canada, where she’s now based. But when she decided to shake up her career in 2015, enrolling in cooking classes and traveling around the world to learn more about international cuisine, she began to see her hometown—and its native dish—in a new light.   The Chef & The Dish founder and CEO, Jenn Nicken [Photo: The Chef & The Dish] During her travels, she would try wings in different places, but something was off. “The further I got from Buffalo, the more I realized wings weren’t the same. It’s a dish that’s so simple but when you get it in the place it originated from, that’s what makes it so wonderful. Recipes that you get at the source deserve to be protected and celebrated. Just like Bolognese sauce is best in Bologna.”   This revelation—along with the joy of learning to cook Bolognese sauce in Italy as well as Pad Thai in Thailand—led her to quit her job at Apple and launch The Chef & The Dish in 2016. The company offers live, online private cooking classes—$299 for a couple; group classes are also available—with chefs based in such locales as Peru, Laos, Turkey and Italy Read More …

Biden and Trump supporters see two different Facebooks, and here’s proof

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The nonprofit news organization The Markup launched a new tool on Thursday that compares side by side the Facebook “filter bubbles” of Biden supporters versus Trump supporters. They are two very different worlds. The new tool, called Split Screen , is one of the first fruits of The Markup’s Citizen Browser Project , in which the group paid 2,601 people to report—via a special browser—the unique mix of content Facebook’s algorithm serves them based on their demographics and political leanings, among many other factors The tool can compare the news posts, group recommendations, and hashtags that are likely to be suggested to Biden voters (on the left) versus Trump voters (on the right): For the Biden crowd, Facebook was more likely to show content from NPR, The New York Times , NBC News, and The Washington Post . It was far more likely to serve the Trump crowd articles from The Daily Wire and Fox News, and somewhat more likely to serve them articles from CNSNews.com and Newsmax . According to Split Screen, Biden voters were far more likely to see recommendations for groups about Star Trek memes compared to Trump voters. The algorithm was modestly more likely to suggest wholesome comedy groups to Trump supporters. Read More …

The 10 most innovative companies in media

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As the media industry was rocked by the pandemic in 2020, companies were forced to quickly come up with creative ways to make and distribute content, as well as keep audiences united during a socially divisive time. These companies led the way on those fronts and more. 1. SpringHill Company For marrying entertainment with social justice through Hollywood content LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s marketing and entertainment company has an unapologetic agenda: to make and distribute content that will give a voice to creators and consumers who have been pandered to, ignored, or underserved. Its commitment to this community hasn’t wavered as the company significantly scaled into a content creation powerhouse and raised $100 million in 2020. It was a producer of the Netflix limited series Self-Made , starring Octavia Spencer as Madam C.J. Walker, the Black creator of an early-20th-century beauty empire; and the documentary series The Playbook about legendary coaches, also on Netflix. SpringHill Company also backed James’ More than a Vote initiative to boost voter turnout, and created animated shorts and other digital media to educate and inspire people to get involved in the Presidential election. More content is on the way thanks to a blizzard of new deals with Amazon, Disney, Universal, CNN, Sirius, and more. 2 Read More …

The 10 most innovative Asia-Pacific companies of 2021

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While China remains a powerhouse of innovation in Asia-Pacific—both Tencent and the Alibaba-backed cold-chain logistics startup Cainiao are on our list—companies across the region found game-changing solutions to difficult problems. South Korea’s Seegene helped the world diagnose the novel coronavirus quickly and effectively. India’s MilkMantra allowed the country’s small-scale dairy farmers to bring their products to market, while ensuring quality control. And Australia’s ProAgni has cleaned up the food chain by developing antibiotic-free supplement for cattle and sheep. Read on for more of this year’s best in Asia-Pacific. 1. Seegene For producing a COVID-19 diagnostic test and taking it global, sending more than 55 million test kits to 67 countries The biotech company built a molecular diagnostic test for the COVID-19 virus, which helped South Korea contain the virus in the spring of 2020: 80% of South Korean COVID tests taken in April were made by Seegene. As the coronavirus spread, the company went global, sending over 55 million test kits to 67 countries. 2. Milk Mantra For partnering with USAID to launch an initiative that lets small-scale dairy farmers access their payments digitally Odisha, India-based Milk Mantra sources, packages, and sells dairy products to more than 10,000 independent retailers and subscribers. The company works with farmers to process and test the milk to control product quality. This year Milk Mantra partnered with USAID to launch an initiative to let farmers access their paychecks digitally (previously, some had to travel long distances to access their finances). Milk Mantra also reduced its payment cycle to five days—from 10—to help farmers access their funds faster and avoid disrupting their operations Read More …

The 10 most innovative film and TV companies of 2021

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Because most people spent more time in 2020 cooped up inside than ever before, film and TV offerings transcended the realm of entertainment to become something more substantial. They served as a crucial, sanity-preserving balm, and a point of connection with others similarly stuck at home. With people consuming so much TV and film, it might sound easy for a studio or a streaming service to win audiences over. Considering just how much content was competing for eyeballs in lockdown, however, it took innovation and foresight to truly stand out. Read More …