I’m starting something new this year on this blog. I read a lot of stuff that never gets mentioned here, so I’m going to start listing pointers to interesting articles that I come across. Some will be about tech, but many will not. I hope you enjoy them & find them useful.

Is Snapchat the Next Frontier for Marketers?
“In what may be a first for the platform, a New York frozen yogurt chain is leveraging Snapchat for a promotion that presents users with a coupon that self-destructs within 10 seconds.”

6 States Bar Employers From Demanding Facebook Passwords
“California and Illinois on Tuesday joined four others in becoming the union’s only states barring employers from demanding that employees fork over their social-media passwords.”

Sony Patent Application Takes On Used Game Sales, Piracy With Embedded RFID Chips In Game Discs
“Sony seems to have found a way to prevent secondhand sales without having to rely on one-time codes or any sort of online component that could potentially be circumvented. Sony’s patent application details the deployment of embedded RFID chips as a weapon against secondhand sales.”

Should Opera Go Back to the Future?
“It’s almost entirely due to Wagner. He was the first to declare that the auditorium had to be pitch dark. At Bayreuth [which opened in 1876], he imposed all kinds of other religiosity on the experience — like having to be absolutely quiet. He talked about how people had to be utterly attentive to the stage world and not each other. He erased the social function of opera.”

Asian teenagers flock to get “fashion” braces
“Many teens in Southeast Asia have been shelling out more than $100 for so-called black market braces, mouth gear that doesn’t serve any function other than fashion — and status. While being a brace-face stateside might be a drag, real braces cost close to $1,200 in places like Bangkok, putting dental care far out of reach for the average family. As a result, braces have become a surprising status symbol.”