After four long years, millions of dollars spent on lobbyists, massive protests in Washington and a dramatic pre-election presidential punt, the campaign to get a pipeline built from the Alberta tar sands to the heart of the Midwest is nearing its end. READ MORE >>
Mark Zuckerberg’s Cynical, Necessary Washington Strategy
FWD.us is playing a familiar game to get immigration reform passed
For championing a cause most techies and liberals agree with—reforming America's immigration system—Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sure has taken a lot of flak. READ MORE >>
Obama's New FCC Head Is a Lobbyist. And That's OK.
Why Tom Wheeler's appointment hasn't sparked outrage
After months of rumors about who’ll be the next leader of the Federal Communications Commission—or even whether the last head, Julius Genachowski, would ever leave—the White House has finally confirmed that Tom Wheeler’s the guy. READ MORE >>
Foursquare's Struggle to Remain Relevant
At TechCrunch conference, CEO Dennis Crowley says his app is about more than mayorships
It's been a rough few months for Foursquare. The four-year-old location-sharing app, best known for making you the "mayor" of a place if you "check in" there more than anyone else, generated only $2 million in revenue in 2012; a research firm pronounced in January it would be dead or purchased by the end of the year. READ MORE >>
On a sunny, freezing cold January at the main entrance to Washington, D.C.'s Union Station, with cabs jostling for position to drop passengers off, Travis Kalanick searched his pockets and black backpack for his iPhone—the same one that he, the CEO of sedan-hailing app Uber, had used to summon the black SUV that just dropped us off. Phone located, we forged past a scrum of people waiting for people to be paired with taxis. READ MORE >>
As a tech reporter, I end up going to a lot of conferences. Illustrious figures from science and business gather for panels, keynotes, luncheons, and “fireside chats.” Mostly, they’re just glorified networking events that allow media outlets and trade organizations to score a few headlines and bolster sagging budgets. READ MORE >>
An Internet Sales Tax Will Not Destroy Your Freedom
The Web is real life, where people pay their fair share. EBay users should, too.
If there's one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on these days, it's that the Internet ought to be free. Both parties included an "internet freedom" plank in their 2012 platforms. READ MORE >>
The Case for Entrepreneur Visas
Tech startups want a seat next to Facebook at the table of immigration reform
Alejandro Muther has been trying to create jobs in the United States for more than a year now. READ MORE >>
A decade after the invasion of Iraq, it seems pretty clear that the ensuing military adventures there and in Afghanistan have done more harm than good. Billions of dollars were spent, thousands of lives lost, and two regions are now no more stable than when we arrived. But yesterday's tragedy in Boston has given us one reason to be grateful: the tourniquet. READ MORE >>
It's Impossible to Make Marathons Safe
The Boston bombing was a tragedy we can't prevent
The U.S. security establishment has, since September 11, 2001, gotten pretty good at making sporting events safe. About $2 billion per year goes into security at competitions, and the number rises to $6 billion in years with gigantic productions like an Olympics and a World Cup. READ MORE >>
