Tech Cocktail Conversations Podcast

At his opening remarks at SXSW Interactive last week, MakerBot cofounder and CEO Bre Pettis announced the 3D printing company’s latest product: the Digitizer, a desktop 3D scanner. The Digitizer is still in the prototyping phase, but it will ultimately be able to scan any object and turn it into a model that can be... The post MakerBot’s Bre Pettis Talks about The New “Digitizer” [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

Nataly Kogan’s happiness realization took place in Vienna at the age of 13. She and her family were in “horrid refugee housing,” but her father insisted that they enjoy little things like a day at the zoo. That’s the anecdotal inspiration for Happier, an app that lets you record and share little happy moments. The... The post Nataly Kogan on How to Be Happier [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

Trina Chiasson has an eclectic background. She worked at Media Make Change, using social media for social change. She did online campaigns for a youth leadership organization and helped organize hackfests. And she worked on a Knight Foundation-Mozilla project in Germany. Throughout it all, Chiasson’s goal is to create some social value and improve the... The post Trina Chiasson of InfoActive: Infographics Are Only the Beginning [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

Among her many talents, Kelly Hoey is an expert at making connections. Her colleagues call her a “top networker” and a “serial connector” who knows how to bring the right people together. That’s part of her job as cofounder and managing director of Women Innovate Mobile, a startup accelerator for women-founded mobile companies. They offer... The post Kelly Hoey of Women Innovate Mobile: Accelerators Need More Women [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

In 2003, Shutterstock was just a place for founder Jon Oringer to sell his photography. From a few thousand of his own images, the site has grown to over 24 million stock photos that businesses and publishers can license. And that’s all without venture funding. During that time, Shutterstock also added a footage section, which... The post Founder Jon Oringer Reflects on 10 Years of Shutterstock [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

In 2011, Zaarly probably set a record by raising $1 million in funding just three weeks after they started. What began as an idea at Startup Weekend LA soon had the backing of investors like Paul Bucheit, Naval Ravikant, and Ashton Kutcher. Zaarly went on to raise $14 million more later that year for a... The post Eric Koester of Zaarly: I’m Bullish on the Midwest [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

Always shaking things up, Cindy Gallop and her MakeLoveNotPorn team partnered with BangWithFriends at SXSW this year to encourage you to “bang” with friends…and record it. MakeLoveNotPorn is an amateur porn site that aims to show real sex, dispelling the myths and unrealistic expectations spread by professional porn. SXSW attendees who are game can grab... The post Cindy Gallop of MakeLoveNotPorn Tells SXSWers to Hook Up (and Film It) appeared first on Tech Cocktail

At two and a half years old, .CO is experiencing a growth spurt. Over 1.4 million companies sport the .co domain, and .CO came to SXSW this year with one hundred of them. The company, which handles .co domains, celebrated its second birthday in July. Last November, they launched i.go.co with perks and benefits for... The post Juan Diego Calle of .CO: Get Off the Couch and Start Something appeared first on Tech Cocktail

At the SXSW Interactive festival this weekend, DC mayor Vincent Gray and some of his colleagues were on hand in Austin to learn more about the technology industry and talk about DC’s plans. One of Mayor Gray’s five-year goals is “to grow the most competitive technology presence on the East Coast.” To that end, he... The post DC Mayor Vincent Gray Visits SXSW Festival [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

Last Thursday was the launch of Yappem, a social network where customers can earn rewards for talking about brands. As we explained, it’s a place for people to share their lives as customers, comparing products, making suggestions, and asking for advice. Yappem keeps those experiences separate from the rest of your online life, with the... The post Yappem Comes to SXSW to Help Consumers Earn Rewards appeared first on Tech Cocktail

Blackboard is a name that many college students recognize – but in the past 16 years, the education giant has expanded beyond higher education. They actually provide products and services to the whole education industry, including K-12. Michael Chasen cofounded Blackboard in 1997 and served as CEO for 15 years. In that time, he grew... The post Michael Chasen of Blackboard Dissects the EdTech Industry [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

Who is the creator behind The Oatmeal, a wildly popular comics site? His biography on the site isn’t particularly useful: “The Oatmeal’s real name is Matthew and he lives in Seattle, Washington. He subsists on a steady diet of crickets and whiskey. He enjoys long walks on the beach, gravity, and breathing heavily through his... The post Matthew Inman of The Oatmeal on Creativity, Mass Popularity, and Cats appeared first on Tech Cocktail

On the Tech Cocktail stage at SXSW on Saturday, Keep America Beautiful president and CEO Matt McKenna announced the nonprofit’s impact goals for 2013. Keep America Beautiful works with over 4 million volunteers across the United States to clean and green communities. Here are their 2013 Vibrant Communities Social Impact Goals: “Clean and restore public... The post Keep America Beautiful Inspires Volunteers with Social Media [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

In many ways, Don Dodge is like a bridge. He’s a developer advocate at Google, providing a link between the tech giant and its community of developers working on Google platforms. Before that, Dodge used to be a startup evangelist at Microsoft. All told, he’s spent 25 years in the software industry. Besides Microsoft and... The post Google’s Don Dodge on How Google Has Grown [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail

You can change things from the top down or the bottom up. Or, if you’re AOL cofounder Steve Case, you can do both. In the top-down realm, Case is a member of the president’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. He rallied for the JOBS Act, which passed last year and will be opening up new avenues... The post Startup America’s Steve Case on Crowdfunding and Immigration [VIDEO] appeared first on Tech Cocktail