Aaron Swartz, twenty-six year-old founder of Reddit, is dead
The world of social media and beyond is today reeling from the shock announcement that the 26-year-old co-founder of Reddit, Aaron Swartz, is dead. There can be few social media managers, community managers and content managers who could have been left unimpressed by Swartz’ achievements and ethical commitments. The success of Reddit was an inspiration to Mark Zuckerberg, but Swartz was also a devoted crusader for freedom of information online. He appears to have committed suicide on Friday in New York City. A stressful trial The troubled young genius may have succumbed to pressure weighing down on him as he faced trial, accused of hacking into the online research group JSTOR and downloading millions of documents. Swartz pleaded not guilty last year but, if convicted, would probably have faced a lengthy jail sentence. It was his lawyer, Elliott R. Peters, who confirmed news of his death in an email to the MIT’s newspaper, The Tech, by saying, “The tragic and heartbreaking information you received is, regrettably, true.” Swartz pursued his fight against internet censorship with enormous devotion and those who supported his aims were hugely supportive of his cause as the trial loomed. An organisation he had helped set up,…
Is Donny Deutsch Embracing the Digital Age?
TV presenter, impresario and media guru – all of these can be used to describe the ubiquitous Donny Deutsch, but in the fast-moving digital age, has he got what it takes to make sure his own business keeps up with the tech? Deutsch has spent over twenty years at the head of one of the country’s largest and most successful ad agencies, and while he’s certainly a well-known and highly regarded figurehead for Deutsch Inc., whether or not he can drag the 40-year-old company into the 21st Century by embracing new technologies to help his clients achieve an attractive ROI, has been a matter of speculation for some time. Who is Deutsch? The 55-year-old ad man is no stranger to controversy and hits the headlines more often than the businesses whose marketing he is managing. He certainly courts the media – with plenty of ups and downs in his personal life, a public spat with Donald Trump on Twitter and making some controversial statements regarding Republican nominee Mitt Romney on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. He also revealed his $21 million Manhattan townhouse to the nation in Architectural Digest and paid $36,000 to share a urinal with Seth Rogen as part of…
