The Next Web

3 scientific ways to prevent awkward conversations

You’re in the middle of a conversation, about to chime in but then…you totally blank. A conversation that should have flowed easily turns awkward, your conversation partner looks at you like you’re an alien and your confidence sinks.

Has that ever happened to you?

It’s common to feel nervous during …

Over $500 worth of Android coding courses: Pay What You Want

The sheer volume of opportunities for skilled developers today are staggering. If you’re ready for a career upgrade or a strong addition to your skillset, TNW Deals is letting you pay what you want for five great coding courses in the Android Expert’s Coding Bundle.

Beginners are welcome with these …

How to hack your passion

Doing what you love is a sentiment that I grew up surrounded by.

My parents led by example, starting their own business from our converted garage when I was just a kid.

But that home business was only one of many career paths my dad tried out. Along with hobbies ranging from playing guitar to …

This week in patents (November 16-20)

This week USPTO issued 6,774 patents. This includes 6,208 utility patents, 524 design patents and 34 plant patents. Each patent is important as it adds something new to the human knowledge base. However, we have selected the 10 most interesting patents granted this week.

Method and a device for …

Extortionists are threatening Patreon users: ‘Pay up or we’ll release your user data’

In the wee hours of the morning scammers took to the Internet to demand payment in the form of Bitcoin in exchange for keeping your private Patreon data — including tax ID, tax forms, SSN, DOB, and credit card details — off the Web.

Cartoonist Steve Streza was one of many who received the email that …

NASA calls on SpaceX to deliver crew, cargo to ISS in 2017

NASA announced yesterday that it was calling on SpaceX to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2017.]

According to Gwynne Shotwell, president and CEO of SpaceX:

When Crew Dragon takes NASA astronauts to the space station in 2017, they will be riding in one of the safest, …

In the battle against ad-blockers, there’s a third solution

We too often argue in absolutes.

Online, in person, it really doesn’t matter. Everything is black and white. The reality is, there are often many shades of gray we’re overlooking.

The ad-blocker debate is a great example. You can either block ads, or you can’t, and I haven’t heard anyone mention the …

Everything you wanted to know about creating a $300k course

In part one I covered how I built my freelancing course, Creative Class. I talked about software, my online course setup and what was involved in creating it. It made $100k+ in the first 6 months. Then it did a LOT better…

Now, with almost 1,700 students, it’s grossed $294k in its first year (the …

Foolproof green thumb: Smart Herb Garden Starter Kit & 3-pack refill now 24% off

If your efforts at home-growing have earned you “brown thumb” status, don’t give up the garden just yet. TNW Deals has carved out a great offer on a foolproof, self-contained hydroponics herb garden – now you can grow herbs in the convenience of your own home, with a complete setup for just …

Build a successful future with Lean Six Sigma Project Management Certifications

The best approach to creating the most efficient and effective business structure involves both Six Sigma and Lean principles.

With 37 hours of learning in the new Lean Six Sigma Project Manager Courses & Certifications offer on TNW Deals, you’ll understand concrete processes for increasing …

Why creativity should not be measured

In 2013, Chicago-based entrepreneur and visual artist Craighton Berman launched The Campaign for the Accurate Measurement of Creativity, a witty project involving Berman designing and selling a jar to collect pencil sharpenings in order help people ‘quantify’ their creativity.

Now closed – his …

Shots fired! Yahoo fires opening salvo in battle to end ad-blocking

According to a post on the Adblock Plus user forum, Yahoo appears to be blocking Yahoo mail users from accessing their inbox if they have AdBlocker installed.

Several users reported the same issue of trying to access their mailbox, and instead being met with a message that read:

Uh oh… We are unable …

Mark Zuckerberg elects to take paternity leave upon birth of daughter

Facebook CEO and dad-to-be Mark Zuckerberg posted on the social media platform about his excitement in becoming a first-time father. Additionally, he mentioned that he would take two months’ paternity leave upon the birth of his daughter with wife Priscilla Chan.

“Studies show that when working …

Rdio subscribers will be transferred to free accounts starting November 23rd

News of Rdio’s shutdown and sale to Pandora took the world by surprise, but it also left current Rdio users wondering what would become of their subscriptions.

Now we have a clearer idea: subscriptions will be cancelled on any billing dates after November 23. Likewise, the service won’t accept any …

Government proves once again that it’s disconnected from reality in encryption debate

The Web has exploded this week with comments, concerns, op-eds and the occasional speech by government leaders about just what it’ll take to end terrorism.

The main talking point has centered around encryption.

When Edward Snowden revealed NSA programs designed to collect this data from people that …

The internet is in crisis

In the aftermath of the most devastating attack on France since the Second World War, the digital realm will take center stage in the precarious balance between security and civil liberties.

Reeling from the bloodshed and trauma of these horrific acts of terrorism, foreseeable responses include …

Here’s what happens when Fallout’s 1-888-4-VAULT-TEC hotline blings

Will Y Combinator’s newly launched The Macro fall victim to its founders’ bad ideas?

Today, accelerator Y Combinator announced via blog post that it would finally organize the many writings of its partners, advisors and founders into a cohesive publication designed for startups. Dubbed ‘The Macro,’ the project looks organized and helmed by Editorial Director Colleen Taylor, who …

Are you ready to become a digital citizen?

Estonia, home of the international e-residency, is the current head of the D5 “group of the world’s most digitally advanced nations” and is hosting this year’s conference right now in the capital Tallinn.

The dream across the world, but maybe particularly in the D5 – which also includes the UK, …

Upgrade your Mac in Black Friday fashion: 92% off the Black Friday Mac Bundle

It’s that time of year again, where the prices are slashed in pre-holiday fever and the best deals go to the best bargain hunters.

For Mac lovers, the best way to get the most tech bang for your buck is with The Black Friday Mac Bundle, featuring 10 killer Mac apps for the low price of $39.99 – a …

6 tips for starting out as an iOS developer

TNWDeals is the marketplace for digital tastemakers. Get distinctive apps, gadgets, and digital resources at up to 90% off.

Figuring out where to start and how to get started in iOS app development can be daunting, as there are many different languages, frameworks, and best practices that you have …

9 things to help your YouTube video go viral

This post was brought to you by SEO Power suite.

Cute animals, kids saying the silliest things, talk show clips, comedy sketches and fitness instructionals: YouTube is the bustling agora of the Web, capturing all of life’s hilarious moments, compiling helpful tutorials and trending news. From its …

Quora launches Writing Sessions, a civilized rival to Reddit’s AMAs

Quora has launched a new feature called Writing Sessions as an alternative to Reddit’s AMAs.

Everyone knows Reddit’s AMA’s can surface the most aggressive trolls from the depths of the Web, so Quora is hoping to restore some decorum with its own version.

People using the Quora app will be sent …

Apple, Facebook and Google warn that weakened encryption will help the bad guys

In the wake of the Paris attacks, Apple, Facebook and Google, along with dozens of other global tech firms, have urged regulators against weakening vital encryption tools used to secure systems across industries like banking and transport.

Heads of the G20 group of nations met on Monday to discuss …

YouTube’s offering new translation tools and legal support for its creators

YouTube has released a new set of tools for creators to help them broaden their appeal by offering translation services for their videos.

YouTubers can now crowdsource subtitles from their viewers and also get professional translation for their titles and descriptions through a new YouTube-hosted …

YoWeather’s app that shows you the weather outside your window isn’t as stupid as it seems

There are a lot of weather apps out there, but being British, that’s fine by me – discussions about it are pretty much a national pastime.

However, when I heard about YoWeather’s app to show you what the weather is like exactly where you are, I had to wonder what the point was. Can’t you just open a …

Amazon wants your movie ideas so badly it’s offering a free screenwriting app

Amazon has unveiled Storywriter, a free cloud-based tool for writing movie and TV screenplays in standard format that’s suitable for users of all skill levels.

Storywriter includes a number of useful features such as automatically formatting your text while you type, auto-saving and …

Put your feet up guys, Google knows who’ll be cooking and shopping this Christmas

In a handy blog post headlined ‘Google helps you shop between holiday cooking and tree trimming’, Google has unveiled an update to its shopping experience, as well revealing some of its own gender assumptions.

The update to Google Shopping on mobile says it will ensure she can discover, browse and …

Facebook at Work now has a companion messaging app on Android

Facebook has launched Work Chat, a messaging app on Android for companies that use its Facebook at Work collaboration service.

From the screenshots, it looks more like Messenger than rival chat services for teams like, say, Slack. Users can chat one-on-one or in groups, send photos and videos, and …

This is how you’ll shop for cars in 2020

Volvo partnered with Microsoft over the past six months to demonstrate what it might be like for car buyers to use the tech company’s HoloLens mixed reality headset and get a better look at their next ride, inside and out.

The rendered video shows how shoppers will be able to check out useful …