Feed your brain with this week’s plugged in. I read and sorted through plenty of articles this week to finally select the 12 pieces I felt were the most relevant to this weeks news, that caught my attention for exceptional reporting and intriguing content, that displayed the most exciting innovations of our current times and tools to improve our communication techniques. I was blown away by the fact that a solar-powered airplane was able to fly nearly from Japan to Hawaii, and most intrigued by The New York Times’ story regarding ISIS and their active use of social media to attract and recruit westerners to their cause. I’m confident you’ll find something that will open your eyes, make you think, and experience wonder, shock and awe about the world we’re living in today. Let me know which one is your favorite!
12 Things Worth Reading this week:
GREECE DEBT CRISIS | Greece’s debt crisis: Where the key players currently stand (LA Times)
Finance ministers from the Eurozone countries agreed Wednesday to delay negotiations on a new bailout deal for Greece until its divided and crisis-weary people decide in a Sunday referendum if they are willing to endure more belt-tightening to keep the euro as their currency… (read more)
DONALD TRUMP | Donald Trump Could Be Losing As Much As $78.5 Million For Pissing Off Mexicans (Vice News)
RACIAL TENSION | Black Churches Are Burning Again in America (The Atlantic)
This week, there were fires in at least six predominantly African American churches. Arson at religious institutions has decreased significantly over the past two decades, but the symbolism remains haunting…. (read more)
EQUALITY VOTE | There Are Still at Least 60 Texas Counties Not Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses (Esquire)
Are some Texas counties willfully ignoring the Supreme Court’s landmark same-sex marriage ruling? It’s a question executive editor Mark Warren asked earlier this week, and an issue we chose to confront by calling county offices across the state… (read more)
AMERICAS | ISIS & The Lonely Young American (The New York Times)
Even though the Islamic State’s ideology is explicitly at odds with the West, the group is making a relentless effort to recruit Westerners into its ranks, eager to exploit them for their outsize propaganda value. Through January this year, at least 100 Americans were thought to have traveled to join jihadists in Syria and Iraq, among nearly 4,000 Westerners who had done so…. (read more)
PR | Why PR is up and advertising down (Marketing Magazine)
In 1997, direct marketing guru Lester Wunderman talked about a new definition of brand: “It represents a cluster of consumer needs. It is each customer who is becoming a brand. I am a brand – and each of you is a brand…” (read more)
SOCIAL | Giving Up On Social Media Is A Recipe For Failure (Forbes)
It’s about finding the right angle, using the right kind of language that speaks to your followers and not at them, posting at the right frequency, and providing a holistic view of how your company radiates as a brand… (read more)
SOCIAL | Spanish Town That Runs on Twitter Shows Off the Power of Social Media (Oddity Central)
Twitter, along with countless other social media websites, is often viewed as a productivity killer. But a small town in Spain has actually been using the platform to improve communication between authorities and the people. In fact, Twitter is so important to the people of Jun that they actually built a monument of the iconic ‘blue bird’ in the town’s square… (read more)
INT’L | Where in the world is peace? 2015 Global Peace Index results are here (Christian Science Monitor)
The Institute for Economics & Peace released its annual Global Peace Index (GPI) this week, ranking countries based on 23 qualitative and quantitative factors, in order to determine the most and least-peaceful nations in the world. This year, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Benin were the four countries that made the most improvement, while Iceland was ranked the most peaceful nation in the world… (read more)
TECH | Solar Impulse reaches two-thirds of way from Japan to Hawaii (Agence France-Press)
A solar-powered aircraft flying from Japan to Hawaii on the most perilous leg of a round-the-globe bid has passed the two-thirds point, and was under 40 hours from landing, organizers said…. (read more)
CYBERSECURITY |The cybersecurity industry’s billion dollar scam (TheNextWeb)
The reality is that cybersecurity is a corrupt industry that needs bad guys to stay lucrative. Major security technology vendors are running a billion dollar con by selling software that they know won’t work. This scam makes them arguably more corrupt than the hackers themselves… (read more)
TECH | The Google wearable that’ll take healthcare by storm (Fortune Video)
It measures pulse, heart rhythm, and temperature, among other things, and will be sold as a prescribed medical device instead of a consumer product… (read more)
Karla Larraga 
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