What do Paul McCartney, Bjork and the Great Pyramid at Giza have in common with Guy Martin, Superman and an edible VR headset? They all get a mention in today’s edition of What We’re Reading, Marxent’s weekly series featuring staff members dishing on the media that caught their eye in the last 7 days. This week, the staff hit the Interwebs, and returned with amazing stories from The Verge, Christian Science Monitor, The Wall Street Journal, The Ringer and more. We get started this week with a story that’s sure to add a little power to your day. Enjoy!

The Best Thing We Read This Week …


I was traveling last weekend, and I needed to juice up my smartphone before a flight. It turned out I wasn’t alone. At every bank of outlets I found a large group of people jostling for space as they tried to suck up a few last electrons before hitting the jetway. Stephanie Fresonke, Marxent’s new V.P. of Client Partnership, highlighted a recent story that should give hope to anyone who’s ever struggled with similar low-battery woes — Future batteries, coming soon: charge in seconds, last months and power over the air. The sheer number of potential battery technologies is amazing, as are the advancements that will probably start hitting iPhones, Galaxies, and many other handsets in the next 18 months. Not a moment too soon.

Best Books We Read This Week …

Guy Martin: My Autobiography“Guy Martin, international road-racing legend, maverick star of the Isle of Man TT, truck mechanic, and TV presenter, lives on the edge, addicted to speed, thoroughly exhilarated by danger.” That’s from the Amazon.com description of Guy Martin: My Autobiography, which comes highly recommended by Marxent’s Head Bean Counter, Rick Hanley. He found the book interesting for a few reasons: “1) I race motorcycles. Enough said. 2) The guy is a character. If you ever see him on TV, he talks a mile a minute, doesn’t care about people’s opinions, and is entertaining as hell. 3) It’s a great story about how someone with admittedly less talent and opportunity still made it to the ‘big leagues’ through sheer desire and grit. 4) He makes big money from his other ventures, but he still turns wrenches as his ‘full time job.’ Always do what makes you happy.”

Joe Johnson, Marxent’s Marketing Creative Director, has a nose for good sci-fi — and his book suggestion for this week is no exception. It’s called Eon, and it’s by Greg Bear. A fun, lighthearted exploration of Cold War tension, construction materials made straight from Space-Time itself, and yet another exploration of what it means to be human,” Joe says. “Quick question, are you still a human being if you were a digital persona constructed from two human imprints who chose its own body which is in no way humanoid? I don’t know, but let’s talk about it!”

Best Thing We Ate This Week …


Ok, so we didn’t technically get to eat this. But we sooooo wanted to …

What we wrote this week …

Mistakes

CEO Beck Besecker took on a topic near and dear to our hearts here at Marxent: How to foster a culture where people are not afraid to take risks, even though those risks may result in failure. “At some companies, being cautious and right is rewarded. I’ve never found that it works very well for me as an entrepreneur or an individual,” Beck writes in the piece, titled Make mistakes. You might learn something. “Marxent is built on the idea that it is better to try something, fail, learn and try again than it is to sit around waiting to be right. In fact, if we were still sitting around waiting to be right, Marxent wouldn’t exist.”

But wait, there’s (so much) more …

Ready for a ride on a Virtual Reality roller coaster? Six Flags has got you covered.

Ever wished you could sit in a room with Paul McCartney while he played some classic Beatles song and told the story behind its creation? Now you can with Pure McCartney VR, a joint venture between the musician and and VR app Jaunt, which allows viewers to hang with Sir Paul as he tells the tale behind “Love Me Do.”

Will today’s most acclaimed TV shows even be remembered 100 years from now? It’s a good question, one posed by pop culture writer Chuck Klosterman in his piece for The Ringer on the future of TV. It’s called, Don’t Tell Me What Happens. I’m Recording It, and it’s sure to make you see current hits like House of Cards and Game of Thrones in a different way.

No one likes going through the car-buying process, but what if the modern dealership was removed from the equation? Cadillac is among the first car companies to explore a VR future for retail. Marxent Sales Director Marcus Athari pointed to The Wall Street Journal’s article, Cadillac Bets on Virtual Dealerships, which dug into the auto-maker’s futuristic sales plan.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk made headlines a few weeks back when he speculated that we might all be living in a simulation. Sound crazy? Mashable has a list of 21 reasons Musk may be right. … And while we’re talking about Mr. Musk, what was he doing at the Pentagon this week? Meeting with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, of course!

And Finally …


Joe Johnson recommended the above video, which features Jared Spool discussing how to build user interface, saying it is “Legitimately delightful. Worth a watch even if you’re not a UX professional.”