Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

Marketing managers for major orchestras had always assumed that convincing people to give the symphony a try was the key to gaining subscribers. "Get people through the doors!" was their mantra, assuming that the sheer beauty of the music would lure them back. But when they actually studied the numbers, they discovered that getting new people wasn't the problem.

Anyone can be a tour guide--and redefine the term while they're at it--with this Japanese travel startup. Tatsuo Sato got the idea for his startup, Shiroube , during a trip to Eastern Europe. While in Belarus, Sato made a sort of barter arrangement with a local student.

There are 1.5 million extra hybrids on the road already, we just haven't converted them yet. It doesn't make sense to tear down our city infrastructures to make way for new LEED-certified buildings; instead, property owners often opt to retrofit, making a building as efficient as possible within its existing shape. The same may soon be true for vehicle owners

That natural cereal you're eating isn't so natural. It's filled with GMO and nonorganic ingredients

Google is expected to deliver strong second quarter results on Thursday. The company's position as king of search is sound

$1.3 million in prize money went out to two winners of the Wendy Schmidt Oil Recovery X Challenge, both of which far exceeded the current standard of oil cleanup technology. $1.3 million in prize money was awarded to two teams today in New York, winners of the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge

Aaron Levie , the 26-year-old founder of enterprise cloud startup Box.net, always has something to say.

Steve Jobs was one of the best business strategists of our time. So what lessons can we take from Apple's moves over the years? Before speaking at a conference last year, I received a rather unusual instruction

Why do millions mourn the death of Steve Jobs, a man they never met? Gawker curmudgeon Hamilton Nolan is right: "Steve Jobs was not God," read the headline to his recent post slamming those "whose remembrances have already taken on a quasi-religious tone" and advising them to "seek help." He was responding to the flood of grief that consumed the media, media watchers, and many others in the hours and days after Jobs' death was announced.

Successful startup hires all share a certain set of qualities. You'll likely not find them on a resume, and traditional interview questions won’t uncover them.

Instead of relying on almost-never-correct schedules, Kicker Studio has come up with an innovative system to use the city's data streams to give up-to-date transit information.

Giftiki , launching today, says it is a "gifting engine and social commerce platform that will alter the act of gift giving as we know it." The site was brought into existence because nowadays "with so many friends to appreciate--both online and off--it’s tough to give substantially to each and every one." The site has partnered with American Express, utilizing its new digital payments platform Serve as a "future redemption option" and while that's being set up, recipients can cash in their gifted dollars, converted into "Giftiki dollars" at Amazon.com and a number of brick-and-mortar retailers like Macy's and Starbucks, or choose to get the cash as a freely convertible AmEx gift card.

So much for risk. After massive customer backlash, Netflix keeps DVDs in-house, kicks Qwikster to the curb. A company rep tells Fast Company why

Building a magnetic product is never a one-shot deal.

The best part of any conference usually takes place in the halls--where you can network, of course, but also where you can find the answers you were looking for and have the kind of conversations you wanted when you came to the conference in the first place. A new app that Dell is pioneering at its first-ever Dell World conference this week will attempt to simulate that experience at least somewhat and, say Dell executives, vastly improve the overall conference experience. Most conference apps are just digital versions of the paper program.