Weekly Web Roundup

The 1851 Franchise staff provides some of the funniest, weirdest and insightful links from the World Wide Web

SPONSOREDUpdated 4:16PM • 01/27/16

The news cycle may be dominated by the embittered presidential debates, but that hasn’t stopped the 1851 Franchise staff from finding some of the best and most insightful links on the Internet.

The soothing art of pruning a bonsai tree just got a technological upgrade. The Air Bonsai still is the classic mini tree, but the tree hovers and spins thanks to a magnetic base. The product is still just a dream in the Kickstarter phase, but it can bring a whole new meaning to the word Zen. - Matt Diaz

The emoji is so last week. The ideograms have reached peak overexposure as Digiday reports that at least 250 brands created their own emoji’s in 2015. Texting took over talking over the phone and now it looks as if using emoji’s is taking over conversations through text. - Andi Summers

European and American tech companies have been battling over personal data sharing for years. European tech watchdog groups have increased their security measures and the New York Times considers whether those in the U.S. will follow suit. - Brian Jaeger

Twitter is having a bit of a mid-life crisis as four of the company’s ten senior managers are leaving for greener pastures. The move comes just three months after cofounder Jack Dorsey was implemented as the company’s permanent CEO and attempts to rejuvenate the social media giant. - Ryan Paul

Beefs are nothing new in the rap world, but a beef between a rapper and scientist? Rapper B.o.B recently started a feud with scientist and noted wet blanket Neil DeGrasse Tyson about whether the Earth is flat. Tyson initially countered the artist with science and facts, but that didn’t stop B.o.B. from responding the only way he knows how, with a diss track. - Andrew Stern

The sports world has embraced the stats and technological movement with “data analytics scientist” and “analytics expert” being common titles of front office officials. But even Ivy League educated executives can still be unlawful in acquiring data. A former scouting director for the St. Louis Cardinals recently plead guilty to hacking the Houston Astros player database from 2013 to 2014. - Chris Zois

Another type of photo style has been dominating Instagram over the last few months - ads. The social media app has been ramping up the amount of advertisements it has been showcasing. Brand networks accounted for 670 million ad impressions in December 2015 alone. - Brigit Larson