Snoop Dogg takes cannabis enthusiasm to its logical conclusion
Rapper, actor and entrepreneur (you read that right) Snoop Dogg (the artist briefly known as “Snoop Lion”) is reportedly attempting to raise $25 million in order to invest in legalised cannabis start-ups. The legal weed industry in the US, where the drug has been legalised or decriminalised in many states, is a boom industry, so the move might not be quite as crazy as you might think. Indeed, it's estimated that lazy year, between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion of legal weed was sold for medical use in the US and another $600 million to $700 million was sold for legal, recreational use. Compared to those shocking figures, $25 million seems like a mere drop in the ocean!
Snoop Dogg is reportedly attempting to raise $25 million in order to invest in legalised cannabis start-ups
Celebrities have been investing in tech companies a great deal of late, with Ashton Kutcher paving the way by launching his A-Grade Investments fund, and stars such as Nas, Jared Leto and even the dreaded Justin Bieber, all “Investing in the future.” Bob Marley's estate also agreed last year to lend the reggae legend's visage to the first international marijuana brand. Snoop himself has also already invested in Reddit and the zero-fee stock trading platform Robinhood, so this move wouldn't be without precedence for him. Plus, they always say “Invest in what you know,” and there is arguably nobody on the planet who knows more about cannabis than Snoop. Still, it's thought that any funds raised by the rapper, won't be put into production or cultivation, but into the technology affiliated with the nascent industry.
Google snap up Odysee
Odysee in action
Google will almost certainly be expanding the offline and private sharing features for photos in Google+ after announcing the acquisition of Odysee, the Android and iOS app that backs up videos and photos taken on a users' tablet or phone to their computers. The app is to be officially shut down on February 23, after which time the Odysee team will join Google+ and (in their own words), “Continue to focus on building amazing products that people love” with the backing of the biggest brand on the internet. Those wishing to download the app before shut down date are out of luck, as it's already been removed from both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. All photos and videos already sent through the service, however, will be available as a downloadable archive after the shut down date.
Google recently announced the acquisition of Odysee, the Android and iOS app that backs up videos and photos taken on a users' tablet or phone to their computers
Google's acquisition of the app, which also allows users to set up private and automatic sharing with other users (features that will undoubtedly be brought over to Google), was announced not only on Odysee's home page, but in a notification sent out to the app's user base. There have been rumours circulating that Google plan to launch its Photos service as a standalone platform and this acquisition would appear to lend credence to those rumours. It's also a good time for Google to be looking into offline features, as many people are still wary of cloud-based services after last year's highly publicised iCloud and Sony hacks. Odysee was created by Nimbuz, and was (like most modern apps it would seem) built round a freemium model. Google have confirmed the acquisition, but are not “Sharing more beyond that at this point,” according to a company spokesperson.
David Cross fights pirates by (essentially) pirating his own movie
HITS – Official Trailer
Actor David Cross, who you might remember most fondly as Tobias Funke from Arrested Development, has chosen to completely circumvent the traditional distribution model for his upcoming indie-comedy film, “HITS,” by letting audiences pay what they want for it. The movie will be available to the public via BitTorrent from this Friday (February 13) and allows users to choose how much they pay for the privilege of downloading the torrent, or nothing at all if it suits them! Audiences will also be able to pay what they want to see the film at the cinema, though it will only be opening in “Select theatres.” A similar model was used by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke last year, when he released his second solo album, “Tomorrow's Modern Boxes,” in a similar manner. It worked wonders for Yorke, who is estimated to have made millions from the venture.
David Cross has chosen to let audiences pay what they want for his new film, HITS
The film, which stars notable comedic actors such as Michael Cera and Amy Sedaris, is a darkly satirical black comedy about a municipal worker whose acerbic rants about potholes go viral on YouTube. The film's producer, Giles Andrews, said the idea of “Going through the sausage factory for independent film distribution didn't fit” for HITS, and he stumbled upon this alternative after running into BitTorrent content director Straith Schreder at a party. He said Schreder presented him with “A deck that was 30 pages deep and more considered and robust than what more traditional distributors had provided.” The move effectively eliminates the need to pirate the film, and Cross is confident that the pay-what-you-want distribution model will be “The first domino in paving the way for other filmmakers to get their films directly into the hands of fans.”
