Catalyst Podcast

This week Paul and Rich respond to a mailbag question! A listener reached out seeking advice on how best to deliver a project pitch to higher-ups at a company. From keeping your presentation short to showing up with deliverables, Paul and Rich break down the best ways to make your idea land with the C-suite.

What does Facebook’s Oversight Board actually do? This week Paul and Rich discuss the immense power that the Oversight Board holds. They talk about what type of oversight should exist and whether the current measures are enough. Also, Rich gets to flex his law degree breaking down the difficulties of translating policy into product.   Links:  Drudge Report  Techmeme  Facebook’s Oversight Board 

Hindsight is 20/20. This week Paul and Rich look back at Postlight’s beginnings. Knowing what they know now, they share insights on what they wish they’d done when founding the company. From embracing marketing to betting more chips on design, they reflect on some of the things they missed.

After over a year away, Paul and Rich are vaccinated and back in the office. From the Postlight recording studio, they discuss their experience of returning to the office — overwhelming at first, but ultimately a refreshing reset. They also reflect on the importance of in-person work for effective communication, connection, and planning for the future. Links: Postlight - Digital Transformation for the MTA

It feels like every week there’s a new tech trend that’s being touted as the next big thing: from the Internet of Things to augmented reality to machine learning. This week Paul and Rich break down some of these trends and tell you if and when you should worry about adopting them. Links:  Ghost

In the past year the world saw the development and distribution of the COVID vaccine. This week Paul and Rich share what they observed in watching this process. We talk about how, like the vaccine, with software, you need to be able to take something very complex and make it available to the masses.  Links:  Plex Server  Django CMS   Digital Transformation for the MTA - Postlight 

Why discuss only one topic when you can discuss three! This week Paul and Rich dig into three unrelated but important topics that they’ve had top of mind. They share musings on going back to the office and break down Natural Language Processing (NLP). Then Paul reveals what he learned from watching a two-hour presentation by Salesforce. Links:  Salesforce Einstein  Postlight - Work

Ever wonder how (or why) certain emoji get made? Look no further than Jennifer Daniel, Google’s Chair of the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee — the team that brings new emoji to life. Jennifer gives a brief emoji history lesson and explains how her work creating emoji is surprisingly akin to journalism. She also breaks down the emoji creation and selection process and gives a sneak peek into next year’s releases...

When’s the right time to adapt? This week Paul and Rich discuss how companies adjust to changing times and risks. They consider whether you need a culture of fear in a company to force change, or if innovation can come from a positive and aspirational place. Links: Postlight Case Studies 

Tim Meaney returns to the Postlight Podcast, and he’s ready to talk DeFi. This week Paul, Rich, and Tim have a heated discussion about new trends in blockchain and cryptocurrencies. They draw parallels between crypto and conspiracy theories, and Tim explains why the protocols around DeFi are something we should be looking at beyond its current financial applications. Links:  Tim Meaney - Twitter  SageSure  SETI@home  Dapp.com The Brickhouse