Michael Saylor: Microstrategy's Boy King Grows Up

With the launch of XBox One on May 21, 3D sensing functionality remains in the spotlight. But even though it's primarily been associated with gaming, we are beginning to see 3D sensing take on new roles in robotics, digital signage, healthcare and the living room.

It’s certainly possible to make yourself worth a few million dollars based solely on book smarts. A sensational accountant – a verifiable master in a particular corner of the tax code – can amass a personal fortune of this size. However, ramping up that expertise to make many multiples of those millions regularly requires street smarts as well.

Conspiracy theories and paranoia are great for team building.  So the exempt organization group of the IRS, the Cincinnati gang that couldn't sort straight, has given the Tea Party a great boost.  When you think about how miserable the IRS can make your life, having your exempt application stalled doesn't strike me as being that severe.  One of the comments I'm having trouble figuring out is from this story Debbie Dooley of Tea Party Patriots said in Atlanta her group spent some $250,000 on legal fees in battling with the IRS, which she said wanted donor and volunteer names and copies of Facebook comments. A quarter of million seems like quite a bit of attorney fees for a grass roots organization. As we like to say sometimes, those guys know how to bill.  From the website of Tea Party Patriots, I learned Tea Party Patriots is made up of, and funded by, millions of regular Americans just like you, who believe there is a better way forward for America. We are a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization that does not support any political party nor do we endorse candidates. If you support fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free market economic policies, we encourage you to sign up for Tea Party Patriots today. It doesn't have to endorse candidates. That is what the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, a political action committee is for. The Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund is dedicated to supporting those candidates who will sincerely work to rein in out-of-control government and to oppose those candidates who will not. We do not discriminate between political parties. We will not shy away from standing up to long-time career politicians. Both sites have REIN IN THE IRS RALLIES banners at the top of their websites.  I couldn't find the Tea Party Patriot's 990 on guidestar.org. 

Vine has now had nearly six months to grow. Like other exploding social media platforms before it, there has been no shortage of hype surrounding Vine. But what does it really mean for marketers?

By Henry I. Miller and Graham Brookes