December 16, 2016: Friday news roundup

This week certainly started on a high note around here, with the news that our very own CEO, Dennis Yang, was included on LinkedIn’s Top Voices of 2016 list, along with some heavy-hitters from around the world and across industries. Here are some other stories that got us talking this week.

The biggest tech failures and successes of 2016
We could easily compile this week’s roundup with nothing but year-end lists, but we will resist that temptation. See what you think of this one. None of these picks will come as a surprise. It was a tough year for Samsung and fake news, a better one for streaming video and wifi.

Trends in tech investing 2017
This is NOT a year-end list; it’s a next-year list. This prognosticator has a few hunches about where investor dollars will flow into the tech industry in 2017, and we were pleased to see edtech included. Top Udemy instructor Chris Haroun is quoted saying, “All problems in the world can be solved by education—every single one, without exception,” and the author concurs that there’s no more important sector to invest in than edtech.

The internet is broken. Starting from scratch, here’s how I’d fix it.
Author, influencer, media exec, and all-around big thinker Walter Isaacson shares some toothsome food for thought in this provocative post. He begins with the premise that the internet has strayed far from its origins as a welcoming community for public discourse and has, instead, devolved into a cesspool of anonymous trolls. Read on to find out how Isaacson would give the internet an overhaul to make it safer and more civil.

Just don’t call it ‘Trump University’
Here’s another columnist issuing a call to arms for fixing a broken system, in this case higher education. Former hedge-fund manager Andy Kessler suggests a new spin on the GI Bill, which was introduced after WWII to help military veterans afford college. Kessler thinks financial incentives need to be available to everyone—but only for online learning.

9 tips to help you get a raise
We close out with some timely advice from Udemy VP of People Lisa Haugh. Lots of employees plan on having a tough talk at work when they get back from the holidays in January: asking for a bump in salary. If you count yourself in that group, you’ll want to build Lisa’s tips into your plan of attack.