Karen Smith-Janssen
@smith-janssen.bsky.social
Research director at Inc. Business Media. Formerly Vogue magazine. Obsessive info-gatherer. 4x marathoner. Bernese Mountain dog mom.
Billionaires to all: Hardship for thee but not for me
July 2, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Billionaires to all: Hardship for thee but not for me
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
A tale of two movies:
Similar deal structures. Similar budgets.
One made $45M from 3300 screens, post pandemic, and won the weekend.
The other made $41M from 3600 screens pre-pandemic, and placed second.
And yet this is the coverage.
Similar deal structures. Similar budgets.
One made $45M from 3300 screens, post pandemic, and won the weekend.
The other made $41M from 3600 screens pre-pandemic, and placed second.
And yet this is the coverage.
April 20, 2025 at 4:46 PM
A tale of two movies:
Similar deal structures. Similar budgets.
One made $45M from 3300 screens, post pandemic, and won the weekend.
The other made $41M from 3600 screens pre-pandemic, and placed second.
And yet this is the coverage.
Similar deal structures. Similar budgets.
One made $45M from 3300 screens, post pandemic, and won the weekend.
The other made $41M from 3600 screens pre-pandemic, and placed second.
And yet this is the coverage.
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
poor Nintendo, announcing the Switch 2 just in time to have it cost ten thousand dollars
April 2, 2025 at 8:44 PM
poor Nintendo, announcing the Switch 2 just in time to have it cost ten thousand dollars
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
This was….five months ago
April 2, 2025 at 11:49 PM
This was….five months ago
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
what do we want? amber ruffin life stream counter programming
when do we want it? at the same time as the white house correspondents' dinner
when do we want it? at the same time as the white house correspondents' dinner
March 29, 2025 at 8:09 PM
what do we want? amber ruffin life stream counter programming
when do we want it? at the same time as the white house correspondents' dinner
when do we want it? at the same time as the white house correspondents' dinner
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
Listen this IS in fact how it’s done.
Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor responds to Acting U.S. Atty Ed Martin’s threat to refuse to hire Georgetown graduates who have taken “DEI” courses in their curriculum.
Treanor is a brilliant lawyer & constitutional scholar. Embarrassing for Martin.
Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor responds to Acting U.S. Atty Ed Martin’s threat to refuse to hire Georgetown graduates who have taken “DEI” courses in their curriculum.
Treanor is a brilliant lawyer & constitutional scholar. Embarrassing for Martin.
With his permission, I'm sharing Dean Treanor's response to Ed Martin's letter:
March 6, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Listen this IS in fact how it’s done.
Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor responds to Acting U.S. Atty Ed Martin’s threat to refuse to hire Georgetown graduates who have taken “DEI” courses in their curriculum.
Treanor is a brilliant lawyer & constitutional scholar. Embarrassing for Martin.
Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor responds to Acting U.S. Atty Ed Martin’s threat to refuse to hire Georgetown graduates who have taken “DEI” courses in their curriculum.
Treanor is a brilliant lawyer & constitutional scholar. Embarrassing for Martin.
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
It seems almost unavoidable at this point that we are headed for a deep, deep recession. Just based on 200K+ federal firings & pullback of contracts, the March employment report (to be released April 4) seems certain to show bigger job losses than any month ever outside of a few in 2008-9 and 2020.
February 19, 2025 at 1:37 AM
It seems almost unavoidable at this point that we are headed for a deep, deep recession. Just based on 200K+ federal firings & pullback of contracts, the March employment report (to be released April 4) seems certain to show bigger job losses than any month ever outside of a few in 2008-9 and 2020.
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
I have been tryna tell y’all that the Duolingo social media team is diabolical!
February 10, 2025 at 2:53 AM
I have been tryna tell y’all that the Duolingo social media team is diabolical!
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
Reading that international runners hoping to run the Boston Marathon through Charity Teams this year had to pay an average of $14,000 up front blows my mind. The article does a good job of laying out the logic, but wow. www.runnersworld.com/races-places...
As Demand Soars for Charity Marathon Bibs, Nonprofits Are Overworked—and Getting Burned
They have to interview candidates, evaluate business plans, and be on alert for runners behaving badly.
www.runnersworld.com
January 31, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reading that international runners hoping to run the Boston Marathon through Charity Teams this year had to pay an average of $14,000 up front blows my mind. The article does a good job of laying out the logic, but wow. www.runnersworld.com/races-places...
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
Wow. it must feel terrible when someone takes something you made and uses it without permission or payment
OpenAI says it has evidence China’s DeepSeek used its model to train competitor
https://www.ft.com/content/a0dfedd1-5255-4fa9-8ccc-1fe01de87ea6
https://www.ft.com/content/a0dfedd1-5255-4fa9-8ccc-1fe01de87ea6
OpenAI says it has evidence China’s DeepSeek used its model to train competitor
White House AI tsar David Sacks raises possibility of alleged intellectual property theft
www.ft.com
January 29, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Wow. it must feel terrible when someone takes something you made and uses it without permission or payment
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
The NYT did this nice visual explainer today showing all the people in Elon Musk’s orbit.
What I found most striking is every single one of his friends and backers is a man, (18 men in all).
What I found most striking is every single one of his friends and backers is a man, (18 men in all).
January 11, 2025 at 4:36 PM
The NYT did this nice visual explainer today showing all the people in Elon Musk’s orbit.
What I found most striking is every single one of his friends and backers is a man, (18 men in all).
What I found most striking is every single one of his friends and backers is a man, (18 men in all).
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
I’ve said it before, but, from the “metaverse” to the Apple goggles, there’s an odd insistence in big tech that customers want to live in a fake virtual world—even though every single one of those products has been rejected by the market, pretty clearly indicating that customers want no such thing.
everything about this new Meta AI bot is so dystopian but for me the AI-generated images of nonexistent donated coats is up there
January 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I’ve said it before, but, from the “metaverse” to the Apple goggles, there’s an odd insistence in big tech that customers want to live in a fake virtual world—even though every single one of those products has been rejected by the market, pretty clearly indicating that customers want no such thing.
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
It’s over 1,000km from Berlin to Paris
There’s now a direct daytime train between them, that takes 8 hours and costs just €59. Leave at 10am, arrive 6pm.
And… it’s just 1% the carbon emissions of the equivalent flight
www.euronews.com/travel/2024/...
There’s now a direct daytime train between them, that takes 8 hours and costs just €59. Leave at 10am, arrive 6pm.
And… it’s just 1% the carbon emissions of the equivalent flight
www.euronews.com/travel/2024/...
High-speed Paris-Berlin daily train service debuts
The route is the first directly linking the two capitals' city centres.
www.euronews.com
January 2, 2025 at 8:07 AM
It’s over 1,000km from Berlin to Paris
There’s now a direct daytime train between them, that takes 8 hours and costs just €59. Leave at 10am, arrive 6pm.
And… it’s just 1% the carbon emissions of the equivalent flight
www.euronews.com/travel/2024/...
There’s now a direct daytime train between them, that takes 8 hours and costs just €59. Leave at 10am, arrive 6pm.
And… it’s just 1% the carbon emissions of the equivalent flight
www.euronews.com/travel/2024/...
Public records/Wayback machine make this pointless. I do wonder if execs in other industries will copy the move.
New: multiple major health insurance companies (Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caresource, Medica, Elevance Health) have taken down pages on their websites which listed their leadership, following the murder of United Healthcare CEO www.404media.co/multiple-maj...
Major Health Insurance Companies Take Down Leadership Pages Following Murder of United Healthcare CEO
Following the shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, multiple major health insurance companies have taken their executive leadership pages offline.
www.404media.co
December 6, 2024 at 12:32 PM
Public records/Wayback machine make this pointless. I do wonder if execs in other industries will copy the move.
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
CEOs are on high alert after today's shooting, and @chloeaiello.bsky.social has the scoop on how security firms are protecting executives. www.inc.com/chloe-aiello...
Here’s How Security Firms Say Execs Should Protect Themselves After UnitedHealthcare CEO’s Shooting
Security firms offer advice to companies looking to protect their executives after the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
www.inc.com
December 4, 2024 at 9:51 PM
CEOs are on high alert after today's shooting, and @chloeaiello.bsky.social has the scoop on how security firms are protecting executives. www.inc.com/chloe-aiello...
I’ve wondered how a business picks up and keeps going after a workplace shooting. “From crisis management to the first stages of recovery” aptly describes this surreal journey. Alex Bhattacharji’s year-in-the-making article on surviving an attack
www.inc.com/alex-bhattac...
www.inc.com/alex-bhattac...
What Happened After One of the Worst Workplace Shootings in America
When a worker shot multiple colleagues at the headquarters of Excel Industries in 2016, surviving the attack was just the first challenge.
www.inc.com
December 2, 2024 at 7:49 PM
I’ve wondered how a business picks up and keeps going after a workplace shooting. “From crisis management to the first stages of recovery” aptly describes this surreal journey. Alex Bhattacharji’s year-in-the-making article on surviving an attack
www.inc.com/alex-bhattac...
www.inc.com/alex-bhattac...
Reposted by Karen Smith-Janssen
I am personally fascinated by the NA drinks trend. Check out this fun read by my colleague @jenniferconrad.bsky.social on the makers of Phony Negroni www.inc.com/jennifer-con...
The Makers of Phony Negroni Are on Track to Sell 2 Million Bottles This Year. How the Nonalcoholic Spirits Industry Is Coming of Age
With a flood of competitors and conglomerates eyeing the market, brands are working to create a buzz in the new world of nonalcoholic adult drinks.
www.inc.com
November 27, 2024 at 2:52 PM
I am personally fascinated by the NA drinks trend. Check out this fun read by my colleague @jenniferconrad.bsky.social on the makers of Phony Negroni www.inc.com/jennifer-con...