Monday Morning Memo: This Week’s Technological Journey

You can’t do anything about it being a Monday morning, but you can make yourself look busy by catching up on last week’s tech news. Tech companies are proving that they actually are saving the world with a plan to help Puerto Rico, still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, while across the North American continent cities are pulling out all the stops to be considered for Amazon HQ2, then I’ll drop you off in Minsk at this week’s tech news roundup…

The Truth About Content Marketing and What Brands Need to Know – Forbes

Let’s start with something practical. How hard can content marketing be? First of all, once you start there is no end (incidentally, if you don’t start, there’ll likely be a quick end to your company), so you better have the basics figured out before you start spinning in the proverbial hamster wheel. This article suggests seven must-knows about content marketing.

Big Tech has big plans to help reconnect Puerto Rico – Denver Post

Puerto Rico, still suffering from its most deadly hurricane in 88 years, is welcoming tech companies’ willingness to help out. Tesla is delaying product launches to instead help power the territory while Google is trying to connect people to the internet.

Apple teases hundreds of new emoji, including gender neutral options – CNN

But, that’s enough about important things, how about a little fun this morning. You never know when you’ll need to emote a fairy or vampire to the digiverse, now you’ll be able to as Apple outdoes itself once again.

Cities are doing wacky things to host Amazon's second headquarters - CNN

Cities are pulling out all the stops to try to lure Amazon for their second headquarters. Seemingly, only Seattle, which already hosts Apple’s original headquarters is omitted from this frenzy (but if one of Seattle’s suburbs jumped into the mix it wouldn’t be surprising). Beyond tax breaks and land, cities are trying to prove themselves worthy, find out what cities such as Tucson and Pittsburgh are up to here.

How Europe’s Last Dictatorship Became a Tech Hub – NY Times

As promised, we’re ending up in Minsk. Like every former Soviet republic, Belarus has struggled, but it is now finding a promising future as a tech hub. Find out what Leonardo DiCaprio had to do with making this unlikely city one of THE places to be for a tech startup.