Like a spooky painting in Scooby Doo...

Billboards can now follow your movements. [The Hustle]( Fri, Feb 17 Big billboard is watching you Clear Channel Outdoor, one of world’s largest outdoor advertising corporations, is [partnering with multiple companies]( (paywall), including AT&T, to track you through your smartphone. Why? To help advertisers plan more targeted and effective campaigns by providing detailed information about the people who pass their billboards. In other words, McDonald’s -- assuming they work with Clear Channel Outdoor -- will soon know that you drove by their giant highway advertisement… and that you took the next exit to get yourself a Big Mac. Got ‘em. Sounds creepy, but… Mobile advertisers have been using tracking for years. And so, while privacy advocates will surely criticize this partnership, what choice did Clear Channel Outdoor really have? “Wait, you can’t give us data or track who sees our massive billboard that we invested time, effort, and money into? Smell ya later, we’re going with Facebook.” That’s the reality outdoor advertising companies have been dealing with for years. This is their long-due response. Prediction: Outdoor ads are on the verge of a major revival [The world's first banner ad]( sponsored by AT&T to target readers of HotWired.com, debuted in 1994. Lots more followed, and since they felt new and different, these early digital ads worked great. But nowadays, they’re everywhere (US digital ad spend [surpassed traditional TV last year](. As a result, they aren’t nearly as compelling and, with so much competition, require a stroke of genius to stand out. Enter outdoor ads, a medium which suddenly -- thanks to these new tracking capabilities -- finds itself in the same place the internet did in ‘94: bursting with potential. Just think about it, guys... If billboards will soon offer the kind of audience measurements that advertisers have come to expect from digital, why not go with the billboard? They’re far less intrusive than pop-ups (which consumers appreciate), our brains aren’t literally [trained to ignore them]( (like they are with banner ads), and, [as these examples show]( an innovative billboard can go a long way. [Getting back outside]( KIND fights fat shaming The founder of KIND bars, Daniel Lubetzky, is channeling [$25m of his own money]( into a public advocacy organization called [Feed the Truth]( to “expose and counteract” the influence of food industry lobbyists over public health. Why? Because according to him, “Big Food” companies have too much say over FDA regulations, and, in turn, public opinion about what’s healthy. Case in point: The stigma against fat In 2015, [the FDA sent KIND a letter]( requesting that they remove the word “healthy” from the packaging and marketing of their snack bars. That’s because, according to regulations, you can only claim something is healthy if it is “low in saturated fat” (aka, it contains less than 1g of saturated fat per typical amount consumed, and less than 15% of the calories come from saturated fat). In comparison, KIND’s Fruit & Nut Almond & Apricot bars have [3.5g of saturated fat per 40g bar]( (about 18% of the total calories). On the flip side, these guidelines still allow some high-sugar products to use “health food” labeling. Now Lubetzky’s calling them out He claims that corporations like Coke and Nestle have had a huge impact on research performed by the FDA, and portrayed foods with high sugar and sodium to be relatively harmless -- in part by villainizing fat. And there’s a ton of truth to that. The food and beverage industry spends billions lobbying regulators and funding complementary research that often suggests that the verdict’s still out on the negative impact of salt and sugar (though many health professionals would disagree). Clearly, there’s a problem here And we’d love for Feed the Truth to blow the lid off this case as much as the next guy, provided Lubetzky can stay as removed from it as he claims. KIND clearly has a vested interested in clearing fat’s name for the sake of its own products, but Lubetzky says he’ll have nothing to do with deciding the organization’s approach. Hmm… [Killin’ ‘em with KINDness]( Founder, meet developer. Developer, meet founder. Loom is a [“work-for-equity” platform]( connecting entrepreneurs and developers to bring digital products to life. Here’s how it works: Founders post their project, then freelance developers place bids, either in cash (“Pay me $10k, and I’ll build your app.”), equity (“I want half the company, bro.”), or a combination of both. Once a founder agrees to a bid, [Loom]( takes its $99 fee, introduces both parties, and leaves it up to them to hammer out the details. The problem this solves for founders Loom makes angel investors less of a necessity, which could help startups get to market faster. Here’s [TechCrunch to explain]( “There’s a familiar cycle that tech entrepreneurs go through: When they’re first getting started, they sell equity to angel investors, then they use the money to hire developers to actually build the product… Why not cut out the middleman?” That’s exactly what Loom does. As a result, startups can build a product, release it, see if it gets any traction, and then try to raise funding (from angels or whoever else). The problem this solves for developers There are hundreds of successful companies out there who had freelance developers build their original website or app. But, while the founders of those companies are now rolling in dough, many of those developers collected nothing more than a few thousand bucks for their services. Loom’s got all those unsung heroes’ backs. Even if, for now, they’re doing little more than playing matchmaker. [Dig it]( Gene editing gets the green light The Human Gene-Editing Initiative, an advisory board, formed by the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine, officially released a report [endorsing the modification of human embryos]( to change the genetic traits that are passed onto future generations. But, it’s not going to be a free-for-all These guys didn’t publish a 261-page report without [laying down some guidelines](. Genetic editing can only be used: - To treat or prevent serious diseases from being inherited - If there is no other reasonable alternative for treating after birth - If there is enough preclinical data to prove the potential health benefits of the procedure And these rules are just to OK a clinical trial… So what’s not OK? Bringing your baby in for an upgrade. The report specifically prohibits the “enhancement” of human attributes for non-medical reasons. Many people fear that this practice could be used to increase intelligence, or select certain physical characteristics (what basketball fan wouldn’t want to gift their child with an insane vertical?) Don’t know about you, but we’re not trying to living in a world where athletes have to be tested for performance-enhancing genes. Of course, this is all assuming the technology exists… Which it doesn’t. Yet. So, the good news (or bad news, depending on your perspective) is we don’t have to worry about these ethical pitfalls for the time being. However, as Richard Hynes, a co-chair of the committee states, “science is moving fast” and to stay ahead of it, you have to have good control over how it’s studied. And, considering yesterday’s [much-anticipated court ruling]( awarding the Broad Institute and MIT patent rights to the breakthrough gene editing technology, CRISPR -- it could be moving even faster than we think. [Do these genes make me look jacked?]( friday shower thoughts - In 20 years, kids will think the Amazon rainforest was named in honor of an online shopping website. - Referring to my parents as "Dad and Mom" instead of "Mom and Dad" feels extremely uncomfortable. - If you have 2 choices, and one of them is taken away, you have 0 choices. - Monday the 13th should be bad luck. At least Friday the 13th is a Friday. - You stop getting money in Birthday cards right around the age when you need extra cash the most. - via [Reddit]( This edition of The Hustle was brought to you by Before we get to today’s ad… We wanted to share this brilliant idea we just came up with: booze pinatas. PINATAS… WITH BOOZE IN THEM. I mean, are we geniuses or what? Just imagine how much better your 25th birthday party would’ve been with a pinata for adults. See ya Tootsie Pops, hello Captain Morgan! Pretty sure we just stumbled upon a billion-dollar idea, folks. Start looking for a replacement newsletter, The Hustle’s getting into the pinata biz. Okay, now onto the actual advertisement… Oh sh*t. Turns out booze pinatas already exist, courtesy of [NIPTAYA!]( And they personalize them, too. So, whether you’re celebrating a birthday, going hard on Cinco de Mayo, or just feel like blindly swing a bat and making it rain Fireball nips, [NIPTAYA!]( is right up your alley. Visit their [order page]( to select your pinata style, choose how much alcohol (and what kind) will be stuffed inside, customize a few things here and there, and be on your way. Oh, and did we mention you get 20% off your order by using the code THEHUSTLE20? Well, ya do. [So take advantage](. [SUBSCRIBE]( [JOBS]( [ADVERTISE]( [AMBASSADORS]( [EVENTS]( [Kendall "Non-edited genes" Baker]( WRITER Lindsey Quinn GETTING JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SLEEP John Havel BACKSEAT EDITOR Nadia Geddit BAD JOKE INTERPRETER You opted in by [signing up]( entering a [giveaway]( or through [divine intervention](. [1381 9TH AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, UNITED STATES]( • [415.506.7210](tel:+1-415-506-7210) Never wanna hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](.