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In this competitive job market, applicants must do everything they can to stand out from the crowd. Whether you are actively seeking a job or not, it's important to develop your personal brand now in order to be prepared for the job interviewing process. Developing a personal brand requires more than just beefing up your resume and should be something you work on regularly while continually evolving to meet the demands of this competitive job market. Here are five tips on how to build your personal brand:
1. Figure out your niche. General skills won't distinguish you from the sea of other applicants and so it is essential that you specialize. Highlight your best job skills and continue to hone in on them since those will be your best asset. However, it is important to make sure that your specialized skills are relevant to your industry and potential employers.
2. Build upon your knowledge. Even if you believe you are one of the best at what you do, there is always more to learn. Continue to educate yourself on your industry and stay on top of new innovations to avoid falling behind the learning curve. Whether it be attending a seminar or obtaining a new certification, continue to look at ways to increase your knowledge.
3. Establish an online presence. Social media has infiltrated the professional world so it is important to have your own business profiles on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google +. Also, it doesn't hurt to have your own blog or website containing solely your content to reflect your original ideas and creativity. Just remember to keep your business online presence separate from your personal life and that everything you post mirrors your desired personal brand.
4. Network with influential people. You probably have heard the saying, "You are who you surround yourself with." The same applies to the professional world and networking is vital to connecting with other influential business professionals. The more people associate and develop strong relationships with, the more potential opportunities you create. Attending meet-ups and local chamber of commerce events are a great way to meet other business professionals within your community.
5. Set goals for your personal brand. The problem many people have with developing their personal brand is that they never have clear goals, which often leads them to put it on the backburner. Establish specific and time-measurable goals to not only hold yourself accountable but also give you direction in the pursuit of your ideal personal brand.
Building your own unique personal brand should hold high priority in your career development goals. Even if you aren't actively seeking employment, a personal brand isn't something you put off until you begin your job search. Instead, you should continuously work on it in order to evolve with the ever-changing job market and be able to distinguish yourself from the heavily populated business world.
The National Association of Distinguished Professionals is one of the largest online networking organizations for business professionals. NADP has over 150,000 members and provides resources such as business and educational services and exclusive discounts to enhance your career.
There are people who I know who would tell you, if you had the opportunity to ask them, that I talk too much at times. Well, that may be true, but after a lifetime in Sales I also know how to listen. Talking and listening are crucial in any sales process.
Talking and listening can also be very important tools in producing digital products that you can sell at a profit. Interested? Then read on!
One of the easiest ways to do this is by recording an interview and then selling it as an MP3 downloadable product.
The interview can be done in various ways. If you're an expert in your niche market you could get someone to interview you. Alternatively, if you don't feel confident enough to do that then identify an expert and ask if you can interview them.
You will find that most experts are only too pleased to talk about their subject and will be grateful for free publicity.
Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers and think about the questions they have and the style of interview they would like to hear. A useful tip is to list the 12 to 15 most common questions about your niche and then to work your way through them.
A relaxed informal interview style works well and appeals to most people. For your first product, aim for a 30 minute audio product. You may think that seems a lot but if you work it out that's just 2 minutes per question if you have 15 questions.
Factor in an introduction and a conclusion and it's even less per question. The reality is that you will probably run out of time and not be able to cover the 15 questions.
In terms of technology it's fairly straightforward. You'll need your computer, an internet connection, a microphone and some free software. Audacity is ideal for recording and editing sounds.
If you're doing the interview over the phone there are various providers that will record the conversation for you and then send you the MP3.
Once you have your MP3 you need to upload it so that your customers can access it. There are various ways of doing this e.g. you can use your WordPress site or a service like ClickBank.
If you use ClickBank to sell your MP3 it has the added advantage that affiliates will do some of your promotion for you.
So there you have it - a straightforward way to create a digital product that can be selling very quickly. It's a great place to start if you haven't yet got any products for sale and if you like talking and listening then what better way to get your business moving.
David H Pool is an Internet Marketer who has been extensively published Online and in Traditional Magazines.
If you're not using social media to enhance your trade show exhibits, you're missing out on a major opportunity to interact with your customers. Customers expect that their vendors will have a presence on some of the major websites. Use these tips to increase your visibility and enhance your trade show exhibits.
Tip #1: Don't Limit Your Social Media Presence
In years past, it was enough to have a simple website. However, that's not the case anymore. Customers want to interact with businesses through social media sites. Create a presence on sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr and Foursquare. It's not absolutely necessary to be on every site, but the majority of businesses should be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.
Tip #2: Post Streaming Video Of Your Trade Show Exhibits
If you're taking your trade show exhibits out of town, chances are good that you won't be able to meet with all your customers. Some clients won't attend the event, either because it's an inconvenient time or the travel costs are prohibitively high. If you don't want them to miss out on the experience, ask the event organizers if there's a plan to live stream the event. If not, ask for permission to do it yourself. All you'll need is a smart phone and a fast Internet connection to give your clients a one of a kind experience! It's a good idea to focus your attention on your own displays, but don't be afraid to get out in the crowd to interview attendees about their experience at the event.
Tip #3: Build An App For Tablets Or Smartphones
Tablets and smartphones are used all over, sometimes even more frequently than an actual computer. If your company doesn't have a mobile app, make sure to build one. The app should be functional though -- it's not enough to simply have one. When you're attending an event, customers can use your mobile app to find your trade show exhibits, but they should also be able to purchase goods from your app. If it is simply a landing page, customers will be less likely to click to visit your full site from their mobile device.
Tip #4: Use Hashtags When You Post To Social Media Sites
Hashtags are taking the social media world by storm. Originally started on Twitter, these hashtags help users search for posts concerning a certain topic and have recently appeared on Facebook. If the organizers haven't chosen a hashtag for the event, come up with your own! Think of a phrase that many people will search for and use it whenever you Tweet or write a Facebook post. Make sure to use your own company's name as a hashtag too because this helps others find your posts.
It's vital to have a presence on social media sites, but especially when you're out of the office and in front of your trade show exhibits. If you're not using hashtags when posting on your accounts, live streaming at an event, or using a mobile app, you could be missing out.
Companies looking for custom trade show exhibits in New Jersey need look no further than Skyline New Jersey. The company can create a one of a kind exhibit that gets results. To see a gallery of displays from Skyline New Jersey, please visit http://www.skylinenj.com/.
If you're searching for a free backlink checker than you actually know how important getting backlinks to your site truly is.
But may I provide a word to the sensible? Do not let being cheap keep you broke. Meaning I will definitely help guide you to finding a free backlink checker here in this article but that actually won't be your best option if you are absolutely serious about taking your business to a higher level fast. So let's talk more about that now.
Finding a Free Backlink Checker
Clearly, one of the best methods for acquiring new visitors to your weblog or internet pages is usually to get it ranking on the initial page of the main search engines like Yahoo and Google for the primary keywords and phrases getting to complete with what you're promoting.
The main method for ranking high is obtaining quality backlinks for your unique content which you've published on your website. One free backlink checker is just making use of the search engines and the sites that rank. Nevertheless, there's a better way which is possible to use now:
A single totally free backlink checker is known as Domain-Pop.com. A single limitation to this cost-free service is the fact that it only lets you check hyperlinks on a main domain.
Search engines rank pages (not whole sites) and so each and every page genuinely can be a stand-alone listing unto itself. If there appears a domain.com as a search result it's really the index.html page that has the listing, and not the whole internet site itself.
Backlinkwatch.com is a much more desirable complimentary backlink checker. It advises you about the Google web page rank, the anchor content used to gain that ranking and additional details such as any follow or no follow tags. With Backlinkwatch.com you can only investigate one URL at a time although you can check individual pages instead of just the main domain.
As a warning, turn your pop-up blocker on when going to this internet site typically all the advertising will certainly drive you bonkers.
Out of the first 10 free backlink checker sites we visited only the two listed above essentially work. This is thanks to the fact that Yahoo Explorer recently canceled their backlink tracking service and most of these free tools tied into their API to supply the result.
What are the Advantages of utilizing a Free Backlink Checker?
There are only a couple of causes why anybody must check out back links-- the 1st is to watch exactly what the competitors are carrying out so you can easily ramp-up the search engine SEO efforts and the additional reason is to see if the devices you're making use of to obtain backlinks are actually functioning properly.
Either method the info you will receive from a free backlink checker site will keep you in the dark where other beneficial information is worried.
Free backlink checkers perform by permitting you to study only a single domain name, or web page at any one time.
Should you really desire to know the complete truth about a site you will want a way to search the backlinks deep within a website. The more you know about the opportunity to lock-in a top rated search engine ranking on a significant search engine the better. Simply put, you should explore the competitors, not just a single page or domain at a time. The results could be misleading and it is clearly a waste of time.
It is better to utilize mass checker like Rank Tracker found in the Market Samurai product offered by Noble Samurai. Unlike employing a free backlink checker, you can research all of your competition in seconds and keep a record of all of your inbound backlinks as well.
To find out the value of the backlink checker go to my website at:
Why Online Business?
Starting an online business or making money online has been quite a trending topic over the past few years and the leading choice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Why? Simple... online income (passive income) is virtually bullet proof. It cannot be adversely affected by a recession, a sluggish economy and it offers job security. Note: The learning curve for how to become self employed in online business can be pretty steep if you are the all or nothing type. But learning the basics of building and operating a small scale operation on the internet is an easy task.
An online business is much easier to get started because of the low cost of getting things rolling. Many successful online marketers have even built their businesses with practically no investment at the expense of only their time, a lot of time! Not exactly the route I would recommend. But it is very possible if you have a $0 budget.
Goals
Your ultimate goal in online business or any business is to make sales. In order to succeed and generate profits from your business, you have to promote your products or services to a targeted audience. A successful online business follows a strategic plan of action. No doubt, great ideas will rise to the surface often when working your online business and this will get you side tracked. I call it IMADD (Internet Marketers Attention Deficit Disorder). This is where you need to exercise discipline. Instead of chasing every thought that comes to mind, just put all your awesome ideas on a note pad and store them for future projects.. This will make things a lot smoother and you will stay on track without any distractions. This is a common practice among seasoned marketers.
Getting starting with affiliate marketing in online business is probably the easiest method for generating income online. There are hundreds of affiliate programs that you could join, like "ClickBank or Commission Junction" and start making money right away promoting other peoples products or services. Again, this is one of the best and fastest ways of how to become self employed in online business.
How Does It Work?
As an affiliate, it is your job to line people up with what they are looking for. Help them to solve their problems. And when a purchase is made YOU MAKE COMMISSIONS!!! All from other people's products or services... How cool is that? However, before you begin any online marketing campaigns there are a few things to consider.
Start Up Cost
I'm sure you've heard the expression; "It takes money to make money" "Right?" Well that is an overstatement when it comes to starting an online business. You will need to go to a domain registry like Go daddy and purchase a domain name (around $10). The forwarding feature within Go daddy is pretty simple to use. Try not to over complicate things when choosing a domain name, but it should be relevant to the product or service that you plan on promoting as an affiliate.
Once the domain has been forwarded and pointing to your chosen product sales page, you are ready to "ROCK" and earn commissions. Promote your new web address on relevant forums and article directories. And to really get things moving and go viral, use classified ads such as Craigslist and Social Media like Face book... You don't have to worry about the processing of payments or shipping. This is all done by the Product Owner... This is just one of the many ways of how to earn income in online business.
Eric is an Online Marketer, Author, and Contributor to one of the most remarkable and unique Web based Business Education Platforms in the World... A Huge claim I know but don't knock it till you try it! Stop guessing how to earn income online.
Create a Free $0 starter account and enjoy a learning experience unlike any other available in the World!
Create a Free $0 starter account and enjoy a learning experience unlike any other available in the World!
You might have heard and read about many surveillance equipments on many books and even on internet. Also some of you might have seen about these equipments on television. Only very few people might have actually got the chance to see these items in real life. These items were actually considered as the best friends of any detective agencies and other defense forces of the country. Now the situation has changed completely and by spending some money each and every common man can definitely get this surveillance equipment from any stores selling these types of gadgets. It is true that most of them are buying these things out of fancy and craze and they are not actually getting any chance to seriously make use of these gadgets through any real life situations.
Even many children are using these things now days while playing with the friends. They are mainly inspired by seeing various detective movies or by reading various similar stories. It is at most sure that there is a great difference in the quality of these gadgets used by the common man when compared with those items used by the defense personnel’s for security purpose. If you check out the list of surveillance gadgets you might be really surprised to know that the list is never ending. There are many varieties of things where a secret camera is hided and you will never ever think that it is used for taking video imagines without anybody’s knowledge.
These gadgets vary from the hidden camera on the pen used as spy pen, spy sunglasses which is attached with a camera that has the storage capacity for taking videos for long time without causing any interruptions, cameras in the form of a packet of chewing gum that is not at all suspected by anybody, and so on. There are also other devices that are really useful for the daily life. This includes biometric finger print attendance clock time that is used to take attendance of every employee without possessing any requirement to carry the ID card along with them always, electronic baby monitor and it provides two way audio service so that you can be away from your baby while sleeping and can carryon with your house hold task. This monitor will help you to check the baby often without going to the room all time. These inventions are in a way helping us to think about the level of advancements that has happened in the world.
Listening devices is trusted as number one for comprehensive expert advice. This company is a well respected, established and experienced manufacturers of spy gear, listening devices, spy gadgets and surveillance equipment and are selling online.
Listening devices is trusted as number one for comprehensive expert advice. This company is a well respected, established and experienced manufacturers of spy gear, listening devices, spy gadgets and surveillance equipment and are selling online.
When it comes to video webcasting, we often think of the benefits from the company's perspective. After all, the business has invested its resources on a video webcasting solution and it expects to benefit from its investment. But what about viewers? Can they benefit, too? You bet they can. Whether your viewers are prospects, customers, or employees, your webcasting program can deliver valuable content, engage, entertain, and inform in either real-time or at each viewer's convenience. Below is a look at how video webcasting helps viewers.
Video Webcasting Delivers Private Content
The whole point of adopting a webcasting solution is to facilitate communication between the enterprise and its audience. That audience can be internal or external - or both. While viewers have thousands of online video content viewing opportunities available on the public Internet, your webcasts can deliver your unique messages to your audience in a controlled and private manner. For example, if you need to explain a new corporate policy or procedure to your employees around the world, but don't want that information posted publicly on a video-sharing platform such as YouTube, you can use a corporate webcast to deliver the content to your team. In this example, your employees can receive relevant information on their computers. Rather than having to attend a lengthy training meeting, they can view the webcast and get the information that they need.
Video Webcasting Engages, Entertains, and Informs
In addition to receiving private content, viewers can also receive interactive content that engages, entertains, or informs. Video webcasting platforms include a variety of interactive tools such as chat boxes that allow viewers to interact with each other or the moderator during the webcast. For example, if a viewer has a question during a webcast, he can enter the question in a chat box. Depending on how the webcast is set up, another viewer might be able to answer the question or the moderator will address questions at the end. Some moderators answer questions as they arise.
Video webcasts are commonly used to present product demonstrations or sales presentations to prospects and existing customers. These viewers benefit by being able to "meet" with a salesperson in a virtual setting. Webcasts are generally less disruptive and less time-consuming for viewers as well.
Video Webcasting Allows for Live Viewing - Or On Demand Viewing
Video webcasting is often used to stream live events such as annual meetings, training sessions, team meetings, team building activities, workshops, and brainstorming sessions. Employees can use a webcast to collaborate with remote team members in real-time. Not only can viewers see and hear each other, most video online platforms include a variety of screen- and file-sharing tools, whiteboards, and interactive chat boxes. In addition to live live, webcasts can be recorded and made available to viewers to watch later. For example, a live training session can be made available to future trainees who can watch on demand - at their convenience.
Video webcasting allows for the delivery of private, engaging, and informative presentations in real-time or on demand. It's a win-win solution for enterprises and their viewers alike.
The author of this article is an expert in communication technology and teaches part-time at his local community college. He is also a business IT consultant for many companies to help them with corporate YouTube communication. You can connect with him over at Google+ for any questions.
Cable TV has pretty much caught up to satellite television when it comes to level of quality, customer service, and cost, but there are several differences between the two you'll want to bear in mind if you're considering paying for satellite or cable television. Here is a comparison of cable TV vs. satellite TV.
Cost
On average, cable TV costs $10 to $25 a month more as compared to satellite television due in part to the fact that cable TV companies have to pay local area fees and taxes which satellite TV companies don't have to pay for.
Where I reside in Arizona if I were to order cable it would cost me $57 a month for 140 TV channels. If I were to purchase Dish Network satellite TV service it would cost me $25 for 190 TV channels.
One other difference is the rate increases. Cable Television service has increased by 40% since 1998, while satellite TV service has increased by a mere 8% within that same time frame.
Equipment Evaluation
Cable TV providers supply you with a receiver, or cable box, that receives a TV signal via an underground cable. The receiver converts that signal and delivers it to your TV set.
With satellite TV you receive a satellite dish which captures the signal originating from a satellite, plus a receiver which translates the signal and sends it to your TV.
For both systems you'll need a receiver for every television in your house that you'd like to view cable or satellite TV programming on. With cable TV you must pay between $3 to $5 per month for each and every cable box receiver you'd like connected to your TVs. With Dish Network and DirecTV your receivers are free of charge.
DVR
Digital video recorders, or DVRs, allow you to record your favorite shows. In addition to recording your shows you can also pause, rewind, and fast forward live television programs, so that you can answer your phone, view part of the program you missed, or fast forward through a commercial.
Using the typical cable DVRs you are able to record 2 TV shows simultaneously, and record 100 hours of programming. The drawback with this is that if you have 3 shows that come on at the same time, you can watch one show and record one or record two shows, but you won't be able to see the third show.`
Dish Network, on the other hand, lets you record 6 different shows simultaneously, and you'll be able to record up to 2,000 hours of programming, so you won't miss of your favorite television shows. With DirecTV you're able to record 4 different television shows at once, plus record up to 1,000 hours of programming.
Installation
Both satellite television companies, as well as most cable television companies, will install all of the equipment required to receive their programming for free. To make sure you do not have any equipment breakdowns down the line, you need to ensure the company who installs your system uses professional installers.
Dependability
Cable television outages average 3% to 5% depending on the company you purchase your service from, while Dish Network and DirecTV blackouts average 1%.
Customer Rankings
Dish Network is ranked number one in consumer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index among the leading cable and satellite TV companies, while DirecTV is ranked number two.
Consumer Support
Customer support for most satellite television and cable TV providers is available round the clock, 7 days a week including holidays, and with almost all companies the service is very good.
Conclusion
As far as program variety, number of channels, recording capacity, reliability, price, and customer satisfaction, satellite TV beats cable TV hands down.
Click the link that follows to compare cable TV vs satellite TV and to learn where you'll get the lowest price on Dish Network and DirecTV service.
Click the following link to check out a video recording that compares cable vs satellite TV.
Dish Network is offering a free satellite TV system, plus a 55 channel package for $19.99 per month. They're also offering a 190 channel package for $29.99 a month.
This is a great deal as far as pay TV goes, but how does it compare to the offers from DirecTV and the cable television providers? Let's take a look...
Dish Satellite TV
Dish TV's least expensive offer is the Smart Pack which is $19.99 per month. This package includes 55 family-oriented television channels, your local stations, 3 months of HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz, as well as 3 months of Blockbuster streaming videos and games. You also get a complimentary 6-room satellite system with a basic DVR that enables you to record 2 TV shows at the same time, plus pause, fast forward, and rewind live TV programs.
Their next cheapest offer is the America's Top 120. This package includes 190 television channels, your local stations, 35 music stations, 3 months of HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz, in addition to 3 months of Blockbuster streaming videos and games. You also receive a free 6-room satellite TV system, and a Hopper Whole-Home HD digital video recorder.
With the Hopper you'll be able to rewind, pause, and fast forward through live TV programs, and also record up to 6 programs at once. The Hopper allows you to share your recordings among all the TVs in your home, and it will record up to 2,000 hours of programs.
Not only will a qualified installer set up your new satellite TV system free of charge, they will explain how your system works and will show you how to operate it.
DirecTV Offer
For $29.99 you can buy DirecTV's lowest priced package, their Entertainment Package, that includes 140 satellite TV channels along with your local TV stations, 10,000 On Demand streaming videos, together with 3 free months of Cinemax, Showtime, HBO, and Starz. With this particular package you receive a free satellite TV system in as many as 4 rooms of your home, and also a Genie HD DVR receiver.
The Genie DVR lets you record up to 4 TV shows at one time, and also pause, fast forward, and rewind live TV programs. It can record as many as 1,000 hours of programs, plus you can share recordings with each of the televisions in your home.
A qualified installer technician will install your new system free of charge, and after setting it up will show you how to operate it.
Cable television Offer
The average rate for cable is $39.99 a month for 180 television channels. When you buy a cable television subscription you get a DVR that will rewind, pause, and fast forward through live TV, and also record 2 programs at once. A number of service providers offer streaming video service, and some do not. Installation for cable television is either free in some areas, and upwards of $25 in other areas.
The Bottom Line
Dish Network's offers continue to be the very best TV offers available. Their America's Top 120 package deal is $5 per month cheaper than DirecTV's best offer and you get 50 more TV channels, 15,000 more streaming videos, a video recorder that records 2 more shows at one time and holds 1,000 hours more programming.
This package is $15 cheaper than cable TV, with 10 more channels, plus it gives you the ability to record more programs simultaneously and has much more storage capacity.
Click the following link for additional information about Dish Network TV offers plus where to find their very best deals.
Click the following link to watch a video clip about Dish Network TV offers and where to find their best deals.
Optical fibre cable is very common on both commercial and home use. Fibre optic cabling is a medium used to transmit data with the use of light. The type of light used is either diodes or infra-red. These infrared lights are used in advanced industrial applications in fields like telecommunication and computer network.
Optical cabling is faster and more accurate way of sending data from one point to another. This fibre cables are used by more and more companies in sending data as compared to traditional metal cables for new installations. Multi-core fibre cabling contain more than thousands of separate cores that allows thousand separate lines of communication to transfer in whatever form necessary. These optical fibre cabling installations is the evolution of communication in the future.
With the transfer of data in a faster, cleaner and with less interference, optical fibre cable is no doubt the top choice of different companies in transmitting voice, data, and videos. Here are some of the applications of fibre optics in communications:
1. Common Network Carrier. Nationwide networks that has common network carrier. This may include trunk lines for different offices.
2. Ease of Use. Optical fibre cable improve ease of use. These types of cables are small and flexible that can be installed in different settings. Due to the fact that these cables reduced interference, these can also useful in electrical and radio purposes.
3. Centralized and Flexible. Fibre optics is centralized and flexible. This is to facilitate the light signals that transmit from the end of the cable to another. The data transmission uses the light; it is definitely faster than any other types or means of communication.
4. Capable of Transmitting Large Amount of Information. Optical cables can carry large amounts of data. In terms of band width it's very much higher than any other cable. These are greatly used for computer set-up to effectively transfer data and information.
5. Less data loss. Since optical fibres use light when transmitting information, it can travel faster than electric currents. Also, since data is transmitted in the form of light pulses, no external currents can disrupt the transmission.
6. Not Expensive. Fibre optic cabling will not cost much and easy to install.
These are the main points about optical fibre and its application. If you want a more effective form of data transmission, use fibre optics. It is the future of communication and networking.
There are different kinds of fibre optic solution that can make life easier. If you want to understand how optical fibre works and its importance to the community, visit AFC Group, a fibre optic solution company in Australia.
The other day, I overheard a conversation between a gentleman and two friends, where he noted that Volkswagon was building US Factories and how that was thought to mean more jobs - turns out that the same job before done by 1000s of autoworkers can be done with about 100 and tons of robotics. So, the jobs creation windfall is ho-hum in many regards. We have noted that productivity in manufacturing is way up these days, and manufacturers in the US are competing in some industries, but it is perhaps more about robots than people - but yes, the profits of these corporations do please shareholders.
Did a robot steal your job (yet) might be a very worthy question to ask my loyal readers today?
There was an interesting piece in "the Writer" September Issue titled; "Not for Robots - In a Technological World, Let Us Not Forget That Behind Every Good Virtual Worker Is a Human - and Some Sweet," by Cynthia Joyce. This article got me thinking, as I dozed off into another world, considering the future of work, and the relationship between humans and robots. Yes, let's talk shall we?
As it stands now, behind every robot is a human, controlling it, designing it, building it, maintaining it, and giving it instructions on what to do - setting it up for the next assignment or manufacturing run if you will. So, is the human really behind it, or is it behind the human? You say, "semantics," but I say, "this is a relevant and important philosophical argument and topic." Of course this whole question is a take-off of the old saying; "behind every good man is a woman," but today you might say behind every good woman is a man, a robot, or perhaps another woman," and yes, society in the US has changed a bit.
So, who is behind whom, or does it really matter. Well, when it comes to our Artificially Intelligent tools, it does matter. For instance who is flying the South Korean Boeing 777 flying into SFO on a sunny afternoon? Who is driving the train in Spain, speeding down the tracks? Who is writing your articles, or is it a combination of spell-checker, fact-checker, cite-checkers, SIRI correction features, Dragon Naturally Speaking, or some software derivative maker? See the problem? The Wall Street Journal had a tongue and cheek piece not long ago which noted; "give a chimpanzee an iPad and eventually he'll write like Shakespeare," and I'd just like to leave you with all these thoughts today.
Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net
For businesses that rely heavily on their production process, they have to make sure that everything is going fine and that the flow of work is smooth. Doing so will eventually guarantee them high and sustainable profits.
There are actually plenty of options a business leader can pick to ensure this objective is carried out. One, you can hire skilled individuals who can produce quality products efficiently and fast. Another strategy you can do is to purchase state-of-the-art machines that can help your current workers speed up the production process. However, this selection is quite expensive. Although it is a good investment, in today's competitive market and not so good economy, incurring another expenditure is not really a nice move. Same with the first option. As seen in a lot of companies, business leaders have decided to decrease the number of their employees so they can keep up with the economic crisis. To be exact, employment rates in several countries have already dropped.
The last and probably the best choice considering the current state of the financial market is regular machine maintenance. Since the economy is still reeling from the crisis, this option is better when taking into consideration the company's expenses. Moreover, machineries have a long life and by taking good care of them you can actually prolong their life. The longer they stay operational, the less money you need to devote on buying new ones.
At the moment, there are already numerous machine repair firms in the market and most of them really offer quality service. Therefore, you will not actually have a hard time locating one that will suffice your demands as well as necessities. You can try having a contract with them so you can save more. Some upkeep firms honor loyalty and by making a deal with them that they will handle all your machine maintenance undertaking, you can ask them to give you a discount.
Aside from the high savings and low operational expenditures, doing regular equipment upkeep will likewise help lower down the cases of accidents in your company. When machines are not in their best condition, they may explode. Such incident will likely end up in a work accident that may injure or kill employees on duty. However, if you have a team assigned to regularly check the performance of the equipment, you are assured that everything is in order. And when this happens, your worker can assume their roles effectively. You will actually notice an increased production since your process is good and does not have any setbacks.
Rush Engineering Maintenance is the perfect go to when it comes to equipment upkeep and repairs.
We've all seen it on our favorite detective shows on TV. The computer expert is trying to access someone's account. In no time the expert guesses the password - it was the name of the subject's daughter.
It can happen to you. If you use passwords like names, dates, and addresses then somebody else may be able to guess them. Unscrupulous people can then gain access to your accounts.
Don't think that people can't guess your passwords. People who know you also know what you like. If they want to break into one of your accounts, they can start guessing based on the things you like. A funny example of this is the Seinfeld episode The Secret Code in which Kramer is able to guess George's ATM code.
So just what is a strong password? It is by definition is one that is hard to guess. A combination of random letters and numbers is a strong password. Including both uppercase and lowercase letters makes it stronger. Passwords also need to be long enough to make them harder to guess. It is a good idea to have your passwords at least 10 characters long. If your login allows it, including symbols such as @ or $ will make them even stronger.
An example of a strong password is "uxSivy1UQ8". An example of a password including symbols is "Q6Su4^3Gb@". Passwords like this are impossible to guess and will help keep your login accounts secure.
All this seems great in theory but hard to implement in practice. After all, how does someone create a strong password? People are just not good at coming up with random numbers and letters. If you just smash letters on your keyboard to make a password, then you will probably come up with combinations such as "qwerty" which happen to be common passwords that hackers will try. Even if you had some method of coming up with strong passwords, how would you remember them?
The answer is to use a password manager program. Such programs will generate strong passwords. They will also store them on your computer.
There are some other points to keep in mind to protect your identity. It is important to use a different password for each of your logins. This way a hacker who gains access to a password on one of your logins won't be able to use it for anything else. And of course, never give your passwords to anyone, even if they seem legitimate. So called "phishing" scams work by sending you an email that seems to be from your bank but in reality is just a trick with the purpose of getting your password. The best advice here is to never login from an email.
In summary, you can protect your identity with strong passwords by doing the following:
- Always use strong passwords, consisting of random uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers for all your logins.
- Use a password manager to generate and store your passwords.
- Use a different password for each login.
- Don't give your passwords to anyone no matter how legitimate they may seem.
- Avoid phishing scams by not logging in from emails you receive.
A powerful and user friendly password manager program is Harp Password, available at http://www.harppassword.com. With Harp Password you can generate strong passwords and store them securely on your computer.
"Technology in the long-run is irrelevant". That is what a customer of mine told me when I made a presentation to him about a new product. I had been talking about the product's features and benefits and listed "state-of-the-art technology" or something to that effect, as one of them. That is when he made his statement. I realized later that he was correct, at least within the context of how I used "Technology" in my presentation. But I began thinking about whether he could be right in other contexts as well.
What is Technology?
Merriam-Webster defines it as:
1
a: the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area: engineering 2 <medical technology>
b: a capability given by the practical application of knowledge <a car's fuel-saving technology>
2
: a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge
3
: the specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor <educational technology>
Wikipedia defines it as:
Technology (from Greek τÎχνη, techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -λογία, -logia[1]) is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, including machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include construction technology, medical technology, and information technology.
Both definitions revolve around the same thing - application and usage.
Technology is an enabler
Many people mistakenly believe it is technology which drives innovation. Yet from the definitions above, that is clearly not the case. It is opportunity which defines innovation and technology which enables innovation. Think of the classic "Build a better mousetrap" example taught in most business schools. You might have the technology to build a better mousetrap, but if you have no mice or the old mousetrap works well, there is no opportunity and then the technology to build a better one becomes irrelevant. On the other hand, if you are overrun with mice then the opportunity exists to innovate a product using your technology.
Another example, one with which I am intimately familiar, are consumer electronics startup companies. I've been associated with both those that succeeded and those that failed. Each possessed unique leading edge technologies. The difference was opportunity. Those that failed could not find the opportunity to develop a meaningful innovation using their technology. In fact to survive, these companies had to morph oftentimes into something totally different and if they were lucky they could take advantage of derivatives of their original technology. More often than not, the original technology wound up in the scrap heap. Technology, thus, is an enabler whose ultimate value proposition is to make improvements to our lives. In order to be relevant, it needs to be used to create innovations that are driven by opportunity.
Technology as a competitive advantage?
Many companies list a technology as one of their competitive advantages. Is this valid? In some cases yes, but In most cases no.
Technology develops along two paths - an evolutionary path and a revolutionary path.
A revolutionary technology is one which enables new industries or enables solutions to problems that were previously not possible. Semiconductor technology is a good example. Not only did it spawn new industries and products, but it spawned other revolutionary technologies - transistor technology, integrated circuit technology, microprocessor technology. All which provide many of the products and services we consume today. But is semiconductor technology a competitive advantage? Looking at the number of semiconductor companies that exist today (with new ones forming every day), I'd say not. How about microprocessor technology? Again, no. Lots of microprocessor companies out there. How about quad core microprocessor technology? Not as many companies, but you have Intel, AMD, ARM, and a host of companies building custom quad core processors (Apple, Samsung, Qualcomm, etc). So again, not much of a competitive advantage. Competition from competing technologies and easy access to IP mitigates the perceived competitive advantage of any particular technology. Android vs iOS is a good example of how this works. Both operating systems are derivatives of UNIX. Apple used their technology to introduce iOS and gained an early market advantage. However, Google, utilizing their variant of Unix (a competing technology), caught up relatively quickly. The reasons for this lie not in the underlying technology, but in how the products made possible by those technologies were brought to market (free vs. walled garden, etc.) and the differences in the strategic visions of each company.
Evolutionary technology is one which incrementally builds upon the base revolutionary technology. But by it's very nature, the incremental change is easier for a competitor to match or leapfrog. Take for example wireless cellphone technology. Company V introduced 4G products prior to Company A and while it may have had a short term advantage, as soon as Company A introduced their 4G products, the advantage due to technology disappeared. The consumer went back to choosing Company A or Company V based on price, service, coverage, whatever, but not based on technology. Thus technology might have been relevant in the short term, but in the long term, became irrelevant.
In today's world, technologies tend to quickly become commoditized, and within any particular technology lies the seeds of its own death.
Technology's Relevance
This article was written from the prospective of an end customer. From a developer/designer standpoint things get murkier. The further one is removed from the technology, the less relevant it becomes. To a developer, the technology can look like a product. An enabling product, but a product nonetheless, and thus it is highly relevant. Bose uses a proprietary signal processing technology to enable products that meet a set of market requirements and thus the technology and what it enables is relevant to them. Their customers are more concerned with how it sounds, what's the price, what's the quality, etc., and not so much with how it is achieved, thus the technology used is much less relevant to them.
Recently, I was involved in a discussion on Google+ about the new Motorola X phone. A lot of the people on those posts slammed the phone for various reasons - price, locked boot loader, etc. There were also plenty of knocks on the fact that it didn't have a quad-core processor like the S4 or HTC One which were priced similarly. What they failed to grasp is that whether the manufacturer used 1, 2, 4, or 8 cores in the end makes no difference as long as the phone can deliver a competitive (or even best of class) feature set, functionality, price, and user experience. The iPhone is one of the most successful phones ever produced, and yet it runs on a dual-core processor. It still delivers one of the best user experiences on the market. The features that are enabled by the technology are what are relevant to the consumer, not the technology itself.
The relevance of technology therefore, is as an enabler, not as a product feature or a competitive advantage, or any myriad of other things - an enabler. Looking at the Android operating system, it is an impressive piece of software technology, and yet Google gives it away. Why? Because standalone, it does nothing for Google. Giving it away allows other companies to use their expertise to build products and services which then act as enablers for Google's products and services. To Google, that's where the real value is.
The possession of or access to a technology is only important for what it enables you to do - create innovations which solve problems. That is the real relevance of technology.
Socializing for most people is easy, but there are some who find this activity very daunting. Making friends is hard; the shy types are always staying home and curling up with a good book. Burying their lives in the pages of any novel they are interested, has been the life they lead. Now comes the wonderful world of social networking, and there is a new lease on life. They can be a different person on the line. The shy girl or boy is able to have a healthy conversation with any stranger and not feel shy or self conscious. Why is this? The person they speak with is not able to see them, so, what ever inhibitions they may have is gone for the time spent on line with their new found friend.
There are many social sites which have mushroomed in a short time since the invention of Facebook. People will log on to any of these sites in order to find a friend, or link with friends they need to make plans with; others use these sites to find long lost relatives. I did, I found my brother whom I have not seen in 10 years. This was a truly happy time for me. People use these sites to find school mates, make business contacts and to get information about any social event that they may be interested in attending.
There are Match Making sites, which lonely people use to find romance. This works out for some people while others are disappointed. Some find love and eventually get married while there are some who may end up meeting the wrong sort of person, and they are truly disappointed. There are risks in using these social sites to find a date. Many terrible things happen during these meetings, so the best way to go about this is always planning group socials, where you know all the people you go out with.
Planning events is another way of using social networking intervention. The events are sent through cyberspace and a lot of people will view your event and attend. Friends will see the posting and make plans to attend, in this way; you will probably see people you have not seen for a long time. So reunions are possible. However you choose to use social networking because it is a growing trend you may wake up one day and there are new methods to this innovative creation. The world is getting smaller; the utilization of this technology will increase as people find many more innovative ways to use this system.
There's no doubt that cloud-based services make it easier to connect users around the globe, but the performance can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Relying on Internet connections alone to shuttle data back and forth leaves the system open to lags in service and a higher security risk as the Internet uses public addresses along the way. To create access to a dedicated private core network and still use the cloud, you can opt for a cloud accelerator.
Private Versus Public Networks
The more distance an information packet travels, the more potential for data loss or security holes. When information is being passed across the Internet, the path is unpredictable and the results are similarly unforeseeable. A cloud accelerator can make use of a dedicated private core network that links as close as possible to where services are being offered. By making use of distributed POPs close to business users around the world, a cloud accelerator can make the transactions on a cloud-based service more predictable and secure. It helps to optimize performance and security for transactions that may be too far from the original business to make use of their own private network. By using a cloud accelerator with this model, it can make it seem like your business network is bigger and more efficient than it really is and thus, service more people around the world with fewer problems along the way.
What You Can Expect from a Cloud Accelerator
The benefits of this on a private network offer many advantages. Most businesses have specific cloud-based services in mind when they are looking for a cloud accelerator. They can help optimize performance for users in the following ways:
High Performance Connections to Amazon Services - Wouldn't it be great if you didn't have to rely on the reliability of a poor Internet connection to make sure a customer's online experience was best it could be? Some things are outside the capacity of a business to affect, but using a this means at least the cloud-based Amazon services can be optimized. Using private distributed networks at the point of business use will help speed up performance that is seamless to a connecting customer.
High Performance Connections to SaaS applications - It's not just the customers who need a cloud accelerator. Businesses using SaaS applications need one to optimize performance when connection to SaaS applications worldwide. With security an importance issue on cloud-based services, a private distributed network that also accelerates performance can be exactly what a business needs to use SaaS applications.
Maxwell Pierce is an expert in cloud computing and technology. He predicts that cloud accelerator by Aryaka will be the solutions to performance delivery for global companies.
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