What exactly is meant by the term “open data”? More specifically, what does it mean for your small business?
Open data is the concept of certain data being freely available to anyone who wants to use it, without concern for patents, copyrights, or other methods of control.
Sometimes, you just have to know when to quit.
Yes, we’re talking about your business, and I know you’ve poured your heart and soul into it. You’ve probably logged too many hours to count into making a go of it, and for you, it was more than “just” a business.
Building a company app can open up all sorts of doors for you. It can lead to new marketing frontiers, provide better and more up to the minute information to your customers, provide information tailored to your customers based on their purchase histories, and provide you with more detailed and complete information about who your customers actually are and what motivates them.
You’ve probably been hearing about it. There’s a bug…a security hole on the internet in the secure socket layer called “Heartbleed.” You may not understand some of the words I just typed. You may not think it matters, but this one matters. This one matters very much indeed.
Once upon a time, the adult attention span was twelve minutes. An average adult could stay focused on a task for twelve minutes without becoming distracted. In today’s modern, 24/7, always-on world, the average adult attention span is down to five minutes.
Biometric technology is a technology of the now. It’s already fairly well developed and advanced. Not to say that additional advances aren’t coming, but you won’t have to wait five or ten years, or longer, to see how it is already shaping business.
There are some in management, not many, but some, who live and breathe the notion of the Mission Statement. These people tend to be almost evangelical about it, preaching the gospel and importance of having one. More than that, they let everyone who will listen know what their company’s Mission Statement is, and why it’s wonderful.
In order to understand why “re-shoring” makes sense, you’ve first got to understand why off-shoring made sense. Off-shoring (along with “downsizing” and “rightsizing”- probably two of the most despised terms in business) began in earnest in the 1980′s, due to reforms made by the Chinese government, beginning in 1978. Those reforms took time to take root, but once they did, it changed the game in big ways.
More American-based companies than ever are doing business in China, or at least learning from their Eastern counterparts. This trend doesn’t only apply to large businesses, but smaller ones too. This movement is fueled by the fact that China is more technology advanced than it ever has been, and is anxious to do business.
In many ways, Star Trek invented the world we live in today. Don’t believe me? Go back and watch a few episodes of the original TV show. You’ll see the communications officer wearing something that could pass for a Bluetooth device today. You’ll also see floppy disks (already here and gone the way of the dinosaur), handheld/tablet devices, and a whole array of other techno-gadgets that were thought to be fantastical enough in their nature to delight audiences around the world.
