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Category Archives: Business
Will one million dollars be enough for retirement?
I have been thinking a lot about if I will have enough time and money to do all the things I would like to in this life. I consider myself lucky when considering the opportunities I have had thus far. … Continue reading
How do Michigan colleges and universities measure up?
Julie Mack, blogger for the Kalamazoo Gazette, reported on August 4, 2011 that Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College made the list of “best colleges” published by Forbes and Princeton Review. Julie’s post caught my attention because I live in … Continue reading
Designing for mobile: The Amazon Kindle and user experience
When I visited Amazon.com on the morning of Nov. 14, 2010 I saw something which caught my eye: an advertisement for the Amazon Kindle showing how consistent and simple it is to buy a book and use it regardless of your electronic device or software preferences. Amazon has invested significant time and effort to make reading electronic texts, news, and periodicals an intuitive and friendly experience. Might this be an exemplary standard that designers, developers, and content creators should consider when planning for delivery of mobile content and services? Continue reading
Posted in Business, Design
Tagged accessibility, marketing, mobile, strategy, user experience
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Building brand awareness with 30-year-old videogames
Will the ability to play a classic text-based adventure stoke your desire to purchase an Amazon Kindle? Probably not. However, Amazon has figured out a clever way to build awareness of the Kindle by leveraging the brand equity of Zork–a videogame that inspires nostalgia amongst those who spent time in the late 70s and early 80s imagining an epic world as they clacked away on their IBM Model M keyboards and basked in the glow of green or amber monitors. Continue reading
Stop trying to solve problems once and for all
How often have you speculated about the outstanding results you could achieve if you simply had enough time to figure out a perfect solution? Have you entertained the idea that, if coworkers would just listen to you or adopt new attitudes and processes, you could finally achieve success? Hey, you are not alone! Being effective at work and producing good results is something that requires creativity, problem solving, and teamwork. However, the pursuit of a perfect solution or process (i.e., you will never have to make adjustments or changes again) is a foolish endeavor. Continue reading
How to succeed in teamwork, lessons from academia
How do you feel when asked to complete work as part of a team? For many, the prospect of teamwork fuels feelings of anxiety and dread — a reaction to multiple occasions where expectations and experiences didn’t match up during completion of team-based work. The frustration associated with teamwork may be attributed to instances where an individual felt they were asked to complete more than their “fair share” of work. Others may feel angst because “teamwork,” for them, means seeing associates dominate aspects of the project, completing work in isolation, and returning to the group with “the solution.” The solution being something that the team never discussed, provided input on, or had time to influence before fast approaching deadlines. I think that teamwork can be a wonderful thing. However, in order to make teamwork a good experience for everyone involved it is essential to first learn how to work in teams (i.e., we suck at team work because we don’t know how to work in teams — we have not been taught to collaborate effectively). Continue reading
The value and importance of feedback
Each day we get up, eat breakfast, and prepare ourselves for the day ahead. Outside, the world is a symphony of sound as we speak and listen, move things around, and ride or drive to far off destinations. Our life … Continue reading
YouTube adds privacy options to videos
Jennifer Van Grove, writing for Mashable, gave readers the the heads up that YouTube has included a useful new privacy setting for user uploaded videos: you can flag a video as “unlisted” — meaning, if you have a link to … Continue reading
Posted in Business
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Social-Networks searched for activity of delinquent tax payers
According to an article written by Laura Saunders and published by the Wall Street Journal, social media tools are now being used by revenue agents in California, Minnesota, and Nebraska to gather information about delinquent tax payers. Agents are browsing … Continue reading
John Wooden on the difference between winning and success
Wisdom.
Posted in Business
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