Startup Companies Need to Remain Vigilant and Be Alert to Cybersecurity Threats | The Startup Magazine

May 23, 2022May 22, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Startup companies can be lauded for their innovation, creativity and imaginative thinking, and rightly so. However, when it comes to cybersecurity issues and resolving them, perhaps not all startups know what to do or what to look out for. They often don’t have the cybersecurity tips they need to protect their assets.

One of the most important aspects a business leader can research and ask themselves is what is cyber threat intelligence? By the knowing the full details about that, business leaders can fully prepare themselves with the knowledge of knowing what to look out for.

If cybersecurity issues are left unattended, then this can contribute to devastating fraud consequences. Without effective security measures in place, fraudsters can easily take advantage of things.

In 2021, the estimated daily cost of fraud surpassed £375m, and this was the equivalent of consumers being able to purchase over 136 million daily cups of coffee!

With that in mind, let’s explore what cybersecurity measures can be taken to resolve any issues, as per the following ideas:

Netflix cuts 150 US-based jobs after losing subscribers | BBC News

May 20, 2022May 19, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Netflix has made about 150 staff redundant, a month after the streaming service said it was losing subscribers for the first time in a decade. The redundancies, announced by the entertainment giant on Tuesday, will mainly affect its US office in California. They account for about 2% of its North American workforce. Netflix said the job losses were due to the slump in the company’s revenue. The streaming service is battling an exodus of viewers this year.

Why All Employers Should Pay Attention to This New Employee Monitoring Law in New York | Inc.com

May 20, 2022May 19, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

As if you need another reason to avoid spying on your employees.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a civil rights law last November directing private employers to notify employees if they’re being monitored. The law, which went into effect earlier this month, may hold ramifications for employers more broadly, if other local lawmakers follow suit. Connecticut already hosts a similar measure, where employers in the state must issue written notice to employees if they’re being electronically monitored.

Sony confirms its new PlayStation Plus tiers will launch on June 13, reveals list of games | TechCrunch

May 19, 2022May 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Sony announced today that its revamped PlayStation Plus gaming subscription tiers will launch in the United States on June 13th. The new PlayStation Plus tiers offer similar benefits to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass, which gives users access to a library of rotating games for a monthly fee. Sony has also released a list of games that will be available during the launch time frame. It’s worth noting that Sony’s new subscription tiers won’t include new first-party games, such as “Horizon Zero Dawn and “Horizon Forbidden West,” at least not at launch.

The lowest tier of the subscription service is called “PlayStation Plus Essential” and comes with the same benefits that PlayStation Plus members have today and costs $9.99 per month. The middle tier, which is called “PlayStation Plus Extra,” comes with all the same perks as the Essential tier but includes a selection of up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. Sony notes that games in the Extra tier can be downloaded for online play. The Extra tier costs $14.99 per month.

People Are Dating All Wrong, According to Data Science | WIRED

May 19, 2022May 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

WHOM SHOULD YOU marry?

This may be the most consequential decision of a person’s life. The billionaire investor Warren Buffett certainly thinks so. He calls whom you marry “the most important decision that you make.”

And yet people have rarely turned to science for help with this all-important decision. Truth be told, science has had little help to offer. Scholars of relationship science have been trying to find answers. But it has proven difficult and expensive to recruit large samples of couples. The studies in this field tended to rely on tiny samples, and different studies often showed conflicting results. In 2007, the distinguished scholar Harry Reis of the University of Rochester compared the field of relationship science to an adolescent: “sprawling, at times unruly, and perhaps more mysterious than we might wish.”

Autonomous Passenger Bus | Cool Business Ideas

May 18, 2022May 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Fusion Processing has announced that an autonomous public transport project will start on-road testing this week, en route to beginning a new 14-mile pilot service ferrying passengers across a long-span suspension bridge in Scotland later this year.

Fusion Processing has partnered with Stagecoach, Alexander Dennis Ltd, Transport Scotland, Edinburgh Napier University and Bristol Robotics Laboratory for the CAVForth project, which has been in the works since 2020.

The pilot project will see five single-deck SAE Level 4 autonomous Dennis Enviro200 buses rolling over the Firth of Forth via the 1.5-mile-long (2.5-km) Forth Road Bridge to carry passengers between Ferrytool Park & Ride in Fife and the Edinburgh Train and Tram interchange.

Emotional Intelligence | Getentrepreneurial.com

May 18, 2022May 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Emotionally intelligent employees and managers bring tremendous value to companies.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand your emotions and recognize the emotions and motivations of those around you.
Emotional intelligence counts for twice as much as IQ and technical skills combined in determining who will be a top workplace performer.
When hiring for emotional intelligence, ask interview questions that prompt job candidates to describe their actions in past situations.
This article is for small business owners and managers interested in hiring emotionally intelligent employees.

There are many traits to look for when hiring exemplary employees. You’ll consider the candidate’s past job experience, aptitude and culture fit. However, you should focus on one trait above all else: emotional intelligence (EQ).

Twitter CEO Breaks Silence on Exodus of Execs, Hiring Freeze and Musk Bid: ‘We Need to Be Prepared for All Scenarios’ | Entrepreneur

May 17, 2022May 16, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The transition from Twitter being a publicly traded company led by CEO Parag Agrawal to a privately-held company owned by billionaire Elon Musk has been anything but smooth and drama free.

Musk’s purchase, which is widely expected to close by the end of 2022, has been the cause of contention among shareholders Twitter employees who have been vocal about their concerns for the company moving forward.

It seems as though some of these concerns were well-founded last week when Agrawal told employees that two top Twitter execs — Kayvon Beykpour (general manager of consumer) and Bruce Falck (revenue product lead — would be leaving the company, shortly after Musk himself explained that his bid on the company was “on hold” pending an accurate report of what percentage of Twitter users are actually bots and spam accounts.

Agrawal did not publicly comment on the matter at the time but took to Twitter over the weekend to break his silence regarding Musk’s deal and the departure of the employees, noting that he does “expect the deal to close.”

Netflix is working on adding live streaming to its service, report claims | Mashable

May 17, 2022May 15, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Netflix wants to do it live.

So reports Deadline, which notes that the streaming giant is “exploring” bringing live streaming to its service. That’s right, live entertainment — presumably with none of the pausing, rewinding, or fast-forwarding we’ve all come to take for granted in our post cord-cutting world.

The move into live entertainment would follow on Netflix’s apparent plan to add an ad-supported tier to the subscription platform sometime this year, and would reportedly focus on stand-up specials and unscripted shows.

Stocks week ahead: How resilient is the US consumer? | CNN

May 16, 2022May 15, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Worries about an economic slowdown are running wild on Wall Street. Despite concerns about inflation, higher interest rates from the Federal Reserve, supply chain issues and geopolitical turmoil due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Covid outbreaks in China, American consumers continue to do what they do best: shop until they drop.

Retail sales rose at a healthy 0.5% clip in March when compared to February and were up 6.9% from March 2021. Economists are expecting that the strong trend for retail lasted into April as well. The government will report retail sales figures for April on Tuesday. Forecasts are calling for a 0.7% jump from March levels.

In other words, experts don’t think negative headlines and recent market turmoil slowed down consumer spending.