Category: Tools and Information

OzoneAI wants companies to pay you for your data, upending the ad model | TechCrunch

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Imagine this. Instead of giving away your personal data so web giants can show you ads, you cut out the middle person and allow advertisers to pay you directly for your data.

It’s a novel idea for a new startup that bills itself as a “data privacy” company.

OzoneAI says it preserves users’ privacy by allowing them more granular controls over who gets their data. In the startup’s utopian vision, companies can skip over the major advertising giants like Google and Facebook and buy access to anonymized data from the users themselves. That could mean companies buying your Spotify playlists, your Amazon wish list, or your access to your social media. The user is paid for the access, and the company gets to use the data for better targeting their ads.

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Microsoft Surface Duo, Surface Neo, Surface Phone: Details, Specs, Release Date | WIRED

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No matter what you do, do not call the new Surface phone a phone. You can call it a Surface, a mobile product, a dual-screen device, a new kind of 2-in-1, a pathway to the all-important cloud. But Panos Panay, Microsoft’s chief product officer, doesn’t want you to call it a phone.

Never mind that the thing slips in and out of the pocket of Panay’s salt-and-pepper tweed blazer exactly the way a smartphone would. Or that one of the earliest scenes in the marketing video for the thing, with its slow, fetishized swirls of the gadget, shows a woman picking it up to her ear and saying “Hello?” the way you would with, well, you know. Or that Panay himself admits he makes what are universally known as a “phone calls” from it.

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11 Affordable Employee-Morale Boosters | Entrepreneur

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You can’t manufacture an employee’s positive morale. What you can do is influence components of their daily work environment. Leaders hold the cards to creating a culture in which every individual’s positive contributions are recognized and rewarded.

Gallup has consistently reported that engaged and motivated employees are committed, love their roles and care about what happens to the company they work for. When people feel valued, trust is fostered. When companies create flexible work environments, people feel empowered to lead their own lives and careers. When people are given options, the message they receive is that they are valued. Here are 11 ways you can relay that message without breaking your company’s budget.

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Why There’s a Breakdown Before the Breakthrough | Getentrepreneurial.com

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Have you ever decided you were ready for a big breakthrough and, instead, found yourself in the middle of a big breakdown?

Maybe it looks like this. You’ve decided. You’re finally starting your business or writing your book or launching that new program.

You’ve been getting signs from the Universe that this IS the step to take in order to have that massive breakthrough. You’re excited. You’re committed. And you take that big step.

And, you fall flat on your face.

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American Women Continue to Spur Business Growth | Business News Daily

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Small businesses are a major part of the American economy, and women appear to run them better. Small businesses fuel job growth, generate taxes and make up a large percentage of American businesses overall. While immigrants and other groups have carved out a large portion of this segment of the economy, a newly released survey suggests an even bigger demographic contributes to the small business landscape: women.

The ninth annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report estimates that approximately 42% of all American businesses are owned by women. That block of businesses generates $1.9 trillion and employs 9.4 million workers. According to the study, commissioned earlier this year by American Express, women with “diverse ethnic and geographic backgrounds started an average of 1,817 new businesses per day.”

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How to Turn a Bad Attitude into a Positive One | Life Hack

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These days, the phrase “bad attitude” gets thrown around quite often. You use it regularly and barely stop to think what it actually means. It’s just the nail technician has some bad attitude when you asked her to redo your toes. Your younger sister has a bad attitude when you offered her to put her phone down while you are having a conversation. Your boss has a bad attitude because the deal did not go through.

With the ease that the label “bad attitude” gets applied these days, it is unlikely that you catch yourself saying “I have a bad attitude today.” Though having it is something that you rarely consciously admit to yourself, your own bad attitude is more impactful on you than the attitude of anybody else around.

Staying in a company of people with a bad attitude is something you can choose. It’s similar to an elevator that stinks when you walk in. You suffer for a couple of floors but then you walk out. And soon enough, you manage to erase the unpleasant encounter out of your mind.

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How Much ‘Paid Time Off’ Should Your Company Offer Employees? | AllBusiness.com

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As summer draws to a close, have your employees taken advantage of all the paid vacation time available to them? Workers who don’t take sufficient time off can suffer from stress and burnout, making them less effective at their jobs. Yet a survey by employee scheduling and time tracking software provider TSheets reports that many U.S. employees don’t take advantage of employee paid time off (PTO). Here’s a closer look at what the survey found.

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Employee Education Key for Small Business to Prevent Cyber Attacks | Small Business Trends

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The Chubb’s Third Annual Cyber Report reveals employee education is key for small businesses to prevent cyberattacks. Even with headline after headline about the latest data breach, people are not encouraged to defend against their cyber exposure.

The goal of the report is to determine the level of understanding individuals have about their cyber risks. While at the same time looking at the steps they are taking to protect themselves.

For small businesses with limited resources, complacency can have detrimental consequences. This is because the chance of a small company going out of business after a cyberattack is highly likely. And the best way to defend themselves is by making everyone in the company more aware.

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Behaviors That Prevent Your Business From Growing | business.com

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Some of your behaviors are preventing your business from growing as you want it to.

You are working countless hours, sacrificing your time, being tenacious when things are not going your way and feeling exhausted most of the time. Unfortunately, being a small business owner can sometimes feel like a thankless job.

On the surface, when things feel like they are at a standstill, no matter how hard you try to grow, you might automatically think that what you need is just a little more time or just a bit more money and then things will finally turn for you. Knee-jerk reactions to this way of thinking may make you seek a loan to increase your cash flow or extend your operational hours to increase your capacity, but in reality, those might not be the things you need at all.

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How to Get the Best From the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus Camera | Digital Trends

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The Galaxy Note 10 Plus is the best looking Note smartphone Samsung has ever made, especially in the stunning aura glow color, but what about the camera? The good news is, it’s one of Samsung’s best too, and if you’ve grabbed this great phone with the intention of snapping some pictures worthy of its flagship status, we’ve got a full guide on how to get the most from it. Not grabbed one yet? Read our Note 10 Plus review to find out why you should.

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