How To Be Smarter In The Age Of Information Overload | Lifehack

July 20, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We live in the digital age, where we can access huge swathes of information with the single click of a button. Given the fact that access to these data-sets is unrestricted, however, we are often exposed to an information overload whenever we research a specific subject or search query online. This can not only be mentally exhausting, but it also confuses and fragments our thinking over time.

To negate this, you will need to digital age an overload of information and adopt skills that will enable you to think with greater purpose and clarity.

Creative Expert Danny Schuman on Generating Great Ideas Daily | Blinkist

July 20, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Anyone who’s ever spent an age agonizing over the perfect witty comment in a greeting card will know that being creative is not easy. But what about those whose job it is to be creative all the time? How do you prime yourself for Eureka moments day after day after day? To help find an answer we asked Danny Schuman, someone in this exact predicament. Danny, who founded Twist, a Chicago-based brand marketing consultancy which has helped brands like PepsiCo, Allstate and MillerCoors, has spent his life generating great ideas that meet difficult challenges. Here’s a glimpse into how he primes himself to stay creative.

Are Online Business Loans Safe? | All Business

July 20, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you run a small business, the ability to evaluate commercial or business financing options is essential. At some point your business will probably reach a critical juncture when it will need a cash infusion–whether it’s to help cover operations during a lean period or to fund a growth initiative to take your business to the next level. When borrowing money is the only choice, startups and fledgling businesses, unfortunately, have historically been left with few options.

Thanks to the advent of online lending, small businesses today have an alternative for borrowing money that is convenient and quick. However, before doing business with an online lender, it’s important to ascertain whether the lender is legitimate and if your business’s identity will be in safe hands.

Iris Scans to Replace Fingerprints | Live Science

July 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

FBI officials have scanned the irises of nearly 460,000 people in a pilot program that may soon replace fingerprints. While iris-scanning technology has been around for more than 25 years, it’s just now getting to where it’s fast, easy and relatively bug-free.

“It’s a powerful biometric,” said Patrick Grother, a computer scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., who has been developing algorithms and software for iris scanning. “It’s fast to process, it has discriminative power — my iris doesn’t look like your iris, and it has reasonable permanence.”

Pokémon Go continues its worldwide march, now live in the UK | TechCrunch

July 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

One of the more interesting side effects from the explosion of new mobile AR game Pokémon Go is physical movement: a lot of people are finding themselves walking miles and miles (and miles) more than they normally would as they search for PokéStops, load up on PokéBalls, and (of course) track down more Pokémon. Now the game itself — which originally launched in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. — is doing a bit of travelling of its own: as of this morning, Pokémon Go is now live in the UK both on iOS and Android.

Entrepreneur Salaries: How Much Should You Pay Yourself? | Business News Daily

July 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When you’re thinking about your business expenses, one of the easiest items to overlook is your own salary.

According to the 2016 American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, just over half (51 percent) of business owners pay themselves a salary. But Alice Bredin, a B2B marketing entrepreneur and small business adviser for OPEN, emphasized the importance of including your own pay in the budget as soon as you can afford to do so.

8 Tips For Converting Blog Readers Into Customers | Getentrepreneurial

July 13, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When it comes to content marketing, getting visitors to your website is hailed as the ultimate goal.

So, what happens when you reach that goal? What happens when you publish a blog post for your business which goes viral overnight or your blog becomes a huge hit, reaching millions of people who then click and land on your website?

Do your phones starting ringing off the hook? Are you bombarded with sales, leads, orders, sign ups? Does your brand become a household name? Is your business front-page news?

Having created ‘viral content’ for businesses on a number of occasions, I can categorically (and unfortunately) say that the answer to all of those questions is no.

Eating Europe Food Tours | Cool Hunting

July 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When you’re in a new city for one night, randomly picking a restaurant from the lists friends have emailed (or what Yelp or Instagram might suggest) has the potential to be a bust. But also, there’s no interaction with the city and its people. The best use of your time, we highly recommend, is getting yourself on an Eating Europe Tour. Currently in Rome, Florence, Prague, Amsterdam, London, and soon Venice, these guided food tours are a whirlwind of history, craft dishes and drinks, hidden local gems and bumping elbows with the rest of the city. On a recent trip to London, we joined in on the 3.5 hour long Twilight Soho Food Tour (£84 per person) and it was an evening we won’t forget.

7 Reasons All Entrepreneurs Should Strive for Better Writing | Entrepreneur

July 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Some people see entrepreneurs as leaders. Others see them as inventors. Still others see them as salespeople, or as general businesspeople. But very few people see entrepreneurs as writers.

On the surface, writing and entrepreneurship seem like completely unrelated concepts. Sure, you’ll do some writing as an entrepreneur, like in any professional position, but it’s not fundamentally necessary to become a successful business owner. Or is it?

I’d like to submit that all entrepreneurs have a role as a writer, or at the very least that they can benefit from writing regularly. Why?