How Chromebooks Are About to Totally Transform Laptop Design | WIRED

September 13, 2016September 12, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

GOOGLE’S FIRST CHROMEBOOK was the kind of laptop you’d design if you didn’t give a damn about laptop design. It was thick, heavy, rubbery, boring, and black. Black keys, black body, black trackpad, black everything. Everything about the Cr-48 was designed to communicate that this device was still an experiment. Even the name, a reference to an unstable isotope of the element Chromium, was a hint at the chaos raging inside this black box. “The hardware exists,” Sundar Pichai told a crowd of reporters at the Cr-48’s launch event in December of 2010, “only to test the software.”

Moments later, Eric Schmidt took the stage and preached about how the “network computer” tech-heads had been predicting for decades was finally ready to change the world. “We finally have a product,” Schmidt said, “which is strong enough, technical enough, scalable enough, and fast enough that you can build actually powerful products on it.” Apparently already sensing the skeptical feedback Chrome OS would get, he gestured toward the audience and told them “it does, in fact, work.”

6 Features of Entrepreneurship We Tend to Over-Exaggerate | Entrepreneur

September 12, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Entrepreneurial preparation and education is interesting. For obvious reasons, preparation matters; the more informed you are about the logistics of business ownership and the interdisciplinary knowledge you need to keep things running smoothly, the better you’ll be able to manage an enterprise.

But at the same time, there are some things about entrepreneurship you can’t learn in business school.

To resolve this gap, many new entrepreneurs seek the mentorship and guidance of more experienced business owners. However, there’s a small problem there, one we’ve all faced at one point or another: Entrepreneurs tend to over-exaggerate some truths about entrepreneurship, which can lead to false expectations, unnecessary preparations and, in some cases, the prospect of scaring people away from business ownership altogether:

7 Hacks for Getting Your Website Indexed by Google | Life Hack

September 12, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Whether you want to connect with others online to sell a product or to raise awareness of a specific cause, it is imperative to get your site indexed by Google. This typically takes a while, and there is also a long process to get your search engine ranking raised. However, there are a few specific hacks you can employ to cut your wait time and improve your ability to quickly be found by qualified leads. Utilizing these hacks is a fantastic way for entrepreneurs to have a more solid launch for each new business venture.

The Top 8 Reasons I Said Goodbye to a Toxic Career In the Corporate World | Inc.com

September 12, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Please allow me to start this piece with a bit of real talk.

I started my business while getting an MBA and raising two kids. It wasn’t easy.

I went through a hard time financially and almost put my family in the poor house. It almost ended my marriage.

I developed a few health problems that my doctors attribute to this time in my life. I lost more that just sleep; I lost some good friends because I no longer had time for them.

Amazingly, two-and-a-half years later, I can say it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Here’s why it was totally worth it:

What Causes Motion Sickness? | Live Science

September 9, 2016September 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The rocking momentum of a train, car or boat is soothing to some people, but for others, it generates feelings of extreme discomfort — dizziness, nausea and even vomiting.

This condition, known as motion sickness, can strike travelers of all ages, though it appears most frequently in children. The motion that is unique to travel is the most common culprit, but speedy loops and lurches in amusement park rides and the disorienting perspective of moving cameras in 3D movies or virtual-reality environments can also trigger queasiness.

While motion sickness isn’t life-threatening, its symptoms can be extremely unpleasant, transforming an otherwise pleasant journey into a stomach-turning nightmare. Why does this particular type of movement make some people feel ill?

Marvelously Minimalist ZYP-ZYP Tape Dispenser | Design Milk

September 9, 2016September 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Consider the average disposable transparent plastic adhesive tape dispenser, a design so common and recognizable, it’s exterior package is as synonymous with its content as a tissue box is to the tissues within. The upside down elephant profile design holds and dispenses the roll as needed, so it’s fair to say it’s a successful solution for a mundane task.

But in time those plastic teeth begin to fail and sometimes stop cutting strips effectively. What if you could minimize the form further while retaining these functional features, and in the process eliminate the plastic dispenser completely? The ZYP-ZYP Tape Dispenser is a solution to that effect.

How to Take Back Control of Your PR From Journalists | All Business

September 9, 2016September 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I was thinking about this recently: When did we hand the keys over to journalists when it comes to shining the spotlight on our businesses? We now have to jump through hoops, write the perfect pitch letter, and stroke their egos to even be considered worth writing about. And even then, there are no guarantees that we’ll get in print (or digital print, as it were).

So why do we give journalists all our power?

I think we’ve become accustomed to this system where journalists are the despots in charge of granting attention to the companies they deem worthy, and so we write press releases and pitches desperate to fall in their good graces. But the world of marketing and PR has changed drastically, and we no longer need that archaic system. As entrepreneurs, we’re perfectly capable of generating a buzz about our brands without their help.

4 Employee Training Tactics That Actually Work | Business News Daily

September 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

One of the most important ways to set a new employee up for success is to train that person well. Every job has a learning curve, and proper training is key to helping employees assimilate their new roles and your company’s culture.

Handing a new employee a pamphlet or a pile of notes may be easy, but it’s not going to help your team members learn how to do their jobs well. Business News Daily asked business leaders to outline a few training methods that help employees stay engaged and motivated throughout the process.

How to Manage Employee Expenses | The Startup Magazine

September 8, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Over the last few years, we have all been shocked and disturbed at the extent of the politician expense scandals. However, it’s not just these high power, high profile individual’s that have been known to abuse the system; it’s reported that 14.5% of business expense reimbursement schemes are abused. In fact, over 4 years The Royal Academy of Music was defrauded of £200,000 by a director.

Employee expenses are often politely described as a ‘headache’ – headache? Let’s try migraine inducing. In all seriousness, they can present themselves as one of the biggest challenges that owners will face.

It’s a fine line, in this era of trust and transparency, where the business hierarchy is removed and employees are all treated with equal respect and responsibility – you may feel pressured to supply your team with company credit cards with revolving credit limits. The bottom line is, don’t succumb to this if you are cautious, especially if you are still in the early days; but with this in mind the process needs to be addressed and formulated into one that is clear and fair; employees are within their rights to claim for genuine business expenses.

Can Tom Selleck Convince Seniors Reverse Mortgages Aren’t Too Good to Be True? | Adweek

September 7, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ 1 Comment

If you were around in 1987, you might remember People magazine naming Tom Selleck the “sexiest man in the world.” You might recall how that famous, mustached face graced the covers of the glossies and tabloids, or how Magnum, P.I.—the CBS series that pulled in up to 18.7 million weekly viewers during its eight-year run—made Selleck among the most recognizable faces in America. Playing an ex-special ops Vietnam vet in the show, Selleck skillfully blended his devilish playboy charm with a smart, hardened, patriotic side. It was an unbeatable combo—and it’s one a company called American Advisors Group is hoping can still work its old magic nearly three decades after Magnum ended.

Selleck, still swarthy and handsome at 71, has continued to play tough, no-nonsense TV characters, most recently Commissioner Frank Reagan on the CBS series Blue Bloods. But Selleck’s latest screen appearance is unlike anything he’s done before. Selleck recently began pitching AAG’s reverse mortgages. (A new spot is scheduled to debut today; watch the first one below.)