Stanford Is About to Have the Dopest Map Collection on Earth | WIRED

April 19, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

WHEN YOU VISIT the David Rumsey Map Center at Stanford University’s Green Library, if you can, take the stairs. Yes, you’ll have to spiral up three flights, but the wallpaper will give you plenty of excuses to take a break. Like: a Grand Canyon panorama, a birds-eye view of Manhattan, and a Buddhist world map featuring the imagined spiral of headwaters for the region’s three great rivers high in the Himalayas. There are more, but don’t dally too long. The stairwell is barely a prelude.

The Center itself is classroom-sized, and packed with approximately 150,000 historical cartographic artifacts. Many are stored in wooden cabinets that take up an entire wall. Along the other walls are globes galore, banquet table-sized plats, and massive, many-paneled digital touchscreens capable of calling up millions of megabytes of high-resolution historical maps stored on Stanford’s servers.

Dunkin’ Donuts loyalty app stirring up trouble for Starbucks? | Fast Casual

April 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Dunkin’ Donuts is hoping to cash in on rage-filled, under-caffeinated Starbucks fans with its new DD Perks Rewards program. Coincidentally — or not — it launched today a new version of its mobile app for “quick, easy and secure payment.”

Guests who join DD Perks using the special code “STARS” through April 21 will earn an automatic 125 points towards a free any-size beverage, plus an additional 125 points during their second and third visits when purchases are made using an enrolled Dunkin’ Donuts card, said Sherrill Kaplan, VP of Digital Marketing & Innovation at Dunkin’ Donuts, “Our guests are the cornerstone of our brand, and we are committed to continuing to exceed their expectations.

Although numerous Starbucks customers posted angry Tweets when the coffee giant previewed the changes in February, their anger is again percolating via Twitter, since the official changes took place this week.

Millennials Are Discovering Art by Ditching Museums for Instagram and Pinterest | Adweek

April 15, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It was bound to happen sooner or later. For the first time, social media has nudged museums aside as the primary venue by which American consumers discover works of art.

According to a survey released this week by online auction site Invaluable, nearly 23 percent of Americans find artwork that appeals to them on social media channels such as Instagram or Pinterest. By contrast, 20 percent discover artwork by going to museums and nearly 16 percent by visiting brick-and-mortar galleries.

The findings are significant not just because Americans drop an estimated $150 billion on arts and entertainment each year, but because it suggests that millennial buyers seem far more comfortable buying art online as opposed to the staid and starchy world of galleries and auction houses.

Behind the scenes at Smashburger | Business Insider

April 15, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The fast-casual better-burger business is thriving, as companies like Shake Shack, Five Guys, and Smashburger expand across the US. But to succeed in the burger industry in 2016, you need to have a special something.

With locations in 32 states and seven countries, Smashburger is preparing to take over the burger business from coast to coast. The one thing that sets Smashburger apart from the competition: the smashing process that allows the chain to make a hamburger completely different than anything else on the market.

PODCAST: Laura Wass on Entrepreneurship, Creativity and How to Dress Beyoncé | Page19

April 15, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In this newest episode of the Blinkist Podcast, our guest producer, Emily, talks with an old friend who’s brought her small business from twinkle of an idea to globally recognized, Beyoncé-worn recognition.

Emily and Laura Wass of WXYZ jewelry talk entrepreneurship, what it takes to bring a business from fledgling to flight, and the importance of ritual. I’m also in there making awkward jokes, as usual, and the Book Doctor makes another house call—this time, hitting closer to actual home.

Rock – Record Store Day 2016: The Ultimate Guide | Rolling Stone

April 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On Saturday, April 16th, Record Store Day will flood music outlets around the country with new releases, reissued classics and thousands of fans looking bring these coveted titles home. This year, everyone from Big Star to Justin Bieber is getting in on the act. The full list of 2016 RSD offerings includes more split singles, vintage treasures and strangely colored vinyl than any single person could possibly consume, so we’ve broken it down into a few tidy categories and selected the most essential offerings in each.

The Top 5 Common Mistakes When Learning Something New | Life Hack

April 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

All of us have tried learning something new: a photo editing software, a foreign language, or a brand new industry that you’re about to enter into.

If you’re like most people, then you’ve probably given up learning this skill before you reached mastery. For whatever reason, you weren’t picking up the skill as fast as you expected, got bored of the subject, or maybe you just didn’t have enough time.

There’s dozens of mistakes that all of us make when we’re learning something for the first time. In this post, we’re going to share with you the top 5 mistakes that you should avoid when learning something new.

Why You Should Stop Taking Credit for All of Your Ideas | Business News Daily

April 13, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Have you had a great idea at work? Your company might be better off if you didn’t take credit for it, new research shows.

Employees who are quick to claim an idea as their own when presenting it to co-workers for feedback aren’t giving their concept the best chance to reach its full potential, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

The study’s authors found that when workers take credit for coming up with an idea, their colleagues aren’t as willing to provide creative and constructive feedback. This type of “territorial marking” makes others feel like they don’t have much of a stake in the concept’s outcome, so they lose motivation to provide input, the research found.

Better Sales With the Use of Smart Leads | Getentrepreneurial.com

April 13, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Increasing sales can tedious work as your business will have to look into various things which will enable better influx of customers. On the other hand, promotion and marketing might be in a need for improvement, which could cost you a pretty penny. Finding new leads for your business might be easier than it looks, but, only if you manage to find a balance between engaging with customers and making sure they find what they need. Your online presence and brand should be interesting and creative as it will be one of the first things everyone will look at, and it will be the key point in securing sales.

Learn to Use SEO and the Secret of Words

Not only is it important to have a running a website with blogs and useful content, but, you should also have posters who know how to use SEO. Without SEO integration, you cannot hope to grab the attention of many users, as they will simply skim the content and move on. Then again, with the right keywords and attention to how links are placed, it will be possible to post content that is engaging and fun. Though, be sure to find out what is currently trendy, to ensure customers are not bored and will not click away quickly. Though, do not go overboard with keywords used.

15 Successful African American Entrepreneurs on Etsy | Small Biz Trends

April 13, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Since its launch back in 2005, Etsy has grown into a huge ecommerce market for handmade and vintage goods. Browsing through Etsy, you can see products from a huge variety of sellers.

If you’re just getting started or thinking about joining Etsy, it can be inspiring to look through the shops of those who are finding success on the platform. Below are many successful African American entrepreneurs who are finding success selling their handmade products on Etsy.