The pros and cons of vaccine passports | Fast Company

March 15, 2021March 14, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

After a year of canceled concerts, closed-door sporting events, and restricted air travel, vaccine passports are being touted as a way to quicken the route back to normalcy.

The premise is straightforward: A digital or paper document will indicate whether individuals have received a COVID-19 vaccination or, in some cases, recently tested negative for the coronavirus. This could allow them to travel more freely within their communities, enter other countries, or engage in leisure activities that have largely been closed off during the pandemic.

Vaccine passports seem like a desirable alternative to continuing lockdowns until herd immunity—estimated to occur at about a 70%-85% vaccination rate—is achieved.

Six Ways To Go The Extra Mile For Your Customers | Forbes

March 12, 2021March 10, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Average brands deliver exactly what is asked of them. Exceptional brands deliver more. Finding novel and surprising ways to go the extra mile turns sceptics into fanatics and passive bystanders into loyal customers who tell their friends.

Without their clients, businesses wouldn’t exist. Safeguarding your future means putting energy into the extra mile until it’s second nature. Here are six ways to go the extra mile for your customers, with examples from business owners who put their customers first.

What It Takes to Be a Business Founder vs. CEO | AllBusiness.com

March 12, 2021March 10, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A few years ago, I was in a meeting with my mentor and coach and he said to me, “Do you want to be a really good communication professional or a really good business grower?”

I was reminded of this conversation recently when a friend asked for my advice on growing his PR firm. He told me he spends the good majority of his days with clients, doing the work.

He said he loves it and it’s the reason he started the business, but he never has time to do any business development. I said, “Do you want to be a really good communication professional or a really good business grower?” It was very meta of me … and he chose the latter.

B2B Sellers Investing in Ecommerce in 2021 | Small Business Trends

March 11, 2021March 10, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

More business-to-business (B2B) sellers are shifting their focus online, investing in e-commerce lines. Sellers are directing inventory to online selling channels, in a bid to cater to increasing demand for online transactions.

This burgeoning B2B trend was unveiled in the Digital Commerce 360 Research & Data report. Digital Commerce 360 is a leading media and research organization delivering data and objective news to B2B eCommerce audiences. The report was the first of a series of annual surveys of 110 B2B sellers to be conducted over the course of 2021 by Digital Commerce 360.

5 Ways to Beat the Competition | business.com

March 11, 2021March 10, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

To become a successful business, you need to find ways to stay a step ahead of your competition. Doing so is often easier said than done, and there’s no simple answer to how to beat your competition.

Competition exists in every market. Smarter companies nullify the effect of competitors in order to increase market share.

How do they do that? Here are five simple, yet powerful ways to beat your competition.

Microsoft Spring Event to Feature Surface Laptop 4, Webcam | Digital Trends

March 10, 2021March 9, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It could shape up to be a busy spring hardware season for Microsoft. The company is rumored to be launching a new webcam, as well as the Surface Laptop 4 and other peripherals, at its next Surface event in a few weeks, according to Microsoft watcher Brad Sams.

Details are naturally scarce, but it is believed that this new webcam could sport a privacy cover, as well as support for high dynamic range video. This would be Microsoft’s first external webcam since the 2006 release of the Lifecam, which is actually still available for purchase.

Why popular YouTubers are building their own sites | BBC News

March 9, 2021March 7, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Whether he’s showing off astronomically expensive computer gaming hardware or dumpster-diving for the cheapest PC builds possible, Linus Sebastian’s videos always strike a chord, and have made him one of the most popular tech personalities on YouTube.

But Google-owned YouTube gets most episodes of Linus Tech Tips a week late.

Now, they debut on his own site called Floatplane, which attracts a much smaller crowd.

“Google has been very, very good to me,” Linus says. “But it’s a lot of eggs in one basket.”

PPP Loans Are Supposed to Be Tax-Free. These 19 States Didn’t Get the Memo | Inc.com

March 9, 2021March 7, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tax time is confusing and stressful under the best of circumstances. It could be even worse if you’ve taken out a loan from the government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

The tax status of the PPP has been muddled from the beginning. While these forgivable loans were never meant to be taxed as income, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, under the Trump administration, held that business owners could not deduct expenses that were paid for with PPP. Congress disagreed, and in December 2020 put its position into law with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which also contained a $900 billion relief package.

The iMac Pro is being discontinued | TechCrunch

March 8, 2021March 7, 2021 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Chalk this up to inevitability. The iMac Pro is soon to be no more. First noted by 9to5Mac, TechCrunch has since confirmed with Apple that the company will stop selling the all-in-one once the current stock is depleted.

One configuration of the desktop is still available through Apple’s site, listed as “While Supplies Last” and priced at $5,000. Some other versions can also still be found from third-party retailers, as well, if you’re so inclined.