20 expert predictions for the future of customer service

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” ~ John F. Kennedy

Preferences and expectations are changing and growing among consumers just as quickly as advancements in technology, encouraging (if not demanding) that brands embrace a strategy of non-stop adaptation to the next generation and the next big thing.

 

 

Continue reading… “20 expert predictions for the future of customer service”

Widening gap between those who use the internet and those who don’t

15% of Americans older than 18 don’t use the Internet.

Jim Crawford, sixty-three years old and retired from a career as a welder, doesn’t have much use for the Internet. Crawford, who lives in Manhattan, Kan. said, “I never had to use it on the job and didn’t have to use it at home for any reason. So I never really learned to do it — and never really got interested.”

 

 

Continue reading… “Widening gap between those who use the internet and those who don’t”

Government mass surveillance will create a surge of technology spending

A simple graphic that shows how the NSA hacked Google.

As technology races ahead, from time to time public debate and the law of the land must catch up to it. Government surveillance is one of the most important technology issues of our times. In the US, the NSA files have already had a profound impact on the perceptions of Americans about surveillance and civil liberties. Outside the US, Germany is aghast that the US and UK, NATO allies would spy on Angela Merkel and Germany. On the other hand, there is some evidence that the NSA has aided in combating Mexican drug cartels and prevented terrorism.

 

 

Continue reading… “Government mass surveillance will create a surge of technology spending”

Our best defenders against Big Brother may be Google and Facebook

The big online companies are calling for urgent reforms to protect us from having data intercepted.

Over a few weeks’ worth of bedtimes in the summer of 1984, my dad read me Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Though the dystopian context would have been lost on nine-year old me, the pervasive malevolence and the futility of the struggle was not.

 

 

Continue reading… “Our best defenders against Big Brother may be Google and Facebook”

Taobao breaks mobile shopping record in less than an hour with over $100 million in sales

China’s leading e-commerce marketplace.

Taobao, China’s leading e-commerce marketplace, racked up RMB 1 billion ($164 million) in mobile purchases from over 14 million user accounts one hour into China’s annual Single’s Day shopping blitz,

 

 

Continue reading… “Taobao breaks mobile shopping record in less than an hour with over $100 million in sales”

Optimizing Evil

Would the world be a better place if Adolph Hitler never existed?

While many people will argue over who exactly was the worst of the worst, with names like Pol Pot, Josef Stalin, Idi Amin, Ivan the Terrible, Genghis Khan, Nero, Osama bin Laden, Attila the Hun, and Hirohito entering the conversation, it’s easy to attribute a face to the evil we all despise.

 

 

Continue reading… “Optimizing Evil”

Top 19 fastest growing occupations

There will be significant growth for jobs that require a college education and occupations in health care, energy and technology.

The jobs market for the future currently looks bleak. The unemployment rate has been stuck above 7 percent since December 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And as futurist Thomas Frey recently told AOL Jobs, half of all the jobs in existence today will no longer be around by 2030.

 

Continue reading… “Top 19 fastest growing occupations”

World’s first bitcoin ATM gets 348 transactions in first 8 days

The world’s first ever permanent bitcoin ATM.

The first Bitcoin ATM in North America made a lot of hoopla when it went live in a Vancouver coffee shop last week. The ATM trades cash for Bitcoins. How many people actually used it?  Here are some of the numbers:

 

 

 

Continue reading… “World’s first bitcoin ATM gets 348 transactions in first 8 days”

Instagram photos that are mostly blue get more likes: Study

When Curalate, a visual analytics platform, set out to quantify the impact that different image qualities have on Instagram, it discovered that photos with blue as the main color got the most likes. Reds and oranges on the other hand tended to receive 24 percent less likes than blue-tinted shots. (Infographic)

 

 

Continue reading… “Instagram photos that are mostly blue get more likes: Study”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.