Archive for the 'Trends' Category

A survey designed to gauge interest in raising taxes to add lanes to the local highway network found out something interesting.
Besides the fact that most people STRONGLY opposed the new proposed taxes, 26% of survey respondents say they telecommute! Somehow that came as a surprise to people even though California is one of the more [...]

The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur has a $40 per year business that puts $1 million profit monthly in the bank. He’s behind Zoho.com. He employs 600 people in Chennai, India and 8 in Silicon Valley. His name is Sridhar Vembu and he’s making a difference for lots of young people who’d otherwise miss out on [...]

Are you familiar with “Fair Trade” products from the Third World? Those can be any number of products but mainly coffee that are supposed to be bought at a “fair” price for the producer. The implication is that everything else we buy is bought at an “unfair” price.
The reality seems to be different as discussed [...]

One of the trends driving self-employment was the fact that manufacturing jobs had gone overseas thanks to “cheap” labor and transportation costs.
That’s all changing… transportation costs are skyrocketing and skilled foreign labor costs are rising rapidly too.
Some think this means that US manufacturing jobs might actually make a comeback…
An interesting trend, I think we’ll still [...]

If you’re near this mall, maybe you can take a break from working at home and stop by for a cash handout. $50 is still $50 until tomorrow of course when it’s $50 less inflation. Who knows? It might catch on at a mall near you?
On another note, it seems like the malls that were [...]

Always wanted to start that Porta Potty business and name it “Here’s Johnny”?
About as soon as you print up your business cards and other signage, you may be hearing from a lawyer.
The stupidist things like “Fair and Balanced” are considered “intellectual property” and David Bollier’s book “Brand Name Bullies” chronicles the absurd lengths people will [...]

Amazon’s book reviews can make or break a book seller. Good amateur reviews can boost sales through the roof.
Hateful antagonists can sink sales and flowery, over selling reviews can make hurt things too.
Amazon allowing readers to signal whether they find a review helpful can assist and balance things out.
Listen to NPR via Steve Weber, Book [...]

So that  you won’t think a $4 cup of coffee lets you camp out all day on their wifi, Starbucks hasn’t been offering the service. But now they’re reconsidering letting you have 2 hours of free wi fi. No word whether that will make the coffee go for $6 per cup.
But after two hours, unless [...]

When I heard that teleworkers were going to handle your order at the fast food drive in, I thought that was nuts. But the penetration of teleworking into the American economy continues!
From TMC Net:
Employers outsourcing everything from drive-thru orders to ESL lessons.
The next time you’re ordering a burger and fries at your local drive-thru, [...]

Social networking is important for employees to share ideas and encourage one another. But the free standing social networks like MySpace, Facebook, etc. aren’t what companies need. Instead they need customized social networking space for their own employees. That’s why Alpine Access with 7,500 teleworkers chose HiveLive to create their own specialized social network.
Here’s a [...]