3TechGuys Show - 15 Minutes of Fun about Tech and Business - Latest Episode Up Now (May 5)

Watch tonights the latest episode of 3TechGuys with Gene Marks, Brent Leary and Ramon Ray

Tonight’s episode covered, in about 15 minutes of fun:

  • Amazon enables purchases with a hashtag
  • Esty going public, Alibaba’s going public and Box.net stopped going public (what’s up with that?)
  • Yahoo said it won’t honor “do not track” settings in browsers (what’s up with that?)
  • Why does Brent love Twitter’s new Mute button??
  • Google buys Rangespan and gears up to compete more heavily with Amazon
FUN and INSIGHT from… Watch it at 3TechGuys or below

Amazon Twitter integration
Ramon’s shoes
Esty going public
Yahoo won’t honor do not track
TWitter Mute button
Google buys Rangespan



In Workplace Communication, Words do Matter

Since the 1970′s, communication experts have been citing research results released by Dr. Albert Mehrabian on the related value of three vital components of human communication:

Mehrabian’s report reinforced reports released in the late 1960′s by the Journal of Consulting Psychology and the Journal of Personality and Psychology.

That research claimed that in a very limited scope of interpersonal communication, that the message conveyed was impacted:

  • 57% by the body language of the communicator
  • 38% by the tone
  • 7% from the words

This communication model is now called, “The Mehrabian Myth.”

I believe, in most every context, words have significantly greater impact, as a recent client experience points out. My client is the CIO of a major division at her company. The division she oversees is named CCIS for Central City Information Services.

She and I have been working together to create a more engaged, motivated workforce in a public governmental setting. To do so we’ve created formats for employees to interact more, share ideas and make higher-level contributions to the future of their division. It’s been a refreshing approach after years of stagnancy in the division and its leadership.

After a recent coaching session, my client decided to change the name of her division to be more inline with what she wants it to become. It’s a subtle change. So subtle it will not even change the division’s acronym of CCIS. The new name will be Central City Innovation Services.

Notice the difference between what “information” and “innovation” conveys.

Providing “information services” in the public sector (or any sector for that matter) is reactive. This is what this division has been facing for years as it tries to react to the requests that come in from other departments and divisions in their city.

My client wants her division to become proactive, bringing ideas for innovative city services to their internal customers and stakeholders. Just one word shifts the focus and the expectations for 36 employees in this division.

Making this shift does not require any tone or body language to make it 100% understandable, inspiring and motivational.

That’s the power of one word, by itself.

Leaders must start paying more attention to the words they use to make their messages more powerful, inspirational and motivational.

Motivational Photo via Shutterstock



Make Your First Business Audacious

audacious business

When starting your first business, it pays to show some audacity.

Some of the most successful companies - Google, Facebook, and Apple, to name a few - started out as ideas that many considered crazy or risky at the time. But a few bold entrepreneurs chose to take the necessary risks and it paid off for them.

Here from Inc.’s Branson Up Close video series, entrepreneur Richard Branson shares some more specific suggestions:

Throw Your Whole Self Into Everything You Do

The majority of new businesses don’t make it past the first year. So it might seem like a good idea to play it safe.

But Branson thinks you’re more likely to reach greatness by jumping in and giving it everything you have. This could mean dedicating more time to your idea. Or it could mean just going for that bold idea you’re really passionate about, rather than the safe idea that’s been done before.

Starting From Scratch Makes You Audacious

Regardless of what your idea is, starting something new already makes you audacious. Branson says:

“It’s actually the most difficult time when you’re starting from scratch with no financial backing, just an idea, and you’re trying to get your very first venture off the ground.”

He says that established entrepreneurs like himself have to try a lot harder to be audacious because they already have experience and resources. But, if you’re just starting out and don’t have those things, simply trying something new is an audacious act.

Strive To Be Extraordinary

To illustrate this point, Branson tells the story of his friend, Google co-founder Larry Page. In college, Page came to one of his teachers with three different business ideas. The teacher suggested he try “that Google thing” first, as it was the most audacious of the three.

And we all know how that worked out for him.



Any.Do Makes Managing Tasks Simple

Most productive people will tell you that they stay productive, getting stuff done, because they maintain some sort of system. Usually, at its core, it is a list. Any.Do is a task management app for iOS or Android smartphones that is designed to make you more productive.

The company did some research to understand how people achieve the greatest productivity. They discovered that people who review their tasks daily are more productive, so they created the “Any.Do Moment” as part of their system.

This moment is a few minutes you set aside each day to review your tasks and move them between “Today,” “Tomorrow,” and “Someday.” Moving tasks is only a matter of dragging them from one place to another in the order you want to see them.

any.do product review

As I used the app, I viewed the “Any.Do Moment” as a reality check - could I really get something done today or tomorrow and if not, then the someday box forced me to question how it fit into my priorities.

As a task manager, it goes above and beyond expectations. When you start to type in a task, it will offer suggestions for auto-completing it. It also will automatically link you to your email or even Amazon (if your task is shopping). These features can save you the small amount of time it would take searching for a contact or typing in a Web address. Throughout the day, all that time on small things adds up.

Any.Do does not automatically come with a calendar feature, so you will need to download the companion app, “Cal,” in order to get this. I connected mine to my Google Calendar and it works seamlessly. Maybe a bit too seamless because I now get lots of reminders â€" some from Google, some from Any.Do.

Still, you can fully integrate calendars with Any.Do, making it even more useful.

What I Liked:

  • The voice activation works great, even on slower Internet connections.
  • It was fun to shake the phone to erase my deleted tasks.
  • It syncs with Google Tasks, and you can email your tasks to Any.Do.
  • You can share tasks with other people, and you will receive a notification when they complete the task.

What I Would Like to See:

  • If your phone is on silent, all your alarms will be silent, too. I would like to see an option to follow phone settings (including vibrate) or not to follow them.
  • If you do not review your tasks, you will get a message to do it. Although this is designed to increase productivity, spending time reviewing tasks every day is not an option for everyone.

When using Any.Do, you will see ads because this app is free. It is powerful for being a free download. All in all, this is a great way to keep on top of your tasks, events, and meetings.

Image: Any.Do



After Its Chief’s Departure, What is the Future of Google Plus?

The recent departure of Google Plus chief Vic Gundotra from the company has many wondering what will become of Google’s social network.

In a Google Plus post announcing his departure, Gundotra praised the team that had helped build the social network and expressed excitement for its ongoing growth, writing:

“This is a group of people who built social at Google against the skepticism of so many. The growth of active users is staggering, and speaks to the work of this team. But it doesn’t tell you what kind of people they are. They are invincible dreamers. I love them. And I will miss them dearly.”

Even Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page seemed to remain committed to Google Plus’ ongoing development. In his own post on the social network bidding Gundotra farewell, he added:

“I really enjoy using Google Plus on a daily basis, especially the auto awesome movies which I really love sharing with my family and friends. Good luck with your next project after Google. In the meantime, we’ll continue working hard to build great new experiences for the ever increasing number of Google Plus fans.”

Despite this, however, media sources like TechCrunch insist the network is the “walking dead,” unlikely to survive Gundotra’s departure. Meanwhile, Business Insider has gone as far as to suggest Google Plus will be carved up. The idea is that teams responsible for Hangouts and other features would be reassigned or their products sent off for independent development.

At 300 million active monthly users, Google Plus is certainly nowhere near Facebook in popularity. However, those passionate about it like blogger Cendrine Marrouat insist it is much too important to its regular community to be allowed to die.

In a post at Social Slant, Marrouat explains:

“Google Plus is NOT a ghost town. Just because your friends and family are not there does not mean that it is useless. Actually, the whole purpose of Google Plus is to allow you to connect with new people who share your interests.”

Add to this the recent launch of the social network’s +Post ads. There’s also this. Google Plus recently entered the top 15 mobile apps in comScore’s ranking, Marketing Land reports.

Given all of this, it’s a bit hard to reconcile with a plan to essentially shut down or drastically scale back the social network.

The question of whether any business venture can survive the departure of its leader or founder is often discussed in entrepreneurial circles.

Despite his iconic status, for example, it isn’t too hard to imagine Facebook surviving the departure of CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Apple has already survived the death of its guiding guru Steve Jobs with seeming success.

Twitter has survived and thrived seemingly independent of the fortunes of its founders.

It remains to be seen whether Google Plus will do the same.

Image: Wikipedia

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10 Digital Assistant Alternatives To Apple’s Siri

siri alternatives

Ten years ago it might have seemed impossible that someday you might have a digital assistant that lived in your phone. And that assistant would search for the answers you need when you need them and speak to you just like a flesh and blood office assistant.

When Apple introduced Siri on the iPhone all that changed. Today, Apple is not the only company that provides you a digital assistant for managing your day and your business.

Below is a list of some of the Siri alternatives. They may not do everything Siri does. (Some may even do more and in a different way.) But they’re all worth a look to see which, if any, might best suit your needs.

Google Now

siri alternatives

Of course, it goes without saying that Google has tested the digital assistant waters by launching Google Now for the iPhone and Android. Being a Google product, it works remarkably well.

Using your built-in GPS function on your phone, it determines where you are at, at all times. Then it provides services which may prove useful to you.

For example:

  • If you are on a trip, it will inform you of places of importance on your route.
  • If you are commuting to and from work, it will tell you how long it will take to get home (based on current traffic reports), as well as provide a map.
  • It will give you the current temperature, as well as the temperatures for the next few days.
  • It will provide you with relevant news based on information you provide.
  • You can tell Google to store your reminders, and, if it involves a geographical location, it will remind you when you arrive there.

This information is provided on “cards” which appear on the screen. When you don’t need it anymore, you can use your finger to swipe away the card.

If you use Google Chrome, Google Now is integrated into the browser. So if Google Now is activated on your phone, the reminders will be synchronized to your browser, too.

Getting started is easy. Google Now is already built in to the Google search app for either iOS or Android.

Windows Phone 8.1 Cortana

siri alternatives

There has been considerable excitement over the release of Microsoft’s first digital assistant, Cortana. Named for a character in the video game Halo, Cortana has some features that are far beyond those offered by Siri. Available with Windows Phone 8.1, it does much more than simply navigate the Web to find the answers to your queries.

By telling Cortana who you are, including information about your business and some personal details, it can learn about you and how to provide you with more of the information you need. People will see plenty of similarities between Cortana and Google Now, which shows you your travel data, calendar updates and more. You can quickly glance at your day by checking traffic, weather, news headlines and so on. You can also plan your upcoming business trips and check for important locations along your route.

Vokul

siri alternatives

This is not a free option - Vokul costs $2.99. I downloaded it for this post to see it in action, after hearing good things. After playing around with it for a while, I found it a bit difficult to get used to. But eventually it becomes easier to use and does have some worthwhile features.

One interesting feature is that it will read your Twitter or Facebook feeds to you. Beware, however. In the case of Facebook, Vokul will also read all the comments to a status update, too. And that may be a bit too much information, depending upon how many comments you usually receive. Another interesting feature is that it can actually enhance your workout. Vokul can adjust the tempo of the music you are listening to so that it matches the speed of your exercise regimen, say, when jogging, for example.

Dragon Go

siri alternatives

If you own an iPhone, Dragon Go comes pre-installed. Widely considered to be one of the best voice recognition apps ever made, it is not so much a Siri alternative. It provides a totally different service, but one just as important.

Dragon Go is purely a dictation app, nothing more. It won’t start your music for you or check the traffic for your commute home. But using it, you can dictate text, then email it, SMS it, or use it to update your Facebook or Twitter accounts. For some people, that is more than enough.

For example, you can use Dragon Go to dictate reminders to yourself when you are out, then have them emailed to you. Dragon Go has a very high success rate when correctly understanding a user’s voice, so repeating yourself is rare if you speak clearly.

SpeakToIt Assistant

siri alternatives

This digital assistant comes with a visual manifestation, not simply a voice. Appearing as a female named Sam, she performs a variety of functions. These include sending SMS’s, looking things up online, playing your music, composing emails, and more. You can customize the app by renaming your assistant. An upgrade to a premium version will give you even more services and allow you to change your assistant’s appearance.

Evi

siri alternatives

Evi is a free app which can answer many of your questions. All you need to do is speak your question into the phone, and it will look the answer up and respond. Evi obviously relies very strongly on search engines, and your GPS. So you can ask it location-based questions, like the name and address of local restaurants or other important locations on a business trip. You can also ask it to research questions on the Web.

siri alternatives

The simply named Voice Answer is represented visually as a robot that can send SMS’s, play music, send email and look up answers to questions. But it can also remind you of appointments to keep you on schedule. If you find the robotic voice annoying after a while, you can switch it off in the settings. The free version of the app runs advertising, but you can eliminate this by simply paying a few dollars for a premium version.

Voice Actions/Jeannie

siri alternatives

This digital assistant  is another offering from Nuance, the makers of Dragon Go, which we reviewed earlier on this list.  There is no free version and the download is $2.99. But this visual assistant does send SMS’s, emails, and look up answers to questions online. It even posts to social media. User reviews on the iTunes store suggest it may not be your best choice, however, and the interface seems somewhat spartan.

Sara

siri alternatives

For those brave enough to “jailbreak” their iPhone (install third party software to enable the iPhone to do things it previously couldn’t), you may consider using Sara. The website for this digital assistant says it is for iPhones and iPod Touch’s up to and including the iPhone 4. So it’s uncertain how the app will work on newer devices.

But before jailbreaking your phone, be aware that you will be voiding your warranty and thus have little recourse if there is a problem with installation.

EasilyDo

siri alternatives

If your business involves remembering many dates or times, this next digital assitant may be a good fit. EasilyDo tries to take care of all your reminders. It can also send you directions to and from work and other important destinations, set up and schedule Facebook updates and keep track of your travel tickets and boarding passes. It can also manage your contacts, merging duplicate entries, adding new details to existing contacts, and so forth.

Donna

Though apparently no longer available, Donna is a digital assistant worth mentioning. Named after the character Donna Moss in the TV series “The West Wing,” the app collected and managed a wide range of information. This included an ever increasing list of resources including local traffic information, parking information, driving directions from Google and, of course, information from your own digital calendar.

The app’s maker, Incredible Labs, was acquired by Yahoo, however. And Donna was scheduled to be shut down. An email to Yahoo asking about Donna’s status was not answered at the time of this publication.

Using Smartphone Photo via Shutterstock



Self Employment Continues to Decline, Despite the Recovery

The recently released Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity (KIEA) shows that pace of entry into self-employment declined last year. The media has put a positive slant on the news. Because many people go into business for themselves out of necessity when the economy is doing poorly and they have few employment alternatives, this decline is okay, the reporters say. It means that the jobs market is doing better.

There’s a problem with this interpretation; it ignores the continued decline in the number of people working for themselves. Since 2007, America has lost nearly 1.4 million self-employed, or 9 percent of the 2007 level, Bureau of Labor Statistics data reveal. Moreover, the number of self-employed Americans declined both during the Great Recession (when we lost 831,000 self-employed people) and subsequent recovery (when we lost an additional 531,000). That’s very different from what’s happened to employment. The number of employed Americans increased by more than 4 million people between 2009 and 2013.

The problem with the positive spin on the KIEA is that it looks only at one part of the picture - entry into self-employment. But the number of self-employed people is affected by both entry into and exit from self-employment. Like the water in your bathtub, the number of self-employed depends on both inflows and outflows.

Using the figures reported in the KIEA, I created annual estimates of the number of people entering into and exiting from self-employment from 2007 through 2013 and compared that to the stock of self-employed people reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for those years to see what’s happened to self-employment.

The KIEA shows that entry into self-employment is counter-cyclical. Between 2007 and 2009 when the economy contracted from the Great Recession, the number of people entering self-employment rose by 441,000. But then, from 2009 to 2013, when the economy expanded again, the number of people going to work for themselves decreased by 574,000.

But, as you probably know, exit from self-employment is cyclical. During the Great Recession, when the economy was contracting, nearly 1.1 people gave up working for themselves because running a business was so hard during that time. During subsequent recovery when the economy was expanding again, the number of people giving up self-employment declined by a little more than 1 million people.

Because economic conditions don’t affect entry into and exit from self-employment equally, the negative effects on self-employment have outweighed the position ones in both the recession and the recovery. As a result, number of self-employed people declined 5.4 percent during the Great Recession and an additional 3.7 percent during the subsequent recovery.

The fact that the number of self-employed Americans has continued to fall during the recovery shows that something is amiss. Fewer people entering self-employment may signal that labor markets are getting better. But the absence of larger declines in the number of people exiting self-employment signals that economic conditions are still not good for those in business for themselves.

Rather than putting a positive spin on the decline in the rate of entry into self-employment, the media and pundits should be focusing on the core problem: Why are we still seeing declines in the number self-employed Americans five years into the economic recovery?



U.S. Postal Service Killed Startup Outbox, Report Says

Entrepreneurs Evan Baehr and Will Davis initially set out to change the way millions of Americans got their postal mail. For now, at least, the startup has buckled under the pressure of a skeptical and likely threatened U.S. Postal Service and federal government.

Their startup, Outbox, was a service that offered to digitize your snail mail. The $5 per month service included forwarding your mail to Outbox. From there, it was scanned and could be delivered to an Outbox mail app rather than your traditional mailbox. The aim of Outbox was to reduce the clutter created by paper mail, anything from letters to so-called junk mail.

In a recent report by expose site Inside Sources, Baher and Davis tell their story. It’s the story of how the U.S. Postal Service helped bring down a startup that could have given better options to consumers. It raises the question of how a government that claims it supports entrepreneurialism could allow one of its own agencies to snuff it out.

First, it should be noted it was not a healthy system Outbox intended to disrupt. Baher and Davis insist their system would have ultimately saved delivery costs. It’s those costs, among others, that have seen the Postal Service treading water financially for years. Last year, the U.S. Postal Service posted a $5 billion loss. In February of this year alone, the Postal Service recorded losses of more than $350 million.

But the agency still clearly viewed Outbox mail as a threat to the way it had done business for more than a century. It was this view that led to a confrontational meeting spelling the beginning of the end for the tech startup.

Baehr says that during the meeting in D.C., Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told the Outbox duo that the company was disrupting the Postal Service’s relationship with its customers: Those that send the mail, not those that receive it!

Specifically, this included literally hundreds of junk mailers the Postal Service relies upon for revenue. And, not coincidentally, these would be the very mailers most likely to be screened out by Outbox’s new service. Donahoe told Baehr and Davis that the U.S. Postal Service would no longer cooperate with Outbox in its efforts to expand.

The decision very nearly spelled the end for the startup which relied on the forwarding services of the U.S.Postal Service as a critical part of its business model.

To be clear, Outbox was not breaking any laws by opening customers’ mail. Outbox customers signed-up to grant this permission in exchange for the convenience of not having to deal with paper mail. Exceptions to this were even made in the case of bills with sensitive information or packages that obviously couldn’t be scanned and delivered digitally.

Not wanting to give up, Outbox changed the way it conducted its business. Rather than essentially interrupting mail deliveries by having mail forwarded, the company sent out “un-postmen” to collect their customers’ mail. From there, the mail was scanned and delivered digitally.

But ultimately, the overhead made the business model unworkable. In a post on the official Outbox blog, Baehr and Davis explained:

“For startups, it’s difficult to know when to throw in the towel. Indeed, the main strategy for most of the life of a startup is overcoming impossible odds, and we built a team that did that over and over again.”

The Outbox team has since moved on to a new product, but the question remains. How can government officials proclaim their support for entrepreneurship and at the same time let their agencies attack business models that offer a better alternative to consumers?

It’s a question entrepreneurs and small business owners should be asking, too.

Image: Outbox