Having life goals keeps us motivated. The issues we overcome make us stronger and as we reach each goal we should set new goals. Every step moves us towards the lives we want. We apply this to our individual lives but do we apply it to our professional lives?

We spend approximately 30% of our lives at work. For many people a significant amount of this time is unfulfilling. Redundancy in our jobs can cause us to feel like we have no control over how we spend our day. We repeat the same duties day after day i.e. monitor our inbox, file paperwork, return phone calls, and wait to get off work. This leads to an uninspiring work environment and employees who feel detached from the business and constantly watch the clock. Setting goals can keep things new and help combat the rut that people are stuck in at work.

1. Set or Assess Goals Every 3-6 Months – These types of meetings will allow the team or individual to analyze the goals, set specific times for their completion, and help them stay focused.
2. Write Goals Down – Documentation helps to solidify the goals in your mind and provides a reference point for inspiration or redirection.
3. Aim High – A challenging goal once completed is sure to provide a great sense of accomplishment.
4. Find a System to Measure Performance – Set a timeframe for the steps to be completed or skills that need to be learned for the goal to be achieved.
5. Celebrate Each Achievement –Acknowledging achievements boosts pride and motivation to tackle the next step. This is important if you work independently as well as in a team environment.  Remember to always reward yourself.
6. Schedule the Next Goal Setting Meeting – Keep goals fresh, new, and on the top of everyone’s agendas by thinking ahead and scheduling the next meeting.

Setting and reaching goals gives us pride in our work and makes us feel that we are important and contribute to the larger picture.

An app is simply as valuable as it’s function. There are specific things that can determine the value of the function, whether or not the app is useful, whether or not the app works accurately or even whether or not the app is fun. Take ‘Angry Birds,’ for instance. This app has value because of the universal level of entertainment it offers. But a good idea doesn’t necessarily convert to a effective app. So what key features do all good apps have in common? Here are three common features found in highly functional and valuable apps.

Stability and Reliability 

    A good app should go through rigorous testing prior to a launch date.  The developer should be confident that the app will still have value under a wide range of different conditions including disabled WIFI, disabled cellular data and smartphones set to airplane mode. Even if the base function of the app is creative and useful, if it doesn’t work under a variety of conditions then the app loses much of its value. A good way to determine value in an app is to research the amount of testing that went into development.

Consumer Consideration

    Any app well worth it’s price is going to provide worthy functionality. However, the developer needs to consider the consumer in the design of the app and understand that no one wants a surprise overage charge on his or her monthly bill. A good app shouldn’t consume too much data as many cellphone plans include monthly data caps. Before downloading an app, make sure and research the amount of data it costs to use the app.

A Well Constructed API

    API stands for application programming interface. Basically, it’s the way in which applications connect with one another. For example, if you have an app that makes posts to Facebook, that app does so by communicating with Facebook’s API.  This is a very important part of app development because most apps, in one way or another, communicate with other apps. Nothing is more frustrating than realizing your Twitter app has made duplicate posts. A good app will have a well-constructed API to insure that the right information is being communicated.

    While an app’s worth can be of objective determination, there will always be several key elements to look for when searching for that perfect new download. For more tips on finding great apps, take a look a this article.

Most of us remember the black screen with the blinking green cursor waiting patiently for us to input a command in order to launch an application. It was the Disk Operating System that we loving know as DOS. The 30-year anniversary of DOS was last week. In honor of this I decided to reflect on the history and evolution of DOS, arguably the most crucial operating system in the history of computers.

In 1981 IBM released the PC and the following options for operating systems (OS).

• IBM Personal Computer Disk Operating System – cost at the time: $40
• Digital Research CP/M-86 – cost at the time: $240
• SofTech USCD p-System w/Pascal – cost at the time: $695

DOS was the only one of these three which was on the market immediately and was the most cost effective and for that reason became the most popular and commonly used. For a few years the public willingly used the no frills interface of DOS. Then in 1985 Microsoft released Windows, which back then, was a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that needed DOS as an operating system but allowed for easier access to programs. The first versions of Windows weren’t very popular but as newer and improved versions were released, each one still needed DOS, until 1995.

When MS-Windows 95 was released it no longer required DOS but could run completely independent as it had its own built-in OS. However, it did include some portions of the 16-bit DOS code to function. Like a baby bird, Windows hadn’t quite learned to fly without a little bit of assistance from DOS.

But all things must change and a year later in 1996, Windows-NT was released. It was the first version of Windows that was fully 32-bit with no 16-bit DOS code in it all.  However, DOS didn’t disappear from our lives.

Many people still use DOS believing its simplicity to be dependable and efficient. They don’t want all the bells and whistles that come with “user friendly” interfaces. Because of this, newer versions of DOS are still being developed and sold. Many computer manufactures still sell computers with DOS as the main operating system. Today we see FreeDOS, ROM-DOS, DR-DOS, and many more on the market. It seems DOS will live on as long as the die-hard fans still demand the simple elegance of cmd enter.

Staying cool in the summer is sometimes more difficult than it sounds. We all have our own means of beating the heat, be it swimming, eating ice cream, or lounging in a good old-fashioned air-conditioned room. However, there will always be more unique techniques to stay cool, thanks to gadget technology. If you’re looking to last out the summer in comfort, one of these quirky devices just might do the trick.

The Bedfan

This first gadget promises to keep you cool at night, even if you like to sleep under a large blanket. The Bedfan connects to the end of your bed, positioning a small vent just under the covers, and creates a slight breeze. Thanks to natural insulation, this strategically placed airflow generates a fantastic cooling effect. If you sleep best nestled under a large cover but hate being too warm, the Bedfan is here to help. For a closer look at the Bedfan, check out this website.

The BEX Runner

Staying active in the summer can be difficult. Your probabilities for heat exhaustion can    almost double when exercising in severe heat. While the BEX Runner does not claim to prevent these dangers, it does claim to help regulate body temperature.  The BEX runner attaches to your palm and through the power of science, draws in and stores heat from your body. This effect can make exercising in high temperatures much more comfortable. To learn more about the BEX Runner, visit their website.

The iPocket Fan

This is the perfect gadget for any iPhone fanatic looking for an interesting way to cool down. The iPocket Fan is a charging deck for your iPhone or iPod. Attached to the dock is a small desk fan and, when the iPhone is attached, an animated fan display also appears on screen. If you want to make the fan go faster, simply spin the blades on the animated fan on your touch screen. While this device may not be the best thing to rely on while staying cool, it sure is a lot of fun. Check out the website to learn more.

Keeping cool is easy with the right gadgets. Make sure and beat the heat this summer by regulating your temperature. If you’d like to read up on some more cooling gadgets, take a look at this article.

People all over the globe watched as the space shuttle Atlantis took its last trip into space last week. This marked the end of NASA’s space shuttle program however the thousands of technologies that were born from the program will remain with us far into the future. We use technologies from the space program at home, work, and when driving.

What comes to mind whenever you think about technologies developed by NASA? Probably rockets, spacesuits, and freeze-dried foods. It may surprise you to discover just how many common uses they have found for technologies originally developed for the space program. NASA releases a yearly periodical, called Spinoff, that is devoted to educating the public about the variety of technologies with origins at NASA that have become commercialized worldwide.

Here are a few common items that may surprise you to know would not exist without NASA’s technology.

Athletic Shoes – A process called blow rubber molding was developed to produce space helmets and is now utilized in many jogging shoes. This technique allows companies to make hollow soles in order to fill them with a shock absorbing substance. Nike Air is one common shoe that utilizes this process.

DustBusters – Engineers at Black and Decker created a computer program which allows motors to perform well even when using very little power. Thus the cordless power drill and DustBuster was born.

Smoke Detectors – These were first created for Skylab, America’s first space station, in 1970. They are now so common that you cannot legally build a house without installing them.

The desire to explore space has inspired humans throughout time. The space shuttle program pushed these inspirations into the development of incredible technologies. We will miss the space shuttle however the desire to build bigger and better technology for space travel won’t fade. We’ll probably see many more technologies developed by NASA turning up in our homes, hospitals, and lives for years to come.

What do you think of when you imagine a business card? In general, you most likely think of a small stock-paper rectangle that has essential contact information printed on it and, probably, a logo. While this standard method has traditionally been an effective way to exchange business information, it’s not entirely memorable. Thinking outside the box when formatting business cards is a great way to increase your networking efforts. If you’d like to make your business cards more creative, here are a few tips to get you up and running.

Add Texture

This is probably the easiest way to make your business cards more memorable without getting too crazy. A card with texture engages the sense of touch, which adds another layer of memory to the experience. Sure, it sounds silly, but if the brain can remember what the card felt like, it will likely also remember what the card represents. Check out this great example of a textured business card.

Make Them Share-worthy

If your card is worth sharing, it will become a practical social experience. Essentially, this means adding some creative element to the card that the receiver will want to share with his or her friends. Look at this hilarious mustache card, designed to be held in front of the face as an on-the-go disguise. It is exactly the kind of creative design that is sharable. Making a card share-worthy will have a multiplying effect on your networking efforts. Here is a great example.

Make Them Digital

Going green is a great technique when making your business cards. Instead of printing out hundreds of little cards that will eventually end up in the garbage, consider making your business cards digital. The ideal way to do this is by utilizing QR codes, a rising trend among smartphone users. Not only will a digital card reduce printing costs, using a QR code will create a level of interactivity between you and your audience (an important facet of generating brand loyalty). Here are some tips on using QR codes.

The way businesses are organized has changed as technology has grown. We often see companies reorganizing their teams into virtual teams, also known as geographically dispersed teams (GDT). This enables people in different countries to collaborate on a single project. Like most things in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to this style of team and it is not for every business. Is it right for yours?

In the past, it was thought that efficiency had a direct connection with proximity. The idea was held that the more face-time a manager was able to give their team the more productive they would be. Managers are realizing that this may not be true, and that building a team out of people that work well together and have very specific skill sets can generate a far more significant result. Another strong factor impacting productivity can be the mentality of the individuals the group consists of. Many people are inspired by their personal desire to learn more so as to further their careers; this self-motivation is a trait that works well in a virtual team environment. Individuals who are motivated by social interactions or by the desire to avoid negative feedback may not be a good fit for a virtual team.

For some businesses, it is practical to use virtual teams.  Many businesses, large and small, have embraced this innovative organizational technique. Obviously businesses that require people to physically interact to perform a task, such as construction, are not candidates for virtual teams. If you feel implementing virtual teams as an enterprise wide strategy or smaller capacity is a good fit for your company, here are a few items to think about.
 
Advantages

• Recruitment based on competence not proximity
• Team members are able to work during the times when they function most efficiently
• Teams are comprised of members that are self-motivated and self-driven
• More accommodation for team members’ personal and professional lives
• No commuting time or cost
• Reduced overhead, because there is no physical location
• IT expenses are decreased as most teams use web-based tools for collaboration
• Managers can better assess the team’s performance as there are less social pressures

Disadvantages

• Less social interaction, which can be a demotivator for some people
• Loss of trust among team members if there is not assurance that everyone is pulling their own weight
• Creativity might be stifled, as the physical dynamics are lost
• Team members may overwork themselves as managers can not physically see the amount of time each task takes
• Managers may lose track of the team’s progress, i.e. out of site out of mind

Virtual teams interact through a variety of technology including email, audio and video conferencing, and file sharing programs including Google Docs. Below are a few programs that can assist teams who interact remotely.

• Go to meetings – an inexpensive method to have remote meetings
• Yammer – a private social network for businesses that makes it possible for quick communication and interaction
• Drop Box – a free way to share files
• Second Life – allows for interactive meetings with the use of avatars

If you would like more information on virtual teams in action, consider the articles below: 
http://www.theanywhereoffice.com/mobile-work/telework-viritual-teams-midmarket-companies.htm
http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/19/virtual-teams-meetings-leadership-managing-cooperation.html
http://www.openforum.com/articles/7-effective-tools-for-managing-a-virtual-team

If you go to Google News and enter a search for ‘tech bubble,’ you’ll get a dozen fresh articles debating this question: Are technology stocks, particularly social media companies, overvalued?

The mother of all tech bubbles took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when half-baked business ventures got armloads of cash just for fixing a .com to their name.

When the marketplace regained its senses, in 2000, the bubble burst and investors wound up with dot nothing. The question du jour: Does today’s market possess any of the characteristics of the dot-com-era market?

The answer:  Yes and no.

In the yes column, you have companies with huge stock prices without much in the way of, say, profits. Consider some recent and awaited IPOs: LinkedIn.com, Pandora.com, and Groupon.com. Two of these have yet to turn a profit. (LinkedIn logged its first profitable year in 2010.) Twitter is anticipated to fetch a huge share price when it goes public this year, but the company has yet to iron out its moneymaking strategy. (Minor detail, right?)

The no column, there’s a huge quantitative and qualitative difference between 1999 and 2011. As Mashable columnist Jolie O’Dell notes, in 1999 308 tech companies filed for IPO. So far, there have been 25 in 2011. What’s more, it’s easier to see the worth of an Internet company today, when nearly 80 percent of adults and above 90 percent of teenagers are online. In the late 1990s, lower than 40 percent of adults used the Internet, according research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

In other words, the market has matured considerably in the last decade or so. And the players tend to be more mature too. LinkedIn is no Webvan.

Regardless of the differences between 2011 and 1999, there’s still cause for concern. Stock market bubbles are like extremophiles — they find a way to grow in even the most hostile environments. (Which is why you see such huge stock values in an otherwise dismal economy.)

If we’re heading for market correction, I suspect it won’t be as severe as the one in 2000. But if Facebook starts running Superbowl ads featuring sockpuppet, it’s time to panic. 

QR codes have been showing up in more and more settings of late. Maybe you’ve seen them on the side of buses, on posters, in magazines, or even on business cards.  These advanced bar codes were first implemented to track car parts, but have recently been useful in generating brand awareness and loyalty.

What is a QR Code?

    A QR, or Quick Response code, is a multi dimensional version of the common barcode. Much like the common barcode, a QR code is readable by a scanning device.  As smartphones are able to scan these codes, QR codes have become a valuable tool for interactive and very targeted advertising.

    When you scan a QR code with your smartphone, the web-enabled information that is embedded within the code is triggered, permitting your phone to then navigate to the information intended by the code’s generator. It’s the same technology as a barcode at a grocery store, except the QR code is intricate enough to support much more information.

How are QR Codes used in Business?  

    Generating a QR code is simple. All you have to do is enter the information you wish to be accessed into a QR generator. There are many free generators on the Internet.  A good one to begin with, if you’re thinking about making your own code, is the Kaywa generator.

    Once you have the QR code, you can publish it on any print media or online. Making a QR code available allows anyone with a smartphone to scan it and access the data stored within.

Why it works

    QR codes are a great way to build brand loyalty because it adds a special value to the data, making accessing a fun experience for the user. Despite the fact that QR codes are a new marketing strategy in the Western World, they have been used to expand business for over a decade in Japan. If you’re looking for a fun and easy way to create interest in your business, consider giving QR codes a try.

When I think of tablets — the iPad specifically — I think of watching videos, surfing the web, and playing games. Putting things off, in other words. But what if there’s a legitimate spot for tablet computers at the office?

Infoworld recently ran an article about a New York law firm named Proskauer that equipped its sizable team of lawyers with iPads. This wasn’t simply a generous bonus for a job well done. Proskauer’s attorneys are now expected to use their tablets as their primary computing hardware: “Today, in excess of 500 Proskauer lawyers use iPads to generate superslick PowerPoint slides, Excel spreadsheets loaded with sky-high figures, and verbose Word documents. Lawyers pass this electronic paperwork back and forth among clients. They even present information on their iPads to judges.”

The utility of tablet computing is especially evident in the medical care setting. As more medical practices change to electronic health records systems (EHRs), doctors and nurses are finding that using portable hardware is a natural (and necessary) shift.

And tablets are spreading far beyond the clinic and courtroom. CIO.com recently published a slideshow of tablets in action (hat tip to Infoworld). You can see these slim instruments at archaeological sites, on the battlefield, and even in the cockpits of planes.

For Proskauer, the switch to a tablet-centric office had its hiccups. “Rolling out the iPad actually turned out to be quite a significant expenditure in time, much more than I would have thought,” said Steven Kayman, chair of the technology committee at Proskauer, in an interview with Infoworld. “There’s just a hundred decisions that have to be made along the way.”

Call it the early adopter tax: technology trailblazers must solve hitherto unknown problems on the fly, with no template to follow. The law firm had to address these questions: Would lawyers pay for apps they needed or would the tablets come with a preset menu of apps? Would personal use be allowed? How would tablets impact the network — specifically security?

Though these questions weren’t simple, they were undeterred. And the firm isn’t looking back. “You’ve got to be forward-thinking,” Proskauer COO Gurwitz told Infoweek. “It’s clear the world is evolving.”