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This article was written and contributed by Ian Naylor, CEO and Founder of UK-based AppInstitute. Image Credit: Flickr/Phil Campbell As with any other market, companies — particularly small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) — need to compete for the attention of consumers and their valuable screen taps if they aim to break into the digital sphere. Often, startups and SMBs can find themselves a step behind established brands offering the same service if they are unable to attract customer attention....

HAZON Solutions aims to make safety measures, inspection operations and development initiatives easier through the use of drones. With a rich experience in Naval carrier aviation, nuclear power operations and intelligence systems, the company is striving to change the way people think about drone usage through productive actions. While it’s easy to just say you are going to use drones for good, how do we know HAZON Solutions isn’t just going to fly their drones around in circles like I do when I try to play with mine?...

LinkedIn ProFinder and Intuit to the rescue: They’ve teamed up on the infographic below, which breaks down the modern-day freelancer into five different groups, with an assortment of facts covering each. Since personality traits can influence one’s passions and motivations, it’s important to tell your Side-giggers, Passionistas and Career Freelancers apart from the Substituters and the Business Builders. Some make more money than others: Side Giggers pull in an average income of $7,600 each year, while Business Builders make $12,300 per year on average....

Braigo Labs Braigo’s story is one for the books, and by this I mean it’s a modern day fairytale success. For a school project, then-12-year old Shubham Banerjee created a braille (tactile writing system for the blind) printer with the Lego Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit. Traditional braille printers cost upwards of $2000, while young Banerjee’s invention rings in at a fraction of that cost around $350. Braigo v1.0 has already proven successful in printing daily items such as labels and lists, and while it currently only prints one letter at a time within five to seven seconds, continual adjustments and upgrades are being made to optimize the product....

On the customer side, the user experience and security is critical to the adoption of new platforms from their banking institutions. If the interface sucks, the level of trust is going to go down and the tech savvy customer is going to move on to another product or company. Companies need to compete with a product that has an intuitive interface to help customers transfer cash and pay for bills with ease, as well as, seamlessly integrate with 3rd party platforms for point-of-sale and provide a military-grade security....

Which is why the recent rumors about the social media giant are troubling. In 2017, Facebook Engagement Is Dropping Across the Board Publishers are seeing huge dips in Facebook page traffic, Digiday reported this week following an admirably open, data-packed blog post from Kurt Gessler, deputy editor for digital news at the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune has grown its Facebook fan page since January while experiencing an inexplicable drop in engagement during the same time period....

In a period when the majority of us spend hours online, platforms like Twitter or Facebook have become necessary tools for social engagement. Because of this, brands and ad agencies have shifted their strategies by furthering their online social media presence and hoping to engage with these potential consumers. Running a successful social media campaign can be arduous, though, and it can take more than simply looking at the trending topics being discussed....

But that initial buyout was what led him to consider his next big step. Taking the Leap Straight out of college at the University of New Mexico, he had an offer of a job from Lockheed Martin, but he also had an offer from a startup. After conferring with his wife, they decided to take a leap of faith. Fortunately for Brandon, it was a risk that paid off. For four years, he built Burnside Digital‘s mobile engineering department and loved the work he was doing in building applications....

The worst advice I received after graduating school was: “Just go out there and network.” Go out where? Network with whom? What does this even mean!? I knew it was important in life to make strong connections with influencers but I had no idea how to build these relationships. Does networking mean that I have to suck up to people for them to like me? I spent the first year of my career trying to meet people at events but when I followed up through email afterward, I never got a single response....

Perhaps there is a need to familiarize yourself with the concept, including the Internet of Things (IoT), as borders between work and home continue to blur. Better yet, you can update your understanding and adopt necessary changes. Here are five current trends that can get you started. Affordable and Less Sophisticated Products If you’re a first-timer, then start off with a hub and a few light bulbs. You can then connect your lights with your smartphone so you can control them individually or as a group....

The Solution: FakeSpot The site comes with a page listing the products with the most fake reviews, which is pretty entertaining. Check it out if you’re in danger of buying the wrong electric callus remover. And, of course, FakeSpot has a page of the best products, too. The site makes money off of those who buy any amazon product through their affiliate link, but it provides a valuable service, too. I just wish I’d thought of this idea first....

Startups no doubt are witness to larger companies investing tons of money into their marketing strategy and branding and don’t have the means to compete at that level. But that shouldn’t be deter you from competing for your slice of the pie. Here are five ways to distinguish your small business from the rest of the crowd. Have a Superb Customer Service Your customer care is the engine of your small business....

A year ago, my mobile app and web development studio, STRV, had fewer than 50 employees all working out of the same office, and our weekly company-wide meeting was the most effective way to distribute news. Today, we are a team of nearly 150, working out of five offices, in two countries, and in three different time zones. Understandably, my employees don’t want to wait for a company-wide meeting to get the latest updates on the projects we’ve landed or the new startups we’re working with....

Take note that, when it comes to security, your employees are far more valuable than the most advanced security software in the market. According to reports, over 90 percent of security breaches can be traced back to employee negligence. That’s why, on top of a solid security policy, you should also invest in employee training and awareness. Here are the best points to cover when training your staff on workplace security:...

According to a 2014 WalletHub analysis of the best states for taxpayers in the country, the state of Illinois came in at 47th place – yes, 47 out of the 50 states. To determine these rankings, the company looked at nine different types of taxes: real estate, state and local income, vehicle property, vehicle sales, sales and use, fuel, alcohol, food, and telecom. It’s a good set of rankings – enlightening, but also absolutely necessary for anyone considering to relocate to another state....

The tournament, which is being hosted by Japan for the first time, promises to be a nail-biter, with three times winner New Zealand looking fairly confident in these early stages. If you don’t want to miss a single tackle or try on the journey to the final (November 2nd), we’d recommend a VPN as the easiest way to catch all the action, wherever you are. With a VPN, it doesn’t matter if your home country isn’t showing the Rugby World Cup – you can simply tune into world-class coverage from anywhere on the globe....

Yoola pulled it off with a lengthy laundry list of partnerships with major Chinese social platforms. Taken on the whole, these platforms serve 98 percent of the Chinese internet population. Yoola will be working with platforms including Weibo (NASDAQ: WB), Youku-Tudou, Tencent (NASDAQ: TCEHY), Toutiao, Miapoi, Kuaishou, Bilibili, Meipai, AcFun, and Aipai. Eyal Baumel, CEO of Yoola, also spoke on the partnership, the first of its kind: Revenue Models Differ Across the Markets Eyal highlighted one major difference: monetization....

According to The Telegraph, the French city of Albertville has found a way to both enjoy cheese as food and to rely on it partially for electricity. Albertville-based energy company, EDF, has designed a new kind of power plant that turns leftover whey into energy. And, in a cheesemaking region, the power plant is able to generate at least 2.8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) each year – enough to power a community of 1,500 people....

Economic potential GE estimates that “Industrial Internet” could add $10-$15 trillion to global GDP by 2035.Cisco says “Internet of Everything” could add $19 trillion in economic value by 2020. Consumer adoption rate Cisco – 25 billion connected devices by 2015, rising to 50 billion by 2020.Gartner – 26 billion IoT devices in use worldwide by 2020.Acquity Group – Over two-thirds of consumers plan on buying connected technology for their homes by 2019....

Consumer testing group Which? (the British equivalent of Consumer Reports) discovered the XR’s lackluster battery life when investigating talk time across a range of mobile phones. However, it also discovered that phones from other manufacturers actually exceeded their quoted battery life. How Long Does the iPhone XR’s Battery Last? According to Apple, owners can expect up to 25 hours talk time with the iPhone XR. However, Which?’s testing has revealed that users are more likely to get just 16-and-a-half hours from their $750 phone....