Speaking of tailspins, This Week in Technology has three great tech stories lined up for you- Yahoo’s buyout of Tumblr, our exciting introduction to Google Glass, and Lojack for Android phones. Since we can hardly contain ourselves, let’s get right into the action.

Yahoo Purchases Tumblr for $1.1 Billion

In our first news story of the day, search engine giant Yahoo has purchased Tumblr for the bargain price of a mere $1.5 billion dollars. This move is designed to help Yahoo tap into the teenage and young adult online user base since the platform is so popular within that demographic. Tumblr fans, on the other hand, have opposed the move since they expect mass amounts of display advertising to soon fill their computer screens. That’s probably why Yahoo has gone to great lengths stating that it has no intention of changing what makes the social media site so great.

So what should you expect from Tumblr in the upcoming months? If you believe Yahoo, very little should change. There will be no Yahoo branding and it will be run as an independent company by Tumblr founder and CEO David Karp. “Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing,” said Karp in a statement. “Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from.”

With an average of 900 posts per second from 300 million unique monthly visitors, this is certainly a game-changer for Yahoo if they stick to the plan of not altering the popular micro-blogging website. We will certainly revisit this story as new details arise.

First Look at Google Glass

In other news, we gained a special sneak peek at the hottest new product of the year- Google Glass. For a mere $1,500, we were given our very own pair to test out however we saw fit and everyone around the office has been buzzing about what these special lenses would do. We are proud to say that after two days of extensive testing, playing, and bragging…we still have no Earthly idea. Sort of.

These special glasses from Google are essentially a combination Wi-Fi controller that connects to your Google accounts on smartphones, tablets, and laptops. While there is a viewable camera mounted above the lenses and a tiny view screen, your video is actually designed to stream over the net or through your Google device. These nifty glasses also let you browse through your phone’s hard drive, make phone calls, and generally make everyone freak out once they realize that you may be fresh off the Borg ship from Star Trek.

While Google Glass is certainly cutting edge technology, you may want to hold off for a little while before trying to secure your own pair of glasses. This initial launch is mainly for tech developers and software testers so that there’s ample time for apps to be built before these beauties hit retail shelves. We’re guessing that these lenses will eventually be used for everything from gaming to video conferencing to…who really knows. We will definitely update you again soon.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Gets Lojack

Our last tidbit of the day is more than just a news story- it’s an adventure! Imagine if you will, that your smartphone suddenly disappeared. Your whole life is packed on that little device; business contacts, calendar events, and even your Aunt Susie’s award-winning recipe for five alarm chili. While this sounds like quite the gloomy tale so far, a quick phone call in the near future to Lojack will completely turn the tides since they will be able to remotely lock down your device, protect all of your sensitive information, and then dispatch a team of cyber-ninjas to locate your smartphone and retrieve it.

While we normally save our final news clip of the day for a far-fetched tech story, this type of service will actually be available from Lojack in upcoming months on many types of Android phones. An initial partnership has already been arranged with Samsung to debut the technology on the Galaxy S4 with other models adopting the tech later this summer. The cost for the entire ninja track-and-recovery service is $29.95 per month with subscription plans ranging from 1-4 years. Although the price is a bit steep, the look on a red-handed criminal’s face would make up for the cost in spades.

Well, that’s all we have for you in This Week in Technology; be sure to check  back with us next week to see where the world of tech will take us!

Ask yourself – Where is my audience? How do they like to get information? Am I providing what they need when and where they need it? A couple important things to remember about techies is that they are very comfortable using technology (obviously) and generally own multiple devices ranging from phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, gaming consoles and more. They love to consume and share a variety of media types such as text, applications, video, infographics, blogs and other channels of information. This infographic from BlueStacks uses data from Nielsen and poll responses from its 145,000 Facebook fans to create a picture of the average male Android user in 2011 – information from infographics and market studies like this will help you tremendously when you are crafting messaging and strategy for your online presence.

If you want to increase visibility of your brand or product, your website can’t be your online “property.” Think of other ways to manage your presence online. Consider utilizing social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and online directories or communities specific to your business to increase your reach and customer engagement. You don’t need to be on all of these platforms – managing all of them would be an enormous time commitment that most companies don’t have the resources to maintain. Choose the channels that your target audience is using. If they are super techie, start posting your blogs and getting involved on Reddit. If you are targeting business professionals, LinkedIn or Google+ are better choices. When it comes to choosing between paid or free services, the best advice is to test, test, test. What is working and what isn’t? Keep refining your approach to best capitalize on your market.

Keep your profile information up-to-date and on-message across all social media platforms. Have a strategy for engaging with your users regularly on your chosen platforms, tweaking your strategy to meet the rules of engagement and audience of each platform. The biggest rule of social media? Create content that people want to share! When it comes to business profiles in local or industry directories, prioritize which ones to use based on what is most relevant to your service. Have a plan for regularly reviewing and refreshing content and images on these sites to keep them up to date at all times.

Ensure that your website code, content and links are SEO friendly and SEO optimized. Now that a good portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices, be sure to utilize responsive design techniques to create an optimized experience for most mobile devices. To keep your visitors engaged, include content with a variety of media such as video, images and infographics. Design information architecture to create clear user paths and calls to action throughout your site.

Finally, mobile apps can be great tools for reengagement or loyalty/retention programs when implemented as a strategic part of your marketing mix. For example, Amadeus Consulting developed an iPhone and iPad app for NADA that provides a valuable resource for NADA’s network of auto and truck dealers by aggregating online information from a variety of resources into one, easy to use feed.

For more strategies for building local online visibility and information about digital marketing, visit www.AmadeusDigital.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

In my experience as a Business Development consultant who works with entrepreneurs often, passion is the key trait that sets an entrepreneur apart from the general business population.  However, I have identified five key aspects that separate the successful entrepreneur apart from the struggling entrepreneur. These aspects are credibility, preparation, protection, execution and strategy.

My perspective is that of a business consultant – someone who an entrepreneur typically approaches for help.  Entrepreneurs need to “sell” me on their idea and their approach before I am willing to invest more time into helping them.  Implementing some of my tips may help you as you approach other valuable business resources such as venture capitalists, development shops, and lawyers.

Credibility

In sales they teach us that you have 30 seconds to earn the next 5 minutes.  Being an entrepreneur is like being in a perpetual state of selling – you are selling your idea to your friends, your family, and the people who will ultimately support you from a business perspective.  What’s your elevator speech?  How will you convey your idea and your plan in the most impactful way?

One of my pet peeves is when I have entrepreneurs tell me they have “a million dollar idea”. What does that even mean?  How do you know?  This over used phrase tells me that you only care about the idea, not your plan to execute.  In general, I would recommend avoiding catch phrases like these at all costs.  Don’t try to be flashy – just convey your idea quickly and professionally – you will gain much more credibility that way.

Come to your first call or meeting prepared, list out your goals, have a strategy for you desired outcome for each time you interact with someone. Remember that time is valuable to many of the people that you are initially approaching – so don’t waste it.  Also, keep in mind that each role you approach will have different requirements for information.  Know your audience and prepare accordingly.

Leave your ego at the door. Remember, many of the people you are talking to interact with entrepreneurs every day, all who claim that they have the next great idea.  What will set you apart is your preparation and professionalism, not your ego or your idea.  Also, don’t feel threatened when you are met with some challenging questions.  Maintain your composure and be thoughtful in your responses.  If you don’t have the answer, make a note to follow up with correct information.  Remove the emotion of your idea from the conversation so you can maintain control of the outcome.

Invest some of your own money. It always floors me when I have entrepreneurs ask if I would be willing to be an equity partner when they are willing to invest funds of their own.  Let me ask you this: would you ever invest personally into an idea that the owner wasn’t also personally invested in?  Not only is personal financial investment proof of your passion, it is proof of your business acumen and your ability to return on an investment. Before you start blowing up the internet and calling all the consulting and/or VC firms you can find, determine how much you are willing to invest of your own personal finances without it ruining your life.  Define that number and work towards it.  A very smart man once said, “Begin with the end in mind.” Know your limits and build your business plan around that.

Preparation

Do research ahead of time, or pay someone to do it!  When entrepreneurs call up and say they want to build a competitor to Facebook or another very successful company I am always frustrated.  Fascinating, yes.  A spectacular idea, obviously.  But how will you compete with Facebook?  What makes you different and better?  Are you willing to make a 6-figure bet that you are better than Facebook?

Do a market analysis – know your customer, know your market, know your competition.

Figure out what makes your business and your product different from the rest of the market. Remember: you are looking at investing some of your own personal funds.  You need assurance that you are different enough to make people want to interact with your product and make your business a success.

Don’t take people’s help for granted. They will lose passion for your idea, mostly because they simply don’t care about it as much as you do.  As an entrepreneur, you are the driving force behind the vision for your company.  People only want to help you if you help yourself.  I like to use the example of a scenario where your car is broken down on the side of the road. The quickest way to get someone to help you is by popping the hood and checking out the car yourself, not sitting in the front seat waiting to be saved.  People want to help others that help themselves.

Nobody knows your idea better than you – it is your responsibility to drive the vision of your idea to ensure your product turns out exactly as you have envisioned it.  This all starts with preparation.

Be respectful of people’s time.  Remember that most of the people you are engaging initially are experts in their field.  You want to set them up for success.

A Startup Story: CellFace

Jay and Zo with CellFace came to us with a great idea that will dramatically impact the mobile wallet world.  Honestly, their idea isn’t a new one.  Companies like Google, Square and Mastercard have been struggling with how to approach this issue for some time now.  What set them apart was their preparation and research.  Here’s what sold their idea for me and for Amadeus.  First and foremost, their passion for the idea got me excited.  That’s great, but most entrepreneurs can do that.  What distinguished them was their research and preparation.  Jay and Zo came to every meeting prepared with fresh research that guided our brainstorming sessions.  We are working on some complex technical hurdles as well as legal and social barriers as well.  Each meeting, Jay and Zo compiled research that became essential tools to help us overcome technical hurdles as well as articles on recent events that would impact key business decisions related to legal and social barriers.  Their preparation and research not only proved their dedication and commitment, but it also allowed our technical team to move past technical barriers much more quickly than usual, almost surely reducing our research and development time by several months.  More importantly, however, we were able to collaborate, bringing a variety of viewpoints to the table and deciding on key business requirements as a group.  This is a beautiful example of how preparation will empower the experts you hire to help you best.  As Jerry Maguire says: “Help me help you!”

Protection vs. Promotion

I always say there is a fine line between protecting your idea and promoting it.  There is a time and a place for both.

Here’s my biggest pet peeve, hands down: when entrepreneurs ask for NDA’s the first time I interact with them.  To me, this is the sure sign of an amateur.  Here’s the thing: you call me, you want my help, but you want me to have to take some extra steps and go through some extra work before you even share the details that I need to help you. Remember the whole credibility, 30 seconds for 5 minutes thing? This is not a good way to start out our relationship.

I’ll say this, the key trait of entrepreneurs is their abundance of ideas so, no offense, but you probably aren’t the first guy to come up with something cool.  I hear cool ideas all day long.  Heck, I come up with cool ideas all day long!  I give them away for free!  You want to know why?  Because the hard work isn’t in coming up with something cool – the hard work is in making that cool idea come to life!

All joking aside, here’s why NDA’s are dangerous.  It starts the relationship on the wrong foot – slows down the process, instills a feeling of distrust – think of it as you are making someone work harder to give you the help that you are seeking.  Remember, credible resources won’t steal your idea, but they will get frustrated if they have to work hard just to help you.  Have confidence in the confidentiality of your business or development partner – companies like Amadeus Consulting have confidentiality measures already built into client and development processes, and are dedicated to helping you succeed by protecting your idea and your product.

To avoid people stealing your idea – do your research!

Have they worked with entrepreneurs before?  How big is the company?  Do they have an actual office building, or do they work out of some dude’s garage?  Credible companies don’t steal ideas.  They make ideas come to life.  Those are the people you want to work with, and those are the very same people that get turned off by NDA’s.

Remember: Help us help you! You came to us for help, so don’t be paranoid.

Execution Matters

Have you ever heard the saying, “all the stories there are to be written, have already been written”? I It rings particularly true in the entrepreneurial world – somebody has probably thought of your idea before.

If an idea is not unique to you, which it’s likely not, then execution is what really matters. It’s how you solve the problem, not how you view it.

An idea is not going to sustain a long term business, a strategy will.  Let me tell you this, many of my most successful entrepreneurs have seen some major setbacks in the execution of their business plan.  So many of my successful entrepreneurs have seen their project timelines extend from their originally planned 6 months until market launch to 2, sometimes 3 years.  What do you think kept them going, the idea or the strategy?  It’s always been the strategy – the “ok, I just completed that task, what am I doing next?”  It’s the accomplishment of the little goals toward the greater vision that get you there.  My dad always told me that when you are facing a huge undertaking, focus on the little steps, or else you will get overwhelmed.

An idea is not going to encourage you when you fail, creative thinking and problem solving will make your idea come to fruition. Not to mention, a lot of times your idea will change! Being flexible and not becoming discouraged by changes in your strategy will ultimately make you successful.

A Startup Story: Parallax Enterprises

Parallax Enterprises was formed by a group of fighter pilots in the US Airforce.  The CEO, Jeff, is also a surgeon.  He’s only one of 12 fighter pilot surgeons in the world.  These guys will absolutely change the way the medical industry conducts medical procedures on a daily basis.  Hands down, they will impact the medical industry in a severely positive way.  Essentially, they are leveraging cutting edge technology to implement checklists in the Operating Room (OR) with the goal of improving patient safety.  Additionally, the tools they are building will allow for greater OR team collaboration, allowing for a dramatic reduction in surgical error.

The idea of OR checklists isn’t a new one, by the way.  Medical industry experts have been calling for the implementation of checklists in the OR for years now.  What sets Parallax apart is how they are solving the problem – how they are implementing their strategy.  Jeff’s unique perspective given his specialized background has allowed him to apply checklist functionality similar to that which is used in combat flying scenarios.  Jeff and his team are competing with the likes of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and GE Healthcare.  What is keeping him ahead of these behemoth companies is his ability to think creatively and solve problems by leaning on a defined but flexible business strategy.  We are working together to tackle one of the biggest issues facing healthcare today in an almost David vs. Goliath scenario – and they will succeed.  It comes down to preparation and strategy, and these guys have it nailed.

Planned vs. Emergent Strategies

In the book How Will you Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christiansen, he talks about the importance of knowing the difference between your planned strategy and emergent strategy.  The majority of entrepreneurs start with a plan. They will spend this many months in product development, this many months in launch phase, then, after a magical pre-determined number of months, the world will fall in love with their idea, and they will get rich. This is the planned strategy.

The emergent strategy comes out when your research and development phase takes twice as long as you originally planned for, half of your investors back out at the last minute, or that huge sale you were counting on just didn’t come through.  My most successful entrepreneurs seem to not only have an amazing ability to respond nimbly to these changes (notice I didn’t say “failures” or “setbacks”), but they also have an abundance of patience – patience with themselves and patience with the process.

Look, the reality is that as you get deeper into a project, you learn a lot that you didn’t know before you started.  The most successful entrepreneurs are able to respond nimbly to changing product requirements, changing marketplaces (especially in technology), changing competition and changing funding status.  The best advice I have is to surround yourself with a core group of supporters that will give you the hard news when you need it and prevent you from quitting when you reach that point.  Also, maintain a singular focus on your ultimate business goal – define it and pursue it relentlessly.  This is what will keep you going when you have been beaten down by rejection and feeling like “changes” are turning into “failures and setbacks.”

So – I live in Denver and commute to Boulder every day.  Some days, I start out my day thinking I’m headed to Boulder via US 36.  I come off the ramp, and before I even hit Sheridan, I see a sea of brakelights.  So I say a few curse words, and exit Sheridan.  I take a few backroads – maybe end up back on I-25, and adjust my route.  The point is, I will always end up in Boulder.  It’s just that it was my emergent strategy that got me there, not my planned strategy.  Yes, it can be frustrating.  Yes, it can be scary.  But I keep my focus on my destination, and I will arrive.  The route doesn’t matter as much as the destination.

In summary, there are 5 key traits I have identified in the successful entrepreneur: credibility, preparation, protection vs. promotion, execution and planned vs. emergent strategy.  The most successful entrepreneurs I have seen are marked by a singular focus on their ultimate business goal, backed by research, focused through strategy and a plan of execution, and supported by a key group of individuals.  It is my deepest desire to see you succeed.  Chances are that you will find a way to change the world.  I’d love to hear about it and how I can support you.  Just don’t tell me you have a million dollar idea and I need to sign an NDA

The updates are being called Penguin 2.0 by Google’s internal team, and Penguin 4.0 by other SEO authorities in the market. The update is promised to be more comprehensive than Penguin 1.0, so there may be a lot of sites affected by this. However, Cutts assures us that if your site is a good site that offers good quality, original content that is targeted to make a good impression on users, then your site “shouldn’t” be affected.

Google posted a YouTube video of Matt Cutts explaining the changes, so check out the whole video if you are curious. I have pulled together a list that describes most of the changes below.

1. Find advertorials that “violate Google’s quality guidelines” and ensure they do not pass page rank

We had a pretty comprehensive discussion around advertorials last night at our Boulder SEO meetup about this one. Many of our SEOers use advertorials as part of their overall marketing mix to increase site traffic, but most of us were surprised to hear that advertorials weren’t already banned from floating page rank. There was some concern among bloggers that if they are paid in say, free product, to review that particular product, will their blog site take a hit? Cutts does mention that he doesn’t see anything wrong with an advertorial, however it should not float page rank and should be clear that it is an ad.

2. Going upstream to deny the value of link spammers

Your guess is as good as mine as to what, exactly, this means. It sounds like Google is attempting to make link spamming less effective, which is a good thing, but the “going upstream” part of that sentence is what is somewhat concerning. My advice is to check your links, inbound and out, through something like Link Detox, which will help identify how many toxic links there are to your site, and clean them up! Better safe than sorry.

3. Work on better detection for hacked sites, and better communication to webmasters

This update is obviously a good one. Hacked sites are never good for anyone, and it will be nice if Google Webmaster gets better at alerting us of any problems or potential problems. ‘Nuff said there.

4. Detecting authorities in certain spaces, ensure they rank higher

I think we all can say this is something we really hope they figure out. However, in our SEO meetup last night we started discussing the “how” of this update and we think it may have something to do with Google Authorship. This turned into a pretty big discussion on whether or not Google is trying to turn us all into publishing companies. However, for those of us that do a large amount of content publishing, this is not going to be a bad thing. It could be difficult for small mom and pop’s that aren’t really in the business of being an authority on something small, say like custom stamps. We will have to see how this one plays out.

5. Out of nowhere, Matt Cutts introduces a Panda update

Google is working on finding “additional signals” of quality from sites that are on the border or gray area and soften the impact of Panda for these gray area sites. Does Google feel bad a couple years later for hurting a lot of these border-lines sites? Perhaps.

6. Less clustering on search pages

This sounds like once a user sees a website’s cluster of links they are less likely to see that website later in the search results pages. This is a nice thing, I think. It gives others a chance to be shown in page 2 or later for the small percentage of people who actually go to page 2 in SERP’s.

There are other, less impactful updates he mentions, and of course he cautions that these may change as they start making their changes this summer. All I know is this is shaping up to be an interesting next few months as Google rolls out their updates. Stay tuned, our digital marketing experts will continue to update our readers as we uncover more information.

What it Really Means to Store Credit Card Information

Keeping credit card information on servers is not only expensive, but makes your servers a target for hackers. You will need a full IT team simply to ensure your system’s security is not compromised and your software follows the best security practices available today, tomorrow, and the next 5 years. In the undesired event someone is able to access your servers (external hackers or even current/past employees), you run the risk of your company’s name being tarnished and losing existing/future customers. Moreover, your company could be the recipient of a class-action lawsuit or heavily fined  as a result of the breach.

Historically, credit card breaches online have been far from few. As a result, there are accepted standards enforced by credit card companies and issuing banks – the most common one being the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, commonly referred to as PCI. The estimated average cost of full PCI compliance audits in 2010 was $225,000/year and continues to rise each year. This does not include additional employment, software, and hardware costs commonly required. Nor does the number include expenses required to resolve any issues discovered in the yearly audit.

Don’t Touch That Card!

The easiest, cheapest, and least stressful way to avoid issues related around credit cards is to never touch them. If your system is never aware of sensitive payment information, you don’t have to worry about the liability, audits, and costs associated with having sensitive credit card information.

Your system isn’t the application that is physically pulling money out of user’s accounts, but will talk to another system, called a payment processor, that will communicate with the bank that issued the card number to ultimately provide your business account with the appropriate funds. Applications that store credit card numbers still have to send them to the payment processing system in order to charge customers. Avoid the liability, audits, and headaches that result from having credit card data on file and have your customers provide their payment information directly to the payment processing system!

Although the details vary between different payment processors (and each processor may have more than one option), the overall process is generally the same. Below is one way your website can accept credit cards without touching the credit card number:

In the example above, the customer visits the payment page on your site, but sends the payment information directly to your payment processor. The payment processor validates the credit card, ensures your customer has enough funds or available credit, and provides your website with the appropriate receipt information. The user is then sent back to your site, so you can display the receipt information. As an additional bonus, from your customer’s perspective, they never left your site, allowing you to maintain complete control of your system’s purchasing experience.

Charging Customers at a Later Time

A lot of our clients prefer to charge their customers in the future, either one time (when their order ships) or multiple times (for automatically renewing subscriptions). Even in these situations, your website does not need to save nor touch credit card data. Similar to the last example, the customer can send the credit card information directly to the payment processor. However, instead of obtaining a receipt, the payment processor can provide your system with a unique, non-sensitive token that your system (and only your system) can use to charge the customer’s card later. It is important to mention that this token can only be used by your application and deposited into your merchant bank account. Thus, if someone else were to obtain this token, they will not be able to get rich at the expense of your customers and your company’s reputation.

Again, although the details vary between different payment processors (and each processor may have more than one option), the overall process is generally the same. Below is one way your website can charge customer cards in the future, without ever seeing the credit card number:

In the example above, the customer visits a page to purchase a new subscription. They enter their credit card information, which is sent directly to the payment processor, which provides your website with a token that can be used to charge their card at a later date. The customer is redirected back to your website, which uses the token to charge them for the first subscription. When their subscription is about to expire, your website uses the token to charge them another subscription fee, automatically renewing their subscription.

How Amadeus Consulting Can Help

Amadeus Consulting has extensive experience in secure e-commerce solutions, are an Authorize.Net™ Certified Developer, and have extensive experience with other payment processors including PayPal PayFlow Pro,Verisign, and more. We can help you determine the best payment gateway for your e-commerce solution, so contact us if you need help!

Smartphone Tech Gets a Major Boost

Our first news story of the day comes from Intel and the launch of their second generation Atom processor that is known by code name Silvermont. As you can see from the illustration above, this new chip brags about delivering three times the processing power in a manner that’s nearly five times more efficient; which is quite an accomplishment by modern standards. Then again, the Atom has not been improved on since its original launch in 2008 so this innovation has been long overdue in the tech world.

So what allows Silvermont to achieve such impressive benchmarks? It starts with a new 22-nanometer, 3D transistor architecture design that powers up to eight processing cores. It also utilizes an out of order execution to boost overall performance while reducing overall power consumption; which is a first in mobile devices. There will also be several different types of second generation Atom processors from this Silvermont innovation and they will begin hitting the stores shelves around the holiday season in December.

Senate Approves Internet Sales Tax

Earlier this week, the Senate decided that the $11.4 billion dollars in sales tax that is lost to online sales within the United States was far too costly to ignore any further. A new bill has been passed to make it easier for each individual state to pursue collecting tax revenue off online sales that occur both in and out of state, which is a direct rebuttal of the 1992 Supreme Court decision. This bill is also proposing to simplify the tax collection process for retailers and reduce the amount of paperwork required to meet the bill’s criteria.

While the new bill may sound like a good idea on paper, thousands of small business owners are calling it a logistical nightmare. Take the average eBay seller, for example, and the task of having to keep up with sales tax forms, payments, and other data for 50 individual states…while still running their business at the same time. This bill, if passed into law, will essentially drive tens of thousands of small owner/operators out of the marketplace and that’s not good for anyone.

The Reality of Quantum Computing

Our final story of the day takes a look at D-Wave Systems and their attempt to introduce the world’s first quantum computer to the marketplace. Initial testing shows that this strange new computer system can perform at levels up to 3,600 times faster than today’s average high-end business system so its capabilities are not in question here; skeptics instead argue the practical usage of quantum physics and how it can redefine our understanding of technology and possibly the universe itself.

Of course, whether or not this is actually the world’s first quantum computer is an argument for another day. Professor Catherine McGeoch argues that the point of whether D-Wave’s creation falls into that specific category makes no difference anyway- the larger picture is that the technology could make modern supercomputers obsolete since the initial results are exponentially more impressive. A working model has already been sold and installed for technology development group Lockheed Martin and initial feedback has been almost entirely positive.

“There is no sense in which this is the definitive statement about quantum computing,” Ms. McGeoch said. “I’m more interested in how well it works, not whether or not it is quantum.”

Well, that’s all we have for This Week in Technology so be sure to check back next week to see where the world of tech will take us.

What does this term mean? Let me give you a little scenario. I was on Facebook the other day, scrolling through my news feed and this ad pops up at the top with a picture of my mom with an ad about buying her a mug with her “mug” (photo) for Mother’s Day. That is pretty targeted. Obviously they were using the fact that I have her listed in my Facebook Family Tree as my mom to target me for the ad. This is pretty extreme targeting, not only reaching out to me to advertise a mother’s day gift, but using a pic of my own mom to get my attention was pretty clever.

Facebook’s advertising platform is actually pretty interesting. It allows businesses to target the right individuals based on location and the things they like. I, for instance, often see ads and promoted posts that deal with fitness, because of the pages I have “Liked.” I also see pages that my friends like.

More Examples of Extremely Targeted Ads

I have seen some other examples of this trend. Back before I started paying a monthly subscription for music streaming, I used to hear a lot of ads. Unfortunately I was not smart enough to pay for my subscription before the election last year, and pretty much every ad I heard was from the candidate for the party of which I am registered.

The last time I went to the grocery store, I noticed that I got some coupons for the chicken sausage I was purchasing that day, which makes sense. But I also received coupons for things I hadn’t purchased for over a month. My purchases are tracked by using the grocery store loyalty card. Grocery Stores themselves are actually a mecca of advertising and promotions. I could write an entire blog about how everything in the store is strategically placed to entice you to buy things.

Does it Work?

In a recent survey by the Digital Advertising Alliance, 92% of Americans would prefer that important things like news, weather, blogs and video content stay free through online advertising. So at least consumers are expecting to see ads. And nearly 70% said they would prefer ads that were targeted to their unique interests.

Also, 42% of consumers polled claimed they purchased something from an ad they saw online. A global mobile media study by InMobi found that 45% of respondents said mobile ads influenced an in-store purchase, and 46% say mobile ads influenced them to buy via mobile.

I would say those numbers are pretty compelling. Not only are consumers expecting to see ads, they actually want extreme targeted ads because they are more exposed to the things that matter to them. It makes a lot of sense. I actually appreciate when I save money on a new pair of shoes, or learn about a new running accessory that makes running more enjoyable. I don’t care if I learned about that via an ad.

I hope the trend of extreme ad targeting continues, as long as advertising companies don’t get creepy about it and start really stalking me or selling my private information!

However, for Americans who cannot afford a mobile device or the costly monthly payments, connectivity can be a major issue. Though the phoneless can sometimes rely on a payphone to complete their calls, payphones aren’t as widespread as they used to be and they aren’t the best option when you are waiting to receive a call. The good news is that New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg recently announced a competition asking participants to “Reinvent Payphones” as the payphone contract expiration date of 2014 quickly approaches. The hope of this competition was to turn payphones into more dynamic, connected and useful pieces of technology – encouraging those with and without smartphones alike to start using payphones again. You can read more about the Reinvent Payphones competition and the participants in this article from Mashable.

Ronald Davis tells his story in Chicago, IL

A video that went viral several weeks ago thanks to the help of social media site like Gawker, Upworthy and Reddit introduces viewers to Ronald Davis, a kind but discouraged homeless man living on the streets of Chicago. He pointed out a very serious problem for many homeless – getting a job is really hard when you can’t provide the business with a way to contact you after you drop off your application. Because Ronald doesn’t have a phone, his attempts to find employment thus far have all been dead ends. This moving video alerted many viewers to this issue that we don’t often think of but is a serious problem in the fight to improve employment rates in the United States.

Soon after the story of Ronald Davis spread like wildfire on the Internet and pulled at the heartstrings of millions of Americans, the Huffington Post shed light on some positive action for the jobless and homeless in California. A federal program started in the mid-1980’s called the Lifeline program providing discounted landline service for non-profit organizations was recently extended to include discounted cellphone service and devices. The program provides a free cell phone, 250 minutes and 250 text messages for free each month to each qualified individual (the income ceiling for eligibility is $24,700 for households with 1-2 people). California was the first state to implement this part of the Lifeline program last March using Nexus Communications Inc. and Virgin Mobile’s Assurance Wireless for service. Thousand Oaks drop-in center is one of the establishments that started providing cellphones to the jobless and homeless in their community. Access to free cellphones and service allow Thousand Oaks visitors to connect with their family and friends, but perhaps more importantly, gives them the chance to interact more effectively with our society and make positive changes in their lives.

Christopher Chow, a spokesman for the California Public Utilities Commission, explained that “Everybody who lives in the state has the right to participate in society. Everybody should have access to a telephone.”

This federal program is an exciting development in the United States that is helping in the fight to provide technology access to all Americans. We are looking forward to hearing of Colorado non-profits and others throughout the United States implementing the Lifeline program and and joining the cause to increase technology accessibility.

Then again, embracing technology within your small business can only lead to positive growth if your purchases are based on productivity and sales.  Here are five small business technology tips that will aid you with those decisions.

Keep Tech in Your Budget

The #1 mistake that most small businesses make when it comes to innovations is not preparing for tomorrow’s technology today.  Besides everyday necessities like state of the art video cards, memory, and wireless printers, your sales force will constantly demand the latest and greatest in order to remain competitive.  Tablets and smartphones are the 1980’s equivalent to calculators and briefcases in the business world so do not confuse yourself into thinking that these are “luxury” items.  Tech savvy businesses are thriving in today’s marketplace and it requires a continual investment.  Regardless of where your company is at in terms of sales or market share, there will come a time in the near future when technological expansions are inevitable.  It is far better to prepare for that moment today than to be caught off guard tomorrow.

Embrace Mobile Technology

The exact same point can be made for mobile technology because it makes productivity skyrocket.  Today’s smartphone is almost twenty times faster than the old PC 133’s that so many of us grew up on and with access to the World Wide Web, everything from videoconferencing to cloud sharing can be accomplished with a flick of the finger.  Add to that the concept that most workers end up “taking their work home with them” and it becomes apparently clear that mobile technology literally pays for itself in spades.

Also, it is not enough to assume that most employees will opt to buy their own smart gadget because increased productivity and a higher chance of closing sales is never to be left to chance.  Regardless of who’s making the purchase, get your company synced up and embrace this technology.

Measure All Future Upgrades

On the other hand, don’t fall into the rut of thinking that every time new tech hits the market, it needs to be purchased in order for your company to stay ahead of the pack.  For example, we’ve seen countless corporations toss aside perfectly good PCs, laptops and peripherals simply because something slightly better became available; only to do the exact same thing all over again a few months later.   Now don’t get us wrong; if you’re in an industry that requires continual technology expansions then that’s one thing but for the vast majority of business sectors, it is just wasting money.  If the tech you’re thinking about purchasing does not instantly make your company more productive or more profitable, it is not an absolute necessity.

Backup Absolutely Everything

Last year alone, businesses spent over $400 million dollars replacing data that was lost from their mainframes.  That equates down to just under $1.1 million dollars per day in catastrophic failures where a company could have saved their entire hard drives…they simply chose not to in order to save a couple of bucks per month.  In 2013, backing up your company’s most sensitive data should not be a luxury; it should be standard operating procedures regardless of any other factor.  There are simply too many affordable options available through the cloud to risk even a single email address from being lost.

Hire a Technology Expert

Finally, we’re going to end with the somewhat obvious here and make the recommendation to hire a technology expert to meet your business’s needs.  Now, at this point it may not be a full time individual and he/she may not even work inside your physical location…that’s perfectly fine.  The point here is that someone who keeps track of technology is present to advise you, maintain your existing infrastructure, and to help plan for the future.  If you need any help with that, just give us a call and we’ll be glad to help you prepare.

Many choose to outsource IT services because of flexible costs and faster project lifecycles. However, the down US economy in recent years has legislators and onshore IT industry players looking for ways to discourage sending projects overseas in order to capitalize on the technology market and keep revenues in the United States. Washington and the US media have been very focused on heated debates surrounding immigration reform but often tend to gloss over aspects of these policies that will be centered on the tech sector. US tech businesses on the other hand, are watching these provisions very closely, particularly reforms to H1-B legislation.

The H1-B is a visa specifically for the purpose of temporarily employing foreign-born workers in specialty occupations often referred to as the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. There is no shortage of qualified applications for the H1-B annually, but unfortunately there are caps on the number of eligible workers per year that are far too low to meet the high demand for skilled workers in STEM fields; last year when the pool of H1-B’s was opened the cap was reach in less than a week. This means that many potential tech workers are being turned away, likely resorting to employment at technology firms in their home countries instead of bringing their skills to the US. Pushing for looser H1-B legislation will not only discourage offshore outsourcing, but also empower skilled engineers, developers and scientists to come and strengthen the US economy and promote better STEM education programs.

In an article from CIO, Chairman of the Commerce Committee John Rockefeller weighed in on the H1-B policy issue: “The role of immigrants in the phenomenal growth of the U.S. technology industry over the past two decades is very well documented–and stunning, is it not? Absolutely stunning. Many of our largest and most successful tech companies like Intel, eBay, Yahoo, Google were founded or co-founded by foreign-born immigrants.” He added, “high demand for H-1B visas and long waiting times for green cards make it more difficult for talented, foreign students to work, to start a business here after they finish their degree. Some students give up and go home, unfortunately.”

Fortunately it seems as though this legislation is slated to pass very soon. At a Senate Judiciary hearing yesterday there was broad agreement that proposed provisions to H1-B policies are necessary and desperately needed, nearly doubling the cap of 65,000 to 110,000 along with support for recruiting and hiring foreign-born workers. More hearings are to come throughout the week.