Freelancing has been dubbed the on-demand economy, where businesses hire independent contractors to perform tasks for the company instead of regular employees. Contractors are generally less expensive to hire because you only pay for what you need. This can make them more appealing for smaller or shorter term projects, but some Silicon Valley startups are […]

In 2006 Google’s acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion, and Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012.   Many dismissed these purchases as indulgences of cash-rich tech behemoths, and federal regulators took no action.  But, these acquisitions were far from frivolous.  They shut out potential competitors, strengthening Google’s market dominance in search and Facebook’s in social media. And, now […]

Stop for a second and think about how nice it would be if you could boost your company’s profits by 95 percent. Or let’s be conservative and ask for a smaller number like 25 percent. The truth is that all it takes is a 5 percent increase in your customer retention rates, according to research […]

Once a wild frontier, the Internet of Things (IoT) has gone mainstream. Business scenarios once dreamed of have become a reality for companies of all types and sizes. And the momentum is just ramping up. As things become more connected, here are five trends that are reshaping the IoT industry—all of which are addressed in […]

Investors, pundits, and enthusiasts can’t stop speculating about cryptocurrency, and more often than not, their predictions center on price. But simply musing over the market performance of a specific coin ignores the larger potential of cryptocurrency. This space is about more than price fluctuations — it’s a digital financial revolution that’s poised to transform the world. Cryptocurrency […]

Each technology we use offers some type of benefit. However, advantages rapidly increase by integrating numerous technologies.  While Superman can save the day, there is no chance for evil to win when he joins the Justice League. In this case, the blockchain, which is the decentralized ledger behind cryptocurrency and smart contracts, is the superhero. […]

The big data trend continues, and more and more companies are hopping on the bandwagon. While many organizations assume they need big data’s wisdom, often the “small” operational data they already have will do just fine. Operational data is internal data, such as the data that gives Uber its ability to dispatch cars. Big data, […]

So you want to be a millionaire? Well, turns out it’s not as hard as it used to be. Entrepreneurs with niche products like spherical ice cube molds and edible vegan cookie dough are raking in the other kind of dough with thousands of orders rolling in to an online store they built themselves (one […]

While streaming has taken off — with more than 60 percent of young Americans using streaming services as their primary TV venue — it’s also invaded our bedrooms. A 2018 Tuck survey of 1,300 Americans found that more than 85 percent of us watch streaming TV in bed, with 70 percent of them falling asleep to […]

I remember my undergraduate professor in AI saying, “AI is what they call machine intelligence they don’t yet fully understand. Once they understand it, it is no longer considered AI. Once robotics was well understood, it was no longer AI and became its own branch. Once computer vision was understood, it became independent. Speech recognition […]