We love tech stuff. Instead of watching TV or dining out, we read stuff on the web for all sorts of gadgets. So you could say we keep a
close eye on the goings on in the tech industry.
Looking back over 2012, we can identify at least five advancements and innovations
that seemed so important at the time... but they never really lived up
to expectations. And now they could risk fading away unless something changes. Hey we could be wrong by the way as some of these we love. Here they are.
1. Google+
We don't know if Google+ is growing or not, but we do know one thing:
No one ever talks about it anymore. Occasionally, We will click one of
those Plus links like the one alongside this article. And we have heard a
few tech luminaries have a presence on Google+. But we see signs of
failure: Just about every article we've read in the past few months has a
big fat "zero" next to the Plus link. That can't be a good sign,
especially when the the number of Tweets and the Facebook likes are in
the hundreds or thousands.
2. 3D Projectors
It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time. A 3D projector for
business made sense because you could liven up a presentation, or
entertain the crowd with clips to demonstrate a point. Besides, 3D seems
like it is here to stay at the local Cineplex why not in the office?
But until 3D technology advances to the point where you can flip a
switch at your next meeting, not hand out goggles, to show a bar graph
in 3D, these products might be doomed for the bargain bin forever.
3. Klout Scores
We was into Klout scorekeeping for a while. The service, which looks
at your Twitter activity and connections and analyzes your social
networking behavior, seemed to catch on last year over the summer. We
heard about companies that wanted potential employees to put a Klout
score on their resume, and a few people even listed a link in their
email signature. Then, nothing. We stopped hearing about the service,
perhaps because there was something amiss with the metrics.
4. Bluetooth Watches
We are not ready to say the Bluetooth watch is dead, especially since
Pebble Watch has not even started shipping. The idea is brilliant: Turn
the time-keeping device you wear all day into a smart reminder system, a
music player, and even a navigational add-on. The problem: We already
use phones that do all of those things, including showing us the time at
a glance.
5. Dropbox
Put this in the "you can't be serious" category, We know. Dropbox is
amazingly popular, and the simplicity of this sync-and-store service is
great for personal use. But then last August, someone hacked Dropbox,
which had more of a direct impact on us. (As a side note, so did the
recent Nationwide breach.) At that point, Dropbox became a failure for
business use for us. Dropbox added two-factor authentication in late
summer, but by then the damage was done. Many businesses have told me
they have stopped using the service.
There’s a lot of speculation as to what new products might be released at the
Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year.
With the start of a New Year comes a great deal of excitement as to
which new electronic products we might see arrive this year. It has become a popular venue for all manufacturers to
showcase their latest technological innovations and we're almost certain
that 2013 will be no different from the norm.
To keep you right up to date with the news as it happens, we recormend you check out the live stream of TPN.tv at www.TPN.tv
Feeling a little spenders' remorse over the present you gave employees this holiday? Next time, try this gift instead.
The winter holidays are over and your employees are straggling back
to the office, clad in garish new sweaters, fumbling with new
e-readers—and in a quite a few instances, nursing a bad case of
spenders’ remorse. You may feel some of that remorse yourself, as you
reflect on how few employees seemed really to like getting figgie
pudding from you again this year, or as you have second thoughts about
the generous cash bonuses you handed out in a fit of foolish optimism
that Washington would dodge the fiscal cliff.
So, I have a suggestion for your next holiday: Give gift cards. Your
employees will appreciate them at least as much as figgie pudding, and
dollar for dollar, you can sow more good will than you would with a cash
bonus. Full disclosure: My company, Card Hub, runs an online gift card
exchange among other things, so I am, frankly, prejudiced in favor of
them. But if you decide to give plastic, there’s a right way and a wrong
way to do it. That’s the point of thinking about this now.
How to get more gift for the buck
The single best way to save on gift cards is to buy them on the
secondary market. Gift cards have been the most popular type of holiday
present for six consecutive years, yet roughly $41 billion worth of
buying power went unused from 2005 to 2011 and another $2 billion won’t
be redeemed in 2012, according to TowerGroup data. That obviously works
out great for Card Hub’s exchange, but it can also be good for you. You
can buy gift cards at discounts of up to 80% on exchanges and present
them to employees and clients without the recipients being any the
wiser.
If you go with gift cards, do it right
To maximize your savings, you should:
- Favor retailers’ cards over general-purpose gift cards: While retailers book a profit the moment you purchase one of their gift cards, general-purpose issuers like Visa, American Express, and MasterCard
have to charge fees to make money. Their gift cards therefore often
come with inactivity fees, purchase fees, etc., which eat away at the
balance you load. That’s why it’s typically most efficient to give cards
from specific retailers that you have reason to think your employees
enjoy.
- Use caution when redeeming rewards for gift cards: Chances
are, your personal or business card offers great redemption rates when
you trade in points for gift cards, thanks to deals struck between the
card issuer and various retailers. That means you can often get more
value by buying gift cards with points rather than with cash. However,
this isn’t the case with every retailer, so do your homework on rewards
redemption value.
- Pay with the right card: If you’re not going to be able to pay off your holiday expenses in full by the end of the billing period, don’t use a business credit card,
as it won’t give you interest rate stability. Since you are personally
liable for the debt whether you use the business card or your personal
card, you might as well use the latter for the greater protection it
offers against unexpected increases in interest rates.
- Watch out for scammers: Some gift card exchanges (include
the one operated by Card Hub) give the option of purchasing from an
individual seller or a trusted gift card depot. You may save more
buying from an individual, but it’s best to meet the seller in a public
place so you can call the 1-800 number on the back of the card to verify
its balance.
Obviously, it’s too late now to take advantage of gift cards for the
2012 giving season. But as word filters back to you that your employees
were less than thrilled by those cute coffee mugs with the
heat-activated picture of you and your dog, you might give gift cards
some thought for next year. That said, I’ll leave it to you. Happy New
Year, and may 2013 be filled with savings and business success.
