Computer Support Blog

Virtually every business journal has weighed in on the decline in Facebook’s stock.  After years of playing coy about it, Facebook had its initial public offering in May at $38 per share.  When the stock fell below $30 on May 29, every pundit in the business world weighed in on the decline.  The prevailing wisdom was that Facebook’s stock was overvalued and investors did not have a good-faith belief in the long-term profitability of the company.  That makes perfect sense from a business perspective.  The problem, however, with that view, is that it completely neglects the consumer perspective and there is an excellent chance that the consumer perspective is what is affecting Facebook’s stock. Read more »

In January, activists from all across the political spectrum came together to inform Congress that they did not want the Stop Online Piracy Act to pass.  Through actions like a coordinated blackout on January 18 to businesses lobbying heavily in favor of the bill, the defeat of SOPA stands as a great example of how representative democracy can truly work.  Despite the defeat of the bill, there have been lasting reverberations from Congresses attempt to legislate the Internet.  One of the changes that will become more evident when Congress reconvenes is an active presence of concerned citizens and companies.  The presence is the Internet Defense League. Read more »

With the debate continuing in the political arena over the future of healthcare in the United States, it might not surprise you to learn that private entrepreneurs are already looking to pick up the slack from where government programs might leave off.  In fact, many new businesses are utilizing the Internet to spread information and form communities online where users work together toward common health and fitness goals.  One such online community that is currently growing is EveryMove.  As a member of the Board of Directors of EveryMove, Anna Haghgooie is responsible for keeping the venture capital flowing to the start-up! Read more »

If Myspace taught us anything, it was that if you give a teenage girl a cellphone with a camera, she will invariably hold it at arm’s length at a sixty five degree angle above her head, take a picture and post it as her profile photo.  That demographic of youth, with their oft-photographed cleavage, has since migrated to Facebook.  Before they can migrate further, many serious photographers are using the infancy of Google+ to jump ship from Facebook and establish a serious presence on Google+ that promotes art and adulthood. Read more »

With identity theft remaining one of the enduring problems with modern communications, it is unsurprising how many products and services there are that offer to protect your data.  When it comes to data storage, there are several products that encrypt your files to protect them, like the industry-leading Ironkey Flash Drive that makes transporting your data incredibly risk-free.  It is hard to find an analogous product when it comes to communications technology, though.  That is about to change, thanks to Silent Circle. Read more »

There are many resources for researching jobs on the Internet.  Between employment sites and social networking sites, there are many ways to find out about both available jobs and employers online.  In fact, many employers now use Internet-based applications exclusively when they hire.  But no site mixes job hunting and social networking quite the way JIBE does.  Informing jobseekers and employers about JIBE and its benefits is the work of Suzanne Flynn Speece! Read more »

If you are not hip to all of the latest trends in the tech sector, there are some exciting new technologies and services of which you should be aware.  While technology is changing rapidly, there are some new trends that appear to be here to stay and that you may well want to utilize.  One of the big emerging markets is Cloud storage.  Cloud storage is like a storage locker or a safe deposit box for your files; you transfer your files and documents to a special site on the Internet and they are, theoretically, protected and are available to you from any computer device you use.  The latest major Cloud storage service is Google Drive. Read more »

There are some combinations of services that you would not expect to work together, but when they do, they work surprisingly well. One example would be airlines’ recent use of social networks to connect passengers. On international flights with a few companies, passengers can now upload their social network profile to the airline website and see other passengers’ profiles.

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There are few Internet sites where the sole, unabashed purpose of the site is to make money.  For sure, virtually every business on the Internet is there to try to make money, but most try to offer customers a product or service or otherwise disguise the fact that they are making money off your visiting their site.  Many websites take an approach similar to Facebook, where they focus on the experience of the site, as opposed to how the company will make money off it.  At the other end of the spectrum is Joseph Einhorn. Read more »

Have you ever heard of an amazing new app that you really wanted to use, only to find out that it is not available on your device? The current limitations of app stores can be frustrating for both consumers and developers. Mozilla, the company who brought you the Firefox web browser, wants to change the restrictive nature of app stores by putting them all online. Read more »