The Flipboard App

Information is everywhere, and it’s becoming more and more accessible in digital format. But we are still human beings, who operate on a need-to-know basis, most of the time. The iPad app called Flipboard takes this premise and delivers news and information pertinent to the individual reader in a magazine format.

For some, Flipboard is an easy way to stay on pace with friends’ and colleagues’ tweets and facebook updates. According to Walter S. Mossberg (”Your Own Digital Magazine,” The Wall Street Journal), the app needs tweaking, but “one of the more outstanding things about Flipboard is its ability to take plain-text tweets or Facebook updates and turn them into visuals of a shared photo or Web link in a status message.”

Basically, it’s a visual gateway of news that’s important to you. Flipboard is currently downloadable at The App Store.

The Flipboard App

Information is everywhere, and it’s becoming more and more accessible in digital format. But we are still human beings, who operate on a need-to-know basis, most of the time. The iPad app called Flipboard takes this premise and delivers news and information pertinent to the individual reader in a magazine format.

For some, Flipboard is an easy way to stay on pace with friends’ and colleagues’ tweets and facebook updates. According to Walter S. Mossberg (”Your Own Digital Magazine,” The Wall Street Journal), the app needs tweaking, but “one of the more outstanding things about Flipboard is its ability to take plain-text tweets or Facebook updates and turn them into visuals of a shared photo or Web link in a status message.”

Basically, it’s a visual gateway of news that’s important to you. Flipboard is currently downloadable at The App Store.

Where are Americans going?

More than 10 million Americans moved in 2008, based on Forbes’ crunch of IRS data. Forbes has created an interactive map that shows migration patterns of Americans within the United States.

Click on any county in the U.S. to see actual inbound and outbound movement. If your neck of the woods is getting more or less populated, check your feelings against the hard numbers.

To view the map, click on http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html?preload=41047.

Mastering the Master Bedroom

Don’t let the master bedroom be an afterthought. Since it’s the place of rest and dreaming, invest more time, energy, and dollars into sprucing up this all-important room of the house.

Kristen Ueckert, a North Texas realtor, suggests helpful tips to mastering the master bedroom (”Easy Ways to Spruce Up Your Master Bedroom”). Here are a few notable ones:

1. Create a focal accent by painting the bed-frame wall an accent color.

2. Declutter. Store items in bins or baskets under the bed.

3. Mix and match linens and layer bed with pillows.

Invest in the master bedroom, for yourself and for the potential buyer, if your house is on the market for sale.

How to create raving fans

Blo

gging is both a personal and business matter. In either scenario, the purpose of blogging is typically to find, maintain, and grow a readership (or fan base). For those of us who want raving fans, Johnny Truant’s post, “The Insider Guide to Creating an Audience of Raving Fans,” (copyblogger.com) is worth a read.

Truant’s main point is that if we blog, the post should be readable for a general audience. Gaining followers, however, requires one more step. Truant suggests the “Easter egg,” the inside idea or comment that only 1% of general readers will get and love.

“If you place your Easter eggs well, you’ll get a cloud of people who read your stuff the way they would read anything else they were interested in. But at the center of that cloud will be your core fans. Your insiders. Your ‘club of you.’”

And to start creating that club of core fans, we need to be true to ourselves, our interests, and our own sense of humor. We can be many things to many people, but we can be truly spectacular to the few who share our passions.

How to create raving fans

Blo

gging is both a personal and business matter. In either scenario, the purpose of blogging is typically to find, maintain, and grow a readership (or fan base). For those of us who want raving fans, Johnny Truant’s post, “The Insider Guide to Creating an Audience of Raving Fans,” (copyblogger.com) is worth a read.

Truant’s main point is that if we blog, the post should be readable for a general audience. Gaining followers, however, requires one more step. Truant suggests the “Easter egg,” the inside idea or comment that only 1% of general readers will get and love.

“If you place your Easter eggs well, you’ll get a cloud of people who read your stuff the way they would read anything else they were interested in. But at the center of that cloud will be your core fans. Your insiders. Your ‘club of you.’”

And to start creating that club of core fans, we need to be true to ourselves, our interests, and our own sense of humor. We can be many things to many people, but we can be truly spectacular to the few who share our passions.

Gross National Happiness

How do you measure the happiness of a country? A little known nation called Bhutan has an index to measure “gross national happiness.” Hotelier Chip Conley, founder and CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality (based in San Francisco), illustrates the happiness equation as wanting what you have over having what you want.

In his TED talk, “Measuring what makes life worthwhile,” Conley argues that many of us are walking or running the modern treadmill, pursuing happiness with our sweat, blood, and tears. Getting what we want is the constant chase.

Mainstream economists measure success in tangible units of production and consumption. Conley says that it’s time to count the intangibles. Community and business leaders need to focus on creating happiness for customers, which is directly converted into tangible success. Today, Joie de Vivre Hospitality operates more than 40 hotels throughout California, including the famous Phoenix Hotel.

Outsourcing in America

When companies need customer-service or IT employees, they sometimes choose to outsource labor overseas. These days, however, outsourcing is not the only option.

CNNMoney.com (”Forget India, outsource to Arkansas”) reports  that skilled, lower-cost labor can be had in rural areas of the U.S. “Ruralsourcing” or “onshoring” is a viable strategy that more companies are choosing as a means to stretch their budgets.

CrossUSA, based in Burnsville, Minnesota, is using an unlikely recruiting strategy. They hire older IT workers who want to further build their nest egg prior to upcoming retirement. The company’s 100 employees come from small nearby towns; for CrossUSA, that means low turnover since most of the employees have little desire to head out of their ruralscapes.

In these economic times, ruralsourcing is a great option for companies looking to expand on a budget and for the under-employed.