Nine things to consider before accepting that IT job offer

"1. Know What Motivates You

This sounds simple, but many people don't really know the answer to that question. The first response is normally money and while it's a great motivator, there is more to life than money. According to Simpson, many times it's not the primary factor behind what motivates people. - See more at: http://www.itnews.com/it-management/59146/nine-things-consider-accepting-it-job-offer#sthash.2U53wven.dpuf

2. Know the Job History

3. Research the Company
Knowing as much as you can about a prospective employer is only in your best interest. Know what they do, what their products are, what people are saying about them in social media. There are number of places you can find this information--for example, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Glassdoor, to name only a few.

4. Get It in Writing

5. Know the Company Culture
Experts agree that the offer letter should include some specific information and any points that you negotiated. 
Do they seem serious and conservative? Maybe they have a laissez-fair attitude and joke a lot. How are the offices set up? Is it a cube farm? Is the company responsive when you try to contact them?

6. Who's the Boss?

7. Talk to Potential Peers
You want to meet your direct supervisor for sure, but you should also try to meet everyone in your chain and anyone you'll have to work closely with. This isn't always possible depending on the size of the company.

8. Know the Job Details
Throughout the interview process you should do more than read the job description. You should to get a description of what a work day would include. Does the job title match the responsibilities? Will you have the tools you need to get the job done? How will success be measured? All of these questions should be brought up in the interview process and analyzed objectively. 

9. Know Where the Company is Headed With Technology"

http://www.itnews.com/it-management/59146/nine-things-consider-accepting-it-job-offer

My partner is an IT guy who works at Morgan Stanley, we met recently and he is hesitating to take an IT job offer. When I saw this article I immediately forwarded to him. Finally he turned down the offer.

4 Barriers Stand Between You and Big Data Insight

"PwC surveyed 1,108 respondents from 12 countries and across a variety of industries. The respondents were evenly divided between IT and business leaders, and more than 75 percent worked in organizations with revenues of more than $1 billion. PwC found that organizations struggle with four major big data barriers":

1. They're blind to the importance of visualization.

2. They're investing more in gathering data than analyzing it.

3. They're facing a talent gap.

4. They're struggling with insufficient systems to rapidly process information.

Businesses Blind to the Importance of Visualization

"And yet, only 26 percent of global survey respondents are using data visualization. But the picture is very different when you focus in on top performing companies--those respondents that reported revenue growth of greater than five percent and whose companies are in the top quartile for revenue, profitability and innovation. Those organizations lead the pack in terms of plans to invest more in data visualization in 2013."

http://www.itnews.com/it-management/58515/4-barriers-stand-between-you-and-big-data-insight

My boss always says to me, that it has to be a balance between putting resources in getting the data and analyzing it. It is more important to gather useful information than very detailed confusing amount of data that can be crunched very hard.

Time management

I like the blogger time settings feature, where you can backdate your posts. It is like you are travelling back in time.
When you are running your company, being with your family, going out, planning for tomorrow, meeting your friends, buying grocery, etc. these activities all consume time, your time.
If you run out of time you just go to blogger, blogspot settings and change the date of the posting. This is where you can backdate things.

Very useful feature. I always use it on my business blog. When you write 16 spots in a row it can be a big help.

How to set up public Wi-Fi at your business

"Businesses with existing private Wi-Fi network might be able to offer public or guest access safely without purchasing additional hardware. Some consumer and small-office wireless routers offer a guest access feature. When guest access is enabled, users will see another network name (known as an SSID) in the list of available networks on their Wi-Fi devices, and its access will be separated from the main network.

Business-class routers and access points (APs) typically offer multiple SSID and virtual LAN (VLAN) features. When these features are set up properly, multiple wireless network names (SSIDs) can be broadcasted with varying levels of security, one of which could be a  guest network safely segregated from your private network.

To offer public or private Wi-Fi access over a larger area that a single wireless router doesn't cover, one economical option is Open Mesh. It's designed to provide both private and public wireless access easily, with hotspot features including a captive portal and speed limits. Plus, it uses the wireless mesh technique, which means that all the wireless APs have to be wired back to the router or switch, making installation easier. "

http://www.itnews.com/management/57973/how-set-public-wi-fi-your-business

"Offering wireless Internet access for guests can open new doors for your business. For a cafe or restaurant, customers are more likely to stay longer, purchase more items, and return knowing they can use a Wi-Fi connection. For motels and hotels, Wi-Fi is one of travelers' deciding factors when selecting where to stay. Offering guest wireless access from an otherwise private office can be beneficial too, as it provides outside associates, contractors, and other visitors with a reliable Internet connection."

T-Mobile - MetroPCS merger

Today I had a terrible customer service experience at AT&T. It's been for a while I am not satisfied with AT&T but still that they had a good plan for my needs. Minute plan, prepaid, you pay as you go. Couple things about AT&T.
They are just far way behind of the industry standards in terms of online customer support/service. If you want to refill your account, it is truly a pain in the butt. Confusing website layout, hard to find URL, hard to log in, hard to figure out what to do and how, absolutely poor user experience. But hey, still 10 cents a minute, 20 cents a text message. But it still adds up and sometimes i do something, for example talking with somebody for 5 minutes and they charge me for 3$-s. At the beginning I called the customer service and tried to reclaim my money, but it took forever, they made sure you dont want you 3$-s back.
I was resistant for switching, because I hate doing such things, going into different shops, searching for the best deal, blabla. Then on last week I got text from AT&T and it says: your phone will stop working, to get a new Alcatel 510A for free go to the closest AT&T shop until 7/10/13. So I did today in New Haven. (My car is broken, so I stuck and work full time) and there i have been told that i have to go to a corporate store not to an independently owned like that. The nearest one is in Hamden. I said well, if this is the rule ok. I give it a try. (The text says nothing about this, just go to a AT&T store.) So at 7:30PM i went to the Hamden AT&T shop. I showed the message and the guy said, yo' gotta come back tomorrow bro'! I was shocked?! Seriously? First of all, why? Second of all, I am not your bro. Third of all, i cannot come back tomorrow. I want it now. He said the manager is not there, nobody has the code to do stuff like that. I told him i cannot come tomorrow, because i work full time. Answer: I work too from 10 to 8...You come back until 5 or you can buy it for 15$. WHAT? I want it for free. Sorry man, i cannot help you. Why cannot call the manager? Sorry, i cannot. You can come back until 7. Wait a second, you said a sentence earlier, he leaves at 5 tomorrow. Yes, he might be here until 7 though. Well, i am not playing like that. I'll come tomorrow and you will tell me sorry, i told ya come back until 5. Not me, i will not be here tomorrow.
OK, i left.
I got soooo mad at AT&T. They lost me. The reason I told you this is because I'll go with MetroPCS that is just merged with T-Mobile. Unbeatable price, great customer service, no obligations and T-Mobile network.

I wish AT&T went bankrupt. Stop using AT&T service! Do something good for you.

4 Tips for Building a Productive Relationship with Marketing

"The steps to create an effective relationship with the marketing group aren't radically different from those you'd take with another department. 

Stop talking about tech. Want to win over a marketer? Forget the campaign-management software and ask about her brand marketing plan. Putting the project work aside to find out what keeps the marketing group up at night gives IT credibility to use later. 

Be a hero. Biogen's marketers have a huge appetite for analytics. What they don't have are data scientists. Guess who does? "Our IT people have those analytical skill sets naturally," says Meyers.

Instead of hiring consultants, marketing now turns to IT's business analysts, one of whom recently designed marketing's suite of analytics tools for campaign management.

Be the heavy. Marketers work with tons of outside agencies. But Meyers--who has worked at an interactive marketing agency--knows that agencies may not put marketing's best interests first.

Meyers is the voice of reason when marketing might otherwise cave in to an agency that wants to build a smartphone app that doesn't meet the company's needs. "We're in the room so that marketing gets the most from its investments," says Meyers.

Don't be a know-it-all. "Marketing people are used to being the smartest people in the room," says Meyers. Let them be. If you have a good idea, make it seem like theirs. That is, don't present a five-page social media plan. Instead, stroll in with an idea you had in the shower and ask for input. "They need to be part of the ideation and creative process," Meyers says. "

http://www.itnews.com/business-issues/60933/4-tips-building-productive-relationship-marketing

This is a great article. I agree with every point of it. I like the last point specifically. Nobody can be as smart as anybody! This is the essence of open innovation. Involve them!!

Should your business start accepting Bitcoins?

"Bitcoins are, in the words of the Bitcoin Project, open-source, peer-to-peer digital currency. For those accustomed to dollars and cents, almost none of that makes any sense at all. Boiling it down: Bitcoins are a synthetic currency that are kept in a "digital wallet" on your PC or mobile phone. Payments are sent from one wallet to another--similar to Paypal--and an in-depth cryptographic system verifies that transactions (such as purchases) are legitimate. These transactions are verified by other Bitcoin users (part of the P2P aspect of the currency), and as a reward, those transaction processors are eligible to receive newly minted Bitcoins. (These amount to free money, but they are exceedingly difficult to obtain. This has led to sophisticated Bitcoin mining operations sprouting up, as well as an entire industry based on supporting of those operations.) 

On the other hand, working with Bitcoins isn't easy. Pricing is the biggest challenge: With a currency this volatile, you must either update prices daily (or multiple times daily) or, as Josh Tordsen of Gigastrand does, let the shopping cart manage exchange rates in real time. And once you have Bitcoins, what do you do with them? Exchange them for dollars or hold on to them in the hopes the rollercoaster ride keeps getting better? (Most seem to be keeping them because they just want to see what happens.) "

http://www.itnews.com/business-issues/60534/should-your-business-start-accepting-bitcoins

I did not know about Bitcoint, but this is a very interesting project. I would not start accepting Bitcoins because the market is not mature enough and the currency is volatile. You have to be an expert in this field otherwise should wait until the waves disappear and you can sail out without taking huge risks for small reward.