Washington legislators may have finally lost their minds. Two bills winding their way through Congress — the House’s “Stop Online Piracy Act” (aka, SOPA) and the Senate’s “Protect IP Act of 2011″ (aka, Protect IP) — could gut the very foundation of the Internet.

But don’t just take my word for it. The same conclusion is represented by three distinguished law professors from Stanford, Elon, and Temple universities in their jointly published essay, “Don’t Break the Internet.”

Here are a couple of snippets from the authors’ essay:

“The procedures outlined in both bills fail [a] fundamental constitutional test. Websites can be ‘completely removed from circulation’ — rendered unreachable by, and invisible to, Internet users in the United States and abroad — immediately upon application by the government, without any reasonable opportunity for the owner or operator of the website in question to be heard or to present evidence on his or her own behalf. This falls far short of what the Constitution requires before speech can be eliminated from public circulation.”

“As serious as these infirmities are, SOPA, the House’s bill, builds upon them, enlarges them, and makes them worse. Under SOPA, IP rights holders can proceed vigilante-style against allegedly offending sites, without any court hearing or any judicial intervention or oversight whatsoever.”

In the noise of all of the other political gyrations in Washington, legislation that could undermine the foundation of the Internet could squeak through. I urge you to review the entire legal analysis at this link.  If you’re equally concerned, you may want to consider contacting your Congressional representatives.

Image courtesy Stanford Law Review.

How would you like to raise up to $2 million for your startup business?  And do it by letting investors “point-n-click” the cash your way via the Web?  It may soon be nearly that simple, thanks to the “Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act” (more commonly known as the “Crowdfunding Act”) that passed the House in an overwhelming (and bi-partisan!) 407 to 17 vote.  President Obama is another driving force behind the legislation, which is designed to dramatically streamline fund-raising for entrepreneurs.

After the bill passes the Senate (and all indications are that it will), and President Obama signs the legislation into law, entrepreneurs will be able to turn on a grassroots method to raise capital — equity sales online — with greatly reduced SEC restrictions.  The freer flow of money would be rocket fuel for startups, which are an essential engine for a robust economy and job creation.

“Crowdfunding” — a way for masses of people (“the crowd”) to feed ventures with capital via the Web — has blossomed in recent years thanks to sites like Kickstarter.com.  But SEC “red tape” (primarily the Securities Act of 1933) has prohibited these sites from directly offering investment shares in the enterprises.  The new Crowdfunding Act will remove this barrier.  No longer will equity sales be restricted to accredited investors.  And the power of public-supported funding will be unleashed.

Entrepreneurial endeavors will be able to sell up to $2 million in ownership shares to an unlimited number of investors.  And individuals will be able to invest up to $10,000 or up to 10% of his or her annual income, whichever is less.

If a company seeks the maximum $2 million in funding, it must supply “the crowd” with audited financial statements.  A company can choose to bypass the audited-financial-statement requirement — but then the maximum capital it can raise is $1 million.  (That’s nothing to sneeze at!)

When the President signs the legislation into law, it will be a great day for all entrepreneurs.  Just as important for America, the ensuing new businesses will provide a shot of adrenaline for the economy and help rev up the job-creation engine.  Everyone will win.

“Carrier IQ is a piece of software installed on millions of mobile phones that logs everything their users do, from what websites they browse to what their text messages say.

“No, it’s not part of some great Orwellian plot; it’s a diagnostic tool that carriers say plays a crucial role in helping them assess and troubleshoot their networks. But the recording app, which flew under the radar for years until security researchers drew attention to it recently, is setting off red-alert privacy and security alarms.

“It’s also spotlighting how little customers — and, sometimes, the carriers and manufacturers themselves — know about what goes on under the hood of their data-stuffed mobile devices.”

For the full article, including a link to an insightful YouTube video, visit http://cnnmon.ie/ruPxSh

Image courtesy John F. Coughlin / CNNMoney

Chime.in, a just-launched social-media site, claims it will pay all content posters 50% of the advertising revenue generated on their profile pages.  This in stark contrast to Facebook, which has built a $65 billion empire by leveraging members’ content to attract advertisers and amass revenue.

To provide a first-hand report, I created Chime.in account (very simple to do), and explored the site.  Although the site is still in beta, I must say the user interface is well thought out.  Since the site has just turned on, you probably have a good shot to get your personal name as your user name.  Hey, it’s free.  Go for it.  www.Chime.in

The following is a snippet of a Huffington Post article about Chime.In:

“While Facebook has earned billions of dollars selling ads next to the content uploaded by their 800 million members, users haven’t seen a dime from their posts.

Share with Chime.in and Chime.in will share with you. The site, which allows individuals to post photos, links, videos and text in two thousand character ‘chimes,’ will give users 50 percent of the revenue it earns from selling advertising on their profile pages.

‘This is a firing shot in social media,’ [Bill Gross, the founder] told The Huffington Post. ‘Finally, the interests of the content creators are aligned with the interests of the publisher because they get something for their hard work.”

For the complete article, visit http://huff.to/ogyFGi

Image courtesy The Huffington Post and Getty Images.

I came across this inspiring two-minute video on YouTube about entrepreneurs.  They formed the fabric of our country — and could (and should) be our engine to the future.  Start your day off with this video.  It will lift your spirits.  Then take that rush of adrenaline and dose free spirit — and go for it.  Change the world.

NASA has introduced a plan to pay private aerospace companies $1.6 billion to ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS).  A variety of new commercial aerospace companies are expected to compete for the job of providing “turnkey” launch, flight, return, maintenance, and ground-support operations.

The commercialization of space will be an exciting era.  The retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet may provide a short-term space-transportation gap, but — in the long run — the opportunities and new doors that will open will be amazing.

ISS graphic courtesy of NASA

The America Invents Act is the most significant overhaul of U.S. patent law since 1952.  Through this Act, American inventors can hope to see a breakthrough in the logjam of patent applications that hold up applications for years at a time.  (At last count, there are over 700,000 backlogged patent applications — slowing countless product and business innovaions from seeing the light of day.)

The bill also gets the U.S. on the same patent footing as the rest of the world, by changing our system from a “first-to-invent” standard to a “first-to-file” standard.  This one change, alone, is designed to eliminate the myriad of court cases that try to resolve which inventor came up with an idea first.

Additional information can be read at the following AP report: http://bit.ly/pWOQR0

Photo courtesy of the AP.

Call me crazy, but I think it’s ridiculous that Microsoft charges $499.99 for its Office Professional 2010; that’s more than what I paid for the laptop that I’m using to write this post.

If you’re content with all of the features of your current version of Microsoft Office, but would like to open and edit those new .DOCX (for Word), .PPTX (for PowerPoint), and .XLSX (for Excel), just download the 100% free “compatibility pack” from Microsoft.  Here’s the link:  http://bit.ly/rb0Ifl.  The installation will take you less than a minute.

And if you’re totally fed up with Microsoft, just download and use Oracle’s 100% free OpenOffice suite.  As described at OpenOffice.org:  “OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.”

As mentioned above, OpenOffice lets you read and edit Microsoft Office files (like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).  So you can remain fully compatible with Microsoft files you’ve previously created, or files you share with clients and colleagues.

To give OpenOffice a whirl, just visit www.OpenOffice.org.

Perhaps a little competition will nudge Microsoft towards more reasonable pricing for its products.  I’m all for it.

Amazon’s Android-based Kindle tablet is about to send shock waves through the tablet PC marketplace.  The device is still so top secret, no photos have yet leaked out (but you can bet they will over the next few days).  Here’s what we do know:

*  Full-color 7″ screen
*  Two-finger multi-touch screen interface
*  Runs a specially customized version of Android 2.2
*  $250 — about half the cost of Apple’s base iPad

Amazon has a huge, loyal customer base and almost unlimited content. Its release of what will be an impressive full-color tablet PC, running the popular Android operating system, will be a game changer.  No, it won’t knock Apple off its roll with the iPad.  But it will make a serious dent.  As for the other tablet makers?  They’re in deep doo-doo.

Over the last couple of months I’ve seen a flurry of doom ‘n’ gloom scenarios based on the nearing peak (in mid 2013) of the 11-year solar cycle.  For instance, a little over a week ago I read in the International Business Times, “Severe Solar Storm to Create Global Chaos and Complete Darkness” followed a week later by “Severe Solar Storms Could Disrupt Earth This Decade.”

I’m not picking on the IB Times.  I’ve seen similar reports in Popular Science, such as the June 30th article entitled, “Are We Prepared for a Catastrophic Solar Storm?”

So are we all toast?

Here’s the reality:

It’s true that with the near total dependence on computers for every aspect of our lives, we’ve never been more vulnerable to solar activity.  I described in a previous article a recent near-miss of a CME (corona mass ejection) — essentially a ball of plasma ejected by the sun.  If a large CME hits our planet, power could certainly go down for an extended period of time.

One of the biggest concerns of scientists is the “Fukushima Effect” in which the backup generators and battery systems at nuclear power plants run out power.  Such a circumstance could cascade to the point where water-cooling systems would become inoperable — and result in Fukushima-like catastrophes around the world.  The actual chances?  Hard to predict precisely.  But, by legitimate estimates, pretty low.

More likely to occur:  Gas pumps at your local service station would stop working.  (They’re essentially computerized pumps; the credit-card processing network would also likely go down.)   “Telecommuting” would not be possible, as phone and Internet would be flicked off like a switch.  Cell phone service would also go down as soon as the backup generators and / or batteries at the cell towers run out of juice.  (You won’t be able to charge your cell phones, anyway.)

If the power grid goes down, once your food runs out (or spoils) in your fridge, don’t count on restocking at the supermarket.  The 18 wheelers that are the mainstay of food delivery across the country would also quickly run out of fuel — and, as mentioned above, the services stations would be unable to refill the rigs.

The probability of a sweeping, worldwide catastrophe as outline above is low.  But CMEs can, and have, made direct Earth strikes over the centuries — and caused significant disruptions.  Do a Google search for the “Carrington Event.”  In 1859, during the peak of another solar cycle, a CME knocked out telegraph offices around the globe (and even shocked some of the telegraph operators).  Most scientists agree that — because of entrenched computerization and satellite-based communications — the same magnitude CME today would disrupt society on a widespread basis.

I’m hoping the media doesn’t escalate the risks to an astronomical level.  The last thing we need is a massive wave of hysteria.  But, hey, it can’t hurt to keep an extra candle or two around the house.  And, perhaps, a couple of cans of Spam…

For a reasonably well-proportioned (non-hyped) news report — with an exceptional piece of video from NASA of a CME — check out the following two-minute CNN video:  http://bit.ly/h7GEmn

For reference, the NASA image associated with this article shows the approximate size of the Earth as compared to a solar eruption.  (In reality, the Earth is 93 million miles away from the sun — so a flare would never envelop the Earth as in the NASA comparison.)

Amazon just launched a new service called Kindle “Cloud Reader” that carries on the company’s “buy once, read everywhere” philosophy.   You can read books directly from your Web browser.  And you can pick up where you left off, just like with any other Kindle application.

It looks like the service currently only supports Chrome and Safari browsers.   So, if you’re a fan of say Firefox (like me), you’ll need to download a version of either browser .  But, hey, they’re free — so no big deal.  Check out additional details at https://read.amazon.com.

According to InformationWeek: “Google has purchased more than 1,000 patents from IBM in an effort to build up its intellectual property portfolio, possibly with an eye to fending off the increasing number of IP lawsuits the search giant faces from competitors such as Microsoft.  The 1,030 patents cover a wide range of technologies, including ‘the fabrication and architecture of memory and microprocessing chips.’”

It will be interesting to see what Google really has up its sleeves.

For additional information from the InformationWeek report, visit http://bit.ly/ppz9ca

In 2007 President Bush signed into law an energy bill that requires light bulbs to be 30 percent more efficient by 2012.  Sounds like a good idea, right?  Today’s old-fashioned “Edison” bulbs turn only 10% of electricity into light — with the other 90% turned into heat.  But now some “brilliant” lawmakers want to overturn the 2007 law, and they’ve introduced legislation to do so.

Their rationale?  People should have the right to choose how they want to light their homes and businesses, regardless of bulb type or efficiency.  Now, I’m all for a free society and minimal government impact on our lives.  But the reality is that America has five percent of the world’s population, but consumes a whopping 25% of the world’s energy.  Expressed another way:  On average, each one of us consumes five times more energy than an individual in any other country on the planet.  And lighting is one of the heftiest contributors.

Edison bulbs have been around since 1879.  As we all learned in school, Thomas Edison found a way to create light by sending a current through a metal filament, causing it to glow. But this ancient technology, as mentioned above, is a terribly inefficient light source; for most homes, it’s the second-largest energy expense.

Today’s energy-efficient light-bulb alternatives come in all shapes, sizes, and types.

The now-popular “curly” fluorescent light bulbs (a.k.a., compact fluorescent lights, CFLs) are much more energy efficient (20% or more).  But some people don’t like the slight turn-on delay.  And, contrary to recent media reports, they don’t contain life-threatening levels of mercury.  Yes, they contain some mercury — but only about one hundredth (1/100) of the mercury as the medical thermometers we grew up with.

My personal preference is the LED light bulb, based on the same LED technology used in everything from flashlights to TV displays.  They are considerably more expensive — $20 to $40 per bulb.  But, because they are up to 80% efficient (vs. an Edison bulb’s 10% or a CFL’s 20%), they pay back quickly in energy savings — and can save hundreds of dollars per year in operating costs.  And forget about replacing them.  Under typical usage, a single LED bulb can last up to 25 years.

Watch for the costs of LED bulbs to plummet over the next year or two, as demand and production increase.

Companies are springing up, all across America, to manufacture both CFLs and LEDs.  These companies are creating jobs and fostering innovation.  Now if only the light bulb would go on in the heads of our politicians.

I caught a short piece the other day by Dr. Michael Welner, forensic psychologist.  He said (paraphrasing) that the 1938 radio broadcast of “War of the Worlds” could be considered the first mass-media manipulation of the public.  Interesting perspective.

As is etched in history, on October 30, 1938 (the night before Halloween), Orson Welles aired his radio play of H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.  A frightened public truly believed that the world was under attack by Martians.

Never before had the media portrayed a fictitious event as if it was actual news.  The news-bulletin format of the radio broadcast only amplified the realism.

Fast-forward 73 years.  Look at the way some elements of the media manipulate public opinion under the thinly veiled cover of “the news.”  Flashing graphics, endless replays, “breaking news” bulletins.  They all seem eerily familiar — nearly three-quarters-of-a-century later.

You would think with all of the sources of information today, from traditional media to new media, it would be easy to cobble together an accurate assessment of the news.  However, on some days, separating fact from fiction — or even science fiction — is easier said than done.  We live in an interesting time, to say the least.

Image:  New York Times headline from October 31, 1938

Beginning on January 12, 2012, the door will open to essentially unlimited variations of domain names.  The current suite of 22 gTLDs (generic top-level domains, such as .com, .org, .net, .edu) will blossom to almost anything you can imagine.

According to the ICANN press release:

“ICANN has opened the Internet’s naming system to unleash the global human imagination. Today’s decision respects the rights of groups to create new Top Level Domains in any language or script. We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind,” said Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN.

New gTLDs will change the way people find information on the Internet and how businesses plan and structure their online presence. Virtually every organization with an online presence could be affected in some way.

Internet address names will be able to end with almost any word in any language, offering organizations around the world the opportunity to market their brand, products, community or cause in new and innovative ways.

“Today’s decision will usher in a new Internet age,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of ICANN’s Board of Directors. “We have provided a platform for the next generation of creativity and inspiration.”

For the full press release, please visit http://www.icann.org/en/news/releases/release-20jun11-en.pdf

Image courtesy of CBS News and iStockPhoto.

(eMarketer) A digital revolution in couponing coupled with the belt-tightening of the recession have combined to make coupons cool among more than just those clipping the Sunday circular. Digital coupon usage is now firmly a part of the online shopping experience of millions of U.S. consumers.

eMarketer estimates that by the end of 2011, nearly half of U.S. adult Internet users, or 88.2 million people, will have redeemed an online coupon or code for use either online or offline in the past year. By 2013, 96.8 million adults will redeem an online coupon.

For the full report, visit http://bit.ly/lZfDE1

(PCWorld) A Chinese global trade site is selling an item under the listing “Newest design crystal case for apple iPhone 5g,” which hints that the next generation iPhone… If the design of the case, made by Kulcase, LTD in Guangdong and offered for bulk orders on alibaba.com, is actually based on leaked plans from Apple, it appears the next iPhone could have a new edge-to-edge display and a new location for the rear flash. For the full article, visit http://bit.ly/jRsz6i

(Mashable) As of the end of 2010, more people get their news from the Internet than from newspapers – and more ad dollars went to online outlets than to newspapers, too.

In surveys conducted by the Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism, 34% of respondents said they read news online within the past 24 hours (as opposed to 31% who favored newspapers); and a full 41% said they get most of their news online, 10% more than those who said they got most of their news from a newspaper.  

Also, online news media was the only medium that saw growth year-over-year; from radio to television to newspapers and magazines, every other medium saw a decline in audience.

In general, it can be said that text-based news audiences are dwindling. Only 40% of people in the study said they read the news in an online or print newspaper, a 12% drop from five years ago.

For the complete article and data, visit http://on.mash.to/icLvBP

If you’re in marketing, advertising, publishing, or media services — this is critical knowledge if you want to stay ahead of the curve.  Two years from now, don’t say I didn’t give you a heads up….

The world is on the verge of a startling transformation in publishing.  E-readers, like Kindle, only present existing content in a digital form.  That’s blah.  Child’s play.  The true revolution in publishing is about to unfold before our eyes…and, in fact, all of our senses.

The future of publishing is an immersive, multi-media platform that allows users to interact with the content.  Not just display it.  But actually create an experience that’s unique to each and every reader (or, more appropriate, each participant).

Software platforms to develop such immersive content are becoming available.  I encourage you to view the following four-minute video:  http://www.ted.com/talks/mike_matas.html.  It will blow you away.

From a marketing standpoint, the possibilities and opportunities are boundless….

For instance, imagine creating interactive “product placements” that are unique to not only the content of the material — but also tailored to the reader’s / participant’s unique purchasing habits.  The information cloud — and now the publishing technology — will start making this very possible.  And very soon.

(HOUSTON CHRONICLE) The highways in the sky need upgrading to avoid gridlock and save fuel.   And as part of this year’s spending bill, Congress is debating the Federal Aviation Administration’s budget, which includes funds to continue implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System, commonly known as NextGen.

NextGen takes the nation’s airspace from a ground-based system of air traffic control to a satellite-based system. When complete, it will allow planes to fly on more direct routes, saving fuel.

“It will move us from radar to satellite, from radio to data communications, from traditional airways to streamlined routes,” FAA Administrator J. Randolph Babbitt told a House aviation subcommittee last month. “Knowing what the future holds, it is imperative that we transform our national aviation system and the FAA over the next 15 years.”  For the complete article, visit http://bit.ly/haXhLo

(Reuters) The project calls for 130 wind turbine generators, each with a maximum blade height of 440 feet, to be arranged in a grid pattern several miles off shore. The site is tucked between the mainland of the cape and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard, an exclusive celebrity vacation destination, and Nantucket.  Once fully operational, the wind farm will produce enough electricity to power about 400,000 homes on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.  For the complete article, visit http://reut.rs/eJaAYA

One of the most frustrating things about being an inventor is the time it takes for my patent applications to wind their way through the system at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  It can be two years, or more, before I even get my “first response” – that is, the initial feedback on my invention.  It’s excruciating. The article below from The Register provides a good overview of the changes that are in the works — thanks to the Obama administration.

(The Register) The Obama administration is launching an effort to reform the slow-motion train wreck that is the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“We’ve got the greatest inventors in the world, and it’s time we give them the help they need to bring this country where it needs to be,” said Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the Obama administration’s Council of Economic Advisers in a White House White Board video on Monday.

Goolsbee says that the USPTO takes far too long to review patents, and makes too many mistakes. He notes that it took Alexander Graham Bell only a month to get a patent for the telephone back in 1876, and that in 1974 the “main patent” for the cell phone was issued in two years.

“But today,” Goolsbee says, “we’ve had the number of patent applications grow enormously – they’ve almost tripled in the last 20 years. And now we’ve got a massive backlog of more than 700,000 patents who haven’t even had their patent applications opened. The average patent in 2011 takes almost three years to get – and thousands of them take many more years than that.”

That delay is unconscionable, according to Goolsbee, and is a drag on American business. “To put that is some context, if you look at the failure rate of new businesses, in that kind of time frame more than one-third of them has ceased to exist.”

Goolsbee cites a survey of venture capital–backed startups which found that three-quarters of them said that having patent protection was “critical” for receiving financing.

To ameliorate this slow and mistake-filled process, the Obama administration is instituting a patent-reform plan that Goolsbee says will “cut the average delay by more than 40 per cent.”

The administration also plans to introduce a “fast-track” process through which inventors can get their “most important” patents approved within a year – although Goolsbee provided no details as to who will decide which patent applications will be allowed to jump into that express lane.

Finally, the USPTO will institute “a patent-review process after patents are granted to try to quickly and fairly resolve any patent disputes without getting embroiled in years of legal limbo,” Goolsbee says.  For the complete article, visit http://bit.ly/dJsZoX

(LA Times) “East Coast burger chain Five Guys is moving aggressively into Southern California. Some say that despite intense customer loyalty, In-N-Out should worry.  The privately held chain, which has 770 locations in the U.S. and Canada, began moving into California two years ago with a handful of shops in Orange County and the Inland Empire.  Now there are 27 locations in the state, but Five Guys has sold the rights to open 200 more in Southern California alone — nearly double the number operated here by In-N-Out. Next up is a Culver City location, set to open in mid-April.  But to really make inroads here, Five Guys will have to get past a major hurdle: the intense loyalty of In-N-Out customers.”  For the complete article, visit http://lat.ms/gtlx8K

Take a look at a list of some of the wackiest questions that employers asked job candidates during interviews.  Questions like:   “Explain quantum electrodynamics in two minutes, starting now.”  “How many balloons would fit in this room?”  “Using a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself on how weird you are.”   Imagine sitting in the hot seat trying to answer off-the-wall questions like these.  For the full list of odd-ball questions, visit http://bit.ly/huFlSg

(Andrei Hagiu, Harvard Business Review) “Much is being written about the impact that new communication technologies and channels (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) have on traditional marketing. The deeper question is: Will these new communication channels actually force material changes not just in the way companies market their products but in the strategies and operations they use to develop and build those products as well? In my view, the answer is an emphatic yes. It’s another instance of the proverbial medium that changes the content.”  To read Andrei’s intriguing article, follow this link:  http://bit.ly/esfnu6

Did you know that today’s cell phones have built-in GPS technology and track your every move to within a few feet?  Every time you power up your phone, you’re tracked like a felon with an ankle bracelet.  Your cell phone company collects all of that data and, under U.S. law, is not obligated to disclose what it knows about you and your travels.  But a court case in Europe gives us some startling clues.  German politician Malte Spitz went to court to learn what his cell phone company, Deutsche Telekom, knew about his travels.  According to a NYT report http://nyti.ms/htaqCK:  “The results were astounding. In a six-month period — from Aug. 31, 2009 to Feb. 28, 2010 — Deutsche Telekom had recorded and saved his longitude and latitude coordinates more than 35,000 times.”  So a few words of caution:  Someone is, most certainly, watching you.

Photo: Kelly Walker (via Wikimedia Commons)

On March 26, 1931,  in Boston,  Leonard Nimoy was born.  I’m asked all of the time what propelled my interest in rocketry and aerospace.  My earliest inspirations were NASA’s Mercury launches, followed by launching model rockets with my dad and my cousin David when I was a young child.  But the clincher was Star Trek, the brilliantly conceived and written TV series.  As chronicled in my new book, The New Race To Space, I’ve had the great fortune of meeting many of my childhood TV heroes.  The “final frontier” energizes me to this day.

(Harvard Business Review) “Optimism, grit, and specificity are just three of the qualities that fuel achievement.  Harvard blogger Heidi Grant Halvorson explains that and more.”  Check out this exceptional article at http://bit.ly/he6ksV.

Two years ago, my company and I created a 100% free job-search service to help Americans, around the country, search for employment.  I’m proud to say the service is as robust as ever, with a current database of six million job postings.  It’s called Jobs Across America –  www.JobsAcrossAmerica.us.  And it remains totally free to job seekers.  If you know someone who is down on his or her luck, and looking for work, please pass along the Web address www.JobsAcrossAmerica.us.  Together, let’s help our friends and fellow citizens get back on their feet.

Check out USA TODAY’s predictions that include super-foaming toothpaste, spray-on shampoo, and other oddities.  For the full article, click here.

In its first year of business, the company Warby Parker sold 20,000 pairs of glasses online.  Check out this interesting business model at this link.