technology

5 Apps that Will Help You Make a Few Extra Bucks this Summer

Written by adminJuly 18, 2019

The internet is rapidly changing the way we live our lives and even do business. We often see more and more real-world jobs being replaced with machines and advancing technology. Thanks to the internet, more people are making their way online to make a few extra bucks. We buy everything from the internet now, including the essentials, like food and clothes, so why not use the internet to add to your bottom line?

You can see that desire stretched out on the faces of millions of potential entrepreneurs who keep Googling for new ways to bring in a little cash. In fact, there are people getting rich online right now by trying to show other people how to get rich. Most of those, sadly, are just empty promises designed to get you to sign up for a pyramid scheme or webinar training.

If you’ve ever spent any time online trying to figure out how to make money, it can seem like a lost cause. You will often wonder if this link is legitimate or just another scammer trying to feed off your desperation. And while there are plenty of frauds out there, there are many other legitimate jobs out there right now for the picking if you know where to look.

Much to the dismay of a lot of treasure hunters seeking out a quick buck, there is no ‘get rich quick’ scheme out there. You’re not going to find a formula and start reeling in thousands of dollars tomorrow. But if you truly dream of one day quitting your day job and working from home, while gaining financial freedom, it is possible! For it to happen, though, you have to work at it, learn from your mistakes, and keep plugging away.

Let’s look at 5 ways you can make money online:

Quick Money Maker #1: Shopkick

Shopkick is another retail app that pays you to go shopping! If you love to shop, then you’ll need to download this app right away on either your Android or iPhone. You earn “kicks” simply by walking into a store like Walmart, Target, Walgreens, and others. If you buy things at those stores, you’ll make more “kicks” if you take a picture of your receipt and turn it in.

You can then turn your kicks in for a PayPal deposit or even gift cards to any of your favorite stores. In a lot of ways, if you’re making money just from shopping, then you’re always getting an employee discount, so to speak. The more you shop while using these apps, the more you’ll get paid.

Quick Money Maker #2: Rewardable

Rewardable is one of the higher paying apps you can download on either Android or iPhone, that will give anywhere from $4-$7 to complete tasks while you’re out shopping. It may not be anything more than sharing the price of a product at your local store or snapping a photo of a display for a certain product. Once it’s been confirmed, you’ll get the money sent directly to your PayPal account.

Quick Money Maker #3: Groupon Snap

Groupon is already a popular way to save money online. People can go on their site, www.groupon.com, and find all kinds of savings at various stores and find huge deals in your local area. The Groupon Snap app takes that deal-making to the next level! You can get money back on a lot of purchases you make at the grocery store.

Simply download the app, find the items you plan on buying that offer cash-back rewards, and shop! Once you’re finished, snap a picture of your receipt and submit it to receive your money via PayPal. That’s all there is to making money while shopping!

Quick Money Maker #4: Perk TV

Available on both Android and iPhone, the Perk TV app will allow you to earn points you can trade for gift cards to your favorite stores and restaurants. How do you earn these points? By answering trivia questions of all your favorite TV shows, movies, and even current pop culture references.

If you’re someone who is big into entertainment and watches a lot of shows, then Perk TV might be the perfect way for you to make extra money. Every week they will add new trivia games each week and there will always be opportunities to win in their big prize giveaway. Who would’ve thought you could make money by watching TV?

Quick Money Maker #5: AppTrailers

If you enjoy watching trailers online, then there’s a way to make money doing just that. These may not be movie trailers, but when companies put out new apps, they want to test the market to see if there’s any interest. In order to get reward points, you watch the app trailers. That’s all there is to it. To get even more points, upload the video to Facebook and every “like” it gets, you’ll be given even more reward points!

Once you reach enough points, you can turn them in to get gift cards to all your favorite stores, like Walmart, iTunes, Amazon, and others. Getting paid to watch a few app trailers doesn’t sound like a bad gig, considering when you’ll have the opportunity to be on the ground floor of all the new stuff soon to be available.

Written by adminJuly 16, 2019

Business

As the head of your company, your job is valuable. You make all the creative decisions and take care of the day-to-day operations. But sometimes, you get a bit busy. Not only are you in charge of all the high-value stuff that keeps the wheels rolling, but there’s also administrative tasks that often get you behind.

If you find yourself too busy to take on all that tasks required, that can be a good thing. You’re growing. But it also means you need to hire someone to take on the extra burden so you can continue to head up doing what you love to do.

The only issue is, hiring a virtual assistant is like hiring any other employee. There are good ones and bad ones. When it’s good, a virtual assistant can be an incredible member of your team. When they’re bad, they can set you back in both time and money. So if you want to find a rock star virtual assistant, here are several tips that can lead to a successful hire.

1) Make sure you’re ready to hire someone.

A lot of virtual assistant disasters happen because the business owner wasn’t truly ready. They wanted some help, but had a lot of expectations for their new assistant to come in right away and know the job. If you can’t afford to take the time to properly train them, what exactly can they do? You’re handcuffing them to a few menial tasks. Have a good idea of what you want them to do. Take notes on your daily activities so you can easily decide what should be outsourced and what shouldn’t.

2) Have a training system in place.

It’s been proven that having a system in place makes businesses run more smoothly. Yes, you’ll have to take more time up front to develop that system, but once it’s in place, you’ll save time and money in the long run by having it. You create it once and hand it off to others to train in your stead.

3) Hire like you mean it.

The truth is, a virtual assistant might be one of the most important positions in your company. The sad thing is, you might run into a lot of bad ones. So don’t set aside ten minutes for a Skype call before hiring someone. If you were going to hire a big time web developer, do you give them a little attention before bringing them on board?

No. You’ll take the time, review their qualifications, see past work, among other things, to make sure you’re not wasting your money on a hack. And as I said, there are plenty of bad workers out there who will set you back and lose you money if you don’t take the hiring process seriously.

Hiring a virtual assistant can potentially be the most important position in your company. If you have someone else to take on the administrative jobs, it can potentially change everything, especially if you have more time to create and do what you do best. Take your time, do your research, develop a system, and hire the best virtual assistant you can find.

Written by adminJune 25, 2019

Real life

When you’re Bill Gates, you must constantly feel like you’re on top of the world. As one of the richest men to have ever born, one must wonder how many times Mr. Gates has struck out with an idea. What mistakes or regrets does this man have? At a Venture Capital event earlier this week, the Microsoft founder revealed that very secret.

For most of his career, Gates has been in lockstep with Apple competing on the world stage to create the best technology. The two sides have been fighting for decades, seeing who makes the best stuff. But one area where Gates didn’t jump in is in the phone industry. While Apple is working on putting out the iPhone, Microsoft should’ve been creating one for themselves.

The market was wide open for a non-Apple phone to revolutionize the mobile industry and take on the iPhone. Microsoft could’ve been in the same position that Android is in now. Android currently powers about 80% of the entire non-Apple mobile market. This market share, according to Gates, is worth around $400 billion.

It’s not like Microsoft wasn’t already working on a prototype. They were deeply involved in created a Windows Mobile OS about a year before Android even considered the opportunity. Rather than putting out that phone, Microsoft made a huge mistake. The CEO at the time, Steve Ballmer, apparently had no vision for what would change the world forever. He said the mobile application would have no appeal for businesses because it doesn’t have a keyboard.

Bill Gates’ Deep Regret

Bill Gates knows that he could’ve had the same market share that Android currently has. They could be in that spot right now, but missed out on the amazing opportunity to jump in right when they could’ve. That means they lost out on around $400 billion, making this perhaps one of the greatest all-time blunders in technology history.

“You know, in the software world, in particular for platforms, these are winner-take-all markets. So, you know, the greatest mistake ever is the whatever mismanagement I engaged in that caused Microsoft to not be what Android is, [meaning] Android is the standard non-Apple phone form platform. That was a natural thing for Microsoft to win. It really is winner take all. If you’re there with half as many apps or 90% as many apps, you’re on your way to complete doom,” said Gates.

He goes on about his regret:

“It’s amazing to me, having made one of the greatest mistakes of all time — and there were this antitrust lawsuit and various things that, you know, our other assets, Windows, Office, are still very strong. So, we are a leading company. If we got that one right, we would be the company. But oh well.”

Microsoft did release their Windows Phone in 2010. It was actually fairly functional and worked well, but the world was moving in a different direction. The Windows Phone lacked support for apps, which ultimately resulted in its death. And rather than make the change and dive deeper into the industry, they pulled back and customers flocked to Android.

Later on, Microsoft attempted to correct their mistake by spending $7 billion to acquire Nokia, but that didn’t go anywhere either. At this time, Gates feels it’s too late. There’s only room for one competitor to take on Apple and Google and other industries trying to break through, Microsoft is content to sit back and make their impact felt in other ways.

Written by adminMay 9, 2019

Life Style

It’s been a year since Amazon launched its first ‘Go’ store. It allows shoppers to simply take the items they want and leave. The cost of the items are automatically deducted using the Amazon app and high-tech cameras. It’s a beacon of the future, of course, and its applications show how shopping will transition.

Amazon also understands that while they want to change the game, they also have to keep things modern. Our society isn’t cashless let, even if we’re leaning in that direction. That’s why the Amazon Go that just opened in New York will be the first to accept cash for items. In doing so, it will still not hire a cashier to take care of business.

Amazon took a lot of heat for using cashless stores. Critics were saying they discriminated against poorer residents who rely on cash and coins to make purchases. They say it’s not right to expect the poor to have bank accounts and debit cards. To keep critics happy, Amazon will start accepting cash at their stores, but not in the way you think.

Amazon and a Cashless Society

Amazon is known for its innovations. The company truly wants to change the way people shop, adding in loads of convenience. More stores are trying to increase customer satisfaction will appeasing every base. Rather than using a cash register, they’re currently working out a new way to check out cash customers.

Not too many details on that have been released yet, but a solution is in the works. They will still have an employee who uses the Amazon app to check out the items. How the cash will be collected is yet unknown. But they maintain no cash registers will be involved. They want to keep the process as high-tech as possible.

“This is how we’re starting,” he says. “We’re going to learn from customers on what works and what doesn’t work and then iterate and improve it over time.” Still, some politicians and activists see this as a means of discrimination. They are working on creating laws that prevent cashless establishments from taking root.

In fact, Philadelphia was the first city to do so. Not long after Philly, New Jersey put up their own cashless store ban. San Francisco and New York City are on the list of places considering the same. That really puts a thorn in the side of high-tech companies. The future of shopping is unknown. Many stores already have self-checkouts.

Written by adminJune 6, 2018

Life Style

If you’re one of thousands of McDonald’s workers who protested the restaurant in the ‘Fight for $15’, you just got served your answer with a side of fries.

Not only did McDonald’s decide not to increase the wages of their workers, they’re now unveiling plans to get self-service kiosks installed into every restaurant by 2020. McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook made this announcement this week, with plans on how they will get it done.

Over the next few years, kiosks will go up in 1,000 restaurants every quarter, reaching all 14,000 domestic McDonald’s by 2020. This is a major blow to workers who have been fighting the company to offer a more livable wage. Now, a lot of those workers may be out of a job.

Of course, kiosks only replace front of the house order-takers, as they still need someone behind the scenes to cook and assemble the food. Cutting the employee count in each store will undoubtedly save the billion-dollar company millions in the long run, which might spur on continued debates about how companies like McDonald’s pay their employees.

Still, the United States is behind the curve in terms of technological advancement. Stores in Canada, the U.K., and Australia already use order kiosks, so it was only a matter of time before the U.S. caught up.

While the prevailing thought is to assume McDonald’s is doing this to cut workers and save money, as many industries have turned to technology to improve their bottom line, the company itself says they don’t intend to downsize and are just providing additional options.

The idea is to sell more food. Customers who can take their time, not feel rushed due to a line behind them or a cashier staring at them waiting for their order, they can actually browse their options and are more likely to order extra food. It’s a convenience and just another option they’re adding to better serve customers.

According to McDonalds, it was only a few years ago when you only had to options: hit the counter or make your way through the drive-thru. Now, you can order online, with your phone, and even use their curbside options where you just park and someone will bring your food right to your car.

Terri Hickey, spokesperson for McDonald’s, says the stores will “still have cashiers — kiosks provide another option for customers to order and pay. We’re finding with kiosks, customers tend to feel less rushed, take their time, browse the menu, and often order more.”

Rather than letting go of the additional cashiers who may no longer be needed, McDonald’s says they plan on using them in different ways, such as improving guest experience, offering table service, and running orders out to curbside mobile customers.

To the workers who demand a higher wage, this change must be scary. It’s only the first step in restaurants meeting the technological demand. Some of the largest employers in the country are fast food restaurants, and it’s where most people get their first legitimate job experience.

While McDonald’s is promising not to cut any jobs (right now), how long before we find these kiosks at every table, eliminating the need for cashiers in the first place?

And it’s not like the company isn’t trying out other high-tech gadgets, such as the burger grabber and flipper, which can make an astounding 360 burgers in one hour, eliminating the human component. That’s not all. Right now, a conveyor belt system is being developed that can create and assemble burgers to order.

These types of innovations will only continue to happen and businesses will always choose to adapt to save money and stay competitive.

Written by adminMay 31, 2018

Saving

As with nearly every other facet of our modern world, the homes we live in are becoming smarter and more technologically advanced seemingly with each passing year.

Thanks to millions of dollars of investments into car technology, we now have vehicles on the road that are safer, cleaner, and can drive and park by themselves without driver intervention.

No, we still don’t have flying cars yet, but the advancements in home technology will completely change how we live our lives.

With huge advancements in biometrics, you can own a smart home that knows who you are, what you like, and can even help you conserve energy. It does this all by remote access. You wear a bracelet or some similar type of device and it will tell you apart from other family members living in the home.

By reading your heartbeat, the house can determine your mood and preferences. Is your skin warm or cold? It will adjust the temperature in the room. Does it sense you’re about to walk into your study? It will turn the lights on for you (and turn them off again when you leave).

There are a lot apps as well that will allow you to see who’s at the door, detect movement, turn on lights, and even play custom music to your specifications.

In simple words, you can control your whole living experience from your wrist or smartphone. The more you wear and use this technology, a pattern about your habits begins to emerge. That means your home will only get smarter and adapt.

Making Economic and Environmental Sense

As technology and the internet continues to improve our lives, it opens the door for more opportunities to live smarter and more connected to all that goes on around us.

For example, the refrigerator with a touch screen, webcam, and app you can pull up on your phone. If you forgot to check if you need a gallon of milk on your way home from work, all you do is pull up the app and can see exactly what’s inside the fridge. While this technology is cool, scientists are fundamentally changing the way we use refrigerators so they’re also environmentally friendly as well.

Rather than using coolants in a process known as water vapor compression to generate cold air, researchers have found new ways of keeping your food cold using magnets. It’s called the magnetocaloric effect, meaning you can raise or lower the temperature of an object by changing its magnetic field.

Another uses a cooling fluid that’s water-based, cutting down on the amount of electricity used. That’s great for the environment and the pocket book.

Any time you get to add new technology to an already established system, and discover new ways of doing it better while not harming the environment, it’s a slam dunk. Consider the various wireless sensors designed to make your home more energy efficient. They will control lighting units, heating and cooling systems, and the like by measuring the temperature of the room, humidity and light levels and adjust accordingly.

There are even advanced windows which are highly insulated and can detect the amount of sunlight in a room. They will darken or lighten, much like transition lenses on a pair of glasses that go dark to protect your eyes when you step outside into a bright, sunny day. This measure will save consumers money and energy.

Nearly every part of your home is upgradable to more energy-efficient and bill saving options. With smarter and more efficient appliances, roofs, windows, siding, and insulation, all connected to smart technology, biometrics, and apps, your home will know how to keep you comfortable while saving the environment and your pocket book.

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