In her new book, “iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood—and What That Means for the Rest of Us,” Jean M. Twenge discusses the challenges of the iGen and shares start realizations about how smartphones are affecting a generation of young persons. Source: The Atlantic, September … [Read more...]
Put down the phone
Wendy Myers suggests ways to get clients and staff members to hang up their phones and listen. Addictive cellphone use is a growing problem and contributes to declining listening and retention skills. Try a collaborative rather than confrontational approach when dealing with smartphone use. Source: Veterinary Practice News, August 23, 2017. Distracted clients may be … [Read more...]
AAHA/VMG Chart of Accounts now available for free
This free tool is a first success for the AVMA's Economic Advisory Research Council, which is tasked with "organizing and efficiently using the veterinary profession's scarce resources.” Kudos to all involved in providing this resource to all veterinary practices. Source: DVM 360, June 30, 2017. The chart of accounts will allow practitioners to better organize their … [Read more...]
National Relaxation Day; did you know?
Who knew? Sean Moeller founded National Relaxation Day in 1985 as a fourth-grader. In an interview with Valerie Monson in The Des Moines Register, he suggested people shouldn’t do anything of real value. Cleaning and real work are not part of relaxation. This series of articles will give you ideas for relaxing. Source: Bottom Line Insider, August 14, 2017. Here are some … [Read more...]
Beef’s trending headlines
Burt Rutherford shares five trending headlines. Senseless cattle killings in the Southwest have cattlemen and law enforcement concerned. On a lighter note, a new smartphone app helps you analyze manure to determine forage quality. Source: Beef, August 14, 2017. Also see: Beef’s 2017 lineup of mid-range tractors, and skid-steer and track loaders … [Read more...]
Social media included malware threats
As we integrate Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media platforms into our daily routines, risks of malware attacks increase, as well. According to this author, faked profiles are sometimes deployed to encourage users to connect with what seems like a harmless individual. Instead, that connection opens the door for malware to enter your company’s network. Source: … [Read more...]
Next-gen malware may arrive in DNA
We have featured multiple posts about malware and the damage it can cause. A genius group of biohackers has demonstrated that strands of DNA can be manipulated to carry an infection to computers, not human or animals. Source: Wired, August 10, 2017. In new research they plant to present at the USENIX Security conference on Thursday, a group of researchers from the … [Read more...]
5 ways to detect a malicious phishing email
Since the time email first gained widespread popularity in the 1990s, phishing scams have been showing up in email accounts. They're called phishing emails because the cybercriminals who send them are fishing for victims. Source: Carbonite, July 19, 2017. Phishing emails may be more difficult to identify these days, but there are some important steps you can take to avoid … [Read more...]
Emoji is the new universal language
We definitely live in the digital age. Our lives are interconnected in a virtual world, with people we have often never met. The overwhelming majority of the world’s computer-literate users now use Emoji as a daily necessity. It adds levity, emotional expression and personality. Source: Linked In, August 5, 2017. Emoji is more than just happy or sad faces. It has real … [Read more...]
The latest from Dr. Andy Roark (recorded interview)
Hear Dr. Roark talk about social media as a "relationship accelerator" in a recent interview with DVM 360 on Your Veterinary Voice. The interview and other topics are part of his recent newsletter. Source: Dr. Andy Roark, August 2, 2017. Dr. Roark on such topics as social media as a "relationship accelerator," that scary E-word (entrepreneurship) and new graduates coming … [Read more...]
Social media snapshot as a stunning infographic
Social media, a name we once gave for a platform such as Facebook, has become difficult to define. Constant iterations expand and grow how social media is used. Those trends include the growth of live streaming, messaging apps and conversational commerce. Source: Mashable, August 2017. It’s meant to remind the viewer that social media is about the people in the center of … [Read more...]
Call me. Please!
If you’re one who prefers texts, emails and emojis, it’s likely time to use your phone’s keyboard to call coworkers, customers; even suppliers. In this CEO’s experiment, it turns out that effective phone calls save time, uncover clear direction and yes, tighten relationships. Source: Fast Company, August 1, 2017. What I found was that particularly for more nuanced … [Read more...]
Stop, look, listen; get a computer crash plan
In one form or another, at least one of our computers is going to completely crash, be lost, stolen or fall victim to virus problems. William Hall reminds us that hard drive failure and ransomware are not the only computer risks. He recommends seven ways to help prevent this. Source: Entrepreneur, July 26, 2017. Here are seven easy to implement tips to prevent a computer … [Read more...]
The case of the shrinking airline seat
Finally! A federal judge has ordered the FAA to review seat sizes and legroom on commercial airlines. Flyers Rights, an advocacy group had said it is concerned that small airline seats are a safety hazard, putting passengers at risk for conditions such as deep vein thrombosis. Source: ABC, July 30, 2017. Flyers Rights gave the court evidence that the average width of … [Read more...]
How we search continues to change
Marketing a practice has really changed. Instead of putting an ad in the yellow pages and making sure the phone number is correct in the white pages, a hospital now has to be found on multiple platforms and be accessed in a variety of ways. These areas need to be managed on a constant basis. Source: MWI Messenger, August 2017, page 21-22. The next leap in accessing and … [Read more...]
Why sitting at your computer all day can wipe you out
If you’re conscious, your brain demands your energy and lots of it. Using your brain takes real, honest, physical work — it’s just not visible to us the way using our muscles to exercise is. Source: Science of US, July 19, 2017. Because we’re more likely to get sick after period of heightened mental exertion, too, it’s important to treat mental fatigue with the same care … [Read more...]
Is technology being used counterproductively? (audio program)
In this thought-provoking audio interview, David Allen ( Getting Things Done® ) talks with Dr. Theo Compernolle, a doctor with a 35-year background in medicine, psychiatry, teaching and research. His most recent book is Brain Chains. Source: Getting Things Done®, July 13, 2017. You’ll find this interview to be educational, and perhaps challenging, as you learn that we may … [Read more...]
Google enters job application management
Google recently debuted its Hire recruiting app for small- to medium-sized businesses. To use Hire, companies will need to be paid subscribers to Google’s G Suite of business apps such as Calendar and Gmail. G Suite customers will have to pay extra to use the Hire app which integrates with a company’s existing Google software. Source: Fortune, July 18, 2017. The Hire app … [Read more...]
Social media policy guidelines help businesses
People often talk online about how they do business to demonstrate their expertise, often in the spirit of sharing and transparency that customers value. However, if sharing this information isn’t appropriate for your business, a social media policy will help outline what can and cannot be shared. Larry Alton shares three tips for creating a social media policy. Source: … [Read more...]
A not-so-quiet problem: noise!
When you remodel your existing location or build a new one, noise management often gets overlooked. Researchers have documented ways that noise and distractions create stress for workers in open offices. One analysis of survey results found nearly 80 percent of workers in open offices cited noise or lack of speech privacy as a reason for being dissatisfied with their work … [Read more...]
Opinion – Veterinary distribution measured, supply chains challenged
Almost concurrently, I read about AVDA’s survey of veterinary distributors and a supply chain report on Amazon as a competitor, yet partner. The move to online is apparent in both articles and signals how much distributors are at the front line of a changing economy. Direct-to-consumer sales threaten their business models, which previously relied on shipping large amounts of … [Read more...]
New ideas about implanting feedyard heifers
We don’t see a lot about implanting these days. This article features Merck Animal Health nutritionist Marshall Streeter, PhD, as he outlined some of the research conducted in preparation for release of a new heifer implant. Since most implant research has been conducted with from steers, Merck’s new data could improve our understanding of implant use in feedyard … [Read more...]
This is nuts: It takes 30 minutes to refocus after getting distracted
And we wonder why we can’t seem to get enough work done. If you thought that the amount of time you spend on email — 1/3 of your office hours — was bad, this isn’t going to make you feel better. Source: The Muse, July 18, 2017. Taking much-needed and deserved breaks (intentional) are one thing—getting distracted (involuntarily) is another. There’s a reason that distractions … [Read more...]
Petfood e-commerce IS changing the industry
STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. As the internet age matures, online pet food purchasing options are spurring growth as a legitimate retail channel. “The channel making the biggest strides is the internet channel, which now ranks as the fifth largest for pet products and as the third largest for pet supplies,” said Packaged Facts in its U.S. Pet Market Outlook report, published in May … [Read more...]
Sponsored Content: Addison Biological Laboratory featured
Congratulations to AHD sponsor, Addison Biological Laboratory, for being selected as a featured manufacturer for Spring 2017 by MWI Animal Health. The story featured Addison’s development of the first USDA conditional license for a commercial Moraxella Bovoculi Bacterin in early 2017. Moraxella bovoculi is frequently referred to as winter pinkeye. Source: Addison Biological … [Read more...]
Empathy trumps cuteness in viral videos
Animal health marketers frequently find that and images of pets “sell.” Autumn Sullivan suggests otherwise. Her position is cuteness helps, especially with viral videos, while the real secret ingredient to creating viral content is empathy. The post referenced here is promotional but the message applies to marketers stretching their companies in the social media and video … [Read more...]
Seniors catching up on social media
A recent Nielsen report showed that the percentage of total media time spent on social media in the oldest demographic (50-plus) increased by a whopping 64 percent, to 20 percent. Grandparents and their peers are becoming social media converts as they use channels such as Facebook to keep in touch with their increasingly scattered families. Source: Adweek, June 26, … [Read more...]
Take back your word
We’ve all hit “send” on an email and wish we hadn’t. Gmail users can unsend emails fairly easily and quickly. This video shows how. Source: Business Insider, May 15, 2017. If you’re a regular Gmail user, you can prevent yourself form accidentally sending the wrong email to your entire office in just a couple clicks. Here’s how. … [Read more...]
New ransomware threat predicted to hit U.S.
Getting held hostage by ransomware is simply not fun and at minimum, consumes chunks of time. Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer with Helsinki-based cyber security firm F-Secure, said he expected the outbreak to spread in the Americas as workers turned on vulnerable machines, allowing the virus to attack. "This could hit the U.S.A. pretty bad," he said. Source: Reuters, … [Read more...]
The iPhone turns 10 (includes Steve Jobs historical video)
As the iPhone turns 10, we now know the technology that was supposed to bring us all together has isolated us instead. Smartphones now seem indispensable. They connect us to the internet, give us directions, allow us to fire off texts and much more. Yet research has shown that this convenience may be coming at a cost. Source: The Conversation, June 26, 2017. Smartphones are … [Read more...]