February 2017

Artificial Intelligence’s Role in E-Commerce

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Artificial Intelligence

 

The future applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are limitless. For example, the technology is currently playing a major role in shaping the automotive industry with the emergence of self-driving cars. AI is also expected to seep into and influence the e-commerce space.

Artificial Intelligence Today

All of the artificial intelligence that you interact with in your life currently is a form of weak AI. Weak AI focuses on a single task, where as strong AI, has a consciousness. Netflix utilizes this technology to give you movie recommendations, Siri is a form of this technology as are the characters in some video games.

Personalizing E-Commerce

Weak AI has already bled into the e-commerce space. As aforementioned, Netflix uses artificial intelligence to provide its users recommendations based on their prior viewing history. Other, more traditional retailers are experimenting with this technology to also bring their users recommendations within their industry.  For example, Under Armour uses IBM’s AI “Watson”, to create a personalized shopping experience based on the health and exercise patterns of the shopper.  

The Future of the Salesman

Aside from creating recommendations based on each individual user, you can expect to interact with more virtual salesmen online. As artificial intelligence becomes more widely adopted by retailers, human interaction will be further removed from online shopping. Today, we can type into a chat box where a representative will help us with any questions we may have. Soon, artificial intelligence will be analyzing big data to give us more accurate and personalized answers.

 
In conclusion, artificial Intelligence is one of the more exciting forms of emerging technology. Its applications are far reaching and we can expect to see AI playing a larger role within our daily lives. As far as e-commerce is concerned, this technology will help create a better customer experience and offer better service effectively driving up conversion rates.

Best Web Design Tools For 2017

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computer, web design tools

Creating and managing a website could be a daunting and at times overwhelming task. Luckily, there are tools scattered around the web that can make this process easier. Here are some of our favorite web design tools for the new year.

Avocode — Photoshop and Sketch Friendly

Avocode is one of the most popular plugins for web design on the market and for good reason. This tool makes it easy to exchange ideas and designs created within Photoshop and Sketch. The entire process takes place in a shared, central location which ensures that nothing is loss when transferring the design. Avocade keeps all of the layers and individual pieces of your design in place as it moves from designer to developer.  

Animaker — For DIY Design

You may be looking to create original videos for your site, if so, Animaker will guide you through the process. Animaker is shaping up to have an exciting 2017 as a number of DIY designers are turning towards the tool. Animaker prides itself on its high end graphics that bring life to any aspect of your website you desire.

Frontify — Good for Teamwork

The Frontify Style Guide software will keep your entire design team on the same page. This tool will allow you to create a guide for each project you embark on, ensuring continuity across the project which proves especially useful when working with a large team.

Visme — Presentation Perfection

Visme is one of the best pieces of presentation software you can find. This free software boasts a collection of a 1,000 plus stock images and templates. The program also gives you the option to start a presentation from scratch and will guide you through that process.

Whether you are just beginning to build your website, or are looking for a productivity boost for your already established site, these design tools will make your life easier and designing your site stress free.

The Move Towards Wireless Charging

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phone wireless charging

With a new year just beginning, tech companies are pushing further into making the charging of your devices wireless. Apple has recently joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). The WPC is positioning themselves at the forefront of the wireless movement by boasting over 200 members that includes Nokia, Samsung and HTC in an effort to better the technology and start a “charging revolution”. If finding your charger and plugging it in has proven to be too much of a first world problem for you, then you’re in luck.

Wireless Charging Today

Apple reportedly has a number of teams working to make charging your phone wireless.  Other manufacturers have experimented with this technology. Samsung implemented wireless charging into their Galaxy S7 and Note 7 phones. This innovation by Samsung is assumed to be the catalyst for the rise of wireless charging by 40 % last year. Now, the upcoming iPhone 8 is expected to be equipped with wireless charging. As with anything Apple adopts, their focus on wireless charging should then create more of an incentive for other companies to do the same. Aside from cell phones, Dell has recently released the first wirelessly charging laptop. The Latitude 7285 is able to be charged by simply placing the laptop on a supported mat.

What the Future Holds

The applications for the technology are far reaching. Disney, for example, has been experimenting with a room that will wirelessly charge your devices by just walking into them. Also, automobile companies have entertained the idea of implementing wireless charging to electric cars in an effort to increase efficiency.

The prospect of wireless charging being incorporated into all of our smartphones and computers is inevitable. It is not unimaginable that this technology will be the new norm regarding our devices. It is where the technology moves from there, that is exciting.

 

Google’s Fight Against Toxic Trolls

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google fights against toxic trolls

Over the past year, Google has collected millions of online comments to develop Perspective. This new software aims to determine and highlight what the company calls “toxic” language from the comment sections on websites. Also, it will highlight those that are considered “healthy” and rank them accordingly as well. In coordination with Wikipedia, The New York Times and other unnamed sources, Perspective aims not to inhibit free speech but to flag comments deemed toxic hopefully leading to greater and more productive discussion.

Ranking Toxicity

Google offshoot, Jigsaw, is the official company behind this initiative. Though the program will still be on Google’s servers. The software is now available to the public. So now you can apply the software to your comment section and it will highlight the toxic replies. Perspective ranks the comments by how toxic they are in comparison to other toxic phrases. For example, popular term “fake news” shows up with a 47% toxic rating. This is a learning software, so it will become more accurate as time goes on.

Encouraging Intelligent Discussion

Perspective serves another purpose aside from just weeding out toxic language. The New York Times, for example, has individuals who just spend time doing what Perspective will do. Employees of the newspaper manually shift through each comment to find the offensive comments. Now, Perspective will bring to the surface the toxic comments for its human counterparts to determine the how to handle them. With Perspective’s aid The New York Times should be able to allow comments on more of their articles. The paper currently only allow comments on about 10% of their articles because manually shifting through anymore comments is too time consuming.
Critics will argue that Perspective is an infringement on free speech. The company denies this and is only striving to create and maintain intelligent conversations within a safe space.

New York City’s Upcoming Tech Hub

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NYC tech hub

New York City is funding, what experts predict to be, the technological hub of the city. On Friday, Mayor Bill De Blasio released the first images of the “Union Square Tech Hub”. De Blasio has stated his intention of making the building the technological center of New York City.  A glass facade holding 258,000 square feet of space, will replace the PC Richards & Sons that currently sits at 124 East 14th St. The $250 million dollar project is set to begin in 2018, and be completed sometime in 2020.

Creating Jobs

De Blasio has stated he plans on creating 40,000 jobs within the city over the next four years. The construction of the Tech Hub will provide an estimated 800 jobs. Additionally, the city claims the new space will immediately open up 600 jobs to New Yorkers. The new building will contain 58,000 square feet of fluid space. This space is intended as facilities for startups and educational purposes to create a more inclusive and modern tech space. In fact, 36,000 square feet of the building will be reserved for training facilities in an effort to tap into the talents of New Yorkers.

Spreading Tech Knowledge

Anchor tenant Civic Hall is a nonprofit company who plans on using the space as a digital training center.  Other corporations who are to become tenants in the Tech Hub include General Assembly, Code to Work and New York City Foundation for Computer Science Education. These companies will make the Tech Hub one that is unique through its emphasis on training, education and inclusion.

If the goals of the Tech Hub are met, the space will make a positive impact on the inclusiveness and productivity of the tech industry within the city. All the while, creating an array of jobs for New Yorkers. This is a very exciting time for the New York City’s tech industry.

Pixar to Offer Free Khan Academy Lessons

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pixar logo

Good news for Khan Academy users: Pixar is offering free storytelling lessons. They’ve called it Pixar in a Box, and the lessons are online now. Pixar is renowned for their ability to create compelling animated movies, such as Inside Out, Finding Nemo, and Toy Story. They are master storytellers, combining interesting narratives with stunning visuals. Few companies hold up to Pixar in terms of animated expertise. So if you want to win an Oscar, check out their free lessons.

What is Khan Academy?

Khan Academy is a free online website with educational lessons available for everyone. They are a non profit company that began in 2006. They offer lessons on various subjects in the form of short videos. While Khan Academy is a great supplemental resource for education, it isn’t an entire replacement for traditional schooling. But they do have resources to help with school, such as supplementary practice exercises and tools for educators. Overall, it’s a good tool for students and teachers alike.

Pixar’s Lessons

The first lesson is up on Khan Academy right now, and available for everyone. It features an introduction to storytelling and how to create compelling settings and characters. These lessons are in the form of short videos and activities to complete. The next installment will be about character creation specifically. Later lessons will be about story-boarding, emotional appeal, etc. Khan Academy will release all these lessons throughout 2017. Lessons are taught from Pixar directors and story artists including Inside Out and Up director Pete Docter, Brave director Mark Andrews, Inside Out story artist Domee Shi, and Ratatouille animator Sanjay Patel.

This is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who wants to go into animation and storytelling. It’s also just interesting to learn more about how Pixar creates their amazing movies. Basically, anyone who is a fan of Pixar should check out these instructional videos.

Outreach, Through Code

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women who code

The opportunities that present themselves to an individual with tech knowledge are endless. With so much of our lives driven by technology, certain companies, industry insiders and teachers are lending a hand to make this field one that is more inclusive. According to Computerscience.org, the industry has been dominated by men even before officially entering the workforce. Boys are outnumbering girls 4:1 in taking AP computer science exams. But we expect this to change; and some organizations are looking to change this disparity. 

Women Who Code

Various organizations formed to combat this disparity. Women interested in learning how to program can turn to groups such as Girls Who Code. This organization now boasts around 10,000 members across the country. In addition to formal organizations such as Girls Who Code and SciGirls, college campuses such as Colorado State University have opened their doors and are offering free coding classes to women. More recently and globally, the US Consulate has partnered with the Africa based organization, Code 4 Cape Town. Together, they are offering free classes for 10th grade girls, in Cape Town, through March.

Refugees Who Code

In addition to the aid extended to women, organizations that realize the immense opportunities that arise with a knowledge of coding have formed to help refugees learn the craft. In the midst of a rather divisive humanitarian crisis, groups formed to offer coding classes exclusively to refugees. The United Nations is currently cooperating with SAP on their Refugee Code Week initiative. This ambitious and refreshing project has taught thousands of individuals across the Middle East to code. They hope to increase the probability of finding jobs in this modern, tech driven era.

As a result of the inclusionary efforts of these various organizations around the globe, we are able to look forward to a tech industry that will grow in size, creativity and innovation. 

The Best Extensions for Magento

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Magento remains one of the most popular e-commerce platforms, for good reason. It’s open source foundation and its SEO and mobile friendly capabilities make it a stand out in the market. Magento being open sourced allows the you to utilize the website in any way you see fit. This is done through the use of extensions featured in the marketplace. Here are some of our favorite Magento extensions to optimize your business and performance.

Managing Your Shipping 

Providing good shipping keeps your online business afloat and your customers returning for more. Managing of orders can be stressful especially as your business continues to expand. Luckily you can find help with Shipwork. This app automates a large portion of the shipping process all the while creating a personalized profile for your users, allowing you to focus your attention on other aspects of your site. You can find an alternative to Shipwork in Matrixrate. This widely popular extension will automatically provide your customers with mailing options based on the parameters you set.

Connecting With Your Customers

You may find it tough to connect with your customers through the e-commerce space. Creating a line between your business and your users that is both personal and helpful is a sure fire way to guarantee they return. There are many options for gearing your Magento powered site to make your customer service and experience more accessible and individualized. Try MageMail to send out newsletters reminding your customers of how much they loved shopping with you the first time. If you want to add some life to your website, try installing LiveAgent. This extension allows your customers to consult an actual person for help, instead of getting stuck with a bot or scrolling through a FAQ page.

These Magento extensions can help you connect with your customers on a more personal basis and provide better service all the while taking some of the weight from your shoulders.

 

Making the Most of Whitespace

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In web design, whitespace is in reference to the empty or negative space on your website. You may see whitespace around an image or text and between buttons. You can push your designs, logos and text further into the forefront when this negative space is harmonious with them. Try applying this decades old technique to these areas of your web design.

Enhancing Your Design

You can choose any color you wish to fill the spaces that envelope your design. The color that you choose, does not have to be white, it just has to be the most effective in emphasizing your design. Flat.io, is a website that helps create sheet music and whose homepage includes sign in options surrounded by a gradient blue background. They are able to not distract us with unnecessary content and have us focus on what is most important, which is their sign up options. Google’s use of this design for example, is incredibly effective through its simplicity and accentuation of the logo. They used whitespace to create an instantly recognizable homepage that is balanced, elegant and focused. Google ensured that our eyes are only drawn to the logo and the search bar below. 

Accentuating Advertisements

Many websites will increase the size of the call to action button, or present them on top of the page. This approach only becomes an eyesore and a nuisance to your users. Your call to action buttons will be more effective and less intrusive if surrounded by negative space.  Any advertisement on your page, for that matter, will be more noticeable without being overwhelming, if surrounded by negative space.

Utilizing whitespace on your website will help navigate your users through your page, and draw their attention to what you deem is most important. All the while helping your website feel contemporary and sophisticated through its minimalism.

Why Going Paperless is a Good Idea

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cluttered documents, why going paperless is a good idea

It’s 2017 — almost 40 years since the concept of “going paperless” was introduced by Frederick Wilfrid Lancaster. What was once a radical idea is more attainable than ever. Office spaces are essentially run by computers and other technology — so why do we still keep stuffing papers into filling cabinets? Why do we still use punch cards? Our reluctance to go paperless isn’t only hurting the environment — it may also be hurting our business. Here is why going paperless is a good idea, both to save money as well as save the trees.

Misplaced documents cost money.

The Paperless Project discovered that every misfiled document costs as much as $125 in lost productivity. And even beyond that, for every 12 filling cabinets you have you need at least one employee to maintain them correctly. If you’re a large business, these costs can add up. What’s even worse is that 7.5% of a business’s documents are estimated to go missing over time.

Misplaced documents cost time.

Did you know workers spend up to 30% of their time searching for paper documents? And that businesses make up to 60 weekly trips to the printer or copier to replace them? It’s also been estimated that 4 weeks in total are spent each year trying to find lost documents. That’s a lot of wasted time and money.

Computer Programs have made going paperless easier than ever.

Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets have made sharing work with coworkers breeze. They can also be worked on and edited together. Electronic attendance systems can be used to replace punch cards for a more accurate payroll. By having employees clock in and out on the computer, you can avoid time theft or misplaced time cards.

Overall, going paperless can be a wonderful advantage for your business. It’s important to evaluate all that you use paper for and think — can this be done electronically? The answer is probably, yes.

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