National Edition - January 13, 2008
 |
|
|
|
Newsworthy
The tech trends that will change your business
It looks like the high-tech excitement will be continuing well into 2008 with the Luddites being left scrambling to catch up. Business travelers can look forward to in-flight wireless Internet access, which should help them kick their Solitaire habits once and for all. Social networking sites specializing in re-kindling
long-lost friendships via virtual food fights will be increasingly used for business needs, such as recruiting. Wired editors are also asking readers to vote on the biggest tech-business trend forecasts for 2008.
(Source: Wired.com)
Trendspotting
Rock your PowerPoint presentations
An underground PowerPoint culture emerging out of Japan may breathe new life into the slide show presentations that many individuals in corporate America unwittingly rely on as a crutch, boring their audiences to tears in the process. Pecha Kucha nights were founded by two Tokyo-based architects in 2003, in an effort to help designers promote their work in an open-mike setting. The rules are simple: slideshows must consist of 20, 20-second slides, for a total presentation time of 6:40. Currently, Pecha Kucha has spread to 80 cities, including Montreal, and will hopefully cure the widely dreaded "death by PowerPoint" syndrome.
(Source: Financial Post)
Recognition
A holiday bonus you can't keep
An American bank in the Mid-West gave its employees sizeable holiday bonuses this year, which they in turn had to pass on to a friend, charity or other worthy cause, with the total donation amounting to over $500,000. Employees also received video camcorders for keeps, and were asked to create short documentaries about their philanthropic experiences. It may come as no surprise, but the bank's COO got the idea for the bonus from his wife, who saw a similar stunt on Oprah. In addition to the camcorders, the bank's employees also received their standard end-of-year bonuses, which they got to keep entirely for themselves.
(Source: USA Today)
Who will be the lucky recipient of your holiday bonus?
To answer, click here.
Education/Training
Video gamers hit new platforms
Parents who think that video game culture only involves their kids slouched in front of a television set in the basement have it all wrong. The video game industry is a demanding environment that requires workers to have a strong command of their creative, artistic, technological and storytelling capabilities. The above article profiles two such talented individuals and points to the fact that despite widely held beliefs to the contrary, only one in 15 people who work in the video game industry are actually computer programmers.
(Source: Jobboom, Career Zone)
Career Options
Teaching English across the Pacific
Teaching English in Asia isn't what it used to be before the Japanese-bubble burst in 1997. However, working as an ESL teacher abroad is still a great way to travel and make good money at the same time. Some wily adventurers even work for several months until they have saved up enough cash to finance a trip around the world. Striking out on such an adventure requires considerable research and preparation. And, although working and living in a foreign culture can be challenging at times, the overall experience is highly rewarding.
(Source: Jobboom, Career Zone)
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Did you... dread going back to work after the holidays? The first day back can be a particular drag, especially after a fun-filled holiday.
| - | A 10-year-old Mexican boy glued his hand to his bed to avoid going back to school after the Christmas break.
|
| - | "I thought if I was glued to the bed, they couldn't make me go to school," said the boy, Diego Palacios.
|
| - | Diego watched cartoons while officials unglued him using a spray to dissolve the chemical adhesive.
|
| - | Diego made it to school, but was a few hours late.
|
(Source: AFP)
|
|
|
|
|
|
NOTICE: Jobboom and its sponsors do not necessarily endorse the opinions conveyed in the articles selected for this e-zine and do not assume any legal liability in consequence thereof.
Comments: info@jobboom.com
Research and editing: Austin Macdonald
|
|
#noDossier#
|
|
