WSJ

A Bit of College Can Be Worse Than None at All – WSJ

by dldamore

A Bit of College Can Be Worse Than None at All – WSJ:

“There has been little or no difference in wages among 20- to 24-year-olds who graduated high school and those who completed some college but aren’t enrolled anymore.”

*On the plus side.

College dropouts have a lower unemployment rate than those with no college credits—12.1% versus 15.5%, respectively, for 20- to 29-year-olds

*The credential is the thing that confers that the skills and talents the holder has, can create value in the world. Credentialism opens up opportunities for new skill building systems. Online education that costs less, is faster and more effective and has a credential attached may become the wave of the future.

*Credentialism is not quite the word I am looking for as it seems to mean that employers falsely use it as an unnecessary requirement for a job. The word I am looking for is related to having a certificate that shows you have certain skills and abilities. Computer software certification would be a good example. If one can master software one can create a multiple of value for an organization. Computer skills can be acquired rapidly and measurably via online training courses. Lynda.com is an example worth checking out. There is a way to put the certificates from Lynda on your LinkedIn profile. That is the kind of signal that might attract employers to you even if you don’t have a degree from a college or university.   

WSJ: PayPal Launches Pilot In-Store Payment Service

by dldamore

PayPal Launches Pilot In-Store Payment Service:

PayPal, the electronic-payments division of eBay, said it is testing an in-store payment system with Home Depot that allows shoppers to purchase items without cash or a conventional credit card.

(Via WSJ.com: US Business)

 

This is a development worth watching. Retailers are pushing back on interchange fees and there is an opportunity for new ideas to take hold with some big players.

Prediction: Disruption to the credit card payment system is coming.

IDEA – Business Week iPad App + Print

by dldamore

Was just reading a post on Tech Crunch about the new Business Week iPad app. One of the complaints was that the content of the app is updated once per week, just like a real magazine.

IDEA

Post all the writings of their talent in the app as it is completed. Then, based on the user data and feedback from the users of the iPad app, adjust what stories are featured in the magazine. This could be done with the top five articles that readers have rated highest. This could be highlighted in a page that explains what the stories are and where readers can find them in the magazine. Magazine readers may find this curation by the crowd to be of considerable value.

Notes

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have a similar feature in what published articles were most emailed, read or shared. Example links are below.

WSJ

NYT

Crap Ads Seen on The Wall Street Journal Online

by dldamore

When people tell friends about products and services that turn out to be crappy, the relationship suffers, trust is eroded away. That same erosion of trust happens to companies that associate with or promote low quality products and services (ads).

ScreenClip(31)

Ads like those pictured above are not doing readers any favors. One might even say, ads like these damage the brand of The Wall Street Journal.

*The screenshot of ads above were from the right sidebar of the Wall Street Journal website on 2/28/2011 at 12:15 P.M. EST.