#rinnyswealth

These tech skills are no longer in demand. Show recruiters that you can adapt and learn.

Remember those stuck up twins in the film, the Social Network? In the film you remember how they were kinda... beaten in the end?

Well, in real life they're back & kicking-- investing $1 mil on a website called SumZero that provides a variety of financial social media and news-related services. Perhaps the greatest differentiation between SumZero & websites like Facebook is that its exclusively for hedge fund research and investors, with news reported from the 'buy-side' vs. the 'sell-side' to give researchers a more accurate picture of a company's status.

SumZero offers three packages: Basic, Elite, & Buyside. Basic is for general members and is free-- headlines, job listings, etc. Elite & Buyside are exclusive to paying members or members with relevant experience. In simple terms: they get the good stuff- live discussions, top-tier research reports, consistent coverage & analysis.

Gamification is the enhancement of non-game applications by including game-like features.

Blurring the distinction between work and play, gamification can improve efficiency and motivation in the workforce; instill competition to increase focus . However, it could also work backwards and distract employees from work at hand.

At first it seems kind of silly, but this is a concept that I believe most work places need today. On August 12, 2012, I visited a technology-based office that specializes in manufacturing and exporting coolers for data centers in the US. It was a start up company, and you'd think most start ups usually really stick together in the beginning then start creating some distance when profits are high and success is at its peak. However, the walls between the departments and the employees were visible representations of the isolation throughout the start up. One of the employees even told me he didn't know everyone's name, just that there were papers to be filled out and that he would have to get them signed. Furthermore, there is no interaction between the employees because everyone's work is remarkably different. But almost all the employees want to stay and continue with the start up because with current economic conditions, most people today are desperate to work with a technology company.

A week or so ago, the headline in the 'Tech' section of the WSJ as well as Information Week stated that Microsoft was to purchase Yammer for approximately $1.2 billion.

Now, I've worked at an office that uses Yammer and I only have two things to say: 1. Microsoft may not be making a rational decision because (I think)... 2. ... Yammer is not worth +$1 billion.

Granted, Yammer in some cases can be extremely useful in the corporate world- especially when it comes to making important announcements or transferring documents that need to be seen by a large number of people. This is especially useful in particularly large companies.

But when my company tried to use Yammer as a platform in collaborating with other companies, it caused some conflict because they didn't have Yammer yet and these were start ups that weren't willing to pay the $5/$15/$79 per user per month rates they offered... retaining their workers was already so difficult. Other conflicts I've seen across the media are distracting notifications and limited security, but these conflicts aren't so different from the ones you see with Facebook.

I've always wanted to write more responses to some business news on this blog for awhile- there is so much unrest as the economy plummets and the nation divides itself between taxes, marriage laws, and even presidential candidates. Outside the nation: a president has been elected in Egypt, Somalia is struggling to open its doors to tourism, and Syria in mayhem as the UN puts a halt to patrolling the nation. I also just want a place to talk about my studies and some of the experiences I've had in the workplace recently.

But before I get into all this... just want to give a quick run-through of the first business lesson I was ever taught back in middle school, one that I always forget given many circumstances. Never forget the value of a penny.

 Not a lot of people know this, but back in middle school, I worked at the laundromat in my hometown for a summer (I forgot which.. summer before 6th? 7th grade?). All I did was wrap up people's dirty clothes and dump them or pull out a name card that would indicate the location of their clean ones. It's a small laundromat next to our town's movie theater (which is probably the smallest movie theater in NJ) and I worked in the early mornings, when nobody was awake to bring their dirty clothes over. But there were people, and so so so frequently, a few pennies or quarters would fall out of their pockets/wallets. Most of the time when I wasn't even watching!

Maybe because it was so early that they were nearly sleep walking and didn't hear it... or maybe it was because they just didn't care... but either way, those few coins that would fall to the floor were mine whenever nobody watched. And as the summer months flew by, my odd habit accumulated to pay a portion on the down payment of my black electric guitar.. which is still strapped to a stand next to my bed. I'm staring at it right now. 

But one day, I learned to shop and when you learn to shop, money literally flies out of your wallet. It's like this: you think you have this much cash one day, you open your wallet another just to find you have this much less. So many urges and needs- so many little things to pay for: a bite out of a good meal or a ride to work.   Just a few months ago, both my debit card accounts were borderline $28- just $3 from the minimum- and my wallet was empty. I had just paid for my trip to Panama out of my pocket (which was only a portion of the trip-) and I owed my friend a few dollars. To add fuel to the fire, I had to pay it back the next day- same day as my midterm. She couldn't wait until I was paid by my internship, which was the week after... and I was freaking out!  (Yeah word to the wise: if you're a college student... USE EXCEL BUDGETS!)