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Why Groupon Appeals to Google: It’s All About Local

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Multiple reports have Google buying Groupon for $2.5 billion and change. But why would Google want an email-based startup in the first place? To get at the nearly $14 billion U.S. local online ad purse, that’s why. Especially because small and medium businesses are expected to spend 10% less on Google’s core paid search in the next five years, according to Borrell Associates.

Read full article here!

Flexi Spaces and Coworking: What Might the Campus of the Future Look Like?

(Simon Mackie on gigaom.com) – For many freelancers, coworking — a growing movement of independent café-like collaboration spaces for independent professionals — has been a significant development of the past few years. The coworking concept is attractive for freelancers; it gives people who would normally be stuck at home a fun place to work and the chance to network, socialize, develop ideas and work on projects with others.

Read full article here!

Criticism Sucks, or Does It? How to Manage It With Dignity



 (Danielle LaPorte on talentzoo.com) – Criticism can bite. Hard. There’s two scenarios. You’re being justly critiqued (no one’s perfect.) In which case, your ego needs to shake it off like a wet dog and keep wagging its tail. Even so, if you’re being rightly ‘dissed, you’ve still got to find your dignified zone. The other scenario is that someone is out of line and you’re at the receiving end of his or her misperception and poor taste. This type of criticism actually is more complicated and messy. But either way, criticism is a call to be your classiest self.

 Here are 11 approaches for dealing with criticism:

 Read full article here!

Give Your Job Search a Holiday Boost

(Alison Doyle on About.com Guide) – If your plan is to wait until the holidays are over to really jump start your job search, think again. The holidays are actually a great time to hunt for a new job. Here are some helpful tips for boosting your job search. Read full article here!

What’s next in the exciting world of apps?

(Jeff Hilimire on adage.com) – Food marketers intent on shepherding and tracking shoppers — from car, to cart, to checkout, to chowing down — are understandably salivating over the potential of location-based mobile apps.

Badges and virtual goods may seem cool in the first few encounters, but how long can the thrill of a mayorship or a virtual Tazo Tea bottle last? It’s gimmicky. Moreover, what if I want to make a purchase but don’t want to check in? Lasting and sustainable innovation in this space will require apps that offer far greater benefits for both consumers and marketers. Don’t get me wrong. Consumer food marketers and, indeed, all marketers, should be actively experimenting with new apps and technologies to determine their potential value and how best to use them.

Read full article here: http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=147211!

Turn Your Computer off and Manage Your Sleeping Time

(Ester Liquori on instantshift.com) –  Unfortunately, upcoming deadlines, continuous reviewing of the work required by clients, time lack, etc. sometimes affect designers and creatives all over the world.

Inspiration and creativity never sleep someone could say but there are several side effects for too many nights spent working at the PC. Read the full article here!

How To Profit From A Great Personality

(Chris Kyle on yahoo.com) – Are you an extrovert? A people person? A crowd pleaser?

Consider channeling your winning personality into a pretty paycheck.Just remember that even with a great personality, you’ll need some training.

“Education is always a good thing…” says Mitchell York, a New York-based career coach.”…[A]nd, in some cases, it’s mandatory.”

Take a look at some of these great-paying careers that extroverts can excel in – then see how you can get in on the action!

Read the full article here!

Freelancer Guide

(Anders Ross on www.instantshift.com) – Becoming a freelancer is a way to work at home and be independent without having to start a business. Freelance work varies greatly. Some projects require clients to sign written agreements, while others provide work based on verbal agreements that are enforceable through the nature of the project. Some freelancers provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients. Read the full article here!

Mobile Marketing Guide

It’s no secret that mobile media is the way of the future. Stay current with the latest in mobile marketing with this excellent guide we stumbled across on adage.com.

Too Nice to Land a Job

(www.insidehighered.com) You are reading a letter of recommendation that praises a candidate for a faculty job as being “caring,” “sensitive,” “compassionate,” or a “supportive colleague.” Whom do you picture?

New research suggests that to faculty search committees, such words probably conjure up a woman — and probably a candidate who doesn’t get the job. The scholars who conducted the research believe they may have pinpointed one reason for the “leaky pipeline” that frustrates so many academics, who see that the percentage of women in senior faculty jobs continues to lag the percentage of those in junior positions and that the share in junior positions continues to lag those earning doctorates.

Read the full article here!

Don’t judge a book by its cover

Job titles can be confusing, their significance and meaning often changes from company to company. It’s important to take a closer look at what’s out there; some jobs are actually far more interesting then they may sound! Today we looked into the title of Project Manager. We found a great article on this position here.

25 Classic Fonts

 We came across this nice summary of classic fonts while browsing the web this morning. This article claims that these 25 fonts will last your whole design career…decide for yourself here!

After School Special

Check out this very insightful article we found, packed with usable advice!

(Lynda Decker on www.aiga.org) Building a career is not something that happens overnight. It requires patience and tenacity, and it involves more than raw talent. A career demands an overarching curiosity about the world and how things work, topped off with well-honed people skills. To rise to the top in your profession, you have to have the guts to be self-aware, to know your own strengths while trying to improve upon your weaknesses. And, come to think of it, raw talent doesn’t hurt.

The great thing about a career in design is that you can define success in a number of ways. You can strive to be a renowned creative director at a big firm, to create a small boutique studio, or to savor both your profession and parenthood by working out of your home while raising children. This industry isn’t just about savvy insight and fresh aesthetic perspectives; it’s also largely built from flexibility and potential.

In the beginning of a career, the transition from school to work is difficult, to put it mildly. The first thing you learn is that there is more to learn. A lot more.

-Read the rest here, well worth your time!



Browse creative logo designs

(Anders Ross on  www.instantshift.com) – A Logo is a graphical element that, together with its logotype (a uniquely set and arranged typeface) form a trademark or commercial brand. Typically, a logo’s design is for immediate recognition. The logo is one aspect of a company’s commercial brand, or economic or academic entity, and its shapes, colors, fonts, and images usually are different from others in a similar market. Logos are also used to identify organizations and other non-commercial entities.

These types of corporate identities are often developed by large firms who specialize in this type of work. However, if you want to save some bucks and want to design your logo then there are many sources to get logo design inspiration. Infect, we might able to help you by presenting this showcase of Highly beautiful, original and creative logo designs for your design inspiration.

Read and see more

Much Ado About Nothing (Or: Contemplating GapGate)

(Eric Karjaluoto on www.aiga.org) – I’ll start by getting it out of the way immediately: I’m not a fan of what was the redesigned Gap logo. There, I said it… alongside about a gazillion others.

We’re all very upset

Fact is, I wasn’t a fan of their new approach to three letters and a square. Nope—just not feeling it. I do want to stress the critical importance of this whole thing, though. You see, we’re serious people, and we take serious things like this seriously. (Seriously.) Google “Gap logo” and you’ll find many, many other serious people with serious opinions on this newsworthy, and serious, issue.

Upon being asked for his opinion on this grave incident, Armin Vit (of Brand New) exclaimed, “Choosing Helvetica in 2010 is inexcusable.” And right he is! Helvetica has become so terribly gauche it’s hard to not feel pummeled, assaulted, and even outright violated in its presence. He continues, explaining that the typeface is “as bland as grilled chicken without salt and pepper.” True dat… true dat… I gotta say, though, those are fighting words,’vetica. You really going to take that?

Read the full article here!

Concise Guide to Archiving for Designers

Designers, protect your hard work! Archiving is one of the most important steps of the creative process, even if it isn’t always the most fun! But if you take the time to archive properly, it will pay off down the road. For effective ways to archive, check out this comprehensive guide.

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