Haystar Biz Blog | Marketing, Sales Operations, & Technology Insights

How Has Technology Transformed Culture? Commerce?

The exponential technology evolution of the last 25 years has had a broad impact on everything. Okay, maybe not everything—but the list is extensive. And it reaches much further into aspects of our lives than we could have ever imagined three decades ago. Consider the following examples of the impact on culture and commerce. What would you add to these lists? How else has tech changed common culture? How else has innovation transformed commerce?

Steve Jobs: The Impact of Investing in Simple, Smart Design

Steve Jobs was a great believer in simplification. When Jobs returned to Apple, he infused his personal obsession with outstanding products. The product focus was not on facilitating transactional interactions. Rather, it was on creating powerful, meaningful moments. Prioritizing the audience experience generated tremendous technical and process challenges. Simple for the customer often required complex engineering solutions.

Captain Bezos and the Obsession Gene

Obsession is more than a fragrance by Calvin Klein. Our inclination to obsess is woven into our DNA. Obsession can fuel both positive and negative behaviors and outcomes. This is true in both life and business. Celebrity encounters, social media, the Kardashians, Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Star Trek, and boating in the San Juan Islands are just some of the topics touched on in this exploratory essay.

B2B Tech Marketing Primer

Here's my collection of B2B marketing thoughts, ideas, concepts, and experiences. It's a high-level marketing primer of sorts—something that touches on all aspects of B2B tech marketing today without getting too bogged down in the details. If you're new to B2B marketing, this should help. If your a seasoned, B2B marketing expert, this will give you a comparative perspective.

Global Software Development: 10 Observations

Working with global technology teams can be wonderfully rewarding on multiple levels. When done right companies can leverage the skills of talented people around the world to provide cost effective technologies and services. I've been a part of global technology teams with three organizations. Here are 10 observations based on my experience.

How Old is Your Tech Company?

The increasing pace of technical innovation is decreasing the life expectancy of companies across industries. This is particularly true in the tech industry. Other than a few outstanding exceptions, tech companies don't last long as independent entities. See if you can match 60 companies to the year they started.

Cultivating Tech Innovation Along the Wasatch Front

The Salt Lake City Metro Area's transformation into a major technology hub deserves a deeper look: What elements cultivate the growth of a productive technology hub? Where do Utah's tech roots come from? What type of technology companies will you find along the Wasatch Front today? Would you know them if you saw them? (quiz yourself) And why does Utah's tech future look bright?

Dashboards, Databases, and Big Data Fun

Big data and data analytics have generated lots of buzz over the last few years. You can attend conferences on it, read books about it, and follow a steady stream of related news. Investors, inventors, and tech corporations are chasing after this huge and growing market that IDC estimates that it will reach $187 Billion by 2019. I decided to engineer some of my own data analytics just for fun.

Job Interview Skills: As Seen On TV

I once stopped at a Silicon Valley Jack-in-the-Box to change my clothes before a job interview. As I pulled the trunk shut, “KEYS-IN-TRUNK?!” flashed in my mind. Locked out of my rental car, I power-walked about a mile through parking lots, along streets, and across a dusty field in the early autumn heat to arrive for my interview 10 minutes late and sweating profusely. I was wearing a white shirt, no tie, no belt, charcoal grey dress pants and a pair of tan Birkenstock sandals. I didn’t get the job.

Job Search Playlist

I recently found myself in the job search business. Among other activities, this involved lots of online research of companies and positions. Fortunately, my SkullCandy headphones and PandoraOne subscription keep me tuned in as I sifted through the virtual sands of possibilities looking for the right opportunity.