Wisdom From The Experience of a Microsoft Employee
Who would have thought that someone could get so much mileage out of being a small gear in such a huge machine? This post on Stuff I’ve learned at Microsoft details the discoveries of one Sriram Krishnan, veteran of a mere five years at Redmond.
It is a long document – you’ll want to bookmark it and come back when you have time, because this article is worth all of your attention. In it, he shares tips on how to maneuver in a huge corporation, how to handle both underlings and overlings (is that even a word?) alike, tips on programming Zen, and some good ways to cultivate a mentality of personal growth. We’ve known 20-year senior managers who haven’t learned all of this.
Peter Brittain
Are You Ready To Babysit Kids On Your Website?
CNET picked up an interesting scoop about media usage in the youngster’s demographic. Kids pack in nearly 11 hours of media use daily. Now, pause and consider that: If you count 6 hours per day in school, this leaves 7 hours per night for sleep! We’ll assume this is averaged out from where the kids have weekends off from school, but still it’s a daunting figure.
What this means to the e-commerce world is that the next generation is the biggest potential customer. It only takes a few years between “junior is old enough for his own laptop” and “junior is now off to college, has his own bank account, and is ready to make purchases of his own.”
You should also think twice about making your website kid-friendly. Doubtless, having the occasional swear word in your text isn’t the first time a kid will encounter it, but there’s no sense in contributing to a bad image if you can’t help it. And on the other hand, doing everything you can to stick in the mind of a young teenager has the potential to influence their future online buying decisions. Are you ready for this?