MCB News

Bitcoin 101

2/1/2018

Nothing seems to be getting the same amount of buzz as Bitcoin these days. This new currency has made its early investors rich and yet many people still don’t know anything about this mysterious new currency.
Bitcoin, in the simplest terms, is a digital currency and the first established “cryptocurrency.” Using a revolutionary technique called “blockchaining,” Bitcoin became a secure way to keep digital currency from being reproduced.
Blockchaining allows users to securely and anonymously trade coins without having to worry that the coins they are receiving are digitally copied from real coins. Bitcoin owners actually own the private keys used to access Bitcoins.
You can receive Bitcoin one of two ways; trading goods or services for coins or “mining” them.
Mining is just a term used to describe the process of creating new Bitcoins for the market. Extremely powerful computers solve complex math equations and when they are solved a new block for a blockchain is made. As more coins enter the market the equations become harder and harder to solve providing a “soft” stop on inflation.
While this is just a cursory overview of Bitcoin it should allow you to understand the basics of the coin market. If you want to learn more about Bitcoin or Blockchaining you can read the articles below.

Bitcoin
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/01/17/a-complete-beginners-guide-to-bitcoin-in-2018/2/#b4dc7b96bfe0

Blockchain
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/01/24/a-complete-beginners-guide-to-blockchain/#5bf8fc446e60

Hiring the Best Employee

1/30/2018

We have talked before about the importance of effective employees to your companies success. Team happiness, cohesion, and determination directly affect your bottom line. So what should we be looking for when hiring to create a successful team.
Forbes gives us six recommendations for narrowing down superb applicants to hire.

Finding people with commitment to their career
Finding people with great learning skills
Testing compatibility with other team members
Creating an effective interview process
Hiring interns
Reviewing their social media

All of these tools help to understand the candidate on a broad scale rather than just past accomplishments. Instead of basing your decision on their resume you take their demeanor into account as well.
Many people may look perfect on paper but do not work well with other team members in the office.
If you want to read more in depth on these steps or learn how to be effective in when applying to new jobs you can do so at…

https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2015/05/15/6-tips-for-hiring-the-right-employee/#12b0b6fa3894

Alphabet Unveils "Chronicle"

1/25/2018

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has announced its new branch devoted to cyber security labelled “Chronicle.”
The goal Chronicle is two-fold, to introduce new cybersecurity techniques and provide analytics for companies to understand and better manage their own security network.
“Thousands of potential clues about hacking activity are overlooked or thrown away each day,” wrote Stephen Gillett, CEO of Chronicle. “We want to 10x the speed and impact of security teams’ work by making it much easier, faster and more cost-effective for them to capture and analyze security signals that have previously been too difficult and expensive to find.”
Since its inception in February 2016, Chronicle has been developing its team and working with a number of large companies who are testing early alpha security programs.
“None of us have to settle for cyber crime being a fact of life, or for a reactive, expensive existence of cleanup and damage control,” said Gillett.

If you would like to read more about Chronicle's goals you can read Gillett's post in the link below.

https://medium.com/chronicle-blog/give-good-the-advantage-75ab2c242e45

Online Marketing for Small Businesses

1/23/2018

Getting your name out as a small business is difficult. The struggle is multiplied when you reach out on the web.
    Having a web presence takes you out of the pond and into the ocean. You have to compete with giants like Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon.
    So how can a small business “make a splash” in such a large market?
    Forbes has put together a list of the best tips for small business in the digital marketplace.
   Tips on how to use social media, creating a loyal customer base and getting involved locally ensures you get the most out of your marketing campaigns.
There is also advice on how to solidify your online presence.
   Don’t let the internet scare you away with its daunting size; use this article to reach new customers from anywhere in the world.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2018/01/23/small-business-marketing-101/#4c3c029045ff

Amazon's Top 20 Locations for HQ2 Announced

1/18/2018

Tech giant Amazon is looking at possible locations for its second headquarters which is referred to as HQ2.
238 cities applied for the spot and Amazon has narrowed its search to just 20 cities. The finalists are…

Atlanta, GA 2. Austin, TX 3. Boston, MA 4. Chicago, IL

5. Columbus, OH 6. Dallas, TX   7. Denver, CO 8. Indianapolis, IN
9. Los Angeles, CA 10. Miami, FL 11. Montgomery County, MD
12. Nashville, TN 13. Newark, NJ 14. New York, NY 15. Northern Virginia
16. Philadelphia, PA 17. Pittsburg, PA   18. Raleigh, NC   19. Toronto, Ontario
20. Washington D.C
Amazon promises a $5 billion dollar investment and addition of 50,000 high-paying jobs to the home of HQ2 so each city is trying its best to court the company.
Previous attempts include a Tucson group sending the company a 21 ft saguaro cactus to send a message that the company had “room to grow in Tucson.”
Georgia offered Amazon a slice of land which would be a new town named Amazon, GA.
  Charlotte, NC even had a holiday celebrating the shipping company. Busses and billboard touted the #CLTisPrime slogan.
  Amazon has not yet released the final decision on HQ2’s location but says it will this year. Be sure to look out for more elaborate gifts and offers from the top 20 cities as the deadline comes closer.

Treating Employees like Customers

1/16/2018

  Management strategies can make or break any business. Employees who deliver a better experience for your customers are going to make your business soar. So how do we, as managers, ensure our employees are delivering that service?
    Forbes asserts that treating your employees as you would treat a customer creates a great working environment thus leading to more initiative in your team.
  They bring up a case where a JetBlue employee, Morgan Johnston, saw a problem and decided to fix it. A twitter user had confused JetBlue with another airline, EasyJet. In order to remedy the situation, Johnston went to management and asked to create a twitter for the company and clear up the misunderstanding.
JetBlue had a problem dealt with and Johnston felt he had agency in how the company was run. Everyone walked away from the situation with a win.
    “If you treat your team as if they were your customers, you empower them, which inevitably makes them more invested in the success of your business,” says Wayne Elsey, writer of the Forbes Article. “When your team is treated within your office in a way that demonstrates the value management has for them, they then turn and do the same for your prospects and customers.”

If you would like to read the full article you can follow the link below.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2018/01/16/your-employees-are-your-customers/#701a0b4f6e63

Automation Looking to the Sky

1/11/2018

On January 10th fans of automation got great news. Boeing, one of the most prominent aircraft manufacturers, unveiled a prototype for their unmanned cargo air vehicle (CAV).
    The prototype is all electric and powered by a electric propulsion engine that was developed by Boeing’s own Chicago based research lab.
    The prototype is reported to be able to carry 500 pounds of cargo at a time. The aircraft also takes off and lands vertically so large airstrips are not required for travel.
    This announcement came off the tail of Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens announcing their co-developed hybrid electric engine in November.
    "This flying cargo air vehicle represents another major step in our Boeing eVTOL strategy," said Greg Hyslop, Boeing's Chief Technology Officer . "We have an opportunity to really change air travel and transport, and we'll look back on this day as a major step in that journey."

If you would like to learn more about the aircraft you can follow the link below

https://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Boeing+%28BA%29+Unveils+New+Unmanned+Cargo+Air+Vehicle+Prototype/13675207.html

Oil Tanker Collision in "Dragon's Triangle"

1/9/2018

This weekend a tanker carrying one million barrels of oil collided with a smaller ship causing a disastrous wreck.
Because of the collision oil began to spill out of the hull and a spark ignited the raw fuel.
The 31 crew members are still unaccounted for due to complications from the fumes being released by the spill. Weather has also been a problem for rescuers who report strong seas and winds in the area.
Environmental groups are worried this much oil and toxic gases being released could cause an environmental disaster for the surrounding area. The ship is in danger of exploding and releasing over 136,000 tonnes of oil into the open ocean where it becomes much more difficult to remove.
Some rescuers blame the area of sea the ships collided in. It is referred to as “The Dragon’s Triangle” and is comparable to the Bermuda Triangle. There is a high concentration of subsea volcanoes in the area.
“In this day and age with anti collision systems, radar, with ship identification systems, two enormous ships like this should not collide,” said oceanographer Dr. Simon Boxall of the University of Southampton. “Particularly seeing as they weren’t in a narrow channel, there wasn’t restricted navigation, there was no excuse for this accident to occur.”

If you would like to read more you can visit the website below.

http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/thirtytwo-missing-oil-tanker-on-fire-after-collision-off-china-in-worlds-new-bermuda-triangle/news-story/56871933fd8e14c43038eddccc1883dd

Spectre and Meltdown

1/4/2018

Another large scale security breach has rocked the tech industry. Stemming from a vulnerability on almost every computer chip made in the past 20 years, “Meltdown” and “Spectre” gives hackers access to information stored on your computer including passwords, personal photos, documents, and so much more.
Each vulnerability works differently to bypass security measures and steal information. Meltdown “basically melts security boundaries which are normally enforced by the hardware,” said the hacker team who discovered these flaws.
Spectre “breaks the isolation between different applications. It allows an attacker to trick error-free programs, which follow best practices, into leaking their secrets.”
The response has been quick from most companies. Yesterday, Microsoft and Google both took steps to fix these holes in security, but experts believe only some of the exploitations Spectre uses can be fixed.
This “is going to haunt us for some time,” says Mashable writer Jack Morse.
To learn more about the breach and techniques to protect your system you can visit the website below.

http://mashable.com/2018/01/04/spectre-meltdown-explained/#euR9aA0b0mq

AAA and Tow Drivers Fighting Drunk Driving

1/2/2018

According to a CDC report in 2015, 10,265 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.
From 6pm to 6am on December 31st to January 1st drug/alcohol related automotive accidents spike up 71%. A study from SafeAuto.com shows New Years Eve is the most deadly night for drivers.
    AAA and tow drivers across the country work to take drunk drivers off the road each year with their “Holiday Safe Ride Program.” Members only have to call 1-800-AAA-HELP and a local tow service will come pick up you and your car. In certain states non members can also take part in the program.
    The service varies from state to state so be sure to check AAA’s policy for your area before calling. This can be done by visiting…

http://newsroom.aaa.com/safety/holiday-safe-ride-program/.

    While AAA is happy to offer the service to drunk drivers, “AAA urges them to take safety precautions in advance: designate a non-drinking driver, call a cab or stay with a friend.”