iPhone Competition

If you are technical geek of sorts you already know about T-Mobile’s G1 and the Blackberry Thunder as a few of the first phones to try to compete with the iPhone 3G.  According to a post on US News & World Report, Blackberry is introducing a new competitor, called the Storm that will offer 2 virtual keyboards.  The Storm will be available exclusively to Verizon customers and features a unique clickable screen.  They do not have an actual release date yet, just stating that it will be available sometime later this fall.

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Best Companies For Working Mothers

This topic is one I can really get behind since this is one of the toughest callings you can have in life, especially if you are a single mom.  Kudos to General Mills for being a local company (local to us) that is a perennial resident on this list. The story is from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal: General Mills Inc. is among the nation’s top employers for working mothers, according to a 2008 list compiled by Working Mother magazine. It is the 13th consecutive year that Golden Valley-based General Mills (NYSE: GIS) has made the magazine’s top ranking.

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A Senseless Tragedy

The recent murder at the Olympics hit home for me this past weekend.  The family is from my hometown of Lakeville, MN.  I was in Lakeville this weekend for my 20th anniversary high school class reunion.  Needless to say, this tragedy was the topic of the weekend. I think most people are aware of the story, but you can get the details here. Suffice to say, I am still stunned by the senselessness of it all.

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Office Sludge Known As Coffee

The Sales Machine blog on BNet features one of those posts I wish I had authored.  The title – Why Office Coffee Tastes So Bad.  A great topic for a Monday morning.  This post contains some of the most detailed information I have read about bad coffee.  Basically, it all comes down to tannins. Contrary to popular belief, coffee is not bitter. It is supposed to be a naturally sweet beverage. However, the way it is usually prepared tends to concentrate the tanins (sic) in the coffee, which makes it unnaturally bitter. Remove these tannins and you get a good cup of coffee. Tannins come from five sources: Exposure to… Read More

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2 If By Blog

Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event. -Oscar Wilde We have made it through another year of posting and pontificating.  Today, The Hire Sense turns two.  Thanks to all of you for allowing us the chance to share our thoughts, opinions, anecdotes and suggestions in this format.

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Starting A Company In A Recession

Interesting history lesson in a short Inc.com post: William Wrigley, Jr. arrived in Chicago in 1891 with just $32 to his name. The 29-year-old entrepreneur began manufacturing soap, first enticing customers by offering free baking soda with every purchase. He later tried offering customers free chewing gum. The gum soon became more popular – and profitable – than his soap venture. Like many of the famous companies which have sprung up during recessions, Wrigley sold inexpensive goods that could be easily mass produced. Now, I’m not saying that chewing gum actually served as a distraction from the strife of the times, but what kind of startup do you think fairs… Read More

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Happy Early Easter!

We are in the midst of a snowstorm so Easter and Spring seem oddly out of place against the backdrop of 6″ of snow.  It is amazing how stunningly beautiful snow can look before Christmas and how utterly awful it looks before Easter.  However, the JustSell.com guys provided me with some context to this Easter in their daily email (sorry, no link): Unless you’re 95 years old, you’ve never celebrated Easter this early. This year Easter falls on March 23, the earliest the holiday has been celebrated since 1913. Nearly 80% of consumers plan to celebrate this year and will spend $14.44 billion (about $135 each) on food, apparel, gifts,… Read More

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The New Newspaper

Newspaper subscriptions are plummeting and have been for some time.  I think it is pretty clear that this trend is going to continue as newspapers struggle to redefine their product. The future for them appears to be online according to Media Daily News: WHILE THEIR PRINT EDITIONS CONTINUED to slide, newspapers enjoyed an online audience boom in 2007, according to the Newspaper Association of America, which says the total unique audience for newspaper Web sites increased 9% in the fourth quarter to an average 62.8 million per month, compared to the same period in 2006. The figure from October, when 63.2 million people visited a newspaper Web site, is an… Read More

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