Infotrade

Being a software developer working in the US can net you a salary in the six-figure range. But that doesn’t stop there being some very lazy developers out there earning such high sums of money. A case in point is a developer called Bob, who  Verizon  just exposed as a lazy genius. The real identity of the company and developer have not been released, but the details have. The developer, referred to as Bob, works for a “US-based critical infrastructure company.” Bob is a guy who lists 7+ programming languages on his resume and is in his mid-40s, meaning he’s an experienced developer. He’s also been duping his employer for months. The company he worked for contacted Verizon when it discovered a  VPN  connection it couldn’t explain on its network. The connection was from Shenyang,  China , which set alarm bells ringing. Verizon investigated and discovered the login being used to access the network from China belonged to Bob who sat at his desk every day in...

Nearly every technique I’ve used was designed to set myself up with what you would call a “lifestyle business”. I didn’t realize it at the time, I thought a business was a business, but I can see now that what type of business you decide to build very much dictates what kind of  life you will lead. A lifestyle business is, as the name suggests, a business created to facilitate the kind of lifestyle you desire. In my case, and I suspect for many of the current solo-internet marketers out there, the kind of business you want is one that requires little time to manage , yet makes enough for you to live a comfortable life, not have a job and travel if you desire so. Passive income, low labour or easily outsourced income streams are perfect for a lifestyle business, and are exactly what I went after during the first 10 or so years online. Although I knew the outcome I wanted, I didn’t really understand how to get it, so for a long time I focused more on just “making money” th...

For many Americans, the 21st century has gone from being the age of information to feeling more like the age of information  overload . Between the e-mails, memos, and other miscellaneous information you have to read at work, your friends’ Facebook updates, your Twitter community recommending articles for you to read, and that book that’s been sitting on your nightstand (unopened) for the past month—there’s just no way to take it all in. As a result, we’ve become a nation of skimmers, reading just enough of just the right amount of information to have at least a loose grasp on what’s going on in our work and personal lives. But the tragedy is that in all of our skimming we miss essential details that could help us improve our productivity, build better relationships, and live more gratifying lives. Of course, there are obvious reasons to pay attention to the details. Your momentum is constantly moving you forward, allowing you to better serve your employer and/or clients ...

Venture capital database  CB Insights  is releasing a  new report  today on the state of the VC industry and investments in 2012. For the year, $28.3 billion was invested by venture capital firms in 3,267 deals. However, it’s interesting to note that while seed VC funding hit highs during the year, overall investment fell from 2011’s $30+ billion level. And VC funding actually dipped for the second consecutive quarter in Q4 2012. After Q3 2012’s deal activity levels (these were the highest since the dot-com days), Q4 stayed strong on a number of deals, which dipped slightly from 835 financings to 834 in the quarter. Funding in Q4 fell for the second straight quarter coming in at $6.8 billion. Funding slipped 7.5 percent from 2011 but still remained up 36 percent versus 2009. Seed funding, which  hit record levels in Q3 2012 , still saw a strong quarter in Q4 2012, posting the second highest quarter for seed deals. It looks like the Series A crunch m...

Mobile applications can be one of the best ways to keep your consumers engaged with your brand as they are on the move. But first you have to decide whether or not you actually need it. Here’s how to make that decision. When Canadian pizza chain   Pizza Pizza  rolled out a mobile marketing strategy and accompanying mobile application in early 2011, they were already a few years behind the competition. In America, Domino’s Pizza had gained considerable press for their  Pizza Tracker , which lets you see the progress of your order from the time you place it until it arrives at your door.  So what did Pizza Pizza, who operates 600 chains in Ontario, do? They streamlined both ordering and delivery, and encouraged consumers to use the application via an incentive-based system. After an early April launch, they reported meeting the six-month performance metrics in six weeks and  won a Webby Award  (honoring innovation in web and mobile) as a smartphone-sho...

Cox Enterprises  is perhaps best known for its holdings in areas thought of as “old media” — radio and TV stations and newspapers at Cox Media; cable and telephone services at Cox Communications — but today it made a move to tap into the rise of disruptive technology and startup culture. It’s launching a $250 million fund, which will be led by board member and serial entrepreneur Tripp Rackley, to “invest directly and exclusively in companies created by Rackley.” The fund will be managed as its own business independent of Cox, the company said, and it will be the sole investor in any projects that come out of the fund. Potentially more money will be added to the pot over time, TechCrunch understands. Rackley has a track record in building tech startups that have had successful exits. The most notable ones have been in the enterprise sector, specifically in financial services — nFront, now part of Intuit ; and Firethorn, now part of  Qualcomm . He’s built his career in ...

The holiday decorations are all put away, you've survived another big visit from the family, and you're already a little behind on your new year's resolutions. But you can be excited about 2013's prospects for both your startup and the entrepreneurship ecosystem as a whole. Here are my 2013 predictions for entrepreneurship: Crowdfunding will mostly benefit small businesses rather than high growth tech.  Lots of companies are excited for the SEC to clarify the crowdfunding rules under the JOBS Act because it might help their startups raise some much-needed capital. But the truth is that the main beneficiaries of the new investment rules will likely be small local startup companies like restaurants, services or retail. That's because the high-growth tech companies with the strongest business models will continue to rely on traditional methods for raising capital. There is no shortage of capital for strong startups. And the novice investors who are excited to in...