Articles by Jack M. Germain

Women comprise 56% of the U.S. workforce but hold only 26% of technology jobs. The percentage of female STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and math graduates is about 19%. According to the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), that number has been steadily declining Research shows that gender-diverse teams bring in m...

In marketing, the term "influencer" refers to a generalized category of people who use their vast social media reach to publicize products or services to their audience interested in learning about what they are promoting. Influencers fall within identity tiers depending on the type of products they favor and the size of their audience Research sho...

Troubles with software supply chain safety have recently grabbed a chunk of negative headline space. That might well set the stage for what to expect in an upcoming State of Open Source Report A collaboration between OpenLogic by Perforce and the Open Source Initiative (OSI) will provide the industry with a snapshot of organizations' benefits a...

Spiraling inflation is increasing consumer demand for incentives wherever they shop. So, retailers take note: if you want shoppers to buy your wares, reward them for it That marketing strategy was the top-shelf tip tallied in a June survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adult consumers broaching shopping rewards programs, including cashback, discounts, an...

The role of digital marketing continues to gain traction in the wake of the retail rebirth following the pandemic As a result, retailers need to pay close attention to the benefits of using a variety of digital marketing tactics to differentiate themselves from competitors and improve their shopping experience....

Traditional CRM software often overburdens sales teams with manual data entry and missing critical pipeline data that ultimately provides inaccurate projections An industry report published in 2016 voiced that assessment. Those criticisms remain today, as CRM is plagued with low adoption rates, often due to fragmented implementations and processes,...

Germany-based Tuxedo Computers has released its tailor-made operating system as a stand-alone distribution that offers a reasonably productive option among the bloated supply of Linux variants Previously, you could only get Tuxedo OS pre-installed on the company's line of computers. Now anyone can try it as a separate distro, making good on its mis...

Marketers are paying more attention to presenting potential buyers with a blend of product videos as a model that adopts live commerce goals based on consumer-led and consumer-centric product discovery The developing new marketing method shares several names. The most prominent usage centers on live commerce and livestream shopping. Whatever you ca...

Have you checked your online accounts lately? If not, make doing so a priority today Account takeover fraud is on the rise and looking for new victims. The holiday shopping season is already underway, with more consumers relying on e-commerce than ever before. So, let's hope that today is not too late....

Some e-commerce watchers predict that the growing trend of live shopping will probably not grow as extensively with U.S. customers as it has in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market. Still, merchants should not mark down the potential it offers them for growing e-commerce sales Platforms such as TikTok and Facebook reportedly have concluded that live shop...

Alice Min Soo Chun is a woman driven by a passion for doing good and helping save the planet with innovative products she invented powered with sustainable lighting technology Chun is a former university professor who taught architecture and materials technology at MIT, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale. She worked with her students to...

How businesses must handle customer interactions is changing as customers adopt messaging as a communication preference. Companies that fail to keep up with the rapid advancements of digitizing this process will be left behind Since the pandemic, three times as many companies reported that 80% of their customer interactions are now digital. Therefo...

In the wide-open field of videoconferencing tools spawned by the pandemic, the Poly Studio P5 professional webcam should be high on your list of candidates for home or office use This USB 2.0 plug-and-play camera comes with an integrated type A cable, privacy shutter, and an adjustable monitor clamp that doubles as a desktop base. The removable upp...

Is e-commerce declining or fitting in the post-pandemic world? The answer might well depend on how the limits of e-commerce are drawn in the "new normal" business world E-commerce boomed throughout the pandemic, giving a sharp pivot to a largely virtual world. This shift produced a 55% increase in online spending worth $1.7 trillion....

The conviction of former Uber Chief Security Officer Joseph Sullivan may pose a chilling reassessment of how chief information security officers (CISOs) and the security community handle network breaches going forward A San Francisco federal jury on Oct 5. convicted Sullivan of failing to tell U.S. authorities about a 2016 hack of Uber's databases....

Software security continues to plague open-source developers and users as well. Ongoing efforts to fix broken security issues are producing innovative solutions. However, like a game of whack-a-mole, new security hurdles continue to pop up Ubuntu Linux users can now grab some free security help to make keeping up with patches and maintenance a bit ...

Last mile delivery of products ordered online is a nagging problem for merchants and consumers, and it is even more challenging for food retailers The innovative Phononic EV might be driving a new solution to deliver groceries efficiently and sustainably while rivaling Amazon's planned aerial drone package delivery system....

Federal legislators last week began the process of better securing the open-source software used by government agencies with a new bill titled "Securing Open Source Software Act of 2022." Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced the legislation that seeks to address open source software risks in government. The proposed Bill,...

Google's Nest Cam with battery is a home security camera by Google that offers an innovative portable outdoor/indoor security solution with advanced features at an entry-level price of $179.99 Now, with a product bundle from smart home accessories brand Wasserstein, the Nest Cam can be paired with a new 3.5-Watt Premium Solar Panel priced at $79.99...

Data privacy laws are becoming a major focus globally as businesses scamper to meet new compliance obligations Privacy regulations generally bind any business or organization to store securely all data they collect or process. What they do with that data is strictly regulated....