The Latest and Greatest in Technology News
New Study Debunks Background Check Myths
On in Career Assistance, Industry News.
When it comes to background checks, a lot of people make a lot of assumptions—both on the hiring and applying sides. A recent study from CareerBuilder® debunks the most common of these myths.
“Never judge a book by its cover.” A common phrase that in terms of recruitment means something very unique. When it comes to selecting the best candidates to work for your company, going deeper than just face value should be a routine practice. And as a jobseeker, you need to be aware of what employers are looking for when background screening and what could cost you the job. Yet, according to a new CareerBuilder survey that outlines myths around background checks, not all companies or workers know the process. READ MORE
Microsoft and Google find common ground to build Angular 2
On in Cool Tech, Industry News.
If you had told me Microsoft and Google would collaborate on a major JavaScript framework a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed you, but today the company announced the unlikely pairing.
At ng-conf in Salt Lake City, the Angular team announced that it’s been working closely with Microsoft’s TypeScript team to build Angular 2 and converge the TypeScript and AtScript languages. READ MORE
U.S. chief technology officer Todd Park is stepping down (updated)
On in Cool Tech, Industry News, Working with Recruiters.
Updated (8:11 p.m. PST): Updated with confirmation of Park’s departure via an independent source that spoke with VentureBeat.
If there’s one thing most folks in the tech industry can agree on, it’s that there aren’t nearly enough technology-minded individuals helping to run the government.
The U.S. government’s chief technology officer Todd Park plans to do something about it, which is why Park has decided to step down from his position, VentureBeat can now confirm. The news was initially reported by Fortune.
Confused? Don’t be. READ MORE
The noPhone, Because Smartphone Separation Anxiety Is Real
On in Industry News, Just For Fun.
The other day, as I sat on the couch with a dead iPhone resting on my belly, I found myself wondering why my phone is constantly dead. And I had a revelation: I’d rather have a dead phone within reach than be even a few feet away from it as it charges across the room. It’s pathetic, I know, but absolutely true.
Enter the noPhone. READ MORE
The Pros and Cons of Sassy Job Titles
On in Hiring Strategies, Industry News, Interview Assistance, Working with Recruiters.
Social Media Ninja. Email Marketing Guru. Director of First Impressions.
If you’re involved in the job search right now, chances are you’ve come across at least a couple of these unusual job listings. With recruiters and employers pulling out all the stops to attract top talent, many companies are utilizing unconventional titles in order to tout company culture and attract the “perfect candidate” — from Subway’s Sandwich Artists™ (yes, it’s a registered trademark) to referring to the director of HR as the Chief People Officer.
While these sassy titles hint at a relaxed and fun work environment, it’s important to note that not all companies will find success in this approach. READ MORE
The Battle Over “Silicon Beach”
On in Industry News, StartUp LA.
Influential Los Angeles venture capitalist Mark Suster was sitting in a meeting of LA tech power players one week in March, with one agenda item: Get rid of the term “Silicon Beach.”
Get it off the mayor’s office innovation reports. Get it off the startup-networking websites. Get it off the t-shirts. Get it off the bumper stickers.
I called Suster and said I’d like to write something about Silicon Beach and about that meeting, organized by the LA County Economic Development Corporation to reshape the way people see LA tech. READ MORE
How to Stop Facebook From Sharing Your Web Browsing History
On in Industry News, Social Media.
Facebook is going to start sharing app and Web browsing history it collects with advertisers to display more targeted ads. This includes all those non-Facebook sites you visit. If this skeeves you out as much as it does me, you can opt out, kind of.
Facebook describes the feature this way on its security and privacy settings page: “You might visit a company’s website that uses cookies to record visitors to it. The company then asks Facebook to show their ad to this list of visitors, and you might see these ads both on and off Facebook.”
Unlike most Facebook-related privacy settings, you can’t opt out from the site’s settings page (click the padlock icon in the corner and then select Ads), though. In order to opt-out, you have to go through the special tool available on the Digital Advertising Alliance site. We walk you through the steps. READ MORE
Do We Really Need to Learn to Code?
On in Industry News.
“Learn to Code!” This imperative to program seems to be everywhere these days. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg recently donated ten million dollars to Code.org, a non-profit that believes that “every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer programming,” and that “computer science should be a part of the core curriculum.” So-called “developer boot camps” are popping up everywhere. For second graders, recent college graduates, and people looking for a new career alike, the implication seems to be: Take an intensive course to learn to code and forget about everything else.
In the May 29th issue of Newsweek, the tech columnist Kevin Maney argued that all this coding reeducation might soon be unnecessary. “Computers are about to get more brainlike and [soon] will understand us on our terms, not theirs,” he wrote. When that happens, “the very nature of programming will shift.” READ MORE
Programming through play: Why teaching kids to code will change how the rest of us code
On in Industry News.
As students enrolled in an after-school programming class, the group was already familiar with a multitude of digital tools designed to introduce kids to programming. With Code Monkey Island, I had seemingly entered into an arms race to teach kids as young as eight a set of skills worth six figures a year.
The new literacy
Visiting the elementary school cemented one important fact for me – the world was a very different place when I was 10 years old. In 2001, I was taking my first tentative steps into a fledgling, dial-up Internet. Now, kids aren’t just exploring the Internet – they’re building it. READ MORE
Digital Library Wallpaper lets visitors ‘borrow’ ebooks by scanning your walls
On in Cool Tech, Industry News.
Experiments like Night Film have blurred the lines between physical books and digital content, but a project by Vodafone Romania and furniture retailer MobExpert blur the lines between paper books, ebooks, and interior decoration. Digital Library Wallpaper is exactly what it sounds like: a flat representation of books bearing QR codes on their spines. READ MORE
