“I think anyone starting a tech company is insane to start up in the Bay Area. Fresno’s growing talent pool and the low cost of real estate means longer runways for startups, and a zero-risk perfect opportunity for long-established firms like my own,” says Petersen. “Plus, you can actually afford to buy a home here.”

Petersen’s team is growing. They enjoy classic benefits like family medical and 4 weeks’ paid vacation, but also Silicon-Valley-style perks like an unlocked beer fridge, company massages, classic arcade video games, and free meals. That means three dozen highly-paid and fully-energized tech jobs are headed to what he describes as Fresno’s new Tech Corridor.

“With Bitwise flanking both ends of Van Ness, Enigma Creative on Fulton, [Building Owner] Sevak Khatchadourian’s Creative Workspace and One Sense downstairs, and my exciting team filling in right here in Fresno’s first sky scraper, our new Tech Corridor is only getting more interesting,” says Petersen.

The post Veteran Fresno-area Technologist J. Colin Petersen to Move Thirty-six Tech Jobs From Clovis to Downtown Fresno appeared first on .

With the launch of our ultra-fast Internet service in parts of 2 of these metros today – Los Angeles and West Palm Beach – AT&T GigaPower is now available in 20 of the nation’s largest metro areas.

Internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second over the AT&T GigaPower network let you instantly access the latest online movies, music, games and more.3 AT&T GigaPower can also improve your experience when connecting to the cloud and videoconferencing, and gives you the speed to power all of your devices.

“Bringing AT&T GigaPower to the greater Fresno area is big for residents and businesses throughout the region, and is yet another example of the continued investment and innovation AT&T brings to our customers in California,” said Ken McNeely, President of AT&T California. “Demand for high speed data grows with each new app and web-based service, and AT&T is delivering to meet that demand.”

“We appreciate AT&T’s commitment to Fresno as a hub for innovation and commerce,” said Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin. “AT&T GigaPower will help drive Fresno’s economic growth because it gives our residents and businesses the tools they need to thrive and compete in the global marketplace.”

“AT&T Gigapower will provide our local businesses with the modern technology needed to succeed in our 21st Century economy,” said Fresno County Economic Development Corporation President/CEO Lee Ann Eager. “High-speed internet is essential to business expansion, attraction, and retention for the Central Valley and we are grateful that AT&T will be bringing AT&T Gigapower to Fresno County.”

Nearly 2 years ago, we successfully launched the first AT&T GigaPower metro in Austin, Texas. This launch led to a major expansion in multiple metros beginning in 2014. We recently marked a major milestone deploying the AT&T GigaPower network to more than 1 million locations, and we expect to more than double availability by the end of 2016.

We’ll continue to roll out our fastest Internet services over a 100% fiber network to reach more than 14 million residential and commercial locations.

AT&T GigaPower gives customers some of the fastest online speeds available anywhere. You  can download 25 songs in less than a second, a TV show in three seconds or your favorite HD movie in less than 36 seconds.4

AT&T GigaPower customers also have access to the latest Wi-Fi technology, making it possible to enjoy our best in-home Wi-Fi experience. You get faster Wi-Fi speeds, expanded coverage and support for all your devices.

With DIRECTV now a part of the AT&T family, customers on the AT&T GigaPower network in the Fresno area will be able to subscribe to our award-winning DIRECTV service.

When you sign up for qualified DIRECTV programming, you get immediate access to a broad range of TV content on your compatible mobile device through our DIRECTV application, even before we install your TV service, through our “Walk out Watching” program.5

In the home DIRECTV customers with qualified programming have access to more than 315 channels, more than 200 in full-time HD, and the most comprehensive selection of sports programming. You can watch the programming you love, live or On Demand and experience it on almost any screen. DIRECTV On Demand offers access to more than 10,000 movies and shows to high-speed Internet customers with connected set-top boxes, including the hottest new Pay Per View releases.

We’re continuing to work with local leaders within the 21 state service area who are interested in expanding the availability of the 100% fiber-optic AT&T GigaPower network to consumers and small businesses.

Frost & Sullivan recently recognized AT&T for its leadership in high-speed Internet services. It awarded AT&T the 2015 North American Competitive Strategy and Innovation Leadership of the Year Award for Broadband. The analyst firm praised AT&T for its “aggressive pursuit of higher bandwidth access” for customers through its AT&T GigaPower network initiative.

AT&T has invested nearly $7.4 billion in its wireless and wired networks in California between 2012 through 2014, driving a wide range of upgrades to reliability, coverage, speed and performance for residents and business customers.

For more information on where the AT&T GigaPower network is and will become available, visit att.com/gigapowermap.

The post AT&T Plans To Launch Blazing Fast Gigabit Internet Speeds In Fresno Area appeared first on .

“Schneider Electric has completed required factory testing to validate the functionality of the interface of their Pelco Sarix IP network cameras to the Lenel NVR. We look forward to their continued involvement in the Lenel OpenAccess Alliance Program,” said Gidon Lissai, director of strategic alliances, Lenel.

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Forty-three percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates, up from 39 percent last year and 36 percent in 2012. Additionally, 12 percent of employers don’t currently research candidates on social media, but plan to start, according to the national survey, which was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from February 10 to March 4, 2014, and included a representative sample of 2,138 hiring managers and human resource professionals, and a representative sample 3,022 full-time, private sector workers across industries and company sizes.

Beyond Social Networking
Employers aren’t limiting themselves to social networks when it comes to researching candidates’ web presences. Forty-five percent of employers use search engines such as Google to research potential job candidates, with 20 percent saying they do so frequently or always. Additionally, 12 percent of employers say they’ve reviewed a potential job candidate’s posts or comments on Glassdoor.com, Yelp.com or other ratings sites.

Helping or Hurting?
So what are employers finding on social media that’s prompting them to eliminate candidates from consideration? The most common reasons to pass on a candidate included:

• Job candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information – 46 percent
• Job candidate posted information about them drinking or using drugs – 41 percent
• Job candidates bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employee – 36 percent
• Job candidate had poor communication skills – 32 percent
• Job candidate had discriminatory comments related to race, gender, religion etc. – 28 percent
• Job candidate lied about qualifications – 25 percent
• Job candidate shared confidential information from previous employers – 24 percent
• Job candidate was linked to criminal behavior – 22 percent
• Job candidate’s screen name was unprofessional – 21 percent
• Job candidate lied about an absence – 13 percent

However, one third (33 percent) of employers who research candidates on social networking sites say they’ve found content that made them more likely to hire a candidate. What’s more, nearly a quarter (23 percent) found content that directly led to them hiring the candidate, up from 19 percent last year.

Some of the most common reasons employers hired a candidate based on their social networking presence included:

• Got a good feel for the job candidate’s personality, could see a good fit within the company culture – 46 percent
• Job candidate’s background information supported their professional qualifications for the job – 45 percent
• Job candidate’s site conveyed a professional image – 43 percent
• Job candidate was well-rounded, showed a wide range of interests – 40 percent
• Job candidate had great communication skills – 40 percent
• Job candidate was creative – 36 percent
• Job candidate received awards and accolades – 31 percent
• Other people posted great references about the job candidate – 30 percent
• Job candidate had interacted with my company’s social media accounts – 24 percent
• Job candidate had a large amount of followers or subscribers – 14 percent

“It’s important for job seekers to remember that much of what they post to the Internet – and in some cases what others post about them – can be found by potential employers, and that can affect their chances of getting hired down the road,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder. “Job seekers need to stay vigilant, and pay attention to privacy updates from all of their social networking accounts so they know what information is out there for others to see. Take control of your web presence by limiting who can post to your profile and monitoring posts you’ve been tagged in.”

Watch What You Post
Employers shared the strangest things they’ve discovered on job candidates’ or current employees’ social media profiles, including:

• Candidate’s profile included links to an escort service
• Candidate posted a photo of a warrant for his arrest
• Candidate posted an exercise video for grandmothers
• Candidate had sued his wife for shooting him in the head
• Candidate featured a pig as his closest friend
• Candidate posted his dental exam results
• Candidate bragged about driving drunk and not getting caught on several occasions
• Candidate was actively involved in a demonic cult
• Candidate posted Sasquatch pictures he had taken

Privacy
Many workers and job seekers are taking measures to protect their privacy and avoid over-sharing with potential employers. Nearly half (47 percent) of workers only share posts with friends and family, 41 percent have their profile set to private, and 18 percent keep separate professional and personal profiles. Twenty-eight percent of workers say they don’t use social media.

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The poll, released by Rad Campaign, Lincoln Park Strategies and Craig Newmark of craigconnects, shows that harassment is pervasive across the entire population, affecting 25% of all Americans. Among those under 35, the number shoots up to 47%.

“The first step toward dealing with unacceptable behavior: understand the problem, then we can get rid of it,” Craig Newmark remarked as to why he supported the survey.

Women report being personally harassed much more often than men – the gender gap is 57% women to 43% men across all age groups – and sexual harassment is the most common form (44% of all incidences), followed by slurs on a person’s professional ability (28%), then racial (23%), religious (18%) and political (16%) insults. The level of sexual harassment is virtually identical between men (44%) and women (43%).

A startling 62% of respondents who said they’d been harassed online said it happened on Facebook. Twitter came in a distant second at 24%. The poll found significant effects of the harassment, including people who said they were scared for their life (29% of those harassed) and were afraid to leave their house (20%).

More than two-thirds (67%) of those harassed online said they knew their harasser in real life. In the under-35 age group, that number rose to 72%.

“Some people may think the Internet is a place where they can threaten people without consequences, but online harassment has horrifying real-life effects. About 30% of people who are harassed online say that they fear for their lives,” said Allyson Kapin, co-founder partner of Rad Campaign, which harnesses the power of the web to push political advocacy and social change.

“These poll results show the need for effective responses to the problem at all levels.”

One thing people do not appear to do enough in response to harassment is to report it to the social network where it occurred. The polls shows that users reported harassment in only 25% of cases, yet the social networks themselves appear to react when called upon – in 61% of cases, according to the poll, the network shut down the offender’s account.

“We are surprised that there has been so little public research on this topic given the role of social media in most of our lives,” said Stefan Hankin, President of Lincoln Park Strategies. “With the high levels of harassment reported by those under 35, this problem will likely continue to grow if not addressed. We hope this poll will provide the needed data to take action.”

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Introduced two weeks ago at Facebook’s f8 developer conference, FbStart was initially open only to developers who attended the conference. With today’s news, developers around the world with public iOS or Android apps can apply.

Startups accepted into FbStart will receive credits for Facebook ads and Parse services, plus free tools and credits from FbStart partners to help with product testing, recruiting, customer care, video conferencing, document management and more.

As part of today’s updates, Facebook also added two new partners to the group of those offering their tools: Transifex helps apps localize for different markets, and HootSuite assists companies with social media monitoring.

FbStart partner companies and their offerings now include:

• Adobe – creative services
• Appurify – mobile app testing
• Asana – project management
• Blue Jeans –cloud-based video collaboration service
• Desk.com – customer support
• HootSuite – social media monitoring
• MailChimp – email marketing
• Proto.io – mobile app prototyping
• Quip – mobile productivity tools
• SurveyMonkey – online survey platform
• Transifex – localization
• UserTesting – usability testing
• Workable – recruitment

FbStart is an extension of Facebook Platform’s mission to help developers build, grow and monetize their apps. By providing mobile app developers with the essential services they need to get their businesses up and running—or to take them to the next stages of growth—Facebook hopes to help expand the overall app ecosystem.

To learn more, and for interested startups to apply, go to fb.me/start.

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The “Local Mobile Trends Study,” conducted by Thrive Analytics and released by the Local Search Association, surveyed 1,058 smartphone users via Thrive Analytics’ Connected Experience online panel in January 2014. The panel was representative of the U.S. smartphone population, with respondents divided into four groups: Gen Y (18-29-years-old), Gen X (30-43-years old), Young Boomers (44-53-years-old) and Older Boomers & Seniors (54-years-old and above). The survey asked smartphone users about how they used their mobile devices at various stages of the purchasing process.

“Mobile isn’t just for kids anymore,” said Neg Norton, president, Local Search Association. “Boomers and Seniors are catching up to their Gen Y and Gen X counterparts in their use of mobile throughout the local shopping experience. Businesses that fail to recognize the strong and growing prevalence of mobile usage by older generations will miss out on an opportunity to reach this large demographic with huge purchasing power.”

Guilt-Free About Searching for Deals, Prices and Reviews While Shopping In-Store
While more Gen Y respondents said they were likely to use their smartphones every time they shop in-store than Older Boomer & Senior respondents (26 percent vs. 6 percent), the majority of both age groups said they use their smartphones at least sometimes when shopping in-store (97 percent vs. 69 percent).

Among those respondents who said they use their smartphones at least sometimes while shopping in-store, there was little variation by age group for why they used their mobile devices or their attitudes about doing so:

• Desire for Better Prices and Discounts: Smartphone users of all age groups said that comparing prices and looking up discounts were their top reasons for searching via their mobile devices while shopping in-store. The majority of respondents across age groups said they did so to compare prices (60 percent of Gen Y; 60 percent of Gen X; 52 percent of Young Boomers; 51 percent of Older Boomers & Seniors) and look for coupons or offers (56 percent of Gen Y; 59 percent of Gen X; 52 percent of Young Boomers; 50 percent of Older Boomers & Seniors).
• Lack of Guilt for Wanting to Be Better Informed: Only a small minority of respondents across all age groups said they feel guilty or try to hide using their smartphones while shopping in-store (8 percent of Gen Y; 10 percent of Gen X; 8 percent of Young Boomers; 6 percent of Older Boomers & Seniors). On the contrary, the vast majority of respondents said they searched via mobile in-store because it helped them in trying to decide whether to buy something or because it made them a smarter shopper (88 percent of Gen Y; 89 percent of Gen X; 87 percent of Young Boomers; 85 percent of Older Boomers & Seniors). Additionally, respondents of all ages said that mobile search via a search browser was the most common way they looked up more information while shopping in-store.
• Open to Going Elsewhere to Purchase Products Based on Discovered Information: Respondents across all age groups said they were willing to stop moving forward with a purchase based on new information they discovered via their smartphone while shopping in-store (65 percent of Gen Y; 62 percent of Gen X; 45 percent of Young Boomers; 37 percent of Older Boomers & Seniors). The higher response rate among Gen Y respondents versus respondents from older generations indicates the group’s stronger receptiveness to changing purchasing decisions based on online information. Of those who said they decided not to buy something based on new information discovered, the most common reason was because they found a better price online (47 percent of Gen Y; 46 percent of Gen X; 41 percent of Young Boomers; 41 percent of Older Boomers & Seniors), followed by product reviews and better prices at a nearby store.

“As smartphones become more integral in our daily lives, users of all ages are turning to their mobile devices throughout the local shopping experience to ensure they are finding the best deals and the highest-rated products and services available,” said Norton. “In order to compete effectively, local businesses need to develop a strong understanding of the mobile landscape their customers will discover when searching for their products and services, and invest in their own mobile presence and marketing to have a voice in what they will find. While Gen Y consumers are the most likely to leverage online information in their decision-making, the trends among older generations indicate that they also value this information.”

Willing to Share Location and Receive Text Messages In Exchange for Deals & Loyalty Points
Gen Y respondents said they were much more likely than Older Boomer & Senior respondents to have ever “checked-in” at a local business or shared their location with others via their smartphone (60 percent vs. 30 percent). However, of those who have done so, the frequency with which they continue to “check in” or make their location known is comparable across age groups.

Additionally, when asked under what circumstances they would be willing to share their location with a brand, retailer or local business, the majority of respondents across all ages who said they have shared their location agreed that that their top reasons would be to benefit from an offer or deal (71 percent of Gen Y; 68 percent of Gen X; 64 percent of Young Boomers; 62 percent of Older Boomers & Seniors) and the ability to gain loyalty points or rewards (67 percent of Gen Y; 64 percent of Gen X; 65 percent of Young Boomers; 62 percent of Older Boomers & Seniors).

The reasons for “checking in” vary by age. More than half of Gen Y respondents (53 percent) said they check in because they want to provide their location for a picture or social update or to let their friends know where they are, versus just 24 percent of Older Boomers & Senior respondents. Meanwhile, 41 percent of Older Boomer & Senior respondents said they would be willing to “check in” or share their location for an offer or reward, versus 25 percent of Gen Y respondents.

Nearly half (49 percent) of all respondents said they have agreed to receive offers, loyalty points, content or other rewards via text messages. While the majority of Gen Y and Gen X respondents said they had agreed to receive text messages in exchange for incentives (52 percent and 55 percent, respectively), a comparable share of Young Boomers (43 percent) and Older Boomers & Seniors (37 percent) have also agreed to the same.

“Local businesses have always wanted loyal customers and easy ways to stay in touch with them about their products,” said Norton. “As smartphones continue to disrupt the local shopping experience, one thing is clear: local businesses have a strong opportunity to build ongoing relationships with those they most want to reach by incentivizing existing and potential customers through mobile offers and discounts. Additionally, local businesses have an opportunity with younger generations to leverage their interest in sharing location for social reasons to raise word-of-mouth visibility for their offerings.”

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The charging station, scheduled to open in September 2015, will be built in parking Lot P2, near the intersection of Woodrow Avenue and Matoian Way, west of the Save Mart Center. There will be six charging stalls — four “Level 2” stalls (two- to three-hour charging) and two “quick-charge” stalls (20- to 30-minute charging). The spaces will have public-friendly pay-by-phone capacity.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed an executive order in 2012 laying the foundation for 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles in the state by 2025.

“The potential of our region is practically untapped,” said Bob Boyd, Fresno State’s associate vice president for Facilities Management. “Building this charging station supports current electric vehicle owners, encourages faster growth by making it convenient and demonstrates Fresno State’s environmental leadership.”

Lot P2 already includes 750 parking spaces covered with solar panels used to generate about 20 percent of the university’s power needs.

There are currently only three other electric vehicle Level 2 charging stations in the Fresno area, at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District office, Schneider Electric and a Nissan dealership. The quick-charge stalls will be the first in the region.

Boyd said constructing a major charging station on campus will help alleviate range anxiety for commuters from surrounding cities where charging areas are scarce.

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Oculus is the leader in immersive virtual reality technology and has already built strong interest among developers, having received more than 75,000 orders for development kits for the company’s virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift. While the applications for virtual reality technology beyond gaming are in their nascent stages, several industries are already experimenting with the technology, and Facebook plans to extend Oculus’ existing advantage in gaming to new verticals, including communications, media and entertainment, education and other areas.  Given these broad potential applications, virtual reality technology is a strong candidate to emerge as the next social and communications platform.

“Mobile is the platform of today, and now we’re also getting ready for the platforms of tomorrow,” said Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. “Oculus has the chance to create the most social platform ever, and change the way we work, play and communicate.”

“We are excited to work with Mark and the Facebook team to deliver the very best virtual reality platform in the world,” said Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO of Oculus VR. “We believe virtual reality will be heavily defined by social experiences that connect people in magical, new ways. It is a transformative and disruptive technology, that enables the world to experience the impossible, and it’s only just the beginning.”

Oculus will maintain its headquarters in Irvine, CA, and will continue development of the Oculus Rift, its ground-breaking virtual reality platform.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.

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Using the Wiki framework of crowd sourced aggregated and verified information, this is by far the most credible encyclopaedia for businesses all over the world. Its association with Wikipedia brings it the credibility as the world’s biggest and most reputable knowledge source for businesses.

According to a November 13, 2008 article from the Wall Street Journal, survey of 358 senior executives and directors at 53 publicly traded companies revealed at least seven instances of false claims that individuals had received academic degrees that they, in fact, did not. One of the most popular cases in 2013 was that of Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson who resigned in the wake of row over ‘fake’ degree as the board gave into a raft of complaints which included a discrepancy in the internet boss’s CV.

In a recent article by PricewaterhouseCoopers entitled “Trust but verify: From transparency to competitive advantage,” the authors describe the importance of transparency for companies in gaining a competitive advantage in today’s business environment. The article states that verification by a well-regarded independent third party is key to increasing transparency and thus gaining trust from customers. Another article by the Harvard Business Review from May-June 2012 also mentions the fact that transparency and trust in a company or professional have become increasingly difficult to achieve in the era of services, where customers lack sources to verify the quality of the services they are buying.

By offering an independent third party platform where information provided by companies and professionals is verified, WikiBusiness fills the gap and helps businesses, professionals and customers to make the most out of their purchasing decision.

WikiBusiness has opened a new horizon for creating and verifying business and professional profiles online by using the crowd sourced edit function (Wiki style) and using unique auto-fill functionality from existing web presence.

Learn more: http://www.wikibusiness.org

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Findings from the 26th annual study show that not just streaming entertainment brands, but the devices and operating systems that enable them, are among those most aggressively accumulating equity over the last two years.  Android and Apple (both its iPads and its computers) are also among the top 10 brands experiencing aggressive equity increases.  Amazon once again holds the highest brand equity score in the study and retains its e-Retailer Brand of the Year distinction…and it is now heavily promoting its Amazon Instant Video and Prime Instant Video services.

“Brand equity is not a measure that is typically subject to strong year-over-year vacillation; the growth curve is generally slow and steady,” said Joan Sinopoli, Senior Vice President and Solutions Consultant at Nielsen Consumer Insights (formerly Harris Interactive).  “Netflix is a market disruptor: it addressed a consumer need for convenience and variety when it took on brick-and-mortar video stores.  Since then, the brand stumbled with its fee restructuring, took corrective action to restore consumer trust, and is taking advantage of the trend toward individualized entertainment.  It’s now embarking on developing its own content, such as House of Cards.”

“Something else these brands have in common is their ability to connect on a very deep level with the consumers they seek to attract,” noted Sinopoli.  “They are all brands that consumers are passionate about—witness the continuing standoff between Android, which has become a strong brand all on its own, and the Apple products fueled by iOS; both the systems themselves and the products which run them inspire passion and debate among their followers.  Which system you choose becomes a reflection of who you are and how you see yourself.”

So has America become so “wired” that it has lost its softer side?  EquiTrend results suggest not.  Multiple Hershey brands, including Hershey Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, multiple M&M brands as well as Oreo cookies, occupy six out of the 10 top overall positions in the EquiTrend Brand Equity Index, and the classic Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Candy Bar also acquired equity at an unusually fast pace over the last two years.  Are these odd bedfellows with the individual entertainment brands?  Not so, according to Sinopoli.  “After all,” she notes, “you have to eat something while bingeing your favorite series.”

2014 Harris Poll EquiTrend – Brands of the Year
Harris Poll EquiTrend is an annual brand equity study that measures and compares the brand health of more than 1,500 unique brands across 170 categories. It evaluates consumers’ engagement and offers a complete diagnostic of a brand’s position within and outside of its industry.  Besides Brand Equity (comprised of Familiarity, Quality and Consideration), the study also provides subscribers with insight into various aspects of consumer engagement including Consumer Connection, Brand Momentum, Advocates/Saboteurs, Users/Non-Users and Co-Branding analysis.  Brands that rank highest in Equity receive the Harris Poll EquiTrend “Brand of the Year” award (2014 study rankings).

2014 Harris Poll EquiTrend Brands of the Year include:

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