At The Intersection Of Individualized Insights & Brick-and-Mortar

I love great customer service, and I love receiving relevant email offers that I’m interesting in engaging with. But a terrible experience with a brand will turn me off for a long time. Here’s the thing: I expect a great experience with every brand I interact with. Is this an unrealistic expectation? I don’t think so, and I don’t think I’m alone. In an era where every brand has the ability to provide a desirable customer experience, it’s a mystery why so many fail to do so. Whether I’m in a store, or shopping online – or, as I’ll get into below, doing both at one – I expect a relevant, friendly, and helpful experience.

Why next year's NBA Draft could change completely

Georgetown guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera emerged as one of the Hoyas' most dangerous threats on offense during both his sophomore and junior seasons. He averaged 17.6 points per game as a sophomore and 16.3 points per game as a junior, helping Georgetown reach the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

But, after the conclusion of Georgetown's 2014-15 basketball campaign, Smith-Rivera, a junior, made what appeared to be a poor decision. He opted to forego his senior year and enter the NBA Draft. His prospects for getting drafted were bleak, as ESPN NBA Insider Chad Ford quickly verified via his Twitter account Read more...

More about Nba, Entertainment, Sports, and Nba Draft

Smart lightbulb doubles as a speaker to play your music

The home of the future could kill two birds with one bulb

Astro is among the latest startups throwing a quirky spin on a household staple in an attempt to make it smarter. Astro's new smart lightbulbs Twist lights up a room but also doubles as an AirPlay speaker.

See also: Nest Cam is here, but the 'Internet of Things' still isn't

While the product sounds like a gimmick — can't lightbulbs just be lightbulbs anymore? — Astro CEO Shaun Springer said it's part of an effort to eliminate the need for devices that take up space and power outlets.

"Twist was created with renters in mind," Springer told Mashable in an emailed statement. "It allows consumers to maximize the space in their apartment." Read more...

More about Twist, Internet Of Things, Tech, Gadgets, and Astro

Where Big Data Jobs Are In 2015 - Midyear Update

The advertised salary for technical professionals with Big Data expertise is $104,850 net of bonuses and additional compensation. IBM (NYSE:IBM) advertised 2,307 new positions requiring Big Data-related expertise in the last twelve months. The most in-demand skills are VMWare expertise, application development, open source technology, data warehousing and Python programming skills.

Prince George brings back Crocs, sales reportedly surge

There's the midas touch and then there's the Prince George Effect

It's no secret that Kate Middleton has become a style icon, but following in her chic footsteps is her 1-year old son, George, whose influence in the sartorial sphere may have overshadowed his mum's. Whatever the tiny tyke has worn has turned into pure fashion gold, with sales of whatever garments he wears virtually selling out

See also: Tracks left by Crocs shoes help link Alaska man to burglaries

Just how influential is he? Well, take some recently reported sales figures from Crocs as an example of his power. After he wore the curious rubber clogs, possibly best known for being the go-to shoe for Mario Batali, sales of the brand reportedly surged 1,500% on Amazon, according to Grazia (We are in the process of confirming those numbers with the company) Read more...

More about Crocs, United Kingdom, Kate Middleton, Lifestyle, and Prince Charles

Google's new self-driving cars hit streets of Mountain View

Google took another step toward taking self-driving cars mainstream on Thursday, after the company announced that its new prototype vehicles are already cruising the streets of Mountain View, California

This new breed of car, a two-door pod-shaped vehicle that Google said it built from scratch, was engineered from the ground up to be self-driving

See also: Google wants self-driving cars on the road within 5 years

The company emphasized safety in its announcement: Each self-driving car will have a human driver as backup, a removable steering wheel, and accelerator and brake pedals, which will let drivers take over if needed. In addition, each car will also have a maximum speed of 25 mph Read more...

More about Google, Self Driving Car, Google Self Driving Car, Tech, and Dev Design

Firefighters save pregnant dog from house fire

Firefighters played heroes for a dog exposed to smoke in a house fire

Local news station KKTV reports that the fire department in Pueblo, Colorado rescued a pregnant dog after a fire broke out in a home Thursday morning.

See also: Heartbreaking photo shows cop singing to little girl after father dies in car crash

Taken this morning at a #fire, keeping our #community and #furryfriends safe #pfd pic.twitter.com/37pgJPWzSn

— Pueblo Fire Dept (@PFDPIO) June 25, 2015

There were no people home when the fire happened, but at least one dog died from smoke inhalation. The fire department told reporters that multiple animals were in the home at the time of the fire, but it is unclear how many survived aside from the dachshund pictured Read more...

More about Dogs, Fire, Watercooler, Conversations, and Inspiring