Business

Native advertising and print advertising have collided thanks to a quiz from People's StyleWatch. By using the quiz to generate traffic online, advertisers were able to receive more exposure -- and StyleWatch was able to fund its biggest September issue yet.The Stylewatch quiz was similar to a sponsored Buzzfeed.com quiz, using just eight questions to match users to their "celebrity style twin." Unlike a Buzzfeed quiz, however, StyleWatch readers could click on embedded links to purchase the 600 clothing items, accessories and beauty products featured in the quiz. Of the fashion items shown in the quiz, around 25% of them made it into the September issue. The issue will contain 203 pages of advertising, a 6.6% increase from last year, according to Media Industry Newsletter's editor-in-c...

Amazon's already burst into the media selling, publishing and smartphone markets, and now it's looking to expand it's empire into mobile point-of-sale solutions. Though it'll go up against many POS providers jostling for dominance, it's generous pricing model for first-time users may give it an advantage.On Wednesday, Amazon released a mobile card reader called Amazon Local Register, which will compete with similar devices from companies like Paypal, ROAM and Square. Like the other products, the device works in tandem with apps for Google Android and Apple iOS, as well as the FireOS on the new Amazon Fire. Merchants running Amazon Local Register can access the funds from transactions within one business day, though they'll be able to spend them within only a few minutes on Amazon.com. ...

Many companies are looking into new technologies to make bill payment at restaurants waiter-free through the use of smartphone apps and mobile payment systems that connect to restaurant POS systems.Capitalizing on this trend are PayPal's 'Pay at Table' service and it's partner MyCheck in Tel Aviv as well as start-ups like Dash, Tabbedout and Cover in the US and Flypay in the UK. Now, Ukranian start-up Settle is looking to throw it's hat in the ring.Settle recently got a $1.5 million funding injection from a venture fund called Life based in Moscow. The funds will be used to roll out the new technology in Eastern Europe, starting in Kiev and followed by large releases in Moscow and Warsaw. Settle will provide customers at restaurants with a mobile payment service that allows you to order...

If you haven't checked out your homeowner's policy within the last six months, you may be in for a less-than-pleasant surprise from a potentially expensive new deductible sneaking it's way into many policies.Most homeowners write one deductible into their policy, set anywhere from 250$ to $1,000 depending on how much the homeowner is willing to pay. However, homeowners who request insurance quotes are finding out that many large insurance providers are slipping in a new deductible for hail, wind, and other types of damage that seems to be particularly focused on conditions that can damage roofs. Unfortunately, these deductibles aren't set dollar amounts, and they aren't determined by homeowners. They're set by large companies like Farmers, Allstate and State Farm and they deduct a perce...

Each year, thousands of people visit hospital emergency rooms for dental maladies that aren't life-threatening emergencies. In fact, a quarter of Americans who have health insurance don't have dental insurance -- which prompts them to go to an emergency room when they have a dental concern. The resulting effect is longer wait times at emergency rooms and skyrocketing costs for emergency room visits -- which the Affordable Care Act is looking to reverse by offering grants to help fund the construction of emergency dental clinics. According to an August 7 Asbury Park Press article, one such dental clinic that has received this funding is Asbury Park, N.J.'s Dr. Barry D. Elbaum Dental Center at the Monmouth Family Health Center, which will open its expanded practice and emergency den...

A macaque monkey stole the camera of British nature photographer David Slater back in 2011 and inadvertently took a series of selfies. Now, the photographer is struggling to get the Wikimedia Commons, the organization behind Wikipedia, to remove the photos. The problem? Wikimedia claims that Slater shouldn't own the photos' copyrights, because he technically was not the photographer -- the monkey was. The organization argues that the monkey is responsible for the photos because the monkey was the one who actually pressed the shutter button, whereas Slater contends that "A monkey pressed the button, but I did all the setting up." Wikimedia's stance on the copyright issue has been clear. In the licensing conditions they put beneath the monkey selfie, Wikimedia put, “This file is in the...

If there's one thing we know about hackers, it's that they're opportunists: there is no company, organization or server they won't try to access if the defenses are weak enough. This week, members of the Chicago Yacht Club learned that this same concept applies to the wealthy. The yacht club discovered malware on its computer this past June, and sent a notice to its membership at the end of July. They discovered the club's server had been compromised, and that hackers potentially had access to credit card numbers, address, names, and bank account numbers -- all linked to some of Chicago's most important business people. Luckily, the bank and credit card data was encrypted, so it is less likely that the hackers were able to successfully use that information. The heist, however, highli...

We live in an incredibly connected world of cell phones and wireless internet, but even those systems have their limits. Anyone who's tried to make a call in a cramped conference center or at the top of a hiking trail can confirm that.To get around this pervasive and frustrating problem, consumers can now look to a new product called GoTenna, but that doesn't mean they will. GoTenna is an incredible concept that still may not be practical enough to take off in the technology market.GoTenna consists of a small, low-power radio transceiver powered by a lithium-ion battery. It connects to any iOS or Android device via Bluetooth and allows you to create a separate, encrypted network for sending messages to other devices on the same network. Essentially, it turns your smartphone into a CB radio...

Google currently has a 70% market share in the search engine optimization industry. As a result of being, by far, the biggest search engine out there, Google has the ability to throw its weight around in determining what websites people view. This week, it made the power of this influence clear by announcing that it would change its search formula to promote more secure websites, in a move to protect consumers using its services.Google's algorithm will now boost up in search rankings websites that automatically encrypt their services. When sites are secured, it is more difficult for hackers, the government, and other entities to steal personal data. Google says that, for the moment, it will only be a small factor in their overall algorithm -- however, over time, they may increase its impor...

People often base their first impression of a store on its window displays. Yet, they're so commonplace that most people tend to just walk by them, failing to even notice the business's window art or otherwise just blatantly ignoring the displays. While some might take this as a sign to stop working on window displays all together, many stores are going the opposite direction and investing even more time and effort into their window art, which makes complete sense. After all, an eye-catching window can increase a store's foot traffic, bring in more sales, and even attract some press for the company. "Window displays and graphics are important, especially in the retail industry, for a variety of reasons. Before the customer enters the store, the first thing they typically see are th...