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Please feel free to use these news blog articles on your site. Just make sure to add the courtesy line: By Albert Robinson, www.albert-robinson.com

Nostalgia may be comforting,
But there's no looking back

They say that nostalgia isn't what it used to be, and that applies to journalism and communication in general as much as it does to any other trade. How do we research for news today as journalists? Does our dependence on the Internet make us lazy or more efficient? Are we part of a spoilt generation whose teachers would have scoffed at what they doubtless would have regarded as our over-reliance on electronic information systems?

New media helps us be social,
But it could be a legal minefield

The social media has taken over the lives of so many of us. We like, we tweet, we retweet, we friend, we follow, and we upload photos, video and audio. But do we know the legal limitations, and where we may be breaking the law on libel, invasion of privacy, copyright, music piracy and slander?

Evangelists changing the way companies market themselves

Let the word go out from this day forth that I love and highly recommend the XYZ digital dongle widget. I recommend to all true believers that you all go out and buy it because it's going to change your lives. All say Amen.

"Cconsumer evangelists", or influencers, aim to persuade people to adopt a certain set of beliefs, so consumer evangelists can push buyers, through their belief in a product or service, to buy or adopt it.

Back to the future:
Are old-fashioned real-world connections the way forward?

I have a friend who runs a small business who does not have a Facebook page, has no idea what Tweeting is, and is not in LinkedIn. He has little, if any idea, what social media marketing is all about. Frankly, he could not care less about the social networks. Sending emails, taking the occasional photo of his children on his mobile phone, and sending an SMS probably outlines the extent of his knowledge of the world of instant communications.

Stop Shouting at Customers And Start 'Engaging' With Them

Are you marketing your company and products in the most efficient way? Are you using still a mix of email blasts to hundreds or thousands of people on purchased lists, cold calling, telemarketing, expensive attendance at trade shows that may not be relevant to you? Many firms use a scattergun approach, shooting far and wide in the hope of hitting a small number of the right customers, but it is a strategy that has become increasingly out-of-date.

The start-up dilemma: sell up and move on or concentrate on building a giant?

It's a question that has been raised repeatedly over the years in the Israeli tech sector: should the country's entrepreneurs concentrate on creating one start-up after another or build up the companies rather than going for exits.

Intel continues love affair with Israeli tech: pays $2 billion for Habana Labs

Global chip giant Intel Corp has just concluded its second largest acquisition in Israel, buying Habana Labs for around $2 billion. In 2017, it bought Mobileye for $15.3 billion.

Habana Labs develops programmable deep learning accelerators for the data center. Intel Capital was previously an investor in Habana Labs.

Cash Isn't Dead Yet, But It's No Longer King

The idea of a cashless society sounds very clean and tidy – paying by credit card, an app or even a microchip inserted into our hands. And in some countries, with Sweden being the prime example, the move to cashlessness has gone very far indeed.

As 2020 starts, crystal ball shows financial trends likely to be moderate

The United States

A round-up of forecasts by analysts and economists show the U.S. economy will likely grow moderately, with a 2.0% - 2.1% rate expected. That’s down on the 2.5% annual rate seen in 2017 and 2018.

The U.S. Federal Reserve helped the American economy to grow in 2019 with rate cuts– albeit not of the size and pace that President Trump wanted to see.

However, both the effect of this fiscal stimulus and the huge tax reduction program Trump succeeded in passing will start to wear off this year.

Back to the future: are old-fashioned real-world connections the way forward?

I have a friend who runs a small business who does not have a Facebook page, has no idea what Tweeting is, and is not in LinkedIn. He has little, if any idea, what social media marketing is all about. Frankly, he could not care less about social networks. Sending emails, taking the occasional photo of his children on his mobile phone, and sending an SMS probably outlines the extent of his knowledge of the world of instant communications.

Israeli high-tech unicorns aiming to run and run

Last year was an unusual one for the Israeli technology sector: the two-decade trend of successful Israeli startups seeking a relatively quick exit appears to be changing as firms instead head for longer-term growth.

In the past, it seemed that every Israeli startup dreamed of a big exit – either through acquisition by a tech giant or via a Wall Street IPO. But now the dream has changed into scaling-up to a growth company worth $1 billion or more – and developing further.

Where is cybersecurity heading at the start of a new decade?

A look at the trends that we can expect to see during 2020

In an ever-more connected world that is more technologically advanced and where technologies that are a central part of our daily lives are continuously evolving, cybersecurity risk is growing exponentially. We have an almost blind faith that technology will solve many of our problems, both personally and globally, but with a connected world come opportunities for criminals and others to take advantage either for money or with political aims in mind.

Make sure your web site gives you an edge and that your marketing materials concisely tell customers who you are, what you do, and the solutions you can provide.

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Among the companies for which I have worked: