InsightNG

"The ability to network successfully can be one of the greatest assets in business. It allows some people to find incredible opportunities, while others just watch from the sidelines. Effective networking isn't a result of luck -- it requires hard work and persistence. What does it take to be a super networker? Here are seven of the most important habits to develop:"

"Janice Lawrence of Semantic Arts recently shared a list of five business benefits - and truly, public benefits - of semantic technology solutions. Here are the benefits that she came up with along with links to some of our own articles underscoring each point. "

"Collective intelligence has been around for a long time. What is different today, however, is how collective intelligence, combined with technology, has the power to create what has been described as a "global brain." Technology optimists like Thomas Malone, who heads MIT's Center for Collective Intelligence, argue that this global brain will develop into an awesome problem solving tool that will be able to tackle seemingly insurmountable problems. "

"Considering I'm a creative coach, some people are surprised to learn I'm a little sceptical about creative thinking techniques. For one thing, there's a lot more to creativity than thinking. It's possible to sit around having lots of creative thoughts, but without actually making anything of them. But if you start making something, creative ideas seem to emerge naturally out of the process. So if I had to choose, I'd say creative doing beats creative thinking. And for another thing, a lot of 'creative thinking techniques' leave me cold. Brainstorming, lateral thinking and (shudder) thinking outside the box have always felt a bit corporate and contrived to me. I've never really used them myself, and after working with hundreds of artists and creatives over the last 14 years, I've come across plenty of other creative professionals who don't use them. I don't think you can reduce creative thinking to a set of techniques. And I don't think the process is as conscious and deliberate as these approaches imply."

"If you've ever had to make a snap decision between two unfamiliar choices, you may want to thank your subconscious for making it possible. According to new research, the brain's memory areas link new memories to old associations, providing a roadmap for decision-making we don't even realize we have. The research, published in the Oct. 12 issue of the journal Science, focuses on the hippocampus, a region nestled deep in the brain that helps consolidate memories. Scientists have long known the hippocampus links memories and integrates them together, but the new study is the first to look at the region's role in biasing the brain toward certain choices."

"The sensational rise of Big Data within the reporting and analytics realm resembles an uncanny likeness to the escalating popularity of bothersome big-haired British boy 'band', One Direction."