Experiate Blog: How to make the store employee care
How does digital signage content affect the rank and file? Are they left apathetic or motivated? Paul Flanigan explores this topic, drawing on his experience with one of America’s largest minimum-wage employers, Best Buy.

Sociological images: A historical look at the changes in work type
In 1850, over 50% of U.S. workers were farmers. Today? Barely over 1%. Meanwhile, office-related jobs have grown from nearly nothing to being the dominant form of employment. If you like demographics, be sure to check out this interactive graphic.

Gartner: 2009 Hype Cycle Special Report
Still kicking yourself for missing the boat on the World Wide Web? Well, there’s still time to cash in on emerging technologies. But you’ll need a guide, like Gartner’s “Hype Cycle Special Report for 2009,” which indexes key technologies and trends, plotting them along a linear path through such territories as “Peak of Inflated Expectations,” “Trough of Disillusionment” and “Plateau of Productivity.” To wit: according to the recently released report, electronic paper is on the “Slope of Enlightenment,” which is to say that we’re past all the hype and the technology is nearly ready to offer some tangible business benefits.

Businessweek: Borrow from Home Depot’s “Free” Expertise Strategy
Since the publication of Chris Anderson’s book (Amazon | free on Scribd), there’s been a lot of chatter about the concept of “free.” Businessweek contributor Carmine Gallo describes Home Depot’s take on the concept: more than 100 short videos on YouTube, teaching you how to install fixtures and do home repairs. “When you don’t have a lot of money to spend on marketing, giving away free advice can help build your brand by establishing you as a trusted expert in your field,” he writes.

Wall Street Journal: Using the lottery effect to make people save
Jason Zweig uncovers an innovative financial product that comes from some credit unions in Michigan. These financial institutions are offering an account that is a “cross between a certificate of deposit and a raffle ticket.” The one-year CDs reward regular savers with a chance to win raffle prizes, up to $400, as well as a chance to win the grand prize: $100,000.