National Journal Community Of e-Experts

Need cash but miles away from the closest ATM belonging to your bank? Unfortunately, using another bank’s ATM is going to cost you more than usual. The cost of fees charged to non-customers by banks for using their ATMs increased by 20% from 2007 to 2012. Some banks are charging fees as high as $5. Using an outside bank’s ATM also involves a fee charged by one’s personal bank as a penalty for using a competing bank’s services. Luckily, this fee has not increased as significantly, only very slightly.           

The increase in ATM fees could potentially cost individuals hundreds of dollars this year. Fees don’t appear likely to come back down anytime soon either. Banks are still seeking revenue to make up for losses brought on by recent regulations like the CARD Act and the Dodd-Frank ...

Jay-Z’s got a lot to keep himself busy these days.  As if becoming a part-owner of the Brooklyn Nets while maintaining his place as one of the biggest names in hip-hop industry wasn’t enough, he also signed onto Baz Luhrmann’s highly anticipated film adaptation of The Great Gatsby as the film’s soundtrack producer.  Jay’s responsibilities for the film include “procuring, performing, producing and arranging for a soundtrack featuring some of the world’s top musical artists.” 

Jay-Z became involved with the project after being introduced to Luhrmann by “Gatsby” star Leonardo DiCaprio.  Jay was immediately attracted to the idea of putting a contemporary spin on the classic American story of extravagance, disillusionment, and the unattainable “green light.”  Luhrmann felt that he was the perfect candidate for shaping the musical direction of the film and decided to ...

What does a comedian have in common with a business entrepreneur? In terms of presentation, a comic has to deliver a message and connect with his audience. He faces similar problems as the business presenter: rowdy crowds with little interest and a lack of audience engagement are problems both at the mic and in front of the board of directors. Here are some things you can learn from your comedic counterparts.

          1. Strong Start

Often, the first joke in a set can make or break the entire presentation. Carefully pick the tone and run with it—sudden changes in expression or mood can mean a confused audience. Make sure everything you give them is consistent, well thought out and is true to the style you choose to pitch. There’s nothing more uncomfortable than watching ...

When watching an especially heated sequence of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” in which our favorite zombie-slaying group of protagonists finds itself (yet again) flanked by dozens of flesh-hungry “walkers”, I just can’t help but imagine myself into the scene, armed with just a metal pipe, fighting alongside Rick and Glenn. The satisfying *crunch* of a zombie being put down makes me cringe, but despite the ick factor, my eyes are locked on the screen. “The Walking Dead” is halfway through its 3rd season and it really has people wondering... “why doesn’t this game have a video game counterpart already?!”. I wouldn’t be macho insofar that I would actually survive very long in a world overrun by undead former humans hungry for my current human brains, but armed with an Xbox controller, I am eager and more than ready ...

Walking out of the department store with the perfect Valentine’s Day present for your wife in hand, you smile to yourself, but before you take out your iPhone to snap a quick picture to your buddies for bragging rights you stop and think.

“What if Alex shows his wife and she tells mine? What if my wife goes through my phone and sees the picture later?”

Well you’re in luck! Two brilliant undergraduates at Stanford wanted a way to share pictures with their friends without long-term consequences. Their logic behind the app now known as Snapchat? Some images are meant to be shared with friends but not to be kept by them. Not every moment in our lives has to be a shining, perfect, Kodak moment. Sometimes you just want to make the ugliest face your ...

In ye olden days of social networking, MySpace was an unrivaled beast; it was undoubtedly the most popular option. All notions of MySpace’s uncontested manifest destiny were destroyed by the rise of its admittedly less-creepy, user-friendly Facebook. At the height of MySpace’s reign in December 2008, there were 76 million unique visitors.

However, in December 2012, only 27.4 million hits were recorded—a misleading travesty of a number when comparing the total number of Internet users in 2008 with the 2012 number. Currently, there are about 2.4 billion Internet users, which represents a billion more users than the 1.4 billion in 2008. Taking that into account, the number of individual hits on the MySpace website were…dismally low. With the website already on life support, management rebranded the website, adding an entertainment focus and to be spearheaded by none other than pop idol ...

Here I'll talk about the many reasons that bowling is good for you. I'll also explain how it helps you make connections to friends, and family, and to meet new people. 

Bowling is a well-known, fun activity that anyone can enjoy. Whether you are going with your family or friends, bowling is a great way to stay active and have some fun. Here are the top three reasons as to why you should try bowling: 

It helps you stay active and in shape 

While it's not as physically demanding as other activities, bowling is still a sport with a good learning curve where you get better the more practice and dedication you put into it. Systematic activities help to prevent or cure health problems and promote good health.  If you want to perform well, you need to have good strength, ...

It's easy to stand on the shoulders of giants, but in business it's better to be unique and stand out from the crowd. Here are some tips on crafting your website into something different from the competition. 

As any contemporary small business owner can tell you, the game of building a successful company has changed drastically in recent years. Craftsmanship, personality, and determination are all still very important characteristics for aspiring business people, but the way that those qualities are expressed is very different than in the past. Owning a business is no longer as simple as maintaining a brick and mortar shop and hiring decent shop people to look after it. These days, owning a business is further complicated by the digital world. 

If you're a business owner, you’ve probably already realized that a company’s online presence is absolutely ...

A Harvard degree is helpful toward getting a job, but the people that you will meet in college can be just as important as the name recognition that comes along with a big school like Harvard. The better your network and support systems are, the more likely you are to receive the job that you are looking for.

A degree from Harvard is extremely helpful when it comes to finding a job. Harvard business school alumni know this very well. Your school’s name recognition can open the door to big firms and other companies, and if you did well in school, this is even more important. A 4.0 grade point average from Harvard will have more appeal to an employer than a 3.5 average from a small liberal arts school. Your ability to leverage the connections you made at your ...

Cloud computing is a great tool for both individual uses and workplace tasks. With offsite data storage in the cloud, our computers are going to operate better and will save us from a lot of stress in the event that a computer crashes. Technology is supposed to make our lives easier and the cloud easily does this.

Cloud computing has increased our overall productivity in our personal and work lives and has even done a lot toward ensuring that important files are not lost. If you are like me, you are always backing up files on jump drives and emailing them to yourself in the off chance that your computer crashes and you lose everything important to you. A computer crash can be catastrophic—regardless of where the crash occurs.