Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

If 2012 is the year of Big Data, it will likely be the year vendors and consultants start to over-promise, under-deliver, and put processes in motion that will generate insights and potential risks for years to come. This year will be the year of Big Data.

When brands ask consumers to snap a product photo and text or email it in, Pongr recognizes the image and replies. Is that really better than QR codes? We asked its president

"We're rapidly moving to a world beyond plastic," says Ed McLaughlin. "In many ways, plastic is just convenient packaging." McLaughlin heads up emerging payments at MasterCard, and he's tasked with thinking big on the future of transaction technology. His group has dreamed up loads of creative ways to accept payments, from hacking an Xbox Kinect to pay-by-hand motion, to implanting NFC tech in ultrabooks , to scanning irises to prevent credit card fraud.

Chinese tech outfits are gaining steam against their Silicon Valley counterparts.

A Silicon Valley CEO tells how he learned that company values aren't a nice add-on. They're mandatory to holding your business together.

Turnaround specialist Glen Blickenstaff, in the last of five articles, explains how to turn a failing company into a breakout success. This week he offers a five step process to maintain momentum. There has been a lot of talk about CEO skill sets

Chances are there's not many differences between your business and your competitors. Some creativity can add value and uniqueness to your venture, brand, or product.

You can't grow your company if your private pep talks include these fictions.

As the owner and COO of Sugarleaf Vineyards , the years spent creating and managing every aspect of the brand and watching it become nationally recognized was exhilarating.

Are you cut out to make the sale?

Used to be, you had to give up either savings or flexibility to create a tax-deferred nest egg. Not any more

Self-esteem is a loaded word these days. But when you're the boss, it's actually a sign of mental health

Working overtime doesn't increase your output. It makes you stupid.

The social media analytics company Bluefin Labs figures out what people are saying about TV on social media--now they'll try to figure out why they're saying it. Pretend, for a moment, that popularity can be quantified.

Bradford Shellhammer and Jason Goldberg explain how their unloved social network for gay men became a design daily deal site with 1.6 million members.