Rivera Business Review: January 2018

Friday, January 19, 2018

Best VR headsets

The OCULUS RIFT BUNDLE is the headset that started the current hysteria. Developed by Palmer Luckey, funded via Kickstarter and snapped up by Facebook for a cool $2 billion, the Rift plugs into your computer's DVI and USB ports and tracks your head movements to provide 3D imagery on its stereo screens.
The consumer edition Rift uses a 2160 x 1200 resolution, working at 233 million pixels per second, with a 90Hz refresh rate. It's high-tech stuff, and matches the HTC Vive for refresh. However, given its access to the power of the latest PCs, it's pushing a lot more pixels than Sony's PS VR headset.

The Oculus Touch controllers arrived at the end of 2016 and have made a world of difference. Not just that, but when it comes to games Oculus has come on leaps and bounds. That's been largely helped by some developer cash injections from Facebook, giving us quality, polished titles like Lone Echo and Robo Recall. Room-scale support has been added too, though you'll need to purchase at least one additional sensor to get it to Vive-level tracking, and even then the Vive tracking experience is a little better.

Simply put, the Oculus Rift platform is finally a finished product that excels at giving you the VR experience the company initially promised. The price is a lot lower now too, especially now that Oculus is including the Touch controllerswith every headset from here on out. Oculus VR permanently dropped the price to $399 after a successful "Summer of Rift" event. Taking into account the games, the experience, the quality of the VR and price, the Rift has climbed up to the top spot of our list, kicking Vive off the top and becoming our new VR champion. But guess who's not far behind...

8 easy ways to improve your business writing skills

Before you write a word of copy, make sure you know who your target audience is and what specific result you want to achieve. Take a few minutes to visualize yourself in the shoes of the recipient and to imagine what this person’s world is like.What does his typical day look like? What are his unique needs, goals, and challenges? What problem is keeping him up at night? The more thought and research you invest in defining your target audience and how you can help them, the more powerful your written communications will become.
Avoid using your company acronyms and buzzwords. While these words might seem clever to you, a busy executive may find them annoying. Also avoid academic language like “ergo” or “henceforth” and technical jargon. Keep it simple. For example, choose “use” instead of “utilize,” “send out” instead of “disseminate,” “fair” instead of “equitable.”
Use a strong, active voice instead of the impersonal, passive voice. “The meeting agenda could be discussed further” is passive. “Let’s discuss the meeting agenda” is active. Express confidence and decisiveness in your business communications. Instead of writing, “I intend to write a report on sales performance measures,” which comes across as weak and indecisive, write: “I’m currently writing a report on sales performance measures for completion before the end of the second quarter.”
Write in a conversational tone. Don’t alienate your readers by being too formal and bureaucratic—unless you’re writing to a bureaucrat or someone who prefers formality. Know your audience! Even if you are writing a marketing communications piece that will be read by several thousand potential readers, make your writing as inviting and personal as possible. Write as though you are having a conversation with one specific person—your ideal customer. Keep this one person in mind and you will positively engage thousands of readers who will feel that you are writing directly to them!
Replace hyperbole with solid facts and reputable testimonials. Phrases like, “We’re #1,” “We’re the leader in our field,” or “We provide the best service,” aren’t going to get you anywhere. Instead, use glowing testimonial, for example: John Jones, president of Acme Inc., ranks our company #1 for quality out of 500 certified companies.
Convert product features into benefits to engage your customer emotionally. Here’s an example of benefit-oriented copy: “Our automatic domain name renewal service will provide you with the added security and comfort, knowing that your domain names will never be hijacked by your competitors while freeing up your administrative time to focus on growing your business.”
Don’t rely on on-screen editing. Print out your document and read it aloud. If you encounter any awkwardness in speech you need to rewrite your piece to make it more conversational and to flow better.By reading your document aloud, you will also be able to spot typos and errors that your computer spelling and grammar check program might not have detected, for example, “echo friendly” when you really meant “eco friendly.
Always write from your customer’s perspective. Start off praising your customer’s company. Describe the specific attributes you like about the company instead of bragging about how wonderful your company is. Overuse of “I,” “me,” or “our company” is a sure sign of ego getting in the way of business. Make sure to generously use “you” and “your” in your business copy if you want to make more sales.