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Features

• 10 Stories That Shaped Tech Policy in 2013

  From the NSA surveillance revelations to the troubled government healthcare website to a variety of issues that didn't make the mainstream news, here are the top tech policy stories that played out in 2013.

• Cell phones on planes may be heading for the US, but will anyone use them?

  In-flight cellular in the U.S. may be closer to reality than some consumers realize, with foreign airlines poised to extend services they already offer elsewhere. But evidence from overseas suggests the odds of being trapped next to a chronic caller are slim.

• How to Sell on Facebook: Promote, Personalize and Engage

  From letting Facebook users simply comment 'sold' to buy an item to engaging your customers, CIO.com looks at how a small business should invest in Facebook as a social commerce channel.

• Employers receptive to hiring IT job candidates with MOOC educations

  Tyler Kresch isn't turning to graduate school to help him change his job from tech sales to running a startup; instead he's taking massive open online courses (MOOCs) to learn the IT skills necessary for that career move.

• Top tech stories of 2013: Big Brother, wearables, and the struggles of aging tech giants

  Politics collided with the world of technology this year as stories about U.S. government spying stirred angst both among the country's citizens and foreign governments, and the flawed HeathCare.gov site got American health-care reform off to a rocky start. Meanwhile, the post-PC era put aging tech giants under pressure to reinvent themselves. Here in no particular order are IDG News Service's picks for the top 10 tech stories of the year.

• Fixing Healthcare Requires Netflix-Like Disruption

  Healthcare is broken. No one disputes that. No one lacks perspective on how to fix it, either. The challenge, though, is disrupting a system that makes more money treating sickness than it does preventing it. Technology and innovation can play a part, but so can flipping the entire care model on its head.

• Perspective: Privacy concerns could keep Amazon delivery drones grounded

  Amazon's nascent plan to use unmanned drones to deliver packages to customers has already raised strong privacy concerns that could ultimately nip it in the bud.

• Here's why Amazon drones may never land at your door

  Amazon's ambitious plan to use flying drones to deliver packages is far-fetched, but not just because of technology limitations or air traffic regulations. Amazon's fulfillment center network, as it stands now, is too limited to serve even a tiny fraction of the U.S. in the method described by CEO Jeff Bezos.

• 14 Ways to Use Twitter to Market Your Business

  Twitter experts, marketing pros and business leaders share their top tips on how to turn 140 characters into online marketing gold.

• For CMOs Big Data Can Lead to Big Profits

  It's become a common refrain that marketers need to become more data-driven. This infographic breaks down the pressures that chief marketing officers are under and the upside to embracing big data.

• CIOs and CMOs: Feuding in the C-Suite

  Survey finds that CIOs and marketing chiefs don't see eye-to-eye on much at all.

• HealthCare.gov's problems: What we know so far

  More than a month after it went live, a couple of large questions remain about the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' botched launch of HealthCare.gov.

• IT hiring goes multimedia

  IT job seekers embrace social media, video and graphics to enhance their resumes and set themselves apart from other job applicants.

• What's Wrong With Healthcare.gov's Price Estimator

  In the early days of Healthcare.gov, I praised the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for publishing a dataset with sample rates for every health plan participating in the federal health insurance marketplace.

• How to keep your new IT hires from jumping ship

  With IT talent hard to find and expensive to replace, smart companies are developing IT-specific onboarding programs to attract and retain top tech employees.