Washington Works Blog

This time of year is rife with traditions, from the foods we eat to the rituals we follow… even the songs we sing. We wanted to share a little reworking of a classic carol that exemplifies our commitment to the businesses we work with in the spirit of the season.

For anyone who has seen the movie Moneyball, remember Billy Beane and the Oakland A's? In the early 2000s, Beane revolutionized baseball with "Moneyball," a radical approach to team building. Faced with a shoestring budget, he eschewed traditional scouting metrics and instead used sabermetrics—advanced statistical analysis—to identify undervalued players. The result? A small-market team consistently outperforming richer rivals, proving that data, not just dollars, could buy success.

Fast forward to today, and the principles of Moneyball are more relevant than ever for modern businesses. In an increasingly competitive landscape, every company, regardless of size or industry, can leverage data to make smarter decisions, optimize resources, and ultimately, build a better business for less.

As is the case with most things, the past few years have seen significant changes in entertainment, thanks to the development of technology. We have literally gone from using extremely sensitive and delicate film to capture footage, manually trimming it on flatbed editors in dark rooms, to capturing, storing, editing, and displaying it digitally.

Let’s explore how the nature of entertainment has shifted as technology has developed over time.

There are a lot of emojis out there, but sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where just one isn’t going to fulfill your needs. Google has created a Gboard mobile keyboard feature called Emoji Kitchen, allowing users to mix and match emojis in fun new ways. You can create new emojis by blending two together.

After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, terrorism became a topic everyone heard about daily. The "War on Terror" lasted over a decade, toppling governments and sending a clear message that terrorists would be hunted down relentlessly. While major terrorist attacks have happened since then, the battleground has shifted. Today, one of the biggest threats comes from cyberspace. Let's take a closer look at the rise of cyberterrorism.

Water cooling is a common method of keeping computing hardware at reasonable temperatures, particularly for gaming PCs, data centers, and similar high-demand applications. What if, however, a business used a similar method to keep their entire building climate-controlled?

Microsoft intends to do so in some new data centers, as many residences have begun implementing a version of this system.

For many, the New Year is a time of renewal and fresh starts, allowing us to turn the page and begin our next lap around the sun on the right foot. That said, the holiday is also steeped in traditions—for instance, the Times Square celebration, where a massive ball is slowly dropped to signify the countdown until the calendar officially shifts from one year to the next.

This tradition has a fascinating history, based mainly on the technology of the times.

Want to be a business without hearing how artificial intelligence is changing the industry? Good luck; it’s a big deal that this technology has flourished in recent years, and businesses have found all kinds of ways to implement it. While AI has significant capacity for growth and to be an excellent tool to help human society, a lack of AI regulation has led some to believe that it’s only a matter of time before something bad happens that ruins a good thing for everyone.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve probably come across articles on blockchain before. This week, we're shifting gears to explore a new topic: should cryptocurrency, which is enabled by blockchain technology, be subject to taxation by state, federal, and international authorities? Let’s dive into what blockchain is, how it supports cryptocurrency, and the ongoing debate about potential taxation.

Subscriptions are nothing new in the business world, but they can be tough to track and, more importantly, cancel. Now, a new ruling from the Federal Trade Commission makes it easier than ever to cancel a subscription. Today, we want to discuss how this impacts you, your business, and your users.

The smartphone market used to be a hallmark of innovation, but nowadays, aside from the folding form factor, smartphone manufacturers have decided that the technology works, more or less, the same. What does this decline in innovation mean for you and your business? It might actually not be all that bad.

Being a green business is a great thing. It not only helps your company become more environmentally friendly, but it can also attract customers who care about the environment. What’s less talked about is how being green can actually give your business a competitive edge in certain situations.

As technology has evolved, so have our capabilities of using it. While this has led to great improvements in how we can live our lives, it has also made it much easier for us to torment and harass one another. This is a huge problem, and growing, so it is important to know how to take a stand against it - both at home, and in the workplace.

Despite what detractors say, regulations are in place for good reason. They typically protect individuals from organizational malfeasance. Many of these regulations are actual laws passed by a governing body and cover the entire spectrum of the issue, not just the data involved. The ones that have data protection regulations written into them mostly deal with the handling and protection of sensitive information. For organizations that work in industries covered by these regulations there are very visible costs that go into compliance. Today, we look at the costs incurred by these organizations as a result of these regulations, and how to ascertain how they affect your business.

Did you watch the big game this year? Chances are that if you did, you got to witness all of the spectacles that the event had to offer, including a lot of technology that enriched the experience, whether you realize it or not. The National Football League has implemented emerging technologies that have helped solve persistent challenges over the years. Let’s explore some of these technologies.

For all the good smartphones have brought about, some serious problems have arisen regarding their widespread use. In fact, they can be attributed to a lot of the damaging mental health side effects that people around the world are battling daily. Here are some of them.

While most of us know that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, fewer know that he’s specifically built his big, rambling castle in the Laughing Valley. It is there that he and his workforce, the elves, sprites, pixies, and fairies that help him make his toys all live, all working hard to give the children of the world their presents each year.

Of course, as magical as Santa and his team may be, it isn’t unheard of for them to need a little help every once in a while.

What is art? It’s not an easy question to answer, especially with new techniques and mediums being developed all the time. By definition, art can be basically summed up as the creative expression of an individual through some medium.

For Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi, that medium is one that is familiar to those in and out of the art world.

Since its domain was first registered on September 15, 1997, Google has exploded from a relatively simple search engine to the massive assortment of platforms and services that fall under the Alphabet umbrella. That being said, most people tend to think of very specific aspects of Google’s Search function… like the amusing Easter Eggs that the platform has become somewhat famous for.

The use of technology is one of the things that brings most people together. For the past couple of decades people have depended more and more on technology as a way to manage their lives, socialize, and get the goods and services they choose to purchase. This has led to the development of a lot of solid technology-related television shows. In this week’s blog, we thought we would take a look at three shows that cover multiple genres that are solid viewing for the technology enthusiast.