No credit check required

When was the last time someone looked at your credit card closely and compared it to your signature? It doesn't happen often. It's a flawed security measure anyway. The person at the cash register is more than likely an underpaid college student - not a handwriting expert.

The Credit Card Prank aims to demonstrate this phenomenon with often funny results.

Online behavior policies

I would guess that most organizations have relatively clear "Internet Usage" policies that govern how computers and the Internet should be used for work-related purposes only during work hours. Often employees agree to this policy by signing a document when they are hired or by clicking an agreement when their computers turn on every morning. And of course all employees adhere to these rules. Ahem.

But many organizations struggle with what to do regarding a corporate policy for governing and guiding their employees' online behavior outside of work. Should employees be allowed to have their own blogs? What if they talk about work on their blogs? What about MySpace pages?

Edleman PR isn't afraid to tackle the issue and has one of the best policies I've seen. It's thoughtful and thorough, and it educates and advises rather than simply prohibiting certain actions.

Obviously organizations are going to have different comfort levels regarding how their employees represent themselves and the organization online. But thinking through the issues and clearly communicating with employees is the key to an effective policy.

Netflix benefits

So let me get this straight...Employees take as much vacation as they want, they're paid salaries considerably higher than their peers, and stock options vest immediately.

Sounds to good to be true, right? But it is true if you're an employee of Netflix.

Jetsons technology

OK, so maybe we're not zooming around in flying cars or being served by talking robots like The Jetsons promised us.

But I'm doing some work for a company that, in certain ways, resembles the futurist vision of Spacely Sprockets. Everyone at this company is given laptops and the whole place is awash with wireless internet access. There's a casual dress environment, a flexible workday, even an indoor basketball court. And yet I see people dressing appropriately and working longer and harder than they "have to."

Working there has served as a great reminder to me that technology is not the end goal. The Jetsons used technologies - not just because they were cool or trendy - but because they made their lives better. Technology can be a great tool, but for it to be effective, it needs to be used correctly. Spacely Sprockets, for all it's advanced technology, wasn't a great place to work.

Finding the right blend of technology, leadership, and culture is a challenge all companies should be addressing.