FedEx Facts

FedEx is very busy, especially during the Holidays. Normally, an average of 13 million packages are delivered daily.

FedEx Express and FedEx Ground are actually two separate entities. Most of the routes for Ground are contracted out to save money. People can purchase the routes from FedEx and then hire their own drivers. While that should not affect the consumer, sometimes people are upset that Express employees cannot pick up Ground packages. Ground drivers tend to handle the larger, heavier items that are not being sent overnight.

FedEx's general tracking services rely mostly on barcodes, barcode scanners and a Web interface that customers can access. With such access, a customer can follow a package from scan point to scan point, either via a tracking, invoice or purchase order, or customer account number.

Many Express Ground trucks are not loaded with GPS or other high-tech distractions. The company provides turn by turn maps for each package. Some Ground drivers provide their own GPS equipment. FedEx drivers get automated delivery information and can have it sent to their own GPS device.

Google Package Track

Here is a Google feature that may come in handy around the holidays. Track your packages by entering any tracking number into Google search and it will show you where your mail is. No need to login to USPS or FedEx.

Four Little Known Business Facts

Fifty percent of Domino's Pizza was once traded for a used VW Beetle.
The owner of Fedex once gambled his last five thousand dollars to win 32 thousand in Vegas to save the company.
SOS in SOS pads stands for 'save our saucepans' and was thought up by the owner's wife.
Ben and Jerry's was originally going to be a bagel company.

Smart Billboards

Technology can sometimes be too smart. Digital billboards that display different ads depending on who is looking at them came from a movie. Now they are real and might change the game of advertising in a serious way. These billboards are like big targeted ads that we see on the internet when we go to certain sites.

Software combines video analytics with environmental factors and Twitter and Foursquare information to decide the best ad to display at that moment. If a young man is looking at an ad, for instance, the billboard will know to show an aftershave ad instead of a tampon ad. If Twitter or Foursquare data indicate that there’s a sports game going on in the area, it might show a Nike ad instead of a FedEx ad.

Many digital billboards already have web cams that can determine the relative age and gender of people who are looking at them, as well as how long each person stands in front of them or looks directly at them. Advertisers use them to gauge the effectiveness of ads and decide which ads to post in what areas.

The newest technology instantly changes a billboard ad based on the video identification of the person and other environmental information. The software learns what works and improves over time. A store in Boulder ran a test and found target ads resulted in a 60% improvement, as measured by time that people looked at the ads.

You might remember the scene in Minority Report when ads change to target the people who are walking past them. This is almost the same thing. Although these change the ads for you, they do not collect information about you. Of course they could in the future. Might be fun to stand around and watch what billboards think of the people standing in front of them.

Six Great Google Tricks

We all know Google is great for searches, but here are a few tips to make your online life simpler.
If you want to track a USPS, UPS, or FedEx package, no need to go to their site, just type in the tracking code to find out where your package is.
How about that flight? Just type in an airline flight number to get its arrival/departure status.
If you need a quick stock quote, just type in the stock symbol.
Are you looking for a movie? Type in movies followed by your city name.
Wondering if it will rain today? Type in weather followed by your zip code.
Last, don't forget to use the quote marks for names, like "chuck norris" or "liberty bell" to get the whole name.
If you want to buy my books, you don't need Google, just click Amazon