In 2011 the Culturati U.S. Hispanic Segmentation Model proved that acculturation is non-linear and the start/end points are not definitive. However, along with its eminent growth, the U.S. Hispanic population continues to evolve and defend its core values. Therefore, it is imperative for marketers to be one step ahead of this evolution to ensure that their U.S. Hispanic strategy is reflective of today's Hispanic consumer.

To help marketers stay ahead of these changes, Culturati conducted a longitudinal study that presents the why's behind the shifts that have shaped this market in the past two years and that will continue to form this population in the years to come.

The results are aligned with 2011 predictions. The study confirmed that U.S. Hispanic identity is multidimensional. It does not follow a linear path and it is shaped by a continuous transformation where profound shifts in cultural identity occur as Hispanics forward or retro acculturate. READ MORE AT PR NEWSWIRE

As flavor trends shift from the mass market to a focus on regional flavors, product developers are inundated with options, particularly from such regions within Mexico, Latin America, Cuba and even some parts of the Caribbean. The flavors may range from spicy to sweet and offer a full range of options to differentiate products on store shelves and in new menu items and to drive growth in a wide variety of product categories.

“Today’s consumers crave new taste experiences and that’s driving growth for more cheese variety,”. READ MORE AT FOOD BUSINESS NETWORK

Diversity, or lack thereof, has long plagued Silicon Valley. It is no secret that African Americans, Hispanics and women have typically been underrepresented in the open offices of the Valley’s most notable tech giants.

Tackling this challenge has not been easy, and in many cases marked by missteps. Twitter’s failed attempts at outreach have been well documented in the press. Other tech giants like Google and Facebook have been transparent about their challenges and even their numbers, but still struggle to make significant headway. READ MORE AT FOX BUSINESS NEWS

Networking… many people see it as a necessary evil in the business world, and for some it can be difficult to master. Networking connects people with one another, sparking new ideas, forging new partnerships, and making an event worth attending. Sounds great, however, the problem with networking is that it can be, well, awkward. If you’ve ever turned up to a gathering as a “newbie” or first timer, you’ll know the feeling of hovering by the doorway, not knowing who to approach or where to begin. READ MORE AT SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

Just like that, the year is already halfway over.

Instead of trying to figure out how it's already June, let's face the facts: In January you probably decided this was – check that, is – your year to make a significant change in your career – whether it's a leap to the next level or boost in your income. Yet here you find yourself midyear, still toiling away in the same position, barely tolerating things like a toxic environment, boring projects and stagnant pay.

It may feel tempting to postpone your job search endeavors until Labor Day because you think there are less open positions in the summer, but that will likely become Thanksgiving, then the December holidays and before you know it, another new year. Don't let this be you! READ MORE AT U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

What an interesting time to be Hispanic in the U.S. While I certainly believe that the best is yet to come for Latinos in this country, I'm candidly not always sure whether we are living in the best of times, or the worst of times, for people with names like mine.

On the one hand, we can be proud to hail from the same group as Salma Hayek, Sonia Sotomayor, Oscar de la Renta, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Sammy Sosa, Oscar Muñoz, Oscar de la Hoya, Marco Rubio and so many more whose names are synonymous with success in the world of art, government, business, sports and more.

Being a Latino also means being part of the demographic group that everyone is talking about, watching and marketing to. And no wonder. We are economically powerful, and that power is growing. There are more than four million Hispanic-owned businesses in America, with more than $660 billion in combined annual revenue. READ MORE AT THE HILL

Many tech start-ups are in the business of making themselves successful. But some entrepreneurs have set up businesses with the express mission of training others to be successful in the tech sector.

Several of those start-ups have dedicated themselves to creating programs, incubators or accelerators to train blacks and Hispanics for tech jobs.

Their efforts are coming at a time when Silicon Valley has increasingly been scrutinized for its lack of diversity. But instead of leaving it to the tech giants to solve the problem alone, some see their own connections as a way to address the issue. READ MORE AT THE NEW YORK TIMES

One out of 4 Floridians are Latino. The Sunshine State is home to the third largest Hispanic population in the country, and by 2028 the majority of the Florida's population will come from an ethnic or racial minority group. But how are the state's Latinos faring economically?

A new report by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) focuses on the issue. There is good news — Latinos are obtaining college degrees at faster rates, have higher rates of employment than other groups and are opening businesses at a brisk pace.

But there are also sobering numbers. Latino household wealth is vastly lower than that of non-Latino white households, and the poverty rate is nearly double that of whites.

Here are some key findings: READ MORE AT NBC NEWS

When AutoNation put Tania Eubanks in charge of a Ford dealership in Houston four years ago, only one salesperson spoke Spanish.

That didn't make sense to Eubanks in a city where Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing ethnic group, accounting for 44 percent of its 2 million residents in the 2010 census.

"We weren't catering to those customers. We weren't prepared for them," Eubanks said. "If I wanted to make a big impact right away, our main focus was the Hispanic market." READ MORE AT AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

As an extrovert, you likely find it easy(er) to attend and engage with fellow professionals at networking events. But, do you ever feel like your initial networking success doesn’t translate into partners or clients.

Take your networking prowess to the next step with these tips on building quality connections:

1. Listen.

Remember, networking is a two-way street. While it’s important to lay out your “elevator speech,” it’s equally important to hear from the other person. In determining the quality of a contact, you have to know how your businesses complement each other, what services you or they could provide to your partnership, and what their networking goals are. Don’t forget – people like to feel heard and understood!

2. Recognize.

While you are listening and observing, recognize the person on the other end of your conversation. A few weeks ago, I posted a blog with networking tips for introverts. I encourage you to check it out and thoughtfully consider it and how your tactics may change based on the person in front of you. READ MORE AT NASHVILLE.COM

Q. I could use some help networking. Recently I have been attending networking events in an effort to meet new professionals, and get connected in my field. I don’t need a job now, but I want to be ready. Sometimes it just feels awkward. Do you have any tips on how to schmooze without being smarmy?

A. Networking is a challenge for many people and almost every job seeker. Many people feel a sense of discomfort when they attend a networking event, which is perfectly natural. The idea of starting a conversation with a room full of strangers can be intimidating. READ MORE AT BOSTON.COM

There's good news and bad news when it comes to American mortality — and the bad is threatening to overwhelm the good.

On the positive side, there are fewer deaths, per 100,000 people, from car accidents. There are fewer deaths from cancer. And there has been significant progress in recent years in driving down the death rate from heart disease.

Add to that the aggressive interventions in medical care in old age, and the picture is one of Americans living significantly longer — gaining exactly two years in life expectancy from 2000 to 2014, according to a report published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. READ MORE AT THE WASHINGTON POST

Alexandre Hohagen's career to date has focused on two crucial elements of the marketing equation: digital media and young Hispanic consumers.

Over the last decade, he served as managing director of Google's operations in Brazil and vp of Latin America and U.S. Hispanics for Facebook before stepping down in 2015. Now he and his business partner, former Isobar global chairman Pedro Cabral, want to help plot the future of the market they know best by creating the ad industry's first Hispanic digital holding company.

In March, the partners acquired Miami-based agency Nobox. The 15-year-old shop currently works with clients including Netflix, PlayStation, Marriott, Royal Caribbean and Volkswagen, but Hohagen told Adweek that his long-term plans have only begun to take shape.

"I love to build things," he said, "And I really see this as a much bigger than Nobox. We want to build a holding company made of independent agencies focused on creative, technology and performance for the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic audiences." READ MORE AT ADWEEK

If you survey a room and ask if they would rather spend the evening with a group of close friends or a group of strangers, you can almost guarantee that they would unequivocally choose to spend time with friends. Your perception of attending a networking event may be wearing a name tag, struggling to start or maintain a conversation, making mindless small talk and receiving business cards from people you may not have the intention of emailing or seeing again.

I get it. I used to feel the same way until I learned to network authentically. I started asking questions that made the conversation insightful and interesting and left me feeling inspired and motivated to connect. READ MORE AT FORBES

Both community colleges and bachelor’s degree-granting institutions across the country are responding to a chorus of calls for dramatic improvements in student success and college completion, while maintaining and improving the quality of students’ educational experiences. A companion challenge is to close persistent and troubling attainment gaps across a diverse population of students.

Because Latinos are the largest under-served population and the numbers will continue to increase, achieving these goals requires consideration of how these students experience higher education and what institutions can do to better serve them. READ MORE AT DIVERSE ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Harley-Davidson loves millennials, no doubt about it, with much of the company's marketing aimed at motorcycle buyers ages 18-34.

Do the millennials love Harley back? It looks that way, as the world's largest manufacturer of heavyweight bikes says it's the market leader in sales of new on-road motorcycles to young adults.

In 2015, for the eighth straight year, Harley was the No. 1 seller of new highway motorcycles in the United States to adults ages 18-34. It was also the top seller of those bikes to women, African-Americans and Hispanics, as well as Caucasian men ages 35-plus, according to motorcycle registration data. READ MORE AT SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

Efforts to diversify America’s corporate boards with more minorities and women are still lagging, and Hispanics, in particular, are far behind other groups in being selected for directorships, according to an annual report on the board composition of large companies.

Over all, 399 new directors were selected for the top company boards last year. Hispanics claimed only 4 percent of those appointments, or 16 seats. The gap has widened over the last seven years, according to Heidrick & Struggles Board Monitor, which has tracked board appointments since 2009. READ MORE AT THE NEW YORK TIMES

The networking procedure is one of the most effective approaches to seek for job and to enlarge commerce opportunities. Without a circle of great expert colleagues, you will be extremely impeded all through your profession. In any case, fabricating this circle requires arranging and you need to incessantly work at it. If you want to know more about the effective networking procedure then look below at our article.

What is the Networking method all about?
Networking system essentially comprises of two fundamental actualities: the outside, for example, the rational sense, the skills, and the inside factors, for case in point, the profound feeling, the association that vibe about others when we do networking. Networking system administration is the specialty of building and managing commonly useful connections. Systems administration is about aiding and being made a difference. You have desires of others and live up to their desires of you. READ MORE AT EXAMINER.COM

Hispanic small-business owners, who believe in overwhelming numbers in the importance of consulting a financial advisor, find themselves deeply underserved when it comes to help from advisors of any ethnic makeup, according to a new survey.

As many as 81 percent of Hispanic small-business owners think it is important to meet with a financial advisor, but only 42 percent say they have an established relationship with an agent, the New York Life survey found.

Six in 10 Hispanic small-business owners have not been approached by a financial advisor and as a result, four in 10 lack life insurance coverage or any estate planning. Almost 30 percent have no retirement plan, the survey of 151 Hispanic business owners found. READ MORE AT INSURANCENEWSNET.COM

Partnering on a social listening analysis, we and Oye! Business Intelligence examined over 13,000 Facebook and Twitter conversations about the financial needs of U.S. Hispanics, including English and Spanish speakers. Research found that the top conversation drivers were retirement (22%) and how to protect one’s family (13%).

In practice, social insights from Hispanic consumers are used to develop relevant earned media storylines, leading to successful media engagement, and in turn, growth in online conversations.

When developing Hispanic communications plans, listening to social conversations reveals unique cultural nuances for financial organizations to consider... READ MORE AT MEDIAPOST