| It used to be that saving for college was a relatively simple process: if you wanted to save for your child’s college education, you put money away wherever it was convenient. Now, though, there are several types of specific savings plans that offer you benefits that your old coffee can’t compare with. They may not be as convenient, but when your child is ready to start college, there will be more money available. Of these plans, a 529 plan offers some significant ways to improve on your college savings options.Read more at moneyning.com |
That number always astounds me — what an easy fix for business owners to increase business in almost any industry! | Right now, website ownership is sitting at 46 percent — less than half of small businesses have a website. When you consider that you can set up and maintain a business website for under $10 a month, that number seems incredibly low. But it is also an opportunity. The benefits of having a website when your competitors aren’t even online allows you to tap into markets that those competitors don’t even have access to.Read more at growsmartbusiness.com |
Conventional wisdom is that we need to get cell phones out of classes, but there’s a good chance that they could be made to be useful. Back when I was in school, I remember math learning went something like this:
- Sit in a lecture and take notes furiously — verbatim, if possible
- The night before homework is due, try to reverse engineer how to solve problems from the now cryptic notes
- Find examples that look like the problem at hand
- Plug in numbers from the given problem
- Hope
Because the students in Project K-Nect have 24/7 mobile broadband, that dynamic has changed for them. When a student sits down to work on problems and gets stuck, she can post a question or just a general plea for help to the shared blog. Soon, several classmates will reply with help and encouragement. Students who might otherwise give up can get just-in-time support to help them be successful while the students who are providing the help get the reinforcement and deeper understanding that comes from teaching.
Read more at radar.oreilly.com |
I got a chance to review the new version of David Meerman Scott’s book. I definitely think he did a good job of updating it. | The new edition of the book isn’t just a rehash of old content. Scott has extensively rewritten the book, updating it to accurately reflect the latest opportunities to connect with buyers online. When the first edition came out, Twitter didn’t exist and Facebook was still very limited — you needed a .edu email address to sign up. Scott has also pulled in new examples, many of which came from people who used his book to effectively market their projects online.Read more at webworkerdaily.com |
Networking can’t be just a question of making a sale. It has to be a matter of building a relationship that will benefit your business beyond simple dollars and cents. | “Don’t be afraid. Pick up the phone. Set up a meeting or lunch date. Follow up and build that rapport,” says Riessen. He points out that even if your new connection doesn’t buy from you, he may introduce you to your next sale. Even something as simple as emailing out a report on an important topic affecting your industry to each person you meet can help spark the conversations that turn someone you met at a networking event into a connection who can help your business grow.Read more at growsmartbusiness.com |
So many people want to wait until everything is perfect to launch, but that option just doesn’t work. | Iterate: Build, release and iterate. Make a list of the features you want to create over the next six months and get going! For small companies, once a week; for larger companies, maybe twice a month.Read more at www.readwriteweb.com |
Long-term, I think most businesses will be fairly sustainable because it’s cost effective to do so. Tax cuts are great, but a lower electricity bill is what really matters in the years to come. | Going green can be a matter of personal choice — of wanting to make your business better for the environment. But going green can also be good business. With the many tax deductions and credits available to business owners, making your company more sustainable can pay off when you do your taxes.Read more at www.openforum.com |
This topic has been my soapbox for years now: I do not think it’s possible to have real space travel with only governments involved in R&D. | Two fundamental realities now exist that will drive space exploration forward. First, private capital is seeing space as a good investment, willing to fund individuals who are passionate about exploring space, for adventure as well as profit. What was once affordable only by nations can now be lucrative, public-private partnerships.Read more at online.wsj.com |
I’m still not sure how I feel about Goggle Buzz. The privacy issue is becoming less problematic… but I’m still not exactly thrilled about the service. | That said, this brush with privacy may have tainted the launch of Buzz in much the same way that the death of a luger in Vancouver put a pall over the beginning of the Winter Olympics. Google may have more information about online users that any entity on the planet. By exposing those relationships without offering users the opportunity to opt-out of the new service on launch, the Internet giant has put trust in privacy at risk, an existential worry given that data that Google has about so many.Read more at digiphile.wordpress.com |
With the changes facing journalism, it’s only natural that fellowships are changing. The interesting part is how they’re changing. Over the years, journalists from daily newspapers traditionally have dominated the applicant pool and Nieman classes,” Giles said. “But those numbers changed for the 2010 selection cycle. For the class of 2009, 68 newspaper candidates made up half of the candidate pool. For the class of 2010, 45 fellowship aspirants were from newspapers, less than one third of the applicants.”
Giles noted that 64 applicants self-identified as “freelance journalists,” an increase from the 26 freelance journalist applicants for the 2009 fellowship. Joyce Barnathan, president of the International Center for Journalists, which offers a range of fellowships, reported a similar trend. Barnathan said “many recently laid off” journalists apply for ICFJ’s programs, and the center is seeing applications from a higher number of freelance journalist Read more at www.pbs.org |
|
