Category: Tools and Information

What Is Daylight-Saving Time? | Wired.com

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Let me start with the sun. Suppose you were to watch the sun (but not look directly at it; that is a bad thing) over the course of a day. Also suppose you were to observe the sun’s motion on different days of the year. Oh, I get it. You’re too busy and too impatient to do this. Well, there is a simple solution. Download and install some type of astronomy software. I recommend Stellarium. It’s free and it works on all the major operating systems. With Stellarium, you can enter a location and a time and it will show you the sky. This way you can play around with the views on different days without having to wait half a year. Instant sky gratification.

Let me show you the sun at different times of the day for my location on both Dec. 21 and June 21. This image might look crazy, but I tried to show all the locations at the same time.

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How to Find Core Keywords For Effective Online Marketing|searchengineguide.com

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There are many angles and avenues for researching keywords for your online marketing efforts. Some people focus on numbers such as search volume or keyword competition. Others might focus on the tools you use to dig up obscure keywords to target. While these may be good keyword metrics to consider, focusing on the keywords themselves should be the most important focus.

You can optimize difficult or easy keywords and high or low search volume phrases, and each will help you reach different levels of success. But choose the wrong keywords and you’ll see your marketing campaigns go a whopping nowhere!

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Confessions of a Car Salesman | Popular Mechanics

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Buying a new car can be a confusing, frustrating and downright unpleasant experience. But behind the haggling and the anxiety and the dramatic theater of the salesman going to talk to the manager, how does this process really work? One anonymous car salesman lifted the veil and gave us a taste of what it’s like on the showroom floor. And most importantly, our informant lets us know how we can get the best deals the next time we’re shopping for a new car.

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Marketing to Millennials: Youd Better Learn to Keep Up | AllBusiness.com

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Ronco Johnson knows financial planning. But when it comes to planning how to reach a critical set of potential customers, he mostly knows that he needs a new plan. That group is the Millennial Generation. Also known as Generation Y, this 80-million-strong legion of Americans born between 1982 and 2000 already exceeds the baby boomers in size and influence — and someday will rival them in affluence. Its a market no small business can afford to ignore.

Johnson, president and chief executive officer of L.R. Johnson & Associates, an insurance and financial services provider in Marietta, Ga., realized awhile back that his marketing tools and strategies would need an overhaul if he was going to have any hope of successfully reaching this huge market. “There is a big difference marketing financial services to Millennials,” he said.

For one thing, the pace of interactions is sped up until it resembles a cartoon chase. “They want their information now,” Johnson said. A series of 2-hour meetings in his office to discuss financial planning needs — de rigueur with older clients — is a nonstarter with Millennials.

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6 Ways to Delegate More Effectively | Inc.com

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“The surest way for an executive to kill himself is to refuse to learn how, and when, and to whom to delegate work,” said James Cash Penney, founder of the J.C. Penney retail chain.

When you grow, you have to know when to let go. You have to know when to delegate down so you can rise up. I’ve learned that people will seldom let you down if they understand that your destiny is in their hands, and vice versa.

The inability to delegate properly is the main reason that executives fail. But managers often mistake delegation for passing off work. So they don’t do it–and they wind up wasting their time as well as the company’s time and resources.

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Brand Management Techniques | smallbusiness.chron.com

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Brand management is vital to gaining market dominance.

Brand management involves the art of crafting and maintaining a brand image in the marketplace and of managing the product lines associated with individual brands. Marketers employ a repertoire of techniques to influence consumers’ perception of and preference for their brands. Focusing on continuous brand management can help your brand to solidify a position of dominance in your chosen industry or niche.

Industry Analysis

Analyze competing brands in your industry to determine where you would like to position your brand. Map out competitors and rank each by size, service model, reputation and target market segment. Determine how many players are serving the high end of the market and how many are serving value- or cost-conscious market segments. Determine which competitors feature full-service business models and which operate lean. Rank your competitors according to their reputation in the industry by comparing customer reviews and news articles.

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Driving Solar Electric | Green Car Institute.org

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Driving Solar Electric

Ford is offering an innovative package that pairs electric car ownership with a rooftop solar energy system generating enough electricity to offset an average of 1,000 miles of driving each month. The result is what many electric vehicle owners dream of – the ability to drive with zero emissions and effectively, without additional load on the grid. While the SunPower system doesn’t actually charge Ford’s upcoming 2012 Focus Electric directly, it does feed enough solar-generated electricity into the grid to offset the energy required for keeping batteries charged. Focus Electric owners can add the solar option for less than $10,000 after federal incentives.

The ‘Drive Green for Life’ program not only provides an all-new option for those who want to go the extra mile to drive sustainably, but also is big win for solar energy. Moves like this will motivate consumers to embrace solar energy who may not have done so otherwise.

via Driving Solar Electric | Green Car Institute.