Fed Pledge Let?s You Know The Fix Is In

The Fed now tells us that rates will not budge from rock bottom for at least two years. Although the markets rallied on the news (at least for a few minutes) in reality the policy will inflict untold harm on the U.S. economy. The move was so dangerous and misguided that three members of the FOMC actually voted against it. This level of dissent within the Fed has not been seen for years.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/08/13/fed-pledge-lets-you-know-the-fix-is-in/

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The Vocal Employee: Should Businesses Ban Or Encourage Workplace Social Media?


When a pair of Dominos employees posted a disgusting video of their kitchen activities in 2009, it became an instant hit on YouTube and a PR nightmare for the company. It wasn't the first and it won't be the last, but it's often used as an example of employee social media use gone awry.

It's a question that businesses wrestle with regularly. Should they attempt to keep their employees off of social media at work, or should they encourage its use?

According to a recent study by Proskauer, 25% of businesses do not allow social media use at work and 26.7% only allow certain employees to access social sites. For many, it's a case of productivity - they don't want their employees checking their status updates or tweeting when they should be busy working. For others, it's about brand protection. They feel that employees using social media at work could damage the company image.

There are two primary approaches:

Brand Defense

Businesses that ban social media use at work often do so through strict employee guidelines and careful monitoring. Many have even invoked a "zero attachment" policy that prevents employees from posting anything about their employer. In those cases, they are not allowed to mention that they even work for the company anywhere through social media or risk termination.

It may seem Draconian to those who are able to use social media at work, but to many businesses it's the only way they can feel safe.

Guidelines and Training

On the other end of the spectrum, many businesses not only allow social media use, they encourage it.

"Every employee is trained on social media use and agree that their activities on or off the clock are monitored," said Jeff Cryder, Marketing and Communications Director at Lebanon Ford. "Social media doesn't sleep. Your a representative of the company even when you're out 'on the town' and you must act appropriately."

Businesses who empower their employees to use social media often use a written social media policy and monitoring tools to keep people in line. It's additional work and requires proper training, but it can improve employee morale and increase brand exposure.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet

There is no comprehensive answer to the initial question. Much of it depends on the personality and needs of the business itself. While a lot of gray area remains, companies should commit one way or the other. Leaving it hanging in limbo is what often leads to disasters.

For Dominos, they have been putting a lot of effort into not only improving their social media reputation, but to completely reinvent the company as a whole. The scar still remains, but they have improved dramatically both in buzz and procedures over the last 2 years.

The graphic below breaks down some important statistics and offers insight into how businesses today are allowing (or not allowing) employees to use social media at work. Click to enlarge.

Social Media in the Workplace

Infographic designed for Mindflash.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/8biGf7uPiGE/the-vocal-employee-should-businesses-ban-or-encourage-workplace-social-media-2011-8

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Do You Manage Your Debt Better Than the Government Manages Theirs?

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We have all had a front row view of how the government deals with out-of-control debt and spending. Let's take a look at how this would translate into your household finances.

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Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6473220

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USD/CAD Outlook ? August 15-19


The Canadian dollar was a victim of the global turmoil that began with its southern neighbor. Inflation data is the main event this week. Here’s an outlook for the Canadian events, and an updated technical analysis for USD/CAD. 

Last week the Canadian dollar touched parity with the US dollar but bounced back. Housing starts posted a good reading of 205,000 new building units helping the loonie to rebound.

Read the rest of the article USD/CAD Outlook ? August 15-19

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/E65Gd8xIepo/usdcad-outlook--august-15-19-2011-8

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Where In The World Are Your Twitter Followers?


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Twitter is the only place where it is socially acceptable to follow people you don't know.

It's tough to figure out any information about the strangers who are reading your status updates.

Now you can learn their geographic location.

David Barker created an app that will tell you where in the world your Twitter followers are.  It turns out my modest 1,400 followers are mostly in the US (67.5%), the U.K. (5.9%) & Canada (3.7%).

We'd like to see a breakdown by state. but it's still pretty cool to know that I have followers in Aruba, Bolivia and Ghana.

To figure out where your Twitter followers are, head over to Twocation.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/Hen0606U8tc/twocation-twitter-followers-location-2011-8

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The Time Is Right To Arrange Debt Consolidation

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Certain nations are once more in the depths of a dreadful credit crisis. Spain and Italy are probably worse than the other countries, and Italy is in such deep financial distress that other countries are buying Italian Government Bonds which in fact like lending them money in an attempt to stop total chaos from ensuing. Although Great Britain is not directly affected by this, they will form part of the bail out, as well as the fact that these countries are our trading neighbours, and as such not even a financial genius can possibly predict with absolute certainty...

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Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6485359

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Credit Consolidation Services - 3 Things You Want To Avoid

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In today's world with our uncertain economy, more and more people are turning to credit consolidation services for help with their debt issues. Being in debt has taken on epidemic proportions with the general population of this country. Credit consolidation programs seem to be popping up all over the place these days in huge numbers. And unfortunately for consumers, many of these are nothing but scams. Now for the good news, there really are plenty of legitimate companies out there who really do care about the people who they are trying to help. It's up to you to do your homework and find them. We are now going to briefly discuss a few things you want to watch out for while doing your research.

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Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6486257

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