Focus on Information

5 Business Tips

Norma — Thu, 27 May 2010 07:00:19 +0000

I recently attended a conference of the Association for Independent Information Professionals in Cleveland, OH with the theme Taking Charge of Your Business. Here are five of the many things I learned.

The common wisdom is to have a plan of action for when we fail. An uncommon wisdom is to have a plan for when you succeed.
Read the terms of service of all the online tools you use, e.g. email accounts, social network accounts. Be aware of the privacy settings and your options for enabling them. Check back from time to time because the terms can, and do, change without notification.
Learn to write. Increasingly, the first exposure of information will be in written form and you will have only one chance to communicate. The likely length will be 140 characters.
Goals are not goals until they are written down and they must be attainable, measurable and visible.
Listen to what your clients say they want from your business –-they ultimately control the nature of what you sell, not you.

Let me know about your experiences with any of these tips.

A Word in your Ear

Norma — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:57:35 +0000

Spilth. This Word of the Day in the Ottawa Citizen caught my eye and I liked it so much I wanted to share it with you. It sounds exactly like its meaning which is: something spilled or freely poured out. But, you immediately knew that, didn’t you?

A sentence using this delicious word is from the novel Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake,

A spilth of water fell from the bird as it climbed through the hot air to clear the lakeside trees, and a drop of lake water clung for a moment to the leaf of an ilex.

Aah. I just might read the book.

Kernels of Truth about Corn

Norma — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:33:32 +0000

My eyes were opened to facts about corn after reading Much depends on dinner by Margaret Visser (New York : Grove Press, 1987, ©1986). I hadn’t realized before I read it how important corn is to the world’s economy nor how wide-spread its use.

Corn is used in more than 3,000 products from clothes to biodegradable containers to laundry detergent to medications to vehicle airbags. There are even golf tees made from cornstarch!

The majority of the world’s of corn is produced in the USA, China, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India, France, Indonesia and Canada. In Canada, corn for food and fodder is mostly grown in Ontario and Quebec and it is one of the fastest growing imports from the US.

Be aware, though, that people can be allergic to corn and corn products. The website Avoiding Corn in Canada is a source of many interesting facts about corn as an allergen and how to cope in a world where corn and corn products are everywhere. Although the site focuses on information specific to Canadian law and markets, there are some references to the US and tips are provided for travellers to Europe and Mexico.

Sara Scharf, the author of the site and who has a corn allergy, lists ingredients that are derived from corn, most of which do not refer to corn by name, at all. She also lists the reason the ingredient is used and in which foods.

This site is a revelation for us all.

http://cornfree.ca/index.htm

Quality Films at your Fingertips

Norma — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:22:40 +0000

I remember, as a kid, a welcomed interruption to school days was a film borrowed from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Those were the days of reels of film which broke or became wonky after many viewings. Well, things have changed!

Early last year, in honour of its 70^th anniversary, the NFB launched its unique NFB Screening Room website with “700 streamed films, trailers and clips from the collection. From historic films dating back to 1928 to contemporary releases, including award-winning documentaries, animations and fiction…” These films in English or French are free and very popular. The site quotes figures of 3.7 million views in the past year broken down as 2.2 million from Canada and 1.5 million from other countries.

Now, they’ve released a free iPhone/iPod Touch application which the site says offers “free, full viewing of hundreds of documentaries, animated films and trailers streamed over WiFi, 3G and EDGE wireless networks.” It’s also available in the US. Features include:

preloading a film onto an iPhone for offline viewing within 24 hours
searching the NFB’s entire collection
browsing by category
saving a favourites list
identifying films viewed by others in your area.

www.nfb.ca

Is that cool or what?

Keep Current on World Facts

Norma — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:42:37 +0000

Are you a traveller, a business person, a government employee, a student, a reporter, a geographer, a teacher or an information junkie (like me) who wants current international facts?

At the CIA’s World Factbook website, you will find fascinating information about the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 countries and locations around the world. The site which is updated every two weeks also has regional, physical and political maps, time zones and flags of the world, county comparison guides and selected country photos.

Here’s an excerpt from the entry for Guernsey:

Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. Guernsey is a British crown dependency, but is not part of the UK or of the European Union. However, the UK Government is constitutionally responsible for its defense and international representation.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

Tired of Automated Phone Systems?

Norma — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:50:09 +0000

I am. Gethuman.com provides some relief for frustration by publishing hard to find phone numbers for popular companies as well as ways to bypass the automated runaround. The site also has reviews of customer service, company ratings, tips and email addresses.

Most entries are for companies in the US followed by the UK, Canada and Australia. Other countries are listed with fewer than seven entries. Additions and updates are welcomed by the public.

Then, sometimes, even after I’ve managed to reach a human being, the service provided is worthless. The worst I’ve dealt with (my printer) has such bad customer service that I’ll avoid buying their products in the future. The best is the host of my website. I’m tempted to call their support line for the sheer pleasure of their fine service. Even when I don’t need help!