Tag Archives: consumer panels

Tour the MindField Online Website!

cloudOver at the MindField Online Facebook page, we commonly hear, “I’m new—how does this whole thing work?”  That’s a pretty broad question, so we usually answer, “There’s plenty of info to be found at our website, www.mindfieldonline.com -check it out!”

But exactly what you will find has been a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped in an internet – until now!  So, keep your hands and feet inside the tram as we take an informative, exciting (but mostly informative) tour of the MindField Online Internet Panels website. And please, no flash photography!

Member Home: A really useful portal that gives you a quick look at announcements, surveys available (“Live Now!”), membership details, payout options, referrals, member profile survey status, payout balance progress… and more!

Try Our New Apps!: Located at the top-right of our Home page, this is where you can download the new SurveyCloud mobile app for Apple or Android devices.

Account Settings: Here is where you can update or change your user preferences, email or street address and your password.

Study History: This is a detailed list of your Transaction History, Survey History, and Cashout History.

FAQ: Check out the answers to some frequently asked questions HERE. Then, take a moment to realize “So THAT’S what FAQ stands for!”

Policies: How do you register? Who is eligible? What are the rules? Here is where you find out!

IQD: Other than farm fresh ingredients, what steps does MindField Online Internet Panels take to ensure the quality of our data? Find out HERE.

News: Much of the news you will have seen on our Facebook page, but you will get more detail here.

Winners: MindField Online has regular cash drawings and sweepstakes. Here is where you can see the winners. ALSO… don’t forget our 2014 Holiday season cash drawing for $1000!!!

Contact:  Here is how you reach the helpdesk. They are ready to help with all kinds of technical issues!

MindField Online hopes you find our website an informative, user-friendly experience. Thanks again to the best consumer panelists in the business – YOU.

Halloween by the Numbers 2014

While these safety nerds probably WON'T get hit by a car, they WILL get hit by 8th-graders!
While these safety nerds probably WON’T get hit by a car, they WILL get hit by 8th-graders!

Our Halloween spending will be up slightly from last year’s average of $75.03.  According to a poll of 6,332 consumers:

More than two-thirds (67.4%) of celebrants will buy Halloween costumes for the holiday and spend $3 billion, the most in the survey’s 11-year history. Two billion dollars will be spent on decorations. The average person will spend $77.52 this Halloween, compared to $75.03 last year. Total spending on Halloween this year will reach $7.4 billion. National Retail Federation

So, slightly up, but still lower than before the Crash. Even so, while you pinch your pennies, don’t forget to invest in safety for your little goblins! In that vein, here’s a classic bit (as if) from years past, “Halloween Safety for Nerds and Other People.”

When I was a kid, Halloween safety consisted of my dad telling me not to accept any apples, because hippies were hiding their drug needles in them. “That’s it! Now go run in the night streets in your dark gray Batman costume!”

So, to pay it forward, I will share a few Halloween safety tips from the National Safety Council.

Motorists: BE COOL! Seriously, I don’t even have kids, but I spend half the night screaming at the idiots driving 45mph on my street!

Parents: Basically it’s your job to suck all the fun out of it. Make your kids tell you their precise route. Give them a curfew time. And make them wear bright or reflective clothing, even if it ruins their Zombie costume.

Kids: Use some common sense! Don’t go to dark houses. Don’t eat your stuff until mom inspects it and steals the Kit Kats. Carry dad’s best flashlight, which you will surely break. And stay out of the abandoned mill, even if they dare you!

OK, enough sarcasm. You should download the list. There are tons of great tips to keep Halloween safe. The alternative is a “Trunk or Treat” in the middle school parking lot…and nobody wants that!

Also, tons of Halloween statistics and charts HERE.

Happy Halloween, MindFielders!

(picture credit: springsgov.com)

McDonald’s Lifts the Curtain

mcd Qs“I think it’s disgusting… does McDonald’s even sell real food?” Actual McDonald’s customers in an actual McDonald’s commercial that premiered yesterday.

Well, that’s bound to get your attention – and that’s the point. McDonald’s has begun a charm offensive designed to convince us that their food isn’t “pink slime,” but rather, actual food with nutritional value.

They say the campaign, entitled “Our Food. Your Questions.” has nothing to do with current business performance, though times have definitely been better for the mega-chain. These days, the dining-out bus is being driven by Millennials and, increasingly, that bus doesn’t stop at McDonald’s!

So McD is hitting Millennials where they live – on Facebook and Twitter. They invite you to visit them and ask any question you can think of about their food. And they even hired former Mythbuster Grant Imahara to make their case!

So, what would you like to ask McDonald’s? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

Source, source, source, source

Maybe Red Bull DOESN’T Give You Wings?

635484393718544707-d-out-energy-drink-30The news this week is about energy drink Red Bull, which has been sued for false advertising. No, someone didn’t believe that Red Bull actually “gives you wings,” but, according to the lawsuit, they do give the impression that Red Bull delivers “increased performance, concentration and reaction speed.”

“Even though there is a lack of genuine scientific support for a claim that Red Bull branded energy drinks provide any more benefit to a consumer than a cup of coffee, the Red Bull defendants persistently and pervasively market their product as a superior source of ‘energy’ worthy of a premium price over a cup of coffee or other sources of caffeine,” the suit says. The Consumerist

As for Red Bull, they said “whatever,” and have offered up $13 million to be shared by anyone in the class action lawsuit who can prove they bought a Red Bull in the past ten years. You’re eligible for ten dollars or two free Red Bulls.

Lawsuits: They Give You Wings!

Are YOU a Red Bull fan? Are you happy or unhappy about this news? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and have a great weekend!

Outlet Mall Savings Online!

Outlet Malls… it’s a love/hate relationship for me. OK, mostly a hate thing because I am not a good enough shopper to recognize a good deal. As far as I can tell, the name “Outlet” screams savings, but does not deliver. Plus, I had to drive two towns over to NOT save!

Well, now you can maybe almost save from the comfort of your own home, because (as ShopSmart.org puts it) you can find outlet savings on your computer!

What kinds of items are ripe for savings?

  • Footwear, apparel, bags and accessories
  • Marked-down, clearance, and overstocked everything
  • Designer clothing, shoes, accessories and home décor
  • Clearance, open-box and refurbished items
  • Discontinued and past-season products, furniture and housewares
  • Refurbished computers, printers, and peripherals; new systems ordered but not paid for; and scratched or dented products
  • Overstock, seconds and discontinued outdoor clothing and gear
  • Appliances, home items, apparel, and tools discontinued, customized, new but returned, new from liquidators, unboxed, used or scratched and dented.

 

Where will you find these savings? Well, you will have to visit the original article to find out!

Do you have a trusted online savings source? Tell us about it at the MindField Online Facebook page – and have a great weekend!

Jobs of the Future

the-futureI have a nephew in his 20s who suddenly realized that he didn’t want to work at the sandwich shop his whole life. He enrolls in junior college and picks (out of a hat, I think) Environmental Studies. “Helping companies conserve water and energy, and managing waste,” as he describes it. We were all pleased at the news. I mean, it sounds like the kind of thing companies need, right?

Little did we know that it will be one of the Top 10 Jobs of 2022! There will be 103,000 jobs in that field, with an average salary of $63,570 (today’s money). That’s a lot of sub sandwiches, kid!

So let’s take a look at that list, as compiled by DailyInfographic.com:

  • Market Research Analysts
  • Counselors and Therapists
  • Scientific Researchers
  • Computer Systems Analysts
  • Veterinarians
  • Environmental Scientists and Specialists
  • Accountants and Auditors
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Registered Nurses
  • General and Operations Managers

Check out the list, including number of jobs, salaries and descriptions at the original piece.

So, if you’ve got a kid searching for direction, or maybe you are searching yourself, this might be a good start. If you could pick one, what would it be? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

August Best Buys!

august-clipart-4Time for our monthly heads-up on the best deals! August shopping can be summed up in two ways: Back to School and End of Summer. These two notions that were a complete bummer for me as a kid. Seriously, I don’t know anyone who hated school more than I.

I’m pretty sure I have said this before but, as a kid, summer was like a long weekend. What was left of June after school let out was like Friday night. July was glorious, glorious Saturday. And August was Sunday, completely overshadowed by the dread of Going Back to School.

As an adult, although I don’t have kids, I get it. You are totally ready for school to start again. But it’s work – there’s so much to go out and buy! Fortunately, there are plenty of bargains to be had during the Dog Days. Here are some highlights, followed by some useful links:

  • Linens & Storage Containers
  • Office Furniture
  • Kids’ Clothing
  • School Supplies
  • Swimsuits
  • Air conditioners
  • Backpacks
  • Dehumidifiers
  • Outdoor furniture
  • Snow blowers
  • Swingsets
  • Flip-flops
  • iPods and mp3 players
  • Plants and flowers

Much more detail at the original articles…

RealSimple: 5 products on deep discount in August

LifeHacker: The Best Time to Buy Anything During the Year

Consumer Reports: The Best Time to Buy Things

Business Insider: The Best Time to Buy Everything

So, what bargains will you be snapping up this August? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

Time to Toss It?

Smelly_Fridge1-234x300An elderly acquaintance recently moved into an assisted-living facility. Cleaning out her house yielded some interesting treasures, including a bunch of unopened food – some fairly recent, some not.

Dilemma… First, everybody hates to waste food. Second, this wasn’t weird, old-lady food like beets or sliced carrots, but stuff I would actually use. I have always heard that the expiration dates on unopened food are mostly “serving suggestions” designed to cover somebody’s butt in the legal sense. (I’m NOT saying that’s correct, just that I have always heard that.)

So how old is too old? Surely, a jar of olives from 2009 is going in the trash. But what about 2012 or 2013? Fortunately, the geniuses at Consumerist.com have broken the vacuum seal to give us the freshest take on food storage time limits…

  • Bread crumbs (unopened): 2 years in fridge, 6 months in cupboard
  • Dry Pasta: up to a year, airtight
  • Flour: airtight, 10-15 months
  • Ketchup: Unopened, in pantry, 1 year. Opened, in fridge, 6 months.
  • Mayonnaise: Unopened, 3-4 months past label date. Opened, fridge, 2-3 months past label date.
  • Mustard: Unopened, in pantry, 2 years. Opened, in fridge, 1 year
  • Oils: Highly dependent on type, but can last several years.
  • Soy Sauce: Several years
  • Sugar: Airtight, several years

And the winner?

  • Worcester sauce… 12 years!

More foods and their life spans at the Consumerist piece, along with further resources for you to check out on food storage and safety. And, just like that, you have an excuse not to clean out your fridge. You’re welcome.

What’s the oldest thing in your fridge or cupboard? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!!

Valuable Money Lessons at ANY Age!

financial-knowledgeWhen I got out of college, I immediately got an Elder-Beerman’s credit card (a Midwestern department store – are they still around?) In about five minutes I had already maxed it out – an entire $500! Someone wise (supposedly) told me to get the card, so that I could “start building credit.” I think by “building” they meant “destroying!”

It never got that bad, but I made some key mistakes in my early twenties that took well into my 30’s to straighten out. So, in that vein, we humbly present “10 Things Everyone Should Know About Money”, courtesy of US News Money. Here are the bullets:

  1. You have to earn more than you spend.
  2. Saving early will help you save more.
  3. Higher rewards mean higher risk.
  4. Diversification is your friend.
  5. Protect yourself from scam artists.
  6. Insure yourself against rainy days.
  7. Automate savings.
  8. Minimize your debt load.
  9. Track your credit score.
  10. You’re never done learning.

Sad that SO many of these are totally common sense (I should EARN more than I SPEND?) But kids these days… well heck, we were all kids once. Anyway, a lot more details at the original piece, so you know what to do.

How about you? I told you MY dumb money mistakes, circa 1988, so share some of yours over at the MindField Online Facebook page. And have a great weekend!

States of Happiness, 2014

happymapIt’s time for our annual look at American happiness. Who are the happiest Americans? And how would be know? Well, you interview a BUNCH of people all across the United States – DAILY, for a WHOLE YEAR – and you draw some conclusions!

Gallup rated each state on the following: life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, work environment, healthy behaviors and basic access to services and amenities.  Drum roll please…

Happiest States:

10 Iowa… 09 Washington… 08 Hawaii… 07 Colorado… 06 Vermont…

05 Montana …04 Minnesota …03 Nebraska …02 … South Dakota

01 North Dakota

Unhappiest States:

41 Louisiana… 42 Oklahoma… 43 Missouri… 44 Tennessee… 45 Arkansas…

46 Ohio… 47 Alabama… 48 Mississippi… 49 Kentucky… 50 West Virginia

So that’s the rundown. What do you think? Are you in a “happy” state? An “unhappy” state? Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? Let us know! Check out the whole report, and give us your opinion over at the MindField Online Facebook page!