Tag Archives: consumer research

Facebook Hope and Hype

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Have you been following Trading for Dummies, i.e., the media trying to explain the Facebook IPO to the rest of us?  Head scratcher, right? Yeah, well, don’t look to me for assistance!

So they open at $38 a share, it goes up, it goes down, it closes with a gain of 23 cents – when anything less than a $50 close would be UTTER HUMILIATION! (News media hype.) And Monday it was at $34 bucks.

As Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko might say, “Oh well. So I only made 10 million bucks today.”

Dumb Guy Explanation!

Apparently, two things are at work here. Facebook gets a good chunk of its revenue from advertising on the desktop site. Unfortunately, the news came out in the days before the IPO that General Motors was suspending its Facebook ads, unsure of their effectiveness. That shook some investor confidence.

Second, many FB users are migrating more and more to mobile use on their smartphones. And Facebook really hasn’t figured that realm out quite yet – the advertising, that is. So, they have been buying up mobile players left and right, like Instagram, Lightbox as well as geo-location service Gowalla and mobile gift-card app Karma.

The Outlook! (dumb guy version)

Day One may have been a black eye, but nobody seems to be panicking just yet. One thing is certain…Facebook knows EVERYTHING about its members. Once they figure out how to leverage that info into mobile advertisement, it’s total world domination, baby!

What do you think?  Check out this article, “Facebook stumbles, but still has time to prove itself” to learn more.

(photo: gadgets.ndtv.com)

Never Retire?

Retirement stirs up a range of images and emotions. Some can’t wait to punch the clock for the last time. Others dread being shuffled out the door. Some fear they can’t afford to retire. But a new article asks: why do we have to retire at all?

Retirement is, quite frankly, often a default choice that we’ve been brainwashed into accepting. Saying that it’s time to retire becomes less and less relevant with each passing year. Not only are we living longer, but the quality of our lives in older age can also improve. Physically taxing jobs are disappearing. Knowledge jobs can be done quite well by older people.  USNews.com

Says the article:

  • There is no physical reason to retire.
  • Working can support healthy better physical and mental aging.
  • Challenging, meaningful work boosts well being and happiness.
  • A chance to share experiences and mentor younger workers.
  • Bottom line: shorter retirement means less chance of outliving your money.

Demographically speaking, we are getting older, and there will be fewer younger workers to replace us. If you want to stick around, you should have more opportunities to do it. So, if the old bones haven’t given out yet, and you don’t WANT to retire, staying on the job could have a lot of benefits! What do YOU think of non-retirement retirement?  Read the article!

Brand Nostalgia is a Thing Now

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In recent years, there has been renewed interest around the world in branding that evokes nostalgia. There are probably hundreds of long-gone or hard-to-find brands, products and businesses that trigger happy memories and remind us of “back in the day.”    Mainstreet.com

Some examples?

  • Woolworth’s: Died in 1997. Are you old enough to remember eating at the Woolworth lunch counter? Sure you want to admit that?
  • McCall’s Magazine: 135 years as a ladies publishing institution until Rosie O’Donnell drove it off a cliff in 2005.
  • Tab Diet Cola: Launched in 1963 to tremendous success. Then in the early 80’s, the saccharin cancer scare (later debunked) hurt sales, and Coca-Cola concentrated on launching Diet Coke. Tab is still around but really hard to find. There is a fan site that can help, though.
  • Pan Am Airlines: Gone for over 20 years now, Pan Am practically invented “classic” air travel. The jumbo jet, computerized reservations, and serving meals (now known as a bag of peanuts.) Given what an unbearable pain in the butt it is to fly these days, this particular bit of nostalgia is easy to understand!

So, the moral here is that whether they go out of business, or shrink to insignificance, these brands never truly die. Nostalgia keeps them alive in our consciousness. And sometimes that can lead to rebirth. For instance…

Amiga PC’s: Launched in ’85 and eventually driven out by Microsoft and Apple. But geeks loved ‘em so much there are still a half-million in use. Some super nerds have even started a company to produce brand new look-alike machines with all new software!

So, which brands do you remember? Which would you like to see reborn? There’s plenty more in the original article!

Helpful Tips to Avoid an Audit

It’s a word that causes much anxiety this time of year: AUDIT, as in IRS. I found an article that helps explain who gets audited, why, how to avoid it and what to do if it happens. Here are some highlights:

Most audited tax returns are selected for review either because the filer is part of a target group or because a computer program selects the return. The computer system selects many returns randomly, but there are red flags that will draw the Internal Revenue Service’s attention.            MSN Money

So, what are some red flags the IRS looks for?

  1. Math mistakes: usually spotted by the computer, a human checks it, and sometimes they let it slide. But ya nevah know, so check your math, Einstein!
  2. Mismatched interest & dividend reporting: Whoops! If the amounts reported in supporting documents don’t match the amounts on your return, you will hear about it!
  3. You’re on the IRS hit list: Too much cash income? Small business owner? Self employed?
  4. You have a big mouth: Going on Facebook and yakking about the big scam-ola you pulled on Uncle Sam? Not good.
  5. You’re exceptional: IRS computers can actually predict which returns are most likely to generate revenue from an audit, i.e. which ones are worth their time. Any big weird deductions, too much charity giving, etc. and you are likely to stick out.
  6. You have the wrong preparer: I knew one with papers stacked to the ceiling – you know, other people’s returns lying out in the open. Also, she had a huge parrot, which is weird.

So, what do you do if your number is pulled? Well, you read the rest of the article!

Does Money Equal Happiness?

That’s a good question. The short answer is No. But using money wisely and creatively to brighten up your life can improve your outlook considerably, according to Laura Vanderkam, the author of “All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending.”

Her research says that:

People who are “happiest about money” feel like they have enough (even if they aren’t wealthy), could get more if they needed it, and that they have full control over how to earn and spend their cash.

Some tips to “get happy” include:

Sweating the big stuff and splurging on little things: Yes, definitely pay your bills. But spend a few bucks on something nice like a bouquet of flowers for your dining room table.

Travel: It’s a triple-treat! You plan and anticipate your trip, then you enjoy your trip, and then you have the memories afterwards.

Take a class: Anything that stretches your mind is worth the money.

In short, spend to buy experiences. Spend to expand your social network, and spend to buy time.

What are your suggestions? Read the article here.

Dining Out on the Cheap

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Hmm...what should I title this one?

Times are tight, and we are all cutting back. But sometimes, for your mental health, you gotta go out! Let’s look at a few ways to dine on a dime, from an article called, appropriately enough, “Dining On a Dime,” courtesy of Today.com.

  • It’s Happy Hour somewhere! At many local bar & grille type places, or even at a big place like Chili’s, there are happy hour appetizer specials. Long ago I used to go to a Mexican chain at happy hour on Friday, where it was all you can eat chips, salsa and queso for the price of a couple of beers!
  • Go Online! Everybody has heard of Living Social and Groupon. There are others, as well, and they often have decent BOGO offers for their members. Just be careful that you don’t “impulse buy.” I have done that too often. Grabbing up a deal quickly – because they tell you to – and never getting around to using a coupon before it expires.
  • Support the Swim Team! Or the Girl Scouts, or your neighbor’s church, etc. by buying one of those local coupon books. You really can’t go wrong with these. They scream “a $1200 value for $25!!” Personally, I have never gotten more than $40 from my $25, but I still came out ahead.
  • Lunch is the New Dinner! Not really. But if you just want to go somewhere nice, sit in peace and be served – and you don’t care what time it is – do lunch! You’ll save money and you may like it enough to come back for dinner sometime.
  • Be Progressive! Why not grab a drink at one place, have an appetizer at another, and dessert at a third? You’re still saving over ordering two full meals, and you’re getting three times the “going out” experience!

These are just a few tips for dining on the cheap, while getting that all-important out of the house sensation. So get out there, have fun and save a dime this weekend!

Many more tips at the original article: Read it!

Smartphone Security

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“While we enjoy the benefits of technology, we must also be aware of the risks it presents. Criminals have turned to technology as access points for key personal information. The best way for consumers to protect themselves is to make sure their technological devices are secure.”  ConsumerAffairs.com

So, we had that huge Zappos hack a couple of weeks back, where 24 million passwords were exposed. It points out once again the importance of online security, both on your home PC and your mobile devices.

About half of us are carrying smartphones these days, and ConsumerAffairs.com has put together a list of common sense tips for keeping them safe. Highlights include:

  • Password Protect Your Phone: Seems obvious, but I still haven’t gotten around to it!
  • Remote Wipe:  Allows you to destroy all data on your phone if it’s lost or stolen.
  • Unfamiliar Apps: Man this makes me furious! It claims to be protecting you from viruses, but is actually malware. ONLY use trusted suppliers!
  • Geo-tagging: You’re seeing these cute geo-tag notices on Facebook, like, “Susan is at Northwoods Mall.” I don’t care that Susan is out for the day, but the guy planning to rob her house probably appreciates the info. So, use geo-tagging sparingly!
  • Surf with Care: Pretty obvious. You do it home… if some link has a weird suffix like “.ru” (for Russia) instead of “.com” you tend to avoid clicking. Same here.
  • Online Banking and Shopping: I feel like a stick in the mud, but I am not yet comfortable with financial transactions on my phone. Heck, even at home I unplug the wi-fi and go cable for my online banking!

These are the highlights. Learn more at the original article. Let’s be safe out there!

Customer Service Online

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We saw an interesting article about major banks, and the growing tendency for their customers to use social media, like Facebook and Twitter, to lodge complaints. The question is: is that effective?

(Strategy & Research firm) Javelin analyzed more than 5,000 Tweets between customers and financial institutions to explore just how helpful (or not) the conversations proved to be. It found that only a minority of the conversations successfully resolved customer problems (36 percent for Citigroup, 11 percent for Wells Fargo, and 3 percent for Bank of America.)

So, in other words, your answer is likely to be, “please contact customer service.”

Don’t get us wrong…your issues don’t bug us here at Mindfield Online! If you are not having an efficient, enjoyable experience, we want to know about it! But, here at the blog or the Facebook page, all we can do is to pass along to the helpdesk all the bits of anecdotal details that we can. We can’t actually dig into your account and fix things. So it is much more quick and efficient for you to contact the helpdesk during regular business hours at [email protected] or 800.969.9235

So that’s the scoop. It is an interesting article, and we encourage you to check it out. And have a great weekend!

Notes on Tomorrow’s Drawing!

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Tomorrow!!!

Anticipation! Yes, tomorrow we will hold our biggest giveaway ever, where 23 lucky MindFielders will split $2500, including a $1000 grand prize, two $500 prizes and twenty $25 prizes!  So here is how it will work…

We will make our random selections tomorrow, and then begin the process of verification, making sure the winners have met the giveaway requirements (see HERE.) Then, on Monday we will begin contacting the winners by email. Look for an email from “[email protected].”

When we have confirmed everyone, we will make an announcement here at the blog, as well as Facebook and Twitter. We will do a big splashy writeup here at the blog, so we would LOVE to use your name (first name, last initial) and a picture, as well as any personal info you wish to share…what you do, kids, grandkids, why you like MindField Online, etc. Why? Because it’s FUN! Also, it shows people that folks do win at these things!

So that’s the rundown. Good luck, and thanks again to the best panel in the business! XOXOX

A Word from Our Fans!

Once again, we have updated the Panelist Reviews page with a fresh batch of enthusiastic comments from MindField Facebook fans like YOU. Lets take a look at them, including this gem from Dianna:

Dianna says: I’m SO loving MindField! If people don’t take advantage of this opportunity then they are really missing out on a chance to make a statement and give their opinion. To my friends, and especially students, moms, etc., it’s a great chance for you all. Join me!

Thanks Dianna (nice smile!) Check out the constantly growing list of satisfied user comments HERE. Thanks fans, see ya next time!