Tag Archives: earn cash and prizes

MindField in the News!

100,000 rolls of toilet paper, anyone?

A fun article in the Charleston (WV) Gazette profiles McMillion Research/ MindField Online from its roots as a kitchen-table operation in the late 60’s, through the “standing in the Mall with a clipboard” years, to the telephone banks, and to the internet force it is today.

“We’ve done children’s drinks, soups, adult diapers, every cosmetic known to man, soft drinks, every food, cookies, crackers… you name it, we’ve asked them about it,” says Gary McMillion.

But it’s much more than dish soap and toilet paper. Over the years, McMillion/MindField has polled people about their reactions to world events like the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the OJ Simpson trial.

Basically, when interested parties need answers from a bunch of people – about darn near anything – they come to MindField! According to Gary, a big reason for MindField’s success is a great group of panelists who – of course – like the compensation, but who also really care about helping companies provide better products and services to consumers.

It’s a nice article, so check it out!

Store-brand Stigma? Not Anymore

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One of the great lines about the savings – and the stigma – of buying store-brand products comes from the old Rosanne sitcom.

Rosie is leading a home-ec field trip to the grocery store.  She tells the girls about saving with store brands as she reaches for some Brand-X corn flakes.  Her daughter is mortified. “But we don’t buy that…we use the good stuff!” Says Rosanne: “We use the BOX of good stuff. I fill it with this. It’s only SECOND best for MY family!”

Rosie and Dan scraped to get by during the good times. Well, times have changed. Now, it seems like many of us are scraping. Many of us will buy brand X, as long as it actually does save us some dough.

It’s generally accepted that store brands cost less than national brands, but how much less? A survey conducted for an association of store brand labels says switching to store brands could save the average consumer as much as 36 percent off their grocery bill. Consumer Affairs

The article describes a 4-week study where they bought 30 summertime items: hot dogs, condiments, charcoal, freezer pops, sunscreen, etc. One side bought brand names, one side bought brand X. They did all the careful science-y statistical stuff to make it fair. And they saw that a month’s worth of the good stuff cost $110.00, while the off brands cost $70.00.  The big winner? Buns!

So, yeah, there are savings to be had, as long as the quality is there. That will definitely vary by product and by brand.

What about you? Do you have brand X fever? Across the board? Some things yes, some things no? Never ever ever? Let us know! Read the rest of the article here, and have a great weekend!

(photo: healthkicker.com)

Fill the Money Pit Wisely

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Um, yeah…you’ll need more than that.

They say the average US household has lost 40% of its wealth in the last 5 years, largely due to plummeting home values.  Often, when people can’t sell, they renovate. Either they are trying to make the house they are stuck in more livable, or make it more attractive to a potential buyer. And no matter what they spend, they tell themselves it’s not an expense, but an investment.

It’s the magic phrase uttered by almost anyone who’s ever considered the cost of home remodeling: “We’ll get it back when we sell.”  Unless you keep those projects practical, though, you might just be kidding yourself.   Bankrate.com

Then they list the types of remodels you might want to avoid:

  • Home Office: Will cost you up to $29,000 but you’ll only get 46% back upon sale.
  • Backup Power Generator: Hey, they had that windstorm in Ohio a couple of years ago, and my mom was without power for 2 weeks! But this once-in-a-blue-moon convenience costs about $15K, and you will get back 45.8% upon sale.
    Adding a Sunroom: Costs $75K, and you will get back about half of that.
  • Upscale Master Suite Addition: Succumbing to HGTV envy will cost you upwards of $220K and, again, you could make half of that back.
  • Adding a Bathroom: $20K to $40K, depending on your tastes, and a 53% return.
  • Garage Addition: Dad’s dream is expensive, up to $90K, and you will get a 54% return.

There’s more at the original article, so check it out!

(photo: homesnhouses.com)

Facebook Fade?

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“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” would be really cheesy here. So I won’t write it.

Will Facebook disappear in 5 to 8 years? That seems to be the thrust in an article, entitled “Facebook Will Disappear in 5 to 8 Years.”  But first, let’s define ‘disappear.’ The author means faded in significance, not dead and gone.

“In five to eight years (Facebook is) going to disappear in the way that Yahoo has disappeared. Yahoo is still making money, it’s still profitable, still has 13,000 employees working for it, but it’s 10 percent of the value that it was at the height of 2000. For all intents and purposes, it’s disappeared.” CNBC.com

So, still around, but far from the big gun it is today. But why? He says it’s evolution, and a new age is beginning. The web started with big portals like Yahoo. Remember Yahoo was your home page, you had mail, you had news sources from everywhere posted on  the page? That’s a portal. Then came the social media age, first with Myspace, and then dominated by Facebook. Now, everyone is moving to mobile devices and leaving the desktop behind. Facebook has admitted its troubles in mobile, primarily the inability to make any money from the platform.

So, if all of this is true, what’s next? Do you have any ideas? Do you know of any cool apps or services that could possibly inherit Facebook’s mantle? Let us know!

Wait…Tattoos are PERMANENT?

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Call it a sign of the times. Doctors are reporting a rise in patients seeking tattoo removal… in order to improve their chances of employment!

Tattoo removal is up 32% over the last year, according to The Patient Guide, a website comprised of 25 skincare publications.  The site reports that many of the patients say they’re undergoing the treatment for employment-related reasons.  NY Daily News

Either it’s college grads regretting their youthful ink, or it’s older people who have been laid off and looking for new jobs. The offending ink is often at the wrist or neck.

One doc is seeing 20 (!) patients a day. And it ain’t cheap! Tattoo removal can take up to 10 sessions, at $200 a pop.

I have to say, of all the things we can tell kids right now, in this horrible job environment, avoiding the ink is near the top! What do YOU think? Reasonable? Or dumb, old-fashioned prejudice?

(photo: yabucket.com)

Stay-at-Home Credit Card Blues

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Apparently, the recent credit reforms under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (C.A.R.D.) are making it more difficult for stay-at-home spouses to get a credit card.

While non-working spouses could previously take out credit cards in their own names by citing household income data, the new rules, as spelled out by the Federal Reserve, require credit card companies to consider only individual income. That means anyone who doesn’t earn her own income, such as a stay-at-home mom, will have a much harder time qualifying for her own credit card.   USNews.com Money

As you might imagine, these folks aren’t happy. Worries about losing financial independence, concerns about finances in the case of divorce, and the ability for someone to get out of an abusive relationship have all been cited on various protest websites. Over two dozen congressmen are calling for action.

What do you think? Does this (as one protestor said) “Set women back 50 years?” Or does it only make sense to only issue cards to people who earn the income? Let us know! And read more here.

(photo: htmlgiant.com)

It Just Got All MEMORIAL Up in Here!

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Long Memorial Day weekend ahead and, boy, this underemployed blogger could use the break! 😉 Just for fun, I went poking around the web looking for Memorial Day topics.

First, some history. Memorial Day began as a way to honor the Civil War dead. They think the first community wide observation was in 1866, but the first large-scale ceremony was at Arlington Cemetery in 1868. It expanded to honor the dead of all wars after World War 1.  It became an official, take-Monday-off holiday in 1971. Did you know you are supposed to observe a moment of silence at 3pm local time on Monday? I had never heard that.

Anyway, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and USA.gov have a bunch of links about:

…and more, so check ‘em out!

Finally, for all you consumers (and MindField fans) out there, a website that tells you about all of the sales at durn near EVERY store in the country: MemorialDaySalesDotNet

Happy Memorial Day weekend, MindFielders! Have fun, be safe and, most importantly, HONOR those who sacrificed all!!

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)

Poller Bear has a Winner!

Ever seen this guy in your MindField travels? The Poller Bear is a special internal poll that MindField Online uses to find ways to improve our services and company, to make it a better experience for members like you. We also use it to get insights on how to get new business and new clients, so that we can get more survey opportunities for our members.

So, once in a while you will receive a Poller Bear invitation, or see it on Live Now! And regularly someone wins a nice incentive. The latest winner is:

Diane Z. of Spring Hill, Florida!

Diane won $50! She said, “Thank you! I never win anything so this a nice surprise!”

REMINDER: The Cinco de MindField drawing for $50 is tomorrow, Sat May 12! We will announce the winner as soon as we contact and hear back from them! Good Luck!! And have a great weekend!

Legal High?

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“but mom, it’s TOTALLY legal!”

Hey, moms and dads! Got teenagers or kids in college? Then rush right over to YouTube and search “salvia.”

Salvia Divinorum – a type of synthetic marijuana, often known as “K2” or “Spice,” and bath salts products are often sold in legal retail outlets as “herbal incense” and “plant food,” respectively, and labeled “not for human consumption” to mask their intended purpose and avoid FDA regulatory oversight. Synthetic marijuana consists of plant material that has been laced with substances that users claim mimics the primary psychoactive active ingredient in marijuana, and are marketed toward young people as a “legal” high. ConsumerAffairs.com

Hey what could be wrong about buying fake drugs from a shady convenience store? Well, as I said, watch the videos. From my observation, when it goes bad, it looks like the user experiences a wave of mind-bending terror. Seems to only last about 10 minutes, but who knows what permanent damage might be going on?

So, obviously the law is cracking down. States are suing the manufacturers and distributors, and they are trying to educate the masses. It’s kind of like those pharmaceutical commercials with the annoying list of side effects at the end. Only these side effects include “…agitation, extreme nervousness, nausea, vomiting, racing heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, tremors and seizures, dilated pupils, extreme paranoia, hallucinations, and violent behavior, which causes users to harm themselves or others.”

Anyway, I didn’t mean to go all “ABC After School Special” on you, but these are the types of things busy working parents can miss. There’s more info at the original article. And now that you’re completely terrified, have a great weekend!

(photo: blogs.villagevoice.com)