The web platform, www.MYCOLLEGEi.com, provides prospective student applicants with the ability to create and upload an online video profile for conducting the college interview process. Admissions officers can send questions relating specifically to their institution to prospective students to be answered in their video profiles. The applicants then upload their custom-made video profile to the website. Through the site, officials can review profiles. All profiles are password protected. Students, even those outside of the United States, can submit videos for free. For institutions, the cost for using the site starts at $3,500 annually. Learn more at www.mycollegei.com.
Artist with No. 1 hit in Germany, Van Risseghem, heads list of eight cutting-edge acts Tampa Bay, Florida – nFinanSe Inc., a leading reloadable prepaid card provider, in conjunction with its entertainment partner, Inspire, today released Volume 2 on its online music site, www.nFinanSeMusic.com, which provides free downloads by new artists and is intended to appeal to young adults ages 18 to 25.
“Music is an integral part of each of our lives and we want to use it to connect the nFinanSe brand with everyone who loves new, cutting-edge songs,” said Jerry R. Welch, Chairman and CEO of nFinanSe. “We’ve identified eight new, exciting artists, all with an interesting story to tell. Their sounds are all unique, distinctive and fresh for today’s music lovers.”
“We’re proud of our innovative approach to promoting emerging artists and fortifying great American brands like nFinanSe,” said Jimmy Dunne, President of Inspire. “There’s so much amazing talent out there and this is a fantastic way to provide artists with meaningful exposure to a broad, new audience.”
“We have connected the nFinanSe brand with thousands of young music lovers in a very powerful way that is familiar and comfortable for them,” according to Mr. Welch. “We will continue to build on what we have learned with Volume 1 to further expose our brand with this demographic.”
Volume 2 features songs spanning a wide variety of musical artists from country and contemporary Christian to rock and jazz.
Featured artists include:
Van Risseghem’s career has exploded with critical acclaim from Relevant Magazine and College News Magazine. His single, “The Motions” debuted at No. 1 on the top-40 German radio station BigFM. He was selected as one of the top 100 artists on MTV’s Ourstage.com and most recently was filmed for a 30 minute Cox Cable “ON DEMAND” special.
Press Play’s debut album “Life Is Beautiful” was No. 45 on the Billboard 200, No. 2 on Christian charts, and they also made the independent record charts at No. 6. All proceeds from the sale of their CD go directly to the Los Angeles Dream Center, which provides shelter, life rehabilitation, education, basic needs, job training and numerous resources to Los Angeles’ most impoverished neighborhoods.
Say It Twice blends the European influences of U2 and Coldplay with American acts like The Killers and Kings of Leon to create their own unique sound. They recently released their self-titled EP and have received positive reviews. According to one reviewer, “the music is honest, unadorned, inoffensive pop-rock … a bevy of soaring vocals, swelling choruses and a mid-tempo simplicity.”
Tim Halperin’s piano-based pop music has a touch of jazz and hints of his biggest influences such as Ben Folds and Elton John. Fans will tell you that Tim’s way with catchy melodies and his unmistakable rhythmic piano vibe are his most distinctive traits. Currently, Tim is on the “Sorority Tour,” traveling to universities near and far performing for sorority meetings. He’s been featured on AOL Music Main page, XM Radio’s Radar Report, NBC’s Kansas City Live and showcased in Austin’s Red Gorilla Music Festival.
“We view nFinanSeMusic.com as a revolutionary new approach to brand marketing,” Mr. Welch said. “Simply put, it is event marketing meets technology and social media.”
By Tracy Williams Olmstead Williams Communications
Here are five questions to consider when evaluating your PR agency or program:
Does my PR firm critically evaluate my objectives and suggestions?
It’s great to be the second PR firm hired because you can see what went wrong and take immediate action to deliver the value the client expected the first time around. We also have the opportunity at the front end to help you evaluate whether what you’re trying to achieve is even doable. If not, we will tell you.
Does my PR firm call me regularly with new ideas based on our objectives?
Out of sight, out of mind? If you’re not hearing from your PR firm regularly, they’re not paying attention. You should be on a cell phone, text, email basis with your key PR agency executive.
Has my PR firm taught me anything new?
Our best days are when we talk to a client about an idea they’d never thought to consider. Delivering an “aha” moment is energizing and shows your agency is thinking creatively. PR firms should constantly be brainstorming ideas, tactics or new strategies that target your audiences and objectives and make everyone consistently challenge the conventional wisdom.
Does my PR firm monitor results and engage in discussions about ROI, or do they wait for my call?
If your PR firm isn’t calling for a review, there’s a problem. Your firm should be begging for a chance to show you how they’ve hit the objectives and to discuss what’s next. If reviews are driven by you, the PR firm may not feel good about their own effort. It’s the firm’s job to report their bad news just like they tell you to do in a crisis. Your firm should know right away when a project doesn’t appear to be having the desired effect.
How well does my PR firm listen to me?
Your PR firm should pepper you with questions: Who are your customers? How did they discover you? How are you perceived in the market? What makes you different from your competitors? What are the present barriers to greater success? If your PR firm demands answers to these and other questions, pokes holes in your responses and comes back with a program to move forward — congratulations! You’re with a good PR firm. Now you can listen to them!
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal Click here to read the full article
Venture capital investment in U.S. cleantech companies during the first quarter hit $733.3 million in 72 financing rounds, a 68 percent increase in capital and a 118 percent increase in deals compared to the same period last year, according to a report Thursday.
The figures are according to an Ernst & Young LLP analysis based on data from Dow Jones VentureSource. Compared to the preceding quarter, however, the figures represent a 6 percent decline in funding and 1 percent decline in financing activity.
The report said cleantech investment is recovering faster than overall venture capital investment, which increased 11 percent from the year-ago quarter to $4.7 billion. The total share of venture capital invested in cleantech reached 16 percent this quarter.
Early stage venture financing was particularly robust, with 34 seed and first rounds represented 49 percent of financing activity, the highest percentage since the fourth quarter of 2008. The Energy Efficiency category received the largest proportion of seed or first round investments — 41 percent — underscoring the sector’s appeal for new financing and company creation.
“With rising oil prices and growing signs of economic recovery, particularly in Asian markets, the drivers for cleantech remain strong,” said Gil Forer, Ernst & Young’s Global Cleantech Leader. “Given that the majority of government stimulus funds have yet to be deployed, the intensifying focus on cleantech solutions as a driver of operational efficiency, and the robust cleantech innovation pipeline, we expect increased activity in coming quarters.”
A SolarCity worker installs solar panels at an L.A. home in October.
By Tiffany Hsu The Los Angeles Times
Two Southern California electric-car manufacturers helped improve clean-tech investment in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same period the year before, according to analysis from Ernst & Young released Thursday.
The $100 million that Coda Automotive Inc. raised, combined with the $93 million pulled in by Fisker Automotive Inc. helped the Industrial Products and Services category attract the most clean-tech capital investment of the quarter: $261.7 million, or 36% of total financing.
Compared with the first quarter of 2009, the segment drew 490% more in funding.
Clean-tech investment is recovering faster than overall venture capital investment, Ernst & Young concluded based on data released last month from Dow Jones VentureSource.
With 72 deals in the first quarter – more than double the number for the same period last year — clean-tech companies hauled in $733.3 million in funding, representing a 68% increase from the year before. California had the lion’s share, with 32 deals pulling in $487.9 million, compared with $151.7 million from 10 deals in the first quarter of 2009.
Total venture capital investment grew just 11% in the same period to $4.7 billion.
By Louis Provenzano Language Line Services, LLC
As posted on The Huffington Post
Scrutiny of Arizona’s new immigration law SB1070 continues to heat up with everyone from President Obama to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, even Republican candidate for Senate Marco Rubio in Florida denouncing it while at the same time legislators in at least 10 states including Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas and Maryland calling for copycat laws.
There is no doubt in the minds of the Hispanic community and a variety of other legal immigrant groups that this is racial profiling, and there are constitutional amendments and a host of other laws to back up that assertion.
Mark B. Evans, who writes “Caveat Lector” for TucsonCitizen.com, shares these legal conflicts in a recent column: the 14th Amendment (requires equal protection under the law and prohibits racial profiling); the 5th Amendment (protects us from self-incrimination and requires due process); presumption of innocence (we’re all innocent until proven guilty; the state must prove its case against us, not the other way around); and proof of citizenship (neither the 14th Amendment nor the 1798 Naturalization Act which establish citizenship require anyone in the United States to carry proof of citizenship).
The federalists are lining up to build their case against the law. Rubio – a proponent of small government who’d still rather see immigration handled at the federal level than by the states – believes immigration policy is one of the things the federal government can do effectively. Villaraigosa called the law “unpatriotic and unconstitutional” and supports a boycott of Arizona by the city of Los Angeles. And, Obama called our current immigration system “broken” but stressed the solution must come from Washington, not the states with harsh consequences if it doesn’t: “If we continue to fail to act at a federal level, we will continue to see misguided efforts opening up around the country.”
By Clare Morgan nFinanSe Inc.
As posted on The Huffington Post
As National Financial Literacy Month comes to a close, young adults remain vulnerable to the traps of poor financial management in record numbers with 45 percent of college students with more than $3,000 in credit card debt.
The number of college students who drop out due to financial pressure is at 8.5 percent and continues to soar. People in the 18 to 24 age bracket spend nearly 30 percent of their monthly income just on debt repayment as a result of living beyond their means – double the percentage spent in 1992.
Some know better and get into trouble anyway because they’re immature and used to having adults bail them out. But, many simply don’t understand the basics and spiral out of control financially before they realize the long-term damage they’re doing to their lives.
Sixty-five percent of college students tested on basic personal finance principals failed, according to a recent study by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy which has been promoting April as financial literacy month since 2000. Congress added it endorsement three years later and officially named the month National Financial Literacy Month in 2004.
By Scott Duke Harris MercuryNews.com
If Tesla Motors and other electric carmakers have their way, the phrase “hitting on all cylinders” may someday go the way of the horseless carriage.
But for now, the metaphor seems apt as Silicon Valley tries to accelerate out of the Great Recession. The region’s unemployment remains stubbornly high at 12 percent, but a bullish survey of software executives, the revival of Wall Street debuts, new earnings reports and recent funding news are encouraging signs. Consider:
A new survey of the software industry released Wednesday by Sand Hill Group found that 71 percent of software execs believe their business has or will return to pre-recession levels by the end of 2010. Nine of 10 executives said they expect employee head count to increase, including 23 percent who anticipate a “significant” increase.
With Tesla Motors as the headliner, 80 companies nationwide were in the pipeline for initial public stock offerings in the first quarter, seeking $11.4 billion, up from 54 deals registered for $10.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a new study by Ernst & Young. Both quarters represented dramatic improvement from the doldrums of the recession.
Ernst & Young LLP is calling for applications for its third annual Entrepreneurial Winning Women competition, a program designed to accelerate the growth of high-potential businesses founded by women entrepreneurs.
To obtain an application form, or to nominate a deserving woman entrepreneur, visit: www.ey.com/us/entrepreneurialwinningwomen. The application deadline is June 30, 2010.
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Winning Women program identifies and connects a select group of women entrepreneurs with the advisors, resources and insights they need to accelerate the growth of their businesses. The program is conducted in collaboration with the Women Presidents’ Organization, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the Committee of 200 and Babson College.
“Although women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men, they start with much less capital and they don’t grow nearly as large,” noted Maria Pinelli, Americas Director, Strategic Growth Markets, Ernst & Young. “There are many programs focused on helping women start businesses. Our Entrepreneurial Winning Women program targets women entrepreneurs who are already leading successful companies to help them scale up and become market-leaders.”
By Louis Provenzano Language Line Services, LLC
As posted on The Huffington Post.
Nine states currently offer an English-only written driver’s license test and at least three others – Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee – are actively pursuing legislation to join that list. Those in favor of such laws say not speaking English is a safety issue on the roads. Their counterparts say it is merely prejudice to exclude limited English proficient (LEP) drivers and puts the states that enact these bills at an enormous competitive disadvantage economically.
Foreign companies routinely make investments in the United States that increase the local tax base, help drive the economy forward and create jobs. “Three of our last large billion dollar investments (in Tennessee) are all foreign-owned companies,” Lori Odom, director of International Development with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development told the Kingsport Times-News in Kingsport, Tenn. Foreign investment increases the amount of capital for equipment, buildings, land, patents, copyrights, trademarks and if properly executed even creates goodwill, too. In California alone, foreign companies employed 605,600 workers in 2007, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
To ignore the economic impact of foreign investors is to be naive. The current recession has taught us many lessons, perhaps none more important than the connection we share in a much larger, more fragile world economy.
an online video profile for conducting the college interview process. Admissions officers can send questions relating specifically to their institution to prospective students to be answered in their video profiles. The applicants then upload their custom-made video profile to the website. Through the site, officials can review profiles. All profiles are password protected. Students, even those outside of the United States, can submit videos for free. For institutions, the cost for using the site starts at $3,500 annually. Learn more at www.mycollegei.com.
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