Making a Few Things Easier!
By Lark Birdsong
Birdsong Research
If you use Google as one of your search engines there are a few things that you can do to make your life easier that you might not know about. Since we are all so very busy lets get started with a Google search and see how it can help us.
Calculate!
Use Google as a calculator. Perhaps you want to see how much your commission might be on a sale of $500,000 (lets think big) with a commission of 4.65%. In the Google search box type 500,000*.0465 and you will see the response of 500 000 * .0465 = 23 250. (Your turn to take me out to lunch!) It works the same for other basic calculations and saves you from having to find a calculator.
Zip, Area Codes and Phone Numbers!
Another shortcut I find useful is for zip codes, area codes and phone numbers. Try typing in your zip code and Google will take you to a Google map of that zip code plus other activities related to that geographical area. The same will occur for an area code. When I type in 303 it shows a map of metropolitan Denver plus other 303 activity that is not related to the zip. Many times I need to know where a zip code or area code originates and this is a way to find it quickly.
Perhaps you have also received a call and you want to find out who uses that number. Try typing the number directly into your Google search and it might tell you who is associated with the number. For example, if I type in 303-871-2000, I see that it is associated with the University of Denver. If you type in my business number 303-884-8666, it will show you my web pages. You won’t always receive an answer on phone numbers yet when you do it is a quick way to prioritize your calls if you have some from unknown callers.
Conversions!
If I am working on some research involving products that use the metric system and I want to convert it to feet Google is another way to do this quickly. For example, if a product I am studying is 4.5 meters by 1.25 meters. I input 4.5 meters to feet, and Google will return 4.5 meters = 14.7637795 feet. I do the same for the other measurement and get 1.25 meters = 4.10104987 feet. Now I know the product size in a way that is useful to me. You can do the same with cups to gallon, inches to feet etc. Test out other conversions that might be useful to you.
Weather and Stocks!
If I am heading outdoors or to a city for business travel and want to get a quick look at the weather so I know what to bring, I type weather and the zip (weather 80401) and get a four day forecast. Denver weather has been a bit trying these days so travel to a sunny spot if you can until we clear out some of this snow. If you want to look up a stock quote try typing in the word stock and the symbol (stock sbux) you will get a chart and details on today’s activity plus other information surrounding that stock.
These are a few quick tips and if you want to learn more about Google and shortcuts here is a link; http://www.google.com/help/cheatsheet.html
I hope your year is progressing nicely and if I can help you with any research please call.
Should you need assistance with information
or research please contact me at
or 303-884-8666
