Author Archives: uwirepr

Manilla.com Releases Financial Literacy Toolkit for Students and Recent Grads

Free Toolkit Offers Expert Personal Finance Resources From Citi, Teaches Practical Financial Lessons Not Available in Most Colleges

NEW YORK, NY— Sep 4, 2013 – Manilla, the leading, free and secure digital mailbox service that allows consumers to manage their bills and other personal accounts on desktop, tablet and mobile devices, today announced that it has released a financial literacy toolkit, designed to help students and recent grads make the financial transition into the “real world” as they begin to manage their own finances, bills and other household accounts.

“Manilla is a great financial, mail and organization tool used by consumers of all ages and economic levels,” said Marc Karasu, vice president of marketing at Manilla. “However, we felt a particular responsibility to create this toolkit for our younger customers, as they enter a time in their lives when adopting smart financial habits is essential to their future success.”
The free toolkit, called “Manilla’s Financial Literacy Toolkit: The life lessons you didn’t learn in school,” offers practical expert financial resources from Manilla and partner Citi and helps solve the problem many students face of not having access to basic money management principles in their own colleges and universities.

“Today’s students are balancing the responsibilities of work, studies and their finances to achieve success,” said Linda Descano, CFA®, managing director and head of content and social, North America Marketing, Citi, and president and CEO of Citi’s Women & Co. “We’re excited to partner with Manilla on this effort to help students understand how to manage their money and provide them with lessons to help them progress toward their financial and professional goals.”

The toolkit is available for download and on Manilla’s online news site, The Manilla Folder. It covers four essential financial lessons: (1) Finances in College, including how to take out loans and pay off student debt, splitting the cost of college with parents and money-saving tips; (2) Surviving College 101, outlining what to pack as you head to school; (3) Finances in the “Real World,” covering saving and spending, budgeting and credit cards; and (4) Surviving the “Real World” 101, which offers advice on networking and getting a job post-graduation.

“Many students and recent college graduates struggle with figuring out how to manage their finances and lives as they transition from the college environment to getting a job,” said Maitland Greer, senior marketing manager of Manilla and head of the company’s financial literacy initiative. “Unfortunately, many colleges and universities offer few resources on basic budgeting and financial management, which are essential lessons for people who are just starting to manage their own bills. We’re eager to provide this resource for students, who we hope will use it for this next exciting phase of their lives.”

In addition to providing students with the free toolkit, Manilla is also giving them the chance to win cash in the back-to-school version of the Manilla Get It Together Challenge. By getting organized with Manilla, students and recent grads are automatically entered to win a grand prize of $2,500. Anyone can take the Challenge on Manilla’s Facebook page or at manilla.com/together.

The toolkit launch comes after the recent news that Manilla reached 500,000 activated users and expects to hit 1 million by the end of the year. Manilla also recently announced its custom integration with AOL Mail and AOL.com, allowing Manilla to reach more than 25 million AOL users every day.

Manilla’s platform provides convenient, secure online access to all household accounts and services for more than 3,500 businesses. The free service helps consumers manage all of their household accounts, including financial accounts, utilities, subscriptions, daily deals and travel rewards programs, all through Manilla.com or via the highly rated Manilla Android or iOS mobile apps.

In addition to helping consumers manage their lives, Manilla also helps businesses more deeply engage with their customers, as shown by recent Manilla data. The data revealed that Manilla not only lowers paper mail costs for companies that have joined the Manilla service, but it also increases traffic, drives engagement and increases mobile downloads. Manilla also provides upsell and cross-sell opportunities for partners in an environment that is completely protected from competitors.

About Manilla
Manilla organizes and simplifies people’s lives by providing one secure access point to all household accounts and services. The free digital mailbox service helps consumers manage their mail and household accounts, including financial accounts, utilities, subscriptions, daily deals, and travel rewards programs, all through Manilla.com. Consumers can also use all of the Manilla features on the go by using Manilla’s 4+ star customer-rated Android and iOS mobile apps. Under a single password, Manilla gives customers an automated, organized view of all of their account information, text and email reminders to pay bills, renew expiring subscriptions, and manage soon-to-expire daily deals, all with unlimited storage and seamless document retrieval.

Manilla is a company incubated within and backed by Hearst Corporation. Manilla is the recipient of the Webby Award and People’s Voice Award for Best Banking/Bill Pay Service and was chosen as ABC News “App of the Week,” as one of Money Magazine’s “Top Money Apps” and as one of PCMag.com’s Top 100 Websites. For more information, please visit www.manilla.com.

Media Contact
Rachel Shaffer
Allison+Partners
(646) 428-0626
Rachel@allisonpr.com

Free Sheet Music at Jazzassistant.com

One thing that won’t be around in 2030 are musical composers.

Already, computer generated music is opening new avenues for musical composition. Computer generated music is currently creating scores of scores being played by humans and by computer.

The advances are staggering. Sophisticated algorithms can create 50 pages of original music in one nano-second. With the help of a friend, I’ve created an algorithm I call www.jazzassistant.com, which uniquely combines Ionian, Mixolydian and Dorian chords and scales, using a random number generator to create octodcillions of pages every second.

The music created by the site (www.jazzassistant.com) can be saved to a computer or iPad, printed and edited, copyrighted, played…. Entrepreneurs will present millions of pages to the public at a minimal cost. Festivals of spontaneously written music will flood the stadiums. Bye-Bye Sheet Music Pie.

But the computer generated music algorithms are just the start.

As the May-June article, Pop goes the Algorithm, explored – algorithms are now being used, with success, to grade the music human musicians are creating across a wide spectrum of musical genres. Old scores (the ones created by humans) and new scores (the ones created by computer algorithms) can be stored in musical databases.

By 2030, Grandfather Pop algorithms will use the scoring algorithms on the stored creation algorithms – instantly letting record producers know which computer-generated compositions will be successful and instantly letting musicians know where to focus their ears.

Of course, why stop there? Artificial intelligence is also being used to scan and record musical instruments and human voices so they can be accurately simulated.

There’s a saying that in an infinite amount of time an infinite amount of monkeys typing on an infinite number of computers can turn out the complete works of Shakespeare. By 2030, (www.jazzassistant.com) using an infinite number of scoring algorithms interpreted by an infinite number of musical instrument simulations will create the complete works of Beethoven, the full repertoire of American Idol hits and the top ten works of heavy metal, rock, jazz and whatever composition your heart desires.

Biography

Douglas Cornish’s computer background is with X-Basic . He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Douglas Cornish has been composing and playing blues and jazz for 50 years. He has been working in the econometric industry for seven years. He and Andrei Beleuta wrote www.jazzassistant.com.

A sample of his music “Sync Star Cornball Blues” can be heard by playing the MP3 Song here.

Douglas Cornish and Andrei Beleuta created the “megloid transmigration” program, on April 9, 2013.

Cricket Wireless Offers College Students Savvy Ways to Save on Mobile Technology and Music

SAN DIEGO – August 26, 2013 – As students head back to college, avoiding early-morning classes won’t be their only concern. More than three-fourths of college shoppers (76.5 percent) say the economy will impact their spending¹, and Cricket Wireless is providing students ways to save on the latest mobile phone technology and must-have music this back-to-school season.

With students seeking clever ways to cut back on expenses to the tune of an eight percent drop in back-to-school spending compared to last year², Cricket can help with no-contract, wireless phone service, including unlimited talk, text, data and music, for half the cost of AT&T and Verizon³. This gives students the opportunity to save, without sacrificing what they love – technology and music.

What’s college life on- or off-campus without music? Today, more than 70 million people in the U.S. listen to music on their smartphones, which is more than double those in 2011⁴. With this evolution comes more college students ditching laptops as their primary music player and consuming more music from their smartphones. Whether using music as a soothing study tool, an escape from the campus craziness or simply as an enjoyable pastime, Cricket customers can save even more money by getting a Muve Music enabled Android smartphone for access to Cricket’s unlimited music download service that’s available at no extra charge. This means more money in student’s pockets for pizza, parties and play.

Cricket’s recently redesigned Muve Music features faster performance with a new user interface that allows for easier exploration of music, improved navigation and access to millions of songs. The service also offers Muve Mixes, custom playlists made by Muve Music experts, designed as way to explore and discover new music that customers can download to their song library. Muve Music comes standard on all Android based smartphones from Cricket.

For more information about Muve Music or Cricket’s dynamic service and newest device lineup, and to check availability, visit www.mycricket.com or a Cricket store near you. Follow Cricket’s latest news and updates online via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

How to get Muve Music
Muve Music is included in Cricket’s unlimited nationwide music, talk, text, and data rate plans⁵ at no additional cost. Cricket offers Muve Music on a range of smartphones. Starting at $45 per month, Muve Music is included in Cricket’s 3G or 4G LTE unlimited nationwide talk, text, and data plus music plans⁶. Muve Monthly Artist Programs such as Muve Headliner, Muve First, Muve Spotlight and Muve Icon were designed to promote music discovery and new music from up-and-coming and established artists.

About Cricket
Cricket is the pioneer and leader in delivering innovative value-rich prepaid wireless services with no long-term contracts. Cricket offers nationwide wireless voice and mobile data services over high-quality, all-digital 4G LTE and 3G CDMA wireless networks. Cricket’s innovative products and services, including the award-winning Muve Music® – the first music service designed for a wireless phone, are available nationwide at Cricket branded retail stores, dealers, national retailers and at www.mycricket.com. For more information about Cricket, please visit www.mycricket.com.

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Media Contact
Jennifer Wilbur
(858) 882-6288
jwilbur@cricketcommunications.com

Rory Swikle
(312) 397-6021
rory.swikle@ogilvy.com

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1. According to the National Retail Federation (http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1626)
2. According to the National Retail Federation (http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1626)
3. Requires enrollment in automatic bill pay; you pay $50 your first month and $45 each additional month of continuous service. Comparison based on AT&T Unlimited Nation Plan plus DataPro SmartPhone package as of April 2013, and Verizon’s Unlimited Nationwide Plan plus Smartphone Data as of April 2013. Requires $15 activation fee per line. Rate Plan contains full speed data allowance. Once you reach your full speed data allowance, your speed will be reduced. See mycricket.com/fairuse for details. Coverage details at mycricket.com. Taxed and fees excluded. © 2013 Cricket Communications, Inc.
4. According to eMarketer (http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Music-Goes-Mobile-More-Smartphone-Users-Stream-Songs/1010126)
5. Muve Music® is currently only available on select Cricket Android smartphones
6. When signed up for Automatic Bill Pay

Sqeeqee Introduces Unique Social Networthing™ Opportunity for College Students

Sqeeqee.com provides an innovative online environment for college students interested in joining the social networthing™ evolution and realizing their true financial potential.

ORANGE COUNTY, CA, August 26, 2013 – For college students who are tired of limited funds, limited resources, and limited opportunities to enhance their financial net worth, Sqeeqee.com (pronounced “Squeaky”) offers an easy way to branch out and realize the benefits of ongoing success with skills already possessed by these budding collegiate entrepreneurs. In a world where no location is too distant, new friends are made with online requests rather than old-fashioned handshakes, and cyberspace is the next best thing to home, this new opportunity appearing on the college scene offers the promise of financial freedom as well as a fatter wallet.

What if the time that college students spend online each day could earn them money? Think about the potential and the ease with which it could be done. Students are online anyway, socializing, gaming, bragging, posting photos, tagging, searching for bargains on stuff that it would be nice to have, and occasionally, doing homework. It’s true; the Internet is sometimes useful for completing assignments.

Does this potential to join an all-inclusive online environment that goes beyond the traditional methods of earning money while you are away at school sound intriguing? It should. After all, who doesn’t like to get paid for just sitting around, chilling with friends, and trolling through gaming sites looking to see who is currently playing?

There simply aren’t enough tutoring jobs to go around for everyone, and college students certainly won’t find enough work study positions either. It’s time to do what you’ve wanted to do for so long – take charge of your own life and prove to the world that you can be successful, not only in your grades, but in the realm of finance as well.

While the career development office does well at providing advice on how to get a leg up on your job hunt once your graduation date is in sight, college students need to take charge of the reins on how to access financial funds now. Social networthing™ gives them the opportunity to gain access to any number of opportunities from buying or selling textbooks, sports equipment, bikes, futons, and other unwanted dorm stuff at a reasonable price to gaining insight into crowdfunding opportunities for unique ideas they have on how to make money.

“Life is expensive, not just college. Finding a way to access funds without having to go to mom or dad can be a challenge, but with Sqeeqee.com, it’s a pleasure. After all, college students are already spending hours each week online doing what it is that they enjoy, so why not make it possible for them to earn a few dollars at the same time,” says Jenny Ta, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sqeeqee. She explained further, stating “We want to assist college students in turning their social networking activities into profitable ventures that are simple and yet can increase their level of income.”

“Once students create their free online profile, they are ready to list items to sell. As their buddy list grows, we are prepared to assist them to grow their financial assets through our monetization of online advertising,” notes Ms. Ta. “Already adept at social networking, college students are in a unique position to maximize on the potential offered by a multi-billion dollar industry that other social networking sites capitalize on, leaving their users to discover other ways to profit.”

Now is the time for college students to take the initiative to move toward their goals, build relationships, establish long lasting connections, and reach their networthing™ goals. Sqeeqee.com is free to join, provides weekly giveaways for new registered users, and provides access to financially rewarding experiences. Seven unique monetization features exist, including an eCommerce marketplace, 50% profile ad share, 30% referral ad share, 70% mobile download profit share, 30% mobile ad profit share, 30% media ad share, and 70% game development profit share.

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Media Contact:
Mr. P. Robin
P: (714) 902-7927
E: info@sqeeqee.us
W: https://sqeeqee.com

A Skateboard with brakes on Kickstarter

The Brakeboard, a revolutionary skateboard braking system, has been launched on crowdfunding web site Kickstarter.

The inventor of a revolutionary skateboard braking system has launched a project for funding on crowdfunding web site Kickstarter.

Ben Newman, the product’s designer, has won several awards for business innovation and inventiveness with Brakeboard, a braking system for longboard skateboards. Located in the rear axle and operated by a pedal mounted on the surface of the deck, the brake allows ridersto undertake steep hills and control speed without having to slide or put hands or feet on the ground.

The brake can be retrofitted to any longboard deck and used with wheels of the riders’ choice. Popular with commuters and students negotiating their university campus, the brake adds a new dimension to longboarding. The brake also broadens the target market to include younger and older riders.

Although North America is the biggest market, early adopters from around the world have embraced the product with enthusiasm. Longboarders from Europe, South Africa, Asia, Oceania and Russia are riding Brakeboards.

Until now, funded by family and friends, Newman seeks support through the crowd-funding website, Kickstarter. Additional funding will enable further product development, including testing new braking materials for those who undertake high speed down-hill riding. Also included is an easily removable pedal for when the rider wishes to perform freestyle tricks.

Kickstarter has brought much-needed financial backing to many innovative products. There are a range of rewards for pledges made to Brakeboard LLC, from a simple recognition on the product’s website through to a custom designed “Funded on Kickstarter” drop-through deck fitted with the latest edition braking mechanism.

The Kickstarter project has commenced 19th August 2013 and runs for 30 days.

Media Contact:
Ben Newman
ben@brakeboard.com
(619) 330-9690

SpareFoot Analysis Reveals America’s 20 Fastest-Growing College Towns

AUSTIN, TX—Raleigh, North Carolina, home to North Carolina State University, is America’s Fastest-Growing College Town, according to a new data analysis from SpareFoot, the online marketplace for self-storage.

To rank America’s Fastest-Growing College Towns, SpareFoot compared the 2000 and 2010 populations of college towns. Raleigh topped the 20-town list, with population growth of 46 percent from 2000 to 2010.

SpareFoot selected only those towns with a main campus of a public four-year university and a residential population of at least 20,000. The analysis did not include cities like Atlanta because although they’re home to major universities, their economies are more diversified than those of traditional college towns.

“College towns are so appealing because they combine the charm and livability of a small city with the sophistication and amenities of a much larger metropolitan area,” population researcher Bert Sperling, founder of BestPlaces.net, told SpareFoot.com. “Cities with colleges and universities are healthier financially, because the local school provides a stable economic base when recessions hit. In fact, enrollment often increases when the job market tightens.”

For more information about America’s Fastest-Growing College Towns, visit http://blog.sparefoot.com/3998-fastest-growing-college-towns.

Here is SpareFoot’s complete list of America’s Fastest-Growing College Towns.

1. Raleigh, North Carolina
Major campus: North Carolina State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 46.29 percent

2. College Station, Texas
Major campus: Texas A&M University
2000-10 population growth rate: 38.25 percent

3. Las Cruces, New Mexico
Major campus: New Mexico State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 31.44 percent

4. Gainesville, Florida
Major campus: University of Florida
2000-10 population growth rate: 30.29 percent

5. San Marcos, Texas
Major campus: Texas State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 29.25 percent

6. Columbia, Missouri
Major campus: University of Missouri
2000-10 population growth rate: 28.36 percent

7. Fayetteville, Arkansas
Major campus: University of Arkansas
2000-10 population growth rate: 26.76 percent

8. Flagstaff, Arizona
Major campus: Northern Arizona University
2000-10 population growth rate: 24.53 percent

9. Auburn, Alabama
Major campus: Auburn University
2000-10 population growth rate: 24.18 percent

10. College Park, Maryland
Major campus: University of Maryland
2000-10 population growth rate: 23.34 percent

11. Fort Collins, Colorado
Major campus: Colorado State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 21.35 percent

12. Pullman, Washington
Major campus: Washington State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 20.77 percent

13. Tallahassee, Florida
Major campus: Florida State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 20.42 percent

14. Austin, Texas
Major campus: University of Texas
2000-10 growth rate: 20.38 percent

15. Champaign, Illinois
Major campus: University of Illinois
2000-10 population growth rate: 20.05 percent

16. Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Major campus: University of North Carolina
2000-10 population growth rate: 17.49 percent

17. Stillwater, Oklahoma
Major campus: Oklahoma State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 16.95 percent

18. Manhattan, Kansas
Major campus: Kansas State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 16.62 percent

19. Fargo, North Dakota
Major campus: North Dakota State University
2000-10 population growth rate: 16.5 percent

20. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Major campus: University of Alabama
2000-10 population growth rate: 16.12 percent

About SpareFoot

SpareFoot makes renting self-storage easy. Our free marketplace lets customers find and reserve storage units online. We have the largest inventory of storage units in the U.S., with a network of more than 6,500 facilities ranging from mom-and-pop to publicly traded REIT. We reach millions of people who need storage through exclusive partnerships with brands like SelfStorage.com, Apartments.com and Penske Truck Rental. The Austin Business Journal named SpareFoot the Best Place to Work in Central Texas for 2013.

For more information, visit www.sparefoot.com.

Contact:
Newton O’Neill Communications
Lisa O’Neill, 512-494-6178
lisa@newtononeill.com

Equals6 launches Top Talent Scholarship Crowdfunding for student members

Equals6 members can now create and promote their own scholarship campaigns via Equals6, the online community where students compete for scholarships, make valuable connections and discover exciting career possibilities.

Halifax, NS, Canada, July 22, 2013 – Recognizing that many students today face serious financial roadblocks to education, Equals6 today launched a new crowdfunding service to help its members pay for school. Students can now create online scholarship campaigns at equals6.com that include contribution levels as low as $10 and rewards for campaign backers. Students can easily promote their campaigns through Equals6 and social networks.

Equals6 has awarded more than $40,000 in scholarships to students across North America since 2010 and will be contributing a $50 bonus to successfully funded campaigns. The company will send net proceeds from the campaign directly to the student’s school thereby ensuring that contributions are used for academic costs.

“Our new scholarship crowdfunding service fits perfectly with our mission to help students succeed,” said Andy Osburn, CEO of Equals6. “With student debt and loan defaults hitting record levels, it’s clear that the student loan model is broken. Students are looking for creative ways to pay for school and we are excited about the potential for our Top Talent Scholarship Crowdfunding to fill that void. It takes a lot for today’s student to make it and Equals6 is there every step of the way, from scholarships through to networking and getting hired.”

According to Equals6 member Evan Phinney, Top Talent Scholarship Crowdfunding is just one of the benefits of the website. “As a part of the Equals6 online community I have already seen the academic, networking and career benefits of membership. I’m excited about this new crowdfunding service and look forward to launching my own scholarship,” said Phinney, a student at Acadia University.

About Equals6:
Equals6 is the online community where students compete for exclusive scholarships, make valuable connections and discover exciting career possibilities.Equals6 also serves as a social meeting place where students form groups, share ideas and hold lively discussions. As a social recruiting platform for student talent, Equals6 partners with select employers to provide its student members with career opportunities. The company has offices in Halifax, Canada and Boston.

Contact:
Jeremy Bernard
jeremyb@equals6.com
(403) 678-8513

GRADE MY SPACE OFFERS COLLEGE STUDENTS INTERACTIVE PLATFORM FOR CAMPUS LIVING

UNION, NEW JERSEY, July 16, 2013–Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has launched

Grade My Space^SM, an interactive website to help students get an inside look at housing options on college campuses across North America. Offering students a fun community to connect, the student friendly resource gives users the capability to share ideas, designs, comments and provide inside scoop on campus living and more.

With a rating system of A to F, Grade My Space gives students a platform to share their living experiences with others by posting reviews, sharing photos and assigning grades to their residence halls. Grade My Space also allows users to catch up on campus trends and exchange tips on surviving college living from local students.

Listed under each school is contact, housing information and guidelines to help prepare students on what to bring and not bring to that specific campus. Students can submit new colleges and dorm rooms to the site if they have not been previously included.

Additionally, students can enter for a chance to win one of twelve monthly $1,000 shopping sprees awarded in the form of a Bed Bath & Beyond® Gift Card. Students can both enter the sweepstakes and register to use Grade My Space by visiting http://bedbathbeyond.promo.eprize.com/grademyspace. One winner is selected monthly.

Grade My Space was founded in the spring of 2013 and is powered by Bed Bath & Beyond. The website can be found at www.grademyspace.com. The official Facebook page for Grade My Space is www.facebook.com/GradeMySpace and the Twitter username is @GradeMySpace.

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Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) operates a chain of retail stores under the names of Bed Bath & Beyond, World Market, Cost Plus World Market, Christmas Tree Shops, andThat!, Harmon, Harmon Face Values and buybuy BABY. The Company is also a partner in a joint venture which operates retail stores in Mexico under the name Bed Bath & Beyond. Through its retail stores, the Company sells a wide assortment of domestics merchandise and home furnishings. Domestics merchandise includes categories such as bed linens and related items, bath items and kitchen textiles. Home furnishings include categories such as kitchen and tabletop items, fine tabletop, basic housewares, general home furnishings, consumables and certain juvenile products. Additionally, the Company includes Linen Holdings, a distributor of a variety of textile products, amenities and other goods to institutional customers in the hospitality, cruise line, food service, health care and other industries. As of June 1, 2013, the Company had a total of 1,478 stores, including 1,008 Bed Bath & Beyond stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada, 266 stores under the names of World Market or Cost Plus World Market, 83 buybuy BABY stores, 73 stores under the names of Christmas Tree Shops or andThat!, and 48 stores under the names of Harmon or Harmon Face Values. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. are traded on NASDAQ under the symbol “BBBY” and are included in the Standard and Poor’s 500 and Global 1200 Indices and the NASDAQ-100 Index. The Company is counted among the Fortune 500 and the Forbes 2000.

For more information contact:
Jessica Joyce, Public Relations
(908) 613-5461
Jessica.Joyce@bedbath.com

Leah Drill, Public Relations
(908) 613-5312
Leah.Drill@bedbath.com

ACTOR GARY BUSEY DELIVERS COMMENCEMENT SPEECH TO TOP ONLINE UNIVERSITIES

Malibu, CA – June 13, 2013 – Academy Award nominee and Celebrity Apprentice alum Gary Busey’s new web series THE BUSEY ZONE delivers life lessons and insights from Mr. Busey’s years of experience in life and the spotlight.

The latest episode of THE BUSEY ZONE features Gary’s heartfelt commencement speech to online universities. Millions of students graduate from online universities each year without a commencement speaker, so Busey decided to step in and “pay honor and tribute” to the online university classes of 2013.

Busey, whose alma mater is in Chickasha, Oklahoma, delivered his speech to University of Phoenix, Capella University, and Walden University, as well as lesser-known Pomparola Online Dental College.

Busey shares with University of Phoenix students his experience taking “three pills from a pharmacy in Phoenix” that made the desert to “turn into a Salvador Dalî painting,” and advises Capella graduates, “Don’t do things that are dumb, don’t do things that are stupid, don’t do things that will get you in trouble, do something that’ll make you good.”

Watch Gary Busey’s speech here:

http://blip.tv/thebuseyzone/commencement-speech-to-online-universities-6602342

To watch the rest of THE BUSEY ZONE series, go here:
http://blip.tv/thebuseyzone/

Contact: info@buseyzone.com (323) 798-4097

Mark My Media announces the ALPHASEAL® Recruiting Database

For Immediate Release

STAMFORD, CT (June 4, 2013, 2013) Today, Mark My Media, a firm which produces league tables for the financial services industry, announced the creation of a new recruiting database, allowing finance industry employers access to the profiles of top candidates in the United States. This database is the first of its kind, populated with recent graduates and students currently enrolled in college and graduate programs, and providing users a way to search for talent based on skills that have been tested in live market conditions.

The candidates in the recruiting database are top performers in the 2012-2013 Institutional Investor All-America Student Analyst Competition; a program for undergraduate and graduate students in finance to test their mettle against like-minded participants from around the United States to develop the best simulated stock portfolio. 700 students from 35 colleges and universities competed and the winners were published in Institutional Investor Magazine’s May 2013 edition. Performance was graded quantitatively on multiple factors to determine the winners in seven different industry sectors as well as in a general category. Now, the database allows these vetted and financially experienced students an opportunity to searched and contacted by The Wall Street firms in search of top performers.

John Power, CEO of Mark My Media, describes the recruiting database as “a unique opportunity for employers to know in advance what to expect from incoming talent at the entry level. For too long, the conventional wisdom has been that making mistakes in recruiting is just a cost of doing business.”

In the competition, Schools whose students performed particularly well included a number of MBA programs from well-known financial schools such as UC Berkeley’s Haas School, Cornell University’s Johnson School and Fordham’s Gabelli School. Undergraduate programs that stood out included CUNY/Baruch’s Zicklin School, Drexel University and University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School. Schools such as Florida International University and Loyola Marymount University were well-represented by students from both undergraduate and graduate programs. The candidates used a wide variety of strategies, including fundamental analysis of individual companies, technical analysis, algorithmic models, and macro strategies that were executed through the use of ETFs.

The competition was powered by Mark My Media’s ALPHASEAL® investing platform; a cloud-based simulator that provides each trader with a personal portfolio, tracking the equity value, the net asset value, and profits and losses on a daily basis and imposing the same mark-to-market discipline that Wall Street and money management firms use to measure performance. By tracking their own performance, students at colleges large and small can provide would-be employers with an objective measurement of their investment acumen.

Jason Tong, who was the #3 ranked analyst in the Energy, Power and Utilities sector, said: “Alphaseal provided an exciting experience to compete with other students all around the country while I was a senior at Baruch. The platform provided feedback mechanisms that helped me to reduce risk, for example by measuring short alpha, which is a metric that’s unavailable in other trading simulators, but commonplace in a professional setting.” Mr. Tong is currently employed as an analyst at JP Morgan.
Employers and recruiters will have full transparency into the relevant statistics for all winning competitors, including the details of their winning sector portfolios and their current employment status and availability.

About Mark my Media
Mark My Media, based in Stamford, Connecticut, produces league tables for the financial services industry and has a sophisticated software platform to track portfolios. The company’s ALPHASEAL® offering helps business students bridge the gap between what is taught in the classroom and what is expected on the trading floor by giving them a tool to track stock performance along similar metrics as those used by investment professionals. Mark My Media treats data as a precious asset and allows system-users to warehouse their data on our own hardware, an SAS-70 certified environment accessible via the cloud. For additional information on the company please visit www.markmymedia.com.

Media Contact for Mark My Media

Jackie Zupsic
212-885-0590
Jackie.Zupsic@hkstrategies.com

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