10 Smart Tips to Leverage Google+ for Increased Web Traffic

---

10 Smart Tips to Leverage Google+ for Increased Web Traffic Posted: 14 Apr 2014 05:09 PM PDT Posted by Cyrus-Shepard This time, it's about engaged traffic. While checking our stats here at Moz, we noticed that while visits sent to us from Facebook keep decreasing, traffic from Google+ has started to appear significant by comparison. While not everyone has an audience active on Google+, the number of people who interact socially with any Google products on a monthly basis now reportedly exceeds 500 million. What's different about Google+ is that beyond the direct social visits as seen above, Google offers marketers the opportunity to interact with visitors through many more touch points, including YouTube and directly in search results. This means that for visitors who engage with you through Google+, the potential traffic channels multiply.  For this method to work, it requires that your visitors actually engage.  Facebook and Twitter experts know this and perfected their engagement craft over several years. Engagment with Google+ means a new set tactics and best practices. These are areas that I consistently see otherwise expert brands fall short and miss easy opportunities. Let's discuss supercharging our Google+ engagement. 1. Headlines, every time The more users notice your Google+ posts, the more likely they are to engage. The challenge is to stand out in a sea of thousands of posts.  First things first. Unlike other social platforms, Google+ posts act more like mini blog posts, and every post needs a headline. Not only does adding a header help your post stand out, but Google uses the first words of your post in two different ways: They incorporates your headline into the title tag of the post The headline is typically what displays in Google search results Adding the right headline can help your post stand out in search results, and can greatly influence the number of people who both notice and click through to your content. Use a headline, every time. 2. Formatting for attention Easily break up your long blocks of text with formatting to make your posts simpler to read and skim. This allows you to communicate more clearly and makes your text more accessible. In addition to adding bold to your headline, copy and paste the formatting cheats below to help compose a post that stands out from the rest. G+ Formatting Cheats: *This is a Bolded Headline* _ Italic_ _* Bold*_ -Strikethrough-  Mix and match styles: _*Bolded Italic*_ Numbered List:   *1.* Point One   *2.* Point Two   *3.* Point Three Bulleted List:   • Point 1   • Point 2   • Point 3 Link: http://example.com #hashtag1 #hashtag2 How it Looks: 3. Use your words Google+ is a both a visual and a text medium, so make them both count! Don't be afraid of writing longer posts. Instead of simply posting a link to your latest blog posts and hoping for the best, add a summary of your important points. Explain why this is important. Give people additional context as to why they should click and share. Personal example of Google+ posts where I embraced the long-form: Introducing The Web Developer's SEO Cheat Sheet 2.0 • 308 +1s, 222 Reshares 5 Takeaways and Assumptions from Matt Cutt's Video on Authority vs. Popularity • 194 +1s, 94 Reshares New Google Title Tag Length Guidelines: 55 Characters • 152 +1s, 180 Reshares The few minutes it takes to jot down your thoughts could result in multiple reshares and thousands of additional eyeballs on your content. 4. Use your images too The vast majority of top posts on Google+ use images. In fact, the most popular post I've personally ever shared was a simple animated GIF. For increased shareability, it's usually best to upload your own photo. By default, Google+ tries to include an image for any URL that you share. Unless you define the right Open Graph images and the proper social meta tags, the images are often not ideal, or are sized wrong. When you upload your own image, the image links to the full-size version, not the URL you want to share. In this case, don't forget to include a link to the URL in the text. 5. Smarter sharing > targeted Most people set their post to "public," thinking this gives them maximum exposure. In fact, there is a much more effective way to gain exposure to your top content, as long as you don't abuse it. By also adding your circles and select individuals to your share settings, this triggers a notification for those users that you've shared a post directly with them.  Used smartly, these notifications can greatly influence the amount of activity on a post. Warning: When targeted sharing is used too often, it turns spammy.  Be careful what you share.  Only choose your very best, most important posts. Amazingly, Google+ also allows you to notify people in your circles via email when you share. In order for this to work, the individuals must have their email notifications set up correctly. Be extra careful with this function, as it can turn people off fast! 6. The mighty, mighty #hashtag Twitter and Facebook have made us accustomed to hashtags, but Google+ uses them in entirely different ways to organize and recommend content. Google uses hashtags and semantic analysis to form relationships between topics. For example, consider this hashtag search for #linkbuilding. Notice the related topics Google associates with link building: These associations aren't random. In fact, Mark Traphagen demonstrates how you can "teach" Google these relationships by tagging your own posts. By default, Google often adds hashtags automatically to any post with sufficient text. Best practice is to add your own relevant hashtags at the end or within the body of each post. 7. Find the followed links The followed link on Google+ has gone the way of the dodo. When Google+ was born, it was a bonanza for links, and seen as an SEO paradise. Since that time, Google has replaced most equity passing followed links with nofollow, which pass no link equity. This includes profile links, "contributor to," and shared URLs. There is one exception. Public +1's remain followed. For now, whenever a visitor +1s your content without sharing it to their stream, this results in a followed link as long as the visitor has +1's set to "public." This could be an oversight, or Google could remove these followed links soon. While the value of +1s for SEO has been debated again and again, this may be the last remaining place that a +1 may actually pass link equity. 8. Leverage Google+ comments I'm sort of in love with the Google+ commenting system.  Much like Facebook's popular commenting plugin, you can embed Google+ comments on your own blog. What makes this so powerful is when visitors leave a comment, they are given the option of sharing your post to their own Google+ followers.  This can greatly increase engagement among these users and their followers. Officially, Google+ comments are only supported for Google's own Blogger platform. Fortuneatly, clever folks have devised a number of plugins and solutions for Wordpress, Drupal, and more. 9. +Post Ads: the future of social engagement? Google's +Post Ads offer an interesting premise: take your most successful Google+ posts and turn them into ads that show all over Google's massive display network. This exposes your posts to more people who otherwise would not have interacted with your brand on Google+ alone. This interaction drives more social sharing, and the sharing can continue after the paid promotion is over. For example, if you are a car manufacturer, you could target your Google+ posts to appear on auto parts websites. While still early in adoption, +Post Ads present a unique opportunity for businesses to attract customers at different stages of the buying cycle, and then keep those customers engaged through social media. While the jury is still out if +Post Ads will be effective, it will likely take some time for marketers to learn how to effectively leverage this channel. 10. Interactive posts Interactive Google+ posts allow you to perfectly customize how your content is shared, but they also allow you to prompt your social audience to take a specific action. Google maintains an impressive list of actions which you can automatically embed into your post. These include: Watch a video Sign up for a newsletter Reserve a table at a restaurant Open an app ...and about 100 more. Mike Arnesen wrote up a good overview of getting started with Interactive posts, or you can find more at the Google Developers blog. Building your influence  Google+ isn't so much a social media platform like Twitter and Facebook, but an identity platform that works with Google to connect across all our different devices and web services. This means that while sites like Facebook and Twitter can still deliver traffic to your website, Google+ is so integrated across so many platforms that it has many more places to touch potential visitors. Business that build up their audience base today potentially position themselves to collect bigger rewards in the future. Do you receive traffic from Google+? Is it a part of your social strategy? Let us know in the comments below. Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

You are subscribed to email updates from Moz Blog To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Your 2013 Federal Taxpayer Receipt

Tuesday, April 15, 2014   Your 2013 Federal Taxpayer Receipt Want to know how your federal taxes are spent? President Obama is keeping his promise to make sure Americans like you can easily see what you're getting for your taxes. Just enter a few pieces of information, and the Taxpayer Receipt gives you a breakdown of how your tax dollars are spent on priorities like education and veterans benefits. Get your 2013 Federal Taxpayer Receipt: Stay Connected     Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr Google+       This email was sent to e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com Sign Up for Updates from the White House Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House We're updating the White House privacy policy on April 18. Learn more. The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

9 helpful tools for an education in digital marketing

---

9 helpful tools for an education in digital marketing Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:00 AM PDT If you're like me and are interested in a wide spectrum of digital marketing areas, you may be familiar with some of what I'm going to recommend. If, on the other hand, you're a die-hard fan of just 5 blogs and only read those blogs every day, you're going to find your reading very limited. We know that in our industry it's important to keep your eye on the ball in terms of developments and updates, but we also know that the path to becoming more well-rounded marketers involves continual up-skilling and thinking beyond our day-to-day roles onto the wider marketing fields. I came to work on the agency side of things 18 months ago, and realised how limited my experience and knowledge of the wider world of marketing across the verticals was. I've also had to learn a whole new range of skills from the ground up. With this in mind, I have been developing an ever-evolving list of blogs, dailies, tools, guides and tutorials that I use to keep up with what others are doing and to help in my personal development as a search marketer. These happen to be incredibly varied and I'm always looking for recommendations, as you never know what you'll discover next! For 'out-there' content inspiration: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/tendency The provider of many of my muffled laughs in the White.net office, this is where I go for some literary light entertainment and inspiration. Granted, your new client's topic of choice probably wont be featured here, but there's such a variety of writing styles and genres that you're bound to find a quip or angle that will inspire future content creation or may even be the onus for a whole campaign. For philosophical and user-centred thoughts: http://arquiteturadeinformacao.com/ A multi-author blog, curated by Fabricio Teixeira. Mostly in Portuguese, but with a fair bit of English thrown in, this gem of a blog features posts on the emotions and feelings behind user decisions, mobile UX, recommended readings and the occasional rap video (yes really.) For even more thorough site audits: http://www.usereffect.com/topic/25-point-website-usability-checklist Covering off the most basic usability points, this checklist helps you to check those most important functions and sticking points for users. Add it to your site checklist to make you site audits even better. If you're completely new to code: http://www.codeitpretty.com/ This is a great little site by Virginia native Marie Mosley. She provides practical and step-by-step tutorials on making small changes to blog sites. It a great introduction to code, even if you just want to be able to recognise the important elements of html, and offers tips on getting to grips with html and css changes, as well as how to write and test changes. It's great for people who learn by experimenting. Marie is good fun on twitter too: @MMosely For news on what those cool kids in advertising have come up with: http://www.adverblog.com/ Adverblog is where advertising meets digital marketing. Keep in touch with the latest virals, innovative and integrated campaign news. Great for examples of how companies are using social media channels effectively, as well as cross-channel integration and the new features on social media. For examples to back you up in your work: http://whichtestwon.com/ Which Test Won? is a premium access tool, but sign up for their free weekly emails and soon you'll have a library of great A/B test examples you can show to clients at relevant times to convince them that their 'Sign Me Up!' button really does need to be bigger. For checking the need for speed: http://gtmetrix.com/ An easy to use, free tool that brings together page speed reports, YSlow and recommendations, plus a great comparison element that is useful for showing clients why their website needs to be faster than their competitors. The PRO version lets you track and monitor your sites, and alerts you when something bad happens. It also keeps a history of each site, so you can compare load times over time and across site changes. For quick mock-ups and examples: http://balsamiq.com/products/mockups/ Sometimes it's just a lot easier to show what you mean rather than using a page of text to explain yourself. Balsamiq let you do this in an idiot proof way. If you're not going to be using this too often, the free web app is good enough, but for saving, exporting and improved features, try the paid desktop app version. For guidance on making your life simpler: https://www.distilled.net/blog/seo/awesome-examples-of-how-to-use-seotools-for-excel/ The SEOTools for Excel extension is great, so making the most out of it seems like a pretty good idea and will save you a lot of time when doing everyday tasks. Luke Master's guide gives a great overview of how to utilise the basic and most commonly used features of the extension. It's basically an Idiots Guide, but it's a great place to start because it's so simple. Once you've mastered the basics, tool creator Niels Bosma has a comprehensive list of functions here to try. Disclaimer: reading Luke's guide won't stop Excel from crashing, no matter how much you'd like it to. So there you have it, just a portion of the sites and tools that I find most useful. It's a random list, but one that I find invaluable. I'll be adding to my list over the coming months and would love to hear your recommendations for other invaluable resources or tools. Speak to me in the comments below, or tweet me @alex_cestrian Main image courtesy of Moyan Brenn The post 9 helpful tools for an education in digital marketing appeared first on White Blog.

You are subscribed to email updates from White Blog To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Seth's Blog : Connecting dots (or collecting dots)

 

Connecting dots (or collecting dots)

Without a doubt, the ability to connect the dots is rare, prized and valuable. Connecting dots, solving the problem that hasn't been solved before, seeing the pattern before it is made obvious, is more essential than ever before.

Why then, do we spend so much time collecting dots instead? More facts, more tests, more need for data, even when we have no clue (and no practice) in doing anything with it.

Their big bag of dots isn't worth nearly as much as your handful of insight, is it?

       

• Email to a friend •

 

More Recent Articles

• Trust and attention, the endless dance
• The right moment
• Steal, don't invent
• Thinking lifetime (don't break the chain)
• You are not the lowest common denominator

[You're getting this note because you subscribed to Seth Godin's blog.]

Don't want to get this email anymore? Click the link below to unsubscribe.

---

Click here to safely unsubscribe from "Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect." Click here to view mailing archives, here to change your preferences, or here to subscribe • Privacy

---

---

Email subscriptions powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 9 Thoreau Way, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA.

 

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

---

• Ukraine Hikes Discount Rate from 6.5% to 9.5%, Overnight Rate to 14.5% to Halt Crash of Hryvnia
• 52% Say Taxes Too High, 54% Say Taxes Fair; Too High But Fair?
• GMO 7-Year Real Return Forecast: US Equities Negative For 7 Years
• Pro-Russia Separatists Defy Ukraine Deadline; Russia Promises to Protect Protesters From Violence; US Treasury Signs $1 Billion Ukraine Loan Guarantee
• Steve Keen Hired as Chief Economist for IDEA Economics; Best Wishes to Keen and IDEA
• California Drought Updates: Reader Anecdotes, Well Drilling Boom, Images; Drought Spawns Gold Panning Rush

Ukraine Hikes Discount Rate from 6.5% to 9.5%, Overnight Rate to 14.5% to Halt Crash of Hryvnia Posted: 14 Apr 2014 11:10 PM PDT The Ukrainian Hryvnia has plunged six consecutive weeks to new record lows. Since the beginning of the year, the Hryvnia has fallen from 8.26 to the US dollar, to 13.16 to the US dollar, a decline of 37.2% On Monday, the Ukraine central bank pulled out the bazooka with a massive set of rate hikes. Kiev's central bank raised the benchmark discount rate from 6.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent and the overnight loan rate from 7.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent on Monday night. "The central bank considers it necessary to take the step to increase the value of the national currency, to restrain inflation and to stabilise the situation on the money market," the central bank said in a statement. Foreign exchange reserves have fallen to barely two months' import cover, and the finance ministry warned in March that it expected the economy to contract by at least 3 per cent this year. The International Monetary Fund offered an $18bn package in late March to help Kiev face its economic crisis while it faces mounting external pressure from Russia, which has warned that it will halt gas exports to Ukraine unless it covers its unpaid bills. David Cameron on Monday agreed to accelerate work on further possible sanctions against Russia after discussing the crisis with Angela Merkel, German chancellor, and François Hollande, French president. But Britain remains cautious about imposing sanctions that could have an impact on the City of London's reputation as an open global financial centre and on companies, notably BP, which have big investments in Russia. British officials confirmed BP has warned ministers of possible repercussions if relations with Moscow deteriorate: the company has a 20 per cent stake in Rosneft, the Kremlin-controlled oil company. Ukraine has 2 months of reserves left. Escalating sanctions will make the situation worse. IMF looting is sure to follow. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

52% Say Taxes Too High, 54% Say Taxes Fair; Too High But Fair? Posted: 14 Apr 2014 07:24 PM PDT A curious result from a Gallup survey on taxes shows 52% Say Taxes Too High, 54% Say Taxes Fair click on either chart for sharper image Question #1: Do you consider the amount of Federal Income Tax you have to pay is too high, about right, or too low? Question #2: Do you regard the income tax which you have to pay is fair? Very curious "too high but fair" results. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

GMO 7-Year Real Return Forecast: US Equities Negative For 7 Years Posted: 14 Apr 2014 02:28 PM PDT Here is a chart from GMO Asset Forecasts that expresses how I feel as well. 7-Year Global Real Return Equity Forecasts click on chart for sharper image Value and growth within large and small stocks, and REITs, as of March 31, 2014 Estimated returns are negative for US large caps, US small caps, and REITs for every period shorter than seven years. If accurate (and I believe it is), what will that do to pension plans? For further discussion, please see LA Commission Studies Pension Crisis, Recommends New Commission; Bankruptcy Inevitable. For a followup, also see Reader Question on the Inevitable Los Angeles Bankruptcy; What About Chicago? Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Pro-Russia Separatists Defy Ukraine Deadline; Russia Promises to Protect Protesters From Violence; US Treasury Signs $1 Billion Ukraine Loan Guarantee Posted: 14 Apr 2014 10:40 AM PDT There is no sign of tension easing in the Ukraine today. Russia promises to protect the protesters from violence as the Separatists Defy Ukraine Deadline. Pro-Russia separatists occupying government buildings in up to 10 cities and towns in eastern Ukraine on Monday defied a deadline from Kiev to surrender as Moscow promised to "protect" people in the region from violence. Oleksandr Turchynov, Ukraine's acting president, responded by appealing to Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, to deploy peacekeepers to the region as the government implements its "antiterrorist operation" against separatist protesters. There was no immediate response from the UN to Mr Turchynov's request. The development came as pro-Russian demonstrators seized more government buildings in eastern Ukraine and refused to leave those they had taken earlier despite the government threatening to deploy the military against them. Dozens of pro-Russian separatists seized the regional police building in the eastern town of Horlivka, increasing their grip over the coal mining and steel producing regions of Donetsk and Lugansk where at least seven government buildings have been seized over the past week. Video aired on television showed leaders of the grouping, some dressed in camouflage, standing on the stairway entrance to Horlivka's local police headquarters addressing crowds who cheered them on. In Slavyansk, armed men in military fatigues who described themselves as Cossacks stood guard at the local administration building and a few others patrolled the town's streets. In an attempt to placate anti-Kiev sentiment, Mr Turchynov on Monday said in a meeting with MPs that the authorities were "not against holding a referendum" to determine the country's fate. "I am convinced that a majority of Ukrainians in this referendum, which could take place on the same day as the [snap] presidential elections if [parliament] adopts such a decision, will vote for an undivided, united and Unitarian Ukraine," he added. US Treasury Signs $1 Billion Ukraine Loan Guarantee Earlier today the EU approved another €1bn of assistance for Ukraine and cut import restrictions on Ukrainian goods coming into the EU. Meanwhile the US Treasury Signs $1 Billion Ukraine Loan Guarantee. Today, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced the signing of a $1 billion loan guarantee agreement for Ukraine.  This guarantee, when completed, will complement the Government of Ukraine's International Monetary Fund (IMF) reform program and underscores the United States' commitment to Ukraine. "The Ukrainian people have demonstrated tremendous courage as they have charted an independent course for their country and demanded a government that truly reflects the will of the people.  The United States has been at the forefront of building international support for Ukraine, and holding Russia accountable for its violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and destabilizing action," said Secretary Lew in his remarks at the U.S. Treasury Department today.  "I would like to congratulate Minister Shlapak on the progress he and his team have made in putting in place a comprehensive economic reform program together with the IMF.  The United States very much wants to see Ukraine prosper, and we will continue to stand with the Ukrainian people as they move forward to realize their long-held aspirations." Jacob Lew or Clark Kent? Will of the People? Jack Lew stated "The Ukrainian people have demonstrated tremendous courage as they have charted an independent course for their country and demanded a government that truly reflects the will of the people. " Mr Turchynov on Monday said in a meeting with MPs that the authorities were "not against holding a referendum" to determine the country's fate. That would be excellent news, if it were true. Unfortunately, both statements are a lie.  Turchynov is only in favor of a rigged vote. Why should Kiev get to vote on what is best for Donetsk? I propose letting each Ukrainian area vote for itself. Eastern Ukrainian areas would likely vote to leave. By the way, why shouldn't the people decide? Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Steve Keen Hired as Chief Economist for IDEA Economics; Best Wishes to Keen and IDEA Posted: 14 Apr 2014 09:01 AM PDT On March 30, the newly formed Institute for Dynamic Economic Analysis (IDEA) announced it hired Steve Keen to serve as its chief economist. Via email IDEA stated "Steve will guide the organization's research and educational programs. IDEAeconomics was inspired in large part by his work, and we are honored to launch (coming early May) under his guidance. IDEA is dedicated to building the economics Steve has worked on for years. Our collaborations will be informed by his networks among the media and within the profession. Steve is the person best equipped to lead us in our mission to reform economics." From the above link ... Economics is broken. Conventional economics has missed badly in its forecasts, provided an incoherent explanation of economic events and failed to produce effective policy. There is another way. An economics that incorporates debt and money. An economics that is proven by history and practice, statistics and theoretical consistency. IDEA is dedicated to an economics that works for investors, business leaders, policy makers and, most importantly, everyday people who have been denied proper insight into the forces shaping their real lives. Our approach builds on a long tradition of classical, Keynesian and Post-Keynesian thought. We will develop, support and promote the economics that makes sense, partnering with others to establish a definitive and functional alternative to the orthodoxy that has failed. Message From Steve Keen On Sunday Steve Keen sent this email out to Friends, Supporters, Collaborators: The economic crisis that began in 2007 took mainstream economics by surprise, but it was anticipated by non-orthodox scholars whose approach to economics was inspired by Hyman Minsky. One might have thought his would display the desperate need for an alternative to the Neoclassical orthodoxy and strengthen the position of Minsky scholars in academic institutions. But after the crisis and now five long years of slump, this alternative is even less likely to be developed at universities than it was before the crisis. Having been right, Minskian economists are no longer invisible and can no longer be ignored, but we can be attacked and marginalized. Since Neoclassical economists are entrenched as the gatekeepers who vet grant proposals, Neoclassical economists will receive the vast majority of research funds. The alternative economics the real world desperately needs will not be funded and developed by the existing research bodies. The concerned public has to take up the baton. Hence the formation of IDEAeconomics. The aim at IDEA is to harness the energy and intelligence of private citizens to develop a realistic, dynamic, monetary approach, so guidance from economists can allow us to avoid financial crises — rather than blindly leading us into them. When IDEA approached me to be its Chief Economist, I accepted. I was free to do so because the non-mainstream University economics program where I taught was shut down in 2013. My main tasks here at IDEA will be to write Finance and Economic Breakdown, a formal, dynamic, complex systems development of Hyman Minsky's Financial Instability Hypothesis, and (2) to develop the open source system dynamics program Minsky, which makes easy what mainstream economics has found to be near impossible: to construct and test strictly monetary, dynamic models of the economy. We are also working on the shorter-term projects Alan detailed in our last message to you. And beyond these, but perhaps more important, there is the need to educate and enliven the broader discussion. We can do this, inject a coherent voice through media, speaking directly to audiences and collaborating with the like-minded. All of that can be supported by your contribution to IDEAeconomics. We are engaged in a project that needs to be done and done well, before it is too late. The evidence is in. Economists, policy-makers and the broader public need to change their thinking and develop an economics that works rather than one of beautiful myths built on dangerous fallacies. You can help make that happen, and it won't happen without you. Best, Steve Keen Best Wishes to Keen and IDEA Best wishes to Steve Keen in his new job. He taught me much about debt deflation and ideas. We do not agree on everything (notably some, but not all aspects related to fractional reserve lending, which I consider fraudulent). Regardless, the idea behind IDEA is certainly worth supporting. Once again, good luck and best wishes to Steve. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

California Drought Updates: Reader Anecdotes, Well Drilling Boom, Images; Drought Spawns Gold Panning Rush Posted: 14 Apr 2014 12:04 AM PDT An email from reader "Bombillo" got me looking at the drought situation in California once again. Bombillo writes ... Hi Mish, Hope all is well with you. I see you have your wine conference coming up with a great speaker roster! The California drought is now going to grind into the brutal summer season with the full effects to be seen shortly. I have read that since the San Joaquin Valley is not going to be receiving any irrigation water from Federal canal projects (first time ever) a half million acres of land will go fallow this year there. Since ag is going to be shut down, the workers that man those operations are moving elsewhere. This in turn is causing a collapse in student enrollment at the public schools where school district funds are allocated on per pupil attendance. There is talk about giving the districts money even though there will not be anyone in these schools. I am not certain how all this will play out but the price of beef, produce of all type, fruits and nut prices will go up nationwide, if not worldwide. We have members of the Franzia and the Mondavi families at the resort right now, and even though they have a high value added product their water costs and access have them worried. Life has a way of playing these tricks but after wailing about these things it looks very much as though a huge El Nino is building up (unusually high ocean water temps in the eastern Pacific) something we haven't seen since 1998.  This means a torrential rainy season is likely coming up for the winter of 2014/15. One has to wonder though, with ever more people and ever more stretched/stressed supply chains, how close to some sort of disaster we are. I read your interesting article about the Inevitable Bankruptcy of Los Angeles, a response to a question really, posed by a home owner in LA wanting to know what affect he may see from a pension system collapse. Your comment was to expect tax increases and invention of new taxes. I have first-hand experience with two outrageous tax grabs that prompted me to write state congressmen, not that it will do any good whatsoever. Bombillo California Drought Spawns Well Drilling Boom ABC News reports California Drought Spawns Well Drilling Boom. The scarcity of irrigation water in drought-stricken California has created such a demand for well drilling services that Central Valley farmer Bob Smittcamp is taking matters into his own hands. He's buying a drilling rig for $1 million to make certain he has enough water this summer for thousands of acres of fruit and vegetable crops. "It's like an insurance policy," said Smittcamp, who knows two other farmers doing the same thing. "You have to do something to protect your investment." With California in a third dry year, well drilling is booming across the nation's most productive agricultural region, and some drilling companies are booked for months or a year. In some counties, requests for permits to dig new wells have soared, more than doubling over this time last year. Farmers expect to get only a fraction — if any — of the water they need from vast government-controlled systems of canals and reservoirs interlacing the state. In an effort to make up the difference, they are drilling hundreds of feet deep to tap underground water supplies. Smittcamp estimates that he spends $4,000 an acre tending his peach and grape crops before the harvest. If a well were to run dry mid-season with nobody to call, Smittcamp said he could lose that investment — and perhaps entire orchards or vineyards.  The price to dig a well depends on the depth and ground composition, drillers say, costing a farmer anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000 before installing the pumps. Tapping groundwater has other costs. The water that was deposited underground naturally over thousands of years isn't being replaced as rapidly as it's being drawn, causing the ground in the Central Valley to sink in a process called subsidence. In California, there is little if any regulation of groundwater pumping by the state.  In most years, Central Valley farmers draw one-third of their water from wells, while the remaining two-thirds comes from California's State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Most farmers expect to receive no water from either this summer, and that ratio is dramatically shifting to underground water supplies, which could eventually run dry. Matt Rottman, president of Rottman Drilling Co. based in Lancaster, said his mid-sized firm of three rigs is backlogged 15 months. For a recent job near Bakersfield, his crew dug a 1,840-foot well. Three wells coming up later this year in the Central Valley will hit depths of 2,000 feet.  This summer, Smittcamp said he has to come up with two-thirds of his water that would normally come from the state and federal water deliveries. "This year, we get none out of the projects," he said. "So we've got to pump the whole enchilada." California Drought Monitor Here's a link to California Drought Monitor updates. The above map is from April 8 (released April 10). Images The Atlantic has a series of 25 interesting California drought images in its report California's Historic Drought. Houseboats are docked at Bridge Bay in Shasta Lake, which is 100 feet (30 meters) below its normal levels, in Shasta, California, on January 23, 2014. Now in its third straight year of drought conditions, California is experiencing its driest year on record, dating back 119 years, and reservoirs throughout the state have very low water levels. (Reuters/Robert Galbraith) A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir on January 28, 2014 in San Jose, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) An empty boat marina at Folsom Lake, at 17 percent of capacity, in Folsom, California, on January 22, 2014. (Reuters/Robert Galbraith) Drought Spawns Gold Panning Rush Three consecutive years of below-normal rainfall have left reservoirs at a fraction of their normal depth, seriously threatening farms in the state that grows half the nation's fruits and vegetables. California Governor Jerry Brown has declared a drought emergency and signed a $687 million drought-relief package into law, and 125 additional firefighters have been hired already in anticipation of a dangerous upcoming fire season. One bright spot: gold prospecting. Amateur prospectors are flocking to the Sierra Nevada foothills, taking advantage of lower water levels to search for gold in riverbeds that have been unreachable for decades. The above images and gold rush text courtesy of the Atlantic. Personal Anecdote Our home is on well water. We hit an underground river at 30 feet. That is too shallow to be usable for drinking, so they kept drilling. We hit water again at 80 feet. I do not remember the cost precisely, but I believe it was something like $500 (good for up to 100 feet) in 2001, not the $50,000 to $500,000 mentioned in the above drilling boom article. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

You are subscribed to email updates from Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610