by Matt Ball on April 10, 2010
1. Proper disposal of electronics
E-waste contains all kinds of nasty stuff, including lead, mercury and cadmium. Sadly, much of this waste gets shipped to landfills and smelters in developing countries, exposing tens of thousands of people to harm.
Your first question when seeking to get rid of office equipment should be this: Can someone still use this stuff? If yes, post it on Craigslist or eBay. It’ll be gone in a New York minute.
If it’s beyond repair, you’ve got a few options. The best is to find a recycler that’s involved in the Basel Action Network’s e-Stewards program, a group of companies that have vowed not to export hazardous waste to poor countries.
Another option is to give it back to the manufacturer. The problem with this approach is you can’t be sure they’ll use a morally sound recycler.
To sum up, here are your options for disposing of electronics the right way:
- Best: If the device is still operational, sell or donate it.
- Second best: Find an electronics recycler near you that is an e-Steward member.
- Third best: Use the manufacturer’s take back program.
Resources:
- Craigslist.org: Sell or donate your unwanted (but functional) electronics. Craigslist
- E-stewards.org: Lists recyclers that have pledged not to dispose of hazardous e-waste in developing countries. E-stewards
- Epa.gov: Find local recyclers. View a list of manufacturer take back programs. EPA
2. Buy a water cooler
These aren’t just for idle chitchat! By quenching your thirst at the water cooler you avoid having to buy plastic water bottles—the scourge of Earth. According to this story in Outside Magazine, there is a flotilla of plastic garbage the size Texas in the Pacific Ocean—wait, scratch that: the “Eastern Garbage Patch” is actually twice the size of Texas. Link to story
3. Don’t go to work
Don’t jump to conclusions here, we’re talking about telecommuting. The minimal technology required is cheap and readily available: Skype, Google Wave, GoToMeeting, etc. And there’s no better way to lower your carbon footprint than to reduce your highway time. If you must go in to the office, consider carpooling a day or two per week with a coworker. Do us a favor though, just promise us that when you start telecommuting you won’t be that guy in his pajamas jabbering into his cell phone at Starbucks.
by Aaron Hartland on February 22, 2010
So you’re in the mood for a pizza. You turn to Google (because no one uses phonebooks anymore, right? LMGTFY). Instantly, 10 local pizza parlors are displayed in your search results. You order. It’s a win-win. You have your pizza, and the pizza parlor owner has your business.
What made this so easy? Local search—a type of search engine query that’s intended to produce local information, often about nearby businesses, products and services. What it does is help customers in your own town, city and neighborhood find you quickly and easily.
All of the big players—Google, Yahoo and Bing—have local search capabilities. So do the Internet Yellow Pages, various business aggregation sites and review sites, as well as directories created specifically for different cities. Your city might have its own directory, so it’s well worth investigating.
I want my local listing!
So how do you get listed? There are two ways: Navigate the process of submitting your business information to each of the local search engines yourself or save some time and hassle by hiring professionals (Sentinel IT) to do it for you. Either way, getting listed on local search doesn’t happen automatically.
So many directories, so little time.
It’s not a matter of if you should submit your business information to a local search directory, it’s a matter of choosing which ones. To help you make the best decision, consider these points:
- Location. Be sure to understand which geographic region or regions the directory serves. Some are very specific.
- Price. Many directories are free, or charge a nominal fee to enhance your listing or include additional information. If it’s free, why not list? If there’s a cost, make sure you understand what extras you’re getting for your dollars.
- Relevance. Make sure a relevant category exists for your business. Some directories focus on a single industry, like hotels. If you own a gourmet restaurant, you don’t want to be listed under fast food. Be thorough. If the specific category doesn’t exist, don’t list there.
- Popularity. One characteristic of a good local search directory is the amount of traffic it gets. More traffic potentially means more potential people will find you. A quick way to determine this is to go to a web traffic metrics site, like Alexa. The higher the ranking, the busier the site.
No matter what you’re selling—computers, sandwiches or shoes—local search can help bring local customers to your door. That is, people who could possibly return again, generating repeat business, and tell their friends and family about your business. But they need to find to be able to find you. Local search makes it possible.
