New York SBDC Research Network

The Rockefeller Institute of Government has published the 32nd edition of its popular New York State Statistical Yearbook, providing updated information on a vast array of state data and state agency contacts for news media, citizens, government officials, and others. The 714-page Yearbook contains information ranging from population and health statistics to information on education in the state. Information is freely available online as a series of Excel pages here . For more information or to obtain a copy, click here . Read the news release .

We have Adobe Standard on our desktops, which helps us convert Word documents, images, PowerPoint slides, spreadsheets, and the like into PDF files. If you don't have this, here's one way to (freely) convert your stuff: a site called KoolWire . In addition to PDF, this site enables you to convert files into MP3, RTF, or WAV formats. On the home page, simply select (in Step 1) the format you want the item converted to. Click "start," and it will open a formatted email. Attach the file (or files - you can do more than one) to that email, click send, and await the results. If your file (or files) are more than 10 MB in size, they require you to upload through their website instead of by email. As for other file formats, check out the "KoolVersion Rules" link along the bottom of the home page. As a test, I sent them a Word file earlier today. It was 54K in size, and took about 90 seconds to be turned around back to me. Pretty cool (with a "c," n

Suppose you want to open an ice cream parlor. You like ice cream, you know most people like ice cream, and the city that you live in doesn't have an ice cream parlor. Sounds like a great idea for a business. Except for the fact that you have never worked in an ice cream parlor and really have no idea how to make, keep, or serve ice cream. Where would you go to learn the basics? On Wednesday, May 7th the Wall Street Journal ran an article entitled "How to Teach Yourself How to do Almost Anything." In the article, a few websites were listed sources where interested individuals, including my hypothetical ice cream parlor owner, can go to find instructional videos. Howcast - Cool how-to videos and guides from cutting-edge filmmakers, savvy experts, - and you! How To Videos on Wonder How To - Video Instructions, Tutorials, and Hacks eHow - How To Do Just About Everything

I've had a few requests for pricing information for fine artists. There are a few sources either available online or available in paper at a local library or by subscription. Gordon's Art Sales Index Gordon's is described as one of the largest databases of artists and art prices used by collectors,museums, and others. You will find links here to other databases as well like: Gordon's Photography Price Annual Gordon's Print Price Annual Hislop's art Sales Index Davenport's Art Reference & Price Guide

We know that television advertisers place advertisements during programs that attract their target demographic. Turner Entertainment Networks is taking it one step further. They have developed a program, TV in Context, which matches advertising content to related scenes in the program. Read all about it in this New York Times article, Turner to Offer Marketers Way to Link Ads to Content . They provide a few examples of how this could work. Let’s say you’re watching the movie “Hitch” on a Turner channel. In one scene a character suffers an allergic reaction, and immediately following, viewers see drug store commercial for an allergy medication. Turner is comparing the program to "contextual targeting, which is all the rage in online advertising and takes advantage of tracking the online behavior of computer users to serve them ads they would find relevant."

Websites come, websites go. But are they really gone ? Not always. There's something called The Wayback Machine , where you can retrieve old versions of current, or even defunct websites. It's not every page, and it's not every version of a given page; some companies block access to their pages. It's not just curiosity, though, that fuels the Wayback's usage. Once, I had a question that involved accessing a form or document from the Bureau of Indian Affairs website. For some bizarre legal reason, the BIA page was blocked, but I was able to access the piece using the Wayback Machine to get an earlier version of the BIA site. Here are 50 Fun Ways to Use the Wayback Machine .

Al Scher, our resident cycling geek, emailed me two interesting items this week. Both would be of interest to any clients you might have who run bike shops: From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune comes an article titled $4-a-Gallon Gasoline Knocking Bicycle Sales, Repairs Into a Higher Gear" . Bike shop owners around the country are noticing a remarkable jump in the number of bikes being bought. I haven't had a bike in years, and I'm thinking of paying a visit to a local shop. TheCyclePeople.com promotes itself as a site where 1.5 million cyclists visit often. This page is promoting a deal where owners of bike shops, touring companies, or cycling clubs can submit one or more listings - for FREE - for display for the rest of 2008. The catch is that they need to have the business' information by May 31st, 2008. So, again, if you have clients in this industry, let them know about this deal.