Friday, November 6th, 2009
I heard that it is a good thing that the Yankees won the World Series because the stock market has an average gain of 10% in the year following a win by them in the World Series. Well, as a Red Sox fan I have a hard time feeling good about them winning it all but at least there is a fringe benefit. And we can’t win it all every year after all. ;) The point I wanted to talk about today was how you can get a read on the economy by the usage of conference calls as well. And it is probably a little more reliable than the connection between a baseball game and the economy too.
Over the eyars of being in the conference call industry I have noticed a couple of interesting things that can help indicate how my day is going to go. The first thing I notice is the traffic on the way to work. If it is a busy traffic morning there are going to be a lot of conference calls held that day. Now, in some respects you would think just the opposite. If people stay home they would need to hold meetings remotely and a conference call is a sure bet. But actually, most of the conference calls are being attended by people in their place of business and when people are staying home they are probably on holiday and are not doing conference calls. So, as business traffic picks up, so do the number of conference calls.
The other thing I notice is the type of businesses that sign up for a conference call service is a good indicator of the health of that segment of the business. And when I see a greater number of sign ups than business in that area is probably picking up. Lately I have seen a number of real estate offices and associations signing up for our service. And after speaking to some Realtors I know it appears that the real estate market is picking up some steam after a tough couple of years. That is good news for all of us since that is one of the leading indicators in the economy.
Beyond the signing up for a conference call service I also notice the amount of conference calling done by my customers in general is a good indicator of the economy. And certainly over the past year the financial sector has been especially hard hit. So, companies that do mortgages for instance, just aren’t writing as many mortgages so they are not doing as many conference calls with their offices and vendors to talk about mortgages. And so forth. But again the good news is that the volume of conference calls is starting to pick up in a number of industries that have suffered over the past year or two. It has a ways to go, but in general based on the number of conference calls being done it appears that the economy is on the mend. Maybe we can thank the Yankees and conference calls for the good market over the next year!
www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Baseball Game, Business Traffic, Conference Call Service, Fringe Benefit, Hard Time, Interesting Things, Leading Indicators, Place Of Business, Realtors, Red Sox, Respects, Segment, Sign Ups, Sox Fan, Staying Home, Steam, Stock Market, Ups, World Series, Yankees
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Monday, August 10th, 2009
It’s summertime! That means vacations, family, barbecues and for the fortunate people on the coasts, the beach. And we all take time off during the summer to enjoy the weather that only comes around for a few months a year for most of us. But that also doesn’t mean that work totally stops. Many people own their own business or have a job where it is simply understood that 40 hours a week punching a clock is not enough. Today the miracle of cell phones, blackberrys and conference calls can keep you in touch without the need to cancel your entire vacation. A conference call, like many of these modern day conveniences allows you to stay in touch with your work or family wihtout having to be there physically. And that can be a good thing!
Some people feel that wireless devices and conference calls are a leash they would rather do without, but without them what would you have to do. It used to be that the hotel phone or even a pay phone and a calling card was the way people stayed in touch, but now a cell phone andyou can be on a conference call, conducting a business meeting without leaving your lounge chair. The hotel, the mountains, the lake or the beach can now be the place you are when you attend a conference call. Of course, you may want to keep yourself on mute so that the sound of the waves does not interrupt the conference call. That is what I did just last week. I had a week off planned and of course at the last minute an important meeting comes up and there is no way to avoid it. Did I cancel my vacation? No. Did I stay home the day of the call? No. All I had to do was remember that I had a conference call, put the call in number and passcode on my Blackberry and I am all set.
So, I don’t know about you, but I sure feel that is a lot more convenient than staying home or missing the meeting which in this case was not an option. So, the next time you are going on vacation and an important meeting comes up, simply set up a confernece call and the interuption on your well deserved time off will be minimal. www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Blackberry, Blackberrys, Calling Card, Cell Phone, Cell Phones, Coasts, Conducting A Business Meeting, Conference Call, Conveniences, Family Barbecues, Hotel Phone, Lounge Chair, Miracle, Mountains, Own Business, Passcode, Staying Home, Summertime, Waves, Weather
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