Groovle - Personalize Google

If you are reading this page, it is not possible for you not to know about GOOGLE. But, did you know that you have your very own personalized google search page? What a groovey idea Personalize Google came up with! With the flood of personal blogs and homepages such as MySpace, Facebook, and Blogspot, it is truely time to have your very own Google search browser. Groovle.com has been a feature on many of the online tech magazines such as TechCruch and KillerStartups. Being on such magazines say a lot about Groovle.com's creativity and usability. With Personalize Google you can upload any picture you like for your web browser, your sweethearts, kids or pets, or you can choose one from their database. Their database of images include animals, athletes, celebrities, nature, space and sports. Usually, my wife would insist that we put our little boy's picture on everyone of our home desk and labtops. Not that my boy is not the most precious thing in the world to me, but sometimes having a change on my computer screen is refreshing. I immediately created a Google search page with my favorite athletes, and guess what my wife used to create hers? .. My son's pictures!

Wamu

WaMu. The name itself is already nifty. It takes as little as a dollar and an internet connection to get you a Savings Accounts saving account. Sounds simple enough? They offer three different types of saving accounts to suit your unique needs. The simpliest one is the Statement Savings account. No matter how much you have in this account, they will give you the same interest rate at 0.25%. Keeping $300 in your account will save you the $5 monthly charge. It is best suited for keeping your liquad cash flow since you can withdraw or deposit at anytime. If you are like me, busy busy busy, the Online Savings account could be your best choice. Similar to the Statement Savings account, except that all transactions can be done on-line. Again, you may save the $4 monthly charge if you keep a minimum of $300 in your account. Well, if you do have some money you can set aside for a whole year, then like the name of this account Savings for Success, you surely seem to be heading the right direction despite the current economy. The APY for this account is 5%. No wonder it is saving for SUCCESS!

Now, have you picked the one that best suits your financial needs on Savings Accounts ?

Extracreditcars.com

There is an agent for just about any business in the world now. Like a realty agent for buying houses, Credit Cards is an agent linking you to the credit card that meets your expectations. There is a card for just about any condition. Travel card, gas card, low APR card, bad credit card, prepaid debit card, business credit card, student credit card, you name it, they have it. Once you identify your preference, you can email their customer service and they can guide you to the right card. Since I am not really looking for another credit card, I was more interested in the informational pieces they have on their site. The credit card myth debunker page was definitely worth a read. I just found out having a high credit line may not be a good thing! I also learned what trailing interest is which I was charged before without knowing such a sneaky practice has been around. With gas prices so high now I bet everyone would want to have a 5% cash back on your gas purchases. Credit Cards features Discover Platinum gas card on their site which seems most appropriate especially this summer season. The only drawback is that I don't see a phone number I can call let alone a 1-800 number.

FabForex

What's up with all these "lead-on" websites? Forex is another one that is supposed to educate you (about trading) but hidden under all those external links on the site are links that lead you to Forex trading sites. I have never heard of Forex trading until now but it seems like a popular trade. As someone who has visited Asia twice in the last half year, I would love to have traded more foreign currencies with US dollars. Honestly, I was told that trading foreign currencies involves quite a bit of risk. Maybe that is when traders have to do a lot of research before getting into the real deal. On this site, I noticed many educational-focused articles regarding Forex trading, the few featured are "Charting a course in Forex," "Advantages of Forex Currency Correlations," and "Protecting yourself from Forex Scams." I believe the last article is definitely worth reading with so many tech-savvy criminals out there on the internet. On the flip side, the site basically reads like a total blast of advertisments. Nothing appealing for an average reader like me. Nonetheless, if you are serious about Forex trading, go visit Forex You might find it worth your time.

iCORPS

NY/ IT Consulting obviously operates in and for NY area. As stated, their mission is to deliver "solid, business-driven IT solutions and services and superior customer service to the SMB market in Boston and New York." If you own a small business in New York and Boston area, it is probably worth your time browsing around the services they offer. It highly promotes the idea of out-sourcing your IT department instead of operating one within your business. NY IT Consulting stresses the customization of their services to provide the best match between your business and your infrastructure. Their trademarked slogan, "technology to fit your business" says it all. They also feature on their website some of their clients' case studies as testimonies for their good services. From the appeal of the website, it seems to measure up to its claims. They even provide 24/7 customer service line for their clients which is always a plus in this world that never rests. The only thing that gets to me about this website is that their emphasis on "outsourcing" reminds me of outsourced customer service representatives of some mega mobile phone companies who cannot even speak English right or disguised their names as "Steve" or "Jenny."

E-Health

There are thousands of health insurance websites nowadays out there claiming to get you the most affordable insurance, but Health Insurance does it with a twist. This website is a simple but informational website which is actually a lead-on to three other websites: eHealthinsurance, InsureMe, and Insurance.com. Though nothing flashy, this website could answer a lot of your questions before looking for an affordable insurance. Its "glossary" page uses layman's terms to define many of the terminologies the insiders would use. Terms such as coinsurance, copayment, and deductible have been quite confusing to me at times but the website does a great job differentiating them. One of the best part of the site is the flow charts dissecting the procedure of claim process, which I had no idea what steps were involved until reading it. The site also provides a lot of helpful external links aiding insurance seekers to do their research. Their "Health Insurance News" features topics that are hotly debated nowadays. The latest one talks about the health policy differences between Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. It is no rocket science to tell which candidate Health Insurance favors. Come read it for yourself!

Jelly Beans - Oh NUTS!

Got a sweet tooth? Have we got a cool site for you! www.ohnuts.com offers 53 assortments of jelly beans with over 30 different flavors. What a selection! Some of the mouth watering flavors include strawberry cheesecake, Tiramisu, lemon meringue and chocolate. If you like extraordinary flavors, they offer hot tamales, Baja Margarita, licorice, and toasted marshmallow. You could buy individual kinds or buy them in a mixture of assortments at mostly $4.99 per lb. It is to me a bit on the pricey side, but as any saavy internet shopper would do, I already found coupon codes for my favorite kinds of jelly beans. As soon as you google "ohnut.com" (the website that sells jelly beans) and "coupon code," BAM! a whole list of sites offering coupons for any product from onhut.com would pop up.

Honestly, as a parent of a young child, I am not thrilled by the idea of buying candy for children, but jelly beans can be so much more than just candy. There are tons of activities you can do with your children using jelly beans, math, problem solving, story telling. You name it, they got an jelly-bean activity related to it. Finding those activities is just a click of a few buttons on your web browser. Again, go see what they have for both you and your children on Jelly beans.

Alliance-Enviro

Being bombarded by environmental news daily, at first I thought Aliance-Enviro is just another blog about "going green." Well, once I click on their website, I found out that it is exactly what our house needs! Professional services for air duct cleaning, mold removal, pest control etc. The site provides extensive customer testimonies that offer very positive feedbacks of Alliance Environmental Group's services. It features a "Free Report" zone where property owners or managers may request comprehensive information on different enviornmental subject matters. The most interesting service that they offer is cleaning up trama scene. I didn't know that there are professionals for such services!! In the days of CSI, who knows, someone around your neighborhood might need it. The biggest assurance Alliance Environmental Group's services are the photos that they post on the site. They have photos of their recent big projects including removing asbestos contaminated drywall and joint compounds from a four-star hotel in Anaheim near Disneyland, and elimnating molds from 19 country club homes, and cleaning up after a lime spill in the City of Burbank. Photos speak more than a thousand words indeed. The only drawback of Asbestos Advice and Removal is they only offer services in CA thus far.

Branding Identity Guru

WWW.Brandidentityguru.com is a great tool for anyone who wants to get a boost in selling their service or product. It features branding guru in helping you get your branding right. It is very interactive as you can click on their many services including a self-evaluation survey for your product or service. It offers a service called Brandstamp, which is kind of like a BBB "Better Business Bureau" stamp except that Brandstamp is ensuring "that your brand identity is in perfect alignment with your brand image in the target markets you serve. It’s the ultimate approval for any brand to obtain." The branding guru has given examples of brands they love and brands they hate. I was surprised to see Southwest airline on their "bad" list. In fact, many of the very profitable businesses including Walmart are on their "bad" list. You can see it for yourself why they are "bad" branding If you are not looking for professional advice on branding, you may still find this website worth a visit, especially if you are interested in anything related to media. In other words, check it out! branding