November 2006
Web site is primary marketing tool
A recent study by Angelou Economics found that economic development professionals rank their web site as their most effective marketing tool. Most site selection consultants and corporate decision-makers now begin community searches on the web. That's why we've devoted this Valley Connection newsletter issue to highlight some of the best Web resources available for you.
TVA sites ranked among best by IEDC
TVA was honored to have two of its web sites named among the best economic development sites of 2006 by the International Economic Development Council. In the category of organizations serving a population of 200,000 or more, the top sites were:
- TVAsites.com – Top Special Purpose Web Site
- TVAed.com – Top General Purpose Web Site
These and other best-practice web sites were praised for setting the standard. “From localized community projects to large-scale endeavors, activities for the advancement of economic development have an enormous impact on the shoring up of the nation’s economy,” said Joseph Marinucci, IEDC chairman. “The award serves as a most respectful ‘hats off’ to economic development organizations like the Tennessee Valley Authority for leading the charge.”
Google made simpler
It’s now easier to access the many Google services and search features. A new page called Simply Google serves as an index so users can select a search category (books, maps, music), a site (jobs, research, Shakespeare), a blog, or a download.
Also check out Google Earth which was featured in the April 2006 Valley Connection. TVA Economic Development subscribes to Google Earth Pro because of its usefulness as a site selection tool.
How to send that big file?
YouSendIt lets you move files that are too big for e-mail. You can send a file of up to 100 megabytes for free, or pay a small monthly fee for enhanced service that includes the ability to send multiple files at once and track downloads.
Wikipedia speeds information gathering
Wikipedia is the largest reference web site on the Internet, with more than five million pages in 100 languages. It is a collaborative project that is edited and updated by users around the world. ‘Wiki’ is the Hawaiian word for ‘fast.’
Internet site of the month
Need to translate something into Icelandic, analyze traffic patterns on a live webcam, or browse among 22,000 mathematical and scientific calculators? Go to Martindale's Reference Desk, which has links to 45,000 sites that offer references and tutorials on a huge variety of subjects. The emphasis is on science—chemistry, engineering, geoscience, etc.—but you'll also find such diverse topics as equipment leasing, airport locators, cyber-infrastructure, and corporate finance.
Economic data research
Bureau of Labor Statistics
You can find job, wage, unemployment, occupation, and price data through a much improved query-based system
MelissaData
This site offers data management tools and allows you to update addresses of customers, find people, look up information by SIC code, zip code, address, county map, and much more.
Socioeconomic Data for Understanding Your Regional Economy
This is a guide to finding and using socioeconomic data to analyze local and regional economies.
Regional Economic Conditions
Produced by FDIC, the site provides access to employment, income, housing, and real estate data for states, counties, and metropolitan areas. It offers tools to build maps, tables, and charts.
Association of University Business and Economic Research
The site has links to resources in each state that provide statewide and regional economic data.
Economagic.com
Economagic gives you easy access to more than 100,000 data series, including state, metro, and county employment data compiled by federal agencies. The site will create spreadsheet files and graph data in your browser. Registered users can generate forecasts from historical data.
Bureau of Economic Analysis
This Department of Commerce site presents gross state product, regional economic information system, and foreign direct investment data. You can also access BEA’s national income account data and its Survey of Current Business.
Travel deals
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We’d love to have your feedback on this issue. Please take a minute to let us know if the information is helpful to you and to e-mail us your favorite web sites. E-mail: econdev@tva.com, or phone: 615-232-6225.