My Digital Online Diary

Can you help the planet just by searching the web? Well, we don’t just think you can. We know you can! Little search engines that could support your favorite causes and save energy – and are as free and as easy to use as Google. Want to try the following:

• GoodSearch (http://www.goodsearch.com)- powered by Yahoo, it donates 50% of revenues to a charity you choose each time you search.
• Blackle (http://www.blackle.com)- an unofficial black version of Google that uses less energy than the white version on some screens (for a more colorful option, try The Green Spider).
• CatchTomorrow (http://www.searchenginecorp.com)- customizable news, weather, and search options; donates 50% of revenues to the public school district of your choice.
• Green Maven (http://www.greenmaven.com)- though it’s not for charity, this Google-based search engine yields results from green-related websites only.

Changing your search engines to this one would give you the benefits of same good results. These search engines pull their results from the Google or Yahoo databases. You can also donate to charity. Get on the donation train – each search you do via a charity search engine generates about $0.01 for good causes (the money comes from the ads on search-engine sites). And, you can save energy. Some engines have a dark background color instead of white, which when viewed on older, CRT monitors – consumes 20% less energy than typical engines. So, better check those search engines now!

According to the news this morning, price of oil has risen sharply after figures showed the US economy had returned to growth, its first expansion for more than a year. The price of US light crude rose back above $80 a barrel, to $80.08, up $2.62, or 3.4%. The price of London Brent also climbed, to $78.24.

US economy grew at an annual pace of 3.5% between July and September, indicating the recession has ended. This boosted hopes that demand for oil would now begin to increase. The return to growth of the world’s largest economy also sent shares on Wall Street sharply higher. The main Dow Jones Index climbed 193 points, or 2%, to 9,955.78.

Andy Lebow at MF Global said that the price of oil futures are up sharply on the GDP data, on optimism that economic conditions will improve and raise demand for petroleum products. Oil prices have more than doubled since the start of the year, but are still well below the high of $147 reached in July 2008.

But there are concerns that sentiment, rather than fundamentals, is driving the oil price, and that once these fundamentals re-establish themselves, the price may fall. These include spare capacity, stock piles of oil and continued weak demand among industrialised nations.

principles of leadership

You may think that this may seem like a great spoiler; but certainly, there is no such thing as a hard and fast rule when it comes to leadership. Every organization, circumstance, and leader calls for different courses of action. What is to be considered as “good” leadership depends on various factors such that what could be “good” leadership in one instance could be “bad” leadership in another. Here are the general accepted principles that when studied and applied, are believed to be helpful in improving ones leadership skills.

• Self-Esteem – people become more willing to work if they feel important. Effective leaders help their organizations members develop their self-esteem. You can do this by paying more attention to them and expressing your genuine interest in their opinions every time you converse. When it is well deserved, give your member a tap on the shoulder to show that his efforts are well appreciated. The key here is in being sincere and in expressing your appreciation through the littlest gestures.
• Planning – members of an organization are more able to adapt to changes if there is a specific plan of action laid out. Planning is crucial in effective leadership because it provides the organization with a concrete direction and identifiable means to achieve its goals. As a leader, you should initiate planning and exert effort in communicating those plans as clearly as possible to your members. This will strengthen your members’ decision-making skills and would allow for effective delegation.
• Motivation – a highly motivating work environment is undoubtedly a productive one. The organization benefits the most when its members are continuously motivated to work for and with it. There are many ways by which you, as a leader, can motivate your members. You can provide deserving members with public recognition even through a simple mention of their names and accomplishments. Offering challenges that allows your members to grow, and in a way show-off, is a brilliant to motivate them to be more competitive. You can hand out incentives such as bonuses, free stuff, or promotions to high-performing members so that your members will have something to look forward to in exchange for a job well done. One of the most important ways to motivate, however, is through leading by example. How you work, lead, and carry yourself hugely affects how much people would want to work with you.
• Delegation – you can’t do everything by yourself. The best leaders can effectively delegate tasks, giving them more time to plan and supervise. Usually, leaders fail to delegate effectively because they fear their subordinates would do badly at a job that they could have done much better. Do not succumb to that pitfall. Your members will definitely make mistakes, but so will you. The thing to remember here is that, you should always make sure that you communicate the things that you want done clearly and that you allow your subordinates to be accountable for the consequences of their action.
• Empowerment – this is actually relates to delegation. Making your members accountable and responsible for their actions empowers them. It makes them feel greater self-respect; and in the long-run, it would allow them, working with accountability, to develop creativity and become better workers.