Horseshoe Chamber Blog

Zillow can now see the future of your home -- or at least, it's trying to with its new proprietary algorithm, which it says can predict the dollar value of your home one year in the future. Its new software is going by the name of "Zestimate forecast," and the company says that the estimator, which will predict either growth or loss, is available for about half of the homes in their database, which consists of about 100 million properties. "It was important for us to give [consumers] another bit of information that might help them in understanding the real estate market and help them make the buy-or-sell decision," said Svenji Gudell, Zillow's director of economic development. In order to come up with the "Zestimate," Zillow's formula considers various factors, including the number o...

New research shows Hispanic consumers are much more receptive to mobile technology, including mobile advertising. The study surveyed the opinions of 1,000 American consumers: 500 non-Hispanic and 500 Hispanic. "While the mobile habits between the two demographics match up across a variety of different activities, the report indicates that the Hispanic community is more likely to access coupons and banking services through mobile devices, giving marketers some additional insights into how to best target these smartphone-wielding consumers," Adweek reports. Hispanic consumers are more likely to take part in online banking, downloading digital coupons, and respond to location-based or geo-targeted advertisements. "Hispanic consumers are also gobbling up mobile video, using location-based a...

Last Thursday, May 15, General Motors (GM) announced another recall, bringing up the company's domestic recall total to 11 million vehicles in 2014. GM recalled 2.7 million cars owing to safety problems that could affect brake light performance. GM hasn't been the only car manufacturer to do so, however. The industry as a whole has recalled around 20 million vehicles in 2014 so far. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it's possible that this year will see a new recall record that breaks the one set set 10 years ago, when a total of 22 million vehicles were recalled in a single year. The past year has seen a major shift within the auto industry as manufacturers learn that auto safety issues are becoming a national priority. This past Friday, the ...

On Thursday, May 29, items belonging to Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert that went into space with him will be auctioned off at a Los Angeles auction house, including a mechanical pencil and an Oral-B toothbrush. According to the Denver Post, Swigert's family is putting 91 of the late astronaut's belongings up for auction. Each item will come with a letter of authenticity from Swigert's sister. The rarest item going up for auction will be the Robbins medal from Swigert's Apollo 17 mission, for which bidding will start at $45,000. One of the more unusual items hitting the auction block is the NASA Oral B-40 clear toothbrush that Swigert, who died in 1982 shortly after being elected to represent Colorado's 6th district in the House of Representatives, used during the 1970 Apollo 13 ...

A few decades ago, dental patients only had removable dentures as an option for replacing missing teeth. However, dental implants have recently increased in popularity, and by performing CT scans, dentists now have an easier way to find out which patients are eligible for this treatment. Dental implants can replace single or multiple missing teeth. They are comprised of artificial tooth roots typically made from titanium alloys and placed in the jawbone; these implants are later covered with a tooth-like cap made from dental porcelain. This procedure is possible through the process of osseointegration, where the jawbone is capable of healing around the metal implant to make it a permanent fixture in the patient's mouth. The procedure for dental implants has an overall 96% success rat...

North Dakota is currently discussing the feasibility of implementing mid-level dental providers to assist with the massive need for dental services across the state. The meeting was spearheaded by the Interim Legislative Health Services Committee, chaired by Sen. Judy Lee.The concept of mid-level dental practitioners is opposed by not only the National Dental Association (NDA), but also by the North Dakota Dental Association (NDDA). Dr. Murray Greer, president of the NDDA, is against the change, saying, “We feel we have a good system in place that’s working well.”On the other side of the argument are rural North Dakota communities, many of which are lacking qualified dental providers. “We have many, many places in the state where there are no dentists,” says Sen. Lee. The NDA granted...

On Monday, April 28, Microsoft unveiled its latest move to stay on top in media innovation by announcing XBox Originals, a dozen original TV programs to be exclusively available to XBox owners beginning this June. XBox Originals will include a variety of different television genres, such as documentaries, reality shows and scripted dramas and comedies, Forbes magazine reported. The programs are Microsoft's first attempt at competing with other original-programming streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon. After announcing its first lineup of XBox Originals, Microsoft is now looking to future ideas for programming. According to joystiq.com, XBox games Gears of War, Fable and Forza Motorsport are the latest potential sources of adaptation. However, these potential adaptations may ult...

Following a recent bout of research, sales execution and analytics firm Qvidian has released its findings on the efficacy of salespeople. If the research is accurate, nearly two-thirds of salespeople fail to meet their quotas. Subsequently, nearly 90% of businesses polled say that improving overall quota attainment is their biggest priority, ranking only behind increasing lead win rates. Sales Take Time, Persistence For salespeople, the biggest cause of failure is lack of persistence. Most leads aren't going to be converted on the first sales call, yet 48% of salesmen and women give up after the first phone call. A whopping 72% give up after the second phone call. In short, most salespeople are not giving leads the time to mature that they so badly require. This undoubtedly plays a r...

United Auto Workers Union Local 2865 (UAW) is launching a salvo of complaints against the University of California. The unfair and hostile labor practices complaints filed by the UAW on Monday bring the total complaints against the university for such infractions to seven in only six months. The latest volley comes after 22 student protesters were arrested at the Santa Cruz campus of the University of California. Following their complaints of intimidation and unfair labor practices falling on deaf ears, teaching assistants set up a strike, protesting UC's backward practices for two days before riot police arrived to quell the uprising. Work to Pay Ratio, Intimidation Tactics Are Nothing New Complaints filed by the UAW and student protests are nothing new for the University of Californi...

According to the Workplace Safety and Health Council, ergonomic health issues like strained backs caused by heavy lifting, numb wrists resulting from typing too much, and stiff necks from desk hunch, all cost Singapore a staggering $3.5 billion each year. The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as the understanding of the interactions between humans and systemic elements--how people interact with the spaces that they inhabit. Ergonomics applies the data, principles, theory and methods of studying such interactions to optimize a person's well being and their system performance--it improves these interactions. For example, an ergonomic chair would provide proper back support to avoid the spine misaligning, which allows a person to work more comfortably and get more thi...