Category Archives: Mount Kisco

10 Lessons Learned from 2012’s Most-Popular Videos | Chappaqua NY Realtor

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Being that it is the first week of the new year, I thought it would be worthwhile for us to take a moment and reflect upon some of the lessons learned in 2012. So, for today’s Creator’s tip episode, I spent some time reviewing the top 10 most-watched videos of last year to highlight certain video marketing lessons that can be learned from each.

0 10 Lessons Learned from 2012s Most Popular Videos

Lessons Learned in Video from 2012’s Top-10 Viral Videos

default 10 Lessons Learned from 2012s Most Popular Videos

1) Psy – Gangnam Style
Seed your videos.  Creating great content and putting it up regularly is only the first part of having a successful channel.  After that you need to be sure to engage with your audience.

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2) Somebody That I Used to Know – Walk Off the Earth
While original content is important, sometimes utilizing something else that is out there and adapting it to make it your own can be just as effective as was done with this music cover.

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3) KONY 2012
Your video does not need to be short to have a successful video on YouTube.  In fact, many of the new statistics point to videos that are longer than 2-3 minutes are shared more often, possibly because there is more time for your audience to have a more emotional connection resulting in them forwarding the link to other people.

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4) Call Me Maybe: Carly Rae Jepsen
Don’t worry about creating videos that have all the bells and whistles.  Viewers will more likely respond to a real connection than to fancy effects.

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5) Barrack Obama vs Mitt Romney
Be sure to create some videos that leverage events and trends that are hot topics and relevant now – also known as tent-pole programming.

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6) A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Street
Marketing videos do not need to be typical or boring.  If you are using video to marketing your brand, provide compelling content first and then attach your brand to it.  This will give you a higher likelihood of reaching viewers than sticking with the standard marketing gimmicks.

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7) Why You Asking All Them Questions
Be consistent with your videos.  Regularly provide your viewers with content that speaks to your channel, brand and messaging.

default 10 Lessons Learned from 2012s Most Popular Videos

8) Dubstep Violin Original – Lindsey Sterling
Collaborate more.  Contact other YouTube creators who have skills and talents you do not and combine both your audiences and your abilities to create something original you couldn’t create on your own.

default 10 Lessons Learned from 2012s Most Popular Videos9) Facebook Parenting: For the Troubled Teen
Create content that reaches your audience on a personal level and creates an emotional connection.

10) Felix Baumgartner’s Supersonic Freefall from 128K
Look at utilizing Google+ Hangouts for more videos.  Create good pre-event buzz and allow your audience to engage with you live.

QUESTION:  What lessons did you learn from the top viral videos of 2012?

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Teatown News | Mount Kisco Realtor

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Recent news of oil spills, climate change, and drinking water shortages reminds us of the great environmental challenges that our children will face as adults. Teatown’s teachers are shaping the next generation to meet these challenges with both knowledge and optimism.

We reach nearly 10,000 children each year with our placed-based programs and with our staff’s model enthusiasm to build a sustainable, healthy world.

Teatown’s environmental education programs bring our children into direct contact with nature. This kind of in-your-face experience is not  provided in school classrooms, by watching television, or surfing the Internet. Immersed in the relative wildness of Teatown, all of the children’s senses are awakened as they explore and discover the natural world.

We make sure that our students not only learn the traditional skill of recognizing local plants and animals, but they see first hand the connections between and among species, the web of life. Most important, however, is that our students fully realize that they are an essential part of nature and that their behavior and choices matter. Their actions affect the health and well-being of the Earth’s ecological system, on which both people and all species depend. We aim for every student at Teatown to truly believe that  their generation can build a sustainable, healthy world.

The key to our education success is both our nature preserve and our extraordinarily enthusiastic and positive-minded Teatown faculty. Their academic qualifications include two doctorates, three master’s degrees and two baccalaureates. Our educators are building the future by keeping hope alive through our students’ optimism and informed empowerment to change the world.

Please know that our education programs are only possible because their costs are subsidized largely by your membership fees and donations. We know we are changing the future for the better. Together we are making a difference, one student at a time!

Cheers,

The Teatown Team

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Chappaqua NY winter Farmer’s Market | Chappaqua Realtor

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Ossining Winter Farmers Market

Market open Saturdays, 9:00AM – 1:00PM, 01/05 – 05/18
Ossining, NY
Parking Lot on the corner of Spring & Main Streets (Map it »)
Market Host: Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce
Founding Year: 1991

Opening day is 01/05/13!

Participating Vendors

Baked By SusanCroton On Hudson, NYSpecialty Foods
Baked Goods
Prepared Foods		01/05 – 05/18
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Intro to Flood Insurance | Mount Kisco Realtor

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Nationwide, only 20% of American homes at risk for floods are covered by flood insurance. Most private insurers do not insure against the peril of flood due to the prevalence of adverse selection

, which is the purchase of insurance by persons most affected by the specific peril of flood.In traditional insurance, insurers use the economic law of large numbers to charge a relatively small fee to large numbers of people in order to pay the claims of the small numbers of claimants who have suffered a loss. Unfortunately, in flood insurance, the numbers of claimants is larger than the available number of persons interested in protecting their property from the peril, which means that most private insurers view the probability of generating a profit from providing flood insurance as being remote.



However, there are insurers such as Chubb, AIG/Chartis, Fireman’s Fund that do provide privately written primary flood insurance for high value homes and The Natural Catastrophe Insurance Program underwritten by Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s which provides private primary flood insurance on both low value and high value buildings

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Mount Kisco Real Estate | Is insulation upgrade a good investment?

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We often talk about the importance of energy upgrades for your home. But if you’re thinking about an upgrade this winter, such as adding more insulation to your attic, you may be wondering exactly how to calculate whether that’s a wise financial investment.

There are a variety of formulas available for making this calculation, such as the one from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

It’s not a terribly difficult formula to use, and I’ve modified it here to make it a little more understandable.

You’ll need to do a little research to track down some basic information to fill in the blanks, all of which you can get off the Internet or with a couple of phone calls. Then it’s just a couple of minutes with a tablet and a calculator.

Incidentally, this formula also works for upgrades to wall insulation (you can click here to read more on that).

The formula and definitions

The DOE’s formula is as follows: (Ci x R1 x R2 x E) ÷ (Ce x [R2 – R1] x HDD x 24)

OK now, don’t let your eyes glaze over, or have terrifying flashbacks to high school algebra class. Here’s what all those variables stand for:

  • Ci: This is the cost of the insulation you’re considering, in dollars per square foot. If you’re doing the work yourself, it’s the cost of the materials, supplies and any rental equipment you need. If you’re having the work done, it’s the estimated cost from the contractor.
  • R1: This is the R-value of the insulation you currently have in the attic.
  • R2: This is the R-value you want to upgrade to.
  • E: Efficiency rating of your heating system. How well your heating system heats your home plays a major role in how much you’re going to save with an insulation upgrade; the less efficient your heating system is, the more energy dollars the additional insulation will save you each year. You may know the specific energy efficiency rating of your particular heating system, or you may be able to get it from your utility company or HVAC contractor. If not, the DOE offers the following general suggestions: oil and propane furnaces, 0.6 to 0.88; natural gas furnaces, 0.7 to 0.95; electric, 1.0; heat pump 2.1 to 2.5.
  • Ce: This is what you’re paying for the energy you use, converted to dollars per British thermal unit (Btu). To arrive at this number, you’ll need to divide the actual price you pay for the fuel you use (electricity, gas, etc.) by the Btu content of that fuel. You can find the price you’re paying on your utility bill or by calling your utility company.

The Btu content of various fuels is as follows:

No. 2 fuel oil = 140,000 Btu/gallon
Electricity = 3,413 Btu/kilowatt-hour
Propane = 91,600 Btu/gallon
Natural gas = 103,000 Btu/cubic feet or 100,000 Btu/therm
  • HDD: This stands for heating degree days, which is a standard method for determining how cold a specific geographic location is, and how much demand there will be for heating. It’s determined by the statistical average of the number of degrees that a day’s temperature falls below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, which is considered the temperature at which a building needs to be heated. The higher the number of heating degree days in an area, the more demand there is for heat, so the greater the savings will be from an insulation upgrade. You can get your area’s HDD number from your utility company or off the Internet.
  • 24: Hours in a day, used in this formula to convert HDD from days to hours.

An example

OK, hopefully you’re still with me. Now let’s pull all that together into a typical example. Let’s say you have a 1,500-square-foot home with R-11 insulation in the attic. You have electric heat, and you’re currently paying 9 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity (learn more details at Insulation4US site). You’re thinking of upgrading to R-38, and a contractor has given you an estimate of $1,200 to do the work. A quick check on the Web has shown you that your area has approximately 7,500 heating degree days.

Here’s how all that would plug into the formula:

  • Ci: 0.80. (Cost of insulation is 80 cents per square foot, based on a $1,200 estimate divided by 1,500 square feet).
  • R1: 11. (Existing attic insulation is R-11).
  • R2: 38. (Proposed upgrade is R-38).
  • E: 1.0. (Electric heat has an efficiency rating of 1.0).
  • Ce: 0.000026. (Electricity in your area costs $0.09 per kilowatt-hour, divided by 3,413 Btu/kwh).
  • HDD: 7500 (The number of heating degree days in your geographical location).

Now, take the formula in plug in the numbers, then do the math:

  • (Ci x R1 x R2 x E) ÷ (Ce x [R2 – R1] x HDD x 24)
  • (.80 x 11 x 38 x 1) ÷ (0.000026 x [38 – 11] x 7500 x 24)
  • 334.4 ÷ (0.000026 x 27 x 7500 x 24)
  • 334.4 ÷ 126.36 = 2.64 years

So, based on this formula and all the variables, you can expect the insulation upgrade to pay for itself in a little over 2 1/2 years.

via inman.com

Top Lenders Clear out Foreclosure Inventories in Non-judicial States | Mt Kisco NY Real Estate

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Among the five lenders involved in the National Mortgage Settlement – Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citi and Ally/GMAC – non-judicial pre-foreclosure activity (NOD, NTS) decreased 41 percent in November compared to a year ago, led by Bank of America with a 63 percent decrease and Citi with a 40 percent decrease. Meanwhile judicial pre-foreclosure activity (LIS, NFS) for the five lenders combined increased 26 percent from a year ago, led by Chase with a 114 percent increase and Wells Fargo with a 37 percent increase.

In November, foreclosure activity decreased of 3 percent from October and is down 19 percent from November 2011 – marking the 26th consecutive month with an annual decrease in foreclosure activity, according to RealtyTrac.

“The drop in overall foreclosure activity in November was caused largely by a 71-month low in foreclosure starts for the month, more evidence that we are past the worst of the foreclosure problem brought about by the housing bubble bursting six years ago,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “But foreclosures are continuing to hobble the U.S. housing market as lenders finally seize properties that started the process a year or two ago – and much longer in some cases. We’re likely not completely out of the woods when it comes to foreclosure starts, either, as lenders are still adjusting to new foreclosure ground rules set forth in the National Mortgage Settlement along with various state laws and court rulings.”

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Outrage after NY paper publishes names of gun permit holders | Mt Kisco Homes

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NEW YORK A newspaper’s publication of the names and addresses of handgun permit holders in two New York counties has sparked online discussions — and a healthy dose of outrage.

The Journal News, a Gannett Co. newspaper covering three counties in the Hudson Valley north of New York City and operating the website lohud.com, posted a story Sunday detailing a public-records request it filed to obtain the information.

The 1,800-word story headlined, “The gun owner next door: What you don’t know about the weapons in your neighborhood,” said the information was sought after the Dec. 14 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., about 50 miles northeast of the paper’s headquarters in White Plains. A gunman killed his mother, drove to an elementary school and massacred 20 first-graders and six adults, then shot himself. All the weapons used were legally owned by his mother.

The Journal News story includes comments from both sides of the gun-rights debate and presents the data as answering concerns of those who would like to know whether there are guns in their neighborhood. It reports that about 44,000 people in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties are licensed to own a handgun, and that rifles and shotguns can be purchased without a permit.

It was accompanied online by maps of the results for Westchester and Rockland counties; similar details had not yet been provided by Putnam County. A reader clicking on the maps can see the name and address of each pistol or revolver permit holder. Accompanying text states that inclusion does not necessarily mean that an individual owns a weapon, just who obtained a license.

By Wednesday afternoon, the maps had shared about 30,000 times on Facebook and other social media.

Most online comments have criticized the publication of the data, and many suggest it puts the permit holders in danger because criminals have a guide to places they can steal guns. Others maintain it tells criminals who does not have a gun and may be easier to victimize, or where to find law enforcement figures against whom they might hold a grudge.

Some responded by publicizing the home addresses and phone numbers of the reporter who wrote the piece, along with other journalists at the paper and even senior executives of Gannett. Many echoed the idea that publicizing gun permit holders’ names is tantamount to accusing them of doing something wrong, comparing the move to publishing lists of registered sex offenders.

The Journal News is standing behind the project. It said in the story that it published a similar list in 2006.

“Frequently, the work of journalists is not popular. One of our roles is to report publicly available information on timely issues, even when unpopular,” Janet Hasson, president and publisher of The Journal News Media Group, said in an emailed statement. “We knew publication of the database (as well as the accompanying article providing context) would be controversial, but we felt sharing information about gun permits in our area was important in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings.”

Roy Clark, a senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based journalism think tank, said publishing the data was “too indiscriminate.”

He, too, compared the maps to similar efforts involving sex-offender registries or lists of those arrested for driving under the influence, noting that such a move is usually done to indicate a serious problem that requires a neighbor or parent to maintain vigilance.

“You get the connotation that somehow there’s something essentially wrong with this behavior,” he said of the gun permit database.

“My predisposition is to support the journalism,” Clark said. “I want to be persuaded that this story or this practice has some higher social purpose, but I can’t find it.”

Also common among the comments on the lohud.com were suggestions about suing the paper for violating permit-holders’ privacy rights. Such a move would likely be unsuccessful.

“The media has no liability for publishing public information,” said Edward Rudofsky, a First Amendment attorney at Zane and Rudofsky in New York. The issue does present a clash between First and Second amendment rights, he said, but in general, the law protects publishing public information unless the intent was to harm someone.

via cbsnews.com