One thing I love about Google is that they offer so many free tools that makes your life easier, allows you to conduct business and even make you money.  

I currently use Google Documents, Google Reader (tracks RSS feeds from multiple websites), Google Base (list products for sale), Google Checkout (process orders, like PayPal), Google Webmaster (optimize website), Google Analytics (track visitors to website), Google Calendar, Google Adsense (make money from advertising), Google Sketch (create 3-D drawings), Google Mail, Google Alert (track new topics on the Web), Google Chrome (Web browser), Google Search (search engine for website) and Google Maps all for free.  Google however offers many more free applications that I’ve never used.

One interesting new Google application just released is the Google Checkout Store Gadget that makes it easy and quickly to create an online store using Google Docs spreadsheet.  The application allows you to easily add a store to an existing website or Blog.  This is great if you are novice and want to sell items on the Internet.  Google Checkout handles the credit card transactions for you (like PayPal).  With the Google Checkout Store Gadget no complicated coding or technical skills are required.  You can get your online store up and running in under 5 minutes, according to Google.

For more information visit StoreGadget.GoogleLabs.com.

To see all Google Applications visit http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

Did you know Google and Sony now allow online access to over a million public domain books all for free?  You can search, browse, and read the books with a Sony Reader or on your computer.  If you have a smart phone, such as an iPhone you can use that as well.

U.S. owners of Sony readers PRS-505 or PRS-700 can download the books to them.  New users can access books by downloading the free software and creating an account.

The selection of books includes romance novels, biographies, and historical texts along with hundreds of other genres.  The books have been digitized by Google as a part of the Google Book project.

To get your free access, visit ebookstore.sony.com/google-ebooks.

Want to see how a rich criminal lives?  Then check out the January 2008 American Express Bill for Bernie Madoff, his family and top business associates shown below.   The bill for the month was $100,121.99, which includes spending money for shopping, dinning and travel, all paid from the $50 billion Ponzie scheme.  The month prior the bill was $169,283.45.   That is some serious money!  How could Madoff sleep at night knowing that one day he would be caught?

Related Articles:

• The Madoff Affair by FRONTLINE
• Caribbean-based Millennium Bank Ponzi Scheme Uncovered

This is interesting! YouTube is now allowing users to upload videos that can be converted to 3D. To produce a 3D film 2 cameras are required. You then upload the video and YouTube converts the video into 3D. Of course, you will need 3D glasses to watch the video.

See video below of CTV SWO creating a 3D Video

See 3D by CTV SWO at YouTube (3D Glasses Required)

The Internet has become a powerful influence in health care. Eleven years ago, in 1998, The Harris Poll reported that about one-quarter of all adults, 54 million people had ever gone online to look for health information. This number increased rapidly every year until 2007, when we found that 71% of adults, 160 million people, had done this. The great majority of users find this information reliable and many discuss it with their doctors.

However, last year and again this year we have found no increase in the number of cyberchondriacs (the word we use to describe these people). A new Harris Poll find that 67% of adults, 154 million people, now report having looked for health information online. This nationwide Harris Poll of 1,010 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive between July 7 and 13, 2008 shows how much cyberchondriacs value the information they find online:

• The overwhelming majority (83%) of cyberchondriacs report that their search for information online was successful and almost half (45%) say it was “very successful”;
• An even larger majority (87%) believes that this information was reliable (but only 28% say it was “very reliable”);
• Fully 44% of cyberchondriacs have discussed information they obtained online with their doctors (however, this is lower than the 58% we reported in 2007); and,
• Half (49%) of cyberchondriacs have searched for information online based on discussions they had with their doctors.

There are two reasons why the number of cyberchondriacs has not increased for two years. One is that the proportion of adults who are online, which rose rapidly from 38% in 1998 to 79% in 2007, has not increased for the last two years. The other is that the proportion of those online who report having used the Internet to look for health information has remained remarkably steady, varying only from 71% to 84% over the last eleven years, and currently stands at 78% slightly lower than it was in 2007.

To read the entire report visit HarrisInteractive.com.

Mint.com has put together an interesting video of what one trillion dollars can buy.  With the current government bailout, proposed healthcare reform, one trillion is thrown around a lot.  But what exactly is one trillion dollars when visualized?  See video below.

Last Tuesday I wrote a post about getting a low interest loan from Lending Club.  However, on the flip side you can be a lender and make a much higher return on your money than any bank can currently pay; even with a CD.  This post is about becoming a lender or investor.

Lending Club is a social lending network that brings together investors and creditworthy borrowers to lend money that cuts out the middle man; traditional banks.  The process is sometimes referred to Peer-to-Peer lending (P2P). Lending Club takes a small 1% commission from lenders to conduct busines.  Borrowers pay a processing fee depending on their creditworthiness which range from 0.75% to 3.5% of the loan value. 

Lending Club can afford to do this because they have very low overhead by offering their service via the Internet with an automated system.  They have no brick and mortar locations, ATM machines, many employees, etc., that a typical bank has.

There is risk with lending your money to individuals; however, Lending Club does a very good job of qualifying good borrowers based on their credit score (minimum of 660 required), debt-to-income ratio (excluding mortgage) below 25% and credit history that shows borrowers are responsible.  

Lending Club accepts 1 out of every 10 people who apply for a loan.  Interest rates are determined by risk.  Borrowers that are ranked as low risk can borrow at lower interest rates, while borrowers that are ranked as higher risk will pay a higher interest rate.  So lenders can get a higher interest rate if they are willing to take on higher risk loans.  Loan requests are attributed to Lending Club grade ranging from A1 to G5.  See screen shot below.

To minimize risk, lenders can find borrows based on credit scores, debt-to-income ratio, delinquencies (last 2 years), and funding status.    See screen shot below.

Loans are 3 years, however, you can sell your loan at any point and according to Lending Club it normally takes 2 and ½ day to sell your loan.  

Lending Club also allows you to easy reinvest your returns based on your cash available and your desired interest rate. See screen shot below

Yesterday Lending Club had a Webinar (presentation via the Web) and stated that over the last 2 years Lending Club has had much higher returns when compared to 1-3 Year Treasuries, iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, NASDAQ and S-And-P 500.    See slide below.

I recently opened an account with Lending Club and hope to get some of these nice returns!  For more information visit Lending Club.

Related Articles:

• Need a Loan? Get a Low Interest Loan from Lending Club
• Social Lending Networks are Booming