Stuart Lewtan – Interviewed on MYOB Radio


Listen to Stuart Lewtan (Zintro’s founder & CEO) interviewed on the MYOB Radio Show (a syndicated business talk show for entrepreneurs and other professionals).  In the interview, Stuart discusses his personal philosophy about how the Internet has become a ubiquitous tool for consumer use but has barely scratched the surface in the B2B world.  He also discusses the origins of Zintro and his bold vision for its future,  Lewtan Technologies (his first company), his involvement at Brandeis University (Trustee) and a whole lot more.

Click here to listen to the interview

Our Zintro experts would love to hear from you!  Post your question for industry experts here.  Are you a subject matter expert?  Sign up as a Zintro expert to start generating free leads for your business.Introducing Professionals to Experts and Experts to New Business

Zintro has experts in every industry sector, across every job function, in every geographic region.  Recently, some of the following topics have seen a inquiry activity:

Orbital debris as a problem



By Maureen Aylward

We asked our Zintro experts to tell us if orbital debris is a real problem and how it might impact the future of space exploration.

Frans von der Dunk, a professor of space law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (US), believes that orbital debris is close to becoming a real problem for all space activities, inclusive of space travel. “The smallest of particles, due to their speed, can result in disastrous damage. The infamous cascade effect is about to kick in, meaning that even without any further launch, orbital debris will multiply. Its impact on the future of space travel will lie in the increased costs for awareness, mitigation and defensive measures against possible impact, and, legally speaking, translate into greater likelihoods of liability claims,” he says. “One juridical way of approaching the problem is to establish legally binding standards before anyone is allowed to enter outer space and another to establish a global warning and cleaning up system. But while the technology is there, the costs seem to outsize the benefits, at least until a few more accidents start to hit home. It is perhaps better and cheaper in the end to prevent then to procure.”

Duncan Lunan, an expert in astronomy and space education and science writer, refers to the episode of a disastrously successful Chinese test of an Anti-Satellite Weapon in January 2007, which destroyed one of its own weather satellites, and added 35,000-90,000 pieces of debris to the population orbiting the Earth – all of them in near-polar orbit threatening clusters of satellites, including the Iridium mobile phone constellation. “If the new debris cloud generates a cascade effect as more and more satellites are destroyed, all space efforts may be set back for at least a generation,” says Lunan.

Lunan says that when an object breaks up explosively in orbit, fragments have a wide range of velocities (defined by speed and direction). Those that are hurled forward go into orbits with an apogee higher than the original orbit; those hurled back go to a lower perigee. “The destroyed weather satellite Feng Yun 1C was at an altitude of 537 miles, and debris that reached Low Earth Orbit cleared rapidly, so the surviving 35,000-plus pieces must be ranging upwards to at least 974 miles’ altitude, actually from 3,800 km. (2375 miles) on the high end down to about 200 km. (125 miles) at the lowest, according to Nicholas Johnson, NASA’s chief scientist for orbital debris, which is by far the worst satellite fragmentation in the history of the space age, in the past 50 years,” he says.

“Feng Yun 1C was in near-polar orbit, so over a year its debris ring broadened in longitude to envelop the Earth, and is able to hit any satellite within its altitude range, including the Hubble Space Telescope, most Earth-observation spacecraft, and such low-Earth-orbit communications constellations as Orbcomm, Iridium, and Globalstar,” says Lunan. “Most of it will fall in 25 years, but some will take a century or more, and as it comes down, all that debris will pass through LEO and pose new hazards to satellites. It can be shown mathematically that above a certain number of objects in orbit, mutual collisions will increase the numbers in a cascade effect until every satellite is destroyed and the sphere of debris enclosing the Earth prevents all further space missions until it clears. The trouble is that we don’t know how large or small that critical number is, so each new debris event is a serious cause for alarm.”

Walter H. Delashmit, PhD, an engineering consultant, says that orbital debris is a major problem. “We now have many countries and even private companies putting things into space. We have no control over these systems and they may have trouble tracking many of them. There is no easy way to destroy the debris because blowing them up leaves smaller debris particles that can impact/collide with other systems,” he says. “It does not take a very big particle at the speeds we are talking about to cause problems, but how to safely de-orbit debris is a big question.”

Introducing Professionals to Experts and Experts to New Business

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Cutting red meat out of the diet: Part 1



By Maureen Aylward

Recent studies from the Harvard School of Public Health say that eating red meat may shorten a person’s lifespan. It says that cutting back on red meat by one serving a day could lower the risk of dying. We asked our Zintro experts to dig into the study and explain what elements in the study are most important to pay attention to.

Patricia Grace-Farfaglia, a registered dietician and lecturer, says that The Harvard researchers that recently published an article in the Archives of Internal Medicine followed 121,000 people for 24 years. The media has been abuzz ever since. “When participants eating higher amounts of unprocessed red meat were compared to those who ate one serving per day, there was a significant difference in death rates. Red meat lovers will always point out that other factors are at play, but the evidence that eating a Mediterranean Diet and other plant-based diets results in lower rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer is overwhelming,” Farfaglia says. “The new Choose My Plate campaign from the USDA targets improving the portion sizes of healthy plant foods and moderating saturated fat, sugar, and sodium. Consumers need to retrain their eyes to accepting smaller amounts of animal proteins and embrace fruits, vegetables, and whole grains at every meal.”

Lisa Mittry, a nutrition consultant, says that the Harvard study echoes research that she has been hearing about for a number of years. “Harvard School of Public Health suggests that that people replace red meat servings with healthier options such as legumes, fish, chicken, and nuts,” she says. “Studies on the deleterious effects of too much sugar in our diets, the side effects of a diet of highly refined and processed foods, gluten, dairy, and so on are all viable and in fact true. However, these studies need to be knit together.” Mittry says there is a tendency to compartmentalize the information the public receives about ways to improve health, when all aspects of the diet must be considered.

“It is a fact that a plant-based diet is highly beneficial to health and longevity. What needs to be taken into consideration is not only the amount, but quality of the red meat being consumed or any meats for that matter. Harvard’s study included highly processed and fast food red meats, which have little to no real nutrient dense benefits,” Mittry says. “Organic, grass-fed, free range cattle is leaner beef that is naturally lower in saturated fat and higher in nutrients such as Omega 3 fatty acids that actually enhance health and lower the risk mortality.” She offers some guidelines: the quality, frequency and amount of red meat should be considered; red meat should only be consumed 1-2 times per week and at the most 4-6 ounces per serving; and the reduction of red meat consumption in one’s diet should be replaced with nutrient dense foods that nourish and support the body’s defenses against disease.

“My experience is that a minority of people may change their eating habits, but it usually takes an event or diagnosis until there is any kind of remarkable change made,” Mittry says.

Dr. Wilco, an expert in holistic and natural nutrition and lifestyle says meat manifests a huge burden on the digestive capabilities of the human frame. “Meat has been too long a transmitter of the inaccurate belief of strength and aura of prosperity. The time has come to recognize the impact that meat has on inner and outer environments,” he says. “To lessen the intake of red meat will indeed improve a person’s health, more so if a person cuts it out completely.”

Wilco explains that food needs to contain water and fiber together with all the nutrients and vitamins intact. Raw and unadulterated foods are digested with no stress and challenge to the body’s system. “Meat, on the other hand, contains no water and no valuable fiber that assists in its digestion. The body is not able to handle all the uric acid found in meat,” he says. “I think that for consumers to change their diet and lessen their meat intake is most certainly a long way away as this study will not be sufficiently supported by the politics of the food industry.

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Leveraging Social Media to Showcase Your Expertise [INFOGRAPHIC]


At Zintro we work to help connect experts with those who can benefit from their expertise both by way of the Zintro network and by creating content to help you get paid for your expertise.

Towards that same end we’ve put together the following infographic to help you understand how you can better showcase your expertise using the leading social media tools – take a look at the graphic and if you find it useful please share it via the share icons below the graphic!

Learn how to position yourself as an expert by leveraging social media channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google Plus.

If you’re looking to learn more about Zintro and the expertise of those on the platform you can check out the following links:

Creating a Personal Home Budget


By Scott Carlino
The importance for creating a home budget home is crucial in order to make certain that an individual is not living above their means and that the individual is not accumulating unnecessary debt. The purpose and real importance of creating a home budget for most people is to make sure that the money going out does not exceed the income. A home budget is meant to keep a good grasp on the flow of income and allocating this money correctly as an individual works towards retirement. Budgeting is all about how well people can manage their money and identifying opportunities to save it. Budgeting helps keep track of where the money went. Without a budget, many Americans over spend accumulating more debt without understanding why they live pay check to pay check.
A good solid budget summarizes how you spend your income and will help create a personalized map for spending. I created this budgeting plan as simple as possible and followed the specs of the assignment. I used my past experience when my income was under $40,000 dollars per year net.
First I used the Microsoft office excel tool which was able to present a personal home budget, using a realistic scenario in relation to what a single male would spend his money on. The spreadsheet was already broken up into different sections: a summary section, income, expenses, finance payments, fixed expenses, and variable expenses. The excel program also created columns for each section dedicated to expenditures which were actual, budgeted and automatically calculated whether the section was above or below targeted budgets. I was impressed with the Microsoft office excel program because it was user friendly and lent itself to an average user who possessed limited computer skills.
Using the excel program I was able to established the major category percentages and see the actual breakdowns for this home budget. The percentage breakdowns were as following: The finance payments were shown to be close to (35%), the fixed expenses were shown to be close to (14%), and a person with a $40,000 dollar net income showed their variable expenses to fall close to (46%). Fixed expenses were the home mortgage, student loan, insurance, utilities and car loan.
A professional financial advisor could make the argument that the spending on eating out and vacations should be reduced but people need to live life. I can probably say that this budget could safely take off 10 % of the spending for entertainment factors and put the money away for more retirement. I feel that it really comes down to controlling a person’s wants and needs. Individuals need to sit down and think about what he or she wants out of life. When a person begins to create a personal or home budget it is important for that individual to understand the core concept of what the budget is meant to do. The objective is to enable and forecast the management of personal income and expenses while planning for future spending and direction of money flow. A personal budget will help you control your finances – understand where your money is going, pinpoint the areas of excessive expenditure and cut down unnecessary expenses. In the budget I created most of the excessive spending falls into the entertainment, dining out and vacation categories.
The question in life that always arises is this: Should a person with limited income and budget in order to live for today or live towards retirement? In my life I always had the attitude that I could possibly get hit by a bus or car tomorrow so, why not spend the extra money and have fun. I explain this as the “You only live once scenario”. Only 1% of individuals in the world emerge from their position in society which they were born into. So, why fight the system? I believe a careful plan for the future is very important but I also believe that a person should not deny themselves some pleasure and happiness while living in the present. Worrying about the future is warranted but too much worry has a negative effect on an individual’s life.
It is apparent in today’s society that Americans work harder and harder week after week spending more and more money increasing their debt year after year until this debt becomes unmanageable. They count on their next pay raise without the understanding that inflation alone will be more than the raise received. Everyone need money to survive and is the main driving factor for most. Having an understanding that money does not grow on trees will help people to stop purchasing products they do not need.
In closing I will say that I think people should research and understand their economical position and live the best they can while planning a reasonable budget keeping in mind retirement. The question of what is reasonable will have to be left up to the people planning the budgets for themselves. I lived my life day to day because I understood that I had to enjoy my life now. Having a good understanding about rising inflation, interest and purchasing is very important for creating a realistic budget. Unfortunately, that is not going to work out that way for most people in the times that we live in.

Our Zintro experts would love to hear from you!  Post your question for industry experts here.  Are you a subject matter expert?  Sign up as a Zintro expert to start generating free leads for your business.

Zintro has experts in every industry sector, across every job function, in every geographic region.  Recently, some of the following topics have seen a inquiry activity:

Seeking Experts to work on Chemical Industry Consulting Projects


Zintro is a business network that makes it easy for Clients (expert-seekers) to connect with Experts for consulting engagements (ranging from one half hour phone consults to multi-month on-site engagements). Some of the uses include:

▪   For market research
▪   To get challenging business or technical questions answered
▪   To potentially hire them for consulting projects
▪   To potentially hire them for full-time employment
▪   To potentially buy products or services from them

Zintro has over 40,000 experts (browse) across every single industry sector. These experts have opted-in to receive system-matched inquiries from our almost 10,000 clients. Over 1,000 inquiries come in every month.

Zintro currently has numerous open projects related to chemical industry. A few of these projects are included below.  Click on the links below to see more detail about the projects

A SMALL SAMPLE OF ACTIVE CONSULTING PROJECTS:

Laundry Detergent Toll Manufacturing
I am currently working on a research project for detergent toll manufacturing. My focus is global and i want to find out top players for detergent toll manufacturing and how the toll manufacturing industry is operating in terms of cost…more

Industrial Cleaning
I would like to speak with someone who is familiar with the processes and requirements for industrial cleaning in some or all of the following industries: auto, petrochemical, steel and power…more

Control System
I’m doing final year project about control system of chemical plant, which i have done all the simulations and matlab work. now i’m trying to write me dissertation…more

Silica Gel manufacturing
I am an American consultant who works with a chemical company in the middle East.They are looking for a consultant to help them with silica gel manufacturing…more

Oil & Chemical Tankers
We are looking for a knowledgeable consultant (maybe retire executive) with industry experience in chemical Tankers (fleet Operations)…more

Plastics Recycling
I am interested in joint venture and into HOT CHEMICAL WASHED PET FLAKES .We can process natural white 600 MT /month grinding/flake size 6-10 mm IV 0.69 to 0.71 PVC CONTENT less than 200 PPM MELTING POINT 240 TO 270C ,moisture below 1% no labels caps etc…more

Electrochemistry
I am having trouble plating cadmium on steel alloy using NAS 672 Fluoborate cadmium plating bath…more

Nano Chemistry
Looking for a chemist with expertise in nano-technology and mixtures, working on a water-resistant treatment for feathers and down. looking for someone near greater cincinnati that could start as a consultant…more

For Experts (client-seekers): Are you interested in marketing your services to Zintro’s Clients? It takes just a couple of minutes and is free to sign up as a Zintro Expert. Relevant projects will automatically be emailed to you. Click here to sign up.

For Clients (expert-seekers): In under 90 seconds, you can contact hundreds of relevant business or technical experts within any industry sector. Click here to post an Inquiry (free & anonymous).

Or, do you want to learn more about how Zintro works? Click here to view Zintro’s knowledge-base.

Zintro has experts in every industry sector, across every job function, in every geographic region. Recently, some of the following topics have seen a inquiry activity:

Mobile technology and small business



By Maureen Aylward

We asked our Zintro experts to comment on how small businesses are using mobile technologies to drive growth and innovation. We also wanted to know about roadblocks. Here is what they had to say.

priyashmita guha, a business consultant, says that mobile technology is one of the cheapest ways to promote a brand, especially in the retail/online space. “It helps companies spread their information to prospects faster and the conversion is higher. Today, start-up e-commerce companies are actively using SMS to drive home traffic and conversion. The cost of acquisition and conversion is one of the lowest in that space,” she says. “Companies like Techgig, and Snapdeal are using it actively in India to reach their customer base and update them on the latest happenings. Creating apps have become a cheap option that helps to drive traffic.”

Patrick walshe, a mobile consultant, says that during the past five years, mobile usage has become an increasingly complicatedecosphere. “However, it is clear that small businesses are experimenting with mobile via daily deal sites; various mobile products offered by tradition newspapers and local directories; and local mobile destinations like Patch and Everyblock,” he says. “But, small businesses do not have the time nor the technology required to optimize mobile spending. And there are other roadblocks, too.”

Walshe thinks that major roadblocks are the buy and sell end of the sales buy. “In other words, they start at the selling end. Most retailers or small-medium businesses are companies with boots on the ground. These organizations haven’t trained or incentivized their sales forces to sell their digital properties,” he says. “In the publishing business, most senior sales managers will tell you that their sales forces are simply not interested in or equipped to sell digital products. And these are industries that have to re-invent themselves.”

Walshe points out that remuneration is also an issue. “Digital retail properties sell for dimes versus traditional media dollars. So at the local retailer sell end, there is not much incentive for traditional sales forces with strong local relationships to include mobile in their offerings,” he says.  “The hyper-local mobile products in the retail market that target SMBs (daily deal sites like Groupon, social media sites like Foursquare, local publications like Patch and Everyblock) have not shown that they can build sustained business advantage, which is a function of their inability to attract and grow ad revenue. This lack of a well trained, well connected local sales force is a significant barrier to growing ad revenue from SMBs.”

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Zintro has experts in every industry sector, across every job function, in every geographic region.  Recently, some of the following topics have seen a inquiry activity:

“Zintro provided a perfect match” – Suresh Bhatt


Suresh Bhatt is an independent mining consultant involved in coal property valuation, sales, and consulting. With 40 years of experience, Bhatt has been involved in all aspects of mining coal and non-coal. He has worked for the US Bureau of Mines/NIOSH responsible for mining automation/haulage, highwall, longwall, production, accident analysis, safety, workers compensation insurance, and slope stability.

When he received a recent inquiry on the Zintro system, he could not believe how perfect a match it was with his expertise and the client’s needs. The inquiry on mining procurement was from an analyst for a research company headquartered in London and with offices in India. The analyst had been retained by a global mining company to understand the global market scenario for bolts and wire mesh required for ground support. Bhatt, who lives in the US, responded immediately and his proposal was accepted.

“I have been in the mining consulting business for over 40 years and work for numerous research and consulting firms. Zintro provided a perfect match between my expertise and the client’s needs in India,” Bhatt says. “The project was very specialized, and I handled it effectively.” Bhatt says that the whole process with Zintro from expert selection to payment of services was flawless and completed in about a week. “Zintro offered me great service to the worldwide professional community. I am highly impressed with its efficiency and management and will spread the word among my business friends,” he says.

Zintro has experts in every industry sector, across every job function, in every geographic region.  Recently, some of the following topics have seen a inquiry activity:

The expansion of the Pacific garbage patch



By Maureen Aylward

We turned to our Zintro experts to explain the environmental impact of great Pacific Garbage Patch. We wanted to know where it is and if debris from the Japanese tsunami of March 2012 will contribute to it.

Robert Thomas, a science writer and analytical chemist, says that the “garbage patch,” is a large area of marine debris concentration in the North Pacific Ocean. The name “garbage patch” has led many to believe that this area is a gigantic patch of marine debris, such as bottles, plastic, and other litter easily visible from the air. But this is just not true. “There is no island of trash forming in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, nor is there a blanket of trash that can be seen with satellite or aerial photographs. However, what cannot be denied is that much of the debris found in the Pacific Ocean is small bits of floating plastic not easily seen from a boat that are accumulating in two specific areas of the ocean.”

Eastern Pacific garbage patch: “Concentrations of marine debris have been noted in an area called the North Pacific Subtropical High, an area midway between Hawaii and California,” Thomas explains. “Due to limited marine debris samples collected in the Pacific, it is still difficult to predict its exact content, size, and location. However, marine debris has been quantified in higher concentrations in the calm center of this high-pressure zone compared to areas outside this zone. It should also be emphasized that the North Pacific Subtropical High is not a stationary area, but one that is constantly moving and changing shape.”

Western Pacific garbage patch – “There is a small recirculation gyre (a large-scale circular feature made up of ocean currents) off the coast of Japan that is responsible for creating floating marine debris – the so-called Western Pacific garbage patch,” says Thomas. “The exact forces that cause this clockwise rotation are still being researched to fully understand the true nature of and forces behind these recirculation gyres. However it may be caused by winds and ocean eddies, which cause clockwise or counter-clockwise rotating areas of water.”

Thomas points out that initially there was much concern that debris from last year’s magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami in Japan could end up in one or both of the garbage patches, before eventually reaching Hawaii and the West Coast of the US in late 2013. “But studies have shown that much of the 4-8 million tons of debris that washed out to sea, including entire homes, appliances and vehicles, actually sank off Japan’s coast. For that reason, computer models by researchers at the University of Hawaii predict that even though approximately 1-2 million tons of flotsam is still in the ocean, it is estimated that only less than 5% of the debris could make its way to Hawaii and even less to the West Coast,” he says.

Suresh Kumar, a chief scientist, says that these patches are made up pretty much anything you can think of and 90 percent of the trash is plastic. Kumar thinks that almost all of the garbage in the world’s oceans is a direct result of human incompetence and not natural disasters. “Researchers estimate that 10 percent of the 200 billion pounds of plastic that the world produces each year ends up in the ocean; 20 billion pounds of garbage that ultimately ends up floating in places like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, washing up on beaches, or sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Once it sinks, it decomposes slowly, breaking into smaller pieces, though never fully going away,” Kumar states.

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Zintro has experts in every industry sector, across every job function, in every geographic region.  Recently, some of the following topics have seen a inquiry activity:

Changing careers, older entrepreneurs shine



By Maureen Aylward

Recent studies have shown that people over the age of 50 are the fastest growing area of entrepreneurism. Experience is one contributing success factor. Our Zintro experts were eager to share their ideas and reasoning for this growth and success.

Karl Dakin, an entrepreneur, says that the predominance of new entrepreneurs coming from people 50 and older is largely a consequence of individuals reaching a point in their career where they have make a decision between continuing to work for a large company or to break off and become their own boss. “Due to the recession, opportunities to remain with a large company and advance in both pay and responsibility have been extremely limited. As a result, despite the apparent risk, the better opportunity is to become an entrepreneur,” says Dakin. “Many individuals have grown tired of the increasing competition and politics as they approach the top of the corporate ladder and are looking for work where the vast majority of their talents can be put to use in doing something of value. An entrepreneur, although not free of competition and political situations, may nonetheless have a sense of focus in their work.”

Dakin points out that many new entrepreneurs who are older start thinking about the purpose of their life and their legacy. “They want to finish their careers with one or more accomplishments that justify their hard work. These new entrepreneurs are the source of social enterprises, B-corps, L3C’s and new nonprofits. Mission becomes of primary importance over profits,” he says.

Declan Kavanagh, an expert in business strategy development, says that there are several reasons people over 50 are getting more involved in entrepreneurial activity. “A catalyst such as job loss or redundancy sparks entrepreneurs to try something they have been thinking of doing. A similar catalyst is when employment opportunities are slim and therefore the pressing need to create an income motivates a person to start a business,” Kavanagh explains. “People over 50 have a career and experience behind them and may have amassed some wealth that enables them to take a risk. Some over 50 entrepreneurs learned their entrepreneurial skills as employees of large organizations where past roles allow them to be intrapreneurial.”

Kent Gordon, an entrepreneurial executive, thinks the economic downturn has been a boon for entrepreneurial, talented, and energetic Boomers to successfully unleash and commercialize insight-based innovations. “Fifty-plusers still have plenty of gas in their tank to create, launch, and sustain innovations. Their older counterparts (Matures, ages 66+) are setting great examples to emulate,” he says. “The rise in startup among the older generation, relative to the younger Millennials and Generation Xers, is due in large part to a recessionary impact on Boomer employment and the loss of retirement assets.”

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Zintro has experts in every industry sector, across every job function, in every geographic region.  Recently, some of the following topics have seen a inquiry activity:

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