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From a longer post here: How to Fix the Politics of TribalismI see four main problem areas that need to be addressed.The modern mediaMoney in politicsStructural issues in the SenateExtreme partisanship and polarizationAnd there are three main areas where I think we could make substantial progress.Fixing our party systemReforms in CongressChanging our political cultureTL;DR: Enlarge our voter base to include more moderates, repair a few issues with Senate rules, and encourage the media and the public to hold politicians more accountable.THE PROBLEMSThe Modern MediaThe 19th century was the Dark Age of Partisan Journalism. Parties subsidized newspapers and shaped both the news and editorials. Eventually ad revenue freed the press from partisan influence. In the 20th century, most people got their news from the big three broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) or from local newspapers. Editorials were often partisan, but news reporting corps did a good job of reporting only facts.Today, partisan coverage has proven to be the most profitable model by far, only with a much larger reach than newspapers in the 19th century. Audiences are more fragmented, and with the advent of cable news and the internet, so is their attention span. Fox News and MSNBC maintain their conservative and liberal audiences by reporting the same partisan messages over and over again. CNN pits left- and right-leaning pundits against each other in attack shows. And they rake in the cash. Fox’s profits dwarf those of MSNBC and CNN, which in turn are well above ABC, CBS, and NBC.Infotainment has replaced facts and debate. Sensationalism reinforces the message that extreme partisanship is the new norm. And this extremism pays. The lack of fact checking in reporting corps lets pundits gain celebrity status while lying through their teeth. Politicians can piggyback on manufactured scandals for massive fundraising advantages. Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, and Donald Trump, among many others, spent months stoking rumors that President Obama was born in Kenya. The damage of falsehoods perpetrated by the news media is long-reaching, and the public has become immune to factual information. As recently as September 2015, a survey in Iowa showed that 35% of voters think Obama was born outside the U.S., and 24% don’t know. Put another way, 3/5 of voters think that the President of the United States, in office for seven years, is illegitimate.2. Money in PoliticsPoliticians today are on a permanent fundraising campaign. Candidates of course need money to reach voters. But by the 1990s, corporations and individuals were spending huge sums of soft money on political ads and other lobbying efforts. These efforts include direct and indirect bribes, favors, and paid positions for ex-lawmakers on K Street. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 addressed soft money and issue ads, and worked as intended for many years. The Supreme Court case McConnell v. Federal Election Commissionin 2003 challenged parts of the BCRA, but it was mostly upheld.In 2010, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission upended a few decades of judicial precedent. The activism of the Roberts court opened the door for huge amounts of new political spending. A lax FEC has further allowed egregious evasion of disclosure requirements for donors.A quick recap. Citizens United, a conservative group, put out a film calledHillary: The Movie. It was designed to undermine Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Citizens United wanted an exception from the BCRA’s limit on corporate advertising funding. They claimed that the film was not “electioneering communications.” There was no mention of addressing the overall ban on corporate spending in presidential campaigns.Roberts demanded a rehearing to address the question of whether the ban was constitutional. The controversial 5–4 decision, only a few years afterMcConnell v. FEC, threw campaign finance into disarray. The only thing that had changed was the political makeup of the court due to Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement in 2005. The decision equated money with speech and corporations with citizens. Never mind that corporations’ goal is to make money, while citizens’ goals are much broader.The scope of the court’s new willingness to legislate is alarming given Roberts’ statement at his confirmation hearing. “Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way around…they operate within a system of precedents...they’re not to legislate.”Fundraising is now a part of presidential, congressional, and even judicial elections. Independent political groups file as 501(c)4 social welfare nonprofits to avoid disclosing donors. Karl Rove was famous for starting this trend with his American Crossroads organization. Democrats have predictably followed suit.In the new spirit of drastic deregulation, SpeechNow v. Federal Election Commission in the DC Court of Appeals applied the precedent set by Citizens United v. FEC to independent expenditure committees, allowing SpeechNow to accept unlimited contributions. These new “Super PACS,” banned from coordinating with candidates, are in fact run by their closest advisers and colleagues. Sham corporations are created and then disbanded after only a few months, with the sole purpose of donating to candidates. Even long-time congressional incumbents now spend many hours a week fundraising instead of legislating. They are intent on building protective war chests to fight negative ad campaigns by mystery organizations. Just the threat of negative ads can now garner influence for lobbyists, without ever spending a dollar.It’s worth noting that Democrats attempted to address these issues with the DISCLOSE Act in 2010. Republicans killed the bill with a filibuster. Despite a 59–39 vote, not a single Republican was willing to join the majority to achieve cloture.These changes in campaign finance do nothing but reinforce political polarization. Party leaders are all-star fundraisers. Campaign chairs go to those who excel at dialing for dollars. Legislative and negotiation skills take a backseat. Politicians realize that voters don’t know too much about them, and thus negative ads can be brutally effective. Instead of spending time with their colleagues, lawmakers now raise money to attack each other covertly.3. Structural issues in the SenateIt might seem weird to follow up “Media” and “Money” with “Senate Rules”. The first two are pretty broad, and there’s a general consensus that they often have a negative impact on the general population’s interests. But how can the Senate rulebook cause so much trouble?If you try to remember the last time you heard about the Senate messing with things, you probably think back to the spate of recent debt ceiling fights, or maybe how Obamacare finally passed with 60 votes in late 2009. But other than that, it’s always been contentious, right?It’s true that Congress has been getting more adversarial since the 1970s as measured by ideological gap between parties, but it really ramped up with Obama, when essentially no Republican votes were available for any action. The thinking for decades has been that any progress on the majority’s legislative agenda is bad for the minority, so obstruction is the name of the game. You could be forgiven for thinking that’s just the political process and that fights across branches are inevitable, but that hasn’t always been the case, especially not with the ferocity and venom of the last few terms.Here are a few examples of how standoffs can impact your day-to-day life. The Senate failed to pass relief funding for Hurricane Irene in 2011, because for the first time Republicans called for cuts in social programs to offset emergency disaster relief spending. Also in 2011, the Senate delayed reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration because Congressman John Mica wanted to deny FAA employees bargaining rights and stop subsidies to small airports. This ultimately led to weeks of airport delays, 24,000 lost construction jobs, and cost the government an estimated $300M in lost airfare taxes. It’s worth noting that Mica’s main reason for the bill was to hurt his negotiating partners on the other side of the table, whose constituents were some of those small airports and were severely impacted by the FAA delay. Obviously the collateral damage this hostage-taking tact caused was counter-productive to the allegedly pure cause of fiscal conservatism and waste reduction.The novel use of Holds and Filibusters in the Senate as permanent vetoes exacerbates this collateral damage. Whereas the House has rules to facilitate collective action, the Senate caters to individual action and in many ways encourages unanimous consent. The filibuster was initially a last resort, a safety valve the minority could use as a last ditch effort to halt proceedings and draw attention to an issue on which they held particularly strong beliefs.Unlimited debate was not intended by the founding fathers, but was in fact introduced inadvertently by a rule change in 1805. It was not taken advantage of for several decades, and even then only rarely. The ability to stop the debate via Cloture was established in 1917, requiring a 2/3 vote, which was reduced to 60/100 in the 1970s. Nowadays one could be forgiven for assuming that use of the filibuster is a normal part of the Senate’s day to day activity. Routine procedural motions, nominations, and bills are all now the subject of filibusters. The idea is that obstruction will slow the majority’s legislative agenda and lower Congress’s approval rating, and the party most associated with lambasting government in general will come out ahead.Holds have evolved to delay the Senate’s routine business even more. In general, the Senate assumes unanimous consent is appropriate to schedule and execute its business. Traditionally, senators used the Hold to prepare themselves for floor debate, but now a Senator simply needs to inform the leadership of their intent to delay, and the majority then needs to jump through many hoops to continue, taking several weeks to move the process forward. What’s more, Holds can be submitted anonymously, so stealth obstructionism is now the norm for all types of Senate business. Cloture is now invoked almost immediately on all bills, preventing the minority from offering amendments to legislation when they might in fact be warranted, further hindering the ability for back-and-forth negotiation and compromise. In the late 1970s there were fewer than 2 clotures per month, jumping to around 4 per month in the Clinton and Bush years. The number has now jumped to 2 per week under Obama.Routine bills that should take 1–2 days now take 2–4 weeks to pass. Blanket holds on everything from White House nominations to Air Force promotions are now the norm. Bills that end up passing with overwhelming majorities are now the subject of holds and filibusters, bills such as extending unemployment benefits during the recession, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act, all of which ended up passing with over 90 votes after cloture. Even after these bills pass, the filibuster rule allows for 30 hours of debate after cloture, which the minority routinely takes advantage of even though they’re not required to be present, so often there is just a roll call repeated over and over for 30 hours.Even more alarming than the delay of routine business is the New Nullification — the intentional obstruction of executive and judicial nominations, even those of candidates deemed universally competent and appropriate, and that are necessary for the government to effectively implement laws already on the books. This amounts to Senators challenging their oath to carry out existing laws, whether they like them or not. Nominations that used to take weeks now take up to six months. Critical positions in Obama’s cabinet went unfilled for almost his entire first year in office.In late 2009 in the thick of the financial crisis, for example, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner had to operate without a deputy secretary, undersecretary for international affairs, undersecretary for domestic finance, assistant secretary for tax policy, assistant secretary for financial markets, and assistant secretary for financial stability, and assistant secretary for legislative affairs. After the worst of the recession abated, a number of key players in the crisis testified before Congress that significant fundamental risk to the financial system was artificially introduced by lack of candidates for posts at Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.The confirmation rate of presidential appointments has dropped from over 90% in the 1970s to around 50% today, with experience and qualifications taking a second seat to blanket opposition and ideological interrogation by the minority. The issue has become much more pronounced since Obama took office. In May 2002 there were 13 pending nominations. In May 2010 there were 108. While tough to measure at the moment, the greatest fear should now be that talented people will shy away from government service, as they become understandably more and more unwilling to subject themselves and their families to up to a year of stress, indignity, and political limbo.4. Extreme Partisanship and PolarizationThe fourth and most pervasive problem with politics today is growing partisan polarization. Throughout history there have been bouts of intense partisanship over certain key issues such as federalism and slavery. For most of the 20th century, however, the parties were less internally unified than they are today, require more deal making and compromise across the aisle. In 2009, however, we hit an ideological turning point: the most conservative Democrat was for the first time more liberal than the most liberal Republican. Put another way, there is now zero ideological overlap between our two political parties.Our constitutional system, characterized by checks and balances and separation of powers, is not structured well to deal with our new rabidly polarized parties. Inaction is the easiest path given the easy methods of obstruction outlined above. The dysfunction is amplified by the uncomfortable truth that this polarization is asymmetric between the parties. The Republican Party is less ideologically centered, disdainful of negotiation and compromise and of government in general, and more prone to perfectionist, take-no-prisoners tactics.This truth isn’t universally accepted, and is glossed over by the modern media’s tendency to favor “balance” and “fairness” over “truth” and “facts.” Many may disagree with this, but I’ll summarize the asymmetry with one graph, showing that as Democrats hold at around -0.4 on a Liberal-Conservative voting spectrum, Republications are approaching +0.8.From here I’ll go forward with the assumption that reining in the insurgency within the Republican Party is as critical to reform as is addressing issues with the media, money in politics, and Senate proceedings, which I’ll turn to in the next post.THE SOLUTIONSFixing our Party SystemThe Democratic and Republican parties of today are less alike and more internally homogeneous than ever before. One of our best bets for normalizing politics is to expand the electorate and bring in more ideologically moderate and flexible voters who are turned off by today’s extreme partisanship.One of the first steps we need to take is updating our antiquated voter registration systems. In the U.S., unlikely every other modern democracy, the burden is on the individual to register to vote, rather than on the government to register its citizens.We currently use outdated paper-based registration systems. One of the first steps we need to take is for states to automate the registration system and put it online. Local and state governments should also make use of third-party public voter lists. Today’s technology and tools make it easy to update these lists and ensure they’re accurate, and merge them across jurisdictions. The same technological advances should make it relatively easy for voters to vote online, or at least have more flexibility regarding polling locations (i.e. allowing people a choice of locations, and add more convenient locations such as malls and supermarkets). Finally, we need to implement election day voter registration. A number of states have this is well and their voting percentages are significantly higher.We also need to make a much more concerted effort to fight practices that attempt to restrict voting, which almost always have partisan motives. In many states, for example, you can use a concealed carry permit to register to vote but not a student ID, which clearly targets certain demographics such as young people and African Americans. The norm should be that any ID required for voter registration should be free to obtain. Another issue is that local elections and ballot initiatives are combined with the federal ticket. There needs to be a separate federal ballot to reduce confusion.Currently, U.S. elections are held on Tuesday. This is a holdover from the 1800s that we need to change. Election day should be on the weekend or ideally there should be a voting period that lasts from Wednesday to Sunday.This last one I know is controversial. But we should consider mandatory voting, as many other modern democracies have. The argument against this is that it’s a restriction on our freedom. However, people forget that you can simply opt for ‘none of the above.’ It should be easy to get out of voting with a valid excuse, or a small fine of $10. We could alternatively offer incentives to vote, such as a small tax credit or even a cash lottery prize for those who vote. In modern democracies where this is the system, 95% of people normally vote and only 3% choose ‘none of the above.’ Even if this is a slight infringement on our freedoms, I think it’s more than worth it to moderate the voter base and bring more centrists into the political process.Another big issue we face today is how our votes are converted into seats in government. We are a strange democracy in that the politicians we elect shape their own voting districts, rather than having nonpartisan boundary conditions draw the lines. Parties devote lots of money and resources to winning control of local legislatures via partisan redistricting processes. This needs to change. This sort of redistricting recently took place in California and other states are following suit.Another potential fix is moving to an open primary system rather than our current closed primaries. There are two different forms we could consider. The first is a blanket primary, where there is a single ballot for all candidates from all parties. Alternatively, we could consider a top two vote getter primary, where the top two candidates face a runoff in the main election.We should also consider enacting an alternative to our current winner-take-all system. We should consider an instant runoff system where voters rank candidates and subsequent runoffs a performed until a candidate has received a majority of the votes. This avoids the wasted vote problem that often stems from strong third party candidates. This will lead to more legitimate majorities elections and help us eliminate the electoral college.Finally, while I think it’s unlikely to fly in the U.S, we could also consider a proportional representation system, such as the single transferable vote system. In this case, each voter gets one vote, but they can transfer it to another candidate automatically, i.e. when their first choice already has enough votes to be elected.The final issue to tackle which impacts the way our parties currently work is that of campaign finance. It’s going to be very tough battle to work within the confines of Citizens United, but there are two parts of the existing law we need to enforce. First, disclosure, and second, separating independent expenditure groups from candidates. The DISCLOSE act mentioned earlier would attack the first, and Congress needs to revive the bill. As far as separating independent expenditures groups, the best course would be a new law that simply outlaws super PACs. The political parties themselves are forming Super PACs, and at this point they are impacting House and Senate races and even judicial races. It would be nice to reform the Federal Election Commission as well, but that looks close to impossible as the Senate is closely protecting the existing commissioners.It would be possible for other branches of government to attack these issues as well. The Internal Revenue Service, for example, could go after fake 501(c)4 nonprofits. The Federal Communications Commission could require all political commercials to list donors. The Securities and Exchange Commission could also play a role by having public corporations disclose quarterly and annual payments to third parties, which are currently hidden from the public. Unfortunately, Congress just passed legislation a few weeks ago making it more difficult for the FCC and the SEC to do so, under pressure from large undisclosed lobbyists.Another smaller issue is leadership PACs, which are simply vehicles politicians use to collect money and then spend on perks for other politicians. these should be flatly outlawed, as they are pure tools of corruption. We also should prohibit lobbyists from contributing to political campaigns. If someone gets any benefit from federal contracts, they should not be allowed to make campaign contributions.We should also consider alternatives for how campaigns are financed at a high level. One of the best things that we can do to normalize politics is to encourage more small donors. We could offer tax credits or rebates, or 5-to-1 dollar matching for small donations. All of these reforms are going to take a long time to enact, but hopefully will be more widely considered as disgust with the current system grows and the search for better alternatives intensifies.2. Reforming our Political InstitutionsOne broad way to reform our institutions would be to switch to a parliamentary majority system, where a single party or a coalition elects the executive. We could also consider eliminating midterm elections, which usually reduce the president’s majority, or try to make Senate terms longer or shorter to match House elections. But I think such drastic changes are unlikely. The best path would be to reform our institutions in two ways. First, make some reforms in the Senate, and second, work on shifting power between Congress and the executive branch.In the Senate, our focus needs to be restoring majority rule. First, we need to limit filibusters one per bill. Second, the burden of holding the floor during a filibuster needs to be on the minority, not the majority. The minority should be called on to go the extra mile to prevail rather than the majority being required to provide a quorum. 41 votes should be required to continue the debate, not 60 votes to end the debate. Third, we need to eliminate extraneous delays in the Senate. Cloture should take one day, not two. Debate time should be 15 hours, not 30, and should require the minority to actually debate on the floor for the its 15 hours. Finally, we must expedite the nomination process and guarantee votes within time limits, ideally 60 days. The current trend of nominations taking 6 months or more even for competent nominees represents inappropriate blanket opposition and policing by the minority, ignoring their oath to implement legitimate laws on the books, and is in turn crippling the government by making qualified public servants hesitant to subject themselves to the current process.There are few options for shifting power between the branches. One academic theory, that of the Unitary Executive, holds that the president has the right to take any actions that are required to faithfully execute the laws with which he is entrusted. Examples of the ‘unity executive’ approach include Reagan pushing through his conservative agenda, Bush pushing through national security reforms after 9/11, Clinton pushing through public land and medical privacy reform, and Obama granting states waivers to No Child Left Behind. Generally, however, scholars think that this theory lies outside the realms of the Constitution.Many agencies are also established by Congress to both abdicate power and also limit the president’s authority. The Federal Reserve is by far the most important, which even still comes under frequent criticism from the likes of Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. Other examples include the FCC, the FEC, the FTC, and the SEC.One promising organizational development was BRAC, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. Congress must routinely close outdated military bases and generally agrees on the need for the reductions, but individual members naturally fight against closures in their own districts. BRAC presents a list of facilities to be closed, an independent commission appointed by the president can makes additions or deletions, and then Congress has 45 days to either approve or reject as a whole.This model works for base closures, but less so for more contentious issues like deficit reduction, especially when one party is unwilling to consider any tax increases. The Simpson-Bowles commission appointed by Obama came up with a set of recommendations that were favored by many budget experts, but it was not guaranteed a vote in Congress and was never submitted as a bill.It does seem that this model might work for smaller issues, such as with the Independent Payment Advisory Board, charged with holding Medicare spending within limits. The board recommends measures to the president, who presents them to Congress under expedited procedures, and they are implemented automatically unless Congress proposes alternatives that achieve comparable savings. The IPAB came about to deal with the fact that Congress is incapable of standing up to health company and insurer lobbying efforts.3. Working Within the Current SystemI talked about ways to change the system but we also need to talk about how to work within the system we already have. There are two main points to address. One is that we need to work to change the culture of politics in America today. Second, we need to deal with the asymmetry of America’s two major political parties.The culture in which politics exists today is toxic. One remedy is to work to restore public shame. Opinion leaders throughout society need to call out ridiculous statements such as Stephen Schwarzman equating carried interest taxes to Hitler invading Poland, Mike O’Neal calling Michelle Obama YoMama, Allen West telling Obama to Get the Hell out of the USA, and the like.We also desperately need to re-create a public square and decrease the impact of partisan media. We need to find a new source of funding for public media, such as broadcasters paying rental fees on their use of airwaves, that fits a better model of public discourse, with genuine debate and straightforward coverage, than profit-driven networks like Fox and CNBC.Some have suggested building a Shadow Congress, made up of former members and other lawmakers, focused on genuine but non-vicious debate. Many former members of Congress express anger at the institution’s current conduct, such as Republicans trashing even conservative health reform ideas just because Obama supported them, or Congress trashing the scientific community over climate change.And finally, we need to rein in the insurgent Republican party. The modern GOP favors political wins over cooperation and compromise, embracing extreme ideological viewpoints and shunning negotiation. We need to foster change from within and challenge the take-no-prisoners approach, accept that ‘starving the beast’ with a ‘no new tax’ pledge has been empirically disproven, and accept that the welfare state is here to stay. Republican voters need to take responsibility and not just vote against the majority when times are bad. Educate yourself on policy and try to form and ideological framework for yourself.Obama needs to call out Republicans more for being obstructionist and insincere negotiating partners. Presidential elections need to present a choice to voters, not just a referendum on the party in power.The media needs to help readers recognize asymmetric polarization. Report the truth, which is not the same as balanced treatment of unbalanced phenomena. Fact check. Don’t treat filibusters as routine. And finally, clarify for voters the choices that an election entails. How would they govern? What would the accomplish? What would unified vs. divided government lead to in each specific case?At the end of the day, voters decide. Blanket condemnation of Congress and Washington serves the status quo and is not productive. Punish ideologically extreme parties. Challenge the legitimacy of filibusters. Beware of non-profit political groups. Consider which presidential ticket you prefer, and vote for the same party in Congress — this makes more sense in times of partisan polarization. Promote respect, acceptance of legitimacy of one’s opponents, bargaining, and compromise.Fun Books to ReadThe Commercialization of News in the Nineteenth Century, by Gerald BaldastySo Damn Much Money, by Robert KaiserCapitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Washington Corruption From America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist, by Jack AbramoffThe Broken Branch, by Thomas Mann and Norman OrnsteinIt’s Even Worse Than It Looks, by Thomas Mann and Norman OrnsteinParty Wars, by Barbara SinclairDisconnect, by Morris Fiorina and Samuel AbramsThe Disappearing Center, by Alan AbramowitzTakeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy, by Charlie Savage

1. English and Hindi Typing with speed 40+ WPM in English and 30+ WPM in Hindi.Computer English and Hindi Typing skills are most popular and easiest method to starts applying for Government jobs. Mostly it is helpful to get data entry jobs online or offline with little computer and internet knowledge.But English/Hindi Typing skill is not only important to get government and private jobs. But it is also very helpful to work faster on your assignment, notes, and typing related works.You can even start typing and editing related business like a cyber café.So, because of the various advantages of Hindi & English typing, I recommended it, everyone, that they should practice improving their English and Hindi Typing skills.Key advantages:• You can type faster and get more work done in less time.• You’re eligible for government and private sector jobs.• You can start your own business online or offline in which you can provide data entry services.2. Microsoft Word SkillsMicrosoft Word is an MS-Office application used for various official and non-official works worldwide. It is installed and used in almost all the offices for official works.Learning Microsoft Word is very helpful for people and in business to create resume, letters, invoices, bills, work schedule, forms, bills, business cards, business plan and to make school/college notes, cover pages for eBooks and for writing or creating eBook’s and for writing blog articles etc. and various others things by using Microsoft Word.In Government and private jobs, Microsoft Word is essential basic computer knowledge that is recommended.It’s because of the works, I mentioned above are used in the almost all kind of businesses and organization on daily basis.So, learning Microsoft Word is not only helpful in Personal and Professional life but it’s essential skills that you can use even to teach your kids.So the combination of English/Hindi Typing speed + practical knowledge of Microsoft Word will be great to showcase the productive skills in your resume and very helpful in getting jobs and to start your own business.Key Advantages:• You will be able to save money that you have to spend in cybershops’ for documents works.• You can start data editing and typing business online or offline.• You are eligible for data typing and editing works.• You can apply for various government and private jobs with English/ Hindi Typing knowledge.3. Microsoft Excel SkillsThe importance of learning Microsoft Excel is similar to Microsoft Word. But the use of Microsoft Excel is little different.The difference is that Microsoft Word is used for writing and for creating professional documents and Microsoft Excel is used to perform mathematical calculation such as the calculation of business expenditure or income. It is also used to analyze, filter a large amount of meaningless data into meaningful information. It is used to visualize that data and information so it will become easier to understand and to find out new conclusion or to faster the decision-making process.The similarity between Microsoft Word and Excel is that it is both are packaged applications of MS-Office. And it is used in Education, Business by various people for financial and official management.So, after learning the above-linked uses and importance of Microsoft Excel. I think it’s really important for students, online or offline business owners, and home based computer users to become stronger in financial management skills by learning Microsoft Excel.When you have practical knowledge of these applications it will become your skill. And you will do and achieve more in less time by using Microsoft Excel in a career.Key Advantages• Eligible for data entry, data management, data analysis and data visualization works and jobs with Internet research knowledge.• You can start your own online business such as YouTube Channel and you can teach Excel with data management and analysis skills.• You can start your own blog website, in which you can explore the innovative methods of data manipulation and data management for a quick business decision.• You can take advantages of Excel knowledge in managing own business and personal finance.4. Microsoft PowerPoint SkillsMicrosoft PowerPoint is another important application to learn and it’s easiest than Microsoft Word and Excel. Mostly the works you have to do in Microsoft PowerPoint is to represent or present the data and information by using Slide-Shows, transition and animation effects as well as charts, smart art, and formatting tools in meetings and seminars.If you learned the above-linked articles you got ideas about the importance of learning Microsoft PowerPoint. That’s why I recommend it in the list of basic computer skills.In your career and business, you often need to present your idea, data and information in front your boss, audience, students, and teachers. In this case, presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint will be helpful.Key Advantages:-• You can provide services or you can sell presentation templates for various business categories online and offline.• You can create animated movies, tutorials and upload them to YouTube. After that, you can monetize those videos with Google Adsense.• You can teach and help kids or students at home to create a presentation.• You will be eligible for computer operator jobs or you can get the specialized position because data and information presentational knowledge is more than the knowledge of few options.5. Adobe Photoshop / Adobe Illustrator / InDesign SkillsAdobe Photoshop is photo editing software. That you can use to enhance, retouch, restore, manipulate and edit images professionally. You can also use to create 3D graphics, image backgrounds, pattern, and texture etc. Mostly used by Photo editors in Photo Studio, Web designer to create PSD of the website design or layout and by graphics designer for various graphical works in the printing press or in designing agencies.Adobe Illustrator is similar to Adobe Photoshop. It is used specifically to create and designing branding materials such as logos, icons, sketches and typography and vector images.Adobe InDesign is another Adobe Application to create marketing and advertising materials such as posters, banners, brochures, magazine cover pages, newspaper or magazine layout designs and to design eBook’s etc.Knowledge of one out of three will be great to get online or offline jobs. It’s because such basic skills of web/graphics designing will be helpful for any company and business owners. They need marketing and advertising material daily, they need people who can design such things for their social media or internet marketing campaigns.You can also start your business from home by learning such skills.I think in today’s time such skills are the basic computer skills. I don’t’ think basic computer skills mean you have only typed, MS Office and Internet skills. Might be! But if you have practical knowledge of these applications it will be productive for you.You can learn these skills at home nowadays. Daily learning is important. You can learn these skills in free time. Why not? Later you will be able to create strong portfolio/Resume by mentioning such skills.Key Advantages:• You can get jobs in Photo Studio, Printing Press, Magazine or newspaper offices.• You can provide graphics designing services as a freelancer.• You can sell your own designs on online marketplaces.• You can apply for online jobs.• You can teach other people.• You can run your YouTube channel and creative graphical editing works and knowledge.• You can provide or design templates and you can sell on your own website.6. Software Installation and UninstallationI hope you know about how to install MS-Office, Adobe Photoshop, Typing Tutor or basic application on your computer. If not it’s really important for you. You can’t spend money on hiring people, again and again, to remove the virus from your computer, to install certain software on your computer you need to learn. It is a basic skill, I think every basic computer course students should know about it.• You can save money and time that in past you have to call others to install and manage software or hardware in your computer/Laptop.• You can provide installation services online.• You can start a blog, in which you can write only about various software installation and uninstallation methods.• You can work in any office, where maintenance of computers is required on the daily basis.7. Social Media MarketingMany people can say that, its advanced skills. Yes, it’s advance method to market products and services on the Internet by using social media websites.You, your relative or anyone you know have a business. They are selling products or providing services. Now those people are marketing or not marketing their products on the Internet. But if they do it, they will get more benefits than the traditional method of marketing.Advance can be basic. Today, it’s trending method for business owners and companies to promote their business online. If you learn such skills, it will be easier for you to get a job, or get a promotion, the more you learn the better you will become in anything that you do. And you share such knowledge with those people, and explanation them how Internet marketing or social media marketing is beneficial.Key Advantages:• You can work as a social media marketers or manager.• You can run your own Facebook Pages, Groups, Pinterest Board and Google + communities. When you will get 500+ people following or in your groups, you can charge for posting on your pages or you can convert those likes into customers.• You can create your own website and publish an article that will be helpful for online and offline business owners. So, they will get benefits of social media. And you can monetize your website space with Google Adsense or double click methods. You can also sell affiliate products. You can also provide services as a virtual assistant, hourly and or on fixed price contracts.• You can promote your own business.8. Blogging and Content Writing SkillsBlogging and content writing is another demanding and most creative field. It is a complete business promotion or online learning method. Internet marketing part is mostly driven by the content.You can start your own blog website and you can earn money by placing ads on your website. You can provide content writing services for other business websites. You can write content for social media marketing. You can get online jobs by learning content marketing.That’s why I think content marketing is a most important basic computer or internet skills especially for students or people looking or thinking to build an online business.Key Advantages• You can write about your personal and business experiences.• You can provide content writing services on Freelancing websites or your own website.• You can run as many websites you want based on existed knowledge or creativity.• You can get content writing works from offline clients.• You can also sell content that is written by you based on industry keywords.9. WordPress Website Designing SkillsNow website designing or web development can be advanced skills. But you don’t want to become Website Designer. But want to create own business or personal website. That’s where WordPress will help you.WordPress is an open source web application. Used to create almost all kind of websites, you can use pre-defined free WordPress theme or premium WordPress themes and its starting point. If you get right WordPress website designing course online or offline then learning WordPress is not that much tough. You can even learn it for free, only by watching free WordPress tutorials.In today’s time, if you have your own website then you can showcase your skills on the website and then put that link on a resume or social media profile. It will be easier for companies to learn and understand your skills set and work experience. Also, they can be your customers when they will search for particular skills and expertise.I think in future, every job seeker need own portfolio website.Key Advantages:• You can save 5000 to 10000 Indian rupees by creating your own business website.• You can take the above amount if someone needs a website for their business.• You can apply for works or jobs in Web Designing/Development companies online and offline.• You can work as a freelancer.10. Internet ResearchInternet knowledge is not about that know how to search on Google, internet knowledge is not about that you know how to use Facebook, WhatsApp etc. For me, internet knowledge is about what to search on Google, how to use Facebook for Knowledge. And what are the productive things that you can do by using a computer and the internet.I mean that you will be able to research on the Internet. Research skill is essential for students to find and collect right study material. Research skill is important to the market business. Research skill is important to find out the right job. Research skill is important to collect meaningful data to take a quick decision that will be less risky.Internet research skills are most recommended by business owners especially when you’re applying for online jobs on freelancing websites. I think it’s really important for people so they will be able to compare what is right or what is wrong, what is right news or what fake news is on the Internet.Key Advantages:• Provide data and information research services for companies those are looking for researched data. You also need to use Microsoft Excel for that. But do not spam!• You can do your own market research, business ideas research, product development research, and market research etc.• You can do the research or conduct new research so that can produce new meaning and remove old myths from the Internet have a negative angle.11.Data and Information Management or Privacy and protection skillsToday, our brain access data and information in every step that we take to do something on the Internet or computer, we all have lots of files in our computer and mobile. Management of that data and information is important. Whatever information we are accessing on the Internet, what kind of data we’re downloading, what kind of message we’re responding are important things to consider.If we don’t manage our data then it is a risk on our privacy and personal freedom. It’s because confidential data can be compromised without informing you.So, it’s highly important for everyone that they know how to manage computer and internet data safely.Key Advantages:• You will be able to manage your own business and personal data.• You can educate other people about “behind the seen” on various social media fake message and news.• There are also jobs, I didn’t researched, but I think there are people need safety of their social media and email accounts.Thaani I have read you poems. I like it.

1LeaguePowering a healthier you!2Limelight Networks IncLimelight Networks empowers customers to better engage digital audiences by enabling management and delivery of digital content on any device, anywhere.3Top HatTop Hat helps professors make every lecture count by transforming their students' mobile devices into powerful classroom engagement tools.4ScribbleLiveThe world’s leading content marketing software powered by big data5HubbaA free product network for brands and retailers to manage and share product information, images, videos and assets. Interested in learning more?6Vena SolutionsVena combines native Excel® with the structure, control and security of an enterprise-class corporate performance management solution.7InfluitiveB2B buyers are tuning out marketing and sales messages and are instead leveraging knowledgeable peers to make purchase decisions. Influitive makes it easy for B2B marketers to recruit, mobilize and recognize advocates to support marketing campaigns, refer new clients and close deals.8Wave FinancialWe make awesome, cloud-based, integrated software and tools for small businesses. So far, that includes Invoicing, Accounting, Payroll, Payments and more, plus Personal Finance Software, too.9UberflipUberflip is a cloud-based Content Experience Platform that lets businesses create remarkable content experiences for every stage of the buyer journey.10PathFactoryPathFactory’s Content Insight and Activation Platform helps B2B marketers understand the role of content in the buyer’s journey and discover a new class of data to optimize the path to purchase. PathFactory uses this data and insight to optimize content delivery across every channel, connecting buyers with the most relevant information whenever and wherever they click.11WealthsimpleWealthsimple is a game-changing financial advisor that makes investing easy, transparent, and low-cost. You get a sophisticated portfolio managed for you, and unlimited support from a dedicated financial advisor.12Freshbooks Inc#1 cloud accounting solution designed for small business owners. Have a comment, question or concern? Drop us a line - we're here to help.13MyplanetCreates engaging web & mobile products for the Enterprise.14Tulip RetailTulip Retail's goal is to build the platform for the next generation of retail.15EventMobiMobile Event App & Gaming Layer16Firmex Inc.Intuitive, affordable, pervasive – thousands of companies worldwide choose Firmex Virtual Data Room (VDR) solutions to securely share their highly confidential documents. Our secure, online data rooms are so easy to setup and use, customers can immediately control, share, collaborate and track the use of confidential documents.17Sysomossocial media monitoring18WattpadWattpad is the best place to read and share stories.19RubikloudRubikloud is a real-time big data company offering a new methodology for processing, analyzing, and searching continuous data streams. Our platform will connect, process, and interpret any real-time data source. Instead of throwing away valuable data or processing it through slow batch methods, Rubikloud will enable customers to instantly answer questions about their data in real-time.20NulogyNulogy is an award-winning company revolutionizing the way products are customized and personalized for consumers.21Security CompassInformation Security Consulting Training22JUICE MobileJUICE Mobile is a mobile marketing and technology firm focused on growing and monetizing the mobile advertising market.23Fuse Powered Inc.Fuse Powered helps app publishers acquire, retain and monetize users with a FREE, integrated mobile publishing platform we call Fuseboxx™.24FinanceitFinanceit works with your business to offer customers flexible payment plans for large purchases. By giving your customers more ways to pay, you can increase close rates and average transaction size, and grow your business.25500pxWe are a photography community that showcases and rewards everyone's best work. Our community is powered by creative people worldwide and drives our world-class commercial licensing marketplace.26StackAdaptLargest Demand-Side #NativeAdvertising Platform. We help brands amplify #content across every native ad exchange.27OANDA CorporationOANDA transformed #FX with its innovative trading platform, fxTrade. For market news/analysis, follow @marketpulsecom. For customer service, @OANDAsupport.28ecobeeecobee introduced the world's first Wi-Fi enabled smart thermostat to homeowners across North America in 2007. Since then, ecobee has enabled hundreds of thousands of consumers to control their home comfort anytime, anywhere using their smartphone, tablet or computer.29Verticalscope Inc.VerticalScope is a leading Internet media company, and one of the pioneers in Consumer-Generated Media.30MaropostEmail Marketing for the 21st Century!31Clearbridge MobileFull stack mobile app development studio. You dream it, we build it.32ViafouraWe understand the value of user-generated content and want to ensure a seamless transition experience for your users, which is why we offer our customers user and content migration before we go-live. Do you have support services and customer success management? All of our customers are assigned a Client Success Manager as we pride ourselves in being your partner in audience development, supporting you from implementation, onboarding, training, and monthly check-ins with best practices and health checks.33HubdocHubdoc automatically delivers and organizes your key financial docs in one place. It syncs with Xero and QBO. We tweet about #cloudaccounting and #smallbiz.34QuickPlay MediaQuickPlay Media is the leading provider of managed solutions for the distribution of premium video to IP-connected devices35Nudge.aiNudge is a Modern Sales Platform that uses artificial intelligence to find actionable insights on your target accounts.36PeekapakPeekapak bridges the gap between learning in class and learning at home with exciting K-3 curriculum to accelerate early childhood education. @Imaginek12 alum.37LoopioLoopio simplifies the process of developing proposals and responding to RFPs38theScore, Inc.TheScore creates mobile-first sports experiences, connecting fans to what they love.39BrainStationBrainStation is a progressive educational institution that is powering the next generation of creators. Fuelled by Konrad Group, a global leader in the consumer and enterprise technology space, BrainStation’s curriculum is developed and iterated in real-time based on what's trending in the industry. Konrad Group has delivered digital solutions in use by over 20 million people in 50 different countries around the world for brands such as McDonalds, Deloitte and MTV.40OneLocalWe are building an end-to-end solution for local businesses that addresses their need to effectively leverage mobile and the pain of not being able to.41CrowdbabbleSocial Media Analytics. Simplified.42Unata Inc.Unata powers award-winning, omni-channel digital retail experiences. We provide a cloud-based platform for retailers that integrates with their back-end systems to power & personalize digital shopper experiences across any device - web, mobile and tablet. Our platform supports a variety of features to support both the at- home and in-store customer experience, and provides the retailer with tools to manage these experiences.43PlatterzPlatterz is an online marketplace designed for ordering and sharing delicious food platters in just three clicks. Platterz makes it incredibly easy for businesses and consumers to order large dishes online from different restaurants and caterers, and share a meal over an office meeting, a family dinner, or a special gathering.44StatfloStatflo provides the industry's first bottom-up approach to reducing churn, empowering wireless customer service to be more local, authentic and proactive. Our customers include carriers and wireless dealers across Canada and the USA who want to upsell IoT solutions or other services, build stronger relationships with customers and improve retention. 45PostBeyondPostBeyond is your infrastructure for social business. Enable employees and partners to post approved brand content to their personal networks in an efficient, consistent, and measurable way.46CrowdRiffHelping brands acquire, enhance and activate social + digital data.47Butterfield & RobinsonThe World's Premier Active Travel Company48UniiverseUse Universe to discover amazing things to do nearby, and sell tickets to your events using the most advanced social tools. #eventprof #bizbash49SoapBox InnovationsSoapBox is a common place where your community suggests, votes on, and filters ideas. Top ideas are packaged up and put into the hands of key decision makers.50Vantage AnalyticsVantage tracks the heartbeat of your store and delivers smart advice you can act on in one click. Now available on Bigcommerce, Magento & Shopify.51Private Market Data, Tools and InsightsA tool for sharing the metrics that matter with your investors. Private Market Data, Tools and Insights gets investors engaged and active. From founder @rayluk52SensibillSensibill allows customers to access their receipts directly from their bank accounts. Our receipt management platform enables our banking partners to create consistent engagement with their digital banking applications, increasing customer advocacy and ROI.53FlybitsFlybits empowers enterprises to connect with their customers more meaningfully through micro-personalized experiences, powered by contextual intelligence. Flybits aggregates disparate sources of relevant public and proprietary data without technical hassle, enabling Fortune 500 organizations to build sophisticated and evolving customer engagement programs with ease.54HackerNestFounded 11.1.11, HackerNest is a nonprofit organization and movement that unites local tech communities around the world (23 cities, 14 countries, 4 continents and counting!). Our mission is economic development through technological proliferation. We're Canada's largest tech community and are quickly gaining popularity internationally.55Street ContxtFinancial Communications Platform56KnowRoamingSave big on international roaming. The KnowRoaming Global SIM Sticker saves you up to 85% on voice and data roaming in 200+ countries.57Konrad GroupKonrad Group is a global leader in the enterprise and consumer technology space. We provide consulting, design, development and application management services, with an emphasis on building compelling user experiences. Our Design-Driven Technology approach has delivered solutions in use by over 20 million people in 50 countries around the globe.58CareGuideCareGuide runs focused marketplaces for everyday care services.Users buy subscriptions (monthly, quarterly, or yearly) for featured placement in the directory, and for unlimited communication with other users.We have 5 full time employees and were profitable nearly every month in 2014.59QuickTapSurveyQuickTapSurvey is the best way for businesses to gather feedback from customers in person. Our surveys are easy to create, fun to do and provide fast, actionable insights.60BuzzBuzzHomeThe largest new home and condo website and community in North America; your complete source of new residential real estate information.61Trend Hunter#1 in Trends - Trend Hunter is the world's most updated, largest collection of cutting edge ideas, fueled by 140,000 Trend Hunters. Stay on the edge.62ClearFitThe next generation of hiring is Predictive Job Matching (PJM).Hiring managers don’t want to advertise jobs and job seekers don’t want to search through job postings. Both want a magic wand that directly connects the right people with the right jobs by predicting job success.63Ratehub.caCanada's best mortgage rates64Drop Loyalty Inc.Coalition loyalty program focused on millennial demographic65Nudge RewardsNudge Rewards is a SaaS platform that enables large organizations to create awareness, engage employees and measure the impact of their corporate objectives (such as health/wellness, corporate sustainaility, brand information, frontline product information, etc). Leveraging the best of mobile and the web, the Nudge platform uses social and gamification elements to drive employee actions and achieve corporate goals related to environmental, social, community, and health initiatives. We give operational managers the tools they need to succeed, by easily mobilizing their team.66HomeStarsConnect with the best-rated contractors. Find the best & avoid the worst on your next project. Serving hundreds of thousands of homeowners across Canada!67Functional Imperativewe build intricate experiences for the new web68SecureKey Technologies IncSecureKey is the identity and authentication provider for organizations that deliver online consumer services. SecureKey eliminates the need to store passwords by securely linking consumer ID to trusted devices, while providing consumers with the choice, control and convenience over how they access the services they want.69SurfEasySurfEasy is dedicated to providing easy to use solutions to protect your online privacy, security and freedom. We believe that no matter what computer or network you are using, your online life should be personal and secure.Our products encrypt the Internet traffic on your smartphone, tablet and computer to protect your online privacy and security. SurfEasy wraps all of your browsing in SSL encryption, the same standard used by major banks for securing their data.Get to know us better by following us on Twitter, Facebook or checking out our Blog.70Prodigy GameProdigy is a free, self-paced math game for Gr 1- 8 that kids love. Check out our boards for all things #math and #technology in the elementary classroom!71Dundas Data Visualization Inc.Dundas Data Visualization offers award-winning dashboard software, solutions & services. Visualize KPIs via business and analytical dashboards. Make better decisions!72Kira Talent, Inc.Making it easy to interview anyone in the world, whenever you want. Timed video interviews at an affordable price.73Bitcoin DecentralWorld's first accelerator for decentralized apps74Borrowell Inc.Borrowing for Canadians just got smarter.Canadians currently hold over $80 billion in credit card debt with a typical interest rate of 19.9 per cent or higher. Borrowell, the new marketplace lending platform, offers affordable, fixed-interest loans giving Canadians a smarter way to manage their debt. 75ChickAdvisor76ROSS IntelligenceROSS is an artificially intelligent legal research assistant.77FlipGiveFlipGive is a digital fundraising platform for schools, sports, and community initiatives. Our mission is to use the power of commerce to create positive social change. Fundraisers can sell e-gift cards or get friends to shop online and earn up to 40% of what they buy. We make fundraising easier, faster, and more effective by enabling supporters to shop for products they want from brands they love.FlipGive revolutionizes both grassroots fundraising and corporate giving; driving sales and positive social impact. Our platform connects brands to the $200+ billion fundraising market; converting customers into a sales force. Current partners include J&J, Lowe’s, Schwan’s, Aldo, Indigo, Pearson, Aimia and other Fortune 1000 brands.FlipGive is credited with the invention of give-marketing technology, where a company ‘gives’ to a fundraiser, and in exchange, the fundraiser generates awareness and sales. We are proud to be the first internationally certified B Corporation.78Canopy LabsKnow what your customers want before they do. Our platform helps businesses increase their sales by predicting customer behavior and trends. To learn more, visit our website at79RoadmunkQuickly create and share beautiful product roadmaps.80NymiLocated in the heart of Toronto, Nymi is a team of thinkers and innovators aimed at shaping the world through technology. Nymi’s first product, the Nymi Band, provides a unique solution to the problem of identity in the context of the connected world.81CrowdlinkerHarness the full revenue potential of your digital video library and maximize engagement with viewers. Allow your content to work for you.82Bitmaker LabsBitmaker Labs is Canada's premier web development learning centre and the largest of its kind in the country. We empower tech enthusiasts to build their ideas. We currently offer an immersive, full-stack web development program as well as part-time courses on both front end web development and user experience design.83Switch VideoWe are an video animation company that has produced hundreds of simple explainer videos for companies all across the globe. Follow us on twitter at @switchvideo84Atomic Reach Inc.Building the best audience-centric editing tool you can't live without. Check out855Crowd5Crowd lets enterprise Marketing and Sales departments do more with less. We're an agency with no creative or production folks on staff. Instead, we have a curated network of freelance professionals, which we call our Crowd. We collaborate with them through a proprietary digital platform on a project-by-project basis, making our operations lean and efficient.86SamplerSampler is a venture-backed SaaS platform that helps marketers manage the distribution of digital promotional offers.87AskuityAskuity connects retailers and product suppliers with insight and analytics for improved collaboration, planning and retail execution.No more cumbersome spreadsheets. No more archaic reporting systems. No more missed opportunities.Askuity. See What’s in Store.88Endy SleepEndy is on a mission to make mattress-buying simple. Join us as we tuck into the new sleep culture. #LoveSleep89Lending LoopAn online marketplace for Canadians to lend money to growing local businesses. Coming Soon.90Easy Projects .NETAs a cloud based Software-as-a-Service product, Easy Projects has become a popular project management tool amongst small to medium size businesses from over 50 countries. With a focus on ease of use and getting things done as simply as possible, Easy Projects serves both professional project managers that are starved for time, and "accidental project managers", who may not have any experience in project management but still have a team to manage, and a project to ace.91GrowSumoGrowSumo is a marketplace for partner programs. Companies list on our marketplace for free and pay $3 per partner a month to manage partners from our dashboard.Our marketplace lets marketing teams easily build scalable partner programs without the help of their technical teams. Our dashboard standardizes the way companies work with their partners.92keyhole.coSocial conversation tracking that's simple93Unified Computer Intelligence CorporationHello! I am an always-on, voice-activated ubiquitous computer. Talk to me and I’ll help you connect to your world. I am the #VoiceOfTheInternet. #IamUbi94SeamlessMDSeamlessMD is a health technology company with an award-winning patient engagement platform specifically for surgical patients. Our platform not only allows patients to be empowered in their recovery, but also allows hospitals to engage in remote patient monitoring and collect data to improve surgical outcomes and reduce readmissions. SeamlessMD is a Forbes 30 Under 30 company in the Healthcare category, an alumni of The Next 36 technology accelerator and was named by CIX as one of Canada's top 20 hottest innovation companies in 2013.95Newtopia Inc.Newtopia is a health company utilizing an innovative health engagement platform to help individuals make the right lifestyle choices.96Chef's PlateDelivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and chef-inspired recipes directly to customers doors97TrendMDWe help readers find the most interesting scholarly content online, while giving publishers, authors, and funders new ways to reach engaged audiences.98Ten Thousand CoffeesTen Thousand Coffees is on a mission to unlock the talent, insights, and ideas of the next generation by democratizing access to inspiring conversations and exclusive experiences.We are equal parts movement and platform. Combined, we create opportunity ecosystems for companies, colleges, universities, and governments.We’ve enabled life changing conversations for thousands of professionals from across Canada, and we’re growing our team to make our mark on millions around the world.99Kiwi Wearable Technologies Ltd.Motion Simplified100SalesChoiceWe are SaaS predictive and prescriptive B2B analytics companypost courtesy: Most Connected Toronto Startups