ProfNet Experts Available on Solar Tariff, Sales Funnels, The Future of Banking

NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free. Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

• Solar Tariff Impact on Energy Grids
• Who Needs a Sales Funnel?
• The Future of Banking Lies in Customer Experience

MEDIA JOBS

• Social Media Manager – South China Morning Post (NY)
• Food Editor – Time Out (Abu Dhabi)
• Digital Editor, The Future of Everything – The Wall Street Journal (NY)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Five Questions With Zig's CEO and Co-Founder
• Blogger Conferences: Top Events to Attend in February
• Blog Profiles: Zero Waste Blogs

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EXPERT ALERTS:

Solar Tariff Impact on Energy Grids
Dr. Alberto Lamadrid
Assistant Professor of Economics
Lehigh University
Last week, the White House announced 30 percent tariffs on solar equipment made abroad, and the impact may not be a positive one. Renewable sources, including solar, are an important part of developing energy grids that are resilient and can recover from outages, especially with recent unprecedented natural disasters affecting infrastructure that could become the "new normal."
"Slapping a tariff (on solar panels) will be detrimental to development of these microgrids," Lamadrid says. "It will increase the cost of resiliency." If the tariff slows implementation and growth of solar in the U.S., it will have not only short-term impacts but longer-term ones, as energy grids have "a long memory," he says. "This means if solar is not integrated now, that infrastructure will not be in place and may be difficult and expensive to retrofit.
Making it harder to employ solar also may lead to increasing reliance on coal and natural gas, whereas diversification of power sources helps energy grids be nimbler, which helps during large disruptions. This will make recovering from large disruptions harder and more expensive.
"The bottom line is slapping this kind of tariff will be a diversion of very valuable resources in terms of making the system more likely to withstand the likely impacts we will see on the system," Lamadrid says. "While tariffs of this type sometimes do provide income used to develop local industry, we'd be better off eliminating the tariff and experiencing the benefits of easier solar equipment importation."
Dr. Lamadrid researches resilient microgrids, including use of renewable power sources to help grids bounce back during disasters and outages. He is part of the Integrated Networks for Electricity Research Center at Lehigh University.
Bio: https://cbe.lehigh.edu/faculty-research/faculty/economics/alberto-j-lamadrid
Contact: Amy White, [email protected]

Who Needs a Sales Funnel?
Russell Brunson
Founder, CEO
ClickFunnels
Boise, ID
How do you turn prospects into customers? It seems like a daunting problem, but the solution lies at the core of digital marketing strategy: the sales funnel. Says Brunson: "Anyone who wants to stop wasting money on marketing, branding, and websites that don't covert would benefit from a sales funnel. A great sales funnel will actually replace your current website, shopping cart, and email auto-responders with an all-in-one sales solution."
Brunson is a noted entrepreneur who started his online business when he was a student and wrestler at Boise State University. With $20 and a simple idea, he sold more than a million dollars of his own products and services within a year of graduating. He has been featured on ABC, NBC, FOX News, and Entrepreneur (article: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/296526), teaching beginners how to start their own online businesses. 
Online Press Kit: http://clickfunnels.onlinepresskit247.com
Website: https://www.clickfunnels.com
Contact: Michelle Tennant, [email protected]

The Future of Banking Lies in Customer Experience
Steve DuPerrieu
VP of Channels and Analytics
Computer Services Inc.
Franklin, TN
The customer experience will serve as the great differentiator for banks in 2018. Says DuPerrieu: "We see a clear trend toward increasing the customer experience. [Banking executives] plan to increase spending on these experiences in 2018, with specific focuses on digital enhancements, branch transformation and a more fluid mobile banking experience."
DuPerrieu can also speak about the rest of the results of CSI's 2018 Banking Priorities Study, as well as insights on digital banking innovations. He has been a contributor to CSI's thought leadership, and serves on the board of the Association for Financial Technology.
Website: https://www.csiweb.com/
Contact: Phil Roulier, [email protected]

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Social Media Manager – South China Morning Post (NY)
• Food Editor – Time Out (Abu Dhabi)
• Digital Editor, The Future of Everything – The Wall Street Journal (NY)

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

• FIVE QUESTIONS WITH ZIG'S CEO AND CO-FOUNDER. With the debut of Zig, entrepreneur Joshua James wants to change the way people engage with and consume the news. Along with co-founders Adam Platzner and John Tornow, James launched the compelling new media platform earlier this month, and it's already garnering big attention. Former Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter, music producer Quincy Jones, and Live Nation are just some of the high-profile players backing the venture. For Carter, this is his first public project since leaving his post at Vanity Fair. In a recent news release, Carter says he wants to help the team how he can and believes the app "will find a wide and dedicated audience." That's likely because Zig promises to shake up the current ecosystem -- one that has delivered mixed results for publishers in the past. Read more: http://prn.to/2EspW0W
• BLOGGER CONFERENCES: TOP EVENTS TO ATTEND IN FEBRUARY. This a monthly column of what's happening in the blog world. Here are top events to attend in the February: http://prn.to/febblogevents
• BLOG PROFILES: ZERO WASTE BLOGS. Each week, PR Newswire's Audience Relations team selects an industry/subject and profiles a handful of sites that do a good job with promoting and contributing to the conversation. This week, they look at a few zero waste blogs: http://prn.to/zerowasteblogs

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