Skype is a little piece of software that lets you make free calls to anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world. And even though the calls are free, they are really excellent quality. If you and your friends, family or business contacts are using webcams, you can also make free video calls. You can even call landlines and mobile phones at really cheap per minute rates.
Happy chatting!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Consumer complaint book
I have found this amazing website that actually helps consumers. It is called complaintbook.com.
If you have a complaint against an individual, an organization or a government, then this is where you should register it.
So go on and set you voice online
Status of complaints as of today.
Resolved 9%
No action required 1%
Forwarded 21%
Details requested 5%
Pending action 64%
What are people Complaining against?
An Individual 7%
A Community 2%
A Government 5%
A Service 68%
A Product 17%
Nobody in particular 1%
If you have a complaint against an individual, an organization or a government, then this is where you should register it.
So go on and set you voice online
Status of complaints as of today.
Resolved 9%
No action required 1%
Forwarded 21%
Details requested 5%
Pending action 64%
What are people Complaining against?
An Individual 7%
A Community 2%
A Government 5%
A Service 68%
A Product 17%
Nobody in particular 1%
Elance.com or any other freelance site
To have an idea on how Elance works and what kind of projects people are posting. Visit this link:
Elance.com
There are plenty of great resources to hire a freelancer. These are:
- http://www.rentacoder.com/
- http://www.guru.com/
- http://www.ebookhelper.com/GhostWriting.html/
- http://thewritetouch.no-frills.net/
- http://www.theghostwriter.net/
To post your project on Elance.com or any other freelance site you should first open a free account with them, and then open a bid request. Your bid request should include:
- A clear description of your project without giving a lot of details.
- Maximum Bid. This is the highest bid offer you will accept. Freelancer can bid lower to gain your business, but not higher.
- Bidding Close Date. This is the date (in U.S format--mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss) you want to close bidding and not accept any more bids.
- The number of days the freelancer have to work on the project and deliver the final work. If you omit a deadline, then the he is under no time obligation to deliver!
Before accepting any bid you should verify that the person you are selecting is apt to handle the project effectively. You can do this by:
- Asking the ghostwriter for his references.
- Asking for a sample of his work.
- Visiting his profile page, where you can find more information about him and also what people who worked with him have to say about his work.
Elance.com or any other freelance site
To have an idea on how Elance works and what kind of projects people are posting. Visit this link:
Elance.com
There are plenty of great resources to hire a freelancer. These are:
- http://www.rentacoder.com/
- http://www.guru.com/
- http://www.ebookhelper.com/GhostWriting.html/
- http://thewritetouch.no-frills.net/
- http://www.theghostwriter.net/
To post your project on Elance.com or any other freelance site you should first open a free account with them, and then open a bid request. Your bid request should include:
- A clear description of your project without giving a lot of details.
- Maximum Bid. This is the highest bid offer you will accept. Freelancer can bid lower to gain your business, but not higher.
- Bidding Close Date. This is the date (in U.S format--mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss) you want to close bidding and not accept any more bids.
- The number of days the freelancer have to work on the project and deliver the final work. If you omit a deadline, then the he is under no time obligation to deliver!
Before accepting any bid you should verify that the person you are selecting is apt to handle the project effectively. You can do this by:
- Asking the ghostwriter for his references.
- Asking for a sample of his work.
- Visiting his profile page, where you can find more information about him and also what people who worked with him have to say about his work.
Freelance Ghost Writers
Who could be a Ghost Writer?. Well anyone who likes and has a passion to write. Those who may have the flair to bring across the text wold alive into the mind of the reader.
There are various categories for a Ghost Writer. It could be blog writing, novel writing, autobiography etc.
There are various categories for a Ghost Writer. It could be blog writing, novel writing, autobiography etc.
Here is what a ghostwriter / freelancer can do for you:
- Research on the internet and other sources
- Compilation of all the information you provide them
- Professional writing that makes your ideas sound really great
- Write a compelling book that rivets a reader's interest
- Usage of language that is apt according to the topic
- Delivering the complete packaged product version ready to sell.
All you have to do is provide them with your ideas, research, and information about your ebook then let them do the work for you.
Here are some of the advantages of letting a ghostwriter write for you:
- All the writing work and designing is easily outsourced to ghostwriters. They do all the work you get the benefit (and the profits)!
- Save time and energy that could be used efficiently in other directions.
- You keep 100% of the copyright.
- They can do the research for you.
The procedure is as follows. You have to post your project on the website. The freelancer who is interested in your project will place a bid. The cost of this work depends on the expertise required, the nature of the project and the volume of work. You are free to negotiate. Ghostwriters work mostly for themselves. If you generate repeat business for them a business relationship gets established. The ghostwriters or freelancer may then charge a lower fee for the returning client as it helps generate higher business volumes. The investment you make in hiring a ghostwriter is returned many times over and gives beneficial results. You get an excellent product made and the readers get their value for money through high quality material. This is definitely a win-win situation where you, the freelancer and the client, all are benefited.
So, happy being a Ghost!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Social Media - an open book
Everything you tweet is searchable on the web. This can be good and bad. Good if you're strategically using key words for which you want to be found; and bad if you aren't mindful that if you're not nice, it can come back to bite you.
And that bite came back hard recently for a PR agency.
An employee working for the firm landed in Memphis to deliver a presentation to more than 150 people at a potential Client. On arrival, he wrote the following on Twitter, "True confession, but I'm in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, 'I would die if I had to live here!'"
It just so happened that the potential client staffer saw the message and forwarded it to numerous company executives. And that is not all, the potential Client drafted a response. The last line of the letter says it all, "True confession: many of my peers and I don't see much relevance between your presentation this morning and the work we do." The story rapidly quickly spread across the Internet.
This hard lesson is also a wake-up call for many businesses. Twitter is a public communication medium. Everything said is permanently etched in Twitter's digital fabric.
"While Twitter can be effective as a marketing tool, if you are not careful, it can become a viral tool for negative press. Anything typed in Twitter is 'ON THE RECORD,'.
"Treat all your conversations like your grandmother was listening," social-media consultants suggests,
"Your company should be clear in its expectations on your employees' Twitter communication," .
And that bite came back hard recently for a PR agency.
An employee working for the firm landed in Memphis to deliver a presentation to more than 150 people at a potential Client. On arrival, he wrote the following on Twitter, "True confession, but I'm in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say, 'I would die if I had to live here!'"
It just so happened that the potential client staffer saw the message and forwarded it to numerous company executives. And that is not all, the potential Client drafted a response. The last line of the letter says it all, "True confession: many of my peers and I don't see much relevance between your presentation this morning and the work we do." The story rapidly quickly spread across the Internet.
This hard lesson is also a wake-up call for many businesses. Twitter is a public communication medium. Everything said is permanently etched in Twitter's digital fabric.
"While Twitter can be effective as a marketing tool, if you are not careful, it can become a viral tool for negative press. Anything typed in Twitter is 'ON THE RECORD,'.
"Treat all your conversations like your grandmother was listening," social-media consultants suggests,
"Your company should be clear in its expectations on your employees' Twitter communication," .
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Surgeons send 'tweets' from operating room
It's potentially a risky surgery, but everything's ready: The doctors and nurses are in the operating room, the surgical instruments are sterilized and ready to go, and the chief resident is furiously Twittering on his laptop.
That's right -- last week, for the second known time, surgeons Twittered a surgery by using social-networking site Twitter to give short real-time updates about the procedure.
Following the February 9 operation online were other doctors, medical students and the merely curious.
Observers say Twittering about a procedure is a natural outgrowth of the social networking media revolution.
Doing this removes a real communication barrier. It helps make something scary much more comprehendable.
That's right -- last week, for the second known time, surgeons Twittered a surgery by using social-networking site Twitter to give short real-time updates about the procedure.
Following the February 9 operation online were other doctors, medical students and the merely curious.
Observers say Twittering about a procedure is a natural outgrowth of the social networking media revolution.
Doing this removes a real communication barrier. It helps make something scary much more comprehendable.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Google tracking your every move
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, Google launched Latitude, a location-tracking service that uses GPS hardware found in smart phones to pinpoint your position on a map and share that information with friends.
When The Police wrote the stalker-classic song "Every Breath you Take" they probably weren't thinking that a Google application for your cellphone would make their promise "I'll be watching you" so easy.
But for many young people and technophiles, there's no worry about Big Brother or other nosy eyes -- they want you to know exactly where they are.
Called Latitude, a new Google application allows users to track the physical location of friends and family from their mobile phone or computer. Already, frightened parents and privacy groups are thinking about the safety implications.
The basic technology, called geomapping, has been available for years in other products like Loopt and there's been nary a worry. But once Google touches something, it instantly becomes part of the mainstream.
The way Google promotes Latitude, the new tool certainly has some significant upsides. Already, a number of enthusiasts lay out a multiplicity of benefits for the application.
"I do like the idea of seeing where my friends are: I live in a medium sized town that's (45 kilometres) away from a city ... (so) if I'm killing time in there I'd like to know if any of my friends are around so we could hook up," Alex Martindale, a member of the Facebook group "I am using Google Latitude" told CTV.ca in an email.
"However, I think the most exciting part of Google Latitude is providing location-based services to people's mobile phones: imagine if you looked up train or bus times from your phone, the website could know where you are and instantly provide you with the relevant information."
Latitude can track a person's location down to a few metres by GPS, or to a few kilometres using a cell tower. The person's location can then be broadcasted using the uber-popular Google Maps.
When The Police wrote the stalker-classic song "Every Breath you Take" they probably weren't thinking that a Google application for your cellphone would make their promise "I'll be watching you" so easy.
But for many young people and technophiles, there's no worry about Big Brother or other nosy eyes -- they want you to know exactly where they are.
Called Latitude, a new Google application allows users to track the physical location of friends and family from their mobile phone or computer. Already, frightened parents and privacy groups are thinking about the safety implications.
The basic technology, called geomapping, has been available for years in other products like Loopt and there's been nary a worry. But once Google touches something, it instantly becomes part of the mainstream.
The way Google promotes Latitude, the new tool certainly has some significant upsides. Already, a number of enthusiasts lay out a multiplicity of benefits for the application.
"I do like the idea of seeing where my friends are: I live in a medium sized town that's (45 kilometres) away from a city ... (so) if I'm killing time in there I'd like to know if any of my friends are around so we could hook up," Alex Martindale, a member of the Facebook group "I am using Google Latitude" told CTV.ca in an email.
"However, I think the most exciting part of Google Latitude is providing location-based services to people's mobile phones: imagine if you looked up train or bus times from your phone, the website could know where you are and instantly provide you with the relevant information."
Latitude can track a person's location down to a few metres by GPS, or to a few kilometres using a cell tower. The person's location can then be broadcasted using the uber-popular Google Maps.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Good Conference
Provide reliable Internet access, and plenty of power outlets. Operate on the assumption that each attendee has a laptop and that everyone will join the wifi network simultaneously. Make sure the conference center or other venue you contact has the capability to handle this.
Schedule generous breaks between sessions. Recommend at least 15 minutes to a half-hour ideal. Audience members almost always go to ask the speaker(s) questions, Usually audience goes to speakers during break to ask questions. If they know they only have a few minutes till the next session starts, they might not ask those questions, and move on to the next session.
Give everyone the space to schmooze. Wide passageways and open public spaces encourage attendees to interact with each other.
Schedule generous breaks between sessions. Recommend at least 15 minutes to a half-hour ideal. Audience members almost always go to ask the speaker(s) questions, Usually audience goes to speakers during break to ask questions. If they know they only have a few minutes till the next session starts, they might not ask those questions, and move on to the next session.
Give everyone the space to schmooze. Wide passageways and open public spaces encourage attendees to interact with each other.
Get Wired and Get Hired
The news isn't good: Fidelity Investments this week announced its second round of job cuts, NEC is cutting 20,000 jobs and Motorola just shed 4,000 workers. But despite the doom and gloom, some companies are indeed hiring. As the optimists say, the sun is always shining somewhere.
Here are a few ways you can use online tools and social media to find a position that suits your needs, and puts a few bucks in your wallet.
Get networked. Take the time to build your online networks, both social and professional, using tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, suggests LinkedIn's own Mario Sundar.
Use social-media megaphones. There's no shame in looking for work. Let folks in your networks know that you are looking for a job, says Sundar. Write about your job search on your blog, if you have one, and Twitter about your search.
Research smarter. Check out specific companies to target via research tools like this one from LinkedIn, which allows you to network with specific people at the companies you might want to work for, Sundar says.
Solicit LinkedIn recommendations. "A strong recommendation from your manager highlights your strengths and shows that you were a valued employee," writes entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, adding, "If you were a manager yourself, recommendations from your employees can also highlight leadership qualities."
Hit the boards. In addition to the typical job boards, try Rafe Needleman's Spreadsheet of Sunshine: Who's Hiring, PR News Online and Indeed.com, the latter of which sports a simple Google-like interface and handy RSS feed.
The Po!nt: Be sure you take full advantage of online tools and include a heavy dose of social media in your hunt for a new and promising gig.
Here are a few ways you can use online tools and social media to find a position that suits your needs, and puts a few bucks in your wallet.
Get networked. Take the time to build your online networks, both social and professional, using tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, suggests LinkedIn's own Mario Sundar.
Use social-media megaphones. There's no shame in looking for work. Let folks in your networks know that you are looking for a job, says Sundar. Write about your job search on your blog, if you have one, and Twitter about your search.
Research smarter. Check out specific companies to target via research tools like this one from LinkedIn, which allows you to network with specific people at the companies you might want to work for, Sundar says.
Solicit LinkedIn recommendations. "A strong recommendation from your manager highlights your strengths and shows that you were a valued employee," writes entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, adding, "If you were a manager yourself, recommendations from your employees can also highlight leadership qualities."
Hit the boards. In addition to the typical job boards, try Rafe Needleman's Spreadsheet of Sunshine: Who's Hiring, PR News Online and Indeed.com, the latter of which sports a simple Google-like interface and handy RSS feed.
The Po!nt: Be sure you take full advantage of online tools and include a heavy dose of social media in your hunt for a new and promising gig.
Friday, February 6, 2009
How many inbound links does your site have?
If you have an old site with no links, this will add to the time you need to wait. If you have a number of links already, Google will probably be in to check out things within a week or so of updating.
How optimized is your site before SEO?
If your established site has no optimization in place at all, and has navigation that is blocking search engine spiders, sometimes opening the site up can result in a rather quick turn-around for results.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Consumers have different goals and expectations while on the go
Mobile consumers are generally either looking for ways to save time or ways to kill time. Because a mobile phone is such a personal device, consumers’ mindsets are completely different on the mobile Web than they are on the wired Web. While consumers accessing the wired Web at home or in their office often browse for extended periods of time, on mobile they tend to seek snack-size information or entertainment content such as:
Breaking news headlines•
Weather updates•
Sports scores•
Image galleries•
Television and movie schedules•
Alerts•
Database references•
Short-form video content•
Interestingly, it appears that for several content categories, such as dining, entertainment and sports scores, the mobile Web is becoming the preferred channel to access this information, as opposed to the wired Web. Consumers tend to access the mobile Web with a more task-oriented mindset; they expect the mobile Web to accommodate their on-the-go lifestyle. Examples of these tasks include researching and buying an airline, train or concert ticket and using navigation applications to get directions to a specific business or other destination. Consumers also want mobile-friendly ways to send and receive email, access bank and credit card accounts, and share information via social networks.
Breaking news headlines•
Weather updates•
Sports scores•
Image galleries•
Television and movie schedules•
Alerts•
Database references•
Short-form video content•
Interestingly, it appears that for several content categories, such as dining, entertainment and sports scores, the mobile Web is becoming the preferred channel to access this information, as opposed to the wired Web. Consumers tend to access the mobile Web with a more task-oriented mindset; they expect the mobile Web to accommodate their on-the-go lifestyle. Examples of these tasks include researching and buying an airline, train or concert ticket and using navigation applications to get directions to a specific business or other destination. Consumers also want mobile-friendly ways to send and receive email, access bank and credit card accounts, and share information via social networks.
Mobile web v/s wired web
While there are parallels, the characteristics of the mobile Web are different from the characteristics of the wired Web. Mobile phones are very personal devices, and they must be treated as such by marketers. For example, some ads that work well on computers are not as successful on mobile, and likewise, some mobile ads would never work on a PC. Generic ads may be construed as spam, while targeted ads that provide relevancy and value to consumers at the point of interest are quite effective on mobile devices.
Mobile is more focussed targeting
Mobile’s ability to provide superior targeting by age, gender, location, time of day and day of week, and to facilitate two-way communication between advertisers and consumers, make it one of the main reasons that mobile is now—particularly for reaching Generation Y. It’s their lifeline.
ESSENTIALl FfACT
Data seems to indicate that, in some cases, consumers are choosing advanced device data devices, particularly the Apple iPhone, as a replacement to their home Internet service. In this case, the mobile Web becomes the preferred mode of access for all content categories.
Monday, January 26, 2009
The air we breathe
The sealed-air construction of many contemporary office buildings contributes to a variety of health problems. Respiratory illness, throat irritation, headaches and exhaustion are common reactions to stale, dry air. Bacteria and viruses can also develop in air that's passed through cooling towers. These conditions can have a negative impact on workers' performance.
Ozone-free air purifiers and carbon air filters clean the ambient air in enclosed air spaces. Water fountains offer benefits above beautification. They aid in stress relief and relaxation, act as a natural humidifier, and improve air quality by releasing negative ions, with a soothing sound to form a buffer against external noise.
Ozone-free air purifiers and carbon air filters clean the ambient air in enclosed air spaces. Water fountains offer benefits above beautification. They aid in stress relief and relaxation, act as a natural humidifier, and improve air quality by releasing negative ions, with a soothing sound to form a buffer against external noise.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Internet in India
The Indian advertising market is currently at the nascent stage. It will take some more years
before this market reaches maturity. Till then, wider reach and penetration of traditional
media would continue to make television and print as the basic media in most advertising
campaigns. The maximum amount of the advertising budget will be taken away by these
media while Internet advertising would continue to thrive as an offshoot. Advertisers with
bigger budgets will continue to spend more on this media. Others will follow soon as this
medium matures. BFSI and ITES would be the major spenders on this medium while the
others will follow the suit. Further with convergence between media on the rise, the
distinction between online and offline media is expected to blur. All advertisers would be
forced to adopt this new media in order to exist and to stay relevant.
As broadband penetration increase in the Indian homes, Internet permeates into the
hinterlands of the country; web publishing companies would develop more content on the
Internet. With the growing possibilities of rich media we expect that more and more creative
content would flood the online space. This would make online advertising more relevant,
more creative, more informative and above all in tune with the customers. .
In conclusion, we believe that we are at the threshold of this change. The result of all the
trends outlined in the report foretells that great and exciting things are yet to happen in the
online advertising space. Till then we could wait and watch for the Indian advertising industry
to start off its journey into the cyberspace.
before this market reaches maturity. Till then, wider reach and penetration of traditional
media would continue to make television and print as the basic media in most advertising
campaigns. The maximum amount of the advertising budget will be taken away by these
media while Internet advertising would continue to thrive as an offshoot. Advertisers with
bigger budgets will continue to spend more on this media. Others will follow soon as this
medium matures. BFSI and ITES would be the major spenders on this medium while the
others will follow the suit. Further with convergence between media on the rise, the
distinction between online and offline media is expected to blur. All advertisers would be
forced to adopt this new media in order to exist and to stay relevant.
As broadband penetration increase in the Indian homes, Internet permeates into the
hinterlands of the country; web publishing companies would develop more content on the
Internet. With the growing possibilities of rich media we expect that more and more creative
content would flood the online space. This would make online advertising more relevant,
more creative, more informative and above all in tune with the customers. .
In conclusion, we believe that we are at the threshold of this change. The result of all the
trends outlined in the report foretells that great and exciting things are yet to happen in the
online advertising space. Till then we could wait and watch for the Indian advertising industry
to start off its journey into the cyberspace.
Is it the Mobile time?
The Internet was labelled new media 10 years ago. Even today, it is sometimes called that. With 300 million mobile subscribers, 47 million active users and advertising revenue of Rs 600 crore, - how mobile could be called new media.
An ultimate Swiss knife in mobiles. “Nobody needs a watch, a separate music player, an Internet browser, gaming device, search device, camera, pen drive, GPS, map or cricket and stock updates if they have a mobile,” .
Leveraging these in the market through services such as SMS, voice, mobile Internet and applications in accordance to every subscriber’s taste makes the difference.
Sending SMS alerts is the commonest mobile advertising method, where supply outstrips demand. “Using mobile responses by way of SMS for evaluating the offline media mix is a good idea,” citing the example of Intel. For Intel, Interactive Avenues tried to gauge which of three print ads was most effective, by way of the number of responses garnered via SMS.
While advertising on the mobile Internet, he said, one must focus on the relevance of the ad for the customer and maintain smaller formats and crisp messages. On the applications front, he said that the advent of 3G would bring about a sea change.
A good picture of the future of the medium. It is said that the mobile industry was growing at 60 per cent year on year, and today, there were 15 million GPRS users in the country.
“In the next five years, people will read their newspapers in the bathroom,” was recently stated, implying the ease of mobile use with the advent of technology. According to a worldwide study, only 7 per cent of the time spent on the iPhone is for conversing.
“Five to six per cent of the marketing budget should go to mobile marketing. Advertisers need to do more than just creating banner ads or WAP sites,” .
An ultimate Swiss knife in mobiles. “Nobody needs a watch, a separate music player, an Internet browser, gaming device, search device, camera, pen drive, GPS, map or cricket and stock updates if they have a mobile,” .
Leveraging these in the market through services such as SMS, voice, mobile Internet and applications in accordance to every subscriber’s taste makes the difference.
Sending SMS alerts is the commonest mobile advertising method, where supply outstrips demand. “Using mobile responses by way of SMS for evaluating the offline media mix is a good idea,” citing the example of Intel. For Intel, Interactive Avenues tried to gauge which of three print ads was most effective, by way of the number of responses garnered via SMS.
While advertising on the mobile Internet, he said, one must focus on the relevance of the ad for the customer and maintain smaller formats and crisp messages. On the applications front, he said that the advent of 3G would bring about a sea change.
A good picture of the future of the medium. It is said that the mobile industry was growing at 60 per cent year on year, and today, there were 15 million GPRS users in the country.
“In the next five years, people will read their newspapers in the bathroom,” was recently stated, implying the ease of mobile use with the advent of technology. According to a worldwide study, only 7 per cent of the time spent on the iPhone is for conversing.
“Five to six per cent of the marketing budget should go to mobile marketing. Advertisers need to do more than just creating banner ads or WAP sites,” .
Mobile is not ‘new’ media any more
If the joke that people engage more with their mobile phones than they do with their spouses is indeed true, then it’s good news for the medium, especially where advertising is concerned.
The mobile medium has been striving to find a place in media plans, and with more awareness of its numerous attributes, it stands a chance of becoming the most sought-after medium in the times to come.
An interesting observation is that more than 50 per cent people keep their mobiles within a distance of five feet while sleeping. A person looks at his mobile screen every 11-15 minutes. It's not just a personal medium that engages, but also an in-home and out-of-home medium.
"These reasons answer the question 'why mobile'. Even television, which commands the biggest chunk of the ad pie, doesn't offer these benefits. Advertisers have tried WAP and push SMSes, but are looking at better ways to reach targeted consumers,".
Advertisers are looking for solutions that are non-intrusive, targeted, contextual, integrated, transparent and interactive. Citing the example of Google, which features ads relevant to the search criteria.
Many forces were working to make available inventory that could work across platforms – voice, SMS, WAP and video can be contextually targeted with simple interactive tools.
The biggest opportunity for an advertiser is SMS and voice. While there are only 14-20 per cent users for mobile content, the penetration of SMS is 90 per cent and that of voice, 100 per cent.
The “always there” medium has the capability to reach the consumers at a personal level and serve the right ad at the right time. Like the Toyota Yaris was the first successful product launch on mobile – it used a highly engaging mobisode of the television series, Prison Break.
“Someday, mobile will rule the ad world,” is what is guessed, adding that it would be the measurability of the medium that would make it happen. “No readership survey or audience measurement survey can effectively gauge the effectiveness of an ad. They only talk about the effectiveness of the medium. But mobile will be able to address that,” .
Advertisers have an equally important role to play in this. “It is imperative to have great content to hold user interest and get customer eyeballs. Ads need to be subtle, contextually relevant and viral in nature," .
The mobile medium has been striving to find a place in media plans, and with more awareness of its numerous attributes, it stands a chance of becoming the most sought-after medium in the times to come.
An interesting observation is that more than 50 per cent people keep their mobiles within a distance of five feet while sleeping. A person looks at his mobile screen every 11-15 minutes. It's not just a personal medium that engages, but also an in-home and out-of-home medium.
"These reasons answer the question 'why mobile'. Even television, which commands the biggest chunk of the ad pie, doesn't offer these benefits. Advertisers have tried WAP and push SMSes, but are looking at better ways to reach targeted consumers,".
Advertisers are looking for solutions that are non-intrusive, targeted, contextual, integrated, transparent and interactive. Citing the example of Google, which features ads relevant to the search criteria.
Many forces were working to make available inventory that could work across platforms – voice, SMS, WAP and video can be contextually targeted with simple interactive tools.
The biggest opportunity for an advertiser is SMS and voice. While there are only 14-20 per cent users for mobile content, the penetration of SMS is 90 per cent and that of voice, 100 per cent.
The “always there” medium has the capability to reach the consumers at a personal level and serve the right ad at the right time. Like the Toyota Yaris was the first successful product launch on mobile – it used a highly engaging mobisode of the television series, Prison Break.
“Someday, mobile will rule the ad world,” is what is guessed, adding that it would be the measurability of the medium that would make it happen. “No readership survey or audience measurement survey can effectively gauge the effectiveness of an ad. They only talk about the effectiveness of the medium. But mobile will be able to address that,” .
Advertisers have an equally important role to play in this. “It is imperative to have great content to hold user interest and get customer eyeballs. Ads need to be subtle, contextually relevant and viral in nature," .
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Plagiarism Checker
Here's a resource for you. Ever wonder if that non-paying client took your words and ran? The Plagiarism Checker, a project of the University of Maryland, will search for your article, for free. Copyscape is another low-cost option. Of course, you could also just plug a unique phrase from your article into Google, and see what comes up!
Plagiarism Checker
Here's a resource for you. Ever wonder if that non-paying client took your words and ran? The Plagiarism Checker, a project of the University of Maryland, will search for your article, for free. Copyscape is another low-cost option. Of course, you could also just plug a unique phrase from your article into Google, and see what comes up!
Why Won't Mobile Marketing Learn From Online's Lessons?
Mobile advertising is deemed complex for the same reason online used to be: Standards are murky at best.
Online advertising evolved because online dashboards allowed agencies to monitor and optimize their digital campaigns in real time. Why doesn't mobile do this?
Online publishers integrate one ad server across their sites, and it acts as a master ad server and manages multiple networks and sales teams. Why doesn't mobile do this?
Answering these questions and applying lessons from the online arena to the mobile movement will make mobile advertising easier to navigate—and allow it to take its rightful place in the digital-advertising world.
Let's talk about devices
Most of today's viable mobile ad servers have detection systems, allowing the publisher or network to target campaigns by device and carrier.
This means that the ad platform needs to have an up-to-date device library that can be referenced in real time in order to serve the correct ad size back to the site. While this doesn't create standardization in the mobile space, detection systems provide a positive ad serving experience.
Now think about agency dashboards
Interactive agencies use dashboard systems (e.g., Atlas or DoubleClick) to manage, optimize, and report on their online campaigns across sites and networks. This works in the online world because of third-party ad servers.
Online advertising evolved because online dashboards allowed agencies to monitor and optimize their digital campaigns in real time. Why doesn't mobile do this?
Online publishers integrate one ad server across their sites, and it acts as a master ad server and manages multiple networks and sales teams. Why doesn't mobile do this?
Answering these questions and applying lessons from the online arena to the mobile movement will make mobile advertising easier to navigate—and allow it to take its rightful place in the digital-advertising world.
Let's talk about devices
Most of today's viable mobile ad servers have detection systems, allowing the publisher or network to target campaigns by device and carrier.
This means that the ad platform needs to have an up-to-date device library that can be referenced in real time in order to serve the correct ad size back to the site. While this doesn't create standardization in the mobile space, detection systems provide a positive ad serving experience.
Now think about agency dashboards
Interactive agencies use dashboard systems (e.g., Atlas or DoubleClick) to manage, optimize, and report on their online campaigns across sites and networks. This works in the online world because of third-party ad servers.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
What is Netvibes?
Netvibes is a the modern version of the "portals" of the dot-com era, but this time, they can be completely custom and individual to each user. It is a service that allows users to set up their own customized start page composed of "modules" which can contain a wide variety of information from dozens and dozens of other sites. One of the most obviously useful things to include in a module is an RSS or ATOM feed of a popular blog or news service. Since RSS updates in almost real time, this allows users to, at a glance, arrange a customized list of news from a wide variety of sites all on one page.
But Netvibes offers far more than just simple RSS feeds, something which is already common to services known as blog aggregators. There are also weather modules, e-mail including Gmail from Google
, a calendar, an events list and even custom bookmark lists. Groups of modules can be categorized with tabs very similar to the way they work in tabbed web browsers like Firefox. This is actually one of Netvibes more popular features, as it adds even more flexibility to a system that is already nearly completely customizable.
Netvibes is essentially a desktop
in a web page, which offers much the same benefit as Writely for users: customized services which can be accessed remotely from a number of different computers or the same computer at multiple locations.
As more and more web services become "feed-based" and accessible via RSS in real-time, services like Netvibes and others like it will only become more popular.
But Netvibes offers far more than just simple RSS feeds, something which is already common to services known as blog aggregators. There are also weather modules, e-mail including Gmail from Google
, a calendar, an events list and even custom bookmark lists. Groups of modules can be categorized with tabs very similar to the way they work in tabbed web browsers like Firefox. This is actually one of Netvibes more popular features, as it adds even more flexibility to a system that is already nearly completely customizable.
Netvibes is essentially a desktop
in a web page, which offers much the same benefit as Writely for users: customized services which can be accessed remotely from a number of different computers or the same computer at multiple locations.
As more and more web services become "feed-based" and accessible via RSS in real-time, services like Netvibes and others like it will only become more popular.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Journal Writing: A Prescription for Good Health
When your body is sick or injured, you probably seek medical attention and follow a regimen of prescriptions, bed rest, and even physical therapy. But did you know that keeping a journal might aid in your recovery?
There's also some evidence that healthy people who keep journals report a greater well-being and fewer medical problems. The reason is very clear. All that clutter in your mind is poured out. It is like de-stressing yourself.
Many a times people think that writing may get into wrong person's hand. Well then destroy / shred what you write. But yes make it a point to write.
There's also some evidence that healthy people who keep journals report a greater well-being and fewer medical problems. The reason is very clear. All that clutter in your mind is poured out. It is like de-stressing yourself.
Many a times people think that writing may get into wrong person's hand. Well then destroy / shred what you write. But yes make it a point to write.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
What are feeds and how do I use them?
A feed is a regularly updated summary of web content, along with links to full versions of that content. When you subscribe to a given website's feed by using a feed reader, you'll receive a summary of new content from that website. Important: you must use a feed reader in order to subscribe to website feeds. When you click on an RSS or Atom feed link, your browser may display a page of unformatted gobbledygook.
What are RSS and Atom?
RSS and Atom are the two feed formats. Most feed readers support both formats. Right now, Google News supports Atom 0.3 and RSS 2.0.
How do I use Google News feeds?
To access Google News feeds, look for the RSS| Atom links on any Google News page. These links will generate a feed of current stories related to the page that you're looking at.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
What is Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pay Per Click (PPC) is a form of advertising usually found on search engine results and general websites. For PPC’s, the marketer will only pay if a prospect (visitor) actually click on your advertisement. For search engine PPC’s the marketer (you) specifies and bids on a list of keywords. Then, when a prospect surfing the internet searches on any one of those keywords in that list, that activity will trigger your ad in the sponsored listings. When a surfer (a prospect) types in a term, the search engine will display a page that are relevant to that term (keyword).
There are two types of search results:
Organic search results
These are the natural listings that appear through something called SEO (Search Engine Optimization). You do not pay for these listings, instead, you work to build your listing as high in the page results as possible SEO does not happen overnight. SEO happens over time because of a lot of consistent and diligent effort on your part. There are many techniques that you can learn to increase your visibility in the organic listings.
Sponsored search results.
We call these Pay Per Click (PPC). Advertisers (you) can use PPC to drive tons of traffic quickly - if you are willing to pay for it. With PPC, the advertiser (you) will only pay if the surfer (your prospect) clicks on the advertisement (your advertisement). When you see sponsored results on the page (usually the right side of the page in Google), the advertisers are not paying because their ad displayed. The advertiser (you) will only pay if a visitor ‘clicks’ on your link (which will take the visitor to your landing page (or whatever page you have the ad linked to). As an advertiser, you want to bid on as many ‘high converting’ keywords as you can which will trigger click throughs to your site.
What is the Click Through Rate?
Click Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who actually click your ad when it is seen. An ad that is displayed, and seen by a visitor, is called an impression. So when someone types in a key word, and then if your ad is triggered so that it appears in the search engine listings, it will be called an impression. For example, if there are 100 displays (impressions) of your ad, and 4 people actually click on your ad, then your CTR will be 4% (that would be considered a pretty good CTR.
How does ad placement work with PPC for Google and Yahoo (most important Search Engines).
Ad placement typically goes to the highest bidder, in Google and Yahoo it is more complicated. Your ability to secure the position you want in the page ranking depends on a combination of the following. Bid price (how much you are willing to pay). Quality of your advertisement (is it relevant to your landing page?). Quality of your landing page (does it deliver what your advertisement implies and does it follow certain guidelines, e.g. ‘keyword density’). Effectiveness of the ad you write. In other words, do people tend to ‘click’ on your ad when they see it? The search engine likes that, because that is how they make their money.
The good implication:
People who are newer to internet marketing with smaller budgets can actually compete effectively for high positions (listings positions) on the search results. Small players can be rewarded for quality score and size of budget is irrelevant, so write good ads and have high quality content. In order to get a higher CTR means that you have lots of impressions and good placement. Getting lots of that means that you sometimes have to spend more than you would like.
In conclusion, make your focus on High Quality and Relevant advertisements. Make your focus on High Quality and Relevant landing pages. You will find that Google will reward you by lowering the price you have to pay for your bids. Keep in mind that Google manages more than 53% of all internet searches, Yahoo more than 28%, that is a total of 81% of all the total traffic on the internet world wide.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Success In Internet Marketing
Success In Internet Marketing is achieved to a large degree by the
clarity and effectiveness of your goals. Clearly defined goals will
help you chart out your action plan and take you to where you want
to go. A good mentor, accountability partners, a clear focus and a
massive action plan are the key Success ingredients you need to add
to the mix.
1. Identify Your WHY. To become successful in network marketing, you
need to find your deep felt reason for starting your network
marketing business - your WHY. When things get tough it will be
your strong WHY that carries you through to network marketing
success.
2. Establish a Dream List. As part of your network marketing goal
setting process you need to establish a dream list. What are the
goals that excite you? This list should be specific and clear and
you should post pictures of your dreams around your house.
3. Document Your Goals. Only 3% of the population document their
goals and that 3% generate over 90% of the Network Marketing
income. Get your goals onto paper and and review them on a daily
basis, this will help focus your efforts and move you ever closer
to your Network Marketing dreams.
4. Break Your Goals Down. When you have your goal documented imagine
the day you achieve it and start to work backwards through the
steps you need to take to achieve it. Document these steps until
they get back to today as this is going to be your action plan to
Network Marketing success.
5. Get Multiple Accountability Partners. We all need help to achieve
our goals and one of the most important aids are accountability
partners. Pick people who will keep you on your toes and challenge
you to achieve and make sure you review your network marketing
goals with them regularly.
6. Review Your Goals. Review your goals daily once at night and
again in the morning. You want to train your subconscious mind to
understand the steps you need to be doing on a consistent basis to
achieve your dreams and desires.
7. Repeat The Process. Goal setting should be a continual process
not a once a year process. As part of your review look for ways to
stretch yourself and apply more challenging targets and bigger
dreams.
These steps take a little time to put in place but should not take
too long. Establish an effective daily method of operation and
ensure that all your actions are taking you closer to your dreams
and goals. If you are busy working on things that are not going to
help you achieve your goals then review why you are doing them.
Constantly steer your efforts towards your goals and success is
just around the corner.
clarity and effectiveness of your goals. Clearly defined goals will
help you chart out your action plan and take you to where you want
to go. A good mentor, accountability partners, a clear focus and a
massive action plan are the key Success ingredients you need to add
to the mix.
1. Identify Your WHY. To become successful in network marketing, you
need to find your deep felt reason for starting your network
marketing business - your WHY. When things get tough it will be
your strong WHY that carries you through to network marketing
success.
2. Establish a Dream List. As part of your network marketing goal
setting process you need to establish a dream list. What are the
goals that excite you? This list should be specific and clear and
you should post pictures of your dreams around your house.
3. Document Your Goals. Only 3% of the population document their
goals and that 3% generate over 90% of the Network Marketing
income. Get your goals onto paper and and review them on a daily
basis, this will help focus your efforts and move you ever closer
to your Network Marketing dreams.
4. Break Your Goals Down. When you have your goal documented imagine
the day you achieve it and start to work backwards through the
steps you need to take to achieve it. Document these steps until
they get back to today as this is going to be your action plan to
Network Marketing success.
5. Get Multiple Accountability Partners. We all need help to achieve
our goals and one of the most important aids are accountability
partners. Pick people who will keep you on your toes and challenge
you to achieve and make sure you review your network marketing
goals with them regularly.
6. Review Your Goals. Review your goals daily once at night and
again in the morning. You want to train your subconscious mind to
understand the steps you need to be doing on a consistent basis to
achieve your dreams and desires.
7. Repeat The Process. Goal setting should be a continual process
not a once a year process. As part of your review look for ways to
stretch yourself and apply more challenging targets and bigger
dreams.
These steps take a little time to put in place but should not take
too long. Establish an effective daily method of operation and
ensure that all your actions are taking you closer to your dreams
and goals. If you are busy working on things that are not going to
help you achieve your goals then review why you are doing them.
Constantly steer your efforts towards your goals and success is
just around the corner.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Making AdSense work better
1. According to research the best format for an adsense ad is 336x280. This is because this particular format recieves the highest high click through rate. Pretty much everyone is trained to spot 468x60 banners these days and that's one of the reason banner advertising has such a poor conversion rate!
2. You should use blue coloured links on a white background, reason being they're the default colours in html and the most common colours for links on the web. What this means is, the majority of your visitors will be trained to click these links.
3. Always make sure your adverts are "above the fold", this means they can be seen without having to scroll down.
4. Make sure you have a site with lots of content and not a MFA (made for adsense). Google will ban your adsense account if you do.
5. Make sure you block competitor websites and websites that are MFA. Made for adsense websites typically pay pennies per click.
2. You should use blue coloured links on a white background, reason being they're the default colours in html and the most common colours for links on the web. What this means is, the majority of your visitors will be trained to click these links.
3. Always make sure your adverts are "above the fold", this means they can be seen without having to scroll down.
4. Make sure you have a site with lots of content and not a MFA (made for adsense). Google will ban your adsense account if you do.
5. Make sure you block competitor websites and websites that are MFA. Made for adsense websites typically pay pennies per click.
Business opportunity on net - money only after sweat!
The Internet opens six opportunities for your business:
Newbies see the Internet as advertising. But a business website is better understood as a branch office, a place of doing business. It's like opening a second office where you can entertain customers, except this office has the lights on and coffee ready 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
People can stop in at their convenience any time they want and browse through your offerings. They'll
· Read the brochures in the rack by the door,
· Pick up a copy of your "Common Questions People Ask About our Business,"
· Solve their own problems with your detailed Troubleshooting Guide,
· Scribble messages on the pad of question forms you've provided,
· Look at detailed information and specs about each product you offer, and, if you have a vending machine in your lobby,
· Make purchases day or night.
What's the monthly rent? Somewhere between $20 to $100 per month for smaller businesses. And the initial build-out of your branch office costs only a few thousand dollars. Sure, you'll need to remodel every year or two to keep it up-to-date. But that's a small price to pay for the new customers your branch office will bring.
Remember, don't think "advertising," think "branch office," and you'll begin to grasp the Internet opportunity.
I'm amazed how many people are blind to the second business opportunity the Internet offers -- a world market. Not too long ago a medium-size mail order executive told me, "The boss insists that we need to prevent people from other countries from ordering on our new site. We just don't do much international business, and it's a pain to ship outside the country." Well this needs to be re-considered when you go online.
A rapidly increasing number of people around the world use the Internet to purchase items they can't find locally. In early 1999, for example, 1.5 million Chinese now are connected to the Internet, along with half a million from
Think about it. The Internet provides a small business in
On the Internet, geography has ceased to be a barrier. A small business market used to be limited to a one hour drive from its store or office. No more. People now shop a global directory on the Web and let the best site win.
Of course, some products don't lend themselves to a global market. Take pizza, for example. Can you imagine delivery of a flat box containing two-day-old pepperoni with anchovies? Gross! Well, as of today this is feasible too!
A global opportunity awaits you.
A third opportunity is direct sales, jumping the existing distribution chain that ratchets up prices to the end user.
Many online-only businesses are essentially order-taking front offices. Product fulfilment is through manufacturers and distributors who agree to drop-ship directly to the customer. This way the Web retailer doesn't incur expenses for inventory and warehousing. (Nor does he have the ability for superior customer service, but that's another story.)
A really scary development to many manufacturers is the growing temptation to sell directly on the Web and by-pass the complex distribution chain they have built over many years. The manufacturer doesn't want to anger distributors and dealers. But increasingly, competing manufacturers sell direct from the factory and undercut the price to the end user. For many manufacturers, it's a decision to either sell directly or lose marketshare. Agony! What do you do when the Dell Computer equivalent in your industry sells directly over the Web, pulls in $14 million per day in revenue, and grows faster than any other competitor?
Direct retail sales via the Internet is growing exponentially. This is a great opportunity for your business!
Why does a company network its desktop computers? To increase communication, collaboration, and productivity. The Internet networks half the computers in the world!
Think of the possibilities. Now
But this network aids commerce in other ways, too. You can hyperlink shoppers to products at Amazon.com and earn a referral fee. For a fraction of the cost of other advertising, your online store can acquire new customers by means of an affiliate network. New opportunities abound.
Better yet, this vast network automatically segments the market into demographic units.
Want to market only to those searching for your particular product or service? Purchase a banner ad that pops up only when someone searches on "life insurance" and you've suddenly begun to strike gold. It's even less expensive to position one of your webpages to come up #3 on an Excite search for the phrase "body surfing" or "sand candles."
If you search Deja News (http://www.dejanews.com) for an industry keyword, you'll find e-mail discussion lists and newsgroups populated by just the people you want to reach. Now, be careful to observe established Netiquette, or you'll blow your company's chances for good. But there are your prospects, chatting happily away, a neatly segmented market. Join in the discussion as a fellow learner rather than a salesman, and you'll begin to attract new business. What an opportunity!
One of my friends tells of a call from a Japanese businessman a couple of years ago. "Several of us will visit
After my friend had replied, as graciously as he could, that
His wife's face showed panic. "Are they coming here?" she gasped.
No, they didn't come, but ever after this couple shows off to their friends the room they jokingly call "our company's world headquarters."
What I'm describing is the ability of an Internet-savvy businessperson to be every bit as competitive on the Web as a 20- or 200- or 2,000-employee business. It's harder than it used to be. Large companies now budget tens of millions of dollars for their websites. That's hard to match with a $2,000 to $20,000 small business website. But it's not impossible to do a very credible job, nevertheless. The market is so huge that even a small slice can generate a quite substantial income for a small business. Opportunities are boundless.
But we are years beyond the day when you could slap up a website and expect the world to beat a path to your door. The opportunity is surely here, but it's not a freebie.
Sweat is the next ingredient. I get dozens of calls from people who assume that making money on the Internet is easy. Wrong again! Developing a successful business on the Web is just as hard as building a small business in the local strip mall. Oh, the financial investment is much less. But it requires as much work or more. They say that only 20% of new small businesses will celebrate their fifth anniversary. I'm sure this holds true for the Net, as well. The attrition rate is high partly because people aren't willing to work hard enough to succeed.
Swiftness is the final ingredient. And here is where smaller businesses hold a big advantage. Changing from a strategy that isn't working can take a big company months if not years. It's like turning an ocean liner. But small businesses, like speed boats, can turn quickly and zoom off in a new and promising direction. The environment and business climate on the Web are changing so rapidly that you must be swift footed to stay in business, and be ready to grasp the opportunities as they come. No points are awarded for being late.
The opportunities the Internet opens to your business are huge.
All the best!
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