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Market Research - Do’s & Don'ts

2012-02-14T12:24:00.000+05:30

By James Daugherty

Learning about your target market can be a challenge that requires patience and creativity, but it pays off time and time again as you are able to create more successful marketing efforts based on your findings. In order to conduct meaningful and useful market research, it is essential to create a strategy that will deliver unbiased and comprehensive results. Without a well-thought out plan, you run the risk of investing in and gathering a large amount of data that is either skewed or irrelevant.

Before planning and implementing a marketing research plan, know what it is that you are seeking and how to get it. Knowing what not to do can be just as important as knowing what to do. Below are the top “do’s and don’ts” of marketing research that will aid in the success of the research process.

Do’s

When conducting primary research, there are many obstacles that need to be addressed for complete and accurate research. Some of the most common of these obstacles are; low response rate, lack of sample diversity, and outdated information by the time of completion. Here are some market research “Do’s” to help combat these issues:

1. Know exactly what you want when you start. Define your goals and objectives from the start. You don’t want to be the person that invests time and money into marketing research just to find that the data does not answer the essential questions that you need.

2. Freshen up on statistical theory. Since much of marketing research is quantitative, learn as much as you can about the basics of statistics to ensure that you are able to turn your data into useful information with accurate analysis.

3. Include the time required up front. Many people avoid surveys because they have been burned by previous experiences of sitting in front of a computer for 30 minutes. While the participants may have finished the full 30 minutes, they are less likely to participate in research in the future. Letting potential participants know up front that it will only take a few minutes of their time can increase response rate.

4. Explain the purpose of the research. People are motivated to participate in research if they know that their time is being well spent towards a good cause. Even if you are just trying to gauge customer satisfaction, when people understand the purpose of the research they are much more likely to answer a few questions.

5. Provide an incentive for participation. Remember that you are asking for one of the most valuable asset that anyone has; time. Depending on what kind of research you are doing, include some type of incentive or reward and show appreciation for the person’s time. If you are conducting a focus group with a small number of people, consider giving free gift cards or even cash. For surveys – that require a much larger sample than focus groups – you could offer a chance for 1-5 participants to win a cool prize like an iPad.

6. Use the right sample size technique. There are various types of sampling techniques for different purposes like random sampling, cluster sampling, and stratified sampling. Know ahead of time if you are trying to target a broad audience or a specific customer segment and choose the correct sampling technique accordingly. It is important to be mindful of potential factors that could skew the data like heavy weighting on certain demographics. For example, if you have a sample with a high percentage of one gender (unless you are specifically researching that demographic) then you might data that represents only the views held by the particular gender group.

7. Automate where it makes sense. It is fairly easy to automate certain types of research by using automated software on your website. For general research questions and open ended questions like “how was your online shopping experience” it is beneficial to use an automated approach. However, for highly specific research or research directed at a niche market, using an automated approach might not always be appropriate.

Don’ts

Knowing what not to do in marketing research can save you valuable time and money. Consider the following points before starting your research to make sure that you are not alienating customers or generating irrelevant data. Don’t:

1. Ask biased questions. Especially for surveys, make sure that all of your verbiage is free from influence and persuasion. Don’t ask questions like “would you say your customer service experience today was good?” because these questions sub-consciously can influence participants to say what you want to hear. Instead, reword the question to neutral verbiage like “how was your customer service experience today?”

2. Allow pride to skew analysis. Everyone knows how easy it can be to lie with statistics, but often people are not looking out for the lies they tell to themselves. Be wary of results that look too good to be true, most of the time they aren't. It is great to find that your business is doing something right, but the ultimate point of the research is to find out what you are doing wrong so that you can improve.

3. Use an excessive sample size. While in general, the rule of thumb is that a larger sample size equates to more accurate data as the impact of outliers decreases. However, larger samples usually cost more both in money and time to analyze the data. It is fairly easy to calculate your required sample size based on whatever confidence interval you are aiming for. The increase in the accuracy of your results slows down tremendously once it reaches a certain point to the extent that an extra 1000 people could only create .01% more accurate results.

4. Create long, time intensive surveys. There is not much worse than offering your opinions and time only to be duped into an hour long survey. Keep your research simple, short, and to the point.

5. Ask important questions at the end. The first questions of a survey are always more likely to be answered fully and honestly than the last ones. If one of the key metrics of your survey is to know how many men like product X, don’t ask for gender at the end of the survey.

Marketing research requires thorough planning and efficient execution. Make sure that you know what to do and what not to do up front so that you use your budget in the most effective manner. Feel free to share your own “dos and don’ts” of marketing research in the comments.

Author profile : James writes for AYTM, who provides market research for small businesses and startups. AYTM allows you to create market research surveys specific for your business and get quick responses from their market research panels.

Want More Business? Start Blogging!

2012-02-14T11:20:00.000+05:30

For businesses that have been looking for a new way to freshen their image and generate new customers, a blog may be the perfect answer. Excellent writing skills and industry knowledge are crucial for a business blog to succeed. However, the great news is that virtually anyone can start one of these blogs at little to no start-up costs, making it one of the most cost effective methods for advertising on the market.

Reaching a Worldwide Audience

Gone are the days when location mattered the most for the success of a business. Today even the most successful business can operate from a small town or a rural area, as long as internet connectivity is available. Although local sales are still important, many businesses score higher profits through online sales alone. While the goal of a company blog is not directly to "sell" the customer something, it is a way to inform about current trends related to a product and to ultimately influence the customer to see that product as something that they need.

Keep it Light...and Relevant

It is very easy to make mistakes when blogging for a business. One of the most important things to remember is to keep the material relevant, but to beware of making the wording too promotional-like to the customers. The main purpose of starting a business blog is to connect with customers in a way that meets their needs and informs them about things that they may want to know about the company’s industry.

For example, if a specialty bakery wanted to start a blog in order to attract more national customers, they might want to share their start-up stories, recipes, new designs and trends, or any other important but relevant topics. It is essential not to sound as if the company is trying to push their products too much as people may become disinterested in what they are reading. In addition to writing stories and posts in this way, it is important to post new blog entries frequently so that customers will have fresh content to read and new customers will see that the company is up to date and proactive with their business.

Promote, Promote, Promote

After a business has taken the time to create a blog, the next step is to promote that blog so that any efforts aren't wasted. Using social media websites are a great way to promote a blog because most of these sites allow their clients to link the blog webpage to their profile or even post blog update alerts. Companies may even want to list their blog website on business cards, catalogs, ads, or any other print media that they are associated with.

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Author Profile: Scott Morgan is a board certified Austin divorce lawyer who regularly blogs on the subject of divorce and family law. You can read his blog at AustinDivorceSpecialist.com.

Preview Windows 8 On February 29, 2012

2012-02-11T19:11:00.000+05:30

Microsoft will release the beta version of their latest operating system "Windows 8" for public download on February 29, 2012. So you can download the beta version from their website on Feb, 29 (remember 2012 is a leap year) to preview the same.

Windows 8 Start Screen. Source

The Windows 8 Developer Preview is curently available for Download

Windows 8 promises to deliver superior user experience and power efficiency for applications. "Minimizing the power consumption of your PC while maximizing the responsiveness and utility (making it “fast and fluid”)" is probably the central theme behind the development of Windows 8.

Windows 8 also promises to use sensors to enhance display / screen performance by making it more responsive to "changes in ambient light, motion, human proximity, and location"

Can’t See Your Loved One This Valentine’s Day? Video Calling Still Makes It Possible

2012-02-11T14:48:00.000+05:30

Valentine’s Day was so much easier as a kid! You made or bought cards for your family and friends, your parents bought some candy for you to pass out, and, if you were lucky, you came away from it all with a few cards and a boat-load of sugary sweets.

But the older we get, the more difficult it is to communicate with our loved ones over holidays like Valentine’s Day or other special events, such as anniversaries and birthdays. And if a holiday or special event falls on a workday – but it’s not a national holiday – then chances are, you’ll be spending the day at work instead of with your loved ones.

However, you don’t have to spend it alone, thanks to advances in telecommunications technology. Video conferencing, video chat and Voice over Internet Protocol technology means you can still celebrate that special day, even if you’re thousands of miles away from you loved ones.

Smile! You’re on Webcam

Video conferencing has been around in some form or fashion longer than most people realize. Typically used to connect groups of people in multiple locations, video conferencing can be done from the comfort of your personal computer.

All you need is an Internet connection (high-speed Internet connection for easier access), web conferencing software, a Webcam or video conferencing equipment, and some computer speakers. Most computers, home and office, have the needed tools for Web conferencing through existing browsers.

The software and equipment is relatively inexpensive and easy to install. It’s also much cheaper than a plane ticket.

Forget Texting. Video Chat from your Phone

Even if you’re thousands of miles away or stuck in business meetings all day, your loved one still expects you to carve out some time for him or her on Valentine’s Day – and you can forget about the thoughtful text or email.

So if you can’t be there in person, cell phone video chat might be the next best thing – and advancements in mobile technology makes that easier, regardless of who your cell phone provider is. For example, if you’re using a Verizon product, while your girlfriend is on T-Mobile, there are now dozens of apps that allow you to video chat with people who are using different networks.

VoIP Technology from the Comfort of your Home

Businesses have been using Voice over Internet Protocol for several years now because it helps save money on long-distance charges, among other reasons. With VoIP, your phone works over the Internet instead of traditional phone lines.

But you don’t have to work at a Fortune 500 company to utilize the same technology. Programs like Skype use VoIP technology, as long as you’re connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN). Skype offers free calls for subscribers and low-cost calls for others, and you can also transfer files, text, video chat and videoconference with Skype. You can use that and similar programs on your personal computer or any of your mobile devices.

With today’s technologies, distance doesn’t have to separate you from your loved ones. Take a look at what phone system functionalities are available that will allow you to stay connected, no matter the physical distance separating you.

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Sylvia is a web content writer who connects with industry professionals to write articles on the latest in telecom equipment, such as business phone systems.

How To Start An Internet Business On A Shoestring

2012-02-11T13:53:00.001+05:30

Starting a business is scary but also very exciting and in all honesty can be truly life changing (in a good way). But it is also a risky thing to do and it might sometimes feel like there is a lot at stake, not least the capital you will have to spend to get started...

So if/when you do decide to take the plunge it helps if you can do it as cheaply and as risk free as possible. Here are some tips:

Don’t Buy Too Much Stationery

When you first get your teeth into the idea of starting your business it is tempting to go all out, with business cards, letter heads and the like. The thing you have to remember though is that all you really have to buy are the things that you actually need to make money.

Certainly those business cards will help when it comes to growing your business in the long run, but are they really going to help you to get a customer right now? If the answer is no then don’t bother, not until you at least have your first sale in the bag.

Don’t Get An Office Just Yet

Again, unless you really need it, don’t get it. If you need certain things to make your business look genuine there are often alternatives; such as hiring a virtual office or getting a business phone number. You can even get a receptionist to answer your calls if needed.

Buy As Little Stock As Possible

Often when people put together their business plans they figure out what their margins are, what price they need to buy and need to sell etc... You might find that you need to buy a certain quantity of stock to get the price low enough. Perhaps if you buy in a different currency you might want to take advantage of a good exchange rate or whatever else.

If your business works and your stock sells you don’t have a problem of course, but you can never be sure and chances are that your first stock buying decision won’t be your best. But to start off you can often get away with just buying retail stock as and when you need it.

Although you might be making a small loss on each sale, this will give you the chance to test your market and get a feel for what sells – the small cost might save you a lot in the long run.

Buy In The Right Currency And The Right Quality

Most businesses will incur expenses of some sort, you might need to build a website, buy stock or other business accessories. Whatever you do, choose carefully whether you buy from local suppliers or international ones. There are often cost savings to be made, but if it is something where quality really matters, a small cost saving might actually turn out to be a big expense.

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This post was brought to you by Alex from currencyconverter.co.uk Thanks for reading!

Google To Launch Drive - A Dropbox Like Cloud Storage Service

2012-02-09T17:44:00.002+05:30

Google Inc is all set to launch "Drive" - a cloud storage service to rival Dropbox and Microsoft's SkyDrive. Drive will allow both individuals and corporations to store their files online and access them anytime from multiple devices including smartphones and tablets. Drive will also allow users to share stored files with others.

Google Drive Will Rival Microsoft's SkyDrive

The exact launch date is not yet known, but, according to initial reports that are coming in, Google Drive will attempt to under-price its services in order to compete effectively with both Dropbox and Skydrive.

Drive like its competitors would offer both free and paid plans. In this regard it must be mentioned that Dropbox offers free storage of upto 2 GB while Microsoft's SkyDrive offers free storage upto 25GB. Hence it can be assumed that Google Drive's free plan would offer greater storage than its competitors.

So we can all look forward to one gala launch.

Image source

Geek Vs Nerd - Where Do You Belong?

2012-02-09T17:01:00.000+05:30

Geeks Vs Nerds, the battle ensues! But, here is your chance to find out which side you truly fit in. Read on.. but make sure no one is peeping over your back.

Infograph courtesy: MastersInIt.org

High ROI Marketing for your Work-at-Home Business

2012-02-09T11:46:00.001+05:30

You wouldn’t be working at home if you didn’t believe there was a good profit to be made. Opportunity is out there. But as is true for all marketing, you have to find how to reach your target customer, and do it effectively. Whatever your work-at-home business is, there is likely a market for it. My goal is to help you find that market.

It’s a Numbers Game

Some would say marketing is a numbers game. Get in front of enough people, and a certain percentage of those people will buy from you. If that percentage is high enough, you can have a lot of customers. I would call this the shotgun approach to marketing. Mass advertising like billboards fall into this category because people with all sorts of interests in all sorts of demographics drive up and down the freeway each day.

What kind of activities can you participate in with your work-at-home business to generate those kinds of numbers? Some of the ones that I’ve seen be successful are home shows and expos. If you are selling juice as a multi-level marketer, there is a good chance you will talk to lots of people who want another source of income at a home show, and lots of people interested in health at a health expo.

Find out which shows might be a good fit for your business, get a nice fabric backdrop to look professional and get peoples’ attention, and put on a good show. You might have to pay anything between $500 and $1000 to set up a shop for 3 days, but where else can you get thousands of people each day to walk past your display?

Getting Targeted

The shotgun approach is good to try, but you generally pay for eyeballs in advertising. When more eyeballs are watching, you’re paying more for those impressions, even if they are not qualified customers. Imagine if you could just pay for impressions on real potential customers. The more targeted a person is to your product, the easier the sell will be.

One very targeted form of advertising is online marketing. Most online marketing is inbound marketing – where someone is already searching for a product or service, and you pay to show up when they’re far along in the buying cycle. The various forms of online marketing are paid search (also known as pay-per-click advertising or PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO for short).

PPC

With PPC advertising, the gist of it is that you choose keywords that are relevant to your business, and then write an ad to show up for when someone is searching for that term. If your work-at-home business is selling greeting cards, you could bid on the keyword ‘buy greeting cards’ with the search engines, and your ad would display to those people who search for the same. The prices can range from $.10 per click to many dollars per click, depending on how many other advertisers are competing for that traffic.

SEO

SEO is the holy grail of internet marketing because you don’t have to pay for any of the traffic that search engines send your way. If Google determines that your site is the most relevant for the term ‘buy greeting cards’ and shows you up first, you will get lots of traffic from around the country, and it’s all free. All it takes is proving to the search engines that you are the most relevant for that keyword. Like PPC, your placement in the natural search rankings is dependent on the amount of competition from other sites attempting to rank for similar keywords, but you can optimize your site to gain free traffic from search engines.

So there you have it – some examples of high-ROI marketing that you can do when you work from home. I hope it’s been beneficial and has gotten your brain juices flowing. Can you think of other forms of marketing that also might be high yielding for work-at-homers?

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Guest Author AJ Wilcox is a marketer, both online and traditional. He’s created strategies for trade shows, and all online marketing channels. He loves running and exotic cars, and loves his work at home business.

Blogging FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) - The Basics

2012-02-07T10:47:00.000+05:30

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about the basics of blogging and their answers.

1. What is a blog?

A: A blog, akin to a website, is a platform that allows you to share everything that you want to share with the rest of the world. Every time you share (post) something on your blog, it forms a part of your blog and appears in a reverse chronological order, i.e your latest posts will appear first, followed by the rest.

2. How do I create a blog?

A: Creating a blog is easy. You hardly need any technical skills. Two of the world's most favoured platforms are Wordpress and Blogspot. All you need to do is to head over either of these platforms, sign up for an account and you are good to go. You can also try other platforms like Typepad and Tumblr.

3. Can I create a blog for free?

A: Yes you can. Blogspot will host your content for free. Wordpress offers both free and paid options. You can either create a free blog at wordpress.com or if you want to use paid hosting, head over to wordpress.org. Other platforms also allow you to create a blog for free.

4. Can I create a blog without any knowledge of HTML or Javascript?

A: As stated earlier, creating a blog is easy and you hardly need any technical knowledge. All blog platforms offer you WYSIWYG editors and hence knowledge of HTML is not necessary. However any specialized knowledge is always helpful as it allows you to customize stuff according your liking.

If you are planning to self host your blog (paid hosting), technical knowledge may be required. However there are some great DIY tutorials on the web on certain technical aspects of blogging and you can always refer to do

5. What do I blog about?

A: Anything and everything that interests you can be blogged about. Some of the common blogging niches include Technology, Social Media, How To / Tutorials, Sports, Current Affairs, Business, SEO, Finance, Marketing and the like.

Any topic you are knowledgeable about, can be your blog's niche.

5. How much time do I have to devote to blogging?

A: The answer to this question is simple : The more, the merrier. The more time you devote to blogging, the better your results will be.

6. Why should I blog?

A: Most bloggers blog because they feel a passion for blogging. They are thrilled at the idea of having their content, ideas, thoughts, suggestions being read and admired by millions around the globe. Plus their is always the added incentive of earning money.

If you blog grows to a decent size, the amount of revenue you can generate out of it can surprise you. Bloggers like Amit Agarwal and Darren Rowse have give up well paying jobs to pursue blogging as a full time career option.

Moreover if you run a business, you can always use a blog to promote your business / products.

7. So you say, blogging can make me rich?

A: This needs clarifications. Blogging is not a "get rich overnight" scheme. You have to work really hard to make your blog rank high. Quality articles will have to be published regularly and even after all the hard work, you might find that your revenues are close to nil in the initial part of your blogging journey. But if you persist and do it right, revenues will indeed flow. To put it right, blogging can make you rich over time.

8. How do blogs earn money?

A: To earn money, you will have to monetize your blog i.e include ads in your blog. You can use agencies like Adsense to monetize your blog. Every time someone visits your blog, you earn money when they click / view your ads. There are other options of earning money from your blog (or from blogging) as well.

But, you should have a decent number of posts on your blog, before you start monetizing it.

9. How many articles should I post every week?

A: As many as you can. But, its important to make sure that the articles you post are of a decent quality because only quality articles will draw people to your blog. Regular posts will help your blog grow and earn you loyal readers.

10. How will people find my blog?

A: Just like you find other websites i.e through Search Engines like Google and Bing, Social Media sites like Facebook and Twitter, Bookmarking sites like Stumble Upon and Digg and similar avenues. To improve your visibility you should promote your blog extensively on Social Media outlets.

Why All iPhone Ads Show The Device Time As 9:42 AM

2012-02-06T18:41:00.001+05:30

Have you ever wondered why all iPhone ads show the device time as 9:42 AM.

Well, as per former Apple exec Bob Borcher, it was 9.42 AM when apple first launched the iPhone and hence almost all iPhone commercials show the device time set as 9:42 AM. (Source : Business Insider )

Note my use of the word almost, because as seen in the advertisement below, the device time is set to 9:41 AM. In fact almost all iPhone 4S pictures show the time as 9:41AM

Do You Like What You See When You Google Your Business Name?

2012-02-06T11:21:00.001+05:30

Whoops! There might be a problem! You just took time out to type your business name into Google to see the results and you find a negative comment on a review site appearing right at the top. What do you do about it?

Whenever content is added to the internet, it is there to stay. While there is no DELETE button, you can take steps to manage your online reputation using the following strategies.

Online Reputation Management Is Important

STEP 1 : CONTACTING THE REVIEWER

The obvious thing to do first is to try and make contact with whoever posted the content you don't like. If it's a bad review of your business, you might be able to quickly solve the problem simply by contacting the person who has had the bad experience. Be polite and try to see if you can address the problem.

Making contact in an upbeat, courteous fashion can help rectify many reputation management problems before they get out of control. You might win a new customer and find that the negative review has turned into a glowing review within days. Problem solved!

STEP 2 : TAKING THINGS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS

You can take matters into your own hands, by creating your own content that may easily outrank whatever is currently on page 1 of Google. In addition to a website, you can setup a facebook page, a twitter account, a LinkedIn profile - making sure to mention your name and/or business name in each profile. Get active on these 3 sources and you should see pages from these sites beginning to move up when you search your name or business name in Google or in other search engines for that matter.

You can also author your own press releases, and create accounts at many other social media outlets such as Quora and Myspace. If you Google "free press release submission", you will find plenty of places to do your own release - making an announcement about your business. Just make sure to include your name or business name with a link back to one of your business or social media sites. That is what helps them to rank - in addition to the release itself ranking.

STEP 3: A BIT OF REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

But let's assume you do not have any luck getting a hold of the person who posted the negative review. Or, maybe you tried without success to get your new content to show up on page 1 of Google.

The next step to take is to get started on some online reputation management. Reputation management services work very much like search engine optimization services. Instead of trying to rank a website for a particular keyword, efforts are directed towards getting your own website to rank for your or your business name. And instead of working on just one site, you work on SEVERAL sites.

Over time, each site will begin to make it's way to page 1 of Google search results and that negative review gets pushed aside to page 2 - where most people will not see it. Most likely, you will not require any additional service to maintain your position. Most cases can be solved within 3 months. And once the work is complete, a little maintenance here and there might be all that is needed to keep your search results looking good, but for the most part, the results are in place to stay.

In any event, it is a good idea to Google yourself from time to time - especially if you operate a business or are headed in for a big job interview.

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Guest Author Mike Munter provides affordable reputationmanagement services so that you absolutely love what you see when you type your name into Google. His SEO company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
Image credit

Why The IPO May Not Be The Smartest Thing Facebook Ever Did

2012-02-03T13:17:00.001+05:30

Over the last few weeks, ever since the news of a possible Facebook IPO leaked on the Internet, there have been speculations all around. This Wednesday when Facebook finally filed papers for an Initial Public offering, the speculations died down, but the world was left stunned.

Facebook revenue stood at $3.7 billion last year, and they earned a profit of $1 billion. The company also reported that advertising receipts comprises about 85% of their total revenues. The IPO is expected to raise anything between 5 and 10 billion USD for the company.

In the light of all these astounding figures this article tries to analyze why this IPO may not be the smartest thing Facebook ever did.

1. IPO MEANS DILUTION OF CONTROL

This IPO will not only increase the company's market value but also increase its investor base. A lot of these high-profile investors, would desire greater say over the affairs of the company. Though Mark Zuckerberg would exercise control over key decision making as a result of his control over a majority of (their) voting stock, yet interference from these high profile investors cannot be ruled out, specially in the years of lean profits (although such a situation is unimaginable right now, but profits can tank and even the best of companies can suffer losses.)

2. THE NEED TO ENSURE REGULAR DIVIDENDS

As stated earlier, the IPO would raise between 5 and 10 billion USD for the company. However with such huge public funding, come the obligation of paying dividends to its shareholders. Thus the company will have to drastically increase their profits in order to ensure regular dividends to its shareholders.

With a user base of 845 million members, Facebook is huge and getting huger by the day. However we need to remember that all those who have any access to computers probably already have a Facebook account, more particularly the younger generation, and the growth in user base would not be as dynamic as it had been in the past years.

This probably would put more pressure on Facebook employees to deliver profitable results and the focus of the company might shift. This is what The Wall Street Journal had to say "People familiar with Mr. Zuckerberg's thinking said he has long been fearful of the damage an IPO could do to the company's culture. He wants employees focused on making great products, not the stock price, they said."

3. VENTURING INTO OTHER BUSINESS

The need to deliver consistent results would probably mean that the company may want to venture out into other businesses. They would probably want to do a Google by going an a spree of acquisitions and end up being a Yahoo.

"We don’t build services to make money," Zuckerberg had said. "We make money to build better services." If the company can continue with this motto, there is nothing in the world that can halt their progress.

Image courtesy: Huffington post

B2B And Social Media: Why We Need New (And Specialized) Platforms For Business Interaction

2012-02-02T11:52:00.001+05:30

The social media used to be your friend. No, it used to be more like your cool aunt whom you visited every once in awhile, always had a great time with, but could leave behind at any time to spend real, face-to-face time with your peers and business partners.

Social media later became like your obsessive (and slightly abusive) boy/girl friend who you were infatuated with but never really made you feel that good about yourself or your professional ventures. Sure, you would go through spurts of happy times, but there were many unanswered messages and the pain of visiting was sometimes greater than if you had just stayed away.

Today, social media is like an annoying younger brother. You fight with it, but love it and know that it is necessary to nurture this relationship because that it here to stay. The fights don’t have the same volatility they once had and you are more or less amicable, but it sometimes follows you places you don’t want it to go and gets way more attention than it deserves.

Social Media and our professional lives.

So how do we reconcile, especially in terms of our professional lives? The term “social media” blankets anything that is on the Internet and promotes interaction. Nearly every time you consume information online, there is a chance for you to book, link, tweet, pin or stumble it. This gets overwhelming, and most definitely irritating. But the important thing to remember is that what we choose what to do – or rather, how we choose to organize – this influx of stimuli and interaction is at our discretion.

You don’t have to suffer your way through the feed on Facebook, blowing through advertisements and updates on your co-workers’ new cat-shaped lamp. You don’t have to spend hours trying to create a business plan for how to manage the over-populated and essentially unhelpful ‘professional’ groups on LinkedIn, because something else already exists. If they suit you well, indeed maintain them, but understand that there is another way to branch out and address your professional needs that are not being met.

The solution?

Utilize your safe social media sites that function as the storage place for a massive amount of data (and advertisement), but ALSO include specialized platformsthat prioritize content and the quality of relationships in your repertoire.

Newer platforms are certainly at an initial disadvantage because their community is smaller. However, this may just be the point. Specialized and open social platforms create an environment where the exchange of meaningful content is the chief reason for connection. When content becomes key, you eliminate connections based on social convenience or obligation and find a network of people you can utilize for real collaboration. That’s right, you no longer have to accept the request of your mom’s co-worker who finally jumped on the social media bandwagon. You can make use of your professional/social platform, ‘guilt free’ and without feeds flooded with other’s self-inflation. You get what you need, filtered and to the point.

Speak for yourself, but in 2012, I want my professional network and B2B relationships to grow. I want people in my own and parallel businesses to know what I have to say without having my post followed by that of my cousin’s ex-girlfriend.

Can we call this business maturity? Sure. But as long as organization, productivity and creation of meaningful interaction last on these smaller and specialized social media platforms, you can call it whatever you like.

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Author Info: Erin Nelson is the Communication & Marketing Manager for the Berlin-based startup, exploreB2B. The new social platform, exploreB2B, allows individuals the opportunity to connect and collaborate with other professionals through reading and writing self-published articles.

How To Market Yourself Effectively On LinkedIn

2012-02-02T11:16:00.000+05:30

In an age of intense global competition, employees in every profession need to know how to market themselves. In the past, self-promotion meant attending networking events and emailing contacts every once in awhile.

Today, successful marketing requires a thorough understanding of the world of social networking. Depending on your industry, you may already be connected with co-workers on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. But employees in every field can benefit from creating profiles on LinkedIn. This professional networking site has become an essential tool for finding employment and potential business opportunities.

Although LinkedIn can bring about some amazing opportunities for professionals, simply creating an account is not good enough. You need to know how to organize your profile to draw in others and how to reach out in order to make contacts of your own. You won't benefit much from using LinkedIn if you fail to utilize the site correctly.

The following tips will help you maximize networking opportunities on LinkedIn:

Make Recommendations

Don't expect to draw in recommendations from co-workers if you aren't willing to recommend them on your own. One of the best ways to foster a good relationship with other people on LinkedIn is to write a thoughtful and accurate recommendation without asking for one in return. If you do this, you'll find that the person you recommend is much more willing to help you out in a time of need. And chances are, they'll be happy to provide you with a great recommendation in return.

Keep Your Profile Error Free

You wouldn't want to send in a resume with glaring spelling errors, so why is it okay to do so on your LinkedIn profile? When somebody looks up your name on a search engine, chances are pretty good that your profile on LinkedIn will be the first thing to pop up. There's nothing that will ruin your credibility and damage a first impression faster than allowing profile visitors to learn that you still haven't figured out how to use the spell check on your computer.

Spelling and grammar are not the only areas in which LinkedIn users make big mistakes. A lot of users provide inaccurate work histories. Whether intentional or not, a misleading profile can give potential employers the wrong impression and may lead to your termination if discovered after the fact.

Foster Connections

Some people make the mistake of equating LinkedIn with Facebook. The two social networks are nothing alike. While having a smaller network of Facebook friends can be beneficial, there are virtually no benefits to retaining a small contact list on LinkedIn. Users know going in that they do not need to be friends in order to foster connections. You never know what user will provide you with your next big break, so don't be afraid to reach out to other people.

LinkedIn can create all kinds of new opportunities if used correctly. Give your career a boost by reaching out to others and uploading a professional resume on the world's top business networking site.

Guest Author Sarah writes on behalf of Fluid Branding a promotional products specialist. Fluid Branding have thousands of promotional product from promotional mugs to calculators, from promotional pens to umbrellas. Fluid Branding have something for everyone.

Microsoft Azure vs. Amazon Web Services

2012-01-31T18:35:00.001+05:30

In the cloud space, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure are the two gorillas in the room. Many developers agree that these two services are the best public cloud hosting available. Beyond that, it’s a polarizing discussion. Many professionals swear by Amazon, but just as many swear by Microsoft. In the following article, we compare them head to head and highlight the differences.

DEFINING THE CLOUD

A cloud is on-demand storage, computing and application resources managed remotely. A cloud provides either Platform as a Service (PaaS) or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or both. These technologies are quite distinct, but a fine comparison is beyond the scope of this article. Since most end-users use IaaS, we’ll compare Microsoft Azure to Amazon Web Services from an IaaS-centric perspective. That does put Azure at a disadvantage, and is an important consideration for PaaS-centric consumers.

Business oriented clients tend to evaluate cloud based on the following five factors:

1. Application — Building blocks, such as relational databases and load balancers

2. Computation — On-demand resources for an array of applications

3. Datacenter — On-demand infrastructure in the area where the client does business

4. Integration — Flexibility, versatility, web-based console, API, command line

5. Storage — Short and long-term storage in an accessible, durable and secure manner

MICROSOFT AZURE

When it comes to cloud computing, Microsoft is best known for PaaS. Nevertheless, Azure offers a wide range of IaaS cloud-based services, including SkyDrive, Microsoft CRM Online, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Live and SQL Azure for relational databases.

In terms of characteristics, Azure offers the following benefits:

Highly durable long-term data storage
Strong range of application building blocks
Excellent integration, including web, command line and API for all features
Superb datacenter coverage across the globe
Good support for memory, processor and I/O configurations
Good support for creating and loading instances from images

AMAZON WEB SERVICES

Amazon Web Services is a large family of technologies that has both IaaS and PaaS aspects, and it can meet enterprise needs in either fashion. However, Amazon Web Services is most associated with Elastic Cloud Computing (EC2), which is an IaaS technology. Other popular services include S3 for storage, SimpleDB for storage, Elastic Beanstalk and RDS for relation databases.

In terms of characteristics, Amazon Web Services offers the following benefits:

Exceptional support for various memory, processor and I/O configurations
Strong support for multiple operating systems
Good support for creating and loading instances from images
Highly durable long-term data storage
Allows user to adjust durability and performance for individual instances
Excellent range of application building blocks
Strong datacenter coverage across the globe
Excellent integration, including web, command line and API for all features
Allows applications to be cloud portable

MICROSOFT AZURE vs. AMAZON WEB SERVICES

The first thing that stands out in this comparison is that Microsoft offers a mix of IaaS and PaaS services, and some might call that mix confusing. Amazon Web Services, on the other hand, has very clear separation between IaaS and PaaS. Microsoft’s configuration does make it better suited to complex enterprise-level solutions, at times. Most consumers, however, want either full-range PaaS or cloud-based virtual private servers.

Therefore, from an IaaS perspective, which is the perspective most clients are coming from, Amazon Web Service seem better suited “out of the box” to meet its clients’ needs. It offers excellent cloud and VPS services, has a wide range of configurations and support for operating systems, and it integrates a rich management system.

Microsoft does have great IaaS services in the form of SQL Azure Database and Windows Azure Storage, and if that’s all the client needs, this becomes a bit of a tossup. In fact, we might lean toward Azure in that instance. Most clients, however, do require computing services, and all of Microsoft’s computing services are PaaS, which makes Amazon the better choice for many.

5 Tips to Improve Your Company's Customer Service

2012-01-31T11:56:00.000+05:30

Increasing the rate at which customers return to your business is a great goal for business owners, and retaining clients is not difficult if customers are treated well. Customers who receive wonderful service will not only come back to a business that has treated them well, but also spread the word about the business, to their friends and neighbors. This type of word of mouth advertising has much greater effect than the more costly methods of attracting new customers.

The following five tips are paramount to good customer service and are well worth any investment required to implement them:

1. Keep It Personal

Every employee should be trained to treat customers in a friendly, non-threatening manner. They should be taught to use a polite tone throughout a transaction and to end all conversations with a special word of thanks. If an employee cannot learn to do this in a sincere way, he or she should be replaced immediately. An ongoing training program is worth the effort.

2. Obtain Good Help Desk Software

The help desk softwares available today can keep customer problems from becoming a huge liability to the business. Help desk software can be useful in the following ways:

• It allows the customer to settle the problem in his own time.

• It speeds up the resolution process.

• It lessens the need for additional employees.

• It tracks ongoing issues and unresolved problems.

• It lets the customer feel your concern for his troubles.

3. Keep your Word

Customers want to be assured they can trust the business with which they are dealing. Never fudge on a delivery date, repair time, or any other transactions that matter to a client. Generally, customers who are given the straight facts upfront will work with a business owner to reach an agreement, but those who feel they have been given fabricated information will never place their trust in that business again. It is also a great idea to get all sides of an agreement in writing in order to avert confusion.

4. Throw in a Freebie

Customers love to get something in addition to their purchase which is the reason why this technique is used so prevalently on infomercials. Whether you offer free shipping or a free sample of a product, customers are drawn to these additional gifts. This engenders loyalty and usually results in more word-of-mouth advertising to their friends.

5. Respond to Customer Comments and Suggestions

Although most customers are not aware of the complexities of running a business, they do know what they desire when shopping for a product. Customer feedback is invaluable. Use every method available, from personal conversations to suggestion boxes to elicit the opinions of your clients. Then, consider each request or comment seriously and implement the necessary changes to improve your customer service.

Successful business owners work hard to keep their financial house in order, but some neglect the very base of their business by not taking customer service seriously enough. Those who concentrate on making their current customers happy will not only thrive during the good economic times but also will survive the times when the economy is struggling.

This is a guest post from Sarah Peterson, writer for a help desk software review website that offers business owners advice on choosing the software that will best help them improve their customer service.

3-D Movies: Next Level or Gimmicky?

2012-01-30T18:27:00.000+05:30

Since the booming financial success of James Cameron’s 3-D venture, Avatar, it should come as no surprise that Hollywood has been jumping on the extra-dimensional bandwagon with its other projects. Some of the most recent blockbusters have been in 3-D, in particular, animated family films and horror movies.

There may not be an apparent correlation; perhaps both genres are meant purely as thoughtless entertainment, intended to seduce the viewer to sit back and let the screen come alive, no matter how little substance the film exhibits. The horror series, Saw, has hopped on board the stimulating wagon of visual indulgence, but so has the Harry Potter series, and even Toy Story has stepped up to the prerequisite for the ADD-era audiences. While it’s true that Toy Story 3 does convey meaningful messages, one has to ask, must the viewers be spoon-fed these messages by characters popping out of the screen?

Effective or Detracting?

It is hard to determine whether or not 3-D technology is contributing to the theater going experience more than it is taking away from the film making experience. It is no surprise that Jackass would take up the 3-D challenge, but what might surprise you is how well 3-D worked for their endeavor. It seems that what makes this technology work for Jackass is the fact that there is really nothing else to focus on but the bizarre visual spectacle happening before you, so clearly 3-D is effective on the visual-stimulation end of the entertainment spectrum, but can 3-D be implemented in a meaningful way to the storytelling of a film?

3-D Can Be Used Meaningfully

At some point Werner Herzog must have thought to himself, does it really make sense to make a documentary about ancient cave drawings, a 3-D experience? And yet, Cave of Forgotten Dreams was certainly one of the most unique theater-going experiences for anyone who went to see it. While the film is mostly Herzog’s self-indulgent quandaries on the nature of everything, as usual, the bizarre director does not fail to bring us into the cave with him. Cave of Forgotten Dreams implements 3-D graphics in what can be described as a natural-feeling and appropriate manner: not so much to launch objects at you, but to give you a sense of the caverns’ shape. We are given a chance to see a place that human eyes may never get to see again, while also feeling like we are inside the cave. Surely this documentary is indicative of how 3-D technology can be utilized meaningfully, and not just for ‘scare tactics’ and ‘attention whoring.’

Can 3-D Be Lucrative?

Martin Scorsese’s Hugo wowed its’ audiences as a deeply moving film with profound historical reflections, while simultaneously implementing the newest 3-D technology. Props are certainly due to the senior filmmaker taking on such a unique project and making a worthwhile film out of it. However, positive reviews and wowed audiences were not enough to make up for the films’ lofty budget, as the picture suffered a heavy financial loss. Is this a sign that the 3-D going audience is more interested in just getting their visual kicks, so they can put their annotative minds aside for the roughly two hour ride? Maybe.

Repurposing Classic Films in 3-D: Perfect or Ploy?

As the film industry embraces new technology, studios have innovated visual effects to the point that those effects alone are capable of keeping an audience stimulated. Audiences are now even able to view 3-D from the comfort of their home theater if they choose to invest in 3-D blu-ray media. Given these innovations, older films, even classics, lose their appeal to the will of time. But for those money-making masterpieces, reissuing, remastering, remaking, and/or adapting isn’t enough; now the studios have got to go back to your old favorites and bring them to you, in 3-D! Now we have to consider whether or not the 3-D enhancing of a movie really contributes to making a good film better, or is this just another moneymaking ploy to repackage something old as something new?

Some Films Just Weren’t Meant To Be In 3-D

Not too many people would argue that the recent sequels to Tron and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were valuable stories that just had to be told. The stories seemed more like convenient concepts to build upon with vast potential for impressive visual effects and a guaranteed attendance. In 2011, The Lion King was re-released in theaters in 3-D. Though some may have thought it refreshing to see such a classic brought back to the theater, many viewers were overwhelmingly disappointed with the 3-D enhancement, for it didn’t actually bring anything new to the film. Nothing was emphasized by it, and if the 3-D effects did anything to the story, it detracted from it, bringing the audience to focus on the nearby grass more than on the profound speech dictated by Mufasa to his Simba.

Uh Oh: 2012 Will See Many Movies Re-released in 3-D

Other classics are being brought back to theater in 3-D formats. Notably, James Cameron’s Titanic will be revisiting theaters with the hopes of whetting our visual appetites. Could it be that Titanic will be made a better movie with 3-D enhancements? In February the Star Wars saga will return in 3-D, and in 2013 we can look forward to The Little Mermaid being re-released in 3-D, and no doubt, we can expect to see a whole slew of Disney films and other classics being re-released in 3-D as well.

Is this the next step in the movie industry? Are studios no longer interested in new developments? Will there be earnest efforts to implement 3-D in a more meaningful ways since it has yet to prove to be successful in doing so? Perhaps this is just the next phase in movie-evolution, but we have to ask, is re-releasing old masterpieces with new technology a sign of moving forward or is it indicative of our need to hold onto the past? Might even be a bit of both.

Guest Author Rhys Raiskin graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in anthropology, and now he is working in the film and music industries, while occasionally contributing articles to the Internet. Follow him at @rhys_on.

Facebook Timeline - Only 8% Say They Like It

2012-01-30T14:30:00.000+05:30

Facebook is all set to make their latest profile layout "Timeline" - compulsory. In the next few weeks all Facebook users will be compulsorily upgraded to the "Timeline" feature - whether they like it or not.

Ever since the introduction of this feature, the social media circles has been abuzz with people debating the suitability or unsuitability of the "Timeline" layout. One aspect emerging from these discussions was that people were concerned that the new feature would interfere with their privacy, as "Timeline" suddenly makes every thing that they ever shared on Fb, including past status updates and photographs visible to the whole world.

In this backdrop security company Sophos conducted a survey where they " asked over 4000 Facebook users what they thought of the new Timeline feature, and the response was overwhelming negative."

This is what the survey revealed:

Only 8% (7.96% to be precise) of the respondents claimed that they liked the "Timeline' feature.
8.4% of the respondents claimed that they would eventually get used to the feature.
An overwhelming 51.3% of the respondents claimed that that were worried about the "Timeline feature"

Facebook Timeline Poll. Source : Sophos

With Timeline its all about being careful with what you share and with whom you share.

Stadium Tours Around The World - A Home Game in Every City

2012-01-29T14:24:00.000+05:30

The beautiful game in Barcelona, match day in Manchester, or the roar of the crowd as a try is scored at Twickenham. Every serious sports fan has their favourite team, and all teams have a home base to share with their fans.

Old Trafford, Image Credit

If you every wanted to know what it feels like to be Sir Alex for an hour then the most popular home of club football in England has to be Old Trafford. As you walk through the tunnel and make your way onto the field, you can almost hear the whispers of the legends of football echo through the stadium. Manchester United has excellent tours of their home stadium, and a museum dedicated to the history of the club and football as a sport. A tour of the Theatre of Dreams is the best way to kick-off your stadium sports tour.

Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.Image Credit

Spain is the perfect destination if you are serious about your teams. Pay a visit to FC Barcelona and spend a couple of hours at the Camp Nou experience. Open every day, except of course on match day, the tour should be right at the top of your European football stadium tour. Real Madrid fans can spend hours exploring the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, visit the Trophy Room and the dressing rooms, for some up close and personal interaction with your favourite player.

Twickenham North Stand.Image Credit

Twickenham is the home of English rugby, and considered the premier sporting venue in the world today. Move over Dallas Cowboys, this is the game that real men play. You can tour the player’s dressing rooms, visit the dizzying heights of the North Stand and make your triumphant run through the player’s tunnel onto the immaculate verdant pitch.

Wembley Stadium, London. Source

Wembley, is a multipurpose stadium, but has a worldwide reputation for excellence and with a tour to the magnificent stadium you will get a behind the scenes glimpse at what it takes to be able to walk onto the pitch to play for England. Players changing rooms, the thrill of experiencing this grand stadium from the field and the chance to spend a couple of hours reliving some of the biggest and most historic games the world has ever seen.

You can’t just stay in Europe if you’re a sports fan. Every team has their home stadium and if you’re a serious fan then a visit to the home stadium is the chance to explore, enjoy and marvel at the home of the tea you love.

Emirates Stadium. Source

Whether it ‘s a trip to the Emirates Stadium: The home of Arsenal, or a trip to Stamford Bridge for a passionate tour of the club buildings and Chelsea FC stadium, you can’t call yourself a fan unless you’re showing your support to the boys in blue, or red, or white or even striped!

Take a trip to Munich to visit the home of Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, which is lit up in red, blue or white depending on the team playing. The Melbourne Cricket Club in Australia is one of the oldest stadia in the world still in use, but the Circus Maximus still holds the record for the biggest stadium ever built. Nearly 300,000 citizens of ancient Rome used to pile in on match day to see their favourite “Gladiators” do battle against “The Lions”. Not much has changed has it?

This list of great sporting stadiums was compiled on behalf of HotelClub.com; where you can book great hotels in Hong Kong, home to some of the biggest sports fans.

How To Drive In Delhi

2012-01-28T13:37:00.000+05:30

"Delhi is a huge city with billions and billions of vehicles.. but driving around is fun and exciting"

This humorous video shares with you the a-b-c of Driving in the Delhi roads. One look at the video and you will realise that these rules apply to almost all other Indian cities.

Just sit back and play. You are definitely going to enjoy watching this.

Video brought to you by Pratik Arora of CultCamp.

How Not to Market a Product on Facebook: Lessons Learnt

2012-01-28T12:23:00.001+05:30

Deanna Proach, the author of "Day of Revenge" shares her experiences with us.

Over the last year, since the release of my book "Day of Revenge", I've learnt that Facebook is better used for networking than for marketing. That's why it's called a social networking site. Yet, many business owners--including authors--use Facebook to promote their products.

There is no written rule saying that people can't promote products and services on Facebook; they do it all the time. Although, when it comes to marketing, Facebook is very tricky. If you do one--or two--things wrong, you will offend people. Sometimes, that can lead to heartache. It happened to me last year.

As a new author, I didn't know how to use Facebook as a marketing tool. I posted links to every guest post, review and Internet Radio interview on my wall. At first, people were thrilled to see the cover art and to see that my dream of becoming a published author had finally come true. A few people even purchased a copy of "Day of Revenge". But, after a while people got tired of seeing endless posts on "Day of Revenge"--even though I have over 300 people on my friend list. I didn't mean to brag; that wasn't my intention, but I realized that some people no longer felt my enthusiasm.

That wasn't the worst of it, though. After my second interview on Blog Talk Radio, I messaged people en mass--including those I didn't know--letting them know about my interview. Of course, I posted the link to my interview. Facebook now has an option where people can leave a conversation if they're not interested. But at that time, there was no such option. Two people wrote in the thread, threatening to take action against me if I did not remove them from the thread. All they had to do was unsubscribe so that they wouldn't receive anymore, the emails from Facebook in their inboxes. I had one friend who stood up for me and an argument ensued because they--the people who threatened me--would not give up the fight. Things got really nasty.

It got to the point where I had to delete the entire thread. Although I was thankful for my friend's support, I was incredibly humiliated because other people who I had known and not known were included in that thread. What on earth did they think about me? They probably thought I was some dumb loser. I don't believe any of those people actually thought that way about me. But I do believe those cyber bullies tried to make me feel that way. And they almost succeeded.

Thankfully the bullying ended quickly--my friend and I reported the two individuals--and things went back to normal. But, I learnt a hard lesson. Messaging people en mass a success story with the intention to promote my book is NOT the way to do it. I've come to learn that people don't want to be lumped together with other people they don't know. And some of them think I'm sticking my minor success story in their face--a mark of an amateur.

Last May, I created a Facebook page--separate from my personal page--that is dedicated entirely to my books, mostly to "Day of Revenge" since it's the only book I have published as of now. There, I post all of my ongoing promotional efforts.

I don't think it's a bad thing to post the occasional success story on your wall, but as I've learnt, it's not okay to talk about every single little review, interview and guest article on your wall. It's important to save your time and energy for the big things that do matter.

You can find "Day of Revenge" on Amazon.com. Deanna Proach also writes for discounts.ca, a website that specializes in the sale of online coupons.

Importance of Motocross Gear

2012-01-28T11:41:00.000+05:30

Motocross riding can be a great sport if you like the adrenalin rush. However, there are lots of safety issues that come with this sport. Many people, especially those who consider themselves experienced, do not pay proper attention to these safety issues. Dirt bikes and motocross sports are quite different from riding a normal bike. To ensure complete safety, you need to understand the importance of a motocross kit. A motocross kit includes various things, all of which play their role in ensuring your well being. Here are some of the constituents of a MX kit.

Helmet: Helmet is the most crucial part of your gear. This is because it protects the most important part of your body - your head. Not only will it protect your head when you fall or have an accident, it also keeps dust and other debris out of your vision. This helps you in riding safely. When you choose your helmet, make sure that it fits you perfectly. Too loose or too tight a helmet can create problems as well.

Goggles: Most of the motocross helmets do not have a shield for the eyes. To overcome this problem, riders use goggles. Goggles are able to protect your eyes from particles that you may encounter on a dirt track or when you are riding off road. When buying a goggle make sure that it fits properly. Tight goggles are very uncomfortable, and loose goggles will not shield you from anything. Also, it is advisable to go for goggles that have tear-offs. With these goggles, you can tear off a thin layer when they get too dirty. This will help in keeping your field of vision clear without even taking a stop.

Neck brace: Earlier, people used neck donuts for protecting their necks. However, with faster and more powerful bikes, neck donuts are not enough. People prefer neck braces. While jumping or when riding on a rough track, your neck has to go through a lot of shocks. Some of them may be strong enough to cause injury. That is why neck braces have become just as important as helmets or any other gear.

Chest protector: Chest protector is again a vital part of your gear. You will find that there are various versions of chest protectors available. The most commonly used one is a chest/back protector that is also called the Roost Deflector. This helps in preventing injuries to vital organs in our body.

POA Racing is a Motocross shop based in Lancashire who sells a range of Motocross equipment such as Motocross Helmets, boots, clothing and accessories from leading brand name products Fox, Alpinestars, MSR and Answers.

4 Touching Reasons Why Yearbooks Will Never Be Obsolete

2012-01-28T11:19:00.000+05:30

If you’re a high school student considering whether or not to buy a yearbook, stop waffling and get one. Anyone can tell you that this book is a glimpse of a certain era — a kind of time capsule that lives on long after your high school years have come to a close.

Here are four reasons why you should get your yearbook and hold onto it forever:

1) Messages From Friends/Faculty

One of the best parts of yearbooks isn’t the pictures, names or events. The personal messages are the things that stick in your brain — and in your heart — forever.

Maybe you’d almost forgotten about dreaming of becoming a scientist, until you saw the inspiring message that your 7th grade teacher wrote, telling you to never give up on your goals. Or maybe you still laugh at the inside jokes you shared with your friends, jokes they immortalized in their yearbook inscriptions. Messages like these can fill you with happiness, even years later.

2) The Custom Design & Layout Created By Students

The students themselves often create this special volume each year. Whether or not you were on the yearbook committee, your yearbook is a cool example of do-it-yourself initiative and creative design executed by your classmates. They did put in a lot of time into the layout of your book and wanted to make sure it came out well.

3) A Timeline of Local Businesses, Residents & the Community

More than just a historic record of your school, your yearbook is a kind of timeline in terms of your community, too. You can find out which businesses were up and running at the time of your graduation by taking a peek at the ads in the book. You can see which families were still living in your town in a given year by checking out your graduating class’ roster, and much more. This might matter to you when you’re old and feeling nostalgic!

4) Photographs of Everyone You Cared For & The Things You Loved to Do

Even if you change a lot in the years following your graduation, you should be proud of what you accomplished during your school years. You can show new friends and family members what you looked like, whom you hung out with and the clubs and activities that made your world go ‘round. Sharing these memories with loved ones could help them know you better, and bring you closer.

Alexis enjoys writing about all kinds of things. She really enjoys writing about books. If you'd like to learn more about Yearbooks, please visit http://www.memorybook.com/

How To Plan A Short Business Trip

2012-01-26T13:51:00.000+05:30

Only those who have never been on a business trip view business travel with any sense of romance. Most business trips involve a fair bit of preparation, a certain amount of sleeplessness and sometimes a dash of chaos. If you are a young up and comer planning his first trip abroad or a seasoned executive visiting her client for the seventh time this year, there are a number of things you can do to make your business trip a success.

1. Know where you’re going. It sounds like such simple advice, but it’s key to ensuring your trip s a success. For example, San Jose in California is in the heart of Silicon Valley within spitting distance of Google’s headquarters and Stanford University. San José, on the other hand, is the capital of Costa Rica.

2. Make sure you have the right documentation. People have been turned away from airports for not having the correct visa. Furthermore some countries insist that your passport is one of the modern, machine-readable ones so that even if your passport is valid, it may not be accepted when you try to enter a country with it.

3. Understand the dress code. If you’re going to be in meetings, find out if you need to wear a suit. If you’re going to be making site visits, make sure you have appropriate clothing.

4. Know who you’re meeting. There’s nothing worse that turning up at reception in a giant office building with knowing the name of the person you are due to meet. It’s even better to have their phone number or email address so that you can confirm the date and time of the meeting a few days before and alert them to any changes in your schedule.

5. Find out where you’re staying. You need to have a clear idea about long it’s going to take to get from your hotel to the meeting place. It’s bad form to fly all the way round the world and then be 20 minutes late because you didn’t leave enough time to find a taxi and navigate through rush hour.

6. Enjoy the perks that exist. If your company lets you, make sure you collect all your air-miles and any points you get from hotel stays, car rentals and more. If you’re traveling a lot, these little treats can add up to some welcome upgrades in the way you travel. It doesn’t make it easier to leave home on short notice, but it can make your travel a lot more comfortable.

Guest Author Mark Gregory recommends Hubworking, who provide affordable meeting and conference rooms. They also offer Meeting Rooms London and Meeting Room Hire

The Deadly History Of Asbestos

2012-01-26T13:35:00.000+05:30

Asbestos is one of the deadliest minerals that exist under the surface of the earth. People working in an environment with asbestos in its surroundings, have been found to become afflicted with a grave condition called mesothelioma, which is a form of lung cancer. The chances of one surviving this condition are less than 1%.

A household heat spreader for
cooking on gas stoves, made of asbestos
Source : Wikimedia Commons

Asbestos as a material has been in usage since the ancient times. The name asbestos was coined by the ancient Greeks, which actually means indestructible in Greek. Ancient Greeks were the first to identify the application of asbestos fibers in making garments, utensils and also in the construction industry.

Ancient Greeks were also aware of the fact that asbestos was capable of creating lung infections as they saw a number of workers dying. However due to the lack of any proper medication for curing lung infections, they were not able to prevent the affected people from dying.

Similarly the ancient Romans were also aware of the dangerous side effects of using asbestos. But they couldn't avoid using it as they found this material to be pure and indestructible and highly suitable for constructing their homes. Ancient Romans had a strong belief that asbestos was capable of warding off any evil spirits that might be around their homes. They would clean the clothes made out of asbestos fibers by putting them into fires.

Similar to the Greeks and Romans, Egyptians also had their share of association with the deadly material. Egyptians used the Asbestos fibers during the mummification process of their pharaohs. People who were involved in the creation of mummies were exposed to asbestos, thereby dying a premature death. Even today, there have been reports of people dying due to this lung cancer condition, because of the traces of asbestos that is released into the surrounding atmosphere from the mummified structures.

During the middle ages asbestos found its way in to the manufacturing of many clothing accessories such as napkins and tablecloths. In the later period during the industrial revolution in the United Kingdom in the 18th century and during the revolution in U.S in the 19th century, Asbestos began to be used widely for the construction of houses for the laborers as they were cheaper in cost when compared to other building materials.

In addition to being used as a building material, it was also used in the manufacturing of paints and other synthetic chemicals. Workers in the automobile sector got a heavy dose of exposure to Asbestos as it was used in the making of brake pads and gaskets. Even during World War I and World War II, many fighters got exposed to Asbestos as most of the fighter jets and naval ships had parts which were made out of asbestos.

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