Sameer Ansar Writes

A whole New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 06:20:00 +0000

Before the New Year...

Celebrations. So much love. So much excitement.
Warmth, goodwill and cheer.
We reach out to loved ones, to relations, friends and associates.
We send forth love and gifts and receive more of the same.
Christmas comes and goes and then we ring in the New Year with abandon.
With all the new resolutions and thrill till the clock strikes midnight.

And then....

We all go back to the same old days. Living the same old lives. Loving little or less. Excitement pack depleted. Hunched in responsibilities and endless worries.

Hey...

Stop cheating.
Keep living.
Keep loving.
Keep smiling.
Welcome the New Day like the New Year.
Make a new resolution everyday and live it.
Enjoy your responsibilities and worries.
Be complete and excited for every New Day.

WHY EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD HAVE A FACEBOOK PAGE!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 04:30:00 +0000

At QTL, we believe that creating an outstanding website is only a small part of the web solution. The real game lies in making it reach the perfect audience at the opportune time with minimum cost. A good social media planner has to bring a creative solution that will ensure visibility.

The Internet transforms with alarming speed. Today, Facebook is our best bet to leverage reach at amazing cost. It has such an extensive range of possibilities that enable it to bend and flex its muscles in tune to our needs.

The Facebook Page is a public profile that injects vitality for your brand. It connects and shares your business and events with the population on Facebook. Since its birth in 2004, it has now grown to over 1.10 billion users (as on May 2013).

Setting up your Page on the Facebook is your baptism to a long-term marketing strategy. At zero cost you have evolved a strong identity for your brand, gained a media for interacting about your business, promotions and apps. And the best part of it all is that people on the Facebook like to interact and give opinion. So if you have something interesting, you will generate a discussion and dialogue. What better way to acquire a clue about your business right from your fans?

When someone clicks the Like button and becomes a fan of your Page, you create a long-term connection with them. This endorsement from a person is in fact a gateway for you to publish content to their News Feed and establish an ongoing conversation. Remember to communicate with meticulous consideration and extraordinary etiquette lest they close the gates on you. And every time people interact with your Page, it generates a story on their profiles and in their friends’ News Feeds, giving your brand bonus organic exposure that has an unbelievable reach.

As each Facebook user who Likes you has an average of 130 friends eligible to see his or her messages, a single like or comment multiplies the potential reach of each marketing message with an unbelievable reach that you cannot even calculate. This boost in marketing effectiveness is not just theoretical, but measurable.

There are a few matters to bear in mind when you are setting up your Page.

Remember to create a calendar, so you can release content and updates at regular intervals.

Remember that a natural, genuine mode of communication works best.

Ensure that you respond with timely participation. A two-way dialogue means listening and responding to comments on time. This will help you turn fans into your brand ambassadors.

Most people start with energy and passion and then just as the fans grow and gain interest, the Page loses steam. Very few marketing managers have the long-term perspective. You should know that if you have marketed your first product or lot successfully on the net, you should keep the fans interested and coming back for more as you develop new product lines and brands.

Keep your Page updated with relevant and interesting content at regular interval so that you can show the fans that your brand is not only leading the conversation, it’s also actively listening and responding to what they are talking about. These interactions are an effective way to get people engaged and inspire them to take the action you want. You can also express your brand through images, connecting to other Pages and commenting as your Page.

The Page is the headquarters of your brand on Facebook. It is the source of all of your brand’s important content and the place where you manage your comments, links, reverts and customer service.

· Your Page provides you access to effective data about your target audience and how they relate to your brand.

· Using the Timeline feature for Pages, your fans can send private messages to our brand and our brand can respond to it. However, Pages cannot initiate private messages.

· Your Page can comment on or like posts by fans of that Page. We can also like other Pages, as well as like and comment on posts made by those Pages.

· Out of respect for user privacy, Pages can only like or comment on posts made to the Page. They cannot interact with users outside of the Page.

All these features give you incredible advantage when it comes to leveraging your marketing activities.

Pages represent businesses, nonprofits, brands, governments, celebrities, and other public entities on Facebook. And you are joining this select community that will open a world of opportunities and a market that is infinite and spread across the globe and not just in your physical locality. You need to plan innovatively yet logically to reach maximum target audience with this amazing media.

When you create a Page, you become the administrator of that Page, which in turn gives you full control over Page content. You can also become an administrator if the person who created the Page adds you as one.

In short:

· Pages represent companies

· Profiles represent individuals

Audience Targeting

The key ingredient to generate interest and engage your audience in conversations is to be able to speak focusing on their interests. Facebook has the option that allows you to customize your posts to a region so that if your posts are either domestic or global in nature, you can create it to a specific regional or language focused level. For example, you can target and set a post for only your fans in Dubai who speak in Hindi.

What it boils down to is that Your Business Page on Facebook:

· Represents your brand

· Builds a community focused on your brand

· Publishes conversations and stories

· Hosts content and apps

· Targets who sees your content

· Measures the results and allows you to fine tune

Now go on and get your Page and create Business history.

An Accident...learning...and unlearning.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 08:26:00 +0000

The public works department completed their contract on the pipes on the water works tender.

The stones and rocks left over were kept away on the roadside.
The iron bars were forgotten too.
The sand was not moved off the road properly.
The holes that were dug were left for others to fill.
The workers went back home.
The contractor went back home.
And the people who used the roads and paths started to use this damaged road with no complaints.

The old man walked carefully over the stones so as not to slip.
He walked onto the road to avoid the iron rods.
The scooter swerved to avoid him.
The car behind braked sharply.
The lorry behind the car braked and skidded.
The cars behind all braked.
The scooters behind all skidded.
The lorry went skidding over the pot holes and turned around.

The driver of the Mercedes was driving at a 100 km/ph.
He turned to look at the lovely lady at the bus stop.
He smiled.
She smiled.
He did not see the lorry skidding towards him.
They collided.

The Mercedes collided and skidded over to the scooter on the other side.
And instantly switched off the lives of a man, woman and a baby.
And injured four others.

WHEN WILL WE LEARN?

Sameer Ansar
CEO
www.qtlindia.com

Hartal in Kerala.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 06:23:00 +0000

While travelling or holidaying in Kerala, it is important to know that there is such a thing called "HARTAL" that can happen unexpectedly. These Hartals are politically enforced holidays that punish the common people to stay indoors for a day.

Most people residing in Kerala have come to terms with this crazy manner of declaring a Hartal at the smallest excuse. The working class plan immediately on how to spend the (holi)day that they have got. They buy a bottle of booze and good food and get set to either spend a day in front of the TV and party or with their family - eating and sleeping well. The businessmen curse these hartals as it means excessive losses and plot different ways on how they can get their staff to office. Since hartals do not allow cars to ply the roads, the business men plan ingenious ways to get staff to office by either hiring an ambulance to ferry staff or starting office at 6 a.m etc. The office shutters are downed and work goes on inside. If the hartal announcers find that people are working on a hartal day, then its hell for them.

People with weddings planned suddenly find that guests excuse themselves. Food goes waste and the event becomes a sad affair. Young graduates ready for their first interview suddenly lose all hope. Students who have prepared for exams are happy since they get an extra day to prepare.

So if you find yourself in the state of Kerala a day before a Hartal is announced, here a re a few tips.
1. Get yourself a two wheeler. Surprisingly, a hartal is lenient on two wheelers to ply the roads. They get angry with four wheelers. So go find a friend or a rental where you can get yourself a bike to freedom during Hartal

2. Ensure food supplies in plenty. Hartal means no shops, no hotels or restaurants. So ensure that you have readied yourself with needed supplies like Bread, milk, eggs etc the day before.

3. Ensure water supply for drinking in advance.

4. Ensure a full tank of fuel in case of emergency

5. Ensure that entertainment options are readied. Either have a television or books to read etc.

6. Plan ahead.

Enjoy...its God's own country.

Going to Kerala.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 07:34:00 +0000

Its unfortunate to see travellers come to Kerala and follow a schedule and route to see places and return.

There are three common ways they travel.
1. Land in Cochin, move to the hill station in Munnar, see the wild life in Thekkadi, the waterfalls in Vagamon, maybe visit Fort Cochin and return
2. Land at Trivandrum, visit Kovalam, Varkala, Ponmudi, drive down to Alleppey and return via Kumarakom to Trivandrum.
3. Land at Calicut, visit Wynad, Kannur/Bekal and return
This is not how you should experience Kerala.

Kerala, is really God's own country. It is a slow, peaceful, tranquil experience. To find a true holiday here you need to take a break from it all and erase your itinerary.

You need to drive on the inner roads(M.C Road) or take the sea side roads (from Alleppey via Arthungal to Cochin). Travel to places beyond Kuttikanam and find where the road ends and the silence is defeaning at Mundakayam. Take a jeep drive across the hills where it takes an hour for a few miles and discover a top spot from where you see for miles and know that Kerala is indeed Green.

Discover idle countryside "chai" and "thattu" kadas with sizzling hot delicacies. Discover how a single newspaper stokes the knowledge of an entire village around a cup of chai or how a local issue is sorted over a bottle of toddy. Enjoy the pleasure of swimming in chilled, clear waters that flow down small hills.

To enjoy Kerala, drive away from the main roads, the towns and the traffic. Take a U turn, go down that small road that will take you to the most magical holiday.

Umpleasant

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 13:50:00 +0000

What is it that makes relationships sour and unpleasant?

Why do the closest people become the worst enemies?

How can we recreate relations every moment as though we are meeting like we did at the first time?

When do we understand that we have been maintaining mediocre relations?

How does ego rise up amongst such close and warm individuals?

Why cant we live everyday as though we are on honeymoon?

Why do we tear ourselves apart in the name of love and emotions? When do we learn to go beyond love...and embrace intimacy.

When you feel angry...sit back...
Take a few deeeeeep breaths...
Count to hundred...
And open your eyes and soul back to a beautiful world.

Live. Love. Life

THE ROADS

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 08:09:00 +0000

I am travelling in "God's own country".
But I am driving through the "Roadway to Hell".

Its insane that we proudly say that we are a developing country and then serve up travel services that are way below the standards.

Its inhuman that we have all levels of checking and approval departments and yet sanction that these roads are safe for human beings.

Its a joke that we buy wheels costing lakhs and crores and glide them over the deepest potholes that can be created.

Its a pain to travel over 500 kilometres in these bumpy roads and traffic madness and wake up the next day with a smiling attitude.

Its a crime that we allow people to trash and conduct themselves like barbarians on our roads. And expect that our civic authorities will help solve this.

Its amazing we are all still alive.

Its sad that we do not have any idea of how to end this rot.

Its insulting that across the globe every country has a "Little India" where they allow us to be the barbarians we are and live in filth.

Why?

Sameer Ansar
CEO- Quintessence Technologies Ltd

sameer@qtlindia.com

Fwd: Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 08:31:00 +0000

Sameer Ansar

Chief Executive Officer

____________________________________________________________________________________

This email (with any attachments) is intended for the attention of the addressee(s) only. If you are not the intended recipient, please inform the sender straight away before deleting the message without copying, distributing or disclosing its contents to any other person or organisation. Unauthorised use, disclosure, storage or copying is not permitted.

Any views or opinions expressed in this e-mail do not necessarily reflect the company policy.

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. 1 ton of paper = 17 trees.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle

Quintessentials - Part 2 - What makes your website work?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 05:37:00 +0000

Quintessentials for your website.

We have been in the business of creating web solutions for over a decade now. For the past four years we have transformed into one of the finest website design and development organization with alliances across the globe paving satisfaction and smiles for our clients.

Four years for a human, is like a hundred years for the internet. It has evolved so much. And it has grown and expanded in giant leaps every day. So many tools and applications and information have found their way on to the World Wide Web. Some of these are effective and good. But most of it is waste, trash and ineffective.

We should understand that the internet is one of the finest marketing medium. It should be considered a part of a business media plan and used in a manner where you can measure its effectiveness and as a tool that works best when the client and the developing team who builds the page has a precise idea of what it is that they are setting out to achieve and whom they want to reach out to.

I have clients who come to my office and demand the finest graphics and design and short timelines and competitive costing. They haggle and bargain for a few hundred. The project finally loses energy and effectiveness. It becomes a group of people stuffing in maximum colours and a few tools to impress the client instead of focusing on what it is that they need t achieve to make the site effective.

Remember that if a Website should make an IMPACT, the team should create it after having a crystal clear vision of What and How you want your Visitor to behave.

In these few years we see a flood of changes. We have smartphones and tablets, we have varied screen sizes where customers access the site, we have high speed internet, we have infinite social sites to reach out to. And so much more is in the future.

A great website with good reach, with an impact to make the visitor behave in a particular way in the shortest time is the need of the hour. This is a matter of maximum importance today and we need to address it now. As developers and designers we need to educate our clients about how the web is transforming. It is of grave consequence to cheat your client and give them what they want at the expense of damaging his business for the future. It will surely affect your existence as a web solution provider.

Be brave, Be honest. Develop a spine. Bring your ethics and values to the forefront. History has proved that if you are only a short term visionary, you will cease to exist in the longterm. It costs a packet to generate the latest solutions. But if you stand up to it and have the strength to inspire your clients, you will bring about a world of change for your client, which in effect will come back to you in the form of more business and long term survival. Have no doubts about that!

Ask yourself a few simple questions that can make your relevance clear.

Who/What/Why am I building this site?
How will anyone find out about this website?
What factors have made me use this design concept?
What is the action I want a visitor to take when they are here?
What have I created on this website that will guarantee that action
Is there anything else I can do here?

It is wise to know that the reason for creating a website is to make an impact on someone to act upon an information.

The first step in this case is to understand the person who you are speaking to and the action you want them to do. Remember that you are talking to one person at a time and you need to have a perfect idea through extension surveys of the “ONE” you are talking to if you want to create the perfect content/layout/graphics etc to make them take an action.

Doing a website in any other manner is Trash!

Sameer Ansar

CEO – Quintessence Technologies Ltd.

Mail: sameer@qtlindia.com

Web: www.qtlindia.com

The Quintessential Web Guides - Ch. 1- Using Social Media in Your Website

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 06:07:00 +0000

How to use Social Media in Your Website

Why social media?

The web is growing at a speed that you can never imagine. The information being poured into this infinite space is monstrous. You will need to carefully create a marketing and social plan using effective online tools that will help you to use social media on your website.

Social Media…what is it?

As people move on the internet alone or as a community, they “like”, “share” or “comment” or even “follow” something interesting on a website. This opportunity is provided via a social media.

Social site are like the famous ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ used by the “happening” people and bookmarking social sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon, photo sharing sites such as Flickr and Pinterest, blogging sites such as Blogger and WordPress, discussion sites in the form of various online forums, video sites like You Tube, online deals sites and many more.

It is good to link social media onto your site to connect these various options with the virtual reality of your brand – your website! Thus, you can connect social media profiles from the World Wide Web to your website using these social media pins and more.

This allows your visitors/clients to connect with you instantly. This method goes around and connects people very fast and it is usually free or low cost.

Does your business need this social media?

Take a look at these facts from last year's survey

The total effect on buyers purchase interest via Facebook is 48%.
66% of the worlds population use social media.
15% of Twitter users have purchased something based on details from Twitter.
51% of top companies use social sharing buttons on their websites.
86% of web users prefer logging in via social profiles in websites

Social media plays an important role in your website’s search optimisation, especially after search quality-based algorithmic updates like Panda and Penguin. Social signals have now become increasingly important towards improving your website’s search ranking. As a web business owner, however, you need to keep in mind that social media is also an integral part of your site’s user experience and retention. When your website provides social media buttons, your users need not leave your site to like or recommend it.

Key Social media elements for your website:

1. Social Media Buttons

You can use icons of popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, etc. They can be placed at the top, left, right or bottom of the web page content; such as a blog, video or image.

Take a look at some sample websites and notice how these icons have been used. They can be effective in reaching out to your users and more.

2. Social Share Buttons

These allow users to stay on the site and share the content on their social media profiles with just a click and without leaving the site. Site visitors can choose interesting content to share, click on the social share button and easily post an update to their social media profiles.

Do not make the buttons too small or too big. Ideally, they must not draw too much attention but still be easy to find. The position of the social share buttons is one of the factors that determines effective usability of your site.

The following are some helpful hints on the positioning of share buttons:

Keep the share icons in a manner that users need not scroll to find them.
If you have a blog on your site, you could place them at the bottom of the blog so that the reader shares the blog or keep them floating so that they are seen even when the page is scrolled.

Place the share buttons only if it makes sense to share.

For instance, if you have an e-commerce website and your users are buying a product, do not prompt them to share the product image or content because at that point they only need to complete their purchase. You could include a share button at the end of the transaction, i.e., the check-out page, where your users would be more likely to spread the word.

This increases user activity and reference marketing. It brings in social activity to your site for better search rankings.

Tools and Resources:

· AddThis

· ShareThis

· Po.st

· Gigya (Paid option)

· Shareexy

· Lockerz

· Janrain

· Sharre

· Tweetit

3. Social Login

You may have noticed that many of the most popular sites on the web use social login. Having social login alongside a regular login on your website gives the user plenty of options to choose from. This is a good approach in terms of your website’s usability as some users will find it easier to use an existing social login rather than create an entirely new one.

Advantages of a Social Media Login are:

No Spam, only real people register
Faster sign up, no user details required
Lesser bounce rates
The social login user need not remember username and password

4. Social Comments

This allows the user to give a comment or feedback. It ensures user activity on the site. It allows users to comment with their own social media profiles.

Benefits of social commenting:

Comments will not be spam since social media profiles are owned by real people
Increases Social activity to your site.
Using their personal profile to comment discourages users from vulgar comments.

5. Authorship:

If you were to look at search results for your keyword, which result really catches your eye? Generally, it would be the one with the picture of the author in it. Such search results are achieved by creating authorship markup with Google + and adding it to your blogs, articles and other content. It gives the content a human touch, which makes readers select your article over others.

Here is a step-by-step process on how to create Google+ Authorship for your content:

Create a personal account on Google+
Go to Google+ Profile page
Click Edit Profile
Scroll down on the page and Click Contributor to
Click Add Custom Link
Enter the name of the blog page and the blog URL
Click Save
Click Done Editing on the top blue bar of the page
Copy the profile page URL to the code that links to the Author’s name below the content, for example, Sameer Ansar on Google+
Add rel=”author” tag to it, as shown in the sample code below:
<a rel= “author” href= https://plus.google.com/u/105520809469704184434”>Sameer Ansar on Google+</a>

6. Activity Feed:

Its advisable to add an activity feed on your website that describes every recent action that has taken place on your website by your site visitors. There are many resources to create your own activity streams on your website, such as Gigya or Atlassian, or you can embed social activity feeds from Facebook and Twitter on your site, if you have an active Facebook and Twitter page. This embedding does not require a web developer’s expertise and is very easy to do.

Tools and Resources:

· Facebook

· Twitter

· So So Social

· Gigya (Paid option)

Additional Facebook Social Plug-ins:

Send button can be used to send content to a specific Facebook friend or group
Subscribe button lets users see who has subscribed to your page.
Recommendation Box is based on popularly shared content. The users on your site are shown the content that is highly recommended for further reading and the number of people who have shared and liked the recommended content.
Like Box longer version shows the posts liked on the page. The shorter version shows faces of Facebook users that like your page.

Other Social Integration Tools and Resources:

Embedded Tweets uses a single line of code provided by Twitter developers by which you can embed your tweets on your website.
Linkedin Insider Company Plugin lets you show off your company’s strength with staff photos and their recommendations in a little box on your website.
Linkedin Recommendations Plugin is useful for increasing the website’s credibility.
Pinterest RSS widget is a feature useful for sites that have a lot of images (such as a wedding photography site or online apparel store). All the images you pinned on Pinterest can be made visible to your site visitors.

With a full-fledged social media integrated website you will have higher user engagement and increased social media activity on both your website and your brand pages as a whole.

You can test this in tools used for website rankings and reviews for Free.

These social media integration tools and resources discussed can make your website the main social meeting point for user interaction. It will drive maximum traffic to your site.

Sameer Ansar

CEO – Quintessence Technologies Ltd.

Mail: sameer@qtlindia.com

Skype: qetechCEO

Web: www.qtlindia.com

The SECRET to drive people AWAY from your website!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 08:11:00 +0000

The SECRET to drive people

AWAY from your website!

It’s a really tough job in todays scenario to get someone to visit your website. We go to extremes to ensure finest Search Engine Optimisation and Social Media Plans to bring visitors to our site. The competition is getting tougher everyday.

Now that they are here, how do we ensure they do not run away? Making your website an enjoyable experience is most important in making sales, building a user base and getting people to recommend you and add to the line up to your website.

Here is a list of the most crucial factors that make people want to run away.

The site loads slowwwww.

Nobody has time. We live in a fast paced world and on the internet this is especially true. No one is going to wait for you as your website takes a million seconds to load.

Why would someone want to wait when in a few seconds they can go back on Google and click a link to some other website? If your website is loading slow it will cost your brand to lose clients and thereby business revenue.

Some of us think that since the internet is a lot faster than earlier times, we can now go and make websites larger and more heavier with unnecessary images, graphics and folders. This will only help to slow you down, so ensure to keep material on a minimum.

Use the various tools available online to check the loading speed of your website.

Advertisements in my face

If your website is cluttered with advertisements it puts people off. Someone is on your site for a particular source of information and he may not like ads. We agree that advertisements are the only source of income for some website owners.

In such cases, you should consider reducing the size and quantity of ads or you could plan on placing them so that they are not irritating your visitors.

Also remember that such “active and colourful moving” ads will be heavy and make the website loading very slow. Advertisements need tons of flash or java scripts. So beware.

Pop up windows

Most web browsers are now committed to block pop up windows. But its not over yet. Today, websites create modal windows requires the visitor to react to it if he wants to return to the webpage.

This is very irritating and the user will classify your website as such. People come to you for some specific information and they do not want to react to any windows to jump over.

If you want your visitor to join your subscription or newsletter you should have a link for it like a blog or newsletter section on your site. If the user wants it they will join. Don’t put it in his face which will make him leave. I would!

Sounding off a Scary start

If we land on a page that has a live music or video automatically on it, then we usually run away from there. It is a situation that makes you really angry.

I may be checking a site while I am at the office or in a quiet area. Imagine sound coming out of my computer disturbing the peace in the office or annoying others.

If we run into a website that has sound/music playing automatically, you can bet they will never go back to that website again. Maybe it was a fashion long time ago. Not now.

Sad state of design and navigation

Humans are visual creatures. They need graphic appeal. The user also needs an interaction which they can easily understand how to use and enjoy using.

However, the most graphic appealing website will be wasted if the user had no clue how to use it. They will leave and find the info somewhere else.

We wonder what makes designers think an average skilled internet user with less time is going to be able to figure it out? If someone can’t see how to use it for it’s purpose then what is the need for the site?

Crafting a website design and navigation that looks good and is easy to use is very important in keeping people on your website.

Redirecting to elsewhere

Again, the visitor came for something specific. You don’t want them to hang on to your website like the answering service of a telecom company. “If yes – click 1 or else click 4. If No click 7 or else click 100. This will take you to select the complaint…”

Having redirection route on your website is the worst irritant. Imagine sending them to another page and then yet another to get an information. It will only frustrate the user and enlighten them to avoid your website forever.

Content and layout is king.

They came for something specific. Why should they stay on your website and read about it if your content is bad?

Having spelling errors on your website and or in your articles makes people know that you didn’t take time or that you are not good enough and this information could also be wrong and not well planned.

It is important to recheck whatever you publish before it goes live to your website.

The layout is also important. You will just confuse visitors if layout is not smooth and easy to access content. Images need to be properly aligned to its written content.

Text needs to have easy readability. Limit the amount of characters per line. The web page is small and font size too. People may lose track with too much content. If content is too less also, it can cause a user to skip lines because they are reading the next line of text before finishing the current line. Proper paragraph breaks are very essential for the smooth flow.

Material is history…literally!

Outdated content will not only turn users away but it will also turn browsers away.

The world is transforming with speed and the web is evolving twice as fast. You will find that corporates are already planning the next project even before the current one is even released.

People are coming to your website for information, and keeping it latest is the most important factor. Imagine, if a visitor thought he got good info from your site and gets embarrassed when he finds it wrong.

Design and versions of software should also be upgraded constantly. People catch your site on new machines everyday and you need to be designed for that. Are you ready for tablets and smartphones, et al. The name of the design is “responsive”.

Device friendly

If you have a web design or solution that is outdated or created on older software versions, then your site is not compatible and easy to view on a mobile device. Statistics say that over 80% of smartphone users will access a site on the smartphone and in this case you may lose visitors, traffic and revenue streams.

In today’s age, users need information immediately. They get on their mobile device to get what they need quick. If your site is not ready for this, it will make the user to go to another website that is more friendly and easier for them to view.

Who are you?

Believe you me, many websites still lack essential pages like Contact us and About us, etc. How can this help them in making a decision on whether to use your business or find something else?

You need to have a very apt content and design for the about us page that gives info for a visitor in order for them to make an calculated decision.

I wonder how websites expect to generate leads or get revenue and business if the user is not shown how to get in touch with you? Ensure your name or company name, email, physical address, phone number and even a feedback form is available to lead the user to you.

Good luck.

Have fun creating an amazing web solution for you or your business. Don’t hesitate to contact us for any support or help on the way.

Call on us at business@qtlindia.com

interesting read

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 03:49:00 +0000

I saw this interesting stuff online.
Simple errors we make.

Thought i should share it with all of you.

Enjoy the read.

Write better.

Sameer Ansar

www.qtlindia.com

Why are we going to the UK?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 05:00:00 +0000

The new UK visa rule is insulting and yet interesting. It defines how the British still look at us. Even after history has taught otherwise...even after we educate ourselves against discrimination, there are people who still practice it.

And, its interesting because it is framed by the people in power...by people who make the difference in the world...by people who have the highest seat of learning in this planet...Cambridge and Oxford.

What I fail to understand is why the rates are different for various countries. This is surely going to affect young kids who have been studying hard towards getting an admission to UK universities. Its also going to affect small and medium business men. And also tourism. maybe that is what the UK intends. They want less of us there???

And so the new rule will underline that visitors from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and other Asian and African countries are risky fellows and they need to be charged a heavy cash bond before they can enter the U.K.

According to the news tourists aged 18 and over would be forced to pay about Rs. 2.7 lakh for a six-month visit visa, which they will forfeit if they overstay in Britain. We can understand that they may have charged this bond because of illegal immigration but I am sure there are other effective ways to stop this rather than these discriminatory methods.

A similar scheme was rejected in Canada because of strong protests and claims that it was unlawful because it discriminated against categories of immigrants.

India needs to sound their voice against this.

Maybe we should charge British tourists to India double the rates they have placed on us. Or maybe they would be amused if we charged them Rs. 3 lakh, and charged only Rs.1 lakh for US visitors and Rs.10,000 for the Chinese and the Japs. and maybe nothing from the rest of the world. Will that drive home the message???

Pangkor Island. A holiday to remember.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 08:56:00 +0000

One of the best holidays that I have had was at Pangkor Island, Malaysia. The drive from Kuala Lumpur to Marina Island Jetty is about 270 kms. It was my first international driving experience. As we left the city and the traffic jam it was such a joy to drive along the northwest coast to Lumut on the highway to the jetty from where we took a ferry to the island.

We were a group of seven. The ferry in itself was such a pleasure with amazing scenic beauty and very cheerful crowd on the boat and the warmth of the service staff. It is a magical feeling as if you leave all your worries and thoughts behind as the boat moves further away from the land.

The Pangkor Island beach resort is an island in itself. The sprawling grounds have all the facilities of sports and cycling on the land and a variety of water sports in the sea. The rooms are very well set and furnished and not too expensive.

The food is amazing and the spread was a joy for all of us including the kids and we felt brave to try our a few different culinary experiences. The staff were very cordial and helpful.

The beach is an amazing expanse of white sand and all over the island peacocks and hornbills grace your sight in plenty. We even had a peacock spread its feathers in all its glory and dance in front of us. What a sight it was. In the evenings the feeding ground for the hornbills was a major attraction as we found the birds in hundreds. There are so many other birds and even monkeys all over the island making it a fun trip for all of us as we had to watch out for the monkeys stealing snacks from the rooms.

The water sports was fun yet safe since we could venture out and walk into the low and calm sea for upto a kilometre. We cycled around the island and spent the afternoons on the water scooters speeding away on the small waves.

Two days passed by in the blink of an eye. But the moments will stay with us forever. I recommend this holiday to all of you who want to take a break away from this world. Go to paradise.

What does it take to do an amazing website?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 03:55:00 +0000

We have clients coming up and asking us to design a website for them that is exclusive...that will drive sales high...that will have great visibility...that will stand apart from the competition.

But most of the clients dont have the time or the patience to sit and discuss or brainstorm on the process to create the best. We send them a questionnaire so that at least gets both the teams in the right direction and lends a focus to the project. Most clients don't do the exercise. Some fill up a few questions and get fed up.

Only a few work along with us scheduling discussions daily as we build up the creative base and draft the content lines and design outlines. Its nice to work with them since the excitement is maintained and mistakes are corrected and ironed out at the start.

Creating a website is not a one day affair. It takes a lot of pain and research. Especially on a media that is so dynamic and changing everyday. Software changes, social media change, target change, platforms and shopping carts and reach and versions...they all change. The speed at which a site loads is very important since clients get bored fast.

We advise clients to keep the site light, use less images, and plain BG's. We can design elegance without too much heavy stuff on the pages. We must.

Also its important to devise a social media strategy. Just like you would use media planning on advertisements, websites need social media. Search Engines have too much to feed on and we need to know how to devise and create solutions to make it friendly for searches.

Ask yourself why would you want a website?
Ask yourself what use is a site if it cannot be reached?
Go beyond the usual and market your website with speed and reach. All you need is some research and creative ideas.

Better your Best

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 06:22:00 +0000

What does it take to better your best?
What does it take to put in that little extra to make someone smile?
What do you need to want to make that special attempt to give your best shot?
All it needs is a little EXTRA than what you do now.

I see resumes everyday from hopeful aspirants looking to start their career. I see the same black and white pages, with meaningless objectives and wasted words like "Whatever I have written here is true to the best of my knowledge". Amazing. And to think that colleges are training these kids to create resumes like this.

I see people who pass on work that is mediocre. Just passable. Hotels cook food thats passable and hope to be in the business forever. Teachers forget to inspire and feel frustrated. Parents spend a half hearted holiday with kids and get irritated when kids do not enjoy.

When mediocrity extends to life saving work we are asking for trouble. Imaging doctors operating half heartedly. Imaging engineers building bridges without proper methods. (Thats what happens to roads in India...Always mediocre).

Take a pledge that you will do whatever it takes to do the best. And then some more.
Go Inspire yourself.

"BEING WITH..."

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:31:00 +0000

Being with anything"100%" is not easy. In fact its near to impossible.

* How can we be with our family 100% when the office tension is pounding in the hidden corner of your brain?

* How can we be with our studies 100% when we are irritated and thinking bad thoughts of parents who have troubled us to study?

Years ago when I attended a training session, they asked us to close our eyes and focus on the voices in our head. Its not easy but as the seconds passed, and the silence around was intense, i slowly started to hear my inner voices. And it was not one. It was a thousand voices.
"What is this guy asking us to do?"
"What am I doing here?"
"This is so stupid"
"Have I paid my phone bill?"
"Can I ask that cute girl out for coffee?"
"Maybe she has a boyfriend?"
"Do I have enough money to last the week?"
"When did I last call my mother?"
"I wonder what they have for dinner at the hostel today?"
And so on and on and on and on and on........

There is so much activity in the brain that we lose focus of what we are doing currently and move on to the next. As a result we do everything half heartedly and just for the sake of completing it. There is no chance for Being With anything, nor for the 100% in it.

Life passes you by so fast that before you know it you will miss out on so much unless you start putting your soul and heart into whatever you do and be with that 100%.
Give your all out when you play with the kids...dont let your office tensions come in between.
Give your 100% when you spend time with your family...its your most prized possession.
Give your full focus and passion at the office...its where you earn your bread.
Give your love to your friends...they will love you as much as you do.

Look up once in a while and thank God for the wonderful moments you have been given in this life. BE WITH the God above for a few moments. You will find peace and the strength to face what comes after. And the faith to move mountains...with ease.

And never forget...find the time to BE WITH yourself too. You deserve it.

NOW

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:48:00 +0000

The time to do anything you wanted to do is NOW.

Its never too late to start. Its never too early too.
If you fear the first step you may lose the opportunity forever.

You may fall, but you have the choice to start all over.
Start inspiring yourself.
Start loving yourself.
And smile at your fears.

Going The extra Mile

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:06:00 +0000

Todays staff meeting was nice. We shared a new thought. The focus was on "How can we go the extra Mile?".

It started off as a client satisfaction analysis. We are in the process of creating our new website and some of the staff have been given the responsibility of collecting testimonials. We also wanted to ask ourselves as to what we can add to our service to ensure "customer delight".

The topic ventured to amazing levels. We have crossed to our 4th year and we may have sat back and felt we had seen it all. But we understand that the world we serve has so many others to choose from. The competition is heavy. The industry is evolving and transforming itself using new developments, software skills and platforms over and over with an alarming speed.

And so we asked ourselves, "Have we changed? have we evolved?"
We ask ourselves if its time to create ourselves as version 2 with renewed capabilities and ideas.

So we have taken up the task of evolving ourselves individually. Each person will "Go the extra Mile" in whatever he does. He will be extraordinary. And we shall find ways to better what we have done.

Its time for me to go the extra mile. What about you?

Fathers Day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 04:37:00 +0000

Magical. Warm. Feeling good. Touched. Loved. Happy. Glowing...etc. These were some of the words I could use for how I felt yesterday.

It was father's day and it was just any other ordinary day, until 8 p.m and my daughter, Zahibaa and son, Zohrab dragged me upstairs on the terrace for a surprise dinner party.

Oh Lord, it was wonderful. Candles all around, Menu card painted, name plates for each speciality. I was served a chocolate ball with fresh juice and spinach rolls. Lemon tarts and katti rolls. The pudding was "wow".

What touched me was the efforts these guys and my wife, Nishana had gone to ensure that it was a surprise. It was ALL home made and these three had done it without me knowing what was happening. Whenever I walked towards the kitchen, Zohrab would call me and act as though he is having a fight with his sister. Or Zahibaa would divert my attention by asking me to help with Frankie, our dog.

What team work. And planning.

I am touched, inspired and all geared to go ahead and put in my best efforts to be the best father ever.

Thoughts...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 05:51:00 +0000

Who said advocates should wear black coats and gowns and sweat i a sweltering court room?

How can you bend obligingly to the rule that says you should pay 14 years tax on an automobile which you definitely would not use above 5 years?

Why are you paying the rent on an electric meter in your house when you have bought and installed it?

What is the logic of a court case that takes 10 years for a settlement and then can be taken up again in a higher court?

What is the use of working harder if it means you are spending more?

When is it possible to know that you have done your best in life?

Why are we not able to do what we want in life?

How will I satisfy myself?

Why am I scared of change?

Who am I?

Who decided what is right and wrong?

Why should I pay more taxes if I am earning more by my hard work? Does that mean I should not work hard?

Who are you?

Do I have a choice of voting for "None of the candidates"?

Why cant I exist without a cell phone? ...or an email id?

Why is it so hard to do what my conscience tells me to do?

????

Sameer Ansar
www.theqtl.com
www.theqtl.blogspot.com

A few questions...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 05:48:00 +0000

What drives us to start everyday on a mood? Some of us wake up with despair. Some wake up with a smile, while others witha frown or a headache. Most of us dont have the energy to start off and everything we do seems to be a chore.

What makes some of us tick and move ahead with passion and enthusiasm? How can someone wake up and smile at his wife and say"I love you". What makes you sing in the bath? And hug your family and fill their day with blessings and joy?

Its just a matter of seeing things in a different angle. Its just a matter of loving the life you live. And removing personal ego from the minutest aspects. All of us live and yearn for attention...for acceptance and appreciation. When that is not received, we do things as a sacrifice, as a chore.

Do things for yourself. Do things for the fun of it. bring passion into watering the plants, in washing the car, in cutting the tomato. Make mopping the floor a dance on the stage. (like the way Robin Willians does in Mrs.Doubtfire).

A small formula helps me most of the time. DO EVERYTHING 100%. Do everything because you want to do it. Not for someone, not for something, not for acceptance or appreciation. That way even if someone does not appreciate you, the personal ego does not step in.

Remember, when you do your best, the world will automatically acknowledge you. The people around you recognise your skill set and will seek you when they need you. Wait until you get that recognition.

Oh, and its okay to feel hurt or bad once n a while. Whats important is that you understand it, and rub it off and star all over again.

Delayed Justice is Injustice

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 04:29:00 +0000

I see my friend brooding as he sits in the office. He has paid his agent full money on the transaction. And now they have cheated him. No product and no money.

So he goes to talk to them. And they promise to pay him soon. Then they promise to get him the product. And the talks go on...and on. Signs of a cheating gearing up.

And finally after a few months the talks break down. Voices are raised and both dare each other.
My friend realises that he is getting nowhere. So he files a complaint at the police station.

Policeman is a gentleman. He invites the other fellow. He tells him to pay up and not to cheat my friend. He says he means business. The fellow knows that there is n way out. And so he writes a cheque to my friend for the amount. Wow. Matter settled. Everyone smiles and goes home.
My friend throws a party for his friends. Happiness is in the air.

Then the cheque goes to the bank. And... it bounces...and again it is sent...and bounces right back.
My friend calls the fellow again. He promises that the bank will clear it within ten days. Again the cheque is presented and ...again it bounces. My friend empties the bottle of rum in despair.

The police man calls the other fellow again. But this time he is prepared. He comes with his lawyer. And threatens the policeman that he is threatening the fellow. And they propose to file a case against the policeman if he irritates them again. Policeman tels my friend that he cannot do more. Please find a lawyer and move along.

And so we enter the Indian judicial system. We find a lawyer and tell him the story. He smiles. All is well. He says that we have come to the right place. All we need is to entrust the cae in his hands. And within five to six years he assures that we will win the case. And dont worry, if that fellow moves the high court all we need to wait another four years. we will win the case.

To start the case we have to sign an application nominate him as our lawyer and pay his advance fees of Rs.5000/-. Then we have to promise to pay him 20% of the case money. Then we need to pay a surety bond for the court which is used for court expenses, Approximately 10 to 15% of the money.

And then we need to be patient. The case hearing will happen once every six months. We wait outside the doors amongst thieves and criminals straining to hear our name called. The lawyers swish by us in black coats and gowns that have not seen a wash in ages.

The system stinks.
Can you imagine we will end up paying about 40 to 50% of the money to be received by paying out to this lawyer each time he comes to court, plus his commission plus the court commission, plus the time we waste. And finally after 5 years we may or may not get this money owed to us without any interest or expenses reimbursed.

My friend is in trouble.
My friend is now a learned man.
He still does not know if he will win the case.

Suicide

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:12:00 +0000

It was sad to read about Jiah Khan. Once again it opened up the view that success or galamour does not really ensure happiness and contentment. As we sit and read about the famous and successful celebrities who we dream of being or imitating we should understand that there is more to life than just the flash bulbs and the adulation.

What do human beings want to be? what are we running after? and Why are we doing what we do?
Its interesting to think about this.

To put it in a nutshell, every human being is running after acceptance and admiration and appreciation.
Check it out. Whatever you do is based on this. The hairstyle you sport, the dress you wear, the fashion you flaunt, the car you drive, the restaurant you favour, the watch you buy.....it is all decided by your sub conscious mind to get acceptance and appreciation in your circles.

When that ends,
when the circle you want to be a part of stops accepting you,
when the people you really count on stop appreciating you....
thats when you lose out and despair...and for the weaker minds it leads to suicide.

I read Richard Back who said, "how foolish we are to commit suicide. People who contemplate suicide have so many options. They can drop everything. They can run away, sail away to the corner of the world on a boat and start life all over again as a new person".

Life is about accepting and appreciating yourself first.
Everything else falls in place then.
God bless us all.

Sameer Ansar added you to his circles and invited you to join Google+

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 08:52:00 +0000

Sameer Ansar added you to his circles and invited you to join Google+.

Join Google+

Google+ makes sharing on the web more like sharing in real life.

Circles

An easy way to share some things with college buddies, others with your parents, and almost nothing with your boss. Just like in real life.

Hangouts

Conversations are better face-to-face. Join a video hangout from your computer or mobile phone to catch up, watch YouTube videos together, or swap stories with up to 9 of your friends at once.

Mobile

Lightning-fast group chat. Photos that upload themselves. A bird's-eye view of what's happening nearby. We built Google+ with mobile in mind.

You received this message because Sameer Ansar invited sameer33.1970@blogger.com to join Google+. Unsubscribe from these emails.
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043 USA