So because of this, the majority of online buyers who purchase anything from high ticket tangible goods to ebooks which they can download, all prefer large established marketplace shopping over smaller unfamiliar “brand” based ecommerce websites.

These marketplaces aren’t just popular with the consumers however, as they’re also proving extremely valuable for merchants of all sizes since they provide these businesses with higher profile visibility, thus giving them a better opportunity to sell their products.

For instance, if you sell your products on Amazon, it can help you as the merchant to instantly reach millions of cash in hand customers who flock towards these proven ecommerce portals daily looking for something to buy. So if you’re a merchant with anything to sell, you can immediately begin creating a new revenue stream by featuring your products in Amazon’s Marketplace.

For Those Existing Established Ecommerce Based Merchants
Merchants who may already have an ecommerce presence can immediately begin selling their products directly through Amazon by registering for their “Professional Solutions” program for $39.99 per month.

To get started, merchants are required to list their products and then set up their profiles. Merchants are required to prepare product information content for the items which they’re wanting to sell. For every product that you want to list, you’re assigned an unique Product Detail Page by Amazon.

To get listed, what’s also required is for you to prepare your own detailed product identification description and information, along with product attributes which includes, a title, a detailed description, images and search/tag terms.

Once all of the this information is prepared for each product, then it can be entered into the assigned Product Detail Page. If the item which you’re selling already happens to have its own Product Detail Page, then merchants are required to just enter their price, the condition of the product, and the quantity you have available for it to be listed.

Four Options For Merchants To List Their Products
Adding A Product
This tool is located directly inside of the “Seller Central” page and offers the best option for merchants who are selling less than fifty product items.

Listings Loader
This is an excellent option for merchants who may be selling multiple products which are already listed in Amazon’s catalog. The template which is in Excel, can be downloaded directly from Seller Central.

Inventory File
This template also in Excel can be downloaded directly from Seller Central as well. It’s the best option for merchants who sells multiple products which are not currently in Amazon’s catalog.

Amazon Seller Desktop
This is an app which allows merchants to be able to work offline to list their products.

Before merchants are able to sell their products, they’re required to set up their accounts. This involves entering all your basic information such the business name and contact information, shipping details along with payment information.

Merchants also have the option of adding details such as their corporate logo, an explanation of their refund policies and stating or persuading why the consumer should be purchasing from them off their Seller Profile Page. This gives the merchant’s the opportunity to develop trust with their customers to buy their products.

For Ecommerce Merchants Who Are New And Wanting To List On Amazon
For new merchants who are just beginning to explore ecommerce, Amazon offers an ecommerce Webstore solution which allows the merchant to be able to set up their own customized website, so they can easily and immediately begin selling products online.

The Amazon Webstore Solution provides you the merchant with complete template design tools along with the option to create customized navigation and product categories as well as merchandising widgets for promoting your products.

It also offers the ability for you to be able to monitor all your customer reviews along with a shopping cart solution which can be branded to reflect your company. There is also a complete credit card processing system, inventory management features and much more.

If merchants decide to choose the Amazon Webstore solution, which includes selling their goods on Amazon, it’s completely free for the first 2 years, then there’s a $14.99 monthly fee after that.

There’s also an additional fee which is $39.99 per month, this after an initial free 3 month trial period. The Webstore solution allows merchants to be able to sell an unlimited number of products as well as using an unlimited amount of web storage as well. The service also includes “Fulfillment by Amazon,” which is their inhouse packing and shipping service.

Selling Tips For Amazon’s Marketplace
There are a few recommendations to potentially becoming a prominent merchandiser in Amazon’s Marketplace community. Sellers should always keep in mind the basics, which includes checking the number of orders which are sold daily, confirming that its been shipped, and making sure that there’s enough inventory. This is especially important if you have multiple channels and your wanting to keep the pricing competitive and accurate.

There are also methods which merchants can use to ensure that their products will remain at the top of Amazon’s marketplace search feeds. This includes obtaining positive feedback and reviews from consumers, minimizing the number of order cancellations, increasing inventory and having competitive pricing.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been involved in ecommerce for a while, becoming visible on Amazon will provide you as a merchant with the ability to be able to reach more consumers as well as improving the bottom line by creating a new marketing avenue.

They are workaholics, which is now actually defined as a condition, and yes, there is a term for it. Working at ones job excessively can cause conflict as well as friction at the expense of one’s health or relationships. If left untreated, it can potentially lead towards burnout, depression and ultimately illness. A Workaholic is simply unable to disengage themselves from their work, regardless if they contribute or are really needed or not.

So when it comes to the digital world, when the switch is always “ON” 24/7, the trend towards working too much goes into overdrive and on an upward trend. The lines become narrow and blurred as our work becomes more encroached with our private leisure lives. Are you considered a workaholic if you check Twitter every few minutes while your standing in line at Starbucks?

Definition Of A Workaholic
What may be more of an indicator is looking at the context of what you’re doing. It may begin simple, such as answering an email from your client on Sunday morning because, well, they happen to be in a different area from where you live, that’s what you rationalize anyways. But you’re now mixing the work and play balance.

Then the next thing you know, you’re reading all of your work related emails on the weekend or late at night. The work cycle then progressively begins to lengthen while your rest times get shorter.

Researchers who are studying this trend found that because of the increasingly available mobile environment, and the growing need for email and text message communication, it’s becoming a habit.

The results, whom the majority tested were IT based professionals, discovered some other interesting findings. There are those who find it necessary to always be connected online and to their work, even if it means interrupting dinners or daily activities to check their devices, and these workers are also willing to drive greater distances to get Wi-Fi connectivity.

Workaholics On The Uptrend
If you’ve ever clenched your fist in anger and cursed at the sky as you have your mobile device stapled to your ear, and all you’re searching for is a clear reception, you know the very feeling.

Getting crystal clear connectivity wherever you are has now become a vital lifeline. But then, what’s the real panic. Why is it so difficult to disengage ourselves from the online digital world. Is it really our work that we’re so concerned about, or is there some underlying fear that we will miss something, even if we disconnect ourselves online for even a few minutes, we’ll go into a full raging panic.

The majority who were surveyed admitted that they all check their work email after work hours, usually using their smartphones. While the number dropped during weekends or on their days off, the majority of users will continue to take their work home with them and wherever they go. Just a decade ago, this was completely impossible as the only way to access email was at work during business hours.

Over 50% percent surveyed took some type of work-related device with them when they go on vacation, while a similar number admitted that they will routinely drive more than 10 miles out of their way to get online access.

What this demonstrates is that in order to stay competitive in this tough global economy that we currently live in, it now requires constant productivity, or it could also indicate that the nation is completely addicted to online multi-tasking anytime and anywhere.

Growing Online Epidemic
There is a growing indication how attached people are becoming to their mobile devices, specifically smartphones and tablet PCs. Over a third of the respondents indicated that they’re exclusively using their personal mobile device for business purposes.

So is the digital reliance now becoming an addiction. What it does is it informs what our behaviors are. The good news however is that we’re beginning to get smarter when it comes to appropriate or inappropriate behavior when using our mobile devices.

Take texting when your driving for instance. Stricter laws now prohibit using mobile devices, specifically texting while driving as it has significantly increased the accident rate, and as a result, the awareness is making an impact.

They found that there were still 47% percent of the respondents who admitted that they still drive while they text or talk, which sounds much like drinking and driving. But this trend is significantly reducing from 79% percent who text and drove the previous year.

Some Other Findings Regarding Online Usage
• Having and enjoying dinner with friends and family should represent quality time, but online users still find out who contacted them during meals. There were over 56% percent who admitted that they at one time sent emails while having a meal. If you’ve ever been enjoying dinner and then someone obviously checks their mobile, you know how annoying and how alienated it makes you feel.

• Those who like to multi-task on their mobile devices while they’re out shopping is increasing, as over 65% percent admitted that they either emailed or texted while standing in the grocery line, or while using the mall bathroom. So obviously the trend is that most users are now unable to even miss a minute of connectivity.

• There are however some things which still remains sacred, as the number of users who email or text during a romantic moment has actually decreased. That’s one multitasking activity which definitely hasn’t gone seriously awry!

So you have to realize how close you are to your smartphone. How would you react or handle yourself if you happen to lose it or left it home for just one day?

If you’ve been living under your desk lately, Google+ Plus is the search engines new social networking service which exceeds everything else they’ve done. Now you’re able to create your own company or business page to communicate directly with your customers, sharing all your new and breaking news, while informing your audience of your latest promotions, all which increases exposure to your online presence.

So you can easily begin setting up your own business on Google+ Plus. Here are a few key primary benefits of what Google+ brand pages can do for you.

Setting Up Your Google+ Brand Page
Google and their search engine offers you a variety of methods to bringing focused people to your new Google+ brand page. For instance, Google+ Direct Connect allows those interested to be able to add a plus (+) sign to the beginning of their Google search, followed by your business name, which will automatically route the customer or client directly to your Google+ page, such as “+Mary’sShoeStore” which would instantly bring up Mary’s Shoe Store Google+ page.

All of the Google+ Brand pages are also included in Google’s natural search results as well. So for those customers who may still be unfamiliar with the Plus+ query, they will still be able to find your G+ company pages if they’re using the traditional search methods.

Google also incorporates all of the Google+ features into its Chrome, Android and Gmail platforms as well, for example the Google+ app for Android enabled smartphones, and as an extension for the Chrome OS.

Google+ Circles Are Cool
Using Circles, Google+ will automatically provide various group options for: Customers, Followers, Teams, and VIPs etc. So this way, you’ll be able to categorize your consumers and your clients to prevent the potential of “spamming” your followers with inappropriate messages which may or may not apply to them.

For instance, you can offer your special promotions limited just to the “VIP” circle group. Google+ also allows you to set up custom circles, this way, you’ll be able to separate your followers by key demographics, such as, women who are between the ages 30 to 45, or create different circles for the various types of products which you offer.

Video Chat In Real-Time
Google Hangouts is an excellent feature which is offered by Google+ brand pages. This is because Hangouts gives your clients and customers the opportunity to talk with your fans in real time regarding your business, or to you directly via Video Chat.

You’re able to invite up to 10 clients for a dedicated video-conference session. For instance, if you operate a specialized consulting service, you can then invite a group of your most loyal clients who may have questions regarding what type of services you offer.

You can set up weekly discussions at a specific time, such as every Tuesday afternoon, where you or an employee would be available to video chat with these clients and answer all their questions.

Or let’s say your a chef who operates a specialized catering service and you’re wanting to get people involved in what the best methods are to utilize your service. You could then host a weekly video chat “Hangout” session where you’re actively preparing the gourmet dish of the week and then answering any questions which the viewers may have. The Google+ Hangouts video chat feature is also excellent for announcements and contests.

Google+ Images, Photos and More
Google+ also offers built-in integration directly with YouTube, which is where the majority of businesses will store most of their online videos. Picasa is included as well, which is Google’s dedicated photo-sharing website.

This integration makes it extremely easy to share videos as well as your photos throughout all of the multiple online Google venues. By comparison, although this type of link integration is possible and available using Twitter or Facebook, but the process of doing so requires a lot more work, such as shortening the Web URL or by sending the customer off from your brand page to another one. All of the various multimedia options will help you to engage customers that visit your page.

Some Google+ Do’s and Don’ts
Here are some tips which you should be following when posting content to Google+ Plus

Google+ Do’s
• You should be constantly updating your Google+ brand page with relevant important announcements, new product introductions, and other pertinent exciting news items
• Make sure that you set up various Circles and then create dedicated posts
tailored towards the given demographic or group
• Make sure that you incorporate your videos as well as your photos which will help build the image of your business

Google+ Don’ts
• You should never “spam” your Circles with useless news which won’t help them, or build up your brand in any way that won’t interest them
• Never attempt to sell something with each and every post that you make since your primary goal is to engage your readers to interact with your business instead
• Don’t ever ignore the comments from your followers. Reader engagement, feedback and interaction is always valuable for growing your business

These merchants are looking for the exact details that reveals which particular segment of tablet owners uses these devices primarily to buy items online. As there are now an increasing number who now own tablets, the good news is that the majority appears to be using them strictly for shopping online.

They also seem to make more spontaneous impulsive purchases as well over those who own other devices such as laptops. So the good news is the these Tablet owners are particularly more intent on buying goods and services over any other Web connected device.

Tablet Owners Are More eCommerce Active
Close to 26% percent of consumers who currently own tablet computers such as the iPad or an Android driven device all indicated that they classify themselves as impulsive shoppers who generally reacts spontaneously, as compared to just under 9% percent who currently don’t own a tablet.

There were also approximately 10% percent of tablet owners who claimed that they were totally addicted to shopping, this compared to 4% percent of those who owned another type of device. Also, tablet owners claimed that they will tend to buy more expensive or luxury items than others.

Tablet Owners Spend More
Tablet owners are more that likely to shop for specific and certain items than their smartphone owner counterparts. Electronics of all kinds was the highest on the list for 55% percent of all respondents, and is what topped the list of the most preferred product category to purchase. This was followed by ebooks at 40% percent, then toys and games at 36% percent, clothing at 27% percent, and online music at 33% percent.

So what the trend indicates is that there’s a definite rise in the importance and usage of tablet PCs as a genuine method of driving ecommerce traffic and sales towards sites for retailers.

For instance, tablet PCs stands out as a much better portable device option that the much smaller smartphones when shopping for “big ticket” electronics as well as “designer” clothing products, simply because of their bigger screens which show better detail.

There were more consumers who claimed that they were more that likely to purchase higher end products while using their tablets. Also, the large majority of owners would also prefer to shop and purchase tangible products, while a significantly smaller portion preferred using their smartphones.

Tablet PC Age Group
A recent survey also found that the typical tablet PC owner is significantly older than their smartphone owner counterparts, being approximately 40 years old.

Their average annual income was also higher at $65,000 per year. Over 53% of tablet owners were women, and the majority of all these tablet owners also listed Facebook as an important source. On average, during the period of the survey, tablet owners spent over $300 in product purchases.

Reason For Using Tablets
The survey also asked why these tablet owners shopped online using their tablets, and not use a smartphone or a home PC instead. Close to 30% percent responded by saying it was just a matter of convenience which motivates they shopping on these devices since they’re spending a lot of time on them anyways for other purposes.

25% percent of all users will tend to browse sites in the hopes to be inspired into make a purchase. 20% percent of users also liked the touchpad ease of the transaction process, while 15% percent already had a specific offer or product in mind to purchase.

19% percent shopped because of an advertisement that they seen for a particular product. There were 8% percent of users who specifically choose a tablet PC because of its ease of sharing deals or product offers via social media networks such as Google+, Facebook and Twitter.

The problem is that anything sweet will usually contain high amounts of calories, which sets off a chain reaction of skyrocketing the blood sugar levels and ultimately weight gain. This not exactly a pretty picture when it comes to healthy eating.

Then came a variety of non-nutritive sugar sweeteners on the market, which for some time appeared to turn the sweetness-calorie equation into a complete tailspin. These chemical substances which were manufactured to replace sugar, had scary chemical lab names such as, aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, and sucralose. They all tasted as sweet as sugar, but containing just a few calories.

So replacing all those fat laden sugar based foods with a low-calorie sweetener enabled anyone to enjoy as many sweet treats as they wanted, making it like a dream come true. They also promised to provide all of the required energy requirements as well. It made it seem possible for both our sweet tooth as well as our waistline to finally be satisfied.

Do These Sugar Substitutes Really Work
There’s a number of scientific studies which are showing that the consumption of these various non-nutritive sweeteners may actually promote weight gain. A study on laboratory rats showed that those who consumed non-nutritive sweeteners actually increased their food intake and thus began to gain more weight than the others who consumed actual calorie-rich sugar.

Other tests proved that these low-calorie sweeteners may not quite be the diet miracles that they promised to be. One test conducted on over 50,000 women found that the various non-nutritive sweeteners were more than likely to pack on more pounds than non-users. A longer term study showed that those who consumed artificially sweetened beverages were much more overweight and obese.

So the actual mechanism on why these low-calorie sweeteners leads to more weight gain is still a puzzle. One of the theories is that when one dissociates sweetness from actual calories, what non-nutritive sweeteners will do is confuse the body’s regulatory mechanisms.

So when someone tastes something that’s sweet and it contains just a few calories, the taste then fails to evoke the usual psycho-biological response which serves to regulate the actual energy balance, and then fails to signal when to stop eating the sweets.

Another explanation may be the association between non-nutritive sweeteners and weight gain, and that the artificial sweeteners changes the intestinal environment while triggering the inflammatory processes which are associated with certain metabolic disorders. While there’s only a few studies which have explored this theory, it’s entirely plausible that a change in one’s intestinal bacteria could possibly promote fat storage resulting in weight gain.

Also, the recently discovered sweet-taste receptors in the stomach might just explain the association between non-nutritive sweeteners and weight gain. When there’s certain gut receptors which senses real sugar, they will then trigger the release of hormones which stimulates insulin secretion along with a feeling of satiety. Studies have shown that glucose, and not the non-nutritive sweeteners, may be triggering these normal hormonal responses.

Regardless of what actual mechanism is actually responsible for the weight gain, one thing is certain, and that is non-nutritive sweeteners does indeed promote weight gain.

Try Natural Sweeteners Instead
So the next time you’re looking for some alternate sweeteners or are considering a sugar replacement, try a natural alternative.

Honey
Honey is actually a chemically complex food which has over 180 different components. Honey is an excellent natural source as well as being a highly versatile sweetener and substitute. Studies have proven that pure unpasteurized honey is able to naturally inhibit the effects of toxic substances which are present in the body. Honey can be drizzled over yogurt, fruit, cereal, tea or desserts, and also be used in baking and cooking.

Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is a natural sweet substance which is derived from the sap of Maple trees. It contains fewer calories as well as a lower glycemic load than does honey. It’s also an excellent dietary source of zinc and manganese. Its distinctive naturally earthy and sweet taste will pair perfectly with waffles and pancakes, which is the most popular use. Natural maple syrup is also used as a sweetener in baked goods and desserts.

Coconut Palm Sugar
Coconut palm sugar is a natural sweetener which is available from Southeast Asia. It’s extremely low on the glycemic index, allowing it to be a good choice for those who may be watching their weight as well as their glucose consumption levels. Coconut palm sugar will dissolve, cook and melt similar to regular sugar, but has a rich flavor which is similar to brown sugar. Coconut palm sugar is an excellent and rich source of iron, zinc and potassium, as well as vitamin C and vitamin B1.

Stevia
Stevia is a natural sugar substitute which comes in powdered form when extracted. It’s derived directly from the Stevia rebaudiana shrub. Unlike the other natural sweeteners, Stevia is extremely low in calories as well. Stevia is available in health food stores, provided that it doesn’t make any health claims on its label.

Since social media is still considered a relatively new method of marketing, online along with offline businesses are now discovering the intricacies of how to make a deeper, crisper, and a more personal connection with their customers using these platforms. What may be more important is they knowing how their potential customers are receiving these methods.

It’s become increasingly easy to post the latest company news updates or blast out special deals and promotions to subscribers using social media. But what you’re really wanting to do is build a powerful loyal community of consumers who’ll gladly receive your promotions, or will be willing to promote your products or services for you as well. For this to happen, your social media networking strategy needs to do the following:

Stating What Your Company Does
For the majority of businesses, the main goal is to increase their sales or acquire new customers on their mailing list. By using social media properly, doing so is entirely possible. But the questions you may need to answer is:

• Does your customers know exactly who or what your company does or is
• What type of products or services do you offer, and how can whatever you offer be able to immediately benefit them
• What exactly makes your business standout and be unique

What you need to do is precisely explain exactly to the masses what your business does.

You should also be able to explain what you do without making it sound like a sales pitch, or making it into a full fledged TV commercial. For instance, you could feature your clients or customers testimonials into a blog post and then share exactly how you’ve helped them, along with the experiences that they had with your company. You could also feature some of your employees in your blog posts as well, to show their involvement in your business.

Personally Engaging With Your Customers
If you’ve spent anytime on social media recently, a popular buzzword that you will come across is “engagement” when it comes to marketing. Engagement has become overused to the point that it’s lost some of its meaning. The reason for this is because it remains as the top activity that businesses are doing to be successful in social media.

Engaging with your clients is vitally important when building relationships. This is important whether it’s on a personal or a business level. When using social media, it allows businesses to become a lot more personal and transparent. This way, potential customers are able to know a lot more regarding the individuals who are behind a company or a brand. The story, message or “Mission Statement” that you’d like to share with your readers is important.

You won’t be able to build any type of a relationship with your potential customers unless there’s two-way communication. So when you engage using social media, it can include responding to all of your blog comments or complaints, visiting other like minded blogs and then making relevant comments.

You can also have “conversations” with others on Facebook or Twitter by retweeting posts by people that you follow. Engaging with others means that you’re directly interacting with them on a personal level as well as getting to know them and who they are, what they do and like. You invite all of your customers to share their feedback, regardless if it’s good or bad, which then instills trust.

Building Genuine Loyal Enthusiasm
When engaging with others using social media, make sure that you completely explain what your company does by building a “peer-to-peer” level of trust and offering exceptional service.

You can then create loyal customers who are enthusiastic regarding your product, service or brand. This is where you’ll begin to develop customers who’ll start doing the marketing for you, by putting out a good work or favorable reviews.

You’ll still need to effectively broadcast your message statement, but since your customers like your company, they’ll willingly “Like” or follow you as well as “Share” your message with all of their own followers, friends or blog subscribers.

So it’s your choice, spend countless amounts of money on TV ads or magazine campaigns or just spend the time to properly broadcast your message to the same amount of focused people using social media.

Combining all of the above along with providing exceptional customer service will result in creating loyal fans to your blog, your twitter account or your Facebook Page, by they sharing with their friends on how great your company is.

Keep in mind that these social media methods are just a stepping stone which creates awareness and trust while building enthusiasm for your business brand. As indicated, you’ll still need to offer exceptional customer service, or nothing else matters.

Being optimistic sets you apart in a few tangible ways, the way you express it in the tone in your voice while you describe your previous job experiences as well as the world around you. You view these challenges not as a stressful situation but rather as opportunities to listen and learn, grow and then innovate. You stand out because you’re easy to get along with, as you project your genuine upbeat yet relaxed attitude.

Based on research by prominent Fortune 500 “head hunters,” it’s crystal clear that being optimistic is one of the best predictors when it comes to employee success, especially when interviewing and beyond. For instance, one study has proven that optimistic sales personnel consistently outsell their more pessimistic counterparts by close to 40% percent.

There are a few simple strategies which anyone can adopt to boost optimism levels while positivity projecting the “wow” factor towards the hiring managers, simultaneously placing them at ease as well. So with a bit of practice, you have the potential of becoming a lot more confident and thus optimistic and beginning your new job on Monday.

So before you enter another interview room, arm yourself with the following steps to boost your positivity and optimism levels.

Preparing Yourself To Be Successful
This may sound a bit counterintuitive, but the best time to “goof” off is right before the job interview itself. That’s the best way on how you can prepare yourself for success.

So put on your iPod and listen to some of your favorite dance music while your in the car, or watch a few funny videos that you know will make you laugh out loud hysterically. It’s also important to physically workout before the interview, anything that’ll make you sweat. So whether it’s going for a jog, a bike ride or a swim, to reduce the stress and the tension.

Do whatever you can to make yourself smile. Studies have shown that when our brains are primed up to be positive, natural dopamine, which is the feel good chemical enters the brain, which turns on the learning capacity centers.

These studies have also shown that a positive induced brain is also 20% percent quicker to react as well as a lot more accurate when making decisions then a brain which is negative or stressed out. What this results in is we’ll be a lot more prepared in answering the interviewers potential “curve ball” questions.

Begin By Doing These Reps Immediately
Just like your body needs a good workout, you’re brain needs one as well. Performing the following exercise will just take a few minutes a day, and it may stop you from potentially sweating through your business suit.

Try this every day for the next 3 weeks, practice being as consciously grateful as possible. In a Word document or journal, list 3 unique things which you’re grateful for, and then explain why. Once this becomes a habit, it will help you in retraining your brain for better positivity.

Research has proven that doing this not only makes us happier, but it also calms down the brain as well, which is exactly what you’re looking. It should also come in handy to counterbalance the expected stress levels during the nerve-racking interview.

Begin The Interview Strong
When it comes to broadcasting, such as the nightly News, the top story is known as the “lead,” and that sets the tone for the entire program. Similarly, it’s the very first few moments of the job interview which the interviewer will analyze the candidates the most.

So it’s critically important that you begin with an extremely strong Power Lead. A quick story or a positive fact about any appropriate topic, and make sure that you steer away from negativity, like getting absolutely soaked in the rain or that the receptionist was an absolute “you know what.”

A positive lead story relaxes the initial tension and kicks the interview off to a good start, while activating the interviewer’s mindset to not be as critical. Research has shown that the memory retention on both sides of the interview table improves once we are positive. So a strong Power Lead on your behalf will help the interviewer to remember better, and like you long enough to consider you for the job.

Always Be Grateful By Saying “Thank You”
Always be as grateful as possible by saying “Thank You,” is extremely vital to the process, and not just because your mom said so. When you interview for the job, make sure that you take a “Thank you” note or card with you.

Also make sure that the card is properly named and addressed in advance, so you could hand it to them immediately after the interview or mail it to them the same day. Make sure that you also hand write the cards as well.

If you cannot absolutely do that, or it’s a time sensitive issue, then make sure that you send them an email at the very least. Either way, take a few minutes to write a genuine and heartfelt Thank you message for the time they spent with you, and specifically for picking you out for the interview. Gratitude is simple and easy but it can go a long way which should set you apart.

What individuals wanted was an effective and efficient way of keeping in close touch with their friends and family, while relying on the unbiased opinions of their online “friends” on related like minded topics.

When social media went mainstream, the various methods made it extremely easy for people to communicate effectively among each other, instantly and more frequently, freely being able to express themselves openly, similar to what they’ve done in the past when away from their computers.

Social Media Led By Facebook
The most popular of these social networking websites is Facebook, which has now surpassed over an astonishing 800 million users worldwide. Ridiculous if you think about it, it’s now the Internet’s largest continent of people.

But despite this humongous user base and its exponential growth, social scientists are just now beginning to understand how members are using Facebook to interact with each other. What was studied was the various forms of communication that they use, and the impact it has on their feelings as well as psychological well-being.

Distinguishing Direct Offline and Indirect Online Actions
How we decide to manage our social connections when on Facebook is not really that different from how we build relationships in the real world. The need to be connected is the basic primitive motivation which underlies social behavior. We’re using our Facebook profiles to be able to maintain a positive social identity while satisfying our needs for acceptance as well as social affiliation.

One measurement study which was conducted looked into how people actually incorporated Facebook into their daily “real” lives. What they investigated was the actual social dimensions of Facebook, which was divided into two distinct categories:

• Direct Actions – which included actual participation such as online chat, instant messaging, wall posts, photo tags, comments, and “Likes.”
• Indirect Actions – when individual Facebook members will just look at their friend’s profiles, or just read their “friends” status updates without really participating.

The majority of Facebook users will usually initiate a combination of both direct as well as indirect actions while they’re on the site. Some will also do this quite frequently, as in 30% percent will post daily status updates of some kind.

Social Benefits Of Facebook
The real actual social benefits of using Facebook to be able to communicate with friends and then building relationships are mixed. Researchers along with Facebook analyzed the actual server logs of more than a few thousand Facebook users over a period of several months. What they did was conduct a survey asking these random members how close they actually felt to their online friends, and how frequent they made brand new social connections.

What they found was that those Facebook users who engaged in direct actions such as commenting or messaging each other, reported a greater bridge in making new friends and social bonding.

In contrast, those members who used more indirect actions and were more passive, such as just refreshing the news feed, reading their friends’ status updates or just viewing their profiles, reported more feelings of being left out of the loop. The research indicated that these indirect actions can foster a sense of connectedness between the members.

Another study of Facebook members found that the more certain individuals updated their status, while sharing their information about themselves to their friends and they replying back, the more that they felt they were connected to others in their social network.

They found that those who participated in the same study also felt apprehensive at times when they sent out “Friend” requests because of the fear of being rejected if the member wouldn’t accept their request.

So Is Facebook Really That Social
The end result of all this is that it appears the benefits of using Facebook for most users to be able to maintain friendships along with other social relationships, can be complex while reflecting individual patterns of content and communication.

A number of these studies suggests that Facebook can be used to reinforce as well as strengthen social connections, especially distant ones, while there are others who indicated that Facebook inflates how many actual friends one actually has, while discouraging real interaction.

One distinct theme which is emerging from these studies is that the direct actions with Facebook friends appears to increase the individual feelings of self esteem and connectedness, while those who engage in indirect actions may be feeling the opposite.

It may become a little more clear however, if you take a look at some of the more accomplished of the ecommerce companies, and then study what they’re doing and discovering their secrets.

Product Pages Vitally Important
When designing your home page, it’s not as important as in the past to spend that much time and effort to make it as SEO relevant as possible. This is because it appears when studying the analytics of ecommerce sites, that the majority of the visitors will never even see it.

The biggest reason for this is that Google and other search engines are now micro indexing pages by finding the exact products via keywords, which are most relevant to the user’s search. So it’s the exact product page that the searcher lands on instead of your homepage.

What the users will usually do is just click on the first result which leads them directly to the product page of a site, where they’ll read the review or details on the product and then make their decision to whether purchase or not. The websites home page thus doesn’t become that much of a factor.

So because of this, the actual design of the product page itself is of utmost importance. On these pages. you should be including all of the important information, such as your shopping cart icons and pages which may otherwise appear just on the home page. Also make sure that you include all of your promotions and deals, your company info, alternate product options and anything else which you feel may be important for the buying process directly on the product pages.

Placement And The Design Of Buttons
On an ecommerce site, one of the most important but surprisingly overlooked keys to a successful site is the actual “Add to Cart” button itself, and its immediate surrounding space. The “Buy Now” button can actually make or break a sale, and the customer doesn’t even realize it.

Also, the only way to know if a particular “Add to Cart” button is working is by actually testing it, then testing it again. Amazon for example, they have it down to an exact science. They are continuously tweaking the placement of their buttons, and as a result, they have been extensively altered and moved over time, as they try to determine which placement drives the most conversions.

So over the years, Amazon’s button has evolved from being a single “Click Here” button to two buttons strategically placed on a page, along with a “one-click” shopping option, while also changing the size and color of the button on the product page, this numerous times until they got it right.

They have the luxury of testing it over time, even at various times of the day, with massive amounts of their “looky loo” traffic. They also have the luxury of testing it on actual “big ticket” items to determine the exact placement of their “Buy NOW” button.

The ultra successful massive online companies realizes that even just the very subtle differences such as the different shades of orange or blue on their “Add to Cart” buttons can make or break a sale. They are finding that small design changes invisible to the human eye can have an enormous impact on the conversion rate of an ecommerce page.

Socializing Everything
Social media for everyone, and for some time now is completely transforming how users behave on the Internet, and more importantly, when it comes to ecommerce. The latest trend also seems to be the combination of the two.

So what’s been tagged as “Social Commerce” involves the sharing as well as the reading of reviews and ratings, analyzing general opinions regarding brands, products or services which are found on the various social media sites. It also now involves the actual shopping and purchasing goods on these social networks as well, such as buying or selling through Facebook for instance.

The actual use of social networks and combining it with actual transactions is still in the conception stage however, and the majority of social commerce still focuses on monitoring a certain brand’s online reputation as well as interacting with consumers to help influence it.

There has been studies that show the majority of consumers will rely on the various social networks to help them decide making a purchase, and if that certain product has a favorable rating, they are more than likely to purchase it.

So it’s clear that consumers are putting a lot of stock into the actual opinions of their peers on these social networks when it comes to making actual shopping decisions. So because of this, the most successful of the ecommerce sites will incorporate and leverage the various social platforms directly on their sites.

Retention Of Visitors
In the online world, it’s well known that attention spans are extremely “gnat” like short. So when it comes to ecommerce, because customers will instantly switch “stores” with just a click of a button, providing exception customer retention methods are absolutely crucial when running a successful site.

So since consumers are placing an extreme importance on social media based reviews and opinions, finding and retaining customers can become extremely difficult. So once you do attract someone to your site who’s interested in your product or service, you’ll need to work extremely hard to keeping them there. After all, the marketing cost that’s required to just finding one new customer is 7X times more than retaining that customer.

Keeping that customer can be as easy as providing a superior product or service, having excellent customer reviews and providing helpful customer support. It’s been proven that ecommerce businesses who are able to retained just 5% percent of their customers, have reported profit increases as much as 90% percent.

This is primarily because of most consumers indicating that the actual quality of customer service that they receive is important to them. They will actually spend more on those companies who provide better service.

When using additional and advanced customer service techniques, such as providing online live chat, are better ways of providing as well as supporting a satisfied customer base. Brands are also able to use social media, such as Twitter, to listen to customer feedback and issues and then dealing with them in a timely manner.

Online Globalization Of ECommerce
The Internet because of its massive reach can deliver success because of its immense and instant global reach, making borders easier to tolerate. Despite the problems that companies have when providing their product or service internationally, such as language and currency barriers and customer support issues, this may just be the tip of an enormous economic iceberg.

Pushing your business towards going global isn’t an easy task, this even for large enterprise-level ecommerce companies to be able to go truly global. But with that being said, all of the trends are indicating that there will be a full global economy in the very near future. This is spurred primarily by the availability of the Internet to all corners of the industrialized world, and ecommerce is expected to play an extremely major part in it.

You wonder if all those relationships over time that you once had could of ever worked out. Then suddenly, as practically as you move one foot and then transfer it to the other, you get an idea on what you’ll prepare for dinner that night, or fantasize about that transcontinental flight into the Pacific. You then pick up your pace and begin framing the topic of your next article.

Jogging The Brain
Writers as well as creative artists will routinely lubricate their creative juices and accelerate the process with exercise, specifically running or by doing intensive cardio. If anyone ever asks you why you jog, just tell them because it’s faster than walking. Some are just fond of long contemplative power walks through the forest in the rain.

Most mornings, those wanting to get a jump on their day will spend up to an hour to run several miles, to get inspired and reflect on the upcoming day. There are fitness buffs of all sizes and shapes, from different backgrounds and professions who know that the best, free and most precise method of unlocking creativity, is to drain a little sweat by going for a run around the seawall.

Scientific Proof From Exercising
There is also mounting scientific proof for what many of us already know, and that’s the absolute eureka moments you get when performing strenuous exercise, and it’s much more than just an anecdote.

It has been proven that just a single run can create enough force to kick the Jesus into the average college student, placing them into an entirely higher gear, the benefits lasting a few hours. So for you kids out there, next time you’re prepping up for a major exam, go out for a run or a bike ride. You see, to be able to function properly, or to be near peak performance, what the brain needs is a physical jolt.

So if you ask a group of runners, you’ll most likely find that these type of insights are quite common, so such so that they will usually take them for granted. It’s also most disconcerting when you’re most likely miles away from your home or office when these flashes on brilliant insight strikes you.

It’s often been said that whenever a great idea hits you during your daily run through the park, it’s important to just stop for a moment to bank it in your memory, or carry a pen and pad and write down your new idea.

Where The Ideas Formulate
This type of creativity usually tends to be derived from a two-stage process. The first being the data gathering process where you’re feverishly whacking your brain to decide the background material which you’ll need to solve your particular problem. Then the moment of insight will come to you, once you forget about it for a while and drift off into other thoughts.

This is most likely because of the preparation stage, where the thought process is so focused that it will ignore random associations which may be percolating in the subconscious. But by definition, creativity is the process of making leaps which are unexpected.

When you deliberately work on a problem or a situation, these other thoughts may seem like distractions, so you decide to tune them out. So to be able to free up the mind, you’ll need to schedule the “idle time,” such as doing something completely different, such as listening to the music on your iPod.

Those who study sports psychology compares this as a meditative state. So what it does is it places the analytical, logic thinking left brain on hold, while giving the intuitive right brain full rein.

What exercise, particularly jogging does is it unlocks creativity, and the longer periods of time that you do it, it tends to react better. What running around a track does is it will pump enough blood into your brain to force you to focus that much more. It will increase the quality of whatever your studying, or whatever else you’re wanting to do.

Your Brain Needs Juice
Whats been always known is quite simple, and that’s the brain as a muscle needs large amounts of energy to kick start itself. Imaging tests at medical clinics will confirm that certain workouts like stationary running on a treadmill will flood the brain with oxygen and blood. Cardio exercises will increase the activity in the frontal lobe of the brain, that’s the part which is involved in complex attention and reasoning.

Experiments with rats which are forced to exercise more will learn to complete the mazes much quicker than the sedentary ones. The same goes for other experiments where monkeys will learn close to twice as fast when placed on a treadmill. What happens is the neurons will grow new connections, which is also useful when the brain needs to reroute itself when aging.

What jogging does is it will stimulate the production of all the vitally important brain chemicals, such as BDNF or brain derived neurotrophic factor, which will encourage the growth of new nerve connections in the brain. So what that means is exercising on a regular basis helps the brain keep young, which is the main reason why runners have lower rates of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

So the very existence of such chemicals residing in the brain proves that the benefits of running isn’t some urban myth or an old wives tale, or that it works on just certain people, but not always on others. So if you’re wanting to create these chemicals to develop new creative patterns, then all that’s required is putting on your running shoes and working up a bit of good old sweat.