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Ever heard of the social media site called Pinterest? It is a virtual pinning board that lets you compile different images that you like, arrange them into categories, and share them to your circle of friends or acquaintances within the online community. It is quickly becoming popular nowadays with more and more people discovering the benefits it has to offer. Just how interesting can Pinterest be? Is there more than meets the eye with this particular social media site? Digging Deep into This Virtual Pin Board In order to create a Pinterest account, you need to be invited by an existing member or request an invitation from their main site. You can then proceed to create your own account, design your profile, set your boards, and invite friends to join your network. After getting done with the essentials, you can start pinning images and videos right away. These pinned photos will then be visible to everyone and even start a chance to be re-pinned or shared by your friends and...

This interesting infographic by SingleGrain shows you how you can make your content go viral. The key to having a successful viral campaign lies in an in depth understanding of the needs and interests of your targeted demographic segment. To go viral, your content must have a catchy title, be something that your targeted audience might find interesting and offer something unique and unanticipated, i.e it must incorporate an element of surprise. This is how you can get your content to go viral.

Today’s marketing environment is dominated by social media and personalized experiences. If you do not incorporate the use of social media into your daily business operations, you won’t remain competitive and will miss out on the opportunity to capture the interest and attention of a global audience. Although there are many social media avenues, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are three of the most popular.  You may already have Facebook and LinkedIn pages for your business, but if not, its high time to consider building your social media presence with these two platforms. Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, announced that Facebook had more that 500 million daily users in 2011 (many of whom accessed Facebook using their mobile phones). People now use their phones to stay in touch, get information, and engage in ways that weren't possible until recently. If your business isn't plugged in to that network of information exchange, you are losing out on being competitive. I...

These questions will help you form a clear picture in your mind about the intricacies of blogging before you take the first plunge (i.e create your first blog)  1. What goal do you seek to achieve by starting a blog? It is that you want to spread some information, promote an objective, make some money or do a little bit of all these.  2. Which blogging platform are you going to use?  3. What type of hosting are you planning to use – free or paid?  4. Are you planning to buy a top level domain (TLD) for your blog? If not you can use a free sub domain. Your choice of a blogging platform will also depend upon this factor.  5. What topics will your blog cater to?  6. What is your level of expertise on the topics you are planning to write about?  7. Who are your target audience?  8. How much time are you planning to devote to blogging?  9. Have you decided on a name fo...

The latest addition to the Nokia Smartphone Arsenal, the Nokia Lumia 610 will feature Internet sharing capabilities  that enables you to use the phone as a WiFi Hotspot for up to 5 WiFi-enabled devices.  Nokia Lumia 610 will run on the "Windows Phone 7.5 Mango" Operating System.  The Nokia Lumia 610 will feature 3.7" Capacitive Touch Screen Display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels and a 5 MP with 4X digital zoom and an aperture value of 2.4f. It also features "Xbox Live Hub" for gaming enthusiasts.  The Lumia 610 offers decent processing capabilities and comes equipped with a 256 MB RAM and 800 MHz single core processor. It will weigh at about 130 g. Overall the Lumia 610 promises to be a phone that offers both sleek looks and smart features and yet is easy on the pocket. 

You use adsense on your blog for the obvious reason of earning money. However if you find that your adsense earnings are not quite up to your expectations, it’s time to give your strategy a rethink. The following articles discusses 7 practical tips to to help you increase your Adsense Earnings.  1. Create more content – The equation is simple. More content means more traffic. More traffic means more ad-views. Increased ad-views translates into better earnings.  2. Make your ads visible – The more visible your ads, the greater the chances of them being clicked. Research has shown that ads which appear at the bottom of your blog do not perform as well as those appearing on the header or the sidebar (where visibility is greater).  3. Use 3 ad units – Google places a cap of 3 ad units per page. To earn more from your adsense account I would recommend that you use your full quota of 3 ad units. However do not overwhelm the reader by showing all three units a...

With 3,905,492 articles in English covering almost every topic on earth, Wikipedia has come a long way in the 11 years since its launch. It is now the largest and the most popular source of reference on the internet with over 365 million readers worldwide benefiting from it one way or the other. With studies showing Wikipedia to be almost as accurate as the Encyclopedia Britannica (with incidentally has gone out of print), Wikipedia is revolutionizing research and has become a reliable fountain of knowledge both for students and researchers.

With the introduction of the Facebook Timeline for Business, retailers have a great opportunity to improve their profile pages and interact with their followers. But is Facebook an effective platform for business?   According to a Bloomberg report from last month, major retailers including Gamestop, J.C. Penney and Nordstrom have all shut down their Facebook storefronts recently. There have been numerous discussions on why these stores weren’t successful, but one of the best explanations on why these stores have failed comes from Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru: “There was a lot of anticipation that Facebook would turn into a new destination, a store, a place where people would shop,” Mulpuru said in a telephone interview. “ But it was like trying to sell stuff to people while they’re hanging out with their friends at the bar. ” Moving forward, I feel that the success of mobile commerce will hinge on the ability for content to be shared with connections. Pinte...

Within hours of its launch, "Angry Birds Space" the latest version of the world's most popular game the "Angry Birds", has reached the very top of the Apple's App Store charts in nearly 30 countries. Rovio Entertainment Oy are the makers of this game Angry Birds Space Angry Birds Space is now the No.1 app for both the iPad and the iPhone in countries like the US, Germany, France, UK, India and Spain.  "Angry Birds Space" is available for download for $0.99 on the iPhone and $2.99 on the iPad. The game is also available on Google's Android for $0.99. There is also a free, ad supported version of the game available for Android users.

In what could be a major cause of disappointment for all gaming enthusiasts on a Windows Phone OS, Rovio Entertainment Oy, the makers of the very popular "Angry Birds" game have revealed that they have no plans to make the latest version of the game "Angry Birdy Space" available on the Windows Phone OS. Angry Birds Space According to Rovio, releasing the new Space version of the "Angry Birds" on the Windows Phone platform might not turn out to be cost effective for the company.  "Angry Birdy Space" would however be available on the other bigger platforms, namely, Apple’s iOS and Google's Android. The desktop version would be available for both the Windows PC and Apple's Mac. According to Bloomberg , with the introduction of the "space" version, "Angry Birds" may reach 2 billion cumulative downloads by the end of the year.

Twitter celebrated it 6th Birthday on March 21, 2012. To mark the occasion, the company in an official blog post revealed that there are more than 140 million active users on Twitter who together send as many as 340 Million Tweets a day. This amounts to more than a billion Tweets every 3 days.  This is what the company had to say on the occasion: "When @ jack first sketched out his notion in March 2006, no one could have predicted the trajectory of this new communication tool. Now it seems that there are as many ways to express yourself in 140 characters as there are people doing it"

Did that subject get your attention? Great! Contrary to what you may have heard or believe it is indeed true. I promise. Just like a physician can’t make a diagnosis and determine the plan of attack before collecting data on patient symptoms and signs, any good SEO practitioner can’t develop a strategy, let alone touch pen to paper, until knowing what the business objective is. While it may sound like common sense, you’ll unfortunately be surprised just at what qualifies these days as ‘SEO’. Another topic for another day. Getting back to the business objective, it depends on the nature of the business but can range from more sales and conversion, filling out a form, driving eyeballs and high page views for advertising purposes, etc.  The Implications for an E-Commerce Site For e-commerce sites, getting traffic for traffic’s sake may produce a nice chart showing an increase in traffic but it’ll do little to help the businesses’ bottom line and conversion rate. In fa...

Communication with clients - both present and prospective; form an important part of the promotion mix. However in today's information age with people ever more reluctant to "pour over data", how do you ensure that what ever you communicate is read, understood and retained? The answer is simple and it lies in visualizing your data. Creating an infographic will allow you to effectively communicate a lot more than pages and pages of data ever can. Infographics transform plain (boring) facts into visuals that are both easy to understand and retain. The following infographic brings to you 6 Reasons to Visualize Your Data.

What are the qualities that define a good leader? Should a leader be someone with great communication skills or one with a strong conviction and the zeal and the zest to take on any challenges? Find your answers with this cool infographic that brings out the qualities that make a great leader. This infographic can also be a great tool for organisations in identifying those (talented) individuals who have the potential to become future leaders.

This infographic shares some of the most important tips to help you get started with your email marketing campaign. An attempt is made to answer some of very basic (yet extremely important) questions about email marketing and these include : Whom do you send your emails to? What should be your subject line? Which words to avoid within the text. Which is the best time for sending your emails?

If you've been using email marketing for a while, you probably have an idea of how effective, or ineffective, it is turning out to be. It may therefore be the time for you to re-examine your strategy. Email marketing is extremely powerful when used correctly, and a waste of resources when it is not. Here are five signs that your email marketing needs improvement. You're Not Delivering The Goods To get a positive response to email marketing, you have to offer the reader more of what they're looking for. If someone signed up for a newsletter that offers coupons and for the next three months you don't send out a single coupon, you have just lost a subscriber and potentially a customer.  The Yawn Factor   People move fast in today's world. They like instant gratification and they like the bottom line. Are your messages interesting or do they ramble about irrelevant topics? You have about fifteen seconds to grab a reader's attention an...

When it comes to writing, there are many different styles, such as MLA, Chicago and AP. For those who are not avid writers, it is possible the difference between them is unknown. All three styles are different guides for writing, and each one has their own unique rules and guidelines. These guidelines are often incorporated into web content development to ensure consistency. These guides were mainly written for the printed word therefore you will find some rules which will not be compatible with web writing. One example of these rules is the underlining of titles. On a web format a reader might confuse an underlined item with a linked item. AP Style stands for Associated Press Style , which comes from the Associated Press Style Guide. This Style Guide was started in 1953 as a way to keep writing standardized. AP Style is typically found in news stories and news media. It is considered more formal, and many other professions utilize it, including magazines and public rela...

The Tricks Marketing Pros Use – That They Don’t Want You to Know! Ask any professional copywriter, and they’ll tell you that writing a sales letter is no easy feat. In fact, it could very well be the hardest thing a copywriter has to write since it often involves conveying a certain level of emotion in a specified number of words.  Top-notch copywriters generate fortunes for the companies they write for, and in return, their services come at a premium. But what about a small business owner who doesn’t have the budget to spend thousands on a single sales letter? What do you do if you don’t have the budget? Pass on sales letters all together? Let’s face it: the benefits of a great sales letter are impossible to ignore. If your budget is short, but your desire is great, writing the sales letter yourself may be the best choice. The caveat? It’s supposedly uber-tough to do. The good news is that you CAN write a successful sales letter, IF you know what do to: 1. Bu...

In today's business environment, every company - whether small or big - uses some kind of technology. Computers, laptops, smart phones, iPads, printers and a whole host of other gadgets are designed to make doing business easy. Unfortunately, they often create challenges for the small business owner. This is especially true when a small business does not have an IT department to handle the technological issues. Small businesses need to take IT management seriously as there is a financial risk involved with using technology without a plan. Fortunately, there are solutions for small businesses to consider. Options, for example, might include an IT consulting service and/or a shift to cloud computing where much of the IT management is handled off-site. Why a Small Business Needs IT Management Small business owners may not believe that they need a formal department or service to manage their information technology needs, but the reality is that almost all businesses do.  ...

Content Syndication is an extremely valuable marketing channel for any site looking to expand its footprint online. The reasons are numerous, and they will be elaborated upon below.  But first it’s helpful to arrive at a definition of content syndication, as the term gets thrown around a lot. Narrowly defined it means producing high-quality content and publishing it on other sites.  And here are the specific ways it can be helpful to your business online. Backlinks   Most publishers will allow you to insert at least one backlink into your piece. This helps with both traffic (readers click on the link) and SEO (search engines register that you have an additional link pointing back to your site). Branding You can also often add a logo to your article, inherently attracting the eyeballs of readers. So even if your piece doesn’t attract a link it could make an impression on the audience. And, if you’re not able to include a logo, it still helps the b...

It may sound daft preparing your email marketing for Christmas already – I mean we’re not even into summer yet – but if you’re a business which relies on the Christmas period to see it through the following year, you need to start planning now. With Christmas 2011 a distant memory, now’s the perfect time to start reviewing last year’s email marketing efforts. In this article we’ll give you a few questions to ask yourself and some hints and tips to get yourself in place; ready for this year’s holiday season. Reviewing Christmas 2011 – Ask Yourself: “Where did the time go?” – How much time did you spend planning and writing your campaigns? What could you have done to make the process smoother? “Which campaigns performed better?” – Did free delivery offers perform better than online codes? Were emails sent in the afternoon read more than those in the evening? “Which campaigns travelled furthest?” – Were some emails forwarded more than others? What was it about them ...

"Pinterest is the hot new social network in town". Everyone wants a piece of the action, but if you want to get in on it, you have to request a membership or get invited. If you’re lucky enough to get one for your business, there are lots of ways you can use this site to your benefit. Here are some ways you can use Pinterest for your business. Add the “Pin It” Button to Your Website You probably already have the Like, Tweet, and +1 buttons on your website. Its time now to add one more. The " Pin It " button will encourage people to pin your products and photos to their clipboards. You can also add a “ Follow Me on Pinterest ” button. Fan Photos One of the best ways to use Pinterest is to encourage your customers and fans to take and pin pictures and videos related to your brand or business. For example, ask them to take photos of themselves and their friends using your products. You can re-pin the best ones onto your page, or use them on you...

Wherever you look these days you'll see a sign. Some are very useful, pointing us in the right direction and keeping us safe. Others are just plain odd, but at least they give us a good laugh. Below are eight of the funniest from around the world. Enjoy! Now I'm no expert when it comes to keeping the locations of nuclear bunkers a secret. But I'm pretty sure putting up a road sign that points to it isn't a great start. Maybe it's a bluff, and to get to the Secret Nuclear Bunker you actually have to turn right? Or it could be a double bluff, or a triple bluff?! It looks like it could be a pretty clever sign after all! Dog owners will be used to seeing signs warning that their canine must 'behave' itself in an area, but this one is certainly new to me. It's funny, but clear. If you walk down this street you've got to keep your dog full! I'm not sure what a pedestrian is meant to do when they come across these signs side by side. Wal...

Highlight is a location-based iPhone app developed by Math Camp, Inc. that uses GPS to show the Facebook profile information of the people you have been with or near to (provided they have Highlight installed on their iPhone / iPad as well). The app is definitely cool, however, its logo is a far cry.. In fact it might be the worst logo design ever. Take a look Here are some screen-shots of the app:   

Creating an average word document with a cover letter is no longer the way to go if you’d like to impress agencies offering creative and media-related jobs. Your next job application needs to stand out in the pile. Crafting a good copy isn’t enough. A CV needs to create an impression- NOT the glitter and glue kind. Four Ingenious Social Media CVs: Website : Going through the effort to create a CV website as a platform for your job application and portfolio is a sure way to impress. You don’t need to be a web designer to do it either. Creating a blog will cost you nothing and you can customise it to showcase your best qualities. From the background, to the font, your website can reflect who you are and why you think you deserve the job. YouTube Video : A video CV can be a comical endeavour to undertake and make you a tough applicant to forget. If you’ve got a good sense of humour then draw up a script and run it by a few of your friends. If well-executed, a video job app...

One of life's greatest joys is watching children at play.  It is hard not to be inspired by their imagination, enthusiasm, and curiosity.   Watching an infant mesmerized by the joy of not only the ability to shake their rattle, but also the pure satisfaction of ramming it as far into their mouths as possible, is both a fascinating and entertaining pastime.  Observing a three-old who has convinced themselves they are a race car driver as they frantically pretend to race a toy car around an equally imaginary track may provide some parents fodder to think about what their child's future may hold in store. What's the Carbon Footprint of Your Child's Toybox? What might not come to mind as we watch children play with their toys is the impact those toys have on that child's current and future health, as well as the health and welfare of our environment.  The number of people who have become not only more aware of the footprint they leave on the environment but ...

Let’s face it – we live in a visual society where images can speak louder than words. This means that images are just as important as the text on your blog. In fact, visitors are more likely to read text if the images around it are appealing. Images can also improve the credibility of your blog and make readers more likely to come back. Here are ten specific ways to use images effectively in your blog.  Using Images On Your Blog. Credit 1. Blog Heading – The heading on your blog is the first thing visitors see when they come to your site – it gives them an immediate impression of the content and the quality of your blog. A well-designed header can make the difference as to whether readers scroll down or go to another site. The blog heading is also a good place to put your personal or business logo if you have one. 2. Navigation – Once your readers scroll past your blog heading, images on posts will help them navigate your blog. Including at least one releva...

Ever since the rise of Social media and the Internet, companies and brands -  the world over have been utilizing different digital platforms and tools to boost their online presence. This infographic showcases the different digital tools that you can utilize to give your brand the much needed exposure. Also learn about the brands that are utilizing these tools effectively and with success.

One of the most common factors that make up job satisfaction lists is “success”. It is evident that those people who are able to be successful at their jobs generally enjoy more job satisfaction than those who don’t. This includes people who work in marketing. Yet a problem exists – it is often much harder to measure success in marketing than it is for other jobs/industries.  For example – if a plumber is hired to fix a broken central heating system, the plumber and the customer know clearly when he has done his job, i.e when he has been successful – the heating comes back on again. But when a marketer runs a marketing campaign for a client, it is much harder to gauge whether the campaign has been successful. This problem is especially acute on forms of advertising on mediums such as the Television.  If a TV advertising campaign costing millions is enacted by an agency to raise awareness of a brand, then how is success measured? By the sales/profit of the brand/compa...