Apple and Samsung Share the Income Almost from All of the Mobile Market

The market of mobile devices is growing even more rapidly than one could imagine. Actually there are a lot of mobile devices producers and distributors, but the practice shows that each market sooner or later reaches the stage when there are just several major market-“gamers”. An interesting study of the mobile market, dedicated to the distribution of income among the major players, was conducted in the market research firm - an Asymco.

The study in words and numbers

Describing the current situation in the sales of mobile devices in the world, a company's analyst Deidu Horace claims that the HTC, Nokia and RIM companies, does not meet the expectations of its investors. This affects the capitalization of the vendors: RIM's and Nokia's shares are sold literally on the verge of its nominal value, and the value of HTC paper fell by 70% of its emission value.

In addition, if you recall that the former SonyEricsson and Motorola are not getting any profit for years, and mobile unit of the South Korean LG has been on the verge of profitability since 2009, it turns out that the mobile world market is in a decay.

However, Deidu notices, that the situation is just opposite - statistics shows that during the first quarter of 2012 deliveries of smart-phones have increased up to 7%, while sales of some certain companies has grown by 20%. In other words - who takes the main income?

According to public reports of the companies, which are publishing the results of its work in the mobile market, it turns out that Apple has received 73% of operating profit for the three months, Samsung - 26% (operating profit is the difference between gross profit and operating costs). On such a background, HTC with 1% looks much better than Nokia and RIM, but certainly not comparable with the results of the U.S. and South Korean manufacturer.

What are the reasons of this phenomenon?

Deidu argues that, according to statistics, the majority of consumers need and want to have a mobile devices not as a "device-to-call» (phones-as-voice-products), but as a full-fledged computing device (phones-as-computing- products), allowing you to enjoy the entire "digital comfort" in any place and at any time. At the same time LG, Sony, Motorola and Nokia could not completely abandon the simple phones with improved functionality due to the modern techniques of mobile applications development  and move further to the high and expensive devises, which are generating more profits.

The article was provided by Andrew Smith, BugHuntress QA Lab.

Online Video Marketing Is On The Rise

They say your eyes’ are the windows to your soul. One of the many benefits of a video is the ability to see the person you are having a conversation with. However, many social media networking sites are not able to accomplish this task as you are only able to upload links to sites where you are able to have a video displayed. With online video marketing you have the ability to watch someone live, to look at their body language and lastly, to look into their eyes.

 For those of you that are unaware – online video marketing is definitely on the rise. Looking at this new form of marketing from the social media department’s perspective, there is definitely potential for this marketing strategy to go viral. Below you will find easy ways that online video marketing could benefit you.

1. Increasing Traffic with your Title

You always hear that headlines for a blog post can lead to some serious traffic to your website, but do you know that the same can be said for video titles. The amount of traffic that could be gained due to your headlines could leave you speechless. If a title is interesting enough, consider the reader hooked. Also, one need to bear in mind that you need to include the appropriate keywords in your title as these words are what drives the search engines crazy. YouTube is owned by Google, so automatically there is a strong connection between the two.

2. Provide the Content your Clients Like

As in a blog post, a video post needs to be made up of content that the viewer would consider interesting. Most times viewers are looking for help so therefore “How-to” videos would be perfect. Coincidently these are the types of videos that are the most successful.

3. Record video interviews

Record video footage of the experts as they explain in detail what your client or customer can and cannot do with what you provide. When hearing this tip often readers think that it is not a useful tip but when you get experts on camera it is a brilliant marketing technique. It not only allows you as the interviewers to meet the expert and create amazing content but also allows you to learn some expertise from the experts themselves. The expert will create a link to that article which will in turn create more traffic to your website.

4. The Shorter, The Better

The experts say that you need to focus on large quantity of short videos instead of doing long videos. There is much more power in shorter videos than you would think. The shorter the video the easier it is to download and the quicker it is to watch. When a video takes too long to download the customer might even cancel the download and the video doesn’t even reach the consumer. Most consumers also tend to have a much shorter attention span and in most cases they do not even make it to the end of the video. Lastly, once the short video is downloaded it makes it much faster and easier to transfer from one device to another than a long video.

Lindse Marco is a social media intern at ROI Media.

5 Signs That Your Business Needs a Marketing Makeover

Marketing is one of those facets of business that is changing the most rapidly right now. It's been tough for companies of all sizes to keep up social media, blogging and more recently, the increase in mobile devices.

The consumer's needs have stayed the same, but their wants and desires have changed. They still need the same products and information, but they want it at their immediate disposal. Newspapers and magazines print yesterday's news...while services like Twitter and Facebook offer immediate response to the things that are happening now. This desire for instant information and response is changing the marketing industry as a whole, as consumer's are expecting companies to keep up.

Have you taken a good look at your business? Are you keeping up with the times? Here are 5 signs that you may need to change things up a bit:

• If you're having problems verbalizing your marketing strategy, and being able to communicate it effectively to your team, then you may have to revisit it. Use a whiteboard to physically put it “on paper”, so that you and your team can visualize it, update it, and implement it.

• You focusing solely on obtaining new customers. Yes, reaching out and attracting new prospects is an integral part of business, but don't neglect your current customer base in the process. On average, it will cost a businesses 6 times more to sell a product to a prospect than to sell the same thing to a current customer. Repeat customers also spend an average of 33% more than new customers. Many consumers will switch to a competitor if they feel you don't care about them. Divide your time appropriately.

• You're not creating content. I was at a marketing conference recently, and if I had a nickel for every time I heard the word “content”, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this content. Your content is what attracts people, and sparks engagement. Conversing and building relationships with your customers is vital for maintaining brand loyalty and getting referrals. Have a blog, where you can write intriguing articles about your industry, and people can comment on things that you have to say.

• You are still using direct mail. Nearly half of people toss out their “junk” mail without even looking at it. I know, it's just as easy to trash your junk emails too, but at least that doesn't require the time and money that direct mail does. Especially with the rising cost of postal rates. Save the paper and the money, and implement an email, text or video marketing strategy for a fraction of the cost.

• You're not using social media. The disclaimer here should be, “or not using it effectively.” Social media is no longer for kids. Over two-thirds of online U.S. adults use social media now (according to a Pew Research study). Businesses need to have a social presence, and not just to push products. Using social media effectively, means creating a dialogue with your customers...even if it means addressing problem areas with your brand.

John Ehlenbeck is a small business owner, and contributing writer for Aprimo enterprise marketing management. 

Promoting A Social Media Friendly Blog

A blog is a great way to connect directly with people in your area of interest. A tremendous number of blogs are all reaching for the attention of their potential audience. Some latch on to their readers and hold them while others drift away. There are some qualities that several successful blogs all incorporate into their approach. A blog that is aimed towards facilitating social media in it's approach is going to generate much greater interest thanks to shares and likes. 

Produce Quality Content To Build An Audience

There is no more important facet of any media than its quality. A blog post that is poorly written or uninformed is just going to sit idle. No one wants to waste their time with pointless junk text. Would you share an article that said nothing worthwhile with your friends? Probably not. Create an engaging, informative text that will actually teach the reader something about the subject matter. If you can include a few little factoids that may not be common knowledge, it is a great way to really hook in an interested reader. Though a bit cliché, numbered lists are very popular with readers. Remember- on the internet, content is king!

Maintaining Your Blog's Audience

The most efficient way to lose followers is to not provide consistent updates. A blogger that is serious about promotion must be a regular contributor to their own blog. A consistent day to publish a blog post will give your readers something to look forward to for that day. Continue to deliver high quality content with consistency and your blog will attract the attention it deserves.

Embrace Social Media Platforms To Spread The Word

Regardless of the blog platform that you choose, be certain it incorporates sharing functions with the major social media networks. It should be very easy for a person to pass along your posts. The harder it is to pass on, the more likely it is that the visitor will not bother. The buttons should be in a very visible location so the reader can find them with ease. An effective layout is to run the buttons along the top of the post or even in a column down the right side of the page. Be certain to include these buttons in your “About Me” section and the primary hub of your blog.

Utilize RSS To Bring Your Content To Your Audience Faster

A number of users read their content through applications such as Google Reader. By offering an RSS feed of your posts, these subscribers will always be delivered your content in an efficient way. The blogging platform you choose should provide the information you need to get an RSS feed set up.

Network Within Your Content Niche

Generating new audience members for your blog is a fairly constant process. A great way to branch out is to take the time to read other blogs in your niche and provide worthwhile comments on them. This will help spark interest in your website, blog, and what you have to say. It is very important to not treat this as solely a marketing activity. The blogger that only visits once in awhile or tries to promote their work on other blogs is likely to get banned straight away. Most user settings will allow you to link to your website or blog in your user information. Demonstrate you have something worthwhile to talk about and the interest will follow.

Whatever approach you take to your blog promotion and social media efforts, have fun with it! The people on the other end will be able to tell just how passionate you are about your subject matter or whether it is an annoyance. Stay excited about your content and let that passion carry to your readers.

Jeff is a passionate blogger and well-known Internet marketing consultant. He often writes about SEO and blogging and shares his knowledge with others. Also, Jeff is a SEO consultant for Samuelson Hause Samuelson LLP.

How You Can Download Free Garmin Nuvi Maps

Did you know you can download free Garmin map updates for your Nuvi GPS device?  Believe it or not, this is possible – however as a Garmin customer they will want to you fulfil a certain amount of criteria in order to qualify for free Garmin GPS map updates.  In its most simple terms, unless you are a new customer who has recently bought a Garmin Nuvi then you probably won’t be able to get a free GPS map upgrade. 

The Garmin nuMaps Policy

But if you are a new customer then you are in luck, because you can take advantage of Garmin’s nuMaps Guarantee policy.  This states that any new customer or owner of a Garmin Nuvi GPS, who has registered their product on the myGarmin website, and depending on if the Nuvi has received a satellite signal within the first 90 days of this period - then you are allowed to download a one-off version of the latest mapping software and data.

Register the Garmin Nuvi on the Official Website

As long as you register the Nuvi device and have a decent Internet connection – plus the compatible USB cable that comes with the packaging – then getting your Garmin GPS map update for free should take no longer than an hour.  The whole process will install the most current version of City Navigator NT which is the mapping software that comes on all North American and European Nuvis.

If you happen to fall outside of that magical 90 day period then you will be disappointed that you cannot get a free map – but don’t worry too much because there are some very cheap Garmin map updates and options that will still be available to you upon registration.

Alternative Options to Free Garmin Nuvi Maps

A one-off refresh of data costs $49.99 which when spread across the life time of your ownership of the product would surely be cost effective.  The other option you have is to download new Garmin maps up to four times annually – but this one is a little more expensive coming in at $89.99.

Need Maps for a New Country or Region?

Perhaps you are not after an update, but instead need completely new mapping data for the Nuvi GPS when travelling to a new continent?  Well that’s also easy as the City Navigator NT software is available for not only individual countries, but also who regions depending on what your travel plans are and where you want to go and when.

Summary on Updating Your Garmin

To summarise, you should always check on the myGarmin website on a regular basis because it doesn’t only serve up new map updates but will also tell you whether there are any other software installs you need to consider.  Plus the support section is second to none so if you do have any problems with the Garmin Nuvi (or Zumo) GPS then it’s very easy to get that by accessing the informative FAQs and problem resolution finder.

Author's Bio: Bob Simmons regularly guests posts on automotive and technology websites regarding GPS and satellite navigation subjects.  Bob also runs his own service online which gives car drivers all the information they need in order to update their GPS products.  His latest website is www.GPSNavigationDVD.net which has articles on the Honda Navigation System, Navteq DVD updates, as well as an article recently published which has further information on how you can update your Garmin – please read: Free Garmin Nuvi Maps for further details.

Snapdeal launches app for Android

India based e-commerce company Snapdeal has launched an application as well as an WAP site (site for mobile). The app launched is compatible with Android 2.2 and above. The app is available on Google Play. The company is planning to launch app for iOS and Blackberry too.

Now, you can get wide varieties of latest deals on products on the go.

Features of the app-

Payment integrated:

•  Now pay using secure payment options from your Credit card. 
•  Book Now and Pay Later using Cash on Delivery service

Location enabled:

• See the deals around you, based on your current location 
• Also search for deals in your locality 
• See distance of the deals from your current lat-long.

Choose from a variety of Products deals:

• Browse by category and sub-category

Like a deal or product spread the word. Share it through facebook, E-Mail or SMS. Create your account and view deal history bought by you in My Account section. 

Key features summary:

• Deals based on your current location for services
• Large variety of Products across different categories
• Pay for items directly in the app.

3 Social Media Monitoring Tools

Having a company in a digital world has its ups and downs. With the Internet and social media, you have the ability to reach a very large audience in a little amount of time. You can push out campaigns and information with the click of a button, and if you accept online orders, you can generate sales from around the world instead of only in your local community.

But the digital world also brings its pitfalls. While social media and the Internet are great for business, they can also be harmful. People use the Internet and social media to talk about things that make them happy as well as things that upset them. We’ve all heard of at least one social media horror story, such as the YouTube video, United Breaks Guitars or the Domino’s pizza scandal.

If a customer has a bad experience with your company, they could let the world know with one simple tweet or post. If you don't monitor what is being said about your company or brand on the Internet, severe damage could be done before you realize it.

You may think that monitoring every website or social network to see what is being said about your brand is impossible, but in reality, it's actually quite simple, especially with the help of the following monitoring tools.

1. Social Mention

Social Mention is used to see what is being said about your company or brand on all social networking channels. You choose the keywords you wish to monitor, perhaps your company and product names, and Social Mention will check all networks, blogs, bookmarks, comments, etc. to see where and why your keywords are being mentioned.

Social Mention also provides code so you can create your own monitoring widgets, and it also provides APIs. You can also receive charts that depict how often your keywords are being mentioned per day or per week, which will show you the kind of outreach your company is receiving.

2. Google Alerts

Google Alerts is one of the most popular platforms for social media monitoring. You tell Google Alerts which keywords you want to monitor and designate how often you want to be notified, choosing from immediately, daily or weekly. When Google Alerts finds a new mention of your keywords, it will send you an email with a link to the source. It's important to know that Google Alerts will only monitor content found on sites that are indexed by Google.

3. TweetDeck

Don't let the name fool you—TweetDeck monitors Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Google Buzz, LinkedIn and even MySpace. TweetDeck allows you to add multiple social media accounts and monitor what is being said about your company via these networks. The dashboard contains multiple columns that highlight what you post to these sites as well as where and when others are mentioning you.

Monitoring your company and brand on the Internet is important for the reputation and image of your company. If you don't monitor and someone posts a nasty video or post that goes viral, the damage can be severe and you may have a hard time making it better. Through monitoring, you are able to respond quickly, helping to alleviate the situation before it becomes out of control.

There are plenty of monitoring tools available. Make sure to test a few out and see which ones you like best.

Jeffrey White is a social media expert and freelance writer who lives in the Dallas area. He often uses a grammar checker to ensure his content is clear, concise, and free of any grammatical mistakes.

Photo Credit: tastytouring

Win a MACBOOK AIR

ENDED ON 28th May 2012


Avast is offering free Macbook Air to first five winners.

Just go to Avast Facebook page sign-in and click like to reach the contest page. There you have to post your picture with an apple.

The competition is conducted in three phase three phase as in the image below.

The competition will end in one month starting from 27th of April to 28th of May.

Grand Prize

• 1st to 5th most-voted-for picture wins: MacBook Air

2nd Prize

• 6th to 30th most-voted-for picture wins: gift package, including avast!-branded souvenirs.

Official Rules 

Definitions: 

AVAST: AVAST Software a.s., a company duly organized and existing under the laws of the Czech Republic, Identification No. 27636917, with its registered office at Budějovická 1518/13A, 140 00 Prague 4 – Michle, Czech Republic, registered in the Commercial Register kept by the Municipal Court in Prague in Section B, Insert 11402.

Participant:Any registered user of any avast! product, who is a registered user of Facebook and is a fan of the Facebook page of avast! antivirus (www.facebook.com/avast), who enters the contest during the Offer Period and provides his or her name and surname, date of birth, country of residence, email address (it must be the same e-mail address as the one used to register his or her avast! Product) and submits a photo of himself/herself with an apple. Obscene, provocative or otherwise inappropriate content will not be considered. We retain sole discretion as to what constitutes inappropriate content. 

WinnerAny Participant that met all conditions described in these Terms and Conditions to be awarded a Prize. 

Offer PeriodThis contest commences April 27, 2012, at 12:00 a.m. CET and closes May 28, 2012, at 12:00 a.m. CET. There are two contest periods: Submission period (April 27, 2012, 12:00 a.m. CET.– May 18, 2012, 12:00 a.m. CET.) and Voting period (May 18, 2012 12:01 a.m. CET. – May 28, 2012 12:00 a.m. CET.). You cannot vote until after the submission period ends.

How to win a prize?Each Participant can upload only one photo. Each Participant can give one vote to each photo uploaded by other Participants (each Participant can vote for an unlimited number of photos uploaded by other Participants, but may not vote for any photo more than once). Each Participant may also vote for his/her own photo only once.By submitting the photo, the Participant grants AVAST Software a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, unrestricted, royalty-free, transferrable, and sub-licensable license to reproduce the photo, distribute it, and communicate it to the public by all means known now or in the future, including the explicit consent to use his/her picture and the pictures of any other people (if any) depicted on the photo (the “License”).Each Participant represents and warrants to AVAST that the Participant has the right to use the photo and to grant the License, i.e., amongst others, that the Participant obtained valid consents and licenses from the author of the photo and all people depicted on the photo in the scope permitting the Participant to grant the License. The Participant shall indemnify AVAST for any and all costs, damages, and losses arising out of or related to the fact that the representation above is not true or is misleading and/or the fact that it turns out that use of the photo in accordance with the License infringes any rights of any third party.Prizes will be awarded to Participants whose photo with an apple obtains the highest number of votes from other Participants, but in any case at least 50 votes. The 5 Participants whose photos have received the most votes from other Participants by May 28, 2012, at 12:00 a.m. CET, will be awarded the Grand Prize. The 30 Participants with the next- highest numbers of votes will receive the Second Prize.Any votes from fake or duplicate Facebook accounts, votes generated by robots or vote sharing services, and any other fraudulent votes shall be discarded and disregarded. AVAST reserves the right to disqualify any Participant who attempts to unfairly influence the results or behaves inappropriately in any other way without notice.Should more Participants share the same number of votes and the number of such Participants is higher than the number of available Prizes, the Prizes shall always be awarded to Participants whose photos were submitted earliest.

Prizes 

Grand PrizeFive 13-inch MacBook Air computers, with the following parameters:• 256GB• 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor • 4GB memory • 256GB flash storage • Intel HD Graphics 3000 

Second prize30 packages comprised of avast!-branded souvenirs: Parker pen, hat, t-shirt, notebook, mug. 

Prize EligibilityAny Participant except Excluded Participants (see below). 

Excluded Participants- Employees of AVAST and their close relatives (parents, siblings, children, or spouse)- AVAST business partners, agencies, distributors, and their employees 

Prize DeliveryAVAST shall deliver the Prize using a reasonably reputable parcel service. AVASTshall bear the shipping costs.AVAST is not responsible for any damage caused to the Prize during delivery, nor for non-delivery of the Prize caused by the parcel service, nor by theft, fraud, or other criminal act or by force majeure.Prizes are non-refundable. AVAST shall not provide any alternative award in any case.Winners are exclusively responsible for declaring the Prize to their local financial authorities, if they are required to do so according to their applicable laws and regulations. 

How to Collect the Prize?AVAST will send a notification email to every Winner to the email address provided during contest registration. The Winner must either reply to the notification email or send an email to winners@avast.com, in either case using the email address used for the initial contest registration. To be eligible to redeem a Prize, the Winner’s email must contain all the information described below and must be delivered to AVAST within one month from the day on which the notification email was sent to the email address provided by the Winner during contest registration.Winner’s reply must contain all of the following:(a) explicit unconditional and unlimited consent of the Winner given to AVAST to use the photo and the Winner’s name, surname, pictures and/or photographs and his story related to this promotion for marketing purposes, namely for publication thereof on AVAST websites. AVAST guarantees that full name of any Winner shall not be published, the form of the publication shall be the following: John S., from Modesto, CA; and(b) shipping address to which the Prize is to be delivered.AVAST may not and shall not be held responsible for any non-delivery of the notification email to the Winner or failure to receive the reply thereof due to any technical reasons, including but not limited to spam filters, full mailbox or incorrect email address. If you receive the notification email, send your reply to it and do not receive the Prize in reasonable time thereafter, please contact AVAST to make sure that AVAST received your reply. 

General and legal 

AVAST reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of claims of any Participant (including that such as Participant’s identity, age, and place of residence) and to disqualify any Participant who submits a claim for a Prize that is not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions, or who tampers with the claim process. Failure by AVAST to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights. AVAST reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions or cancel this promotion at any time, in its sole discretion, for any reason and without any resulting responsibilities or liabilities towards the Participants.Contact InformationFor any information related to this promotion please contact AVAST: Email: winners@avast.com Address:AVAST Software a.s.Trianon Office BuildingBudejovicka 1518/13a140 00, Prague 4Czech Republic

How to Find the Best Mobile Phones

You have to admit that we are living in a world where technology plays a huge role. I’m not saying that we are dependent on gadgets. But most of the time, different gadgets help us to become more efficient. If you are going to ask me which device is dominating our planet, I can only think of one thing. Perhaps, you are thinking of this too. It’s the mobile phone.

Nearly everywhere, you can see people using their own mobile phones for different purposes. Some use it for calling, for sending SMS, MMS and now, people are using their mobile phones for browsing the internet and taking photos.

And since there is a huge demand for it, a lot of companies are creating their own version of mobile phone units. As for the consumers, it gets harder to choose the best one.

Here is where you can use this article. You can use the checklist below in order to have the most appropriate mobile phone for your needs.

What is the main purpose of your mobile phone? 

 Different brands have different strong points. For example, Blackberry phones are marketed for business people or those in the corporate world. However, iPhones are made for those who can’t help but download thousands of applications.

You have to know why you are getting a new mobile phone. Are you going to use it for calling your staff? Or is it for your personal use? Perhaps, you would like to get one that is at par with your business associates.

It is only you that can answer the above question. Make sure that you are honest in doing so.

Will it fit your job or your personality?  

Your phone can tell thousands of things about your personality. Hence, you have to get one which can show your character. You see, there are units that are very colourful. If you are in the art industry, this might be a good buy. For those who are always speaking strict business, phones that are metal caste or scream sophistication should be your best bets.

What’s your budget for your mobile phone?  

This is really important. If you can’t afford it, forget it. If you must know, there are great and efficient mobile phones that wouldn’t require you to pay huge amount of money. Why don’t you stick with those?

Also, I would advise you to check out the specs of different phones. That way, you will be able to assess which fits you the best.

Kim Bookman loves to write for a cable modem website. The site compares top brands of wireless cable modems like the famous Motorola Cable Modems. 

Optimise Your Online Portfolio for House Sitting Positions

It is a big world with plenty of opportunity but it can be difficult to draw the right attention to your house sitting experience when you are looking for a job. This is why it is so important to understand that you need to optimise your online portfolio. The field of house sitting may be rather saturated, because everyone wants to get on board with looking after luxurious homes in luxurious destinations as a full-time profession. This is why it is important to know how to optimise your portfolio so it stands out from the rest.

Optimise Your Online Portfolio

• Because online is the new world that people inhabit, it is important to ensure you get as many people looking at your portfolio as possible so you will be looking at as many jobs as possible. On your site you should include:
• Lots of online photos of previous experiences.
• Videos of the areas where you have house sat also gives your online portfolio a more interactive and live feel.
• References and testimonials are a must if you want people to know that you are trustworthy and responsible. If you were looking online for someone to look after your home while you were away, would you trust it if the person did not have references?
• Describe what animals you are trained to look after. Many home owners hire people to look at their pets too. If someone has taken the time to hire a pet sitter then you must know they clearly love their animals. Your online portfolio would also look great if you had photos of the animals you have looked after.
• All house sitting agencies require a police check and your site would be hugely optimised if you had your police check on the site. It already sets any concerns to rest for potential clients.
• Link your portfolio to Twitter and Facebook.

Many people do not actually think that when they put their portfolios online they are actually selling their reputation.  Many clients look online for house sitting candidates and many will decide against candidates because they did nothing to optimise their online portfolios. House sitting is a big deal for anyone letting a perfect stranger into their homes so a fully optimised site is a must for anyone looking to take on this position. Now would be a good time to get cracking on optimising your online portfolio.

Vida Denning is a freelance writer who enjoys a variety of freelance positions. She is investigating house sitting in London and joining a pet sitters club as she loves animals and needs a change of scenery.

Reasons to use a good web designer

Over the years, the internet has become a very important tool when it comes to advertising, product marketing and even research. This is because the majority of the people in the modern world access the internet on daily basis, in fact it is estimated that around 50 million people use internet services at any given time. It is in this context that most individuals and organisations can decide to set up a website so as to reach a multitude of internet users.

Reasons to use a good web designer:

Flexibility: acquiring the services of a professional web designer can be very beneficial. The web design company usually offers an added advantage of flexibility in the web design. This is because the web design company usually offers suggestions in the design of the website.

Technical expertise: technical expertise is a very major factor to be considered when it comes to web design. The technological field is usually constantly changing and there are very many new designs and technology that is usually associated with web design. At web design Sussex, our team is abreast with the changing technology associated with web design so that you can be assured of getting the best web design service in the market.

Save time: an individual might decide to design a website using such tool as web template slides. However web design is very detail oriented and it can take ages to build a web site if you have no prior experience in the field of web design. It is therefore advisable to look for the services of a web design company so as to be able to save on time and also get a high quality website. Web design Sussex is one such company.

Integrated marketing: marketing is a very key feature when it comes to the development of web sites. Professional web design services usually incorporate this into their design strategies so as to ensure that the web site designed has an edge over others.

Search engine ranking: when a website has a high ranking in a search engine, it can be accessed by many individuals since it is will be the first to pop up when a search is conducted. Professional web design agencies have the necessary know how to optimize the website being designed in the search engine. Therefore, it is usually advisable to acquire the services of a professional web designer.

Features: there are websites that offer a forum on great websites that are online. With good design, your website can be featured on one of this sites and this will help to increase traffic for the website in question. Using the services o f a web design company like web design Sussex can go a long way in ensuring that your web site is able to achieve this goal.

Author's Bio: Jmaes runs the popular web design company sussex designs and offers a range of web design packages to suit all budgets.

How To Maximize Profit Using Online CRM

Customer Relationships Management (CRM) is all about converting the potential into reality; in the sense that it helps storing and maintenance of customer information, both potential and existing and online CRM are software that enables a business house to do customer relationship management. Typically this software is hosted on an internet cloud and such systems are perfectly suited where the sales personnel are spread over large geographical area.

An online CRM has a very rich and an intuitive interface to use with the help of with sales personnel can view and manage existing as well as potential customers’ data in no time. The system also helps the sales personnel to view the sales pipeline, export customer data in the form of chart based reports which can be used for key decision making. Online CRM and sales force automation are used interchangeably where the effective sales and marketing processes are automated.

Whether the goal is profit maximization or cost reduction, maintaining customer relationships are the crux of any business entity. The way the customer relations of a business are managed can make or break an enterprise. With such importance attached, a lot of parameters are considered while deciding on which CRM system to be implemented. Online CRM has today become a very essential component of any business be it big or small. It provides a structured and a disciplined approach for the day to day sales, marketing and customer service operations.

Online CRM along with its many other advantages, offers mobility, rapid access and quick implementation in the most effective manner. These online systems are fully configurable and provide a lot of services out of the box. An archetypal user of an online CRM would subscribe to any of the services like Amazon, Salesforce.com and Ariba and would pay the charges on a monthly or an annual basis. These systems are configurable to such an extent that the users are given the liberty of choosing what they need and what they don’t when they decide to go for a specific implementation. Such features help the business enterprises to save on the costs where they don’t require a particular feature of the CRM system.

With the online cloud based CRM systems in place, the business enterprise is freed up from the responsibility of maintaining the hardware and infrastructure. The business houses can actually focus on their real problem in hand rather than doing a housekeeping of their infrastructure. An online CRM has hordes of benefits to offer and manages a lot of aspects of a business enterprise including:

• Sales
• Marketing
• Billing
• Project Management
• Customer Service
• Contact Management
• Activity Management

Online CRM systems maintain a steady focal point on the customers and they help the client facing personnel serve the customers in a much better way, which in turn increases the revenue of the enterprise and its goodwill.

Some of the key focus areas of an online CRM include:

• Reduction of operational overheads
• Simplification of sales and marketing processes
• Expansion of customer base. 

Jamie Smith works in the area of CRM and online CRM development.

Know your exact technorati rank

First of all technorati authority and technorati ranking are different.

Now, here mine technorati account shows an overall rank of 13817. But it is not the actual rank. There are over hundreds of blogs with same ranking. If you will click on any rank it will redirect you to the list page and there you can see there are upto thousand of blogs having same rank. This simply means that the blogs stand equivalent in accordance to technorati.

Here, overall rank is 13,817. But that is not exact.

Then what is the exact rank.

It is very simple to calculate it down. Click on your rank to open up the list. There are 25 blogs listed on a single page and in the address bar there is the page number.

So, I am on page 569 and on second number.

Actual rank is 569-1=568,

                      568*25=14200

and I am on second number, therefore, 14200+2=14202.

That is the actual rank. And that is good, because there are 1,299,721 blogs registered on technorati. And I rank 14202, that is I am ahead of 1,285,519 blogs registered.

Understanding What Customers Want In A Shared Hosting Account

It takes a tremendous amount of grass roots research to establish a feel for what makes a good hosting provider. This research will point to the appropriate strategy to acquire market share rapidly. It is also the best way to set the trajectory for a new hosting service provider. It is also a good way for existing providers to align any wayward strategies that may be showing signs of fatigue.

Know Your Customer

Know your customer from the perspective of what they really want. To understand the customer’s needs, it is not very complicated. The need is not met by sophisticated polling and expensive research. It is as simple as scouring the web for insight into the customer's mind. The best place to get this is to see all the comments that show up on review sites and comments that show up in forums. By browsing all these places one accumulates a certain customer intelligence without engaging even one person to lift a finger.

This strategy is effective as it is important for the principle starting the company to know the fabric of his customer's desires.  From here you will glean that most of the complaints people tend to have is really poor customer service. People can be convinced (depending on the target market) to part with higher rates, as long as they can get customer service that is as though the customer representative lives next door.

Package Products Wisely

When you start a hosting service, the market that is targeted determines your pricing and promotion strategy. If you are heading for high volume-high turnover-low cost strategy, then they packages you structure will reflect that. If you want to attract a different segment, a more sophisticated-less price conscious market with low turnover, then your strategy will differ substantially. Its usually wiser to start with a higher price lower volume strategy.

Keep Customer Satisfaction High

Whatever happens, make sure there is a culture within the organization and especially customer service to keep the customer happy at all costs. Even if it means throwing in freebies when things get out of hand just so the customer walks away from a crisis feeling respected and taken care off. Always talk to them and understand how better to serve them. Don't always be selling, instead always keep them happy. As long as you know what they want, that is easy to do.

Understating the customer is the key to take business away from competitors. It’s the reason why companies are successful. Remember the old adage, if it weren't for them, you'd be out of a job.

Written by Johnathan Henery. Be sure to visit www.WhoIsHostingThis.com for reviews of hosting companies like BlueHost.

5 Top Great Value Laptops On The Market

Yes, everyone knows that searching for reliable, cheap laptops is a tricky task. No matter how long you ponder over its specifications data-sheet, or how well the assistant assures you, there always is a lurking suspicion in the back of your head regarding the product's reliability. The best solution to this is to buy assembled laptops, there are rarely any compatibility issues as well as you can avail big discounts as the parts are more or less from a single company. Cheap laptops generally suffer from maintenance issues, but as long as it is branded, a warranty can be availed. Recently we conducted a survey on cheap laptops in the market. Listed below are some of the best cheap laptops according to our survey :

1. Acer Aspire 5742-384G32MNK - 

2nd generation Intel i3, 4Gb ram, 13 inch screen, 500 gb hdd.

Just below 400$, this laptop is definitely the first in the series. It boasts an intel i3 processor, which can boost its computing speed when you perform demanding tasks like copying, writing, converting or gaming. And that's coupled with a 4Gb ram. Yep, you read it right. And yes, all our software ran flawlessly on the device without guzzling too much power. However, the Acer is less graphically able than the other laptops. Users experienced issues with videos, and the speaker on board is too mild to enjoy bass songs. However, video streaming was great on the laptop.

2. The MSI U270 - 

Amd Athlon processor, 3Gb ram, 11.6 inch screen, 350 GB hdd.

In the same price range as the Acer, the msi looks and feels like a small netbook, but its powerful processor and video card give it laptop characteristics. The AMD Athlon processor on board does most of the tasks flawlessly. From net surfing to video editing, the msi does it all without much flickers or pauses. However, in our survey, we found that it dragged a bit with multiple applications running. Gaming was great with the powerful processor and video chip on board. Video and audio quality is great, but rarely some issues with streaming is reported. In all, the msi is a powerful machine and will perform most daily tasks flawlessly and efficiently, but the small 11.6 inch screen might require you to keep your specks nearby.

3. The Samsung RV510-A08UK - 

Pentium 4 processor, 3 gb ram, 500 gb hdd.

The cheapest in the cheap laptops series, at only 350$, the Samsung laptop shows certain capabilities better than the other laptops. At only 2.4 kgs, it can be very portable. The Samsung is powered by a Pentium 4 processor coupled with a 3 gb ram. Packs fair amount of power, suitable for most general tasks. In all, the system is very stable, it handles multiple tasks without hanging or crashing. Where this laptop falls down is its video handling capacity. Hd videos badly stutter at some places, and video streaming is average. However, the Samsung handled word and power-point files flawlessly, and e book reading in pdf was also good. In short, the cheapest laptop isn’t the worst after all.

4. Toshiba's NB205-310 - 

Intel Celeron 900 processor, 2.2 GHz, 3gb ram, 12 inch screen, 300 GB hdd.

Powered by an Intel celeron 900 processor at 2.2 GHz, it is not bad after all. Also, a 3 Gb ram coupled with this thing makes it capable of handling multi tasking flawlessly. Compatible with most software in today's market, it is most suited for office use as it handles documents and word applications great. Video experience was not bad, and the speakers buzz at an audible volume. The only place where it falls down is its portability. At 5.9 kgs and a thick frame, it can be hardly called portable. Thus making it the fourth in the list of cheap laptops.

5. ASUS X54L-SX033V Celeron B800 - 

Intel celeron 800 processor, 1.8GHz, 2Gb ram, 300 GB hdd.

A celeron processor is not at all bad for a $375 laptop, as it is very quick and efficient in battery life. Then again, a 2 GB ram isn’t bad too. The laptop's performance was average, but while performing demanding tasks like video editing it got heated up. And once heated, it tends to function irrationally with error messages popping up now and then. But for easy tasks, the Asus's performance was

Have you seen a great laptop deal online? Why not share it below!

4 Things You Need to Know About Google’s Driverless Cars

You already know Google as one of the biggest names on the internet, but very soon they may be breaking their online-only image and getting into the auto industry.

They’re getting into the auto industry, but they’re not just going to make a car … they are currently working on and testing a driver-less car. The new Google car will be able to drive itself without the help of a human.

Imagine making your morning commute without actually having to drive. You could eat your breakfast, put on your make-up, or read the paper on your way to work without having to be crammed in a bus with 100 other office dwellers.

On the other hand, there are lots of ways a driver-less car could go wrong, but Google’s tests are proving, so far, that their cars are extremely safe — maybe even safer than the cars we currently drive. Check out these four facts, and decide for yourself.

1. Driver-less cars are legal in Nevada

Google needed a place where they could safely and legally test their driver-less car technology. They worked with the Nevada state government to pass legislation (in June 2011) to make driver-less cars legal. Although they’d already been testing the cars throughout California and other parts of the US, the state law made Nevada the most friendly state for continued testing.

2. They use Google Street View

At first, the idea of Google making a car sounds silly, but it sounds a little less silly when you consider that Google has the largest database of map and street data in the world. And now they’re using their database to help driver-less cars navigate. Along with artificial intelligence software, mounted cameras and sensors, and GPS positioning technology, Google’s driver-less cars use Google’s extensive database to take you to school, work, and home again.

3. They have been extensively tested

The Google driver-less cars have been tested extensively and continue to be tested to ensure their navigation and safety features work properly before introducing them to the public. These cars are very complicated; if they break, it’s not as if you can run down to the auto parts store and fix them with some spare Ford Mustang parts or CJ Pony's Mustang accessories. So Google is undergoing a wide range of tests to ensure the cars are safe for everyone.

4.  There has only been one accident

One way Google hopes to reinvent the auto-mobile to make it safer is by taking out the variable of human error. The vast majority of car accidents each year are caused by human error, and the Google car can take that variable out of the equation.

For example, Google cars have been driven for over 1000 miles so far, and they’ve only had one accident. And that accident was caused when a person was driving the car!

Is a Google car right for you? Only time will tell. But Google’s new driver-less cars will certainly try to make the roads safer and easier for us all.

CJ contributed this guest post. Passionate about classic cars, he likes writing about the best car resources, like where to find CJ Pony Parts Ford Mustang parts, and the future of the auto industry.

Tips for Using My Blog Guest

Guest posting is a great way to disseminate your content on many levels. It has many benefits including being able to attract new visitors to your site, build up your brand, grow your social communities, your network, and access an audience that you may have otherwise never reached. And you can also get links to your site.
Ann Smarty started MyBlogGuest.com, which is a site that provides a platform for both free and paid guest post opportunities. With MBG, Ann has created an online community where bloggers can connect to share or obtain content or network. Ann takes an active role in the management of My Blog Guest and provides personal feedback to Pro users. The site has thousands of users.
Ann is no stranger to guest posting. She is a veteran blogger and her work has been seen on a wide range of sites including Mashable, SEOMoz, and Internet Marketing Ninjas, where she is a contributor and Community Manager.

What Niches Best Lend Themselves to MBG

My Blog Guest has 16 specific site categories to choose from including Health and Beauty, Finance and Law, and Technology. There is also a general category and you can perform searches for all categories. You can also set up alerts for the categories and there is a forum. You can also search by the blog’s country of origin with more than 120 countries listed. The SEO, Social, Blogging category tends to be particularly active.

Free MBG

As a free user, all you need to do is register an account. This allows you access to the sites listed that accept guest posts in the respective categories. The general search information includes the name of the site with a link to it, the blog’s power rating, the number of articles it has posted through MBG, the blog tags, and the user. You can research and evaluate the available sites and send direct messages to the site’s administrator in MBG.
One word of caution when prospecting sites for guest posts, check when the last time the user was active on the site. Some users may have signed up for an account but may not checked their account in weeks or months and therefore sending them a direct message may be less than fruitful. You can always attempt to contact their site through any contact forms or contact information on their site.
After a while, a free user may find that MBG’s value for guest posting has its limitations. Many of the sites of the sites listed have a low “blog score” and have little of value in terms of having a post on their site. The blogs with higher scores tend to be more difficult to get submitted posts published. Having a pro account allows you access to the live gallery in which users can submit articles or make offers to have the article(s) in the gallery on their site.

Going Pro with MBG

You can always upgrade (or just start out this way) to a Pro account. Currently MBG offers two levels of pro accounts. The $30 per month plan allows up to 4 live galleries at a time while the $70 per month plan allows up to 10 live articles in the live gallery at any time.
The live gallery is really MBG’s coolest feature. All you do is submit your articles and then other MBG users can make offers for your articles. You have full control over which offers you accept, if any. Too increase your chance of getting better offers, the articles need to be interesting, of high quality, and include images. MBG is moderated and your content will be reviewed and can set to “Hidden” by the site, outside of the “Live Gallery”. The moderators, including Ann herself, may provide feedback on why the article was not accepted.
The live gallery can be a huge time saver. Instead of spending the time doing guest post outreach, you can focus on other tasks and offers will be sent directly to your MBG inbox and the email inbox of your choice. If you do not enjoy or do not have the time for outreach, you will love the live gallery. MBG also recently rolled out an infographic gallery as well.
Depending on which categories your topic relates to, you may find it difficult to get quality sites making offers for your articles. As the number of MBG users grows, this should improve. For more detailed information on using the gallery, see the link with the MBG video below.

Citations:

• My Blog Guest Gallery Video

+Jason Nelson contributed this article for AscentInternet.com, an online marketing and Web design/development company that provides SEO services in St. George, Utah and to clients across the country.

4 steps to create a better facebook fan page

If you own any public brand, company, NGO, blog, etc. Then Facebook fan page is must. In fact, if you take blogging into consideration. The there are some head starting strategies or I must say some simple steps you need to follow to build a Facebook audience.

Create a simple page

There is no need to go with a custom facebook page from the beginning, or you most probably never need it for blogging purpose.

Always have a bio in About Page

When your readers like your blog and blog posts, then they start liking you too and want to know more about the author. Don’t make them go away with nothing about you. Having a page on authors name is definitely a good thing to go with.

Facebook plug-in

There are a number of facebook social plug-in available to put on you blog’s page. But putting them and getting likes will take a lot of time. So, be open about your page. Tell your friends. There is an invite friend button in the page use it. Or you can make any friend or family member admin of your page and then ask them to promote. This will provide your fan page a head start. From now on whenever you have a new post you have an audience to share with and that too directly on their walls. And if they will like it, it will automatically get shared to maximum of their friends.

Never post too much

If you are writing 2 or 3 post a day than it is alright. But if the number of post is higher than you must post the best 2 or 3 posts on facebook page. Posting all of them will make the readers irritated and they will hide all the post from getting displayed on their walls. It is just like over twitting. These two are same thing, but the difference is that you know when a user unfollowed you but you never know if any readers on facebook has hidden your post from being displayed on their walls. 

The best practice is to post your article on the wall of your fan page after a descent interval of time. 

Leave the link intact

Though, Facebook has a very nice import functionality, that imports the heading and pic automatically from the link entered. But still you must post with the link. The tendency of a user to click a blue colored link is much more than clicking the headline.