Forum marketing is definitely a powerful technique to increase your online business. One advantage regarding forum marketing is that often you'll receive invaluable inbound links to your site or even weblog. Another advantage is that forum users may click the hyperlink in your sig file should they be interested; actually non-members may also see your sig when the thread is found via the search engines like Google. The more forum posts you create, the greater number of backlinks you will get, and also the more popular your site gets together with your search phrases.
The following are a few fantastic forum marketing tips to increase the money making potential:
1) Browse the forum guidelines very carefully. Just about all forums include their very own specific guidelines as well as restrictions. Some activities may be appropriate in one forum, while it may break the guidelines of some other forums, even though the two forums have a similar concept.
For instance, several forums enable images or even colored text message inside your sig file, while many do not. A few forums may well enable adult language, while many do not.
2) If you cannot point out something wonderful, do not mention anything at all. I understand how tempting it can be to be able to express your thoughts and use your freedom of speech; however, if you need to be considered a fellow member of good standing and also develop decent human relationships along with other forum members, consider prior to publishing anything at all.
Occasionally, we just can't prevent annoying other people, therefore be sure you apologise when you knew you have irritated anybody. It really is commendable to confess to your errors.
3) Feature a good sig file. Several forums have got specific unique guidelines you have to watch in terms with regards to your current sig files. A few never allow affiliate links within the sig files (however a hyperlink to your site or even weblog in which you might be offering an affiliate product is okay). A few forums allow images or even coloured text message within your sig file, although some do not.
A few forums never allow you to place any kind of sig file whatsoever; in my opinion, I believe it is a total waste of time writing in these forums unless of course you are having fun, learning, or even being able to help other people. If you are uncertain, you might lurk about to determine in case other folks happen to be placing their own sig files. In the event that other people are not doing it, then there is a pretty good possibility including a sig file is probably not suitable. A few of the forum members could even think you are spamming. Therefore look at the guidelines as well as watch various other posts very carefully.
4) Adapt to the forum's environment as well as perspective. Blend in similar to a chameleon and also write how they write, hence they will really feel immediately that you are part of the forum..
5) Assist other folks by providing good suggestions according to your understanding or even experience, or perhaps through searching for the answer to their particular challenge. Using the accessibility to the web, you will find the capacity to seek out endless data that you need to understand. Through writing helpful suggestions or even guidance, you will earn their respect as well as appreciation.
6) If at all possible, become the very first to begin a thread about the many discussed or even most in-demand subject, and provide similar ideas or perhaps strategies that may "turn heads". Be sure you generate a strong eye-catching thread subject, however, not one which misleads.
7) Do not promote or even advertise anything at all. That is your sig file's task. If the members are requesting something and your site or perhaps no cost report is within line with all the topic of discussion, you could subtly point out it as being lengthy as it is useful rather than promotional in nature.
8) Display your gratitude as well as say thanks to those who have assisted you. Inside the Warriors forum, many people actually put a beer icon which allows you to deliver funds to some member. It is a good method to give back whenever an individual helps you out.
Wish most of these forum marketing tips allow you to generate big bucks on the internet. Always observe the guidelines, simply because one mistake could possibly get your membership terminated. Happy posting!
By Roderick Low
Read More..
12/12/2011
8 Tips for Starting and Maintaining a Successful Online Forum
Nothing promotes a business online better than staying in touch with prospects. The more interactive the continued contact, the more of a relationship that is built with a potential client.
This business principle of continued contact and business relationship building has given rise to the popularity of online business forums, and of course, "theme-related" online forums. Online forums quickly establish empathy, set forum owners up as "experts" in the eyes of visitors, and serve as a promotional vehicle for other products and services that forum owners seek to sell.
While online forums are popular and the perfect method of relationship building, starting a forum and maintaining one can be challenging, especially in the beginning when members can be "few" and "far between". The challenge for most new forum owners is to get beyond the initial start up phase and move onto a phase where the forum members themselves promote the forum simply by posting.
Although each forum is individual and personal, a few general guidelines should be followed or at least kept in mind when starting and maintaining an online forum. These are as follows:
1. Take care when choosing the type of forum and forum script or software that will be used. The forum should be easy to access, easy to use, and come with "visitor- friendly" features. All visitors should be made to feel welcomed and find the navigability of the forum, user friendly. Forum scripts and software, especially "free" varieties, may be overburdened with ads from the parent company and lead to a poor experience for visitors.
Some recommendations:
http://www.phpbb.com/
http://www.vbulletin.com/
2. The forum should have a good number of interesting and focused topics. The content should reflect the interests of the target audience, and every care should be made to have well-written and informative content that is updated regularly. This not only helps attract new members, it keeps older members from losing interest and defecting to other forums.
3. The forum should be Search Engine friendly. High activity forums, like popular blogs, provide a great reason for Search Engines to visit them frequently as they are brimming with fresh content all the while. Dynamic urls, session ids, etc. used by most forum software can be very detrimental to the forum health from Search Engine point of view.
When selecting a forum software, check if they are Search Engine friendly. Open source software like phpbb, have mods (modifications) developed by third party sources, to enhance the forum in many ways.
Here's a great mod for phpbb to make it Search Engine friendly: http://www.able2know.com/forums/about15132.html
4. The forum needs to have a clear list of rules, a disclaimer, and most of all, good solid moderation. Visitors will quickly become frustrated with forums that have no clear guidelines, or feature rude, obnoxious, or overbearing members. Good manners are required as much online as offline.
5. Promotion, especially in the early days, will take considerable time and effort. Forums can be difficult to start (members generally are "shy" when there are only a few present), and the more posts that take place, the more individuals will join. This is a "snowball" effect of forums, so marketing must be done consistently, day in and day out, until the forum becomes more self-sustaining.
6. The owner of the forum should take an active interest in the forum and SHOW this interest by contributing regularly. Above all else, people join forums where they feel they will learn from the owner of the forum, and if the owner is never present, they quickly lose interest in the forum.
7. The forum should be targeted, yet diverse, encouraging older members to contribute, without making newer members feel uncomfortable. Cliques can form in forums, and this type of behavior should be discouraged by the owner and moderators. Every effort should be made to answer questions or comments by all members as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
8. As with all other Internet related ventures, care needs to be given as to hosting and maintenance of the forum. A forum that is always experiencing "downtime", will lose members quickly, and a forum that has many coding mistakes will quickly frustrate visitors. As with Web sites, "cheap" providers of hosting and maintenance are not always "better".
All in all, online forums can be a great way to generate income, develop a good reputation among clients, and provide entertainment and instruction for many individuals. Like with everything else, however, they take marketing savvy, and a great deal of time and attention to detail. The old saying, "You only reap what you sow" really applies to the world of online forums.
By Vishal P. Rao Read More..
This business principle of continued contact and business relationship building has given rise to the popularity of online business forums, and of course, "theme-related" online forums. Online forums quickly establish empathy, set forum owners up as "experts" in the eyes of visitors, and serve as a promotional vehicle for other products and services that forum owners seek to sell.
While online forums are popular and the perfect method of relationship building, starting a forum and maintaining one can be challenging, especially in the beginning when members can be "few" and "far between". The challenge for most new forum owners is to get beyond the initial start up phase and move onto a phase where the forum members themselves promote the forum simply by posting.
Although each forum is individual and personal, a few general guidelines should be followed or at least kept in mind when starting and maintaining an online forum. These are as follows:
1. Take care when choosing the type of forum and forum script or software that will be used. The forum should be easy to access, easy to use, and come with "visitor- friendly" features. All visitors should be made to feel welcomed and find the navigability of the forum, user friendly. Forum scripts and software, especially "free" varieties, may be overburdened with ads from the parent company and lead to a poor experience for visitors.
Some recommendations:
http://www.phpbb.com/
http://www.vbulletin.com/
2. The forum should have a good number of interesting and focused topics. The content should reflect the interests of the target audience, and every care should be made to have well-written and informative content that is updated regularly. This not only helps attract new members, it keeps older members from losing interest and defecting to other forums.
3. The forum should be Search Engine friendly. High activity forums, like popular blogs, provide a great reason for Search Engines to visit them frequently as they are brimming with fresh content all the while. Dynamic urls, session ids, etc. used by most forum software can be very detrimental to the forum health from Search Engine point of view.
When selecting a forum software, check if they are Search Engine friendly. Open source software like phpbb, have mods (modifications) developed by third party sources, to enhance the forum in many ways.
Here's a great mod for phpbb to make it Search Engine friendly: http://www.able2know.com/forums/about15132.html
4. The forum needs to have a clear list of rules, a disclaimer, and most of all, good solid moderation. Visitors will quickly become frustrated with forums that have no clear guidelines, or feature rude, obnoxious, or overbearing members. Good manners are required as much online as offline.
5. Promotion, especially in the early days, will take considerable time and effort. Forums can be difficult to start (members generally are "shy" when there are only a few present), and the more posts that take place, the more individuals will join. This is a "snowball" effect of forums, so marketing must be done consistently, day in and day out, until the forum becomes more self-sustaining.
6. The owner of the forum should take an active interest in the forum and SHOW this interest by contributing regularly. Above all else, people join forums where they feel they will learn from the owner of the forum, and if the owner is never present, they quickly lose interest in the forum.
7. The forum should be targeted, yet diverse, encouraging older members to contribute, without making newer members feel uncomfortable. Cliques can form in forums, and this type of behavior should be discouraged by the owner and moderators. Every effort should be made to answer questions or comments by all members as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
8. As with all other Internet related ventures, care needs to be given as to hosting and maintenance of the forum. A forum that is always experiencing "downtime", will lose members quickly, and a forum that has many coding mistakes will quickly frustrate visitors. As with Web sites, "cheap" providers of hosting and maintenance are not always "better".
All in all, online forums can be a great way to generate income, develop a good reputation among clients, and provide entertainment and instruction for many individuals. Like with everything else, however, they take marketing savvy, and a great deal of time and attention to detail. The old saying, "You only reap what you sow" really applies to the world of online forums.
By Vishal P. Rao Read More..
12/11/2011
What Does a Community College Cost?
Community college costs are normally lower than four year universities. Students can take classes at community college and earn credits toward a two year or four year degree program at a lower cost.
Community colleges are local colleges that offer two year degrees, certifications and many classes will transfer later to a four year university. On average community college costs are lower than four year universities.
The national average college tuition cost for public universities is $4,694 per year for in state residents. This figure includes both tuition rates and fees for a full time student.
The average college tuition cost at private colleges and universities is around $20,000 per year in tuition and fees.
Now compare this to the average yearly tuition for a community college. The average cost of community college tuition is only $2,076 per year. This is less than half than a traditional four year public university and much less than a private college.
Attending a community college will also help offset the costs if a student decides to continue his or her education toward a bachelor's degree. Since community college costs are lower students are not likely to be accumulating student loans which will help their financial state in long term future.
Another factor to consider is that each year tuition rates rise. In fact college tuition costs increase at about twice the general inflation rate, about 8% per year. The future and long term costs are something that all college students, current and future, should consider when choosing a college.
Even though community college tuition costs and four year college costs increase, many students benefit from financial aid programs. Government grants such as the Pell grant provide funding for many college students. In fact students who attend community colleges may qualify for grants that would cover most or all of their community college tuition costs.
Scholarship programs awarded by colleges, businesses and non profit organizations are also available to help students defray the cost of community college tuition. With a combination of savings, financial aid, and scholarships many students today are able to afford college tuition costs and further their education.
By Michael Carter Read More..
Community colleges are local colleges that offer two year degrees, certifications and many classes will transfer later to a four year university. On average community college costs are lower than four year universities.
The national average college tuition cost for public universities is $4,694 per year for in state residents. This figure includes both tuition rates and fees for a full time student.
The average college tuition cost at private colleges and universities is around $20,000 per year in tuition and fees.
Now compare this to the average yearly tuition for a community college. The average cost of community college tuition is only $2,076 per year. This is less than half than a traditional four year public university and much less than a private college.
Attending a community college will also help offset the costs if a student decides to continue his or her education toward a bachelor's degree. Since community college costs are lower students are not likely to be accumulating student loans which will help their financial state in long term future.
Another factor to consider is that each year tuition rates rise. In fact college tuition costs increase at about twice the general inflation rate, about 8% per year. The future and long term costs are something that all college students, current and future, should consider when choosing a college.
Even though community college tuition costs and four year college costs increase, many students benefit from financial aid programs. Government grants such as the Pell grant provide funding for many college students. In fact students who attend community colleges may qualify for grants that would cover most or all of their community college tuition costs.
Scholarship programs awarded by colleges, businesses and non profit organizations are also available to help students defray the cost of community college tuition. With a combination of savings, financial aid, and scholarships many students today are able to afford college tuition costs and further their education.
By Michael Carter Read More..
8 Simple Steps to Maximize SEO on Google Plus
Google Plus is still in its early stages, but that does not mean it is a less effective tool for marketing. You just have to use it differently than all of your other social media marketing tools. Google Plus has not yet reached its maturity, so you must implement a unique strategy in order to get the most from it.
In order to maximize the results from your Google Plus marketing strategy, here are eight steps that will give your content the advantage in SEO. You will increase visibility of your posts, giving your social media marketing strategy the boost it needs.
#1 Set all of your posts to Public. Having more circles can create a broader interest for your friends, but by telling Google that all of your posts can be shared publicly will allow them to be indexed in the public search engine. Every time you post, select the Public option.
#2 Use a source link when adding your content to Google Plus. Google Plus has not been playing well with URL shorteners, so when possible use a link directly from the source. This helps Google more efficiently populate the content, including the name of your blog, post title, description and image. The content will also be cross-referenced with any +1 "likes" from other Google Plus users. Much like sharing URLs through other social media sites, you just copy and paste the original link to the "Share what's new" box on your homepage.
#3 Add a "+" before a person's name in order to link to their profile in a post. Anyone that you are connected to on Google Plus can be linked in the same way as on your Facebook network. A feature that some users are unaware of lets you do this by simply prefixing the name with a "+" as you write your post. This will highlight the name, letting readers view the individual's profile, if privacy settings allow it. Being able to link with others helps open conversations and engage users.
#4 Be sure to broaden your circles, add friends, engage and share. Like Facebook, the more you engage others, the longer your posts will remain visible to other users. Increasing the number of people in your circles to share with will give your content more reach.
#5 Spread the +1 button around all of your sites. The small piece of code is easy to embed on all of your web pages, blogs, e-commerce sites, etc. The easier it is for readers to click on your share buttons, the more likely it is that they will do so. Easy sharing helps extend the reach of your content through social media.
#6 Fill out your profile as completely as you feel comfortable. Over time, your Google profile will create itself depending on choices that you make. By adding other touches to it, you will grow your profile and curate it so that it fits you perfectly. Take a look at your social media profile and decide what areas you feel need more information added. The more open you are on your public profiles, the better.
#7 Consider clicking the "Email people not using Google Plus" for some of your best posts. If you are connected with people who are not on Google Plus yet, you can still share your content with them by having an email sent directly to them. This is not an option you should choose for everything, as this can cause you to become an annoyance. Instead, only choose to do this when you have written a great piece of content that you want to send out there.
#8 Take part in the Google Plus community. Similar to Klout, how much you actively participate on Google Plus can affect your relevance on the social media site. How many people you reach can help you be ranked higher.
Making the most of Google Plus takes patience and commitment. When you do it right, the rewards you reap will be worth the effort you make. Are you using Google Plus to extend your reach? What has worked best for you in social media marketing? Share with us!
Dawn Pigoni of Be Social Worldwide is a certified social marketing specialist and a social media virtual assistant. Dawn offers superb social networking, social marketing and social bookmarking to WAHMs, Small Business Owners, Internet Marketers, Affiliate Marketers, and Coaches who desire to bring stunning internet presence through social networking to their businesses. Get Dawn's free report, Social Networking today & see how she can assist you with being Social Worldwide!
By Dawn Pigoni Read More..
In order to maximize the results from your Google Plus marketing strategy, here are eight steps that will give your content the advantage in SEO. You will increase visibility of your posts, giving your social media marketing strategy the boost it needs.
#1 Set all of your posts to Public. Having more circles can create a broader interest for your friends, but by telling Google that all of your posts can be shared publicly will allow them to be indexed in the public search engine. Every time you post, select the Public option.
#2 Use a source link when adding your content to Google Plus. Google Plus has not been playing well with URL shorteners, so when possible use a link directly from the source. This helps Google more efficiently populate the content, including the name of your blog, post title, description and image. The content will also be cross-referenced with any +1 "likes" from other Google Plus users. Much like sharing URLs through other social media sites, you just copy and paste the original link to the "Share what's new" box on your homepage.
#3 Add a "+" before a person's name in order to link to their profile in a post. Anyone that you are connected to on Google Plus can be linked in the same way as on your Facebook network. A feature that some users are unaware of lets you do this by simply prefixing the name with a "+" as you write your post. This will highlight the name, letting readers view the individual's profile, if privacy settings allow it. Being able to link with others helps open conversations and engage users.
#4 Be sure to broaden your circles, add friends, engage and share. Like Facebook, the more you engage others, the longer your posts will remain visible to other users. Increasing the number of people in your circles to share with will give your content more reach.
#5 Spread the +1 button around all of your sites. The small piece of code is easy to embed on all of your web pages, blogs, e-commerce sites, etc. The easier it is for readers to click on your share buttons, the more likely it is that they will do so. Easy sharing helps extend the reach of your content through social media.
#6 Fill out your profile as completely as you feel comfortable. Over time, your Google profile will create itself depending on choices that you make. By adding other touches to it, you will grow your profile and curate it so that it fits you perfectly. Take a look at your social media profile and decide what areas you feel need more information added. The more open you are on your public profiles, the better.
#7 Consider clicking the "Email people not using Google Plus" for some of your best posts. If you are connected with people who are not on Google Plus yet, you can still share your content with them by having an email sent directly to them. This is not an option you should choose for everything, as this can cause you to become an annoyance. Instead, only choose to do this when you have written a great piece of content that you want to send out there.
#8 Take part in the Google Plus community. Similar to Klout, how much you actively participate on Google Plus can affect your relevance on the social media site. How many people you reach can help you be ranked higher.
Making the most of Google Plus takes patience and commitment. When you do it right, the rewards you reap will be worth the effort you make. Are you using Google Plus to extend your reach? What has worked best for you in social media marketing? Share with us!
Dawn Pigoni of Be Social Worldwide is a certified social marketing specialist and a social media virtual assistant. Dawn offers superb social networking, social marketing and social bookmarking to WAHMs, Small Business Owners, Internet Marketers, Affiliate Marketers, and Coaches who desire to bring stunning internet presence through social networking to their businesses. Get Dawn's free report, Social Networking today & see how she can assist you with being Social Worldwide!
By Dawn Pigoni Read More..
12/09/2011
Google+ Hangouts - How Can Brands Use Them?
Google's new social network has caused quite a stir since its release in June of this year, gaining over 50 million users in the first 3 months of its release. One of the standout features of the Google+ network is its inbuilt video conferencing function known as 'Hangouts'. With the recent release of brand pages, Google+ offers businesses a unique method of connecting with their customers and generating visibility through the hangouts function. Brands should look to incorporate hangouts in to their Google+ social media campaign to increase visibility and be amongst the early adopters of the function for maximum exposure and engagement.
Google+ hangouts are a key feature of the Google+ network, anyone can create a hangout and invite other users to join or simply open a hangout and wait for other users to join in when they find it. Hangouts are likened to a "front porch" by Google who want the experience to be relaxed and as close to meeting in person as possible.
The Google community has enthusiastically adopted Google+ hangouts and there have already been a number of high profile hangouts broadcast worldwide by users such as the Dalai Lama, The Black Eyed Peas and Stanford University professors. The hangouts 'on air' function allows the feed to be broadcast live through the Google+ network and simultaneously streamed via YouTube allowing any number of users to view the event.
Brands have access to the hangout functionality from their Google+ brand page, although they are currently limited to 10 participants until the 'on air' function becomes more widely available. There are a number of ways in which this interesting function can be utilised to engage with fans. Hangouts lend themselves to a variety of functions such as customer service, live performances, product unveilings or question and answer sessions. The first step is to decide how your brand wishes to use the function.
Google+ users have responded favourably to the idea of hangouts being used as a means of customer services as computing brand Dell found when they announced plans to offer this service once the brand pages and hangouts function are more widely available. The post received hundreds of comments from users eager to have their queries and problems resolved in a face-to-face manner through hangouts rather than over the phone.
Hangouts can be used for external promotions such as product demonstrations/testimonials, reviews, exclusive content, competitions and how-to guides and many other possibilities. Furthermore hangouts can be used internally as a means of connection and communication. An example of which is how PR agencies could use a hangout to invite a number of product bloggers to discuss a new product for review, or to talk to journalists about a possible story.
Musicians have generated huge amounts of visibility by using hangouts to stream live performances through the network and other live streaming sites. Google+ user and musician, Daria Musk has carried out some of the most viewed hangouts on the Google+ network reaching 9,000 viewers in over 100 countries.
The scope for brands using hangouts is very large indeed, users and fans are keen to interact with the brands and business that they buy from on a more personal level. Social media has already proven to be a great medium for online PR and hangouts simply extend the possibilities and connections further.
At this time I believe that Google+ hangouts are still in their early stages of development in terms of functionality and as brand pages have only recently been released there will be a great deal of experimentation to ascertain how hangouts can best benefit both brands and customers. It would be wise for brands to start thinking about ways in which hangouts could be used to boost visibility and increase their engagement for by offering something unique, which is not present in such an accessible manner on any other social network.
By Colin A Miller Read More..
Google+ hangouts are a key feature of the Google+ network, anyone can create a hangout and invite other users to join or simply open a hangout and wait for other users to join in when they find it. Hangouts are likened to a "front porch" by Google who want the experience to be relaxed and as close to meeting in person as possible.
The Google community has enthusiastically adopted Google+ hangouts and there have already been a number of high profile hangouts broadcast worldwide by users such as the Dalai Lama, The Black Eyed Peas and Stanford University professors. The hangouts 'on air' function allows the feed to be broadcast live through the Google+ network and simultaneously streamed via YouTube allowing any number of users to view the event.
Brands have access to the hangout functionality from their Google+ brand page, although they are currently limited to 10 participants until the 'on air' function becomes more widely available. There are a number of ways in which this interesting function can be utilised to engage with fans. Hangouts lend themselves to a variety of functions such as customer service, live performances, product unveilings or question and answer sessions. The first step is to decide how your brand wishes to use the function.
Google+ users have responded favourably to the idea of hangouts being used as a means of customer services as computing brand Dell found when they announced plans to offer this service once the brand pages and hangouts function are more widely available. The post received hundreds of comments from users eager to have their queries and problems resolved in a face-to-face manner through hangouts rather than over the phone.
Hangouts can be used for external promotions such as product demonstrations/testimonials, reviews, exclusive content, competitions and how-to guides and many other possibilities. Furthermore hangouts can be used internally as a means of connection and communication. An example of which is how PR agencies could use a hangout to invite a number of product bloggers to discuss a new product for review, or to talk to journalists about a possible story.
Musicians have generated huge amounts of visibility by using hangouts to stream live performances through the network and other live streaming sites. Google+ user and musician, Daria Musk has carried out some of the most viewed hangouts on the Google+ network reaching 9,000 viewers in over 100 countries.
The scope for brands using hangouts is very large indeed, users and fans are keen to interact with the brands and business that they buy from on a more personal level. Social media has already proven to be a great medium for online PR and hangouts simply extend the possibilities and connections further.
At this time I believe that Google+ hangouts are still in their early stages of development in terms of functionality and as brand pages have only recently been released there will be a great deal of experimentation to ascertain how hangouts can best benefit both brands and customers. It would be wise for brands to start thinking about ways in which hangouts could be used to boost visibility and increase their engagement for by offering something unique, which is not present in such an accessible manner on any other social network.
By Colin A Miller Read More..
Google+ Social Networking
Google launched its social network dubbed Google+ on June 28, 2011. Before its full launch to the general public, users get a chance to beta test the social networking platform which requires a Google+ Invite. The initial buzz has drawn over 25 million users in the first month since its launch, which is 20 times faster compared to any other social network (as per comScore).
Google+ is similar to Facebook in terms of "look and feel" of a social network, but has some unique features. These features like Google Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, Google Huddle and Instant Upload gives it an edge over its competition.
Google+ Features
One of the most distinguishing features of Google+ is Google Circles which allows users to configure their privacy settings to effectively manage friends in their network. This unique feature gives users flexibility to share their updates and news feeds with specific friends which means users have more control on who sees the updates. Circles also allow users to filter updates from their friends, through streams, so they don't have to sift through hundreds of status updates.
The other cool feature of Google+ is Google Hangouts which is essentially a face-to-face video communication feature allowing friends to video conference. Users require a webcam to use this feature and up to 10 users can video chat at once.
Google Sparks is another feature that enables users to search articles and other online content on various topics within Google+ and share it with friends. And Google Huddle is a feature for Android and iPhone communication devices enabling real-time group instant message chats.
There are other features like Instant Upload and games which are part and parcel of Google's social network. Also, Google will integrate some of their other online services into Google+ like Gmail, YouTube, Google Profile, Google Maps, etc.
In terms of games on Google+, I like the fact that the games activity stream is separate from the main activity stream. This helps avoid the clutter that one sees on social network platforms like Facebook.
Google+ Setup
In order to effectively use Google+, it's important that you take the time to set up your profile and understand the key features, especially Google Circles and privacy settings. One of the other aspects I like about Google's social network, is the control users have over the privacy settings.
The first thing you need to do is set up your Google+ profile and upload a picture or avatar. In this section, you can control which parts of your profile are public or private. You can provide access to your profile to people in certain circles. Some of the information on your profile includes a brief bio, occupation, educational qualifications, employment history, relationship status, gender, etc.
Next, take the time to understand your privacy settings and configure them accordingly. This step is important because it helps control what updates are shared to friends in your circles. You can control whether your posts can be shared by your friends, to friends in their circles including tagging to pictures and videos.
Once you've understood and set up your privacy settings, it's now time to create and organize your Google+ Circles. By organizing your Google+ friends in distinct Circles like family, friends, classmates, co-workers, acquaintances, etc., you can decide who sees your updates. Similarly, if you want to see updates from only specific people, you can use the streams to filter updates.
Finally, ensure that you check your Email Notifications section and change some of the settings so that you're not inundated with a whole bunch of email notifications when people add you to their circles, comment on your posts, tag you to photos, etc. You will not miss any of these updates because you will still see them when you log into your Google+ network.
Managing Circles and privacy settings is not very difficult, but initially you may find it a little confusing. I've created a Google+ Setup Guide with step-by-step video tutorials which you may find useful to set up your Google+ network.
By Anthony Godinho Read More..
Google+ is similar to Facebook in terms of "look and feel" of a social network, but has some unique features. These features like Google Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, Google Huddle and Instant Upload gives it an edge over its competition.
Google+ Features
One of the most distinguishing features of Google+ is Google Circles which allows users to configure their privacy settings to effectively manage friends in their network. This unique feature gives users flexibility to share their updates and news feeds with specific friends which means users have more control on who sees the updates. Circles also allow users to filter updates from their friends, through streams, so they don't have to sift through hundreds of status updates.
The other cool feature of Google+ is Google Hangouts which is essentially a face-to-face video communication feature allowing friends to video conference. Users require a webcam to use this feature and up to 10 users can video chat at once.
Google Sparks is another feature that enables users to search articles and other online content on various topics within Google+ and share it with friends. And Google Huddle is a feature for Android and iPhone communication devices enabling real-time group instant message chats.
There are other features like Instant Upload and games which are part and parcel of Google's social network. Also, Google will integrate some of their other online services into Google+ like Gmail, YouTube, Google Profile, Google Maps, etc.
In terms of games on Google+, I like the fact that the games activity stream is separate from the main activity stream. This helps avoid the clutter that one sees on social network platforms like Facebook.
Google+ Setup
In order to effectively use Google+, it's important that you take the time to set up your profile and understand the key features, especially Google Circles and privacy settings. One of the other aspects I like about Google's social network, is the control users have over the privacy settings.
The first thing you need to do is set up your Google+ profile and upload a picture or avatar. In this section, you can control which parts of your profile are public or private. You can provide access to your profile to people in certain circles. Some of the information on your profile includes a brief bio, occupation, educational qualifications, employment history, relationship status, gender, etc.
Next, take the time to understand your privacy settings and configure them accordingly. This step is important because it helps control what updates are shared to friends in your circles. You can control whether your posts can be shared by your friends, to friends in their circles including tagging to pictures and videos.
Once you've understood and set up your privacy settings, it's now time to create and organize your Google+ Circles. By organizing your Google+ friends in distinct Circles like family, friends, classmates, co-workers, acquaintances, etc., you can decide who sees your updates. Similarly, if you want to see updates from only specific people, you can use the streams to filter updates.
Finally, ensure that you check your Email Notifications section and change some of the settings so that you're not inundated with a whole bunch of email notifications when people add you to their circles, comment on your posts, tag you to photos, etc. You will not miss any of these updates because you will still see them when you log into your Google+ network.
Managing Circles and privacy settings is not very difficult, but initially you may find it a little confusing. I've created a Google+ Setup Guide with step-by-step video tutorials which you may find useful to set up your Google+ network.
By Anthony Godinho Read More..
12/06/2011
Community and Music - How to Showcase and Get Noticed
You know me. I know you. You know someone else. I know someone different. We all know each other. These are our networks and communities.
In a band or music sense, network and community is essentially what it's all about, when it comes time to share your music around.
You or your band writes, performs, and records music true, but unless you’re a real purist, and enjoy your music for yourself, for the music, for your own CD rack at home alone then, at some point in time you may want to let others know about your band, your performances, and your music.
We know we are a band, and we know that we want to share our music. What you need next is Exposure.
It's no good lining your best coat with your CD's to wander the streets and flash passers by, as this only gives you limited exposure, except in the case that you are not wearing anything underneath your coat, in which case, there is too much exposure of the wrong kind.
You have to expose yourself to people that are receptive to what your exposing them to. Remember, I know you, you know me. I don't know what's under your coat!
Your friends and community is the best place to start presenting your offering. These are the people you can start exposing yourself to that will give you the best response!
Hey hang on a second… We are a band, we do want to share our music, we are willing to expose ourselves, but we do not really have a community apart from Jim's girlfriend, and the guy over the fence who keeps complaining that the noise is too loud when we jam!
Get your own community. It's not as hard as it may sound, especially these days with the abundance of communication power at your finger tips in the Internet. You can use the internet to reach out and communicate with millions upon millions of people all over the planet with the click of a button.
Click.
"Hey you! This is me and this is what I have got!"
"Hey back! This is me, and I like what you've got!"
"Hey you! … Come join my community and we can talk"
There are plenty of web based community sites out there well worth exploring, and you should join more than one! This is because there is not just one single community web site out there that will reach everyone. Your best chances in exposure is to have your presence, music and community groups all happening in a few of them. Once you have done that then you can link them all up together to get the best coverage.
In all of these existing web based communities, the best potentials for maximum exposure take time. You have to build your name and community size.
The likes of Myspace in my opinion are good, and worth while having a presence in, but it will take time to get noticed in amongst the millions of other exposure seekers. It's a hard nut to crack. There are simply so many other people trying to expose themselves that you get lost in the wash of those who are already established, and it is difficult to get noticed.
The very best opportunities come when you can get into communities at the start. Be the first in. Get a great foot hold. Get your own name. Be active, and get the exposure that you are after.
You want attention, go to where you will be easily noticed!
Mobzing is another name to explore. The new beast on the block web based community site. Sure, the exposure may not yet be in line with Myspace, but when it grows, when it builds as it is and surely will, you will be established as one of the founding members and be getting all of the attention.
As I said, to get maximum exposure you have to be involved in a few community sites, then link them all together. Here is a short list in my opinion of a few worth while web based contenders to start with, to network in, and to check out.
http://www.myspace.com
http://www.mobzing.com
http://www.friendster.com
Sign up. Get exposed. "Hey I know you!.... Check this out!"
You know me. I know you. You know someone else. I know someone different. We all know each other. These are our networks and communities. In a band or music sense, network and community is essentially what it's all about, when it comes time to share your music around.
http://www.hiptonez.com Read More..
In a band or music sense, network and community is essentially what it's all about, when it comes time to share your music around.
You or your band writes, performs, and records music true, but unless you’re a real purist, and enjoy your music for yourself, for the music, for your own CD rack at home alone then, at some point in time you may want to let others know about your band, your performances, and your music.
We know we are a band, and we know that we want to share our music. What you need next is Exposure.
It's no good lining your best coat with your CD's to wander the streets and flash passers by, as this only gives you limited exposure, except in the case that you are not wearing anything underneath your coat, in which case, there is too much exposure of the wrong kind.
You have to expose yourself to people that are receptive to what your exposing them to. Remember, I know you, you know me. I don't know what's under your coat!
Your friends and community is the best place to start presenting your offering. These are the people you can start exposing yourself to that will give you the best response!
Hey hang on a second… We are a band, we do want to share our music, we are willing to expose ourselves, but we do not really have a community apart from Jim's girlfriend, and the guy over the fence who keeps complaining that the noise is too loud when we jam!
Get your own community. It's not as hard as it may sound, especially these days with the abundance of communication power at your finger tips in the Internet. You can use the internet to reach out and communicate with millions upon millions of people all over the planet with the click of a button.
Click.
"Hey you! This is me and this is what I have got!"
"Hey back! This is me, and I like what you've got!"
"Hey you! … Come join my community and we can talk"
There are plenty of web based community sites out there well worth exploring, and you should join more than one! This is because there is not just one single community web site out there that will reach everyone. Your best chances in exposure is to have your presence, music and community groups all happening in a few of them. Once you have done that then you can link them all up together to get the best coverage.
In all of these existing web based communities, the best potentials for maximum exposure take time. You have to build your name and community size.
The likes of Myspace in my opinion are good, and worth while having a presence in, but it will take time to get noticed in amongst the millions of other exposure seekers. It's a hard nut to crack. There are simply so many other people trying to expose themselves that you get lost in the wash of those who are already established, and it is difficult to get noticed.
The very best opportunities come when you can get into communities at the start. Be the first in. Get a great foot hold. Get your own name. Be active, and get the exposure that you are after.
You want attention, go to where you will be easily noticed!
Mobzing is another name to explore. The new beast on the block web based community site. Sure, the exposure may not yet be in line with Myspace, but when it grows, when it builds as it is and surely will, you will be established as one of the founding members and be getting all of the attention.
As I said, to get maximum exposure you have to be involved in a few community sites, then link them all together. Here is a short list in my opinion of a few worth while web based contenders to start with, to network in, and to check out.
http://www.myspace.com
http://www.mobzing.com
http://www.friendster.com
Sign up. Get exposed. "Hey I know you!.... Check this out!"
You know me. I know you. You know someone else. I know someone different. We all know each other. These are our networks and communities. In a band or music sense, network and community is essentially what it's all about, when it comes time to share your music around.
http://www.hiptonez.com Read More..
Forum Marketing-5 Posts A Day Can Really Pay Off
Have you ever approached discussion forums from a marketing point of view? Did you know that making as few as 5 posts per day can make a huge difference in your Internet business?
I know in my case I was able to jump start my Internet business in the first couple of years concentrating primarily on forum marketing. There are a couple of keys to making this pay off.
1. You need to consistently add posts to various threads that appeal to you. All you need to do is join three to four discussion forums that relate to the theme of your business.
Start hanging out in these discussion forums getting a feel for the type of discussions that are going on. This can be a tremendous source of free training if you are new to Internet marketing.
However, eventually you will want to begin to participate in the discussions. Make every post you enter one that provides quality to the conversation.
Never make a post just because you are trying to increase your post count. If you make a quality post other forum members will respect that and it will enhance your credibility within the forum.
2. Write a well written signature file. Take a look at some of the other members to get ideas on how you can do that.
I know I personally wanted to just promote one or two specific website URLs. If you focus on doing that you can generate a lot of meaningful traffic to any website you want to promote.
Be precise with the words you write. Nobody wants to read a book in your signature file. I like to think of my signature file as a short classified ad similar to what I would use in my resource box when doing article marketing.
3. Do not underestimate the long term value of posting in discussion forums. Many of these threads are archived and can bring traffic to you long after you have made your post.
They can also be a tremendous source of search engine traffic. Many search engines will rank a thread for a targeted keyword phrase.
The more discussions you are participating in the more potential traffic you can get. This can be from forum members directly or from long term search engine traffic.
These are a few helpful tips on doing forum marketing. If you will just make five posts a day, and consistently work it that, it can have a huge impact on the success of your Internet business.
Any serious Internet marketer can afford to spend that much time every day doing this valuable form of Internet marketing.
http://www.team-schuman.com Read More..
I know in my case I was able to jump start my Internet business in the first couple of years concentrating primarily on forum marketing. There are a couple of keys to making this pay off.
1. You need to consistently add posts to various threads that appeal to you. All you need to do is join three to four discussion forums that relate to the theme of your business.
Start hanging out in these discussion forums getting a feel for the type of discussions that are going on. This can be a tremendous source of free training if you are new to Internet marketing.
However, eventually you will want to begin to participate in the discussions. Make every post you enter one that provides quality to the conversation.
Never make a post just because you are trying to increase your post count. If you make a quality post other forum members will respect that and it will enhance your credibility within the forum.
2. Write a well written signature file. Take a look at some of the other members to get ideas on how you can do that.
I know I personally wanted to just promote one or two specific website URLs. If you focus on doing that you can generate a lot of meaningful traffic to any website you want to promote.
Be precise with the words you write. Nobody wants to read a book in your signature file. I like to think of my signature file as a short classified ad similar to what I would use in my resource box when doing article marketing.
3. Do not underestimate the long term value of posting in discussion forums. Many of these threads are archived and can bring traffic to you long after you have made your post.
They can also be a tremendous source of search engine traffic. Many search engines will rank a thread for a targeted keyword phrase.
The more discussions you are participating in the more potential traffic you can get. This can be from forum members directly or from long term search engine traffic.
These are a few helpful tips on doing forum marketing. If you will just make five posts a day, and consistently work it that, it can have a huge impact on the success of your Internet business.
Any serious Internet marketer can afford to spend that much time every day doing this valuable form of Internet marketing.
http://www.team-schuman.com Read More..
12/05/2011
What is the Importance of an HIVAID Forum?
HIV AIDS forum is a place to meet other people going through similar kind of challenges. Living with HIV is kind of nightmare for the sufferers. They suffer not only because of the disease but also due to the social stigma they have to go through. The fact that society has little awareness about HIV and AIDS makes it more difficult for the sufferers. They should understand that a person infected with HIV does not necessarily have AIDS. Moreover, ordinary people try to keep a distance from the HIV infected people to avoid infection. However, HIV does not spread by touching or sharing things. An AIDS forum is a platform that helps the AIDS patients to discuss their fears, problems and treatments. Moreover, they can share their stories and experiences too with other people to take off the emotional burden on their minds and hearts.
The HIV AIDS forum is an online place where you can seek out answers to you questions, doubts and queries. In addition, you can also helps others get answers to their questions and ease their doubts. You can become part of any such forum by opening your account and getting a membership. You can answer to the treads created by other members and you can open a thread to start a discussion on any issue related to AIDS and HIV. These forums play important role in helping people vent out their feelings and bitterness created due to the disease. It helps them tell people how it feels living with HIV and get some neutral responses of society toward them.
If you are suffering with AIDS or anybody in your acquaintance suffering with AIDS, you can join AIDS forum to share the stories of personal struggles and personal victories. By telling others how you are coping with your problems due to AIDS, you can help others see a light at this dark path. Similarly, you can become member of an HIV forum and discuss various issues related to HIV infection. These issues may be related to health conditions, treatments or view of the people towards HIV infected people. You can use these forums to make new friends and share each other’s grievances.
The most important benefit of joining these forums is you can share all your thoughts, doubts or queries without any hesitation. Sometimes, you cannot open up about all your feeling in front of your friends or relatives. However, these forums offer you an opportunity to hide your identity and be fair about your feelings. These forums provide everyone an opportunity to get involved and reach out others to give your hands and seek others help. Another important fact about these forums is nobody is forced to join these platforms; rather people become members at their will and join it selflessly.
You can join any HIV AIDS forum anytime and from anywhere at no cost at all. These forums offer much required peer support since most HIV/AIDS infected people are isolated from society. hivaidstribe.com, an online community provides opportunity to join such forums.
http://www.hivaidstribe.com Read More..
The HIV AIDS forum is an online place where you can seek out answers to you questions, doubts and queries. In addition, you can also helps others get answers to their questions and ease their doubts. You can become part of any such forum by opening your account and getting a membership. You can answer to the treads created by other members and you can open a thread to start a discussion on any issue related to AIDS and HIV. These forums play important role in helping people vent out their feelings and bitterness created due to the disease. It helps them tell people how it feels living with HIV and get some neutral responses of society toward them.
If you are suffering with AIDS or anybody in your acquaintance suffering with AIDS, you can join AIDS forum to share the stories of personal struggles and personal victories. By telling others how you are coping with your problems due to AIDS, you can help others see a light at this dark path. Similarly, you can become member of an HIV forum and discuss various issues related to HIV infection. These issues may be related to health conditions, treatments or view of the people towards HIV infected people. You can use these forums to make new friends and share each other’s grievances.
The most important benefit of joining these forums is you can share all your thoughts, doubts or queries without any hesitation. Sometimes, you cannot open up about all your feeling in front of your friends or relatives. However, these forums offer you an opportunity to hide your identity and be fair about your feelings. These forums provide everyone an opportunity to get involved and reach out others to give your hands and seek others help. Another important fact about these forums is nobody is forced to join these platforms; rather people become members at their will and join it selflessly.
You can join any HIV AIDS forum anytime and from anywhere at no cost at all. These forums offer much required peer support since most HIV/AIDS infected people are isolated from society. hivaidstribe.com, an online community provides opportunity to join such forums.
http://www.hivaidstribe.com Read More..
Blackberry Torch - A Great Choice For Social Networkers
The Blackberry Torch 9800 is arguably one of the most impressive handsets to date from the manufacturer. Boasting the combination of both a touchscreen and slide out QWERTY keyboard, it offers the best of both worlds.
An ideal smartphone for the business user, the Blackberry Torch 9800 offers a number of productivity tools to get the job done on the move. A document viewer (compatible with Microsoft Office files), organiser and voice memo recorder are all included. The built in full QWERTY keyboard is great for those who send a lot of messages and emails, whilst there is also an optical trackpad to navigate the Blackberry OS 6.0.
Measuring 3.2 inches, the TFT capacitive touchscreen is great for viewing photos, videos or documents, thanks to the pixel resolution of 360x 480 which can display up to 16M vivid colours. Of course the screen offers an engaging and dynamic method navigating the user interface, great for tasks such as surfing the web.
The Blackberry Torch 9800 is not a small handset (111x 62x 14.6), although attitudes towards this have changed in recent years. Rather than size, users now seem to be more concerned with software and features, an area where this handset does not disappoint. As well as the aforementioned productivity features, there are also a number of entertainment features which includes a versatile internal media player which supports many different formats of music and video files, as well as a number of built in games (along with access to a library of downloadable games).
To store files such as documents and music tracks, there is a generous internal storage capacity of 4 GB. An integrated micro SD card slot also features a 4 GB pre-installed memory card, however this can be replaced with a card of up to 32 GB. Therefore, thousands of files can potentially be stored within the handset.
Access to the internet is achieved thanks to an HSDPA connection in areas covered by 3G, whereas the fastest option is Wi-Fi. This takes advantage of local wireless networks where available. Class 10 versions of both GPRS and EDGE keep the Blackberry Torch 9800 connected to the appropriate cellular networks.
A handy 5 megapixel camera is also built into the handset. Its pixel resolution of 2592x 1944 means the resulting still images are of great quality. Features including continuous autofocus, image stabilisation and an LED flash are all provided as standard. The camera can also shoot video footage in VGA quality at 24 frames per second.
From the features listed above, it is clear to see the that the Blackberry Torch 9800 is a very versatile smartphone. It is sure to appeal to business users and students as well as existing Blackberry fans.
by: Chris Westley Read More..
An ideal smartphone for the business user, the Blackberry Torch 9800 offers a number of productivity tools to get the job done on the move. A document viewer (compatible with Microsoft Office files), organiser and voice memo recorder are all included. The built in full QWERTY keyboard is great for those who send a lot of messages and emails, whilst there is also an optical trackpad to navigate the Blackberry OS 6.0.
Measuring 3.2 inches, the TFT capacitive touchscreen is great for viewing photos, videos or documents, thanks to the pixel resolution of 360x 480 which can display up to 16M vivid colours. Of course the screen offers an engaging and dynamic method navigating the user interface, great for tasks such as surfing the web.
The Blackberry Torch 9800 is not a small handset (111x 62x 14.6), although attitudes towards this have changed in recent years. Rather than size, users now seem to be more concerned with software and features, an area where this handset does not disappoint. As well as the aforementioned productivity features, there are also a number of entertainment features which includes a versatile internal media player which supports many different formats of music and video files, as well as a number of built in games (along with access to a library of downloadable games).
To store files such as documents and music tracks, there is a generous internal storage capacity of 4 GB. An integrated micro SD card slot also features a 4 GB pre-installed memory card, however this can be replaced with a card of up to 32 GB. Therefore, thousands of files can potentially be stored within the handset.
Access to the internet is achieved thanks to an HSDPA connection in areas covered by 3G, whereas the fastest option is Wi-Fi. This takes advantage of local wireless networks where available. Class 10 versions of both GPRS and EDGE keep the Blackberry Torch 9800 connected to the appropriate cellular networks.
A handy 5 megapixel camera is also built into the handset. Its pixel resolution of 2592x 1944 means the resulting still images are of great quality. Features including continuous autofocus, image stabilisation and an LED flash are all provided as standard. The camera can also shoot video footage in VGA quality at 24 frames per second.
From the features listed above, it is clear to see the that the Blackberry Torch 9800 is a very versatile smartphone. It is sure to appeal to business users and students as well as existing Blackberry fans.
by: Chris Westley Read More..
12/03/2011
Top 10 Must-Have iPhone Apps for Online Business Social Networking
The iPhone is not just a fun phone to have. It's actually
a great tool for business owners. Among the millions of
apps available, there's some that are very useful for
businesses, especially if you are a small business owner
who needs to stay on top of things. Since social
networking has reached an all time high, it was only a matter of time before the need to stay connected
through your iPhone became a must. The rise of social
media has helped news spread like wildfire and in order
to keep up with the newest topics, you'll need to
download these 10 social apps for your iPhone as soon
as possible. 1. Facebook: The Facebook for iPhone app currently has
45,907,786 active users, a number that is growing every
day. This app will allow you to keep up with your
business's Facebook fan page wherever you are. Check
out your news feed, update your profile, check your
messages and see what your fans are saying about your company all from your mobile phone. 2. LinkedIn: LinkedIn for the iPhone allows you to put
your professional network in the palm of your hands,
literally. Connect with over 50 million professionals
worldwide in real-time. Imagine yourself walking into a
client meeting with the ability to look up the profile of
your new contact and make a permanent connection online. The LinkedIn app allows you to find the person,
information or company that can help you close a deal
and allows you to get the latest updates from your
contacts, interact and respond to them any time from
any location. 3. Hootsuite: Use your Hootsuite iPhone app to manage
multiple Twitter accounts, update your Facebook profile
and fan pages, translate Twitter messages from over 50
languages and schedule messages to send. You can
also add geo-location coordinates to your tweets to let
your employees and customers know where you are. 4. WordPress: Manage your company blog from your
iPhone with the WordPress for iPhone app. Moderate
comments and create and edit posts and pages quickly
and easily from any location. 5. Foursquare: Keep up with your Foursquare account
from your iPhone with this app. You'll be able to see
where your employees, friends and clients are in your
city or surrounding cities. Get notification updates to
your phone too. Also you'll be able to view a social
city-guide that helps you find nearby places that will reward you for stopping by or near. It's easy to
become the "mayor" of your favorite spot when you
can update your account from your phone. 6. Twitteriffic: This Twitter app features a built-in
browser that lets you follow tweeted links without
leaving the application. Users can post tweets to their
account, view other tweets from contacts and update a
location. There’s a free (ad-supported) version as well
as a paid version. 7. Myspace: The Myspace iPhone app allows you to
stay in touch with your social network, send and
receive messages, view your contacts and read their
statuses as well as upload photos from phone. 8. YouTube: Browse and view millions of videos from
any location on your mobile phone with the YouTube
iPhone app. Access account favorites and playlists,
search for videos, share and comment on videos and
upload videos while on the go. 9. Mashable: This app allows you to keep up with the
latest coverage from Mashable's Web site wherever
you may be. The Mashable app allows you to have the
most current information on the Web 2.0 and social
media world sent right to your mobile phone. 10. StumbleUpon: Use the StumbleUpon app to get the
best stories on the Web sent right to your phone.
Every time you click Stumble!, you will be shown sites
that have been chosen just for you based on the
preferences you set. You'll also be able to see which
sites millions of users recommend. Keep up with the best news in your industry with this app. Using these social networking apps will keep you
connected to the news in your industry as well as
allow you to engage your employees, clients and
potential customers, whether you're sitting in traffic or
sipping coffee brainstorming your next big business
move.
by: Wendy Suto Read More..
a great tool for business owners. Among the millions of
apps available, there's some that are very useful for
businesses, especially if you are a small business owner
who needs to stay on top of things. Since social
networking has reached an all time high, it was only a matter of time before the need to stay connected
through your iPhone became a must. The rise of social
media has helped news spread like wildfire and in order
to keep up with the newest topics, you'll need to
download these 10 social apps for your iPhone as soon
as possible. 1. Facebook: The Facebook for iPhone app currently has
45,907,786 active users, a number that is growing every
day. This app will allow you to keep up with your
business's Facebook fan page wherever you are. Check
out your news feed, update your profile, check your
messages and see what your fans are saying about your company all from your mobile phone. 2. LinkedIn: LinkedIn for the iPhone allows you to put
your professional network in the palm of your hands,
literally. Connect with over 50 million professionals
worldwide in real-time. Imagine yourself walking into a
client meeting with the ability to look up the profile of
your new contact and make a permanent connection online. The LinkedIn app allows you to find the person,
information or company that can help you close a deal
and allows you to get the latest updates from your
contacts, interact and respond to them any time from
any location. 3. Hootsuite: Use your Hootsuite iPhone app to manage
multiple Twitter accounts, update your Facebook profile
and fan pages, translate Twitter messages from over 50
languages and schedule messages to send. You can
also add geo-location coordinates to your tweets to let
your employees and customers know where you are. 4. WordPress: Manage your company blog from your
iPhone with the WordPress for iPhone app. Moderate
comments and create and edit posts and pages quickly
and easily from any location. 5. Foursquare: Keep up with your Foursquare account
from your iPhone with this app. You'll be able to see
where your employees, friends and clients are in your
city or surrounding cities. Get notification updates to
your phone too. Also you'll be able to view a social
city-guide that helps you find nearby places that will reward you for stopping by or near. It's easy to
become the "mayor" of your favorite spot when you
can update your account from your phone. 6. Twitteriffic: This Twitter app features a built-in
browser that lets you follow tweeted links without
leaving the application. Users can post tweets to their
account, view other tweets from contacts and update a
location. There’s a free (ad-supported) version as well
as a paid version. 7. Myspace: The Myspace iPhone app allows you to
stay in touch with your social network, send and
receive messages, view your contacts and read their
statuses as well as upload photos from phone. 8. YouTube: Browse and view millions of videos from
any location on your mobile phone with the YouTube
iPhone app. Access account favorites and playlists,
search for videos, share and comment on videos and
upload videos while on the go. 9. Mashable: This app allows you to keep up with the
latest coverage from Mashable's Web site wherever
you may be. The Mashable app allows you to have the
most current information on the Web 2.0 and social
media world sent right to your mobile phone. 10. StumbleUpon: Use the StumbleUpon app to get the
best stories on the Web sent right to your phone.
Every time you click Stumble!, you will be shown sites
that have been chosen just for you based on the
preferences you set. You'll also be able to see which
sites millions of users recommend. Keep up with the best news in your industry with this app. Using these social networking apps will keep you
connected to the news in your industry as well as
allow you to engage your employees, clients and
potential customers, whether you're sitting in traffic or
sipping coffee brainstorming your next big business
move.
by: Wendy Suto Read More..
Joining Multilevel Marketing Forums: Some Things You Should Know
Many people today have been exposed to the various
possibilities presented by multilevel marketing.
Multilevel marketing is a method of business which
offers people the chance to earn passive income. This
means that they are given the possibility of earning
cash with minimal work. If you are interested in getting in the bandwagon, then you should definitely join a
multilevel marketing forum. In order to do that,
however, there are a few things you should know
about: 1) Rules - Multilevel marketing forums always have a
set of rules that should be adhered to by every
member. Non-compliance to these rules could result in
the banning of a person from the forum. The rules of a
multilevel marketing forum are often designed to
protect each member of the forum. When you first register and join a multilevel marketing forum, you
actually agree to abide by these rules. 2) Limitations - When you join a multilevel marketing
forum, you shouldn't expect to immediately rise to the
level of a master marketer. You need to know that the
effectiveness of multilevel marketing forums in helping
you depends on your ability to absorb information.
You should also realize that members of a multilevel marketing forum are generally free to express their
opinions. This means that you shouldn't trust every word that
you read. It is always up to your discretion whether or
not to follow the advice given by another member. It is
also up to you to judge the integrity of other members.
You need to be both open-minded and closed-minded
when it comes to information that you get in a multilevel marketing forum. 3) Benefits - There are a lot of benefits that you can get
from joining a multilevel marketing forum. Here are
some of them: 1) Information - The best benefit you can get from a
multilevel marketing forum is access to information.
Through a multilevel marketing forum, you will be able
to access information relevant to your business. This
means that you will be able to add another weapon to
your arsenal. Information is the most important thing you'll need in order to achieve success. With the right
information in your hands, you can do anything. 2) Connections - Another great thing about multilevel
marketing forums is the fact that you will be able to
make connections. This means that you will actually
have the opportunity to start or expand your
network. Let the multilevel marketing forum serve as a
bridge to help you gain access to other people. Multilevel marketing forums, after all, are designed to
help people who share a common interest in the
business keep in touch with each other. It is designed
for the benefit of all parties involved. 3) Tools - Many people who join multilevel marketing
forums are actually very successful individuals who are
willing to share their secrets to success. Often, members
of a multilevel marketing forum will make certain tools,
such as software, available to other members. People
who join multilevel marketing forums are thus given the opportunity to improve the way they are doing
their business. By having the right tools in your hand,
you can make the most difficult job quite easy. Joining a multilevel marketing forum entails an
unwritten rule of mutual benefit. In order for you to
truly enjoy what the forum has to give you, you need
to give what you can to the forum. Multilevel
marketing forums, in a sense, act as a knowledge bank.
You can withdraw, but you also need to deposit. For more information about Multilevel Marketing Forum
be sure to follow the link in the resource box below to
receive your free home business Cd.
http://www.thenewbizsuccess.com Read More..
possibilities presented by multilevel marketing.
Multilevel marketing is a method of business which
offers people the chance to earn passive income. This
means that they are given the possibility of earning
cash with minimal work. If you are interested in getting in the bandwagon, then you should definitely join a
multilevel marketing forum. In order to do that,
however, there are a few things you should know
about: 1) Rules - Multilevel marketing forums always have a
set of rules that should be adhered to by every
member. Non-compliance to these rules could result in
the banning of a person from the forum. The rules of a
multilevel marketing forum are often designed to
protect each member of the forum. When you first register and join a multilevel marketing forum, you
actually agree to abide by these rules. 2) Limitations - When you join a multilevel marketing
forum, you shouldn't expect to immediately rise to the
level of a master marketer. You need to know that the
effectiveness of multilevel marketing forums in helping
you depends on your ability to absorb information.
You should also realize that members of a multilevel marketing forum are generally free to express their
opinions. This means that you shouldn't trust every word that
you read. It is always up to your discretion whether or
not to follow the advice given by another member. It is
also up to you to judge the integrity of other members.
You need to be both open-minded and closed-minded
when it comes to information that you get in a multilevel marketing forum. 3) Benefits - There are a lot of benefits that you can get
from joining a multilevel marketing forum. Here are
some of them: 1) Information - The best benefit you can get from a
multilevel marketing forum is access to information.
Through a multilevel marketing forum, you will be able
to access information relevant to your business. This
means that you will be able to add another weapon to
your arsenal. Information is the most important thing you'll need in order to achieve success. With the right
information in your hands, you can do anything. 2) Connections - Another great thing about multilevel
marketing forums is the fact that you will be able to
make connections. This means that you will actually
have the opportunity to start or expand your
network. Let the multilevel marketing forum serve as a
bridge to help you gain access to other people. Multilevel marketing forums, after all, are designed to
help people who share a common interest in the
business keep in touch with each other. It is designed
for the benefit of all parties involved. 3) Tools - Many people who join multilevel marketing
forums are actually very successful individuals who are
willing to share their secrets to success. Often, members
of a multilevel marketing forum will make certain tools,
such as software, available to other members. People
who join multilevel marketing forums are thus given the opportunity to improve the way they are doing
their business. By having the right tools in your hand,
you can make the most difficult job quite easy. Joining a multilevel marketing forum entails an
unwritten rule of mutual benefit. In order for you to
truly enjoy what the forum has to give you, you need
to give what you can to the forum. Multilevel
marketing forums, in a sense, act as a knowledge bank.
You can withdraw, but you also need to deposit. For more information about Multilevel Marketing Forum
be sure to follow the link in the resource box below to
receive your free home business Cd.
http://www.thenewbizsuccess.com Read More..
4 Benefits An Affiliate Forum Offers Your Business
People who do affiliate marketing on a regular basis
have experienced first hand the benefits an affiliate
forum offers. There are many ways your Internet
business can reap the rewards from your participation
in an affiliate forum. Here are four of them. 1. Training. To learn about affiliate marketing you can
read the various threads that are already started. If you have questions that you need answers to you
can post them and then read the results. It is a great
way to interact with other online marketers and learn
at the same time. 2. Personal attention. Often times the owners of the
forum will participate on a regular basis. You also have
the benefit of interacting with experienced Internet
marketers. To get an idea of their experience level you can take a
look at the number of posts the forum member has
made. Many times people will also include their email
address in their profile and you can contact them
directly, or leave a message at the forum for them. 3. Sell in your sig file. This is one of the really big
benefits participating in forum marketing offers. You do not want to try to sell any of your products in
any of the posts you make. That is frowned upon and
is a good way to get banned from the forum. Creating a signature file is one thing forums will let you
do. You can think of this as a short classified ad where
you tell a little bit about yourself or your products. You can also hyperlink these by targeting keyword
phrases and linking them back directly to your website
URL. When you do it this way people can click directly
on the words and be taken to any web page you want
them to. 4. SEO links archived. Hyperlinking a targeted keyword
phrase can give you good rankings for that phrase
with various search engines. Some forums archive their threads giving you valuable
backlinks inthe future. In some instances search
engines will rank the various threads in the results for a
specific keyword phrase. These backlinks can give you website visitors long
after you have made the original post. You can also
receive search engine traffic if the thread is archived
and people click on it when they are searching for
information on a search engine. An affiliate forum offers many benefits to the
participants. When you do forum marketing the correct
way you can also receive valuable benefits for your
Internet business.
by: Suzanne E Morrison Read More..
have experienced first hand the benefits an affiliate
forum offers. There are many ways your Internet
business can reap the rewards from your participation
in an affiliate forum. Here are four of them. 1. Training. To learn about affiliate marketing you can
read the various threads that are already started. If you have questions that you need answers to you
can post them and then read the results. It is a great
way to interact with other online marketers and learn
at the same time. 2. Personal attention. Often times the owners of the
forum will participate on a regular basis. You also have
the benefit of interacting with experienced Internet
marketers. To get an idea of their experience level you can take a
look at the number of posts the forum member has
made. Many times people will also include their email
address in their profile and you can contact them
directly, or leave a message at the forum for them. 3. Sell in your sig file. This is one of the really big
benefits participating in forum marketing offers. You do not want to try to sell any of your products in
any of the posts you make. That is frowned upon and
is a good way to get banned from the forum. Creating a signature file is one thing forums will let you
do. You can think of this as a short classified ad where
you tell a little bit about yourself or your products. You can also hyperlink these by targeting keyword
phrases and linking them back directly to your website
URL. When you do it this way people can click directly
on the words and be taken to any web page you want
them to. 4. SEO links archived. Hyperlinking a targeted keyword
phrase can give you good rankings for that phrase
with various search engines. Some forums archive their threads giving you valuable
backlinks inthe future. In some instances search
engines will rank the various threads in the results for a
specific keyword phrase. These backlinks can give you website visitors long
after you have made the original post. You can also
receive search engine traffic if the thread is archived
and people click on it when they are searching for
information on a search engine. An affiliate forum offers many benefits to the
participants. When you do forum marketing the correct
way you can also receive valuable benefits for your
Internet business.
by: Suzanne E Morrison Read More..
12/02/2011
Community Marketing
Before you start selling any product, you need to think
about a few things. 1st - who is your target market? Many people fail
because they don't ever define a target market. If you
don't know exactly who it is your going to sell to. then you'll never make it in direct response marketing. You see - with big companies, (think McDonalds or
coke) they rely on brand marketing. Where you throw
something out and hope that a little of it sticks in their
customers mind when they are hungry or thirsty. As direct response internet marketers, we aren't going
after everyone. We don't want to rely on brand
marketing. We want to know who our target market it, and then
figure out ways to get our messages directly to them. 2nd - After you've identified who is your target market
- it's time to figure out where you can find cluster of
those type of people. Offline, the best way is to rent a mailing list of people
w/ the same characteristics of the person who is your
target or to find a JV with someone who has the same
target as you. Online - there are a few ways. One of my favorite is to
find a community of my target market. When I was wrestling, I used to spend hours every
day in all the popular wrestling forums talking about
wrestling with people all over the world! All of the wrestlers were targeted onto one forum. Now,
if you were selling a product to wrestlers, where would
your target market be? Yup - in that forum. Now the question is how can you
mine those names out of the forum and get them onto
your own lists? Most forums and communities won't allow you to post
blatant ads, but you can become part of their
communities. Post useful messages, and use a
"signature" file in each of your posts that gives people
a free report or something else that would get someone
to go to your website and fill out your autoresponder form. Also - this IS the best place to network with people in
your niche. The big list owners generally are in the
forums posting messages. Become friends with them
there, and do a joint venture with them later. :) Learning to tap into online communities is very
important. I know the power of them because this is
how I started my online business AND how I start
when I go into any niche. Because I know the power of online communities, I've
build one that was focused on internet marketers. I'd love to invite you to become part of my
community. I put in quite a few incentives to make it
worthwhile for you to post messages and be an active
member. I had a few people laugh at the fact that I wrote a sales
page for a free forum, but I wanted it to stick out in
your mind. :) You can see my sales page and create your free
account here: www.ConquerYourNiche.com I look forward to having you as an active member in
our community. Also - look for those communities in
your niche that you can use to network and build your
lists.
by: Russell Brunso Read More..
about a few things. 1st - who is your target market? Many people fail
because they don't ever define a target market. If you
don't know exactly who it is your going to sell to. then you'll never make it in direct response marketing. You see - with big companies, (think McDonalds or
coke) they rely on brand marketing. Where you throw
something out and hope that a little of it sticks in their
customers mind when they are hungry or thirsty. As direct response internet marketers, we aren't going
after everyone. We don't want to rely on brand
marketing. We want to know who our target market it, and then
figure out ways to get our messages directly to them. 2nd - After you've identified who is your target market
- it's time to figure out where you can find cluster of
those type of people. Offline, the best way is to rent a mailing list of people
w/ the same characteristics of the person who is your
target or to find a JV with someone who has the same
target as you. Online - there are a few ways. One of my favorite is to
find a community of my target market. When I was wrestling, I used to spend hours every
day in all the popular wrestling forums talking about
wrestling with people all over the world! All of the wrestlers were targeted onto one forum. Now,
if you were selling a product to wrestlers, where would
your target market be? Yup - in that forum. Now the question is how can you
mine those names out of the forum and get them onto
your own lists? Most forums and communities won't allow you to post
blatant ads, but you can become part of their
communities. Post useful messages, and use a
"signature" file in each of your posts that gives people
a free report or something else that would get someone
to go to your website and fill out your autoresponder form. Also - this IS the best place to network with people in
your niche. The big list owners generally are in the
forums posting messages. Become friends with them
there, and do a joint venture with them later. :) Learning to tap into online communities is very
important. I know the power of them because this is
how I started my online business AND how I start
when I go into any niche. Because I know the power of online communities, I've
build one that was focused on internet marketers. I'd love to invite you to become part of my
community. I put in quite a few incentives to make it
worthwhile for you to post messages and be an active
member. I had a few people laugh at the fact that I wrote a sales
page for a free forum, but I wanted it to stick out in
your mind. :) You can see my sales page and create your free
account here: www.ConquerYourNiche.com I look forward to having you as an active member in
our community. Also - look for those communities in
your niche that you can use to network and build your
lists.
by: Russell Brunso Read More..
Current trend of Social networking sites
Over the years there has been an immense rise of
internet users. Every internet user has jumped on the
social networking bandwagon for past few years. You
can customize and create a very unique profile on
social site. Today, almost each one of us is registered on
social networking bandwagon. The popularity has risen beyond our imagination. Many important business
deals are done on the social networking site. For every
business owner, it has become one of the most
important promotional strategies. One of the popular
trends among people today is to create a free music
playlist which you can either post on your personal page, business page or your band page. On social networking sites, you can socialize with
friends, family and colleagues and listen to music, create
free music playlist, view different videos and photos.
Apparently, the popularity of Social networking sites is
not limited to socializing only. Business houses have
realized sensed the potential of this medium and use to connect with the customers, to gain contacts, clients
and to create public awareness. Businessmen are
adopting interesting strategies on social networking
sites to make good out of it. You can advertise your
product or service on the social site; you create a
business profile and add users to create awareness among people, you can create your target audience’s
community etc. In the arena cluttered with brands and names,
businesses struggle to get visibility in the market. With
the shift in market from offline to online, the need for
new strategies come to play. And hence, a business
directory becomes the most crucial tool for the
promotion of a site and gets you higher ranking. After all just having a website and no visibility is like being
another pebble on the shore. Business profile on social networking site is important.
It is an identity that you have online. Make sure that
you have an impressive business profile that speaks
about your product or service. The profile needs to be
unique because of the fact that it will look just like a
web page minus the actual domain that your business would have. Some of the steps that can help you
create an impressive profile on the web page are listed
here. Firstly, an impressive name is necessary as it is
name that catches our attention. Secondly, you need to
give your customized background to the profile. Keep
the colors consistent throughout and don’t use jazzy colors. Thirdly, pay attention to your reply tab. Keep a
regular check because appropriate replies should be
given instantly to customers or prospects. Lastly,
interaction and conversation with customers is the
most important part of the phenomena business social
networking. Social Networking Profile privacy however cannot be
overlooked. Maintaining privacy and avoiding identity
fraud are the elementary things to be taken care off.
Take utmost care you’re your content is interesting
and appealing to have more and more visitors join
you. Constant updates and interaction with customers will help to build good brand image and brand loyalty.
So get connected!
by: Amin Sultani Read More..
internet users. Every internet user has jumped on the
social networking bandwagon for past few years. You
can customize and create a very unique profile on
social site. Today, almost each one of us is registered on
social networking bandwagon. The popularity has risen beyond our imagination. Many important business
deals are done on the social networking site. For every
business owner, it has become one of the most
important promotional strategies. One of the popular
trends among people today is to create a free music
playlist which you can either post on your personal page, business page or your band page. On social networking sites, you can socialize with
friends, family and colleagues and listen to music, create
free music playlist, view different videos and photos.
Apparently, the popularity of Social networking sites is
not limited to socializing only. Business houses have
realized sensed the potential of this medium and use to connect with the customers, to gain contacts, clients
and to create public awareness. Businessmen are
adopting interesting strategies on social networking
sites to make good out of it. You can advertise your
product or service on the social site; you create a
business profile and add users to create awareness among people, you can create your target audience’s
community etc. In the arena cluttered with brands and names,
businesses struggle to get visibility in the market. With
the shift in market from offline to online, the need for
new strategies come to play. And hence, a business
directory becomes the most crucial tool for the
promotion of a site and gets you higher ranking. After all just having a website and no visibility is like being
another pebble on the shore. Business profile on social networking site is important.
It is an identity that you have online. Make sure that
you have an impressive business profile that speaks
about your product or service. The profile needs to be
unique because of the fact that it will look just like a
web page minus the actual domain that your business would have. Some of the steps that can help you
create an impressive profile on the web page are listed
here. Firstly, an impressive name is necessary as it is
name that catches our attention. Secondly, you need to
give your customized background to the profile. Keep
the colors consistent throughout and don’t use jazzy colors. Thirdly, pay attention to your reply tab. Keep a
regular check because appropriate replies should be
given instantly to customers or prospects. Lastly,
interaction and conversation with customers is the
most important part of the phenomena business social
networking. Social Networking Profile privacy however cannot be
overlooked. Maintaining privacy and avoiding identity
fraud are the elementary things to be taken care off.
Take utmost care you’re your content is interesting
and appealing to have more and more visitors join
you. Constant updates and interaction with customers will help to build good brand image and brand loyalty.
So get connected!
by: Amin Sultani Read More..
12/01/2011
Internet Marketing Tips: How to Create an Elite Online Community for Your Business
Although social media marketing has become extremely popular in today's day and age, there are still many businesses that haven't figured out how to do it right. Using social media to build a functional online community that actually benefits your company is harder than it may seem. Even if you know the important of making a good online impression and image for your company, you may be unsure of how to go about doing it. Here are some Internet marketing tips that will help you build an online community that will increase brand awareness and loyalty as well as drive traffic to your Website and encourage purchases.
First, identify your business goals and objectives. What do you want to accomplish with your online community? Do you want to increase brand awareness and enhance your company's online image? Do you want to have a direct network where you can announce promotions and new product launches? Do you want to enhance your customer service? Luckily you can do all of these things with a social media network. However, it's important to define your exact goals so you and your staff know what to focus on. Also, think about your target audience. What kind of information would they be interested in reading? You want to make sure your online community is a place where your target audience/customers can meet their objectives. Otherwise they will not have an incentive to come to your network. So whether their objectives are to learn about the business's promotions and new products or have somewhere to talk to others about similar interests, make sure your social network is able to meet theirneeds.
Get personal. One thing to keep in mind about social networks are that they are place where people go to interact with other people. This means that the more human your make your company appear on its social network, the better. In order to accomplish this, you must talk to your audience in a conversational, casual tone. Make them feel like they are talking to a friend rather than a huge corporation. This will increase their trust in your company and therefore make them more likely to do business with you. However, keep in mind that getting too personal is never a good thing. Have your company on the brain when you post or tweet, and ask yourself, is this something my customers would appreciate or am I going too far? You are a business after all, so you must maintain some professionalism without being too stuffy.
Become an industry expert. Social networks can help you become a source for news and information that deals with your industry, which is a great thing. Post relevant breaking news stories, trivia, tips, trends and advice that deals with your industry and people will keep coming back to read more. This also enhances your company's credibility, which will motivate people to do business with you rather than your competition. It will also ensure that your site comes up in conversation when people talk to their colleagues and friends. Becoming an industry expert will help your company gain and maintain the trust and loyalty of your customers as well as get more leads that will hopefully turn into sales.
Find out what they think. Social networking is a great way to find out what your customers think about your company, products or services. If you just launched a certain service or product and want to know if your customers approve, just tweet or post the question on Twitter or Facebook (or both) and watch the mentions, direct messages and comments fly in. People love sharing their opinion, so asking a question is one of the best ways to engage your audience. Gaining valuable opinions from customers will allow you to shape your products or services to better meet their needs, which will increase customer satisfaction and sales for you.
Give online community members privileges. Giving your online community members special privileges, promotions or information will give them an incentive to join the community. It's important to provide an incentive to stay active within the community, so try giving members weekly specials, monthly contents, daily breaking news and more. If you're launching a new product, make sure your online community members are the first to know. The more special access to new information, discounts and contests you give your members, the more they will talk about how fun your community is and spread the word to their friends, family and colleagues.
by: Wendy Suto Read More..
First, identify your business goals and objectives. What do you want to accomplish with your online community? Do you want to increase brand awareness and enhance your company's online image? Do you want to have a direct network where you can announce promotions and new product launches? Do you want to enhance your customer service? Luckily you can do all of these things with a social media network. However, it's important to define your exact goals so you and your staff know what to focus on. Also, think about your target audience. What kind of information would they be interested in reading? You want to make sure your online community is a place where your target audience/customers can meet their objectives. Otherwise they will not have an incentive to come to your network. So whether their objectives are to learn about the business's promotions and new products or have somewhere to talk to others about similar interests, make sure your social network is able to meet theirneeds.
Get personal. One thing to keep in mind about social networks are that they are place where people go to interact with other people. This means that the more human your make your company appear on its social network, the better. In order to accomplish this, you must talk to your audience in a conversational, casual tone. Make them feel like they are talking to a friend rather than a huge corporation. This will increase their trust in your company and therefore make them more likely to do business with you. However, keep in mind that getting too personal is never a good thing. Have your company on the brain when you post or tweet, and ask yourself, is this something my customers would appreciate or am I going too far? You are a business after all, so you must maintain some professionalism without being too stuffy.
Become an industry expert. Social networks can help you become a source for news and information that deals with your industry, which is a great thing. Post relevant breaking news stories, trivia, tips, trends and advice that deals with your industry and people will keep coming back to read more. This also enhances your company's credibility, which will motivate people to do business with you rather than your competition. It will also ensure that your site comes up in conversation when people talk to their colleagues and friends. Becoming an industry expert will help your company gain and maintain the trust and loyalty of your customers as well as get more leads that will hopefully turn into sales.
Find out what they think. Social networking is a great way to find out what your customers think about your company, products or services. If you just launched a certain service or product and want to know if your customers approve, just tweet or post the question on Twitter or Facebook (or both) and watch the mentions, direct messages and comments fly in. People love sharing their opinion, so asking a question is one of the best ways to engage your audience. Gaining valuable opinions from customers will allow you to shape your products or services to better meet their needs, which will increase customer satisfaction and sales for you.
Give online community members privileges. Giving your online community members special privileges, promotions or information will give them an incentive to join the community. It's important to provide an incentive to stay active within the community, so try giving members weekly specials, monthly contents, daily breaking news and more. If you're launching a new product, make sure your online community members are the first to know. The more special access to new information, discounts and contests you give your members, the more they will talk about how fun your community is and spread the word to their friends, family and colleagues.
by: Wendy Suto Read More..
11/30/2011
3 Ways to Create a Community on Your Blog
Any blogger knows they need to create a community atmosphere or else visitors will not be compelled to return! The fact of the matter is that most popular blogs have built their platforms off this sense of community and without it their blog success would not even exist. It is important to realize that the best blogging sites gain their traffic and popularity by creating an environment that is pleasing, stimulating and consistent! Are you up to the task because it is really not difficult.
Here are 3 ways in which you can create an atmosphere on your platform that will help give it the distinction of being one of the best blogging sites in your niche!
Clearly Establish Your Theme
This is the rallying point around which people will either be attracted to your subject or not. Initially people will determine whether they have an interest in your selection of the subject matter you will be blogging about. Some will decide to 'move on' while others will be inclined to return to view more of what you post. From this point forward your blog success will depend upon supplying these readers content worthy of their time to read!
Remember that the more these people return the more incline they are to interact and this is what leads to a greater sense of community!
Establish Your Tone
The voice and style in which you deliver your message will be very influential in as to whether visitors will maintain their interest or not. Your delivery style should be something you are comfortable with and proficient at since you can expect to be doing it for quick some time! Most popular blogs normally have a particular style or delivery that tends to be more suitable to the individual bloggers skill sets and/or personality.
Maintain Consistency
By consistency here I mean the quality of the material you update your platform with and your focus on the subject matter or selected theme. It is important here to keep your focus on the subject that initially attracted your readers or people might lose interest and drift away. Normally the best blogging sites do well by mixing their content in such a way as to offer some variety while still keeping it relevant to the theme!
Your consistency will help develop reader loyalty which in turn will lead to a stronger bond amongst visitors as they become more familiar and comfortable with each other!
It is important to create a community like atmosphere as a blogger being these platforms thrive off of reader loyalty and interaction. Without such an environment, your blog success will be very difficult to achieve. The key is to focus on delivering useful content, targeting a particular niche, in a consistent and interesting manner. By doing so reader loyalty will develop over time as will your distinction of having one of the best blogging sites in the niche. The 3 strategies suggested above serve to help you create the pleasing and stimulating atmosphere readers enjoy. These strategies are simple, time tested and in evidence at any of the most popular blogs you may visit online. By duplicating what appears to work within most blogging communities there is no reason their success can not be yours as well!
by: TJ Philpott Read More..
Here are 3 ways in which you can create an atmosphere on your platform that will help give it the distinction of being one of the best blogging sites in your niche!
Clearly Establish Your Theme
This is the rallying point around which people will either be attracted to your subject or not. Initially people will determine whether they have an interest in your selection of the subject matter you will be blogging about. Some will decide to 'move on' while others will be inclined to return to view more of what you post. From this point forward your blog success will depend upon supplying these readers content worthy of their time to read!
Remember that the more these people return the more incline they are to interact and this is what leads to a greater sense of community!
Establish Your Tone
The voice and style in which you deliver your message will be very influential in as to whether visitors will maintain their interest or not. Your delivery style should be something you are comfortable with and proficient at since you can expect to be doing it for quick some time! Most popular blogs normally have a particular style or delivery that tends to be more suitable to the individual bloggers skill sets and/or personality.
Maintain Consistency
By consistency here I mean the quality of the material you update your platform with and your focus on the subject matter or selected theme. It is important here to keep your focus on the subject that initially attracted your readers or people might lose interest and drift away. Normally the best blogging sites do well by mixing their content in such a way as to offer some variety while still keeping it relevant to the theme!
Your consistency will help develop reader loyalty which in turn will lead to a stronger bond amongst visitors as they become more familiar and comfortable with each other!
It is important to create a community like atmosphere as a blogger being these platforms thrive off of reader loyalty and interaction. Without such an environment, your blog success will be very difficult to achieve. The key is to focus on delivering useful content, targeting a particular niche, in a consistent and interesting manner. By doing so reader loyalty will develop over time as will your distinction of having one of the best blogging sites in the niche. The 3 strategies suggested above serve to help you create the pleasing and stimulating atmosphere readers enjoy. These strategies are simple, time tested and in evidence at any of the most popular blogs you may visit online. By duplicating what appears to work within most blogging communities there is no reason their success can not be yours as well!
by: TJ Philpott Read More..
11/28/2011
Internet Marketing Professionals—How to Earn Respect from the Online Community
Engineers, doctors, nurses, accountants, and lawyers.
They are what we call as professionals. They are individuals with recognized knowledge and expertise on a certain field of endeavor. They are entitled by law and existing policies to practice their respective professions. They are worthy of the standards of their profession, giving them legal licenses to practice their respective professions. Thus, they are the “authorities” in their respective field of endeavors.
Along with their tag as professionals, these individuals are bounded by proper etiquette with regards to their actions and behaviors. As professionals, they are expected to deliver required services to the public and at the same time deal with other individuals and professionals in an appropriate manner. They are looked upon as leaders; thus they are expected to act as real professionals when dealing with their work and other people.
Professionals are everywhere—in various construction sites, real estate markets, hospitals, county courts, and other places. Even the Internet marketing industry is surrounded by various professionals—Internet business consultants, web content writers, software developers, web designers, and others.
Thus, the Internet marketing is a pool of web-based professionals who are working not just for their personal interest but for the development of the industry as well. But what does it take to be considered as one of the Internet marketing professionals?
As previously mentioned, the definition of a professional revolves around the concept of “an individual who has recognized knowledge and expertise on a certain field of endeavor”. As a professional, you are considered to be worthy of the standards of your profession. You need to show to the world that you are really worth to be considered as a professional through creating a professional image.
However, building a professional image is not as easy as you think. In fact, it entails a great deal of time and effort. Your knowledge and expertise is not just the working factor here. You must also consider the conduct of your business in a professional manner, especially on the Internet where you are dealing with clients whom you do not know and you do not see.
Now, how will you start building your professional image? Consider the following aspects in creating your image on the Internet marketing industry.
• Your attitude is among the most essential aspects in creating your professional image on the Internet. It can either make you or kill your career in an instant. The manner you deal with your fellow Internet marketers, clients, and the concerns they want you to answer such as questions, comments, and compliments will reflect on your professionalism as a reputable Internet marketer.
• Courtesy is also an important factor. As previously mentioned, you are dealing with people whom you are not seeing and you do not know. Despite of that gap, make your “unseen” clients feel that they are very much appreciated. You must be respectful and warm in accommodating their queries and concern. Even in words, always express your gratitude to them.
• Honesty is the best policy. Do not mislead your web-based clients or else you will lose them. Remember that you have to earn their trust for you to build long-term relationships with them.
• When dealing with your clients, always go above and beyond their expectations. Always listen to the concerns of your clients. As a professional, you are expected to hear from your clients even if you know and understand most of the aspects of your Internet marketing business.
• Unsatisfied clients always complain about poor technical support. You need to make yourself personally available to assist your clients with their needs. If possible, respond to their emails and return their call as fast as possible.
• Although it is a loss if you will refund the money of unsatisfied clients, you need to. Do not argue with the issue or blast nasty things unto them. Always be apologetic, courteous, and know why they are unsatisfied. Remember the rule that “customers are always right”, even if you feel that they are wrong.
• Your website is the reflection of yourself and your Internet marketing business. It must be professional-looking, complete with product and contact information, and easy ordering protocol.
• Be respectful to your fellow Internet marketers. Keep in mind that you must build a friendly competition on the business and not on personal preferences.
Internet marketing professionals possess those aforementioned aspects. Thus, before getting respect from the Internet community, show to them that you are worthy of their respect and build a professional image on the Internet.
by: Theresa Truscott Read More..
They are what we call as professionals. They are individuals with recognized knowledge and expertise on a certain field of endeavor. They are entitled by law and existing policies to practice their respective professions. They are worthy of the standards of their profession, giving them legal licenses to practice their respective professions. Thus, they are the “authorities” in their respective field of endeavors.
Along with their tag as professionals, these individuals are bounded by proper etiquette with regards to their actions and behaviors. As professionals, they are expected to deliver required services to the public and at the same time deal with other individuals and professionals in an appropriate manner. They are looked upon as leaders; thus they are expected to act as real professionals when dealing with their work and other people.
Professionals are everywhere—in various construction sites, real estate markets, hospitals, county courts, and other places. Even the Internet marketing industry is surrounded by various professionals—Internet business consultants, web content writers, software developers, web designers, and others.
Thus, the Internet marketing is a pool of web-based professionals who are working not just for their personal interest but for the development of the industry as well. But what does it take to be considered as one of the Internet marketing professionals?
As previously mentioned, the definition of a professional revolves around the concept of “an individual who has recognized knowledge and expertise on a certain field of endeavor”. As a professional, you are considered to be worthy of the standards of your profession. You need to show to the world that you are really worth to be considered as a professional through creating a professional image.
However, building a professional image is not as easy as you think. In fact, it entails a great deal of time and effort. Your knowledge and expertise is not just the working factor here. You must also consider the conduct of your business in a professional manner, especially on the Internet where you are dealing with clients whom you do not know and you do not see.
Now, how will you start building your professional image? Consider the following aspects in creating your image on the Internet marketing industry.
• Your attitude is among the most essential aspects in creating your professional image on the Internet. It can either make you or kill your career in an instant. The manner you deal with your fellow Internet marketers, clients, and the concerns they want you to answer such as questions, comments, and compliments will reflect on your professionalism as a reputable Internet marketer.
• Courtesy is also an important factor. As previously mentioned, you are dealing with people whom you are not seeing and you do not know. Despite of that gap, make your “unseen” clients feel that they are very much appreciated. You must be respectful and warm in accommodating their queries and concern. Even in words, always express your gratitude to them.
• Honesty is the best policy. Do not mislead your web-based clients or else you will lose them. Remember that you have to earn their trust for you to build long-term relationships with them.
• When dealing with your clients, always go above and beyond their expectations. Always listen to the concerns of your clients. As a professional, you are expected to hear from your clients even if you know and understand most of the aspects of your Internet marketing business.
• Unsatisfied clients always complain about poor technical support. You need to make yourself personally available to assist your clients with their needs. If possible, respond to their emails and return their call as fast as possible.
• Although it is a loss if you will refund the money of unsatisfied clients, you need to. Do not argue with the issue or blast nasty things unto them. Always be apologetic, courteous, and know why they are unsatisfied. Remember the rule that “customers are always right”, even if you feel that they are wrong.
• Your website is the reflection of yourself and your Internet marketing business. It must be professional-looking, complete with product and contact information, and easy ordering protocol.
• Be respectful to your fellow Internet marketers. Keep in mind that you must build a friendly competition on the business and not on personal preferences.
Internet marketing professionals possess those aforementioned aspects. Thus, before getting respect from the Internet community, show to them that you are worthy of their respect and build a professional image on the Internet.
by: Theresa Truscott Read More..
11/27/2011
Who Should Use Forums to Increase Web Traffic?
People who are serious about building an online business know that traffic is the key to success. Internet forums are a great way to build traffic to your website and you can also build credibility and get great customer research for free at the same time.
Do you want to build your credibility?
Forums are full of people who have problems, and are looking for solutions. If you know the answers to their questions you can build credibility in your niche by getting stuck in and helping people.
These days people can be very suspicious of the internet so it pays to take the time out to build your credibility and help people to trust you. People who understand that you know your stuff and that you are genuinely helpful are more likely to buy from you.
Do you want to get great product ideas without spending a cent on customer research?
If you have no idea where to begin for your next product the you simply need to login to the forum and spend a couple of hours reading the threads and looking for the hot issues. Which threads get the most views, what topics are people talking about, what problems do members need to solve? There's usually a pattern which will allow you to make a note of the top ten burning issues.
All that's left is to write a short report, an ebook, or a membership site that tells people how to solve the issue or problem.
Do you want to get more targeted visitors to your site?
Nearly all forums allow you to add an outbound link into your signature and your profile page. Now this is where most marketers make a fatal mistake; they just post to as many threads as they can to try and build backlinks to their website.
The problem with this method is that not only can it get you banned from the forum for spamming, it's also the least effective way to benefit from forums. Driving targeted traffic to your website or sales page is simply a matter of taking the time to respond to people's questions and to be helpful to them and add value. Think of that signature in the same way you do a resource box on an article. By giving the other members helpful information so that they can solve their issues you are almost encouraging them to click on the link in your signature and see what else you can do for them.
If you want to build credibility in your target niche, find product ideas without paying a cent for research and increase traffic to your website then you should definitely invest some time and energy into forums.
by: Clare Swindlehurst Read More..
Do you want to build your credibility?
Forums are full of people who have problems, and are looking for solutions. If you know the answers to their questions you can build credibility in your niche by getting stuck in and helping people.
These days people can be very suspicious of the internet so it pays to take the time out to build your credibility and help people to trust you. People who understand that you know your stuff and that you are genuinely helpful are more likely to buy from you.
Do you want to get great product ideas without spending a cent on customer research?
If you have no idea where to begin for your next product the you simply need to login to the forum and spend a couple of hours reading the threads and looking for the hot issues. Which threads get the most views, what topics are people talking about, what problems do members need to solve? There's usually a pattern which will allow you to make a note of the top ten burning issues.
All that's left is to write a short report, an ebook, or a membership site that tells people how to solve the issue or problem.
Do you want to get more targeted visitors to your site?
Nearly all forums allow you to add an outbound link into your signature and your profile page. Now this is where most marketers make a fatal mistake; they just post to as many threads as they can to try and build backlinks to their website.
The problem with this method is that not only can it get you banned from the forum for spamming, it's also the least effective way to benefit from forums. Driving targeted traffic to your website or sales page is simply a matter of taking the time to respond to people's questions and to be helpful to them and add value. Think of that signature in the same way you do a resource box on an article. By giving the other members helpful information so that they can solve their issues you are almost encouraging them to click on the link in your signature and see what else you can do for them.
If you want to build credibility in your target niche, find product ideas without paying a cent for research and increase traffic to your website then you should definitely invest some time and energy into forums.
by: Clare Swindlehurst Read More..
11/26/2011
Using Internet Forums Effectively
Forum is one of the highly popular internet marketing strategies. It is a place where smart people share their ideas, give tips and suggestions on different topics.
But how effective is forum in internet marketing and driving traffic to your site?
There are actually different ways where in forum can help in marketing your website:
1. The basic thing you need to do is look for a forum or discussion board that is related to the theme of your website. In case you are looking for the latest software in web design, then you can look for a Web design topic.
2. Participating in internet forum can also build the popularity of you website online by sharing your suggestions or posting new thread.
3. In posting new topics, you should understand first the idea of the whole discussion board. In this way, you can think of where you can post your topic.
4. Once you already have a good understanding of the discussion board, then you can begin posting in your targeted marketing topic.
5. Forum allows signature posting wherein you can place a brief description about your website together with a link on it. In this way, it can help increase link popularity as you post new topics and contents.
6. Placing good keywords and contents in your posting. Popular keywords help to attract and drive traffic to your website.
Internet forum has a lot of benefits in marketing your website. It could be one of the safest environments to place your links; however you can be in a dangerous place if you disregard the following warnings:
1. Never make fun or Jokes on a Forum. Be serious and profound in posting your message. Keep in mind that forums are just like emails, the visitor can't see your gestures or expressions. The smiley and other emoticons can lift your message from serious to humorous to hilarious. And this might me misinterpreted by the reader. You can safely make a joke but be sure it is of relevance to the topic. Just avoid posting sarcastic messages.
2. Don't feel like an Internet Forum Drama Princess. The forum is not an appropriate stage to act your own drama effect. Don't feel like a star in the forum or else the other members will make fun of you. So, better be careful with your messages. Be kind and respect the opinion of other members.
3. Don't be a Forum Copy cat. Never post messages that have already been posted before. Have your own originality. Avoid also posting annoying messages such as "me too', and "I agree". It is very irritating to see those kinds of replies. So, be sure that you know what you're posting.
4. Don't Attack the Forum Administrator or Moderator. Usually, moderators removed messages that are not acceptable in the forum. Even before you sign up, you agreed that you will abide by the forum rules. And it is the right of the forum moderator to ensure that the forum is following the right standard. And so, no one has the right to attack or complain to the forum moderator. Keep in mind also that the messages you posted will be read by the public for years to come.
Indeed, forum is a very challenging internet marketing strategy. For those online entrepreneurs, be sure that you know and choose very well the forums before you get started. Good luck!
*********For more information about Internet Marketing Forums be sure to follow the link in the resource box below to receive your free home business Cd.
All rights reserved. Article may be reprinted as long as the content remains intact and unchanged and links remain active.
by: Anthony Harris Read More..
But how effective is forum in internet marketing and driving traffic to your site?
There are actually different ways where in forum can help in marketing your website:
1. The basic thing you need to do is look for a forum or discussion board that is related to the theme of your website. In case you are looking for the latest software in web design, then you can look for a Web design topic.
2. Participating in internet forum can also build the popularity of you website online by sharing your suggestions or posting new thread.
3. In posting new topics, you should understand first the idea of the whole discussion board. In this way, you can think of where you can post your topic.
4. Once you already have a good understanding of the discussion board, then you can begin posting in your targeted marketing topic.
5. Forum allows signature posting wherein you can place a brief description about your website together with a link on it. In this way, it can help increase link popularity as you post new topics and contents.
6. Placing good keywords and contents in your posting. Popular keywords help to attract and drive traffic to your website.
Internet forum has a lot of benefits in marketing your website. It could be one of the safest environments to place your links; however you can be in a dangerous place if you disregard the following warnings:
1. Never make fun or Jokes on a Forum. Be serious and profound in posting your message. Keep in mind that forums are just like emails, the visitor can't see your gestures or expressions. The smiley and other emoticons can lift your message from serious to humorous to hilarious. And this might me misinterpreted by the reader. You can safely make a joke but be sure it is of relevance to the topic. Just avoid posting sarcastic messages.
2. Don't feel like an Internet Forum Drama Princess. The forum is not an appropriate stage to act your own drama effect. Don't feel like a star in the forum or else the other members will make fun of you. So, better be careful with your messages. Be kind and respect the opinion of other members.
3. Don't be a Forum Copy cat. Never post messages that have already been posted before. Have your own originality. Avoid also posting annoying messages such as "me too', and "I agree". It is very irritating to see those kinds of replies. So, be sure that you know what you're posting.
4. Don't Attack the Forum Administrator or Moderator. Usually, moderators removed messages that are not acceptable in the forum. Even before you sign up, you agreed that you will abide by the forum rules. And it is the right of the forum moderator to ensure that the forum is following the right standard. And so, no one has the right to attack or complain to the forum moderator. Keep in mind also that the messages you posted will be read by the public for years to come.
Indeed, forum is a very challenging internet marketing strategy. For those online entrepreneurs, be sure that you know and choose very well the forums before you get started. Good luck!
*********For more information about Internet Marketing Forums be sure to follow the link in the resource box below to receive your free home business Cd.
All rights reserved. Article may be reprinted as long as the content remains intact and unchanged and links remain active.
by: Anthony Harris Read More..
11/25/2011
Top 5 Facebook Apps For Better Learning
Learning in this global age has always been very easy. But getting to the source that facilitates you, instead of wasting time is something difficult to identify.
Here are the top five Facebook applications that I consider the best.
We Read
It basically deals with books. The books you read tells about the person you are. If one some-one looks at the type of books other person read. He can easily identify the personality of other person. Books even separate you from average non- reader. Your talking reflects your intellect, if you are a good reader. So go on we-read browse for good reading material, post your reviews, find about the inn topic. You can even list, review and rate books that you have already read. All this help in building a paperless knowledgeable world around you. And after all reading is so much fun. Develop this habit and you will start enjoying.
Quizzes
Quiz making and taking makes your brain sharp. So go for Quizzes application. Here you can develop quizzes according to your interest and take quizzes to test the knowledge you already have. Thus also helps you in identifying your social circle and discover your identity on internet.
Interview
No, it is not about job interview. Interviews are not for jobs only. It is the application which deals with interview of your own self. So you can better identify, who you really are and were you able to become, what you wanted to be. You can also post it on your profile, so that everyone knows who you are. This help in better understanding of the people you are connected to. This will help in making good friends on this virtual network.
Cause
Working for yourself is something you all do. But working for a cause makes you noble. So utilize tgis application for the benefit of the society, you work in. You might be a foundation, company or individual with the spirit to bring change. Here is the platform, where you can talk about in-equality, injustice, discrimination, environmental hazards, education, animal safety, global warming, world as global village and its challenges.
My personality
My personality is quite an accurate application for judging your personality. The reason behind its being accurate is this that it is developed by postgraduate researchers specializing in psychology and psychometrics from the University of Cambridge and the University of Nottingham. Here you come to know about the fact that are you shy, out-going, introvert or extravert. Through it you can determine the path of career ideal for you. The areas which need to improve and the greatest strength you have.
by: Inkatechnology Read More..
Here are the top five Facebook applications that I consider the best.
We Read
It basically deals with books. The books you read tells about the person you are. If one some-one looks at the type of books other person read. He can easily identify the personality of other person. Books even separate you from average non- reader. Your talking reflects your intellect, if you are a good reader. So go on we-read browse for good reading material, post your reviews, find about the inn topic. You can even list, review and rate books that you have already read. All this help in building a paperless knowledgeable world around you. And after all reading is so much fun. Develop this habit and you will start enjoying.
Quizzes
Quiz making and taking makes your brain sharp. So go for Quizzes application. Here you can develop quizzes according to your interest and take quizzes to test the knowledge you already have. Thus also helps you in identifying your social circle and discover your identity on internet.
Interview
No, it is not about job interview. Interviews are not for jobs only. It is the application which deals with interview of your own self. So you can better identify, who you really are and were you able to become, what you wanted to be. You can also post it on your profile, so that everyone knows who you are. This help in better understanding of the people you are connected to. This will help in making good friends on this virtual network.
Cause
Working for yourself is something you all do. But working for a cause makes you noble. So utilize tgis application for the benefit of the society, you work in. You might be a foundation, company or individual with the spirit to bring change. Here is the platform, where you can talk about in-equality, injustice, discrimination, environmental hazards, education, animal safety, global warming, world as global village and its challenges.
My personality
My personality is quite an accurate application for judging your personality. The reason behind its being accurate is this that it is developed by postgraduate researchers specializing in psychology and psychometrics from the University of Cambridge and the University of Nottingham. Here you come to know about the fact that are you shy, out-going, introvert or extravert. Through it you can determine the path of career ideal for you. The areas which need to improve and the greatest strength you have.
by: Inkatechnology Read More..
11/06/2011
The New Facebook? Understanding Google+
It seems like everyone has been talking about Google+ lately, a new social networking conglomerate developed by the giant Internet search engine Google. Although the platform is still in its field trial stage and is available by invitation only, there is already a large buzz about the product. So, what makes Google+ different from Facebook, the current most popular social networking site?
Through its three main features – Circles, Hangouts, and Sparks, Google+ differentiates itself because it
1) Gives the user more privacy by allowing him or her to be in full control of what is shared
2) Has a group video chat feature
3) Allows the user to uncover content rather than purely share content
For the Facebook crowd at large who is unfamiliar with Google+, here is a quick glimpse into the nuts and bolts of the new site.
The Stream
Once you get the invite, (the word is that there are currently tens of millions of users, so ask around – chances are you probably know someone who is using it) just sign in with your Gmail, Picassa, or Youtube account. You are then prompted to create your personal profile, which consists of a profile picture, introduction, education, employment, places lived, etc.
On the home screen, there is a GChat bar on the left side and a black bar at the top of the page that connects with Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Photo, Reader, and Web. Below this, there are four tabs that are quite similar to Facebook: Home, Photos, Profile, and Circles. The vast majority of the screen is taken up by a live news feed with comment and +1, or the “like”, capability of your Circles’s activities. But wait – what exactly is this “Circles” mechanism that keeps being referred to?
Circles
One of the three main features of Google+ is Circles. Circles allow you to sort your contacts into groups, including but not limited to friends, family, acquaintances, and following (like Twitter). Ever go through your 1000+ Facebook friends and not know who certain people are and how you met them? Have no fear – Google+ will keep your contacts organized.
Additionally, Circles allows you to easily share posts and pictures with only a specific group of people. There is also the option of adding friends without a Google+ account to a circle, in which they will receive your posts via email. By giving the user control of essentially every post shared, Google+ can be as private or public as you want it to be.
Hangouts
The Hangout tool is a video chat function. After downloading Google’s Voice and Video Installer, you have the capability to create a Hangout and invite up to ten people in your network to chat. Rather than planning Skype sessions in advance, Google+ posts that you are “hanging out” in the live stream and gives others the chance to jump in. Another appealing feature of Hangouts is the ability for Groups to watch Youtube videos or movies together.
An analogous application to Hangouts, the Huddle feature allows users to group chat through text. This can be useful for creating plans for the night or making decisions on a work related project.
Sparks
Sparks allows you to not only share content, but also to discover it. By typing your interests into the Sparks page that appears in your sidebar, you can stumble external sites that are of importance to you. Generally, these include current articles, videos, and other relevant content. Specifically, when I clicked on Recipes, which is one of the current featured interests, I was directed to “Foodmakers May Change Recipes to Cut Fat for Fare Advertised to Children,” “New Restaurant Shares a New Blueberry Pie Recipe,” and more. You can also share your favorite links from Sparks–and from anywhere on the web for that matter – onto your Wall.
More on Google+
Similar to other social media sites, Google+ is available for those on the go. The native mobile app currently is available for the Android, but the web app is accessible for all smartphones, and SMS is coming soon.
It is still undecided when Google+ will be fully available to the public, for Google+ representatives have stated, “How long the testing phase lasts, and how the product evolves, will really depend on how it goes. We don’t have a set amount of time” (Google+ Press Site).
But, for those who have already snagged the invite, this ultimate question remains: Will you switch to Google+ or stay with Facebook?
by: Stephanie Wu Read More..
Through its three main features – Circles, Hangouts, and Sparks, Google+ differentiates itself because it
1) Gives the user more privacy by allowing him or her to be in full control of what is shared
2) Has a group video chat feature
3) Allows the user to uncover content rather than purely share content
For the Facebook crowd at large who is unfamiliar with Google+, here is a quick glimpse into the nuts and bolts of the new site.
The Stream
Once you get the invite, (the word is that there are currently tens of millions of users, so ask around – chances are you probably know someone who is using it) just sign in with your Gmail, Picassa, or Youtube account. You are then prompted to create your personal profile, which consists of a profile picture, introduction, education, employment, places lived, etc.
On the home screen, there is a GChat bar on the left side and a black bar at the top of the page that connects with Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Photo, Reader, and Web. Below this, there are four tabs that are quite similar to Facebook: Home, Photos, Profile, and Circles. The vast majority of the screen is taken up by a live news feed with comment and +1, or the “like”, capability of your Circles’s activities. But wait – what exactly is this “Circles” mechanism that keeps being referred to?
Circles
One of the three main features of Google+ is Circles. Circles allow you to sort your contacts into groups, including but not limited to friends, family, acquaintances, and following (like Twitter). Ever go through your 1000+ Facebook friends and not know who certain people are and how you met them? Have no fear – Google+ will keep your contacts organized.
Additionally, Circles allows you to easily share posts and pictures with only a specific group of people. There is also the option of adding friends without a Google+ account to a circle, in which they will receive your posts via email. By giving the user control of essentially every post shared, Google+ can be as private or public as you want it to be.
Hangouts
The Hangout tool is a video chat function. After downloading Google’s Voice and Video Installer, you have the capability to create a Hangout and invite up to ten people in your network to chat. Rather than planning Skype sessions in advance, Google+ posts that you are “hanging out” in the live stream and gives others the chance to jump in. Another appealing feature of Hangouts is the ability for Groups to watch Youtube videos or movies together.
An analogous application to Hangouts, the Huddle feature allows users to group chat through text. This can be useful for creating plans for the night or making decisions on a work related project.
Sparks
Sparks allows you to not only share content, but also to discover it. By typing your interests into the Sparks page that appears in your sidebar, you can stumble external sites that are of importance to you. Generally, these include current articles, videos, and other relevant content. Specifically, when I clicked on Recipes, which is one of the current featured interests, I was directed to “Foodmakers May Change Recipes to Cut Fat for Fare Advertised to Children,” “New Restaurant Shares a New Blueberry Pie Recipe,” and more. You can also share your favorite links from Sparks–and from anywhere on the web for that matter – onto your Wall.
More on Google+
Similar to other social media sites, Google+ is available for those on the go. The native mobile app currently is available for the Android, but the web app is accessible for all smartphones, and SMS is coming soon.
It is still undecided when Google+ will be fully available to the public, for Google+ representatives have stated, “How long the testing phase lasts, and how the product evolves, will really depend on how it goes. We don’t have a set amount of time” (Google+ Press Site).
But, for those who have already snagged the invite, this ultimate question remains: Will you switch to Google+ or stay with Facebook?
by: Stephanie Wu Read More..
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