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From Michael Manley to Portia Simpson Miller
THE late Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley was one of the leaders of the developing countries calling for a new international economic order. Now, as then, the governments of developed countries refuse to address the just goals advocated by the peoples of the so-called Third World.
The powerful who are the beneficiaries of the international economic system will not willingly redress the distribution of benefits which accrue disproportionately to them. The origin of this dichotomy of economic gains is inherent in capitalism, if not tempered by being embedded in a social framework for affirmative action.
At the level of the nation state, every government, admittedly to different degrees -- makes some effort to assist the plight of their citizens that are disadvantaged by poverty. There is no such mechanism operating at the international level because the peoples of the world do not feel themselves to be part of a global community. There is development assistance by developed countries, euphemistically known as "aid", but it has never been enough and it is mostly tied to purchases and consultants in the developed countries.
Mr Manley abhorred injustice and sought to change the organisation of the international economic system to allow poor countries to achieve self-reliant economic development. He was both an effective advocate and practitioner of the goals and principles he believed should constitute the tenets of economic justice.
The People's National Party (PNP) subscribed to Mr Manley's ideas of a democratic and transparent governance of the international economic system in which collective action by groupings of developing countries could exert influence.
It is testament to his legacy and to the continued injustice of the global economic system that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, in her address to the United Nations General Assembly last week, found it necessary to call the attention of the international community to the plight of the small island developing states which include Caricom countries.
"We are hampered by the volatility of energy and food prices, decreases in export commodity prices, and weak capital inflows. Increasing food prices cause untold hardships for many of our people, particularly the most vulnerable in our societies," she told the UN.
The prime minister's theme resonates with the need for reform pointed out by Manley in his book Up the Down Escalator: Development and the International Economy and the way forward as set out in the Michael Manley-Willy Brandt report Global Challenge: Breaking the North-South Agenda.
We commend the prime minister for the theme of her address to the UN as these issues are in desperate need of a spokesperson, and Caricom has to articulate the case of the small middle-income developing countries as they struggle in the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Gone are leaders like Michael Manley, Fidel Castro, Julius Nyerere, and Caricom is without the leadership P J Paterson, Alister McIntyre, Shridath Ramphal, William Demas, Don Mills, and Owen Arthur.
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Illustration: Ellis Hamburger
Similar to the concessions Google made in March of this year, the settlement would allow the FTC to conduct privacy audits of Facebook for the next two decades.
Facebook would also have to make all new features ("material retroactive changes") opt-in instead of opt-out.
Facebook originally got in trouble with the FTC in December of 2009 for adding features that effectively made user information public by default, instead of asking users beforehand.
Facebook is awaiting final approval for the settlement by the FTC commissioners.

subset: commoncrawl


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Badu selling out stadiums with neo-soul sound
ERYKAH BADU by Timothy CoxFor New Pittsburgh Courier COLUMBIA, MD. — Erykah Badu is still alive and kicking it with her new national concert tour. On a day last month when the sunshine never showed, and expected warm summer breezes turned to light showers and a brisk winds that could stop any outdoor event — Erykah Badu's fans held steady and waited for the 2013 Summer Spirit Festival headliner to appear.


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Wait a minute. Oh, yea....there's a race this weekend! Who knew? While cleanup from the 2012 announcement continues IndyCar hits the streets with a race in Toronto. You kind of get the feeling something big is going to happen. The 2012 "car" was announced, Paul Tracy will race, it's a street course, wow how can it get any better? IT'S ABC/ESPN'S LAST BROADCAST THIS YEAR!!!! That's how. How can it get all ruined? Red Cars. Damn. Wait, remember the last time IndyCar made a major announcement mid-season? It had to do with the Richmond parade in 2009 with Tony George has the sacrificial lamb (about 14 years too late) and instant rule changes. The result was the Kentucky and Chicagoland epic finishes. The old IRL was back. How will the Racing Gods react to the 2012 changes? If it's another Will Power victory with the other Red Cars following him the Racing Gods aren't totally pleased. If Tracy and Tagliani enter the final corner side-by-side and exit in a heap of carbon fiber carnage and smoke (again) with a certain car #78 and car #7 clearing the mist screaming for the checkered flag wheel-to-wheel then we might have something here....oh, and Tracy vs. Tagliani Round 2. Who should you watch for this Sunday?
THE FAVORITE (BEST RED CAR): Will "Max?" Power
Yea, he didn't mess around at The Glen. Really, who DIDN'T see that one coming? He has OWNED street circuits in which he didn't hit the pit-limiter while on track. If he doesn't do that again he should cruise to another victory. He's out to prove that he isn't the slow one.
THE BEST OF THE REST (BEST NON-RED CAR): Paul "Look out, Helio!" Tracy
Looked a bit slow at the Glen which means the Chrome Horn will be in full effect. Somebody at ESPN should be FIRED if there isn't at least TWO in-car cameras connected to Paul Tracy. They should have an bubble window on the screen with a shot of his car during the race broadcast at all times. Better yet, put the RACE in the bubble and Tracy on the big screen. Yea, I totally ripped off Jim Rome's idea for watching Kevin Garnett during the '09 NBA first round playoffs. Why WOULDN'T ESPN do it? Oh, they're ESPN. That's why. Anyways, competitors should keep an eye in their mirrors for this guy. The only thing that could slow down Paul Tracy is....
THE MARTY "SLOTH" ROTH BACKMARKER (NOT NAMED MILKA): Paul "Sorry, Tagliani" Tracy
Yep, he's his own worst enemy. He's the only guy I know that can be winning by a full lap and still take himself out. Hopefully he has mellowed out a bit in his old age and will bring it home in one piece. Yea, right.
See what I did there? He's always The Show when he hits the streets. With him being part-time it makes it even more so. KV Racing's bill to Dallara won't look pretty again this week. Is it just me or does the 2012 "strategy" help make a profit for whomever makes the aero-kits for KV Racing? I imagine people are already lining up at their doors just waiting to be their source for precious carbon fiber. It's no coincidence that Lotus sponsors KV with Sato and Lotus came out and made a press statement stating that they loved the new upcoming rules. Hmmmmm....


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Keeping the blogger love going. I saw via twitter that Dara was going to one of my favorite chow spots in the city, Peacefood cafe. Another great blogger we immediately connected over our love of local restaurants featuring high quality, organic, simple done food. I will definitely be checking out her blog more for restaurant recommendations.
She was the perfect lunch date too! Willing to split and ready to everything! The goods:
Indian-Spiced Chickpea "fries" some sautéed kale and roasted brussels. Chickpea fries are amazing and perfectly seasoned. They are cooked in broth so not deep fried. <3
The Japanese Pumpkin Sandwich
mashed and seasoned with a little sea salt,
ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil,
topped with caramelized onions, ground walnuts,
vegan cheese and seasonal greens
Seriously my favorite menu item. All the different flavors and spreads make it really unique.
It was the perfect lunch – new friend + my favorite food. And I got a lemon lavender loaf to go which I ate at my desk at work. I am sad to be meeting Dara only a few weeks before she leaves for Toronto, but we are hoping to squeeze in another blogger date before then!
Let's talk about Blend again. There are so many sponsors to thank. But I was surprised about how much I learned from and liked the protein beverage companies in attendance.
I would not have survived the high energy Blend Retreat weekend without these two protein packed beverages from our sponsors Fitmixer and Core Power Protein.
The first one I tried was the Core Power Protein Shake. I'm not usually a huge fan of shakes like this. But after the long flight we arrived to the house with a fridge stocked full of goodies including these babies:
I shared a vanilla with another housemate. It tasted like a vanilla milkshake – no lie. Absolutely, no weird after taste, no chalky texture. It was creamy, yummy, and I was sold.
And after our insane hike where my legs, where legitimately shaking towards the end, I refueled before lunch with the Strawberry Banana Light.
(Katie's picture)
I really liked this one!! I could see using it as milk in cereal for extra saying power. I do this bb too since he doesn't know when he gets to eat next in the hospital. And it is easy to just bring it with me for an easy on the go boost in the afternoon, or after yoga.
On the hike I did get to chat with the rep Angelei who gave me some more info about Core Power:
- It has both whey milk and casein milk protein. The whey digests quickly, while the casein more slowly. This is beneficial for immediately and long term muscle recovery and rebuilding. This would be perfect snack for me in my current efforts to gain some weight.
- Honey is used as the sweetener – honey provides the carbs. And carbs + protein is needed for muscle recovery.
- No chalky taste because there are no additives
Unfortunately, I couldn't bring my swag bag bottles home on the plane. : ( So I will have to figure out where I can get some.
Next great company was FitMixer!
Can I just tell you – not only are their products great, but their people are really fantastic. They had 4 reps there – Jeff, Robin, Candice, and Alicia. I got to talk to them a lot through out the weekend, and at the farewell breakfast on Sunday, I really connected with all of them. I just wish it was not so late in the weekend. They are all very knowledgeable, diverse, and sincere in their efforts to provide a great product to people. I was / am very impressed by the fitmixer company. I've actually already received an email from Candice, and it has only been 48 hours since Blend ended. I cannot say enough good things about them.
Read more about the products and the great work behind the company in the Q & A here.
The sponsors from fitmixer were nice enough to provide us with blender bottles, packets of protein, a whole jar of fit amino, as well as fit amino for before all our workouts. The fit amino is an all natural way to get your blood flowing and muscles awake before any workout. It protects your muscles during your activity and helps repair them after.
The fit mixer folks also suggested I look into their retain line. The retain is meant to help provide high calories and protein, and to stimulate muscle growth to help people who have trouble maintaining muscle mass and bone density. This is something I really want to try since I am having trouble putting the weight back on from all the stress lately and my running last year.
I have my beloved Sunwarrior protein and hemp protein powders, so I was pleasantly surprised to be so taken with both these companies. You don't have to be a body builder to benefit from added protein in your diet. So, I encourage you to check out these companies and see for yourself.
Finally, I have a small order of business – the giveaway winner. Cheribundi was another sponsor who has a beverage, tart cherry juice, with great health benefits. I actually had no idea they were a sponsor until the day before. Small world. The winner is….


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A change in the pay schedule at Sumter County Schools has teachers questioning if they're getting shortchanged. Paychecks are already being corrected this week to reflect the step increase the district withheld but the state mandated.
District officials assured us while teachers' pay is behind, they're being paid correctly.
"It creates a distraction from what needs to be the focus and that's the students," said Roger Smith, executive director of the state Education Association.
Administrators asked the state school board about the issue, but was denied a waiver that would have prevented raises, so this Friday, teachers will finally get that increase, plus retro pay.
"We can ensure that they receive their full pay and we can also, help the teachers if they have any questions or any kind of concerns," said Smith.
Teachers again emailed the Education Association over the weekend when their pay schedule was suddenly revised.
"There have been some trying times inside the district that creates an atmosphere or environment where people feel they have to verify their information," said Smith.
When we questioned administrators, we were told the schedule was actually two years behind. It was never adjusted to fix the lack of a step increase in 2011-2012 and it was never adjusted to correlate years of experience to actual salary. They admit, salaries are still one year behind, but now include the 2-percent increase given by the legislature. The Education Association says they'll watch the situation carefully.
"We have staff assigned to monitor this," said Smith. "We actually have staff that live in Sumter that are working directly with this."
Superintendent Dr. Randolph Bynam now says earlier statements to the state board that he maybe forced to lay off teachers, wouldn't be done midyear.
Despite the superintendent's best efforts, he says the district will likely end the year in a deficit.
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Amazing Jamie mag subscription offerPublished by JamieOliver.com | December 12, 2012 | In News, Recipes | Comments Off
Hold on to your mince pies people, we have a Jamie Magazine offer that will knock your socks off!
Hold on to your mince pies people, we have a Jamie Magazine offer that will knock your socks off!
Socks for dad? Not this year – check out these amazing options!
From the best Christmas goose to masterclasses in butchery from Barbecoa, we've got some cracking gift ideas for you and your foodie friends.
Sponsored advertorials Imagine your perfect set of electric kitchen tools; chances are they'd be simple, effective, attractive and reasonably priced. Well it just so happens that Jamie has teamed up with Philips to create the very range you've been waiting
For those of you who rarely need an excuse to get in the kitchen, whether you are trying out a new recipe, stopping for a cup of tea, or daydreaming about your latest interior update, then Cath Kidston have just what you
The first children's fashion collection from Jools Oliver has hit the shelves of Mothercare. Jools Oliver – the 37 year old model, wife of Jamie Oliver, and mum of four – has turned business woman and fashion designer to create


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Jon Connor - When I Was Young
Artist: Jon Connor
Featuring: Chris Webby , Smoke DZA
Producer: Neo Tempus
Album: Unconscious State
Avg Rating: 3.0 ( 8 total votes )
Jon Connor may be part of the Midwestern vanguard but, when he's not busy pushing the game forward, he does feel the occasional pang of nostalgia for the past. Coming on the heels of last week's Freddie Gibbs-assisted F'n Right, When I Was Young finds the Flint, Michigan spitter looking back wistfully on a simpler time, before the struggle and his experiences in the industry stole his innocence. Joining the headliner over Neo Tempus' beat, a pitched-down sampling of Supertramp's Logical Song, fellow Booth regulars Chris Webby and Smoke DZA share a few fond memories of their own on the guest tip. Fans will be able to find When I Was Young and many more fresh cuts on Connor's Unconscious State LP, scheduled to hit iTunes next Tuesday, July 2.
Listen to More: Jon Connor , Chris Webby , Smoke DZA , Downloads, Indie, Street Banger
Written by richard on 06/28/13
[Album] Jon Connor - Unconscious State
Jon Connor, a signee of former NBA baller Mateen Cleaves' All Varsity Music, has liberated his latest independent full-length, Unconscious State. Coming on the heels of 2012 street releases The Blue Album, The People's Rapper...
All Varsity Music
First DJ Booth Appearance:
"Keep Your Head" (2011)
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The Harnett County Sheriff's Office said deputies busted a child porn ring being operated out of the home of a man who portrayed himself to be a mentor and babysitter.
Between Jan. 5 and June 24, deputies arrested five suspects in connection with a child pornography production ring that operated out of a Sanford home perceived to be a daycare.
Investigators say Bailey Joe Mills, 33, was arrested Jan. 5 on charges of first-degree rape of a child, first-degree sexual exploitation of a child, statutory rape of a child, first-degree statutory sex offense and indecent liberties with a child.
Mills was arrested after deputies received a tip that Mills contacted a 12-year-old girl on Facebook about paying her for sex.
Deputies who spoke with the girl said she revealed that Mills had sexual relations with her and she was shown homemade pornography at Mills' home that included another juvenile female in the video.
Investigators say Mills operated a daycare out of his home, portraying himself to be a tutor, mentor and babysitter.
Upon serving a search warrant at Mills' home on Nicole Drive in Sanford, investigators seized video and photographic of multiple juveniles being sexually assaulted by adult males and an adult female. Investigators say the victims were between 1 and 14 years old.
In addition to Mills' arrest, the investigation led to the arrest of Elizabeth Holland Mills, 34, of Sanford, on Jan. 10 on charges of second-degree sexual exploitation of a child, first-degree statutory sex offense with a child and indecent liberties with a child. She is being held on a $500,000 secured bond.
Rashawn Rodriguez Drake Jackson, 20, of Cameron, was arrested April 4 on charges of first degree sex offense with a child and felony conspiracy. He is being held on a $150,000 secured bond.
Jordan Everett Busse, 29, of Fayetteville, was arrested June 9 on charges of solicit child by computer for sex and felony conspiracy. He was released on a $75,000 secured bond.
And Tommy Keith Wall, 50, of Willow Spring, was arrested June 24 on charges of first-degree rape of a child, felony conspiracy and two counts of first-degree sex offense with a child. He is being held on a $1,000,000 secured bond.
Bailey Mills is being held on a $500,000 secured bond.
The Harnett County Sheriff's Offices says the case is still under investigation and Homeland Security Investigations is assisting.
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BuddyPress Template Tags and user data
Hi all,
during users registration I collect their first and last name, and I'm able to see these in their profiles. I would like to show these also in the below the posts titles of the blogs of my social network build with the fantastic buddypress.
I think I must use some template tags and put it the themes used in these blogs. Am I right?
I'm not able to find the right tags to show these infos.
Thank you,
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.


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Tubert leads Arkansas to Mercedes-Benz title
Arkansas senior Emily Tubert won the individual title and two of her teammates finished in a three-way tie for second Sunday, leading the Razorbacks to victory at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate.
Tubert shot rounds of 69-68 for a 5-under 137 total and a three-shot victory over Tulane's Silvia Garcia and fellow Razorbacks Gaby Lopez and Regina Plascencia at Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn. Tubert made the turn at 1-over Sunday, but birdied the 10th, 12th, 15th and 16th holes to earn the victory. Saturday's play was rained out and the event was shortened to 36 holes.
Arkansas finished at 5-under 563 as a team, eight shots ahead of South Carolina and 16 ahead of third-place Tulane.
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Hello Nets fans! I have two tickets available for tomorrow night's game. I will have it available for $75 each ($79 each face value).
I will accept payment via paypal and will send an e-mail consisting of the .pdf file immediately after payment.
The seats are in Section 217 Row 9 Seats 3 & 4. (You can save at least $15 compared to Stubhub)
If anyone is interested in these tickets or have questions or concerns, please e-mail me at email@example.com.
Thanks a lot and take care.


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Nutritionists at the National Schools' Dietary Services Limited (NSDSL)
|Nutritionists at the National Schools' Dietary Services Limited (NSDSL) in collaboration with the UWI Nutrition & Dietetic Internship Programme, are planning a series of nutrition education sessions for post SEA students and secondary schools, focusing on the theme – a total of 132 schools will be covered. Sessions would be conducted from June 1 – 13, 2008. They are also preparing a newsletter for the schools, inclusive of appropriate activities for this target group. The NSDSL is the State-owned Enterprise responsible for providing at present approximately 50,000 breakfast meals and approximately 100,000 lunch meals via the School Nutrition Programme to students throughout the island of Trinidad.


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It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Revert a BAM file back to FastQ. This comes in handy when you receive data that has been processed but not according to GATK Best Practices, and you want to reset and reprocess it properly.
Shuffle the reads in the bam file so they are not in a biased order before alignment by running the following HTSlib command:
htscmd bamshuf -uOn 128 aln_reads.bam tmp > shuffled_reads.bam
This creates a new BAM file containing the original reads, which still retain their mapping information, but now they are no longer sorted.
The aligner uses blocks of paired reads to estimate the insert size. If you don't shuffle your original bam, the blocks of insert size will not be randomly distributed across the genome, rather they will all come from the same region, biasing the insert size calculation. This is a very important step which is unfortunately often overlooked.
Revert the BAM file to FastQ format by running the following HTSlib command:
htscmd bam2fq -a shuffled_reads.bam > interleaved_reads.fq
This creates an interleaved FastQ file called
interleaved_reads.fq containing the now-unmapped paired reads.
Interleaved simply means that for each pair of reads in your paired-end data set, both the forward and the reverse reads are in the same file, as opposed to having them in separate files.
Compress the FastQ file to reduce its size using the gzip utility:
gzip interleaved_reads.fq
This creates a gzipped FastQ file called
interleaved_reads.fq.gz. This file is ready to be used as input for the Best Practices workflow.
BWA handles gzipped fastq files natively, so you don't need to unzip the file to use it later on.
If you're feeling adventurous, you can do all of the above with this beautiful one-liner, which will save you a heap of time that the program would otherwise spend performing I/O (loading in and writing out data to/from disk):
htscmd bamshuf -uOn 128 aln_reads.bam tmp | htscmd bam2fq -a - | gzip > interleaved_reads.fq.gz
Geraldine Van der Auwera, PhD
Hi Geraldine,
I found the bamshuf command and had a question about this and the overall philosophy of doing so... In the past I have query-sorted bams prior to make FASTQs from bam files (illumina-produced BAMs are notorious for failing SAM spec).
The idea was query sorting should prevent the pitfalls of storing information large rearrangements. So, is
htscmd bamshuf doing sort-of the same thing or is there a reason to shuffle vs query sort?
Thanks as always!
Thanks for this page Geraldine, I never heard of this bias before and do not find it mentioned elsewhere. Is there a consensus reference text about this issue?
I know that the remaining part is not a direct GATK matter but hopefully it will help others adventurous.
After some level of trial and ERRORs, I found that BWA mem can handle interleaved fastQ provided one adds -p to the bwa mem command. By contrast, I did not find a way to feed BWA aln with interleaved fastQ data (is there a way?).
I then discovered that BWA aln can take bam as input, we can therefore feed it with the shuffled bam instead of going the long way of de-interleaving the FastQ?
# first shuffle your bam file to 'shuffled_reads.bam' as above ..
# second remap using bwa aln and 8 threads
# bwa aln man extract
# -b the input read file is in the BAM format
# ...
# -1 use the 1st read in a pair (effective with -b)
# -2 use the 2nd read in a pair (effective with -b)
bwa aln -t 8 ref.fa -b1 shuffled_reads.bam > 1.sai
bwa aln -t 8 ref.fa -b2 shuffled_reads.bam > 2.sai
# provide twice the bam file, once for each end
bwa sampe ref.fa 1.sai 2.sai shuffled_reads.bam shuffled_reads.bam | \
samtools view -Su - | \
samtools sort - aln_remapped
# rm 1.sai 2.sai
# for maadventurous
I'm not aware of any reference text on this, it is a part of the shared knowledge in our group and other collaborators.
Thanks for your comments on the bwa options and the script, I'm sure they will be useful for others.
Geraldine Van der Auwera, PhD
Hello, could you please clarify if it is the same to feed BWA with the shuffled bam file or with the interleaved fast? It is not needed to revert to a fast to lose previous alignment info? Can I skip that part and still have the same result? Thanks a lot, Ester
Hi Ester,
I believe that both approaches will give the same results. But if you want to be absolutely sure, check the BWA documentation -- since it is not our software, we can't give you any guarantees.
Geraldine Van der Auwera, PhD
I have a question about best practices when reverting BAMs to fastq. If I'm going to completely re-analyze (mapping all the way to calling variants) the reverted fastq and there are multiple read-groups in the BAM, is it best to create a fastq for each read group?
Yes, you should separate the data by read group into individual FASTQ files. As I recall, the reverting process will discard read group information, so you'll need to add it back in afterward before merging the data back together. If you don't separate them out you'll lose the ability to distinguish between read groups, which would be bad.
Geraldine Van der Auwera, PhD
Hi Geraldine, to realign a processed bam file, I used to do: 1. RevertSam, 2.MArkIlluminaAdapters, 3.SamToFastq, 4.bwa aln, 5.bwa sampe, 6.MergeBamAlignment Should I incorporate now as a first step the 'Shuffled bam files' step? Can I continue with my pipeline steps instead of 'Revert the BAM file to FastQ' described here? Thanks, Ester


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West Ham could face FA probe after Spurs fans subjected to Hitler chants
West Ham could face a FA investigation after Spurs fans were allegedly subjected to anti-Semitic abuse during their 3-1 match on Sunday.
Just a matter of days after a man was stabbed in an anti-Semitic attack before Tottenham's game in Rome, West Ham supporters reportedly sang "Viva Lazio", "Can we stab you every week?"
They were also heard hissing on several occasions, apparently mocking the mass execution of Jews during the Second World War.
According to the Mirror, the Football Association have said they will study reports and evidence before deciding whether to launch a full-scale investigation.
A West Ham spokesman told the newspaper: "We will review this on Monday and decide if we can take action."
In a blog post, a Hammers fan said the chants made by his fellow supporters made him "sick to my stomach".
– West Ham supporter
As I type this, I am in so much anger with people who are support the same football team as me.
I have had a 'fellow supporter' calling me a Spurs fan in disguise for hitting out at the scum that sang 'viva Lazio' and it just got worse as the game went on when the scum started singing 'we'll stab who we want.'
I honestly do not understand what these people get out of it? They give our club a terrible image and I hope the FA investigates this, catches the people that was chanting and gives them lifelong bans from football.
After the game, West Ham boss Sam Allardyce said he did not hear the fans' chants.
They shouldn't be doing things like that.
If I didn't hear it I can't condemn it can I?
I will wait and look at it myself and make a comment once I have listened to what they have said.
I don't want to be a political animal, I'm here to talk about football and not what fans are saying and singing.
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said he did not want the issue to detract attention from what was the club's best home performance of the season.
I prefer not to mar the performance with a situation like this.
You know the animosity there is between Tottenham and West Ham and as long as it doesn't reach stupidity it is a great, great rivalry of two London clubs.
It would be extremely unfair for me to mar the performance of the players but understanding that a couple of situations are avoidable but we can't decipher the true meaning of what they were saying.


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I am always interested in following the movement from city to city of the various minor league franchises. I also like to read up on changes in affiliation agreements. It's interesting to learn which city is in danger of losing a team and which cities are gaining teams. More often than not the new teams are in places I have never heard of like Round Rock, Texas or Eastlake, Ohio. I am pretty sure that Morgantown, West Virginia is supposed to be getting a NY-Penn franchise. Is this correct? Isn't El Paso, Texas getting a Pacific Coast League team? Is that where the Tucson franchise is moving? I am especially interested in which franchise is moving to Morgantown. I sure hope it isn't the Williamsport Crosscutters. They play in my hometown.
Are there any websites out there that focus on tracking franchise movement and affiliation changes? I go to minorleaguebaseball.com every so often, but it's a slog to get through it all. I would really just like to see a data table.


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Hotel Abruzzi
Nothing says Rome like this view! Open your window at Albergo Abruzzi and you are greeted by one of Rome's most famous landmarks, the Pantheon.Set in the heart of the historic centre, this hotel is ideal for those of you who really want to get a feel of Rome. The historic building is typical of those found in this area. It now features modern facilities, including Wi-Fi access throughout.Breakfast is an American buffet and is served in a local bar.The friendly team of staff at Albergo Abruzzi are always on hand to provide helpful tips and tourist information. This fantastic location means you are just a short stroll away from Piazza Navona and the exclusive shopping area around the Spanish Steps.
Location & Top Nearby Hotels
The 10 closest hotels to Hotel Abruzzi are shown on the map below. These include The St. Regis Rome and Exedra Boscolo Hotel Rome.
See full list: Best Hotels in Rome»
Hotel Class:<0.5 miles away
Hotel Class:<0.5 miles away
Hotel Class:<0.5 miles away
Hotel Class: N/A<0.5 miles away
Nearby Things to Do
Hotel Abruzzi is 0.7 miles from the #1 ranked Rome attraction, Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi). Of the 20 top rated attractions, the five closest ones are listed below.
See full list: Best Things to Do in Rome»
- #3Santa Maria della Vittoria (<0.5 miles)
- #1Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) (0.7 miles)
- #17Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna) (0.7 miles)
- #18Galleria Borghese (0.8 miles)
- #6Church of Sant'Ignazio Di Loyola (0.9 miles)


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With today's snowstorm, and more snow expected later this week, here are some tips from the American Red Cross and Unitil for staying safe during a winter storm:
- Winterize your vehicle and keep the gas tank full. A full tank will keep the fuel line from freezing.
- Insulate your home by installing storm windows or covering windows with plastic from the inside to keep cold air out.
- Maintain heating equipment and chimneys by having them cleaned and inspected every year.
- If you will be going away during cold weather, leave the heat on in your home, set to a temperature no lower than 55° F.
- Avoid driving when conditions include sleet, freezing rain or drizzle, snow or dense fog. If travel is necessary, keep a disaster supplies kit in your vehicle.
- Before tackling strenuous tasks in cold temperatures, consider your physical condition, the weather factors and the nature of the task.
- Help people who require special assistance such as elderly people living alone, people with disabilities and children.
- Never use a generator, grill, camp stove or other gasoline, propane, natural gas or charcoal-burning devices inside a home, garage, basement, crawlspace or any partially enclosed area. Locate unit away from doors, windows and vents that could allow carbon monoxide to come indoors.
In advance of severe winter weather, local residents should prepare by checking and making an inventory of the following items:
- Flashlights and fresh batteries
- A battery-operated radio and clock
- Bottled water, canned foods and a manual can opener
- A list of important phone numbers and a car charger for cell phones if applicable
- A first aid kit
Additional winter storm safety information is available at www.redcross.org/nh. Outage updates for customers and information on how Unitil restores power are available at www.unitil.com.


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What am I doing wrong???
The farmer finally got the corn picked so I've been able to hunt my favorite ground blind setup. It is a perfect pinch point between a cornfield, a food plot and a thick creek bottom.
I've hunted the setup the last two nights using a doe decoy. We've had a total of 6 bucks cruise by.....3 young bucks and 3 shooters. Each of the young bucks came in just as expected and presented perfect broadside shots as they inspected the decoy.
Each of the 3 shooters totally ignored it. The first eased his way across the cornfield and only took one look at the decoy. The second came in for a closer look and even grunted once....but then continued in his original direction of travel.
The best buck of the 3 cruised by early yesterday afternoon with a basket racked buck. The basket came in on a string....and the shooter stood there long enought to give the decoy a once over before continuing on his merry way.
I am confused. If these bucks are cruising (they are)....why ingore what they are looking for when it is standing right in front of them?????
None of the bucks ever spooked.....and the big boys totally ignored the decoy.
I know a few guys who have tried decoys with no luck. I know they show them working on tv but..... I haven't heard anything good firsthand...
Last year the deer liked the decoy we had in the back yard. But only at night. It was an old target that I used in the little pine woods behind our house to practice out of my stand. Billy propped it up against a tree a while back and a buck came and made a scrape acouple of feet from it. We weren't even using it for that purpose but the bucks seemed to like it. Keep in mind that these were probably young deer. We don't have the huge bucks you are used to Scott.
Can you or have you tried using a buck decoy? Have you tried any types of scent near your decoy (not on it) as in estrus scent? I have had success using doe decoys in the past, some are three dimensional standing or laying them down, even the Montana decoys that are 2 dimensional will do it.
Hey Scott the only thing that comes to mind would be using the decoy with antlers on it ,and use a beded doe decoy maybe five yards away.
Although I personally have not used a decoy (yet), a couple of my buddies have tried them. One of the guys mentioned about putting a tail on the decoy and having some method of making it move or flip.
I've heard of people putting an actual deer's tail (from a harvested deer) on the decoy and using a small piece of string or fishing line to twitch the tail at the right moment. Some regions may not allow using actual animal parts though, so check on your local game laws before trying this.
You could also use a piece or kleenex (or similar tissue) that might move in a slight breeze. I think they also sell decoys that have mechanically driven tails that can either operate off remote control or timed.
In any event, my one friend that tried the tail twitching, said he had good results on bucks that hung up or ignored the decoy at first.
Good luck.
I had a decoy out the other day also. Mine is a flambeau redi doe. I had a young doe check it out but she got spooky when it did not move. I have not had any luck with bucks paying atention to it. I had a lot of responses from bucks Sat. using a combo of estrus bleat and buck roar (growl). Called in seven bucks sat morning, but none were shooters. The shooters I did see were already doed up with one thing on there mind. I have heard that adding motion to the decoy will help. Good luck!!
Hmmm...maybe they know the difference between the real deal and a fake. Maybe adding some scent would help...or even attaching a real tail so it blows in the breeze...or even "Hey Buddy! I'm in heat! Come get me!" from your can or call. :D
You all realize this is Scott attempt at complaining about having a crappy season in the hopes that it will sway his luck like it did last year, right?! haha :p
Sorry to hear about your luck buddy, I know that spot! haha Hang in there!
At least your season is still open, our closed Saturday! :mad:
Maybe put a beer in its hand...
I know I always used to hit on the drunk ones...:)
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Tomorrow is WORLD BOOK NIGHT and I will be handing out 20 copies of
THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak,
one of my favorite books of all time.
|Got Books?
Before I could hand out my books, I had to pick them up! The nice people at WBN America allowed the Givers to choose our pick-up location. Lucky for me, THE CLINTON BOOK SHOP rolled out the red carpet! We had snacks, wine, and this amazing cheese platter. Even my boys behaved themselves (after being bribed with promises of cookies and books) while I mingled...
|Rob and Alison
Action Shot! Thank you, Rob, for putting up with me and my camera!
|Why, yes, that IS author MaryAnn McFadden admiring the staff picks!
And, yes, this is me name-dropping! Authors love their Indies, and Clinton loves Maryann McFadden. I swear I have bumped into her so many times, I simply thought she was just another really nice neighbor before Rob introduced us!
|Carol Fitzgerald and Alison
The Clinton Book Shop is always full of interesting bookish people. I made a new book friend, Carol Fitzgerald of THE BOOK REPORTER. This woman KNOWS her books! I could have talked to her all night. Instead, I came home to check out her website and got stuck on my computer practically all night. So many great recommendations, I didn't know where to start. Check it out...as well as all the affiliate book sites (Reading Group Guides, Teen Reads, Kid Reads, etc.).
|Books...and Bo
It's like my dog is saying, "Really, Mom? More books? You realize they're all the same, right?"
I will be documenting my World Book Night adventures here, as well as on my Facebook and Twitter pages.
Check back for more!!!


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Help Keep Your Alma Mater Strong. Donate Today.
The University of Delaware's online alumni community
This year's Homecoming football game will be played against Towson University on Saturday, October 18, 2014. The tentative game time is 12:30 p.m. due to television scheduling.
The Student Homecoming Committee is planning a week filled with events for all Blue Hens to celebrate their UD spirit. The UD Amazing Race will return for the second year along with daily Spirit Stations and an Alternative Tailgate. Alumni events include affinity reunions, a step show, the Presidential Citation for Outstanding Achievement and the all-alumni Goalpost Party following the football game.
The Homecoming Pep Rally will be held Friday evening, and on Saturday, we will crown a new Homecoming King & Queen while we cheer the Blue Hens to victory.
If your group, department or college is interesting in holding an event during Homecoming 2014, and wish to be added to the master schedule, contact Michael Yancey, Associate Director, Homecoming & Reunions.
Click here to learn more about the Student Homecoming Committee.
Interested in being the next Homecoming King or Queen? Campaigning will begin in September 2014, and more information will be posted once the "primary" dates are set.
UD Homecoming 2013 was a huge success!
Thank you to everyone who attended this year's festivities! Check out pictures and posts from Homecoming on Storify, and be sure to read the wrap-up story on UDaily.
Joyce McLaughlin Newman, the 1963 Homecoming queen, with 2013 king and queen Kye Cho and Cynthia Costello.
Congratulations to the winners of the Dare to Show More Spirit contest's People's Choice Award: University Student Centers.
Congratulations to the winners of the Dare to Show More Spirit contest's UDAA President's Choice Award: Research.
Learn more about the Student Homecoming Committee on UDaily.
Contact Us


text:
March 19, 2012, 7:07 AM — New ideas in IT go through a long distillation process. Someone invents the idea, vendors talk about new product concepts, analysts weigh in on the value. Eventually, a new category of hardware or software materializes, but rarely in a fully formed state. With mobile virtualization, the pedigree is sound: Most organizations use some form of server virtualization in their data centers.
Now, IT executives are faced with a new form of virtualization that takes place on smartphones. The idea is to run two instances of an operating system on the same phone. That way, employees (and IT) can relegate personal apps and services to one OS and business services to a more secure OS. There are two distinct approaches:
Type 1 runs at the root hardware level and requires participation form the OEM phone maker, while Type 2 virtualization runs as a secure app on any device.
As analyst Chris Hazelton with The 451 Group notes, there are pros and cons to each approach. Root level virtualization is more secure, he says, and means trusted access to root-level services such as Bluetooth connectivity or firmware changes. The downside is that this root level access often requires permission and cooperation from phone vendors like Samsung and Motorola. "This involves longer sales cycles, meaning limited device reach, and many layers of management (people) to go through," he says.
Meanwhile, mobile virtualization software that runs as an app can mean easier deployment to more devices in a shorter timeframe. Type 2 virtualization is inherently less secure, he says, because the software does not work at the hardware layer. And, Type 2 may run slower than native apps.
Mobile Virtualization Meets the Challenge
Either approach will address a fundamental problem within many organizations: the dreaded BYOD (bring your own device) conundrum. The reality of IT is that employees will bring their favored device into work, tap into company resources, and can compromise your security infrastructure. In fact, IDC estimates that 55% of all smartphones used in business will be employee owned by 2015. Mobile virtualization provides a way to meet this challenge head on, and even fully resolve it.
"Enterprise data can be kept separate from consumer applications and potential mobile malware," says Hazelton. "Any data within the virtualized environment is encrypted, preventing outside applications from accessing or interacting with corporate data and apps. IT can mandate a password on the corporate side of the device, letting users avoid password protection for consumer apps for the camera, social networks, personal emails, [and other apps]. If the employee leaves or the device is lost or stolen, IT can wipe the enterprise data without touching personal data."


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Bob Robella doesn't like being told he can't raise dogs at his house, or to keep his garage door closed and his trash cans out of sight, or that his fence must be an approved color.
He really doesn't like the Village Seven Homeowners Association, and claims its board of directors abuses its 843 homeowners, especially retirees like himself.
Robella hates the HOA so much, he vows to fight until it drains his life savings.
The HOA says it is the victim, not Robella.
The board and its attorney describe him as a guy who doesn't think rules apply to him: He moved into a covenant-controlled community but ignores the rules and won't pay HOA dues.
Now, a Colorado Springs judge has weighed in. In a Jan. 29 ruling on a small claims lawsuit filed by Robella against the HOA, Magistrate Daniel Winegrad slammed Robella, calling him "frivolous and vexatious" in his dealings with the HOA.
Even worse for Robella, Winegrad ordered him to pay the HOA $2,400, including attorneys fees and court costs.
"Mr. Robella chose to pay our attorney, his attorney, court filing fees, late fees, interest, fines and sanctions instead of paying his assessment of $96.30," said Art McDonnell, an HOA board member. "This all could have been avoided."
Get out your popcorn. It's not over.
A related suit is proceeding in district court that could cost thousands more and ultimately cost Robella the house he bought in 2006 on Congenial Place. (See photos of Robella, his fence, maps and more on my Side Streets blog.)
Robella said he didn't know Village Seven had an HOA, and he balked when billed for dues in May 2007.
Confusion over the amount owed led Robella to suspect he was being cheated. Things quickly deteriorated.
Soon he was being warned about his dog-breeding operation, his dogs running off leash, his fence paint, his garage door, his trash and other issues.
In December 2007, he transferred title of his home to a friend in Florida and wouldn't reveal her address. The HOA said it was a transparent attempt to dodge paying dues and adhering to rules by claiming he was no longer the owner.
Then, in February 2008, he filed the small claims suit seeking $350, the amount he said it cost him to paint 100 feet of fence. It had become faded by HOA sprinklers watering a nearby greenbelt and common area.
The HOA counter sued for $571 in back dues, fines, interest and administrative costs. But the HOA offered to waive all the fines if Robella simply paid $96.30 in back dues and agreed to restain his fence an HOA-approved color. At trial, Robella took the offer and settled the case.
Sounds like a reasonable result. Not quite. Robella tried to withdraw his settlement, but Winegrad refused.
Robella responded by dropping off a "few" paint chips for the HOA to consider when he repainted the fence - a "few" as in 251 chips.
As for the back dues and annual assessment, he sent the HOA a check for $155. Except the back dues totaled $96.30 and annual dues are $250. He still owed $191, the HOA said.
Robella insists he has been reasonable. And he's furious the HOA had its attorney respond to his lawsuit and countersue in district court.
"They are trying to run the price up until I can't afford it," he said. "But they didn't expect me to put my life savings into fighting this. I'm already $6,000 into this. I can't stop now. It's going to stay in court forever."
Pass the popcorn.
Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or email@example.com


text: Wow. And look at how far ahead of #3 he is. Quite incredible. Here's hoping he can keep it up in the future, which I don't think will be a problem for him because of his speed. If anything, I think he should improve on his goal totals, assuming he converts more of the breakaways he gets. Remember: his first half wasn't great, and he was stopped on quite a few breakaways. I could easily see 40+ goals from him going forward. AND if he gets more power play time? Forget about it.


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by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
If you own vintage Thor Marvel comics, and you're wondering what they might be worth, you can stop wondering!
(Article continues below)
Time to sell? Find out by requesting a
We'll give you a value and make a Dollar offer if you want to cash in. We also pay shipping.
Sell My Comic Books offers a FREE valuation service for Thor comic books, and any others.
We'll also back up our valuation with a cash offer for your comic book collection, or better single vintage comic books.
Let's take a closer look at the most famous Thor comic books, and see which might be worth serious money.
As with all vintage comics, condition is vital. If you can accurately grade your comics, then you will be in a much better position to understand their worth.
The difference between a fine book (6 out of 10) and a near mint comic book (9.4 out of 10) can be a multiplier of five to ten times, or more.
While it's human nature to want your comics to be worth more than they are, dirt, creases, tears and stains will all lower the value of your Thor Marvel comics.
Here are all the major Thor appearances in Marvel comic books:
Journey into Mystery
As well as Thor's first appearance in #83 (1962), there are plenty of highly collectible comics.
The run ends at #124, when the comic is renamed The Mighty Thor (see below for listing).
The Mighty Thor
The Thor comic books series continues the adventures of Thor from where Journey into Mystery leaves off.
It begins at #126 and runs until #502, when the title is renamed Journey into Mystery again.
The Avengers
Thor was one of the founding members of The Avengers. He appears from issue #1 to #16.
This means that collectors wishing to own all the Thor Marvel comics will need to buy a lot of the Avengers series, too!
Tales of Asgard
This one-shot comic was published in 1968. It reprints early Thor stories. Only worth money in top condition.
Sell My Comic Books will value your Thor comic books for free.
Once you know their value, you can sell them to us. We'll back up our valuation with a Dollar offer.
We also buy any other vintage comic books. Get in touch today.
Go to the Thor Marvel Comics Characters Value Guide
Iron Man Comics Price Guide
Journey Into Mystery Comic Book Prices
Incredible Hulk Comic Book Price Guide
Use the search box below to find the series you're looking for, or check out our alphabetical comic prices here.


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text:
Time: 3:00–4:00 pm
Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Location: CG1 – 2126 (also webcast at http://www.fin.ucar.edu/it/mms/cg-live.htm)
Title: On the main-sequence age of the Sun
Traditionally the age of the Sun is estimated as being the same as that of the oldest meteorites, which are believed to have been formed in the solar nebula. That is a very precise measure. It is much more precise than can presently be judged directly from the properties of the Sun itself. But is it accurate? For some decades I and others have been trying to calibrate theoretical solar models to assess the Sun's age, basically via the the amount of hydrogen that has been converted into helium in the core. The outcome depends on the many (generally accepted) assumptions on which the theory of stellar evolution depends, and upon many, if not all, of which some doubt must be cast. To many scientists, that doubt must render the exercise fruitless. However, I believe that the honing of such a calibration, however preliminary, is a necessary step towards not only addressing the reliability of those assumptions, but also for pursuing the ultimate goal: to determine whether or not the Sun condensed from the interstellar medium before or at the same time as the other condensed bodies in the solar system.
- UCAR Home
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text: From the Home page or the Login page, click on the Forgot Login link that is located directly under the username/password area. Check the Lost Password box and then enter your email and username. Your new password will be emailed to you. Please remember to change your password on next login.


text:
A larger establishment, Grande Shores Ocean Resort has quite a number of rooms to choose from. The 2-star rating is indicative of the focus on value for money and quality service.
Besides a restaurant, Grande Shores Ocean Resort even has a bar/lounge and a BBQ/picnic area. You can find an indoor swimming pool here, as well as a pool bar and a lazy river. The meeting areas here are perfectly set up for meetings. If work draws you to Myrtle Beach, you will be pleased to know there is a business center here. This hotel can accommodate you in one of the 215 rooms. Free self service parking at limited hours is available if you come by private transport.
The air always has a nice feel thanks to the air conditioning in Grande Shores Ocean Resort. Local numbers can be dialled from your room at no extra cost to you. A housekeeping service is provided in each of the welcoming rooms here. You can stay up to date with everything that is happening around the world during your stay in Myrtle Beach as wireless high-speed Internet access (complimentary) is offered. The hotel conveniently includes useful facilities such as a complimentary toiletries set and a shower/bath combination in the bathrooms. Rooms here come with kitchen facilities, including a refrigerator and a coffee/tea maker.
Show reviews
|From 16:00 Check-out: Until 11:00
|Wireless high-speed Internet access (complimentary)
|Free Parking (Self-service)
|General facilities:
|Extra common areas:
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|Note: It is the responsibility of the hotel chain and/or the individual property to ensure the accuracy of the photos displayed. We are not responsible for any inaccuracies in the photos.
Please provide this reference number to our customer service center representative on request, so we can help you better


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Phone number: 5923034 The number is a GB number
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first step for sunchips, giant leap for the industry.
You can only get Media Post articles if you subscribe to them, so I took an excerpt from SunChips Rolling Out Compostable Package written by Karl Greenberg that I read this morning about SunChips takes a huge step in the greening of product packaging.
Snack brand SunChips, a division of PepsiCo's Frito-Lay, likes its packaging to be ubiquitous on shelves — but on sidewalks, bushes, in trees or the random gutter? Not so much. The company is rolling out compostable, organic-based packaging bit by bit this year, with a fully compostable bag due out on Earth Day in 2010.
The marketing effort includes a 45-second ad showing a time lapse of the 100% biodegradable bag decomposing over 14 weeks. It will run once on "American Idol" on Tuesday — the day before Earth Day — followed by a home-page takeover on various social/video Web sites. Print ads running in People will include samples of the new biodegradable material. SunChips has also begun a national point-of-purchase effort in grocery stores this week with pamphlets containing swatches of the material — made of polylactic acid (trade name Ingeo) with instructions on how to compost it.
The campaign will be extended after Earth Day through a participation initiative via a partnership with National Geographic. A digital campaign — centering on the video — will direct people to GreenEffect.com, where they can submit an account of steps they or their community groups are taking toward a sustainable lifestyle.
Out of all of the Earth Day promotions that I have been reading about, this one stands out the most for me. SunChips seems to be taking this a step further than just talking the talk…. They are actually inventing a material that will revolutionize the way product packaging is made and putting the idea of composting out there. Gone are the days that hippies and farmers are the only ones who compost their scrapes of food and now businesses like Whole Foods are setting up Composting Facilities around the United States. I look forward to seeing this trend continue further than Whole Foods and my backyard (the picture below is a before shot of our garden).
April 21, 2009 | Categories: "Sonoma County", Randomness, vegetarian food, Viral | Tags: compostable bag, Earth Day, GreenEffect.com, Product Packaging, SunChips, Whole Foods | Leave a comment
my social media competition.
I just stumbled upon a great social media white paper. The 26 page pdf SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INDUSTRY REPORT: How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow is written by Michael A. Stelzer of Writing White Papers. The report surveyed over 700 social media marketers, asking them open ended questions about the industry. If you don't want to read the entire thing, go here to watch a video that explains some of the highlights. After reading all 26 pages, I do have to say that I am concerned.
I have been told time and time again that the niche service I provide is a much needed one in Sonoma County (and the marketing industry as a whole) and that I need to help bring the Wine Country into the Web 2.0 world. With so many "Social Media Consultants, Guru's and Marketers" that follow me online, I figured that maybe some of them might actually have some experience with the subject matter that they claim to be an expert on. According to the report, I may be wrong.
The report justified my own personal commitment to social media and gave me a better understanding of what I should expect (or not expect) from my competition (aka those social media marketers that claim to know it all). I have been using social media for years and my time spent on my iphone or on my laptop is almost embarrassingly high. Honestly, ask my friends and they all will tell you I need to have my iphone within an arm's length at all time. A debate on if this is healthy or not is another subject. Apparently (a positive and a negative for me), my competition isn't as dedicated and knowledgeable on the subject as I am. Here, I do want to state, that I know not all new social media people can be put into this stereotype and I am sure their are many respectable social media newbies out there. Right now it seems like social media marketing is the hottest trend and everyone is trying to jump on the bandwagon.
Some highlights of the report include:
"When asked to rate their experience using social media marketing for their businesses, a significant 72% of marketers have either just started or have been using social media for only a few months. " What?? I know the industry is relatively new, but a few months, come on!
"There is a direct relationship between how long marketers have been using social media and their weekly time commitment. For people just beginning with social media, the median weekly time commitment was two hours per week. However, for folks who have been doing this for a few months, the median jumped to 10 hours a week. And for people who have been doing this for years, their median is 20+ hours each week." The longer you have been involved with social media, the more you understand that it does take a lot of time… You also know it pays off.
"The longer you invest, the greater return you are gonna get"
- Michael Stelzer
So, to conclude, I will never claim to know all the answers. That isn't what social media is about. It is about trial and error…. It is about being able to adapt and react quickly, it is about being honest with your consumers and most important it is about COMMITMENT and PASSION . I am happy to report that I can proudly say I am capable of all of this…. Can a social media guru who just started truly say that?
April 9, 2009 | Categories: "Sonoma County", Social Networking, Twitter, Viral | Tags: Internet Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Guru, Social Media Marketing, White Paper | 4 Comments
a perfect blend of wine & social networking.
Thursday, April 2nd is Wine 2.0's latest San Fransisco event held at the Crushpad. After months of hearing amazing tweets about happenings at this venue, I finally get to go! If you haven't heard about Wine 2.0, it is a wine social network/event planning company that is looking to bring the wine world into the 2.0 world….
In an interview done by Winterviews, Cornelius Geary, Wine 2.0's CEO sums up what many of us wine bloggers already know:
"That direct connection with the consumer and the potential sale it holds, I believe, is the number one priority for wine brands in the U.S."
March 23, 2009 | Categories: Branding, Healdsburg, Social Networking, Video, Viral, Websites, wine | Tags: Consumer, Crushpad, Social Media, Wine 2.0 | Leave a comment
customer service in the consumer review era.
Years ago, back when the terms blog and twitter were still unknown, if restaurants, retailers or wineries provided terrible customer service then the word only got around to the visitors immediate friends and family. If it was a truly horrific act of bad customer service or product failure, then maybe the word would spread a bit further. Of course this is not the world we live in now.
As shown by Lisa de Bruin's trip to Domaine Chandon, Gary Vaynerchuk's visit at Mondrian, a "hip" hotel in Miami, as well as my recent trip to Korbel, a bad experience is not only is talked about online – it has the ability to "go viral." Consumer review site's such as Yelp (even with their problems) and personal blogs have had a great impact, both positively and negatively on the service industry. It isn't just wine reviewers or food critics that are telling the world their opinion.
You can bitch all you want, but this trend is not going away anytime soon. The internet is here, and social tools are just making it easier and faster for people to voice their opinions. Go ahead and complain that these reviews are not from trained professionals, who know what they are talking about, or negative reviews could be from disgruntled employees, or that positive reviews could even be from someone affiliated with the company.
Okay, hopefully now that you are done complaining about the situation you can take a deep breath and accept that consumer written reviews are not going away…. Or, hopefully, you are one of the ones reading this that understands that this new form of reviewing the service industry can actually help businesses.
What some people don't get is that BOTH negative & positive postings provide a great opportunity for publicity. The online landscape allows businesses to respond to negative comments and even generate positive posts by asking visitors to post reviews, or just by delivering customer service that is truly above and beyond. Those businesses that adapt to the new era of online voices and not only respond to what is said, but actually LISTEN and (if need be) make changes will be the ones who will make it through. Yes, I do know there is more to running a business then just this — just stick with me here….
Service businesses HAVE TO adapt to the landscape or watch their competition, that are paying attention, take away customers. They have to know that in this new online era that they truly have to go above and beyond when it comes to customer service. If you are a business that needs some help with online publicity or even an evaluation of your place of business, then please visit here.
I will leave you with some quotes from Gary:
"Stop age discrimination in the tasting room because that 24 year old will go and blog about what kind of douche bags you are and no one will buy your wine."
"Service industry is really going to start feeling these impacts."
February 26, 2009 | Categories: "customer service", "Sonoma County", Branding, Internet Marketing, Video, Viral | Tags: "customer service", "Sonoma County", Blogging Relations, Online PR, Online reviews, online strategy, Wine Country, Yelp | 3 Comments
seth godin's social media quotes.
Some great quotes from the one person I can truly call a Marketing Guru, Seth Godin.
"Social Networking that matters is helping people archive their goals. Doing it reliably and repeatability so that over time people have an interest in helping you achieve your goals" (You can do it both online and office).
"What I don't like online is the superficial networking. It doesn't count for anything" (I can say the same thing for real world networking, sitting in a room of people who are just waiting for their turn to speak without really listening or caring what you have to say).
Thanks to Anthony De Rosa of Soup, Soup for blogging this video…. and for his humorous tweets about Social Media.
February 24, 2009 | Categories: "Sonoma County", Internet Marketing, Social Networking, Video, Viral | Tags: goals, quotes, Real world Marketing, seth godin, Social Marketing, Social Media, web 2.0 | Leave a comment
why you should hire a freelancer.
I was just recently asked by a winemaker friend of mine if I have any marketing agency recommendations for him. After he told me he was looking for an agency to create a print ad, my first question to him was why he wanted an agency to do this for him when it would be much cheaper and faster to hire a freelance graphic artist to create an amazing print ad for him.
His reaction to my question was that he hadn't thought about that and he wasn't sure how to go about finding the right person to help him out.
This comment got me thinking about local photographer/creative director/social elite Todd Brilliant's new project the Creative Job Agency and the large number of freelance creative people I know around the area.
The CREATIVE JOB AGENCY will position itself as "LinkedIn for Creatives," only with a real-world social element that will help form and cement critical professional relationships.
What is great about this "agency" is that it allows like-minded creative people to network, online and offline to discuss work opportunities and possible collaborations. It is a great opportunity to meet freelancers and build up your list of recommended graphic artists, website developers, pr people, etc. What it doesn't do is get the word out to other, non-creative businesses and people who might be looking for our services. That is up to us.
My current side business (still in initial start up phase) is social media and public relations focused, which is not a discipline that local businesses usually think to use when budgeting their marketing dollars. This means it is up to me to get out into the community to let them know that I am available to help them cheaply market their brands online. I currently am doing this by networking with business owners and other creative people, linking businesses that might not need my services with other freelance people that can currently help them.
Other reasons a freelance PR/Marketing/Website person might be the best answer for you*
- Price – Freelancers do not have the same overhead as agencies, which means it costs less for them to create
- Attention – More personal attention because they have less clients
- Localized services – Help keep freelancers in business and they will continue to live in Sonoma County and help out the economy instead of moving away to work at agencies in the big cities
- Talent -The lack of work in agencies means that talented people (like me) are doing more side work
So before you go looking for a Sonoma County agency, ask yourself if you know anyone who might know a freelancer that could help you out.
*Sorry to agencies I have previously had worked for or will work for in the future. I am not discounting the work that any Agency does, but during economic hardships, I think that freelance work is the better choice, especially for smaller businesses.
February 20, 2009 | Categories: "Sonoma County", Branding, me, Social Networking, Viral | Tags: "Santa Rosa", "Sonoma County", Creative Job Agency, Freelance, Internet Marketing, Shana Ray, Social Media | Leave a comment
social media can help sonoma county businesses through the downturn.
Yesterday two more stories were in the Press Democrat about Sonoma County businesses laying off people and cutting back on production. Agilent Technologies and one of my favorite food brands, Amy's Kitchen, both have been hit hard by the recession. Both companies say they are cautiously optimistic about the future. This got me thinking that it may be hard to stay optimistic when reading these articles (and the many others), but if you look at this era as an opportunity, then you can be optimistic about the future.
Even though hard working people are being laid off every single day, the downtime allows people to assess their situation and do something about it. As Scott Ginsberg, motivational speaker and business blogger says in a recent article titled How to Dance in the Rain of Our Current Economic Storm:
Take advantage of your downtime to accomplish projects and activities you wouldn't be able to do if you were booked solid. With this approach, you'll probably end up accomplishing more than ever…
In tough times, one still has to believe that hard work, dedication, creativity and persistence will (hopefully) prevail. I am lucky to have inspiration from my father who owns a carpet store in Santa Rosa. Many other carpet stores are closing down because of lack of sales, but my dad has managed to not only stay afloat, he is actually still doing relatively well. When this recession ends and consumers start having more confidence to start buying products, he will be the one they will buy carpet from because he will still be around.
Will your business be around at to see the rainbow at the end of the storm? What? Too cheesy? How about will your business stay afloat after the hurricane?
One thing that Sonoma County businesses can do to help make sure that they stay afloat is to invest in Social Media Marketing. An unfortunate trend I am seeing at both the national and local level is that brands are cutting back on most or all of their marketing budgets to save some money. This is fine, if you want your competition to hog the spotlight and take away your business. But, if you want to stay relevant and keep your brand on top of mind when consumers do get their purchasing confidence back, then you need to keep on reminding them that you are still here.
Top Reasons Sonoma County businesses should use Social Media Marketing to publicize their brand online:
- It is cost effective
- It provides national coverage (especially great in such a touristy place such as this)
- It can improve SEO rankings and website traffic
- You can be responsive to negative comments (as well as thank those with positive comments)
- It also provides the opportunity to connect with other members of your community
Chris Brogan, Social Media guru has an awesome post back in October of 2008 on using social media to help you get through the economic downturn.
New Media Type, a Web 2.0 blog explains that Social Media Marketing is sometimes the first to be cut because of the unknown but that it shouldn't be.
February 19, 2009 | Categories: "Sonoma County", Social Networking, Viral | Tags: "Marketing on a budget", "Santa Rosa", "Sonoma County", CA, Internet Marketing, Local Business, Social Media, Surviving the economy | Leave a comment
send a virtual cupcake.
I just discovered a cute new viral promotion on where you can customize and email a cupcake to your friends and kitchen appliance company Electrolux will give one dollar for each cupcake to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
I am not a fan of Electrolux's Kelly Ripa campagin (because she kinda drives me crazy) but anything that has to do with cupcakes and giving money to ovarian cancer research , I am all for! I would like to note that if you try to send a cupcake from their website you have to sign up and give them your information, but the Facebook application you don't.
February 14, 2009 | Categories: Social Networking, vegetarian food, Viral | Tags: Cause Marketing, Cupcakes, facebook, ovarian cancer research fund, send a cupcake, viral promotions | Leave a comment
take your rubber chicken to work week.
Yet another brilliant publicity ploy from El Jefe at Twisted Oak Winery is the idea to get people to take their "Twisted" rubber chickens to their places of work. Yes, last week was take your rubber chicken to work week, or #tyrctww if you are talking about it on Twitter.
Though, I never made it into my real office because I was traveling to San Francisco for the ZAP fest and to help assist Alice Medrich on her segment on chocolate crostini's on the View from the Bay (yes, I thought about taking it here, but I had too much other stuff to bring), I did take some great pictures and had a lot of fun with my four rubber chickens. Yes, perhaps some things did get a little out of control.
My week started off with some social media work from my kitchen with three of my four chickens.
My fourth little guy was lost, which my first reaction was that he was kidnapped. My friend Kevin designed a milk box so that I could properly let others know that he was missing.
Finally, my roommates found him, hiding next to our beer fridge and brought him back to me safe.
He visited my PR class with me and then we were off to visit San Fransisco where we both drank wayyyyyy too much zin.
February 3, 2009 | Categories: Branding, Randomness, Twitter, Viral, wine | Tags: #tyrctww, "Twisted Oak Winery", Alice Medrich, Rubber chicken, View from the Bay | 2 Comments
a few things I learned from social media camp.
This past Tuesday I ventured to San Fran to make a stop at social media camp, a conference much like cupcake camp or bar camp and I learned a few things:
1. "Wanna be successful, make people around you successful." This quote struck a cord deep down in me when I heard it in Erica O'Grady's opening speech. It is from the book Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz. It is so obvious, yet so powerful. Working in marketing, the first rule is that if your client is not making money then you won't keep the business for long. In my new position as the social marketing and promotions manager for Healdsburg Magazine, my job is to care about bringing more money to local businesses and the Healdsburg community/economy as a hole. I recently learned that many small family owned wineries in the area are already on the Open Wine Consortium (social network for people in the wine industry). This proves that they know that the web is a great vehicle to get their voice across, now I want to help them get heard through multiple other social media sites, thus making them more successful (and in turn, making me more successful of course).
2. Sex still sells! At the Half Baked activity, the room was split into 3 teams, my team constituted of a few people, including Tilly from Yahoo. The idea of Half Baked is to spilt into teams, pick two "buzz" words from a list that the crowd yelled out and then to create a website (with name, tagline, revenue model and marketing plan) in 10 minutes. Our team chose AtomicPimp.com, a subscription based dating site where people pay to be "pimped" out to find dates. A percentage of the profits go to "pimps", who set people up on dates. Pimps can promote themselves through various social networking, blah, blah, blah…. Anyways, our team won tickets to the Summer Mash SF party at the Mighty… All because sex sells (oh, yeah, and our idea kicked ass).
3. Twitter is one of the biggest social networks out there, yet it is still only known by other fellow web geeks. In the beginning of the camp, we all went around saying our names, three "tags" (mine: Healdsburg, tourism and live events) and our favorite Social Media site (Hi my name is Shana and I am a Twitter-holic). Almost everyone in the room said Twitter as well. I must say there is definitely something in communicating in 140 characters or less.
4. Geek guys are hot (It is the glasses). That is all.
5. Just be honest and write about what you know, if it is interesting, people will read (just don't constantly spam your friends with your blog URL *oops).
6. Social Media Marketing takes time. You have to build relationships, as well as maintain them. Old Media talked TO people, not with them.
7. Basic Online necessities:
1. Create a blog— WordPress is my personal favorite
2. Twitter — Start following people and have something to say
3. Facebook — It isn't just there so you can poke old high school friends, FB has allowed me to connect with business owners, wineries and journalists in the area. It works.
4. Email — If people email you, make sure to follow up!
July 17, 2008 | Categories: "Sonoma County", Healdsburg, Social Networking, Twitter, Viral | Tags: "BarCamp", "Social Media Camp", Business, Healdsburg Magazine, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter | Leave a comment
a day in the life of a healdsburg local.
For the last three days I have made Palette Art Café my latest stomping ground to do my everyday online activities. Today started off dedicated to writing a blog post about my life as of Monday morning (link to post to come) but as I got up to grab my soy mocha, I came across a flyer announcing an event for Healdsburg Magazine.
The event: A Day in the Life of Healdsburg: 19 July 2008
Healdsburg Magazine…. WHAT is this, WHY haven't I heard about it and WHO came up with such a great idea to capture the beauty and personality that our little town has in one day??
My eyes lit up….. Is this flyer a sign that Healdsburg is where I should stay to pursue my next chapter of my life (once again, link to post to come). I had to check out HealdburgMagazine.com.
The site is a newly created new media magazine dedicated to life, food, wine, events and business in Healdsburg, Ca.
I believe it definitely has the potential to help bring Healdsburg into the new millennium (i.e., creating active participants within an online community). The creator of this site, Jennifer, seems to know about SEO and using social media to market a site. As some may know, I am just starting to attempt to get Healdsburg online, so news that someone else wants to do the same thing gets me very excited.
The event in more detail: On Saturday July 19th, 2008 Healdsburg Magazine is asking all locals or visitors in Healdsburg to take a minute of their day to capture their experience.
"Just record being in Healdsburg"
- If you video it, create a short video of your experience and email a link to the video
- If you photograph it, send in the photograph with details about who, where, when, and how
- If you blog it, just blog it and send the link to your blog
- If you use audio, send in your audio clips
- Or, just call and leave a voice mail. 707-477-2528
I will definitely be participating in this event, as well as telling everyone I know in Healdsburg that day to do the same. I also look forward to seeing what Healdsburg Magazine has in store for the future.
June 27, 2008 | Categories: "Sonoma County", Social Networking, Viral, Websites | Tags: "sonoma, "Sonoma County", Flickr, Healdsburg, web 2.0 | 3 Comments
the battle of the brands.
Noah Brier has taken his site Brand Tags even further. Starting yesterday, visitors can pick the brand that they like best with Battle Mode! This new feature allows people to pick their favorite brand out of two random brand logos.
Try it out for yourself here, though, it is addicting…
I have argued this point with many of my friends: People pick brands based on emotion, and then they use their logic. I compare this to falling in love with a song based on the warm feeling it gives you about your middle school boyfriend…. Yes, I am talking about "Name" by the Goo Goo Dolls. *sigh.
This new addition to the site another great tool that Noah has created to get insight into people's mindset, to look at the emotional aspect of a brand and of course, another tool to make Marketing Geeks like me gitty.
"Feeling feisty? Try battle mode."
Some statistics that I have found thus far AS OF 11:15AM PST on Sunday:
Wins 100% of the time:
Arm & Hammer, Trek, Disney, Staples, VH1, Doritos, Adidas, World Wildlife Federation, Playstation, Scion, eBay, Post It, Xbox, Wii, Four Seasons, Coach, Discovery Channel, Bic, Kelloggs, Tupperware, Sharper Image
Loses 100% of the time:
Chevron, Sams Club, Bumble Bee, Kroger, Mexx, Exxon, Tide, NHL
More Stats that mean something to me:
§ HP wins 67% of the time
§ Barbie loses 60% of the time
§ Kodak loses 71% of the time
§ Wal Mart loses 40% of the time – Meaning that it wins 60% of the time…. Very surprising
§ Best Buy wins 63% of the time
§ Cadillac loses 80% of the time
§ Starbucks loses 63% of the time
§ Coffee-Mate wins 50% of the time
§ Nike loses 22% of the time
§ Patagonia wins 50% of the time
§ REI wins 71% of the time
§ NBA loses 67% of the time
§ Camelbak wins 75% of the time
§ Converse wins 75% of the time
§ Shell wins 56% of the time
§ WD40 wins 55% of the time
§ McDonalds loses 80% of the time
Currently this site is a day old, so I look forward to watching this site grow, and to see if it will brands will pay attention to this an example of how to use consumer mindset to leverage a brand's personality.
On a another note: His site has encouraged me to pursue a branding experiment that has existed in my head for the last few years into realm of reality. Look for a blog post about this soon.
June 15, 2008 | Categories: Branding, Viral | Tags: "brand tags", "emotion vs. logic", "noah brier", Branding | 2 Comments
tracking pork and beans.
YouTube is the latest social network that is offering brands free demographic data about users who click on their offerings. These facts will highly influence how bands, TV shows, movies and consumer products are marketed virally on the Web.
A feature called YouTube Insight, introduced in March, gives YouTube account holders a range of statistics, charts and maps about their audiences, and it is free!
The data bring some science to what has in the past just been a crapshoot in terms of knowing who exactly is watching/reading a brands viral marketing efforts.
I know I already mentioned the latest "viral" hit: Weezer's music video "Pork and Beans."
The video was posted on May 23 and in less than two weeks, over 5.5 million have watched it, and now because of Insight we know that 65% of viewers are male. And after three days, 38% of viewers had discovered the video on other websites where people had posted it.
With this information, Weezer is planning on figuring out how to target the same demographic groups that watched the video, and how to reach out to those that didn't.
June 5, 2008 | Categories: Video, Viral | Tags: "YouTube Insight", ROI, Social Networking, Viral, Weezer, youtube | Leave a comment
who are these guys?
This picture is just too funny to NOT put up. It reminds of a few bands that my mom still listens to….. Who are these Guys is a website asking the question that is on my mind at the moment, actually my question is Who Are These Guys AND Where Are They Now? It is from the kid who brought us OneRed Paperclip.
May 28, 2008 | Categories: Randomness, Viral, Websites | Tags: awesomeness, band, Internet Celb, Red Paperclip | Leave a comment
catching up on comedy videos: askaninja
The latest Weezer video, Pork and Beans (starring YouTube characters) inspired me to catch up on some YouTube videos that I haven't seen, such as Chris Crocker's stupid video Leave Britney Alone (no url because I refuse to promote it any more than this) or video's that I haven't watched in a while, like Liam Sullivan's "Shoes" which is just as addicting as the songs title (yes, I went there).
The latest site I came accross was AskaNinja.com which I have heard of, but never actually seen. My first encounter is called "The Future of Video" which is not currently on their YouTube page so I cannot download it here. This video is where "The Ninja drops some mad wisdom on video, yo."
FACT!!! This Video is freaking hilariousness as well as ALMOST educational…. Actually, it does remind me of just how must potential online videos have.
FACT!!! New media, new rules.
FACT!!! Click on this link to see the "The Future of Video" brought to you by The Ninja
FACT!!! This funny video from The Ninja is his most viewed video on YouTube
May 26, 2008 | Categories: Music, Viral | Tags: Askaninga.com, Liam Sullivan, Online Video, Shoes, Weezer, youtube | 1 Comment
tag galaxy: intergalactic planetary
New must see site:
It is called Tag Galaxy and I found it through the Mashable blog. The site is basically just a Flickr search, but in Papervision3D.
Some screen shots:
You have to try it out…
Too bad the url is the same throughout the experience, because instead of sending people to my Flickr page, I would send them to this page to see images tagged with my name…
Or, thinking about someone other than myself for a chance, it could be pretty cool for HP or Clos du Bois. I could see them do a Flickr photo contest of some sort.
Click on this image to see what a regular Flickr search looks like:
May 26, 2008 | Categories: Viral, Websites | Tags: Flickr, Tag | Leave a comment
green porno via sundance.
No words can describe my interest in the Sundance Channel's short films by Isabella Rossellini on the mating habits of several bugs… you just have to watch!
Rossellini also sat down with CNN to share some her views on the shorts as well as on bugs.
Don't miss out on the snail one. Please feel free to leave me your comments, I would love to know if anyone else is almost speechless and strangely…. eductated as I am.
May 7, 2008 | Categories: Randomness, Viral, Websites | Tags: green porno, Isabella Rossellini, Sundance | Leave a comment
2nd best reason to throw a party.
Grilled Cheese cook off!
check out:
Evite's Cheesy does it Blog Post
#1 reason: alliteration party… because I just bought fishnets and a fedora.
April 30, 2008 | Categories: My dreams, Randomness, Viral | Tags: blog, Evite, Grilled Cheese, Party | Leave a comment
lolz spek… gtz usd 2 it.
Nao, if u iz unabel 2 solve teh lol spek zen yuz a n00b, bt u canz getz gnu letturz frum teh linkz beeloe!
April 26, 2008 | Categories: Social Networking, Viral | Tags: I Can Has Cheezburger, lolcats, lolz | Leave a comment
Adtech08, Kodak, Twitter and the Digital World
No, I am not there, I went last year but I am currently too busy with work to go…. That is a good thing though right?!?!
Anyways, I have been watching the @stevehall, @arielwaldman and @stephagresta tweets. I also just started following @alisamleo today, so I have been trying to keep up-to-date on what is happening there.
One of the first keynotes of the day was from Kodak's new CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett who started in 2006 and has quickly changed Kodak (famous for not quickly evolving to digital) completely around.
According to an Adrants blog post, some of the things that Kodak is doing to keep up with the Joneses:
- An aggressive focus on digital. The Kodak Gallery, where pictures are shared and archived, boasts 70 million members. It is the second-largest social network in the world.
- Blog outreach. Jeff's not scared of nasty press or naughty talk. It's part of the flame-fanning. Kodak was also one of the first companies in the world to hire a female Chief Blogging Officer.
- Seizing moments of (sometimes manufactured) serendipity. He cited a moment when NASCAR heroes were photographed in Kodak hats. He talked about the Kodak Challenge on Celebrity Apprentice and the Gene Simmons controversy. Sales doubled the week following that episode.
"Hayzlett outlined the tactics Kodak has used to engineer a corporate transformation. In marketing and promotion, it has meant straddling the line between advertising and content and being willing to take some risks with the brand—if those seem to promise sales increases down the road."
Some great thinking seems to have come from adtech this year, but of course it isn't without it's problems, because according to @alisamleo's final word of the first day of adtech:
"final word: the shear lack of how the social web and its cultural constituents operate is astonishing"
So true, no matter how "old" this space may seem, it is constantly reinventing itself and we are all scrambling to keep up-to-date.
"So what is the next big thing? It's 'realigning organizations to execute in a digital world.'"
April 16, 2008 | Categories: Social Networking, Twitter, Viral | Tags: @alisamleo, adtech, Kodak, ShaRayRay, Twitter | Leave a comment
Ze Color Wars have officially started
Zefrank announced that the first game in the Twitter Color Wars is Roshambo, or "Rock, Paper, Scissors". I have submitted 8 different photos via Flickr, representing the Blue Team.
The rules state that:
Tuesday evening a bracket style RoShamBo tournament will be held. Best of three RSB, winner moves on…
We will see how this turns out, for now, it is fun to watch how many people are getting excited, and how many people Gary V. has been able to recruit, just based on his Tweets and wonderfully excessive videos about the Very Green Team on his website. My entertainment also lies in my newly found competition between myself and KG against fellow Hamilton Partners Tim and Pete.
And yes, my series for Scissors involves a Peep's head being cut off, one might call it a metaphor of what could happen to the opposing teams.
March 25, 2008 | Categories: Social Networking, Twitter, Viral | Tags: blueteam, Color Wars, Flickr, GaryVee, Hamilton Partners, Humor, Shana Ray, ShaRayRay, Social Networking, Twitter | Leave a comment
Twitter Color Wars 2008
For a few of us here at work (and many, many other various work places), today has been an interesting day to watch the tweets going on on… Just today zefrank has started a Twitter color war. Over the last several hours, him and Pete/Tim/KG's new friend Gary V. have rallied up the Twitter masses to join various color groups on Twitter.
The Very Green Team has 462 members… Thanks to Gary V's consistent rallying. This is the team that Tim chose to be a part of…. boo
The Offwhite Team has 53 followers.
The Gold Team has 124 followers.
The Orange Team has 148 followers.
ijustine's FF1CAE team has 98 followers.
The Blue team, which zefank started, currently has no avatar, but they have 172 followers, AND it is the team that I joined.
There are also many other various "color" groups, but it will take forever to name them. Now, Pete, KG, Em, Sean… Do you have what it takes? Oh wait, I have no idea what the color wars of 2008 are even all about….. I guess we will wait to see…. Until tomorrow.
March 20, 2008 | Categories: Social Networking, Viral | Tags: blue, Color Wars, Humor, Shana Ray, ShaRayRay, Social Networking, Twitter | 1 Comment
HP's Idolhands Contest
HP is looking for the world's most talented hands. Entrants to the Idolhands contest could win $10,000 or one of four TouchSmart PCs. Contest ends February 28 by uploading a video of their hands doing, well, pretty much anything that they can do (keeping it clean of course).
Entrants upload their videos onto YouTube and then they have to post the YouTube video onto the HP Idolhands Contest site.
The most "idolized" hands wins, so entrants can embed their videos onto their Facebook, Myspace, etc. pages to ask their friends to vote for their hands.
My favorite:
Interesting that HP doesn't just have this contest on YouTube.
February 8, 2008 | Categories: Viral, Websites | Tags: contest, embed, hands, HP, news, technology, Video, youtube | 1 Comment
New comic to be obsessed over
Natalie Dee comics are hilarious. I just wish she had an RSS feed.
I know only 6% of internet users use it, but it is a wonderful tool. Much better than emails clogging up my inbox….
February 4, 2008 | Categories: Viral, Websites | Tags: Comics, email, Humor, Natalie Dee, Opinion, RSS | Leave a comment


text:
Going to the zoo and running outside are usually considered warm weather activities, but today, Minot citizens made them work for the cold weather as well.
The "Too Cold To Hold" 5k was held at the Roosevelt Zoo, and runners pushed ahead even with the chilly temps and wind.
This is the 3rd year holding the race, and it's partner is the "Too Hot to Handle" run in August.
And those who came out to be a part of it today, were excited to spend a Saturday in February with their running shoes laced up.
(Connie Feist, Owner of Mile 1 Running Shop) "It's just something to encourage people. Yes, it's cold in North Dakota in the winter, but there are still things to do, you just have to adapt, and you know, a healthy lifestyle should last 12 months out of the year, so we're really happy to just encourage this all year round."
(Randal Cler, Winner of 5K) "It brings the community together, it gives people who say there's nothing to do outside, yes it's a little windy and cold, but there's quite a few people that showed up today and are having a good time."
The "Too Hot To Handle" run will be held in August, and the winner of the North Dakota Elements Challenge will be awarded.


text:
Allentown Health Bureau offers free flu shots
Published: Jan 30 2013 04:02:53 PM EST Updated On: Jan 15 2013 05:50:32 PM EST
The city of Allentown is working to get a grip on the recent surge of flu cases in the area.
The Allentown Health Bureau said it will offer free flu shots Thursday and Friday at Alliance Hall at 245 N. Sixth Street.
Hours are Thursday from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. and Friday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.
No appointment is necessary and the shots are available to anyone who needs one.
You can complete the influenza vaccine consent form in advance.
For more information, call the Allentown Health Bureau at 610-437-7760.
Copyright 2013 WFMZ. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.