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For most salespeople, cold calling is one of the most dreaded tasks of the job. But of course, it's a necessary evil. Cold calling is time-consuming, nerve wracking, and a tremendous waste of resources.
Imagine having a job that required you to plow through a list of 100 names a day. If you're lucky, you might slog through and earn two or three promising leads–which can be very frustrating. But what if you could cut the number of calls you make, and spend time getting to know qualified prospects even before you pick up the phone? That would be pretty awesome, wouldn't it?
Cold calling doesn't have to be a source of angst for business owners.
In fact, according to my very smart friend, Tom Martin, of Converse Digital, you should never call a stranger. In today's world, your prospective customers leave digital clues all over the Internet. You just have to care enough, and know enough, to look for them. Tom says, "These digital footprints are the key to social reconnaissance and building Guerilla Insights into your target audience. When you understand how to find and then link these clues together, you can pretty much find out almost anything, about almost anyone." And that, my friends? That's the kind of work you can do up front that will definitely make cold calling exponentially less hateful. Not to mention produce better results.
What is Social Reconnaissance? It may just be the most important first step you can take to sharpen your sales skills. And the reality is that if you're not doing it, you're probably wasting time, money, and a whole lot of effort.
You totally want to know more, don't you? Well, Tom's hosting a webinar on this topic (and it's free). Even better? The webinar is just 18 minutes long. So there's absolutely no reason for you not to register and send your best salespeople to attend. The Social Reconnaissaince webinar will be held on Wednesday, March 11th at 11:45 am CST. You can register now by clicking here.
It's important to note that the webinar is limited to the first 100 attendees who register and show up on March 11th. So even if you register early but delay when it comes to showing up, you might not get a spot. And there won't be a recorded version of this webinar for later viewing, so register, show up early, and invest 18 minutes in learning how to be more effective at cold calling.
It may just be the most beneficial 18 minutes you'll spend. If you do attend, be sure and let me know what you think—I'd love to hear.
Photo Credit: pdpao via Compfight cc
Power Your Cold-Calling with Social Recon [Webinar] is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
It's not news that we are living in a time of unbelievable explosion around technology. It's not going to slow down – ever and, in fact, it's going to speed up in ways that can be mind-boggling at times. When you're in technology, you understand this, and you know that tech builds upon itself, constantly evolving and changing. The more innovation we see, the greater acceleration of technology. It's exciting from a business standpoint because things that wouldn't have been possible, or economical five or ten years ago have now come into focus. Technology is enabling businesses to lower the cost of communication, mobile bandwidth, storing data, customer and employee interactions, relationships and so much more.
Clients – your clients and mine – are looking for help. They need guidance and assistance on how to power their businesses, where to put their IT investments moving forward, insights on how to stay more competitive, more innovative, more responsive to the markets, and the clients they are serving. Transitioning to the cloud is how we can help make that happen.
Transition to Cloud: What That Means
Moving business operations to the cloud provides a huge opportunity for businesses, for your clients and your prospects, to not only reinvent opportunities, but also to grow their businesses. Some 70% of CXOs surveyed have initiatives in place today to respond more quickly to emerging trends. They know it's not a choice–it's a critical business move.
These CXOs understand that the one constant when it comes to establishing and maintaining a competitive advantage is relentless change. There are one trillion connected things providing data this year. One trillion. It's kind of hard to get your head around a number that big, isn't it? Cloud can help businesses leverage that huge mass of data so as to create a competitive advantage And cloud? It's at the forefront of all this innovation.
One of the most exciting things about cloud is that it doesn't discriminate. It gives organizations of any size the ability to innovate at speed, public, private or hybrid, bare metal or managed, on premise or off. Cloud
Mobile and Cloud
Cloud and mobile, mobile and cloud. They are inseparable, so if that's not already a basic premise in your mind, embrace it. The average mobile user checks their phone 150 times per day. I've seen this stat a lot over the course of the last year or so and while I've never made time to count how many times I grab and use my device, I'm pretty sure that my numbers would far exceed this. How about you? Checking email, grabbing or sending text messages, searching the web, listening to podcasts, watching video, playing games, stalking my kids on social media channels – you're nodding, aren't you? Because now you're thinking that 150 times per day doesn't really seem all that much, now does it?
The thing about cloud and mobile is that cloud allows you to use mobile as the activation point for customer interaction. Mobile is driving the cloud and could is driving mobile, and the two are so intertwined you can't separate them. Nor would you want to.
Multiple On Ramps to Cloud
So it's inarguable that cloud is on your radar screen this year. And I can promise you that it's on your clients' radar screens as well – even if they're not quite sure what to do or where to go with it. Gartner reports that 70% of enterprises are to pursue hybrid cloud computing and there are plenty of small to midsize businesses integrating cloud at various levels as well. The cool thing about cloud is that it doesn't require huge disruption within the organization. You can bring your own licenses, your own applications, your own ideas and your own customers to the cloud, in whatever steps you want to take in order to make that happen. These onramps, of which IBM has many, enable you (and your clients) to bring your best ideas and to quickly innovate. We are no longer operating in a world where you can take 18 months (or longer) from concept to rollout of an idea – we are in the world of agile DevOps and the quicker you can conceive, develop and launch something, the greater your chance of success. One of my favorite lines of the morning keynote presentations was from the always on it Sandy Carter, who said that "Agile is the new design principle for the enterprise — 80% is good enough and cloud is the enabler of that."
She's right. 80% is without question good enough and cloud is how you make that happen. There's more to come from Sandy and the other insights she shared, but I wanted to get this top line overview of the IBMPWLC event written and published while the conversations about cloud and how it does and will and will continue to revolutionize everything we know about business were still top of mind.
How are you using cloud today in your business? Are you, like many of the CXOs or CMOs surveyed, looking at more and more ways to integrate cloud into your operations? If so, what's at the top of your list? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Other resources on this topic:
How Cloud Partnerships Drive Next Generation Business Solutions
The Cloud and Your Business: How It Can Change Everything
Photo Credit: bankcardgroup01 via Compfight cc
This post was brought to you by IBM for Midsize Business and opinions are my own. To read more on this topic, visit IBM's Midsize Insider. Dedicated to providing businesses with expertise, solutions and tools that are specific to small and midsized companies, the Midsize Business program provides businesses with the materials and knowledge they need to become engines of a smarter planet.
Cloud and the Revolutionization of Business is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
Dark Social isn't as sinister as the name might suggest. The term, first coined by Alexis C Madrigal, tech editor at Atlantic.com in 2012, describes web traffic that comes from sources traditional web analytics are unable to track. Just think how often you copy a link to an email, or instant message into a forum and you will get an idea of what it is and how powerful it can be in disseminating information.
The research came in the form of a study carried out by advertising software company, Radium One. The company looked at data from a recent online social sharing survey of more than 9,000 consumers, combined with an analysis of their own sharing data, to produce a snapshot of where and how we share content online. (I should point at this stage that Radium One does offer a tool to measure Dark Social however, as I haven't used it this post shouldn't be considered as an endorsement of their product).
This headline, finding that more than two-thirds of shares were "dark" might come as a surprise. Dig a little deeper though and the numbers of consumers who share outside of the main social platforms might also raise a few eyebrows.
That's a pretty overwhelming percentage of the online population who share on the dark side; take a look at this next graphic which shows that almost a third of us (and nearly half of over 55s) who only share via Dark Social.
This doesn't surprise me at all, what about you? Think about your own behavior when it comes to consuming content and when it comes to sharing it. Think about the behavior of your customers and your prospective customers. In spite of the fact that I have a huge personal digital footprint, for every one thing I share publicly in social media channels, there are countless other things that I share via email, or through Facebook Messenger, or via IM or text message. And I can't even begin to count the number of shares I get from others through those same channels.
One tool we have been using for a long time is Tynt, which lets you track where your sharing takes place. Our Tynt data has consistently shown that our corporate blog content (and that of our clients') is shared more regularly by email than it is through any other channel. Here's a snippet of a daily report I get from Tynt to show you what I'm talking about:
I find the behavior of the different age demographics interesting. More than twice the proportion of over 55s share only via dark social than the Millennial group. Does this suggest that the influence of dark sharing will wane as the population ages? Maybe the prevalence of mobile usage, where it's not so straightforward to copy and paste a link, has an impact here. I'm not sure, but it will be fascinating to monitor how this trend develops.
Should marketers and CIOs be concerned about this phenomenon? The study revealed that when it comes to clickbacks, dark social accounts for just 16 percent of the worldwide total. While the volumes, therefore, are still low, there are two other factors to take into account:
Short and branded URLs
The research also took a look at the influence of something that most marketers have long recognized the benefits of–shortened and branded URLs. The ability to turn long links into short and measurable links offers advantages to marketers that make them attractive in all types of campaigns. The report authors, however, suggest that very few use the resulting data effectively in their digital marketing campaigns. This is where your internal tech teams could play a role when it comes to data collection and analysis, by working with marketing teams to make sure they are taking this data, in the proper context, into consideration as they develop and fine-tune their marketing strategies and assess the efficacy of their campaigns.
As with dark social sharing, the effectiveness of short URLs appears to vary greatly depending on sector and location. Branded short URLs in particular can show a huge increase in the number of clickbacks in brand sensitive sectors. Take sports as an example as shown in this graphic.
Branding a URL has uplift in all areas, but particularly in an area where consumers are hungry for content from a brand that they follow and trust. Considerable food for thought for brands with a strong presence who aren't yet picking up on this potential traffic.
Bottom line, no matter which platform you opt to use, it's clear that marketers would benefit from using an integrated data collection and media delivery platform and from having the tech and data analysis support to make sure they are getting the most out of the data at their fingertips and using it to increase the effectiveness of their initiatives.
If you're interested in the full report and the case studies that it includes, you can find it at The Light and dark of Social Sharing (registration required).
We all hope that the content we create as part of our marketing initiatives is being shared by all possible means. But there's a big difference between publishing a post or launching a campaign and hoping that it's shared and knowing that it's shared—and where. Hopefully this look at dark social sharing and the reality that a vast number of folks consuming your content are accessing it via dark social and sharing it via dark social is food for thought for you moving forward. Also, consider using things like short URLs or links with calls to action to download for more information as a way to more effectively track how your content moves across the web and who is reading, accessing, and putting it to use.
What do you think about dark social sharing? Are you taking it into consideration as you evaluate the efficacy of your content? Are you doing anything special to try and track it? I would love to hear your thoughts.
This post was written as part of the Dell Content Partners program, which provides news and analysis on technology, business and gadget-geek culture. I've been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent Dell's positions or strategies.
Other resources on this topic:
Dark Social Traffic in the Mobile App Era
I don't know my online audience and neither do you
Graphics source – The Light and dark of Social Sharing
Photo Credit: Amickman via Compfight cc
The Dark Side of Social Sharing Comes Out of the Shadows [Report] is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
Broadcast radio gets the biggest share of the audio pie, but newer sources of audio are ensuring the medium continues to grow. For marketers, the message is loud and clear: in the rush to embrace digital marketing, don't overlook the traditional.
Edison's Share of Ear study of Americans over the age of 13 looked at listening habits across location, device, type, time, and brand — both online and offline.
It found that:
Graphic via Edison Research – click on image for enlarged version.
Mobile drives audio consumption
The catalyst for this changing audio landscape is clearly the rise of the mobile device; the proliferation of smartphones and tablets gives us access to audio services like never before.
From Internet-only platforms like Spotify, to satellite radio and TV music channels, consumers now have a spectrum of affordable and easily accessed audio services that they could only dream of at one time. These alternative channels carry enough weight that singles charts, like Billboard, have had to include streaming statistics in their metrics.
As erudite friend, Edison's Tom Webster, so succinctly puts it: "What has happened is that smartphones and other personal tech innovations let us listen to audio in places we heretofore couldn't–so the whole audio pie is getting bigger." And just as brands raced to embrace social, then rushed to embrace content, we are now seeing them rush to integrate podcasting into their marketing mixes.
The Share of Ear™ report is available on a subscription basis and contains comprehensive demographic information that hasn't been available before now. If you're interested in information on obtaining the report or more information from the team at Edison, you can reach them at 908-707-4707.
It'll be fascinating to see how the figures stack up this year and whether the use of digital audio continues to expand. I have no doubt that it will— audio is so ridiculously convenient, and embraced by too many people, to not expect to see it continue to grow in popularity. What say you — have you used audio as part of your integrated marketing strategy? If not, are you considering it? Do you find yourself consuming more podcasts and other audio than you have in the past? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Other resources on this topic:
Audio: The New Hero of Communication
BBC: Official Singles Chart to Include Streaming Services
Photo Credit: ozono555 via Compfight cc
Growth in Audio: Share of Ear Grows, Here's Why is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
Facebook and Instagram Lead the Way with College Students When Connecting with Brands
Millennials, some of whom are currently college students, will be well positioned to out earn and outspend non-college Millennials for years to come, according to a new eMarketer report, "US College Students 101: Updating Fundamental Facts About This Diverse, Digital Cohort."
While the wide variety of social networks and mobile messaging apps have provided college students with multiple social options, Facebook is still the place students interact with brands the most according to a July 2014 survey by ID.me. According to the study, 86.2% of U.S. college students said they followed brands on Facebook. It's important to note here that the survey was conducted via Facebook. Instagram ( a Facebook owned company) was runner-up, at 43.3%.
Smartphones and tablets also play a role in students' shopping habits, although not for all. A July 2014 survey for the National Retail Federation found more than four in 10 surveyed said they did not plan to use their phone or tablet for researching or buying back-to-school items. That sounds crazy to me, what about you?
With mobile usage increasing among students, brands see it as an effective channel to use to advertise to students, but research by Ball State University, contradicts this assumption. According to Michael Hanley, advertising professor and director of the university's Institute for Mobile Media Research, "research continues to show young people are annoyed by mobile ads. About 65% of students report receiving mobile ads, and 70% of them don't like it."
Regardless of medium, college students are influenced most by their friends. When an August 2014 Fluent study asked students to say what shapes their back-to-school purchase decisions, the top of the list was populated by peer opinion and money-saving offers.
NFL Partners with YouTube to Offer Online Video Content to Fans
The NFL and YouTube announced a partnership this week that will the creation of an NFL YouTube channel that makes videos directly viewable via Google searches.
This is a significant move for the NFL, which has been cautious about allowing its content to appear online.
The partnership also guarantees that kickoff times and broadcast information for every NFL game will be displayed prominently in Google searches. The league's YouTube channel has already launched, and currently features Super Bowl related content along with Pro Bowl highlights and highlights from the past season.
New Facebook Tools Aim to Help Marketers Maximize Their Advertising Efforts
This week Facebook launched a new set of tools to help marketers better understand how their ads can increase their business.
According to a recent Facebook blog post, the new tools allow "advertisers to accurately determine the additional business driven by Facebook ads and make future marketing decisions based on this information."
The new tools work by first establishing a random test group of people who see the ads, as well as a control group of people who don't. Throughout the life of the ad campaign, Facebook analyzes any sales conversion increase generated by the ads from data supplied by the advertiser.
"Advertisers who work directly with Facebook teams will be able to set up conversion lift studies with their account representative and then see results, in near real-time, right in Ads Manager reporting," according to Facebook. "In time, we will look to expand our conversion lift offerings to cover more use-cases and more complex studies. We already offer lift measurement solutions through both our own tools and third-party partnerships. Today's announcement is a step toward making lift measurement available to a wider portion of our clients around the world so they can accurately measure the impact of their ads."
Facebook Confirms 1.39 Billion Monthly Users with Half Coming From Mobile
During their quarterly earnings call this last week, Facebook confirmed that 1.39 billion people use the social network every month. This represents a 13% increase annual increase. Even more impressive, monthly active mobile users grew even faster — at a 26% annual pace — and now stand at 1.19 billion.
This increase in mobile users is also contributing to a significant increase in overall ad revenue, accounting for 69% of Facebook's total $3.59 billion ad revenue.
Airfare Price Watch Website Hopper Introduces an iPhone App
Hopper, a site that helps you score deals on airfares, has introduced new iOS app that adds notifying you of price drops and letting you know the best time to buy.
Among the features Hopper offers its users is price prediction, which uses historical price data to let you know when to book your fare. The new Hopper app also features a color-coded calendar so you can see easily which dates are better to travel within a specified time frame.
The current version of the app is for iOS 8 only.
It's Official! Apple Watch To Debut in April
According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the much-anticipated Apple Watch will be available for purchase sometime this April. Cook confirmed this during Apple's earnings call this past week.
During the call, Tim Cook said he wears his Apple Watch daily and "can't live without it." Not exactly a shocking endorsement, but if you're like me, you're excited to see what Apple will do with this foray into wearable tech.
Google Fiber Expanding to Four Additional Southern Metro Areas
With the successful launch of Google Fiber in Kansas City, Provo, and Austin, Google announced this week it will be expanding to new cities in the following metro areas: Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and Raleigh-Durham.
Along with the newly confirmed cities, Google is looking at bringing its gigabit fiber to five additional metro areas—Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Antonio and San Jose. The company expects to have firm plans regarding these new cities by the end of 2015.
Swyp Aims to be the Only Card in Your Wallet
With the successful introduction of ApplePay and other mobile payment technologies, entrepreneurs have been scrambling to come up with the next wallet replacement. The makers of Swyp, a device that looks like credit card and can store up to 25 of your credit, debit, gift, and loyalty cards, hopes they have the next big thing.
According to Ashutosh Dhodapkar, CEO of Qvivr and maker of Swyp "We bent over backwards to have the same size and dimensions of a credit card because we don't want any friction with merchant infrastructure. And even more importantly, we don't want any change in consumer behavior."
The Swyp device includes a Bluetooth low energy radio chip for connecting with your phone. Any time your Swyp card is beyond six feet away from your phone, it locks up to keep your cards safe. To access your cards on the device, you'll need to enter a unique PIN code. This protects your data if your iPhone is lost or stolen.
According to the company, Swyp will load cards based on location and time in order to pull up the right card for the right situation. Entering a credit card on your Swyp device is handled through a supplied dongle that attaches to your phone. The card information is loaded into the Swyp app and encrypted. Your data is then kept only on the Swyp device and your phone and not on any remote servers.
Swyp will be operating in a crowded space with companies such as Coin, Plastc, Stratos, and Wocket all planning to launch similar devices.
Swyp is available for pre-order for $50 and the company hopes to start shipping the device by this fall.
YouTube Will Now Default to HTML5 Players For Better Compatibility with More Devices
This week YouTube announced that its Web video player will now default to HTML5 over Adobe Flash. According to YouTube, it waited to switching to HTML5 players because of multiple technical issues.
YouTube also said that since HTML5 supports the VP9 codec, it can help save bandwidth, load time, and file size. YouTube is encouraging developers to use the iframe API rather than Flash, since most mobile devices don't support Flash.
New Group Messaging and Video Features Coming to Twitter
This week, Twitter announced that group messaging and video upload support will be made available via an update to its official iOS and Android apps.
Twitter users will not be required to follow each other to be able to communicate in a group message. Those users invited to the group chat will receive a notification and can start chatting. The new Twitter group messaging feature is similar to other group chat apps like WhatsApp.
As part of the same announcement, Twitter will also be implementing its own native video feature, which will allow users to upload and share video directly with Twitter.
While this appears to be a duplication of its own Vine video sharing network, the new native Twitter video feature will have the advantage of slightly longer record times.
Expect Twitter to be rolling out an update for its iOS app soon.
Easily Include Images with Tweeted Links with Twitshot
Twitshot, a website that automatically extracts images from pasted links and attaches them to tweets, launched a new iOS app this week that allows you to use the share sheet in iOS 8 to quickly create a tweet with an embedded image from your iPhone or iPad without having to go through the extra steps of downloading the images first and then attaching them for sharing.
Twitshot is available for free for iOS, as well as offering a Chrome extension.
Facebook Video Now Generating 3 Billion Views Per Day
As part of its recent earnings call, Facebook reported that there are 3 billion videos viewed on its site each day. That's billion with a "B!" With a reported 890 million daily active users, this averages out to more than three videos each day.
More specifically, Facebook confirmed that over 50% of people in the U.S. who use Facebook daily watch at least one video per day. While the number doesn't account for all the videos that are auto-played, over 65% of total Facebook video views occur on mobile.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, "one of the big trends will be the growth of video content on our service."
Speaking about the potential of video being used in advertising, COO Sheryl Sandberg said "It's exciting that we've gotten to 3 billion video views per day because it shows that consumers like video. That gives us an opportunity to grow our video advertising. What really matters is that consumers are using videos on Facebook."
Facebook did report $3.6 billion in advertising sales, but did not mention how much of that came from video advertising versus other formats.
Facebook May Have Just Killed Yelp
Facebook has launched a new feature called "Place Tips," and, as you might imagine, it's aimed squarely at location-based recommendation apps like Yelp.
Note that Facebook is making Place Tips a default feature, so you'll have to turn it off through the "Location" settings if you'd rather not use it. While Facebook won't post anything on your wall when using Place Tips, it will keep track of where you are using GPS and wifi.
Currently, Place Tips is only available in high-traffic areas in New York City like Central Park, Times Square, and JFK Airport, but that's something that is sure to change soon.
Snapchat Discover: Fun Content For Short Attention Spans
Snapchat launched its media hub Discover this week featuring condensed content that mix photos, videos, and text positioned as an entertainment destination. This is clearly aimed at its mainly Millennial user base and their notoriously short attention spans.
Users access Discover by swiping left to reveal a screen of buttons that open daily "Editions" of content from a selection of media partners and Snapchat's own production team. Media partners included CNN, Comedy Central, Cosmopolitan, Daily Mail, ESPN, Food Network, National Geographic, People, Vice, Yahoo News, and Warner Music Group.
Snapchat also has a clear business strategy by mixing in pre-rolls and looping video interstitial advertising. Snapchat's aim is not to force ads on users, since most can be skipped, so you'll only watch ads you think are actually interesting.
Snapchat's Discover clearly aims to give its users something to look at, even if they're not big on friends and not fond of social media celebrities. Millennials are often criticized for not caring all that much about news or current events, and perhaps by reformatting journalism into snackable, bite-sized pieces, Snapchat might be able to make news attractive or even fun to watch.
With all the controversy swirling around the New England Patriots and the "Deflate-gate" scandal heading into the Super Bowl, Jimmy Kimmel once again nails it.
Advertising is also a big part of the Super Bowl experience and there will be many funny and entertaining ads. Among them, Snickers has created an entertaining and nostalgic ad featuring Mike and Carol Brady of 70s sitcom The Brady Bunch. I thought the ad was kind of dumb, you?
Photo Credit: JAFdez1973 via Compfight cc
Things You Need To Know This Week – January 30, 2015 is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
The report estimated that as many as 71% of marketers were falling short of their revenue targets by adopting the wrong marketing strategies. The report identified six key areas in which failing marketers were commonly missing the mark and six steps needed to get back on track.
Lets take a look at the common reasons for failure, starting with the most obvious obstacle:
The SBI study also suggests a six-step process to develop a more effective marketing strategy. This is a very comprehensive study and well worth your time to explore. Some of what it covers includes:
This visual gives you a nice overview of some of the information above.
Image credit: SBI
If you would like to learn more then you can download the full study at "How to Increase Marketing's Contribution to 2015 Revenue" (registration required).
Without question, marketers have a tough job today. Marketing is becoming more and more sophisticated and many marketers either lack some of the skills they need to do the kind of job they would like to do, and should do, or they lack the budget and resources internally to make that happen. Or both. Best-in-class marketers know they have to keep learning, keep experimenting, and keep adapting in order to deliver the kind of results that can make a difference. Hopefully the information here helps you if these are things you're thinking about and/or struggling with. If you have any thoughts on any of the items covered here, I'd love to hear them.
If this is a topic that interests you, check out the Integrated Marketing Summit Workshop Series. Visiting nine cities in 2015, including Dallas (3/5), Phoenix (4/1), Fort Lauderdale (4/23), Minneapolis (5/19), NYC 6/24), St. Louis (6/7), Columbus, OH (8/5), Kansas City (10/8), and Atlanta (11/12), these workshops are designed to give attendees a hands-on deep dive into topics like social selling, B2B Lead Generation, B2C Lead Generation, Social Media, SEO, Content Marketing and there are three different workshops offered in the morning sessions and three in the afternoon sessions. Reasonably priced, great content, and limited to only 30 people per session, this is a way you can get the information you need with only a small amount of time out of the office.
Other resources on this topic:
How Marketers Can Maximize Their Contribution to Revenue
Introduction to Integrated Marketing: Sales and Marketing Alignment (Eloqua)
photo credit: Gamma-Ray Productions via photopin cc
This post was brought to you by IBM for Midsize Business and opinions are my own. To read more on this topic, visit IBM's Midsize Insider. Dedicated to providing businesses with expertise, solutions and tools that are specific to small and midsized companies, the Midsize Business program provides businesses with the materials and knowledge they need to become engines of a smarter planet.
Six Reasons Your Marketing Strategy is Failing [and How to Fix It] is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
Facebook Is About to Conquer Social Video
Facebook has already demonstrated its ability to get content out in front of millions of people; helping a slew of media companies boost traffic for their content (for a fee, of course). Now in 2015, Facebook is hoping to do the same thing for video.
Major media companies have started to embrace Facebook as the go to place to post their video and coming to terms with the fact that Facebook may indeed be the future of publishing. Those publishing video directly to Facebook's platform, which auto plays right in the Newsfeed, are already seeing the results.
As a prime example, BuzzFeed has almost entirely quit posting YouTube videos to Facebook. It has also increased the number of videos it is uploading. Upworthy has seen positive results too garnering over 239,000 shares for its last 10 native Facebook videos.
ESPN made the move from YouTube to Facebook this past November. Its last 15 native videos generated around 53,000 shares, compared to 6,500 for the last 15 YouTube videos. CNN and Huffington Post saw similar results when they switched.
As an example, here's a video from SB Nation on the whole #deflategate "scandal," depicting the Pats take on the situation. Which, by the way, is flat out hilarious. Note the more than 4.5 million views, the 119,000 shares and the more than 14,000 likes. Native video wins. Today, anyway.
Facebook isn't alone. Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram all have aggressive plans in the works to up their video presence, but none have the advantages of Facebook and its ability to tweak the Newsfeed to give video huge exposure at the expense every other platform.
The only missing piece is advertising, and that's on the way–Facebook already has a revenue sharing deal in place with the NFL.
According to Max Kalehoff, Senior vice president of marketing at SocialCode, "They're (Facebook) giving brands the ability to reach very, very large audiences that can also be the size of one. They can be in the hundreds of millions, but they can target them with the precision of one person and that's really interesting. We're starting to see scale that a while back you'd typically only see on YouTube when it comes to online."
Brian Blau, research director of consumer technologies for Gartner takes this new video revolution a step farther saying, "At some point, it's going to be more than autoplay, it's going to be live and it's going to be more event-oriented."
Millennials Admit to Impulse Shopping
According to a study by JP Morgan Chase, 83% of U.S. Millennials have made an impulse purchase. This was most likely to happen on paydays or when browsing shopping websites. In those instances, their tendency to purchase items on impulse exceeded other demographic groups.
The study also indicated that Millennials were more likely to regret their impulse purchase after the fact.
The instance of impulse purchases was higher among women ,with 20% of female shoppers citing "retail therapy" as the main reason for impulsive shopping, compared with just 9% of males. Almost 70% of women and 60% of males made impulse purchases because of sales.
Though male shoppers made slightly fewer impulse purchases than females, when they did shop impulsively, 50% said they were likely to spend on electronics, compared with only 27% of female shoppers. For female shoppers, 61% said their impulse buys were mostly clothing, while only 43% of men said clothing lured them to impulse shopping.
Twitter Is Looking to Enter the Payments Processing Arena
Twitter is actively seeking ways to further monetize its microblogging platform and processing payments may soon be one of those ways.
According to a report by MCD, a Twitter executive disclosed that the social network will begin processing mobile payments sometime in 2015. However, Twitter's goal is not to create a mobile payment platform, but to allow a new advertising option for movie theaters and concert venues to sell tickets.
Initially the plan is to only sell movie and concert tickets. If successful, it is likely that Twitter will branch out into other categories of products and services that do not require shipping.
The Mobile Revolution is Just Getting Started
A newly released global survey by the Boston Consulting Group found that an average consumer puts an implied value of $6,000 on their smartphone.
The report, which surveyed 7,500 people and 3,500 businesses in the U.S., Germany, South Korean, Brazil, China and India, found that small companies that were "mobile leaders" benefited from 200% greater revenue growth and hired people at a rate 800% faster than "mobile laggards."
The report also indicated that Americans spend 30% more on wireless than on all furnishings and that those surveyed were willing to give up such things as dining out (70%), a vacation (40%), and sex (38%) in order to afford to keep their smartphones.
Project HoloLens: Microsoft's New Holographic Goggles
In coming months, Microsoft is planning to unveil a head-mounted holographic computer called Project HoloLens.
According to chief inventor Alex Kipman, the headset is still just a prototype being developed under the codename Project Baraboo.
In the very near future, technology like this will allow us to compute in the physical world, using voice and gesture to interact with data and layer it with physical objects. Cyberspace will be all around you. Holy the future is here, Batman – this is pretty cool.
Kipman's prototype amplifies the special powers that Xbox Kinect introduced, using a small fraction of the energy. The depth camera has a field of vision that spans 120 by 120 degrees–far more than the original Kinect. On the right side, buttons allow you to adjust the volume and to control the contrast of the hologram.
Project HoloLens' key achievement—realistic holograms—works by tricking your brain into seeing light as matter. "Ultimately, you know, you perceive the world because of light," Kipman explains. "If I could magically turn the debugger on, we'd see photons bouncing throughout this world. Eventually they hit the back of your eyes, and through that, you reason about what the world is. You essentially hallucinate the world, or you see what your mind wants you to see."
I've seen more than one article on this new technology and to a one, all agree that this could be the thing that makes Microsoft "cool" again. I don't know about you, but this geek is definitely interested to see this in action.
NBC to Live Stream The Super Bowl for Free
NBC Universal will kick off promotion its cord-cutting TV Everywhere plan, which offers free streaming of programming on the network, by streaming this year's Super Bowl online for free.
Starting at 12 p.m. ET on Feb. 1, NBC will stream 11 continuous hours of programing, including the big game itself, the halftime show featuring Katy Perry, and a post-game airing of its hit show The Blacklist.
Viewers will not have to proof that they pay for the TV service through cable or a telecom to watch the big game. NBC will stream the Super Bowl to desktops and tablets via NBC Sports Live Extra, its live streaming service for sports. The deal doesn't include phones, though, since Verizon Wireless has the exclusive on that distribution.
I don't know about you, but I think this is kind of a big deal. I have conversations with friends all the time about interest in and/or the ability to cut the cable cord, and I think this is one move that edges people closer to that. Driven by a network, which is interesting. What do you think?
Twitter Will Now Show You What You Missed "While You Were Away"
Being a real time news and information feed is one of Twitter's greatest strengths, as well as one of its biggest weaknesses.
This past Wednesday, Twitter rolled out a feature that could solve that problem. When users open the Twitter app, they will see a selection of the best tweets that were sent "while you were away," as the heading notes. The goal is to give users a quick "recap"—the name of the feature—of what they missed.
Twitter will decide what tweets to show you based on a number of factors, such as how many favorites or retweets a particular tweet received.
With the introduction of this new feature known as "Recaps," Twitter seems to be moving further away from its early view that the home timeline is no longer just a stream of fast moving, unfiltered tweets. This change comes as Twitter continually seeks to become more useful (and relevant) to casual users.
Facebook is Getting Tough on Newsfeed Hoaxes
In its latest update, Facebook is again tweaking the Newsfeed, but this time it is focusing on reducing the hoaxes that appear in users' feeds defined as hoaxes, scams or "deliberately false or misleading stories."
Now, when users see a false news story, whether it's a link, photo, or video post, they can report it to Facebook as false or misleading.
According to a recent Facebook blog post, "This works in the same way as reporting a story as spam. "When you click to hide a story you also have the option to report the content."
If a post is deleted or reported by a large number of users, Facebook's algorithms will automatically reduce its visibility in the News Feed. While Facebook won't actually delete these types of posts, it will add a message warning users that the post has been reported as containing false information. Stories intended to be satirical or humorous won't be affected by the update.
Tumblr Forms New Internal Creative Studio By Tapping Its Own Users
In what I think is a brilliant move, this past Thursday, Tumblr, the Yahoo-owned social networking site unveiled the Creatrs Network, an internal team that works with almost 300 Tumblr bloggers to produce content for paid advertisers. Brands who buy sponsored posts can utilize this new Creatrs Network for images, text, video and other content produce on the site.
"What we're aspiring to is advertising on the level of art," David Hayes, head of creative strategies, said at a press conference at Tumblr headquarters. Two years ago, he added, native was en vogue in advertising; last year it was content marketing. "We think this year is about content creation."
Also being introduced is a broader collective, called Creatrs, which taps users for production for non-profits, media, and arts promotions that are not advertisers.
Content from the new initiative will be distributed via syndication across the web, according to Hayes. He did not say whether Tumblr would receive a percentage of paid work appearing elsewhere. He also said the company was still determining the process for video. Tumblr introduced an autoplay video ad product in October. I am fascinated by this and can't wait to see how this moves forward.
The world was SHOCKED by the announcement that SkyMall had filed for bankruptcy. Well, the world of frequently travelers, anyway. While there were a ton of awesome jokes about it, no one nailed it as well as Christy Tiegen did with these tweets.
This might have been my favorite thing on the Internets this week. But then, I'll admit to loving just about anything that Jimmy Fallon does.
Lip Flip with Jennifer Aniston and Jimmy Fallon
People Are Awesome!
photo credit: Microsoft Sweden via photopin cc
Things You Need To Know This Week – January 23, 2015 is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
Public relations and communication practitioners have a vested interest in this resolution because of the critical role they serve in helping protect an organization's reputation and build public trust. Their job is all the more important given the crisis in conscience of corporate America which, according to an August 2014 issue of The Economist, is at an all-time high. The article referenced a University of Virginia Law School study compiling a database of actions taken against companies since 2000, and described the magnitude of the problem.
"It's rare a month goes by without announcements of big legal settlements by large companies doing business in America," it begins.
The world's largest private hospital chain, the largest retailer, and America's largest automobile manufacturer are among the offenders.
The ethical crisis has reached a point where academia and professional associations are taking action. For example, eleven universities and colleges from four different states have partnered with the Univeristy of Colorado Colorado Springs' Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative in the College of Business; and the Public Relations Society of America dedicates each September for members to focus on ethics.
Communication professionals who counsel corporate leaders are well aware that conversations about ethics start in the C-Suite where the culture and values of an organization begin. Vision statements, organizational goals and written policies are important, but it's the actions and decisions of board members, chairmen, presidents, and other executives that people notice. Fundamentally, it is a matter of leadership.
It's the leader(s)' responsibility to set the example following the four Cs.
Courage. Courage to do the right thing…and not be driven solely by the financials. Courage to listen to the advice and opinions of others. Courage in decision-making. Successful leaders solicit input from technical and subject matter experts, factor in the known variables, and think through the consequences of a decision. It's easy to crunch the numbers and figure out what the financial impact will be. However, an all-too-often overlooked part of the formula is thinking about how a decision/action will affect stakeholders–customers, suppliers, shareholders, and the public. There is a direct correlation to the organization's reputation and the bottom line. That is why the public relations professional and lawyer should always be among those providing counsel from the start. An effective leader listens, is forward thinking, and makes the right decision bearing in mind it's not only about short-term profit but the long-term reputation of the company.
Warren Buffett said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you will do things differently."
Communicate. Successful leaders develop the communication strategy at the same time as the business strategy. In so doing, they approach the issue from a different mindset discovering opportunities and potential downfalls. Thinking through the communication process (what to say to key audiences; when; how it will be received; and what questions or problems could arise) helps ensure the plan is well understood and successfully implemented. Then, they engage honestly and often with stakeholders, connecting with the most important audiences first–employees. Clearly explaining the business goals and objectives generates buy-in and builds support. This is especially true within an organization where employees carry the message through informal and formal channels. Clear, concise, consistent communication is essential to building trust inside and outside the corporation.
Creativity. Using crayons as an analogy, there are more than just black and white answers, or colors, from which to choose. Organizations often overlook the other 63 options (crayons) in the box that could achieve the desired result. Consider approaching the problem differently. Call on those individuals with creative talent, whose thinking is sometimes unorthodox but equally effective, and brainstorm as a group. I recall one particularly dicey issue dealing with a politically sensitive subject where the CEO didn't like any of the recommended solutions and wanted to just not say anything. After some creative problem-solving (and convincing) we engaged select community and political leaders and provided the media information they needed. The result–key audiences received factual information direct from the source and news coverage was accurate and balanced. Success was possible, just down an unexpected path. The right answer is not always obvious or easy, but an open mind and innovation can get you there.
Conviction. Stick to your guns. Once a decision is made, based on the best available information and expert advice at that time, PRESS. If later on you find there's a need to alter the plan or make a slight course correction, do so. Constant communication is essential at this stage, particularly if the issue is controversial. Explaining the how and why of a decision can break down barriers and increase understanding. There will always be naysayers and contrarians, but if leaders keep stakeholders informed their credibility and the company's reputation will remain intact. People appreciate candid communication and transparency. Don't waffle, hold your ground and speak with conviction.
As 2015 begins, corporate America would do well to adjust their business models to incorporate ethical business practices into daily operations. Successful leaders always endeavor to do the right thing. They approach challenges and opportunities with a creative, open mind. They remain committed to their stakeholders, constantly communicating with them. And they act with courage and conviction. The result: dedicated employees, loyal customers, profitability, and long-term success. Most importantly, they protect their most important asset, their reputation. In doing so, they are well positioned for future challenges and remain credible when problems arise. It's not always easy, but a commitment to strong business ethics is always worthwhile and pays huge dividends in the long run.
Les Kodlick is a corporate communications consultant with more than 25 years in strategic communications leading teams in both government and private industry. He successfully led organizations through product launches, branding initiatives, budgetary challenges, natural disasters, environmental issues and major crises. A retired Air Force Brigadier General, he is a recognized expert in strategic planning, communication, and executive level training. He has formulated and implemented successful communication strategies for major programs, systems and products and represented clients such as Exxon, Union Pacific, Compass Bancshares, Dunkin Donuts, Hard Rock Cafe,among others.
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Corporate Communications: Crisis in Conscience is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
As the technology sector booms, IT leaders are more interested in attracting and recruiting the best and brightest young talent than ever before. But attracting Millennials and keeping them happy and satisfied in the workplace is entirely different than it was for prior generations. Generally speaking, this group cares less about job security, paying their dues, and working their way up a corporate ladder than their Generation X and Boomer counterparts, and are exponentially more interested in careers that suit their personalities, their needs, and allow them to have a life outside of work than their predecessors.
That's why a think-tank hosted by Dell and moderated by the Intern Queen, Lauren Berger last year caught my attention. The workshop, with contributions from entrepreneurs, employers, recruiters, and students was designed to kick off a dialogue about Millennials in the workforce, to identify what matters to them, and to discuss how this evolution can best be managed to the benefit of both employers and employees.
What Millennials Value in the Workplace
The event highlighted some of the things that not only the participants thought important, but which research has also confirmed as things generally valued by Millennials in the workplace. Let's take a look:
What Employers Recommend to Millennials in the Workplace
It's not all about what the new members of the work force want of course; the employers in the room also had some advice for Millennials. Their advice included things like:
How to Create Successful Work Environments and Opportunities
Millennials are a generation of digital natives–constantly plugged into devices of some nature–and a culture focused on technology and innovation are often the hooks that get them interested in working for a particular organization. Obviously, this is a highly sought-after and rich source of potential talent for the IT industry in particular. The challenge for employers is not only on recruiting the best and brightest tech talent, but also creating an environment and delivering work opportunities that keep them satisfied and motivated.
The participants identified several key steps that all involved in integrating Millennials into the work force needs to consider:
A New Generation, A New Methodology in the Workplace
Code.org, a foundation dedicated to growing computer science education, reports that by the year 2020, there will be 1,000,000 more jobs in computer science than there will be people to fill those jobs.
Think-tanks and conversations like this one hosted by Dell can go a long way toward helping students and young people getting ready to enter the workplace. It can be equally as beneficial to employers looking to attract and recruit Millennials. Beyond that, an understanding of the Millennial mindset and what motivates and inspires them can be extremely valuable in the corporate world when it comes to retaining these young people. We are facing a dearth of workers in the tech industry, and IT managers in particular are and will feel the pinch when it comes to finding and retaining workers.
A comment made by Millennial Jackie O'Shaughnessy on the blog post that Lauren Berger published about the event sums it up quite nicely:
"I think one big difference between our generation and our parents' generation is the reason that we look for jobs – and our drive behind keeping them. Our parents were encouraged to find jobs in order to buy a house, raise a family, and essentially "bring home the bacon." Our generation seems to search for jobs that fulfill us. We're looking for an entire experience, rather than focusing on the money we receive to purchase goods. All in all, we want jobs that we like and that like us, and I think we're less likely to settle into a career that we don't enjoy."
Millennials are interested in things that are wholly different than their predecessors. Conversations with them about work includes concepts like:
If you're interested in recruiting, inspiring, and retaining a Millennial work force, for your IT team or otherwise, you should check out the full video at Dell Gen Y Workforce Think Tank. It's a little over two hours in length, but well worth the investment of your time. If you want a shorter summary, try this graphic representation of the conversation.
Another resource that might be valuable to you as you think about your Millennial work force is my friend, Jeff Fromm's book Marketing to Millennials, which provides as much insight into working with Millennials as it does about marketing to them.
What do you think? What has your experience been recruiting and hiring Millennials? What about the Millennials on your team? What differences have you seen between their work mindset and that of others on your team? What have you done differently as a result? We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
This post was written as part of the Dell Content Partners program, which provides news and analysis on technology, business and gadget-geek culture. I've been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't necessarily represent Dell's positions or strategies.
Other resources on this topic:
10 Things Millennial CEOs will Reimagine in America
Study Reveals Surprising Facts About Millennials in the Workplace
8 Things You Need to Know About Millennials at Work
photo credit: vacekrae via photopin cc
Millennials in the Workforce: What Really Matters To Them is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>
Facebook and YouTube Go Head to Head Over The Avengers
With the posting of the new Avengers trailer this past week; the battle for video views between Facebook and YouTube is in full swing. Marvel actually released the new trailer on Facebook and YouTube simultaneously. This provided a real-time look at how both sites attracted views within the first few hours.
In the first day, the Avengers trailer had been viewed more than 12 million times on Facebook and YouTube combined. Breaking it down, the YouTube trailer had 5,021,494 views with 145,503 likes, 17,800 comments and the Trailer posted on Facebook had 6,978,506 views with 176,137 likes, 126,632 shares and 11,988 comments. An interesting comparison, isn't it? You can be sure this battle for eyeballs will continue to intensify
In addition, and as a testament to Facebook's growing influence in the online video space, Marvel's college football championship game commercial directed users to its Facebook page, rather than to its YouTube channel.
"It's very easy on Facebook to virally spread an ad, users click one button and share, whereas on YouTube it's a little more clunky and not as easy as one click," said Debra Aho Williamson, an eMarketer analyst. "So, a lot of marketers are considering the power of Facebook to share video quickly and easily."
Up until now, YouTube used to be the place brands would share video, but now Facebook presents an inviting option. After developing autoplay video and serving up more videos to users' News Feeds, Facebook users now view 3 billion video clips a day, up from 1 billion less than six months ago, according to multiple sources.
"It's a smart move to go to Facebook and put the trailer there because it's in the stream of conversation about the game—so it's very naturally woven in," said Dave Marsey, evp/md at DigitasLBi San Francisco. But it's not quite as cut and dried as you might think. "Facebook is a challenge, but marketers and agencies are very used to using YouTube as a library of content to point people to videos," Williamson said. "They don't want to create baby YouTubes on every social site." It will be interesting to watch what happens with brands and video in the coming months.
Verizon Introduces Its Connected Car Solution
At the North American International Auto Show, Verizon announced Verizon Vehicle, focused on bringing connected features to any car on the road. The newly announced subscription service will include a device that plugs into a car's OBD-II port to scan for any potential issues, track the vehicle's location via GPS and interact with the driver via the Verizon Vehicle app or a Bluetooth.
Other features include the ability to talk to a support rep or request a tow truck by voice or the ability to communicate with a mechanic and even get a service quote, all without ever getting out of the car.
According to Verizon's Erik Goldman, it's expected to launch nationally in the second quarter of this year. While the hardware itself will be free, there will be a $15 per month service fee. The Internet of Things just continues to evolve.
Firefox Unveils Its Hello Video Chat Feature
Recently concluding the beta testing phase, Firefox is set to launch the simpler version of its "Hello" video chat feature. The latest release of the Firefox browser comes bundled with the updated WebRTC function, which was first released as part of its experimental beta browser in December.
Hello is an in-browser video chat feature that Firefox launched last year, but since it supports WebRTC, it'll work even if the person you're chatting with is using Opera or Chrome. Interesting concept, isn't it? I am a long time Chrome user, so it's not enough to entice me away from my browers of choice, but if you're a Firefox fan, it would definitely be cool to check out.
In addition to Hello chat, the latest Firefox upgrades also makes it easy way to share links via email and social media.
Twitter Video Is Almost Here
According to a report from Re/code, Twitter is planning on rolling out its own native video product some time in the next few weeks.
According to the Re/Code report, the new video feature will be limited to around 20 seconds, which is longer than Instagram's video limit of 15 seconds and much longer than Vine's 6 second limit. Currently, the only way to have a video play in-line within your tweets is to use Twitter's Vine service.
From Re/code:
This new feature is different from Vine, but it apparently has some similarities. With the native video tool, you can upload video from your phone's camera roll, or shoot and edit video directly through the Twitter app, according to sources who have seen and used the feature.
Twitter's Renewed SEO Focus Sees Huge Increase in Search-Related Visitors
Once upon a time, Twitter and Google played nicely together. Then they quit getting along, so tweets no longer were visible and/or had any impact on search results. That's changed recently. I believe that in its quest to remain relevant, to grow, as well as to satisfy investors, the recent move by Twitter to renew a focus on SEO is part of its plan to get back in the traffic game and to try and stay relevant.
The move means that search engines can more easily access pages where Twitter compiles tweets and information relating to particular hashtags, which is one way that people search for news and information. The result is that "logged-out" users of the search engines will see more than 50,000 of the more popular hashtag pages appearing in their search results. Clicking through from these will take the user to a landing page with tweets all about the hashtag such as this one for #socialmediamarketing.
The main purpose of this landing page is probably to demonstrate to non Twitter users what they might be missing and encourage them to sign up for the service, signifying continued growth to investors and analysts. That makes sense, because Twitter has struggled with growth issues and keeping investors happy. It also makes sense that Twitter will no doubt be exploring other ways to monetize these pages following the upgrade to the search capabilities.
Beyond that focus, I think that Twitter information appearing in search results once again does and will have an impact on SEO results. Social sharing will likely play a greater role in search results and it will be important for businesses to have a legitimate presence in the social space in order to reap any SEO benefit. We are seeing this change have a bit of an impact in these early days on results, both for ourselves and our clients, and this is definitely something to watch moving forward.
Facebook Goes "To Work"
Facebook has begun to roll out Facebook for Work; a new platform that lets companies create their own social network inside a very familiar framework. According to TechCrunch, it's a closed beta for now. There's even an app in the app store, but you can't use it unless you're part of the beta program.
The hope is that by having employees connect through Facebook, they will want to participate in group discussions and communicate with each other on a regular basis. Both are seen as good for morale and, may make employees more productive. It may also encourage employees to deal with work issues even when they're not at work.
I've seen a lot written about this and you can call me a skeptic, but I can't imagine employees wanting to chat about business through Facebook. For many, Facebook is personal and a place to go to get a respite from work, not a place you want to connect your personal life and your business life. Unless of course you're a marketer, and every one knows we're crazy. I am extremely curious about this and can't wait to see how it plays out. I would love to know what you think about this and whether you think my skepticism is warranted.
Facebook Starts Showing Mobile AMBER Alerts
Most smartphones already receive AMBER alerts when a child is reported missing in your area. While most smartphones are configured to do this right out of the box, Facebook is partnering with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on a way to help.
Facebook's system can send just about anything that'll help get the missing child home, including pictures of the child, images of any involved vehicles, and specific details about the situation. Unlike the built-in system, Facebook's alerts won't show up on the lock screen, but seeing those alerts in the stream might just help save some kids. What do you think?
Baby Dancing to 2 Chainz will Cheer up your Day
The Most Annoying People on the Plane starring Sir Patrick Stewart
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Things You Need To Know This Week – January 16, 2015 is a post from: V3 Kansas City Integrated Marketing and Social Media Agency]]>


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Father of Modern Comics Still at Work
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Northampton, MA – For many people, comics are an entertaining part of the newspaper. But for a growing number of people, comics are as relevant as any other medium. A class at Umass Amherst looks at the history of comics and where the genre might be headed. Our Berkshire Bureau Chief Kelly Wilkinson has more.

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Greensboro/High Point Spring Swap! May 5th 2007
Here's the info...
What: The Spring Plant Swap for the Greensboro/High Point and surrounding areas
Where: Oak Hollow Park - Shelter #1 (directions below)
When: May 5th 2007
What time : The shelter is ours from 11 to 3. We can get there earlier and I'd like to suggest a 10:30 set up time and we'll start the swapping at 12:00.
This is the same place that we held it last fall. We'll stick pretty close to the way we've learned to do things at the Raleigh Swap, so if you've been to that then you have a good idea of how things will be. I'll try to remember the bell this time!
There are bathrooms and a playground for the kiddies right next to our shelter. Since the playground is right beside the shelter it might be best if the kids are not in the shelter during the main swap. Don't want anyone to get squooshed or hurt.
I don't have John's extensive knowledge of plants so I thought we'd let the people that bring the plants answer any questions that you may have before we begin. If you've arranged a special trade it would be easiest to do that in the parking lot near your cars. We should be small enough to do it this way for now.
There is a handicap ramp next to the shelter. If some of you have kid's wagons it makes it easier to unload. I'll try to locate and bring one for any of you that don't have one.
Would you all like to do a potluck this year or hotdogs and fixins? I think I can persuade my hubby to man the grill if we decide on hotdogs.
Now for the directions!
From east of Greensboro take I-40 west to exit number 210 which is the High Point/PTI Airport exit. Turn left going towards High Point (not towards the airport). Turn right if you're coming from west of Greensboro. This is Hwy 68. It's 5 miles from the exit to the park. You'll see the Drexel Heritage Furniture building on your right and the very next drive/road is it. There's a Law office (Wyatt, Early, Harris and Wheeler) right across the road from it. If you see the sign for the Jesse Haywood Washburn Memorial Dam then you've just passed it. There is a second entrance just past that sign but it takes you to another part of the park..
Once you've found the entrance there are only 2 shelters in this area and we're in #1. This is part of the Oak Hollow Dam/Lake on Hwy 68/Eastchester in High Point. Hope to see everyone there!! Thanks, Deborah
I'm looking forward to the spring swap this year. I have some things already potted and ready to go. Will probably get more before the time comes. If anyone wants to try to do some special swaps, my wants are on my page at the link below. If you don't see anything on my want list that you have, just let me know what you have to trade. Who knows, maybe I need that too! :-)
Here is a link that might be useful: Vickie's Exchanges
Hi Cherry, we do this one pretty much the same as the one in Raleigh. All plants, (gardening mags/books,yard art, pots, buckets, houseplants, anything garden related) go on the tables. Everyone steps out of the shelter and we go round 1 and everyone grabs 1 plant/item. Round 2, everyone grabs 2 plants/items. Depending on how many people and how many plants we'll up it 3, 4 and so forth and then after everyone has had the chance to get a few of their very favs in the first rounds, we just let everyone take what they want of the rest. Special trades are done at our cars. You don't want to mix those up with the general trade stuff. There is absolutely no selling/money involved.
Newbies to this are not expected to bring the gobs that the rest of us do. If you have something great, if not no worries cause some of us old timers bring plenty of extras that we've grown from seed, divided, dug babies or propagated. We love for new people to come so we can help them get started and create new swap zombies!
Afterwards last year we had finger foods (kept it simple for the 1st one). This year we'll either do a potluck or hotdogs and fixins which everyone chips in for. This is also when we get to yack with like minded people that love to talk plants and gardening.
Hope you can make it!
Now that the Raleigh swap is over I thought I`d try to stir up some interest in the Greensboro swap. We will be bringing lots of things, some of which are; lemon thyme, rosemary, tangerine southernwood, lemon verbena, pineapple sage, some cistus, red barberry, large ornamental grass, bromeliads, salvia dorisiana, salvia cyanea and some other things I haven`t thought of yet. The Raleigh trade is great but wouldn`t it be nice if we could really get this trade going so we wouldn`t have to drive so far? I know there are lot of us gardeners in this area. Hope to see you all there!
Dawn and Bob
I am planning some kind of door prize, so that should be fun. More details as I think it through or I may just surprise everyone. Potluck afterwards. I've got all the plates, cups, plasticware, napkins and ice covered. Bring your fav dish to share and something to drink.
Hi Dawn and Bob! Ya'll are jewels for helping to get this rolling! Thanks! The salvia dorisiana sounds great and fruit scented to boot! I saw it described as a Tropical fruit punch, grapefruit, and/or tangerine scents! Way cool! I couldn't find salvia cyanea unless it was atrocyanea? If that's it, then what a pretty blue and 6 ft tall, wow! I have a cistus/rock rose (I was inspired by Johns). Planted it last year under the eve of an outbuilding (and on a slope) so it would be dryer in the winter (also a warm spot) and it stayed green all winter. Holding my breath now waiting for blooms. If you're into bromeliads I'll bring you some of mine. It's a species I got from dtp, but I've never been able to get it to bloom. Maybe you can help me figure it out.
Here's some of what I have to bring......
(obr = only by request - don't mind digging but only if someone wants it)
Allium schoenoprasum - obr
Allium tuberosum - garlic chives - obr
Althea officinalis
Arundo - variegated reed grass - obr
Begonia - hardy
Bronze fennel (1)
Celandine poppy (1)
Crassula - jade/houseplant
Crocosmia - obr
Cryptocereus anthonyanus (aka Selenicereus anthonyanus)- (1 or 2 cuttings)
ZigZag orchid/houseplant (1 rooted)
Digitalis - white foxglove
Erysimum helveticum - wallflower
Hedychium 'white'
Hypericum calycinum - St John's wort
Iris cristata - obr
Iris mini - family passalong
Mallow - mixed seedlings
Malva moschata - pink (will have a few whites too)
Oenothera speciosa 'Siskiyou'- Mexican Evening Primrose 'Pink' - obr
Also have the Yellow Primrose - obr
Polygonum multiflorum - Fo-Ti cuttings, easy to root - obr
Sedums - assortment - obr
Verbena bonariensis
More later......
My seedlings that were zapped by cold temps became sluggish for a while but I think they're starting to take off again. The wallflowers are looking great and the white malva moschata is starting to take off again. More is sprouting!
Hi lazygardener, would love to have you come. All plants are welcome and I would love to do a special swap for one of your tropical ladyslippers if I have something you'd like! If you're into indoor tropicals I have a species bromeliad I can share or a night blooming orchid/cactus (no spines).
If you have any questions (that I haven't covered above) let me know.
Kitty, hope you can make it!
Woods, I understand and hope you have a wonderful time at the NPS meet this weekend. Was looking at their website and it sounds wonderful! Are you going on the canoe tour of the Spider lilies on the Catawba river? What an awesome site to see!
Hello! I'm very new at all of this, so I guess you would know that I have never been to a plant swap. If it's OK I'd love to stop by and see what's happening.And meet some people that likes gardening and planting like I do. We just got our garden planted yesterday Also my flowers and Herbs. The herbs are my favorite. Like I said if it's OK I'll stop by Sat. between 11 and 3.
OH by the way I don't have anything to bring to trade. But I can watch.
Maryann, excited that you're going to join us and don't worry about plants, bring something for the pot luck and your fav drink. Also an empty trunk because you will have some new plants to take home. :)
What kind of herbs do you need and I might have some for you. I always have lemon balm, greek oregano, thyme, etc.
I'd like to get
lemon balm
If I can get a least one of these I'll be happy as a lark.
I really like the different sage and salvia, I have a few salvia, May night, and snow hill, and Lady in red.
Hope to meet everyone on Sat.
Maryann, I can certainly bring you some lemon balm, but it'll probably pout for a while as it doesn't like being moved. Wrong time of year for garlic (plant it in the late fall) unless you meant garlic chives? My stevia is just now returning but I'll try to root some or dig some for the fall swap if you like.
Hi there!
Rootdigger, thank you for all the trouble you are going to to put this together. You wanted a head count... Bob and I will be there, we plan to bring his sister, maybe his exwife, [she`s nice!] and maybe a young person or two. That would mean someone in their twenties! Since it`s Cinco de Mayo I thought I would bring something like a taco salad or cassarole. I will bring plates and silverware.
Kitty, it would be wonderful to see you, whatever happened to Puddle of Mud? The two of you put so much effort into the Triad Spring Trade last year. We had a great time, thanks to you.
Does anyone need any bird house gourds? We have lots of them dried.
Maryanne, we will have lots of herbs for you. I kind of went crazy when I discovered how easy it is to root rosemary and thyme.
See you all soon!
Dawn and Bob
I just looked at your seed list and wondered if you could bring me some of your allium seeds? They are so popular with the hummingbirds. I didn`t mention that I will be bringing scented geramiums too. I think there are four kinds. Rootdigger, on the salvias it will be a guessing game. I got them from Sandy Mush last year and brought in cuttings, not really sure which is which anymore. The salvia cyanea was how he had one of them labeled.
I have decided on some door prizes......
Came the farthest
Newbiest gardener
Been gardening the longest
..and a couple drawings which everyone can take part in. Nothing fancy but should be fun.
I'm still potting up. Today I did a few houseplants, jade, philo, a weird aloe, and a couple other odds and ends.
I have all the paper, plastic (plates, cups, napkins, plasticware) and ice covered. I'm also bringing chicken and some kind of salad or baked beans.
Remember newbies, if you don't have any plants you can always bring food.
You can also bring seeds, cuttings, garden mags or books, pots, yard art, buckets, or anything else you can think of that's garden related and you want rid of. Time to clean out the shed?
Dawn and Bob, guessing game salvias are fine with me! Will plant and see what happens. Glad you're bringing guest, the more the merrier! Please bring some of your bird house gourds. I know my husband would love those! I have one of the old long handle dipping gourds hanging above my desk that I think Don's dad or maybe granddad grew. It's pretty cool!
Hello Everyone!
I'm really looking forward to Sat.
Ferndottar I will gladly bring you some Allium seeds.
Rootdiggernc, I'd be happy to wait to the fall for the stevia and garlic.
by than I should have a few thiings to bring.
Please look at my seed list and let me know if you want somethng from it, and I'll bring it Sat.
I also have some small pots to bring if someone would like them I don't use them.
I'll to fix something good to bring Sat.
See you all then
We're all set. Got a couple tarps to block the wind on the end and side of the shelter that is towards the lake (that's where the breeze comes from). Also we're bringing a small heater to set in that protected corner. Between the tarps and heater it should be pretty nice inside the shelter.
This should work great, but if it was to be really nasty Mr Nelson (of Nelson's Nursery) has said we could set up in one of his greenhouses. So we have a backup for our backup. :) The only thing is since he's having a big sale tomorrow, we would need to shuttle everyone to the place,... so we don't use up all his parking. It's only 1/2 a mile up the road from where we'll be. By the way, he has the white Cat's Whiskers!
How was the swap?
Wish I could've made it. Between scheduling the kids' move out of their dorms, and getting my own exams and projects finished (still underway), I just couldn't get there! Maybe an early fall swap, or has one already set one up?
Kitty, I can only speak for myself, but I sure had a lot of fun, lol... I think the others did too! We grew from last fall and had way more plants than anyone needed. We will do another in the fall (our 2nd fall swap). I meant to ask the gang, but I think I'd really like to do some crockpots of chili and also grill hot dogs this fall. If it works out I'm also planning on having a guest speaker on natives so that should be cool. Hope you can make it.
Here are the pics from our swap and the Raleigh swap.
Here is a link that might be useful: 2007 Spring Swaps


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Tony Ripa gave up only two hits on Monday as Papillion-LaVista beat North Platte 16-0 at the Juniors State Baseball Tournament at Bill Wood Field.
With the loss, the North Platte First National Bank Juniors end the season with a 24-33 record.
"We started off strong but (the 13-run fifth inning) was the story of our season," said Juniors coach Adam Sterup. "We showed our inexperience again. One error led to another and we gave up a little."
North Platte pitcher Jace Barker held the Monarchs scoreless in the first two innings. But in the third, Papillion-LaVista got out to a 2-0 lead.
K.C. Siwa scored the first run by sacrificing himself as he grounded out to shortstop Dylan Petersen. Then Cal Mathison hit a bloop single to right field for another run.
Papillion scored another run against Barker in the third on Colin Chick's sacrifice with one out.
In the beginning of the fifth, Barker was relieved by Braiden Ruffin and the Monarchs scored another run on Ethan Wolbach's double to right to make it 4-0.
After getting only one out, Ruffin was relieved by Brendan Folk and that's when it all fell apart for the First Nationals. Papillion scored 12 more runs as North Platte just couldn't get anyone out.
The Nationals committed four errors in what was their final inning of the season.
"I thought all of our pitchers threw well," Sterup said. "The runs we gave up don't show that. But they didn't have the walks that were plaguing us and they did a good job against a well-coached team."
Sterup said he sensed a big inning coming from Papillion in the fifth, which was why he took Barker off the mound.
"He just looked like he was tired and they were starting to get to him," he said. "Braiden struggled a little bit, so I brought in Folk, who has been one of our most consistent strike throwers. We needed to get something over the plate."
In the bottom of the fifth, Ripa got the final three outs to finish off the shutout and end the game early via the run rule.
Flatrock Publishing, Inc.
1300 E 4th St., Suite F
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ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- Automation equipment distributor Sepro America LLC has added sales, engineering and service talent in the U.S. and aims to top its undisclosed 2012 sales — its biggest North American year as a stand-alone wholly owned subsidiary of Sepro Robotique.
North America represents about 30 percent of the global consumption of flexible packaging. Annual growth in this region is forecast at 4 percent during the next 5 years.
For more insight on growth opportunities, drivers of growth and the outlook for 2015, download this report.
This report is a review and analysis of the North American Plastics Recycling Industry, including key trends and statistics based on 2013 performance. We examine market environment factors, regulatory issues, industry challenges, key drivers and emerging trends in post-consumer and post-industrial recycling.Learn more
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I have a problem that is summarized in this simple example: http://jsfiddle.net/2wFHX/
I need to set the 'priority' and 'list' observables to be the correct values depending upon which list it is moved into or reordered within.
For example, if all the tasks are in 'List 1' in the order A,B,C the priorities in the viewmodel observableArray should be set accordingly (0,1,2).
Note that the lists are deliberately bound using a function. I think this is where the knockout sortable extension is causing problems. Ideally I'd like to keep all my tasks in a single collection as it will make dealing with web services slightly easier later on, but I don't think the extension supports using a function as a data source?


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Welcome to TalkBass, the Premier Bass Player Community and Information Source. Register a 100% Free Account to post and unlock tons of features.
Squire P Bass gets a new lease on life
Discussion in 'Luthier's Corner' started by bassgod76, Sep 15, 2009.
Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11


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Fast food consumers who are looking for a lighter, healthier option have chosen the fish sandwich on the menu believing they were making better choices. FoodFacts.com has already tried to educate those consumers about their misinformation regarding chicken sandwiches. Since Burger King has just introduced the Spicy Big Fish Sandwich, it's time to take a look at what's going on with fish.
While we don't have the ingredient list for the Spicy Big Fish Sandwich, we can take a look at the nutrition facts.
Calories: 470
Fat: 24 grams
Saturated Fat: 4 grams
Cholesterol: 30 grams
Sodium: 1230 mg
Perhaps Burger King should consider renaming this sandwich. We do think that the Burger King Salty Big Fish Sandwich might be much more descriptive.
It isn't quite a burger, we'll agree with that, but it's certainly not what consumers are expecting when ordering a fish sandwich. If you ordered the regular Big Fish Sandwich and didn't include the tartar sauce you'd be down to 370 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 15 grams of cholesterol and 1020 mg of sodium. Of course, the tartar sauce is where all the problems are for the regular Big Fish. Once included, the tartar sauce makes the original sandwich worse than the Spicy Big Fish. So we think it's a safe assumption that the "creamy spicy sauce" is where all the problems lie with this one.
Consumers automatically relate fish sandwiches with improved nutrition facts. And again, the Spicy Big Fish Sandwich isn't a burger. It's just not great either.
Sorry Burger King. We're not a fan.


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The participants of Chinnara Mela, an annual summer camp for children by Rangayana here, will be staging plays during a five-day Children's Theatre Festival at Vanaranga on the Rangayana premises from Tuesday.
Writer Boluvaru Mohammad Kunhi will inaugurate the theatre festival. Rangayana Ranga Samaj member D. Saraswathi will be chief guest and Rangayana Director H. Janardhana (Janni) will preside.
The artistes from Rangayana trained the children in staging plays. In total, 10 Kannada plays directed by different theatre personalities and artistes will be staged during the festival. Two plays will be staged daily at 6.30 p.m.
Snehada Bala and Hogi Banni Bodhisatvare will be staged on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Buddasala Vruksha and Mugda Ane will be presented. Chinnada Navilu and Marali Buddha Nadege will be staged on Thursday. Another group of children will be staging Maitri and Navilina Paata on Friday.
On the concluding day of the festival, Mahaa Bojana and Ahimsaka will be staged, a press release said.
Srinivasa Bhat, Mr. Janardhan and Devanand Varaprasad have given music direction to the plays while the art direction is by H.K. Dwarakanath. Hulagappa Kattimani and Krishna Kumar Naarnakaje have designed costumes and Sagoy Raju has given lighting.
Participants of Chinnara Mela to stage plays for five days at Vanaranga


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April Scavenger Hunt - Z
Photographing instead of organizing between the book-cases...
I would do the same.
Ha ha! I took this for the Photo Friday challenge - "Organized"
I figured not only were they organized on the shelf, but the books are organized inside, too!
I'd much rather be taking photos most days...
well, this helped me improve my mind, because I had to look up zoroatriansim. I now know that it is a Persian religion, founded by a dude named zoroaster, who later moved to Mexico, shortened his name, and wore a black mask and cape and went around carving z's in everything.
Wow, I'm glad to help! I never knew that myself - I just thought that was a cool word on the encyclopedia.
But then, what are librarians for but to edumacate the populace?
Liberians Rool!