text:
54 Reasons To Choose Exchange Over Gmail For Businesses
1) Email Rights Management: Microsoft Yes. Google NO!
Gmail does not support secure and controlled distribution of e-mail (such as limiting forwarding, preventing saving, and requiring expiration).
2) File-Level Manipulation of Messages (attach mail threads to new mail for reference) Microsoft Yes. Google NO!
Gmail items are not files, so there is no item-level control for cut-and-paste or archiving. Outlook messages (.msg files) can be attached to other e-mails, put in folders, copied to desktop, cut and pasted, etc.
3) Unified and Multiple Views: Microsoft Yes. Google NO!
Gmail has only a conversation view for mail. Outlook has multiple views including AutoPreview. Outlook also provides one unified view of all user data (e-mail, calendar, etc.).
4) Right Click and Multiple Select: Microsoft Yes. Google NO!
In Gmail, simple actions, like "mark as unread," require extra clicks and user actions because of the use of check boxes and buttons, decreasing user productivity. Much more difficult with a large number of items.
5) MailTips: Microsoft Yes. Google NO!
Outlook 2010 offers automated guidance to avoid e-mail mistakes and be more effective, such as notifying the user when the recipient is out of office (before the message is sent), or warning the user that he or she is sending to a large distribution list.
6) Clean-Up: Microsoft Yes. Gmail NO!
Outlook 2010 offers advanced and automated capabilities to cleanup the user's e-mail account, such as AutoArchive, and Mail Cleanup.
7) Social Connector: Microsoft Yes. Google NO!
Outlook 2010 shows communication history, status updates, and social networking service updates from LinkedIn and Microsoft Windows Live™, in people-centric views.
8) QuickSteps: Microsoft Yes. Google NO!
Save time by automating common information worker e-mail needs; reply to all meeting attendees, reply to manager, reply and delete, and more.
9) Unified Communication (voice mail, SMS/text, instant messaging, RSS feeds, etc.): Microsoft Yes. Google NO!
Google offers no inbox management of communication other than e-mail.
10) Instant Messaging/Presence Integration: Microsoft Yes. Gmail partial!
Gmail does not provide integrated presence capabilities within mail messages. Users must use the application sidebar or open the secondary application to search for a user.
11) Attachments and Rich Formatting: Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
Rich formatting in e-mail results in layout problems. Attachments and rich formatting cannot be added to Gmail calendar items or contacts.
12) Permissions and Delegation: Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
In Gmail the user cannot share mail or contact folders, or calendars, and cannot delegate permissions and access to others, such as administrative assistants.
13) E-mail Rules (includes Out of Office settings): Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
Client-side rules only. For example, no Out of Office/Vacation responder support.
14) Encrypted Mail (message vs transport): Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
Not supported as a feature in Outlook if using Gmail back end; prevents mail from being sent with an ambiguous "unexpected error."
15) Mail Tracking and Receipts: Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
Delivery receipts do not work with Gmail back end.
16) Shared User Calendars: Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
Outlook users cannot share their calendars if using a Google Apps back end, and cannot delegate permissions for others to manage their calendars, such as administrative assistants.
17) Meeting Attendees and Responses: Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
Attendees can be required only, not optional. Responses can be accept or decline only, not tentative. The user cannot delete attendees from exceptions to recurring events.
18) Distribution Lists and Groups: Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
No GAL support for groups or distribution lists with Gmail.
19) Tasks and Reminders: Exchange Yes. Gmail partial!
To-do flags and reminders work and can be set locally in Outlook. However, voting buttons and tasks cannot be sent to other Gmail users.
20) Folder Organization: Exchange Yes. Gmail limited!
Folders work for e-mail in Outlook, but multiple contact folders sync to the cloud as one set of contacts.
21) Calendar Free/Busy Information: Exchange Yes. Gmail limited!
Busy/Free requires deployment of GAL Generator and provides no support for Out of Office status. GAL Generator must be run everytime users are added/deleted or emails addresses edited.
22) Synchronized Group Calendars: Exchange Yes. Google partial!
Google Apps does not provide as complete a collaboration solution, like Exchange, for group calendaring that can be synchronized to Outlook for tracking project meetings, timelines, etc.
23) Company Directory: Exchange Yes. Gmail partial!
Global Address List (GAL) is missing phone number, company name, business unit, work office location, manager, and other key business fields to help identify unique users. In addition IT must deploy the GALSYNC tool for the Gmail to have this limited functionality.
24) Configurable Storage and Quotas: Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Google Apps sets quotas; quotas cannot be set. Only Exchange allows custom settings for smaller mailboxes for deskless, non-information-worker employees.
25) Software Add-ons and Client Installs: Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Google requires add-ons and plug-ins not supported by Google Apps. This is especially true for offline access requiring additional software add-ons, which need to be installed on each client machine that requires support for Outlook.
26) IT Architecture Flexibility: Exchange Yes. GmailNO!
Exchange can be configured for on-premises, off-premises, or hybrid configurations to coexist with the cloud. Gmail supports only hosted model for all users.
27) Hosted BlackBerry Support (BES): Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Exchange provides hosting for BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) to support BlackBerry users. Google, requires customers to run their own BES on-premises to support their BlackBerry community.
28) Data Center Locations: Exchange Yes. Gmail NO!
Exchange provides services based out of known locations, with options for dedicated servers. Gmail stores data in multiple locations and will not track where the data resides.
29) Directory Integration: Exchange Yes. Gmail partial!
Active Directory support with Gmail is a separate download/utility. Limited GAL support in Gmail, with groups and distribution lists not supported.
30) Service Levels and Uptime: Microsoft Yes. Google partial!
Exchange has a 99.9 percent financially backed uptime guarantee. Google does not cover outages of less than 10 minutes, even if consecutive, and offers only service extension as compensation.
31) Group Policy: Exchange Yes. Gmail No!
Not supported with Gmail.
32) User Data Migration (automated tools): Exchange Yes. Gmail No!
Much of the user's existing data (including archived mail, contacts, tasks, recurring calendar items, etc.) will not migrate over to Gmail or will require unsupported manual tools or costly third-party applications to complete the migration. In order to migrate users locally archived messages to Gmail, tools must be run on each users machine.
33) Mail and Calendaring Coexistence During Transition: Exchange Yes. Gmail No!
Exchange provides gateways that correctly translate complex message types and calendar invitations so they are delivered intact to the migrated users now running Outlook/Exchange. Gmail, however, does not provide these gateways, so links, rich text formatting, and attachments are stripped from mail and calendar items.
34) Directory Coexistence During Transition: Exchange Yes. Google No!
Exchange provides full directory synchronization during the transition , so mail and calendar requests can be used without interruption. Google does not provide this service, thereby forcing users to manually type the e-mail addresses of colleagues in order to send messages and calendar items.
35) Mail-Enabled Workflow Application Support: Exchange Yes. Google No!
Google does not support the translation of workflow messages, including doc links, for Lotus Notes applications. These applications will need to be rewritten to utilize different notification methods, which can be extremely costly for IT support groups. Exchange provides a utility that does perform the message translation, so workflow items can be acted on by users who have migrated to the Exchange environment without issues.
36) User Data Migration (automated tools): Exchange Yes. Gmail No!
Gmail does not migrate distribution lists or recurring calendar items.
37) Mail and Calendaring Coexistence During Transition: Exchange Yes. Google No!
Exchange offers full compatibility for e-mail and calendar requests during the transition. Gmail will not transfer items, such as rich text formatting and attachments for calendar invitations (meeting agendas, etc.).
38) Directory Coexistence During Exchange On-Premise Transition: Exchange Yes. Google No!
Google restricts synchronization to basic fields (first name, last name, e-mail address), Exchange synchronizes additional fields to provide valuable business identity information (phone number, office location, manager, business unit, etc.).
39) End-User Support and Impact: Exchange Yes. Google No!
Prior to the migration, extensive end-user communication is needed to explain the data transfer and conversion implications, as well as the features differences. The Intelecis team has standardized communication and change-management plans built into its Exchange migration project model.
40) Mobile Directories: Exchange Yes. Gmail No!
Exchange has mobile GAL support for all mobile devices. There is no mobile directory support for Gmail, except on BlackBerry, with the Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Server installed.
41) Synchronization: Exchange Yes. Gmail No!
Gmail supports only one-way calendar sync for mobile devices. Exchange supports full over-the-air sync of contacts, calendars, and e-mail.
42) BlackBerry Support: Exchange Yes. Google partial!
Google requires customers to support an on-site BES for every 500 users, whereas the Exchange offering can support up to 2,000 users per server and can be hosted off-premises. Google supports server-to-device calendar sync only.
43) iPhone Support: Exchange Yes. Gmail partial!
Gmail on iPhone is made for home and personal use not for business use. Limitations include sync issues with recurring events. In addition, actions in Gmail may have different results, e.g., archiving messages moved to the trash and attendee status for messages not clearly defined (yes/no/maybe not available; only check mark as a hint will appear). No way to reply to calendar event with a message via the iPhone.
44) Software Add-ons and Client Installs: Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Offline access with Gmail requires the download and installation of unsupported software add-ons. Exchange requires no such installation, as all offline features are supported by the Outlook client.
45) Corporate Directory Access: Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Exchange has offline GAL support. There is no offline directory support for Gmail.
46) Edit/Create Personal Contacts: Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Users cannot create or edit existing personal contacts when offline.
47) Overall Disconnected Experience: Exchange Yes. Google NO!
While offline, Google users cannot spell check, edit, or create contacts, nor edit or create meetings in the calendar, etc. No Google features are available offline.
48) Offline Attachments: Exchange Yes. Google partial!
If a Google Apps user receives a Microsoft Office document while offline, the user must convert it to HTML, with most formatting lost, in order to view it.
49) Information Rights Management: Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Information Rights Management (IRM) allows individuals and administrators to specify access permissions to documents, workbooks, and presentations. This helps prevent sensitive information from being printed, forwarded, or copied by unauthorized people. Google does not support IRM.
50) SSL: Exchange Yes. Google partial!
Microsoft provides SSL, a "by default approach" to help ensure security. Forcing HTTPS can make Gmail slower, and if you enable SSL, you will not be able to see your mail in the Gmail gadget on the Google Apps Start Page, since it is not served over SSL.
51) Encrypted Mail Support: Exchange Yes. Google partial!
Encrypted mail is limited with Gmail. Exchange seamlessly works with many leading encryption software companies.
52) Offline Security: Exchange Yes. Google partial!
Cross-site scripting has been shown to be able to compromise the security of Google. Local data are stored in an unencrypted state and based on the physical and access security of the users machine.
53) Mail-Only Offering: Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Google's standard service is an unmanaged solution and ad-funded. Microsoft's Exchange through Intelecis is a managed service offering technical assistance and support for corporate domains.
54) Hybrid Services (interoperated on-premises and off-premises offerings): Exchange Yes. Google NO!
Exchange offers the ability to have on-site users supported by a physical infrastructure, cloud users supported by Intelecis, or any combination of the two. The two environments can be integrated to allow for shared directories, IM/presence, etc. Google only has an online option.


text:
Home disappointment
Yesterday I talked about Anthony Lane of The New Yorker half jokingly talking in his latest review about how "hugs," "handshakes," and "going out for a drink" now seem like strange things, and paying to sit in a darkened theater with other people in uncomfortable seats to see a movie. He was talking about what a different world we're living in now under the global pandemic shutdown. He has some observations about the difference between home and theater movie-watching, and observes that a thriller gets tamed at home; that if you hit the Pause button on one, when you come back from the kitchen "the thrills will die on you." I set out to examine that notion by reviewing True History of the Kelly Gang, the thriller Lane talks about in his review, and then Arkansas, the comedy crime movie he thinks represents a genre works better in home viewing.
I frankly wanted to challenge Lane's claims, and this is the second part of my argument. Yesterday I talked about Justin Kurzel's eccentric, striking Kelly gang film, which stars George MacKay, whom we saw last year in 1917. I think True History may indeed inevitably be diminished in power on a small screen from its effect on a big one. But for me it clearly has grandeur and power to spare. It remained an exciting watch on my desktop 22-inch screen.
Arkansas is another new pay-for-view online release. But it's not the best example for Lane to use of how comedies may fare better in home viewing than thrillers. Unlike the at worst very decent True History of the Kelly Gang, it's evident that Arkansas just is not a successful crime comedy. It mimics such a movie. It alludes to such a movie. It is not one.
The action in this Elmore Leonard-style story never quite comes together. It focuses on Kyle (Liam Hemsworth) and Swin (director and cowriter Clark Duke), two drug runners out of the state of Arkansas working under a man called Frog (Vince Vaughan), whose identity is unknown to them. Their supervisor becomes Bright (John Malkovich), a park ranger, who makes them work at boring jobs in the park between runs throughout the South. We also meet Almond (Michael Kenneth Williams) and another mysterious higher-up known only as Her (Vivica A. Fox. Malkovich is always fun to watch, interesting as almost a doofus here, such a contrast to the kind of evil powerhouse he does so well in - to name a favorite of mine - Liliana Cavani's Ripley's Game. Michael Kenneth Williams is cool and flavorful, and so is Vivica A. Fox. But most of our time is spent with Hemsworth, Duke, and Vaughan.
Somewhat inexplicably, since he's a dumpy, homely little fellow with long hair and a wispy mustache, just I guess because this is Clark Duke's movie, early in the action Swin meets a pretty girl called Johnna (Eden Brolin, daughter of Josh) who immediately agrees to a date with him, goes to bed with him, gets pregnant by him, and is ready to marry him. Opinions vary on whether Liam Hensworth is ever convincing in a role, though some say he's at his best here. As for Vaughan, he seems to be largely phoning in his performance this time.
The character of Frog is a problem in the organization of the film. Though for most of the way Swin and Kyle don't see him, he's threaded through the action in flashbacks that trace his origins in what we're told is the messy, disorganized world of southern drug dealing back to the eighties. This is not a Pulp Fiction style riff where we delight in the distraction because it's so rich and entertaining. It's a little on the perfunctory side.
Swin's relationship with Johnna of course has nothing to do with the crime plot. It's one of those subplots where the woman gets drawn into the action, sees a crime, and then is told, "You're one of us now." She's a passive and inexplicable female character.
A light tone is maintained and Vaughan is always good at seeming not to give a damn. But he seems a little weary here, and a drawback of the filming is that he looks just as old in his eighties sequences as in the contemporary ones.
I liked what Katie Walsh of The Chicago Tribune says in her review, that this doesn't break the mold on
"cheeky, stylish, lowlife movies" but merely "worships it." She grants that Clark provides us with at least the "surface pleasures of this genre," including cinematography that's "artful" by Stephen Meizler. But Walsh goes on to say that as the film enters the second half of its "wholly unnecessary" two-hour run, "you start to wonder" why the "structure" is so "chopped and screwed" and why it needed the "vanity chapter titles" (they indeed add nothing) and the "parallel storylines" that merely "sometimes randomly" mesh. Though he claims the characters are "gratifyingly dim," even Lane admits the action is "physically nastier than it needs to be." It makes it hard to keep the laughs going.
Clark, who's known for TV, and seems to have some well-placed friends, judging by the cast and music, may have a future in movie-making, we'll see. But that this illustrates the greater pleasures of comedy over action thrillers in home viewing cannot be claimed. Maybe I've read too much Elmore Leonard, and watched too much Tarantino. But my standards are higher than this. Other responses may differ. I like the poster.
Arkansas, 117 mins., had no premiere, and came out in many countries in DVD and on the internet on May 5. Metascrore 56%.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Everyone wants more. It's one of the most common questions in marketing: How do I get more Twitter followers? The most common answers usually go like this: tweet more, be helpful and engage with people. Sound familiar?
But do these things really grow your following? We're about to find out. This is a three part post:
New original research into the real reason that Twitter followings grow. Does tweeting more actually lead to faster follower growth?
Review of the tactics – black, white and gray – to getting more followers. We'll step over to the darkside of social media.
Finally, we'll ask ourselves why we want a lot of followers anyway?
Quick disclaimer: before you scorch me in the comments, please understand that this post is informational only. These are not recommendations or judgements.
We analyzed the Twitter accounts of over 300 bloggers to discover what actually correlates with growing followers. We used Followerwonk to check the size of each following, tweets per week, total tweets over time and the likelihood of retweets. Each of these correlates with follower growth at different rates.
The findings might surprise you. Here's the data.
Surprise! Tweeting a lot doesn't correlate with follower growth. The statistical relationship is very weak. Only 10% of the accounts that tweet a lot are growing fast.
Getting retweeted does correlate with faster growth. In 35% of cases, Twitter accounts that get retweeted a lot are also the accounts that grow fast. This suggests that being engaging does help.
Size. Big Twitter accounts grow faster. The size of the following has a powerful linear relationship with follower growth rate, much more than any other factor. Large followings are the fastest growing accounts in 96% of cases.
This phenomenon is partly due to the design of Twitter. From the moment you set up an account, Twitter starts recommending accounts with large followings.
And of course, there's a psychological factor that partly explains why big accounts grow faster. For some reason, people tend to follow accounts with large followings. Regardless of the reason, it's obvious that big accounts are getting bigger, faster.
Research shows that the key to getting more followers is to have a lot of followers. But how do you get Twitter followers in the first place?
There are many ways. Here are seven ways to grow your following. The good, the bad and the ugly. These range from automatic spam-bots to high-touch ethical outreach.
This is the most common way to inflate your following fast. It explains why a lot of random people may be following you on Twitter.
Anytime you follow someone, you appear in their notifications. Some percentage of those people will notice you and follow you back. So following others is a common growth tactic, but it's generally slow …unless you automate it with software.
That's why some marketers use tools (or services) that automatically follow lots and lots of other accounts. The most popular is called TweetAdder. Here's how it works:
Download TweetAdder and install the software on your computer (it's software, not a website)
Load it up with keywords
TweetAdder downloads a list of Twitter accounts with those keywords in the bio
It follows those accounts automatically at whatever rate you set, such as 100 per day
Some of those accounts will follow you back, growing your following
It automatically unfollows the accounts that don't follow you back after a set time, such as 10 days
By unfollowing accounts automatically, it maintains a nice ratio of following-to-followers. No one wants to be the account that follows 23,000 people, but only has 1,200 followers, right?
I've never used this tool, but I know many marketers who do. The problem is that it leads to a less relevant, less engaged following. These robotically built audiences tend to have a lot of fake followers. It's simply not a social way to use social media.
These accounts are often easy to spot. They usually have a low number of tweets, but a high (closely matching) following and follower number. Like this:
Here's a controversial way to create artificial fame. Use an autofollow/followback until you have a large following of maybe 100k+ accounts. Then, all at once, unfollow everyone! Now look at the ratio:
Now, at a glance, anyone can see how you are loved by thousands …but you're very picky about who you follow. You must be a rockstar. Put a velvet rope around your phone.
That's the sketchy way to get 100k followers, but only follow 10 people. Sure, you'll hurt some feelings, but being a pseudo-celebrity has its price.
There are other, less spammy ways to automate growth. These are more legitimate because the process doesn't start with automation. It begins with a manual action.
If you don't follow people back, there's a higher chance that they'll unfollow you someday. They might be using automation themselves, right? So some marketers use tools to automatically follow back everyone who follows them. This causes accounts to grow faster by shrinking slower.
Rather than use a tool to find and follow others, find and follow tons of accounts by hand. Follow everyone who looks human. Then let an automated tool dump those that don't follow back, keeping your ratio in line.
I'm sure there are many other tactics that fall into the "gray area" of follower growth tactics. If you know of any, please let us know in the comments!
Finally, there are the manual, slow ways to grow a legitimate Twitter following. Beyond the general "be good" advice, here are a few specific tips.
When you share something, whether you wrote it or not, share it with people who will love it. Twitter is a great way to find people with extremely specific interests.
If you wrote a post about personal branding, mention people with "personal branding" in their bio. They'll likely thank you for it! They're very likely to share it and follow you back.
Read the full post about targeted sharing on Twitter.
Be a person. That starts with your profile picture. Show your face. Remember that your picture will often appear very small (sometimes only 25px tall), so smile big for the camera.
Knowing that Twitter is a research tool, help people find you by putting relevant keywords into your bio. Remember, you're trying to be discovered. Make sure to put a city in your location. Clear is better than clever.
It's worth asking. Would the world be a better place if you have 100k followers? Would that really help your business? Your career? Your personal life?
People assume that there are advantages to having a large following. The assumed upsides fall into a few categories. Each have their own factors in success.
Drive more website traffic? Yes, but only if…
…your followers are engaged. Twitter is a powerful source of traffic, but only if your followers care enough to pay attention. If you have an auto-generated following or robots, you're unlikely to capture this benefit.
Impress journalists and editors? Yes, but only if…
…you already have their attention. Generally speaking, some content creators are more likely to be impressed and more likely to use you as a source. A large following is "social proof" which lends credibility in a PR context. This is a practical reason to want a large following.
Impress your friends? Yes, but only if…
…your friends are into that kind of thing.
We should be honest and admit what we really want. The main benefit of a big number is vanity. It's an ego metric. So decide for yourself. If it helps your self-esteem and automation doesn't make you feel like a spammer, go for it.
But the real benefit of Twitter (and of all social media and the internet as a whole) is the connection between people. It's a powerful tool for research and networking. It can even help your SEO. On Twitter, you can find almost anyone you can imagine and start a conversation.
Let's close on a great quote from Ted Rubin…
Make your social connections count or they won't be worth counting.
By signing up you agree to our Privacy Policy.
Hi Andy,
Excellent content here! I'm definitely sharing it with some very specific people.
As for keeping your follower/following ratio, I recently started using commun.it and I love it. It doesn't do anything automatically, but it does suggest actions for your account. It tells you how long since your last interaction with someone, who engaged with you the most and who you should consider unfollowing because there's no engagement between you two.
Regardless, you outlined a wonderful balance between the spammy methods and the bootstrap methods.
Thanks, Mike. I'll check out commun.it. I've used ManageFlitter before, but it's been a while. I try not to worry about the ratio, but sometimes I see accounts that are way off balance and I want to suggest this to them…
Glad you like this. Stay away from the spammy techniques! 🙂
Very nice, Andy. We need a mantra that reminds us: I want more followers, but what I really want is more connection. And just looking at numbers can never give us that.
That's right. I use Follower Wonk to find people to share/network with and sometimes it shows huge accounts …with a social authority of 1. Those are clearly robots who follow > follow back > unfollow to inflate their numbers, but they're not interacting with anyone. Sometimes, they're not even tweeting. Weird, right? What's the point?
Yes, social media is better when it's social…
Another great post Andy. Thanks.
Love the closing quote. Good stuff as always, Andy! Cheers
Thanks, Angie! Always nice to see you here. And since our friend Amanda is in Cambodia, I'm trying to keep up with things the best I can. 🙂
Just in case you did not know…there is another alternative to consider.
Nearly three years ago I founded TribeBoost (http://TribeBoost.com).
We were the first company to do Twitter audience development as a service.
In a nutshell:
1) We monitor Twitter in realtime looking for tweets with certain terms/hashtags/mentions whatever.
2) From those results we filter off the junk (spam accounts, new accounts, low quality accounts, etc.)
3) We refine the list based on bio info, location, influence, whatever makes sense for that client. Everything we do is customized based on the client needs.
4) We follow one a time and have limits in place to avoid following too many people in a day, too many people for your recommended ratio, etc.
5) We are a managed service meaning that we are not entirely automated — we do a great deal of our work manually (with real humans!).
6) Everything we do is within Twitter's TOS.
Thanks for the tip, Kevin. I think I know some people who use your service! But I won't name names here…
Hi Andy,
Thanks for taking an insightful look at this topic. I'll look forward to the next pieces. So often it's one that's dismissed with a blanket statement like "quality over quantity," it's nice to see a thoughtful exploration of the subject from multiple perspectives without self-righteous indignation.That's not to say what's right and what isn't. Just that it's not always so black and white. Also sharing it.
Haha yep, no need to name names.
I liked this post a lot, I honestly think most people downplay how vital Twitter followers can be to their B2B traffic generation.
Twitter regularly generates most of our blog traffic…and more traffic typically means more sales.
Funny you mentioned TweetAdder.
Using it years ago actually led to me getting TribeBoost started. It is such a blunt instrument that I was constantly following the wrong kind of people.
One day I realized I had mistakenly followed some porn stars on one account and I just about fainted.
I realized then there needed to be a better way…so I built it.
Thanks for another great article Andy. I always appreciate your insights. I especially like the "targeted sharing" tactic. Definitely going to try that one.
The one thing I've never understood is unfollowing someone because they don't follow you or, worse, following someone only so they'll follow you. There just seems to be something very needy and second grade in that approach. I follow someone because they interest me in some way and I want to engage with them. Like you said, if it's not about being social, what else is the point? To each their own I guess.
I'm not going to disagree with you, Scott. The purpose of following is really to see what they post, right? Not some kind of quid pro quo.
If Twitter had wanted it to be more about content/communication and less of a social proof game, they shouldn't have made the following numbers so obvious. I sometimes wonder what Twitter would be like if the size of the following wasn't visible. Very different, probably…
Hi Andy. Just want to say, great article and thanks for the refreshing honesty 🙂 I'll share it and follow you.
Agree with you. Awesome Article
Hey Andy, I remember when you were talking about this at the Marketing Profs Forum. It is a "burning" question! Love how you broke down the conclusions and provided some guidance. … Personally, I ACTUALLY DO want to see the posts from people I like and don't want to sort through a myriad of people I've just followed back. I know Twitter Lists can help organize this, but how many people can I really keep up with? Yet, I do want to reach more people through the tool, so want the benefit of a following. Seems to be contradicting forces at work! Perhaps I create one account for expanding followers, and one for just getting the info that I actually want.
Hi there, Paul. Yes, being truly interested is a great reason to follow someone! Hoping for a follow back …not so much.
A lot of us follow thousands of people. When the numbers get that big, you have to assume that either the person is using lists to segment things or their just not paying attention at all. Personally, my home stream is really noisy and random. Without lists, it would be really tough to filter through.
Nice post Andy! I learn something new every time. I'll have to try out the targeted sharing you mentioned in #5 🙂
Thanks, Kim! You picked out my favorite tip on this post. 🙂
I'm actually trying it as we speak. Question. Do you only do one tweet targeting 1-2 people and call it a day? Or do you do a handful of tweets so you can reach a few more people?
Yes, I usually mention just one or two people per tweet and I do it for a few tweets per post. It's a bit time consuming, but the best things always take work, right? It sometimes leads to nice conversations…
I would offer an alternative view to this that considers your existing followers. I actually find it a bit irritating when someone I follow tweets multiple identical tweets in a row like this. I have unfollowed people who abuse this tactic. Timelines are crowded enough without seeing essentially the same thing multiple times in a row.
As an existing follower of someone, I'd much rather see those tweets spread out over time during the day (a scheduling app like buffer or Hootsuite will make this a snap) so I won't have to see all of them.
Something to think about.
Definitely a great point Scott! I'll definitely do that. Although, I'll use Rignite for the scheduling–but of course, I'm a little biased on that 😉
Getting more followers and automating it sounds like a blast from the past with automated blog commenting. Anything that can be automated or used to potentially manipulate the serps will not count in Googles algorithm. Socialise by all means, but only with people who could potentially give you more business. As any man will tell you, size isn't everything!
Hahaha thanks for the tips. I just started on Twitter and I am sure this will help me!
I really want to have a lot of followers. Thanks andy for the information
You can try real way to find that
Andy, , thanks for this article. It will be a significant help for people who are starting, or trying to grow, their business by understanding what has more chance of working to build their followers and their brand. Thanks again.
thanks andy 🙂
great article! i have been looking for articles like this. yours is one of the best! very informative! thank you for posting 🙂
I'm glad you liked this one, Sheena! Thanks for the comment…
Great tips Andy! I would also recommend promoting your twitter profile on sites such as Downdrops.com to gain more followers
Another great post, thanks Andy!
Just to share another approach here, the primary reason I use the follow and unfollow strategy actually has much more to with the strategic direct message opportunities than simply gathering a mass of followers.
With a third party app like CrowdFire (I believe others do the same) you're able to set up an automated direct message sent to new followers. Most marketers jump the gun with automated DMs and link spam something like "Thanks for the follow. Please like my facebook page fb.com/tb3jrj3rjd" not only is this annoying but it's missing a gold mine of market research potential.
For example, I'm interested in writing about meditation. So in the last two weeks I've run an automated compliment & question DM that reads –
"Loving your tweets! I'm curious, in your experience what's the #1 challenge you're struggling with in your meditation?"
In the two weeks I've been able to get about 100 responses (and trigger some really fascinating conversations). This a small but powerful sample size of my audience. After going through the responses I've learned that the overwhelming response is "finding time" following by "focusing my mind".
So now I have an informed content strategy for my next two blog posts. The title will include "How To Find Alone Time To Meditate (without coming off like a jerk)…." or something like that. The next one will say something like "7 Ways To Focus Your Mind (even if you're constantly distracted) etc…
Further, if I had a product or course to sell I would certainly want to use the exact language that my audience uses to describe their struggle in my landing page sales copy.
The beauty is that unlike traditional market research these questions are being asked to the very Twitter audience which I will later be promoting my content back to. After the automated question I always follow up one by one with a thank you, explanation of why I asked this question, and an invite to join my email list. Once you're to this level of a conversation with someone the email optin rate is almost always 100%. So this generates both highly valuable rapid market research to guide my content and sales copy as well as a reliable stream of email subscribers.
When combining (public) inbound marketing with (direct) outbound research and lead gen, Twitter can become a critical tool to make informed and effective marketing decisions. 🙂
Hi Andy,
Great article. Definitely some useful insight. In terms of "buying followers" are there any actual legitimate websites I can do so? I've looked some up for my business but they all seem very sketchy and not where I would want to give my credit card info… Any suggestions would help!
Thanks for this article… it has a lot of great information!
Can Give Me Twitter Followers
this is so nice, Andy. We need a mantra that reminds us: I want more followers, but what I really want is more connection. And just looking at numbers can never give us that. i like it
I recommend participating in Twitter chats. Find topics that you're knowledgeable about, or want to learn more about. You'll often find me at #ContentChat (Mondays at 3pm ET) and #CMWorld (Tuesdays at 12pm ET). As you tweet things that participants find useful, you'll not only gain new followers, you'll see engagement skyrocket (e.g. impressions, likes, retweets, link clicks).
Great blog! Thank you for sharing!
Hello Andy,
I came across your article and I think that you've made good analysis over the ways over growing up your network. When I started my profile it was really hard to get along over this platform's mechanisms of engaging with the other users. After I made a research I was using the same things that you've mentioned as a guide. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard to gain an optimal number of followers on organic way so I've decided to purchase a package from the following site: https://www.socialmediadaily.com/twitter. As soon as I did it, using the previous steps in boosting my profile was unusually easy. I was putting minimal effort and time and gaining a lot of engagements.
I hope that you will find my recommendation useful.
WOW! Those are very tricky but brilliant way to gain Twitter followers. I'll try to apply those and see what happens. I hope it'll work with me. Thanks for a great and helpful article.
Tweet Adder is no more!
You can also try a bulk-follow tool like https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/twitter-follower/hcghlfjkhaigchnbbkbcgadlnckobaei
Best advice yet in current social media situations!!!
Twitter has been my companion for a long time, and I'm glad that I used Wizugo for my Twitter account marketing. https://wizugo.com/ has rendered such amazing services that no other marketing tool can provide. Wizugo boosted my followers more than 60% in just a couple of days; it took my Twitter account to another level.
Hi Andy, A really nice article and tips.
To increase followers on Twitter it is really important to track followers growth and unfollowers which can help in tracking what cause more following or unfollowing
Try followeraudit.
Visit https://www.followeraudit.com/twitter-follower-tracker for more information.


text:
Robby Bell Race Report
After getting some speed work in through an intense set of motos the previous day at REM MX, the Gary Jones Grand Prix offered a perfect opportunity to get a little endurance training as the format called for a two-hour long pro race. With Gary seemingly familiar with every spec of dirt the Glen Helen property has to offer, it was no surprise this race course was incredibly entertaining as it provided an all encompassing mix of the national and REM motocross tracks, the high speed truck track, the sweeping roads of the upper hills and the tight, technical single track canyons. Justin Seeds and Justin Jones turned out, among a few others, to add some quality competition and as we lined up for the pro race I was just anxious to get out and enjoy the course.
We would use the concrete start gate for the race and as I had the feeling of getting off the REM gate fresh in my mind, I got off to a flyer of a start. I found perfect traction off the cement, started shifting through to fifth gear, hanging off the back of the bike with the throttle wide open and commanded the first turn as we rounded the high speed Talladega corner. I instantly found my groove and as there was a little bit of dust in the back sections, I completed the first lap with a pretty comfortable gap already. Justin Jones had moved into second place and, being one of the few riders that could rival my familiarity with Glen Helen, he started to find his pace and held the gap constant for the next half a lap. Then I gave him a little more incentive. It's ironic how neutral can be so hard to find when you're searching for it, but come the most inconvenient time, your transmission seems overjoyed to find it and as I was rounding a corner of the REM motocross section, my big foot bounced into the shifter and managed to find neutral. I instantly lost my balance, fell to the dirt, and had a "turtle on it's back" moment, as it seemed to take me forever to get back to my feet. In that time, my bike stalled and I rushed to re-fire the beast before Justin could overtake me. My machine sparked to life just in time and I took off, grabbing gears, with just a couple of seconds over Jones. He was riding inspired and held me right within his sights as we made our way to the tighter canyons, but after navigating the technical sections, I had regained a more comfortable cushion. I had planned on that crash being my one and only, but apparently I was full of mistakes this day (specifically in the REM section) and as I was exiting the motocross track, my front tire caught a hidden edge and sent me to the earth yet again. This time I was able to keep the bike running, kept from losing too much of my lead over Justin, and started pushing hard yet again. It wasn't even a lap later that I started getting the "you have a big lead" signals from people around the track as, sadly for Jones, his race took a turn for the worse when something happened to his rear brake system, forcing him to come in for a lengthy spell in the pits. From this moment on I used the race as a training session, continuing to push the pace and my fitness, all while having such a blast with the racecourse. My race wouldn't be complete without a little more drama, though, as with a couple laps to go I stuck the front tire into a silty berm, which brought the bike to an abrupt stop. Unluckily for me the laws of physics dictated that I must continue my momentum and I flew into the bushes as I high-sided off the bike, polishing off my third crash of the day in exciting fashion. I was able to brush myself off and, aside from a few grains of sand in my gloves, wasn't too worse for wear as I finished out the race and took the checkered flag.
I had such a fun time at the Gary Jones GP and can't wait for round two when it hits The Ranch as that has to be one of my favorite places to race; that facility is purpose build to produce smiles. I was impressed with Justin's speed today and he's really improved since turning professional; it was quite unfortunate that he had the bike issues this weekend as it was shaping up to be an exciting race. I'm stoke to get another win this year and I'd like to thank the team: Precision Concepts, Alamo Alarms racing for building a damage proof bike, because I did my best to test it's resistance through all of my crashes. Thank you to all of the wonderful team sponsors and my personal sponsors as well: Fox racing, THR Motorsports, USWE, Northland Motorsports and HookIt.com. I'd also like to thank all of my friends from CrossFit-Foothill for coming out and watching me race; perhaps that was the reason for my continual crashing as I was probably trying to show off a little bit. Well my busy February continues next weekend as I'm teaming up with David Pearson at the BITD, GPR, Laughlin Hare Scrambles on Saturday and then rushing to Competitive Edge on Sunday for the Mammoth MX qualifier. Just can't get enough of this whole racing dirt bikes thing I have going!
Robby Bell
May 23, 2020
May 5, 2020
Error: Access Token for enduro360 is not valid or has expired. Feed will not update.
There's an issue with the Instagram Access Token that you are using. Please obtain a new Access Token on the plugin's Settings page.
Error: No posts found.
Make sure this account has posts available on instagram.com.


text:
Chief Administrative Officer
Laurie Silver has over 20 years' experience with a financial, accounting, strategic planning and operations background. Prior to BrainScope, she served as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions for the Services group at Symantec, where she led the integration of the Services organizations upon the $13 billion merger of Symantec and Veritas, which was the largest software company merger in history. Prior to Symantec, Ms. Silver was the Vice President of Finance and Administration of TrueCareers, a subsidiary of Sallie Mae; Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis across all business units of ABC/Disney; and a Senior Auditor at Ernst & Young LLP in New York. Ms. Silver graduated from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and earned a CPA license from the State of New York. She has been with BrainScope since 2009.


text:
Sony really seems to be stepping it up with the third party support, now having their own commercials for Assassin's Creed and even The Simpsons Game. Enjoy.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Assassin's Creed PS3 TV Spot
Sony really seems to be stepping it up with the third party support, now having their own commercials for Assassin's Creed and even The Simpsons Game. Enjoy.
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 11:36:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft Montreal
Unreal Tournament III Is Lag Free on the PS3
In a new GameSpy preview for Unreal Touranment III, they discuss the multiplayer aspect of the game. Online modes Warfare and Duel are new to the Unreal Tourmanent series.
In Warfare, you'll play with a team in node-based combat. One team will attempt to link its node with the enemy node in order to render the enemy's energy core vulnerable.
Duel is the equivalent of the lonely deathmatch that two of us played yesterday online, since one of us forgot to host a game with bots -- it's a one-on-one face off.
GameSpoy got right into some multiplayer maps over the PLAYSTATION Network. They had absolutely no lag, meaning no pauses. There were no problems with jumping at all. They had a very limited time with the title, so sadly, that is all that was revealed.
[Via GameSpy]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 11:21:00 PM 1 comments
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue: SEMA Awards 07
The creators of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue pick the hottest car at the SEMA Awards 2007 and put it into the upcoming and latest game in the Gran Turismo series.
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 10:35:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Polyphony Digital, Sony Computer Entertainment
Uncharted Coming November 15, 2007?
If you take a look at the release list for EBGames.com or GameStop.com, you'll see it states that Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is shipping on November 15, 2007, which is just this Thursday, in time for the game and a PLAYSTATION Store update.
Sheila Bryson, a PR manager with Sony Computer Entertainment working on the Naughty Dog title, said the release change was news to her.
"I haven't heard anything about it," she said this evening. "If there was any truth to that, I would probably know about it."If this release change really is true, she might not have been informed of it just yet, but hey, what do we know?
[Via IGN]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 10:16:00 PM 1 comments
Resistance: Map Pack #2 Unveiled
A good thing about the first party PLAYSTATION 3 games is that they keep the downloadable content coming. Whether it's Motorstorm or Resistance: Fall of Man, your always in for a treat.
Speaking of Resistance: Fall of Man, a new map pack is coming to the PLAYSTATION Network to enhance your playing experience. This map pack, titled Resistance: Map Pack #2, contains two new maps for online play.
The first of the map is Bracknell, a foreboding Chimeran node and Widowmaker breeding ground serve as eerie backdrops to this dark, all-interior environment loosely based on the Resistance single-player level. Players will fight in huge, cavernous spaces, where Chimeran architecture has overtaken an abandoned railway system. Bracknell is designed for both vertical and close-quarters combat, so polish those shotguns and Augers.
Next up on the map list is Axbridge. Axbridge has the perfect blend of frantic close quarters combat and concealed sniping perches. This map was created specifically for online multiplayer gameplay and not based on any Resistance single-player environment. It features a narrow corridor stretching under and above ground leading to two human bases on either side. The bases are large structures in their own right. Each contains several rooms and expansive fighting spaces.
Connecting the two bases is a large valley with a mix of organic and Chimeran architecture that provides excellent cover. But two large walls in the valley's middle create a heavily contested combat theater. Only the strong will survive!
IGN was able to do a little questionnaire with Ted Price, the president and CEO of Insomniac Games, about the upcoming content.
To sum up the questionnaire, Price stated they are going to release the new map pack at the end of November, 2007 with two maps in the package. The maps will work on all game modes and all sizes of games from 8 - 40 players. The size of the map changes depending on the amount of players.
Finally, Price mentioned a few tweaks made with the map pack:
We made several balance tweaks with the just-released Patch 6. Here they are:
TweaksThats just about everything. Look for this new map pack around the end of the month.
- Range and damage on the Rossmore 236 has been decreased for both primary and secondary fire modes.
- Reload time of the LAARK L209 has been increased.
- Projectile speed of the LAARK L209 has been decreased.
- Splash damage radius of the LAARK L209 has been decreased.
- Hedgehog grenade splash damage has been generally increased, although the radius in which it will kill a player in 1 hit has been decreased.
- Frag grenade splash damage radius has been decreased.
- Arc charger fire rate has been increased.
- Arc charger clip size has been reduced.
- Arc charger damage has been decreased for the primary fire and increased for the secondary fire.
- Rate of fire the Bullseye tag (secondary fire) has been decreased.
[Via IGN]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 09:55:00 PM 3 comments
Tags: Insomniac Games, PlayStation Network, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ted Price
Famitsu: White Knight Story New Scans
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 08:52:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Level 5, Scans, White Knight Story
Bethesda Silent on Oblivion PSP Cancellation
A few days back, GameStop started calling homes informing them that The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion for the PSP has been canceled.
Kotaku wanted to see what was going on with the title and contacted Bethesda Softworks' vice president Pete Hines. What they got? Nothing but silence, as he stated "We haven't changed our stance that we are not talking about this title right now,".
Well, that seems to answer it, or not.
[Via Kotaku]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 08:34:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Bethesda Softworks, Pete Hines, The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion
Uncharted Demo Is Now Region Free
The region lock was not intention.
Christophe Balestra of Naughty Dog, who worked with the demo did not know that users from other countries can download items from the US PLAYSTATION Store. Once he heard of the many upset, he head over to the office and worked on a fix.
To make a long story short, a fixed Uncharted: Drake's Fortune demo is now on the US PLAYSTATION Store that every country can enjoy.
[Via PS.Blog]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 08:29:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Christophe Balestra, Naughty Dog, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Sony Exist Future Cell Development
The PLAYSTATION 3's cell processor has been a benefit for the system, giving it an edge in system processing.
However, its development has also inflicted a significant dent on the Japanese electronics giant's bottom line, costing Sony approximately $1.7 billion alone.
This week, Nikkei reports that Sony plans to cease participation in the Cell processor's future iterations. Along with partners IBM and Toshiba, Sony has been researching 32nm and 45nm successors to the Cell processor, which is currently made using a 65nm process--an improvement from the original 90nm process. Sony is currently in negotiations with IBM and Toshiba on the exact date and terms of the pullout. The two reportedly plan to continue development on the chips.
Having cut its involvement with the Cell, Sony reportedly plans to ramp up development on CCD and CMOS image-sensor technology, which is most notably used in digital cameras. Nikkei reports that Sony will invest approximately $720 million in the next three years to expand production of image sensors at its plant in Kikuyo Kumamoto Prefecture.[Via GameSpot]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 08:25:00 PM 1 comments
HAZE: The Streets of Britain
Are you excited for HAZE? Tour the streets of Britain and discover where HAZE was developed, where the guy who pretends to do work sits, and meet some of the members of the Free Radical team. Enjoy, it's actually a quite entertaining video.
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 07:58:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Free Radical, HAZE, Ubisoft
Dark Mist: Stage Five Gameplay Video
We've heard about Dark Mist, and it's even been released on the Japanese PLAYSTATION Store already, but we've never actually seen a video of Game Republic's new Network title. If you ever played eGames' Survival Project, this is what this Dark Mist video of stage five would remind you of.
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 06:32:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Dark Mist, Game Republic
PAIN's Six Painful Gameplay Modes
Basically, the modes are all about attempting to murder yourself in the coolest way possible. When the title is released on the Network, we will let you know.
Single Player
- PAINdemonium – This is your PAIN sandbox. Go nuts in this mode and collect points. The better you are in this mode, the harder you will be to beat in Multiplayer HORSE.
- Mime Toss – Fly through the air and toss French Mimes through glass. (My fave single player mode). Do it in record time for trophies.
- Spank The Monkey – Monkeys are taking over the city. Spank 'em. You know you want to. This mode separates the kids from the adults in PAINful (the most difficult) mode.
- HORSE – All those smooth moves you perfected in PAINdemonium are worth points. Go head to head with your friends and see if they can make all the sweet launches you can.
- Bowling – 10 Pins + Explosives + Cereal + Anvils – Common Sense X (1-4 Players) = The New Hotness
- Fun With Explosives – Dude, it's all about blowing yourself up as many times as you can. How can that possibly be ANYTHING but right?
[Via PS.Blog]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 05:46:00 PM 1 comments
Beowulf Behind The Scenes
A new interview about the upcoming video game, Beowulf, with Ray Winstone where they show the process of converting the full feature film into this action video game. Whatever you do, don't read the book, it was bad.
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 05:13:00 PM 1 comments
Kane & Lynch Want Their Own Videogame
Another in the series of funny Kane & Lynch: Dead Men trailers. In this one, they give their crazy ideas for a game about themselves, called Lynch & Kane: Dead Men.
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 05:12:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Eidos Interactive, Io Interactive, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
Rumors: Bioshock PS3 (Again), More Metal Gear Solid, More Sonic
1UP's Quartermann has some new rumors stirring up today, concerning Bioshock for the PLAYSTATION 3, and some more Metal Gear Solid action.
Heres an old one, surfaced back onto the sea. BioShock is apparently back on for PLAYSTATION 3. Previously, it'd been speculated that Microsoft tied up 2K Games' aquatic adventure as an exclusive, but there's a change in the tide, as the world of Rapture may be Cell-enabled in 2008.
For all the fans sad about the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots delay, Kojima Productions hasn't been sleeping about taking the series in other directions. A brand new Metal Gear Solid game is supposedly coming to the PSP that is not a spin-off, and takes Snake back to his early days.
And for those SEGA fans disappointed with Sonic the Hedgehog for the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 upon it's release, it seems SEGA won't stop the series for that as they are already hard at work on their next Sonic game.
All I know is, this one better be good.
[Via 1UP]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 04:57:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: 2K Games, Bioshock, Kojima Productions, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Sonic Team, Sonic the Hedgehog
Unreal Tournament III PS3 Graphics Better Than Gears of War 360 Graphics
In an interview, Rein stated that he was "really proud" of the PLAYSTATION 3 game, which he hopes to be out by this year's end. He remained skeptical about a release for Europe this year:
"People are going to be pleasantly surprised. It's a really high end experience that pushes the graphics bar up even higher than Gears of War. There's more polygons, there's more stuff going on, there's more explosions and there's more things happening, so we're just really pleased with the way the game runs on the PS3."Rein said that there is "something special" about playing Unreal Tournament III on the PLAYSTATION 3, and that while the speed of the game has been reduced by about 20%, "it feels just right to be playing it with a controller".
He states that:
"The goal in taking the game to PS3 is to make the best PS3 game we can possibly make", he said. "And to do that we had to take into account that most people are playing with the controller. There are certainly differences in some of the parameters of the PS3 version. Maybe the weapon speed is a little different, the turning speed is different, but we have to accommodate and make it a great game. Our goal is to make UT3 the best possible game it could be on every platform it's on. I think we've done a really good job of making it feel just right on the console and that's exciting to us."It's exciting to us as well Mark, and I'm sure the whole community is very amped for the title.
[Via Pro-G]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 04:52:00 PM 1 comments
Tags: Epic Games, Mark Rein, Midway Games, PlayStation 3, Unreal Tournament III, Xbox 360
Uncharted Demo Coming to Europe November 22, 2007
November 22, 2007, Naughty Dog is bringing the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune demo over to your shores. It's only two more Thursdays, just in time for Thanksgiving.
[Via IGN]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 07:18:00 AM 1 comments
Tags: Europe, Naughty Dog, PlayStation Network, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
"Good Chance" of Unreal Tournament III Being Here for Christmas
In a recent interview at the San Francsico UT III launch event with Destructiod, Epic VP Mark Rein answers concerns about the PLAYSTATION 3 release of Unreal Tournament III:
"We're getting awfully close. This version we had here today was [gestures] this close to being a release candidate, so hopefully we'll be done with it really soon. If we get it done at just the right time, there's a good chance it'll be out in stores just before Christmas."Before Christmas is good enough for me Mark. I have a reserve down and $55 ready to be spent.
[Via Destructoid]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 01:08:00 AM 1 comments
Tags: Epic Games, Mark Rein, Midway Games, Unreal Tournament III
Infinity Ward Wants Ex-EA Chicago Developers
Looks like Infinity Ward wants these legendary developers on their side now that EA has tossed them for some strange reason.
[Via Destructioid]
Posted by onAXIS at 11/09/2007 01:01:00 AM 1 comments
Tags: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, EA Chicago, Infinity Ward


text:
How to improve my credit score to improve my lifestyleCanada Credit Cares
How does a credit score have anything to do with how you live your life?
Your finances and score on your report matters because it all affects so many facets of your life. Ever had thoughts like these?
- "Why can't I buy products when I'm online shopping and not feel guilty?"
- "Where is the cheapest gym membership?"
- "If I took cooking classes, I could have my family over and be the one cooking for them for once."
- "I want to go out at night with my friends, wine and dine without checking my bank account the whole time."
- "New furniture for my apartment would be great."
It matters whether your score is good or bad because you should be able to do what you yearn for in your own life. Though if bad finances are in the way, it affects people doing what they wish in their life.
For a happy life, it should contain hobbies, things that make you smile and fill you up with joy. The Huffington Post has a list on how to be happy, with one that states to, "Spend money on experiences." With money problems, it can be difficult to do that. It even goes into more detail on how exercising, developing your cooking skills, and spending money on other people can help.
Not having a high number for your score can affect your livelihood, employment, even transportation. But if you choose to make your credit better, you can improve your way of life, and have money to do the things you want.
"I don't even have a credit card and no debt! I should be fine!"
Not having a credit card is not a positive thing. An article from Time goes into detail of why lack of credit is disadvantageous and could make you appear dubious to potential lenders. No visual trail, no way to see if you're good with your funds.
But be careful! Too much credit and too many cards aren't good either. It depends on your debt-to-income ratio.
Where to begin?
If you aren't protecting and checking in on your financial information, start now. Canada Credit states in their credit protection information that according to The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, "… almost 16 billion dollars in losses directly related identity theft and fraud." Do not let that become a reality for you.
Look at the credit score averages in Canada. It's good to know the general idea of where it should and could be.
Get in the right mindset. Without the proper motivation, or if you put stress on yourself, no progress will happen.
What to do?
Check your credit report at least once a year. The Government of Canada states you should request a copy of it from one company, such as Equifax, wait six months, then request from another. TransUnion, for instance.
Pay your whole balance on time, every single month. Or do your best at keeping the number as low as possible, according to Experian.
Make a budget and stick to your budget! Put funds away so you can't even see it and pretend it doesn't exist. Calculate your spending each day on meals and coffee and look at the total at the end of the week. More than you may think when you picture it all together that.
Keep your credit and financial history as long as you can. If your history is short, less evidence exists to whether it is satisfactory.
Have multiple types of credit on the go. CreditCards.com states, "Consumers with a 'mix' of credit types on their credit reports tend to be not so risky than those who have experience with only one type of credit."
We are not saying that a good credit score or money is the key to happiness. Though it makes life easier, and easier to do the things that bring us happiness.


text:
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Audrey Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry was perhaps my most anticipated book of the year. The obvious question is, did it live up to that anticipation? For me, the answer is yes, and then some. The reason being, it was nothing like I expected. I didn't know much about the plot because I had avoided spoilers like the plague and I think everyone should, so my plot description of this one will be very brief.
Niffenegger paints a story of two twins, Julia and Valentina who inherit a building in London that lies adjacent to Highgate Cemetery after their Aunt Elspeth's death. They never knew or met their Aunt Elspeth, but she will soon get to know them as she haunts the flat in the building that they live in. Also living in the building is Robert, Elspeth's husband who is a tour guide at Highgate cemetery, and Martin, a man who suffers with obsessive compulsive disorder.
One of the things I loved about this novel is that everything is a character. The house itself is a character, the city is a character, Highgate Cemetery is just amazing and I'm dying to go to London now just to go on a tour of it. The human characters are just perfect. I loved them all. I'm not going to talk about each of them individually, because there are quite a few of them, but even the secondary and tertiary characters are beautiful. Niffenegger has a way of making the most quiet scenes full of beauty. Anyone who has read The Time Traveler's Wife knows this.
This is a very different novel from The Time Traveler's Wife. I think the question everyone asks is "how does it compare to The Time Traveler's Wife"? And my answer is that it doesn't. I could never compare it to that novel because it's so different. Both look at human emotions and examine the strength of human bonds, yes, but they are very different stories, with very different feelings attached to them. I found Her Fearful Symmetry to be very atmospheric, my favorite type of novel. It was delightfully creepy and haunting at times, but never in a disturbing way.
I've read some reviews that take issue with the ending of the novel, saying that it was too rushed; that some characters weren't treated fairly, and honestly, I don't yet know how I feel on that. I can see where those people are coming from, but at the same time, I like Niffenegger's ending. I would've liked a little more resolve with one character plot, but that's my only complaint. Niffenegger can rest assured that I'll be happily waiting in line for her next book to arrive. She's a force!


text:
Today, I had to create an account with Microsoft for work, so I can list a few more reasons why to avoid them:
What I did to verify my account was to save the HTML part in a file and open it in my browser. Of course, I couldn't login immediately afterwards due to the following message:
Something went wrong and we can't sign you in right now. Please try again later.
There are lots of other issues as well, but I just wanted to point out that not only Microsoft's proprietary software to be installed on your home computer is a menace, but that they also destroy the web as good as they can.
Powered by s9y - Design by Carl


text:
(847) 381-5958
Please be aware that you are submitting a request only. A representative from our office will contact you within 24 to 48 business hours to confirm a date and time.
We put your comfort first. You'll feel welcome and special from the moment you arrive at our beautiful luxurious office inside a historic, Victorian craftsman-style home. You'll receive the red-carpet treatment from John Minalt, DDS and his amazing staff. Our caring and compassionate team will make you feel comfortable, cozy and relaxed. You'll experience truly specialized, one-patient-at-a-time dental care that you deserve.
© 2020 John Minalt DDS and Associates | Website Powered by RAGASMEDIA.
John Minalt DDS and Associates serves patients in the communities of Cook County, IL Kane County, IL and Lake County, IL, that includes Barrington, South Barrington, Barrington Hills, North Barrington, Lake in the Hills, Lake Zurich, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights and Palatine.
Cosmetic dentists, implant dentistry, general dentistry, dental implants for Illinois: Barrington, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Cary, Chicago, Deer Park, Fox River Grove, Long Grove, North Barrington, South Barrington, Palatine, Lake Zurich, and surrounding Chicago suburbs, McHenry County Dentist, barrington cosmetic dentist, cosmetic dentistry, implant dentistry, barrington dentist, teeth whitening, arlington heights dentist, buffalo grove dentist, cary dentist, chicago cosmetic dentistry, deer park dentist, lake zurich dentist, porcelain crowns, dentures, teeth implants, tooth whitening, Barrington IL Dentist, Barrington Dentist, Barrington Braces, Barrington Teeth Whitening, Barrington Cosmetic Dentist, Barrington Family Dentist, Barrington Invisalign, Barrington IL Cosmetic Dentist, Barrington IL Family Dentist, Barrington IL General Dentist, implant dentistry, IV sedation dentistry, john minalt, dr. john minalt, Gregory tehle, restorative dentistry, implant dentistry, adult restorative dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, IV Sedation, Twilight Sleep, Sleep dentistry, Conscious Sedation, Sedation Dentistry, General Anesthesia, Failed Root Canal, All on Four, Teeth in a Day, Immediate Implant, Immediate dentures, Partial dentures, Dentures, Implant retained dentures, Loose Dentures, Lab on Premise, CT Scan, Smile Makeover, Porcelain Crowns, Porcelain Veneers, Crowns, Bridges, McHenry County dental implants, sedation dentistry, sleep dentistry, dentures


text:
House Veterans' Affairs Committee
CommitteeHide Overview
Committee Meetings
- View this committee schedule
Live and Archived Video of Hearings and Meetings
(January 2012-present)
Information on subcommittees, membership, leadership, news, and more.
More on This Committee
Committee Activity
Committees may hold hearings on policy issues and on specific bill proposals, consider and further develop bill proposals through a markup process, and report legislation and recommended changes to the full chamber.
1-1 of 1
Search Results 1-1 of 1
- BILL1. H.R.3594 — 104th Congress (1995-1996) To amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure compliance with veterans preference requirements at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Sponsor: Rep. Buyer, Steve [R-IN-5] (Introduced 06/06/1996) Cosponsors: (2) Committees: House - Veterans' Affairs Latest Action: House - 06/11/1996 Referred to the Subcommittee on Education, Training, Employment and Housing. (All Actions) Tracker:
This bill has the status Introduced
Here are the steps for Status of Legislation:
- Introduced


text:
Attending a big game is always exciting.
Experiencing the pulsating pressure of a close contest only steps away from the court, field, pitch or ice are reasons to celebrate.
Both professional and big time college sporting venues are rapidly evolving into modern day versions of the Barnum and Bailey Circus.
Lots of time, talent, creativity and money are invested to ensure fans at the big game enjoy the dunking gorillas, kiss cam, tee shirt canon, adorable team mascots and especially the music.
#TBT Sports Blog Recalls the Music
Today's #TBT sports blog recalls one my favorite things about in game entertainment at a sporting event.
And, that's the music.
An infectious beat, catchy lyrics and the raw energy of a song will make you move and groove to a song. At times, the song's beat will stay with you for decades.
Much like the way Hip Hop Group DeMonae's hit single did back in 1997 when it launched the old Charlotte Hornets theme song Hardball.
The catchy tune became synonymous with the NBA's exciting Hornets and grew as popular as a barbeque sandwich with beans and slaw in the Queen City.
Hardball may not have gained the same universal acclaim of 90's mega sports hits by Queen: We Will Rock You, Ray Charles: Hit the Road Jack and Journey: Don't Stop Believein'.
Yet, the song resonated with fans who now eagerly await DeMonae's latest news.
DeMonae Set to Re-release Hardball Song
The group is re-releasing the high octane Hardball today. That's 20 years after it debuted for NBA fans in Carolinas in 1997.
Sure, DeMonae may be rewinding the clock by bringing back Hardball.
But, music fans will agree that the group is fast forwarding the energy when they re-release this song and its 2Phat2Drive album on iTunes and Pandora.
There's no denying the popularity of music. It makes awesome in game entertainment at any sporting event.
And, DeMonae's Hardball, even 20 years after its debut, is proof!
To download DeMonae's 2Phat2Drive, simply click on the image above. And, to listen to my #TBT sports blog pick Hardball, just click HERE.
Also, for fans interested in authentic sports merchandise or collectibles, simply click on the Sports Memorabilia logo above.
Note that if you opt to purchase a Sports Memorabilia product, we earn a small commission from each sale. So, thank you.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!


text:
Filmora Video Editor is one of the best video editor that has functionalities to rotate and crop video. This tool will help you have a more presentable and vivid video. Filmora have great functionalities that will not only help you crop and rotate video but also enables you to do more video editing tasks as follows:
- Rotate And Crop Video This is one of the basic functionality of Filmora. It helps users to easily crop a video to the desired size and frame ratio. Users can also be able to rotate the videos to the desired orientation.
- Trim Video This feature enables video editors to trim off unwanted parts of a video easily. The trimming functionality provides accurate results.
- Audio Editing This is also an awesome feature of Filmora. Users can easily edit audio in their video wheels tools such as fade in and out, pitch, equalizer, among others.
- Speed Control Speed controls allows video editors to control the rate at which a video is played. This is a very helpful tool to provide great end results.


text:
Livonia, Michigan Based Mortgage Lender Jeff Brindley and his staff at Home Loan Specialists are sponsoring the Housing Liquidation of 2009. This event is designed to bring home buyers and Realtors together in one location to make deals on foreclosures and private sales in the Detroit area. Outstanding home prices and low interest rates make this event a must for Metro Detroit residents.
Livonia, MI -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/16/2009 -- Livonia Michigan based Mortgage Expert Jeff Brindley and his staff at Home Loan Specialists in Livonia are offering a special deal to get home buyers pre-approved for loans for an upcoming Housing Liquidation event.
The Housing Liquidation will be held on Saturday, March 7th, at Burton Manor in Livonia, and will feature up to 25 realtors from Wayne and Oakland counties.
It's the best opportunity for first time buyers, people looking to move up, or even investors, to gather in one spot and see what's on the market, and make some deals.
Potential buyers who act now to get pre-approved by Home Loan Specialists will be the first to view the homes up for sale.
For more information visit www.housingliquidation2009.com or call (248) 919-6804
The event is sponsored by Home Loan Specialists of Livonia.
Media: contact Jeff Brindley at (248) 919-6804
Jeff Brindley is available for interviews and will welcome all your mortgage related questions.
Call (248) 919-6804 for a Free No-Obligation Consultation or visit


text:
Events and Home Teams
I want to compliment your team on a great day. The food and drink was spot on and our host exceptional. We were all very impressed with the overall day.
On behalf of our group, I just wanted to thank you to the Spinner's Club/SCG Hospitality team for the wonderful time we had on Jan 5 (Day 2 of the Sydney Cricket Test). The Spinner's Club is a fantastic venue. The food was outstanding, and staff were always at hand to make us feel comfortable. We will definitely be back next year! Congratulations again on such a professionally run event.
A huge thank you to the SCG team for making our experience such a memorable one. The drinks, food and suite were all great and my guests had an excellent time.
Anzac Day
New Year's Test
Wallabies Test


text:
- Select your item and click the "Buy Now" button
- If purchasing one item, click on the "View Basket " button or if you have more items to add then please continue shopping.
- On the cart page, select your delivery option and then click on the "Proceed to Checkout" button
- Next page, for new customers please register with your billing information or use the "Returning Customers" box at the top to login
- Once you have registered or logged in, you will then see the next step on the right, you will see your delivery options and 2 payment options, PayPal or Credit/Debit Card, please select the option you wish to use to pay for your order.
- When selecting Credit/Debit card you will be taken to SagePay, this is 100% secure payment gateway, please select your card you wish to use to pay with, you will then be directed to page so can can enter your debit / credit card details, click proceed once entered. After you card has been processed you will be directed back to our thank you page and then your order is complete.
- If you select the PayPal option, you will be taken across to the PayPal pages, you will then have a choice to login to pay via your PayPal account or you may pay using your debit or credit card on the same page. After you card has been processed you will be directed back to our thank you page and then your order is complete.


text:
We're a week away from Titanfall (god forbid we post about it less than twice a day) and while we know it will get DLC (because of course it will and because they've said as much), post release plans haven't been explained.
Respawn's Vince Zampella tweeted that the game would not have a season pass, but community manager Abbie Heppe said this tweet was a mistake, clarifying that the game would not have an online pass (which EA finally stopped doing already). A season pass could still happen, but there are no announcements at this time. You should probably expect one anyway.
Heppe also gave a vague, "we'll see what happens after launch" response to the chances of a pilot versus pilot mode. Because when I see Titanfall, the first thing I think is, "Hmm, this would be better without the cool giant robots."
Titanfall might get a DLC season pass, pilot-only mode could come after launch [Gamespot]