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State of Now 2012

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:06:40 +0000

State of Now 2012

June 19 – 20, 2012

New York City, NY

Register Here>>

State of NOW will be taking place June 19-20, 2012 at the 92nd Street Y. The 92nd Street Y address is: 1395 Lexington Avenue, NY NY. Since 2009, we have been the premiere worldwide event which explores the effects of the real-time Internet on both business and “me” the people.

As people’s voices continue to be heard worldwide, and as we are in the midst of an important US Presidential election, the theme for our 2012 event is “Finding and Sharing Meaning.”

State of NOW exposes you to the power the Internet has to disrupt businesses, change lives and create serendipity. You will leave with a fresh outlook on how the real time web can be used in your business or personal life to actually do something meaningful. (from: nyc2012.140conf.com)

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Fun and Relevant things about Facebook – Our favorite Social Networking Platform

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:52:17 +0000

Facebook Donor Status

Facebook CEO Marck Zuckerberg recently announced that Facebook users will have the option to share their organ donor status as a milestone in their profile. This has the potential to have a dramatic effect on the number of organ donations.

Mr. Zuckerberg understands the implications of such a move on the availability of organs for transplant. Some medical professionals have cited how this will drastically reduce the waiting list of organ transplants which we all know is needed by many people around the globe.

This new status option is only for available for US and UK based users for now but it will soon appear in other countries in the very near future. While this is seen as a very positive thing by many, Facebook is an international company that will have to reconcile its actions with the various religious and cultural groups that may actually oppose it.

What we hate and love in Facebook

Let’s admit it- if you have a large number of active posters, you receive the inevitable irritating post. There are an infinite number of ways to waste space and time on Facebook and images of Starbucks cups of coffee is one of them. I found an article in socialmedianews.com.au that listed the things we don’t really “like” in Facebook. And since negativity is not “in” these days, the article also included the thinks that we do “like” there. Read more here.

Social Media for Business

It has been proven that social media has helped business owners improve their sales and marketing strategy. It serves as a bridge for a company to their loyal customers and fans. Businesses may benefit tremendously from Social Media, Given that almost everybody has a facebook account. Its important to keep in mind there are some rules to follow. Click here to get the list from socialmedianews!

What is Hot in Social Media today?

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:37:49 +0000

LinkedIn’s new mobile look

Most people use Social Media as an entertainment platform rather than a business platform. Just consider all the incredibly personal posts that are put off on Facebook every day. Now, LinkedIn is making a big move to increase its user base through its new mobile platform. We all know that LinkedIn is not focused on entertaining like Facebook but rather pure business.

The new LinkedIn mobile app is set-up to act something like a virtual assistant. Aside from being more attractive and having a high ‘Cool’ factor, it can now interact with your personal daily calendar. If you give the LinkedIn App permission, it can pull in your personal calendar and then match it with your LinkedIn contacts. This is something very useful for meeting preparation because you can browse their professional profile making your conversation more compelling.

With this new milestone feature, LinkedIn may increase its user base dramatically and because of mobile access double or triple use during the business day.

Dropbox new secret weapon

The meteoric rise of Dropbox has been so incredible and unexpected that it took most of us by surprise. The simplicity of the product and its ability to solve a real problem- eliminating the need for carrying, saving, emailing large documents etc made me an early convert. Now Dropbox has plenty of competition- each with a slight twist on the DropBox model.

Just recently, Google announced the release of their cloud storage. Google will now have something like Dropbox. Google has so many amazing products and this new feature fits in nicely with Google Docs. As with Dropbox, you can now easily share folders using a simple link. It now can create a unique and private url for any folder that is to be shared. When you share that url with someone, they can view the files in the folder. People with the url can however share it with anyone without your permission. The ability of a collaborator to share this document may be a seen as a weakness.

A Pitch with a kick

Some Venture Capitalists say that pitching is a skill. Yes, it is and it can be learned fast if you know the rules of a good pitch. It is important for a start-up company to have a team member who has the ability and confidence to pitch to possible investors. Tim Schafer of IndieDB shared tips on how to deliver a “kickstart” pitch. These 7 rules would surely help start-up founders in getting their much-needed funding. Read full article here.

What is in the social media news today?

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:30:04 +0000

Socialcam Fever

In the current Social Media Scene, a video-application named Socialcam is making waves. Dubbed as the “Instagram for video”, it was able to gain 4 million users the last weekend alone. Its growth is no-doubt more impressive compared to their top competitor Viddy.

Socialcam is now available for iOS. It able users to create videos with custom filters and can be stored in the cloud plus sharing options in other social media platforms like Facebook. But what really makes it more awesome is that despite their millions of current users, the Socialcam team is composed of only 3 developers! Can you imagine how good it will be with more brilliant people on board?

Looking after your well-being

A recent article from Med City news stated that in order to tame the rising health care cost in the United Sates (and probably, the rest of the world), it needs more patient engagement when it comes to patient’s health care.

Caretogether.com, a new website for patients and their caregivers (family or a med professional) aims to make caregiving process a lot easier. It has a forum for support and health advice needs, a calendar to track doctor’s appointments, and can be integrated to other social media platforms and the google calendar too among others.

Will this new web application help improve the current primary healthcare? What do yout think?

Raising Capital for Start-ups

99% of start-up companies all over the world would probably agree that raising capital funds for their first product is a hassle. Presenting your polished business plan, pitching in front of Venture Capitalists, and improving your financial statements are just a few of the things start-up founders have to go through to get funded but now that JOBS CTS has been legalized, they have a new option to get opportunities through Crowd Funding.

Mashable Business recently released an article that give tips to start-up companies about how to pick the right crowdfunding platform. Read the full article here.

Start-up location: A Big Deal?

The World’s start-up scene is improving. Young entrepreneurs from some of the world’s third-world countries have realized their potential to be recognized as global innovators however they are not receiving the right amount of support they need, all because of where they are located. Start-ups in Silicon Valley have the bigger chance to succeed because it is well, Silicon Valley. We all know that there are more mentors, investors, and the right environment there. But how about the others? How about the start-ups in Indonesia? Philippines? Vietnam? What if young innovators there have a billion dollar idea in store for us? Are we just going to waste it?

An article in Busness Insider states that there are 25 best places in the world to start a company. (Read article here). And as expected, Silicon Valley tops them all followed by New york City. We would just all wish that the start-ups in those top 25 places are worth it — worth it to be called a “start-up with a cause” that solves real problems faced by real people.

What Exactly Are Moms Doing in Facebook?

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:41:57 +0000

A recent study shows there is more to Mom’s social media activities than spying on you online…

As more and more people depend on social media sites to know what’s going on in the world, many social media researchers are starting to notice the impact mothers have in shaping marketing strategies in many top industries. A recent study shows that mothers are more flexible and actively engaged users of social networking sites such as Facebook, compared to other women. They are more tech-savvy, more opinionated, but they can also be more gullible.

And it is not just because of the nurturing instinct, she has other things in mind other than simpy to check out your newest uploaded photos…
In a study entitled “S-Net: A Study on Social Media Usage & Behavior” released by Performics, a performance marketing firm, researchers have found that compared to other groups of women, mothers are 50% more likely to own a smartphone (vs 31% on other women) and 27% more likely to own a tablet (vs 15% on other women).

They are more likely to be active on social networking sites: 16% more likely to visit Facebook daily and 46% more likely to visit Google + daily. Plus, they are 75% more likely than other women to trust information they receive from companies through social networking sites.

Mom, ‘like a boss’

What does this all mean, then?

For starters, this means that moms, more than ever before, are engaging themselves in technology, making it less likely for you to use a ‘Look Mom, No (insert-whichever-attempt- to-impress-Mom-here)’ phrase on her. In fact, they see themselves as ‘experts’ at using social networks (56% vs 36%).

The modern mom is actively learning and trying out the new gadgets out there, and she knows that these gadgets can help her make use of the little spare time she has for herself.

Is she too trusting?

But, the study also showed that moms can be a little too trusting of the information they get from social media. Among the moms asked, 66% of them (compared to 51% on other women) sees social networks as a good source of information about companies/brands.

However this also means more online shopping, and companies are happy. Moms are 45% more likely to make a purchase as a result of a recommendation on a social networking site than other women. The top industries such are apparel, automobile, food, financial services and travel are most affected.

‘Mom-bassabors’

The modern mom knows that she can empower herself by sharing her opinions about companies/brands.

59% of mom, compared to 44% of other women, would recommend products or brands through social media. They are talk more about the products they like (49% vs 33%), give the links to the company’s fanpages (52% vs 40%) and post a comment in the company’s fanpage (43% vs 28%).

All these data show that moms are making sure they are well-represented, if not more, in the decisions companies make in marketing and product development. They are highly vocal of what they like and they don’t (and other moms believe them more often, too!). They also want to make sure that they are up-to-date with the latest technologies, so gone are the days older kids can easily impress mom.

BlogWorld And New Media Expo 2012

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:55:25 +0000

BlogWorld And New Media Expo 2012

June 5 – 7, 2012

New York, NY

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BlogWorld is a must-attend social media event, hosting thousands of attendees from 50+ countries, with more than 200 speakers. This will be our second year in New York and we’ve planned 3 days of cutting-edge conference sessions and eye-opening keynotes. It’s not just the conference content that BlogWorld attendees boast about, 2012 attendees will also find a thriving tradeshow and great evening networking mixers. This is the only industry-wide event bringing the global community of content creators and publishers together all under one roof. (from: www.blogworldexpo.com/2012-nyc/)

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Technical Communication Summit 2012

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:50:31 +0000

Technical Communication Summit 2012

May 20 – 23, 2012

Chicago, IL

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More than 50 booths will showcase products and services important to technical communicators. The exhibit hall opens Sunday evening with a Welcome Reception to help you connect with exhibitors, friends, and colleagues, as well as an opportunity to decide which vendors will be of most interest to you during the conference. (from: summit.stc.org)

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Does a social media presence equal more sales?

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:20:38 +0000

Social media is a relationship building tool. Much like face to face relationship building it can help sales but it isn’t a short term solution. Social media makes it easier to build relationships.

Social media can’t get you instant sales but it can get you loyal clients and we can help you get started.

Six Ways to Prepare Your Brand for Social Media’s Visual Revolution

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:37:45 +0000

As social media continues to evolve, one reality is coming into focus: Brands are becoming more visual. What’s clear is that brands without a solid visual vocabulary will be left behind.

Discover this ways on marketingprofs.com

The Power of Social Media Platforms Like Facebook or Google Plus

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:20:35 +0000

Using social networks like Facebook or Google+ will definitely grab the attention of countless marketers and businesses out there. It does not matter whether you are online or offline as a business, you need to learn how to use the new face of marketing.

Click here to learn more about this.