Friday, October 26, 2012

Things That Can Take Your Internet Marketing Venture To The Next ...

Friday, October 26th, 2012 at 1:54 am ?

While many will experience obstacles and setbacks in the beginning of their affiliate business, it does not have to be this way for you. One way to get started, that is cost effective and simple, is to use the referral technology available today. Use this article to guide you in the right direction.

Try incorporating a trivia question into your banner ads. You can make the question a tricky one, with the answer available on your website. People will not be able to resist wanting to answer the question. Give your customers a discount if they answered correctly.

Make sure that the affiliate links on your site are related to the subject of your site. For example, if your blog is about sports, your customers want sports-related products. A sports site should only have sports related links. If the site has relevant links, people will be more likely to access them.

You will get the most income out of your affiliate programs by paying advertisers like Google Ads. This type of advertising uses the same SEO algorithm that you use in your marketing campaign. The ads help direct traffic to your website. Even better, the people who click on them are already interested in the type of goods or services you offer, making them more likely to buy something.

Give your visitors a reason to have faith in you, your company, and your product. If your readers trust and like you, they?re more likely to want to support you by using your referral links.

Use a multitude of venues when promoting your affiliate product. You can advertise online as there are a lot of people that like to shop this way. Some may prefer to receive brochures or leaflets. Some people just won?t buy unless they have some kind of coupon. You?ll get a bigger audience by advertising through many mediums.

Statistics that are tracking current traffic numbers and rankings are essential for running a good website. This lets you know how many users have been to your site and how many of them have made a purchase.

Don?t put excessive banners on your website. The focus of your site should be your own products. You want your site content to be prominent, with banners added here and there.

Text services are one option affiliates may consider when trying to earn commissions. This is a very new service, yet there are already large numbers of affiliates taking advantage of text service as a way to promote products and keep customers informed.

When you are selling a product through internet marketing, promote several uses for the product. Your high-lipped mat can double as a tray for pet food and water, or even a dish drainer.

Select pop-under ads instead of pop-up ones. Most readers are already using browsers with tools to prevent pop-ups from ever being visible, so those ads are ineffective from the start. Research indicates that pop-under ads, which load unobtrusively in your website?s background, are greatly preferred by visitors, a fact that is verified by the response rate, which is much greater than that of pop-up ads.

Stay upfront and give information about your business. Your site visitors can easily recognize affiliate links. Trying to fool them by not being upfront about the fact that you make money from the link causes a lack of trust. Honesty builds your credibility and earns the trust of your customers so that they are likely to return to your website and buy again.

There are not the same costs or complexities associated with affiliate marketing as there once were. You can use these suggestions in this article to help you make the most of your affiliate program. You can also save money.

Eric Green

Skype ID: thedigitalgangster

P.S. If you are a Network Marketer or Affiliate Marketer, check out these 3 MLM Tips.

Stop Struggling in your business and learn exactly how you can be generating 100 Percent Commissions with one simple Blogging System.

Related posts:

  1. Great Guide On How To Be Successful In Internet Marketing
  2. Everything You Need To Know About Your Affiliate Marketing Venture
  3. Get The Most Out Of Your Affiliate Marketing Venture With These Fine Tips
  4. Hard Time Getting Results With Your Online Marketing Venture? Try These Ideas
  5. Hard Time Getting Results With Your Affiliate Marketing Venture? Try These Ideas

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Source: http://thedigitalgangster.com/things-that-can-take-your-internet-marketing-venture-to-the-next-level/

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The Engadget Podcast is live tonight at 5PM!

Tim's off flying planes on the other side of the world. Thankfully, however, nothing really happened this week in tech news, right? Right?

Continue reading The Engadget Podcast is live tonight at 5PM!

The Engadget Podcast is live tonight at 5PM! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Noble Energy Reports Net Income of USD 221 ... - LNG World News

Noble Energy Reports Net Income of USD 221 Million

Noble Energy reported third quarter 2012 net income of $221 million, or $1.23 per share diluted, and net income from continuing operations(1) of $164 million, or $0.91 per share diluted.

Excluding the impact of unrealized commodity derivative losses and certain other items, third quarter 2012 adjusted net income from continuing operations was $167 million, or $0.93 per share diluted. Net income from continuing operations for the third quarter 2011 was $491 million, or $2.67 per share diluted and adjusted net income from continuing operations was $191 million, or $1.01 per share diluted.

Discretionary cash flow from continuing operations for the third quarter 2012 was a record $714 million, compared to $563 million for the same quarter in 2011. Net cash provided by operating activities was $924 million, and capital expenditures were $724 million.

Key highlights for the third quarter 2012 include:

  • Record quarterly sales volume of 242 MBoe/d, up 11 percent year over year
  • Horizontal net production within the DJ Basin increased to 31 MBoe/d, up 29 percent from last quarter and more than double from the third quarter of 2011
  • Marcellus production grew to 102 MMcfe/d, an increase of 38 percent over last quarter
  • Initiated production from the wet gas area of the Marcellus Shale that indicates a portion of the company?s acreage is within the ?super rich? area of the play
  • Entered into new positions offshore Falkland Islands and Sierra Leone
  • Secured a service contract for a new-build drillship capable of both reaching deep oil targets in the Eastern Mediterranean and supporting the company?s global drilling program
  • Received over $1.1 billion in proceeds from ivestments of non-core assets
  • Exercised option to increase credit facility from $3 billion to $4 billion, enhancing the company?s strong liquidity position

Charles D. Davidson, Noble Energy?s Chairman and CEO, commented, ?Strong liquids growth in both the DJ Basin and Gulf of Mexico contributed to our standout performance this quarter. Discretionary cash flow grew to a record level, up 27 percent over the comparable period last year, driven by a 42 percent increase in crude oil sales. Despite the impact of Hurricane Isaac in the Gulf of Mexico and unscheduled third party downtime in the DJ Basin, volumes grew by eight percent over last quarter and 11 percent year over year. Our major international projects at Tamar and Alen remain on schedule, and we expect to initiate sales from Tamar in less than six months.?

Third quarter 2012 sales volumes from continuing operations totaled 242 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBoe/d), up 11 percent from the third quarter 2011. Production volumes from continuing operations for the quarter were 247 MBoe/d, with the difference attributable to the timing of crude oil liftings in Equatorial Guinea. Sales volumes of crude oil and natural gas liquids increased 42 percent and 10 percent respectively, while natural gas declined 3 percent. Overall volumes consisted of 35 percent crude oil, 10 percent natural gas liquids, 25 percent international natural gas and 30 percent domestic natural gas.

U.S. sales volumes were 141 MBoe/d, up 25 percent from the third quarter last year. The growth was primarily attributable to the acceleration of the Company?s horizontal drilling program in the DJ Basin, the addition of the Marcellus Shale and the startup of Galapagos in the Gulf of Mexico. Divestments and natural production declines in non-core onshore properties offset a portion of the gains.

International sales volumes totaled 101 MBoe/d for the quarter, down five percent from the same period last year. The impact was primarily driven by lower natural gas sales in Israel partially offset by strong operational performance of the Aseng field in Equatorial Guinea.

The average realized price for crude oil and condensate was $99.30 per barrel for the third quarter, up three percent from the prior year period. Natural gas realizations in the U.S. averaged $2.61 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) and $4.43 per Mcf in Israel. Natural gas liquids pricing in the U.S. averaged $29.71 per barrel, which equates to 32 percent of the average price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI ? NYMEX) crude oil.

Total production costs per barrel of oil equivalent (Boe), including lease operating expense (LOE), production and ad valorem taxes, and transportation and gathering expenses were $7.10 per Boe, up slightly from the third quarter of 2011. LOE was $4.63 per Boe and depreciation, depletion, and amortization (DD&A) was $16.53 per Boe. The unit rates were impacted mostly by the growing contribution from new high-value crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa. Exploration expense includes leasehold costs associated with our exit from Senegal and dry hole cost associated with the Trema well, offshore Cameroon. The Company?s adjusted effective tax rate for the third quarter 2012 was 33 percent, with 60 percent deferred.?


LNG World News Staff, October 26, 2012

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Source: http://www.lngworldnews.com/noble-energy-reports-net-income-of-usd-221-million-usa/

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Sunday, October 14, 2012

Big Pharma Invents a New Disease ? Adult ADHD - Health Guidance

It's tough being a drug company. You perceive a market for a drug ? for example, children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ? invent a drug that seems to help, and then cash in. The tough part comes when you saturate the market, such that sales of your profitable drug plateau and don't show any signs of ever increasing.

That's what has happened with the incredibly lucrative market for drugs to treat ADHD. Most of the 4.5 million American children diagnosed with the disorder are already taking them. True, the pharmaceutical giants could theoretically be satisfied with raking in $200 to $750 per box of 100 pills from these 4.5 million customers, but that's not how pharmaceutical companies think. Why be satisfied with this small a market for our drugs, they think, if there is a larger market to be developed for the same drugs? Voil?. Adult ADHD.

Take this test to see if you have Adult ADHD

1. Often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, at work, or during other activities.

2. Often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities.

3. Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.

4. Often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace.

5. Often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities.

6. Often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort.

7. Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities.

8. Is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.

9. Is often forgetful in daily activities.

These are the criteria used to diagnose attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder according to the American Psychiatric Association. (Note: this is a shortened list, with the "for examples" deleted; to see the complete list, click here.)

To qualify as having ADHD, you have to suffer from six or more of these symptoms. If you felt that you do, congratulations?you're normal. But also, congratulations?you may have Adult ADHD. See your doctor and soon you can be paying the same $200 to $750 per box of drugs to treat it that the parents of 4.5 million American children pay.

Does this sound suspicious to you?

It does to a number of doctors, public health officials, and pharmaceutical industry watchdog groups, too. As far back as 2006, the manufacturers of these drugs had begun forming "support groups" for adult sufferers of ADHD, of which there were none until the groups were formed. These groups publish magazines that are distributed to doctors nationwide, who naturally read about these groups' work with this new disease they'd never heard of before and begin prescribing ADHD drugs to their adult patients. In 2010, this effort had escalated to lobbying the Social Security Administration to include ADHD in their list of disorders eligible for government benefits from such programs as basic Social Security, SSDI, Medicaid, vocational rehabilitation programs, and developmental disability programs.

At the same time, the pharmaceutical companies ramped up their advertising efforts for the ADHD drugs, now aimed at an adult audience. 15-second ads were run on the Times Square Jumbotron for Concerta, one of the ADHD drugs that sells for $651 per box of 100. The ad said, in 20-foot high letters scrolling across the screen, "Can't focus? Can't sit still? Could you or your child have ADHD?" followed by a website address. When people visited it, they received a coupon for a free 30-day trial of Concerta.

The bottom line

There are no blood tests or other clinical tests to determine whether you have ADHD. As you can see by the criteria used to diagnose the disorder above, "tests" to confirm it are misleading, and diagnosis is often based on guesswork. Critics of this multibillion-dollar campaign to market a new disease which may not exist to a new adult market point out that virtually all of the ADHD drugs in question are a form of "speed," similar to amphetamines. Some of them are amphetamines.

The ad running on the Times Square Jumbotron can be viewed, say these critics, as what it really is ? an attempt to get millions of American adults hooked on legal speed. The companies that created this ad even use the clich? line often attributed to schoolyard drug pushers in movies: "The first one's free." The ad was seen by an estimated nine million people. It won't be the last one they see.

Source: http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/16560/1/Big-Pharma-Invents-a-New-Disease--Adult-ADHD.html

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doomddom3: Molof.net ? Shopping and Product Reviews - Elroy ...

What are the features of your kindle? This short article talks concerning the best six features from the wireless reading device, Kindle Fire. It enables user to surf the world wide web, listen to music, watch movie, read books and and so on. Listed below are the best six capabilities on the?amazon prime review that I am going to share with you:

Dual core processor

The wireless reading device, Kindle Fire utilizes the dual core processor for fast, powerful performance. Stream music when browsing the internet or read books even though downloading movies. It could handle multitasking smoothly.

E-reading

Countless books could be present in the library. You are able to borrow books from the library. In addition to that, you also can download the sample and read the critiques. If you?re seeking an e-reader with wonderful color display, The Fire can be a appropriate e-reader to suit your needs.

No cost one month membership of Amazon Prime

You will be able to stream unlimited of Tv shows and motion pictures. You?ll find a huge number of films in the library which have been accessible to stream, download, acquire or rent. You may stream and watch it anytime, anyplace you need as long as your Fire gets connected towards the wireless. With the membership, you get to access for the Lending Library where you?ll be able to stream thousand of films from there.

Free of charge cloud storage service

Stop worrying about memory. Amazon offers you a 5GB totally free storage for all your Amazon digital contents. You get to download and stream all your films and apps quickly having a touch of your finger.

Amazon?s Apps Retailer

You?ll be able to download apps from Amazon?s apps store. It has a wide selection of apps you can download. In addition to that, it offers a paid app for free daily! You could play Angry Bird on your Kindle!

Kindle owner?s Lending Library

You?ll find over a hundred thousand books inside the Lending Library. With an Amazon Prime membership, Kindle owners can decide on a book to borrow for free.

Fire can be a fantastic choice amongst every one of the tablets. It capabilities astounding color display, wide selection of apps, streaming music and movies that is certainly compatible with Adobe?s Flash. In term of cost, it charges only $199. It?s really low cost for any tablet. It lets you get practically 5GB totally free storage with Amazon?s Cloud storage. Apart from that, none of any customers complain regarding the Kindle Fire?s battery life. Start off asking oneself, what are you truly on the lookout for? If you just want to read some books, surf the net, listen to some musics, why not going for this excellent device?

Source: http://www.molof.net/shopping-and-product-reviews/10/08/16/

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Japan security environment tougher than ever: PM Noda

YOKOSUKA, Japan (Reuters) - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told his navy on Sunday that Japan's security environment was tougher than ever, underscoring tension with China over a territorial dispute and the threat of North Korea's weapons programs.

Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply after Japan in September bought from private owners some of the East China Sea islets that both Tokyo and Beijing claim. That sparked violent anti-Japanese protests across China and badly hurt trade.

"It is needless to say that the security environment surrounding Japan is getting tougher than ever," Noda told about 8,000 servicemen and women, mostly from the navy, from aboard the destroyer Kurama.

"We have a neighbor that launches missiles under the pretence of satellite launches. We have various developments concerning territory and sovereignty."

Noda, supreme commander of Japan's military known as the Self-Defence Forces (SDF), was speaking during a fleet review off Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo.

His remarks were relayed to ships gathered in the area -- about 40 vessels, including the U.S. cruiser Shiloh, were present for the review. About 47,000 U.S. troops are based in Japan.

Noda braved occasional bouts of drizzle to review destroyers, submarines, minesweepers and fuel supply vessels that passed in front of him while SDF helicopters and P-3C anti-submarine patrol planes flew overhead.

The disputed group of islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are located near rich fishing grounds and potentially huge oil and gas reserves.

Patrol vessels from Japan and China have been keeping a wary watch on each other in the East China Sea near the islets, raising concerns that an unintended collision or other incident could develop into a broader clash.

Japan's Coast Guard had planned to send one of its patrol ships to the naval review, but it canceled the vessel's participation because the heightened tensions prompted it to allocate more ships to the area.

Japan is also wary of North Korea's nuclear and missile projects, with its territory lying within the range of Pyongyang's missiles.

North Korea has conducted three rocket tests since 2006 for what Pyongyang says are satellite launches, though Japan and Western countries suspect they are intended to test missiles. The North has also conducted two nuclear tests.

(Editing by Ron Popeski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-security-environment-tougher-ever-pm-noda-112623212.html

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Sponsor Saturday with The Digital Scrapbook Teacher - Simple ...

Welcome back to our series of posts about our current sponsors. We?d like for you to get to know these women and their businesses better. These sponsors make possible the free content provided here on the blog.

Let?s meet Patty Debowski aka The Digital Scrapbook Teacher.

Patty was motivated to start her business while working on four different scrapbooks ? one for each of her three children and a fourth for the family. She simply didn?t have the time to create scrapbook pages with traditional supplies. After mastering Photoshop Elements on her own, she wrote Digital & Hybrid Scrapbooking & Card-Making. In 2011, Patty wrote Photoshop Elements Basics & Beyond, which covers photo editing, organizing photos and digital scrapbooking supplies, and digital scrapbooking. She?s packed a lot of information into this ?Bible of Digital Scrapbooking? after teaching hands-on classes at scrapbook conventions across the United States.

The Digital Scrapbook Teacher offers classes ??online, downloadable, hands on ??in addition to videos, the aforementioned book and digital scrapbooking products such as templates and kits. Patty teaches five different classes online at My Creative Classroom including one on Photo Organizing. As she says, ?If you don?t have a good system for organizing your photos you will waste a lot of time.?

I asked Patty how her scrapbooking style and goals have changed over the years. Patty now uses templates to speed up the process and focuses on the photos and journaling more than she did when she was a paper scrapbooker. In addition, she includes more journaling on her pages because she wants to remember the stories behind the photos. Many years ago Patty took a class at a scrapbook convention at which the teacher said something that has stayed with her ??if you only include photos on the page, you are saying that it only mattered how you looked in the photos, not how you felt.

Patty is generously offering Simple Scrapper readers a 20% discount on everything in her store?with the coupon code?Simple_Scrapper; offer expires October 22, 2012. Stay connected with Patty?through her free Photoshop Elements tips newsletter or via Facebook.

Interested in advertising with Simple Scrapper? Check out the details about our advertising plans to meet a range of client needs.

Source: http://www.simplescrapper.com/2012/10/sponsor-saturday-with-the-digital-scrapbook-teacher/

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SBA Administrator Tours local Woman-Owned Business - Blog

SBA Administrator Karen Mills Tours Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc.

In honor of National Women-Owned Small Business Month, Karen Mills, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), toured Huckestein Mechanical Services, Inc., a woman-owned small business headquartered in Duquesne, PA, on Thursday, October 11. Mills travels weekly to visit small businesses around the country and chose Huckestein based on its thriving business model and use of SBA-sponsored programs and loans.
Huckestein Mechanical Services is owned by Wendy Staso, who purchased the company more than two years ago, restructuring and redefining the business to place the 60-year-old company on solid financial ground. Staso receives business counseling services from? Seton Hill University?s E-Magnify, an SBA resource partner and women?s business center.? In addition, she is a member of the Greensburg Chapter of the Women President's Organization hosted by E-Magnify.

Huckestein is a certified woman-owned mechanical contractor serving the tri-state region?s HVAC mechanical contracting needs for the commercial, industrial, institutional, and high-end residential markets. The new business model focuses on HVAC service, design-build projects, energy management strategies, and specialized services and diagnostics. As part of this restructuring, Huckestein Mechanical Services recently utilized an SBA-backed 7(a) loan from Enterprise Bank for debt restructuring and permanent working capital, and an SBA CAPLines loan, which is a revolving line of credit that provides short-term working capital.


?Operating capital is everything to a small business,? remarked Staso. "The SBA-backed loans opened up opportunities and enabled our doors to stay open.?

In Fiscal Year 2012, SBA approved 444 loans in Western Pennsylvania, supporting more than $122 million to Western Pennsylvania?s small businesses. Since President Obama took office, SBA has supported more than $12.4 billion in lending through more than 35,500 SBA loans to women-owned businesses.

Source: http://e-magnify.blogspot.com/2012/10/sba-administrator-tours-local-woman.html

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Saturday, October 13, 2012

The Positive Philosophy: Lokayata, Vol.II,Iss?ue 02, 2012

ISSN :2249-8389 September 2012 Vol. II, No. 02

Philosophy,Education and Human Rights

Chief-Editor

Desh Raj Sirswal

In this issue?????.

Sheeja.O.K. : An Enquiry into Swami Vivekananda?s Philosophy of Education in the light of Modern Education System (4-10)

T.V.Krishnan: Philosophical Divergence: A Leap towards Humanity (Special reference to Indian Social Order) (11-16)

V.Prabhu & Tanuja Kalita: A Response to Peter Singer?s Position on Euthanasia(17-21)

Irshad Ahmad & Umesh Chandra: Islamic Concept of Education: Aims and Objectives (22-29)

Krishna Paswan: Non-violence and Love: A Gandhian Appraisal (30-34)

Sheena Krishnan Ulamparambath: The Role of Philosophy behind the Growth of Hero Worship in Medieval Kerala (35-44)

Pankoj Kanti Sarkar: Enviornmental Crisis: Necessity of Non-Anthropocentrism (45-49)

B.Y. Krishnamurthy: Educating Philosophy and Peace through Cinematic Songs by Hunsur Krishna Murthy in Kannada Cinema: A Study (50-54)

Empirical Paper:

Vijay Anand: Pilgrimage Tourism Management and its Issues and Challenges with special reference to Nagapattinam District (55-76)

BOOK-REVIEW? Merina Islam (77-78)

NEW PUBLICATIONS (79-80)

PHILOSOPHY NEWS IN INDIA (81-85)

CONTRIBUTORS OF THIS ISSUE (86)

Download Issue to click here

http://lokayatajournal.webs.com/apps/documents/

Source: http://niyamakphilosophy.blogspot.com/2012/10/lokayata-voliiissue-02-2012.html

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Nobel win celebrated -- and panned -- in China

Wang Wei / EPA

Nobel Prize-winning writer Mo Yan holds a press conference in his hometown of Gaomi, in China's Shandong province, on Friday.

BEIJING -- State media gave the official stamp of approval Friday over the decision to award the Nobel Prize for literature to Chinese novelist Mo Yan, giving him front-page coverage across the country.

The warm coverage of the award is unsurprising considering the prestige and recognition that China's ruling Communist Party will collectively bask in as a result.

But in another sense, the warm reception for the awarding is striking considering the anger and hysteria drummed up by Beijing following the 2010 awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned political dissident, Liu Xiaobo.


In the two years that have followed Liu?s win, which was heavily censored in state media, China has maintained a chilly relationship with the Nobel committee and its home country of Norway. Meetings with Norwegian ministers and trade delegations have been canceled and important talks regarding the eventual opening of the Arctic Sea route have been halting.

China even went so far as to develop its own ill-fated peace prize, while exports of Norway?s famed salmon fell victim to the frigid political atmosphere between the two countries.

China?s first Nobel-winning writer?
But Mo?s victory seems to have thawed the relationship long enough for China to celebrate the writer, who state media has hailed as the country?s first winner of the prize.

"This is the first Chinese writer who has won the Nobel Prize for Literature," gushed China?s People?s Daily newspaper. "Chinese writers have waited too long, the Chinese people have waited too long."

But critics of the Communist regime point out that Gao Xingjian, who won in 2000 in part for his critical writing of the government, was China?s first winner of the Nobel for literature. He had been exiled to France by the time the prize was awarded.

Mo Yan, which means "don't speak," is actually a pen name. The 57-year-old Mo's real name is Guan Moye.

Mo has been favorably compared to American author William Faulkner and is perhaps best known in the West for his 1987 book, Red Sorghum. That book heavily relied on his experience growing up in a farming community in China's northeastern province of Shandong.

That honest connection to the rural experience has been a central thread through much of Mo?s writing, according to Dai Wei, a professor of literature at China?s Jinan University.

Special coverage of China: Behind the Wall on NBCNews.com

"Mo's topics are typically about rural life and his own life experiences, his stories are very close parallels to the real circumstances he lived through," Dai told NBC News. "He often writes about suffering. ... Some people think he glorifies suffering for Westerners, but everything he writes is based on real experience."

'The dark side of society and the ugliness of human nature'
Mo latest book, Frog, tells the dark story of a midwife who enthusiastically goes about her work enforcing China?s family-planning laws through forced abortions and sterilizations. The story, a searing critique of China?s one-child policy, won China?s Mao?Dun?Literature?Prize last year.

"A writer should express criticism ... at the dark side of society and the ugliness of human nature, but we should not use one uniform expression," Mo said in a speech at the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair.

Chinese author Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize in literature

But despite the critical and popular acclaim and Mo?s willingness to confront sensitive social issues in China, Mo?s victory has not come without criticism.

?Giving the award to a writer like this is an insult to humanity and to literature,? declared noted Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei to the British newspaper The Independent. "It?s shameful for the committee to have made this selection which does not live up to the previous quality of literature in the award."

Ai?s diatribe toward Mo appears to be rooted in part to his work on a book last year to celebrate the 70th?anniversary of a speech given by Mao Zedong.

More book reviews and news on TODAY.com

Mao?s speech, known as the "Speech at Yan?an Forum on Art and Literature"?set the guidelines for appropriate subject matter for Chinese writers and artists of that revolutionary period, calling upon them to focus on and espouse the merits of Communism and threatening punishment to those who did not bend to the will of the party.

Mo Yan and around 100 other Chinese writers and artists hand-copied paragraphs from the speech for the book.

Criticism
That act, in conjunction with Mo?s position as vice chairman of the government-backed Chinese Writer?s Association, which has failed to voice support toward fellow writer Liu Xiaobo?s Nobel Peace Prize victory, has raised the ire of artists like Ai who wonder just how committed Mo Yan is to free expression.

Complete Asia-Pacific coverage on NBCNews.com

After all, critics argue, if a Nobel Prize-winning author with a leadership position in the national writing guild fails to stand up for a fellow artist, then who will?

Not fair, said professor Dai.

"I don?t agree with Ai Weiwei, it's just his personal opinion," said Dai. "People have different values, so they evaluate people differently. I think Mo Yan is a great author and Mo Yan is prized by the Nobel Prize council."

Perhaps sensing the backlash against him, Mo spoke out Friday afternoon from his hometown. Mo told reporters he hoped that Liu Xiaobo "can achieve his freedom as soon as possible." He also noted that he had read Liu?s literary criticisms from the 1980s and that the dissident had the right to research his "politics and social system."

Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com

Other supporters of Mo have also came to his defense, noting that many of his books have been banned in China and that the Nobel victory will help put Chinese literature on the map.

But few believe that the victory will help put Liu Xiaobo back on the map in China, where his victory is still not acknowledged by the government. Liu?s name and the term "Nobel Peace Prize" remain blocked terms on China?s twitter-like service, Weibo.

Just this week, a BBC report on Liu?s imprisonment noted that the activist and his wife, who remains under illegal house arrest, have been facing extraordinary pressure to accept exile from China in exchange for their freedom.

NBC News' Johanna Armstrong and Yanzhou Liu contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/12/14391375-mo-yans-nobel-win-celebrated-and-panned-in-china?lite

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Friday, October 12, 2012

Tips to improve your online display ads ? iMediaConnection Blog

If you rely on online display advertising to spread the word about your company or products, you need to ensure your ads are of the highest quality. Poor advertisements that are unreadable and ugly do not reflect well on your business. If you want to improve your online ads, read ahead for some sensible ideas.

Your advertising goal is to encourage Internet users to click on your ads. Start by making sure your ads look pleasing to the eye. Avoid using unreadable fonts or colors that clash drastically. People are far more likely to click on creative and interesting ads.

Additionally, many Internet users have simply learned how to completely ignore ads on websites. You need to do something bold and refreshing to get attention among a sea of boring ads. Don't be afraid to use a little humor, but try to keep it clean.

Make sure your display ads are clear and to the point. You want to inspire people to immediately click on your banner the second they see it. If your banner is too confusing, people will quickly forget it and move on. Don't use your online display advertising as an opportunity to mock your competition. Your ads should only focus on your company and what makes it amazing.

Some ad locations on a website attract more attention than others. Web users are far more likely to notice ads at the top of the page than those near the bottom. It may cost you more to purchase advertising at the top of a website, but you will see better results.

Each of your ads should have a clear focus and message. Don't clutter your ads up with too many products or services. For each ad you create, choose a single theme to focus on. If your business has multiple products, try creating a separate advertisement for each one. You can spread your message further by adding single product ads to relevant pages on the Internet.

A good ad campaign requires you to constantly track your progress. Solicit feedback from your customers to find out if your ads are having a positive influence on your business. If an ad isn't working out, it's easy to try again with a new one. Treat every ad campaign as an opportunity to learn what works and how you can improve your message.

Source: http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2012/10/11/tips-to-improve-your-online-display-ads/

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

The New Market for Social Media Consultants | Business 2 Community

social media careers

To date, most social media consultants have focused on helping organizations use social networks for marketing and customer service. But there?s a new career opportunity for social media consultants ? helping your company use social technology for collaboration inside the enterprise, called social collaboration.

What is social collaboration? Think Yammer. Yammer is an enterprise social network used by employees or businesses to share, collaborate, and innovate. Microsoft?s recent purchase of Yammer is a testament to the business opportunity social collaboration offers. Last year, Forrester Research predicted that the enterprise social software market would grow to $6.4 billion in 2016, as companies added tools for internal use.

Big Benefits for Social Businesses

Businesses have good reason to pursue the use of social media tools in the enterprise. As Mark Schaefer wrote recently, a McKinsey report on social technology published this summer estimated that companies could see a 20-25% improvement in knowledge worker productivity through the use of social technology. For example, they found that making information available via social media could reduce the time workers spend searching for information by 35%. Those numbers will garner CEO and CIO attention.

The company I work for, Vizit Corporation, just completed a study of 1,100 mangers of SharePoint sites. (SharePoint is the number one social collaboration tool used in the enterprise.) Although the results will not be published until October 22, I wanted to give {grow} readers a preview of the opportunity for social media consultants.

The Enterprise Could Use Some Help

62% of the individuals we surveyed said their organization had or would have an internal social initiative within two years. 57% of those planning to implement are doing so for internal collaboration purposes. Another 35% are planning to use it for both internal collaboration and to communicate with customers/partners (primarily for customer service). Both of these are areas where an experienced consultant can help.

This momentum comes despite mixed results in their use of internal social technologies thus far. 48% in our study reported that their SharePoint social implementation was successful or very successful. That leaves 52% who could not declare success. Doesn?t that sound like an opportunity for talented social media professionals?

SharePoint Social Initiative Success (Vizit Corporation)

You?ve Got the Tools

In fact, the challenges to implementing social tools inside the enterprise are not that much different from those social media consultants encounter when working with external customers:

  • How best to use the tools?When you work with clients, you probably start with business/marketing goals and then help your client determine how best to use the available social networks and social media tools to accomplish those goals. The task is similar when helping organizations understand how to use social tools internally.
  • Education and training?Most social media consultants have worked with a customer whose employees weren?t familiar with social networking, and weren?t comfortable with it. Education and training are essential in both environments.
  • Building communities?To get knowledge workers to adopt social tools inside the enterprise, organizations will need to proactively identify potential communities and foster them. Businesses typically think of each department as a potential community and roll-out and optimize tools for each department. In fact, though, to get full value from social technology, organizations will need to look at how to build communities across departments. According to McKinsey, part of the value of social technologies is in ?lowering barriers between functional silos, and even redrawing the boundaries of the enterprise to bring in additional knowledge and expertise in ?extended networked enterprises.? ?
  • Incenting knowledge workers?Just as marketers have to find ways to incent potential customers to engage with the company on its Facebook page or LinkedIn group, businesses have to find ways to incent their workers to use the social media tools they are providing. Social media consultants can leverage all the experience that they have gained about engaging customers and apply similar techniques to engage users within the enterprise. Contests, reward systems, gamification?they are all valid tools that cutting-edge organizations are using to increase adoption of social tools by knowledge workers.

Two Challenges

There are two big chalenges for consultants wanting to enter this market: 1) Understanding the technology used for social collaboration inside the enterprise (SharePoint being a primary one, often in conjunction with Jive, Yammer, etc.); and 2) consulting with clients about the internal cultural issues that may inhibit effective use of social tools.

The technology hurdle can be addressed by education and by partnering with consulting companies who implement internal social technologies.

The cultural issues are an area that may be new to social media consultants. At issue is whether the organization?s culture is suitable for the kind of open discussion that enables effective collaboration and innovation. Forrester has identified four critical attributes of an innovative culture. Consultant may need to develop skills to help companies that aren?t optimal for social. Or, you could team up with an organizational change specialist.

Let?s face it, there?s a lot of competition in consulting for companies around social media marketing. The potential market opportunity for consulting on internal social collaboration is a big one, and that market is in its infancy. So, if you?re a social media consultant looking to grow your business, you might consider making a shift?soon. What do you think?

Source: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/the-new-market-for-social-media-consultants-0297731

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From words to deeds: Why election matters

When you vote for Democrat Barack Obama or Republican Mitt Romney in November, you'll be voting for more than a president. You'll be casting a ballot for and against a checklist of policies that touch your life and shape the country you live in.

It can be hard to see, through the fog of negative ads, sound bite zingers and assorted other campaign nasties, that the election is a contest of actual ideas. But it is always so. A candidate's words connect to deeds in office.

Roll back to 2008. Obama was the presidential candidate who promised to get the country on a path to health insurance for all. He delivered. If you haven't noticed one way or another, soon you will.

And back to 2000. George W. Bush ran on a platform of big tax cuts. That's precisely what the country got. A decade later, taxes are lower than they otherwise would have been.

That's not to say you can count on Romney's checklist or Obama's to come into full being. You sure can't.

By nature and necessity, the presidency is in large part a creature of compromise and improvisation. The unforeseen happens (the terrorist attacks), or circumstances change (the December 2007-June 2009 recession), or things that the candidate sets out to do run into a buzz saw in Congress (way too many examples to mention). That's why promises are broken, priorities shift and intentions get swept away by the fistful.

Even so, you get what you vote for, probably about as often as not. And a lot of what you get, you will feel in a personal way, for better or worse, no matter how distant Washington seems from your world.

The wars called away people in your orbit, if not in your family. The spending that each candidate wants to do ? Romney vows military expansion, Obama would put more into education, for starters ? is bound to benefit many livelihoods in some fashion, at the risk of even deeper national debt. And read their fine print: Medicare won't be the same in the years ahead. Perhaps not Social Security, either. (There's that national debt, after all.)

Across the spectrum of issues, Obama and Romney have drawn contrasts and telegraphed divergent ways for the nation to go.

You can't believe everything you hear. But you can believe enough to know that Tuesday, Nov. 6, is a true day of decision.

In this series, Associated Press writers who cover subjects at stake in the election look at the positions of the candidates, the underlying issues ? and why it matters.

EDITOR'S NOTE _ An introduction to The Associated Press' "Why It Matters" series, which explores top issues confronting the nation in this presidential campaign season and their impact on Americans.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/words-deeds-why-election-matters-182002929--election.html

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ESPN college football guru Beano Cook dead at 81

PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Beano Cook, the college football commentator with an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport he dearly loved, has died.

The 81-year-old Boston native had worked for ESPN since 1986 and was the sports information director at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, from 1956 to 1966. The school announced Thursday that Cook had died in his sleep.

"He was one of a kind," ESPN executive chairman George Bodenheimer said. "There never was and never will be another Beano. His combination of humor, passion, love of college football and his engaging personality left an indelible mark on the sport and touched anyone who knew him."

Born Carroll H. Cook, he grew up in Pittsburgh before graduating from the university in 1954, and was known for his love of the college game and, in particular, championing the cause of northeastern teams including Penn State and Pitt before either school was a nationally known power.

"Beano Cook was an American original. His passion, depth and breadth of knowledge, and humor were unique," ESPN host Chris Fowler said. "He was an invaluable early mentor to me and friend. His imprint can still be seen on GameDay each week."

Cook, like many in the business, fell in love with simply being around the competition. With a career that took him so many places, it was hard not to get wrapped up in it.

"Getting to know the athletes really provided me with my fondest memories," Cook once said. "That was the most fun."

He said his favorites from his time working at Pitt were Mike Ditka, who went on to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and basketball star Don Hennon.

His wealth of knowledge about college football and memory for details made him an irresistible storyteller, as well a passionate pundit.

He wasn't always right, but he wasn't afraid to make bold pronouncements, such as when he predicted Notre Dame freshman quarterback Ron Powlus would win at least two Heisman trophies. Powlus never even won one, but Cook's prediction made him famous forever.

In recent years he was a frequent contributor on ESPN Radio and did a weekly podcast with ESPN college football writer Ivan Maisel.

He was an unapologetic defender of college football, while recognizing its warts, and wasn't shy about touting its superiority to the pro game.

"On Sundays they play for money," he once said. "On Saturdays they play for passion, for the love of the game. I think that's why it's our greatest sport."

Cook was ABC Sports' press director for the NCAA after leaving the SID job at Pitt, and later worked in as a writer or media representative for the St. Petersburg Times, Miami Dolphins, the Mutual Radio Network, and CBS before joining ESPN.

"Beano was a unique human being and he was college football at ESPN. I am indebted to him. Beano was a tremendous help at the start of my television career and I would not be where I am today without him," ESPN analyst Lee Corso said. "I am forever grateful to Beano and the time we spent behind the GameDay desk."

Cook received his distinctive nickname as a youth, when his family moved from Boston to Pittsburgh. A neighbor of the Cook family said, "Oh, from Boston, like the beans" and tabbed the 7-year-old "Beano."

Cook is fondly remembered at Pitt, where the media room in the Petersen Events Center is named after him.

"Beano left a legacy never to be matched. Not matched in accomplishment, wit or loyalty," Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson said. "Like so many others, it has been my privilege to be the beneficiary of Beano's counsel and friendship. He loved the University of Pittsburgh and his name is synonymous with all good things at Pitt.

"We all feel a tremendous void in our lives today."

Many in and around college football concurred on Thursday.

"It's a sad day for college football," Penn State coach Bill O'Brien said. "Especially in the state of Pennsylvania, where he was an icon."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/espn-college-football-guru-beano-cook-dead-81-164156482--spt.html

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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Tigers beat Royals 6-3 to clinch AL Central title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Miguel Cabrera had four hits, including a homer during a five-run sixth inning, and the Detroit Tigers held off the Kansas City Royals 6-3 Monday night to clinch the AL Central title.

Gerald Laird added a bases-loaded double, Rick Porcello (10-12) pitched shutout ball into the sixth inning and Jhonny Peralta went deep off Bruce Chen (11-14) to help Detroit reach the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 1934-35.

After hanging over the dugout railing the entire ninth inning, the Tigers streamed onto the field and behind the pitchers' mound to celebrate their accomplishment the moment Jose Valverde got Alcides Escobar to ground out to shortstop with a runner on second for his 35th save in 40 chances.

The Tigers (87-73) will have the worst record among AL division champions, which means they'll open the playoffs Saturday at home against the division winner with the second-best mark.

Not that when and where matters much to Jim Leyland's bunch.

They're just glad to be back in the playoffs.

After winning the division by 15 games last season, and signing Prince Fielder in the offseason, the Tigers entered spring training with lofty expectations. But they got off to a surprisingly slow start and languished below .500 in early July. Detroit was still well behind Chicago early last month.

The White Sox faltered, though, and the Tigers took advantage.

Now, with Cabrera making a run at baseball's first Triple Crown since 1967 and Justin Verlander in contention for a second straight Cy Young Award, Detroit is arguably the hottest team in the majors.

Right-hander Anibal Sanchez has been terrific down the stretch, Fielder and Austin Jackson are having big years at the plate, and the shoddy fielding that could have forced the Tigers to sit home in October has improved to the point that they'll be pressing on into the postseason.

The improved fielding was never more evident than in the fifth inning Monday night, when the Royals had loaded the bases. Escobar hit a hard grounder just to the side of second base, and Omar Infante made a nice glove-flip to Peralta covering the bag to end the inning.

The play allowed the Tigers to cling to a 1-0 lead, provided by Peralta's homer in the fifth inning, until they could tack on five more runs in the sixth.

Cabrera broke a tie with the Rangers' Josh Hamilton for the major league lead in homers with his 44th, a solo shot to right, and two fielding mistakes by David Lough in center led to another run.

Laird's bases-loaded double knocked Chen from the game, and effectively knocked the White Sox out of the playoffs, though they didn't do much to help themselves down the stretch.

Chicago beat the Indians 11-0 Monday night for just its third win in 13 games.

Meanwhile, the Tigers have won seven of their last eight as they surged to the division crown, including five straight against the Royals, who have dropped eight of their last nine.

Porcello kept the Royals off the scoreboard until the sixth, when Alex Gordon's homer to right field finally gave Kansas City some life. Leyland wasted no time lifting his right-hander, who'd done enough to end a string of six straight losses and pick up his first victory in nine starts.

Cabrera had singles in the fourth, seventh and ninth in addition to his homer in the sixth, pushing his AL-leading average to .329, ahead of the Angels' Mike Trout and the Twins' Joe Mauer. Cabrera also moved his astonishing RBI total to 137, by far the best in the majors.

Cabrera was only part of the party Monday night, though, slapping backs and exchanging high-fives with the rest of his teammates as Detroit locked up its place in the postseason.

He could be the center of the celebration when the regular season ends Wednesday night.

NOTES: Fielder also had four hits in the game. ... The Royals celebrated the 20th anniversary of George Brett's 3,000th hit, which occurred on Sept. 30, 1992. ... RHP Doug Fister will start for Detroit on Tuesday night against RHP Jeremy Guthrie of the Royals. ... 1B Eric Hosmer could miss the final two games of the season with a strained right shoulder, Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tigers-beat-royals-6-3-clinch-al-central-032442142--mlb.html

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Monday, October 1, 2012

HBT: Pirates guaranteed 20th straight sub-.500 season

Joel Hanrahan has been a rock in the closer?s role these last two seasons, but even he let the Pirates down today as the team completed its collapse.

The Reds scored twice in the bottom of the ninth Sunday to beat the Pirates 4-3, dropping Pittsburgh to 77-82 and locking up a 20th consecutive season below .500.

The Pirates peaked at 16 games over .500 on Aug. 6, but they?re now five games under. They?re 5-18 in their last 23 games.

Hanrahan was 36-for-39 saving games this year before giving up a game-tying homer to ex-Pirate Xavier Paul. He took his second loss after Zack Cozart doubled in pinch-runner Denis Phipps to give the Reds the lead.

The homer was Paul?s fifth in 461 major league at-bats. He hit two in 232 at-bats for Pittsburgh last year.

Cincinnati?s win pushed the team back into a tie with the Nationals for the best record in the National League at 96-63.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/30/pirates-drop-82nd-game-ensure-20th-straight-sub-500-season/related

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carolharrisonxy: Choosing Drupal for CMS Development Solutions ...

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Choosing Drupal for CMS Development Solutions

Drupal is a powerful content management system that allows businesses to manage, edit and organize website content with no technical knowledge and help. If you are planning to develop a CMS solution, you can consider choosing a Drupal development company for developing a robust Drupal solution.

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High Ticket Programs and How You Can Fit Them Into Your On-Line Business

No matter where you are in your on-line business, you can add programs that will give your clients what they want and need as well as create great income for yourself. This is true no matter what niche you are in or if you have no business experience. We take your passion and expertise and package it. It?s not rocket science I promise you!

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Bulk SMS ? 10 Powerful Ways You Can Use It to Make Huge Money in Your Business

If you?ve heard of bulk SMS and you?re unsure how to take advantage of it to make more money in your business, this article will open your eyes to ten ingenious ways you never knew existed! Please read on?

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