Sunday, February 28, 2010

10 Tips That’ll Make Your Website More Successful

1. Your Website Goals

Define the goals of your website. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the website’s purpose. If you don’t have a clear picture what your website is about, how should your customers? Do you want to sell producs, provide information or use it for marketing purposes?

2. Your Domain Name

Choose an easy to remember domain name that’s easy to spell. People should associate your domain name with your company. That doesn’t mean creativity is a no-no. Here´s an example:

If your company’s name is Tony Miller Shirts and you sell T-Shirts online, tonymiller.com might not be the best of all domain names for you. Unless you have a strong brand associated with “Tony Miller”, nobody will care about tonymiller.com and domain names like millertshirts.com or tonysshirts.com could be a much stronger asset for your company.

3. Your Design

Desiging a website by oneself is possible, though unless you really know what you’re doing, give this job to someone who actually earns a living creating brilliantly designed websites. It’ll pay off in the long run. Make sure your designer understands what your business is about and communicate your ideas. Most importantly, let them do what they can do best: handle the designing part of your website. You will get a great design and will save time and troubles.

A great source for good and competitively-priced designers is Sortfolio.com.

4. Your Logo

In most instances you web designer will also be able to create an awesome looking logo for your company. Again, make sure to communicate your ideas and possibly send him self-made drafts until you have the feeling he truly understands what you’re looking for. Be careful, a logo is like your domain name. Your customers should identify your business with the logo every time they see it. Your logo should be uniform across all your marketing material, may it be your website or business cards, be sure it has exactly the same design and colours. Why? Take a look at CI.

5. Your Content

Tell your customers not what you want to sell. Tell them why they should buy your products and why you are better than your competitors. Be sure that all your content is easy to understand. Give you customers as many information as you can provide. Don’t forget to list your phone number, email address and also you business address for more credibility you may want to get a Better Business Bureau online seal as well.

6. Testing

Test your website. How long does it take to load? Are your pages W3C valid? You can test it here. Be vary about too many images. They may look great, but no visitor has the patience to wait until they’re all loaded. If you want to get fancy, be sure to think about visitors that do not have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player installed, and the folks that didn’t even download it in the first place.

7. Social Media

Integrate widgets in your website. Use Facebook, Twitter and co. to promote you website. If you have running a blog, connect it with Twitter and Facebook. Social Media is an ongoing project. Read the messages from your twitter friends and the wall posts of your Facebook page. Social Media means to communicate and to communicate regularly.

8. Feedback

Do you have a contact form on your website? Give your customers the chance to contact you without calling you. Why? Many people are interested in your products but are shy to ask their questions via phone.

9. Search Engines and SEO

Add your website to all popular search engines like Yahoo!, Bing and Google. Give every page of your website a specific title and add your keywords in headers and in your content. Use Bing Webmasters, Yahoo SiteExplore and Google Webmaster Tools. This tools will show you how “visible” (aka search engine friendly) your website is.

10. Analyse your website

Add an analysis software like Google Analytics or Piwik to your website. They’re both free. So you can control the visits on your site. These reports provide you with essential information like page views and visits per day, the countries of your visitors, the time and location of your visitors and much more.

If you want to know more about Social Business Bank visit http://www.socialbusinessbank.com.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10552183-10-tips-thatll-make-your-website-more-successful.html

Saturday, February 27, 2010

New Jersey – Excellent Opportunities for Home Buyers

Westfield has 30,000 residents and is situated just 25 miles southwest of New York in proximity to the center of bustling Union County. Ever since the mid 1990’s when the town became a New Jersey Main Street community, it has been growing in line with the modern standards while keeping its original intergenerational and communal appeal thanks to the preservation of its cultural and architectural traditions.

Peter Jordan, a local relocated specialist and top producer for Prudential New Jersey Properties in Westfield since 2005, tells us more about the Westfield New Jersey real estate market and the town. Being among the top Westfield realtors he specializes in family relocation and has experience in corporate transferees and has published a large number of articles on all aspects of real estate.

The town has six elementary schools and is renowned for being a youth and adult recreation center with its various sports facilities. As Jordan described the town, “People who grew up here often move back as adults — to be near parents and to be parents themselves. It’s the kind of homey community where kids can safely ride their bikes and skateboards downtown, and you’ll see shoppers lingering at delis and ice-cream stands. The whole town kind of evokes a sort of Norman Rockwell kind of vibe.”

Thanks to the various development programs downtown Westfield has become a major business and retail venue with its office buildings and stores. Many multinational companies are represented there, which provides opportunities for smaller entrepreneurs. The town is well connected to New York by road and rail (the journey takes only 45 minutes) allowing its citizens even more employment options.

Peter Jordan explains that given the excellent characteristics of the town many people fall under the misconception that the Westfield real estate prices are high. The homes for sale in the 1 million as well as in the 2 and 3 million ranges are many, but market statistics reveal that there are more in the $400,000 to $800,000 range.

Jordan admits that the Westfield NJ real estate market has been affected by the economic downturn, but it is now on the track to recovery. The listing-service data he has shows that the sales in July 2009 were 42 while they were 37 in July 2006. However, the average price has fallen by 19% from $807,215 to $655,395. The 2009 tax bill for a property listed at $749,000 was $8,549.
As Jordan summarizes the situation on the Westfield New Jersey real estate market today, “If a house is nice and has a good price tag, it leaves the market very quick.” So, if you are looking for a home for sale in the community, his expertise will definitely be of help.

The realtor says, “My goal is to help simplify the home buying and selling process and minimize the stress many clients experience when relocating either to or from our area. I’m protective of my clients, maybe even overly so, and strive to insure their individual needs and interests are well-served.”

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10549922-living-in-westfield-new-jersey-excellent-opportunities-for-home-buyers.html

Friday, February 26, 2010

Millipore Corporation board under Investigation

An investigation on behalf of current long term shareholders in Millipore Corporation (Public, NYSE:MIL) over potential breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law in connection with a potential unfair takeover were announced.

Those who are currently a long term investor in shares of Millipore Corporation (Public, NYSE:MIL) and those who have additional information relating the investigations, have certain options and should contact the Shareholders Foundation at:

mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or at: +1 (858) 779 – 1554

The investigations by law firms focus on whether the Board of Directors of Millipore Corporation (NYSE: MIL) will breach its fiduciary duty to its shareholders and violate other state law related to reports that the Millipore Board of Directors will agree to sell Millipore Corp to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for approximately $90.00 per share. On February 22, 2010 according to Bloomberg News cited a unnamed source close to the situation that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc made an unsolicited takeover offer of about $6 billion for Millipore. Later on Monday afternoon Dow Jones Newswires reported that a spokeswoman for Thermo Fisher Scientific said the takeover offer for Millipore (NYSE:MIL) are "definitely a rumor". She declined to comment further. Thus Millipore won't confirm or knock down whether is actually in negotiation to buy Millipore.

According to one investigation by a law firm a proposed “transaction would appear to be unfair” to current investors of Millipore Corporation (NYSE:MIL) because an “offer to purchase Millipore Corporation (MIL) at $90.00 per share appears opportunistically timed to take advantage of the current economic downturn” and would be “grossly unfair, inadequate, and substantially below the fair or inherent value of MIL”.

Shares of Millipore Corporation (MIL) surge 37% to over $102 per share after the announcement and recently traded at $90.10 per share. MIL shares traded at $71.40 per share before the news, and reached in 2008 $76.11 per share, and in 2007 almost $82 per share. Millipore Corporation reported in 2007 Total Revenue of $1.53156billion with a Net Income of $136.47million, in 2008 Total Revenue of $1.60214billion with a Net Income of $137.6million, and in 2009 Total Revenue of $1.65441billion with a Net Income of $177million.

The investigation “concerns whether the Millipore Corp. Board of Directors breaches their fiduciary duties to Millipore Corporation (Public, NYSE:MIL) shareholders if they agree to sell Millipore Corp (NYSE:MIL)”, “whether the directors of Millipore Corporation will breach their fiduciary duties by not acting in Millipore Corporation (MIL) shareholders' best interests”, and “the Company may not have adequately shop itself around before entering into this transaction and, pursuant to a proposed transaction, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc may be underpaying for Millipore Corporation (NYSE:MIL), thus unlawfully harm MIL shareholders”.

Millipore Corporation, located in Billerica, MA, is a life science company. The Company provides products and services that help its academic, biotechnology and pharmaceutical customers advance their research, development and production. Its products and services help customers increase their speed and improve their consistency while saving costs in laboratory applications and in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

On investigation calls a deal even “suspicious because it appears from a review of the Company's financial statements that the inherent value of the Company's stock is greater than $90.00 per share, because at least one analyst has set a target price for the stock of $115 per share, and also because it appears that the Company's Board of Directors has failed to shop the Company to other potential buyers, such as General Electric, to assure that the shareholders receive the best possible price for their shares.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10547168-millipore-corporation-board-under-investigation.html

Thursday, February 25, 2010

The 7 Mistakes People Make That Kill Their Business

As a business starts to grow, it’s crucial that your actions don’t strangle it in its infancy.

By avoiding the mistakes that so many business owners make you have a far greater chance of succeeding beyond the first 2 years.

Hilary Briggs is a management consultant with over 20 years of industrial experience having held senior management positions at Rover Group, Whirlpool Corporation and The Laird Group plc, where she was Managing Director of the Group’s German-based Car Body Sealing Division. Hilary is also chairman of the Central London group for the Academy for Chief Executives.

In her experience working with many business owners from a variety of sectors she has identified seven key mistakes that business owners make again and again and that often lead to the death of their company;

1. Doing Too Much Yourself

2. You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know (i.e. A Lack Of Skills And/Or Knowledge)

3. Growing Too Quickly Before Your Model Is Proven

4. You Haven’t Got Anyone To Bounce Ideas Off

5. Bringing In The Wrong People

6. Lack of self awareness

7. Staying in the comfort zone

By avoiding, at least to some degree, these seven common mistakes your business has a far greater chance of not just surviving but thriving! Take a look at each of these areas and ask yourself some tough questions, and be honest! Your answers and the resulting actions you take could make all the difference to your future wealth and happiness.

Hilary Briggs has helped many businesses work through these questions and make changes that have turned their businesses around.


Editors Notes:
The above points can be explained in more detail; looking at the problem and what it causes and the solution and how to implement it.
Hilary Briggs is available for interview, comment and articles. Hilary is able to write a full artile based on the above with more detail. Case studies are also available.

Please contact Chantal Cooke at PR Demystified on 020 8544 0091 / Chantal@prdemystified.com

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10547301-the-7-mistakes-people-make-that-kill-their-business.html

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Sustainable Green Meetings - A Plan of Action

The Meeting Industry’s impact on our environment is so substantial that just a few course corrections would make a great difference. From energy consumption and its related harmful emissions to the unfathomable waste, sustainable changes must be made.

Take responsibility and become a leader in sustainable green meeting planning and implementation. Green meetings will not only reduce the environmental impact, they will leave a positive and lasting impression on the participants, organizers, service providers and community as a whole. And they may even cost less.

Here are tips to help make your next meeting environmentally and socially responsible.

1. Establish environmental goals. Examples: Decrease the amount of solid waste produced. Reduce the energy and water consumed. Minimize or off-set harmful emissions from transportation and energy consumed associated with the event. Establish a recycling plan and calculate waste diverted from a landfill.

2. Create a “Green” check list for exhibitors. Identify issues that will allow exhibitors the opportunity to improve upon display, travel, shipping, handouts, promotional products, etc. Acknowledge those exhibitors who go above and beyond. Share success stories and explain how their actions made a difference. Create an eco award for exhibitors.

3. Reduce travel for attendees and speakers. Choose venues and hotels that are close to major airports. Be sure to have hotels located within walking distance to the venues. Offer rideshare programs and information on easy access to public transportation.

4. Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. Insist your meeting venues and hotels provide visible and easily accessible reduction, reuse and recycling services. “If disposable, make responsible”. Encourage zero waste products such as biodegradable and compostable sugarcane plates & PLA (corn based) cold cups and biodegradable cutlery. Replace landfill destined water cups and individual bottled water with water stations and compostable cups or reusable drinkware. Encourage the use of reusable BPA free drinkware such as stainless water bottles or USA made recycled eco water bottles.

5. Reduce or eliminate small individual consumption products. Food and beverage service providers often have access to bulk dispensers for cream/milk for coffee, sugar, salt, pepper and other condiments. Explore composting as an option.

6. Be responsible with your promotional products. Make sure to choose items that are useful, reusable and reduce the use of non-rapidly renewable resources. Stay away from gimmicky items that will end up in a landfill. Consider “tools” to encourage energy and water conservation. Examples include the USB eco energy button, recycled 5-minute shower timer and USA made recycled magnets featuring your company’s logo and information along with environmental tips.

7. Choose a hotel in tune with sustainability. It’s now common for hotels to allow guest to choose not to change towels and sheets daily. Some hotels have low flow toilets, use ENERGY STAR compliant electronics, and clean with green certified products. There are now selections of Green Seal Certified Hotels. When booking your hotel find out their sustainability policy and procedures. See how they may help you to behave in a more sustainable way.

8. Choose local, healthy and even organic food choices. Check with the local catering to see if they can utilize locally grown seasonal produce. Make sure food is fresh and provide vegetarian meal choices along with non-vegetarian.

9. Be responsible regarding printed materials. Instead of printed materials, follow up with electronic transfer of documents or put materials onto flash drives. There are now great bamboo USB flash drives, recycled paper USB jump drives or USB’s made with recycled plastic casings. Make sure they are RoHS compliant (Restriction of Hazardous Substances for electronic and electrical goods.) meaning lead free. If printing, print on both sides of at least 30% post consumer waste recycled paper.

10. Save energy. Coordinate with management to make sure lights are turned off when a room is not in use. Make sure the rooms are comfortable; however, go easy on the air conditioning. (How about recommending to the venue that they use low energy bulbs such as compact florescent or even better, LED?)

11. Brand yourself responsibly. A very useful, reusable way to promote your brand is by wearing stylish, eco friendly clothing with your organization’s logo clearly embellished on the garment. There is now, more than ever, fashionable clothing made from recycled water bottles, or rapidly renewable resources. Great choices also include certified organic cotton shirts or soybean Polo shirts. Work under the premise that you are the face of your organization. Why not represent your brand responsibly and in style?

12. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Highlight your green motivation before, during and after your events. Share your knowledge. Get testimonials from attendees. Publish your successes. Your efforts will become contagious.

If this seems overwhelming, narrow your scope and select two or three new practices and build on their success. Develop a “greening your events” strategy. Be sure to establish a level of commitment in your organization from the top down. Successful implementation often starts from a strong commitment level and a focused plan of attack.

Click here, for a well thought out checklist from IACC (International Association of Conference Centers) http://www.iacconline.org/content/files/CodeSustainabili ...
Don’t be caught playing catch-up. Green Meeting Standards are coming. Efforts led by the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), GMIC (Green Meetings Industry Council) and ASTM International are in the final stages of passing the standards. Projected date of approval is scheduled by June of 2010.

For more smart and sustainable ways to green your next meeting, please contact Eco Promotional Products, Inc. at 877.326.9467 or visit http://www.ecopromotionsonline.com

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10545410-sustainable-green-meetings-plan-of-action.html

Mitsubishi Motors Launches RVR New Compact Crossover

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation launched its all-new compact crossover RVR went at Mitsubishi dealerships throughout Japan on February 17. The RVR is an ideal compact crossover which achieves superior utility and running performance, excellent environmental efficiency (all models qualify for the Japanese domestic eco-car tax reduction), and a refined interior and exterior in a compact size at an accessible price (1,785,000 - 2,449,650 yen, consumption tax included).

The new RVR provides outstanding fuel efficiency from its lightweight, compact body. With the panoramic field of view of an SUV, the RVR is easy to drive and provides turn-on-a-dime maneuverability. The vehicle is the ideal compact crossover, with ample luggage space for every application from daily driving to leisure outings.

The power train combines a 1.8-liter, 16-valve DOHC MIVEC(1) engine with an INVECS(2) - III sport mode 6-speed CVT. The vehicle features a regenerative braking system(3) (high-efficiency electric power generation control), electric power steering, improved aerodynamics and other low-fuel consumption technologies down to fine detail, resulting in a 75% reduction from the Japanese FY 2005 emissions gas standards and exceeding the FY 2010 fuel efficiency requirements by 15%. All models qualify for the Japanese eco-car tax reduction (50% tax reduction to promote the popularization of environmentally-friendly cars).

The RVR also incorporates super-wide HID headlights which provide a wide, ultra-bright beam for safe night driving, a panoramic glass roof (with LED illumination) for a sense of spaciousness during the day and a romantic ambiance at night, and push-button ignition. The vehicle has a refined and sporty interior with a black color scheme, silver highlights, and smooth, soft padding.

The RVR is equipped with an advanced in-car entertainment including a terrestrial digital TV tuner HDD navigation system and a "link system" with USB, Bluetooth and other connections for music players and other external devices.

(1) Mitsubishi Innovative Valve-timing Electronic Control
(2) Intelligent and Innovative Vehicle Electronic Control System
(3) Intensive battery charging of the electricity generated during deceleration (regenerative braking). The stored energy is used until it is consumed during idling and running, without electricity generation. This system contributes to higher fuel efficiency because the burden on the engine is decreased from not running the alternator while the stored energy is consumed.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10542097-mitsubishi-motors-launches-rvr-new-compact-crossover.html

Monday, February 22, 2010

Easy To Get Oil and Gas Jobs

The oil and gas jobs industry is always seeking for new proficient. This is a trade for devoted employees that wish to work hard get a good remuneration. There are also outstanding benefits and enduring careers in the oil and gas jobs industry.

First of all explore worldwide for gas and oil job posts. There are many oil and gas jobs in united kingdom available across the world. Such jobs are concentrated in some areas like many African countries such as Nigeria the United States of America, Angola and many more places across the world. Gas and oil companies have grouped enormous communities near their every location so that recruiters can live at ease even in a third world nation.

oil and gas Job search websites – Visit the job search siteshttp://oil-and-gas-jobs.blogspot.com/ that are specific to the field that you are hunting for. Go to the sites providing oil and gas jobs specifically. These websites are targeted to the available oil and gas engineer jobs industry. Various oil companies post their jobs on oil and gas industry particular job-hunting websites.

Go through byjob seeking websites that roll all available oil and gas jobs. You might be able to get a available job post in the gas and oil industry. Check with a recruiter, who specializes in professional the gas and oil industry, they will be the most supportive in getting you the desired job.If you get the job through them, ensure that they do correspond to the legit company. If those recruiters have a good repport with gas and oil companies, there is a much superior chance of getting the job as per your desire, however if the corporation claims that they do not have any such recruiter or that they never worked with that recruiters ,it means that employers are not legitimate.

Go straight away to the corporation that you feel like working for and ensure their human resources section and their website for new oil & gas jobs. The big reputed oil companies generally post their jobs on such websites and If you actually want to enter into the oil and gas industry, you might wish to begin with any position that you can get a hold on, because in the gas industry you can lift up easily.
please go to http://oil-and-gas-jobs.blogspot.com/

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10541322-easy-to-get-oil-and-gas-jobs.html

Sunday, February 21, 2010

How Yahoo-Microsoft deal will work

The 10-year deal, struck last July, is the biggest effort yet by Microsoft to establish an online business to rival Google, an area where Microsoft has lost $5 billion over the last four years.

The Justice Department's Antitrust Division said the deal was unlikely to substantially lessen competition.

US market participants had expressed support for the partnership as a way to create a more viable alternative to Google, the division said in a statement.
http://us.travelchacha.com/india-holidays/

Google, which did not oppose the partnership, did not comment specifically on the regulatory approval but said that there has always been "robust" competition in the search ad business.

How the deal works
The deal means Bing becomes the search engine for Microsoft and Yahoo sites, while Yahoo focuses on attracting big advertisers.

Microsoft will handle the automated auction of search ads for use on both companies' sites, and pay Yahoo a portion of search ad sales generated on Yahoo pages.

Microsoft is hoping that by making itself a single conduit for advertisers to access customers on both sites, it will become a credible alternative to Google.

Last month Yahoo handled 17 percent of US Internet searches, while Microsoft took 11.3 percent, according to comScore. Theoretically, that would now give Microsoft over 28 percent of search traffic, against Google's 65.4 percent.
http://www.travelchacha.com/hotels.asp

"At 30 points we are now a credible option, so that number matters," said Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi, who is charged with making Bing and the MSN portal a financial success.

Globally, Google is even more dominant, with 90 percent of the search market compared with 7.4 percent for a combined Yahoo and Bing, according to November data from Web research firm StatCounter.

Fully complete early 2012
The Microsoft-Yahoo deal was broadly expected to gain approval, but some had thought the companies might have to alter the deal's terms.

The partnership took months to hammer out last year. It followed Microsoft's aborted $47.5 billion Yahoo takeover attempt the year before. Google abandoned its own advertising deal with Yahoo in 2008, which Microsoft opposed, under pressure from the US Justice Department.

Approval means Microsoft can begin the task of putting its Bing search engine into Yahoo sites. Neither company has laid out exactly how Yahoo's new search pages will look, but they will essentially be Bing searches with some customization of results by Yahoo.

The companies aim to get the partnership fully operational in the United States by the end of this year, with the transition of advertisers taking place before the holiday shopping season, if possible. The partnership should be globally complete by early 2012.

The deal had already been cleared by regulators in Australia, Brazil and Canada, but needed US and European approval to take effect. The companies said they are still working with regulators in Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10540601-how-yahoo-microsoft-deal-will-work.html

Saturday, February 20, 2010

New Look for Subzero Constructors

Rancho Santa Margarita, California – Ware Malcomb’s (www.waremalcomb.com) graphic design studio wm | graphics was hired by Subzero Constructors (www.szero.com), a leading contractor for the refrigerated storage industry. wm | graphics provided marketing and graphic design services to Subzero Constructors including marketing competitive analysis, logo, stationery system, emailer template and ad design.

“We are very excited about our 2010 rebranding campaign as well our increased marketing efforts. Our new imaging has drawn a lot of compliments from our customers and vendors. I think it reflects how we are thriving through the current recession. We look forward to working with the wm team throughout 2010 to fully execute our new plan of attack from a marketing standpoint” shares Dean Soll, President of Subzero Constructors.

About Subzero Constructors, Inc. (www.szero.com)
SubZero Constructors, Inc. provides design, engineering and construction services to the food, beverage and pharmaceutical distribution and process markets across the United States. The company specializes in construction of the thermal envelope and industrial refrigeration systems that keep products cold, and helps businesses run efficiently.

About Ware Malcomb (www.waremalcomb.com)
Ware Malcomb’s graphic design studio wm | graphics offers the following design services: branding, logo, brochure, digital marketing, website, multi-media, and environmental graphics, including branded environments, interior and exterior signage. For more information contact Debra Smith, Studio Manager, Graphic Design at 949.660.9128 or dsmith@waremalcomb.com

In addition to graphic design services, Ware Malcomb offers planning, architecture, interior design, and site development services to corporate and commercial clients. We specialize in the design of commercial office, industrial, technology, healthcare, retail, auto dealerships, public/institutional, educational facilities and renovation projects. Founded in 1972, Ware Malcomb has 11 office locations throughout the United States, Toronto, Canada and Panama City, Panama.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10540381-new-look-for-subzero-constructors.html

Friday, February 19, 2010

An Email Solution to Marketing

The marketing field has been revolutionized over the past 10 years. Social networking, the Internet and unconventional methods of understanding the market place are all open questions. The weapon of choice for most modern businesses is email marketing. the question as to why is rather clear.

Email is definitely the best mode to conduct business. Snail mail is too expensive and time consuming. It is advantageous for smart businesses to develop email marketing campaigns. This will generate more business and retain ones customers as well.

Email Marking is the way of the present and immediate future. Businesses are smart to develop intelligent approaches to impact their customers. The main reasons for email marketing are: The ability to survey , develop newsletters and evaluate ones campaign makes a huge difference in ones overall effectiveness.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10537287-an-email-solution-to-marketing.html

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Loyalty 360 Announces Strategic Relationship with Motorola

Loyalty 360 - The Loyalty Marketer’s Association, today announced Motorola as the newest member to its association. This new relationship will allow Motorola and Loyalty 360 to collaboratively engage on loyalty market opportunities, share best practices in the loyalty marketing space and deliver best-in-class solutions to the retail industry

Motorola’s recently announced Mobile Loyalty Solution is the retail industry’s most comprehensive managed service that enables retailers to foster a more personal relationship with their customers and digitize store-branded membership cards on customers’ mobile phones. This new offering is compatible with the majority of mobile phones in the U.S. market today and provides customers with a more convenient shopping experience, including access to the best offers and discounts on products that interest them.

“As a customer focused think-tank and clearinghouse of new technologies, best practices and cutting-edge loyalty marketing ideas, joining Loyalty 360 offers Motorola more opportunities to interact and engage with retailers to hear first-hand what they need and want to deliver relevant, value-add solutions,” said Dana Warszona, global lead for the m-commerce portfolio within Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions division.

“Motorola’s market-driven approach to developing its loyalty, in-store and mobile marketing platforms is completely in sync with the customer-focused vision upon which Loyalty 360 was created,” says Mark Johnson, CEO of Loyalty 360. “Their customers demanded mobile, flexible customer service options and Motorola responded with solutions that will enhance satisfaction, engender customer loyalty, and drive sustainable results.”

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10536436-loyalty-360-announces-strategic-relationship-with-motorola.html

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Developer Acquires 32 Lots in El Sobrante, CA

San Ramon, California based residential land developer Americap Development Partners recently announced the acquisition of thirty-two lots located in El Sobrante, California. The project, Colina Canyon, had become a causality of the past few years’ real estate woes and was languishing on the books of a large national bank until it was discovered by Americap Development Partners’ President, Mark Rowson.

“We have been working on this deal for over a year now,” Rowson explained. “We believe in Colina Canyon, and in the viability of El Sobrante as a Bay Area submarket. The original developer had the misfortune of acquiring the project at the peak of the market, and due to current market conditions we were able to make this acquisition well below replacement cost.”

Acquisitions below replacement cost are a key component of Americap Development Partners’ current acquisition strategy, which focuses on discounted acquisitions in key Northern California submarkets. Americap’s CEO, Scott Clark was recently quoted as saying that America "needs 1.2 million new units per year for the next 10 years just due to population growth, to address the inevitable pent-up demand. We want to acquire and aggregate a significant number of mapped and finished lots to be ready for demand as the market returns.”

Americap Development Partners will complete Colina Canyon’s infrastructure by July of this year, and looks forward to bringing the community online to meet the local need for new housing.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10533900-developer-acquires-32-lots-in-el-sobrante-ca.html

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Milton Kirby Elected Chairman

As the chairman of the Transportation & Logistics Industry Group (TLG), Milton Kirby wants to increase the visibility, capacity, capability and sustainability of the group members.

Kirby, president and CEO of Allied Logistics, Inc., takes the helm of TLG as his industry faces one of its most challenging years.

The GMSDC is a non-profit organization established in 1975 as a regional office of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. The GMSDC is one of the largest of 39 Councils nationwide. The GMSDC has the largest number of certified and ethnically mixed MBEs in the Southeast region, it is comprised of a network of corporate members and certified minority business enterprises.

“We exist to educate and provide shared opportunities amongst ourselves as suppliers to one another or as partners to users of our services”. Our success will be measured by how well we perform in three key performance areas. 1) Providing a good educational component offered either by a member addressing us, or a guest speaker either from industry or related significant interested party. 2) Providing access to and assistance with business opportunities. 3) Sharing of opportunities which would be of interest to others regardless of whether the person bringing the opportunity can participate, Kirby said.

At the end of the day, our goal is to educate, support, and assist others and ourselves by jointly sharing knowledge and best practices.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10531592-milton-kirby-elected-chairman.html

Monday, February 15, 2010

Afribiz Introduces Monthly Coverage of African Stock Markets

According to the International Monetary Fund, global economic growth will get close to 4% this year. This means investors will be looking for additional opportunities for growth, including stock assets.

While investors have been pouring investments into BRIC, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa will not only draw attention to the sport, but to the continent as a whole. This includes business and investment opportunities.

To respond to the growing interest in African stock markets, Afribiz started 2010 with an information series called, “A Picture of the African Capital Markets.” Reader response indicated a hunger for more information, so today we launch the monthly information tool called the “AfriStock Monthly Snapshot.”

Each month the “AfriStock Monthly Snapshot” will cover the movements in the major African stock market indices. It will also include special topics on different sectors and countries active in the African stock markets.

The inaugural piece outlines the performance of the major African stock markets. It also touches on the economic growth pattern of Africa as whole compared to other global regions like Asia, as well as the economic growth pattern for several African countries for the last decade, including Ethiopia, Angola, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

The lead contributor for the “AfriStock Monthly Snapshot” is Hartmut Sieper of Trans Africa Invest located in Germany. Sieper is an experienced investment banker with a focus on African investment and business portfolios. Sieper is also the author of “Investing in Africa,” which was first released in German in 2009 and will be released in English-speaking markets in 2010. He also advises a Luxembourg-based, open-end, Pan-African mutual fund.

Sieper says, “part of the lack of investment in Africa results from inadequate and inappropriate coverage of Africa. With the Afribiz monthly contribution, we hope to provide the broad global audience with regular information on the ‘real’ Africa.”

About Afribiz

Afribiz is a “new economy” communication and community ecosystem focused on promoting increased economic opportunity and successful trade between Africa and the world, as well as between African countries. The driving factor is to support broad-based economic development through for-profit enterprise based on open, inclusive markets.

The ecosystem includes provisioning of information, intelligence, and insights about business and investments in Africa. Afribiz uses web, multimedia, print, radio and TV platforms to interact with the public and its members. It is a key brand of BizConcierge PTY LTD of South Africa.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10529293-afribiz-introduces-monthly-coverage-of-african-stock-markets.html

Saturday, February 13, 2010

How Companies Can Bounce Back Quickly

Motivational speaker Scott Love believes that companies can bounce back quickly if they follow a certain model of resilience. According to Love, who some say is America's 'Bounce Back' Expert, executives and senior leaders first have to re-frame the way they see their current situations.

"We all look through a lens when we see a problem. Some people use a lens of adversity and others use a lens of opportunity. You can change lenses by simply asking yourself different questions".

Love says that the first question executives must ask their core team is this: How can we use this situation to our advantage? "I've seen companies who are stuck in a hole for weeks and all of a sudden are able to find opportunities with the snap of a finger. It can really be that quick" Sometimes Love will spend just a day in an office of a client that will yield long-term change. "They don't have to hire me for a three month consulting project. I'll help them come up with ideas that the team can implement on their own. That's what I love the most about what I do, giving companies intellectual capital that they can infuse in their teams, and most of the time they already know what they need to do. They just need someone from the outside to dust it off and illuminate their solutions that are right in front of them".

Love's consulting and speaking practice keeps him busy these days. "Companies can't sit back and wait for the economy to heat up if they want to stay competitive. They have to be proactive and take advantage of opportunities NOW. And the simple concept of changing lenses through question-asking is a good first step to moving forward".

Love offers free videos and articles for managers and sales people on his website http://www.HowToBounceBack.com. In addition to in-office consulting, he speaks on 'bouncing back' at corporate sales meetings, trade association conventions, and business conferences.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10531564-how-companies-can-bounce-back-quickly.html

Friday, February 12, 2010

DiMora Develops First Production Electric Jet Ski

Palm Springs, California – DiMora Eco Watercraft, the newest affiliate of the growing DiMora transportation empire, is about to open up thousands of lakes and waterways worldwide for water recreation enthusiasts. Its new line of high performance, 100 percent electric, battery-powered jet skis will produce no pollution and be far quieter than traditional gasoline-engine craft. These features will overcome the two main objections that limit jet ski acceptance in countless recreation areas.

In announcing the new company, Founder and CEO Sir Alfred J. DiMora noted his personal excitement about the opportunity to bring environmental consciousness to this sport. “There is a growing awareness in most of the world that we need to plan all aspects of our technological development with a view toward the long-term sustainability of our planet’s resources.”

DiMora went on to say, “This does not mean that we have to give up all of the pleasures of life. Instead, we should rethink the technology involved to create a thrilling experience on the water while we minimize our adverse impact on the environment. The key is a open-minded search for innovations that allow us to meet both objectives.”

The Stealth jet ski carries four passengers in a body made largely from high-strength lava rock using techniques pioneered by DiMora Motorcar. It features solar panels to power systems and recharge batteries. High-intensity underwater LEDs provide light for nighttime recreation and to explore beneath the jet ski. GPS navigation and a high-power music and video entertainment system are standard.

Refreshments can be carried aboard the removable cooler, and the onboard canopy may be raised for shade. A rear-mounted camera and dashboard display allow the driver to check the safety of water-skiers pulled by the jet ski.

Returning to the decision to make the Stealth all electric, DiMora noted that “Fossil fuels are a limited resource with related ecological problems. Electricity is increasingly being generated with earth-friendlier systems such as solar panels and wind turbines, so it is feasible and logical to base our recreation systems on renewable electricity rather than gasoline.”

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10529950-dimora-develops-first-production-electric-jet-ski.html

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Stryker Corporation Long Term Investor Alert: Investigation

An investor in Stryker Corporation (Public, NYSE:SYK) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) between January 25, 2007 and November 13, 2008. Meanwhile an investigation on behalf of current long term shareholders in Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) concerning possible mismanagement was announced.

If you are a current long term investor in common stock of Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK), you have certain options you should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc at:

mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or at: +1 (858) 779 – 1554

A Stryker Corporation investor has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that Stryker and certain of its officers and executives violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by failing between January 25, 2007 and November 13, 2008, to disclose material adverse facts about its true financial condition, business and prospects.
Stryker Corporation, located in Kalamazoo, MI, is a medical technology company with a range of products in orthopaedics and a presence in other medical specialties. The Company's products include implants used in joint replacement, trauma, craniomaxillofacial and spinal surgeries; biologics; surgical, neurologic, ear, nose and throat and interventional pain equipment; endoscopic, surgical navigation, communications and digital imaging systems; as well as patient handling and emergency medical equipment. Stryker Corporation reported in 2007 Total Revenue of $6.0005billion with a Net Income of $1.147.80million and in 2008 Total Revenue $6.7182billion with a Net Income of $986.7million. Shares of Stryker Corporation (SYK) traded recently at $56.03 per share, down from $66.89 per share in Aug 08, $72.26 per share in Jan 08, and almost $76 per share in 2007.
Then on November 13, 2008, during an investor conference hosted by Credit Suisse, Stryker announced that it was still losing revenues and customers as a result of a January 2008 hip product recall. Following these statements Stryker common declined 23% closing at $36.11 per share on November 20, 2008.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10527773-stryker-corporation-long-term-investor-alert-investigation.html

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

March Webcast on New Lean Six Sigma Belt Certification Standard

On March 10, 2010, MoreSteam.com, the leader in online Lean Six Sigma training and support technology, will host an unprecedented live Webcast to discuss the need for a rigorous, third-party global certification standard for Lean Six Sigma. The candid, one-hour conversation will center on the new certification standards published in 2010 by the Center for Operational Excellence (COE) at The Ohio State University. Three speakers, representing the viewpoints of academia, business, and training providers, will discuss how the new COE standards will benefit individual Lean Six Sigma practitioners, corporate deployments, and those who wish to hire external Belts.

Quality without a standard is a double standard. Lean Six Sigma, an enduring and accepted process improvement methodology, still has no globally accepted standard of belt certification. This situation is generally attributed to the lack of a global governing body and consensus around the basic criteria required to certify practitioners. The proliferation of schools, organizations, and training providers that now offer belt certification has led to wide variation in assessment criteria, leaving hiring managers and deployment leaders skeptical of external certification. Consequently, corporate leaders have addressed the absence of a standard by building their own equally varied array of in-house certification processes.

In the past year, the Center for Operational Excellence (COE) at The Ohio State University has worked with a council of academic faculty, industry leaders, and member companies to develop a common, robust, objective, and accessible operational definition for "what is a Lean Six Sigma Belt". This rigorous, third-party standard, which reflects the most common scope of industry expectations, is now available for public use, with the goal of bringing greater uniformity and value to the Black Belt and Green Belt certification process. The Center for Operational Excellence does not provide certifications, only a published standard. The standard is available on the COE Web site: http://fisher.osu.edu/centers/coe/lean-six-sigma-black-b ....

This one-hour program Webcast will feature three speakers: Peg Pennington, Executive Director of The Center for Operational Excellence at Ohio State University, Rachel Lane, Associate Vice President, Business Excellence at Nationwide, and Bill Hathaway, Founder and CEO of MoreSteam.com. The session will include a discussion on the current state of belt certification practices, the need for an impartial standard, what are the new COE Six Sigma Certification Standards, and how the new standards will better support Lean Six Sigma deployments. The event will conclude with an open forum for participants’ questions, comments, and feedback.

Webcast attendees will receive a free PDF of the “iSixSigma Certification Survey.” This survey, referenced in the Webcast, was originally published in the May/June 2008 issue of iSixSigma Magazine. Those who wish to register for this free online event can learn more at: http://www.moresteam.com/morenews/webcast031010.cfm.

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10528004-march-webcast-on-new-lean-six-sigma-belt-certification-standard.html

Monday, February 8, 2010

Georgia CEOs Compete to Bring Books to Children

The CEOs and Presidents of Georgia's top universities and corporations are doing battle this month, and the "friendly fire" will benefit children across the state. This competition does not happen on a football field or a basketball court; it happens on the Internet in support of a program that brings joy as well as literacy skills to young children.

In March of this year, The Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy will celebrate its 10th anniversary of introducing children to the wonderful world of books and helping prepare them for school. The presidents of The University of Georgia, Georgia State University and Georgia Institute of Technology and favorite enterprises have stepped forward and challenged their students, colleagues, alumni, clients, employees and friends to take on the challenge of being declared the Favorite Reader as well as raising funds to help the Ferst Foundation expand its reach into more communities in Georgia.

The Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy (FFCL) began with 1,000 children in Morgan County, Georgia, through the efforts of Robin Ferst, who modeled her program on the Imagination Library initiative begun by musician and philanthropist Dolly Parton in Tennessee. The program sends age-appropriate books directly to the home of each registered child from birth until the age of five.

The FFCL strives to improve early learning opportunities for every Georgia child. Robin Ferst, an Atlanta businesswoman and philanthropist, began the organization with the philosophy that any child who cannot read is at-risk and the best way to ensure success in school is to encourage reading at home from an early age. Through her efforts and the support of a growing number of individuals and community partners (Community Action Teams or CATs), the Foundation over the last 10 years has sent more than 1.7 million books to over 90,000 Georgia pre-school children in 70 counties.

"Reading is vital to success in school and in life," Foundation President Robin Ferst says. And these CEOs/Presidents agree -"Literacy is the key to success and begins in the home. Parents should read to their children every day beginning when a baby is just a few months old," these advocates assert, and the Ferst Foundation works to ensure that there are quality, age-appropriate books in every child's home.

To celebrate the program's success and promote awareness, the Ferst Foundation, with its corporate partners, have launched the First Annual For the Love of Reading Battle for Childhood Literacy. FFCL has recruited top executives from across Georgia to participate in this friendly competition highlighting one of the easiest ways to improve a child's school preparedness -- reading to him or her daily.

The CEOs were recently videotaped reading a favorite children's book to a group of youngsters. The videos will be posted on the Ferst Foundation web site (www.ferstfoundation.org) and visitors to the site are asked to vote for their favorite video and in support of their favorite CEO. Individuals watch the videos and then vote once per day for free and as many times as they want with a $3.00 contribution to the Foundation which will go to support more books sent to the homes of Georgia children.

Participating CEOs (Presidents) include:

University Presidents:

Dr. Michael F. Adams - President, The University of Georgia

Dr. Michael P. Becker - President, Georgia State University

Dr. G. P. "Bud" Peterson - President, Georgia Institute of Technology
Chief Executive Officers:


Mr. John F. Brock - Chairman and CEO, Coca-Cola Enterprises

Mr. J. Randall Carroll - Vice Chairman, Bank of North Georgia, CEO, Bank of Coweta
Mr. David Murphy - President and CEO, BetterWorldBooks


Ms. Alicia Phillip - with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

Mr. Elton Potts - Group President and COO, Recall Corporation
Mr. Gary Price - Managing Partner, PriceWaterhouseCoopers


To "vote" in the CEO competition, make a donation to the FFCL or for more information about the work of the Ferst Foundation, visit the web site at www.ferstfoundation.org.

To interview FFCL President, Robin Ferst, contact her at 404-355-9935 or robin@ferstfoundation.org

Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy focuses on assisting local communities to provide Dolly Parton's Imagination Library books and family literacy support materials at no charge to children from birth to 5 years of age throughout Georgia. Ferst Foundation's program provides a unique opportunity for us all to invest in the education of young Georgians. A small investment of only $36/child per year can have a huge economic impact on the future workforce of the State. Ferst Foundation for Childhood Literacy

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10522279-georgia-georgia-ceos-compete-to-bring-books-to-children.html

Friday, February 5, 2010

Hard-hitting Year Ahead For Print Media And Radio

Increasing investment in social media, mobile marketing, email marketing and search will fuel a 17 per cent surge in digital marketing spending this year, as marketers migrate budgets from television, print and radio. ExactTarget, the on-demand email and one-to-one marketing specialist worked in conjunction with Econsultancy, the digital publishing and training group, to conduct a survey of over 1000 company and agency marketers around the globe.

The outlook for offline channels is much less favourable than its digital competitors, where 28 per cent of marketers will shift their overall marketing budgets towards digital in 2010.In contrast, the research depicts a healthier outlook for the burgeoning digital marketing industry, with 66 per cent of companies increasing their online marketing spend, and a further 30 per cent stating that they will maintain the same levels of spend in this area. On average, digital marketing currently accounts for 24% of overall marketing spend.

Peter McCormick, the general manager and co-founder of ExactTarget comments: “The shift from offline to online is in full swing as marketers look to measure direct increases in top-line sales, site traffic and improve overall marketing return on investment. Interestingly, brand reputation is becoming a more significant driver of the migration to digital marketing, particularly when it comes to social media.”

70 per cent of in-house marketers plan to increase their budgets for off-site social media marketing efforts, using agencies to engage with audiences on Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites. But according to agency respondents the biggest impediment to digital marketing investment is a general lack of understanding of digital marketing channels. Just under half (48%) of agency respondents cite this as the key reason, which prevents their clients from investing more money in this area.

“The research shows a healthy outlook for the digital marketing industry with the majority of responding companies increasing their budgets for most digital channels,” said Linus Gregoriadis, research director at Econsultancy. “Social media marketing is the area where companies are most likely to be spending more money during 2010, but areas such as search engine marketing and email marketing will remain buoyant.”

The research also looked at the effectiveness, measurement and allocation of budgets, and probed the differences between "traditional" and digital marketing investment. Online and offline channels have been compared individually, in terms of where companies are investing and their ability to measure return on investment (ROI).

Marketers can download a summary of the More Money, More Channels: Marketing Budgets For 2010 free of charge here. The entire report is available for purchase from Econsultancy online.


About ExactTarget
ExactTarget is a leading global provider of on-demand email and one-to-one marketing solutions. The company’s software as a service technology provides organisations a single platform to connect with customers via email, SMS text messaging, voice messaging, social media and landing pages. Supported by collaborative global services teams, ExactTarget’s technology integrates with more sales and marketing information systems than any other in the industry, including Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Omniture and Webtrends among many others. ExactTarget’s software powers permission-based multi-channel communications for thousands of organisations around the world including Expedia.com, Aurora Fashions, Papa John’s, Sun Microsystems, Value Retail, World Society for Protection of Animals and Gulf Air. For more information, visit www.exacttarget.co.uk

Source: http://www.prlog.org/10519098-hardhitting-year-ahead-for-print-media-and-radio.html

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

TI DSP Low Voltage Servomotor Driver

Toronto, Canada - GAO Embedded (www.GAOEmbedded.com) recommends its low voltage servomotor driver which operates with SY-EVM281 via MCBUS and is equipped with an on-board IEEE1149 JTAG interface for real-time emulation. It has been widely used in applications such as digital motor or machine control, packing mechanisms, UPS, VFC (variable frequency control) and electrical control. The fast and reliable servomotor driver solution is comprised of three components: an EVM2812 board containing the DSP, an LVD, or Low Voltage Driver, and an IB2812 board serving as the interface. This servomotor driver is ideally suited for use with high performance Digital Motor Control (DMC) systems. It is offered at the reduced price of US$939 for a limited time only.
The low voltage servomotor driver, MCK2812, boasts a special purpose chip with SPI interface to interface with the nixie tube display and push button keys. It directly connects with one or two DC brush/brushless servomotor/s, AC asynchronous motor/s, AC permanent-magnet synchronous servomotor/s or stepper motor/s to form a digital servo-motion control system. This driver is protected against such conditions as over-current, over-voltage, under-voltage and over-heating. What's more, it offers A/D power supply and A/D reference voltage to ensure the accuracy of A/D sampling.
Visit http://www.GAOEmbedded.com for more information or to purchase this product online.
For any sales inquires please contact:
1-877 585-9555, ext 601 - Toll Free (USA & Canada)
1-416 292-0038, ext 601 - All Other Areas
sales@gaoembedded.com
About GAO Embedded
GAO Embedded (www.GAOEmbedded.com) is a leading provider of embedded development tools that serve the needs of electronic professionals internationally.