Jaguar

Thursday, 6 January 2011

Being Right or Making Money

What made this project so successful? After all, there are other iPod Nano projects. And it's a wristwatch, which even with the addition of a Nano, might not be the coolest or most necessary of accessories.

Bryce Roberts, the Managing Director of O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, points to some reasons he's identified that contributed to the success of the Lunatik/TikTok fundraising endeavor. These lessons that can be seen in other successful Kickstarter projects (such as Diaspora), but they're also applicable in many ways to more "traditional" funding efforts.

Tell a personal story

The Lunatik/TikTok "pitch" wasn't a bulleted list of qualifications or clients. Rather, the members of the team "told personal stories that created a connection to the project that had nothing to do with their professional pedigree." While this sort of storytelling doesn't boost their professional credentials, Roberts argues, it does give the entrepreneurs a certain personal authority and helps to connect them to funders and potential funders in a different way.

Roberts argues that the best fundraising pitches always emphasize this personal aspect. "It's a given," he writes, "that if I chose to invest in you I believe I can make money, but there are the intangibles around personality, perspectives, and life experiences that will make a potential funder more likely to want to believe you."

Tell the product's story

If you watch the TikTok video (below), you'll see the product is featured throughout. This demonstrates what the product can do - and that it can do what the startup promises. The video also demonstrates the larger potential of the product. These might be "small, nice little features" that some investors would dismiss. But with the crowdfunding model, the right storytelling around this seems crucial. "The difference between a nano strapped to a wristband and a premium quality, highly designed, customizable piece of wearable technology is simply a matter of how you tell the story."

But even when you aren't using a site like Kickstarter to raise money, it's crucial that your product be front-and-center in your presentations.

Give rewards and issue progress reports

Investors, by definition, invest in order to make a financial return. Nonetheless, argues Roberts, you should offer more than simply the promise of "making money." These sorts of non-financial rewards can be personal and personalized. By design, Kickstarter tells its users, "the best way to inspire support is to offer people great rewards. Everyone loves limited editions, one-of-a-kinds, and fun experiences (parties, screenings, balloon rides!). Spend some time brainstorming your rewards and people will respond. No one needs another coffee mug."

And as your project and your company are constantly evolving, it's good to keep investors and potential investors up-to-date on your progress. In the case of TikTok, the creators even filmed themselves in China when they traveled to the factory where the watch kits were being made. But the same could be said for all funding relationships; keep your investors apprised of "how you're making progress and how your story is continuing to unfold in a big and important way."

The UAW, not content with bankrupting GM and Chrysler once, want a repeat performance. And with Bob King at the helm, and apparently done campaigning for world peace and praying at the US capitol, they may yet get the double double. But first, it's time to put on the sheep's clothing and pretend to be rational. From the Detroit Free Press: UAW reveals ideas to try to level playing field. By 'leveling the playing field', what they mean is putting a thumb on the scale to tip the balance in their favor, but such is establishment media and their newspeak.

The document, called “UAW Principles for Fair Union Elections,” outlines 11 ideals that are designed to level the playing field between the UAW and an employer during a union campaign and election.

....The principles include an agreement that the ability to join a union is a “fundamental human right.”

But opting out from being forced to join the union is not. The document with the 11 principles can be found at this link, but just check out #2 for one:

Employees must be free to exercise the right to join a union or refrain from joining a union in an atmosphere free of fear, coercion,intimidation or threats. There is no free choice if a worker is afraid of losing a job or losing benefits as a result of his or her choice, or is intimidated into making a choice not of one’s own making.

surface encounters noblesville surface encounters rock tops

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

Latest news. For the latest news, check the homepage, or our Atom feed. Archives by year. 1998 � 1999 � 2000 � 2001 � 2002 � 2003 ... News Archive - 2010. Here are the most important news items we have published in 2010 on PHP.net. ...

surface encounters rock tops surface encounters noblesville

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters rock tops surface encounters rock tops

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters noblesville surface encounters macomb mi

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters rock tops
surface encounters macomb

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters
surface encounters macomb

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters rock tops
surface encounters noblesville

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters noblesville
surface encounters macomb mi

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters rock tops
surface encounters macomb mi

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters
surface encounters macomb mi
surface encounters rock tops

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters macomb mi
surface encounters noblesville

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters rock tops
surface encounters macomb mi

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters macomb mi
surface encounters macomb

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters michigan
surface encounters macomb mi

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters macomb mi

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters macomb mi
surface encounters macomb

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters
surface encounters michigan

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters macomb
surface encounters michigan

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters noblesville
surface encounters rock tops

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters macomb
surface encounters michigan

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters macomb mi
surface encounters michigan

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

News - Khloe Kardashian Becomes a Redhead! - Style & Beauty ...

"I'm so tired of [my sisters] copying everything I do with my hair, so I wanted to go red," she says.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters michigan

Wednesday, 5 January 2011

Money Making Secrets

Fulfilling their constitutional power to “determine the Rules of its Proceedings,” this Wednesday, January 5, 2010, the newly assembled House of Representatives will adopt the Rules of the House for the 112th Congress. Speaker-designate John Boehner has proposed a series of changes to the House rules designed to make the House more transparent and help eliminate unnecessary Federal spending. The Top Five New Rules include:

The new rules require a member of the House who wishes to introduce a bill to submit for publication in the Congressional Record a statement of what powers the Constitution grants to Congress to enact that bill. For bills that come over to the House from the Senate, the chairman of the House committee of jurisdiction will submit such a statement. The provision will assist Members of the House in making sure that they carry out the oath every one of them takes to support and defend the Constitution.

The new rules contain a “Cut-As-You-Go” provision that prohibits House consideration of a bill that has the net effect of increasing mandatory spending within the one-year, five-year, and ten-year budget windows. If a bill increases mandatory spending by an amount, the bill must elsewhere cut other spending by at least the same amount. The new rules also eliminate special protection for transportation spending.

The new rules expand requirements that legislation be available in advance before the House or its committees act on it. The chair of a committee must make the text of a measure being marked up publicly available at least one day before a committee markup meeting and a bill must be publicly available at least three days before the House votes on it. The requirement for advance availability prior to votes ensures that Members of the House and the public have an opportunity to read the legislation before the House or its committees vote on the legislation.

The new rules make more information about House proceedings available to the public, and in readily accessible electronic form. For example, the chair of a committee must make the texts of any amendment to a bill adopted at a committee markup available within 24 hours. Each committee must provide audio and video coverage or recordings of committee hearings, to the maximum extent practicable (excluding, for example, hearings involving national security secrets).

The new rules eliminate the vote-avoidance mechanism by which the House was automatically deemed to have approved a bill to increase the Federal debt, whenever the Congress adopted a budget resolution for spending that would have exceeded the existing debt limit, without House Members actually having to vote on whether to raise the debt limit. Now, if House Members want to consider whether to allow the Government to borrow more money, they will have to vote for or against it and not avoid the issue.

On November 3, 2010, immediately following the national elections, The Heritage Foundation issued “The Checklist” of actions of overriding importance, representing the bare minimum required for Washington to fulfill its electoral mandate, meet its constitutional responsibilities, and get America started on the right track. Among other things, the Checklist called on Congress to get control of Government by reestablishing legislative accountability. In particular, the Foundation called for Congress to change its rules to make the text of legislation public at least three days before Congress considers the legislation. The above rules meet, for the House, that bare minimum requirement … and more.

Adoption, by the House, of these new rules proposed by the new conservative leadership is a good first step, but the test of success for the rules will be whether the House follows and enforces them. If the House avoids the temptation to waive the new restrictions from time to time for political convenience, the new rules will reflect a House more committed to conservative principles.

Aaron Brazell notes, as many have, that it’s amusing to watch the apoplexy aimed at Julian Assange and WikiLeaks for posting stolen classified documents while his co-conspirators in the mainstream press publish them with next to no criticism. But Aaron moves from this to make a more novel argument, namely that Assange is threatening to topple what’s left of the traditional media business model.

[T]he media is on the sideline, their power usurped from this rogue operative with a rogue website. Instead of the New York Times or Washington Post benefitting from the receipt of leaked information as has been the case in their traditional past (see Watergate), an upstart “news organization” is stealing their thunder. Sure the Times and a variety of other media outlets were given the data eventually, but the arbiter of information was no longer them.

While the media wrings their hands over a contrived battle between the morality of publishing leaked, national security documents and preservation of national secrets, the bigger capitalistic battle is happening and that overshadows journalistic sense of responsibility.

The ability to be first is being tainted here. While Wikileaks promises to distribute new information, acting as a benevolent dictator, to news organizations, these news organizations are capitulating their responsibilities simply to make sure they have some crumbs off of Assange’s table.

No one, certainly, is suggesting that news outlets should become a lap-dog, as I have heard toss around, of the government, bowing to their every will and whim. Certainly not, lest we live in a Communist system. However, the media is expected to operate in a suitably responsible way.

In this case, the media knows that they are on the outs. In a last gasp of industry-pride, they have sacrificed themselves in a last-ditch effort to remain relevant. Put in another way, they have come to serve themselves instead of the people they exist to serve.

I’m not sure I agree with either part of this.

WikiLeaks and Newspaper Profits

First, it’s true that the Internet has been killing the old business model based on advertisements in printed copies. And WikiLeaks is to some extent furthering this. But, as it is, WikiLeaks is only important because hundreds of reporters from well established newspapers are sifting through the piles of mostly worthless documents to ferret out what’s interesting and distill it for their readership.

The upshot is that Assange is handing these papers mini-scoops and exciting stories to cover, thus boosting their bottom line. By contrast, I haven’t the foggiest notion of how Assange is making any money off of this.

Now, it’s conceivable that Assange could bypass the Guardian, Times, and others and simply dump them out there for crowdsourcing. Maybe Josh Marshall and the TPM gang or Arianna Huffington’s minions over at HuffPo would do the sorting, instead. But right now, the threat to the mainstream media is minuscule at best.

WikiLeaks and Journalistic Ethics

Is the press here ignoring the real risks of going public with classified documents that could ostensibly cause real harm to their publics? Maybe. Then again, this is hardly the first time. Leaks are the bread and butter of scoop journalism and they have been for some time.

Further, it appears — granted, we have nothing to go on but the publishers’ own accounts of the process — that the newspapers in question actually took the risks seriously, carefully vetting the information before going to press. The NYT, especially, seemed to bend over backwards to get commentary from the US Government and to pass along any objections and their own redactions to other papers who’d received the dumps.

Beyond that, once Assange made the documents publicly available on the Internet, the only thing the editors would have achieved by refusing to report on what was in them was to lose money. Someone was going to report anything of interest.

Turning full circle, I’d also note that there’s an important distinction between the conduct of the newspapers in question and of the WikiLeaks gang: The former didn’t encourage the commission of crimes by those entrusted to protect America’s secrets and set up an elaborate conspiracy to make doing so easier. Yes, they routinely cultivate sources with access to such information and happily abet legitimate whistleblowers. But they’re not out to create anarchy just for the hell of it.

free rental agreement forms

News - Racing Post

MONET'S GARDEN the popular chasing veteran who took his third Old Roan Chase this season has been retired and is battling for his life due to an infection in his hoof.

500 More Red-Winged Blackbirds Found Dead in Louisiana - AOL News

Days after 100000 fish and approximately 4000 red-winged blackbirds were found dead in Arkansas, 500 deceased blackbirds and starlings were discovered on a Louisiana highway.

Teenage Cheerleader Disappears in Small Texas Town - AOL News

Police in a small town in Texas are looking for a 13-year-old cheerleader missing for more than a week, but state officials say the case doesn't meet the criteria for an Amber Alert.

Tuesday, 4 January 2011

Help Making Money

Can Facebook Help Addicts Quit Drugs?

While many people may mock the idea of accepting Facebook friend requests from strangers, that might be just what a long-term drug addict needs. An experiment being run in Amsterdam at the moment is exploring the idea.

Dutch branding agency Lemz has set up drug addict Monica with her own Facebook page. As she makes her way around the Dutch city she wears a bright blue jacket bearing text asking people to befriend her on the social network.

What can this possibly achieve? The idea is that by making friends online, Monica will be able to gain self confidence and new interests that will help inspire her to quit her addiction. On the page, Monica says “Don’t be afraid! If you decide to become my friend you will get an interesting peek into my daily life (with a maximum of two posts a day). I will NEVER ask for money or try to visit you in person. The only thing I will ask from you is your online friendship.”

Mark Woerde of Lemz tells us “It all started when a relative of mine started ikgebruik.nl to help junkies find their way to organisations of help. He asked me to help him to promote his site among drugs users. We soon found out that drugs users really wanted to help making this site a big success. Now the site ikgebruik.nl is run by drugs users, sharing their experiences and scaring of potential new users. What really struck me was that these drugs addicts by doing this felt like humans again. Especially when all news channels reported about this group of junkies now helping others.”

Now it’s hoped the Facebook idea will reaffirm Monica’s faith in humanity and that the idea could scale to more addicts in the city. “There are many many people out there who want to help others and you do not need 5000 friends per addict”, Woerde says.

Ho! Ho! Ho! And a Merry Christmas to you all!

It's that time of year again and I've been so busy making Xboxes and E-readers and blankets with arms in them that I sometimes forget there are others like me doing good works but who are in need of some help.

These other "Santas" operate on a shoestring and need money to do their kind deeds. Unfortunately they can't do what I do to cover the cost of my operations. (I rent out my North Pole facilities to Superman eleven months of the year for him to use as his Fortress of Solitude.)

So Mrs. Claus, the elves, the reindeer and I are asking if you could make a last minute donation to one of the six worthy organizations I've listed below. Or do it as a gift in someone else's name and make that their Christmas present (thus fewer chimneys for me to go down. I know, I know, stop with the burgers in a donut bun.) These Santas will then turn around and use your money to create gifts greater than anything I could ever make in my workshop.

Here they are:

** The Innocence Project. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans sit in prison tonight having been wrongly convicted of a crime. They are 100 percent innocent and the system has the DNA samples to prove it. The Innocence Project is an amazing group that provides free attorneys and researchers who devote their time to freeing these innocent men and women. It's no mistake that human rights groups place the United States on their list of countries who throw the innocent behind bars. No country on earth (including China, with four times the population of the United States) has more people in prison than America. Please give to the Innocence Project so that those who've committed no crime do not spend another night in jail -- and so I don't have to spend so much time on Christmas Eve going through security when I make deliveries to them.

** The Bradley Manning Defense Fund. If I witness a crime while making my rounds on Christmas Eve, and I report it, I'm considered a hero. (Sometimes there's reward money!) Private Bradley Manning of the United States Army allegedly came across video of his fellow soldiers gunning down and killing in cold blood two reporters from Reuters and a group of Iraqis who were civilians. He apparently decided to report this crime to the American people. For this, he has been arrested and thrown into the brig -- where he has sat in tortuous solitary confinement for seven months. He is also believed to be the source of thousands of documents obtained by WikiLeaks which show the disgusting and immoral behavior of your government and Pentagon as they've prosecuted two illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a true travesty taking place and it's being done in your name. Please contribute to his legal defense fund and please send him a holiday card at:

Bradley Manning

c/o Courage to Resist

484 Lake Park Ave #41

Oakland CA 94610

USA

(See BradleyManning.org for how to mail things to him directly.)

** WikiLeaks. What more needs to be said? Frankly, in retrospect I'm GLAD they leaked my 2009 Naughty & Nice list -- especially the parts about the U.S. government. I know that may hurt a bit for those of you who are Americans, but trust me, it's good for you in the long run. What I do foresee in the coming year, though, is a battle for who controls the internet -- and those in power are going to find ways to clamp down and not make it so easy for all of us to share with each other so freely. (Another good group to give to that is helping to keep the internet free is Save the Internet.) From the Iraq War video to the proof that you're backing a corrupt government in Afghanistan to the fabricated cables sent to the Bush State Department from Havana about Mike's movie, WikiLeaks has performed an invaluable service. As long as they don't dig into what my elves do in the 11 months they're on vacation, I'm solidly behind WikiLeaks.

** The Water Project. Over a billion people on this planet have no access to clean drinking water. Approximately 2 million children under age 5 are killed each year worldwide by a water-related disease. This is insane considering we have the technology and the people power to fix this in a very short time period -- if we wanted. The money from just one year of the Iraq War would pretty much take care of it. Sad, isn't it, how we're capable of so much more, of being so much better. The Water Project is a hands-on, boots on the ground organization that's digging wells and getting clean drinking water to the Third World. This is one delivery -- water for a billion people -- that just doesn't fit in my sleigh.

** Park 51 Islamic Community Center ("The Ground Zero Mosque"). Here's a tip: if there's anything that will get you a lump of coal in your stocking, it's hating people based on their race or religion. And I'm sorry to say, folks like that were out in full force this year. They even won themselves an election. Soon they will hold congressional hearings to out America's Kenyan-born Muslim president. (My team's already getting extra coal ready for Christmas 2011.)

Meanwhile in lower Manhattan, a group of people who happen to be Muslim want to build a community center. They asked the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan for help. They helped them. It was so nice it made me think I should branch out into Hanukkah and Ramadan. Then the haters showed up. But I believe Park 51 will win this fight. Please help them.

** Democracy Now. This great daily show presents the news we never get to hear on mainstream radio or TV -- especially at the North Pole, where for some reason the cable system only runs the Hallmark channel and Spike. Amy Goodman and Co. do an incredible job bringing the truth to the American public every morning. I listen to them and I support them. (And I support all efforts for non-profit, community-based radio stations. You can learn more about that movement at Radio for All.)

So give if you can. I know these are tight times for most people and you've got yourselves and your families to take care of. I hope this time of the year is going well for you and if not, then please know that there are many -- including me -- who care about you and yours. Working together, it will get better for everyone.

Finally... those of you who don't have chimneys, could you possibly leave the door open this year? I don't like it any more than you do when I have to break in through your bathroom window.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night,

Santa (c/o Michael Moore)

robert shumake detroit

Social News Site Reddit Reports 200%+ Growth in 2010

Social news site Reddit posted year-end numbers this afternoon including January and December page view stats that climbed from 250 million pageviews to more than 3X that number, ...

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Shakesville: Brett Favre News

Brett Favre News. [Trigger warning for sexual assault, which applies to both links] [Link includes descriptions of sexual assault] Associated Press: "Two massage therapists sued Brett Favre on Monday, saying they lost them their ...

robert shumake

Social News Site Reddit Reports 200%+ Growth in 2010

Social news site Reddit posted year-end numbers this afternoon including January and December page view stats that climbed from 250 million pageviews to more than 3X that number, ...

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Shakesville: Brett Favre News

robert shumake

Can Facebook Help Addicts Quit Drugs?

Ho! Ho! Ho! And a Merry Christmas to you all!

Here they are:

Bradley Manning

c/o Courage to Resist

484 Lake Park Ave #41

Oakland CA 94610

USA

(See BradleyManning.org for how to mail things to him directly.)

Finally... those of you who don't have chimneys, could you possibly leave the door open this year? I don't like it any more than you do when I have to break in through your bathroom window.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night,

Santa (c/o Michael Moore)

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake

Social News Site Reddit Reports 200%+ Growth in 2010

Social news site Reddit posted year-end numbers this afternoon including January and December page view stats that climbed from 250 million pageviews to more than 3X that number, ...

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Shakesville: Brett Favre News

robert shumake

Social News Site Reddit Reports 200%+ Growth in 2010

Social news site Reddit posted year-end numbers this afternoon including January and December page view stats that climbed from 250 million pageviews to more than 3X that number, ...

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Shakesville: Brett Favre News

robert shumake

So you want to make money online? You’re tired of your 9 to 5 job. You like the idea of setting your own hours. You may have heard that you can make a ton of money without a whole lot of effort. Whatever the reason, you know this is what you want to do.

Although the things you may have heard make it sound like the best thing you can ever do, many things are just myths. When deciding to find a way to make money online, you need to know the fact from fiction.

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

I’m sure you’ve heard that many times before, but it’s true. If you already have a job and you’re bringing in a steady income don’t quit, whatever you do, don’t do it. No matter what you’re promised. The money you bring in at your job will support you while you work to make money online. It can even be used as start up capital for certain business endeavors.

It Takes Money to Make Money

Yes, you’ve heard that one to. This is true and false at the same time.

If you’re completely new to making money online, you may want to invest in training material. You can learn practically everything you need to know for free using the web, but this is the case of time is money. It may take you a lot longer going the free route.

This is the reason people can sell countless numbers of how to guides to making money online, or charge for access to a database of sites that pay you for a particular service. They know some people don’t have the time to spend researching ways to make money and testing out those ways once they find them. So for a fee you can get access to year’s worth of knowledge and be on your way in less time than it took them.

So is there a way to make money without spending it? Sure there is. Writing articles is a perfect example. Plenty of sites will pay you for quality original content. Most of which have no upfront cost. Those that do may let you pay out of your earnings, so no money comes out of your pocket.

Some will pay more than others and some will have stricter guidelines on what you can submit. It all depends on the website. MPAM and Associated Content are two popular sites for submitting articles for pay.

You can also become an affiliate. An affiliate is someone who advertises someone else's products for a commission. Most affiliate programs are free to sign up with. You can then advertise that program in message boards or make a review in your blog.

Owning Your Own Website

If you want to be seen as a professional you must own your own website. Whether you own your own business or you’re marketing someone else’s you need a website. No one would take you seriously if they see you made your site using some free program.

Even if they did, usually free websites have pop up ads and banners. You definitely don’t want a bunch of advertising for other sites taking away your business.

Many features come with owning your own website as well. Bandwidth is a huge concern. If your site gets popular you don’t want your site getting shut down because you exceeded your limit. Free sites don’t give you nearly enough space. With your own domain you get you own personal email account. Besides looking more professional you don’t have to worry about spam filters. If a prospect is sending you an email you want to be sure you get it.

It’s not that expensive to have a website anyway. You can buy a domain for under $10 a year and hosting for under $5 a month. If you’re serious about making money, you can’t be cheap and you can’t be lazy.

Making Money Online is Hard Work

There are no ifs ands or buts about it. If you want to be successful in making money online you need to work hard. Ignore all the sites that promise you riches overnight, or that it takes no effort at all to produce huge sums of money.

If you write articles, you have to know how to write. Seems obvious doesn’t it? But many people believe that you can write a ton of articles in know time at all. While it’s possible to get to the point where you can write 20 to 30 articles in a day. I can guarantee it took some effort to get to that point. Nobody is born knowing how to write.

If you decide to sell your own products, you have to know exactly what it is you want to sell and how you’re going to do it. Simply finding a product is hard enough but once you do; getting it setup to sell, advertising the product, maintaining your site and dealing with customer support all takes a lot of work, especially if you do it yourself.

If you sell no product of your own and simply market other peoples products, expect to find a lot of competition. Nowadays everybody and their cousin are trying to make money online.

Expect to spend time advertising. Nobodies going to buy anything from you if they don’t know about it, and they won’t know about it if you don’t tell them. Spend time in message boards, submit to search engines and traffic generators. Publish articles to popular sites.

The Bottom Line

Whatever you do you have to work at it, and you won’t see success over night. One thing you need to realize is that no one is going to do the work for you. There are plenty of people that can help you. Some will even give you step-by-step instructions on what to do, but if you don’t actually do them you won’t get anywhere. If you’re going to succeed in making money online you have to commit to doing it.

robert shumake detroit

Social News Site Reddit Reports 200%+ Growth in 2010

Social news site Reddit posted year-end numbers this afternoon including January and December page view stats that climbed from 250 million pageviews to more than 3X that number, ...

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Shakesville: Brett Favre News

robert shumake

Can Facebook Help Addicts Quit Drugs?

Ho! Ho! Ho! And a Merry Christmas to you all!

Here they are:

Bradley Manning

c/o Courage to Resist

484 Lake Park Ave #41

Oakland CA 94610

USA

(See BradleyManning.org for how to mail things to him directly.)

Finally... those of you who don't have chimneys, could you possibly leave the door open this year? I don't like it any more than you do when I have to break in through your bathroom window.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night,

Santa (c/o Michael Moore)

robert shumake

Social News Site Reddit Reports 200%+ Growth in 2010

Social news site Reddit posted year-end numbers this afternoon including January and December page view stats that climbed from 250 million pageviews to more than 3X that number, ...

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Shakesville: Brett Favre News

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake

Thursday, 30 December 2010

internet marketing

Research can sometimes be a bit of a chore, but when knowledge is wrapped up in charts, cartoons, or even some heart-holding robots, suddenly “information” isn’t such a scary word.

What do Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook’s 500 million users look like? Who’s suing whom in the mobile world? How does FarmVille stack up against actual farms? These questions and more are answered in the infographics below.

Have a look through the list and let us know which graphics you liked best (or learned the most from) in the comments below.

Time-Lapse Twitter Visualization Shows America’s Moods [VIDEO]/> A group of researchers from Northeastern and Harvard universities have gathered enough data from class='blippr-nobr'>Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter to give us all a snapshot of how U.S. residents feel throughout a typical day or week.
Facebook’s 500 Million Members [INFOGRAPHIC]/> The illustration breaks down the demographics of Facebook’s burgeoning population (according to their own data on the service), and explores the international makeup of the site.
The Social Media Impact of “Jersey Shore” [INFOGRAPHIC]/> With the premiere of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” come and gone, we can now analyze the impact of the show on our favorite social media sites.
What Types of People Raise Money for Web Startups? [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Venture capital investment can be crucial for getting a company off the ground. But who are the entrepreneurs that receive funding for their startups?
The Rise of Text Messaging [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Did you know that 14-17 year-old girls in the U.S. send an average of 100 texts each day? Check out this infographic for more interesting SMS stats and facts.
Facebook Privacy: 6 Years of Controversy [INFOGRAPHIC]/> The release of Facebook Places raised serious privacy concerns for users of the social network. Check out this infographic that traces the history of Facebook’s privacy snafus.
“FarmVille” vs. Real Farms [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Have you ever wondered how virtual farming and actual farming stack up? Do humans produce more virtual crops than real ones? We’ve harvested all the interesting data for you here.
Social Good: Charity and Technology in the Online Universe [INFOGRAPHIC]/> How has social media giving changed over the last few years? How does it compare with traditional non-profit campaigns? Check out our infographic for some perspective.
What People Think About America’s Most Pressing Matters [INFOGRAPHIC]/> An infographic created by creative agency JESS3 asks, “What are the nation’s most pressing issues?” and displays the answers from 1,671,267 citizens.
Connected TV: The New Battle for Your Living Room [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Apple TV, the Boxee Box, and Roku are finally bringing web entertainment to the living room. How do these products stack up? Check out this detailed price and feature comparison chart.
The Tangled Web of Lawsuits in Mobile [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Who’s suing whom in the mobile industry? It can be a tough question to answer, even if you’re closely following all the lawsuits that have been thrown around.

Survey Shows the Internet Would Have Passed Prop 19/> Prop 19, California’s controversial bid to legalize marijuana, lost at the polls on Tuesday, but if that vote had been up to the wider web of Internetusers, Prop 19 would have passed.
Social Media’s Impact on the Midterm Elections [INFOGRAPHICS]/> Social media, especially Facebook, had a huge impact on how the U.S. midterm elections were perceived and decided. Here’s a breakdown by the numbers.
The State of B2B Social Media Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]/> The vast majority (86%) of B2B businesses use social media for marketing. See how they’re using it, which tools they’re utilizing and what the future holds.
The Biggest Brands on Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]/> In the past few years, big brands have started taking social media seriously, and Facebook marketing is a big part of the plan for many companies.
What Is the Web Thankful For? [INFOGRAPHIC]/> Thankfulfor.com has put together a (surprisingly long) report that details what things people say they are grateful for having in their lives.
How the World Is Using Cellphones [INFOGRAPHIC]/> The infographic illustrates the number of cellphones per capita in various countries, the rate of cellphone adoption in the U.S. over the past decade and the acceptability of certain behaviors regarding cellphone use.
Who Will Win the Mashable Awards? [INFOGRAPHIC]/> We’ve broken down a complete list of the finalists by category in one handy (and unicorn filled!) infographic. Make sure you get voting before it’s too late!
How Connected Devices and Consoles Compare [INFOGRAPHIC]/> As 2010 draws to a close, we’re finally starting to see new and improved connected devices for bringing streaming content to the living room hit the market.

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

According to The Canadian Press, comScore, the marketing intelligence service says Canadians are leading the way in hours spent online.

Canucks are spending an average of 2,500 minutes online per month which translates to over 41 hours, that’s an entire full-time work week spent surfing. And that’s apparently more than any other country in the world. Based on this data, it seems that Canadians are rapidly adopting the digital lifestyle and seem to be wildly passionate about online video, social media and Wikipedia.

If you take a look at how many Canadians are visiting YouTube, per capita, the great white north is smoking the rest of the world with 21 million Canadians visiting every month. That might not seem like a lot but considering the size of Canada’s population (34,238,000) that’s a lot of YouTubing. YouTube is obviously deeply embedded in Canadian culture and it’s clear by the data. Not only are Canadians hitting YouTube more (per capita), they’re also viewing an average of 147 videos each month: that’s 47 more than American users.

In the last month, Canada was ranked #10 on Socialbaker’s Facebook user list. It’s reported that Facebook has penetrated 51% of the Canadian population with 17,288,620 users. When you view the penetration rates of the top 10 countries, Canada once again takes first place. Americans came second in the top 10 contenders coming in a 46.98% penetration of the population.

While the exact number of Twitter users by country isn’t available yet, we know that Twitter has been gaining momentum in Canada throughout 2010. Twitter stated “What we can share is that the number of Twitter accounts in Canada has increased by 75 per cent since the beginning of the year, and the number of daily tweets more than doubled..” And, we’re also seeing Canadians are using the user generated site Wikipedia more than any other country. This data is based on 16 Wikipedia page views per month on average coupled with 217,000 Wikipedia edits a month.

The Canadian Press article highlights the fact that back in April of this year, comScore estimated that 68% of the Canadian population is online. The proof is in the pudding folks, Canadians are a group of highly progressive and tech savvy people. Canucks might not get the hottest gadgets on release date but they’re poised to drive their gadgets online more than anyone else. What do you think is the cause of this obsessive online behaviour.. Are Canadians just too cold to go outside?

Keith Olbermann: 'Fox News Is 100% Bullshit'

Keith Olbermann is anything but hesitant when it comes to a battle with Fox News, and the MSNBC anchor took to Twitter Wednesday to share his views on the TV network he probably wouldn't even call a rival. "Fox News is 100% bullshit," ...

Larry Kramer: This Is Why Fox News Continues To Roll

People are getting lazy about forming their own opinions.

News.me, Betaworks & NYT's Stealthy Social News Project, Starts ...

News.me, the stealthy social news project being developed by Betaworks in conjunction with The New York Times, has just started accepting invite requests. As part of the partnership deal, ...

surface encounters rock tops surface encounters rock tops surface encounters review surface encounters rock tops surface encounters rock tops surface encounters complaints surface encounters complaints surface encounters rock tops surface encounters rock tops surface encounters review surface encounters review surface encounters surface encounters review surface encounters complaints surface encounters review surface encounters review surface encounters complaints

Tuesday, 28 December 2010

Making Money Online Easy

Looking back at our review of the original Real Racing [$4.99 / Lite / HD], we had a few disappointments, but overall had no issue calling it an "unrivaled racing experience." While EA has released a few great racers from the Need For Speed series, Real Racing was always my racing game of choice… Making me wonder what game was going to boot Real Racing off my personal throne of favorite racer on the platform. Unsurprisingly, Real Racing 2 was the game to do it.

The original Real Racing received universal acclaim from the gaming media, and even went on to take home an Apple Design Award at WWDC this year. Real Racing 2 is everything a good sequel should be in that it builds on top of the excellent foundation set by Real Racing, adding often requested features and other surprises we weren't expecting all while improving nearly everything that was retained from the first.

Just like Real Racing, the sequel is host to a variety of control options that mix and match touch and tilt, along with various automatic systems that can be enabled or disabled depending on your skill level. By default, Real Racing 2 is incredibly easy to play. Steering assist and anti-skid default to on, and the brake assist is cranked up as high as it can go. Controlling this way, the games handles almost everything for you, and all you need to do is tilt your phone right or left to steer. Alternatively, you can turn everything off and drive completely manually, controlling both the brake and the gas while either steering with touch or tilt, along with many options in between. Unfortunately, it seems that there isn't any way to manually change gears.

The graphics in Real Racing 2 are substantially improved. Both the tracks and the cars themselves seem much more detailed, and while you can change the camera to several positions, the most awe-inspiring is the cockpit view where each car's interior is modeled with extreme precision. Speaking of cars, one of the most surprising reveals before the game was released was the inclusion of 30 different fully licensed real cars. Brands range from VW to BMW to Ford and much more.

The number of cars in each race has been cranked up to 16, which I think is one of the most substantial improvements. Previously, iOS racers all felt pocket sized in one way or another. You never really got the full experience of a console racer because in most racing games you were only ever competing in 8 car races. Doubling this makes for races that are just crazy, especially on higher difficulty settings where the AI racers seem to actively try to prevent you from passing them– Often creating epic battles between cars as you attempt to slowly climb to first place.

These 16 player races aren't limited to single player either, for the first time on the App Store you can play up against 16 players online. These huge online races are absolutely awesome, and work effortlessly. You tap the online multiplayer icon, and seconds later you're tossed in to a lobby with other players. Following a short countdown you're at the starting line of an online race. Real Racing 2 seems to prioritize quick matching to full races, so if you're playing at an off time you likely will get matched with fewer players. One thing I'd like to see in the future is if there was some kind of slider that you could set whether you prefer shorter wait times or larger races. Often times I wouldn't mind waiting a little bit longer to play with more people.

Also added is a new career mode, which Firemint is claiming should keep you busy for around ten hours. Playing through career mode will have you making your way through various events, earning money, buying cars, and upgrading them. The career mode also serves as a bit of a tutorial, as the early events require you to do things like upgrade your car to a certain performance threshold, win a certain number of popularity points, or even paint your car a different color. One minor complaint I do have about this is that at the start of the game you're given a small amount of cash to buy your first car. This requires you to go through all the different cars searching for one you can actually afford. While I suppose this initially gives you a good idea of just how many cars there are, I would have much preferred to just have the option to select an available starter car instead of needing to search through everything else.

Though Real Racing 2 may have a few things I'd like to see changed, it's without a doubt the current king of iOS racing games. I'd go as far as calling it the perfect iPhone game. The controls are perfectly suited to the platform, the graphics are fantastic, and Real Racing 2 is compatible with every iOS device, even the ancient 1st generation iPod touch. The online component is fantastic, the career mode is a welcome addition, and there's even a new car damage system that reflects just how much you've been bumping in to things. There aren't many other games that showcase what the iOS platform is capable of more than Real Racing 2, so much so, that Apple should just be bundling it with their devices. Do not miss this game.

I've been working in the IT/Internet field since the pre-Google era, so it's been a number of years now. It's been a rough ride of ups and downs, but a great one. Being constantly on the internet, I've always wanted to do something extra, apart from my full time job.

I've tried a million different things and had truckloads of ideas on how to make money online. Forums this, blog that, advert here and advert there, but they all failed. I've read gazillions of documentations, watched hours and hours of presentations about how to make money online — how easy it is to work from home and make over $10,000 a month. Really? Well you want my opinion? Screw all that and do it your own way because YOU LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

Look at the history of most companies, giant corporations of today, especially the online ones such as Google, Twitter, Facebook and many others. They all started as a hobby, as a project, and never specifically to make money out of the idea. All the founders of the above mentioned companies, believed so much in their idea, that they dedicated their life to building it. It is not a matter of luck that they are who they are today, but it is sheer determination and good ideas. Money is a secondary thing; it's the result of what you've done. I never used to believe this but now I do believe it, been there, done that.

As I specified above, I've tried a million types of online ideas and website, but they all failed because I specifically wanted to make extra money. Thought there was only one thing that I really liked and loved, and never gave it a shot, music! It was always my dream to have the time to discover new bands, to have all their original CDs and albums, and if possible get in touch with them.

bench craft company scam