Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Kids Making Money

A few years ago, the Internet experienced a video revolution. As broadband access expanded and more people began uploading content, video became an expected resource for consumers. Businesses could get more mileage out of television commercials and engage users by linking to video reviews of its products.

A year ago, we saw evidence of small and medium-sized business increasing budgets for video content – to be used both on their homepages and in advertisements. In 2009, 19% of businesses polled were using video (up from 5% in 2008) and I’m willing to bet that number will be much higher in the 2010 report that should come out later this month.

Now, as technology has become more affordable and increasingly mobile, we’re able to experience virtually anything online. As such, local search engines are evolving into master content synthesizers to meet the needs of consumers and advertisers alike – offering video and photos, local advertising deals, user reviews, QR codes, maps and directions, etc.

Consumer expectations of local search engines have never been higher. Users want to see photo and video reviews of a company’s products, read what other people have to say, and even take a virtual tour of your store or restaurant before they visit.

The same is true of small- and medium-sized business owners looking to find a competitive advantage. Local search engines are offering more dynamic content than ever before to users and it’s up to search marketers to help business owners feed that content.

It’s interesting to see how video content has changed since the advent of YouTube. Instead of traditional video advertising, we’re seeing new technology that lets users look around your business from their own home. Soon, we’ll be able to find virtual creations of almost any environment online – and those virtual tours are being integrated with current deals and other advertising promotions to drive traffic to your business.

Recently, a company called EveryScape partnered with Bing and YP to offer digital advertisers a new local search solution – virtual tours. For example, YP360 will let a user step inside a restaurant in Baltimore while they’re still on the train. They can choose a place and even set a reservation, all within the same application on their phone.

Google Earth has gone indoors and local search engines are responsible for bringing this detailed and vivid content to users while keeping it simple and accessible. And the business case for offering this new content to users and advertisers alike is clear as local advertising is expected to grow to $16.1 billion this year, up from $13.7 billion in 2010.

Even more, mobile phone advertising spending is expected to be more than a billion dollars in 2011, up 48% from 2010. Local search engines like YP and Yelp! are seeing over 20 million visitors a month, many of them accessing via mobile phones.

This is a great opportunity for local search engines and advertisers to embrace this new technology and get ahead of the pack. Effective local advertising goes beyond building a social networking presence and listing in directories – you have to make sure your content is engaging. In the online world, the savviest local search marketers who use this technology well will have the most successful campaigns.

I recommend that any business owner or local search marketer read up on the latest digital advertising solutions and consider offering your customers virtual tours of your products or store. To set your business apart, you need to stay current with the best that local search has to offer.

Opinions expressed in the article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Related Topics: Locals Only

Blogger Andrew Trench recently presented a theory on the threshold of when Internet penetration starts to matter, writing:

Social networks have also been given plenty of credit for the revolution unfolding in Egypt.

So I went and had a look at the numbers over on www.internetworldstats.com to see what they could tell us about these two scenarios. Well, fascinatingly, both Egypt and Tunisia have seen a massive growth in internet users and internet penetration over the last 10 years.

Both have now got internet penetration of over 20% and in Tunisia's case it was as high as 34%.

While it is clearly simplistic to over-state this factor and there must be many more drivers contributing to such a rapid political uprising, it is obviously a factor as evidenced by the Egyptian regime pulling the plug on the country's internet access to try and block the rising tide of revolt.

My back-of-napkin theory is this: that a rapid increase in internet penetration in a repressive regime does play an important role as it provides an unfettered channel of communication allowing disaffected citizens to share views - and more importantly - to rapidly organise and mobilise.

If Egypt and Tunisia are valid case studies, it looks like internet penetration of around 20% is the mark.

Geopolitics & Macroeconomics adds:

Internet penetration: Social networking sites were critical to sustaining the momentum in the recent protests. The internet penetration in Egypt is 16%. In Libya, it is a meagre 5% [1]. The unrest in Libya has thus far remained concentrated in regions that are geographically distant from the seat of ‘real' power (see more on this below). The dependence of momentum on internet communication is far greater in Libya than in Egypt where protests began in Cairo itself.

Taking the conversation to Pakistan, Sabene Saigol writes, on BrandRepublic:

Perhaps one reason for this is that we're still not that used to communicating via the ‘net - maybe we need greater broadband and internet penetration. Personally I think it is more to do with culture - while Pakistani internet users are savvy to using social media to connect with friends, I feel they have not yet ‘crossed over' to seeing SM as a means for professional communications - or even wider social communications that go beyond their immediate circle. Yes, there are no doubt savvy people - both within marketing and tech circles, and outside - however, these people are likely a tiny proportion of the total number of ‘net and social media users.

Surface Encounters

LeBron James of Miami Heat delayed by Cleveland Cavaliers garage parking security

LeBron James was delayed in getting into the arena for the Miami Heat's shootaround Tuesday morning when he arrived with a driver and with a second car at the entrance for the Cavs' underground garage parking lot.

Surface Encounters

Clown Charged With Raping Child in California - AOL News

A clown who works backyard parties and special events was charged today with multiple counts of child rape that could send him to prison for life if convicted.

Surface Encounters

LOTS OF BAD NEWS AND STOCKS STILL SURGE: Here's What You Need To Know

The news only seems to be getting worse at Fukushima. There doesn't appear to have been progress at the nuke plant in ages. TEPCO stock got crushed again, and there are even rumors of the CEO fleeing. That dragged Japanese stocks down ...

Surface Encounters

I read an interesting article this morning that suggested Apple would change its mind and put Adobe’s Flash technology on its iOS devices within a year. I don’t think that’s going to happen.

In an open letter to users, Apple CEO Steve Jobs gave several reasons why he didn’t want Flash on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. They are: Flash isn’t open; the full web; reliability, security and performance; battery life; and touch.

Adobe began shipping Flash Player 10.1 for Mobile last June, but even Laptop magazine admitted that “Steve Jobs was right,” and that “Adobe’s offering seems like it’s too little, too late.” Granted, that report was from six months ago, but it still doesn’t bode well for the technology.

There is no doubt that Adobe is making advances with Flash on mobile devices, but I don’t believe future changes will be enough to get Apple to adopt the technology.

Jobs has been very clear that Apple supports HTML5, an open technology that is controlled by a standards committee, not one company. By building support for that technology into Webkit, Apple is ensuring that mobile Web browsers will be able to access what we’ve come to know as the “full web.”

Webkit is used by Google, Palm, Nokia and RIM, so it has a pretty solid base.

One of the arguments often bantered about when the discussion of the “full Web” comes up is video. There is no doubt that Flash made huge strides over the years in having sites like YouTube encode their videos in Flash. But that’s for the desktop.

As Jobs points out, almost all of this video is also available in H.264 format (a format Flash also supports), so it’s viewable on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

“Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others. iPhone, iPod and iPad users aren’t missing much video,” wrote Jobs.

You may ask why other companies adopted Flash for their mobile devices when Apple won’t. That’s easy, they are looking for something they have that Apple doesn’t. Considering how hard it is for tablet makers to compete with Apple, any perceived advantage will work.

I’m not an Adobe hater—I know quite a few people that work at Adobe and I think they’ve done some amazing things over the years. Flash for mobile devices isn’t one of them.

Chris Dawson said he gives “Apple a year until they cave [and adopt Flash]. Android tablets will just be too cool and too useful for both entertainment and enterprise applications if they don’t.”

I have been using my iPhone for years and my iPad for one year. I honestly can’t remember the last time I went to a Web site that wouldn’t load because I didn’t have Flash installed. I can load videos from YouTube and a host of other sites too, no problem.

Apple has sold more than 160 million iOS devices and there are no screaming, angry hordes of users breaking down the doors at 1 Infinite Loop demanding Flash on their devices.

In order for Apple to change its mind and adopt Flash, the technology has to be proven to be indispensable and that it will benefit its users. Apple has proven just the opposite is true.

Editor’s Note: Jim Dalrymple has been writing about Apple for more than 15 years. You can follow him on Twitter @jdalrymple and on his Web site at The Loop.

Dirty Percent

Tuesday, 1 March 2011

It’s not hard to make the case that Apple’s new in-app subscription system offers numerous benefits to users, developers, and publishers. But whatever those benefits, they stem from the mere existence of these new subscription APIs. What’s controversial is the size of Apple’s cut: 30 percent.

No one is arguing that Apple shouldn’t get some cut of in-app purchases that go through iTunes. And, if Apple were taking a substantially smaller cut, there would be substantially fewer people objecting to Apple’s rules (that subscription-based publishing apps must use the system; that they can’t link to their external sign-up web page from within the app; and that they must offer in-app subscribers the same prices available outside the app).

The reasonable arguments against Apple’s policies seem to be:

Apple should be taking less, perhaps far less, than 30 percent.

Apple should not require subscription-based apps to use the in-app subscription APIs. If it’s a good deal for publishers, they’ll choose to use the system on their own.

Apple should not require price-matching from subscription offers outside the app. Publishers should be allowed to charge iOS users more money to cover Apple’s cut.

Apple should consider business models that simply can’t afford a 70/30 revenue split.

Let’s consider these in reverse order.

Apple Should Consider Business Models That Can’t Afford a 70/30 Revenue Split

Apple doesn’t give a damn about companies with business models that can’t afford a 70/30 split. Apple’s running a competitive business; competition is cold and hard. And who exactly can’t afford a 70/30 split? Middlemen. It’s not that Apple is opposed to middlemen — it’s that Apple wants to be the middleman. It’s difficult to expect them to be sympathetic to the plights of other middlemen.

Some of these apps and services that are left out might be ones that iOS users enjoy, though. This is the leading argument for how this new policy will in fact hurt users, and, as a result, Apple itself: it’ll drive good apps off the platform. Frequently mentioned examples: Netflix and Kindle. For all we know, though, Netflix may well be fine with this policy. Apple would only get a 30 percent cut of new subscriptions that go through the Netflix iOS app, and that might be a bounty Netflix can live with in exchange for more subscribers. Keep in mind, too, that Netflix and Apple seemingly get along well enough that Netflix is built into the Apple TV system software.

Kindle, and e-book platforms in general, are a different case. For one thing, Kindle doesn’t use subscriptions. Kindle offers purchases. Presumably, given Apple’s rejection of Sony’s e-book platform app last month, Apple is going to insist on the same rules for in-app purchases through apps like Kindle as they do for in-app subscriptions. If so, something’s got to give. The “agency model” through which e-books are sold requires the bookseller to give the publisher 70 percent of the sale price. So if the publisher gets 70 and Apple gets 30, that leaves a big fat nothing for Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or Kobo, or anyone else selling books through native iOS apps — other than iBooks, of course.

But leaving aside the revenue split, there are technical limitations as well. The existing in-app purchasing system in iOS has a technical limit of 3,500 catalog items. I.e. any single app can offer no more than 3,500 items for in-app purchase. Amazon has hundreds of thousands of Kindle titles.

Something’s got to give here. I don’t know what, but there must be more news on this front coming soon. I don’t believe Apple wants to chase competing e-book platforms off the App Store.

Apple Should Not Require Price Matching

Why not allow developers and publishers to set their own prices for in-app subscriptions? One reason: Apple wants its customers to get the best price — and, to know that they’re getting the best price whenever they buy a subscription through an app. It’s a confidence in the brand thing: with Apple’s rules, users know they’re getting the best price, they know they’ll be able to unsubscribe easily, and they know their privacy is protected.

Credit card companies insist on similar rules: retailers pay a processing fee for every credit card transaction, but the credit card companies insist that these fees not be passed on to the customer. Customers pay the same price as they would if they used cash — which encourages them to use their credit card liberally. (Going further, many charge cards offer cash back on each purchase — they can do this because the cash-back percentage refunded to the customer is less than the transaction processing fee paid by the retailer.)

So the same-price rule is good for the user, and good for Apple. But Matt Drance argues that Apple could dissipate much of this subscription controversy by waiving this rule:

The requirement that IAP content be offered “at the same price
or less than it is offered outside the app,” combined with the
70/30 split, means developers must make less money off of iOS by
definition. They can’t price their IAP content higher to offset
the commission, nor can they price their own retail content lower.

If I am interpreting this correctly, I can’t bring myself to see
it as reasonable. […] I think a great deal of this drama could
go away if Apple dropped section 11.13 while keeping section
11.14: Your prices on your store are your business; just don’t
be a jerk and advertise the difference all over ours.

And I agree with him. Yes, the same-price rule is good for users and for Apple, but waiving this rule wouldn’t be particularly bad for users or for Apple, either — and it would give publishers some freedom to experiment.

I suspect one reason Apple won’t budge is that their competitors — like Amazon — insist on best-price matching.

Apple Should Not Require Apps to Offer In-App Subscriptions

I’m sympathetic to this argument, too. “If you don’t like our terms, don’t use our subscription system.” But it has occurred to me that this entire in-app subscription debate mirrors the debate surrounding the App Store itself back in 2008 — that 30 percent was too large a cut for Apple to take, that it shouldn’t be mandatory, etc. The same way many developers wanted (and still want) a way to sell native iOS apps on their own, outside the App Store, many publishers now want a way to sell subscriptions on their own, outside the App Store.

The fact is, the App Store is an all-or-nothing affair. You play by Apple’s rules or you stick to web apps through Mobile Safari. This alternative is no different for periodical publishers than it was (and remains) for app developers in general. A lot of these demands boil down to a desire for more autonomy for native iOS app developers. Apple has never shown any interest in that.

There’s one striking difference between the subscription controversy today and the App Store controversy in 2008: with subscriptions, Apple is taking away the ability to do something that they previously allowed. There was never a supported way to install native apps for iOS before the App Store. Subscriptions sold outside the App Store, on the other hand, were allowed until last month.

Apple Should Be Taking Less, Possibly Far Less, Than 30 Percent

Another difference between the App Store itself and in-app subscriptions is that with apps, Apple hosts and serves the downloads. Apple covers the bandwidth, even for gargantuan gigabyte-or-larger 99-cent games. The OS handles installation.

With in-app subscriptions (and purchases), however, the app developer is responsible for hosting the content, and for writing the code to download, store, and manage it. So — one reasonable argument goes — given that Apple is doing less for subscription content than it does for apps (or for music and movies purchased through iTunes), Apple should take less of the money.

Taken further, the argument boils down to this: that for in-app subscriptions and purchases, Apple is serving only as a payment processer — and thus, a reasonable fee for transactions would be in the small single digits — 3, 4, maybe 5 percent, say. More or less something along the lines of what PayPal charges.

Apple, I think it’s clear, doesn’t see it this way. Apple sees the entire App Store, along with all native iOS apps, as an upscale, premium software store: owned, controlled, and managed like a physical shopping mall. Brick and mortar retailers don’t settle for a single-digit cut of retail prices; neither does the App Store.

Seth Godin argues that Apple’s 30 percent cut is too big to allow publishers to profit:

Except Apple has announced that they want to tax each subscription
made via the iPad at 30%. Yes, it’s a tax, because what it does is
dramatically decrease the incremental revenue from each
subscriber. An intelligent publisher only has two choices: raise
the price (punishing the reader and further cutting down
readership) or make it free and hope for mass (see my point above
about the infinite newsstand). When you make it free, it’s all
about the ads, and if you don’t reach tens or hundreds of
thousands of subscribers, you’ll fail.

Godin’s logic strikes me as questionable. For one thing, he freely switches between a newsstand metaphor (arguing, perhaps accurately, that the App Store is too large for publishers to gain attention from potential readers in the first place — you won’t read what you never notice) and the economics of subscriptions. But subscribers are the opposite of newsstand readers. Newsstand readers are buying a single copy, often on impulse. Subscribers are readers who are already hooked, and who know what they want. Put another way, the size of Apple’s cut of subscription revenue — whether it were higher or lower — has no bearing on the “attention at the newsstand” problem.

Second, the problem facing traditional publishers today is that circulation is falling. Newsstand sales and subscriptions are falling, under pressure from free-of-charge websites and other forms of digital content. The idea with Apple’s 70-30 revenue split is that developers and publishers can make it up in volume — that people aren’t just somewhat more willing to pay for content through iTunes than other online content stores, they are far more willing. The idea is that Apple has cracked a nut no one else1 has — they’ve created an ecosystem where hundreds of millions of people are willing to pay for digital content. Thus, potentially, publishers won’t just make more money keeping only 70 percent of subscription fees generated through iOS apps than they are now with 96 percent (or whatever they’re left with after payment processing fees) of subscription fees they’re selling on their own — they stand to make a lot more money.

I’m not guaranteeing or even predicting that it’s going to work out that way. I’m just saying that’s Apple’s proposition.

Godin’s assumption is that iOS in-app subscriptions won’t significantly increase the number of subscribers. If he’s right about that, then he’s right that Apple’s 30 percent cut will prove too expensive for publishers. But Apple’s bet is that in-app subscriptions can dramatically increase the number of subscribers. Consider the app landscape. Apple’s 30 percent cut didn’t drive the price of paid apps up — the nature of the App Store drove prices down. It’s a volume game.

The App Store itself proves that Apple might be right. Like with app sales, in-app subscriptions won’t work for every publication. But it could work for many. It really is possible to make it up in volume.

And if a 70-30 split for in-app subscription revenue doesn’t work, the price will come down. That’s how capitalism works. You choose a price and see how it goes. I’ll admit — when the App Store launched in 2008, I thought Apple’s 70-30 split was skewed too heavily in Apple’s favor. Not that it was wrong in any moral sense, but that it was wrong in a purely economic sense: that it might be more than developers would be willing to bear. Apple, clearly, has a better sense about what prices the market will bear than I (and, likely, you) do.

Competition vs. Anti-Competition

One last argument I’ve seen regarding these in-app subscription rules is that it’s further evidence of anti-competitive behavior from Apple. That makes sense only if you consider iOS to be the entire field of play. Apple, though, is competing at a higher level. They’re competing between platforms: iOS vs. Kindle/Amazon vs. Android/Google vs. Microsoft, and in some ways, vs. the free web. Why should publishers make an app rather than just a mobile web site? For happier customers and more money.

Sony has a platform for e-books. Amazon has a platform for e-books. Barnes & Noble has a platform for e-books. Apple has a platform for e-books. But Apple is the only one which allows its competitors to have apps on its devices. And Apple is the anti-competitive one? I’m no lawyer, but if the iTunes Music store hasn’t yet been deemed a monopoly with Apple selling 70+ percent of digital music players, then I doubt the App Store will be deemed a monopoly for a market where Apple has never been — and, according to market share trends, may never be — the top-selling smartphone maker, let alone own a majority of the market, let alone own more than a single-digit sliver of the phone market as a whole. As for ruthless profiteering, consider that Amazon, with their e-book publishing, originally took the fat end of a 70-30 revenue split with authors.

One question I’ve been asked by several DF readers who object to Apple’s new in-app subscription and purchasing policies goes like this: What if Microsoft did this with Windows, and, say, tried to require Apple to pay them 30 percent for every purchase made through iTunes on Windows? To that, I say: good luck with that. Microsoft couldn’t make such a change by fiat. The whole premise of Windows (and other personal computer systems) is that it is open to third-party software. Apple couldn’t just flip a switch and make Mac OS X a controlled app console system like iOS — they had to introduce the Mac App Store as an alternative to traditional software installation. If Microsoft introduced something similar to the Mac App Store for Windows, Apple would simply eschew it. If Microsoft were to mandate an iOS App Store-like total control policy for all Windows software, they’d have a revolt in their user base that would make Vista look like a success.

iOS isn’t and never was an open computer system. It’s a closed, controlled console system — more akin to Playstation or Wii or Xbox than to Mac OS X or Windows. It is, in Apple’s view, a privilege to have a native iOS app.

This is what galls some: Apple is doing this because they can, and no other company is in a position to do it. This is not a fear that in-app subscriptions will fail because Apple’s 30 percent slice is too high, but rather that in-app subscriptions will succeed despite Apple’s (in their minds) egregious profiteering. I.e. that charging what the market will bear is somehow unscrupulous. To the charge that Apple Inc. is a for-profit corporation run by staunch capitalists, I say, “Duh”.

If it works, Apple’s 30-percent take of in-app subscriptions will prove as objectionable in the long run as the App Store itself: not very.

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

Preview of Final Result

Resources

PT Sans Bold – FontSquirrel

Free App Icons for Developers – WebAppers

Step 1

Open Photoshop and create a new document that is 1200 x 1200 pixels, 72 dpi, and RGB Color. Fill the layer with white. (Ctrl+Backspace or Delete)

Step 2

Now create a rectangle for the header and fill it with a white-grey color, then use the colors on the image for the “Gradient Overlay”. Our search and logo will eventually be part of the header.

Step 3

Create a new rectangle above the previous one, with attributes as shown below. The following drop shadow effect creates a look of a 1 pixel stroke which does increase the look of that simple bar. Note: this step creates a horizontal line.

Step 4

Now add the “Gradient Overlay” layer style with the hex codes indicated.

Step 5

Add a white 1 pixel stroke. The following stroke of 1 pixel will divide the grey shadow effect. It’ll eventually work as a divider.

Step 6

Make one more rectangle in the middle-right zone, and fill it with white and add a 1 px stroke as indicated – it will be our search box.

Step 7

One more rectangle should be created and filled with blue. Set the inner shadow as indicated below, this will be our search button. This blue works great in combination with grey, white and light-grey. Blue will be the major contrasting color we use as we work through this template.

Step 8

Add the Gradient Overlay details to the button with the details from image.

Step 9

Add a 1 px stroke to the button with the color indicated. Take a look at the first and the final result of the button so you can see the difference all these details made.

Step 10

Now add this drop shadow effect for the text placed in the search box, using PT Sans Bold. This will be the final step in creating your search button. You may want to try other fonts, but the PT Sans Bold is really good for this small button.

Step 11

Make another fill under the header section, this will be the navigation area. Here we will place the navigation links of our template.

Step 12

Write your navigation links using a dark-grey color, then add a white “drop shadow” effect. The effect used for the navigation links is the same used for the search button.

Step 13

With 1px vertical line, make divisions between each links. The lines should be black and will really increase the beauty of the navigation area.

Step 14

Over the home section, make a fill with the blue and then add a Gradient Overlay style as indicated.

Step 15

Copy the Home link, this time color it white and add a drop shadow effect.

Step 16

Create a big, grey zone under the navigation, it should be about 30% of the layout. This will be the background for the featured area.

Step 17

Now create a big, white rectangle and add some shadow with the details shown. A big stock image, a big headline and some text with another great button will be added.

Step 18

Add a any dummy image you want to that featured area. Be sure it covers more than 80% of the area. The one I chose is from a stock website.

Step 19

Add some text to it, use the PT SANS Bold font and make the font big.

Step 20

The remaining area should be filled with grey, in it we’ll place some text. This is really a secondary area which describes the image, the services, the company itself, or whatever you’d like.

Step 21

Place some blue-colored text which will be the title of the information below. Use the details in the image for Drop Shadow style.

Step 22

Add some dummy text. This could be some important information or whatever you’d like.

Step 23

Create another grey area under the featured zone, where we will add some text and icons later. Add the details as stated on the image. Mostly, the icons will promote the services offered by the company behind the website.

Step 24

Continue by adding a Gradient Overlay style for the last rectangle we have created in the anterior steps.

Step 25

Now we are adding titles and icons, as well as some divisions. The icons can be found in the resource list at the beginning of the tutorial. Be sure to choose your icons and text thoughtfully.

Step 26

At the border of both zones, create a small circle and fill it with dark brown color. Add some inner shadow as stated on the image.

Step 27

Continue by adding a drop shadow layer style. It is another small detail, but it really makes that button zone minimalistic, nice-looking and well designed.

Step 28

To finish, add a Gradient Overlay effect.

Step 29

By using the Custom Shape Tool (U), create an arrow in both circles. Now add the details shown on the screenshot.

Step 30

Continue by adding some Color Overlay for the arrow. It should also be a blue color because otherwise, it will not fit the contrast and the colors used on the whole template.

Step 31

Add a video screenshot in the free space and place a title for it. For this template, I have used a simple screenshot of a YouTube widget.

Step 32

Add the text “Product Highlights” and “Case Studies.” Let the text under the “Product Highlights” be links so you could showcase some friends’ websites or resources you admire/promote.

Step 33

Finish it by creating another form for e-mails, place all kind of other information, and whatever you’d like.

Step 34

Don’t forget to make a relevant/small footer for our template. If you have paid attention, you should know how to create the same effect as below.

All done! If you have questions or suggestions, feel free to drop a comment. I hope you enjoyed this whole tutorial!

What is your social media brand? Do you have one? Sure, many small business owners and entrepreneurs are coming around to the enormous importance of social media as a marketing, customer service, and, yes, even sales tool. But if you haven’t thought about how social media can define your brand, you are probably missing a HUGE part of what social media tools can do for your business. Here’s more…

Tools & Techniques

Creating a great brand with these blog tools. Tools that improve the look and functionality of your blog also improve your brand. A well-maintained small business blog is one of the most obvious and least expensive branding tools at the entrepreneur’s disposal even more so than social media channels like Facebook and Twitter because of how a blog can be customized to fit your needs and personality. This list of tools is a great way to start. EpicLaunch

What Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi can teach you about social media. One of the stars of the hit reality show “Jersey Shore”, “Snooki” is a perfect example of personal brand, but social media entrepreneurs could also learn much about building their own online presence from Snooki. Being yourself and using a simple, short tag to indelibly brand your identity are also great techniques in social media. One site is already trying to apply the starlets techniques in the social media space. Brand-Yourself

Tito Philips doesn’t want your comments on his blog! At least, not if they’re the wrong kind. And the wrong kind would be comments left for no other purpose than to get the blogger and his/her readers to visit your blog and perhaps comment on it in return. Why is comment trading bad? Don’t get Tito started! There are many ways to engage in social media marketing. Be sure you understand and respect some of the attitudes you may face. Blogging Bookshelf

News & Trends

The best of the best. Want to get a look at arguably the 20 best Facebook fan pages for business on the planet? By now you should know the value of a Facebook fan page to your branding efforts. What’s also true, however, is that not all Facebook sites are created equal. If you want to take your social media marketing to the next level, have a look at this list of cream of the crop sites. Inc.com

Even churches use social media marketing! In this article on the growing market for tech services among religious organizations, we learn that many churches have also already entered into the social media space. As houses of worship, particularly huge mega-churches, expand and build congregations, it’s easy to see how social media can work as a marketing tool here as well. Is your religious organization using social media for branding? WSJ

Tips & Tricks

20 tips that will make you a Twitter star. Among the tools popular in the new digital space is Twitter. The microblogging platform can be used for business or non-business purposes and it can be the key to your small business’s success. Learn how to use Twitter like a pro and you may be surprised at the benefits your small business gains as a result. Global Copywriting

Valuable lessons in social media. Gary Vaynerchuk, author of The Thank You Economy and a successful social media entrepreneur in his own right, has many insights to share with small business leaders seeking a new way to define their brands in an age of social communications. Read some of the takeaways Vaynerchuk shares with those trying to define their businesses with social media. E-Marketing Associates

Success Stories

Doubt the power of FB to create brand for almost anyone? You won’t after you read the story of Princeton English Professor Jeff Nunokawa and “Jeffbook”, a collection of 3,221 brief literary essays on Facebook, that have created an incredible cult status for Nunokawa in the process. His motivation? Not too different from those of most marketers. Nunokawa simply started sharing where he knew his audience already spent lots of their time. The results speak for themselves. Fast Company

Increase exposure with niche social media. Blogger Mavis Nong talks about the importance of niche social media sites including social bookmarking sites as a key method of creating exposure for your online business. Mavis talks about her experience with our sister site BizSugar.com (thanks for the shout out! ) and explains how smaller more focused social sites can sometimes have a surprising impact even larger than the big guys. Attraction Marketing Online

Opportunities

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From Small Business TrendsSmall Business News: Social Media Brand

Surface Encounters

No confirmation of radioactive water overflowing into sea: agency ...

2's tendency to spew highly radioactive water,'' said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the agency, at a news conference. Given that serious damage to fuel rods from overheating could lead to the release of enormous amounts of ...

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

Murder Victim's Parents Sue Facebook Over Crime Scene - AOL News

The family of New York murder victim Caroline Wimmer has filed a civil suit against Facebook and others, including ex-EMT Mark Musarella, who posted a graphic picture of their daughter's body to the social networking website.

Surface Encounters

managing your personal finances

There are many ways to manage your finances online, but many of them handle only the paying of run-of-the-mill bills. A site starting in beta-test mode on Monday, called Manilla, is aiming for something broader.

Manilla, which is owned by the publishing company Hearst, wants to help people organize four categories of accounts: household bills, like phone and cable; magazine subscriptions; air travel rewards programs; and financial bills like mortgages and credit cards. Once users sign up for Manilla they can link their personal accounts to the service and are supplied with a simple and clean interface to manage them.

Jessica Insalaco, an executive vice president at Manilla, said people the company surveyed said they were constantly baffled by the bills, subscriptions and other programs they have to manage. People also feel overwhelmed by the piles of paper bills they face on a daily basis, she said.

I tested Manilla ahead of its introduction and found that the process of linking and managing a bill was simple. I linked my AT&T phone bill to the service and it took only a few seconds to hook up the two sites and begin managing my account from Manilla.

Manilla isn’t only trying to help people organize their household finances. The company is teaming with businesses, too, hoping to offer a less expensive alternative to paper bills.

According to the United States Postal Service’s 2010 Annual Report, businesses in the United States send 48 billion account notices, statements and bills to customers each year. That’s a lot of paper that ultimately ends up in garbage dumps and paper shredders.

“Right now, some companies can spend up to 75 cents on a single paper bill,” Ms. Insalaco said. “We want to work with these major companies to send us the bill, reducing the cost of the paper version, and we will act as the middleman to the consumer.”

To make this process even more seamless, Manilla plans to create “premier partnerships” with some companies. Manilla said in a company blog post that it was opening with Comcast as its first premier partner, where cable customers who sign up for Manilla will no longer receive a paper bill, but will instead be billed directly through Manilla.

The company plans to add several premier partners when it has its full introduction in coming months.

Manilla isn’t only trying to help people organize their household finances. The company is teaming with businesses, too, hoping to offer a less expensive alternative to paper bills.

The company plans to add several premier partners when it has its full introduction in coming months.

bench craft company reviews

How To Install Managing News On Ubuntu | HowtoForge - Linux Howtos ...

How To Install Managing News On Ubuntu. Managing News is an RSS/Atom based news tracker with search, republishing and mapping. This tutorial shows how to install Managing News on an Ubuntu server. ...

News FAIL - Epic Fail Funny Videos and Funny Pictures

Fox News is hard right heroine. They love pushing stories, even with only an ounce of truth and a pound of spin, to their audience. However, it is basically the only opposition voice people on the far right have besides talk radio. ...

REPORT: News Corp. In Talks To Hand Over Control Of MySpace To ...

News Corp. is in preliminary talks to give control of Myspace to Vevo.com, the site partly owned by top record companies, including Universal Music and Sony Music, according to a Bloomberg report. News Corp. has been looking to unload ...

Monday, March 28, 2011

SEO Services Vancouver For any Better Marketing Solution

When you begin your own website there are lots of ways you will have to market it and one of the best ways is by using Search engine optimization Vancouver if you maintain that area. The SEO or seo services would be the top method of getting good traffic to your site and therefore making more sales.

Now, you need to know that you will not use SEO service if you're not an internet business - however, if you do not have an online presence if you are a offline business, then you'll not make it very far.

It's a popular proven fact that if you are planning to really make it within the offline world you must have an online business. This is something which all people are learning the hard way. One thing that you ought to also know is the fact that it is not as easy as just establishing the website and leaving it to complete its things.

You can do this in most types of ways, however these companies usually make use of multiple techniques to create the perfect marketing technique online. You will be able to employ them to write articles for you, post on forums and blogs, create meta tags and meta descriptions, cleanup the code, add alt tags towards the images plus much more.

It is very important that you do this because otherwise the organization that you have worked so difficult for could end up losing the money. If you have an internet site that you want to create, then you will also use the expertise of an SEO company, which means search engine optimization company. What the corporation does is basically take the best areas of your website, look into the code, create keywords and write various articles and documents to ensure that your site is placed close to the top of the list for the major search engines.

As a result the SEO company can not only increase your traffic, but also make sure that your site is fully optimized for that search engine spiders that will be introduced to it. These spiders are used to analyze your website and place it in certain positions determined on certain keywords.

If you wish to make use of the Search engine optimization Vancouver then all you have to complete is find the top companies. It is through these how the SEO gets done effectively and efficiently. With so many SEO companies to select from you need to be certain the main one you're going for is reliable. You ought to be able to request a breakdown of what you want, and also the company also needs to have the ability to let you know know long they've been operating for. This can limit the list to reveal the very best ones.

Search engine optimization Provided by Different Vancouver Web Companies

The Vancouver SEO company services are extremely good for business growth because they provide quality services. If you are planning to create a website for your internet business, then you've come to right article when i is going to be explaining below how Search engine optimisation Vancouver company services can increase your website ranking making it popular.

Before that, you should know what Search Engine Optimization is. It's not that complicated and i am sure you're going to get a grasp of it reading my article. The primary goal of SEO is to get more traffic to your website and audience. It's a good decision to select a Vancouver SEO company that are experts in this sort of work, which means that your website can be indexed by search engines.

There is no reason for you having a website without any website ranking whatsoever while you won't have any business and profits to outlive. It is a very tough atmosphere out there as there are so many online business people just like you, who want their share of pie. You have to be aware of the fact that nearly 85% of online traffic could be got from internet websites.

When a user types inside a keyword or keywords for which he/she wants to know in different sites, these use crawlers to obtain web sites using the relevant content and index them according to algorithms. It's not necessary to be worried about the algorithms which these websites use as that isn't important.

To look within the first page from the search result, you will have to hire professionals and experts who can perform the needful to maintain your site among the good books in these websites. These professionals can optimize your site content to ensure your website gets increased traffic.

When the traffic gets high, it is a sign that you're obtaining a service which will get you more revenues. SEO Vancouver company do the following to make your website appear within the first page of search engine results.

Use keywords which are popularly utilized on search engines on your website content.
Possess a website design for the website that is simple because top sites are allergic to flash and weird designs.
Submit your website to directories.
Submit your website to directory websites.
Postings on blogs and forums with back links for your websites. This really is considered as an effective way to get increased traffic aimed at your website as many online users use blogs and forums.

SEO Vancouver company also perform site diagnostics which is an important part in online optimization as research and analysis on finding keywords may be the method to start a SEO campaign. So, make sure you select the right SEO Vancouver company.

Are you looking for more info regarding SEO Vancouver? Visit http://www.seo4vancouver.com/seo-services.asp today!

What to anticipate When Hiring a Roofer

When the time comes to correct or substitute your roof, it's really a daunting job to find someone who is qualified for the job. There are lots of roofing contractors available, however the ones who will do a congrats for a reasonable cost are not frequently simple to find. If you are in the market for a contractor, make use of the ideas beneath for meeting with as well as hiring the correct one.

Job interview and Discussion

The majority of roofing companies offer free consultation services. This is especially important, since it provides them an opportunity to evaluate what your homes roof requirements, and it gives you an opportunity to assess all of them. As with all businesses, believe in instincts concerning the people you let up onto your roof. No matter exactly how good a contractor's status or recommendation, he or she should start by presenting you with a business card. If the service provider occurs looking as well as talking in an less than professional method, most likely the task he's going to perform may also be unprofessional. This isn't to express that you should expect companies to reach within suits. They is going to be hiking in your roofing, so most will be dressed up in jeans and function boots or even sneakers. If the contractor appears to be more interested in talking upon his cell phone during your homes roof than he is in analyzing your roof's requirements, which may be another indication that he's not the one to do the job. For the legal protection, make sure that the actual service provider offers adequate legal responsibility insurance.

Roof Evaluation

Expect that the contractor is going to be rising on your roofing. Actually, any kind of contractor who not need to go up in your roof to evaluate the problem ought to be immediately discounted. Those who are serious about their work will possibly create a drawing of the roof's surface area and tag trouble spots on it because they go through their assessment, or even they will take photos or video clip of the surface area while they are available online for. This is a very important action, because it enables you to see just what the troubles are and understand how they will be fixed.

Estimation

The next phase will be the created estimation. The contractor will take out his loan calculator and come track of an itemized estimation. Some contractors goes to their truck or truck and write down the suggestion, while some will crisis the actual numbers for the job prior to you. Once you're because of the proposal, make sure that you comprehend exactly which items is going to be used, just how long the job will take and if there are any extra or even concealed expenses that could arise throughout the restore of the roof. The contractor should be able to solution many of these concerns with ease and forewarn you of any additional costs that might be sustained should the roof's integrity end up being damaged inside.

Once you have obtained a few created estimations from roofing companies, assess what each organization or service provider is willing to offer you for the price. Do not always discount the highest bet, because occasionally the highest bid will in reality be the contractor who does the job properly. Also, be skeptical of prices for bids that are not nearly as expensive other people. They may be using inferior items or perhaps be untruthful about the possibility of hidden costs. Above all, trust your instincts and opt for the service provider who enables you to feel quite comfy regarding giving more than your money.

Seven Uyghurs Sentenced to Death

2011-03-23

Critics of the sentences say China has politicized the robberies as acts of terrorism.

AFP

A Uyghur man walks past armed Chinese security forces in Urumqi, July 17, 2009.

Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have ordered the executions of seven ethnic minority Uyghur men convicted of "violent" crimes, official media said on Wednesday.

The death sentences were handed down by the Supreme People's Court in recent days, according to state media in the regional capital, Urumqi.

The men were accused in connection with three separate attacks late last year in the Silk Road city of Kashgar, according to the news website Urumqi Online.

According to another website, the Xinjiang-based Tianshan news site, Aimaiti Tuheti, Yiming Dawuti, and unnamed "others" killed a security guard at a pedestrian mall as part of a failed Aug. 7 robbery attempt.

In a separate incident on Oct. 12, it said, Nuermaimaiti Aobulikasimu and 11 others broke into a house, bound and killed the couple living in it, and took their possessions.

It said the group also broke into the homes of two brothers, robbed them, and killed six people in a Nov. 11 attack in Kashgar.

The report gave no information about the victims or the schedule for the executions.

Three of the men were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, a sentence that is normally commuted to life imprisonment in China's judicial system.

They were convicted of deliberate homicide and armed robbery by the Kashgar Intermediate People's Court in the first instance.

'Strike hard' campaign

A Han Chinese resident of Urumqi surnamed Yang said a reference to "terrorism" in official news reports on the case showed that it was being politicized by the authorities, who have launched a series of "strike hard" campaigns in Xinjiang following deadly ethnic violence in July 2009.

"There is an implied political meaning; that they were somehow engaged in separatist activities or ethnic divisions," said Yang.

Exile Uyghur groups said the trials had been conducted behind closed doors, with scant opportunity for public scrutiny.

"The entire process against these men, from the trial through to the judgment, was opaque," said Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress.

"There was also very little reasonable evidence to convict them on a legal basis, because all the evidence came from one side of the case," he said.

"We strongly condemn the Chinese government for continuing to pursue their policies of ethnic division," said Raxit.

"We are also strongly opposed to the death penalty in this case."

Earlier cases

Last month, the Supreme Court sentenced four Uyghurs to death for alleged involvement in an Aug. 19 bomb attack in Xinjiang’s western Aksu city.

The World Uyghur Congress pointed to concerns over lack of transparency in those cases too.

The Aksu blast left eight people dead, including two of the bombers, and 15 wounded after a man riding a three-wheeled vehicle threw explosives at a group of uniformed patrolmen. Four Uyghurs were arrested shortly after the attack.

State media characterized the cases as acts of terrorism and unrelated to longstanding ethnic tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in the region.

Exiled Uyghur dissident Rebiya Kadeer has warned that attacks like those in Aksu will continue to occur until Beijing addresses the underlying source of tension in the region.

Millions of Uyghurs—a distinct, Turkic minority who are predominantly Muslim—populate Central Asia and Xinjiang.

Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.

Those frustrations erupted in July 2009 in deadly riots that left nearly 200 people dead, by the Chinese government's tally.

At least 26 people, mostly Uyghurs, were sentenced to death in the aftermath of the riots, many of whom have been executed, according to state media.

China is believed to execute more people each year than the rest of the world’s countries combined, although the government does not publish official figures.

Rights groups say Beijing may execute as many as several thousand prisoners annually.

Chinese authorities blame Uyghur separatists for a series of deadly attacks in recent years and accuse one group in particular of maintaining ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

New training scheme

China on Wednesday also announced a training scheme which places ethnic minority graduates from Xinjiang in work elsewhere in China.

Governments of the destination cities will spend 450 million yuan (U.S.$ 69 million) for the program, while Xinjiang will spend 400 million yuan (U.S.$ 61 million), the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The program targets some 60,000 jobless college graduates in Xinjiang, around 80 percent of whom are from ethnic minorities, and 60 percent of whom are women.

However, some commentators see the move as an attempt to assimilate non-Han Chinese into mainstream Chinese culture.

"From the point of view of ethnic minorities, the graduate work scheme is really taking the cream of youth from the minorities and using them to 'further cultural development,'" wrote one ethnic minority user on a popular microblogging service.

"In fact, the culture that is being advanced is Han culture, and this group of young people will have been totally brainwashed," the microblog update said.

An Urumqi resident surnamed Li agreed.

"They have run senior high school schemes like this before during the past few years," he said.

"Whether it's high-schoolers or graduate training programs, these are measures that are aimed at thought control and brainwashing, and the 'Partification' of their education," he said.

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Wikileaks and the Uyghurs

through holly upon December 20, 2010
Henryk Szadziewski, Manager, Uyghur Human Rights Project

Whether it were actually in doubt, info acquired by the whistleblower web site, Wikileaks, has verified Chinese federal government worries more than it's ongoing control of the region this phone calls Xinjiang, also is known as Eastern Turkestan. The actual leaked out cables through U.S. diplomats demonstrate the degree to which Chinese authorities make an effort to convince government authorities worldwide to adopt its stance upon issues impacting Uyghurs. The actual wires also show the United States' concerns as well as sights regarding the ongoing repressive measures in the region.

The majority of lighting of Chinese government pressure would be the cables directed to Chinese frustration, or the specter associated with Chinese ire, over the release of Uyghur detainees in Guantánamo to 3rd countries. A Dec 29, 2008 cable relates exactly how Chinese language Helper Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi met with the U.S. Ambassador to The far east in order to tone of voice Beijing's strong opposition of release in order to any nation other than China, and that if the Ough.S. did indeed accede for this ask for it might "avoid harm to bilateral relations and also to co-operation ‘in essential areas'". Furthermore, a February '09 cable describes the way the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Zhang Yannian, regarded the feasible discharge of Uyghur Guantánamo detainees as "an unfriendly act toward us" and a "slap in the face". That the U.S. government stood firm in not really releasing the detainees in order to China illustrates the extent from the politicized nature from the Chinese language judicial program. Legitimate issues over terrorism are easy to understand, however in the actual U.Utes. government's observe the detainees might most likely encounter do-it-yourself torture as well as execution when they returned in order to The far east

Chinese language federal government pressure in regard to the actual Uyghur Guantánamo detainees was not just put on the U.S. federal government, but additionally in order to New Zealand along with a number of Western governments which were thinking about resettlement. Albania, Indonesia and Finland, as well as Eu fellow member states all appear to have paid for the actual brunt of Chinese language government unhappiness. In the case of Germany, that was at first prepared to think about two Uyghurs upon purely humanitarian grounds, Uyghur Guantánamo cases were much less preferable to other detainees because of the negative effects accepting Uyghurs would have upon relationships with China. A May Eight, 2009 cable television applies exactly how "German Ambassador Michael Schaefer documented which Indonesia experienced informed The far east from the U.Utes. request to simply accept some Uighur detainees kept from Guantánamo coupled with already been consequently warned through China associated with ‘a heavy burden on bilateral relations' in the event that Indonesia had been to accept any kind of detainees".

The diplomatic cables additionally discuss the actual unrest within Urumchi, the actual local capital, in July 2009. A July Thirteen, 2009 cable discussing bulk incidents in The far east states:

"Ethnic riots like those in Xinjiang July 5-7 and in Tibet within March associated with 08 vary substantially in origin and character through mass occurrences, XXXXXXXXXXXX emphasized to PolOff [Political Officer] on XXXXXXXXXXXX. Both present serious problems for the actual Party, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, but the Party management would not hesitate to spread out fire upon Uighurs or Tibetans when they deemed this essential to restore purchase. Mass occurrences present another kind of threat, he said, as the management is actually ‘afraid' to fire on Han rioters for fear of sparking huge public outrage that would change from the Party."

This is a relaxing opinion, particularly when one considers evidence offered in two reports launched this season by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) and Amnesty International that detail eyewitness company accounts of the utilization of lethal reside fire against Uyghur protestors within This summer 2009. Additionally, the actual observation which fire wouldn't be deployed against Han Chinese protestors offers resonances for that various strategy taken by Chinese language protection causes in Urumchi in order to Han Chinese language protests in September 2009. Throughout those protests, then Celebration Assistant, Wang Lequan, addressed demonstrators, who experienced required that he inform them about government responses to protection issues. A similar request to satisfy using the Celebration Assistant through Uyghur protesters within This summer was not fulfilled.

The actual wider consequences from the unrest additionally saw a short dialogue on the impact it might have on Iran-China relationships, and on relations along with Australia following World Uyghur Congress Leader, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, talked in the National Press Club within Canberra in July 2009. Within the second option situation, the Chinese federal government "privately warn[ed] a major Australian bank which sponsors the nation's Push Membership to make use of it's influence to bar the Kadeer talk there".

The actual U . s . States' issues about the situation within the Uyghur region are available via within the wires. In a discussion on plan direction in Tibet, U.S. officials clarify that it will end up being not possible for Chinese frontrunners to consider the much softer line "if they look like doing so below worldwide pressure". The cable out dated 04 Sixteen, 08, 30 days after the episode associated with unrest in Tibetan regions, additionally relayed the actual observation "that domestic stability remains the leadership's top priority above all else, meaning there'll ‘almost surely' end up being absolutely no rest from the present difficult collection upon Tibet or perhaps in places such as Xinjiang." The information contained in the cable television additionally storage sheds light about the severe level of sensitivity with which china federal government sights territorial integrity, and also the feasible spill over associated with unrest from Tibet.

The chance associated with methods to tensions within Tibet and Xinjiang as a result of municipal society are debated inside a Feb Twenty-four, 08 cable television. While suggesting that China's financial achievement will increase its resistance to democratic change, the actual cable television additionally discusses exactly how Chinese leaders begin to see the usefulness associated with "a restricted growth associated with municipal culture, such as improvements within the guideline associated with regulation and a more powerful role with regard to authorized beliefs, NGOs, non profit organizations and other stars in places that contribute to social stability and do not challenge Communist Party rule." This is a significant change in considering, which has seen Ough.S. authorities market the idea which Chinese economic development, as well as financial relationships with The far east brings in regards to a steadily democratic society; nevertheless, more belief appears to be put into a grassroots motion compared to one that begins from the best levels of the Chinese federal government. Nevertheless, the actual cable concludes which "[i]n areas for example Tibet and Xinjiang, the fear associated with separatism leads to tighter limitations on the growth of civil society." This method is viewed as counter-productive by the recognized, that suggests that the U.S. government "should continue to express...serious concerns over Beijing's individual privileges record and attract China's developing awareness which greater regard with regard to individual rights, spiritual independence and the guideline associated with regulation assists to advertise the very development as well as social balance which The far east looks for in addition to to improve China's international picture." Such a strategy might take substantial diplomatic abilities thinking about "China's weird concern the Usa privately promotes regime alter as well as ‘separatists' within Taiwan, Tibet as well as Xinjiang".

The actual cables offer insight into the actual daily business of diplomacy that's hardly ever owned by the general public, which is interesting to notice the amount of work done behind closed doors on Uyghur problems. The significance of the part of the United States like a keep track of associated with Uyghur individual privileges conditions within private discussions is created clear, and contrasts using its tactful open public position. The staff of the Uyghur Human Privileges Task is actually well aware of the pressure the Chinese government exerts upon Uyghur activists; still, the facts of Chinese government pressure on it's alternatives is actually illustrative of the diploma which Chinese officials attempt to suppress contrary narratives. With increased revelations in the future from Wikileaks, issues over Uyghurs might not get the headlines, however the cables have shed new gentle about the documentation associated with individual rights problems within the Uyghur area.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Wikileaks and also the Uyghur People

by holly upon Dec Twenty, This year
Henryk Szadziewski, Supervisor, Uyghur Human Rights Project

If it had been actually uncertain, information acquired through the whistleblower web site, Wikileaks, offers verified Chinese language government worries over its continued control of the region this calls Xinjiang, which is also referred to as East Turkestan. The leaked wires through U.Utes. diplomats demonstrate the degree to which Chinese language government bodies attempt to persuade government authorities globally to consider its position on problems affecting Uyghurs. The cables additionally display the United States' issues and views concerning the ongoing repressive steps in the area.

The majority of lighting associated with Chinese language government pressure are the cables directed in order to Chinese anger, or even the specter of Chinese ire, within the release of Uyghur detainees in Guantánamo to third countries. A December Twenty nine, 2008 cable relates exactly how Chinese language Helper Foreign Minister Liu Jieyi met with the U.Utes. Ambassador to The far east in order to tone of voice Beijing's strong opposition of release to any kind of nation apart from China, and that when the Ough.S. did certainly accede to this ask for it would "avoid harm to bilateral relations and to cooperation ‘in important areas'". Furthermore, the Feb 2009 cable describes the way the Chinese Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Zhang Yannian, regarded the feasible release of Uyghur Guantánamo detainees because "an unfriendly behave toward us" along with a "slap within the face". That the U.S. federal government was company within not liberating the actual detainees to The far east illustrates the degree from the politicized nature from the Chinese judicial program. Genuine concerns over terrorism are understandable, but in the U.Utes. government's observe the detainees might probably face torture and execution if they returned to The far east

Chinese government stress in regard to the actual Uyghur Guantánamo detainees wasn't only applied to the Ough.S. government, but additionally in order to New Zealand along with a number of Western government authorities which were thinking about resettlement. Albania, Germany as well as Finland, as well as Eu member states all appear to have paid for the actual impact associated with Chinese language government disappointment. Regarding Germany, that was at first prepared to consider 2 Uyghurs on purely humanitarian grounds, Uyghur Guantánamo cases had been less better than additional detainees due to the unwanted effects accepting Uyghurs would have upon relations along with The far east. The Might 8, '09 cable relates exactly how "German Ambassador Erina Schaefer documented which Indonesia had informed The far east from the Ough.S. ask for to simply accept some Uighur detainees kept at Guantánamo and had already been consequently cautioned by China associated with ‘a large burden upon bilateral relations' if Indonesia were to accept any kind of detainees".

The diplomatic wires additionally discuss the unrest in Urumchi, the actual local capital, within July 2009. The This summer 13, '09 cable discussing mass occurrences in The far east says:

"Ethnic riots like those who work in Xinjiang This summer 5-7 and in Tibet in 03 associated with 2008 vary markedly in source as well as character through bulk occurrences, XXXXXXXXXXXX emphasized in order to PolOff [Political Officer] upon XXXXXXXXXXXX. Each existing severe trouble for the Party, XXXXXXXXXXXX stated, but the Celebration management would not hesitate to open fireplace on Uighurs or Tibetans when they considered this necessary to recover order. Bulk occurrences present a different kind of threat, he explained, as the leadership is ‘afraid' to fire upon Han rioters for anxiety about causing massive open public outrage that would turn against the Celebration."

This is a relaxing opinion, particularly when one considers evidence offered by 50 percent reviews launched this year by the Uyghur Individual Privileges Project (UHRP) as well as Amnesty Worldwide which detail eyewitness accounts of the utilization of deadly live fire towards Uyghur protestors in July '09. In addition, the actual observation which fireplace would not be used towards Han Chinese language protestors has resonances for the different strategy taken through Chinese protection forces within Urumchi in order to Han Chinese language protests within Sept 2009. During those protests, then Celebration Secretary, Wang Lequan, addressed demonstrators, that experienced demanded that he let them know about federal government responses to protection concerns. A similar ask for to meet using the Celebration Secretary by Uyghur demonstrators in July was not met.

The broader repercussions of the unrest also noticed a short dialogue on the impact it would possess on Iran-China relations, and on relations along with Australia following World Uyghur Our elected representatives Leader, Microsoft. Rebiya Kadeer, talked at the Nationwide Push Membership within Canberra within August 2009. In the latter case, the Chinese government "privately warn[ed] a major Aussie bank that sponsors the nation's Push Club to use it's influence to bar a Kadeer talk there".

The actual United States' issues about the scenario in the Uyghur region also come via in the cables. Inside a dialogue on policy path in Tibet, U.Utes. authorities explain that it will be impossible for Chinese language leaders to consider the much softer collection "if they appear like they are doing this under international pressure". The cable television dated April Sixteen, 2008, 30 days after the outbreak associated with unrest within Tibetan areas, also relayed the actual declaration "that domestic balance continues to be leadership's top priority most of all, meaning there'll ‘almost surely' end up being no relaxation of the current hard collection on Tibet or perhaps in places such as Xinjiang." The info contained in the cable additionally sheds gentle about the extreme level of sensitivity that the Chinese federal government views territorial integrity, and also the feasible spill over associated with unrest through Tibet.

The prospect of solutions to stress within Tibet and Xinjiang arising from municipal society tend to be debated inside a February 24, 08 cable. Whilst suggesting that China's economic achievement will increase its potential to deal with democratic reform, the cable television also talks about exactly how Chinese language frontrunners see the usefulness of "a restricted growth associated with municipal society, such as enhancements in the rule associated with regulation and a more powerful role for approved beliefs, NGOs, charities along with other stars within areas that bring about social stability and don't problem Communist Party rule." This can be a significant change in considering, which has observed Ough.S. authorities promote the notion that Chinese language financial improvement, and economic relations with China will bring about a progressively democratic culture; nevertheless, much more faith seems to be placed in a grassroots movement than one which starts in the top levels of the Chinese language government. Nevertheless, the cable concludes which "[i]n places for example Tibet and Xinjiang, driving a car associated with separatism results in tighter limitations on the development of civil culture." This approach can be regarded as counter-productive through the recognized, who suggests that the U.Utes. government "should continue to express...serious concerns more than Beijing's human rights report and appeal to China's developing awareness which higher respect for individual rights, spiritual independence and the guideline of regulation assists to promote the development and social balance which China looks for as well as to improve China's worldwide image." Such a technique might consider substantial diplomatic abilities thinking about "China's paranoid concern that the United States secretly encourages routine alter as well as ‘separatists' within Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang".

The wires offer understanding of the every day business associated with diplomacy that is rarely afforded to the general public, and it is interesting to note the amount of work carried out nowadays upon Uyghur problems. The importance of the actual role of the United States as a monitor of Uyghur human privileges problems in private discussions is made obvious, as well as contrasts with its tactful open public position. The staff from the Uyghur Human Rights Project is actually well aware of pressure china federal government exerts on Uyghur activists; nevertheless, the facts associated with Chinese language federal government stress upon it's alternatives is actually illustrative of the degree that Chinese officials make an effort to suppress contradictory stories. With more revelations to come from Wikileaks, concerns over Uyghurs might not grab the head lines, but the cables have get rid of new gentle about the documentation associated with human rights conditions within the Uyghur region.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Search Engine Optimisation And Article Marketing Will Place Yourself The First Page

Search engine marketing and article promotion are a couple of the strongest strategies that can be used in promoting your site and get the revenue and success that you desire for your web business. Both of these stuff has been around to get a really while already however they still remain to be really effective. In reality, these have helped many people free themselves in the traditional ways of money-generating options of society.

In the following paragraphs, I will be showing the ways how you are able to properly execute search engine optimization and article marketing for the betterment of one's business enterprise web site. Additionally, I will even be discussing the various points that you must look out for when you're using these two website marketing strategies to market your website and get customers. Despite the fact that article marketing and Seo have been around for a long time already, you have to know that the trends and choices concerning how they are carried out are continually changing, which is why you should stay up to date with these items through the help of Seo forum sites so that you can quickly adjust and learn how to make your strategies more effective.

In the past article marketing to various web-sites was once so simple the effects that they produce for websites was really powerful. However, stuff has changed a whole lot today. These days submitting the same article to various websites has stopped being a good suggestion because engines like google have now changed to a huge extent in the way they rank pages. They no longer rank contents which can be identical like they used to in the past. This is one of the best samples of changes that occur in web marketing trends. This change has given birth to wide plethora of methods that web marketers are using today. Nearly all of internet marketers now produce articles and submit them in really popular article submission sites and wait for site visitors arrive at their pages. Be thought of as that most reliable Search engine marketing strategy that you can use. Aside from being effective, this delivers favorable outcomes on a regular basis. The only issue with this strategy is the caliber of traffic you will get from this won't be that good unless you do proper keyword research beforehand and use in-links. You first need for attending these two things prior to deciding to submit your posts so that you won't wind up losing large amounts of targeted traffic. Because of this you must practice good amounts of diligence if you would like your advertising initiatives to be effective.

Apart from articles, you can also use blogs, which can be another really powerful form of internet marketing strategy today because it's highly well-liked by the major search engines. Within this technique, you are able to choose to create a single weblog that specifically targets your selected market or you can contribute to other weblogs that are called experts inside your niche.

Learn effective Vancouver search engine marketing techniques on the Vancouver SEO website.

Roofing Companies Vancouver British Columbia

There are lots of things to take into consideration when looking for a roofing contractor. Price, experience, as well as referrals are a handful of the things you will probably be concerned about. Keep reading for even more ideas.

Finding a Roofing Contractors

Before buying roofing contractor, make sure you have a basic idea of the job that you need to have inked. By no means must you be a specialist. If you have a new Roof Certification, read it thoroughly to find the information about your existing roof. If you do not have a Roof Certificate, refer to documents authorized during closing to locate your Roof Inspection bed sheet. These paperwork should supply you with everything you need to know about your roof. Just before contacting a roofing contractor, you ought to have a list of needs and requirements to help you make a decision exactly who works for your roofing project. Make sure you write down each potential roof covering contractor's answers along with check these people against the other. If you'll find any mistakes, be sure to notice this and also take this into consideration when coming up with a final selection. There are no uncomplicated ways to pick a roofing contractor, but when you take take to the details provided, your chances of a successful roofer project are usually greatly improved.

One of the best strategies to finding a roofing contractor is by word of mouth. Try wondering a friend or relative who may have had roofer work carried out, and has been satisfied with the job. Get the name of the organization and their own contact info. If you have not sure of oral cavity referrals, test first searching in the mobile phone book and online. A large advertising or expensive website isn't necessarily indication of the high quality of work, but sometimes be a excellent tool with regard to measuring the amount of time and dedication they have placed in their respective profession. Additionally, try locating current worksites and appear at the roofing work which is done or perhaps the process of becoming finished. If you are visually impressed, ask the house manager for that name with the roofing contractor and also their get in touch with information.

Research

When looking for a roofing contractors, it really is imperative to very first do the background research. Acquire the best in the phonebook or on the Internet is a suitable spot to find a builder, finding relevant information on these kinds of businesses is going to be found in a number of other areas. Initial, check with areas like the Bbb, city, condition, and local public records, as well as local accreditation agencies. Request your roofing contractor if they are an affiliate of any roofer associations. These kinds of precautions will certainly mitigate your risks. Also ask them what forms of roofing that they specialize in. Additionally ask your current roofing contractor concerning any warranties they offer on his or her installed roofing. Find out what measures they take to avoid destruction done to other regions of the home by workers. Items such as gutters, home siding, and fireplaces are near the coast proximity and thus susceptible to unintentional damages.

Make certain all of this info is included in your created contract. Check if you need a covering permit and/or authorization from your home owners association ahead of time. These people will let you know that's responsible for obtaining these permits and authorizations. If it is the responsibility of the roofing contractor, also have that included within your contract. If it is your responsibility, get explained permits as well as permissions collated with all the estimated covering project and possess it obviously posted or perhaps readily available.

Licensing and Referrals

Roofing Companies are not necessary to be certified in all says. Contact neighborhood licensing companies that oversee general building contractors for a list of demands. Once you have attained the requirements, create a list of detailed questions to ask your own potential roofer. This simple list should instantly help you to weed out the skilled from the unqualified roofing building contractors. Qualified building contractors should be able to effortlessly answer questions as well as tell you that they must do further research just before giving any definitive reply.

Even if any roofing contractor offers all essential licensing, you must ask to view pictures of completed roofer jobs along with speak to satisfied clients. Have a list of inquiries handy to ask recent clients, such as the dynamics of the employment, timeliness, and all round satisfaction. Make certain these are the latest clients and also cross guide if possible. In the matter of commercial roofing, make sure that the particular roofing contractor is bonded. Checking these personal references is another included measure of protection to define the list associated with potential roofing contractors.

Seo Through Article Writing

Article writing could be a very powerful kind of Search engine optimization for the company web site. Quality written articles have the ability to transform your websites SERP and add quality in your company website. Writing informative keyword rich articles is crucial in gaining new backlinks for your business website. Articles can and will be written on topics which can be unique to your business or industry. The articles can discuss a multitude of issues and ideas with your industry. Articles that provide the various readers having a resource are invariably the most popular and most likely varieties of articles that may result in backlinks to your site.

Focus your posts on your potential readers or customers. Search engine optimization articles should address real questions which can be asked by current or past customers. Each article you're writing for you company should include detailed analysis and Seo keywords that will help associate your web site with the content contained in the website. Focus your articles on up to 3 keywords and don't stray from them. Consistency is very important when writing Search engine optimization articles. Should you be writing about Vancouver Seo ensure your always write about information tightly related to the keyword.

Give all of your Search engine optimization Articles an engaging Title that can encourage people to read and bookmark your posts. Ideally, the articles you're writing can be as links from other websites which might be much like yours. This alone may help increase the power of each and every link and definately will assist in your SERP. Make sure to end each article with a keyword anchored link (see Easy Small enterprise Seo). This link will increase your rankings in Google and other major engines like google for that keyword attached to the link. Submit the articles to some submitted article directory and Voila! Before very long, your site might be about the first page of Google.

Thank you for reading. Can't wait to see your Search engine optimization articles!