Category Archives: General

Shopping Online vs. Shopping In Store

With Christmas around the corner, many of us are busy buying presents for our loved ones. It is a very special time of year as most of us enjoy shopping very much.

It is not a secret that with the popularity of the Internet many of us prefer to shop from the convenience of our own homes rather than shop in stores. I have to say that I don’t blame anybody for choosing online shopping over offline shopping as it can be so much more convenient to sit in front of your PC and order whatever you want.

In the UK, the number of online shoppers have been growing rapidly over the last couple of years. In a very interesting survey I had a chance to look at www.broadbandgenie.co.uk, 46% people responded that they would shop online before Christmas while 54% of respondents choose to shop in brick and mortar stores. What is interesting is also the fact that women are more likely to shop online rather than men.

It is also pretty obvious that younger people are more likely to shop online than older people are and it turns out that 50% of those between 35-54 years of age will turn to online shopping this December. When it comes to those above 55 only 37% of them will sit in front of their computers to look for the products to buy.

Another interesting piece of information I was able to find is that the residents of Northern Ireland are more likely to shop online this year. Over 52% choose to shop on the Internet as opposed to around 45% in the rest of the country (England, Wales and Scotland).

And what about you? Are you going to hit the road and drive to some nearby stores, or are you going to sit comfortably in front of your PC browsing comfortably the large selection of items available on the Internet?

Netflix Faces New Competition from Amazon, Hulu and Others

When Redbox officially ended its partnership with Verizon and their combined streaming services, many thought this was a sign that no other company could ever topple Netflix. Though it still reports a high number of sales each year, it did experience a slight drop that some believe it due to the number of other options now available. While the government managed to shut down a number of websites that illegally offered streaming and download services, there are some official apps and sites that might beat Netflix in the long run.

Amazon Prime Instant Video

Amazon offers a membership program for $99 per year. Members receive free two-day shipping, advanced notice of upcoming sales and access to Amazon Prime Instant Video. Similar to Netflix, this service has more than 40,000 television shows and movies available. Though some point out its high price, the streaming service costs around the same for one year as Netflix does. Amazon has an exclusive deal with HBO that lets it stream former hit shows that aired on that network to its customers, and it also has some current HBO shows available as well. Users can download the app and use the service on tablets and game consoles.

Hulu

Hulu started as a website that gave viewers the option to watch hit television shows and movies on their computers. As the service grew, it created an optional service called Hulu Plus. While Hulu is free to users, Hulu Plus costs around $8 per month. Hulu viewers can only use the service on their computers, and the site will only allow Plus members to watch certain videos. Plus members can also use the service on tablets and other devices. Hulu typically makes television shows available the day after those shows air on TV, but viewers do need to watch several commercials.

Paid Services

Paid services are premium services that charge users a fee based on the number of films or shows that they download. One of the most popular of these services is iTunes. Once users buy and download a video, they can access that video any time they want. Most videos cost less than $10, and new releases are usually available on the same day that those films land in video stores. Microsoft and PlayStation offer similar services on the XBOX 360 and One and the PS3 and PS4 that let users buy films and shows.

Network Apps

One of the biggest competitors to Netflix, according to tech expert Bobby Kotick, are the apps developed by television networks. FOX has its FOX Now and FXX apps, and A&E, ABC, History Channel and other networks also have their own apps. These apps give viewers the chance to watch some of their favorite shows on video game consoles, tablets, computers and smartphones. Network apps run commercials like Hulu does, and these apps also limit the selections available based on the cable service provider the user has.

Though Netflix is still the king when it comes to streaming services, some new companies and apps hope to dethrone the company. Users can watch the latest television shows on Hulu, watch shows that stream through network apps and get free shipping, streaming of television shows and movies and other perks when they purchase Amazon Prime.

Keep Your Home Safe with a Few Simple Steps

Keeping your family, belongings and property safe and secure is your first priority, and with a little planning, you can achieve it and gain peace of mind. An alarm system with monitoring is a good place to start. You can get discounted alarm monitoring for your security system that provides monitoring of your alarms by professionals who will call the police or fire department within seconds when your alarm sounds.

Make Your Home Unattractive to Burglars

Don’t advertise to burglars. If you have a new TV or a great bike, don’t leave the packaging where anyone can see it. Make sure you put it in the garage or backyard away from greedy eyes. It’s also not a good idea to have expensive electronic items in front of a window where anyone can see. It would just take a few seconds to smash the window and grab the items.

Most burglaries happen during the daylight hours when people are at work or school. You can create the illusion that someone is home by having a timer that turns on and off lights and the TV or a radio while you are gone. You can also have your curtains opened and closed by a timer. However, a monitored security system will watch your house all of the time.

Get Police Help

The police can help you before you have a break-in by giving your home a free security evaluation. They will identify areas that are invitations to burglars and show you how to secure them. You can also tell your local police when you are going on vacation or for a business trip, and they will regularly drive or walk by your home.

Before You Go on Vacation

Research shows that residential crime is more during the months of July and August. There are a few simple things you can do to deter burglars:

• Set your lights, drapes and TV on timers
• Tell your local police and your neighbors the date you plan leave and your return date
• Don’t change your voice mail message to say you are on vacation
• Don’t allow mail, newspapers or flyers to pile up in front of your house
• Make sure your lawn is regularly mowed
• If you have a land line, turn down the ringtone, so it is difficult to hear

Even if you have a good alarm monitoring system, it’s still wise to take a few simple precautions to make your house unattractive to burglars.

What To Look for in eCommerce Consulting Firms

When it comes to your ecommerce websites, the success or failure of your site depends entirely on its visibility. Ecommerce consulting firms work hard to get your website to the top of the search engine results, which will increase your visibility and boost your sales. However, not all consultants understand all of the different techniques it takes to get you there. Here are some things you need to know before you hire a consultant to help your website.

What an eCommerce Consulting Firm Do
eCommerce consulting firms are tasked with boosting your company’s brand recognition and visibility on the Internet. Some do this much better than others. Good consulting firms understand the various techniques they need to employ in order to create quality backlinks and provide valuable information to potential customers. They understand that in order to create a solid following for a business, they need to build credibility and authority within your brand. They create the type of reputation and image that allows people to place their faith and ultimately their money into your business.

Look for Performance Based Consultants
Poor eCommerce consulting firms will use a small bag of tricks to temporarily increase traffic to your website, which may or may not have a positive impact on your sales. While greater sales is your ultimate goal, if you simply focus on reaching the short term goals, you will be missing out on the greater potential of your company.

Good eCommerce solutions focus their efforts on building your brand. They understand that in order to increase traffic and sales over the longer term, it is their job to help you build your business, not just traffic. Internet traffic is a fickle thing and increases don’t automatically result in more sales. However, good eCommerce consulting firms know not only how to increase traffic, but how to increase targeted traffic that has a higher potential for converting into sales. In addition, this traffic is more likely to tell and friend about the products and services you offer and generate the type of business that can take your company to a whole new level.

Understanding the value that eCommerce consultants offer is the key to ensuring that you are working with the right consultants for your business. Make sure that the company you choose has the best interests of your company at heart and don’t be afraid to ask them for past performance results in order to ensure that they have what it takes to partner with you and build your business.

Processing Information

In today’s world, information is everything. If you have the right type of information at the right time you are more likely to make a lot of money from it. If you don’t have information, you won’t make money.

It is one thing to have the right information at the right time, but another key to success is to know how to process this information to get the right results. Processing information might be as important as having it. What use is a piece of news if you don’t know how to apply it to your own life and to your business?

One of the best ways to process information is to use some sort of tools including this columnar database to help you deal with it and get as much from it as possible. As you can see, this can be easily accomplished if you know what you are doing. Having the right tools means that the information comes to you faster and that you know what to do with it earlier than everybody else. It can mean the difference between making money and not making any money at all, so it’s always better to be prepared for anything in terms of information processing.

Enjoy Fast and Free Music Streaming

Music is enjoyable, and you will experience its beauty if you have the right tool, which manages it. It could be an instrument, but with the current world, an app is the most common music-managing tool. Apple has an app that manages media files, and lets you enjoy a different form of music called Zimly.

Description
This is an app that will help you have a media player, and a player streamer at the same time. Basically, you can listen to your local files, and stream online music with this app. The app also lets you enjoy videos and songs from Mac or Windows PC, devoid of converting them. You will also not be needed to encode the files, or change the network adjustment. It will need you to play the files on your iPhone, or iPad, and you will also be able to enjoy music on your local device.

The Theme
The app has a black and white theme, but the color is very sleek. The main menu has a black background, with white fonts. However, there will be some fonts with a white background, but having dark fonts. This makes it very elegant in the display.

Features and Functions
• The app will come with German, Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and English options. Which makes it flexible for different users.
• You can stream your videos and songs on your iPhone, and they will be converted automatically.
• The media files will be played like a standard media player, which will read all the files on your device.
• The Connection will take a few minutes, and you will be able to link it to your Google or Facebook Account. You will also need to enter a 9 digit code as your password.
• It also has a simple interface. You will be able to view all the features of the app easily, and every top feature will be easy to access, by just tapping on it. This makes it to be user friendly.
• Fast loading. You will not be needed to download the music to enjoy it, rather, they will be streamed in a faster way. They will also load fast and you can seek your files fast enough.
• You can also download the media, and enjoy them from an offline mode. However, to download the music, you will need to download it from your computer.
• Subtitle and Lyrics Support. You will also get lyrics of specific tracks, which will be downloaded automatically as the app is running.

Conclusion
With an easy to use platform, this app will let you enjoy music at your own pleasure. However, it is advised that you have a good Internet connection, mostly a 3G or a Wi-Fi, connection.

Download

Do You Watch Youtube on the Go? Check Out This Helpful Infographic

Although most people still watch Youtube primarily on their browser or Youtube Downloader, many people are starting to use mobile devices as their main method of accessing this video website. In fact, mobile views now account for 25% of global YouTube views. This number is anticipated to grow as mobile use becomes even more popular in the future.

If you watch Youtube on your mobile you might have noticed a few of the issues that occur with the website and mobile devices. For example, mobile apps have been known to crash and it can be more difficult to access videos with age or location restrictions on mobile devices.

This helpful infographic is designed to help you with these common mobile issues. It explains a number of techniques that you can use when these problems come up. The instructions are easy to follow and they can be used by even those who are not particularly savvy with technology.

With time, mobile viewing will become more sophisticated and these common bugs will be worked out, so that our Youtube experience will be easier and more straightforward. However, in the meantime these helpful hints can really be convenient when you are having difficulty watching a particular video.
1

Embed Copy and Paste the Code Below

<img src="http://imgur.com/am8ksdm" width="540" />

Youtube on the Go – An infographic by the team at youtubedownload

Video Production

І tурісаllу trу nоt tо sреnd а lоt оf tіmе lооkіng іntо а сrуstаl bаll, but а соасhіng сlіеnt оf mіnе аskеd whаt І thоught thе vіdео рrоduсtіоn busіnеss wіll lооk lіkе іn 5, 10 аnd 20 уеаrs. I was more than happy to answer this particular question. Му іnsіght іs bаsеd оn hоw І реrсеіvе thе іndustrу wіth rеgаrd tо sосіеtу, multіmеdіа аnd tесhnоlоgу. Неrе’s whаt І hаvе tо sау.

Rеgаrdіng thе vіdео busіnеss іn thе nехt 5 уеаrs, І thіnk vіdео оvеrаll іs соmіng bасk full-fоrсе. Соrроrаtе vіdео wаs vеrу рорulаr іn thе 80’s but stаrtеd tо dіе dоwn рrеttу sіgnіfісаntlу іn thе 90’s duе tо thе еmеrgеnсе оf СD-RОМ аuthоrіng аnd dіstrіbutіоn сараbіlіtіеs. Тhіs іs аlsо whеn РоwеrРоіnt hіt thе sсеnе hеаvіlу іn thе соrроrаtе рrеsеntаtіоn еnvіrоnmеnt. Іn mу оріnіоn, nоw іs а grеаt tіmе tо stаrt а vіdео busіnеss аnd wіth рrореr mаrkеtіng аnd sаlеs strаtеgіеs, уоu’ll bе аblе tо rеаllу flоurіsh іn thе соmіng 5 уеаrs.

Іn 10 уеаrs, І bеlіеvе thаt bаndwіdth wіll fіnаllу саtсh uр wіth Ніgh-Dеfіnіtіоn (НD) саmеrа quаlіtу (рrоbаblу bеfоrе thеn but dеfіnіtеlу bу 10 уеаrs). Full-rеsоlutіоn НD vіdеоs/fіlms wіll bе ассеssіblе оn уоur lарtор, рhоnеs, іn уоur саrs, еvеrуwhеrе! Тhе thіng tо аlwауs rеmеmbеr thоugh іs thаt nо mаttеr whаt thе tесhnоlоgу іs dоіng, уоu wаnt tо rеmаіn hіghlу fосusеd оn соntеnt сrеаtіоn, оr stоrуtеllіng. Тhеrе wіll аlwауs bе а nеw tесhnоlоgу аnd а nеw grоuр оf investors wіllіng tо dumр mіllіоns оr еvеn bіllіоns іntо thе tесhnоlоgу.

Lеt thе bіg bоуs sреnd аll thеіr mоnеу оn thе tесhnоlоgу. Јust gеt rеаl рrоfісіеnt аt lеаrnіng nеw tесhnоlоgіеs аs thеу соmе аvаіlаblе. Тhеn, tеасh уоur сlіеnts hоw уоu саn hеlр thеm аdарt thе nеw tесhnоlоgіеs іn thеіr соmmunісаtіоns strаtеgіеs. І bеlіеvе thаt nо mаttеr hоw muсh tесhnоlоgу сhаngеs, thеrе wіll stіll bе а nееd fоr gооd vіdео рrоduсеrs/stоrуtеllеrs. Іn 10 уеаrs, thеrе wіll bе more channels thаn соmреllіng соntеnt.

Іt wіll bе muсh еаsіеr tо stаrt уоur оwn tеlеvіsіоn/wеb nеtwоrk аnd аdvеrtіsеrs wіll hаvе аn unlіmіtеd suррlу оf сhоісеs оn whеrе tо run thеіr аdvеrtіsеmеnts. Νісhе mаrkеts/аudіеnсеs wіll bе thе kеу tо suссеss іn а dесаdе. Іf уоu соmmаnd а hіgh реrсеntаgе оf а раrtісulаr mаrkеt sеgmеnt, уоu’ll bе аblе tо dеvеlор сhаnnеls wіth соntеnt thаt sеrvеs thаt mаrkеt аnd mаkе а nісе іnсоmе sеllіng аdvеrtіsіng sрасе оr mеmbеr subsсrірtіоns.

Νоtе:Тhе tооls tо рrоduсе vіdеоs wіll gеt сhеареr аnd сhеареr еvеrу уеаr sо іt іs vіtаllу іmроrtаnt thаt уоu роsіtіоn уоur vіdео рrоduсtіоn busіnеss аnd уоursеlf аs а рrоduсеr whо undеrstаnds busіnеss/mаrkеtіng/trаіnіng соmmunісаtіоns… nоt јust vіdео рrоduсtіоn. Yоu wіll nееd tо fосus hеаvіlу оn thе соnsultаtіоn раrt оf thе vіdео busіnеss іnstеаd оf јust саmеrаs аnd sоftwаrе. Тhеrе wіll bе реорlе whо buу gеаr аnd саll thеmsеlvеs “рrоs” оn а dаіlу bаsіs but thе соmраnіеs thаt stау fосusеd оn thе “strаtеgу lеvеl оf thіnkіng” whеn dеаlіng wіth сlіеnts wіll рrеvаіl.

Subscription Management

The most appealing aspect of a business that offers subscriptions is that the income is residual, meaning that the owners of a subscription-based business will be able to bring in lots of profit with little effort so long as they are able to retain their customers. If entrepreneurs are offering something good and interesting, they will have no trouble keeping their customers. The secret to getting customers to stick around is to offer subscription options where they can feel that they are in control of their choices.

Opt-in and Opt-out Options

The option to opt in and opt out is the beginning when it comes to giving your customers this feeling. Some businesses make the mistake of automatically signing their customer base up for subscriptions after a purchase without giving a choice to opt out. The result is that customers become angry and never want to do business with that company ever again because they feel bombarded and violated. The company will then earn a bad reputation. On the other hand, customers feel respected by companies that give them a choice and are likely to be more loyal.

Allow for Different Preferences

One thing that entrepreneurs need to understand is that not all customers have the same preferences. Let’s say that a business is selling software. A customer purchases the software but only needs minimal support. Instead, only one support subscription option is offered, an option that’s expensive and designed to provide complete technical support. The customer will likely be unhappy and feel forced into purchasing the subscription. Presenting the customer with different options, like a basic subscription plan offering minimal support, an intermediate plan offering more support and a complete support option, is the optimal solution.

To ensure that entrepreneurs are maximizing their subscription base and doing everything they can to retain their customers, it is in their best interest to consult with a company that specializes in subscription management. Such company employees are highly trained in crafting appealing subscription options.