5 Misplaced Social Networking Fears Networking is changing, so stay ahead of the curve with these tips.

Web 2.0 /Social Networking--To connect with large groups of people or businesses online to market and grow your business as well as your personal network.

Traditional Networking--To connect with a handful of people or a few businesses at an event or gathering.

With all of the online networks and business building tools available, one begins to wonder why more businesses have not embraced the internet as a networking tool. I am not referring to having a business website; I'm talking about reaching out to hundreds, possibly thousands of potential new customers by joining the conversation online.

The growth of social networking makes me wonder why business owners haven’t embraced the trend. I started several discussions online and informally surveyed businesses owners and marketing directors in person as to why they don't use social networking to expand their business. Here are the top five responses:

1. Stuck in Traditional Networking Mode. Change is not easy for some businesses, especially if they are firmly set in the habit of attending chamber mixers and industry events. Too often businesses are stuck doing the same thing they have always done or what the industry has always practiced. As the saying goes, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. That doesn’t mean you stop doing the traditional stuff--you just need to add to it.
   
   Tip: Try to incorporate at least one new technique or online marketing outreach into your marketing plan monthly. Set up a LinkedIn profile or a blog on your company website. Try something simple, such as posting a question or answer in a group forum. Give it some time to see if this works before deleting the profile or conversation.
   
2. Too Many Choices/Too Overwhelming. This answer was very common among not only small businesses and entrepreneurs but with larger corporations as well. Business owners unfamiliar with social networking find this new tool daunting. Technology changes rapidly, and some entrepreneurs feel lost sifting through it all.
   
   Tip: Do an online search for the top social networking sites specific to your market, region or industry and only focus on those sites. Ignore the others, they don't matter unless they can directly connect you with new contacts in your target market. For example: If you don't target teenagers, music, entertainment or fashion markets, then you don't need a MySpace.
   
3. Concerned Social Networking Is Not Effective. Your time is valuable; many business owners question whether social networking is worth the effort. You'll never know if it's a waste of time if you're not willing to try. Let me clarify, try does not mean setting up a Twitter account and letting it sit for four months. Online marketing and social networking are only as effective as you are. If you aren’t efficient with your time and techniques online then you might be disappointed with the results, or lack thereof.
   
   Tip: Posts about how many times your daughter took a nap on a particular day or about your coffee preferences shouldn't be the key communication goals for your business. Though it is important to add a personal touch to your interactions online. Your main focus should be reaching new contacts and connecting with them; This is how you're going to build your brand recognition and exposure. One of the best ways to do this is to blog; just be sure to provide valuable content to your potential customer or client. Make sure to respond to e-mails and comments when they land on your blog or site.
   
4. Fear of Doing Something Wrong Online. The potential to misstep, whether networking traditionally or online, is always present. Try to view "mistakes" as opportunities for breakthroughs. I posted something in a group chat room once and was chastised by a few members because it was posted incorrectly. My reply was sincere and catchy, yet professional, and I actually ended up getting a new client.
   
   Tip: If you're worried about making a mistake online, post your concern. Let the group or site know that you're new and ask for support or feedback. For the most part, you'll learn that people online want to help you with your social networking experience. You may also come across people who offer unwanted advice or feedback. The response should be the same as in person; thank them and move on.
   
5. Lack of Privacy Online. This is a valid concern, but it shouldn't stop you from engaging in conversations online. There are many privacy settings for the top professional sites. You can decide whom to allow into your network, set up filters and e-mail notifications and even block people with whom you don't want to connect.
   
   Tip: Read the privacy settings thoroughly on social networking sites that you use. Vet invitations carefully; you don't want to shut out potential new clients or customers. This is when you follow your intuition: You can usually tell whether a person is sincere, professional and worth connecting with simply by checking his or her profile. Verify the person's website and references before connecting with someone you don't have a relationship with already. To save time, include a quick note on your profile about the type of connections and invites you want. Again, it's just like meeting someone new in person. As soon as an individual enters your space, if you are turned off by his or her energy, walk away.

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How Anyone Can Make A Six Figure Income Working From Home On The Internet

Dear Friend,

If you've ever wanted to create your own products on the internet, working from home, armed with little more than your computer and the 4 simple secrets that are revealed in this e book . . . then this may be the most important letter you ever read.

Here's why . . .
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Would that be alright with you?

Think about it for a second. $175,000 USD is around $100,000 pounds sterling and over $250,000 Australian dollars . . . in just 24 hours!

What if you could only make a fraction of what he makes . . . would you still like to know his secrets?
How much would you pay to know that 'ONE' word?
Before you answer that question . . .
Here's Just A Sample Of What Phil Reveals:

Why you need to become a product creator to create wealth.

The 4 Simple Secrets to creating your own product within 1 week. A process that you can repeat every week for as long as you want to.
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How to create your own product for less than $50.
Discover the one simple strategy STOPS litigation, protecting you and your loved ones.

The '5 little techniques' that you must know about creating your own e-book.

Why you don't need to be Charles Dickens . . . or having a writing bone in your body to create your own products.


REVEALED! . . . The number ONE reason why most people are afraid to start writing. Learn how to overcome this one instantly!
The simple trick to creating your own profitable website.

Discover why the success of ANY business is not due to how much you sell your product for.
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And so much more!

I think you'll agree . . . there's some dynamite strategies to discover here.

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Office Hours: Tips for promoting your business through social networks

Are social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn the business tools of the future? Or are they a passing fad that will meet the same fate as disco music?

Time will tell. But if you run a small business circa 2008, ignore them at your own peril. Many of your competitors have already jumped on the bandwagon, and are successfully networking their way to a stronger Web presence, enhanced credibility, and more customers.

Yes, many of these sites are used for socializing by your teenaged sons and daughters. But businesses can benefit too, says Lee Aase, a veteran media relations manager. His employer, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, has put him in charge of articulating the clinic’s message through social networking sites such as Facebook.

"The way that most businesses grow is by word of mouth, by recommendations, and by peers and communities," says Aase, who writes articles and blog posts about marketing through Facebook. "The whole concept of social media is a lot like birds of a feather flocking together" — in other words, people with a common interest or objective interacting online, he says.

Social networking sites (also known as social media sites) enable that interaction, in professional but also fun and interesting ways, Aase says.

While there aren't many strict rules about using social networks, there are dos and don’ts, as well as strategies you can employ to get ahead. Here are tips I’ve compiled from interviews with Aase and other experts in Web marketing.

1. Experiment with multiple social networking sites, but focus your time on one or two. You could easily invest countless hours posting pictures, taking movie quizzes, and engaging in other fun but trivial pursuits on these sites. But where does that leave your business?

   Invest your time wisely on the right sites for your business. MySpace is the largest social networking site, but don’t count on it for great results in trying to reach an over-30 audience. Other sites likewise may not be the right fit for your target customer. Jinger Jarrett, a blogger and Internet marketing consultant based near Atlanta, says she has a presence on eight or more social networking sites for testing purposes. "I recommend being on a number of sites," she says, "but really focusing on one or two" where you receive the most frequent business contacts.

   For Aase, the most promising are Facebook and LinkedIn. "LinkedIn is clearly for professional networking; it has positioned itself well for that," he says. "Facebook is much broader than that. I see it as having more utility."

2. Write profiles that establish your credentials and expertise. Most social networking sites start you with a profile page. Seize this opportunity to position your business and market your skills, as well as providing necessary contact information and a Web site address. If you are an expert on a given topic, brand yourself as such. Make sure your profiles are keyword-rich, Jarrett adds, noting that profiles on many sites are captured by search engines. Also, use pictures that you would want potential customers to see (not you barely standing at a party), and try injecting some flair and personality (for a business audience, of course).
3. Take advantage of the applications and widgets these sites offer. Facebook, among other things, allows you to build a business page for news about your company, an Events page for business activities, even a "Fan" page. You can also post videos on your pages; create special-interest forums, groups, and private sites for crisis management; and surface your blog posts on your profile page using RSS feeds. Courtesy of Aase, the Mayo Clinic itself has a presence in Facebook, including a Fan page replete with medical news, historical photos, videos, podcasts, and information about tours and events. Research what your chosen site offers.
4. Join groups and forums and share your expertise. "Get in there and start talking," Jarrett says, but make sure you have something valuable to say. Establishing credibility and trust is as important as making yourself known.

   "Commenting on blog posts is one of the best things you can do online," adds Leslie O’Flahavan, a partner in E-WRITE, a Web content training and consulting firm in Silver Spring, MD. Credible comments add to any discussion and can help position you as someone with expertise in a given niche. O’Flahavan suggests these tips for commenting: Keep emotion to a minimum; proof-read your comments; be fresh and interesting; add links to Web pages for details or background, and avoid repeating what’s already been said.

5. Seek out recognized authorities in your field. Social networking is the online version of good old fashioned person-to-person networking — but in many ways is easier. Seek out experts and people you’d like to meet in your field. Send a Facebook friend request or a LinkedIn networking invitation, accompanied by a message introducing yourself and politely explaining why you’d like to meet this person online. Be confident, but make sure your motives are business-related.
6. Be selective about your "friends." You want to make friends on Facebook and other social networking sites — but it’s not about how many names you can "collect." Having a small number of friends (or connections) who value your passions and expertise, and who care to network regularly, may be best for your business.

   Also, apply some smarts in initiating friend requests or networking invitations. Aase, a married man in his 40s, gets numerous friend requests from his blog posts and approves most. But he says he makes it a personal rule not to initiate requests to anyone under 30, to avoid what some younger users have called "the creepiness factor."

7. Proactively write recommendations for valued clients. Writing recommendations for past colleagues or people you enjoy doing business with is a smart way to do business online. Don’t wait to be asked to write them, O’Flahavan says. Those written without a request are even more endearing. "For the clients who have written me recommendations that I did not ask for, I feel very motivated to do business with them," she says.
8. Promote your blog on social networking sites. Blogging is not for everyone, and this is not a pitch to get you started against your will. But if you do blog or are considering blogging, many social networking sites enable you to surface your blog posts through RSS feeds. On Facebook, for example, by setting up a blog on Wordpress.com, your posts can automatically be pushed to your profile page, along with recent comments. In fact, you can syndicate posts from multiple blogs on your Facebook profile page.
9. Use privacy settings and street smarts to limit identity theft. Unfortunately, social networking sites, like the rest of the Internet, attract scam artists and thugs. Most sites have privacy settings allowing you to dictate how much of your profile is revealed to people inside and outside your network. Adjust these settings to your own comfort level, but in general, be cautious about the personal information you post. For example, never publish your social security number, and list your day of birth, but not the year you were born in, to guard against ID theft, Aase advises.
10. Avoid aggressive marketing and constant promotion. If you do nothing but promote your new book or new business or product, people in your network will lose interest and likely "un-friend" you. "Doing an announcement can generate excitement," Aase says, "but repeating your news again and again is frowned upon." A better strategy, he says, is to create interesting content that relates to the new book or business, and "earns" the reader’s attention. "It's all about conversation — not about push."

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Business Technology Optimization

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Business Technology Optimization

Business Technology Optimization (BTO), is an enterprise software product category focused on helping businesses ensure that every dollar invested in information technology, every resource allocated, and every application in development or production meets business goals. BTO is part of an emerging business philosophy to manage IT resources as a business rather than as a service bureau.[citation needed]

Unlike software offerings and methodologies that focus on internal IT processes, BTO optimizes the strategic functions between technology and business. The depth and breadth of BTO software allows technology executives to better manage a wide range of strategic IT functions that directly impact business results. Effective project and portfolio management, testing new SAP deployments, or reducing the mean time to repair custom J2EE applications are just a few examples.

Most BTO capabilities, however, continue to be marred by the script based testing approach proposed by nearly all test tool vendors.[neutrality disputed] Until the loop has been closed on the software development lifecycle, the question of whether the problem has been solved remains unanswered. While scripting is effective for batch processing or minor jobs such as crons, this approach fails when used to create automated tests. A non-script based automated testing approach is necessary to achieve the goals of BTO.

BTO software addresses key functions recognized by IT executives and industry analysts as requirements for automating the new business/technology lifecycle. These functions include:

* IT governance
* project portfolio management
* change management
* application quality, performance, security and availability
* application management
* systems management
* datacenter management
* business service management
* business service automation
* IT service management
* identity and access management

Many software companies provide BTO products and services. Mercury Interactive Corporation (now owned by HP) is believed to be the first to call itself a "BTO vendor".[who?] However many companies develop and sell BTO software, including:

* Hewlett-Packard
* BMC Software
* Borland
* CA, Inc.
* Compuware
* IBM Software
* Sun Microsystems
* Whittman-Hart

Today most large enterprise IT organizations have implemented some form of BTO software.
source by wikipedia

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10 Tips for Successful Business Networking

1. Keep in mind that networking is about being genuine and authentic, building trust and relationships, and seeing how you can help others.

2. Ask yourself what your goals are in participating in networking meetings so that you will pick groups that will help you get what you are looking for. Some meetings are based more on learning, making contacts, and/or volunteering rather than on strictly making business connections.

3. Visit as many groups as possible that spark your interest. Notice the tone and attitude of the group. Do the people sound supportive of one another? Does the leadership appear competent? Many groups will allow you to visit two times before joining.

4. Hold volunteer positions in organizations. This is a great way to stay visible and give back to groups that have helped you.

5. Ask open-ended questions in networking conversations. This means questions that ask who, what, where, when, and how as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple yes or no. This form of questioning opens up the discussion and shows listeners that you are interested in them.

6. Become known as a powerful resource for others. When you are known as a strong resource, people remember to turn to you for suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc. This keeps you visible to them.

7. Have a clear understanding of what you do and why, for whom, and what makes your doing it special or different from others doing the same thing. In order to get referrals, you must first have a clear understanding of what you do that you can easily articulate to others.

8. Be able to articulate what you are looking for and how others may help you. Too often people in conversations ask, "How may I help you?" and no immediate answer comes to mind.

9. Follow through quickly and efficiently on referrals you are given. When people give you referrals, your actions are a reflection on them. Respect and honor that and your referrals will grow.

10. Call those you meet who may benefit from what you do and vice versa. Express that you enjoyed meeting them, and ask if you could get together and share ideas.

source here

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Insurance Policy Physical Injury

It doesn't matter what is the cause you are looking for car insurance, rather it involves the buying of a carrier or it is time to refresh your present policy, the settlement is not the one to be made easily.
With matters as what policy to append, what it is all meaning, what are you concurring to, etc. may frequently seem as if it was designed by some alien planet, and there are reasons for each particular coverage that is offered. Two factors that can't be called insignificant to be thought of when settling on physical damage vehicle insurance coverage are that it could be ordered by law and it maintains you in terms of money.

In simple words, physical injury insurance supplies costs related to injury or death to other individuals because of a car crash in which you get involved. Also, it proffers lawful protection in the case of a legal suit being registered. It is also covering passengers in your car. Anyway, what it doesn't cover is your car or anyone listed in your policy in a capacity of a driver.
Not just covering the cost of the damage itself, physical injury insurance comprises provisions for income loss, suffering and pain as well.

Compulsory in most states, the amount ordered is state mandated as well. While several states do not order the insurance, they do order the capability to supply fiscal liability.
Should you be gotten in an at misdeed accident where damage or death is a consequence, the impossibility to supply financial help may cause a state taxed SR 22. If put on your report, you would be ordered to keep this insurance for three years, and the expense far overbalances any value having the security in the first place would have cost you.

Your insurance provider, who is well experienced in the otherwise foreign language, is your best alternative for defining the coverage value you will need. Significant things to consider are the fiscal consequences if you are underinsured and the capability to tap into your individual finances in the case of a judgment.
While this auto insurance is supplied in increases of $100,000's, there are two dosages to the practical provision. While the prime portion covers the amount per individual, the second covers the utmost returned per accident.

Considering all individual assets, involving real estate, your insurance should be equal to your carrying value. Once again, your insurance provider has guidelines and formulas to help you in defining the amount that best secures you.
The cost related to adding physical damage to your policy considers a lot of factors when appraising the amount you will return every year. With your residence location being a basic factor, age, driving record and marital status is also involved in the calculation. One thing to take in account in having a physical damage support is to consider complete and cheap auto insurance.

While the state panel of insurance could supply data on the demands of the insurance ordered for your state, it is not a best fiscal decision to go without this security.
As legal suits continue to increment where auto accidents are taken into account, having bodily damage coverage on your auto insurance policy just makes real sense.

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Online shopping spend in decline

Will online shopping pick up in time for Christmas?

Online shops are suffering the same fate as the High Street with fewer customers spending money.

US net measurement firm comScore found that online shopping was in decline for the first time since it began measuring it in 2001.

Online shoppers in the US spent $8.2bn (£5.3bn) in November, down 4% on last year's figures.

ComScore forecast flat growth for the upcoming Christmas shopping season and did not rule out further decline

More...

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