Bringing the reign of click-throughs to an end (Health related news articles)

Bringing the reign of click-throughs to an end

Banner ads aren't going down without a fight. Marketers and publishers have been hearing for awhile that display ads are not nearly as effective as search. And in terms of click through rates, they aren't.

But just because people aren't clicking on banner ads, it doesn't mean they aren't working. That's long been the cry of display ad sellers, and now comScore has come out with a study that shows how display contributes to sales, even if consumers aren't immediately clicking through to purchase.

Partnering with the Online Publishers Association, comScore has published "The Silent Click: Building Brands Online." The news will be welcomed by companies like Microsoft, which in particular has been trying to pull its display business out of the strangle hold of click throughs with the launch of engagement ads.

It may be fashionable to disparage display — just last week Barry Diller was ringing the death knell of banner ads, saying: “We’re all at the earliest period of display advertising, which has been standardized into formats where people can say, ‘I know what to ignore.’"

But withholding clicks and ignoring ads are not the same thing. Display ads still make up 20% of the $32 billion online advertising spend. And according to ComScore, display ads contribute to the online ad spend, even if consumers aren't clicking on them.

The study looked at 80 of the biggest branding campaigns across 200 of the most trafficked sites over a month’s time, and found that of the people exposed to display ad campaigns:

• One in five conduct related searches and one in three visit the brands' sites
• Users spent over 50% more time than the average visitor to these sites and consumed more pages
• Users spent about 10% more money online overall, and significantly more on product categories related to the advertised brands
• Higher income audiences visited the advertisers’ sites 

According to Pam Horan, president of the Online Publishers Association:

"To date, measuring a brand campaign meant relying on the click, a metric more appropriate for direct response advertising. In order to understand the value of the audiences that display advertising attracts, our study helps marketers think about real behavioral measures designed to move the needle."

The inherently measurable nature of the Internet has helped advertisers get more bang for their buck online, but in many cases, finding out what to measure is the most important metric. Getting advertisers and consumers to think outside the clickthrough box is a step toward rehabilitating display. But once you throw out the current metric for measurement, you get to the next question. How do you charge customers who are accustomed to paying for ads based on clicks when clicks don't matter?

Source:

Yoga DVDs
We just updated our Yoga DVD page with popular titles for all levels - including beginner's yoga and power yoga.

You can view the page at: http://www.netsweat.com/Pilates_Yoga/yoga_DVD.html

copyright NetSweat.com - The Internet's Fitness Resource

Source: feedproxy.google.com

Doping Raid At Belgium Bodybuilding Championship
The AP is reporting that the Belgium bodybuilding championship was canceled after doping officials showed up. (Editors note: there is a more complete article on Yahoo.)

The sport, unfortunately, continues to be rampant with steroid abuse. Though there are natural bodybuilding contests that ban illegal use of drugs, there still continues to a be large contingent of competitors who rely on steroids and other pharmaceuticals to bulk up.

We'd like to see ALL sports and competitions do more to stop the illegal use of drugs. While there will always be some athletes seeking an artificial advantage, enforcing tough rules at the stop of sports will help to deter those at lower levels - especially teenagers - from using drugs.

copyright NetSweat.com - The Internet's Fitness Resource

Source: feedproxy.google.com

New Mothers Vote Proactol™ The 1# Choice For Natural Weight Loss
Have you just had a baby and are wondering how to lose those extra lbs? Becoming a mother and watching your baby’s first smile is an amazing experience for all of us. But finding the time to eat properly and lose your post pregnancy weight can often be a struggle. Visitors to our website seeking a natural solution to their post pregnancy weight have tried and tested a clinically proven product that can naturally supplement your weight loss and allow you to spend the time you deserve with your baby.[...]
Source: weight-lost.us

Swine Flu and the Gym
In light of the news about swine flu, we're going to republish advice we have about protecting yourself against cold viruses at the gym. The same advice also helps reduce your risk of catching the flu, or any other bug that is making it's rounds.

The old rule of washing your hands and avoiding wiping your face with unclean hands or towels is your best defense. When using equipment, wipe it down both BEFORE and after your workout. Most gyms have wipes or spray bottles and towels. Use them. A small bottle of hand sanitizer in your pocket also can help.

If you need to wipe sweat off, use your sleeve or a towel that you brought in. Make sure the towel is sitting on a piece of wiped down equipment.

If you generally take water or sports drink with you, pour it into a bottle with a nozzle or straw. Open the bottle with your teeth or clean hands. Wet surfaces spread disease much faster than dry surfaces, hence the need for caution.

Finally, if you're sick or feeling a bit under the weather, stay at home. You'll recover faster. Plus, it's simple courtesy to everyone else at the gym.

None of this will guarantee that you won't get sick, but it will help. A healthy diet and plenty of rest is also good.

And call your doctor if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms.

copyright NetSweat.com - The Internet's Fitness Resource

Source: feedproxy.google.com

UniqueHoodia Review - Powerful Appetite Suppressant for Fast Weight Loss
... If you find that diets simply do not work for you as they never satisfy your appetite then we have the answer to your problems. If you feel your biggest problem is not what you eat but how much of it you consume then UniqueHoodia™ is the product for you. Hoodia is well documented for it's power at reducing your food cravings, however it is much more then just an appetite suppressant.[...]
Source: weight-lost.us

5 reasons Google should worry about Bing

Google commands a dominant share of the search market and there's no sign that this will change anytime soon.

But should it be worried about Microsoft's recently-launched 'decision engine', Bing?

Here are 5 reasons why Google should be worried about Bing:

• Bing is decent. While Bing may not be revolutionary, it is decent. And given the impression many of us have about Microsoft, 'decent to good' is pleasant surprise.

  Case in point: although I still use Google by habit, I've been making a conscious effort to use Bing. That's something I wouldn't be doing if I thought the product was shoddy; this represents the first new Microsoft product I've started using on a somewhat frequent basis in a long time.

• Bing still has momentum. According to comScore, Microsoft's gains with the launch of Bing were not a spike event. While Bing's long-term momentum is hard to predict, Google obviously would have hoped that Bing's gains would have done a Wolfram Alpha and evaporated overnight.
• Microsoft is willing to invest. Yesterday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that he was willing to invest 5-10% of Microsoft's operating income in search for the next 5 years. Based on Microsoft's current operating income, this would amount to an investment of up to $11bn. He likened this strategy to the company's investment in the Xbox gaming console, which has paid dividends.

  Is this a smart move? It could turn out to be a huge failure but that really doesn't matter. If you're Google, you don't want to see a cash-rich competitor gaining confidence and investing billions of dollars in taking you out.

• Google is scrambling to improve its messaging. In my opinion, Google's Achilles heel is the fact that it often fails to market its product well to users. Even in search, the fact that Bing was praised for features that Google also has demonstrates that Google has largely been thriving from user habit and its brand.

  Bing has been a wake-up call and make no mistake about it: the fact that Google is now eager to remind users about all of its search features is acknowledgment that Google recognizes it has been complacent in this area.
  

• Google is no longer the underdog. Google is a great company and has a wonderful brand. But it's the search market's 800-lb. gorilla. Naturally, it's hard for Google to please everyone and increasingly, its interests conflict with those of users, customers, regulators and other stakeholders.

  Few are still under the spell of the company's do no evil' mantra and most recognize that Google is a lot like any other multi-billion dollar multinational corporation. In its battle with Microsoft, that means that Google can't rely on the kind of built-in underdog support that it has received in the past.

All of these things highlight why Google should be concerned about Bing but Microsoft should be careful too: if it does too good a job, it may just awaken a sleeping giant. Google is still an innovative company with distinct advantages over Microsoft and Redmond should remember that.

Photo credit: betancourt via Flickr.

Source:

Don King Boxing Is A Knockout
Wii Sports Boxing was the first game to show off the calorie-burning potential of the Nintendo Wii. Anybody who has ever played it can attest that the game is a workout.

The problem was that there has really not been any other good boxing game, until today. Don King Boxing takes the Wii to a whole new level.

The game incorporates the Remote, the Nunchuk and the Wii Balance Board into what appears to be a realistic version of boxing. Want to dodge left? Lean left. What to throw a jab? Punch. Need to duck? Bend your knees.

We've long been fans of boxing on the Wii, because it makes you constantly move your entire body. Not to mention that punching an avatar is great way to relieve some stress. Out of the 3 game released this week, Don King's Boxing is the one we recommended buying first.

Just remember to keep your hands up. :)

copyright NetSweat.com - The Internet's Fitness Resource

Source: feedproxy.google.com


Labels:

Hopi Prophesies And The Shift Of The Ages (News health insurance covers percent of cosmetic surgery)

Hopi Prophesies And The Shift Of The Ages

By Robert Ghost Wolf Excerpted from: Last Cry Native American Prophesies & Tales of the End times Copyright 1994-2004 Posted at www.wolflodge.org/bluestar/bluestar.htm (Jack's note: This excerpted piece is printed in its entirety below. For the full affect, including pictures of these Hopi elders, you are encouraged to go to the website given above). "The story of the Blue Kachina is a very old story, very old. I have been aware of the story of the Blue Kachina since I was very young. I was told this story by grandfathers who are now between 80 and 108 years of age. Frank Waters also wrote about Saquasohuh, the Blue star Kachina in The Book of the Hopi. The story came from Grandfather Dan, oldest Hopi. "It was told to me that first the Blue Kachina would start to be seen at the dances, and would make his appearance known to the children in the plaza during the night dance. This event would tell us that the end times are very near. Then the Blue Star Kachina would physically appear in our heavens, which would mean that we were in the end times. "In the final days we will look up in our heavens and we will witness the return of the two brothers who helped create this world in the birthing time. Poganghoya is the guardian of our North Pole and his brother Palongawhoya is the guardian of the South Pole. In the final days the Blue star Katchina will come to be with his nephews and they will return the Earth to its natural rotation, which is counter-clockwise. "This fact is evidenced in many petraglyphs that speak of the Zodiac, and within the Mayan and Egyptian pyramids. The rotation of the Earth has been manipulated by not so benevolent Star Beings. The twins will be seen in our North Western skies. They will come and visit to see who still remembered the original teachings, flying in their Patuwvotas, or flying shields. They will bring many of their star family with them in the final days. "The return of the Blue Star Katchina, who is also known as Nan ga sohu, will be the alarm clock that tells us of the new day and new way of life, a new world that is coming. This is where the changes will begin. They will start as fires that burn within us, and we will burn up with desires and conflict if we do not remember the original teachings, and return to the peaceful way of life. "Not far behind the twins will come the Purifier, The Red Katchina, who will bring the Day of Purification. On this day the Earth, her creatures and all life as we know it will change forever. There will be messengers what will precede this coming of the Purifier. They will leave messages to those on Earth who remember the old ways. "The messages will be found written in the living stone, through the sacred grains, and even the waters (Crop Circles have been found in ice). From the Purifier will issue forth a great Red Light. All things will change in their manner of being. Every living thing will be offered the opportunity to change from the largest to the smallest thing. "Those who return to the ways given to us in the original teachings, and live a natural way of life, will not be touched by the coming of the Purifier. They will survive and build the new world. Only in the ancient teachings will the ability to understand the messages be found. "It is important to understand that these messages will be found upon every living thing, even within our bodies, even within a drop of our blood. All life forms will receive the messages from the twins, those that fly, the plants, even the rabbit. The appearance of the twins begins a period of seven years, and will be our final opportunity to change our ways. Everything we experience is all a matter of choice. "Many will appear to have lost their souls in these final days. So intense will the nature of the changes be that those who are weak in spiritual awareness will go insane, for we are nothing without spirit. They will disappear, for they are just hollow vessels for any thing to use. Life will be so bad in the cities that many will choose to leave this plane. Some in whole groups. "Only those who return to the values of the old ways will be able to find peace of mind. For in the Earth we shall find relief from the madness that will be all around us. It will be a very hard time for women with children for they will be shunned, and many of the children in these times will be unnatural. Some being from the Stars, some from past worlds, some will even be created by man in an unnatural manner and will be souless. Many of people in this time will be empty in Spirit. They will have Sampacu. No life force in their eyes. "As we get close to the time of arrival of the Purifier, there will be those who walk as ghosts through the cities, through canyons they will have constructed in their man-made mountains. Those that walk through these places will be very heavy in their walk. It will appear almost painful as they take each step for they will be disconnected from their spirit and the Earth. "After the arrival of the twins, they will begin to vanish before your eyes like so much smoke. Others will have great deformities, both in the mind and upon their bodies. There will be those who would walk in the body that are not from this reality, for many of the gateways that once protected us will be opened, and there will be much confusion. Confusion between the sexes, and children and their elders. "Life will get very perverted, and there will be little social order in these times. Many will ask for the mountains themselves to fall upon them just to end their misery. Still others will appear as if untouched by what is occurring. The ones who remember the original teachings and have reconnected their hearts and spirit. Those who remember who their mother and father are. The Pahana who left to live in the Mountains and forest. "When the Purifier comes we will see him first as a small Red Star which will come very close and sit in our heavens watching us. Watching us to see how well we have remembered the sacred teachings. "This Purifier will show us many miraculous signs in our heavens. In this way we will know Creator is not a dream. Even those who do not feel their connection to spirit will see the face of creator across the sky. Things unseen will be felt very strongly. "Many things will begin to occur that will not make sense, for reality will be shifting back in and out of the dream state. There will be many doorways to the lower world that will open at this time. Things long forgotten will come back to remind us of our past creations. All living things will want to be present for this day when time ends, and we enter the forever cycle of the Fifth World. "We will receive many warnings allowing us to change our ways from below the Earth as well as above. Then one morning, in a moment, we will awaken to the Red Dawn. The sky will be the color of blood. Many things will then begin to happen that right now we are not sure of their exact nature, for much of reality will not be as it is now "There will be many strange beasts upon the Earth in those days, some from the past and some that we have never seen. The nature of mankind will appear strange in these times, as we walk between worlds and we will house many spirits even within our bodies. After a time we will again walk with our brothers from the Stars, and rebuild this Earth, but not until the Purifier has left his mark upon the universe. "No living thing will go untouched, here or in the heavens. The way through this time it is said is to be found in our hearts, and reuniting with our spiritual self. Getting simple and returning to living with and upon the Earth and in harmony with her creatures. Remembering that we are the caretakers, the fire keepers of the Spirit. Our relatives from the Stars are coming home to see how well we have faired in our journey. [link to www.harmonymindbodyspirit.com]

Life Technology

Source: www.lifetechnology.org

Purple Shield Phenomenon

 

Dear Ormus,

    Here's a copy of an e-mail I just sent to everyone on my e-mail list. I thought you might find it interesting.

    Thank you for sending along the spare neck cords with my last order. My old purple pendant has winged its way to a friend (with new cord) and she has already reported good results. I am just amazed at the power of these things. Many thanks.

    Sincerely,  

    Marron Pride Stearns

    Portland, Maine

    marprist@earthlink.net

 

Hi everyone,

    I had the most amazing experience when I went out shopping the other day, wearing my purple pendant (the Tesla Shield -- link below). This was the first time I'd been out with the new, 10x more powerful purple pendant.

    First I went to Wild Oats (the health food store). Six people came up to me and said "Good morning." SIX people! I thought that was kind of unusual. Then I figured that they must have just had a staff meeting, where the employees were reminded to greet the customers.

    Next I went to Maine Hardware to get a part for a broken faucet. I picked up a few things, and was standing in an aisle, just looking at things on the shelves. One of the clerks, an older man, came over to see if he could help me with anything. I said no, but we got to chatting.

    Well, he ended up telling me about how he was a fighter pilot in Vietnam, and his plane was shot down. He told me about the jet fuel spreading across the water and catching fire, and how he got burned, but he and his buddy got rescued, and sent to different hospitals. He said he had an artificial kneecap and 3 pins in his leg. He told me how the pins had worked loose years later, and about the operations to fix them. He told me that after he got out of the hospital after getting shot down, he re-upped for 5 more years, because he was a pilot and just had to fly. He said he still flies a light plane once a week out of Biddeford Airport. He talked about what it was like, being up there.

    Finally he had to leave to go help another customer. As I was leaving the hardware store, I thought that it was a really unusual conversation. I love chatting with strangers in stores or on the street, but I've never had one come up to me and start telling me war stories. I didn't mind a bit. But I did think it was rather peculiar. I got the impression that this man didn't usually go up to strange older ladies standing in the aisle with the brooms & mops & floor polish, and tell them about being shot down in the war. As I was leaving the store, I was thinking, "I wonder if it was the purple pendant?"

    It gets stranger. I next headed over to the grocery store. I was standing in the bread aisle, trying to decide what kind of bread to buy, when a tall 40-ish man with raggedy hair, a dirty face and shirt, and his front teeth gone, came over and stood next to me. He kind of muttered something, then moved away a little, like he was leaving. Then he came back, as if he was irresistibly drawn,  and stood next to me again and started talking about the price of bread. We chatted about that, and the price of gas, the price of garbage bags, the recycling program, and how in some foreign countries recycling is required by law. He moved away again,  heading towards his grocery cart, then turned around and came back and stood beside me again, and started talking about the price of bread again. I was quite happy to chat with him about any silly thing. By then I had caught on that our conversation was just an excuse for him to hang out next to me for a while. Finally he moved away, with both of us feeling good about our interaction, as inconsequential as the verbal content was.

    By then I knew for sure that it was the purple pendant. The first conversation, with the Vietnam vet, was full of significant and intense content. I think he must have been getting some kind of healing effect from the pendant. The next conversation had virtually NO content; but the man obviously needed to hang out in the space created by the pendant. (I am pretty sure it wasn't my stunning good looks. Heh heh.) 

    I wore my old purple pendant (the standard strength one) out shopping several times, and didn't get that kind of effect. The 10x pendant definitely has a larger field effect! I'm thrilled to be able to share it with people in the environment.

    I've always wishfully daydreamed about my presence having a healing effect on people; now with the purple pendant, it's true. The other thing about wearing the pendant, is that you can interact with anyone and they won't drain your energy. Sometimes I would get tired after talking to people in stores. (Older people tend to come up to me and tell me their whole life histories and all their ailments and all about every operation they've ever had, and how their grandchildren don't visit very often ...) It's wonderful to have something to offer other people energetically and to come away feeling enhanced instead of drained.

    For those of you who I haven't told anything about the purple pendant, here's the link:

    http://www.lifetechnology.org/teslashield.htm

 

 

dear marron, we are so pleased to hear of your experience and are delighted that you shared the story with your email list.

 

you are correct in stating that people are drawn to others of higher vibration/energy because subconsciously they are aware that they will benefit from being in the presence of this energy. you are also correct in your observation that fatigue (lowering of vibration) will not occur when in the presence of a lower vibration.

 

in the local presence of one who is in connection with the light (this connection is augmented by the tesla shield) others will experience an increase in vibration. you may think that this effect would be localised to one or two meters but in fact, whole geographical areas can experience an increase in vibration as a consequence of the vibrations emitted from one enlightened individual.

 

we are all connected and therefore a connection to light life and love at one individual point faciliates a connection at the other points of consciousness. the more you allow the light to flow through you into your world, the stronger that flow will become.

 

feel free to share these observations.

 

blessings,

aurum

Life Technology

Source: www.lifetechnology.org

Shaky signs of a housing rebound
First-time buyers take advantage of low rates, propping up May sales By Tony Wong - Toronto Star Is the real estate market bottom in sight? Some realtors seem to think so, after sales of existing homes rose by 2% in the Toronto area in May, the first year-over-year increase in more than a ...

Source: www.jeffreyteam.com

Homebuyers come out of hibernation
National Post 5 Things you should know about the Toronto real estate market Toronto's real estate market has rebounded from dismal record lows, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. House sales rose last month - up 2% from last May - for the first time since sales plummeted in the fall. ...

Source: www.jeffreyteam.com

SPECIAL OFFER. THE TESLA SHIELD HYPERSPACE FOR $199.95 PLUS FREE SHIPPING

FAO Life Technology Group From Kirsty Stewart

 

While stocks last we are offering The Tesla Shield Hyperspace™ at $199.95 plus free domestic or international shipping. (Regular price $299.95 plus shipping)

 

The offer is transferable so feel free to forward these details to friends and family or your contact list.

 

Just visit the link below.

 

www.lifetechnology.org/hyperspace_offer.htm

 

Thanks

Kirsty

Life Technology

Source: www.lifetechnology.org

Irresistible rates drive Canada’s recovery
Rob Carrick - Globe and Mail It looks like a miraculous resurrection. In the midst of recession, the average national price of Canadian real estate hit a record level in May, and sales activity increased for the fourth consecutive month. While U.S. residential real estate prices have been falling for almost three ...

Source: www.jeffreyteam.com

Bidding wars make a comeback
As housing sales return to positive territory, parts of the Toronto real estate market go from famine to frenzy By Tony Wong - Toronto Star Annoyingly for buyers, rejoicingly for sellers, bidding wars for Toronto real estate have surged back from extinction. House sales for the first two weeks in May were in ...

Source: www.jeffreyteam.com


Labels:

Hydroxycut Has Serious Side Effects - Stop Using It (Health care for veterans news article)

Hydroxycut Has Serious Side Effects - Stop Using It
The FDA is warning you to stop using Hydroxycut, now. The weight loss drug is associated with serious side effects.

In a press release issued today, the FDA stated that it "has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure."

The entire press release can be read on the FDA's web site.

Most supplements are not tested by the FDA, leaving consumers to trust that the manufacturers are creating safe products. There is often no way to know if the supplement is safe, or if there is any interference with other medicines or supplements.

In other words, every time you take a supplement, you are voluntarily making yourself a guinea pig. Tell your doctor and your pharmacist what supplements you are taking and what drugs you also take.

Or better yet, don't take supplements.

Need to lose weight? Eat more vegetables, keep a food journal and exercise. Not only are these effective, they are also much safer than taking an unknown supplement.

copyright NetSweat.com - The Internet's Fitness Resource

Source: feedproxy.google.com

Army Is Helping Recruits Slim Down
Too fat for the army? No problem, recruiters will help you lose weight.

As NPR reported last night, some army recruiters are holding fitness classes for would-be recruits. Their intent is to help those who don't meet the weight requirements become more fit. The participants lose weight and the army gets more soliders.

If sounds a bit like John Candy in Stripes, that's because the analogy is not so far fetched. (We immediately had visions of Ox - that lean, mean fighting machine - when we heard the report last night.) Except, the recruits have to lose the weight before showing up at boot camp.

It's win-win situation for those wanting to serve and the military. Potential recruits get a sense of the discipline required to make it through boot camp and the Army weeds out those who are less motivated. Not to mention it increases the number of people who are able to qualify based on weight.

On the other hand, this says a lot about the obesity problem in the U.S. Cuts to physical education, an overabundance of snack food and video games have resulted in many people entering adulthood with weight issues.

To all those serving in the military, thank you. And if you are serving abroad, come home quickly, and safely.

copyright NetSweat.com - The Internet's Fitness Resource

Source: feedproxy.google.com

The new economics of entrepreneurship? Nah

Is a recession a good time to be an entrepreneur? Has it changed the economics of starting a business?

Silicon Valley veteran Guy Kawasaki believes the answer to both is "yes".

In a post on Building43, he argues that there are new economics of entrepreneurship:

• Talent is free or cheap. Thanks to the ills of the recession, Kawasaki writes "If there was ever a time to get great people for free or cheap, this is it".
• Tools are free or cheap. Citing open source, Kawasaki says "You’d really have to work at it to spend a lot of money for the tools to build something these days".
• Storage, bandwidth and servers are free or cheap. Thanks to cloud hosting services, "you can get more storage, bandwidth, and servers for $1, 000 a month than you’ll be able to use".
• Marketing is free or cheap. Twitter is "the single best way to market your product or service" and Facebook "is a close second". Both, of course, are free.

Having started a number of online businesses over the years and being in the midst of starting a couple of news ones during this recession, I disagree with Kawasaki. Here's why.

Talent isn't free or cheap.

There are plenty of good people who are unemployed or under-employed right now but that doesn't mean that most of them are willing and able to work for a pittance. Furthermore, from what I see in my network, the best people don't have any shortage of work.

But whether or not you can find decent worker bees at little cost is besides the point in my opinion. Trying to use "free or cheap" labor is not a good long-term strategy for attracting and retaining talent. As they say, you get what you pay for, recession or no recession. When the people you hire feel like they're being taken advantage of and aren't invested in your success, don't be surprised when they fail to deliver what you expected. And don't be surprised when they drop you like a bad habit once they find an opportunity that compensates them fairly.

Tools are cheap but that doesn't mean building a skyscraper is.

Open source solutions are great and can significantly reduce your costs. But if they're not put in the hands of competent, talented developers, they're worthless. If you give a monkey a hammer, don't expect him to build you a house; if you give a novice developer PHP and MySQL, don't expect him to build you a scalable web application.

Open source, in my opinion, is a double-edged sword for this reason. While lots of people know how to build applications that seem to work with the free tools that exist, a much smaller number know how to build applications that work at scale. You can easily find someone who can build you a database-driven website with reasonably complex functionality; it's much harder to find someone who can build a database-driven website that won't go down for the count when you get slammed with a few hundred thousand visitors in a few hours.

Storage, bandwidth and servers can be cheap but true scalability requires investment.

When Kawasaki says "you can get more storage, bandwidth, and servers for $1, 000 a month than you’ll be able to use", he may be right. That's because most sites don't need $1, 000 worth of storage, bandwidth and servers. For a heavily trafficked site with hefty database interaction, trust me: you're not going to throw your web application onto a "cloud" VPS and survive.

A couple of observations:

• Many of the startups that tout the advantages of cloud hosting and its benefits don't have enough usage to speak credibly. Most would get along just fine with a dedicated server or two.
• To the extent that cloud hosting convinces startups that they don't need to worry about building scalable applications, this is folly. Any startup that thinks the cloud will solve the challenge of scalability is missing the point. Caching, database query optimization and the use of high-performance/lightweight HTTP servers, for instance, result in better applications and better architectures and are things that every startup should look at.

Real marketing isn't free.

Twitter and Facebook can be great marketing tools depending on the type of business you run. But how many highly-successful and profitable startups can you name that relied solely on Twitter and Facebook to market themselves?

If you limit your marketing efforts to services that are free, you're probably missing your greatest opportunities. Kawasaki himself notes that his startup, Alltop, isn't exactly taking over the world despite the fact that he's been "evangelizing" it on Twitter for 18 months. Clearly something is not working here and Kawasaki should probably consider that if Alltop is going to succeed, he needs to do more than tweet.

Conclusion

The message here is that there are no new economics of entrepreneurship. Starting a web-based business can be done cost-effectively but that doesn't mean that the most important components are free or "cheap".

Finally, Kawasaki neglects to note the single greatest cost an entrepreneur will incur: opportunity cost. The economics of that never change.

Photo credit: Robert Scoble via Flickr.

Source:

Don King Boxing Is A Knockout
Wii Sports Boxing was the first game to show off the calorie-burning potential of the Nintendo Wii. Anybody who has ever played it can attest that the game is a workout.

The problem was that there has really not been any other good boxing game, until today. Don King Boxing takes the Wii to a whole new level.

The game incorporates the Remote, the Nunchuk and the Wii Balance Board into what appears to be a realistic version of boxing. Want to dodge left? Lean left. What to throw a jab? Punch. Need to duck? Bend your knees.

We've long been fans of boxing on the Wii, because it makes you constantly move your entire body. Not to mention that punching an avatar is great way to relieve some stress. Out of the 3 game released this week, Don King's Boxing is the one we recommended buying first.

Just remember to keep your hands up. :)

copyright NetSweat.com - The Internet's Fitness Resource

Source: feedproxy.google.com

Elderly and low-income homes drop phone and cable for broadband

In the midst of a severe recession, Americans are cutting their monthly bills to the bone. Landline phones and cable television are now nice-to-haves rather than must-have. But a broadband internet connection? Non-negotiable.

We've come a long way since the dial-up era, when usability best practices cautioned against using slow-to-load graphics on Web sites and in email. The Pew Internet & American Life project's Home Broadband Adoption 2009 report indicates home broadband penetration is holding steady at 54-57 percent of households, a healthy 63 percent of adult Americans. But adoption among senior citizens (65 and older) jumped from 19 percent last May to 30 percent in April of this year.

Similarly, 35 percent of low income Americans (household income of >$20, 000) now have high speed internet access, a 10 percent jump since last year. Households making between $20-30, 000 grew from 42 to 53 percent penetration.

While the study finds broadband is becoming more expensive, particularly in areas with few competiting providers, the sagging economy may at least in part account for consumers willingness to pay for the service, given the web's critical role in researching employment opportunities. Yet overall, factors that indicate a propensity to have home broadband are identical to those that profile the types of consumers advertisers hope to reach: high income, college degrees, children at home, and married or living with a partner. In contrast, non-broadband home indicators include lack of a high school degree, rural, and over 65 years of age.

Source:

Bringing the reign of click-throughs to an end

Banner ads aren't going down without a fight. Marketers and publishers have been hearing for awhile that display ads are not nearly as effective as search. And in terms of click through rates, they aren't.

But just because people aren't clicking on banner ads, it doesn't mean they aren't working. That's long been the cry of display ad sellers, and now comScore has come out with a study that shows how display contributes to sales, even if consumers aren't immediately clicking through to purchase.

Partnering with the Online Publishers Association, comScore has published "The Silent Click: Building Brands Online." The news will be welcomed by companies like Microsoft, which in particular has been trying to pull its display business out of the strangle hold of click throughs with the launch of engagement ads.

It may be fashionable to disparage display — just last week Barry Diller was ringing the death knell of banner ads, saying: “We’re all at the earliest period of display advertising, which has been standardized into formats where people can say, ‘I know what to ignore.’"

But withholding clicks and ignoring ads are not the same thing. Display ads still make up 20% of the $32 billion online advertising spend. And according to ComScore, display ads contribute to the online ad spend, even if consumers aren't clicking on them.

The study looked at 80 of the biggest branding campaigns across 200 of the most trafficked sites over a month’s time, and found that of the people exposed to display ad campaigns:

• One in five conduct related searches and one in three visit the brands' sites
• Users spent over 50% more time than the average visitor to these sites and consumed more pages
• Users spent about 10% more money online overall, and significantly more on product categories related to the advertised brands
• Higher income audiences visited the advertisers’ sites 

According to Pam Horan, president of the Online Publishers Association:

"To date, measuring a brand campaign meant relying on the click, a metric more appropriate for direct response advertising. In order to understand the value of the audiences that display advertising attracts, our study helps marketers think about real behavioral measures designed to move the needle."

The inherently measurable nature of the Internet has helped advertisers get more bang for their buck online, but in many cases, finding out what to measure is the most important metric. Getting advertisers and consumers to think outside the clickthrough box is a step toward rehabilitating display. But once you throw out the current metric for measurement, you get to the next question. How do you charge customers who are accustomed to paying for ads based on clicks when clicks don't matter?

Source:

Get Ripped Abs with a Yoga Block

If you want ripped abs, get a yoga block.

I use one nearly every day. And I’ll match it up against any piece of ab equipment for effectiveness. On cost-benefit basis, it will win hands down. On a six-pack ab basis, it will also win.

Why?

Simple, many exercises are done incorrectly because people are not engaging their core. 

Think about when you do a push up - how much thought do you put ino what your legs are doing? If you’re like most people, you’re thinking about your arms and your chest. But, the correct form for a push-up (or plank for you yoga folks) is a straight line from your head to your heels.

Holding a yoga block between your legs forces you hold your legs straight. This, in turn, engages your core and strengthens your abs. If you’ve never done a push-up correctly, trust me, it’s different and more powerful experience.

It’s not just push-ups, however. A yoga block can make many exercises more powerful: sun salutations (a.k.a touching your toes), sit-ups, etc. Many exercises that require you to keep your legs steady and engage your core can be made more effective by just holding a yoga block between your legs.

Plus, once you have a yoga block, you’ll find that is extremely versatile. It can help you stretch and improve your balance. And it works great for meditating.

Please note, that like any piece of fitness equipment, a yoga block can cause injury. For example, I don’t do twists while holding a yoga block between my legs. I’d also be careful about lifting weights, mostly because you don’t want to lose your balance. Use common sense and ask a personal trainer or a fitness instructor to help you with your form.

copyright NetSweat.com - The Internet's Fitness Resource

Source: feedproxy.google.com


Labels: