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What is a Television? It’s machine that projects pixels out onto a screen, so the viewer of the machine will get these pixels and translate them. Don’t let the machine control you thoughts, or life. Bless

Posted in HEALTH, Uncategorized | 34 Comments

Changing Our Wayz {C.O.W.}

Over these last 35 years I have see and done so much that it’s hard for me to remember it all. When I was born into this world both of my parents lived very healthy. So it was easy for them to have me all natural. This gave me the idea to pass this information on to the rest of the people out their. So this is where {C.O.W.} comes in to play. {C.O.W.} is basically what you take in, how you put it out, and what your thoughts are about all of that. I have set up a system that consults businesses to upgrade in a healthy ways. {C.O.W.} looks at product, service, employees, employers, sales, environment, taxes, business credit, marketing, management, and how to get where they want to be.

If there is a group of people out their having a tough time making decision {C.O.W.} wights the benefit, comfortability factor, worst case scenario, and health. This is all done through the principals of thoughts about intake and output are the rules.

Last but not least {C.O.W.} makes life plans for indaviduals.

Posted in 2011, Business Minded, COMMUNITY, Computers, Financial Planing, HEALTH, Networking, TOGETHER, WORK | Tagged | 5 Comments

British Airways To Use Chartered Planes For Christmas Flights Backlog

UK’s leading airline British Airways has been one of the many highly affected airlines during the long week of Snow Chaos. During the past week, in addition to Gatwick, Edinburg and Dublin London Heathrow airport also remained close to traffic and at times, catering to only reduced travels.

According to recent news by British Airways, the airline has come up with a contingency plan and will be using chartered flights to coop with the need of the hour. Hundreds and Thousands of passengers are stranded in worldwide destinations due to adverse weather and frozen airports in Europe.

British Airways has announced to use four chartered planes that will be setting the airports in motion again and thousands of air travelers will be able to make it to their destinations. The airline chartered four aircraft complete with crew for today and yesterday, and will also use them tomorrow to get people to their destinations in time for Christmas.

December, is a peak season month and is considered the busiest for any airline.

However, this air the adverse weather conditions have made air travel almost impossible. The airport closures due to snow over the past six days have resulted in the cancellation of approximately 2,000 flights. British Airways CEO Willie Walsh has stated that it is a “huge logistical task”. He added:

“We typically spend six weeks pulling together the complex Christmas rosters for our 14,000 cabin crew and more than 3,000 pilots. Those 17,000 rosters are like a giant global jigsaw puzzle, which has been torn up by the days of disruption at Heathrow and around the world.”

In addition to the charter flights, the airline has also increased capacity by using 275-seat B777s instead of B767 or A320 Aircraft on busy routes including flights to Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Madrid.

British Airways has started a normal operation from December 23, 2010 resuming a normal flight schedule, as much as possible.

Other important and challenging routes for British Airways include flights to Johannesburg, Nairobi, Mombasa, Lusaka, Cape Town, Sydney, Auckland, Lagos, Durbanand other warmer destinations that are most selling routes during European winters.

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Posted in Financial Planing | Tagged , , , , , , | 207 Comments

Make a Plan and then Monitor It!!!

In my 20 plus years of consulting small and medium size businesses it is rare that I find a business with a financial plan that is being monitored. Most financial plans are generated to obtain a bank loan and once that purpose is served the plan usually finds its way to the lower bottom draw of the owner’s desk to collect dust. The other day I had an occasion to check one of these plans out with a client whose business was in trouble and sure enough, most everything in the plan had been ignored. If only part of the plan had been followed and monitored the business would have been profitable and not in need of any outside help.

Usually when a financial plan or budget is first put together it is based on the business history, knowledge of the business and industry, and some valid assumptions about the business future. A flight plan is put together in much the same way, however as soon as the plane takes off and winds change, adjustments must be made in order for the plane to reach its destination. The same holds true for a financial plan. Once the business is put into operation, some things change either with the product or the marketplace, and adjustments must be made to achieve the profit objective. Therefore, a financial plan must be monitored to identify the variables as they present themselves.

In a business these variables usually present themselves when a Profit and Loss statement is compared to a financial plan. Unfortunately, since most small business owners do not value their financial plan (budget) there is no urgency to check it against a P&L statement that tells you what actually happened in the business for the particular period of the report. Since the plan is not being monitored it is very easy for the business to head off course and in the opposite direction of its profit objective.

Comparing each item in the Profit and Loss Statement (What is actually happening in a period) to the Financial Plan (What you want to happen) will identify the variables and help you identify where problem(s) exist in meeting your profit objectives. However, identifying the problem is only the first step in solving it. You must research further to find what is really causing the problem and then make the necessary adjustments. Various solutions should be considered before picking the best solution, and after implemented, the new solution should be monitored to see if it really solved the problem.

The importance of a Variance Report that compares a financial plan (budget) with a profit and loss statement cannot be overstated. These are two important management tools to control your business and reach your profit objectives. If you have a financial plan, start using it to control your business, and if you do not have one, create one, it could mean the difference between success and survival.

Good Luck!

Copyright © Donald N. Lombardi

Donald N. Lombardi is an Expert Author on Small Business Ideas.  You can learn more about his articles by visiting his blog at http://businessadviceandcounsel.blogspot.com

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Aircraft Financing – The Finest Strategy To Own An Plane

Article by vanveysteak kevins

Plane financing is on the market by means of varied packages, in addition to from different financial institutions. One such program is the AOPA Aircraft Financing Program, which is endorsed by the Plane Homeowners and Pilots Association (AOPA). This program is especially enticing to individuals keen on aircraft leasing, as a result of it presents very low fastened rates to purchasers. As well as, this financing program additionally offers auto cost options, which allows your monthly repayment amounts to be deducted out of your account.

Apart from the AOPA Aircraft Financing Program, there are several other packages out there to permit people the pliability of plane financing. Generally, these financing options extend loans to individuals all for any kind of aircraft. This contains experimentals, generators, twin engine fashions, as well as single engine models. And, the great thing is that used aircraft financing can also be available. Due to this fact, you would not have to fret an excessive amount of about whether or not you will be able to afford a new model.

In many instances, the financing choices extend between 10 and 20 years to debtors for repayment. As well as, most ask for a really small down payment and prolong versatile reimbursement terms.

Normally, these financing firms will require certain issues to process your financing. These embody:

- Pictures of the plane as proof that it actually exists. There have been too many instances the place people have tried to defraud lending institutions. Considering that aircraft loans are far more important than say automotive loans, financing institutions make sure to protect themselves.

- Acceptable and full insurance coverage protection for the passengers, crew as well as the aircraft itself.

- A pre-purchase inspection achieved to make sure that the aircraft is fit for sale. As soon as it passes the requirements, the financial establishment will proceed with financing.

- Signed contracts indicating that the existing proprietor is ready to sell to the person borrowing the money.

Aircraft financing is a perfect option to personal an aircraft and have the luxurious of flying round at your own pace without worrying about having all the money up front. As dangerous because the financial system is, there is nonetheless the option to take pleasure in some luxurious without worrying too much about where your entire amount of money goes to return from.

Should you’re inquisitive about buying an aircraft whether or not it be for private or industrial reasons, you may of course need to know somewhat bit about the aircraft financing process. Take the following quiz and see in case you have the required understanding to proceed with attaining an aircraft finance loan.

(1) Close to plane financing for aircraft beneath $ one hundred,000, usually what is the mortgage time period for, say, a 15 yr amortized loan?

(a) Generally, a 15 12 months amortized mortgage has a mortgage term of 3 years.(b) The term for such a loan is 2 years.(c) A 5 year time period is usually imposed for this kind of loan.(d) Not one of the above.

Answer: (c) Because most borrowers generally upgrade their aircraft after 5 years, the 5 yr term is normally prescribed.

(2) How lengthy can the amortization schedule stretch on a loan for an aircraft over $ one hundred,000?

(a) The length of amortization can be as long as ten years.(b) Amortization can span over as a lot as fifteen years.(c) Sometimes an amortized loan of this kind can lengthen 20 years.(d) Most amortized loans for plane over $ a hundred,000 can go so long as 30 years.

Answer: (c) An amortized mortgage over the $ one hundred,000 mark can have a breadth of 20 years.

(three) Almost about experimental aircraft financing what is generally required of a kit-built aircraft versus an aircraft that has not been equipment-built?

(a) FAA registration(b) An appraisal(c) A bigger down fee(d) A title search

Reply: (c) If you happen to said a larger down fee, you might be correct.

Nonetheless, individuals can now continue to benefit from the luxurious of proudly owning an plane through aircraft financing from a wide range of entities. Folks not have to worry about dropping the power to take pleasure in life slightly in the law firm of the economic crisis.

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The Six Minute Book Summary of Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind by Al Ries And Jack Trout

Executive Summary

                  Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind was written by Al Ries and Jack Trout in the 1970s. The book was first published in 1980, before the 20th anniversary edition was later published in 2000. This book takes on the “new” approach to communication where the goal is to position the product in the mind of the prospect. Positioning is defined by the authors as what you do to the mind of the prospect and not what you do to a product. The volume of communication will determine whether your message will come through to the prospect or not. In communication less is more.

The easiest way is by being the first into a person’s mind, while the hardest way is by being second. If you can’t be first then you have to find a way to position yourself against the product that got there first. In today’s overcommunicated world people have learned to rank brands or companies on a series of ladders in the mind. 7-Up once came up with a positioning strategy that was called “7-Up: uncola.” This strategy was brilliant in linking the product to what was already in the mind of the prospect and the “uncola” position established 7-Up as an alternative to a cola drink.

                   Any me-too products have “Cherchez le creneau”, which means to look for the hole. You must think reverse and find your “creneau” and fill it. In some cases a company can get to the point where they can’t find the “creneau.” The authors believe that in a situation like that the company has to “reposition the competition.” In order to do that you have to take an old idea or product and move it out of the mind before you move a new one into the mind.

                  According to the authors the name of a product or a company is the best insurance for long-term success. You want to find a strong, generic-like, and descriptive name that will block your me-too competitors from getting into your territory.  In most cases today the name companies are better known than the initial companies. We are all familiar with successful initial companies such as IBM, AT&T, and P&G, but they all have one thing in common: they got to the top or became well known before they could use initials without ambiguity. Many companies fall in the trap where they introduce a new product and use the same brand name of an existing product, which doesn’t help build the brand from the beginning. Ries and Trout believe that a single brand name cannot hold multiple positions in a prospect’s mind.

                   Ries and Trout included a few case studies and one of them was on the company Monsanto (chemical company). This company was ranked third in product leadership behind industry leader DuPont. Monsanto found the hole that would give them the industry leadership. During a time when chemicals were under attack, Monsanto told the public about the benefits of chemicals as well as the risks and as a result they were recognized as the leader. That is, speak for the industry. 

                  Positioning can also be used to promote a person and not just a product or company. To get started on a positioning program the authors developed the “Six Steps to Success” that consists of questions that will help get your mental process started.  Ries and Trout believe that in order to be successful in positioning you need to have the right mental attitude and become an outside-in thinker instead of an inside-out thinker. This requires patience, courage and strength of character. Further, you have to use words in a right way in order to trigger the meanings which are buried in the mind.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from Positioning

Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect and not what you do to a product (p.3).

“The best approach to take in on our overcommunicated society is the oversimplified message” (p. 8). In communication less is more.

Be selective with your message and concentrate on narrow targets through positioning.

The easy way to get into a person’s mind is to be first. If you can’t be first you have to find a way to position yourself against the product that got there first.

The authors’ view of Cherchez le creneau or “look for the hole” (p.66). Find the hole in the industry that sets you apart from the competition and give you a competitive advantage.

Unless you can’t find your “creneau” you have to reposition yourself to the competition. One  strategy can be to link the product to what is already in the mind of the prospect (See “Uncola” example p.40)

 Put the effort in choosing a good name for a product. The name alone has enormous power in today’s society.

A manager can use positioning strategies to advance their career and company by following the authors’ guideline called “find a horse to ride” (Ch.20).

A manager can also follow the “Six Steps to Success” to get started on a positioning program and to help with the thinking process and get the mental process started.

Become an outside-in thinker rather than an inside-out thinker. This requires patience, courage, and strength of character.

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind – Full Summary              

Introduction

                  “Today, communication itself is the problem.” Jack Trout and Al Ries believe our world has become overcommunicated (more obvious to us today considering the book was written in the late 1970s) and that we receive more information than we give. A person’s mind can only take so much information and it blocks out everything that is not important or relevant. The authors define positioning as what you do to the mind of the prospect and not what you do to a product. Positioning is the “new” approach to communication where the goal is to position the product in the mind of the prospect.

Chapter 1 – What positioning Is All About

                  The volume of communication will determine whether your message will come through to the prospect or not. We have to consider that so little of your message is going to get through anyway. In communication less is more. The most important thing to remember is to focus on the prospect rather than the product, as a result you turn the process around and you simplify the selection process.

Chapter 2 – The Assault on the Mind

                  In this chapter the authors give us some interesting facts that support their argument about an overcommunicated world:

America consumes 57% of the world’s advertising.

Each year 30,000 books are published in America.

98% of all American homes have at least one television set.

The average American family watches television more than 51 hours a week.

5,000 new products are introduced into the American market each year.

These numbers will most likely be higher in 2010 but it proves the importance of positioning and how businesses need to be effective with the message they expose their consumers with. For example, the average American family watches TV more than 51 hours a week. They will be exposed to many, many commercials during that time but most likely they will only remember a few.

Chapter 3 – Getting Into the Mind

                  In this chapter the authors talk about how a company can get into the prospects’ mind. The easiest way is by being the first into a person’s mind, while the hardest way is by being second. Most of us would know the name of the first person to walk on the moon, but not many can answer who was the second man to walk on the moon. Coca Cola Company was the first in cola. Xerox was first in copiers and Kodak was first in photography. This being said if you can’t be first then you have to find a way to position yourself against the product that got there first.

Chapter 4 – Those Little Ladders in Your Head

                  In today’s overcommunicated world people have learned to rank brands or companies on a series of ladders in the mind. For example, when you think of the car rental industry some people might put Hertz on top of the ladder, Avis second and National in third. In this chapter Ries and Trout provide us with a great example which they call the “uncola” position about 7-Up. This strategy was brilliant in linking the product to what was already in the mind of the prospect, the “uncola” position established 7-Up as an alternative to a cola drink. Too many companies would have taken on the big guys head on and lost.                  

Chapter 5 – You Can’t Get There from Here

                  In this chapter Ries and Trout explain the importance of knowing when to quit or to stop trying. Sometimes a company has to face the ugly truth and understand they will not get anywhere from where they are. The authors use IBM as an example of how to go against a powerful company in an industry where competition is very tough between few companies. The best strategy in this situation would be to take advantage of whatever positions they already own in the minds of their prospects and then relate them to a new position in that industry.

Chapter 6 – Positioning of a Leader

                  In this chapter the authors continue from earlier chapters to discuss the importance of being first in an industry with the highest market share. Once you get to the top it’s much easier to maintain that lead and stay there compared to how you got there. At the same time being number one in the industry does not mean you should act bigheaded about it because that will only make your company come across as insecure and you will end up losing the position you had.  Other leading industries do not understand that the power of the organization is derived from the power of the product and not the power of the organization. The power of the product is very underestimated and in many cases wrongfully viewed in many industries. When a company introduces a radically new concept you have to get away from the mindset of “let’s wait and see” but instead try to cover this move in order to be out in front.

Chapter 7 – Positioning of a Follower

                   Any me-too products have to get away from the typical American philosophy of the “bigger and better”. The authors call it “Cherchez le creneau”, which means to look for the hole. You must think reverse and find your “creneau” and fill it. For example, Volkswagen was famous for promoting their Beetle model with the famous ad that said: “Think small.” Volkswagen’s “creneau” was size and it challenged the prospect’s assumption that bigger is better. In finding your “creaneaus” you have to be careful and not fall in the trap where you try filling the hole in the factory rather than one in the mind.

Chapter 8 – Repositioning the Competition  

                  In some cases a company can get to the point where they can’t find the “creneau.” The author’s believe that in a situation like that the company has to “reposition the competition.” In order to do that you have to take an old idea or product and move it out of the mind before you move a new one into the mind. For example, Tylenol repositioned aspirin by giving the consumer medical reasons on when and why you shouldn’t take aspirin. The ad finished with: “Fortunately, there is Tylenol…” Simple as that they succeeded in an effective repositioning strategy and Tylenol’s sales took off.

Chapter 9 – The Power of the Name

                  According to the authors the name of a product or a company is the best insurance for long-term success. You want to find a strong, generic-like, and descriptive name that will block your me-too competitors from getting into your territory. When choosing a name you have to be careful and not subtle and tricky, not clear, or names that get out of date. What about all the companies with meaningless names like Coca-Cola or Kodak? Well, those companies were first into the prospect’s mind that became famous and as a result the names could have almost been anything.

                  A name is a lot more powerful than what many people think and even realize. People make assumptions of what to believe about someone or something just by hearing a name. For example, take Cyril and John. Studies from psychologist David Sheppard show that people expect a Cyril to be sneaky and a John trustworthy. Take the airline industry; the four largest domestic carriers are United Airlines, American Airlines, Trans World Airlines, and Eastern Airlines. The airline that is consistently ranked four on passenger surveys is Eastern Airlines. Eastern has a regional name, compared to bigger names like American and United, which puts them in a different position in the prospect’s mind. In other cases you can just be unlucky such as how Goodrich was defeated to a larger company Goodyear. The names were too similar and Goodrich didn’t have a chance because Goodyear was bigger and more recognized in the prospects’ mind.

Chapter 10 – The No-Name Trap

                  In most cases today the name companies are better known than the initial companies. We are all familiar with successful initial companies such as IBM, AT&T, and P&G, but they all have one thing in common; they got to the top or became well known before they could use initials without ambiguity. Another important factor on using initials is that it not only has to look good but also sound good in order to reach into the prospect’s mind. In other cases, companies use initials because of sheer obsolescence.

Chapter 11 – The Free-Ride Trap  

                   Many companies fall in the trap where they introduce a new product and use the same brand name of an existing product, which doesn’t help build the brand from the beginning. Other companies, such as P&G make new products and develop new names for each product that is independent and different from the brand itself. Ries and Trout believe that a single brand name cannot hold multiple positions in a prospect’s mind. Either the new product will not be successful or the original product bearing the name will lose its leadership position. 

Chapter 12 – The Line-Extension Trap

                  Line extension is one of the most significant trends in the past decade of marketing history. Yet, according to Ries and Trout you have to be careful in how you use it. Line extension works against the generic brand position because it blurs the sharp focus of the brand in the mind. Ries and Trout talk about some examples of failure due to this problem and one of them is “the diet-cola war.” This was between Diet Pepsi and Tab where basically the consumer looked at Diet Pepsi as an inferior product to regular Pepsi, while Tab stood on its own. As a result, Tab was the marketing winner.

Chapter 13 – When Line Extension Can Work

                  In this chapter Ries and Trout talk about when line extensions can work instead of creating a new brand. The authors came up with five reasons on when to use line extensions:

Expected Volume – Small-Volume products should.

Competition – In a crowded field (market), it should.

Advertising support – Small-budget brands should.

Significance – Commodity products should such as chemicals should.

Distribution – Items sold by sales reps should.

Chapter 14–19 (Case Studies)

                  In these chapters Ries and Trout talk about case histories that illustrate how positioning can be applied in different situations. In chapter 14 they do a case history on a company called Monsanto (chemical company). This company was ranked third in product leadership behind industry leader DuPont. Monsanto found the hole that would give them the industry leadership. During a time when chemicals were under attack, Monsanto told the public about the benefits of chemicals as well as the risks and as a result they were recognized as the leader. That is, speak for the industry.

                  In chapter 15 we can read about another case history but this time positioning a country: Belgium. Sabena Belgian World Airline, one of the 16 major North Atlantic carriers, had captured all traffic to Belgium but the truth was that none were flying to this little country. Well, the answer to the problems of a national airline like Sabena was to position the country, not the airline. They were able to relate Belgium to a destination that was already in the mind of the traveler and from there they could easier be recognized. Even so this program was never fully implemented and the lesson from this was that any positioning program requires long-term commitment by the people in charge in order to be successful.

                  In chapter 16 Ries and Trout give us a case history on positioning a product: Milk Duds. This is a small budget company that was able to reposition the competition by being America’s long-lasting alternative to the candy bar. According to the authors, the lesson to be learned from this chapter is that: “the solution to a positioning problem is usually found in the prospect’s mind, not in the product.”

                  In chapter 17 they study the positioning of a service: Mailgram. This study illustrates why a really new service has to be positioned against the old. The following chapter is another study where they look at positioning a Long Island Bank. It includes how a bank can successfully retaliate when its field gets invaded by its giant competitors.

In chapter 19 they talk about an interesting case history on positioning the Catholic Church. It proves that even an institution can benefit from good positioning. Not long ago the Catholic Church struggled with presenting a clear view of what the church was about and it lead to confusion among the people. The church had to figure out their role in the modern world in order to be trusted again. This role was proven to be the “teacher of the word.” After this was identified it had to be implemented and a positioning strategy was needed to be taken into action. The plan had to be executed but with much resistance from the management of the Catholic Church it never went through. As the author’s describe it in the book: “simplicity is not as attractive as complexity.”

Chapter 20 – Positioning Yourself and Your Career

                  Positioning can also be used to promote a person and not just a product or company. The first thing you need to do is to define yourself. Secondly, you can’t be afraid to make mistakes because in every aspect of life you have to take some risks sometimes. Third, make sure your name is right. Finally, try to avoid the no-name trap and the line-extension trap.

                  Ries and Trout continue in this chapter to talk about “finding a horse to ride.” Trying harder is not always the answer to success, but working smarter is. Ries and Trout’s “Six horses” are:

The first horse to ride is your company – Find a growing company that is going somewhere, such as tomorrow-type products like computers, electronics, optics, and communications.

The second horse to ride is your boss – Ask the same question about your boss as you asked yourself about your company. Is he going anywhere? If he is, then chances are good that you are too.

The third horse to ride is your friend – Try to make as many friends as you can outside your own organization, and you will greater chances of getting a big, rewarding job.

The fourth horse to ride is an idea – Don’t be afraid of conflict and be willing to go against the tide in order to come up with new idea.

The first horse to ride is faith – Try to go outside of yourself in order to find fortune.

The sixth horse to ride is yourself – The most difficult horse to ride is yourself. It’s not easy to succeed in life or business by yourself. To succeed you have to understand that business is as much cooperation as competition.

Chapter 21 – Six Steps to Success

                  In this chapter Ries and Trout developed six questions that will trigger your mind and help you get a better understand of where you are and where you want to go. These are the six questions:

What position do you own?

What position do you want to own?

Whom must you outgun?

Do you have enough money?

Can you stick it out?

Do you match your position?

In addition to these steps to success the role of the outsider also plays an important role. Most large companies today have the advantage in hiring an ad agency to position a product. These companies don’t know what’s going on inside the company, but they know everything happening on the outside and what’s in the mind of the prospect.

Chapter 22 – Playing the Positioning Game

                  In this final chapter Ries and Trout talk about what you need to do to be successful at positioning. First of all you need to have the right mental attitude and become an outside-in thinker rather than an inside-out thinker. This requires patience, courage and strength of character. Further, you have to use words in a right way in order to trigger the meanings which are buried in the mind.

Personal Insights

Why I think:

With business conditions today, what the author wrote is – or is no longer true – because:

Considering that this book was written in the 70’s I truly believe it was ahead of its time. Positioning today has become one of the most powerful marketing tools there is and that the importance of it has only increased over the years. I believe that what makes this book so unique is that it can still be applied and used even thirty years after it was published. In my opinion I think positioning has become even more important today, compared to when the book was written, than ever before because of the high competition in today’s business world. It becomes more crucial for every company to position their product in the prospect’s mind before another company does in order to be an industry leader. The authors of the book did a great job with providing examples that we can learn from and apply today.

If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:

I would have focused more on small-business industries not only the big ones. Most of the examples that were provided were about industry leading companies.

I would also have covered a little more about positioning in relation to what is ethical and not. The authors talked a little about it but the issue of being ethical in the business world has become a major topic.

If I were the author I might have picked different case studies to use as examples to explain the effectiveness of good positioning strategy. A couple of the case studies were a little practical and not all of them were implemented. That makes it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness.  

Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

After reading the book, I realized what positioning is truly about. It is definitely more to it than just mass media advertising but rather a well-thought strategy of how to own a position in the prospect’s mind.

I didn’t think as much of positioning from the psychological perspective like it was explained by the authors.

In my mind, positioning was always a marketing tool that was used to position a product. It was proven in this book through several examples that you can use positioning strategy to position yourself & your career, a country, a service, and even a church. The opportunities are unlimited.   

I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

Using the “six questions to success” I can ask myself to get started on a positioning program.

By me being a Marketing Major I can apply the different positioning techniques provided by the authors and use them in my career.

Keeping in mind that in the overcommunicated world we live in the simplest idea or strategy can be the most effective. Less is more in communication.

Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and its authors:

While doing some research trying to find some reviews and feedback on the book I had a difficult time finding much negative about it. On padbuilder.com I was able to find many customer reviews where some of them say that Positioning is the best marketing book yet written. Another comment on this website was more skeptical and believed that the book was outdated and couldn’t be applied in today’s world. On another website, Amazon, almost all the reviews had only good things to say. Here are some of the editorial reviews of the book:

“One of the most important communication books I’ve ever read. I recommend it highly!”
­­Spencer Johnson, MD, co-author of The One Minute Manager

“…Ries and Trout taught me everything I know about branding, marketing, and product management. When I had the idea of creating a very large thematic community on the Web, I first thought of Positioning….”
­­David Bohnett, Chairman and Founder of GeoCities

Bibliography

Amazon Positioning – Information and reviews. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Positioning-Battle-Your-Mind-Anniversary/dp/0071359168

PadBuilder – What our customers say! (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.padbuilder.com/v_30303731333539313638.php

Tech IT Easy – Book Review of Positioing, Part 3. (October 29, 2008). Retrieved from http://jeremyfain.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/book-review-positioning-the-battle-for-your-mind-part-3/

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Contact Info: To contact the author of this “Summary and Review of Positioning”, please email patrick.solberg@selu.edu.

Biography

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:

Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)

Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and

Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).                

Written by David Wyld
Professor of Management, Southeastern Louisiana University

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How to Start a Small Business Successfully?

Your business, whether it is on a brick and mortar set up or on a website processing orders for your customers, should be made legal and official at all costs. If you have started from brick and mortar and you eventually decided to expand online, meeting legal requirements and business regulations is not a problem here since every brick and mortar set up is governed by certain business laws and policies that are almost the same as the online business set up. However, as your business grows more mature and successful, you will soon realize that you will then need both the brick and mortar advantage coupled with your website’s powerful edge to serve your business’ ever-growing demands for more successful results.

Here are the top 15 valuable steps that every business-minded person should start with in building a strong business that will satisfy long-term goals and deliver products and services to customers with lasting impact.

1. Research well. Conduct your business feasibility study. Evaluate on such important business factors as customer types, your competitors, suppliers, products or service rates and charges and marketing strategies. A careful analysis will give you an edge in the business world.

2. Plan everything, write your plans out. Information is vital in all your business endeavors and the best to handle this step is to create your business plan in full detail. All information gathered from your feasibility study must be included here. Other things that you should never forget in your business plan are the company description, visions, missions, goals, target market, competitors, financial data and the manner of meeting all these business goals.

3. Know how you will finance your business in a solid way. Bank loans, personal credit cards or your own savings are your legal options here.

4. Decide on the business structure you need to establish. Will you go for partnership, sole proprietorship or incorporation? Be sure to know really well all of the advantages or disadvantages of each before you made up your mind for the final structure.

5. Choose accompany name. Create a name that is highly unique but effective to your business standing.

6. Register for federal or provincial zones. You can get registration forms from your local government office or even download or complete them online along with its corresponding fees.

7. Contact your national revenue bureau to register for corporate income tax, payroll, GST/HST or import/export process. You can also obtain your business number here.

8. Submit documents pertaining to “Registration as a Vendor” if you wish to collect PST.

9. Check with your local municipality if there are still special permits and licenses you might have missed to register.

10. Work on developing your marketing tools to enhance the credibility and integrity of your business plan. These tools must be composed of a profound website, press hit and your company identity package.

11. Set up a reliable system for keeping your records and establish your business bank account.

12. Purchase insurance for the security of your business.

13. Contact potential suppliers to discuss about credit terms.

14. Get a physical location for your business.

15. Purchase all the necessary equipments and office supplies to run your office and business pursuits systematically.

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Want Better Sleep? Tame That Busy Mind!

Have you ever wondered why your mind always seem to be more active at night? Well actually it’s not, but because you’re trying to relax you are more aware of it.

During the day our minds are taken up with our day to day activities but as soon as we lie down at night, our minds seem to come alive. One thought follows another and another and soon you are worrying about everything, including the fact that it’s 2.30 am and we’re still not asleep!

How can we stop negative thoughts from intruding on our sleep?

Unfortunately it’s easy to become negative in our thinking. The mind tends to go into problem solving mode at the end of the day. We focus on our problems and this can build stress which keeps us awake.

To stop this nightly torture, ask yourself the following questions:

Do you take responsibility for things that you shouldn’t? Are you worrying about other people’s problems? Remind yourself that you can’t think for anyone else and just let those worries go.

Are you worrying about something specific? Write it down before going to bed. Tell yourself firmly that you will think about this issue tomorrow morning. The subconscious mind will hear you, but you MUST consciously stop these worrying thoughts as soon as they surface. This becomes easier with practice.

Busy minds are not necessarily a symptom of stress. If you are creative you may have more ideas than you can deal with. Write them down when they pop up or use a voice recorder by the bed.

Some other ways we can stop our spiralling thoughts and get some rest:

Be aware of this; you are not your mind. Your mind is your personality, you are the person who owns your mind and you have to tell it who’s in charge! You don’t have to follow the path your thoughts are taking.

The mind must be redirected and made to think on one stress free thing. Realize you can control your thoughts, be aware in what direction your thoughts are leading.

I’m not going to trot out the usual remedies for sleep here, simply because physical remedies don’t work too well for over active minds. Trying too hard to relax when your mind’s racing can do more harm than good. You need to distract your mind and focus it on one thing only.

This will stop one thought developing into another and another.

How to do this? Well to start with we can use an outside source to focus our mind. For instance, listen to a CD. A relaxing CD is not always helpful under these conditions, try an instructional tape where there is someone talking. This will stop your mind wandering and your thoughts will focus on the voice, the more boring the better!

Training your mind to do what you want is the key to better sleep and less stress in your life.

For several ways to stop worry and stress keeping you awake visit:
http://www.insomnia-connection.com/reduce-stress.html your resource for sound advice, products and articles to reduce stress and worry and achieve deep healthy sleep. Wendy Owen is a health researcher and author.

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The Six Minute Book Summary of The Truth About Profiting From Social Networking by Patrice-Anne Rutledge – Part 2

Part V: The truth about networking your way to business success

A social networking marketing plan is not a tradition marketing plan:For social networking to functions as a  professional marketing too, one has to first have a plan, target audience, and ways to meet their need, the content of the site, the best way to increase sales without over selling and learn way to convert customers.
The right kind of “socializing” can lead to big profits:Business purpose the best social networking is the one with the highest number of viewer who can see your product or service. When using social networking as a business tool managers need to focus on low key relationship building approached. You also need to know that not all the people will have good comments on your   products or your business at larger some people are jealous or they may only be negative all the time. As a manager you need to understand and be ready to deal with these kinds of challenges.  They are also important because they can help you to improve in your business by assuming the corrections.
Reaching key decision makers requires trust:Like any other businesses, trust is the most important in social networking, especially that the  this reaches the highest number of people,  and more so these people have never see you nor your company, the best way to  is to tell them the truth and what you put online should be truth. Remember this kind of trust is very important if customers find anything contradiction on the website, the truth is lost easily and often the hardest thing is to bring back the lost truth. Your contact should be true and functioning just in case a customer’s calling or e-mail then she should be provide with a respond.

Part VI: The truth about launching a product or services through social networking

The $ 2.2 billion tip: advertising where the crowds gather pays off: Advisements in social networking is growing very fast and most successful, because using it can now reach people regardless of gender age or race or geographical region. Most the social networking has ads sites where they held ads. For Example, in YouTube it is found in (www.youtube.com/advertise) which offers various ways of ads by age, gender, Location, and the time of the days that the ads need to occur. For LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com/static?key=advertising_info) it provides information such as the target audience also demographics. In Facebook (www.facebook.com/ads). In facebook beacon feature enable businesses   to grant power to customers to share their purchase online.
If you don’t “get” social networking, your campaign won’t work:Social networking became only profitable if you understand what makes social network in terms of human interaction and motivation. The three ways to do marketing in the social networks include 1) personalizing your customers experience, knowing the like and dislike of your customers is very important. Engage in sharing of ideas among the customers and allowing them to post their comments. Responding to their questions will also help them to fell they are valued and continues to visit the site and buy your products. 2) plan for the worst, by allowing the customers and the users to share what  comments some of their comment will be negative and you should always be ready to deal with them by planned 3) Inspire evangelism. Inspiring your customers to spread the news about your products, service and how you value them to their fans, friend and families for free will probably increase your sales revenues.
Marketing to the MySpace generation is different:   Generation Y represent the audience who buy the most. However, it has been know that today  all ages of people are in MySpace hence focusing only in specify group may leads a lot of lose in sales. However, young adults still form the highest percentage because they are technology drive, they are also multimedia that is they are found in many social networking. 
Making them hungry makes them buy:What is appealing with likely make customers buy it, hence social networking building of the sites and profiles are the most important to focus in Marketing on these sites.
Viral videos are for business not just fun:   Savvy Marketers are making millions from the social viral You Tube campaigns. For example southwest airline are known to stimulate their marketing campaigns   in You Tube.  Creativity is video in Video marketers and producers are encouraged to think beyond the box.

Part VII: The truth about corporate social networking

Corporate social networking has arrived:   Due to the emergence of the 2.0 technology managers are now require to have the knowledge of the Web by, enhancing employee communication and retention and increasing business development. Corporate social networking reaches all the stockholders including the customers. There are some social networking which employee are encouraged to sign up and share and built relationship with others employee. Theses can also help to raise their voices.
You need to embrace the virtual water cooler: It is assumed that social network has become a water cooler, for example it is where you can learn much about what is going on in your friend from their conversation with others and also what they post in their wall.
You can get something for nothing: free, open-source social networks: 

Part VIII: The truth about social networking for social causes

Social networking is changing the world of online fundraising: In today world it is very easy to raise large sum of money through the internet. For example if someone wants to raise money he/she can just forward the message to his/ her friend and the message is convey.  Social network is very useful because it can reach many of your friend and they can in turn sent you the money or deposit in your account
Networking for good makes good sense:Since many of the social networking is worldwide, sending any awareness can be much easier.  Many charities organization use the social networks for example Our planet (www.myspace.com/ourplanet) they are dedicated to stopping global warming. Friend of the Earth(www.youtube.com/friendsoftheearth) and  Save the children at (www.savechildren.org)  are all social networks for charities organization
Get social, get elected;political also are joining social networking to do their campaigning because it can reach many people. Politician use the social network in election in a Unite States and other parts of the world. MTV and MySpace are often used by for presidential debates.

Part IX: The truth about social networking success

Online networking is still networking:The basic principle of social networking behind connecting people was established many years ago. Physical networking was the main source where people gather for lunch or a social place and held some discussion. Today this has been reinforced with the online social networking; also the most important is to be active for the social networking to be of beneficial by participating in discussions boards, answering questions and others
Quality counts: more isn’t always merrier: In social networking quality count on the quantity. There are many networking and more are emerging every day, signing up in every social networking will not be of beneficial to you.  Choose one to two social networking that suit your needs and nurturing them is the most important.  A social networking with the largest number of people will not be useful if it does not serve your needs. To make the best out of social networking one to1) Focus on strategic Objectives by avoid that they should be present in every social network. 2)Have schedule on when you are available online 3) Be realist spend few and useful hours will be useful that wasting time surfing online.4)Get help for example if a manager does not have enough time to build their social networking  then can outsource.
Online branding: your profile is how the world sees you:  Online image is everything to individual or a company; many people who encounter online have not made and do not have an opportunity to meet. What they find online like in the website, blog or social networking is all what they will assume of the company and individual.  Focusing on what is put online about you is the key note that this is what people will evaluate you of.  Having a visual image of you in the profile creates more trust to the users, they want to know who they are chatting or working with.
Learning from the masters can make you a master social networker: Winning in social networking is being with the right balance of technical knowhow, market savvy, networking mastering and street smarts.  If the social network is not generating the desire results of your goals then you may turn to learn from what others success managers are using online. Take time and learn from their creation of profile to details on their website. If this is not useful then hire a consultant who will dedicate time and produce the desire results.
 Six degrees of separation is more than just the name of a motive:Today social networking is rooted to the concept of six degree of separation theory by reaching the words of academia, entertainment and nonprofit. This has encouraged others to invest on the same concept online.  If used wisely social networking is the link to the rest of the world.
Social networking doesn’t happen in a vacuum:Anybody they you found online need to be treating with respect. The person you meet online can be an alternative goal to in meeting your success.

Part X: The truth about making connections that counts

Connect and reconnect: develop a network that works for you: In many ways developing a social networking is much easier that in person network, the first step after signing on social networking is to connect and reconnect.  If your focus is to establish publicity online then 1) Focus on your presence on the site 2)start with likeminded people 3) see who has befriended your competitors 4)  be selective 5) Be patient be strategy when connecting to people or business and corporations.
You can never have too many friends… or can you? :Viewing a requested profile before accepting is the most important. Not everyone who sent the request or is available online have the same goal as you do.  Accepting any request may damage the reputation of your business or individual. Remember that other may be hackers or spam.
You can connect with the rich and famous:Social networking has opened a great opportunity for everyone. You can now chat with a celebrity or without the social networking could have been impossible to grabs your hand. This can reinforce your professional because you will have to have a good and reputable profile to attract this people.
You’ve got mail… but you shouldn’t always answer it:  Being selective in responding in social networking lead to creating a good quality of your social networking and make a difference to the way people and the world see you. You don’t need to respond to all request there is a time to say no and a time to say yes to a request.  People see you in what you connect with and probably can read your mind from the minds of your friends.

Part XI: The truth about social networking privacy and safety

Social networking makes your past an open book: If there are any dirt or what other has said about your, what if feel quilt of online then it is time to clean up and start a professional way with a clean name online. This becomes an issue especially during a job search and professional activities.  The best way is to create alert service that will   send an alarm to you whenever your name pops online or when your name is put on the internet, this will help you to trace and find what is being written and correct at early stage.
You never know who is reading your profile:You never know who reads what is in your profile and when they can read it, to be save always put what anyone can see without shying off or embarrassment. For example can your parents see your pictures, what about your boss, do they have good or bad reputation of you.
Knowledge is the key to safeguarding your privacy online: remember that once you put something online the world can see. Your privacy is very important; do not put private items available online. For example phone numbers, address or even your status. Does what you put online can lead someone to track your ways or read your mine. You can also choose what do add in creating your profile. This means that if s

Part XII: The truth about the future of social networking

Social networking will expand exponentially in the next decade: It is true that there are hundred of social network in the internet, but everyday new social networking are emerging. Patrice said that the social networking is predicted to focus on specially niche because more often people with the same kind of thinking spend time together, so they in the future they are predicted to built their own niche sites. These kind of small niches are expected to dominant in the future. Social networkings are also expected to increase the advertising budget. Many people are now spending much of their time in the internet the sniff from the traditional advertising to modern internet advertising mainly to social networking because that is where many people spend most of their time that in other places. However, there has also been the increase in the sharing of ideas be among social networking and others sites like the Amazon.com, E bay, twitter, and You tube among others. In these sites one can share what she/ he found useful with others in other social networking like the Facebook which is really important sharing. The future impact of the social networking is expected to increase expontially due to increase in revenue from the from the social networking.
Social networking is going mobile.  Mobile phone is becoming more useful than ever, Patrice claimed that the society now wants the freedom that the mobile lifestyles bring with it. Facebook has now provided alternative version in mobile phones that enable the user to upload phones directly to Facebook. Friend finders like Dodgeball helps users to connect with friends within a given radius. Loopt which is also a feature in social network sends alert to the user when friend is in a given location, it can also share your favorite place places that you like to visits or the once that your friends like to visits, or recommend on the place that your friends visits. Mobile phones are also going global. Patrice gives an example of Copenhagen which uses Bluetooth to sense when strangers and friends are nearby. It can also sense when another friend in LinkedIn is around you and enable individual to set

Conference and other events using the mobile phones.

Not all social networking occurs on social networking sites:  Facebook and MySpace is now becoming the traditional social network as Patrice mention. Many manufacture and retailers are now creating the own social networking which is connected with what they sale for example  as a way of a company may create a site like women or men factionist which enable the customers to create a profile, the company can then provide them with discount when they purchase from the website. Companies also enable customers to share them comments on what they purchase from the site. These create not only more customers and increase revenues but also forms a community of social place for people. It is predicted that the future of social networking will enable users to enjoy the benefits without having to own or use a physical computer.  
Creating your own social network is easier than you think.It is possible to create a social network without a lot of capital or finance. Patrice gives an example of sites in the internet where you can create your own social networking. Ning at Ning.com enable individual to create their own social networking without a change, however, if an individual need to include ads then Ning will get benefit from ads revenues unless person pays for it. Collective.com also gives individual the opportunity to create a site free but charges premium when ads on the site is provided.  There are also steps to follow when deciding and creating individual websites.1) To do a research on what the website look like, what should be include, the goals, the future for example to expand national wide to concrete in a given niche, the users, 2) Understand the cost of the  free solutions: Free creating of the website developer comes with a big plus, it is hard to control because they developer will still own the domain hence if you consider to create a website  that will grown and you become the owner then it is advisable to pay for it. 3) Your level of technical skills. If an individual does not have technical skills of building and maintain the website then it is advisable to hires someone with the right skill, some companies even do a create job of outsourcing to foreign countries where they have a adequate skill with a cheaper cost.4) Know the business model you want to pursue, for example is it an adverting revenue or the sales of products or just a free social network. These are critical factors in determine your success in the creation of social networking. 
You don’t have to follow the trends just because they’re there:The impact web 2.0 technologies is changing most of the things in the social network rapidly and create confusion or misunderstand on what to trend to follow. You need to keep in mind the all function of social networking is about connecting the community, and matching people with a common goals and think alike. To avoid the move or the trend you should always remember your goals, the direction of your industry, technology change and keep up with the announcements that may impact your site or your business. You can also create your own trend which is unique and meet the need of your customers this will help you to avoid the traffic with other.   Patrice finished her book by saying that winning network marketing requires out of box thinking that is thinking and seeing beyond others in the same field.

The Video Lounge

  The Video talks about ways in which Facebook can be used to attract more customers and bring profit to the business.  Since many people are in Facebook target this group of people as your target market.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjmY5PLjngc

    The Video talks about ways to profit from the social networking. It refers more on the future of social networking, the interaction and continues connection with social networking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXj5dFLbRBo

Personal Insights

Why I think:

With business conditions today, what the author wrote are true because with what the author wrote is very applicable in today business and infact she as even gone further to and it will probably be applicable in business in the near future. As long as the technology changes her words will remain workable.  In furthermore, business is now going into e-commerce where most of the transaction will occur in the internet hence the need to learn using internet of benefit will become crucial.

If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently1.  If I was the author of The Truth about profiting from social network the first the thing I could have done is to remove sub parts in the book. These subparts are so many and makes the reader bore. I find that there are a lot of information that she has convey using this book which may lead to confusion to the reader.  I find the plot of the book is not well structure.  Narrowing down the theme in the book and having more deep on few is what I could have done.

 Explain in details how businesses benefit from forming social networking. As I was reading the truth about profiting from social networking my main curiosity was to discover how social networking can benefit, how are the money channeled so as to reach the individual who creates and works to improve the sites because most of the social networking sites are free.

Explain how social networking enables a mind sharing of ideas and insight. When interacting with people online, you get a unique perspective into their lives and their problems. You can help and advise them and in turn, you will receive feedback and trust, thus resulting in mind-sharing. Since social networking is human focused, it is a great atmosphere to get feedback, research and insight. Although people do not want to be told, forced, spammed or made to do anything but when you involve them, the entire environment changes. 

Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:

1) The dangers of social networking. Social networking has lots of traps from request who may only want to be your friend with other motive like finding information about you and using them negatively. The dangers of Digital dirt which may haut you back.

2)   Finding a job in a hidden market. Building relationship in social networking can be very helpful in finding a job. Friend does not only have to be those who know strangers can become very important friends. Directly or indirectly someone who already chats with you online can be very helpful when finding a job.

3) There are thousand social networking in the internet. To be effective and efficient sight to few will be great since it will lead to spending less time online. Having a good in a social networking is a key to jointing it.

I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:

First having a goal in joining a social networking. I have always taken Face book as a place to chat with friends is not the function of social networking. Joining few social networking, not accepting any invitation without careful examining of the person.

 Joining professional social networking. After I read this book I discover more about LinkedIn, I recently joined the social networking. I believe it has more to help me in pursuit my career. I hope to deactivate myself in other networking so that I dedicate enough time in the ones that will benefit me and my career in the future.

 Built a relationship with friends in social networking. I have found out that with today’s world building along lasting relationship is the key to enter into jobs and especially hidden jobs.  Building along lasting relationships with who we interact with online will bring success, learning, encouragement and growth in life.

What others have said about the book and its author:

Mark A. Kellner wrote in The Washington Time “An essential, enlightening guide to an area rapidly expanding beyond garish MySpace pages into an essential business component. This is a vital reference at just the right time!”

Jason Fall in the blog wrote “Smart business people are using social networking to support their marketing and overall business strategies. But it community norms you’ll find there. Rutledge’s book not only gives smart advice on how to navigate those waters, but does so with examples that are easy to understand and translate for use in your business.”

 Guy Kawasaki who is the author of the Art of the Start comment of the author LinkedIn about the book as “The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking is an insightful, useful book that many marketers should keep at their fingertips.” The hits in the book are very useful to the today’s marketers’ field.

Bibliography

Mark A. Kellner, Retrieve on November 6, 2010.

http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Profiting-Social-Networking-ebook/dp/B001BFL9IA

Jason Fall (2008) Retrieve on November 6, 2010

http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0789737884

 Kawasaki G, (2008) retrieve on November 6, 2010

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Contact Info: To contact the author of this “Summary and Review of The Truth about Profiting From Social Networking” please email dorcas. kapkiai@selu.edu.

Biography

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:

Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)

Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and

Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).                

Written by David Wyld
Professor of Management, Southeastern Louisiana University

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The Six Minute Book Summary of The Truth About Profiting From Social Networking by Patrice-Anne Rutledge – Part 1

Executive Summary

     Patrice Anne Rutledge is a noted author and consultant.  She specializes in social media, online collaboration, and does presentation on technologies. In addition she has published many articles and books, her main theme evolved around social networking and internet. She has published many books including: Teach Yourself Basecamp in 10 Minutes, Using Linked, and Special Edition Using Microsoft PowerPoint 2007.  The Truth about Profiting from Social Networking  also her published in 2008.  It provides 50 guidelines on the techniques that work and those that don’t work in the social networking. She provides the inside ways social networking can be used to reinforce careers, build businesses, and your life in today’s society where the need for an internet has become inescapable. Patrice provide  the guide  beginning from how to sign up in a network, creating a profile to more technical ways on how you can use the social networking to market your business.

           The truth about profiting from social networks provide, With the use of  ample  example the author give the inside in which social networks can be used by businesses, companies, corporations,  and  more so marketer to increase their share in the market. Since many people are now using the social are found in social network are today where advisements are made.  Through the social networks are facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn they are connect directly or indirect to sales of products, promotions where businesses earn a great profits. The best way in which the social networks benefit marketer is that they are more often built to allow customers to share their purchase and testimonies with their friend hence they become fans thus increasing the market share.

               The truth about profiting in social networking provides the inside of how social site can be used to provide the most benefit to the individual career.   Reading this book will help build your career. From how to create your resume , what to do and what not to do,  interview and even guide on how to do your follow up after an interview.  It is through the social networking that many people are today connecting not only to the managers or employees but their friend in the social networking can also help if they know of the availability or someone who is interest in hiring.  Patrice provides many example of situation in which a social networking has help many people land into a job either directly through manager or recruiters or indirectly through their friends in the social networking. Recruiters are also using the social networking to find the information of the candidates they want to recruit. These been the case Patrice moving many vital information of how to create and present your profile not only to recruiters but to the world, you never know who is reading your profile and when.Social networks are an amazing resource for the job seeker – “use these tools to make contacts in a field you otherwise might not know how to begin pursuing.” Patrice teaches us to think big, don’t hesitate to reach out to whomever you wish. It’s a great place to start when following your passion.  Social networking also provide the freedom that one cannot get from interacting with your boss because in the social network your can share and even chat with your boss or famous people this will eventually help you to develop confidence.  

             The truth about Profiting from the social networks provides ways in which the networks can work to build your life. First the main social networks are for building relationship, we all need to have some love or being loved by other, we need a place to share our stories and happiness together, since in today it has become hard for people to meet and chat social networks serve the purposes.  The author also provide guide on how you can protect yourself while online with privacy, safety, and security. It will guide you on how you can choose who to invite to be your friend, who to accept the request and how you can make your social networking to be useful to you and your life. The author also provides many examples of the companies and who have failed to follow the rules and the huge penalties that follow them. She provide the inside of how you can create alerts that will help you whenever  your name pops on the internet and possible solution that you can use to prevent yourself from falling in the trap of dirty in the internet and eliminating the digital dirt that can come back to haunt you.

The Ten Things Managers Need to Know fromthe Truth About Profiting From Social Networking

Social network is a lot more that MySpace and YouTube. There People thing of social network as just the most few know network site, there are a lot more. Manager need to know and get connected with as many social networking as possible. This is where they find network of people to market their products. Common social network include, Academy (www.academy.com) It is a business network site with more than 150000 members. It is primarily in network.  Facebook (www.facebook.com) its growth rate for membership is more that 89% in less than a year. Facebook a popular social network in all over the world.    MySpace (http://www.myspace.com) is also among the popular social network site on the web. Other social network includes orkut (www.orkut.com), LinkedIn (www.likedIn.com) Xing (www.xing.com) among others.  Savvy social network has ways to promote their business, products, and themselves in the web.

The key to success in social network is the ability to embrace a new ways to interact with others.  For managers to benefit from social network they need to join the site and interact actively. They need to understand what social network can do for them and their businesses.  The most effective social network aim at building relationship, engaging with others and developing a solid word of mouth in business.

 The web has changed the way people network.  The ages for people using the social network rank from students, recruiters, executives, marketers and political activities.  Managers can learn or acquire a great deal of information about their employees and customers mines.   Manager can learn their new recruits too or who they are going to recruits before they make the decision to recruit or not.

Social networking sites are among the most frequently visited sites in the internet. The rate continues to grow rapidly with many social networking emerging.   Mobile social networking is predicted to rise from 50 million to 174 millions in 2011. At first, the most users were mid ages between 15-35 but now user come from all ages and background. With this in mine, managers need to not only focus on certain group or age while dealing with the social networking.

Social networking is a serious rapid growing business.  Through the social networking manager can socials for profit in the right ways. In 2005, Rupert Murdoch from the new corporation company purchased MySpace by 580millions, which signal that social network is expected to profit. These significant profits show that there is money to make from the social networking through advertising. Revenues generate the highest and business promotion for service and products. Social networking like YouTube enables  users to view Videos, software demos presentation clips and more

 Creating a profile that maps to your goals.  Providing complete information gives a higher chance of getting positive results of benefit to manager and corporation. Also too much information is not a disadvantageous.

 Social network is for making profit. Many people join social network to get hooked to friend and they end up spending most of their time chatting not necessarily important things. This end not having a good benefit of social networking. Social networking enables.

Personalize it our customers’ experience. Customer involvement is crucial if you want to market products or services through social networking. Merge your marketing message with interactivity. Engage in storytelling. Solicit feedback and survey taking seriously because they say a big picture of how the stakeholders say about the company.

Be in the right place. In addition to the big names (MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn), there are hundreds of niche social networking sites. Participate on the ones that best meet your goals and target your audience because one hour of strategic time spent on social networking sites can be worth far more than ten hours of aimless social surfing

Don’t accept every invitation to connect. Ask yourself: Would I want to connect with this person with the person. All requests do not have to be accepted in the real world.  Remember that  In business there is a time to say no. Who you are associated with say much about you.

Full Summary of the Truth about Profiting From Social Networking

      Patrice the author opens the book by explaining social networking as being Web 2.0 the next generation of websites and services that emphasis collaboration and connectivity. She explained that social networking as changed the way the world connect s and communicate. The is for anyone who wants to the power of networking for various reasons , professionals, Marketers , job seekers anyone can find profit from strategy in social networking. Social networking can help connect with and achieve your goals in business, life and careers. Her goal is to provide solid foundation on the basics of social networking and insight of future trends.

Inside “The truth about Profit From social networking”

 Patrice –Anne Rutledge organized her book into 12 parts and 50 subparts. Each of the parts is related to each other. She used many examples to explains her inside of the book.

The truth about the social networking Phenomenon Social networking is a lot more the MySpace and YouTube:  The section open with giving more examples of social network. Many people know MySpace and YouTube as the only social networks in internet. However, there are hundreds of social networking in the internet. Some are found only in certain geographical location, some target a certain group of people, age, and preference. Examples include;  Bebo, has more that 25million members, LinkedIn which is the largest and most popular for business and professionals, others includes, Facebook, hi5, and Xing.  Friendster and Person-to –person sites also represent the most common type of social networking, examples include, Photo-sharing sites and Video Sharing among others.  Marketers have found this site as useful in promoting their businesses and products.
Forget everything you think you know about social networking:   Social networking as changed and brought many revolutions with it. It has changed the way people networks or connects, thinks, and operates their day to day activities.  However, the key to success in social networking is the ability to embrace a new way to interact with others. The way you interact with others online is very important. People charge you with how you present yourself in social networks. You need to understand what the social networking can benefit your life, your career and also running your businesses. With this it is social networks aims at building relationships, engaging with others and developing social word of mouth marketing.  Relationship is useful in succeeding in life and business especially in today society where a network has become the most critical to success in various fields of life.
The traffic stampede numbers don’t lie:    Social networking sites are among the most frequently visited sites in the internet as Patrice said. The rate is expected to continue to grow rapidly this is because some other places of the world have not yet get access to the internet.  However, there are many social networking emerging each day. Many people, companies, and even corporation are building their own social networks. Mobile social networks are predicted to rise from 50 million to 174millions by 2011. Some emerging social networking are emerging only some countries they don’t go global or international.
With social networking change is the only constant:Many social networking started in 2007 because of this 2007 has been refer by many as “The year of social networking”.  Although using a social network is often free for individual and many people assume that social networks are free. Social networks are often purchase by big corporation whereby they own the site and they can use to generation sales revenues through sales, promotion and advertisements. When this happens social networking are the most expensive to buy and own.   Copyrights found in social networking are very important to understand and obey. Violation of copyright involves millions of money.  Example violation children online privacy protection Act cost million. The penalty is often huge when a corporate violate a copyright that individual.

Part II: the truth about the most popular social networking Sites

MySpace isn’t just for teenagers:    Few years ago MySpace was refer mainly Teenagers mainly because many teens sighing up. Today, MySpace is the most popular social networking visited in the world. It is a free to access but for major corporations the pays $ 100000 or more to launch a customized of their profile in MySpace. Marketing campaigns involves interactively engagement with the audience who need the products or service.

To be successful in marketing in MySpace include:

Understand the MySpace community and how it works

Be sure that MySpace is for you. Works well with large audience.

Focus on branding rather than pure products promotion

Get friendly- Look for competitors’ friends and people who target your niche.

Go for wow factor. Capture a large attention by encouraging aggressive marketing.
LinkedIn is the place for business:LinkedIn is a popular site for professionals. It has more than 19million members all over the world. To achieve the most out of LinkedIn, first create a professional type of profile. This is the most important and it is critical to your success. Ensure that your profile is competing; according to LinkedIn statistics you are Four times more likely to achieve your desire results if you provide a complete profile. It is also good to expand your connection to the people you don’t know and to the LinkedIn community. 
You tube is for profit not just play: People do not always think YouTube as a marketing too. It indeed YouTube is a great site for savvy marketers. YouTube Videos and movies receive over thousand viewers in a single day. However, most of what is in YouTube can be accessed for free. This enable produces to promote their video to the largest number of viewers worldwide. It can also enable the producers to make corrections in what the viewers comment and they can improve the quality of what they are making basing on comments by viewers or the rating. Famous celebrities also use YouTube for example, Oprah Winfrey (www.youtube.com/oprah) to capitalize their audience through video.  You Tube also played a key role in politics such as influencing the 2008 elections. Unlike Facebook and other social networks 21% of YouTube users are above 55 of age.
Facebook Extends beyond the college Crowd. Facebook was launched in 2004 by college student at Harvard University, since then the highest number of viewers had been college student. Facebook has now transitioned to main stream social networking site, but majority of the members are still youth. Businesses has found place in facebook through a targeted profiles and groups. A business has established strategic advertising and marketing campaigns in the facebook. For example facebook pages, some companies and small business have also create profiles in facebook where they can market their products.  By typing in small business in the search engine in the facebook will bring you many small businesses that can connect with each other, share ideas, and built relationships together.
Part III The Truth about Finding a Job Through social networking:

Forget the old rules of the jobs search

What worked 10 years ago will more likely prove inefficient in today world. Major companies and corporation today use the social networking site to find and recruit employees. New recruits need to supplement in person networking with online networking, by sighing up and being actively involved in social networking where recruits and hiring take place. New recruits also need to be certain the recruiter’s will not find anything detrimental on the internet when they search their name. Most recruiters will Google your name and get all the information they can find about you in the internet before the interview day or even after. It is important to say the truth and always and have what will make your boss happy about you on the internet

Throw away your traditional resume:  Today, being era on web.2.0 traditional resume will no longer function.  Social networking sites now have plenty of helpful ways that can help to create a resume which will land in the correct job. The choose of words to use, dos and don’ts, illustrations can all be found on the social networking sites such as YouTube. To Typing in “writing a resume in the YouTube” will give you hundred ways and presentations on how to write a working resuming.
If you wanted to be hired, go where the people are hiring:Been that there are hundreds of social networking all have different purposes  and  their users are different too, you  don’t need to sigh in any available social network in the internet, but only in the once that are  beneficial to you in one way or the other.  Social networks make your profile available 24/7 making you available and easy to find. Examples of social networking for job seekers include, LinkedIn, Xing, Yahoo Kickstart, doostang Ecadamy, and Ryze.
Recruiters really do want to find you: Social networking is not only for the new recruiter but top recruiting and hiring positions are found in social networking. Patrice gives examples where managers of top companies can be found on social networking site. What they have done, like most of the presentation and important events by big companies can be found in social networking site. Also behavior of someone can be read   from what he/ she puts in the internet.  With this she give a warning on what we often put online because any contradictions may lead to lose of a job or the respect. Any information that you put in the internet should be true to the best.
It’s who you know that counts …. Most of the time:Thousand of hidden jobs are not found in the prints or advertisements. Social networking is the ideal way of to find and tap hidden job markets and connect with more people that you could otherwise no have meet in person. For example, it is often easy for someone who you chat with in one of the social networking to be your referral and motivate the hiring process than someone who has not heard your name.  In social network it is who you can reach which is important rather that who you know.
Following up outside your virtual community is the key.The basic ways of joining social networking is first sighing up, keep track of follow up efforts, determining the right approach for each contact and customize your response.

Part IV The truth about recruiting the best candidates through social networking

The world of recruiting has changed forever: The internet has changed the world of recruiting. Today candidates use internet to search for jobs all over the world. Social networking can be used as a viable recruiting tool and recruiter marketing tool. From the survey it has shown that 70% of the managers found networks as their top job search tool.
The best candidates are often the ones who are not looking:The internet has lessened those challenges of reaching passive candidates. Anyone can now view openings that are available online, like jobs and their requirement. The passive candidates are the best in most of the time. In most of the time it is easy for these candidates to write than to face the conversation with people. Many passive students to not talk about their problems to many people.
 Be your own detective: finding candidates’ secrets is easier than ever:

CFO, CEO and other managers often use the social network to find more about new recruiting employees   for senior levels or managers. Most of the managers in higher position have something that they have presented and can be found online. By Googling the name of the candidate the managers can learn more about the candidate before hiring. Managers also can learn more from the candidates’ friend whom they are always associated with or have a common goal.  All this will have an impact in determine whether to hire or not.

LinkedIn is the recruiter’s favorite social networking tool:Linked in is free, but if you want to add features then you need to pay for it. LinkedIn Offer the highest professional profile including for CEOs, CFOs.  Large corporations with high number of recruits use LinkedIn Corporate solution program.  LinkedIn also has professional terms that they user for example, Your network  is your direct contacts, LinkedIn Network are the LinkedIn members who are not in your network, Inmail  is a paid feature which enable you to sent private message to anyone on the LinkedIn, introduction which is the same as request to connect, Invitation  is also a request to connect with anyone even those who are not in the LinkedIn account and finally, OpenLink Network  is a feature that enable you to view messages at no charge.

Biography

David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:

Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)

Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and

Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).                

Written by David Wyld
Professor of Management, Southeastern Louisiana University

Introduction to computer networking. Any questions about the video? I will answer all questions at thenewboston.com
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