Category: Facebook Alternative

The pace of change continuously astounds and bewilders me. I just about remember horses pulling coal carts as a kid and now we’re developing driverless cars. The Internet of Things will be part of our daily life soon and humankind seems to be losing the ability to stand up straight already. How long will it be before we start resembling bananas more than apes with a pronounced curve of the spine and neck from staring down at mobiles?

Mobile Phone Addiction

We’re in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

According to the World Economic Forum, we’re now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We’ve already lived through an immense amount of change and who knows what is round the corner. The ever rising march of Artificial Intelligence (AI) shows great promise in many fields for the future but it is also highly controversial and multi-faceted.

Even Elon Musk, the ‘Thomas Edison of the 21st century’ has serious doubts about what we are creating for ourselves. The serial entrepreneur who has had a hand in all types of technology from electric cars, rockets, Paypal, Hyperloop, solar power systems, electric jets to digital technology. The man who is famous for his plans to colonise Mars, further DNA sequencing to identify cures for diseases and viable fusion to create energy for us all for ever.

Mars colonisation

A man who is a bringer of great promise. However Musk also predicts that ‘robots will be able to do everything better than us’ and they will ‘take your jobs, and government will have to pay your wage’. He also believes that we should be very concerned and proactively regulate Artificial Intelligence as it is a ‘risk to the existence of human civilization’ in a way that risks we commonly deal with now are only harmful to a set of individuals in society.

In contrast Mark Zuckerberg, the equally famous entrepreneur of Facebook is more optimistic saying that artificial intelligence will improve life in the future and that naysayers are irresponsible.

Is technology the bringer of great promise?

The positives of AI are certainly immense

“For people with a disability, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will give us super powers”

Birgit Skarstein, Double paralympic athlete and World Rowing Champion, Norway

“Imagine a robot capable of treating Ebola patients or cleaning up nuclear waste.”

Dileep George, artificial intelligence and neuroscience researcher

“Any skilled engineer can take control remotely of any connected ‘thing’. Society has not yet realized the incredible scenarios this capability creates.”

André Kudelski, Chairman and CEO of Kudelski Group

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already playing a massive role in health care and some believe that there is an AI Healthcare ‘tsunami coming’ that will benefit all. Data currently has the biggest part to play in healthcare providing the chance to revolutionise current healthcare systems.

AI Nurse

Google’s Deepmind Health project mines medical records to provide faster and more detailed records.

IBM Watson is working with oncologists to create treatment plans using data from clinical notes and combining that with research, data and clinical expertise. IBM’s Medical Sieve algorithm analyses radiology images to detect issues faster and more reliably.

The new Babylon app hopes to decrease doctors waiting times by giving medical AI consultations combining a person’s medical history, medical knowledge and a database of diseases using speech recognition. It can also remind patients to take their medication.

Molly is a new virtual nurse which supports patients with chronic diseases in between doctor’s visits.

AiCure checks if patients are taking their medicine and helps them manage their conditions.

Deep Genomics looks for mutations and linkages to disease using genetic and medical data and hopes to predict what will happen when DNA is altered.

Human Longevity offers genome sequencing alongside body scans and checkups to spot diseases in their very early stages.

Atomwise use AI to find existing drugs that could be used for other conditions, therefore, speeding up and reducing costs and potentially avoiding future pandemics.

Berg Health mines data to analyse why some people are insusceptible to certain diseases to help current treatments and discover new drugs.

The future certainly looks bright – but have you started to notice the changes in everyday life that are already impacting our lives?

Is technology the bringer of great peril?

“You cannot wait until a house burns down to buy fire insurance on it. We cannot wait until there are massive dislocations in our society to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Robert J. Shiller, 2013 Nobel laureate in economics, Yale University

Throughout the globe transportation, communication and education have all improved through high tech. With every improvement, however, there are negative consequences such as resource depletion, increased population and pollution.

In our more mundane everyday activities digital technology is already changing our lives. Many of us are already suffering from distraction, narcissism, expectation of instant gratification, depression, depleted vision and hearing, neck strain and lack of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation found 95% of people when surveyed used electronic devices before sleep and this can cause issues for our overall wellbeing.

We are becoming less dependent now on our memory and more on Google but often feeling that we’re suffering from information overload. If we don’t ‘use our brains’ will we lose our capability to think effectively? Or will we adapt in a different way?

When examining brain scans of frequent internet and mobile users vs occasional users there was twice as much activity in the short term memory and quick decision making area. We are learning to skim where there is too much information. Does that mean that we are becoming shallow thinkers or does it mean our ability to decipher information is actually becoming more efficient?

Technology will affect our jobs

I attended a LinkedIn conference recently on the use of insight and data in recruitment and the potential for AI.

The recruitment landscape is changing rapidly and the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that 46% of the activities in Europe’s top five economies are already susceptible to automation – not in the near future, but right now.

This will affect all of us in some way and we need to be prepared for the shift towards even more hi tech based skills. There aren’t enough key digital workers or software developers already in many countries and this situation will only be exacerbated as the years go by. We may need a future full of coders or at the very least software that professionals can use that removes the need to code.

It wasn’t the AI potential or recruitment issues that grabbed my attention at the conference, however. It was a speech by Baroness Sarah Greenfield, a leading neurologist.

How neuroscientists see our future

Sarah used her neuroscience background to look at what could be happening to many of us in the modern digital age. She thinks that with so many of us obsessed with social media, search engines, mobile apps and gaming that we are actually losing our identity as human beings. We are lacking the enriched environment that creates increased neural connections in the brain and that the average person in the future may behave more like a 3 year old. That alarmist sentence certainly grabbed my attention.

She likened the lack of an interesting life full of different experiences to that of someone with Dementia where someone loses brain connections and doesn’t have a frame of reference (rather like a small child). In other words, their identity is missing, they have short attention spans and demand that needs be satisfied instantly.

Social Networking issues

With conversations taking place more online and less so face-to-face with no opportunity for eye contact or emotions, the true sense of someone’s identity could be slowly eroded. Words are normally only 10% of the total impact of a face-to-face conversation. Are we lacking 90% of normal interaction on Social Media? Do we rely on emojis to perceive emotion now?

Gambling

Gaming rather than reading

Sarah stated that the move away from reading to video game playing was concerning. Reading allows you to have a deep ‘relationship’ with the characters where you become the character in a way that isn’t really possible in video games.

Are gamers similar to gamblers?

Sarah showed us brain scans of gamers vs gamblers and how the Dopamine pathways were very similar and that damaged dopamine can lead to taking greater risks. The thrill of the moment when playing a game or gambling can override the consequences with the senses overtaking cognitive thought. Is our use of social media, the internet and apps reducing us to a society who is constantly craving stimulation, trying to achieve a Dopamine high, only living in the here and now and being driven by our feelings rather than serious thought?

I considered the level of gaming, social media and relentless Google searching via mobile throughout my family and pondered the consequences.

I can already see my children and all of their friends being taken over by gaming. They don’t talk about much else and seem to be totally ruled by it. Then my own usage is much higher than I would like. I work with Social Media and it is hard to avoid but I am certainly far too dependent on it.

I started delving into whether Sarah Greenfield’s comments are absolutely on the button. The scientific community have issues with some of her statements which need more proof rather than just hypothesis So I looked for further evidence as I’m sure that much of this is true to a certain extent as I see it every day with people stumbling through life joined to their mobiles and children not going out to play in the way they used to.

Facebook likes

So many of us use Facebook. The ‘Like’ button is acknowledged to be the same as receiving a little reward. Users gamble when they do something on Facebook – will we get a Like or be ignored? We’re all subconsciously looking for positive feedback and confirmation, and yes it is addictive. Social Media has become a digital drug that has taken over our culture.

And does heavy Social Media usage actually make you feel good? A study in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that Facebook and depressive symptoms go hand in hand. “Social comparison” is what links Facebook time and depressive symptoms together. Thinking that your friends are having a better time than you. It suggests that users need to post a balance of good and bad. I’ve been sucked in by this but on reflection if I’m having a great time I’m not thinking of Facebook. I see people at gigs filming the whole night but feel that they’re actually missing the chance to immerse themselves in the atmosphere (whilst I’m dancing like a woman possessed)

It’s not just Social Media, however – there’s the apps. I hang my head in shame at using Candy Crush as a Mum gamer years ago. But it didn’t stop there – I became a master of Sim City and then Fallout Shelter and realised I had better stop when my kids started asking me for mobile app tips #parentingfail. I watch Netflix on my mobile in the bath, I’m always checking Social Media for work and communicating with people in sports/community groups that I need to be on top of. It’s a mixture of positive and negative – I am reminded of what I need to do, could be doing, should be doing – but its constant. I even get mobile app reminders telling me to meditate! Oh the irony.

Tired mobile

Scott Levin, a Director of the US Family Medicine Residency Program, thinks that parents are so focused on their children’s screen time that they forget about their own usage. “If we’re not aware, as parents, of what we’re modeling for our kids, then there are high prices to pay”.

69% of parents and 78% of teens check their mobiles at least hourly.

(Common Sense Media)

So why do we get so drawn into games and mobile apps? Even Mums? I even know a Grandmother who played Candy Crush throughout the night.

Game designers call it ‘juice’ – the feedback or reward that you get from playing a game. Candy Crush plays sounds, flashes brightly and praises you in a strangely deep voice and apparently we like that – a bit much.

Juice is intended to join the gaming and real worlds together. The opportunities for Juice in virtual reality (VR) technology are even greater where the user is in an immersive environment and the juice might even be multisensory soon to include touch, hearing and smell.

Is the future of some of us going to be one of a VR life rather than a real one? If the VR life appears better than your own will users start removing themselves from normal society and living in this VR world?

Can gaming really be addictive?

Researchers have studied the psychological rewards of video games vs gambling vs drug use for over 20 years. They’ve compared the brain’s dopamine pathway (the pleasure part) but we still don’t know whether uncontrollable video game playing is an addiction on its own terms or just a symptom of deeper problems such as depression or anxiety.

New technologies are often blamed for compulsive behaviour when depression and social anxiety are the true culprits. “When you don’t know how to fix that and create opportunities for yourself, you feel helpless. Why not play video games?” (Video Game Researcher, Nick Yee)

What can we do to prevent digital technology impacting our lives negatively?

Sarah Greenfield recommends that we apply a little risk management to our lives and ensure that we are living real lives and not just digital ones. Her advice probably resonates with most as it is standard advice given by mothers throughout recent times. But it is probably more important now than ever.

Go and exercise

– make new brain cells, give yourself time to free your mind

Interact with nature

Sit down and share a meal with someone

– talk to them – share stories and experiences

Do something creative

– be an individual!

Cycling

Harness your individuality and don’t miss out on real life

The UK is known for its creative industries and if we allow our creativity to slide and become an unthinking population of 3 year olds what do we have left?

Is this absolutely true for everyone? How do you become a brilliantly creative games designer without being fairly gaming obsessed? Are our software developers all devoid of cognitive thought? Of course not.

Our world is changing, and our brains are adapting to that new world. Good analysis and research looking at the co-evolution of mind and society can only be a good thing.

Is technology a bringer of great promise or great peril?

It seems to be both but it doesn’t have to be that way. We can reduce the potential peril by researching the effect digital technology is having and taking steps to counteract it. We can put heavy checks and balances into what is being developed and how. The overarching concern may be whether that will happen if the real power behind society lies with the huge technology companies.

If you are small business owner and you have no idea on how to do marketing for your business, you should read this article. In this article, you will find out why investing in online marketing is crucial for your business. And what is really inside online marketing, and you will find out some mistakes small business owners are making right now. After reading this article, you will be able to avoid many mistakes and start doing marketing online.

Why should you invest in online marketing?

So, why SME should invest in online marketing? First of all, a lot of small business owner who just have enough money for their day to day business. And even some of the companies have cash, what they will do is to put them on traditional advertising, like advertising on television, Yellow Pages or direct mail. Compared to traditional advertising methods, online marketing is much more cost-effective and he can reach a lot of people, who go online every day. Next, we’re going to find out what is inside online marketing.

What online marketing are composed of?

To put it simple, online marketing, just like what is described, is doing marketing online. What you need to of and do is to get people to visit your website, and convert them to do custom. To get traffic, you can either pay for it or get it free. If you want to get traffic immediately in order to test your offer, you can try pay per click, pay-per-view, or banner advertising on high-volume traffic websites. One of the drawbacks is that you have to pay in order to get traffic. And if the offer does not convert well, you do not make any money. If you want to get free traffic, you can write articles and submit to article directory, optimize the website using search engine optimization techniques, or use social media such as Facebook or twitter to drive traffic to the website. Advertising using these methods is usually free, the problem is that you may not get traffic immediately.

After driving traffic to your website, the next thing you should do is to build a customer database, or e-mail lists. Selling to existing customers is much more easier than getting a new customer. Therefore, once they are joined your e-mail list, you can sell to you list again and again. Now let’s talk about some of the mistakes small business owners are making.

Mistakes SMEs Make

One of the problems people are making is that small business owners are spending money on search engine optimization with no purpose. They pay $2000 to a search engine company and try to optimize their website for a very competitive keywords like “insurance”, “car” or “business”, which drives no result. Another problem is that, in their website, there is no place to collect visitors e-mail address, which, like mentioned in the above, you can sell to them later on.

Unlike traditional advertising methods, online marketing can give you a lot more opportunities to reach your target prospects. In online marketing, you can get’s website visitor to your website using paid method or free methods, and built your customer database for your business. Finally, some businesses invest a lot of money on doing SEO but did not get any results. It is because they don’t know what they really want, and just optimize their website for a very competitive keywords. Also remember to put an online form to collect visitors email address that you can sell to them later on. So next time if you want to do marketing, please consider doing marketing online.

Initial impressions of the new Xbox dashboard are good. The new ‘Metro’ interface is a big improvement over the previous interface, that was both confusing and boring to look at. Drilling down into the new tiled interface reveals a few things at least are unchanged, the avatar editor being one of them.

Microsoft have called this a media centric update and with all the additional media services that are coming that is certainly true. Looking at the way they have achieved this, by adding an App section and the new App Marketplace, Microsoft seem to be following the lead of the Apple store and the Android Marketplace, although for the time being these are all just media based apps.

Metro style interface
The first thing you notice about this interface are the new tiles. Each menu item on the dashboard contains both large and small rectangular tiles. In general the large tiles contain featured stuff and the smaller tiles, the less important stuff. The web style top menu provides a way to quickly skip between menu items and consists of the following items – bing, home, social, tv, video, games, music, apps, settings.

Bing
Microsoft’s Bing Search engine has been installed with the new update and provides a single place to search across all content on your machine and online content within Xbox Live. Initial impressions are good. Text search includes predictive search suggestions which are very useful when you’re trying to type with a standard Xbox controller. You can also filter your results by media type e.g. Video, music, game etc .

Home
DVD Tray – The home menu item contains a tile with the current game, the DVD tray.

Quickplay – Shows 10 recent games, press X to see game details and reveal another Metro style interface.

Welcome Video – Dan Marr from ‘Inside Xbox’ presents a short welcome video to run you through what’s new with the dashboard.

Advert – Microsoft continue to sell ad space on the Xbox, the ad showing today was a BT Infinity advert Large Featured tile – Contains a rotating advert for various games, Sky and Lovefilm.

Social
There have been some nice social media integration updates, especially with Facebook.

Friends – a small tile showing your Xbox Live friends.

Sign in/out – no surprise here, it just allow you to sign in/out of profiles

Your Avatar – takes you to message centre, avatar and theme settings

Social Apps – drill down to find 3 more apps, Video Kinect, Twitter & Facebook

Twitter
There’s no download with this one. They’ve used the usual speech bubble style Twitter presentation, this time with an animated background. Functions include a scrolling Twitter feed, Tweet facility, Free text and Trending searches.

Facebook
Accessing the new Facebook app, leads to a small download. Quite a small download considering the changes they’ve made.

After being prompted for a username and password. A Privacy screen is shown. There are 2 settings; Display My Xbox Live info and Auto Login with Live connection. Selecting the former will display your Xbox Live gamertag alongside your Facebook name. This is something you may not want if your Facebook page can be accessed by work colleagues. Working from home and having a quick lunchtime session of Call of Duty would not look good plastered all over Facebook.

The new Facebook interface is not that different from the old one, the major change is how the app integrates with games. You can now search for Facebook friends on Xbox Live and Xbox Live friends on Facebook. Sending a friend request to either service is made very easy.

Tv
Kinect Games – A small tile for Xbox games, a strange place for this, maybe they had nothing else to fill the space.

Only on Xbox – a small tile advert for exclusive to Xbox titles. Again, a strange place to put this.

Featured Tile – The featured tile contains links to both the new Sky Television App and Lovefilm.

New Sky App
This is a very impressive app from Sky and is part of the Sky Go application for online device. Sky subscribers are permitted to register just 2 devices on Sky Go, e.g. an iPad & Xbox 360. To get started with the Sky app, you must Login with or Register a Sky Id. You can do this using a PC beforehand.

The Sky app provides both Live and on demand video. Selecting Live video reveals a huge number of channels including Sky HD channels. You can also select Live video using the built-in Sky planner.

On demand video is where this app really shines. You can drill down into your favourite TV shows to reveal a list of recent episodes. Selecting Sky Atlantic HD and searching for Carnivale reveals 4 recent episodes. Each video has an availability associated with it eg. 7 days, a duration and data size in MB eg. Carnivale S2 E9 was 496MB in size, but started playing almost instantly after a short advert of course.

The app contains a new Sky community where you can ‘Like’ videos and add a comment via a menu system, or recommend to a friend. The 4 tier, multiple phrase choice comment menu system is a bit clunky to use, but it beats typing stuff using the controller. Here’s an example comment of a comment -‘ I was pleased with – the scene – by the end – A great episode!’. It’s not great.

You can also search for video content by most recommended, top viewed etc.

The Sky Action wheel (press Y) gives you quick access to the main functions, e.g. the planner, recent activity etc. After you’ve installed the Sky App, the Live TV tile takes you direct to a live Sky TV feed. The video on demand tile takes you direct to the Sky Go start page.

LoveFilm App – another featured downloadable App. I’m not a member and couldn’t be bothered to register for the free trial, so I don’t have much of a play with this however from what I saw it looked very slick with its Metro style interface.

Video
My Video apps – drills down into your installed video apps, e.g. Lovefilm, Zune and Media Centre

Zune Video Marketplace – Zune, but with an improved Metro style interface Four advert tiles – for paid video content, e.g. from Lovefilm and Zune

Games
My games – looks like a Full flat list of installed games, but drilling down into the filter tile, reveals another set of tiles with filter options. Eg. Demos, Arcade etc

Game marketplace – New metro tiled view of downloadable games and content 2 advert tiles – contains featured titles.

Music
My Music apps – contains a list of your installed music apps, like Last FM

Zune Music Marketplace – as per usual you can download music videos here, the new metro style tiled interface looks good. 3 advert tiles – for paid music content

Apps
Contains an even sized set of tiles with a list of installed media apps.

App marketplace – lists music, video and social apps and preview tile for each future app. Settings This section contains a nice concise tiled layout. Much the same as it was before.

Beacons
If you’re wondering where the new Beacons feature is, it can be found in the Xbox guide. Press the Xbox guide button and it appears on the home screen.

Cloud Saves
The cloud appears as a memory device alongside the Hard Drive and Memory Unit. The screenshots suggest that each account is allowed about 500MB of storage.

Roaming Profiles
This gives you the ability to use your Live account and profile on any Xbox 360 console. We have yet to look at this feature.

Today I am sharing some great tips gained from my coach and other experts. To reach success it is a case of finding the experts in your particular field and following their secrets. Follow the big boys if you want to get where they are. Learn to go fishing where the big fish are.

If you are working online and want more responsive traffic, and who doesn’t! This is a great tip I learned: Set up a new email account especially for this, join all the news letters offered by experts in their fields. To find them look at Facebook groups or make a Google search. After 30 days open all the emails and sift through all the information. You will have enough tips to write your own newsletters. You will know it is up to date information and if you learn from this abundance of knowledge you will be able to write guest blogs, articles, adverts and understand much more.

Another tip I picked up if you are advertising on face book, view existing adverts, and hover over them and a box will open revealing what targeting keywords they are using, do this to several ads and you will gain a picture of what is working.

If you are advertising a product see if you can find more than one interest source, to target your advert, for example if it were cat tea-cloth, target tea-cloth users in one box and cat lovers in the next box but only send your ad to those that qualify in both sections, that way you are closely targeting who will see your advert and lowering costs. This I learnt from a multi millionaire.

The only disadvantage to selling low cost-items, in order to make a good income you need many orders. So test all adverts thoroughly only use a small budget perhaps $5 a day and continually monitor and test.

A tip for guest bloggers in order to find the best sites to approach and write for, read what other bloggers have written to see what is expected, quality etc. (all work must be unique and of high quality) If you go to the bottom of their article you will find their resource box; copy this in speech marks into Google to find where else they are blogging. You can then approach these websites that interest you. Make sure they have a great readership and you could get plenty of traffic from your resource box.

Now if you want a simpler way, work under a coach, you are likely to get a regular supply of great tips and training. Find a coach who provides a good range of low and higher ticket items, sometimes with 50% commissions or more, you will therefore only need to sell fewer items to achieve the same income, or sell more and make more! You will work to a tried and tested formula, where everything is tested for you, you know you will be offering customers what they are looking for.

Companies and Organizations have become wise and intelligent enough to sell and push products on the basis of the customer’s interest and purchasing power by using this field called Data Science. These applications mentioned below shows how they have managed to win our minds and hearts.

1. SPEECH RECOGNITION:

For Speech recognition, products like Cortana, Google Voice, Alexa, Siri etc. are the perfect examples. If one gets bored to type a text or is not in a position to type, then this application comes in handy. You just need to speak and it will automatically be converted to text. Thus making life much easier!

2. INTERNET SEARCH:

We use Google more than we use our handbooks, Right? Google or be it any other search engines like ASK, Bing, Yahoo and so on has made our life easy peasy. Would it be possible for these search engines to exist if Data Science did not? The answer is simply NO. It’s the algorithms of Data Science that convey the well matched and best result of our search query in a few seconds. Every day, Google processes greater than 20 petabytes of data. It’s Data Science that has made Google what it is today.

3. GAMING:

Machine Learning algorithms are used in games to auto upgrade when the player reaches the next or higher level. By utilizing data science, EA Sports, Nintendo, Sony, Activision-Blizzard, Zynga have guided gaming events to the next or higher level. When it comes to motion gaming, the player’s opponent, that is, the computer, examines the player’s previous moves and shapes up the game accordingly.

4. FRAUD AND DETECTION:

Finance had been the earliest Data Science applications. Losses and Bad debts every year had made companies fed up. While conforming loans a fair amount, data was collected at the beginning of paperwork. Then Data Scientist was brought to save them from losses. Now the banks have learnt to conquer and divide data by viewing customers profile, expenditures in the past and other important variables to examine the probability of default and risk. It was also helpful to them when their banking products were pushed depending on the purchasing power of customers.

5. IMAGE RECOGNITION:

When you upload an image with a group of friends or people on Facebook, you get suggestions to tag them. This feature of automatic tagging suggestion uses an algorithm on face recognition. Similarly, it is possible for you to scan the barcode in a web browser while using WhatsApp in a mobile phone. Google also provides you an option for searching pictures by uploading one. Here, image recognition is used to provide the best searched results.

6. TARGETED ADVERTISING:

Searching is not only the biggest application of machine learning and data science, the other biggest challenger is the whole digital marketing scale. Websites that contain display banners and digital billboards at airports, all of these are done using algorithms on Data Science.

7. WEBSITE RECOMMENDATIONS:

We are used to the recommendations about products that are alike when we do online shopping. They help us find identical products out of millions and billions of products available. Companies use this engine for the promotion of their products according to the user’s interest and relevant information from them. To enhance the user’s experience, Amazon, Netflix, Twitter, Google Play, LinkedIn uses this experience. On the basis of user’s previous results, the commendations are made.

There is no doubt about the fact that online advertising helps to boost sales while costing a lot less than traditional methods such as TV ads. The big question is whether your strategy is effective enough to produce the best possible results. Discover the main techniques which are guaranteed to help you succeed.

1. Always promise something.

This is one of the fundamentals of online advertising and of advertising in general. Just placing the name of your product on the ad or describing your service briefly is highly unlikely to make any person take action. What you need is a keyword that people will be attracted to. The list includes “free”, “discount”, “special deals” and “low prices” and so on. Of course, you have to fulfil what you promise. The more creative you are the better.

2. Create target ads.

There is no such thing as an internet marketing strategy targeting absolutely all web users. You have to define your target market group or groups and create ads which will appeal to them. Similarly, you need to advertise on websites which your target audience likes and visits frequently.

3. Adopt social media advertising.

This type of online advertising has taken ads to a whole new level. Instead of appearing in the bar on the right-hand side of the screen, now ads are directly placed in the content which the user receives via friends and contacts. For instance, the so called social ads on Facebook now appear in the News Feeds. In this way, they have a 65% higher click rate. It is definitely worth investing in innovative strategies which produce excellent results.

4. Use retargeting.

This is another one of the trendiest strategies at present. With the use of cookies, you can track the visitors to your website who did not take any action. Then you can have your ads appear on the websites which these internet users visit. In this way, they are more likely to return and get converted into customers. This strategy can be used with various ad networks including Google AdWords. It produces excellent results.

5. Invest in content ads.

The popularity of this form of advertising has grown immensely in recent years thanks to its effectiveness. It is all about creating attractive, interesting and informative content and integrating the ad. You can create articles, videos and even slideshows. They work to grab the attention of internet users and to turn them into leads. They are great for branding as well.

Use these tips to create the foundation of your online advertising strategy.

In book marketing, there are numerous promotional avenues. There’s Facebook, media interviews, book signings, book tours, news releases, and speaking engagements. These approaches are straight forward and rely on communication skills found in most writers. Book trailer is an animal of a different sort. It demands an assortment of skills and resources, mainly condensing the story to its most tantalizing elements and embellishing it with photos, videos, text, voice over, sound effects and music. It’s complicated, time consuming task, and if you hire someone, very expensive. Yet with some simple strategies, guidelines, and resources you can produce an effective video with little or no money. That is, if you have a video camera/smart phone and an editing program, things you likely have already and don’t know it.

Defining Goals

First, let’s look at what you want to accomplish with at book trailer. In general, you want to promote book sales. However, being more specific you want to hook the viewer with unique and enticing information so they will watch the entire video. If you lose them before you’ve completed your pitch, there’s little chance of a book sale. As such, you require new and fascinating information throughout the video, information that not only holds their interest, but moves them toward buying your book.

Another goal is to make your trailer shareable, that it moves on from your initial viewers to their friends and followers. If your video resonates, it’s possible it will spread beyond your contacts. It could have an afterlife that spreads exponentially through social media. If you ask, you get. So, it makes sense to make this request, please share, toward the end of your video.

Compiling Elements

What types of things go into a book trailer. Normally, trailers answer potential readers” questions such as: what’s the book about, what’s the genre, is it any good, plus something about the author. Such things are usually found on the inner flaps of the book or on the back cover. If not, the following template used by producer Nat Mundel to create loglines that land movie and TV deals will help in that regard.

TITLE OF BOOK is a GENRE about NAME OF PROTAGONIST, AGE, ONE OR TWO VIVID WORDS DESCRIBING THE CHARACTER who wants HIS/HER IMMEDIATE GOAL. When THE INCITING INCIDENT happens and ONE MAJOR PLOT POINT, he/she goes on a journey to ACCOMPLISH GOAL and discover/realize/find THEME.

The above template is a great starting point to help you distill your book down to two sentences. It clarifies the genre, offers a mesmerizing shiny object that grabs their attention, and provides enough to leave the reader wanting more, all in a few brief sentences.

A logline is a one or two sentence description of your story that boils down its basic premise in a way that’s concise yet evokes emotion in your reader. It highlights what is most unique about your book. Specifically, the logline provides the author with a way to focus on the three main anchors of their writing.

Who is the protagonist?

What do they want?

What is at stake?

Once you have the logline sketched out, look for some escalation in the book that ups the stakes. It could be a confrontation or complication that takes the story in a different direction. The outcome should be unclear. It could also be the discovery of a new evidence, a red-herring, or a revelation that gives hope to reaching the goal. This section presents an emotional argument for buying the book and sets the hook before the prospect is reeled in. Most importantly, it sets up a question in the viewer’s mind about how this story continues.

The next section is more specific. It could be a brief discussion about the character traits of one of the main characters and how this reflects on the story. This might include character faults, misplace dreams, or foibles of the heart. It answers the question why. It could also be about the location or period of the story and what effect it has on the characters. Another consideration is the social or morale setting and how this affects the direction of the story. This section pulls the viewer deeper into the story, both emotionally and literally, asking the question, “Why did this happen?” It can also facilitate a love-hate polarity that further draws the viewer into your story.

The last section is closing the sale. By using adjectives commonly found in reviews it could imply the benefits of reading your book. It could present some additional arguments such as testimonials, reviews or awards. Being on any best seller list likewise deserves mention here. Acknowledgements for use of photos, videos and music are also shown in the section. You should also make a request to share this video. The most important part of this section is stating prominently where the book can be purchased. Various images of the book should be used in this section to imprint cover art and book’s title.

You will note that each section provides new and revealing information. It pulls the viewer in, creating an investment in different aspects of the book. Primarily, it creates that pressing question, “How does this story continue?” And that’s the bait that hooks your viewer and causes them to buy your book.

While there are other templates, the above format serves fiction books well. It answers the questions book readers ask and provides the information in a straight forward memorable fashion.

Writing your script will be a major task in that it demands a different style of writing, one that is denser and more compressed. Your script should contain both the narration and the card or graphics displayed on the screen. You should know that narration spoken over images is processed easier and quicker than the graphics competing with it. Thus, words on the screen tend to be brief, short phrases or individual words designed to be memorable, imperative and engaging.

Narration, on the other hand, relies on the human voice-to emote, phrase, emphasize and resonate- to develop deeper meanings. Its task is to tell a complicated story briefly and compellingly; or to highlight characters, situations and conflicts. Writing has to quickly and powerfully present the “saleable” qualities of your story, such as the characters and conflict(s) while hinting at likely outcomes. It might also convey the tone, style, and quality of your book.

Narration should use a recognizable vocabulary, figures of speech, and accepted language. Also, avoid long sentences and complex ideas, as the viewer’s attention is split between images, graphics and narration. If there is dialogue that explains a crucial story point, allow the narrator to take on that character and for greater impact, post the dialogue on a white screen.

Avoid wall to wall narration as this will soon dim the viewers’ interest. To take its place and vary the content, mix in moments of sound effects, graphics and/or music. Likewise, consider the use of live video with sound as this will too enliven your presentation. In the closing section, some narration can be used to punctuate key selling points even with same information shown on the screen.

How you end your trailer is indicative of its success. Final impressions like the initial ones are of greater importance and more memorable. So, with what impression do you want your prospect to leave? What indication of finality would work? It could be a musical ending over the image of your book cover and its tagline. It could also be a sound effect used earlier that congers up a certain feeling. Another choice is the sudden, startling glimpse of the killer’s silhouette, knife raised ready to strike accompanied by a woman’s scream. Whatever your choice, you want the viewer to go away literally and emotionally wanting more.

Now that you have scripted your book trailer, you need to come up with visuals and sounds that embellish them. Visually, these could be text, photos, videos and visual effects. Sound wise, they could be dialogue, voice over, sound effects or music. These embellishments should tease the viewer’s imagination to where the trailer plays out in the viewer’s head more so than on the screen.

Before you start searching for images, define what specific embellishment you want and approximately where they will be placed. Such a predetermination will reduce your search time and help maintain the focus of your video. In doing this process, compile some sort of record keeping so the inserts are labelled as to location within your script and where they can be found. Some embellishments may have alternates, ideas that might work provided the right image, sound or music can be found. I would designate these alternative with suffix a, b, c, etc.

In a normal 60-90 second book trailer, who might have the following number of embellishment inserts.

Voiceover: 60 seconds, 100 words max; 90 seconds, 150 words max

Text, titles, captions & listings: 85 words

Photos: 12 photos + various photos of book cover used 4 times

Videos: 2 Videos; 1 stock, 1 live action (About 5 seconds each)

Sound Effects: 3 sound effects + transitions as required

Music: 3 tracks (could be from same selection)

Visual Effects: 2 for moving text; 8 for photo & video transitions

Many of these media inserts can be found online. Sites like unsplash.com, librestock.com, and gratisography.com offer high resolution images that you can download for free. Another site for free music and sound effects is YouTube.com/audiolibrary/. You can find free public domain video clips at archive.org. For music go to freestockmusic.com. You will need to create a free account and can download various types of music for free with no royalty restrictions. Other media resources can be found on Google by searching for royalty free photos/videos/sounds. Do not use copyrighted materials.

If you feel uncomfortable about using your own voice, you can use a professional voiceover artist as found online. There are numerous voices from which to choose and demos are available on each artist. For voiceover narration on the 150-word example previously mentioned, costs would be about $25 on sites like fiverr.com music & studio/voiceover services. A special script should be compiled for the outside narrator, which indicates how you want the narration and dialogue to be read or expressed. These directions should be placed in parentheses prior to the words spoken.

There are some media inserts you may want to produce yourself. Your book cover, for instance, may be shot straight on, from the spine angle, and upright/slanted. Closer angles on the book cover’s artwork may also be relevant to your script. Background for these book photos should be on neutral or white poster board with some shots allowing room for text.

Other images that create the essence of the scene can also be produced with photos or video. Such inserts should be ambiguous allowing the viewer to fill in the blanks. Examples might be: a fearful eye wondering what’s behind her, a sound of footsteps approaching, two hands lovingly overlapping. Other inserts might be the scream from an open mouth, a hand clutching a knife, two lovers moving away through a park, a freeway clogged with traffic, a back lit image of the menace, a shadow of a hand holding a gun.

These images and sounds can prod the viewer to use his imagination and the results are more persuasive than using realistic images. Most video cameras have excellent sound recording ability, especially when using an external mic. Therefore, consider using your camera as a sound recorder and capturing just the sound by hooking up only the audio connections.

You might also want to consider a behind the scenes video section relating to research, character creation, establishing a story location, or target audience. Images with voiceover might be author at computer: medium side shot, fingers typing, author’s face looking at screen.

Now that you have compiled and downloaded or captured your trailer elements, how do you put them together. Before you start the editing process, let’s look at the setup of editing programs. The main feature will be the time lines. This is where video/audio clips are laid in and cut to the desire length. There are additional time lines below used for narration, sound effects and music. In the more expensive editing systems there are additional time lines to layer in and sync up additional media materials.

Source materials can be downloaded from the web or capture off your camera. These items are stored in a project file and would include video clips, photos, sound effects, narration, and music. These items are placed into the time line in their proper location where text and titles can be superimposed on the visual elements. Additional adjustments such balancing audio levels, transition effects, and color balance smooth out the cuts and give it a professional look. When combined together these elements make up your book trailer.

There are numerous video systems available with vary capabilities and range from free on up. PC users can edit using Movie Maker which comes installed with Windows while Mac users can edit with iMovie. If not installed, they can be download for free from Microsoft and Apple respectively. The Movavi 14 is also available free from movavi.com or the Movavi 14 plus version goes for $39.95. The Pinnacle 21 editing system is available from pinnaclesys.com for $49.95. More elaborate Pinnacle systems are available at higher prices. Corel® PaintShop® Pro 2018 and VideoStudio® combination which edits photos, designs graphics and makes movies is available through paintshoppro.com for $150.00.

These editing systems come with tutorials schooling you as to their capabilities and operation. While the free systems come with basic editing features, spending a bit extra can offer more creativity plus more imbedded effects and media resources. It all depends on the complexity of your trailer and the quality you want.

Arranging Elements

Now that you have all your script and media elements at hand, you can begin the editing process, pasting them into your time line. But where do you begin. I would start with the element that is the most consistent, be it narration, visuals or music. In the example I proposed, narration would be the element that is least likely to change much. So, you would lay that in first. Be aware that you may have to add pauses or even quicken the pace. This can be done by either adding room ambiance or cutting out pauses between sentences. When you record your narration, record a minute or so of room ambiance without talking and use this to extend pauses.

Next, start adding your visuals that support or embellish your narration. The length of these visuals will depend on their complexity and the time it takes to read superimposed text. If the text complements the narration, then the visual time can be reduced. Avoid overwhelming the viewer with too much information. For emphasis, space the narration to allow the viewer time to concentrate on a lengthy or important text.

A device often used in infomercials is duplicating narration and text on a plain background. This ups the comprehension and makes the information more memorable. This also varies the flow and increases the viewer’s concentration. This device works especially well when text rolls out on the screen one word at a time, an effect possible on more elaborate editing systems.

There will be a tendency to overplay the images and text. Too much information muddies the waters. Remember that you want the viewer to imagine a great deal of the story. By hinting what the book is about, you let the story develop in the viewer’s mind. Utilize the idea that book readers have imaginative minds and enjoy filling in the blanks. It’s a good idea to slow the pace to allow time for important images and ideas to form in the viewers mind.

Try to have a couple of video clips in your trailer. These are usually without sound, yet the screen motion stirs up thoughts and emotions not possible with still photographs. They likewise increase the attention span and make subsequent information more interesting.

Pace is an important factor in book trailers. Too slow, you lose your viewer. Too fast and your information get lost. There’s a happy medium and it depends on relating new and interesting materials that engage the viewer. That’s why sketching out your script is so important, as it forces you to see your trailer as an informative and entertaining book talk on video. Your script allows you to see the progression of your story building, pulling the viewer into an imaginary world.

Avoid cheesy effects which distract from your message. Simple transitions like fade-in, fade out or cross-fades keep the focus on the trailer’s purpose, to create an awareness of your book and a desire to buy it. Keeping the clarity of this goal in mind determines the success of your book trailer. Sometimes, people become enamored with a certain phase or image that if lost would make the video stronger. Be conscience of this fault and seek outside consultation to rectify.

Use the same font throughout, but vary the font size. Be aware that your text will be read on computer screens plus mobile devices. As such, font size must be readable and this may limit the length of text placed on the screen. Rather than minimize the font size, extend the text to the next screen using ellipsis (… ). The font size of the text should be indicative of its importance. For instance, in the last section, the acknowledgements for use of images or music would be smaller than places where the book could be purchased.

When superimposing text on an image, delay entry of the text ever so slightly so the viewer’s attention is on the image first, then on the text. Such a delay ups the comprehension as you control where the attention is focused.

Selection of music likewise requires some guidelines. Be aware that your perspective book buyers are already indoctrinate by seeing numerous TV and film productions with music. Your tastes and sensibilities in music may differ from your perspective audience. It’s therefore wise to select music reflective of the genre of your book. If it’s a scary murder mystery, that’s the type of music that would support that type of story. The music has many functions. It can create mood and atmosphere, portray emotions, reference a time or period, or create unreal situations. Music can serve several purposes that are either important on the emotional side of the movie or help/enhance the storytelling.

Using wall to wall music diminishes its impact. Fade out your music at various points and replace it with sound effects. Then at the appropriate moment bring back the music to elicit a new perspective or emotion. In this way, by isolating the music’s entrance, you make it more effective and allow it to support a new idea.

To help smooth out your cuts, allow the sound to slightly precede the visual. This allows the mind to process one element at a time and also creates suspense as to what the sound means. These micro overlaps create that, “What going to happen next?” mentality that subconsciously pulls the viewer in deeper.

Subtle use of sound effects can create the proper atmosphere or instill a menace is present. Wind blowing through the leaves or the footsteps of an approaching mugger help prod the imagination to where the story becomes a fixation. In addition, sound effects help break up the sameness of media elements and create higher expectations about the book and its contents.

As you continue with the assembly process, you will note that adjustments and corrections have to be made. You’ll also find that certain sequences don’t work, they don’t move the viewer toward your goals. This is a normal part of editing. It’s like writing a book, where much of the time is spent rewriting.

Before you make big changes, save your file. Then prior to making changes rename and save the file. In this way, you have a backup should your file become corrupted. In addition, should you find that you prefer your original better and it only needs minor corrections, then you still have that version.

The last section is where you close the sale. You offer in text and/or voice-over more arguments for buying the book and where to obtain it. As I mentioned before, these could be a complementary statement about the benefits of buying this book using adjectives commonly found in reviews along with a listing of testimonials, review quotes and/or awards. Also shown in this section are acknowledgements for use of photos, videos and music. The most important part of this section is stating prominently where the book can be purchased. Various images of the book/cover should also be featured in this section. It also helps to place somewhere in this section a sticker-like graphic reading, “Share this Video.”

Once you have your final version completed, let it sit for a few days then come back to it with fresh eyes. Look on it as a book buyer and judge if it meets your expectations, that it strongly encourages the purchase of your book. If not make corrections. If it does, then pass it on to people who will give you an honest evaluation. Don’t corrupt their judgment with additional information. Simply state you want their response to seeing your video book trailer, whether it’s positive, neutral or negative. Request specifically what they liked or disliked. With this consensus, make adjustments as you see fit.

Distribution of Book Trailer

When your book trailer is ready for distribution, you still need to prepare copy to go along with it. For YouTube you should have a description of your trailer that includes the title of your book, author’s name, and what’s it about. To make your video stand out, write a unique description with a catchy, enticing headline. Likewise, add tags. These allow users to find your video by linking common words associated with your video. If done properly, such copy greatly increases the likelihood of finding your video on a Google or YouTube search and having your link opened. This description and information can likewise be used on other video hosting services such as Facebook and Vimeo. Check Wikipedia.org for complete list of video hosting services.

To upload your video to YouTube, follow the instruction found at wikihow.com/Upload-a-Video-to-YouTube. Similar instruction for other hosting sites can be found online. Some editing systems have programs that simplify this uploading.

There are also video syndication services, however their fees are beyond most authors’ budgets and when term payments run out, your video is removed. While posting them yourself is time consuming, it negates this problem and they remain on the Internet forever.

There are numerous other ways of getting your video seen. Facebook and Twitter postings with links to video with a brief description is one way. Also use LinkedIn updates with reference to your trailer and its location. Another place is reader forums pertaining to your genre or audience market.

Your own website is another place to not only post your video, it should likewise serve as a depository displaying more information about the book and a bio of the author. Also consider email distributions to followers, friends, acquaintances, and of course family members.

If you have an author’s page on Amazon, this is another place you can post your video. However, there are numerous restrictions which are posted at https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help?ie=UTF8&topicID=200649570. On your author page, you can also share video interviews, book signing videos, and other videos with readers. Your videos should focus on specific features of your books or your experience as an author.

Also consider news releases, either email or letter, to journalist, book critics and book bloggers. Another good source is free or low-priced newswire services. It just a matter of filling out the form with the proper entries. Such postings can up your web presence as well as improve your Google ranking.

Most authors expect the trailer to pull in a lot of interest when actually, it’s all the efforts promoting it that do the heavy lifting. If nobody knows about your trailer, you can’t expect much. However, if a whole lot of people see your trailer, a percentage of them will end up buying your book. It’s a numbers game. Likewise, if you strategically place your trailer in all online/offline places where your prospective book readers hangout, good things happen. The desired goal is to get the viewer interested, either in making the purchase or in finding out more.

While this article covers the basic considerations in creating a book trailer, there is a great deal more to be learned. One way of increasing your knowledge is to look at book trailers available on the internet. You will discover there are numerous ways to create video trailers, whether it be through emotional implications, character driven, or story plotting. You might also consider a more impressionistic approach that strongly communicates the aesthetic of the book while only hinting at elements of the plot. Likewise, in using photographic/video-graphic images, avoid showing people, or at least not showing their faces in a clear way. You want your viewer’s imagination to build the characters as they would when reading your book.

By looking at numerous trailers, you will find editing techniques that will make your video stronger, like the slow zoom-in or the use of title cards. In particular, watch how the juxtaposition of images and/or music provides a feeling or thought different from what they emit by themselves. Also, be aware how pace, the unveiling of new and unique information, affects the degree of engagement.

While book trailers get few lifetime views and have notorious low conversion rates, they are superior on sales landing pages increasing conversions up to 80 percent. That might be the place where a book trailer best contributes to your sales. In addition, book trailers can make a lasting impression, they’re easy to consume, easy to share, and they stay on the internet forever. A book trailer can be a valuable addition to your marketing campaign, especially if your target audience, your potential readers view it. Homing in on that fact could reap huge benefits and increase your ROI.

In closing, it is better that your book trailer to be super simple, ultra-clear, and thoughtfully aligned with the imagery. The intent of the trailer is to illicit a sale, to get the viewer interested, either in making the purchase or in finding out more about your book. To do that, you must allow the viewer to imagine and collaborate in the making of your book trailer.

Building a million dollar information marketing business doesn’t start with buying the latest article or blog submitting gizmo or list of 5 million subscribers for $27! It also doesn’t start by investing in ever more popular fly-by-night tactics that work today and are obsolete (or banned) tomorrow.

Instead, information marketing millionaires first build strong foundations for success by focusing on developing an effective business model that allows fast growth.

There are five key components this business model must include. All of them are equally important for long term success, stability, and profitability of your business.

Once you have a specific business model mapped out you can identify the specific strategies you want to focus on. This in turn will dictate what specific tactics you need to employ, and what action steps to take to reach your objective of building a million dollar information marketing business.

So let’s explore those five key components of an effective business model.

Component 1 – Generate Traffic

The first step on this model is to generate traffic. You’ve got to have “duplicate-able”, repeatable, sustainable ways to generate traffic.

You can get your traffic for free – but it will take a bit longer to get it. Or you can buy it and have people visiting your website in a matter of minutes.

Some of the free traffic generation strategies include article submissions, blogging, social media presence, like video and audio podcasts and accounts with popular online networking sites including LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter.

And let’s not forget something as simple as a “Tell a friend” button somewhere on each page of your website.

The fastest way to get traffic to your website is to buy it. Bying PPC (pay per click) like Google’s AdWords is probably one of the most known paid traffic strategy, but there are many others.

You can also buy text links, banner advertising, display ads on other people’s sites and blogs. You can also buy classified ads in other people’s ezines and even solo-mailings to other people’s lists of subscribers.

A lot of savvy marketers also use strategic alliances or JVs (Joined Ventured) to quickly drive massive traffic to their websites. While it’s a very effective strategy, it’s not free. Your JV partners will typically want to get a hefty percentage of the sales they generate with their promotions of your site. But – it will be quick!

Component 2 – Lead Generation

One of the biggest mistakes most people make is they try to get a sale too soon! Instead, a much better approach is to generate a lead first, then convert that lead into a paid first-time customer.

Let’s take this one step at a time – converting visitors into subscribers of some sort – a.k.a. “leads”! This is a critical step because it will allow you to continue communicating with people interested in your products or services.

You’ve probably heard that in any business your money and success are in your list, in your database of subscribers and your relationship with them. It’s very important to learn how to get people to come to your site and then entice them to want to give you their name and email.

It used to be enough to just say something like “subscribe to my newsletter,” or “get updates about my business,” somewhere on your website to get people to opt-in to your database. But those days are long gone.

Today you must be really good at presenting great value fast and making irresistible first offers to your visitors to persuade them to give up their contact information. Strategies that still work great include giving your web visitors access to special reports, audio downloads, or informative video and audio presentations.

Obviously the better the quality of your “carrot” and the better your presentation of it, the better your conversion will be. (Conversion is the comparison of the number of people that take you up on your offer and subscribe to your list to the total number of people that visit your website.)

Component 3 – Lead Conversion

Now that you have a list of subscribers – a.k.a. database of leads – how do you convert them into paid customers, someone who would actually gives you a few dollars? Generating that first sale is your lead conversion.

Just like lead generation, lead conversion strategies will vary from business to business, depending on what you are selling and who your customers are. But the key to your success is to systemize and automate this process as much as possible. Let me give you an example.

Think of a service business, for example some like a professional life coach.

Most likely they have no systems in place. Every new client is gained a different way. A conversation with each new prospect is different from others. Every lead is generated a different way. Every lead is converted differently. It’s no wonder their businesses are overwhelming them and generating very little money. There are no systems in place.

Now let’s look at a different professional and scenario; someone like an orthodontist.

Everything is systemized. From the same lead generation mechanisms to how patients get introduced to the doctor’s office to the first experience when they come in, to how they get to meet the doctor, how their initial evaluation is presented and delivered, how the price is quoted and how the treatment is initiated.

Everything is identical for each new patient! Everything is done the same way over and over and over. Everything is a system. And that’s what you are looking for in successful information marketing business model – systemized and automated lead conversion strategies.

Component 4 – Profit Multipliers

Once you generate the first sale, you will sell more products or services to your new customer. It’s important for two reasons. First, you probably have more products and services that can help that client much more beyond what they initially received from you. And second, that’s the way to maximize the success and profitability of your business!

Here are few examples of profit multipliers.

First there is down-selling. Basically what it means is that if someone comes to your website and says, “I don’t think I’m willing to pay $97you’re your multi-media course – and I’m leaving your website,” you present them with another opportunity to purchase a similar product that sells for $47 or even less and say, “Maybe $97 is too much for your budget right now. Can I interest you in getting a similar highly quality course that costs only $20?”

A different down-sale would be to offer a payment plan. You’d say something like this, “If $97 is too much right now, can I make it more affordable for you by letting you pay in three payments of $33?”

Next, there is a cross-sale. If they pay $97 for your first program, maybe they like to add another program that will help them get more value out of their initial purchase, especially if it’s priced attractively. It’s an effective way to immediately increase the size of each initial transaction.

Then there are continuity programs. For instance, if you are a coach you can have a system in place where after the initial first sale of some type of a home study course the customer receives an invitation to join a group coaching and support program for which they would then pay monthly.

And these are just a few simple ideas of what you can do to multiply your sales and profits.

Component 5 -Scalability

Your ultimate goal is to systemize and automate your business so that its growth can be expended beyond your own efforts.

Once you have all of the key components in place, focus on simplifying, systemizing, automating, delegating – in short, you want to optimize your business for maximum performance with minimum efforts.

Then simply start driving more traffic through this “profit machine”, and, if you designed it well, it will work like a charm and continue making you more money. It’s like of like turn the faucet knob on full blast.

So to have an effective business model first you need to generate traffic to your website, then you need a way to convert that traffic into leads, then convert leads into first-time customers, and then use profit multipliers to maximize your sales and profits.

There always seems to be some initial confusion among my customers as to what an Internet Marketing System really is.

Some of my customers think that it’s just a website set up along with some social media pages. Yes, a website is a feature of a marketing system, but it’s only one part.

Others think that its social media or email marketing. While those are elements of an Internet Marketing System, a complete system entails those elements and much more…

We’ll talk about it more in a few days.

Developing An Internet Marketing System

When developing a new concept for a system, my first rule is to find out what my prospective client wants and needs to accomplish. It’s true, they always say they want “leads”, but what kinds of leads? How do you want to attract those leads and what do you want to offer them in exchange for joining your list?

Many customers know that you’re going to email them and that they are going to see your posts and content on a consistent basis. But what’s most important for you to know is how to develop your marketing system to attract the right target customer and what you are going to offer them in exchange for their interest.

A few days ago, I saw a great ad on Facebook that was offering something that interests me. The ad was written very well and the banner design was attractive. So I clicked on the “Get More Info” link.

Yet, it took me to a lead page that asked me for my contact information without offering me any incentive to give it. The truth is that now days, your request for the prospects info needs to be accompanied by an even trade in their minds.

Of course I clicked away from the page and today I only remember the feeling of not wanting to give up my info so quickly for nothing.

However, a better experience that same day was when I clicked on an offer for free training on how to market a platform I know very little about. I went to the lead page and got immediate free content on how and why I should acquire his program to expand my marketing abilities.

This marketing system took me on a journey about his program. While on that journey, I thought about how I could use this program, not just for myself, but also how my own customers could benefit from it.

I saved his training page to my favorites and added it to my list of products to buy and use.

So as I design an Internet marketing system for an entrepreneur, we contemplate the journey that the prospect is going to take through the system.

What is your prospect going to feel and experience at each interval? How are they going to naturally engage with the system?

My clients and I know that we have to attract them throughout the entire process by getting them involved in the experience instead of the marketing system. Therefore the web marketing system should be built seamless and virtually undetectable.

So the Internet marketing system begins with a great post or ad about the problem your product can solve.

Then it takes them to a lead page that gives them more information about how that solution will benefit them.

Next you offer them a great incentive to learn more about that solution in a series of emails.

Lastly, they get introduced to the problem solving product that you have to offer along with some great bonuses that they didn’t expect.

If you build your offer around the benefits the owner will receive, then you can make it a seamless process.

Next we’ll talk about how long the marketing process takes. I have some great tips on the 90 day sales cycle.

The prominence of technology in the millennial person’s life remains noteworthy. With the introduction of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, to name a few, there are countless platforms for global interaction. From transnational marketing campaigns to communal events, social media has set a benchmark whereby information travels across the World Wide Web. Safe to say, these podiums have been subject to life-altering events over the course of the past few years. Governments and NGO’s alike have propelled campaigns and ideas across social media to create awareness and revoke public reactions. The manner in which effective social media has taken the generic populaces by storm is truly revolutionary. Technology has equipped the unheard majority with an opportunity to voice their concerns about issues that affect health, lifestyle and the environment.

All of us have either heard of or taken part in viral social media campaigns that have reverberated as driving forces to creating a better world. Social media is out to target positive reform at the roots of society by creating evocative responses from the public. Now, we are more capable of cumulative change than twenty years ago. Whether it is to uplift a brand image or raise funds for a social cause, social media has done it all. These efforts have impacted billions worldwide.

The dawn of the 21st century could not be more optimistic for those who are out to make a difference in the world. Here are the success stories of instances where technology inspired social change. Here is how social causes went viral on pop media to inspire successful impact, changing lives by generating a singularity in consciousness amid diversity.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge:

Lou Gehrig’s disease, termed ALS is a condition that affects nerve cells, the brain and causes drastic consequences to those affected. In August 2014, the ALS ice bucket challenge went viral on social media to promote awareness for ALS research, a disease that has no cure. The challenges required people to film and post a video of dumping cold water over their heads and nominate others to take up the challenge within a 24-hour frame. With celebrities and notable officials taking part in the challenge, it was only a matter of time before close to 20 million videos went viral on social media, contributing to the cause. Bill Gates and Geroge W. Bush were among those who took the ALS ice bucket challenge to social media. The response to the campaign favourably rose over $115 million for ALS research, exhibiting the compassion that humanity can pursue to help those severely affected. Besides creating awareness of ALS, social media served as the footstool to aiding research while creating a sense of unity.

#WaterIsLife presented the #FirstWorldProblems Campaign for clean water:

Water is Life, a non-profit organization aims to bring clean water to lesser developed and developing nations. Initiated in 2007, today they have helped bring clean water to people who live in remote villages across the world. By stressing on the differing approaches people have towards having clean water, with the #FirstWorldProblems hashtag, Water is Life managed to capture the hearts of millions. Social media played the vital role in carrying their incentive through the global platform, eventually creating awareness about clean water and provoking action towards improving the water crisis the world faces. With the #FirstWorldProblems hashtag, when people voiced concerns over minor inconveniences, it was retorted with life-threatening realities that many in other parts of the world face. By raising millions of dollars, Water is Life is the perfect example of the prominence of technology when it comes to positive change.

Mannequin Challenge:

At the peak of 2016, the internet went bonkers over the Mannequin challenge videos that went viral. The posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram featured an internet video trend where people appeared motionless usually with “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd playing in the background. The challenge received worldwide acclamation as notable sports persons and celebrities took part by creating videos to go with the popular #MannequinChallenge. Most recently, as part of the feature film “Black in Blue,” sequences of such motionless videos were recorded, shedding light on the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign targeting racial prejudice. This powerful campaign surely remains as one of the most creative viral social media challenges till date.

#LoveWins Campaign:

Lots of people face challenges with sexual orientation and commonly when it comes to love. LGBT rights have been debated topics for centuries, often resulting unfavourable outcomes. The Love Wins campaign that went viral on the web was a showcase of acceptance, celebrating legislations passed to acknowledge LGBT rights in several countries. As on-going protests pave the way to equal rights in some of the other countries, this campaign is a stepping stone stressing on love and liberty. By embracing free-thought, #LoveWins is an expression of the freedom of choice. With many attractive filters and tweaks on social media, the campaign picked up the pace in celebrating the triumph of love over bureaucracy.

#MeToo Campaign:

The words “me too” are fresh in our memory as we just entered into 2018. As a silence breaker against sexual harassment, the #MeToo campaign has taken social media by storm. Celebrities have joined in on the social cause to promote awareness and take a stand against sexual harassment and prejudice globally. With millions of people rising to the occasion and voicing their stories about the harm of gender inequality, the campaign set fire to the media world. Conveying the magnitude of sexual prejudice, the social cause is trending on every social media site. Starting out as a hashtag, the campaign has evolved into a supporting cry against sexual harassment exposing offenders and instilling newfound confidence for victims. Public figures worldwide have honoured the noble intentions of this controversial campaign, voicing concerns. Most recently, with Oprah Winfrey’s speech at the 75th Golden Globe Awards, she shook the world with tough words against sexual prejudice, equal pay, honouring the strength of a woman. The campaign has served as a say for millions and helped transform hardened ideologies in industries that turn a blind eye towards sexual prejudice.

Social media has once again penetrated the minds of populaces, encouraging change and expressing genuine concerns. Ignorance can no longer be justified by the claim, “I was not aware.” United by the common ideals of love and humanity, technology continues to inspire social change. Even if reality becomes harsher, there will be a glimmer of hope that reveals potent human endeavours that refurbish hope.

The Dark Side of Free Speech, Pt 2

Cyberbullying

Our culture and probably most others have historically felt that bullies are bad news, but that being bullied is also a rite of passage. We often think that bullying tends to end with grammar school. Nothing is further from the truth.

As a culture, we tolerate and often reward adult bullies – especially bully managers in the workplace. We celebrate bullies in entertainment as warriors and winners (even as we also celebrate a bully getting his or her comeuppance), and although hazing in schools, the military, and fraternities are getting pushback from the culture, we otherwise do little to eradicate bullying. Our politicians are often famously bullying in nature. Unless there are dead bodies, it seems that we expect people to just put up with it (or fight back).

As harmful and heinous as bullying can be, cyberbullying takes things a step further. Cyberbullying uses the Internet and other electronic forms of technology to post mean or embarrassing photos, messages, emails, or to make threats. However, the attacker is often anonymous – unknown – and there is no one to fight back against. As a result, the potential cyberbully is often emboldened to create as much havoc with their victim’s life as possible. The potentially viral nature of such posts – that is, the ability for these posts to be replicated widely, quickly, and endlessly – doesn’t happen in a face-to-face encounter.

A typical (non-cyber) bullying event happens at a moment in time and then is over (although another such event may occur). The bullying happens at a location in space – a street corner or the office, perhaps. A bullying is often witnessed, with the victimizer known to everyone present. A cyberbullying incident, on the other hand, can be spread to hundreds of people in seconds and millions of people in fairly short order, can persist for a lengthy period, can be distributed worldwide, and has no one to answer for their action.

As a result, damage from such an incident can recur and echo over and over. Sadistic sorts can take pleasure in repeating and reposting, and even create web sites to encourage their persistence. These sites cause a pile-on effect, with fellow nasty travelers putting in their own often excruciatingly foul insults, reposting the private images, and multiplying the harm. Some may not realize or care about the damage they cause; others delight in it.

One unfortunate creation of cyberbullying is “revenge porn.” There are sites on the Internet that are in place solely to embarrass and hurt people (mostly women) by electronically publishing and reposting sexual images of a former lover or interest. Some such postings are designed to embarrass associates of the person whose pornographic image is being posted. The target may be the former boyfriend or husband with the victim being “collateral damage.” Even well-known individuals may participate in the ugly behavior, such as the recent case of a hip-hop star and his site featuring pornographic video of a girlfriend of hip-hop in his beef with a rap.

Many victims of seemingly endless cyberbullying, including clients who have come to us for help, have had their self-esteem devastated. Others have been driven to substance abuse, dropping out of school or society, and such bullying behavior has even been implicated in suicides. While not usually considered a crime, it is far from victimless.

Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking is a more specific form of cyberbullying, and like cyberbullying, is much enabled by the anonymity possible via the Internet. It is the use of the Internet and other technology to harrass someone, although some cyberstalking can be secret for a time. While a “traditional” stalker may shadow a victim’s movements, spying on them from hidden areas, or with binoculars or telescopes, the cyberstalker keeps an eye on their target(s) electronically.

Much of our social life is semi-public these days, on social media such as Twitter & Facebook. The Internet makes it easy for a person to hide his or her identity, make a fake identity, or pose as someone else – as a false friend perhaps – making it simple to spy on a person’s activities via social networking. Like cyberbullying, the ease of anonymity on the Internet may embolden the cyberstalker, thinking (often correctly) that they will not be found out.

We regularly encounter cases where the stalker has managed to research and guess credentials for their victim’s email or other online accounts making it easy to discover the victim’s whereabouts, conversations and correspondence. In some of these cases, the perpetrator will even impersonate the victim, sending faked emails and messages, posting as the victims themselves, or publishing embarrassing images as if the victim herself were the source of the statements, pictures, or videos.

This has come to be understood and adjudged to mean that the government can’t keep you from saying your piece, no matter how much the government, or anyone else might disagree. This applies to all government in the U.S. – Federal, State, local entities and public officials of those public entities. You are free to speak in “the Public Square.” Note that the concept of the Public Square applies only to governmental entities, property and officials. It does not apply to private or commercial property. Property owners or business owners can prohibit you from saying certain things, or from saying anything at all on or within their own property, business, or broadcasts unless it is otherwise allowed.

Stalkers can find a way to infiltrate themselves into the fabric of the victim’s financial, social, and family life, leaving personal lives in tatters. Though it is easy to read about such events and behavior – it’s all over the news – the victims often find themselves not being taken seriously, with friends and loved ones calling her neurotic or paranoid. Because the cyberstalker is often trying to damage the victim’s reputation, the reactions of those close to the victim often further the stalker’s aims.

And while cyberstalking is illegal in many places around the country and around the world, these actions rarely rise to the level law enforcement needs to see in order to take it seriously, or to investigate. Read between the lines in the news and you will find that nearly all arrests that include cyberstalking also include a dire threat, a violation of an existing restraining order, ID theft, theft of physical property, or child abuse.

Trolling

Internet trolling is a behavior wherein the troll intends to inflame, upset, or otherwise damage civil discourse. In the context of this series of articles, it tends toward disrupting the online or public communication of others through the use of vile invective, insults and other verbal havoc. It is often misogynistic. The ability to be anonymous on the Internet removes much of the inhibition a person might otherwise feel to behave so uncivilly.

What To Do?

A common thread throughout the described behaviors is the ability to be anonymous on the Internet. One might imagine that removing the option for being anonymous would remove the motivation for the behavior, but in this case, the solution would arguably be worse than the problem. In part one of this series, we discussed free speech – one of our most important rights – and the importance of anonymity. Both have played a huge role in the very creation of our nation and continue to protect those who would speak out about abuses, even as said anonymity enables other kinds of abuse. What are we to do?

In Part 3 we discuss what we can do and what is being done – both legally and societally – to limit damaging cyber behavior

Public speaking is known as one of the most powerful ways to market your business. It’s an important skill that anyone can discover get more prospects, more clients, and of course, more cash flow.

As a professional speaker and speaker trainer, I often teach the best ways any business owner can use public speaking to benefit your business. Yet there is another side of the speaking coin: listening.

If you don’t have an audience, then you don’t have any reason to give a speech. In order to target an audience effectively – whether that’s an audience of one or an audience of many – you have to listen to them first.

One key component is knowing what your audience values. When you know what your audience values you can speak to those values within the details during your presentation. To find out what they value ASK them, then LISTEN! Here are a few tips to the 3 best free ways to listen to your audience:

1. Social Media: Ask a question on Twitter, Facebook, or in other networking groups you belong to. People like to be asked their ideas and opinions and will readily give them. The benefit of this option is you will usually have your answer quickly – often within a few minutes or hours.
2. SurveyMonkey.com: Go right to the source and ask your subscribers what is important to them. When you use this option, the answers you receive will be neatly organized so you’ll be able to see at a glance what’s important and be sure to address what your clients and prospects value.
3. Ask Campaign: Alex Mandossian created this concept. Using a teleseminar format, ask people what is important to them. One question you can ask is, “What is most important to you about X?” And then follow up with, “What is your most important question about X?” Ask via email and social media, then hold a teleseminar to answer the questions, build rapport, and create a space for people to ask follow-up questions.

Once you have listened to your audience you’ll be ready to speak to them confidently knowing you are addressing their values every time. And that’s what will get you the results you want!

From black and white to a pile of colors, from audio to video, from mini to nano, from wired to wireless and from newspapers to news channels and social media, a huge shift in the means of deliverance is visible. Communication through technology was one of the most popular discoveries of the artificial intelligence in the 20th century which is now more enhanced and modified using the structural development, technological advancement, and industrial progress restoration in the 21st century.

Pakistan, a developing country, is a democratic nation where freedom of speech is considered to be a human right according to Article No. 19 in the constitution. Freedom of speech does not refer to backlash a view or an opinion, instead, it refers to the presentation of one’s point of explanation and thoughts. Along with this right of speaking, media, especially new organizations that include the hub of social media, new channels, e-papers, web links, etc, is serving as the main source of the deliverance of awareness, speeches, opinions, and explanations. The film industry, Lollywood, and drama telecasters are also an important part of media organizations.

There are more than twenty-five news channels on air in Pakistan at the present. Moreover, there are about thirty newspapers that are delivered in several areas of Pakistan. When it comes to newspapers, many of them have sub-editions with respect to the language or the dialect is spoken in a specific region and the current affairs of that area. Social media accounts also deal with the provision of news alerts, breaking news, knowledge of current affairs, and etc. Several channels on television also screen drama serial. The Lollywood industry has made a huge and remarkable effort to reach the new steps of success and equivalency to the Bollywood and Hollywood in aspects of design, concept, audio, video, dance, songs, dramatization, script, and scenes. However, not every time a news is broadcasted or a film/drama is screened, a positive response in return is expected.

Since 2002, media has got the rights of free speech in Pakistan. Media, especially the news organizations have faced yellow journalism on their way to display and creating awareness. As mentioned earlier that a number of news channels are being broadcasted but not more than five of them are well-known and eminent. Among several newspapers, only a few are renowned and distributed at their respective places But the issue comes when a visible race is prominent among these organizations to achieve maximum television rating point (TRP) and to become a leading news channel or a newspaper. Either it is a news source or entertainment source in terms of drama channels, films, and songs, a high standard being achieved is clearly visible, however, the more standardized it is getting, the more unethical and biased vision is also seen.

Considering Pakistan i.e. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, from the name it can be determined that Pakistan is a country based on Islamic ideology. Democracy along with an Islamic perspective has to be implemented within the country. Rules, regulations, the system of authorities, and constitution must be in accordance with the Islamic values. Quaid’s demand for Pakistan was aimed to create a separate nation where Muslims can easily live their lives with respect to Islam and the principles. Moreover, this visibility of our identity is now missing.

Ethics in Journalism

Journalism is one of the most honored professions in the whole world. Journalism is naturally interlinked with honesty, loyalty, responsibility, and ethics. Being a journalist, it is one’s keen responsibility to provide true and accurate information to its audience no matter what means of communication is utilized. But today in Pakistan, journalism has lost its faith, accuracy, seriousness, and honor. Yellow journalism has contributed the maximum to the decline of ethics of journalism. Liberalization is creating continuous downfalls for the news organizations. There is no proper code of conduct formulated to maximize the power of news and the news channels in the society. There are immature acts in these organization that are not beneficial for the reputation and authenticity of a journalist. There’s a race going on as earlier mentioned in broadcasting and screening the news at first. While arguing and being busy in this race, the media actually forget to analyze and learn about the origin and the source of the news. Today, a news of minimum importance is as well spread throughout the country due to this act of giving no importance to the accuracy and proper means of communication. Hence, this head to head competition is contributing to the decline of ethics in journalism.

A proper framework should be designed in order to develop a supporting policy to journalism. There should be a representation of facts instead of opinions and biased statements and reports. A journalist has to be neutral in terms of giving opinions. He has to mention all the pros and cons of a respective news subject and has to deliver evidence with context to the subject’s favor and opposition in the hierarchy. Journalism should not be on behalf of any representative community, society, private organization, or a political party. It should mainly focus on the facts and figures clearly associated to the subject. A journalist must hold accountable for his/her statement or report. It should not violate the rules of PEMRA and should not harm people.

Ethics in the Film Industry

Islam, the religion of respect, love, warmth, and equality, supports progress and prosperity through its principles and ethics. Pakistan is an Islamic state but has adopted the idea of west instead of trying to remain the rest and the best. Our religion teaches about gender equality but it does not give more dominance to the women in our society. In the present time, the film industry of Pakistan has met technological advancements. Technological advancements are the new measure of success in a country. However, these technological advancements very cleanly violate the policies and rules of Islam. Women are considered to be equal, but this does not mean that they should be exhibited on televisions with half cloths, bold make-up, dancing on vulgar songs, as their own choice. Islam has remarked women as a diamond and as Pakistan is an Islamic ideological state, there should be policies collaborated with the religion in spite of altering it and let the west taking over it. Taboos should refrain from being forcedly incorporated into Pakistan’s culture and values.

Everyone, either it is an independent candidate or a political party representative, is fighting to get the powers of the country but no one is giving even a mild sort of interest in improving the sense of modernization in our country with respect to the basic ideology i.e. Islam along with the Holy Quran and Sunnah. It should be given proper attention as it is an important unethical behavior carried out by the majority of people with elite backgrounds.

Ethics and Social Media

Well, social media, not only in Pakistan, is turning out to be the latest significant court and forum of discussions. Lots of debates, arguments, exchange of claims, and opinions are now seen as an active part of human activity. Social media sites like “Facebook” and especially “Twitter” have now turned into a business promotion tool. Everyone has their own personal account of space and dashboard, however, this does not allow the ethics of a particular person to violate the terms of security and produce a sense of harm to its fellow citizens. Everyone has a right to their opinion and they must stick to it but should refrain from backlashing and using verbal violence against a subject. Social media is the fastest tool for communication and has left news channels and newspapers behind. Hence, it is the leading tool. However, the tool should be used in a positive manner i.e. to create awareness among the people about a certain issue, to communicate with those who are in need, to keep yourself updated about the current affairs, and to exchange opinions.

There are many people on these social sites that do not respect the integrity and esteem of the other person. They post stuff that might offend the audience and be a source of harassment, however, it is their right to express their though but there should be a proper policy and formula to maintain the use of social media tools for a limited purpose. A person posts a status and that can reach to millions of people who are even unknown to the source. There is a long way for the social media to go and it should be immediately taken into consideration for the empowerment of the means of communication and media organizations.

It is widely seen that in the past few years, the media organizations of Pakistan have lost their values, esteem, and have exploded as a genocide in a negative manner. Lack of professionalism has led to this downfall of the industry. There is a dire need of formulating a proper code of conduct that should support the Islamic ethics of the country and should be followed. Any organization that does not follow the agreeable terms and conditions should be given an immediate treatment in accordance with the formulated code of conduct for the country’s welfare and prosperity. There should be proper awareness and training sessions for the people associated with media in order to create an impressive personality so that professionalism may be institutionalized with a proficient technique and only such proficient individuals, leading the media organizations, should be given an official status in the Pakistani society.

With the rise of social networking sites Managers want to review publicly available Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and other websites to learn more about job candidates and Employees.

Many Facebook users don’t have their profiles set to private, which would make them available only to selected people or certain networks. There is a big difference between an Employer viewing public postings and private information.

Employees and potential employees should have a right to keep their Facebook, Twitter or other social media profiles containing confidential information private from the prying eyes of their bosses.

Employees and job applicants have an expectation of privacy when it comes to using social media such as Facebook and Twitter, including a right to have their right to free speech protected.

There is no need for Employers to demand access to applicants or employees’ private password protection information stored online. Yet there have been a number of reports of job applicants during interviews being asked to log into their Facebook and other websites and allow potential Employers to browse their profile, acquaintances and other personal information, whilst others are simply being asked to list their passwords on job applications. Other job applicants have even been asked to friend human resource managers!

Traditionally Employers havn’t demanded that job applicants hand over the keys to their house or bank account information, therefore why should they be able to gain access to their private information stored online?

It is like allowing your Employer to access your mail to see if there is anything of interest inside. It would be giving Employers the ability to act as an imposter and assume the identity of an employee, continually access, monitor and possibly even manipulate an employee’s personal social activities, communications, associations and opinions.

Facebook’s Statement of Rights And Responsibilities provides that sharing or soliciting a Facebook password is a violation of their terms of service, however Employers can’t count on Facebook suing an Employer for such a violation.

Legislation is being passed to address the current situation, based on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which deals with computer hacking, to safeguard Employees’ online identities. The Passwords Protection Act of 2012 will prohibit employers accessing “protected computers” where social media files are kept.

Subject to some exceptions, it will prevent employers from forcing employees and prospective employees to provide access to their private online systems, including Facebook, e-mail and other online storage.

The Bill is broad in its drafting and isn’t limited to any specific website. It focuses on the servers where information is housed or stored, taking the emphasis off having to identify and define a particular type of internet service. This means an employer will not be able to force an employee to provide access to their Facebook or Twitter account as a condition of their employment.

It will forbid Employers forcing employees to provide access to information held on any computer not owned or controlled by the employer. The Act will protect information even if it’s accessed on a computer owned by the employer. It will also prohibit an employer from discriminating or retaliating against a prospective or current employee if that employee refuses to provide access to a password-protected account.

Therefore if an employee is just looking at a social network on their work computer, an employer won’t be able to force the employee to disclose a password, as this would then enable the employer to access another computer, being the computer of the relevant social nework the employee is perusing. The protection conferred by the Act extends to gmail accounts, photo sharing websites and employee owned smart phones.

As the Act is drafted in a manner which is largely technology-neutral, it’s effect is not likely to be impacted by changes in technology. New online technologies continue to evolve and emerge, causing legislation to become outdated. However, because the Passwords Protection Act of 2002 isn’t limited to the protection of a particular service like a social network service, it is flexible enough to foreshadow evolving uses of technology, as it focuses on access to a computer.

The Act covers any new service as long as it’s not housed on any employer’s computer. There are however exceptions in the legislation and students are not protected from social media monitoring and can therefore be forced to hand over their social network passords.

However there is another Act to be introduced, the Social Networking Online Protection Act, which will plugs this gap by conferring protection upon both employers and students.

However if you are a Government employee or an employee who works with children under the age of 13, the Act enables States legislating in this area to provide an exemption, whilst another exception enables the executive branch to exempt entire classes of workers if they come into contact with classified information, including soldiers. These exceptions to the protection conferred therefore sanction broad and sweeping fishing expeditions into Employees’ private lives and communications.

There are already in existence a broad range of means for investigating employee misconduct. Further, internet activities constantly create many new types of records, and these can already be used against employees in investigations.

CONCLUSION

Whilst the new legislation is a major step forward in preventing Employers taking adverse action as a result of an employee’s refusal to provide access to their private accounts, Employers still reserve the right to permit social networking activities within their office only on a voluntary basis and implement policies in relation to employer operated computers. Once you are employed you may be required to sign an acceptable use policy relating to the use of social media within the workplace. You may have enjoy online free speech however you may be asked to sign a non-disparagement agreement which bans you from talking negatively about an employer on social media sites. Therefore employees who violate such acceptable use policies will still remain accountable for any activities which breach such policies.

MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES, October 5, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ — New Facebook Alternative Social Media App Lyfeloop Wins Award for Best New Social Media App 2020 by the Business Achievement Awards for usefulness, overall quality, uniqueness in the market, user interface and design. Each year the Business Achievement Awards names the Best Social media apps as part of the annual Business Achievement Awards(BAA) Competition. Now in its 15th year, the Business Achievement Awards are the first and only industry-based advertising award competition dedicated exclusively to responsive mobile web and application development. “In 2020 Lyfeloop is the clear winner that stands out from its competitors and we are proud to award Lyfeloop with the recognition you deserve” said Britt McHenry BAA Awards chairman.
For starters, it’s totally elegant in design while still being completely user friendly. Lyfeloop offers a very clean presentation that most users will appreciate, especially since the app does a fantastic job of knowing what cool social features to integrate into it (e.g. activity feed, built-in media player) and what to leave behind. If you are someone that wants a social media app that lets you connect with friends and family without the censorship, politics and security problems then Lyfeloop is by far the best choice” continues McHenry. The Best mobile apps in each industry are selected by judges who review the entered mobile entries using the seven criteria: Creativity, Innovation, Impact, Design, Copywriting, Use of the medium and Memorability. At a time where censorship is at an all time high many users are now switching over their personal and business social media pages to Lyfeloop. Lyfeloop social media app provides its users unprecedented connectivity with one another. From sharing and posting photos and videos, to going live and advertising their business Lyfeloop has it all. With 100% reach on every post and a commitment to never selling user data, Lyfeloop is a safe and engaging place. Listed as the best Facebook alternatives, Lyfeloop a new social media app gives users everything they loved about other platforms minus all the censorship and security issues. Lyfeloop and its user community have created a destination on its platform complete with daily news updates, uplifting stories, in-home workouts, tips for projects with the kids and more. Most importantly medical Doctor’s can give advice and options without being censored. In addition to more effectively connecting with one another, users are able to access geographically sorted live news feeds to see current and local health related information. Lyfeloop aims to always put users first and provide them with a service that they can use to flourish and express their ideas freely. Currently, over 1 million users have joined Lyfeloop. Lyfeloop does not use an algorithm to determine what users see or how followers of a particular page might see the chosen content. Instead, Lyfeloop breaks the mold and does the exact opposite, giving content power and control back to users by delivering posts to 100% of followers. The platform is already helping users better their lives as they discover and enjoy a wide spectrum of news, content and communities. Personal profiles showcase people and their lives while always allowing them to express and share stories. Lyfeloop users can add friends, follow and unfollow people and pages, get real-time news with news feeds, chat, & notifications and profile updates, share any public post on Lyfeloop, as well as publish (music, videos, links). Lyfeloop has a revolutionary live video chat system for users to have virtual meetings and chat with friends. Lyfeloop is one app that is steadily expanding its user base; all thanks to its free speech driven policies. Its free speech promotion is what makes this app stand out among its competitors.
From a business point of view, the brands can connect with their users instantly. For example, brands and businesses can create chatbots in order to broadcast messages to a number of subscribers at once. With millions of users leaving Facebook due to fake fact checking and free speech censorship issues , Lyfeloop has gained much popularity as compared to other top social media apps and makes its first pick on our list of social media apps. Over the previous year Lyfeloop requested a huge amount of input from social media app users to develop their platform dependent on user experience. Given today’s ever growing social media censorship, individuals are aching for genuine social media app to share, connect and befriend like minded people without being censored for no reason. Lyfeloop is venturing directly into that void and having a genuine effect. The Lyfeloop social media app is rapidly growing with more and more people joining the platform every day. Users can download the Lyfeloop App free app in the App Store and Google Play or by visiting lyfeloop.com.