The Best Mobile Business Apps to Make Your Job Easier

Scaling up is integral to every business, a high number of whom now hang on mobile apps for the purpose. The big impetus is a lucrative apps market driving a $19 billion apps economy and causing a radical shift in consumer engagement.

Today, more than 30% of US consumers own tablets even as overall Smartphone usage has crossed 130 million. That means multifold opportunities of engagement as a business. However, along with the opportunities comes the challenging proposition of a glutted apps world where standing out — matters.

To talk numbers, there are over 750,000 apps sitting on each of the two major apps stores — Apple Apps Store and Google Play. The other two subsidiary stores, Blackberry and Windows App Store have come off in a way that only adds to the competitive streak.

As a business seeking a mobile app, it is crucial that success essentials are charted upfront. With that in mind, Enda O’Reilly of Needa.ie shares the best mobile business apps to make your job easier.

Why is Hard Drive Shredding a Better Option Than Formatting

Formatting a hard drive is a common method when it comes to recycling or reusing the hard drive of a computer. It is a method which most people undertake while selling off or reusing their computers. Also, formatting is something which helps liberating the device off all the viruses and malicious programs. It greatly enhances the security and improves the speed of the machine as well. Just as there are these pros which come associated with hard drive formatting, there are a few cons also.

When you choose to format hard drive, you remove all the data from it by using the extensive delete option using a certain program or software. Just as there are software applications available for the formatting process, there are also a few programs which can undo what you’ve deleted. Yes, once a hard drive has been formatted, data stored on it previously can be easily recovered using some specific data recovery programs.

Apart from hard drive formatting, there are a few other methods also which can be used to erase a hard drive. These methods make data on the hard drives irrecoverable. Some of the popular and secure data destruction methods are:

• Hard Drive Wiping
• Hard Drive Destruction
• Hard Drive Shredding

Of these three methods, hard drive shredding is the most common one which people resort to. It offers better security and guarantee that the data on the drives will not be recovered by any means. Also, a lot of people choose firms which help them in disposing off and shredding the hard drives.

A hard drive shredder is used in the process. This shredder is actually a mechanical gadget which makes the hard drive irrecoverable. It involves slicing down of every track on each platter of the drive. Just as the name suggests, shredding is all about destroying the hard drive physically so that it cannot be re-used.

For business enterprises, rather than choosing to format hard drive, going in for a service like shredding or wiping which leaves bleak chances of data recovery is the best thing to do. In order to keep important data, passwords and financial details from falling into the wrong hands, getting one’s hard drive shred is the best thing.

Instead of choosing to format your hard drive, get yours shredded from an efficient service provider like Secure Data Destruction Solutions. You’ll be able to find various services which will help you keep your data safe. Also it’ll safeguard your reputation as a business entity.

What Do 7 Billion People Do?

The occupations of the world’s population today.

Image: Funders and Founders

Phases of Job Interview

Job interview is an important aspect, especially, when you are going through it. Make sure you are proficient in understanding the phases of a job interview. It is not about sending resumes and getting selected, but rather learning through the experience.

Before starting your search and sending resumes, you should be aware of the different stages of an interview. Below is a list of them:

1. Pre-Interview Preparations

• A job seeker does a lot of research about the company, where the interview is being conducted.
• Understanding the working of an organization, company’s latest trends and developments, product and services, etc.
• It is recommended to reach on time and for that take into consideration the factors such as distance, traffic, etc.
• Prepare some questions and answers, but make sure to answer the questions in a narrative way. This makes your answers sound interesting, as it can attract the attention of an interviewer.
• Check yourself before going for an interview. For instance, how you talk? How you enter an interview room? Etc. Practice these things so, that you are not nervous while giving an interview.
• It is better if you can imagine the whole scenario with a friend or colleague and practice giving the answers. Then you can give answers confidently without hesitating.
• Prepare some questions which you would like to know from the employer about the company or your role.
• Carry all the important documents such as your resume, letters of recommendation, etc. which you think can be asked by an employer.

2. While giving an Interview

• Make sure to enter the room in a way which reflects your personality.
• It is being said “First impression is your last impression”.
• When you enter the interview room, greet the interviewer.
• The signs of getting nervous are how you talk and walk? A lot of people have the habit of moving legs, or fidgeting with their fingers. Try to be calm and relax.
• Answer questions in a story manner, end it in the same way.
• Don’t talk about salary in the beginning, instead wait till the end of the interview.
• Be calm and relaxed, even if you can’t answer any question. Don’t get upset about it, but rather focus on the present moment.
• It is good to ask some questions from an interviewer, so that you are aware about the company and the roles and responsibilities you would have if you are part of the organization. This indicates you are interested to get knowledge about the company.
• When leaving the interview room, greet the employer by saying “Thank You”. These are small things, but they make a lasting impression on the person who is taking your interview.

3. Post Interview

• A nice gesture is to send a Thank you note or follow-up letter to the interviewer.
• Even if you are not selected, don’t be upset about it. You get a job when mutual needs are perfectly met, i.e. an employer and employee are both fully satisfied.
• Even if the interview didn’t go well, don’t write about it on any social networking site. Since an employer or anyone who reads it may have negative thinking about you.

Conclusion:

Giving a job interview can enhance your skills and it is an experience through which a job seeker can learn. Even when you are not selected, this can bring out the best in you, so that you don’t repeat the mistakes in the next interview.

Image: Parade

Wasted Time in the Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

Wasted time in the workplace is a massive problem. How big is exactly unclear, but from our research, the cost to business is in the millions (if not billions) in lost productivity every year. The infographic below explains just how much time we waste at work, the ways we waste it, and how businesses are grappling with the issue. The results are surprising, if not alarming:

Image: Time Doctor

28 Leading Ways To Make Money Online With Your Website

There are several lists with “ways to make money with a website” on the Internet, but none of them seem to be complete. That is why I decided to create this one. If you know a method that is not listed below, just let us know and we’ll update it.

Notice that ways to make money with a website are different from ways to make more money from it. Methods to increase your traffic or click-through rate will help you make more money, but they do not represent a method of making money perse.

For example, one could suggest that blending AdSense ads with the content is a way to make money from a website. In reality it’s not; it’s just a way to make more money by improving your ad click-through rate. The real monetization method behind it is a PPC ad network.

The list is divided into direct and indirect methods, and examples and links are provided for each point. Enjoy!

Direct Methods

1. PPC Advertising Networks

Google AdSense is the most popular option under this category, but there are also others. Basically you need to sign up with the network and paste some code snippets on your website. The network will then serve contextual ads (either text or images) relevant to your website, and you will earn a certain amount of money for every click.

The profitability of PPC advertising depends on the general traffic levels of the website and, most importantly, on the click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click (CPC). The CTR depends on the design of the website. Ads placed abode the fold or blended with content, for instance, tend to get higher CTRs. The CPC, on the other hand, depends on the nice of the website. Mortgages, financial products and college education are examples of profitable niches (clicks worth a couple of dollars are not rare), while tech-related topics tend to receive a smaller CPC (sometimes as low as a couple of cents per click).

The source of the traffic can also affect the overall CTR rate. Organic traffic (the one that comes from search engines) tends to perform well because these visitors were already looking for something, and they tend to click on ads more often. Social media traffic, on the other hand, presents terribly low CTRs because these visitors are tech-savvy and they just ignore ads.

List of popular CPC advertising networks:

• Google Adsense
• Yahoo! Publisher Network (YPN)
• BidVertiser
• Chitika
• Clicksor

2. CPM Advertising Networks

CPM advertising networks behave pretty much as PPC networks, except that you get paid according to the number of impressions (i.e., page views) that the ads displayed on your site will generate. CPM stands for Cost per Mille, and it refers to the cost for 1,000 impressions.

A blog that generates 100,000 page views monthly displaying an advertising banner with a $1 CPM, therefore, will earn $100 monthly.

CPM rates vary with the network, the position of the ad and the format. The better the network, the higher the CPM rate (because they have access to more advertisers). The closer you put the ad to the top of the page, the higher the CPM. The bigger the format (in terms of pixels), the higher the CPM.

You can get as low as $0,10 and as high as $10 per 1,000 impressions (more in some special cases). CPM advertising tends to work well on websites with a high page views per visitor ratio (e.g., online forums, magazines and so on).

List of popular CPM advertising networks:

• Casale Media
• Burst Media
• Value Click
• Advertising.com
• Tribal Fusion
• Right Media

3. Direct Banner Advertising

Selling your own advertising space is one of the most lucrative monetization methods. First and foremost because it enables you to cut out the middleman commissions and to determine your own rates. The most popular banner formats on the web are the 728×90 leaderboard, the 120×600 skyscraper, the 300×250 rectangle and the 125×125 button.

The downside of direct banner advertising is that you need to have a big audience to get qualified advertisers, and you will need to spend time managing the sales process, the banners and the payments.

4. Text Link Ads

After Google declared that sites selling text links without the nofollow tag would be penalized, this monetization method became less popular.

Many website owners are still using text links to monetize their sites, though, some using the nofollow tag and some not.

The advantage of this method is that it is not intrusive. One can sell text links directly through his website or use specialized networks like Text-Link-Ads and Text-Link-Brokers to automate the process.

Text link marketplaces and networks:

• DigitalPoint Link Sales Forum
• Text-Link-Ads
• Text-Link-Brokers
• TNX
• LinkWorth

5. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a very popular practice on the Internet. Under this system you have a merchant that is willing to let other people (the affiliates) sell directly or indirectly its products and services, in exchange for a commission. Sometimes this type of advertising is also called CPA (cost per action) or CPL (cost per lead) based.

Affiliates can send potential customers to the merchant using several tools, from banners to text links and product reviews.

In order to find suitable affiliate programs you can turn to individual companies and publishers like Dreamhost and SEOBook, or join affiliate marketplaces and networks.

List of popular affiliate marketplaces and networks:

• Commission Junction
• ClickBank
• Azoogle Ads
• Link Share

6. Monetization Widgets

The latest trend on the web are widgets that let you monetize your website. Examples include Widgetbucks and SmartLinks. Some of these services operate under a PPC scheme, others behave like text link ads, others yet leverage affiliate links.

Their main differentiator, however, is the fact that they work as web widgets, making it easier for the user to plug and play the service on its website.

List of companies that provide monetization widgets:

• WidgetBucks
• ScratchBack
• SmartLinks

7. Sponsored Reviews

PayPerPost pioneered this model, with much controversy on the beginning (related to the fact that they did not require disclosure on paid posts). Soon other companies followed, most notably Sponsored Reviews and ReviewMe, refining the process and expanding the paid blogging model.

Joining one of these sponsored reviews marketplaces will give you the opportunity to write sponsored posts on a wide range of topics. Not all bloggers are willing to get paid to write about a specific product or website (because it might compromise the editorial credibility), but the ones who do are making good money out of it.

If your blog has a big audience you could also offer sponsored reviews directly, cutting off the commissions of the middleman.

List of sponsored reviews and paid blogging networks:

• PayPerPost
• Sponsored Reviews
• ReviewMe
• BlogVertise
• Smorty

8. RSS Feed Ads

With the quick adoption of the RSS technology by millions of Internet users, website owners are starting to find ways to monetize this new content distribution channel.

Feedburber already has its own publisher network, and you can sign-up to start displaying CPM based advertising on your feed footer. Bidvertiser recently introduced a RSS feed ad option as well, with a PPC scheme.

Finally, some blogs are also opting to sell banners or sponsored messages on their feed directly. John Chow and Marketing Pilgrim are two examples.

Popular RSS sites:

• Feedburner – Currently Feedburner do not support this feature.
• BidVertiser
• Pheedo

9. Sponsors for Single Columns or Events

If you website has specific columns or events (e.g., a weekly podcast, an interview series, a monthly survey, a special project) you could find companies to sponsor them individually.

This method increases the monetization options for website owner, while giving advertisers the possibility to target a more specific audience and with a reduced commitment.

Mashable illustrates the case well. They have several advertising options on the site, including the possibility to sponsor specific columns and articles, including the “Daily Poll” and the “Web 2.0 Invites.”

Problogger also runs group writing projects occasionally, and before proceeding he publicly announce the project asking for sponsors.

10. Premium Content

Some websites and blogs give away part of their content for free, and charge for access to the premium content and exclusive tools.

SEOMoz is a good example. They have a very popular blog that gives advice and information on wide range of SEO related topics. On top of that visitors can decide to become premium members. It costs $48 monthly and it grants them access to guides, tools and other exclusive material.

11. Private Forums

While the Internet is populated with free forums, there is also the possibility to create a private one where members need to pay a single or recurring fee to join.

SEO Blackhat charges $100 monthly from its members, and they have thousands of them. Obviously in order to charge such a price for a forum membership you need to provide real value for the members (e.g., secret techniques, tools, and so on).

Performancing also launched a private forum recently, focused on the networking aspect. It is called The Hive, and the monthly cost is $10.

These are just two examples. There are many possibilities to create a private and profitable forum, you just need to find an appealing angle that will make it worth for the members.

List of popular forum software:

• vBulletin
• Simple Machines Forum
• phpBB
• Vanilla

12. Job Boards

All the popular blogs are trying to leverage job boards to make some extra income. Guy Kawasaki, ReadWriteWeb, Problogger… you name it.

Needless to say that in order to create an active and profitable job board you need first to have a blog focused on a specific niche, and a decent amount traffic.

The advantage of this method is that it is passive. Once you have the structure in place, the job listings will come naturally, and you can charge anywhere from $10 up to $100 for each.

List of popular job board software:

• JobThread
• Web Scribe Job Board
• SimplyHired Job-o-matic
• Jobbex

13. Marketplaces

Sitepoint is the online marketplace by excellence. Some websites and blogs, however, are trying to replicate that model on a smaller scale.

Depending on your niche, a market place that allows your visitors to buy, sell and trade products could work well. Over the time you could start charging a small fee for new product listings.

The problem with this method is that there are no standard software on the web, so you would need to hire a coder to get a marketplace integrated into your website.

You can see an example of a marketplaces being used on EasyWordpress and on Mashable.

14. Paid Surveys and Polls

There are services that will pay you money to run a small survey or poll on your website. The most popular one is called Vizu Answers.

Basically you need to sign up with them, and select the kind of polls that you want to run your site. Most of these services operate under a CPM model.

15. Selling or Renting Internal Pages

Million Dollar Wiki made this concept popular, but it was being used on the web for a long time around (check Pagerank10.co.uk for instance).

These websites sell for a single fee or rent for a recurring fee internal pages on their domain. Usually they have either high Pagerak or high traffic, so that people purchasing a page will be able to benefit in some way.

Implementing this method on a small blog would be difficult, but the concept is interesting and could be explored further.

16. Highlighted Posts from Sponsors

Techmeme probably pioneered this idea, but somehow it has not spread to other websites. The tech news aggregator displays editorial posts on the left column, and on the sidebar they have a section titled “Techmeme Sponsor Posts.”

On that section posts from the blog of the advertisers get highlighted, sending qualified traffic their way. Considering that the monthly cost for one spot is $5000 and that they have around 6 sponsors at any given time, it must be working well.

17. Donations

Placing a “Donate” link or button on a website can be an efficient way to earn money, especially if your blog is on a niche where readers learn and gain value from your content.

Personal development and productivity blogs, for instance, tend to perform well with donation based systems (one good example being Steve Pavlina).

A small variation of this method appeared sometime ago with the Buy Me a Beer plugin. This WordPress plugin enables you to insert a customized message at the bottom of each article, asking the readers to chip in for a beer or coffee.

18. In-text Adverting

In-text adverting networks like Kontera and Vibrant Media will place sponsored links inside your text. These links come with a double underline to differentiate them from normal links, and once the user rolls the mouse over the link the advertising will pop. Should the user click on it the site owner will make some money.

Some people make good money with this method, but others refrain from using it due to its intrusiveness. It is also interesting to note that very few mainstream websites have experimented with in-text advertising.

19. Pop-ups and Pop-unders

Pop-ups are a common yet annoying form of advertising on the Internet. If you are just trying to make a much money as possible from your website, you could experiment with them.

If you are trying to grow the traffic and generate loyal visitors, however, you probably should stay away from them. Just consider the hundreds of pop-up blockers out there: there is a reason why they are so popular.

Ad networks that use pop-ups:

• Tribal Fusion
• PayPopup
• PopupAd
• Adversal

20. Audio Ads

Also called PPP (Pay Per Play), this advertising method was introduce by Net Audio Ads. the concept is pretty simple: play a small audio advertising (usually 5 seconds) every time a visitor enters into your website. The user should not be able to stop it, creating a 100% conversion rate based on unique visitors.

The company is still rolling tests, but some users are reporting to get from a $4 to a $6 CPM. Regardless of the pay rate, though, this is a very intrusive form of advertising, so think twice before using it.

21. Selling the Website

Selling your website could be your last resource, but it has the potential to generate a big sum of money in a short period of time.

Market places on online forums like DigitalPoint and Sitepoint are always active with website buyers and sellers. Keep in mind that they most used parameter to determine the value of a website is the monthly revenue that it generates, multiplied by a certain number (the multiplier can be anything from 5 to 30, depending on the expectations of the seller, on the quality of the site, on the niche and other factors).

Some people also make money trading and flipping websites. They either create them from scratch or buy existing ones, and after some revamping they sell them for a profit.

Indirect Methods

22. Selling an Ebook

Perhaps one of the oldest money making strategies on the web, using a website to promote a related ebook is a very efficient way to generate revenue.

You could either structure the website around the book itself, like SEOBook.com, or launch the ebook based on the success of the website, like FreelanceSwitch did we the book How to be a Rockstar Freelancer.

23. Selling a Hardcover Book

Many authors and journalists leverage their blogs or websites to sell copies of hardcover books. Examples include Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin and Malcolm Gladwell.

While most of these people were already renowned authors before they created their website, one could also follow the other way around. Lorelle VanFossen did exactly that with her Blogging Tips book. First she built her authority on the subject via her blog, and afterwards she published the book.

List of self publishing and publishing services:

• Lulu
• Self Publishing
• iUniverse
• WordClay

24. Selling Templates or WordPress Themes

As more and more people decide to get an online presence, website templates and WordPress themes become hotter and hotter.

On this segment you have mainstream websites like TemplateMonster, as well as individual designers who decide to promote and sell their work independently.

Brian Gardner and Unique Blog Designs are two examples of websites that make money with the sales of premium and custom WordPress themes.

25. Offering Consulting and Related Services

Depending on your niche, you could make money by offering consulting and related services. If you are also the author of your blog, the articles and information that you will share will build your profile and possibly certify your expertise on that niche, making it easier to gain customers.

Chris Garrett used a similar strategy. First he created a highly influential blog on the blogging and new media niche, and afterwards he started offering consulting services to clients with related problems and needs.

26. Creating an Email List or Newsletter

Email lists and newsletters represent one of the most powerful marketing and money making tools on the Internet. They offer incredible conversion rates, and the possibility to call people to action in a very efficient way.

Creating a big list is a difficult task though, so if you have a popular website you could leverage it to increase the number of subscribers on your list.

Yaro Starak is a famous Internet marketer, and if you visit his blog you will notice that right on top he has a section encouraging visitors to subscribe to his email newsletter. Yaro generates five figures in revenues each month from his email newsletters, proving that this method works.

List of software to manage email newsletters:

• AWeber
• SendStudio NX
• PHP Autoresponder
• Constant Contact

27. Mentoring programs

People are willing to pay for someone or something that will teach them and give them knowledge (as opposed to mere information). Education is one of the biggest industries in the world, and the online landscape behaves in a similar way.

Creating a mentoring program related to the niche of your website could be very profitable if you manage to structure and promote it adequately. There is a wide range of media and tools that you can use to deliver the information, from text articles to audio and video lessons.

Brian Clark leveraged the success of Copyblogger to launch a mentoring program teaching people how to build membership and how to sell content online. The program is titled Teaching Sells, and it costs $97 monthly. Sounds expensive, but they have over 1,000 members.

28. Creating a conference around the website.

How to Monetize Your Website?

Are you running your own website or blog? Do you want to get paid for working at home? If your response was “yes” to both questions, then you may be closer to earn money lounging in your pajamas and enjoying your coffee than you might think. See, many site and blog owners attract thousands or hundreds of thousands of Internet users to their resources each months, but only few of them know how to monetize website traffic. With new services and technologies monetizing your website or blog is much easier than ever before.

See also: 28 Leading Ways To Make Money Online With Your Website

Measuring Website Traffic

The first stage of monetizing any website is measuring its traffic to determine what monetization method will work best of all. Quantcast and Google Analytics will help you to analyze and quantify your traffic. Google Analytics provides website statistics, including number of page views, bounce rate, keywords that attract visitors to your site, etc., whereas Quantcast is focused on providing demographic data based on visitor`s location.

Ads

Publishing ads on your website or blog is the most apparent way of deriving an income. Advertisements can come in the form of banner ads or text links. Google AdSense, Pay-Per-Post, are just two of the most common advertising programs available for websites and blogs.

Affiliate Programs

Participation in affiliate programs can bring you solid income. You just need to offer products or services to your readers and get paid when viewers buy them clicking on your affiliate link. There are thousands of affiliate programs in Internet, including Amazon and ClickBank, and you can choose any of them.

Display Related Content

A simple way to enhance both your monetization and provide your audience with relevant content is to join a program, which offers displaying related articles, blog posts and content for money. You’ve probably come across this type of advertising. They look natural on the site and don’t irritate the visitors unlike the ordinary advertising.

Ad Server

Ad server is an advanced technology, which allows displaying advertisements on your website or blog. What differentiates ad operations from direct ads selling is that users can easily manage their inventory and distribute the number of impressions the way they want. Having own ad server is a brilliant idea. Let’s know why:

• better control over advertisements appearing on your site Ad servers allow users to specify tags related to their site
• enhanced accountability over advertisements as the software, which tracks their performance, is on your website.

How to Optimize Twitter SEO for Your Business

It is undeniable that Twitter is one of popular social media websites. It offers fast information through 140 characters. Many companies start to pay attention to the use of Twitter for their business. They even create account for their company and share information about the company itself, the products, services and other related stuff.

See also: 10 Twitter Tips for Businesses

You can use Twitter to promote your business. It allows you to post something short but has sharp information to keep in touch with your customer or gain new potential customers. Twitter is perfect place to keep your business heard by massive users on it. Even if you are new or a seasoned pro to Twitter, here we have simple ways to optimize your company’s Twitter profile through some simple SEO campaign. Fancy to know?  Here is how to optimize your Twitter and get better rank in Google’s eyes as well as promote your business.

Your account name and user name should reflect your business

One of the first things you will have to do when signing up for a Twitter account is to choose your account name and user name. While your account name will show up in your URL, your user name can be seen on your Twitter profile page. Even from here, you will have to consider how your choices will affect your SEO efforts. Choose an account name and user name that are relevant to your business. If you have a brand name, it is best to use that. Although your account name and user name do not necessarily have to be the same, it will be good if you can use the same name for both.

Optimize your bio

The Bio part in your Twitter page is where you will put the description or details about your business. Basically, it is your ‘about us’ page in Twitter. Unfortunately, you are limited to using only 160 characters so make sure that you use relevant keywords especially since this portion is indexed.

Write only quality Tweets

With limited characters available to you per tweet, it is important to consider what kind information you want to share, include all the details. Keep your tweet short and contain sharp information about your business, products or even just share piece of information that relate to your business. This action will give something valuable to your followers and customers. Keep in mind that quantity of tweets is not important as share a quality tweet.

Tweets are a form of linking, and linking can still affect your SEO campaign. While your account might be new and you manage to get a link from a site that has authority on Google, this will start to see an increase in your Twitter Profile’s popularity. If more people start to re-tweet your updates, this will help your site be seen as an authority on a topic, and help to build authority around your site and potentially increase its rankings in Google’s eyes.

Updated your Twitter account frequently

People like something fresh and new on a website. If your company account barely updates the status, potential customers will assume that you are out of business now or you stop the production and they will stop following and even unfollow your Twitter account. To avoid this situation, make sure you update your account frequently; with interesting information to make sure they keep visiting your account because they are curious about what information will you share next through the account.

Re-tweet someone else’s tweet

You can always find a certain information that relate to your business, maybe article from popular newspaper, quote from popular businessman or just tweets relate to your business written by other Twitter users. You can simply re-tweet it again as the opportunity to gain better ranking when it comes to Google search as well as build brand awareness. When your followers have interaction to your account do not forget to reply it and create warm interaction with them. This will keep the intention to your business and company well-maintained and of course attract the customers as well as new potential customers.

Market your Twitter page

This means promoting your Twitter page to other Twitter users. At the start, a lot of users will not have any idea that your Twitter account exists so promote it by putting up a Twitter button on your website if you have one, asking your customers to follow you, informing your customers through email, asking your followers in your other social media networks to follow you on Twitter as well.

Give the Twitterverse New Content

Just because you are on Twitter and you have a website does not mean you are guaranteed better search engine placement. Your best bet is to update your website frequently and tell Twitter about it. Every time you add a page or write a blog entry, be sure to tweet the URL of the new content. Tweeting the URL of your new content will help drive new traffic to your website, increase exposure, build a better online presence, and encourage search engines to crawl your site. If the content is really good, you may even get a few powerful retweets! In other words, Twitter can help spread the word of any website updates much quicker and to a much larger audience.

Getting to Know Google – An Infographic

Google, the mighty search engine which had a modest beginning to its life starting from rented garage of a home and having offices across 150+ countries around the globe within a span of 15 years.

Here is an infographic from DPFOC, team of Canada. They are trying to get a look around how it all happened through this infographic which is a Google+ timeline flashback. This infographic shows the growth of this company and the driving forces behind it since beginning till date.

Embed This Infographic On Your Site (copy code below):
<div style="clear: both;"><a href="http://www.milanaryal.com/2014/03/getting-to-know-google-infographic.html"><img src="http://googledrive.com/host/0B6ktZzNhkH6JMmd2a29fMGoxRWc/getting-to-know-google-infographic.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" alt="" /></a></div>Via: <a href="http://www.milanaryal.com/">Milan Aryal</a>

The Most Famous Garage Start-Ups in History: An Infographic

Are you a young entrepreneur who wants to start a new business own your own? If you are frustrated by how much time it will take to successfully, hold on and just don’t give up your dreams because all the big and famous companies always start from a small business. There are lots of popular and big companies that started as a small idea in a garage. Many entrepreneurs started a business in a small place which soon became one of the highest grossing manufacturers and retailers in the market. To better understand how to build a world famous company you need to know how other entrepreneurs have created their company.

Here is an infographic from Swan Garage Doors team of Australia’s offer garage door repairs to Perth. Here they’ve listed the Top Famous Companies Started in Garage to inspiring you.

Embed This Infographic On Your Site (copy code below):
<div style="clear: both;"><a href="http://www.milanaryal.com/2014/03/famous-garage-startups-history-infographic.html"><img src="http://googledrive.com/host/0B6ktZzNhkH6JMmd2a29fMGoxRWc/famous-garage-startups-history-infographic.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" alt="" /></a></div>Via: <a href="http://www.milanaryal.com/">Milan Aryal</a>

How to Stay Safe When Banking Digitally [INFOGRAPHIC]

Over 26.8 million people now manage their money digitally, with more and more of us using computers and smart devices to look after our finances.

Take a look at this infographic from the Gocompare.com team and find out the most common scams and threats around today, and see tips on how to stay safe when managing your money online and on your smart device.

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How to Rob Banks in the 21st Century? [INFOGRAPHIC]

F-Secure explores how banking trojans are the modern bank robbers, and what it takes for them to hack your cash.

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The Best Small Business Apps You Need to Know About: An Infographic

In today’s ever–evolving technological world, more and more small business owners are adopting the exceptional management tools and applications to run their business from their fingertips. If you are starting up your business, it’s no surprise that choosing from thousands of apps can be an overwhelming task.

Take a look at this infographic from the IrishApps.org team of Ireland’s Smartphone Mobile App Development Company. Here they’ve profile some of the best small business apps that you really need to know about if you want to get ahead in your business. From the best business app for tracking brainstorming sessions, to the best business app for customer service. They’ve look at the best business app to help with cash flow, to the best that will track your courier packages.

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Tech Takeovers

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

NEW YORK: Facebook’s purchase of messaging service WhatsApp for up to USD 19 billion in cash and stock is one of the largest acquisitions ever in the technology sector.

Here are some other notable deals involving US tech companies, in order of dollar amount from largest to smallest:

Hewlett–Packard buys Compaq — September 2001

US technology giant Hewlett–Packard buys Compaq Computer for USD 25 billion in a bid to compete with IBM.

Google buys Motorola Mobility — August 2011

Internet search giant Google buys the hand–set business of Motorola for USD 12.5 billion in a bid to challenge Apple in the smartphone market. Less than three years later, Google sold Motorola to China’s Lenovo for USD 2.91 billion.

Hewlett–Packard buys Autonomy — August 2011

US technology giant Hewlett–Packard buys British enterprise software company Autonomy for USD 10.24 billion. US authorities later open an investigation amid HP accusations that Autonomy had engaged in ‘accounting improprieties’.

Microsoft buys Skype — May 2011

Microsoft buys internet voice and video leader Skype for USD 8.5 billion, the largest acquisition ever by the US software giant.

Oracle buys Sun — April 2009

US business software giant Oracle buys struggling Sun Microsystems and its Java programming language for USD 7.4 billion.

Microsoft buys Nokia — September 2013

Microsoft buys the hand–set business of former market leader Nokia for USD 7.2 billion in an effort to catch up to rivals Apple and Google in the smartphone market.

Google buys YouTube — October 2006

Internet search giant Google buys online video platform YouTube in October 2006 from its founders, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, for USD 1.65 billion.

eBay buys PayPal — June 2002

Online auction house eBay buys online payments firm PayPal for USD 1.5 billion.

Yahoo buys Tumblr — May 2013

Former Google executive Marissa Mayer makes her biggest purchase since taking over as CEO of Yahoo, buying the popular blogging platform Tumblr for USD 1.1 billion.

Facebook buys Instagram — April 2012

Facebook offers USD one billion for hot smartphone photo–sharing service Instagram. The purchase of Instagram was Facebookk’s largest until the WhatsApp deal.

Social Media in a Nutshell [INFOGRAPHIC]

Social media is not just about keeping in touch with friends or posting photos of your lunch, it’s business — big business.

However, having a profile on every social media platform can become time consuming. So which one is best for you to invest your time in? Well, this arguably depends on what type of business you have.

LinkedIn positions itself as the largest professional network — it’s a serious place to hang out!

Pinterest seems to appeal to the designers, photographers and those looking to get their creative juices flowing.

Twitter will tell you that it’s easy to build an audience and following, and Facebook will probably say they’ve got the most users.

The above points are my personal experiences of each service — however to dismiss one as not relevant for your business could be costly, customers can be recruited on each and every platform with the correct strategy.

We are sure that you probably already know this and are already tweeting and posting away, but what you might not have in place yet is a text messaging service. Our experience is that the good old text message can complement a social media strategy very effectively — for example, what’s the best way to promote your new mobile app? You could consider sending a text message, with a link to download it so your audience can install it there and then.

The figures for mobile they are still staggering, according to the guys at Super Monitoring, 91% of the world’s population has a mobile phone and Ofcom research states that in the UK just over 150 billion texts were sent in 2011 alone. When you consider that 98% of all text messages are read (Frost & Sullivan), it’s no surprise that SMS is an incredibly powerful communication channel.

Also consider that only 22% of emails get read (Frost & Sullivan) and 84% of all email is spam (The Radicati Group). Text messaging produces 6 to 8 times higher engagement rates than email (Cellit).

So, embrace Social Media — it’s good to share. But do also keep in mind that mobile marketing can deliver a huge and immediate boost and return on promotions.

Image: Text Marketer

Dealing with Overwhelming Workload

If it seems like you’re always stretched too thin and never have enough time to complete your work before three new projects are handed down to you — always with the instructions that they’re high–priority — you probably need to talk with your manager about your workload. Here are five steps for talking to your manager when your workload is overwhelming.

Your manager doesn’t know your workload

You’re the person paying the most attention to your workload, not your manager — and s/he may assume that since you’re not speaking up, there isn’t a problem. So let him/her know about it.

Talk to your manager

Pick a time when your manager is’t rushed and ask to talk about your workload. Explain that it has become unmanageable and why (for instance, that you’ve taken on the responsibilities of someone who left without anything being removed from your plate, or that a particular account has doubled in size in the last year.)

Suggest options

You’re most likely to get the help that you need if you come prepared to talk about options. For instance, you might say, “I can do A and B, but not C. Or if C is really important, I’d want to move A off my plate to make room for it. Alternately, I can act as an adviser to Jane on C, but I can’t do the work of C myself if I’m also doing A and B.”

Making the best choice

If your manager resists making these kinds of trade–offs, you need to keep pushing the issue. If your manager won’t help you prioritise, then come up with your own proposal for what you will and won’t prioritise and ask him/her to tweak it or OK it

Enforce boundaries

To take on something new when your plate is already full, you need to either get rid of something else or at least push it back. So if a new project comes your way, go to your manager and ask about trade–offs.

Courtesy of: AOL Jobs

The Psychology of Entrepreneurship

Being an entrepreneur can feel like a rollercoaster ride. One with steep highs and lows, moments of intense adrenaline, exposure, and occasionally the sense that you have somehow arrived back where you started.

If your experience of being an entrepreneur includes moments of vulnerability, doubt, guilt, fear, and anxiety, the good news is — you are doing it right. It should feel like this. Why? Because many of the challenges that entrepreneurs face tap into some of the core psychological challenges that we all face.

Take identity, a person in employment is given a job specification, a piece of paper that says: “This is who we would like you to be.” In contrast, the entrepreneur gets a blank piece of paper. They need to operate without boundaries, guidance, or feedback on progress. They need to choose and create their business and themselves as business owners. That kind of choice comes with inevitable doubt, responsibility, guilt, and a strong desire for someone to reassure you that you are “Doing the right thing”.

These are challenges that all of us face in life. We can choose to create ourselves by making conscious choices about the kind of person we want to be. Or we can avoid the discomfort of making those kinds of choices by letting someone else tell us who we are. Identity is just part of the story; there is also vulnerability, risk, passion, failure — all human challenges and all part of the process of being an entrepreneur.

The ride that the entrepreneur is on feels intense because it is harder to avoid these human challenges when you choose to set up your own business. How can entrepreneurs survive the ride? The difference between someone who loves rollercoasters and someone who hates rollercoasters is their relationship with the experience. The very thing that one person doesn’t enjoy — a lack of control, the speed, the height, the disorientation — is exactly what the other person loves. It is the reason they queued up to go on the ride in the first place. — The Guardian

Are We Being ‘Stupid’ Too?

A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he sees a dog coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again. So, he goes over to the dog and notices he has a note in his mouth. He takes the note and it reads, “Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has money in his mouth, as well.”

The butcher looks inside and, Io and behold, there is a $10 note there. So he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog’s mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since it’s about closing time, he decides to shut up shop and follow the dog.

So off he goes. The dog is walking down the street when he comes to a crossing. The dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button. Then he waits bag in mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and he walks across the road, with the butcher following him. The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable.

The butcher is in awe at this stage. The dog checks out the times, and then sits on one of the seats provided. Along comes a bus. The dog walks around to the front, looks at the number, and goes back to his seat.

Another bus comes. Again the dog goes and looks at the number, notices it’s the right bus, and climbs on. The butcher follows him onto the bus.

The bus travels through the town and out into the suburbs. Eventually the dog gets up, and moves to the front of the bus. He stands on two back paws and pushes the button to stop the bus. Then he gets off, his groceries still in his mouth.

Well, dog and butcher are walking along the road, and then the dog turns into a house. He walks up the path, and drops the groceries on the step.

Then he walks back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself against the door. He goes back down the path, runs up to the door and again, it throws himself against it. There’s no answer at the house, so the dog goes back down the path, jumps up on a narrow wall, and walks along the perimeter of the garden. He gets to the window, and beats his head against it several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door.

The butcher watches as a big man opens the door, and starts abusing the dog, kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him. The butcher runs up, and stops the man.

“What in heaven’s name are you doing? The dog is a genius. He could be on TV, for the life of me!” to which the man responds, “You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog has forgotten his key.”

Reflection: Looks like some people will never be satisfied with what they’ve got. When it comes to the workplace, employers do not kow to appreciate people who have served them loyally through the years. I’ve seen companies lose good people for the simple fact their leaders failed to show appreciation.

Employers with big egos enjoy the fact that they have more power and authority than others. They show, in the way they give orders and directions, that they think they are superior. They get a kick out of displaying this superiority. People who do this are fools. They are never satisfied because they could not be saisfied even if their people perform well. They don’t listen to the opinion and ideas of their subordinates. Why? Because of their stupid pride and insecurity!

Such will never be satisfied. Why? Because they are so busy wrapped up in themselves and, fact is, the self can never be satisfied. Happy and productive people are always those who are “others-centered” rather than “self-centered.” The greatest idea of leadership is not someone who throws his weight around. His joy is derived from delivering a job others benefit from his contribution. Aim for service and success will follow.

How to Break Bad News to Your Team

Delivering news about organisational change and redundancies is never easy. But how the process is managed can have a long-lasting impact on individuals and the organisation as a whole.

So, if you have got to break the news to the staff, it is vital you communicate well. Here are some tips on how best to talk to your team, sustain performance and keep staff motivated.

1. Develop a clear communication strategy: Have a clear and consistent message based on the business rationale for change. In a difficult situation, you might feel under pressure to move away from the corporate line to sound less formal, but it is crucial to stick to the leadership message.

2. Keep it simple: People need clarity and understanding about what the current situation is, how it affects them and what the next steps are. Be concise and stick to the facts.

3. Prepare and practice: If you are giving a speech to your staff, prepare a script and practice delivering it. Take time to become confident and comfortable with the words.

4. Listen: Delivering bad news can be stressful. When they are trying to stay in control, people often speak too much and do not listen enough. This is usually due to nerves, so practicing what you want to say can really help here.

5. Timing is critical: Let the people who are being made redundant know before the rest of the world. Make sure your internal and external communications are joined up.

6. Be compassionate: Some people think they cannot be compassionate because they have to remain professional. But telling somebody that they are about to lose their job always demands compassion. — The Guardian

7 Tips for Becoming an Entrepreneur in College

Looking to start your own business? Have a dream or vision you want to pursue? Do not wait until after graduation to put your plans in motion. These tips will help guide you on your way to becoming a student entrepreneur.

1. Find something you are passionate about

Sit down for 20 minutes and brainstrom a list of everything you like to do. It can be silly, ridiculous and only half-interesting, but work on developing a comprehensive list of anything that brings you joy or happiness. Consolidate your list into a top few passions and figure out if there is anything you would want to pursue full time.

2. Brainstorm ideas for your start-up

Think about how you can incorporate your interests. Most innovative companies and successful start-ups differentiate themselves from the market with a special niche-combining interests is a great way to create specialisation. Make sure your idea is not too narrow, though. Then, consider the market. Is there room for your business? How are current companies within the same industry structured? How can you stand out?

3. Look for funding

Look into community-oriented sites, which allows visionaries to crowd fund money for their project or idea. One drawback is that for this particular site, it’s an all-or-nothing contribution — you either meet your funding goal entirely or lose out on the money people have pledged. But there are other sites that offer other options, of course.

Explore a local angel investor network. Most universities have connections to these types of resources and information can most likely be found on a university’s office of corporate relations site.

4. Check out university incubators

Often hosted through the university’s business school, student business incubators have many advantages. First, they offer free or cheap space to launch a business idea. Second, they usually have business experts available to work with you to develop a business plan. Third, it fosters a collaborative environment and allows you to work with other student entrepreneurs, often on your own campus.

5. Utilise local mentorship organisations

Many college towns have established professional start-up communities that house mentorship programs. These organisations exist simply to pair emerging entrepreneurs with recognised and respected mentors. This is a key step in ensuring longevity for your busienss that many student entrepreneurs overlook. Having a mentor is essential to a successful business launch and often can be the start of a lifelong friendship.

6. Promote your company

Be active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest and other social networking sites. Do not forget to start your own website, too. WordPress is a popular, inexpensive choice. Decide how you are going to advertise your company and put together a solid marketing plan. An overarching public relations strategy should include your marketing plan and your social media strategy. Also consider blogging, press releases and other media outreach to promote your brand and business.

7. Stay informed about the start-up community

Make sure you are reading industry news. Bookmark sites such as Entrepreneur Inc, Business Insider, TechCrunch and Technori. If you want your business to keep growing, make sure your mind is too. Challenge yourself to keep learning and consider taking a free courses.

Lastly, do not forget to keep networking. Attending business events to socialise and spread your message. Also, through industry conferences, local meet-ups and start-up groups, you can stay inspired to keep creating and dreaming, which, after all, is the core of a thriving start-up. — USA Today