UNI TECH BLOG I

I was speaking with a friend the other night about his great grandfather. His great grandfather was born in 1875. He lived until 1965. Can you imagine the technology that this man saw come online? Let me name a few: the typewriter, the electric dental drill, the telephone, the phonograph, the incandescent light bulb, the hearing aid, the electric fan, the dishwasher, the escalator, the airplane, the Model T automobile, the air conditioner, the defibrillator, the atomic bomb, the electric guitar, the nuclear submarine, nylon, the polio vaccine, and the laser. He died right when the first minicomputer was coming to fruition. All of that in the span of his lifetime. Which leads me to the topic of this article. Technology has completely changed the way we live. And technological advances have accelerated at unbelievable speeds. Technology is converging in ways no one could have foreseen. I want to highlight some of the most interesting technologies out there. These are technologies that will change the world, for good and bad.

Nano Technology

Probably the most interesting and frightening of the emerging technologies is nano technology. Nano technology is a cross disciplinary field that deals with building and synthesizing materials at scales of 100nm or less. Nano technology usually works in one of two ways. It either pulls smaller parts together to build or it breaks bigger parts down. The parts are then used to form smaller, new materials. But why is nano technology so important?

Nano technology is important because it will have massive effects across every area of life. As I write this, researchers are working on a nano particle to target cancer cells in lungs. In 2004, Rice University tested gold nano particle cancer treatment. In this treatment, these 150 nanometer gold particles were injected into the blood stream of cancerous mice. Gold particles at this size pass into tumors, but not healthy tissue. The researchers then passed infrared through the mice. The tumorous cells absorbed the infrared, heated up, and were destroyed. They are also working on quantum dots that allow doctors to easily identify multiple diseases quickly and accurately. But the uses don’t stop there. Nanotechnology will drive down the scale of electronics. This will lead incredibly small devices. The applications are limitless. And you can bet that the military will be clamoring for nano technology. The military is looking to have numerous nanotechnologies online by the year 2015. Such advances include performance enhancing nanotechnology that aids bodily functions. These will include response times, oxygen use, and heightened senses. But nanotechnology can also be used for reconnaissance and combat. Nanobots could scout areas without being seen. They could also enter into enemies for espionage. They could kill targets from within the host’s body. The possibilities are frightening.

Alternative Energy & Fuels

When gas prices skyrocketed this past year, many people suddenly took an interest in alternative energy and fuels. And because demand rose, companies suddenly found themselves forced to take interest. Most of the common arguments for alternative energy and fuels center around issues of pollution, cost, dependence, and jobs.

What most people don’t realize is that alternative energy and fuels always have environmental effects. This can be in the form of heat generation, air pollutants, waste by-products, land usage, extraction, etc. Instead, we have to talk about pros and cons around each type of energy and fuel. There is no silver bullet. Costs, dependence, and jobs also vary depending on the energy type.

There are a host of alternative energies being tested. Wind powered energy plants are already in place in many parts of the world. Solar energy production has taken huge steps forward with the help of nano technology. One such company is Nanosolar. Nanosolar is producing solar cells that are 100 times thinner than conventional cells. Not only are the cells cheaper to produce, but they also convert the solar energy much more efficiently. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) uses the temperature differences in the ocean layers to produce energy. And OTEC can utilize this colder water (36 degree F cooler) in other things like on shore agriculture and refrigeration. And the list goes on.

Massive interest was generated in alternative fuels this past year when gas prices hit record levels. New developments in battery technology could help. One such development is Millennium Cell’s hydrogen battery technology. This technology differs greatly from traditional rechargeable batteries in that it’s instantly rechargeable. It also has a much great efficiency for energy conversion, so it is much smaller and lighter. There is also greater reuse efficiency since you don’t need to replace the entire battery. You only need to replace the energy module. Developments are continuing in biodiesel, electric, hydrogen, methanol, etc. I think there could be some serious future synergy between nano technology and alternative energy.

“Bionetics”

This is my name for the incorporation of technology into the body. The dermal display is a great indication of things to come. Though I have yet to find a working demo version of this concept, I have no doubt that it will become a reality. The display would be driven by millions of nanobots. These nanobots would display light when touched. This would print a display onto your hand, or wherever the nanobot display would be housed. And this is where it gets really interesting. The display nanobots would be connected to millions of other fixed and mobile nanobots throughout the patient’s body. This would give instant readings on hundreds of vital statistics. Again, nanotechnology plays a strong role here.

The bionics revolution is already underway. There have been four major cases of robotic limbs recently, the latest being a woman. The robotic limbs take advantage of the functional nerve endings in the limb stump. These nerve endings are used to actuate the robotic limb and to provide feedback to the brain. More money is being poured into robotic limbs every year.

“Functional bionetics” are implants that enhance our lives. And you may be surprised to know that people are actively doing this as I write. People are inserting tiny electronics in their bodies that will unlock their front doors and their cars. The same technology is being used to unlock computers. But it doesn’t stop there. There is talk of implanting devices that will carry health information. You could be carted into a hospital totally unconscious and they would be able to access all of your past medical history. Most of this is done through RFID technology.

“Bionetic networks” will be networks of connected bionetic devices. This would allow people to share sensation, feelings, and communication. If this sounds completely fictional, I invite you to consider the work of Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England. He has implanted an extra-sensory device that interfaces with one put in his wife. They were implanted in their arms. The first experiments are aimed at exchanging sensory inputs, like pain. The hope is to extend that to other, more complicated neurological processes like thoughts and emotion. Obviously, that would drastically change relationships and indeed the world. Forget about your teens text messaging, maybe they will be brain linking in the future. Now that’s really scary!

What will we be able to say came online in our lifetimes? I’m sure we could already list a lot of important technologies. But keep your eyes out for these emerging technologies. They are set to change the rules of our world. These technologies will upset economies, change military tactics, empower people, and be used to control others. Keep an eye on them.

Paul McGillivary has been a technologist for 15 years. In that time, Paul has experienced thousands of technology problems, challenges, and products. He brings this experience to bear in the articles that he presents.

For more great emerging technology information, visit us at Emerging Technology [http://www.gopaultech.com/category/emerging-technology].

Author: Paul McGillivary
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Each of us has been faced with the problem of searching for information more than once. Irregardless of the data source we are using (Internet, file system on our hard drive, data base or a global information system of a big company) the problems can be multiple and include the physical volume of the data base searched, the information being unstructured, different file types and also the complexity of accurately wording the search query. We have already reached the stage when the amount of data on one single PC is comparable to the amount of text data stored in a proper library. And as to the unstructured data flows, in future they are only going to increase, and at a very rapid tempo. If for an average user this might be just a minor misfortune, for a big company absence of control over information can mean significant problems. So the necessity to create search systems and technologies simplifying and accelerating access to the necessary information, originated long ago. Such systems are numerous and moreover not every one of them is based on a unique technology. And the task of choosing the right one depends directly on the specific tasks to be solved in the future. While the demand for the perfect data searching and processing tools is steadily growing let’s consider the state of affairs with the supply side.

Not going deeply into the various peculiarities of the technology, all the searching programs and systems can be divided into three groups. These are: global Internet systems, turnkey business solutions (corporate data searching and processing technologies) and simple phrasal or file search on a local computer. Different directions presumably mean different solutions.

Local search

Everything is clear about search on a local PC. It’s not remarkable for any particular functionality features accept for the choice of file type (media, text etc.) and the search destination. Just enter the name of the searched file (or part of text, for example in the Word format) and that’s it. The speed and result depend fully on the text entered into the query line. There is zero intellectuality in this: simply looking through the available files to define their relevance. This is in its sense explicable: what’s the use of creating a sophisticated system for such uncomplicated needs.

Global search technologies

Matters stand totally different with the search systems operating in the global network. One can’t rely simply on looking through the available data. Huge volume (Yandex for instance can boast the indexing capacity of more than 11 terabyte of data) of the global chaos of unstructured information will make the simple search not only ineffective but also long and labor-consuming. That’s why lately the focus has shifted towards optimizing and improving quality characteristics of search. But the scheme is still very simple (except for the secret innovations of every separate system) – the phrasal search through the indexed data base with proper consideration for morphology and synonyms. Undoubtedly, such an approach works but doesn’t solve the problem completely. Reading dozens of various articles dedicated to improving search with the help of Google or Yandex, one can drive at the conclusion that without knowing the hidden opportunities of these systems finding a relevant document by the query is a matter of more than a minute, and sometimes more than an hour. The problem is that such a realization of search is very dependent on the query word or phrase, entered by the user. The more indistinct the query the worse is the search. This has become an axiom, or dogma, whichever you prefer.

Of course, intelligently using the key functions of the search systems and properly defining the phrase by which the documents and sites are searched, it is possible to get acceptable results. But this would be the result of painstaking mental work and time wasted on looking through irrelevant information with a hope to at least find some clues on how to upgrade the search query. In general, the scheme is the following: enter the phrase, look through several results, making sure that the query was not the right one, enter a new phrase and the stages are repeated till the relevancy of results achieves the highest possible level. But even in that case the chances to find the right document are still few. No average user will voluntary go for the sophistication of “advanced search” (although it is equipped with a number of very useful functions such as the choice of language, file format etc.). The best would be to simply insert the word or phrase and get a ready answer, without particular concern for the means of getting it. Let the horse think – it has a big head. Maybe this is not exactly up to the point, but one of the Google search functions is called “I am feeling lucky!” characterizes very well the existent searching technologies. Nevertheless, the technology works, not ideally and not always justifying the hopes, but if you allow for the complexity of searching through the chaos of Internet data volume, it could be acceptable.

Corporate systems

The third on the list are the turnkey solutions based on the searching technologies. They are meant for serious companies and corporations, possessing really large data bases and staffed with all sorts of information systems and documents. In principle, the technologies themselves can also be used for home needs. For example, a programmer working remotely from the office will make good use of the search to access randomly located on his hard drive program source codes. But these are particulars. The main application of the technology is still solving the problem of quickly and accurately searching through large data volumes and working with various information sources. Such systems usually operate by a very simple scheme (although there are undoubtedly numerous unique methods of indexing and processing queries underneath the surface): phrasal search, with proper consideration for all the stem forms, synonyms etc. which once again leads us to the problem of human resource. When using such technology the user should first word the query phrases which are going to be the search criteria and presumably met in the necessary documents to be retrieved. But there is no guarantee that the user will be able to independently choose or remember the correct phrase and furthermore, that the search by this phrase will be satisfactory.

One more key moment is the speed of processing a query. Of course, when using the whole document instead of a couple of words, the accuracy of search increases manifold. But up to date, such an opportunity has not been used because of the high capacity drain of such a process. The point is that search by words or phrases will not provide us with a highly relevant similarity of results. And the search by phrase equal in its length the whole document consumes much time and computer resources. Here is an example: while processing the query by one word there is no considerable difference in speed: whether it’s 0,1 or 0,001 second is not of crucial importance to the user. But when you take an average size document which contains about 2000 unique words, then the search with consideration for morphology (stem forms) and thesaurus (synonyms), as well as generating a relevant list of results in case of search by key words will take several dozens of minutes (which is unacceptable for a user).

The interim summary

As we can see, currently existing systems and search technologies, although properly functioning, don’t solve the problem of search completely. Where speed is acceptable the relevancy leaves more to be desired. If the search is accurate and adequate, it consumes lots of time and resources. It is of course possible to solve the problem by a very obvious manner – by increasing the computer capacity. But equipping the office with dozens of ultra-fast computers which will continuously process phrasal queries consisting of thousands of unique words, struggling through gigabytes of incoming correspondence, technical literature, final reports and other information is more than irrational and disadvantageous. There is a better way.

The unique similar content search

At present many companies are intensively working on developing full text search. The calculation speeds allow creating technologies that enable queries in different exponents and wide array of supplementary conditions. The experience in creating phrasal search provides these companies with an expertise to further develop and perfect the search technology. In particular, one of the most popular searches is the Google, and namely one of its functions called the “similar pages”. Using this function enables the user to view the pages of maximum similarity in their content to the sample one. Functioning in principle, this function does not yet allow getting relevant results – they are mostly vague and of low relevancy and furthermore, sometimes utilizing this function shows complete absence of similar pages as a result. Most probably, this is the result of the chaotic and unstructured nature of information in the Internet. But once the precedent has been created, the advent of the perfect search without a hitch is just a matter of time.

What concerns the corporate data processing and knowledge retrieval systems, here the matters stand much worse. The functioning (not existing on paper) technologies are very few. And no giant or the so called search technology guru has so far succeeded in creating a real similar content search. Maybe, the reason is that it’s not desperately needed, maybe – too hard to implement. But there is a functioning one though.

SoftInform Search Technology, developed by SoftInform, is the technology of searching for documents similar in their content to the sample. It enables fast and accurate search for documents of similar content in any volume of data. The technology is based on the mathematical model of analyzing the document structure and selecting the words, word combinations and text arrays, which results in forming a list of documents of maximum similarity the sample text abstract with the relevancy percent defined. In contrast to the standard phrasal search by the similar content search there is no need to determine the key words beforehand – the search is conducted through the whole document. The technology works with several sources of information that can be stored both in text files of txt, doc, rtf, pdf, htm, html formats, and the information systems of the most popular data bases (Access, MS SQL, Oracle, as well as any SQL-supporting data bases). It also additionally supports the synonyms and important words functions that enable to carry out a more specific search.

The similar search technology enables to significantly cut time wasted on searching and reviewing the same or very similar documents, diminish the processing time at the stage of entering data into the archive by avoiding the duplicate documents and forming sets of data by a certain subject. Another advantage of the SoftInform technology is that it’s not so sensitive to the computer capacity and allows processing data at a very high speed even on ordinary office computers.

This technology is not just a theoretic development. It has been tested and successfully implemented in a project of giving legal advice via phone, where the speed of information retrieval is of crucial importance. And it will undoubtedly be more than useful in any knowledge base, analytical service and support department of any large firm. Universality and effectiveness of the SoftInform Search Technology allows solving a wide spectrum of problems, arising while processing information. These include the fuzziness of information (at the document entering stage it is possible to immediately define whether such a document already belongs to the data base or not) and the similarity analysis of the documents which are already entered into the data base, and the search for semantically similar documents which saves time spent on selecting the appropriate key words and viewing the irrelevant documents.

Perspectives

Besides its primary assignment (fast and high quality search for information in huge volume such as texts, archives, data bases) an Internet direction could also be defined. For example, it is possible to work out an expert system to process incoming correspondence and news which will become an important tool for analysts from different companies. Mainly, this will be possible due to the unique similar content search technology, absent from any of the existent systems so far except for the SearchInform. The problem of spamming search engines with the so called doorways (hidden pages with key words redirecting to the site’s main pages and used to increase the page rating with the search engines) and the e-mail spam problem (a more intellectual analysis would ensure higher level of security) would also be solved with the help of this technology. But the most interesting perspective of the SoftInform Search technology is creating a new Internet search engine, the main competitive advantage of which would be ability to search not just by key words, but also for similar web pages, which will add to the flexibility of search making it more comfortable and efficient.

To draw a conclusion, it could be stated with confidence that the future belongs to the full text search technologies, both in the Internet and the corporate search systems. Unlimited development potential, adequacy of the results and processing speed of any size of query make this technology much more comfortable and in high demand. SoftInform Search technology might not be the pioneer, but it’s a functioning, stable and unique one with no existent analogues (which can be proved by the active Eurasian patent). To my mind, even with the help of the “similar search” it will be difficult to find a similar technology.

About The Author
Max Maglias
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[Web-site] http://www.searchinform.com

Author: Max Maglias
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Information technology training for IT managers and systems analysts may seem superfluous – these folks are usually well-learned in their areas of expertise. But, do they understand how a company’s technology fits into the bigger picture from a business perspective? That’s where management training becomes important. Every manager who plays a role in researching, selecting or implementing enterprise technology needs to have a firm grasp on the basics of emerging technologies, as well as how they serve a larger business purpose, to ensure that technology is being used to the company’s best strategic advantage.

Stay Current on Revolutionary, Emerging Technology Applications

A program of continual information technology training is crucial to the success of any IT team. Technology is constantly evolving, and it seems that there is a new application released every day that is meant to simplify doing business. This can be overwhelming if you do not stay current on the high-level trends of technology and their corresponding impact on business. With the Web 2.0 revolution in full swing, management training is a useful tool for managers to become familiar with the online trends such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and RSS feeds, as well as how the trends are going to change the ways we view the Internet and communicate with each other. It is estimated that these technologies will have significant business impact in the coming years, and companies everywhere have to consider directly how it affects their business strategies.

Information technology training can help managers determine the impact of new technologies and how to adapt their business processes. Trying to envision how Web 2.0 changes traditional business models is difficult when you have no knowledge of how these new technical applications are being used from a business perspective. First and foremost, managers must take it upon themselves to become proactive by keeping abreast of emerging trends and understanding them not only from a technical standpoint, but evaluating them from a higher-level, strategic standpoint. Management training courses on technology focus specifically on the ways that emerging technologies affect businesses on a high level. This is the type of knowledge needed to make conscious and informed decisions on what aspects of new technologies will affect your organization in the next few years and transition your thoughts into strategic action and implementation.

Collaboration and information sharing, within and outside of enterprises, are two areas that have made huge strides that management training can help your organization harness to improve business strategies. The advent of user-created content sharing has transformed the way that enterprises communicate. Enterprise-class blogs and wikis boost productivity and innovation by enabling ad hoc teams to participate in complex, collaborative problem solving, and then make the results available to the rest of the organization with ease. Information technology training gives managers the high-level information about these technologies that they need to bring them effectively into your organization.

Large companies will often struggle the most with adopting new business strategies based on emerging technologies due to organizational inertia and the lag that comes from changing any integrated system. Not only do the right people need to be convinced of the value of a new application, but the proper infrastructure often needs to be developed or tweaked to implement the technology. This is where the importance of management information technology training to understand the potential impact of technology from a business perspective comes into play.

Management Training for Appropriate Technology Selection and Recommendation

Management training courses typically deal with logistics and personnel management but fail to guide managers when it comes to making decisions about technology. As a manager in today’s world, what really matters isn’t just your ability to lead and maintain technology infrastructure – it’s your ability to deliver positive business outcomes. Cutting IT costs and managing infrastructure are only part of the equation. Technology must also reduce business risk and generate new opportunities and growth. Information technology training can help managers transition their views of technology as an isolated island off the coast of a business and look at it as one working part of the whole machine that is the organization.

Finding a cool application that has all the shiny bells and whistles you dreamed of and recommending implementation based on the technology’s sheer innovation is no longer enough to make a good business case. Before presenting a recommendation, you must understand every step involved with the successful implementation of the technology. A thorough study will need to be conducted to determine what departments, processes and functions will need to be modified in order to benefit from the new technology. Management training courses focusing on information technology gives managers the tools they need to make that determination.

If you are going to make an impact on the decision makers of a business, you have to get on their level. When it comes down to making a decision, for many business people it is all about the numbers. That is why it is essential to participate in information technology training courses that help you perform your due diligence and gather the data you need to compile hard numbers around your recommendation. What is the true return on investment that the company can expect to achieve by implementing the technology? It is much easier to convince an associate of the merits of your idea if you can show a real increase in profit based on proven research instead of attempting to sway them based on opinion only.

Conclusion

Technology is rapidly changing the way that businesses communicate and function every day. It is important for managers to take a proactive role in understanding emerging technology trends and how they may affect a company’s business model by investing in an ongoing program of information technology training for all levels of staff. Management training in particular is essential for ensuring the right technologies are pursued to ensure business success. Viewing technology as a direct influencer on the business as a whole ensures consistent alignment of goals throughout the enterprise.

About the Author

Mark Rogers is the president and CEO of WestLake Training + Development, which he purchased in 2005. After spending 10 years managing strategic accounts and developing new business for DDB Needham Worldwide and Ketchum Communications, Mark was co-founder of Virtualogic, which was one of the country’s fastest-growing I.T. professional services firms. In 1999 Mark joined LifeMinders, Inc, a direct marketing “dot com”, where he served as vice president, business development. To learn more about information technology training, please visit www.westlaketraining.com

Author: Mark A Rogers
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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“Infopreneuring” …the word appeared for the first time in November 2006.

Today, it has become the new catchword in the world of internet.

Let ’s find out what the coinage exactly means and the ways you can utilize its potential and earn handsomely.

Definition

The term “infopreneuring” originates from two words namely, “information” and “entrepreneur”. Thus, you are an infopreneur if your business is to sell information on the internet using your existing data. So, what do you think will be your primary job as an infopreneur? Simple! It is to build up and sell electronic information. As you can see here, an infopreneur is an entrepreneur as well as an information maker.

Categories

Infopreneurs can be classified into two categories. One is who sells information assembled on their own. In the second category comes the “information trafficker” who earns by selling information they know nothing about.

Ideal venture for a start up

Infopreneuring is certainly loaded with lots of potential and is highly recommended by business gurus as an ideal business to start with.

Here goes some selected reasons:

• Affordable with a minimum overhead.
• Has the access to a global market
• Provides you with ample financial freedom
• You keep on earning passive revenues
• Location is immaterial; you can do it from anywhere
• It creates a long-lasting legacy
• It’s much elegant compared to paper promotions
• It’s a great add-on to your multiple income streams
• It’s selling a specific information which is high in demand
• You simply have to collect it instead of creating it by yourself
• It’s one of the least time-consuming business

The power tips to earn as an infopreneur

· Research and survey

Find out what your viewers demand through an extensive survey and explore the possible solutions. Interact with various experts and professionals in the field to get an in-depth feeling of the most concerning issues and its available solutions at the moment. Update yourself about the latest developments taking place in your concerned field of research. Finally, make sure that that your research is properly documented.

· Your report

Outline your documents in this manner:

1) At the very first place, mention the problem in a way that it’s recognized by your possible audience

2) Then state the worries the problem creates on their lives

3) The ways and methods your possible audiences are applying to deal with it

4) And finally, mention about the solutions being offered by the experts in the field to solve it

· Place your findings as case-reports

Remember not to reveal the real identities unless you have written permission from the parties. A smart idea is to create a story citing real life instances about how your target viewers are currently dealing with it. Make sure it’s more like a news story containing plain facts than anything else.

· Narrate your own viewpoint

This is easier said than done. But make a sincere effort to reach within yourself to find out the solution. If you succeed in doing this, be sure, you can touch the pulse of your viewers as well. It’s also absolutely essential to present yourself in a positive light to make your readers confident to achieve their goal. Remember, your infoproduct must have a “take away value.” So, you need to take due care of that. Your own book/ e-book on any burning topic can be a terrific infoproduct to attract our audience which establishes your credential as an infopreneur. It can really do a magic, if you can really write that well.

· Create your community

Create your online and offline community through dialogue groups, support groups, ezines, blogs and wherever you see your audience gathering. Make it a point that you participate in all related forums and add value to the group instead of simply promoting your work and product. Do not stray from your primary aim and that is to win confidence of your target audience.

· Packaging

Now, with the information ready, it’s time you package that into a product. It can be anything…a 4-part course, an e-book, an email newsletter, a printed book, as an audio record, a multi-media presentation, a live seminar or even a personal coaching program.

· Query letter

You need this when you work with a publisher. In a query letter, you describe and define the unique part of your text, the features of the market you aim at and the ways you can assist in its marketing.

· Utilize publishing/ self-publishing

Search for publishers who are experts in your particular field. In general, the royalties you get from them range from 5-10% of sales which can be on wholesale or retail figures. Do the computations before you sign the deal. For instance, if you’re selling your book at retail price of $ 20 and you’re getting 5% on retail from your publisher, your revenue comes to $ 1, per book sold.

So, if it strikes in your mind that if you get just a dollar for every book sold, how the hell you are going to maximize your profit from infopreneuring, let me tell you …yes, it’s a genuine one and go for self-publishing, straightaway.

Self-publishing has another advantage. It gives you the option to monetize your book in an easier and economical way. Wondering how that’s possible?

It’s simple! Just get your book converted to an e-book and utilize internet for its distribution and marketing.

Therefore, you can see that infopreneuring, is the growing trend. Catch up with it and make use of its potential to earn fast bucks in an elegant way.

Premier self-publishing organizations like http://www.power-publishers.com offer you such services at a price which is within your reach. You can avail services of a top ghostwriting organization like http://www.writer4me.com who will write that for you in electronic/ print version and make the cover design as well at a highly affordable price.

Author: Arindam Bhattacharya
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Technology changes the way we work, live our lives, and have fun. Technology can empower businesses with improvements in productivity, faster development and production cycles, superior decision making by employees, and enhanced customer service. But deriving these benefits from incorporating new technology is not always a smooth process. Technology is often, at first, disruptive before it becomes empowering.

Although the ideas developed in this article may have general applicability, they are mainly intended to relate to the incorporation of new information and communications technologies into business processes. Information technologies involve computers and their peripheral equipment as well as the data flow across local area networks. Communications involve any voice and video activity including the telephone system and related equipment as well as the communications pathways creating the wide area networks.

Technology Changes Business Processes

Every action conducted within a business is part of one process or another. Sometimes the processes are easily defined and readily observable, as in the path of a purchase order. At other times, the process is not so clear but nevertheless it still exists even if by default.

New technologies are introduced into business to:

• Speed up existing processes
• Extend the capabilities of existing processes
• Change the processes

In changing the processes, the new technologies will often allow new ways of conducting business that were not previously possible.

Other than simply speeding up existing processes, new technologies will be disruptive when first introduced. This results from having to change patterns of behavior and/or relationships with others. When disruption occurs, productivity often suffers at first, until such time as the new processes become as familiar as the old ones. At this point, hopefully, the goal has been achieved of reaching a higher level of productivity than the level at which it started before the introduction of the new technology.

Therefore a common cycle that occurs with the introduction of new technologies includes:

• Disruption
• Lower productivity, and, finally,
• A higher plateau of productivity than the starting point

The obvious goals for introducing new technologies are to:

• Minimize the disruption
• Minimize the time it takes to increase productivity
• Maximize the gain in productivity

In achieving these goals it is helpful to understand the:

• Context in which the processes operate, that is, who will be impacted by changes in the specific processes affected
• Democratizing potential of technology
• Types of people that will react in very different ways to new technologies

The processes by which a company operates and the introduction of new technologies do not exist in isolation. Both of these exist within a context that may be a part of and affect:

• The social relationships within an organization and possibly with companies with whom you conduct business
• Political (power) structures within an organization
• How individuals view themselves and their abilities

Technology can be democratizing. If it is used to create and disseminate information useful to the mission and goals of the business, it can be a great equalizer between “levels” of management and staff. The key word is “disseminate.” If access to the information is decentralized, and easy communication of the information is allowed, then “front line” workers can improve the quantity and quality of decisions they make without having to involve layers of management.

Types of People from a Technology Perspective

From a perspective of introducing new technology into your company, you may find it helpful to understand the following four types of people:

• Innovators/embracers
• Enthusiasts
• Acceptors
• Naysayers

Innovators/embracers will investigate new technologies on their own. They will sometimes be helpful to introducing new technologies that would otherwise not have been known to the company. They will sometimes be a “thorn” in pushing for new technologies they think will be useful (or just “neat” to have) but do not fit the company’s agenda or objectives. These people will embrace new technologies when introduced by others, will often be the first ones to fully incorporate and make use of it, and could help others to fully utilize new technologies.

Enthusiasts will accept new technology enthusiastically. They won’t usually seek it out but will be eager to incorporate it into their processes where appropriate. As a result of their openness, they will often readily learn how to use the new technology and may also be useful in assisting others through the learning process.

Acceptors will accept new technology because it is required. They will not seek it out. In fact, they will often try to avoid it at first until they are forced to accept it. Once they understand the new technology is here to stay, they will willingly learn how to benefit from it or, at least, live with it.

Naysayers habitually oppose new technologies and often are very vocal about their opposition. They often gripe about any changes and will often never change if they don’t have to or they quit before they are made to change “the way they do things.”

The productivity vs. time curve will look different for each of these types of people. Think of how each person in your own organization fits into these four types. Think of how that impacts deriving the full benefits that you’ve carefully targeted. Think of how that impacts your ability to discover additional benefits once the technologies are implemented. Understanding the differences can help smooth out the rough spots during and after the implementation process.

Lessen the Disruption; Increase the Empowerment

Understanding the context in which processes exist, the democratizing potential of technology, and the types of people will help you achieve the goals stated above for a more rapid payoff from a smoother introduction of new technologies.

In addition, make the new technologies transparent to the user or, at least, make them as intuitive to operate as possible. Extra time in pre-planning the introduction of new technologies and training employees in the use of the technologies can provide a return many times greater than the hours spent in planning and training. You can achieve faster increases in productivity, reduced impact on customers, and lower burdens on support staff.

With proper planning and training, the productivity curve will increase at a faster rate and to a higher level than it might otherwise have achieved

Ed Mass is President of Mass Strategic Communications, Inc., a telecommunications consulting firm since 1993. Visit http://www.voip-telephone-system.com and http://www.masscom.com for more information. We specialize in Transforming Telecommunications from a Tactical Tool To a Strategic Business Resource. We Integrate Business Strategies with Technology Opportunities.

We act as an extension of your staff. We are business strategists to increase the performance of your company through intelligent and cost effective use of technology.

Specifically, we consult on IP Telephone System Decisions, Service Provider Decisions for Voice and Data Services, and Services Audits to Inventory All Services and Discover Unused Services. We do all this within a framework of Vendor-Neutral Consulting.

Copyright 2006 Ed Mass and Mass Strategic Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you do not edit the article in any way. You must leave all of the links active and include the full author name credit with company profile.

Author: Ed Mass
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Rap is a type of hip-hop music that includes rhyme patterns, fast lyrics and verses that are spoken. Those who are considering becoming rappers have their work cut out for them. A famous rapper’s life may include music videos, sold-out concerts, awards shows, red carpets, multi-platinum records and hot parties, but the average rapper puts in long hours, is unemployed for long periods of time between gigs, and experiences rejection.

There is great variation in the pay. A popular rapper earns $33 million. Your typical rapper earns slightly more than minimum wage.

Learn to Rap

Always make your words clear and concise and your rhymes clever and memorable, whether you are freestyling or rapping a song you composed.

At its heart, rap consists of beat and rhythm. It is possible to rap with or without music, but regardless of your choice, be sure that your words have a beat and flow to a rhythm. You can get the feel of rap music by listening to your favorite rap artists, noting their styles and how they keep the beat. It is possible to practice by singing along and noticing how the words fit with the music’s beat.

Literary Components of Rap

Rap artists are the poets of their generation. You are able to use whatever poetic literary device you’d like, though the most obvious one to use is rhyme.

Rhyme scheme: A rhyme scheme is a rhyme arrangement or collection of rhymes, which repeats through the entire rap. Rap may include any kind of rhyme scheme, ranging from the most basic to the most complicated. Flow: It is important to keep track of your word flow. Each word must be spoken clearly and pronounced correctly.

Be aware of your rap’s tempo, beat and melody.

Use things like alliteration, puns, consonance and assonance, or double entendres as word play. Think about adding allusions or metaphors and similes. Use creative storytelling to make your rap innovative and unique.

Subject Matter

Choose the kind of rap that you wish to write. Actually, you can rap about whatever you choose, but popular choices include: Gangsta rap, which encompasses gang violence, ghetto life, drugs, money and sex. This genre is used frequently.

Christian rap or rap with religious overtones. Entertainment type rap, like some of Will Smith’s party songs. Romantic rap tales. Real-life troubles. Cultural identity themed raps as well as socio-political statement raps.
Cars, fashion trends, materialism, drinking and partying are other themes that are frequently used.

Compose a Rap Song

The most effective way of writing a rap song is to just start the process. Always have a notebook handy so that you can write down any ideas, rhymes or verses as you think of them.

As you compose rap music, select one topic or concept – then begin coming up with ideas. In order to ensure cohesion of your lyrics, select a rhyming scheme.

Work on your intro. Work on the chorus for the song. Compose as many verses as you feel are necessary for the song. A median amount would be 2 – 3.

Tally up the syllables per line. Ideally, every line ought to include an identical syllable count to produce a good beat.

Come up with something different. Attempt to make multi-syllabic rhyme schemes, which are termed “multis”. Acquire mastery of rap with rhyme and use of figurative language. Come up with a cool rap name that goes well with your personality.

Produce a CD to serve as your demo. Perform live to showcase your talent and build a base of fans. Getting radio stations and online communities to play your music will help generate buzz. Distribute your music via the Internet as well as in stores.

Get a reputable agent. If you impress an A&R exec you might wind up with a recording contract.

Develop Your Rap Persona

Showing the proper persona and stage presence plays a big role in being a rapper. Along with your rapping skills, this is going to be what attracts audience to your songs.

Your Rap Name

The majority of rappers alter their name to show their own personality and rap style. And so your name is not problematic at your next rap battle, here are a couple of tips: Do not try too hard. Your name should be something that does not require a lot of effort.

Pick a name that has edge but is also catchy sounding. Try not to pick a lame gimmick, and don’t name yourself after immature puns or famous criminals.

The Proper Attitude and Style

You will need to have the proper attitude and style, so be sure to represent yourself knowing that rap belongs in hip-hop culture. Everything about you will be scrutinized, including your clothing, hair and makeup. Your personality should be reflected by your look. Select the elements that work best for you, and perhaps you can come up with some trademarks of your own.

Familiarize yourself with the latest hip-hop trends. Television is another option. Displaying a lot of hip-hop styles, award shows are good places to study the wardrobe of your most adored rap artists.

Browse magazines.

Tommy Hilfiger, Boss, Rocawear, Baby Phat, Fubu, Lacoste, Phat Farm and Sean Jean are some clothing brands that rappers frequently wear.

Show off a lot of bling. Accessories that utilize diamonds, gold, or platinum are considered status symbols. You can use jewelry such as: rope or chain necklaces, medallions, belly chains and rings, tooth caps or grills, rings, and brass (or gold, or platinum) knuckles.

Get in plenty of practice!

The process of making a demo must be understood. Either using background beats or not, make a live recording of yourself rapping. A great beat will make you instantly sound like a major artist and you will stand out from the crowd.

Blend. Make adjustments to your sound and tone, volume, vocal parts, as well as background. It is also possible to add sound effects and blend the tracks (e.g., the vocal track, or the instrumental track) together.

Lead off with the song you think is tops. If the first rap does not hook the listener, most likely they will not listen to the rest of the demo. Be sure your contact information and your name are on your CD label. Make sure you only have no more than four tracks at one particular time.

Submit a Rap Demo

You will have to submit a demo in order to book a gig, obtain representation, or land a record deal. You need to add a press package besides your CD. There should be an 8×10 photo in your press kit. Your personal style will come in handy here. Be sure that you are presenting yourself the way you want to be seen during your career as a rapper.

A short bio.

A short summary that talks about your fan base, lists your accomplishments (for instance, if you won “Atlanta Rapper of the Year”), and lists the places in which you have performed. Press notices along with summaries. Reviews or articles can be included with press clippings.

Perform Live

Besides building up your confidence, performing live will increase your fan base and elevate your street credibility.

Gigs

It is not always easy to find paying jobs, but you can get lots of exposure, money and fans by rapping at an event or emceeing at a club.

Select local venues. Get in touch with the booking agent.

Market yourself to the booking agent. Discuss your style, your fan base (who will you draw to the venue) and your pay. Send them your demo and press package.

Remember to include contact details!

Check and see if any type of recording device is present for your performance. This will provide you with the opportunity to see how you perform live so that you can improve your show accordingly. And you can always put it on YouTube if it’s good.

Start to generate buzz!

Right now is the best time to put yourself out there and get exposure. Take advantage of YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and Twitter. Begin blogging and send out tweets on your next play dates and upload your songs.

Do as many live performances as possible; go to rap events and win those rap battles. Make an attempt to have your songs played on the radio. Look for radio stations in your area that play rap or hip-hop music. Hand out your press kit, and include a CD of your best song.

After your music gets picked up by a station, ask everyone you know to put in requests to play it. Remember to tap into Internet radio. You can send a digital version of your press kit, along with an MP3 via email, instead of submitting an actual CD.

Try to get local stores to sell or play your music. Market CD’s and digital formats online. Your live shows are also great for selling CD’s.

Obtain Representation

Having agents, managers, and legal representation will help advance your career. They will sign you up for publicity opportunities and gigs when they take over the business side of things. Do your homework regarding various companies. Look at other artists and see what they have done for them.

Decide whether you prefer a large agency or a lesser outfit.
While big agencies may have a well-known name, smaller agencies are more likely to concentrate on you and your success.

Obtain a Record Deal

Record labels prefer the total package. Everything is important — your look, your attitude, your personality, your ability to attract fans, record sales potential, performance ability, and getting that smash hit.

Request a meeting with an A&R executive be set up by your representative.

The label needs to be researched. Learn if unsolicited material is okay with them, if they are interested in your kind of music, and the name of the person responsible for demos.

If the label normally rejects unsolicited material, get in touch with the executive of A&R for an exception by emailing, phoning or mailing a letter. Always be ready to rap right then and there.

You may be fortunate to earn a recording contract. If not, pick yourself up and move on to the next label to try your luck.

Conclusion

Putting in loads of hard labor may get you to be the next Eminem, Lil Wayne, Diddy or Kanye West. Once you become a successful dirty south beats or hip hop rapper, perhaps you will do what many other great music artists do and become an actor or create your own line of clothing!

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Author: Clive Calvin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Home Solar

Technology & HR-Leverage one for the other: “Technology and HR are enablers of business. Integration of the two would mean not only harmonious co-existence but also leveraging one for the other. Leveraging of technology for HR would mean digitizing the mundane HR activities and automating the back office and transactional activities related to recruitment, performance management, career planning, and succession planning, training and knowledge management. Leveraging HR for technology implies managing change associated with technology by way of communication, training, hiring, retraining, stakeholder analysis and conscious keeping. Thus they can play complementary roles.”

Technology and HR both have one thing common i.e., both these are enablers of business.

In recent times, technology has become synonymous with information technology, as hardly any other technological development of the past would have impacted all spectrum of business as information technology has impacted. Irrespective of the kind of business you are in i.e., services or goods, commodity or branded, trading or manufacturing, contemporary or traditional deployment of information technology in one form or the other is a foregone conclusion. To manage and deploy technology in an effective way, all business Organizations would need knowledge workers. Managing of these knowledge workers is the responsibility of HR function. Hence the integration of technology and HR is an absolute must.

Having understood technology and HR in the present context we must understand integration in this context. Integration would not only mean harmonious co-existing but would also mean one enhancing and complementing the other i.e., technology is used to enhance effectiveness of HR and HR functions helps in adopting and managing change which technology deployment brings in.

Leveraging technology for HR

HR management as a function is responsible for deliverables like business strategy execution, administrative efficiency, employee contribution and capacity for change. All these are accomplished through what HR people do i.e., staffing, development, compensation, benefits, communicate organization design, high performing teams and so on. In majority of these areas technology is being deployed.

e-Recruitment

Recruitment is one area where all the companies worth their name leverage IT. There are two different models of e-recruitment, which are in vogue. One is recruitment through company’s own sites and the other is hosting your requirement on the other sites e.g., monster .com, jobsdb.com, jobsahead.com, naukri.com, and jobstreet.com and so on so forth. The first models is more popular with the larger companies who have a brand pull for potential employees e.g., G.E., IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, HCL, ICICI, Reliance, Mindtree consulting etc. Other companies prefer to go to the job sites. Some are adopting both.

E-recruitment has gone a long way since its start. Now these sites have gone global. Sites like jobsahead.com and monster.com have established global network, which encompasses separate sites for jobs in Australia, Denmark, Belgium, and Canada etc. Job seekers are able to search job by region or country and employers target potential employees in specific countries. For example, 3 Com recently posted a company profile on the Ireland site that highlights the contributions of 3 com’s Irish design team in its global projects.

In the early days e-recruitment was plagued with flooding the employers with low-quality bio-data’s. Again technology has come as a savior. Now pre-employment testing like the one introduced by Capital One, a US based financial company, help in filtering the applicants. These tools test online e.g., applicants for call centers. ‘Profile International’ a Texas based provider of employment assessments, has developed tools that allow instant translation of assessment tests between languages. Further developments like video- conference specialized sites, online executives recruitments and combining online and offline methods are leading to more and more companies adopting e-recruitment at least as a secondary recruitment method. Arena Knights Bridge, a US based IT company conducts video based interview of its prospective employees and only short listed employees are met in person. Even Cisco was to launch the same.

Employee Self Service

Employee self-service is perhaps one utility of IT, which has relieved HR of most of mundane tasks and helped it to improve employee satisfaction. Employee self services is a plethora of small activities, which were earlier carried out by employee through administration wing of HR. These are travel bookings, travel rules information, travel bills, leave rules, leave administration, perk administration, etc. Earlier all these rules and information were in the custody of HR. Every user employee was expected to reach out to HR and get it done. Now with deployment of ESS in most of the companies, employee can request for travel related booking online, fill his/her T.E. bills, apply for leave, log time sheet and see his perks value disbursed and due etc. E.g., in Ballarpur Industries Ltd. leave administration is completely digitized in its corporate office. It is working towards digitizing travel related activities, perks and even compensation management and performance management administration. ‘Digitize or outsource all the mundane and routine focus only on core and value add’ – Vineet Chhabra V.P. -PDC BILT.

Communication

Communication which is most talked about management tool has always been a gray area in HR management. In large companies with vast geographical spread communicating with all employees had really posed formidable challenge to HR professionals. Technology has again come for rescue. Starting with telephones, faxes, e-mails and maturing into video conferencing, net cast, web cast etc. communication is one area of HR, which has been greatly benefited by technology. Mouse & click companies like Oracle, IBM has an intranet which caters to most of the information needs of its employees. Brick & Morter companies like BILT also have made a foray into deploying intranet for internal communication, which has corporate notice board, media coverage, and knowledge corners.

Knowledge Management

Another area of HR, which is leveraging technology, is employee development. Programmed learning (PL) i.e. learning at its own pace is one of the most effective ways of adult learning. Use of technology for this purpose can’t be over emphasized. Aptech Online University and ‘The Manage mentor’ are some of the Indian sites, which are in this business knowledge management, which is an integral part of any learning organization, which cannot become a reality without technology. Companies can harness the knowledge of its employees by cataloging and hosting it on the intranet. Talk to ‘Big-5′ or not ’so big’ consulting companies you will find that main stay of their business is the knowledge repository. Technology has enabled them to retrieve it swiftly. In the competitive environment where speed is the name of game technology driven Knowledge Management constantly provides a strategic advantage.

If you look at HR module of ERP solutions like people soft, SAP, Oracle and Ramco they provide you with a comprehensive package which helps in man-power planning, recruitment, performance management, training and development, career planning, succession planning, separation and grievance handling. A transaction happening in all these areas are digitized and form a closed loop ensuring employee database is always updated. E.g. a joining letter of a new employee is system generated. It will be printed only when all mandatory fields of information are entered. Similarly a transfer order or a separation letter is issued from the system only if that transaction has been carried out in the system.

For career planning, success planning, skill and competencies matrix methods are used by most of these systems. They search an employee with the required skills first in the in-house database of employees. Once put in practice in letter & spirit, this system not only enhances business results by matching the right candidate for right job but also improves retention of employees.

Processing payroll, churning out time office reports, providing HR-MIS are some other routine activities of HR which have been off-loaded to technology.

Leveraging HR for Technology

All HR professionals, preaching or practicing, learning or experimenting, teaching or studying have experienced leveraging technology for HR. But most of us come across a situation where we need to leverage HR for technology. Let us understand what do we mean by this.

Whenever technology is deployed afresh or upgraded it involves a change. The change may be at the activity level e.g., applying for leave through the intranet or at the mental model level e.g., digitizing the process succession planning which have been HR professionals forte. The people have always registered adopting change. This is one area where HR professionals are to deliver i.e., become change agents and lead the process of technology and change adoption. The resistance to change is directly proportional to speed of change. Now speed of change has increased and hence resistance.

Just to take an example, most of ERP implementation in the world have not been able to deliver all the expectations. Some of these have failed to deliver at all. While analyzing the cause of failure it has been observed that 96% of failures are because of people related issues and only 4% are because of technology.

It is the people who make the difference; hence HR should exploit its expertise to facilitate the adoption of technology. I would like to put together some of the thoughts on what HR should do for this.

At the time of recruitment, stop hiring for skills rather hire for attitude and a learning mind. Skills of today are no longer valid tomorrow. Managing ever changing change is the only criteria for success.

Functional or technical skills can be acquired during the job. Hence recruitment in the technology era needs to undergo a paradigm shift i.e., from a skill/competency based it needs to be attitude and learning mind/ ability based interview. That would translate into hiring for skills for future. In IBM every employee has to fill in his/her individual development plan where the employee commits its learning one/two new skills every year thus remaining competitive every time.

If we look at the chemistry of resistance to change it is either a skill issue or a will issue. To address the will issue we need to work at a comprehensive solution starting from recruitment (as discussed earlier), reward, compensation and leading to organization culture which promotes change. A living example is 3M, a US based company, where innovation is way of life, where 10% of revenue must come from new products every year. For them change becomes way of life.

To address the will issue further organization need to prepare a communication strategy which creates a ‘pull’ for the technology. For example, in Ranbaxy, when they went for SAP implementation they anticipated resistance. To address this they started a house journal, which was aimed at educating the employees on the benefits, which will result from adoption of ERP, SAP. This created a need rather a potential need or a latent need was brought out. Adoption of ERP did not become much of a problem.

At times adoption of technologies is perceived as a threat by the employees e.g., automation leading to reduction in workers, office automation leading to retrenchment of clerks etc. HR needs to be associated with the technical adoption right from the beginning till the end. At the selection of technical stage if HR is associated, it can map the skills required and create a pull during implementation and adoption. Post adoption it can release the excess non-re-allocatable employees.

To understand this process more clearly we can take example of ERP implementation. ERP is taken as an example as this is one technology adoption which effects employees across the org. irrespective of function and position. Any other automation may have affected only a segment of organisation. ERP implementation in any organization goes through the following stages.

1. Selection of package

2. Business analysis

3. Solution design

4. Configuration and customization

5. Conference room piloting (CRP)

6. Go-live and production

At each stage HR has to play a role, which will help in mitigating resistance to change.

During selection process, the change agent can understand the business benefit ERP would bring. This would help him to draw a comprehensive communication plant aimed at creating a ‘pull’ for the change. The communication plan may use its various weapons from the armory. The obvious examples are Newsletters, Newsflash. In-house journal, addressing by the top management, web cast, open house sessions, meetings formal and informal.

During the business analysis phase implementation team is supposed to analyse the existing business processes. At times this leads to surfacing of some data which is not very desirable by the process owners, leading to resistance at this stage, HR has to be again proactive and carry out a detailed stake-holder analysis. Such an analysis should give a lead to potential areas of problem and potential champions of change.

Solution design involves defining ‘To-be processes’ i.e., the way business would be carried out in future. At this stage HR has to play the role of catalyst to turn the heat on. The idea is to ensure to make maximum out of an opportunity of package enabled business transformation. HR can play a role by arranging to educate and train the right people on best business practices, just before this phase.

During the configuration and customization HR has to keep on beating the drum, the customization of a standard package is a big no-no. Similarly, during the conference room plotting (CRP) it should help in identifying the right persons to be involved in CRP. A thorough testing at this stage would result in lesser pain at the time of going live. This is also time to focus on training of end users, the employees who are going to use the system once implemented. Training- retraining -training to ensure all the prospective users are comfortable with usage of software before the system goes live.

During the go-live stage HR has to work over time to keep the motivation levels high. This is the time when management starts loosing patience as one glitch after the other keeps appearing and virtually bringing the business to halt. At this stage, HR has to play ‘conscious keeper’ for the top management once into product relocating the surplus is a challenge for which it has to be prepared before it.

This examples makes it clear that involvement of HR during the entire life cycle of technology is valuable. ERP is not an isolated case. It is true for any other technology adoption only finer details may vary. Hence HR must play a proactive role rather than being just a silent spectator or mere executers of the wishes of business or chief technology officer in case of technological changes.

Having set the case in different perspective, it seems only logical to leverage technology for HR and vice-versa.

About the Author

Mr. Amarendra B. Dhiraj is a frequent speaker at internationally renowned global events, CEO/CTO/CIO Roundtables, Technology Conferences and Symposiums. He hosted and organized the Executive Technology Leadership Forum. He specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. His strategic and practical insights have guided leaders of large and small organizations worldwide.

Amarendra Bhushan has been named to lists of the European Management Guru and is named as Europe’s youngest management Guru and one of the Top most influential business thinkers in the world. http://www.theerce.com, http://www.indogreek.org

Author: Amarendra Bhushan Dhiraj
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Solar panel DIY

Like going on a blind date, choosing the right web designer can be an adventure fraught with false hope.

Unlike a big corporation, a small business generally has a tight budget–especially when it comes to advertising and promotion–to engage a big web design agency to serve their online marketing needs.

With the understanding that a cheap-looking website is not the best way to represent your business–or that you do not have unlimited funds to throw at web designers on the off-chance that you’ll get something that resembles what you want–there exist good small design studios and professional freelance web designers with reasonable rates, fortunately.

Here are some tips on how to choose the right one to meet your small business needs.

Identify the Fake Web Designers

Check out their portfolio!

Do they look professional? Is the style of the designer something you would like to have on your own site? Are they logical, easy to use, and provide what’s needed to help customers achieve their (and the clients’) goals? That means that a lot of business development has gone into them.

Web Designers vs Web Programmers

There are many web designers who are actually programmers who know little, if at all, about design. They use templates that are created by other professional designers. Unfortunately, templates aren’t customized to your unique business.

Moreover, with advances in software applications, it is easier than ever to create and build a website. These software can help anyone build a website without knowing a thing. However, there is a distinct difference between creating and designing one.

Design, be it web or print, is about communication. Without the necessary design knowledge how could the programmers do an effective job communicating with your prospective customers?

How Can Good Design Help Your Business

Design is about you–what you know, what you see, and what you have to say. Behind every design is a vision, a purpose, a reason to be. Web design is not about decoration but communication; about making your words and vision visible, giving it form and body for all the world to see.

While the sales copy of your website remains vital for the effective selling of your products or services, the use of typography, color, graphics and layout help lead your prospects read and navigate your website.

This makes your page a pleasure to read and increases their overall user-experience.

A professional, well-designed website has been proven to increase sales!

Web Design Process

The web design process is also a matter of planning, what to include and what to exclude, good design, appealing text, how to sell, what business plan to follow, and more.

Like any other marketing medium, it requires a lot of work by individuals who understand what visitors and the search engines like to see: properly organized text. Combining a nice layout with SEO isn’t easy, make sure the designer understands both the human and search components.

The result is pages that perform well for visitors and rank high for specific keywords.

No doubt, there are many who can turn out professional websites, but few who will volunteer to spend dozens of hours consulting with a client, designing a clear and unconfusing website, and sweating over ad copy, pictures and all the major and minor details — in essence, creating a online marketing vehicle.

Online Marketing

The number one mistake that most first time web site owners make is that they don’t know what to do with their site after it’s designed. It is very possible to have a beautiful site designed for you and no one ever sees it.

A website is merely another means of marketing your products or services. With hundreds, if not thousands, of websites sprouting out everyday, competition is fierce. Having a “web presence” for your business has virtually become an understatement.

A good designer will not only help you create a professional looking site, they will also ensure that your site gets a good ranking with the search engines so that your site can be easily found online. Make sure that your designer will optimize your site for the search engines and submit it to the major search engines. Your website need to rank reasonably well in search engines.

Moreover, small business should seriously look into harnessing the power of the social media and sound web marketing design to increase the exposure of your services and products to extend your reach.

Is a Website Just a website

In the online world, traffic and targeted prospects is the life blood for you website. A pretty website becomes a white elephant if no customer visits it.

Does the web designer practice what he preaches? How much traffic is his website receiving?

To get an estimation of the amount of traffic, go to http://www.alexa.com, enter his URL to get the traffic details. You’ll see the Traffic Rank for his website. As a general rule of thumb, if the traffic ranking isn’t within the 1st Million globally (e.g. Yahoo ranks no. 1), then his online marketing effort certainly has much room for improvement, even for his own business website.

Offline Marketing

Small businesses exist in numbers far larger than big corporations.

It is ever more important for your business to stand out from your competition with a professional, consistent image–your corporate identity, namely from your web design, company logo, to the offline marketing collateral such as business card and flyer designs etc.

Having the same company to design both your online and offline marketing collateral have significant advantages of consistency and cost.

Word of Mouth and Testimonials

Word of mouth is a good indication of someone who knows his stuff.

If he comes strongly recommended by trusted friends or family members, chances are he’s created design solutions that work for their business quite well. Ask them whether it was a good experience or not.

Most designers will have testimonials from previous clients on their website. It’s a good idea to see what his customers are saying about his services. Follow the web links and try contacting some of them. You should have a feel after talking to one or two. This also ensures the testimonials are not fake ones that were simply “made up”.

Chemistry is Key

You are going to have to share aspects of your business, from visions to operations to preferences to competition, with this person.

So it’s important that you feel comfortable enough with him to be honest about your business details and goals, as well as ask as many questions about his advise as you need to. Does the designer seem friendly and are they willing to answer all of your questions? Does he respond promptly to your emails and/or phone calls?

A good designer will keep in touch with you every few days, at least. You don’t want to get down to the final days of creating the site only to find out you don’t like it!

Look out for his modus operandi during the first meeting. He should be asking you extensive, detailed questions about your requirements and goals, in order to analyze your needs.

Someone who is more interested in telling you the different design packages he can offer you is probably more concerned about making a quick buck.

Website Maintenance

A common issue with most small business is a lack of technical skills. What happens if you want to update the content after the project has been completed? Can you update it yourself without any HTML knowledge?

Content Management System

Would your website be built on a content management platform such as Wordpress or Joomla? This will allow you to update, edit and add pages on your own without going back to the web designer. Thus saving time and cost.

Engage your Customers via Blogs

If you are marketing your business on the web and you don’t have a blog, you will always be beaten down by your competition.

A Blog platform allows you to do things no one else in your market can do with static websites. This means you don’t just have a web site, you have a search engine magnet and an interactive community builder that will drive targeted, willing-to-buy visitors to your site.

Price

This is an important factor for any small business to consider.

Although there is no clear-cut rule as to what an “average” price for web design is. In most cases, you get what you pay for. You are paying for this his expertise, time and experience.

Be realistic about your budget. You may not have all the bells and whistles such as animation and special effects.

It is more important to create a successful website that has a good position in the search engine and one that you are very happy with the look and function of than to save a couple of bucks. If you get a good site, your site will be able to grow with your company and, hopefully, that’s for a very long time!

The savvy, experienced web designer can implement your ideas and enhance them, spotting possible pitfalls and making recommendations along the way–and he’ll help you to understand the procedure and give you the benefit of his experience and understanding of the Web, so that you come away not only with a website, but with an enhanced understanding of the Web and online business. In short, he’ll work with you and be effective.

About The Author:
Pagethinker is about web design for small business. A small singapore web design studio specializes in designing effective websites for online marketing. For tips on how to design to attract both customers and search engines, and ultimately, sell your products & services, visit http://www.pagethinker.com

Author: Sherman Cheong
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Gadget reviews

What does FedEx, Pfizer, Wachovia, 3Com, Mellon Financial, Shurgard Storage, Sempra Energy and Proctor & Gamble have in common? What board committee exists for only 10% of publicly traded companies but generates 6.5% greater returns for those companies? What is the single largest budget item after salaries and manufacturing equipment?

Technology decisions will outlive the tenure of the management team making those decisions. While the current fast pace of technological change means that corporate technology decisions are frequent and far-reaching, the consequences of the decisions-both good and bad-will stay with the firm for a long time. Usually technology decisions are made unilaterally within the Information Technology (IT) group, over which senior management chose to have no input or oversight. For the Board of a business to perform its duty to exercise business judgment over key decisions, the Board must have a mechanism for reviewing and guiding technology decisions.

A recent example where this sort of oversight would have helped was the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) mania of the mid-1990’s. At the time, many companies were investing tens of millions of dollars (and sometimes hundreds of millions) on ERP systems from SAP and Oracle. Often these purchases were justified by executives in Finance, HR, or Operations strongly advocating their purchase as a way of keeping up with their competitors, who were also installing such systems. CIO’s and line executives often did not give enough thought to the problem of how to make a successful transition to these very complex systems. Alignment of corporate resources and management of organizational change brought by these new systems was overlooked, often resulting in a crisis. Many billions of dollars were spent on systems that either should not have been bought at all or were bought before the client companies were prepared.

Certainly, no successful medium or large business can be run today without computers and the software that makes them useful. Technology also represents one of the single largest capital and operating line item for business expenditures, outside of labor and manufacturing equipment. For both of these reasons, Board-level oversight of technology is appropriate at some level.

Can the Board of Directors continue to leave these fundamental decisions solely to the current management team? Most large technology decisions are inherently risky (studies have shown less than half deliver on promises), while poor decisions take years to be repaired or replaced. Over half of the technology investments are not returning anticipated gains in business performance; Boards are consequently becoming involved in technology decisions. It is surprising that only ten percent of the publicly traded corporations have IT Audit Committees as part of their boards. However, those companies enjoy a clear competitive advantage in the form of a compounded annual return 6.5% greater than their competitors.

Tectonic shifts are under way in how technology is being supplied, which the Board needs to understand. IT industry consolidation seriously decreases strategic flexibility by undercutting management’s ability to consider competitive options, and it creates potentially dangerous reliance on only a few key suppliers.

The core asset of flourishing and lasting business is the ability to respond or even anticipate the impact of outside forces. Technology has become a barrier to organizational agility for a number of reasons:

o Core legacy systems have calcified
o IT infrastructure has failed to keep pace with changes in the business
o Inflexible IT architecture results in a high percentage of IT expenditure on maintenance of existing systems and not enough on new capabilities
o Short term operational decisions infringe on business’s long term capability to remain competitive

Traditional Boards lack the skills to ask the right questions to ensure that technology is considered in the context of regulatory requirements, risk and agility. This is because technology is a relatively new and fast-growing profession. CEOs have been around since the beginning of time, and financial counselors have been evolving over the past century. But technology is so new, and its cost to deploy changes dramatically, that the technology profession is still maturing. Technologists have worked on how the systems are designed and used to solve problems facing the business. Recently, they recognized a need to understand and be involved in the business strategy. The business leader and the financial leader neither have history nor experience utilizing technology and making key technology decisions. The Board needs to be involved with the executives making technology decisions, just as the technology leader needs Board support and guidance in making those decisions.

Recent regulatory mandates such as Sarbanes-Oxley have changed the relationship of the business leader and financial leader. They in turn are asking for similar assurances from the technology leader. The business leader and financial leader have professional advisors to guide their decisions, such as lawyers, accountants and investment bankers. The technologist has relied upon the vendor community or consultants who have their own perspective, and who might not always be able to provide recommendations in the best interests of the company. The IT Audit Committee of the Board can and should fill this gap.

What role should the IT Audit Committee play in the organization? The IT Audit function in the Board should contribute toward:

1. Bringing technology strategy into alignment with business strategy.
2. Ensuring that technology decisions are in the best interests of shareholders.
3. Fostering organizational development and alignment between business units.
4. Increasing the Board’s overall understanding of technological issues and consequences within the company. This type of understanding cannot come from financial analysis alone.
5. Effective communication between the technologist and the Committee members.

The IT Audit Committee does not require additional board members. Existing board members can be assigned the responsibility, and use consultants to help them understand the issues sufficiently to provide guidance to the technology leader. A review of existing IT Audit Committee Charters shows the following common characteristics:

1. Review, evaluate and make recommendations on technology-based issues of importance to the business.
o Appraise and critically review the financial, tactical and strategic benefits of proposed major technology related projects and technology architecture alternatives.
o Oversee and critically review the progress of major technology related projects and technology architecture decisions.
2. Advise the senior technology management team at the firm
3. Monitor the quality and effectiveness of technology systems and processes that relate to or affect the firm’s internal control systems.

Fundamentally, the Board’s role in IT Governance is to ensure alignment between IT initiatives and business objectives, monitor actions taken by the technology steering committee, and validate that technology processes and practices are delivering value to the business. Strategic alignment between IT and the business is fundamental to building a technology architectural foundation that creates agile organizations. Boards should be aware of technological risk exposures, management’s assessment of those risks, and mitigation strategies considered and adopted.

There are no new principles here-only affirmation of existing governance charters. The execution of technology decisions falls upon the management of the organization. The oversight of management is the responsibility of the Board. The Board needs to take appropriate ownership and become proactive in governance of the technology.

Do Boards need a Technology Audit committee? Yes, a Technology Audit Committee within the Board is warranted because it will lead to technology/business alignment. It is more than simply the right thing to do; it is a best practice with real bottom-line benefits.

MICHAEL SIERSEMA is a Managing Partner/CEO of Phoenix2000 Group LLC focusing on technology advisory services.

Phoenix2000 Group is a new breed professional services partnership of senior technologists that fit a niche at the senior executive support systems. Like the CEO looks to lawyers for advice, the CFO leans on CPA and audit firm for counsel, the technologist needs an organization to find true independent guidance. We don’t sell solutions, we sell answers. http://www.phoenix2000group.com

Author: Michael Siersema
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Cool mobile gadgets

You would never try to write your own legal contracts. You certainly wouldn’t dream of trying to perform your own root canal. In fact, you probably wouldn’t even attempt to change the oil in your car.

There’s a reason these tasks are left to the professionals. They require a high level of expertise to ensure success. One misstep could have disastrous consequences.

The task of growing your business is no different. Getting and keeping customers is the very lifeblood of your organization, and as such, must be handled with surgical precision. Don’t shortchange your business growth goals or leave the critical process of building community around your brand to chance.

There are many hidden costs of do-it-yourself marketing – not the least of which are a loss of time, loss of focus on running and managing your business and loss of money if you are still playing by the outmoded rules of old marketing. If you are not capitalizing on every opportunity to engage with your customers and prospects via new technologies and new media, your competitors will, and you’ll be left behind.

Yes, you need the creative resources of an agency. But more than that, you need a trusted business partner that is invested in your long-term success. It’s not about flashy ad campaigns or catchy slogans. It goes far beyond advertising and branding. Trustcasting agencies are experts in more than just the creative arena. The real value in working with a trustcasting agency is applying creativity to every element of business growth.

When you choose the right trustcasting agency, you’ll have an equal and proactive partner in the growth of your business. Nothing is more important in today’s marketplace than cultivating and nurturing your core group of customers. Finding them, engaging them in community, building their trust and putting their passion to work to help you grow – this is the specialty of the trustcasting agency.

Working with a trustcasting agency requires you to do more than give your blessing to creative campaigns and sign checks when the invoices arrive. The best marketing partnerships start with you. You must come to your agency with an open mind but armed with clear objectives, good perspective, creative ideas and solid data. You must be prepared to back up their efforts by creating a culture of quality and service within your business to ensure that you practice what you preach.

Following are 10 practices you must implement in order to actively engage with your trustcasting agency in promoting the growth of your business.

Good discipline goes a long way

Your business – and the promotion of it – thrives on your ideas. You must have a clear vision for your company: How will it grow? What do your customers need, and how do you address those needs? How do you create a brand that people embrace as part of their own identity? How do you excite your fans to the point of being your evangelists?

Achieving this level of clarity requires an investment of time, effort and focus – with the greatest emphasis on time. The only way you can make the time you need to grow is through vigilance with regard to organization and productivity.

Efficiency creates more opportunities for profit, while disorganization has significant opportunity costs. Having the right work environment saves you time and money every day. Steve Strauss, author of The Small Business Bible, coined the term R.O.O. (return on organization, estimating that “increased R.O.O. can yield up to an extra two hours of productive time a week and up to an additional six percent of revenue.”

For a business owner or marketer, good time management is just as important as sound financial management. Eliminate distractions. Stop multi-tasking. Clear your desk and clear your mind.

Give yourself the time you need to take a step back and gain perspective. Focus on ways to improve your internal operations, your employee morale, your customer service and your product or service offering, and bring your best ideas to your trustcasting agency.

Out of order comes inspiration

Once you’ve organized your work environment and maximized your productivity, you’ll find that the space and time you’ve created for yourself paves the way for inspiration to follow.

The good news: inspiration can come from anywhere at anytime. Keep your eyes open, be present in the moment and be an active observer of the world around you. Blogs, Twitter, books, magazines, art, friends, neighbors, customers – any of these can be the source of your next big idea as long as you are perpetually searching and constantly in tune with your passion for growing your business.

The challenge of inspiration is that you never know just when it will strike. Ideas don’t arrive on schedule. In fact, they are probably least likely to come when you are sitting in front of your computer. More often than not, your best thinking happens when you are driving, cooking, sleeping or even brushing your teeth. Make sure you always keep your journal or smartphone at hand so you can jot down a note whenever and wherever you might be.

Part of being a good entrepreneur is being a good steward of ideas. Don’t allow inspiration to pass you by without capturing it, and don’t allow the motivation behind it to dissipate before you explore all the possibilities that lie therein.

Every idea has the potential to become something valuable, even if you can’t immediately recognize how to execute or monetize it. That’s where your trustcasting agency comes into play. Bring them all of your ideas – no matter how rough and unrefined. They’ll help you sift through them, identify the gems and polish them into a brilliant and actionable business growth strategy.

Playing the numbers game

It’s a fact: business growth requires some degree of trial and error. However, that’s not to say that you can’t tip the odds of achieving success in your favor.

In today’s marketplace, good marketing is more cost-efficient than ever before, but it all starts with good data. You need a solid foundation in order to ensure that your efforts are driving revenue rather than undermining profitability.

The key is having good metrics in place – metrics that go much deeper than just measuring traffic to your website. You need to quantify your core business operations. At the most basic level, you must know the real cost to acquire a new customer and the lifetime value of that customer.

There are a number of factors that play into these figures: What brings your customers in the door? What motivates a them to make a purchase? How much do they spend? How many times do they return? What brings them back, and who do they tell about their experience? If they leave, where did they go and why? By answering these questions, you can determine the level of investment you must make in your marketing and trustcasting efforts in order to continue to grow.

If you have a Web presence and are active in social media, it’s also critical to keep a finger on the pulse of your online community. Again, it starts with the basics: the number of visitors to your site, what brought them there, how long they spend there and what causes them to leave.

But in the Web marketing universe, where community building is essential to brand building, you must take this analysis much further. Is your online following growing, and if so, how quickly? What is the ratio of active members to total members? How many mentions are you getting in the social web, and are they positive or negative? Are your fans sharing your content and links with their friends, and are their friends then passing these on to others within their own networks?

If this sounds daunting, don’t worry. Your trustcasting agency can show you how to take your business processes and break them down to the numbers. Together you can examine the data to determine what’s working and what’s not and use this information as a baseline for improvement. In doing so, you can be sure that you are making a sound investment in growth, not just spending money and hoping for a good return.

There is no substitute for consistency and quality

Now that you’ve made an objective analysis of your business operations, it’s time to take a subjective look at your brand and its perception in the marketplace.

Sit down with your trustcasting agency and inventory everything that you put in front of your customers – from your signage to your business cards to your merchandise displays to your advertising and website.

Evaluate each element with critical eye. What do these things say about you? Do they all work together cohesively to make a clear and deliberate statement? Or are they sending mixed messages about who you are and what you stand for? Worse yet, are they turning potential customers away because they project a lack of professionalism or quality?

As you work through this process, a good exercise is to look at the best of the best – companies like Apple, BMW and Nike that have mastered quality in the perception of their brand. What trends do they follow? What is the common thread that runs through everything they release into the marketplace?

For example, Apple has built their name on unparalleled quality in design, and nothing reaches the consumer that doesn’t reflect their unrelenting dedication to protecting this reputation. From their products to their packaging to their stores to their ads, Apple is invested in sending a clear and consistent message that they stand for innovative, beautiful design. As a result, when people do business with Apple, they know exactly what to expect time after time.

You can’t fake quality. Your customers can always tell when you cut corners, and it undermines their trust in you. Instead, you must recognize the importance of quality as a way of demonstrating respect for your customers and be committed to preserving the integrity of your brand through and through. With the help of your trustcasting agency, you can ensure that just like Apple, BMW and Nike, it is your name that is synonymous with quality in your market.

Keep your enemies closer

It is the curse of the entrepreneur to be obsessed with the competition. And, to a degree, that fixation can be quite productive.

If you’re like many business owners, you probably think that your competitors know more than you do, are doing more and are doing it better. However, if you want to get and stay ahead, don’t just assume – analyze.

Be your competitor’s customer. Pay close attention to each and every aspect of your experience. What kind of service did you receive while you were there, from the moment you set foot in the door until you left? How do they organize and present their merchandise? Did you walk away with a positive impression? What are they doing to build community around their brand? What kind of incentives do they offer customers to become their fans and evangelists?

Get every detail down, and feed this information to your trustcasting agency. Together, you can determine whether your perceptions line up with reality and mine this information for opportunities to outperform your competitors and conquer your market.

That being said, it’s also important to keep your focus on your competitors in check. It’s necessary to keep tabs on what your competition is doing but not to the point where it becomes a distraction from or a detriment to doing what is best for your own business.

Don’t fall into the temptation to follow your competitors or replicate what they are doing successfully. Instead, allow your trustcasting agency the freedom to try new things. You need to carve out your own niche in the marketplace, create your own identity, offer something unique to your customers and cultivate your own community of dedicated followers.

Everyone is in marketing, everyone is in sales

No matter what business you are in, you are in the customer service business. Brands are built on engagement. You may get only one chance to make a first impression, but the reality is that each and every impression counts toward earning and sustaining customer loyalty.

Good customer service is the proof in the pudding of your brand promise. Your marketing investment is nothing but money down the drain if you don’t back it up with relentless dedication to ensuring that every customer experience reflects the values you claim to stand for.

Your trustcasting agency can help you initiate the trust-building process through honest, communication that demonstrates respect for the customer. But if the customer has a bad experience face-to-face, the foundation you’ve worked so hard to establish will be quickly destroyed. You can’t win loyalty through even the best, most well-crafted and sincere marketing messages; you must earn it through a series of positive experiences over time.

When a customer comes through your doors, your employees are the ones that make or break their experience. Every detail – from their appearance to their demeanor to their attitude to their response to requests or problems – shapes the customer’s perception of your brand. If they have a negative encounter, they won’t lose faith in your staff member, they’ll lose faith in you, and you’ll lose the lifetime value of that customer.

As a result, marketing is the responsibility of every person in your organization. From the first impression to the last, you must place value on every interaction and every event. Don’t be complacent in expecting that a certain percentage of customers will inevitably have problems and be content to offer an apology after the fact.

Indoctrinate your employees on the importance of service that goes above and beyond expectation at every opportunity. Teach them how to anticipate needs before they are even expressed, listen attentively for concerns and proactively address problems. Continuously seek out and improve areas of weakness. Make every encounter as personal as possible, no matter how large or small your business.

Trustcasting begins at home

The charge of a trustcasting agency is to help you meet your business growth objectives by facilitating the process of building and maintaining trust. Everything they do is centered around developing authentic and reciprocal relationships that are founded upon honest, two-way communication.

Most often, this process is focused on your customers, but cultivating trust and honesty within your organization is equally important.

Just as you strive to create a personal experience for your customers, do the same for your employees. Engage in face-to-face interaction whenever possible. Foster an environment that promotes open communication at all levels of your organization. Give every employee complete transparency in regard to their job tasks, why they are important and if their work came to a good effect.

Even more importantly, your employees are one of the most cost-effective sources of ideas that you have at your disposal. Your people are your eyes and ears. They are in the trenches of your day-to-day business operations and on the front lines of customer service. As such, who could be better qualified to identify areas of improvement and propose viable solutions?

Design positions in a way that allows every employee to provide input and experience personal growth. Listen to everyone’s opinions and let them know they are a part of the process and that their voices matter.

By encouraging employees to share ideas, you send the message that you are entrusting them with a stake in the company. In return, they will invest a higher level of trust in you and be motivated to always demonstrate honesty and fairness in their dealings with you and their colleagues.

Invest in your employees

Just as your best customers are your brand ambassadors, so are your best employees.

As such, your hiring practices are critical not only to the health of your brand but also to the success of your trustcasting agency’s efforts to further the growth of your business. There is a profound difference between employees who are competent in their jobs and those who actively contribute to your success.

It is essential to hire people who not only have the skill set you need but also are a good fit with your corporate culture. Seek out those who have an innate talent for leadership and put them in roles where they can help you keep your team motivated. Those who are passionate inspire others to want to work harder, too.

Once you have the best people in place, foster a culture of execution in which every employee is empowered to make decisions. Support them by developing a corporate philosophy that clearly defines the core values that drive your business practice and helps them understand what differentiates you from your competitors.

High caliber employees will be able to take this philosophy and apply it creatively to their tasks, the way they perform their work and the decisions that they make so that everything they do reflects and promotes the values your brand stands for.

Know thyself

As an entrepreneur, you are essentially in two businesses: the business of what you do and the business of promoting and growing your company. The mission of your trustcasting agency is to support you in achieving your business growth objectives.

However, the success of your partnership depends on clearly defining those objectives. What is your purpose? To stand pat and realize a certain level of profitability? To expand to multiple locations? To own your market locally, regionally or even nationally?

What is your timeline for growth? Are you content to test the waters where you are, or do you want to pursue an aggressive expansion plan?

Just as importantly, do you have a stopping point, and if so, what is it? Not every corner coffee shop wants to become the next Starbucks, and that’s okay.

No matter the scope of your aspirations, you still need good marketing. It is essential to make the investment in creating a culture around your brand in order to sustain the longevity of your enterprise. However, your growth objectives hold the key for your trustcasting agency to determine the tactics and resources necessary to reach those goals.

Patience is a virtue

The final key is the most simple but perhaps the most important: don’t expect results instantly. Business growth is about increasing awareness, building trust and earning loyalty, a process that takes time and dedication. There are no shortcuts to cultivating real, authentic relationships with your customers.

Don’t get frustrated if things don’t work as you planned immediately, and don’t allow yourself to be paralyzed by fear of or anxiety about failing. Keep trying new approaches, slowly building on those that work well and shaving off those that don’t.

Through it all, maintain your motivation, passion and focus. Don’t try to be everything to everyone all at once. Stay true to your core brand values and concentrate on what you do best.

Above all, have faith in your trustcasting agency. They are in the business of understanding the culture of today’s consumer and creating platforms for long-term success. The methods of new marketing may feel unfamiliar, but in reality, the practices and principles of trustcasting are rooted in and based upon a timeless, proven approach to business development.

The ultimate payoff for your steadfastness and patience will be getting and keeping the best kind of customers – true, dedicated fans that identify themselves with and become evangelists for your brand.

Fame Foundry
1800 Camden Road
Suite 145
Charlotte, NC 28203
888.228.4020
http://www.famefoundry.com

Author: Sharon Lane
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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