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October 17, 2016

Chinese, Use Mobile Apps Twice More Than The Internet

Internet, this is what the whole world is swooned by as of now and it is growing rapidly. Usage of the internet has become a norm for every one of us; maybe without it everything seems to be a void. We cannot imagine a world where there did not exist an internet. Life will become clueless, as the internet and technology is the basic necessity of the next generation and for that matter, no as well.

All the countries are adapting to the changes which are happening around them. The biggest revolution which has happened in the past few decades is the technology, internet and smartphones. Without these three major things, existence of the mankind will be in an utter havoc. It is a proven fact that people have existed in the past and have lived great lives even without these. But, now the scenario has changed, people think that these are the driving forces of today’s world.

Smartphone usage has been on the rise and the apps designed for these devices are also increasing. In a survey taken, it is stated that people spend almost 90 percent of the time on the smartphones. They are filled with many apps which fulfill the requirements of an individual. Without the apps, we can clearly say that, these devices are just like any other normal phone used for making calls and texting.

Social media is one of the biggest platforms where we can find almost everything we want to know about. The Chinese have excelled in the usage of the social media when compared to the other Asian countries along with the US and Europe. Surprisingly we can see that they are not prominently using Facebook or Twitter. They are using the applications which have been designed by the Chinese tech gigs, like Sina Weibo (China’s Twitter) and Renren (China’s Facebook).

China, is leading the charts in the usage of the mobile apps when compared to the other countries. It is has doubled in the current year as compared to the previous year, 2015. We can say that people are using the mobile apps and the internet at almost an equal amount of time. The sale of smartphones has been increased by 11.6 percent when compared to the previous year.

The Chinese spend less amount of time online with their PC’s; instead they are on their smartphones. Americans are spending around 45 hours on an average per month on their smartphones. But, the Chinese have surpassed the Americans in this run; they are spending around 49 hours. It is not a big number, but it may change, as there is an increase in the usage of smartphones and the mobile apps.

Let’s check out with the stat for the person who use their smartphones, is it daytime or the nights? Youth, from this generation prominently uses their smartphones in the nights. In common, if we look into the analysis, Americans are prone to use it noticeably in the day time. Chinese, use their phones late towards the end of the day, which are late evenings or nights.

Gone are the days, when people use to watch TV shows, soap operas and entertainment on the TV. As, everything is available online, people tend to watch it online. An internet package which is available to the commoners is more cost effective than the cable TV or the D2H connections. People in America still watch their favorite shows on the TV. But, people in China are drifting towards watching them online on their smartphones.

Gaming, social networking and news, these are the most used mobile apps in today’s trend. There are millions of apps available for the users to download and spend quality time. But, there are a few apps in the store which remain to be the highly rated and recommended apps. When it comes to America, we can say that it is Facebook and Twitter. China also has its own mobile apps for messaging like WeChat, QQ and a few other apps.

More than 70 percent of the internet usage is done on the smartphone apps. In the current trends we can see that the technology is switching to the digital mode. Investment towards the mobile apps, smartphones, tablets and all the digital products are growing rapidly. The demand for these in the market is going to get higher and higher in the days to come.

The citizens of China use the internet mostly on the smartphones, which is a whopping 94 percent of the users .It is just 70 percent in the US when compared to the Chinese. There are people who just own a smartphone and not a PC; it is a fact that a smartphone does everything a PC can do. There are around 19 percent of the population of the China who own just a smartphone, whereas in the US it just a mere 5 percent.

This is the scenario when compared with the US, but when it comes to comparing with India. It is clear that the Indians are at par in the usage of internet and mobile apps. The difference of usage by the users from the respective countries is just a few hours, China lags by an hour or an hour and a half. But, this is a lead to the big companies to make great business in India.

Tech gigs and the business heads are enthusiastic about the possibilities having a great business in India. In the time, where the economy of the world is depleting, it seems to be a ray of hope. Unfortunately the number of smartphone users is comparatively lesser to that of China and Indonesia. But, they are a few companies who are not keen on investing in India, as the internet speed is just 2.5Mbps.

Another surprising fact is that the people, who use smartphones, don’t stick with it alone. There are a few, who do watch the television simultaneously while using their phone. In simple words, we can say that, they have mastered the skills of multi tasking. 78 percent of the users stay active on social media on their smartphones rather than on any other mobile apps.

Statistics have been taken by the officials of the Internet Network Information Center in China. The penetration rate of mobile search and desktop search is at a close call. Users who do a search on their desktop search engines are around 82.3 percent and its counterparts are at 77.1 percent which is the mobile search engines.

The smartphone usage is prominent with the mobile apps, social media and information from a search engine. There are a few other things which we can see, advertisements on the mobile apps. Advertisers are making huge profits by posting their ads on the mobile apps. China is considered to be the fastest growing market in the mobile advertising industry. In the second quarter of 2016, the market expenditure shockingly reached 931 percent. On a global market scale the rise of the investment is 103 percent.

Social networking, messaging and gaming, these three are the most prominent apps which all of us are using presently. The demand for these apps is never going to fade away. Technology is fast growing and everything related to is going to have a major effect on the people.

Digitization is what the whole business industries are working on, as they are aware, that it is selling point for the business. If, the internet connections are going to get faster in the near future. Then we can be sure of the fact that the people from all over the world be online 24/7. That is the impact which the internet and the smartphones are going to have on the mankind. So, go ahead and get ready for the next generation mobile apps to sweep us off and make us happy.

The Most Useful WordPress Plugins For Writers & Bloggers

Maitreya Patni

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October 13, 2016

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The Most Useful WordPress Plugins For Writers & Bloggers

If you are a writer you should really check out these WP plugins to help you with your writing.

Each has a different use but can help you write and save your writing so you never have to worry about losing a blog post or article again.

Some of the plugins in this list are for free WP hosted sites but some are for paid-hosted WP sites. If you are serious about writing you really should have a paid hosted WP site. If you can’t afford one just yet then do use the plugins that are for free WP hosted sites on this list.

WP Plugins you can use for free Hosted WP

WPSEO by Yoast – this is a well-liked plugin that provides a wide-ranging list of methods to expand your SEO as well as including detailed analysis, statements, and proposals. There is also a paid version that runs around $69.00 and adds on a redirect executive, many keyword emphases, as well as assistance.

WP Editorial Calendar –another popular plugin which allows you to arrange, program, and plot your posts. The drag and release calendar allows you to edit your scheduled posts, see a full 31 days of deliberate posts, and administer jobs by more than one writer.

Google Analytics by Yoast –This complete analytic tool allows you to easily incorporate any advertising you wish on the web through the plugin, it allows A/B divided analysis and provides understanding into your demographics and readers. The paid version ads in AdSense tracking, support that is 24/7, and custom sizes which allow for additional thorough analysis. It costs around $89.00 per site.

Social Networks Auto Poster – that’s right this plugin allows you to automatically post your latest posts to social media. The paid edition starts at $49.95, which also has Google+ integration, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and scheduled postings.

Updraft Plus–offers many customizable features to backing up your site the way you want it, with more than a dozen features such as Microsoft One Drive, Google Drive, and Dropbox. It also allows you choose which plugins or portions of your website you want to protect. The paid version runs $70.00 per site but allows several storage places, no ads, and support through a forum and email.

Akismet –a great spam filter for comments. Spam comments can harm your rankings so this program will stop that. It is continually updated to adjust to modifications in spamming methods and technology. Paid accounts start at $5 a month which consists of email and live-chat support, progressive spam statistics, as well as more inspections for spam.

Image Inject –looking for the right image can use up a lot of time most of us do not have but image inject gives you a way to search for images directly from WP on Pixabay (over 150,000 available images) and Flickr (over 200 million available images). Image inject also adds the proper attribute links which also saves you time.

Nimble Portfolio –this plugin helps blog owner’s show off their top work in a stunning visual way. It is also joined with YouTube and Vimeo for videos and can aid in providing PDF previews.

These plugins will get you started, once you use these you will be looking for others. Just be aware some are for free hosted WP and some are for paid hosted WP sites.

Any writer can use these plugins

Any writer, not just bloggers can use these plugins including ghostwriters, people who write papers for others, and so on. Even trust my paper who writes student papers and more uses these or other trusted plugins when they have a student ask write my paper.

Conclusion

Anyone who is a writer needs these plugins to save time, make their SEO better, and have the analytics that is included with them.

There are even more plugins available just make sure that you get ones that are within your budget. With plugins, you can write even better.

About the Author: Janet Anthony is a blogger from Kansas City and content writer at WritingDaddy who has been writing professionally for five years now. She mostly writes about blogging, social media, and self-development. Her motto is “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows”. Find Janet here: twitter

10 Ways Marketers Can Attract & Appeal to Millennials [Infographic]

Internet

Ecbert Malcom

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October 13, 2016

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10 Ways Marketers Can Attract & Appeal to Millennials [Infographic]

Just as with every generation, millennials bring to the table their very own expectations and abilities. Following are ten things that you can do to more effectively market and appeal to this group.

Millennials are the group that were born as early as 1977 to as late as 2000 and are just starting to enter the workforce. The members of this particular group are 75 million strong and are being raised at a time when everyone is so focused on children- and the impact on businesses is obvious.

Overall, it has been proven that millennials have lots of confidence. This could be due- at least in part- to the focus they received from their parents when they were growing up and the high level of expectations that have been placed on them. In addition, they found independence with the invention of cell phones, internet, and a variety of other electronic forms of communication. Millennials are definitely the very first generation that has grown up entirely online. Therefore, when it comes to reaching them, the marketing mix that is used has got to start evolving. Just as you would probably expect, this group is the most technologically literate of all.

Millennials and Socialization

When it comes to socialization, this group is also quite different. They are very team-oriented and would prefer to band together to socialize and date instead of pairing off with each other. They tend to work quite well in groups, which they would prefer doing instead of working individually. This group is also quite well when it comes to multi-tasking and are the ones that will typically study or work while also listening to the radio or watching TV. This gives marketers all the more reason to make sure that you are using all possible forms of media marketing available and make sure that your message stays consistent on all levels.

Millennials and Academics

As far as academics go, this is the group that really got into playing sports, going to school, and also enjoying social activities. They believe that it is necessary to “go green” and are most likely to be supportive of anything that is good for the environment.

Millennials and Work

When thinking about work, this group expects there to be structure. They are willing to acknowledge and respect various titles and positions and would like to have a relationship with their boss. Millennials are in need of mentoring and will respond quite well to personal attention. If you are managing this group, you must understand that they prefer structure and stability. Any mentoring of millennials should be formal, with an authoritative mentor and set meetings.

Marketing and Appealing to Millennials

Now that you have a bit of an understanding about the target market you are trying to appeal to, you must think more about where they tend to go for information and how they act. The truth is that this group tends to log into their social media accounts several times each day. They are sending messages to their friends and uploading videos- are you there too?

Listen to Them

First of all, in order to reach this group, you must be listening to their conversations. This is where most of the businesses these days fail- they are not paying attention to the conversations that this group is having about their company and their products/services. You can sign up for Google Alerts and find out what people are mostly blogging about.

Create Social Media Accounts

In order to reach this group, you have got to get your name out there. You must make sure that you have a presence on social media. However, you must also keep in mind that you can’t always be marketing- you want to avoid being too commercial. Millennials can see right through you when you do that. Instead, you want to be natural and help them to understand what your company is about and exactly what it is that you stand for.

Communicate on a More Personal Level

Instead of just speaking to your audience- you also want to give them a chance to speak to you. Create a two-way conversation. This can be through allowing them the opportunity to rate your products/services, share comments, and even share their experiences with your company with others. You must give them a forum where they can socialize.

Infographic provided by www.urgentessaywriting.com.

Make Sure That Your Message is Consistent

No matter how you are marketing to your audience, your message must always remain consistent. You want to avoid saying one thing and doing something entirely different or changing your message on a regular basis. If you do this, you are definitely not going to be able to build the trust that you need to ensure that you have lifetime customers.

Always be Creative

Marketing that is creative is much more likely to gain momentum quickly. By using platforms such as YouTube, Delicious, and Flickr, you can be sure that your message will be shared and distributed quickly. However, you should never force an issue. Instead, create something that is fun and meaningful- which will make it worth sharing. Then, before you even realize it, millennials are going to be sharing information about your company and your products/services.

Make Sure You are Techno-Centered

As mentioned earlier, you must keep in mind that this group is the first one to grow up completely immersed in the internet and other related technologies. They are constantly checking their smartphones- and most of them have multiple digital devices. Therefore, you must make sure that your website is optimized for mobile devices. After all, this may be the first time they learn about your company. In addition, if you want them to be making an online purchase, you must make sure that the process is quick, easy, and efficient.

Make Sure to Offer Access-over-Ownership

Since this group has been through two of the greatest downturns of the economy in the history of the nation: September 11, 2001 and the Market Crash of 2008, over half of this population seems to find that paying bills online is a challenging task. Therefore, they tend to be a bit more frugal and will choose access instead of ownership. This means that instead of buying movies and music, they are more likely to choose subscription companies that allow them to access music, movies, and more for free- or at least a discount. Therefore, you can make their lives so much easier by offering them less expensive options for access, such as an app.

Allow Them to Express Themselves

One important thing you must keep in mind is that this group of individuals believes in self-expression. If they like your brand, you must realize that their friends/followers are going to know about it. Therefore, you can help them make choices that will be beneficial for your own business by offering informative and creative content that they will share across all of their social media outlets.

Don’t Just Inform, but Involve Them

This group enjoys engagement, so you shouldn’t simply market to them. You must inform them and make sure to get them involved as much as you can. For example, if you have a company that sells personal hair color products, you might want to consider a contest for those that use your products to post their pictures and tips. In addition, as mentioned earlier, it’s a good idea to create a forum where your consumers can chat with others and share their thoughts and opinions.

Make Sure that You Have a Good Cause

While it’s true that this group has gone through the two greatest economic downturns in history, they are still quite idealistic. Therefore, marketing that is related to a good cause is more likely to catch their attention. If they feel like they would be making a big difference in the community, they will be more likely to use your company’s goods/services. Therefore, you must somehow connect your company to a community or even global cause to appeal to this group.

Final Thoughts

One of the things you must understand is that it’s definitely not going to be an easy task to market to millennials. In order to make sure you are successful, you must understand that they are very dependent on socializing and hold the opinions of others in high regard. While most of the marketing to this group must be centered online, you shouldn’t let go of the traditional media such as direct mail. Just because marketing has evolved, traditional marketing can also be quite effective, as long as they are used in conjunction with one another.

Buying a Power Bank for Your Mobile Device? Here is What You Need to Know

Technology

Maitreya Patni

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October 13, 2016

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Buying a Power Bank for Your Mobile Device? Here is What You Need to Know

The importance of mobile phones in today’s world doesn’t have to be explained. There is a wide selection of mobile phones with different characteristics and performance. Depending on their needs, people choose a different mobile phone.

We use them for texting messages, calling, browsing the Internet, and playing games and so on. All these uses and advanced features make the mobile battery drain very quickly. This is one reason why we have to buy a good quality power bank. Here are some tips which can help you when you decide to buy a new power bank.

Power Bank Buying Tips

When you decide to buy a power bank you have to follow the next few points. The five vital things to consider are listed below:

In order to compare power banks made by popular brands you have to know the basic terms.
The battery in the power bank has to have good capacity in order to ensure long battery ife.
The battery size has to be taken into consideration since you are going to carry it everywhere.
Make sure the connections are suitable for the device you use.
Make sure to check all the extra features you can get with the purchase.

This are the top five things you have to take care of when you decide to purchase a power bank.

Power Bank – Basic Terms

Understanding the terms, numbers and units related to the power bank is essential. For example, when we talk about the battery capacity we have to say it in mAh(milliampere-hour). So, when you are choosing a power bank make sure its capacity is equal to the capacity of the mobile phone battery or exceeds it.

It is also good to know the power output and it is calculated in amps (A). It is recommended to buy a battery that has a higher output.

The Way You Use the Power Bank dictates the features You Need

During the buying process you have to take care of the materials the power bank is made from. Make sure to choose durable and strong materials. The power bank is something you carry all the time in your bag so it is highly recommended to buy a power bank with a case made out of aluminum.

Paying attention to the visual look of the battery is important and it is something you shouldn’t ignore. This means that if you plan to carry the power bank in your pocket you should avoid buying one that is not thin. However if you carry it in your bag or backpack, it is recommended to buy a larger one. At the same time it is possible that you can enjoy some extra features when you choose a larger power bank of higher capacity.

Take care of the compatibility of your device and the power bank

You will definitely feel bad if you buy a quality power bank and then realize it is not compatible with your device. For example, most power banks on the market today come with a standard USB port and there are built-in cables. So before you make the purchase make sure to check if they are compatible or it is a complete waste of money.

When you buy a higher priced power bank you will possibly have the chance to enjoy some of the extra features like LED display, battery level indicator, built-in flash light, and so on. So, if you have time it is recommended to check all the extra features you can get for just a little more money than the standard power bank.

How to Find Your IP and Network Hardware Addresses

Internet

Maitreya Patni

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October 2, 2016

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How to Find Your IP and Network Hardware Addresses

In the present advanced world, the internet becomes the most important thing for all the people to know things around the world. However, the internet is accessed in the wireless way through the router in the home network. So, if you are having the network connection in your home or office by the router, you may want to increase the security to it. When you want to make the secured environment for your network, you just need to customize the settings. To change the settings of the private wireless or wired network, you need to know its IP address of the router initially. In this article, you will see how to access the router hardware’s IP address in the most effective manner.

When you have the private or the public network with the servers or the workstations, it may be assigned with the static and dynamic IP addresses. However, the private or public network can definitely use the router for giving the network. Of course, you may assign the addresses to the static when it is the public network and can give the dynamic IP address for the DHCP. In some cases, you may want to find all the IP addresses of the networked devices in the particular network. If you want to find the IP address of the hardware in the network you just need to follow the below mentioned technique.

Connect to the Router to Know IP addresses

If you are having the internet access of your router, you can connect your computer device to the router. It can help you to retrieve the IP addresses of all the networked devices in the easiest manner. When you do so, you can get the access to know the following information.

Static and dynamic IP address of the client
Host name
IP address
MAC address

All of these things can be gained through your router that is connected in the network. However, it can only be done when you are having the web access to the router.

Get the IP Address by Pinging the Computer

There is an alternative way available for getting the information about the IP addresses of the hardware in the network. For this purpose, you have to try pinging your network from the computer connected to the network. When you ping your computer, it can show the arp table.

You have to open the Run dialogue box on your computer by clicking Run option from the Start menu. In the Run box, you have to type “cmd” and enter.

After that, you have to type “IPConfig” on the screen to find your network address. Here, your operating system can process your request and give the IP address by performing the logical AND operation on your IP address and the subnet mask.

In this manner, you can use this ping method for finding the IP address of the devices that are connected in your network in the most effective manner.

Give the Command to Know the IP Address

If both above mentioned ways are not useful to find the IP address, you can try this following method. As the way, you have to use the “netstat –r” command for finding the IP address of all the network routes like 192.168.1.1. However, this command may not be used when the printer in your network is having the problems in communication with the other networked device.

By following these kinds of the methods, you can able to find the IP address of your network hardware devices in the most effective manner. If you want to get more details, you can search over the internet.

How to Write and Promote Content Without Making SEO Mistakes

Ecbert Malcom

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October 2, 2016

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How to Write and Promote Content Without Making SEO Mistakes

Competing in the SEO market for content marketing is no walk in the park. There’s a ton of competition and Google can by a tough overseer to impress. But if you can avoid making common SEO mistakes, you’ll gain a big advantage over your rivals and give yourself a big boost with the all-important Google rankings.

Here’s a list of 6 frequent SEO slipups content marketers make and how to avoid them

Misplacing Your Content

No matter how awesome your content is. If it doesn’t have a home that attracts a sufficient amount of links that lead directly back to your website then it’s probably not going to generate much traffic for you. Setting up your content on platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn will probably cause your content to go to waste since your external links will lead to intermediary sites. It will be competing with a whole bunch of other sites’ links, causing the links to your site being no-followed.

Additionally, using third-party sites like Buzzfeed or Washington Post will be a tough go for you. Due to the amount of other sites’ links you’ll be competing against on their page, not to mention their restrictive editorial guidelines. Even if Buzzfeed publishes an amazing list article that you’ve put together, it won’t do much for you SEO wise since the site doesn’t permit direct links to your site.

So how do we work around this?

Simple. If your goal is to build link authority, forget about the social media platforms and third party sites and place it on your own website. You have to be sure that you publish a high-quality content, first of all. You can do it by yourself or you can ask to help such services as Get Academic Help. This way you can just focus on driving all traffic to your site . And your readers will be exactly where they need to be when they’re ready to give you the conversions you’re looking for.

Be Outcome-Focused, Not Activity-Focused

A lot of content marketers are smitten with the idea of following whatever tasks are listed as an SEO “best practice”. They’ll build their to-do list around whatever activities they’re told are the way to go.

The problem though is that many of these tasks will do very little, if anything at all, to enhance your SEO. For example, meta descriptions do nothing to improve your rankings. And yet they’re often prioritized as something that significant time must be spent on.

Thus, your strategy should be centered around doing whatever will lead to your desired outcome. By locking your focus on a bright, shiny goal, you can use all of your time and resources to achieve it. While filtering out the stuff that would be a busy-work distraction at best or could knock you off course at worst. The best part of this being that once you hit a particular goal. You can set up your next goal and begin operating with a clear purpose towards that.

Make Sure Your Target the Right Audience

While laser-focusing your content marketing towards your ideal customers might seem like the obvious thing to do, you’ll be making a big mistake with regards to your SEO. What you need to understand? Is that it’s not your potential customers that make up the critical part of your audience. It’s the people who have the most influence online under Google’s ever watchful eye.

Of course, this doesn’t mean relevance goes out the window. Obtaining links from online studs in industries totally different than yours most likely won’t do you much good. However, if you can create entertaining content that captures the interest of those visiting these big sites, you’ll have a good chance of drawing lots of visitors. Who’ll be intrigued by what you have to offer when they hit your site.

Pushing For “Likes” over “Links”

Are you’re implementing social media into your content marketing strategy? Then you’re totally missing the boat in you aren’t applying the concepts of successful SEO to it. SEO has to be the backbone of all your marketing and getting a bunch of retweets, likes, and shares aren’t going to do a thing to pump up your Google ranking.

You want the links.

The central focus of your social media marketing should be to entice bloggers of influence to link to your website. Doing things that are simply cute or entertaining without gaining new links from them are essentially a waste of time as far as SEO is concerned.

Not Connecting With A Power User

The more heavy hitters you can attract to your site, the better your link building will go. So hooking up with power users – bloggers, journalists, social media butterflies, celebrities – with big followings who can provide you with links that can attract serious traffic is a tremendous way to boost your SEO.

And the best part is that you don’t need to win over a bunch of them.

In fact, if you can just snag one power user you’ll be well on your way to impressing Google and shooting up the rankings.

Before you go big game hunting is that attracting a power user can be challenging. You should be ready to compensate a power user. Could be cash, could be favors. Since very little in this world is free and you need to know how to locate these power users to even have a shot at winning one over. One way is to consult your SEO consultant if you have one, who may be able to point you in the right direction. Or may already have a connection to one. While another way is to seek them out on the various social networking sites and attempt to build a relationship through there.

Not Selecting the Right Keywords

What might be a highly effective keyword for one business could be a complete dud for another?

An example of this would include using generic keywords. That draw in visitors going with global keywords when your business only caters to a local crowd. Or keywords that might hook in visitors only seeking free info but have zero interest in purchasing anything.

Early on at least, your aims should be to go with keywords. That specifically match your service and the audience you’re aiming for. This will help you attract an audience that is already interested in what you’re selling. Which should, in turn, cause your Google rankings to rise. The flip side of this is that as your business grows, you could begin to optimize with keywords that will appeal to a broader audience.

How to Keep All Your Data Safe (Hard Drive, Mobile Devices, And More)

Maitreya Patni

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October 2, 2016

0

How to Keep All Your Data Safe (Hard Drive, Mobile Devices, And More)

Is your data truly safe? Even if you’ve installed cybersecurity and anti-malware software, your data may still be at risk. It takes a number of precautions to ensure total data security, but maybe you think you don’t need to worry about data loss. Regardless if you’re an executive, student, or homemaker, data loss can negatively affect your way of life. It’s everything on your computer.

Take a minute to look at your documents folder or explore your cloud storage. What’s on there? Music? Your kid’s homework? A short story you’ve been working on? Company records? Can you afford to lose this information? Why wait until it’s gone to worry if you can live without it or not, take the steps necessary to protect your data now to avoid total disaster later.

In case of emergency: If you do suffer unexpected data loss, you’re not totally without a life preserver. There are companies that specialize in quick hard drive recovery, such as the Toronto data recovery service Secure Data Recovery. Specialists take your hard drive into what’s called a “clean room” and the engineers carefully reconstruct the damaged files, and hopefully can recover that which is important to you.

Proactive Ways to Secure Your Data

Data isn’t just found on a computer’s hard drive; it’s found on mobile devices, networks, social networking sites, and more. The following outlines some methods for protecting your data no matter where it’s stored. These are your best practices for protecting your identity, credit, and those files that are most important to you (photos, music, and important documents, such as tax paperwork).

Cybersecurity and anti-malware software: you should be running your cybersecurity suite daily. You can have your systems do this autonomously by scheduling daily runs. You can have it run overnight while you’re sleeping. Make sure to download cybersecurity on all your devices.
Make regular backups: You should be backing up your data regularly; this includes making backups of the data store on your mobile devices. If something happens, such as you’re hacked, you can simply upload the backup file and move on with your life.
Use removable disks to save your most important data: Save your data to an external hard drive or other removable disk. Store these disks in protective areas away from dust, dander, fire, and water.
Use strong passwords: You want your social media and other online engagements to stay protected? Use a strong password and change it often. The best passwords are at least eight characters, feature upper and lowercase letters, and feature numbers and symbols. Use a different password for each login; that way, if a hacker is able to determine one of your passwords, he won’t have access to all of your online accounts.
Always log off: Especially when using public computers, it’s essential that you log off from social media and anywhere else. For personal computers and devices, use a password or immediately shut down the device when you’re done with it.
Use encryption and avoid unencrypted websites: Avoid surfing websites that don’t have “https” at the beginning of the web address. Https is the secure version of “http.” It means that the connection is encrypted, and that means third parties can’t intercept the data sent between you and the site.
Update everything: Don’t wait to update iOS, Android, or your computer’s operating system. Operating system updates are the most important and shouldn’t be put off because they come with bug fixes and advanced security. Also, it’s important that you update your applications and any software you have installed.

Remember: if you do lose data, all isn’t lost; however, why wait to see if data can be recovered when these methods are proven to protect it now? Do your best to employ all of these strategies, and avoid any connections that aren’t secure. Encryption is your best friend and cybersecurity is your greatest protector.

\Remember: if you do lose data, all isn’t lost; however, why wait to see if data can be recovered when these methods are proven to protect it now? Do your best to employ all of these strategies, and avoid any connections that aren’t secure. Encryption is your best friend and cybersecurity is your greatest protector.

10 Negative Beliefs that Guarantee Blogging Failure

Maitreya Patni

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September 20, 2016

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10 Negative Beliefs that Guarantee Blogging Failure

There are some negative beliefs that usually hunt most of us. And it is OK. It is normal to feel unsure sometimes in such competitive environment, such as the blogging. But it doesn’t mean that you should allow these pessimist ideas to take over your mind and stop you from becoming a successful blogger.

The problem is that many of these beliefs can pass unnoticed or as a natural thing to consider under the circumstances. So to avoid that you fall into this trap, let’s list ten of the most common negative ideas that can guarantee blogging failure if they aren’t dissolved on time.

#1 – I am no expert; I shouldn’t be writing about it

The famous impostor syndrome is the first negative belief that we will point out here. It is true that you have no PhD in what you are writing about, but let’s be honest: who does? Most of the bloggers never been to any university, and several of them had very average jobs before becoming a blogger. And it has never stopped them from learning their craft and making money out of it.

#2 – There are too many blogs out there

Yes, it is true. There is an enormous number of blogs out there nowadays. But have you ever stopped to check their quality? How many of them are really good and offer reliable content? How many of them are taken seriously enough? You know the answer: not many. So if you are managing your blogging career with professionalism, you are among a VIP group.

#3 – It requires technical expertise to run a blog (and I know zero about it)

No, it doesn’t. You can have a blog, and get your blog on the first page of Google Search with little or no technical experience. You can also create great content and prepare an amazing design. And all you need to do is to read tips from experts and follow them to the dot. There are also plenty of automating tools, online services, and templates ready for you. Simple like this.

#4 – It takes too much time to keep it up-to-date

I won’t lie to you. Blogging requires dedication. But the worst part is the beginning when you are learning and building an audience for the first time. Then you can relax a bit and make improvements here and there. And you can always open space for guest bloggers so they share the burden with you in exchange for a byline.

#5 – It requires too much money to keep it up-to-date

Here is an affirmation that you can erase from your mind forever. The cost to keep the blog is the same that you had to create it in the first place. No more, no less. Of course, you might want to make improvements or buy tools to automate parts of the process. But it means that you are setting yourself free for new projects, so it is a win-win scenario.

#6 – I am not a good writer

And who is? Even published best-seller authors have their doubts about the quality of their writing. And this is why they rely on editors and proofreaders to perfect their work. So why can you do the same? If you feel that you need help, just go ahead and hire a freelancer or an agency to check your posts. No need to feel bad about it. You always can find some help in your writings. Just want to be creative and your brain will do the rest.

#7 – I will never make money out it

You will or you won’t. It depends on how hard you want to work on ways to monetize your blog. But there are many bloggers out there making small fortunes per month, and they aren’t lying. You just need to find the best method according to your audience and go for it.

#8 – Analytics are too complicated

If you have ever had a look at Google Analytics or Google Webmaster Tools, you might have found them complicated at first sight. But if you took the time to look for any tutorial online, you know that it isn’t that bad. It is just a question of understanding the lingo and then choosing which data is more relevant to you. Soon, it will become your second skin.

#9 – I will have to write until exhaustion

No, you won’t. As said above, there is a lot to write in the beginning, but then it settles in. You will know every single aspect of your topic, and your writing will run more smoothly. And also as mentioned before, you can always invite people to become guest bloggers. Even your visitor can generate content for you if you provide them with the right tools.

#10 – Being afraid of criticism

Criticism is a problem the fear of many aspiring bloggers. They think that people will hate what they write and that they will become a meme to be mocked about. But while it is not possible to make everyone happy, you won’t be making everybody unhappy either. Rest assured that if you do good work, you will have much more followers than haters.

The bottom line

As you can see, it is very easy to get rid of the negative beliefs above. Just stick to your guns and go ahead with your blog idea. You are sure to be successful if you are willing to remain optimistic and ready for working hard.

11 Pitfalls That Can Throw Off Your Writing Dynamics

Maitreya Patni

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September 20, 2016

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11 Pitfalls That Can Throw Off Your Writing Dynamics

Your writing dynamics are a combination of the effectiveness of your writing along with your ability to create written works efficiently. It doesn’t matter if you are a novelist, poet, blogger, copywriter, or journalist maintaining good writing dynamics is important. Unfortunately, there are some creeping bad habits that can throw you off your game. The best way to avoid these is to be aware of them. Then, be vigilant.

Blowing The Ending

Many writers can produce perfectly insightful works when it comes to the beginning and the middle of their pieces. Unfortunately, the ending is often another story altogether. Whether it’s the final chapter of your eBook or the last couple of paragraphs of a blog post, neatly summarizing things can be tricky.

Some writers attempt to leave the conclusion off altogether. Others make the mistake of repeating points that were already made. Instead, try to show how each item you have presented adds up to prove your initial assertion.

Overusing Certain Words And Phrases

Every writer has certain go-to words and phrases that pop up throughout their writing. On one hand, this can become a part of your voice. On the other hand, taken too far this can make your writing predictable and repetitive.

One thing to consider is taking some of your writing and Pasting into a website or tool that generates word clouds. There are plenty of these available for free. This will produce a word cloud that lets you know the words that appear most in your writing. If a few words really stand out, consider using an alternative every once in a while.

Using The Passive Voice

The increasingly, common use of the passive voice has the effect of making writing seem weird and a bit stuffy. Using this technique can cause writers to seem as if they are trying to sound more academic and intellectual than they are.

If you have this habit, break it ASAP. Editors really look down on this, and it does make your writing quite ineffective. In fiction, If you choose to write in the passive voice, you are taking power and interest away from your characters.

Overuse of Adverbs

Remember that a powerful verb is always better than an adverb combined with a weaker verb. Think about that. Doesn’t this: “She sprinted across the lawn just in time to prevent the toddler from walking in front of a speeding car”. Sound better than: “She ran quickly across the lawn just in time to prevent the toddler from walking in front of a speeding car”.

If you are tempted to use a word to supplement a verb, stop and look for a verb that doesn’t need to be supplemented. In nearly every case, your writing will be more powerful, and you will communicate more effectively using fewer words.

Skipping The Editing And Proofreading Steps

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing about something easy and trivial. And it doesn’t matter if you are a subject matter expert. It doesn’t matter if it’s a quick piece that you could turn out in your sleep. No piece of writing should be released for consumption without going through some sort of editing and proofreading process. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner writing an essay for college or a published author, everybody needs an editor.

Misunderstanding Your Audience

If you fail to research and properly understand who you are writing for, your work can come off more than a little tone deaf. The last thing that you want to do is to explain basic concepts to an advanced audience. You also don’t want to make the mistake of assuming that a general audience has advanced knowledge of a particular subject.

Then, there’s the matter of tone. If you use humor or pop culture references in your writing, it is very important to ensure that those things will be well received and understood.

Writing For Word Count

It feels like you’ve been writing for hours. You’re tired, and you cannot think of one more word to say on the matter. So, you hit the word count checker. Bad news, you’re a hundred words short. At this point, you’re probably tempted to go back and add in filler words and sentences to just to be done with things. Unfortunately, this rarely turns out well.

Instead of trying to fit in some extra words here and there, try finding an example that you can add. Other options are to include more detail to instructions or to add some dialogue.

Failing to Write Everyday

Writing talent is like a muscle. If you fail to use it, the ability atrophies. By writing at least a bit every day, you stay on top of your game. This makes it much easier to stay productive when you have deadlines to meet. Even if you don’t have any active deadlines, daily writing is your key to honing your craft and perfecting your voice.

Lacking Brevity

Ernest Hemingway, one of the most respected authors of all time, was known for writing that was both powerfully brief. He didn’t waste words, and he got right to the point. It’s very important to monitor your own writing for throw away words and sentences that add nothing to your work.

Censoring Yourself

A writer’s keyboard can be identified by the faded letters and smoothly worn spacebar. One key that should not have the same amount of wear and tear as the others, is the backspace. This is because deleting things should largely be left to the editing stage of the game and not the writing stage. Don’t censor yourself during the writing process. You could end up killing off a great idea that just needs a bit of polishing.

Use of Jargon

Unless you are truly dealing with industry insiders, it is rarely a good idea to use jargon or buzzwords in your writing. In the rare instances where you cannot get away from doing this, be sure to adequately explain what each term means.

Conclusion

Stay in practice, pay attention to detail, write for your audience instead of yourself, and be creative. These are the things that will keep your writing dynamics on point.

10 Tips and Tools to Humanise Your Company Blog

Ecbert Malcom

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September 20, 2016

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10 Tips and Tools to Humanise Your Company Blog

You probably have heard all this about humanising your blog, so your target audience will engage with your brand. As a consequence, it will increase your traffic and your conversions.

But how to do in practical terms, you wonder. Because, at the end of the day, you have a company, not a child. And it makes you think that you can’t humanise it, no matter how hard you try.

Thankfully, here is a list of tips and tools that you can use to achieve this goal. And, yes, they have all been tested and proved by experts.

#1 – Tell how the company was founded

One great way to create an emotional connection between your company and your target audience is by writing an article about its foundation. Tell them all struggles you went through, what challenges you faced, and how many times you considered giving up. Also tell any funny details, and how you manage to overcome every problem you encountered. Then leave them with a life lesson and a story of success.

#2 – Show the production process

Your customers will love to know how the products and services that they buy are created. Show them how it works as if you were talking about assembling a toy or something else that is fun. And take the opportunity to create an open channel about it. Let them ask questions and be curious about your secrets (if there is any). It can become a memorable conversation.

#3 – Interview your team

Your company is not a person, but it is made by people. So if you want to humanise it, you should bring your team to the scene. Interview them and share with your customers why they are so important to the company. Highlight their skills and tell interesting stories about how you met them for the first time. But also share more personal things that can show them as an interesting person – with their permission, of course.

#4 – Add user-generated content

Content generated by your clients and customers is another great way to boost engagement. Let them write posts about your brand, how they use your products, and what they think about your services. Yes, you can check them before publishing it, but censorship won’t help you much here. You would rather let them free to be honest and surprise yourself with the compliments you will get. Also you can use professional content using website ratings to find them to generate high-quality content for your purposes.

#5 – Forget about stock images

Stock images are a cheap way to get professional images, but they aren’t famous for creating an emotional connection. People know that you aren’t the one on the photo and feel a bit betrayed by it. On the other hand, real photos from your facilities, team, products can be more expensive, but they will pay you back for sure.

#6 – Add videos

Videos are also well known for creating engagement. They wake up emotions and trigger the brain to create connections – so we tend to remember what we see longer than what we read. So any of the suggestions above can be transformed from a written post to a video instead. You can showcase your portfolio, interview clients and your staff, and much more.

#7 – Use informal words

One thing that companies are usually concerned about while blogging is about their choice of words. They think because they are a business, their tone should be cold and formal. But they couldn’t be more wrong. People wants to hear from people, and you will sound like a robot if you choose this way. So don’t be afraid of being funny or informal – your clients will be much happier if you do so.

#8 – Answer your comments and reviews

Another thing that you should ensure that you do is to answer all your comments and reviews. Each one of them should be taken care individually and with all care, even the negative ones. It will show that you care about what it is said about your company and show that you are more than interested in having a conversation with your clients.

#9 – Sign with your name

Here is a precious tip, ignored by many companies: you should sign your blog posts with your name. Create a byline with a real and nice photo of you, so people will know who is writing those texts. And tell a bit about yourself, professionally and personally. It will make them feel much more comfortable and interested to read your words, for sure.

#10 – Build relationships

Last but not least, you should always focus on building relationships with your audience. Every time that you are about to create an article, you should consider how they can interact with it, and which resources you can provide so they can use your blog to engage in conversations. And not only with you but also with other customers so that they can share their experiences, for instance.