Boost your Facebook Outreach (Tips)

Posted on 31pm00k by o2task

Facebook: The PR Pro’s Guide to Facebook

The Social PR Guide Series is supported by Mynewsdesk. Our online newsroom makes it easier to exchange news with key influencers, reach top of search engines and automatically update your social media channels.

Facebook is about sharing. We share updates that reveal little pieces of our lives, and we check out our friends’ updates to share in little pieces of their lives. And when there are pictures, links, comments, companies and various other things that we like, we share that as well. Companies and brands have a wonderful opportunity to participate in this give and take, and engage in real conversations with their customers and fans on Facebook. As PR professionals, how can we help our clients connect with their communities through Facebook? Here are some tips.

Get Started (It’s Super Easy)

Setting up a basic Facebook Page for your client is really simple. Just go to this page and follow the prompts. Note that you’ll need a personal user account to set it up, but most of us already have one. Once your client’s page hits 25 likes, you can secure a vanity URL (facebook.com/yourbusinesshere) for it. And that’s pretty much it. The rest of the Facebook game is about content and community building.

Set the Stage

You can put all sorts of stuff on a Facebook Page — but know that there’s a fine-ish line between a nicely organized variety of content that will engage your audience on an ongoing basis and a random mishmash of bits and pieces that doesn’t do much of anything. Jamie Tedford, “chief evangelism officer” at social marketing company Brand Networks, recommends starting with a content calendar. Include information such as what percentage of posts will be brand messages, community messages and promotional messages, how many promotions will run and how they will be incorporated, what kinds of things you’re going to link to, who’s posting and how often, he says.
That brings us to the obvious next question — how often should you post? Unfortunately, there’s no magic number, though there have been studies about the best times for Facebook engagement. Advise your client to start with a post once every two days, use Facebook’s built-in Insights app to track likes and audience engagement, and then adjust the schedule as needed.

Decide What To Say

Next, focus your client’s attention on the content itself. My colleague Jason Throckmorton, a partner at the San Francisco-based PR firm where I work, offers a clear-cut rule of thumb: “Each and every post you publish should give your fans a reason to engage.” Facebook is about sharing our own experiences and responding to those of others, and so the Facebook community has a built-in thirst for engagement.
Bonobos, an online men’s clothing retailer, posts to its Facebook Page two or three times daily, and keeps things organized with a set theme for each day of the week. There’s “Monday Man-Style,” for style-related posts and “Tuesday Threads” for product posts. Wednesdays are an open forum, and fans can ask Bonobos customer service “ninjas” anything they want. And they do –- from “When are the seersucker jackets coming out?” (Answer: “In the next week or so.”) to “When is the cut-off age for dressing ‘hip’?” (Answer: “Whenever you stop being able to pull it off…”)
Richard Mumby, VP of marketing at Bonobos, explains that a company’s Facebook Page shouldn’t be about selling. When you’re just starting out, it’s easy to skew early posts to a more salesy, product-centric approach, but this can be counterproductive, he says. Your newly minted fans won’t be interested in a hard sell, so don’t start that way.

Get People to “Like” You

It‘s no fun to create a client Facebook Page only to find that only “4 people like this,” no matter how many how enthusiastically (or repeatedly) you hit refresh. To build your base, start with your client’s most loyal fans — the ones that already exist. Place a call to action in email newsletters and make sure the Facebook Page is visible on your client’s website, blog, Twitter and on all physical promotional materials, especially those given out at offline events. If appropriate, place hyperlinks in press releases and other PR-related materials. Note that Facebook has specific rules about how it can be referenced and linked. For example, you cannot connect your client’s company name and Facebook in the same hyperlink. Be sure to read through Facebook’s brand permissions guidelines.
This past November, St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY ran a campaign with a goal of reaching 2,011 fans by New Year’s Eve. The day they launched, they had 1756 fans. In order to make it to “2,011 by 2011,” they kicked up both the frequency and quality of their posts, incorporating more dynamic content, such as photos and video. During a big offline annual event in December, they also handed out Facebook “business cards,” directing attendees to Facebook for post-event photos and posts. They achieved their goal a few days ahead of time — by December 26.

Let Them Win

There are plenty of benefits to running Facebook contests. Most importantly, they give people a fun way to interact with your client’s brand and a reason to come back to visit and see who gets the prize. But if you’re going to run a contest, Jim Belosic, cofounder and CEO of ShortStack, a self-service Facebook tab building platform, says that Facebook has some strict rules that your client must follow:

Companies are not allowed to run contests in which people enter by commenting or posting to the wall.
Companies are not allowed to use the newsfeed to announce contest winners.
Companies are not allowed to notify winners through Facebook, such as via Facebook messages.
Companies must run their contests through a third party app.

ShortStack allows users to build custom Facebook tabs without any developer experience. You can easily create branded pages using a template, and then there are a host of customization options from there. Using ShortStack’s contest widget, which launched earlier this week, you can quickly set up a contest and not worry about figuring out how to follow Facebook’s rules, as the ShortStack platform takes cares of meeting those requirements for you. ShortStack’s interface allows you to design a contest submission form, customize the look and feel with images, incorporate contest rules and other information, set launch dates and duration and manage several other contest functions. Within the next few weeks, ShortStack will also roll out photo-upload submission capabilities.
Note that beyond contests, ShortStack also lets you add a range of other tabs to your client’s Facebook page including contact pages, YouTube channels, Flickr feeds and polls. Service plans start at $9 per month.

Make Your Fans Feel Special

This May 16, Freedom Riders, a documentary that tells the story of the men and women who participated in the Freedom Rides of 1961, will premiere on PBS’s acclaimed history program, American Experience. In advance of the broadcast premiere, PBS is offering a special preview to its Facebook fans: A 35-minute excerpt of the film debuted exclusively on the PBS Facebook Page this past Monday, and will be available for viewing until the film airs on the 16th. American Experience has offered exclusive content to its Facebook community in the past as well. One week before the broadcast premiere of documentary Earth Days in April 2010, the film was live-streamed in full exclusively on the American Experience Facebook Page. During the screening, viewers were able to live chat with each other and with the director.
Once you have loyal Facebook fans clicking around, commenting and participating on your client’s page, reward them with something special that they won’t find anywhere else. It doesn’t have to be as elaborate as a movie screening, it can be as simple as a coupon code. And the allure of exclusivity will attract new fans, too, so make sure you let people know what’s going on through other channels.

Parting Advice For Your Facebook Page

Ask tons of questions.
Incorporate upcoming events, product launches and other happenings into your client’s content calendar.
Use third-party apps to build out tabs, but remember that the newsfeed is the vehicle for your client’s call to action. Let fans know about new contests, events and other tabbed content by posting to the wall.
Even if multiple parties and admins are posting, assign one person as the primary lead to make sure that the general calendar is being followed and the content of the main posts is in harmony with the voice of the brand.
Take a read through of the Facebook promotions guidelines, Pages guidelines and brand permissions guidelines.
Make sure that people have to “like” your client’s page before they get to enter a contest or get access to a promotion. ShortStack and other third-party apps offer this option.
Give fans a bit of power. If appropriate, consider posting a picture of a new product and letting the community decide what to name it. Or if that’s too risky, try crowdsourcing something a bit safer, such as the flavor of the CEO’s birthday cake (and make sure you post pictures afterward).
Let fans know that you’re listening. Make sure someone is there to monitor for comments that your client should respond to — and respond fast.

Series Supported by MyNewsDesk

Mynewsdesk’s social media newsrooms makes it easier to exchange news and multimedia content with key influencers, reach the top of search engines and automatically update your social media outlets and homepage. Learn more.

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>BOOST O2 >> Here’s how to harness your brain power to maximize productivity (Tips)

Posted on 31am00k by o2task

Five Ways to Channel Your Inner Millionaire

By Scott Halford

By nature, many entrepreneurs are inventors and good at solving problems.
But how easily, or naturally, do these creative and practical processes come to most people?
How can we harness the right frame of mind to make money and improve productivity?

The part of the brain that sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is our prefrontal cortex (PFC). It is the “executive” part of the brain — the moneymaker. It regulates emotions, thoughts and ideas and makes success and fulfillment possible.
But the PFC must be coaxed into action. Vanderbilt University management professor Richard Daft says that the average human spends only about 2 percent to 10 percent of their time each day using the executive brain. The vast majority of our time is spent reacting reflexively, just like the other animals on the planet.

When it comes to landing your next big deal, which frame of mind do you think would be your better asset?

ANIMAL MIND		EXECUTIVE MIND
Jumps around		In the here and now
Automatic		Intentional
Rote patterns		Thoughtful
Reactive		Reflective and measured
Sees negative		Sees positive
90 percent to 98 percent of time		2 percent to 10 percent of time

Related: Five Tips for Making Better Decisions
The better characteristics fall under the executive mind. Now, imagine what you could produce if you could add just one more percentage point to your own executive category. Consider these five ways to cajole your reluctant PFC into action and harness your brain power to maximize productivity:

Lead it. Direct your brain to focus on something. You decide what your PFC will attend to, as opposed to allowing it to scan the environment for something novel and interesting. This is a deliberate, executive-level function that requires your full effort. The more you focus, the more insights you get.
Weed it. Avoid messy thinking by moderating what’s on your mind. If you don’t, your brain might take the break it needs without asking your permission. When this happens, it will shut down and go into the reactive animal brain. This can lead to trouble.
One way to “weed out” the items on your brain’s plate is to turn off every device that can contact or distract you for one hour each day, close your door and work on just one task. You’ll probably get more work accomplished in that hour of focused time than you would in four hours filled with distractions.

Related: How Business Planning Leads to Better Management

Also, tell your brain what you deem most important by prioritizing your to-do list. If you don’t prioritize, your brain might go for what’s easy, which may not be ideal.
Speed it. Give your memory a break and speed up your thinking. Instead of trying to remember all that you have to do, write it down. By redirecting this energy you will have more to draw upon to be creative and productive. Thinking slows down when you overcrowd your brain with disparate things to recall.
Rest it. We all know the virtues of a good night’s sleep. But daytime rest is critical to fueling the brain as well. Taking regular quiet intervals to allow your PFC to do what it wants to in the first place — wander and reflect — helps to prime it for the more critical tasks of thinking and problem solving.
Take a walk or distract yourself with something completely off subject throughout your day. Creating deliberate distractions will prepare you for bursts of brilliance.

Related: Five Ways to Better Leadership
Feed it. Your brain operates on glucose and oxygen. It eats up about 20 percent of your total body glucose. If you’re a hard-charging person who skips meals, or eats foods that are high in fat, you’re not giving your brain a chance to bring in the next really big idea.
Try complex carbohydrates and sugars found in potatoes, brown rice, grains, fruit and vegetables. Feed your brain well and it will more than feed you.

Scott Halford is an expert speaker and author of the bestselling book, Be a Shortcut: The Secret Fast Track to Business Success (Wiley and Sons 2009). He can be reached at www.completeintelligence.com.

>BOOST O2 >> Boost your Brand (Tips)

Posted on 31pm00k by o2task

Image by Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton via Flickr

10 Ways Your Brand Can Be Meaningful

by Tracy Lloyd

Partner

Emotive Brand

People are moving from the age of conspicuous consumption to the age of meaning. Increasingly people want to feel they’re part of something that makes the world a better place on many levels. Governments, institutions, and companies find themselves under new scrutiny by employees, customers, citizens, partners, investors, and communities. Those who fail to realign their thinking and behavior in the pursuit of meaning will be quickly overtaken by those who do. Emotive Brand has compiled this list to inspire CMOs and brand owners, and to show them what it takes to generate meaningful, profitable, and enduring connections with the people vital to their brands’ success.
1. Be Empathetic
What it means holistically: Put on the shoes of others. Walk the path they trod every day. Taste what they eat. Read what they read. Amuse yourself as they do. Get a sense of their worries. Hold their dreams in your hands. Forget yourself. Be another. Understand.
What it means for brand owners: Meaning flows when you connect to the values, beliefs, interests, and aspirations of the people vital to your success. The people vital to your success are not only your employees and customers, but everyone in the broad spectrum of people who make your business viable, including investors, suppliers, distributors, partners, regulators, community leaders, reporters, bloggers, and so on.
Lots of different shoes to walk in, to be sure. But one thing unites them all: their humanity. And this is, we believe, the level at which meaningful brands succeed. They seek to connect with a wide array of disparate people at a common level. They don’t aim for the lowest common denominator; rather, they target the highest possible denominator. They see a world in which everyone is seeking meaning. They step out of themselves and carefully consider the human need.
They then look inside to identify what they value, what they believe, what interests them, and what they aspire to do, and explore how to align that with the human desire for meaning. They then change the way they reach out to people in every respect. Their intent, attitude, and actions evolve. Their interactions become more profound and the intent behind them becomes more and more clear.
This emotive evolution wraps meaning around what was: the mission, vision and values; the strategies; the products; the services; the marketing; the customer service; the advertising; the brand; and, perhaps most important, the way employees act, react, and interact with their peers and the outside world.
2. Be Good
What it means holistically: Think of everything you do now. Now think of what else you could do for those who need what you have: time, money, resources, connections, values. Don’t think marketing. Don’t think corporate social responsibility. Think about other people.
What it means to brand owners: Don’t wait for an image survey to tell you that your brand is losing ground to the competition because you’re seen as “uninvolved in” and “uncaring about” social issues. At the same time, don’t set being “involved” and “caring” as pure business objectives. People will see right through that.
Simply recognize that there are things you care about beside your business. What tweaks your conscience? Passing by a homeless person on your way to work? Running into an old friend who is debilitated by a disease? Seeing victims of natural disasters on the TV?
Now consider how your business could marshall time, money, resources and connections to help address these examples of human and environmental need. But don’t do it under the banner of “marketing” or “corporate social responsibility.” Just do it. Involve your people, partners, and customers in the effort.
Don’t hide the fact you’re doing good, but certainly don’t arrogantly advertise how “good” you are just for doing it.
3. Be Humble
What it means holistically: Take a step back. Think. Are you perhaps thinking too much of yourself? Are you constantly telling people how amazing you are? Do you actually know the small space you occupy in other people’s lives? Realize it. And then reach out with due modesty.
What it means to brand owners: It’s natural for brands to be proud of what they do and how they do it. And who knows better about everything it takes to make the brand’s outstanding products and/or services than the brand itself?
But being meaningful is about stepping back from that culture of exaggeration, pride, and arrogance. It is about communicating in context, answering, “Why is this good” rather than proclaiming, “This is good!” and focusing on being amazing rather than preaching about it.
Humility is a great door-opener in a world where overhyped promises have ruled the day.
Take a look at your Web site, advertising, presentations, and promotional literature. Step out of your brand for the moment and actually read and listen to what your brand is saying. Identify the attitude, the tone of voice, and the intent of the speaker. Is your brand having a sincere, authentic and honest dialog with the world? Is this a dialog that people will find meaningful?
4. Be Authentic
What it means holistically: Get real. Let go of pretense. Be open, transparent, and clear. Lose the agenda. Speak one-to-one.
What it means to brand owners: In their efforts to manage and control their image and reputation, brands drew curtains around most of what they did to get their products or services into the hands of people. But somewhere along the way people woke up and saw what was going on. They started to care about how what they bought was brought to them. And they started to add more layers to their purchasing decisions. They started to care more, to be more thoughtful, and to better align their values and actions.
It is difficult for brands to be meaningful in this renaissance of consciousness because of the heritage of marketing, which relies on creating illusions to stimulate demand. But meaningful brands let go of believing they can control everything. Mirrors are replaced with open doors. Business practices are changed.
Meaningful brands don’t brag about their values and how well they are adapting to the new reality. They simply report what they are doing with total transparency. These actions do the speaking. Naked in the clear light of transparency, authentically meaningful brands glow as they attract attention, garner respect, and earn loyalty.
5. Be True
What it means holistically: Be scrupulous, honest, and truehearted. Behave reliably. Be dependable, reliable, unswerving. Be worthy. Stay fast and firm to what you believe. Be loyal to people, ideals, and beliefs.
What it means to brand owners: Define the true and honest meaning behind your business. Bring that meaning to life. Help everyone understand it. Make it something people want to be partners in.
Your meaning is tied to what you do to make this world a better place. It’s not a campaign. It’s not a slogan. It’s not part-time, seasonal or optional. It’s what you do to earn respect, admiration, and trust. In every interaction. At every moment of truth. At every opportunity. Without fail.
6. Evolve
What it means holistically: Acknowledge you’re going to change one way or another and opt for a positive evolution of your attitudes, manners, and behavior. Move beyond rationalization and incorporate the emotional. Move from just being to being meaningful.
What it means to brand owners: The decision to pursue meaning as the driving force of your business is quite revolutionary. However, the process from that moment on is truly evolutionary. The pursuit of meaning consolidates what’s already there in the abstract into something more tangible, more understood, more usable. With an agreed meaning, a brand starts to evolve into a meaningful brand.
Through meaning, a brand evolves the way it reaches out to people. It’s about evolving your attitudes, manners, and behaviors to better convey your brand’s meaning and intent. Doing this changes the way people respond back to the brand.

Employees discover new meaning in what they do. Result: motivated, aligned employees.
Customers discover new meaning in what they buy. Result: loyal advocates.
Partners, suppliers, and distributors discover new meaning in being connected to the brand. Result: a well-oiled machine.
Communities discover new meaning in having the brand as a neighbor. Result: market presence.
Investors discover new meaning in what the brand has to offer. Result: solid funding.

7. Elate
What it means holistically: Make people smile. Delight them. Make their day. Show them how much you can do and how much you care. Open doors for them. Take away their worries. Help them see something new. Show them more of themselves.
What it means for brand owners:
Being meaningful isn’t about having happy, smiley employees and customers dancing in the aisles. It is about making small, yet significant gestures that bring small smiles of satisfaction to people. But these gestures can’t be forced. Rather, they must flow naturally from a brand culture committed to delighting people.
Meaningful brands revolve around the interests, needs, beliefs, and aspirations of people. They continuously identify opportunities to reach out to people in helpful ways. They lessen the pain and hassle of doing something. They make something fun in a new and interesting way. They show people new ideas, new possibilities, new dreams.
They share what they know so people can grow.
8. Evoke
What it means holistically: Get people to feel something new, something good, something worthwhile,and something memorable. Surprise them. Provoke them. Inspire them. Activate them. Change them. Excite them.
What it means to brand owners: It behooves your brand to move people to a new level of consciousness–about your brand, their own lives, and the connection between the two.
Emotional bonds are the bedrock of meaningful relationships. By evoking focused, empathetic, and heartfelt feelings, you give people compelling reasons to put your brand ahead of the competition. You stay the employer of choice. The most powerful feelings link what is good about your brand’s products and services to the interests, needs, beliefs, and aspirations of people.
9. Engage
What it means holistically: Lessen the distance. Make contact. Create a level playing field. Reach out. Respond back. Offer a hand. Ask. Answer. Debate. Refute. Agree.
What it means to brand owners: Too many brands have built unnecessary walls around themselves. They make people play telephone tag and search, search, search for whatever they want or need. They don’t ask, they don’t listen, they don’t discuss, they don’t react, and they don’t debate. Perhaps worst of all, they fail to engage people emotionally.
Meaningful brands act in a way that actively engages people, both literally and emotionally, through meaningfully emotive interactions. People not only know and learn more, but they are drawn closer to the brand. These bonding feelings radically change the way they care about, think about, talk about, and act on behalf of the brand.
As happily engaged customers, employees, partners, suppliers, distributors, investors and communities, people are more active proponents of the brand.
10. Expand
What it means holistically: Take in more. Grow. Pursue new paths. Climb new mountains. Swim new seas. Cross new deserts. Plow new fields. Harvest the bounty.
What it means to brand owners: You are on the road to meaning. You roll down the windows and let fresh air replace the old, stagnant ways of the past. You put down the convertible top and see the big sky above. You step on the gas and feel how much easier it is now to move forward. You turn on the radio and hear people saying how you’ve changed, for the better. And you stop and introduce yourself to people who, in the past, you simple drove past.
All because you took the path to emotive branding.

About Tracy Lloyd
Tracy is a co-founder of Emotive Brand. She has 18 years of marketing, development, and strategy experience, working with such brands as Aldo Shoes, UPS, VMware, Brown-Forman, The Kohler Company, Belkin, and numerous startups.
This article was co-authored by Jerry Holtaway, Emotive Brand’s emotive strategist. He has 30 years of copy and strategy experience, working with consumer, business, and service brands including Citibank, American Express, IBM, Nokia, VMWorld, and LEGO.

>BOOST O2 >> Friendfeed O2 Update

Posted on 31pm00k by o2task

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>BOOST O2 >> Boost your video marketing impact (Tips)

Posted on 31pm00k by o2task

Seven ideas that will make your online video marketing stand out

by Karen J. Bannan

>BOOST O2 >> Upgrade your Facebook Comments Box For The New One in Blogger. (Tips- Full Guide)

Posted on 31pm00k by o2task

Surprise, New Facebook Comments Box For Blogger In Very Easy And Simple Steps – Fixed ( Full Guide ).

What is the new facebook comments features.

Threaded comments : reply to comments.
User network : now it’s displaying the comment author not only name, but his profile info as well
Permalink to specific comments : Permalinks have now been assigned to each comment so people can share links and be directed to specific comments.
Notifications : sent to users will also go to the permalink, making it easier to respond. For example, clicking on the notification below will take you to the permalink of the original comment.
2 Color schemes, regular light, and the new dark colors.

now let’s do it, don’t worry, i know that must of you tried to add it to blogger blogs, with no result, but today you’ll see how to add it in really easy steps and it’s 100% working. but please be careful and pay attention for all the details.

>BOOST O2 >> The Way to Smarter Internet searching (Tips)

Posted on 30pm00k by o2task

10 tips for smarter, more efficient Internet searching

By Alan Norton

These days, everyone is expected to be up to speed on Internet search techniques. But there are still a few tricks that some users — and even savvy searchers — may not be aware of.

Did you hate memorizing seemingly insignificant facts for tests at school?
No photographic memory?
Good news! Life is now an open-book exam — assuming you have a computer, browser, and Internet access. If you know how to use a good search engine, you don’t have to stuff your mind with facts that are useful only when playing Jeopardy! and Trivial Pursuit.
Chances are, you aren’t the first person to run across the problem you are experiencing. Chances are also good that an answer is awaiting your discovery on the Internet — you just have to remove the irrelevant pages and the unhelpful/incorrect results to find that needle in the haystack.
Google has been fanatical about speed. There is little doubt that it has built an incredibly fast and thorough search engine. Unfortunately, the human element of the Internet search equation is often overlooked.
These 10 tips are designed to improve that human element and better your Internet search skills. (Note: All examples below refer to the Google search engine.)

1: Use unique, specific terms

It is simply amazing how many Web pages are returned when performing a search. You might guess that the terms blue dolphin are relatively specialized. A Google search of those terms returned 2,440,000 results! To reduce the number of pages returned, use unique terms that are specific to the subject you are researching.

2: Use the minus operator (-) to narrow the search

How many times have you searched for a term and had the search engine return something totally unexpected? Terms with multiple meanings can return a lot of unwanted results. The rarely used but powerful minus operator, equivalent to a Boolean NOT, can remove many unwanted results. For example, when searching for the insect caterpillar, references to the company Caterpillar, Inc. will also be returned. Use Caterpillar -Inc to exclude references to the company or Caterpillar -Inc -Cat to further refine the search.

3: Use quotation marks for exact phrases

I often remember parts of phrases I have seen on a Web page or part of a quotation I want to track down. Using quotation marks around a phrase will return only those exact words in that order. It’s one of the best ways to limit the pages returned. Example: “Be nice to nerds”.Of course, you must have the phrase exactly right — and if your memory is as good as mine, that can be problematic.

4: Don’t use common words and punctuation

Common terms like a and the are called stop words and are usually ignored. Punctuation is also typically ignored. But there are exceptions. Common words and punctuation marks should be used when searching for a specific phrase inside quotes. There are cases when common words like the are significant. For instance, Raven and The Raven return entirely different results.

5: Capitalization

Most search engines do not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase, even within quotation marks. The following are all equivalent:

technology
Technology
TECHNOLOGY
“technology”
“Technology”

6: Drop the suffixes

It’s usually best to enter the base word so that you don’t exclude relevant pages. For example, bird and not birds, walk and not walked. One exception is if you are looking for sites that focus on the act of walking, enter the whole term walking.

7: Maximize AutoComplete

Ordering search terms from general to specific in the search box will display helpful results in a drop-down list and is the most efficient way to use AutoComplete. Selecting the appropriate item as it appears will save time typing. You have several choices for how the AutoComplete feature works: Use Google AutoComplete. The standard Google start page will display a drop-down list of suggestions supplied by the Google search engine. This option can be a handy way to discover similar, related searches. For example, typing in Tucson fast will not only bring up the suggestion Tucson fast food but also Tucson fast food coupons.
Use browser AutoComplete. Use this Google start page to disable the Google AutoComplete feature and display a list of your previous searches in a drop-down box. I find this particularly useful when I’ve made dozens of searches in the past for a particular item. The browser’s AutoComplete feature must be turned on for this option to work. Click one of these links for instructions detailing how to turn AutoComplete on or off in I.E. and Firefox.
Examples:

Visual Basic statement case
Visual Basic statement for
Visual Basic call

8: Customize your searches

There are several other less well known ways to limit the number of results returned and reduce your search time:

The plus operator (+): As mentioned above, stop words are typically ignored by the search engine. The plus operator tells the search engine to include those words in the result set. Example: tall +and short will return results that include the word and.
The tide operator (~): Include a tilde in front of a word to return results that include synonyms. The tilde operator does not work well for all terms and sometimes not at all. A search for ~CSS includes the synonym style and returns fashion related style pages –not exactly what someone searching for CSS wants. Examples: ~HTML to get results for HTML with synonyms; ~HTML -HTML to get synonyms only for HTML.
The wildcard operator (*): Google calls it the fill in the blank operator. For example, amusement * will return pages with amusement and any other term(s) the Google search engine deems relevant. You can’t use wildcards for parts of words. So for example, amusement p* is invalid.
The OR operator (OR) or (|): Use this operator to return results with either of two terms. For example happy joy will return pages with both happy and joy, while happy | joy will return pages with either happy or joy.
Numeric ranges: You can refine searches that use numeric terms by returning a specific range, but you must supply the unit of measurement. Examples: Windows XP 2003..2005, PC $700 $800.
Site search: Many Web sites have their own site search feature, but you may find that Google site search will return more pages. When doing research, it’s best to go directly to the source, and site search is a great way to do that. Example: site:www.intel.com rapid storage technology.
Related sites: For example, related:www.youtube.com can be used to find sites similar to YouTube.
Change your preferences: Search preferences can be set globally by clicking on the gear icon in the upper-right corner and selecting Search Settings. I like to change the Number Of Results option to 100 to reduce total search time.
Forums-only search: Under the Google logo on the left side of the search result page, click More | Discussions or go to Google Groups. Forums are great places to look for solutions to technical problems.
Advanced searches: Click the Advanced Search button by the search box on the Google start or results page to refine your search by date, country, amount, language, or other criteria.
Wonder Wheel: The Google Wonder Wheel can visually assist you as you refine your search from general to specific. Here’s how to use this tool:

Click on More Search Tools | Wonder Wheel in the lower-left section of the screen (Figure A) to load the Wonder Wheel page.
Click on dbms tutorial (Figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

As you can see in Figure C, Google now displays two wheels showing the DBMS and dbms tutorial Wonder Wheels, with the results for dbms tutorial on the right side of the page. You can continue drilling down the tree to further narrow your search. Click the Close button at the top of the results to remove the Wonder Wheel(s).

Figure C

9: Use browser history

Many times, I will be researching an item and scanning through dozens of pages when I suddenly remember something I had originally dismissed as being irrelevant. How do you quickly go back to that Web site? You can try to remember the exact words used for the search and then scan the results for the right site, but there is an easier way. If you can remember the general date and time of the search you can look through the browser history to find the Web page.

10: Set a time limit — then change tactics

Sometimes, you never can find what you are looking for. Start an internal clock, and when a certain amount of time has elapsed without results, stop beating your head against the wall. It’s time to try something else:

Use a different search engine, like Yahoo!, Bing, Startpage, or Lycos.
Ask a peer.
Call support.
Ask a question in the appropriate forum.
Use search experts who can find the answer for you.

The bottom line

A tool is only as useful as the typing fingers wielding it. Remember that old acronym GIGO, garbage in, garbage out? Search engines will try to place the most relevant results at the top of the list, but if your search terms are too broad or ambiguous, the results will not be helpful. It is your responsibility to learn how to make your searches both fast and effective.
The Internet is the great equalizer for those who know how to use it efficiently. Anyone can now easily find facts using a search engine instead of dredging them from the gray matter dungeon — assuming they know a few basic tricks. Never underestimate the power of a skilled search expert.

This article is also available as a PDF download.

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>BOOST O2 >> Walk In the chief marketer and finance chief’s Shoes

Posted on 30pm00k by o2task

5 Tips To Get Your CFO‘s Ear

by Mercedes M. Cardona , Contributing Writer , CMO.com

Conventional wisdom holds that the chief marketer and finance chief are the right and left sides of a company’s brain–the creative versus the practical. But a CMO doesn’t need to be a brain surgeon to communicate with the numbers people, marketing insiders said.
“They have to agree that there is a joint goalpost for both of them,” said Ron Hill, professor of marketing and business law at Villanova School of Business, in an interview with CMO.com. “If somebody is trying to hit a home run [and] somebody wants to score a touchdown, they’re not even on the same game.”

Conversations have become easier in the past few years, even as the recession tightened the scrutiny on marketing budgets, experts said. Both sides are more focused on showing an ROI since the start of the recession, and the rise of new digital efforts, such as social media and mobile, have brought on more real-time metrics to express that ultimate goal.
“It’s not that will we ever get to the Holy Grail. I think it’s very difficult. But I think the digital age is getting us a step closer,” said Carl Anderson, CEO and former CFO of Doremus, the corporate advertising specialist.
There is no silver-bullet metric that will unlock the money chest, either. Depending on each company’s goals and industry, the metrics relevant to the CFO will vary. In a new-product introduction, for example, metrics showing trial, such as awareness and consideration, can be traced back to activities such as sampling and point of sale, which can clarify the ROI, noted Ted Woehrle, CMO of Newell Rubbermaid, in an interview with CMO.com. In the auto industry, lead generation is the goal, added Julie Roehm, founder of marketing consultant Backslash Meta and a former Chrysler marketer.
Marginal ROI–the extra return for every dollar spent beyond the projected budget for an effort–can be an effective number to show finance staff the results of marketing, said Douglas Brooks, executive VP of marketing at Management Analytics, a unit of Synovate. But like a financial adviser talking up an investment, the marketer has to put that model in the context of the larger effort, he said. “That’s what marketers get paid to do,” he told CMO.com. “The day a model replaces a marketer, we’re all in trouble because there is no growth and no innovation.”
Other metrics–such as reach and frequency, number of hits on the Web site, and leads generated–are “lovely and measurable, but they don’t translate to what the CFO wants to show,” Roehm told CMO.com. Those numbers need to be related to the company’s bottom line, she said.
Brooks said he often doesn’t report straight ROI to clients. Instead, he prepares a quadrant chart relating the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing investments, showing which ones are driving sales, which could be more successful with more spending, and which could be cut. “You need to be a data-driven storyteller,” Brooks said. “Analytics don’t tell the whole story. When analytics are successful is when you have a good translator.”
So how can a marketer learn to translate ad-speak into terms familiar to the CFO? Here are five simple tips to help you get on the same page as your brethren in the finance department.

1. Walk In The CFO’s Shoes
“It’s like any relationship. I would begin by cultivating mutual respect,” said Hill, recalling one of his first consulting projects, which involved mediating between a company’s senior vice presidents of finance and marketing. “They were at loggerheads, absolute loggerheads.”
The marketers didn’t care about profits because they were being judged solely on increasing sales. Meantime, the finance staff was concerned about losing profits by overspending to boost sales. By getting them to role-play each other’s position, Hill got the executives to begin searching for common ground.
This is easier in companies where the two departments work closely, marketers said. Brooks said one CMO he works with takes the finance staff out to lunch and invites them to meetings and marketing event. That way they can get a sense for what his department does.
Of course, the reverse also works, Roehm said. “Learn the financial operations of the company. . .Become a sponge,” said the former Chrysler and Wal-Mart marketer. Earlier in her career, she held positions in sales and finance, which gave her a sense of how other departments operated.
“If you’re a CMO, you’re in the C-suite–you’re friends,” Roehm said. “That’s just teamwork 101. But a lot of CMOs avoid the CFO because they’re always taking things away.”

>BOOST O2 >> NASA’s amazing views of Earth

Posted on 30am00k by o2task

To celebration Earth Day, NASA released some of its most beautiful and surprising images of our planet.
Although the entire collection features dozens of images and photographs of a wide variety of subjects–from hurricanes to volcano eruptions to data visualizations of things like average rainfalls and terrain height–CNET has chosen these 20 images to represent the best of Earth, as seen from high above.
In this incredible image taken from the International Space Station, we see the underside of the Space Shuttle just after the spacecraft completed its post-undocking relative separation on April 17, 2010.

>BOOST O2 >> Shopping technology at your fingertips (video)

Posted on 30am00k by o2task

What store has the new iPad in stock? Who has the best deal on platform beds? Where can I buy Lady Gaga’s sunglasses? In the future, technology will put the answer to these questions at your fingertips. ZDNet correspondent Sumi Das explores the ultimate personal shoppers of tomorrow.

http://i.zdnet.com/flash/zdnet-skin.swf

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>BOOST O2 >> Here’s how to harness your brain power to maximize productivity (Tips)

Five Ways to Channel Your Inner Millionaire