New Mobile Brand Pages Will Get Customers in Your Door

One of the first “mobile-first” updates? Facebook’s new brand pages, which put more emphasis on what is really useful to a consumer, with more obvious call and check in buttons, a large map, hours, a price range, and star rating all visible without having to scroll. To gain the extra real estate, the profile picture, business title, and industry have been moved up within the cover photo, and the number of likes and check ins have been pushed below the fold. Overall the changes make for a cleaner page with more clearly defined calls to action and simpler navigational structure.

Page owners will notice their pinned posts now appear higher on the page, making it easier for customers to spot specials and promotions. In addition, it’s now easier than ever to switch between admin and public views directly from your mobile device.

Ever since introducing Nearby in December, Facebook has been promoting Pages as a way to get Facebook users into the doors of their local businesses and this new update is only reaffirming that.

Get Up-to-Date

Facebook is determined to help you promote your business, but are you ready? If you’ve been a little lax about keeping on top of your social media, now is the time to fix that. Make sure that your store’s address and phone number are correct and that your hours are current. Encourage your customers to leave you positive feedback on your Facebook Page, as both reviews and recommendations affect your star rating and the ranking of your page in Graph Search.

If you aren’t taking advantage of pinned posts, you’re missing out. You can use these posts to offer special discounts to your Facebook following, but you don’t have to. Restaurants can pin their daily or weekly specials, and you can also pin brand announcements, links to your blog posts, or videos. Take charge of this opportunity to promote some part of your business as the first thing your fans see on your page.

Not a Brick-and-Mortar Store? Not a problem!

You don’t have to have a storefront to benefit from Facebook’s new brand pages, or Facebook Pages in general. Depending on the type of business you have defined on your Page, the call to action buttons change (“check in” and “call” can be switched out for “message” and “share”) and more emphasis is placed on your About section, a snippet of which appears highly with a button to view more information.

Sarah Kessler from Fast Company and Katie Elizabeth from ReveNews shared some great examples of how non-brick-and-mortar stores can still take advantage of these updates. Their examples of publishing organizations and eCommerce venues are more relevant to many businesses.

The Race is On

Facebook is moving to compete directly with services like Yelp, Google Places, and Foursquare, which all offer the same kind of content as brand pages. Facebook and Google Places, with their tie-in to their social networks, are especially promising. While these sites are struggling for first place in the local classifieds provider race, your brand can benefit by keeping a solid presence on all of them.

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Facebook Revamps Mobile Brand Pages

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Top 15% of Twitter Users Account for 85% of All Tweets

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Mobile devices and social media in the workplace

Like many things in life, it comes down to habit. Successful bloggers have proven and tested routines and approaches they perform faithfully, pushing their blogs to greater and greater success.

Here are seven key habits to becoming a well-known blogger:

They write in an easy-to-read and flowing style

Where new bloggers often agonize every word, and need multiple revisions before their pieces are “perfect,” successful bloggers have found a way to write in a flowing and conversational style. This is not to say they don’t do research and use facts — they do — but they find a way to incorporate those facts into an engaging and interesting story. The very best bloggers can make you feel like you’re having a direct and personal conversation with them, just as you would a close friend.

They write — a lot

As the saying goes: “If you want to be a writer, you must write.” And, therefore, if you want to be a blogger, you must blog.

Writing, like many other skills, improves with practice. The more you blog, the better you’ll blog.

They share personal examples and stories

They let you know what they’re thinking about, what they’re trying, what worked, and what didn’t. They are constantly learning about blogging, and also, actually, about life — and they are open in sharing their experiences. This process of being human helps them build large and committed followings.

They engage through pictures and data

While crafting the content as a story, successful bloggers know their blog is more interesting when it has pictures and data.

They use both liberally. They are not afraid to expand on data gathered by others, or to collect their own. They often use images in a way that captures attention and certainly furthers the story. They pay attention to the visual appeal of their post, alongside the written appeal.

They are active members of the community

Successful bloggers are quick to build connections and take part in their online communities. They like, share, comment, and curate when they find work that is worthy of notice. They are glad to share additional resources and information with their communities, and are happy to give help and receive help.

They have opinions and share them

The best blogs are written from a point of view — a perspective. They are not just aggregators of information, but, instead, offer tailored and deliberate points of view. Successful bloggers share what they stand for, and are not afraid to give their opinions. This helps them stand out in the sea of other bloggers who might be writing on the same thing. Successful bloggers are willing to be human and vulnerable.

They commit to their blogs

One study I read suggests that more than 181 million blogs come online each year, and the bulk of them will be abandoned within six months.

Successful bloggers commit to their blogs as a long-term endeavor. They work steadily and consistently to build their readership and their alliances. They know they need to be committed to their blogs to have worthwhile results.

These are the seven key habits of successful bloggers. Which will you polish up to make your blog more successful?

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The Seven Key Habits of Successful Bloggers

The eccentric founder of new Internet hosting service, Mega, says he doesn’t really want to sue anyone, but he desperately needs money — and a lot of it — to pay for his legal costs as he fights charges of deliberate and repeated copyright violations connected to Megaupload, a popular file-sharing site that was shutdown following the indictment and arrests of Dotcom and fellow owners in January 2012 by the United States Department of Justice.

The indictment said Dotcom and the other owners infringed the copyrights of certain motion pictures, television programs, musical recordings, electronic books, images, video games, and other computer software, by reproducing and distributing over the Internet.

Domain names were seized and sites connected to Megaupload were shut down by the DoJ.

Dotcom, who maintains he is innocent of any wrongdoing, has said he will “fight to the end” to clear his name.

Dotcom took to Twitter Wednesday and today, posting various indignant comments.

“Twitter introduces Two-Step-Authentication. Using my invention. But they won’t even verify my Twitter account?!” he tweeted.

“Google, Facebook, Twitter, Citibank, etc. offer Two-Step Authentication. Massive IP infringement by U.S. companies. My innovation. My patent.”

Dotcom even offered up some “proof” that two-step authentication is his creation.

“Big reveal: 1 billion+ Two-Step-Authentications on the Internet weekly,” he tweeted. “I invented it. Here’s proof: https://www.google.com/patents/US6078908 …”

The  patent, which is filed under Dotcom’s previous name — Kim Schmitz — “relates to a method and to a device for the authorization in data transmission systems employing a transaction authorization number (TAN) or a comparable password.”

Dotcom said he never bothered to sue companies before because he believes  “in sharing knowledge and ideas for the good of society. But I might sue them now cause of what the U.S. did to me.”

“Google, Facebook, Twitter, I ask you for help,” he added later. “We are all in the same DMCA boat. Use my patent for free. But please help funding my defense.”

With two-step verification, users must enter their password and a verification code when signing into an account. The code, usually, is sent to the user’s phone via text, voice call, or mobile app.

During sign-in, the user often can request the service no longer ask for a verification code on that particular computer. From that point on, only the user’s password will be required. However, if the user or someone else tries to sign in from a different computer, a verification code will be required to gain access to the account.

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Kim Dotcom Threatens Patent Infringement Suit Against Google, Facebook, Twitter

A recent upgrade of Goals in Google Analytics makes it easier for business owners to measure customer behavior as well as assess their own performances.

“Sales are just one possible goal—there are many other important interactions that may be valuable to your business, such as media plays, social connections, newsletter sign-ups, a minimum purchase value, or the amount of time spent on a screen,” Google Analytics product manager Stefan F. Schnabl wrote in a blog post.  “Using Goals, you can measure these types of engagement activities and track how these interactions help you to meet your larger business objectives.”

Live now in Goals in Google Analytics are a new set-up flow, new templates and new verification capabilities.

Here is how to get started:

• Goals are set at the profile level in Google Analytics accounts. To find a profile, click the Admin tab and then go to the account, property, and profile you want.

• Click Goals, then create a Goal.

• Follow the flow to set up and start measuring your Goals.

• For help setting up Goals, visit Google’s help center.

Google image

New templates

Both redesigned and new templates are available in the Goals set-up flow so users can quickly add important and “actionable” Goals to their Analytics account.

“When you use a template, the Goal setup flow is pre-filled with suggested values (based on your industry) that you can either keep or change as you walk through the process,” Schnabl said. The templates are organized into four business objectives (revenue, acquisition, inquiry, engagement) to help you think about the purpose of each Goal, plus you can still create custom goals.”

Schnabl said “revenue” goals don’t have to be a direct sale, but any user activity that has a significant impact on the owner’s business, such as a potential customer scheduling an appointment.

Schnabl also recommends business owners make sure they are using the template best suited for their companies. To choose or change templates, go to property settings to “choose the one that best describes your business.”

Verify Goals
A verify option exists at the end of the setup flow to enable users to see what the conversion rate would have been for the past seven days had a particular Goal been setup.

“Using the verify option gives you immediate feedback, so you can decide to save or modify the Goal configuration you’re working on,” he said.

Analyze Goals performance

The Goals Overview report, located under the Conversions section, allows users to see how their goal completions happen over time. Use the metric selector in the Goals Overview report to choose the relevant metric.

“Develop a sense how often a Goal conversion happens, and look to identify relationships between different Goals,” Schnabl said.

Schnabl gave some examples of how to analyze different goals:

• Select a single Goal and observe the performance over time. Use the date range selector and compare the Goal performance month on month, or quarter on quarter. This way you can compare seasonal trends, and the growth rate of your goal over time.

Google image

• Selecting two Goal completion metrics next to each other will allow you to see correlational effects over time. A Goal measuring site engagement, like a media interaction, or a social share, could be indicative of a rise in sales.

Google image

“Ultimately, understanding how your users interact with your site allows you to make important decisions about site content and effective use of your marketing and advertising resources,” Schnabl said.

He also suggested perusing the reports in Multi-Channel Funnels which focus on visitors’ “entire path to conversion.” This even includes the various  off-site interactions they had prior to making a purchase.

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Google Analytics Tool Helps Businesses Track Customer Behavior, Appraise Own Performance

The current lawsuit addresses software and user interface patents, the main reason why Google, maker of the Android operating system, is being dragged into the dispute.

Apple alleges Samsung has violated additional patents, including the rights to the search technology integrated in the iPhone Siri voice feature.

“The Galaxy S4 product practices many of the same claims already asserted by Apple … in the same way as the already-accused Samsung devices,” the filing states.

Samsung Galaxy S4

Apple said it has had problems obtaining source code from Samsung and Google, despite serving the parties with a subpoena Sept. 28, 2012.

“Google (represented by the same law firm as Samsung) did not make available the bulk of its source code until March 31, 2013, and did not complete its production until May 13, 2013,” the filing reads.

“Despite diligent efforts, because of delays and issues with Samsung’s on-going production of source code, as well as delays in Google’s production of source code, Apple was only recently able to complete its analysis of the relevant confidential code.”

Apple said it investigated Google Play Books, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies and TV, Google Play Store and Android Market to determine sources of patent violation on Samsung devices.

Apple is to explain its motion in a June 25 hearing in a San Jose court before Judge Paul S. Grewal.

The patent violation case is scheduled for trial in March 2014, although it may be put on hold until after an appeals court resolves a separate lawsuit between the two companies — which could be some months away.

This will be the second major lawsuit Apple has launched against its rival.

A jury verdict last August found Samsung had violated six of Apple’s patents and ordered the South Korean company to pay Apple $1.05 billion. If the ruling holds up, it will set the record as the largest patent verdict in history.

Apple appealed for more than half a billion dollars in additional damages against Samsung for patent violation after losing its bid for a sales ban against 26 of Samsung handsets last fall.

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Apple Says Galaxy S4, Google Now Breach Patents

A number of corporations have been hacked on the social networking site in recent months including Burger King, Jeep, The BBC, The Associated Press and, most recently, The Financial Times. Also, 250,000 of Twitter’s 250 million members were hacked in January.

The new login verification feature is now available to all Twitter users.

“When you sign in to Twitter.com, there’s a second check to make sure it’s really you,” Jim O’Leary of Twitter’s product security team wrote in a blog post. “You’ll be asked to register a verified phone number and a confirmed e-mail address.”

Those wishing to implement the new security measure should follow these steps:

• Visit your account settings page.

• Select ‘Require a verification code when I sign in.’

• Click on the link to ‘add a phone’ and follow the instructions.

• After you sign up for login verification, you then must choose a six-digit code that will be sent to your phone via SMS each time you sign in to twitter.com.

To sign in to your Twitter account on other devices or apps, you must visit your applications page to create a temporary password to log in and authorize the device or app in question.

“Of course, even with this new security option turned on, it’s still important for you to use a strong password and follow the rest of our advice for keeping your account secure,” O’Leary said.

In a blog post earlier this year, Twitter director of information security Bob Lord also stressed the importance of using a strong password. He offered four tips to Twitter users to improve account security. Here is an excerpt from the blog:

• Use a strong password. Your password should be at least 10 characters that include upper and lower case characters, numbers, and symbols. You should always use a unique password for each website you use; that way, if one account gets compromised, the rest are safe. 

• Watch out for suspicious links, and always make sure you’re on Twitter.com before you enter your login information. Be cautious when clicking on links in Direct Messages. Whenever you are prompted to enter your Twitter password, just take a quick look at the URL and make sure you’re actually on Twitter.com. Phishing websites will often look just like Twitter’s login page, but will actually be for destinations other than Twitter. If ever in doubt, just go directly to twitter.com in your browser. 

• Don’t give your username and password out to unknown third parties, especially those promising to get you followers or make you money. When you give your username and password to someone else, they get complete control of your account and can lock you out of your account or take actions that cause your account to be suspended. Be wary of any application that promises to make you money or get you followers. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! 

• Make sure your computer and operating system is up to date with the most recent patches, upgrades, and anti-virus software. Keep your browser and operating system updated with the most current versions and patches; patches are often released to address particular security threats. 

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Twitter Launches Two-Factor Identification to Fight Account Hacks

HTC’s chief product officer Kouji Kodera has left the Taiwanese company — one of a number of key employees the firm has lost in recent months, The Verge is reporting.

Kodera, who apparently left HTC last week, led product strategy for the firm.

Gone from HTC’s Seattle-based office are Jason Gordon, the company’s vice president of global communications, global retail marketing manager Rebecca Rowland, director of digital marketing John Starkweather and product strategy manager Eric Lin.

In a recent tweet Lin advised his former co-workers to quit.

“To all my friends still at @HTC – just quit. leave now. it’s tough to do, but you’ll be so much happier, I swear.”

CNet said HTC Asia’s CEO Lennard Hoornik has also left the company.

HTC has had a tough few years with last year’s One X and this year’s One failing to capture consumer interest. The HTC First, also known as the Facebook phone because the social network is pre-installed on the device, also bombed.

A source recently told BGR AT&T is discontinuing the “Facebook phone” and unsold inventory will be returned to HTC. And that inventory is likely to be considerable. According to BGR’s source, AT&T sold fewer than 15,000 devices nationwide, even after the price was cut down to less than one dollar.

The price for the device, which is being sold exclusively by AT&T, went from $99 to 99 cents with a two-year contract — an obvious bid to get rid of inventory — one that didn’t work.

Teen’s Tiny Device Charges Cellphones in 20 to 30 Seconds

Californian teenager Eesha Khare’s science project could well become the next big thing in the mobile world.

Khare, an 18-year-old high school senior, recently won the Young Scientist Award by the Intel Foundation for inventing a device with the potential to charge a cellphone in 20 to 30 seconds.

The tiny, portable device can fit inside of cellphones and other devices, eliminating the need to plug the gadgets in daily.

Eesha said her “supercapacitor” acts as an energy storage device.

“It can charge very quickly and it can last through 10,000 cycles compared to batteries which are only 1,000 cycles,” Khare said. “It’s a much greater improvement in the field of energy storage.”

Her inspiration for the project was simple: “My cell phone battery always dies,” she told NBC News.

Verizon, Jennifer Lopez Team Up to Reach Latino Demographic

Verizon Wireless is partnering with actress and pop star Jennifer Lopez to target the large and constantly growing Latino mobile market.

Viva Móvil by Jennifer Lopez is Verizon Wireless’ newest premium retailer. The partnership, which was announced during a press conference at the CTIA Wireless Conference in Las Vegas Wednesday (May 22), is a bid to use Lopez’s star power to cater to a powerful demographic “that shops differently.”

Viva Movil, which is to open its first store in New York City June 15, will open 15 stores this year in various cities including in Miami and Los Angeles. The mobile firm will also sell via its Facebook page.

Lopez, chief creative officer for Viva Movil, said the retail stores will be family-oriented — something that is very important to Latinos who often shop with their children — as well as bilingual. Each store will have a play area for children, a variety of devices for consumers to try before buying and knowledgeable bilingual staff.

“We are bicultural, bilingual, and increasingly U.S.-born,” Lopez was quoted by PC World. “As modern Latinos, we do things differently, including how we shop for wireless devices.”

Verizon COO Marni Walden said Verizon will incorporate some of the Viva Movil store concept ideas into its own retail outlets.

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Technology News Briefs — May 23, 2013

Many small- and medium-sized online businesses are choosing to improve their efficiency by making use of the greater computing power cloud computing can give them. This power is usually provided by a third party.

Since small businesses can now delegate their mail storage, customer care, data storage, software delivery etc. to the cloud, they can compete with larger businesses without being forced to foot a large technology bill.

Here is a look at how you can use cloud computing both to improve your efficiency and increase the opportunities available to your small online business.

1. You will have fewer operational issues
The third party that provides you with your cloud computing services will use standardized processes. Standardization helps ensure there are fewer errors and issues with your processes. This will give your business certain continuity. As a result, you will spend less time trying to fix operational failures and spending more time on the important things such as drawing more customers and connecting with them.

With cloud computing, you will be able to use the same service or integration of several services each time and in similar projects. You will, therefore, see the same result each time. This predictability will help you to have services based on predetermined design patterns.

2. You can open up new business models
With powerful computing within your reach, you can now have access to various projects and business models that had not been possible in the past. You can start new innovations and open up new streams of revenue. There are many companies that are using cloud services dedicated to build completely new propositions and business models and offering new services. Small businesses are doing this the most. Other examples include Spotify, a digital music portal that brings mood-specific music to all devices ranging from tablets, mobile phones, computers and home entertainment systems.

3. You can achieve business agility
With having a reliable third party offering you remote assistance with several processes, you can get the computing resources you need exactly when you need them. This means that you will be able to deliver results in a more timely way. You will also be able to provide cheaper services because efficient business will bring your own overall costs down by reducing the time to send your product to the client.
As a result, you will be able to offer your services at competitive rates and attract the loyalty of your customers. It can be possible for cloud computing to bring down a project such as a data analytics project to three weeks from a projected time period of four months.

4. You can make better use of resources
When you find your brand launching and completing projects that are more efficient, and that your employees are spending less time on struggling to fix operational issues, you know you are making the most of your resources. You and your employees now have valuable free time to devote to other activities that can add value to your business and help it grow.

Of course it’s not easy to quantify such value, and it differs from business to business. However your employees are assets as well and, therefore, if they are able to engage in activities that improve them, this is valuable for the business.

With cloud computing, you will also find yourself benefiting from what is known as the ‘economies of scale.’ Your cloud computing service provider will be able to make better use of physical resources and bring down consumption of energy when compared to standard traditional ways.

It’s important to note that cloud computing third-party services are usually provided without a contract. What is great about this short-term operational expense mode is that you are not making any long-term commitments in this case. You don’t have any upfront expenses, which is great for small businesses with limited funds. You can start your projects much faster than if there was an upfront expense required and can also end the projects quicker with no loss through investments in cloud computing.

Take the lead today and see what cloud computing can do for your business. You will be surprised at the true power of what is known as the cloud.

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Four Benefits of Cloud Computing for Your Online Business