Quoted – How to Lead like Oprah – Forbes

Image via Wikipedia

In the last season ofOprah Winfrey’s 25-year-long television program, The Oprah Winfrey Show, the queen of media has been looking back with nostalgia on what she’s built—a global audience and a $2.7 billion net worth—and forward with excitement to what lays ahead. She transitions from network TV to cable in January to cut the ribbon on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which is arguably the pinnacle of her career. She didn’t get here by chance, of course. She led the way.

“She’s the ultimate self-made business leader,” says Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, Penn. “Her basic leadership style is unparalleled and incredibly effective.”

“You can’t build a business by yourself,” says Testa. “She really knows how to motivate people.” Oprah’s people strategy is simple. She invests in top talent, seeks out smart mentors, values her customer and consistently nourishes each relationship.

Like every great leader, Oprah has become the best by surrounding herself with the best. She carefully selects her top team to assure competence and compatibly, and then stands by them. Success stories like Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil remain under her management. She also seeks out mentors that she admires who will offer her guidance. Early in her career, attorney Jeff Jacobs advised crucial contract deals and helped her launch her company, Harpo, which has been the key to her wealth. Moreover, Oprah allies herself with other power players, from celebrities like Julia Roberts to politicians like the Obamas.

“She became a billionaire by spreading the wealth,” says Testa. Not only did she often spontaneously give to people in need who came on her show, she established several philanthropic efforts that bettered the world. Her motivations were at times questioned by the press, but giving back allowed her the credibility to continue growing her wealth. She launched the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, a school in South Africa and an audience-mobilizing effort, Oprah’s Angel Network.

http://blogs.forbes.com/jennagoudreau/2010/10/22/how-to-lead-like-oprah-winfrey-own-rachael-ray-dr-oz-phil/

Related articles

• How To Lead Like Oprah (blogs.forbes.com)
• Quoted – How to Lead like Oprah – Forbes (scotttesta.com)

TV interview on ABC

Image via Wikipedia

Good story with my ugly mug talking about the xmas shopping season from a retail perspective.

ABC reporter John Rawlins is really smart and interesting to talk to.

I am toward the end. sorry

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6507216

Related articles by Zemanta

• Adventures in Haggling: The Retailers’ View (nytimes.com)

Cool New Service For Writing Press Releases

This service evaluates press releases and help you fine tune them. . Awesome Idea!!. . I not used this service yet but I would like the feedback and comments!!

http://www.pressreleasegrader.com/

Linked In awesome way to build network and market

Linked in is a great way of keeping in touch with people without being a pain or reach out to people who have common interests.

Here is my Linked in page send me an invite and join my network

Send an invite to connect
http://www.linkedin.com/in/scotttesta

Top 10 Marketing Stunts

Top 10 marketing stunts

Check out his link to the top 10 Marketing stunts

New Linked In Group for Non-traditional marketers

New group I started on Linkedin for Non-traditional Marketers

US Mint pushing the use of One dollar coins

New ads for one dollar coins are pushing the use of them as a “green” solution. Just read traditional dollars that are made of paper only last for on average 18 month coins have obviously a much longer life. Check out the ad

Good site for publicity ideas

Publicity Hound

Matt Drudge – Talks about why print media is dead

 

Matt Drudge – Talks about why print media is dead

Top 75 PR websites good stuff

top 75 pr sites

A day in the life of QVC – My tour of QVC studios

I try to write about non-tradition marketing techniques on a regular basis.

One of the grandaddys of non-traditional marketing is selling your product through QVC.

I know a little bit about this company based on what I have been told by former employees, what I have read in the local news media and what a friend of mine has told me his experience was selling a product on QVC.

The bottom line is QVC moves tons of product, is a great vehicle for marketing your product and has a relatively good reputation in the Philadelphia area where I reside.

So the next step would logically be what would be considered the “QVC Studio tour” to get a upfront and personal look at the QVC experience.

So myself and my two kids treked out to bucolic West Chester, PA.

The experience was . . for lack of a better term. . odd.

We get to the QVC Studio and in the parking lot is this cool bus that QVC use to use to tour the country for “on site” broadcasting. . very cool but you could only see the outside there was no tour of the inside. . but still cool.

We proceeded to go in. First, you walk in to this lobby area which is very nice to buy your tickets.

We buy our tickets which were in my view a little pricey but what the heck its QVC . King of the Direct Response TV!!!!!!!!!!!

We wait approximately 15 minutes to go on the tour . . no problem.

Then we are met with our tour guide who appears . . lets say somewhat agitated for whatever reason.

Sales and Marketing Jobs – Post if your looking or hiring

I have a friend looking for a sales job in the Philadelphia area. His background is Insurance sales but would consider going “outside” the industry.

If you know of an open sales or marketing position feel free to post. If you are looking for a sales or marketing job feel free to post your information.

Unfortunately I think the US economy is going to be experience high unemployment throughout 2009.

Rebranding of Commerce Bank to TD Bank

Those of you that are familiar with the Commerce Bank chain which had branches in the Philadelphia, New York and Florida area know they were bought and were rebranded TD Bank.

TD is Canadian based and had a small footprint in the Philadelphia area previous to the Commerce aquisition.

They rebranded every branch within a really short time and my gut is this was a mistake.

First the Commerce brand was well liked in the areas it served by most people (with the exception of rival banks).

Secondly, history tells us that at least in the Philadelphia area they really like familiar bank brands.
Example, approximately 30 years ago Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh purchased Girard bank of Philadelphia and rebranded all the branches immediately. Girard had a good reputation in the Philadelphia area, was around forever and did not call their ATM’s . .ATM’s they cutely named them. . “George”. . . (Lets go to George to get some money! You mean “4 finger” George who will give you a payday loan at 50%. No silly . . George the machine that allows you to get money 7/24/365!).

Disaster. . confusion ensued. . deposits went down. . you know the rest of the story.

Mellon learned their lesson. When they bought another institution in Philadelphia. .PSFS. .they wisely cobranded them Mellon/PSFS.

TD kept the Commerce spokespeople Regis and Kelly. . good move. . kept the tag line. .America’s most convenient bank. . good move. . Changed sign colors from red, black and white to green, black and white. . . not a good move.

Time will tell.

Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing Blog written by a doctor.

Pharmaceutical Marketing Blog written by a doctor. Interesting to see how a doctor portrays the industry

http://drugreptime.wordpress.com

When Free is not Free

I am always on the lookout for free services that help on the public relations front so when I found this site PRfree.com I got all tingly inside. So I go to the site and from what I can read it actually is not free.

I despise companies that do this!!

In order to increase web traffic to their website they put free in their name hoping that people will overlook that they are not free and eventually buy their service. I do not get this. If you know of a free Press release distribution service let me know.

Update . . found a great site for free press release distribution

http://mashable.com/2007/10/20/press-releases/

Give a Shout Out to Ikea

Tomorrow is the traditional Philadelphia Thanksgiving parade which was threatened to be cancelled because the previous years sponsor Boscovs, a regional department store chain is in bankrupcy.  Ikea at the last minute stepped up and sponsored the parade.  Really smart move on Ikea’s part from a business and PR perspective.  Sorry Boscov’s you look like the Grinch.

First of all thank you Ikea for contributing in a holiday season that looks dismal from a retail perspective.

Ikea has some roots in the Philadelphia region. Their first North American store abutted the Plymouth Meeting Mall in Plymouth Township right outside the Philadelphia city limits.

Their new store in Conshockon right off of 476 is much bigger.  If anyone knows the history of Ikea it was started in Sweden by Ingvar Kamprad who started his retail career riding around Sweden selling fish off his bike.  

Needless to say old Ingvar is now one of the richest people in the world.  Ikea is the largest retailer and manufacturer of furniture in the world. (Hey Ingvar can I have an end table, one of those lamps and a 1/2 pound of that those loxs.)

Ikea sells a lot of furniture but its reputation for sturdiness has been suspect for years.  (Next time you move check out the contract the movers give you.  There probably is a clause saying something to the effect that they are not responsible for Ikea furniture breaking during the move.)

On the other hand the prices are good, the selection is decent, the employees are nice and the swedish meatballs in the restaurant are to die for.

Update article from other news source about Ikea

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2008/11/13/Ikea_rescues_Philadelphia_parade/UPI-40811226624495/

Internet Retailing Down – Long Live Retail!!!

Apparently the first time in Internet history the amount of on-line shopping actually decreased.

So What!  

Back in the day when direct mail catalogs first started showing up in peoples mailboxes the pundits said that traditional retailing as we know it (Physical retail stores) was going the way of the Dodo.

Guess what we still have retail stores coexisting with catalog marketers and Internet retailing.

At the end of the day people still like the experience of shopping in physical stores.  Always have, and for the foreseeable future, always will.

And with retailers like WalMart considering the use of new technologies such as RFID they will continue to close the gap in efficiency with their on-line and catalog brethren.

My crystal ball says that within 10 years Walmart has rfid scanners in their stores which will eliminate the need to scan the items in the carts. You will go through a scanner that resembles an airport scanner and all the items will be scanned this will decrease the time at checkout and virtually eliminate items not being scanned in the cart.

Not your Father’s brands (or your mothers).

I teach  120 undergraduate students who range in age from approximately 18-20.

I am always curious of the the products they use, what they prefer and what is on their minds.

I did an unscientific pole on what products they were using.  When I asked about what MP3 player they used almost all of them have an ipod.

When asked what social networking site they preferred again almost  unanimously  Facebook.

Neither of these products existed eight years ago.  These are the customers of the future.

Based on these numbers if I am the marketers of the competing MP3 and social networking sites I would be very nervous.

So much for the first mover advantage (I am also talking about that train wreck over at Yahoo).

Steve Jobs is weird

Dear Steve Jobs:

You are weird. You are odd. You wear the same outfit all the time. (Although I have been accused of doing the same thing. Hey its not a stain it is a brown tie-dye.)

Yes you are wacky but you and and the merry men and women at Apple are marketing geniuses.

Just when I was trying to forget about you by watching “The Office” on network tv (I am so old school), you pop up in my consciousness by having your products placed predominately on “The Office.” 

I know all the stories of the Apple Public Relation gods who are masters at product placement.

Please I am tired of all that great marketing.  Please just leave my consciousness. .  I am tired of reading about you, hearing about you, talking about you, fighting over you. . 

When there were rumors whirling around the Internet that you were sick Apple stock went down precipitously.

I understand why.

Love Scott

PS

Dear Apple lawyers I understand you take your job very seriously please understand that I mean this letter in only endearing terms this is in no way to be construed as slander just a bad case of hero worship.

Big Three CEO’s you stink at Public Relations

I was reading the NY Times (the real paper one) and GM had a full page advertisement on what they were doing to turn around their business and why they should receive a part of the TARP bailout.

All I could think of is the stories that are being circulated in the news media that each one of these CEO’s flew to Washington on their private jets to present at the Senate Sub-commitee for the bailout money.

What are you guys thinking!

Didn’t you or someone on your staff think this out? In your defense it may have made all the sense in the world. Lets face it your companies are in dire need of help and the more time you spend on the problems of your companies versus standing with the rest of us schleps in airport security lines may have made financial sense. You may have flown in a team of executive who made that trip via private jet cost effective.

But for the love of God did you think of the repercussions this would have when it came to your image; and the perception that you are trying to portray to the American people and other stakeholders who are trying to support you in this bailout.

Lets look back in history at the last bailout of an auto company in the US. (At around the same time Britain and Margaret Thatcher bailed out British Leland which in retrospect was an unmitigated disaster). Chrysler was bailed out by you and me (the taxpayers) back in the early 80′s. Lee Iacocca and the rest of the Chrysler executives knew a lot about the value of symbolism and a positive perception.

To put it bluntly, they were PR geniuses. Lee took a salary of a dollar. Presented a succinct and logical plan for Chrysler to exit their financial malaise. Lee went on TV and other media pitching the plan, his cars and why he was the man to lead this charge!  Man that guy knew how to spin it!

Guess what Chrysler, lived up to its obligations and paid back the US taxpayer all the money they were given before it was due.  Lee did what very few executives do in this day and age.  He under promised and over delivered.

Did Lee quietly have his CFO wire the money to the treasury. No way Jose!!  He personally delivered a huge check to the treasury in Washington ala Publishers Clearing house with Ed McMahon.

Talk about symbolism!! Lee your the man!!

So here is the advice I would give the master spinmeisters at the big three.

Fly coach, come up with a realistic plan to get yourself out of this mess, cut your salaries and be very aware of the perceptions you are portraying in the media.

Peace out

They are starting to listen!  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123058397854440471.html

The value of cobranding – when 1 + 1=3

The Google phone was released with much fanfare a short time ago with its network partner Tmobile.  I happened to be in my local Tmobile store and was talking to the sales staff who informed me that they were sold out of the Google phone and that they anticipated initial demand at approximately 20k units.  He informed me they had back orders immediately that numbered over 100k.

This is a perfect example where cobranding works.  Tmobile is looked upon as the number 3 or 4 in a three horse race with Verizon, ATT and Sprint/Nextel. So this benefits them by putting a halo on their brand and drive additional traffic to their stores.  Google’s who’s Android phone operating system is new to the market can leverage Tmobiles retail and distribution network. The phone who is manufactured by HTC also gets some branding recognition.

So its a win-win-win for Google, Tmobile and HTC.

I also am looking into my crystal ball and I predict within 5 years Google or someone else releases a free cell phone with free or discounted minutes based on the advertising model where user either hear and or see ads before and after making calls. Based on what the Googlers say to the press the next great frontier for them is not the web via computer but the web via cell phones and smart phones. But that is a story for another post at another time.

Also I would like to give a shout out to the Tmobile store in Montgomeryville, PA USA, the employees at this location are awesome especially Brendan and Sandy. This store is always crowded despite its terrible location.  They even have a guy that speaks Spanish.

Free and Cheap Marketing

Lets face it we are in a recession or at least it feels that way.  I get approached by people all the time that they don’t have the money to promote their goods and services.  I would say in times like this it may be the time to ramp up the marketing and cut back on other areas (I know this is easier said then done).

I like free and cheap marketing. I like hearing about. I like talking about. I really like to see it in action.

A month ago a person was handing out lollipops at my kids soccer game which had a coupon for a free slice of pizza wrapped around it for a new local pizza restaurant.  I like pizza. I really like free pizza. This restaurant probably hit 500 people in one morning with this offer.

In the whole scheme of things how much did this promotion really cost them?  Not much compared to traditional advertising.  Guess what?  I drank the koolaid.  We are regular customer and we would have never know about this restaurant had it not been for this promotion.

The other day I received an envelope addressed to “my neighbor.” It was from a neighborhood kid looking for some babysitting work.  What struck me about the package that was enclosed is that it had testimonials, professional looking stationary and a refrigerator magnet with both her home number and cell phone number.  This is from a kid that is 13 years old.  Guess where that magnet is?  Right on my refrigerator.  Guess who we are going to call next time we are in a fix for a babysitter.

Finally, I was reading the Saint Joe’s HawkEye newspaper. (Shout out to them I love reading the Hawk) I read an article about a student that started a cookie making business ala Mrs. Fields. I then notice that this same budding entrepreneur had notices on the bulletin boards placed in the hallways of the classroom building with an ad for her company with a tear-off section for her phone number.  I was hit by two different forms of cheap marketing within 10 minutes.

What do these three examples have in common?  They not only advertised but they left the prospect with something to remember them by.  A lollipop, a refrigerator magnet a tear-off phone number tag.

My gut is all these examples have a very high ROI.

We are not talking rocket scientry. . just good common sense which at times is lacking from even the best organizations when it comes to marketing.

You are also reading a blog that cost me nothing. . nada. . so I want to give a shout out to WordPress.com for helping me market on the cheap!  Other alternatives are the free social networking sites such as Linkedin, Facebook and MySpace.

Update:

Another idea is to approach your local schools hand out a flyer to local school children to bring home to their parents this is especially effective for neighbor hood organizations such as sports leagues and social organizations targeting this demographic.

How to get ready for a Presentation

Preparing for presentations isn’t easy. Even team meetings with your colleagues can be stressful and challenging. Few of us are true extroverts, and even fewer of us are comfortable with public speaking.

So how do you prepare for a big presentation?

There’s no straightforward answer. And there’s lots of great advice on public speaking out there. Some people recommend memorizing a script and practicing it intensely for as long as you possibly can. Other people suggest having key talking points and riffing on those. I’m not sure anyone would suggest going totally unprepared, because that would be tantamount to presentation-suicide … but from heavy-duty preparation to minimal preparation, you’ll get it all, and everything in-between.

Here’s my suggestion: Do what you need to in order to feel confident and comfortable giving the presentation.

If you’re not sure what to do in order to feel confident and comfortable, then I’d lean towards being more prepared than not.

Here are some tips for things you can do:

1. Start with your key talking points. There’s no point writing a full script or presentation until you know what points you want to hammer home. Then, you can stick with a standard format: (a) tell them what you’re going to show them; (b) show them; and, (c) tell them what you just showed them.
2. Write a script. I think this is a good idea. It lets you write everything out and start massaging the words the way you want. It also gives you a benchmark against which you can practice and refine things.
3. Don’t get hung up on specific words. It’s unlikely that missing or changing any one word will totally ruin your presentation, so don’t worry about perfection. The only person that knows you “screwed up” is you…
4. Find your speaking style. Over time with enough practice you can learn to speak and present in any style, but if you’re in crunch mode and don’t have enough time, just try and find your own speaking style. Find your groove. Some people are ultra-enthusiastic. Some are much calmer.
5. Practice in front of people. I haven’t done this yet, but I’ll be doing it soon. If you haven’t given a lot of presentations this will feel awkward but it’s better to get over those feelings now rather than when you’re on stage. So practice in front of others. But be careful about taking their advice, especially if the presentation is fast approaching. The risk is that you try to incorporate changes you’re not really comfortable with, whether it’s in the actual script or in your presentation style, and you end up causing more damage than good. Given the opportunity you should seek expert help with your presentation, but be careful about how you take any advice, especially late in the game.
6. Practice with distractions. It’s great to sit in a bubble with no distractions whatsoever and practice. You need the quiet time to memorize things and get a feel for what you’re doing. But I’m also practicing while distracted – be it by other sounds or visually (people walking by my office door, for example) because it makes me feel more confident that I can pull it off.
7. Practice piece by piece. I’ve found it quite helpful to practice each section of my presentation in pieces. I’ll focus on one part, memorize the core elements, run through it till I’m comfortable and then move to the next piece. Then it’s just a matter of stringing the pieces together, which is easier.
8. Practice hand gestures. If you’re giving a “naked” presentation (with nothing in front of you like a table, etc.) then you need to be aware of what you’re doing with your hands. And your feet. So think about your hand gestures and how they relate to what you’re saying. If you plan to move around, pace in sync with your words. I’ve been practicing this for a few days with great success. The hand gestures and where I’m walking are triggers cuing what I should be saying.
9. Find your comfort zone. All the advice in the world won’t help if you can’t get comfortable with your preparation, practice techniques and ultimately, the presentation itself. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. The more comfortable you feel, the more confident you feel, and the better things will go.

Don’t be a Scrooge

We are in a recession. Money is tight. Your business is asked to give a donation for a non-profit.  You contemplate what to do.

At the end of the day it may make more business sense to give a small contribution then to give none at all.

First if you are going to donate to a cause ask the person who is asking for the contribution what kind of recognition you are going to get for it.  Are you going to be listed in a directory or newsletter or announced at the fundraising event.  If not you should request as much recognition as possible.  

If you have to limit your conributions limit it to those organizations who are going to give you the most recognition.  If you are a non-profit looking to raise money you should find unique ways to give recognition to those organizations and individuals who give.

Whatever you do if you donate your services honor the comitment.  I won an item a charity auction a few years back.  The company was refusing to honor the service they donated.   I went back to the nonprofit who had to intervene on my behalf.  The funny thing was I needed a larger type of service from this type of company.  Needless to say this is very shortsided, unethical and stupid.

For example, I know an individual who runs a fund raising event every year for a local non-profit.  They are one of the largest and stable employers in the town in which they provide social services at no cost or low cost to members of the community.  The vast majority of local businesses contribute something.  They reauest donations once a year, even if it is as low as $10 or $25 of cash, gift certificates, donated items or services.  

A local restaurant refused to give any contribution year after year.  Internally the non-profit kept a list of the organizations who contributed every year.  They published it in their newsletter and their intranet. Word got out within the non-profit that this restaurant refused to give something year after year and some employees took it upon themselves to not go there anymore. 

Guess what. .  they no longer are in business.

Tools for finding the perfect Domain name

The problem with getting a domain name today is that most of the names you desire are taken.  I have found a number of tools that make the process of finding available domain names much easier.

1. Bust A Name

Enter a couple of keywords, use the included thesaurus by clicking on the blue arrrow in box #2, and watch the software combine the words into dozens or even hundreds of possible variations. You choose how many words to combine, what domain name extension you want, as well as prefixes and suffixes to add to your list of keywords. You can even plurize your nouns (pant -> pants), and drop vowels (flicker -> flickr).

Best of all, once a list is generated, you can sort it by readability, length or the number of syllables.

A lot of options but I had some trouble figuring out interface and how it worked.

2. NameBoy

My favorite for the ease of use and simplicity. Simply enter a primary keyword, a second keyword (optional) and specify whether you’re willing to accept domain names with a hyphen and off you go! NameBoy works on a cached database of domain names so it’s fast, but it also means once in a while a domain name you like will already be registered, so act quick!

3. 123Finder
Enter keywords to find available domain names, or browse a lengthy list of available domain names by their length. Looking 4-letter domain name? There’s 4 .com’s available, and 4383 .net’s. You can narrow down the list by only showing domain names containing or related to certain keywords, as well as whether or not they have numbers or hyphens.

Update here is another good site

http://www.domainexposer.com/

This is my second favorite of these sites. Super flexible but gives you both available domains and ones that are not so you spend a lot of time going through the list if it is long.

Another good site

Makewords

And another

Domainsbot

Press Release Basics – How to Write a Press Release

Are you preparing to launch a new product, or service? Have you recently, started using press releases? A well-written press release that is newsworthy can generate media exposure, new business, search visibility, web site traffic, and much more.

Writing a successful press release requires you to present your organization and your story with the perspective of news. Step away from the advertiser’s mindset and step into a journalist’s mindset. Cover the interests of your target audience and focus on why they care about your story. Journalists may publish a press release in entirety, but only when it reads like news.

Let’s go over the basics and then review a sample press release format. Following the standard press release format will increase the chances of having your newsworthy event being picked up by the media.

Basic Guidelines

When writing your press release use the inverted pyramid format, placing less important information further down in the release.

Structure your press release in block format by not indenting your paragraphs.
Review your press release and make sure it does not sound like an essay; it should be informative but appealing.

Keep your press release within 500 words; this should be enough to cover your news event and prompt people to take action.

Proofread your press release more than once. Step away after you are done writing and come back with a fresh set of eyes.

Writing a press release requires you to write a persuasive story that will compel journalists and consumers to take action. Our sample press release format is just a guide for the structure of a press release, but keep in mind that any story can be told from many angles. Try visiting the news sections of industry leaders Web sites or go to the newswires and see how others are telling their stories.

Press Release Format

Headline

Create an active and descriptive headline that will capture the reader’s attention. The headline should appeal to journalists as newsworthy.

Summary

Write a summary of your press release that helps clarify the headline, and describes what the press release is about..

Body (Answer the Where, When, Who, and What)

Lead Paragraph

City, State – Month Day, Year – Organization Name – Answer the “what” in the rest of this paragraph.

Include Quotes

After the first paragraph of the body it is a good idea to include at least one quote from an executive that discusses why this is an important news event. Add credibility to your press release; identify the people you quote using their title, and company name in addition to their name.

Answer the Why and the How

The second paragraph of the body should connect the first paragraph to more detailed information about the “why” and the “how” of the news event.

Additional paragraphs should contain supporting information, industry statistics, and quotes.

Call to Action

The last paragraph is where you can make a call to action. This is your opportunity to prompt your target audience to do something.

### (Use three number signs to denote where the press release ends)

Corporate Summary

Include a short summary about your organization.

Contact Information

Include the contact information of a person the media can follow up with. (Name, Company Name, Phone Number, E-mail Address, Company URL)

Why have a Blog for your Business

Having a business weblog that provides good information for your customers while being timely and fun can add a new dimension to your Web site.

Blogs are a powerful tool for marketing and promotion. Because the entries are short, and often full of links, they are more keyword heavy than standard articles often are. Plus, being short, they are easy for your customers to read (and you to write), so they are more likely to come back daily to see what you might have to say on that day.

If your company is very formal, a blog is a place to show your customers that it is made up of people just like them. You can do this without becoming too personal or diary-like.

Using a Blog for Business
There are lots of ways you could use a blog in a business:

Frequently Asked Questions
If you get a lot of mail to your webmaster account, you can post the common questions up on a blog. This will provide your customers a place to go to see questions and answers, and as new questions come in, you can post them to help more people.
Promotions

If you do promotions every week or few days, you can use a blog to highlight them.

Contests
Daily contests and games are a great promo in a blog. They are fun, and bring your customers back.
What’s New Pages
If you add lots of new articles, information, or products regularly, sometimes it can be difficult for your customers to find out what’s new. A quick blog entry can show them what’s updated on your site.
What’s Coming
You can use a blog to peak interest in future products or projects. It’s also a great way to keep notes about what you’re planning for your customers, the entries are archived so nothing is lost either for you or your customers. Plus, if your blog tool has a comments feature, you can use that to judge interest before it goes live.
Photo Blog
Rather than writing, you could put up a daily photo for your customers. A photo and a short description can be very compelling.

News
The most common use for business blogs is news, usually about the specific topic relevant to the company.

Using Social Marketing to Build your Business

Social Business Networks inexpensively interconnect professionals online, in particular, independent entrepreneurs and smaller companies. Social Business Networks also give you the opportunity to showcase your experience and achievements within your network. If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner, you need to be literate in the current world of social networking profiles, tools, and online connections to stay competitive and promote your business.

Participating in social networking is an often-overlooked small business marketing tool. In the real world, our networks are hidden. Social networking sites solve this problem by letting you see who your friends and connections know, who your friends, friends know and so on. You then are free to contact anyone that interests you by inviting them to join your own social network.

If you are looking to expand your contact base, LinkedIn and Facebook are two of the more popular services that facilitate business-oriented connections. Facebook showed a 270 percent increase in visitors in 2007 over the year before according to comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world.

Here are 5 quick tips to successful social business networking:

1. Take the time to learn how to properly use the business social networking site that you join. Most social networking sites offer online tutorials. Many sites allow you to post your own user generated content in the form of blogs, pictures, slide shows and videos. Many users do not use the social networking sites to their fullest potential by taking advantage of these features.

2. Don’t let your ego take over and join in the race to build up a massive list of contacts to show off your “social power.” If you have more than 500 “friends,” take the time out to sort through these “friends” to be aware of the people you may be attracting to your network.

3. Build and manage your online reputation. According to a report on MSN, several companies are now using the “friends” on an applicant’s social-networking page as references. Not only are they looking at your page on sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, they may also take the next step in contacting your friends. The old days of a page with three references and three phone numbers on it that you controlled are over. With social business networking, you open up your rolodex for the whole world to see.

4. Be professional. Type your posts, e-mails, comments or chats in a professional manner and do not use internet slang such as “lol”, “omg”, etc. Type your email, comments or chat messages as if you were standing in front of the person speaking face-to-face. Let’s face it; this could be your first impression with a potential client or HR recruiter.

5. Establish a Routine. When logging on to your preferred Business Social Networking sites, set aside a designated length of time to spend here. Have some specific goals in mind when visiting the site.

Don’t take a pass on the whole social networking trend. Millions of professionals are learning how social networks work, how social networking works, and how shared applications can be viral and ever-present. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to create a successful social business network of your own.

 

Tips for Promoting your Blog

Write quality content
It might sound obvious to most of us that your blog’s content has to be excellent. In many cases, however, bloggers write mediocre posts and spend most of their time trying to drive traffic to their blogs. Granted, they get a fair amount of visits, but those people will never come back. Converting one-time visitors into subscribers is by far the most important thing you need to do to keep a steady flow of traffic visiting your blog.

There is another excellent reason to write quality articles. The better your content is the more people will link to your blog. And as we all know, quality incoming links are the key to high search engine rankings.

Let your readers subscribe
There are two major ways people can subscribe to your blog: email and RSS. Give them both options. RSS is a great technology but a huge percentage of your readers are not very familiar with it.

Submit your feeds
Every time you write a new post, submit its RSS/Atom feed to the major feed directories: FeedAge, FeedRaider, FeedAgg, FeedFury, GoldenFeed, and BlogDigger. Also submit your blog’s main RSS if you haven’t done so yet.

Ping your posts
When you ping your posts, the search engines are more likely to index them faster. These are the ping services such as pingomatic.com and feedburner.com

Social bookmark your own posts
Create an account with the top social bookmarking services and bookmark each new post that you write. These are some of the ones I use: Digg, Delicious, Propeller, Technorati, Reddit, Google Bookmarks, Yahoo Bookmarks, MSN Bookmarks, Blinklist, Linkagogo, Wists, Kaboodle, Furl, Faves, and StumbleUpon.

Add social bookmarking capabilities to your blog
Give people the opportunity to bookmark your posts. There are several plugins that work for most blogging platforms. My favorites are ShareThis and Sociable.

Forums and blogs
Interact with your community, provide useful tips, and answer their questions. Become an authority in the field and invite them to visit your blog. Don’t spam them, though. Make sure that you are helping them, not just posting your blog’s link everywhere.

Use viral marketing
I think that all blogs should have an option to “Tell your friends” about it. Sure, your visitors can copy your link, open their email clients, and send your blog’s link to their friends. But if you don’t make it easy for them, chances are that they won’t.

Using YouTube to help Market you and your Business

Who hasn’t seen some goofy video on YouTube hawking an insane topic? There’s plenty on YouTube that you probably wouldn’t want to watch, but there’s also a hidden marketing opportunity there. So says Michael Miller, author of YouTube 4 You, a recently released book that shares YouTube secrets. Here are three simple ideas you can put into action today.

1. Use Your YouTube Videos to Promote Other Products and Services
You can upload videos that function either as blatant advertisements or infomercials, or as “teasers” for additional services. If you have a product to sell, make it a how-to video to attract viewers, and prominently display your web page address or phone number in the video. If you’re a consultant and want to promote your services, try demonstrating what you have to offer potential clients by uploading a motivational lecture or a slideshow about specific business practices. Use the video to establish your expert status and then display your email address or web page URL to solicit business for your services. If you’re an author, read an excerpt of your book in the video. If you’re a musician with a CD to sell, create a music video. If you’re an artist, create a photo slideshow of your work.

2. Sell Product Placement in Your Videos.
Just as movie studios and television networks sell product placement in their movies and TV shows, you can sell them in your YouTube videos, especially if you have a track record of high viewership. If you need extra resources to sell product placements, you can use the services of Entertainment Media Works www.entmediaworks.com, a company that specializes in product placements. You can use plinking, the process of adding a link to a product or service to an object or image in a video, such as a jacket you’re wearing.

3. Sell Advertising Around Embedded YouTube Videos on Your Own Website.
All you need for this is a YouTube video or two, your own website, and a free subscription to Google AdSense. The key to this approach is to generate revenues from your own website, from traffic driven by embedded YouTube videos. The more interesting the videos, the more traffic you’ll attract; the more traffic you attract, the more click-throughs you’ll get on the ads you place on your site. Google AdSense will place content-targeted ads on your site, sell those ads to appropriate advertisers, monitor visitor click-throughs, track how much money is owed to you, and then pay you what your earn.

The Death March of Newspapers

Print media is dying. They are blaming the current economy and the decline of advertising and classified sales as the culprit of their troubles. Here are some other factors that explain the downfall of the newspaper business.

Most newspapers are either very liberal or very conservative. Readers are growing weary of this. They want unbiased news reporting, not slant. By the way, network television news; better learn quickly from print media on this one before its too late for you too!

With the exception of the bi-fold newspapers, the “technology” and packaging has not changed in decades. Please name me one other “product” that has not evolved in what seems like forever.

Print media blames the Internet and cable news channels for their loss of business. To some point, there is truth in that, as the immediacy of the ‘net and cable is hard to challenge, unless, you actually provide your readers in-depth facts and knowledge that they cannot readily find elsewhere. Keep in mind that the Internet and cable news channels are also usually slanted, and only give superficial attention to the stories that they report on.

Today’s reporting is like politics, all about the “gotcha.” That’s not what readers want, but how many newspapers do you know that actively interact with their readers in a way that provides them with the needed feedback to better service their readers?

At some point, if printed media does want to survive, it must stop acting like the victim of a tragedy and instead start reacting like a boxer who has been hit with a body blow: get up, re-group, and fight back!

Update 12/24/08

Americans prefer news from Web to newspapers: survey

Green Apple(s)

 Post by Alexander Kinch

Let’s face it, Apple is “The King of the Jungle” when it comes to marketing. From their release of the first line of IMac computers, to the release of the new IPhone 3G. Apple always finds a way to have a strong Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). As if all this success was not enough, they have found a new demographic to target, the “Green Market”.

      Over the last few decades there has been a growing concern with our environment and the effects computers, televisions, and other electronic devices have on our environment. Apple has found a way to capture this demographic of people with their new line of notebook computers. The new line of MacBook notebooks’ casing is made from one piece of completely recyclable aluminum; they do not contain harmful toxins such as mercury and arsenic, which is found in most notebooks; they can run on the power used by one quarter of a single light bulb; and use less packaging material than most other notebooks.

Sounds catchy, doesn’t it?

Apple has become the “trend setter” of the electronics market and has really stepped its game up, yet again, with this new line of notebooks.

I am sure you have seen advertisements for this new line of notebooks and know a thing or two about them already. After reading this small blurb on Apple’s new line of computers I bet you want to check them out online and find out more so here is the link for their new line of notebooks. 

http://www.apple.com/mac/green-notebooks/

Using Twitter to Market

 

Ever wondered how to advertise, communicate directly with customers and keep abreast of your competition, all at the same time? Social networking website Twitter could be the answer. We reveal the tips and traps of this hot new online tool.

The internet has given businesses a variety of ways to market themselves, but the last few years have seen the rise of one of the most innovative – social networking.

Good article in WSJ – Web 2.0 and Marketing

The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World

Consumers are flocking to blogs, social-networking sites and virtual worlds. And they are leaving a lot of marketers behind.

This article is a little too basic for my knowledge but it still is a good read.

Also if you want to read an article that is limited to WSJ.com customers and you do not have a subscription just use the email the article feature send it to yourself and you can then read the article for free.  Sorry WSJ

2009: The Year of Marketing Chaotically

Blogger:

Manny Gonzalez

PARIS Technologies International, Inc.

mgonzalez@olap.com

In 1987 noted management consultant and author Tom Peters authored his third book entitled “Thriving on Chaos.” The book focused on what Peters saw as the successful management practices that businesses must employ in order to not just survive but to thrive in the face of mounting marketplace turmoil occurring at the time. Speed ahead to 2009 and while marketplace turmoil persists (thanks in good measure to the on-going economic recession) could Peters have envisioned the Web 2.0 explosion that is causing catastrophic chaos for marketers worldwide, to boot? I can’t answer that question. But, I do know that the chaos marketers are facing today is not going away any time soon so we, as savvy marketers, just may as well embrace the chaos and try our best to not just survive but as Peter’s postulated – thrive. I will attempt now to describe, in very broad terms, what I see as the key elements of a successful B2B marketing strategy.

First off, begin to think of your marketing planning in two ways:

1. What do I need to do to gain leads?
2. What do I need to do to create the right message?

By thinking of your marketing plans in these ways, you will be able to focus on the steps that you will need to take in order to identify the best way to reach your target market and ensure that you’ve crafted the right message for that audience.

Techniques to Get People to Read your Web Content

 

The reason we all write blogs and content for our websites is because we have something that we feel is important to say, and we want to get that message out to the public. There are a lot of badly written, boring posts and articles floating around on the web and most of us can’t be bothered to read them to get the information we need out of it. But, the good news is that I do believe if something is truly well written or entertaining that people will read it. Therefore, in order to get our message across, we have to make our writing more appealing to our readership. Fortunately, these few simple copywriting tips can be used to help you tighten your writing.

1. Plan Ahead

Listen, if you don’t know where you’re going with your writing, than your readers don’t stand a chance. Before you sit down and put fingers to keyboard, think about what you want to say and what the logical flow of your thoughts should be. Your writing should be orderly and have direction. If you’re looking for a great starting place, try this simple adage: Tell people what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you’ve told them. It’ll help lend focus to your thoughts.

Social Networking Branding Measurement Tool

Shout out to Michelle Judd - Global Communications Manager, Ergotron, Inc. for turning me on to this site. .  very cool. .Thanks Michelle you rock!

http://www.howsociable.com/

The link on her blog is below:

http://blogs.ergotron.com/blog/2008/09/04/monitoring-your-brand-on-social-media/

Update here is another tool that also does this:

https://yacktrack.com/home

Increasing traffic to your Website or Blog with Linkedin

LinkedIn’s popularity and relevance as a social networking site has increased dramatically since its inception. The site provides a great way to network with other professionals, and is a great resource to form and enhance business relationships. However, few people realize that there is an SEO benefit to LinkedIn as well. In the SEO world, keyword text links are king. Below are instructions for how to adjust your LinkedIn profile to include three text links with keyword rich anchor text (good for SEO) pointing back to your website. Once you login, it will only take a minute of your time.

To get started you first need to assemble a list of three URL’s and three keywords you would like to optimize for. For our example we will use our client Gould Cooksey Fennell, a law firm in Vero Beach Florida. Here is our list:

Keyphrase URL

Vero Beach Lawyer http://www.gouldcooksey.com

Vero Beach Attorney http://www.gouldcooskey.com

Vero Beach Corporate Law http://www.gouldcooksey.com/site/corporate_law/

  

Tool for submitting to Social Bookmarking Sites

Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting  for turning me on to this site. .  very cool. .Thanks Bob  you are the king of social networking!

http://www.socialmarker.com/

What is SocialMarker.com?

Social bookmarking is a powerful tool in promoting a website. But going through all of those social bookmarking sites is very time-consuming and downloading all toolbars is madness! That’s where SocialMarker.com comes in, the free service designed to reduce the time and effort needed to socially bookmark a website.

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

M-Commerce – Direct marketing goes mobile!

Post by Jessica Weyhmuller

How many people a day do you see using a cellular phone? If people are not making calls, they are most likely texting, and if they are not doing those forms of communicating they could be checking the news, their email, playing a game, or listening to music. There are close to a billion mobile phones used worldwide, many of which have Internet capabilities. What better way to take advantage of this, than to market and promote right to these mobile phones or devices (PDAs) … welcome to the world of m-commerce. This form of e-commerce activity is predominant in Europe and Asia. For example, over half of Japan’s Web users access the Internet by means of a mobile device; for them it is actually cheaper! In the U.S., it has yet to catch on as quickly, but slowly cell phone companies are beginning to target the high-school/college level demographics.

Professionally done Headshots – Why they are important for your image

Headshots are very useful in humanizing a business and building trust. Who do you trust more, a corporation or a person? They often form the first impression a person gets of your company’s key people. Because you only get one shot at a first impression, you’d better make it as good as you can.

They don’t have to be formal – it depends on the audience that you’re trying to appeal to.

For business use, a headshot should give the impression of an intelligent, warm individual that looks trustworthy and approachable. They should look important while remaining likable. They should express vitality. Good eye contact with the viewer is extremely important – you want viewers to be able to connect with them and picture themselves doing business with them.

Building your Email List with Personal URL’s

Companies need to utilize all disciplines of marketing to get the greatest ROI. Direct mail (snail mail) vs. email and viral marketing is always the question. Both can work in concert to build your list of prospects for your permission marketing program.

Most companies get their first email campaigns out to just a small fraction of its prospect base in hopes that they pass it along to a friend or colleague and hope that they sign up for a subscription.

To jump start or build your subscriptions you can utilize Personalized URL’s, (PURL).

With a PURL you can:

Develop cross media marketing campaigns

Build you email prospect base by utilizing a direct mail list

Quantify responses with real time reporting

Gather critical demographic information with a survey

Gather cell phone numbers for a texting campaign

Set up automatic responses via email or texting

10 Ways to Increase Traffic on your Blog

Another Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting for turning me on to this site. . very cool. .Thanks again Bob

http://fliptext.blogspot.com/2008/11/ten-tips-to-get-high-traffic-to-your.html

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

Here is another

http://weblogs.about.com/od/bloggingtips/tp/TipsIncreaseBlogTraffic.htm

and another

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/21-tactics-to-increase-blog-traffic

Marketing with Twitter

Twitter is a tool for “micro-blogging” or posting very short updates, comments or thoughts.  In fact, since Twitter was designed to be very compatible with mobile phones through text messages, each update is limited to 140 characters.  Truly, a micro-blog.  Another way to think of Twitter is like a cross between instant messaging (IM) and a chat room, because it is an open forum, but you restrict it to the people with which you connect.

Do you want a Free Marketing Plan for your Company?

I am looking for a company or organization who wants to have a marketing plan done free of charge by my marketing students. In the past the companies that have had my students do this have been very satisfied with the results.

The conditions are as follows:

You would have to come to Radnor, PA, USA to present in Febuary.

Be available via phone and email throughout semester to answer student’s questions

Be physically on campus in May 2010 to evaluate presentations

Article Marketing to Drive Traffic to your Website or Blog

The concept of article marketing has been around for ages even before the internet has been discovered. It has been used by publishers to get free content from contributors in exchange of free advertisement. This saves both publishers and entrepreneur’s ample amount of time and money.

Today, entrepreneurs, especially those who don’t have the money to shell out for their advertising cost, are relying heavily on article submission sites like ezinearticles.com. They post their articles to these sites in exchange of free advertisement or publicity for their website or products.

Dr. Scott’s Blog one of Fastest Growing Blogs!

Thank you for making http://www.scotttesta.com one of the 100 fastest growing WordPress Blogs based on traffic!

That is pretty good considering there is over 5 million of them (5,093,580 to be exact).

So Thank you to all the readers and contributors for making this happen!

Social Media Marketing Kit

Another Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting for turning me on to this site. . very cool. .Thanks again Bob

http://www.hubspot.com/social-media-marketing-kit-a

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

Dr. Scott’s Predictions for 2009

• Many Newspapers continue to struggle those that have high debt levels will consolidate, retrench through bankruptcy, or good old liquidation. .continue trend of starting to limit home delivery or not produce “physical paper” and go with pure web strategy like the Christian Science Monitor.

• Yahoo gets bought – Maybe News Corp, maybe Disney, probably Microsoft. This train wreck has got to end. (What was Jerry Yang and the board thinking when they rebuffed multiple offers from Microsoft?)

Official Launch and Press Release of Dr. Scott’s Cool Marketing and Business Blog

For Immediate Release

Dr. Scott Testa
http://www.scotttesta.com/
USA 215-779-3276

stesta@scotttesta.com

Marketing Expert launches New Blog

Philadelphia, PA – December 31, 2008 – Dr. Scott Testa, a prominent marketing expert and professor has launched a new Blog, Dr. Scott’s Cool Marketing and Business Blog at http://www.scotttesta.com/, serving those who are interested in increasing their marketing presence and brand.

Using Twitter as a Focus Group

Another Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting for turning me on to this site. . very cool. .Thanks again Bob

Using Twitter as a Focus Group

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

The Power of Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking is a very effective method of promoting a website or blog via the use of user generated content. If a submitted content is successful, this can send thousands of visitors to your site in a short period, potentially leading to numerous incoming links. This method of promoting content via social media sites is commonly termed as linkbait.

Free Webinar – How Online Marketing is Ripe for the Times

Another Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting for turning me on to this site. . very cool. .Thanks again Bob

How Online Marketing is Ripe for the Times

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

Brands they are a changing. . . .

My recent interview for Associated Press about Brands that are gone (or will be gone) . .

More Top Brands Disappearing 2009 – MSNBC, LATimes, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer. . .

Sorry for be such a doomsdayer but, 2009 is going to be tough for a number of sectors in the US.

Article on Free and Inexpensive Marketing and Business Ideas

Another Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting for turning me on to this site. . very cool. .Thanks again Bob

Although this is a recent article some of the links in the article do not work or the services have been discontinued. . but still great info. .

Start, run and grow your business for, you guessed it, free.

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

Using Amazon to Drive Traffic to your Site

Image via CrunchBase

Amazon is one of the single most popular sites online and knowing a few details about Amazon will help you send a surge of new and untapped visitors to your site or blog.

As you know, Amazon is a buyer’s market place and is a very powerful search engine for products of all sorts, especially books. Now, you’re probably saying to yourself, “yeah, I already know that about Amazon, but how do I get my share of Amazon’s traffic?” Well, I’m going to answer that question in just a few moments, but first, here’s just some of the benefits you’ll receive once you’ve ‘Set-Up’ what I’m about to show you.

Making sure Search Engines can Recognize your Blog or Website

Search engines have the ability to drive a lot of traffic to your Blog or Website. Normally, if you’re going to get high levels of traffic it’s very important that the search engines can access all the information on them.

Was on Fox Business Channel today!

The good news is that I was on the Fox Business Channel today talking about my brands that disapeared in 2008 article. . the bad news is my interview was cut short because of the problem with the feed. . oh well you win some . . you lose some. .but still a great experience!

Cut costs or increase your income?

Cut costs or increase your income? By Rich Quindry

Many businesses foolishly focus on reducing expenses. Now, it’s true that you need to be wise, but how much can you cut and still stay in business? Probably the most you can add to the bottom line this way and still keep your doors open is 10 or 20%.

If you want to substantially increase your profit, you’ve got to increase your income, and you do that with marketing. Marketing is not an expense, it’s an investment. Paper towels are an expense.

Properly done, marketing returns much more in profits than it costs. If you were at a slot machine that continually paid back $200 for every $100 dollars that you spent would you consider putting in another $100 an expense or an investment? As long as your slot machine called marketing is paying off, you should be putting more money into it, not less. If it’s not paying off then you need to fix your marketing or fix what you’re selling.

By investing in marketing the potential increase in your profits is limitless.

Rich Quindry
Photography for Advertising

USA -   215-368-9260   voice / fax

“Digitally enhanced images that enhance your image.”

www.Quindry.com

Check out his blog at http://blog.quindry.com

Best Social Networking for Business

Networking has been a tactic for building and marketing businesses long before the Internet. Web technology and the mass appeal of making connections online makes social networking an attractive channel for businesses that want to extend their reach, credibility and influence.

Improving Blogging Productivity

Another Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting for turning me on to this site. . very cool. .Thanks again Bob

This is an interesting article about how to schedule your blog posting so you have consistent posting specifically names WordPress blogs but also can be done on Blogger

Improve Blogging productivity

Also a good site at http://www.howtomakemyblog.com/

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

I want business and traffic now!

I got a call today from a friend of mine that sells a product that improves and helps people with hemorrhoids (yes, hemorrhoids and yes it is a serious problem that a lot of people have).

She said to me how can I get the name of my product and company publicized the cheapest, fastest and easiest way with the most impact in a short period of time.

Hyundai stepping up. . thinking “out of the box” and getting great press

Hyundai announced the “Hyundai Assurance Program” that would allow a customer to return a purchased or leased vehicle within 12 months of purchase because of a loss of income. The buyback program allows customers to return the vehicle for a number of reasons including unemployment, becoming physically disabled even if they die accidentally.

This sounds like a bad idea from a financial perspective for Hyundai but, I think it is absolutely brilliant from a marketing perspective.  Hyundai has a history of thinking “outside of the box,” in the past they resolved reliability concerns with their ten year 100,000 mile warranty. There are several companies that have followed with similar warranties.

From a consumers standpoint there are some details of the program that are suspect.  For example, if you have to return the car, the dealer dictates the price that they would value the car which would cast doubt in my mind about this deal.

But, my gut is the “Hyundai Assurance program” will be duplicated by other manufacturers.  Time will tell.

Reinforce your Brand with your own Branded email

Are you tired of sending out emails that do not have your website or blog address in it.

For example, my old personal email address was stesta97@gmail.com my new one is stesta@scotttesta.com.

This way every time I send an email it promotes my blog.

You have to own a domain but they are cheap.  I use GoDaddy and set it up within ten minutes.

Previously Yahoo mail allowed you to do this but charged for it.

Google now does it for free.

Just go to Google Apps and sign up.

Looking for Companies in Brussels, Switzerland and Germany who want Free Publicity!

I am looking for companies in Brussels, Switzerland and Germany who want some free publicity. I am participating in a student Marketing trip to these countries and we are  looking for companies to visit. If you are interested shoot me an email at stesta@scotttesta.com and I will fill you in on the details.

Thanks Scott

A Rant About Some Social Media Advocates

A Rant About Some Social Media Advocates by Lewis Green, Founder & Managing Principal – L&G Business Solutions

I am frustrated by some social media (SM) advocates (evangelists), who have little to no experience within corporations or business generally, telling businesses what social media is, how it should be used and, most of all, trying to convince smart, experienced marketers, communication’s specialists and C-level executives that social media is an elixir for what ails them.

Yahoo. . . take me to your leader. .

Image via CrunchBase

I predicted last year that Yahoo would get bought by Microsoft in 2009 which I think is still going to happen.  Yahoo is such a great franchise but whose leadership well. . strange. . Jerry Yang’s public persona was questionable. . I mean he just seemed to say things that made him seem “out of touch.”

I said it before. .  him and the board in retrospect were absolutely insane for not taking the Microsoft offer at 33 a share. .

Carol Bartz is going to be named CEO of Yahoo. . nice safe pick . . and exactly what Yahoo does not need.  Here are some of my comments http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=466&doc_id=170366&.

The funny thing is Yahoo is still an extremely valuable franchise. In my opinion the search results at Yahoo are as good at this point to Google’s; and Microsoft probably needs Yahoo more then Yahoo needs Microsoft.  Microsoft’s search efforts have been futile. (What is Microsoft doing with all the money they spend on their search efforts?)

Here is my dream scenario. . Apple buys Yahoo. . I would love to see this. . .doubtful yes. . but I can dream can’t I. .

Free CRM and Contact Management Software

Image via CrunchBase

I was looking for a free CRM package to do a direct mail campaign that I am putting together. I looked at a number of packages that were free to use and I found through some searching Salesforce.com Personal edition that is free. Yes, the Personal edition is free. So far so good other then I am having some issue importing data off of an excel spreadsheet.  I will keep you posted.

Update

Bob Garrett pointed out

Zoho which is free but also can be shared between 3 users – also free

www.Linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

www.twitter.com/bobgarrett

Update on Free Press Release Sites

Image via Wikipedia

As you know I am always looking for free and inexpensive ways to market.  After playing with some of the free press release sites one of the more interesting is pitchengine.com.  Based on an unscientific search after submitting a release to pitchengine I seemed to get some traction and some impact on the search engines.  Just a thought.

Free Marketing Webinar for Bloggers

Bob Garrett gave me a Shout Out about this free Webinar to help with marketing your Blog

The time is below:

Live Webinar: Friday, January 23, 2009, 12pm-1pm ET

The link is below:

Free Marketing Webinar for Bloggers

Bob is at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

Six Elements of a Great LinkedIn Profile

Image via CrunchBase

Post by Scott Cunningham

TheReferralAdvisor.com Your LinkedIn profile should be thought of as a marketing tool. Think about what your objectives are on LinkedIn and update your profile accordingly.

For example, do you want to use LinkedIn to…

• find a job
• generate leads & referrals
• find an investor
• find referral partners
• find subscribers for your email newsletter

Because many people haven’t determined how to accomplish their objectives with LinkedIn, they tend to provide only the basic information.

The purpose of this is to take you beyond the basics and show you how to get the most from your LinkedIn profile. Therefore, I have assumed that you have already provided the basic information on your profile.

The seven ways to get traffic on the Web

VatorNews – The seven ways to get traffic on the Web.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Fifty analytics tools to help you monitor and analyze your web traffic (bookmarketingbuzz.com)

Cool Blogging Tool to help with Posts on Blogs

Image via CrunchBase

Zemanta is a content suggestion engine. It provides tools for bloggers to make their work of gathering and filtering information easier. Zemanta enable a blogger to have his or her blog post ‘spiced up’ with just a few clicks. This plug-in helps to find relevant content from all over the web delivered instantly as you blog. This plug-in works smarter with instant smart links, pictures, tags, related articles, and more. It supports Mozilla Firefox 2 and 3, and Internet Explorer 6 and 7.  Images are suggested from Wikimedia Commons, Flickr and various stock photo providers. They are suggested based on contextual comparison of the text and the image’s title, description and articles they were used in originally.

Check Your Email’s Spam Score Deliverability – Free Online Tool

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Check Your Email’s Spam Score & Deliverability – Free Online Tool

I have been building a direct mail list and have been playing with some email marketing and direct mail.  I found this cool tool that prevents emails from getting caught in spam filters.  I am not condoning spam. .I just want to point out that even if you have an opt-in email list emails can sometimes get caught in filters.

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10 Best Inauguration Marketing Stunts

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Inauguration marketing – 10 examples of how marketers and advertisers are using the Inauguration to promote their products

Ten Best Inauguration Marketing Stunts

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How to get Indexed by Google – Complete Guide

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How to get indexed by Google – Complete Guide.

Blogger vs. WordPress.com Comparison Chart – 2009

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Pulsed: Blogger vs. WordPress.com Comparison Chart – 2009.

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Obama brand is a red-hot commodity

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The Obama brand is a red-hot commodity.

Dr. Scott’s Blog again make WordPress.com’s Fastest Growing Blogs

As Sally Fields would say. . “You really like me . .you really like me!”

Thanks again to readers and contributors for making this blog one of the top 100 growing blogs of wordpress.com blogs not bad considering there is over 5 million of them!

http://botd.wordpress.com/2008/12/27/growing-blogs-974/

http://botd.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/growing-blogs-998/

Marketing and Selling via Ad Syndication

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Craigslist is an unbelievable service and a truly disruptive technology for classified ads. Those of you who do not know who Craig of Craigslist is here is his picture. (He has a sledgehammer in his hand because he is beating conventional newspapers in the classified game!)

But their also is an alternative to Craigslist. . . . Ad Syndication.

Here is an article that talks about how Ad Syndication works:

Free Online Ad Syndication

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Twitter being used by Bank for Customer Service

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Problems With Your Checking Account? Try Twitter – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com.

Bank of America using Twitter for customer service.

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What Are the Top Performing Brands on Facebook?

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What Are the Top Performing Brands on Facebook?.

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Marketers Should Be in Charge of Social Media

Here is a great article brought to my attention by Teresa Burns of Saint Joseph’s University

CMO Council: Marketers Should Be in Charge of Social Media – Advertising Age – CMO Strategy.

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10 Ways To Increase Your Twitter Followers

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10 Ways To Increase Your Twitter Followers.

10 Ways To Increase Your Twitter Followers

5 Ways To Get the Most Out of LinkedIn

5 Ways To Get the Most Out of LinkedIn

5 Ways To Get the Most Out of LinkedIn

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10 Tools to Make Your Blog Smarter, Faster, Better

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10 Tools to Make Your Blog Smarter, Faster, Better

10 Tools to Make Your Blog Smarter, Faster, Better

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The Day 250,000 People Showed Up At My Blog: Case Study

The Day 250,000 People Showed Up At My Blog

The Day 250,000 People Showed Up At My Blog: Case Study.

4 Mistakes Young Salespeople Make

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4 Mistakes Young Salespeople Make

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Social Media for Small Business

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Social Media for Small Business

Social Media Guide for Small Business. . .Good guide for Blogging, Twitter, Crowdsourcing, Sharing Videos. . .

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10 Social Networking Apps – TIME

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10 Social Networking Apps – TIME

10 Social Networking Apps – TIME.

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NBC sells out Super Bowl ads for record $206M

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NBC sells out Super Bowl Ads

NBC sells out Super Bowl ads for record $206M.

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Super Bowl Ads Pushed the Usual (Well-Worn) Buttons

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Super Bowl Ads Pushed the Usual (Well-Worn) Buttons

Super Bowl Ads Pushed the Usual (Well-Worn) Buttons

In Super Bowl Ad Blitz, Monster, Doritos Score Big With Commercials

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In Super Bowl Ad Blitz, Monster, Doritos Score Big With Commercials

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Tiny Rival Tweaks Starbucks Over Decaf Edict

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Starbucks customers steamed at the chain’s decaf cutbacks are the target in a marketing stunt by Caribou Coffee Co.

via Tiny Rival Tweaks Starbucks Over Decaf Edict – WSJ.com.

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Did online companies market their brands well at the Super Bowl?

Did online companies market their brands well at the Super Bowl?

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TweetBowl Taps Into Twitter To Find The Super Bowl’s Real Winners (The Ads)

TweetBowl Taps Into Twitter To Find The Super Bowl’s Real Winners (The Ads)

TweetBowl Taps Into Twitter To Find The Super Bowl’s Real Winners (The Ads).

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Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore: first Twitter celeb couple

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Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore: first Twitter celeb couple

Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore: first Twitter celeb couple

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10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog

10 Techniques to Get More Comments on Your Blog

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Dell Starts Offering Exclusive Discounts Through Twitter

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Dell Starts Offering Exclusive Discounts Through Twitter

Dell Starts Offering Exclusive Discounts Through Twitter.

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Twittering Advertisers Keep Super Bowl Buzz Going

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Twittering Advertisers Keep Super Bowl Buzz Going

Twittering Advertisers Keep Super Bowl Buzz Going

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Using Online Resources to Increase Sales

Today, however, an increasing number of sales professionals are discovering the secret to succeeding in business is in using online resources wisely. Through social networking, blogs, e-mail newsletters and other online resources, salespeople can increase and manage leads, gather information about prospective customers and their needs and, in general, get in front of prospects more often and in more engaging ways.

via Connecting the World – SUCCESS magazine.

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Virtual Assistants Can Amplify Your Business Marketing

Virtual Assistants Can Amplify Your Business Marketing.

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Great Guide – Twitter for Business

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Great Guide – Twitter for Business

Twitter for Business

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Sharing Selectively on Social Networking Sites

Sharing Selectively on Social Networking Sites

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10 of the Smartest Big Brands in Social Media

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10 of the Smartest Big Brands in Social Media.

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TwitterHawk – Automated responses and direct messages from your twitter account

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Interesting tool to Market on Twitter

TwitterHawk – Automated responses and direct messages from your twitter account.

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How a non-profit can use Twitter: A real-life example

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Another Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting for turning me on to this site. . very cool. .Thanks again Bob

How a non-profit can use Twitter: A real-life example.

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

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10 things a web designer would never tell you

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Why Facebook Isn’t Poised to Steal Twitter’s Thunder

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Why Facebook Isn’t Poised to Steal Twitter’s Thunder

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Map of Popular Super Bowl Words Used on Twitter – Interactive Graphic

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Twitter Chatter During the Super Bowl

As the Steelers and Cardinals battled on the field, Twitter users across the nation pecked out a steady stream of “tweets.” The map shows the location and frequency of commonly used words in Super Bowl related messages.

via Map of Popular Super Bowl Words Used on Twitter – Interactive Graphic

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Free Ebook – Using Social Media

Free Using Social Media eBook

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On the Road – Aimless Travel? No, It’s Networking in the Sky

On the Road – Aimless Travel? No, It’s Networking in the Sky

Growing Rich by Blogging Is a High-Tech Fairy Tale

Growing Rich by Blogging Is a High-Tech Fairy Tale |

Twitter Fast Growing Beyond Its Messaging Roots

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Why Traditional Media must be Sustained – How Sports Illustrated Nailed A-Rod, And Why It May Not Happen Again

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Those of you who have read my posts, taken my classes, heard me speak or read my interviews know how I historically “beat up” traditional media.  Most newspapers as we know it are moving to the web, merging, becoming non-profits or simply closing.  The day of having your local newspaper delivered to you in the morning is slowly coming to a close.  Don’t shoot the messenger I have two papers physically delivered to my home and read another during the day.

Below is an article about how Sports Illustrated broke the  Alex Rodriguez steroids debacle that quite frankly states about the best reasons I can think of for keeping traditional media sources alive and thriving.

I also would like to point out that traditional media does not always get it right.  For example, the Monica Lewinsky/Bill Clinton scandal was not broken by traditional media but by a blogger. So ultimately there are two sides to this argument.  Have fun. . thanks for reading . .If you have something to say post it. . If you have a lot to say let me know and I will give you your own post. . take care . . .Scott

How Sports Illustrated Nailed A-Rod, And Why It May Not Happen Again

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Twitter Says Advertisers Won’t Be Charged for Tweets

Twitter Says Advertisers Won’t Be Charged for Tweets

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Twitter Says Advertisers Won’t Be Charged for Tweets

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McDonald’s – Speed Bumps Promote Fries

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McDonald’s Speed Bumps Promote Fries.

Top Secret: Get Your E-mails Opened – Email marketing tips

Top Secret: Get Your E-mails Opened – Email marketing tips

Use Keywords To Get Search Results

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Use Keywords To Get Search Results | Business & E-Business | bMighty.com.

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Twitter Raises $35 Million

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Twitter Raises $35 Million Series C From Benchmark and IVP.

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Twitter power? For real?

Twitter power? For real?

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As The Economy Sours, LinkedIn’s Popularity Grows

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As The Economy Sours, LinkedIn’s Popularity Grows.

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Facebook changing Terms of Service

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Jenice Armstrong: About that Facebook | Philadelphia Daily News | 02/17/2009.

Article I am quoted in about Facebook and change in terms of service

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JetBlue starts refund program for laid off workers

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JetBlue starts refund program for laid off workers

Smart Public Relations move by JetBlue

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Facebook Backtracks from change in Terms of Service Under Community Pressure, Goes Back To Old Terms of Service

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Facebook Backtracks Under Community Pressure, Goes Back To Old (For Now).

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Facebook Advertising – Great Article by Teresa Burns

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Here is a great article written by Teresa Burns of Saint Joseph’s University

Facebook Advertising

Over the past few years Facebook has gone from a college social network for sharing pictures and friend requesting to a networking space for business promotion, advertising, and multimedia interaction. With over 175 million active users, “facebookers” spend about 3 billion plus hours a day logged onto the site. Not only are college students and teenagers fully engaged in the Facebook phenomenon, but adults and professionals also make up a large portion of Facebook users. Even though the site began five years ago as a social platform for college students, surprisingly the largest growing demographic is those 30 years and older. Recently businesses have caught on to the growing popularity creating over 100,000 business pages and using Facebook as a networking plug for their company or self-promotion. Facebook offers many ways to spread the word about a growing business and pulling people into the brand.

Facebook Serves as Own Example of How Web Bites Back

Here is a great article brought to my attention by Teresa Burns of Saint Joseph’s University

adage.com/digitalnext/article

Surgeons send ‘tweets’ from operating room

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Another Shout out to Bob Garrett – Garrett Consulting for turning me on to this site about Twitter being used in the operating room. . very cool. .Thanks again Bob

Surgeons send ‘tweets’ from operating room

Bob can be reached at http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobgarrett

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The Most Innovative Companies in Advertising & Marketing

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The Most Innovative Companies in Advertising & Marketing

1. Crispin Porter + Bogusky: New clients including Best Buy, Hulu, Microsoft, and Old Navy have flocked to the ad shop that made Burger King cool.
2. TBWA\Worldwide: TBWA’s Media Arts Lab’s “Get a Mac” tag team continues to define the brand battle of the 21st century.
3. Barbarian Group: The scrappy digital production shop behind the Subservient Chicken is now an interactive lab for companies such as Adobe and CNN.
4. AKQA: Advertising at this boundary-crossing agency spans fuel-efficiency apps for Fiat, alternate-reality games for McDonald’s, and sneaker-design tools for Nike.
5. Naked: The media-agnostic British shop has grown 80% in New York with clients such as Johnson & Johnson and Nokia.
6. AdMob: The two-year-old mobile ad network had a banner year and landed $17 million of funding from Sequoia Capital.
7. Saatchi & Saatchi S: Former Sierra Club prez-turned-Wal-Mart consultant Adam Werbach gained access to huge companies after Saatchi & Saatchi bought his firm.
8. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners: The San Francisco-based agency stretched far beyond display ads, including a Wario Wii ad that demolished its own YouTube page.
9. 42 Entertainment: The stealth multi-platform marketers built buzz for The Dark Knight with an alternate-reality campaign.
10. Obscura Digital: This band of projectionists turns the world into a billboard for brands including GM, Google, and Oracle.

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Debunking Six Social Media Myths

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Debunking Six Social Media Myths

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Top 5 Blogging Musts

Top 5 Blogging Musts

Top 5 Blogging Musts.

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Marketing Your Business through Facebook – by Katherine Rafferty

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In 2004, Mark Zuckerburg launched the beginnings of Facebook for his peers at Harvard University to stay connected with each other. Little did he know that it would soon become a multi-million dollar business and one of the most popular social networking sites in the world. Facebook allows millions of its users, such as me, to interact and stay connected through photos, wall posts, profiles, messages, and even status updates. Today, even older generations, such as my relatives, are beginning to find that online social networking is the new fad of social networking. Everyone’s doing it. Audiences across the globe cannot seem to stop talking about it.
Facebook not only attracts users for communicating with friends and family, but also it has been quite common for companies to increase their efficiency and productivity in advertising. Facebook for businesses is a powerful marketing tool in today’s world. These companies are able to attract different target audiences from teenagers to grandparents. This helps these businesses to increase the variety of their demographics.
Recently, in the past year or two, I have realized that Facebook has started using virtual marketing techniques to attract more users. This social network sells spaces for banner ads along the sides of the website to businesses. These businesses have begun to use these ads to draw customers’ attention to their products. The ads are placed on certain pages determined by the data collected through your interests, location, groups, etc. Even if we don’t direct our focus at the ad, subconsciously our brain sees this picture when scrolling through a person’s profile. Personally, I think it’s a great way to increase product awareness and attract new customers.
Businesses have also begun to network by creating application and groups for their companies’ products. By creating profiles with videos, product updates, and descriptions of the company, businesses will expand their social media marketing. Social networking on Facebook helps create interaction between employees and their customers. Through the focus on virtual marketing, business will be able to build their brand name.
Checking Facebook multiple times a day has become an addiction for users across the globe. With the continued success of marketing through online ads and Facebook profiles, I believe this online social networking site will help businesses prosper and attract new customers. So if you have business, I recommend Facebook as a way to target an audience in today’s technological world.

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Twitter Looks for Ways to Raise Revenue Amid Economic Gloom

Twitter Looks for Ways to Raise Revenue Amid Economic Gloom

Stop bashing social networks

Stop bashing social networks

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How One Man Confused Grocers and Won Customers with Canned Pancakes

How One Man Confused Grocers and Won Customers with Canned Pancakes

Deciding to Ditch a Successful Ad Campaign

Deciding to Ditch a Successful Ad Campaign

Deciding to Ditch a Successful Ad Campaign

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5 Tips for Using LinkedIn as a Business Tool

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5 Tips for Using LinkedIn as a Business Tool

5 Tips for Using LinkedIn as a Business Tool

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Social Media for Business: The Dos & Don’ts of Sharing

Social Media for Business: The Dos & Don’ts of Sharing

Social Media for Business: The Dos & Don’ts of Sharing.

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Jack in the Box does Social Networking

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Jack in the Box does Social Networking and Web . .cool campaign . . yours truly quoted in article. .

Will Jack live? Will he die? Will more burgers be sold?.

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Skittles Cozies Up to Social Media

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Skittles Cozies Up to Social Media

Skittles Cozies Up to Social Media

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Cable Companies Target Commercials to the Audience

Cable Companies Target Commercials to the Audience

Cable Companies Target Commercials to the Audience

Update on Hang in There Jack – Jack in the Box Campaign

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Hi Dr. Testa – I know you’ve followed the “Hang in There Jack’ campaign, so wanted to share with you the latest news from Jack in the Box – as the company unveils the pay-off from its Super Bowl TV ad, which centers around several brand-reinvention initiatives. While many companies invested in Super Bowl ads, Jack in the Box continues to enjoy pay-off on the Super Bowl launch of its ‘Hang In There Jack’ campaign through social networking and online tactics that have gained an extensive fan following.

The Hang In There Jack campaign, which launched with Jack in the Box’s iconic founder – Jack – getting hit by a bus on Super Bowl Sunday, is coming to an end this week as Jack wakes from his coma and announces several brand re-invention programs, including a new logo and website.

While the campaign included traditional advertising, it was anchored online at HangInThereJack.com and on Jack’s Facebook and Twitter pages. The campaign videos were viewed more than 4.3 million times, Jack received more than 77,000 get-well text and video wishes, and more than 67,000 fans and followers via website, Twitter and Facebook sign-ups.

While Jack in the Box is a regional quick-serve restaurant chain, its campaign has gained national reach for the brand, and its online presence now rivals some industry challengers.

I’ve included the full release below for your review.

How to Twitter

How to Twitter

How to Twitter

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Maggiano’s Gives Away Food to Gain Twitter Followers

Image via CrunchBase

Maggiano’s Gives Away Food to Gain Twitter Followers

Maggiano’s Gives Away Food to Gain Twitter Followers.

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5 People Who Broke the Rules of Social Media and Succeeded

Image by HubSpot via Flickr

5 People Who Broke the Rules of Social Media and Succeeded

5 People Who Broke the Rules of Social Media and Succeeded.

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Free Marketing Resources by Pitney Bowes

Hi Dr. Testa,

I came across your site today and found your ideas for marketers to be very helpful. I am working with Pitney Bowes

and wanted to let you know about the marketing resources available on the Pitney Bowes Connections Center.

The Pitney Bowes Connection Center was established to help professionals build stronger connections with their customers through the use of various professional insights and opportunities.  The site features white papers, Webinars, podcasts, and other resources to assist marketing executives in their professional development. All resources on the site are free and can be shared with colleagues and customers.

Please take a moment to review the Connections Center at http://www.pbconnect.com

.   I hope that after reviewing the variety of resources and events found on the site you will share this information with your readers, helping them to strengthen their careers through the sharing of information.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions.  I hope to hear from you soon.

Best,

Social media? Booming. Social media advertising? Not so much.

Social media? Booming. Social media advertising? Not so much..

Social media? Booming. Social media advertising? Not so much..

10 Social Media Tools in 10 Minutes

10 Social Media Tools in 10 Minutes.

10 Social Media Tools in 10 Minutes.

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Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs

Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs.

Top 10 Social Networks for Entrepreneurs.

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Facebook’s Clinically Precise Advertising

Facebook’s Clinically Precise Advertising.

Why is Pepsi Paying For Web Radio, Twitter and Facebook?

Image via Wikipedia

Why is Pepsi Paying For Web Radio, Twitter and Facebook?
http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20090315/why-is-pepsi-paying-for-web-radio-twitter-and-facebook/?mod=ATD_rss

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• Spread the word about your site (amazus.org)
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How the Social Media Release Has Changed How Press Releases Are Written

How the Social Media Release Has Changed How Press Releases Are Written

http://flacker.net/how-the-social-media-release-has-changed-how-press-releases-are-written/

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• Spread the word about your site (amazus.org)

Delivery Agent Is Monetizing Product Placement For TV Networks

Delivery Agent Is Monetizing Product Placement For TV Networks.

Delivery Agent Is Monetizing Product Placement For TV Networks.

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• If a TV Station Goes Online-Only is it Still TV? (mymediamusings.com)

Time offering ‘customized’ experimental magazine

Time offering ‘customized’ experimental magazine

Time offering ‘customized’ experimental magazine.

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10 Creative Bathroom Ads

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

10 Creative Bathroom Ads

http://uniknotions.com/fulldebate.php?debatenum=562

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How Advertisers Can Foil the Fast-Forward Button: Ads You Have to Watch

Image by bredgur via Flickr

How Advertisers Can Foil the Fast-Forward Button: Ads You Have to Watch

How Advertisers Can Foil the Fast-Forward Button: Ads You Have to Watch

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• Fast Foward Adds “Most Visited Next” Button to Firefox (lifehacker.com)

Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet

Why Advertising Is Failing On The Internet

Why Advertising is Failing on the Internet

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• 47 Awesome Twitter Tools You Should be Using | deontée.com (tsurch.com)

Social media rising as a marketing tool

Social media rising as a marketing tool

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20090321/NEWS/903209978/-1/RSS

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Firms Seek Profits in Twitter’s Chatter

Firms Seek Profits in Twitter’s Chatter

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123793945676332341.html

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Advertising – In Downturn, Marketers Still Rely on New Products

Advertising – In Downturn, Marketers Still Rely on New Products

Advertising – In Downturn, Marketers Still Rely on New Products

Pay By Cellphone? Sounds Great. So Why Don’t We Do It?

Pay By Cellphone? Sounds Great. So Why Don’t We Do It?

Pay By Cellphone? Sounds Great. So Why Don’t We Do It?

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Social Networking: Reasons to Join a Social Network.

http://personalweb.about.com/od/easyblogsandwebpages/a/whatsocialnetwo.htm

Monday Morning interview on KYW1060 about Marketing via social Networking

I am going to  be interviewed on Monday Morning April 6 on KYW1060 about Marketing via social Networking

http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/4149447.php?

AT&T uses Twitter during service outage

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AT&T uses Twitter during service outage

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10216712-94.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Quoted in E-Commerce News on Satyam – Indian Outsourcer

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Quoted in E-Commerce News on Satyam – Indian Outsourcer

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/66791.html

Amazon was it a hacker or bad judgement?

Ecommerce Times Quote about Amazon book ranking issue

http://ping.fm/9IPuW

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Does Facebook make you Dumber?

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Quoted New York Daily News – Does Facebook make you Dumber – http://ping.fm/Z8wWC

GM, Ford offering $50 gift cards for test drives

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http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D97J4V0G4.htm

Automakers going to extremes to attract customers

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As Old Auto Brands Fade, New Ones Appear

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http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/apr2009/bw20090414_477032.htm

As U.S. auto companies are on the verge of collapsing, more overseas car brands are trying to get into the U.S. market.

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Ebay trying to find a way to unload Skype

Image via CrunchBase

Quoted on how Ebay is trying to unload Skype

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/66816.html

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Oprah does Twitter

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Oprah does Twitter

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iP579YztFkdlBi3qieOtIOcNR43w

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Google losing it’s Mojo?

Image via CrunchBase

Google just cannot grow as quickly given its size.  Although Google contiues to take marketshare from Microsoft and Yahoo it is being hurt by the economy like everyone else.

My quote from Ecommerce Times on Google’s Growth slowing – http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Google-Lumbers-In-With-Modest-Q1-Growth-66840.html

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OpenX Launches Online Advertising Exchange

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2009/04/post_16.html?campaign_id=technology_related

OpenX Technologies launches online advertising exchange

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The Biofuel Bubble

Image via Wikipedia

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_17/b4128038014860.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story

Replacing petroleum with biofuels.   A lot of startups have smart ideas.

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Blowing Up Pepsi

Image by mezzoblue via Flickr

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_17/b4128032006687.htm?campaign_id=magazine_related

PepsiCo CEO has been rebranding Pepsi‘s core products top to bottom.  Creative destruction — or just destruction?

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MySpace hopes to turn free songs into needed cash

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090419/ap_on_hi_te/tec_myspace_music

MySpace is hoping to catch up to social networking rival Facebook by cashing in on the music industry.

Lessons from the Amazon, Domino’s Debacles

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http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2009/tc20090417_835325.htm?campaign_id=technology_related

In an age of social media, companies must respond instantly to Internet controversies that imperil their brands.

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How often do you turn off your computer?

We asked college students how often they turn off their computer.  Video entry for powerdownfortheplanet.org by SJU Sustainability Club.  Featuring music by Shining TV Screen. Instructions how to set the power management on your computer here: http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/learn/power-management-instructions/

Quoted on Retail Store – Site Selection

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090421/NEWS01/904210329/1008/NEWS01/Louisville+plays+waiting+game+for+some+top+retail+stores

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Pizza Hut makes an Official “Twitterer” Position

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It looks Twitter is going to permeate our every day businesses very soon.  Pizza Hut has recognized the importance of this social media site, and is now looking for a “Twintern” to keep Pizza Hut customers up-to-date with what’s going on with the business.  I predict this Twitter position will turn into a permenant job if Twitter continues to grow.

http://www.bizreport.com/2009/04/restaurant_chain_advertises_paid_twitter_position.html

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The Secret Strategies Behind Many “Viral” Videos

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“Have you ever watched a video with 100,000 views on YouTube and thought to yourself: “How the hell did that video get so many views?” Chances are pretty good that this didn’t happen naturally, but rather that some company worked hard to make it happen – some company like mine.”

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/22/the-secret-strategies-behind-many-viral-videos/

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Watch out for “green” Marketing Scams

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As our nation becomes more and more gung-ho about “going green“, we see these green products entering almost every product line out there.  This is  a wonderful trend, but as consumers we should still be wary of misleading advertising for these products.  Here are four “green” products that don’t fit the bill.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30334853//

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A Sign Of Things To Come: Naked Pizza Erects Twitter Billboard

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A Sign Of Things To Come: Naked Pizza Erects Twitter Billboard.

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Southwest Airlines – Creating a Brand Experience in 5 Minutes « PR Meets Marketing

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Southwest Airlines – Creating a Brand Experience in 5 Minutes « PR Meets Marketing

http://prmeetsmarketing.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/southwest-airlines-creating-a-brand-experience-in-5-minutes/

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How Social Networking Can Change The World

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

http://siteboat.com/how-social-networking-can-change-the-world/

The power of  Social Networking and how it can change the world.

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Five Key Steps to Succesfully Niche Marketing On The Internet

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http://siteboat.com/five-key-steps-to-succesfully-niche-marketing-on-the-internet/

Five Key Steps to Succesfully Niche Marketing On The Internet

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GM to announce brand changes, restructuring moves

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gm_planG

General Motors will announce details of of its massive restructuring plan, including the demise of the Pontiac brand.

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Mobile Marketing Takes Off in India

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As we predicted in marketing class, mobile marketing via text messaging is steadily increasing in popularity.  Mobile marketing is more cost-effective and advertisers are certain their ad is seen by the consumer, which makes it very attractive.  The downside is that SMS marketing companies must avoid being placed under spamming by the national regulations in India like the National Do Not Disturb (NDND) and Registry of telecom regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).  In the U.S. this marketing medium will definitely increase in popularity too.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/apr2009/gb20090427_800674.htm

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It is official – I am an Evil Genius!

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It is official  – I am an Evil Genius! -Sorry it is at the end of  this article – http://ping.fm/CBIPK

How To Use Business Social Networks to Find a Good Job

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http://siteboat.com/how-to-use-business-social-networks-to-find-a-good-job/

In the economic crisis learn how to find a good job through business social networks.

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AT&T’s iPhone Dilemm

Image via CrunchBase

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2009/tc20090429_594307.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

If Apple widens the circle of iPhone carriers beyond AT&T, those new partners will grab a highly profitable slice of customers

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Quoted – Motorola in Tailspin ready for Android – Linux Insider

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Quoted – Motorola in Tailspin ready for Android – Linux Insider

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Can-Android-Pull-Motorola-Out-of-Death-Spiral-66951.html

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Starbucks Launches New Marketing Campaign

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Higher-end coffee shops like Starbucks are getting severally effected in our recession now, as more and more consumers flock to places like Dunkin Donuts and McDonald’s for a cheaper cup of coffee.  Its second quarter profits fell by 77%!  Their new marketing strategy is to focus on the quality and value of the whole Starbucks experience, because this and its servicescape really differentiate it from the competition.  Some of their new advertising is warning consumers to watch out for the “cheap coffee”, implying coffee from places like McDonald’s is not up to par.  Even so, Starbucks will cut costs slightly for their more popular products like the iced coffee and tall lattes.  Will these plans counteract the effects of the recession?  Only time will tell.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009147908_starbucks30.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30507501/

http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/news/starbucks_cmo_answers_our_questions_about_advertising_in_a_recession_with_steep_competition_115444.asp

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Pentagon uses Facebook, Twitter to spread message

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090501/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_pentagon_social_networking

Social networking sites even used by the military

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New Toy Company Looking for Marketing Ideas

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A Low-Tech Solution to a Hi-Tech Kids Growth We shower our kids with the latest and greatest in high tech devices – electronic games, mini-computers, video devices and more – all with a mind that we are preparing them for a society that is increasingly focused on information and content management. But not all kids will grow up to be the information managers and developers of tomorrow. Many others have interest in working with their hands creating, molding, and building the world around them. This reality hits home as we embark on a new era of reconstruction, largely attributed to the stimulus spending for public works and infrastructure projects. Innovation is manifested in many ways. One recent discovery in the toy arena for children age 5 and over is the Handtrux® Backhoe, manufactured in the USA by Ten Ton Toys, a division of EVERGREENRIVER Media Holdings (www.handtruxtoys.com). This is a cool toy that enables kids to insert an arm into the toy and use low-tech hand power to manipulate the backhoe’s bucket. It has a patented action lever to simulate digging like the giants on construction sites. It’s perfect for summertime play at the beach, or in the backyard for hours of constructive playtime. With increasing demand from toy retailers and retail chains, the company plans to release the Handtrux® Bulldozer and Handtrux® Dump Truck, both equipped with the Handraulic Power GRIP™, by late summer. Investors are being sought. Oh, did I mention the Backhoe has adult applications for gardening and for industry? Picked by Playthings.com as a Toy of the Week, the Handtrux® Backhoe is an example of how low-tech solutions can spark innovation. For more information email: info@handtruxtoys.com.

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Quoted – Five Ways to Boost Online Advertising

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Quoted – How to Boost Online Advertising – http://www.fuelnet.com/daily/online_advertising_tips/online-advertising-tips-2/

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10 Copywriting Tips for Guaranteed Results

Whether you’re writing a brochure, copy for a newspaper ad, a script for a radio announcement or a page or blog for your web site, there are some tried and true techniques that can help you make sure that your copy gets the results you’re looking for.

As I work with clients to either coach them through the copywriting process or write copy for them, I offer some very practical advice that – I hope – helps them achieve their objectives.

Think about writing copy as making a sales pitch to a customer. Your goal is to persuade that customer to do something – most likely to purchase your product or service. Here’s are 10 tips from Strategic Communications on how to write effective copy:

#1:       Put yourself in the consumer’s shoes.

People don’t take action unless there is a reason to do so. “What’s in it for me” may seem like a selfish motivation but it is, nonetheless, human nature. In order to effectively persuade a consumer, you need to put yourself in their place and consider why what you have to offer meets their needs. This should not be a quick exercise or one that is taken lightly. Spend some time to really think about the appeals that you could make that would truly resonate with your target audience.

#2:       Make it as long as you need to.

Ignore anything you hear about recommended length of copy. There are no hard and fast rules. Your copy simply needs to be as long as necessary to convey your key selling points. That doesn’t mean, though, that you should ramble on and on. No. You should identify 3-5 key points that directly relate to customer needs and then clearly and concisely provide enough detail about your product or service to convince the customer to take action.

#3:       Keep it simple.

Whether your target audience is teenagers or physicians, you need to convey a simple message. Your audience is busy and your message is competing with literally hundreds of other messages and distractions. Know the points you want to make and make them simply and clearly. Edit your copy mercilessly so that it contains only those “need to know” elements that will guide the consumer in making a purchase decision.

#4:       Convert features to benefits.

Too often copy focuses on the features of a product rather than its benefits. What’s the difference? Features are the attributes of a product or service – a statement of fact. For example: “XYZ orange juice has calcium.” Benefits, on the other hand, answer the all-important question of “What’s in it for me?” In this case: “XYZ orange juice has calcium to help you build strong bones.” Make sure that your copy goes beyond a description of features to clearly focus on the benefits for consumers. What’s in it for them?

#5:       Don’t be an “also ran.”

Make sure that you distinguish yourself from your competition when you’re writing copy. Spend some time reviewing the advertising of your competitors. Note their key copy points. Note the benefits they focus on. Then be different. You’re trying to convince consumers to pick your product or service over the other options available to them. That means differentiating yourself.

#6:       Be consistent.

All of your marketing communication needs to be consistent to be effective. It’s the cumulative impact of your communication that will eventually make an impact with consumers. That’s why it’s so important that you use consistent themes and messages in all of your advertising. That consistency will help to reinforce your product benefits; continued emphasis on the same points will ultimately lead to sales.

#7:       Don’t forget the details.

Remember, your copy is your sales pitch. But unlike a real sales pitch you don’t have the luxury of responding to any questions that the potential customer might have as he or she reads or listens to your pitch. That’s why your copy needs to include all of the key points and information necessary to help the consumer make a decision. Spend some time thinking of the potential customers that consumers might have about your product or service – then make sure you’ve provided answers to these questions in your copy.

#8:       Consider the “look.”

When you’re writing copy for the web or for print – newspaper or magazine ads or brochures – your copy will be working in concert with graphic elements. These elements can help to drive home your point or they can serve as distractions, or worse, detractors from the copy. Make sure you’re considering the “look” of your copy and how it relates to graphic elements, noting how the reader’s eye is likely to “track” through the copy.

#9:       Read it out loud!

Remember your copy is your “sales pitch.” Whether you’re writing a radio script which will be verbalized, or copy for a web page, you need to consider how it “sounds.” The best way to do this is to read your copy out loud. You’ll be surprised at the little “glitches” you’ll notice when you do this. It’s a simple technique to tighten and improve your sales copy.

#10:     Know when it’s time to hire an expert.

Copywriting is an art. Good copywriters can drive sales of your product or service upward. Poor copy – copy that doesn’t motivate consumers to buy – is simply a waste of your money. If your communications aren’t getting the results you’d like, it may be time to find outside help. It can be worth every penny!

(Linda Pophal is CEO/owner of Strategic Communications, LLC, a firm that helps companies use strategy to address communication challenges.

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How *Not* to Pitch the Media

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Today, more than ever, companies and individuals are hoping to get media exposure – after all, they figure (and not unreasonably), that media exposure is “free” and media coverage tends to be more favorably perceived than the advertising messages we share about ourselves. As I work with clients, I come across a number of misperceptions or mis-steps that some inadvertently take that may hinder their PR-generating activities.

At Strategic Communications, LLC, we work with clients to help them gain exposure by coaching them through the process of creating, pitching and responding to reporter inquiries. Tick off a reporter once and the chances of connecting again in the future are slim. Here are some things to avoid:

• Don’t look for “free advertising.” Reporters aren’t out there to help you sell your products or services. What makes your story newsworthy? There’s usually a good angle in there somewhere, but you may need to take some time – and exercise some creativity – to find it.
• If responding to a reporter’s query (through ProfNet or HARO, for instance), don’t offer an “off-pitch” response to a specific request. If the reporter is looking for someone with small business lending experience, for example, don’t respond with a: “While I don’t have small business lending experience, I have…”
• Don’t be overly pushy. If the reporter isn’t interested in your story, the reporter isn’t interested in your story.
• Don’t pull a “bait and switch.” If you’ve agreed to provide information on a particular subject, don’t switch to an off-subject sales pitch for your product/service – or yourself – once you get the reporter on the phone.
• Don’t ask to see the story before it’s printed/aired. That will mark you immediately as a novice.
• Don’t harangue the reporter for copies – or links – to the published piece. If you get a copy, that’s a bonus. But recognize that reporters and editors talk to a lot of people and rarely have the time to follow up with all of them. With search technology these days, you should be able to find the coverage yourself.

DO remember that building strong relationships with reporters is the best way to see your name in print. Offer on-subject, useful information that is high on content and low on “sales-speak.” That’s the best way to ensure that you get your messages out there – and that reporters remember you for future stories.

(Linda Pophal is CEO/owner of Strategic Communications, LLC, a firm that helps clients use strategy to address their communication challenges.)

Quoted – ECommerce Times – RIM hitting the Enterprise

Image via CrunchBase

Quoted – ECommerce Times – RIM hitting the Enterprise – http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/66977.html?wlc=1241473747

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Swine Flu Gives Marketers New Opportunities

Image by metaweb20 via Flickr

It looks like businesses are bombarding consumers with offers to help them since the outbreak of the swine flu.  Everything from travel insurance, air filters, chiropractors, and even T-shirts are being marketed to prevent a possible pandemic.  Some people are claiming it’s unethical for businesses to exploit consumers on their fears of contracting the disease, but many of the items are valid disease preventives.  Should people be running out to buy the SaniGuard Total Release Fogger yet?  Let’s see first if the swine flu virus literally dies down.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/healthscience/stories/050409dnmetflusells.3d1137d.html

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More cell phone users dropping landlines

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090506/ap_on_go_ot/us_cell_phones_only;_ylt=ArgTH1S1CPZatxb6.KR0tArv5rEF

In a high-tech shift accelerated by the recession, the number of U.S. households opting for only cell phones has for the first time surpassed those that just have traditional landlines

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Are Your Salespeople Using Twitter?

Image by louisvolant via Flickr

Are Your Salespeople Using Twitter

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090506/tc_pcworld/areyoursalespeopleusingtwitter_1

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Apple + Twitter = A Better Combination Than You Might Think

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Apple + Twitter = A Better Combination Than You Might Think

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2009/05/apple_twitter_a.html?campaign_id=headlines_daily

Apple is in talks to acquire Twitter

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Quoted Entrepreneur Mag – Obama SBA pick

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Quoted Entrepreneur Mag – Obama SBA pick – http://www.entrepreneur.com/technology/bmighty/article199670.html

As marketing consultant Scott Testa says, “Venture capitalists by nature are risk takers, and it is an extremely competitive business. This administration may need to take some risks to help this very important component of the economy.”

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Quoted – Convenience Store News – Circle K – Supersized!

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Quoted – Convenience Store News – http://www.csnews.com/csn/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003946852

Scott Testa, marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia: “What’s happening is these mini-marts or c-stores are starting to fill in those gaps that are left by those grocery stores that are also getting larger. It’s the traditional-grocery-store concept that is actually getting larger, and the mini-marts are growing into that kind of void that is left by these supermarkets. It seems like everything is getting larger.”

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Europe to Nail Intel on Antitrust

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http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2009/gb20090511_514564.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5

The EU could fine the U.S. chipmaker more than $1.36 billion for allegedly anticompetitive moves against AMD that limited choice in PCs

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Will Craigslist Have to Crack Down?

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South Carolina joins other states in calling for tighter Craigslist ad scrutiny, which could threaten Craigslist’s low-cost, laissez faire business model

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2009/tc2009058_271685.htm?campaign_id=headlines_daily

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Quoted – How to Sell to the Cool Kids!

Image by Daniel Greene via Flickr

How to Sell to the Cool Kids!

http://blog.geezeo.com/2009/03/how-to-sell-to-the-cool-kids/

It’s a state of mind: Cool can mean different things to different audiences. For example, Best Buy’s Geek Squad (Stock Quote: BBY) makes it cool to be a geek, says Dr. Scott Testa, professor of marketing at St. Joseph’s University who also writes Dr. Scott’s Cool Marketing and Business Blog. Mountain Dew’s close relationship with extreme sports makes it the brand for teen boys, but Cadillac’s coolness is more mature and sophisticated. So consider your audience when determining how cool you want to be.

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Interviewed – ABC – Mommy Blogging – Issues with the FTC

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ABC – Television Interview – Mommy Blogging – Issues with the FTC

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/special_reports&id=6808029

But there has been some controversy surrounding the hundreds of thousands of mommy bloggers saturating this internet niche. The Federal Trade Commission is considering a move to regulate bloggers bread and butter, their endorsement of products.

But Saint Joseph’s marketing professor Scott Testa says this may be a realm the FTC will have trouble controlling.

“It’s so subjective in so many different areas I think it would be very hard to regulate that.”

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Facebook Prepares To Launch Live Video Chat Product

http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/05/facebook-video-chat/

Facebook is designing a live video chat product to compete with the features of Google‘s Gmail product.

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Is “old media” dead?

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In an online forum, recently, a poster made the observation that “old media is dead.” Hmmm. I can understand the sentiment. After all, it seems like every day we hear about some media outlet that is either downsizing or shutting down completely and we all “know” that *nobody* reads newspapers anymore… But, I’m skeptical. In fact, I have a feeling that “old media” may eventually be reincarnated.

Are you prepared to become obsolete?

While watching the local news last night my husband made a comment about the weatherman: “You know – who really needs him anymore? You can just look at the radar yourself any time you want to online.”

True. You can. Wonder if people going to school to be “weather people” have thought about that. Wonder if the schools that teach them have thought about that. And, most pertinent for this blog, wonder if all of us have given

Looking for companies or organizations who want a free business plan written or updated?

Looking for companies or organizations who want a free business plan written or updated?. . for Management course by undergraduate business students. . Radnor, PA right outside Philadelphia – email me stesta97@gmail.com

You must come on campus to present. . no teleconferencing or Skype

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Facebook’s $200M investment values co. at $10B

Image via CrunchBase

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D98E4IO01.htm

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New low-cost airline targets smaller markets

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-lowcost-airline-targets-apf-15348934.html?.v=5

Low-cost carrier JetAmerica aims to serve smaller markets it believes bigger airlines neglect

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Quoted – Android a threat to Windows

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Windows 7 Starter Breaks Away From App Restrictions

Looming competition from Android will go far to keep prices in line, predicted Scott Testa, marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University.

“Android is getting a lot of buzz in the netbook market — Microsoft sees it as a threat,” he told TechNewsWorld.

Also, Microsoft got a lot of backlash when it first unveiled its watered down version of Windows 7, noted Testa, and it may be leery of antagonizing any user base.

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Service Brands = Special Challenges

Much of my work over the years has been with “service brands” – brands that are not tied to a particular product, but to the delivery of some type of service – educational services, health care services, energy services, engineering services, consulting services, etc.

Developing and maintaining a strong brand for a service is, in my opinion, significantly more challenging than developing and maintaining a strong brand for a product. Why? Because a service is less tangible, more ephemeral – and often involves multiple “touchpoints” that really determine the “brand experience.”

What makes a strong brand? Recognizability. Performance. Consistency.

When we’re talking about a product – a carbonated beverage, for example – recognizability can come through a logo and design, performance comes through the taste of the beverage, consistency is an element of the manufacturing process.

But, when we’re talking about a service, the process of brand management becomes much more complex:

While recognizability is impacted by logos and design elements, there are other factors to consider. If you practice out of an office or a clinic, your physical location and how it looks, how it’s furnished, etc., will impact your recognizability and your brand. Consultants who travel to client locations, for example, are themselves a key component of the brand – including how they dress and the type of vehicle they drive (and how well maintained it is).
How is a health care organization’s performance defined? By the physician? The registration clerk? The distance from the parking lot to the front door? The cleanliness of the facility? The magazines in the waiting room? The delivery of care (and how do we, as non-clinical consumers, measure that?)? Yes – all of these things, and more! For health care and other service organizations (which would include restaurants, retail stores, etc.), performance is a multi-faceted process with multiple touchpoints and multiple opportunities to either strengthen or weaken the brand.
And, finally, consistency. The greatest challenge of all. While product consistency can certainly be challenging, there are more tangibles to deal with in the product arena. The challenge for service marketers in managing a brand involves managing human inputs and human actions. Significantly more challenging than ensuring that the right physical ingredients are combined in the right proportions in the right environmental conditions to produce a consistent result.
It often comes as a surprise to those in service businesses that managing the marketing process – and, specifically, the branding process, involves a significant amount of focus on managing people. Developing standards and processes, communicating those standards and processes, ensuring consistency in such things, for example, as how the phone is answered, “uniforms,” service standards, hand-offs between departments, how employees talk about each other, etc.

Too often as we focus on other important elements of the brand – like the logo, the name, the “company colors,” the design templates, etc., etc., in the service arena we have a tendency to forget about what is most important about the brand (recognizability, performance and consistency) – the people.

(Linda Pophal is CEO/owner of Strategic Communications, LLC, a firm that helps clients use strategy to address their communication challenges.)

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Quoted – Christian Science Monitor – Rise of the Recessionistas

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Rise of the Recessionistas

Fashion meets frugality as self-confidence, pragmatism drive labels to broad market.

http://features.csmonitor.com/economyrebuild/2009/06/05/rise-of-the-recessionistas/

The luxury sector, which makes up roughly 5 percent of the overall apparel market, is in for “rough sailing” through the end of this year, says retail expert Scott Testa.

The numbers tell the story, says Mr. Testa, professor of marketing at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. He points to the March 2008 to March 2009 sales figures, which show a 30 percent decline for Neiman Marcus and a 23 percent decline for Saks Fifth Avenue. During the same period, Target declined 6.3 percent and Kohl’s slumped only 4.3 percent. “Given these numbers, it’s clear that shoppers are more willing to spend in a low-cost environment,” he says. “Many top designers are rethinking new ways to put their brand in front of those shoppers.”

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Quoted – Creditcards.com – What to do if your retail credit card issuer goes bankrupt

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What to do if your retail credit card issuer goes bankrupt.

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/bankrupt-retailer-credit-cards-1282.php

Circuit City cardholders hold cards that were underwritten by Chase Bank. Any payments, liabilities or issues pertaining to the card must be taken up with Chase. “If you have a negative balance with Circuit City, or with most retailers who have gone out of business, you have to pay the balance,” warns Scott Testa, a professor of marketing at St. Joseph’s University, located just outside of Philadelphia. “It’s Chase that assumes the debt as it’s the bank behind the Circuit City credit card.”

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Pay for performance? Good idea, or not…

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I just read a piece in The Economist about a movement to pay advertising agencies for value, not hours, and how this trend is catching on. Currently, the American Association of Advertising Agencies estimates that about 10 percent of compensation agreements are value-based, according to this article. (Not sure that figure supports the suggestion that this is a trend that is “taking off”…)

Anyway, my initial reaction in reading this was: “Well, why not? Why should agencies just be paid for being “creative,” and racking up what can be enormous fees? – (I know, I’ve worked with them.) They should have some “skin in the game,” right? And, in fact, while some agencies are obviously concerned about this movement, others apparently (or so they say) welcome the shift.

But, after that initial reaction, I had another thought and had to scold myself (debating with yourself can be lonely, but also instructive if you’re willing to keep an open mind!) for taking a narrow view of marketing that I typically coach my clients away from.

“It’s not just about the advertising, dummy!,” I told myself.

“What if the product is crummy – or nobody wants it – or nobody can afford it right now?”

“What if the product is unavailable in my community – or hard to find – or in scarce supply?”

“What if the product can’t stand up against the competition?”

What if..so many “what ifs,” many of them not related *at all* to the advertising campaign.

On the positive side, such an arrangement could elevate the role of the agency and its representatives to a more strategic one, providing the opportunity to coach and counsel the client on not just “creative” aspects of marketing, but on the other “3 P’s” (product, price and place) as well.

That presupposes, of course, that the client is willing to listen. But, agencies are “free agents” and, if they don’t feel the product/service they’re being asked to sell is worth risking their time/budget on, they can seek other clients.

On the down side… Hmmm. Not sure there’s such a significant downside. But, I’m sure I’ll disagree with myself later.

(Linda Pophal is CEO/owner of Strategic Communications, LLC, a firm that helps clients use strategy to address their communication challenges.)

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Quoted – Entrepreneur Magazine – Small Business Administration Pick

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Quoted – Entrepreneur Magazine – Small Business Administration Pick

Inauguration Day: What Businesses Can Expect From The Obama Administration

As marketing consultant Scott Testa says, “Venture capitalists by nature are risk takers, and it is an extremely competitive business. This administration may need to take some risks to help this very important component of the economy.”

http://entrepreneur.com/technology/bmighty/article199670.html

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Quoted – Nortel closes up shop – E-Commerce News

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Nortel is selling off its valuable wireless units to Nokia Siemens as it dismantles its bankrupt operations. Nortel was a high flyer during the dot-com boom days but was unable to weather the telecom industry tailspin. The global recession was the final straw for the beleaguered company.

The fact that Nortel found a buyer — and at this particular price point — is indeed noteworthy, Scott Testa, a professor of marketing at St. Joseph’s University, told the E-Commerce Times.

“It is a crowded space right now that has been undergoing a severe consolidation for a while. So yes, the value is there, I would agree with that.”

Still, Testa couldn’t help but note “how low the mighty have fallen.”

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Nortel-Asset-Sale-Punctuates-End-of-Era-67395.html

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Individuals need marketing

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Every individual is a business that needs marketing. Let’s think about the natural progression of a business person and compare it to the evolution of a expanding company. First, after high school the person needs find a college or university to attend. So, the person would research schools, find the best choice that fits his needs or wants (location, price, areas of study, etc.). Similarly, an expanding company with money to spend on branching out and expanding the company will research different options. They may choose to build up their business by branching out to new locations, acquiring another, similar business or offering new services or products. Either, way a company and an individual research chooses before progressing forward.
After researching a college, a business person (to be) picks classes that will help in his area of interest. From there, he markets himself to potential companies that are hiring interns. By interning he can learn hands-on how a company in his interest level operates. The interviewing process is all marketing, its selling your skills or qualifications. In the same way, an expanding company will choose the best way to expand and set up their operations. They make strategic plans to hire the right people at the right salaries, to establish the chain of command and locations for business that will help generate the most profit. During this time, business partners or other individuals in the decision making roles will argue and sell or market their points to get what they want or what they think the best decision for the company would be.

When a college student graduates, he again has to market himself to a company to work for. He needs to market himself while he has a job to keep it or move up the chain. He must prove that he is valuable to the company. And a business must use marketing and sales to attract customers and gain profit.

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Marketing Strategies

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

In finishing my first marketing class and reading through my notes I realized there are many products and ideas that I never realized were part of a marketing strategy.  Many of the terms I learned throughout the course I can relate to marketing and advertisements I have received.  For example, on Facebook I used to have the year I was born written on my info section.  Just from writing 1989 I would receive advertisements all along the sides of my browser saying are you 19 and looking for a spring break destination?  I also received many advertisements for textbooks because on my Facebook it says that I am a student.  While taking marketing I learned the connections between my age or occupation to specific ads is created by acquired databases and marketing research.
My introduction to marketing made me more aware of how marketing is hidden all around.  I went to the movies to see the Proposal and within fifteen minutes the main character, Sandra Bullock, was handed a Starbucks coffee.  When she sat down at her desk she blatantly turned the entire cup so that the Starbucks symbol was facing the camera.
At another part in the movie the other main character, Ryan Reynolds, picked up a box of Pringles chips and says they are his favorite snack.  I laughed because that one line added nothing to the movie but probably make a lot of money for the company that makes Pringles.  Now that I have been introduced to marketing strategies they cannot be ignored.

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Quoted – Windows 7 and the Enterprise – ECommerce News

Image via CrunchBase

Quoted – Windows 7 and the Enterprise – ECommerce News

Windows 7 Likely to Get Chilly Reception at Enterprise Door

Microsoft has a higher mountain to climb to soften up enterprises on Windows 7 adoption that it did a few years ago. After the Vista train wreck, many are content to keep on getting by with Windows XP — at least, until their IT departments become convinced that the new OS will live up to its promise.

Unless they are high-tech firms themselves, companies tend to have conservative IT strategies, Philadelphia-based marketing consultant Scott Testa told the E-Commerce Times. “Usually, they like to wait a little while to make sure the kinks have been worked out — and then start adopting it.”

At the very least, he said, most companies will want to wait for the first service pack.

Microsoft suffered a black eye with the Vista rollout, he noted, which exacerbated those conservative tendencies.

Furthermore, “XP still fills the needs for most organizations,” said Testa.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Windows-7-Likely-to-Get-Chilly-Reception-at-Enterprise-Door-67446.html

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Quoted – Linuxinsider – Dell building Android Powered Internet Device

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Quoted – Linuxinsider – Dell building Android Powered Internet Device

http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/67473.html?wlc=1246629342

In pursuing this path, Dell may be looking for another way to differentiate itself in the netbook market — though a pocket-sized Internet device is not a netbook, noted Scott Testa, a marketing consultant and professor of marketing at St. Joseph’s University.

Still, using Android and the ARM architecture could give product makers such as Dell a lower-cost product. At a time when PC devices and smartphones are converging, a return to the PDA mentality could offer Dell some possibilities, he said.

“There is no license fee and no Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) tax to pay for the operating system. I can see an opening for them,” Testa told LinuxInsider.

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Quoted – ESchool News – Court rules against Blackboard in patent fight

Image by Mr_Stein via Flickr

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/news-by-subject/litigation/index.cfm?i=59933

Court rules against Blackboard in patent fight
Learning management system giant ‘disappointed’ with appeals court ruling after lengthy legal battle with Desire2Learn

Scott Testa, a marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University who tracks education technology trends, said Blackboard’s aggressive approach to developing a reliable product and marketing among colleges and universities of every size has paid dividends. Securing patents, he said, is a key to beating out smaller competitors who market similar products.

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Quoted – Federal Computer Week – Social Media and Defense Department

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Quoted – Federal Computer Week – Social Media and Defense Department

DOD’s indecision on social-media tools continues

“During the early days of e-mail, the DOD — and other agencies that are very sensitive to security — was very nervous about having and using e-mail,” said Scott Testa, a professor of business at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “After a while, when there was a comfort level, things loosened up.”

Testa said he expects the Marine Corps to ease its stance on social media and DOD to take further steps to secure the technology.

http://fcw.com/articles/2009/08/24/week-dod-social-media-debate.aspx

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Quoted – Wall Street Journal – Borders and Retail Landscape

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Quoted – Wall Street Journal – Borders and Retail Landscape

“Borders is trying to be a category killer, but right now it’s only a weak number two,” said Scott Testa, professor of business at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “The situation can be especially troublesome in this economic environment.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090825-711664.html

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Quoted – St Louis Post – Hummer dealership fights declining sales with guns

Image by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via Flickr

Like many of his competitors, Hummer dealer Jim Lynch is fighting for survival.

Unlike the rest of them, Lynch reached for a gun. Lots of them, actually.

Faced with declining sales and an uncertain future, his Chesterfield dealership has expanded in a direction that’s drawing national attention. It’s what happens when you replace some of those pricey Hummers with dozens of Glocks, Sig Sauers, Colts, Berettas and Brownings.

If Hummer and GM do balk at Lynch’s diversification, that won’t be a huge surprise to Scott Testa, a marketing professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

It would be in line, he said, with the unimaginative way the U.S. auto industry operates.

“That’s how these car companies got themselves into this mess,” Testa said. “You’d think they would be very open-minded. But that’s not always the case.”

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/0/BBB529A4BCFCFAF28625761E0022657D?OpenDocument

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Quoted – E-Commerce Times – Intel’s Stronger Outlook Fuels Tech-Sector Cheer

Image via CrunchBase

The enthusiasm over Intel and Dell is justified, said Scott Testa, a professor of business at Cabrini College.

“The economy is getting better, and there is pent-up demand that is just starting to be released,” he told the E-Commerce Times.

Back to school demand is generating a boost, he said, and “when Windows 7 is released, it will help the PC industry a lot as well.”

Indeed, the PC market in general appears poised for a sharp recovery, with executive maneuvers foreshadowing offensives on several fronts.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/67990.html?wlc=1251853349

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Quoted – Ecommerce Times – Wikipedia to Tinge Suspect Entries With Orange Cast

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Wikipedia wants to give users more confidence in the reliability of its information, so it has come up with a color-coding scheme that will assign an orange background to less-trustworthy information — the darker, the more suspect — and a white background to content that ranks high for accuracy. However, Wikipedia hasn’t said much about how it will arrive at its rankings.

College students rely on Wikipedia too much, said Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College, the problem is not limited to that site. Rather, many younger people have developed the habit of automatically turning to the Internet to find authoritative resources.

Wikipedia is not riddled with errors, in Testa’s view: “Nine times out of 10, I would say, an entry is accurate.”

The problem is that 1 percent of errors.

“That has soured it as a source, especially for people in academia,” noted Testa.

WikiTrust will help — as will the larger push to greater transparency and credibility on the Web.

“Web 2.0 information sources, in general, are moving in this direction,” Testa observed. “It is a sign that the technology is maturing.”

sers more confidence in the reliability of its information, so it has come up with a color-coding scheme that will assign an orange background to less-trustworthy information — the darker, the more suspect — and a white background to content that ranks high for accuracy. However, Wikipedia hasn’t said much about how it will arrive at its rankings.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Wikipedia-to-Tinge-Suspect-Entries-With-Orange-Cast-68004.html?wlc=1252062543

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Quoted – EC delays Oracle acquisition of Sun – Internet News

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Quoted – EC delays Oracle acquisition of Sun – Internet News

While a tiny portion of Sun’s business comes under European Commission scrutiny, what becomes of Sun while it waits?

Now, the problem all stems from MySQL, an open source database worth about $300 million to Sun. For a giant like Oracle, that’s a small amount, but that’s what the EC is focused on in its investigation.

Scott Testa, professor of Business Administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, said that this kind of scrutiny really is not warranted.

“The acquisition of MySQL makes sense on the Oracle side because they’ve been losing some business to the open source market. So I can see where the EU says ‘hey, you’re acquiring a competitor that’s making in-roads to your space, we want to look more,’ but at the end of the day, it’s such a little part of the market it doesn’t make sense,” he told InternetNews.com.

Testa believes Oracle will keep MySQL. “Even though it’s a small piece of business, I think Oracle wants that MySQL business. They don’t want to have to sell it to someone. So it’s a weird thing. I guess I feel bad for Sun but that’s technological Darwinism. They stuck to Sparc and Solaris to the end of time. I feel bad but it is what it is,” he said.

Even though Sun hardware is taking the hits, Testa thinks the biggest value is, ironically enough, in Sun’s software assets. “Honestly, the most valuable assets at Sun are Java and MySQL, plus Solaris and some consulting stuff. But the hardware business? I don’t see a lot of value in that. The software stuff is where the value is,” he noted.

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/10791_3837756_1

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Quoted – Retailer Smart Buys at Stupid Prices will shut all 22 locations – Fresno Bee

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Quoted – Retailer Smart Buys at Stupid Prices will shut all 22 locations – Fresno Bee

Discount retailer Smart Buys at Stupid Prices is closing all its 22 stores, including the Fresno store that opened less than a year ago, according to the Fresno store’s manager.

Experts say the closure is proof that it takes more than low prices to make it in this economy. The Washington-based chain, which sells surplus and close-out merchandise from other retailers, has stores in California and Washington.

Employees at the Merced store — which opened in July — and the Stockton store confirmed that their locations will close as well.

Closing stores so soon after opening them is unusual, said Scott Testa, a professor who follows retail at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. He noted that he doesn’t have first-hand knowledge of what happened with Smart Buys.

“Opening stores in the summer and closing down completely in September tells me that … maybe they grew a little too quick, or maybe they lost some financing,” he said. “Those indications tell me that something horribly went wrong.”

When retailers run into financial troubles, they typically stop opening new stores and focus on becoming financially sound, sometimes closing underperforming stores, he said.

Midsized retailers have a tough time competing against larger chains, and Smart Buys may have faced some of the same challenges that the now-closed Gottschalks faced, Testa said. Such stores have less pull with manufacturers than large chains, he said.

“The smaller chains sometimes get stuck with the crumbs,” he said. “If there’s a hot product that a lot of people want, the Best Buys and the Wal-Marts of the world, they usually get first dibs.”

http://www.fresnobee.com/business/story/1633826.html

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Quoted – 6 Old-School Savings Tricks Are Back – SmartMoney Mag

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Quoted – 6 Old-School Savings Tricks Are Back – SmartMoney Mag

It’s no secret that consumers have grown more frugal: Excessive spending is out and saving is in.

Like fashion, spending trends often cycle in and out, but what’s interesting about this go-round at frugality is how it’s playing out. Old savings strategies are seeing a resurgence, and some of the most popular tactics – couponing, layaway and haggling – date back to prior recessions.

Will those practices someday go the way of padded shoulders and track suits? It may take years or even decades, but the larger population will eventually end up back in the “greed is good” mentality, says Scott Testa, an assistant professor of business administration at Calibri College in Radnor, Pa

In recent years, bargaining for a lower price has been relegated to yard sales and flea markets, but that’s beginning to change. “Now, consumers are much more creative and frankly, much more aggressive about asking for a better price,” Testa says. To retain customers amid slowing sales, even mainstream retailers are open to negotiation on prices — especially if you can point to better deals at a competitor.

Thanks to the credit crunch, retailers and consumers are looking at these old options, which had faded with disco. “They went away as people bought things on credit and found other ways to pay,” Testa says. Last year, Sears (SHLD: 64.18, +0.34, +0.53%) and Kmart heavily promoted their longstanding layaway programs. This year, they introduced a new Christmas Club that matches 3% of consumers’ savings.

http://www.smartmoney.com/Spending/Budgeting/6-Old-School-Savings-Tricks-Make-a-Comeback/

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Quoted – Amazon offering Private Label Products – ECommerce Times

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Quoted – Amazon offering Private Label Products – ECommerce Times

Amazon is raising hackles among some of its partner manufacturers by cutting out the middleman with its new AmazonBasics line of consumer electronics products. Amazon is attaching its own branding to inexpensive cables and blank DVDs at the moment, but it plans to expand the line of offerings soon.

Offering a private label is a smart move for any retailer, said Scott Testa, business professor with Cabrini College.

“Private-branded items generally have higher profit margins,” he told the E-Commerce Times, pointing to private label products from retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) as an example.

Amazon has benefited from decades of watching as other brand names have outsourced the manufacturing process while maintaining control of the customer — Testa cited Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) as an example.

Amazon’s fundamental business model — as aggregator of other manufacturers’ products — may pose some challenges for the retailer.

“No manufacturer wants to see a retailer coming out with its own private label goods,” Testa explained. “It is the retailer who will have the best leverage with the clients.”

In the case of Amazon, that leverage is huge, he added. “For all intents and purposes, a retailer like Amazon is perfectly able to cut out the middle man and feel few ramifications.”

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Amazon-Links-Its-Brand-Image-to-CE-Accessories-Line-68173.html?wlc=1253703004

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Quoted – Cash for Clunkers the Appliance version – MSNBC

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Quoted – Cash for Clunkers the Appliance version – MSNBC

Call it the “Cash for Kitchen (and laundry room) Clunkers” program.

If you have an old energy-guzzling refrigerator, air conditioner or washing machine you’d love to replace, it may be a good idea to wait until November when a cash-for-clunkers type program for home appliances begins to roll out across the country.

Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, believes the program will attract the interest of shoppers. “It will stimulate manufacturing jobs and retail jobs, which have been hit hard,” he said.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/business/_Clunker__appliance_plan_short_on_details-60842747.html

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Quoted – Twitter’s $100M Funding Coup Prompts ‘Bubble’ Buzz -ECommerce Times

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Quoted – Twitter‘s $100M Funding Coup Prompts ‘Bubble’ Buzz -ECommerce Times

Can a company that doesn’t have a revenue stream possibly be worth $10 billion? That’s the question that a group of investors are answering with an unequivocal “yes” in the form of $100 million in cold cash. There is skepticism over the wheeling and dealing, though, and more than a few flashes of dot-com deja vu.

After much speculation, Twitter CEO Evan Williams confirmed on the microblogging site’s own blog that it has closed a “significant” round of funding. Williams didn’t cite the dollar amount, but it has been widely reported that six investors are prepared to pump close to US$100 million into the company, giving it a $1 billion valuation.

An evaluation of $1 billion for Twitter might be too low, suggested Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College, considering the site’s popularity and traffic, which comScore places at close to 60 million visitors a month.

“The pricing is justified, based on the latest round of financing closed by Facebook and other networking properties,” Testa argued.

Furthermore, this generation of tech investment is different from 10 years ago, because the funding comes from institutional sources.

“You don’t see the funny money being thrown around like we did in the 1990s,” noted Testa.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Twitters-100M-Funding-Coup-Prompts-Bubble-Buzz-68224.html?wlc=1253927291

Quoted – Cisco to Expand Its Video-Conference Room With $3B Tandberg Buy – ECommerce Times

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Cisco is deepening its commitment to the video-conferencing space, spending nearly $3 billion to acquire Tandberg.

Tandberg’s technology falls between these two ends — albeit closer to the high end, Scott Testa, business professor at Cabrini College, told the E-Commerce Times. There will be some overlap when Tandberg joins the product line-up initially, he said, “but it is largely a very complementary acquisition for Cisco.”

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Cisco-to-Expand-Its-Video-Conference-Room-With-3B-Tandberg-Buy-68267.html

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Quoted – What’s for dinner? – Natural Food Merchandiser

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Faced with layoffs, lower wages and a loss of confidence in the economy, cash-strapped consumers are forgoing restaurant trips, grabbing the wok and cooking at home. Restaurant visits slid 1.5 percent in the three months ending in February versus a year ago, according to Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm NPD Group. That followed a 0.8 percent quarterly dip in late 2008, the first such drop since 2003. Consumers may be leaving those pricey restaurant tabs behind, but they don’t want to scrimp on enjoyment as they aim to create restaurant-worthy experiences in their own dining rooms.

“You want to make it as easy as possible for the consumer to get everything, bring it home and prepare it,” says Scott Testa, marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

http://naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/tabId/66/itemId/3973/Whats-for-dinner.aspx

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Quoted – Consumer Spending Jumps 1.3 Percent in Aug – Nielsen Business Media

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“Cash for Clunkers” again helped to raise consumer spending in August, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The federal CARS program, which ran from July through Aug 24, 2009, helped boost new car and truck sales to grow consumer spending by 1.3 percent overall. This marks the largest increase since Oct 2001 and a substantial gain over July’s revised 0.3 percent uptick.

Overall spending on goods increased by 2.5 percent. Auto categories, particularly the sale of car and truck parts, accounted for much of the 5.8 percent increase in the purchase of durable goods. Spending on non-durable goods grew 1 percent (up from a 0.3 percent increase in July) and purchases of services were up 0.2 percent (following a 0.1 percent gain the previous month).

“The black cloud over people’s psyche, I think it’s starting to lift,” said Dr. Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, who believes the increases in spending directly reflect a more upbeat consumer attitude. “I also think a lot of retailers are getting more aggressive with their pricing, especially the large big box retailers like the Wal-Marts of the world. They continue to be aggressive and gain market share and bring out compelling goods that are allowing consumers to get more bang for their buck.”

Although spending increases were shadowed by slight inflation—pricing increased by 0.3 percent overall—Testa said it has not had a significant impact on consumers.

“From a historical basis, inflation is still very much in check,” said Testa. “Where people really begin to feel inflation the most, especially in these economic times, are in gasoline and food and in those two areas a lot of things have been pretty much in check.”

http://www.ddimagazine.com/displayanddesignideas/content_display/industry-news/e3i633220926c9bdcfe8c5d2c19bfe4be31

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Quoted – What is your Supermarket IQ? – Everyday with Rachael Ray

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Rachael Ray and I go shopping in the supermarket. . .

Whether you think you’re a grocery shopping whiz or you feel overwhelmed just pulling into the parking lot there has never been a more important time to know your way around the aisles.

1. Where can you find the cheapest products on supermarket shelves?

Brands pay to display their wares at eye level and at the end of each aisle because this can increase sales by an estimated 15-20 percent. “These brands can afford the slotting fees, as they tend to be pricier, “says Dr. Scott Testa Beware of tie-in sale tricks in these areas: On-sale tortilla chips will be placed alongside regular-priced jarred salsa.

2.  Grabbing nonfood items like mouthwash and toilet paper at the supermarket may be convenient, but it’ll cost you. Thes items are priced 20 to 40 percent more than they are at national superstores. ‘Big companies like Wal-Mart buy large quantities so they get better deals and can charge less compared to a regional supermarket that buys less and pays more per unit,” explains Testa.  Since it’s a pain to make an extra trip just for toilet paper, buy thes goods at the supermarket only when they are on sale.

Rachael Ray Magazine

Quoted – MySQL Founder Calls on EC to Clear Oracle/Sun – Internetnews.com

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Former MySQL CEO Mårten Mickos sent a letter to the European Commission‘s top antitrust authority, urging her and her regulatory body to approve Oracle’s takeover of Sun Microsystems, which owns his former company.

Will it work?

Will Mickos’ appeal to speed along approval work? Opinion is mixed.

“It may have some sway, but by nature that governing body is super independent and they just seem like a group that does not like to be told what to do, no matter who it is. So that may some sway but I think [Oracle] may have to make some kind of concessions,” said Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

The analysts agreed, however, that the deal will likely close quickly, something both Sun and Oracle want.

“I don’t see this going on for a long time,” Testa said. “I see Oracle making a few concessions but I don’t see this deal being stopped. And I don’t think the commission is going to labor this as long as some of these other investigations.”

http://www.internetnews.com/government/article.php/3843201

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Quoted – T-Mobile Offers Glimmer of Hope – or $100 Credit – in Data Loss Debacle – ECommerce Times

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T-Mobile Offers Glimmer of Hope – or $100 Credit – in Data Loss Debacle

T-Mobile has indicated that some of the data Sidekick users lost due to a Microsoft server failure may be retrievable after all. Those who can’t get their data back will receive a $100 credit toward purchases or bill payments at T-Mobile. All data customers will get a month of free service — and, no doubt, many more apologies as the company struggles to manage the problem.

Right now, the company is probably feeling its way through the crisis, Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College, told the E-Commerce Times. Offering customers $100 for their trouble is a good first step — but the carrier is going to have to do much more if it wants to restore faith among its customer base, he said.

“It will have to come clean about the server failure and how it happened — and, more importantly, the steps it is taking to make sure it never happens again.” For example, he said, T-Mobile should release a detailed plan — a, say, five-point plan for backup — in the near future. “Right now, they are doing a good job managing expectations by telling customer to expect the worst. So they have some credibility in this respect.”

That appears to be the smartest game plan T-Mobile can adopt going forward.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/T-Mobile-Offers-Glimmer-of-Hope—or-100-Credit—in-Data-Loss-Debacle-68361.html?wlc=1255537135

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Quoted – Good News From Google Fuels Tech-Sector Optimism – ECommerce Times

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Google spurred hopes for a tech-sector recovery with a surprisingly robust quarterly earnings report and news that it’s in the mood to shop. IBM also delivered better-than-expected results on the heels of a stellar report from bellwether Intel earlier in the week. Mergers and acquisitions are likely to be making headlines in the days ahead. Cisco, for one, has a couple of multibillion-dollar deals in the works.

Google and other tech companies — notably Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) , which hopes to acquire video-conferencing company Tandberg (possibly for more than the $3 billion it initially offered) and mobile infrastructure firm Starent for $2.9 billion — are clearly feeling positive enough about the economy to embark on major acquisitions, said Scott Testa, a business professor with Cabrini College.

“I think going forward we are going to see more mergers and acquisitions across a wide range of industries, both large and small deals,” he told the E-Commerce Times.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Good-News-From-Google-Fuels-Tech-Sector-Optimism-68403.html?wlc=1255775439

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Quoted – Marketing to the Mommies – Demo Dirt

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Marketing to the Mommies

Marketers should approach mothers and women without children differently, says a Prospectiv “What Women Want” survey, which found that women with kids and women without have different reactions to various forms of online marketing.

Are mommy bloggers losing their influence? Marketing expert Scott Testa says that there is “no right or wrong answer.”

“If you look at samples, it costs less to a company to send them to a blogger than to a lot of mothers,” Testa, professor of business administration at Philadelphia-based Cabrini College. “The idea is to find out who these influential bloggers are and get information or samples to them and you can touch a market at a lower cost. It is cost-effective solution at getting the word out.”

Whether mommy bloggers are wielding less or more influence today than in the past is difficult to say, Testa adds, but there are still a few women who many moms still look to for product recommendations.

“In the blogging universe in general, some mommy bloggers hold considerable sway with their readership and to get them on your side is a very powerful thing,” he says. “Certain ones can influence new products launches and the effectiveness of new marketing campaigns, and there are some that can’t. It depends on the blogger herself and how big her audience is and how much sway she has with them.”

When it comes to marketing, Testa says he finds it “hard to believe” that reaching women with children versus women without would involve great differences in strategy, but agrees that some methods of online marketing would be more effective for some groups than for others.

“As for mommy blogging, the FCC is discussing whether to have mommy bloggers disclose how much compensation they are getting,” he explains. “When it comes to mommy blogging, that is an issue we may see come to a head in the next few months.”

http://www.demodirt.com/index.php/women/consumer-spending/303-marketing-to-the-mommies

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Quoted – The Power Tweens – Philadelphia Inquirer

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The power tweens

These savvy 8-to-12-year-old girls are such a mighty market force they merit their own D.C. convention.

The grand ballroom at the Capital Hilton glowed neon purple, and Idol-er David Archuleta‘s “Crush” pulsed from giant speakers.

Less than a mile from the White House, the First National Tween Girl Summit – yes, summit – was under way. The event was part serious confab, part sparkly hearts and butterflies – just like its audience.

That would be those conflicted wannabe teens (but not quite there yet) – the 8- to 12-year-olds known as tweens.

Companies are cashing in on this tween influence, eager to seal brand loyalty at ever younger ages, said Scott Testa, a professor of business at Cabrini College who specializes in the demographic. More than ever, the marketplace is pushing a tween lifestyle heavy on teen aspiration, despite concerns from developmental experts – and even marketers themselves – over the loss of childhood.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20091021_The_power_tweens.html

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Quoted – Grudgingly, young people finally flock to Twitter – Associated Press

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Grudgingly, young people finally flock to Twitter – Associated Press

They think it’s pointless, narcissistic. Some don’t even know what it is.

Even so, more young adults and teens — normally at the cutting edge of technology — are finally coming around to Twitter, using it for class or work, monitoring the minutiae of celebrities’ lives.

Scott Testa, a business administration professor who teaches marketing at Cabrini College in suburban Philadelphia, encourages his students to use Twitter to follow companies they would like to work for.

He also uses it to extend a conversation outside the classroom, in part because tweeting often draws comments “from those who might be a little more shy.”

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jN8nohwnjEFrJLJhKB1JT09cNB9gD9BFN9FG6

http://www.pottstownmercury.com/articles/2009/10/26/life/srv0000006669106.txt

http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/65929447.html

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Quoted – Retailers Paying Customers to Bring Their Own Bags – CNBC

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Retailers Paying Customers to Bring Their Own Bags

Retailers are finding that the best way to get consumers to ditch plastic bags and go green is to give them money back.

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Target and CVS are the latest retailers who are giving discount incentives to customers who bring in their own reusable bags instead of using the store’s plastic bags. The move establishes them as green companies in the mind of consumers and reduces pollution caused by plastic bags.

Although smaller retailers have offered incentives in the past, CVS/pharmacy (with about 7,000 stores) and Target (about 1,700 stores) are the largest to do so.

“The general public wouldn’t think of them as green companies,” said Dr. Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “If CVS can differentiate itself and be looked at as the ‘green’ drug store then conceivably they’ll gain more customers.”

http://www.cnbc.com/id/33430303

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Quoted – Fresh Easy presses on with plans for Valley – Fresno Bee

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Fresh & Easy presses on with plans for Valley

A British company that dreams of changing the way Americans shop for groceries says its plans for the Valley are back on track after a recession-driven delay.

Tesco, a giant grocery and retail chain often compared to Walmart, says it will open six of its small-scale Fresh & Easy grocery stores in the region by the end of February. They are among 12 stores the company expects to eventually open in Fresno, Reedley and Lemoore.

Some analysts have watched Fresh & Easy’s expansion plans with skepticism. The delayed openings and doubts over whether the stores are meeting their sales goals have left them waiting to see how the newcomer performs.

“That market is pretty finicky,” said Scott Testa, a professor who follows the retail business at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “They have to bring their A game.”

Established U.S. competitors are not likely to sit still as Tesco expands, Testa said.

“You’re going to have companies like [Vons owner] Safeway that really know the market come out with a similar format,” he said.

Safeway is testing a small-scale store in Long Beach and San Jose called The Market, and Walmart is testing its small “community grocery” Marketside stores in Arizona.

Selling its Fresh & Easy brand and other products created specifically for the chain helps to keep costs down, Wonnacott said. The company also designed its stores and supply system from scratch, allowing it to build in efficiencies that other chains don’t have.

The emphasis on prepared foods also will help the company’s bottom line, Testa said.

“The profit margins are … really good compared to traditional foods,” he said.

Fresh & Easy’s everyday prices aren’t as low as other supermarkets or Walmart Supercenter food prices, said Prevor, who is based in Boca Raton, Fla., but has visited and studied Fresh & Easy stores.

But the chain has made up for that by offering steep discounts on sale items that often beat other retailers, he said.

How the stores perform in California will be a test for the future of the company, Testa said. Many retailers like to see how they do in the state before expanding east, he said.

“I think they have dreams of bigger and better things,” he said.

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1684477.html

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Quoted – Microsoft Opens First Retail Store – Brandweek

Image by basictheory via Flickr

Microsoft has jumped into the retail arena and opened its first store in Scottsdale, Ariz., featuring interactive technology and a sleek modern design. This is the first of several planned stores for the software giant, the next opening on Oct. 29 in Mission Viejo, Calif., and is being celebrated by the company as an opportunity to connect with customers and elevate the Microsoft brand. But some analysts see this move into retail, and even the design of the stores, as derivative of archrival Apple.

Microsoft is emphasizing the personalization that the new stores will offer, with consumers able to customize their hardware with external “skins” and create an original ring tone for their Windows mobile phone. When a customer purchases a computer, they will have a 15-minute session with one of the employees to get set up their applications, passwords and personal preferences. The store includes a Microsoft Answers Suite, where technical advisors offer assistance to patrons with tech issues.

“The idea of customizing a product on a mass scale, there’s a branding experience about that and there’s a connection with the customer—all that stuff is usually good,” said Scott Testa, professor of business at Cabrini College. But Testa supports Frankel’s outlook on Microsoft’s originality as a brand: “Microsoft copies everything from Apple, so why wouldn’t they copy their stores?”

Testa believes that in opening stores when it has, Microsoft followed the company pattern of waiting until something was “tried and true” before jumping in. Nonetheless, he believes that entering the retail arena will be a good thing for Microsoft, and that it is better late than never.

“I don’t think they see it as a big profit driver. I think they see it as a brand-building experience and marketing experience more than anything. This will be a grain of sand on the whole beach of Microsoft’s revenues and operations,” said Testa. “But from a branding perspective it makes a lot of sense. The timing’s good, they get some press for the stores, Windows 7 is coming out and the holiday season is coming up. It makes sense.”

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/shopper-marketing/e3i834106c352ea8687e4f54f2a9dc07fc1

Quoted – Cheap Reads: 6 Tips to Save on Books – SmartMoney

Cover of Breathless: A Novel

Buying a book at the suggested retail price might be a bigger mistake than judging it by its cover.

Flat sales, savvier readers and the emergence of new players in the retail and online marketplace are keeping the pressure on sellers to offer more books at a discount.

Book sales have held steady over the past year. Consumers spent roughly $2 billion on books in August 2009, about the same as August of last year, according to the National Retail Federation, which tracks sales.

Booksellers are also betting customers will buy more than one deeply discounted bestseller, says Scott Testa, an assistant professor of business administration at Calibri College in Radnor, Pa. “Retailers know consumers hate to pay for shipping,” he says. A customer who buys Amazon’s $9 copy of Dean Koontz’s “Breathless” might be tempted to spend another $16 on other items during that transaction to get free shipping on the whole order.

http://www.smartmoney.com/Spending/Deals/Cheap-Reads-Six-Tips-to-Save-on-Books/

Quoted – Could Phila. make more on its marathon? – Philadelphia Inquirer

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

 

In three weeks, a record number of runners are expected to take to Philadelphia‘s streets and compete in the city‘s 16th annual marathon.

With 10,000 entrants, the event with a budget of $1.7 million can count on a fourth consecutive year of growth while pumping $10 million into the regional economy and aiding seven local charities.

Those seem impressive numbers, until one looks elsewhere.

Take Chicago, for instance, where the marathon has 45,000 entrants and contributes $140 million to the economy, according to a University of Illinois study. The similarly sized New York marathon, being run today, means $220 million to that city. Both races generate tens of millions of dollars for scores of charities.

Overall last year, Philadelphia’s marathon ranked 12th in size in the United States, trailing the monsters like New York, Chicago, and Boston, but also races in Orlando and Portland, Ore.

“No other running race, in general, gets more people from out-of-town than a marathon,” said Dr. Scott Testa, a runner and a Cabrini College business professor who has studied the economic impact of sporting events. “Marathon runners are more willing to travel from out of state. Hotels and restaurants love them.”

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/68146787.html

Quoted – Military uses social media to share info on Fort Hood shootings – Federal Computer Week

Image by fredcavazza via Flickr

Facebook and Twitter quickly became a way to communicate during and after the attack

The Army’s public affairs staff at Fort Hood used Facebook today to publish a note saying the media relations office is inundated with requests and is answering queries as quickly as possible.

The post, which appeared on the Army’s official Facebook page, is just one way social media is being used in the wake of the mass shooting that left 13 people dead and at least 30 others wounded, according to the Army.

It is not surprising that so many people turned to social media first to communicate about the shootings, said Scott Testa, a Cabrini College business professor with expertise in social media.

“You have a lot of people in the military that were raised on texting and now social media,” Testa said. “They’re not watching the network news; they’re getting all their news electronically.”

Testa said he saw social media help clarify conflicting reports in the hours after the shootings. Individuals on the base were able to confirm or deny reports of lockdowns and other incidents via Twitter, he said.

While social media can help clear up conflicting reports, it also has the power to perpetuate false information, he said.

“That’s why the government has to put out info via these channels,” he said. “You can’t let it fester if the information is wrong; you have to respond to that.”

A review of the benefits and risks of using social media within the Defense

http://fcw.com/articles/2009/11/06/fort-hood-social-media.aspx

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Quoted – Digging into Intel’s Antitrust Suit – Internetnews.com

Image via Wikipedia

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo caused quite a stir this week with his antitrust suit against Intel, accusing the chip giant of conducting “an illegal campaign to deprive AMD of distribution channels.”

More than a few writers and bloggers chalked it up to politics. Cuomo’s ambitions are no secret: he wishes to be governor of the state just like his father Mario once was. With current governor David Patterson performing abysmally in opinion polls and up for reelection next year, this could be the time for the son of one of New York‘s most famous governors to strike.

Scott Testa, professor of Business Administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, adds “My gut is Intel is a very aggressive company and [Cuomo] felt there was an opportunity there, and felt that New York consumers were being wronged, and thought he’d make his move. Intel is very dominant in their market.”

Right now, the testimony is from executives and e-mails dating back as far as 2002. A trial could mean a parade of past and present PC OEM CEOs like Michael Dell, Mark Hurd, Carly Fiorina and Sam Palmisano testifying under oath, which could be either devastating or exculpatory to Intel.

Testa doesn’t believe it was on that level. “I truly believe that this was a mid-level, low-level management issue where you had an aggressive sales person or sales managers. That’s my gut. These rebates are public knowledge. This is between two public companies,” he said.

The latter part of Cuomo’s claim that “Intel launched an illegal campaign to deprive AMD of distribution channels and consumers of product choice and lower prices” could be a tough sell, since no one would argue that CPU prices haven’t come down over the course of the decade even as they advanced and became more powerful.

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3847451/Digging+Into+NYs+Antitrust+Suit+Against+Intel.htm

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Quoted – TV interview – Retailers going Green – Fox Business News

 

Dr. Scott Testa – Television  interview on Fox Business about Retailers going Green.

(Yes. . . I know there is a lag. . the feed was slightly delayed)

Dr. Scott Testa – Interview Fox Business – Retailers Going Green

►

Quoted – Fort Hood soldiers turn to social media – Fierce Government IT

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In the wake of the mass shooting that left 13 people dead and 30 wounded last week, soldiers and their families at Fort Hood turned to social networking to deal with the carnage that occurred in their backyard.

Social media gave people an opportunity to talk about what happened, and it allowed the military a chance to let people know that the base’s media relations office was answering questions as quickly as possible.

It comes at an ironic time because DoD has not decided whether to buy into the idea that social networking is a good way to communicate. Although the Pentagon has given the green light to some social media sites, it is still examining the potential threats and benefits associated with social networking for the military.

Scott Testa, a Cabrini College business professor with expertise in social media, told Federal Computer Week that it was natural to turn to social networking to communicate after the shotting attack. “You have a lot of people in the military that were raised on texting and now social media,” Testa said. “They’re not watching the network news; they’re getting all their news electronically.”

Read more: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/ft-hood-soldiers-turn-social-media/2009-11-09#ixzz0Wwfry5T8

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Quoted – …Y Jobs creó Apple(… And Jobs created Apple) – Semana.com

Image via CrunchBase

I was interviewed about Steve Jobs by Semana.com a Spanish web portal . . I dont know Spanish . . other then Dos cervezas por favor

“Jobs creó una marca que se ha convertido en un referente. Y lo hizo de la nada”, contó a esta publicación Scott Testa, profesor de negocios del Cabrini College en Pensilvania. Y como genio del marketing, ha sabido promocionar como nadie su imagen. “Un adicto a Coca-Cola no sabe quién es el presidente de la compañía. Con Apple sucede lo contrario: es la única marca que explota a fondo la figura mítica de su fundador. Se habla del culto Mac y sus clientes sienten una adhesión casi religiosa”, opina Álvaro Montes, columnista de tecnología de SEMANA.

http://www.semana.com/noticias-gente/jobs-creo-apple/131359.aspx

Quoted – China’s iron grip even extends to the Internet – Pioneer Press

Image by Shazari via Flickr

China is infamous for clamping down on dissent, not only physically — as it did in Tiananmen Square two decades ago — but also electronically.

“The Chinese have some of the strongest censorship in the world,” on the Internet as well as with print and television, said Scott Testa, a professor of business at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

In the Information Age, stemming the flow of information isn’t easy.

President Barack Obama, visiting China this week, has called for Internet freedom in China as a human rights issue. Obama told Shanghai students Monday that information should be free.

According to the Washington Post, Obama was asked in a town-hall style meeting what he thought about the Chinese government blocking several Internet international sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and critical news sites. “I’ve always been a strong supporter of open Internet use,” Obama said.

In response, Chinese officials Tuesday defended their policies as protective to national interests.

China’s online content-control strategy is a massive monitoring operation to spot forbidden content inside the country’s borders as well such information coming from outside sources.

While it’s often called the “Great Firewall of China” — as if to suggest a massive electronic barrier that repels online speech — the reality is a bit more nuanced, experts say.

http://www.twincities.com/ci_13811823

Quoted – Verizon Weaves AT&T-Bashing Witticisms Into Legal Doc – Technewsworld

Image via Wikipedia

Verizon‘s aggressive ad campaign to belittle AT&T has found its way into court documents. The company apparently made a deliberate effort to use language that would translate well for a mainstream audience, rather than couching its response to AT&T’s complaint in traditional legalese. The gambit seems to have earned it a plummy PR payoff, so far. Does this suggest a new marketing role for attorneys?

More than likely, AT&T did not forsee this type of response, Scott Testa, business professor at Cabrini College, told the E-Commerce Times.

“Between Verizon’s lawyers and its PR people, I would say the company is working this issue pretty well,” he said.

In many companies, lawyers and marketing departments have opposing goals, Testa continued, with the lawyers thinking defense and marketers thinking offense.

“Some corporate cultures are headed by marketers, some by lawyers. In this situation, it seems as though they are working hand in hand,” he remarked.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/68672.html?wlc=1258721738

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Quoted – With Social Media, Who Needs Santa? – Adweek

Image via Wikipedia

‘Tis the season for social media. Seventeen percent of U.S. consumers plan to leverage social media sites to assist in their holiday shopping this year. The majority (60 percent) will do so to seek discounts and sales, according to Deloitte’s 24th annual Holiday Survey.

More than half of social media users reported that they will also use these sites to research potential gift ideas (53 percent) and view their friends and family members’ wish lists (52 percent). Forty-six percent will research product reviews and 30 percent plan to share their own wish list. The study, which was conducted online by an independent research company, surveyed more than 10,000 individuals.

Mobile phones are also getting the call. Nineteen percent of consumers plan to use their mobile devices and apps to aid in their purchasing decision. Of this group, 55 percent plan to use their handsets to locate stores, 45 percent will research prices and 40 percent will look up product information. About a third will also seek discounts (32 percent) and research product reviews (31 percent), while 25 percent plan to make purchases with their mobile phones.

This is only the beginning, said Scott Testa, professor of business at Cabrini College. “The ability to do a lot of things around the shopping experience with smartphones is only going to grow and I think those numbers are going to go through the roof,” he said.

The most avid social media and mobile adopters were those aged 18 to 29 years old. However, older generations are also getting on board, as 33 percent of those 30-44 and 12 percent those 45-60 are embracing digital tools during the holidays.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3i4cdea7d2a4bcd398938c093a21905c72

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Quoted – How to Get the Biggest Savings this Holiday Season – Denver Post

Image via Wikipedia

Stores are stocking less inventory this holiday season, so Traci Lunsford decided to start her shopping last month.

“I will receive the bill in November and have it paid off by December,” says the Thornton resident, who has been using coupons and daily deals from Upromise.com to help curtail her holiday spending.

Marketing experts say zealous coupon clippers and tenacious bargain hunters such as Lunsford will reap the greatest savings this holiday season.

But they also warn that shoppers are unlikely to find the usual last-minute price cuts in the days before Christmas.

Why? To compensate for soft sales throughout the past year, retailers are keeping inventories low to prevent stock from languishing on shelves. Black Friday and Cyber Monday — the weekdays immediately after Thanksgiving — promise shoppers the deepest discounts.

“The more expensive the item . . . the more open the store will be to negotiating,”says Scott Testa, a business-administration professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

“Consumers have nothing to lose,” he adds. “If you have money to spend, you will get as good a deal as you will ever see.”

Wal-Mart and Best Buy both advertise price-matching. To take advantage of it, shoppers should arm themselves with mailers and inserts before hitting the stores.

“Bring your laptop into the store,” Testa says. “Show them the ad you found on Amazon with a $999 price compared to their $1,050 and ask them if there is something they can do for you.”

http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_13835889

http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20091125/ARTICLES/911209864/1008?Title=How-to-get-the-biggest-savings-this-holiday-shopping-season

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091127/LIFE/911270302

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• Quoted – This year, holiday trimmings are in spending – Denver Post (scotttesta.com)

Quoted – Many stores to conduct business on Thanksgiving Day – Walletpop.com

Image by djlicious via Flickr

Many retail employees are forgoing Turkey Day with their families to offer a jump start on the Black Friday shopping mania.

According to the USA Today, Wal-Mart, Old Navy, and Radio Shack on the West Coast will entertain shoppers who decide to splurge after a hearty meal.

So will Toys R Us, says an earlier Walletpop post and Boscov’s and certain Banana Republic/ Gap stores. These retailers will join Kmart, Walgreen’s and other drug and grocery stores who began the tradition years ago.

“It’s a big trend for retailers,” said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia in a phone interview. “I think a certain percentage of the population will go and shop especially if they can beat the Black Friday crowd.”

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/11/25/many-stores-to-conduct-business-on-thanksgiving-day/

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Quoted – Retailers add tweets, pals to advertising – Houston Chronicle

Image via Wikipedia

“Hey. You there,” the message on Facebook begins.

The casual style might make it seem like something written by the pal of a Facebook user, but it’s from Staples advertising a sale.

About two weeks ago, Staples sent its Facebook fans and Twitter followers a sneak peak at some of its Black Friday deals.

This is the first year the office supply superstore has used social media to advertise during the holidays and not the last, Staples spokeswoman Amy Shandler said.

“This is where people live and spend their free time, and it’s a more conversational medium. It’s a two-way dialogue,” she said, noting that Facebook and other social media users often give their feedback on the ads.

Other chains, including J.C. Penney, Best Buy, Home Depot, Toys R Us and Sears, are embracing social media during the holidays.

Advertising on social media during the holidays — or at any time — “is very cost-effective,” said Scott Testa, professor of business at Cabrini College near Philadelphia, whose research includes retail and social networking. It is also a way to differentiate yourself, especially for the early adopters — those retailers that are among the first to have a presence on social media, he said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6739734.html

Quoted – Learning the Way of the Snow Leopard – MacNewsWorld

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When confronted with a new piece of technology, some users will jump right in, but others may want to learn from an expert how to get the most out of it. Class On Demand puts 13 lessons onto a DVD that Mac greenhorns can use straight from their new computers. However, as many vendors operating in the Apple universe have found, one of their biggest rivals may turn out to be Apple itself.

As many developers have learned, operating in the Apple universe can be an uncertain proposition because one never knows when one may be in a face off for market share with one’s benefactor. “Apple’s going to get more involved in training themselves,” Scott Testa a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia told to MacNewsWorld.

“They’re going to start wrapping around training more and more with the retail experience,” he continued. “You’re going to see stores that are larger and have a larger training component in them.”

“They see training as a business that’s complementary to the rest of the things they’re doing,” he added. “An educated customer is generally a better customer. The more educated your customers are in your products, the less chance you have of losing them.”

“That’s not going to make trainers happy,” he declared, “but the market is so large that Apple could in no way satisfy the whole demand in it.”

http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/Learning-the-Way-of-the-Snow-Leopard-68712.html

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Quoted – Ruiz Insider Trading Charge May Be Overblown – Internetnews.com

Image via CrunchBase

If AMD‘s former CEO is guilty of insider trading, he wasn’t very effective at it.

The secondary rumbles from the Gallen Management hedge fund scandal that shook AMD and the rest of the Silicon Valley this week, included the stunning news that a straight-arrow like Hector Ruiz, the company’s former CEO, would be involved in insider trading.

While Ruiz‘s tenure with AMD (NYSE: AMD) did not end well at all – he fell on his sword after several consecutive quarters of severe losses and the Barcelona processor was more than a year late, harming AMD’s relationship with OEMs –Ruiz had a solid reputation as an honest player, not given to this kind of activity.

While it doesn’t excuse the behavior, it may get Ruiz off the hook with just mud on his face and his good name. “Insider trading you lose money on, I’m not sure how that’s an advantage. Penalties are based on how much you make. If you lose money does that mean the government writes you a check?” joked Rob Enderle, principal analyst with The Enderle Group.

“That’s one way to look at it,” countered Scott Testa, professor of Business Administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. But that’s no excuse, he argues. “There was insider info and they tried to use it to their advantage and they lost money, but at the end of the day there’s still manipulation of the markets, so even though they lost money that doesn’t mean what they did wasn’t illegal.”

Enderle believes Ruiz simply spoke out of turn. “He’d been getting heat for not doing anything as CEO, I think he wanted to share this info of what he was doing as CEO,” he said. “My take is I think these execs got kind of excited about what they were doing and shared the info with the wrong people. There’s no evidence [Hector] financially benefited.”

Testa doesn’t buy it, saying most chief executives are pretty cautious in their statements. That said, he and Enderle do agree on one thing: Ruiz is hardly going to fry over this.

“They may say ‘you have a fine and cut us a check and let’s go on our way.’ I don’t see them making him a scapegoat. I could be wrong, but he lost money, is no longer serving [as CEO]. He’s not the golden ticket,” said Testa.

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3846266

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Looking for Accountant to teach Accounting for Non-Profits Class

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Looking for Accountant to teach Accounting for Non-Profits Class

I have a friend who is a dean who is looking for an adjunct to teach a class in non-profit accounting in Philadelphia area in Spring. . if you have interest email me asap thanks Scott

Quoted – Sun’s VirtualBox 3.1 Aims to Bag Enterprise Market – TechNewsWorld

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Quoted – Sun’s VirtualBox 3.1 Aims to Bag Enterprise Market – TechNewsWorld

Sun Microsystems has bumped its VirtualBox virtualization utility to 3.1 status. New features include a so-called teleportation ability, which lets users move a running VM between hosts on different OSes. Storage attachments are more flexible, and Sun says it’s made several performance enhancements.

“From a technical point of view, the teleportation feature creates virtual machines that have zero downtime during maintenance periods. This is a very big deal,” Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, told LinuxInsider.

Business Cues

The special attention that Sun Microsystems put into version 3.1 shows that it was deliberately aiming to capture the enterprise market, noted Testa.

For example, the new version has flexibility for use in a multiplatform work environment. For some businesses, not needing a homogeneous computing environment to deploy virtual machines is very important, he said.

The software works with Windows, Linux, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) OS X, Solaris, and OpenSolaris.

http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/68777.html

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Quoted – Verizon’s Tough-Guy Droid Bullies Sissy iPhone – Technewsworld

Image via CrunchBase

What’s Verizon trying to accomplish with its characterization of the iPhone as a vapid female in contrast to the testosterone-soaked Droid? Will male AT&T subscribers drop their iPhones — and their carrier — in order to prove their manliness? Will women lust after a sexy robot? Are we living in the 1960s? Has Verizon’s ad agency lost its mind?

Successful ads, particularly in the tech industry, are usually the edgy ones or the funny ones — or, best of all, both.

“Being serious and straightforward all the time is not good for the advertising industry,” said Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/68816.html

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Quoted – Sales rise, retailers optimistic – The Chronicle

Sales rise, retailers optimistic

By LOU WILIN

Retailers report stronger Black Friday sales this year than last year and they are cautiously optimistic about the rest of the Christmas season.

“So far, so good,” said Debbi Baker, store manager of Christopher & Banks, a women’s clothing store at Findlay Village Mall. “My Black Friday was better (than last year’s).”

David Lazar, store manager of Elder-Beerman at the mall, was cheerier.

“We are happy. We are very, very happy,” with Elder-Beerman’s sales numbers last weekend, he said.

National and regional research companies reported slight sales increases last weekend from a year ago.

In Ottawa, Walmart Manager Shane Sidle is patient.

“Things have been steady, steady with last year,” he said. Sales will probably strengthen in the 10 days before Christmas, Sidle said.

“The last couple of years, that is how it has been,” he said.

The recession has lowered retailers’ sales expectations, and rightly so.

“Consumers are very leery about spending money over the holidays,” said Scott Testa, business administration professor at Cabrini College, Radnor, Pa.

Retailers are coping by spreading out the shopping season. Christopher & Banks at the mall got its Christmas season inventory in early November, three weeks earlier than usual, said Baker, the manager. She even got resort wear, outfits women will wear on trips in the next season. Baker does not usually see those until mid-December.

“They kind of bulked me up, and whatever I have got, it has to go,” she said.

In Fostoria, Kmart Assistant Manager Bridget Weslow said the store’s layaway policy “is what is keeping people coming in.”

Testa said people this year are seeking more practical gifts, like tires, tools and car wax instead of, say, jewelry.

But flat screen TVs and video game systems are still hot items, Sidle said.

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Quoted – Want Free Delivery? Send It to the Store – SmartMoney

Image via Wikipedia

It’s a common conundrum of holiday shopping: Shop in the store and save on shipping, or shop online and boost the odds of finding the item you want.

Now, there’s a third option. More retailers are offering free ship-to-store service, in which customers order items online and have them sent free to a nearby store for pickup.

Why are retailers providing the service at no cost? In a year when online holiday sales are critical, a ship-to-store option can give some stores an edge over their competitors, especially web-based ones, says Scott Testa, an assistant professor of business administration at Calibri College in Radnor, Pa. (A quarter of consumers plan to do the bulk of their holiday shopping online, according to a survey by Deloitte LLP.)

“With this [service], you have the best of both worlds, online and store shopping,” Testa says. Consumers can take advantage of broader availability and cheaper prices online, without paying for shipping or worrying about delivered goods sitting unattended on the stoop all day.

Know the pickup policy

“Make sure the experience is [that] you literally walk in the store and pick it up,” Testa says. Wal-Mart has a separate Site-to-Store pickup counter, but in most other cases, users are forced to wait in line at the customer service register with everyone else looking for a refund or waiting on a complaint. Minimize the hassle by showing up early in the day, when the line is likely to be shorter, he says.

http://www.smartmoney.com/Spending/Deals/Want-Free-Delivery-Send-It-to-the-Store/

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Quoted – The unstoppable Kevin Trudeau: Infamous infomercial king is at it again – Walletpop.com

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Even if you don’t know Kevin Trudeau by name, you’ll likely recognize his face. You’ve probably seen him while channel surfing during a bout of insomnia; he’s the perfectly coiffed guy who confidently explains to one or more women on his talk show style-infomercials about having the answers for all that worries you — from illness to money.

Trudeau is a legendary figure in the world of infomercials, with a charismatic approach that has won him a legion of followers. Over the years, he’s offered us advice on how to beat cancer, improve our memory, read faster, lose weight and straighten out our finances. Now he’s onto the next life-altering topic. Trudeau is currently saturating the infomercial airwaves with 30-minute segments about his latest book: “Free Money ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About.”

Trudeau has sold millions of books that dole out his expansive range of advice. Yet, one thing his adoring fans might not realize is that the charming pitchman on the television is also a convicted felon who has been slammed with an extraordinary series of sanctions by the FTC for allegedly misleading consumers. Currently, there is a $40 million-plus fine looming over Trudeau’s head in an ongoing court battle with the Federal Trade Commission. A judge even gave him the distinction of being the only pitchman banned from doing infomercials.

Trudeau has managed to turn the constant allegations by the government into a marketing tool. The more trouble he’s in, the more he looks like a hero speaking out against a vast government conspiracy intended to silence his powerful messages. His messages, he claims, are ones that the government doesn’t want you to know. In fact, the phrase “They don’t want you to know about” is incorporated into his most recent book titles.

“It’s a testament to his sales ability and naivete of the consumer. This is a person who time and time again has been targeted by different government agencies due to unsavory business practices and continues to sell product,” said Scott Testa, a marketing professor at Cabrini College outside Philadelphia.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/12/03/the-infamous-king-of-infomercials-kevin-trudeau-is-at-it-again/

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Quoted – Talking head Baldi now an iPhone app – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Image via CrunchBase

SANTA CRUZ — A robotic voice lurches into reciting a snippet of news and a pale, bald, animated head suddenly seems alive on the iPhone of Dominic Massaro, a UC Santa Cruz psychologist.

The $4.99 iPhone application is the latest step in Baldi’s evolution since Massaro created it two decades ago. Previously, the character helped hearing-impaired kids to produce and recognize sounds, helped people learn to read and helped autistic kids recognize emotion. Baldi can recite Web sites, e-mails, books and other texts. It has been featured in Newsweek and on ABC News.

“Instead of being chained to a desktop or a laptop, it can be carried with you,” said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, who is not associated with the product. “It’s a great business decision.”

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_13915189

Quoted – How to Find a Job with Social Media Book

Image by wild.sproket via Flickr

Quoted – How to Find a Job with Linkedin MySpace Twitter and Facebook and other Social Media

This is an excellent book written by Brad and Debra Schepp. My advice as follows when it comes to posting on social media:

• Be careful of what you put on your pages

• Monitor what others put on your wall

• Don’t post anything you would not want your mother to read

Employers may go to your Facebook or other social networking pages to get an idea of your interests and personality so obviously you want to be careful what you post and you may also post those activities that are consistent with your career goals.

For example, you may want have an American Marketing Association link or information if you are a marketing major.

The four social networking sites I like the most are LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Plaxo they all bring something interesting to the table.

http://www.amazon.com/LinkedIn-Facebook-Twitter-MySpace-Networks/dp/0071621334/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260961430&sr=1-1

Quoted – FTC Sues, What’s the Fallout for Intel? – Datamation

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Quoted – FTC Sues, What’s the Fallout for Intel? – Datamation

The Federal Trade Commission‘s lawsuit against Intel isn’t earning a lot of cheers of support, except maybe from nVidia. In fact, analysts think the suit over claims that the world’s biggest chip maker used its market position to stifle competitors is late and pointless.

The FTC’s slowness isn’t the only problem. It’s also toothless. “If history tells us anything, at the end of the day, most are pretty unsuccessful. Microsoft did not get broken up. IBMBusiness Administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. did not get broke up. These big cases are generally unsuccessful,” said Scott Testa, professor of

While nVidia will be all too happy to help the FTC in the case, AMD has settled its legal beef with Intel and just received the $1.25 billion settlement. However, even if it doesn’t want to testify, it has no choice.

“They may be subpoenaed. They may not have a choice. When you get subpoenaed you don’t say ‘Hey it’s settled, we don’t want to talk about it.’ You go,” said Professor Testa.

Testa said Intel can’t be timid about such accusations if it wants to compete, nor should it. “At some point in time you have to compete. I don’t think a company should be penalized for being superior. They are an aggressive company and they shouldn’t run their business wrapped around legal ramifications. They should run their business around business ramifications,” he said.

http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/features/article.php/3853911/FTC-Sues-Whats-the-Fallout-for-Intel

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Quoted – Shop local: Think Main Street – not the mall – for holiday gifts – Enterprisenews.com

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Shop local: Think Main Street – not the mall – for holiday gifts

This holiday season, steer your car – or, better yet, your feet – toward your downtown shopping district to get those gifts.

Not only will you find more unique items than at the mall, you’ll be helping your community and neighbors thrive, saving on gas, and protecting the environment, Main Street business advocates say.

Support the community

Local business owners are a vital part of a community. They buy supplies locally, hire local services and employees, and donate a larger percentage of profits to local events and smaller organizations than box stores, said Lauren Adkins, director of field services at the National Trust Main Street Center. Owners sit on parent-teacher organizations, school boards and civic groups. A bonus: A vital downtown increases a home’s assessed value and resale price.

Save on gas

Your downtown shopping district is more centrally located and requires less gas to get to than driving to a mall, which typically is located on the outskirts of town, said Scott Testa, a business administration professor at Cabrini College in Pennsylvania who writes about retail.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/lifestyle/x1431153940/Shop-local-Think-Main-Street-not-the-mall-for-holiday-gifts

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Quoted – Pet Age Retailers Report 2009-2010 – Pet Age Magazine

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Quoted – Pet Age Retailers Report 2009-2010 – Pet Age Magazine

Pet retailing certainly has
withstood the recession better than
auto manufacturing and home building.
“People have not stopped buying things
for their pets,” said Dr. Scott Testa,
assistant professor of business at Cabrini
College (Philadelphia). “What they’ve
done, because of the recession, is change
the way they buy things for their pets.”

But as impressive as these two categories
were, the real star in 2008 was ancillary
services. In 2007, services accounted
for 11 percent of gross dollar volume. In
2008, that total almost doubled. The top
services in 2008 were grooming, boarding
and delivery, in that order. All told, 62
percent of respondents said they offered
some kind of ancillary service in 2008,
versus 60 percent in 2007.
Pet retailers say services will continue
to play an increasingly important role in
how they run their businesses. That makes
sense to experts like Testa: “Services are
becoming a point of differentiation, of
uniqueness. When you can’t compete on
price with the national retailers, you have
to find something to offer that they don’t.
And services do that. Target and Wal-
Mart aren’t going to be able to offer the
same kinds of services that independent
retailers can offer.”

http://www.petage.com/pdf/0910retreport.pdf

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Quoted – Could an Apple ‘iPad’ Make E-Readers Irrelevant? – Macnewsworld.com

Image by Farid Iqbal via Flickr

Quoted – Could an Apple ‘iPad’ Make E-Readers Irrelevant? -  Macnewsworld.com

Rumor has it Apple’s begun shopping a tablet computer — or “iPad,” as it’s been unofficially dubbed — to publishers. Would Apple’s entry into the e-book market spell doom for the Kindle, Nook and Daily Edition? Or is it more likely that an iPad might be a nice device for everything but books?

Rumors that Apple has been approaching major publishers about a content distribution deal suggest it is well-poised to make a disruptive play in the e-reader field, suggested Scott Testa, a professor of business at Cabrini College.

“I think Apple has the potential to do what they have with smartphones and music to the publishing industry,” Testa told MacNewsWorld.

One major hurdle could be standing in its way, if the rumor mills are right: The projected high cost of the Apple device could be a barrier to adoption for many enthusiastic consumers.

Unlike an iPhone, which can be had for as little as $99 up front, or a Kindle, with a base price of $259, the rumored iPad could involve an investment of $600 or more — and it could carry ongoing fees for data access, according to many reports.

“It goes from a great Christmas gift to a luxury item,” remarked Testa.

http://www.macnewsworld.com/rsstory/68932.html

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Quoted – Get Listed in Today’s Mobile ‘Yellow Pages’ – Fox Business News

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Get Listed in Today’s Mobile ‘Yellow Pages‘

A Web presence wasn’t always one of the top priorities for hometown-grown businesses, but with mobile devices now the most popular search tool for many Web surfers, those priorities indeed have shifted.

The strategies used to optimize a Web site’s visibility five or six years ago are ineffective by today’s mobile standards, according to Dr.  Scott Testa, assistant professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

“Because smartphones are location aware, the smartphone user, for all intents and purposes, is also location aware. Businesses should look at local search optimization as the ‘holy grail’ of web visibility,” Testa said.

Businesses are already starting to pay for local listings, as Google is currently test running its local services on a pay-for-play basis. In the future, most businesses will be willing to pay more for a local listing, Testa said, because they are going to see at least 20 times the return as a listing in traditional print Yellow Pages.

http://smallbusiness.m.foxbusiness.com/quickPage.html?page=20273&content=28737628&pageNum=-1

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Quoted – 10 Ways to Save Money in 2010 – SmartMoney

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Quoted – 10 Ways to Save Money in 2010 – SmartMoney

Making a commitment to save money in 2010 is the rare New Year’s resolution that is easy to keep.

After a turbulent economic year, it’s a popular one, too. A December survey from financial service firm Edward Jones found saving more money next year is the top resolution for that a third of consumers.

Haggle
“When times get tough, consumers have to get aggressive,” says Scott Testa, an assistant professor of business administration at Calibri College in Radnor, Pa. “On a high-priced item, you’re crazy if you don’t haggle.” It doesn’t take a hard-line negotiation in most cases, either – you just have to ask if there’s any chance for a better price, he says. For example, 68% of landlords said they would lower rents or give a month or more free to retain tenants, according to a recent Rent.com survey. (For good haggling opportunities to take advantage of, click here and here.)

Collective buying groups like Groupon.com serve as haggling on training wheels, offering prenegotiated discounts if a certain number of shoppers buy in.

http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/deals/10-ways-to-save-money-in-2010/

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Quoted – In recession, bridal shops sing wedding bell blues – Washington Business Journal

In recession, bridal shops sing wedding bell blues

Spring may be the beginning of the wedding season for many blushing brides, but in this recession year it also ushered in a train of bridal shop closures throughout the region, including the demise of some prominent stores.

This year has been brutal for retailers in general and particularly for purveyors of high-ticket items such as bridal dresses, said retail expert Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Philadelphia’s Cabrini College.

Although some mom and pop stores are closing because second-generation owners are not as interested in the business, Testa said others are the victims of what he called “economic Darwinism,” where only the strongest survive in a recession.

Bridal shop operators who own their buildings are finding themselves in a better position because they are not subject to rents they cannot pay, he said.

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/09/28/story10.html

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Quoted – The holiday shopping season keeps on ringing – Houston Chronicle

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The holiday shopping season keeps on ringing

For retailers, this week and next are expected to bring strong customer traffic as consumers hunt for discounts.

Nationally, retailers saw a 2.3 increase sales for the week ending Dec. 26 compared with last year, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs.

Gift cards

Many consumers are in stores this week using gift cards they got for Christmas.

Retailers like gift cards because they drive customer traffic and people often spend more than the value of the card once they’re in the store, said Scott Testa, professor of business at Cabrini College near Philadelphia.

Consumers regularly lose gift cards, he noted, which also benefits a chain’s bottom line.

“My advice to consumers is use it or lose it,” Testa said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6791488.html

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Quoted – Dicas do ‘Wall Street Journal’ para economizar em 2010 – Estadao.com.br

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Dicas do ‘Wall Street Journal’ para economizar em 2010

A coluna eletrônica “Smart Money” do diário nova-iorquino The Wall Street Journal traz nesta segunda-feira dez dicas para economizar dinheiro em 2010. As sugestões foram pensadas para os moradores dos Estados Unidos, mas pelo menos seis delas podem ser aplicadas no Brasil.

Pechinche – “Se o produto é caro, é louco quem não pechincha”, disse ao WSJ o professor Scott Testa, do Calibri College. Muitas vezes, basta perguntar se existe uma chance de pagar menos no produto e o vendedor cede, segundo o jornal. Por exemplo, uma pesquisa mostrou que 68% dos proprietários de imóveis baixariam o aluguel para reter o inquilino (vale lembrar que o levantamento foi feito nos EUA, onde o setor imobiliário não tem andado bem).

http://blogs.estadao.com.br/radar-economico/2009/12/28/dicas-do-‘wall-street-journal’-para-economizar-em-2010/

Rating my Predictions for 2009 – Looking 2010 – KFed and Britney still not together. .

Image by Express Monorail (vacation) via Flickr

• Many Newspapers continue to struggle those that have high debt levels will consolidate, retrench through bankruptcy, or good old liquidation. .continue trend of starting to limit home delivery or not produce “physical paper” and go with pure web strategy like the Christian Science Monitor.

B – Right on this “old” media is dead . . release of new ereaders like Apple‘s ISlate or whatever it is going to be called. . continues to kill physical newspaper companies. . Amazon will release a color screened Kindle by year end. .

• Yahoo gets bought – Maybe News Corp, maybe Disney, probably Microsoft. This train wreck has got to end. (What was Jerry Yang and the board thinking when they rebuffed multiple offers from Microsoft?)

B- – Microsoft tried then did search deal. . .whatever next party is over . . Google has won. .

• Facebook blows away MySpace Already happening MySpace is the Yahoo toFacebook’s Google . . .Niche social networking like Linkedin find place and start to chip at dominance of “general” social networking sites.

A- – No brainer

• Android becomes more prominent Google’s open source smart phone OS challenges major phone Operating Systems with the exception of Apple’s Iphone.  Google releases smart phone with major carrier that is free and is supported by advertising. Android powered Netbook released by year-end

B – yes and no . . before my time with free Google phone but will eventually happen

• Iphone becomes more dominant moves into second spot behind Nokia for the most handsets shipped 2009. Apple release Iphone nano smaller, more compact, cheaper

B- – no Iphone nano but keeps whipping more and world best-selling smart phone

• Twitter becomes hottest and most prevalent new social networking technology

A – yep right on

• RFID technology begins to take hold in retail starts to supplement bar code technology to enhance retail experience. .ie checkout and inventory control. Huge shot in the dark without Wal-Mart this will never happen this is an idea whose time has come but will probably be pushed out a few years.

D- Wrong too early. . buy some more time will happen. .eventually

• Google tries to make big social networking push (again) via its own technology or through a variety of in house development and key acquisitions (Twitter)

F- Still struggling in this area. .no key deals

• New Apple products will include Netbook, New Mac Mini, and Iphone Nano

D – Tablet coming

• Hottest Retailer – Justice

B – yep for tweens -but these are probably hotter. .  Aeropostale . .Hollister. . Pacsun. . Juicy Couture. .really like  Forever 21 and Tilly’s

• Big Three turns into Big Two Ford has legs, Chrysler has no value with the exception of Jeep division and Hemi technology, GM who  knows  . . . but if they were smart they would jettison US operations and focus on international.

B – Chrysler now owned by Fiat, GM is a shell and Ford by far the strongest and still has legs

• Real Estate market through most of the US gets worse before it gets better no recovery until spring 2010 at earliest. Although I do see Obama administration switch some focus of bailouts from big companies to homeowners who are in danger of foreclosure.

A – Obama administration stepped up with tax incentives and low interest rates. .

• Brittany and Kfed reconcile and become greatest husband-wife team since Sonny and Cher

F- Sorry . .what can I say. .

Predictions 2010

1. Location aware technology becomes huge. .  serving up ads and social networking . . to name a few . .Twitter and Facebook location aware posts going to happen this year. . providers will know where you are and serve up some really cool . .apps and services
2. Hottest Retailer. . Slow Growth . .Privately owned but very cool store. . Tilley’s . . . Southern California cool. .combined with discipled financials and expansion strategy. .
3. Green  continues to be hot. .  Solar cheaper. . Chinese manufacturer’s continue to make cheaper and cheaper cells squeezing other manufacturers. .wind is big. .  solar will be bigger. .
4. e-commerce continues to grow . .but. . .consolidation starts happening. . would love to see Amazon buy Ebay. .but may have anti-trust issues. . Amazon continues to dominate and make good acquisitions like Zappo’s this year.. . will continue to grow. .  nobody can beat Amazon online including Wal-Mart. .  this year. .  after 2010 . .look for Wal-Mart going straight at them. .
5. Google phone coming sold directly by Google over T-Mobile network . .Motorola and other partners not happy but no other alternative. .  continue to get beaten in smart phone market by Apple
6. Apple in US brings in other partner for network other then ATT. . I say Verizon. . total long shot is Sprint Nextel. . which in turn may be bought by Comcast in 2010. . maybe T-mobile gets bought by Google. .maybe antitrust issue but would be very cool. .and allow Google to deliver universal WiMax type of service to United States. .
7. Google Chrome OS released . . Chrome browser continue to take market share. . hurt Microsoft and Firefox but biggest casualty will be Safari and MacOS . . this year
8. Apple tablet released. . Color screen Kindle released. .eventually be two horse race between Apple and Amazon. . in tablet. . ereader category
9. KFed gets back in action. .  gets back in shape and cleans up. . and reconciles with Britney. .

Happy New Year. . .

Quoted – Beyond the Nexus: Does Google Have More Android Goodies Tucked Away? – Linuxinsider.com

Beyond the Nexus: Does Google Have More Android Goodies Tucked Away?

Google seems to have held little back about its Nexus One smartphone, if leaked documents are the real deal. That has led to speculation that it may have more surprises in store for its Android-related press event scheduled for next Tuesday. Changes to the open source mobile operating system, perhaps? More handsets built by other manufacturers?

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) will be introducing its Nexus One smartphone device next Tuesday, it appears certain. Not that Google has said as much: All the the company has announced is that it will hold an “Android related” press conference on Jan. 5, a day identified in prior rumor accounts as the Google phone’s launch date.

It Feels Right

Everything about the announcement — the timing of it, prior leaks about the strategy , and the expected Tuesday preview — makes sense.

“They are being smart announcing it before CES,” Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College, told TechNewsWorld.

There will almost certainly be several mobile announcements of comparable excitement value at the conference, he suggested. “The future of computing is mobile — the industry knows that and is moving towards it.”

Former Partners?

The only surprise left is how — or whether — Google intends to soothe its Android partners’ bruised feelings, said Testa. “This is something that could easily cause a rift with partners that took a chance on Android, invested in it, only to see Google compete with them. If I am Motorola (NYSE: MOT) or T-Mobile, I would not be happy right now at all.”

Google appears to have no shame, however, he remarked. “If anything, this shows it is willing to go aggressively after the markets it wants.”

Still, it will probably want to make some kind of overture to keep its partners happy, he said.

http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/Beyond-the-Nexus-Does-Google-Have-More-Android-Goodies-Tucked-Away-69007.html

Quoted – How to Negotiate Just About Anything – The Faster Times

Image by Ikhlasul Amal via Flickr

Unlike Time Warner and Fox executives, or Democrats and Republicans, most folks eager to build personal wealth need skill in personal negotiations. Most days bring a boss who won’t approve a project, a store that won’t accept a returned product, or a child who refuses to clean up. And most situations can end with both sides happy (enough). Here’s how.

Take emotion out of the equation

However, says Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College, be prepared to walk away. “When you show emotion, it shows fear,” he explains. On that score, you can prosper by finding ways to disarm the adversary with cool.

What you don’t want to do, is to leave the table with a win-at-all-cost, says Testa. Be graceful. Go for the win-win.

And be ready to talk about just what “winning” means.

http://thefastertimes.com/personalfinance/2010/01/04/how-to-negotiate-just-about-anything/

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Quoted – Cisco/Taser Partnership Shows Private Cloud Hopes – Internet Evolution

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Cisco/Taser Partnership Shows Private Cloud Hope

The ambition is breathtaking: Using tools from Taser International Inc. (primarily a tiny camera worn on a police officer’s head), networking pipes from Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), and a private cloud built by Equinix Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), Evidence.com means to do nothing less than revolutionize street law enforcement by capturing and saving every important moment in a cop’s day. From arguments over speeding tickets through live-action footage of shootouts, the intent is to record it, then uplift it to a private cloud, all the time ensuring that the footage cannot be altered in any way by the police officers involved. This means the data becomes evidence that can decide how court cases play out. So for Cisco, Taser, and Equinix a lot is riding on Evidence.com. If it works, that’s a shining proof of a new model of service that delivers benefits by turning real-world data into usable information — all without requiring capital expenditure on the part of the user. But might it not work? Scott Testa, an assistant professor at Cabrini College and a longtime technology guru, says that “in theory” the Evidence.com offering “makes sense,” in large part because it plays into the reality that most police departments budget meager sums for IT. Buy the service in a package, using federal money, and that solves a local department’s IT problem.

http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=852&doc_id=186281&f_src=internetevolution_gnews

Quoted – Late holiday boost a welcome gift for retailers – Houston Chronicle

Late holiday boost a welcome gift for retailers

Last year was not one to remember for most retailers, but many of them at least had a solid holiday season finish.

A robust December helped boost overall sales for the 2009 holiday season —the months of November and December — to a higher-than- expected 1.8 percent increase over last year, according to figures released Thursday by the International Council of Shopping Centers.

While 1.8 percent may seem modest, it is a great improvement over the 2008 holiday season when sales fell by 5.6 percent.

Also Thursday, many chains released sales results for December, and among the chains showing year-over-year increases were Macy’s, Target, Costco, Sears and Nordstrom.

“Large retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us and Amazon helped drive December sales by offering very good discounts,” said Scott Testa, professor of business at Cabrini College near Philadelphia.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6804365.html

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• Quoted – The holiday shopping season keeps on ringing – Houston Chronicle (scotttesta.com)

Quoted – D’oh . .Lessons from the Simpsons! – ASI Central

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Quoted – D’oh . .Lessons from the Simpsons! – ASI Central

The
show’s popularity across a large
demographic is perhaps the biggest
draw for marketers, says
Dr. Scott Testa, a professor at
Cabrini College. “The pop culture
appeal is multigenerational.
It crosses a lot of demographics.”

Plus, the Fox franchise has
proved it’s no flash in the pan.
That can’t be said for many
other entertainment properties.
“Twenty years is a testament
to how good the show is,” says
Testa. “Who wouldn’t want to
partner with a show that has that
kind of timeline?”

http://www.asicentral.com/html/open/news/successfulpromotions/jan10/pdfs/lessonsfromthesimpsons.pdf

Girl Scout Cookies for Sale – Free Delivery

Image by Kurt Magoon via Flickr

I know this is not a business oriented post but. . .My girls are selling girl scout cookies if you have some interest let me know . . will deliver free in Philadelphia area. . if you buy more than 5 boxes I will adjust my weekly schedule and actually brush my teeth and shower before delivery. . .although I cannot guarantee I will shave, wear deodorant, put on clean clothes or brush my hair.

My email is stesta97@gmail.com

PS. . .  the thin mints are to die for . . .

Quoted – Confidence rises, inventories return to normal, but retail sales fall – Medill Reports

Quoted – Confidence rises, inventories return to normal, but retail sales fall – Medill Reports

Consumer confidence rose, inventories returned to normal, but retail sales fell, according to various reports released Thursday.

Despite the importance of retail sales figures in measuring recovery from the recession, the modest seasonally-adjusted drop of 0.3 percent in December won’t necessarily have a negative effect on the public’s perception of the economy, said economics professor Scott Testa of Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “One or two reports will not have a marked effect on people’s perception. Consumers are seeing a series of positive signals and because they make up 70 percent of the economy, consumer confidence is invariably good for all of us.”

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=153713

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Job Postings for College Students

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My name is Sara Duncan and I work for RALLY Marketing Group.  We’re working with Naked Juice to put together a promotions campaign to run February- April at college campuses across the US.  We’re looking to recruit 2 current students from Cabrini that love Naked Juice and want to help promote the brand on campus, and I’m hoping you may be able to get the word out.  This is a part-time, paid contract position, (3 days of work plus time spent on Face Book).

This is a great opportunity for students that want to gain real experience working on a marketing campaign or just want to have fun on Facebook, run sampling events and get paid for it!  We’re actively recruiting students now to begin the contract on February 1, 2010.  Please let me know if you’d like more information and feel free to pass along my contact information to interested students.  I can provide them with the details on the contract opportunity and how to apply.

Please feel free to distribute the attached job ad and post the flyer.  Students can apply directly by pasting the below link in to their browser:

http://rally.submit4jobs.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=83079.viewjobdetail&CID=83079&JID=80822&BUID=” target=”_new

I really appreciate your time.

Sara Duncan, PHR
HR Specialist  //  RALLY  MARKETING  GROUP

………………………………………………………………………………….

ph  206 219 0024   fax  206 219 0021
www.rallygroup.com

Hi Everyone!

I hope your new year is off to a great start!  At FolioFLY we’ve been listening to everyone’s feedback and working to make our site work better for you in 2010.

One of our newest and most requested feature is you can now post comments on each project we publish. So if you have a question or need more information to decide if a project is right for you, you can post it right there.

Our site is still a work in progress, BUT for today we have 2 new terrific PAYING, work from home projects to share.  Both projects are with a student recommended Project Manager who has successfully worked with FolioFLY student members since November 2009:

Project 1: Help design and develop a student training program - Superior English skills a MUST! College students only. For all the details goto http://bit.ly/609M0Z

Project 2: Hand out and collect feedback surveys to fellow students – Get paid $100 to hand out and collect 100 surveys ($1.00 per completed survey) for a new educational company. No experience necessary.  High School AND College students may apply. For more details goto http://bit.ly/84hl9w

Again, both projects are with a highly experienced Project Manager who has worked with our FolioFLY student members before. Please feel free to forward this email to help someone get paid work experience built around their school schedule, or apply yourself by emailing me at sperilli@foliofly.comafter you’ve read the project details.  LMK if you’d like to be considered for one of the spots before they’re gone!

Look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sandra Perilli

FolioFLY LLC, Founder

www.foliofly.com

P: 201-410-4320

Quoted – Military under Fire for Biblical Gunsights – Marketplace Radio

Military under fire for biblical gunsights

The military is scrambling to decide what to do about some of the gunsights it’s been buying for the Army and Marines. References to biblical passages are inscribed on them.

There is a long tradition in the American military of soldiers and sailors inscribing personal messages on their weapons. Whether its tanks or airplanes or the bombs that they drop. That is soldiers doing the inscribing, not manufacturers, which is why the Pentagon is scrambling to decide what to do about some gunsights it’s been buying for the Army and Marine Corps.

Cabrini College business professor Scott Testa says using Christianity in marketing isn’t unusual, though doing it on military weapons is.

“You’ll have everything from real-estate agents, insurance agents, retailers, where they’ll actually quote Scriptures in their marketing materials.”

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/01/20/pm-god-and-guns/

Quoted – Motorola breakup expected, but when? – Medill Reports

Image via CrunchBase

Motorola breakup expected, but when?

Analysts agree Motorola Inc. still needs to shed its iconic but unprofitable handset phone division, but whether the company will become leaner this year is uncertain.

“When you have such a small market share you need to have something unbelievably hot,” said Scott Testa, a professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia and an expert on the wireless industry. “A lot of other manufacturers are coming out with Android phones. That’s not going to take them to the Promised Land.”

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=154119

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Quoted – UAW officials expect third shift, hundreds of new jobs to be added at General Motors’ Flint Truck Assembly Plant – Flint Journal

Image via Wikipedia

UAW officials believe a third shift — and about 750 new jobs — are coming to General Motors‘ Flint Truck Assembly Plant by the close of this year, a potentially huge shot in the arm for Genesee County’s economy.

“I believe we’re going to get a third shift,” said UAW Region 1-C Director Duane Zuckschwerdt, who said the additional workers could be on the job as early as spring.

Zuckschwerdt is the highest-ranking UAW official based in Flint and isn’t alone in his opinion. Detroit-based UAW International Vice President Cal Rapson and Dana Rouse, shop chairman at UAW Local 598, which represents hourly truck plant workers, have also told The Flint Journal that they expect to the job boost at some point in 2010.

GM spokesman Tom Wickham said it is premature to talk about the need for an additional shift but there are reasons to believe union leaders have strong grounds for their optimism. Among them:

• An important new product: Test assembly of GM’s light-duty crew cab pickup could start here by April with full production about July 1, Rouse said. Last year, the plant lost its  medium-duty commercial truck business when GM stopped making its GMC TopKick and Chevrolet Kodiak trucks but continued to build Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks here. It remains GM’s sole producer of heavy-duty crew cab trucks

• New investment: The company announced in September that it was investing $21 million in the plant to allow it to produce the light-duty trucks that have been built in Mexico. Wickham confirmed Friday that GM has quietly invested another $6.5 million in Flint Truck since then, allowing it to move a motor line and free up more room for production.

• Lower labor costs: Auto analyst Erich Merkle of autoconomy.com said GM is finding out that building vehicles in the U.S. makes sense in its post-bankruptcy life. New concessions from the UAW, including relaxed work rules and lower wages, “make the U.S. look much more appealing” than it did just a year ago.

• A visit from the big guy: It’s never a bad sign when the company chief executive officer shows up for a friendly visit, which is what happened when CEO Ed Whitacre spent several hours inside Flint Truck in December, his first visit to a GM plant since becoming CEO.

• A more optimistic outlook for truck sales. Merkle said he expects an increase in truck sales in 2010 just as he expects a slight uptick in home construction. He is among those analysts who believe there is a strong correlation between the two activities.

Scott Testa, an auto industry consultant and business professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, said demand for trucks will rise as the economy improves.

“Manufacturers have a vested interest in protecting that (truck) turf. Historically, pickups have been very good to the U.S. auto industry,” Testa said. “Ford and GM generally do well in that category.

“There’s very good profit and the foreign makers have not made as deep an impact” as they have on cars.

http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2010/01/general_motors_is_mum_but_uaw.html

Quoted – Wal-Mart’s Event Planner – Portfolio.com

Image via Wikipedia

Wal-Mart‘s Event Planner

The company that Wal-Mart chose to take over promotions at its Sam’s Club stores, at a cost of about 10,000 jobs, is already almost exclusively devoted to serving the Bentonville, Arkansas retail giant.

Shopper Events LLC already manages events like product demonstrations and tastings at Wal-Mart’s flagship retail stores. According to its website and Linked-In profile, its mission is: “to apply a standard of excellence to the in-store event in order to increase customer demand, align with key branding initiatives and enhance the shopping experience at Wal-Mart.”

Wal-Mart has been looking to cut costs at Sam’s Club, which is the second-largest warehouse club store chain in the nation, to Costco.Scott Testa, a retail expert with Cabrini University, pointed out that Costco already outsources its event planning as well.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2010/01/26/wal-mart-event-planner/

Quoted – Can Apple’s tablet spark a textbook revolution? – ESchool News

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Can Apple’s tablet spark a textbook revolution?

Can the release of Apple’s eReader tablet do for textbooks what the iPod did for music: combine an online store for purchasing books with sleek hardware that holds every text a student needs?

That’s the question many educators are asking as anticipation of Apple’s new tablet mounts.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is widely expected to unveil his company’s eReader Jan. 27 in San Francisco, and industry insiders expect the product to have a large touch screen that is smaller than a laptop screen but larger than an iPhone.

Education technology advocates say students’ allegiance to Apple and the familiarity of buying music or applications from the company’s online store and downloading those purchases on an iPod or an iPhone could make the new Apple tablet an instant hit on campus.

“This is huge for electronic print,” said Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College near Philadelphia who tracks campus technology trends. “Ten years from now, the idea of having a physical textbook is going to be very limited. … I really think just having the ecosystem in place for content delivery will be a very appealing aspect for consumers.”

In what technology analysts say is a response to the buzz about Apple’s tablet, Amazon recently announced that developers outside the company could begin making programs for the Kindle—the same way Apple officials encourage outside development of iPhone apps.

Testa said even if the Apple tablet is similar to the Kindle DX, college students could flock to the product simply because it sports the largely beloved Apple logo.

“I think from a marketing perspective, Apple is a spiritual brand,” he said. “Students will buy it based upon their prior experience with Apple. … That can’t be overstated.”

If Apple’s tablet propels the popularity of eBooks the way iPod did for online music, Testa expects illegal web sites for downloading textbooks to proliferate.

This would follow a pattern established with the rise of illegal music downloading sites on campuses to avoid the costs of the iTunes store, and it could create more headaches for university IT officials who have struggled to stop illegal downloading on campus.

“The Limewire of books is coming,” Testa said, referring to the popular illegal music site. “You can count on that.”

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/01/26/can-apples-tablet-spark-a-textbook-revolution/

Quoted – Valentine’s Day War of the Roses – How to buy flowers for Valentine’s Day – SmartMoney

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Quoted – Valentine’s Day War of the Roses – How to buy flowers for Valentine’s Day  - SmartMoney

Getting a good deal on flowers this Valentine’s Day requires that you not linger too long when you stop to smell the roses.

In times of high demand, not all flower sellers are created equal, says Scott Testa, an assistant professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pa. Before you order, read both recent consumer reviews and ones from Valentine’s Day last year. If you’re buying online, be sure to check the fine print to see if the bouquet will come pre-arranged by a local florist or shipped in a box from the grower, he says. The latter can be cheaper, but it usually entails do-it-yourself arranging and may not include a vase.

Read more: Valentine’s Day War of the Roses (Page 2 of 2) at SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/Spending/Deals/Valentines-Day-War-of-the-Roses/?page=2#ixzz0eHuMMy1F

Quoted – When A Homeowner’s Best Move Is Turning Over The Keys – Forbes

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When A Homeowner’s Best Move Is Turning Over The Keys

If the lousy economy has got you struggling to make your mortgage payments, there’s a good chance you’ve entertained at least a passing fantasy about turning in the keys and closing the door on your housing woes.

One group that has caught on to the financial sense of walking away is retirees. Some elderly homeowners who borrowed against homes in the Northeast to buy second ones in Florida have been allowing their older homes to fall into foreclosure, notes Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. That strategy makes sense, however, because Florida’s homestead exemption law prevents creditors from forcing the sale of in-state properties.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/01/homeowner-foreclosure-keys-personal-finance-real-estate-advisor.html?boxes=Homepagelighttop

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Quoted – AOL Back in Black – Ecommerce Times

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AOL Back in Black

AOL posted a slim profit during its first quarter on its own again, even though its revenue was down from a year ago, and subscriptions continued their sharp decline. Cost-cutting — particularly by reducing its workforce — is credited for the improvement.

AOL’s profit could also be attributed to some savvy financial management — at least from the perspective of shareholders.

It significantly reduced its headcount as it launched.

“Employees are usually the biggest expense for these companies, so that was a smart move,” noted Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/AOL-Back-in-Black-69263.html

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Quoted – Costco sails on while Walmart’s Super plans stall – Lodi News Sentinel

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In Lodi, the community has virtually rolled out the red carpet in anticipation of the Costco that could soon be built in the Reynolds Ranch center.

Meanwhile, attempts to construct a Super Walmart on Lower Sacramento Road and Kettleman Lane have been met with bitter resistance for the better part of a decade.

What is the difference?

However, one professor understands that this is a situation where perception and reality are the same thing.

Scott Testa, a marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, said the public’s beliefs about the two companies are shaped by how they treat both employees and customers.

“Costco has an image portrayed as not anti-union because it pays its workers better and their health benefits are better,” he said.

He said he isn’t attacking Walmart or hyping Costco, but merely stating the public perception.

“It is what it is,” he said.

http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2010/01/30/news/2_costco-walmart_100130.txt

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Quoted – Consumer credit contracts at slower pace – Medill Reports

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Consumer credit contracts at slower pace

December’s consumer credit figure, released by the Federal Reserve Board Friday, declined by $1.8 billion to $2.46 trillion from about $2.47 trillion in November, a drop of 0.07 percent. This follows a 0.5 percent drop of $13.8 billion in October. The drop in December was well under the $10 billion contraction estimated by economists in a survey by Bloomberg LP.

“I think things are starting to loosen,” said business professor Scott Testa about the nation’s overall credit market. But Testa, of Pennsylvania’s Cabrini College, cautioned that an improvement of credit would be slow.

“It’s not stuff that happens overnight,” he said.

Revolving credit, which includes credit card financing, continued to slide, falling another $8.5 billion to $866 billion from $875 billion in November, a drop of almost 1 percent. This follows a 1.6 percent drop of $13.8 billion from October.

“It’s all about the jobs,” Testa said of the drop, emphasizing that the figure reflects the weak job market, consumer spending and the remaining but decreased fear banks have about lending.

“It’s an indication that banks are nervous about extending credit,” he said.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=155826

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Internship Position

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Subject: Potential Paid Communications Internship – National Music Org

Hi Scott,

Hope your day is off to a great start!

Wanted to let you know I met with a VERY reputable and nationally recognized company today based in South Jersey, that is looking for an intern who can commute to their location right outside of Philly, about 3 days a week, for 3 hours each of the days.  This will be a paid position with a stipend of $500 per month.  I don’t believe there is academic credit for this, just great experience, new business connections and pay.

- Responsibilities will include assisting their Communications Department Head with various office and phone tasks.

-  Working knowledge of Photoshop and Excel is required

-  Understanding of WordPress functionality is preferred, but not required

-  Internship will officially start March 01, 2010 and go thru May 2010.

-  There is a potential the intern may be needed at the group’s annual gala event in Chicago (May 14-17), but that’s TBD given company budget and needs.  (Note – Event draws some interesting celebrities!)

Since this internship is coming down the pipe fast, I just wanted to give you a heads up.  If you know of anyone who may be interested in learning more about the opportunity as details are confirmed, they can email me directly at sperilli@foliofly.com.

If you have any questions of things I may have overlooked, please just LMK.

Quoted – Smart Spending: How to Save on Valentine Flowers – ABC News

Image via Wikipedia

Smart Spending: How to Save on Valentine Flowers – ABC News

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that prices of red roses increase right before Valentine’s Day. But Romeos on a budget don’t have to fall prey; they just need to act fast, now that Valentine’s is only three days away.

Ordering online from sites that work directly with growers is generally the best way to save on Valentine roses. You can get up to 30 percent off — and often get fresher flowers, says Scott Testa, assistant professor of business administration at Cabrini College, in Radnor, Pa. Just remember you’ll usually have to arrange them yourself.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wirestory?id=9807718&page=1

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Quoted – Motorola’s Super Bowl ad is the beginning of a targeted marketing push

Image by mbrubeck via Flickr

The Super Bowl Sunday ad featuring actress Megan Fox is a part of Motorola Inc.’s new push to match its upcoming mobile device offerings to specific customers, company officials said.

Rather than seeking a single new blockbuster like its 2003 Razr to regain market share and profitability, Motorola is taking a different approach and is expected to release 20 Android-based devices this year, each intended to appeal to a different demographic or geographic market.

Scott Testa, a professor and wireless industry expert at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, said the company can’t reach profitability piecemeal, but rather needs a huge hit like Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

“It’s hard for a company with stodgy, not-so-stylish phones to change their image immediately. You have to have a really great product,” Testa said. “There’s so many different things out of Motorola’s hands. You really have to have close to a perfect storm: the third party apps, styling and price points.”

Testa downplayed the impact marketing may have for Motorola. Though Fox may pique the interest of young men, the Devour won’t sell if the product isn’t solid as well.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=156270

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Quoted – Microsoft Trots Out Office for Mac 2011 – MacNewsWorld

Image via CrunchBase

Microsoft Trots Out Office for Mac 2011

Though Apple was conspicuously absent, Microsoft showed up at Macworld to give attendees an early look at its Office for Mac 2011 suite. The new version is more closely aligned with the Windows product, giving users who work on both OS X and Windows a more seamless transition. It also includes new collaboration tools and connectivity to Microsoft Office Web Apps.

The updates in Office for Mac were about what the market expected, Scott Testa, a professor of marketing at Cabrini College, told MacNewsWorld.

Coauthoring and collaboration, in particular, are in growing demand for these sorts of applications, he said.

“Microsoft makes so much money off the Office franchise — of course, they are going to keep up Office for Mac. It means a lot to them. Sure, the OSes get publicity, but the Office platform is what drives revenues for Microsoft.”

http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/Microsoft-Trots-Out-Office-for-Mac-2011-69330.html

Quoted – Facebook really is elementary – Tampa Tribune

Image via Wikipedia

Facebook really is elementary

He’s only a fifth-grader at Gorrie Elementary School, but already he has 190 friends. On Facebook, anyway.

Maybe because his profile says he graduated from Plant High School in 1990.

“I’m tiired :/,” reads his status update.

“Me2,” comes a reply. “K,” says another, followed by “LOL.”

And it’s growing more popular among children – especially the “between” market, those 8 to 12 years old, social media experts say.

“That’s this generation,” said Scott Testa, a marketing professor at Cabrini College near Philadelphia and the father of fifth-grade twins on Facebook. They’re there with his blessing; children this age have been “raised on computers and cell phones,” he said.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb/09/na-facebook-really-is-elementary/

Quoted – Rising energy prices lead to slight bump in January consumer prices

Image via Wikipedia

Rising energy prices lead to slight bump in January consumer prices

“I think what you’re seeing is a natural, gradual number, nothing dramatic and nothing very surprising. It was right around what most people expected,” said Scott Testa, an economics professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

As the economy climbs out of a recession and short-term interest rates remain at historic lows, much attention is being paid to indicators of inflation.

Testa said the CPI “shows that the typical consumer was not being squeezed. Seventy percent of the economy is based on consumer spending, so numbers like this, that would give consumers an advantage for spending, I think are encouraging.”

Friday’s CPI increase was minimal as compared to the 1.4 percent jump in the Producer Price Index, another inflation measure focused on prices at the wholesale level. According to Testa, the divergence isn’t very significant.

“I’d be more concerned if both numbers are dramatically up. I take it with a grain of salt when looking at one specific set of numbers over a short period of time.”

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=157639

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Quoted – Buncombe County’s 4th Walmart Supercenter: Is the war over?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Normally, a new Walmart Supercenter going up around here draws a lot of attention and excitement — positive and negative. Some folks get all riled up about traffic, while others are busting at the seams to drop their cash there.

To me that seems to me like a lot of Walmarts in a county of 230,000 people. But to Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, it seems “not unusual at all.”

“When it comes to saturation it seems like a lot, but they like to go in areas and really dominate,” Testa said. “And the Supercenter format is really what they see their future in — they see the growth in the grocery sector, and that’s where they’re building a lot of momentum.”

While a lot of retail has been smarting during the Great Recession, Walmart keeps chugging along — overall, net sales for the fourth quarter of 2010 were $112.8 billion, up 4.6 percent. Worldwide, it operates 8,416 stores and Sam’s Club locations, employing more than 2.1 million people.

But, as Testa notes, we’ve probably gotten to the point where all the businesses that would’ve have been driven out by Walmart are already gone.

Testa, the college professor, said Walmart historically is “known as the most anti-union organization that exists,” but he also noted that the company has to compete on the open market for employees, “and it’s supply and demand.”

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20100221/NEWS01/302210056

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Quoted – Eggs With That Escrow? – Hartford Business Journal

Image via Wikipedia

Eggs With That Escrow?

One day soon, finding a real estate agent to help you house-shop may be as close as a Stop & Shop supermarket. While you’re there to grab some bread and a head of lettuce, you’ll be able to shop for a spacious colonial or renovated ranch, courtesy of the ‘micro offices’ real estate brokerage RE/MAX is installing in as many as 17 New England Stop & Shops, including one in Connecticut.

uch retail partnerships provide consumers the opportunity to conveniently purchase items and services they use regularly, said Scott Testa, marketing expert and business professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

But the partnership between RE/MAX and Stop & Shop is is a bit odd, Testa said.

“Common sense says there’s not as much use for a real estate agency,” he said. “It’s not like a bank where consumers have transactions a couple of times a week. Consumers use a real estate agent maybe once every two or three years.”

Despite that, Testa said he can see consumers browsing listings if they are displayed in a way that doesn’t necessarily require interaction with a real estate agent.

“It’s all in how it’s presented,” he said.

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news12029.html

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Quoted – High-Tech Tax Subsidies Do Little Good – Heartland Institute

Image via Wikipedia

High-Tech Tax Subsidies Do Little Good

Pennsylvania’s attempts to lure high-tech companies by offering big tax incentives have brought only marginal gains, according to a new study.

The Keystone State had a net gain of 43 high-tech employers between 1990 and 2006, but a net loss of 2,850 jobs, according to the study, funded by the Pittsburgh nonprofit Heinz Endowments and conducted by a Washington nonprofit organization called Good Jobs First.

Some, though not all, of these jobs go overseas. Others go to Silicon Valley or other areas with established technology infrastructures that include potential business partners and support businesses—such as law firms—and low-cost utilities and other resources.

“I love Pennsylvania. I live and work here; it’s a beautiful state,” said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “But it’s not the center of the universe as far as technology is concerned.

“That’s Silicon Valley or, to a lesser extent, the Boston area,” he added “Most tech start-ups are small anyway, so they would have a very small tax burden. High-tech companies want a good ecosystem of technology business partners, lawyers, accountants, and talent. Despite globalization, there’s something to be said for being close to the people you are going to do business with.”

Expects States to Persist
That’s why many tech companies, including start-ups, gravitate to Silicon Valley despite a high cost of living and other expenses higher than those offered through some incentive programs, Testa said.

Yet Testa expects state governments to continue to offer targeted tax breaks because they are much easier to get approved than across-the-board corporate tax cuts.

“It’s a lot easier to use a pistol than a shotgun,” Testa said.

http://www.heartland.org/article/27129/Study_HighTech_Tax_Subsidies_Do_Little_Good.html

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Cabrini Men’s Basketball CSAC Champs!

Cabrini Men’s Basketball CSAC Champs!

NCAA‘s next. . .

Pure domination last night . .

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Quoted – iPad stoking doctor interest in tablet computers

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If the launch of the iPad has done anything, it has brought legitimacy to the tablet computer, a product that has long been considered the redheaded stepchild of computing.

It could be because of the buzz over Apple‘s latest offering, or because physicians who have grown to love their smartphones also recognize their limitations in a clinical setting. But more physicians than ever — more than 50%, according to a recent survey by Software Advice — say they are now considering buying a tablet. A separate survey by Epocrates, whose medical software has been a popular smartphone download, found that one in five physicians are planning specifically to purchase an iPad.

But experts say doctors shouldn’t jump on the iPad bandwagon without exploring other options.

But even if the device has all the features you want or need, it still might be wise to wait, experts warn.

In the survey by Epocrates, which developed a mobile drug reference tool for smartphones that it plans to expand to the iPad, 9% of physicians said they planned to buy an iPad when it is released in March; another 13% plan to buy it within a year. But 38% said they are interested but will wait for more information before finalizing their decision.

Scott Testa, PhD, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, said he thinks the 38% are doing the right thing. “I think it’s important that they probably not be the earliest adopters.” He advised waiting until Apple has “come out with the second version to make sure most of the bugs are worked out.”

“Usually the first people who adopt these products go through a little bit more pain that those that wait a little bit,” Testa said. “I think that’s true for many technology products.”

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/02/22/bica0222.htm

Quoted – Modern-day people watching

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Modern-day people watching

We are constantly peering into the lives of family, friends, strangers and even celebrities through different forms of media. Instead of sitting on a bench at the park, we’re now using the screens on our TVs, phones and computers to do our people watching.

“I think people like to live vicariously through other people,” says Scott Testa, media consultant and professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “People like situations that maybe they wouldn’t do in their own lives, but they enjoy watching other people do it.”

It’s a form of escapism from your normal life. Testa says reality shows such as Jersey Shore can be appealing because of this train wreck factor — it’s a horrible sight, but you can’t look away. He says people subconsciously compare themselves to others, so knowing our lives aren’t as bad as some people on TV is a satisfying thought.

Testa says some characters who know they’re being watched might act in ways that aren’t consistent with their regular actions. He says although some reality shows might skew actual reality and behaviors, viewers respond to the exaggerated characters because they evoke strong emotions, which translate to the screen well. He says sometimes the more outrageous the behavior, the bigger the audience.

Social networking helps us get a closer sense of someone’s personality and has amplified our natural tendency to observe, Testa says. He says there are those who like to know everyone’s business and those who like to tell everyone their business, which makes Facebook perfect for those two groups.

But knowing other people’s business is not always a bad thing. Facebook is a platform where people can share a common interest. You may discover that you have more in common with a stranger than you think.

Instead of being shackled to your computer or TV screen, location awareness technology allows you to actually meet the people you are watching.

“By nature, we’re curious. We’re social,” Testa says. “When you take a medium that allows us to be more social and more curious when it comes to the activities of others, you’re going to have an audience.”

http://www.kansan.com/news/2010/mar/04/modern-day-people-watching/

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Quoted – Consumers look to spice up home meals in the recession

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Consumers look to spice up home meals in the recession

The Spice House on North Wells Street hasn’t needed a special recipe to deal with the recession.

Traffic to the Illinois- and Wisconsin-based specialty spice store isn’t slowing, and sales are equally brisk among the business’s three main customer groups: restaurants, in-store and online.

On any given day, all six employees bustle about the shop, slowing only to offer guidance to customers filtering in and out.

In fact, nearly a dozen customers in the store one Tuesday morning say they had shopped there before. This loyal following may have prevented The Spice House from noticing any drop in sales, even as consumers tightened their budgets on other items.

“The high-end retailers, when it comes to food, have been weathering the storm well,” says Scott Testa, an economics professor at Cabrini College.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=159006

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Quoted – Tech consulting firm does well by feeding well

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Tech consulting firm does well by feeding well

Table XI LLC is a place found only by already knowing where it is.

Nestled away in the West Loop, the consulting and software development firm’s street entrance is an unmarked doorway between a restaurant and a home furnishing boutique. Inside, one climbs two flights of stairs, makes a U-turn, and climbs a final flight of stairs before happening upon the actual office, which resembles a home, complete with a cozy, couched living room and a full kitchen.

“Usually, in an economic upswing the consulting companies’ revenue will start to spike before the employment rate goes up,” said Scott Testa, economics professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

As a consulting company, Table XI is geared to solve problems for clients, but it solved two of its own problems in inspired ways: serving in-house lunches and paying a bounty on time sheets.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=159004

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Quoted – Amazon vs. Apple: Battle of the books – MSN

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Amazon vs. Apple: Battle of the books

With its new iPad, Apple is taking aim at Amazon’s core business and its Kindle book reader. Can the ‘e-tail’ pioneer keep up as books, music and movies go all-download?

Amazon.com has come out on top in the digital revolution that’s moving sales of books — as well as compact discs, DVDs and lots of other products — online.

But there’s a second digital uprising afoot, and some experts think Amazon won’t fare as well — and could lose a sizable chunk of its core bookselling business.

Any Amazon losses would likely be gains for Apple which could do to its “e-tail” rival what Amazon has been doing to brick-and-mortar competitors.

Apple’s chief weapon in this battle of online giants — the iPad — will be rolled out April 3, with preorders starting March 12. Among the many things people will be able to do with these flat touch-screen computers: download and read digital books from Apple’s new iBookstore.

One of the main reasons Apple dominates music is the popularity of its iPod players and its music-playing iPhone. Lots of companies make music players, but Apple dominates so thoroughly that “iPod” is nearly a generic term.

Though we won’t know for sure until it hits the market, with its smooth interface and bright color screen, the iPad seems sure to be a comfortable way to read books, believes Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in the Philadelphia area and an avid Kindle user. “The iPad is going to blow the Kindle away as far as ease of use and the quality of the screen,” he says.

Presenting at the American Institute of Higher Education on March 18

I am presenting my paper “How Green Marketing affects Corporate Strategy” in Williamsburg, VA this Thursday, March 18.

Quoted – Does D.C. have it in for Toyota?

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Does D.C. have it in for Toyota?

Washington stands accused of launching a self-serving witch hunt into Toyota’s spectacular fall from grace — thanks, in part, to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who warned Americans to stop driving all recalled Toyota vehicles before facts forced him to admit his advice was unwarranted. Indeed, with support from the governors of Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky and Mississippi, which all house Toyota plants, more than a few observers now wonder if public ownership of General Motors and Chrysler influenced the decision to hold congressional hearings into Toyota’s product woes.

Whatever the case, attitudes toward Toyota are clearly harsher in the States than Canada. (In this country, sales actually jumped 25% last month, despite federal rumblings about the need for a political probe.) “When people were dying from tampered Tylenol in the ’80s,” says American business professor Scott Testa, who teaches at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, “Johnson & Johnson pulled the product and gave everybody money back. And they stopped advertising. But I am still seeing ads for Toyota minivans. That’s insanity.”

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/managing/strategy/article.jsp?content=20100412_10006_10006

Help Wanted – Marketing Professor – Stevenson University

Help Wanted – Marketing Professor – Stevenson University

fashionmerchandisngjobdescription

Help Wanted – PR Internship

Image by stevegarfield via Flickr

This company has been around @3 years and is devoted to helping consumers address business complaints for any company, more quickly. He’s gotten some good press, he’s gotten some “other” press. He’s looking for a student/students to help get his name “out there”, maybe get him some interviews and at minimum be covered in a positive light by some bloggers.

I know it’s later in the school season, but if you or another teacher you know is interested in connecting with him, I believe we can even arrange a stipend for the students that assist.
sperilli@foliofly.com

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Cabrini Com. Dept. to host annual career panel of Philly Ad Club, Tuesday, April 6, 6-7:30 p.m. Widener Lecture Hall

Careers in Advertising & Communications: Where The Jobs Are! And the exclamation point is there for a reason. To proclaim that, at long last, there are signs that the outlook for jobs in advertising and communication are improving. Lots of different types of jobs in a wide range of companies are out there for students majoring in advertising, communications, marketing, and related disciplines, and these events will help you find them.

The event features a panel of advertising and communication professionals—drawn from ad agencies, media buying firms, PR firms, and media companies—discussing the questions that are top-of-mind for students, such as:

• Creative? Media planning? Account management? Sales? Digital? Public relations and promotions? Event management? What type of job is right for me?

• How do I get an internship? How do I land that first full-time job?

• What can I do to make myself a more desirable candidate to potential employers?

• What’s the best place to work? Ad agency vs. media company? Agency or in-house? Big vs. small agency? Philly vs. New York City?

And the panelists will stay around after the formal discussion to network with you and answer your questions one-on-one.

All area college students are welcome to attend.  Registration will open the week of March 22; we’ll contact you via email to let you know.

Follow Philly Ad Club Students on the Web:

We’re building an online community for Philly Ad Club Students. You can become a fan of our Facebook page and learn about upcoming events, see photos, and post your own comments. We’re also on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Students, faculty, and career services professionals—members and non-members—you’re all invited. Here’s the info you’ll need to get started:

Facebook page: Philly Ad Club Students
YouTube channel: Youtube.com/phillyadclubstudents
LinkedIn.com group: Search groups for Philly Ad Club Students
Twitter: @PACStudents

And of course, you can also contact us via email at students@phillyadclub.com.

http://www.phillyadclub.com/event_article.php?id=1659

Quoted – Sorry, friends, it’s Lent

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Sorry, friends, it’s Lent

For some Christians, giving up Facebook has become the chosen form of self-denial

Third-grade teacher Margaret Plasmier asks her students in religion class to think about the sacrifice of Jesus and use him as a model during Lent to decide what they could do without and what they can do for someone else.

She hopes her Immaculate Heart of Mary Schoolstudents will become better people because of the discipline of sacrificing something, and she hopes the same for herself.

So she’s given up Facebook.

And she’s not alone. A random survey of readers and friends found dozens who had forsaken the social networking site until Easter, raising the question: Is doing without Facebook the 21st-century spiritual equivalent of fasting?

Traditionally, fasting and other sacrifices are undertaken by Christians to prepare themselves for Holy Week, which commemorates the sorrow of Jesus’ death and the glory of his resurrection on Easter.

Many people choose to give up a vice or luxury — candy, sodas, movies, snacks, smoking — and use the money or time to help someone else.

And these technologies will evolve in unexpected ways, says Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College, in Radnor, Pa.

“We’ve only touched the surface in terms of functionality,” he says.

Today’s Facebook, he says, is like Pong — the early and simple tennis-like video game. Look how sophisticated video games have become, Testa says.

“It will be interesting to see 100 years from now how all this will change us,” he says.

He believes the positives will far outweigh the negatives, though, he says, people will need to use the technologies wisely.

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20100328/LIFE/3280312

Quoted – The Ladies’ Turn – Wall Street Journal

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The Ladies’ Turn

When it comes to house hunting, Kim Sliney is the first to admit she can be picky. The 46-year-old interior designer just couldn’t see herself living in small, chopped-up rooms. Or being happy in boxy interiors adorned with blah bathroom tiles and Formica counters. After visiting—and vetoing—37 houses, the single mom from Exeter, R.I., happened upon her just-right fit: a newly built, $350,000 home that boasted a spacious-feeling layout, killer walk-in closets and custom details like crown molding, granite countertops and a gas fireplace—for no extra charge. How did she stumble into this particular development? She was driving around in the area and saw a woman-centric sign on the entrance. “It was very intriguing,” says Ms. Sliney.

Men may think they run the world, but it’s women who are now getting the royal treatment from the housing industry. Indeed, say housing market watchers, builders are now strenuously working to win the hearts—and checkbooks—of female buyers. And with the economy punishing the sexes unevenly, single women have become an especially important force to be reckoned with in real estate. According to the National Association of Realtors, they now sign on the dotted line in nearly a quarter of all U.S. home deals—up from 14% in 1995.

And home hassles aside, skeptics say some of the marketing flurry around women is half-baked. Part of the problem, says Scott Testa, a marketing professor at Cabrini College, is that the real estate industry has been a late adopter of modern marketing techniques. Its fairly recent desire to learn what customers want simply leads to better design—like kitchens opening up into family rooms—which isn’t necessarily woman-centric. “More people like open design,” Mr. Testa says. “Whether that’s a woman preference, I don’t know that as a fact.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304871704575160112777930360.html?mod=WSJ_Commercial_sections_BuyingAndSelling

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Interviewing Skills for Success – Free Seminar at Cabrini

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Interviewing Skills for Success Free Seminar at Cabrini

Dear Cabrini Professors, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is having two seminars this month at Cabrini College, led by students of Cabrini College Chapter of SHRM.  All junior and senior business students are welcomed to attend these events. It would be greatly appreciated if you can make an announcement in your classes to help get the word out.  Below is a brief summary of the seminars. I will also stop by your office tomorrow Tuesday, April 6th in the monring to drop off flyers for any students interested in taking one. SHRM presents “Interviewing Skills for Success” Seminars. The first seminar will be held on Thursday, April 8th at 6:30pm in the Iadarola Center lecture hall . Human Resource Professionals from the Greater Valley Forge Human Resource Association (GVFHRA) will lead a discussion on the best, most effective interviewing tips that can help you ace an interview. The second seminar will be held on Thursday, April 22nd at 6:30pm in the Library Conference Room.  At this time, attendees from the first seminar will be able to practice their interviewing skills by participating in mock interviews led by Cabrini College’s senior HR students. Participants are asked to dress professionally and bring a resume. Interviews will last approximately 20-30 minutes with time for feedback commentary on what the interviewee did well and needs improvement. Thank you for helping in spread the word of these two great seminars!

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Quoted – Bottoms-up tomato gardening lucrative, but productive? – Philadelphia Inquirer

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Bottoms-up tomato gardening lucrative, but productive?

It sounds a bit like a pet rock for gardeners, but consumers seem to love the upside-down Topsy Turvy tomato planter, which has been sprouting all over the marketplace.

Bill Felknor, a folksy inventor from Knoxville, Tenn., has sold millions of his curious creations since they first appeared on QVC in 2003 – more than seven million last year alone, making it one of the most popular gardening products ever introduced.

It’s a natural – times three, according to Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College in Radnor, who grows tomatoes the old-fashioned way.

Like any consumer group, he said, a certain percentage of gardeners are on the hunt for the hot new thing. With the increased interest in home vegetable gardens, even folks with little or no green space want to get growing. And the idea of being able to do this without getting dirty or having to weed . . .

“That’s kind of the holy grail for gardeners, isn’t it?” asked Testa, who has done consulting for firms that make novelty items, produce infomercials, and sell on QVC.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/89856262.html

Quoted – Consumer credit unexpectedly declines to 3-month low

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Consumer credit unexpectedly declines to 3-month low

Borrowing by U.S. consumers decreased in February, more than economists anticipated, a sign consumers are still reluctant to take on debt without continued improvement in the job market.

Consumer credit, encompassing credit card debt and non-revolving loans, decreased $11.5 billion, or 5.5 percent at an annual rate, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.  Economists polled by Bloomberg LP estimated a decrease of only $700 million.

The February measure is just another indication that consumer spending, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of economic activity, will continue to stay put until households begin to feel more optimistic about the labor market.

Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, Pa., said that despite the encouraging news on the job front, job security is still hampering consumer spending. “People are much more frugal when they know they are going to lose their jobs, or they are already out of work,” said Testa, who pointed to the importance of credit to the success of the U.S. economy. “We are a nation of credit cards, we love buying,” said Testa. “Unfortunately that puts us in a position where we have high debt levels.”

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=162693

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Quoted – Point of Sale – Portfolio.com

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Many a retailer offer their own credit cards, hoping to lure in shoppers who may not be able to purchase in cash. But do the benefits of offering a dedicated line of credit outweigh the risks?

Go into the fitting room at a major retailer and you’ll see an ad for its own branded credit card touting benefits from cardholder special-savings days (like Tuesdays at the Gap)—promises of exclusive sales and discounts.

But with so many credit delinquencies and defaults hitting lenders, why would retailers want to expose themselves to that kind of risk? “Credit is a source of revenue,” says Scott Testa, a retail consultant and Professor of Business Administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “And most chains outsource the actual processing to larger banks. Home Depot’s consumer card, for example, is managed by Citibank. In terms of exposure, depending on how the retailer structures the deal with the bank, the stores can be minimally exposed to risk.”

“If they’re outsourcing the operation to a bank, the costs are relatively low because a major lending facility will already have financing on a major scale in place,” Testa says. “If they decide to keep it in-house, companies need to account for computers, credit processing, customer-service professionals, mailings, and other miscellaneous office supplies.”

“Since banks have been dealing with so many losses on consumer cards, they might hold stores partially responsible for costs associated with loss, especially in the case of stolen and unauthorized credit use,” says Testa referring to what’s known as “charge backs” in the industry. If a store accepted a stolen card and has a signature on file for the transactions, the credit issuer can—and usually does—share the burden with the retailer.

The other elusive element is customer service. “Since this is a service that has to be managed, it’s important that the retailer aligns with a bank or credit agency that it trusts to accurately portray the store and its values in a positive way,” Testa adds. Agents must be knowledgeable about the products sold, reflect the service standard of the company they represent, and embody its core culture, experts say.

http://www.portfolio.com/resources/2010/04/08/the-value-of-store-branded-credit-cards

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Quoted – Consumer pay a little more in March, inflation not yet problem

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Consumer pay a little more in March, inflation not yet problem

Prices paid by consumers in March rose slightly, a sign that inflation has not yet become a serious problem for the U.S. economy.

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, according to a Wednesday report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I think the Fed should keep interest rates low,” said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College. “I think to raise interest rates now would be a little premature.”

However, others think the Fed’s current policy on interest rates will be unsustainable in the future.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=162995

Quoted – PBS39 pins future on new studios The public television station is approved to build $17 million media production center

PBS39 pins future on new studios

The public television station is approved to build $17 million media production center

”Diversification of revenue is a key strategy for any nonprofit,” WITF Chief Executive Officer Kathleen Pavelko said.

But Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Delaware County, said a public television station having space doesn’t guarantee it will generate revenue. The nonprofit stations are competing with for-profit studios that are veterans at renting out space to companies and nonprofits.

http://articles.mcall.com/2010-04-09/news/all-a1_4pbs.7227345apr09_1_new-studios-videos-station/2

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Quoted – Are performance reviews a waste of time? – New York Post

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Of all the workplace rituals abhorred by employees and management alike — meetings, team-building exercises, meetings — few are as despised as the employee performance review.

Workers resent being picked apart like a frog in a high school biology class, while managers rue the time it takes away from their real jobs. Many look at employee reviews the way middle-aged folks look at their birthdays: grateful it happens only once a year.

Damn the torpedoes, many companies insist on doing them. But some experts are saying “Enough!”

Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College, agrees that “Historically, they’ve been very good in regard to evaluating and keeping workers on the right track.

“Ultimately, the reviews are not only good for the employer, but for the employees to show where they stand,” he says.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/jobs/grade_35x4nH5k3YTDlsXbcr1OiO#ixzz0lp9eTK3y

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Quoted – Powerball outmuscles Mega Millions in sales, jackpots – Philadelphia Inquirer

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Powerball is on a roll.

Wednesday’s annuity jackpot got to be gigantic – $252 million – by leaving the main rival in the dust.

Both grew for 11 drawings, but the top prize in Mega Millions rose only to $143 million Tuesday night.

When states began selling both lotteries on Jan. 31, observers wondered how they’d fare head to head.

The verdict seems to be in.

Powerball is Coke, Hertz, Muhammad Ali. Mega Millions is Pepsi, Avis, Joe Frazier.

Pennsylvania directs its proceeds, after expenses, to services for the elderly. New Jersey puts most of its lottery revenue toward higher education.

This delayed payout works to Powerball’s advantage, though, because the annuities get the large type and the bigger hype, said business professor Scott Testa of Cabrini College in Radnor.

Powerball added to this edge early last year, when it boosted its starting jackpots to $20 million, topping Mega Millions’ minimum $12 million.

“It’s probably a pretty good strategy move by Powerball,” Testa said.

But a head start doesn’t explain all of the momentum.

In early February, when Powerball’s annuity rebooted to $20 million, Mega Millions was offering $32 million ($20 million cash) and yet a half-dozen drawings later, Powerball’s annuity nudged higher, hitting $114 million vs. $112 million.

Has to be some additional appeal.

One clear edge is the Power Play. Every Powerball jurisdiction has this multiplier option, including all 37 states that now also sell Mega Millions. But players in 10 highly populated double-sales states – including New Jersey and New York – have no such option. They declined to retool and add a similar, Texas-innovated selection called the Megaplier.

While Power Play proceeds don’t directly fuel jackpots – they go toward their extra payouts, Alvanitakis said – many multiplier fans have no choice but to favor Powerball.

In addition, a Power Play ticket automatically awards $1 million to anyone who matches all the numbers but the Power Ball. The number drawn as the multiplier doesn’t matter. The Megaplier can award $1 million only when it comes up 4.

But Testa suspects the best explanation for Powerball’s apparent preeminence is much simpler:

“It’s a better name. It has better brand recognition. More people recognize what it is,” the professor said.

So just as people go into stores and ask for Kleenex or Windex when other brands will do, lottery players tend to think and say Powerball, he said.

“The name Powerball seems to resonate better with lottery players.”

“When you’re talking about gambling, you’re talking about dreams and emotion, and logic usually doesn’t come into play, believe it or not,” Testa said.

“If you really were thinking logically, you wouldn’t gamble, because you know the odds are against you.”

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20100421_Powerball_outmuscles_Mega_Millions_in_sales__jackpots.html

Quoted – 5 questions to ask before getting a credit card with an annual fee

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There’s no doubt about it: More credit card issuers are adding or increasing annual fees. But there are still plenty of no-fee options, so before you sign up for a new card with an annual fee, make sure the benefits are worth the costs.

Spurred by the Credit CARD Act and new Federal Reserve Board regulations that limit the types of fees that credit card issuers can impose, card issuers are looking to increase revenues by adding or raising annual and other fees. In fact, 35 percent of all credit card offers mailed to consumers in the last quarter of 2009 carried an annual fee, the highest percentage in the past decade, according to Synovate Mail Monitor, a direct mail tracker.

5. Have you done your research to get the best deal? If you’re looking for a new card and considering paying an annual fee, your due diligence should include comparing rewards cards that have a fee with those that don’t and calling customer service to get more information if there is something you don’t understand. Many credit cards don’t offer a lot of specific information about redeeming rewards on their websites and in mailings, so make sure you know what you’re getting into before you get a new card.

If you already have a rewards card, check periodically to make sure the benefits you originally got the card for still exist, says Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “Credit card companies generally are not in the business to advertise what they’re taking away from you,” he says.

And make sure to call your card issuer and ask them to waive the fee every year, Testa adds. “You’ve got nothing to lose,” he says. “The worst case, they say no.”

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/help/5-key-questions-credit-card-annual-fee-6000.php

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Quoted – Immigration law may cause AriZona Iced Tea to regret its name

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What’s in a name? There’s more to it than you might think as a certain New York beverage manufacturer found out recently.

AriZona Iced Tea found itself brewing in Arizona’s controversial immigration law that allow police to demand citizenship proof from people they think look like they are in the country illegally. The legislation has divided the country with one half shouting to boycott all things Arizona and the other celebrating the bold move. Caught in the mess is AriZona Iced Tea, whose only connection to it all is its name, which it shares with the state.

AriZona Iced Tea did the right thing by addressing the problem immediately and clarifying any misconceptions, said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College.

“The worse thing you could do is bury your head in the sand and hope that something like this would go away,” Testa said in a phone interview. “In today’s day and age with communication and rumors spreading so rapidly, you have to move that much quicker to address any problem head on.”

Quoted – Consumer confidence index reaches high, signaling economic recovery

Consumer confidence has reached its highest level since September 2008, another sign that the economic recovery is underway.

The Conference Board Inc.’s Consumer Confidence Index rose  5.6 points in April to 57.9 from 52.3 in March. The survey uses 1985 as a base year of 100.

It’s good news for everyone from homebuilders to store owners because higher confidence should result in more sales and consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of gross domestic product.

The persons polled who said business conditions are “good” rose to 9.1 percent from 8.5 percent a month  earlier, while those who said business conditions are “bad” declined only slightly to 40.2 percent from 42.1 percent.

The economy has been helped by tax relief legislation, said Scott Testa, an economics professor of Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “This is the first time home-buyers assistance from the federal government has driven the economy.”

Psychologically, people feel the economy is at the tail end of this recession, Testa said. “We’ve seen other numbers in check such as inflation and the sentiment is certainly more positive than it was a year and a half ago. People are less afraid of losing their jobs,” he said.

Consumers’ outlook improved from March. Those anticipating improved business conditions over the next six months increased to 19.8 percent from 18.0 percent.

The rising Consumer Confidence Index runs counter to a preliminary report on consumer sentiment released by the University of Michigan, based on a survey conducted in  mid-April, showing that sentiment declined from March to April.

While the two surveys ask similar questions, the sentiment survey is conducted via phone, while the confidence survey is conducted with written questionnaires given to more people. The full consumer sentiment report will be released Friday.

“There may not be a very statistically significant difference between last month and this month, there’s a lot of noise from month to month,” Barsky said.

The survey also suggests that while consumers are more optimistic about the job outlook, the proportion of consumers expecting an increase in incomes declined to 10.3 from 10.8 percent.

“I don’t know anyone who has received a pay increase,” Compall said.

People are still nervous, Testa said. “The big lagging indicator in any economy is usually the unemployment rate and it still hasn’t moved that much. Those indicators make people generally hesitant in some ways.”

Quoted – Target making inroads into Walmart’s base, survey finds

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Everyone loves to hate Walmart, and yet the Goliath has always been the undisputed retail leader with unbeatable prices and customer base. But could that be changing?

The other area where Target is scoring is store locations, said Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College.

“Walmart wants to be in the outskirts, where there’s not a huge population density,” Testa said in a phone interview. “Target is going where Walmart isn’t — more dense and urban locations.”

But Target still has a long way to go before it can surpass its towering opponent that offers eye-popping deals. For now it seems to be putting up a good fight.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/05/05/target-making-inroads-into-walmarts-base-survey-finds/

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Quoted – Time for a successor to Oprah? Who will it be? – Forbes

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Oprah, the media mogul who’s one of the most influential women in the world and also one of the richest, has reached a level of success that’s not easily replicated. But now that the queen of talk is pursuing a more behind-the-scenes role with The Oprah Winfrey Network, there may finally be room for a successor.

But it won’t be easy to fill her shoes. The key to Oprah’s vast wealth–Forbes estimates her net worth at $2.4 billion — has been in owning her brand. Her unique mix of drive, popular appeal and business savvy sets her apart from most mere talking heads.

“She has multiple revenue streams that allow her to leverage her brand better than anyone on this planet,” says Scott Testa, an entertainment industry consultant and marketing professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

But she’s not the only one who has extended her media empire beyond a single talk show.

Rachael Ray got her start in 2001 as a chatty cook on the Food Network’s 30-Minute Meals. Today Ray hosts a syndicated hour-long talk show, The Rachael Ray Show, in addition to 30-Minute Meals and other specials for the The Food Network; she also publishes a magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray. She’s written more than 20 cookbooks, has launched several successful food product lines and endorsements and created Yum-o, a nonprofit organization that provides food to needy families and funds cooking education and scholarships.

Testa calls Ray a “strong and interesting” candidate to be the next Oprah, adding that she’ll be especially successful if she expands her audience beyond foodies.

Could the next Oprah be a man?

Ryan Seacrest, Dr. Phil McGraw and Dr. Mehmet Oz could be considered top contenders. Now a household name, Seacrest hosts the mega-successful American Idol, hosts and produces shows on E!, has a syndicated radio show and reaches more than 3 million followers on Twitter. Meanwhile McGraw and Oz have cornered niche markets in daytime after getting their starts as experts on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Both launched hour-long talk shows that reach several million viewers per day, and have healthy online followings.

But Oprah is ultimately a feminine force, and it’s hard to imagine women connecting with these men with the same intensity. “It would be very hard for a male to do what she has done,” says Testa. “Her female audiences are very loyal to her, and they spend money on her magazine and the products she endorses.”

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100513/oprah-successor-forbes-100516/20100516

Quoted – Lower energy prices leads to cheaper cost of living; inflation still in check

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The cost of living fell slightly in April, led by lower energy prices, a sign that inflation is still in check. But prices rose in the Midwest

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday a 0.1 percent decrease in the Consumer Price Index on a seasonally adjusted basis. The index for energy dropped 1.4 percent while food prices were essentially flat, up 0.2 percent. The core index remained stable.

“As long as unemployment continues to be stubborn, I think the Fed is going to stay on the sidelines for a while,” said Wai, who predicts flat interest rates for the year.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=164844

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Wanted Students looking for Sales Position

Hi Dr. Testa, I hope all is well with you and your students! I wanted to send you a link to a great new opportunity for students seriously considering a job in sales. (Not marketing or PR, but actual selling.) The internship reports to the Director of Sales at South Jersey Magazine.  The student selected for this experience will be able to job shadow the director, AND go out on the road with experienced sales reps to learn first hand how sales are done the South Jersey Magazine way. http://foliofly.com/FindTheBestStudentTalent/2010/05/24/learn-hands-on-sales-experience-with-south-jersey-magazine/ It’s a fast turn-around time for candidates to apply, so if they’re able to get me a resume by this Wednesday, May 26 – or NO later than this Thursday morning before 1:00pm - I’ll be sure to include them in my reviews. All the best to you and looking forward to staying in touch over the summer! If you have any questions, please just let me know. Cheers, Sandy Sandra Perilli FolioFLY LLC, Founder 201-410-4320 www.foliofly.com (site in progress)

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Quoted – Apple’s Leaky Vietnamese Connection

Image by The Pug Father via Flickr

Why so many Apple leaks from Vietnam? Once again, the Vietnamese blog Tinhte has revealed what could be a real-deal upcoming Apple product. The blog recently showed a new MacBook days before Apple announced it, as well as an iPhone prototype that looks very much like the 4th-gen device Gizmodo obtained last month. This time, Tinthe has shown an iPod touch with a 2MP camera.

Since tight control over new product information is an important part of Apple’s success strategy in its markets, this latest rash of leaks — multiple fourth-generation iPhones, information on MacBooks and now this supposed iPod — must be disturbing to the company. However, it shouldn’t be surprising, according to Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

“If you’re a large company, and you’re outsourcing R&D and manufacturing, you’re going to have leaks,” he told MacNewsWorld. “That stuff is going to happen.”

While the Tinhte leaks may have minimal impact on Apple’s marketing strategy, Cabrini contended, that’s not the case with another lapse in the company’s information control: the obtaining of an iPhone prototype by the gadget website Gizmodo.

“Apple gains a lot marketing firepower from the secrecy of their products,” he asserted. “The loss of the prototype did much more damage than the other [leaks].”

While the Tinhte leaks may have minimal impact on Apple’s marketing strategy, Cabrini contended, that’s not the case with another lapse in the company’s information control: the obtaining of an iPhone prototype by the gadget website Gizmodo.

“Apple gains a lot marketing firepower from the secrecy of their products,” he asserted. “The loss of the prototype did much more damage than the other [leaks].”

http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/Apples-Leaky-Vietnamese-Connection-70042.html

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Quoted – Fast Food Keeps Pushing Value Envelope

Taking the value menu down yet one more rung, Taco Bell has introduced a $2.00 combo meal featuring a taco or burrito, medium soft drink and a bag of Doritos. The move is seen as a direct strike at popular dollar menus at McDonald’s and other hamburger chains, where three items cost $3.

Commercials that began running Sunday even poke fun at the dollar menu. Taco Bell workers and customers are seen pondering how the chain can sell three items for $2, and assume one of the items must be “free.” The actors then argue about which item the freebie is.

Speaking to Walletpop.com, Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College, said fast food chains are using these deals as loss leaders and hoping consumers stock up on fuller-margin items.

“They get you in with the $2 promotion and while people are there they hope they will spend money on other areas such as some extra guacamole and up-sell them on those products,” he said.

http://www.retailwire.com/news/article.cfm/14514

Quoted – Leading indicators drop, experts still expect “sluggish” economic growth

Image by Colin Gregory Palmer via Flickr

The Conference Board reported Thursday the Leading Economic Index fell 0.1 percent in April, the first drop in a year, after a 1.3 percent gain in March and a 0.4 rise in February.  Nevertheless, economists still expect slow but steady economic growth in the months to come.

April’s dip is a sharp contrast with the year-earlier month, when the index rose 1 percent following consecutive decreases in the previous six months.

The Conference Board is a business-supported research organization. Its Leading Economic Index, composed of 10 economic indicators, is designed to predict economic activity. Typically, three consecutive LEI changes in the same direction usually reflect a turning point in the economy.

“I think we’re starting to make some headway,” said Scott Testa, an economics professor at Cabrini College in Philadelphia. “It’s going to be a steady slow climb. We’re not going to see anything dramatic, however, until fall, or maybe until 2011.”

The most influential lagging indicator is the unemployment rate, Testa said, which is “probably what the Fed looks at most for the inflation rate.” He continued, “When the Fed sees momentum, it’s going to start looking at raising interest rates again.”

Testa has a hunch that consumers will see inflation occur in oil and energy. “Energy has been kept in check two to three months, but the summer driving season combined with the Gulf situation is going to cause a small blip in prices and have long term affects on the price of food.”
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=164935

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Quoted – A good fit in the market is key for clothes sellers

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What odds for survival would you have given the men’s store Mortar when it opened in March?

The store sells denim jeans from $189 to $330. Shirts are $100 to $220. The designer boutique is not on Post Oak Boulevard — it is in Montrose. And while the economy is picking up, the apparel retail industry is far from booming.

But for co-owners Iris Siff and Sacha Nelson, it’s a fine time to be in retail. They have already made plans to move their less than 3-month-old store at 1844 Westheimer to a nearby space almost three times the size.

If their initial solid business is an indication, the owners found a winning formula by focusing on upscale contemporary casual attire — they don’t sell suits — for men in their 30s and 40s while offering the same level of service one finds at a high-end store selling business clothes. Most of their lines are exclusives from emerging designers.

For a concept like Mortar to work, it does not have to reach large numbers of men, but it does need to convince its targeted shopper that what it offers is unique and relevant to his lifestyle, said Scott Testa, professor of business at Cabrini College near Philadelphia.

“If you can identify a really specific segment of the market and understand it and gain traction through word of mouth, you can explode,” Testa said. “As the saying goes, ‘There’s riches in niches.’”

For such businesses “there’s less price pressure because they’re looked upon as having things that are unique,” he said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7027714.html

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Quoted – National initial jobless claims fall for second straight week; Illinois’ claims rise

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits last week fell 10,000 from the week prior, its second straight week of decline, as the economy continues its flirtation with expansion.  Initial jobless claims for Illinois increased, however, as the state’s employment picture remained dreary.

The advanced seasonally adjusted amount of initial jobless claims was 453,000 for the week ended May 29, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday, down 10,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. That was slightly lower than economists surveyed by Bloomberg LP were expecting.

“This is going to be a long-term trend,” stressed Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.  Testa was hesitant to draw positive conclusions from this week’s report, suggesting employers are unlikely to boost their hiring until 2011.  “Very little hiring gets done during the summer,” he said, though he expects a hiring “uptick” in January and February.

The residential real estate market is still hurting, Testa said, and housing “touches a lot of points in the economy,” since it is indicative of consumer confidence and spending.

Yet, the retail industry is showing some positive signs, Testa said.  ”The real litmus test is going to be the holiday season shopping,” he said.

Quarterly data on jobless claims is a stronger indication of the employment outlook, Testa asserted, because weekly numbers are constantly being revised.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=166271

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Quoted – Continued jobless claims drop 255,000; experts not optimistic

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The number of people collecting continued unemployment benefits dropped by 255,000 in the week ending June 5, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

According to the report, 4.5 million people filed continued insurance claims for unemployment, the lowest level since December 2008.

Continued claims reflect people who file each week after their initial claim until the end of standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks but have been repeatedly extended during the recession. The figures do not include people who have exhausted their benefits or stopped looking for work.

Initial jobless claims for benefits fell by 3,000 to 456,000 from last week’s revised figure of 459,000 claims. The number includes only initial or first-time claims made by laidoff workers.

Initial claims hit 597,000 one year ago and continued insured unemployment totaled 6.5 million.

“The economic growth numbers aren’t negative, but the recovery keeps slowing down,” said Scott Testa, assistant professor of business at Cabrini College in Philadelphia, Penn., in an interview. “It does help to some point that the government is providing so many Census jobs, but what we need to get out of this is good, full-time permanent jobs.”

Employers added 431,000 jobs in May, but 411,000 of those were temporary U.S. Census positions.

“Realistically, I don’t see a major uptick in private-sector hiring until around January 2011,” Testa said.

On a state-by-state basis, Illinois was among the highest in initial claims with 909 new claims. Florida, California, Arizona and Georgia saw the biggest increase with more than 1,000 new claims.

Layoffs in Florida among several industries drove up new claims by 3,460.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=166695

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Help Wanted – Marketing Intern

Internet Marketing Internship

About Applied Systems Technology, Inc. (AST)

Applied Systems Technology is a software development and management consulting firm exclusively serving the staffing industry.

Since 1985, we have helped staffing firms re-engineer their business processes and better realize the potential of technology to drive change, improve efficiency, and enhance profitability.

AST currently has 15 employees, and is based out of the Hudson Valley, NY. We have remote offices in Albany, NY, and Philadelphia, PA.

AST and Internet Marketing

Everett Reiss is the Director of Marketing and Communication for AST, overseeing and being hands-on in the following areas of Internet Marketing:

• Maintaining main website: http://www.astusa.com and Staffing Energy Center, which is directed at clients: http://astusa.com/staffingenergycenter.
• Running Mad Staffing Blog: http://astusa.com/staffing-blog.
• Weekly and monthly email marketing campaigns to clients, prospects, and industry leaders.
• Direct mail campaigns to clients through Sendoutcards.com.
• Writing and posting monthly press releases on website and through PRWeb.
• Producing and posting helpful YouTube videos for the staffing industry.
• Directing AST’s social media presence on Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook.
• Weekly and monthly email and website analytical reporting.
• Webinars and association speaking engagements on technology and social media.

AST continues to devote more and more time and resources to Internet marketing because of its low cost (excluding time), the ROI thus far, and ability to directly interact with target audience (staffing executives and managers).

How Does an Internet Marketing Internship Fit into the Mix?

AST is a small business, so everyone wears multiple hats.  In addition to marketing, Everett is involved with project management and account management.  Additional hands are needed to help in the following areas:

• Keyword and SEO research using Google’s Keyword Research Tool.
• Search engine optimizing the content that Everett and other AST employees write for main website and blogs.
• Formatting the content that Everett writes for distribution on Mad Staffing Blog, email campaigns, and through other channels such as PRWeb.
• Keeping our email database up-to-date and carving it up into additional segments: type of staffing firm, women-owned, geographic, etc…
• Monitoring conversations on Twitter and Linkedin that AST should be aware of and could potentially participate in, or encourage clients to participate in.
• Edit and posting some of the video content that AST produces on YouTube and blog.
• Researching other tools and areas of social media that either intern or Everett sees value in potentially adopting.
• Potentially work one-on-one with AST staff members to build out their Linkedin profiles and maybe even Twitter profiles.
• Post updates on AST’s Facebook Fan Page and Twitter profile.
• Potentially contribute content for the Mad Staffing Blog, Squidoo pages, Linkedin discussions, and even Wikipedia.

Requirements

We are looking for applicants with the following skills, experience, and disposition:

• Microsoft Office products, especially Word and Excel.
• Some college-level marketing coursework and/or experience.
• Comfort and familiarity with social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and blogging).
• Creative and business-writing experience.
• Ability to do a thorough job on structured tasks such as maintaining an email database, while being able to do more open-ended research and writing assignments.
• Familiarity with HTML, basic video editing, and graphic design experience is a plus.

Other Details About Internship

• This is an unpaid internship.
• 10 to 20 hours per week.
• Flexible hours.
• This is a “remote internship”: meetings will take place in public places, coffee shops, or on campus in areas with Wi-Fi.  Most of the work can be done remotely.
• Intern can use their own laptop, or a laptop can be provided.

If Interested…

Email your resume to Everett Reiss at ev@astusa.com, and in the body of the email explain why this internship interests you and why you would be a good candidate for it.

Quoted – Americans Tend to Be Social, Playful Online

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Social networking is taking up a large chunk of the time Americans spend online, followed by gaming. Although emailing is losing favor, it’s not likely to fade away. “There needs to be something else, something better than social networking, to completely take its place,” maintained Scott Testa, a professor of marketing at Cabrini College.

With 41.2 percent of U.S. consumers’ online time devoted to social networking, social games and emailing, other online activities are becoming neglected. The time consumers spent on instant messaging, for instance, dropped to 4 percent from 4.7 percent. Portal usage dropped to 4.4 percent from 5.5 percent.

Meanwhile other once high-growth categories have slowed dramatically. Search increased to 3.5 percent in June 2010 as a percentage of time devoted to this category — compared to 3.4 percent a year ago.

Watching videos or movies was the only other activity to experience a significant growth spurt in terms of share in online activity, growing by 12 percent from 3.5 to 3.9 percent.

None of this is surprising, said Scott Testa, a professor of marketing at Cabrini College.

“Social network sites like Facebook and Twitter is where Internet use is moving,” he told TechNewsWorld. “That is why providers likeMicrosoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) are trying to mimic these features as much as possible.”

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Americans-Tend-to-Be-Social-Playful-Online-70535.html

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Social Networking Consultants

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

My friend Bob Garrett at Garrett consulting  http://garrettconsultants.com/ has been doing some work in regards to Social Networking on some of my Social networking accounts. . the results have been amazing. . if you are business or individual who is looking to build your presence in this area you should definitely talk to him. .

Quoted – Cheaper ways to get ink help keep businesses in the black

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While economists and business analysts have been busy fretting over the rate of the economic recovery, grossly focused on the latest jobs report, GDP figures and the inflation rate, maybe there is a more obvious indicator they should have been paying attention to all along: the ink cartridge business.

It’s something many businesses cannot live without: the ability to print checks, invoices, records and receipts.  And at prices ranging from $25 to $200 apiece, printer, ink and toner purchases can be among the more expensive for a company.

“If business is just down, you’re simply doing less printing,” stressed Scott Testa, professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Philadelphia.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=167790

Quoted – Google Begins Buttressing Its Net Neutrality Argument

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fter a few days of absorbing the criticism of its joint proposal with Verizon, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) — a company that was once counted as a stalwart in the push for Net neutrality — is defending itself.

In a nutshell, the plan calls for excluding the mobile Internet from most of the consumer protections that would apply to the wired Internet. It would allow the creation of a “private” Internet, where service providers such as Verizon could offer as-yet-undefined broadband services.

Both companies were hit with a wave of criticism following their announcement, but the comments aimed at Google have been more withering because of the perception that it has sacrificed Net neutrality principles.

In making its defense, Google noted that even if people don’t agree with all of its points, the proposal at least represents progress toward resolving what has become a contentious issue. It also took pains to address what it called several “myths” circulating about the proposal, starting with the notion that Google has sold out on Net neutrality. (Its rebuttal: No progress was being made in Washington, and partnering with a provider would move the debate forward.)

Average citizens may not understand all the nuances of Net neutrality policy, but they are starting to hear about it one way or another, if only because of the ink devoted to the joint Google-Verizon proposal, said Scott Testa, a business professor at Cabrini College.

It is the type of debate that can easily devolve into evil versus good, he observed, depending on who is framing the issue.

“I think at a certain level, people’s gut reaction when they hear the bare-bones argument is to side with Net neutrality,” said Testa. “People are leery of the Internet being “controlled” by any one party.”

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Google-Begins-Buttressing-Its-Net-Neutrality-Argument-70618.html?wlc=1281823953

Quoted – Yuan expected to appreciate at snail’s pace

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The appreciation of the yuan initiated in June by China’s central bank has raised concerns among investors, especially regarding the impact on China’s major exporters.

However, experts agree that the immediate impacts of yuan re-valuation will be minimal as the Chinese government is expected to realize the appreciation through a series of minor steps.

The general economic principle dictates that a stronger yuan will have negative impacts on China’s export-led companies. However, Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College in Radnor, Pa., said the controlled pace of the appreciation will mitigate such impacts on China’s exporters.

“I do think it [impact of yuan valuation] will be minimal because I think it will be gradual and will give the exporters time to adjust to the new currency environment,” he said. “If it was something that would happen dramatically, it would hurt them more.”

http://medillmoneymavens.com/2010/08/25/yuan-expected-to-appreciate-at-snail’s-pace/

Quoted – Contract process full of pitfalls for small firms Government specifications, timelines often overwhelming – Chicago Tribune

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Contract process full of pitfalls for small firms

Government specifications, timelines often overwhelming

Valerie Lilley‘s Navy coat contract was part of a government set-aside program aimed at growing small businesses. Since 1997 Congress has had a goal of awarding 23 percent of government contracts to small businesses.

But a study by a business credit card unit of American Express found that on average it takes a small business nearly two years of trying before it wins its first contract.

n this sputtering economy, the situation Toluca Tailoring found itself in wasn’t uncommon. Small businesses are more likely to count on winning a single big order after they run out of options, said Scott Testa, a professor of business administration at Cabrini College. That’s why he said small businesses should carefully read a contract to account for any potential payment lags.

“Some of these decisions that may be important from the small business owner’s perspective may not be a priority for these huge government agencies,” Testa said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/feed/ct-biz-1010-toluca-side–20101010,0,3775650.story

Quoted – Hulu Revving Up for Bold IPO Move

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Hulu is about to make a big move — talk of an IPO within the next couple of months appears to be well founded. The timing is right, says BU professor N. Venkatraman, as the economy is expected to pick up in 2011, and the tech sector with it. “Media will be one of those sectors that will be redefined by tech, and Hulu wants to be seen as the leader of the pack.”

Hulu is expected to file a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering by the end of the year. It believes it can raise US$200-$300 million, according to an unnamed source in a Reuters report.

The final decision to move forward is expected to be made in November, the source said. If it does happen, the IPO is likely to be in April or May.

The deal would value Hulu at $2 billion.

Two billion dollars is likely a fair valuation for Hulu, according to Scott Testa, a marketing professor at Cabrini College.

“I think the partners want to take some money off the table with the IPO,” he told the E-Commerce Times. “Also, I think this may be a good time for the partners to go public from a balance sheet perspective. This way they will be able to get a tangible valuation for the company.”

Besides giving the investors an exit for their initial capital, the bulk of the proceeds will certainly be sunk into the company’s business model, continued Testa. “Data center investment is what I would guess — or buying data center space in disparate locations on worldwide basis.”

Google needs significant redundancy to keep YouTube operational, he noted. “When you are talking about video, you are talking about huge, big pipes — and fiber is expensive. It is not like running a website.”

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Hulu-Revving-Up-for-Bold-IPO-Move-71008.html?wlc=1287007214

 

 

Quoted – Gen Y moms prefer digital, rather than face-to-face, communication more than their older cohorts.

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Gen Y moms prefer digital, rather than face-to-face, communication more than their older cohorts.

Mothers are more connected online than the average woman, with younger moms especially committed to digital communication, says a report examining moms and online behavior. More than 90 percent of U.S. women with children under age 18 in the household are online, compared with roughly three-quarters (76.3 percent) of all adult women. Mothers of Generation Y, however, are even more involved in online communication than their older counterparts, with nearly one in five (17 percent) stating that they use email or Facebook to communicate with immediate family—with “immediate family” defined as family members living in the same household.

 

While Baby Boomer moms said that they communicated with family members in person most of the time (an average of 62 percent face-to-face communication), Generation X mothers stated they do so 58 percent of the time, says the report. Gen Y moms said that their face-to-face communication with immediate family averages just less than half the time at 48 percent. Boomer moms are also less likely to use Facebook as often as their younger cohorts do, while one in five (19 percent) of Gen Y moms reported that they spend at least two hours a day on the social networking site.

 

 

Marketing consultant Dr. Scott Testa, also a professor of business administration at Philadelphia-based Cabrini College, says that he has also observed this fast-moving trend.

“Generation [Y] and [the mom] demographic is rapidly moving to electronic media,” he notes. “In order to reach these moms [companies] need to go digital.”

Singer warns marketers to not be too complacent when it comes to reaching out via social media.

“Too many marketers are sitting back and waiting to see how social media pans out, as though it’s a temporary phenomenon,” she explains. “But it’s as permanent and as influential as TV was in its infancy, and it will grow even more important. The more quickly that marketing executives learn to harness social media, the more likely they’ll come out ahead because of it.”

Testa agrees. “It is not a fad,” he adds. “Those companies that really get it could really target [this group] effectively.”

http://www.demodirt.com/index.php/generation-y-trends/consumer-spending/433-digital-age

 

Quoted – My total gym fees are … what?! – Montreal Gazette

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

 

Certain questions should not be asked of people at the gym. For example, “Is that all you can bench press?” or “Do these spandex shorts make me look fat?” These are impertinent and potentially embarrassing questions.

Even worse is a question that is rarely, if ever asked: “What do I get for my initiation fees?”

At a handful of Montreal gyms, the question might well be on the verge of taboo.

Gym folk will be familiar with the scenario. You learn the price for a one-year membership. “That’s $550 for one year, everything included.”

Then the zinger: “And with the joining/signing/administration/initiation fee, the total comes to $675.”

Huh?

Scott Testa,  college marketing professor, has three words to say about fees: “Just tell me.” He would rather be told, “If you can’t afford it, I understand completely. This may not be the club for you.”

Initiation fees have been around for decades.

“They go way, way back,” said Concordia University marketing professor Harold Simpkins. “The idea was you collect money and put it into capital funds for upgrades. Fees also act as a filter, and make it more difficult for members to leave.”

Said Testa: “This is the old country-club idea: You want to make it exclusive, like a lot of golf clubs and high-end sports clubs. They all had large initiation fees – 10 grand and up.”

Many Montreal clubs have undergone major, impressive renovations, notably the downtown YMCA, MAA, Atwater Club and Le Sanctuaire. So why not call it what it is? Why not be frank with the consumer?

“People have the right to make money,” Testa said. “On the other hand, consumers need to protect themselves and get the best deal they can.”

But charging to open a file?

“What’s that cost? A nickel? At the end of the day, initiation fees are almost pure profit,” Testa said. “From a consumer’s standpoint, I don’t like paying them, but we are in tough economic times, and people don’t see gyms as something they need. The vast majority of users will drop out, and clubs count on that. So why not get the money up front? My position is ‘If you prove yourself from month to month, then I’ll come back to your gym.’ ”

Testa suggests a face-to-face meeting if you want to try for lower fees: “That way you can read body language. And, remember, you get what you negotiate.”

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/total+fees+what/3679132/story.html#ixzz137zI94v5

 

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/total+fees+what/3679132/story.html#ixzz137ywQMVl

 

 

http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/total+fees+what/3679132/story.html

Internship Ghana

Hello Professor Testa,

I am Professor Ronnie Shaw, University of California Los Angeles African Studies M.A. alum and Executive Director of TheSankofa Center. Founded in 2004, We are an American 501(c)(3) arts-based HIV/AIDS education, prevention, testing, and treatment internship program working throughout the year in Ghana, West Africa under the National AIDS Control Programme.

We recently had University alumnae on our program that recommended we recruit Cabrini College students on our program, so we are reaching out to similarly interested individuals who’d like to be apart of our dynamic program given the wonderfully impacting exchange while promoting global change. Those with an academic interest in artistic expression- dance, drama, music & art, public health, global studies, social welfare, and medicine are encouraged to apply to our program.  We fuse artistic expression with health information and provide testing with links to treatment and anti-stigmatization programs using culturally appropriate educational methods- African dance dramas.

Can you please post or forward through email the attached Press Release to students and alumnae of Cabrini College and those interested in international study who may desire this unique artistic public health internship?

To learn more about our program in Ghana, West Africa please click on our website below:
http://WWW.THESANKOFACENTER.ORG

Thank you for your time. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about our program!

Sincerely,

Ronnie Shaw

UCLA African Studies M.A.

Executive Director

Professor

The Sankofa Center

714-589-5355 (U.S)

011-233-249-68-78-60 ( Ghana)

sankofa_center@yahoo.com

www.TheSankofaCenter.Org

Quoted – Mild-Mannered Watson Skewers Human Opponents on Jeopardy

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

IBM‘s Watson supercomputer seems like an amiable-enough character, judging from his performance in a practice run against two top Jeopardy players. (Then again, H.A.L. seemed friendly and helpful too, until crossed by a human.) Should the emergence of technology that enables computers to understand and emulate human communications be viewed with any degree of trepidation?

“From an AI standpoint, the fact that IBM was able to build a computer that can interact on an intellectual basis with human speech clearly has ramifications that are far beyond Jeopardy,” said Scott Testa, a marketing professor for Cabrini College.

“But I think for people to accept that, it has to debut first in places like Jeopardy,” he told TechNewsWorld, “taking it to a basic level that people can understand and smile at before they let it make more complicated computations for them.”

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Mild-Mannered-Watson-Skewers-Human-Opponents-on-Jeopardy-71651.html?wlc=1295064516

Quoted – 7 ways to score discounted gift cards

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According to the National Retail Federation, restaurant cards are one of the most popular gift card choices — coming in second only to department stores. Consumers can save big on these cards by visiting websites such as Restaurant.com that offer them for prices lower than face value.

Buyers can browse by location, cuisine and average entree price. The choices vary widely, from local mom-and-pops to major chains. There are also multiple discount levels, with purchase prices that represent a 50 percent savings or more.

While it’s possible to score some good deals with Restaurant.com, be sure to read the fine print, says Scott Testa, a retail consultant and assistant professor of business administration at Cabrini College near Philadelphia.

Read more: 7 ways to score discounted gift cards http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/7-ways-to-score-discounted-gift-cards-1.aspx#ixzz15YG1YOoN

 

 

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/7-ways-to-score-discounted-gift-cards-3.aspx

Quoted – Tech Titans Create $250M Kitty for Social Startups

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Entrepreneurs eager to bring innovation to social networking application development now have a new potential resource to tap: a special fund set up by KPCB and a handful of tech giants, including Facebook. “KPCB is a top drawer firm. When they put money into something, it means they see a real future in it,” said Cabrini College marketing professor Scott Testa.

The new fund is a step up from these activities, though, and it potentially could mean a real boost for social media if other venture capitalists should follow suit, Scott Testa, a marketing professor at Cabrini College, told the E-Commerce Times. “KPCB is a top drawer firm. When they put money into something, it means they see a real future in it.”

The fund, along with its participating investors, also points to a firming up of valuations in this space, added Testa.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Tech-Titans-Create-250M-Kitty-for-Social-Startups-71090.html

Related articles

• Quoted – Hulu Revving Up for Bold IPO Move (scotttesta.com)
• Quoted – Gen Y moms prefer digital, rather than face-to-face, communication more than their older cohorts. (scotttesta.com)