Deciding which social media platforms are right for small business ...

By BuildMyBiz on October 9th, 2013

October 9, 2013 in Sales and Marketing

It’s no surprise that small business marketing efforts have become heavily reliant on social media campaigns. Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook offer cost-effective consumer and client access points that make promoting a company easier than ever before.

Despite the widespread use of these platforms by startup leaders, some business owners might not be optimizing the impact social media can have on sales and audience exposure. USA Today noted that not every social media platform is tailored to each company or industry.

For example, a consumer-focused organization may want to focus on using Facebook to interact with a massive customer base. On the other hand, a B2B enterprise would be better off using LinkedIn to network with large-scale clients in a professional setting.

This highlights one of the often overlooked truths about social media: Each channel is different from the next. Certainly, businesses want to maintain their brand’s voice from medium to medium, but they also need to realize that what works on one channel may not fully translate to other social platforms.

Also, different social channels require various time commitments from small businesses to be effective. On LinkedIn, it’s not a big deal to stay off the site for a day or two, as interactions on the site are usually short and to the point. However, staying off Twitter for a prolonged period could make followers lose interest with an account, especially considering that other tweeters tend to be extremely active. When it comes to social media, it’s all about embracing the culture of each platform, and a large part of that is finding the proper level of activity. If an owner doesn’t believe that he or she can set aside the necessary time to be an effective Twitter user, it might be best to hold off on using the site until time commitments decline.

Get involved to dictate terms
Simply avoiding the use of social media is a mistake. According to The Republic, consumers are using Internet-based mediums to comment, critique and compliment businesses at an accelerated rate. Although this can be advantageous, one poor review or comment can go viral, as was the case with a video of a musician complaining that United Airlines failed to compensate him for breaking his guitar, the source noted.

Without a social media presence, businesses can not respond to such issues. In these instances, companies allow others to dictate their brand. For this reason, getting involved in social media is central to marketing in the modern world.

Source: http://buildmybiz.com/deciding-social-media-platforms-right-small-business-marketing/
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Director of Sierra Club explains rationale behind ... - Bike Portland

Sierra Club Oregon Chapter
Director Brian Pasko.

Our story last week about a lawsuit against the Timberline Mountain Bike Park has sparked a lot of conversation. Several people commented and contacted me to express concerns that I failed to offer adequate context to the story. The Sierra Club and other environmental groups that have signed on as plaintiffs to the lawsuit, strongly maintain that their stance is not about bikes at all. Rather, they say their concerns are about the broader environmental impacts, the private developer that will construct the park, and a feeling that the U.S. Forest Service has not fulfilled its obligations within the public process around the project.

In our story last week, I included an email from Kenji Sugahara, the executive director of the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, to Brian Pasko, the director of the Sierra Club's Oregon chapter. In that email, Sugahara questioned the Sierra Club's actions and requested their immediate withdrawal from the lawsuit. Today I want to share Pasko's response to Sugahara because I it adds some important context to this debate (emphases mine):

Hi Kenji,

Thank you very much for this note and for your past support of the Sierra Club's work in Oregon. I want to assure you that the Sierra Club did not approach this litigation lightly, nor should our involvement in this lawsuit imply that we oppose increasing the level of mountain bike recreation opportunities on the Mountain.

We chose to engage in this lawsuit because we believe that this particular proposal is not appropriately located and the environmental costs vs. recreational benefits are just too high. In contrast, we chose not to oppose a similar proposal on Mount Bachelor because its location is much better suited to this type of bike park.

Additionally, we appreciate and admire IMBA's exceptional trail maintenance work. It is our understanding that the trails on this proposed bike park would not be trails open to the public and managed by IMBA or other volunteer trail crews, but would instead be maintained by the private owners at Timberline for their economic gain.

More importantly, we are pursuing this lawsuit in part because we believe that the Forest Service has fundamentally failed in its obligation to fully evaluate the potential for additional mountain bike recreational opportunities in the Mount Hood National Forest. We too are disappointed that the Mountain bike and environmental communities are being divided over a debate about the location of a single privately-owned bike park, when instead we should be engaged in a collaborative effort to substantially expand the publicly accessible mountain bike trail system forest-wide.

The Sierra Club believes that the Forest Service should be carrying out a robust analysis and implementing a formal stakeholder process to expand mountain bike opportunities on our national forests. We are keenly interested in working with the mountain bike community to achieve this goal. In fact, we are meeting with leaders in IMBA and others in the next few weeks to discuss this and how we can move forward together.

I appreciate your concerns about our involvement in this litigation, and hope that I have given you some assurances that the Sierra Club is very interested in partnering with the mountain bike community to convince the Forest Service to do better recreational planning on the Mount Hood National Forest. I hope that this is the start of a continuing dialogue with you and others about how we can work together to make that a reality.

Thanks,
Brian
Chapter Director
Sierra Club - Oregon Chapter
1821 SE Ankeny Street

? For more on this story, browse our Timberline Mountain Bike Park story archives.

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Source: http://bikeportland.org/2013/05/21/director-of-sierra-club-explains-rationale-behind-mtb-park-lawsuit-87117

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New U.K. Edtech Entity To Spend Up To $77M Acquiring European E-Learning Firms Over Next 18 Months To Build Regional Giant

Expect a swathe of consolidation in the European e-learning sector in the coming months. Edxus Group, a new London-based corporate operating edtech company, is planning to plough in ?50-60 million ($64-$77m) over the next 18 months to develop and acquire European e-learning businesses and build out a single regional player with the scale to compete against U.S. edtech giants, it said today.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/NYVXf6Z3ULQ/

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Powerful tornadoes ravage Plains

SHAWNEE, Okla. (AP) ? Tornadoes ravaged portions of central Oklahoma on Sunday, reducing portions of a mobile home park to rubble and killing a 79-year-old man whose body was found out in the open.

"You can see where there's absolutely nothing, then there are places where you have mobile home frames on top of each other, debris piled up," Pottawatomie County Sheriff Mike Booth said after surviving damage in the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park. "It looks like there's been heavy equipment in there on a demolition tour.

"It's pretty bad. It's pretty much wiped out," he said.

The Shawnee tornado was one of several that touched down in the nation's midsection Sunday. Twisters, hail and high winds also struck Iowa and Kansas as part of a massive, northeastward-moving storm system that stretched from Texas to Minnesota.

Across the state, 21 people were injured, not including those who suffered bumps and bruises and chose not to visit a hospital, said Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. Booth said six at Steelman Estates were hurt.

Following the twisters, local emergency officials went from home site to home site in an effort to account for everyone. Cain said that, many times in such situations, people who are not found immediately are discovered later to have left the area ahead of the storm. Booth said everyone from the trailer park had been found.

Forecasters had been warning of a general storm outbreak since Wednesday, and for Sunday's storms some residents had more than a half-hour's notice that a twister was on the way. Tornado watches and warnings were in effect through late Sunday in much of the nation's midsection.

The trailer park west of Shawnee was among the hardest-hit areas, and among the hardest to reach, as tractor-trailers that forced the closure of a section of Interstate 40 north of the site and power lines draped across roads to the south.

James Hoke lives with his wife and two children in Steelman Estates. He said the family went into their storm cellar as the storm approached. When they came out, their mobile home had vanished.

"It took a dead hit," Hoke said.

A storm spotter told the National Weather Service that the tornado left the earth "scoured" at the mobile home park ? using a term used by storm chasers to describe grass being ripped out by high winds.

"It seemed like it went on forever. It was a big rumbling for a long time," said Shawn Savory, standing outside his damaged remodeling business in Shawnee. "It was close enough that you could feel like you could reach out and touch it."

Gov. Mary Fallin declared an emergency for 16 Oklahoma counties that suffered from severe storms and flooding during the weekend. The declaration lets local governments acquire goods quickly to respond to their residents' needs and puts the state in line for federal help if it becomes necessary.

Heavy rains and straight-line winds hit much of western Oklahoma on Saturday. Tornadoes were also reported Sunday at Edmond, Arcadia and near Wellston to the north and northeast of Oklahoma City. The supercell that generated the twisters weakened as it approached Tulsa, 90 miles to the northeast.

"I knew it was coming," said Randy Grau, who huddled with his wife and two young sons in their Edmond home's safe room when the tornado hit. He said he peered out his window as the weather worsened and believed he saw a flock of birds heading down the street.

"Then I realized it was swirling debris. That's when we shut the door of the safe room," said Grau, adding that they remained in the room for 10 minutes.

In Wichita, Kan., a tornado touched down near Mid-Content Airport on the city's southwest side shortly before 4 p.m., knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses but bypassing the most populated areas of Kansas' biggest city. The Wichita tornado was an EF1 on the enhanced Fujita scale, with winds of 110 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Sedgwick County Emergency Management Director Randy Duncan said there were no reports of fatalities or injuries in Kansas.

There were also two reports of tornadoes touching down in Iowa on Sunday night, including one near Huxley, about 20 miles north of Des Moines, and one in Grundy County, which is northeast of Des Moines, according to the Des Moines Register. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.

In Oklahoma, aerial television news footage showed homes with significant damage northeast of Oklahoma City. Some outbuildings appeared to have been leveled, and some homes' roofs or walls had been knocked down.

"When I first drove into the neighborhood, I didn't see any major damage until I pulled into the front of my house," said Csaba Mathe, of Edmond, who found a part of his neighbor's fence in his swimming pool. "My reaction was: I hope insurance pays for the cleaning."

"I typically have two trash cans, and now I have five in my driveway."

The Storm Prediction Center had been warning about severe weather in the region since Wednesday, and on Friday, it zeroed in on Sunday as the day the storm system would likely pass through.

"They've been calling for this all day," Edmond resident Anita Wright said after riding out the twister in an underground shelter. She and her husband, Ed, emerged from their hiding place to find uprooted trees, downed limbs and damaged gutters in their home.

In Katie Leathers' backyard, the family's trampoline was tossed through a section of fence and a giant tree uprooted.

"I saw all the trees waving, and that's when I grabbed everyone and got into two closets," Leathers said. "All these trees just snapped."

___

Associated Press writers Ken Miller in Shawnee, Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo., and Kelly P. Kissel in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tornadoes-level-homes-okla-1-dead-043243392.html

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Kerry challenges Congress on diplomats' security

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Secretary of State John Kerry challenged Congress on Monday to go beyond its investigations of embassy security and help ensure that U.S. embassies and consulates abroad have the resources they need for appropriate security. His comments come as the Republicans continue to press for answers about the Obama administration's handling of last year's deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya.

Speaking to State Department trainees at the Foreign Service Institute, Kerry said the administration would spare no expense or effort to protect American diplomats overseas. However, in a sign of frustration with congressional Republicans who have suggested the administration is trying to cover up alleged malfeasance related to the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi attack, he said lawmakers must play a part in mitigating the risks that diplomats take.

"We need to hold all of our elected officials accountable for making these efforts a priority," he said. "And that includes the Congress. This is a Congress that reminds us all the time they that are a co-equal branch of the federal government. And they should, because they are. But that means Congress needs to play a role on the world stage as well; not just investigating, but leading."

Congress, Kerry said, must provide "the resources and the support and the investments that make the risks that we take today worthwhile."

His comments follow a similar call that President Barack Obama made last week when he complained that persistent Republican-led investigations into Benghazi were a "sideshow" and urged lawmakers to provide more money to strengthen security at U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. The State Department is seeking about $1.4 billion for increased security; the money would come primarily from funds that haven't been spent in Iraq.

Since the Benghazi attack, Democrats have complained that Republicans cut $300 million from the Obama administration's budget request of $2.6 billion for diplomatic and embassy security in 2012. Republicans have said such allegations are unfair.

Kerry said Monday the administration is fully committed to implementing, and expanding upon, the recommendations of an independent review board that investigated the Benghazi attack and sharply criticized the State Department for not providing adequate security at the missions. U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack.

But Kerry pointed out that the risks to American officials abroad are not new and will not go away.

"The dangers of diplomacy are not unique to this moment in time: our diplomatic missions didn't become dangerous that night in Benghazi," he said, noting that most of the 244 diplomats honored on plaques at the State Department were killed in the line of duty long before Benghazi.

Kerry said the risks can never be eliminated, but they can and will be mitigated because America's national security interests demand diplomatic outreach even in the most dangerous places.

"If we are going to bring light to the world, we have to go where it is dark," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-challenges-congress-diplomats-security-161108158.html

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'30 Rock's' Bowden, musician Jorgensen wed

Celebs

Randee Dawn TODAY contributor

3 hours ago

Getty Images file

Ben Jorgensen and Katrina Bowden.

Former "30 Rock" actress Katrina Bowden is now married: She and musician Ben Jorgensen tied the knot in New York City on Sunday, said E! Online.

They exchanged vows at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and will head to Hawaii for the honeymoon. Their website is set up for loved ones to donate to the honeymoon fund, so fans who want to feel like part of the action can still contribute to things like their volcano hiking adventure, or upgrade the pair to first class.

The 24-year-old Bowden played Cerie, Liz Lemon's assistant on "30 Rock," and has appeared in movies including "Scary Movie 5." Jorgensen is 29 and formerly sang and played guitar with the band Armor for Sleep.

The couple got engaged in January 2012, and she announced the union on the red carpet at that year's Screen Actors Guild awards. At the time, she showed off her ring and told E! News's Giuliana Rancic that Jorgensen had proposed the night before in Los Angeles.

"He proposed and showed me the ring and I was so shocked and said, 'Oh, my God!' and I hugged him and he said to me, 'So is that a yes?'" she said.

"I married y'all!!!" Bowden tweeted after the ceremony. "I'm now Mrs. @benjorg !!!" Replied Jorgensen, also on Twitter: "Is there a cloud 10?"

Aww.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/30-rocks-katrina-bowden-musician-ben-jorgensen-wed-6C9995490

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Must See HDTV (May 20th - 26th)

Arrested Development fans have had this week circled for a while, but that's not the only thing to watch. The weekend will also be big for racing fans, with the Coca-Cola 600, Indianapolis 500, and a live presentation of the Grand Prix of Monaco on NBC. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Xbox Reveal
Tomorrow Microsoft takes the wraps off of its next Xbox console and, of course, we'll be there to bring you all the information as it's unveiled (bookmark our liveblog here). Of course, if you'd like to watch firsthand you'll have a number of options, including live streams available on Xbox.com, Windows Phone, and the Xbox 360 (for Gold and Silver members). It's also on cable, with Spike TV doing the broadcast honors. The pre-show starts at 1PM ET and the reveal itself is expected at 2PM ET, set your alarms accordingly.
(May 21st, Spike TV, 1PM)

Arrested Development
It's finally time. After being rescued from the grave, season four of Arrested Development will launch on Netflix streaming Sunday. As is the streaming company's custom, the entire season will be available for viewing at once, however Mitch Hurwitz notes it is made to be viewed in order, which we expect many of you will do multiple times. Check out the official trailer after the break or just start rewatching the first three seasons now.
(May 26th, Netflix)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/20/must-see-hdtv-may-20th-26th/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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