JUST AMAZING!!!

Words hardly describe this precious book.
I love the theme but more than that how boundryless she is. Her normal and fluently way to describe things that would hardly be pronounced until these days by so many people.

The character in my heroe, she’s self confident, brave, real and have not waist her life, the opposity, she knew what she likes and went for it.

It’s a easy and fun readding and in my opinion, quit instructive, I’d recommend this book for every person that has problems with it’s sexuality, for religious, catholics, people from outside big cities and from big cities as well, for the whole China and Asia, and American and Italian population. And please don’t take this as an ofense, it’s just my wish that at some level these people (of course not all of them, don’t wanna generalise) could get a hint of the other side of the story.

Sorry about the english, just did it from my mobile and can’t correct it right now.

It’s pretty said what’s happening in China with Internet and Google.

But I have to say that I like the idea that Google is not soo mighty and powerfull all around.

And Also, I just think if China has been like this (and I’m not going into other subjects like kills, arrests etc etc just talking about the controls on porn, certain themes etc) I guess that google should know it just cannot expect the gov., the people and the country to change this fast.

I mean it’s a 5000 years culture, and for how long is google with us? 11? in China I dont even know…

Anyway, here you have some news about it at

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i8syB99Tv8LntAJK45NIiw2EIxNw

BUTTTTTTTTTTT I dont really like the source, so I was checking some other articles in Spanish and Portuguese and apparently there are thousands of Chineses that are actually asking google to leave…

I don’t wanna give my word, I’m an internet professional, I love freedom of expression but I’m just saying that western companies cannot expect to come and change whatever they want, my opinion is that they are doing business there, and they have to face ALL the difficults that come.

And in case the business is profitable they will eventually stay.

What do you think about it?

Just came across this web called KLOUT, at the beggining and I have to admit that I still have this feeling that this is nothing ‘I’ would be using so much.

But I’m sure that people who are working on a daily bases with Social media and Internet communications & Brand have a very good totally new tool.

Yes KLOUT may not be the best tool ever, but it makes life much easier whenever you have to gather information about a person, a topic or even what is going on the forums and wes right now.

It mainly analyses twitter, but I guess its a matter of time to starts connectting with other tools like facebook, etc etc, as long as google allows it.

I just didn’t have the time to go thru the whole thing, but I believe it’s a handy web that could help you a lot in case you need to do some research or special xmas report, just like I’m doing right now.

I was checking some people that I know, and my opinion in that the tool is lacking some source of information, as I could find some very influencial people with low score, but on the other hand all the american brands and people that I searched had a very accurated result, so maybe is due to the fact that twitter is much widely used in the US if compared to EU or the rest of the world.

In any case, this tool has a strong possibily, in my view, to be a great reference whenever you talk about someone or some special subject. Let’s see how’s its going develope. I’ll leave this topic opened, so you can comment and give your opinion about KLOUT.

Have a great week everybody.

This is a very interesting and although it’s an essay about love and eroticism, and I don’t normally like essays, I have to say that I would strongly recommend the reading.

La llama doble, Amor y Erotismo. That I’ve read it in Spanish, as the original version in this language is a good reading in both cases, whether you like to read about love and spend some few hours seen it thru someone’s optics or if you just want you realise how love have been influencing and also been influenced thru human history.

The author manages to look and move forward and backwards in human history, bringing up interesting facts and moments, the evolution of love and the different meaning it had and has.

The reading makes you think about the little things we do on a daily basis and the impact of these acts in our personal targets, specially if this personal target is love, or finding a partner. I won’t dare to use the ” for a life time” expression, I mean, a partner for a live time.  After reading this book I understand better the reason some people, and I include myself in this group are alone and although looking and searching for love or someone, unfortunately we have very few possibilities of finding it.

Another things that comes to my minds whenever I think about this book is that love is simple, and always was and always will be. The problem and the complication are only done and brought because we want.

But, as a good and old fashion romantic, I still believe in love and this book made me away again and have more faith in what I’m looking for, have more faith in the “causality of moments, desires and situations that by been aligned together at a certain moment, brings us this feeling called LOVE”, using more or less the authors words.

Enjoy your reading

Lead generation is top business benefit

This is a topic I always wanted to get more information about it. With the explosion of social media, and all the money used and inverted on it, just have to see how profitable is google ads around the globe, so I was thinking of the impact of these advertsiment more on a Small business.

Down here you have a interesting article about ir, with some number, comparing US companies and even some other countries. Like I imagined it’s still a small percentage, and I guess the return is even smaller them what we see here. BUT, this just makes me realise how important is to have you cmapaignvery well developed and studied BEFORE implementing, I also think that working thru quarters and american companies use to do would be the most effective way.

I make this kind of affirmation taking in considerantion the fast growing video advertisement, you see a video can easily get more then a millon views a day, BUT how long is this staying at your customers mind? how many times should our market people communicate the same message, how many impressions on each customer to make our products it fixed in their memory and for how long would that least until its necessary to do it again?

Of course it depends on how much money we are talking about it when planning a mkt campign, to what public, with what objectives, long or shorts targets etc… Enjoy the numbers and information bellow.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

Small businesses are set to increase the time and effort they spend on social media marketing, but research on its effectiveness has been mixed. In a survey from Citibank, for example, the majority of small-business executives found social networks no good for expanding their business.

But according to the “Small Business Marketing Forecast 2010” from Ad-ology, lead generation is the biggest benefit of social networking for US small businesses, cited by one-half of respondents. Social networks were also considered a good way to keep up with the industry and monitor online chatter about the business.

Small businesses rated Facebook the most beneficial social networking site, with one-third of respondents reporting it was at least somewhat helpful. It was also the social network most likely to be used. Use of LinkedIn was less common, but the business-oriented site was claimed as beneficial by 21% of small businesses, compared with 19% that said the same of Twitter.

While awareness of social media is high among small businesses, education is still needed. Nearly one-half of respondents wished they knew more about the channel, and some of the biggest obstacles to doing more with social networking included a lack of knowledge.

The No 1. roadblock, however, was the perception that “our customers do not use social networks,” claimed by 31% of small businesses. Nearly as many complained that they did not have the time or staff available to do a good job with social network marketing.

I’m not so sure if this number is updated, as they are from January 2009 comScore.

Anyway it’s interesting to see the countries list and the classification.

It makes me glad that I’m studing chineses jejejeje, I guess with all these people using it, I hope in 5 years I’ll be able to at least read a little bit of all the ocntente these mass of people would be building.

A total of 1.000.000.000 internet users around the world, 15% of the world’s population.

1. China: 179.7 milliones
2. Estados Unidos: 163.3 milliones
3. Japón: 60.0 milliones
4. Alemania: 37.0 milliones
5. Reino Unido: 36.7 milliones
6. Francia: 34.0 milliones
7. India: 32.1 milliones
8. Rusia: 29.0 milliones
9. Brasil: 27.7 milliones
10. Corea del Sur: 27.3 milliones
11. Canadá: 21.8 milliones
12. Italia: 20.8 milliones
13. España: 17.9 milliones
14. México: 12.5 milliones
15. Paises bajos: 11.8 milliones

It’s amazing to see the difference between countries, example The Netherlands that have 15 millon people and 80% of them use internet, in the other hand countries like Brazil with 200 millon only 15% has internet access (still a lot of people).

Let’s not forget that the first in the Ranke has only 13% of it’s population connencted to the internet.

Hope you find these information interesting.

Mobile mkt

Mobile Couponing Catching On?

Huge redemption increases to come 2009 has seen consumers not quite ready for the full possibilities of mobile commerce. season, just 19% of Internet users plan to use their mobile device for shopping, and only one-quarter of that group will actually make a mobile purchase.

But mobile research—and saving money— is more popular. in 2009 more than 90% of US consumers were at least somewhat interested in scanning images or bar codes with their mobile phone to get more information or coupons for a product. mobile phone to get more information or coupons for a product. coupons for a product.

Getting coupons via SMS or MMS was nearly as popular, although only 7% of respondents had received mobile coupons in the past three months. in the past three months. Yankee Group expects involvement with mobile coupons to increase dramatically over the coming years, however. The number of mobile coupons redeemed in North America is set to increase more than tenfold in 2010. Triple-digit increases will follow in 2011 and 2012. The value of mobile coupon transactions will climb commensurately.

Yankee Group forecasts nearly $2.37 billion in North American mobile coupon transactions in 2013, up from just $5 million this year. Hurdles remain for mobile coupons, which require infrastructure at the point of sale to deal with SMS codes or bar codes readable from mobile devices, but Yankee Group expects these challenges to be confronted successfully in the next few years.

And since mobile coupons have been available for some time already, the research firm doesn’t predict consumer education will be a limiting factor. years. And since mobile coupons have been available for some time already, the research firm doesn’t predict consumer education will be a limiting factor.

For better and for worse Brand marketers know the Internet can be a dangerous place, where they lose control of the message and consumer-created content reigns. That is partly because Internet users now have the ability to create and disseminate blog posts, tweets, reviews and homemade videos around the world. But it is also an effect of the “cyberdisinhibition” the Web provides.

The anonimity of the Internet leads people to behave differently than they do face-to-face. Research from Euro RSCG Worldwide shows that nearly 43% of US Internet users feel less inhibited online, with the effect most prominent among females and users ages 25 to 54. females and users ages 25 to 54. That can lead to positive and negative behaviors alike. Users are more likely to feel able to meet new people or be empowered to do something they wanted to. But they were also more likely to “lash out” on the Web when they had something to say about a company or brand. One-fifth of Internet users, including almost one-quarter of men, had done so. including almost one-quarter of men, had done so.

The more interactions happen online, with no direct offline contact, the more likely they are to tilt toward extreme behavier. It’s important to blend both online and offline elements,” according to the “Social Life and Social Media” white paper. the “Social Life and Social Media” white paper.

Blending elements is important, but marketers should remember that there remains a distinction between offline and online interactions. Just 25.6% of respondents felt all interaction was the same, and about one-half emphasized the convenience of electronic interaction over face-to-face. same, and about one-half emphasized the convenience of electronic ironic interaction over face-to-face.

The stigma of online socializing is fast disappearing as well.

Although only a minority of US Internet users thoughtonline social groups could be “truly social,” nearly three-fifths disagreed with the idea that socializing on the Web was only for “sad, antisocial types.” antisocial types.”

NOVEMBER, 2009

Looking to social and mobile for help this holiday season

US Internet users will be doing plenty of online research about holiday gift giving this year. Shoppers already conditioned to comparison shop, check coupon sites and look for discounts will also be heading to social networks for information—and good deals.

According to research conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation and Yesmail, 27% of online shoppers who plan to both research and buy holiday gifts online this year will look for ideas about what friends and family want on sites such as Facebook. And nearly one-half (45%) will use social networks to research items, compare prices and look for offers.

About one-fifth of online holiday buyers are specifically looking to social networks for exclusive deals or free shipping.

Deloitte found that, overall, 17% of consumers would use social media during their holiday shopping. Just over one-half of that group was ages 18 to 29.

Sixty percent of consumers who plan to use social media in their holiday shopping will be looking for discounts, coupons and sales, according to Deloitte, while just over one-half will research gift ideas and check out friends’ and family members’ wish lists.

Deloitte found even more consumers—19%—planning on using the mobile channel for their holiday shopping. Most would be looking up store locations, and one-quarter planned to make a holiday purchase over mobile.

“Consumers are turning to mobile, online and social media during their entire holiday shopping experience,” said Stacy Janiak, Deloitte vice chairman, in a statement. “Retailers should consider harnessing this activity to turn browsers into buyers with one-click access to coupons, promotions and purchasing tools. This year’s leaner in-store inventories may also open the door for retailers to lure customers to their online channels where it is easier to access inventory, no matter where it is located.”

This is a great book, I could even say one of the most nice and touching history I’ve ever read.

Take in account the fact that the history is told Deaf, yeah, exactly Mr or Ms Deaf in person is telling all the details about the youth life of this German girl called Liesel Meminger in Nazi Germany, and I have to say he/she do it in a fun and good to read way.

The reading flows and you just don’t want to stopping reading it, and when you get to the end, you won’t have that feeling of, I need more. Of course, there’s room for a second book, that I really hope the author will do it pretty soon.

I totally recommend, if you want a easy reading, that we’ll make you laugh and cry a couple of times. A great book to make you scape from reality while reading.

Enjoy your reading!