Posted by admin on December 29th, 2008 — Posted in Civvies
Sweating is a normal bodily function, just like digestion and breathing. It is a way for the body to cool itself. Under your skin are tiny glands of sweat, connected to your nervous system and controlled by the brain. When your body feels hot, maybe from exposure to sun, vigorous exercise or anxiety, the brain will react to this by releasing water into the skin which will be cooled and eventually also cool your body. Because it is made of water, sweat in itself has no odor. When left on the skin and exposed to the elements, however, it attracts bacteria which cause the bad smell. In places where sweat cannot evaporate easily, say the armpits, sweat stays on the skin and accumulates bacteria.
1. Don’t sweat the small stuff
Aside from moist skin that is hidden under the arms, the armpits also have a special kind of sweat gland, called apocrine gland. This gland secretes protein and carbohydrates that add on to the sweat. They are glands that develop during puberty and are stimulated when stressed or sexually aroused. Because they secrete special materials, they attract additional bacteria, and when left on the hidden skin, cause foul body odor.
To prevent such odor from causing discomfort and embarrassment, natural and synthetic deodorants are readily available.
2. Antiperspirant or Deodorant?
It is a common misunderstanding that antiperspirants and deodorants are the same. The truth is, they are not, but they both address the problem of foul body odor.
Antiperspirants are chemicals the stop you from perspiring. With the use of aluminum-based chemicals, these block your pores so your armpits will not sweat. Deodorants eliminate the the smell of the sweat and by neutralizing the bacteria. However, they don’t prevent sweating, so if there is continuous sweat, deodorants maybe reapplied during the day to prevent bacteria and bad odor from developing.
3. Types of Deodorants
Antiperspirants are synthetically made, however, deodorants can be made using natural and synthetic materials. Below is a list of natural deodorants that you can make at home.
- Baking Soda Powder Deodorant
Baking soda is a white powdery substance that is alkaline-based. When it is mixed with acid, like underarm sweat, there is a chemical reaction, which produces gas and evaporates the sweat. Mix equal parts of baking soda and cornstarch and add a few drops of essential oil to the mixture to give it your personal scent. After taking a bath and drying the armpits thoroughly, apply the mixture using a damp washcloth. Do not rinse off.
- Basic Liquid Deodorant
If you want to approximate the feel of commercial deodorant through one-step application, then try making a liquid deodorant. Mix 1/4 cup each of witch hazel extract, Aloe Vera gel, and mineral water. To it, add 1 tsp glycerin and add a few drops of lavender or your favorite essential oil. Transfer to a spritz bottle and shake every time before using.
- Other Homemade Deodorant
Sometimes, you have cleansers and toners for the face that irritate your skin. Don’t throw them away. They can work as a cleanser to your underarm. Aside from removing sweat and odor, facial cleansers can also improve your underarm skin.
- Commercially Available Deodorant
The personal care market is saturated with different brands promising to protect you from sweat and foul body odor. Make sure that when buying a product to read the labels and understand what you will be applying to your skin. Most brands are responsible enough to indicate that their products are purely deodorant or are both antiperspirant and deodorant. In any case, they come in different forms as follows:
Spray - Usually contained in aerosol cans, these are pressurized liquid deodorants. These are convenient for freshening up many times a day.
Roll-on - This is the first type of commercially available deodorant. The container has a ball in the middle, which rolls to apply the liquid from the container to the skin.
Gel - This type of deodorant is clear when applied, which is preferred when you want to avoid staining your skin or clothes.
Stick - A solid deodorant that is paste-like in consistency. It is extruded from the deodorant container and spread on to the armpits.
Whatever you decide to choose, always make sure to observe your skin when trying a new product. People vary in skin types and reactions to different materials, so as soon as you see redness, feel itchy or experience a burning sensation, stop using the product and wash immediately with mild soap and water. This is important because these unpleasant symptoms can occur even if you don’t have allergies, most often due to sensitive skin.
Manage your sweat and your smell - use a deodorant daily!
For more great deodorant related articles and resources check out http://deodorant.bathnbodyhq.com
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Posted by admin on December 29th, 2008 — Posted in Civvies
Hawaiian shirts are anything but new. They first got their start in the 1930s when clothing manufacturers decided to produce a cloth and design unique to Hawaii. The original popular shirts were printed on heavy silk and became popular as Hollywood stars wore them in both films and to events, such as movie premiers. Not everyone could afford heavy silk, however, and many high-quality shirts were printed in rayon and cotton as well. Because these shirts have been printed for over 70 years, there remains a large quantity of vintage Hawaiian shirts on the market.
Vintage Hawaiian shirts can be more expensive than modern-day styles, but they also can have a flair and quality not found today. Despite the fact that the vintage shirts can run the high end of several hundreds of dollars each, they continue to have a strong niche in the fashion world. Authors and clothing designers have studied the history and style of the shirts over the years. Today, information on vintage Hawaiian shirts can be found in books such as Thomas Steele’s “”The Hawaiian Shirt: Its Art and History,”" or Nancy Schiffer’s “”Hawaiian Shirt Designs.”" More recently, Dale Hope’s “”The Aloha Shirt: Spirit of the Islands”" is an extremely accurate detailing of the history of the Hawaiian shirt.
For anyone interested in purchasing vintage Hawaiian shirts, there are several avenues. Hawaiian dealers are the best sources, as they have the easiest access to locally made shirts. However, several online websites also sell vintage Hawaiian shirts.
Vintage Hawaiian shirts are beautiful pieces of artwork from the past that can be worn just as fashionably as any shirt made today.
Hawaiian Shirts Info provides detailed information about Hawaiian T shirts and wedding shirts, as well as vintage, cheap, and wholesale Hawaiian shirts, and more. Hawaiian Shirts Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.
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Posted by admin on December 29th, 2008 — Posted in Promoting Brands
Deadly Sin #1 of Packaging Yourself - Not Staying Connected
How connected are you? Could you find help for a project, find another job or locate the most important resources for your career on deadline?
In today’s faced-paced, ever-changing business environment it is important for you to keep your connections active. Remember the old adage “Out of sight out of mind”? Well, it’s doubly true today. You are as memorable as your last communication. So, if you are not communicating, now what?
Here a few simple tips to keep your name in the spotlight.
• Set up your own master E-mail list of important resources.
This will help to keep informed. It is NOT the list used to distribute jokes, chain letters, solicitations, etc. However, it is the list to deliver succinct messages about what you are currently doing. Include information on promotions, projects, speaking, engagements, awards, trade show attendance, etc.
• Send out regular press releases to your resource list.
Remember, serious stuff only. Keep it short and to the point. Watch for more later on how to write a personal press release.
• Be on the lookout for ways to help your associates.
Newspaper & magazine articles are great when you notice a colleague’s name. Cut it out, send it to them, and include a quick personal note along with your contact details.
• Make one day a week a telephone day or commit to an hour a day to be on the phone and reconnect with the people important to you.
• Become recognized as a resource so that people will want to stay connected to you.
Notes of caution, however, state clearly that you are happy to help and hope that the favor can be returned one day.
• Join organizations or associations that include members of your resource base. Attend their meetings. You can’t be everywhere so it’s important to assess where to best spend your time for maximum benefit.
• Use organizations that facilitate keeping you “connected.”
Deadly Sin #2 of Packaging Yourself- Not Staying Informed
How informed are you? When you are backed into a corner, can you find help for a project, ascertain the business health of your employer, or find the answer to an important research question?
Given today’s information overload, it is imperative to keep on top of new technology and innovations as well as what’s happening in the business community. Statistics show that companies expect their employees to stay on the forefront of information technology. They expect that with and without their intervention!
TIP: To check the business health of your employer set up a news service to deliver a press release about the company.
Here a few simple ways to keep on top of information that can impact your future and your career.
• Set yourself up to receive important E-mail updates on your industry’s news and technology.
• Read the industry publications regularly. If you can’t read the entire magazine, go to the publication’s website and read the headlines.
• Attend at least one trade show a year.
• Be on the lookout for interesting new technologies or innovations that might impact your company.
• Make one day a week an information day or commit yourself to an hour a day to keep informed. Ask your colleagues if they uncover something of interest to forward you a copy.
TIP: Most news sites allow you to E-mail the article to yourself or associates.
• Subscribe to a clipping service where you get “customized” news delivered to you electronically. You can also set up these accounts through Yahoo, AOL, etc. Be cautious about what you ask for.
• Use organizations/associations that facilitate the information generation process.
Deadly Sin #3 of Packaging Yourself - Not Being Prepared
Talk about sinful! Did you know that employee turnover is in excess of 1% per week? That means that in one year more than 50% of your associates, colleagues, friends or YOU will have to or will choose to change jobs. Are you prepared for that transition if it is you?
There are several things to do in order to prepare should the unthinkable occur.
• Always keep an updated resume - Every 3-4 months review your resume. Make sure it includes your latest accomplishments.
TIP - Incorporate the latest industry buzz words/phases to keep it fresh.
• Keep your network open. Are there colleagues you haven’t been in touch with in a while? Shoot them a quick E-mail and let them know what you are doing.
• Keep your association memberships current and participate in local events, industry listservs and committees.
• Go on job interviews if possible. This is not only valuable to asses whether your skills are current but also helps you find out what “You” are worth in the current labor market.
• Use every opportunity to introduce yourself to new resources.
TIP: Trade shows are great places to network.
• Update your “elevator” speech and use it whenever the opportunity presents itself. This pitch is your one-minute soundbyte telling people who you are and what you can do for them.
TIP: Respond to this and ask us for a copy on how to prepare an elevator speech.
Deadly Sin #4 of Packaging Yourself- Not Utilizing Opportunities
Consider the OPPORTUNITIES you have to advance your career both personally and professionally. Capitalize on those opportunities.
Rewind through the previous year to determine how you should move forward. Did you overlook any opportunities that came your way last year? Did you have a chance to speak at and event or meeting that you declined? Did you get an interview opportunity? What stopped you?
• afraid of public speaking?
• embarrassed that you will seem too brash or unprofessional;
• feel like you might not look or present your best;
• concerned that no one will take you seriously.
These are not legitimate reasons for passing a valuable chance to enhance your visibility and credibility.
What professional development plans have you made for next year?
Utilize these assessment tools.
1) What is the time frame for the development to peak? Remember, someone else is always waiting in the wings to take advantage of “your” opportunity.
2) Is it something you really want to do? If it’s something too obscure or off the wall you might want to give it some additional consideration.
3) How will it impact you personally and professionally? Don’t commit unless there is tangible value to your personal/professional profile.
4) Will anyone else need to be involved in the decision? Your boss, your family, etc.
5) Will it be too much of a hardship that you won’t do your best?
Plan to “seize the moment.” I once had a chance to be interviewed by NBC. Yes, I worried that I would look too fat on camera. Yes, I was nervous about appearing on TV. Then, there was my hair my make-up, etc. Did I refuse this chance for a syndicated TV segment? NO Way.
A long time ago I learned that it was not good deeds and hard work that get you opportunities. It is “visibility.” So, what are you doing to improve yours?
Have you honed your elevator speech yet? Consider the places where you might have a chance to tell someone about yourself.
• In the elevator (Seriously, this is where the name came from).
• In a business meeting or conference there are usually introductions.
• At meetings with association memberships. There is always a director and there are ways to introduce yourself to the other members.
• Through interview and article opportunities. Ask for a byline and ensure that you tell what you really do. Do not just supply your title.
• Networking events. In most cities there is a formalized network that meets for breakfast or lunch to exchange leads. Check them out to see which one suits your needs.
Deadly Sin #5 of Packaging Yourself- Not Marketing Yourself
It’s 1/4 through the year and we are still all full of resolutions and plans, so let’s put Marketing Yourself on the agenda. It all boils down to “It’s not who you know, but who knows you.” That’s what personal marketing is all about and that’s WHY the time has come to market you.
Plan your marketing campaign as if YOU were a business. People will not bang down your door if they do not know what you have to offer. Your greatest sales agent is you! After all, you know the product best. If you don’t market yourself, who will?
Personal marketing is not just a one-time event. It requires attention, consistency, and continuity. Planning is a big part of the process. Set time aside each week to market yourself. One thing stands out from one of my programs from a few years ago: The consideration for an employee’s promotion was based upon 60% visibility, (being noticed by the powers that be), 20% appearance, and sadly 20% performance and hard work. You do the math. Where is the equity in working hard unless you promote yourself and your performance is recognized?
So don’t commit any of these deadly sins and get busy packaging yourself, your career or your business.
Discover the easy way to make yourself stand out from others. How to become an expert in your field; How to write a better resume; How to write a personal press release; How to accomplish things no one else is doing and to get people to think about you in ways they have not thought before and much more.
Learn from an expert that took her career from anonymity to world class leader after being fired 3 times in the process. Visit http://www.packagingcoach.com to subscribe to the “Packaging Yourself” E-zine and get your free special report “10 Things Your Mother Never Told You About Marketing Yourself.”
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Posted by admin on December 28th, 2008 — Posted in Games + Cheats
Space… How much we can place where… Incredible words, unknown planets, fantastic creatures.
But now I want to tell you about some space themed computer shareware games, and want you to play it - I choose only best 19 games from about 200!
Here you can find 10 shooters with each of it’s own unique gameplay, 5 puzzles, some with actions twists, 2 strategy and 2 actions and 1 arkanoid. Two game studios presented in this article has here by two games, and as I know 7 of game development studios are from Russia. Take a look at this game, but please be patient - I will split this article to 3 parts, it will help me to say more about each of 19 games. And another one note - I don’t want to rank these games, it’s all are best, so I will present games in alphabetical list.
AstroAvenger (by Divo Games) / Space Shooter
“An insane space shooter with twisted missions and cool weapons!”
Looking for a space shooter that will surprise you? AstroAvenger features cool graphics, excellent sound effects and a groovy sound track. The game employs an advanced upgrade and power-up system that allows you to buy new types of weapons, ammo, armor and batteries as you advance from one level to another. Fighting takes place in five distinct and expansive galaxies, with over 25 different enemy ships types to combat.
Barnyard Invasion (by Sandlot Games) / Puzzle
“Save farm animals from their cruel human masters and take them on a much-needed vacation in this wacky puzzle game!”
Save farm animals from their cruel human masters and take them on a much-needed vacation. Use your superior alien powers to thwart human attempts to keep the happy livestock captive in this wacky puzzle game. See hilarious snapshots of vacationing aliens and liberated farm animals!
Bejeweled 2 Deluxe (by PopCap Games) / Puzzle
“Take the classic game of gem-swapping to euphoric new heights!”
Take the classic game of gem-swapping to euphoric new heights! Adapted from its predecessor, Bejeweled 2 features four unique ways to play. Solve handcrafted brain teasers in puzzle mode while up against the clock or kick back, relax and enjoy endless mode. With awe-inspiring planetary backdrops, explosive new gems and dazzling special effects, Bejeweled 2 is more wildly addictive than ever before!
Bugatron (by Retro64) / Space Shooter
“Are you ready to blast some bugs?”
It’s easy to see why thousands of people have already ordered Bugatron Gold. It’s fun, fast, and you don’t have to be a computer wiz to figure out how to play. We know you’ll love it, and your friends will love it too!
Clash’ N Slash (by Enkord) / Shooter
“Non-stop action space shooter with extremely simple controls suitable for all ages!”
Space shooting has never been so simple and addictive! With Clash’N Slash arcade game you will battle pesky aliens all around the galaxy. Loads of weapons, upgrades, enemies will hold you for a long time and innovative bonus triggering system will make your game experience colorful and fun.
Cosmic Bugs (by Retro64) (or another name Cosmo Bots) / Puzzle Action
“Cosmic Bugs is a remake of the classics Jezzball and Qix, with tons of power-ups!”
Cosmic Bugs takes its cue from the addictive classics Jezzball and Qix. But that’s where the similarity ends, because Cosmic Bugs has different shapes for each level, 3D rendered graphics, digital sound, new enemies, and tons of power-ups. The game features over 500 levels, and does not require any special hardware. It’s easy to control and easy to play!
So, it’s end. In next Part we will see next seven games - Desperate Space, Flyonoid, Jets N Guns, KaiJin, Mutant Storm, Outpost Kaloki and Paradoxion.
Denis Snow
You can find all of these games at games.ChocoSnow.com site or http://www.GamesChoco.com site.
You can download and try it for free.
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Posted by admin on December 27th, 2008 — Posted in Games + Cheats
As far back as the original announcement for the PlayStation 3 system, it was common knowledge for the most part that it would not ship with a hard drive. The reasoning behind it was that it would not be used enough, nor would it ever be big enough to satisfy the needs of gamers, therefore it would be left as an optional add-on. The confirmation of this went as far back as June of last year, right after E3, when Ken Kutaragi himself stated that the system would not ship with a hard drive.
In a BusinessWeek article which I actually reported on earlier, an interesting quote was written. The quote read that the PS3 would ship with “a huge hard disk to store photos, music, and TV shows.” This article was highly credible in its information and was dead on throughout, so for a statement such as this to be made, the author must know something. The author of the article’s name is Kenji Hall. Hall had direct access to everything Sony to write the article, adding to the credibility even further.
Another thing to note is the fact that Sony already practially confirmed an onlien service for PS3 similar to Xbox Live, which would require some type of bigger storage medium to do what they want to accomplish on it. I guess let the rumors fly once again as E3 nears and more information comes out. As it seems right now though, a hard drive for the PS3 launch is a definite possibility.
For more news, check out our Xbox 360 site or our Nintendo Revolution site.
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Posted by admin on December 27th, 2008 — Posted in Games + Cheats
The Challenge: Above all other things, a role playing game is just thata game. And games, beyond everything else, are supposed to be fun. Where RPGs are concerned, there are a number of things that increase the entertaining value of the game. Random chance, cunning strategy, detailed character development, and so on.
But even to a group who likes die rolling, having to roll three different types of checks for every action and compare the results will get very boring very fast. Even to a strategic group, five minutes of prep work for every combat turn is excessive. Even for descriptive players, not every little action warrants a paragraph worth of detail. And to players who care less about these parts of the game, such factors will quickly leech all the fun from game play. As such, you must consider the eighth challenge of building a versatile role playing game: the challenge of promoting simplicity.
Although players like to have opportunities to use their favorite rules and styles, they should be able to do so quickly and efficiently, and with plenty of accessible support from the game rules. Players who like to come up with their own descriptions for what their characters are doing should still be able to look at their character sheets and know exactly what their characters can do. Players who like to strategize should be able to pick out their strategies swiftly and efficiently, and while they might occasionally spend significant time deliberating over a particularly crucial action, they should have easy and yet effective staples to fall back on in a staple battle. Players who like die rolls should be able to get to the die rolling faster; they shouldn’t be forced to roll check after check for individual actions.
The Risk: It’s easy to devise rules for a situation, and not even that difficult to come up with a detailed combination rule to handle multiple similar situations. If you have five different measures of character abilitylets say physical power, reaction time, stealth, magic, and itemsyou could very easily incorporate plenty of rules to emphasize die rolling, description, strategy, or whatever other aspect of the game you wanted to emphasize. And you could probably do so in a balanced manner, simply by making each one useful for every action in its own way.
And the result would be disastrous. Would players roll a check for each attribute? Or maybe they roll a single check and add up modifiers gained from all five attributes? To maintain character value, each attribute would have to apply its modifier in a different way, indicating more calculation than die rolling. Forgetting checks, would the player have to describe how it uses each attribute in the action? How much description would be necessary? Do this, and every player will be coming up with an entire paragraph to describe every actionand it would have to, or else it’s taking a penalty due to not having as many bonuses. Does each attribute give a bonus? Now players have to remember five possible bonuses for every action.
Again, a balanced role playing game is good, but it still has to be fun. While these rules, abilities, and options are nice to have, there has to be a balancing factor. If players don’t have a reason not to use every option they have available, every encounter becomes the battle of sumo bonuses. However, where choices are required, the danger comes about that each action could take excessive time as the player runs through (and tries to remember) the abilities it has, the advantages of combining certain ones, and the results of using such combinations in the given situation.
However, as with most of these challenges, focusing too much on simplicity is no help to a role playing game. Too much simplification means that there is little character variety. Take the same attribute example from above, and simplify it to what seems a happy medium. The player can choose one attribute when performing an action (incorporating it into its description, if the group has a descriptive style), and it gets a bonus on its action dependent on how high the attribute is, modified based on the attribute’s merit in the situation. This seems ideal; there is potential for description and strategy, a direct correlation between stats and action success, and very little time required to get to the check and then on with the game.
The only problem is that there are really only five available character types. There is no real point in focusing on two or more attributes. It may sometimes seem so, since such a focus has a better chance of getting a situational bonus, but the fact is that one very high score is probably more useful than two medium scores. The players might be able to describe each character’s actions differently, which is a good way to create stylistic customization, but there is only scant possibility for valuable statistical customization. Worse still, regardless of what your choice is, the stats are the same. Although situation may change bonuses, for a standard-fare action, choosing strength is no different from choosing speed.
Clearly, this example is an extremeas a half-page role playing game, it just about has to be!but it provides a necessary warning. Oversimplification can be just as bad as complexity.
The Solution: Of all the challenges I’ve dealt with in the creation of QoTR, simplicity may be the hardest I’ve faced. I’m still not entirely sure I’ve overcome it. My preference system offers a lot of abilities, and playtesting has shown that a battle between two high-level characters can drag on for quite some time. However, I’ve managed to make some headway against this difficulty.
The best tactic I’ve used is keeping things optional. Description is always optional, and the check system keeps generally to one check per action, so there is no difficulty there. Strategy is the trick, so the first thing I did was make sure that every preference has a nice, easy-to-use ability that that help out directly but decisively in combat.
Next, many abilities don’t add new bonuses as much as they make it easier or more efficient to obtain existing ones. The majority of abilities in QoTR either make things easier to use or offer a different option rather than a bonus. Most bonuses also carry a corresponding cost, so at the very least players don’t have to spend several minutes plotting out every action.
I have one sure-fire way to simplify combat. It requires players to put in a bit of extra effort on character creation, and honestly, some html experience is nice, but I have the character sheets set up to auto-update on power gains. Players can go into the sheet and use the variables given to add their abilities and strategies into the quicky combat options provided. Once they do so, they can simply select from their preset tactics, allowing quick strategy. This doesn’t prevent them from designing an elaborate action piecemeal if the situation warrants, but can cut down significantly on time spent during standard battles.
Simplicity is an important aspect of a role playing game. If players have to jump through hoops to perform their actions, it quickly cuts down on fun. However, oversimplifying leads to stagnation. Keep different game factors optional, and give players as much accessible support as possible so they can perform their actions quickly and keep the game going at an exciting speed.
Copyright © 2006 Dustin Schwerman.
Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author’s understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae.
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Posted by admin on December 27th, 2008 — Posted in Bookmakers Stuff, Gambler Den, Sports Management
online and sport and betting
Nearly all gamblers will have spotted the term “offshore sports betting” recently, though some are not totally certain what it means. A foreign gambling web site inherently works extraneous to the authority of a distinct country or alternatively it can be a world wide web based gambling website which always has its host computer inside the borders of a state in which world wide web based betting isn’t at the moment disallowed. To summarize then, it is a sports gambling facility operative outside the nation of the client. Internet based betting internet sites are mostly modulated with the help of 3 institutions. These are the OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), the IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and finally the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association (the FTGA).
The Offshore Gaming Association is in fact a self-governing watchdog body that keeps checks on the modern offshore betting industry, their duty is to also supply gamers the means to quickly pick out worthy businesses to play gambling games on, without concern. It labors to look after the concerns of gamblers, and also they don’t levy any society dues. The association is a proficient not to mention nonpartisan third party company that expresses non-biased information, based on customer feedback, objective examination, phone discussions, prompts also offers inside intelligence.
The Interactive Gaming Council is a non commercially motivated agency. The organization was created to provide a forum for interested individuals to discuss questions and also to boost applicable matters in the world-wide web-based gambling business, to establish sincere and dutiful professional standards and methods which endeavor to raise customer faith in online wagering products and functions, and to function as the industry’s global practise consultant and in addition the Interactive Gaming Council operates as an info depot.
The IGC have worked up a reputation for reliability, ethical practise also sincerity by virtue of its elevated ethical standards, and also its allure to business concerns of principled conduct. The IGC influences overseas gaming through applying a characteristic ten-point basic policy code and in addition bills sports betting web sites a license fee for the use of the council’s logo. Disillusioned gamblers can also mention any of their issues to the IGC.
The FTGA has been established in order to construct a benchmark which will improve the transactions of internet sports gaming businesses. The authority trust that by doing trade exclusively with sites of good reputation, they can create an alliance of the fairest and most professional offshore betting companies multinationally.
To recapitulate, there are bodies which work to supervise the conduct of internet betting and which should help to allay some of the fears experienced by doubters. Internet betting sites are absolutely secure, now that individual data are no longer demanded also the rewards not to mention the odds are consistently equivalent to an orthodox Vegas-type bet. They cut down traveling, but still keep the ethos of a Vegas-style betting site, only nowadays you may bet in the comfort of your familiar surroundings.
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Posted by admin on December 26th, 2008 — Posted in Promoting Brands
7 Qualities Of A Strong Brand:
1. Commands premium pricing while retaining loyalty
2. Shortens the sales cycle
3. Deflects competition
4. Resists commoditization
5. Establishes top of mind awareness (mindshare)
6. Generates referral “word of mouth” momentum
7. Meets and exceeds shareholder expectations
If you are lacking some of these qualities read on to learn how you can strengthen your brand!
Putting Your Message In Motion…
” Persuasion is the centerpiece of business activity,” writes Robert McKee, Screenwriting Coach, in a June 2003 Harvard Business Review article on storytelling. “…If you can harness imagination and the principles of a well-told story, then you get people rising to their feet amid thunderous applause instead of yawning and ignoring you.”
You tend to listen to a guy who has taught people how to spin yarns like The Color Purple, Forrest Gump and Sleepless in Seattle. Though in this article McKee was referring to executives’ effective storytelling to inspire their various stakeholders, the same principles resonate through a company’s brand communications. First you’ve got to capture your prospects’ imaginations and make them believe your story. Only then are you within reach of branding a customer and opening a new revenue stream. Multimedia makes this goal a lot easier to reach.
The term “multimedia” encompasses any medium that relies on more than one of the human senses to communicate. For example, print ads use only sight (except for “scratch ‘n sniff). Radio uses only sound. By contrast, web movies, television and cinema use sight and sound together for a more effective presentation. So though technically multimedia has been around for a long time, today the reference is chiefly reserved for digital presentations with motion, visuals and sound.
Study after study proves that the more senses involved in telling your story (sight, sound, touch, etc.), the more effective it becomes. The greatest advantage of multimedia for B2B marketers isn’t really the media itself, but the channels now available to distribute it to niche audiences with surgical precision. DVD and the web, search engines and email provide the perfect mix of vehicles to drive a highly targeted stream of people to hear and see their stories. So in this age of digital information, it’s no wonder that marketers are rushing to use this highly targeted storytelling medium.
MicroSoft PowerPoint
This is a simple multimedia-capable tool. The next step up from a photo slide show, PowerPoint has become the most popular multimedia program in distribution today. PowerPoint’s elementary animation of typography and images richens the cracker-dry corporate slide presentation of the past and brings the entire presentation process in-house, relegating it to administrative assistants instead of outsourced creative specialists.
The problem we’ve seen with PowerPoint is that it is so easy to use that companies allow people untrained in even basic storytelling, graphics or their specific corporate brand standards to create these presentations. This does more to undermine the integrity of a consistent brand image than anything else we’ve seen. Everyone wants to add their “creative touches” to the PowerPoint presentation, and before you know it, a conservative-minded company can look like Disneyland at the board of directors meeting.
And since PowerPoint contains libraries of backgrounds, effects and color palettes for all to use, it is easy to develop presentations with a “canned” flavor, defeating the objective of brand differentiation. The use of these common library images and elements also increases the chances of your presentation taking on the same look and feel of one of your competitors.
The solution? A unique, yet standardized template based on corporate brand identity standards should be issued to a select group of managers whose departments regularly create presentations. Each completed presentation should be reviewed for adherence to standards prior to use in the field, or even internally. Creating a brand review committee will help immensely, even if it is an ad hoc, part-time or outsourced function.
Flash by Macromedia
This is an animation software tool well suited for telling conceptual stories where motion is important to express the concept, but actual cinematic media (motion film) is not the answer (for either expressive or budgetary reasons). This might work well in the case of demonstrating the principal of a machine’s operation, of which many parts are not visible.
Flash is a vector (as opposed to a raster) digital format. Vector programs like Flash and Adobe Illustrator hold quality as they rescale in size or dimension, take up far smaller amounts of disk space and download faster on the web.
Flash is built for flexibility in resolution and aspect ratios. The same presentation can be used on a laptop computer for a sales presentation as well as a 60″ letterbox plasma screen at a trade show with the same high quality results requiring only minor adjustments in display settings.
Though actual photos and even motion film or video clips can be embedded in Flash, its true capabilities shine in the animation mode. With a capable and creative designer, Flash can be a very entertaining and effective tool. It can instantly be embed in the mind of the viewer, a core concept that would otherwise take far more time and explanation.
The key is to tell an engaging story with your Flash animation. Start by identifying with your audience and encountering the problem in the way they would. Instead of simply showing a demonstration, try creating a unique character with a personality that is consistent with your brand promise or typifies your customer. Or personify inanimate objects. Build the storyline with a problem/solution orientation. Like any other marketing project, do your homework so your presentation is credible.
Here are a few tips for Flash use:
A 90-second Flash introduction to a sales presentation can standardize the way your story is told (solution story versus product features) and allow your sales reps to get to the negotiation stage faster. It is a good idea to build control buttons into the sales and web versions of the presentation to allow reps and visitors to pause at key points, fast forward through less relevant segments and rewind for those “let’s see that again” requests.
On the web, don’t use Flash for an introduction to your web site. People can grow impatient when forced to view your show before your home page. Instead, put voluntary links to your Flash movies on your home page and promote them throughout the site.
Use Flash movies for
- Positioning
- Demonstration
- Comparison
- Concept Illustration
Raster Web (”Director”) Movies
B2B marketers have long been envious of consumer marketers’ effective use of television. TV commercials are one of the most powerful mass positioning tools of all time. But for most B2B marketers, the television medium doesn’t efficiently target niche B2B segments. And though cable television has provided more specialized programming where more B2B corporate positioning commercials are finding success, for the vast majority of the middle market, it’s still a bit rich for the budget. But movies on the web…now there’s a combo with some B2B traction.
In contrast to Flash vector movies, raster web movies are simply actual videos or motion film productions that are available on the web. These movies are created no differently than cinema or television commercials. They’re simply digitized, edited and optimized for use on a DVD, CD or the web. They are quite a bit larger in file size than vector movies, so many times streaming technology is used for playback rather than downloading the entire movie before playing.
With the web growing fast as the number-one resource for business marketers, it is beginning to make sense to make special “infomercials” and short positioning movies for the web. In essence, this is simply a more engaging reincarnation of the obligatory, dust-collecting “corporate video” but with some new twists and exciting, new distribution options. Rather than make one corporate video that comes packaged with caffeine supplements, produce exciting, new, shorter, more to-the-point flicks that aim for high marks in immediacy and relevancy with web-savvy buyers.
BMW has become a leader in this area. You may have seen promotions for their web movies over the past couple of years. I received a great email last week from BMW promoting their new 3-Series cars. In the well-designed html email was a still photo of the car with a link to a movie that allowed me to set it in motion. I watched the car cornering and performing other BMW-esque maneuvers on a winding coastal highway. Very nice for positioning. Very effective story telling.
T-Mobile is now unveiling a custom-produced version of the smash TV series “24″ on short web movies delivered to select web-capable wireless phones. Though this may be a superfluous demonstration of technology and off-task with the utility of wireless phones, the fact that it can be done is in itself impressive.
Other uses for this phone technology and storytelling style are sure to catch fire over the next few years (movie trailers, mobile video mail, etc).
Paid search engines are a great way to efficiently target and recruit viewer-ship for your web movies and Flash presentations. Services such as Google’s AdWords, Yahoo’s Overture, Espotting.com and FindWhat.com are services that guide search inquiries from popular search engines to your website and only charge per click-through to your web site. This is a very efficient promotional tool to hook up with exceptionally qualified, active prospects.
ROI
The great thing about doing anything on the web -like multimedia presentations - is that you can get some fantastic metrics on who is watching, when and why. From this and other information, relationships can be made between ROI and spending that could never have been as precise before web technology.
Most Internet Service Providers (a.k.a. “ISPs” or Hosting Services) now include web metrics packages that enable you to see how much traffic you’re getting, through what pages visitors enter your website, how long they visit, which pages they visit, when, and a host of other metrics.
How do you use this information for determining the ROI of web media? When you run promotions (with strong offers via email or other direct marketing), use a special web address as a response device, so you can measure the effectiveness of lead generation. Once the visitors are on the site, you can carefully structure their paths with strategic links that lead to your web movies, Flash presentations and other web media. This should help to position your brand and motivate the visitor. A call for action to download information or order products at the end of the movies can be used to measure the effectiveness of the movies.
With each marketing or branding objective, new and creative ways of measuring your ROI can be devised, and motion media developed to motivate action.
To measure how strong your brand image is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click “Take the brand strength test”. This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company’s brand. It’s a great tool to see where you are today.
Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (http://www.brandidentityguru.com), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.
Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.
Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Simon (America’s largest shopping mall manager) and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.
Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.
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Posted by admin on December 24th, 2008 — Posted in Living In Leisure, Traveling
Countless keen skiers will before long be looking for their ski trousers and darting forth in search of the largest snow.
And undoubtedly the results from your carbon footprint will be close to as far down the list of vacation musts as a xmas tree after Christmas.
But last Christmas, a tardy snow was in the broadsheets and holidaymakers were panic struck about the smattering of snow melting nearly as soon as they landed.
Skiing holiday business Chalet1802, based at the foot of Mount Blanc in Chamonix town in the French Alps, is one of the only autonomous firms to go carbon neutral and give snowboarders an environmentally friendly choice while reserving their ski trip.
Chalet1802 founder Dorren stated: Last season was quite a surprise with the most warm wintertime in 55 years in Europe. Mountain ski areas like Chatel, Montroc and Les Trois Vall©es lacked clients.It was warm and the snowfall did not last so a lot of the early season snowboarding season in the Alps was limited. We resolved to become carbon neutral to help preserve the snowboarding resort.
Dorren said: We are not trying to prescribe to punters only we believe it is valuable to grant them the alternative without augmenting the cost of the stay. When the client book with us and goes on holiday to our Chamonix chalet they may more than off-set their carbon footprint and we absorb the added prices. Of course we still have a sauna and a hot tub - guests require luxury but not at the expense of the environs, so we viewed methods of lessening the impact of someone driving over here for a snowboarding holiday.”
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Posted by admin on December 24th, 2008 — Posted in Doing Commerce
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