personal finance money management

Blogger Andrew Trench recently presented a theory on the threshold of when Internet penetration starts to matter, writing:

Social networks have also been given plenty of credit for the revolution unfolding in Egypt.

So I went and had a look at the numbers over on www.internetworldstats.com to see what they could tell us about these two scenarios. Well, fascinatingly, both Egypt and Tunisia have seen a massive growth in internet users and internet penetration over the last 10 years.

Both have now got internet penetration of over 20% and in Tunisia's case it was as high as 34%.

While it is clearly simplistic to over-state this factor and there must be many more drivers contributing to such a rapid political uprising, it is obviously a factor as evidenced by the Egyptian regime pulling the plug on the country's internet access to try and block the rising tide of revolt.

My back-of-napkin theory is this: that a rapid increase in internet penetration in a repressive regime does play an important role as it provides an unfettered channel of communication allowing disaffected citizens to share views - and more importantly - to rapidly organise and mobilise.

If Egypt and Tunisia are valid case studies, it looks like internet penetration of around 20% is the mark.

Geopolitics & Macroeconomics adds:

Internet penetration: Social networking sites were critical to sustaining the momentum in the recent protests. The internet penetration in Egypt is 16%. In Libya, it is a meagre 5% [1]. The unrest in Libya has thus far remained concentrated in regions that are geographically distant from the seat of ‘real' power (see more on this below). The dependence of momentum on internet communication is far greater in Libya than in Egypt where protests began in Cairo itself.

Taking the conversation to Pakistan, Sabene Saigol writes, on BrandRepublic:

Perhaps one reason for this is that we're still not that used to communicating via the ‘net - maybe we need greater broadband and internet penetration. Personally I think it is more to do with culture - while Pakistani internet users are savvy to using social media to connect with friends, I feel they have not yet ‘crossed over' to seeing SM as a means for professional communications - or even wider social communications that go beyond their immediate circle. Yes, there are no doubt savvy people - both within marketing and tech circles, and outside - however, these people are likely a tiny proportion of the total number of ‘net and social media users.

Another day, another honking big funding for another online start-up (and yet another broken embargo too!).

It’s like Groundhog Day in Silicon Valley as usual.

Today, Cambridge, Mass.-based HubSpot wins tech’s version of the lottery, grabbing $32 million from Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures and also Salesforce.com.

It is unclear what the valuation for HubSpot is now, although it is likely high given it has raised $65 million now.

HubSpot makes marketing software for businesses, who use it to find prospects and generate leads, along with tools to analyze the process. It claims it has “4,000 customers, over 50 percent market share, five million leads managed, and 70 million page views tracked monthly.”

The Series D financing included HubSpot’s existing venture investors–General Catalyst Partners, Matrix Partners, and Scale Venture Partners–and part of it will be used to cash out existing shareholders. In previous rounds, the start-up has raised $33 million.

Here is the official press release:

Sequoia, Google Ventures, and Salesforce.com Invest $32 Million in HubSpot

Marketing Software Company Attracts New Strategic Investors

CAMBRIDGE, MA–(Marketwire – March 8, 2011)–Today, for the first time ever, Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures and Salesforce.com all invested together in one company, providing HubSpot with a Series D round of financing through a $32 million investment. HubSpot provides all-in-one marketing software used by over 4,000 businesses to get found by more prospects, convert them into leads and sales, and analyze the entire marketing process.

“The fundamental way that people shop, learn, and buy has changed radically in the last few years. HubSpot helps transform the way businesses market from outbound marketing (cold calls, email blasts, and direct mail) to inbound marketing (Google, blogs, social media, mobile, etc.),” said Brian Halligan, co-founder and CEO of HubSpot.

Sequoia Capital has a long history of partnering with founders to help them build long-term, multi-billion dollar companies, including Google, LinkedIn, AdMob, YouTube, Yahoo!, Apple, and Oracle. “We back companies that are transforming their industries,” said Jim Goetz, General Partner at Sequoia Capital. “HubSpot is the emerging category leader in the SaaS marketing sector. Their customer base exceeds that of all the other relevant marketing software companies combined, including Eloqua, Marketo, Genius, and Manticore.”

“Today, every company needs to succeed in search, social, sales, and marketing–I can’t think of a more powerful trifecta than Google, Salesforce.com, and HubSpot. With 4,000 customers, HubSpot is already a clear marketing leader–now, with this new infusion of capital and recognition by Google’s venture arm and Salesforce.com, HubSpot has a great opportunity to separate itself from the pack and become the leading marketing platform in the small and medium business space,” said Brent Leary, co-founder of CRM Essentials.

Google Ventures Partner, Rich Miner (formerly co-founder of Android) said, “We agree with HubSpot’s belief that search engines, social media, and mobile devices have fundamentally changed how businesses should market themselves. We’re thrilled to support their efforts to help thousands of small and medium businesses reach potential customers.”

Dharmesh Shah, co-founder and CTO of HubSpot commented, “We founded the company based on a simple premise: Businesses want an easy-to-use, complete and integrated marketing platform that helps them get more leads and customers. We plan to use this new capital to further invest in this ambitious vision and further our existing lead in the marketing software category.”

Surface Encounters

Josh Pastner of Memphis Tigers gets new 5-year deal

Memphis coach Josh Pastner receive a new five-year contract Tuesday.

Surface Encounters

Take Two: Donald Trump Releases Official Birth Certificate - The Note

Donald Trump learned the hard way this week that if you're going to call on the president to release his official birth certificate, you'd better do the same. The Note, authored by ABC News' Amy Walter and Michael Falcone, ...

Surface Encounters

autosport.com - NASCAR <b>News</b>: Raikkonen to compete in NASCAR

Former Formula 1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen will make a surprising move to NASCAR this year, the Finn joining the series with a new team.

Surface Encounters

Apple advertises its products as magical. They’re at the intersection of “technology and the liberal arts,” Steve Jobs said today. Something that moves your heart, not just your lust for technology. Will consumers still buy that in 2011?

The big picture question of the day is whether Apple has done it again. With the original iPad, Apple crushed its rivals, taking more than 90 percent of the tablet market in 2010 and selling more than 15 million units. Jobs predicted today that 2011 will be the year of the iPad 2. Based on what I have seen today, I think he’s mostly, but not entirely, right.

Competitors will discover that Apple has a lot of inherent financial advantages, including being a low-cost leader. That may not sound intuitive, but I believe it has to be true. It is selling so much volume of its products that it can get discounts on parts and manufacturing services that no one else can get.

When it sells its products in stores, it also doesn’t have to give away 20 percent of the margin to a retailer. That is a huge financial advantage. Carriers are also willing to subsidize the costs of Apple products in a way that they won’t with other tablet vendors. All of these things may explain why the Motorola Xoom, a very cool product, is selling for $800 while Apple has priced its new devices at $499 to $829, (and dropped the price of the old iPad to $399). Apple has also left very little room for rivals here, since it has signed up both AT&T and Verizon. Perhaps there is room for rivals to sell $199 machines, but users probably aren’t going to like them.

Those are reasons why any cool Apple mobile product could beat other rivals. But Apple has also done some smart things with the iPad 2. It has created another rev of its microprocessor, the A5, which has two cores, or computing brains. And it has nine times faster graphics than its old A4 chip. Since Apple designs this chip itself, it doesn’t have to give away much margin to a chip design firm. It only has to give a small margin to a chip manufacturer such as Samsung to make the chips.

Apple has also custom-designed the A5 to run Apple applications on a device with a 10-hour battery life. Apple should have an edge there, as it won’t sell the A5 to rivals. But if this is an advantage, it isn’t likely to last long, as Nvidia is being very aggressive with a new quad-core chip that it could sell to any Android rivals.

The design of the iPad 2 is where Apple has more advantages. The iPad 2 will have faster web-browsing with a new version of Safari. It has two cameras that will inspire a lot of video and photo-related apps. The availability of the Mac applications — iMovie, Garage Band, and Photo Booth — on the iPad 2 will make a lot of users happy. More interesting features will come with new releases of the iOS, or Apple’s operating system in the fairly near future.

There are some users who won’t like the restrictions of Apple’s ecosystem. If they want universal serial bus (USB) and SD card ports, they are out of luck. Apple didn’t change the resolution of its screen either, leaving it at 1024 x 768. Competitors could add these options and put emphasis on them as selling points. (Critics are disappointed that Apple did not improve the display, but that’s a big cost issue others have too).

Apple has also made great improvements in the feel of the product. It’s 33 percent thinner, 2 ounces lighter, and it has a wonderful new screen cover that doubles as a stand for the device. (It wakes up the device when you peel it back and it has micro-fibers that clean the screen when the cover is on).

Now here is why Jobs is not entirely right. Apple has come up with a stunning machine at prices that the competitors will have a hard time beating. But it is almost inevitable that Android-based tablets will gain market share on Apple.

So far, I don’t see the Android machine that will beat the iPad 2. But the potential is there, given ingredients such as Android 3.0, Nvidia Tegra 2 chips and other fast microprocessors, and 4G LTE. The latter is the main weakness in Apple’s armor.

LTE is fast, with a minimum speed on Verizon at around 12 megabits a second and actual speeds running much higher than that now. Getting access to 4G LTE is as big a benefit as having access to lots of cool apps, from my point of view. Right now, the timing of the still-young LTE technology means that Apple cannot yet put it into its mass-produced, lowest-cost tablet computers.

If LTE costs come down sometime soon, then Apple can launch a new version of the iPad to incorporate the technology. But it’s not a simple upgrade, as it means that the hardware of the machine — including the radio chip — has to change. And for now, LTE chips are larger than their 3G equivalents, so the heat dissipation and product size are affected. In other words, LTE can force Apple to redesign the iPad.

Apple can do that. But Android tablet makers might be able to move faster than Apple directly into the 4G LTE tablet market. If they do that, then they will have found a scenario where they could steal a march on Apple. Apple is not likely to let that gap last for a long time, but it might be enough for Apple to lose some share this year.

Apple’s leadership position in this market will be hard to beat, but the collective weight and reach of Android rivals could erode it. And here’s a sobering thought: If Apple eventually winds up with only 30 percent of the tablet market, it could still be No. 1, and its place as the largest technology company in the world will not be at risk.

Check out Apple’s overview video on the iPad 2 and Jobs’ comments on technology and the liberal arts below.

Next Story: Loot Drop banks on talented game designers as it takes on social gaming’s giants (exclusive) Previous Story: Electric car startups to square off against Big Auto competition

With few surprises, techies were underwhelmed with Apple’s iPad 2 announcement, but I’m confident that consumers will be thrilled with the product. Apple already had a massive lead in the consumer tablet market it created, and these “underwhelming” upgrades should keep the company comfortably ahead. Apple has given competitors an opening by sticking to 3G, and it did not further pressure them with a lower entry price point or higher-resolution display. However, Apple has three critical advantages.

1. Brand: When consumers are thinking about tablets, they say they are buying an “iPad,” not a “tablet.” The iPad was already the category and volume leader, and the iPad 2 builds on that. In this respect, Apple actually benefits from the crowd of new tablets hitting the market. If there were only one or two strong competitors, consumers would be able to weigh the pros and cons of each offering, but with dozens and dozens of options hitting the market over the next few months, decision paralysis can set in and many consumers will throw up their hands and make the “safe” choice: the iPad.

2. iTunes: The iPad is still the only tablet on the market with a huge digital marketplace for movies, TV shows, and music. Some competitors are taking steps in this direction (e.g., Samsung’s Hub), but iTunes remains a significant competitive advantage.

3. App Store: If all you want to do is browse the Web and check e-mail, any tablet will probably suffice. However, Apple has an enormous lead in purpose-built apps. The Android ecosystem is strong and app availability should improve significantly over time, but the iPad 2 is considerably more versatile than any of its competitors right now, and it appears unlikely to lose its lead any time in the near future.

So if you are competing with Apple, what should you do? Rather than copying Apple’s products, copy its old advertising tag line and Think Different.

Apple’s brand is focused on creative types (or those who aspire to be), which is why it spends so much effort creating things like GarageBand. Competitors should target IT managers, knowledge workers, outdoorsy people, or some other group and build software and hardware combinations better suited to those use cases. Of course, this will take imagination and the ability to tie hardware, software, and services together to build unique experiences. There are some companies thinking outside the box (HTC and RIM have clearly differentiated products on their roadmaps), but for the vendors who are trying to out-Apple Apple… good luck. Here are some pointers, you’re going to need them:

• Based on Apple’s financials, it is clear that the iPad with WiFi is Apple’s volume product and 3G versions are merely gravy. Why is the competition only targeting the gravy?

• iTunes remains a significant competitive advantage for Apple – I cannot easily explain to novices how to get a movie onto the XOOM. Rivals need an “iTunes” of their own, but having one just achieves parity with Apple, so partnering is an acceptable approach. However, half measures are not enough; digital media stores must include movies (including rentals) and TV shows and music. If multiple partners are used, the tablet vendor still needs to provide a common interface and single account/billing relationship.

• Nintendo has a significant base of game developers targeting the 3DS; if you cannot muster equivalent resources (for gaming, media playback, or some other use), adding 3D to your tablet is just a gimmick.

• Apple’s rivals can compete on 4G, higher-resolution displays, or a lower price. Even speed is a potential differentiator from a technical perspective; NVIDIA has quad-core processors sampling this month, so rivals could build even faster tablets for this holiday season. However, I must still caution vendors that all of these factors are irrelevant if consumers do not want your product.

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

THE QUAKE IN JAPAN, A GOOFBALL IN VENEZUELA Japanese earthquake damage is estimated at $310 billion and could be the costliest natural disaster ever. Japanese exports suffer. Kate Rogers of Fox revisits how to protect your business from catastrophe. “Small-business owners can determine if they should be seeking disaster coverage by weighing their investment in the business itself, among other factors. If the business is the sole form of income, the risk is much greater than if it is a hobby or part-time project.” Elsewhere around the world, the war industry gets a boost in Libya. And Hugo Chávez of Venezuela says capitalism may have destroyed life on Mars.

REAL ESTATE FALLS, JOBS RISE Mark Thoma says commodity prices are increasing because of world demand. A small-business owner in Georgia is trying not to pass on the cost of high gas prices. Detroit’s population declines 25 percent. Existing-home sales fall to the lowest on record. Meredith Whitney, an investment adviser, says, “Unless the government comes out with a 50-year mortgage, this market is in trouble longer term.” Gallup’s job-creation index is the highest since September 2008. Durable goods orders fall.

ANNE HATHAWAY AND WARREN BUFFETT The Fed earns $79 billion and predicts that the recovery is taking hold. Nonetheless, one of its officials warns that the United States is approaching insolvency. Meanwhile, Warren E. Buffett predicts growth but some think his company’s stock is buoyed by Anne Hathaway. Household balances sheets continue to improve. Scott Grannis says “the Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey came in very strong. It hasn’t been this strong since the economic boom times of the early 1980s. It’s very difficult to ignore the mounting evidence of a strong economic recovery.” Architect billings increased slightly in February.

DEFICIT THRILLS The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is thrilled to see 64 senators calling for comprehensive deficit reduction. But Stan Collender, a budget expert, isn’t thrilled at all: “Does a letter that is so vanilla that it could have been written at any time over the past 40 years really indicate any movement on the current budget debate?” James Pethokoukis of Reuters says he thinks President Obama’s budget is wildly dangerous.

A NEW DEFINITION OF SMALL BUSINESS Timothy F. Geithner says that American small businesses need greater access to capital to spur innovation. The Small Business Administration, facing even more cuts, is for the first time in more than 25  years proposing to change the way it defines small businesses. JPMorgan Chase says it will cease its debit card rewards program because of new legislation that would restrict fees. Missouri gets $27 million in incentives for small-business growth. The Small Business Savings Account Act makes its way through Congress.

TAKING CREDIT The health care legislation celebrates its first anniversary and Ezra Klein defends it by saying, “Is it a perfect piece of legislation? Not even close. Will everything work as expected? Almost certainly not. But for all its flaws, it’s a good law. And it’s worth trying.” Many small businesses are still not taking advantage of the health care tax credit.

TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES A Google project manager pitches cloud computing: “Web-based software is much less costly for buyers than traditional software, and programmers can be so much more innovative, that it’s worthwhile for an entrepreneur to say, O.K., let’s start from scratch.” Paul Mah, an information technology expert, gives us eight reasons to upgrade to Internet Explorer 9. Firefox 4 is released. Microsoft jumps to second in video search and introduces a new PC tool for small business. Netflix suffers an outage. BlackBerry’s tablet is scheduled to arrive in April. AT&T buys T-Mobile but not for the reason you think. And boy. has computer technology come a long way in 10 years.

THE GROWING APPS MARKET Information Week reports that 38 percent of small- and medium-size businesses depend on mobile apps. Amazon introduces an Android app store, and Apple is not pleased. Minda Zetlin of Inc. asks if you should make a tablet app for your business: “The answer is likely a yes if one, your product or service is one where having tablet access could benefit customers; and two, your customers are the type who use tablets.” Just in time: a flood of royal wedding apps.

SPEAKING OF THE BIG WEDDING General Electric releases a much-needed William and Kate refrigerator. Jack Daniels introduces a new product — perhaps to help us forget the royal wedding. Danny Wong gives us three winning ideas to consider. A dating site features a new single man every day. Score plans an e-business learning Web site for small business. Small Business Television is rebranding itself and has introduced a new Web site. Small Business Opportunities magazine is doing the same. A small business introduces its first electric car. Sales of e-books have doubled. The group buying industry is projected to grow to $2.7 billion this year.

TWITTER’S TAX BREAKS Casey Hibbard explains how one company used social media to make $300,000 in a weekend. Robert Scoble discovers the future of work: “Just when we thought we figured out the new ’social enterprise’ market along comes Convofy.” Twitter shows San Francisco’s businesses how to save a bundle on taxes. A one-legged wrestler shows us how to become a national champ.

IT’S GOOD TO BE GREEN A woman in Canada gets a standing ovation for being green. The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce holds its green marketing event on Wednesday. The Clinton Global Initiative holds its university conference this week with a focus on entrepreneurship and a live webcast.

ADVICE FOR SXSW: HAND OUT PILLOWS The Global Entrepreneurship Congress meets in Shanghai this week. April 2 is International Pillow Fight Day. The South By Southwest conference: as seen from a bunch of social media video bloggers — which is yet another reason I won’t attend next year. American Airlines offers a big promo for California business travelers. John Jantsch wants to know the worst business advice you ever received. A third-base coach gives life advice.

SEARCHING FOR HELP WITH SEARCH An American Express survey finds that more than half of small-business owners say they need help with search-engine marketing. A video about why it’s not important to go viral goes viral. Dharmesh Shah shares a few low-cost advertising ideas for start-ups and cautions readers to “think of advertising not as a long-term traffic strategy but as a testing tool to improve your Web site and find out more about your ideal visitor.” An advertising blog discusses how to develop a relationship with the media. Lucy Thornton comes up with a few good marketing themes for April.

A 100-MILLION-MEMBER NETWORK LinkedIn officially reaches 100 million members. Seems like a good time to read the co-founder’s 10 rules for entrepreneurial success.

TRIED TALKING? Whitson Gordon of Lifehacker gives us his top 10 tricks for working while on the go. Example: “Whether it’s that old, dead iPod or the smartphone you’re already carrying with you, you probably have gigs of unused storage lying around waiting to be filled with portable apps, files and other digital travel necessities.” Melanie Brooks of Workawesome.com explains why she uses a leather day planner instead of a smartphone. Greg Schinkel warns against hiding behind our keyboards: “Before you hit ‘reply to all’ and send back a zinger to someone who maligned you, stop and go talk to the person.”

THIS WEEK’S AWARDS

BEST WAY TO GET YOUR CUSTOMERS TO LOVE YOU Ben Yoskovitz talks about the benefits of delighting your customers: “The rewards are immense. Loyal, rabid fans tweet shamelessly about how incredible you are, how valuable your Web application is and how successful your start-up will be.”

BEST WAY TO MARKET WITHOUT A BUDGET Shisha Dublin-Green explains how to market without a marketing budget: “Form an alliance: if you have a hair salon that’s mostly frequented by women with young children and elderly women, you can offer a service whereby you arrange to do their grocery shopping whilst they’re in the salon. You may decide to form an alliance with a local reputable grocer or delivery service to provide this for your customers. This could also be a way to reach out to new customers via your local grocer.”

BEST ADVICE FOR BOOTSTRAPPERS The Smart Bear says that the things money cannot buy are still the most valuable things: “Show proof of your ability to master the things money cannot buy — your ability to learn, change and improve.”

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: How do you bring in customers without spending a lot? We do free webinars every month.

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group PC, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

Surface Encounters

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: March 29, 2011 <b>...</b>

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): UN report: Cities ignore climate change at their peril; Study: Freshwater Content of Upper Arctic Ocean Increased since 1990; China 'to overtake US on science' in two years; ...

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

Surface Encounters

<b>News</b> Effects | HiLobrow

News videographer Dan Chung's footage of the tsunami devastation is moving, literally and morally. Shot on assignment for the Guardian, the work has attracted a good deal of attention—and no small amount of criticism, ...

Surface Encounters

Who's Making Money

In a week when Egypt went into a clinch over the new government’s intensions regarding human rights, freedom and higher pay, Libya erupted into what is, to all intents and purposes, a civil war and in Tunisia the body count continued to increase web trends everywhere laser focused on the same thing: Charlie Sheen.

The Oscars themselves became a footnote to the network TV star’s blitz on the media scene. Suddenly it has become impossible to not trip over his name. On daytime TV and endless chat shows reporters and celebrities pour over his every word, offer opinions, views and advice. Popular Radio shows like Howard Stern’s have held phone-in interviews, CNN’s Piers Morgan gave Sheen a full hour and ABC’s Andrea Canning interviewed him at his home and fuelled speculation over his lifestyle and domestic arrangements.

Sheen who had managed, through a public rant on Alex Jone’s Radio Show, to go from TV’s highest paid actor to unemployed has suddenly become the hottest property in the social media stakes. He topped Google trends on March 1st with millions of people across the United States and Europe looking for information on him and just two days later he clocked the fastest time ever to reach a million followers on Twitter. The Guinness Book of Records handed him the award after Sheen’s Twitter verified account (billed by him as ‘unemployed winner’) became the focus of the blogosphere and the real-time web topping the 1 million mark in 25 hours and 17 minutes. At the time of writing it has topped the 1.3 million mark.

With all these crazy numbers being thrown around the sane voice inside us just has to ask, why? Why are we suddenly so fascinated by a man who is not the greatest talent of his generation, whose inner demons, whatever they may be, are not unique, whose lifestyle, however questionable, is not exceptional in his line of work and whose willingness to participate in the media circus which usually surrounds celebrities is not that far removed from Madonna’s or Lady Gaga’s.

We are living in the era of ‘firsts’. It is the first global credit crunch we have ever experienced. Facebook and Twitter are real-time web ‘firsts’. For the first time we can find out news before the accredited news channels give them to us. For the first time institutions we help inviolable seem to have been built on clay. Charlie Sheen is the first celebrity to allow us unpackaged, raw access to his own personal view of the world. Add to it the fact that he gives us a voyeur’s view into the state of mind and lifestyle of a celebrity who’s unconventional even by celebrity standards and you suddenly have a novelty that’s as addictive as the drugs Charlie Sheen admits he used to take.

Continued on the next page

The day his fans have been waiting for has arrived, but Lupe Fiasco doesn't appear to be basking in the glow of his latest album, "Lasers."

The Chicago lyricist's third studio album comes after his critically and commercially successful offering, "The Cool." After some delays - and even scheduled fan demonstrations demanding the record's release - "Lasers" eventually leaked a couple of weeks before the official March 8 release date.

In a candid Q&A compiled from two interviews with New York Magazine, the 30-year-old rapper, born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, was asked about his hopes for "Lasers."

"To be blunt, I don't really give a [crap]," Fiasco said. “I've grown very distant from the business, very numb to it...I don't really care about the success anymore. I don't really care about the fame. Three, four years later, I look at my bank account statements, and I haven't made any money with my record label. You start to think a little bit differently about your motivations and why you're doing what you're doing."

Despite his bold claim, Fiasco insists that there is no longer any ill will towards his label, Atlantic Records, calling their current relationship "copacetic." Hopefully, he went on, "we'll get through the rest of our contract without too many big hiccups."

Label issues aside, Fiasco has a different problem with the industry: a lack of creativity.

"I’m guilty of it, too," he admitted. "Hip-hop today — talking solely about the commercial space — it’s the same producers, sound, over and over again. The artist with that particularly poppy song is given the first look as opposed to that ethereal, weird artist with the brand-new music."

Take, for example, the Grammys win that had Beliebers targeting their wrath towards one Esperanza Spalding. "The person who wins Best New Artist is this really abstract left bass player," Fiasco said, "[b]ecause it’s about who’s making music, who’s making something different. Justin Bieber sounds just like everybody else, to be honest. He’s the homie; he’s dope. But he’s no different than Sean Kingston, Usher."

Does Fiasco have a point? If you picked up his album, let us know what you think of it in the comments. To hear more on the latest in pop culture, check out the Hollywood Hangover podcast.

bench craft company reviews

How to create a Facebook <b>news</b> feed for a journalist (or anything <b>...</b>

I've been enjoying The Independent's individual Facebook feeds for journalists, football teams and other 'entities' of their news coverage. So much so that.

Obama Birth Certificate <b>News</b> | Digital <b>News</b> Report

Digital News Report – Although the Obama campaign produced a birth certificate in the run-up to the last general election, there are still questions about President Obama's birthplace. ...

Pawlenty Announces His Money Team - FoxNews.com

Republican Tim Pawlenty's exploratory committee has announced the key players who will make up Pawlenty's national finance team. The announcement comes as Pawlenty's team gears up for a major-donor fundraising effort.

SEO Services Vancouver For any Better Marketing Solution

 

When you begin your own website there are lots of ways you will have to market it and one of the best ways is to use Search engine optimization Vancouver if you happen to maintain that area. The SEO or seo services would be the top way of getting good visitors to your site and therefore making more sales.

 

Now, you need to know that you will not use SEO service if you are not an online business - however, if you don't have an online presence if you are an offline business, then you will not allow it to be very far.

 

It is a well known proven fact that if you are planning to really make it within the offline world you must have an online business. This really is something that all business people are learning the hard way. Something that you should also know is the fact that it is not as simple as just setting up the website and leaving it to complete its things.

 

This can be done in most types of ways, but these companies usually take advantage of multiple techniques to create the perfect marketing technique online. You will be able to hire these phones write articles for you personally, post on forums and blogs, create meta tags and meta descriptions, clean up the code, add alt tags to the images plus much more.

 

It is crucial that you do this because otherwise the organization you have worked so difficult for could end up losing all the money. When you have a website that you want to produce, then you will also use the services of a search engine optimization company, which means search engine optimization company. What the corporation does is basically go ahead and take best parts of your website, look into the code, create keywords and write various articles and documents to ensure that your site is placed near the top of the list for the major search engines like google.

By doing this the Search engine optimization company cannot only improve your traffic, but additionally ensure that your site is fully optimized for the search engine spiders that will be introduced to it. These spiders are utilized to analyze your website and place it in certain positions determined on certain keywords.

 

If you wish to make use of the SEO services Vancouver then all you've got to complete is discover the top companies. It is through these how the SEO gets done effectively and efficiently. With so many SEO companies to select from you need to be sure that the one you are going for is reliable. You should be in a position to ask for a breakdown of what you need, and also the company also needs to have the ability to let you know know long they've been operating for. This will limit their email list to reveal the very best ones.

 

SEO Services Offered by Different Vancouver Web Companies

The Vancouver SEO company services are very beneficial for business growth because they provide quality services. If you're planning to create a website for your online business, then you have arrived at right article as I is going to be explaining below how SEO Vancouver company services can improve your website ranking and make it popular.

Before that, you need to know what Search Engine Optimization is. It is not that complicated and I'm sure you will get a grasp from it reading my article. The primary goal of SEO is to have more traffic to your website and target audience. It's a good decision to choose a Vancouver SEO company that are experts in this sort of work, so that your website could be listed in search engines like google.

There isn't any point in you using a website without any website ranking whatsoever as you won't get any business and profits to survive. It is a very tough atmosphere available because there are a lot of internet business people just like you, who want their share of pie. You must be familiar with the truth that nearly 85% of online traffic can be got from web sites.

When a user types inside a keyword or keywords for what he/she wants to know in different sites, these use crawlers to get web-sites with the relevant content and index them based on algorithms. It's not necessary to be worried about the algorithms which these websites use as that isn't important.

To appear in the first page of the google listing, you will have to hire professionals and experts who can do the needful to keep your website among the good books in these websites. These professionals can optimize your website content to ensure that your website gets increased traffic.

Once the traffic gets high, it is a sign that you're getting a service that will enable you to get more revenues. SEO Vancouver company do the following to create your website appear inside the first page of search engine results.

Use keywords which are popularly used on search engines like google on your website content.
Have a website design for your website that is simple because top sites are allergic to flash and weird designs.
Submit your site to directories.
Submit your site to directory websites.
Postings on blogs and forums with back links for your websites. This is considered as an effective way to get more traffic aimed at your website as many internet users use blogs and forums.

SEO Vancouver company also perform site diagnostics which is a significant part in online optimization as research and analysis on finding keywords is the way to begin a SEO campaign. So, be sure you choose the best SEO Vancouver company.

Are you looking for more info regarding SEO Vancouver? Visit http://www.seo4vancouver.com/seo-services.asp today!

 

What to Expect Whenever Getting a Roofer

When it comes time to repair or substitute your homes roof, it can be a challenging task to find someone who is competent to do the job. There are many roofing contractors available, however the types who will do a congrats for a sensible price aren't often simple to find. If you are in the market for a contractor, make use of the ideas below for interviewing as well as hiring the right one.

Job interview and Consultation

The majority of roofing contractors offer free consultations. This is particularly important, since it gives them a chance to evaluate exactly what your homes roof needs, also it gives you a chance to assess all of them. As with all businesses, believe in intuition about the people a person let upward onto your roof. No issue how good a contractor's reputation or suggestion, he or she should begin by showing a person having a company greeting card. If the contractor arrives looking and speaking in an unprofessional manner, most likely the job he's going to do will also be unprofessional. This is not to say that you ought to expect companies to reach within suits. They will be hiking in your roof, therefore the majority of will be dressed up in denim jeans and function footwear or even sneakers. If the contractor seems to be more interested in speaking upon his mobile phone while on your homes roof compared to he's within evaluating your roof's requirements, that may be another sign that he is not the main one to do the job. For the lawful safety, make sure that the service provider offers adequate legal responsibility insurance coverage.

Roofing Assessment

Expect that the contractor will be going up in your roof. In fact, any kind of service provider who not need to go up in your roofing to judge the problem ought to be immediately reduced. Those who are seriously interested in their work may possibly create a drawing of your roof's surface and tag problem areas on it as they go through their own assessment, or they will take pictures or even video of the surface area while they are available online for. This is a very essential step, because it enables you to see exactly what the troubles are and know how they will be set.

Estimation

The next phase would be the written estimation. The service provider will take out his loan calculator and come up with an itemized estimate. Some contractors will go to their own vehicle or even van as well as write up the actual suggestion, while others will crunch the actual amounts to do the job in front of you. Once you're because of the suggestion, ensure that you comprehend exactly which products will be used, how long the job will take and when there are any extra or hidden costs that may occur throughout the restore of the roofing. The service provider should be able to solution all of these questions effortlessly and forewarn you of any extra expenses that could be sustained if the roof's integrity end up being broken inside.

Once you have received several written estimates from roofing companies, evaluate exactly what each organization or even contractor is willing to provide for that price. Do not necessarily discount the highest bid, simply because sometimes the greatest bet will actually be the service provider who does the job correctly. Also, be wary associated with bids that are not nearly as expensive others. They may be utilizing inferior items or be unethical concerning the chance of concealed expenses. Above all, believe in instincts and go with the contractor who makes you feel most comfortable about handing over your hard earned money.

 

Seven Uyghurs Sentenced to Death

2011-03-23

Critics of the sentences say China has politicized the robberies as acts of terrorism.

 

AFP

A Uyghur man walks past armed Chinese security forces in Urumqi, July 17, 2009.

Chinese authorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang have ordered the executions of seven ethnic minority Uyghur men convicted of "violent" crimes, official media said on Wednesday.

 

The death sentences were handed down by the Supreme People's Court in recent days, according to state media in the regional capital, Urumqi.

 

The men were accused in connection with three separate attacks late last year in the Silk Road city of Kashgar, according to the news website Urumqi Online.

 

According to another website, the Xinjiang-based Tianshan news site, Aimaiti Tuheti, Yiming Dawuti, and unnamed "others" killed a security guard at a pedestrian mall as part of a failed Aug. 7 robbery attempt.

 

In a separate incident on Oct. 12, it said, Nuermaimaiti Aobulikasimu and 11 others broke into a house, bound and killed the couple living in it, and took their possessions.

 

It said the group also broke into the homes of two brothers, robbed them, and killed six people in a Nov. 11 attack in Kashgar.

 

The report gave no information about the victims or the schedule for the executions.

 

Three of the men were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, a sentence that is normally commuted to life imprisonment in China's judicial system.

 

They were convicted of deliberate homicide and armed robbery by the Kashgar Intermediate People's Court in the first instance.

 

'Strike hard' campaign

 

A Han Chinese resident of Urumqi surnamed Yang said a reference to "terrorism" in official news reports on the case showed that it was being politicized by the authorities, who have launched a series of "strike hard" campaigns in Xinjiang following deadly ethnic violence in July 2009.

 

"There is an implied political meaning; that they were somehow engaged in separatist activities or ethnic divisions," said Yang.

 

Exile Uyghur groups said the trials had been conducted behind closed doors, with scant opportunity for public scrutiny.

 

"The entire process against these men, from the trial through to the judgment, was opaque," said Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress.

 

"There was also very little reasonable evidence to convict them on a legal basis, because all the evidence came from one side of the case," he said.

 

"We strongly condemn the Chinese government for continuing to pursue their policies of ethnic division," said Raxit.

 

"We are also strongly opposed to the death penalty in this case."

 

Earlier cases

 

Last month, the Supreme Court sentenced four Uyghurs to death for alleged involvement in an Aug. 19 bomb attack in Xinjiang’s western Aksu city.

 

The World Uyghur Congress pointed to concerns over lack of transparency in those cases too.

 

The Aksu blast left eight people dead, including two of the bombers, and 15 wounded after a man riding a three-wheeled vehicle threw explosives at a group of uniformed patrolmen. Four Uyghurs were arrested shortly after the attack.

 

State media characterized the cases as acts of terrorism and unrelated to longstanding ethnic tensions between Uyghurs and Han Chinese in the region.

 

Exiled Uyghur dissident Rebiya Kadeer has warned that attacks like those in Aksu will continue to occur until Beijing addresses the underlying source of tension in the region.

 

Millions of Uyghurs—a distinct, Turkic minority who are predominantly Muslim—populate Central Asia and Xinjiang.

 

Uyghurs say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.

 

Those frustrations erupted in July 2009 in deadly riots that left nearly 200 people dead, by the Chinese government's tally.

 

At least 26 people, mostly Uyghurs, were sentenced to death in the aftermath of the riots, many of whom have been executed, according to state media.

 

China is believed to execute more people each year than the rest of the world’s countries combined, although the government does not publish official figures.

 

Rights groups say Beijing may execute as many as several thousand prisoners annually.

 

Chinese authorities blame Uyghur separatists for a series of deadly attacks in recent years and accuse one group in particular of maintaining ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

 

New training scheme

 

China on Wednesday also announced a training scheme which places ethnic minority graduates from Xinjiang in work elsewhere in China.

 

Governments of the destination cities will spend 450 million yuan (U.S.$ 69 million) for the program, while Xinjiang will spend 400 million yuan (U.S.$ 61 million), the official Xinhua news agency reported.

 

The program targets some 60,000 jobless college graduates in Xinjiang, around 80 percent of whom are from ethnic minorities, and 60 percent of whom are women.

 

However, some commentators see the move as an attempt to assimilate non-Han Chinese into mainstream Chinese culture.

 

"From the point of view of ethnic minorities, the graduate work scheme is really taking the cream of youth from the minorities and using them to 'further cultural development,'" wrote one ethnic minority user on a popular microblogging service.

 

"In fact, the culture that is being advanced is Han culture, and this group of young people will have been totally brainwashed," the microblog update said.

 

An Urumqi resident surnamed Li agreed.

 

"They have run senior high school schemes like this before during the past few years," he said.

 

"Whether it's high-schoolers or graduate training programs, these are measures that are aimed at thought control and brainwashing, and the 'Partification' of their education," he said.

 

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

 

Wikileaks and also the Uyghurs

through holly upon Dec 20, This year
Henryk Szadziewski, Supervisor, Uyghur Human Rights Project

If it had been ever in doubt, information obtained through the whistleblower website, Wikileaks, offers confirmed Chinese federal government fears over its continued control of the location it phone calls Xinjiang, also is referred to as Eastern Turkestan. The leaked wires through U.S. diplomats demonstrate the actual degree to which Chinese government bodies make an effort to convince governments worldwide to adopt its position upon issues impacting Uyghurs. The actual cables additionally show the actual United States' issues as well as views concerning the ongoing repressive measures in the area.

Most illuminating of Chinese federal government stress would be the wires pointing in order to Chinese anger, or even the specter associated with Chinese ire, within the release of Uyghur detainees within Guantánamo to third nations. A December 29, 2008 cable applies how Chinese Helper International Minister Liu Jieyi met with the Ough.Utes. Ambassador in order to China to tone of voice Beijing's strong opposition associated with release to any country other than The far east, which when the U.S. do certainly accede for this ask for it might "avoid harm to bilateral relationships and also to cooperation ‘in essential areas'". Furthermore, the Feb '09 cable explains the way the Chinese Ambassador in order to Kyrgyzstan, Zhang Yannian, regarded the actual possible release of Uyghur Guantánamo detainees because "an unfavorable behave towards us" and a "slap in the face". That the Ough.S. federal government was firm within not really liberating the actual detainees in order to China illustrates the degree from the politicized nature from the Chinese judicial program. Legitimate issues over terrorism tend to be understandable, but in the Ough.S. government's observe the detainees might most likely face do-it-yourself torture and execution when they came back in order to China

Chinese government pressure in regard to the actual Uyghur Guantánamo detainees wasn't just put on the U.Utes. federal government, but also to New Zealand along with a number of Western governments that were considering resettlement. Albania, Germany as well as Finland, as well as European Union member says all appear to have borne the impact of Chinese language government unhappiness. Regarding Indonesia, that was initially prepared to consider two Uyghurs on purely humanitarian reasons, Uyghur Guantánamo cases had been less preferable to other detainees because of the negative effects taking Uyghurs might have on relationships with China. A May 8, 2009 cable relates how "German Ambassador Erina Schaefer reported that Germany experienced informed The far east from the U.Utes. request to accept some Uighur detainees held at Guantánamo and had been consequently warned through The far east associated with ‘a large load on bilateral relations' in the event that Indonesia had been to simply accept any kind of detainees".

The diplomatic wires additionally talk about the actual unrest in Urumchi, the regional funds, within July 2009. The This summer 13, 2009 cable television discussing mass incidents in China states:

"Ethnic riots like those in Xinjiang July 5-7 and in Tibet within March associated with 08 differ markedly in source as well as character through bulk incidents, XXXXXXXXXXXX stressed to PolOff [Political Officer] on XXXXXXXXXXXX. Each present severe trouble for the actual Party, XXXXXXXXXXXX said, however the Party management wouldn't wait to spread out fireplace upon Uighurs or Tibetans when they deemed this necessary to restore purchase. Mass occurrences pose another kind of risk, he said, since the leadership is actually ‘afraid' to fire upon Han rioters for anxiety about sparking massive open public outrage that would change against the Celebration."

This can be a relaxing opinion, particularly when 1 considers evidence offered in two reviews released this season by the Uyghur Individual Rights Project (UHRP) and Amnesty Worldwide which fine detail eyewitness accounts of the utilization of deadly reside fire against Uyghur protestors in July '09. Additionally, the declaration which fireplace would not be deployed towards Han Chinese protestors has resonances for the various approach taken by Chinese language security forces within Urumchi in order to Han Chinese protests in September 2009. During those protests, after that Celebration Secretary, Wang Lequan, addressed protesters, who experienced demanded that he inform them about government reactions in order to protection concerns. A similar request to satisfy using the Party Secretary by Uyghur protesters within July wasn't fulfilled.

The actual broader repercussions from the unrest also noticed a brief discussion about the impact it would have upon Iran-China relationships, and on relationships along with Australia after Globe Uyghur Our elected representatives President, Ms. Rebiya Kadeer, talked at the National Push Membership within Canberra in August 2009. In the second option situation, china government "privately warn[ed] a significant Australian bank which vendors the National Push Club to use its influence to block the Kadeer talk there".

The actual United States' issues about the scenario within the Uyghur region are available via in the cables. Inside a dialogue upon plan direction within Tibet, Ough.S. authorities explain that it will end up being impossible for Chinese frontrunners to adopt a softer line "if they look like doing so under international pressure". The actual cable dated April 16, 2008, one month following the episode of unrest in Tibetan regions, additionally relayed the observation "that domestic balance remains the leadership's main concern above all else, meaning there will ‘almost surely' be absolutely no rest from the present difficult collection upon Tibet or in places like Xinjiang." The info included in the cable also sheds gentle about the severe sensitivity with which china government views territorial integrity, and the possible spill over of unrest from Tibet.

The chance associated with solutions to stress within Tibet as well as Xinjiang as a result of municipal society tend to be discussed inside a February 24, 2008 cable. Whilst suggesting that China's financial success will increase its potential to deal with democratic reform, the actual cable additionally talks about how Chinese leaders begin to see the effectiveness associated with "a limited growth of municipal society, such as enhancements within the guideline associated with law along with a stronger role for approved religions, NGOs, non profit organizations along with other actors in places that bring about sociable balance and do not problem Communist Celebration rule." This is a notable alternation in considering, that has seen Ough.S. authorities promote the notion which Chinese economic improvement, and financial relations with China will bring about a steadily democratic society; however, more faith appears to be placed in the grassroots movement than one that begins from the best levels of the Chinese government. Nevertheless, the cable concludes which "[i]n places such as Tibet as well as Xinjiang, driving a car of separatism leads to tight restrictions about the development of municipal society." This approach can be regarded as counter-productive by the official, who shows that the Ough.S. federal government "should continue to express...serious concerns more than Beijing's individual rights record as well as appeal to China's developing awareness which higher respect for human privileges, spiritual independence and the guideline associated with regulation will serve to promote the development and social stability that The far east seeks as well as to improve China's international image." This type of strategy might consider considerable diplomatic abilities thinking about "China's weird fear the Usa secretly promotes regime alter and ‘separatists' in Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang".

The wires provide understanding of the daily company associated with diplomacy that is rarely owned by everyone, which is fascinating to notice the quantity of work carried out behind closed doors upon Uyghur problems. The importance of the actual part of the United States like a keep track of associated with Uyghur human privileges conditions in private conversations is made clear, as well as contrasts with its tactful public stance. Employees of the Uyghur Human Privileges Project is comfortable with the pressure china federal government exerts upon Uyghur activists; nevertheless, the details of Chinese government stress on it's counterparts is illustrative from the degree which Chinese officials make an effort to control contrary narratives. With more revelations to come from Wikileaks, concerns over Uyghurs may not get the actual headlines, but the wires have get rid of brand new light on the paperwork associated with individual rights problems in the Uyghur area.

 

Search Engine Optimisation And Article promotion Will Place You On The First Page

Search engine optimization and marketing with articles are two of the strongest strategies that you can use promoting your website and get the revenue and success that you need for your internet business. Those two things have been around for a really while already nevertheless they still still be really effective. Actually, these have helped a lot of people free themselves in the traditional means of money-generating options of society.

In this post, I will be showing the ways how you are able to properly execute search engine optimization and article promotion for the betterment of the business enterprise website. Additionally, I will also be discussing different points that you have to look out for when you are using these two website marketing strategies to promote your website and get customers. Despite the fact that article promotion and Seo have been in existence for a long time already, you have to know that the trends and choices as to how they are carried out are continually changing, which is why you have to remain up to date with these things through the help of Search engine optimization forum sites to enable you to quickly adjust and learn to make your strategies more efficient.

In the past marketing with articles to different web-sites used to be so simple the effects they produce for web sites was really powerful. However, things have changed a whole lot today. These days submitting exactly the same article to various websites has stopped being a good idea because search engines have now changed with a huge extent in the way they rank pages. They no longer rank contents which can be identical like they used to in the past. This really is the most effective examples of changes that exist in web marketing trends. This change has given birth to wide plethora of methods that internet marketers are using today. Most of online marketers now produce articles and publish them in really popular article directory sites and await site visitors arrive at their pages. This is perhaps that most reliable Seo strategy that you can use. Aside from being effective, this delivers favorable outcomes regularly. A small problem using this strategy is how the caliber of traffic that you'll get using this won't be that good if you don't do proper market and keyword research beforehand and rehearse in-links. You first need to attend to these two things before you submit your articles so that you won't find yourself losing considerable amounts of targeted traffic. Which means that you have to practice good levels of diligence if you'd like your advertising initiatives to function.

Other than articles, you can also use blogging, which can be another really powerful form of internet marketing strategy today because it is highly well-liked by google and yahoo. On this technique, you can choose to produce a single weblog that specifically targets your selected market otherwise you can contribute to other blogs which can be called experts within your niche.

Learn effective Vancouver search engine optimization techniques on the Vancouver SEO website.

Roofing Contractors Vancouver BC

There are several things to take into account when looking for a roofing contractor. Value, experience, as well as referrals are a couple of the things you will probably be concerned about. Please read on for even other great ideas.

• Finding a Roofing Contractors

Before searching for a roofing contractor, be sure you have a standard idea of the work that you need to did. By no means must you be an expert. If you have a new Roof Qualification, read it thoroughly to find the information about your current roof. If you do not have a Ceiling Certificate, make reference to documents signed during concluding to locate your homes Inspection sheet. These documents should give you everything you need to be familiar with your roof. Prior to contacting a new roofing contractor, you ought to have a list of demands and features to help you make a decision exactly who works for your roof covering project. Be sure to write down every single potential roofer contractor's answers and also check all of them against the other. If you'll find any discrepancies, be sure to note this and also take this into consideration when generating a final determination. There are no surefire ways to choose a roofing contractor, but when you take take to the details provided, your odds of a successful roofing project tend to be greatly improved.

One of the best strategies to finding a roofing contractor is by recommendations. Try requesting a friend or relative who may have had roof covering work carried out, and has been satisfied with the task. Get the identify of the company and their contact data. If you have not sure of mouth area referrals, try out first hunting in the cell phone book and internet based. A large advert or extravagant website is just not necessarily an indication of the good quality of work, but can be a great tool pertaining to measuring the amount of time and dedication they have placed in their respective profession. Furthermore, try locating current worksites and search at the covering work which is done maybe in the process of becoming finished. If you are visually amazed, ask the property manager for that name of the roofing contractor along with their speak to information.

• Background Research

When looking for a new roofing contractors, it is imperative to very first do your own background research. Acquire the best in the yellow pages or on the web is a suitable spot to find a service provider, finding essential information on these kind of businesses is going to be found in other areas. 1st, check with areas like the Bbb, city, condition, and state public records, along with local certification agencies. Question your roofer if they are a member of any roofing contractor associations. These kind of precautions will mitigate your own risks. Additionally ask them what kinds of roofing they specialize in. In addition ask your current roofing contractor regarding any extended auto warranties they offer on their installed roofing. Find out what precautions they choose to use avoid damage done to other regions of the home by simply workers. Items such as gutters, exterior siding, and chimneys are close in proximity and for that reason susceptible to unintentional damages.

Make sure all of this information is included in your published contract. Find out if you need a roofer permit and/or agreement from your property owners association beforehand. These entities will let you know that's responsible for getting these allows and authorizations. If it is the duty of the roofing contractor, also have this included inside your contract. If it's your responsibility, get said permits and permissions collated using the estimated roofer project and possess it evidently posted or perhaps readily available.

• Accreditation and References

Roofing Companies are not forced to be qualified in all claims. Contact neighborhood licensing organizations that oversee general development contractors to get a list of demands. Once you have obtained the requirements, create a list of comprehensive questions to ask your potential roofer. This simple record should immediately help you to weed out the certified from the dodgy roofing contractors. Qualified companies should be able to effortlessly answer questions or tell you that they must do even more research prior to giving a definitive solution.

Even if a new roofing contractor features all required licensing, you should ask to determine pictures regarding completed roofer jobs as well as speak to happy clients. Have a list of inquiries handy to ask recent clients, such as the character of the work, timeliness, and general satisfaction. Be sure these are the latest clients as well as cross reference point if possible. In the case of commercial roofing, make sure that the actual roofing contractor is bonded. Looking at these references is another added measure of protection to restrict the list regarding potential covering contractors.

Search engine optimization Through Article Writing

Article marketing could be an extremely powerful form of Search engine optimization for your company website. Quality written articles manage to transform your websites SERP and add quality to your company website. Writing informative keyword rich articles is crucial in gaining new backlinks in your business website. Articles can and really should be written on topics which are unique for your business or industry. The articles can discuss numerous issues and ideas within your industry. Articles offering the various readers with a resource will almost always be one of the most popular and many likely varieties of articles which will cause backlinks aimed at your web.

Focus your articles on your own potential readers or customers. Search engine optimization articles should address real questions that are asked by current or past customers. Each article you're writing to suit your needs company ought to include detailed analysis and Seo keywords which will help associate your website using the content contained in the site. Focus your articles on approximately 3 keywords , nor stray from their website. Consistency is important when writing Search engine optimization articles. In case you are writing about Vancouver Search engine optimization ensure your continue to come up with information tightly related to the keyword.

Give each one of your Search engine optimization Articles an engaging Title that may encourage people you just read and bookmark your posts. Ideally, the articles you're writing will end up as links from other websites which are much like yours. This can help improve the power of each and every link all of which will help increase your SERP. Make sure you end each article which has a keyword anchored link (see Easy Small Business Search engine optimization). This link will help to enhance your rankings on the internet as well as other major engines like google for that keyword coupled to the link. Submit the articles to some free article directory and Voila! In no time, your internet site might be around the first page of Google.

Appreciate your reading. Can't wait to see your Seo articles!

Vancouver Seo Agency Aims For Google Places With Absolute Success

When individuals type in looking term trying to find a business of their local area, they'll find that Google places and Google maps is showing listings of local businesses. It is rather eminent for them to be optimized and from this first page whenever they desire to generate business. Vancouver SEO companies should be educated of this type for their clients.

There seems to be a lots of new Vancouver SEO companies starting up, simply because the importance is there. Finding an SEO firm containing the client's best interest at heart might be tedious. How many keywords do they optimize for? What are keywords and the corresponding amount of searches? Do they learn how to optimize for Google places? And so forth. Search engine optimization will be the business of landing towards the top and Maxim Edge provide there.

"My wife and I started our Vancouver Seo agency by accident. We've learned through the school of hard knocks and learning from your errors how to make use of the web to showcase any business. We began while using website, then the competition, and of course building quality back-links to push a website up within the rankings. It isn't really pushing a control button and watching what are the results type of business. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of research and many commitment. We strive for our clients and now we are very proud of a high retention rate." Randy Neale says.

For additional information on Michael, a Vancouver Seo agency, please visit the website today at seo4vancouver.com

The Uyghurs from East Turkestan

In the center of the desert landscapes of Taklamakan, in the north-west part of China, the province of Xinjiang is the very least populated province while it covers near to a sixth from the nation's area. Having resisted during generations the Han Chinese control, Xinjiang, or Old Turkistan, fell under the Chinese Han domination in 1949. From then, its population is generally Uyghur People and Turkish - speaking System.

Islamic primarily, the Uyghur people have a deep religious identification which, in particular, permitted them to keep a strong big difference in opposition to the Chinese invader. Certainly, the Uyghur Kingdom of Mongolia knew a great civilization, until its absorption by the Mongolian Empire in the XIIIth century.

During their own background, the Uyghurs successively adopted Shamanism, Manicheism, Buddhism and the Nestorianism before lastly moving to Islam when the Arab conquerors beat the Chinese in year 751 BC., therefore starting the way to the Islamization of the entire Central Asia.

Under the effect of the religions which they taken, the Uyghurs taken successively, and sometimes in a competing way, a great number of written forms (turco-runic, brahmi, tokharien, soghdien) before developing their own graphic system.

The coming of Islam was a great modification mainly because it was accompanied by the assimilation of the Uyghur land in the enormous Turco-Mongolian and Islamic Kingdom. Thus, the descendants of Genghis Khan slowly replaced their writing by a Arabo-Persan alphabet, still used currently.

If their writing, their own language and their religion mark a real difference with the culture of Chinese Han, Uyghur People also differ from their aspect, so aspect of Central Asia's people. A matt skin, eyes representing a whole pallet of colors, from black to deep blue, features directing out to the Mongolian, Turkish or Uzbek origins of these men and these women.

For a few years, China has integrated the proper identity of these remote people, though they represent only eight million inhabitants - a trifle for this kind of huge country. Thus, the Uyghurs are now part of the fifty six racial minority groups having been recognized in an official way by the People's Republic of China.

This law will allow them a few privileges in a land where their difference is very often repressed. Thus, Uyghur families escape the "single child policy" and their language is accepted as the second official language in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The integration of the Uyghurs and their culture in the People's Republic of China, however, appears very illusory. The presence of all natural sources in Xinjiang, and its area with nations recognised as sensitive, strongly encouraged the government to accelerate the sinicization of this area. Million of Han thus came to settle in this new Chinese eldorado, monopolizing the more significant responsibility job opportunities.

In response to this true will to assimilate the Uyghurs into the Chinese culture, an independent party like East Turkistan Islamic Movement(ETIM) was born in the early 1990.

Asserting more flexibility, but especially the acceptance of their true identity, this movement was seriously repressed by the power authorities in area Xinjiang.

The events of September 11, 2001, were the perfect occasion for the Chinese government to justify true reprisals: they declared the "Uyghur freedom fighters" as dangerous terrorists linked to Al Quaida because of their Muslim origins and their proximity with Pakistan and Afghanistan... However, the terrible repression which followed did not calm down the anger. The Uyghur peoples population continues today to proudly keep their identification and their culture , despite the fact that they become a minority on their own land.

For additional information and facts about Uyghur people, you can visit a Uyghur website called Uyghur News at http://www.uyghurnews.com

ation|Web optimization|Website seo|Seo optimization|Seo optimisation} Expert consultancy - Getting Ahead Using SEO

When it comes to success, among the mot important matters is planning well ahead of time. Simillar to in anything else, preparation is the key. Once you prepare with determination selecting able to uncover before competition, even the world of web business. Websites these days making the effort to do their best to get ahead of competition because of their targeted search terms through careful planning. Seo is the better tool that can be used in order to achieve your goals and fortunately, the Search engine optimization expert consultancy and tips that have been discussed here will make things simpler for you.

Seo is important today

One of many reasons why lots of people today are searching for Seo expert consultancy is because it is one of the few strategies that often work today online. Seo can be be extremely effective in terms of getting a higher site ranking on search engines like google, increasing the variety of visitors on site and helping the level of profits and purchasers. Although a lot of people and any good Search engine optimization expert would tell you that it is a lengthy and complicated process, Seo can be a skill that could be learned. Should you employ the services of an expert or if you utilize tricks utilised by experts for his or her own sites, it would be easier for you to understand the concept and put it to use to your website.

Taking a search engine course

Several businessmen and internet-based website owners today are taking Seo certification from experts today because it turns out to be quite of great help for them. There are lots of short certification courses on Seo currently available which can teach you the basic concepts and offer you a grip about them. These trainings usually are given by those who are experts in the field. Through training, these experts share their knowledge while using course participants, help them learn the essential processes for better optimization of websites which will help these to promote their business. These courses can educate them market and keyword research so that they would be able to select the best possible keyword and have a better chance to rate higher on the search engines.

Seo training can be very helpful

Through Seo training you'll be able to learn several concepts and tips like placing keywords inside the right place in the content of sites. Another topic that may be often tackled by such courses is linking strategy mainly because it will also allow you to rank higher. These Search engine optimization trainings and courses might be taken either online or even in the traditional format in classrooms, depending on your own time and preferences. It is possible to help your website and enjoy better traffic and profits while using concepts which might be taught by these courses by a welsh search engine optimization expert.

The author is fulltime Website seo Expert, it is possible to know more about him and services they feature on their website http://www.seo4vancouver.com/.

Making Money on the Internet

I’m back. CPAC week came and went. Then another week came and went after the horrible cold I got at CPAC. But now I’m healthy again and it’s time to start catching up. Though there’s no way I’m going to post on every tidbit I’ve run across in the last two weeks, I can try to hit the highlights.

And let’s start with the fact that the Internet Kill Switch is back under a new name. Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman have reintroduced the bill under a new name. They think if they put freedom in the name that we’ll ignore the problems inherent in giving the President emergency powers to wage economic war on America. The Internet Kill Switch is a broken idea. We don’t let the President close supermarkets nationwide if one butcher in one city has an e. coli outbreak. We can’t apply the same overreaction online.

Also while I’ve been out of it, House Republicans have been busy. As I understand it, we’ve not only grilled the administration on the “Stimulus” spending on communications, but we’ve also passed an amendment to the continuing resolution in order to defund Net Neutrality. I love it. Our Energy and Commerce leadership in the House has so much going on, including Obamacare, but they seem to relish the opportunity to strike back so much and so hard at the administration’s illegal overreaching. From the cheap seats, Greg Walden, Fred Upton, and others are doing a great job.

Fun fact: when the House debated Net Neutrality defunding, the Democrats very strangely started making arguments that government should leave the Internet alone. Anna Eshoo said “I would not fool around with an open, accessible Internet.” Hey, for once we agree.

By the way, fun fact: Net Neutrality is so terrible for innovation and customer service that ISPs turned down ARRA money to try to stay away from it. Yes, they turned down free money from the government because regulation is just that costly.

Further, the Net Neutrality coalition continues to crumble. Collin Petersen, Democrat of Minnesota, flipped sides by voting for defunding NN after voting for NN last Congress. Perhaps he noticed the total wipeout in 2010 of PCCC candidates pledged to support Net Neutrality. Every single Democrat who signed the PCCC Net Neutrality pledge went on to lose in November.

Meanwhile, Julius Genachowski and the FCC still don’t get the message. He thinks he’s entitled to debate the Congress instead of taking orders. Greg Walden announced plans to pressure him on transparency, which should help teach him who’s boss, you’d think.

Though we have to give Genachowski credit on one thing: He admits the Netflix/Level 3/Comcast issue is not a violation of Net Neutrality.

Michael Copps, pet commissioner of neo-Marxists everywhere, deserves no credit though. He’s now pushing for more speech controls in the name of “disclosure.” It’s about control and gathering power in Washington.

The FCC still needs lots of oversight, though, as conflicts of interest continue to crop up, this time with an FCC official having PBS as an employer.

I have more to write on in the coming days on Google and Copyright, especially the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) which threatens to continue the criminalization of copyright law in America and expands government online in the name of protecting a few big companies. Watch this space.

I’m back. CPAC week came and went. Then another week came and went after the horrible cold I got at CPAC. But now I’m healthy again and it’s time to start catching up. Though there’s no way I’m going to post on every tidbit I’ve run across in the last two weeks, I can try to hit the highlights.

And let’s start with the fact that the Internet Kill Switch is back under a new name. Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman have reintroduced the bill under a new name. They think if they put freedom in the name that we’ll ignore the problems inherent in giving the President emergency powers to wage economic war on America. The Internet Kill Switch is a broken idea. We don’t let the President close supermarkets nationwide if one butcher in one city has an e. coli outbreak. We can’t apply the same overreaction online.

Also while I’ve been out of it, House Republicans have been busy. As I understand it, we’ve not only grilled the administration on the “Stimulus” spending on communications, but we’ve also passed an amendment to the continuing resolution in order to defund Net Neutrality. I love it. Our Energy and Commerce leadership in the House has so much going on, including Obamacare, but they seem to relish the opportunity to strike back so much and so hard at the administration’s illegal overreaching. From the cheap seats, Greg Walden, Fred Upton, and others are doing a great job.

Fun fact: when the House debated Net Neutrality defunding, the Democrats very strangely started making arguments that government should leave the Internet alone. Anna Eshoo said “I would not fool around with an open, accessible Internet.” Hey, for once we agree.

By the way, fun fact: Net Neutrality is so terrible for innovation and customer service that ISPs turned down ARRA money to try to stay away from it. Yes, they turned down free money from the government because regulation is just that costly.

Further, the Net Neutrality coalition continues to crumble. Collin Petersen, Democrat of Minnesota, flipped sides by voting for defunding NN after voting for NN last Congress. Perhaps he noticed the total wipeout in 2010 of PCCC candidates pledged to support Net Neutrality. Every single Democrat who signed the PCCC Net Neutrality pledge went on to lose in November.

Meanwhile, Julius Genachowski and the FCC still don’t get the message. He thinks he’s entitled to debate the Congress instead of taking orders. Greg Walden announced plans to pressure him on transparency, which should help teach him who’s boss, you’d think.

Though we have to give Genachowski credit on one thing: He admits the Netflix/Level 3/Comcast issue is not a violation of Net Neutrality.

Michael Copps, pet commissioner of neo-Marxists everywhere, deserves no credit though. He’s now pushing for more speech controls in the name of “disclosure.” It’s about control and gathering power in Washington.

The FCC still needs lots of oversight, though, as conflicts of interest continue to crop up, this time with an FCC official having PBS as an employer.

I have more to write on in the coming days on Google and Copyright, especially the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) which threatens to continue the criminalization of copyright law in America and expands government online in the name of protecting a few big companies. Watch this space.

BenchCraft, LLC announced that it'll debut its Concert Sequence, a brand new line of recliners with an integrated sound strategy, at Higher Stage Marketplace on October 17-22, 2009. Concert Series recliners function two built-in stereo speakers and a subwoofer built exclusively to produce a total array of sound. It's got tactile motors which may both vibrate together with the sound or be put into use independently as a massage system, and separate controls that enable for individual adjustments for being created towards the volume, bass/treble, and also the tactile/massage element. The technique, which will have a starting up total price point of $699, will also incorporate a mini audio jack so users can connect to their numerous audio resources (i.e. iPods, MP3 gamers, cell phones, and so forth.). To that conclude, Sinning mentioned that Berkline will also be introducing in choose movement
bench craft company reviews
furnishings its new eCoupled solutions option--a wireless charging station for digital units which includes cell phones, MP3 players, and laptops. Designed by Fulton Innovation, it eliminates the might need for energy cords by developing an electromagnetic conduit blended with an intelligent command system that often monitors electrical power flow so a number of gadgets from distinctive manufactures can charge at the same time. eCoupled technological know-how is additionally secure for electronic devices due to the fact it can provide only the amount of energy
bench craft company reviews
needed to keep a gadget at peak vitality levels, so there is certainly no danger of overcharging. Despite the fact that the quantity of products compatible with this particular technological know-how is minimal, Berkline expects that a lot more and more manufacturers will move toward incorporating the capability to connect to your eCoupled purpose

The Bench Craft Company gives you no excuses for that tricky perform and perseverance that they commit on their own to in order to preserve themselves because the leader in nationwide onsite golf course property
bench craft company reviews
marketing. No excuses for providing their customers with the most detailed protection for his or her bench craft company reviews advertising dollar no matter if it be locally or nationwide. No excuses for delivering golf program properties by far the most seamless plan for producing more earnings inside the most non-intrusive way, even while enhancing the top notch for the facilities combined with the practical knowledge of their golfers on their house. Bench Craft is committed to staying the most beneficial as well as the main at what they do, marketing on golf course bench craft company reviews venues.
In an age in which nobody
bench craft company reviews
would like to consider obligation for anything, Bench Craft would make itself totally accountable for that good results of their promoting clients, which is why their purchasers and perfectly as Bench Craft continuously experience nutritious progress rates and profit margins. A company cannot be any longer
bench craft company reviews
productive than their purchaser, so it really is target of Bench Craft to make particular that each customer receives the perfect likely venue for presenting their prospects
bench craft company reviews
products and solutions and solutions, whether or not it be locally or nationally. This commitment to top quality is what sets Bench Craft aside from its competitors, and dollar for dollar would make its promoting services a lot of the most priceless within the industry.
The golf programs bench craft company reviews that Bench Craft Company functions in concert with, receive services and solutions at no expense. Bench Craft Company gross sales crew right money this product for each golf course by obtaining sponsors for every merchandise. Nearby vendors and players with the neighborhood acquire sponsorship priority and golf course management works closely with Bench Craft to recognize probable sponsors. Bench Craft’s highly prosperous
bench craft company reviews
procedure gives golf courses a free of cost alternate that also eliminates prices because of this of structure improvements, program modifications, theft and vandalism.
As getting a definite additional benefit, every single program is safeguarded under a $3,000,000 liability policy. The organization can accommodate almost each golf program. Additionally, Bench Craft Company functions jointly with all branches with the Armed Forces, combined with state, county and metropolis golf courses. This collection of golf courses provides Bench Craft’s clientele with the most extensive protection of golf course properties inside U.s..
The ahead
bench craft company reviews
pondering Visionaries at Bench Craft Company created a procedure that garners the attention and participation of not simply its personal sales staff, but the sponsors, golf program management in addition to the membership and patrons. There’s only one Bench Craft Company, don’t fall for rip off plots by imposters operating a scam.
bench craft company reviews