Category Archives: Online Trends

Paypal Founder Funds Artificial Libertarian Islands

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Seasteading Institute city design (Anthony Ling)
Seasteading Institute city design (Anthony Ling)

What are libertarian islands? Simply islands that start from scratch – free from the laws and moral codes of any existing place. The oil rig-like platforms will be built on waters that are beyond the reach of law of the sea treaties.

The experiment would be “a kind of floating petri dish for implementing policies that libertarians, stymied by indifference at the voting booths, have been unable to advance: no welfare, looser building codes, no minimum wage, and few restrictions on weapons.”

Pay Pal founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel has reportedly given $1.25 million to Seasteading Institute to create floating libertarian countries in international waters, according to recent reports.

The Seasteading Institute’s Patri Friedman says the group plans to launch an office park off the San Francisco coast next year, with the first full-time settlements following seven years later.

Editor’s Note: Nice idea and I would be the first to apply to be a citizen (yes, seriously). Actually, I have thought about this idea about 10 years ago. But instead of an oil rig, it would be a natural island and it would be based on utilitarian instead of libertarian principles. A proper Constitution would have to be drafted. But first, questions that need answers are: Who would be the leader? Would anarchy rear its ugly head without laws and moral codes in place? Will they admit anyone to be “citizen” and would they be issuing passports? Would the international community recognize this “country”? Would it descend into a sanctuary for criminal fugitives? Etc.

Popularity: 50%

President Obama Joins Foursquare

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President Obama on Foursquare

President Obama, or rather the White House, has joined Foursquare.

It’s a nice milestone for the still small service, and it also shows that the President is back in campaigning mode. President Obama’s 2008 campaign was hailed for its innovative use of social media but he sort of didn’t pay attention to it when he began governing. Now that the 2012 campaign is starting, Obama is focusing again on social media, for example tweeting personally on his @BarackObama account.

More generally, the 2012 campaign should be good for Foursquare. Because it’s location-based, it seems like a great tool for political campaigning: you can tell supporters where you are and where you’re going and meet up with them.

Popularity: 31%

Too Busy for Social Media Marketing Could Be Fatal

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By Martin Zwilling, Startup Professionals Musings

I have a friend who runs a nationwide “traditional” business, and business has been down, like it has been for most people. I suggested that he add some social network marketing initiatives, and his answer was he is “too busy.” He is not alone, according to a recent study, which concludes that only 47% of companies use social media today for marketing, despite the fact that 78% of executives polled feel it’s critical for success.

What’s the problem? It seems to me that there is abundant proof in the marketplace of the financial returns to both large and small businesses, the low cost of entry, and the ubiquity of social networks. Dell announced years ago that it had earned $3 million in revenue from using Twitter, and other businesses report daily on increases in web traffic up to 800%.

I suspect that a good part of the problem is that startup and small business owners still don’t know where or how to start. They don’t know if they should move to social networks for lead generation, branding, customer loyalty, or for direct marketing and e-commerce. My advice is to pick one, start slow, and spread out as you learn. Here are some specifics:

  • Create a business profile on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. A business profile starts with a business account using your company logo as your picture (avatar), rather than your photo or a picture of your cat. If you are in consulting, you are the business, so use a professional headshot. Don’t mix your personal and business profiles or messages.
  • Develop a marketing strategy specific to this media. Don’t use the same message on Twitter you developed for email blasts and postcard blitzes. Social media demands two-way communication, rather than outbound only. Read everything you can about viral marketing. It’s not free, so budget appropriately, but not excessively.
  • Start social networking with peers. Pick a base, such as LinkedIn or Facebook, to be your community, and work the territory, much like you may have learned to work a room of peers at a tradeshow or convention, or local business organization. Find out what other people are doing, and what works for them. People love to share what they know.
  • Experiment with social media tools. The basic tools are the platforms like Twitter and Facebook. But don’t stop there. There is TweetDeck to help you use Twitter, and YouTube for video sharing. A most valuable tool is WordPress or TypePad for blogging. You need these to add the human element to your business or service.
  • Proactively learn from the experts. Maybe it’s time to sign up for a few free Webinars, or even invest in an expert consultant in this area. Successful people don’t wait for their kids to teach them about new technologies, or wait to be the last one on the block to try new things. It’s all available for “free” on the Internet, but your time is a valuable resource.
  • Define relevant metrics and measure. That means first take some baseline measurements of, for example, lead arrival rate today, and costs associated with your current media marketing. If you don’t have this baseline, you will never know if you are making progress. Then continue to measure and learn what works, at what cost.

If used correctly, I guarantee you that social media marketing can improve your business with new leads, by bringing traffic to your website, creating a buzz around your product or brand, creating inbound links to increase your search engine ranking, and improving loyalty and trust with your customers. How could you be too busy to work on these things?

Of course, if you found this blog though your own initiative, I have to give you credit for being ahead of the pack. So print it off and deliver it to a friend who is not so high-tech. My challenge to you, then, is to kick it up a notch! When is the last time you produced a video for your business, or a podcast, or sponsored a contest with free gifts? Or are you too busy?

Marty Zwilling

Republished with permission from Business Insider

Popularity: 23%

The 13 Most Impressive Cities In The World

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By Gregory White

The center of the world economy may be shifting from West to East, but many of the Western titans still remain at the top of PriceWaterhouseCoopers‘ Cities of Opportunity rankings of the dominant metropolises in the world.

PWC have cut down their list to 26 choices, choosing to focus on the world’s most powerful cities. The rankings include everything from broadband access to tax rates.

We’ve highlighted the 13 most impressive cities overall, and in what categories they perform best, as well as how many Forbes Global 500 companies are headquartered in each.

Note: PWC calculates their list using 66 different variables. The list and explanation for each can be found here. They group these variables into 10 different categories. Cities are ranked 26 (the best) through 1 (the worst).

13. Berlin

Berlin

  • World leader in commute time
  • Headquarters of 1 Fortune 500 company

12 Los Angeles

Los Angeles
Image: Flickr / Photos_mweber

  • World leader in ease of firing
  • World leader in rigidity of hours
  • World leader in ease of sport and leisure activities
  • Headquarters of 1 Fortune Global 500 companies.

11. Houston

Houston
Image: fusionpanda via flickr

  • World leader in ease of firing
  • World leader in rigidity of hours
  • World leader in ease of sport and leisure activities
  • Headquarters of 6 Fortune Global 500 companies

10. Hong Kong

Hong Kong
Image: jgaerlan via flickr

  • World leader in skyline impact
  • World leader in inflation
  • World leader in crime
  • World leader in ease of hiring
  • World leader in ease of visa travel
  • Headquarters of 4 Fortune Global 500 companies

9. Singapore

Singapore
Image: Rajesh Vijayarajan Photography on flickr

  • World leader in crime
  • World leader in ease of entry, number of countries with visa waivers
  • World leader in ease of hiring
  • World leader in housing
  • World leader in level of shareholder protection
  • World leader in math and science skills
  • World leader in operational risk climate
  • World leader in traffic congestion
  • Lagging behind in renewable energy consumption
  • Headquarters of 2 Fortune Global 500 companies

8. Paris

Paris
Image: Photo by Flickr user Nimages DR

  • World leader in foreign embassies or consulates
  • World leader in mass transit coverage
  • World leader in sport and leisure activities
  • Lagging behind in rigidity of hours
  • Headquarters of 25 Fortune Global 500 companies

7. Chicago

Chicago
Image: Michael Baird via Flickr

  • World leader in ease of firing
  • World leader in hospitals
  • World leader in rigidity of hours
  • World leader in sport and leisure activities
  • Headquarters of 2 Fortune Global 500 companies

6. London

London
Image: hamptons real estate

  • World leader in end of life care
  • World leader in financial and business services employment
  • World leader in incoming/outgoing passenger flows
  • World leader in international tourists
  • World leader in sport and leisure activities
  • World leader in strength of currency
  • Headquarters of 17 Fortune Global 500 companies.

5. Sydney

Sydney
Image: Linh_rOm. via Flickr

  • World leader in city carbon footprint
  • World leader in ease of starting a business
  • World leader in housing
  • World leader in libraries with public access
  • World leader in literacy and enrollment
  • World leader in miles of mass transit track
  • World leader in purchasing power
  • World leader in sport and leisure activities
  • Headquarters of 2 Fortune Global 500 companies

4. Stockholm

Stockholm
Image: Wikimedia Commons

  • World leader in air pollution (#1 city)
  • World leader in digital economy score (#1 city)
  • World leader in entrepreneurial environment
  • World leader in green space as a percent of city area
  • World leader in intellectual property protection
  • World leader in internet access in schools
  • World leader in percent of GDP spent on R&D
  • World leader in political environment
  • World leader in traffic congestion
  • Headquarters of 3 Fortune Global 500 companies

3. San Francisco

San Francisco
Image: Alain Picard via Flickr

  • World leader in ease of firing
  • World leader in percent of population with higher education
  • World leader in rigidity of hours
  • World leader in sport and leisure activities
  • Headquarters of 2 Fortune Global 500 companies

2. Toronto

Toronto

  • World leader in air pollution
  • World leader in business trip index
  • World leader in life satisfaction
  • World leader in quality of living
  • World leader in sport and leisure activities
  • World leader in workforce management risk
  • Headquarters of 7 Fortune Global 500 companies

1. New York

New York
Image: ap

  • World leader in rigidity of hours
  • World leader in sport and leisure activities
  • World leader in research performance of top universities
  • World leader in ease of firing
  • World leader in domestic market capitalization
  • World leader in cultural vibrancy
  • World leader in aircraft movements
  • Headquarters of 19 Fortune Global 500 companies

Source: PWC, Forbes, Business Insider

Republished with permission from Business Insider

Popularity: 73%

The Top 5 Tools To Help Real Estate Agents Dominate The Market

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By Andrew Norton

Technology is a significant part of a real estate professional’s life. For real estate agents and brokers, most of their time is exhausted trying to find new clients.


Image: seanthornburg via flickr

In fact, for most real estate agents, getting new leads takes up most of their time and money.

Click here to see the tools

This, however, is much different that the top producer REALTORS that lead the industry. For these people, their time is spent selling. This raises the question: What are the top-producing real estate agents doing that is so appreciably different from their competitors?

Real estate — as an investment purpose — requires a respectable understanding of the risks associated with purchasing choices. There are several tools at hand to facilitate guide the decision, but few are as useful as a set of high quality real estate investment software.

These online tools will save you time and money by providing all the information and resources you’ll need to make informed decisions and enriching before buying or selling property investment.

All of these tools are easily accessible via the Internet and can provide an immediate impact on real estate agents’ bottom line. These tools are available to all real estate agents, and when we compare the monthly fees paid to the potential benefit, the motivations for investing in real estate marketing go up, up, up.

Invoicera

Invoicera
Image: Invoicera

Invoicera has been doing a brilliant job helping real estate agents confronting doubts and solving many of their complex electronic invoicing issues.

Invoicera has made it incredibly easy to track time, create and send invoices with your logo and to accept payments online — it’s no wonder that they are the service of choice for millions. Having a solid support and back-end monitoring of the timely completion of all activities related to business is something very significant.

Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp
Image: Google SketchUp

Google SketchUp Pro is a simple, remarkably powerful tool for generating, presenting and transforming 3D models.

You can model your properties in Google SketchUp and give your clients a 3D outlook. Boost your website listing by using the animation competence of Google SketchUp Pro. It permits customers to freely search the home, community and its surroundings in 3D.

PropertyWare

PropertyWare
Image: PropertyWare

Propertyware gives a full suite of on-demand real estate solutions for property managers, and helps real estate agents get up-and-running in minutes and fruitfully supervise their rental properties.

Propertyware’s multi-tenant, real-time, web-based solutions help companies generate leads from a hosted web site, syndicate listings transversely the web, process e-payments, handle work orders and service customers using online portals.

Tools for Real Estate

Tools For Real Estate
Image: Tools For Real Estate

With this web-based tool, you can get a proficiently written, customizable email newsletter about real estate that’s required to be sent to your contacts each month.

Tools For Real Estate offers easy-to-use, client-generating tools for real estate agents.

This app also gives out a lot of free suggestions and resources, both on their website and blog.

Karl’s Mortgage Calculator

Karl's Mortgage Calculator
Image: Karl’s Mortgage Calculator

Nothing works better than a visual aid when trying to help potential buyers understand the value of a house and the cost of a mortgage.

Karl’s Calculator helps you to fulfill your role as an adviser when buyers are considering a purchase. It offers a sophisticated analysis of loans and investments to help buyers to have confidence in their purchases.

You can try different interest rates, profits or additional payments to the principle of “what if” scenarios.

Source: Business Insider

Republished with permission from Business Insider

Popularity: 71%