Mark Zuckerberg wants us to run a mile a day in 2016, but he's doing it wrong

It's a commendable goal for anyone who doesn't run and wants to get a little healthier: Run 365 miles in one year.

That is what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is challenging his billion-plus users to do in 2016. "This is a lot of running, but it's not a crazy amount," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. "It's a mile a day, and at a moderate pace it's less than 10 minutes of running per day."

He's right in one respect: A mile a day is not a crazy amount, and you'd be surprised how quickly you can get used to it and build up your mileage. (Personally, I started running by training for my first 5K in 2010, when a mile seemed like a long distance; two years later, I ran my first marathon).

But he's wrong in another important respect: A "less than" 10-minute mile is nowhere near what a beginner would call a "moderate pace." It's quite fast, even for many experienced runners.

If you're going into this challenge expecting to run anything less than a 12 or 13-minute mile, you're not only going to be sorely disappointed, you're also going to be extremely sore, out of breath and unlikely to keep it up for a year.

As any seasoned runner will tell you: The first mile always sucks, so take it easy if you can.

There's yet more wrongness in the photo that Zuckerberg posted of himself running in Delhi last year with a couple of fellow Facebookers. We're not just talking about the fact they're all fine physical specimens — perhaps too fine to encourage the beginner runner that anyone can do this.

Nor are we talking about the fact they're all holding their smartphones rather than wearing them on armbands or in fanny packs. (Someone's going to be guaranteed a cracked screen running like that.)

No, we're talking about what is quite clearly a heel strike in Zuckerberg's running form. This is a fancy term for landing on your heel instead of the ball of your foot, and was thought in the 1970s to be preferable because it gave you a longer stride.

Since then, heel striking has been fingered in a large number of running injuries because it sends a dangerously large jolt up through your skeleton that can damage bones and joints over time. See for example this landmark study [PDF] from Zuckerberg's alma mater, Harvard, which found forefoot runners get way fewer injuries.

Zuckerberg has started a Facebook group dedicated to the 365-mile challenge called A Year of Running, so hopefully he'll introduce more tips and nuance as the year goes on. But here's what we'd advise: If you're a beginner, start out really slow — so slow that it almost feels like cheating. Accept that your body is going to take some time to adjust to running, but also that just about anyone can and should do it — the health rewards from even a moderate amount of running make it one of the most efficient exercises around.

And you don't need fancy shoes, you just need proper forefoot running form, which you can practice by imagining how you would run uphill. (If you tried landing on your heels, you'd fall over.)

For more information and a tremendous dose of inspiration, read the excellent Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. And stay safe out there.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Facebook Makes Changes To Its Real Name Policy Enforcement Process

After over a year’s worth of controversy around Facebook’s real names policy, Facebook has announced a couple of changes to its process in order to better serve all of its members, including those in the LGBTQ community.

Last October, Facebook promised it would make changes to its real name policy after a number of false account flagging incidents led to the suspension of LGBTQ members’ pages. Facebook requires people to use the names their friends and family know them by. For many drag performers, for example, their drag names are the names people know them by, but that didn’t prevent the suspension of their accounts.

While Facebook is not getting rid of its real names policy, it is starting to test new tools to improve the policy in order for it to work better “for everyone, especially for communities who are marginalized or face discrimination,” Facebook VP of Global Operations Justin Osofsky and Product Manager Todd Gage wrote on Facebook’s blog.

For one, Facebook’s new reporting process requires people to provide more information and context around why they’re reporting that name in the first place. Before, reporting a potentially fake name was as easy as the click of a button.

Secondly, Facebook is testing a new tool for people to defend and verify their name if someone else flags it. So, if your account gets flagged, even though you’re using your drag name, or are using a different name in order to protect your privacy out of fear of abuse, harassment or stalking, you’ll have a week to be able to describe your situation before Facebook suspends your account.

“SF Pride is committed to our diverse community and is encouraged by the positive steps Facebook has both taken, and continues to work on, in addressing the reporting tools associated with their Authentic Names policy,” George Ridgely, Jr., executive director of SFPride, told TechCrunch in a statement. “We appreciate all of the engaged community leaders and Facebook for their contributions in this effort. It has been our priority to work closely with all parties to facilitate ongoing working-group meetings, as well as a forum that will bring together members of the community and Facebook to discuss these changes.”

Facebook has also received criticism around requiring people to provide forms of legal identification, which don’t always reflect someone’s preferred name.

Facebook has since expanded the options and documents that people can use to verify their name, and early next year, Facebook will look at ways to “reduce the number of people who have to go through an ID verification experience, while preserving the safety of other people on the site. We will also continue to work on making the experience itself more compassionate and easier to navigate.”

Lightsaber Yourself With Facebook’s Star Wars Profile Pics

Show you’re down with The Force this week then hide your Jedi ways with Facebook’s new Star Wars temporary profile pictures.

Just in time for the release of The Force Awakens, click here then hit the Try It button and Facebook will let you add a scary red Dark Side cross-guard lightsaber or a benevolent blue over one of your photos. Then you can make it your profile pic and set an expiration date for when you want to go back to your normal profile from this galaxy.

You can also find the option in the Star Wars Facebook Page’s timeline.

The temporary profile pic feature is the same one Facebook used to let people celebrate Pride, rep their college football squad, and root for other sports teams. Facebook seems to like the idea of Snapchat’s branded selfie lenses.

Is this shameless way for Facebook to cash in on all the Star Wars buzz? Absolutely. But it’s still fun. And at least since they’re temporary, you won’t have friends stuck as Sith Lords.

Zuckerberg Responds To Critics, Explains How He’s Spending $45B

On Tuesday, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a powerful announcement — not only did he reveal the birth of his daughter, Max, but he shared plans to give up 99% of his personal Facebook shares over the course of his lifetime and use them to fund causes through a newly formed entity called Chan Zuckerberg LLC.

The revelation generated a lot of attention, much of it due to the sheer volume of Zuckerberg’s net worth — $45 billion! While many people, including Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, praised him for his generosity, others expressed confusion and even questioned his motives for giving his money away.

Looking to alleviate some of those concerns, in a post Thursday,  Zuckerberg clarified how he and his wife Priscilla Chan, plan to delineate their funds.

“Our initial focus areas are personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities. We’ve already made many investments over the past five years in these areas — education, science, health, internet access and inclusion — and you can see a summary of our investments on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative page timeline.”

Zuckerberg addressed the allegations that forming this organization was a way to avoid taxes — he explained that by structuring the Chan Zuckerberg entity as an LLC, that their shares will still be taxed.

“By using an LLC instead of a traditional foundation, we receive no tax benefit from transferring our shares to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, but we gain flexibility to execute our mission more effectively. In fact, if we transferred our shares to a traditional foundation, then we would have received an immediate tax benefit, but by using an LLC we do not. And just like everyone else, we will pay capital gains taxes when our shares are sold by the LLC.”

He also says that this “for profit” structure allows them to make investments that will continue to fuel their objectives.

“This enables us to pursue our mission by funding non-profit organizations, making private investments and participating in policy debates — in each case with the goal of generating a positive impact in areas of great need. Any net profits from investments will also be used to advance this mission….For example, our education work has been funded through a non-profit organization,Startup:Education, the recently announced Breakthrough Energy Coalition will make private investments in clean energy, and we also fund public government efforts, like the CDC Ebola response and San Francisco General Hospital.”

Some of Zuckerberg’s early attempts at philanthropy were also met with controversy, particularly his $100 million gift to Newark schools, which faced challenges in its execution. But with $45 billion to experiment with, let’s hope that much of this money ends up doing some good.

Zuckerberg previously signed The Giving Pledge, promising to give away over half his fortune, along with Richard Branson, Warren Buffett and other billionaires.

By timing the latest announcement with the birth of his baby, it seems that Zuckerberg is trying to send a message that he’s not hoarding his personal fortune for the next 100 generations of Zucks.

Welcome to the world, baby Max.

Facebook Partners With 50 Publishers To Launch Instant Articles In Asia

Facebook is bringing its Instant Article media format to Asia after more than twenty media from eleven countries in the region — including China, India and Indonesia — went live on the platform. A further 30 more media have agreed to begin publishing Instant Articles “soon,” Facebook said.

The U.S. social network giant said it created Instant Articles to help load news stories and features faster than they do when a user has to leave Facebook and open a web browser. The media format went live in the U.S. first back in May, with a host of initial partners that included the New York Times, BuzzFeed, National Geographic.

With the Western launch completed, Facebook has turned its hand to bringing the media format to new markets.

Facebook extended Instant Articles into Latin America earlier this week and, after mediareported its rollout in India last month, expanding into Asia Pacific, where Facebook has over 500 million monthly active users, will massively increase the potential reach of the service.

“Expanding Instant Articles to Asia is a significant milestone for the product and for each of our early launch partners,” said Andy Mitchell, who is the director of global media partnerships for Facebook said in a statement. “Instant Articles has been designed with extensive feedback from publishers, and we’re excited to bring this collaboration to our publishing partners in Asia to help them distribute fast, interactive articles to their readers in the Facebook app.”

Beyond the initial launch press, Facebook said it has plans to add further content partners from more countries in the region, so we can certainly expect to see more.

The Importance of Blogging in SEO

Answering Your Customers Questions

Speak to your existing customers and find out what attracted them to use your services. It's likely that they had a particular problem that you had the ability to solve for them.

Use their answers to create posts that answer these questions. If someone is looking for an answer to a similar problem, your post is more likely to appear in the search results.

Providing answers to people's problems for makes your content RELEVANT!

Producing High-Quality Content

Put some careful thought and effort into every blog you post. The information you present should satisfy these two essential criteria in order to attain high quality:

Useful: Base your blog posts on information that your customers can really use. Educate them on an aspect of your industry. Or keep them up to date with developments that may affect them.

Unique: Your blog posts don't always have to be original, but they should be unique. Even if you're covering a topic that has been written about before, try to offer the reader a different take on the subject.

Creating quality content that is useful and unique makes you an AUTHORITY in your field!

Using Keywords Intelligently

Every time you create a new blog post you are effectively adding another page to your website. Think about some keywords that you'd like to rank well for and research them on the Google AdWords Keyword Planner.

This will give you a clear idea of the number of people who are looking for the keywords you're using. You may come across alternative phrases that will yield better results. Use these keywords in your title and sub-headings. Create keyword-rich links to appropriate sales pages on your website.

Clever use of KEYWORDS will make it easier for search engines to find your content!

Sharing on Social Platforms

It's always a good idea to add share buttons to your blogs. This makes it easier for people to share your content. Although many of these are 'no-follow' links-meaning they won't have a direct influence on you search rankings-they can contribute in other ways.

An influencer in your field could come across your blog post and mention it on their social media channels. This exposes you to more potential customers. It will also help drive traffic to your website, which in turn can have a positive effect on your page ranking.

Getting attention on social media DRIVES TRAFFIC and BUILDS AWARENESS!

Conclusion

Having a blog that is regularly updated with useful content can make a real difference to your search result ranking.

Consider your blog as an integral part of your overall SEO marketing plan. You will soon reap the rewards!

Facebook’s Internet.org Now Available Throughout India

Internet.org, Facebook’s initiative to provide free Internet services in developing countries, is now available to all Indians through the Free Basics app on Reliance Communication’s network. The project is meant to give people in emerging economies easy access to the Internet, but has been hit by a slew of criticism.

Reliance Communications is India’s fourth-largest telecom operator, with about 110 million subscribers as of June. According to its site, Free Basics will enable users to use Facebook and Facebook Messenger and access sites like Wikipedia, BBC News, Bing Search, Dictionary.com, and local news services.

Detractors say that by making a handful of services available on its platform, Internet.org gives preferential treatment to its partners, therefore violating the tenets of net neutrality.

In response, Facebook founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg said Internet.org will focus on offering basic services for free (hence the branding of its app) and is not meant to limit access to other providers. The company has also taken steps to make joining Free Basics easier to join for developers and other potential partners.

This has done little to ameliorate critics who are concerned about the potential drawbacks of having a company as large and powerful as Facebook control what millions of new Internet users see.

In addition to India, Free Basics is available in 30 countries throughout Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America.

Mark Zuckerberg Will Take Two Months Off From Facebook For Paternity Leave

Mark Zuckerberg, the face of Facebook since the company’s founding back in 2004, will be taking a few months off for paternity leave.

News of his time off comes by way of — no surprises here — his Facebook

Priscilla and I are starting to get ready for our daughter’s arrival. We’ve been picking out our favorite childhood books and toys.

We’ve also been thinking about how we’re going to take time off during the first months of her life. This is a very personal decision, and I’ve decided to take 2 months of paternity leave when our daughter arrives.

Studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, outcomes are better for the children and families. At Facebook we offer our US employees up to 4 months of paid maternity or paternity leave which they can take throughout the year.

Every day things are getting a little more real for us, and we’re excited to start this next stage in our lives.
Here’s a photo of Beast with our baby seat. I think he knows something’s up.

It’s hard to imagine Facebook without Zuck, even temporarily — but it’s also not likely that much will change while he’s gone, at least without his stamp of approval. He does control over half of the company’s voting power, after all.

Facebook Ups Its Sticker Game As The First Paid Packs Arrive For Messenger

In a move that may seem trivial, but could be indicative of the future, you can now buy paid-for stickers for Facebook Messenger. Facebook itself isn’t offering stickers directly, but it is working closely with a third-party — Singapore startup PicoCandy — to offer a selection of new emoji and sticker packs, some of which cost $0.99 or $1.99.

Stickers first grew popular in Asia, where they were pioneered by Line, the mobile messaging company from Japan. Over the last couple of years, stickers have gone from being a topic of amusement in Western markets, to a form of media that has been embraced by countless messaging and communication services, as I pointed out two years ago, and more recently brands.

Facebook has, to this point, taken a fairly conservative approach. It has brokered deals with some media companies to exclusively run their stickers — for example, iconic toy brand Lego or popular kids film Despicable Me — but the focus has always been on keeping stickers and emojis free. (Facebook has instead dedicated resources to adding stickers to other parts of its service beyond Messenger, e.g. within status updates,inside photos and as comments.)

Now, though, the U.S.-based social network is dipping its toes into paid content for the first time — albeit indirectly through this partnership with PicoCandy, which has released its first consumer app in the process.

It’s probably about time, too.

Two years ago, Line was making $10 million per month from sticker sales from a then-230 million registered userbase. That figure has certainly increased considerably — Line’s average revenue per user has jumped even though user growth has slackened — but the company has never given an updated figure. Indeed, its DIY creators marketplace alone grossed $75 million in revenue during its first year of business, and it is one small segment of the stickers that Line offers.

There is certainly money to be made when you consider that Facebook has 1.5 billion monthly active users, while 300 million people in Asia use its service daily. (Though the appeal of paid-for stickers is growing in other parts of the world.)

Inevitably, there’s a slight catch at this point, however.

The paid stickers are stashed away in PicoCandy’s new app for Messenger — which is available for iOS or Android. That means that Messenger users will need to download PicoCandy’s app — in addition to Messenger, of course — which will need to be opened every time they want to download or buy a new sticker, and even when they want to send one to a friend.

That’s pretty convoluted and hardly a convenient process. Many people will be put off by the level of friction involved.

It is just the starting point though. In the same way that Facebook has integrated GIFs into Messenger, after finding that the experience of downloading and then using third-party GIF apps for Messenger is cumbersome, so third-party stickers will be integrated into the messaging app over time.

“This first version has global stickers, which are English-based and not global, but very soon we’ll be offering localized content.. and it will [eventually] be integrated within the [Messenger] app,” Geraldine Yong, PicoCandy CEO, told TechCrunch in an interview.

Yong admitted that multiple apps are not ideal, but reemphasized the roadmap to an integrated experience.

“The [Messenger] user experience is not the most ideal,” she admitted. “Facebook is taking steps to make it more conducive for users. We’ll [also] work on things to improve the experience, so it won’t just be standalone. It’s coming up soon, [but] this is the first part.”

If it follows what it did for GIFs, Messenger’s integrated sticker feature would pool content from across different partner apps and serve up content based on search terms and what is trending.

PicoCandy, which matches brands with sticker designers and allows stickers to be deployed across multiple services, is currently offering stickers from McDonalds (free), and a mixture of free and paid for content. (There are currently nine paid-for sticker pays available via its app.)

Facebook isn’t currently taking a cut of any money that PicoCandy makes via its app, but Google and Apple will take their usual share of revenue for purchases made on Android and iOS devices, respectably. You’d expect that, when the social network wants to make a bigger sticker splash, it would take a slice of stickers sale — although Facebook could also monetize from brands that pay it to allow them to offer stickers to raise awareness, a move that could become particularly important as/when brands are given dedicated accounts on Messenger and can interact directly with users.

If you want to glimpse at the first paid-for Messenger stickers — Yong said PicoCandy will add to the library on an ongoing basis — check out the PicoCandy for Messenger app for iOS or Android. But, either way, stickers will be integrated into a Messenger app near you soon — you cannot escape!!

Facebook's 'M' Will Soon Order Flowers and Dinner For You

Facebook recently began limited testing of an online personal assistant, called 'M' that uses a combination of human workers and software to answer questions and carry out tasks like ordering food or flowers for a friend, Daily Mail reported.

"M is a personal digital assistant inside of Messenger that completes tasks and finds information on your behalf. It's powered by artificial intelligence that's trained and supervised by people," a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Unlike other AI-based services in the market, 'M' can actually complete tasks on your behalf.

"It can purchase items, get gifts delivered to your loved ones, book restaurants, travel arrangements, appointments and way more," the spokesperson added.


                            

Only a few hundred people are believed to have access to the service.

To use 'M', users have to tap a small button at the bottom of the Messenger app to send a note.

Its software will decode the natural language, ask follow-up questions in the message thread, and send updates as the task is completed.

In internal tests, Facebook employees have been using 'M' for several weeks to do everything from organising dinner parties to tracking down an unusual beverage in New Orleans, according to Wired.

"An engineer went to Paris for a couple days, and his friend asked M to redecorate his desk in a French style," Marcus told the site.

"Twenty-four hours later, the desk was decorated with a proper napkin, baguette bread, and a beret."

'M' learns from human behaviours.

Facebook, BSNL to power 100 WiFi hotspots in rural India

After Internet major Google, Facebook is also preparing to tap the country’s Wi-Fi market. It has already partnered Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to create 100 WiFi hotspots in rural India to drive digital penetration in the country, ET reported.

The report said that the social networking giant is investing Rs 5 crore annually to buy bandwidth from BSNL for a period of three years.

BSNL and Facebook have already roped in players like Quad Zen and Trimax for equipments and fiber deployment. The report said that Qaud Zen will be responsible for equipment sourcing and sales in the south-west region, whereas Trimax will look after the northern region.

Around 25 villages have been covered under the pilot programme in southern and western India so far, the report said, citing BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Shrivastava, who added that the WIFI project is expected to be scaled up and extended from a current three-year partnership, by another two years.

Shrivastava, a few months back, had said that BSNL will invest Rs 6,000 crore over the next three years to set up some 40,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the country. BSNL has so far rolled out 450 tourist hotspots, and is targeting 2,500 WiFi hotspots by the end of current fiscal year through March 2016.

Google, in September this year, partnered with state-run RailTel to equip 400 railways station in India with Wi-Fi networks. The WiFi project was announced by Google CEO Sunder Pichai during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent US visit.

Under the tie-up, Google is planning to provide internet access to one crore passengers at 100 busiest railway stations in India by mid-2016, and then later on expand it to 300 other stations.

Google Unveils YouTube Red, a Premium Subscription Based Ad-Free Video Service Rivaling Netflix

oogle has unveiled YouTube Red, a Netflix like premium subscription video channel sans the advertisements. The YouTube Red series has already signed up 10 series and will include a music service. YouTube Red will cost $9.99 per month which incidentally matches up with the Netflix standard two-stream HD. That being said, it will be difficult to convince the users to subscribe for YouTube Red, as the video streaming repository has been known to be a place wherein one can watch free videos in barter for advertisements.

The premium Youtube subscription not only lets users watch the videos without any ads but also lets them save on phones and tablets. The package also includes a freshly incepted version of the YouTube Music which has been integrated with the Google Play Music, thus allowing users to access multiple services with a single subscription.

YouTube has roped in celebrities like PewDie Pie who is known for his quirky gaming commentary and constructed a series around him. The other series includes Sing It, Lazer Team, A Trip to Unicorn Island, Untitles Joey Graceffa project, 360 Projectfrom MatPat of Game Theory and many more. While the series looks pretty interesting, it might not just be convincing enough for enough people to shell out money.

YouTube Red has to limbo through the fact that users come to YouTube for free videos and people’s mind has been trained to do so for almost a decade. Adding to the woes is the freemium content arrangements, none of the content will be exclusive to YouTube Red and can be watched with ads on the usual YouTube. That being said, even if a teeny tiny bit of YouTube’s 1-Billion subscribers sign up for the service, they will reap the rewards. The multiple revenue streams for similar content is great as an idea but it will take some time to evolve as a mainstream option. To start with,YouTube Red will be available in US only.

Update: Google says any content creator who doesn’t want to be part of YouTube Red will have all his videos removed. So there’s no way for any content creator to let go of this subscription model while staying with ad supported free platform.

Forex Robot Software - One Step Up

We have to admit that when Forex Market trader started using the software called the Forex Robot, it brought the trading in the Forex Market to the next level. We have let go now of the days of traditional trading. The traders that still used, and still on grasp to the old way of trading are often left to rot, and should dust themselves up for sitting for a long time in front of their computers to do their trading. 

By now, we have Forex Robot that not only send you trading signals, but are able to aid you to formulate and do your trade automatically. By the help of these Forex Robots, traders can avoid the common mistakes to their trading that often led up in ruing their business; we could say that Forex robots help in teaching discipline among traders.

One of the major things that a Forex Trader must do is to create for himself/herself a plan for a particular Forex Trading strategy. By not doing this first key step, a trader might get himself lost in the world of Forex Market, without plans and strategies; the world of trading for them would be complicated. Some traders often submit themselves to simulations in order for them to improve more on their field. Without letting go of a single dime, some brokers often merge these Forex Robots software with 'play money' mode to see if their plans are working. Practice, and honing yourself well on the craft, plus some researches for you to have a better understanding on the system in the Forex would led your way up to the top.

The most experienced Forex Traders search for plans and strategies to get rid of the unhelpful impact of humanly emotion trying to enter their trading equation. The best of the best traders in the world often share to the newbie in the business to stick to the hard facts, and learn how to get back on their very first theses, exclusive of any human psychology; because some of the trades might lure you to use your intuition, letting you ruin your original mindset. Traders now, who used Forex Robots is confident that they can calmly put their data on their computer and let the efficient Forex Robot software run for themselves, basically doing all the works for you.

As we all know, the Forex Market is like a battlefield; with traders from all parts of the world battling it out, using all their improved arsenals, their skills and wits so that they could gain something from the Market. If you let yourself be eaten up by these big traders all over the globe, you might get yourself in the verge of bankruptcy. With people trading in currency many hours a day, you might as well say that the Market requires a very vast amount of human endurance, but it is key to observe that human strength has its limitations; it could not go on for hours and hours. 

But worry not, with the help of these Forex Robots software, a trader can let his trading on autopilot, letting the Forex Robot work for you, and that is to say that these Robots can go on several hours without rest, leaving you ample time to enjoy other things, and give you a vast amount of time to strategize your new battle plan for the Forex Market. After purchasing a Forex Robot, you won't see yourself as a slave of your business; the Robot would now be there to take your work from you.

Once you key in all the necessary things you want to put in to your trade, you would let now the Forex robot to run by its own system, letting you run away from the computer. You would be able to save more time now; you won't be waiting now for applicable signals for you to trade successfully in the Forex Market. By automatically letting your Forex Robot do the trading for you, they can execute your plans without your help. By this, you can let go of your emotions on doing your trading, for some trades in the Forex Market lure you to use your gut feeling, making you forget of all your solid strategy.

The common principle in trading states that 'buy low, sell high'. This has been around in the Forex Market arena for a long time. But, some of the Forex traders often forget this single advice. There are times that the currency is low, but some traders are hesitant to buy the currency, because they fear that it might go lower. Also, when greed comes into play, some don't just sell in hopes that it would go higher. The Forex Robot could prevent all these mishaps, you are now ensured that your plans are carried out, that you can buy and sell on your most advantage.

Some traders though, used the Forex Robot without really thinking, they just log on to their accounts, and guess positions they think they are advantageous. Of course, the Forex Market is not all pure luck, without thinking and educating yourself in the Forex Market, you would often lose. But there are traders too who used blacktest to double check if their plans and strategies are really working, this wound enable them to gain more from the business, by taking advantage of all the good things that a Forex Robot software can do.

You can say by now, that by the help of these Forex Robots, you can make yourself better on your business. And by that, you get extra credit by gaining more profit from the usual; you can now be one of those smart traders who got rich from the business. Again, Forex Robots give you almost all the advantages there is in the Forex Market, plus that it could give you a lot of free time to do more things.

Having the best things on hand would let you succeed from the Forex market; don't go into the battlefield in the world of Forex without any help from a Forex Robot.

Boost Your Business's Image With A Customized Promotional Clothing

Businesses need to advertise and promote their products, services and brands for widening their audience and for their growth and development. Promoting themselves through traditional means can incur a lot of expenditure for them. But apart from traditional promotional mediums, there are other channels too which are not only effective but are also cheap. One such medium is promotional clothing. 

Businesses can boost their promotion campaigns by going for the artistically designed promotional clothing or corporate uniforms. These not only help to popularize a business among people, but also enables it to carve a unique and positive image among its clients, customers, vendors and the common public.

But if your business wants to create the right impression among its audience through promotional clothing, it should get designed such clothing that not only appeals to the viewers, but can also send its message to people in a clear and impressive manner. For this, it needs to hire a reputed embroidery services online which properly understands its requirements and can accordingly create a customized, appealing and attention grabbing clothing for it. 

The embroidery service should have innovative and creative designers who can put a company's name, logo and purposeful text in an artistic and presentable manner for a business's proper promotion. It should be able to perform the best embroidery work on a top quality fabric at cost effective prices and as per a business's specifications and requirements.

By wearing impressive and beautifully designed promotional clothing, employees of a business will feel happy and valued as they get the impression that the business cares for them. As such clothing is fashionable, stylish and comfortable, they love wearing it and it motivates them to get engaged more at work resulting in their improved productivity. As it is a high quality fabric and durable, it will not lose its sheen on washing it.

Corporate wear or promotional clothing designed by custom embroidery services also proves advantageous for a business's promotion. A business's team members wearing a pleasing promotional clothing make a great showing at a promotional event, seminar or at an advertising campaign. Due to this viewers tend to build a positive and unique impression of a business in their minds. 

Team members can feel and work like a united team by wearing it that features a beautifully crafted business's logo along with a text message that gives an idea of a business's mission or may feature its call to action.

Choosing the right embroidery service becomes pretty important for a business as it enables it to build a positive image of its brand among the audience and generate a buzz for its products, services and brand. As a result it is able to win more business and gain a competitive edge over its rivals. 

So only go for that service which is able to create appealing and impressive designs in top class fabrics for your business at affordable rates.

The Power of Facebook Advertising

Social media was once considered to be only for teenagers or for those looking for romance and relationships but that has changed dramatically in recent years. Facebook has evolved as one of the most valuable assets to advertisers who are striving to reach a particular niche audience.

Facebook is the largest and most visited social network on the web today is.

Not only is it a popular location for social interactions but also it is becoming a fiercely competitive marketing tool. Many entrepreneurs are beginning to tap into this advantageous method of generating leads and sales for their businesses. Research is showing that the average Facebook user spends just over 6 hours a month on Facebook which is double the amount of time of its closest competitor, Google. Over 50% of these users are perusing Facebook from a mobile device which means that there are more than 543 mobile users searching for goods and services while on-the-go. Every day there are more than 3.2 billion items that are liked or commented about on Facebook pages and that translates into a very powerful mode of advertising for any business.

Advertising campaigns on Facebook are providing up to a 5 fold return on any investment because of the strategic targeting of the right audience. Consumers are becoming more aware of brands and are recalling what they are seeing more than other online advertising averages. Facebook advertising is the catalyst for more positive conversations about businesses as well. More importantly, the 47% trust rate for advertising on Facebook commands a respect and awareness of this tool that can effectively be used to expand the bottom line.

When considering the most efficient way to invest advertising dollars, you should include Facebook advertising in your plan. You can connect to this exploding power to target new business, to generate high quality leads, and to piggyback additional advertising strategies, like word-of-mouth advertising, to more effectively stretch your advertising monies. An entirely new world of possibilities will be opened up to you with Facebook advertising.

Facebook advertisers are permitted to geo-target an audience by country which allows the advertiser the ability to limit or expand the message of their ad based on settings that are selected. Most of the countries in the world are now Facebook friendly which expands boundaries that once limited the sale of products to smaller areas and locations.

One of the features of advertising with Facebook is the advantage of keyword interest targeting. When a user signs up for Facebook, they create a profile page that is based on their interests, likes, and activities. When you create your ad for Facebook, you have the option of searching and selecting keywords that are of interest to a specific user. This will better target an audience that is already interested in your ad before they even see it. As an example, let's say that you as an advertiser are trying to reach people who are doing home remodeling projects. When you type in the word home remodeling, a list of keywords will be pulled up for you that are related to the profiles of users who listed home remodeling as one of their interests. You can then choose any of these keywords in your ad to reach those people who have these keywords in their profiles. You are targeting an audience who is interested in your information and who will respond to your ad.

Before you begin your advertising campaign, it's important to clearly know who you want to target. Customize your Facebook advertising to the target market so that this tool work better for you and your company. Try to vary your approach so you can attract different groups. 20 year olds will view your ad differently than a 40 years old will even if they have the same need for your product. Appeal to your potential client in a positive and attention-getting way. Be clear, concise, and brief.

There are several ways to advertise on Facebook; you can use these cost-effective ways to increase the traffic to your website and generate more business and profits for you. The first way to advertise on Facebook is to create a business profile so you can interact with your list of "fans" whom you will persuade to become clients. You can send out updates, news articles, special offers and promotions, and discount information to the entire list; Facebook affords you the ability to communicate instantly with a list of people who have already indicated that they are interested in your products.

Another way that you can advertise powerfully on Facebook is to buy an ad that is targeted toward a segment of the user base. Each one of these users has an enormous amount of information stored in their profiles. This information can be used to target them based on a selected keyword or filter. Using this method will assure you of reaching potential customers who are most likely to buy your product.

Word-of-mouth advertising has been brought into the digital age with Facebook's beacon tool. News feeds let users access each other's personal profiles and postings or comments. Facebook allows businesses the ability to report a user's actions with the business website and company to the user's friends. If a Facebook customer buys a product from you or engages in discussion regarding their satisfaction with your company, their interaction with you will be posted in the news feed which will automatically create a referral system for your business. It's word-of-mouth in cyberspace.

The first thing to consider as you plan your Facebook ad strategy is your goal. Are you going to advertise your product, expand the number of people who like your business page, inform the Facebook community of your business and what you do, or are you simply getting the attention of potential customers. As your goals become clearer, begin to decide on the type of ad you will create; there are three types from which you can choose.

Crafted ads target Facebook users by filtering demographic information such as age, location, and gender. These ads will be featured in the right hand column of Facebook pages. You can create sponsored stories which interact with a Facebook fan's page with the specific story. The ad will show up in the right hand column once the fan likes your particular post. You can also select promoted posts which are more visible in the posts on friends' pages and on their contacts' pages as well. One of the most powerful aspects of Facebook advertising is the customer loyalty that you will build. Create your own business Facebook page that will allow you to directly interact with your clients. This will give a more personal touch to your business and also will allow you to use word-of-mouth advertising that you generate from your Facebook ads to spread the word in a cost-effective way. Client satisfaction, customer service, and buyer protection are all tenets of a marketing strategy that will work nicely for you and your Facebook advertising campaign.

You can offer special promotions, new products, or the latest trends with your product with your Facebook ads to reach clients that are strategically targeted and already interested in your product or service. This will provide up-dated information to your clients and keep them better informed in a time-efficient way. Today's consumers on are the go with busy schedules and demanding deadlines. These ads will connect with them and solve their issues and concerns in a timely fashion.

Facebook ads are much more flexible than other internet locations. You will be offered additional character length for any ad descriptions that you might have. You can also improve your flexibility with image-based ads that attract the visual buyer. If someone participates in the Facebook community, then they are already proven to be a visually stimulated consumer. Use images and photos of high quality and that convey your message with the power of a thousand words. Your Facebook ads will be more visible to an audience who is there to engage in obtaining information as well as to create it themselves.

With the Facebook site itself generating such a high rate of traffic on a daily basis, your ad has a much better chance of being seen and having a positive effect. It will be seen a multitude of times by a targeted audience who is already comfortable shopping the online arena. Users visit the site many, many times a day and your ad will be there to greet them as they login and begin to participate.

You are also allowed with your Facebook ad to purchase space on a click-based or impression-based fee structure. Using your budget and personal preferences, you can tailor your ad campaign to meet the needs and goals of your business plan.

Because of the targeted nature of Facebook, advertising on Facebook can be affordable for you company. You can reach your targeted audience with your online campaign for a very reasonable price. The selection of packages that you can select is extensive so that you can reach as many users as your budget will allow you to.

The use of smart-phones has skyrocketed in recent years and your ability to reach this high volume of consumers is phenomenal. Access to these devices happens every second of every day and you can tap into this gold mine of prospects. Your ads won't just be limited to laptop and computer users; you will be expanding your potential client base.

You will be offered a choice between pay-per-click (CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (CPM). Studying your demographic clicks and responses will be an important first step. Begin by starting a campaign that includes everyone and then, after a set number of impressions, see who clicked on your ad and the responses that you received. After some study and careful insights, you can then rewrite the ad to appeal with that demographic audience in mind. You can then reset your campaign as a CPC method. Finely segment your ad to appeal to different age groups, or sexes, or relationship statuses. With this small touch, you will get more bang for your advertising buck. Continually test and modify your presentation to foster higher results with substantially lower costs.

With Facebook targeting, the natural skew is toward a younger than average audience that is female. Sometimes users mislead others by submitting incorrect data on profile pages. This will cause misrepresentation of data and some of your ads will be seen by users who are not interested by their very nature; you can only get a rough estimate of the people who might see your ad. When initially targeting your ad to an audience, you might begin with 10,000 people; 50% of them will log into Facebook and see your ad. By choosing this number, you will keep your costs under control and more efficiently modify it before you launch the ad to a larger audience. Carefully select connections of people you know who trust you and your business. This will give you a base circle of community with which to begin your advertising campaigns.

Another important thing to consider when you are creating your advertising strategy is to include additional languages other than English. Inexpensive translators can be hired on some of the work at home web locations to translate your copy for you. Many advertisers neglect this segment of the population and lose many dollars in profit for this lack of attention to detail. You can open up a new section of loyal clients with just a simple effort of reaching them in a language in which they feel comfortable purchasing.

Another powerful tenet of advertising on Facebook is the low risk involved in using this format. You will have full control of your advertising budget and it will be a good testing ground for your ad. You can learn if your message is effective in communicating to a potential buyer who you are, what you are offering, and how they can purchase your product quickly and safely. You are free to modify your message as needed and promote it to a better target. You can ascertain what works best with a particular demographic and how to reach them with your message. Especially if you have a fledgling business, you might want to use the high power, lost cost approach of a Facebook ad.

If you are striving to target your local audience, Facebook ads have been proved to be very effective. You can inform local and regional clients about your business and have the "friend" network assist you as well. Many local communities enjoy supporting local businesses that give back to civic groups and Facebook can get your ads to them quickly and efficiently. When you have a happy, satisfied customer, they can tell the seven people in their social circle and those seven people will tell seven of their closest friends and so the network will distribute the message about you and your product. Testimonials serve to peak the interest of clients ready to buy but who have just one more question. If someone has purchased your product already, they can attest to its quality and your excellent customer service. Facebook is being used in your area by all of the local people who are just waiting to be approached by your ad. The appeal of Facebook extends to everyday people; you don't have to be a computer genius to take advantage of this advertising power.

By promoting your Facebook business page through the ads you place on Facebook, you are guaranteed that the people you are targeting with your ads already have a Facebook account. You can be assured your ads are reaching the audiences most likely to buy from you and the communication vehicle is at your disposal 24/7.

One of the most powerful reasons of advertising on Facebook is the budget management that is available to you. Thousands of dollars of advertising fees are not required upfront. So, you don't have to have capital outlay at the onset of your advertising campaign. Your budget can be as low as $1 per day if that is the option that you choose to employ. Budgets can be changed daily or at any time and by any amount that you wish. The measure performance tools available on Facebook advertising allow you to see and test ad rotations and explore which are the most effective tools for you. After you run your first ad, try changing a combination of the ad's image, description, and title. You will measure the performance rate of your campaigns by viewing the click-through rate which is the percentage of clicks from the number of times it was viewed on Facebook. You will select the ad which shows the highest click-through rate for you.

In a world of social media, advertising can be an excellent way to reach customers. The users of Facebook are very active; they log on daily sometimes multiple times. It provides a way for you to reach customers with whom you might not have otherwise connected. They are going to find your ad on a social media sight more rapidly than they would your own blog or website.

The exposure you receive is a very lucrative benefit to advertising on Facebook. The more customers who are exposed to your product, the higher your profits can become. Facebook does an excellent job of allowing all advertisers a multitude of targeting options that include age, gender, interests, and relationship status. These targeting filters will strategically develop an audience who is primed and ready to buy. This is possibly the most beneficial tool of Facebook advertising.

In addition to an effective list of potential clients, you will have all of the benefits of instant results. In our fast-paced society of today, speed in purchasing is important. A client will spend approximately 90 seconds looking at your ad before moving on to something else. Quality images and representations of your product along with concise and clear descriptions are dynamic tools to capture the attention of the audience and cause the perusing to develop into purchasing. You can attract many new customers in a single day and the profits can rise along with those viewing your ads.

Before you even begin your advertising campaign, you must set your budget and stick to it. There are expensive options for you with Facebook advertising but you will have to operate within your budget to obtain the success you are seeking. Use a common sense approach with your newly acquired technological advertising to promote your company and profits.

In addition, a Facebook ad will provide you with a more personal platform of advertising. Research shows that consumers are more likely to trust your ad especially if they see a link to a Facebook friend. Your ad is placed in the right hand column and is a bit more engaging than an ad they see randomly on a search engine. Even in the world of internet marketing the handshake and confidence in a deal is important to make. By personalizing your Facebook ad, it's like extending your hand across cyberspace to reach out and seal the deal. This type of business advertisement will foster good business relationships that ensure repeat business.

In effective advertising, everything is a balance. You don't want to spend a lot of time reworking your ads if they aren't accurately targeting the audience you need to be targeting. Spend time tracking your progress and your effectiveness but don't forget to interact and connect with potential and current clients. Follow through with all of your strategies and the components of your plan to generate new customers and increase your profits. A Facebook ad campaign will be an effort that takes time and patience. Keep in mind that Facebook advertising is about developing relationships and connecting with consumers not just selling them a product immediately. This platform of marketing is still developing and using these advertisements effectively will take research, study, and modifications that better hone your ad for consumers to view.

Facebook has become a powerful tool in the advertising world. The expanse of active users coupled with the micro-targeting tools make this method of telling others about your product one that will reap dramatic rewards for your bottom line. You will boost sales and maximize profits at a cost-efficient way for your business. Your business will be given the opportunity to build, improve, and maintain client relationships which is a satisfying aspect of having your own business.

The clients with whom you connect will provide you with feedback, encouragement, and testimonials that can help you reach your goals and dreams as a successful entrepreneur. By using the proper demographic, copy, and image, you will see your Facebook ad come to life. Don't be afraid to try this new and unique method of advertising. It's a fun and interesting way to reach an enormous audience with a few simple guidelines that anyone can perform.

It's not rocket science but it can provide you with an astronomical income that makes your business the success you knew it could be.