Archive for the ‘Development’ Category

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2014 Tech Trends for your Marketing Strategies

Thursday, January 2nd, 2014

Whether your business is based online or not, technology plays a huge part in its success. Being on top of tech trends will impact your business directly in a positive light. Like everything else, being one step above is imperative to making your business prominent. Being on the forefront of the latest technology trends shows not only innovation, but willingness to keep up with the times. All this will portray you in a positive light, thus only enhancing your business image, and improving your strategies moving forward.

  1. Expect an evolution from obligation to a true value-add for customers and staff. These 2 are your main focus moving forward.
  2. The service integration model takes a sterner stance on the management of multiple suppliers.
  3. Competition will be higher in 2014 as consumers look for more devices and apps. Technology pace will increase and may cause disruptions among a range of industries.
  4. 6 countries that are a part of the global GDP growth will have a direct impact on economic opportunities. Companies all over the world will be forced to reinvent themselves to stay in the running.
  5. Decision-making for businesses in 2014 will be based more on big data, and this data will now be accessible through mobile.
  6. As 2013 saw The Rise of Mobile, 2014 will follow suit. Mobile will become the fore runner and thus all marketing strats, websites, app etc, will need to be made mobile-accessible.

Below are 5 points to which marketing analysts and industry experts have predicted for tech trends this year. Are you ready to innovate?

  1. Make use of all new technologies. Make your brand consistant through all channels. There can be a misconception to reinvent brands for different channels. This is not the case, keep your branding the same across ALL channels.
  2. Deliver useful content. Don’t drown your audience in a sea of information. Choose your timing, and remember to have a clear strategy.
  3. Knowing the needs of your audience is a common, all time must-do/ Monitoring tools on 2014 will aid you in finding gaps you might have missed. Research different apps and technologies that could help you to gain more of an insight to what your market is talking about.
  4. Prove a measurable ROI on your business objectives by using monitoring tools.
  5. Through all the innovation and change, keep your core business stable. Do not lose sight of your main objectives and do not attempt to branch out too much. Use these tech trends and apps to aid your core business function, rather than letting it overpower your original concept.

Posted in business, Development, huge thoughts, online marketing, SEO, social media | No Comments »

Google Webmasters Update Toolbar Page Rank

Wednesday, December 11th, 2013

Google Page Rank
On the 6th of December 2013, the former “dormant” Google Page Rank metric saw an update for the first time since February 2013. This means Page Ranks will be monitored more closely in relation to links from reputable sites. Buying links, especially so close to the festive season, will negatively impact your websites page rank. Sites that were down have been affected negatively by this change.

What is the Google Toolbar Page Rank?

This feature is an algorithm used by Google’s web search engine to rank websites. Page Rank is a way to measure the importance of a website.

How does it work?

Page Rank works by counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine a rough estimate of the importance of the website itself. The assumption here is that the more important or relevant a site is, the more links they will receive from other websites.

Googlebot is an automated web spider that is used to count links and gather information on other web pages.

How Do I Increase my Websites Page Rank?

Think here of rather getting quality, reputable sites to link to you. By focusing on where your next quality editorial links come from, your real page rank will go up as well as the visitors to your website.

Posted in business, Development, online marketing, SEO, technology | No Comments »

Website Tips: Working Smart and Growing Fast

Friday, November 29th, 2013

web-tipsAt WordCamp Cape Town, Rob Hope, a WordPress fan and web developer, spoke on strategies behind his successful site. With 6000 daily visitors and 30 submissions a day from designers wanting to get features on his site, Hope knows his stuff. Here’s what we can take from his strategy.

Users and Community

As obvious as it might sound, ultimately, you’re building a site for an audience. So, why wouldn’t you consider your markets experience and ways to communicate with them? Rob Hope explained that he personally contacted people of sites he would be featuring on his website, and asked them if their work had been presented in the best possible way. This allowed him to create a relationship with them directly, also making them feel honoured in having a chance/a say in how their work is going to represented.

There on, the featured designers visited Hope’s site and shared their work on his platform through social media. This gave him immediate exposure from a range of different clientele. This gave Hope’s site immediate traffic.

4 Simple and Effective Rules:

  • Easy navigation
  • No clutter
  • Visible content
  • Make it easy for visitors to subscribe

Change + Improvements = Boosted Audience

The worst thing a website can be is static. Change it up for your users and reap the traffic benefits. Tweak and improve your site on a regular basis and monitor what changes work for your specific audience. This allows your site to be customised to the needs and wants of your direct target market.

It’s (not) All About The Money

Before zooping your website up with ads, first concentrate on putting together the best possible site for your market niche. Once you have regular, returning followers, you can proceed with monetising your website.

All in all, website development is a fluid business. Keep improving, know your audience and keep improving and keep going.

Posted in business, design, Development, entertainment, huge thoughts, local, online marketing, Other, SEO, social media, technology | No Comments »

15 Must-Have Business Apps

Friday, November 29th, 2013
  1.  Focus@willapps1

Focus@will uses a specially formulated music system for you to listen to. This increases productivity by increasing your focus levels.

2.  Wunderlist

Whether it be for your SmartPhone, iPad or PC, this app is a great tool. Primarily used as a ideas and memo tool, keep your lists handy too.

3.    Box

This app allows users to edit files and securely send them to customers or colleagues effortlessly. View the progress of company projects and give feedback all in one easy application.

4.    Refresh

For HR folk, this app is great. Refresh crawls all social media networks and tells you everything you want to know on the person within 30 seconds!

5.    Audible

If you find yourself constantly on-the-go, and don’t have time to keep up with the latest books and news, this is the app for you. Listen to text on-the-go with this handy little application, straight from your phone.

6.    Flowdock

Collaborate instantly on projects with your colleagues through Flowdock. Think of this app as a chat-meets-inbox tool. Whether you use it on your SmartPhone, tablet or PC, it’s great for staying organised. With inbox features, drag and drop, file uploads and activity streams, you can stay up to date with what each department is doing, Flowdeck is for you.

7.    Gliph

Send private messages across a variety of platforms with one application. Gliph comes along with document storage and encryption features to ensure your safety and security of contents.

8.    Fleksy

Type without looking at your SmartPhone screen! Interested in finding out more? Go on, download it now.

9.    Triplt

For those travel bugs, keep your life organised with this app. Log your flight bookings into the application by emailing it to a certain address.

10.  Full

Set your goals, whether it is for business or personal. Monitor your progress with Full.

11.  Brook

This is an application that focuses on certain update from different social platforms that is relevant to you. Brook is still in Beta mode, so be sure to keep an eye out.

12.  CloudMagic

Search through all your servers: Gmail, Yahoo, Dropbox etc with one simple search.

13.  Venmo

This app acts as a peer-to-peer payment service system. Free and easy to use, Venmo offers users friction-free transactions.

14.  Lift

Lift is like a Twitter for tracking habits. Support your friends and monitor each other progress reports.

15.  WinStreak

Make three daily goals you want to achieve per day. WinStreak helps and reminds you to focus on what’s important and the steps you need to take to accomplish what you set out to do.

Posted in business, Development, huge thoughts, lifestyle, social media, technology | No Comments »

Virtualized Travels: Google’s Tour Builder

Wednesday, November 20th, 2013

Google Earth allows internet users to virtually travel the world with the simple click of a mouse. However, a new feature will now change tour-builder_fethe way people document their real-life travels forever.

Have a look at Google’s new Tour Builder. Although still in its beta phase, this application allows users to create a narrative through photos, videos, text and Google Earth itself. This was originally created as a way for US Marine Veterans to tell their stories. But now, it’s open to all. By simply installing a Google Earth desktop plug-in and make sure you have a Google account.

How Does it Work?

Think of it as a slideshow presentation. Start off with a title and an introductory paragraph. Viewers are able to see all frames at the same time.

Opt for something a little more exciting than a scrapbook for your holiday ventures. Try out Google’s Tour Builder now.

Posted in Development, huge thoughts | No Comments »

BBM For Andriod and iOS is here!

Friday, October 25th, 2013

The BlackBerry enterprise has counted its losses and sold its infamous app. BBM was enjoyed by many, being the first free chatting service popular to the public since the days of Mxit. Not only was BBM a huge feature of BlackBerry cellphones, but the BIS service, with its unlimited internet surely did count for more.

Now that the BBM service has been sold and is available to all other smart phones, will it be enough to salvage the BlackBerry image that was once so popular?

Should I download BBM?

Did you own a BlackBerry prior to your new, (probably touch screen) mobile phone? Do you miss the simplicity and emoticons and infamous “r” sign, knowing your friend has read your message and isn’t responding? Then yes. Download it to your new phone and enjoy the free service once again.

If you’ve never owned a BlackBerry or used BBM, and are more familiar with its counterpart, Whatsapp, then there’s no real reason to have it installed.

Having said that, over 10 million downloads have already occurred since the release, so maybe it’s more popular than we think.

How Do I Download It?

If you are an iPhone fundie, head to BlackBerry’s official site, (www.blackberry.com) and proceed  to your download on Google Play Store.

Samsung settlers, get onto Samsung Apps and proceed your download there. Most likely you won’t have to search, as it will be on the home page under “Editor’s Picks”. Thereafter, proceed with the installation and enter your email address to be placed in-line. Yes, there is a line. Wait for the email to be sent (I still am), and from there on get back to BBM basics!

Posted in business, Development, entertainment, huge thoughts, social media, technology | No Comments »

Have You Heard? ORM is the Word

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013

What is ORM?

ORM stands for Online Reputation Management. It is the process of monitoring your online presence. Whether for business purposes or personal, the World Wide Web offers the globe a glimpse into your personal or professional life. For all intents and purposes, you want to be portrayed in a positive light and either eliminate or deal with negative publicity in a proactive manner. That is what ORM is all about.

Negative Online Presence Affects:

  • Sales
  • Reputation
  • Brand
  • Customer Relationships
  • Employees
  • Family

Did You Know?

ORM is not just for businesses. You as an individual can benefit from it too. How so? Well, think of it this way. It is now standard practise for businesses to go online and search for information regarding possible new employees. Personal online reputation management is imperative to ensure you have a positive and impressive profile for prospective hiring. Have you Googled yourself lately? Ensure you know what the internet says about you before your possible future boss does.

Three Levels of ORM:

1.       Monitor Your Mentions

Think of keywords related to your business. Brand names, key employees, products, services etc. From there on, set up a tracking process which notifies you as soon as these keywords are mentioned on the spectrum of the social web world. Google Alerts is a free tool perfect for this purpose.

2.       Respond To Feedback

Once Google Alerts have notified you of any positive or negative feedback online, it is your job to get on and mention and respond to these comments. It is especially important to NEVER leave negative comments without a response. By responding you are showing prospective clients that you are proactive in dealing with any issues and thus protecting your business

3.       Repair Your Reputation

If your business already has a negative online reputation, don’t fret. ORM can aid you in restoring your this.

Online Reputation Management is increasingly becoming a service companies cannot do without. If you do not have some form of ORM, how will you know what people are saying about your business? How would you ensure new clientele will choose you? Invest in ORM for the future success of your company.

 

 

 

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Welcome All, Windows 8.1…

Friday, October 18th, 2013

Windows_8.1For those of you who have installed Microsoft’s latest offering, the Windows 8 software package, you would be interested to know Windows 8.1 is now available. The switch from Windows 7 to Windows 8 was quite radical. Having made changes to the layout, the entire operating system indeed takes some time to get used to. One thing Windows 8 users were frazzled with was the disappearance of the infamous “start” button.

What’s New?

Windows 8.1 offers users several new and enhanced features, along with the return of the “start” button. This makes it easier to navigate and find your programs without having to hover around looking for your desktop.

Why The Change?

Windows 8 reinvented Windows operating system for all touch devices. Organisational tools enabled users to have access to an enhanced global search, as well as better overall multi-monitor support.

New Features of Windows 8.1

Enjoy the convenience of the Start button, which now acts as a global search button, powered by Bing. For example, type into your start menu a specific topic, Mariah Carey, and get her Wikipedia page along with music videos and latest news from the songstress.

No more do users need to manually update their apps. Windows 8 automatically downloads updates when they’re available, always ensuring you have the latest of everything.

Available to all Windows 8 users, version 8.1 is easily attainable through the Store App.

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Google Throws another Curveball for SEO Fundies.

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

How to master Google’s New Hummingbird Algorithm.                            Hummingbird

Google, yet again, has thrown web content writers and SEO strategists another obstacle. Although this is great news for Google searchers worldwide, it is yet another algorithm adjustment for us web folk to get used to. Introducing… Google’s Hummingbird Algorithm.

Having been implemented over a month ago, if you are finding your site still at a good ranking, you have probably been untouched. However, to make the most of your website and optimise your site to the maximum, it is important to work according to all of Google’s new changes.

The Hummingbird, as it’s now known, deals with Google pulling web ranks according to content. Content that is based with answers to conversational queries. This newest algorithm catches users actual search intent and pulls websites that have content which answers the intent in the best way. Conversational phrases are now where it’s all at.

So now my fellow SEO content writers start thinking along the lines of how your target market would search for your product. Think of examples such as:

  • “How to…”
  • “Where is the nearest…”
  • “Where can I get…”

Adapt your keyword strategies specifically for answers to conversational queries. Use these 3 different approaches to classify your keyword strategies.

  1. 1.       Informational

When users are interested in finding information about a specific topic.

  1. 2.       Navigational

When users are looking for a particular website.

  1. 3.       Transactional

When users are searching for a product within their area.

SEO folk now need to try and determine all conversational phrases related to their specific product or service, and classify into the 3 above approaches. Writers and strategists, start thinking about creating educational content for the informational search phrases. Push your brand name, product name and business name for navigational searches.

Another trick of the Hummingbird trade is to expand your keyword research. It is now important to start paying attention to related keywords, acronyms, synonyms and spelling variants (UK, US, South African). Remember to use these for anchor text and back-linking purposes too.

All in all, this new Hummingbird Algorithm is no train smash. It increases Google’s usability, and even you as a Google user will find the results more satisfying.

 

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More Than Just a Watch…

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

Samsung_GearTechnology never ceases to amaze. We have found ourselves smack in the middle of a time where the age of digital is upon us. Technology advances have been immense over the past few years. Most of it is technologies that we hear of, not experience. With the exception of advances such as the smartphones, tablets and such, most exceptional developments have been behind the scenes.

No longer is that the case. Now it’s brought closer to us than ever before. So close in fact, it’s made to be attached to your body. Introducing… The Samsung Gear.

 

 

 

Specs:

  • 800MHz Processor
  • 1.9mp Camera (Located on the wristband)
  • 4gb Memory
  • 1.63 Inch Touch Screen

What Does it Do?

Where to start? It’s a digital watch that acts as a smartphone. Attempt to wrap your head around that. The movies where people spoke into their watches to call the command base, has now become a reality. This Samsung Gear smartphone watch allows you to respond to text messages by simply speaking to it. This wristwatch will convert your speech into text. By saying a simple command- Your text is sent. Find yourself on the street and witnessing something extraordinary? No need to scratch around for your phone. Simply say the word “camera” to your Samsung Gear Wristwatch and snap away with your 1.9mp camera on the wristband. Ever had the feeling that you were about to do something but forgot? We’ve all been there. Now simply say what you are doing and what needs to be done and your all-powerful wristwatch will auto record for your convenience.

Featured Applications:

Samsung.com gives you a range of apps for your wristwatch that add to the attraction of this handy little contraption. Here we have a few selected apps to show you just how magnificent the Samsung Gear is:

  • eBay:

Complete all transactions on eBay through your watch, in real time.

  • MyFitnessPal:

This app tracks your nutrition and exercise.

  • Triplt:

Organise all your travel plans.

  • Vivino:

This wine scanner allows you to take a picture of any wine and get to know everything about it instantly.

Interested? Take a trip down to your nearest Samsung store and go try it out for yourself! Available in a range of colours, this functional accessory is definitely one not to be missed.

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Posted in business, design, Development, entertainment, huge thoughts, lifestyle, technology | No Comments »

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