Civil Society call for environmental limits and wellbeing for 'Green ...

The Green Growth and Sustainable Development (GG-SD) Forum held on November 23, 2012 at the OECD Headquarters in Paris brought together experts from different policy fields and disciplines.

Green growth should be explicit on societal development and poverty eradication. Photo: UCSD

Events focused on ?encouraging efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, policy instruments and social acceptability. This new initiative by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) aimed at providing a dedicated space for multidisciplinary dialogue on green growth and sustainable development.

Many economists and policy makers now advocate a fundamental shift towards ?green growth? as the new, qualitatively-different growth paradigm, based on enhanced material, resource, energy efficiency and drastic changes in the energy mix. Critics say it is a reductionist approach that needs to look at broader issues.

A number of global initiatives and discussions on advancing green growth are already underway targeting rich, middle income and developing countries alike.

According to OECD, green growth is about fostering economic growth and development, while ensuring that natural resource assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services for sustainable livelihoods.

Green growth can therefore open new sources of growth through incentives for greater efficiency in use of natural resources and natural assets, open up opportunities for innovation, spurred by policies and framework conditions that allow new ways of creating value and addressing environmental problems, creation of new markets by stimulating demand for green technologies, goods and services; boosting investor confidence through greater predictability and continuity around how governments deal with major environmental issues; and securing a more balanced macroeconomic conditions, reduced resource price volatility and supporting fiscal consolidation.

According to OECD, the global economic crisis convinced many countries that a different kind of economic growth is needed. In response, many governments are putting in place measures aimed at a green recovery that can be a long-term driver for economic growth, through, investing in renewable energy and improved efficiency in the use of energy and materials.

Earlier during the Green Growth and Sustainable Development (GG-SD) Forum 2012, Frank Sperling the Chief Climate Change Specialist from the Africa Development Bank noted that there is still skepticism whenever green growth discussions take place in Africa, due to the perception that it will constrain growth by creating conditionality.

He noted that Africa?s ecological footprint is increasing, coupled with many pressing development needs including addressing energy access, water and sanitation and issues around urbanization. Moreover the continent is vulnerable to climate change, which is compounding local environmental challenges that affects land, water, fisheries and livelihoods.

The Green Growth and Sustainable Development (GG-SD) Forum held on November 23, 2012 at the OECD Headquarters in Paris brought together experts from different policy fields and disciplines. Events focused on ?encouraging efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, policy instruments and social acceptability.

This new initiative by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) aimed at providing a dedicated space for multidisciplinary dialogue on green growth and sustainable development.

Many economists and policy makers now advocate a fundamental shift towards ?green growth? as the new, qualitatively-different growth paradigm, based on enhanced material, resource, energy efficiency and drastic changes in the energy mix. Critics say it is a reductionist approach that needs to look at broader issues. A number of global initiatives and discussions on advancing green growth are already underway targeting rich, middle income and developing countries alike.

According to OECD, green growth is about fostering economic growth and development, while ensuring that natural resource assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services for sustainable livelihoods.

Green growth can therefore open new sources of growth through incentives for greater efficiency in use of natural resources and natural assets, open up opportunities for innovation, spurred by policies and framework conditions that allow new ways of creating value and addressing environmental problems, creation of new markets by stimulating demand for green technologies, goods and services; boosting investor confidence through greater predictability and continuity around how governments deal with major environmental issues; and securing a more balanced macroeconomic conditions, reduced resource price volatility and supporting fiscal consolidation.

According to OECD, the global economic crisis convinced many countries that a different kind of economic growth is needed. In response, many governments are putting in place measures aimed at a green recovery that can be a long-term driver for economic growth, through, investing in renewable energy and improved efficiency in the use of energy and materials.

Earlier during the Green Growth and Sustainable Development (GG-SD) Forum 2012, Frank Sperling the Chief Climate Change Specialist from the Africa Development Bank noted that there is still skepticism whenever green growth discussions take place in Africa, due to the perception that it will constrain growth by creating conditionality.

He noted that Africa?s ecological footprint is increasing, coupled with many pressing development needs including addressing energy access, water and sanitation and issues around urbanization. Moreover the continent is vulnerable to climate change, which is compounding local environmental challenges that affects land, water, fisheries and livelihoods.

?We ask specifically that in future versions of this Forum civil society representative are given an equal opportunity to participate in the stakeholder engagement process and also to contribute with their own presentations on green economy perspectives.

On wellbeing CSOs want green growth to be explicit in its ambitions for societal development and poverty eradication taking into account the institutional and contextual analysis, importantly in respect of land and resource tenure, among others. Therefore they asked OECD & Governments to have policies on wellbeing and link that to the process of developing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Source: http://www.24tanzania.com/civil-society-call-for-environmental-limits-and-wellbeing-for-green-growth/

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Emergency physician's loss sparks advocacy

Public release date: 4-Dec-2012
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Contact: Tom Langford
tlangford@partners.org
617-534-1605
Brigham and Women's Hospital

After his mother's death, Jonathan Welch encourages hospitals to involve patients and families in efforts to improve safety

Boston Jonathan Welch, MD, a physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, never thought his family would be part of a medical error. But when his mother's battle with cancer took a sudden turn and she was rushed to a community hospital in Wisconsin, Welch watched in helpless horror as a series of mistakes lead to her death. After the funeral, he encouraged the Wisconsin hospital's administrators to make changes to avoid future errors and deaths, but his experience proved frustrating and fruitless. Now, in an essay that appears online December 3, 2012 in Health Affairs, Welch is urging hospitals to give a larger voice to patients and their families.

"In hospitals across the country, there are patients like my mom whose survival and well-being depends on incorporating patients and their families into care," said Welch. "Medical professionals need to listen to every voice and do everything possible to avoid repeating terrible mistakes."

In the two years since his mother's death, Welch has become an advocate for patient and family involvement in medical care. Welch encourages hospitals to follow the lead of his own hospital, Brigham and Women's, which has established 14 patient and family advisory councils. These councils advise BWH's nurses, doctors and administrators on ways to improve the safety and quality of the hospital's care and services. Members are encouraged to provide input on institutional policies, programs, and practices.

Additionally, when patients and their relatives raise major concerns, those concerns are brought before an executive patient safety committee, staffed by hospital leaders. And furthermore, BWH routinely gives patients and their families a voice in medical errors through Safety Matters, an original monthly newsletter for caregivers that describes errors and what steps BWH is taking to prevent errors from reoccurring.

"The patient point of view is engrained in the culture of Brigham and Women's," said Welch. "I encourage other hospitals to consider programs like these that will promote and protect patient safety by welcoming input from patients and their families."

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 4-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Tom Langford
tlangford@partners.org
617-534-1605
Brigham and Women's Hospital

After his mother's death, Jonathan Welch encourages hospitals to involve patients and families in efforts to improve safety

Boston Jonathan Welch, MD, a physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, never thought his family would be part of a medical error. But when his mother's battle with cancer took a sudden turn and she was rushed to a community hospital in Wisconsin, Welch watched in helpless horror as a series of mistakes lead to her death. After the funeral, he encouraged the Wisconsin hospital's administrators to make changes to avoid future errors and deaths, but his experience proved frustrating and fruitless. Now, in an essay that appears online December 3, 2012 in Health Affairs, Welch is urging hospitals to give a larger voice to patients and their families.

"In hospitals across the country, there are patients like my mom whose survival and well-being depends on incorporating patients and their families into care," said Welch. "Medical professionals need to listen to every voice and do everything possible to avoid repeating terrible mistakes."

In the two years since his mother's death, Welch has become an advocate for patient and family involvement in medical care. Welch encourages hospitals to follow the lead of his own hospital, Brigham and Women's, which has established 14 patient and family advisory councils. These councils advise BWH's nurses, doctors and administrators on ways to improve the safety and quality of the hospital's care and services. Members are encouraged to provide input on institutional policies, programs, and practices.

Additionally, when patients and their relatives raise major concerns, those concerns are brought before an executive patient safety committee, staffed by hospital leaders. And furthermore, BWH routinely gives patients and their families a voice in medical errors through Safety Matters, an original monthly newsletter for caregivers that describes errors and what steps BWH is taking to prevent errors from reoccurring.

"The patient point of view is engrained in the culture of Brigham and Women's," said Welch. "I encourage other hospitals to consider programs like these that will promote and protect patient safety by welcoming input from patients and their families."

###

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/bawh-epl120412.php

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In post-revolutionary Tunisia, 'it's (still) the economy, stupid.'

Violent protests in the countryside echo the economic protest that touched off the Arab Spring here as the new government struggles to improve on the jobs situation.

By John Thorne,?Correspondent / December 2, 2012

Tunisian protesters clash with riot police, in Siliana, Tunisia, Saturday. The army moved into a southwestern Tunisian town, an official and witnesses said Friday, the fourth day of protests that have injured more than 300 people.

Amine Landoulsi/AP

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On Friday morning the people of Siliana carried their governor out of town in effigy ??represented by a coffin marked ?governor? ??which they pitched down an embankment to jeers and celebration.

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They were marching in their thousands under a bright blue sky, moving symbolically toward Tunis, the capital. It was a welcome change from days of stones and tear-gas as protestors had fought with police over economic malaise they blame on state neglect.

The implications of last week?s violence in Siliana, a small country town, reach the heart of Tunisia?s democratic transition. Handling a stricken economy ??and the anger it breeds ??has become the foremost test to date for the country?s first freely elected government, a coalition of long-time opposition parties unexpectedly lifted to power last year by the Arab Spring.

?Remember, we made revolution for work, dignity, and freedom,? said Abderrahman El Heni, a retired school administrator who joined the march. ?Now we can talk freely ??but as for dignity, there are still no jobs.?

Post-revolution economic trouble has become something of an Arab Spring theme since last year, with new leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya scrambling variously to woo jittery foreign investors, secure international loans, and keep a lid on high youth unemployment.

Tunisia's economic woes

In Tunisia, creating jobs is no easy task. Tunisia?s economy has suffered a double-whammy since former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled last year, with tourism and foreign investment dented both by the turmoil of revolution and crisis in eurozone countries that are Tunisia?s main trading partners.

With the downturn, the country's once steadily-growing real GDP turned negative, declining 1.8 percent last year.?While growth this year is expected to pick up, government plans to spend big on job creation still depend on foreign help. Loans of $500 million each from the World Bank and African Development Bank announced last week are the latest examples.

For now, economic trouble has kept unemployment high at 17 percent, only a slight improvement from last year's 19 percent and a figure that gets higher among young people and in depressed towns such as Siliana.?

The town lies in farming country around 70 miles southwest of Tunis, where the land tilts upward toward mountains running from Morocco to Tunisia.

The relative wealth of Tunisia?s bustling coastal cities contrasts with lethargy in the interior. It was in a similar inland town, Sidi Bouzid, that protests in December 2010 over unemployment and state corruption swelled into the uprising that unseated Mr. Ben Ali a month later.

How the unrest began?

The recent trouble in Siliana erupted last Tuesday when local union leaders called a general strike while residents demonstrated to demand jobs and the removal of governor Ahmed Mahoubi, a member of the ruling Ennahda party, whom many slam as aloof and neglectful.

Rallies spiraled into street brawls between protestors and police, who fired tear gas and birdshot ??canisters of lead or rubber pellets ??as young men threw stones and blocked streets with burning debris.

Violence peaked on Wednesday, as Siliana?s main hospital admitted nearly two hundred injured people, most struck by birdshot, said regional hospital director Abdelhak Atyaoui. Twenty people hit by birdshot in the eyes ? potentially causing blindness ? were transferred to Tunis hospitals.

After that, police apparently stopped using birdshot. The tactic has angered many and prompted the UN?s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, to condemn what she called excessive use of force. Authorities say dozens of security force members have also been injured in the clashes.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/N_1YNZjaZLk/In-post-revolutionary-Tunisia-it-s-still-the-economy-stupid.

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Video Networker: Will WebRTC Change The Communications ...

Back in April 2011, I wrote about the WebRTC discussion at the 80th IETF meeting in Prague. The idea to add real-time communications (RTC), that is voice and video capabilities, to the web browser is a natural progression of Google?s ?everything should be done in the browser? philosophy, so there is no surprise that Google has been driving WebRTC. One and a half years later, WebRTC has created quite a buzz in the industry and a wave of startups has developed clients and services based on WebRTC technology. I was therefore excited to meet key players at the first WebRTC Conference and Expo in San Francisco that gathered about 300 participants, and focused on two questions: a) is the WebRTC technology ready for deployment and b) what is its impact on the communications industry?

The Surprise Sponsor
No one was surprised that Google sponsored the WebRTC conference.? But pretty much everyone was surprised to see Plantronics as the second sponsor of the event. Plantronics keynote speech by Joe Burton explained why... The digital divide is getting wider ? while billions of devices are connected to the Internet, many people struggle with the technology. People ask Plantronics to solve the bigger communication problem: bend the web to meet the needs of the average person. It is more than headsets; it is about wearable technology that uses sensors to measure temperature, moisture, etc. parameters and adjust the communication environment. Plantronics sees WebRTC as the communication infrastructure to support wearable devices because WebRTC allows much bigger pool of web developers to build communication apps much faster and leads to democratization of communication technology.

WebRTC Vision And Realty?
WebRTC?s vision is to provide interoperable royalty-free high-quality communication between browsers. To deliver on this vision, Google acquired On2 Technologies and made the VP8 video codec available royalty-free. There are many comparisons of VP8 and H.264 video codecs and the jury is still out on which one is better but one thing is sure: transcoding between VP8 and H.264 leads to lower video quality than any of the two codes on their own.

On the audio side, the preferred codec for WebRTC is Opus, a super-wideband codec that delivers better quality than G.711 and G.722 used in IP telephony applications today. And while there are other super-wideband codecs, including AAC-LD and G.719 used in video conferencing systems, having Opus audio in the web browser will definitely drive web developers towards using it in for voice/video applications.?

Unfortunately, the codec situation has not changed much since early 2011. Google still insists on royalty-free VP8 and Opus while the communication industry is still based on G. and H. codecs. Some speculate that if H.264 becomes royalty-free, the argument for VP8 would be removed, and the world could happily converge around H.264. However, with the next video codec H.265 already on the horizon, the vision of using one video codec across applications and markets sure seems unrealistic.???

WebRTC Status
WebRTC today has fairly simple functionality. First, it allows the web application to get access to the user?s microphone and video camera (using getUserMedia API in JavaScript). This is critical step since Java Script is downloaded from the web server and the user has to explicitly allow it to interact with the camera and microphone in the user?s device. Current implementations basically ask the user for permission for every WebRTC call, and there is still no good solution that combines ease of use and privacy. The second key WebRTC function is establishing a connection between two browsers (using PeerConnection API in JavaScript). This is the equivalent of ?basic call? in voice communications and is therefore pretty straightforward. The third function is data transfer (using DataChannel API in JavaScript) ? this function is designed for sharing data/screen as part of a collaboration session but it has not been implemented yet. In addition, WebRTC offers noise suppression, automatic gain control, echo control, etc. functions to complete the toolbox for web developers and enable creation of fully functional web based communication clients.

Google would like to see WebRTC in all web browsers but today only Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have the latest WebRTC functionality. Opera browser provides partial support of WebRTC (e.g., Opera v12 supports getUserMedia). Internet Explorer does not support WebRTC; the functionality can be accessed through a Chrome frame (a Google plugin for Internet Explorer). Realizing that not all devices can run voice and video in the browser (most mobile devices simply do not have the performance to do that) Google and other vendors provide native C++ versions of WebRTC for mobile platforms. In general, developers do not want to develop separate mobile apps, so as soon as the performance is available in mobile devices, the apps will run in the browser.

Mobile
One of the biggest challenges to WebRTC is addressing mobile platforms. In general, mobile devices have lower performance than wired devices and there are concerns that running software video codec in browser will drain the mobile device battery. Others argue that if the user is in video chat, the screen and wireless radio are consuming so much power that running software codec is not relevant. Another reason for concern is Safari's ~99% share of iOS devices. Apple supports H.264 (and not VP8) and has not yet announced any plans for WebRTC.?

In mobile networks, there are several new communication methods that are competing for attention and resources. Similar to WebRTC, Voice over LTE is a technology that enables voice and video over (mobile/4G/LTE) IP packet networks. Real-time Communication Suite (RCS) on the other hand seems to be compatible with WebRTC. RCS defines what the client should look like and what functions it should support in a SIP call. It is therefore possible to create a RCS-compliant client based on WebRTC ? as demonstrated by Crocodile.

Industry Impact
The current consensus is that while WebRTC clients will become very cheap or free there will be business opportunities around infrastructure and services.

Applications for WebRTC include telephony, video conferencing, collaboration solutions with gaming, etc. The current hype is around video but most benefits are in voice apps, where WebRTC can clearly cut the cost of communication and impacts existing business models. Right now, few people see WebRTC as money making opportunity and many say that asking how to make money with WebRTC is the same as asking how to make money with Flash and JavaScript.

Several companies make money connecting video conferencing traffic from Skype and GoogleTalk to enterprise video conferencing systems and this model can be extended to new WebRTC applications. But traffic among free consumer apps (like Skype, GoogleTalk, and future WebRTC apps) does not generate a lot of revenue. There is also a concern that cheap services can completely disrupt the subscription model used for voice and video services today.

Demos
The WebRTC conference included a lot of demos: some were part of the keynotes while other ran in the expo area throughout the event. 13 demos officially participated in the best demo competition. Among the winners were Vidtel (Best Conferencing), Zingaya (Ready Now Award), Acme Paket (WebRTC to IMS gateway), and Crocodile (WebRTC/RCS client). Plantronics received the Visionary Award while PubNub (a San Francisco startup) won ?Best WebRTC Demo? award and was also audience favorite.

Takeaways
In many ways, the WebRTC conference reminded me of the early SIP days (10-12 years ago). Many speeches predicted that WebRTC will replace PSTN but why would it be different this time? Some cited the better starting position with a lot of expertise about voice and video in IETF and development community. While moving from SS7 to SIP in the 2000?s increased the developer pool from few hundreds to few thousands (the number 6,000 SIP developers was mentioned), moving to web applications increases the developer pool to several millions (potentially 10-20 million Java developers worldwide). Increasing the developer pool is a strong argument for WebRTC.

The WebRTC functionality is still quite rudimentary ? mostly basic call, not even data sharing - but the demos worked quite well. Interoperability (audio and video codecs) is still open - video incompatibilities between H.264 and VP8 being the biggest issue.

WebRTC is adding to the confusion among SPs. It is now just one more thing to worry about next to RCS, IMS, and VoLTE. Enterprises are looking for creative ideas what to do with WebRTC, and most think of call centers. However, using WebRTC for click-to-call-1800-number is a very modest goal for the ambitious WebRTC technology, and I truly hope that more ideas will emerge by the next WebRTC conference in May 2013 in New York.?

Source: http://videonetworker.blogspot.com/2012/12/will-webrtc-change-communications_2.html

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Are You Guilty of These 3 Marketing Bad Habits?

As digital marketers, we spend so much time worrying about things like link building techniques and on-site optimization best practices that we seem to forget that running a business online is about much more than technical website performance. Whenever products, services, or ideas are being sold online, there?s a certain amount of traditional marketing that must be present as well!

So today, I don?t want to talk about how you should be split testing different elements of your website or working on improving your site?s conversion rate optimization plan. While both of those things are true, they?re only part of the puzzle. Instead, it?s just as important that you carry out basic marketing techniques by ensuring you steer clear of the three following bad habits.

Mistake #1: Failing to network with people in the real world

As a result of the digital revolution, we can do more online than ever before. We can meet new people using services like LinkedIn, we can connect with supply chain partners around the world and we can even run entire businesses without the overhead requirements needed by companies just 20 years ago.

But unfortunately, along with this unprecedented opportunity, comes the natural inclination to retreat entirely into the online world.? Just because we don?t need to interact directly with people in person doesn?t mean that we shouldn?t. In fact, failing to do so represents a huge business mistake.

I can?t tell you how many times the connections I?ve forged in person have led to new customers and new opportunities. Maybe it?s new contact I met at an industry conference passing new business my way, or maybe it?s that the guy I grabbed a beer with last week helping me to secure a backlink I?ve been working on for a while. Whatever the case may be, these interactions simply couldn?t happen if I limited my networking activities to the Internet.

So, if you?re feeling a bit cooped up in your home office, or if you?re concerned that your online networking activities might be leading to diminished business opportunities, give any of the following activities a try:

• Attend an industry conference or training (and actually go to the participant networking activities).
• Find a local business networking group in your area.
• Invite industry bloggers in your area out for coffee.
• Use Meetup.com to find business or personal groups nearby.
• Head to the bar and chat up whomever you meet.

Really, it doesn?t matter which specific opportunity you take advantage of?just get out there and meet people! You never know who you?ll run into or how these new connections can advance your business until you get out into the real world and try it.

Mistake #2: Ignoring the power of business blogging

Next up, another huge mistake your organization could be making is to fail to recognize the power that a business blog has.

I know, I know. When blogging first got started, it was primarily the domain of overly emotional teenagers and other saps that couldn?t wait to pour out their innermost thoughts online. But times have changed! Business blogging is now a legitimate pursuit that offers all of the following advantages to companies that are smart enough to take advantage of this technique:

Business blogs improve customer loyalty.?

On the ?touchy feely? side of things, running a business blog ?helps you to better connect with your customers by giving them a behind the scenes look at your organization?s personality and operations.

Blogging helps to turn your company into something more than another nameless, faceless corporation, and as you expand your business?s personal side in this way, it?s not uncommon to see customers reward you with increased loyalty and referrals.

Business blogs provide potent SEO benefits.

Still not convinced that business blogging is a good move for your business? Think about your site?s SEO! Having more content on your website gives the search engines more content to index (not to mention more opportunities to build content around a range of target keywords), which increases the likelihood that your business?s website will appear in the natural search results.

Also, given how strict Google has been about quality content lately (and given how likely this trend is to continue in the future), sharing high-value articles on your business blog can be a great way to protect your brand from future algorithm changes and search penalties.

Business blogs give you powerful market research information.

Beyond the sales and SEO benefits, business blogging can provide you with additional insight into the minds of your target consumers.? Not only can you check your website?s analytics program to find out which pieces of content have been read most often (and thus, which subjects are most interesting to your readers), you can also use posts and their comments sections to solicit feedback from readers on future product lines or product changes. It?s a great way to tap into your customers? mindsets without paying for expensive market research data!

As an added bonus, blogging is cheap and easy to get started with. Simply install a blogging platform like WordPress on your website and fill your editorial calendar with the types of interesting, relevant, and quality posts that are likely to engage your customers and help your company benefit from the power of business blogging.

Mistake #3: Avoiding social networking websites

Finally, while the failure to seize the benefits of business blogging is at least somewhat understandable (given how much time and effort can go into publishing good content), avoiding social networking altogether is completely inexcusable.

First of all, social media marketing offers many of the same advantages listed above in the case of business blogging. Not only does it increase customer loyalty by allowing your company to form connections directly with potential customers, it?s also a great source of consumer information that can be used to inform future changes to your company?s product or service offerings.

However, what many business owners aren?t aware of is the power social media marketing holds for a website?s SEO. Google and Bing both confirmed that social signals play a role in a website?s natural search result rankings as early as December 2010. And while the exact mechanisms by which this occurs aren?t known, they also don?t matter.

If your business is committed to building up an engaged, valuable social profile, you?ll likely secure whatever specific metrics are used to quantify social performance within the ranking algorithms.

So, to summarize, social networking can improve your relationship with your customers, your ability to connect them with the products and/or services they want to buy and your odds of ranking highly in the natural search results. With that in mind, why wouldn?t you want to incorporate social media marketing into your website?s promotional plan?!

There?s been plenty written about creating a social media strategy before, so I won?t repeat myself here. But what I do want to make clear is that social media marketing isn?t as simple as creating a Twitter profile or Facebook Page and then calling it a day.

If you really want to experience the benefits listed above, you?ve got to be willing to put in the daily commitment needed to build an audience and keep them engaged over the long haul. Anything less simply won?t cut it!

Now, I want to hear from you. Are you engaging in any of these marketing mistakes? If so, how do you plan to realign your marketing investments in order to capitalize on the potential each strategy offers? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Photo credit: Bad Marketing Habits ? Fotolia

Sujan Patel is the co-founder of Single Grain, an SEO Agency based in San Francisco, CA. Single Grain specializes in helping start ups and Fortune 500 companies with their digital marketing strategy. You should follow Sujan on Twitter.

Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/3-marketing-bad-habits/53567/

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Important NPC's

Psy Prep has accepted it's very first students! What's special about these students is that they are all psychics! They were brought to the Preparatory to hone their abilities and extinguish villains, but who knows what else lies in the school.

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Psy Prep?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This thread will contain all of the important NPC's in the story and will be edited and added to when the need arises.

Ms. Cortez

The most harsh and cruel teacher of the school. Ms. Cortez enjoys punishing students and takes satisfaction in hearing their screams of pain. She's merciless and wicked, and she knows how to hold a grudge.

Ms. Eve

Eve is a kind woman but is also very timid and paranoid. She's the only surviving student from Psy Prep's real first class. She gave information about Psy Prep and its history to Hallie and Mikhail, two of the only people she trusts. When she opens up to people she can also be a bit childish. She's in her early twenties but due to lack of sleep she looks like she's in her thirties.

Ms. Mione

A teacher who seems to have no emotions. She has a perfect complexion and her hair barely ever falls out of place. She's cold, strict, and mysterious, and there's still more to find out about her.

RUMBLEROAR'S ARMY!

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Member for 1 years

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Support C4SS with Karl Hess's The Death of Politics

C4SS has teamed up with the?Distro of the Libertarian Left. The?Distro?produces and distribute zines and booklets on anarchism, market anarchist theory,?counter-economics, and other movements for liberation. For every copy of Karl Hess?s The Death of Politics?that you purchase through the?Distro, C4SS will receive a percentage.?Support C4SS with?Karl Hess?s?The Death of Politics.

Karl Hess is now remembered as one of the founders of Anarcho-Capitalism, but in the 60s Hess allied with SDS and marched with the Black Panthers. Here he argues that the political economy of laissez-faire (let it be) and individual freedom mean nothing less than a revolutionary anarchism, allied with the peace movement, the New Left, and grassroots social organizing.

Unrest, riot, dissent and chaos notwithstanding, today?s politics is reactionary. Both left and right are reactionary and authoritarian. That is to say: Both are political. They seek only to revise current methods of acquiring and wielding political power. Radical and revolutionary movements seek not to revise but to revoke. The target of revocation should be obvious. The target is politics itself.

Radicals and revolutionaries have had their sights trained on politics for some time. As governments fail around the world, as more millions become aware that government never has and never can humanely and effectively manage men?s affairs, government?s own inadequacy will emerge, at last, as the basis for a truly radical and revolutionary movement. ?

Source: http://c4ss.org/content/14913

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