Distance Learning – Post Graduate Online Education Degrees

According to the Survey of Earned Doctorates, as of 2004 there was a 3.4 percent increase in doctorate degrees awarded in the United States. In June, 2004, a total of 41,155 research doctorate degrees were earned by postgraduate students. The recent increase in doctorate degrees awarded after a decade of decline can be partially attributed to the convenience of distance learning postgraduate online education degrees.

Postgraduate degree programs offer students an opportunity to explore a subject to attain the highest levels of proficiency in that area of study. Courses can be based upon a curriculum or independent study and research. A recent study released by both Penn State University Outreach Marketing and Communications and University Continuing Education Association revealed that distance learning is anticipated to grow ten times quicker than on-campus education over the next ten years. Further, about 45 percent of college enrollment are adult students who frequently prefer distance learning opportunities to classes on campus. Sun Chairman Scott McNealy states, “Technology has to play a huge role in education. (It’s) changed commerce…publishing…banking. It’s got to change education big time.”

Distance learning postgraduate online education degrees afford busy students the opportunity to earn doctorate degrees at their convenience, without having travel to and attend traditional classes. By the time students intend to pursue distance learning postgraduate online education degrees, they are usually computer literate, self-motivated and able to manage their time properly. These are all essential elements to success in virtual classrooms. The two basic types of postgraduate degrees students may earn are professional doctorates or research doctorates.

Professional doctorates. The United States requires terminal professional doctorate degrees to perform in certain fields, such as dentistry, medicine, law, chiropractics, occupational therapy and psychology. Prior to entering these professional doctorate programs, students are required to complete a bachelors degree, preferably in a related field. Professional doctorate degrees, such as J.D. and M.D., usually do not require students to complete a thesis, although some do require an original research paper to be submitted. Doctorate degrees usually take three years to complete after postsecondary education, although distance learning postgraduate online education degrees may be earned more quickly. Because online education courses are often geared for the busy adult learner, students can progress at their own pace.

Research doctorates. The research doctorate that is most commonly earned is a Ph.D. The time is takes to complete research doctorate degree programs can vary quite a bit, depending on course pursued. It is common for students to take two to three years to complete coursework and three or more years to conduct pertinent research. The benefit of a Ph.D. is that a holder is qualified to pursue an academic career as an expert in their field. Distance learning research doctorate degrees are conveniently pursued online and can be easily worked around professional schedules.

Honorary doctorates. These degrees may be awarded for substantial contributions to a field and are not necessarily academic.

Financial Aid. Federal financial aid and loan programs may be applied to distance learning postgraduate online education degrees. Employers may offer tuition reimbursement for coursework. Private loans may also be secured to pay for higher education. Students have several options available that can help them finance their doctorates.

Thesis. Some postgraduate doctorate degrees require students to write a thesis. The learner defines their own area of research and takes years to write a detailed paper, which may be made available as pertinent information to other students in the field.

Coursework. Distance learning postgraduate online education degree programs offer students ongoing guidance through coursework, email, virtual lectures and online discussions. Students are, however, expected to work independently and use a variety of research resources to complete their course requirements.

Online Students. A recent national study entitled Degrees of Opportunity revealed some interesting facts about online students. Eighty-nine percent of those surveyed felt that the benefits derived from higher education are equal to or even greater than the money, time and effort involved. Lyungai Mbilinyi, Ph.D and author of this report, stated, “Eighty-one percent associated higher education with a sense of personal accomplishment and seventy-eight percent believed education would better develop their talents or pursue their interests. Despite the assortment of obstacles many adults face when considering a return to school, the overwhelming majority believe the resulting benefits have made it worthwhile.” Finally, eighty-four percent of enrollments in higher education programs are non-traditional students such as distance learners and adults with jobs. Students who participate in distance learning postgraduate online degree programs are not only seeking better positions, but the increased knowledge and self-esteem that comes with an advanced education.

The study “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States, 2005″ found that full distance learning postgraduate online education degree programs were offered by 38 percent of schools. The popularity of postgraduate online degree programs makes it clear they are a viable way to earn higher education and improve career options.

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Internet Home Based Businesses – Finding the One That You Can Achieve Success With

There are so many people who are curious about the online world and dedicate a lot of time to going on it in search of a perfect way to make income. One of the best ways is going to be to get involved with an Internet home based business. The only obstacle that you’re going to face is that there are a lot of Internet home based businesses that you’re going to encounter when you first go on the Internet and not all of them are going to be truly legit. There are many people on the Internet that try to take advantage of those who are new to the online world.

This is why you have to be very careful and understand that not everything that you see is real because some people are going to lie to you in order to get you involved in the business. The best way to make sure that you avoid these people that try to take advantage of you is by gathering enough information before making any decisions.

Every time that you encounter a home based business that you find interesting you have to make sure that you gather enough information on it to know that the people are telling you the truth. You’re going to be surprised how many businesses promise you so much and talk so much but have been around in business for only a couple of days.

I understand that everybody deserves a chance and every business starts at one point in their career but you have to be very careful because not everybody is what they seem to be. The last thing you want to happen is for you to invest your time into something that is going to disappear once it gets enough money.

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Starting a Home Based Business – Things You Should Keep in Mind

You might have thought of starting a home based business for several reasons. These reasons may include – you want to get freedom from your regular 9 to 5 monotonous job, you do not want your boss to breath down your neck, or you dread commuting to your work place during peak traffic hours.The reasons may be many, but one thing you should keep in mind is to acquaint yourself with all the aspects of a home venture.How do you proceed with the business enterprise? Ensure that you do not discontinue halfway through your business journey as many people tend to do.Half-baked knowledge or skills for starting a home business will not get you anywhere. You need to possess a sound understanding of all the facts so that you do not have to face the embarrassment of total defeat in your endeavors.Follow these steps to succeed in a home venture rather than wasting your energy and hard earned money.Evaluate your entrepreneurial flair:You need to assess your business acumen. It is very important to possess basic qualities of a business person. Your insight into business activities, good judgment and intelligence in grasping unique selling techniques will serve you well.If you do not have these qualities or lack them, it is always better to either learn or improve them. The entrepreneurial flair is the foundation for starting a home business.Love what you are doing:You will need to devote a lot of time to your business enterprise, at least in the initial stage, to make it a successful venture. Therefore, it is importance that you love what you are doing. Be sure you know your product or service inside out.It is advised that you go slowly in the beginning stage. Learn to crawl before you walk. This endurance of yours will come to your rescue during hard times for which you should be prepared.Be realistic:Do not be over-excited or over-enthusiastic with your business objectives. Keep your feet firmly on the ground. Set those goals that are realistically possible to attain.Similarly, do not fall prey to any tall claims of making you rich overnight. Analyze your strengths and weakness.Funding:While you are itemizing your financial plan, you should be unambiguous. See if you can start your venture with the money you have. For this, you should survey the market. If required, you may think about asking for a loan from a bank. It is critical to understand about your expenses and income from the very beginning.Propping up your business:One of the most crucial parts of your venture is to promote it. It is important that your business is able to generate interest. You can rely on word-of-mouth advertisement. You can also request your clientele to pass on information about your venture to others.Devise some inexpensive ways of advertising, like creating your own business flyers or cards, promotional drives at local events, newspaper ads and creating your own website. The most significant elements are to be innovative and take initiative when starting a home based business.

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New Career and Financial Freedom – Home Based Business Versus Real Estate Agent

The Home Based BusinessWith the change in the economy and the high unemployment rate, many are faced with having to look at new options for work. We can no longer put our eggs in one basket and think that we can stay with the same company for years. Good bye are the days of employment security. Our security lies in ourselves and the ability to create the financial opportunity for our own financial freedom.The home based business gives us maximum freedom and the ability to be with our families, work the hours we want and to be as creative as our own minds can take us. The home based business can also give the maximum financial freedom, too. Just think, we can spend as much time as we want working from any remote, tropical, luxury or rustic location with internet access. It’s a lifestyle change that most people can only dream of doing because they do not understand how to start a home based business. Taking the first step is always the hardest.There are two ways of looking at this. The first way is that the economy is so bad that thousands of agents are leaving real estate to start their own home based business. Or they are working what little bit of business is there while working on and developing a business online. That is me. I have been an agent for 12 years and know that I need to diversify for my immediate financial and lifestyle need and my financial future.So, one could say that it’s a great time to start in real estate because of the massive exodus of agents we are experiencing. RE agents can make a lot of money while being self-employed, but you need to be diligent in getting started.The other way of looking at this is that many people believe agents make a ton of money and that it’s easy. Well, we can make a great living and hmmm it’s easy when the market is robust. Today, it’s not. If you get your license, choose a broker to work with and follow a plan to get you started like the one I outlined in my article above, then you will have a chance at building your real estate business albeit slowly. Or you can do both the home based business and your real estate at the same time.Either way, do your due diligence, talk with agents and home based business owners and make a well-informed decision. I would be more than happy to give you pointers from my perspective if you would like it. Just email me.Good luck!

Top Home Based Businesses To Start Today

The state of our economy in the last few years has had a terrible impact on employment in our country. Companies of all sizes are laying off employees regardless of their talents, years of service or contributions they’ve provided. What is even harder to witness is the closing or splitting up of some large corporations that had employed so many individuals. Many of these people are now looking seriously at ideas for creating income working from home. The question then becomes what are the top home based businesses one can start quickly and with little initial investment.One way to approach starting a home based business is with providing a service or product out of your home. Ideally, the product would be something you are talented with making, but if you don’t have the talent then look for something you can learn quickly and doesn’t require years of practice.If you enjoy being creative and working with your hands, look at top home based businesses that you would enjoy creating products for. Some examples might include:Jewelry Making – Wire jewelry making is easy and with only a little practice you can create some stunning work. There are loads of how-to books on wire jewelry design in the craft stores and you can start with inexpensive material and work your way up.Baking – If you can create some tasty but healthy treats, you might be able to find various health food stores that will buy your goods.Custom T-Shirts – If you look around at the t-shirts marketed towards the younger crowd, you’ll see that lots of them have a grungy, rough, worn or splattered appearing design on them. Just splash a few colors of paint on the front, stamp on the words “Work in progress”, and watch the kids line up for these unique and “cool” shirts.If you are the type of person that is more comfortable with physical work, some top home based businesses might include:Carpet Cleaning – For a small investment you can buy commercial carpet cleaners like the ones that are rented out at many department stores. These do a great job with just hot water and some cleaning solution. They even fit in most cars.Lawn Care – If you already own a riding lawn mower and a truck you can buy some ramps to get the mower into the truck bed. Or, you can get a trailer to put the mower on. As you get more business you can invest in better equipment that lets you complete more jobs in the same amount of time.Cleaning Homes – Take the hour or so you spend each day exercising and clean homes instead. You’ll get the cardio workout from the cleaning and get paid as well. Most clients already have the cleaning supplies they want you to use, so don’t feel you need to stock up on all the supplies.Additionally, some top home based businesses that let you utilize your computer would include:Freelance Jobs – Sites like freelancer.com provide outsourcing for large and small businesses to find experts to complete various projects and tasks. Companies are looking for skills like writing, designing, data entry, sales and marketing as well as technical skills like programming, administration and engineering.website Design – Website design has become much easier as the technology and software has improved in recent years. While it’s a good idea to be familiar with some of the technical jargon, you can focus on the design and flow of a website and outsource the technical development of the sites to someone else.Medical Billing or Coding – this type of online work has become popular as hospitals and insurance agencies are trying to keep costs down. You need to learn the billing or coding process to take on these types of jobs.As with any endeavor you will want to do proper and thorough research in your area of interest. While the list above of top home based businesses is not complete, it provides a few realistic examples and thought starters that will help you get you on your way.

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Home Based Business Tips To Become Wildly Successful

So you’re living the dream and have your very own home business. You can wake up whenever you want, do as much or as little work as possible, and have ultimate freedom! Unfortunately, this is rarely the case for the majority of home business owners, many of which struggle to make ends meet. If you want to reverse this condition, make your business wildly profitable and experience ultimate freedom, then pay attention to the following home based business tips…Tip One – Choose Your Vehicle And Stick With ItThere are many different vehicles that will get you to the same destination. It’s up to you to choose the one that is right for you and your unique goals. Whether you have an affiliate business, an eBay business, a freelance writing business or anything in between. You need to carefully choose the vehicle (the specific business model) and give it 100% of you focus. If you jump between a whole variety of business models, then you will be spreading yourself too thin.Focus on one method of making money via a home based business and stick with it until it’s profitable. Don’t be tempted to bounce around and try too many different things all at once, otherwise none of the businesses will end up profitable. Focus is the key to success with a home business.Tip Two – Have A Set ScheduleWhen you were an employee, dreaming about owning a home based business, you may have thought how amazing it would be to work from the comfort of your own home. Although there are many benefits to doing this, there are also many distractions that can hinder your progress. This is why it’s essential to have a set work schedule.You should have a daily schedule that you persistently follow. If you don’t do this, you could find yourself checking Facebook one minute, watching television the next, and then chatting on the phone to one of your friends. Eliminate all distractions during your work schedule and don’t do anything else but work on your business during the designated time!Tip Three – Seek Knowledge + Take ActionTo make a home based business wildly successful, you will need to do two main steps, accumulate up-to-date knowledge and take action on what you have learned. If you can do these two steps over and over again, your will be amazed at how profitable your business can become.The trick is to never stop accumulating knowledge. The moment your mind becomes shut is the moment when all progress forward will stop. It’s also important to realize that if all you do is continuously learn without taking any action, then you will never become successful. So you must strike a balance between learning new things and also taking action on what you have learned.Even though running a home based business can be challenging, it’s a very fulfilling challenge that can completely revolutionize your whole life. Just make sure you follow these three home based business tips so that you can make the entire experience run smoother, be more enjoyable, and ultimately become wildly profitable!

7 Things Successful Small Business Owners Do

If you’re stuck wondering how to be a successful small business owner, know this: running a small business often simply means making good use of successful small business ideas. Successful small business owners face many ups and downs throughout their work. They know that small business ideas cannot turn out successful unless they use the proper approach and strategies.If you want to be one of the few successful small business owners, remember that having a good strategy is crucial. Without the right strategy and a proper approach, you are not likely to achieve your goal.Some small business owners manage to overcome their everyday challenges, while others seem to give up after a while. So, let’s find out what successful small business owners do differently from the unsuccessful ones. Let’s turn their experience into your success through your small business ideas.1. MAKE ANNUAL REVISIONS OF YOUR BUSINESS PLAN AND BUDGETEvery business goes through changes every now and then, including your small business. For this reason, your business plan and budget should be somewhat flexible to bear such changes along with your business goals. Without revising your business plan and budget, you shouldn’t expect your business to flourish and expand.The flexibility of your business plan will help you avoid and overcome the eventual unpleasant surprises on the market. Also, such flexibility will give you some time to adjust to certain changes you may experience on your way.Every business experiences both success and failure points each year. In order to detect and estimate these points, you should revise your budget and business plan every year. While revising, you should check if you are still going in the right direction. If not, you may need to make some changes and adjustments to achieve better results in the upcoming period.Successful small business owners don’t hesitate to reallocate funds, if that is what it takes to achieve success. In order to increase profits, after they conduct a business revision, smart business owners define and implement the necessary changes immediately.2. UPDATE YOUR OFFER AND ADD VALUE TO ITPeople change, as do their needs and habits. As soon as you notice that you aren’t selling as much as you used to sell before, it is time to make changes. If people aren’t purchasing what you currently have to offer, that’s a clear hint that something needs to be done.A simple price cut may be the first thing that comes to your mind. As much as lower prices may seem more appealing to your customers, they also point to a devaluation of what you offer. Devaluation of your products or services is never a good thing, so try doing just the opposite – add value to your offers.The best way to update and add value to your products and services is by developing new offers. If possible, try to offer something completely new to your customers. You could offer product bundles, training programs and workshops, and so on.3. DARE TO BE DIFFERENTMost successful small business owners believe in daring to be different. They know their target consumers. Trying to target everyone and anyone as a consumer will get you nowhere fast. Instead of trying to make products for the masses, focus on a clearly targeted community and grow with it. Once you target your consumers, it is easy to understand their needs.Understanding your consumers is the secret to a successful business. When you know their needs, you can modify your products and services in order to satisfy them. Satisfied consumers will not only become your regulars, but they will also spread the word about what you offer. This may become the best marketing strategy for your business.Spreading the word about your products or services is called a referral marketing strategy. It’s been proven that most of the faster growing small businesses turn to this kind of marketing rather than relying on traditional advertising.4. KNOW YOUR COMPETITIONSuccessful small business owners know their competition. They know that keeping an eye on the competitors and understanding their policy and pricing is crucial to the business. It is wise to consider your direct competitors in your area, as well as indirect competitors.A direct competitor offers the same primary services to the same target group as you, and they are easy to follow on the market. However, an indirect competitor company offers the same or similar products as a segment of a wider product or service offering.In some cases, the indirect competitor may offer a product that is an applicable substitute for the original product. Successful small business owners know how to position their company against the indirect competitors. They take both types of competing companies seriously and they account for them in their annual business plan.5. HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLEEven though hiring the right people for your business sounds obvious, it can be a really tough job for small business owners. Also, not hiring the right people could be a huge downfall for a small company. People who don’t share the concept of your business approach and goals are not the type of people you want to engage in your business.Candidates who don’t have the right temperament, skills, or talent for the job position that you offer can be too pricey for your company. Having the right people in the right job positions can make your company outstanding. Exceptional companies recruit exceptional people.6. ACCEPT TECHNOLOGY CHANGESTechnology changes on a regular basis nowadays. Successful business owners are very well aware of that, so they change accordingly. Doing things the way they were done years ago will not provide the same success nowadays.Accepting technological improvements can help your company become more effective and efficient. Keep yourself informed about the latest in new technology, and the improved solutions it brings. Choose the most appropriate ones for your business and adopt them. Your customers will be grateful and you’ll experience great benefits.7. TRUST YOUR INTUITIONIf you believe your intuition has been serving you well so far, listen to your inner voice carefully. Your instincts can lead you a long way. If you still feel strongly about something, regardless of the lack of facts or data – act on it. What seems right for other businesses doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for you as well.Relying on intuition is often the first step out of your comfort zone, and the first step towards becoming a leading company on the market. While you watch your business grow and spread, remember that having faith in yourself and the business you are running is crucial. Being aware of your inner voice can lead you to making business decisions with more confidence and a greater success rate.

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Home Based Business: The Mindset Story

You are searching the internet for the right home based business that will make you much money, your head is buzzing with excitement, you feel like this will be your answer to all your problems. You will be able to buy that car or house you have always dreamed about, but most of all you will have money in your pocket and plenty of it. That’s positive mindset.

So why do you feel like that? It’s a great feeling I know. Well, when you start reading these home based business websites sales copy or even the emails that you received, it all seems so simple to do. The promise of making mega dollars a month, the promise of someone will show you how it’s all done once you join their business opportunity. What can go wrong? It’s all being offered to you on a plate, all you have to do is pay a signing on fee and the money will start to roll in. Your head is full of things that you will be able to do once it all starts working you have no doubt this is it.

Now that you have joined your home based business opportunity, you have received a welcoming email explaining what you should do next and how to get going. You log into your back office of your new business and start reading the start up procedures, you are told to watch the training videos and take notes. You are still feeling great but not as good as you were when you were searching for your new home based business. Your mindset is starting to fade a little, but you are still positive.

It’s been a month since you started your new home based business and you are starting to get confused with what to do next. Your head is all over the place, what’s happening is you are now going into information overload, you have been reading and watching so many videos on how to build you home business, and now you are not sure what to do next. Your mindset is now changing from positive to neutral, but you still keep going.

It’s now 3 months on since starting your home based business, to date you have not made one penny from your business, you have been spending money on joining other sites that make claims that you will need their product to help grow your business, so what gone wrong? your mindset is falling off now to negative, you start to think you have made a very big mistake in joining this home based business.

Most people when joining a home based business opportunity don’t do any research into the opportunity, they automatically believe it’s that simple to make a living online. Then when they realize it’s not what they thought, they start to go down hill, and one of the first things they say is I have been scammed. So now they have gone from being totally positive to totally negative, there mindset has fallen.

The people that succeed in their home based business are the one’s that research first, then get some form of coaching or training, that will give them the basics of how to run any business, they find a good sponsor, someone who has a good reputation, one who is always ready to help and point them in the right direction. These people keep that positive mindset and normally go on to be very successful.

Conclusion: To keep that positive mindset, before you jump into any business be it online or offline, do your research first, find out what is required of you, will you have to invest anymore money in your business? Take your time, don’t rush, then research what form of coaching or training is required for your home based business. I am sure that if you take your time and don’t rush into things you will have all the success you desire with your home based business.

The Future of Business Advertising

The global economy is naturally all about buying and selling and as such advertising is the lifeblood of the economy. SME’s still tend to adopt more traditional forms of advertising such as directories, newspapers, radio ads etc as they are (generally) cost effective in comparison to their marketing budgets.

However national and global brands with multi million pound A&P budgets are increasingly looking for more creative and innovative ways to promote themselves and stand out in an increasingly competitive market place.

Take the popular US magazine Entertainment Weekly for example, who debuted video advertising in its September 09 edition by placing wafer-thin screens embedded in its pages that promoted CBS TV shows and Pepsi. Gimmick or not, it demonstrated the corporate desire to innovate and appear current.

The traditional advertising model will be around for a long time yet, however the future of advertising clearly lies in digital mediums. Google executive, Nikesh Arora, recently stated “People are shifting their spending dollars more and more to the online world – whether it be direct marketing, advertising, or branding and that follows industrial marketing logic, which is that you have to go where the eyeballs are, where the customers are”. That coupled with the fact that for advertisers digital ad platforms allow accurate performance tracking, which is something offline advertising has always struggled with.

DOOH (Digital Out Of Home) advertising is an up and coming area with some really innovative concepts being developed. French marketing technology firm Quividi are developing digital signage displays that have built in cameras that instantly identify a passer by’s age and gender using a facial recognition system and then delivers a product that it feels is appropriate – think Minority Report!

We already know what a valuable commodity ‘Consumer Data’ is and its link to effective contextualisation of ad messages / message customisation and therefore it is a natural progression that DOOH advertising will follow suit and the worth of digital signage will be as much in its ability to gather data as in its ad revenues.

Taking the idea of digital targeted outdoor advertising even further, Holosonics, a US based technology company has developed something called the audio spotlight, aptly named because it can create a tight, narrow beam of sound that can be controlled with the same precision as a torch onto a small area over 60ft away. The DOOH market has naturally taken to this as it enables advertisers to accurately deliver not only their visual, but now also their audio message into a very targeted area.

So what of the online world?

Facebook:

With over 400 million active users on Facebook, this channel is potentially an advertisers wet dream, particularly as Facebook offers advertisers the opportunity to reach targeted and engaged audiences through Facebook ads. These ads are targeted at users based on their likes and interests rather than their searches and although still in its infancy, businesses are now investigating and trialling campaigns to work out how to effectively leverage Facebook ads into their online spend.

In Game Advertising:

Following on from the initial rush with advertising in ‘virtual worlds’ such as ‘SecondLife’. Advertisers are starting to really understand the benefits of advertising within the gaming community and are being very creative. For example, Zygna (the creator of Farmville) with a current valuation of $4 billion are offering an new approach to in game advertising by incentivizing users to ‘interact with adverts’ by completing brand related tasks such as filing in a form or watching a video, in order to be rewarded with ‘virtual currencies’ to use within their game.

With the global gaming industry achieving over $56 billion in revenues it is fast becoming an important focus for media planners, particularly with the growth of social gaming (i.e. on Facebook). As this area matures, advertisers will be able to utilise in game advertising across different platforms.

Twitter:

Twitter has at last announced the first of its money-making ventures through advertising, with its ‘Promoted Tweets’. Twitter has teemed up with a number of commercial partners such as Disney/Pixar and Starbucks enabling them to place a ‘promoted tweet’ at the top of a ‘trending topic’ on the results page, with the aim to roll ‘promoted tweets’ out across live conversations once they have a better understanding of the users experience and advertiser value.

Twitter are measuring this first phase of ‘promoted tweets’ to ensure that they are useful to visitors (resonance). Whether they ‘resonate’ with users will be measured by whether users interact with them, retweet them etc. Twitter has stated that any ‘Promoted Tweets’ that do not resonate with users will not be allowed to continue. With over 4 billion tweets posted in the first quarter of 2010 alone, this is definitely one to keep an eye on and I will be watching this space with interest.

Mobile:

Mobile ad spend rose by a third to 32% between 2008 and 2009, with brands from the entertainment, media and telecoms sectors spending the largest amounts on the medium, according to the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The UK spent 36.7m in the UK in 2009 despite a contraction in the advertising market in general.

So what next for mobile advertising? It seem that it’s all about Location, Location, Location with ‘Location Based Advertising’ (LBA). These are mobile adverts which target users based on their GPS location and have the potential to represent anything from a coupon for a coffee shop around the corner from where you are standing or a car dealer that has the same make and model of car as the one you where searching for on Auto Trader last night. Advertisers could even target a banner advert aimed at a certain demographic that would only appear if you were in the vicinity of their business. Although the market seems relatively small at the moment, the potential for growth is massive.

If all of that seems too ‘out there’ for your business, you could always contact Andrew Fischer at Human Headspace – the first man to officially eBay his forehead as advertising space – genius!

The Finer Points of Internet Auctions

WHAT IS A PENNY AUCTION?

Penny auctions have exploded in popularity with the massive growth of the internet. However, few people know the true origins of penny auctions.Beginnings actually stretch back to the Great Depression. Those were hard times for everyone, but even harder for farmers. Farmers struggled to bring in steady income because of droughts and crops not selling as well as they had previously. As a result, the banks would foreclose on the farmers who couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.

The banks weren’t satisfied with just repossessing the house, they wanted to raise as much capital as possible, so they resorted to selling off the possessions of the owners of the repossessed houses. There was not much the farmers could do about it so they began bidding ridiculously low prices, pennies, on the items while threatening others who dared to bid higher than a few pennies.

The auctions of today hardly resemble their tremulous beginnings. Being part of a penny auction today is exhilarating, fun, and addictive. It combines the selling format of auctioning with a little bit of chance factored in.Auctions are a game of strategy but also a game of luck.

The premise behind penny auctions is giving people the chance to win an item at a drastically reduced price.Auctions make that possible by spreading out the cost of the product among multiple bidders. In order for a person to take part in an auction, they must pay a set price for each bid. For example, if a person wanted to bid on a fifty dollar Amazon gift card then he would spend a dollar for each time a bid placed. If he ended up winning the gift card, then he would only have spent a few dollars for a fifty dollar gift card. Usually penny auctions sell bids in packages.

HOW PENNY AUCTIONS WORK!

The main foundation of penny auctions is the pay-per-bid format. It is the key that allows bidders to win items at the fraction of their retail value and allows the auction owners to keep their site profitable. Most y auction sites run on the same premise: people pay a set amount for each bid, whenever a person places a bid within the closing seconds of the auction time will be added, the last person left with a unique bid after the clocks runs out will win the item. There are a large variety of items that can be won, but they tend to be popular electronics or gift cards to popular stores.

There are two types of auctions: lowest unique bid auction and highest unique bid auction. Lowest unique auction sounds confusing but it is actually quite simple. A unique bid is when only one person has a bid at a certain price. Bids usually start at one penny, a bidder can then place a bid at two pennies. Until another bidder places a higher bid, the most recent bidder will be the lowest unique bid because that was the only bid at two cents and nobody bid higher. However, penny auctions generally don’t stop at one penny. It is not uncommon to find auctions that end up at a couple hundred dollars based on the popularity of the item being auctioned. However, the same principles apply for those auctions. Highest unique bid auctions follow the more traditional auction format such as eBay. The person with the highest bid at the end of the auction wins the item.

Auction site owners turn a profit by selling bids. Say twenty people are bidding on a ten dollar gift card at one dollar per bid, at the end of the auction if there were twenty bids placed in total then the site owner would have made twenty dollars with a ten dollar profit.Auctions do seem like a win-win situation:The site owner makes money while the bidder gets an item for dirt cheap. However, not everyone wins in penny auctions. The people who paid one dollar each bid but left with nothing to show for their investments will not be so happy.

HOW TO WIN!

Penny auction has a lot of chance mixed into it, but one can incorporate strategy that will help raise the chances of winning. Playing smart can make all the difference between gambling and auctioning.

The first crucial tip to winning penny auctions is to know how to manage your bids. Your goal should be to win as much as possible without spending a ton of money buying bids. Managing your bids means that you should already know how much you are willing to risk in order to win an item. The amount of capital you are willing to risk will determine how many bids you can use. Once you know how many bids you have to spend on an item, then you will be better able to manage how and when you place a bid. That will keep you from blowing away all of your bids in the first few seconds of the auction.

The next tip is to practice time management. When fighting in the trenches of penny auctions, you have two enemies: other bidders and time. Knowing when to bid is a must if you want to have success. Placing a bid when there is a lot of time left on the clock is never a good idea. You have to remember that the key to winning a penny auction is being the last one standing when the clock runs out and that each bid increases the amount of time left. It would be a good practice to wait until the last few minutes of the auction before you begin to bid.

The final tip for successful auctioning is to keep your emotions under control.Auctions have a lot of similarities to gambling, and just like gambling, your spending can get out of control. If you keep your emotions level, it will keep you from making rash decisions and blowing loads of cash. Keep your mind clear so that you can gage the behavior of the other bidders and outsmart them.

HOW TO AVOID SCAM SITES!

Penny auctions are a great addition to the web whether you want to win an item that otherwise you wouldn’t be able to afford or if you simply enjoy the thrill that comes with bidding in auctions. Unfortunately, scam sites have tarnished the reputation of the legitimate penny auction sites. However, there are ways that you can protect yourself from scamers and enjoy your auctioning without having to worry about losing your money due to dishonesty.

Checking the reputation of the auction site before you start spending your hard earned money is always a good idea. Chances are other people have tried the site before you and some of them have left reviews. The reviews are your way to gage whether a auction site is trustworthy or not. If a site is getting overwhelmingly negative reviews, then that is a clear indication that you should steer your business elsewhere.

Another tool you can use to protect yourself is checking the Alexia ranks of the auction sites. Alexia rank will give a solid view of how much traffic the auction is getting. If you see a huge difference in the amount of traffic Alexia is projecting and the amount of active bidders on the site, then warning signals should be ringing in your head. Some auction sites have been known to set up robots that automatically bid on projects in order to keep the auction going and inflate the price. That is known as shill bidding. You can sniff out those sites by comparing the traffic the site should be getting to the amount of users using this site.

CONCLUSION!

New legislation may come out later down the road that will officially make penny auctions gambling, but until then, it is a fun, exciting auction that allows one to win the item they’ve always wanted but couldn’t afford.Auctions are also quite lucrative for the site owners because of the pay-per-bid strategy they’ve incorporated. Penny auctions had humble beginnings with farmers who just wanted to get back at the banks who kicked them out of their house. More recently, auctions have enjoyed an explosion in popularity with the rise of the internet.

There are two main formats fora auctions, lowest and highest unique auction, however they both run on the same premise where the last unique bid wins the item. Winning a penny auction will require a certain amount of mental tactic and a bit of luck. However, you can increase your odds of winning by practicing certain techniques such as managing your bids wisely, learning how to work with the time, and keeping a level head and your emotions under control. When you combine those three strategies to your bidding plan, you will find that you win a lot more often.

It is important that you do your due diligence to protect yourself when participating in auctions. Not every auction is run by honest and trustworthy people. There are people out there who just want to take your money. You can protect yourself by ensuring that you only bid on sites that already have a very positive reputation from real users.

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