ConstantReviews – don’t buy without reading our reviews

We just launched http://www.constantreviews.com a great tool for reviewing some of the best online products without spending any money.

You know, every product is advertised to appear as THE BEST in your eyes but in reality things can be very different.

What we have for you?

Language Software Reviews

 

Learning a language online is much easier when you choose the best language training software.

We’ve researched the most popular language training software for you to make the best decision:

 

Computer Security Software Reviews

 

The security of the information on your computer is paramount. So is having your computer running at 100% efficiency.

Below learn about some of the top computer software and security products reviewed:

Debt Relief Reviews

 

We all know how stressful debt and creditors calling can be. Well, there are some companies that can actually help you out of your situation without having to file for bankruptcy.

Here are reviews of the best companies:

Online Marketing Software Reviews

If you have a website or are thinking of having an online business, one of the most important first steps is to analyze the competition and drive traffic to your website.

Here are two of the best products for building traffic and for spying on competition in the PPCs (pay-per-click search engines):

Diet Program Reviews

 

Losing weight and keeping it off is important for your health and lifestyle. Not all of the diet programs are made equal. In this section we review the best of the weight loss programs available.

Here is the top review for weight loss:

Sports Training Reviews

 

Mastering a sport can be achieved much faster when you have an expert coach giving you the “secrets” to the trade. If you don’t have the time and money to pay an expensive coach, the next bet is an online training package.

Here is the top review in this section:

 

Going Green Reviews

By going green, you can protect the environment and save money. Not all of the products and training systems for doing this are equal

We’ve researched the most popular going green products and rated the best below:

 

Make Money Online Reviews

 

Making money online and living anywhere in the world is possible, when you use the right training program. Cut through the hype and learn what really works so that you get the fastest and best results for yourself.

Here are the best affiliate marketing, online money making and other product reviews:

Misc Consumer Reviews

 

Depending on your hobbies and interests, there are a variety of products competing for your hard earned money. Make sure to check this section for hobby and miscellaneous reviews so that you make the best decisions before you buy.

Here are the top reviews in this section:

We sincerely hope that we will be able to help you spend less money for better products.

Happy New Year!

I received many e-mails, sms’s and cards from my partners and friends around the world but this was very different from all the others. Enjoy!

Rezumat economic 2009

Scaderea si redresarea spectaculoasa a burselor, revenirea statului ca jucator activ in economie, descoperirea uneia dintre cele mai mari fraude din istorie si intrarea in faliment a celui mai mare producator auto, General Motors, sunt doar cateva din evenimentele care au marcat anul 2009. Ceea ce a debutat in 2008 ca fiind cea mai grava criza mondiala de dupa cel de-al Doilea Razboi Mondial a continuat in acest an cu o recesiune fara precedent, care a fortat guvernele din intreaga lume sa pompeze mii de miliarde de dolari in economii. Rezultatul s-a materializat in datoriile publice immense accumulate de mai multe tari. Acum insa economia mondiala incepe sa isi revina tocmai datorita acestor masuri rapide, dar scumpe.

Mediul economic global este în continuare ieşit din tipare, iar modelele de analiză şi prognoză sunt dificil de aplicat în condiţii de criză atipică şi de volatilitate excesivă. Pe pieţele financiare, din foarte multe perspective, anul 2009 a fost nesperat de bun. Anul acesta a fost inceput cu un pesimism excesiv şi cu aşteptări cât se poate de negative cu privire la mersul economiei mondiale, al pieţelor bursiere, valutare şi de credit. Foarte surprinzător pentru multă lume însă, sentimentul investitorilor s-a inversat rapid chiar de la începutul lunii martie. De atunci şi până la momentul actual, indicii bursieri au crescut aproape continuu, cotaţiile mărfurilor au urcat susţinut, indicatorii de volatilitate şi aversiune la risc s-au îmbunătăţit vizibil, iar piaţa valutară a favorizat euro şi yenul japonez în raport cu dolarul american. S-a întâmplat asta în in primul rand pentru că bursele, de regulă, anticipează cu două-trei trimestre schimbarea de tendinţă în economia reală, dar mai ales pentru că la nivel mondial băncile centrale şi statele au pompat masiv lichiditate în bilanţurile băncilor şi ale altor instituţii financiare. Aceste lichidităţi au fost folosite de către instituţiile respective în speculaţii financiare, fapt care a provocat schimbarea rapidă de trend, din martie. Acum suntem în situaţia în care pe toate pieţele financiare preţurile de tranzacţionare ale activelor includ aşteptări foarte optimiste de revenire economică rapidă şi completă. De asemenea, preţurile includ şi aşteptări destul de mari cu privire la o creştere semnificativă a inflaţiei, începând chiar din perioada imediat următoare. Cel mai probabil, economia mondială va avea o creştere lentă şi fragilă în următoarele trei-patru trimestre.

Moneda euro a reusit in 2009 sa se aprecieze puternic in raport cu dolarul. In ultimul trimestru, cursul de schimb a sarit de cateva ori pragul de 1,5 dolari/euro, in conditiile in care moneda americana slabita nu a dat semne de revenire. In momentul in care euro s-a apreciat puternic, exporturile europene s-au scumpit, rezultand in vanzari mai scazute pentru companiile de pe continent. Dolarul american a inversat insa temporar trendul de depreciere pe care se afla, ca urmare a creşterii aversiunii la risc şi a preferinţei pentru investiţii în titluri de stat (piaţa americană a titlurilor de stat fiind cea mai mare şi mai lichidă din lume, deci destinaţia predilectă a capitalurilor în căutare de câştiguri mici, dar sigure). Astfel, luna decembrie a adus cu sine o corectie de trend, dolarul incepand sa devina din ce in ce mai puternic in fata valutelor principale, spre final de an atingand o valoare de 1.4250 pentru EUR/USD.
Daca la inceputul lui martie indicele bursier american Dow Jones Industrial Average atinsese minimul din acest an, de circa 6.500 de puncte, din noiembrie acesta a trecut de limita de 10.000 de puncte. Similar, indicele de referinta al bursei japoneze, Nikkei, a reusit abia in ultimul trimestru al anului sa depaseasca 10.000 de puncte, dupa ce in martie se prabusise la circa 7.000 de puncte. Si in Europa, bursele si-au revenit din picaj. Indicele britanic FTSE s-a dublat in 2009, atingand in ultima parte a anului un nivel de peste 5.200 de puncte, in timp ce indicele DAX al pietei germane a avansat cu peste 60%, de la aproximativ 3.600 de puncte in a treia luna a anului la peste 5.800 de puncte in decembrie. Indicele francez CAC a urcat in decembrie cu circa 45% fata de martie, pana la peste 3.800 de puncte.

Preţurile mărfurilor, în special la petrol şi la aur au inceput sa se înscrie pe o tendinţă usor negativă, odata cu intarirea dolarului. Pentru a contrabalansa riscurile de pe pietele bursiere si valutare, investitorii s-au orientat catre aur. Metalul galben a devenit pentru cei mai multi investitori o plasa de siguranta impotriva unor posibile crize, iar acest lucru a condus la o crestere masiva a pretului aurului pana la o valoare record de 1.226 $/uncie la inceputul lui decembrie.
Jucatorii din sistemul bancar au fost insa actorii principali ai acestui an. Bancile americane, care anul trecut primeau bani de la stat pentru a evita o soarta similara celei a Lehman Brother, au reusit sa posteze in 2009 profituri record, similare celor din perioada dinainte de criza, si chiar mai mult, multe dintre ele rambursand statului banii primiti. In aceeasi situatie sunt si unele banci europene. La polul opus se afla creditorii aflati acum in posesia statului. Sistemul bancar, considerat de multi principalul vinovat pentru criza mondiala actuala, a revenit in atentia contribuabililor cand a decis in pofida crizei sa isi recompenseze angajatii cu bonusuri in valoare de miliarde. Nemultumirea publica l-a impulsionat pe Alistair Darling, ministrul britanic de finante, sa impuna o taxa de 50% asupra fondurilor de bonusuri. Initiativa britanica a fost preluata de francezi. Statele Unite urmeaza sa ia o decizie privind aceasta situatie. Desi economiile mari au revenit pe crestere, iar companiile anunta rezultate din ce in ce mai bune, drumul catre iesirea din criza este in continuare pus in pericol de unele obstacole ce se astern in fata in 2010. Cele mai mari pericole sunt reprezentate de somaj si inflatie.

EVENIMENTE 2009:

1 ianuarie: Slovacia adopta moneda euro, care va inlocui coroana slovaca.
7 ianuarie: Rusia suspenda livrarea de gaze ce trec prin Ucraina catre Europa.
20 ianuarie: Fiat a fost de acord sa achizitioneze 35% din Chrysler.
26 ianuarie: Guvernul isladez este inlocuit dupa ce sistemul bancar intra in colaps, iar statul se afla la un pas de faliment national. Primul-ministru, Geir Haarde, demisioneaza imediat.

2 martie: Banca Mondiala, BERD si BEI sar in ajutorul Europei de Est prin intermediul unui plan comun a carui valoare este de 24,5 miliarde de euro.
5 martie: Statele est-europene cer aderarea mai rapida la zona euro, insa Banca Centrala Europeana se opune schimbarii criteriilor procesului de adoptare a monedei euro.
9 martie: Bursele din intreaga lume ating niveluri minime record.
9 martie: Asiguratorul American International Group (AIG) a cerut cel de-al patrulea ajutor de la stat.
25 martie: FMI a anuntat ca urmeaza sa implementeze o serie de reforme majore, ce vor viza procedurile de acordare a creditelor catre statele membre. Reformele au rolul de a oferi conditii de imprumut mai flexibile.
31 martie: Nicio economie din UE cu exceptia Poloniei nu a reusit sa creasca in trimestrul intai.
2 aprilie: Liderii G20 se intalnesc la Londra pentru cel de-al doilea summit al grupului. Principalul subiect de pe lista de discutii a fost criza financiara mondiala.
7 mai: Banca Centrala Europeana (BCE) a redus rata de politica monetara pana la 1%, un nou nivel record.
1 iunie: General Motors intra in faliment.
24 iunie: JPMorgan este numita de revista The Banker cea mai puternica banca in 2009.
30 iunie: Autorul celei mai mari fraude din istorie, de peste 65 mld. dolari, Bernard Madoff a fost condamnat la 150 de ani de inchisoare.
1 iulie: Franta si Germania ies din recesiune dupa ce economiile lor cresc cu 0,3% trimestru la trimestru in perioada aprilie-iunie.
8-10 iulie: Cel de-al 35-lea summit G8 a avut loc la l’Aquila in Italia.
9 august: Numarul bancilor care au intrat in faliment in acest an in Statele Unite a crescut la 72.
25 septembrie: La summit-ul G20 de la Pittsburgh liderii mondiali anunta ca G20 se va implica mai activ in supravegherea economiei mondiale, preluand rolul G8, intr-un efort de a preveni o noua criza financiara precum cea din 2008.
1 octombrie: Italia iese din recesiune dupa ce economia creste cu 0,6% in trimestrul trei comparativ cu cele trei luni anterioare.
12 octombrie: Premiul Nobel pentru Economie a fost acordat in 2009 lui Oliver Williamson si lui Elinor Ostrom.
27 noiembrie: Emiratul Dubai cere amanarea platilor datoriilor uneia dintre cele mai mari companii de stat Dubai World. Cererea a provocat panica pe bursele din regiune, care s-au prabusit.
18 decembrie: Standard & Poor’s retrogradeaza ratingul de tara al Greciei. Oficialii statului asigura ca nu exista pericolul ca tara sa intre in faliment.

REZUMAT BURSIER 22 DECEMBRIE 2009

Indicii europeni si-au continuat aprecierea ieri, dupa ce Moody’s a anuntat ca a redus rating-ul Greciei cu doar un pas, scazand ingrijorarile investitorilor privind o taiere mai drastica a rating-ului, ce ar fi putut duce la neacceptarea de catre Banca Centrala Europeana a obligatiunilor statului grec drept colateral. Cu toate acestea, moneda euro si-a continuat deprecierea fata de dolarul american, cotatia EUR/USD ajungand in jurul valorii de 1,4250. Aprecierile indicilor au fost temperate de revizuirea in scadere a cresterii economice a SUA in trimestrul al treilea, de la 2,8% la 2,2%. Cu toate acestea, vanzarile de case la mana a doua in SUA s-au dovedit peste asteptarile analistilor, contrabalansand anuntul referitor la PIB. Anunturile analistilor privind recomandari pentru actiuni europene au dus si ele la cresterile indicilor. Astfel, Goldman Sachs a anuntat ca a plasat actiunile bancii grupului elvetian Julius Baer pe lista „conviction buy”, iar analistii Credit Suisse au recomandat spre cumparare actiunile Salzgitter, considerand ca cererea de pe piata chineza ar putea duce la o revenire exploziva a producatorilor de otel.

Bursa de la New York a incheiat in crestere luni in ciuda intaririi dolarului si a tranzactiilor mai reduse data fiind apropierea sarbatorilor: Dow Jones castigat 0,83%, iar Nasdaq 1,17%,cel mai inalt din septembrie 2008, iar Standard & Poor’s 500 a castigat 1,05%.

Piata asiatica este foarte linistita, yen-ul inregistrand cresteri usoare. Intre timp, dolarul Canadian continua sa inregistreze castiguri impresionante in ciuda preturilor mai mici ale petrolului si a participantilor activi de pe piata care sunt din ce in ce mai optimisti cu privire la perspectivele pentru economia locala.

Paritatea euro/dolar a coborât pe pieţele internaţionale de la 1,4331 la 1,4265 dolari, la deschiderea burselor americane media fiind de 1,4271 dolari. Aprecierea dolarului a avut ca efect o scădere a preţului unciei de aur la fixingul de ieri dimineaţă la 1.094,25 dolari, pentru ca la cel de seară să coboare la 1.084 dolari. Ca urmare a programului de tranzactionare pe pietele asiatice, euro si lira britanica inregistreaza scaderi inainte de vacanta de Craciun, avand drept consecinta inchiderea mai tarzie a burselor. Valoarea EUR/USD ramane la 1.4881 si lira britanica/dolar la 1.6648.

Astazi la ora 11.30 se vor publica indicatorii MPC Meeting Minutes, BBA Mortgage Approvals si Index of Services cu referire la Lira Sterlina. La ora 15.30 vor fi publicati indicatorii Core PCE Price Index, Personal Spending, Personal Income, Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment, Revised UoM Inflation Expectations cu referire la moneda unica, iar la ora 17.00 vom putea citi cifrele publicate pentru indicatorul New Home Sales, toate aceste cifre putand sa aduca astazi miscari importante ale Dolarului American in raport cu cele mai tranzactionate valute.

New thinking rewarded at 2009 CIJ Awards Romania

The past year may have seen Romania’s real estate market decline drastically, but the industry still managed to produce a large number of intelligent, high-quality projects across all sector classes.

The purpose of the 2009 CIJ Awards Romania was to determine which of these projects were the best of the best, and a high-powered jury was assembled to make these decisions. The winners this year tended to be projects or companies relatively new to the market, or those that demonstrated innovative solutions to longstanding problems.

It was in this spirit that the first award of the evening, for Best Residential Development, went to NewTown, by developer Mivan. Jury member Tom Gibney (Epstein Architecture & Engineering) said the project had achieved a leap forward in creating a sustainable urban development, along with shaping a new way of living for its inhabitants.

It would be an understatement to say that the award for Best Office Development was vigorously debated by the jury, with digressions into topics of sustainability, investment quality, physical size and the creation of a new standard. With Victoria Center by Bluehouse eventually getting the nod, Paul Philips (Quintet Asset Management) spoke for the jury when he said that the building could easily sit in Paris or Berlin with its international level of design. The selection of PZP, the young, talented Romanian architecture practice, helped give the building a contemporary and fresh design solution and created the value that the jury felt will be sustained over the coming years.

If this decision was the focus of some debate over the course of the evening, there was less dissent over the decision to award AFI Palace Cotroceni the Best Shopping Center prize. The jury was so impressed with the developer’s achievement that it also awarded the Best Overall Development honors to the project. The jury’s feeling was that the project best captured the extra innovation, discipline and professionalism required to conceive and achieve a new standard of excellence. In addition, they found that it redefined “best in class,” as well as elevating the expectations for future projects.

The Best Warehouse/Industrial project for 2009, in the eyes of the jury, turned out to be the A1 Business Park by Cefin and Valad. In presenting the award, jury member Edwin Warmerdam (Avrig 35) said the park provided a critical combination of excellent motorway access and visibility, along with a sophisticated industrial park design. The jury said that combined with the project’s great success, it was a worthy winner in its category.

The final prizes for the evening went to people and companies, rather than to projects. Developer of the Year went to GTC, a company with a rich history of development in Romania and which managed to have four of its projects nominated in this year’s CIJ Awards. Horatiu Florescu (The Advisers/Knight Frank) said that for its ability to handle such complex schemes at the same time, under such trying circumstances, the company was a deserving winner of the accolade.

Florescu was soon called back to the stage to accept the prize for Real Estate Agency of the Year for The Advisers/Knight Frank, a remarkable result considering the company was established only this spring. Still, according to Gijs Klomp (ING Real Estate), the jury decided to recognize the agency which managed to stand out and surprise the market in a positive manner by beating the odds.

“Their success can be attributed to the courage of its founder father, their impressive portfolio of exclusive representations in one of the most important property sectors in this country and the fact that they managed to bring to Romania a new, respected international name,” he said.

This year saw the introduction of two new prizes, the first of which was Best Legal Firm of the Year. In announcing the decision, Mihaela Allardin (AEW Europe) said the jury considered experience, achievements over the past 12 months, and services provided along with creativity in dealing with the challenges of the economic crisis. PeliFilip, she said, was young but had excelled in these regards.

The second new prize was the Architectural Firm Award, for which jury member Victor Constantinescu (Biris Goran) said the jury considered originality, quality and functionality of design, number of transactions, reliability and a more difficult to define “wow factor.” Finally, when considering which studio’s work would still look modern in 10 years, he said the group eventually agreed upon Westfourth.

The Personality of the Year award went to Troy Javaher (Jones Lang LaSalle) as a tribute to his commitment to the Romanian market and to bringing transactions to Bucharest and Romania’s other cities and for the high degree of integrity and professionalism he brings to his work. The award was presented by Robert Neale (Portland Trust), who won the award last year.

Full list of 2009 winners
Best Residential Development: NewTown Residence (Mivan)
Best Office Development: Victoria Center (BlueHouse Capital)
Best Shopping Center: AFI Palace Cotroceni (AFI Europe)
Best Industrial/Warehouse: A1 Business Park (Cefin & Valad)
Best Overall Development: AFI Palace Cotroceni (AFI Europe)
Developer of the Year: GTC
Architecture Firm of the Year: Westfourth
Best Law Firm: PeliFilip
Personality of the Year: Troy Javaher (JLL)
Real Estate Agency of the Year: The Advisers/Knight Frank
Property Management Team: Coral Construct

Jury members of the 2009 CIJ Awards RomaniaHoratiu Florescu – President & CEO – The Advisers/Knight Frank
Victor Constantinescu – Partner – Biris Goran
Geo Margescu – Managing Director – Cefin Real Estate
Tom Gibney – Managing Director – Epstein Architecture & Engineering
Mihaela Allardin – Managing Director – AEW Europe RO
Troy Javaher – Head of Capital Markets – Jones Lang LaSalle
Gijs Klomp – Managing Director – ING Real Estate
Edwin Warmerdam – Chief Financial Officer – Avrig 35 Group
Leslie Warren – Leasing Director – Helios Phoenix
Paul Phillips – Chief Development Officer – Quintet Asset Management

For purposes of transparency and authenticity, the jury’s meetings and all voting were supervised by Francesca Postolache of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The monitoring was another innovation launched this year, intended to increase the value and prestige of the CIJ Awards. Jury members involved in any of the categories were not present for the discussion of voting for those awards.

GTC Romania was a partner of the 2009 CIJ Awards Romania.

Christmas 2009 Shopper’s list

The most important market researchers from the most important shopping portals established the most requested products for the 2009 Christmas. Even if 2009 was not an easy year for many industries, Christmas is Christmas. They’ve established The Christmas 2009 Shopping List.

1. Cameras
Holidays are the best occasions to take pictures and make short movies to share with the family and friends as well as on all the social networks. The favourite cameras for this season are: Nikon D90 SLR, Sony Handicam Camcorder, Canon Power Shot, Kodak Easy Share and Sony Cyber-shot.
2. Cell Phones and PDAs
Most telecom companies had traffic increases in 2009 and the most desirable phones are: iPhone 3G and 3GS/ new 32GB and 16 GB, T-Mobile G1, Palm Pre, LG en V Touch and BlackBerry Storm, Curve, Bold and Tour.

3. Clothing, Shoes and Accessories

Which can be an occasion more important than Christmas to buy new clothes? This Christmas, the most important items are: L.A.M.B. shoes and handbags, Dooney & Bourke handbags, Juicy Couture handbags, Michael Kors handbags, Gymboree clothing for baby & kids, Anthropologie dresses, Ed Hardy shirts, sweatshirts and hats, Men’s Diesel jeans, Men’s Lucky Brand jeans, Men’s A&F jeans, Abercrombie & Fitch hoodies, polos and jeans, Victoria’s Secret PJs and sweat/track suits.
4. Computers
The movement of technology is faster than ever. The most wanted items are MacBook Pro and Air, Dell Inspiron and XPS, Western Digital My Passport Essential and Iomega external hard drives.
5. Dolls & Bears
The most popular Barbie products are: 2009 Holiday Doll, My Favorite Barbie: The Original Teenage Fashion Model, 50th Anniversary Doll and Twilight dolls.
6. DVDs & Movies
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen DVD and Blu-ray, Up DVD and Blu-ray and Star Trek DVD or Blu-ray are the most popular this season.
7. Electronics
Apple products lead the way. In the top of the list are: iPod Touch, iPod Touch/ new 64GB & 32GB which boast “50 percent” faster performance and Open GL- enhanced graphics, iPod Nano, iPod Nano 16GB & 8GB with built-in camera, a larger 2,2 inch display, an FM radio, pedometer, voice recorder, and a built-in speaker and iPod Shuffle. Also popular are Garmin nuvi 750 and nuvi 265 WT
8. Health & Beauty
Victoria’s Secret skin care and makeup and designer fragrances Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, Viva La Juicy, Clinique Happy, Vera Wang Princess and Armani Code are between the favorites and are accompanied by Bare Escentuals, Smashbox, MAC and Mary Kay.
9. Home and Garden
The Home and Garden chapter was taken over by Snuggie Blanket and DeWALT Power Tools.
10. Jewelry & Watches
The most popular items are Pandora, Lia Sophia, Silpada and Men’s watches Omega, Breitling, Seiko and Pocket watches.
11. Toys
Have you seen Transformers movies? Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen toys are between the favourites and among them Transformers Bumblebee Voice Mixer Helmet and Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen Action Figure – Leader Megatron. Also popular are G.I. Joe Rise of Cobra Toys – Conrad Duke Hauser Desert Ambush action figure and Snake Eyes Ninja Commando action figure and Lego products – LEGO Star Wars Anakin;s Fighter and Duplo, Elmo Tickle Hands and Elmo Live.
12. Video games
From the video games consoles, the most popular ones are Playstation 3 Slim (120 Gb), Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii (Wii MotionPlus RC accessory), Nintendo Dsi (new pink and white colors) and PSP/ new PSP Go.
And from the video games section – Madden NFL 10, Beatles: Rock Band, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit with Balance Board and Wii Fit Plus, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Halo 3 ODST and New Super Mario Bros are the most desired ones.

Thousands of other gifts from electronics, health and beauty, home and garden, jewelry and watches, toys, video games and more are available in world’s

biggest online store.

The World Blogging Forum Bucharest, Romania

the world blogging forum photo 3world blogging forum foto front page

These days I am happy to attend “The World Blogging Forum” 1st Edition. Please find attached live pictures from the event taken through my iPhone. Enjoy!

the world blogging forum photo 1

the world blogging forum photo 2

 

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10 reasons to be on Twitter

If you have something to say then go to Twitter.com and open an account. If you already have a twitter account and you are not sure what to do with it consider that this account can be more valuable than you can think of. Twitter is about leadership, innovation and status, all of them in posts which are no longer than 140 characters. Every Twitter account can include your profile with picture and link to your main website and is an excellent tool for personal branding.

1. Through Twitter, you can communicate “Generation Y style” no matter what age you are

If for baby boomers “cool” meant “cold”, for the “Y generation, “cool” means “hot” and this is only the tip of the iceberg. So if you want to know how thinks the new generation watch MTV and stay on Twitter.

2. Promote your business through Twitter’s lists

Through the lists gadget, your tweets will appear all over the internet, on other sites and blogs which are related with the domain you are active in.

3. Tweet today and conquer the web tomorrow

What you tweet now will be included in its content by Facebook and other social networks. The tweets will be shared by people, have links pointed to from websites and blogs and will reach a far more wide audience that your usual followers.

4. Relationships

The core principles of Twitter are: to listen, to learn, to care and to serve. By listening to the community you will learn the new trends, you will show that you care because you have something to say and you will serve as contribute to the community.

5. Targeted traffic

Twitter can bring free, targeted traffic to your websites, blogs and affiliate offers. One of the most innovative way of bringing traffic is through retweets. You tweet something and other people retweet your content. This will help you becoming faster an expert in what you want to promote.

Check the rest of my article on SocialMediopolis.com

Romania through my eyes … by Ilias P. Papageorgiadis

I recently read the book “Romania through my eyes…” after meeting its author Mr. Ilias P. Papageorgiadis who is the owner of one of the most active real estate agencies in Bucharest, More Real Estate Services.

Reading this book is like seeing a movie with different cuts from different real life moments highlighting business related facts from the Romanian real estate market in 2008.

After I started it I couldn’t let it go until it was finished because every chapter made me curious to see what’s next. Real estate adventures, hiring personnel, business environment, analyses, interviews are the main topics covered in the book. The style of writing is very modern is just like you sit at a table with Ilias and listening to his stories.

The book is also interesting because I discover things about my own country through the eyes of a Greek businessman which
gave me ideas and thoughts which weren’t in my mind before reading it.

What I liked most was the part about hiring personeel which remainded me about how hard is to find reliable collaborators.

I kindly recommend this book for every real estate professional as a “must read”. You can order the book here.

Google and Heineken study for branding

This week, were published the results from a test performed by Google Netherlands along with Matrixlab, Heineken and Twist, the Heineken’s agency. The goal was to find which are the effects of the paid ads on branding. All the parts involved were pleased by the results. As the methodology, they compared the effectiveness of search against other media and studies the interaction of search with other media. They evaluated the impact of the campaign called “Jouw Heineken” which sent visitors to http://www.jouwheineken.nl where they could design custom beer bottles for purchase. In addition to search, the designers of the campaign used online display ads, TV and YouTube.

The conclusions of the study were highlighted by Google:

- a search impression alone creates 23% more brand preference for Heinneken than all the campaign without the search; a search click creates 69% more brand awareness;

- the fact that search was able to affect the brand awareness shows the ability for search to move the prospects into paying customers which is awesome;

- the serach and TV had synergetic effects because increases overall brand effect by 1.5 times;

- search proved to be 53% more efficient in cost than TV in creating Top of Mind Awareness;

- the first search result on the left side captures and retains the most attention;

- the test of frequency showed that three impression contacts were 39% better than one at influencing brand preference.

Last week, Google made public similar data from a separate test it ran with Levi’s. The companies found that paid search ads raised consumer awareness of the Levi’s brand, no matter if the ads are clicked or not.

Agende si calendare 2010

agende 2010

Am auzit clienti care spun: “Noi anul acesta nu mai cheltuim banii companiei pe agende si calendare, pentru ca am facut prea multe in anii trecuti si am ramas cu ele …”

In primul rand, daca consideri ca ai cheltuit banii si nu i-ai investit, inseamna ca primul pas este sa schimbi compania de publicitate cu care lucrezi acum. Atat agendele cat si calendarele trebuie vazute ca investitii in imagine si de aceea comenzile trebuie gandite astfel incat sa aduca plus valoare si beneficii de imagine companiei.

Asa cum este gresit sa produci mult mai multe decat ai nevoie, este cel putin la fel de gresit sa nu comanzi deloc.

In cazul agendelor, atunci cand nu doresti un model 100% personalizat si doresti personalizarea unui model de serie, nici nu ai nevoie de o cantitate mare. Poti incepe de la 100 buc. (sau chiar 50 in cazuri exceptionale). Agenda se personalizeaza in felul urmator: pe coperta, in functie de materialul din care este realizata se inscriptioneaza sigla companiei si/sau anul fie cu folio – auriu, argintiu sau prin timbru sec, unele materiale de coperta reactionand termic prin schimbarea culorii siglei la acest ultim procedeu ceea ce are ca rezultat un efect vizual excelent. In plus, poti adauga 2 sau 4 pagini de prezentare pentru compania ta.

Gandeste-te ca producatorii de agende fabrica in cantitati mari produsele de serie – zeci de mii de bucati, astfel incat daca vei achizitiona 100 sau 500 buc. pretul unitar pe agenda nepersonalizata nu va scadea considerabil (max. 10%). La personalizare, diferenta de pret unitar pentru serviciu (incluzand personalizarea copertii si paginile de prezentare) de la 100 la 500 buc poate ajunge pana la 30% dar nu reprezinta per total o suma care sa ne ingrijoreze. Daca in anii trecuti ai fabricat modele scumpe, 100% personalizate, anul acesta, daca consideri ca nu este necesara o astfel de investitie poti opta pentru un model de serie si un consultant (agentia) care sa iti recomande personalizari care sa-ti creeze un produs final care sa arate “a mai scump decat costa”.

Referitor la calendare, principiul este acelasi. La baza ai calendare de serie carora le personalizezi capacul. Preturile sunt ca pentru un produs de serie, astfel incat daca achizitionezi 100 sau 500 buc. pretul unitar nu se schimba foarte mult. Iar cu noile tehnologii digitale poti produce un capac full color la un pret unitar excelent pentru un tiraj minim de 100 buc.

Orice companie din aceasta tara ar trebui sa-si permita un buget minimal de 500 – 1000 eur pentru promotionalele de sfarsit de an si 50- 100 de agende plus 50-100 de calendare pot fi incadrate intr-un astfel de buget.

Si mai este un aspect foarte important – cantitate vs. calitate si bun gust. Gandeste-te la faptul ca important nu este ca clientul tau sa primeasca agenda si calendarul tau ci sa le foloseasca pe ale tale si nu pe alte 10-20 pe care le mai primeste de la alti clienti si furnizori. Iar daca in anii precedenti ai facut risipa, doar nu o sa renunti cu totul la acest capitol pentru ca altfel, colaboratorii vor spune … “uite ca anul acesta nu ne-au mai dat … le merge rau”. Comunica pozitiv despre tine si activitatile tale si partenerii vor simti asta.

http://www.kbc.ro