Monday 7 September 2015

Buy £40 in New Amazon.co.uk Gift Cards, Get a £10 promo code to spend at Amazon.co.uk

Amazon 'free' £10 spend with £40 gift card purchase*For selected Amazon customers only. Check your account now




If you've got an Amazon* account, you may have been sent an offer for a 'free' £10 code. If you're eligible to get it you'll need to buy £40 of Amazon gift cards by Sat 12 Sep.
Of course as they're gift cards, which are valid on most items sold by Amazon, and are valid for 10 years, then this is basically a 'if you'll spend £40 on Amazon in the next decade, get £10 free' deal. Although you need to use the code by Wed 11 Nov.
We originally got the T&Cs from Amazon about this deal and it confirmed the £10 promo code had no minimum spend. At 5.30pm today (Thu 3 Sept), Amazon told us it now does have a minimum spend of £10 (so you won't be able to use it to buy something that costs less than £10). This is very annoying and frustrating.
As always, we check all the details of all deals and if there's something we don't know, we tell you. We're just as frustrated that Amazon has changed its mind on this.
How do I know if I'm eligible?
We've seen reports from a number of people saying they've got this offer, and 15 of the 30 people we asked at MSE Towers had, so it's definitely worth checking.
Log in and try this Amazon link*. It should tell you if you're eligible or not. From the examples we've seen those who are eligible are told in big orange writing: "Buy £40 in New Amazon.co.uk Gift Cards, Get a £10 promo code to spend at Amazon.co.uk."
Those who are not eligible are told in black (under a different orange headline): "Thank you for your interest in Amazon.co.uk Gift Cards. Unfortunately, you are not eligible for this offer."
Amazon hasn't actually confirmed the link above always explains your true eligibility. While we believe it should work, we are waiting for confirmation. The worst that can happen is you buy a £40 voucher that you can still use anyway. 
I’m eligible, what do I do now?
Select the offer and then 'Click to qualify for the promotion code'. You'll need to buy £40+ of Amazon gift cards from the selection on that page. Amazon says it will email your £10 promo code one day after you buy the gift cards.
There is a £10 minimum spend on the promo code, and it needs to be used on items dispatched and sold by Amazon, not third-party sellers (this will be clearly marked on screen). It can be combined with the £40 gift cards if you add them to your Amazon account. To do this, simply go to 'Your Account', and select 'Apply a Gift Card to Your Account'.
The £10 code must be redeemed by Wed 11 Nov. Amazon gift cards are valid for 10 years.

Sunday 30 August 2015

Review of the DJI Phantom 2 & GoPro 3+ Black Edition for Still Photography

Review of the DJI Phantom 2 & GoPro 3+ Black Edition for Still Photography

After seeing some amazing images taken with quadcopter (like this one of AT&T Park), I realized that drones were going to be a real game changer in the world of commercial photography.




So, I bit the bullet, whipped out the credit card, and spent about $2000 on a kit that includes:
  • Phantom 2 quadcopter
  • Zenmuse gimbal camera mount
  • GoPro 3+ Black Edition camera
  • KumbaCam FPV unit (transmitter and monitor)
  • GoProfessional hard case for the Phantom 2
  • Spare batteries and such.

The Phantom 2

First, I'll start off by reviewing the quadcopter, FPV unit, etc.

My biggest fear was setting up the equipment. Some of the videos I'd seen of the Phantom 1 showed people opening it up and soldering bits. That's not for me; I'm a photographer, not a hobbyist.

Fortunately, setting it up is a no brainer. There's a bit of attaching things when you first get the Phantom (the gimbal and the camera), but there are plenty of videos out there on the Web covering that. And none it's at all challenging. The FPV transmitter simply velcros to the bottom of the Phantom, and you plug it into the USB port on the GoPro. Easy, even for a non-gearhead like me.

There is a bit of a start up check list you need to go through before you actually fly the Phantom. Here's mine:
  1. Make sure all batteries are charged
  2. Make sure SD card is in camera
  3. Attach FPV monitor to Phantom remote
  4. Turn on Phantom remote
  5. Turn on FPV monitor
  6. Plug in FPV transmitter battery
  7. Turn on camera
  8. Check camera mode
  9. Start recording (I should do this later to avoid getting video of the start up, but I always forget if I don't do it at this point) and verify monitor is working
  10. Turn on Phantom 2
  11. Calibrate compass (this should be done before each flight to assure that the Phantom's GPS is working correctly)
  12. Take off

Flying the Phantom 2

If you don't have experience with RC helicopter controls, I strongly recommend you spend $40 before you buy the Phantom and pick up one of the tiny quadcopters on the market. I bought this little guy from A-Main Hobbies. They are much harder to fly than the Phantom since they lack any stabilization, so by the time you master the little guy you'll have no problems flying the Phantom. It's a relatively cheap way to learn which way is up and down and which way is left and right. Beats learning by crashing $2000 worth of camera and drone into a tree. Smartest thing I did in this whole process.

The Phantom has a couple of systems that stabilize it in flight: an accelerometer that detects motion, and a GPS unit that pinpoints it's location in space. 

Without the GPS, the Phantom, like most other quadcopters, will drift when you are not on the controls. This is problematic in a number of ways, but particularly if you are trying to get several images from the same spot to stitch together. Fortunately, this isn't a problem unless you turn off the GPS (NOT recommended) or are in a spot (like a forest) where it can't pick up a GPS signal.

In the open, with a good GPS signal, the Phantom will hover exactly in one spot. This is great both for making panoramic images, as well as when you get confused or turned around at the controls (happens a lot). All you have to do is let go of the controls and the Phantom will stop and hover. 

The GoPro 3+ Black Edition

So flying isn't the real question here (though I still hyperventilate when $2000 in gear leaves the ground). The real question is: is this a good tool for commercial photography?

And the answer is: it depends.

Let's break down the pros and cons.

Pros
  1. You're flying in the middle of the air and have a unique POV.
  2. Great quality video.
  3. Did I mention flying in the air?
Cons
  1. 12 Megapixels. And that's the top of the line 3+ Black Edition. You're not making murals of these images. You can stitch images to give you a bit more pixels, but because of the fisheye lens (below), it doesn't add that much. 
  2. Fisheye lens. The GoPro has an essentially fisheye lens. 15mm equivalent, I believe. So there's lots of distortion. Things look farther away than they really are. Tilting the gimbal gives you that tiny-world curved horizon (see below). Yes, you can correct for some of the distortion in Lightroom or Photoshop, but it makes it difficult to stitch images at the very least.
  3. Noise. The GoPro is really a tiny video camera; stills are a sideline. And it shows. There is a lot of noise in solid color midtone areas like the sky. Again, yes, you can correct for some of that in Lightroom and Photoshop, but at a cost in image quality. 

So, is it worth it? Depends on what you shoot. I think it can be a boon for real estate and architectural photography, with the unique POVs. The severe distortion and fisheye limit it's use for any sort of people photography. Maybe a gimmick shot here or there, but not much else.


I do a far amount of agricultural and commercial photography, and I think it can be a great additional tool, but it has very real limits.



The GoPro has a still image mode that takes a 12Mp image every second or so (this is adjustable). Unfortunately, the GoPro does not send video to the FPV unit in stills mode. That means you're flying blind when shooting stills. The solution is to set the camera to video+stills mode. It only takes a still image every 5 seconds, but that's better than nothing, and it will send live video to the FPV unit. If you want the full 12Mp, you have to shoot in 1920x1440, instead of the normal 1920x1080. Many video players will not play 1440 video, so if you want the video as well, you'll have to convert it. The GoPro Studio software will do this for you.



Sunday 23 August 2015

Google Controls 65 Percent Of Search, Bing 33 Percent

While market share has been stable, Google is down from July 2014 peak.

google-bing-logos2-1920

In the simplest terms, the world of organic search is roughly two-thirds Google, one third Bing. Those are the July 2015 “powered by” numbers provided by comScore for the US search market.
In terms of non-network share, Bing saw a tiny 0.1 percent gain in July and so did Ask. Google was flat with 64 percent, unchanged for the past three months. Yet Google’s market share is down from 67.6 percent a year ago.
comscore july 2015 search rankings
Together Bing and Yahoo combined in July for 33.1 percent market share. AOL will soon be a Bing-powered search property. If that were the case today, the share of Bing and Bing-powered searches would represent 34.3 percent of all query volume.

SOURCE




Tuesday 28 April 2015

30 Tips for Using Social Media in Your Business

1. Offer a peek behind the scenes. Offering a sneak preview of new products, services, or features online can help build demand and provide critical feedback to help smooth the launch. For instance, John Doyle, founder of chocolate company John and Kira's in Philadelphia, posts photos of new products on Flickr and invites comments from customers.

2. Harness your expertise. Chances are your company's white paper won't go viral. But sharing knowledge you've gathered through your trade can go a long way toward boosting your brand. Ford Models, for instance, became a YouTube sensation through a series of videos that featured its models giving beauty and fashion tips.

3. Demonstrate what your company does. Because multimedia is so integral to social media, getting connected allows you to express your company's value proposition beyond words. To show just how powerful his company's blenders were, Blendtec's head of marketing, George Wright, created a series of videos showing the appliances churning up such diverse items as a rotisserie chicken, a Rubik's Cube, and an iPhone. The series' 100 million combined views helped boost Blendtec's sales by 700 percent.

4. Put your website's content to work. Want to draw more traffic to your website? Help spread the word by encouraging visitors to share content they enjoy. GotCast, a website that connects television casting directors with aspiring actors, draws new visitors by posting audition videos on Digg and allowing others to share video links on the site. One way to promote the sharing of your site's content is to install a widget, such as AddThis, that automates linking to popular sites.

5. Be candid. In unsure economic times, transparency goes a long way toward retaining and attracting customers. Giving readers the scoop on your company blog is an easy way to keep the lines of communication open. Giacomo Guilizzoni, the founder of San Francisco software company Balsamiq, even posts sales and profit figures to show that his company is on solid financial footing.

6. But be careful what you say about others. When Leslie Richard, owner of a North Carolina clothing company, described Vision Media Television as a "scam," she was slapped with a $20 million lawsuit. While recounting negative experiences with others won't necessarily lead to a court battle, it's best to steer clear of name-calling.

7. Interact with visitors—really. Just putting up a blog or a Facebook fan page won't do much good if visitors sense the flow of conversation only goes one way. In fact, Matt Mullenweg, founder of blogging platform Wordpress, lists not participating in comments as a surefire way to kill a community. Mullenweg and his team field the many suggestions users have for Wordpress through his blog.

8. Don't try to create a stand-in for yourself. With all the other tasks required within your company, it's tempting to outsource managing your social media or even to try automating the process. That can easily backfire, as Joe Pulizzi, founder of Cleveland marketing firm Junta42, learned when he tried sending automated welcome messages to new followers on Twitter. His online contacts quickly called him out for sending out what they perceived to be spam.

9. Don't pretend to be someone else. Thanks to IP address tracking, observers can also quickly tell when company figureheads adopt fake identities for the sake of fluffing up their reputation. Not only can the practice hurt your company's reputation, it could also land you in legal trouble. The plastic surgery Lifestyle Lift had to pay $300,000 in settlement costs to the state of New York for having its employees post flattering reviews of the company without disclosing their affiliation.

10. Help employees bond. Corporations such as IBM have built in-house networks—even virtual worlds reminiscent of Second Life—to link employees working in different locations. Small and medium-sized businesses can take advantage of readily available tools to facilitate collaboration. The Hoffman Agency, a public relations firm, uses Ning, which enables users to build custom social networks, to connect its U.S. staff with employees in Europe and Asia.

11. Reward customer loyalty. Through social media, companies can not only run promotions more frequently than coupons in the mail will permit but also devise more whimsical and engaging campaigns. Sprinkles Cupcakes, a bakery chain based in Beverly Hills, California, uses Twitter to send out daily promotional offers. The tweets, which ask customers to whisper a "password" to receive a free treat, have helped the company draw more than 17,000 followers.

12. See what people are saying about you. A quick search for mentions of your company on Facebook, Twitter, and Yelp can yield a goldmine of information concerning your reputation. Several users on Yelp, for instance, suggested that employees at Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago were less than welcoming. After reading the comments, owner Eric Kirsammer focused on improving customer service. Applications such as monitter and Trackur can help you keep track of the conversation across the Web.

13. Make amends with dissatisfied customers, quickly. Andy Carlson, owner of an Ace Hardware store in Denver, once came across an angry Twitter update from a customer who had bought a tool that broke after one use. He resolved the issue in a matter of minutes by referring the customer to an area store and notified him of Ace's lifetime guarantee. Best of all, he was able to catch the complaint after store hours—and prevent negative word of mouth.

14. Don't go on the defensive. A harsh rebuke of your business on sites like Yelp can not only bruise your ego but also hurt your livelihood. But resist the temptation to lash out in public. Sarah Dunbar, owner of Oakland vintage boutique Pretty Penny, privately responds to less-than-flattering reviewers and encourages them to visit her in person. And keep in mind that you can't please everyone. After Dunbar wrote to one dissatisfied customer, the reviewer accused her of conducting "shady business" by trying to sway opinions.

15. Keep customers in the loop. Frequently on the go? Twitter can help your customers keep track of your latest destination. Kogi Korean BBQ, which operates a food cart in Los Angeles, keeps its Twitter followers constantly informed of its location on the street. The real-time updates help Kogi keep up demand, as customers line up in advance at the broadcasted locations.

16. Find potential customers. A quick keyword search can help you find prospective customers who may not be aware of your company but could nonetheless benefit from your product or service. Bob Scaglion, a senior managing director at New York real-estate management company Rose Associates, generates 100 leads per month on Twitter for his company simply by replying to users whose tweets include phrases such as "moving to New York City" and "no-fee rentals."

17. Reach more markets. Social media can help your company reach multiple markets at a time. Restaurant chain Boloco focuses most of its advertising on Boston, which houses 13 out of its 16 locations. But as an experiment, CEO John Pepper decided to post a copy of a coupon from a local newspaper on Twitter in order to reach customers in Vermont and New Hampshire. Coupon redemptions increased by more than 150 percent as a result.

18. Target your online advertising. Both Facebook andMySpace allow businesses to run ads that attract specific groups of users based on what information they include in their profiles. By running Facebook ads targeted at students at specific colleges, StorQuest Self Storage, which has locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Hawaii, increased its number of rentals by more than half.

19. See where your customers are. A growing number of social networks are designed specifically for users on the go, and some, such as the mobile application Foursquare, offer tools specifically for businesses. Frozen dessert chain Tasti D-Lite, for instance, uses Foursquare to gather data on how many people visit its locations and send promotional offers to frequent customers.

20. Let customers help each other out. Including a customer forum on your website or social network profile can help enhance your customer service while building a sense of community. At Poolcenter.com, a swimming pool equipment retailer based in Arlington, Virginia, customers often field each other's inquiries on swimming pool equipment before they reach customer service reps. Get Satisfaction and Fixya are two sites that offer dedicated spaces for customer service forums.

21. Build a community beyond your business. Photo hosting site SmugMug has established itself as a resource for skilled photographers in part by operating a forum, Digital Grin, where members trade advice on topics such as the best techniques for taking photos at night and capturing wedding scenes. With the exception of a support section at the very bottom, the forum is devoted to photography at large, rather than the company's own services.

22. Let customers contribute. FrontPoint Security, a home security provider in McLean, Virginia, began collecting video testimonials from its customers, who filmed themselves with Flip cameras. The videos are posted on FrontPoint's site and on YouTube, and even some customers' personal blogs. FrontPoint's video efforts have helped the company more than triple its sales leads.

23. Help others promote you. Social media can help you find passionate customers who are more than willing to spread the word about your company. Crafts supplies manufacturer Fiskars reached out to scrapbookers by inviting four avid users to blog. Its crafts community, called Fiskateers, has since attracted 5,000 users who serve as brand evangelists.

24. Cultivate relationships that lead to sales. Soon after he joined Twitter, J.R. Cohen, manager of The Coffee Groundz, a Houston coffee shop, began encouraging his followers to visit him in his shop. He began getting to know customers so well that they not only initiated conversations with him through Twitter—they began tweeting orders through the site as well. Now Cohen periodically fields menu requests through Twitter, though he doesn't use the page primarily for that purpose.

25. But don't promote too aggressively. While social network users have proven to be open to marketing—especially if it involves a discount—they're not flocking to Facebook or MySpace to hear sales pitches. If your profile or blog reads like an ad, it will turn visitors away. Kent Lewis, founder of Portland online marketing firm Anvil Media, encourages Twitter users, for instance, to pass along industry news and retweet interesting items from others along with their own promotions.

26. Find ways to engage visitors offline. In March, Cinda Baxter, a retail consultant in Minneapolis, ended a blog post on local business with one simple idea: choose three businesses to support, and spend a combined amount of $50 per month. The post spurred hundreds of inquiries—enough for Baxter to build a standalone website, which has since attracted the support of more than 12,000 businesses. Baxter has used the publicity to bolster her consulting business: she now travels nationwide to advise retailers on building support within their communities.

27. Find influential people in your industry. In addition to maintaining your blog, make sure to keep your eyes open to what others in the industry are buzzing about online. Reading independent blogs and joining industry groups on Facebook andLinkedIn is a good way to join the larger conversation. Spoonflower, a fabric design site based in Mebane, North Carolina, has built its community of more than 40,000 users primarily through word of mouth on crafts blogs.

28. Boost your credibility by helping others. For service providers, establishing yourself as an expert in the field can bring in a steady stream of business. LinkedIn's Answers feature enables business owners to do just that. Heidi Cool, a Web design consultant in Cleveland, browses LinkedIn Answers for inquiries related to her industry and spends one to two hours per week answering them. In one month, she generated 29 leads for her services directly from her responses.

29. Look for talent off the beaten path. While LinkedIn is specifically geared toward professional use, some companies have found other social networks to be effective recruiting tools as well. Jason Averbrook, CEO of the management-consulting firm Knowledge Infusion, found 19 candidates in two days for an open position simply by writing about his search in status updates on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Plaxo, which aggregates contact information from social networks.

30. Connect with potential partners. Because LinkedIn is designed specifically for professional networking, businesses can find a host of valuable contacts there. Josh Steinitz, CEO of NileGuide, a trip planning website based in San Francisco, used LinkedIn to find business partners by identifying companies of interest and then asking his existing contacts to provide introductions. A third of the company's inquiries resulted in eventual partnerships.

Source: http://www.inc.com/articles/2010/01/30-tips-for-using-social-media.html

Monday 27 April 2015

10 Social Media Tips for Bloggers

When it comes to building an audience and driving traffic, bloggers are turning to social media with record results. Instead of relying on organic search or (gasp) IRL friends, successful bloggers know they have to develop a following on key social networks as a way to promote their brands and ultimately get more clicks.
TwitterFacebookStumbleUpon and now Pinterest provide the savvy blogger with plenty of opportunities to attract new readers and engage with regulars, but it can be overwhelming if you’re new to social media or if you only use it for fun.
Here are 10 tips to help bloggers navigate the increasingly complex world of social media — while still making time to write content.

1. Display your social media icons prominently toward the top of your website.

Make it as simple as possible for your blog readers to connect with you on various social media platforms. They shouldn’t have to hunt around to find your Twitter handle, but should be able to click on a button and be taken right to your profile. Bonus points if your social media icons reflect the overall design or feel of your blog.

2. Every blog should have its own Facebook Page.

Even with Facebook’s new subscription feature, there’s still merit to giving your blog its own space on Facebook. It’s nice to be able to post a link every time you publish something new, and not have to worry about annoying your friends. Plus, readers who don’t your name but know the name of your blog can search for it on Facebook. Show your fans some love on your blog by using the Facebook social plugin, which makes it easy to convert readers to fans.

3. Generate traffic with StumbleUpon.

This “recommendation engine” serves as an alternate browser where users click through pages that their SU friends and SU itself have recommended. You can submit your own blog posts into the system, but it works best if you also share them with your SU friends and accept their shares back. Like most social platforms, you need to have a strong following to get good results. While people are still trying to figure out what makes SU content go viral, many bloggers have seen terrific, albeit fleeting, traffic spikes through the service.

4. Import your RSS feed onto your LinkedIn profile using its Blog Link application.

As long as your blog somewhat pertains to your professional goals, you should be showcasing it on LinkedIn. List it as one of your three websites in your profile, where it will be labeled “Blog.” However, by using the Blog Link application, your most recent posts will display right on your profile.

5. Pinterest is the hot new frontier for bloggers.

Pinterest is the cool new kid, and all of the bloggers are scrambling to establish a presence there. Pin your best photos onto themed boards with links to a relevant blog post. Blogs with strong visual content, like fashion, food, design, crafts and travel, are a natural fit. Infographics will also do quite well. Don’t forget to add a Pinterest plugin (like the Pinterest "Pin It" Button for WordPress users) to make it easy for your readers to share your content on their Pinterest boards.

6. Use link shorteners even when you don’t have to.

Twitter will now shorten your link for you, and the length of your link doesn’t matter on Facebook and Google+. But by using a link shortener like bit.ly, you will gain access to metrics, so you'll know how many people clicked and at what time. With this essential data, you can experiment with different ways to tease your content and different times to post it.

7. Use your blog name as your username whenever possible.

Promote your personal brand by consistently using your blog’s name for your Twitter handle, StumbleUpon name, Pinterest name and so on. Then, people don’t have to wonder about your blog’s name — it’s right there. Also, people will remember you easily across platforms, which is key as you develop up your online community.

8. Join blogger groups on Facebook.

There are some very active groups on Facebook that are terrific resources for any blogging issues you encounter. Look for groups like “Travel Bloggers” or “Global Bloggers Network.” WordPress geeks have “Advanced WordPress” and Central Florida residents have “Central Florida Bloggers.” Not only are blogger groups good for problem-solving, but it’s well-known that bloggers like to read other blogs. Do some searching and find a bloggers group that’s suited to you, or start your own!

9. Be generous with other bloggers.

Promote other bloggers' content, and hopefully they’ll return the favor. You can’t simply blast your own content anyway — you need some variety in every social media stream. So why not check out what your fellow bloggers are posting and give them a retweet, a share or a repin whenever you can. And don’t forget to reciprocate and share content from bloggers who share yours.

10. Be on social media — even when it's not driving traffic.

It can be frustrating when you feel that you’re doing everything right (posting good content on the appropriate platforms in the best way possible) and you’re still not getting many clicks. But console yourself by thinking about all of the links that you see throughout the day that you don’t click on. Just spending time on social media platforms is great way to forge relationships, keep up on industry news and find inspiration for that next blog post.
Images courtesy of iStockphotoardaguldogan.

Sunday 26 April 2015

Re-Post Blog Content

Re-posting blog content allows you to get a full life out of your content. As you grow the blog you’ll build up a great collection of articles, but they won’t all be hits right away. You can give these great articles new life by continuing to promote them on social media and through other channels.
Here are the steps to take to re-post your content on your social media profiles to build up that organic social media traffic to your blog.

Step 1 Identify Old Posts For Sharing

You could create a spreadsheet to do this, but we get a little too geeky with the spreadsheets in these guides so we’ll take an easier route.
Open up your WordPress dashboard and click on the Posts link in the left hand navigation. This will show you previous posts on your blog. You’ll be able to see 20 at a time by default.

If you click on Screen Options at the top right you’ll have the option to see more (or less if you want).
For this exercise, 20 works, but more might work depending on how many posts you want to schedule at one time.

In a new tab, open up Buffer or if you’re just sharing one old post at a time you can open up your various social profiles.

Step 2 Creating New Titles


Identify a post you want to share. Since all of your posts will be great you can choose any of them.
You’ll see your original title of the post, which you can use again if it’s catchy. But if you want to share something fresh you can create a new title.
There are a few different ways to come up with new titles.
First, simply change the title with something similar and just as catchy.
The original title:
10 WAYS TO UNCLOG YOUR DRAIN
The new title:
YOU WON’T BELIEVE HOW THIS PERSON UNCLOGS THEIR DRAIN
Second, you can grab some text from the post and use that as the new title. Quotes and stats work well.
Use variations of those options and you should have no shortage of new titles for your post.

Step 3 Sharing Old Posts Using Buffer


Enter the new title into Buffer or into the social profile where you’ll be sharing.

Right click on the View link under the post you’re sharing and paste it to Buffer or to the profile where you’ll share the old post as a new update.
Again, with Buffer you can add these old titles to your queue so the posts will share at your set times throughout the day and week. This is a great way to fill out your social profiles with content so that those profiles remain active during the peak times even if you’re busy.

Step 4 Retweeting Old Posts Using WordPress Plugins


There are plugins that will automatically retweet your old blog posts.
You can schedule these tweets to publish at intervals such as every hour, two hours, etc. throughout the day and week.
PLUGINS INCLUDE: