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We're very happy that 2012 ended up being the year of whole-home DVRs. We reviewed Dish Network's Hopper earlier this year and now we've spent some quality time with DirecTV's Genie -- can't say we expected the cute names. Capable of serving up to eight rooms in your house (but only four at once), the Genie system works with a variety of setups, including being built into some newer Samsung TVs. Only available as part of DirecTV service, the Genie can be had for free by some new DirecTV customers who are willing to sign a term agreement and select the right package, and available to existing customers as an upgrade for $300 depending on the circumstances. If DirecTV didn't already have you at five tuners, 1TB and up to eight rooms, then click through for a full rundown on the latest the original direct satellite broadcast TV provider has to offer.

Gallery: DirecTV Genie whole-shome DVR

Continue reading DirecTV Genie whole-home DVR review

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President Barack Obama arrives to make a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama pauses during a statement on the fiscal cliff negotiations with congressional leaders in the briefing room of the White House on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 in Washington. The negotiations are a last ditch effort to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. leaves the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, after a closed-door meeting between President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders to negotiate the framework for a deal on the fiscal cliff. The end game at hand, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders made a final stab at compromise Friday to prevent a toxic blend of middle-class tax increases and spending cuts from taking effect at the turn of the new year. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. leaves the White House in Washington, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, after a closed-door meeting between President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders to negotiate the framework for a deal on the fiscal cliff. The end game at hand, President Barack Obama and congressional leaders made a final stab at compromise Friday to prevent a toxic blend of middle-class tax increases and spending cuts from taking effect at the turn of the new year. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., right, accompanied by the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012, to discuss changes in Senate procedural rules. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Senate leaders groped for a last-minute compromise Saturday to avoid middle-class tax increases and possibly prevent deep spending cuts at the dawn of the new year as President Barack Obama warned that failure could mean a "self-inflicted wound to the economy."

Obama chastised lawmakers in his weekly radio and Internet address for waiting until the last minute to try and avoid a "fiscal cliff," yet said there was still time for an agreement. "We cannot let Washington politics get in the way of America's progress," he said as the hurry-up negotiations unfolded.

Senate Republicans said they were ready to compromise. "Divided government is a good time to solve hard problems_and in the next few days, leaders in Washington have an important responsibility to work together and do just that," said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, delivering his party's weekly address.

Even so, there was no guarantee of success.

In a blunt challenge to Republicans, Obama said that barring a bipartisan agreement, he expected both houses to vote on his own proposal to block tax increases on all but the wealthy and simultaneously preserve expiring unemployment benefits.

Political calculations mattered as much as deep-seated differences over the issues, as divided government struggled with its first big challenge since the November elections.

Speaker John Boehner remained at arms-length, juggling a desire to avoid the fiscal cliff with his goal of winning another new term as speaker when a new Congress convenes next Thursday. Any compromise legislation is certain to include higher tax rates on the wealthy, and the House GOP rank and file rejected the idea when Boehner presented it as part of a final attempt to strike a more sweeping agreement with Obama.

Yet lawmakers have until the new Congress convenes to pass any compromise, and even the calendar mattered. Democrats said they had been told House Republicans might reject a deal until after Jan. 1, to avoid a vote to raise taxes before they had technically gone up and then vote to cut taxes after they had risen.

Nor was any taxpayer likely to feel any adverse impact if legislation is signed and passed into law in the first two or three days of 2013 instead of the final hours of 2012.

Gone was the talk of a grand bargain of spending cuts and additional tax revenue in which the two parties would agree to slash deficits by trillions of dollars over a decade.

Now negotiators had a more cramped goal of preventing additional damage to the economy in the form of higher taxes across the board ? with some families facing increases measured in the thousands of dollars ? as well as cuts aimed at the Pentagon and hundreds of domestic programs.

Republicans said they were willing to bow to Obama's call for higher taxes on the wealthy as part of a deal to prevent them from rising on those less well-off.

Democrats said Obama was sticking to his campaign call for tax increases above $250,000 in annual income, even though he said in recent negotiations he said he could accept $400,000.

There were indications from Republicans that estate taxes might hold more significance for them than the possibility of higher rates on income.

One senior Republican, Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, said late Friday he was "totally dead set" against Obama's estate tax proposal, and as if to reinforce the point, Blunt mentioned the issue before any other in his broadcast remarks. "Small businesses and farm families don't know how to deal with the unfair death tax_a tax that the president and congressional leaders have threatened to expand to include even more family farms and even more small businesses," he said.

Officials said any compromise was likely to ease the impact of the alternative minimum tax, originally designed to make sure that millionaires did not escape taxation. If left unchanged, it could hit an estimated 28 million households for the first time in 2013, with an average increase of more than $3,000.

Taxes on dividends and capital gains are also involved in the talks, as well as a series of breaks for businesses and others due to expire at the first of the year.

Obama and congressional Democrats are insisting on an extension of long-term unemployment benefits that are expiring for about 2 million jobless individuals.

Leaders in both parties also hope to prevent a 27 percent fee cut from taking effect on Jan. 1 for doctors who treat Medicare patients.

There was also discussion of a short-term extension of expiring farm programs, in part to prevent a spike in milk prices at the first of the year. It wasn't clear if that was a parallel effort to the cliff talks or had become wrapped into them.

Across-the-board spending cuts that comprise part of the cliff were a different matter.

Republicans say Boehner will insist that they will begin to take effect unless negotiators agreed to offset them with specified savings elsewhere.

That would set the stage for the next round of brinkmanship ? a struggle over Republican calls for savings from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal benefit programs.

The Treasury's ability to borrow is expected to expire in late winter or early spring, and without an increase in the $16.4 trillion limit, the government would face its first-ever default. Republicans have said they will use administration requests for an extension as leverage to win cuts in spending.

Ironically, it was just such a maneuver more than a year ago that set the stage for the current crisis talks over the fiscal cliff.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-12-29-Fiscal%20Cliff/id-2ca2ea5db66742f48b665b0fc3d9d318

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The First Gaming Console Made Christmas So Much Better The greatest development in the history of Christmas presents was the Magnavox Odyssey. It's incontrovertible. Not for its success or awesomeness?it sorta flopped?but for beginning the worldwide institution of Video Games for Christmas.

When it comes to Christmas presents before the age of, say, 19, there are video games, and then there's literally anything else. Need proof? Look at our list of kids freaking out about Christmas gadgets. No one's ever been as happy about anything as the N64 kid was about his damn video games. Or look at Buzzfeed's list of the best techy Christmas gift every year since 1985. Basically every single console is on there.

The First Gaming Console Made Christmas So Much Better And it wasn't just the consoles that made Christmas great, though New Console Year was especially great. It was the way games buffered all your other Christmases from being a parade of sweaters and, ugh, booksM/em>. So here's to you, goofy-looking Magnavox Odyssey. Thanks for starting the best Christmas tradition ever.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5971477/the-first-gaming-console-made-christmas-so-much-better

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Nasser Nasser / AP

An Egyptian election worker shows his colleagues an invalid ballot.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

CAIRO - A constitution drafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly was approved by a majority of Egyptians in a referendum, rival camps said on Sunday.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said 64 percent of voters backed the charter after two rounds of voting that ended with a final ballot on Saturday. It cited an unofficial tally.

An opposition official also told Reuters their unofficial count showed the result was a "yes" vote.

Official results are not expected until Monday. If the outcome is confirmed, a parliamentary election will follow in about two months.

Mursi's Islamist backers say the constitution is vital for the transition to democracy, nearly two years after the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in an uprising. It will provide stability needed to help a fragile economy, they say.

But the opposition accuses Mursi of pushing through a text that favors Islamists and ignores the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, as well as women. They say it is a recipe for further unrest.

"According to our calculations, the final result of the second round is 71 percent voting 'yes' and the overall result (of the two rounds) is 63.8 percent," a Brotherhood official, who was in an operations room monitoring the vote, told Reuters.

His figures were confirmed by a statement issued shortly afterwards by the group and broadcast on its television channel.

Regional news channel Al Jazeera also reported that early indications suggest the draft constitution will be approved.

"It appears at the moment that in the region of 68 per cent of voters have approved the draft constitution, some 32 percent have voted against," said reporter Mike Hanna in Cairo.

The Brotherhood and its party, as well as members of the opposition, had representatives monitoring polling stations and the vote count across the country.

The opposition said voting in both rounds was marred by abuses and had called for a re-run after the first stage. However, an official said the overall vote favored the charter.

"They (Islamists) are ruling the country, running the vote and influencing the people, so what else could we expect," the senior official from the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, told Reuters.

Opponents of Egypt President Morsi say he's betraying the revolution, but his supporters say he wants to guarantee human rights with a controversial referendum on a new constitution. NBC's John Ray went onto the streets of Cairo to hear from both sides of the deepening divide.

The vote was split over two days as many judges had refused to supervise the ballot.

"I'm voting 'no' because Egypt can't be ruled by one faction," said Karim Nahas, 35, a stockbroker, heading to a polling station in Giza, in greater Cairo, in the last round.

At another polling station, some voters said they were more interested in ending Egypt's long period of political instability than in the Islamist aspects of the charter.

Related content:
At polling stations, strong sentiments for and against?
Analysis: Egypt is rapidly approaching its own 'cliff'
Christians, liberals left out as Islamists back Egypt's draft constitution

"We have to extend our hands to Mursi to help fix the country," said Hisham Kamal, an accountant.

The build-up to the vote witnessed deadly protests, sparked by Mursi's decision to award himself extra powers in a decree on November 22 and then to fast-track the constitution to a vote.

Hours before polls closed, Vice President Mahmoud Mekky announced his resignation. He said he wanted to quit last month but stayed on to help Mursi tackle the crisis that blew up when the Islamist leader assumed wide powers.

Mekky, a prominent judge who said he was uncomfortable in politics, disclosed earlier he had not been informed of Mursi's power grab. The timing of his resignation appeared linked to the lack of a vice-presidential post under the draft constitution.

The new basic law sets a limit of two four-year presidential terms. It says the principles of Islamist sharia law remain the main source of legislation but adds an article to explain this. It also says Islamic authorities will be consulted on sharia - a source of concern to Christians and others.

In the first round of voting last week, the district covering most of Cairo voted "no," which opponents said showed the depth of division.

"I see more unrest," said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party and a member of the National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition formed after Mursi expanded his powers on November 22 and then pushed the constitution to a vote.

At least eight people were killed in protests outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month. Islamists and rivals clashed in Alexandria, the second-biggest city, on the eves of both voting days.

Reuters contributed to this report

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/23/16100892-egypt-constitution-approved-by-voters-parties-say?lite

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When I was a kid, I wanted to be Indiana Jones. I acted out scenes from the first two films in my backyard with friends, and generally had lots of fun in Indiana Jones world. I never thought to film it, but some did, and those adventurous filmmakers are now older, and have a book written about their experience. My point in saying that is, even though it would be easy to dismiss a fan film made by children or young adults as simply just Pretend Time on Camera, that doesn?t necessarily mean it?s a bad thing. Every filmmaker has to start somewhere, and to be a filmmaker you must make films to perfect your craft and learn more.

Which brings us to Jason Wright?s short Lord of the Rings fan film, The Road to the End. In it, Wright, as Frodo, travels along with Gollum (Brian Wright) in his quest to rid Middle-earth of the One Ring and the evils of Sauron. While it takes some artistic license (where?s Sam?), the fan film seeks to shed a bit more light on how Frodo comes to understand Gollum?s plight, and sympathize, with someone whose life may be a sign of Frodo?s fate, should he never part with the One Ring. It?s a noble idea.

In practice, though, it is much like the criticisms lodged at Jackson?s own work, with some fan film-specific ones thrown in. The narrative is predominantly just Frodo and Gollum walking around. They may have a moment here or there of conflict, but there?s no real tale in there, beyond what we already know of the grander story. Because of the narrative?s lack of arc or conflict, it begins to feel repetitious and long, without focus.

Other criticisms are technical ones that are obvious, and born of both the filmmaker?s youthful nature and potential lack of resources. Gollum, for instance, was never going to be a motion-captured creation anywhere near what Peter Jackson came up with, but he could?ve been more than just a kid in a grey shirt and black shorts and sneakers, running around on all fours. Maybe some make-up? It?d probably be easier to accept Gollum?s lack of art direction in costuming if Frodo?s wasn?t so well done. Save the flip-flops on his feet, costume-wise, Frodo looks every bit the hobbit we?ve seen in other incarnations of the character.

Now, having said all that, the film has a number of strengths. The edit is extremely well-done; if it feels long, it?s not the pacing so much as it is the story. Additionally, despite the limited resources concerning the camera utilized, it is shot with a brilliant eye for composition. In other words, the film shows a true talent for filmmaking, shot composition and editing, including on the audio side of things.

Because, honestly, this isn?t that far off from being something truly strong; take off the flip-flops, and maybe wear a wig or let the hair grow out, and you?ve solved the criticisms of Frodo. Come up with a way to make Gollum look less like a kid in regular clothes, and that one?s taken care of too (the performance, outside the look, is great). Then you?re left with finding a story, which is no doubt the more difficult one to tackle, but also the most important. Sometimes that?s just a case of time or, worst case scenario, finding someone else who can write a great tale.

The Road to the End was shot in 2003, hence the young look of those involved (considering they?re all out of high school now), and I?m very impressed with the filmmaking involved. The talent was there, the skills were getting there; if this is what Wright was capable of making as a kid, I?m curious as to what he?s making now, nine years later.

This film was submitted for review through our Submission for Review system. If you have a film you?d like us to see, and we aren?t already looking into it on our own, you too can utilize this service.

Posted on December 22, 2012 in Reviews by Mark Bell

If you liked this article then you may also like the following Film Threat articles:

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Source: http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/59159/

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Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel responded to Facebook's new Poke app today with the brief statement, "Welcome, Facebook. Seriously." He declined to comment further.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/UFAXpiRZCCQ/

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Holly Refining and Marketing Co. said Thursday it has agreed to pay a $115,000 fine for U.S. Clean Air Act violations at a Utah refinery.

The Environmental Protection Agency said an inspection last year detected emissions from a dome-covered storage pit for propane.

Holly maintains the pit, about 100 feet wide and 100 feet deep, is designed to vent small amounts of propane that mostly get recycled back into storage.

The company disputed the violations but said it wasn't worth fighting the EPA.

"It was less a fine and more a negotiated settlement," said Michael Astin, Holly's environmental manager. "The bottom line is, as much as we disagreed, our only option was to go to court. Our position is, we were following regulations."

EPA inspectors used an ultra-violet camera to detect propane emissions from vents that Austin said were designed to circulate emissions.

The pit circulates its own propane to freeze the ground around it, Astin said. The pit is topped by a rubberized polymer cover.

Holly says it plans to decommission the more than 50-year-old storage pit and backfill the hole.

Woods Cross is about 7 miles north of Salt Lake City.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/epa-holly-refinery-pay-pollution-201748442.html

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In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Michael Sciaraffo, as Santa Claus, arrives at the home of the Creamer family to deliver toys in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Elizabeth Sampol holds her daughter Ella, 14 months, who received a toy from Michael Sciaraffo, as Santa, in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Alex Creamer, 9, receives a toy from Michael Sciaraffo, as Santa Claus, in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Michael Sciaraffo, a political consultant who has worked for Hillary Clinton and City Hall, sits at his workstation as he takes a phone call request for a toy,in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by Superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 photo, Elizabeth Sampol holds her daughter, Ella, 14 months, who received a toy from Michael Sciaraffo as "Santa", in the Belle Harbor section of the Queens borough of New York. Using Facebook, Sciaraffo started a charitable enterprise to collect and personally deliver toys to children affected by superstorm Sandy, dressed as Santa Claus. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

NEW YORK (AP) ? From his toy-cluttered Brooklyn apartment, the man in the red suit was making his list and checking it twice. But he made no distinction between naughty or nice: Every child on it would receive a gift from this Santa Claus.

For the children whose toys floated away during Superstorm Sandy, Michael Sciaraffo is playing the role of a real-life Saint Nick. Every afternoon and night, he stuffs his red sack to the brim with presents and heads out to storm-ravaged homes, personally delivering new toys to awestruck little kids whose play rooms were destroyed by floodwaters. And with less than a week before Christmas, his "Secret Sandy Claus Project" is keeping him very busy.

"Between the requests coming in for personal visits as well as the influx of donations, it's been a full-time job," said Sciaraffo, a 31-year-old political consultant. "And kudos to Santa, because I don't know how he pulls it off every year."

There's hardly any room to sit in his tiny apartment, where boxes of toys are piled on tables and all over the floor. He spends most of the day keeping track of toy requests and donations that are pouring in by the hundred from people who know children affected by the storm. At first, Sciaraffo began jotting down the requests on Post-it notes, but as demand steadily grew he created a spreadsheet and taped it to the wall.

The list reads like an inventory for a toy store. A Playskool swing for 2-year-old Jacob. A Disney Fairies makeup set for 5-year-old Charlotte. Then there are countless robots and footballs and baby dolls arranged by age and gender, awaiting assignment to a specific child.

"The goal was to match up each child with a toy that they liked or asked Santa for for Christmas," Sciaraffo explained. "We basically tried to pair them up with toys I had in stock."

The charitable enterprise grew out of a Sandy donation outreach effort that Sciaraffo had been spearheading for weeks in the wake of the storm, drumming up donations of clothing and food through Facebook. As the holidays approached, he realized that lots of children would be without their toys this year.

And with their parents preoccupied with the drudgery of storm repairs, many children probably might not even get to sit on Santa's lap. So he decided to fill that gap himself.

"When I was a kid, my toys were very important to me," Sciaraffo said. "That's their security blanket, so to speak. I couldn't sit home and do nothing."

Donations are coming by the truckload from all over the country, fueled by his Facebook page. And Sciaraffo has received elf-like help from fellow New Yorkers like Sean Turk, a father of three from Queens who has raised more than $2,000 from his community and has been filling toy requests at local stores.

"I started it with $500 of my own," Turk said, "and then people just started contributing."

On a recent rainy afternoon, Sciaraffo pulled on his white wig and beard and drove out to weather-beaten Belle Harbor, a town on the Rockaway peninsula. His first stop: the darkened oceanfront home of Elizabeth Sampol, who was waiting upstairs with her 11-month-old daughter, Ella.

"Ho, ho, ho," he shouted. "Merry Christmas!"

Ella gazed up at him and smiled as Sciaraffo handed her a toy duck. Sandy struck just after her first birthday party and destroyed all of her new gifts when the basement flooded.

"As you can see from the outside of the house and the inside of the house, it's been a disaster," said Elizabeth Sampol, who has been living in a FEMA-funded hotel room for several weeks with her family while their home is repaired. "And we haven't had time to take her to go see Santa Claus or to do anything that we would want to do for her first Christmas that actually matters."

Sampol said she was amazed when she learned about Sciaraffo's project.

"He contacted me and he told me how he's been going around giving out gifts," she said. "And I was so happy that someone would do this in his free time."

A few blocks away, 4-year-old Sophie Creamer waited excitedly by the front door as she caught sight of Sciaraffo coming down the street. And when he handed her a brand-new Barbie doll, she clutched it to her chest and wouldn't let go.

"It's all gutted. We don't have a basement," said her mother, Lori Creamer. "So she lost all of her toys."

If all goes according to plan, Sciaraffo is hoping to deliver presents to nearly 1,000 children in the coming days.

As he hoisted his sack of toys over his shoulder, heading off to another delivery, the rain stopped and a rainbow cut a path across the sky. He took it as a sign of good luck.

"You don't see that every day," he said, grinning as his beard slipped down his face a little. "Amazing."

___

On the Web:

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Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-21-Superstorm-Santa/id-86e8d57cf5f044c4b07c53cfb23c2e75

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Should opting out of attending a heterosexual couple's wedding be an appropriate form of political protest, with same-sex couples barred from tying the knot across much of the U.S.?

That's what HuffPost Gay Voices Editor At Large Michelangelo Signorile and Josh Robbins discussed in a Dec. 19 appearance on HuffPost Live.

Their conclusions were split. Of heterosexual weddings, Robbins noted, "It's a tough event because I'm not an equal American. Once I'm an equal American, yeah, let's all celebrate!"

Signorile, who penned a Dec. 13 blog on the subject, said the only time he'd suggest making the political statement is "when the person who invited you is against gay marriage or anti-gay."

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/19/should-gays-boycott-heter_n_2332850.html

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Once you turn off the TV and put down the magazines, you?ll realize that the vast majority of people on this planet are simple, ordinary people. Do not allow yourself to believe that ordinary cannot translate into an extraordinary means of doing business. Continue reading to learn the right way to approach Website Marketing to gain the success you want.

A great way to market via the Internet is to write about your business. If you have any writing talent whatsoever, you could definitely submit various press releases and articles to different sites and magazines. Be sure to include information about your brand and your site in the articles you submit. You can entice the editors with commissions or freebies that encourage them to publish your content.

Include content that is rich and original on your site. Your website needs to be setup properly for important SEO purposes, and at the same time needs to gain and keep the interest of customers you bring in thanks to Internet promotion.

Social Media

Take advantage of social media websites such as Facebook or Twitter and integrate them into your marketing strategy. Social media venues permit you to stay in touch with your customers, making it quick and simple to advise them of promotions or updates. Just be wary of over-promoting. A better option is to offer up content that enriches and entertains your followers, tempered with the occasional promotional blurb.

If you can you should give your away something branded for free to help spread awareness of your business. If you have a free e-book, for example, send it to sites that give away free e-books. There are many different sites that supply freebies, e-zines and articles that you can attempt to submit to.

Free Samples

You should always include coupons and/or free samples in your shipping boxes that relate to the product that you are sending to the customer. People appreciate these coupons and free samples, and as a result, they are more likely to check out your website again, which leads to more sales.

Planning you website may seem very time consuming, but it is very important for your business. To start off, you need to narrow down all of your interests until you find the one you enjoy the most. You should pick a website niche that you are familiar with and that you also enjoy. Once you have a solid goal for the content of your website, it is easier to achieve marketing goals.

Try submitting your freebie material to online directories that list these services at no charge to you. Send any free e-zines to specialized directories that offer these services online. There are many resources to get free e-zines, e-books and other free infomation.

You can find a niche for your business by paying attention to common complaints. Why would you want to do this? This strategy is great to uncover everyday problems that require solutions. Try creating a FAQ to answer everyday issues. Doing so can help you find the perfect niche and even let you come up with a great mission statement.

All Internet marketers should be absolutely certain of assuring customers of a secure and safe website from which to place orders. Lots of potential customers will have legitimate concerns about the security of their personal and financial information, so you should be upfront about the steps you take to protect them.

It?s good to want your business to make tons of money; just do not let anything distract you from your goals. Aspiring to be rich will keep your motivation high, and good tips like those laid out here are definitely going to keep you in the game.

Source: http://kurttasche.com/internet-marketing-articles/online-marketing-tips-tricks-and-techniques-for-success.html

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chestnutgeorgine26

Image courtesy of http://christianplewacki.wordpress.com

The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is go online and check Facebook and Twitter. Chances are you, dear reader, and a lot of other people, do the same thing.

These two websites and other social media networks have become an important part of our daily lives that some of us can?t even imagine living without them. In fact, they?ve already been used to great effect by a lot of big businesses out there.

A newfound market has opened up in the past couple of years and it is particularly huge, since just about everyone with Internet connection has at least a Facebook account. And with more and more people owning smartphones, that market is bound to grow even bigger as everybody is online almost everywhere they go.

Because of this, established companies have put in their investments to integrate their traditional marketing campaigns with social media, interacting with their customer base in a wider and more personal scale.

Social Media for the Little Guys

It?s much easier for the Samsungs and the Apples of the world to use social media because they?ve already got massive audiences to start with, not to mention the millions of dollars to hire the best employees and to mobilize their operations. But how can we small businesses owners possibly use social media to our own advantage? We don?t have the same resources or the brand recognition as those companies, and we just do our own thing in our respective areas.

Why Small Businesses Should Enter the Social Media Sphere

1. It?s (mostly) free.

This is one of the major reasons why social media is such a hit. Before, getting your product or service out there for people to see required you to spend on print, TV or radio ads. It wasn?t cheap, and it still isn?t.

Fortunately, registering a Facebook page, creating a Twitter account or starting up a YouTube page will cost you a grand total of $0. Not bad for small business owners counting every penny they make.

2. It is more personal.

Besides costing virtually nothing to start, another good reason social media can work particularly well for small businesses is that it was made first and foremost as a way for people to connect with their friends and family. It?s in the nature of small businesses to create bonds with its customers to survive and eventually thrive.

3. It offers easy networking.

That small but loyal following can help you when you give them a quick and easy way to spread word about your business to their own personal networks. In turn, the friends of your friends can join in on the promotion, and the chain can go on almost endlessly. They become your own marketing team growing limitlessly, and you don?t have to pay any of them.

Social Media Use 101

Each social media portal has its own purpose, and we can?t just use all of them as if they were all the same. But let?s just focus on the two biggest platforms today ? Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook

There are 955 million active people on Facebook as of June this year, making it the biggest social media network in the world. People use it to share photos, link to news, send personal messages, invite other people to events, ?Like? things they?re interested in, and so much more.

Take the plunge into this sea of nonstop activity by creating a business Page for your company. Fill it with vital information about your products or services and goings on in your business. Give customers a chance to voice out their support or give feedback to products or services by enabling comments and answering them ASAP. You can even start contests to giveaway prizes such as exclusive passes to special events, which you can also integrate on the Page.

Twitter

With a limit of 140 characters per tweet, it doesn?t sound like you can do much at first glance. But that?doesn?t?stop the 170 million active Twitter users from sending about 400 million tweets a day. They speak their minds about everything under the sun, from what they had for lunch to what they think of the political climate leading up to the November elections.

As small business owners, you?ll be using Twitter more as a way to update your followers on your products or services, and to directly address questions. You can also start discussions by asking your own questions to your followers, forming closer relationships with each one while getting your name out there if the topic starts trending. Because of the rapid fire stream of information on people?s Twitter feeds, you have to be doubly sure your messages are crystal clear.

Social Media Pitfalls

Now before you start using social media, keep in mind that there are things that you do not want to do for the sake of your business.

Do not self-promote. It might sound completely counter-intuitive, but you have to remember the main reason why people use social media. It?s to make connections, not to go looking for stuff to buy. People will get turned off real quick if they see you constantly peddling your merchandise. Avoid the hard sell at all costs.

Do not be inactive. People?s attention spans are getting shorter with the constant stream of info they get on the Net, so maintaining their interest means constant updates and activities. Letting your business? Facebook Page or Twitter account idle for days upon days will lose you your hard-earned fans and followers.

Do not get into heated arguments. You won?t be able to please everybody so expect complaints here and there. Some of them might get nasty, but don?t get riled up to the point that you?re spewing the same kind of inappropriate remarks for the rest of your customers to see. Be professional and address their points as politely as possible. Send them a private message where you can help them without getting into trouble. If their comments get out of hand, you can always delete them on Facebook or block the users on Twitter.

Do not let a comment go by without answering it. This is crucial to making your customers feel that you actually care. Of course, there might come a time where you won?t be able to answer each one as other more important matters need attending (specifically running the actual business). Hire someone who can handle the social media aspect of your business to keep your online presence.

Do not hire just anyone to handle your social media accounts. Since the job entails dealing with customers directly, it requires some finesse to avoid getting bad publicity, which can travel incredibly fast online. Get someone who knows how to interact with people properly. They should be briefed accordingly so they?d know what and when to post on your social media accounts.

Social media is the perfect partner to small businesses, expanding our reach to places we?ve never even been in at high-speed without costing us too much. Let?s make good use of it and make a lot more money in the process.

About the Author

Todd Mumford is the Co-Founder and CEO of SEO Visions, an Online Marketing Company that provides Search Engine Optimization Services in Vancouver.

Disclaimer: We will never share your email address with anyone, period.

Source: http://www.rodkirby.com/archives/5727

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chestnutgeorgine26 · 12/14/12

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#144542 - 12/14/12 05:25 PM

Good standardized test takers?

Member

Registered: 03/22/09
Posts: 184

In the 7th grade, DD(atthetime13) got Duke TIP Grand Recognition for her SAT score.

DD(now17) got back her junior PSAT results a few days ago, and was one question away from a perfect score (and she was rushing and misread the one that she missed- it was a VERY simple math question). I would think that perfect scores are not extremely uncommon, but a google search yielded that only 100 or so students get it a year, which makes me think that her score is probably in the upper 99th percentile, which would be considered "HG."

It took the school system until the end of the 5th grade to figure out that she was gifted, and while I now have no doubt that she is gifted, highly gifted seems like a bit of a stretch. She does what it takes to make decent grades, but not "amazing" grades. She really has no subject that she is amazingly skilled at, but instead is equally good at everything. When she got her PSAT scores back, she noticed that kids who have much better grades than her got much lower PSAT scores (and she didn't prepare much for the PSAT, so I don't think that was the difference).

So I'm just wondering, are some people just really good at standardized tests? When she took a diagnostic PSAT that the school offered having not studied at all, she got a 234, so I don't think her score on the actual test was inflated because she went to a few PSAT classes at the school...

And if she is able to score so high on the PSAT, should we be expecting all A's? Or is that just unreasonable since she is in hard classes and is working fairly hard? DH scored way lower on his tests yet was valedictorian, so maybe he is just basing his expectations on that? (don't worry, we are proud of her no matter what, but when she gets near perfect scores like these, we wonder what amazing things she could do if she worked harder)

Edited by Bassetlover (12/14/12 05:45 PM)

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#144543 - 12/14/12 06:13 PM Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: Bassetlover]
Member Registered: 07/20/12 Posts: 163	reading this ... boredom comes to mind. Is she at all interested in the classes she's taking? Also ... form my own experience ... lower grades may be a "defense system" for her. I was always stressing over getting straight As when I was in elementary and middle school. Getting a C ONCE was the end of the world for me! In high school I one day figured told myself that the world does NOT end with getting grades other than As and let myself miss questions, didn't stress over every little test ... I realized that NOT having As all the time made me happier when I DID in fact get them and people's expectations around me were lower so I actually got praised for good grades rather than my parents and everyone else saying "what else is new?" when I kept straight As all the time. ... I hope this makes sense? Not sure if that applies in your daughter's case but it might be something to consider?
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#144548 - 12/14/12 08:04 PM

Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: Bassetlover]

Member

Registered: 09/29/11
Posts: 910

It took the school system until the end of the 5th grade to figure out that she was gifted, and while I now have no doubt that she is gifted, highly gifted seems like a bit of a stretch.

I suspect you're thinking of "highly gifted" as equating with high academic achievement in traditional schools (which is often how it's defined by educators too :)). There really isn't any rule of nature that says people with extremely high ability are also going to be the highest achiever in school or that the highest achievers are always the students with the highest ability. There is more that plays into high achievement in school than simply ability - motivation, passion, caring about grades, having certain types of academic strengths etc. Sometimes the highest ability children are simply going to be bored in regular school and not care about their grades. Sometimes the not-quite-so-highest-ability kids are going to be so driven by their personality type that they will achieve great things.

I am not a testing expert, but I believe the PSAT, and the SAT, both have components of the test that are dependent on ability, not achievement in school - so it's not going to be so terribly easy for a student who is simply getting great grades to score super-high on either if they don't also have high ability - so I think it's more than likely that your dd is HG and has some pretty amazing intellectual abilities Maybe she just hasn't found what she's passionate about yet.

Congrats to your dd on her great scores!!!

polarbear

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#144554 - 12/14/12 09:03 PM

Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: Bassetlover]

Member

Registered: 03/22/09
Posts: 184

Thanks for taking time to respond!

@Mk13- yes, I do think she has a philosophy similar to that. She tries hard to get the best grades that she can, but she definitely isn't scared of getting a B if it is a very hard class...

@polarbear- that's true. I think one problem DD has is that she does not work on assignments over time. If a reading is due, she will do it the night before. If she needs to study, she will do it the night before, etc. I'm sure that this does hurt her grades a bit and I'm sure a lot of the kids with higher grades are better about this. (though I know that this is a problem that plagues many if not even most students).
I think you are right about not having an area she is passionate about yet, because I don't even know if she has just one. She's the kind of person that will, cook an amazing meal (she's vegetarian so doesn't eat the food that I cook), then compose a song on the piano, then read for a few minutes and get bored, work on homework for a few minutes, watch TV, finish up homework, finish a crossword puzzle in 10 minutes, offer to go to the grocery store, etc, all in the span of a few hours. She is forever on the move and isn't really a fan of staying in one place for a long time, physically or mentally. I wouldn't call her the traditionally "nerdy" kid who is always reading, because honestly, she doesn't want to sit still for that long... In the same way, she loves learning about anything, for a few days. And then she wants to learn about something else, and so on and so forth.

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#144555 - 12/14/12 09:31 PM

Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: Bassetlover]

Member

Registered: 02/05/11
Posts: 907
Loc: West Coast USA

Yes, I do think that there is such a thing as a savant ability to take standardized tests.

I'm living proof.

I was what could (only very charitably) be termed an "indifferent" student throughout high school-- and my GPA showed it. Oh, sure-- I am 'gifted.' I'm HG, in fact. But I had a 2.4 GPA. (Er-- or thereabouts. I'm not sure, but I definitely had a few grades LOWER than "C" on that transcript.)

But still-- every standardized exam I've ever taken I've hit a home run with. The same way that you've reported-- the kind of "WOW!!" performance that seems completely incongruous with the rest of the person everyone knows. National Merit Semi-finalist (easily making the cut), etc.

My DD is a natural test-taker, too. She just flies on the adrenaline, I think. I don't know enough about her internal landscape to tell you what is going on in her head. But I can tell you that I'm someone who enters a flow state during standardized exams. I'm just seriously in the zone-- it's showtime, I guess. Like I'm working the NYT crossword puzzle, or the world's biggest Sudoku or something. It just FEELS like play while I'm doing it. It's a rush. I'd take the GRE every day just for fun, basically. I liked it that much.

I'm not really "that smart" if you were to meet me and talk to me, though. I just happen to enjoy taking standardized exams, and-- well, whatever a HG person tends to pursue that way, they tend to be pretty extraordinarily good at, too, YK?

Congrats to her on the excellent score, by the way!

_________________________
There's nothing like a loose howler monkey for granting one the gift of living in the moment.

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#144563 - Yesterday at 06:53 AM

Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: HowlerKarma]

Member

Registered: 04/16/10
Posts: 1190

But I can tell you that I'm someone who enters a flow state during standardized exams. I'm just seriously in the zone-- it's showtime, I guess. Like I'm working the NYT crossword puzzle, or the world's biggest Sudoku or something. It just FEELS like play while I'm doing it. It's a rush. I'd take the GRE every day just for fun, basically. I liked it that much.

My DS10 is like this. He got a serious buzz from taking the EXPLORE in 4th grade.

DeeDee

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#144566 - Yesterday at 07:33 AM Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: Bassetlover]
Member Registered: 07/13/12 Posts: 231 Loc: NC	Bassetlover, In reference to your daughter, you may enjoy reading about the scanner personality concept: http://getmotivation.com/articlelib/articles/barbara_sher_scanner.html It's an interesting concept and very descriptive of myself, too. I see some other similarities in your descriptions. It sounds like your daughter is very intrinsically motivated. One of the things to counter boredom particularly with a strong inner passion for learning is to have your own learning objectives in classes. Grades then very rarely reflect the actual learning, but rather reflect an alignment between the learner's learning objectives and the teacher's pedagogical objectives.
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#144581 - Yesterday at 05:17 PM Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: Bassetlover]
Member Registered: 03/22/09 Posts: 184	@Zen Scanner- that link describes her so perfectly! It is definitely how my oldest son is, as well.
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#144582 - Yesterday at 06:04 PM Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: Bassetlover]
Member Registered: 12/16/09 Posts: 403	"...are some people just really good at standardized tests?" Yes! My ex-H and I are two of them, and second D inherited this from us. None of us have great grades (ex-H was a serious slacker, I was around a 3.5 in high school and a 3.3 in college). But ex-H got into Georgetown Law on the strength of his LSATs (nearly perfect), in spite of slacker grades. D has an unweighted 3.7 in HS, but her SATs were 800-780-800, with 800 on two SAT subject tests. She kind of does what she has to in order to get at least an A- in most classes, pulls As in a few she really likes, doesn't do well at all in French which she hates. And she would rather study for Quiz Bowl or watch an episode of Sherlock for the 10th time than work any harder. Edited by intparent (Yesterday at 06:05 PM)
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#144585 - Yesterday at 06:48 PM

Re: Good standardized test takers? [Re: HowlerKarma]

Member

Registered: 06/25/12
Posts: 511
Loc: BC, Canada

I was what could (only very charitably) be termed an "indifferent" student throughout high school-- and my GPA showed it. Oh, sure-- I am 'gifted.' I'm HG, in fact. But I had a 2.4 GPA. (Er-- or thereabouts. I'm not sure, but I definitely had a few grades LOWER than "C" on that transcript.)

But still-- every standardized exam I've ever taken I've hit a home run with. The same way that you've reported-- the kind of "WOW!!" performance that seems completely incongruous with the rest of the person everyone knows.

This is me too. I test in the "HG" range, and my grades in school were a direct reflection of my level of interest or lack thereof. I did fine on tests though. In fact, I love taking tests (my competitive side comes out, lol).

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Source: http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/144542/Good_standardized_test_takers.html

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Social Media

Free Samples

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Social Media for the Little Guys

Why Small Businesses Should Enter the Social Media Sphere

1. It?s (mostly) free.

2. It is more personal.

3. It offers easy networking.

Social Media Use 101

Facebook

Twitter

Social Media Pitfalls

Sunday, December 16, 2012