500 activists from across the country came to the nation’s capital recently to “Bring Justice to Justice” — participating in three days of action organized by Home Defenders League and Occupy Our Homes. They were calling for the criminal prosecution of banks for ongoing illegal activity, including illegal foreclosures; and for resetting mortgages to a property’s fair market value for the more than 13 million homeowners still at risk of foreclosure, according to The Nation.
By Definition a Social Business Creates a Lot of Content
In order for most businesses to create a lot of high quality content, employee participation is necessary. I’ve said many times, no marketing department is big enough to produce all the content it needs. Additionally, consider that in most businesses the marketing team is not comprised of domain experts.
Here’s what Forrester Research says on this topic: “Today’s B2B buyer will find three pieces of content about a vendor for every one piece that marketing can publish or sales can deliver. They are finding this content in an ever-expanding number and variety of channels.” Read the full article here.
The way I see it, there are two primary methods to harness employee involvement in a social business. One involves a carrot and one involves a stick.
The Stick
You could mandate employees to contribute content. Revise the company policy to require employees who meet a domain expert criteria to contribute original content. Non-compliance with this policy could be cause for termination. If you’re going to take this approach, my recommendation is to provide employees ample resources to fulfill their obligation. For example, the marketing team should deliver a well planned communication plan explaining the virtues of a content marketing strategy to the business. Ideally, the CEO should have a hand in this plan with an endorsement of the strategy. This communication plan should serve to inspire employees to participate in the content production process by offering them choices of topics and content formats.
The marketing team should publish an editorial calendar with topics where employees can “sign up” to contribute content. Most importantly, the marketing team should provide an easy-to-comply-with process that allows content production to be painless to the employee. For example, offer to interview employees with a video camera so the interview will be recorded, edited and produced into high quality content by the marketing team. The marketing team should repurpose the video into other content formats such as a white paper or blog post. By allowing the employee to painlessly share her domain expertise through an interview format, you take away the heavy lifting from the employee. The result can be high quality content from domain experts. This approach mitigates the biggest objections from employees who are asked to contribute content: “I don’t have time,” or “I hate to write.”
The Carrot
The carrot approach does not threaten employees with termination if they don’t comply with company policy;“thou shalt contribute content.” Rather, this approach provides employees considerable recognition and reward for their contribution. The same methods described above can be used for the production of content. The difference is that psychology plays a much bigger role. Rather than requiring employees to contribute, you inspire employees so that they want to contribute for the recognition they receive and the sense of contribution to the overall good of the business. Such recognition can bolster their morale, their ego and even their resume. Don’t hesitate to promote the positive impact on the employee’s resume. When you implement programs that help an employee build their career currency, their loyalty to the employer strengthens considerably. Employees talk among themselves about many aspects of their employment. The carrot approach to content marketing participation fuels positive word of mouth for your brand. The improved loyalty also helps in your recruiting efforts.
Another approach is to start out with the stick approach and over a span of time transition to the carrot approach. Once employees beging to enjoy recognition for their content among their peers and even within industry circles, they understand the value of personal branding. Even more remarkable is the appreciation by the employee for the opportunity to build their personal brand under the umbrella of the corporate brand. I call this the halo effect.
The Content Marketing End Game
Reaching your target consumer and earning their trust is influenced less by the brand’s ability to engage him. Rather, it is influenced more by P2P content marketing. In people-to-people content marketing real people who work for a brand engage with real people who might be a customer, a prospective future customer, influencer or future employee. Considering that the C suite is not likely to double or triple the marketing department’s staff size, the only option to produce the content needed to reach target customers is to tap into the inherent assets in the employee population. Personally, I prefer the carrot approach. But, each company is unique. Whichever method works best in your business the important thing is that you recognize the authenticity of P2P content marketing and the economics of leveraging the content marketing potential of employees.
Bedford Central School District residents can vote on the district’s $125,057,000 budget for the 2013-2014 and to levy the necessary taxes included, all day Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the elementary school serving their attendance area.
The vote will also include a choice of three unopposed Board of Education members: Jennifer Gerken and Suzanne Grant are running for re-election, and newcomer Michael Solomon is the only one running for the third available seat.
Beginning May 20, officers will be out in full force as part of the 2013 national “Click It or Ticket” seat belt enforcement mobilization.
The program makes a priority of cracking down on drivers and passengers who are not wearing a seat belt.
“As we kick-off the busy summer driving season, it’s important that everyone buckles up every time they go out, both day and night—no excuses,” said Bedford Police Lieutenant Melvin Padilla.
“Our officers are prepared to ticket anyone who is not wearing their seat belt.”
Starting Monday morning, all local police departments will be joining other law enforcement agencies throughout the northeast in mobilizing Click It or Ticket in a “Border to Border” operation. This means law enforcement agencies that share state border will team up to provide increased coverage, resulting in a “zero tolerance” message to the public: “Driving or riding unbuckled will result in a ticket—no matter what state.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 52 percent of 21,253 vehicle passengers killed in 2011 were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash. According to the same report, deaths involving seat belt nonuse are more likely to occur at night than during the day and 62 percent of 10,135 passengers killed in overnight accidents during 2011 were also not wearing their seat belts.
“Seat belts save thousands of lives every year, but far too many motorists are still not buckling up, especially at night when the risk of getting in a crash is even greater,” said Padilla.
A video is never guaranteed to go viral, but a few factors make it significantly more likely.
In the first few months of 2013, viral videos covered all kinds of topics: a serious look at female self-esteem, a silly competition between two Star Trek actors, and more. But according to Brian Shin, CEO of video analytics service Visible Measures, these and most other viral videos share at least two things in common: “discussability” and “relatability.”
For a video to be “discussable,” it usually features something shocking or surprising, which compels viewers to share it with others. Likewise, if a video contains something deeply human to which we can relate — even if it’s cuddling cats — we’re more likely to share it out. The two factors often go together.
We chatted with a couple viral video experts to learn what made these clips the biggest hits of the year, so far.
Dove Experiment
Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” video is by far the most popular video of 2013 to date, with nearly 54 million views on YouTube and about 68 million views across the web, according to data from Visible Measures. That’s more impressive considering the video was released only a month ago.
Shin believes a few factors played into this video’s success. It’s deeply human, it sparked multiple spin-offs and it shares an incredibly powerful and positive message about the way women see their bodies, which people felt compelled to share.
“The message is something you really can’t be against,” he says. “That’s something everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and feel good about. It’s a message that can’t be not shared.”
Jeff Gordon Prank
Pepsi and others have pulled pranks in their ads, but this video was in a league of its own. Jeff Gordon dresses in disguise to take a car salesman for a wild ride.
“‘Prankverts,’ in which brands create their own stunts involving supposedly innocent members of the public, have been a really hot trend this year,” says David Waterhouse, global head of content and PR at Unruly Media, a video marketing company. “And the most successful of these new wave of commercials is Pepsi ‘Test Drive.'”
The secret sauce behind the video’s success, according to Waterhouse, is that it elicited so many different emotional reactions for viewers. “For most ‘prankverts’, the most common emotional responses are ‘hilarity’ and ‘surprise,'” he says. “However, when we tested ‘Test Drive,’ we found that it went one step further by adding ‘exhilaration’ into the mix. That meant, even if you didn’t find it funny or particularly surprising, you could still be exhilarated by the intense action and the awesome driving skills.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Waterhouse notes there was also a debate about whether the car salesman in the video was aware of the prank or not. That increased the number of people talking about and watching the video.
Harlem Shake
For a few weeks, the “Harlem Shake” was almost inescapable. Waterhouse says 40,000 “Harlem Shake” videos released in the first 11 days after the meme exploded; people viewed them 175 million times, collectively.
The reason for this success, according to Waterhouse, is because it was “so easy to replicate. It’s short, has a very easy structure to follow and a catchy song intro that makes it instantly recognizable,” he says. “Its simplicity is the cornerstone of its success.”
The Maker version of the “Harlem Shake,” seen above, was the most popular take on the meme early on, according to data from YouTube. Shin suggests this was a combination of good timing — it was one of the earlier videos in the meme — and the fact that it served as an inspiration for many of the videos that came after.
For kids, bikes are the best and sometimes only form of independent transportation. For quick trips to the park or a best friend’s house, a two-wheeler or even a trike can’t be beat.
Once most Americans hit age 16, the car is often preferred. But as gas prices and environmental concerns increase, the bike has come back in popularity for the 16-and-older set.
Many cities have embraced the rise in bicycle commuting by installing bike lanes, starting shared-bicycle programs and offering storage. Even if your city isn’t on the most “bike-friendly” list, the number of homes and apartments catering to cyclists is increasing nationwide.
In honor of Bike to Work Week, we’ve rounded up cycle-convenient cribs in the five most bikeable cities, according to Walk Score’s 2013 rankings.
Portland, OR
Portland is often No. 1 or 2 most bikeable city, which is determined based on the number of bikers on the road, bike lanes, hills, connecting roads and destinations. This year, Portland scored highest, which isn’t surprising given its growing bike culture, due in part to the popular TV show “Portlandia.” The bike-friendly city boasts that 6 percent of its commuters go by bike, in comparison to the .05 percent that bike to work nationally.
This Portland home’s proximity to downtown makes biking the obvious commuter choice. A detached garage is also the perfect place to stash your bike in case of rainy Pacific-Northwest weather.
San Francisco, CA
This city’s steep hills don’t deter cyclists. San Fran has several bike trails and a goal of becoming the North American city with the highest per-capita bicycle use. So far, they’re well on their way, earning the No. 2 ranking in this year’s bikeable cities list.
A bike-friendly home complete with cyclist art. This 1993-built condo sits in the heart of the Mission District near bike lanes. Bike storage is also available in the building.
Denver, CO
Despite its high elevation nearly a mile above sea level, Denver is a very bike-friendly city with miles of bike trails and a substantial bike-sharing program.
According to the listing description, this Denver house is the best of urban living. A single-family home with plenty of living space, the house is conveniently located a short walk or even shorter bike ride from downtown, local shops and cafes.
Philadelphia, PA
Philly is a relatively new addition to the top-five most bikeable cities, but this isn’t surprising. The city has dedicated resources to its cyclist commuters, with over 200 miles of bike lanes and/or trails.
This 3-bed, 2-bath condo is a desirable corner unit in a striking art deco-style building. Not only is bike storage available; the condo is a short distance from some of the best cafes and restaurants in Philadelphia.
Rents stabilising in Qatar are a clear indication of the upbeat mood in the market about medium- to long-term national economic prospects.
In the last few months, many commercial and residential properties have come to the local market and many more are expected in the months ahead.
For investors, a key factor that drives their business strategy is the projected return on investments (ROI). Obviously, return on investments is decided by the demand and supply situation.
With Qatar economy witnessing rapid growth and many infrastructure projects being taken up, national economic prospects look good.
Population growth has been accelerating mainly because expatriates come to work on new infrastructure projects.
This is bound to put pressure on both commercial and residential properties with the result that rents may go up considerably.
Rents are likely to be a major swing factor in forecasts of consumer price inflation for 2013, experts have already warned.
Historically, from 2005 until 2013, Qatar’s inflation averaged 4.05% reaching an all time high of 16.59% in June 2008 and a record deflation of 9.96% in December 2009, a study by Standard Chartered Bank has shown.
According to QNB, overall inflation increased 3.6% year-on-year and 0.4% month-on-month to 2.4% in March this year.
Since the housing component has the largest weighting in the inflation basket (32.2%), escalating rents are sure to drive inflation in Qatar.
Rising inflation will certainly take the sheen off the real GDP growth, which no economy can afford.
In the past, when inflation surged and touched double digits, the government took very strong measures to contain it.
They included putting a ceiling on the annual rental increases and starting new low-cost residential projects. Many nationals and expatriates have then benefited from the pro-active measures taken by the government.
The opening day event featured special admission prices of $15 for unlimited rides, which continue this weekend and next. Beginning May 24, admission for unlimited rides will be $30 and $20 for anyone under 48 inches. Westchester residents with proof of residency will receive $5 off. Spectator admission, which does not include rides, is $10. and entertainment.Season passes are $95 for unlimited rides, with a $15 discount for Westchester residents.The amusement park and boardwalk will be open. The beach and pool are expected to open June 21. The Ice Casino and north boardwalk were both heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy, and are not expected to open until 2014.Saturday, children lined up for rides and posed for pictures with Coaster the Dragon, Playland’s mascot. The band Reunion will be playing hits of the \’50s, \’60s and \’70s during shows at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. on the Music Tower Theater stage.
PORTSMOUTH — The Seacoast Board of Realtors say the spring Seacoast real estate market is shaping up to be the best in at least three years.
The board reported a record number of single-family and condominium pending sales in April in the 13 sample seacoast towns.
The 13 sample towns are Exeter, Greenland, Hampton, Hampton Falls, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, North Hampton, Newmarket, Portsmouth Rye, Seabrook and Stratham. The 90 April pending single family sales are 18 more than the previous record set last May. There were 67 sales in the month, up 15.5 percent from last year. They were paced by 21 sales in the $400,000 to $700,000 price category, nine more than last year at this time. There were 37 sales in the category of less than $400,000.
Sales of single-family homes in the sample towns have increased through most of the first four recorded months of 2013. There were 59 in January, 55 in February, 63 in March and 67 in April.
The median sales price of a Seacoast single-family home was $369,800 up 21.7 percent from last year.
While the 35 pending condominium sales are also a new three-year record, condos again recorded a mixed bag of sales results. The average price of a condo was up 10.52 percent from last year at $210,000, but fell to its lowest level in three months in 2013. Closed sales also were off .06 percent from a year ago.
Inventory levels continue to shrink as demand increases, according to the Seacoast Board of Realtors. Available single-family units dropped 21.1 percent from a year ago, while condo inventory is off 17.2 percent from last year.
Business Insider’s subscription research service, BI Intelligence, has conducted a study about mobile video viewing habits that show a tremendous uptick in the amount of video watched on phones and tablets over the last year. The uptick isn’t surprising, but the amount of uptick is. What’s so vastly different between 2011 video viewing habits and 2012’s? The study finds that the rollout of faster 4G networks, younger audiences gravitating to mobile viewing, and the spread of tablets as the main reasons. But there is a lot more data to consider in this study. Let’s take a look.
Mobile Video Continues to Rise in Stature
Here is a chart detailing the viewing habits by device in Q4 of 2012, using data from Ooyala and charted by BI Intelligence:
Video on smartphones reached 41 million people by the end of last year. Additionally, as of January 2013, 41 percent of smartphone owners watch video on the device as opposed to 22 percent as recently as April 2012. People in the age group of 12-17 watch video on their mobile phone 24 minutes a week, and the 18-24 set watch 28 minutes, compared to 11 minutes for the average person. Both groups only watch two-thirds of the traditional TV of the average person.
While tablets make up a fraction of the total video-capable devices out there, people watch a ton of video on them: 3.5 percent of all online video around the world is watched on them, while 4.5 percent of videos are watched on the far more prevalent smartphones.
Tablet viewers watch longer videos (63 percent of their time was spent on videos 10 minutes or longer), and their viewing patterns are close to broadcast TV, making them easier to target for advertisers and broadcasters who know the ins-and-outs of TV best.
People who own tablets make video a huge part of it. It’s one of the top 10 activities they use a tablet for, which can’t be said of smartphones (comScore). These tablet owners are more likely to cut the cord, or never bother with traditional TV in the first place (Morgan Stanley). The conversion rates on the ads are much higher than on smartphones. BI Intelligence cites the Deloitte “State of the Media Democracy Survey” when mentioning that, for the age group of 14-23, watching TV shows on a tablet rivals the time spent watching DVDs and Blu-Rays. 25 percent of the group watch TV shows every day or weekly on tablets.
Finally, tablet owners watch 6.7 hours of video content a week, as opposed to non-tablet owners, who watch 5.5 hours (courtesy of Motorola).
The whole point? With $520 million (13 percent) of the entire ad market devoted to mobile video, finding these tablet owners, who skew younger and voraciously consume video is important.
![Mobile Video Viewing on the Rise: Why It Matters [Study]](http://cdn2.reelstatic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/business-insider-ooyala-graph.png "business insider ooyala graph")