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Staff Reporter Pan African technology company, Liquid Telecoms has rebranded to Liquid Intelligence Technologies to reflect its new business thrust anchored on sector specific response.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies (LIT) Southern Africa regional chief executive Wellington Makamure said rebranding was the company’s calculated steps to transform the group from a wholesale telecom provider to an intelligent technology solutions company in Africa.
Makamure said the rebranding into LIT will allow the company to deliver customised digital services to ensure that African does not leg behind in the digital economy.
The new brand reflects the organisation’s vision in providing tailor-made digital solutions to businesses in the public and private sector across the continent.
“We will be crafting solutions that meet your business needs as opposed to giving you what we think you need,” Makamure said yesterday during a virtual press briefing.
“That way we bring specific solutions to all sectors of the economy. We are leaving no one behind as we digitally connect the continent.”
Makamure added: “We will have experts from each sector, say media, mining or health services who will assist our teams in identifying the challenges these sectors face and the solutions to those problems.”
The company runs a 73 000km of fibre optic across the continent and is expected to continue connecting Africa with its services that targets emerging companies, small business owners, large business owners, enterprises as well as government institutions.
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Liquid’s rebranding comes at a time most companies across the globe have turned digital due to COVID-19 pandemic which restricts physical interaction.
Makamure said LIT’s transformation includes connectivity services such as hosted data centre services, cloud services, managed security services, unified communications, managed network services, applications, professional services and big data.
The company said it has also increased its data security after it launched its cybersecurity unit, which offers end-to-end managed services for digital security solutions in September last year.
The group has established fresh sub brands that include Liquid Labs, an innovative hub, Liquid Cloud, Liquid Cyber Security, Liquid Satellite, Liquid Sea while ZOL will transform to Liquid Home.
LIT is also a Microsoft Gold Partner as a way of redefining its network, partnerships aimed at bringing innovative business applications, intelligent cloud services and world-class security to the African continent.
Makamure said LIT has transformed to ensure that it will continue to lead in innovation, and not be overcome by the ever changing environment.


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Donald Trump has vowed to rethink the US's engagement in the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he has called "the worst trade deal ever." But if the US were to start imposing tariffs on goods that are imported or exported to Mexico and Canada, we might lose Mexico's business when it comes to popcorn purchases. Cinepolis de Mexico CEO Alejandro Ramirez, who runs the country's largest (and world's fourth largest) movie theater chain, says that if there is a tax of even 2 percent on the popcorn that he buys from the United States, he'll be forced to switch suppliers to get his kernels cheaper.
"We import all of our corn for movie theaters from the US thanks to the fact that there's free trade," Ramirez told Bloomberg. "If that wasn't the case—if we go to pre-NAFTA tariff levels—then it would be cheaper to bring it from Argentina."
While the US is the largest consumer of popcorn in the world, Mexico accounts for the largest share of US popcorn exports. Ramirez currently spends $10 million a year alone on popcorn from Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa. His company also spends roughly $40 million on US products annually, buying up American-made projectors, screens, and $6.5 million on Wisconsin cheese to pour all over the theaters' nachos. (Yes, the cheese on Mexican nachos is actually from American cows.)
America would probably be fine without Ramirez's business alone, but considering we charge Mexico roughly $2 billion for popcorn exports each year, it could be devastating if more theaters in the country followed suit.

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As some 33,000 people in Shanghai cheered on Ferraris racing at the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific and the 2014 Ferrari Racing Days this weekend, Hong Kong-based luxury hotel chain Shangri-La had its own reason to cheer. The Italian automaker is entering a partnership with Shangri-La to bring a personalized experience for travelers attending the Asian and European race series. Ferrari announced in a press release that not only will Shangri-La be the official hotel partner, it is also sponsoring the Ferrari Challenge.
This first-time collaboration will allow Shangri-La’s VIP global guests exclusive paddock access, a garage tour, and tickets to the Formula One World Championship, among other perks, Shangri-La said in a separate press release. In exchange, Shangri-La’s logo will feature prominently on the cars, the official website, and podiums. Ferrari’s fans will also receive preferential treatment at Shangri-La’s branches. The release also mentioned that Ferrari will hold charity drives in cities where Shangri-La hotels are located in the future.
“We’re delighted about the alliance with Ferrari, an exciting brand with a great product,” said Greg Dogan, Shangri-La’s president and chief executive officer in the press release. “Through our global collaboration, we will be able to reward both companies’ loyal supporters with one-of-a-kind experiences and indulge their passion for the best and bespoke.”
According to Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Marco Mattiacci, Shangri-La has “a lot in common with Ferrari, to begin with, attention to details, which can make the difference on the track as well as in providing a superior service to the customer.”
Ferrari has been eyeing the Chinese market since 2013 as its European sales flatline. However, despite a slight growth decline in China that year, Ferrari remains optimistic about its China prospects, and even predicts a slight growth in sales this year. Industry expert Damon Banks, director of DMB Public Relations, told marketing news site Luxury Daily that the partnership with Shangri-La is mutually beneficial—Ferrari gets to tap into the hotel chain’s customer base for its racing events, and Shangri-La gets a high-profile advertising platform. “Though many guests of the hotel might not be avid race fans, having ‘inside access’ to an element of the Ferrari brand can be very intriguing and a positive effect of the relationship,” Banks said.


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Ontario is joining other provinces like Alberta, Manitoba and Nova Scotia in introducing regulations to crack down on debt settlement companies, said the province in a news release.
The plan is to regulate debt settlement companies to protect consumers from exaggerated claims and abusive practices. Through new regulations, the government will ban debt settlement companies from charging up-front fees, limit the amount of fees consumers are charged, require clear, transparent contracts and implement a 10-day cooling-off period.
The government has posted regulatory proposals for public comment at www.ontariocanada.com.
“I applaud the Government of Ontario for their efforts to help consumers who use debt settlement services to get their finances in order," said Laurie Campbell, CEO, Credit Canada Debt Solutions. "Banning high up-front fees, limiting fees and giving consumers clear information upfront is a strong step forward for indebted families in Ontario.”
Two examples are provided by the Ministry of Consumer Services.
In the first example, an Ontario consumer approached a debt settlement company to help negotiate an affordable monthly payment program to settle debts of about $11,000 with his creditors. The debt settlement company said it negotiated a settlement of about $4,700 and charged the consumer a fee of about $2,500.
The company assured the consumer that all of his creditors had accepted the settlement offer.
One company, however, had not accepted the settlement offer and the consumer was served with court papers.
The consumer contacted the debt settlement company for instructions on what to do next and was provided with a number of forms to defend against the court action.
The debt settlement company then sent the consumer an e-mail informing him they had received his cancellation notice. The consumer had never sent the debt settlement company a cancellation notice and further calls and messages to the company were not returned.
The consumer’s credit score was significantly damaged and the consumer approached a not-for-profit company for help.
Another consumer with total debts of $7,500 paid a total of $1,600 in fees to a debt settlement company. The debt settlement company required monthly payments of $200 to be used towards paying off her debts.
From this amount, the company kept $150 in fees each month and asked the consumer to set up a separate account from which she would pay her creditors with the remaining $50. The consumer continued to receive letters from her creditors demanding payment and charging interest on the outstanding balance.
Frustrated and upset, the consumer felt like she was adding more debt rather than getting help to eliminate her debt situation. The consumer subsequently approached a not-for-profit company for help.
“The Ontario Government is taking forceful and decisive action to protect Ontarians," said Henrietta Ross, CEO and executive director, Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services. "These proposed consumer protection measures will ensure that debt settlement companies in Ontario operate with legitimate business practices. Consumers seeking help to better manage their debt loads will know their rights are protected. The Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services stands in support of this important initiative."
There are more than 20 debt settlement companies operating in Ontario. The Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services receives more than 100 complaints about debt settlement companies a month.
The average consumer debt in Ontario is up to $25,447 in the second quarter of 2012, compared to $24,721 in the second quarter of 2011. For every dollar Canadians earn, they have $1.64 in unsecured debt, according to Statistics Canada.


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Apple’s September ‘Special Event’ has been on the horizon for some time, shrouded in rumors and expectations. Now that it’s almost in touching distance, we take a quick look at what to expect from the big keynote presentation taking place later today.
iPhone 6S & 6S Plus
This first one’s practically a given. Apple has released new iPhones in September since pretty much the dawn of time, and has given us an interim ‘S’ model update every other year for the last few generations. That means that while the exterior appearance will be practically the same as last year’s offerings, we’re (supposedly) due for some choice internal upgrades this year.
The new iPhones are expected to include significantly improved tech specs (A9 processors and 2GB RAM) as well as higher resolution cameras (up to 12MP from 8MP for the main camera and a whopping upgrade from 1.2MP to 5MP for the front-facing camera). They’re also expected to include the Force Touch capabilities seen in the Apple Watch and newest MacBook trackpads.
There were early rumors of a 4-inch iPhone 6C being released, but this is now looking increasingly unlikely. Apple may release a smaller iPhone model again in the future, but most reports agree that it won’t be this year.
New iPad models
It’s looking likely that we’ll see the long-rumored iPad Pro – a larger version of the iPad that further blurs the line between tablet and laptop. It’s reported to have a 12.9″ screen (that’s bigger than the most recent MacBook!) and the same internal specs as the iPhone 6S. Plus a Force Touch stylus for precision control and stereo speakers.
We’re also expecting to see an update to the smallest iPad, likely to be called the iPad mini 4. This would include upgrades to bring it in line with the specs and capabilities of last year’s iPad Air 2 – meaning it will be able to handle the split-screen multitasking features introduced in iOS 9.
Revamped Apple TV
After a three year wait, the long-awaited fourth-edition Apple TV is likely to be announced at this event. The device is expected to feature its own App Store, an impressive universal search feature and gaming capabilities. It will also have full integration with Siri and HomeKit, and feature a brand new touch-screen remote control.
It looks like Apple have designs on taking over the living room, and with plans to release its own TV-streaming service to rival Netflix in the future, and possibly even make the move into original programming, Apple TV is likely to be a big part of the presentation.
With so many other announcements, there’s not too much to expect from the Apple Watch. But we should brace ourselves to hear more about watchOS 2, first demoed at WWDC and already available to test as part of a developer beta. Also Apple are due to release some new watch band designs and possible some new finishes, just to add to the level of customization already available to buyers of the wearable.
iOS 9 details
Again, most of the new iOS features were covered in depth at WWDC, and there has been a public beta program running since July. Even so, this event should mark the release of the final “GM” version of the operating system to developers, with a free non-beta release for the public likely to come a week later.
One more thing..
It has become a staple of Apple keynotes to end with an “oh, just one more thing..” surprise announcement. The element of surprise has mostly been washed away by the combinations of leaks and rumors that have been used to draw up this list – but could there be something we haven’t seen yet waiting?
You can stream the keynote live from any Apple device (or Windows 10 PC) at 10am PST – check the website When Is Keynote? to find out when the show airs in your timezone.
If watching Apple executives deliver presentations for two hours isn’t your idea of fun, stay tuned right here where we’ll be posting everything you need to know about the event over the next day or two. Oh, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, where we’ll be live-tweeting all the most important reveals during today’s show.


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No Metro, Suburban Railway Service to/from Athens Airport from May 30 to June 1.
The “Santorini Experience” sports tourism event is being held this year under the auspices and support of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO).
Public Transport, Travel News, Athens
Public transport in Athens will be disrupted on May 16 and May due to nationwide protests against an austerity vote in Parliament on May
The European Court of Justice ruled that Uber is a transportation firm and not a digital service, and must now comply with EU transportation regulations.
Public transport in Athens will be disrupted on December as Greece’s main private and public sector umbrella unions have announced a strike.
Trainose will launch the "Olympian Trail" train route, a product aimed to offer cruise passengers in Greece "the trail of a lifetime experience".
Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, owner of Greece’s Trainose, in January is aiming to launch a new passenger speed train to run the Athens-Thessaloniki route.
The founder of Beat has launched an online campaign to stop a draft bill that would force taxi e-platforms and apps to operate as transport companies.
E-platforms and apps offering taxi services may be forced to shut down, as a draft law foresees that "intermediaries" should operate as transport companies.
October Launch for Greek Public Transport Ticket Scanning Gate System.
No Metro, Suburban Railway Service to/from Athens Airport from May 30 to June 1
Resumo da semana: Uber Motorola e Nintendo - EExpoNews


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Federated Department Stores Inc. yesterday said it consolidated Macy's e-commerce and direct mail operations under a single structure.
Starting this fall the Macy's By Mail catalog operation will merge with macys.com, uniting the planning, merchandising and support functions. The goal is to sell almost identical products across all Macy's retail channels. The consolidation should be completed by February.
“With this action we will combine those two organizations so that we'll have a very closely coordinated online and catalog operation,” said Carol Sanger, vice president of corporate affairs at Federated Department Stores, Cincinnati.
There will be no changes in the Macy's By Mail catalog prior to next spring, Federated said. Through the fall, 15 direct mail catalogs are scheduled to go out.
Federated announced in March it would consolidate its disparate e-commerce and catalog operations under Federated Direct, a new division designed to create retail cohesion within the group.
The division now holds responsibility for bloomingdales.com, Bloomingdale's by Mail, macys.com, Macy's By Mail, and Fingerhut Companies — direct-to-consumer brands that account for nearly 10 percent of Federated Department Stores' 1999 revenue of $17.7 billion.


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|By RealWire News Distribution||
|September 10, 2012 07:49 AM EDT||
Revenues Increase 300 Percent Year over Year; 3200 Plus Global Brands Now Leverage BrightEdge's S3 Platform
London, UK Sept 10, 2012 - BrightEdge, the global leader in enterprise SEO, today announced unmatched growth and business performance for the twelve months ending Q2 2012. BrightEdge revenues have increased 300 percent Year-over-Year (YoY), from end of Q2 2011 to end of Q2 2012.
The company also announced that they now support more than 3,200 brands around the globe on the company's S3 platform making it the most utilized enterprise standard for search engine optimization technology. Leading brands rely on BrightEdge S3 for its patented SEO share-of-voice competitive tracking, support for Google Search+ Your World and unique social SEO capabilities for its customers.
The company has funneled its growing revenue back into its business, growing to more than 110 global employees across their San Mateo, Calif., New York City and London offices and has moved into a new custom-built corporate headquarters this week that will accommodate the company's growth up to 250 staffers. Hiring efforts also continues with more than 20 open positions available across the company's global locations.
Clients have been forthcoming with their support and acknowledgment of BrightEdge http://www.brightedge.com/customer-case-studies with enterprise clients such as Andrew Taylor, at Citrix commenting, "BrightEdge has the technology and the day-to-day people that stand behind the technology and work with you to strategize your goals."
BrightEdge serves as both a partner of Facebook, Twitter, and Adobe as well as the preferred supplier as these leaders in digital have selected BrightEdge to manage their organic search globally. BrightEdge and Twitter case studies highlighting the benefits of managing search and social channels together are hosted on Twitter's web site: https://dev.twitter.com/case-studies/tiny-prints-sees-47-increase-search-rankings-using-twitter-and-bright-edge
BrightEdge and Adobe case studies highlighting the benefits of managing paid and organic search together can be found here: http://www.brightedge.com/PPC-SEO
"The market for Enterprise SEO is hot right now, with tremendous demand from leading brands to grow their search marketing traffic and conversions. I am excited to see BrightEdge emerge as the trusted standard in Enterprise SEO," Jim Yu, CEO, BrightEdge. "Our business has scaled to be the clear leader and continue our track record of technology innovation and customer success for our 3,200 brands."
BrightEdge pioneered enterprise-grade search engine optimization (SEO) in 2008 by delivering the first and only cloud-based platform that systematically allowed enterprises to grow their web site traffic and revenue through organic search. Today, it is the most widely used enterprise-grade search engine optimization (SEO) platform around the globe.
Technology Innovation drives growth
The company has accelerated its momentum via leading technology innovation in the market and being the first to market to launch numerous innovations to its industry-leading SEO platform including:
Enterprise Grade and EU Safe Harbor compliant cloud based technology with reliability of 99.99% and integration with all major analytics systems http://www.brightedge.com/2011-12-14-BrightEdge-Enterprise-Grade
Adobe Integration for insights and management across PPC and SEO http://www.brightedge.com/2011-11-28-BrightEdge-Adobe-Digital-Marketing
Social Media Insight and Integration as a Facebook Preferred Marketing Developer http://www.brightedge.com/2012-04-19-BrightEdge-Facebook-PMD
The first to market with Local Search Management http://www.brightedge.com/2012-06-08-BrightEdge-Announces-LSM
Market leading research conducted with partners such as Twitter https://dev.twitter.com/case-studies/tiny-prints-sees-47-increase-search-rankings-using-twitter-and-bright-edge
On the 12th September the BrightEdge team will unveil numerous powerful new capabilities as the company's executive team takes the stage at Share12 in San Francisco. http://www.brightedge.com/share-2012 or #Share12 on Twitter
BrightEdge is the leading site, search, and social management solution for global enterprises, helping more than 3,200 of the world's largest brands stay ahead in the rapidly evolving Internet landscape. BrightEdge S3 harnesses the power of analytics on big-data to drive revenue from web sites, search engines and social networks across the globe in a measurable, predictable way. Client list includes seven of the ten largest retailers, eight of the ten top digital agencies, hospitality leaders such as Marriott, as well as technology and social titans including Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, VMWare and Symantec.
BrightEdge is based in San Mateo, CA and is privately held with financing from Intel Capital, Battery Ventures, Altos Ventures and Illuminate Ventures. For more information, please visit www.brightedge.com, friend us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/seoplatform or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/brightedge.
SYS-CON Events announced today Telecom Reseller has been named “Media Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Telecom Reseller reports on Unified Communications, UCaaS, BPaaS for enterprise and SMBs. They report extensively on both customer premises based solutions such as IP-PBX as well as cloud based and hosted platforms.
Aug. 30, 2016 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,014
SYS-CON Events announced today that Adobe has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 18th Cloud Expo, which will take place on June 7-9, 2016, at the Javits Center in New York, New York. Adobe is changing the world though digital experiences. Adobe helps customers develop and deliver high-impact experiences that differentiate brands, build loyalty, and drive revenue across every screen, including smartphones, computers, tablets and TVs. Adobe content solutions are used daily by millions of co...
Aug. 30, 2016 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 3,733
Why do your mobile transformations need to happen today? Mobile is the strategy that enterprise transformation centers on to drive customer engagement. In his general session at @ThingsExpo, Roger Woods, Director, Mobile Product & Strategy – Adobe Marketing Cloud, covered key IoT and mobile trends that are forcing mobile transformation, key components of a solid mobile strategy and explored how brands are effectively driving mobile change throughout the enterprise.
Aug. 30, 2016 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 620
Pulzze Systems was happy to participate in such a premier event and thankful to be receiving the winning investment and global network support from G-Startup Worldwide. It is an exciting time for Pulzze to showcase the effectiveness of innovative technologies and enable them to make the world smarter and better. The reputable contest is held to identify promising startups around the globe that are assured to change the world through their innovative products and disruptive technologies. There w...
Aug. 30, 2016 01:30 PM EDT Reads: 854
SYS-CON Events announced today that Pulzze Systems will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Pulzze Systems, Inc. provides infrastructure products for the Internet of Things to enable any connected device and system to carry out matched operations without programming. For more information, visit http://www.pulzzesystems.com.
Aug. 30, 2016 01:20 PM EDT Reads: 162
Data is the fuel that drives the machine learning algorithmic engines and ultimately provides the business value. In his session at Cloud Expo, Ed Featherston, a director and senior enterprise architect at Collaborative Consulting, will discuss the key considerations around quality, volume, timeliness, and pedigree that must be dealt with in order to properly fuel that engine.
Aug. 30, 2016 01:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,057
19th Cloud Expo, taking place November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterpri...
Aug. 30, 2016 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 3,222
Almost two-thirds of companies either have or soon will have IoT as the backbone of their business in 2016. However, IoT is far more complex than most firms expected. How can you not get trapped in the pitfalls? In his session at @ThingsExpo, Tony Shan, a renowned visionary and thought leader, will introduce a holistic method of IoTification, which is the process of IoTifying the existing technology and business models to adopt and leverage IoT. He will drill down to the components in this fra...
Aug. 30, 2016 10:30 AM EDT Reads: 400
Data is an unusual currency; it is not restricted by the same transactional limitations as money or people. In fact, the more that you leverage your data across multiple business use cases, the more valuable it becomes to the organization. And the same can be said about the organization’s analytics. In his session at 19th Cloud Expo, Bill Schmarzo, CTO for the Big Data Practice at EMC, will introduce a methodology for capturing, enriching and sharing data (and analytics) across the organizati...
Aug. 30, 2016 09:08 AM EDT Reads: 272
With so much going on in this space you could be forgiven for thinking you were always working with yesterday’s technologies. So much change, so quickly. What do you do if you have to build a solution from the ground up that is expected to live in the field for at least 5-10 years? This is the challenge we faced when we looked to refresh our existing 10-year-old custom hardware stack to measure the fullness of trash cans and compactors.
Aug. 30, 2016 02:30 AM EDT Reads: 1,870
The emerging Internet of Everything creates tremendous new opportunities for customer engagement and business model innovation. However, enterprises must overcome a number of critical challenges to bring these new solutions to market. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Michael Martin, CTO/CIO at nfrastructure, outlined these key challenges and recommended approaches for overcoming them to achieve speed and agility in the design, development and implementation of Internet of Everything solutions wi...
Aug. 30, 2016 02:00 AM EDT Reads: 2,253
Cloud computing is being adopted in one form or another by 94% of enterprises today. Tens of billions of new devices are being connected to The Internet of Things. And Big Data is driving this bus. An exponential increase is expected in the amount of information being processed, managed, analyzed, and acted upon by enterprise IT. This amazing is not part of some distant future - it is happening today. One report shows a 650% increase in enterprise data by 2020. Other estimates are even higher....
Aug. 30, 2016 01:30 AM EDT Reads: 3,061
Today we can collect lots and lots of performance data. We build beautiful dashboards and even have fancy query languages to access and transform the data. Still performance data is a secret language only a couple of people understand. The more business becomes digital the more stakeholders are interested in this data including how it relates to business. Some of these people have never used a monitoring tool before. They have a question on their mind like “How is my application doing” but no id...
Aug. 30, 2016 01:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,950
Smart Cities are here to stay, but for their promise to be delivered, the data they produce must not be put in new siloes. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Mathias Herberts, Co-founder and CTO of Cityzen Data, will deep dive into best practices that will ensure a successful smart city journey.
Aug. 30, 2016 12:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,687
DevOps at Cloud Expo, taking place Nov 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, is co-located with 19th Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. The widespread success of cloud computing is driving the DevOps revolution in enterprise IT. Now as never before, development teams must communicate and collaborate in a dynamic, 24/7/365 environment. There is no time to wait for long dev...
Aug. 29, 2016 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,506
Identity is in everything and customers are looking to their providers to ensure the security of their identities, transactions and data. With the increased reliance on cloud-based services, service providers must build security and trust into their offerings, adding value to customers and improving the user experience. Making identity, security and privacy easy for customers provides a unique advantage over the competition.
Aug. 29, 2016 08:30 PM EDT Reads: 2,462
SYS-CON Events announced today that 910Telecom will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Housed in the classic Denver Gas & Electric Building, 910 15th St., 910Telecom is a carrier-neutral telecom hotel located in the heart of Denver. Adjacent to CenturyLink, AT&T, and Denver Main, 910Telecom offers connectivity to all major carriers, Internet service providers, Internet backbones and ...
Aug. 29, 2016 07:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,000
Internet of @ThingsExpo, taking place November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, is co-located with 19th Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the most profound change in personal and enterprise IT since the creation of the Worldwide Web more than 20 years ago. All major researchers estimate there will be tens of billions devices - comp...
Aug. 29, 2016 02:15 PM EDT Reads: 3,757
There is growing need for data-driven applications and the need for digital platforms to build these apps. In his session at 19th Cloud Expo, Muddu Sudhakar, VP and GM of Security & IoT at Splunk, will cover different PaaS solutions and Big Data platforms that are available to build applications. In addition, AI and machine learning are creating new requirements that developers need in the building of next-gen apps. The next-generation digital platforms have some of the past platform needs a...
Aug. 29, 2016 12:15 PM EDT Reads: 901
The 19th International Cloud Expo has announced that its Call for Papers is open. Cloud Expo, to be held November 1-3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, brings together Cloud Computing, Big Data, Internet of Things, DevOps, Digital Transformation, Microservices and WebRTC to one location. With cloud computing driving a higher percentage of enterprise IT budgets every year, it becomes increasingly important to plant your flag in this fast-expanding business opportuni...
Aug. 28, 2016 10:30 PM EDT Reads: 4,096


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With juggernauts, like Staples and FedEx Office (formerly Kinkos), expanding their stores and printing services for businesses, the past decade, and booming online businesses, like Vistaprint, Blue Mountain eCards and SendOutCards, allowing individuals to send Grandma a birthday card from their bedrooms, it would seem impossible for small, independent stationery stores to still survive. While Hallmarks dominate malls throughout Phoenix, there are very few stand-alone stores where people can leisurely browse through clever and unique cards and gifts, like they used to before the proliferation of Walgreens. But one such store—Write-Ons, Etc.—in central Phoenix will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in December.
In 1977, Pepper Rusnak moved from Princeton, New Jersey, to Phoenix to enjoy a different part of the country and provide a new environment for her four young children. Needing a job that would keep her in the neighborhood with her kids and liking retail, she opened a store on December 6, 1982, that specialized in stationery, cards, gift and invitations.
Like other retailers, Rusnak has been challenged by the recession. In addition to the growth of competition from online purchasing, people have cut back on entertaining and on the accessories that accompany that, and have had to reduce gift-giving.
“One key to attracting new customers and maintaining repeat customers is to keep the selection of merchandise fresh, to keep finding new and unique products,” says Rusnak, a frequent visitor to Atlanta gift shows.
“We have celebrated the circle of life with our customers,” Rusnak says, also citing the importance of customer loyalty to her sustainability. “From birth announcements through graduations, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and death announcements, Write-Ons, Etc. is here to serve generations of customers.”
Write-Ons, Etc., near Rose Lane, has long been known by its neighbors for its friendly atmosphere and outstanding customer service. But its reputation is spreading. The shop has won the “Best of Phoenix” award several times and, this summer, it won recognition as “The Best Card Shop” by AZ Central.
While one can “like” Write-Ons Etc. on Facebook, one can learn most about the shop by visiting Rusnak and her staff at 6201 N. 7th Street, selecting Halloween decorations, ordering Thanksgiving Day cards, and actually seeing and touching a gift to send Grandma for Christmas.


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Complex EU data rules hindering data-driven business models, survey finds
Some 63% of GCs say data regulation is too confusing, according to Osborne Clarke and ECLA study
More than two thirds of general counsel in Europe say complex data rules are preventing their organisations from embracing data-driven business models, according to a new study by Osborne Clarke and the European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA).
The report – ‘Data-Driven Business Models: the role of legal teams in delivering success’ – found that 67% of GCs believe the legal and regulatory framework around data is the biggest obstacle to implementing such business models. A further 68% say the regulatory framework is too complex, while 63% say it is too confusing for purpose. Only 11% say it is well-structured. Almost four in 10 respondents (38%) said cybersecurity is also an obstacle.
Nick Johnson, head of digitalisation at Osborne Clarke, said: “We see a growing awareness by legal teams of the need for data-related skill-sets that go beyond data privacy – and of the gathering storm of new data legislation.”
He added: “These can be blind-spots for a company's board, and in-house legal teams may need to work hard to explain their concerns and demonstrate the need for action.”
While more than half of European businesses (61%) already offer data-driven products and services, only 26% of GCs said their organisation’s board have expertise on data-driven models.
Johnson said companies that empower their legal teams to lead on planning and rolling out data-driven business models could have more success given that the legal function is better placed to see the bigger picture and drive the changes needed for new data initiatives.
The report also found that only 36% of European businesses have a data strategy in place, while only 47% think about the ethical and reputational angles of their data use.
Jonathan Marsh, ECLA’s president, said: “With data collection and utilisation becoming an increasing priority, legal departments have become responsible for devising processes that enable businesses to leverage insights from data, while respecting consumer laws and norms. Now, more than ever, a well-functioning legal department has become a cornerstone for ensuring long-term corporate viability.”
The ECLA surveyed 400 GCs across the continent in seven major business sectors including energy and utilities, retail and consumer, financial services, life sciences and healthcare, real estate and infrastructure, tech, media and communications, and transport and automotive.
Email your news and story ideas to: email@example.com


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With Huawei still unable to offer phones with that all-important access to Google apps, some shoppers might be looking for a new alternative and Oppo could have just the thing. The Chinese manufacturer has just announced its new Reno4 Pro, which not only gets some impressive specs, but also comes fully-loaded with Google’s popular software and the Google Play Store.
Straight out of the box, the Reno4 has an incredibly striking look with an all-screen design that includes a 6.5-inch OLED display with a slick 90Hz refresh rate. Spin the phone around and there’s a new scratch and fingerprint-proof case which Oppo says has taken six-months to develop.
Packed into the rear case is also a triple rear camera system, which offers user 48-megapixel Wide Angle, 12-megapixel Ultra Night Wide-Angle and 13-megapixel Telephoto lenses.
Oppo is boasting that its cameras feature an Ultra Night Video and Ultra Steady Video providing unparalleled low light shooting on the move. And, thanks to the Sony IMX708 ultra night wide-angle video lens, users can capture wider angle shots with far more detail.
Head inside the Reno4 and there’s a Snapdragon 765G processor, 256GB of storage and 12GB RAM which certainly should make this powerful enough for most people’s digital needs. There’s also a large 4,000mAh battery with Oppo including its ridiculously fast 65W VOOC 2.0 charger in the box. That means you can go from flat to full in under an hour.
Source:Daily Express :: Tech Feed


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Hops For Heroes
Here’s a unique way some folks are raising funds for military families: beer brewing.
FOX News Radio’s Kerin McCue reports:
Beer and baseball, a great combo! And some craft breweries from around the country have teamed up to raise money for military families by selling a special brew.
The ‘Hops for Heroes’ project, started two years ago between two brewers from suburban Richmond, Virginia and Seattle. Their brand is called, Homefront IPA and it’s brewed using orange peel and unfinished Louisville Slugger Maple Bats as the secret ingredients. Other breweries from Florida to California are getting in on the act. The special suds will be released just in time for Memorial Day, and all proceeds go to local chapters of Operation Homefront.
Kerin McCue, FOX News Radio.


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Toyota’s luxury division, Lexus, is looking to distance itself from its parent brand beginning with the new Lexus GS, Automotive News reports.
The GS has enjoyed a warm reception from buyers with Lexus pushing a total of 4,900 models off the lot within just two months of its introduction, and surpassing all sales expectations for the year in the process.
Lexus executives attribute strong sales to an overhauled effort by the luxury marquee to distance itself from parent company Toyota in order to create a stronger brand identity. This includes, among other things, a host of aggressive advertising campaigns such as the company’s first Super Bowl commercial earlier this year and a partnership with Sports Illustrated where Lexus created a racetrack based on the contours of SI model Tori Praver’s body, which we can only imagine was a painstaking and grueling endeavor for all involved.
Lexus has even gone so far as to revamp and streamline the whole design and decision-making process for new vehicles. To help promote a decentralized approach to both brands, employees at Toyota’s headquarters were separated from one another — resulting in the development of the GS’s hourglass-like spindle grill as a central design focus for upcoming Lexus models.
Only recently was Lexus knocked off as number one luxury brand in the U.S., a fact Lexus blames on poor brand imaging and customer loyalty. While the Lexus nameplate has traditionally experienced strong sales in the luxury segment, figures show as many as 30-percent of Lexus owners tend to jump ship and make camp with some of Lexus’ main competitors: BMW and Mercedes. This difficulty in retaining customers Lexus believes is in part due to consumers being less interested in owning a particular vehicle as they are in belonging to a brand and image.
“To conquer BMW and Mercedes drivers, we can’t just be looked at as an upgraded version of Toyota,” said Kiyotaka Ise, head of Lexus. “We want our brand to be chosen for its character and handling.”
That “character” has translated into a concentrated push on Lexus’ part to create a brand – on top of vehicles – that consumers want to belong to. It isn’t enough for Lexus to be considered reliable or a rebadged top-shelf Toyota. And on top of non-traditional ad campaigns, a huge portion of delivering that new and distinct image has already begun with the GS and its more aggressive design.
Whether the Japanese automaker will be successful in mounting a new offensive and reclaiming its luxury crown remains to be seen. While it may have been enough for Lexus to provide customers with upscale versions of Toyotas in the past, that formula has ceased to work. But if Lexus can move beyond the languid attempts we have grown accustomed to and provide consumers with enough distinction, reliability and flair with future models, we see no reason why it can’t soar to previous heights.


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By Planet Retail2010-11-18T16:44:00+00:00
The Warehouse Group has reported flat first-quarter results with a 0.2% decrease in net sales for the three months to October 31, down to NZD362.3m (£173.8m).
The Works has upgraded its EBITDA outlook for the 2022 financial year, after reporting narrowing losses in the first half of the year.
Retail subscription boxes across categories were one of the big winners in the first year of the pandemic, but many expected their popularity to fall away. Retail Week looks at how these services have adapted to changing customer behaviours
WHSmith has been hit by a shareholder revolt over plans to pay a £550,000 bonus to its chief executive Carl Cowling.
With both Tesco and Superdry pulling out of international ventures on the same day, Retail Week asks whether UK retail is scaling back its global ambitions.
The coronavirus crisis will wipe $2.1trn (£1.7trn) off of global retail sales in 2020, new data has predicted.
The coronavirus outbreak has sparked fears and headlines worldwide since emerging in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the start of the year.
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Last updated on January 4, 2020
Samsung Electronics Co. is set to create a quantum jump in sales of its flagship premium lineup QLED televisions this season, thanks to growing consumer desire for high-quality display products, the company’s TV firm head has stated.
Since launch 8K QLED TVs this past year, Samsung has surfaced a complete lineup ranging from 55- to 98-inch versions to cater to several client requirements, Yonhap news agency reported Sunday.
QLED is a Samsung-specific advertising term for LCD TVs which uses quantum dot technologies to increase performance in key image quality regions, differentiating it in LG’s OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) lineup.
“We’ve sold more than 2 million QLED TVs at the first half this calendar year, which can be over double from a year ago,” Han said in a meeting with reporters on the sidelines of this IFA technology series in Berlin. “We hope to sell more than 5 million QLED TVs this year by enlarging our 8K lineup and large-screen TVs.”
8K refers to this highest-resolution standard for content production, which provides four times the amount of pixels of a 4K display and 16 times that of a complete HD display.
Within a two-track strategy, Samsung pledged to step up engineering advancement in micro-LED TVs to create smaller displays than products now available, which necessitates more innovative technologies.
Samsung rolled from the huge 219-inch The Wall Professional for its commercial screen market in February and also added the 146-inch The Wall Luxury last month to aim the luxury home theater marketplace.
“You will see.”
Samsung’s share from the TV marketplace accounted for 31.5 percent concerning value from the next quarter, indicating the highest at over six decades, according to market researcher IHS Markit.


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TikTok has revamped its e-commerce operation to emphasize markets such as the United Kingdom and the United States, as the Chinese-owned company struggles to transfer its livestream shopping model outside of China.
According to sources quoted by the Financial Times, employees in Brazil working on launching TikTok Shop, the social media group’s in-app marketplace, are being shifted to areas where the service has already been implemented, such as the UK, US, and south-east Asia.
According to these sources, those working on bringing the service to Spain are being relocated to London as part of a more considerable rearrangement of executive positions at the top of the European business.
According to sources, a halt in expansion in Europe is mirrored by a halt in the full distribution of the functionality to vendors in the United States.
While the social media retail concept has been enormously successful in Asia, TikTok Shop has struggled internationally, particularly with Western consumers and content providers, according to the report.


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A new biometrics service has been launched by the Pakistani government, as Taiwanese regulators update their rules to include the use of biometrics in online banking, as part of the global fight against money laundering. money.
ComplyCube is targeting the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) market with a new biometric solution, while Socure has partnered with a fraud prevention orchestrator and Sumsub has signed a crypto platform client. cash.
Pakistani biometric service, Taiwan rules change
NADRA has launched a contactless biometric verification service to allow Pakistanis to open bank accounts and conduct financial transactions remotely through a smartphone app, reports Profit by Pakistan Today.
The biometric app was developed at the request of the State Bank of Pakistan and will enable digital Know Your Customer (KYC) checks for remote onboarding.
The service was released last week and banks are working on its integration, according to the report. Five banks will pilot the service before a wider deployment in the sector. The service will be available to remote banking providers and e-money institutions in addition to traditional banks, all of which may start offering new digital banking services using biometrics.
This move is expected to both facilitate financial transactions and increase financial inclusion in Pakistan.
“We are responding to the need of the hour during this ongoing pandemic,” comments NADRA President Tariq Malik. “This new technology makes it possible to acquire and match contactless fingerprints using a mobile smart phone, providing an alternative to conventional methods of performing digital financial transactions that may require specialized equipment or visits to bank branches / franchises. NADRA prides itself on maintaining its reputation for bringing niche technology trends to the country. This is another step towards our goal of creating a robust national identification ecosystem in Pakistan. “
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), meanwhile, has revealed plans to ease digital banking regulations in the country to allow biometric authentication, reports the Taipei Times.
Candidates can be identified by videoconference or by encrypted digital tokens.
Online loan applications are currently allowed in Taiwan, but involve more stringent identity authentication than in-person applications at a branch. Biometric authentication can also be used in branch, and authentication will also include questions about regular account activity.
The new authentication rules don’t apply to onboarding customers or opening new accounts, but rather apply to existing digital savings accounts.
ComplyCube biometric solution, Socure partnership, Sumsub customer gain announced
ComplyCube provided more details on its new KYC Flow biometric solution, which the company says provides facial biometrics and alertness detection, ID document scanning and address verification, all in 30 seconds.
Flow is for businesses that still perform manual identity checks, with the promise of lower costs, faster results, increased security and reduced risks of human error. ComplyCube claims Flow is GDPR compliant and businesses can start using the web solution within minutes.
A partnership between Socure and SpecTrust will improve the orchestration, assessment and mitigation of fraud risks, according to the companies.
The SpecTrust ROAM code-free platform will be integrated into the Socure ID + digital identity verification platform.
The companies plan to showcase the combined solution at FinnovateFall on September 13, 2021 in New York City.
Sumsub was selected by Lithuanian crypto platform Cabital Global to verify the digital identity of European investors in two minutes, according to a Tweeter.
The partnership aims to ensure compliance with European AML regulations, while securing the passive income of Cabital users.
biometrics | ComplyCube | digital identity | fraud prevention | identity verification | KYC | NADRA | integration | Pakistan | Socur | Sumsub | Taiwan


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27 May '15, 4am
Xiaomi Technology expects 2015 cloud computing revenues to hike 4-5 fold, says chairman
Xiaomi Technology expects 2015 cloud computing revenues to hike 4-5 fold, says chairman Daniel Shen, Guiyang; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 26 May 2015] Xiaomi Technology expects its revenues from cloud storage services in 2015 to hike on year by 4-5 fold, according to company chairman and founder Lei Jun speaking at the Global Big Data Era Guiyang Summit 2015 in Guiyang, southwestern China. In order to meet Big Data demand from users of its smartphones and other smart devices, Xiaomi has invested US$1 billion to develop cloud storage services through cooperation with China-based software developer Kingsoft and began to provide the services in 2014, Lei said. In addition to smartphones, Xiaomi sells more than one million smart wrist bands, over 100,000 sports cameras and over 100,000 smart air purifiers a month, Lei indicated. There are 97 million users on its cloud stora...


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Amanda Holden flashed her bra in a sheer dress
Amanda Holden arrived at work on Tuesday morning wearing a very glamorous bodycon dress that featured a completely sheer top that flashed her black bra.
, 51, was feeling on Tuesday morning as she celebrated “sparkly week” at the Heart FM studios.
You are reading: Amanda Holden, 51, turns heads at the office as she flashes bra in sheer sequinned dress
The ageless presenter braved the cold in a skimpy bodycon dress which featured a completely sheer sequinned top that flashed her black bra.
Speaking to her 1.8m followers, Amanda proclaimed: “Good morning, Happy Tuesday. Of course, this is the week of sparkly week as we count down to Christmas! 12 more sleeps!
Readmore : Emmerdale spoilers: Kyle Winchester’s troubles exposed as Amy and Moira return
“This gorgeous dress is from Karen Millen I am especially, obviously, loving the sheer and sparkles at the top.
“This looks like a skirt but it’s actually attached. So Christmassy.”
Amanda Holden didn’t let the freezing temperatures stop her from dressing to the nines
Amanda Holden celebrated “sparkly week” in her glitzy dress as she braved the freezing temperatures in London.
Amanda Holden was feeling Christmassy
Amanda Holden said she was “loving” her festive Karen Millen dress.
Amanda Holden was “loving the sheer and sparkles”
Readmore : Archie ‘blocked’ from meeting the Queen as Meghan makes ‘direct conflict’ claims
Amanda Holden showed off her Christmassy outfit to her 1.8m Instagram followers.
Amanda Holden looked gorgeous at the Heart FM studios on Tuesday morning
Amanda Holden styled her dress with a pair of black court heels and wore her blonde locks down.
Amanda Holden posed up a storm in the office
Amanda Holden also revealed that although her outfit looks like a two-piece, the black pencil skirt is in fact attached to the sheer top.
Amanda Holden celebrated “12 more sleeps” until Christmas
Amanda Holden was dressed to impress and showed off her sparkly outfit from the office.
Amanda Holden posed up a storm
Amanda Holden added a pop of colour to her glittery outfit with some red nail polish.


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When the landmark Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act became law in 2009, it swept in major protections for consumers against what critics said were abusive practices by card issuers.
But there’s one group of credit cards that is not covered by the law: company or business credit cards.
Dennis Simmons is president and chief executive of the Southwestern Automated Clearinghouse Association, a Dallas-based nonprofit trade organization that provides training and education to consumers and businesses on electronic payments. He said business owners need to be aware of the lack of protection provided by the law.
“The Credit CARD Act of 2009, which protects consumers from arbitrary interest rate increases, excessive fees, and other gimmicks and penalties, does not apply to corporate or business credit cards,” Simmons said. “Often, these corporate cards don’t come with a ‘buyer beware’ warning that the product doesn’t carry normal consumer protections.”
This is important because business credit cards are a key source of capital for many small business owners. As of the end of 2009, 83 percent of small businesses used credit cards, according to the Federal Reserve.
“Obtaining a business credit card is relatively simple and requires little information other than a legal business name and Social Security number,” Simmons said.
Under the 2-year-old credit card law:
Card issuers must give consumers 45 days’ notice of any significant changes in terms, such as an increase in the interest rate. They also must offer consumers the option to decline a rate increase, pay off the balance over time at their current rate or use the 45 days to find another card with more favorable terms.
Card issuers must tell consumers why they’re raising the annual percentage rate.
Issuers can’t impose arbitrary rate increases and “universal defaults” on existing card balances.
But the terms aren’t the same for business or company credit cards.
“Business cards contain many of the punitive terms that are no longer legal for consumer cards,” said Bill Hardekopf, chief executive of LowCards.com. “Issuers may still change the card terms at any time without notice, including raising the interest rates on existing balances. Issuers may also apply a penalty rate immediately without providing notice of a violation, and this rate can last indefinitely.”
So read the terms and conditions of your business credit card carefully.
“Items to note include late payment fees, over-limit fees, interest rate escalators and any restrictions on types of purchases that can be made with the card,” Simmons said.
One area that you need to pay particularly close attention to is individual and company liability.
“Small-business owners should read the credit terms to see how the issuer will handle the card debt if the small business fails,” Hardekopf said. “Many cards have a provision called the ‘Individual and Company Liability’ clause stating that the individual who applied for the card and the business are jointly responsible for the card debt.”
That means that you’ll be personally on the hook for all charges on the card. If your business has trouble paying off the card, your personal credit will suffer.
Business owners also should not commingle personal and business expenses on their business credit card.
“What we’re seeing is people — they don’t have the discipline to segregate them and they commingle them and they start using for it personal purchases,” Simmons said. “If they start to revolve the line of credit and say they miss a payment or they’re late on their payment, the rate goes up and the fees get tough on them.
“They’re not thinking in terms of this as a business account. They’re thinking of it as a consumer account and, ‘I have all these protections under the CARD Act,’ and they don’t.”
Keeping your business expenses separate from your personal spending will protect you from overloading your business card — and shelter you from many of the tough terms that card issuers can no longer impose on consumers.


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Illegal Online Drug Sales Continue Even After the FDA and Other Companies Report Them
With an estimate of over 36 million Americans buying prescription drugs online, without a prescription, the FDA is taking action. The FDA and other companies are running into a huge problem. How do you track down and regulate illegal online drug sales? There is no company that regulates internet sites. The FDA has now turned their attention to Icann. Icann manages technical functions for the internet. They help with websites, allowing them to operate computers to locate the correct servers and websites. They are also in charge of over 1,100 registrars that sell web addresses. That is why the FDA is targeting them as a main contributor to this problem. Icann can monitor and close down websites that are carrying out illegal online drug sales.Officials have reported over 4,700 suspicious websites that sell drugs in the past 8 months. Of the 4,700 sites that were reported, 4,000 continued business online after reports were filed to Icann. These reports came from LegitScript, a company that tracks online pharmacies. The FDA reports that there are around 40,000 to 60,000 illegal drug sites. This is an alarming number of sites. What is even more alarming is that Icann and other companies are doing very little to stop this from happening.The fact of the matter is, these companies are all about profit. Icann does not want to regulate these sites, because that is how they make their money. They profit from companies, illegal or not, buying web domains and other features. They could easily hire more people to their team for tracking purposes. When tracking the sites, if they find a suspicious site, they can simply ban their site and cut off that company’s ability to sell drugs online. Yes, I know the offenders can easily make up a new web address, but at least this will slow them down. Another interesting point to people buying prescription drugs online without a prescription is that fact that some cannot afford to pay a doctor for a checkup and then turn around and pay for a high priced medicine. Another factor is Obama care. This “affordable” healthcare program has pushed many people away from using their longtime family doctor or makes people run around from doctor to doctor for certain needs. People are viewing buying their medication online as a convenience, a way to save money and time. Icann and healthcare need to jump on board with fixing this situation.
Whatever path to recovery you choose, our staff has access to hundreds of treatment centers to assure the best personalized treatment for you, then with continued follow up to help you make the transition to sober living as seamless as possible.
Our trained staff of professionals are qualified to help you assess what type of treatment will be the best fit to ensure you or your loved one gets the help you need.
But how does one go about finding the right program?
If this all looks very overwhelming....it is! But that's what we are here for. Call us at 888-205-8608 and we can help make this process much easier. We will narrow down all of these aspects and find the best program for you or your loved one with all your concerns considered. It's as simple as making that first call. And the best part is that we are a free service. The road to recovery starts here!
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The Brunswick County Home Builders Association is pleased to present the 2013 Brunswick County Parade of Homes. This year our Association is proud to feature 52 new homes and 4 remodeled homes, making this THE largest Parade of Homes for Brunswick County since its start in 2002. Our builder, subcontractor and supplier members take great pride in their work, and we look forward to this time each year when we open our doors and welcome you into our homes to view the latest technology, design trends, and some of the highest level of craftsmanship available in the industry.
New for 2013 is the Parade of Homes Expo that will be held Saturday, October 19th and Sunday, October 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Brunswick County Senior Center to coincide with the Parade of Homes opening weekend. Suppliers and vendors that partner with our Builder members will be on display to showcase their products for those of you considering building a new home or remodeling an existing one. Be sure to attend this event to gain insight to new home products, and take advantage of the opportunity to talk with experts in the building industry.


text: CNBC - Asia News Saudi Arabia is stumbling in its effort to build a global financial center 2018-08-21T13:00:00.000000000+00:00 Saudi Arabia is stumbling in its efforts to build a cosmopolitan financial center in the Middle East. The oil kingdom could learn a lot from the success of its neighbor Dubai, which is now a global banking hub. China's biggest risk may be its property market — not the trade war 2018-08-21T01:22:00.000000000+00:00 China's hot real estate market remains a challenge for authorities trying to maintain stable economic growth in the face of trade tensions with the U.S. Asia markets trade mostly higher as investors look ahead to US-China trade talks this week 2018-08-20T23:43:00.000000000+00:00 The United States and China are set to hold talks to find a way to ease trade tensions between the two countries, but analysts are not expecting any major breakthroughs. Hong Kong politician to Trump: Kick China and Hong Kong out of the WTO 2018-08-20T05:16:00.000000000+00:00 A Hong Kong politician who advocates independence from China wrote to President Donald Trump, urging him to get China and Hong Kong kicked out of the World Trade Organization. Apple yanked 25,000 apps from its China App Store 2018-08-20T04:41:00.000000000+00:00 Apple removed apps that sold fake lottery tickets and offered gambling services, which violated Apple policies, the company said. Don't expect a 'grand bargain' from new US-China trade talks, expert says 2018-08-20T03:45:00.000000000+00:00 The U.S. and China are meeting later this week in Washington to try to find some common ground in their escalating trade war, but don't expect a "grand bargain," according to an international trade scholar. Asia closed mostly in positive territory on Monday as investors look to US-China tariff talks 2018-08-19T23:52:00.000000000+00:00 Asia markets mostly ended the first trading day of the week in positive territory amid anticipation of positive developments on the U.S.-China trade front. White House's Kudlow says China looks 'terrible.' Numbers paint a murkier picture 2018-08-17T11:23:00.000000000+00:00 China’s economy is still one of the fastest growing in the world, contrary to White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow’s assertion that its economy looks “terrible.” Malaysia's prime minister, a vocal critic of Chinese investment, heads to Beijing 2018-08-17T08:09:00.000000000+00:00 The 93-year-old leader has repeatedly criticized Chinese ventures in his country for being too expensive. As he visits the world's second-largest economy, he's expected to renegotiate a number of Beijing-backed deals. Tesla reportedly searching for a No. 2 executive for Elon Musk 2018-08-17T07:29:00.000000000+00:00 The New York Times reported that Tesla executives have intensified the search following Musk's tweets about taking the company private.


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Candidate for Governor releases rural agenda
The campaign for Democratic Gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Wednesday released, what it called, its rural agenda.
During the press conference, El-Sayed expressed his views on environmental justice, agriculture, and affordable housing.
The candidate said the interests of corporations have been over-represented in rural districts.
“They in effect get tax breaks to open up in those communities. They come in with their economies of scale, their economies of scope, and can out-compete any of the local mom and pop shops.”
El-Sayed said often box stores don’t pay the same tax rates and that can hurt local revenue.
He said as Governor he would stand up to box stores and cut the tax incentives that allow them to out-compete local businesses.
El-Sayed said he would also shut down the line 5 pipeline and bring high-speed internet to every rural community.
“If you live north of where your fingers start on the mitten the probability that you have high-quality access to the internet is really low. And having traveled all over the state even your access to cellular signal takes a huge plummet once you go north.”
The agenda was released ahead of a Wednesday evening town hall in Ithaca.


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Kawasaki Other description
#27552 This is a 75 z1 with an ATP turbo pack kit that has a 1015 turbo piston kit,welded crank,under cut trans,4 angle valve job,stock cams,barnett clutch pack and a 42 mm flatslide Mikuni carb.The bike was built years ago and sat for some time,I... VISIT www.trumpetads.com for more information...
Kawasaki Other for Sale
Moto blogMon, 17 Mar 2014
Yoshimura Suzuki‘s James Stewart captured his third win of the 2014 AMA Supercross season and 48th 450 class victory of his career, tying him with Ricky Carmichael for second on the all-time win list behind Jeremy McGrath‘s 72. Racing before a crowd of 50,856 fans at Ford Field in Detroit, Stewart took the lead from holeshot-taker Cole Seely shortly before the end of the second lap and led the rest of the 20-lap race for the win. Stewart led by as much as 7.1 second but eased off at the end, crossing the finish less than two seconds ahead of Kawasaki‘s Ryan Villopoto.Fri, 31 Jan 2014
Kawasaki officially launched its 2014 World Superbike Championship campaign, introducing its three-rider lineup of reigning World Champion Tom Sykes, Loris Baz and David Salom along with the Ninja ZX-10R superbike. The Japanese manufacturer also used the launch party in Barcelona, Spain, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Ninja line which began with the 1984 Kawasaki GPZ900R. Kawasaki revealed a special 30th anniversary logo which will be featured on the side fairings of the 2014 Ninja ZX-10R superbike’s livery.Fri, 11 Jul 2014
Kawasaki added a new limited edition 30th Anniversary Ninja model, revealing the 2015 ZX-14R in a special Firecracker Red and Metallic Graystone color scheme based on the colors of the original 1984 Ninja 900, the company’s first fully-faired sportbike. Kawasaki had previously announced 30th anniversary editions of the ZX-10R and ZX-6R, both bearing green livery remembering the company’s World Superbike and Supersport racers. Only 300 units of the limited edition Ninja ZX-14R will be produced for the U.S.
Kawasaki Other by State
Kawasaki Other by City
Kawasaki Other by Color


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Established brands are beating digital natives at their own D2C game. As marketplace and wholesale opportunities obfuscate what it means to sell D2C, brands need to keep up with both their retail and marketing playbooks—or risk falling behind.
Here are five charts showing D2C growth, ad strategies, and category dynamics.
Established brand D2C ecommerce sales in the US will see $134.55 billion in sales this year, while digitally native vertical brands (DNVBs) will make $34.84 billion, according to our forecast. Established brands like Nike and lululemon athletica have adopted the D2C playbook from digital natives like Dollar Shave Club and Warby Parker with greater momentum, especially as VC funding dries up.
Established brands’ D2C ecommerce sales in the US will grow by double digits through the end of our forecast period in 2025, while DNVBs will grow by just 1.8% this year and single digits through 2025. DNVBs are working to overcome this downturn by opening physical retail locations, selling wholesale, and working with third-party marketplaces.
Beauty and consumer packaged goods DNVBs are doing better than DNVBs at large. US pure-play beauty D2C ecommerce sales grew by 7.8% last year, according to NielsenIQ and Rakuten Intelligence. Two of the top three D2Cs in 2022 were beauty brands, according to our D2C Brands 2023 report. Health and wellness DNVBs like Athletic Greens are also still thwarting the overall DNVB downturn.
US D2C brands were moving ad spend away from Facebook in H2 2022, according to Rockerbox, but Google and Facebook still made up around two-thirds of all US D2C ad spend. Spend on TikTok was growing slowly, but its share of overall spend is still minimal in comparison to the tech giants.
Some 26% of retail media decision-makers in North America say selling more D2C could limit their retail media spending, according to Skai and BWG Strategy. But retail media networks need not panic yet. Retail media ad spend will increase by 19.7% this year, and growth is accelerating, according to our forecast. Retail media presents an opportunity for D2Cs selling in digital marketplaces—one that D2Cs should not shy away from.
This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.
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Some 401,500 tons of commodities worth over $115 million were exported from the northeastern Iranian province of North Khorasan in the last fiscal (ended March 19), according to a senior official.
Deputy Chairman of North Khorasan Industry, Mine and Trade Organization Amin Ghorbani said, the figures respectively indicate a 14.1% and 7.2% drop in terms of value and tonnage year on year.
According to the official, petrochemicals (urea, melamine, and ammonia), steel products, plastics, cement, food, agricultural products, electrode, and construction materials were among the goods exported from North Khorasan during the period.
He added that Afghanistan, with an 18% share, was the top export destination of the province in the past fiscal, followed by India (11.6%) and China (5.4%).
Khorasan exporters have been securing their footprints in many countries in the region and further afield; Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the UAE, Russia, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Italy, the US, Denmark, Spain, Myanmar, Australia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Pakistan, Russia, Germany, Georgia, Belgium and Kazakhstan are the other exports destinations of the Iranian province.
Ghorbani added that some 4,100 tons of goods worth $29 million were imported to the province during the said period, registering a year-on-year increase of 10.5% in terms of value and 68.2% drop in terms of volume.


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WATERTOWN — It’s a different year for parents and their children when they go out school shopping this year.
WATERTOWN — With shoppers strolling down the corridor with bags in hand, the marketing manager of the Salmon Run Mall says she’s seen an increase in foot traffic every week since it opened about six weeks ago.
The school shopping season is the second busiest time of the year, topped only by the Christmas shopping season, so it’s crucial that the mall bounces back from the four months it was closed because of the coronavirus.
“It’s slowly but surely” bouncing back, mall marketing manager Karla Woods said.
Owned by Pyramid Management Group out of Syracuse, the mall has had to phase in how to handle the reopening, making sure that shoppers obey state rules for social distancing and other pandemic regulations. Just last week, seating in the food court was increased to 50 percent capacity.
Customers are following those state regulations, she said.
On Thursday afternoon, there was a stream of masked shoppers going from store to store for what she described as “a little busier” for school shopping than previous weeks.
The prior week, it was good news that traffic was about “even” to last year at this time, she said, adding that people seem to want to be waited on by store clerks rather than ordering items online.
“They’re ready to be back to the mall,” she said.
Brandy Bogardus sat eating Chinese noodles at the food court after shopping for a bridal shower. She feels safe shopping once again at the Salmon Run Mall.
She’ll be back again soon.
Just about all of the mall’s retailers have reopened. Signs are prominently displayed in store windows advertising sales. And the new 55,000-square-foot Hobby Lobby store in the former Sears store is attracting shoppers.
It was a coup to get the Oklahoma-based chain to open a store in the mall, especially just a few weeks after its reopening, Ms. Woods said.
Hobby Lobby is primarily an arts-and-crafts store, but also includes hobbies, picture framing, jewelry making, fabrics, floral and wedding supplies, cards and party ware, baskets, wearable art, home accents and holiday merchandise.
On its opening day on July 31, some frenzied customers bought enough craft and hobby merchandise to fill their vehicles twice. Its customers no longer have to drive to Syracuse or Utica, she said.
The opening for new tenant Billy Beez, an indoor play park that offers trampolines, sports courts, an arcade and more, has been delayed because of the pandemic. But renovating the space that occupied three stores should start soon.
State social distancing mandates would not allow it to be open yet anyway, she said. Another indoor play area, Bounce Mountain, remains closed for the same reason.
The mall’s Verizon store was remodeled during the pandemic closing. A new nail salon and a hair salon also have moved in recently.
Moviegoers are still waiting for Regal Stadium 12 to reopen. The 12 screens that take up a portion of the end of the mall remain dark, waiting for state regulations to be lifted.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that movie theaters across the state would reopen soon, but there’s been no word since, Ms. Woods said.
With just a handful of stores that didn’t reopen, the biggest loss is the Skewed Brewing Co., near the entrance to Regal. The restaurant — known for its craft beer selection, Thursday night trivia and duck wings — will not reopen.
At the time of the mall’s opening, the owners blamed the restrictions on 50 percent seating and other related pandemic issues as reasons they weren’t going to operate at that time.
It’s unclear why owners Ryan and Cheryl Chaif made the decision. They could not be reached for comment.
“I don’t know what happened,” Ms. Woods said.
A few days ago, seasonal retailer Spirit Halloween set up shop in the former Bon Ton store, where it will sell a variety of costumes, masks, makeup, decor, props and other goods. The Halloween store opened in that same location last year.
With a portion of the Sears store still unoccupied, it leaves the Gander Mountain as the only anchor store vacant at the moment. Ms. Woods said she hopes that she will have an announcement next year about a new tenant taking over that space.
She wouldn’t divulge any more information about the prospect.
She’ll continue to look for other potential tenants for other unfilled space in the indoor mall.
The mall is currently open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Ms. Woods hopes to extend those hours back to pre-pandemic times.


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MILAN (Reuters) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles started production of the Maserati Levante at its Mirafiori plant in Turin today, the automaker said in a statement.
The Levante, which will be presented at the Geneva auto show on Tuesday, is Maserati's first SUV.
The SUV, a rival to the Porsche Cayenne, will be launched in Europe in May and later in other markets around the world.
Maserati revealed some details and its first undisguised images of the Levante earlier this month.
Originally planned for release in 2014, the Levante is a key element of Maserati's effort to increase sales in the next two years by joining the rapidly growing market for high-end SUV/crossovers.
Maserati's volume has been hit by falling demand in the Chinese and U.S. markets for its high-end sedans.
The Levante will be presented as a practical alternative to the brand's sports cars. It will have all-wheel-drive and off-road capability but its main appeal will be its sporty handling.
Automotive News Europe contributed to this report


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Forbes Praises KJUS: KJUS has made it into the renowned Forbes online edition
Nowadays it's not just about looking good on the slopes, but also wearing skiwear designed to improve performance.
The online edition of Forbes highly praises KJUS and describes the brand as a pioneer in the ski apparel industry thanks to decades of innovation and investment in the next best thing.
Premium ski wear brand KJUS was actually the first company to introduce stretchable panels into ski wear. Nico Serena, KJUS' CEO, said: "We wanted to turn the skiwear industry on its head with innovative sportswear that would set a whole new standard in terms of performance, quality and design
Two months ago, KJUS launched their revolutionary 7SPHERE HYDRO_BOT jacket - their first wearable technology ski jacket. And with an ISPO Gold Award under its belt already, the jacket's reception really speaks for itself.
Serena continued: For us, simply adopting the latest technologies is not enough. We strive to pioneer technologies, to invent our own technologies, to develop our own fabrics. Our goal is to give our customers the edge in terms of performance - whether that’s on the slopes or on the golf course."
Forbes has a readership of around 6.7 million and is a leader in business journalism.
Read the Forbes article.


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The iPhone has been a real game changer for the cell phone industry. Why?
Because customers really love it. More than the other cell phones, many of which have superior specs. And customer satisfaction with a product or service is a key to success.
Customer satisfaction with the Apple iPhone is the highest ever on the American Customer Satisfaction Index covering eight information products and services.
Among the information industries for which ACSI has updated its customer satisfaction ratings are land line telephone service, motion pictures, network TV news and subscription TV service.
Click here to read the story.
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Author Steve Hindy on how craft beer is changing the industry
The beer industry may be dominated by brands like Budweiser, Molson Canadian and Coors Light, but small craft brewers are trying to change that, and they're making a lot of progress.
Steve Hindy co-founded Brooklyn Brewery in 1987, when craft beer was almost non-existent on the market. In the nearly 30 years since, he has seen craft beer grow to eight per cent of the U.S. market.
Similarly in Canada, while beer sales have been flat since 1995, craft beer sales have seen revenue growth at or near double digits,
Hindy is author of the book The Craft Beer Revolution, which looks at the evolution of the industry from the late 1990s to the present.
In an interview with CBC's The Lang & O'Leary Exchange, Hindy says a lack of variety has helped push craft beer into the mainstream.
"I think a lot of people are realizing that there is more to beer than light lager beer," he said.
While the big brewers have marketing budgets in the millions, Hindy has found a way to find an audience.
"I’m going to donate beer to good causes, to not for profit organizations and art organizations, through that I’m going to get my beer into the hands of people and I’m also going to build good will."


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Mac Pro, AirPods 2, iOS 13, iPad and More... Here is the List of Expected Apple Products Releasing This Year
Every year, tech enthusiasts look forward to the new gadgets that are coming, especially from large and well-known companies. For this year, we are going to look at Apple’s upcoming devices this 2019.
So, what are the devices that we can expect from the Cupertino-based tech company? Well, let’s find out.
What To Expect At The First Half Of 2019
For the first half of 2019, there are a number of devices that are about 9 products expected to be released by Apple. These products are:
iPad mini 5 – Reports say that it could be released in the first half of 2019 or early 2019. Latest rumors point at March 29 release.
iPad 9.7-inch – Its 2016, 2017, and 2018 were all released in the month of March. Unless Apple decides to release it on another date due to various reasons, we can expect it to be released in March 2019.
AirPods 2 – For this one, its rumored released date is confusing. For now, recent reports suggest that it could be released on March 29, 2019.
AirPower – Back in September 2017, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller told the world to look for this wireless charging mat for the AirPods, iPhone and Apple Watch next year. But we’re now in 2019. Some reports suggest it will arrive in March, while others say late 2019.
Apple News Service – According to MacRumors, this will be announced at the March 25 event.
Apple News Magazine Service – users will supposedly get to enjoy this service by paying $9.99 per month. As for its release date, Techcrunch reported back in December 2019 that will be released in early 2019. Last month, 9to5mac speculated it could come in March 2019.
Streaming TV Service – for this service, it will be introduced in March and then debut somewhere in April.
iOS 12.2 – This is also expected to be announced at the March 25 event.
HomePod – Although unsure, at the moment, it is reportedly expected to be released in early 2019.
What To Expect In June
For the month of June, we have Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This year’s WWDC event is scheduled from June 3-7 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.
As for the products to expect:
- iOS 13
- macOS 10.15
- watchOS 6
- tvOS 13
What To Expect In September
For the month of September, we have the highly anticipated 2019 iPhone lineup. In addition to that is the Apple Watch Series 5.
What To Expect Later In 2019
If you think Apple has nothing left to offer, you’re wrong because they still have many products expected to come later in 2019.
Mac Pro – the current Mac Pro debuted at June 2013 and then was released on December 2013. For the 2019 Mac Pro, perhaps it will be the same as well.
New Apple Display – According to reports, this baby was created to go along with the 2019 Mac Pro. With that being said, we expect it to launch along with the new Mac Pro.
Apple TV Dongle – Apple is reportedly considering making a low-cost Apple TV dongle is similar to the Amazon Fire Stick or Google Chromecast. As for when it will be released, it’s unknown.
High-End Over-Ear Headphone – There is no specific date of its launch date. However, reports suggest it could come in the second half of 2019.
iMac and iMac Pro – Given that Apple didn’t refresh these babies last year, there’s high expectation that they will be refreshed this year.
MacBook and MacBook Air/Pro – For the 2019 Apple laptops, they are reportedly going to be released in the second half of 2019. The only question is what month. For all we know, the Cupertino-based company could do a surprise release like what they did with the 2018 MacBook Pro.
What Apple device are you looking forward the most? Tell us in the comment section below.


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As usual, MTV shows the way
From Ad Age:
Later this summer, MTV will introduce a new service that creates mobile communities around user-generated content. He didn’t elaborate in his keynote, but several weeks ago told Advertising Age that MTV plans to allow users to create their own ringtones and other wireless content, which they can then upload to their phones. “The mobile handset is the holy grail of electronic devices,” [MTV Networks Music President Van Toffler] said. While global youth spend $16 billion on music, they spend $106 billion on mobile. Teens rank it more desirable than laptop computers, MP3 players and video-game consoles.”
As the younger generation continues to tune out traditional radio (and all the evidence indicates that’s exactly what they’re doing) the mobile phone is well on its way to becoming central to their entertainment universe.
MTV, because of its strong brand identity and its long record of on-target program development, is perfectly staged to exploit this trend.
But radio – with a spotty reputation among younger listeners, a zillion micro-brands from coast to coast, and an emphasis on recycling hits rather than developing programs – is likely to be a wallflower at this most-important-of-all dances.
We can do deals with Verizon and Sprint until we’re blue in the face, but when it comes to the idea of “streaming” radio to cell phones the broadcasters best positioned for the win are named XM and Sirius: Big brand identity, positive consumer association, fast and centralized decision-making, national footprint, exclusive star content, roster of special programs….
I have said it before and I’ll say it again, Mr. broadcasting company: What you can’t do you should buy.


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The incident occurred yesterday near Ibrahimapura Cross in Yadgir district, Karnataka. The car belonged to Dr. Sharana Reddy. He had purchased the car just a month ago. New Ford Endeavour is priced in India at about Rs 40 lakhs on road.
Bystanders stated that the car’s engine caught fire first. The driver and passengers stopped the car on the road and jumped out. They tried to stop the fire, but it was not possible. Within seconds the entire car was engulfed in flames. Mr Reddy is shocked that his brand new Ford Endeavour has burnt down in such a way.
As per a report by Public TV, who also posted the video – “BJP Ticket Aspirant from Yadagiri Constituency Dr. Sharana Reddy’s new Ford Endeavour caught fire today. This happened near a temple close by and it is reported that the fire happened due to a technical flaw in the car and more news will surface in the future on the unfortunate fire.”
Launched in India in 2016, the new Ford Endeavour had also caught fire while it was on test in 2015. That incident took place in 2015 at Redhead Road near Newcastle along the NSW central coast just 175 kms north of Sydney. A brand new Ford Endeavour (known as Everest in Australia), while on test drive was completely gutted in the blaze. A thorough report by Ford revealed that it was a one-off incident.
In India, Endeavour is available with two diesel engine options – 2.2 liter generating 158 hp and 385 Nm torque, while the other is a 3.2 liter 5-cyl engine generating 197 hp and 470 Nm. Both options are offered with auto transmission.
Competing with the Toyota Fortuner, Ford is working towards launching the Endeavour facelift soon. Apart from exterior updates, it will also get interior updates and a more refined engine.


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Set to open in the first half of 2014, The St. Regis Istanbul will mark the debut of the luxury brand in Turkey and extend Starwood’s presence in the country.
“We look forward to a long-term collaboration with Demsa Group starting with the launch of our St. Regis brand in Istanbul, a thriving historical city that is becoming a major player in global travel,” said Michael Wale, President, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Europe, Africa & Middle East. “As a truly cosmopolitan city, Istanbul provides the perfect setting for the bespoke service and refined elegance defined by the legacy of the St. Regis brand.”
“Demsa Group continues to contribute significantly to the increase of the confidence of global brands in Turkey’s economy through initiatives and investments,” said Cengiz Çetindogan, Chairman, Demsa Group. “For the Maçka hotel project, located in the distinguished Nisantasi neighbourhood, we want to collaborate with St. Regis, a global brand that has remained committed to high standards and exceptional service for over a century.”
Located in the sophisticated Nisantasi neighborhood in the Sisli district on the European side of the city, The St. Regis Istanbul will offer easy access to chic boutiques, restaurants and cafes, and important landmarks including the Istanbul Congress Center and Taksim Square. Designed by award-winning Turkish architect Emre Arolat, the new-build hotel will overlook Maçka Park and the Bosphorus. The St. Regis Istanbul will have 118 rooms, of which four suites will feature custom interiors by world-renowned designers, as well as an exceptional presidential suite spanning approximately 2,000 square feet.
Renowned hallmarks of the St. Regis brand that will be available at the hotel include signature St. Regis Butler Service, providing anticipatory service and customizing each stay according to specific tastes and preferences. Culinary offerings will provide a sophisticated ambiance, including a brasserie-style restaurant which is set to become the new social and meeting address in Nisantasi. The rooftop restaurant will provide an unforgettable experience, while the lobby bar will be ideal for an intimate cocktail. The hotel will feature a spa, fitness center, as well as a business center, meeting rooms and a ballroom.


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Lost in the clamor around Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and other social media darlings is the fact that there’s a social network not called Facebook or Twitter that’s huge and profitable: LinkedIn.
The professional social network is often overlooked. Let’s face it: LinkedIn isn’t sexy. It’s pretty much a modern-day Rolodex of professional contacts that’s more often used for job hunting than socializing. Pretty boring. But it’s also something else: a place to target high-level executives who have buying power.
“LinkedIn is often a better choice for business communications, especially in the B2B world, because that audience is there with the intent of communicating about or around business,” said Jason Falls, CEO of Social Media Explorer. “Think about it, you don’t snap a picture of your kids and think, ‘I should post this on LinkedIn.’ It’s built for different reasons.”
LinkedIn’s marketing solutions revenue was $49.5 million in 2011, increasing 77 percent compared to the prior year. The company’s total revenue advanced 105 percent year on year to $167.7 million. For the full year 2011, revenue was $522 million, up 115 percent. LinkedIn has 150 million members globally.
“Members come to LinkedIn to connect with and expand their professional network and to gain insights and expertise that make them more productive and successful,” said Alison Engel, global marketing director, marketing solutions at LinkedIn. “Accessing content and receiving relevant updates from companies they follow is a key part of our members’ experience.”
LinkedIn has targeted ad options — advertisers can run campaigns for people with certain job titles in specific industries — but also wants companies to set up shop there. The pitch: Reach top-level executive who have buying power. Brands establishing thought leadership by answering questions or managing a LinkedIn group or simply conducting personal letter-writing campaigns using InMail with prospects. LinkedIn has better analytics for B2B marketers than Facebook and Twitter. Brands can create hyper-focused follower lists — based on several targeting criteria, including industry, seniority, job function, company size, non-company employees, and geography — to which they can deliver relevant content to increase engagement. In addition, LinkedIn offers marketers an insights dashboard that helps assess their follower acquisition efforts: track over time engagement metrics, including likes, shares, comments and percentage engagement, and review their followers’ demographic information.
Take IBM, for example. The company — which often targets upper-level IT management professionals — has almost 630,000 followers on LinkedIn. That’s six times its base on Facebook. The company has created several groups on LinkedIn, a means of maximizing reach beyond the network of people following the brand on LinkedIn. Within these groups — one of which is IBM Careers — users can start dialogues with one another, share news, post jobs and create subgroups. The IBM Careers group lists jobs, a video, provides insightful statistics about IBM employees and helps people learn more about working at IBM. IBM uses relevant links with anchor text on its profile, most likely for SEO purposes. Also, the company has a really detailed description that includes a summary, specialties and such. This is obviously a way to educate business professionals and, again, is a good way to impact SEO. IBM’s products and services tab includes IBM Training, Global Business Services and IBM Software. The various services have been commented on by other LinkedIn users, giving their feedback on particular offers from IBM.
“IBM has a strategy of enabling, empowering and equipping IBMers to engage
on social, digital platforms as a means of building their professional reputations, deepening relationships with clients and exploring innovative ideas,” said Ethan McCarty, global, digital, and social strategy, IBM. Seeing as this is the case, it’s no coincidence that IBM has the largest number of followers on LinkedIn of any company in the world.”
LinkedIn members appear motivated to follow companies on LinkedIn in contrast to other social platforms. In fact, half (47 percent) of current followers agree that LinkedIn is a more appropriate social environment for hearing company news and updates. In a study of over 5,000 marketers where HubSpot pitted LinkedIn against Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn proved to be the most effective social media channel for lead generation — 277 percent more effective, in fact.
“I’m a social media guy — predicated to talk about Facebook and Twitter all the time — and I still count LinkedIn as the most valuable social network I’m a part of because it drives business to my company more effectively,” Falls said.
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US-listed precision engineer Doncasters looks set to return to private UK ownership in a £180m deal.
RCG Holdings – which owns Milton Keynes-based engineering company Ross Catherall – has agreed to buy Doncasters’ entire share capital. RCG said bringing both companies into a single group would create a major new global supplier of components and materials.
RCG is backed by Royal Bank Private Equity, a division of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Doncasters, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will recommend the deal to its shareholders. It began reviewing its strategy last November in the face of a disappointing share price performance.
Just days before the deal was announced it reported first quarter sales of £87.5m, up 22% on the same period in 2000, and a record order book of almost £240m.Doncasters employs 4,000 people in the UK, North America, Germany and Belgium. It supplies engineered components to the aerospace, petrochemical and industrial gas turbine industries.
Ross Catherall is mainly made up of the former Vickers Turbine Components business acquired by Royal Bank Private Equity from Rolls-Royce earlier this year. Based in Milton Keynes, it employs around 1,200 people.
Doncasters and Ross Catherall notched up sales of £438m between them last year.Peter Smith, chief executive of RCG Holdings, said combining the two businesses would put them in a stronger position to compete in global markets, particularly the US.
Smith said there was virtually no overlap between the operations of Doncasters and Ross Catherall. ‘It’s a particularly complementary fit. They’re in the same sectors generally, but at a sub-sector level there is remarkably little overlap.’
Smith said that it was too early to comment on the details – including staffing levels – but added: ‘What you have here are two companies in a growing and generally buoyant marketplace. That means we should be in a position to create new opportunities for people.’