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Will Social Media Businesses Make Money?

Will Social Media Businesses Make Money?

My thoughts recently have been about the business model for many if not most of the major Social Media infrastructure sites around today. The question I have been asking myself is, how will Social Networking sites make money?

This is a serious issue, and the current hype over Social Media sites, reminds me greatly of the situation in the middle of the Dot Com boom, when everyone was so carried away with the idea of Internet based business that they forgot the basics of business, that is there must be a way of making money out of the business otherwise it Will eventually fail.

Parallels are everywhere, Twitter the current doyen of social networking sites, not only does not make any income; but further there is no facility in its current business model to make any money. Twitter, according to recent comment raised nearly $100m on top of the $35m raised in February, yet it still has no way of generating any income. The question we ask is what happens to investor sentiment when its astronomical growth figures inevitably slow: recent reports, in the USA at least, suggest this may be happening now.

Similarly the default url shortener for Twitter has no method of generating income, neither has budurl or tiny. These are key infrastructure players in the social media landscape yet they have no workable business model. Further there is a host of apps for the likes of Twitter and Facebook which are free. I find it rather disconcerting to think that much of the infrastructure platforms that underpin Social Networking don’t have a viable business model. It’s also somewhat ironic to think that those same platforms are filled with users propounding the benefits of monetizing social networking and exhorting who ever will listen to do the same.

Once they hype cools and sentiment becomes more cautious, or realistic depending on your viewpoint, then investors will be looking for a quick return i.e. a trade sale, failing that, they’ll curtail and then stop further investment as the prospect of hoped for returns diminish. The worrying aspect to this is two fold firstly, who exactly will buy them: I cant see Facebook, the only Social Network business with the muscle to pay the prices that are likely to be demanded, going on a spending spree, it doesn’t need too. Google could of course, but currently seems to have its attentions elsewhere and its previous foray into Social Media with Orkut was a dismal failure. So where else are the buyers? The omens aren’t good; outside of the industry no purchase of a large scale social media business has been successful. One thinks of Fox’s purchase of MySpace and ITV’s purchase of Friends Reunited as classic examples.

Secondly, any difficulty in getting further funding could lead to radical shifts in service and costs for participation as survival takes precedent over funding. This could mean either a wall of advertising, or subscription; neither model is frankly …

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How to Backup PS 3 Games Successfully

How to Backup PS 3 Games Successfully

As you may know the gaming industry is thriving now with all different games for different platforms like the PlayStation 2 and 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 and also the PlayStation Portable and Nintedo DS. All of which are nearly as popular as each other, having saying that they still sell a lot of games and as the years have progressed we have seen these games literally evolve from not just 2D to 3D but to make us feel like we are actually in the game.

People no matter what age are always buying computer games and they always will, however what game they buy depends on the platform they buy the game for now both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have internal hard drives which is where the gaming information is stored for further use this is beneficial for people want to backup the game because it is possible to do so in the console however there is only limited space.

For people who are looking to do this you can find information on the Internet on blogs, forums and gaming communities but you might not be able to trust or believe what people are saying. But if you really want to make a copy of your game and to backup it up you must have a piece of software.

It’s a simple and easy to use piece of software that has been designed to decrypt the encryption code on the games disc and this acts as copy protector and prevents privacy. The software can easily create a copy of your game onto your local hard drive which can then be burnt onto a CD or DVD depending on the size, and whats more is that it is a one time investment.…

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How To Find The Best Budget Gaming Laptop

How To Find The Best Budget Gaming Laptop

Owning a real gaming laptop is kinda the pinnacle of existence for any PC owner. It’s like being part of the Gamer Olympics and emerging victorious at the end of it. Basically anyone who has ever played any game on a PC has always wanted to make that entire experience more mobile. Now it’s not that gaming laptops haven’t existed for well over 10 years now, because they have. The problem was that they were simply too expensive for anyone but Lottery winners to buy. Well that’s a tiny exaggeration but they did cost several thousand dollars so were just out of the price range for most people.

Technology however is a beautiful thing because as it gets more advanced, faster and smaller it also becomes far cheaper. This is unlike almost any other type of product you can find in any store. In fact if groceries had decreased in price the way home computers have you’d be able to buy an entire week’s shopping for about $10… and you’d have change. So now with a modern gaming laptop you get all the perks of the most modern gaming technology available right now but at a fraction of the price.

That being said you’ll still find that some dedicated gaming laptops tend to be on the expensive side of things and there are a few computer manufacturers who are charging well over $2,500 for some of their high-end laptops, and they do this with a straight face. The reality is that most big PC manufacturers clued into the whole PC gaming scene a long time ago and they know that PC geeks are willing to pay top dollar for the very latest GPU and mobile multi-core processor.

So all of those branded gaming laptops are designed to appeal to you because behind all those LED lights and cool paint schemes are the exact same components you’ll find in a laptop costing a whole lot less. What most people don’t realize is that the difference between a processor costing $300 and one costing $700 is a performance difference of maybe an extra 10% for the more expensive chip. The exact same applies to graphic chipsets in that you’ll only see a marginal performance increase even though you’ve probably paid 2 – 3 times the price of the more “standard” chipset.

Now if you want to play the very latest CoD or some other FPS on “ultra high” detail graphic settings then you’ll need the very latest, greatest and fabulously expensive gaming laptop you’ll find online or offline. For those of you with smaller budgets but more smarts you should check out the resource box at the end of this article to learn how you can get yourself a great laptop for playing games on without having to sell a kidney or remortgage your house.…

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Why You Should Get a Gaming Console Instead of a Gaming PC

Why You Should Get a Gaming Console Instead of a Gaming PC

It is tough to decide whether to get a gaming console or a gaming PC. Not everyone has the luxury to buy both.

If you are buying a gaming PC, you will notice that just about every other PC manufacturer would claim to be the best in the world, claiming reliability with high-tech and cutting edge developments, plus functionality and style. Making your choice among thousands of PCs and from a number of manufacturers, difficult and confusing.

On top of the brands to choose from, you also need to consider the gaming PC’s specifications. When buying a gaming PC, you must pick the right graphic card, CPU, hard drive, RAM, mother board, monitor and more. Buying the best specification will burn a hole in your wallet. If you don’t get the best money can buy today, three years down the road your gaming PC could not play the new game that was released yesterday.

Even though buying a PC allows future upgrade easily, you have to equip yourself with the information. Not only you need to know the specifications of the hardware, but you also must know whether the hardware you are upgrading would work with existing ones. Mixing the wrong hardware could easily cause your gaming PC to hang while playing. Technology changes very fast and based on current trends, when upgrading your CPU or graphic cards, you may have to upgrade your mother board as well. It is like changing the whole set.

You must also consider whether upgrading will void existing warranty or not. Some manufacturers allow upgrade as long you go back to them.

That is why you should get a gaming console instead of a gaming PC. It takes out the stress of evaluating and selecting the gaming PC that meets your requirement.

If you plan to purchase a gaming console, you only have three choices at the moment. Either a Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Wii or a Sony PlayStation 3. Just list what you want from a gaming console and do a comparison of the three platforms. For comparison, I will use Sony PlayStation 3 as an example.

In term of pricing, it is cheaper. A Sony PlayStation 3 price is 50% lesser than a basic gaming PC.

Playing games on a gaming console is plug and play. If you buy a game for your PC, it must be installed first before it can be played. The installation process will take a while, and it will be longer if your hardware is old. On a PlayStation 3, just push in the Blue Ray disc and you are ready to play. You don’t need a huge hard disk for your games. The only thing that will slow you down is when there is an online update, and you don’t have a broadband.

You don’t have to worry about upgrading your gaming console. PS3 was launched in 2006 and after 5 years (2011), you could …

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Social Media Tips – Twitter at a Speed of 140 Characters Per Tweet

Social Media Tips – Twitter at a Speed of 140 Characters Per Tweet

Twitter seems to have become the new kid on the block that everyone wants to know. It is being touted as one of the best tools to use for customer communications, developing relationships and creating a mass of followers within your niche.

With today’s economy, entrepreneurs attempting business startups, are finding social media tools and Twitter to be some of the best to use. Besides that, they find that their price is pretty good too. Nothing! What this does for guerrilla marketers and those starting on a shoestring budget is to compete with companies who are much larger and have treasure troves of marketing budget dollars. With so many resources and tools out to be incorporated with Twitter, it has become very easy to keep on top of who is saying what about you and your company.

Working within the Internet marketing and social media industry day in and day out, people are always asking questions as to how they can harness the full power of Twitter.

Research by The Internet Marketing Professor has found that businesses are using Twitter more and more as an effective (and cheap) customers relations tool.

Here are a few tips, techniques and strategies to help you and your business get the most out of the Twittervers:

Upload a photo into your profile page. Your followers and anyone reading your tweets love to see who they are communicating with. Don’t want to use your regular mug shot? Use a business logo instead. However, marketing research has shown that using a professional photo creates a higher following. People like to put a face to the tweet. And that is the cornerstone of social media; building the relationship.

What are you doing now? Let your followers know what is happening with your company, product launches, new hires, and relevant information you think they would enjoy. The important thing is that you post something several times a day. Just keep it within 140 characters.

What is it that you know anyway? I bet you are an expert on something. It may even be what your business is centered around. Let people know. Don’t know what to tweet about? Have your blog posts automatically added to your Twitter feed. Your followers will still feel connected.

Are all of your Bio fields filled? you know all of those little fields you hate to fill out on profile pages? Guess what? This is how people find you. Make sure you have all of the fields completed with as much information as they will allow. Make sure you use keywords related to your business. Add a link to your blog and company website too.

Billed it and they will come! Using the tools Twitter offers, it will check all of your email lists for people who are also Twitter users. This is an easy technique to build your followers list. Once you follow them, more than likely they will …

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Games On The Go With Gaming Laptop

Games On The Go With Gaming Laptop

In the recent days, technology has been making a tremendous improvement. First where the limitation to play a game was restricted to a place has now changed to mobile way of playing. You need not sit at a place still to enjoy. Now you can go to your favorite hang outs and play to your heart’s content.

This is possible because of the gaming laptop, which is meant for the sole purpose of gaming. When laptops came into the market, their only function was professional use. The gaming laptop has changed the definition. You can play anywhere, anytime. If you are always on the move, then this laptop serves your purpose of relaxation.

It is not very easy to select a laptop. There are so many different types of laptops available in the market. They have so many features that it is impossible for a first time buyer to be able to choose one of them. You can always remember that you should not go on looks of the laptop. Keep in mind that looks are deceptive. A laptop that is looking good or cool might not have the best of features.

Of course, you will buy a laptop suiting your budget. First look at the price of the laptop and then its features. Select the features that you think are going to be essential. You can always take the help of the shopkeeper there to inform you about the gaming laptop that you want to buy.

a good gaming laptop can cost you around 1000 USD. If budget is not a barrier, then you can get a laptop with high end specifications for 2000 to 3000 USD. If the barrier is there, then you can get it even for 800 USD with a little compromise on the features because these laptops are not able to meet the today’s visually demanded games as the feature might not support a heavy file.

The most important thing while choosing your gaming laptop will be to see its graphic card. a dedicated graphic card can be of 512 MB at least, only then it is a good graphic card. Then there is the processor which should have the processing speed of at least 2 GB. There are dual core processor laptops that can support high graphics game smoothly. The most famous manufacturers are the INTEL and AMD. The only thing you should not forget is that the processor should provide a good processing speed. Only then your money has received its worth.…

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Comparison Shopping – The Key To Get The Best Gaming Laptop

Comparison Shopping – The Key To Get The Best Gaming Laptop

Are you not able to decide on a good and reliable gaming laptop? While shopping you need to make smart and wise decisions. The computer market is a very competitive market. Brands like Dell, HP, Sony, LG, Samsung, etc, try their best to attract their customers through their advertisements. You should keep in mind that the ads are only meant for attracting people. In their advertisements, they only highlight the key features of the system and do not talk much about other features.

Comparison shopping is the key to get the best gaming laptop for you. All you need to do is to search for a good comparison site for laptops and then go ahead and do comparison shopping. Since you are looking for a gaming notebook, it is advisable to looking for sites that lists all the gaming notebooks along with their prices. Also the site should allow you to do comparison.

The things you need to check while buying a gaming notebook include the processor speed, RAM, screen size, graphics card, battery life, and hard drive space. Each component is manufactured by different manufacturers. For example, you can find notebooks that are powered with processors from different brands like Intel and AMD. AMD systems come for cheap as compared Intel notebooks. Graphics card which is one of the most integral components of the laptops, they are also available from different brands like ATI and Nvidia.

You need to visit a gaming laptop comparison site that lets you compare all the major notebooks. When you compare laptops, you will be able to know which laptop and is available at what price. Some comparison sites also all you to customize the laptop. Customization also helps in saving lot of money. For instance, if you have found a laptop that has good features, however, you do not like the graphics card that comes along with it, you can go for a lower-end graphics card and get the same laptop at a lower price. You can customize other components of the system also such as the processors peed, hard disk drive, warranty and so on.

Comparison shopping will let you find out the best gaming laptop according to your budget. Some people prefer to do comparison shopping by visiting a computer shop personally. The same can at the comfort of your home by visiting a comparison shopping website.…