General Articles

Website Development for Non-Profit Organizations

Not-for-profit organizations are important in today’s society. What makes a non-profit organization different from other types of businesses is that in order to retain their status they are unable to show any type of profit. This does not mean that this type of business does not experience profit, in fact non-profit businesses can and do have profits. However, a profit experienced by a not-profit organization is called a surplus. Additionally, unlike for-profit organizations the surplus can not be used to enrich its shareholders or its owners. Instead the surplus of funds must be used only in the pursuit of its goals. Non-profit organizations are generally exemplary in nature, such as a charitable organization. These organizations are exempt from any type of taxes including income taxes and property taxes. However, non-profit organizations are generally dependent upon grants, endowments and charitable contributions. Because of this it is important that non-profit organizations create and maintain a website that will help to give them a presence in the virtual world. Columbus website development has been successful in helping companies through this delicate process.

The successful creation of a website entails several things. First of all a website must be well-designed. When developing a website, companies must decide what it is that they want their website to accomplish. Websites can be created to be interactive or purely informational in nature. An interactive website is one that allows the user to perform certain actions, such as making a donation, managing an account or sending an email to the company. Conversely, an informational website will only provide information. The website may be several pages longs, but when a company has an information only website the customer or client must contact the company through some other means.

It is also imperative that the website that you are developing be easy to use and easy to navigate. It should be bright and written in a font that is simple to understand. Navigation of the website is very important. Users should find the task of locating information on your site straightforward and uncomplicated. The site should feature navigation links along the top, bottom or sides for easy access. All of the links on your site should be in good working order. Finally, the site should feature technology that is trustworthy and reliable. Do not clutter your website with a lot of annoying pop up ads and make sure that your pages load quickly to ensure a hassle-free experience for visitors.…

Pinterest Pin

With over 21 million visitors a month (and growing), Pinterest has already become a major contender in the social media arena. This powerful tool is a new and exciting way to surge your visibility on the internet. Considering the visual nature of Pinterest pins and that the site is still new enough to be exciting to the younger crowd, there are a lot of possibilities for you to use your Pinterest pin as a marketing tool.

Use your website

Because Pinterest pins are graphics based, the best way to drive people back to your site is to pepper it with interesting videos, photos, infographics – even things such as charts and diagrams. Every time you post something on your website or blog, include a pinable graphic. As potential clients find you via Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and others, your images may be pinned over and over on their Boards.

To make it as easy as possible to get Pinterest repins, include “Pin It” buttons on your site. This encourages visitors to share what they find interesting on the spot. These buttons and the code for them are free on the Pinterest site.

Then, of course, create targeted Boards on your Pinterest account and pin these pages yourself. Once you attract some Pinterest followers, they will begin to further spread your message by repining and liking your posts.

Keep current

While Pinterest is still fairly new, you can tell it is going to continue to grow in popularity by the number of applications that are already in place. Make your site Pinterest repins friendly. Don’t forget the Pinterest site itself – there you will find several resources for building successful Boards.

Get Pinterest followers

The most proven way to attract and retain Pinterest followers is to keep pinning interesting, relevant content with good descriptions and links. This is also the best way to get those Pinterest likes and repins that are so valuable.

If you are just starting out, you may consider purchasing chunks of followers. Buying Pinterest likes and Pinterest followers is different than doing the same on any other social media site in that your new followers will be specifically interested in your Boards. Other social media sites often attract a lot of “junk” followers who truly are not interested in your content so much as they are interested in having high numbers of followers themselves. Pinterest does not have this type of culture, and the users tend to be more interested in new and fun things to repin on their Boards than they are in sheer volume of followers.

The pay-for-followers programs that are now available generally offer a service that connects those interested in your content to your specific Boards. Your potential Pinterest followers have the option of following your entire account or one or more of your Boards. Even if they do not follow you, they may still choose to like or repin one of your pins, which is still valuable. Most services only count …

Business Transparency – Is Your Company As Transparent As You Think?

Each day I read the headlines and often learn something new and valuable. But, the other day, as I was looking over the headlines of the day, I came across a post, What social media words do you want to retire? I found the content of this post to be a bit off. The author of this post, Danny Brown, discusses five of his least favorite social media words and phrases and why he dislikes each.

One of his disliked phrases, which actually stuck out to me as an important phrase, was “Transparency is key.”

Here is Danny’s reasoning behind why this phrase, out of many others, should be “put into the social media retirement home.”

“Transparency is key. Unless it’s okay for us to lie about ourselves and make us sound more interesting than we are with tall tales and over-hyped statistics, then isn’t this a given in everything we do, and not just restricted to social media?”

Now, I understand that when people throw this term around without understanding what this phrase truly means, it can be frustrating. But, by no means do I think that “Transparency is key” should be thrown into the social media retirement home, and here’s why:

I most definitely see Danny’s point about overused social media phrases and words. Many people have the same exact point of view. Sometimes it can get extremely annoying when people throw around phrases without understanding the true meaning behind them.

However, I do think that, if used in the correct context and backed by intelligent ideas, “Transparency is key” holds true. I would have to strongly disagree that transparency is a given in everything we do. Transparency is much more than simply telling the truth about your business and using zero exaggeration. In my opinion, understanding what “transparency” means in a business environment goes way beyond being truthful in your business practices.

Many business owners and entrepreneurs often don’t understand exactly what it means to be “transparent.” The truth is, transparency can come in a variety of different forms. A face behind a brand, a strong and clear business message (on all marketing materials), and even a credo or philosophy section on a website are all forms of transparency. These elements enable your prospects and current customers to connect with the brand on a personal level.

And, often, strategically expressing your business transparency is an acquired skill. In fact, transparency is a branch of marketing. Is everyone educated in the effective practices of marketing? Probably not. So then, why is being transparent in our business practices “a given,” as Danny says.

When you throw “Transparency is key” around without understanding the defining aspects of it, you are setting yourself up for speculation. In other words, transparency is not something you say you are. Rather, it’s something you illustrate through effective brand messaging.

Respectfully, I think to say that “transparency is a given” is an incorrect assumption.…

Social Media Consultants Are Of Great Help

The possibilities for marketing a business seem to be endless and that every turn brings about new ways of improving the way businesses market their products. Indeed, these possibilities give way to so much opportunity for business owners for they would be able to explore the many ways of earning more money for the business and could even think of investing in more ways than one. Social media marketing is one of the possibilities in business marketing that paved the way for businesses to be online and create a stable web presence for their business.

Social media consultants know for a fact that social network marketing has so much to offer. In fact, it is the kind of marketing strategy that can be further divided into different types each one bringing in more chances of earning more than what most business men hoped for. In fact, there sites encourage people to give their businesses a new light and make more people understand how their business works and what they can still do to improve it.

Social media marketing is done only by the experts. These people can help you build up a profile that will knock out all the competition that you have. Social network consultants understand the need for an efficient profile to actually make the whole marketing plan work. They know that a good profile should contain relevant information about the product which can then be their way to link people to visit the main site of the business. This process has worked for a lot of businesses and surprisingly, they credit their web presence and the stable web traffic that is going into the sites to the effort of the social network consultants that they are working with.

Perhaps a business owner who is having second thoughts about spending on the salary of social media consultant should even think twice of doubting it because it might just be the best decision they have ever made for their business. Well, they can let go of these experts once they themselves are able to learn the quirks of doing the marketing.…

Gaming Desktop PCs

People who possess gaming desktop PCs are true gamers. Most people enjoy playing games, but then there are the extreme gamers how spend practically all of their waking life in front of the screen. Having a gaming desktop proves to the gaming community that you’re a real gamer, like a status symbol. Possessing the latest gaming desktop will gain you respect in the community as well as give you the best tool for playing the latest games.

When it comes to deciding on your rig, you will probably be surprised at the amount of choices there are. You could in fact design and build your own machine from scratch which will give you complete control over your requirements. Having said that, there are a wide range of gaming PCs available to suit all needs and prices, so you could just save yourself the bother of building one.

The difference between one gaming desktop PC and another can differ greatly speed and ability which can effect playability. It’s incredible how complex video games are becoming nowadays. Compare how realistic games are today compared to the early years of gaming and you’ll see a huge difference. When computer technology advances, it’s only natural to expect games to do so too.

It’s important to avoid picking a rig which is capable of only playing present releases on the market. You will only find that in less than a year that your computer will not be able handle the new games on the market with high settings. Barriers are meant to be broken and game designers are always going to be pushing technology to the limit.

You want to buy a gaming computer that can play current games on the market as well as future releases. Buying a desktop gaming machine means that you can upgrade parts, so that it is always up-to-date and powerful enough to handle new games. But it makes more sense to buy a new rig that can last a few years before it needs doing so.

If you want the best gaming experience, make sure that you buy a computer which is actually designed for playing games. Don’t just buy a regular PC even if it has high specs. For occasional gamers who don’t need a gaming machine, a regular high spec desktop is fine for most games running on lower settings, but for hardcore gamers avoid this. A regular PC, even if it is expensive will probably not have the best components installed for running games.

This is not to say that you won’t still enjoy playing games, but you won’t be playing them as they were intended to be. Desktops are great for upgrading, but if portability is essential for you, a gaming laptop is an alternative. Dell and Alienware manufacture a number of gaming laptops.

Want to make your gaming the ultimate experience? How about a big flat LCD monitor to bring more life to graphics? Perhaps one of the key components to …

How to Build a Strong Pinterest Profile for Your Food Business

Your food business needs to be on Pinterest. If you’re like most business owners, you probably think Pinterest and social media as a whole is a waste of time. Well it’s not.

If you don’t already know, Pinterest is the newest social site to hit the mainstream and it can be addictive. Most of the users are women, so if your product or service is marketed to women, you need to be on Pinterest now.

Before you get overwhelmed with yet another social media darling, take a few minutes to build yourself a strong Pinterest profile and a strategy for the best way to use it for your food business.

#1 Separate Your Personal Pinterest from Your Business Pinterest

You can have more than one Pinterest account. Simply send yourself an invitation so you can have a personal account and a business one. Do this as soon as possible because it takes a while for the team at Pinterest to send you the invite.

#2 Create a Username That Prospects and Customers Will Recognize

People will search for you on Pinterest. If you already have a Facebook and/or Twitter business profile try to keep them consistent with your Pinterest profile. If you can’t get the exact name try adding “biz” to the end of the name. This will create continuity and make it easier for people to find you on any given site.

#3 Add an Image of Your Logo

Include an image of your logo if it is something people will recognize right away once they land on your Pinterest page. If you don’t have a logo you can create an image of the business name, use the header from your website, or even use a picture of your flagship product. If you’re a service provider or if there is a face to your business (like Martha or Rachel), upload a picture of that person. Just make sure that whatever you use, it is consistent through all social media websites.

#4 Your About Paragraph

Add a short description in your “About” page. Instead of listing your bio or a bunch of website addresses, keep it short and emphasize the benefits of your product or business. For example, if your food business is dedicated to gourmet party appetizers your bio might be as simple as “Gourmet appetizers delivered right to your door.” Or “The easy way to serve hand-crafted appetizers at your next 20 minutes or less.”

#5 Add Follow Buttons

When you’re creating your profile you have the option to add:

A� Your website

A� Your Twitter profile

A� Your Facebook profile

They’ll show up as buttons under your picture on your profile page. Fellow pinners can then click on any button and be taken to the respective site. Bonus: When you “pin” something you can click the Twitter button to tweet it or click the Facebook button and post your pin to Facebook in seconds!

As you’re …

Processor Review – Intel Core i3 Desktop CPU

If you’re looking for a good entry level computer, a good bet is to focus in on systems using the Intel core i3 desktop PC processors. There are a wide variety of these systems and they should generally be towards the low end of the price spectrum. Keep in mind these computers will do all right for basic gaming but any hardcore gamer will probably be dissatisfied with the lack of higher end performance. For basic home computing it’s plenty of processing power though, and can easily handle everything email, web browsing and other common uses.

The Intel core i3 desktop PC processors are also great for office use. Systems built on this platform should breeze through most basic applications and can even handle some of the more processor intensive ones. For artistic work or graphical design though, it might be prudent to move up at least to Intel’s core i5 processor in order to get good performance from the more processor intensive apps. Office applications like Word and Excel are not among these however, and run great on the core i3.

Not all systems are created equal though, even with the same processor. Two different systems might both be built on Intel core i3 desktop PC processors with the same CPU speed but could offer different amounts of RAM, hard drive space, or additional features like re-writable DVD drives or even technical phone support. Don’t shop on price alone, but consider these “extras” and how important (or unimportant) each one might realistically be to you. For instance, if you love to take family photos and bring your camcorder everywhere then that extra hard drive space could be important for storing photos and videos.

Other considerations might be more specific to your situation. If you are looking for an ultra-small desktop PC, perhaps to keep in the kitchen, then that’s an important detail that can help narrow your selection considerably. Likewise if you plan to burn a lot of DVD’s then you should get a writable DVD drive, if you will be doing database processing or photo editing then more RAM could be helpful, etc. There are so many options available these days that it’s almost always in your best interest to take your time choosing a system and be a little picky. Even if you’re not sure what you’re being picky about at first, after comparing a number of similar systems you will get a feel for what one may offer that others don’t. When you get that feeling you know there’s a good chance you’ve found the right computer for you.…

Gaming Computers

HP has introduced his ultra gaming computers BlackBird 002, Dell is well known for the XPS series, and Northwest will give anyone a great wow with the high end configurations for the most exacting gamers. Alienware, the expert in implementing the newest components in laptops or desktops, he could not just stay and watch so Area-51 ALX gaming computers have been launched.

With a NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI graphics card on the motherboard, the Intel Core 2 Extreme with Quad Core technology processor could not miss, which runs at a 3.0 Ghz frequency and having a level 2 cache with 8 MB memory and a 1333 Mhz FSB. And in order to offer more power and performance, the processor was over clocked until 3.33 Ghz, the manufacturer providing a maximum stability in the conditions provided by the warranty.

Alienware Area-51 ALX

In the standard version, the DDR2 RAM memory at 800 Mhz is only 2 GB and can be extended up to 4 GB. For storage in order for you to save movie collections, music and especially games, Alienware prepared a few pleasant surprises. You can choose from 7200 rpm or 10.000 rpm HDDs, in single mode or RAID 0 and 1 matrix, with a Serial ATA2 at 3 Gb/s interface. The surprise is represented by the possibility to mount four hard drive disks, each having 1 TB, reaching an impressive value of 4 TB. The standard optical unit is a DVD RW Dual Layer 20x, but you can choose from the LightScribe technology or even 2x Blue-Ray Reader / Writer. The long forgotten floppy has been replaced by a 28 in 1 card reader.

At what does a gamer first look when buying a system? The video cards of course. The standard Area-51 ALX gaming computers come equipped with two NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX video card mounted in SLI mode with 2 x 768 MB video memory, four DVI out, two S-Video out, support for the newest DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.0. The surprises are not stopping here because you can install in SLI the two GeForce 8800 ULTRA, the “doped” version of the 8800 GTX graphic chip.

Not even the sound is below standards. You are provided with a standard Surround card on 24 bits and 8 channels. You can also install a Sound Blaster X-Fi with 64 MB XRAM audio memory. When talking about connectivity, Alienware excels again. Two High Performance Gigabit Ethernet ports, two FireWire 400 ports (one on the frontal panel), 8 High Speed USB 2.0 (two for a fast access on the frontal panel), audio connectors for the speakers, headset and microphone and the video mentioned above.

Alienware Area-51 ALX

The case’s aspect is amazing. The frontal panel presents numerous blue LEDs which can be configured, and the chrome elements, the opening system of the side panel and front panel which hides the optical drive, like the Alienware logo hive a plus of originality, impressing through each detail.

The ALX system is …

Do Twitter Marketing Tools Work?

Do Twitter marketing tools work? Before we ask this question, first we have to ask, “Does Twitter marketing work?” If the answer to the first question is “Yes” then the tool that best utilizes Twitter’s marketing capabilities could yield real results.

The Social Media Marketing Industry Report recently released by Michael A. Stelzner surveyed 900 marketers to determine if social media are resulting in actual increased business for online marketers. According to survey results, the answer is, “Yes!”

When using social media marketing tools such as Twitter (Twitter was ranked #1 most popular among these tools), marketers recorded increased exposure, traffic, search engine rank, and one in two generated targeted leads.

So do Twitter marketing tools work? If marketing with Twitter works to begin with, it stands to reason that a marketing tool that capitalizes on the marketing properties of Twitter could indeed be very effective. But exactly how do these tools make Twitter a profitable marketing platform?

Twitter marketing tools work by using native Twitter techniques, related services and applications to generate a mass of followers, develop niches of those followers to target with content, and use automated feeds to drive targeted traffic to links contained within Twitter updates.

Some Twitter marketers have tens of thousands of followers and can motivate segments of those followers to act based on information contained in their updates. One of the key actions desired by marketers is to get followers to click on links that lead to their sites. If interested people visit their sites, those people are more likely to take further action, which in turn increases conversion rates.

According to some successful Twitter marketers, such as Bill Crosby, creator of Twitter Traffic Machine, feeds can generate 1-2% of clicks to site or affiliate links. With a mass of followers and targeted feeds, this can produce a definite increase in traffic and qualified leads.

Based on these kinds of reports, Twitter should not be overlooked as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. But which Twitter marketing tool does the best job? What is the best way to compare Twitter marketing tools and select which is the best fit for your online marketing objectives?

A good place to evaluate these tools is a site that has conducted multiple Twitter product reviews and lists important features of reviewed products in a side-by-side comparison format. Review sites can be found by searching Google or Squidoo for “Twitter product reviews” and selecting the sites that review the top marketing products.

The best tool should have an easy setup, utilize free Twitter services and applications, work quickly to generate income, and ultimately develop into an automated system. Most good marketing tools can be purchased at a reasonable price, for around $27.00.

There are an increasing number of marketing tools for Twitter available, and many of them use similar techniques, so regardless of which tool you choose, the most important thing is to get the basic information you need to make Twitter a …

How to Choose a Laptop

You must first determine the purposes for which a laptop will be used, it can be a mini-notebook for travel or gaming laptop for computer entertainment. Functional capabilities of laptops are conventionally divided into several basic types.

The first group – office laptops. Modern laptops of this type were most widespread in many countries. Office laptops, which are important for each successful person, have the typical characteristics of a stationary personal computer, well designed appearance and the necessary software. Best laptops for the office can be used for seminars, presentations and other activities requiring the use of a laptop as a portable device. This may be the cheapest laptop, or the most expensive notebook – depending on the status and needs of the owner. An employee of the company can easily take notebook home to finish the job. Most buy a notebook for their professional company to get absolute independence and more freedom of thought of their subordinates.

The next category of laptops is equipped with a powerful battery, which is achieved through long battery life. This is a necessary condition for using a laptop on a long trip. Choosing a laptop of this type is preferred by people whose work relates to business or frequent relocation. Practical materials from which such notebooks are made, allow to work with them in difficult conditions of environmental exposure. These are the laptops for modern business people, who choose mobility as a way of life.

Mini-notebooks are the cheapest laptops, they also have limited capacity. At present, buying a cheap laptop is easy. Any notebook shop offers a wide choice of devices of this class. If you prefer a budget notebook, it is worth to pay attention to netbooks. Compact size (diagonal screen only seven inches) is a character of netbook devices that occupy an intermediate position between the laptops and compact personal computers. Despite its modest dimensions and low weight, netbook has impressive technical capabilities.

Promo laptops have original design, which distinguishes them in a separate class. They successfully emphasize the social status of its owner. For manufacturing and finishing of fashion notebooks unusual materials are used: leather, steel, aluminum, carbon, precious metals, etc. With their help, the manufacturer demonstrates the exclusivity of a particular model. Quite often, branding laptops are produced in limited quantity. A notebook of this class can be afforded only by wealthy people who choose stylish look and functionality. Also in this class you can often find touch notebooks – one of the latest developments, which are used in computers.

Gaming notebooks allow its owner to fully play computer games. Laptops for gaming are equipped with powerful graphics cards and processors. Their aggressive design often attracts the attention of young audiences.

Notebooks with a touch screen – a new word in the technology development of the new century. This category notebook combines the functions of tablet PCs and normal laptop. Users of a touch laptop can enter the necessary information, using only the …