Software That Helps Small Biz Owners Use Social Media To Stay Connected With Clients - The Writers For Hire

SOFTWARE THAT HELPS SMALL BIZ OWNERS USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO STAY CONNECTED WITH CLIENTS Created by Sean and Wintress Odom, Socialot is web-based software built specifically for small-business owners who are struggling to efficiently use social media to engage their customers. Sean Odom notes, You dont have to be a social media marketing guru to use it. You dont even need a marketing department. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection. The software is unique in the marketplace because it helps business owners use social media to stay connected with clients even if these owners know little to nothing about social media. The inspiration for Socialot came directly from small business owners. We knew we could use social media to connect with customers, but it was difficult to find time to do it efficiently, says Wintress. We wanted a way to centralize our activities and quickly use social media for lead follow up, marketing, and branding then move on with our daily activities. Socialot provides several tools that allow social media novices to leverage social media. Users can: Keep engaged with clients through a contact/lead management system featuring a social media interface. Monitor the Internet for mentions of their company name (such as reviews or news). Share promotions, news releases, messages, pictures, or videos to multiple social media sites at once. Schedule posts to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn days or months in advance. Share positive reviews across multiple social media sites. Socialot gives business owners a quick and easy way to manage multiple social media accounts such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube from a single site. With one click, a small-business owner can post updates, share news, and monitor their online business reputation. A flagship feature is Socialots Contact Management System (CMS) with built-in social features. Socialots CMS has many of the features of a standard CMS: keeping track of follow-up notes and allowing a business owner to set follow-up reminders, for example. Yet, the system also integrates social media. This feature makes it easy for owners to use social networking sites for individualized promotions or friendly touch points. Socialot lets you stay in touch with past, current, and potential customers in a non-salesy way, says Wintress. Say you havent heard from a past client in a while and you just want to remind him that youre out there. Or you made contact with a prospect a few weeks ago. A call or email might seem like youre fishing for a sale. But if you use Socialot to like his Facebook post or comment on his Twitter feed youre connecting without being pushy. Its a great way to follow up without really following up.' Other Socialot features provide more ways to keep owners in touch with clients and prospects on a daily basis. Call for information. Socialot.com goes live on July 17, 2012. For more information about Socialot.com, please contact Wintress Odom at [emailprotected]

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - Profile

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - Profile Why Bashar al-Assad Matters: Syrias Hafez al-Assad, in power since June 10, 2000, is one of the Middle Easts most ruthless, autocratic, minority rulers in one of the worlds most closed societies. Assad also maintains Syrias pivotal role on the Middle Easts strategic map: He is an ally of Irans Shiite theocracy, he supports and arms Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, thus maintaining a level of enmity toward Israel that so far has precluded peace: Israel has occupied Syrias Golan Heights since the 1967 war. Presumed a reformer when he took Power, Bashar al-Assad has proved no less repressive than his father. Bashar al-Assads Early Life: Bashar al-Assad was born on Sept. 11, 1965, in Damascus, the Syrian capital, the second son of Hafez al-Assad (1930-2000), who had tyrannically ruled Syria since 1971, and Anisa Makhlouf Bashar. He had three brothers and a sister. He spent years training as an eye doctor, first at a military hospital in Damascus then in London, at St. Marys Hospital. He was not being groomed for the presidency: his oldest brother Basil was. In January 1994, Basil, who led Syrias presidential guard, died in a car crash in Damascus. Bashar was immediately and unexpectedly thrust into the limelightand the succession line. Bashar al-Assads Personality: Bashar al-Assad was not groomed to be a leader. Where his brother Basil was gregarious, outgoing, charismatic, arrogant, Dr. Assad, as he was referred to for a while, was retiring, shy, and appearing to have few of his fathers wiles or will to poweror ruthlessness. Friends admit, The Economist wrote in June 2000, that he cuts a rather meek and awkward figure, unlikely to inspire the same terror and admiration as his handsome, athletic, outgoing and ruthless brother. Basil was the gangster type, says one Syrian. Bashar is much more quiet and thoughtful. Early Years of Power: Bashar al-Assad had been running a private medical practice. But when his brother died, his father summoned him from London, sent him to a military academy north of Damascus, and started preparing him for the reins of power- which he took when Hafez al-Assad died on June 10, 2000. Bashar has gradually turned into a younger version of his father. I have a lot of respect for experience, Bashar al-Assad said just as he was taking power, and I am going to try always to acquire it. Hes lived up to that pledge. He suggested that hd relax Syrias repressive police state, even explore political reforms. He barely did. Toying With the United States and Israel: Almost from the beginning of Bashar al-Assad reign, theres been a yo-yo effect in his relations with the United States and Israelimplying engagement during one phase only to retreat into intransigence and extremism the next. Whether its a strategy or a lack of self-confidence might seem unclear until the approach is seen in the context of how Bashars father maintained power: not by innovating, not by daring, but by keeping the opposition off balance, by undermining expectations rather than living up to them. Theres been a see-saw effect on two fronts since 2000, without as yet producing lasting results. Bashar al-Assads See-Saw: Cooperation With the U.S.: Shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Assad proved to be a relatively reliable ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, cooperating with U.S. intelligence and, in more sinister ways, lending his prisons to the Bush administrations rendition program. It was in Assads prisons that Canadian national Maher Arar was tortured, at the administrations behest, even after Mahar was found to be innocent of any ties to terrorism. Assads cooperation, like Muammar el-Qaddafis,was not out of appreciation for the west but out of fear that al-Qaeda would undermine his regime. Bashar al-Assads See-Saw: Talks With Israel: Assad has similarly see-sawed with Israel over peace talks and the resolution of the Golan Heights occupation. In late 2003, Assad, in an interview with The New York Times, appeared ready to negotiate: Some people say there are Syrian conditions, and my answer is no; we dont have Syrian conditions. What Syria says is this: negotiations should be resumed from the point at which they had stopped simply because we have achieved a great deal in these negotiations. If we dont say this, it means we want to go back to point zero in the peace process. But similar suggestions were made over subsequent years, to no end. Syrias Nuclear Reactor: In September 2007, Israel bombed a remote area of northeast Syria, along the Euphrates River, where, Israel and the United States alleged, North Korea was helping Syria build a plutonium-based nuclear plant that would have been capable of producing nuclear weapons. Syria denied the allegations. Writing in The New Yorker in February 2008, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the evidence was circumstantial but seemingly damning. But Hersh raised serious doubt about the certainty that it was a nuclear reactor, even though he conceded that Syria was cooperating with North Korea on something military. Bashar al-Assad and Reform: As with his stance toward Israel and the United States, Bashar al-Assads promises of reform have been many, but his retreats from those promises have been just as frequent. Theres been a few Syrian springs where dissenters and human rights advocates were given a longer leash. But those brief springs never lasted. Assads promises of local elections have not been followed through, though financial restrictions on the economy were lifted early in his reign and helped the Syrian economy grow faster. In 2007, Assad held a sham referendum extending his presidency seven years. Bashar al-Assad and Arab Revolutions: As of early 2011, Bashar al-Assad was firmly planted on Middle Eastern soil as one of the regions most ruthless tyrants. He brought Syrias 29-year occupation of Lebanon to an end in 2005, but only after the likely Syrian- and Hezbollah-backed assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri triggered the Cedar Revolution on Lebanons streets and drove the Syrian army out. Syria has since reasserted its power over Lebanon, re-infiltrating the countrys intelligence services and, ultimately, reasserting Syrian hegemony when Hezbollah brought the government down and brokered its re-institution, with Hezbollah at the helm. Assad is not merely a tyrant. Like Bahrains Al Khalifa ruling family, which is Sunni and ruling, illegitimately, over a majority of Shiites, Assad is an Alawite, a break-away Shiite sect. Barely 6 percent of Syrias population is Alawite. The majority is Sunni, with Kurds, Shiites and Christians forming minorities of their own. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in January 2011, Assad said downplayed the risks of revolution in his country: I am not talking here on behalf of the Tunisians or the Egyptians. I am talking on behalf of the Syrians, he said. It is something we always adopt. We have more difficult circumstances than most of the Arab countries but in spite of that Syria is stable. Why? Because you have to be very closely linked to the beliefs of the people. This is the core issue. When there is divergence between your policy and the peoples beliefs and interests, you will have this vacuum that creates disturbance. Assads certainties were soon proven wrong as disturbances erupted in various parts of the countryand Assad assaulted them with his police and military, murdering many protesters, arresting hundreds, and silencing Internet communications that have helped organize protests across the Middle East. In short, Assad is a flirt, not a statesman, a tease, not a visionary. Its worked so far. Its not likely to work for ever.

Definition and Examples of Euro-English

Definition and Examples of Euro-English Euro-English is an emerging variety of the English language used by speakers in the European Union whose mother tongue is not English. Gnutzmann et al. point out that it is not clear, as yet, whether English in Europe will in the foreseeable future become a language in its own right, one that is owned by its multilingual speakers, or whether the orientation towards native-speaker language norms will continue to persist (Communicating Across Europe in  Attitudes Towards English in Europe, 2015). Observations Two foreign girlsnannies? tourists?one German, one Belgian (?), talking in English beside me on the next table, unconcerned by my drinking and my proximity. . . . These girls are the new internationalists, roving the world, speaking good but accented English to each other, a kind of flawless Euro-English: I am very bad with separation, the German girl says as she stands up to leave. No true English speaker would express the idea in this way, but it is perfectly comprehensible. (William Boyd, Notebook No. 9. The Guardian, July 17, 2004)   The Forces Shaping Euro-English [T]he evidence is accumulating that a Euro-English is growing. It is being shaped by two forces, one top-down and the other bottom-up.The top-down force comes from the rules and regulations of the European Union. There is an influential English Style Guide issued by the European Commission. This makes recommendations about how English should be written in official documents from the member states. On the whole it follows standard British English usage, but in cases where British English has alternatives, it makes decisionssuch as recommending the spelling judgment, not judgement...More important than these top-down linguistic pressures, I suspect, are the bottom-up trends which can be heard around Europe these days. Ordinary Europeans who have to use English to each other every day are voting with their mouths and developing their own preferences. . . . In sociolinguistics, the technical term for this interaction is accommodation. People who get on with each other find that their acc ents move closer together. They accommodate to each other...I dont think Euro-English exists yet, as a variety comparable to American English or Indian English or Singlish. But the seeds are there. It will take time. The new Europe is still an infant, linguistically. (David Crystal, By Hook or by Crook: A Journey in Search of English. Overlook, 2008) Characteristics of Euro-English [I]n  2012 a report found that 38% of the EU’s citizens speak [English] as a foreign language. Nearly all of those working at EU institutions in Brussels do. What would happen to English without the English? A sort of Euro-English, influenced by foreign languages, is already in use. Many Europeans use control to mean monitor because  contrà ´ler  has that meaning in French. The same goes for assist, meaning to attend (assister  in French,  asistir  in Spanish). In other cases, Euro-English is just a naive but incorrect extension of English grammatical rules: many nouns in English that don’t properly pluralise with a final s are merrily used in Euro-English, such as informations and competences. Euro-English also uses words like actor, axis or agent well beyond their narrow range in native English...It could be that whatever native-speakers might consider correct, Euro-English, second language or no, is becoming a dialect fluently spoken by a large group of people who understand each other perfectly well. Such is the case of English in India or South Africa, where a small group of native speakers is dwarfed by a far larger number of second-language speakers. One effect m ay be that this dialect would lose some of the tricky bits of English, such as the future perfect progressive (We will have been working) that aren’t strictly necessary. (Johnson, English Becomes Esperanto. The Economist, April 23, 2016) Euro-English as a Lingua Franca - Tramp . . . could be the first English-language glossy magazine aimed at people who speak Euro-English as a second language. (Social Vacuum. The Sunday Times, April 22, 2007)- In the case of English in Europe, there seems little doubt that it will continue to increase its position as the dominant lingua franca. Whether this will result in varieties of European Englishes, or in a single variety of Euro-English being used as a lingua franca can only be determined by further research. The extent to which it is stifling (Gà ¶rlach, 2002:1) other European languages by steadily encroaching on more and more domains also needs to be researched, as do European attitudes toward English, especially the attitudes of the young. (Andy Kirkpatrick, World Englishes: Implications for International Communication and English Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press, 2007) Further Reading AmericanizationDenglish (Denglisch)Global EnglishGlobishNotes on English as a Global LanguageWorld English

The Effects of shift work on employee's and their family Essay

The Effects of shift work on employee's and their family - Essay Example Why, however, point out the nature of shift work in such detail? When employees work these dramatically difficult hours for the sake of industry, it tends to put constant stress on the household, including the domestic marriage and, when applicable, the children as well. It is important to highlight that shift work not only affects the industrial worker, it also impacts individuals in law enforcement and various other forms of employment. Hence, problems in the home with extended shift working and rotational schedules can be cited as a widespread issue in today’s society. Shift workers and their family members experience significant domestic complications as a direct result of shift work, negatively impacting the quality of life for many households. It is relatively common knowledge that the average person requires six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, somewhat consistently, in order to function at their fullest potential. This includes issues of a well-adjusted metabolism, a positive immune response, and even mental health and well-being (Weiten & Lloyd, 2005). Oftentimes, when an individual works long shifts throughout the average workweek, the demands of the household make it virtually impossible to find quality time and relaxation after a difficult work day. In many instances, in households with younger children and increased family obligations, six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is next to impossible to achieve. Studies have suggested that sleep deprivation is often linked to the difficulties of adjusting to shift work, with larger health outcomes including depression and increased anxiety (Morris & Maisto, 2005). All of these health-related issues impact the family when tensions run high within the household o r when health matters require attention and medical expenses increase. Businesses, today, put a great deal of demands and stress on their employees as they drive them to assist in building higher productivity

Performance Evaluation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Performance Evaluation - Assignment Example (McIness et al cited by Demirag, 1988, p. 258). The use of a single accounting standard - for both performance measurement and tax reporting removes the risk of a more favourable internal valuation becoming damaging evidence in the event of disputes with tax authorities (Baldenius et al, 2003, p. 592). Also, there is no additional administrative overhead and associated costs that may have resulted if the performance reporting was decoupled from tax reporting. Using only profits as the measurement gauge may work if all other factors are equal. However, the business enterprise is a dynamic environment and all factors rarely, if ever, remain equal and a simple reliance on profitability numbers may not prove an adequate measure of performance, even though it would (and should) provide guidance on the financial health of the organization. Watty and Terzioglue (1999, p. 5) cite Kaplan as saying non-financial measures are just as essential and too much emphasis on just financial measures may decrease an organization's long-term viability. Also, Kren (1994, p. 68) assumes that excessive or inappropriate reliance on accounting performance measures would prompt managers to manipulate accounting data. That this pressure exists within the Niessen culture can be inferred from the US marketing manager's manipulation of the transfer pricing. A profit centre model implies that managerial control is decentralized with ultimate responsibility for centre performance residing the business unit manager. However, Niessen Peru is a captive subsidiary company with only one customer: Niessen Apparels, USA, its parent. The present policy excludes any scope for attracting or soliciting orders from other apparel companies who may or may not be competing in the same market space. This would mean that Valencia's responsibilities are limited to operations: production efficiency and cost control. Being a captive subsidiary, Niessen Peru is totally dependant on the parent company to keep its production capacity fully utilized. Any slackening in the order flow will impact the bottom line. Sales are outside Valencia's control and responsibility. Any performance measure that does not compensate for this factor will present a skewed result that can be easily misinterpreted. The subsequent events bear this out as seen by the increase in idling due to the slow down in US sales and the misinterpretation of the Peru operations statement by management members not aware of the behind the scenes price fixing. Another factor that hasn't been taken into account, as it may effect Niessen's satisfaction with subsidiary performance, is cultural distance. In the context of multi-national companies, cultural distance is the difference in the way business is conducted between companies of different cultural backgrounds. Dikova and Witteloostuijn's (2005, p. 24-25) research suggests that there is a significant positive correlation between cultural similarity and the performance of the subsidiary. Also, they cite Anderson, et al (p. 24) arguing against foreign investments for the sole purpose of increasing short-run financial performance although they do qualify the target market as "young" and

Great expectations - review of three film versions Essay Example for Free

Great expectations review of three film versions Essay In my English lessons I have been reading great expectations as part of my pro 1914-prose study, and have chosen to do my media assignment on film adaptations of the book. I will be comparing and contrasting the three film versions, David Leans 1945 film is the eldest version which is in black and white, the BBC serialisation and the latest BBC film version, and the original novel. I will structure my essay by writing about different areas of the adaptations e. g. soundtrack, first with similarities then differences between the versions. Sequencing: The sequencing of the opening scene of great expectations adaptations are all quite similar except the latest BBC adaptation, the David Lean and BBC serialisation have the same sequencing, book so it is unlike the 2 other film versions. The David Lean film and BBC serialisation have the sequencing almost of the book so tell the story in the same way as Charles Dickens did. While the David lean version is more compact due to time limitations and the BBC serialisations has more detail they both tell the same set of events in the same way. And only differ from the book in the very beginning where they show Pip the central character in the book running across the marshes to the church, where the book starts in the churchyard. The latest BBC version is very different form the book and two other adaptations in its sequencing, it starts with Pip running away from the convict across a wheat field, when the convict catches up with Pip in the graveyard, he asks no questions about his parents or where he lives like the book. It then switches straight to Pip running home across the marshes, when he arrives home events from the second chapter take place when the events of the first havent finished being explained. The rest of the sequences of the opening chapter take place as flashbacks while pips sleeping. Soundtrack: As with the sequencing the sound track for the latest BBC adaptation is very different to the other two versions as it has a different set of sequencing. The David lean version and BBC serialisations soundtrack are quite similar but the advances in technology makes the serialisation far more advanced than the older David lean version. The David Lean version soundtrack starts with the opening of the book being narrated by an older version of Pip as the younger version crosses the marshes. The BBC serialisation soundtrack is similar to the David Lean version as it begins with narration by an older version of pip as he crosses the marshes. And the latest BBC version soundtrack is very different to the other two, as it starts with quiet music and Pips heavy breathing and rustling as he is running away from the convict. The arrival of the convict is very similar in the David Lean version and BBC serialisation soundtrack with the same build up, whistling winds and creaking trees make up a tense atmosphere, which is shattered by the arrival of the Convict. This is very different in the Latest BBC version. The arrival of the Convict in the David Lean version soundtrack is marked by him grabbing Pip and Pip screaming, the convict then threatens Pip in the following dialogue. Then the convict turns him upside down a lot of rustling and jingling from the convicts chain on his leg. The convict then demands items from Pip in the following dialogue while eating an apple and breathing heavily. At the end of the scene where Pip is running home across the marshes, the whistling winds from the graveyard are heard again. The arrival of the Convict in BBC serialisation soundtrack is different to the David Lean version you hear Pip trip and as he gets he catches sight of the convict and takes a surprised breath. The convict then moves toward him you can hear the chain on his leg jingle with every step he takes, he then talks to Pip. He shakes Pip lots of jingling and grunting, when he resumes dialogue with Pip he is eating a piece of bread. Just before the end of the scene the convict threats Pip speaking in a whisper, then walks of to bouncy music with his chain jingling. The Convict is introduced in the latest BBC version soundtrack by Pip falling with a thud, trying to hide breathing deeply. The Convict catches up breathing heavily and his chain jingling with his footsteps, as the Convict finds Pip, Pip lets out a scream then the convict says a short amount of dialogue. The David Lean and BBC serialisation soundtracks are quite similar but the Serialisation has the advantage of longer running time and detail and better technology, the only difference is the whistling wind at the end of the scene in the David Lean versions apposed to the bouncy music of the convicts departure in the BBC serialisation. The latest BBC version soundtrack is a far shorter and more condensed in the opening scene than the other two adaptations. Also large amounts of dialogue are missed out, even thought it befits from the best technology and methods out of the three adaptations it has the shortest and in my opinion worst soundtrack. Meise en scene: Meise en scene is French for what you can see such as characters, props and scenery. The main way to see the difference in the interpretation of the book in the adaptations is by what and how they present characters and locations on screen. As with the sequencing and sound tracking the David Lean version and BBC serialisation are very similar with few differences although the David Lean version is in black and white and the latest BBC version is very different to both of them. The David Lean version starts with the 1st page of Great Expectations opening then the rest of the pages blowing over. The BBC serialisation opens with some flowers on the book cover of Great Expectations wilting away, it is different to the David Lean opening but is clearly influenced by it. The latest BBC films different sequencing means different images appearing on screen at different time compared to the other two adaptations. It opens with Pip running through a golden wheat field, looking back over his shoulder, his face is dirty and his clothes are hard worn showing that he is a person of lower class in society. This is very different to the other two versions, which show the name of the film/book before the film begins. While the latest BBC version starts in the thick of the story. The appearance of the Convict is very similar in all three versions, which hold true to the book description A fearful man, all in course grey, with a great iron on his leg. The David Lean version while holding true to the book description but makes the Convict more frightening to the audience than the other two versions, as it is limited to black and white to make an impact. The BBC serialisation shows the convict more as a worn out exhausted figure that is more likely to make audiences fell sorry for him than be frightened. He is truer to the description laid down in the book than the other to versions down the blackened face and rag tied around his head. The Convict in the latest BBC version is a cross between the two other versions he is more frightening in appearance than the BBC serialisation Convict, but less true to the books description and more detailed than the David Lean versions Convict. Conclusion: After watching and reviewing all three-film adaptations, I have decided in my opinion that the BBC serialisation is the best adaptation of the book. Because of the level of detail that tells the story as well and in the same fashion that made the book such a large success, I find it an excellent alternative or compliment to reading the novel.

The Pros and Cons of Language Translation :: Pro Con Essays

To answer the question above we first have to define what is actually meant by translation before we are able to think about the limits and advantages of translation. Translation can be described as an expression of a sense from one language to another as well as a transmission of a written or spoken language into another. Translation is since the beginning of human culture an important item of understanding between different countries. So the â€Å"Stone of Rosette† made it possible to decipher the ancient Egypt language. But here we already see the limits of translation. We never will be able to understand all their feelings. Later on, the translations of the old Greek and Latin authors have influenced all western Europe countries and have let to the grandiose works of Shakespeare for example. Here we see the great advantage translations have brought to all Europe. As the statement in the title says, translation offers us the experience and attitudes of another culture or mentality. When for example reading books from typically English authors like Agatha Christie or George Orwell in German or any other language, we learn something about the culture or mentality, because the good description as well as the feeling of being in Britain at the present time, makes this possible. From this we come to a point which is even more important, the transport of culture and understanding between peoples. A good example for this is the book â€Å"Uncle Toms Hut† which had enforced the fight against slavery world wide but was hardly able to cause political influence. This shows again the limits of translation. On the other side we can not imagine a world without the translation of literary master pieces from all countries, mentioned only the great Russian, German, English and French authors red all over the world. Here we see the problems and limits of translation very closely. A good translation not only transports the sense but also the choice of words and the way of expressing. Especially for translations of high standing literature the translator should be home in both languages. The translator often finds his limit with poems. An other example to show the limits of translation are technical items, which were produced in China or Korea. As we do not speak any Chinese or Korean we are not able to understand what we should do before the first use.