Email marketing is changing the way small businesses market their services.  It’s an affordable way for small businesses to advertise and educate their clients about the services they offer.  There are many companies out there that provide email marketing packages at affordable rates and I’ve provided you with a list of ten providers below!

All of the providers below offer email marketing packages with templates and email list management features.

1. IContact- Their packages start at $9.95/mo.
2. Constant Contact- Packages start off at $15.00/mo.
3. Easy Contact- There’s a package for small campaigns that starts off at $0.  They offer a pay-as-you-go plan, as well.
4. My Newsletter Builder- This provider has packages that start off as little as $10.00/mo.
5. StreamSend- The starting price for their packages is $19.95/mo.
6. Contact Pro- This company’s lowest package starts at $9.00/mo.
7. Campaigner- The lowest package starts at $10/mo.
8. Benchmark Email- Their packages also start at $9.95/mo.
9. Mail Chimp- has email packages that start off at $0, if you’re sending less than 500 emails on a monthly basis.
10. Mailer Mailer has a package that starts off at $0, if sending less than 200 emails per month.

If you think your small business could benefit from an effective email marketing campaign, check out a few of the vendors above.  The perfect email marketing campaign educates, entertains, and sells to the reader.  Be sure to connect with your audience on a personal level and be consistent in your marketing efforts.

Shop local and everyone’s a winner.  Avoid the crowds and beat the recession this Christmas with Camden’s handy personal shopper gift guide

While you stock up on some original gifts, you and Camden’s local shops, will have a happier Christmas.  And you can win £1000!  See www.lovecamden.org for how you could win the Golden Ticket

OWN TARGET AND OWN AUDIENCE.

ON TARGET AND ON AUDIENCE.

I wonder how Dove became so successful with this campaign when the idea is simple and ordinary.

I have those days when I really cannot think of anything. I just stare into blank space for a few minutes. It happens, and there’s nothing really shoddy about it. Here’s where reality comes knocking at your door, and it’s time. Something that bothers me is the awful deadlines i have to meet sometimes. I really squeeze every ounce of idea that pops up somewhere in my head and try to use it sometimes…

IT DOESN’T WORK.

I learned that if you’re a person that takes longer time to come up with ideas that are strong, then you should not let time be a disadvantage to you. Worst thing you want, is your idea being thrown right back at you when you know it well that you did it last night.

Being on strategy is a simple way to make sure you use your time well. I think that it’s the perfect marriage with the idea you have in mind and developing it further with the appropriate tone. This basically means talking to your audience in a way that makes them listen. Not only that, the ad itself should stop people and make them ponder over what just hit them on the face.

Okay…. ouch! An ad like this obviously makes me cringe, but it certainly makes you wanna know what it’s about.

INTRUSIVE AND INTERRUPTIVE?

This was an ad campaign ran by Publicis, a Czech Republican agency. The campaign was to highlight the effects of cosmetic testing on animals. It was basically for the freedom from animal testing.

Such strong messages really stop people on their tracks which is a great way to give a lasting impression. However, this disruption must be realistic and has to be based on truth.

If anyone raises a notion that animal testing is bull, then obviously that’s not based on truth but pure ignorance to reality. Yet, a strong ad like the cosmetic testing on animals leaves an impact on people because we know that such things are still in practice.

That’s something I’ll remember whenever I try really hard to make my design look nice instead of concentrating on the message.

Another problem I always have is that whenever I get an idea, I try to tweak my audience instead of the idea. I ALWAYS WANT THAT IDEA TO WORK I DONT CARE.

Oh, c’mon everyone feels it sometimes. Anyway, being clear to the relevant audience about the key message is always important. That being said, never try to tweak the vital factors just cause that certain idea is so cool…(:<), ikr.

Targeting the specific and the right audience always helps in the creative process of coming with ideas. If the audience do not tie in with your idea, then I think it’s time for some changes. We would not target people in their 60s if we are trying to sell game stations or something. However, when the right idea reaches the right audience, it certainly does something to them.

An ad that has the capability to change the beliefs of consumers is certainly a good one. That can be achieved basically by being on strategy and on target. This maximises the reach you get and the impact you will give to the relevant target audience.

This are some advertisements (I personally find them really interesting and mind boggling to look at:] ) that really makes you open your eyes and stare.

What’s the best way to avoid too much setting?

The bare minimum

Stephen King is a writer that likes the idea of giving the reader the bare minimum in terms of description.

He feels that too much and you force the reader to see your characters and settings in your way.

He wants the reader to own the description – thus making the story specific to them.

The key here is, ‘the bare minimum.’  Stephen King is a master at knowing what is too much and what is too little. If you are not as blessed as Mr. King, what do you do?

Trial and error

Until you become an expert, you will have to follow the trusted steps of trial and error.

The rule mentioned before of one line per new scene is a good starting point.

The more important a place is, the more you describe – but remember, you don’t have to reveal it all at once. Revisits can be used to flesh out more and more.

More than a few lines to describe the setting and you’d better have a good reason for it.

Know your players. Different players will have different tastes – if they love long descriptions, give it to them.

Using the right words

If you have a habit of overstating the scenery, work on the words you use. The later reference to senses is particularly useful here.

Use language that doesn’t just describe in a flat way. Use alliteration and very specific descriptors to sharpen your description.

A word like ‘gloomy’ suggests both the state of the weather and of the mood. The better your vocabulary, the better your settings will work.

How do you ensure you engage your player’s senses?

The basic five

The five senses are not anything mystical. They are on the other hand, extremely powerful when it comes to creating a setting.

Little else sparks the imagination like an appropriately used sense.

There is, as ever, a balancing act.  If the sense used is too obscure, you won’t engage the players – and they’ll spend so much time trying to work out what you meant that they’d miss the next few words.

On the other hand, making it too hackneyed doesn’t really add any value. Try to avoid the tried and tested if you can. Be original without being alien.

The final point is to ensure you use all of the senses.

GMs will typically spend 99% of the time talking about what characters can see and only use the other 1% when the input is exceptional – a loud noise or a pungent smell.

In real life the mix of sensory perception is never this heavily weighted in favour of sight. Why should your adventure be any different?

The emotions

Emotions aren’t senses of course, but they are a powerful link to getting a player to understand the setting very quickly. If you can combine senses and emotion you will really hook the player quickly – and that’s why I have linked them here.

Describing an inanimate object by using an emotion on the face of it seems odd, but it can convey in a couple of words what could take a five minutes to explain.

If your characters come to a ‘lonely house’ or enter a ‘confused room’ then you have started to evoke multiple images in the players’ mind – and only a small amount more description will enable the players to fully understand what you mean.

Understanding the levels of setting

Metaphors etc.

The subtlest way to describe is to say how the setting resembles something the players know well (or the other way around).  Each serves it’s own purpose but writers regularly confuse their uses.

a. Metaphors

This is an implication. There is no statement that there is a link; we simply use the resemblance.

‘She walked catlike across the roof of the villa.’

Nobody expects the character to have fur and a tail. If ‘she’ were a cat, we would say she simply walked – cats, by definition, walk catlike.

This one word suggests she walks assuredly, softly, secretively and no doubt evokes the image of a cat burglar. The players will probably already suspect that she is up to no good.

b. Similes

Here we add the prefix ‘like’ or ‘as’ and therefore by definition create more of a signpost to the link.

‘She walked across the villa’s roof like a cat.’

The same result but a different and less subtle route.

c. Analogies

This is the least subtle option as we tell the player that something was like something else and include a comparison.

‘Her journey across the roof of the villa was like a cat stalking its next meal as she made every effort to make no sound and reacted instinctively to every small movement around her.’

d. Allusions

Here you make reference to someone or something famous.

‘Felicity the burglar. The wonderful, wonderful burglar.’

I chose this on purpose – and if you didn’t understand it, I’ve proved my point.

If you’ve never seen or heard of Felix the Cat, the allusion is wasted. Worse still, the players would wonder what on earth the words mean. If they do get it, they feel pleased with themselves.

(If you still don’t get it, ask someone older than you to sing the ‘Felix the Cat’ song (or YouTube it).  Then you’ll get it).

Allusions are dangerous ground.

e. Personification

This is a variation, where an inanimate object (or sometimes flora or fauna) is given a human trait.

‘The fog hugged her body as she sat on the villa’s roof.’

Next time out I’ll talk about using nature in setting.

Paul Burka has an an article on term limits for Texas governors in the latest edition of Texas Monthly. A lot of readers of BurkaBlog rant about him (but they keep on reading). Burka has been covering Texas politics for decades. I don’t always agree with him, but there’s no doubt that he knows the ropes.

Term limits is going to be an issue in the campaign and it’s an issue with a troubled past for both parties. Republicans have often been associated with term limits–usually before entering office. Like many Republicans who came to Washington during the rise of the rise of her party in the 1990s, Kay Bailey Hutchison entered the US Senate as an advocate of term limits but will not leave Washington with the same level of enthusiasm.  She’s currently endorsing term limits for Texas Governors.

I like Burka’s argument (without agreeing with it) because he links the need for term limits to the evolution of the powers of the governorship. Many term limits advocates rely on a more simplistic, knee-jerk reaction to power. The problem with the simplistic argument is that you can learn to abuse power quickly and enter office every bit as corrupt an a seasoned veteran. Burka’s analysis is much more realistic and addresses specific powers of the Texas governorship. It could be a great starting point for a class discussion or written assignment.

Labour’s quick and dirty Jedward poster of David Cameron and George Osbourne – strap line – “you won’t be laughing if they win” – has drawn a reply in kind from the Conservatives.

Really wasn’t sure about Labour’s first attempt, and Daniel Finkelstein agrees that the Tory retort is also a mistake. Mainly on the grounds that he doesn’t believe it will change voter opinions on the government but does make the “Tories look nasty and rude“.

The two posters are below, see what you think?

Labour's original Jedward poster

The Tory's Jedward come back

Does provoking a widespread response automatically equate to success?

The British Humanist Association (BHA) and the Atheist Bus Campaign latest billboard posters against the take over of community schools by faith groups has certainly, once again, brought their campaign to media and public attention.

Billboard campaign against faith schools

The adverts have drawn a positive response from the significant, possibly the majority, proportion of the British public who feel uneasy about schools being subverted to the wider strategic aims of religious organisations, and their fears that children will be coerced and our communities segregated.

Likewise the posters have also provoked a small flurry of negative media commentary that the campaign has had to try and rebut this week.

Media and online responses to the poster are clearly divided, but does this imply success or failure for the poster? This will depend on the strategic aims of the initiative.

On one side the poster is clearly helping a fundraising drive, has energised supporters and helped to keep the issue in the public eye. On the other the poster has equally energised its opponents who, as is life in campaigns, won’t accept the desired framing of the issues at hand and will seek to re-frame the debate.

However, one indicator of relative success is how the campaign seemS to have become synonymous with billboard advertising, in so far as that a search of the term “billboard campaign” on Google brings up BHA and Atheist Bus web pages as the first and third results and a BBC report on the campaign comes in second.

“We’re going to ogle three brands that took some dangerous risks in 2009. They each generated a ton of positive buzz, but even more criticism. It should be noted that besides their detractors, the following campaigns were almost universally supported by their intended audiences – and as a result should be applauded for their efforts.”

Volskwagen – Burger King – Amp Energy

http://www.fuelyourbranding.com/brands-with-balls/

One thing that most writers (adventure or otherwise) find challenging about setting is understanding how it gives the story context

Overlooking the setting

Too many GMs spend a lot of time on plot and ensure they have great characters and expect to produce a fantastic adventure.  Setting is the most often overlooked aspect of adventure writing that is relatively easily teachable.

Certain parts of writing are difficult to impart – style and pace are the two that immediately spring to mind – but like plotting or creating believable characters, crafting great settings is something that can be learned.

Having said all of that, good setting does not mean a good adventure but it’s fair to say that bad setting can equal a bad adventure.

Stories in a vacuum

The adventure doesn’t just need things to happen – it needs somewhere for them to happen. Setting doesn’t just give the players a place to see things unfold, great setting adds to the experience.

It creates the mood and can draw the player into the story in a way that no other facet can.

Setting isn’t world building, but it’s a small step towards creating a believable world in which your characters and plot live.

Setting is not, however, just the broad brush-strokes of the world – it’s not just the background.

The link to great characters

We are all influenced by where we grew up, where we went to school, where we live.

The creation of accurate settings reflects who your characters are, where they came from and sometimes even where they are going.

Your characters may be a reflection of their environment. Or the setting may give the players an insight as to why their characters are developing the way they are.

Do your characters conform to their setting, or are they rebelling?

What are the aspects of setting?

Do you need to include scenery?

Scenery is a challenge for the fledgling adventure writer. Too much scenery and the players will feel like they’ve stumbled into a book of photographs.

Very pretty but it doesn’t go anywhere.

Yet too little and there is no context for the story.

Scenery has its place. If the scene opens with a man bursting into the room with a gun, the players don’t want ten minutes of the GM describing how beautiful the room is – they want to know what’s going to happen.

As a GM, you have to know the appropriate point to describe the scene.

You either have to delay the entrance with the pistol, or find another way of working it in.

Each scene deserves at least a few words of setting – even if it’s a familiar place. You can always reveal details bit by bit if it’s a setting frequented often.  Players probably won’t take in all of the details in one sitting anyway.

Because that’s exactly how it works in real life. You typically notice the big things first and then upon revisiting, you start to notice more and more of the details.

Eventually you would notice if something was moved or missing.

A good rule (to be stretched and bent as you see fit) is to give the description as early in the scene as possible, without it getting in the way of the story or encounter.

The second suggestion is to invest more time on scenery the first time you visit – and the more important the setting is throughout the adventure.

Place as a character

Sometimes the scenery or setting plays as big a part in the adventure as any character. In a whodunit, the murder scene is often integral to the plot.

On these occasions, as much effort should be lavished on the creation of the setting as that important NPC.

And like characterisation, you may not use all of the detail – but you had better be prepared. Hogwarts in the Harry Potter novels is a prime example.  So if you have a dungeon, what was it before it was a dungeon.  People just don’t build them.  They are typically functional building that fall into disrepair and then they become dungeons over many, many years.  The dungeon should have a flavour that reflects its original (or most recent) use. 

If you only reveal the salient points in a mystery story, you have telegraphed the plot to the player. Similarly, if you over elaborate, the player will lose interest.

Sometimes the place has an importance because of its effect on the characters – and on these occasions, it merits a greater description.

It’s a classic show and tell scenario.

You can tell the player about the character or you can show the interaction with the setting – which is always far more effective.

Your own backyard

There is a real tendency for adventure writers to fall into two opposite traps when describing a place that is familiar to them – either from real life or a fantasy setting they’ve used over and over again.

The first option is to explain every detail. Often the GM is proud of what they know or remember and they want to share this in every minute detail.

The second mistake is to assume that every player knows about New York, the Manhattan skyline or the Statue of Liberty – and so no description is given.  Or for that matter the Jedi academy on Coruscant.

In the first scenario, the player will think they’ve stumbled upon a game about writing a guidebook, not an adventure.

In the second, anyone who hasn’t visited these places (or watched the film) will feel left out.

It’s like a recipe book without a picture of what the end product is supposed to look like – you feel cheated in some way.

Include the detail that sets the scene and is relevant. Add nothing more but don’t scrimp on the ingredients either.

Change of scene

The greater the alteration of scene, the more important the description becomes – and the earlier the GM needs to reflect the change.

As an adventure writer, you know when you change scene where the action is taking place – it’s your story. But do the players?

To use a literary example, too many books transfer the action from a quiet room in the centre of Chicago to the wastes of Alaska and don’t let the player know until the second page of writing. As a reader this is most disconcerting (and the example I use is from a real novel).

If your characters experience a change of setting, you need to describe that change – even if it means holding up the plot for a minute or two.

Players that teleport, travel to another plane, enter a dark cave or simply visit a village with differing customs – they all need to be aware of what’s changed.  It sets them mentally to be prepared for other changes e.g. the NPCs may react differently to them.

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Yesterday was a busy day for the Eastern Region Women’s Committee.  We had organised a violence against women day with speakers on sexual violence and domestic abuse and we held our annual general meeting.  In the course of our annual general meeting, we presented our annual report, which is a short summary of the work that has been keeping us busy.  Some extracts below – let us know what you think. If you would like the whole report, email us and we will send it to you.

Women’s Development and Training Days
Due to a static budget and increased venue costs the RWC had to increase the cost to branches for each delegate to attend from £15 to £25. We believe the days still present exceptional value for money.

The Bullying and Harassment awareness day was held on 2nd June and was very well attended. Women went back to their branches not only with new information and a willingness to challenge bullying and harassment, but also with the UNISON guide to Representation to support them when representing unison members.

The Understanding the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Development and Training was held on 13th July and was well attended, with a number of delegates who had never attended a UNISON event before. The day was facilitated by Ruth Barnett, Advisor to the EHRC in Eastern Region and the feedback from the day has been very positive.

It had been planned to hold an Organising on Women’s Issues development and training day using the women’s campaign guide as a key resource. However, the day did not recruit well at all, giving us some cause for concern (that it was scheduled for August may have been a factor) and so the event was cancelled.

Joint Women’s Forum with South East Region
This was held in Eastbourne on the first weekend in July. Over 50 women attended the event at the T&G UNITE Centre. Speakers from the weekend were:

• Sharon Greene (UNISON National Women’s Officer);
• Angie Conroy (Policy Officer, Rape Crisis);
• Anna van Heeswijk – (Grassroots Coordinator OBJECT).

Sessions were also facilitated on Women’s History and increasing the involvement of LBT Women in UNISON by regional staff.
Workshops focused on

• Assertiveness;
• Increasing black women’s participation in UNISON;
• Understanding Human Rights
• Campaign for universal suffrage.

The feedback from this event has been very positive with women across the two regions sharing experiences; supporting each other and building new networks.

Attending Events
On Saturday March 7th members of the RWC attended the Million Women Rise march and rally. This year it’s estimated that more than 5,000 women marched through central London to demand an end to violence against women. It was a loud and exuberant march. We had provided over 200 UNISON placards to Million Women Rise in preparation for the march and it was good to see such a UNISON presence at the event.

Reclaim the Night
Members of the RWC attended this march and rally through the centre of London in 2008 and again in 2009. Efforts are ongoing to increase our participation in this event.

CEDAW conference On March 24th
Our RWC was represented at a one day workshop on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The day was organised jointly by the Women’s Resource Centre and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and its aim was to inform and empower women’s organisations in how to use CEDAW both in their work and as a lobbying tool.

Demand Change Campaign Launch
The Demand Change Campaign was launched on 24th June and we were delighted that our Chair Cath Elliott was invited to speak at the launch. The Demand Change Campaign encapsulates many of the motions that Eastern Region has raised at National Women’s Conference over the years and the RWC have recently become members of OBJECT (one of the Demand Change Campaign partners). The RWC will continue to support the work of OBJECT and Demand Change.

Actions from National Women’s Conference
National Delegates Conference was an opportunity for Eastern Region to be particularly pleased. Following the hustings at National Women’s Conference both women elected to represent National Women’s Conference in Brighton were from Eastern Region.

Sally Swift (Suffolk Police Branch) and Cath Elliott (Norfolk County Branch) did a fantastic job representing women’s conference in Brighton. Both women spoke powerfully and effectively on their motions. Sally was successful in getting conference support on the motion on Ovarian Cancer and Cath Elliott successfully moved the Independent Safeguarding Authority motion.Both Sally and Cath spoke on a number of other motions ensuring that women’s conference (and Eastern Region) was very well represented.

Thats just a small bit of what has been keeping us busy.  There is so much more to do in 2010.

The Dissenting Democrat was reflecting back on his voting history to recall that his votes have never been a reliable indicator of electoral victory. He’s voted for the “winner” in only three of the eleven presidential elections in which he has participated: Carter in 1976, Clinton in 1992 and Obama in 2008. In every other election he’s been committed to “losers”.

Nevertheless, in each victory he was disappointed. By the third year of Carter’s term, the Dissenting Democrat was in Ted Kennedy’s camp urging a challenge. By the second year of Clinton’s first term, the Dissenting Democrat was already committed to Ralph Nader. And now yet in Obama’s first year, the Dissenting Democrat doubts if the nice-talking young man from the streets of Chicago will get his vote again.

In the none of the winners’ cases was the Dissenter ever an enthusiastic voter. In 1976 and in 1992, he served as an A.B.C. delegate first as “Anybody But Carter” and then as “Anybody But Clinton”. In 2008, he remained doubtful of Obama’s progressive creds despite the overwhelming media hype almost until election day itself, then he voted his hope and not his reason.

For History’s sake, but mostly for the fun of it, here are the Dissenting Democrat’s favored candidates from 1968-2008:

(* indicates the election vote, others were supported during the campaigns prior to election day)

1968:
Eugene J McCarthy
Hubert H Humphrey *

1972:
Eugene J McCarthy
Edmund Muskie
Hubert H Humphrey
George McGovern *

1976:
Walter F Mondale
Fred Harris
Mo Udall
Jerry Brown
ABC
Jimmy Carter *

1980:
Jerry Brown
Edward M Kennedy
John Anderson (INDEPENDENT)
Barry Commoner * (CITIZENS PARTY)

1984:
Walter F Mondale *

1988:
Paul Simon
Jesse Jackson
Michael Dukakis *

1992:
Jerry Brown
Larry Agran
ABC
Bill Clinton *

1996:
Ralph Nader * (GREEN PARTY)

2000:
Bill Bradley
Ralph Nader
Al Gore *

2004:
Dennis Kucinich
John Edwards
John Kerry *

2008:
John Edwards
Barack Obama *

The Dissenting Democrat is persuaded by the contention of Eugene Victor Debs who said: “I would rather vote for what I want and not get it than vote for what I don’t want and get it”.

Everyone is sick of the flu. There’s nothing fun about shots, hand sanitizer or reading about it in the news every single day.

But if the fear mongering does turn into reality, then you might as well be fashionably prepared.

Marjan Kooroshnia, a Swedish textile-design student has turned the sterile medicine masks into wearable pieces of art. The masks protect you from germs and the thermochromic ink changes colour when your breathing temperature rises, giving others ample warning when you might be potentially contagious.

Mask designed by Marjan Kooroshnia

Kooroshnia says that the masks are also for fun, “using different patterns for masks might be suitable for different people, from the aspect of beauty and color,” she says.

So now if you do get the flu, at least you’ll be stylish!

-Otiena Ellwand

Mask designed by Marjan Kooroshnia

Posted By SendLabs Email Marketing Blog

Tis the holiday season and thus an onslaught of holiday sales emails that will grow from the seeds of late-summer/early-fall planning.

(You did discuss this with your team already, right? I mean, you wouldn’t wait until Thanksgiving week to start hatching a plan, would you?)

With the stigma of buying online evaporating more and more by the day and purchase, online retailers are in the pole position when it comes to reaching their audience, connecting with that audience and creating brand loyalty. People just don’t have time anymore to spend wandering aimlessly around a mall or shopping district.

If you’re like me, you want to get in and get out IF you have to go out at all. However, with going online, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want and not feel bad if I leave a shopping cart full of stuff because I just got an email from another retailer with a better offer.

Here’s a few quick-hit thoughts about holiday email campaigns that might be of use.

> What’s the point? - This is one of my favorite questions to ask email marketers. If you can’t tell me the point of your email in two sentences, then you shouldn’t be sending it. If someone says, “The point is to boost holiday sales,” my first thought is “No s**t. Give me more specifics.” Do you have a target audience or specific products you’re looking to move? What’s the incentive? Would you take action if you got this offer in your inbox?

> What’s the offer? – I have thousands upon thousands of choices of where to buy something with two major differentiators being a) price and b) convenience. Too many retailers seem scared to offer great stuff at a great price or incentive. I hate ads that say “Buy $200 and save 10%”. $200 with one retailer seems like a lot and 10% is only $20. This is too passive. How your offer immediately hits someone will either send people inside your e-store or send them to the Delete button. You’ve got a few seconds…make it count with that sweet spot of the email.

> What are the success metrics? – So what are you looking to achieve with specific holiday campaigns? Do you have some internal success benchmarks or are you just winging it? Having some sort of financial goal is obviously a good idea so you can see whether all of your effort was worth it and what adjustments you can make for the future.

There are obviously some other things to keep in mind like how active your list is, how many days before the holidays you send out and how competitive your industry is that all play important roles in the ultimate success of your holiday email campaigns. If you’re starting now, you’re not completely lost but you’re behind. Do what you can for this season and then, lock and load on a plan for 2010’s holiday rush which will be here before you know it.

So what did we learn today?

- Your holiday email marketing plan should be completed by Labor Day and pushed into action in early-to-mid November.

- It should be different, relevant and grab people within a few seconds.

- You should have specific goals and objectives for the success of your program and have the methods to validate where you’re at in reaching them.

- I accept presents 365 days a year.

As more and more candidates are beginning to go on record with their issues, I’m noticing that politicians are talking up transparency like it’s never been heard before. While I’m all for transparency and will fight for it myself, a lack of disclosure is just one drop in a vast sea of problems in our current political system. I really don’t see how transparency alone gives the people a good reason to support a candidate. In the age of the internet, candidates really don’t have an excuse for not supporting transparency. Ten years into the 21st century, should politicians really expect the people to sit up and take notice if they’re not backing up that desire for disclosure with more substantive calls for a change in the status quo?

14 out of 16 entires converted to metal…

…spread across Bronze, Silver and Gold.

2 disciplines…

1 agency…

2009 is the year of the RED.

Ogilvy & Mather

BRONZE ARAW:

1. Film, Best in Sound Design:

Healthy Options “Teenager”

2. Radio, Single Entry

Pond’s Clear Solutions “Slip of The Tongue”

3. Digital

Banner: Nike, Basketball “Balloon”

Viral: Motorola Philippines “Motorola Razr Slashfest”

Viral: Nike, Manny Pacquiao “Give Us This Day”

Viral: Nike, Manny Pacquiao “War of Words Promo”

Viral: Nike, Manny Pacquiao “Ang Mamatay ng Dahil Sa’yo”

Website: Nike “Team Pilipinas”

Website: Nike, Nike Women “This is Love”

4. Araw Media

Best Use of Outdoor: Pond’s Clear Solutions “Siren”

5. Outdoor, Ambient and Point of Purchase

Craft, Best Illustration: Clarity “Mary”

SILVER ARAW

1. Outdoor, Ambient and Point of Purchase

Ambient, Special Builds: Nike Hyperdunk “Flywire”

2. Digital

Website: Nike, Manny Pacquiao “Prepare for Battle”

GOLD ARAW

Outdoor, Ambient and Point of Purchase

Pond’s Siren

THE YEAR-END BONUS GOES TO…

MEGAMIIIIIIXXXXXX!!!

It is official. We have to be very scared of this party Adhaalath. As we have guessed in an article, these people are proving to be devils using Islam and religion for personal gains, the new faces forms and shapes of Dhajjals.

Hussein Rasheed the founder, the man who calls himself the knower of it all, Dr Bari and their next in command Shaheem are in-corporated into MDP and Friends of Maldives Western Europe & Co Limited. Any realistically committed religious group will not be becoming a part of this God forbidden force of MDP and Nasheed but will be moving themselves further and further away. The Adhaalath top members patronising, sadistic use of religion and the double standards of their hypocrite selves are emerging more and more each day.

There are many hidden futuristic reasons behind this new alliance. One of the main wild guesses is Mohamed Nasheed is using these vultures to advance his agenda of allowing his friends of MDP from the Christian communities of the world, practise their religion and political positions are created and awarded as bribes, knowing the cheap money hungry nature of these people; Nasheed knows it will work. To spread his and his friends anti-Islamic agenda in the Maldives, Nasheed knows they will bring credibility using their party banner which they have used many times, even to get him elected as the President of Maldives. This Adhaalath trio using their forefront Adhaalath will soon most probably state that Churches should be built, temples should flourish in the Maldives.

Electing this thug group MDP with a head who always mocked people when they pray, is one thing. But this kind of shameless double standards, and show of solidarity behind this cirrhotic regime of MDP who holds everything against Islam, is an intolerable contradiction by these Adhaalath punters. The Maldivians need to condemn Adhaalath calling themselves Justice party, as the only justice this trio has in mind is financial wealth and gain. The Maldivian people need to demand their immediate resignation as they have become a dangerous contradictors of the people and Islam, and letting  them stay as the religious party that every other day make announcements to appease the MDP and Nasheed, most of the time doing so by using religion is a dangerthat will erode our religion.

We have heard how this Shaheemat ;  from Adhaalath without consultation to the man Baari  put in charge of the MDP and Nasheed gifted Ministry announce; that religion Islam with such universality in the Maldives and leaders, does not hold any responsibilities for people of other religion, therefore the government need not to worry about foreigners freedom to practise their religion as we hold no obligations.

Then a few days later he told the media, he will not comment on it until the Minister return and following that we hear that Hussein Rasheed is added to the payroll and the growing number of political appointees in the face of job cuts, and pay reduction to the rest of Maldivians.

People!!!! Think!!! Adhaalath is nothing more than a bogus group hell-bent on protecting this dictatorship and is ready to protect the anti-religious rhetoric’s of this party MDP and Mohamed Nasheed for a few bucks of monthly briberies. Do not be surprised right after his return from the land of our prophet Mohamed and motherland of Islam, the man Bari supporting Nasheed and his Western cronies ambition to spread Christianity and secularism in the Maldives endorse Nasheed and MDP’s dream of building churches here. This Adhaalath has contradicted themselves and religion too much in the past and will do it again, for their monthly salaries.

Nasheed is the man who while in prison, mocked the people who does Namaad. We have received information that he used to roam around, laughing and joking while others are praying, yes!!!!walk around and mock people, poke fun at them when they were praying.

This man is the man is the only thing that Adhaalath is protecting and that also  for a few bucks. It is time the Maldivian people do something and that something is get rid of this party, before they use their position to destroy centuries old Islamic identity of the people and the Maldives.

If the grassroots wants a chance to have their voice heard as to who will be the next GOP congressional candidate they better hit the road this December 12th. The unit chairs of the 5th District Republicans will be meeting on Saturday December 12th in Appomattox at 2 PM to vote on a convention versus primary to decide the candidate to oppose Tom Perriello next November. If you care you need to take time out of your schedule to attend this meeting to voice your opinion as to how you want this person chosen.

There is a small group of people, those in power, who would prefer a primary because it would give the candidate they support a much better chance of winning. These people support State Senator Robert Hurt who is perceived by many on the grassroots level to be a moderate. This perception is based on the Hurt’s questionable voting record in the State Senate. In a primary the Senator will have a percentage of votes locked in, maybe as high as 30%. This would mean that the rest of the votes could very possibly be split among the six other conservative challengers giving Hurt a sure win. Besides being more favorable to one candidate, an open primary’s vote can be diluted by Democrats who are likely to vote for the weaker candidate. This has been known to happen in the past and would be sure to happen in a 5th district race. Another reason a primary is not in the best interest of the grassroots and the party is the expense. More money will be spent by the candidates and the party in a primary battle, money better spent in opposition to Perriello in the summer and fall.

On the other hand a convention allows for an undiluted vote by those of us who are really interested in electing a nominee who represents our true conservative views. Any Republican can participate in a convention if they wish all they have to do is apply to be a delegate; information on applying can be obtained from your local committee on how to proceed with this process. It certainly takes a little more effort then just voting in a primary but the added effort means that those who are truly interested and informed will be the ones making the decisions. Another plus for a convention is that the winning candidate needs to achieve 50% plus one vote to win, balloting continues until this happens. This obviously would give a better chance for the candidates that the grassroots perceive as being more conservative. Even though the field is large, as it narrows candidates that drop out can throw their support behind someone of like thought giving that person a better chance of winning.

I suggest that anyone who is interested in having the candidate that best represents the district should attend the December 12th GOP District meeting and voice their opinion. Hopefully they will listen.

Hi all Leeds CF members if you have a spare minute, please put your name to a worthwhile petition sign for change.

The petition calls for a general election through the dissolution of parliament- so we can have real change in this country. The people deserve their say which so far Gordon Brown has denied them.

The petition link is here http://www.conservatives.com/Campaigns/Sign_for_Change/Petition_Item.aspx

The Conservative Party | Causes | Sign for Change |

Source: www.conservatives.com,http://www.conservatives.com/Campaigns/Sign_for_Change/Petition_Item.aspx

We, the undersigned, believe that the best way to sort out the problems facing Britain and to restore trust in our political system is for a dissolution of Parliament and a general election so that people can pass their verdict on MPs’ behaviour at the ballot box.

Earlier today, the well-respected social media expert Brian Solis posted an item noting that several Internet analytics programs had spotted a slow-down in the use of Twitter (http://bit.ly/tnql).  Several authoritative sources were cited, and an executive at Twitter was said to have acknowledged as much at a recent conference.

Much of the rest of the article was about using various strategic public relations tactics, as detailed in his book, to make the medium more effective.  And all of these suggestions are good.

But, I don’t think that’s the whole story. 

If you assume that Twitter is just one of several media that are used in wide-reaching social media campaigns, and all of these campaigns are similarly lacking in strategic PR, there should be a similar drop-off in other social media as well. So, is that the case? 

The answer is yes, but you have look into each media to see where the slow-down has happened.  In each case, there appears to be a link to how the social media deals with multilevel marketing, emarketing and affiliate marketing. 

To see this, let’s take a look at the growth trends for three of the most popular social media, Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn. 

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn

As noted, there’s been a quick run-up in the use of Twitter in the last year, faster than any other media to date. But there was a similar run-up on Facebook that slowed last spring, and between the two, there has been an enormous acceleration in the use of the peer-to-peer networking site LinkedIn over the past few months. 

Since the Facebook slowdown occurred first, let’s take a look at it first.   Facebook has always had misgivings about multilevel and affiliate marketing, seeing the strategy as an intrusion on the more personal social community that it has built. So, while phishers, spammers and MLMs tried various angles at automating the gathering of followers, and using SEO strategies to pull facebook followers in, the powers-that-be at Facebook have largely repelled each of these from the outset.  Now, marketing on Facebook is pretty much limited to advertising or the use of tightly controlled fan pages.

LinkedIn, too, has controlled the ability to gather followers by only allowing connections on the mutual consent of both parties. Too many rejections can cause cancellation of the account.  But LinkedIn does allow discussion groups, and these fit very well within multilevel and affiliate marketing strategies.  In fact, thousands of discussion topics have popped up in LinkedIn emarketing groups’ discussion areas — a common repository for MLM content. Most of these were clearly started by individuals trying to draw in followers and create ‘expert’ status by populating the site with material, a well-known emarketing strategy. 

In just the last few months, there have been so many emarketing  posts within LinkedIn that it’ s impossible to sift through the noise; it’s almost as if suddenly, thousands of self-proclaimed industry leading brush sellers have found your front door.  Eventually, they will realize that they are only competing with each other, and leave. In the meantime, they’re creating quite a din.

Thousands of Brush Sellers

The same thing appears to be happening on Twitter…or rather, it has happened at an accelerated pace.  Since there’s almost no limits on following on Twitter, and a similar lack of concern about returning the favor, there are now literally hundreds of thousands of twitter users whose sole purpose on the medium is to build up a follower list for their home businesses –predominantly MLM schemes.  Many are hoping to rise above the noise by securing the most followers, but in the end, this is nearly as hopeless a strategy as being one of a thousand brush sellers.

I think a lot people who had their hopes set on making money this way, are realizing, wow, there’s a lot of noise out there.  And much of it is being perpetuated by other MLM people. But why does this happen?

Same Stale Strategies

In part, the media are to blame (Hannity would love that idea!). The restrictiveness of Facebook caused emarketers to hit the wall with that platform a long time ago.  LinkedIn is similarly restrictive, but the discussion groups gave emarketers more room before they tapped out.  Twitter, by contrast, is so open that the only thing that could stop emarketers on this channel, is their own lack of creativity.

Fundamentally, they saturated the channels with the same stale strategies, posted to the same discussion groups, used the same keywords, SEOs and searches, and launched the same campaigns.  The sheer mass of of nearly identical efforts made it impossible to differentiate. 

It’s also worth noting, of course, that the federal government has put up some serious barriers to affiliate marketing by declaring that testimonials must be authentic and verifiable — a serious blow to marketers who make a small stipend every time they tweet a product claim even if they have never experienced the product personally.

The downside — and the reason for the Twitter slowdown — is that many fortune seekers are seeing this, giving up, and going home.

But if marketers who are really in pursuit of a dream would focus on tactics and strategies that cater to the interest to their customers, rather than the keywords of their industry, they would be able to break out of this massive cycle and realize their goals.

There are Ways to Be Successful

The upside is, there are ways be successful using social media. And that is the point of Brian Solis’ book.  You can break out.

But you won’t get there by simply being in the same place as everyone else. 

And you won’t get there by leaving with crowd, either.