Business Ethics: The Law of Corporate Karma

According to the shamanic traditions, the great mystery of being is that all things are alive and have a level of intelligence. This is because all things are a part of the Great Spirit. However, all things also function individually, in thought and action. It is in these individual actions that karma is born. Karmic laws also state that all karma, both good and bad, must also return home...return to sender!

Most of us don't have a good grasp of group karma. Simply stated, if you agree to be a member of a group situation, you are also agreeing to it's collective karmic pattern of return. So sooner or later problems at work, in your business or corporate structure will show up at your front door. It's like you caught the flu from the group...but now your personally ill.

As humanity grows in it's awareness...it also grows in karmic responsibility. So years ago many industries caused environmental problems, but were not aware of that fact. However, karmic law states all things must return home..........so these industries don't really exist today.....or operate in a weakened condition [ in the future they will not exist at all].

According to my spirit guides, there is a big push these days too clean up the karma of the global business world. We know from the news that many business institutions, and even very large corporations are in trouble these days..many will not make it through the heavy gate of karmic return. They will fail.............

On the brighter side, Spirit is not against business, but is really pro-business....so now what?The newer business model that is emerging is much more holistic. By agreeing to function more holistically, much less damaging karma developes.....and if you're really aware of all business levels...very little negative karma developes. So, if you're in a corporate or business situation, and things are not really going right...take the time to clear the issues up, before you catch the karmic flu!

Just at the environmental level, many things should be addressed....but just start by keeping your office or work space clean and organized....this helps clear out negative energy patterns. Taking it one step further...use Feng Shui tools and techniques if you know how. Or buy a book, hire a consultant or use trial and error to solve some of the ongoing issues around you at the job or business.

Presidential Debate Number 2: Who Won?

The tension was palatable as the 2012 Presidential Town Hall meeting concluded. Following the debate, both men greeted their families and then continued campaigning - signing autographs and having their picture taken. Neither candidate turned to greet the other, neither acknowledged the others family. To me, this was a natural reaction to the animosity that was expressed during the debate. And in fact, if they had greeted each other I would have questioned the authenticity of the gesture. At the same time, last night's debate made it crystal clear that Obama and Romney are very different when it comes to both their vision, policies and how they see their role as Commander and Chief.

The Score

So who won this debate? It depends on who you ask. Interpreting the behaviors of the candidates - ignoring each other and continuing to woo the American voter - suggests that each man believed he emerged as the winner.

Then again, some might say that since Obama raised his game in comparison to his first debate performance, he is the winner.

As a speaker coach, I was listening for clarity of thought as well as how each man expressed himself. I relied on my Presidential Debate ScoreCard, (I hope you did as well) to guide the assessment of each candidate, focusing on his confidence and credibility in his communications. For me, while it was close, Romney won.

Body Language: Appearance and Stance

Both men looked sharp with strong erect posture, even when sitting on the stool. When they stood, they stood tall and proud, looking comfortable in their surroundings.

However, Obama didn't come across as optimistic as he did four years ago. He looked tired, perhaps even a little "beaten up", clearly not as refreshed and vital looking at Romney.

The assessment: Romney 1

Movement

Both men stood immediately when it was their turn to answer a question. In fact, Romney would stand when Obama's time was up; alerting the moderator that it was "his turn". I had to laugh at one point when the moderator, Candy Crowley of CNN, asked both men a follow-up question on wages and job growth and they moved almost in unison - standing, taking six steps forward, stopping and assuming the same stance. It couldn't have been any better if they rehearsed it.

Approaching people asking questions - moving around freely and comfortably and void of any distracting mannerisms both men "owned the room".

The assessment: Draw

Eye Contact

Eye contact is all about inclusion and the rule of thumb is a minimum of 90% direct, roving, continuous eye contact. And while both men had direct eye contact, Obama made more of an effort to look at and include the entire audience when he spoke.

The assessment: Obama 1

Gestures

Both aligned what they were saying with how they expressed themselves - their words, and gestures in-synch. In addition, their gestures were plentiful, varied and spontaneous. Obama's gestures were small, tight to his torso - waist high. Romney's gestures tended to be "larger", more expressive with the movement coming from his shoulder. One wasn't necessarily any more effective than the other, just different.

The assessment: Draw

Vocal Delivery

If you recall, during the first debate, Obama said "ah" whenever he paused. This made him sound uncertain, struggling for words. There were no fillers this time allowing the pauses to be less defined or used to punctuate what he was saying.

What got in the way this time was Obama's tone of voice - in an effort to sound passionate and more assertive, he could come across as dogmatic.

While both men had a conversational tone most of the time, Romney did tend to have more fluidity to his talk (avoiding a repetitive vocal pattern) and varied his pace with more vocal inflection.

The assessment: Romney 2

Messaging

Romney's messaging offered assurance to the American voter saying, "I know how to make it happen". However, something happened that threw Romney off his game responding to the question about the terrorist attack in Libya. Following Obama's response Romney looked as if he had been ambushed and wasn't sure how to recover. For the first time in the debates, his response included "ah's" - clearly a nervous reaction.

Obama's messaging was more aggressive than in the first debate and he nailed the final question by "closing the sale" when he asked for another four years.

The assessment: Draw

Round Two Results

Last night both men were in it to win it! While it was close, my assessment was Romney won by a slim margin. What was yours?

6 Easy To Implement Ideas For Making Teams More Effective

Effective teams deliver results and most would agree that teams as a collective can deliver more than a single individual. At the same time, there is often a huge difference between what people understand and what actually happens in practice.

Making teams more effective often only requires some simple changes and in this article I want to share with you 6 ideas that you can take and implement to get better results from teams.

Tip 1: Keep the focus on performance

It is really easy to focus on things like the number of hours or the number or projects teams are working on and lose sight of performance. Every successful team that I was part of had a strong focus on performance. If you want teams to thrive give them a performance challenge to address.

Tip 2: Have a clear purpose

Effective teams have a clear purpose and know what it is. It might be to improve customer service, develop new products or tackle process bottlenecks to name just a few. The clearer the purpose the greater the impact and effectiveness of the team. When teams lack purpose they just tend to drift.

Tip 3: Make sure you have the right people and mix of skills

One of the great things about a team is that everyone on a team brings something different to the team in terms of skills, experiences and background. Having the right people on a team with different personal and professional attributes and skills can really make a huge difference.

Tip 4: Plug the gaps

Even if at the outset you think you have the right skills, some shortfalls will inevitably arise. Make sure that you give the team the time and support to address skills deficiencies that arise or to do the work to acquire the knowledge they need to keep moving forward. Remember that a gap in a team is like a hole in your bucket.

Tip 5: Allow creativity and balanced risk taking

Creativity is all about considering all of the options; even those that on the face of it might seem completely off the wall. Let people experiment on a small scale and see what seems to working and what is not working. The fact is that any progress is likely to require some kind of risk taking.

Tip 6: Create the conditions for effective teamwork

For most of our life, whether it is in education, careers or even sport, we are conditioned to compete rather than collaborate. The best organisations understand that to enable team working you have to create the conditions that make it more worthwhile to collaborate than compete.

The Bottom Line: Sometimes teams will work and other times they won't. At the same time, often small adjustments can yield big benefits when it comes to teams.

Things to Know Before Selecting One of the Best Schools in Hyderabad

In case you are planning to put your child in one of the best schools, it is important that you know about them in advance. Since the first step to right education is the first step in one of the best schools in Hyderabad, here are few things to know and keep in mind while choosing one.

The Quality of Education

One of the primary factors to select the best place of education is the quality. Many schools get recognized by the level of education and the way it's propounded in different classes. The quality also depends upon the result-oriented approach of the system in imparting education in a progressive environment. The best schools in hyderabad have adopted the designed rules to inculcate a sense of development and improvement among students.

Academics

One of the main requirements of opting for best schools in Hyderabad is academics. A variety of curriculum is in application in most of the schools. There are people. who wish to continue with country's educational system, for instance, CBSE and ICSE. However, some schools have adopted the International Baccalaureate to encourage students to pick up the Cambridge curricula. The system is increasingly adopted by the institutions to help students learn in a practical and non-theoretical way.

Activities: Sports and Extra-curriculum

If you are interested in getting your child's admission in the best schools of Hyderabad, sports and extra-curriculum is one of the crucial areas to look out for. Hyderabad has produced some of the best sportspeople in the country like. Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal. If you are looking to seek admission in the best institution, then it is very important to choose the one which can support and offer the best sports facilities including the services of coaches and physiotherapists.

A True Learning Environment

Every parent wishes his child to join an institution, which can inculcate a sense of culture, cooperation and bond. The best schools in this city of Andhra Pradesh have played a role in changing the way the child starts thinking in any environment. Various festivities and functions round the year organized during the year are awe-inspiring. Contests and programs are helpful in bringing the inherent talent of the child to the forefront. It also makes it possible to stay in touch with the basics of life.

The best schools of Hyderabad have helped impart a system of education for students at all levels that can allow a complete exposure to their survival in future. An atmosphere created to encourage and motivate the child into exploring and absorbing the best in life is one of the main mottos. As a matter fact, many intellectuals have contributed in making a better and more fruitful environment which can improve and enhance the hidden talent and versatility in the children. The focus is on promoting thinking, learning and creative approach which instills a sense of physical, intellectual and emotional growth and development. Keep in mind that a student-friendly atmosphere is a given advantage over a teacher-friendly approach.

Create Recurring Income With a Paid Membership Site

Paid membership sites have become hot Internet properties recently, but most people who start them don't succeed with them. A profitable membership site can add new income streams, reach new markets, and create greater profits in your business.

If you're a thought leader or business professional, think carefully before you launch into building a membership site - it isn't for everybody. It works best if you have:

an established business delivering value to your clients through your face-to-face services resources that deliver on-going value (such as e-books, audio programs and worksheets) or the time to give members access to you (through webinars, group coaching, short consulting sessions, and so on) a network of clients, peers who can deliver value to your members, and a database of potential members

Benefits of a Membership Site

A membership site has a number of potential benefits for you:

Recurring Income: The most obvious benefit is that you create a new income stream. Market Once: You only need to convince people once to sign up, and then charge them every month. Vehicle for Value: The membership site is a way for you to deliver, share and archive your resources. Build Loyalty: You keep delivering value to your members in all your communication. Reward Loyalty: Members get access to things that non-members don't. Maintain Relationships: You can offer free membership to selected people, as a way to keep and build relationships.

It also has benefits for your members:

Manage Cash Flow: They know exactly how much they will spend each month. Join a Community: Some people join a membership site primarily so they can be part of a community of like-minded people. Make One Decision: They don't have to keep making decisions about whether to buy individual products and services. Get Increasing Value: The longer somebody is a member, the more value they get, because the network expands and you keep adding resources. So each month their membership dollar goes further. On-Demand Learning: Members can dip into the archive whenever they want, rather than waiting until you deliver what they need. Save Money: Finally, of course they save money, because you give them discounts, special prices and members-only offers.

Are You Ready?

Broadly, as an expert, you have four potential types of income:

Active: You get paid for delivering value to your clients - speaking, coaching, consulting, professional services, etc. Bundled: You get paid more for your activity, because you bundle in other products and services. Recurring: You get paid over and over again for your activity, because clients buy a subscription. Passive: You get paid even without any activity.

Each level of income relies on one thing:

To generate active income, you need to demonstrate value (otherwise, clients won't pay!) To generate bundled income, you need products (physical, electronic or even additional services) To generate recurring income, you need a network (potential members, joint venture partners, affiliates and staff) To generate passive income, you need marketing skills - especially marketing that stands alone without you being there to sell

The fourth level - passive income - can be achieved by itself, but the other three build on each other. A membership site is an example of recurring income.

The Proven Path

Because a membership site is recurring income, you need value, products and a network. It's difficult to succeed unless you have all three.

This is the most common path to success.

Unfortunately, some business owners launch into a membership site too soon, and discover that they don't have expertise that members value, they don't have enough products and resources to keep the site going, or they don't have a network to promote, support and buy membership.

So make sure you have value, products and a network - and a commitment to making your membership site work!

1st Presidential Debate: Obama Lacked-The-Luster of a Commander and Chief

The first Presidential debate I asked... what will win over the American voter, substance, style or possibly both?

And the answer is BOTH - at least for Romney.

First, let me state that I observed the presidential debate from a non-partisan point of view. As a speaker coach, I was listening for clarity of thought as well as how each man expressed himself.

So, what exactly did Romney do that projected a presence that said, "confident, credible and congenial"? What happened to the dynamic and engaging persona that has contributed to Obama's popularity?

As the two men greeted each other, Obama's impeccable posture, determined stride, pleasant expression all said, "I am here to win". Romney, on the other hand, had a slight hesitancy in his walk and his face had a flash of nervous tension, as if he was questioning what was about to happen and recalibrating his strategy.

But all that as quickly changed and here's how...

One: Pace

The pace at which the two men spoke influenced each candidate's credibility. First up, Obama maintained a vocal pattern of saying 7 or 8 words followed by a pause. He was missing his typical vocal inflections that conveys passion and adding insult to injury, he filled each pause with an "ah". Bottom line, he didn't have his usual rhythm that engages an audience and the "fillers" made him sound uncertain, struggling for words. Not good for credibility.

On the other hand, Romney was articulate, clear and concise he was able to connect with his message and his audience. Romney spoke at a good clip and appeared to be in the moment, thinking about what he was saying as he said it. His ability to "think-the-thought" kept me engaged and wanting to listen, to understand his position.

Two: Facial Expression

After the initial hand shake, Romney kept a pleasant expression on his face. One commentator referred to it as a "half-smile". I am not sure what exactly he was doing but it worked - it made him look friendly, "familiar", someone I'd have as an associate or friend. This personable style made his stories about the people he met along the campaign trail (job hunters, people worried about health insurance, etc.) believable.

Another facial expression that Romney mastered was eye contact. He looked at Obama when talking with him, at Jim Lehrer when talking to him and he looked directly at the American public when talking to us. Did you notice that how he stayed engaged with his opponent when Obama was speaking? Smart.

Obama's strategy was quite different. When Romney was speaking, he typically looked down, rarely acknowledging his opponent. When it was his turn to speak, he directed his comments to Lehrer only looking at Romney when challenging him. But what was most surprising was he did not show that million dollar smile which can instantly put people at ease and provide an emotional connection with his audience. Instead he looked irritated and impatient. When he did smile it appeared to be forced rather than sincere.

Three: Physical Expression

The best presenters get everything working together - their words, body language and voice, are in-synch... aligned and supporting their message. Here again, Obama was off his game, even his gestures positioned him as the weaker candidate. Almost dismissive in his behavior, Obama kept is head down, gestures were small, tight to his torso - waist high and he would lean on one leg, causing his shoulder to slouch losing that winning posture.

Romney owned the room, he kept his strong stance and his gestures tended to be "larger", more expressive with the movement coming from his shoulder. Controlled and purposeful, these behaviors along with his direct eye contact proclaimed, "I am in it to win it".

Four: Structure

Right from the get-go, Romney was clear, direct and concise when he spoke. His responses provided structure to the debate. For example, he described his 5-step plan, his rebuttals included a preview of what he was going to say and then he addressed each topic, saying first... second... etc. Whether or not you agree with his politics, you certainly knew where he was headed and what he was talking about. Obama, on the other hand, appeared to wonder. I kept waiting for him to take back control but it didn't happen.

Round One Results

Last night Romney wasn't asking to be our next president, he was letting us experience what it would be like for him to be the president. While Obama felt like the default candidate.The results: Romney 1 Vs. Obama: 0

Installing a Home Theater System

Thinking about installing a home theater system? You're not alone. Home theater is one of the fastest growing areas areas in home entertainment and the advent of DVD recorders and HDTV means your set-up can now be entirely digital, without an inch of video tape in site.

Installing a home theater is a big decision and requires careful planning. Luckily there are a number of resources around to help you and you needn't be a technical expert or a hi-fi buff to get the job done.

One of the first decisions you'll need to make before you set about installing a home theater is whether your going to dedicate a whole room to the theater or whether it will share a space with a lounge, dining room, or office. Having a dedicated room allows you to position seating and speakers in the optimum position and you can seriously consider a projector and screen without it looking as out of place as it might in your living room.

Obviously budget is another consideration and this will dictate which equipment you buy initially and what you save for another day. As a bare minimum you'll want a DVD player, widescreen television, and a surround sound audio amplifier and speakers. We'd recommend opting for a DVD recorder like this one from Phillips, or this from Panasonic. They're obviously more expensive than a DVD player, but will give you much greater flexibility. And don't forget to budget for cabling, its a very important part of installing a home theatre and one that's often overlooked.

You'll also want to think about the interior design of a dedicated home theater room and of course the seating is all important. You're going to spend hours and hours watching movies and the last thing you need is uncomfortable seats.

Mower Sharpening Kit

Eventually after lots of grass cutting you will come into a situation where the blade comes blunt and is in need of a mower sharpening kit.

A whole range of lawn mower accessories can be bought from online retailers for very reasonable prices. The prices are usually around 20% of the shopping mall price. Sharpening of the blades should happen at regular intervals and not just when you notice the grass is not being cut efficiently. Every couple of years should be enough when sharpening your lawn mower, doing this maintenance anymore will only be a waste of time and resources.

American lawn mower sharpening kit

For around $15 you can buy a good blade maintenance kit on Amazon. This product is meant to be a do it yourself kit for anyone that owns a lawn mower or any related piece of machinery that operates with some kind of sharp blade. Using this product regularly will ensure that your grass cutting time is reduce which makes the job a lot more easier. some features of this mower sharpening kit are outlined below:

Cuts down the amount of time it takes to mow the lawn Anyone can do it, even if they have very little DIY experience Main components are a specialized brush, back lapping crank and grinder Enough material for about 6 to 8 sharpening of the mower blade.

When to buy new blades

Some blades will not become much sharper no matter how much grinding you apply to them. When this happens you might need to buy a new blade. Applying more grinding will only be a waste of time. However if you feel you want to salvage your grass cutting blades try applying different kits such as those manufactured by Scotts Classics and Dremel.

Multiple abrasive pads

When searching for lawn mowers for sale you should check to see if some bonus items are included. For example have as many as 3 different abrasive pads to choose from when sharpening your mower blades would be a big practical advantage to you. Scott Classic do a good set of abrasive pads but can be relatively costly at $30. Therefore make sure when you go to buy a relatively expensive product you also get some extra accessories with it.

All blades are different and therefore need to be sharpened in different ways. Refer to your documentation for the best procedure for your particular lawn mower. However there are practices that are just proven such not to brush the toll straight on and at an angle. Also the number of strokes to each part of the blade should be consistent to ensure that the sharpness is also consistent throughout the length of the blade. With this type of activity practice makes perfect.

Business Architecture & Management - Some More Useful Elements

If you apply the rules of (business) architecture in management you will be able to build a coherent business.

Have you ever seen a church with a roof vault somewhere in the middle? If you walk in a library you see books. Easy. The main function of a library is to present books and other communicating material in a way that it is accessible for the public. A retailer has borrowed this concept, but the library was there first.

Architects have thought about this. They know about functions, they develop (design?), a matching form or construction and -- although you may not like the style -- the whole will normally be inline.

Is your business Aligned?

There are also many problems with buildings designed by architects, because they will not always match the environmental characteristics.

As an entrepreneur you are your own architect. As a business manager you are much more dependent of the form (construction) chosen by others. Anyhow it is still your job to signal where a business is no longer sound. Where there are too many organizational style flavors that do not match internally.

It is not difficult to experience this. Maybe the stock market will help you. You gather a portfolio of investment instruments (resources) and they are balanced at some point in time. You will always have stock that are under performers. That is not the problem. The problem is that at one point in time you choose, to buy and hold, the other time you are day-trading, and the next moment you let third parties advice about your portfolio. And as a consequence, you sell at the worst moment in time.

Business architecture is about being aware that the whole is more than the sum of the individual parts. If you think that there is a point in this, but you wouldn't know where to start, ask a consultant that is experiences with this topic.

Free Websites: Worth It?

There are many internet based providers that offer to develop free websites. Just because the cost is zero does not mean that the sites they produce are worth having. Free website providers are not all the same, and if you do not look out for your own best interests, you could end up with a site worth less than the nothing you paid for it.

So Many Ads

One way some providers of free websites make a profit is by stuffing your website with ads that have nothing to do with your business. The extra adds clutter your website, make it look cheap and make visitors want to leave. You don't want it to be that attractive and easy for visitors to your website to click away to a different site. Once they click away they probably won't be back.

In addition, unrelated third-party advertisements, whether text-only or banner ads, make your site annoying, garish and unprofessional. Not the qualities you want for your site. A no-cost web site that does not attract long term customers will not do you any good.

Read the Fine Print

Be careful to read the fine print in the website provider's agreement. If you fail to do so, you could discover that by agreeing to the Terms of Use of that company, you have signed away the rights to the images, videos and content that you publish on your website.

Also beware of clauses allowing the service provider to drop your website at their own discretion and with no notice if the site receives too many visitors. Providers often include those clauses because they don't have the equipment to handle high volume websites. If return visitors to your website can't find your site because it is down, more than half of them will not return to try again. Don't expect either patience or loyalty from web users. If they want something, and can't get it from your site, they'll just click over to some other website which contains what they want.

Forced Upgrades to Paid Services

Many providers of free websites allow you to begin with a free plan, but after an initial period, they make you upgrade to a paid plan. If you don't or can't pay, they can close your site. If you let them close your site, you may find that you can't retrieve your website content. All the work you put into the lost content could be out the window.

Relax, It Can Be Better!

Fortunately, there are some good free website providers available that offer fabulous looking websites with no deceptive fine print. Check out FreeWebsite.com.

It is important to do your research before making arrangements with a website provider that is offering a free service. Be sure the company you choose will be there for you, with service that is both affordable and high-quality.

If you want to learn more about what can happen when you use an inferior website provider, take a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaP55U6KrzA&list=UUB1eLb-yEufIMrzCTTuEhmw&index=1&feature=plcp

Caravan Insurance - What Cover Are You Getting For Your Money?

When searching for caravan insurance it is important to know what cover you are getting, for example insurers cover your caravan for one of three options, New for Old, Agreed Value or Market Value.

There is often confusion as to which cover is most suitable for you and here we try and explain the differences, as in the event of a claim this can be a big difference.

What Is New for Old Cover? New for Old is a term used mainly in household insurance and basically means that if you suffer a total loss to the caravan (i.e the caravan is written off) within a set timescale from the date that the caravan was made, the insurer will replace the van with one of the same make and model.

One of the general stipulations of this cover is that you would have an original purchase receipt, and this would prove the value of the caravan for your insurer. The insurance company specify a timescale for this cover, typically 3 or 5 years but in certain cases this can be more. It is important to remember that the cover runs from the date that the caravan was manufactured and not when purchased by you.

Another thing to consider is that some insurers cover you only if you are the first owner of the caravan, whilst others cover New for Old regardless of the number of previous owners as long as it is within the specified timescales.

It is also very important to update the value of the caravan every year to the correct replacement value to ensure you have the correct cover.

What Is Agreed Value? The second typical level of cover in caravan insurance is Agreed Value which means that if your caravan suffers a total loss within the specified time period the insurance company will pay the purchase price paid by you. This cover generally is for if you have not been the only owner and many insurance companies do not offer this cover as it leads to confusion as to the final value of the caravan.

The insurance companies' level of cover will not exceed the purchase price, which must be provided by a caravan dealer, and if the caravan is bought privately then a dealers' valuation is then sought. This cover is fast dying out in the industry as it can cause disputes on the valuations. These insurers normally offer New for Old or Market Value, which is the third level of cover.

What Is Market Value Cover? The third level of cover is Market Value which as the adverts say, "it does exactly what it says on the tin" and offers your basic cover of payment to the amount of the current market value of the caravan in the event of a write off. This cover is generally if the caravan is not eligible for New for Old or Agreed Value, though as mentioned most insurers have moved away from the latter. The most common way of determining the market value of the caravan is to use the Glass's Guide to Caravan Values which is issued every few months, at the time of the loss, less a deduction to reflect the condition prior to the accident.

Leading Sports News Outlets Ignore Many Leagues

If you are a sports fan, you know most of the sports news outlets available for your viewing or reading pleasure. What you may not know is that each of the outlets that broadcast live games tend to be biased towards the properties in which they have a direct stake.

Most recently I was watching an NFL game on Fox. In the score ticker at the bottom of my screen I noticed that they were showing scores from the English Premier League. Earlier in the day, Fox had broadcast a replay of the Liverpool vs. Manchester United game. Clearly these scores are designed to increase interest in the property that they broadcast. I can't remember CBS or NBC ever showing EPL scores in their tickers. Clearly only the EPL's broadcast partners see fit to display these scores.

Furthermore, in the US, ESPN doesn't give much attention to the NHL. Coverage dropped considerably after the NHL moved their games to Versus, now renamed NBC Sports. Rarely will you find a big NHL story at the top of the headlines on their espn.com homepage. One could argue that hockey is simply not popular enough in the US to warrant the coverage, but the lack of coverage has been significant since they stopped broadcasting NHL games. Similarly, in Canada, the Canadian Football League (CFL) moved their game broadcasts exclusively to TSN (The Sports Network). Games used to be shared with the nationally subsidized Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC). Subsequently coverage on TSN's sports broadcasting competitor, Sportsnet, and other competitive Canadian outlets has been drastically reduced.

These news outlets will of course report a score, but they won't dedicate time otherwise in their daily schedules to discuss or analyze the previous week's results or upcoming matches. Here's why: if ESPN or Sportsnet don't have the rights to broadcast a certain sport, they view that any time they spend covering that sport or league as free advertisement and promotion for their broadcasting competitors. Why devote time during your evening or late night highlight show or develop 60-minute show to focus on a sport that is the exclusively broadcast live by another network?

Unfortunately, if you like several sports, it means that you likely won't be able to get all the coverage you want in one place. You need to pick and choose the outlets that cover your favorite sports best. If you want NHL coverage, you'll likely have to look beyond the ubiquitous ESPN properties. If you want CFL coverage in Canada you'll need to go to TSN. Of course if you are online, you can just go to the websites of the given league of interest.

Why Social Media Networks Are Not Useful For Business Owners

The secret to most business people's businesses tend to stay secret. However, this is not always true with the advent of social networking. This is because the social media systems do not do a good job of protecting the information that they have on their systems. In fact, most of the time social media can be highly detrimental to business owners that want to use the systems for advertising purposes. This means that a business owner that wants to use social media services must carefully explore the pros and cons of that choice.

Social media is a platform that everyone wants to use to its maximum effects. This is a good idea because many of the business people on the social media systems are competing for business. This means that the people on the social media systems are trying to make money, therefore a business owner should get on these systems as soon as possible to compete.

However, the business owners who use these systems must be very careful because the social systems reveal far too much information about their users. The social systems are in the habit of selling the information that they gather about their users. This is because they did not charge for use of the system from the very beginning. Therefore, if they charge for system use now, then they would lose a lot if users.

Let us be honest about the situation. There is a lot of money to be made from selling information about people or cross-sections of people. This is because many advertisers want to know who buy their products and services. Once they figure out who buy their products and services. They can target their ads towards getting more of these people.

What better place to get more people who fit a certain demographic than the social media systems. This is why social media systems collect as much information about the users as they can. This opens up the user to far more advertisements. All a business owner needs to do is to ask for access to these people on the social networking system and they will find them.

This means that the social networks are not in the habit of providing privacy to their users (or business users). This means that a person looking for privacy on most of the social networks is barking up the wrong tree. The business owner looking to do deals and use the social system to collaborate on the systems will find that the social systems will not protect their sensitive information well enough. Therefore, a person with a business cannot use the social systems because they will fail the business owner in the long run.

Privacy is key in any business, even if it is just for security reasons. Therefore, a business person will find that the social media systems that exist do a very poor job of protecting their interests. The only solution is to find a privacy based social networking compnny and work with them now and in the future.

Social Bookmarking Traffic Results

The results of the social bookmarking experiment I have been carrying out are materialising. There have been some surprising results and some results that have restored my faith in the browsing public. I have been pondering whether or not to release the results as I do not want the spammers to tarnish something that is still relatively pure. But as you can see I finally decided to go ahead and publish.

I have mentioned before that I have been http://www.blogtonomy.com/its-easy-to-digg.php">looking at social bookmarking as a way to drive traffic to websites. The idea behind social bookmarking is that you share your favourite bookmarks with others, the idea being that if you found these links useful then others might too. Some social bookmarking sites also allow visitors to rate the usefulness of your bookmarks, this allows the truly useful bookmarks to become the most popular. So in theory spam should be removed by natural selection. To carry out my experiment I created three articles. Two of these articles were good well researched pieces, whilst the third was self promotional spam, but not too obvious. I posted these articles to twelve social bookmarking sites and then waited for the results. The results were to be measurable traffic to one of my sites.

It was a week ago I started posting the articles so I am still measuring the results but I am able to give you the results as they all point to one conclusion. That conclusion is that social bookmarking to generate traffic does work as long as you are providing genuine, useful, good quality material. If you post self promotional spam no one will read it and it will disappear into the ether where all spam belongs.

Of the twelve sites I posted to the best performing in terms of traffic was Digg. Over a period of several days my site received hundreds of visitors from the good articles and less than a handful for the spam article I posted. Of the other social bookmarking sites the traffic was minimal, even the famous del.icio.us only managed to send a dozen visitors which I was quite surprised at.

The results seem to conclude that Digg is the out and out performer followed a long way behind by del.icio.us and squik. As yet I have had no traffic from the others, that's not to say that they are not worthwhile as some of the sites were very new. I am going to continue to experiment and will bring you more results as they come in.

Finally I would like to say a big thank you to the guys at Digg for producing such a great site. Not only for the traffic that it produces but for also providing lots of really useful bookmarks. My only criticism is the lack of categories which means that some suggestions are not always well matched although there is a search facility.