Digg it UP - Finance

How To Make Your Business Stand Out From The Crowd
Standing out from the crowdWhen it comes to trying to make money in your business, you need to find a way to stand out from your competition.Think about it – if you’re just launching a business to make money, but don’t have any way of standing out and don’t offer anything different from your completion, then you’re going to find yourself struggling to be successful, and you may find yourself competing on offering the lowest price which a surefire way to put yourself out of business quickly.I think that copywriter, Bill Glazer, has some of the great advice to offer on this topic. “Look at everything your competition is doing, and then do the exact opposite.”While this may seem like bad advice, it actually makes sense. By doing things differently, you’re certain to stand out from your competition. Being different is what gets you attention, not following the crowd.You also need to avoid the cardinal sin of being boring. In this day and age, people not only want information but they want to be entertained at the same time. Even the news isn’t just the news these days but includes commentary and different view points all to stir up controversy because that’s what people will watch. Just delivering the news isn’t enough – people need to be entertained.Think about ways that you can make your marketing more entertaining. One great way to do this is to take a cue from children’s cereals and come up with your own cartoon character. Instead of just having you, take on a new character, give it its very own personality, and use that theme throughout your marketing. You could also turn yourself into a character like Matthew Lesko has (the crazy free gover

ng. This comes on the heels of a report that came out over the weekend that showed that al-Qaida had a plan to attack the NYC subway system in 2003.

Tid Bits

Video Streaming: The Full Meal Deal
The use of video streaming blends several complimenting media into one highly familiar media package. Your online customers are used to video presentations. In fact, they will tune into the Superbowl just to see the unique commercials. Many of those same commercials can be downloaded again online.Consumers are fascinated with clever and entertaining video. The advent of reality television may be an online marketers best friend. Entertainment consumers are conditioned to accept real life video from those who may not be professional actors. This is a benefit to netrepreneurs because you can produce video for download through Podcasts, Windows Media, Real Audio, Quicktime or other distribution methods that combine audio, print and video in a package that may entertain or inform your potential customers.The Internet has grown to accommodate a full range of marketing tools and video streaming is one of the most all-encompassing means of connecting with your prospects.The use of video streaming could be for entertainment purposes, but it could also provide site members with a video seminar with you or an expert in the field of research on the applicable uses and benefits of a product or service you are marketing.The use of so many Internet technologies makes it possible for the average online business to participate in the distribution of media formats commonly thought of as the domain of media professionals. The effective use of these media formats are well noted throughout the worldwide web and have proven a highly successful tool in marketing products and services on a worldwide scale.The integration of RSS feeds for the delivery of audio and video to customers

It’s Monday June 19, 2006, and it’s the first day of the trading week and it should be an interesting one. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has taken the bull by the horns as they struck a multiyear deal with PBS TV Stations to carry a wide array of PBS programming on the new Verizon TV Business. The lines are getting thinner and the war between phone companies and cable operators will begin to heat up this summer.

On the heels of that, the new FCC rules that would loosen the noose on major phone companies have been upheld by the U.S. Appeals court. Basically the large phone companies will not have to provide access to their networks in the residential arena. So smaller phone companies that are trying to grab market share from companies like AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon will have a tough time of it as the major carriers own the infrastructure that allows for service to a majority of the residential areas through out the country.

Political Front

In the Saddam Hussein trial prosecutors are pushing for the death penalty for Saddam Hussein and three of his former aides for crimes against humanity following a 1982 crackdown on Shi'ites in which hundreds were killed and tortured. So Hussein will rant and rave until the gavel comes down and his fate is sealed.

North Korea plans on testing a missile launch that, fully fueled, could reach as far as Alaska. So both the United States and Japan have warned North Korea against the launch. North Korea is taking advantage of the worlds attention that is diverted to Iraq and Iran to run this test. So this is a developing story.

Here in New York, city lawmakers are coming down hard on the Department of Homeland Security's decision to cut anti-terror funding. This comes on the heels of a report that came out over the weekend that showed that al-Qaida had a plan to attack the NYC subway system in 2003.

Tid Bits

Bankruptcy, Is It A Way Out
Negotiations with creditors have failed. Repossession is imminent and foreclosure proceedings have begun. Your income is simply not sufficient to pay your bills, no matter how low the payments are. It may be time to consider bankruptcy.Bankruptcy law evolved as a reaction to the abuses surrounding debtors prison. Before the nineteenth century a prison system existed for those who didn't pay their bills. If a merchant filed a claim, the debtor was incarcerated until his debts were paid. (Women were not found in debtor's prison, not because of chivalry but because they did riot have the ability to borrow). The lender was legally responsible for the expenses of the prison stay, including food, but seldom paid. After all, a debtor would have to sue in order to enforce this law, and it was rather difficult to sue when in prison. As a result, many borrowers languished in prison for years, surviving on what their family could bring to them or, in many cases, simply starving to death. Although some lenders would doubtless not object to the renewal of debtor's prison, fortunately we live in more enlightened times. Bankruptcy was created to provide a second chance (or third, or fourth) to those hopelessly in debt It provides a mechanism to wipe the slate clean and begin anew. As times have changed, though, so has the bankruptcy code. Not all debts can be wiped out. The proceedings can be easily disqualified in the event of improper procedures. There are many things a debtor should know before resorting to bankruptcy.The Bankruptcy DecisionThere are two kinds of individual bankruptcy: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 bankruptcy, named for the chapter number in the bankruptcy code

the new FCC rules that would loosen the noose on major phone companies have been upheld by the U.S. Appeals court. Basically the large phone companies will not have to provide access to their networks in the residential arena. So smaller phone companies that are trying to grab market share from companies like AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon will have a tough time of it as the major carriers own the infrastructure that allows for service to a majority of the residential areas through out the country.

Political Front

Tid Bits

Your E-Business Strategy: Is It Love ... Or Fear?
I read recently that every human thought originates from either love or fear. The more I thought about it, the more true it became. I began to apply it to business - after all, every business success or failure originates ultimately from human thought. This article examines the effects that love or fear can have on your e-business - is it love, or is it fear, that dominates the way you do business online?If it's fear, you fear you're missing the 'one big thing', and so you attempt to try absolutely everything in case that's the thing you're missing. You read every email that comes in promising business success, and attempt to follow what they suggest.The only problem is you are attempting to follow several strategies at once, but there's only one of you and not enough hours in the day. You end up barely touching the surface of each strategy, and you become disillusioned and despondent. You tell everyone who will listen that everything you have tried simply doesn't work, and that the Internet is a money-making myth.You are constantly fearful of your competition. You worry they are doing more business than you, that their offer is better than yours, that they will drive you out of business. You try to copy them, and emulate their style, but somehow it just doesn't work and your heart isn't in it. You feel like you're always following some way behind, rather than out in front, leading the pack.You have no idea where your sales are coming from, and when you have a couple of 'dry days' with no sales at all, you're panic stricken, and all you can think about is business failure. You've been running your business blind, you have no idea what's been working well and what h

ice to a majority of the residential areas through out the country.

Political Front

Tid Bits

Matt Cutts and the Battle of SEO
The chief of Google's anti Spam department Matt Cutts reviewed web sites at the 2006 PubCon in Las Vegas. Some statements in these public reviews might help SEO companies to improve the rankings of their clients web sites in Google, Yahoo and MSN search results.Duplicate content is creating problems for web sitesOne of the web sites that Matt Cutts analyzed had a problem with duplicate content. The owner of the web site had more than 20 different web sites but re-used the same content over and over again for all the different pages.In addition, into the head section of the pages of the different web sites the same titles, meta description and keyword tags were implemented. This is calling for major problems and certainly does not boost the ranking in search engines.By identifying the IP addresses of the sites you own, search engines can find out which other web sites are owned by you.Matt said that varying the duplicate pages by adding a few extra sentences here or there or by changing a few words, wouldn't work either. This means that your content needs to be original and unique for each web site, displaying information about different themes and interests. Just copied content and pasting it, will not help the web site. This additionally applies to content copied from other web sites, which is really not a clever idea.Very big sitemaps will cause problems for search enginesAnother web site had top rankings in Google but it couldn't get any meaningful ranking on Yahoo Search Results. The site had a very large sitemap (more than 100 links) that listed hundreds of articles on one page. This could trigger the filters of some search

s on testing a missile launch that, fully fueled, could reach as far as Alaska. So both the United States and Japan have warned North Korea against the launch. North Korea is taking advantage of the worlds attention that is diverted to Iraq and Iran to run this test. So this is a developing story.

Tid Bits

Don't Use Your Print Ad on Radio
I don't know about you but I don't drive down the road with a pencil and paper on the seat.Why then should you waste valuable advertising seconds on the radio by telling me your phone number?Spend 20 minutes with local radio and you will hear more phone numbers than in most Yellow Pages.Most radio ads are second thoughts. "Here take my ad in the paper and make something".Trouble is, most radio people don't know squat about making a good ad so they take everything from the print ad and squeeze it in, including the phone number.And who designed the print ad in the first place? The business owner, who wants a big bang for his buck, so he put it all in there, lines carried, years in business. Probably even a pic of the building, or worse, the owner's mug shot.Telephone numbers, photos of the owners, grandiose statements that have nothing to do with good advertising.The only time telephone numbers work in a radio ad is when the whole ad is built around getting the listener to remember the number. An excellent example comes from the Holiday Inn Hotel people. Their ad screams one 800 HOLIDAY. Great for remembering (a pain to dial).They sell product when people call the number. Unless you can close the order on the phone and have a mnemonic to remember the number, don't waste seconds repeating your number on the air.The only time your pic should be in the paper is when you give the Humane Society a truck load of dog food. The only time your voice should be on the radio is in a news sound byte from the dog shelter.Benefits get the customer to your door, or on the phone. Offer to solve their problem and t

ng. This comes on the heels of a report that came out over the weekend that showed that al-Qaida had a plan to attack the NYC subway system in 2003.

Tid Bits

To combat the mighty Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERICY) Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Siemens (NYSE:SI) have both agreed to a joint venture that will merge their mobile network operations, creating a $20 billion entity. Now the new venture will be called Nokia Siemens Networks and is still subject to regulatory approval, but if this should go through two things will certainly happen, one is that Ericsson will be given a run for their money and two , close to 10,000 jobs will be eliminated. That is the casualty of this mobile network war. It is a smart move for both companies, as the mobile arena is getting tighter. So expect for these stocks to trade higher on this news.

After months of Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) creating historic lows in its trading history. UBS sees value in the company. The upgraded the stock from a Neutral to a Buy and gave the stock a target price of $23 and that is up from $21.Now the question is will the Institutional money begin to flow back into Intel or will the UBS upgrade just entice individual investors to jump on board. The stock closed at $18.30 on Friday.

Now lets take a look at the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) front, last week Bill Gates stated that he will be stepping down from the Day to Day duties of Microsoft. Now this is definitely getting mixed reactions as he was the visionary behind the company and at one point in time gave a helping hand to Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL) when the company was down on its luck. But times do change, Microsoft, once being a vibrant young company that dared to be different, topping the one time juggernaut IBM (NYSE: IBM) seem to have gotten too big to have that burning desire and vision. With Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) looking to grab software market share from Mr. Softie by giving people what they want but for free seems to be just another nail being driven into the coffin of Microsoft. Now don’t count them out just yet, Mr. Softie is coming out with guns blazing against Apple’s iPod success by launching

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.diggitup.net/article/103414/diggitup-Wall-Street-to-Main-Street-News-Views-and-Commentary-June-19-2006.html">Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: June 19, 2006</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.diggitup.net/article/103414/diggitup-Wall-Street-to-Main-Street-News-Views-and-Commentary-June-19-2006.html]Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: June 19, 2006[/url]

The value of a service always appears to go down quickly as soon as those services have been performed. The value of any material object you buy may go up in value over the years, but the value of services always appears to decline rapidly after you have performed those services.

Private investigators may offer to find people in Australia without being true specialists. Many times non-specialist private investigators hire professional people finders when they find a search is out of their league.

Have you ever thought about publishing your own e-book? There are lots of reasons why you should, even if your business isn’t online. One of the best ways to drive visitor traffic (prospective customers) to your web site is to offer the reader something at an excellent price or for free. Here's how...

Tags

Links

Digg it UP - Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: June 19, 2006

Related Articles: