The Fundamentals of a Successful Corporate Social Media Policy

By Ari Rosenstein

The most recent statistics report that LinkedIn now has over 100,000,000 users and Twitter has over 175.000.000. But Facebook leads the pack with over 640,000,000 users - that is more than double the population of the entire United States!
So what does that have to do with work, you may ask? Well, consider these incredible statistics as reported last year by Network Box, an online internet security firm:
An analysis of over 13 billion business URLs in 2010 indicates that almost 7 percent of all business internet traffic goes to Facebook. The report also shows that 10 percent of all corporate bandwidth is used on YouTube!
The bottom line - the chances are, on any given work day, your employees are online. Whether your corporate culture embraces social media, or despises it (or simply doesn't understand it), it is crucial to implement a social media policy in the workplace. Any business that does not have a solid policy in place, or doesn't train its employees on the do's and don'ts of social networking as it relates to the company, exposes themselves to significant risks. Beyond disparaging remarks or negative press, this can include opening its doors to the release of trade secrets or confidential information.
There are several venues now for electronic and social media, and businesses should have a policy in place that addresses each one.

1. Social Media Guidelines: The Social Media Guidelines address the posting on a company-sponsored website. Your company may have a Facebook, MySpace or Twitter page and employees are allowed to post comments and interact with customers and clients through this medium.


2. Blogging: Blogging is the posting of information on either a personal or someone else's site, web log, journal etc and also includes posting opinions on YouTube, Twitter, bulletin boards, chat rooms, etc. It is on-duty and directly relates to the business of the company


3. Social Networking: Social Networking addresses how employees represent the company or speak of the company while they are off duty


4. Electronic Media: The Electronic media and monitoring policy is about how employees use the company property issued to them, whether it is a PC or a laptop, Blackberry, mobile phone or office phone, stationary or mobile equipment. This policy addresses the appropriate use of the equipment, and the understanding that because it is company property, there should be a greatly reduced - or zero - expectation of privacy.

The law permits employers to regulate and even prohibit employees from engaging in online social networking activities while on company time, property or business. It is also appropriate to LIMIT employees from posting disparaging comments or discussing company business while social networking by adopting a policy making it clear that such conduct is inappropriate. Again, the objective is to lower the expectations of privacy of employees when implementing these policies.
Other Factors to Consider
The wording of the policy may vary depending upon your industry and business but there are certain basic fundamentals to keep in mind:

1. First and foremost: While common sense may make sense to you, always have legal counsel look over your policy before distributing it to your staff.


2. Keep the social media actions in line with existing company policies regarding use of the company's electronic media (phones and computers), confidentiality of company information, and all laws regarding harassment and discrimination.


3. Similar to other corporate policies, other off-limits or inappropriate social networking behaviors would include, profane, vulgar, defamatory, threatening, harassing, hateful, abusive, bullying or embarrassing comments or postings about other employees.


4. Employees are expected to be respectful of the company's products, and services. Though discussion of pay or policies may be protected activities, running down the quality of service or products should be disciplinary issues


5. Let employees know that information regarding the company's clients, business partners, or details of projects and plans are off limits.


6. Specifically state that use of protected logos and trademarks is forbidden.


7. If an employee identifies themselves as a company employee, or discusses matters related to the company on a social media, require that the site must include a disclaimer on the front page stating that it does not express the view of the company and these are strictly personal opinions and views.


8. Finally it should be clearly stated in the policy that they should expect compliance monitoring without prior notice.

The prospect of creating and introducing a social media policy may seem daunting, if not down-right impossible at first, but don't underestimate its importance. With social media gaining momentum both off-site, and on the job, the time to begin working on a plan is now. Always consult with legal counsel or a professional knowledgeable in labor and employment laws if you need help, but get started today!

Ari Rosenstein is the Director of Marketing at CPEhr, a human resource outsourcing firm, specializing in labor law compliance and PEO services. It currently services 15,000 employees and hundreds of clients nationwide.
CPEhr was founded in 1982 and assists small employers with the management of their employees and compliance with employment regulations.
Services include: - HR Compliance - Human Resources Administration - Legislative Compliance - Employee Benefits - Risk Management and Workers' Compensation - Payroll and Tax Administration - Management and Employee Training - Recruiting Services

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ari_Rosenstein

Is Print Media Still Relevant in This Digital Age?

By Henry Ng

Print media might seem to be going the way of VHS movies, cassette players, and floppy disks that are becoming quickly obsolete, since everything is done in electronic form now. However, don't count print media out just yet. There are many applications for print sources of content that electronic media just cannot replace. There are different forms of advertising, for one. A lot of advertising is done over the internet, through the television, and on the radio. Also, newspapers and magazines are starting to transition to electronic sources only. However, there are still flyers, brochures, pamphlets, posters, etc. You can see flyers posted on bulletin boards and wall posts, pamphlets and brochures in the dentist or doctor's office, and posters in the classroom. These are the only forms of advertisements and information dissemination sources that you could find out in the real world and where electronic media is of no use. Therefore, print designs will be relevant for years to come yet.
Print designs are important for marketing and advertising purposes, especially for Small and Medium sized Enterprises who cannot afford other costly media advertising. This includes flyer designs, pamphlet designs, leaflet designs, booklets, brochures, etc. The designing process for these types of print media involves displaying content in such a way that it will capture customer's attention and engage their interests. It also involves the quality of the ink that the content is printed with and the clarity of the images and text used in the medium, as well as the quality of the paper that the different sources of informative or persuasive material is printed on. These are qualities that are unique to print media.
You could create the designs yourself on these different print media. However, using a printing company, which provides these types of services, to do it for you could be helpful in terms of the professionalism that their print designs will bring. This could be of great help to mostly corporations and businesses, for which professionalism is a must in everything they associate with, including the print media that they use.
The different elements of print designs include pictures, images, text, color of background and text, font size and type, size and type of paper, and more. A good design company should be able to come up with a design that will reflect the message that you want to convey. They should also be cost-effective and provide good return-on-investment.

Adding a little bit of fun or cheekiness into your print media often results in a word of mouth advertising too and can bring even better results. Verz Design is a web design company that also provides Graphic and Print Design Services in Singapore. Visit us if you are interested to instill some fun into your print media design.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Henry_Ng

All About Digital Media

By Ashley D Crawford

Living in an electronically driven world, almost everything you see today is computerized or digitally run. When you say digital, it refers to any system based on discontinuous or discrete data or values. A perfect example of this is the system used by computers.
Computers are machines that run discrete values, such as numbers and letters. At their basic level, these machines can distinguish between just two values: 0 and 1. With that said, computers can only process data when encoded digitally - as a series of zeroes and ones.
Although computerized representations are discrete, the information represented can be either discrete or continuous. These continuous values usually take the form of sounds, images, and other measurements.
What is digital media?
Digital media refers to any type of electronic media that you can store in digital form or encode in different computerized electronic or digital devices. Once encoded, your digital device can then operate, distribute, and render these electronic media.
It can also refer to the technical aspect of the storage and transmission of information. It can also be the end product of the information transmission process, such as digital video, digital audio, and digital art.
You can access these end product or files using complex electronic devices that contain digital receivers or processors. Most people use them for entertainment and educational purposes. You can also operate them to create other forms of media, such as movies, albums, and websites.
What are the forms of DM?
- Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) refers to a direct or indirect live view of a physical real-world environment that features augmented elements. You can do this by using computer-generated sensory input, such as sound, video, or graphics.
You can also relate AR to a more general concept, called mediated reality. In mediated reality, a computer modifies a view of reality, enhancing your current perception of reality as a result.
The process of augmentation is conventionally in real-time and coincides with real-time environmental elements. With the help of advanced AR technology, the information about the surrounding real world becomes interactive and digitally manipulable.
- Digital Art
DA refers to a wide-range or artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of their creative and presentation process. Examples of digital art can include digital paintings, digital music, net art, and digital installation art. With that said, you can define digital artists as persons who use digital technologies to produce art.
- Digital Audio
DA refers to the technology that lets you record, store, and reproduce sound by encoding an audio signal in digital form. With that said, digital audio systems can include compression, storage, processing, and transmission components.
- Digital Video
DV refers to a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital video signal.
There are other forms of digital media, which you can learn about by searching through the Internet.

Ashley researched about digital media in Perth and came across http://www.xtreammedia.net.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ashley_D_Crawford

What the Heck is Social Media?

By Peter M. Humleker

Because of the new developments of technology and the way people communicate with each other, a now form of media called social media, has emerged. Basically it's media that is shared or communicated through social interaction. However, this type of social interaction is mostly done online or with the use of the Internet. If in the past, media was communicated by means of a monologue style of deliverance, social media uses actual dialogues between the audience and media provider.
The different types of socialized media are concept, media and social interface. Concept social media refers to those that are in the form of art, information and meme. Whereas there is also physical, electronic or verbal social media. While social interface media refers to social media that is either intimate, direct, uses community engagement, is social viral, electronic, broadcasted, syndicated or physical media.
There are various forms that this new media is expressed. These are either by way of concepts or slogans that are designed so as to make sure that they are on the awareness of the audience at all times. Grass roots social-media meanwhile is done by speaking to the audience publicly, setting up installations, doing performances or making demonstrations.
There is also social-media in the form of electronic media, wherein the media can be shared; there is electronic media that is syndicated as well as social media that is done via search algorithm techniques. Meanwhile, print media is media that is meant to be circulated as well as distributed and redistributed.
Social media is distinct from industrial media, such as newspapers, television, and film. At the same time it is relatively inexpensive and has accessible tools that enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, industrial media generally requires significant resources to publish information.
Examples of industrial media issues include a printing press or a government-granted spectrum license.
In order to fully understand the concept of social media more intimately, let us compare it with traditional forms or media. The more traditional forms of media are mainly broadcast or mass media. Although both forms of media, traditional and social, are able to effectively reach a wide audience in almost all parts of the world, media that is social is more accessible to people of all classes.
The reason why social media is infinitely more accessible is because it has tools are often free or available at a low cost. For example, the Internet is now being offered at a very low price to most audiences. In fact, many people are able to access the Internet for free, because of the availability of free wireless internet access in most places or locations today.
Meanwhile, traditional forms of media require subscriptions, such as cable television, magazines, newspapers and the like. Therefore, if there is a choice between having to shell out money for information or getting it for free, as with social media, the general audience will choose to get the information they desire for free.
Moreover, in order to engage in traditional forms of media, expertise and great skills are required. People expect more from people who write articles in newspapers and magazines, as opposed to someone who writes down his daily thoughts in an online blog. Therefore, there are less inhibitions and restrictions when it comes to expressing oneself in the realm of social digital media.
Social media is also oftentimes more updated and more accurate than the information that traditional media offers. The reason for this is that social media is released almost as soon as it is typed or uploaded online. And if there are any mistakes or corrections to be done, it can easily be corrected right away as well. There is no need to wait for the printing press to publish all those newspapers and magazines anymore.

Peter Humleker is the Founder and President of Miami Internet Marketing. We specialize in helping local small businesses explode their website traffic using the Internet, Mobile, and Social Media marketing. Get our free report, "7 Profit Killing Mistakes Small Businesses Make" at our website Miami Internet Marketing dot com!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_M._Humleker

Publishing And Digital And Electronic Rights

By John J Tormey III, Esq

The following publishing industry article addresses some of the legal issues arising for publishing lawyers, entertainment attorneys, authors, and others as a result of the prevalence of e-mail, the Internet, and so-called "digital" and "electronic publishing". As usual, publishing law generally and the law of the digital right and electronic right specifically, governing these commercial activities, has been slow to catch up to the activity itself. Yet most of the publishing industry "gray areas" can be resolved by imposing old common-sense interpretations upon new publishing lawyer and entertainment lawyer industry constructs, including the digital right and electronic right, and others. And if after reviewing this article you believe you have a non-jargonized handle on the distinction between "digital right" and "electronic right" in the publishing context, then I look forward to hearing from you and reading your article, too.
1. "Electronic Right[s]" And "Digital Right[s]" Are Not Self-Defining.
All publishing lawyers, entertainment attorneys, authors, and others must be very careful about the use of jargon - publishing industry jargon, or otherwise. Electronic and digital publishing is a recent phenomenon. Although as a publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney and unlike some others, I tend to use the phrase "electronic right" or even "digital right" in the singular number, there probably tends to be no single consensus as to what constitutes and collectively comprises the singular "electronic right" or "digital right". There has not been sufficient time for the publishing, media, or entertainment industries to fully crystallize accurate and complete definitions of phrases like "electronic publishing", "web publishing", "electronic right[s]", "e-rights", "digital rights", or "first electronic rights".
These phrases are therefore usually just assumed or, worse yet, just plain fudged. Anyone who suggests that these phrases alone are already self-defining, would be wrong.
Accordingly, anyone, including a publishing lawyer or paralegal representing a book publisher or entertainment lawyer representing a studio or producer, who says that an author should do - or not do - something in the realm of the "electronic right" or "digital right" because it is "industry-standard", should automatically be treated with suspicion and skepticism.
The fact of the matter is, this is a great era for authors as well as author-side publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys, and they should seize the moment. The fact that "industry-standard" definitions of the electronic right and digital right have yet to fully crystallize, (if indeed they ever do), means that authors and author-side publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys can take advantage of this moment in history.
Of course, authors can also be taken advantage of, too - particularly those not represented by a publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney. There is a long and unfortunate history of that happening, well prior to the advent of the electronic right and digital right. It has probably happened since the days of the Gutenberg Press.
Every author should be represented by a publishing lawyer, entertainment attorney, or other counsel before signing any publishing or other agreement, provided that their own economic resources will allow it. (But I am admittedly biased in that regard). Part of the publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney's function in representing the author, is to tease apart the different strands that collectively comprise the electronic right or digital right. This must be done with updated reference to current technology. If your advisor on this point is instead a family member with a Smith-Corona cartridge typewriter or a Commodore PET, rather than an entertainment attorney or publishing lawyer, then it may be time to seek a new advisor.
Even authors who cannot afford publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney counsel, however, should avoid agreeing in writing to give broad contractual grants to publishers of "electronic publishing" - or the "electronic right", or "electronic rights" or "digital rights", or the "digital right". Rather, in the words of "Tears For Fears", the author and author counsel had "better break it down again". Before agreeing to grant anyone the author's "digital right: or "electronic right", or any elements thereof, the author and his or her publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney need to make a list of all the possible and manifold electronic ways that the written work could be disseminated, exploited, or digitally or electronically otherwise used. Notice that the author's list will likely vary, month to month, given the fast pace of technological advancements. For example, these kinds of questions can be considered by the author and publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney alike:
Electronic Digital Right Question #1, Asked By The Publishing Lawyer/Entertainment Attorney To The Author: Can the work be published in whole or in part on the Internet? In the context of an "e-zine"? Otherwise? If so, how? For what purpose? Free to the reader? For a charge to the reader?
Electronic Digital Right Question #2, Asked By The Publishing Lawyer/Entertainment Attorney To The Author: Can the work be disseminated through private e-mail lists or "listservs"? Free to the reader? For a charge to the reader?
Electronic Digital Right Question #3, Asked By The Publishing Lawyer/Entertainment Attorney To The Author: Can the work be distributed on CD-Rom? By whom? In what manner and context?
Electronic Digital Right Question #4, Asked By The Publishing Lawyer/Entertainment Attorney To The Author: To what extent does the author, himself or herself, wish to self-publish this work, either before or after granting any electronic right or any individual "electronic publishing" rights therein to someone else? Will such self-publication occur on or through the author's website? Otherwise?
Electronic Digital Right Question #5, Asked By The Publishing Lawyer/Entertainment Attorney To The Author: Even if the author does not self-publish, to what extent does the author wish to be able to use and disseminate this writing for his or her own portfolio, publicity, or self-marketing purposes, and perhaps disseminate that same writing (or excerpts thereof) electronically? Should that be deemed invasive of, or competitive with, the electronic right as otherwise contractually and collectively constituted?
The above list is illustrative but not exhaustive. Any author and any publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney will likely think of other elements of the electronic and digital right and other uses as well. The number of possible uses and complexities of the electronic right[s] and digital right[s] definitions will increase as technology advances. In addition, different authors will have different responses to the publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney, to each of the carefully-itemized questions. Moreover, the same author may be concerned with the electronic right in the context of one of his/her works, but may not care so much in the context of a second and different work not as susceptible to digital right exploitation. Therefore, the author must self-examine on these types of electronic and digital right questions before responding to the author's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney and then entering into each individual deal. Only by doing so can the author avoid the pitfalls and perils of relying upon lingo, and relying upon someone else to dictate to them what is the electronic right or digital right "industry standard". As the publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney should opine, "There is no such thing as 'industry standard' in the context of a bilaterally-negotiated contract. The only standard that you the author should be worried about is the motivational 'standard' known as: 'if you don't ask, you don't get'".
Finally, the author should be aware that while the electronic right, digital right, and components thereof can be expressly granted, they can also be expressly reserved to the author, by a mere stroke of the pen or keystroke made by the publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney. For example, if an author wants to expressly reserve the "portfolio uses" mentioned in Electronic Digital Right Question #5 above, then the author should ask his or her publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney to clearly recite this reservation of the author portfolio electronic/digital right in the contract, and leave nothing to chance. In addition, if the author has some negotiating leverage, the author, through the publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney, may be able to negotiate the "safety net" of a "savings clause" which provides words to the effect that: "all rights not expressly granted to publisher, be it an electronic right or digital right or otherwise, are specifically reserved to author for his/her sole use and benefit". That way, the "default provision" of the contract may automatically capture un-granted rights including any electronic or digital right for the author's later use. This publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney drafting technique has likely saved empires in the past.
2. Publishers and Entertainment Companies Are Revising Their Boilerplate Agreements, As We Speak, In An Effort To Secure The Electronic Right[s].
It is well-known and should come as no surprise that right now, as we speak, publishers and their in-house and outside counsel publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys are furiously re-drafting their boilerplate contracts to more thoroughly capture the digital and electronic right - that is, all of an author's digital and electronic rights. The typical publishing agreement drafted by a company-side publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney will recite a broad grant of rights, then followed by a whole laundry-list of "including but not limited to" examples. If the author receives such an onerous-looking rights passage from a publisher or the publisher's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney, the author should not be intimidated. Rather, the author should look at it as an opportunity to make some money and have some fun. The author can first compare the list suggested in Electronic Digital Right Questions #1 through #5 above, to the publisher's own laundry-list and the author's own imagination. Then, the author can decide which if any of the separate digital or electronic rights the author wants to fight to keep for himself or herself.
If the publisher tells the author to blindly subscribe to their entire digital or electronic right[s] clause (or clauses), then the author still has the ultimate leverage, which is to walk away from the proposed deal prior to signature. Of course, this strategic approach wouldn't be advisable in most cases - unless perhaps if the author has other written offers from other publishers already on the table. However, an author shouldn't be forced by any publisher or any company-side publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney to sign away the electronic right, digital right, or any other rights that the author would rather keep - particularly rights which the author never specifically intended to shop to the publisher in the first instance.
The author should keep in mind the psychology and motivations of the publishers and their publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney counsel when doing all of this. A Vice-President (or above) at the publishing company probably woke up one recent morning, and realized that his/her company lost a great deal of money on a particular project by not taking a prospective license or assignment of an electronic right or digital right from another author. The VP probably then blamed the company's in-house legal department publishing lawyers or entertainment attorneys, who in turn started frantically re-drafting the company boilerplate to assuage the angry publishing executive and thereby keep their jobs. When in-house publishing lawyers, entertainment attorneys, or others engage in this type of practice (some may call it "drafting from fear"), they tend to go overboard.
Accordingly, what you will probably see is a proverbial "kitchen sink" electronic right clause which has been newly-drafted and perhaps even insufficiently reviewed by the company-side publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys, internally and themselves - wherein the publisher will ask the author for every possible electronic and digital right and every other thing, including (without limitation) the kitchen sink. The only response to such a broad-band electronic right or digital right clause is a careful, deliberate, and methodical reply.
Using the approach outlined in Section #1 above, the author and the author's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney counsel must separately tease apart each use and component of the electronic right and digital right that the publisher's broad-band clause might otherwise capture, and then opine to the publisher a "yes" or a "no" on each line-item. In other words, the author, through his or her publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney, should exercise his or her line-item veto. It's the author's writing that we are talking about, after all. The author should be the one to convert the singular "electronic right" or "digital right" into the laundry-list of electronic rights. That's why I use the singular number when referring to "electronic right" or "digital right" - I like to let the technologically-advanced author have all the fun making the list. That way, too, the author can tell me what he or she thinks the phrases actually mean, and what the difference between the two meanings really is, if anything.
Next, a few words in defense of the publishers and the publishing lawyers that work for them!
Up to now, this article discussed how phrases like the "digital right" or "electronic right" should not be assumed to be self-defining, even by and between publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys, and how it is incumbent upon authors to reserve needed rights like the digital right or the electronic right to themselves in the context of a publishing deal. Next up, let's examine concepts such as the digital right or electronic right from the perspective of the publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney, and the standpoint of fairness - who between author and publisher should in fact hold on to the digital right and electronic right, once and assuming that they are first properly defined?
3. Yes, Digital Right And Electronic Right Uses Do Compete With Traditional Book Publishing Uses.
A publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney may be called upon to handle an author-side deal. A publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney may also be called upon to handle, under different factual circumstances, a publisher-side deal. So, now, a few words in defense of publishers, I suppose.
There is a perception in the author and Internet communities that publishers should not be taking broad grants of the digital right or electronic right from authors, since "digital rights and electronic rights do not compete or interfere with traditional book publishing and other media rights".
Not true. Not anymore. For proof of that fact, ask a few veteran news desk editors whether or not they followed, or were otherwise concerned about, what appeared on the Drudge Report during the Clinton administration. Ask the CFO's or in-house publishing lawyers of a few traditional encyclopedia companies how they feel about Wikipedia.
Incidentally, although as a publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney and unlike some others, I tend to use the phrase "electronic right" or even "digital right" in the singular number, there probably tends to be no single consensus as to what constitutes and collectively comprises the singular "electronic right" or "digital right". There has not been sufficient time for the publishing, media, or entertainment industries to fully crystallize accurate and complete definitions of phrases like "electronic publishing", "web publishing", "electronic right[s]", "e-rights", "digital right[s]", or "first electronic rights".
Nevertheless, electronic media and specifically the digital right and electronic right, have already changed our history. You can be sure that they will have some effect, at a minimum, on most author's individual publishing deals henceforth, and will be the fodder of publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney discussion for years to come. The fact is, electronic uses inherent in the digital right and the electronic right already do compete with older, more traditional uses - particularly because digital and electronic uses are cheaper and faster to deploy, and can potentially reach millions of users in less than, as Jackson Browne might say, the blink of an eye.
Commerce is increasingly relying upon the Internet and other electronic phenomena, and the linchpin of this reliance is the digital right and electronic right. After all, you are reading this article, and ostensibly gleaning some information or material from it. The Web, for example, has already put a sizable dent in dictionary and encyclopedia sales, and anyone who tells you otherwise is probably an employee in a dictionary or encyclopedia publishing company or publishing lawyer in-houser in denial of the digital and electronic right, trying to protect his/her stock options. As the recent and well-known Stephen King pilot program will attest, fiction is the next subject matter area to be affected. Many of us book lovers including publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys don't like to think about it, but bound hard-copy books may soon become the sole province of book collectors and publishing lawyer vanity bookcases alone. The vast majority of book readers, however, may so wholly embrace the digital right and electronic right that they soon even lose the patience to wait for their "amazon.com" mailed shipment.
Very few people who work in the publishing, media, and entertainment industries, including as amongst fair-minded publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys, should dispute that electronic uses inherent in the digital right and electronic right can easily cannibalize the older and more traditional forms and formats. This cannibalization will only increase, not decrease, as time goes on. Again, the author should put himself/herself in the mind-set of the publisher or its in-house publishing lawyer, when having this digital right/electronic right argument with the publisher or publishing lawyer. The publisher otherwise may want to invest marketing and personnel support in the author's work, and perhaps even pay the author an advance for the writing. In their view, though, the publisher's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney argues, why should they do so, and not also capture the author's digital right or electronic right?
The last thing that the publisher or its publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney wants to do is to pay the author - and then discover that the author has "scooped" the publication with the author-reserved digital right or electronic right, stolen the publisher's proverbial fire, and undermined the publisher's investment in the author and the writing. The concern of the publisher and the book company's in-house publishing lawyer or outside entertainment attorney is rational and valid. If the publisher allows the author to potentially undercut the book by exploiting author's reserved digital right or electronic right, then the publisher is threatening the publisher's own investment in the author and in the written work. (And on some subliminal level at least, the company's in-house publishing lawyer also knows that this could come out of his or her future comp).
Compromises are available. One traditional compromise effected between publishing lawyers or entertainment attorneys is a so-called "hold-back" on the digital right or electronic right, whereby the author promises not to use or license-out any author-reserved digital right or electronic right for a certain period of time following publication. The author will need some leverage to get a publisher to agree to such a compromise, though. And a publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney should draft the clause - the author's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney, not the publisher's counsel!
An author may think that small "portfolio" uses (e.g., tucked inside greeting cards, on an author's personal web site, etc.) are so minor, that they will never compete with publishing rights granted for the same work, and may tell the publisher or the company's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney as much. The greeting card example does seem innocuous enough, but the publisher and its entertainment or publishing lawyer will likely not agree with the author regarding the author's personal web site. It is the electronic right or the digital right that really scares publishers and their publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys, and is perceived as threatening to their long-term investment in the author and his or her work.
The distinction to be made here is between hard-copy portfolio uses, and digital right or electronic right "portfolio uses". The fact is that computer-uploaded text is so easy and quick to transmit, receive, and read. The posted content's popularity could also spread like digital wildfire, so quickly - for example, if a company hyper-links to the author's site, or if "Yahoo" bumps the author's site up in their search-engine pecking-order. Many successes have already been made by virtue of digital right and electronic right self-publishing, and more will follow. Traditional (book) publishers and their publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys already realize this fact. Accordingly, traditional book publishers and their counsel also realize that once they acknowledge an author's reservation of a "self-promotion" digital right or electronic right, they risk losing control of a potential wildfire dissemination method. Again, this would put the publisher's investment at risk - but smart business people and companies and the publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys that represent them, don't put their own investments at risk.
4. The Party To The Contract That Has The Better And More Immediate Means and Resources To Exploit The Electronic Rights, Should Be The One Who Takes The Electronic Rights.
Here is the final point. If a contracting party has no means and resources to exploit a digital right or electronic right or a given bundle of them, then that same party has no business taking (or reserving to themselves) those same digital or electronic rights by contract or even negotiating such a position by and between publishing lawyers or entertainment attorneys. To analogize, if I am a screenwriter who options or sells my script to the Acme Production Company, LLC, through an entertainment lawyer, how should I react if Acme asks me to specifically and contractually grant them "theme park rights" in my literary property in the negotiation between the entertainment attorneys? (Don't laugh - this practice is now very prevalent in film and entertainment deals).
Well, if Acme doesn't have its own theme park, I (or my entertainment attorney) now have a powerful argument for reserving the theme park rights to myself instead. "Hey, Acme", I (or my entertainment attorney) say, "... how do you have the unmitigated gall to ask me for my theme park rights, when you don't even have the ability to exploit or use them yourself? You don't even have a theme park!" I (or my entertainment attorney) then make it clear to Acme that I don't intend to be giving them any trophies that they can put on a shelf to collect proverbial dust.
The same argument can work in the publishing context, particularly as argued between publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys, regarding the digital right or the electronic right. The author can proverbially cross-examine the publisher (or try to cross-examine the company's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney) as to what successful past uses they have made of other author's digital rights or electronic rights across multiple books. The company President may fudge the answer, but the publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney representing the publisher must answer truthfully. (One good reason to negotiate through counsel).
If the true answer to the question is "none", then the author can use the "trophy" argument stated above. If the true answer is, alternatively, "some", then the author has a negotiating opportunity to compel the publisher and its publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney to contractually commit to digitally and electronically publish the author's work, too. The author can argue: "I won't grant you the digital right or electronic right unless you, publisher, contractually commit in advance as to how specifically you will exploit them, and how much money you will spend in their development and marketing". The author or the author's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney can then carve those electronic right and digital right commitments right directly into the contract, if the author has the leverage to do so. Again, one should not try this at home - but instead use a publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney.
Needless to say, once the author makes the publisher commit, presumably through publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney counsel, to a development budget or other marketing or "release" commitment for the digital right or the electronic right, then both the author and the publisher might thereby also have some basis for numerical valuation of the rights themselves. And, it is an entirely reasonable argument for an author or author's publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney to say to a publisher that: "I will license/sell you the following listed digital right[s] or electronic right[s] if you pay me the following additional amounts for them:_____________________. And in the blank space, the rights can be listed like menu options as they have been broken out in Item #1 above, each to which separate dollar values - that is, price-tags - are now assigned.
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Publishing And Digital And Electronic Rights
© John J. Tormey III, PLLC. All Rights Reserved.
My law practice as a publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney includes the drafting, editing, negotiation, and closure of agreements including digital and electronic rights matters as they may arise therein, as well as in the fields of music, film, television, Internet, and other media and art forms. If you have questions about legal issues which affect your career, and require representation, please contact me:
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Electronic Press Kit - An Innovative Marketing Promotional Tool for Musicians

By Keshavsing K Solanki

An Electronic Press Kit (EPK) also known as Electronic Information Kit (EIK) or Electronic Media Kit (EMK) is exactly what the name suggests - a press kit in an electronic form. EPK can be distributed through CD, DVD, a thumb-drive, an e-mail, or a Web site.
Why EPK?
The world has change a great deal for the musicians with the advent of social media. From marketing to the artist-fan relations and distribution of music, everything is now taking place online. The traditional way of presenting music to industry stakeholders through the press kit is no longer the most effective marketing strategy.
EPK or Electronic Information Kit is an innovation that allows every musician to showcase their entire range of works online
EPK - an Online Press Kit
EPK or Electronic Media Kit is an online press kit.
Using an Electronic Information Kit, you can send information about your entire gamut of work to whosoever you want including the press.
However, unlike a normal e-mail, which can be accessed by only the sender and the receiver, Electronic Press Kit goes on to appear on search engine and therefore can be accessed by every online visitor. Now imagine the benefits of getting such a vast exposure without making even a bit of extra effort and penny!
Electronic Media Kit - quick, engaging and up to date
One of the worries that most of the musicians face is related to the time and effort they need to invest every time they launch a new album or hold a concert. Electronic Media Kit takes this worry out of equation as using it you can up-to-date about all your activities and coming events online. Thus, an EPK also spares you money and time in distributing information.
Become a leader with EPK
EPK or Electronic Information Kit also enables you to keep track of your online visitors. This helps you to know exactly who your target audience is and what they want. Thus, you can always be a step ahead of your competitor and keep your art in tune with the demand of the market.
Whether you are a dancer, singer or a percussionist, an EPK can be tailored as per your specific needs. An EPK can be easily disseminated using an e-mail and therefore an artiste can send it to the specific group of audience with specific information.
A golden platform for new arrivals
EPK or Electronic Information Kit has an extensive reach. Distributing Electronic Press Kit using social networking sites like face book, my space and you tube, you can take your work to every art lover on this earth. This is especially beneficial for a budding artiste.
With an effective Electronic Press Kit, you can receive the attention of a great number of people and make your work known worldwide.
Cost effective and highly effective
By using an EPK, you can reduce the cost you, as an artiste, have to bear in promoting your work and reaching the audience.
Electronic Media Kit is simple yet highly effective.
You need only a simple click and bingo! Before your blink your eyes, your work has reached the place and the person you want. Thus, using Electronic media kit saves you time and money which you otherwise have to spend in printing and disseminating promotional materials.

Keshavsing K Solanki is a veteran IT professional with ten years of experience in writing on various technological topics. The author has been associated with various major electronic press kit [http://epk-electronicpresskit.com/] and Electronic media Kit [http://epk-electronicpresskit.com/Electronic-media-Kit.html] service providers.

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Marketing Real Estate Properties in Jordan Via Electronic Media - What Are the Chances of Success?

By Steve Shishani

Marketers of properties in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan have always relied on traditional marketing techniques. In most cases, sellers and buyers of land, residential, and commercial properties rely on brokers and their agents to facilitate the process. Property owners who have the time and stamina, in an attempt to save on commissions, resort to other means such as placing print ads on local newspapers and real estate specialty magazines, or simply use for-sale-by-owner signs to showcase their properties and attract buyers.
Recently, the ubiquity of computers coupled with the availability of broadband internet access in major metropolitan areas such as the capital Amman, Zarqa, Irbid, and Aqaba is slowly changing the way Jordanians carry out their real estate marketing transactions. New real estate listing and marketing websites servicing the Middle Eastern markets are popping up on the internet at an unprecedented pace. Owners of these websites are trying to walk in the footsteps of highly successful western website operators who have achieved a good level of success serving their local markets. Nowadays, it is possible to find advertisements for all types of properties such as land, apartments, villas, and condominiums on such websites in Jordan.
Email usage by Jordanian is also on the rise. In fact, the growth has been exponential and unprecedented in the last two years. Some brokers and their agents are finding new and exciting marketing opportunities in this new communications medium. It is not uncommon for an average email user to receive two or three email blasts from real estate agents on daily basis.
Marketing real estate through the internet in Jordan is still in its nascency though. With the absence of accurate official research on its efficacy, its hard to tell at this stage if it is worthwhile for the traditional Jordanian advertiser to jump on the e-marketing band wagon. This dearth of information and lack of credible third-party research is forcing some website operators and young e-marketing companies to conduct direct customer surveys on their own in an effort to validate their e-services to the distrustful public.
A recent customer survey conducted by "Nizah for eMarketing," a startup firm specializing in e-marketing services in Amman, Jordan concluded that most customers still preferred the more traditional advertising means such as print advertising over placing property ads on websites. Additionally, according to the survey, some were suspicious of the effectiveness of mass email campaigns as well. However, the majority of the people surveyed expected the situation to change in the near future as the cost of connecting to broadband internet becomes within the reach of most middle-class Jordaninas.
So, is there hope for e-marketing to enjoy any level of success in Jordan any time soon? Well, Jordanian have in the past welcomed and embraced technology as an enabler in all facets of their daily lives; it is just a matter of time before e-marketing garners enough trust and gains the required credibility to take its rightful place alongside other more traditional marketing media.

AqarLink is a real estate listing and marketing website serving the Arab world. It aims to employ the internet as a marketing tool to enable the real estate markets of the Middle East to catch up and keep pace with their counterparts in the developed countries, thereby improving their competitiveness in the new global economy. The website is a highly advanced technological platform created to serve individuals, private and public corporations of all sizes, financial institutions, and investors in the Arab world.
Apartments for sale in Jordan
Villas for sale in Jordan

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Electronic Media Copying and Backups: Enhance Your Life and Your Business

By Phil Edwards

First you need the right equipment. What kinds of copies do you want to make, and what media are you going to be copying from? If your answer is VHS tapes, you'll need the proper hookups in the back of your computer to accommodate a cable from the VCR. If you need backups primarily and you want to back up to DVD and to the Internet, you'll need a high-speed hookup and a DVD burner. Make your list, and then take it to your computer store. You'll almost certainly need to get a new computer; innovations today are leading to more and more robust computing technology, and you should have the best for your copying needs.
If you want to copy DVDs, you need to be aware of copyright restrictions. You absolutely must not copy DVDs for anything but your own personal use. To do otherwise is breaking the law. And the record companies have shown us that large media companies can come after individuals who performed activities when said activies were in the shady part of law--and they can win. Until digital media rights are clarified for everyone, err on the side of caution and make only a single copy; archive the original in your personal collection.
If you only want part of a DVD, you can copy clips or single images to either a DVD or a CD. You'll need blank media for burning, and you'll need DVD editing software. Some of the newer DVD burners will also burn an image into the back of your DVD to label it.
If you want to copy software contained on DVD or CD, you should be aware that, just like with movies, it's not a hundred percent legal; make sure you keep those copies for your personal use, just like you did with your movies. And it may be impossible to copy some software; for instance, newer Microsoft software is copyblocked to disallow copying. Fortunately, most game software companies and many others have realized the value of allowing you to back up, thus have chosen to trust you to do it responsibly rather than blocking you from doing it at all.
Copying video games is more complex. In order to copy them properly, you'll need a physical plug-in for either your computer or for the game itself so that the game console will boot the game properly. And while copying video games is understandable, in light of how often the disks get badly scratched, it also may be illegal. And software designers often save their best copy block technology for games. Be ready for a difficult struggle if you copy video games; but if you persevere, you'll be able to get it done.
With a good scanner and image editor, you can copy all your personal and family pictures onto CD, and then copy them if you like to send as Christmas greetings, gifts, or family newsletters. Digitizing pictures is actually a very straightforward thing to do; of the different electronic copying techniques, it's probably the easiest. To digitize pictures, you can take them with a digital camera to begin with; you can ask for them as digital pictures at the photo counter (for that matter, you can take your pictures to the photo technicians and ask them to digitize them for you - they will for a fee); or you can buy a scanner and scan them in yourself.
Small businesses have a special problem: the Blue Screen of Death. When it pops up, generally in the middle of something important you really need to finish, you have a serious problem; you may experience loss of hard drive data. That's when you reboot your computer and - nothing happens. Or an error message happens. Suddenly, you can't access your hard drive.
Instead of hoping this never happens, you should back up your hard drive regularly. The worst thing that could happen is that you'll never need to restore a backup. The best thing: that when your hard drive crashes, you'll have the backup to restore. It's like a digital insurance policy.
If you own a small business and depend heavily on your computer - for instance, if you run a merchandise business and need accurate copies of orders and of inventory - you might want to consider data backups. You can back your data up on tapes, DVDs, CDs, or online; the best method by far is online, though. Subscription costs for online backups can be high, but if you've ever lost your data, you'll agree it's worth its price. Your company without data is like a boat without sails or anchor - adrift.
If you prefer not to use Internet backups, tape backups are reasonably cheap, easy to use, and very stable. They've been used for years, and it's quite straightforward to recover data from a tape backup to your computer.
If you're backing up your data, you do need to be aware of the proper methods; or if your computer autoexecutes the backup, you need to remember to leave the computer on.. And if you're backing up, you should do it every night without fail; it won't cost you any more, and it may save you a full day's work.

Phil Edwards is a freelance writer and published living and working in the City London and author for Backing and Copying up DVDs and Games [http://www.copysure.com] and DIY [http://www.househobby.com].

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Marketing Writing for Electronic Media

By K. MacKillop

For most small business owners, good marketing is the key to success. Every business needs a website and every website should include a mechanism for capturing visitors for your mailing list. A simple opt-in newsletter sign up is effective, where site visitors can just enter their email address in exchange for updates on your product or service lines, coupons, or notification of special events. The trick to building your customer base through online contacts is to follow-up frequently and effectively.
Everything you send out to your email contact list must reflect your company culture and present a consistent image. Here are a few things to watch for before you send electronic marketing messages:
Audience
Be clear about who each message is targeting. If you have multiple segments in your target market, consider customizing messages for each segment. A good contact database (such as ACT!) provides plenty of options for segmenting your customer list and identifying commonalities among your base.
Style
Be sure your newsletters, coupons, and basic email messages reflect a consistent style, preferably one that can be closely associated with the style of your website. Use the same tone and perspective (second-person, third-person) throughout your messages, and be careful not to contradict previous messages.
Quality
Check and double-check every message for quality control. Run the spell and grammar check and read each message aloud before you send them out. Use sans serif fonts - the ones without the little marks, called serifs, at the ends of each stroke - because they are far easier to read online. Be sure the font size is at least 10-point throughout the message.
Readability
Avoid essay-length missives - people will stop reading after a sentence or two. Use bulleted lists when a large amount of information needs to be included. If you must write in paragraphs, be sure each paragraph focuses on a single idea and use subheadings to draw attention to each point. And, while the use of color is good, avoid using a light font on a dark background...it is nearly impossible to read on a computer screen.
Design
The most effective email marketing pieces do a good job of balancing text and graphics while leaving enough negative space (white space) to allow the message to stand out. The design of your newsletters and ads should clearly reflect the design of the rest of your marketing materials, including the business's website. Use the same colors and fonts such that clicking through to your homepage is seamless in terms of image.
Content
Be sure the content brings something new to the table - updates on changes in your business, sales notices, coupons, etc. Include a clear call to action (what you want the reader to do next, such as call for reservations, check out our updated website, or call now for more information. Include multiple links to your website and encourage your loyal customers to forward the message.
Online marketing is an effective, nearly free route for building your customer base. Take the time to create messages that reflect the image and culture of your company and tap into the needs of your target market.

-K. MacKillop, a serial entrepreneur, is founder of LaunchX and authors a small business startup blog. The LaunchX System is designed to help entrepreneurs start a business based on their own idea. It includes step-by-step business startup instructions, key software, business tools, and more -- a complete business kit. Visit LaunchX.com to learn more about this revolutionary way to become an entrepreneur.

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Keeping Abreast Of All Your Business News With Print And Electronic Media

By Clare Crowden

If you think about it you can see that the news media has been evolving for some time. Business news was once only available in a newspaper, that changed when television arrived on the scene. Now we have the world wide web at our fingertips. For those that need to stay current as far as business is concerned, the Internet has ensured that information is just a click or two away.
By definition the word 'news' refers to the four points on a compass. This is rather interesting, because many people simply assume it to mean something different. However, its purpose is to keep the masses informed of what is going on in the world around them.
In the early days there was no way of providing news to the public. Thanks to the invention of the printing press newspapers and business magazines came into being. Over the decades and centuries since, the news media has continued to grow and expand. Today, business news is a vital and distinct branch of the news in general.
Even with all the advances that the news media has enjoyed over the years, none have come so dramatically and quickly as those that have occurred in the latter half of the 20th century. This is thanks to the phenomenal rise of the Internet, which ensures that the news reaches the widest audience ever.
Business news concerns all things business and commerce related. Nowadays one can make use of more than just business magazines, because there are whole channels devoted to this branch of the news media.
What Does Business And Commerce News Include?
1. Stock Market Updates - Lack of information means you cannot make smart and informed decisions, which is why many used to lose a lot of money in the stock market. In our modern times, stock market news is always available, along with expert advice and constant updates.
2. Corporate World Information - This means that the public can be kept abreast of what is happening in the corporate world as well. Everything is covered so that interested parties are kept well informed. After all, corporate happenings affect the stock market, so it is vital that people can be kept current as far as developments are concerned, whether these are mergers, takeovers, etc.
3. Analysis Of The Budget - Knowing what the government is doing regarding the different industries is very important. When a budget is made known it will be covered on television, in the print media, and online. So that the common man can follow what is going on, the information is presented in a simplified form, especially on television.
4. Product And Service Reviews - Business news also covers the reviews of different products and services. For those of us who are not clued up with all the latest gadgets out there, this information is very useful in keeping us aware of what is hot, and what is not. The same is true of services that are offered.

Check out a great business news,and their business magazine Melbourne

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Social Media - It's So Overwhelming! 5 Steps to Make it Easier to Dive In! Part 1

By Jeff D Harrison

I don't want to scare you, but social media is here and it's not going away soon. In other words it's not a fad like the pet rock, or knickers!
Actually this is all good news. One because we can communicate, for the first time for almost free, and then communicate specifically to a targeted market. So instead of putting an ad in a newspaper, knowing maybe only 2-3% of the audience cares about your product, you can now communicate with people who have like interests and are interested in your business/product.
Rule # 1 about social media
We can afford to give something away, something of value to our recipients.
When you're just starting out, this may be as simple as adding them to the monthly newsletter. This one act allows you the opportunity to begin creating a bond and relationship with your past guests. I would highly recommend creating and sending it in the spirit of giving, versus one that expects immediate results.
If you expect to send one newsletter and immediately get a response that creates new revenue, you may be sadly disappointed. The goal of using this media to communicate is to create a relationship. In fact let's call it relationship marketing instead of social media, just to help us remember, we're making new friends and how we build this relationship with in the future determine the trust and support they really have for us. So move slowly, and don't be afraid to give something away.
Rule #2
We can speak to them more often via electronic media
We can do this because to create content, and hit the send button is basically free. Also stats show that we can communicate more frequently without being a pain in the neck, as long as we deliver relevant content! Now that being said. Think about what content would be relevant to your particular guests or Members? Golf tips, how to choose the right equipment, how to save on golf while traveling....you get the idea. Write from their perspective, not yours.
Rule #3
Variety = Higher rate of readers
I would suggest, if you have other department heads, you have them write 100-150 words a month about a topic that they feel would be interesting.
You as the leader should now and then also send information about the condition of the club. Some ideas:
PACE of Play - everyone would love to come back if your course averaged 3:45 versus the course down the street at 4:15. Let them know this. Course Conditions. Do you have some projects going on that will positively enhance their round....share good stories. Maybe you're instituting a new training program for your staff that will deliver better experiences. GPS System- maybe you just installed the latest and greatest. Tell em about it!
Rule #4
Encourage them to invite people to also receive your e-newsletter (or whatever you choose to call it). Make a contest, and award a prize. Would you be willing to give 1 foursome away per month to the one who refers the most friends? Pretty cheap way to build a database!
Rule #5
Be consistent. If you decide, and I highly recommend you do, to begin a monthly or weekly communication piece, then do it like clockwork. Set aside time each week and take 10 minutes, write or collect and enter the new content. To help, simply create a distribution list, add all your contacts into this list, and then add them all to the BCC (this helps secure the privacy of each name on the list) and attach your new communication and hit send.
The rewards will be amazing. As you begin to do this, people will begin to talk to others and a buzz will build, it will be about you and your club! 3rd party endorsement is, as they say "priceless." Good luck, and embrace the new social, I mean relationship marketing ideas!

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Public Speaking - Electronic Media Kits For Authors

By Sunny Nash

Your book is sizzling! You just lost 25 pounds to get ready for your speaking tour. You have a great press kit, which is printed on the finest linen stock and enclosed in the most expensive shiny black presentation folder with a screen print of your book cover on the front.
Then, why aren't all those prospective target audiences you have contacted getting back to you with public speaking engagements about your sizzling book? Well, there may be a simple answer. Many prospective audiences and professional firms, as well, are receiving booking requests and public speaking promotional materials via internet press releases as standard procedure these days. As a result, many people who frequently need to distribute press kits are now delivering them as digital or online press releases and packets, transported over the internet to target audiences to save time and create a less intrusive method of filing and updating.
Digital and online press packets and media kits do not make their hardcopy counterparts obsolete. I advise that a hardcopy always be available to hand out at public speaking events and other functions if requested. However, somewhere in your presentation materials, you should refer to the availability of a digital version of your media kit. The digital version can be stored as a page on your website for convenient download or printing, saving you the cost of postage, photographic reproduction, photocopying, printing, paper, ink and presentation folders.

• You don't have a website?
• As an author and a professional practicing today, you should!

There is no need to go out and buy an expensive complicated publishing or design program to create your online media package. Unless you already know how to use design and publishing software, it can be frustrating and time-consuming, delaying any chance that you will have your digital press packet prepared in a timely fashion. Also, it can be quite expensive to hire someone to do the job for you. I suggest using a simple word processing software like MS WORD, which will give you all the flexibility and simplicity you need to create an attractive and effective digital media kit.
The best thing about MS WORD is you probably already know how to use it. Open a new document and type in your letterhead, which will consist of your name or the title of your book or both, plus your contact information. Not too fussy, though, meaning too many colors and fancy fonts. Keep it simple and elegant. Save a blank copy of the letterhead so you can cut and paste new material into it to update your kit.
I approach digital media kits the same way I approach traditional hardcopy media kits. They should contain your biographical sketch, a press release, recent event poster and contact information. Be sure to use an image of your book cover to promote yourself as a published author, which will increase your attractiveness to a wide array of target audiences. Include a headshot of yourself and photograph of you before an audience if you have one.
You may start the body of your press kit with a brief biographical sketch and a list of your speaking topics. Remember, your speaking engagement should be more than a reading from your book. Your speaking topics may be drawn from themes covered in your book. In this section, include a hyperlink to your website or to specific pages in your website where an online press release and more detailed information can be found about you, your book and the services you offer. Consult Free Publicity for Your Book for additional ideas.
Additional hyperlinks may point to video presentations on your website of you in action on the stage. It may be useful to include hyperlinks to news coverage about you or excerpts of your TV appearances. On a separate page in your media package, include a digital copy of at least one newspaper article that covers you and your book. When you have finished creating the files for your internet media kit, save them. Then place those designed materials into a PDF (portable document file) to lock the files in place and prevent changes. PDF files are very common and most users are able to open them easily.
I suggest that you restrict the media kit to a couple of pages so that you will not have to zip it. Unfortunately, some users do not have or know how to use unzip programs, making your press materials inconvenient to access for some and not accessible to others. Once the PDF file is created, you can attach it to messages to email recipients and store a copy on a page of your website. If you do not know how to create a PDF file, simply attach your MS WORD electronic media kit to an email and write the recipient a personalized message.
Remember, though, a regular MS WORD file is not locked and may be changed. Because users fear contracting a virus, they do not indiscriminately open attachments from strangers. So, be sure to let your recipients know you are sending an attachment or you may risk having your carefully crafted public speaking promotional materials cybertrashed.

Sunny Nash is author of "Bigmama Didn't Shop At Woolworth's," recognized by the Association of American University Presses for understanding race relations in America; and listed in Bibliographic Guide to Black Studies by the New York Schomburg Center and the Florida's Miami-Dade Library System Native American collections. Her work is in African American National Biography by Harvard and Oxford; African American West, Reflections in Black, History of Black Photography; Ancestry; Companion to Southern Literature; Black Genesis: Resource Book for African-American Genealogy; African American Foodways; Southwestern American Literature; Source: a guidebook to American genealogy; Bibliographic Guide to Black Studies; Interdisciplinary Journal for Germanic Linguistics; Ebony; Southern Exposure; Hidden Sources and others. Nash won California writing fellowships in 2003 and 2010, won 2004 Charter Communications' TV award and nominated for a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.
http://sunnynash.blogspot.com/p/bigmama-didnt-shop-at-woolworths.html

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There Are Some Common Forms of Social Media

By Laura Maggio

Electronic media has probably taken off the most with the use of the internet and mobile devices. Posting jobs, providing access to your company and connecting with other businesses is now more easily obtainable than ever before. Daily updates are far more accessible than print media. With our businesses and our daily lives ever changing, electronic media is where most businesses feel they achieve the most success.
Concepts or slogans are also a great way to excite a potential consumer.
A great way to grab attention or a concept or slogan is through use of television or a radio commercial. Having a catchy slogan gets consumers thinking about a product, which in turn they are more willing to try. Although daily updates to the company can be costly to produce and be received through TV, it is still a great way to promote a business. Many businesses will broadcast their commercial and then post a website that consumers can go on to learn more about the company.
Print media is still booming today. Newspapers may be a fading source of advertisement, but magazines are still going strong.
You cannot open a magazine without having pages and pages of ads. Print ads have become more competitive in grabbing attention which has boosted sales based on originality.
With the technology to produce more attention grabbing ideas either through interesting graphics on sites, catchy concepts or slogans, or through printed ads, the availability to reach consumers through social media has been outstanding for businesses to grow and to connect with customers.

Meet our team: [http://www.cbnetworking.com]

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Electronic Media: Copying For Preservation

By Phil Edwards

You've spend most of your young adult life recording every single episode of Seinfeld and Sex in the City - now you wish you'd waited until recordable DVDs had come out. Or your grandmother left you boxes of pictures and even old reel-to-reel movies, all crumbling and disintegrating, and you'd love to be able to copy them to a CD or a DVD. Or you want to take those family memories and share a copy with each of your eight daughters. How do you get your information and images from the closets and boxes of life into new electronic media?
First you have to understand the limitations. There's only so much one can do with crumbling tapes and disintegrating images. A picture that's faded - is never going to be in its original color. You can only capture what's there right now. And if your tapes pop and scratch, you'll have a recording on DVD or CD that pops and scratches too. Also, there's a difference between analog media, like tapes, and digital media; when you transfer from one to the other, you're going to see some quality issues.
Second, you have to understand your equipment needs. You will have to have a good computer, first and foremost, and preferably one that has lots of hard drive space so you can store your images, sounds, and moving images until they can be transferred to a more appropriate medium. When you purchase your computer, make sure it's a multimedia computer. This ensures that it will have the right hookups for tape transferal. It will need a video hookup (that's the three plugs in red, yellow, and white) to transfer VCR data, and you'll need to purchase a scanner for those pictures. A DVD burner will be of the utmost necessity, preferably one that also burns standard CDs. Remote backup of your data is a good idea as well; for that, you should have a good high-speed hookup for your computer.
Now go out and study copyright law. You need to understand that some of what you're doing may be construed as illegal one day, judging by the way court cases are going. The FBI warning that comes up at the beginning of every recorded movie warning against public showings or illegal copying is a very serious thing these days. When you copy copyright-protected materials, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are making them for your personal use only. Don't do what some are doing, and copy the game, CD, or DVD before selling it secondhand; this is blatantly illegal and at some point it's going to catch up with them.
Another piece of hardware may be necessary if you're copying video games for your kids. It's a good idea to make these copies for pre-teen children because of the damage they can do to CDs and DVDs; but you will need a special plug-in adapter for your video game console. In addition, you should be ready for a steep learning curve. It's much harder to copy disk-based games than it is to copy movies or music. Remember, games are designed by programmers; the best copyblock programs are going to be found here, not on a movie. You will have to purchase special software and learn it in order to circumvent the copy blocks.
When you do have all the necessary equipment and knowledge, it should not be hard to copy anything you want into any medium, provided that medium has enough room. And you can do some really neat things as you copy them. For instance, you can edit out all the commercials in that 7-year run of Seinfeld. It may take you months, but ultimately you'll have a perfect copy of all the episodes. Or maybe you want to turn your old pictures into a slide show, with sound, text, and voiceovers. With a good presentation program, you can do that. Disks like this make excellent anniversary presents, Christmas greetings, or engagement gifts to welcome new members of the family.
You can take old family movies and give them soundtracks if you like; or you can print all your grandma's old pictures onto T-shirts to give away at the holidays. Really, once you have digitized your data and images, you have no limitations to what you can do to it except for your own imagination.
In the last decade, electronic media, computing advances, and the Internet have transformed our lives. They will continue transforming them for the foreseeable future. And media will also continue changing. If you make digitized copies of your memories, your media, and your information, you can ensure that they are preserved for the future. And by learning about the advances coming down the pike, you can prepare for future developments; for instance, smell technology is available for web designers these days. Wouldn't it be neat to be able to record the smell of Mom's apple pie, or of your favorite perfume, and play it back someday in the future? Smell, after all, is the sense most closely related to memory.
But for now, use your skills with electronic media copying to enhance your current media collection, preserve memories for the future, and show people how much they mean to you by giving them gifts of memories and love. Technology is just another tool that you can use to make your life and the lives of those you love better. Use it.

Phil Edwards is a writer and author living in London and writer for copy and Backup Discs [http://www.copysure.com] and Home Improvement and DIY [http://www.househobby.com].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_Edwards

Media Versus Educational Institutions

By Syed Ahmedullah

Many things have been said about media, its relation with education and the institutions of education, as well as co-action between them. But the point which has been rarely and scarcely stressed upon, and requires to be emphasized with the force and vigour it deserves, is that the media by itself is the most powerful medium of education at large. When I talk about media, I mean it to be inclusive of both the print-media and electronic media. There is an umbilical relation between the media and educational institutions, as both are deeply correlated, collateral as well as complementary to each other.
Education on Air
So far as the print-media (news papers/magazines/periodicals/journals) is concerned, it has, somehow, been playing its role in educating the people positively to some extent, but unfortunately, the electronic media (radio, television etc.,) is not delivering the goods in this respect. Being a medium of infotainment, it is, in fact, supposed to be a means of not merely educating the masses on a much wider scale, but also a tool of promoting and developing the national ethos, culture, moral values, ethics and social manners on the nation-wide scale.
Media is the most powerful instrument of not only spreading, inculcating and ingraining the values and traditions among our new generation, but also strengthening them in the mindset of the old one. It is the government' responsibility to use electronic media for the above-mentioned purposes and it has the powers, necessary resources and machinery to do so, but, alas, it has, until now, failed to take any concrete step in the direction. Government is therefore well-advised to press its machinery to use the centrally-administered media as a tool to provide education on air.
Media's role compared with formal Institutions of Educations
It is an irrefutable fact that the media can prove an effective and useful tool in providing education to the masses. In this respect, media's role starts exactly from where the role being played by the formal institutions such as schools, colleges and universities comes to an end. The media has not merely an obligation to inform the people what has happened, and what is happening in the surroundings, in the society, across the country and around the world, but it has also a bounden duty to enlighten the masses what actually must have been there and, in deed, what now must be there under the sky.
Art, Culture and Literature
The media has another function to perform and that is to take care of social manners and ethical values among the people, to preserve and promote them besides developing indigenous art, culture and literature.
A few words about literature: whatever is written is simply defined as literature. However, whatever is written with an accuracy of the language and punctuation of the grammar is, by definition, termed to be the "classic literature," whereas whatever is printed, published, broadcast and telecast by the print-electronic media is nothing but the "literature in haste." And this exactly is the domain of media.
Reverse Gear
Now the question arises what is the media doing now-a-days? Hasn't it put the vehicle on the reverse gear and isn't driving it in quite opposite direction? Is the media playing its role, doing its functions in any respect honestly and sincerely? Is it delivering the goods in letters and in spirit? The answer is, alas, a horrible "No."
It is extremely deplorable, disappointing and sorry state affairs to see that in the name of art and culture, the Western art and culture are being promoted and boosted, and on the contrary, the indigenous arts and cultures, are, unfortunately, being weakened and relegated day by day, throwing the young generation straightaway into the "lap of the Western Culture" on a wholesale scale.
Failure of the Educational System
The role being played by our formal educational establishments is even worse. Our system of education is still based on some elements of the British policy- getting rid of which the sooner, is the better because they are, on the one hand, laying negative and harmful impact on the emerging talents of our promising students and on the other, extirpating the very roots of Indian culture. Despite having gained geo-political freedom, we are yet to be able to get ourselves released from the yoke of mental- intellectual bondage of our Anglo-American masters in certain spheres of life, especially in economy, science and technology. In the name of imparting education, our students are virtually made "the book-addicts", rather turned into the "book-worms." Instead of pushing ahead and encouraging them to pursue and develop their instinctively creative talents and skills, the students are, unfortunately, being encouraged to strictly go by the books from the beginning to the end, throughout their lives. Main emphasis is on theory and not on practice.
Consequently, now the nation India can boast of producing the best "imitators" in almost every sphere of life but is not in a position to proudly claim to have produced any original thinkers and scientists except Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, S.Chandrashekher, Hargobind Khurana, Amartya Sen, Venkatramana Ramakrshnan and a few other exceptions in recent history. Even a handful of those born with inner creative talents and high skills, are compelled to go abroad due to the lack of necessary facilities, proper incentives, lucrative compensations and encouragement in the country. In the field of science and technology, we are still dependent on the highly developed Western nations to a large extent, and India's glory has been lost somewhere in the dustbin of history.
Total Overhauling needed
Unless the whole structure of the polity, which has been reduced to an abominably, abhorrently stinking rot, is overhauled and restructured, policies putting the educational system on a sound footing, and guiding the media towards its real functions, are framed afresh and implemented vigorously and vehemently, as well as suitable amendments are incorporated in the relevant portions of the Constitution in order to enact and enforce necessary laws for the purposes, the situation will not improve and India will not emerge as a totally free and independent nation in every field of life, in the truest sense of the term. In respect of media, it is more essential and imperative, especially in view of the growing greed to earn as much money as possible, even if it is at the expense of the barest minimum requisites of the common people. That the greed has overshadowed the super values and lofty human sentiments of love, affection, compassion, sympathy, honesty, sincerity and above all -- the spirit of sacrifice -- has been brought to the fore by the greedy, selfish and self-serving T.V. journalists/photographers, who, while reporting, always tend to prefer capturing images of even the bleeding and dying persons attacked by miscreants or injured in road accidents, to going to their rescue. An instance pointing out to the bitter truth was reported from Chennai, where a police officer attacked while on his motorbike by unidentified assailants, bled to death because of delayed medical attention on January 8, 2010. A convoy of ministers passed by, stopped, looked at the sub-inspector of Tamil Nadu police, R. Vetrivel lay profusely bleeding on the road, and simply passed off. None of them felt it necessary to take any action. On the other hand, a T.V. cameraman was so keen to capture the images that he, too, did not consider it necessary to take trouble of going to his aid.
The images were flashed by several TV news channels including 9 O'CLOCK NEWS. Although, the channels' aim was to wag a finger at the ministers, who impotently stood around doing nothing, the same charge could be leveled on the cameraman, who was busy filming the scene, instead of rushing the man to the hospital. However, we can put the same question to ourselves; how many times do we stop when we witness a road accident? Is it fair on our part to be quick to shake our heads at the ministers, when many of us might not have stopped for any Vetrivel either? What does such an occasion demand from a journalist, who happens to be a human being? Should he shoot the event and pass off or physically intervene in it?
Arguments or Lame Excuses?
Argument goes like this that journalists' job is just to report what happens, as clearly as possible. The journalist is like a doctor in the emergency room, strictly in accordance with one analogy- one that is iconic given the images of dying Vetrivel. One sees a lot of suffering, but it is more important to put one's feeling aside and just work on the story. Many journalists, the world over-feel, think and act in the same fashion - especially those covering wars and unprecedented disasters. A journalist should never forget that he is a human being first and a professional last. Apart from reason and intellect, super human sentiments of love, mercy, sympathy, mutual consideration and cooperation, going to the rescue of helpless and extending a helping hand to the needy in distress, are the attributes that distinguish human beings from animals, and human nature demands that these qualities should never, in any case, be dominated by greed to earn money at the cost of lives, and the selfish urge to go ahead in the race of sweeping into the net all sorts of comfort and luxury of mundane life for the sake of the self and kith and kin, pushing behind, and sometimes, treading over others in the race.
Ruthless Machines
The tremendous greed for money has virtually turned the professionals into the "ruthless machines," and journalists are no exception. By preferring to capture footages, the T.V. photographer, in fact, proved his mercilessness. It is, of course, the economic conditions that determine how images are produced and broadcast for the viewers.
We are so accustomed to having our television journalists dramatize the news, and act like drama-mongers that they have lost our trust. Almost every televised event seems like infotainment, a soap opera, or trick for ratings. In this context, it is very difficult not to see almost every thing the news media does with an intensely suspicious eye. The panel discussions over regulation on television have been time and again raised as a way to control the runaway speed of television news, but this doesn't seem to address the more intricate problem.

Syed Ahmedullah is a professional Journalist with an experience spread over about 40 years in Urdu and English Journalism. The subjects other than media he enjoys, include public health care and other social problems.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Syed_Ahmedullah