Monday, September 30, 2013

The Differences Between the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S


On September 20th, Apple users all over the world were given the ability to buy the newest iPhone models. Unlike all previous iPhone releases, however, Apple decided to release two different versions of the new phone—the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S. Taking them at face value, it might appear that the only differences between these two different phones are mostly cosmetic (the 5C is plastic and colorful while the 5S has the same metallic look most iPhone users have grown accustomed to). If you take a closer look, however, you will notice several differences between the two models, which should help you decide which one is right for you.

1. Materials – When it comes to the newest iPhones, your first impressions of the difference between the 5C and the 5S will probably be based on how they look. The 5S is very similar to the old iPhone 5 (which has been discontinued) in that it has an aluminum casing, which gives it a somewhat sturdier feel. For the first time in the history of Apple’s mobile devices, the exterior casing on the 5C is made of polycarbonate (also known as plastic). This cheaper material translates to the phone being able to cost you less money.

2. Price – The other most noticeable difference between the 5C and the 5S is the starting price of each phone. An iPhone 5S starts at $199 (with a two-year contract) for the 16GB model. As storage increases, the price goes up ($299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB). The iPhone 5C, on the other hand, is Apple’s attempt at offering a “low-cost” version of the iPhone. It starts at just $99 (with a two-year contract) for a 16GB model and has a 32GB model for $199.

3. Colors – The major selling point for the iPhone 5C seems to be all the different color options for the device. Apple has released the phone in five bright hues: green, pink, blue, yellow, and white. For the release of the 5S, Apple redesigned the color options available for its traditional device to include a very popular gold version. In addition to gold, “space grey” replaces the black phone, and silver replaces white.

4. Processor Speed – Unless you are very technically-inclined, the differences between the processors in the iPhone 5C and 5S will probably go over your head. Put simply, however, the A7 chip in the iPhone 5S is much faster than the A6 chip in the iPhone 5C. Essentially, the 5C has most of the same component’s of 2012’s iPhone 5 with the only key difference being the fact that its aluminum exterior has been replaced with plastic. Inside, the components of the 5C are almost identical to last year’s phone.

5. Fingerprint Scanner – When Apple announced the iPhone 5S, one of its major new features was the addition of a fingerprint scanner for added security. The scanner, which is built into the phone’s Home button, ensures that you are the only one who is able to access your device and replaces the need for a passcode to unlock your iPhone. This new feature is exclusive to the iPhone 5S and won’t be found on the 5C.

6. Camera – The cameras on both the iPhone 5S and the 5C both offer 8 megapixels and the ability to capture HD video up to 1080p. While these basic specs are the same, however, the camera on the 5S takes much better pictures than the one on the 5C. It has a dual-flash, which improves how well it captures colors. The 5S camera can also record slow-motion HD video as well as being able to take up to 10 photos per second.

When you are making the decision between buying an iPhone 5C and a 5S, there are several things to consider. If you are interested in the most technologically-advanced iPhone, the 5S is easily the best option, though it does come at a premium price. If you have always been kept out of the iPhone market because of the high cost, however, the 5C might finally allow you to join the revolution because its $99 entry point is the cheapest Apple has ever offered. On the other hand, if you already have an iPhone 5, there is no reason to upgrade to the 5C because they are essentially the same phone. In the end, you will have to make the decision based on which iPhone seems to fit your usage habits and budget best. Don’t worry, though—even if you make the wrong decision now, you can be sure that Apple will change everything once again when they come out with the next big iPhone release next fall.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Why You Should Be Tweeting About Your Failures, Not Just Your Successes


It might seem counter-intuitive to say that everyone, including businesses and professionals, should be tweeting about their failures. However, that's exactly what you should be doing. By tweeting only your successes and not the mistakes, you risk losing some of your followers and making your tweets less interesting.

The stories of failure, regret and mistakes can often be the most entertaining ones that you can tell. While it's nice to hear about all the good things that people are accomplishing, it's also nice once in a while to sit down and enjoy some old-fashioned schadenfreude. Think about your favorite comedy sitcoms or dramas. Which scenes stick out most in your mind? If you're like many people, you immediately think of awkward or disastrous situations as the best scenes. If you want to entertain your followers, you'll have to revel some things that revel your clumsy side.

Sometimes the funniest stories are ones where you don't look like the strong, macho hero. Become comfortable with being able to laugh at yourself. Others will respect you more if you can see the humor in everything.

Remind your followers that you are human and make mistakes like everyone else. When a company tweets only about their successes, they risk people forgetting that there are real people behind that company. Human interaction is key when developing business relationships or clients, so let your followers know that there is a human writing all of those tweets.

Remember, misery loves company. Everyone has been in a bad situation at one point or another, and you know that sometimes it can feel good to see that others are having just as many problems as you are.

Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you find yourself stuck on a project or in a bad situation, ask your Twitter followers what they would do. Of course, make sure that you aren't asking for help with something that you should be expected to do on your own. For example, if you business makes apps, you shouldn't ask your followers how to build an app.

People will respond to cries for help, however, because they love to feel needed. Let this be their time to shine. Ask them for advice or what they would do if they were in your shoes. When they response, tweet them back sincerely but kindly, and don't forget to thank them.

If you do find that you've made a large mistake that has cost the respect of your clients and followers, be sure to apologize publicly. Part of that public apology should include Twitter. Remain brief, but acknowledge that you did something that you should not have done. If there is a specific person who you have slighted, make sure to apologize to them personally as well.

It's okay to not be perfect. Part of being human is making mistakes and learning from them. Don't be afraid to show your Twitter followers that sometimes you do fail but that you are growing from it. If done correctly, it can engage even more followers and earn their respect.

Here are "10 Extrememly Successful Failures" you might find fascinating [http://super-trainer.com/10-extremely-successful-failures/]

Friday, September 20, 2013

Sqeeqee.com Presents Clear Vision for the Future of Social Networthing™


Sqeeqee.com Presents Clear Vision for the Future of Social Networthing™

Sqeeqee offers an innovative new approach to social media

Irvine, CA, September 19, 2013 — The hardest part of any uphill climb against competitors is dodging the rocks being thrown downhill from the king of the mountain. Those at the top of the heap are always going to strive to protect their perch, and together with like-minded critics they are going to cast doubt upon their challengers.
A recent blog posting regarding the vision of Sqeeqee.com [https://sqeeqee.com] is a perfect real life example of this metaphor [http://www.crowdfundingguide.com/sqeeqee-an-innovator-or-a-confused-vision/]. Sqeeqee offers an innovative new approach to social media that combines all of the best features of social sites like Facebook, eBay, and Amazon, and puts them all under one roof. While these major players might not be taking notice yet of Sqeeqee, industry pundits have and are admitting a sense of confusion in Sqeeqee’s vision for social networthing™.

Addressing the Critics

While the blogger was kind enough to offer a tip of the hat to Sqeeqee as an innovator, at the same time it was suggested that Sqeeqee’s vision for itself might be cloudy. At the heart of this comment was the writer’s confusion with one of Sqeeqee’s services, the gaming platform.

What makes Sqeeqee innovative in the field of online social platforms is the rare combination of the best features of other sites in one place. With one simple profile on Sqeeqee, individuals or businesses can have a social media presence, an online store to buy and sell goods, access to mobile app creation (and sales through their aforementioned e-commerce page), and even use crowd-funding to launch new products or campaigns.

Along with all those other features, Sqeeqee is currently developing its gaming platform to give users a fun past time to partake in while also increasing their reach. The inclusion of a gaming element to Sqeeqee’s profile seemed to baffle this blogger, despite the fact that it is not uncommon.

For those who have been long time users of Facebook, gaming platforms within a social media site are not a new thing. Facebook has a long standing relationship with Zynga games and in-game advertising and incentive programs appropriately link gaming platforms on social media to user profiles and the overall purpose of connecting online.

Setting the Record Straight

Sqeeqee is new, so confusion is inevitable. However, that doesn’t mean that confusion and misinformation needs to take the place of accurate facts. Sqeeqee is without question an innovative approach to social networking. Rather than promote itself as simple social networking, Sqeeqee has coined the phrase social networthing™ [http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sqeeqee-birth-social-networthing-155800988.html].

That is what Sqeeqee is all about. All of its services are offered under one roof to help any individual or businesses develop a greater social worth. Consider a small business for example. With one profile on Sqeeqee it is possible to grow the profile and image of this brand from one platform.

The social profile of the business offers a means for communicating with current and former customers, giving it a face and personality for customers to interact with. At the same time, the business can use its e-commerce page to sell its goods and services directly to customers online. When the company wants to drum up a little extra activity, it can create and launch a coupon campaign offering discounted services.

But there is much more that a business can achieve on Sqeeqee. Expansion and growth takes financing, and for many smaller businesses that can be difficult to come by. Crowd-funding is the fastest growing social phenomenon online these days. Through its social network on Sqeeqee, a business can potentially identify other members interested in financing new projects.

As for the questions surrounding Sqeeqee’s gaming platform, it is admittedly under development but far from clouding the vision of Sqeeqee’s future. Social gaming has a place on any social networking site. Whether it is there for members who want to develop and market their own games on Sqeeqee, or for businesses looking to advertise/sponsor a game relevant to their industry, social gaming has an important spot at Sqeeqee’s packed dinner table.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

5 Tips for Making a Pitch to Investors


Even though I am no longer on Wall Street, but I am still being asked from fellow entrepreneurs of the best ways to give a good pitch to investors. While there are a number of different ways, but I would like to share my own personal experiences. If you’re an entrepreneur (and you’re not independently wealthy), eventually you will need to make a pitch to investors to solicit funding for your venture. This forces you to use a completely different set of skills than you used to develop your business idea! Nevertheless, if you need funds to launch the business, this stage can’t be avoided.

Here are five tips to help you make your pitch a success.

1. Do some research on your audience. Learn everything you can about your potential investors. Find out whether they have experience in your sector – especially whether they’ve ever invested in it. Then tailor your pitch to the particular audience you’ll be facing.

2. Present a concise, clear plan. In your first session with potential investors – there’ll be a second session if you do this well – your objective is to provide a package of information that they can easily understand and that they will be able to repeat to their team. Don’t present too many numbers at this stage. Instead, focus on the viability of your business concept.

3. Know your material. You should prepare so thoroughly that you’re familiar with every statistic, claim, and projection – including everything pertaining to competitors – included in the business plan. You must be able to explain how all the data fits together and respond to any questions or comments – all without excessive reliance on notes.

4. Practice your pitch. Gather your colleagues and present the pitch to them, emphasizing that you need them to be brutally honest. Then listen to their feedback and revise the pitch accordingly.

5. Pay attention to your audience as you give the pitch. Watch their reactions as you talk, and alter your approach – within the broad outlines of your script – if it appears they’re not being persuaded. After you’ve spoken, ask for questions, and try to answer each query honestly and straightforwardly, using the data you’ve committed to memory.

While it’s impossible to predict what any group of investors will do – there are many factors that shape their response – a pitch incorporating all these recommendations will be impressive. If the result is not positive, learn from the experience by using any feedback to improve your presentation in preparation for the next pitch!

SEO Resource Guide: Your Guide to SEO Resources and Practices


July 30, 2013 Posted by SEO Resource Guy under SEO Resources


http://seo-resource-guide.com/sqeeqee-gives-birth-to-social-networthing/


Social Barrel – The most recent Social Networking News and Marketing Tips

Social networking has converted into the premise to speak between clients and companies, from conglomerates to online companies. Companies now get access to a few of the remotest areas around the globe, because of social networking. Despite the fact that the growing coverage from the Internet plays the main role in most of the, the acceptance, ease, and wide using social networking makes business-to-customer associations simpler and simpler.

Social networking has remained generally unchanged in the side from the user, since it began. Nowadays, internet marketing creates vast amounts of dollars in annual revenue, however the bigger slice would go to the pockets of Google, Facebook, and various social networking companies.

Because of its part, Sqeeqee offers the first considerable change in social networking, since its commencement, with a brand new method the social commerce company states will turn social media into social networthing.



The Excellence

Aside from extensive use, most social networks supply the same services to Internet customers. Personal profiles allow customers to include new contacts and reunite with acquaintances. Business profiles allow brands to construct their image in public places, form brand loyalty, build relationships target clients, and see and touch new marketplaces.

The main difference between Sqeeqee and also the levels of competition are exactly what the former needs to offer. It grabs the best features from social media, entertainment, media, and ecommerce sites over the Internet and syndicates them. Just one account has all of the tools required to monetize online interactions. Because of this , why Sqeeqee introduced the idea of social networthing, instead of social media.


Sqeeqee #socialnetworthing logo design. (PRNewsFoto/Sqeeqee.com)



The Highlights

Sqeeqee doesn’t need a company or person to possess distributed accounts over the Internet for a number of services, for example internet marketing, social media, and ecommerce. For instance, Sqeeqee syndicates the best options that come with Amazon . com, eBay, Facebook, and Pay Per Click.

A Sqeeqee profile opens the gate to many services a person formerly may find in one site at any given time.

Every Sqeeqee account produced provides customers a rooted ecommerce shop to purchase and sell products or services online. This key feature offers smaller businesses and online companies an chance to lessen costs of operation by saving 1000′s of dollars from maintenance costs of the professional website. A Sqeeqee profile enables a company to produce a social media presence, and never only expand to new marketplaces, but additionally target individuals clients around the platform.

A comparatively new idea in social networking is crowd-funding. This means pitching a task to larger categories of prospective traders and requesting financial support. Sqeeqee offers crowd-funding. The traders might be an individual who comes with an interest to get familiar with the whole process and growth and development of the work.

Other notable feature of Sqeeqee is really a native internet search engine, presently pending for any patent, to permit customers look around the platform for prospects to boost and share revenue.

Sqeeqee states more revenue is moved to customers who drive those activities and development of the web site, instead of large internet marketing companies, for example Google and Facebook.

Sqeeqee Gives Birth to #SocialNetworthing

Social Barrel – The most recent Social Networking News and Marketing Tips

Sqeeqee: Turning Social Networking Into Dollars and Cents


Leah Arnold-Smeets, PayScale
Aug 06, 2013


http://www.payscale.com/career-news/2013/08/sqeeqee-turning-social-networking-into-dollars-and-cents


Do you have a large social media following and wonder how you can make a few bucks off of your social influence? Well, one company claims to help you do just that. Sqeeqee (pronounced "squeaky") is a new social networking platform that provides a way for its users to monetize their social media sites through shared ad revenues.


(Photo Credit: StockMonkeys.com/Flickr)



Jenny Ta, Founder and CEO of Sqeeqee, wants to put the "users into the driver's seat [and allow] them to make real money while networking online." She calls this process "social networthing." In addition to the monetization factor, Sqeeqee has an impressive list of integrated features that include an e-commerce market, an internal search engine, a virtual stock market, crowdfunding, and charitable contributions options, coupons and daily deals, and mobile apps. This platform is intended to be a one-stop shop for individuals to cash-in on their online brands by doing what they normally (and frequently) do online -- post, share, and network on social media.

But don't quit your day job just yet. Let's cover the basics of what Sqeeqee provides its users:

1. E-commerce marketplace. (Similar to Amazon and eBay platforms.) For users to list, sell, or buy new or used items in their "store."

2. Internal search engine. (Similar to Google and Bing.) This feature allows users to search Sqeeqee to locate new revenue possibilities within the site.

3. Advertising campaigns. (Similar to Google Ads and Facebook Ads.) Users can advertise their own products or services, or they can have others advertise on their page. This feature is different from Google Ads and Facebook Ads in the sense that the users actual get a decent kick-back from their successful campaigns, as opposed to the bigger companies mentioned above that pocket a lot more of the revenue.

4. Crowdfunding. (Similar to Kickstarter and Indiegogo.) This feature provides users with a platform to pitch new ideas to their followers in hopes of collecting seed money from an investor or interested party. Social media has become a hub for crowdsourcing due to the fact that reaching people on a national and international basis is as easy as clicking a button or adding a tag or hashtag to your post. Sqeeqee offers its users crowdfunding/sourcing directly from their Sqeeqee site.

5. Coupons and daily deals. (Similar to Groupon or other "daily deal" sites that advertise sales for given products and services.) Sqeeqee allows its users to create and promote their coupons to their audiences without having to pay expensive fees to advertise their deals on third party sites. The customer never has to leave the Sqeeqee site to search products or services, locate deals, purchase products, and share their experience with their social media following.
So, what exactly does this mean for you? Basically, if you have a decent following and people take interest in what you're sharing online, then you may have the means to create an additional income stream through your own Sqeeqee site. Or, if you have a product or service that you want to begin advertising and selling online but don't have the means to pay for a separate commerce site and website, then Sqeeqee might be what you're looking for.

Tell Us What You Think
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Famous Entrepreneurs Who Launched Businesses on Shoestring Budgets


As the informal gig economy becomes the norm and dream jobs become harder to find, more Americans than ever are venturing into the choppy waters of entrepreneurship. While the difficulty of finding the necessary funding to get a new venture afloat may seem like a deterrent, it’s good to keep in mind that these successful business people started out with little more than moxy:


Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin was a punk guitarist and NYU student who began running Def Jam Records out of his dorm room. Rubin couldn’t afford labels for the first records he distributed and is said to have used brown paper bags as packaging. He soon began working with legendary hip hop performers such as LL Kool J and Run-D.M.C. Today, he’s a low-profile millionaire and one of the most sought-after music producers in the world.



John Paul Jones DeJoria
In his early years, DeJoria was raised in the poverty-stricken home of his single mom. Later, he wound up in the Los Angeles foster care system. After an adolescence in street gangs, he worked a series of jobs. After working for Redken, DeJoria decided to launch his own hair products company with Paul Mitchell. The initial investment that got them up and running was a $700 loan. His business interests diversified when he created Patron tequila. Today, his net worth is 4 billion.



Bert Jacobs
Bert launched Life is Good in 1994. Sales of the products that have drawn such positive attention to his casual lifestyle brand are in the range of 100 million annually. The early years of the company he founded in Boston with his brother, however, were not lucrative. The two conducted their first sales from a van that they also slept in.



Michael Dell
Before Dell was synonymous with the word “computer,” Michael Dell was a student at the University of Texas at Austin when he started running his first computer business. Successful at bidding for government contracts against larger companies with higher overhead, he was able to take his casual enterprise out of his dormitory and into an office in a condominium. The expansion was financed with around $1000, a sliver of what it costs to operate the global powerhouse known as Dell today.



Julie Aigner-Clark
In 1996, Julie was a new mom spending so much time at home, that it’s where she based her first company. Julie had no prior background in business when she came up with the idea to sell educational resources for kids and launched Baby Einstein out of the basement. Her company’s first product was a low-budget video featuring her two daughters. By the time her company was bought by Disney for an undisclosed figure, however, Baby Einstein’s approximate value was about 400 million dollars.