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Global internet anti-terrorism forum to be an independent body led by Exec Director

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), established by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube with the objective of disrupting terrorist abuse on their respective platforms, will now become an independent organization led by an Executive Director and supported by dedicated technology, counterterrorism and operations teams.

The decision was taken during the GIFCT meeting with government leaders, led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to share progress on the steps taken to implement the Christchurch Call to Action in United Nations on Monday.

“The new, independent GIFCT will integrate its existing work to develop technology, cultivate strong corporate policies and sponsor research with efforts to fulfill commitments in the nine-point action plan released after the Christchurch Call,” Facebook said in a statement.

Founded in 2017, the forum worked closely with a range of governments, particularly under the auspices of the European Union Internet Forum, but the horrific terrorist attack in Christchurch and the extraordinary virality of the attacker’s video online illustrated the need to do even more.

The consortium has grown with new global technology companies joining GIFCT, and now Amazon, LinkedIn and WhatsApp are joining it.

“Most recently, we reached our 2019 goal of collectively contributing more than 200,000 hashes, or unique digital fingerprints, of known terrorist content into our shared database, enabling each of us to quickly identify and take action on potential terrorist content on our respective platforms,” Facebook elaborated.

As an independent organization, GIFCT will adopt a new mission statement: “Prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms,” to guide its work across four foundational goals.

The updated GIFCT will be led by an independent Executive Director, who will be responsible for leading and coordinating all operations, including core management, program implementation and fundraising, and engagement with the Operational Board and Advisory Committee.

So far, the US, the UK, France, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and the European Commission have signed on to the Advisory Committee.

[“source=thenewsminute”]

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Education

All Delhi govt schools to be converted into co-education

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Representative

The Delhi government is set to convert its existing all-girls’ and all-boys’ schools into co-ed ones, and evening shifts schools into general shift ones. The examination branch of the Directorate of Education (DoE) on Monday instructed the officials to come up with three detailed plans to implement the conversion by July 2020.

The government is likely to begin the process from the next academic session in schools which hosts sufficient infrastructure for the planned conversion.

The move comes after the DoE analysed the board exam results of the last several years for all its schools and found that the co-ed and general shift schools had been consistently performing better. In a circular issued on Monday, additional director (examination) Saroj Sain said a detailed analysis of results has shown that it can be improved with general shift schools, co-ed schools, optimum enrolment, better pupil-teacher ratio and Delhi government’s ‘Mission Buniyaad’ scheme, among others.

Binay Bushan, director of the DoE, said the government has been trying to increase the infrastructure, in terms of classrooms, in the existing schools to make them ready to become single-shift and co-ed schools. “It has been observed that the co-ed schools are not only performing better but also over-all development is found to be better there. The major reason behind the Delhi government constructing more and more classrooms in it schools is to convert them into single-shift and co-ed schools,” he said.

Delhi government had last month said it was thinking to open more co-ed schools in the city while sharing the data showing co-ed schools performing better than the all-girls’ and all-boys’ schools. In Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10 exams this year, the pass percentage of government co-ed school stood at 88.1% followed by all-girls’ school (82%) and boys’ schools (74.8%). Similarly for Class 12, the pass percentage of government co-ed schools was recorded at 98.03%, higher than girls’ schools (97.42%) and boys’ schools (93.42 %).

The DoE had also found that the general shift or morning shift students performed better than evening schools in these classes.

In Delhi, while there are 401 government boys’ schools and 421 girls’ schools, there are only 173 co-ed schools. Some of these schools run in double shifts — for girls in the morning and boys in the evening.

A senior DoE official said it will be a challenge for the department to encourage more parents to send their children to co-ed schools. “We will have to sensitise parents in overcoming their hesitation towards sending their children to co-ed schools. Also, we will have to sensitise the students who will be studying with the opposite sex for the first time in order to avoid any untoward incident. Some principals are also apprehensive about the plan saying that some parents can stop sending their girls to schools if they will have to study with the boys,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said

The official also said the government has also analysed that major reason behind boys’ schools not performing as well as the girls’ or co-ed schools is that most of them are running in the evening shifts. “The evening shifts schools are facing a lot of challenges. There is a shortage of teachers in evening schools specially those located in the outer areas of the city. The situation leads to poor learning outcome in many of these schools. So, it was decided to convert as many of them as possible into the general shift schools,” the official said.

The principal of a government boys’ senior secondary school in Rohini said the move will help their students perform better and indulge in other co-curricular activities. “Unlike morning shift schools the students of evening shift schools do not get much chance to engage in any extracurricular activity. Their shift does not allow them to even stay back in schools after classes,” the principal said.

[“source=hindustantimes”]

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Education

Education spending fall from 2010 to now was worst since 1970s – IFS

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Further education

Further education spending has been hit since 2010. Photograph: Matej Kastelic/Alamy

Schools and colleges in England have suffered the worst fall in spending since the depths of the 1970s, according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The IFS research into education spending says the government’s promised increases in funding will barely repair the squeeze endured since 2010.

The report found that adult education, further education and skills spending on young people have been hardest hit by austerity since 2010, with spending on classroom-based adult education or apprenticeships down by more than a third since 2009-10.

The government has recently committed to increasing spending on schools in England, which the IFS calculates as amounting to £4.3bn extra a year by 2022. It said the extra money will “just about reverse” the 8% cuts in spending per pupil since 2009.

“Even so, an effective 13-year real-terms freeze will still represent an unprecedented period without growth,” the IFS noted, going back to “at least” the 1970s.

The analysis revealed that sixth form and further education colleges received some of the largest cuts across all areas of education over the last decade, and the extra funding promised from next year still leaves them with 7% less spending than 2010.

“The 2019 spending round provided genuinely substantial increases in school funding, enough to more or less offset all cuts since 2009. Of course, that still means no real growth in spending per pupil over a 13-year period,” said Luke Sibieta, co-author of the report and a research fellow at the IFS.

“The extra £300m for further education and sixth forms provides for a small rise in 2020 but at least a further £1.1bn would be required to fully reverse cuts since 2010.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said the IFS report showed the reality of cuts experienced in further education: “The consequences of the decline in spending and real-term freezes has meant fewer adult learners, squeezed budgets and lack of resource to provide the skills the country needs.”

The Department for Education said its new funding was “the biggest cash boost for a decade”.

“The prime minister is clear that education is one of his main priorities, and we want a system that boosts productivity, improves social mobility and equips children and adults with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed,” a spokesperson said.

But Jules White, a headteacher in West Sussex who founded the Worth Less? campaign against funding cuts, said the IFS report made it clear that school budgets were in a critical position.

“Over the past decade, huge holes have also arisen in special educational needs and disability funding and wider support services for children,” he said.

“These issues and potential future cost pressures are making heads across the country feel very concerned that a very positive sounding announcement may not be as good as it first seemed.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “This report shows just how much spending has been cut on preventive services for families. Schools are on the front line when it comes to helping families and dealing with children’s mental health and wellbeing.”

The IFS found that only spending on early years and higher education avoided the cuts seen elsewhere, with the spending on early years “increasingly skewed” towards childcare for working parents and away from supporting children in low-income families.

The IFS calculated that universities receive £27,500 per student for teaching, a 50% increase since a low point in the 1990s.

The IFS estimates that the current system costs about £17bn for each year of undergraduates entering university, with more than half of the cost recovered in loan repayments of £9bn, mainly from higher-earning graduates.

The long-run cost to the government is about £8bn for each year, including £7.4bn in unpaid loans and £700m in grants.

[“source=theguardian”]

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Education

From Textbook Rentals to Education Provider

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Image result for From Textbook Rentals to Education ProviderStudent services company Chegg announced plans last week to acquire the online coding school Thinkful. To investors in the ed-tech space, the deal was not a surprising one — lots of ed-tech companies have been busy acquiring boot camps of late. Earlier this year, online program management company 2U snapped up Trilogy Education for a cool $750 million, and Zovio (formerly Bridgepoint Education) acquired Fullstack Academy for $17.5 million in cash plus 4.5 million shares of common stock.

But for Chegg, which started out as a textbook rental company, the deal represents a notable departure. Chegg already offers a wide range of educational services, such as online tutoring and test prep, but this acquisition marks its first big step into educational provider territory. It is also Chegg’s biggest acquisition to date.

Thinkful, which Chegg plans to acquire for approximately $80 million, currently offers online courses in software engineering, data science, data analytics and product design. The software engineering and data science programs take five months to complete on a full-time basis and cost north of $16,000. The data analytics and product design programs are offered part-time and cost about $8,000 up-front.

Darrell Silver, CEO and co-founder of Thinkful, said the brand will continue to operate as an independent entity. Silver said he and Chegg CEO and president Dan Rosensweig have a shared vision to help people obtain desirable jobs quickly and affordably.

Silver said that with Chegg’s support, Thinkful will be able to lower its prices and attract younger people to its programs. Currently the average Thinkful student is in her early 30s. College students in the U.S. — Chegg’s primary consumer — skew younger.

How exactly Thinkful will be able to lower its prices without compromising on quality is yet to be determined. It’s possible that Thinkful may develop shorter, more affordable courses, said Silver. Thinkful may also roll Chegg’s existing tutoring services and technology into its programs. Chegg’s relationship with millions of students could also help Thinkful reach economies of scale that would not previously have been possible.

“We’ll try a bunch of things,” said Silver. “I don’t think college students today are going to spend Thinkful prices.”

The possibility of lowering prices, and thus making Thinkful courses more accessible to a larger group of people, was the “number one thing that got us most excited” about Chegg’s offer, said Silver. “We’ve seen prices slowly tick up across the industry. It’s been a slow ooze to the status quo,” he said.

Chegg has consistently demonstrated a commitment to affordable pricing for students, said Silver. A Chegg Study subscription, which includes access to tens of thousands of textbook homework solutions, expert Q&A access and online tutoring, has been fixed at $14.95 per month for several years. Chegg reported earlier this year that it has around 3.1 million student subscribers.

Thinkful offers a range of payment options to its students, including income-sharing arrangements and a money-back guarantee for students who pay up-front but are unable to find a job six months after graduation. The company also offers full-time and part-time study options. Silver expects this flexibility to remain. “The roadmap for us is the same, except we’re going to do it faster,” he said.

Nathan Schultz, Chegg’s president of learning services, and Marc Boxser, its vice president of communications and policy, said the acquisition of Thinkful was a logical next step for the company, which has been watching the adult education landscape for years.

“We’ve been looking at the market, trying to understand where it’s going and listening in the background,” said Schultz. “We wanted to be part of the change agents.”

Chegg’s plan for Thinkful is to “vastly expand the catalog of programs they offer in in-demand areas,” said Boxser. Once a catalog of programs has been built, students may have the option to “dip into programs as they progress through their college career.” But Chegg is also looking to attract people who don’t go to college.

“Chegg started with a college focus, we morphed out of serving student needs into a whole range of services,” said Schultz. “Now we don’t just serve college students, we serve high school students, half of whom don’t to go college. Of those that do go to college, half won’t graduate. We want to serve those gaps in the market.”

Liz Eggleston, co-founder of Course Report, an organization that studies boot camps, said the recent spate of acquisitions demonstrates the industry has achieved “mainstream status.”

Bootcamps were considered “an underground education option” just a few years ago, she said. Chegg’s acquisition of Thinkful “makes sense” as the company already works with large numbers of young people.

It will be interesting to see how Thinkful’s program offerings change over time, said Eggleston. She noted that early on, Thinkful offered “a ton of low-cost courses” but gradually pared its portfolio to a handful of immersive, high-touch programs.

Daniel Pianko, co-founder and managing director of University Ventures, an investment firm with holdings in online coding school Galvanize, said that every major education company is looking to have “some version of a boot camp in its stable.”

“The number of deals getting done indicates the strength of opportunity in the market,” he said.

Chegg, which already works with millions of students, is looking to add value to that relationship, said Pianko. “This is a logical extension. They have a funnel of people who are looking for opportunities.”

The market for high-quality coding instruction is competitive, and there won’t be a radical shift in tuition prices until the cost of instruction goes down, said Pianko. “I doubt lower prices are going to happen across the board, but we will see different methods of payment — ISAs, job guarantees, etc.”

It will be interesting to see whether Chegg, which sells directly to students, will be able to compete with Trilogy, which builds relationships with university partners, said Pianko.

“This is still a rapidly growing ecosystem.”

[“source=insidehighered”]

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Tech Update

Huawei reveals new P30 Pro colours and update to EMUI 10

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

new p30 pro blue

Huawei, less than two weeks from revealing the Mate 30 series, has updated its P30 Pro flagship with two new colour options. Announced at IFA in Berlin, the blue and pink two-tone designs offer a little refresh to one of our favourite phones of 2019.

The only difference to the original P30 Pro on the outside is that new design. It frosts the lower two thirds of the back of the phone much like Google’s Pixel handsets, with the top section a glossy glass. The mystic blue and misty lavender colours are solid tones rather than the gradient finishes of the first edition of the phone.

Huawei says they are available globally from 20 September, with the base model specs of 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, so expect the same pricing as the original phone in your region.

Perhaps the more interesting update is that of the phone itself to EMUI 10, Huawei’s version of Android 10. It brings an updated visual design as you might expect, with a little more white space and less clutter in the settings menus. That white space can be dark though, with a system-wide dark mode.

There’s also the addition of what Huawei calls super night selfie mode to let you snap away pics of yourself in dark conditions. We’ve yet to try it out but it shows Huawei is keen to keep up with Google’s computational photography prowess. In some situations we find the P30 Pro better than the famous Pixel 3 camera.

The aesthetic looks to be a little more Google-esque too with round icons in the notification shade like you’d see on a Pixel and support for gesture controls or the familiar three button Android navigation. The ‘new’ P30 Pro models we saw at IFA were running the EMUI 10 beta, which is available now, but these phones and existing P30 models will get the upgrade soon by the looks of things.

The Mate 30 is launching on 19 September but if it doesn’t have Google services, the P30 Pro will definitely remain our top Huawei phone pick.

[“source=techadvisor”]

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Education

Navigating The Road To Education & Workplace Success

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Image result for Navigating The Road To Education & Workplace SuccessBased on media coverage of the college admissions process, the “road to college” is often portrayed just as that: a metaphorical road.

The “cars” on this road all move in one direction. For the most part, they travel at the speed limit, rarely hit potholes, never run out of gas — and exit at the intended logical off-ramp: college. Once the students in these cars are safely dropped off, they stay in school for four more years before hitting the road again, this time traveling to entry-level jobs.

But this metaphor is a myth. The reality is much messier, and begs the question, “Who gets to travel in these cars on the road to education and workplace success?”

Diversity, Or History’s Lack Thereof

ACT was founded in 1959. When I look back at photos from our first tests, the images are black and white, but the students are almost all white. That likely reflects the opportunities present during that era — before the civil rights movement, before the desegregation of many schools, and before college education was regarded as an opportunity for everyone rather than a privilege for the few.

Thankfully, those days are behind us. In 2014, America’s public schools became majority minority. In 2018, the number of ACT-tested Hispanic students exceeded 300,000, a huge increase from the 115,000 Hispanic students tested in 2008. There were also significant increases in ACT-tested African American and Asian students, reflecting our nation’s evolving demographics and increasing opportunities.

Still, the road to matriculation can be treacherous. According to ACT’s Condition of College and Career Readiness report, many students who want to attend college don’t enroll. In 2017, 82% of ACT-tested high school graduates wanted to go to college, but only 66% did. If this “aspirations gap” were closed, an additional 320,000 high school graduates would have attended college last year alone. Multiply that number times 10 years, or 60, and it’s clear our nation is leaving a huge amount of talent on the table.

However, the story isn’t over yet. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the six-year college graduation rate for “first-time, full-time undergraduate students” (i.e., those who DO make it to college) is 60%. So, even if you make it to college, there’s a real chance you won’t make it to graduation. We need to rethink the systems that result in those numbers.

In short, the issue isn’t only diversity. It’s also inclusion.

Inclusion: Still Real Work To Do

As I noted, ACT was founded in 1959, about the same time as the interstate highway system. To extend my road metaphor, if the higher education system was a freeway in the 1950s, it’s a toll road today.

By some reports, the typical total cost of a public university education in 1959 was about $1,000, and for private schools, $2,400. Adjust that for 880% inflation, and the cost is still less than $10,000 for a public institution and less than $25,000 for a private. That’s not cheap, but it’s a bargain by today’s prices.

However, think about the students attending those schools at the time. The National Defense Student Loan Program, the first of its kind, wasn’t signed into law until 1958.  As a result, in 1959, it’s likely that most colleges and universities were primarily populated with students from middle- and upper-class backgrounds, reducing the diversity that could have enriched all students’ educations.

Today, we may be more intentional about being inclusive, but we still have real work to do. At ACT, we offer fee waivers and free score reporting to students from low-income families; unfortunately, too many don’t take us up on that opportunity.

Why? It may be they have trouble getting to Saturday test centers when school buses aren’t running. It may be they don’t think they’ll be able to afford college even if they get admitted, or can’t afford to give up the jobs that already support their families.

Just as eliminating one obstacle generally doesn’t resolve highway gridlock, an isolated intervention often isn’t enough to clear paths to academic success for many of these students. It takes several sequenced, integrated actions before traffic starts flowing again.

Good News

The good news is that we have more talent in the United States and around the world now than at any time in history. For the most part, we have a consensus that every student deserves the chance to succeed, and we know that it takes an integrated system — with all of us working in concert — to meet the needs of the infinitely complex students we are privileged to know. How well we work together to clear their paths to success is the extent to which we can characterize ourselves as truly inclusive.

[“source=huffingtonpost”]

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Internet

King William to hold broadband internet update meeting

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

King William to hold broadband internet update meeting

The King William Internet Connectivity Committee will host a town hall meeting Sept. 5, 7-9 p.m. to update the public on internet expansion to schools, government offices, residents and business owners.

Discussions will center around internet in the county now, how the county plans to expand it and what it will look in the future.

The King William Board of Supervisors began discussing the sale of cable lines in February and on July 22, the King William Board of Supervisors voted to grant Atlantic Broadband a 15-year franchise plan to provide internet, phone and video services.

Atlantic Broadband said the expansion project primarily will focus on constructing a fiber-to-the-home network with a goal to bring internet connections to Central Garage.

In July, the company said internet activation is expected to start later this year and anticipated more than 2,600 homes and business will have access to internet for the first time.

Atlantic Broadband representatives will be present to address citizen concerns and discuss their ongoing project in the county.

Want to learn more?

King William Administration Boardroom is located at 180 Horse Landing Road, King William County.

[“source=dailypress”]

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Blogging

14 Dos and Don’ts of Blogging You Need to Know

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Blogging is one of the most cost-effective and efficient marketing tools available for business owners and entrepreneurs. In order to use blogging to communicate with your audience and drive traffic to your website, you need to understand some important do’s and don’ts. Keep reading to discover what they are and how you can get the most out of your business’ blog.

The Benefits Of Blogging For Your Business

image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/55775978_l-600×400.jpg

There are some important do’s and don’ts to consider while blogging. Keep reading to learn what they are!

Blogging has many powerful benefits for your company and will help your brand in tremendous ways, from boosting visibility to establishing credibility. Here are some great reasons why your business should have an active blog.

  • Boosts your visibility. Search engines love fresh, new content that is relevant to the people searching the web. Making sure you add new posts on a consistent schedule will help your odds of being found through an internet search.
  • Positions your business as the go-to expert in your field. Knowledge is power. Show your audience and competitors you know what you’re talking about and have a vast amount of expertise in your industry.
  • Gives you access to an audience on a national platform. Blogging is a great way to reach people outside of your local region on a national, and even international, level. Anyone who has access to a computer or mobile device can find you!
  • Establishes credibility. Sharing information from other industry leaders and collaborating with them establishes the credibility of your business as a strong force in your field.
  • Amplifies awareness and recognition of your brand. Publishing a blog post is quick and easy! This ability to share posts on multiple different channels increases your brand’s awareness.
  • Increases traffic to your website and social media profiles. Since your blog should be on your website, people have to visit it to read your posts and will be more likely to explore other areas of your site.

If your business isn’t blogging and building a social media presence, your potential customers will be wondering why they don’t see you on the web and may go with your competitor instead.

Valuable Blogging Statistics

Numbers don’t lie. These statistics back up how valuable blogging is for businesses and how you can benefit from it.

image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/38514120_l-600×413.jpg

There are many positive benefits from blogging, including increased sales leads and web traffic.

  • Lead Generation: Companies see at least 67 percent more leads from blogging.
  • Increased Return On Investment: Businesses that blog see a 13 percent return on their investment.
  • Lower Cost: Blogging as a marketing tool costs 60 percent less than traditional outbound methods.
  • Back Linking: Businesses who blog receive 97 percent more links back to their website than those who don’t.
  • Higher Search Engine Results: Businesses who post regularly and consistently with keywords in mind are more likely to be on the first page of Google search results, and 75 percent of people do not go beyond the first page of results.
  • Improved Customer Acquisition: 57 percent of businesses blogging at least once a month gain a new customer; the stat jumps to 82 percent when they blog daily.
  • Increased Time Spent Reading: People spend three times longer reading blog posts than reading emails.
  • Stronger Buying Influence: 61 percent of consumers state they have been influenced to purchase from a company based on a blog post.
  • Become A Trusted Source: Blogs are the fifth most trusted source of information for consumers.

It is amazing how effective blogging can be! The ability to share news, photos and opinions in one place is one of the greatest technological advances in the public relations industry to date. Surprisingly though, many businesses are still not taking advantage of the benefits and proven results.

8 Do’s Of Blogging

Hopefully, after seeing the benefits and the numbers backing them up, you’re ready to jump on the blogging train. As you start to put together your business’s blog there are some important do’s you should know in order to get the greatest results. These eight suggestions will help you reach your blogging goals.

Recommended for YouWebcast, September 17th: 10X Growth & Relationships with Community Building

  1. Use Strong Headlines: Your headline is the first thing a reader sees and helps them determine if your content is worth reading. There are numerous tools on the web that will help you generate strong, attention-grabbing blog titles based on your topic. CoSchedule has a terrific headline analyzer that scores your titles on many different criteria.
  2. Post Often: The more frequently you post, the greater the results you will see. Updating your blog at least once a week with new content is a great target but posting more often is even better. Whatever you decide for your posting schedule, make sure to be consistent with it.
  3. Use Keywords Strategically: Gone are the days of keyword stuffing, which can appear spammy. Stick to one or two specific keywords and use them strategically through your post. They should flow naturally in your writing and appear in your title, subheadings and first sentence.
  4. Stick With It: Blogging, like all other inbound marketing techniques, takes time – at least 12-18. Don’t give up if you do not see the results you want immediately. Your patience will be rewarded in the end.
  5. Use Graphics: Graphics are a great way to catch the reader’s attention and bring them down the page to keep reading. Make sure they are relevant to your post and add to what you’re saying. Images with faces in them receive an extra SEO boost, too.
  6. Write At length: Typically, long-form blog posts of at least 1500 words do better in the search results than short-form posts. They provide more value and information for your audience and showcase your expertise. Short-form posts of 300-500 words also hold value and are a great addition providing a quick resource for readers; however, the meat of your blogging efforts should focus on the longer posts.
  7. Proofread: Proofreading is a vital part of successful blogging but is often overlooked. If editing isn’t your strength, set aside your post for a few hours and come back with fresh eyes; it’s easier to see mistakes and typos after giving yourself a break. Before you publish your post, ask someone on your team to give it a once over to make sure you didn’t miss anything obvious.
  8. Share On Social Media: After you publish your blog posts, don’t forget to share them on all of your social media platforms! This cross-channel communication is a great way to gain visibility, acquire new readers and reach potential new customers.

    image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/3G.BloggingConsistentcy.7.23.2017-600×400.jpg

    Successful blogging takes patience and consistency; don’t give up!

6 Don’ts of Blogging

Now that you know what you should do, it’s important to also understand what you need to avoid. When planning your blogging strategy and outlining your posts, these six mistakes can have a negative impact on your efforts.

  1. Inconsistent Posting: Publishing blogs on a regular basis is important to keeping readers engaged and returning back for more. Have a set day of the month or week designated for publishing new blog posts. This will keep you on track and your readers effectively engaged and knowing when they can expect your next post (plus it’s really good for SEO).
  2. Irrelevant Topics: Readers stick with blogs they read on a regular basis because they can depend on the content to be reliably informative. While it’s important to have diverse content within your specific set of topics, straying too far might deter your audience from staying loyal readers.
  3. Negative Posts: Content that is positive in nature is more likely to be shared by readers than negative content. Blogs are a great way to convey your thoughts and opinions, but keep it upbeat and positive to increase your chance of a post getting shared on different channels.
  4. Poor Design: Blogs that are outdated or unorganized, could be losing readers simply because they find the site difficult to navigate. A clean and simple design is better than a complicated set up that can hinder the audience’s ability to find information.
  5. It’s Unreadable: Your audience is just as mobile as you are, meaning they might attempt to read blogs while they’re on-the-go via a mobile device or smartphone. Ensure your blog is optimized for both desktop and mobile viewing to reach out to everyone in your target audience.
  6. You Ramble On: Your blog should not be treated as a diary for posting your random thoughts on different matters. Make sure that what you write adds value for your audience and is relevant to your brand. Keep your posts on topic and to the point rather than going off on tangents.

With time and effort, blogging will be one of the biggest game-changers for your company, and at a fraction of the cost of other techniques. Avoid simple errors while putting into practice the effective tips I have offered to allow your blog to flourish and reach new heights.

[“source=business2community”]

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Blogging

Five Proven Blogging Tips To Earn Loyal Clients And Higher ROI

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

uncaptionedMultiple companies, from small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) to multimillion-dollar corporations, tend to put their blogs on the proverbial backburner as they spend — and often times waste — money on other forms of marketing.  One of the biggest culprits, in my experience, is Google Ads. This is a very valuable service when starting out, but once your spend is gone, that ad disappears. You have to continue fueling it for more leads, and I find it doesn’t do much for building brand awareness.

I believe this type of advertising is for a short-term mindset. As searchers steadily go against the status quo of advertising, they ignore these ads. Organic search results are more trusted and can provide endless lead generation. And this is where the blog rules. Creating a successful blog is not that simple, though.

First, you must have an SEO-friendly website with a strong technical platform — quick speed, mobile-friendly, image optimization, etc. You must also have a blogging strategy that’s built around target keywords.

The blog helps more than just increasing SEO value. It also builds what I call ART: a company’s authority, reputation and trust. When a business excels at ART, sustained growth will naturally follow.

I previously provided tips in “Starting A Business Blog Is A Must For Success: Eight Tips.” I’m going to take things a step deeper here, and provide additional tips that will help you garner ART, which leads to loyal clients and a higher return on investment (ROI).

Strike a 50/25/25 blend.

I once explained this by telling clients to create a blend of content that speaks to prospects in different phases of the traditional sales funnel. After reading Smash the Funnel by Eric Kieles and Mike Lieberman, I no longer refer to the sales funnel, but rather, as Smash the Funnel calls it, the “cyclonic buyer journey.”

This “journey” has eight cyclones, beginning with “pre-awareness” and ending with “ongoing delivery.” For success, you must create blog content that talks to each step of the cyclone.

I’ve had success creating blog calendar’s that feature a 50/25/25 blend of content:

• 50% for newbies seeking education about their problems and solutions.

• 25% for intermediate readers who know the problems, but want better solutions

• 25% for experts (think CMOs) who are fully educated and seeking better solutions. This 25% also talks to existing customers to further create loyalty.

It’s all about appealing and building ART from a large but targeted audience. Speak to all. The reason to put half of the focus on the newbies is simple — you want to be, as John Hall says in his book of the same name, “Top of Mind” for readers throughout their buyer’s journey, from awareness to post-client/customer status.

Blog from different company perspectives.

Another way to build ART within readers in various cyclones of the buyer’s journey? Create blogs from different perspectives throughout the company: CEO, marketing, sales, technicians, finance, etc.

Each perspective will offer a unique perspective that will naturally attract those in similar positions. Due to my position, I love reading inspiring pieces from fellow CEOs or heads of marketing departments. Well before I launched my own business, most of my time was spent reading content from people of similar stature — writers on writing, SEOs on SEO, etc.

The following is a quick example of diverse authorship from an investing firm:

• CEO blogs to inspire prospects and current customers to invest, projecting a long-term overall vision view.

• CMO blogs about finance project management advice.

• Finance team blogs about various tools that ease the investing process.

• Technician team blogs about investing techniques. They get super granular on details.

Create a quarterly calendar loaded with evergreen content.

Blogging without a strategy is like riding a motorcycle with bald tires. You’ll get somewhere, but it’ll be a horrible and dangerous ride. Same for blogging, though that horrible ride equates to lack of authority, reputation and trust. And this equates to zero readership and zero ROI.

A plan is needed, and the most successful route I’ve witnessed is through a blogging calendar that is, at minimum, a quarter out. This calendar should also feature mostly evergreen content — education that will stick around for years to come. Build out your calendar using the points above, and also remember the importance of keyword research that I talked about in my last article.

Post consistently and frequently.

Posting consistently and frequently is crucial for success from both the search engine and user perspectives. In regards to users, this type of posting shows how dedicated your company is to providing valuable information in an orderly manner. And if an internal team can get it organized, imagine how organized they will be with clients. This fact will even weigh on some prospects from a subconscious level.

It also shows search engines that you care about constantly creating new content, which aids in SEO.

Review quarterly.

Stale content gets noticed. What if a prospect landed on a blog and it was loaded with outdated resources and dead hyperlinks? This will show that the business doesn’t put quality first — even if this occurs on a subconscious level.

My agency recommends quarterly reviews when the team freshens the content (tweak headlines, newer factual info/statistics), and updates the blog with hyperlinks that point to newer blog posts or service pages. This process is relatively easy within the 12-18 months, depending on how much content is created, but can get laborious afterward. The results are worth every effort, and your prospects and current clients/customers will put higher levels of ART on your business.

If you’re using an agency, ask about this. Many agencies pump out content and forget about it. This is not optimal for long-term results.

Blogging with the goal of establishing authority, reputation and trust (ART) will help your business achieve long-term success. Again, this is no short-term play. Sometimes it can take up to a year for results to be observed. If you’re dedicated to the long-term vision of your company, the ROI will arrive. And once things start rolling, this ROI compounds over time. Who thought ART could be this cool in the business world?

[“source=forbes”]

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Internet

This SoftBank-Backed Company Bags A Contract To Beam Internet From Space

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

OneWeb Wins Contracts To Beam Internet From Space

As the virtual space is becoming as important as reality, Right to the internet has gained momentum. Internet is now being seen as an enabler of the progress of humankind as a whole. It boosts economic, social and political developments, and provides a safe space for users to express one’s opinions.

United Nation in 2016 declared access to the internet as a human right which should be protected. The UN declaration focused on the access to internet services in providing and expanding reachability of the internet for the people who cannot afford it. The order also laid stress on avoiding disruption of internet services for current users.

A large number of NGOs, international organizations and companies have been working towards reducing the internet disability to create wider international communities. Global communications company OneWeb, Elon Musk’s SpaceX Technologies Corp and Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper have been racing to install constellation of small satellites to offer 4G like broadband around the globe. The installation of the global 4G network will provide global internet coverage.

OneWeb, backed by SoftBank, has secured the right to the airwaves it needs to launch a global satellite broadband network. The company met the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union’s ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ spectrum conditions by setting up six satellites broadcasting at right frequencies for 90 days.

Musk’s SpaceX is also on the go, it has sent dozens of satellites into orbit for its Starlink project. SpaceX has already got US’s approval to set up 12,000 satellites. Project Kuiper is yet to launch any of its satellites.

Will India Follow?

India too has been promoting digitization on a large scale. The Reliance-Jio movement was can be seen as the second liberalisation of India, since it has brought rural India to cyberspace as well, given them more opportunities to exercise their fundamental rights. The availability of internet in India has also given a significant push to the Indian startup ecosystem with both global and home-grown players coming to market. The growth of the internet increased the capacity and the reachability of the companies by empowering them.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had also announced a similar initiative to provide high-speed internet to the Indians, by the end of 2019, launching four heavy-duty communication satellites. ISRO launched various satellites to improve internet speed and its reachability.

According to Ookla’s announcement in the beginning of 2018, the average mobile internet download speed in India is 10.71 Mbps, compared to 33.88 Mbps that of USA. Even though India has 699 Mn- the second largest number- internet users in the world, it is largely comprised of an urban household.

60% of Indian still do not have access to the internet or mobile phones. To bridge the internet divide, the Indian government has invested to lay high-speed internet in 150,000 villages across India under the Bharat Net Programme.

With accessibility to internet, small businesses can reach the global audience easily, expanding the market.

[“source=inc42”]

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