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What it’s like to be a blogging mum: I’m always on the go, it’s fun

by Loknath Das March 13, 2018

written by Loknath Das

The 32-year-old juggles this busy workload with being the mother of two young boys who are aged six and four.

And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m always on the go but to be honest I really don’t know what I would do if I was sitting down,” says Jo who lives in Halesowen with her husband Stuart and sons Thomas and Daniel.

She began her food blog – Jo’s Kitchen – in 2009 but her love of cooking and being in kitchen first began when she was a teenager.

“My mother used to do a lot of charity treks. She would come home from work each day and then go out walking. So I would be left to cook the tea and I found that I really enjoyed it.

“Then I met my boyfriend, who is now my husband, when I was 19 and I started cooking for him too. I find it really relaxing. It’s a great way to clear your mind and when you’ve finished you’ve got something you can all sit down together to enjoy,” explains Jo, who works as a GIS and mapping technician at the University of Worcester.

Over the years her love of food and recipes grew leading her to look online for ideas and that’s when the idea of starting a blog began to form.

“I saw that people had these blogs and I thought ‘I can do that’ so I started Jo’s Kitchen and it’s grown from there,” explains Jo.

She showcases a range of her own recipes that are aimed to help families create simple but tasty meals that won’t break the bank.

These include her sausage casserole, an asparagus and cheddar tart and skillet chicken with mushrooms, bacon and spinach.

“I enjoy making and eating simple and easy food that fits into a busy family lifestyle. The idea is that it’s stuff that you can come from home from work and put together very easily and quickly. I try not to make them complicated or the list of ingredients too long,” says Jo.

For those with a sweet tooth there are a variety of desserts and cakes including a double chocolate Malteaser traybake which she says has proven a huge hit.

“Every year’s it’s my most popular post – it has been pinned 2,000 times on Pinterest. People really like that one,” says Jo.

Family life – with husband Stuart and sons

She tells us she enjoys the challenge of making new recipes and says it gives her a great feeling of satisfaction when she successfully creates a new dish.

“It’s fun. I go by taste and will keep throwing things in to see what works and what doesn’t.

As well the recipes she creates for herself, there are sponsored ones that’s she’s been commissioned to do using particular products.

Jo, who in 2010 participated in the Masterchef Invention Test at the BBC Summer Good Food Show, also takes part in campaigns such as the RSPCA’s Freedom Food scheme, National Cherry Day in July and British Pie Week to in March.

She has also done kitchen gadget reviews for everything from a bacon toaster to a blender.

Often she will produce a video to go with the recipes for people to follow as they cook and these are uploaded to her YouTube channel.

Her two sons lend a helping hand with the recipes and feature by her side in some of her videos. “I like making the videos and doing the editing. It does take longer than you think though,” says Jo, who has a degree in archaeology and ancient history from the University of Birmingham.

Last year, Jo decided to launch a second blog – Mummy Needs Wine – which focuses on family, travel and lifestyle.

“The name is because when the children are in bed, I do quite often enjoy a glass of wine. The idea behind the blog is to show what real life is like.

“We are living in this Instagram world where life is always shown as perfect when we all know real life is not always like that. Most days I’m just happy if I’ve kept everybody alive and the house is tidy,” explains Jo.

Despite her hectic lifestyle, she manages to find the time to keep the blogs updated for her followers. “I try to write a new post for both blogs every week but sometimes life gets in the way,” says Jo.

Her tips for juggling everything that needs to be done in a day include having a family calendar to keep on top of where everyone needs to be during the week.

“When the kids bring home letters, take photos so you’ve always got a copy and write down dates on the calendar straight away. Write down any appointments and schedule everything. I also keep a to-do list,” she tell us.

Jo says she loves being busy and even finds time to keep fit doing yoga and bootcamp.

And even when she’s feeling under the weather, she finds it hard to slow down, she reveals to us. “I absolutely hate being ill and not being able to do anything, especially if I can see things that need doing around the house. I have to keep going.

[“Source-shropshirestar”]

March 13, 2018 0 comment

Blogging

The secret to blogging success

by Loknath Das March 9, 2018

written by Loknath Das

Image result for The secret to blogging success

Melbourne sister act Jess, 29, and Stef Dadon, 25, have added some much needed colour to the Melbourne fashion scene with their blog How Two Live.

Behind the millennial pink ensembles and statement sunglasses is some serious aesthetic ambition, with the talented pair launching their own shoe line, collaborating with Australian labels.

Tomorrow (Saturday, March 10) Jess and Stef will share their secrets of success as part of the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, Fashion Talk series, but we got in early.

Jess and Stef Dadon showing off their fashion prowess. Image / Instagram: @howtwolive

How did things start for you?

Jess: We started our blog, How Two Live, when Stef was moving to Paris for six months in 2012. After a few months brands started to contact us to promote and style their products and from there our audience really started to grow. Pretty quickly we were working with brands globally, from Maybelline to Michael Kors.

When did you know you were connecting with people?

We have an “anything goes” attitude when it comes to fashion and we’re never bothered by stares or whispers in the street. Quite early on readers started to reach out to us.

Some were school girls but it really was women of all ages, to let us know that they found that attitude really empowering and that it had inspired them to have more confidence, in their fashion choices and even in life.

It was really touching for us and we realised that we were building this community of people who hadn’t previously felt like they belonged.

Always ready for a photo opp. Image / Instagram: @howtwolive

What was the biggest challenge?

Building our own label, TWOOBS, has been a massive challenge. We had previously worked with a lot of brands and designed collaborations for other shoe labels like Windsor Smith and Buffalo Boots, so we thought starting our own would be easy. Turns out it has been anything but…

What moment are you proudest off?

A few months ago our shoe label TWOOBS collaborated with Gorman on a couple of styles, and within three hours they’d sold out online and we got a call from Gorman to say they wanted to do a second run. That was a pretty massive moment for us and made over a year of hard work completely worth it.

Were there any mistakes along the way?

We make mistakes all the time, and we find this is the quickest way to learn.

Jess and Stef Dadon not big on blending in with the crowd / Instagram: @howtwolive

How do you keep your audience interested?

We keep it real. There’s a lot of airbrushing and “look at me” that goes on with social media these days and we often get feedback that our audience finds it refreshing that we’re the opposite of that.

Our Instagram Stories will often feature real talk on the couch while eating burritos, or us getting ready for an event in the back of our car.

What is your dream?

We really want to see more women starting their own businesses. For International Women’s Day tomorrow we’re launching Two Gooders, where budding female entrepreneurs can apply for an early stage grant from us. This will be funded through TWOOBS sales, and we’ll also be mentoring the women who receive grants. We’re passionate about sharing our profits and time to help other women get the confidence and build the resources to realise their own dreams!

What advice do you have for people getting started?

Don’t be afraid of failure, or of being judged. Both will inevitably happen at some point, it’s all part of the adventure! Also work hard -it’s the real secret behind any success.

[“Source-style.nine”]

March 9, 2018 0 comment

Gadgets News

How the Samsung Galaxy S9 compares to the iPhone X

by Loknath Das March 7, 2018

written by Loknath Das

Samsung’s new S9 and S9 Plus are coming out in March.. Photo: Reuters

London: When Microsoft revealed a replacement to Windows 8, it skipped the number 9 and went straight to Windows 10. Apple’s iPhone 8 was followed by the iPhone X (pronounced “ten”). But Samsung refused to follow: The successor to its Galaxy S8 is the Galaxy S9 (and a larger S9 Plus), and it’s coming out in March.

The phone is critical for the company. Samsung needs to show it has the hardware and software chops to maintain its leadership in the Android market, while proving Apple isn’t king of smartphone design. Then there’s fending off rising Chinese competition from Huawei and reassuring investors that vice chairman Jay Y. Lee has the company’s future under control since his legal woes commanded global headlines.

But above all, Samsung needs to be better than the iPhone X in the eyes of consumers. Here’s how they compare.

Photography and video

Great pictures are essential for any top-end phone. Samsung has equipped the S9 Plus with two cameras: a wide-angle, and a telephoto (like the iPhone X) and both capture at a resolution of 12 megapixels (also like the iPhone X). Samsung even mounts the two lenses of the S9 Plus vertically — something Apple also does with its flagship.

But the big difference may come with low-light performance. When you take a picture with the S9, you actually capture 12 images simultaneously. The phone then compares all exposures to create a single shot that includes all the detail you want, but with as little grain and noise as possible. It’s similar to how the iPhone X processes high-dynamic range photos, taking three images at different levels of light exposure to combine them to produce a richer, more balanced image.

Samsung’s decision to expand this technology in the S9 compliments the physical camera lens, which has a wider aperture to let in more light — an f1.5 aperture compared to Apple’s f1.8. In the camera world, that small change can make a big difference.

Screen and design

Most features are the same across S9 and S9 Plus models, aside from the camera system. But the latter version is larger: it uses a 6.2-inch display compared to the regular S9’s 5.8-inch offering. The large and small variants weigh 189 grams and 163 grams (a little under six ounces) respectively.

The iPhone X weighs 174 grams — right in the middle of Samsung’s two models. But the screen is one big difference. Apple’s famous “notch” atop the iPhone X’s display is not something Samsung adopted. Instead, the S9 screen is an uninterrupted rectangle. The bezels at the top and bottom of the display are thin, but Apple’s are thinner. Consumers will have a choice: slimmer bezels but with a notch, or no notch but slightly larger bezels.

Horsepower and performance

In the US, Samsung will equip the Galaxy S9 with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest system-on-a-chip, the Snapdragon 845. On paper, it includes a CPU that runs at speeds up to 2.8GHz and has eight processing cores. In other regions, such as Europe, Samsung will use its own Exynos processor, not Qualcomm’s.

Until the phone gets released for review it’s impossible to say how well the Galaxy S9 will perform compared to its own international variant, let alone to the iPhone X. Apple’s phone uses its own A11 Bionic chip, which runs at up to about 2.4GHz, using six processing cores. But historically Apple’s custom-designed silicon, its integration with the iOS software it powers, together with the rest of the hardware in the phone, has given it the edge over competitors whose numbers, on paper, appear greater. What’s safe to say is that both phones should handle anything realistically thrown at them.

Features and security

Apple has never let customers expand internal storage of the iPhone with removable SD memory. But Samsung does with the S9. It’ll have 64GB built in, but it supports Micro SD cards with up to 400GB of additional capacity. Apple will sell you up to 256GB of internal storage when you choose an iPhone X, but after that you’ll need to rely on cloud-based file-hosting, such as iCloud or Dropbox.

But Apple users will most likely still feel their iPhone X hardware is in the lead, as Samsung is continuing to use fingerprint sensors and iris scanning for unlocking the latest Galaxy. That isn’t thought to be as sophisticated as Apple’s system, which maps the contours of a human face to identify an individual and was deemed secure enough to no longer require fingerprints at all. Samsung, instead, also includes a fingerprint reader on the rear of the phone.

Samsung has also taken the idea of Apple’s animated emojis, which use the front-facing camera to let users animate facial features of a unicorn and more by moving their own face. Samsung is introducing a similar feature with the S9, but rather than using existing emojis it will let you create an avatar of yourself and animate that instead. These can be shared as videos of animated GIFs via email or text message.

Price and verdict

Apple and Samsung both know people are keeping the phones for longer, so manufacturers need to have those that do upgrade to pay more. Apple’s iPhone X starts at $999 — $200 more than the iPhone 8. Samsung is also increasing the price of its flagship, bumping the S9 up $100, to $950 in the case of the Plus model.

These phones are the most expensive flagships either has made within their categories, and on paper they share remarkable similarities. Aesthetically, there’s a bigger difference between an iPhone 8 and an iPhone X, particularly in terms of raw industrial design, screen size and display quality. Samsung’s S9 offers less of a noticeable upgrade physically compared to the S8, but improved photographic features and raw horsepower will be key selling points to potential upgraders.

As for the customer on the fence over whether to defect from one manufacturer to another, it’ll be a trade-off between screen format and bezels, expandable storage, low-light photography and physical look and feel. Elsewhere we’re still in the realm of very attractive slabs of glass and metal, despite record highs in cost. Bloomberg

[“Source-livemint”]

March 7, 2018 0 comment

Gadgets News

Mi MIX 2S Leaked Specifications Show 4400mAh Battery, Mi 7 Said to Support Wireless Charging

by Loknath Das March 6, 2018

written by Loknath Das

Mi MIX 2S Leaked Specifications Show 4400mAh Battery, Mi 7 Said to Support Wireless Charging

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S has been a part of rumours for a long time. But earlier this week the company confirmed that the handset with a Snapdragon 845 SoC will debut on March 27. And now, it’s time for a screenshot that reveals the new Mi MIX variant’s bezel-less design – without any notch or space for a front-facing camera sensor. The leaked screenshot also features some of the key specifications of the upcoming smartphone that match with the previous reports. In another piece of news, Xiaomi is said to be developing the Mi 7 with a similar wireless charging technology that was adopted by Apple for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus.

Mi MIX 2S specifications leaked

The alleged Mi MIX 2S screenshot, which has surfaced on Weibo, displays the MIUI About screen, showing the presence of a Snapdragon 845 SoC, a 4400mAh battery, a 16-megapixel primary camera sensor, a 6.01-inch full-HD+ (1080×2160 pixels) display, and 8GB of RAM. The screenshot in question also highlights 256GB of onboard storage on the smartphone that is rumoured as the Mi MIX 2S. All these aren’t any new specifications and are the ones that were leaked through some other sources in the past.

Having said that, the screenshot comes with rounded corners, suggesting a symmetrical display panel of the Mi MIX 2S. This is unlike the lately released render that showed a selfie camera on the top-right corner of the device. Notably, the Mi MIX 2 arrived with a similar symmetrical display panel, though it had a front-facing camera sensor on the bottom, which didn’t impress some users, and the company even recommended to hold the smartphone in landscape mode to capture selfies.

xiaomi mi mix 2s screenshot weibo Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S

Photo Credit: Weibo

While Apple brought the trend of using a notch for the front camera module, some companies are exploring other opportunities as well. Vivo, for instance, at MWC 2018 showcased its APEX concept phone with an elevating selfie camera that rises and retracts from the top to give space to the ultra-thin display bezels.

We need to wait for some more weeks, until the launch date of the Mi MIX 2S, to see how Xiaomi will position the front camera sensor. Meanwhile, we can certainly expect some more rumours and leaks of the device.

Alongside the Mi MIX 2S, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is also a part of the rumour mill nowadays. The smartphone was already expected to come with a Snapdragon 845 SoC and is now rumoured to support wireless charging with 7.5W power, matching the wireless charging support of the latest iPhone models. China’s Chongdiantou reports that Xiaomi has started testing the new support.

Xiaomi joined the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) in September last year to start offering Qi standard-based wireless charging technology on its devices. That development is likely to be leveraged to make the Mi 7 a competitive offering against the iPhone X and its siblings. The handset is rumoured to use the same Broadcom chip and NXP transmitter that Apple used last year to deliver 7.5W wireless charging. It is expected to be based on the Qi Specification Version 1.1.

The Mi 7 is rumoured to feature a 6.01-inch display with 18:9 aspect ratio, 6GB or 8GB RAM options, and dual 16-megapixel rear camera sensors. A Weibo post suggests that the handset could come with an under-display fingerprint sensor, much like the Vivo X20 Plus UD that was launched last month.

[“source=gadgets.ndtv”]

March 6, 2018 0 comment

Tech Update

Mi MIX 2s to Sport Snapdragon 845 SoC, Xiaomi Reconfirms in Video Teaser

by Loknath Das March 5, 2018

written by Loknath Das

Mi MIX 2s to Sport Snapdragon 845 SoC, Xiaomi Reconfirms in Video Teaser

HIGHLIGHTS

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s will be launched on March 27
The smartphone will bear a bezel-less display
Xiaomi has once again teased the Snapdragon 845 SoC

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s launch is set for March 27, and Chinese company has released a new teaser about the flagship smartphone. We already knew the smartphone would be powered by Qualcomm’s new top-of-the-line mobile processor, the Snapdragon 845 SoC, recently seen unveiled in the Samsung Galaxy S9and Galaxy S9+, apart from the Sony Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ2 Compact. The company’s teaser doesn’t reveal anything knew, but just reconfirm the use of the Snapdragon 845 SoC – one of the smartphone’s biggest highlight.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s teaser, posted on Chinese video sharing website MiaoPai.com, spells out the 8, 4, and 5 of the Snapdragon 845 SoC in sign language. Not much else has been teased by the company yet, beyond the AnTuTu score (273741) – back when it had announced the March 27 launch. We can of course expect the smartphone to take forward the bezel-less design of the original, pioneering Mi MIX, launched back in October, 2016 as a concept phone. Its successor – the Mi MIX 2 – was launched as a commercial device in September last year.

The first leak of the Mi MIX 2s had indicated it would be feature an iPhone X-like notch on top of the display, for the same purpose as the Apple smartphone – to fit the host of front facing sensors modern smartphones employ, including the front camera and proximity sensor. The reported move to follow Apple’s design decision would be controversial, not in the least because Xiaomi poked fun at the Cupertino giant at the launch of the Mi MIX 2.

More recent leaks claim the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2s would sport an under-display fingerprint sensor, and moves the ‘notch’ to the right side – a design different from the iPhone X, which has it in the centre. It was also tipped to sport a 5.99-inch display, up to 8GB of RAM, 12-megapixel dual camera, 256GB of built-in storage, and support for global 4G LTE bands. It is said to bear a 4400mAh battery – though another leak claims it bears a 3400mAh battery, and adds that AI features will be brought to the camera. The latest Mi MIX 2s leak also tips the use of a Samsung-built OLED display

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]

March 5, 2018 0 comment

Education

4 Reasons To Start Your Information Systems Degree Online Today

by admin February 23, 2018

written by admin

Image result for 4,Reasons,To,Start,Your,Information,Systems,Degree,Online,Today

It is no secret that technology continues to evolve at a rate unprecedented in human history. Much of this involves the computer realm, where businesses and individuals alike now depend on their devices in order to be productive and effective. Out of this has been born a new career known as Information Systems that is in high demand. If you enjoy technology, and you want to be on the cutting edge of what is to come, you will want to consider pursuing this line of work. As you do so, read through the following four reasons why you should begin your information systems degree online today.

Use the Technology as You Learn

Studying for this valuable degree online obviously affords you the added advantage of using the very technology you are learning about. You will be able to test systems, monitor server performance, and so much more right from the comfort of your own home or office. This is the type of on the job training that you just cannot get anywhere else. An online MIS degree is a way to study off campus and learn the material that you need to ultimately be successful.

Learn From the Best

As you can imagine, your instructors are a critical component in this process. Technology is simply advancing too rapidly for you to waste your time in a classroom being taught by an instructor who is relaying outdated information. By studying online, you will be learning from professors who are currently engaged in the field of information systems. You can rest assured that the information you are being taught is relevant and up to date. This will equip you with the knowledge that you need to be successful in the job market right after graduation.

Position Yourself for the Job Market

While this is an emerging field, competition for jobs is still rather fierce. If you want to be positioned for the job of your dreams, you will want to earn a degree that means something and is valuable to you. An online degree in MIS is the way to do just that. Employers value prospective employees who come from such a program. No matter where you choose to study, you will want to make sure the institution is accredited and that the graduates are highly respected. If you find those components are lacking, you can look elsewhere. Studying from an accredited university is a way to effectively position yourself for the job market.

Study At Your Own Pace

Finally, studying online enables you to continue on with your normal personal and professional obligations while still working towards your goal of earning a degree. The computer becomes your classroom. You do not need to travel to a physical campus, saving you hours each week. This is an opportunity to study at your own pace using the technology made available to you. Take advantage of it.

If you earn a degree in this field, you will be well positioned for future success. Employers today are looking for individuals who understand what it takes to keep computer systems up and running. If you are the type of person that works well with technology, consider enrolling in an online program today and jump start your next career.

February 23, 2018 0 comment

Blogging

10 Important Reasons to Work Seriously On Your Small Business Blog

by Loknath Das February 14, 2018

written by Loknath Das

10 Important Reasons to Work Seriously On Your Small Business Blog

How the heck do they do it?

You know who I’m talking about. I’m talking about those successful small business entrepreneurs who get tons of business and engagement online.

Sure, they hustle just as much as you do. They attend the same networking events. But there’s a difference.

They seem to have much more business than you do. They’re closing more deals. They’re generating more leads through their website.

So what’s the difference between you and them?

They’re probably blogging. They’re probably using their small business blog to build an online audience that is engaged with their brand.

If you’re a small business entrepreneur or solopreneur, you have probably heard of content marketing, right? No doubt you’ve heard of the importance of creating valuable content for your website. But maybe you haven’t taken that first step yet.

A small business blog is one of the most-used and effective content marketing tools at your disposal. Simply put, if you’re not blogging, you’re leaving money on the table.

Here’s some stats for you:

Marketers that use blogs get 67 percent more leads than those who don’t.
81 percent of U.S. online consumers trust information and advice from blogs.
Companies that blog have 97 percent more inbound links.
61 percent of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.
60 percent of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading custom content on its site.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you need to consider how you’re connecting with your audience. Since you might not have the huge marketing budget of a mega-corporation, you will have to use other means to build and connect with your audience.

One of the best ways to do this is by blogging. It’s been shown to be highly effective at generating quality leads for your business.

Many business owners overlook the potential rewards that blogging can provide. But you’re a savvy entrepreneur, so you’re not going to make this mistake, are you?

This post is going to give you ten benefits that a small business blog can provide for your business. When you read through this post, you will learn various ways you can use your blog to generate more business, earn more credibility and make it easier for prospects to find you online.

Why You Should Have a Small Business Blog

1. Market Research

Having a blog with many articles allows you to more effectively understand what your audience really wants. From the back end of your site, you can spy on what pages people are viewing the most, and this gives you an idea of where their interest lies. When you know what types of content perform the best, you know what types of content to continue to create.

Also, you can use your blog to request feedback from your audience. If you have an engaged following, it’s very likely that they will be happy to answer the questions you have.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

As you probably know, there’s not much of a point to having a killer website if nobody can find it. One of the biggest keys to getting more traffic is making sure that people will find your site when they use search engines. As a matter of fact, search engines are the no. 1 driver of traffic to content websites! SEO is something that you can’t ignore if you want to have a viable online presence.

The more relevant content you have on your website, the more likely it will be that you will rank for certain keywords. This is where a small business blog comes in. Consistently publishing high-quality content on your blog will do wonders for your search engine optimization efforts.

When you produce useful content, Google’s algorithms will rank your site higher. Over time, your site will make its way to the front page of search results. Not only that, but when people read high-quality content, they’re more likely to link back to it. Earning quality backlinks from other high-authority blogs will do wonders for your SEO efforts.

3. Customer Engagement

Engagement is immensely important for any online business. It’s not enough to just create great content. You also need to interact with your audience as much as you can. You can’t have any success by just talking at your audience. You need to have ongoing conversations with them. It will help you know your audience better. It will help your audience know you better.

That’s what you want.

If you enable comments on your small business blog, you can discuss topics and get feedback directly. This can tell you a lot about your customer base. Not only that. It shows your audience that you are interested in interacting with them. This will increase loyalty and help you form a deeper connection with your audience.

4. Communicating Your Mission

One of the most important components of effective branding is purpose. Connecting with your audience means embracing a unique brand perspective that can give your audience something they can connect with on an emotional level.

This is where blogging comes in.

Your blog is a place where you can communicate your brand purpose. This is important because establishing a strong brand is an important part of encouraging customer loyalty. When you communicate a brand purpose that goes beyond what you sell, it helps you stand out from your competition.

For example, if you are a business that sells vegan meat substitutes, you can express your brand’s purpose by posting animal welfare material on your site. This shows your audience that your company is focused on something more than just making money.

5. Communicating With Customers

If there’s something going on with your service — for example, there will be a planned outage or lack of availability — you don’t have to keep your clients in the dark. Having a centralized place to post announcements is extremely important because people don’t always read their email.

6. You Can Offer Promotional Material

A small business blog is also a great place to offer occasional promotions. If you already have an engaged audience that consumes your content, they will be able to see what discounts or promotions you are offering. It’s a great way to keep your customer base informed.

Sure, you can spread your coupons around Facebook, but it’s better to get into the habit of compelling your audience to visit you at your own site, especially if it’s an ecommerce site. Keep them coming back for more by posting your promotions on your blog.

Here’s a caveat: you don’t want to overdo this. While blogs can be great for offering promotions, it shouldn’t be used solely for this purpose. Most of your content should focus on offering informational value to your readers. If you only post promotional content, your audience will not continue to visit your blog.

7. Showing Your Human Side

People want to know that there are actual human beings behind the business that they buy from. Post some personal stories and talk to your customers through your blog.

This is an opportunity for you to let your personality shine through. When you’re writing blog posts, don’t smack your reader in the head with a bunch of “corporatespeak.” Nobody wants to read that. No really, they don’t!

It’s much better to write in an informal style that people can relate to. When it comes to blogging, it’s not just about what you say, it’s about how you say it.

8. You Can Become a Source of Value

The key to effective blogging is providing value. Nobody is going to read your content unless they get something out of it, right?

If you want to build influence, you have to be valuable. You can do this by providing helpful information to your readers through your blog.

Arjun Reddy, the founder of Super Baby, builds credibility with his website’s “resources” section by giving actionable tips to his visitors.

“Our visitors are parents who are looking for fun ways to help their children become smarter. The advice we give in our resources section is designed to provide helpful parenting tips for our readers.”

The reason Reddy is enjoying success is because he’s providing value up front. When you do this, you show your potential clients that you are valuable to them. That’s why content marketing works. When you’re creating content, you should be asking yourself what your reader is going to get out of that particular piece of content. Each piece of content should be designed to inform, educate, or entertain. If possible, you should do all three!

9. Networking!

When you have built an audience and gained some notoriety, it can attract other entrepreneurs to you. For an entrepreneur, networking is important, isn’t it?

If you’re able to grow your readership effectively, you will gain more credibility. This will attract other influencers in your niche. You never know who might be paying attention right?

This could lead to other opportunities for your business. You might be able to take advantage of the key relationships that you form through your small business blog.

10. Building Credibility

Having a small business blog gives you a presence in your niche. A blog is a record of quality value and experience that you are bringing to your audience. This will give you instant “street cred” when someone finds your content.

Lissette Palencia, CEO of Sleeping Angels has built a steady stream of clientele by using her blog to provide valuable information to her website’s visitors.

“As you can guess, when you run a nanny agency, your clients are parents who are concerned about the safety of their children. They want to do the research first. When they visit our website, they find tons of valuable information that helps them make the right decision for their family. Not only does it inform them, it makes them more comfortable with doing business us.”

This is essential for your business. Your blog is a tool that you can use to establish credibility in the minds of your potential clients. Prospects will read your content and gain value from it. Then, they will become far more willing to buy from you because you have already given them a significant benefit through your blog.

Conclusion

Here’s the thing. If you’re looking to expand your online presence, you need to be creating high-quality content on a consistent basis. A blog is one of the best ways to do this.

These are just a few reasons to keep a blog if you’re an entrepreneur, but there are much more. Just remember that anything that can bring value to your audience is something that you should consider adding to your business.

[“Source-smallbiztrends”]

February 14, 2018 0 comment

Gadgets News

iOS 12 Update Said to Bring Animoji on FaceTime, Revamped Do Not Disturb, and More

by Loknath Das February 14, 2018

written by Loknath Das

iOS 12 Update Said to Bring Animoji on FaceTime, Revamped Do Not Disturb, and More

Apple’s annual software upgrade this fall will offer users plenty of new features: enabling a single set of apps to work across iPhones, iPads and Macs, a Digital Health tool to show parents how much time their children have been staring at their screen and improvements to Animojis, those cartoon characters controlled by the iPhone X’s facial recognition sensor.

But just as important this year will be what Apple doesn’t introduce: redesigned home screens for the iPhone, iPad and CarPlay, and a revamped Photos app that can suggest which images to view.

These features were delayed after Apple concluded it needed its own major upgrade in the way the company develops and introduces new products. Instead of keeping engineers on a relentless annual schedule and cramming features into a single update, Apple will start focusing on the next two years of updates for its iPhone and iPad operating system, according to people familiar with the change. The company will continue to update its software annually, but internally engineers will have more discretion to push back features that aren’t as polished to the following year.

Software chief Craig Federighi laid out the new strategy to his army of engineers last month, according to a person familiar with the discussion. His team will have more time to work on new features and focus on under-the-hood refinements without being tied to a list of new features annually simply so the company can tout a massive year-over-year leap, people familiar with the situation say. The renewed focus on quality is designed to make sure the company can fulfil promises made each summer at the annual developers conference and that new features work reliably and as advertised.

“This change is Apple beginning to realize that schedules are not being hit, stuff is being released with bugs – which previously would not have happened,” when Apple was a smaller company with fewer engineers, customers and devices to manage, says one person familiar with the company. Apple declined to comment.

The shift is an admission of what many customers have already come to notice: Some Apple software has become prone to bugs and underdeveloped features. In recent months, users have complained about text messages appearing out of order, the iPhone X registering incoming phone calls late and frequent app crashes.

Apple has also recently released features later than it expected, as the rush to meet the annual deadline overtaxed engineers and created last-minute delays. For example, last year’s iOS release didn’t initially include previously touted features that would let consumers send money via iMessage or synchronise full text message histories among Apple devices.

The decision to formalize the process and give engineers more time to perfect software is a major cultural shift. For years, the company hasfunnelledd its energies into quick-turnaround, splashy upgrades that are designed to wow the faithful and make rivals seem slow-footed.

The strategy has paid off handsomely because the feature-packed upgrades keep customers tied to Apple’s ecosystem and prompt them to use more of the company’s lucrative services. More than 90 percent of Apple customers use either of the last two major iOS updates, compared with 30 percent of Android users who have downloaded the two latest versions of Google’s mobile OS, according to data from both companies.

But the feature-packed upgrades place huge demands on Apple’s beleaguered engineers. At Google, teams update apps on their own schedule and aren’t tied to the annual Android release. At Apple, all new features are tied to a big release in the fall, when Apple rolls out its splashiest new software, and a more modest update in the spring. Individual apps aren’t updated on their own, and everything is driven by the release schedule.

Under the previous system, a person familiar with Apple says, “inevitably, some things will be late because you underestimated how long it would take. Some things have to be cut, some things have to be rushed. It’s the result of having thousands of people working on the same schedule.”

The first test of the new development strategy will come in the fall, when Apple debuts the next iPhone and iPad software upgrade. Internally code-named “Peace,” it will likely be called iOS 12.

The change that will cause the biggest stir: making it possible for a single third-party app to work on iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. The upgrade will be folded into the upcoming macOS 10.14 (known internally as “Liberty”) and could involve bringing to the Mac some of Apple’s own iPhone apps, including Home, which controls smart appliances.

Apple’s popular Animojis will get new characters and a more easily navigated menu. The animated emojis will also come to the iPad; the company is working on a new model that will have the required Face ID camera. Apple plans to integrate Animojis into FaceTime, letting people put virtual faces over themselves in video calls. (Technology to bring multi-person conferencing to FaceTime video calls is being explored but might not be ready for this year.)

Also in the works for this year: a redesigned version of Apple’s stock-tracking app and updated version of Do Not Disturb that will give users more options to automatically reject phone calls or silence notifications. Apple is also working to more deeply integrate Siri into the iPhone’s search view, redesign the interface used to import photos into an iPad on the go and make it possible for several people at once to play augmented reality games.

Consumers will have to wait until 2019 for significant iPad-focused software upgrades. Among them: A feature that will make it possible to run several windows in one app and click between them just like tabs in a web browser (the Mac got this feature a couple of years ago) and a related enhancement that lets two screens from the same app run side-by-side. Other updates that have been pushed back include new features for the Apple Pencil stylus and a toggle in the email app that will mute notifications from specific threads.

In the past, “Apple’s smaller scale helped it build better-quality software than the rest of the market,” says Steven Troughton-Smith, a veteran app developer. “But with its newfound size it has seemingly been unable to find the right balance.”

Finding a new balance between speed and quality will be tricky. On the one hand, spreading feature updates over a longer period could hurt Apple’s competitiveness in the fiercely contested smartphone market. On the other hand, sticking to what Troughton-Smith calls a “ruthlessly ambitious” upgrade cycle risks rushing out features before they’re ready and undermining Apple’s vaunted reputation for quality.

[“source=food.ndtv”]

February 14, 2018 0 comment

Gadgets News

LG V30 2018 Version Launch Set for MWC 2018, to Offer AI-Based Image Recognition

by Loknath Das February 14, 2018

written by Loknath Das

LG V30 2018 Version Launch Set for MWC 2018, to Offer AI-Based Image Recognition

LG on Tuesday announced that it is set to launch the 2018 version of the original V30 flagship at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. The announcement follows another from earlier this year, when the company said it would be abandoning its annual smartphone cycle, and only launch phones when needed, with a focus on new variants of its established G and V-Series of smartphones.

The new LG V30 smartphone, which entered the rumour mills as the LG V30s earlier, is touted to feature a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies focusing on camera and voice recognition. The South Korean company has also announced the extension of its partnership with Google to integrate as many as 32 exclusive voice commands on the upcoming handset. The LG V30 was launched at IFA 2017 in August last year with a FullVision display and a dual rear camera setup to take on Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

After spending more than a year in researching how AI should be implemented in smartphones, LG in a statement said it had developed its Vision AI that is acclaimed as the next-generation image recognition technology. The proprietary technology is designed to analyse objects and recommend the best shooting mode from among eight preset modes, including portrait, food, pet, landscape, city, flower, sunrise, and sunset. It also considers the angle of view, colour, reflections, backlighting, and saturation levels by analysing images from a database to understand the camera’s focus in order to recommend the best setting. Moreover, LG has collaborated with a partner in image recognition to analyse over 100 million images to ultimately build its image recognition algorithms. The company also says that it has created over a thousand unique image categories to develop more accurate image analysis and offer better shooting mode recommendations to end users than ever before.

Apart from recognising images for enhanced results, LG claims that its Vision AI is designed to provide shopping advice. The technology scan QR codes, initiate an image search and even provide shopping options such as from where to purchase a particular item at the lowest price and other similar products available in the market.

On the hardware side, LG has confirmed that the new V30 version will come with a dual camera setup that will include wide-angle, low-distortion lenses. This hardware will jointly work with a preloaded low-light shooting mode to brighten images in dim environments by a factor of two, the company said. The in-house Vision AI technology is claimed to measure the brightness of the actual image to adjust brightness level more accurately than conventional methods that measure external light levels to brighten final shots.

The LG V30 was debuted with exclusive support for 23 voice commands. LG has extended that area by uplifting its Voice AI technology and is set to give 32 exclusive voice commands on the new V30 model. Users will just need to say “OK Google” and then a particular voice command to perform actions on the smartphone. There are new commands to use a list of fresh features, including Panoramic Photo, Food Photo, Time-lapse Photo and Video, Slow-motion Video, Low-light Photo, AI Cam Photo, Image Search, QR Code Scanning, and Shopping Search.

It is quite certain that most of the new AI-powered features will be limited to the next LG V30 model. However, LG has stated that some of the new features will also be landed on its existing smartphones via OTA (over-the-air) updates.

“Creating smarter smartphones will be our focus going forward, and we are confident that consumers will appreciate the advanced user experience with the enhanced V30 that many have been asking and waiting for,” said Ha Jeung-uk, Senior Vice President and Business Unit Leader, LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, in a press statement.

The next LG V30 model, which as we mentioned is in rumours as the LG V30s, was recently reported to sport up to 256GB of onboard storage. This is far more than the 64GB and 128GB storage versions of the LG V30 and LG V30+. The smartphone is also said to hit stores in South Korea sometime in the second week of March with a price tag of KRW 1 million (approximately Rs. 59,300) to compete against the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Besides, it is expected to come with a Snapdragon 845 SoC.

Last month, LG showcased its AI skills in televisions by unveiling the ThinQ AI brand at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 in Las Vegas. The company also integrated Google Assistant within the new TV models alongside its native Electronics Program Guide (EPG) to deliver a smarter experience.

[“source=food.ndtv”]

February 14, 2018 0 comment

Gadgets News

iPhone X, iPhone SE, Other iPhone Models Available With Up to 50 Percent Discount With Exchange, Other Offers

by Loknath Das February 13, 2018

written by Loknath Das

iPhone X, iPhone SE, Other iPhone Models Available With Up to 50 Percent Discount With Exchange, Other Offers

Indian mobile retail chain Sangeetha Mobiles is offering up to 50 percent off on the purchase of iPhonemodels, including the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, and iPhone SE. While it might sound like an unbelievable offer, it does come with its fair share of caveats. The offer price is a combination of HDFC EMI cashbacks, exchange discounts, and the retailer’s discount on EMI transactions. The offer is available across all Sangeetha Mobiles offline retail stores.

According to the offer page, the iPhone X 64GB can be bought at an effective price of Rs. 47,699. Gadgets 360 contacted Sangeetha Mobiles retailers in Hyderabad that quoted a gross price of Rs. 88,000 for this variant. An HDFC card/ consumer loans cashback of Rs. 12,000 is valid on EMI transactions , along with the retailer’s own Rs. 5 percent discount on EMI transactions (up to Rs. 1,500). This gives it an effective price of Rs. 74,500, over and above which exchange discounts can be applied, varying from handset to handset. Do note that Android phones of similar value will also be eligible for the exchange offer on models up to the iPhone 7 Plus. For higher models, a minimum of iPhone 7 32GB models are eligible for exchange.

Additionally, the offer page claims that the iPhone SE 32GB can be bought at a minimum effective price of Rs. 9,990, the iPhone 6 32GB can be bought at Rs. 14,990. The iPhone 6s 32GB has a minimum effective price of Rs. 21,499, the iPhone 8 64GB has a price of Rs. 25,500, the iPhone 8 Plus 64GB has an effective price of Rs. 33,999, and the iPhone 8 Plus 256GB is claimed to have a discounted price of Rs. 45,499. Notably, the phone you wish to exchange should be within official brand warranty.

Details of the mentioned offers and offers on other phones can be verified by visiting any of the Sangeetha Mobiles offline stores. The company has presence in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

[“source=gadgets.ndtv”]

February 13, 2018 0 comment