easy-forex Announces its Winning Trader who will Try for $1 Million

easy-forex, one of the pioneering forces in global retail forex, has announced the winner of its $1 million trading competition, launched in March. 29 year old Shivanand Swami, from Marathi in India, who is currently studying the business of network marketing, was the top-performing trader by a clear margin.
As well as winning a luxury trip for two to Australia, Shivanand will attend the final home game of the National Rugby League’s Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Sydney, 31 August. During halftime, in front of the home crowd in the ANZ Stadium, he will have the chance to kick for $1 million. easy-forex is proud to be an official sponsor of the Bulldogs.

Read More:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb11055915.htm

Accreditation scheme to identify legitimate telemarketers planned

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is putting the finishing touches to a scheme dubbed TPS Assured - after self-regulatory body the Telephone Preference Service - which will be awarded to companies that demonstrate they are compliant with the requirements of the TPS.
The TPS, run by the DMA under license from Ofcom but enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has almost 18 million people registered that have asked to be removed from prospect lists.
TPS Assured, however, will only be awarded to brands that make their own outbound calls, not the contracted call centres that are often guilty of not screening the TPS and therefore making the unwanted calls.
Read More:http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/accreditation-scheme-to-identify-legitimate-telemarketers-planned/4007632.article

Small Talk About Big Data With Ogilvy's New Data Chief

Am I the only one sick of hearing about Big Data? I don't mean the actual oceans of new data being churned by ever-more capable technology for the benefit of humanity and marketers' conversion rates. I mean the two words that are automatically stamped on any new intersection of “unstructured” data  and cloud computing. Be honest. If someone asked you to define Big Data in a sentence or two, could you do it? I couldn't. Luckily, my job affords me the opportunity to pick up the phone and crib wisdom from big-time industry brains without forking over a five-figure retainer.
Read More:http://www.dmnews.com/small-talk-about-big-data-with-ogilvys-new-data-chief/article/309462/

E3 Investment Group Presenting at EB-5 Conference in Chicago

E3 Investment Group announced today that it will be presenting at the ILW.com EB-5 conference in Chicago on September 6, 2013.
E3 Investment Group's Managing Director Matt Gordon will deliver a lecture on the structural, economic and legal frameworks of different business models used in the EB-5 program, including E3 Investment Group’s novel Scalable-Direct™ business model.
The Scalable-Direct™ model may be the first of its kind to allow foreign nationals who invest their capital as part of the United States government’s EB-5 immigrant investor visa program to receive the benefits of an enterprise class organization. This program is unique in that each investor remains independent from all other investors by serving as the only investor in his/her entity. The Scalable-Direct™ model is designed to allow the investor to receive permanent residency in the United States, while using his/her capital to create jobs in high unemployment areas for US citizens and permanent residents.
Read more here:http://www.prweb.com/releases/E3-Investment-Group/Chicago-Conference/prweb11068095.htm

WebiMax Ranked at No. 5 in Agency Top 100 Fastest-Growing Agencies in the U.S.

Agency, an interactive publication for ad, public relations, and marketing professionals, recently announced their list of the top 100 fastest-growing agencies in the United States, an annual ranking of the fastest-growing advertising, marketing, and communication companies in the U.S. The list marked WebiMax, a leading online marketing firm founded in 2008, at No. 5. With a 3-year growth of 3,367%, WebiMax continues to experience exponential growth, recently ranking in the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in the USA list for the second consecutive year.

Read more here:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb11071038.htm

How Cisco Uses Social Media to Close Big Sales (And More)

When Cisco account executives have a big deal they want to close, they don't take clients to dinner at Bottega in Napa Valley or for a round of golf at Pebble Beach. No, these days, the supplier of telecommunications and IT systems leads key decision makers into the Social Media Listening Center on its San Jose campus.
“We brought in a chief communications officer from a big prospect who was a little skeptical about social media,” says Charlie Treadwell, Cisco's social intelligence manager. “What we do is show the customers what their customers are saying about them. So we're going through the demo and this guy actually jumps out of his chair and says, 'I know this [bleep]! What's he saying about us?' After the session concluded, a deal was imminent and the communications chief was muttering that he wanted a listening module of his own outside his office.
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/how-cisco-uses-social-media-to-close-big-sales-and-more/article/309260/

Three Ways to Increase Your Shelf Life as CMO

The average tenure of a chief marketing officer (CMO) is significantly shorter than that of any other C-suite position. Yes, that statistic is as dismal as it sounds, so CMOs, if you're going to buck this trend, there are three things you need to do:

• Know your brand and purpose
• Free your army of advocates
• Integrate ROI with marketing

Also, it doesn't hurt to get the CEO on board with the above, as well.
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/three-ways-to-increase-your-shelf-life-as-cmo/article/309017/

Exigency Extra

With the direct mail industry preparing to debate the United States Postal Service's (USPS) Postal Board of Governors on Sept. 5 in a discussion about a potential exigent rate increase, we present considerations posed by parties that figure to be affected by such a move.
 With the direct mail industry preparing to debate the United States Postal Service's (USPS) Postal Board of Governors on Sept. 5 in a discussion about a potential exigent rate increase, we present considerations posed by parties that figure to be affected by such a move.
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/exigency-extra/article/309012/

Paperless Homework Sdn Bhd Launches the World’s First Multi-Indexed/Language Browser

Paperless Homework’s new patent-pending tool simplifies the web browsing process and makes Internet searching more accessible to non-English speakers. Since 2012, the company has been developing AGECityConnect, which will reinvent the way users address websites: difficult-to-remember ICCAN-based web addresses become easy everyday names, in any language supported by AGECityConnect.
Read more here:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb11047007.htm

5 things to know in Florida for Aug. 27

MIAMI -- Your daily look at news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today.
CHANGES COME TO GAME AFTER SLUGGISH TICKET SALES
There are changes coming to the Mega Millions lottery game. Starting on Oct. 19, the initial jackpot in the multi-state game will rise to $15 million from the current $12 million. Other changes include raising the second-place prize from $250,000 to $1 million.
LIBRARY COMMEMORATES FLAGLER SIT-IN
A new online library put together by Flagler College students is commemorating the civil rights struggle that took place in St. Augustine almost 50 years ago. The Civil Rights Library of St. Augustine is set to come online next month.
Read more here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/27/3588223/5-things-to-know-in-florida-for.html

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3dcart Vies for Yahoo and Miva Merchants with the Addition of Advanced Shipping Manager

3dcart, a leading all-inclusive, web-based eCommerce hosting solution, today announces that it has joined forces with KingWebMaster and Advanced Shipping Manager in a strategic move to bring enhanced functionality to its online merchants with unique shipping needs. In the past, KingWebmaster’s Advanced Shipping Manger app was limited to Yahoo Stores and Miva Merchants, but now 3dcart store owners have access to the application.
Read more here:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/8/prweb11040045.htm

Ex-News Corp. Exec Named Roku CMO

Roku, a company with devices that allow people to view streamed Internet content on their TVs, today named its first CMO. He is former News Corp. executive Matthew Anderson, who for the last year has been working with Roku as a consultant on funding and strategy issues. In his new role, Anderson is responsible for global marketing and communications across the company's three business units–device sales, content and services, and OEM partnerships.
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/ex-news-corp-exec-named-roku-cmo/article/308942/

South Florida emerging as a leading flight-training location

Call it Florida’s “Sim City.”
Clustered along Northwest 36th Street in the area along Miami International Airport’s northern border are the companies and schools that house most of South Florida’s 62 FAA-approved airline flight simulators. Private and commercial pilots, and many aviation professionals, learn and hone their craft on the devices, which re-create the experience of aircraft flight. Only Atlanta, with 64, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with 122, currently have more.
Read more here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/25/3583252/south-florida-emerging-as-a-leading.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/25/3583252/south-florida-emerging-as-a-leading.html#storylink=cpy

Co-op eyes online grocery move

The Co-operative is to become the latest and last of the big six supermarket to move into the online grocery sector, with trials for its e-commerce set to commence later this year.
The supermarket is currently deciding whether to roll out a bespoke offering tailored for the convenience market or a more common click and collect or home delivery route.
It will trial four different models of delivery and is likely to utilise its existing fleet of vans, which deliver shopping worth more than £25 bought in store to customers’ homes, according to a report in trade magazine Retail Week. The article says the supermarket will also leverage its existing click and collect partnership with Amazon, which has installed lockers in The Co-op’s larger stores.
Read more here:http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/co-op-eyes-online-grocery-move/4007716.article

A Plus Warehouse Announces Complete Wire Partition System as Product of the Day

A product of the day is an item that stands out from the other products. Everyday A Plus Warehouse chooses that next product to be featured as product of the day. The company evenly distributes these products between the different lines offered at A Plus Warehouse. One day the product of the day may be a type of locker and the next day a type of hoist. The products vastly differ from each other. Product of the day gives the company the chance to showcase some of the best products offered. Today’s product of the day is the complete wire partition system. According to Ed Stairman, president of A Plus Warehouse, “ Wire partitions are needed for safety and security. The complete wire partition system is arguably the best wire partition we have to offer.”
Read more here:http://www.prweb.com/releases/wire-partition/complete-wire-partition/prweb10955716.htm

It's Not the Size, but the Quality of Data That Counts

The shiny objects, er, trends, that many marketers are obsessed with today are Big Data, cloud technologies, and social, Trillium Software SVP of Marketing Len DuBois pointed out during a recent conversation. And all for good reason. But sometimes big trends can overshadow more low-profile but equally important ones. Data quality, for example.
“One of the biggest, but often underplayed, trends is the shift in responsibility for data quality,” DuBois said. In most organizations IT often has oversight for data quality, as well as the tools to maintain it. Increasingly, however, data oversight is moving to the business side, which is often responsible for taking action on that data and is closer to what should be improved and how. And with today's technologies it's easier than ever for business users and analysts to do “self-service” data quality, he said.
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/its-not-the-size-but-the-quality-of-data-that-counts/article/308699/

5 Tips for a Stronger Content Marketing Strategy

Content marketing is changing the way we do business—in how we engage our customers and position our brands in the digital space. According to a study by Roper Public Affairs, 70% of respondents said content marketing helps them feel closer to the sponsoring company, while 60% said that company content helps them make better product decisions. Whether generating leads, supporting sales efforts, or improving search engine visibility, content strategy plays an increasingly important role in successful marketing programs.
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/5-tips-for-a-stronger-content-marketing-strategy/article/308674/

Microsoft: CEO Ballmer to retire in 12 months

NEW YORK -- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, known as much for his zany personality as his business discipline, will leave a legacy of mixed results and a monumental challenge for his yet-to-be-named successor.
Ballmer announced on Friday that he plans to retire sometime in the next year. He has worked for the company for 33 years. After helping founder Bill Gates transform Microsoft from a tiny start-up into the world’s most valuable company, Ballmer took over for Gates in early 2000.
Read more here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/23/3582565/microsoft-ceo-ballmer-to-retire.html

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Asda to add social media recommendations to packaging

Asda is looking to make its Chosen By You own-brand food range more “emotional” by adding real social media posts from customers about its products to packaging and point of sale where the items sit.
The supermarket has invited customers to tweet and write Facebook posts about the range using a #ChosenByMe hashtag. The best posts are being curated into a hub page on the Asda.com website, from which some will be selected to appear on in-store POS barkers and on-pack stickers - with the customer’s permission.
Read more here:http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/asda-to-add-social-media-recommendations-to-packaging/4007697.article

Brickell apartment project changes to condo in mid-construction

EnV at Mary Brickell Village — one of Miami’s most talked about new rental apartment projects — won’t be a rental after all.
Seizing on the red-hot demand for pre-construction condominiums in the Brickell area, the developers switched the project to a condominium, dubbed Nine at Mary Brickell Village.
The tower, which will remain 390 units spanning 34 floors, is under construction above the Publix at Mary Brickell Village at 999 SW First Ave.
Fortune International was retained to market the project, which is co-developed by Greenwich, Ct.-based Starwood Capital Group and San Antonio-based Lynd.
The switch to a condominium from a rental building could bring the developer more profit and more quickly, experts say. The move comes as numerous other new condo towers have been attracting cash-rich foreign buyers and prices in the downtown Brickell area have rebounded impressively from the housing crash as nearly all the overhang of condominums from that dark era have been absorbed.
Read more here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/22/3580110/brickell-apartment-project-changes.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/22/3580110/brickell-apartment-project-changes.html#storylink=cpy

Washington area stocks gain as uncertainties loom

Share prices at most Washington area companies jumped during the first half of this year, but local firms say they are not necessarily taking advantage of the gains to add jobs or buy new equipment just yet.
Instead, many are watching how the economy fares the next six months before making any big bets.
An analysis of 139 publicly traded companies in the region showed stock prices grew an average of 16.58 percent between December 31 and June 28, according to data from Bloomberg. By comparison, the S&P 500 gained 12.63 percent in that time.
Read more here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/washington-area-stocks-gain-as-uncertainties-loom/2013/08/16/c2385a86-0107-11e3-9711-3708310f6f4d_story.html

Email Brings Some Sunshine to Families Facing Autism

Email marketers get a bad rap. Consumers blame them for producing more spam than Hormel. Uppity digital marketers belittle them as common batchers-and-blasters. For one young company in the suburbs north of Toronto, however, they have been dream-builders. For that company's clients, they have been prayer-answerers.
Sunshine Learning Centre opened its doors in the Durham area of Ontario, just north of Toronto. Its founders held degrees in sociology and behavioral analysis, not marketing. They had wondrous solutions to offer the parents of autistic children, but no ideas for how to reach them. They also had a unique business challenge: Keep customers engaged for four years and their revenue contribution will quadruple.
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/email-brings-some-sunshine-to-families-facing-autism/article/308318/

'CMO and CIO silos are threatening effectiveness of marketing'

A lack of collaboration between chief marketing officers and chief information officers is hindering companies’ ability to produce effective multichannel marketing, according to a report.
Accenture’s “The CMO-CIO Disconnect” study found just one in 10 CMO and CIOs believe they are currently collaborating with each other at the “right level” required to seize the opportunities offered by digital technology. This is particularly worrying, Accenture says, given separate research from Gartner that predicts by 2017 CMOs will spend more on IT and analytics than CIOs.
Read more here:http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/cmo-and-cio-silos-are-threatening-effectiveness-of-marketing/4007702.article

Don't Worry, Be Happy

There's an old phrase that says money can't buy you happiness. But Elizabeth Dunn, coauthor of Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending, disagrees.
“If you think money can't buy happiness, you might not be spending it right,” Dunn said to the audience at HubSpot's 2013 Inbound Marketing Conference in Boston. 
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/dont-worry-be-happy/article/308141/

Yahoo appoints former Channel 5 boss as European vice president

The former Channel 5 executive, who famously agreed with an interviewer during her tenure as its CEO and chairman that the channel’s core strengths were “films, football and f*cking”, will be responsible for expanding Yahoo’s business in the region and driving its “renaissance”.
She replaces Christophe Parcot, who has served as Yahoo’s interim EMEA lead for the past 18 months. Airey will report into Yahoo chief operating officer
Read more here:http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/yahoo-appoints-former-channel-5-boss-as-european-vice-president/4007683.article

FTC Commish Likens Data Brokers to the National Security Agency

Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC) Julie Brill last week compared the sale of customer information by so-called data brokers to the intense personal data collection program of the National Security Agency (NSA), now being investigated by Congress.
“As we live our wired lives, we constantly add to the veins from which data miners pull pure gold,” wrote Brill. The FTC commissioner mostly focused on privacy issues in the The Washington Post last week. “It took the NSA revelations to make concrete what this exchange means: that firms, governments, or individuals, without our knowledge or consent, can amass large amounts of private information about people to use for purposes we don't expect or understand.”

Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/ftc-commish-likens-data-brokers-to-the-national-security-agency/article/308006/

News Byte: SAP Adds Social Component

SAP announced the release of its Social Contact Intelligence application, powered by the SAP HANA platform, at the CRM Evolution 2013 conference in New York.
The application is designed to enable marketers and sales staff to collect and aggregate the unstructured social media information that's scattered throughout the Internet, beyond the confines of an internal IT system.
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/news-byte-sap-adds-social-component/article/308123/

Facebook confirms mobile payments testing

Facebook has confirmed reports it is testing a mobile payments feature, which could provide it with an additional revenue stream to support its growing advertising business and pitch it head to head with eBay-owned PayPal.
The product Facebook is testing with a group of commerce companies allows users to make purchases on mobile apps using their Facebook login information, according to an All Things D report. Facebook already holds the details of millions of credit and debit cards from users who have paid for virtual goods on the site.
Facebook spokeswoman Tera Randall says: “The product is simply to test how we can help our app partners provide a simpler commerce experience. This test does not involve moving the payment processing away from an app’s current provider”
Read more here:http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/facebook-confirms-mobile-payments-testing/4007660.article

A Plus Warehouse Announces Wall Mounted Laptop Locker as the Product of the Day

Many products are available at A Plus Warehouse. Such products include cabinets, bins, shelving, and lockers. A Plus Warehouse enjoys talking about a product of the day. The product of the day can be any item from the A Plus Warehouse collection. There are so many items to choose from that it is impossible to make every single item the product of the day. This is why the product of the day are only the best products the company has to offer. Today’s product of the day is the wall mounted laptop locker. According to Ed Stairman, president of A Plus Warehouse, “The wall mounted laptop locker is ideal for safely securing your laptop right in your wall.” Ed is completely correct. This is why customers enjoy this product. Hopefully, having this product as product of the day will bring it more attention.
Read more here:http://www.prweb.com/releases/lockers/laptop-lockers/prweb10942763.htm

Consumer Watchdog Barks Back at Google

Consumer Watchdog barked back at Google's citation that "a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties" by urging Gmail's 400 million users to stop using the email service.
The citation is featured in its June 13 motion to dismiss a complaint filed by nine plaintiffs—half who have Gmail accounts, and half who simply exchange emails with Gmail users—that accuses the Internet behemoth of committing an illegal interception by automatically scanning messages sent to Gmail users. The plaintiffs argue that the scanning violates the Federal Wiretap Act—including state law analogues for Florida, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, where some of the plaintiffs reside—and the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).
Read more here:http://www.dmnews.com/consumer-watchdog-barks-back-at-google/article/307645/

Miami-Dade reduces number of libraries on chopping block to four

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who last month warned that 22 of the county’s 49 public libraries could be shut down this fall due to deep budget cuts, announced Thursday that his administration now expects to shutter only four.
The dramatic reduction, while welcome news to library supporters who have campaigned to keep the facilities open, still comes with plenty of pain. Libraries across the board will likely shorten their hours and be staffed by fewer librarians.
Read more here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/15/3565193/miami-dade-reduces-number-of-libraries.html

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Investors confident in cloud ventures, survey shows

Information technology ventures — especially cloud and mobile — are especially attractive to today’s venture capitalists, a new report shows.
A survey of more than 400 global venture capital, private and growth equity investors showed greater confidence in cloud and mobile investments than those in other sectors such as hardware.

The survey, conducted in May and June by Deloitte and the National Venture Capital Association, measured investor confidence on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing the most confidence in a sector. Within the United States, investors gave cloud computing ventures a score of 4.06 and mobile technology a 3.99. Energy and clean technology inspired the least confidence with 1.92.
Read more here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-it/investors-confident-in-cloud-ventures-survey-shows/2013/08/14/544c687a-0461-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.html

Videoconference providers see uptick in federal demand

Federal budget cuts, especially in travel, are proving to be a boon for businesses specializing in video and teleconferencing.
Providers of virtual-meeting technology have noticed a recent uptick in federal demand and expect it to increase as budgets continue to tighten.

Demand for AT&T’s video and teleconferencing service has increased about 20 percent during the past six months, said Rajesh Natarajan, executive director for federal technology solutions. AT&T’s federal clients include the Defense Department and various civilian agencies.
Read more here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-it/videoconference-providers-see-uptick-in-federal-demand/2013/08/10/7aa3c6d6-f862-11e2-b018-5b8251f0c56e_story.html

MissionLink readying for fourth class of CEOs

Chris Gladwin thought his Chicago-based company Cleversafe’s data storage product would be ideal for the government.
But having a good product isn’t always enough to get a federal contract.
Enter MissionLink, a nonprofit networking group that convenes chief executives, many of them from small companies trying to get their foot in the door with the government, for monthly panels and meetings with defense and intelligence leaders. The program has now graduated 180 chief executives.
Read more here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/missionlink-readying-for-fourth-class-of-ceos/2013/08/09/9e401fd4-fad0-11e2-8752-b41d7ed1f685_story.html

South Florida mompreneurs turn their parenting solutions into businesses

Talk about multi-tasking. These days, many modern moms are juggling running a household with managing their own business. They are taking problems they encounter with their own families, finding unique solutions, and turning them into business models.
Mompreneurs, the term coined in the late 1990s by Ellen Parlapiano and Pat Cobe, co-authors of Mompreneurs: A Mother’s Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Work-at-Home Success and founders of www.mompreneursonline.com, are a growing group.

Read more here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/26/3417902/south-florida-mompreneurs-turn.html

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IRS probing thousands of small businesses, raises eyebrows in Congress

The Internal Revenue Service has sent letters to thousands of small business owners questioning whether they shorted the coffers this past year, sparking criticism from some lawmakers who believe the agency is bullying mom-and-pop companies.
Under the heading “Notification of Possible Income Underreporting,” the letters started going out to small employers this summer demanding they review and confirm that they accurately reported their income on last year’s tax returns.
Read more here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/irs-probing-thousands-of-small-businesses-raises-eyebrows-in-congress/2013/08/13/50030296-0417-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/irs-probing-thousands-of-small-businesses-raises-eyebrows-in-congress/2013/08/13/50030296-0417-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.html

BlackBerry considering sale, other options as gadgets take a back seat to software

Smartphone maker BlackBerry said Monday that it may sell the company or form a joint venture, an acknowledgment that its newest phones may not be enough to revive its fortunes.
The Canadian company has struggled to regain market share against bigger, slicker competitors and had hoped to leverage its reputation for security and two new phones with more modern features into a comeback. But with even its core audience — security-conscious government agencies — straying, BlackBerry’s options have become limited.
Read more here:http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/blackberry-considering-sale-other-options-as-gadgets-take-a-back-seat-to-software/2013/08/12/aa42f952-0375-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.html

Small Business Makeover: You’ve got loyal customers, now what?

Dee Runkle was destined to be a dog lover. An only child who adored her family’s four-legged friends, Runkle soon branched out to helping take care of friends’ and neighbors’ pets. When she and fiancé, Mark Rappa, moved to Florida in 2005, she turned that hobby into a business, Dee’s Dogs.
Now Dee’s Dogs offers pet sitting, vacation pet care, daily dog walking and house sitting to a client list of 400 families. They offer emergency pet care to families who need a sitter on short notice, as well as in-home pet visits for routine feeding and care and house-sitting for traveling clients. Rappa joined the business full-time in 2008, and the Coral Springs couple also have one full-time and two part-time contract workers.
Read more here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/12/3558181/small-business-makeover-youve.html

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e-Builder helps builders manage projects more efficiently

Large construction projects require a plethora of plans, designs, purchase orders, permits, bids and requests for information. They also involve constant communication among builders and a small army of architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers and others.
E-Builder, based in Plantation, has developed cloud-based software for construction program management that makes it simpler for builders and developers to efficiently manage the enormous complexity of major construction projects, and helps reduce costs.
Read more here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/12/3557987/e-builder-helps-builders-manage.html

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Apple won the battle over headphone jacks. But Samsung is winning the smartphone design war.

The war between Apple and Samsung spans so many fronts, in so many different countries, that it’s sometimes hard to tell who’s on top.
Take a U.S. International Trade Commission finding Friday that Samsung cellphones violated two Apple patents. Reports have been quick to label the decision a victory for Apple — especially in light of a recent intervention by the Obama administration overturning a ban on iPhone imports, also in connection with another (but different!) patent dispute. But while Apple may have won this particular legal encounter, Samsung is still in a stronger position to win the broader war for dominance of the smartphone market.
Read more source:http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/10/apple-won-the-battle-over-headphone-jacks-but-samsung-is-winning-the-smartphone-design-war/

South Miami commission gets mixed up over small development

To the would-be developer of seven new houses, it was a routine “ministerial” decision.
To neighbors, it was a seal of approval on new “McMansions.”
But to South Miami city commissioners, a Tuesday night decision on whether to waive land-use regulations was a case study in confusion.
The City Commission cast six votes on the matter, with one commissioner switching sides twice — the second time after the city attorney said his first flip was invalid because it was based on a private conversation during a break in the quasi-judicial proceeding, in which commissioners are supposed to act like judges and base decisions only on facts presented in public.
Read more source:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/09/3553331/south-miami-commission-gets-mixed.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/09/3553331/south-miami-commission-gets-mixed.html#storylink=cpy

Wanted: a recovery for high-paying industries

When Yanette Rodriguez lost her job two years ago in the compliance department of a medical-supply company in Miami, she took a vacation.
With 17 years experience in compliance and accounting, the mother of two grown daughters figured it wouldn’t be that hard landing a similar position after her former employer downsized. But last week, Rodriguez and her daughters took the 56th, 57th and 58th places in line for the hiring office of a new Wal-Mart in south Miami-Dade.
Read more... source:http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/11/3557061/wanted-a-recovery-for-high-paying.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/11/3557061/wanted-a-recovery-for-high-paying.html#storylink=cpy

Millennials Make Up Simmons' Dream Segment

Simmons Bedding Company awakened a new millennial market and plans to launch a dreamy multichannel campaign with the introduction of its CURV product line. 
According to the mattress producer's April 2013 “SBC Analytics Monthly Tracking Study,” 53% of millennials—or consumers under 35—say  they would be “very” or “extremely” excited to consider a memory foam mattress. But 62% say high cost is a primary reason for not purchasing one, according to Simmons' December 2012 “Keystat Buyer Behavior Study.” In fact, Simmons EVP of Marketing Jeff Willard says that memory foam mattresses from “top tier mattress brands” can cost $1,500 or more.
  Read more source:http://www.dmnews.com/millennials-make-up-simmons-dream-segment/article/306276/

Teens and Social Media Marketing

Marketers hear the aphorism repeatedly: Be where you customers are. The challenge then becomes determining that “location.” In the case of teen consumers, some social media watchers say Facebook is so yesterday. But the data differs.

Facebook remains the go-to social network for teens, with 94% of online teens saying they have a profile on Facebook and 81% saying it's the social network they use most often. Only 7% of online teens say they use Twitter most often, while 3% say they use Instagram most often, and 1% says Tumblr.

Read more:http://www.dmnews.com/teens-and-social-media-marketing/article/306359/

Retailers Exhibit Optimism For 2013 Holiday Season

Mobile retail and timely promotions will drive sales upward

On Friday, August 2, the results of a survey conducted by Baynote, a service provider for omni-channel retailers, were released. The survey quizzed 77 U.S. retailers ranging in size (by annual income) of less than $20 million to in excess of $5 billion and showed retailers are optimistic for growth of revenue to exceed 10 percent in the 2013 holiday season. These results align closely with industry forecasts. Additionally, retailers are expecting mobile retailing to play a big role this holiday season.

Read more on source:http://www.retailsolutionsonline.com/doc/retailers-exhibit-optimism-for-2013-holiday-season-0001

TJ Maxx And Saks' Off Fifth To Debut Online Stores

Retail rivals realizing the value of e-commerce

It appears the retail world’s need for technology has caught up with its need for fashion as 2013 has been highlighted by many retailers updating their sales platforms by going online and mobile. The latest do so are TJ Maxx and Saks’ Off Fifth — the luxury retailer’s outlet store.

That’s not to say that the move to e-commerce has been easy. Retail is chaotic, and inventory management can be tricky. For chain retailers offering clearance items, last-year’s fashion, and overrun merchandise — like Saks Off Fifth and TJ Maxx — it can be even more so. Unpredictable, fast-moving inventory can exponentially complicate selling goods via the web. TJ Maxx demonstrated this by its first attempt at e-commerce in 2005 that it quickly abandoned and left the company $15 million in the hole.

Read more...source:http://www.retailsolutionsonline.com/doc/tj-maxx-and-saks-off-fifth-to-debut-online-stores-0001

Digital is about to make radio a whole lot more interesting for marketers

It could be argued that radio is the last frontier for digital media given the protracted process of the “digital switchover”. Initial plans for a digital radio switchover were delayed in November last year due to poor audience pick-up.
But now that’s about to change and marketers will eventually be able to use the targeting and analytics of online advertising to woo the traditional radio audience – over 90 per cent of the UK population according to the latest official statistics.
Read more source:http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/opinion/digital-is-about-to-make-radio-a-whole-lot-more-interesting-for-marketers/4007545.article  

Are Your Emails Ousted Before Hitting Inboxes?

Twenty-two percent of marketing emails sent with subscribers' permission are not reaching customers' inboxes during the first half of 2013, according to Return Path's "Inbox Placement Rate Benchmarks" report. The email intelligence agency sampled approximately one trillion messages sent worldwide.

While Inbox Placement Rates (IPR) declined globally by 4%, American senders rank among the best in the world with an IPR of 86%. On the other hand, the other 14% represents billions of emails either lost or sent directly to the spam folder.

Source:http://www.dmnews.com/are-your-emails-ousted-before-hitting-inboxes/article/306104/

Esteemed Faculty Announced for MDS Consulting’s Healthcare Leadership Conference Sept. 22-24 in Las Vegas

LOS ANGELES -- 

Nineteen of America’s most respected healthcare thought leaders have been named to the faculty of MDS Consulting’s 8th annual Healthcare Leadership and Executive Conference Sept. 22-24 in Las Vegas. Widely recognized as one of the industry’s premier gatherings, the conference will convene healthcare executives from hospitals, health plans, medical groups and other organizations to explore the changing healthcare landscape, including “the new era of healthcare partnerships.”

“Each member of our faculty brings to attendees years of experience and broad perspective as they look for new strategies and approaches that will help drive higher quality and greater value in healthcare,” said Phil Dalton, president and CEO of MDS. “This intensive two-day conference provides a wonderful opportunity for attendees to interact with this faculty and their colleagues from across the country to share best practices and establish ongoing connections.”

Source:http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/08/05/2867837/esteemed-faculty-announced-for.html