President and FLOTUS
by ?|? on November 7th, 2012 ?|?
President Barack Obama?s ancestral home of Kogelo, Kenya, reacts to his projected re-election.
Source: http://blackandmarriedwithkids.com/2012/11/video-kenyans-celebrate-obama-victory/
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Baidu is the most popular search engine in China, with over 400 million users. When Western marketers think of entering the Chinese market, Baidu is often the first marketing channel they consider, especially for paid search marketing.
I?ve had the opportunity of working with many Western companies that are experienced with Google AdWords, but new to Baidu. I?ve prepared seven tips for doing well on Baidu based on the most common issues and questions I?ve come across.
China is a huge market that is highly competitive, so Chinese consumers are accustomed to having companies do things their way. At the bare minimum, the website and ads should be in Chinese. However, that really is the bare bare minimum.
The process of localization is a lot more than translation of content. The business strategy and marketing campaign should be considered from the ground up. If you?re going to be entering the Chinese market, you should be prepared to adjust your business to China, even to the point of coming up with products tailored to the Chinese market.
When it comes to pay-per-click campaigns specifically, keyword research and competitor research should be done anew, rather than relying on research done for English-language readers.
If you?ve ever spent time poking around Chinese websites, you probably noticed that they love chat boxes! Chinese consumers expect to be able to speak to a human very soon, if not instantly. The most common methods of communication are chat box, QQ messenger, and phone.
Chinese Internet users use real-time chat to get information, but also just so they can reach out and make a connection with a human being. When adding real-time support to a campaign, we typically expect to see an increase in conversions of three to four times. In fact, for e-commerce type sites, I think real-time chat is a must.
Real-time chat functionality isn?t totally new to English-language marketers either. For example, it?s widely used on hosting websites.
In most cases, the foreign company entering China will be facing competitors that have a much bigger ad budget and are much more experienced with the Chinese market. I?ve come across this scenario many times, especially with small businesses.
To beat them, you can?t rely on brawn. So, let them have the top rankings for now. Be prepared to strike intelligently. Create a better product, better landing pages, a better website and/or better ads. Choose keywords and bids strategically. Continuously test and improve until you have high enough profitability to increase the budget and become one of the big competitors yourself.
What do you think when you read ?Made in China?? Do you think ?cheap?? ?Low quality?? Perhaps you even think ?unsafe.? Well, Chinese people tend to think the same thing.
A foreign brand, and especially a Western brand, will be perceived as being higher quality in most cases. This perception can be used to your advantage. If your company is Italian for example, tell them! Make it part of your brand image, include it in your ad copy and website copy.
This point may seem confusing since I?ve already mentioned how you need to do things the Chinese way in points one and two above. To clarify, this is what I mean: Adapt your product and service to China, but present a foreign brand image.
Unlike Google, Baidu does not setup ad accounts itself. Instead, it outsources this task to a network of resellers. Some of these resellers are clueless when it comes to working with non-Chinese clients. Reseller regulations and authority also varies.
Regardless of the reseller, Baidu always requires a scanned version of the business certificate of incorporation or other proof of business documentation. Plus, they require that the business name on the certificate of incorporation is used on the website to be advertised. They usually request other minor changes to the website, as well. However, advertisers can usually get away with making these edits to their website, then reverting them back after the account has been setup.
Advertisers do not need a .cn domain, or a Chinese government ICP license, or a Chinese phone number in most cases.
Baidu currently requires an initial deposit of 5,000 Chinese Yuan (About 800 USD) which will be used for account credit. Plus, there is a standard account setup fee of 1,200 Yuan, but there may be room for negotiation on that.
If you hire a search marketing agency, make sure you know what you?re getting. There?s a breed of marketing agency in China that isn?t quite the same as their Western counterpart.
For one, the marketing agency may be a reseller itself, which means they?re working on commission from Baidu. They?re paid by the client to manage the account, but they?re also paid by Baidu, which provides motivation to increase expenditure.
Second, such agencies are focused on working with the Baidu platform only. That means they aren?t doing any analysis or work on the website. They may not even use any Web analytics at all. Some of them are really just ?operators? who make changes to the account based on feedback from the advertisers.
Finally, they may have different views when it comes to working with multiple competing businesses simultaneously. Guess what happens when a marketing agency is on Baidu commission, and they?re promoting you and two of your competitors? They definitely have a strong incentive to ramp up the expenditure to the maximum possible amount.
AdWords integrates very well with Google Analytics; Baidu?s pay-per-click platform does not. If you are using Google Analytics, the Baidu ads will need to have Google custom URL parameters added in order to provide Google Analytics with useful data such as the keyword used.
Another option is to use Baidu?s analytics platform, which integrates very well with their ad platform. There are other advantages to using ?Baidu Analytics? as well such as reporting on the activities of individual users, and a nice heat map tool. However, there are major drawbacks: Baidu Analytics has major accuracy issues, is only available in Chinese, and doesn?t allow for highly customizable reports.
Image source: http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr-2199299812
Tait Lawton is the founder of Nanjing Marketing Group, a company that provides Baidu paid search advertising management services and other Chinese-language digital marketing services to Western clients. Tait has over 10 years experience with search engine marketing and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. He publishes a blog on Chinese digital marketing at East-West-Connect.com. If you have further questions about Baidu advertising, feel free to contact him or leave a comment below!Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/baidu-pay-per-click-7-tips-for-a-successful-campaign/51002/
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Every person has seen these annoying indicators posted in the front yards of small brick homes all across the U.S. Sister Fiona, Palm Reader and Psychic. Stroll-ins Welcome.
It makes me shudder each time I see them, because I know that for the majority of individuals who go to these properties, it is a waste of cash. Not only that, but it provides genuine clairvoyants a bad rap. For these of us who genuinely can see ?beyond the veil?, it tends to make it tough to be taken seriously.
What does it imply to be psychic? That depends on who you speak to about the subject. For me, it indicates I get to experience and comprehend a excellent deal more than the typical person. It can also feel like a curse at times, since individuals typically tend to get upset when they hear things from the ?other side? that I should have no way of knowing, which tends to prove that these items are actual. And, when individuals are in fact confronted with the possibility that there is life right after death, it tends to trigger worry or awe.
Becoming intuitive is like having an extra-sensitive stereo with a powerful antennae. When the stereo is turned off, you do not hear anything but, when you turn it on and hit ?Tuner?, anything can happen. Some stations are clearer than other individuals occasionally two channels will bleed into every other so that no one station is terribly clear and occasionally the signal is so weak that you could only be capable to distinguish the occasional word in in between a couple of bars of music. Just like in radio, there are these few stations that have great signal strength ? they come in loud and clear and go on all evening. I have found that these are the prominent individuals from a person?s previous the grandparents, parents, aunts or uncles, lovers and siblings of the individual who is asking for a reading. Sometimes, the clearest readings come from a spirit manual or angel who is there to provide guidance and protection for the living individual involved.
A true reader is 1 who has the highest of intentions for the reading, and will go to excellent lengths to see that the region is protected just before the session begins. The facilitator should also ask for the client?s highest excellent and set the intent for the session, with input from the client. I typically ask that no one else be present, unless s/he will play some portion in the intention of the reading. Otherwise, the extra power can bring up extraneous spirits that have no real goal in being there.
Many instances a client will come in looking for ways to win another?s affection, or other such actions that deal a lot more with the use of manipulation of an additional to accomplish a result. This saddens me, simply because then the client has totally gone against the correct goal of an intuitive, or a single who is able to see with clarity what others can?t prove. Since we are offered the gift of ?second sight?, we may well see what pitfalls could befall someone if s/he continues on a current path, or what great items are in retailer for someone since of the items s/he has chosen to do. Of course, it doesn?t hurt to ask about loved ones in the client?s life particularly if there is a specific somebody in shop.Often instances if we read an aura (organic power field around all living issues), what we see there are patterns that the client has accumulated more than the years.A client often has totally free will to make probabilities in his/her future. During the session, there is frequently a loved a single from the spirit planet in the session to offer advice and counseling in regards to a present dilemma or upcoming event that the person is concerned about.
To be clairvoyant, a single would see things dealing with the paranormal ghost, spirits, angels, colors in the aura. There are also clairaudients and clairsentients, of which I am all three. What this implies is that not only do I see items from the other side, but I hear and feel them, as well. At times I even smell certain scents, if it is of significance to the clarity of a reading, or helps the client to bear in mind an incident. Frequently instances people will look at me in amazement when I say these issues, because it can be frightful and overwhelming to believe of encountering such occasions. Frequently people feel that these are tremendously unique presents I disagree to some extent. There are several methods one can use to create these senses. I have employed some of them myself. Bear in mind, the thoughts is like a muscle the a lot more one practices a specific skill, the a lot more adept or robust 1 becomes.
So, where do you begin?
The largest obstacle the typical beginner has to overcome is calming the thoughts. This can be especially challenging for the younger individual, who has a lot of extraneous thoughts whirring around. Right here is some thing I employed to do as a pre-teen to begin education my mind.
Get alone in a quiet spot, preferably a single that is without vivid lights and that has a soft spot to sit. Location a little candle in front of you, about a foot or so from your feet. Let oneself settle into the spot, seated and alert, but comfy. Now, concentrate softly on the flame, so that your eyes don?t really feel forced to watch it, and you can even appear of to the side a little. This is actually a great way to start to see the aura, by searching softly beside the object in query.
It really is quite regular for thoughts to enter and leave your head, for earlier conversations and problems to reappear mentally. Don?t be hard on oneself. As soon as you catch yourself, mentally develop a big vivid letter ?C? in your mind?s eye, in the dark spot in between your eyes. You can really feel totally free to close your eyes if it assists you to see the letter better. I would then say, ?Clear?, more than and over to myself till the other sounds in my head subside. This can be mastered quickly, or could take numerous days or even weeks of practice. Do not give up, nevertheless. Once you can get to the place where you are in a position to concentrate on the flame for fifteen minutes with relatively small ?mind chatter?, then you are prepared to begin asking for guidance.
1 other approach that operates good for newbies is automatic writing.
Once more, start off out with setting your intent for the session, asking for whatever it is you are looking for to comprehend.
There are numerous methods and more in-depth way to conduct sessions that I will not go into here. Look for other articles to come soon.
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Peru has long since been the quietest of the emerging South American powerhouses. Without an eccentric leader or an upcoming World Cup, it has quietly developed into a modern and efficient democracy
Nestled between the cold waters of the Pacific, the foothills of the northern Andes and the southern seat of the Amazon, lies the country of Peru. With less than 30 million inhabitants, it is one of the smaller South American nations. But over the past decade, Lima has been diligently reforming its structures, emerging as both a fast-growing economy and a desirable business centre.
Merely 20 years ago, Peru was virtually a failed state. After years of protectionism, price controls, expropriation of foreign companies and restrictions on foreign direct investment, the country was plagued with hyperinflation. The economy was in turmoil and Maoist guerrillas like the Shinning Path (Sendero Luminoso) brutalised the population on a regular basis. But after 1990, the government worked diligently to reverse restrictive policies, and to contain the terrorising guerrillas.
The country has experienced a fruitful economic boom over the last decade. It also managed to capitalise on its fast growth and transform it into long-term sustainable development through intelligent and moderate legislation. Though there is still ample opportunity for growth, particularly in the building and tourism industries, many foreign companies are turning to Peru as a safe and desirable investment. In fact, as the IMF busies itself slashing the growth forecasts for almost every other country, it has raised Peru?s growth prospect to six percent this year, miles ahead of the 1.5 percent growth predicted for Brazil, the region?s biggest economy.
Attorneys at Marroqu?n and Merino law firm have been observing developments on their home turf with cautious enthusiasm. The company is a boutique law centre, catering exclusively to international corporations of the Fortune 500 variety and to high-net-worth families in Peru and other parts of Latin America. Victor Marroqu?n, a Partner at the firm, believes that while Peru has managed to sustain phenomenal growth for a long period of time, it is still a nation in flux, and some of the old enemies, like terrorism and civil unrest, are never far from the surface. But Peru is full of potential, and if anything the decades of hardship have yielded an unparalleled preparedness for tough times and crisis. There is little doubt that Peru will continue to grow; the only question is how fast it will happen. Victor Marroqu?n, Partner at the company, spoke to World Finance about regulation and investment.
How do you feel the Peruvian economy has benefited from recent regulatory changes?
Immensely. For a long time now, Peru has resisted the temptation to over-regulate that is so typical of fast-growing economies. Instead, it has streamlined old regulations to make them more efficient and enacted new statutes in areas where regulation did not exist before, or was deficient. Clear examples are Peru?s very modern financial and insurance regulations, as well as the significant progress made in consumer protection and tax legislation.
What other changes do you think should be made in future?
Peru?s bankruptcy system is the country?s regulatory Achilles heel. It needs emergency repairs. There is only one Bankruptcy Commission made up of four members that deals with all restructurings and liquidations. The result is grave regulatory inefficiency and public distrust. As an example, if one needs to file a civil or commercial lawsuit there are over 80 civil courts in Lima, the capital, alone. Cases are assigned to any one of these courts by random computer lottery. Thus, forum shopping is restricted.
Conversely, if one has a bankruptcy case, it always goes to the same Bankruptcy Commission with the same four individual members, who have not been renewed for many years. Peru?s Bankruptcy Commission at INDECOPI is part of the Executive Branch, so debtors and creditors waste precious time, sometimes even years, trying a case before the Bankruptcy Commission, only to appeal it all over again to the Peruvian judiciary at several levels of review. This needs to change. A developed economy cannot afford to have an inefficient bankruptcy system.
Why is Peru an appealing destination for international investors?
The country?s economy is growing faster than almost all other Latin American countries. While Peru is still a small market with a population of only 30 million people, purchasing power has increased considerably in the last 10 years. A new middle class is being formed that spurs demand for goods and services, many of them imported. Additionally, there is a construction boom most visible in Lima that creates new opportunities for many types of new businesses, from decorator houses to construction crane importers and lessors. And we cannot ignore the role that Peruvian gastronomy is playing in attracting many tourists from all over the world. Peru?s hospitality industry is still in its infancy; anyone building a good hotel in Peru these days is bound to receive an excellent return on his investment.
Have you altered your operations and the way you deal with clients since the global financial crisis began?
Yes. We have tried to adapt our services and legal products to new, pressing client needs and timetables. We also have helped our clients by developing a very efficient corporate compliance service, which is tailored to each client?s specific needs. This service is much appreciated by our foreign clients.
How have recent mergers and acquisitions (M&A) trends affected your business?
There has been a marked increase in the number and quality of M&As in Peru, and this has led to new business for our firm. The number of countries from which investments originate also has increased. This has been very positive for the Peruvian M&A market.
Do you think 2013 will present as much business as 2012 for your firm?
I do, but at the same time I am very much concerned with the growing trend of political unrest that is returning to Peru rather quickly. In the 1990s, the Fujimori administration captured all terrorist leaders and pacified the country. That?s when the wave of new foreign investment began. Just 12 years later, at the beginning of October 2012, we have medical doctors and public school teachers on national strikes that are lasting weeks, and terrorists have just destroyed three helicopters belonging to the company that exploits the Camisea gas field. Investors are alarmed, and some large mining projects have been cancelled. Unless the government shows itself able to revert this trend and to ensure a peaceful environment for business, what we gained as a country in the last 20 years may go away very fast.
What do you offer clients that your competition does not?
We are a highly specialised corporate and litigation boutique. As such we offer our clients the unique individual care and attention no other firm can deliver. Our firm creates interdisciplinary teams and designs creative legal strategies that go beyond the usual. And we do not shy away from bringing the best talent from outside the firm if the case requires it. In a small country like Peru, no firm has all the best minds, the best specialists, under one roof. We bring them together as a team when the client needs them; our competitors do not.
Finally, what are your aspirations for the firm going forward?
To continue being the leading corporate and litigation boutique firm in Peru; to improve the quality of our services ? thus helping our clients to reach their goals; and to contribute ? through our legal work ? to the social and economic development of our country.
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FERC's Newly Assertive Role As The Policer Of Energy Trading Markets Is A Huge Change
FERC is usually known around Washington as an agency with a super-boring docket - it oversees power rate regulation, with specialties in hydro, pipelines, and natural gas, and also polices interstate electricity sales. ?It is famous for clogging the docket of the DC Circuit, and very often losing there. ?And for true governance afficiandoes, it is a purportedly independent agency that is part of the Department of Energy. Which is like making the SEC a unit of the Department of the Treasury. ?Is it independent? ?Politically accountable? ?It all brings to mind the vagaries of the PCAOB case, which we looked at here.?
So the news that the post-Enron powers given to the agency to supervise energy trading are being used for huge fines and lots of investigations - and also occasioning serious pushback from the finance industry - is pretty interesting. ?Here are some reasons to fear FERC:
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