Ways to Start Your New Year

What are you going to do now to make sure you have your best year ever? What one thing will mean the difference in actually achieving your goals rather than chalking them up to yet another year’s unfulfilled resolutions? What can you do to enhance an aspect of your life that you’ve neglected in your single-minded pursuit of that elusive brass ring? Think about it.


Expand your thinking with new experiences.

Each month for 30 days in a row, commit to doing something new that you have thought about doing, but have not done, and notice how it affects your life.

Write letters to three people in your life to let them know what they mean to you.

Start a business plan.

If you’ve been sitting on a business idea for a while and haven’t acted on it, it’s time to do something about it. Write down your ideas and start working on a business plan.

Write a 101 life-goal list.

Make a commitment to fitness.

Join a class at your fitness club, an exercise group or a team sport. Or, if you can afford it, hire a trainer. Doing any of these things will not only make your workouts more productive, but they will also be more fun.

Find a volunteer opportunity

Invest in a bright financial future.

I need to start planning out my financial future. I want my financial future to be bright and to have no worries when I’m older and ready to retire.

Build value every day.

People do business with people they trust and people who make them feel special. Create a ritual that ensures you reach out to three possible or current customers every day. This isn’t about asking for the order; this is about adding value. The more people you help, the more profits you’ll see. Send them an article. Connect them with a business opportunity. Do something to help them close in on their greatest dreams. They’ll soon help you close in on yours.

Practice the one-a-day principle.

You can’t delight everybody all the time but you can do something extraordinary for someone each day. Find a customer, colleague, relative or a friend each day and do something remarkable. Using the one-a-day principle will make your business and life remarkable.

Increase your awareness of your thoughts.

Become aware of what leaves your mouth by recording everything you say for at least an hour each day for the entire month. Words have power! When you listen carefully to your language, you will know whether or not you are moving with momentum and purpose toward your vision. As you develop a keen awareness of your communication, you become empowered to purposefully choose language that inspires and empowers you to realize your vision. If you catch yourself speaking about limitations or problems, give yourself the chance to look for solutions and possibilities. Holding yourself to a higher standard in your choice of language is key to achieving consistent outstanding results.

Write a personal mission statement or mantra.

Schedule family time. 

want to set up a schedule that is devoted only to my family. Maybe it’s playing a game with the kids twice a week or going to get ice cream. It’s hard to make time to do those family things, but I want to make sure I’m working to live instead of living to work.

Lose other people’s opinions.

Quit worrying about trying to please everyone. As Bill Cosby says, “I don’t know the key to success, but I know the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

Stop using the “bad thing” label.

Whenever something happens that is not in line with our desires, we get disappointed. We stick the label “bad thing” on it. And when we do, we experience it as such. In truth, we do not know whether something unexpected is “good” or “bad,” and we may never know.

Find a mentor.

Take stock and charge forward. 

I’ll ask myself: What battles did I fight and not win last year? Are any of those battles worth continuing? Why didn’t I win them last year? What can I do to win them this year? How can I make those things I liked most about last year happen more frequently? 2014 is going to be another great year!

Reach my financial goals.

I want to evaluate my cost-of-living expenses and see where I can cut back. I just started my own business, and I want to evaluate my income versus my expenses to see where I am currently, with the ultimate goal of hitting the salary I want to make.

Keep friends close. 

My oldest friend is my former college suitemate. We used to laugh that no matter how many months passed between conversations, we could still pick up as though we’d spoken yesterday. But a lot of time has passed—fast. Work schedules, family obligations: life gets in the way. She’s not the only out-of-state friend I’ve lost touch with, either. I’m working on taking time off for visits, but meantime I’ll reconnect the old-fashioned way by writing, sending cards throughout the year, little gifts the family might enjoy, too. Last time we spoke, we agreed life’s just too short. Too short, indeed.

Get a leg up.

You know what I’ll be doing! I’ll take the stairs because success means doing what others won’t.

Create an environment fostering your success. 

You might not even realize to what extent you are influenced—negatively and positively—by things and people around you. Start a journal to keep track of these influences so you can eliminate the negative and increase the positive. For instance, if being around a certain friend always makes you feel discouraged or drained, you should limit time with that person. Nurture your emotional well-being by choosing friends who genuinely want you to succeed and who encourage you. Also, consider your environment—is your home or office dreary or energizing? And make sure to read and listen to inspirational and motivational material. Make it a point to go to funny movies or watch a TV sitcom that makes you laugh. Overall, whether it’s gossip from co-workers, violence in the media, pessimism in your own thoughts or other influences, make conscious efforts to reduce your exposure to the negative. You’ll see positive benefits immediately!

Write your top 10 goals for this year and post them where you can see them.

Increase productivity. 

I’m going to put the 80/20 rule to serious work, focusing on the 20 percent of my work that generates 80 percent of the revenue.

Take daily steps toward achieving my long-term vision.

I’ve learned that my daily choices make a big difference in my long-term happiness. Les Brown says, “Greatness is a choice; it’s not our destiny.” I’ve always been a big-picture person, but this year, I’m breaking down my vision into daily, actionable goals that I can measure. The choices I make to spend a few minutes each day on my long-term vision will make great things happen!

Refresh your network.

Have a host of contacts you’ve lost touch with over the last few months? Pull up those numbers and refresh your network! Now is the perfect time to check in and keep your network working for you.

Reconnect with family.

I’m making the change to reconnect with family by having a conference call scheduled for the same time once a week with my mom and brother, so that we can catch up and stay close even though we live in different cities.

Do something that scares you.

Be a student of all you do.

You must become an expert in your field. How? Read! Ask questions of mentors and peers. Attend training. Start today by identifying areas for improvement, looking for training opportunities in your field and signing up for seminars and web-casts, reading or listening to personal-development material, seeking out people you would like to emulate and approaching those you’d like as your mentors.

Have gratitude.

I often think I need new clothes, but when I clean out or organize my closet, I realize I have lots of options and everything I need at my fingertips. In many areas of my life, I am often surprised by how I already have what I need if I just choose to look at things differently. Take a life inventory. How are your relationships with friends and family? How often do you laugh? Are you doing the things you love the most? Be sure to delight in all the amazing aspects of your life and don’t live in a constant state of .

Review your expenses as a couple.

The first of the year is a great time for couples to sit down and take a good look at their financial goals and habits. Are you both on the same page about your long-term plan? Are your investments meeting your needs for that plan? Do you need to adjust your spending or look for new ways to increase your income? This year, why not focus on diversification? Make a specific plan to put those new wealth-building ideas into action.

Slow down to speed up.

It’s easy to stay busy, moving as fast as you possibly can. But what’s the point of spending your days climbing a mountain, only to realize at the end of this new year, you’ve climbed the wrong one? The best businesspeople are staggeringly focused on their vital few—those few priorities that will yield explosive results. And the way to build this type of business focus just might surprise you: Slow down.

If only for 30 minutes each day, slow down to think, plan, visualize and recite your best moves in a journal. You’ll become aware of your biggest opportunities, your smartest activities and your greatest tactics for growth. With this insight and clarity, you can then take actions that will drive excellent results. Commit to making it your breakthrough year and slow down for a bit each day. Then you’ll be perfectly prepared to speed up. And win in your business.

Plan a trip to a place you have always wanted to go.

Write a not-to-do-list. 

There is a difference between being busy and being productive. What are you wasting time on? What are you doing that doesn’t produce revenue? Here’s a powerful exercise. In 15- to 30-minute increments, keep track of each of your activities during the workday. Do this for a week. Then annualize the total amount of time for each activity that doesn’t lead to a sale or increased cash flow. How much more would you make per year if you did not do those activities any longer? How much more free time would you have for family? For health? Put those things on your not-to-do-list and pay people to help you with the stuff that doesn’t produce the sales and lifestyle success you desire.

Say “yes” when you want to say “no.”

In this new year, we want to increase our possibilities, options and opportunities. When we say “no” to a business, social or community project, invitation or event, we are also saying “no” to the serendipitous benefits that arise. Rather than waiting for these events to present themselves, start today by actively seeking opportunities to meet people, gather new ideas, learn more about your industry and just connect and share.

Communicate and connect. 

--
Wish you HAPPY NEW YEAR from Swarajya Team !!!

5 Social Media Rules Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Social media can level the playing field between industry leaders and upstarts, between multinational corporation executives and small-business owners, making peers of all participants. Yet appearances can be deceiving. To borrow from George Orwell's Animal Farm, all social-media users are equal, but some are more equal than others.

So what makes the difference between a following of 500 and a following of 500,000? While A-list celebrities can have an advantage over most everyone else, other social media darlings have grown their base of fans more organically, and you can learn from their strategies.

What follows are five keys culled from darlings of the current social media landscape for increasing your influence in a way that can make a difference to your business strategies.

1. Produce quality content.

If you want to make your mark on social media, first and foremost you should provide quality content. "Content is twofold," says Mari Smith, a social-media marketing expert and author of The New Relationship Marketing: How to Build a Large, Loyal, Profitable Network Using the Social Web (Wiley, 2011). "It's generating your own, [being] a thought leader. The other element is what I call OPC -- other people's content -- and not being afraid to share that."

One man who successfully balances both elements is entrepreneur, investor and author Guy Kawasaki. "He's a self-professed 'firehose of content,' " says Smith. "He has a way of creating a nice blend of other people's content as well as his own thoughts and opinions." Not only that, but according to his Twitter bio, Kawasaki repeats every tweet four times in order to reach all time zones.

Quantity is not the same as quality, of course, but what is remarkable about Kawasaki, says Smith, is "his masterful ability to curate such volume. I could skim through his tweets and probably find a few things every day that I could pass on to my followers."

2. Be open and engaging.

On social media, it's important to be available to your audience, and few people exemplify that principle better, says Smith, than entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. "On Twitter, he does a lot of responding" to followers, she says. "He treats everybody as an equal, and he responds at an amazing velocity."

What's the upside of all this time-consuming engagement for Vaynerchuk? A loyal and devoted following for his business books and priceless visibility for his consulting business, VaynerMedia. "People love it," Smith says. "If they get a response from Gary, even if it's a smiley face, they're like, "Oh my God, Gary tweeted back at me!'"

3. Focus on a specific niche.

On social media, you can either be a generalist -- producing and curating a hodge-podge of content across many different disciplines -- or you can choose to specialize in one or a few areas. Specialists tend to bend more ears than generalists, says Smith. "Social media is extremely noisy. You've got to be able to stand out," she says, and the best way to do this is to own a particular subject.

Jessica Northey, founder of Tucson, Ariz.-based social-media marketing boutique Finger Candy Media, "owns" country music, says Smith. Northey hosts a live weekly Twitter chat and Google+ "twangout" for country-music fans. This year, Forbes ranked Northey at No. 3 on its list of the Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers. She has more than half a million followers on Twitter and more than 700,000 on Google+. "In my travels, if I came across anyone in the country-music arena, Jessica would be my choice" of someone to connect them with, Smith says.

4. Use social media to build your business, and vice versa.

For an entrepreneur, time spent on social media might seem like a distraction from the more important tasks central to running a business. Because it's so time-intensive, you should back up your thought leadership on social media with a real profit-making enterprise. Chris Brogan, founder and chief executive of Human Business Works, a business-training company in Portland, Maine, is one example, says Smith. "He walks his talk. He speaks all over the world, and he consults with a lot of companies on social media."

In other words, Brogan demonstrates his expertise in blog posts, uses social platforms to broadcast those posts and then uses the resulting visibility to market himself for speaking gigs, coaching sessions and more. These, in turn, increase his social media following. And it doesn't hurt that he was able to carve out a place for himself by being an early adopter of social platforms, Smith says.

5. Embrace each social network's unique culture.

Each social network has a "unique culture," says Smith, and the best users embrace it rather than sharing identical content across platforms. Take Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J. He relies mainly on Twitter, where he has more than 1.2 million followers, and Facebook, and uses each platform in a way that takes advantage of its native capabilities.

"On Twitter, I see him retweeting people, I see him thanking people and engaging with them," Smith says. She also notes that Booker makes use of hashtags, a popular way of marking your tweets for a specific purpose or larger conversation.

On Facebook, by contrast, Booker posts less frequently. "You don't want to bombard people on Facebook," says Smith. He finds more elaborate ways to involve his community in his activities. For instance, he uploads albums of photos from various events where he has spoken.

Some power users maintain a presence on multiple networks, Smith says, but for most people two are enough. "Really you want to have Facebook and one other [platform] that you're active on," she says.

9 Tech Entrepreneurs Share Their Secrets to Success

Success. It's a relative term. Essentially, it refers to the accomplishment of a goal or aim. For some, that might mean finding happiness or wealth. For others, it could mean improving other people's lives.

So, what are the keys to success for technology entrepreneurs? Arguably, all these things -- with some innovation, creativity and fast growth sprinkled in. When interviewing some of the industry's most significant players, we've made it a point to pick their brains about what's key to being a successful tech entrepreneur and launching a successful tech startup.

From Mark Cuban to Guy Kawaksaki, here's some insight we've collected on what a tech 'trep needs in order to find success in business.

1. Outwork and outlearn everyone.

"Busting your ass. It's not about money or connections -- it's the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone when it comes to your business. And if it fails, you learn from what happened and do a better job next time." 

-- Billionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban  

2. Be disruptive.

"You're not just trying to do something marginally, incrementally better. You're doing something that is a fundamental paradigm shift, that will have exponential impact. That means it's harder to do, but ultimately, if it's successful, the impact it has is far greater."

 -- Tech entrepreneur Steve Case

3. Find something you're really passionate about.

"Be passionate about your idea to the point of craziness. Unless you're so passionate about your idea that you're going to keep doing it until you die, you're probably not going to develop to full potential."

 -- Tech blogger Robert Scoble

4. Build a company where everyone understands their role.

"A lot of people now are building products, not companies. A company is an organism. You really want to build an organization where everyone feels that they are a member of the team, knows what the company is trying to do and understands their part in it."

 -- Entrepreneur and tech investor Esther Dyson

5. Visionary leadership and great customer service are key.
"A tech company must have visionary leadership that can attract and inspire dedicated employees who believe in the company's destiny and want to play a role in its success.

Greatness also requires customer-based marketing that meets and anticipates customers' needs. And, a technology company must be focused on providing quality products and real value to its customers."

 -- Mike Lazaridis, founder of BlackBerry

6. Execute flawlessly, but also don't give up.

"Being a successful entrepreneur is not about breakthrough innovation. It's about flawless execution." 
But being persistant can also be critical: "I worked on Windows 1.0, 2.0 and Windows/386, and it wasn't until Windows 3.0 that Microsoft Windows actually caught on." What would have been if Microsoft had stopped producing Windows at version 2.0, right?

 -- Tech entrepreneur Naveen Jain 

7. Find your X-factor.

"There is usually an 'X factor' that is hard to define. For HTC, I think it is our culture. We embrace the best of our Eastern roots and combine it with the best of the Western cultures where we have leadership and offices. It makes the culture colorful as well as energetic and creative." 

-- Cher Wang, co-founder of HTC

8. Learn from your failures.

"You never learn from success, but you do learn from failure. [When I created the Dual Cyclone vacuum], I started out with a simple idea, and by the end, it got more audacious and interesting. I got to a place I never could have imagined because I learned what worked and didn't work."

 -- Sir James Dyson, British inventor and founder of the Dyson company

9. Work hard and be lucky.

"There is only hard work and luck, which are really two sides of the same coin. The search for a secret sauce is a futile waste of time. Create something, sell it, make it better, sell it some more and then create something that obsoletes what you used to make."

 -- Author and former Apple chief evangelist Guy Kawasaki

From Jason Fell is the managing editor of Entrepreneur.com in New York City, where he previously served as technology editor and senior online editor. Before joining Entrepreneur.com, he served as online news editor of Foliomag.com, the online arm of Folio: magazine. He also worked as a staff writer for Soundingsmagazine and as a reporter with the Journal Register Company of newspapers.

8 Steps to Creating Stronger Passwords

Today being Data Privacy Day and all, it's a perfect time to revisit that most basic element of internet security -- the password. Just because your password replaces an "E" with a "3" and ends in an exclamation point doesn't make you invincible. Here are some pointers to see how secure your password is and then pick a newer, stronger password if needed.

How you can beef up your password security

FIRST OF ALL, MAKE SURE YOU'RE NOT USING ONE OF THESE PASSWORDS

An analysis of hacked Yahoo accounts reveals some interesting trends in commonly-chosen passwords, reports The Star.

"123456" is at the top of the list, followed by "qwerty," "welcome," "ninja," and "abc123." If these sound like passwords of yours, it's time to make a change.

MAKE THEM LONG

Longer passwords are obviously harder to crack. Make sure you're consistently exceeding the minimum length requirement on passwords that you pick.

REMEMBER A COMPLICATED PASSWORD

Lifehacker offers the following tip to make sure you're using a relatively complex password while having no problem remembering it.

"I always tell people to use a sentence. I drive a 1978 Volkswagen! = IDA78VW! or Living At Home Since 1972 Sux = L@HS72SX"

DON'T USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR EVERYTHING

If someone successfully cracks one password, it'll be the first password he guesses for your next web service. Make sure you're using several different passwords to prevent this from happening.

INVENT A SYSTEM TO GENERATE NEW PASSWORDS

Use a simple rule set to generate new passwords for each service you're logging into. Start with a base password and have a rule for attaching characters from the service onto the base.

For example, if your base is "a12b" and you want to log into Gmail, you might throw "gml" on the end, making your complete password "a12bgml."

CHANGE IT OFTEN

Switching passwords a few times a year makes it even more difficult for your account to be hacked.

USE TWO-STEP VERIFICATION FOR GOOGLE

Google offers two-step verification for your account -- once a month you'll receive a text message that you'll have to type in before entering your normal password. It's one more thing we recommend doing to keep you safe online.

WHEN YOU'RE ALL DONE, TEST YOUR PASSWORD

You can use a site like How Secure Is My Password to make sure your password will stand up to would-be hackers.

Free, Secure, Online Backup Solution For Everyone

GOOGLE DRIVE One safe place for all your stuff. Upload photos, videos, documents, and other files that are important to you to Google Drive. Get going with up to 15GB of storage. Free.

• Easily get your stuff in Drive
• Access what you need, wherever you go
• Create something
• Safe, secure, shareable

https://drive.google.com/

SkyDrive is Microsoft's free online storage offering. You need to have a Hotmail or Live mail account, but as these email services are free, it's worth setting one up just for the free storage.

It offers a whopping 7GB of virtual storage space, and can be downloaded to PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads, Windows devices and Android devices. You'll also have access to your documents on any PC, via the SkyDrive.com web service (no need to download), which is handy if using a public PC.

https://skydrive.live.com/

Amazon Cloud Drive. Like its rivals, it offers 5GB of free online storage space for photos, documents, videos and other digital files. You can download the desktop app for instant access to your files, or, if you're using a different laptop or PC, go via the Amazon site portal (handy if you need to access documents when away from home).

As well as it's Cloud Drive storage space, Amazon also offers a free Cloud Player service. The Player lets you store up to 250 songs in the cloud, so you can listen wherever you are, on your iPhone, iPod, Android mobile or Kindle Fire tablet.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/

Mega. Internet outlaw Kim Dotcom released this service one year after the U.S. government shut down its predecessor, MegaUpload, for facilitating copyright infringement. The new tool promises “state of the art, browser-based encryption technology” and a whopping 50 GB of free cloud storage.

https://mega.co.nz/

MyOtherDrive Offers tools for managing and sharing your data online. Allows private sharing of files to select group of people. Its privacy security prevents sharing your files to other people that you don’t share the files with. The site also lets you create photo albums as well as hot linking to your social networking profiles.

• Backup all your computers from one account
• Automatic (Unattended) or Manual Backup
• Collaboration (Public, Friend, and Password based Sharing)
• Security
• Drag and Drop Upload
• Postal Backup (Mail in that USB drive!)
• Backup (Archive) and Synchronize
• Import from other Online Storage Services
• Public Sharing
• Secure Links
• File Linking
• Online Albums
• Move and Copy Folders and Files between accounts
• Grab File

http://www.myotherdrive.com/

Bitcasa allows you to securely store, access, and share all your digital possessions – every picture, every movie, every document, every song – without limits. The Bitcasa Platform provides completely private and secure cloud storage, accessible on any computer or mobile device.

• Keep and Share Everything
• Complete Privacy
• Access Everywhere
• Never Run Out of Space
• Worry-Free Backup

https://www.bitcasa.com/

Dropbox. What makes Dropbox one of the best online storage services is the number of devices it's available on, as well as it's simple, user-friendly interface. It can be downloaded on to PCs, Macs, iPads, iPhones, BlackBerrys and Android devices. 

You initially get 2GB of space, though this can be boosted by introducing friends to Dropbox.

Anything else? Other Dropbox users can't see your private files in Dropbox unless you deliberately invite them or put them in your "public" folder. Be aware that everything in your public folder is, by definition, accessible to anyone.

https://www.dropbox.com/

DEGOO... Get up to 100 GB of free backup. Degoo is a free, secure, online backup solution where you get up to 100 GB of free backup by sharing unused hard drive space. If you need more you can buy it. Degoo makes backup as easy as it should be. Just select the folders you want to backup and we will do the rest. You can restore your backed up files from anywhere. So if your computer has a meltdown you can easily restore all your files to another computer and enjoy them once again!

https://degoo.com/

JustCloud Store All Your Files In The Cloud. Access Your Files From Anywhere At Anytime, From Any Device.Professional Cloud Storage from JustCloud is Simple, Fast and Secure. Just Cloud will automatically backup the documents, photos, music and videos stored on your computer, to the cloud so you are never without files again.

• Free Mobile Apps
• 100% Automated Service
• Sync Multiple Computers
• Unlimited Cloud Storage
• Access Files Anywhere
• Share Files with Friends

http://www.justcloud.com/

HiDrive, and what can you do with online storage? Here you can find out everything you need to know about the many features and functions that can make your life easier. Just log in and try it out.
The easy way to back up your files online! Find out about the possibilities of your HiDrive online storage here!

• Share files with friends & work together
• Allowing others to upload files to your online storage
• Save email attachments directly to your HiDrive
• Backup & security. Save files easily and securely online
• Online & on the go. Access from anywhere you are.

https://www.free-hidrive.com/

FlipDrive is your virtual data storage space, accessible from anywhere. FlipDrive was founded on a simple idea to allow for people to easily store, access, work with, and share their data anytime - anywhere.
Securely store your files, contacts, photos, bookmarks, events, tasks and other information on FlipDrive. Furthermore, FlipDrive lets you share all your data and have full control who has access to it, which data is accessible, and set custom permissions for different people. Share your data with anybody on your terms. FlipDrive puts you in full control of your data.

http://www.flipdrive.com

ADrive, A Cloud Solution for Everyone. Protect & manage your personal, business and enterprise-level data with ADrive cloud storage & backup solutions. Securely store & manage your files in the ADrive Cloud. Just want the Basic Features we offer? 

• Android / Apple iOS Mobile App
• 50GB of Online Cloud Storage, for FREE
• Anytime Access to Your Data, Wherever You Are
• Share Large Files Online
• Edit Your Documents Online
• Remote File Transfer
• Easy Search Tool
• International Character Support

Personal Basic (Free)

Sign up and get 50GB for FREE!

http://www.adrive.com





BOX. Your Hard Drive in the Cloud. What if the files you need are on your laptop, but you're on the road with your iPhone? With Box, you store files online, then access them anywhere, anytime, on any device. No wonder over 14 million people count on Box.

Get 10 GB Free and Get Organized
View and Access Content Anywhere, Anytime
Rest Easy: Your Files Are Safe and Sound

https://www.box.com/

IDrive backs up all of your computers and mobile device data into a single account, allowing you to access, share, and manage it from anywhere. Once logged in, critical data from your computers and mobile devices can be backed up effortlessly.
Features :

Multiple Device Backup

• Fast-Fast-Fast
• Real Time Backup
• Share Anything
• Go Mobile
• Remote Manage
• Facebook backup
• Sub-accounts
• Retrieve Data
• True Archiving
• Super Secure
• Stay Informed
• IDrive Express

... and it's getting better everyday!

https://www.idrive.com/index.html

Inbox.com Free Full-Featured Email. Send & receive attachments up to 20MB, easily organize your messages, quickly find archived messages, view full conversations, compose and read messages even when you're not online and much more...

Inbox.com Email Features :

• 5GB of Storage
• Large Attachments
• Free Email Notifier
• Fast Web & Mail Search
• Simple Folder Management
• We Respect Your Privacy
• Spam & Virus Protection
• POP3 & SMTP Access
• Keep Your Messages in Context
• Easy to Use

http://www.inbox.com/

Enterprise Solutions In addition to our powerful, easy-to-use consumer services, DivShare offers customized enterprise solutions for businesses and publications that need more storage, data transfer and design customization than our top consumer plan provides. If you're searching for a fast, flexible and fully customized media solution for your high-traffic site, DivShare Enterprise is the place for you.

• Embed Flash videos on your site or share with friends.
• Play your favorite MP3s anywhere, including your blog.
• Share photos and images publicly or only to your friends.
• Share documents privately and securely.

DivShare is the best tool on the web for storing and sharing your media and documents.

http://www.divshare.com/

Hightail. Formerly known as YouSendIt, Hightail has become one of the leading users of cloud based software. It makes sending large files through the internet a breeze and this is the main reason it is used. Email cannot handle large files and it is not as reliable as it should be when sending these files.

• Quickly send large files
• Sync with all of your devices
• Easy File Sharing
• Send File Sizes up to 2 GB

https://www.hightail.com/

The Top 7 Social Media Marketing Trends That Will Dominate 2014

With new social networking platforms appearing from behind every corner, it can be hard to know exactly where to commit your time and resources. And as we move into the latter-half of 2013, it’s important to look ahead to where social networking is going, and how we can get on board.
As I think about the trends in social media so far this year, I’ve compiled a list of my predictions as to where we’re headed as we inch towards 2014.

1. Investment in Social Media Will Become a Necessity, Not a Luxury

While I’d argue that investing time and resources into a social media strategy is most definitely a necessity in 2013, I believe the tipping point in public sentiment from ‘should have’ to ‘must have’ will occur in 2014.
Businesses are already coming to terms with the need to integrate their social media efforts with their content strategy, and are seeing the impact of social media in terms of lead generation, referral traffic, and revenue.
As businesses see these very real and measurable benefits, I believe we’ll see a move away from assigning social media tasks to existing employees, and see even more companies hiring social media strategists or full-time social media managers.
The benefits of social media are many, but they include:

• Improved social signals (which are a factor in the search ranking algorithm).
• Company branding
• Improved brand awareness
• Word-of-mouth advertising
• Increased customer loyalty and trust
• Improved audience reach and influence

Social media is also one of the three pillars of SEO.

2. Google GOOGLE +1.39%+ Will Become a Major Factor

While Facebook FB +1.29% continues to lead the pack in terms of number of active monthly users (1.15 billion at last count), Google+ is quickly gaining steam, and in fact, now has the second highest number of monthly users (343 million).
With Google using the platform to collect personal information (think demographics, location, etc.), Google+ should no longer be thought of as ‘just’ another social network. It’s increasingly proving itself to be an integral part of Google’s grand scheme in terms of SEO, social signals and providing a more personalized search experience. This is especially apparent with the importance of Google Authorship, which I project will be one of the key components to Google’s search ranking algorithm by the end of 2014.
I believe that businesses who are finding themselves spread thin with their social media efforts will increasingly turn to Google+ as the closest thing we have to a ‘one size fits all’ social network.
As Google+ moves towards even greater integration with other aspects of the web – as they’ve already done with their foray into local search – I think we’ll see its growth skyrocket, both in terms of business and personal use. For information on how to start using Google+, read “How to Breathe Life into Your Google+ Profile.”

3. Image-Centric Networks Will See Huge Success

We’ve seen a consistent trend in 2013 toward sharing through image and video, rather than text-based content. Visual content will increasingly become a critical piece of any solid content strategy, and social networking site Pinterest will continue to shed its reputation as a ‘women’s only’ network and become an integral part of retailers’ marketing strategies.
Other image-based social media sites like Slideshare, Tumblr, Path, and Mobli will continue to grow, and businesses will need to become more mindful about the ‘sharability’ factor of photos on their websites and blogs in order to derive significant benefit from their social media content marketing efforts.

4. We’ll Witness the Rise of Micro-Video

It seems that writing 140 characters and taking 3 minute long videos is becoming too tedious for many of us. Micro video to the rescue!
With the emergence of micro video apps like Twitter’s Vine and now Instagram’s video sharing feature, we’re seeing even more movement toward real-time video sharing. And not just any videos; with Instagram allowing 3-15 seconds per video, and Vine allowing precisely 6 seconds, users are even more likely to create and share videos from their smartphones.
It will be interesting to see if and how these bite-sized pieces of content will change the playing field when it comes to video-based social media.

5. Foursquare Will Decline Sharply

With stale traffic numbers, and significant difficulties raising capital in 2013, Foursquare continues to struggle its way towards 2014.
With other social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offering location-based features, it seems like only a matter of time before Foursquare folds and their users are absorbed into these other networks.

6. MySpace, Love it or Hate it, Will Grow

With their radical makeover and re-branding efforts earlier this year, MySpace appears to be getting its second wind. Offering an iPhone app that allows users to network, receive private messages, and listen to their own personalized radio station, MySpace seems to be on track for growth in 2014.
I don’t see MySpace ever again competing in the same space as Facebook or Twitter, but it will be interesting to see how the network grows among bands and music-lovers.

7. LinkedIn Will Become a Major Player for B2B Business Growth

Still holding steady as the #1 social networking site for professionals with 238 million users, LinkedIn isn’t just sitting on its heels. With the launch of its Influencers program, LinkedIn is positioning itself as not only another networking site, but as one of the largest sources of content creation and curation for professionals.
As it grows and attracts even more users, the advantages of being “linked in” will become enormous for B2B marketers. For a guide on how to use LinkedIn for Marketing, see my article “The Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn Marketing.”

[  Final Thoughts  ]

Facebook and Twitter show no signs of imminent decline, but it will be interesting to see how they innovate to keep up with the growth of Google+ as well as image and video-based networks.
With social media behemoth Facebook turning 10 in 2014 (has it really been that long?), they’ll continue to focus efforts on mobile, and on offering advertisers opportunities to better target their ads. And while Twitter continues to be the golden child amongst B2B marketers, I’m curious to see if and how the rise of Google+ will impact its market share.
While most business owners are aware of the necessity of having a social media strategy, I believe 2014 will be the year where a majority will finally understand the necessity to commit the necessary time and resources to their social media efforts. I’m excited to see which up-and-coming networks grab a share of the market, and which have already run their course. If you’re a business owner looking to build your social media presence, I recommend this article: “How to Determine Which Social Media Network Fits Your Business.”


Which social networking sites do you think we should be watching? Which do you think are on their last legs? Let me know in the comments below!


Jayson DeMers

I de-mystify SEO and online marketing for business owners.

(Graduated from the University of Washington in 2008 with a degree in Business Administration (Marketing), and immediately entered the professional online marketing world.)