by: Kalyn Ballard

Pssstt. Hey you! Yeah, I’m talking to you. This is Cupid, and I’m about to strike you with my bow and arrow. Are you ready?

photo credit: investitwisely.com

If you are one of the many Americans who wait until the last minute to get your Valentine’s Day surprises together, well, you are not alone. It seems that no matter how hard we try to forget about February 14th it always seems to sneak up on us, and we feel compelled to make the day a special one for our special someone.

In a recent article, PR Daily stated that Americans will spend about $18 billion on Valentine’s Day. Because so many Americans out there are celebrating and spending for Valentine’s Day, it’s hard to stand out for your sweetie when everything has already been done before.

Sarah Stefanson offers some great ideas for men to get involved in for the upcoming holiday. Stefanson’s top 10 ideas include reenacting your first date with your sweetheart or going ice skating together. If you are stuck in a rut and unsure what to do this Valentine’s Day, here are some ideas to help you have the most romantic day yet:

• Have a romantic dinner- Whether you decide to stay in or go out, a fabulous meal is always a satisfying way to spend time together and your taste buds won’t mind either. The saying goes, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Cook your favorite meals or go to your favorite restaurant. Eat, enjoy and escape.
• Enjoy a movie night- Cuddle up together on the couch or go out to see the latest flick. Either way, watch a movie that has your favorite stars or a sweet plot. You will both be glad to share some laughs.
• Go on a date- Get creative and do something that neither of you have done together before. Head to the bowling alley, go on a moon lit picnic or take a painting class together. You’ll have a new appreciation for your significant other if you see them in a new light.
• Take a mini vacation- Pack up the car and get out of town for a little while. The best way to get to know someone is to travel with them. Take a short road trip and go somewhere new.
• Candy and cocktails- Everyone loves sweets. Spice things up by buying some chocolates or make your own sweet treats. Brownies, cupcakes or cookies would do the trick. To take the edge off, try mixing up some sweet cocktails to go with your dessert.
• Make an appointment for the spa- Relax! Go get a couples massage or facial. Spend time together in a soothing and calming environment to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

If you are spending the holiday single, don’t fret. There are ways you can still enjoy Valentine’s Day with your friends. Remember when you were young and brought Valentine’s Day cards to school and passed them out to your friends? Do it again! It would make their day. You might even get some in return. If handing out valentines aren’t your thing, then go to a concert with your buddies. Besides, you never know when a friend could turn into a potential love interest. ]]> http://v3mg.com/blog/598/get-creative-this-valentine%e2%80%99s-day/feed/ 0 http://v3mg.com/blog/594/internet-safety-and-security-with-backupify/ http://v3mg.com/blog/594/internet-safety-and-security-with-backupify/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:55:35 +0000 admin http://v3mg.com/?p=594 We want our clients to be happy. Hands down. Bar none. All the way.Aside from customer service, our clients say that they want security and safety out of the products we create. They want to know that we’ve got their backs should anything go wrong.

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Bob Dylan said it best when he said, “times they are a-changin’.”  With more and more work being done on the tablet it was only a matter of time until the education world caught on and jumped on the bandwagon.

photo credit gadget.msnbc.com

Apple has introduced a new app that has everything you need to create and share complete courses all in one place.  This app is called iTunes U , and is a free app that Apple offers for iPhone and iPad users.

What does this mean for students? This means that they can now take entire courses right from their tablets.  Gizmodo elaborates on this more saying that teachers can upload their lectures, post assignments and even answer students’ questions as they come in.  With more than 100 courses already on the app insiders expect that number to increase dramatically in the near future.

The app is also integrated with iCloud and iBooks 2.  So reading your textbook can be done right in the iTunes U app, and the highlights you make and notes you take can be easily condensed and viewed from multiple devices with iCloud.

Just recently Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller kicked off the company’s invitation-only education event on Thursday, where he introduced iBooks 2, a line of school textbooks that are just $14.99.  According to Gadgetbox  Schriller says Apple want to reinvent the textbook.  With the iPad’s being portable, searchable and durable, I’d say they’ve done it.

With this innovation and many others this could be another nail in the coffin for the laptop, as more and more users are switching to tablets for work and entertainment and now for school.

photo credit: digitaltrends.com

The computers are alive with the sounds of music! Music is an art form that allows listeners to connect on a social level, whether that be through concerts or jam sessions; an emotional level, listening to music to fit our mood; a spiritual level, singing praises to fulfill our religious needs; and even physically, getting pumped up by the newest tunes while working out. These days, there are many music outlets out there that allow listeners to choose what they want to hear, when they want to hear it.

After doing a little research, I’ve compiled a list of what I believe are the best and easiest ways to listen to music that fit every different musical desire and most everyone’s budget. Try some of these websites out if you haven’t already:

• eMusic- Listeners can start with a free trial. After the free trial is through, the service is $11.99/month with a maximum of 24 songs/month.
• Grooveshark- This site allows you to search for songs or artists and create playlists. The service is completely free but if you would like to, you can download songs to keep for 99 cents.
• iTunes- While most users of this service are apple customers, iTunes is a reliable place to get music. Songs cost between 99 cents and $1.29. Listeners can buy entire albums as well as books, TV show episodes, movies, apps and podcasts.
• Pandora- The Internet radio site allows users to create an account to save radio stations they like. To create a station, users type in an artist or song they enjoy listening to and the station will play songs similar to the artist or song the user entered. Pandora also has a thumbs up or thumbs down feature that lets the station know if it is playing music to the listener’s enjoyment. The free service plays advertisements but the Pandora One service is advertisement free and $36/year.
• Playlist- Listeners can search for songs and artists and create playlists for free. If desired, users can share these playlists via social media to allow their friends to see what they are listening to.
• Rhapsody- For $10/month users can download an unlimited number of songs.
• Slacker- Much like Pandora, users create radio stations based on their favorite artists and songs. Slacker Radio Plus is $3.99/month and has no ads and a few fun features like complete song lyrics and unlimited song skips. Slacker Premium Radio is $9.99/month allows users to create playlists, play songs on demand and listen to stations like ABC News and ESPN Radio.
• Spotify- Users are more engaged with music and social media with this site’s features. After selecting songs and artists and creating playlists, listeners can make their playlists viewable to other Spotify users. Another feature allows users to send songs to friends on Spotify. For $9.99/month users can listen to an unlimited amount of songs without any ads and also use the service on their mobile phone to take anywhere.
• YouTube- For listeners who enjoy music videos, YouTube’s VEVO Channel allows users to listen to songs that have not been copyrighted and watch the music video completely free of charge.

If you are looking to listen to music based on your current mood, try out stereomood. The site has numerous adjectives and verbs that users can pick from to describe your mood. Business Insider gives advice on other websites to try out for music for your mood.

With all of these different outlets, there are numerous ways to listen to music at any given time. Based on your budget and your favorite genre there is a way to listen to the music best suited for you. Which music outlet is your favorite?

In a society where we are constantly on the move, more likely to buy another app before spending our money in an outlet store, consumers have evolved into a different breed.

The coming generation is the generational poster-child for instant gratification, especially in the realm of entertainment and information. And that’s to be taken in the least derogatory sense possible. We demand instantaneous results because that’s what we try to give each other, especially through online content. It’s just common courtesy at this point.

Minutes after Joe Paterno died, people were tweeting about it, the news picked it up, then ran the story within the hour.

Why go to an electronics store to buy some CDs when you can get the exact thing you want off of iTunes?

The possibilities are seemingly endless.

However, even the most up to date businesses are not accessing their full potential in how they can help consumers – dying to spend their money, in the most effective and efficient way possible. With the revolution of the smart-phone, which has become so intrinsic to western society, marketers need to rethink and reevaluate their strategies to reach the instant market.

The public trying to be reached is always on the move. A television advertisement may get every person that was watching the specific television station at a given time, but people carry their phones with them everywhere, all the time.

Blanket, multi-public targeted ads on television don’t cut it like they used to. People are too smart and too mobile for that now. “The Subway, Eat Fresh Hotline,” for callers to call in on ESPN radio is not clever anymore. People get annoyed by ads in the middle of their programming.

If you want to generate wealth from the mobile marketing age of consumerism, you will need to read “5 Flaws in Your Mobile Marketing Strategy,” by Scott Forshay. If not, that’s more for us.

What was the best part about using a laptop over a desktop? It’s portable, right? The best part of an eReader is that you can take multiple books anywhere. Mp3 players, such as iPods, allow us to take music on the go, but what allows us all of these things? A tablet.

photo credit: gizmofusion.com

More and more people are using their tablets for work and for entertainment. Where else can you review notes for a business meeting and then switch over and play a few levels of Angry Birds?
Instead of doing work one place and playing on another device people have opted to have all of their time spent on one device, the tablet. 35 percent of tablet owners say that they use their desktop less or not at all. With the tablets easy to use operating system and wide range of abilities people are choosing to use their tablets for activities that were previously done on a PC or laptop.
While some people argue that laptops will never be replaced with a tablet others think it already has. Laptops range from three to nine pounds, which can become heavy and lead to back problems long term, while the tablet is lighter in weight and weighs only about two pounds or so.
Apple has even come up with multiple apps that are made to help business be executed more effectively from the iPad. With apps like Quickoffice Pro HD and GoodReader Pro the iPad is making it easy for companies to transition to working on a tablet.
Android also has taken the market by storm with 40.3 percent of the market share in the forth quarter in 2011, up from 32.4 percent in the third quarter. Also, the tablet market as a whole has grown 24 percent coming to 18.1 million units sold in just this past quarter.
Jobs like journalist, pilots, doctors and artists are all taking their work to tablets. With Internet accessible tablets jobs are done faster and better than on a usual laptop. Tablets are no longer just for lounging around on the couch, but for sales support and customer presentations. Could this be the new way of doing thing, using tablets for both work and home?

photo credit to: smashingtube.com

by: Kalyn Ballard

With the ever evolving social media trends constantly changing, it’s common to wonder what changes in social media will be affecting us in the near future. When the next big social media site emerges, brave followers jump on board quickly, leaving those who question the site’s abilities in the dust. For those of you who linger a while longer to see what social media trends stick around longer than it takes to tweet about, you’re not alone. I am one of those people who hesitate to follow just any social media trend. For you brave souls, I wish I had the trust you have in others to fulfill your media desires. I envy you.
 
So, what social media trends are coming our way? I find myself asking this question all the time. Facebook has had the ability to withstand much criticism yet still be the most successful social media website of all time. Personally, though, I am ready for something new. I need a change in my social media life. Does anyone agree? Huffington Post writer Raymond Schillinger says he is growing more and more tired of Facebook but acknowledges the skyrocketing growth of Facebook in the developing world.
 
Twitter has become a great way for tweeters to receive breaking news. I love this. There is no better way to find out what is going on than the straight forward facts, in 140 characters or less. The simplicity of a tweet is what keeps me coming back for more. Twitter also has an incredible search tool that allows users to see what people are talking about. Type in anything you want to search for, from television shows to your favorite place to eat, and Twitter will show you what tweeters are saying. This incredible search feature gives Twitter an advantage over other social media sites. If you’re looking for new tweeters to follow, Inc.com has some suggestions. For 2012, I predict Twitter will acquire many new users.
 
What about Google+? There was so much hype about how great the site would be. I actually joined Google+ in July 2011, shortly after the site launched. I just knew that this would be the “next big thing” in social media and I jumped on board fast. But, to my disappointment, there doesn’t seem to be anything that exciting about the website. I am able to put my “friends” in groups called circles, which allows me to better group the people I share information with. This is one distinguishing difference between Google+ and Facebook. However, if I really took the time on Facebook, I could sort my friends into groups if I wanted to. I have not completely given up on Google+ though. I am just patiently waiting on other users to join so that I can actually have some interaction with my circles. For now, I am at a stand-still.
 
For me, the next big thing, is Pinterest. I mean I am hooked! The idea behind the social media site is fantastic and easy to use. Users create pin boards and “pin” items off the Internet that interest them. It is an excellent way to group all of your interests in one place. By clicking on the pin, it takes you directly back to the original site that the material was retrieved from. I think users will become intrigued by the simple satisfaction of clicking a button, and viola!
 
It appears though that the Pinterest world is attracting many female users and not as many male users. For now, the site seems to be full of feminine pins. Once males become active users, masculine pins will take off like fireworks on July 4th. I believe that once more male users join the social media site, businesses will also begin using the site to attract customers. I foresee a large increase of Pinterest users in 2012.
 
TechCrunch says 2012 is going to be a big year for Social TV. I completely agree. Every time I tune into my favorite TV show, there is always some mention about Facebook and Twitter. The TV show encourages me to go and see what people are saying about the show online. Now viewers can even vote for the next American Idol via Facebook and you can tweet questions for political candidates to answer during presidential debates. I don’t mind TV and social media combining to enhance viewing pleasure. However, the two could become overwhelming to keep up with if there is no boundary between real life and the online world.

Ever clicked on a search result and then could not find the relevant information on the page? This has been a lackluster part of any web search engine for years. That is all about to change in a new improvement to Google’s search algorithm.

Layout of a website now makes a difference in Google’s search rankings. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is constantly changing and now if your relevant content lies “above the fold” then your site is more likely to appear higher in search results. You should rethink your ad placement if your site has many advertisements near the top of a page, such as multiple banner ads. If you are concerned that your site may be in danger of being demoted to Google’s second page, try Google’s Browser Size Tool to see if the new change will affect your website. For more information, check out the post by Matt Cutts on the Google Webmaster Central Blog.

For more information, read the full article at FastCompany.