5 Social Media Sites My Small Business Needs to Be On ...

Social media is big, so small businesses that want to grow and gain exposure need to take advantage of the trend.

How important is it for small businesses to socialize online?

Considering that an August 2012 study by the Pew Research Center revealed that more than 60 percent of men and 75 percent of women daily use social media for networking, equating to millions of people on the Internet, small businesses need to be where the people are.

Where Should We Be?

According to various social media professionals, the top 5 social media sites every small business should be on include the following, in alphabetical order:

1. Facebook:? Who doesn?t know about Facebook? It?s one of the most popular social media sites online?approaching one billion users in early 2013?not only for personal use, but also for business use. Businesses can set up ?fan? pages and attract potential customers or clients who ?like? the page and follow it. Facebook is also useful for businesses to organize and share the news about public events or gatherings, or other company-related news.
2. Google+ (G+):? The newcomer in 2011, Google+ appears to be the search engine giant?s entry in the social media world, with the power of its financial resources and reputation behind it. The basic premise and benefit for businesses is a Google+ account allows individuals to make use of Google?s search engine technology so it?s easy to demonstrate authorship of blog posts and other online content, complete with the writer?s photo, facilitating a higher click-through rate.
3. LinkedIn:? LinkedIn probably has the most professional environment of the five social media sites.? The primary purpose of LinkedIn is to connect professionals and businesses, and share job leads and contacts. Many professional groups are also available in nearly any conceivable niche area for networking purposes.
4. Pinterest: Another relative newcomer in the social media world, since 2010, Pinterest allows individuals to ?pin? images, photos, video, and other multimedia of interest into virtual ?boards? sorted by assigned categories. People can create favorite collections of items and share them with other people.
5. Twitter:? Twitter, with its 140-character ?tweets? about anything and everything, is a 24/7/365 avenue for business exposure.? People can also follow an individual or business, read regular updates, and send/receive messages. Twitter also makes use of hash tags, designated with #, to allow people to track tweets about trending or popular topics.? For instance, someone may tweet a post and include something such as #smallbusiness or #entrepreneur.

How to Improve Engagement and Traffic on Social Media Sites

The first step to improve engagement and traffic on social media sites is to be there, consistently, participating and interacting with others.

When a small business makes its presence known, and shares what it has to offer in products and/or services, that?s an important step toward attracting traffic and engaging with potential customers.

All of the social media sites provide some sort of means to interact with others.

With some variations, most of the media sites allow people to create public posts, send private messages, engage in live chat, join groups, hold virtual events, and even participate in contests.

Ready, Set, Socialize!

As soon as a small business owner has read and digested this information, it?s time to get out there and socialize.

Being active in the five social media networks addressed can help a small business gain good exposure, as well as establish a good reputation, something that is especially important if false information has appeared in blog posts or social media circles.

After looking at the list, is your business as social as it can and should be?

About The Author

Freelance writer, blogger, and social media enthusiast K?Lee Banks writes for various websites, including intelius.com.

Source: http://www.sociableblog.com/2013/04/09/5-social-media-sites-my-small-business-needs-to-be-on/

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Ziopharm rises on preclinical cancer therapy study

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Ziopharm Oncology Inc. rose Tuesday after the company reported encouraging results from a preclinical trial of a cancer therapy.

The drug, designated Ad-RTS-mIL-12, is designed to enable the controlled delivery of a protein important for immune response to cancer. Ziopharm said larger doses of the drug were linked to bigger decreases in the growth rate of the tumors, and that side effects appeared to be minimal. The drug was tested on mice and the study was designed to evaluate the effects of the drug on breast cancer.

Ziopharm and Intrexon Corp. are conducting two mid-stage human trials of the drug. One is designed to study the drug's effectiveness against melanoma, and the other involves a combination of Ad-RTS-mIL-12 and palifosfamide, another experimental Ziopharm drug, as a treatment for breast cancer.

Ziopharm shares gained 22 cents, or 13.6 percent, to $1.84 in midday trading.

Ziopharm doesn't have any approved products, and palifosfamide is its most advanced experimental drug. On March 26 the company said palifosfamide failed in a late-stage study that evaluated the drug as a treatment for soft tissue sarcoma, a cancer that forms in connective tissue. Ziopharm said it would immediately switch its strategic focus to synthetic biology programs and start a restructuring program to muster resources for that.

Shares of Ziopharm have lost 68.4 percent of their value since then.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ziopharm-rises-preclinical-cancer-therapy-160848189.html

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Foundation Capital Raises $282M For Seventh Fund, Will Focus Mainly On Early-Stage Investments

Foundation Capital is announcing its seventh fund, Foundation Capital Fund VII. The VC firm has raised $282 million in new capital, bringing total capital under management to $2.7 billion over 17 years. We're told the focus of this new fund will be primarily early-stage investing in the consumer internet, information technology and cleantech sectors.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/aDdr8cfNEMU/

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Joel Osteen Resigns? Not So Fast ...

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/joel-osteen-resigns-not-so-fast/

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YC-Backed TapIn.TV Evolves Into Framebase, Aims To Make Building Video Products Less Painful

Sometimes, the product you should be building is hidden beneath the one you already are. Back in 2012, four friends set out to build TapIn.TV. As one of many competitors in the live mobile video broadcasting space, TapIn.TV focused primarily on video. After months of development, they noticed something troubling: building video stuff is too damned hard. So they're setting out to fix it.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/A7gDlkFsAGg/

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Iran says 30 killed in earthquake in south

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? A 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 30 and injured 650 people in a sparsely populated area in southern Iran, state TV reported on Tuesday. Authorities said it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region.

The report said the earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 96 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran's first nuclear power plant, built with Russian help.

"No damage was done to Bushehr power plant," Bushehr provincial governor Fereidoun Hasanvand told state TV.

Some 650 people were taken to local hospitals, mostly with slight injuries, and water and electricity were cut to many residents, said Ebrahim Darvishi, governor of the worst-hit district Shonbeh.

Shahpour Rostami, the deputy governor of Bushehr province, told state TV that rescue teams have been deployed to Shonbeh. Three helicopters were sent to survey the damaged area before sunset, said Mohammad Mozaffar, the head of Iran's Red Crescent rescue department.

Kaki resident Mondani Hosseini told The Associated Press that people had run out into the streets out of fear.

Iran also announced three-day mourning in the country.

The quake was felt across the Gulf in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where workers were evacuated from high-rise buildings as a precaution.

Earlier on Sunday a lighter earthquake jolted the nearby area. Iran is located on seismic faults and it experiences frequent earthquakes.

In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6 magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-says-30-killed-earthquake-south-160047821.html

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Montana pet owner to feds: The dog ate my money

HELENA, Mont. (AP) ? A Montana man whose 12-year-old golden retriever ate five $100 bills hopes to be reimbursed by the federal government.

Wayne Klinkel tells the Independent Record (http://bit.ly/143rwRZ ) that his dog Sundance ate the bills while he and his wife were on a road trip to visit their daughter.

Klinkel says he carefully picked through the dog's droppings, and his daughter recovered more when snow melted.

He says he washed the remnants of the bills and taped them together and sent them to the Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing with an explanation of what happened.

The bureau's website says an "experienced mutilated currency examiner" will determine if at least 51 percent of a bill is present and eligible for reimbursement. The process can take up to two years.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/montana-pet-owner-feds-dog-ate-money-133522139.html

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Rex Manning Day: 'Empire Records' Remembered With Recasting For Modern Age (PHOTOS)

What's with today, today? Monday, April 8, is Rex Manning Day, a holiday created to commemorate the film "Empire Records."

The one-crazy-day comedy -- which focuses on a ragtag group of record store employees, the tyranny of chain stores and the power of Gin Blossoms and The Flying Lizards -- was released in October of 1995, making this the 17th Rex Manning Day in recorded history. But we mustn't dwell on numbers like that. No, not today. Not on Rex Manning Day.

To celebrate this year's Rex Manning Day, HuffPost Entertainment has decided to shock you (shock you, shock you) with some deviant behavior: an imagined 2013 version of "Empire Records," featuring some of today's brightest stars. We'll say no more, mon amour, and get to the fake casting:

Shailene Woodley as the Corey Mason (originally played by Liv Tyler)

Jennifer Lawrence as the Gina (originally played by Renee Zellweger)

Aubrey Plaza as Debra (originally played by Robin Tunney)

Skylar Astin as the A.J. (originally played by Johnny Whitworth)

Ezra Miller as the Lucas (originally played by Rory Cochrane)

Lucas Cruikshank as Mark (originally played by Ethan Embry)

Adam Driver as Berko (originally played by Coyote Shivers)

Emory Cohen as Warren (originally played by Brendan Sexton III)

Kieran Culkin as Eddie (originally played by James "Kemo" Wills)

Jake Johnson as Joe (originally played by Anthony LaPaglia)

Amanda Setton as Jane (originally played by Debi Mazar)

and ...

Alec Baldwin as sexy Rexy himself, Rex Manning (originally played by Maxwell Caulfield)

MEANWHILE:

• Monica Lewinsky Jokes

  There are only so many things you can rhyme with "black beret."

• The Blair Witch Project

  Although we do miss the sound our palms made against our foreheads whenever someone asked, "Is this real?"

• Fax Machines

  When someone asks us to fax something today, we panic. That is, until we realize that scanners and PDFs exist.

• Britney Spears' Virginity

  Some things, in retrospect, are too distressing to remember.

• Cargo Pants

  What did we really keep in those extra pockets, anyway?

• Pokemon

  Embarrassing hobby used "Embarrassing." It was super effective.

• The Phantom Menace

  Came out in 1999, still counts as a 90s mistake.

• Courtney Love

  The fact that she has a <a href="https://twitter.com/Courtney/" target="_hplink">Twitter account</a> is bad enough.

• Old Destiny's Child

  Beyonce is better as a single lady.

• Gay Stereotypes

  Thanks to 90s TV, aunties the world over still believe that every homosexual has a childlike obsession with Cher.

• Shortalls

  Only cute if you're half-painting a room.

• Beanie Babies

  Parents lost their money $5 at a time and kids inherited a future yard sale. Nobody really came out on top here except Ty.

• Limp Bizkit

  Although we did get some joy out of watching little suburban "badasses" sing a George Michael song without realizing it.

• Bucket Hats

  If we could describe the 90s in one word it would be "floppy."

• Dial-Up

  Who misses waiting minutes for pages to load, having to hear that weird start-up noise and not being able to receive phone calls while surfing the web? Also, who misses saying, "surfing the web?"

• War in Iraq

  Too late.

• Baywatch

  We prefer to remember Hasselhoff as he was in "Knight Rider" and then just skip right to the cheeseburger-eating 2000's version.

• JNCOs

  Remembering them is bad enough, but how about the fact that they're still being sold <a href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=jnco" target="_hplink">for actual human currency</a>?

• The "Rachel"

  Even <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/18/jennifer-aniston-hated-the-rachel_n_810229.html" target="_hplink">Jennifer Aniston</a> hated it.

• Cowry Shell Necklaces

  You never went to Hawaii, just American Eagle.

• Pogs

  Future civilizations are going to be baffled by the importance that was placed on these little circles of cardboard. And don't even get us started on slammers.

• Creed

  They should take a page out of Nickelback's book and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/nickelback-responds-to-nfl-petition-video_n_1108279.html" target="_hplink">enlist Funny Or Die</a> to make them appear at least <em>ironically</em> good.

• The Macarena

  Once a year at a wedding is as much as we can handle.

• Gel Pens Being Exciting

  We were so easily impressed.

• Ace of Base

  Unless "The Sign" said, "You'll never have to hear 'The Sign' on the radio again," we're uninterested.

• Scrunchies

  Bagginess and extra fabric were the bane of 90s fashions. Exhibit A: the scrunchie.

• Eyes Wide Shut

  Well maybe not the movie, but the relationship between Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

• The Aladdin Cartoon

  Needless to say, this cartoon didn't make it "One Jump Ahead" (*crickets*)

• Math Rock

  Arithmetic + rock and roll = nope.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/rex-manning-day-empire-records_n_2994417.html

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Salvagers show off dazzling bounty from 17th-century Spanish shipwreck

Odyssey Marine Exploration

Bars of almost-pure gold were recovered from the 1622 wreck of the Spanish galleon Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario.

By Marc Lallanilla
LiveScience

A great superpower, weakened by economic calamity at home and staggering under the debt from years of war in the Middle East, finally collapses.

A new political best-seller, or an apocalyptic Hollywood blockbuster? Neither ? it's the story told by a 1622 shipwreck whose treasures were desperately needed to shore up the finances of the struggling Spanish Empire.

The galleon Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario was one of 28 ships in the Tierra Firme fleet; all were sailing from the New World back to Spain, laden with colonial treasures, when they were struck by a powerful hurricane off the Florida Keys.

Eight of the ships sank, killing 500 people and delivering a death blow to an imperial power, effectively closing the curtain on the Golden Age of Spain. [Disasters at Sea: 6 Deadliest Shipwrecks]

---

The shipwreck "is the most important Spanish galleon to be found because of what its loss meant," Sean Kingsley, a marine archaeologist who has been studying the wreck, told The Times?of London.

"Its loss broke the Bank of Madrid at a time when there was 300 percent inflation in Spain, and it was in serious debt for its endless wars," Kingsley said. "Spain never recovered."

The ship's bounty is now on display at the Tampa, Fla., headquarters of Odyssey Marine Exploration (the outfit that recovered the treasure), the Telegraph reports.

The findings are a reflection of the dazzling wealth of Spain's colonial outposts: more than 6,000 pearls, some of which were the diameter of a nickel when harvested; silver coins bearing Spain's imperial stamp; bars of almost-pure gold; and long strands of glittering gold necklaces.

Along with these treasures, the shipwreck also yielded more prosaic reminders of everyday life in the colonial era. Parrot feathers recovered from the wreck reveal the birds' value as colorful, talkative pets. Ceramic jars held olives and other food for the long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

Though the shipwreck was first discovered in 1965 when shrimp fishermen pulled up pottery and other artifacts in their deepwater nets, at 1,300 feet (405 meters) below the surface, recovery wasn't feasible.

But in later years, by using a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, archaeologists were able to begin the slow recovery process from aboard the research vessel Seahawk.

The excavation of treasure and artifacts from the wreck of the Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario is detailed in Kingsley's new book, "Oceans Odyssey 3: The Deep-Sea Tortugas Shipwreck, Straits of Florida: A Merchant Vessel from Spain's 1622 Tierra Firme Fleet" (Oxbow Books, 2013).

Follow Marc Lallanilla on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a701a0a/l/0Lscience0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A40C0A70C176432250Esalvagers0Eshow0Eoff0Edazzling0Ebounty0Efrom0E17th0Ecentury0Espanish0Eshipwreck0Dlite/story01.htm

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