U - Commerce : "Integrating business anywhere"

Abstract

Commerce is the exchange or buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place.

E - Commerce: - Most popular, doing transaction on Internet
M - Commerce: - Business transactions through mobile
T - Commerce: - Use Television set - top box to do commercial transactions
V - Commerce: - Using voice commands to do transactions
P - Commerce: - Proximity commerce using bluetooth or infrared technology

What is next?

Need of New Technologies

Newer technologies, empowered customers, and highly competitive marketplace make it imperative for businesses to invest into ways of improving the overall business performance.

"The Internet has introduced a significant wave of change. Our communication patterns have changed. We have become dependent on email. We interact with firms via Web sites.

The next wave—introduced through wireless technology—is about to change our lives even more. The increase in transmission capacity of wireless devices lays the foundation for communication unrestricted by physical locations. We can surf the Internet decoupled from landline computers.

In addition, we can do it any time, blurring the borderlines of business and private space. In the future, we will experience another wave of change—a world that provides the ultimate form of ubiquitous networks and universal devices, a world that presents an alternative view of space and time." - Miller & Watson, - 2002

We are now shifted to do business in virtual space rather only proving ourselves in geographical space.

Integrated approach of business

U-commerce

An integrated approach is the key. A type of commerce where a commercial transaction can be performed securely, any time, anywhere in the world, from any equipment, whether wired or wireless, using Internet technologies.

"U-commerce is a dynamic convergence of the physical and the digital, the interface of brick-and-mortar commerce with Web-based wireless and other next-generation technologies in ways that will create new levels of convenience and value for buyers and sellers."
- Stephen Schapp (Visa International) & Richard D. Cornelius (Accenture)

"A term u-commerce has been created in the Internet world that refers to commerce that can be conducted anywhere and any time in that it is a fusion of e-commerce, m-commerce (mobile commerce), t-commerce (television commerce) and bricks and mortar. It means seamless movement for consumers. U-commerce means that customers can come from all angles - today they may be in a showroom, tomorrow they may come at you via a website, cellular telephone phone or interactive television." - Lourens Botha, McCarthy On-Line

There are four Fundamental dimensions of u-commerce as described by Watson, Richard T., Leyland F. Pitt, Pierre Berthon, and George M. Zinkhan.

1. Ubiquity,
2. Uniqueness,
3. Universality, and
4. Unison.

Ubiquityallows users to access networks from anywhere at any time, and in turn, to be reachable at any place and any time. Computer will be useful everywhere. Basically we can say cheap will be embedded in our daily life so as to be benefited by Internet & wireless technology supported by Intelligent systems. E.g. Payment technology is becoming ubiquitous, shattering past constraints of location and functionality. It can now connect the smallest rural community, enabling it to conduct commerce with the rest of the world.

Uniqueness allows users to be uniquely identified—not only in terms of their identity and associated preferences, but also in terms of their geographical position. Avail only services what you want. Every program will be customization of your needs. It will be according to your roles in daily life. Download songs to make your mood or transfer sales records to your business data server on the spot of sale. Everything is unique and customized.

Universality means devices are universally usable and multi-functional. Due to Internet and satellites your desktop, laptop, cell phone, or PDA will avail free mobility and lots of information at any time.

Unison covers the idea of integrated data across multiple applications so that users have a consistent view on the their information-irrespective of the device used. Consistency means if I change an address in my phone book it should reflect changes in my cellphone, calendar and PDA simultaneously.

Using U – Commerce in Real World

Visa is committed to making its vision of universal commerce a reality, creating a world in which payment transactions can occur anywhere, anytime and in any way. Visa U.S.A. is exploring new Internet-enabled point-of-sale appliances that will be connected to a service portal for merchants, integrating customized payment and value-added non-payment Services. Through this Web-based POS service, merchants will be able to broaden customer relationships while lowering costs.

Volvo implemented a wireless enterprise solution to automate its data collection process to inspect cars and improve quality assurance.

The wireless solution enables the salesperson to – at any location – present the customer with current promotional offers, up – to – date financing information, price and model availability in Fiat.

Remote product monitoring: With use of sensor technology developed by Graviton, Coca cola will monitor soda fountains to monitor syrup usage.

Doctors can access patient data as well as pharmaceutical and insurance information through Ready Script’s wireless, handheld, point of care devise.

In short, u-commerce is the creation of a marketplace that reaches individuals where they are at using the devices that they want to use, with the networks doing the work without the user needing to intervene.

Suggested Readings & Resources

1. Accenture (2001). "The Future of Wireless: Different than You Think, Bolder Than You Imagine." Cambridge, MA, Accenture Institute for Strategic Change.
2. "U-Commerce: The Ultimate" - By Richard T. Watson
3. "U- commerce Fact sheet" - Visa

Selling Products Online

It has been long since the Internet has changed our lifestyles. It seems the world is just a click away from us. Whatever we need, whatever we want, just browse through the windows and lo, you make a jump into the ocean of opportunities. With the advent of the Internet, the concept of ecommerce websites has also come into existence.

The process of selling products online got a great boost through e-commerce websites that are specially designed for the purpose of selling products online. This has facilitated a new trend to make money selling products online. However, easier and faster as it seems, there are certain factors that has to be kept in mind for all those who wish to sell their products online. Here is a discussion about various parameters that one must consider before venturing into selling products online.

How to Sell Products Online?

Selling products online has eventually become easier and there are innumerable e-commerce websites that are awaiting to reap rich dividends from this business. Unfortunately, a large section of aspirants fail to make money selling products online. The obvious reason for the failure is the lack of awareness about the web world and online consumer behavior. Here are some tips on selling products online.

Homepage is the Key
The probability that a customer will stay for more than a few minutes or even seconds on your homepage is very less. In fact, it's the same for all websites, however, those websites who are aware of the customer psychology try to display certain products on the homepage itself! The idea here is to grab the attention of the consumer and let him enter into your website further. If you don't have any products on your homepage, then generally it's useless, as the user ultimately leaves the page.

This doesn't mean that you stuff your homepage with hundreds of products. Never do that as it will load the website and it will be time consuming to download it. A range of 5-10 popular products (that is evident through research) is good enough to put on the website homepage. The mantra to sell products online is, the faster you can get the product to the customer, the better it is for your sales!

Easier Navigation Interests the Consumer
It is imperative that the consumer can easily navigate through your website as that only determines the number of sales you will have, at the end of the day. Categorizing the products with short, simple names is of paramount importance.

You must include these categorizes in the main menu or side bar menu, so that the customer can easily reach the desired category of product instantly. Including skills of search engine optimization and latest search engine upgrade are always welcome steps as they improve the prospects of selling products online.

Ensure Par Excellence Professionalism
Get your website designed in a simple yet elegant and user friendly way. Your website must induce confidence among the customers and it must appear as a professional website, not some that allures the customers. Make sure all modes of payment, without forgetting credit card option is available on your website. Almost all consumers buying online products, pay through their credit card so this facility is by default assumed by consumers. You can't miss it, or you will miss your customers. Read more on website design.

Having merchant account and payment getaway is always seen as a mark of a professional website. It reflects your concern for customer's financial transaction's security and at the same time, it sends a signal to the consumer that your financial evaluation has been done by authorized banks. Read more on ecommerce web hosting.

Be Realistic, Stick to the Basics
In the quest for selling products online, you have to ensure that you don't chalk out unrealistic plans. Dreaming to compete with some of the biggest online retailers is not a very bright idea as markets on the Internet are segregated for every level of players. Trying to compete with them may end up with nothing more than again trying the same! So initially, start with a small range of products and by managing your website well.

If you compare the costs of managing e-commerce website (near about US$100, per month) and the huge revenue it may generate, you will be startled to see such a drastic difference! That's why, you should spend good amount of money on your e-commerce website as that is an ultimate investment in the long run business prospects. Make sure your customer feels you have not compromised on quality.

Lastly, Rome wasn't build in one day and so are any other success stories! To sell your product online, you have to have patience and stick to business plans aimed at improving your website. Results generally come in about 6 months to a year's hard work. Gradually, as your business grows, you can check out listings of search engines and learn elements of pay-per-click advertising to further script your success story. Selling products online is though not a cakewalk, it can surely turn out to be a profitable venture if you stick to it.

How To Sell Information Products On Ebay

So you want to sell information products on eBay? It's a wise decision, because eBay.com is one of the top 5 most visited sites on the Web - and most visitors are buyers or sellers.

In this crowded, vibrant, active marketplace where hundreds of millions of dollars of products are sold, you can carve out your niche and get a slice of the huge pie. Infoproducts are a good product category, and can be offered in any niche.

Pick Your Niche

On the front page of eBay is a list of categories. You can browse through this list and select the best categories to offer your infoproducts. Make sure what your infoproducts contain will add value to visitors in the niche. That way, you will appeal to their interest and gain attention.

All or One

Your infoproduct may be available in just one format - or many. For instance, you could be selling ebooks on eBay, or you could also offer similar or related information in the form of a print book, audio tapes, DVD recordings, or a homestudy program. Decide if you want to sell only one format, or all, on eBay.

Create Sales Copy

Audiences on eBay are a little different from regular browsers visiting a website. Your copy selling the infoproduct on eBay must be tailored to be most appealing to a visitor. Use graphics and images to enhance your offer. Make hard-to-resist offers, both in pricing and bonuses.

Auction or Store

eBay offers the option of selling as an auction or even having your virtual storefront. If your infoproduct is available in multiple formats, or in the form of different bundles containing various components, you may prefer to sell information products on eBay stores.

Featured Listings

By paying a premium listing price, you can ensure your auction gets more attention. You will be prominently listed on the results page, can place an icon or tiny graphic beside your auction listing, use formatting of your text links, and other tiny tweaks that get more interest from curious browsers visiting the auction site every day.

Following Up

Most people sell information products on eBay but miss out on this most critical component - the follow up. When someone buys an information product, they are telegraphing their interest in the topic - and this shows you they are potential candidates to buy more stuff related to the niche.

By simply following up to ask if you can help them in any other way, or asking if they might be interested in buying other related products and services you offer, you could double your profit or more - without any fancy advertising or expensive marketing.

It's the right time for you to sell information products on eBay and profit from the massive crowd coming there to buy. Test things in a small way, learn more about eBay selling from experts, buy courses and study ebooks on the subject, and put your lessons to use while you sell information products on eBay.

Online Works of Fiction

By Earl Hunsinger

There are literally hundreds of thousands of books published each year, with English being the most common language for publication. It would be impossible for an individual to store, much less read, all of these. In many places public libraries provide convenient repositories for some of these books. As an example, the largest library in the world, the United States Library of Congress, has millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts in its collections. It even provides a searchable online catalog. More specialized libraries are also available at various universities and other institutions. However, what do you do if you don’t live close to a major library? Or your local library doesn’t have the book that you are looking for?

Many book collections are now available online. The Internet Public Library has links to dozens of online resources. This is a service founded at the University of Michigan School of Information and hosted by Drexel University’s College of Information Science & Technology. The online libraries referenced cover a broad range of topics.

Not surprisingly, the most common books found online are the classics. These are works that have endured the test of time. In addition, these works are generally in the public domain, or no longer protected by copyright. Such classics include those found in The Harvard Classics and Shelf of Fiction, which is available online at Bartleby.com. This is a collection that began in 1909 as the result of a challenge to Harvard University’s president Charles Eliot. He had made the statement that a liberal education could be obtained simply by reading for fifteen minutes a day from a collection of books that could fit on a three foot shelf. This estimate was later expanded to a five foot shelf. Challenged to provide such a collection, the now famous Harvard Classics was born. Bartleby’s also provides the complete text to the 1914 Oxford edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. The Classic Literature Library also contains the complete works of Shakespeare. In addition, it has the German translations of 19 of his plays. It also contains the complete works of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, and others.

Other sites have similar collections, such as Bibliomania.com, which has 2,000 classic texts online, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Online Books Page, which has over 25,000 free books online. In addition to works of fiction, many of these sites include dictionaries, thesauruses, and religious books, such as the Bible and Koran.

There is no doubt that the Internet is making it easier to do research on virtually any subject imaginable. This accessibility has now reached out to encompass classic works of fiction. This facilitates the search for a particular piece of text when doing research, making it an invaluable tool. Many of the sites mentioned above also allow you to purchase a favorite book. Others, such as Project Gutenberg allow you to download a book to a palm organizer or smart phone.

With more and more books being added every year, and the ability to access them from anywhere, some feel that electronic books will someday completely replace those made from paper. Has the advent of online books sounded the death knell for bound books? What if, like many, you find the experience of reading from a computer screen when reading for pleasure to be unsatisfying? Then why not do the unthinkable, turn off your computer and visit your local library or book store. While it may not have all of the hundreds of thousands of new books published this year, you may find that the ability to hold a real book in your hands holds a pleasure that cannot be duplicated.

UK Bank Account

If you want to start your business in the UK you may want to establish a bank account. There are hundreds of banks in the United Kingdom that have different requirements needed to open an account. Some banks will allow you to open basic accounts and others will allow more services. Each bank has its own requirements, so you may have to do some research in order to find a bank that best fits what you are looking for.

Your best bets are to call around or visit bank websites to see if they have what you are looking for. One of the things that you want to make sure of is that they have locations globally. If you decide to take a vacation to another country, you want to make sure you can access an ATM in case of emergencies. With electronic banking becoming more popular, you want to see if they offer online banking. Some banks have Online Fraud guarantees, making online banking safe for everyone.

The benefits of online banking are that you can pay your bills from the privacy of your own home; you can see your balances before you write a cheque. You can make your payments in currency or Sterling. But there are still good old fashioned walk in banks. Some banks depending on your credit or your past banking experiences will offer you a basic bank account; this means strictly withdrawals and deposits. You can have direct deposit with a standard bank account.

Some banks will require you to bring documentation to show how much money you are going to be bringing in every week. If you bring in a certain amount of money you may be able to upgrade to a better account with more services. You will need a photo ID, proof or residence and proof of birth as additional information to get an account started.

Some other acceptable pieces of ID are Passports, National Identity Cards, and Residence permit issued by the Home Office to EU Nationals or a National Drivers License. Before heading over to the bank call and ask them what forms of ID they find acceptable.

In the case where you are new to the United Kingdom and you have never had a bank account before, the banks will require the proof that we just mentioned. Bring as much documentation as you can to get the process started. In some banks it could take a few days to set up an account and it may take one day to open your account. Don't panic if one bank turns you down, not all banks follow the same criteria when it comes to accepting bank applications.

7 Steps for Starting U.K. Business

Usually, when people consider opening a business, they walk on the path of forming a limited company or as it is known commercially, a limited liability company. If someone wants to start a business as a sole trader or a sole-proprietorship as it is formally known, then there is comparatively less paperwork. However, a limited company has many long-term advantages and opportunities like reduced tax fringes, increased protection of personal assets and less individual risk, in case the business fails. The article will try to highlight the structures of the company and the procedures of starting your own limited company.

STEP 1:

Finding an appropriate name for your new company. The organization Companies House maintains a list of all registered companies in the UK. All you have to do is check their website and confirm whether the name you have thought for your company is already registered by some other company in use or is available. Whatever name you choose, it must have the word "limited"(abbreviated to Ltd. usually) at the end. For example, "The Ultimate Widget Company Limited or Ltd."

STEP 2:

Next you will have to appoint the two most crucial people of your company- the company secretary and the director of the company. However, it can be your decision to make the company secretary a director as well, but he/she cannot be the only director of the company.

STEP 3:

Thus, usually such responsibility is usually given to someone from the family, like a sibling or one’s spouse. If it is a partnership or a jointly owned family business then usually one person becomes the company secretary in addition to being one of the dire. Usually, the company secretary is indispensable to the company in legal affairs. The person shall be responsible for submitting the annual returns of the company to Companies House and ensuring that the company and its directors operate legally. Another option might be to hire the services of a professional third party firm who provide company secretaries in exchange of an annual remuneration.

STEP 4:

In a limited company, the shares of the company have to be allocated and then floated in the market as the share-owners shall make the company. You will have to decide as to how many shares your company will have and their value. Normally, companies are floated with 100 or 1000 shares with a value of £1 per share. Some of all the shares are issued to shareholders in return for the value of the shares in cash. The shareholders get ownership rights and the right to vote at company meetings. It also entitles them to get dividends on their shares based on the profits of the company. The shares which remain unsold are called unallocated shares. It is suggested that you consult an accountant to make sure that the allocation of shares is done in the most tax efficient way and which is best suited to the particular circumstances.

STEP 5:

The last move you have to make before starting you limited company is the registration of the company’s office as is mandatory under the Company Law. The registered office of a limited company is usually the address where official documents can be served; statutory documents related to the company can be stored for future inspection. Normally, the choice for the registered office address is the home address of either of the company directors or the office of the company’s accountants.

After all these steps, you will have all the information needed to form your company.

STEP 6:

The cheapest and fastest ways nowadays to form a company is to use one of the numerous online company formation services which charge around £30 to £50 to process your application with Companies House and they will send you all the required company documents by email so that you just have to take a print out. If additional fees are given, then they even provide printed copies of your desired documents.

STEP 7:

This is actually an alternative to forming a company from scratch. Instead, you can buy an "off the shelf company". The term is used to denote companies which have been formed by a company formation agent but which has not yet been traded. Such a company can be purchased by paying a fee to the formation agent and have the ownership transferred to you. However, in such cases, you might be limited by not being able to choose your company name as you can only pick from the list of pre-formed off the shelf companies that the formation agent has at that time. There is the alternative of buying the company and applying to Companies House to change its name for a fee.

However, off the shore companies are more expensive and might cause hassles. Thus, the best option is to start one’s own limited company.

Opening a UK Bank Account From Overseas

If you are looking to open a UK bank account from overseas, you may run into some problems. With world events unfolding as they are, banks are becoming more guarded about letting anyone open a bank account, especially overseas. Not everyone who wants to open a bank account in the UK from overseas is up to no good. There are students that are going to University or Expatriates that are being transferred to the UK. How do they go about opening a bank account in the United Kingdom?

The very first thing that you should consider is to talk to your local branch and see if they have procedures that will allow you to transfer your money from the branch to the same bank but in the United Kingdom. These are not questions that are asked often so you may have to wait for an answer. If this is not an option then you may have to wait until you arrive in the United Kingdom to set up a bank account.

You will need many forms of identification to open a bank account in the United Kingdom. Before arriving in the UK, you should make a phone call to the bank you are thinking about using and see what can be done from where you are to get started. You will need a photo ID as well as proof of address where you currently live and your address that you will be living when you come to the UK. You cannot use PO Boxes; you must have a physical address.

Some banks may require that you use a direct deposit. Others may require a credit check. Each bank has its own way to determine whether or not you will get a bank account. Some places may only offer a savings account at first and see how you do with that. Most banks are afraid to take a gamble with some accounts because they are afraid of overdrafts and customers not paying back the money.

Most banks in the United Kingdom use applications to decide on who they determine is worthy enough to have a bank account. That is why it is important that you understand how each bank is going to go about giving out bank accounts. If you know you want to open UK bank account and you don't have great credit then call some banks and see which ones do not require credit checks.

Just because one bank may turn you down, it doesn't mean that they all will. So it is important to do some research and what bank is more likely to grant you an account. There are plenty of banks in the United Kingdom to choose from.

PDUK - Payday Loans the Fastest and Easiest Way to Borrow Money Online

PDUK is a short-term loan especially made for these kinds of situations. Where you need quick some of money in a case of emergencies like needing a plumber, gas fitter, electrician or any other emergency were quick cash is require in order to sort out these much needed problems.

PDUK acts like your advance monthly payment check. It is a hassle free way to getting extra cash quickly. This instant solution is very assessable, you can get it online. And the money is transferred direct to your bank account on the same day! Note: if you are applying this loan on a weekend or in the evening. Your money will be transferred in the next working day.

Previously, these types of loans required a filling of loads of paperwork and the process was very lengthy it could take up to 2 weeks. Now with the internet you can fill the online application form (which takes only a few minutes) and get your PDUK loans fast.

To apply for a PDUK loan online, you must meet certain criteria such as: having a bank account, be in employment, be over 18 years old and having a UK citizenship.

If all the above criteria are matched, then you can precede your online application. Here your credit check will be perform (this is a very quick process) and once that is done, your loan will be processed within 24 hours of your application. It's that easy!

Apply online today! Fill your application from this website: http://www.borrowmoneyfast.co.uk and get your money in the next 24 hours. UK payday loans the fastest ways to borrow money online.

Cell Phone Recycling Facts

May dad was against cell phones and he used to scold us for using it. But today he has a cell phone and he keeps calling us from it. Well, this is a short and real life example of people getting addicted to this technology. It has become a necessity, and we cannot even think of living without our cell phone. There are millions of people who use more than one cell phone, and the old ones are just thrown away in the drawers or are just dumped in the trash can. But do you know that cell phones can be very hazardous to nature? Yes, that's true. The best way to save the environment from the dangerous effects of cell phones is to get it recycled. To know more about cell phone recycling facts, keep reading ahead.

Facts About Cell Phone Recycling

There is a huge list of facts about cell phone recycling. To start with, I will tell you a very interesting fact. Over 70% Americans have no idea that their old cell phones can be recycled. Let's find some more facts in the following points.

    * On an average, people in United States purchase a new cell phone every 18 months. In Europe, the frequency is 15 months, whereas in Japan, people get one every 9 months!
    * Most Americans own three or more than three cell phones, and more than 14 million cell phones are left idle every 18 months.
    * The National Office of Pollution Prevention of Environment, Canada, reports that next year, around 4,500 tons of cell phones, telephone and fax machines will be dumped. This quantity can be compared to the weight of nearly 600 African elephants.
    * INFORM Inc., North America, has reports that, 500 million cell phones, weighing over 250,000 tons, are left untouched, which should been given for recycling.
    * Do you know what a single cell phone can do if it is just thrown away? It can pollute 40,000 gallons of ground water.
    * An estimation shows that from the total e-waste produced by North America, about 50 to 80% is dumped in countries like China, Thailand, India and Pakistan. In these countries, people are given less wages and are exposed to toxic material without any protection.
    * A cell phone has toxic substances like antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc, which are very dangerous for the environment. They pollute the air, soil, as well as the water.
    * Toxic substances from cell phones may result in many health hazards such as cancer, fertility problems, defects in child birth, neurological problems, and development disorders.
    * Rechargeable batteries of the cell phones are also very harmful. They contain toxic substances like cadmium, lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride, which consists of cobalt, zinc, and copper, and many other heavy metals. These substances may be responsible for lung, liver, and kidney damage.
    * In cell phone recycling, many important metals like iron, copper, silver, etc., are recovered, which can be used in other areas. According to the reports given by the Environmental Protection Agency, every 1 million units of old cell phones recycling, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, 33 pounds of palladium and 35,274 pounds of copper is yield. This can saves energy which is used to mine these metals from the earth's crust.
    * One of the largest cell phone recycling company, ReCellular, collects about 25,000 cell phones daily from over 40,000 different collection sites.
    * Many people recycle cell phones for money. Yes, you can just give away your old cell phone and can get between $1 to $20, based on the standards set by the company.

By the above facts, you can understand the benefits of mobile phone recycling. So collect your old mobile phones and take them to the mobile recycling collection site. You may or may not get money for it, but remember you are doing this for your healthy environment. Make your family and friends too aware about the recycling facts, and help conserve nature.

How to Recycle CDs

Gone are times when people used to use VCR's and cassettes for entertainment purposes. With the help of modern technology, man has jumped to the compact age where everything is much more smaller in size and faster in performance. Today CDs and DVDs are a must have item in the house. They are the fresh breath of technology and have successfully replaced VCRs and cassettes everywhere. Even though they have made life much more easier and the TV screens much more colorful, these CDs are also responsible for the generation of tons of industrial waste.

Every year billions of CDs are manufactured and most of them end up in landfills or furnaces. Usually people buy many film, music and blank CDs in excess and most of them go unused or wasted and land up in soil or water polluting the environment. CDs contain a variety of pollutants which makes them an ideal candidate for environmental pollution. Other than plastics, they also contain aluminum and other toxins which can be bad for the surroundings. So it's a good idea to consider the option of recycling CDs before throwing them away.

How to Recycle Old CDs

There's not much work involved in recycling CDs. Many people drop the idea of recycling because they don't have that much time to waste. However, people who are short on time can actually search for groups and communities on the Internet who especially work towards the recycling of different kinds of plastic. Drop off the CDs to them and they will do the job. For people who want to know how to recycle CDs, here are some pointers.

Polymer Recycling
Recycling with the help of Polymer Recycling method saves almost 50 million CDs from getting wasted in the environment. All the person has to do is search for a Polymer Recycling Plant and deliver the waste CDs over there. The process begins by separating the CD into different parts. The attractive paper on the CDs is then taken out and used for other purposes. Even the CD case also known as the 'Jewel Case' is granulated and processed through machines which uses laser technology for the removal of contaminants. These grained particles are then used for a number of applications. The CD is then processed in the plant's own machine which removes all the aluminum, paint and data and makes it usable. The CD is then grained and mixed with a polycarbonate for further use.

Reuse the CDs
This is probably the best way to recycle CDs. A CD may be a waste to someone but very useful to someone else. If you have a game, move or song CD put it up for sale on a website. Your CD may be worth a few cents or a dollar. You can also give your CDs to friends and peers in the family. If no one is interested in buying it, you can also donate your CDs to child care centers so that they can use it.

Other Creative Uses
Most people also use CDs on their drive way as a marker. You can attach the CDs by drilling or nailing it to the wood, make sure to keep the shiny side out. Gardeners and farmers often hang CDs in their vegetable patches because the strong light reflection scares birds away. Unused CDs can also be very helpful in decorating a fancy dress costume. People can also slip in their old CDs under the feet of their furniture to protect the flooring and carpet. CDs can also be used to make decorative window hangings. People can also use CDs as a candle stand, put the shiny side up and place medium height candles on it. The reflection which comes off the CD is really great for dinner tables. Take a bunch of CDs and run a string in the hole and hang it on your windows as an added attraction.

These days people are doing all they can to make sure they don't produce excess waste. Did you know that an average household has around 114 CDs and from that not even 5% are actually used. Almost 85% of the discs are thrown away and they end up cluttering our environment. It's time we embark the journey of CD recycling.

How to Use Solar Energy to Generate Electricity

As the technology for solar cells gets better and better, this form of clean, renewable energy will find more applications that take up less space and produce more electricity, to meet the energy needs of our homes, schools and businesses.
~ Samuel Bodman

Isn't it wonderful to have a power source so unlimitedly vast and reliably consistent as the sun at our immediate disposal? It's a different thing altogether that till now, not many of us have paid any amount of serious attention to the possibility of converting all that unlimited heat and radiance into electricity for everyday use to run regular applications and appliances. However, with the threat of environmental pollution and dwindling fossil fuel reserves breathing down its neck, humanity has finally come to terms with the idea of exploring alternative energy sources to generate fuel as well as power for its mundane domestic as well as industrial and commercial needs. After wind and water, lots of countries and regions all over the world are gradually turning to solar power for fulfilling their electricity needs. You see, compared to wind and water force, which tend to be influenced by seasons and other climatic factors, solar energy is more constantly and consistently available. Now, if you're wondering how to use solar energy to generate electricity, ski through the next segment without missing a single turn to get to the details!

How do We Use Solar Energy to Generate Electricity?

The heat and radiance of the sun can be harnessed and converted to electricity for human uses in two major ways - via photovoltaic systems or with the help of concentrated solar thermal systems. Photovoltaic method using solar panels and semiconductors is the easiest and most widely used method of harnessing solar energy to generate electricity for homes and small to medium sized industrial and commercial establishments. The following points lay down the basic guidelines regarding how to generate electricity from solar energy using solar panels:-

☀     In order to be able to generate electricity from solar energy, you will need a solar power plant generator. You can either buy a ready-made one, or make one yourself. However, the commercially available ones are likely to burn a hole in your pocket so it's better to build a power plant generator yourself.
☀     To assemble a solar power plant generator yourself, you will need photograph voltaic cells or solar cells, which you can easily get from online stores such as eBay. Apart from the solar cells (number of cells depending upon how much power you wish to generate), you'll need a wooden frame of a size that will perfectly accommodate a lateral solar panel matrix and a glass sheet to cover the wooden frame.
☀     Connect the solar cells adjacent to each other in such a way that the final result looks like a flat sheet of connected solar cells. Follow the wiring instructions that came with the cells and fit these connected cells inside the wooden frame. Cover the surface with the sheet of glass.
☀     Build a battery bank using rechargeable batteries and connect it to your solar power panel. The solar cells will absorb all the solar energy they can and this energy will be routed to the battery bank, which will, in turn, pass the DC power through a circuit, which is what a power inverter would be needed for.
☀     Connect the battery output to the power inverter input point. Connect the inverter output to the input point of your home's residence's wiring system. Once the DC charge passes through the power inverter, it gets converted to an AC charge and the voltage is also adjusted to suit your power requirements. There! Your very own solar power plant generator is ready for domestic use!

So, you see, even if your local county hasn't become solar-power-savvy yet, you yourself can go ahead and make a difference to your individual residential unit by installing a self made solar power plant at your own place! You'll be delighted by how surprisingly less electricity will cost if you generate it by harnessing solar energy. Now that you know how to use solar energy to generate electricity yourself, go ahead and let your inner engineer out - trust me, your individual initiative will inspire many others around you go solar and eventually, it will dawn upon the power industry to run things sunny side up!

10 Simple Steps to Buying Property in Italy

In 2009, Britain’s prestigious Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors singled out Italy as one of the best places to invest in real estate because its property market, not undermined by cheap credit, has avoided the boom and bust seen elsewhere in Europe and the US.

To quote international realtors Knight Frank: "Historically, property prices in Italy have always held." In stark contrast, average prices in the US fell a record 18.2% in the year to November 2008, with Las Vegas values plunging by nearly 40%, according to the 20-city Case-Shiller index.

Italian tax changes have brought down the costs of buying a property in Italy by up to 15%. Also considering Italy’s historic allure, it makes this an opportune period in which to invest in Italian property. However, as with any real estate purchase, there are straightforward measures you can take to ensure everything goes to plan.

1) GET TO KNOW ITALY
Most overseas investors still flock in their droves to pricy Tuscany. Instead, try other regions such as Puglia, Sicily and Calabria, all with spectacular beaches and landscapes but far cheaper than Tuscany. Before taking the plunge, spend a weekend in a couple of areas to get a feel for them and find out how close train stations, stores, restaurants, etc are.

2) FIND A GOOD REALTOR
This is one occasion to be grateful for Italian red tape. All realtors must be professionally licensed and qualified, insured and registered at a Chambers of Commerce. Check their website and letterheads to ensure they belong to one of the following respected organizations: FIAIP (Federation of Professional Estate Agents), FIMAA (Federation of Mediators and Agents) or AICI (Italian Association of Estate Agents).

3) BE REALISTIC
It’s possible to pick up a stunning property for Euro 250,000. But not if it’s advertised at Euro 500,000. Italian property prices have not gone into the freefall seen in some other countries, so expect discounts of no more than around 10%.

4) KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU
Frances Mayes’ bestseller Under The Tuscan Sun inspired a generation of UK and US investors to try renovating an Italian countryside ruin. If doing so, it’s vital to be aware of the time, effort and money involved – up to Euro 1,000-1,500 per sq m for a complete restoration. Other common mistakes involve taking on property with far more bedrooms, outside land and facilities than you strictly need. Swimming pools and vineyards require regular upkeep.

5) KNOW THE BUYING PROCESS
Once buyer and seller agree a price, the buyer makes an offer with a deposit of around 5%. If the buyer’s surveyor and/or lawyer give the go-ahead, both parties then sign a sales contract (compromesso) and agree a timetable. The buyer puts down a second downpayment, taking his total deposit to around 30%. Pulling out at this stage carries severe financial penalties for both sides.

The final stage sees both sides sign a final contract (rogito) in front of a notary. At this stage the buyer settles in full with the seller, usually via an Italian bank draft. He will therefore need to have a fiscal code from local tax authorities, permitting him to apply for a bank account.

6) GET A LAWYER
For most buyers the Italian legal process will completely unfamiliar, so hire an independent bilingual lawyer with expertise in the Italian real estate sector. At all costs avoid signing documents on your own without knowing what you are committing yourself to.
Another consideration: any unpaid mortgages and loans or third-party claims on the house? Plans for a new highway just 400 yards away? Was the property built with complete planning permission (a problem in parts of Italy but of vital importance when you want to sell). All are vital background checks your lawyer will perform.

7) BUDGET FOR EXTRA COSTS
Purchasing a previously inhabited home will typically mean an extra 7-10% in fees and taxes, rising to 12-15% for new-build properties.
For previously inhabited homes, 3% of "cadastral value" is payable if the buyer becomes an official Italian resident with 18 months, otherwise it rises to 10%. Cadastral value is decided by the Land Registry and depends on factors such as location, floor space, number of rooms, etc. It is usually less than half the purchase price.
For new-builds, 4% VAT is payable if the residency is obtained within 18 months, otherwise a 10% rate if incurred. Other additional costs may include to Euro 2,000-5,000 for a notary,
Euro 500-1,500 for a surveyor, Euro 150-200 per hour for a solicitor and 3% of the purchase price to the estate agent.

8) USE A FOREIGN CURRENCY SPECIALIST
Over the course of 2009, the Sterling-Euro exchange rate veered between a high of £1/Euro 1.185 and a low of £1/1.059 over the course of 2009. Therefore, a Euro 750,000 home would have cost a UK-based buyer £77,250 more at the bottom of the market compared to its peak. Hence, the importance of using a specialist currency exchange firm, who can set rates for future transactions and guard against currency changes. They also offer much better rates than a bank that can add up to a £30,000 difference on a £750,000 transaction.

9) CONSIDER RENTAL POTENTIAL
Letting out your Italian property is an obvious way to fund your investment. But make sure you are within easy reach of transport hubs. If targeting the non-Italian market, aim for a maximum 60-90 minutes from the nearest airport. If buying in a large town or city, ensure buses and trains are within easy reach. Properties near the coast will have excellent rental potential and will maintain their value because of stringent restrictions on new building in these areas.

10) SPEAK SOME ITALIAN
Try to master some basic Italian phrases, even if you only plan on being in the country for a few weeks each year, as it will help you to assimilate yourself in your local community. Unlike say, the Netherlands or parts of Scandinavia, don’t expect the majority of locals to speak English – especially in more southern regions such as Calabria and Sicily. And remember that your efforts at Italian, no matter how basic, will endear you to Italians.

Adriana Giglioli writes for Italy real estate website Homes and Villas Abroad.

Advantages of Internet Advertising

Today, majority of the people spend their work and leisure time in front of their computers on the Internet. As social networking sites replace meeting up with friends and searching the Internet for information rather than going through books becomes the norm, advertisers are seeing a huge potential for marketing and advertising various products and services on the Internet.

When we use the term Internet advertising, it comprises of a lot of things. Email advertising, web banners, advertisements on social networking sites, advertisements on manufacturer's own site, pop-up advertisements, advertisements through Internet affiliates - these are all a part of online advertising. Scroll down to know the advantages of Internet advertising...

Benefits of Internet Advertising

Wide Reach
When it comes to reaching a wide range of customers, no other medium can beat Internet. By advertising on the Internet, a small manufacturer in one part of the world can find customers in the other. Internet advertising has broken all geographical restrictions that existed with other mediums. Global companies, small local businesses, anybody and everybody can increase their product sales and profits by online advertising. This is definitely one of the exclusive advantages of advertising on the web.

Target Oriented
On the Internet, you will find websites which cater to a particular group of people who have some specific interests or who belong to a particular age group. There are sports websites, medical websites, technology websites, social networking sites which are mostly frequented by youngsters, religions websites, travel websites, etc. Thus, Internet marketing and advertising gives businesses an opportunity to reach people who would be specifically interested in buying their product. For instance, a new cellphone in the market can find it's potential customers if advertised on a technology or a social networking site.

Quick Conversion
One of the foremost advantages of Internet advertising is that the conversion time of the advertisement into a sale is very less. Most of the advertisements on the Internet have links which allow the customers to purchase the product then and there. This in a way hikes the sales and profits of any given business.

Highly Informative
From the consumer point of view, one of the advantages of advertising on the Internet is that they can know in detail about the product, its features, durability, method of use, etc. With some advertisements, there are consumer reviews available which help a customer to make an informed decision with regards to buying a product.

Cost Effective
Another of the advantages of Internet advertising is that it is very cost effective. With other mediums of advertising, be it television or print, you can not say for sure whether the customer who is watching or reading the advertisement is actually going to buy the product. But through "pay per click advertising", a marketer is actually paying only when the potential customer visits his website or looks through the product that is being sold. So, comparing from this point of view, Internet advertising costs are much less.

Easy to Use
All type of businesses, even the ones which have just started out, will find advertising on the Internet much easier. With other advertising mediums such as television and print, businesses need to hire the services of an advertising agency to create appropriate advertisements for them and also to buy advertisement space in newspapers or televisions. With web advertising, all these headaches do not exist. So, one of the main Internet advertising advantages is that even a business which is just a day old can advertise it's products and services online, by starting it's own website.

These are some of the advantages of Internet advertising. Although, this advertising technique is not without it's own share of flaws. On the Internet, there is a very high potential of a customer being fooled into buying a product which is not even remotely similar to what the product details given in the advertisement make it out to be. Moreover, there are very high chances that the potential customers might miss the advertisement while surfing the Internet. Nevertheless, in spite of these drawbacks, in this age of Internet, advertising online is one of the growing mediums to watch out for!

Web Advertising

With targeting technologies, the discovery of search by major advertisers, and real measurement and planning tools, the Internet is ready to fulfill its early promises of effectiveness, reach and trackability. - Gary Stein

In today's business world, advertising is considered to be a very important part of carrying out a deal, be it on a small scale or a large scale basis. It is beneficial for the producers, middlemen, as well as the consumers. Manufacturers use advertising for informing consumers about the products they are offering, middlemen use it for earning income from the marketing services, whereas the consumers get to know which products are most suitable to them. There are many forms of advertisements, such as banner advertising, radio advertising, TV commercials, pamphlets, Internet advertising, and others. The latest and the most effective one is web advertising. Let us talk more about web advertising.

What is Web Advertising?

As the name suggests, web advertisement is a process in which product advertising is done using the world wide web. There are many top ranking websites on the Internet, looking at which manufacturers get in touch with the owners and pay for posting their product's advertisements on the sites. Since Internet users are increasing day by day the world over, more people tend to read the advertisements, which eventually increases product sales. The revenue generation is done with regards to several different concepts like pay per click, pay per visitor, cost per mille, etc.

Pay per click relates to when the manufacturer pays the website as per every click on the advertisement. Pay per visitor means the rate that is paid owing to the number of visitors to the advertisement. Cost per mille is counted when the manufacturer pays the amount considering one thousand times the loading of the advertisements. There are many such concepts present in the world of web advertising. Email advertising is also a significant part of web advertising. Let us get to know about the advantages of advertising on the web.

Advantages of Advertising on the Web

The main advantage of web advertising is that it is one of the most efficient mediums for marketing products and services. Traditional advertising methods may be useful only till certain geographical areas, but this type of advertising extends to countries all over the world. Advertising via the Internet is also a good way of presenting the product graphically or visually, which interests most web users. As web advertising costs are flexible, it is a very affordable option for small scale companies to advertise their businesses. This method normally gives more information about the products than other conventional methods. Read on to know more about the web advertising rates.

Web Advertising Rates

Web advertisement rates are not so easy to determine as there are many factors which affect the overall cost. The cost depends on many factors, say whether it is an audio ad, video commercial, splash advertisement, or just a wallpaper with details. Most of the advertising websites have a contract of pay per thousand, by which the overall cost is calculated. It is reported that pay per mille advertisements cost around $10 to $20. Some sites may even offer free web advertising, just for the sake of attracting advertisers. Other determining factors are cost per click and cost per lead. The ranking of the website also matters a lot in finding out the cost and generating business using Internet advertising.

This was a brief information on web advertising. A majority of consumers now depend on web advertising to get useful product information. Same goes for the manufacturers as well, who employ web advertising strategies to market their goods and services.

How to Advertise your Small Business Online

The Internet is perhaps the most cost effective and wide reaching means of advertising today, and with the number of worldwide Internet users rising steadily, this is a realm that holds much optimism for business owners. Smaller businesses are mandatorily restricted to smaller advertising budgets, so they need to make the most out of any channel that they get. The Internet represents a completely risk free and low resource utilizing medium that is very easy to tackle.

A small business owner can undertake a number of Internet advertising methods on his own, or he can hire a team of specialists to do the same for him. Either way, the objective should be to make the company's presence felt in various different forums and to get people talking about the company and the services and the products that it offers.

Ways to Advertise Small Businesses Online

If you really want to know how to advertise your small business online, then you need to understand the dynamics of your targeted segment and the kind of websites and portals that they visit. Internet marketing also has a firm design and blueprint behind it, and it is necessary to stick to this plan. You also need to understand the concepts of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as this will enable the content of your website to rank higher on search engine results, thus improving your visibility. And yes, you will most certainly need a website. This is something you can achieve with minimal costs, so do not even think twice about creating a website since this is the best way to advertise a small business. With that said, here are some tried and tested ways to advertise your small business over the Internet.

Use Social Networks
Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have more than 700 million users combined, and these are breeding grounds for advertisers. You will have to negotiate a revenue sharing model with the network itself, but the exposure that you will get will be immense. You can target the age groups and profiles that you feel match your potential customers, and you can spread information and awareness about your business. Social media marketing is the new buzzword in the marketing world, and you must act soon to exploit the potential this provides.

Maintain and Update Blogs
The objective here is to convince people that your company is an entity, and this can be achieved by creating and maintaining a blog on a regular basis. This can be done for free, and it allows the users to connect with your business on a more personal level. The first rule of marketing is to connect with your customers, and a blog is the perfect platform to achieve this.

Online Classified Ads
There is no better way to gain exposure than to be present when the customer really needs the service that you provide. By registering with classified ads online and other Internet marketing monitoring systems, you will ensure that your name will arise when the customer carries out a search. Some of these platforms needs to be paid for, whereas some are free. The free platforms will only hold your ads for a limited period of time though, so you will need to keep updating your ads on a regular basis.

Chat Rooms and Forums
You can hire a team of a few people to regularly visit chat rooms and forums and talk about your company and your services. This advertising will be completely free of cost and it will give you a great deal of exposure. You can even solve some people's problems online, and this will build your goodwill in their eyes. The process of branding and image building is a continuous process, and the Internet provides you with various methods in which you can achieve this goal.

Emailers
Everyone who uses the Internet has an email address, and if you can convince them to give you their email address you can create a massive database of existing and potential customers. You can regularly send them email based ads which are very simple to design, and the best part of this OTL (Over The Line) advertising technique is that the customer feels like he is getting personalized attention. This builds a relationship with him and eventually aids your business.

There are many companies and individuals who are adept and well versed with digital marketing and online advertising. You can enlist the help of such parties and have them carry out all these tasks for you as well. Marketing over the Internet has changed the dynamics and the concept of the term completely, as it gives you access to an individual every time he goes online. Moreover, the negligible costs involved make this a very attractive proposition for small businesses who are operating on a shoestring budget.

Advantages of Online Advertising

Cut the comedy. In all seriousness, how did they catch lightning in a bottle? How did they blaze trails and set records? They established new benchmarks, and not to forget, left their footprints of sagaciousness so that you could take an advantage of their footsteps to success. Here, we talk about those magicians who turned the Internet into a battleground of merchandise, and won with pride. Was it words? Was it ideas? Or observation? In my view, it was their long-perceived vision that today, many aspiring advertisers are able to act upon the ideologies, and thus, breathe life into their own businesses. The advantages of online advertising are much, much more in number than you and me can think of. The routes of minting money may have been a tad different, but the end result? The end result was a successful business and nothing else.

Some wrote their success story with attracting unlimited traffic by hook or by crook, while others used sales-letters to create a prosperous empire. Some pulled thousands to their websites, while some created multiple streams of income on the Internet. Whatever they did, they did it through, and made the most of, the advantages of advertising on the web. Today, let us unveil those secrets. Let us get an idea of the benefits that this hurricane called the Internet has. Let us unriddle the enigma of advertising oneself online. Let us have dealings with the various advantages of online advertising.

Advantages of Online Advertisements

As an active youth, I have a new identity of existence: Facebook. For all ages, Internet, in the form of Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and what not, has turned into a major source of communication and entertainment. It won't come as a surprise to any Internet-savvy to know that the Internet has quite replaced the conventional media sources like television, newspapers, radio stations, etc. With due consideration to the myriad advantages of online ads and the benefits of online advertising, listed below are the key vantages of advertising on the Internet that serve the purpose of your search. Take a look at the many online advertising advantages and rewards.

Larger Target Audience
Post an ad in a newspaper, and only the city you dwell in will read it. Post an ad on the Internet, and you have the Internet embracing your service with arms wide open. Not only do you get more leads, but you also cover wider audience, with ultimately better results. Now, that is one hell of an advantage of Internet advertising!

Easy to Keep a Track of
It isn't that easy to track and measure the advertising figures in case of offline marketing. However, the Internet is full of effective analytic implements with the help of which, an advertiser can easily improvise his ads and ad campaigns, and easily devise new strategies to enhance the same.

Better Information
This is one of the biggest advantages of advertising on the Internet. You see, in case of online advertising, the advertiser has the capability of conveying more details with regards to the product he is selling, at a very low cost. However, if the same ad is supposed to be featured in a newspaper or a magazine, the advertiser is charged according to the number of words he puts in the ad. In case of advertising on the web, the advertising campaigns are usually comprised of a link that directs a user to a page where he can fetch all the information regarding the product.

Faster than Other Mediums
That's but obvious. When you use the medium of online advertising, you can start sending out your ads the moment you sign up for the campaign, unlike other sources of advertising, where you need to wait for the ad to display to the targeted audience. Not only does web advertising save time, it also helps you target a wider audience in lesser time, and at a comparatively lesser price. Isn't that a lucrative advantage of online advertising?

Lets Consumers Decide
You know, there's a benefit of online advertising - it lets consumers or viewers decide whether to view the advertisement at all or not. While he can contribute to the entire process of selling, he need not visit the advertisement if it doesn't interest him. However, if he does, his response can prove to be immensely beneficial to the ad developer, with the help of which, he can enhance his product and make it better.

You know, there's only a single principle of behavior that online advertising trails - the Internet, my dear friends, is too huge to be ignored. And why not? The above instanced advantages of online advertising speak of it as a package of big-buck opportunities waiting to be grabbed by those serious about their goals. It wouldn't be wrong to quote Internet advertising as a pot of gold which just needs to be dug out by a potential user, to make the most of the extreme benefits and huge rewards it enfolds within.

Internet Advertising Methods

As the Internet becomes an indispensable part of our lives, seeking attention through this electronic medium is an excellent way of riding the wave of business like success. This cheap medium of advertising is the fastest way of making your mark in the market and carving a niche for yourself. Effective advertising methods provide you with the ideal grounds for targeting specific groups. With only a split second to grab attention of the potential consumers, bold advertisements make a quick impression on the Internet surfing crowd. Although, getting a space to post your advertisements is easy in the virtual world, one needs to have a methodical approach while doing so. Read on to know what are some of the effective Internet advertising methods.

Web Advertising Methods

Social Media Platforms
Nothing beats the power of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Not only do these give identities to people the world over, but also bring them closer for a wide range of purposes. Search for a person or a company, and you will find only a six degrees of separation between the result and you. When such power is available so easily, one needs to use it responsibly to make the most of it. To advertise your product, services or your company on these platforms, you need to make its account, just as you would do it for yourself. Fill in the details and keep the page active with events, quizzes, pictures, and other updates. Suggest the page to more and more friends so that your social circle increases and you get more attention towards the cause. This modern advertising method is absolutely free and equally effective.

Pay Per Click
Pay per click or PPC is a method of online advertising, wherein the advertisers pay the hosting site only when the ad is clicked on. Search engines such as Yahoo, Bing and Google give you listings on the basis on every bid you make. If someone clicks on the bid you've got, then they are directed to your website. So, then you've got to pay the site who is hosting your ad on the basis on every click it gets. This is an excellent way of getting direct traffic to your site. Thus, the one time cost that you have to make, is paid off well in a couple of months.

Blogging
Make the most of the blogging fever while it is still high. Blogging can change your business by leaps and bounds. Use a web blog to give out the required information about your products and services every now and then. The biggest advantage of blogs is that they are meant for niche segments and hence its easier to please the crowd with relevant and specific advertisements. If your budget is really low, then using blogs to advertise is a cost efficient medium.

Email Marketing
Email marketing is another way using the Internet to market products at a low cost, but also in an effective way. Make a list of potential customers who would be interested in buying or subscribing to your products. Create an attractive mailer that can be sent out to these people, so that they can be informed about the products that are on sale. Try and include a few discounts and attractive offers to make the most of this advertising move. This way, one can communicate with customers on a regular basis.

Internet advertising methods help nascent businesses to make a mark in the market. It gives you the chance to meet a billion people in one go or meet a specific kind of crowd at a time. The Internet has given mass communication a whole new meaning. Those who aspire to make their business ventures a success story, have got to make the most of this modest form of advertising.

How to Calculate CPM

In the advertising world there are several methods that companies use in order to calculate the finances involved and the allocation of the advertising budget as well. It does not make sound financial sense to simply spend money on advertising without any limitations, so it is absolutely necessary to make a proper plan of the channels in which the money will be spent, and to also ascertain the sources of revenue and the manner in which it is distributed.

CPM used to be known as Cost Per Mille in the conventional advertising world, and in some cases, it still refers to that. But online advertising has now become the primary concern of many advertisers, and this is where this concept is most applicable today. In the online advertising world, CPM refers to Cost Per Thousand Impressions, and this is a means of calculating how much money is being spent on a specific campaign in order to complete 1,000 different actions.

The 'action' mentioned here differs from company to company, and from campaign to campaign. For advertisers who regularly indulge in outdoor advertising on a large scale, an action or an 'impression' can signify someone looking at the advertisement and making an inquiry about it. In the online world, an impression can mean clicking on the ad, or filling out a form, or recommending someone else's email address or actually buying a certain product or service.

What Does CPM Mean in Internet Advertising

Before we get into details about how to calculate CPM, we should understand its significance in the advertising world. Every ad campaign is set into motion with the sole purpose of getting large viewership and attracting as many customers as possible, but it is also necessary for the advertisers to know how cost effective the campaign is. If a campaign is costing too much and getting in too little revenue, it needs to be scrapped. On the other hand, if a campaign is very cost effective and is getting a huge response for little outlay, the advertiser should make the most of the situation.

In the world of Internet advertising, the actual money spent is quite less. This is exactly the reason why it has become such a popular method of reaching out to people. The method of ascertaining the efficiency of Internet advertising has changed over the years, and so has the method of payment between the advertiser and the publisher. Today, CPA (Cost Per Action) has overtaken the concept of Pay Per Click (PPC) in this world, and there are sure to be many changes in the future.

In Internet advertising, there is a better chance of a larger number of people seeing an ad so it is necessary to calculate the cost efficiency of the campaign, so that the advertiser can keep Internet advertising costs as low as possible. Each view of the ad may lead to certain actions, and it is completely in the hands of the advertiser to decide what action qualifies as applicable for him to calculate CPM.

How to Calculate CPM

Calculating CPM is a rather simple task, but it needs some reliable data and numbers in order to be calculated easily. Say there is a particular ad campaign that makes 100,000 impressions through various mediums including the Internet, and it costs $500 for the campaign to be set into motion. The first thing to do will be to calculate the number of units of advertising, which is calculated as the number of impressions divided by 1,000. In this case, the number of units will be 100,000 / 1,000, which is equal to 100. Now dividing the money spent with this figure will give you the CPM. Hence in this case the CPM is 500 / 100, or $5. Thus the cost of making 1,000 impressions to the company is $5. You can also lay down a simple formula for calculating CPM as follows:

CPM = Total money spent / Number of impressions by the thousand

CPM is a very necessary tool for advertisers from all around the world. Not only does it let one check the effectiveness of a particular campaign, it also lets one compare the effectiveness of different mediums when compared with each other. This information ultimately helps advertisers strategize their campaigns, and this is why learning how to calculate CPM is so important for advertisers.

Types of Online Advertising

Advertising has undergone a sea change since its inception, not only in its methods, but also in its medium. Online advertising has become a widely sought complement (if not an alternative) to other forms of advertising. And even within online advertising, there are different types that aim at reaching different clientele by using different tactics, techniques, and even technologies. In this article, we will give you a glimpse of some of the major types of online advertising used.

Online Advertising Types

What are the different types of advertising that are used by people who market their services or products online? Given below are some of the major types into which one can categorize online advertising.

Banner
The first and relatively widely used type of online advertising is a banner ad. You may have noticed a strip (horizontal or vertical) highlighting a particular company’s name, services, and tag line at the top, bottom or sides of the web page. This is a banner ad and its size depends on the space that the company gets on a website.

Pop Ups
This is another quite a familiar type of online advertising. When you visit a particular website, you are sometimes warned by your browser about it having blocked a pop up. At other times, as soon as you enter a website, before you can view the content you wish to, you are made to view a pop up ad of a particular company. This type of online advertising is considered invasive and hence browsers are enabled with blockers.

Email or Newsletter
Using email and newsletters can be termed as merely an advancement of snail mail. Following the same principle of picking random postal addresses, email ads target email addresses that may have been entered on a site that may cater to a need the user may have felt at some point of time or completely random ones. Newsletters however are mostly sent to those users who subscribe them.

Video Ads
You are sure to have come across video ads at least a couple of times a day, if you’re an avid Internet surfer. These ads are quite similar to television commercials. They are in video format and need to be loaded and played when clicked. These are high quality videos and are very popular on video sharing websites.

Classifieds
Noticed classified ads in newspapers? Well, now just put that on a web page, and you have the same effect, just in color and a little bit more attractive. These companies too have to buy ad space on a web page, just like they do in newspapers.

Pay Per Click (PPC)
By far, the most widely used and quite effective method of online advertising is the Pay Per Click one. This system will generate and display ads that are based on what information the user has entered in the search engine. For instance, if you happen to be searching for shampoo, immediately above the search results, you’ll see links taking you to a hair care website. Revenue is generated, as the name goes, per click. It can be very useful for making money, but needs to be managed rather carefully.

Floating
A rather annoying form of online advertising (and I say this only because I’ve experienced it myself) is a floating ad. These ads will actually ‘float’ over your content, or above or below it as you view the web page. They will hover until you close them. But do they get your notice? You bet!

Takeover
This type of online advertising does exactly what its name suggests. It ‘takes over’ the web page and consecutive pages of the same website all throughout your duration there. It begins as a huge ad on the first page, and the ad, in various sizes and forms keep reminding you about it!

Contextual Ads
The next time you enter a search phrase in your search engine and get redirected to a website, notice the ads that appear on the sides, top or bottom of the page. If they’re related to what you’ve searched for, then the advertiser most probably uses the contextual form of advertising, which involves browsing the content and search phrases to generate relevant and related ads.

Roughly stated, these are the most popularly used types of online advertising. So, if you’re looking to advertise on a website, you can decide what the most efficient way to get to your target audience is. And if you’re simply browsing through, you know what form of advertising you’re seeing on numerous websites!

IMF and World Bank: Differences

If you have difficulty distinguishing between the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; fear not, for you aren't alone. Many people have only a slight idea of what these institutions do and would not be able to differentiate between the two. Even J.M. Keynes, a founding father of the two institutions and considered the most brilliant economist of the twentieth century, admitted that he was confused with the words 'Fund' and 'Bank' as both are a form of one another. The confusion between the two terms still prevail. Let us first try to understand a little about these two financial institutions.

World Bank

The World Bank is one of the two major financial institutions created as a result of the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. It was formed on 27 December, 1945, in Washington D.C. The World Bank provides technical and financial assistance to underdeveloped nations for development schemes like building roads, schools, hospitals, etc. The main aim is to eliminate poverty from the world. A total of 185 countries are members of the World Bank, which is currently headed by Robert B. Zoellick. The World Bank Group is the parent organization of the World Bank.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The IMF was formally organized on 27 December, 1945, and as in the case of the World Bank, is headquartered in Washington D.C. The main goal of the IMF is to foster global monetary cooperation, improve international trade, promote employment, secure financial stability and reduce poverty. It looks after the macroeconomic policies, particularly the impact on exchange rates and balance of payments. The IMF, like the World Bank, offers financial assistance to poor countries, making it an international lender of last resort. Presently, the International Monetary Fund is headed by Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Some Important Differences are as follows:

International Monetary Fund	World Bank
Oversees the monetary system of the world.	Promotes economic development in underdeveloped countries.
Promotes exchange relations and stability among its member countries.	Helps underdeveloped countries by providing long-term financing for development projects.
Adds to the currency reserves of its member countries through allocation of special drawing rights (SDRs).	Encourages private enterprises in developing countries through International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is a sub-part of the IMF.
Assists all its member countries that are in temporary balance of payments difficulties by providing them short- to medium-term credits.	Provides special finances to poor countries that have a per capita Gross National Product (GNP) less than $865 a year.
Financial resources come from the fixed quota subscriptions of its member countries.	Financial resources are acquired by borrowing on the international bond market.
Has about fully paid-in quotas totaling $215 billion.	Has authorized capital of $184 billion, of which members pay in 10 percent.
Has a total staff of 2,300 from 185 countries.	Has a staff of 7,000 from 185 countries.

Both these institutions were formed with two aims in mind: one, to help underdeveloped countries and two, to eradicate poverty from the world. They have been working closely together to achieve these aims since their inception.