We all know why Facebook is topping the charts.  With over millions of visitors a day, Facebook sure knows its way into the social media frenzy.  We have come to know Facebook as one of the major portals of social connectivity but other than that, Facebook is leading us into a different world called Facebook marketing.

What Facebook marketing offers matter to people’s businesses; which is why as a Global Marketing Specialist for Voiceville, we utilize Facebook to connect to thousands of people worldwide.  Not only that, we literally make friends with everybody.  Facebook is here for a reason; businessmen take advantage of this social medium to engage or to use it as an outlet to feel a social vibe.

With the help of Facebook, we allow people to be who they are and we indulge in their interests to show that we respect their individualism.  Here are some tips for those planning to jump in the Facebook circus.

1. Acknowledging Connections – Getting to know who you connect with is the touch base of Facebook marketing.  Without the establishment of that connection, you defeat its purpose.  Treat it the same way that the rest of the world does.
2. Avoid Selling as a Greeting – We all know how annoying it can be when a stranger comes up to us and says “Hi, why don’t you buy some of our products!”   No one, not even those who sleep with marketing ideas on their head can achieve anything productive using this method.  Never compel people into buying anything just yet.  They will need it when the right time comes.  Meanwhile, do what you can to inform them of anything that actually relates to their interests in life.  You never know, it will be them who will come after you and not the other way around.
3. Follow Through – Just because you already made connections, that does not mean you stop from there.  Always update yourself and your friends in Facebook.  Utilize the news feed or the Wall to know what is going on and see how you can target that as a meeting point.  That way, you can market efficiently without losing their attention.  Keyword? Magnetize.

Remember, Facebook knows how to land the plane.  Our role in that is to be the landing strip so the plane gets to where it should be.  Lastly, never underestimate the power of making connections because we believe that it can move mountains.

Being a full time student, an incoming fourth year- with internships and thesis in the picture- and a full time and self supporting global marketing specialist, the Samsung GT B3310 is of great help to my sanity. The features are fit to match a very busy and active lifestyle.

The four-line QWERTY keypad enables fast text messaging and easy handling with its compact body. Menu navigation is a breeze with its optional home screen shortcut tool bar, enabling you to access messaging, music, calendar, alarms, and other key features. The keypad is comfortable and is amazingly responsive. The numeric keys running alongside the screen is perfect for fast numeric typing in messaging when the QWERTY keypad is slid open.

Like most mobile phones, Samsung GT B3310 offers a calendar feature which allows you to keep track of appointments, dates and meetings.  Its music player is compatible with MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA.

But unlike most phones, it offers variety of Social Networking Services support. And it also provides multiple IM Support through Fring feature. Because of the invention of Facebook and the effectiveness of Facebook Marketing, my job has become easier. I can easily access my accounts on the go. Unlike most phones that boast of a full QWERTY keyboard, the Samsung GT B3310 really has a full QWERTY keypad. You can access numbers without having to press other keys.

The phone camera is a 2MP camera with multiple shooting modes. But the quality of the pictures is great for such a specification. When photographs are transferred and uploaded, you will find quality shots. Having ocular visits to sites and documenting them for my thesis study has become fun with the phone. The phone also supports video recording up to QVGA 15 fps.

The phone also has a Fake Call feature which allows me to get out of awkward conversations. When activated, I receive an automated call and hear a recording of my choice. You can opt to record a seemingly real person (perhaps you will use a different voice) and click on the option menu after saving the file and set it to Fake Call. You can assign a button for this- either the north or south key so you can activate it conveniently and convincingly. For an affordable phone such as the Samsung GT B3310, the performance is surprisingly amazing. It can last up to 2 days with non stop text and almost 7 hours call time. With light to moderate use, it can go up to 96 hours. For the audio quality, it is better than most expensive phones.

Being constantly on the run between work and school, the Samsung GT B3310 has become my partner, a sturdy phone to help me keep a steady grip on my priorities.

Microsoft has announced a licensing agreement with HTC for its mobile phone patents that gives HTC access to “broad coverage” under Microsoft’s patent portfolio. HTC will pay Microsoft royalties for the Android phones it sells. This agreement comes in the shadow of Apple suing HTC for patent infringement, a move widely believed to be aimed at Google and Android. Analysts are already stating that this deal between HTC and Microsoft is aimed at defusing the Apple suit, but a statement by the Microsoft legal team implies it’s merely HTC avoiding a similar infringement claim by Redmond.

No details have been provided by Microsoft nor HTC as to which technologies are covered under this agreement. A look at Microsoft’s IP licensing program sheds some light as to the likely ones:
Exchange ActiveSync: HTC was the first Android phone maker including full support for interacting with Exchange Servers. This is almost certainly included in this licensing deal.
ClearType: Technology yielding crisper display of text on LCD screens.

There are no doubt many other patented technologies that are included under the HTC/Microsoft agreement, given the “broad coverage” claimed by both companies.

The statement by Microsoft that Android was infringing on its patents, and the subsequent deal with HTC, may spell big trouble for Google and the platform. Other Android phone makers now must make a determination if handsets produced likely infringe on either Microsoft or Apple technology. This may turn the semi-open platform into one as full of potential holes as Swiss cheese.

source: jkontherun.com

When Facebook first revealed it would share personal profile information with third-party partner sites, users and privacy advocates voiced concerns and anger.

Now a U.S. Senator wants the Federal Trade Commission, the agency that protects consumers from advance-fee schemes, deceptive marketing practices and credit card scams, to consider if federal guidelines are necessary to protect social media site users from privacy violations.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said he asked the FTC to examine the privacy disclosures of social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace to make sure they are not misleading or failing to “fully disclose the extent to which they share information.”

He also urged the FTC to provide guidelines for use of private information and prohibit access without user permission.

“It’s vitally important that safeguards are in place that provide users with control over their personal information to ensure they don’t receive unwanted solicitations,” Schumer said. “At the same time, social networking sites need to provide easy to understand disclosures to users on how information they submit is being shared.”

Prior permission access would reverse Facebook’s current controversial plan for third-party site sharing, what the top social network’s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls Open Graph.

Users now have to “opt out” of third-party sharing in what Schumer describes as a complicated and confusing process.

Already in effect with a few partner sites, Facebook’s Open Graph alerts Facebook users visiting third-party sites that friends share their interests across the web, such as a favorite musical act, restaurant or news outlet. The new platform also allows third-party sites to tailor specific information to a visiting Facebook user.

Schumer said that if the FTC “believes it does not have the tools or authority to issue guidelines on privacy disclosures,” he would be willing to offer legislation.

source: ecreditdaily.com

Voiceville Communications, Inc.

would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to

Paul Jake Castillo

For winning the PBB Double Up Second Big Placer

Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up, the third regular season of Pinoy Big Brother,  began on October 4, 2009 on ABS-CBN .

Let’s face it; these complaints have made it difficult for you to look in the mirror and utter the words “It’s been a good day today”.  You’re not the only one dealing with these endless complaints because they are every man’s worst waking nightmare.  They don’t just go away; not unless you give it a big punch in the face in order to take back what’s rightfully yours: a well-balanced life.

The inability to juggle time on your hands: business, family, sports, or some me-time.  It could even be a combination of all these but unfortunately, you always get tangled in the same web, which makes success even harder to achieve and life bearable to live.  Admit it, it gets tougher every time and you squeak insanely like an unfed child because IT’S JUST REALLY FRUSTRATING.  No matter what you do, your time just isn’t enough. And your pessimism just smothers you all over again.  Now you need to escape from the cudgels of schedule mismanagement. As they say, “Desperate times call for desperate measures”.

But don’t despair; it’s not too late to make amends with your good old self.  The reason why you’re even reading this is because you believe in second chances.  Voiceville not only provides the illusion that you actually have a second chance: you can have the realization of taking control back in your hands. We also believe in guts and the perseverance to move forward; but sometimes, guts and perseverance aren’t enough! This is where we come in.

The choice is now yours. You can either go on and complain, or you can do something about it. With Voiceville at your side, you can see the better light of day.

The guy who used to work as a web technology consultant has been named as one of Inc Magazine’s 30 Under 30, Forbes’ Top 25 Web Celebrities and the Huffington Posts’ Top 10 Game Changers 2009.

If you are thinking of starting a new business or venturing into a new strategy, doing market research enables the company to save on loses; it determines if there is enough demand in the market to ensure sufficient profit.

Others also depend on market research to communicate better with customers. The quantity and quality of input you get from them, the more you will be able to address what needs to be addressed, and you will also be able to assess your company’s strengths and weaknesses through and by how your customers see your service / product. It helps one measure the company’s progress. Defining one’s market also helps a company discover new markets.

Market research is not simple. It requires time, effort, and the expertise. Most of all, it cost money. As a response, many businesses now choose to outsource rather than having it in-house in order to cut on cost, ensure expertise, and save the company of having to hire and train personnel to do the task.

Cebu City once again clinched the top spot in the latest Global Services and Tholons survey on the top 50 “emerging global outsourcing destinations” worldwide.

The 2009 survey listed Cebu as No. 1 based on scale and quality of workforce, infrastructure, business catalyst, risk profile, cost and quality of life.

This is the second time Cebu City ranked first in the survey, which has been running since 2007. Cebu ranked fourth in the first survey and later climbed to the first spot in 2008.

However, in the big picture of top global outsourcing sites, Indian cities occupy the top three slots – Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai – followed by Manila or NCR (National Capital Region).

Tourism Secretary Joseph “Ace” Durano, in an interview, said this victory is another positive development for tourism as it creates a multiplier effect.

“More BPOs opening in the Philippines will mean more young people will be employed. This, in turn, will boost domestic travel as the young people of the country today are the ones exploring the (different places in the) country,” he told Cebu Daily News in a text message.

Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo said the result “greatly enhances the image of Cebu as an island of talented and hardworking people.” this positive image, he said, will encourage tourists to continue visiting the city.

Jun Saa, vice president for operations of Robinland Inc., said the challenge for Cebu is to continuously improve itself to attract more investments.

The company’s Robinland Information Technology/Business Process Outsourcing (IT/BPO) is located at the Mandaue Reclamation Area

With a booming infrastructure base, Saa said the best asset to improve on is the workforce quality and quantity. He also cited the readiness of middle managers in carrying out more complicated roles, which poses a challenge for most BPO companies based in the city.

“We lack talents in this area. Since this is a (relatively) young industry, we lack experienced people to handle the jobs of middle managers,” said Saa.

He said the shortfall can be addressed through further training and education, and more strategic industry-academe linkage.

He said a concrete example is the recent initiative of the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-IT) in bringing to Cebu training modules from Harvard University to facilitate online learning of managers from BPO companies.

He said the latest survey will hopefully encourage more investments to pour into Cebu.

Wilson Ng, Ng Khai chief executive officer, said it was good for Cebu to have maintained the top rank for two years in a row.

“For sure that will be a boost to Cebu’s reputation as the place to be,” Ng said in a text message to CDN.

Ng said that Cebu is strong in customer service orientation, and adaptability to English languages, primarily in the ability to speak “American” English .

“We also have an attitude that endears us to customers.”

Ng, however, said that Cebuanos need to improve in basic education, quality of English and information technology instructions.

“The take up rate of applicants still can be improved,” he said.

“I believe what some BPOs are saying, that we are weak in middle management. This is due mainly to the brain drain, where people who have more than 5 years experience can, and usually migrate abroad, leaving us with a weak middle management layer,” he added.

Ng also suggested that entrepreneurs can continue training programs and continue to market Cebu properly as well as continue to boost s skills, attitudes and confidence to help maintain Cebu’s reputation as the best emerging city for BPOs.

Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sam Chioson said that the organization is glad that combined efforts of the private and government sector are paying off in putting Cebu at the forefront of the BPO industry.

“As our vibrant BPO industry has cushioned us from the effects of the global economic crisis, we expect that this accolade will further help boost the Cebu economy as more IT players take a second look at Cebu as an ideal location for their businesses.”

He said more locators mean more jobs and new opportunities for related businesses.

This is the third year that industry publication, Global Services and strategic investment advisory firm, Tholons published detailed analysis on the world’s top 50 emerging outsourcing destinations.

In its website, Tholons said an 80-page detailed report on the 2009 results will be published by the end of October.

Following Cebu in second and third places are the cities of Shanghai and Beijing of the People’s Republic of China, which also retained the same ranking as last year’s.

The cities of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and Krakow in Poland also remained in fourth and fifth places.

Source: www.globalnation.inquirer.com

1. Does the company have credibility? Does the company have a good and solid track record? Financial stability and good credentials are the key words here. Is the company you’re considering financially stable and secure?

2. Do they have the expertise for the task at hand? Ask the company for samples. Communicating this early will help you better understand if they can match you expectations. Account management is another thing to consider. How will your account be managed?

3. Are they strategically located? Infrastructure and technology is the name of the game here so this is crucial.

4. Are you culturally compatible? Before you even partner make sure that this company understands you and your company. Take a good look at their vision and mission.