According to YouTube trends, the top ten trending videos for the week ending November 19, 2011 are:
Marcel, The Shell With Shoes On, Two
Voiced by former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Jenny Slate, Marcel has a book and TV show coming out.
Damien Walters 2011 Official Showreel
Damien Walters is a former British gymnast specializing in tumbling. He is also a stunt performer appearing in films such as Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Ninja Assassin, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Eagle, Steven Spielberg’s I Am Number Four, Blitz, Colombiana, and Captain America: The First Avenger.
Brave Trailer
Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land in this Pixar film.
Rebecca Black – Person Of Interest
Rebecca Black is a pop singer who gained media attention with her YouTube hit “Friday” which many critics referred to as the “worst song ever”.
Jorian Ponomareff – Drift
Jorian Ponomareff is considered the best stunt rider in the world.
TEDxManhattanBeach – Thomas Suarez – iPhone Application Developer… and 6th Grader
Thomas Suarez is a 6th grade student at a middle school in the South Bay of Los Angeles. When Apple released the Software Development Kit (SDK), he began to create and sell his own applications.
Little girl VS Beatbox Champion
A little girl outdoes a champion beatboxer on the street.
Replay XD1080 – 462 in the Speed Demon
A 462 mph speed run filmed with Replay XD1080
My daughter has chosen the Dark Side
An adorable little girl and her evil laugh.
Catvertising
Catvertising is the wave of the future. Get on board or get left behind.
Sarasota County Facts
Sarasota County Facts
-According to US Census data, Sarasota County had an approximate population of 379,448 in 2010.
-The population of Sarasota County increased by approximately 16.4% from 2000 to 2010.
-Between 2005 and 2009 28.9% of Sarasota County residents possessed a Bachelor’s degree or higher which is above the 25.6% overall in Florida.
-Between 2005 and 2009 89.9% of Sarasota County residents possessed a high school diploma which is higher than the state rate of 84.9%.
-In 2010 there were 228,413 housing units in Sarasota County.
-Between 2005 and 2009 the homeownership rate in Sarasota County was 77.4% which was higher than the state ownership rate of 69.7%.
-Between 2005 and 2009 the median home value in Sarasota County was $243,000 compared to $211,300 across the state of Florida.
-In 2009 the median household income in Sarasota County was $45,953 compared to $44,755 statewide.
-In 2010 the land area of Sarasota County in square miles was 555.87.
-In 2010 the population per square mile was 682.6 compared to 350.6 for the state of Florida.
-The federal information processing standard or FIPS code for Sarasota County is 115.
-On September 11, 2001 President George W. Bush was visiting an elementary school in Sarasota when the 9/11 attacks took place.
History
In the early 16th century Europeans first explored the area with the first contact being recorded in 1513 when the Spanish landed at Charlotte Harbor.
The name Sarasota was taken from the Spanish name for the area, Zara Zote, which appeared on maps starting in the early 18th century. European settlers came to the area in large numbers starting in the late 1840s.
Sarasota County was established in 1921 after having first been part of Hillsborough County and then Manatee County.
Public Transportation
Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) – Public transportation provider for all of Sarasota County.
Airports
Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport - Located between Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida it is shared by Sarasota County and Manatee County.
Venice Municipal Airport - A city-managed public use airport located in Venice, Florida.
Elementary and High School Education
Sarasota County Public Schools – A public school district representing all of Sarasota County grades K-12.
Colleges
New College of Florida - A public liberal arts college located in Sarasota, FL it was originally a private college but is now part of the State University System of Florida.
University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee - Local branch of the University of South Florida.
Ringling College of Art and Design - A private, 4-year art and design college located in Sarasota, Florida.
Newspapers
Sarasota Herald Tribune – A daily newspaper owned by the New York Times Company and located in Sarasota, Florida.
Venice Gondolier Sun - local newspaper in Venice, Florida.
The Observer – local newspaper in Sarasota, Florida.
Television
WWSB ABC 7 – local ABC station located in Sarasota, Florida.
Radio
WSLR-LP (96.5 FM, “WSLR-LPFM”) - a listener-supported, non-profit LPFM radio station based in Sarasota, Florida.
Tampa SEO – Local Blog List
Blog posting is a great way to drive traffic to a web page and share information and ideas with other people.
If your marketing plan is focused on local customers, interacting on local blogs can bring valuable local users to your website. It’s also a lot of fun.
Here is a list of local Tampa area blogs that you can connect with:
- United Way of Tampa Bay
- Tampa Theatre’s Blog
- Cowbell Posse
- Tasting Tampa
- Interior Design Blog
- Tampa Bay Brewing Company
- Billy’s Beer Blog
- APABA Tampa Bay
- What’s Up Tampa Bay
- Scallywag Journeys
- Pineapple Press
- Tumblebus Tampa
- Occupy Tampa
- Carlos Eats
Tampa Marketing Opportunities
Are you a business in the Tampa area looking to increase your customer base?. There are several marketing opportunities that can help you secure new customers and increase awareness of your brand.
Paid Web Advertisement
This category includes Google Adsense ads, Facebook ads, paid directories, banner ads, pay per click ads and other forms of paid web marketing.
According to Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Interactive Advertising Bureau, in the first half of 2011 internet ad revenues rose to a record $14.9 billion.
Add this to recent data that points out U.S. consumers are spending the same time online as they are watching television and you have a powerful argument for paid web advertising. Targeted and efficient this form of marketing is the best way to recoup your return on investment.
To place a web advertisement that is locally targeted visit Google Adwords, Facebook Ads or Yahoo Advertising Solutions.
Website/Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization includes structuring a website in a way that efficiently displays your targeted keywords to the search engines. It also includes the marketing activities undertaken to gain valuable links back to your website that improve your search engine rankings.
Search Engine Optimization starts with a careful analysis of keywords that are relevant to your business. By weighing the search engine traffic and competition level of those keywords you can make an informed decision about which specific keywords to target with your SEO activities.
In the Tampa Bay area there are many opportunities for search engine traffic and in many cases the competition level is reasonable. Using keyword tools such as Google Adwords, keyword ideas can provide useful information on what people are searching for and what the competition level for those keywords are. For best results hire an SEO company.
Social Media
Social Media accounts for one out of every six minutes spent online in the United States. Facebook is approaching 700 million users and 13% of online adults use twitter, up from 8% last year. If you are looking to find new customers the power of social media cannot be understated. Social media networks you should be interacting on include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, Tumblr and Groupon.
Television
Television is the fastest way to market your product or service to the largest number of people. Television is also the most expensive form of advertising and is not an efficient way to reach your target market.
Viewership of television advertising is also rapidly dropping due to viewers having more options and the advent of the DVR. If you can afford the upfront cost of this form of marketing the short term increase in business may be worth it but test your results before committing long term.
For local television advertisement visit Brighthouse Media Strategies.
Radio
According to the lastest Arbitron Ratings the top 5 rated stations in Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater in order are: WDUF-FM 105.5, WXGL-FM 107.3, WRBQ-FM 104.7, WWRM-FM 94.9, and WFLZ-FM 93.3.
The advantages of marketing on the radio are that it is relatively inexpensive compared to traditional broadcast media and there is a large population of people who listen to the radio on a daily basis.
The disadvantages are that radio is mostly listened to during the morning and afternoon leaving a large gap where a smaller number of people are listening. Also, because there are so many options the listening audience is fragmented, requiring companies to buy several radio stations to reach a broad audience.
Print Advertising
Print advertising includes local or regional newspapers and magazines with ads running daily, weekly and monthly. Although print media has and will continue to take a huge hit as consumers increasingly get their information from the web it is still a viable and trusted way of marketing your product or service.
The St. Petersburg Times reports a circulation of 400,306 readers for its Sunday paper with an overall readership of 984,800. The Tampa Tribune reports a circulation of 257,393 with a readership of 644,11. For a full list of ad rates visit the 2011 St. Petersburg Times ROP Rates or the 2011 Tampa Tribune advertising rates.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is an excellent way to stay in touch with customers and present a frequent stream of offers and updates about your company, products and services. Email marketing can be very rewarding but unless you have web design experience and the proper software to manage your email hire a web design company that has experience with email marketing.
Direct Mail
Direct mail offers some ability to target a specific demographic for your ads and is an easy way to get instant feedback about the success of your marketing efforts. Direct mail is most successful when associated with some type of coupon or giveaway that draws the recipient’s attention. For local direct mail advertising visit Valpack.
Billboard Advertising
According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, outdoor advertising includes more than 100 different formats and brought in revenues of $6.1 billion in the year 2010. The major categories of outdoor media are billboards, street furniture, transit, cinema, and alternative media. For local billboard advertising visit ClearChannel Outdoor.
The Four Principles of Web Design
There are four principles of web design that are vital to the creation of a website that is visually appealing and provides a positive user experience: repetition, contrast, proximity and alignment.
Repetition
Repetition refers to repeating visual elements throughout the design of your web page or logo. This repetition can apply to a number of different components such as color, font, images and other graphics.
Using a specific font just for headings and repeating this practice throughout all of the pages on a website would be an example of repetition. Repeating the heading, footer and navigation links on each page would be another example. Using repetition adds unity to a design and allows for improved user experience.
Contrast
Adding contrast to a design makes it more interesting, draws attention to important information and makes that information more scannable by the reader. Wherever text is present there should be an obvious difference between the background color and text color.
For instance, if a dark color is used for text the background color should be light and vice versa. The best content in the world will be glossed over by the reader if it does not draw their eye.
Proximity
Proximity means that in the design items that are related are grouped together and separated from other groups of items by space. Proximity adds to the user’s experience by giving logical clues as to how information is organized on the web page.
For example, on most web pages the navigation links are organized on one menu generally at the top of the page or in a sidebar. This grouping of information tells the reader that this is where to go in order to navigate throughout the site.
Alignment
Alignment refers to the organization of a web page so that each section or grouping of information is aligned with another element on the page. Information is not just thrown on the page in some random way. It is aligned in an organized way that is visually pleasing and draws attention to the information you want to present.
Applying these four principles of web design can be the difference between users glancing at your web page and moving on or taking an interest in the information you are trying to present.
From a business perspective this can mean the difference between the success or failure of your web presence. Be sure to look for and ask about these principles when planning for any web design project.
Steve Jobs Story One of Perseverance
The accolades, accomplishments and products are numerous but it is Steve Jobs the man that is so impressive to me and should be to anyone aspiring to do great things. From his 2005 speech to Stanford graduates:
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK…I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Many times it is failure and our response to it that defines us and Steve Jobs is a great example of that. Written off as a one hit wonder he proved that spirit and perseverance cannot be limited. I think he is a great example for anyone looking to become an entrepreneur or just to embrace the challenges of life.
HTML5 is a Flash Killer
Adobe announced today the arrival of its Flash Player 11 as well as Adobe Air 3 software to “enable the next generation of immersive application experiences across devices and platforms…” That sounds all well and good but when you look at reality which for Adobe is the emergence of HTML5, Adobe begins to sound like the guy who is about to get fired and everyone knows it but him.
Adobe Flash is a platform that adds video or animation to a web page, via a third-party plugin called flash player. Flash is generally used for advertisements, games and other animations. Adobe Air is a flash based platform for creating rich internet applications.
While some people enjoy flash animations on the web pages they visit there is a large group of web users who find flash animations to be annoying and intrusive and even reduce the usability of a web page. As a result many browsers allow you to disable flash content through a feature or extension of their software.
Flash has been taking punches for a while now having been banned from Apple’s IOS devices and replaced with HTML5. Flash is also not available on Windows Phones and Blackberry Phones and apparently Windows 8-based mobile devices.
HTML5 is different from flash in that it does not require a plugin such as flash player to render animations. Not having another application running is very important when you are talking about mobile devices with battery life and page load concerns. HTML5 is also a standards based, open language for presenting web content and is primed to be widely adopted as the interactive content option of choice.
Adobe is getting a pink slip and they just don’t know it. Apparently.
Free CSS Template: Wooden Style
Wooden Style is a business template with a strong focus on social media connection. This web design template was created using Xhtml and CSS. This template is free and can be used for any lawful purpose with no restrictions.
The wooden style business template can be easily customized to meet your company’s needs. This web design template contains all of the source file images, an HTML page and the CSS source file. If you have any questions about customizing or editing this template please contact us. Also, feel free to leave feedback if you find any errors or have suggestions.
Free CSS Template: Green Social Business
Green social business template is a simple yet professional looking template with a strong focus on social media connection. This web design template was created using Xhtml and CSS as well as elements of Html5. This template is free and can be used for any lawful purpose with no restrictions.
The green business template can be easily customized to meet your company’s needs. This web design template contains all of the source file images, an HTML page and the CSS source file. If you have any questions about customizing or editing this template please contact us. Also, feel free to leave feedback if you find any errors or have suggestions.
Social Media Erupts at Casey Anthony
As expected not too many people were excited to hear today that Casey Anthony was found not guilty on all of the major charges against her. As the official “deliverers of breaking news”, social media networks have been the tools of venting that frustration.
Many have taken to facebook to express their anger in blunt terms. Here are some examples from “Casey Anthony Updates” on facebook:
Not to be outdone in the social media news wars, twitter is abuzz with outrage and opinion as well. Some examples of twitter posts on the matter:
