This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Confessions of a Social Media Girl: Why Image based Social Media Marketing might be the Best Sales Tool

March 31, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Facebook’s recent change to a more image based newsfeed has got me thinking that perhaps Pinterest may have had the right idea all along. While Facebook is just moving away from highlighting more text based Confessions of a Social Media Girlnews, Pinterest has been able to capitalize on capturing their audience from the start, and has the viral growth to prove it.

With the new updates allowing businesses to step into the world of Analytics for their Pinterest business page, I can’t help but make the connection that this is a trend in marketing and advertising experts have called on for decades and is really not such exciting marketing news at all. Think of it this way:

It takes our brains seconds longer to connect with text, any seasoned marketer or advertiser will tell you that. As children we reacted better to images because we didn’t need words, and couldn’t use them to associate one item with another.  No brainer!

George Lois, the famous creative marketing genius back in the 1970′s had the right idea-If a message isn’t translated to the audience in a millisecond, and then you’ve already lost them. It’s a tale as old as time really.( Yes I was just referencing Beauty and the Beast). Using image, as the basis for a marketing message is the best way to convey an idea, consumers can make their own interpretation and its strikes them emotionally. It seems as marketers we’ve just been so consumed with communicating with words that we’ve forgotten about our other senses. All signs point to Image based marketing as the best sales tool.

On that note: For years trends in the Far East, specifically Japan have focused their advertising centrally around an image that evokes emotion from the viewer. For beauty products featuring an image that dictates the way a woman will feel after using the product, or depicting a benefit has been widely used. In the case of food industry marketing, highlighting an image of a satisfied customer or family rather than the picture of the food sitting on a plate has been a popular way to advertise. I don’t know about you, but if I saw a bunch of happy people standing around a plate of food, I’d imagine it was good. Reading words that TELL me how good something is, is much less powerful or believable.

Lots of folks say history repeats itself; so far it’s been true in every sense, from fashion to politics, and social media is no exception. We’ve been lucky enough to have a new space to connect businesses with the consumer, but seem to have forgotten a few of the fundamentals of marketing, and are now shocked when a new trend seems to evoke a consumer response.

So Why is Image based Social Media Marketing the best sales tool? It quickly evokes emotion from the consumer, and emotion rather than logic is what drives more sales. Consumers react more often on what they THINK they need, rather than what they really do.

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Business, Design, General, Guest Bloggers, Social Media

The Rise of the Experience Economy with Jenn Hyman and Aileen Lee

March 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

brandbuild instagram Kathy PhanOur parents and grandparents lived in a world where you got married, bought a house, had kids, and transitioned through life stages in a particular order. Today, we are waiting until later in life to get married and have kids. We are no longer concerned about the accumulation of material possessions; rather, we crave memorable experiences. Social Media is largely responsible for this societal shift from ownership to experience. You can share photos on Instagram from last night’s concert or Tweet about that new restaurant before everyone else. The Experience Economy focuses on collaborative consumption; that access to travel, material possessions or other indicators of status are more important to millennials than actual ownership of goods.

Jenn Hyman, co-founder of Rent the Runway, had the foresight to see this societal shift unfolding. Rent the Runway, an organization offering the rental of luxury dresses, is selling the experience of feeling beautiful and having self confidence, as opposed to an efficient shopping experience (that’s just an added bonus!). She shared her thoughts at SxSW in a panel discussion called Experience vs Ownership: The Rise of the Experience Economy, with Aileen Lee.

So what does the Experience Economy teach us?

  • Experience is about emotion, not logic or efficiency. People use Rent the Runway to test drive a brand they’ve never purchased before. It’s about the emotional connection between a special occasional and the luxury experience that the consumers wouldn’t have otherwise had due to the cost of the dress.
  • There’s an increased demand for authentic communication. Rent the Runway conversion increased significantly when using real women. Society doesn’t want to see the fake version online anymore. We want to see what is authentic and true. Rent the Runway listened to their community and developed a shopping experience where consumers can enter in their physical data and see clothing recommendations worn by models with similar body types. The twist is that this experience is generated by over 10,000 images of actual Rent the Runway consumers, gathered over the last couple of years.
  • All you need is a great product and a great narrative. People want to be a part of a movement, a part of something bigger than themselves. If you provide consumers with that, brand advocates are born.

The Experience Economy shows us that millenials don’t want their parents’ or grandparents’ life. They want to experience life for themselves.

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Content Marketing, Digital & Internet Marketing, General, Guest Bloggers, PR & Writing

Why Learn InDesign?

March 11, 2013 by 2 Comments

Adobe InDesign – The Gathering Place for the Adobe FamilyAdobe InDesign

The amount of products with the word Adobe on them may confuse the uninitiated. But, with Adobe InDesign, the explanation is simple. It’s the one that binds them all together, literally. It merges the capabilities of word processors, image editors and web publishers, allowing the user to take creations made in Flash, Illustrator or Photoshop and combine them all within a format of their choosing.

This has made the task substantially easier for layout artists, who now have the precision and speed of digital tools to replace the frustration of scissors, glue and paper. Of course, these digital tools can be just as frustrating to those without the required knowledge, but once trained in the use of Adobe InDesign, they can use its myriad features to create intricate cover and page designs for books, magazines and web pages, all in a fraction of the time it would have taken them to do so manually.

InDesign’s tools enable users to alter the size of their pages, the positioning of objects and text, and to create tables, text and art effects, and provides a host of other features. Though the likes of Photoshop and Illustrator are still required for more complex image editing, InDesign has features that allow for some minor alterations which eliminate the need for constant switching between applications. Anyone who has experience with other Adobe products will have an advantage due to InDesign’s seamless integration with the rest of the Adobe family.

Uses in Self-publishing

InDesign is an invaluable tool for self-publishing, as it provides writers with the means to create the kind of presentation that could normally only be obtained through the resources of a publisher. Amazon’s Kindle, one of the premier self-publishing platforms, even has a plugin to enable easy conversion of documents from InDesign to Kindle format.

As a result, self-publishers now have absolute control over the layout of their work, and are able to choose a visual communication style that best suits their content. However, it’s still recommended that they collaborate with a professional graphic designer, as a trained eye makes all the difference between a design that complements the material, and one that looks a random clutter of objects on a page.

Uses in Visual Communication

Whatever form of visual communication is required, InDesign allows for expression in a variety of styles and mediums. The advertising, publishing and web design industries are all obvious places where the skills and knowledge of InDesign can be put to good use, but the application can even be of use in industries that require physical rather than digital materials.

Interior decorators, for example, can make use of InDesign to decorate a virtual room before they do so in practice. They can create and then show a digital blueprint of the design to clients and provide them with an idea of what the end product will look like. This enables them to obtain their clients’ input and secure approval of the design before commencing (totaltraining.com)

So, InDesign’s wealth of features ensures that those with the knowledge and skills to use it will have a number of creative ways to apply it.  Visual communication is becoming more valuable in every industry; InDesign effectively combines the power of all the Adobe digital tools that have become staples of visual design to provide a simple and smooth platform for creative expression.

 

Sandy Cosser writes for Now Learning, which promotes a range of Adobe courses in Australia, including InDesign, Dreamweaver, Photoshop and Elements.

Featured images:

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: Design, General, Guest Bloggers

What I’ve Learned at SXSW..So Far

March 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

sxswBeing a stereotypical type A personality, I approached SXSW with structure and organization. A month before the conference launched, I narrowed my session list down to one session per time slot. Flight was booked. Objectives for the trip were determined. Out of office plan was put in place.

Then I arrived in Austin.

On the first day of sessions I had a fire drill at work and had to skip my 9:30 AM session. Dedicated to keeping my schedule, I arrived 30 minutes early for my 11:00 AM session. Over capacity. Convincing myself that I could stick to MY plan, I arrived for my 12:30 PM session an hour early. The room had a different session name. After consulting conference staff, I was convinced that I was going to miss this session too. I took a deep breath and decided to throw my carefully crafted agenda out the window and embrace the serendipity that SXSW was presenting me.

20 minutes later I found out that the 12:30 PM session was still on; they had just changed the name to Experience vs Ownership: The Rise of the Experience Economy. The session was led by Jenn Hyman, co-founder of Rent the Runway, and Aileen Lee, a venture capitalist and investor in Rent the Runway. It was this session that set the TRUE tone for every other session I’ve attended thus far:

  1. Consumers are more concerned with individual EXPERIENCE than they are ownership. EXPERIENCE is everything from brand messaging, to the purchase process to using the product or service.
  2. Stop overcomplicating everything! Your brand message, your internal process, your business plan should all be so SIMPLE that they can be explained in 30 second, resulting in understanding and excitement.
  3. You are your biggest obstacle. CONFIDENCE in your industry knowledge and intuition is what will help you identify the next breakthrough for your consumers and organization.
  4. Be AUTHENTIC. If you don’t know who you are or what you are trying to communicate, it will impact your consumer’s experience (remember that your consumer isn’t just your end user; it’s your peers, boss, followers, etc).

SXSW has taught me, so far, that I need to embrace who I am, trust my gut and take action. Now that we’ve had a feel good pep talk, we need to accept that without technical skills, the feel good pep talk is bullshit. So, to ensure you have the technical skills, the next few blog spots will look at strategic approaches and tactical application for social media, business models, creating content, and more.

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Business, Conferences & Education, Content Marketing, General, Guest Bloggers

4 Tips For Better Online Tutorials

February 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

online-tutorialsAnyone can search the internet to find out how to do almost anything. The internet has become a vast and comprehensive resource for online learning. You can find online tutorials for anything from computer programming to cooking recipes. If you are thinking about creating your own online tutorials, here are a few tips for making them easier to understand and follow.

Know Your Material

You should be an expert in your tutorials. People who want to learn how to do something specific are looking for expertise and precision. For example, if you have a tutorial about how to write html code for increasing font size on blog pages, people will more likely use your tutorial if you have mastered the terminology for that subject. They will also more likely trust your tutorial if you show that you use and cite credible sources.

Organize Your Material

Tutorials that are easy to follow are well-organized. Once you have gathered your material, outline the presentation of your tutorial.  If you’re using a step-by-step process, make sure the steps are in order and number them. Eliminate any unnecessary steps. Use audiovisual aids whenever possible. You can use video footage, sound bites, screenshots and other resources. You can also provide links to documents that supplement your tutorial with more detailed instructions or diagrams. You can easily convert these documents to PDFs with a PDF converter, which are secure as well as easy to edit.

Teach from a Student’s Perspective

Many excellent tutorials are easy to follow because they have a simple format. Once you have created a tutorial, review it while pretending to be a student. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Does the title reflect my goal? If your title suggests a tutorial about decorating sugar cookies but the steps lead to baking perfect cookies at different elevations, reassess your goal. Make the appropriate changes.
  • How do other tutorials teach? It’s o.k. to use other effective tutorials as a model for your own. After all, one of the advantages of the internet is to pass along and improve the way we learn.
  • Do the steps make sense? Think back to your own learning process. Remember that not everyone learns the same way you do. Keep in mind that most people prefer to watch videos and look at pictures than just read. If you have mostly written instructions in your tutorial, make sure they are clear, concise and follow a logical order.
  • Are the instructions easy to understand? It is important to use correct terminology, but avoid using vocabulary that no one understands. Find a balance between using laymen’s terms and being an out-of-touch college professor. If your tutorial is more technical, consider providing a terminology glossary or a PDF appendix of diagrams.
  • Are all the audiovisual aids in the right places? Make sure links, videos and PDFs match the steps you’ve outlined. Thoughtful, well-placed audiovisuals make your tutorials much more effective.

Be Honest and Encouraging, and Have Fun

Let people know if they might become frustrated trying to learn something new. Also, remind them to keep trying until they get the results they want. Practice makes perfect, and not everyone becomes an expert on the first try. People make tutorials because they became good at something and want to share with others what they have learned. We all learn best when we can relate to others. Develop trust with your fellow internet learners. Don’t be afraid to show your personality in your tutorials. Share how you enjoyed your own learning process. With these tips and other online sources, you can create a powerful and effective online tutorial. You can influence a larger audience because you know how to make tutorials not only easier to follow and understand, but also more relatable and fun. This article was written by Jared Jaureguy. You can follow him on Twitter @JaredJaureguy.

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: Conferences & Education, General, Guest Bloggers

Getting The Most Mileage From Your Exhibition Presence

February 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

ExhibitorBadgeExhibiting at relevant consumer or trade shows can be an effective way to reach out to your target customer. By extending the window of exposure outside of the event itself, you can increase opportunities for your business. Below is a guide providing a handful of ways to make the most of your exhibition presence.

Awareness
You should aim to get mileage from your event activity before the show itself even begins. If appropriate, discuss the possibility of contributing to the organizers  awareness campaign. This could be as simple as providing your product for competition prizes that will be placed in various media titles. You should also capitalize on your preparations and build anticipation through your social media channels. Write blogs on your preparations or offer ticket giveaways. Video content is always useful for online channels so why not video or photograph the stand too. Relevant industry websites may welcome the content if edited effectively and it can also be uploaded to video sharing sites such as YouTube. This is a great time to use twitter to @message people you want to see, are speaking or even fellow exhibitors, get a conversation going and you’ll be noticed.

During the show
In many cases there are opportunities to generate material for use after the show or for later issue to the wider media. For example, can you survey visitors to the show to create a story for release following the show? Can you create a photo opportunity for issue to the media? If you have an idea, you can discuss it with the organizers  PR team who may be able to offer assistance and can certainly inform any press or press photographers attending the show on your behalf.

After show awareness
Generating exposure following the event needs to be carried out almost immediately to have the most impact. Be sure to send a press release and strong image to the relevant publications in your industry immediately following the event. Write follow-up blogs and social media postings too. All of these not only increase the number of potential customers seeing your brand messaging but the regular content updates and keyword optimization can help elevate your site in web page rankings as well.
Events are a powerful marketing tool but with a simple yet effective campaign you can extend your window of exposure and capitalize on your event investment to an even greater degree. It can be hard to measure the exact impact of your participation, but by optimizing and expanding your efforts, you can be certain of one thing – your company is going to be better off for your efforts.

Charlotte Bird uses ceiexhibitions.co.uk for the event itself and spends a great deal of her spare time visiting exhibitions.

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: Business, Business Networking, General, Guest Bloggers, Sales & eCommerce, Traditional Marketing

Why I want to attend the #SMWsmac on Feb 19th for #SMWnyc

February 18, 2013 by 1 Comment

blog-writing-6-tips

I teach career development at a “nontraditional” college where my average student is in his/her late 30s/early 40s and I would like to know more about social media.

I want to teach the importance of using social media as a platform to build one’s professional brand online.  It’s my experience that most students are career changers or entrepreneurs.  It is important, now more than ever, to understand how social media can connect to one’s next employer or next client. There are students who know about Facebook as a personal and/or fun outlet.  I would like to help them use Facebook as a portal to connect to professionals and businesses. I would like to help them as professionals expand and explore inside and outside of their network. I have facilitated discussions on how to use Twitter to follow potential employers and mentors but would like more knowledge of doing so. I feel LinkedIn is a great tool to connect people through the online resume and “linking” features.

However, this is the extent of my social media knowledge.  I have registered for Instagram and Google+ but do not quite understand how it can be used for brand building/identity as yet. I know the other social media platforms can help achieve the goal of building a professional brand identity online; however, my first-hand experience is limited and I would like to know more.

As a learning professional it is my duty to share knowledge with others in order for them to achieve their goals, whether to gain more information or to change behavior.  I would like to know more about how to use the different social media platforms and specifically which ones will help meet specific needs and wants.

I am also an “entrepreneur” in the nonprofit world.  I have co-founded Caribbean Association for Resource Information & Building (CARIB) and Camara Dance Unlimited (CDU). CARIB’s mission is to seek and to support and strengthen identities and build collaborations by providing opportunities to share and develop networks to represent the Caribbean Diaspora and changing culture influences. CDU seeks to illuminate cultural awareness and history, foster inter-generational communication and be of service to communities. Both use arts as the venue to do our work.  Primarily, we use Facebook and Constant Contact as sources to build awareness and update our constituents on what we do; however, we need to be seeking to use other social media platforms to engage more. Both organizations produce a limited amount of programs, so it is important to stay connected. As I stated earlier, I need to understand which platforms to use for what reasons.  This will help each organization with community development and outreach.

I believe attending the Social Media Action Camp – Growing Your Brand Online: Facts, Data and Tactics training will give me the needed background knowledge as an entrepreneur and an instructor.  I want to learn “the how and the why” and put in practical use.  I will be able to experience it through building CARIB’s and CDU’s brand online. However, most importantly, I will share my learning and first-hand experience with my students. They will share in what I learn and know the possibilities of how each platform can be useful to build their professional brand, in turn connecting them to the employer of their dreams or generate new revenue and new clients.

 

Hollis Kam was selected through the Social Contest for Social Media Action Camp

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: Conferences & Education, General, Guest Bloggers

4 Must-Visit Events with Social Media

February 12, 2013 by 1 Comment

Social Media Events ConferecnesFrom old favorites like Reddit, to relatively new faces like Instagram, social media has become a huge part of the way that we function online, serving as an online hangout for friends, a well-equipped meeting room for professionals, and an outlet for news and information – and the trend shows no signs of letting up any time soon!

Are you ready to make Facebook, Twitter, and the hundreds of other social media platforms found online work for you and your website? Stop by these four must-visit social media events in order to give yourself access to every tool and tidbit that you’ll be needing:

1. SES London 2013

Interested in learning about social media strategies that can help you to implement real-life solutions for your business? Most everyone is. But many conferences fail to get across the kind of ideas that really motivate us to explore new avenues. This is where SES shines among its peers!

All four days of this year’s SES event will be chock full of the people and information that you need in order to take your social media endeavors to the next level. This will allow you to leave with fresh insight and a well-grown contact list of the best as well as brightest minds in the industry.

When and Where: If you need an excuse to visit beautiful and historic London, England, check out SES London from February 18-21 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre.

2. South by Southwest Interactive

Well-known for meshing everything popular and everything digital into one super-fun event, this year’s iteration of South by Southwest Interactive promises to introduce you to ideas and notions about social media that you’ve not ever considered. You will gain access to countless new angles from which to position your business.

If you can make it to only a single social media event this year, consider making it SXSW. You will get the very most in professional growth out of a single trip!

When and Where: As always, the city of Austin, Texas will play host to the SXSW event, this time from March 8-12, 2013.

3. Hispanicize 2013

Whether you’re a Latino involved in blogging and social media marketing, or simply a business person who understands the importance of a Latino audience, Hispanicize promises to be a unique conference full of insight on everything that it means to be a modern Latin-American consumer and web professional!

Each of the five days of this event are broken down into fun, exciting, and very worthwhile topics and tracks. This will help you to plan your time well to make the most out of every minute. Between its unique offerings and well-scheduled framework, no professional will regret taking part in Hispanicize!

When and Where: Hit the beaches of Florida and settle in for a week of Latin-American culture, wisdom, and cutting-edge trends from April 9-13, 2013 at the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel in Miami Beach – you can reserve your room today at Luxury-Hotels.com!

4. The Blog Workshop

If you work with social media, there’s a reasonable chance that you’re also a blogger of one sort or another. The people behind ‘The Blog Workshop’ understand this, packaging up keynotes and workshops on each and every aspect of the web necessary to be successful in online business.

Aimed at bloggers of all ages and levels of experience, this event will help you to better understand the role that social media could and should play in your marketing strategies. It will give you a boost in the writing and design departments, as well.

When and Where: Travel to the southern gem that is Atlanta, Georgia, from May 17-19, 2013, in order to take in everything that ‘The Blog Workshop’ has to offer!

 

Jessy Troy is an excited writer and social media enthusiast. Give me a ping if you are visiting any of these as I’d love to meet you there! You can follow Jessy on: Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: Conferences & Education, General, Guest Bloggers Tagged With: , , ,

Best Apps To Install On New Blackberry

February 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Blackberry 10Today the Internet is full of reviews, news and app lists developed for Apple iOS or Google Android. New Windows 8 gadgets also take their piece of public attention. But there is another player that should not be forgotten. It is Blackberry.

As you might have heard, RIM is planning to release it new Blackberry 10 operating system. Some new smartphones as well as tablets, based on new OS, will also be released to restore RIM’s positions in the smartphone market very soon. It may be even in a week or two.

So, I believe it would be logical to remind people of some very useful apps to expand the productivity of the smartphones that can be found for Blackberry OS now.  Surely they will be upgraded for the new system when it is released.

Evernote

Let’s start with a well-known application that is delivered for all possible mobile operating systems –  Evernote. Almost all note-taking apps that are built into the phones are a bit awkward and don’t provide as wide a range of functions as Evernote. It means that if you like to take notes (various listings, voice notes, picture notes) on your phone or tablet, this application is a must have.  Besides, it uses cloud services to store the info, so you won’t lose anything if you decide to switch from Android to Blackberry in the future. Besides, Evernote is a free application.

Dropbox

I decided to continue my list with another universal application named Dropbox. The service is rather new. But as the speed of cloud system development is very fast, it can boast of millions of users who have already installed it on their pcs, smartphones and tablets. Even if your smartphone doesn’t have a large storage capacity, this cloud service can solve this problem (2GB of free storage). Another very popular cloud service is provided by Google. So, you can use them both. What is even more pleasant is that the use of the application and the information stored don’t depend on the device you use.

Opera Mini

Another thing that smartphones can’t boast about is a trusty web browser that the manufacturers provide. Opera Mini is a good options to solve this problem.  Even though Opera is losing its positions among the browsers for PCs (especially after the release of Chrome), it is still one of the best browsers for mobile gadgets, including Blackberry. The other day Opera announced the development of its new browser for smartphones and tablets – Ice.  Ice can be expected to join new developments with such advantages of Opera Mini as regular updates, social networks integration, and fast speed of work.

Blackberry Protect

One of the most important advantages of any Blackberry device is its security. Its value is growing, taking into account the growth of data stored on your mobile gadgets. Even though the built in system of Blackberry encryption is rather good, the Blackberry Protect application will make the remote data deletion or jailbreak of your personal information almost impossible. Besides, if you happen to lose the device, the application will help you to find it. I think that it is useless to list all functions it has, like auto back up, as most of such applications provide them, but this one is at a rather higher level of security.

So, these 4 applications for Blackberry will make your phone functionality wider and more productive, and your smartphone won’t be worse than any new Android or iOS phone.  

Author’s Info

This post is written by Katerina Merzlova, a copywriter from Intellectsoft, an IT company providing app development for Blackberry. To get more information about the team, follow them on Twitter @Intellectsoft

About Guest Blogger

This article is a guest post provided by a third party, its content was added to Digital Ethos to help provide additional information for our readers and followers. While the Guest Blogger posts do not undergo the same scrutiny as Authors and lack sources, the content was reviewed and approved as valuable to our mission.

Filed Under: General, Guest Bloggers, Mobile, Mobile & Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Natural Disaster Preparation in Your Pocket

February 7, 2013 by 1 Comment

Most of us are familiar with how convenient apps can make our lives these days. Do you need to map out your daily caloric intake? You’ve got it. Want one-button access to local movie showings? There’s no problem there either. What you may not know is that there are apps designed to even save your life during an emergency. Most U.S. Regions are susceptible to one form or another of natural disaster. Here are some ways your smart phone or tablet can help you get out of them safely:

American Red Cross

redcross-logoThe American Red Cross apps: Hurricane App, Shelter Finder App, First Aid App, Earthquake App, and Wildfire App provide an easy-to-use toolkit designed to help you during a weather emergency. Information on these apps can be found at http://www.redcross.org/prepare/mobile-apps and accessed at the iTunes App Store and Google Play. You can broadcast your safety status to social networks like Facebook or Twitter with the touch of a button, create a family emergency plan using steps and checklists, monitor weather alerts for your location (or the locations of friends and family), or find an open ARC shelter.

Plerts

plerts-logo1Plerts for the iPhone, iPod Touch (formerly BuddyGuard) is a free app platform with a plethora of useful tools to stay connected during a natural disaster or emergency. You can set up Plerts interface to connect to social media outlets like Facebook, sharing your condition with your personal network. The app includes the Lifelink program, which backs up recorded activities on your phone (real-time) during an emergency and stores them on a temporary cloud website. Plerts is also equipped with an impact detection function which uses the hardware in modern smartphones to recognize when the user has fallen or been involved in an impact over a certain degree of force. Find more information at https://plerts.com/. It is available on the iTunes App Store, and soon to Google Play.

iMAPWeather Radio

iMap weather radioThe iMapWeather Radio app accesses the GPS capabilities on your phone to monitor your location and safety, provides you with local weather information, and activates your phone’s alarm automatically in the event of an emergency. Find this app at http://imapweatherradio.com/ or Google Play and the iPhone App Store.

Disaster Readiness

disaster-readinessDisaster Readiness is a preparation app that comes preloaded with 175,000+ resources on how to survive any given natural disaster. Its biggest highlight is that these resources are inherent to the app.In other words, should you be without service, you don’t need the internet to access them. Topics include: emergency planning, sheltering, evacuation in addition to specific emergencies like terrorism, fire, wildfires, chemical emergencies and more. Find the full list at http://www.phoneflips.com/2011/disaster-readiness-guide/. This app is available at iTunes, Google Play and Amazon.

FEMA

fema_logoFrequently, the primary concern involved with communication during a natural disaster is power outages. Cell phone airways may be under a lot of pressure, taxed by thousands of worried people trying to contact their families. In contrast, text messages leave a very small footprint, requiring little service and are a reliable way to send as well as receive information. FEMA, along with its standard natural disaster app featuring many of the benefits of the other apps listed above, offers a text messaging program. By texting the FEMA number (43362), including a command in the body of the text, you can receive monthly alerts. These include preparedness tips, shelter locations and open disaster recovery centers. For more information on how to use FEMA’s text messaging program, visit www.fema.gov/text-messages.

Don’t be caught off guard during an emergency. In our digitally-connected world, the solution is as simple as your smartphone. Be prepared by putting all the tools requires, listed above, to safely emerge from a natural disaster as close to you as your pocket.

Jay Acker leads a production team at safetyservicescompany.com that creates safety training materials. SSC offers contractor certification assistance for ISNetworld®, PICS®, and other contractor verification servicers.

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