Jimmy Fallon rocks the night with social media

by | Nov 29, 2010 | Social Media

Social media sites are a great way to stay in touch with friends, but celebrities are also discovering how useful they can be for promotional purposes. Jimmy Fallon, host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and former Saturday Night Live star, was one of the first to recognize the importance of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and has embraced the use of Twitter hashtags to great advantage.Hashtags came into use on Twitter as a way for those with similar interests to connect with one another. A hashtag is the pound symbol, and it?s placed in front of a specific word in a tweet. They?re searchable and can appear anywhere within the body of the tweet. Hashtags aren?t a feature that?s provided by Twitter, but the usage caught on and they're used regularly for trendy topics. They have no formal rules, but have their own set of etiquette.Fallon has been using Twitter and hashtags to promote himself and his show with excellent results. Before his show aired, Fallon announced that he was getting started on Twitter, then began using it to promote the show in the hope that his Twitter followers would watch the Jimmy Fallon Show when it went on the air. The strategy worked, and the show received higher ratings than The Late Show with Jay Leno.He regularly tweets on Twitter and checks comments, using those as a barometer of how sketches, guests and interviews have been received. The best use of hashtags on Twitter is his tweets for upcoming shows. His followers tweet back, using hashtags, about their favorite jokes, which are read on the show. It provides a unique way to interact with his audience and makes him accessible. It's also an excellent tool for increasing viewers and ratings.Fallon?s used of the latest platforms and technology comes as no surprise. His background is in computing and his father worked at IBM. He was one of the first to have access to Prodigy and learned about chat rooms through a classmate in high school. As the Internet evolved, Fallon?s background made it easy for him to see the possibilities. Viewing blogs about Saturday Night Live in 1998 made him realize just how powerful it could be.In a digital world where everyone is online, Fallon has found the perfect medium for engaging viewers, interacting with fans and making them feel as if they?re a part of the show ? which in a way, they are. It?s a method that anyone in any industry can employ, and one that he?s using to good advantage to connect with millions of potential viewers.[polldaddy poll=4202781]

HostGator announces Black Friday 2010 promotion

by | Nov 25, 2010 | Web Hosting

HostGator has announced a special Black Friday 2010 promotion for all its loyal affiliates that promises to be the best deal ever in over eight years of hosting.HostGator is offering 50 percent off everything from 12 midnight-5 a.m. CST, and 80 percent off from 5 a.m.-9 a.m. CST, while supplies last. It?s a first come first serve event that no one will want to miss. From 9 a.m.-11:59 p.m. CST, or after 80 percent off accounts have sold out, Host Gator will continue to offer 50 percent off everything.The Black Friday promotion begins at 12-midnight on Friday, Nov. 26, 2010 CST (-6GMT) and will run until 11:59 p.m. CST (-6 GMT). During this time, affiliates will receive their full, regular commission on all Black Friday sales. The event promises to be a record-breaking day for HostGator and all its affiliates.The discounts apply to all accounts and all term lengths. This allows all affiliate visitors and friends to receive 80 percent off up to three years worth of hosting. That?s $35.64 for three full years of hosting, and includes shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated servers.The promotion marks a first in HostGator history. The firm has never conducted a promotion that included dedicated servers, all accounts and terms lengths, plus allowed affiliates to retain 100 percent of their commissions on every sale sent to them on Black Friday. The promotion boosts sales for HostGator, in addition to putting an amazing amount of money into the pockets of affiliates.Depending on the time the deal is struck during the promotion, it provides customers with the opportunity to obtain shared hosting for a s little as 99 cents per month, reseller hosting for as low as $4.99 per month, VPS hosting for only $3.99 per month and dedicated servers for as little as $34.80 per month. The deal is extremely appealing and offers affiliates the opportunity to make a significant amount of money during the Black Friday 2010 promotion.There are a number of means by which the offer can be promoted. Affiliates can post it on their blog, on Twitter, Facebook and other forums, and even use their email lists. Don?t forget to let friends and family know about the specials, and affiliates can even push all their hosting related traffic to HostGator for big earnings.To participate, affiliates should go to http://ga.hostgator.com to access their affiliate account and obtain their affiliate link, then just monitor their Black Friday traffic and sales. For anyone who can?t remember their password, they can go to https://ga.hostgator.com/forgot, using the primary email address on file. Once affiliates are logged in, they should be sure to update their contact and payment information to access their control panel.The Black Friday 2010 promotion is running for one day only. HostGator is seeking the aid of all its affiliates to help make this the largest offer ever. If the Black Friday promotion goes as well as anticipated, HostGator has indicated that more special events will be offered in the future. For anyone who may have questions or concerns about the promotion, HostGator encourages affiliates to contact them.

Get your melt on with the new RockMelt web browser

by | Nov 19, 2010 | Off Topic

RockMelt is destined to change the way people surf the Internet. The new browser is built on the Chromium platform and integrates web browsing with social media sites. It?s the perfect solution for people who live on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Access to an early version of RockMelt is currently being offered ? just sign up for early access at http://www.rockmelt.com and you?ll receive an invitation. RockMelt was founded by Tim Howes and Eric Vishria. The company is backed by the likes of Mac Andreessen, founder of Netscape Communications Corporation and co-author of Mosaic; Angel Investors founder, Ron Conway; Intuit Chairman of the Board, Bill Campbell; Half.com founder, Josh Kopelman; and VMware founder, Diane Green. The free browser, based on Chromium, is the open source project behind Google?s Chrome browser.The new browser is fully interactive and built around friends, feeds and search results. It works on Mac systems using 10.5 or newer, and PCs running Windows XP or newer. You can access your personal browsing experience from anywhere you happen to be. When operated in its incognito mode, no personal information is stored, just the sites you frequent.The friends portion of the RockMelt browser is located on the left and allows users to search, share with friends, find news, view videos and chat, all from a single browser window. There?s no need to switch back and forth between different pages. Users need a Facebook account to access all the features. The browser shows users which friends are online, their recent posts and updates, as well as profile photos. You can instantly share and publish on Facebook and Twitter. It also acts as an IM client using Facebook chat.News feeds and your favorite websites are on the right and works similar to a bookmark bar. RockMelt watches your favorite websites and content, then automatically notifies you when new information, updates and content are added. When you click on a site icon, the page pops up in the main, underlying browser window. There?s also a share button for every feed.Searches are significantly quicker and they?re viewed differently. Searching is as simple as leafing through a magazine. Using your keyboard, you can flip through Google search results and choose the one you want without opening new windows.People browse and surf the Internet differently than they did even two short years ago. RockMelt was developed to more accurately reflect the way people surf and communicate today, placing everything in one browser window for conveience and ease of use.For more information or to test an early version of RockMelt, visit the website at http://www.rockmelt.com.

Kontera offers unique marketing solutions

by | Nov 8, 2010 | Off Topic

Competition is fierce in today?s marketing environment and successful online entrepreneurs must always search for new revenue streams. Kontera provides that by combining search engine technology with in-text advertising delivered through its extensive advertising network. Kontera represents the next generation of online marketing for targeted results.Kontera uses the content within websites to provide visitors with the most relevant and high paying ads. Using keywords and phrases within the text portion of website content, Kontera delivers ads via hyperlink, utilizing their exclusive inventory of ads. Viewers are automatically provided with information without the need to search for it. Kontera works with some of the biggest names in advertising to deliver click through and cost-per-click rates that users won?t find anywhere else. Websites require no changes and no extra space to utilize Kontera.

The system delivers a superior user experience with its patented Story-Level Targeting. It works by analyzing and predicting the viewer?s intent based on the content being viewed. The system determines the best ad options based on information compiled from thousands of websites, available ads and those in progress, topics, keywords and content, and it accomplishes it almost instantaneously for each page. Kontera also includes a learning module - ads change and rotate as new website content is added, providing an updated stream of targeted ads.Set up can be accomplished in minutes, with plugins that are easy to install. It works with the most popular blogging platforms, including Blogger, Drupal, Joomla and WordPress. Once installed, website owners are in complete control. Kontera?s reporting system allows users to monitor their website?s performance and track revenue. It saves marketers and website owners hours of tedious work.Kontera users receive the best payouts in the business, with a 70 percent revenue share. Qualified sites with over 25k U.S. page views per month receive a signing bonus. As an added incentive, users are paid beginning at $50.Kontera provides everything users need to target the most desirable viewers, thereby expanding revenue. The delivery system is unobtrusive and specifically optimized for content within the user?s individual website. The system?s ability to learn and change as content is added ensures a new experience for viewers each time they visit the website, resulting in added revenue streams for increased profit.For more information, visit the website at http://www.kontera.com

Wolf Storm Media launches innovative affiliate training

by | Oct 27, 2010 | Off Topic

Wolf Storm Media has announced its official launch. The full-service, interactive advertising agency focuses on performance based marketing and is dedicated to bringing advertisers quality traffic.

The firm was founded by affiliate marketers for affiliate marketers. The staff at Wolf Storm Media were successful affiliate marketers in their own right. They're now turning their talents to working with both novice and affiliate marketers. The staff works with full time affiliates to find new revenue sources by enticing them out of their comfort zone. They also provide training to affiliate marketers new to the game using a variety of methods.They now have several PDF guides available and they?re currently working on additional materials to build an extensive library. Their ultimate goal is to maintain a full library of training materials encompassing video, audio and text that will be maintained in-house. Some people learn best using video while others are text-based learners and Wolf Storm aims to cater to them all for the optimum success for all. Tests will be added in the future for those who avail themselves of the training courses. One-on-one assistance and group sessions will be available.Affiliates learn to use the latest tactics and techniques, using proprietary training methods, to best utilize the increasing number of traffic sources available. Members have access to state-of-the-art training, along with forums and networking opportunities. Each affiliate is assigned an account manager to act as a mentor and guide them in building, scaling and optimizing their marketing campaigns.Wolf Storm works on a cost per action basis, with advertisers only paying for qualified leads. The specifics are agreed upon before offers are placed into the network. Wolf Storm provides a variety of promotional options, which will arrive through a number of experts within Wolf Storm, all of whom are experts in different aspects of online marketing. Promotional methods will include search engine marketing and optimization, social and media marketing, contextual marketing, media buying and other means as they become available. Advertisers are free to select the forms that they wish to accept.Wolf Storm helps new affiliates with the information they need to become successful, while introducing new methods to established marketers. By providing in depth training, they hope to increase the dividends of all concerned.For more information, visit the website at http://www.wolfstormmedia.com