8 Best Marketing Campaigns of all time

Advertising in business is a form of marketing communication used to encourage, persuade, or manipulate an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group) to take or continue to take some action. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common. This type of work belongs to a category called effective labor.

The catchiest slogans have a way of sticking in your mind, or perhaps even challenging the way you view the product being advertised. This is certainly the ultimate goal of marketers when they develop their advertising campaigns. Not all campaigns are created equal, but the best of the best illustrate how these slogans are an integral part of brand recognition.

Why are these 8 marketing campaigns the best of all time? Because of the impact they had on the growth of the brand, and because they manage to hit on some universal truth that allows us to remember these campaigns years after they first began. In fact, many of us (myself included) might not have even been alive when these campaigns first aired! So here they are, in no particular order (rest assured, you can nominate your favorites in the comments) -- the best marketing and advertising campaigns of all time, and the lessons we can learn from them! 

Nike: Just Do It.

Did you know that there was a time Nike's product catered almost exclusively to the marathon runner? But they saw a fitness craze emerge, and knew they needed to get past their main competitor, Reebok. And yes, there was a time in our history when Reebok sold more shoes than Nike. But to succeed, they needed a new campaign -- they needed the "Just Do It." campaign.

The campaign was a hit. In 1988, Nike sales were at a measly (hah) $800 million; by 1998, sales exceeded $9.2 billion. "Just Do It." was short and sweet, yet encapsulated everything people felt when they were exercising -- and that feeling remains the same today. Don’t want to run 5 miles? Just Do It. Don’t want walk up 4 flights of stairs? Just Do It. It's a human truth we all could relate to, that drive to push yourself further. So when you're trying to decide the best way to present your brand, ask yourself what problem are you solving for your customers. What solution does your product or service provide? By hitting on that core issue in all of your marketing messaging, you will connect with consumers on an emotional level that is hard to ignore.

Practice Trading in the 'Virtual Stock Exchange'

The power of hands-on learning is indisputable. But when it comes to investing your money in the stock market, however, making a beginner's mistake can cost you more than just your self-esteem. Thankfully, the web makes it easy to practice with virtual money. Virtual stock trading allows you to get in the driver's seat and manage your own fantasy stock portfolio while competing risk-free against friends and strangers.

There are a multitude of online investment games like Investopedia, and Questrade that play with virtual money, but not all of them are easy for beginners. Here are five of the best free (because you shouldn't have to spend real money to play with fake money) online games for getting your feet wet.

1. Wall Street Survivor

Invest $100,000 in virtual cash via drop-down menu choices. A friendly cartoon version of stock guru Mark Brookshire helps you make your final decision by providing some rating numbers when you input a stock. These include a rating for survivor sentiment, fundamentals, technical and a Motley Fool Rating.

For additional help choosing stocks, the site has an impressive resource library that spans beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Start with Investing 101 and consider taking advantage of the community forums if you have specific questions. Those who need a little help getting started can also choose to adapt one of the preset portfolios created by proven traders.

While the $100,000 competition is most popular, anybody on the site can create a contest. Prizes vary, but most often consist of competitive pride.

2. HowTheMarketWorks

Owned by the same company as Wall Street Survivor, this game is great for investors looking to gain experience with a new type of portfolio. In addition to stocks and indexes, there are options to experiment with Forex portfolios, penny stocks, mutual funds and short selling.

Beginners can execute market order-based trades in a "fun mode" without worrying about things like set hours, maximum number of trades per day, per stock and order expiration. A "realistic mode" amps up the complexity after they've mastered the beginner level.

Players can manage up to three stock portfolios and three Forex portfolios on the site at once. For each portfolio, they select a starting value between $100 and $500,000 and set how much virtual commission you are charged per trade.

The competition aspect is optional. General monthly contests give each player $25,000 as a virtual starting point. Other public contests include challenging restrictions like "short sells only" or "penny stocks only." Users can create their own password-protected games as well, which is a feature that teachers find helpful for creating class competitions.

3. Young Money Stock Market Game

Young Money Magazine's stock exchange game is easy to learn but also fairly realistic, which is a hard balance to strike.

Realistic aspects include a virtual commission that's taken out of each trade, adhering to market hours and rules about how you can invest. Unlike many investing games, trades are made at a real-time price. Learning aspects include convenient help icons on key terms and an intuitive tabbed interface.

The site runs a monthly contest with a $100 (real) cash prize that goes to whoever gained the highest percentage. Players can also create their own contests or join other user-made contests.

4. MarketWatch Fantasy Earnings Trader Game

MarketWatch will run this mock stock market contest for a total of four weeks, awarding the winner of each week with an iPad. It's on week three right now, but there's still time to get in on the competition for week four.

You must have your selections picked before the week starts on Monday. The shares that you select are "purchased" at Monday's open and will "sell" automatically at Friday's close.

The catch is that all players can only use the 15 to 20 symbols selected for each week. The companies are selected by the game owner for companies that are projecting their earnings during each week. Lining up picks is easy — players simply drag the company's logo to their trading card and designate if they want to sell short or go long.

Although there are some pros playing, this game is especially manageable for beginners due to the limited stock options for each week.

5. Virtual Stock Exchange (VSE)

Start with $1,000,000 cash balance you use to buy; stock, exchange traded fund, commodities, foreign currencies and more. Featuring 30+ of the world's stock exchanges.

The use of metrics and customization allow for readily accessible use of the software. Comparatively, VSE is less restrictive than some competitors thanks to; higher starting cash, 1,000,000 trades and helpful competitor information.

Challenges are optional, you can join an existing challenge or start your own for friends, classmates, clubs or strangers.

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So whether you play for fun or have the intention to trade with real money some day, these are all valuable resources.

Leave a comment and share which system you like best, or if there is another that should be on the list. 

Three Words You Should Never Say About Yourself

When we interact with other people, what do we want? As I started to study that question, I came across a wonderful quote. “There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who don’t.” Robert Benchley.

Psychologists have a bad habit of oversimplifying people. If I truly wanted to capture the richness of the human condition, I needed more than two categories. Imagine my delight, then, when I found evidence that around the world, there are not two… but three styles of interaction.

In every culture, and every industry, research identifies givers, takers, and matchers. Givers are generous: they help others with no strings attached. Takers are selfish: they try to get as much as they can from others. Matchers are fair: I’ll do something for you, if you do something for me (quid pro quo).

We all have our moments of giving, taking, and matching. We also have a style, though, that reflects how we treat most of the people most of the time. Sometimes people asked me about my style, and I was quick to answer: “I’m a giver.” It was natural—helping others is my top guiding principle in life. I feel more comfortable when I’m on the giving side of an exchange. I don’t like trading favors or being transactional.

It was the wrong answer. Last year, something happened that dramatically changed my perspective. I proposed the concept online, talking about and asking readers to self-identify their style. As a new author, nothing was more gratifying than learning that my words mattered to someone else. Given the topic, I expected to hear some stories about giving. I was completely unprepared, though, for what rolled in from some readers:

“When you wrote about givers, you were talking about me, right?” 

“Your book made me realize how generous I am.”

"I've always been a giver."

I thought these were isolated incidents… until I received feedback from someone I actually knew. In the span of one week, two of her friends heard about my book (from her). They both told her, “I’ve always been a giver.”

We found it off-putting, and we wondered why. At first, we thought it was the relationship. It’s one thing to tell a stranger you’re a giver. It’s another thing to announce it to a friend. If you’re really friends, wouldn’t they already know?!

Upon further discussion, we realized there was a deeper issue of humility. I decided to test our hunch elsewhere by posing a specific question during a real-life presentation: “How many of you are givers?”

In a typical room, about a third of the hands went up. Then, I asked: “How many of you are givers, but didn’t raise your hand, because you know that would violate the norm of modesty that givers are supposed to live by?”

“Those are the real givers,” I joked. “The moment someone raises a hand and says, ‘I’m a giver,’ my first reaction is, “Nope, you’re a taker.”

I say this in jest, but I’m surfacing a serious point:

When I called myself a giver, I failed the test of humility.

Now, when people ask about my style, I tell them I hold the values of a giver, and I aspire to be one. But whether I succeed in living by those values is not my place to judge. It’s in the eye of the beholder.

The lesson I learned: “I’m a giver” is off limits. Generosity is earned, not claimed. Leave it to other people to describe you as a giver—that’s the highest form of praise.

If that doesn’t happen, you can always name a website after yourself.

Credit: Adam Grant
Image credits: Anchorman

Favorite Games Suitable for Company Christmas Party

Mind-teaser games.

They are excellent when party guests are just gathering and everyone is waiting for others to arrive.

Christmas Movie Trivia

Copy the Holiday Movie Trivia (make sure not to leave the answer in) and hand out one to every guest as they arrive. Whoever gets the most questions right wins! Another variation on this game: Divide all guests into 2 or 3 or 4 groups, each group can collaborate on answers, the group which gets most questions right, wins!

1. In the 1988 film Scrooged, the character played by Bill Murray is:
     a) a cold-hearted banker
     b) a cold-hearted TV executive
     c) a cold-hearted police officer
     d) a cold-hearted politician
2. Whats the name of George Baileys guardian angel in Its a Wonderful Life?
     a) Ariel
     b) Henry
     c) Clarence
     d) Frank
3. In Its a Wonderful Life, George Bailey as a boy suffers an injury to:
     a) his foot
     b) his arm
     c) his eyes
     d) his ear
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas is written by:
     a) Tim Burton
     b) Martin Scorsese
     c) Jimmy Stewart
     d) Danny DeVito
5. White Christmas is set in
     a) Colorado
     b) Montana
     c) New Hampshire
     d) Vermont
6. Who plays Bing Crosbys Army buddy in White Christmas?
     a) Jimmy Stewart
     b) Dean Martin
     c) Danny Kaye
     d) Bob Hope
7. The little girl who’s skeptical about Santa Clause in Miracle on 34th Street is played by:
     a) Natalie Wood
     b) Audrey Hepburn
     c) Anne Bancroft
     d) Sharon Stone
8. Miracle on 34th Street revolves around which department store?
     a) Bloomingdales
     b) Macys
     c) Parisian
     d) Neiman Marcus
9. In Home Alone, a young boy is abandoned when his parents rush to a holiday vacation in:
     a) Vermont
     b) London
     c) Paris
     d) New York
10. The 1982 Barry Levinson film Diner is set in which city?
     a) New York
     b) Cleveland
     c) Baltimore
     d) Boston
11. Which of the following actors was NOT in Diner?
     a) Kevin Bacon
     b) Ellen Barkin
     c) Matt Dillon
     d) Mickey Rourke
12.What happens to the character played by Tim Allen in The Santa Clause?
     a) he gains weight
     b) grows a beard
     c) he gets fired
     d) all of the above

ANSWERS:

1. – Answer – (b)
2. – Answer – (c)
3. – Answer – (d)
4. – Answer – (a)
5. – Answer – (d)
6. – Answer – (c)
7. – Answer – (a)
8. – Answer – (b)
9. – Answer – (c)
10. – Answer – (c)
11. – Answer – (c)
12. – Answer – (d)

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The Bacon Factor

Take a list of 10 movie stars any movie stars at all. Link that person to Kevin Bacon through movies in the least amount of steps possible.Example:Dustin Hoffman was in Hook with Julia Roberts. Julia Roberts was in Flat-Liners with…Kevin Bacon!!Bacon factor is 1. Don’t count the direct connection.You should be able to do this with just about any actor or actress from any time. The challenge is knowing all of the right movies and who was in them.

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Name those Logos

Go through several magazines and cut out advertisement symbols (ie. the 7up dot, but not the word 7up). Paste each on the white side of a 3×5 card and have everyone go around the room with an answer sheet and try to identify as many of the symbols as possible.

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Who am I?

Pick a category such as cartoon characters, movie stars, vegetables, etc. Pin the name of one of these items on the back of each guest as they arrive. Tell them that they need to find out who they are by asking other people for help.The rules are:

1. ask yes or no questions only
2. answer yes or no questions
3. no removing your own name tag to find out. If you ask, anyone will help you find out your identity.

If you need people seated or grouped up this may be a good way to do it. Have place cards at the seat of each item. Or have a few different categories of item to guess. Then when it comes time to group up have the cartoon characters go here, vegetables there, etc.

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Name that Christmas Song

Have a stereo and Christmas tapes or cds available. Play a few lines of a song and the person that guesses the Christmas tune first, wins a gift, or for a harder version of the game, you can make them also guess the artist that is singing the song as well. It is ideal to try and find old songs that are rarely played so that guests have to put their thinking caps on.

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Association Game

Put the following on a table:

• A calendar
• The letter K
• A match in a bottle of water
• Jar of 16 candies
• Toothbrush
• Pitcher
• Candle
• Salt
• Fork
• Tacks
• Buttercup (Reeses?)
• the letter N
• Stamp
• 2 dice on a dish of dirt
• An Iron

When the guests come have the previous articles on a table. As they come, give them the following list. Match the statements on the list with the items on the table.

1. End of pork (k)
2. A bunch of dates (Calendar)
3. A swimming match (match in the bottle)
4. Sweet sixteen (Candies)
5. Never borrowed, never lent (toothbrush)
6. Seen at a ball game (pitcher)
7. Out for the night (candle)
8. The ending of a Biblical Character (Salt)
9. Branching of a river (Fork)
10. On of the causes of the American Revolution (Tacks)
11. A spring flower (buttercup)
12. The end of ambition (N)
13. Ready to be licked (Stamp)
14. A paradise on earth (dice)
15. Birthplace of Burns (Iron)

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Employee Trivia Game

Email everyone in the company (or post on a company bulletin board) a short request to send you one or two trivia details about themselves. Tell them this is in preparation for the upcoming Christmas party – give an example of what you are looking for: I have played Santa 3 times in past 10 years, or I traveled to South Pole, I go caroling every year ask them to keep their info related to winter, Christmas holidays, winter travel etc. Then type up a sheet of paper with two columns: One column will have the trivia statements and the other will have employee names paired with letter or a number. Make copies of the trivia sheet and distribute it during the party. The one who got the most answers right wins.

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Party Starters

have two purposes. First, to get things officially started with a bang. Second, some divide up a large group into smaller groups. Group games go much smoother and people are more willing to participate if they are split up from people they know and put into a random group. Grouping games are perfect for this.

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The Grouping Game

This is a good game to play as a mixer. It is a fun, fast moving game. It starts out as everyone collects in one big group. The leader initially calls out a number, usually a number between two and fifteen. The number shouldn't be more than half of the number of total participants. When the number is called out everyone must try to collect in a group that contains that number of people. The group members should be latching arms or have their arms wrapped around each other so that the leader can see who is in the group. If someone cannot enter a group because the number of required members has been reached, he is out of the game. As different numbers are successively called out the number of participants gets smaller and smaller. Eventually, there are less than ten people. The last group, or winning group, should have anywhere from two to five people.

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Mystery Stocking Game

Divide the group in to teams of 3-5 people per team. Give each team a Christmas stocking full of holiday items that has been tied shut with ribbon. (Get the Christmas stockings ready ahead of time by filling them loosely with small non-fragile objects- candy canes, plastic holly/mistletoe, plastic non-breakable tree ornaments, etc.) Set a timer and give each team 3 minutes to feel the stocking and write down all the objects that they can identify by feeling them through the stocking. The team with the most correct items wins.

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What is it Game

Fill a large bowl with oddly shaped and strange items. Cover the bowl with an old towel taped firmly to the bowl, and cut a hole in the middle of the towel that is big enough for a hand to fit through. Have each guest sit in a chair, blind folded, then have them dig into the bowl and pull out an item. They must correctly guess what the item is too win a prize. This one is a blast as you get to watch each person’s facial expression as they are feeling strange objects.

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Celebrities

Everyone writes the name of a celebrity, famous person or character on a piece of paper which they stick to the forehead of the player on their left (use tape or office Post-It notes). Make sure they don’t see the name.Everyone else can see your forehead. The objective is to work out who you are.Going around the table, each payer takes a turn to ask the party questions about who they are – answers can be YES or NO only. If you get a YES you may continue asking, if you get a NO play moves on to the left.Last person to guess their name is the loser. Simple, but very absorbing.Everyone writes the name of a celebrity, famous person or character on a piece of paper which they stick to the forehead of the player on their left (use tape or office Post-It notes). Make sure they don’t see the name.Everyone else can see your forehead. The objective is to work out who you are.Going around the table, each payer takes a turn to ask the party questions about who they are – answers can be YES or NO only. If you get a YES you may continue asking, if you get a NO play moves on to the left.Last person to guess their name is the loser. Simple, but very absorbing.

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Christmas Alphabet

Give each guest a piece of paper that has the letters vertically written from A to Z. Your guests must then come up with a word for each letter that relates to Christmas. The first one that completes the list with legible words wins a gift.

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Noah’s Ark

The group divides in two parallel lines facing each other across the room (perhaps boys/girls but doesn’t matter). Each person is assigned an animal whose match is across the room somewhere. After being given a moment of thought, everyone in the room acts like the assigned animal and walks (crawls, flaps, waddles, etc) across the room in search of their mate. No human language is allowed. When people think they have discovered their mate, the go to the referee. The pandemonium proceeds until everyone has been mated.To help with the assignment of animals perhaps you could make two sets of animal cards to pass out to people. In this case, the people wouldn't need to be in parallel lines across from each other. They could just be in a big circle or anywhere in the room.

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Pass the Orange

Arrange for teams of about 8 to stand in a line, one behind the other (arranged boy, girl, boy,…). Give each team an orange which the first person should tuck under his chin. This should be passed to the person behind. When the orange gets to the last person, they come to the front of the line and start again. The winning team is the first one which gets their starting person to the front again.

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Creepers and Slammers

Good for large groups too! Sitting at a table, having people on either side of you and across from you. Divide your group into two teams. One team at a time takes a turn passing a quarter under the table carefully so that the people across from you on the other team cant see where the quarter is. Then at any time the other team that doesn’t have the quarter tells you to stop! They either yell CREEPERS, All the people on the team that has the quarter must bring both hands up on the table and slowly try to open their hands with their palms down trying not to allow the quarter to drop loudly. The opposite team tries to guess where the quarter is. If the opposite team calls SLAMMERS then everyone on your team brings their hands up quickly slamming them down with palms down and open. The other team tries to guess who has the quarter. Just take turns until you are tired of playing. It is a lot of fun and everyone can join in. The winner is the team with least number of guesses to find the quarter.

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Active games.

These are good to work off some of those holiday calories!

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Pass It ON

Sit close together in two lines facing the same direction. The person in the front of each line rolls a die. When one of them gets a six, both of them pass a small object (a jack, a ball, a bracelet) to the person behind them who passes it on until it reaches the end. When it gets to the last person, that person must get up and race to the front of the line with the object and sit down. The person who sits down first, gets to sit in the front of the line. The person who was second to sit down, goes back to his or her spot. Whichever line rotates from back to front first, wins.

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Dragon Tail Tag

Make small chains of about four people. Either have team members hold on to each others waists or link elbows. The end person has a flag or tail (bandana) hanging behind them or in their back pocket. Teams must stay linked to participate.The object of the game is to steal other teams tails while avoiding other teams who are trying to steal your tail. The last team to have a tail wins.

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Musical Chairs

The old favorite. With one fewer chairs than people, a short snippet of music is played while the people move around the room. When the music stops everyone tries to sit on a vacant chair. (Only ONE person per chair) The person who doesn’t find a chair is out. One chair is taken away and the game continues until only one person (The Winner) is left.

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Balloon Stomping Game

Each participant blows up a balloon and ties it with a bit of string or wool to his/her ankle. On the given command, the guests (only using their feet) try to be the last person to have their balloon bursted ie, you stamp on your opponents. Again great fun, caution is eered on anyone getting carried away with the stamping. As survivors get fewer, reduce the playing area.

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Party On games

are good at any time… everyone or just some party participants can play these fun games

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Santa Hat Game

For festive gatherings with Santa hats. You need everyone to be wearing a hat, so either use the ever popular Santa hats, or otherwise give everyone a normal party hat. The game is based on observation. The objective is NOT to be the last person left with a hat on. At the start announce the simple objective, the only rule is that no one can take their hat off until you have. Let another game or conversation take place, and as time goes by, people will take their attention off you, and even forget the game is happening. Eventually remove your hat and watch as people cotton on. Gradually the hats will come off, amidst sniggers and smirks. Some unsuspecting person (who’s probably busy boring everyone with a hopeless story)will be last to notice, and much to every ones mirth, this person is the loser.Serve up an appropriate forfeit, get the hats back on and give the loser the chance to start the next game.

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Winking Murder

All except the detective sit in a circle while the detective waits outside. One person from the circle is elected to be the murderer, and then the Detective is called back to stand in the circle. When he is ready, the Murderer winks at people in the circle. Anyone who sees that they have been winked at lets out a blood-curdling scream and dies. The Detective has three attempts to guess the murderer

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Birthday Present Game

Materials:1 Pair of Gloves, 1 Hat, 1 Die (perhaps two dice if group is large)A Prize wrapped in several layers of newspaper and boxes.The group stands in a circle. The gloves, hat, and wrapped box are placed in the center. someone begins by rolling the dice. If they roll a 6, they hurry into the middle and put on the gloves and hat. They then start to unwrap the package. They must move fast because the next person to roll a 6 takes the hat off of the person in the center. The person in the center stops immediately and takes off the gloves, gives them to that person, and he/she goes back to the circle. The game continues like this until the package is completely unwrapped and the last person receives their prize. Its really noisy and incredibly fun!

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I Have Never

Each person receives several counters (toothpicks, pennies, etc.)Then take turns around the circle. Each person tells of something they have never done (example: I have never broken a bone or I have never traveled out of the country). Anyone who has done this must give the speaker one of their toothpicks or pennies. After going around the circle several times, the person with the most tokens wins.

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Whats your Name Sweetie

Materials:About 6 different candies that have given names like M&Ms, Crunch, Wrigleys , etc.1 Dice (or 2 dice if the crowd is very large)Everyone is seated on the floor in a circle. Packaged candy bars or candy are placed in the middle of the circle. Everyone starts by saying their own names. The leader then makes sure that everyone knows what candy is in the middle. someone begins by rolling the dice. If they roll a 6, they can take one of the candies in the middle. The die continues to go quickly around the circle while people keep picking up candy. When all of the candies are taken, people then can get other peoples candy.In order to get their candy, they must state the persons first name and the name of the candy they hold. The person who rolls a 6 and matches the name of the candy and the person takes the others candy. If they forget either name, they miss their turn and the dice goes to the next person and they continue to roll. (One person can get more than one candy and people can hide the candy behind their back). This is a great way of getting to know peoples name and how to get your favorite candies!

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Choose your punishment.

In all of our games, there will be winners, in some there will be losers. Here are some suggestions for losers forfeits:

SCULPT ME

Stand on a chair and take the pose of any creature or object the group chooses.

WALK THE PLANK

Walk a straight line while looking the wrong way through a pair of binoculars.

I’M BORED

By acting tired yourself, make at least one member of the group yawn.

THAT’S NOT FUNNY

Make one member of the group laugh or smile.

WHO AM I?

Wearing a blindfold, identify the members of the group by touching their faces.

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Ultimately here are the Top Ten Signs You’re at a Bad Office Christmas Party according to CBS – Late Show with David Letterman

1. Eggnog smells suspiciously like Liquid Paper.
2. Anyone caught under mistletoe gets choked by Latrell Sprewell.
3. Because of corporate downsizing, Santa is only 120 pounds.
4. Only food available is something called reindeer kebabs.
5. Last time you saw this much sucking up was on the Tommy Lee-Pamela Anderson videotape.
6. Christmas tree is just a fat intern in a green sweater.
7. For the 16th year in a row, the Canadian band leader has passed out in the eggnog.
8. Thanks to the alcohol-free punch, not a single butt gets photocopied.
9. Boss offers to give you a raise, and hes not talking about money.
10. Its held every year on July 23rd.

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If you enjoyed this page and have a Cool Party Game you want to share – please post it in the comments below!

Honest Corporate Slogans

After reading the list, if you think of your own share it in the comments below.

Why can't they just be honest?

• Linkedin
• Pizza Hut
• K-Mart
• Best Buy
• McDonald's
• Nike
• Bugles
• Target
• Ben & Jerry's
• Hot Pockets

Netiquette*

Do you like to be seen as rude, lazy or uneducated? Failing to follow some basic rules of web etiquette - netiquette - results in just that. Without the benefit of seeing you face to face (F2F), the type of human being that you are or are not, your intelligence, your professionalism and even your ethics will be judged by how you communicate with others online.

Email Netiquette

Become a good Netizen and follow these online basics in your online communications.

1. You are what you write. How and what you write provides clues to the kind of person you are. Learn to write clearly and accurately.
2. Assume that email is not secure. Never put in an email message anything you would not put on a postcard.
3. Use descriptive, key words in the subject heading. This allows the recipients to scan and prioritize a long list to which they must respond.
4. Do not type in all caps. This is considered yelling or screaming online. Used mixed case instead.
5. Respect the privacy of e-mail addresses. Always know to whom you are sending an email. If you wish to send to a group, learn to use the BCC feature of your email program: the receiver gets a copy of the e-mail but their email address remains invisible to the other recipients. If a message becomes a 2-way conversation, make sure you don’t include other people.
6. Be wise when forwarding private e-mails. All private email is considered to be copyrighted by the original author. Ask permission before forwarding/posting any private emails!
7. Know how large a message you are sending. Be brief and clear in your message. If you are sending attachment, minimize, compress or "zip" large files before sending. Be wise and don’t clutter another person’s mailbox will unnecessary messages.
8. Take the time to review your email before clicking send. Spell check your email, proofread for errors, capitalize your sentences and use appropriate punctuation and grammar. This is especially important in educational e-learning, business environments, or other online contacts where proper formatting is crucial to building your relationship and credibility.
9. Create a signature file. This is a line or two at the end of your message with contact information so people know who you are. Create it ahead of time so that it is automatically appended to all your e-mails.
10. Respond promptly to emails. Like phone calls or voicemails, provide quick feedback to your emails. If you want a quick response, remember that people live in different time zones and factor that in accordingly.
11. You are what you write. How you communicate will give a perception as to the kind of person you are. Learn to write with clarity.
12. Nasty e-mails rarely deserve a response. Ignore and delete them. It's the best snub.
13. Do not forward jokes and chain letter e-mails. If you must, ask first.
14. Get to know online acronyms. Popular ones include BTW, “by the way,” IMO, “in my opinion,” WTG, “way to go,” FYI, “for your information.” Keep in mind that acronyms may not be suitable for all emails.
15. Sending email in plain text is best. Email is a quick and straightforward form a communications. Adding unnecessary colour and/or graphic images may make your posting difficult to read since not all email software has the ability.
16. Be careful with humor and sarcasm. Written comments can often be misinterpreted. Emoticons (i.e., smiley faces or other symbols alongside your text) often help the recipient ‘interpret’ your intentions. Be safe and limit your use in professional environment

Chat Netiquette

• Use "Emoticons." Also referred to as smileys, these are characters or symbols which are used are used in conjunction with text to overlay emotion in a written message, to clarify the meaning. Here are just a few examples of some popular smileys (it helps if you read them sideways):

:-) smile	:-I hmmm	(:-) smiley big-face	;-) wink
:-( sad	[:-) listening to iPod	:-& tongue-tied	:-@ screaming
:-D big smile	:-} wry or fiendish grin	:-0 big mouth	:-] sarcasm

• Always say goodbye. When you are leaving a chat room or finished the conversation, let the other person know rather than leaving them hanging.
• Don’t correct typing errors. Unlike emails, the purpose of chat is to carry on a ‘live’ conversation. Punctuation and typos are accepted, as long as your meaning is clear.

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Do you agree, disagree or have your own to add? Leave a comment below.

The Unfortunate Reality of your First Job

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Looking forward to your first job? Here is what you can expect to be in stored for you.

Feeling fine being unemployed.  Getting happier when you get the interview. Happiness falls when you wait. Then you get the call "You've got the job" happiness skyrockets. And then you start working and you're more miserable than the beginning.

If this is the case. Get a new job. If you must find a new job more than twice in a year, something is wrong.

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Notice how it looks like a middle finger from the side.

Down with Evil Corporations!

A group of protesters protesting the evil corporate machines, organized against corporations, using social networking (by corporations), smart phones (by corporations) serviced by wireless carriers (that are corporations) wearing clothes (made by corporations), capturing it all with cameras (made by corporations) and getting there via cars, buses, bicycles, and shoes (made by corporations). Don't they deserve more from these greedy corporations? PS. Meeting afterwards at Starbucks.

So I can choose between two messages to take away from this illustration:
The first being that through all of the anti-corporation and big business protesting, what is really done by the activists? Businesses draw there power from the consumers and the protesters consume just as much as anyone else. So anything short of building a socialist-capitalist corporation that isn't "evil" nothing the protesters do will make any difference in the end, because at the end of the day the comportations are still making money from hats and camera's and everything else that is bought and sold these days.

The second message is less serious and it is that all of the corporate products displayed in the above image (and the ones not labeled) are themselves or also the company they came from are all not evil and therefore good corporations because the people protesting the evil corporations approve of everything shown in the image.

People Pay Less, Company Cuts Corners

I was at the grocery store today, and I was looking at some everyday low prices items and they were set so cheap. I'm no Price is Right wizard or anything but correct me if I’m wrong but here’s some examples; $3.00 for a 4 pack of gum, $1.00 for a box of cookies and $0.67 for a watermelon. Aren’t prices supposed to increase over time due to inflation? But the prices are going lower, something’s has got to give and if they don’t then the bottoms going to fall out and food prices are going to sky rocket in my opinion.

The way I see it is, consumers want to spend as little as possible for the things they buy every day, in order to keep customers happy and coming back, big companies are pressured to keep prices down and thus they must cut costs. Doing this means laying off employees, cutting corners, sacrificing customer services and more. How low can prices actually go? Everything for a penny stores? That would never work.

So many people refuse to spend money on food and things they need so companies have to drop the prices in order to move items off the shelves then when the company can’t afford to keep the staff or the stores they must let employees go. I know it’s only a fraction of the population that is subject to these criteria. And of course placing blame will not solve anything, we should all know that, but even though it stands to reason consumers are driven by greed, selfishness, shortsightedness, irresponsibility and a whole host of undesirable character traits they cannot be expected to be held responsible for the bigger picture. Consumers are merely cogs in the machine that is known as capitalism. But all cogs must be created somehow, I do not believe in an all-powerful individual who controls the economy and no evil conglomerate of executives mold the world’s money to suit their own goals. It is all just a cycle of cause and effect, A leads to B, B leads to C, C leads to A, and the cycle grows and continues and changes and repeats over and over manifesting itself in every crevice of humanity and inevitably evolving into something new and better or dies off. Natural selection is not just for animals anymore, when an entity develops a life of its own it becomes capable of evolution and can either adapt and advance or fall extinct.

Type of Business

A very simplified and conjectured point of view, holds a level of merit and is humorous. And now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Blackberry 10

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd. plans to give software developers prototypes of a new BlackBerry in early May, signaling RIM is a step closer to the debut of a handset it’s betting on to revive slumping sales.

As many as 2,000 of the BlackBerry 10 test models will be given out to developers at RIM’s BlackBerry Jam conference in Orlando, Florida and they are designed to allow developers to build applications using the underlying operating system, Alec Saunders, RIM’s vice-president developer relations, said in an telephone interview today.“It’s a huge step forward on our path to eventually launching BB10,” Saunders said. “It’s tangible evidence of the company making progress to finally shipping the device.”

Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM fell 0.5 percent to $13.72 at 1:44 p.m New York time. The stock fell 75 percent last year and is down 5 percent this year. RIM is looking to generate buzz with developers who, like consumers, have drifted away from the BlackBerry platform because of the lack of a consistent operating system and recent losses in market share. Eighty-nine percent of developers in a January survey by Appcelerator and IDC said they were “very interested” in developing for the iPhone. For Android phones, the figure was 79 percent, while only 16 percent of developers polled were “very interested” in building apps for the BlackBerry phone.


RIM had the best market share being the first in the game with Smartphones but they lost the battle when everyone else came out with their own Smartphones. With superior leadership and organization RIM can till get back into the game, the war is not over.

New Job Interview?

Some points you should remember.

• Don’t enter salary negotiations without doing your homework.

• Do try to negotiate (employers may start at the lower end of a salary range to leave room for negotiation).

• Don’t be the first to bring up salary during the interview.

• Do ask about the pay range for a position if salary requirements are requested.

• Don’t overlook the value of benefits.

• Do get it in writing.

• Don’t let salary negotiations turn negative or burn bridges.

Do you know the etiquette of your own county?

So this is a cool site I found called International Business Etiquette, Manners, and Culture (IBEMC) it has a bunch of information on the countries all around the world, starting with an introduction about the Country in questions. Like how Canada has just less than 30 million people twice the size of the United States.  Fun facts are also detailed. The Geert Hofstede Analysis goes over some neat data and compares the country to others in important detail. Next is the appearance criteria, for business, casual, dress for weather and more, this one is interesting to me, especially for someone who travels to new places.  Another cool one is the regional behavior, this part is great and has stuff I never knew. Also communication, this part is cool, like how in Canada a firm handshake and good eye contact  are so important in North America but in a lot of places in the world it is thought of as confrontational  or else. Lastly a list of Resources are given at the end, which is great for someone doing research for schools or business or what ever. And for the general information seekers such as myself I've spent loads of time reading on IBEMC.

Visit the IBEMC