Today’s landscape will look completely different tomorrow. Customer expectations, data and analytics, mobile and social interaction, cloud services; it’s all changing how businesses think, work and communicate. Business environment is ever changing and ever evolving. Successful enterprises recognize the need to operate and evolve at a pace that’s just as demanding. They are turning to IBM Cloud Business Solutions to keep up.

IBM Cloud Business Solutions represents two important initiatives for IBM; its tremendous investment on research and development and production system for its cloud initiatives often called smart cloud. There are three main trends that IBM believe are driving the clients to cloud offerings more readily; Complexity, Volatility and Resource constraints. The world is growing far more complex. The types of solutions our clients need are more sophisticated than they were in the past.

Now, enterprises can quickly and economically test and scale new capabilities; bundled, pre-integrated and available as a service on the cloud. Just think, the speed and agility of the cloud customized to meet your unique requirements. Decision-makers can focus on identifying growth opportunities, generating new revenue streams and improving operational efficiency with lower barriers compared to traditional technology transformations; all while fostering greater agility, collaborations, efficiency and responsiveness.

Many cloud services can help you check some of those boxes, but tend to be one size fits all. The approach to complex requirements especially for larger enterprises still needs to be improved. IBM Cloud Business Solutions bridge the gap between traditional technology transformations and cloud. Excel training courses London will keep you up to date with new tools of the new technology.

Here’s how IBM Cloud Business Solutions are helping a home appliance manufacturer, retailer and medical supply business. First the manufacturer. Customers were paying a high price for service. Meanwhile fixing products under warranty was also costly. But with IBM Cloud Business Solutions the manufacturer can  and analyze data from several sources. This helps enhance customer support processes, optimize product service intervals and personalize customer experiences.
Next the Retailer. To respond to a changing market environment it’s evolving its business model to focus on digital learning solutions for customers. The problem was moving quickly to build and scale a differentiated solution economically. IBM Cloud Business Solutions eliminated that roadblock. Together with IBM, the retailer now offers personalized solutions to its institutional clients and it has the agility to respond to market shifts; expanding business quickly to capture this emerging opportunity.

Then there’s the medical supply business. Recognizing its catalogue of products was vast and complex. The company wanted to make easier for the customers to find exact product specifications at the best price. Now it’s easy to analyze customers specific needs; pair them with product specifications and prices and make the best offer from the catalog. The payoff? Sales representatives can more effectively position their product portfolio to fit customer needs at a better price.

As the landscape continues to shift, it’s critical that your enterprise’s business and IT objective align. IBM Cloud Business Solutions ensure you innovate how you deliver value, operate on solid ground and can move with agility.

 

 

 

 

 

Gaming. It begins at a very early age these days. How many early elementary kids are playing “Minecraft?” By the end of 2013, 33 million kids were playing.

Many of those kids are at least 4 years older now, are graduating high school or may be entering college. But their passions for gaming have not decreased. In fact, they are participating in lots of online competition and dream of either professional gaming or, even more ambitious, getting into game development.

Given the popularity of gaming, there will always be work in the gaming industry. For those who specifically want to move into development, there will be some skill training and some work ahead. Here are 8  tips for these passionate gaming development hopefuls.

Choose Your Focus

You have two choices (and a third, actually – more on that later) – the science of gaming (programming) or the art (design).

• Programming: If this is your goal, you have programming languages to learn and learn well – C++, JavaScript, HTML, and perhaps more. When developing games, you will either code outright or use some of the tools that will make it easier. Either way, you need to have solid understanding of the languages.

• Designing: You do not need to learn programming languages. But you do need to understand the process by which games are developed. This will allow you to design the “art” side of games, knowing what a developer will need to do. And, if you are a solopreneur in the industry, then you will need to have that design in as much detail as possible before you speak with a developer.

Identify Your Limitations and Account for Them

If design is your focus, and you are great at creating scenes and music, you may not be so good at character development. If you are working for a company, the expertise will be there, and you will work as a team. If you are a freelancer, however, you will need to partner up with someone else.

If you are in the programming side, and you are struggling with some of the coding, you need to know where to get that help. Understanding your limitations and getting that help will demonstrate to an employer that you want to get things right the first time out, rather than having to debug after testers have pointed out the “fails.”

And if you have identified some design or programming skill gaps, get thyself into some gaming design coursework from a reputable institution – either off- or online.

Check Your Passion

Good game development requires passionate people who do not see what they do as real work. For them, it is fun. There are crazy long hours, lots of collaboration with others, disagreements, long discussions over Chinese takeout, creative problem-solving, and flexibility/compromises. Make certain that these are all things you will love, or you will develop resentment – never a good thing.

Check Out Options Other Than Development or Design

You may love gaming, and you may want to be a part of the industry. But you are not really into the art or science of it all. There are other opportunities within the industry. These include such positions as testing, marketing, or even doing voice-overs for characters or contributing the music.

Look for Internships

If you want to work for a company/studio, pursue internships. These are amazing learning experiences, even if you do not end up working for that specific company. Other gaming firms or groups will be far more interested in talking to you if you have an internship under your belt. Some internships are even remote, should you not live in close proximity, and many are actually paid.

Consider Freelancing

If you are on the independent side, you may not like the idea of joining a studio as a regular employee. Studios need lots of expertise and, especially if they are small or in the startup phase, they cannot afford full-time employees. Once you have your skill set, check out job boards and niche publications – there will be many opportunities within your skill area.

If and when you take a gig, be certain that you craft a contract, if the firm/studio does not provide one. Any contract should sell out exactly what you are expected to do, how much you will be paid, and a guarantee that your contribution(s) may be used in your professional portfolio.

Be Careful About Pay Offers

There are lots of “poor” studios out there – people who are passionate about gaming and who have big dreams but no money. They are looking for “desperate” people who have their same passion who they can pay almost nothing. Sometimes they will offer you a small equity position or stock in the company or claim that your work will be a great portfolio addition. These things can be tempting, especially if you are hungry for work, but don’t sell yourself short and don’t work for nothing.

Getting Discouraged – It Comes with the Territory

Expect long dry spells. Of course, if they don’t come, great. But when they do, it is probably not because you lack skills. Competition can be tough, and there just may not be a “fit” between a studio’s need and your skillset.

When you hit dry spells or no nibbles from your job applications, take that time to design or develop on your own, to build up your portfolio, or take additional coursework to add to your skillset.

Find ways to network – attend workshops, conferences, and other meetings. Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date, and join groups on that platform. Participate in online forums and discussions; start a blog; develop some podcasts. There are just many things you can do to keep your name out there and to keep your passion intact.

And, if you have to eat, take an unrelated job. Eventually, you will find a position or “gig,” and you will “get your groove” back.

The gaming industry is exciting and fun. It is also evolving rapidly, as technology continues to improve gaming experiences for players. Keep abreast of these advances – you don’t want to become irrelevant.

Bluemix is a cloud platform powered by the world’s most popular open source project. Bluemix is here to help you efficiently develop applications in your way; simplifying how you build and manage them in the cloud. Bluemix let you choose your own programing language; work with your own architecture and make your own design choices. 
IBM has changed the way applications are delivered. Making cloud more accessible than ever with Bluemix. IBM Bluemix is a cloud platform as a service developed by IBM. Bluemix allows you to easily extend and enrich the functionalities of your applications with services and API’s from both IBM and third parties that are based on the world’s most powerful open-source technologies to pair your applications.

 
Bluemix takes care of the infrastructure come with over 100 services to choose from ranging from Watson, IoT, Analytics, API creation management and integration; concerned about provisioning licensing and other time consuming issues. Bluemix’s immediately deployable technologies include push notifications, SQL and NoSQL Database, messaging, security and more. You can easily augment applications with Bluemix’s ground-breaking cognitive learning machine Watson as well as other leading AI services. These services come from both IBM and its community partners.

Bluemix is designed to accelerate innovation tapping into your current cloud environment and delivering more engaging solutions. Since the inception of Bluemix we have seen a huge market response from startups to enterprise corporate clients like SilverHook, Tangerine bank, Hertz car rental, IQ, Capgemini, Volvo, Honda, Citibank and many more. 

Bluemix is designed with choice of deployment in mind; even the suit the most sensitive workloads. Bluemix Public allows the user to experience and tap into a world of services across Watson like mobile and IoT in our public cloud environment. IBM Blumix technology could be a leverage in Adwords scripts. Blumix dedicated offers superior combination of security and time to value in a cloud environment which feels like an extension of your own data center. For your very sensitive workloads for data compliance you can bring Bluemix behind your firewall with the markets first of its kind approach private cloud delivery. 

Bluemix was designed with speed and ease in mind; it makes life easier for the developer and the entire development team. With Bluemix we provide teams of all sizes with a flexibility to scale computers at a very granular level, seamlessly collaborate in source code, share API’s and manage apps performance logs and costs through a single console. 
Developing an application is easy, but deploying ab application is even easier. With Bluemix your application is deployed and running in productions within minutes.

 
Bluemix’s future-rich built to measure git repository makes everything; from production live coding to building to deploying your application as simple as a push command. You can quickly extend the capabilities of your app in any direction. A click of a button, a copy-paste of the credentials of your new service and you are back on track. And once you’re alive, Bluemix will handle scaling monitoring and logging. So you could spend more time on what you actually love doing.      

 

 

This blog is going to review the best press release distribution services.  Each site has its advantages and disadvantages, so reviewing each one is important.  All of them will have the standard elements you would come to expect from a release site, including a list of syndication networks, submission sites, newsroom and FAQ.

Let’s take a look at some of the best sites for distribution.  We will be looking at each site with a critical eye and careful scrutiny.  General parameters will include pricing, transparency, guaranteed placements, user friendliness, navigation, and if there are any extra features like analytics to help follow a release once submitted.

Many of the sites will require a login to continue or access information.  This is something the blog does not do as part of the review of each site.  You will be responsible for creating accounts for yourself should you choose to use a particular site.  It is a hope this blog will drive decisions on signing in and getting more information and thereby save you time, energy and most importantly, precious money.

1). NewswireNEXT

Top on our list is NewswireNEXT.com. Although a new site, there are many reasons for us to rank this site as No. 1 press release distribution company. Not only it’s affordable ($199), it offers guaranteed maximum media pickup (500+ successful placements) with brand new features that other press release companies do not offer. We have personally tried and tested their services to promote our clients, and the results were quite remarkable. Based on our experience, below we have outlined some of the key features that truly make NewswireNEXT the best in its league.

 

• No Sign Up or Login required- It’s a simple website that is easy to browse and navigate. Everything has been clearly described, and they are quite transparent in terms of pricing, offerings and what they guarantee with each order. Moreover, there’s no need for you to register with the site or create an account. You can simply choose the package you want, and proceed to checkout.

 

• Free White Label Service- Unlike other PR sites that charge you an additional premium for white label press release distribution, NewswireNEXT does it for free. In other words, their distribution packages are white label by default. Best for businesses, resellers and PR agencies who do not want the name of distributor appear in press release, media outlets and report.

 

• TIER 1 Broadcast Networks (MSNBC and PBS)- They are indeed the only wire service that guarantees placement of your business news on top tier broadcast media sites like MSNBC and PBS with each order.

 

• Mobile Optimized Press Release (Google AMP, Apple News and FB Instant Articles)- When compared to traditional desktop users, the number of the consumers using tablets and smartphones to access internet has substantially increased. Hence, we can’t totally ignore the value of mobile optimized press release in today’s PR distribution strategy. Not only it gives you more exposure, it allows your news release to load faster on mobile devices. Unfortunately, most of the press release distribution sites have totally ignored the benefits of mobile platforms such as Google AMP, Facebook Instant Articles and Apple News, and refused to change with time. However, the good news is that NewswireNEXT publishes your press release in all the 3 abovementioned mobile formats, which can truly give you an edge over your competitors.

 

• Organic PR Outreach- When it comes to PR outreach, majority of the distribution services rely solely on NIE circuit, which is subscribed by millions of journalists. However, despite the huge number of subscribers, there’s a very little possibility of your press release being picked by a journalist, blogger or a contributor. Hence, in order to ensure that your news release is picked by the media, NewswireNEXT has gone a step further to implement a highly effective organic PR outreach strategy, which involves sending your news directly to a list of editors, journalists, bloggers and contributors from major business publications and niche industries. They guarantee publication of your story or mention of your business on at least 1 business publication/ niche blog. Example includes, The Huffington Post, Forbes, CNN, The Next Web, Seeking Alpha, Evan Carmichael, Tech.co, Realty Times, Buzzfeed and more.

 

• Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, CW and TELEMUNDO Affiliates- Your press release is guaranteed syndicated to Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, CW and Telemundo affiliate sites.

 

• Google News, Bing News, and Yahoo, Google, Bing Search Engines- The PR is indexed in top news aggregators like Google News and Bing News, along with search engines like Yahoo, Bing and Google.

 

• Financial Feeds, Newspapers and Industry News Sites- Syndicated to sites like Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, AZCentral, IndustryWeek, WND, Travel Weekly, Digital Journal, Miami Herald, Wall Street Select, IBTimes, Star Tribune and more.

 

• Regional USA and India News Sites- Syndicated to regional and local USA and Indian news sites like Alaska News Desk, Atlanta Chronicle News, Nebraska News Desk, Utah Headlines, New Jersey Headlines, South Carolina Magazine, Washington Magazine, South Dakota Chronicle, Texas News Headlines, New York Chronicle, Northern India Herald, Bangalore Samachar, Himachal Pradesh Newspaper, Southern India Reporter, Aurangabad Magazine, Mysore Newspaper, Gujarat Magazine, and Kerala Daily to name a few.

 

• Comprehensive and Transparent Reporting- Post distribution, they send you 3 comprehensive reports (Earned Media, Owned Media and Paid Media placement links) with 500+ live press release links.

 

Final Thoughts- Of all the sites reviewed in this post, this one is the absolute best for your press release submission needs.  The cost is inexpensive relatively speaking versus the other sites covered in this blog.  It is without reservation that this site be used for your press release submissions whether you are a small business or public corporation.

 

2). PRNewswire

Next on our list is PRNewswire. Like most sites, this one requires an account, which is not a difficult task if you have noted the information mentioned previously.  You will have to provide your business email, as an email account from a disposable service (Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, etc.) will not be accepted.  This is a standard concept, because many sites require a login.  The login is necessary because most of the sites charge fees on per release, monthly, quarterly or yearly basis.

The site itself has a very busy homepage with press releases visible on the first page.  There does seem to be a good mix of release topics if you dig into the site.  Small businesses are mentioned alongside larger companies, but finding the information takes time to make sense of what is there.

The site does not provide a price for submission services, and this is a serious drawback.  You can fill out a form and ask for information.  This can prove to be more trouble than it is worth in the long run. However, do keep in mind that they are quite expensive. They charge you a yearly membership fee, plus distribution charges. If you have $1000 to $2000 to spare, PRNewswire can get you a good coverage.

Final Thoughts:  PRNewswire is ideal for publicly traded companies and bigger firms who want to make fast and accurate distribution of financial and material information. Overall, this is not an ideal site for small business entities, PR agencies and professionals. A small business with limited advertising income would be far better to search elsewhere for the best in press release distribution.

 

3). eRELEASES

Immediately upon arriving at the site you are greeted with a friendly page with lots of information that is easy to read.  The site lets you know why it is worth using for your press release submission.

Looking into the site, there is a comparison chart available for interested customers that outline your options for each release.  If you need writing services, they offer this as well.

The landing page specifically mentions small businesses, ideal for anyone who is just starting or attempting to increase their online presence.  There is no search function to search for releases. 

Unlike many sites, this site does offer a complete list of site submission.  Users can search by state and find an extensive list of submission locations.  This includes newspapers and magazines – a real plus for targeted small businesses.

Sounds good?  It really is.  It is provided you can survive the sticker shock.  A single press release starts at $299.00 and goes up to $499.00.  This does not include a writer, although the site does offer writing services in addition to the release submission.

They promise great results, and it is simple to get results when you are assessed at such a price.  There are no example releases on the homepage, but there is a list of locations your release will be submitted, including the big news agencies, Huffington Post and the like.  This too is a good reason to strongly consider this site for release submission if nothing else.  Most of these big media conglomerates like Huffington Post do not accept many submissions, and those that do have a substantial cost.  $299.00 may sting, but the benefits may be worthwhile.

Final Thoughts: The site promises the moon, but it will cost you a ticket there.  For $299 they guarantee placement of press release on at least 75 online PR media sites. Small to medium size businesses would do well to consider the cost versus the price for submission. Those who can’t afford PRNewswire can definitely go for eReleases.

 

4). GlobeNewswire

Another site that requires you to login but does not show you prices, GlobeNewswire does list press releases on the first page.  Unfortunately, there are only 10 releases posted per page.  This is a real issue because there are several thousand pages of releases.  You can search for releases, but at 10 results per page, it may be a while for you to see any good results.

The site does not mention costs and results.  Locations for distribution are buried in the pages and looking for them takes time.  Small businesses with tight budgets will not find any results that will be meaningful because of this.  A lack of upfront pricing is also a detractor, as many small businesses have to count every cent.

Final Thoughts: A lack of pricing, buried sites and no comparisons are questionable.  There is nothing on the site about helping to write press releases or writing services.  This is okay for larger, more established businesses, but for a small company, it may pose somewhat of a problem if there is trouble with the release writing.

 

5). Business Wire

Owned by Warren Buffett, Business Wire promises to be as good as they come.  You need to create an account to submit any releases, so this can be good or bad.

The website looks quite professional, and the huge amount of information available on the site is quite impressive. There are visible releases on the Home page, and visitors can access press releases by Date, Industry, Subject and Region. The site does offer distribution services and seem to have solid results with this element of the site. They even have a Service page, where you get an idea of the many options that are available to you. 

In order to distribute press releases via Business Wire, you will have to first become its member. You can do so by downloading its membership form, fill it out, submit to your nearest bureau, and wait for their approval. This is a major strike against using this site, as there’s no guarantee that they will accept your application. 

Without an account, it is difficult to gauge the efficacy of the site.  It is safe to assume that there will be a charge for each press release submission, but there is not much information available regarding pricing.  Although, they have several options and offer more depth of reach than any other newswire out there, they will additionally charge you for each add on or a feature.

Final Thoughts: Warren Buffett’s Business Wire is great for corporations, organizations and bigger firms, but not ideal for a small business or someone who is on a limited budget.

 

6). Marketwired

This site has real promise by only looking at the homepage.  There is a full page of information, including a few press release examples.  The site promises plenty of positives like analytics and white papers.  The site is also partnered with NASDAQ, an excellent resource for anyone who is looking for solid business release contacts.  There is no information on pricing or how to submit a release. In order to get this information, you will have to first register with the site and create an account.

Also, there is a lack of necessary information on results and average number of pickups, which is indeed a serious blow to small businesses and startups looking for guaranteed online PR media sites placements.  There is also not a partial example of the release locations. Moreover, it is unknown how well the site works with resellers or other agencies which send on press releases via a third party. 

Final Thoughts: Marketwired does not appear to have the necessary aspects, cost and follow up that would benefit a small business or anyone looking for affordable online press release submission. However, it is best for those who are looking for targeted distribution and care less about number of pickups.

 

7). Cision

Cision stands out from the rest because not only it owns PRNewswire and PRWeb, it is much more than just press releases.  The site also includes case studies, something that can be closely tied to releases.  There is no direct pricing on the site, as users must request information via a login and request form.  However, if you can spare $6K to $12K on an annual single or double license subscription, then it’s the best public relations software one can ever use. The companies listed seem to run a full gambit and include many Canadian sites and businesses, making this perfect for resellers and anyone looking for international distribution.

The interface seems a bit more complicated than some of the other sites, as users will need to dig to find the appropriate channels for their release.  The site has no mention of number of pickups, or if anyone actually picks it up and publishes it.  This is a major drawback for many who expect publication on numerous online news and PR sites. Also, do not expect CISION to offer writing services or anything similar in nature.

Final Thoughts: Should you give this site a chance?  It is a gamble.  A high subscription fee and limited results seem to point away from this site.  It may be wise to continue looking elsewhere, if you can’t afford it.

 

8). PRWeb

PRWeb is one of the oldest press release firms and is quite a popular site. You have to create an account in order to avail its services. Costs on the site runs from $99.00 to $369.00, with the increasing costs offering more and more benefits. 

The site is fast and easy to navigate, and there are plenty of resources, including white pages, how to’s and marketing strategies targeting online only businesses – making this site ideal for a small business.

However, two drawbacks stick out.  First, when compared to other wire services on similar price range, PRWeb offers lesser number of pickups. Second, they do not offer press release writing services.

Final Thoughts: Over the past few years, the popularity of PRWeb as an affordable newswire has dwindled. However, if you do not mind spending $99 for the placement of your news on handful of sites, including financial feeds, social media and PRWeb website, you can give it a go.

 

The Bottom Line

As you can see, there are plenty of websites you can use to submit your press releases to for maximum exposure for your business.  This review of the best press release sites should help guide your decisions for your next release as well as how to maximize your advertising and press release dollars.  Ultimately, the decision will rest on you and your business budget for press release submission services.  Good luck to you and your small business.

 

As we all know, the soul of any local business is incorporated in marketing strategies. Be it advertising, public relations, promotion or even sales, each marketing aspect is equally important. All these marketing strategies are the parameters on which a company’s growth depends upon and strong marketing strategies are positively related to the company’s growth. Moreover, for the business to succeed it is absolutely important to word out about one’s local business. This would make sure that the product is known to the people out there. Without adequate marketing strategies, it is impossible to create awareness about the products and services that will be offered via the company. Below mentioned are some of the ways in which entrepreneurs can get the word out about their local business and thereby make product and services they offer discoverable.

The boon of advertisement

With the immense growth of multimedia and internet, all the global citizens are woven and connected together in a wider network. When it comes to promoting business enterprises, a simple website can do wonders in advertising and thereby reach out to customers. One can execute numerous marketing strategies that would, in turn, facilitate growth in business. By having a website it is much convenient for the target customer base to reach and avail the services offered. It is a cost effective way of promoting the services one is willing to offer. Moreover, a website opens up the pathway to increased sales around the clock without any limitations. Apart from website promotion, printing information and distributing it among people is another effective way to promote business. A simple business card, brochure, and even a coupon are some creative ways of promoting one’s local business idea. One can hand them out and distribute it to friends, family, and acquaintances. But one must remember, that the key here is to design innovative notices, pamphlets, and coupons. A business card which is beyond the stereotypical ‘white card’ with business details would grab more attention! This would make it stand out among the rest and effectively promote the business. Also as the awareness through marketing solidifies with time, even customers begin spreading the word about the business with friends and family if they find it impressive, thereby increasing the company sales. Without advertisement, it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve such levels of sales.

Get listed on search engines

Search engine giants like Bing and Google offer free listing services to local businesses. In order to get listed on Google and Bing, one must check out Google My Business and Bing Places for Business respectively. Search engines like Yahoo do charge for business listings. However, the benefit of paying includes availability and consistency of one’s business on multiple platforms and online directories. Using a business listing website can help entrepreneurs set up multiple service areas. This would make sure that users can see the closest location every time they conduct searches.

• Social Media-Apart from using Google and Bing one can also use social networking sites for promotion. In today’s world, there is nothing more ‘pandemic’ than social networking sites. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest can be used effectively to create business profiles and pages. A good description, certain important keywords and a link to one’s business website would introduce the target customer base one’s local business. However, new entrepreneurs must be regular and active in updating information about the products and special offers, uploading interesting visual images etc.

Buy billboard space

A good way to utilize additional financial resources is investments on buying billboard spaces. Advertising on a billboard is another way to catch traveling people’s attention and promote business. An amalgamation of right location and a perfect media which appeals to the masses would facilitate business growth. However, in order to choose the location for billboard one must primarily check if it is a commercial or residential area and whether there is heavy automobile traffic or not. In order to produce the perfect substance for media one can even consult a good public relations firm. A PR firm can thus, help in developing the media for the same. Incorporation of creative three-dimensional graphics is an innovative way of spreading out a word or two about one’s local business among travelers.

Conclusion

Although marketing is one of the pathways that make products and services discoverable among customers, it can be quite a little hard on the company’s ‘pocket’ sometimes. However, an ideal marketing program consists of a healthy amalgamation of website development, public relations, printing, media broadcasting, and promotion events. Lastly, an effective and smart allocation of resources on marketing programs would help companies create awareness about their products and services.

Money is the most important thing for most people in this world. And, nobody likes to see their money being invested in a bad product. Therefore, careful buyers try to make sure they take an informed decision. Reading customer reviews are one of the most important and useful practices that help in making good purchases.

Why Reading Customer Reviews Matters

Reading product reviews matter because it helps the buyer get a look into the reality of the product. Most products come with scripted product descriptions that usually do not discuss any cons. But when someone who has bought the product beforehand leaves a review, a lot gets revealed. An old buyer of the product is not obligated to leave an overly positive product review. He/she owes nothing to the seller of the product. This person will obviously leave information about his/her own experience dealing with the product. Good reviews online involve a detailed description of the products along with photographs and videos. This enables a potential buyer to collect all required information about a product before spending money on it.

Why Reading Product Specific Reviews Matters

Apart from customer reviews on seller's website, there exist dedicated blogs that review products. These blogs collect a large amount of information about the product and perform a complete analysis. The blogs usually add an image, videos and other multimedia to their posts. These reviews usually come with buying guides, setup guides, and other important information. This extra knowledge is sure to come in handy.

Reviews battle seller tactics

Sellers always advertise their products in a grand and flattering manner. There has never been an advertisement that ever shines a bad light on a product. Even if a company produces a horrible product, it will claim the product to be the best. Ever company in existence claims that its product is the best in the market. Advertisements involve scripted words, paid actors, and a lot of Photoshop. A potentially bad purchase can be framed in such a way that it appears like the deal of the century. Other seller tactics like offers and freebies also attempt to lure innocent customers into buying bad products. All of this trickery can be debunked in a second by one single powerful product review. For example, consider a makeup product claims to last for 24 hours. A potential buyer in need for such a product would read this on an advertisement and proceed to buy the product. Suppose the product fails to keep its promise and rubs off within 4 hours. The buyer is now at loss. She is left with a product that is of no use to her and her money is gone. If this lady, took the precaution to read a few customer reviews before buying the product, the situation would have been completely different. At least one previous buyer would have mentioned that the product does not last as long as it claims to last. Reading that single review could have made all the difference.

Other benefits

Most product reviews come with comparison information. If the product in question has shortcomings, alternate options can be found easily through review sites. Sometimes these alternate products come with links to the seller, making the job of finding what one needs much easier. Some review pages rank products, letting a potential buyer know where the product he/she was intending to buy stands when compared to other products in the market. This will let the buyer know that there might be better products in the market more suitable for their needs. Price comparisons help the buyers who are on a budget. If a person is able to find an alternative product that meets their requirements at a lower price, he/she is benefitted greatly. Products sometimes come with a ProductOnDeal advertisement. This attracts few gullible buyers. In reality, the deal might not even be worth it. Review sites also make attempts to discuss deals and other offers along with discussion about the main product. This information can be greatly insightful.

Conclusion

Everyone works very hard to earn money. No one would like to be scammed into buying bad products. Companies come up with clever tactics to sell their products. It's their job to promote products in the best light possible. In the end, it's the customer's duty to make an informed decision so that he/she doesn't make a bad purchase. Product reviews enable a buyer to make such informed decisions

It’s intimidating. You are a solopreneur or a hiring manager for a small non-tech related company, and you have to hire a software developer. You know nothing about the profession, nothing about coding, nothing about the “going rates” or salary ranges. Your understanding of software is, “Show me what it can do, how it runs, and then I’ll use it.”

So, where do you begin? With this guide, perhaps. Here are the steps you might consider.

Identify Exactly What You Want the Developer to Do

Either you have an idea for a piece of software you want to take to market, or your company needs specific software developed for in-house purposes. Your initial job is to decide exactly what you want that software to do.

Is this a “one-shot” deal for a single piece of software, or is this a longer-term deal where a developer will be working for you on a regular or contract basis?  

Do Some Basic Research

It’s not difficult to find any number of resource articles on software development, even in the niche related to what you want developed. You can get an idea of the programming languages that are most recommended and popular with developers. You don’t have to understand them – you just need to understand the programming languages you want your hire to know.

You research will also give you solid information on price/salary ranges – certainly a good thing to know.

Finding The Candidates

You have lots of options, so pick the ones that will work for you, perhaps those that have worked in the past. Remember, the process of recruitment and hiring is no different for software developer. It is the skills and expertise that will be unique.

• Get help from a techie you know to construct a job posting/description that will include the skills you are looking for – hard and soft. Post the opening on tech job boards, on social media sites like LinkedIn and wherever else you usually do.

• Use the services of a tech recruitment firm – this may be pricier, but the initial screening will be done for you

• Use contacts that you know and trust. If you have a network of peers, they may be able to point you in the direction of sources for candidates or, if appropriate for your need, freelancers who are really good at what they do.

• Software developers currently working for other businesses may not be actively looking, but if the right opportunity comes up, may want to make a change. This is why you want to post your opening on sources like LinkedIn and tech-related social media platforms.

Narrowing the List

This will be tough, but you can look for some very specific things in resumes or perhaps in initial phone or video interviews. Here’s a short checklist of sorts for that initial contact:

• Have they contributed to open-source software?

• What languages do they feel most comfortable with?

• What is their past experience?

• Do they have a portfolio and how can you access it?

• Do they exhibit confidence in their own strengths and skills?

• Have they worked solo and/or as members of a team?

The Interview

So, now you are ready to interview the few candidates that have made your short list. What do you ask? Based upon surveys of both programmers and even Google hiring managers, here are questions you should and should not ask. You will find that many of them are questions you would ask any candidate.

Past Experience

This you will ask any candidate. Put a specific spin on this. Ask the candidate about his biggest disaster and how he worked through it. If the candidate is honest, she will be able to identify one and then describe how it was “fixed.” Any good programmer will have had disasters. You are looking for honesty and the work ethic to do what it takes to resolve issues.

Communication Skills

Ask the candidate to describe his/her favorite project. As a prelude to this question, you want to inform him/her that you are not a techie. The goal here is to see if the candidate can explain the project so that you have a good understanding of what s/he did – in non-techie terms, that is.

Part of a developer’s skill must be in communication and must be the ability to communicate to those outside of the niche what a project is all about and how s/he will go about approaching a project. Even if you are hiring someone remotely, you will want to be a part of the development, and you will want continual conversation with the developer. Being able to communicate that progress to you in terms you can understand is vital.

Solo or Team Player

Depending on your needs, you need to know your candidates’ experience and their comfort level with how they will function for you. Hiring a freelance means that the developer is comfortable working alone but also communicating with members of your organization who will be impacted by that work. Hiring a employee means comfort with collaboration.

Is There Passion?

One of the ways to gauge this is to ask what development communities the candidate is active in. GitHub, for example. Developers who are really passionate spend non-work time communicating and collaborating with other developers.

When the candidate talks about his/her projects, do you sense excitement? You should.

Gauging Talent

This is where you may need to have someone with expertise take a look at the projects in a developer’s portfolio. As well, just as you do when you hire anyone, you will want to check references, whether from clients or former employers.

It is not a negative for a developer to have had a lot of past employers. This is a career that is in high demand, and they like to go where the challenges (and the money) are more attractive.

Things to Avoid

A lot of recruiters and hiring managers give developer candidates “puzzles” to solve. And non-techie interviewers often pull these from the web or are given them by other developers. Chances are the candidate has already seen them or something similar. They really are not a gauge of talent.

It’s also not a good idea to ask a developer where he sees himself in five years. If they are honest, they won’t actually know, so it is not a fruitful question. Good developers will go where the challenges fit their needs, so that is really the only answer that will make sense.

You really can make a good hire even if you don’t have expertise in technology. Follow this guide, get help when you know you need it, and make a good hire.

Doing business on the go has become the new norm. So does dealing with all sorts of financial transactions through your trusted smart phone or device.  From purchasing stocks, making wire transfers and quick personal deposits - mobile finances has exploded in popularity the past few years

The industry keeps growing. Over 1.75 billion users are expected to conduct banking operations through mobile devices by the end of 2019. With this explosive growth what are the benefits for financial enterprises? As more of banking moves into the digital realm, the less money financial institutions have to invest into brick and mortar locations, as well as all of the personnel that goes along with that. When technology can perform all of the functions of a bank teller, and when all of those functions can be safely and easily accomplished by a user app, everyone wins.

But there’s some bad news as well - not all of those users are particularly happy with the kind of user experience they are currently having with their mobile banking. According to the latest J.D. Powers survey only 32% of bank customers say they trust mobile banking and most respondents indicated that they are not “fully satisfied” with the current app proposed by your bank.

The bottom line is this - while financial app development definitely is a promising sector, product owners should specifically focus on building a user-friendly, secure and personalized product rather than deploying just “some app” to stay in trend.

Building That App – Key Elements to Consider

There are several steps in the process of creating a financial app that users will find friendly, safe, and easy to use. If you can accomplish these three things, you will keep customers and your costs down. Consider the following critical pieces.

Know Your Customer

Just who is our mobile consumer? Most would say it is the millennial and younger generations. And they would be mostly correct.

But here’s the thing: Gen X’ers and even 45% of Baby Boomers are using online banking too. And people are interacting with their banks far more frequently than they used to. It’s now so easy to check a balance, transfer funds, and pay bills, if, and this is a BIG if, the app is well done. If not, customers will be lost.

So, what are the biggest objections/frustrations of our potential app users? You have to find this out before you can begin to build or remodel an app.

Here is what consumers are saying about their current banks’ mobile apps:

• They are worried about security

• The application is not user friendly and they have trouble navigating through it.  

• It’s too slow

The other critical information you need to get from your customers is what exactly do they want to be able to do on your app. You can use data analytics to track customer behavior or you can ask. But, in general, here is what most consumers do on their financial apps:

• 94% check their balances or transactions

• 71% will download their bank’s app on their mobile phones

• 61% transfer funds

• 57% sign up for alerts

• 51% deposit checks

• 48% pay bills

List the Elements You Will Include

Don’t just make a simple list. Create a scenario for each element. How do you want the customer to go through the process involved?

Once you have all of this, you are ready to look at developers, if you don’t have the in-house expertise. Seasoned financial app developers can take what you want and recommend the best technology stack for your needs.

And speaking of financial app developers, be selective as you search for the best one. They should be willing to show you case studies and put you in touch with clients for reference.

Security – It’s the Most Critical Challenge

You already have security measures in place if you offer online banking through your website. Translating those to a mobile app means the following:

• Make sure your developer understands your security policies

• Application servers must be carefully configured, so that phishing is avoided

• Use the most current digital signature technology – you want everything secure and yet easy for the user

• Utilize encryption for all user stored data.

• Have a password strength checker – never allow your customers to use simply and easily-hacked passwords.

• Be firm with your customers on how they are to behave when using your app. They must password-protect their phones; they should never store their passwords with you; they must logout when finished; they must install app updates. They have to do their part to protect their information too.

Keep it Simple

You know the features your customers want. Limit activities to those features only. If the majority of your customers pay bills on the app, then focus the application around that feature. Don’t waste time building features, such as applying for loans, that are hardly used by your clients.

As the app matures continue adding features in a methodical and customer centric way.

Sleek Design and UX

Here are the things to think about:

• Only a couple of steps to get to functions - reduce the number of clicks.

• Users love notifications - make sure you offer that to them.

• Analyze & track the features most frequently used,  and focus the user interface on those functions.Test, Test, Test

While security is important, make sure you have a fully refined QA process in place to reduce any problems with the software.

And don’t forget user testing – you’ll get great feedback.

Plan for Diverse Devices

Make sure you app works well across all devices and screen sizes. There are a number of services that offer online emulators for you to test your applications - make use of that.  

Consider adding a mobile analytics piece in your application to track detailed information about usage, and better visibility into any problems your customers might be facing.  

Cost – It’s Not Your Primary Concern

When looking for a developer for your application, cost should not be your only concern. Financial applications are complicated and require experienced developers who understand the intricacies of the industry, security and functionality. Don’t just go after the lowest priced developer.   

Building a financial app will be key to retaining your customers. If even Baby Boomers are using them, the proverbial “handwriting is on the wall.” Take these eight “criticals” and find the right developer now.

Meeting at VidCon US, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to sit down with serial tech entrepreneur  Oliver Isaacs, founder of numerous popular pages on Facebook and Instagram and the viral opinion based network Amirite.com – which has already achieved a formidable 1 billion unique visitors in its lifetime.

Oliver’s personal following on Instagram has reached an impressive one hundred thousand followers, and he has been featured, giving business advice and motivational thoughts in the Instagram and Snapchat Stories of high profile people such as Tony Robbins, Mark Cuban, and Tim Ferriss. Oliver has also worked with and helped grow some of the biggest social media influencers on the planet such as Julius Dein, who now has grown to over 10 million followers within 1 year. 

I can immediately tell Oliver is exceptionally bright, determined beyond belief and has a rare ability to spot opportunities very few would be able to see. He has a diverse and compelling background, having founded the viral opinion based social network Amirite.com whilst studying at the highly exclusive London School of Economics. Many know Amirite as one of the first original 9gag and 4chan type sites where the internet meme was born, internet slang became common-place and the earlier influencers created. The site set the tone for follow up sites and was said to be the inspiration for sites like Quora. Not to stop there, Oliver founded one of the fastest growing E-Commerce companies in the UK, with close partnerships with Amazon FBA. Oliver has also secured numerous brand deals and partnerships for some of the biggest celebrities and influencers around.

At 24 years old, Oliver tells me most of his friends now work in finance or law, but he says ‘It’s the 21st Century and it no longer makes sense to work for someone else if you have an entrepreneurial streak inside you. If you have the hunger and passion to set up a startup or business, go for it and take the risk. Life is too short to be counting down the hours in an office waiting for the clock to strike 5pm or later. A job should never be a job- it should be a passion or something that you enjoy. I personally think, founding a tech startup is now the way to go. The internet has opened a whole world of opportunity for millions whether it’s through E-Commerce, Social or numerous other avenues; everything is now on the internet. We’re still really in the early stages of the internet, and it’s only going to become an even more powerful tool.

Having discussed the online startup world in length with Oliver, I ask him his advice he has for those thinking about setting up an online startup. Take note guys- you could learn a thing or two from Oliver’s excellent list of top 10 tips:

 

1. Offer what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell. Too often, people jump into a business built around a product or service they think will be successful, rather than one that is already proven to have a market.

2. Get cash flowing ASAP. Cash flow is king and is absolutely essential to feed bottom-line profits. So you need to find ways to jump start cash flow immediately.

 

Oliver mentions a few examples: you can add value to generic items by creating private label branding, and develop continuity programmes where customers pay an up-front monthly fees to insure delivery or availability of items they will buy on a repeat basis. Of course, the key is to make sure there is little or no gap between when you pay for labour, stock inventory and when you actually get paid. Ideally, you'll find ways to get money up front, and your cash gap will never be an issue.

3. Always find new ways to keep costs low. All the cash flow in the world is worthless if it's not positive cash flow, which means you have to bring in more cash than you pay out.

4. When planning, always overestimate expenses and underestimate revenues. 

5. Focus on sales and marketing manically. In business, nothing happens until a sale is made. From the jump, you'll need to find a good way to get leads, convert leads into sales, and make sure you keep getting repeat sales from your customers.

6. Find ways to exponentially increase profits. 

7. Test and measure everything. You can't change what you don't measure, and you can't tell if a strategy is working if you are not faithfully testing, measuring and tracking your results.

8. Accept that learning more equals earning more. If you've never run a million dollar business, you don't know how to start a business--simple as that. But you can learn how to run one, even if it is your million dollar business you are building from the ground up. However, you need to accept right now that learning always comes before "earning" (except in the dictionary).

9. Don’t discount, add value. Whenever you discount, you are taking money directly out of your pocket and directly from your bottom-line profit. So don't do it. Instead, create added value propositions all the way up and down your product or service line.

10. Get a Mentor.  Too often, we think we have all the answers and are the only people who can really get things done. The reality is that another set of eyes can work wonders for how you operate both on and in your business. An outsider can also make sure you are getting the numbers you need both on the top line and the bottom line to survive.

 

Web development is not a one size fits all endeavor. Depending on your level of technical skill and the amount of time you  have to dedicate, you can code a website entirely from scratch. You can also use a variety of tools, content management systems, and platforms to create a website without writing a single line of code.

27% of business owners maintain their own company websites. Another 39% keeps the task in house. As mentioned above, the approach each takes can vary widely. However, one thing that  is universal are the 7 factors anyone developing a website must take into consideration. Keep reading to see what these are.

Define The Scope of The Design

It is extraordinarily important to manage scope in web development. If this doesn’t happen, web design projects can go on indefinitely as goalposts and definitions sway widely. Scope needs to be clearly defined at both the site and the page level.

At the site level, you must define what the purpose of the website is. For example, are you selling a product, offering a service, or communicating information? You will also need to identify a target audience.

At the page level, you must determine the function that each page will have. There should ideally be a one to one relationship between a web page and a function. Here are some examples:

• Product Pages - To Provide Product Descriptions And Pricing Information

• Contact Information - To Provide Visitors With All Information Needed to Contact Us

• About Us - To Inform Visitors About Our Story And Mission

• Landing Page - To Provide Further Information About a Specific Special Offer or Sale 

The Structure of The Site Must be Mapped

Websites are full of links and buttons that lead to other places on the same site and then back again. If you attempt to develop a website without creating a map to define the structure of your site, the results can be disastrous. The best way to map the structure of a website is to create a simple outline.

You can start first with the home page. Define the information that will be contained on the home page. Next, define the pages that people will be able to access from the home page. If those pages have pages that will be accessible from those pages, add those to the outline as well.

For example:

1. Home Page

   1. Description of The Company

   2. Images

   3. General Description of Products And Services

   4. Invitation to Contact us, Explore Website And Make a Purchase

   5. (Sub Pages)

      1. About Us

         1. Profiles of The Team

         2. Photographs of The Team

         3. Historical Information

         4. Passions/Mission

      2. Contact Us

      3. Order/Subscription Form

      4. Products/Services Pages

      5. Policy Pages

 Depending on the size and complexity of your website, the structure outline could go several levels deep. By taking the time to do this, you will be better able to create a website that is easy to maintain and navigate. 

Content Cannot be an Afterthought

Too many web developers spend all of their planning and design on technical elements, but fail to think about content until the end. Content development needs to be a part of the process. In fact, it should be written in parallel to the steps taken to develop the site. For example, when defining scope, that process should also define what content should be contained on each page.

When creating the structure outline, the information to be included on each page should be used to create a basic outline of the content as well. It’s also important to remember that content, how much room it takes up, and the way it is laid out will have an impact on the design of each page.

Mobile First Design is Now The Standard

The number of mobile users on the web not far exceeds the number of desktop users. A few years ago, when this was not the case, it made sense to develop websites for desktop users with mobile being an afterthought. Then, mobile friendly development began to make more sense.

Today, neither of those solutions work. Instead, the gold standard is simply mobile first design. Content layout is part of that, but it isn’t the only consideration. Site speed and performance is extremely important to mobile users. Ease of navigation and the ability to find information such as contact data are two more elements of mobile first design.

Your Website Must Have a Solid Infrastructure

How well will your website perform if thousands of customers place orders during a special sales event? Can you ensure customers that the data you collect from them is safe? If disaster strikes, how quickly can your website get back online? Is your eCommerce hosting solution going to work for you if the number of transactions you process in a year doubles or triples?

If The Website is Ecommerce Security Compliance is Key

If you are going to process financial transactions through your website, it is extremely  important to educate yourself on security compliance. You  need to know which regulations apply to you, and the steps you need to take to comply. Research online payment solutions carefully before selecting one. While PCI DSS compliance is not mandatory within the United States, it is in many other countries. Consider taking a PCI self assessment to  judge the security level of your website.

Testing Should Happen Continually During And After Development

Testing your website should be an ongoing process. Here are some things to consider when developing test plans, and considering which website testing tools to use.

• Is the Site Functional Across Multiple Browsers

• Is The Site Functional Across Multiple Devices

• Does it Perform Acceptably

• Can Users Unfamiliar With The Site Navigate it Easily

• Do All of The Functions Work

It’s important to test throughout the development phase as it is possible for any change to have an unintended impact. After the site  has been published, testing should continue in order to ensure that the site performs well under duress.

There are a variety of tools and techniques that can be employed when developing a website. However, the seven items mentioned  here are universally relevant. Take them into consideration in order to build the most efficient, functional, and attractive website possible.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. The process obtains traffic from the natural results from the search engines. All the major search engines, for example, Yahoo, Bing, and Google optimise their results based on data which is most relevant to the search. The process is a never-ending battle between website developers and the search engines. While the former arduously strive for their site to appear first on the search list, the latter keep working on better ways to reform the search results for the user. Given below is a list of some trends germane in the current year in the trend of Search Engine Optimisation for the reader. We hope you find the list useful.

 

Mobile Designs

With the recent rise of Android in the global market with smartphones, more people are basing their search through a device, like their handset. The searches are therefore increasingly being made to suit a user using a mobile phone. With more than 60% users operating through their phones, Google has been rolling out searches that make these phones the primary search index.

Topical Relevance Changes

The antiquated method of one keyword and topical searching is being replaced with searches that relate to a lot of keywords and provide results which have been optimised relating to the same. Search engines analyse each unique query and provide results that are relevant to the search function. Each engine is now updating their system to serve the purpose of keywords search relating to specific and certain topics better.

Original Content

Creating original content is a pre-requisite of searching with proper definition and avoiding spamming and buzz-words. Employee empowerment for creating personal brands helps greatly to make white paper, bylines and blog contents by reaching out to a far wider audience base.

Site Caching

Caching improves on the website’s load time and enhances the particular site’s ranking amongst the others while minimising the bounce rates. The search engines not only aim to provide the most relevant search results but also to provide a user-friendly interface between the user and the website. The primary site caching is effective; however, one might choose to endorse AMP which delivers content from Google hosted cache reserve.

Natural Language

Keywords are increasingly losing their technical edge and edging more and more towards conversational language. The recent proliferation of smartphones and mobile searches could be held accounted for this. As a result, searches are accordingly acclimatising to this recent trend.

Video Content Prevails

By socially sharing links we can significantly amplify the booming market plans. Quality content coupled with video can hoist up your particular website like nothing else. It is for this reason that more and more websites are espousing the method of video content. In the current year, it is expected that more and more CEOs will endorse this change and amend their website accordingly.

User Experience

The people involved in Search Engine Optimisation are aware how Google improves the searching time for the user by essentially optimizing results according to the user’s preference. This provision includes better experience and shorter load times which is a welcome change to most users. User experience is a key factor determining trending changes in search engine optimisation worldwide.

Conclusion

The changing era has called for revised and update systems when it comes to dealing with internet websites. A particular website conspicuous to the user becomes so with a lot of key factors with which it embellishes its pages. It is the job of the prevalent search engine that the user chooses to sift through the sites and recognise the website most relevant to the user’s keyword. This process calls for a lot of factors to be kept in mind, especially the quality of keywords and the number of search terms used. A larger number of search terms is purely a current trend that has been mobilised with the use of phones and other handy electronic gadgets. A suitable search engine would keep this factor in mind while listing out websites for its users. In 2017, the apparent changes in trends while endorsing search engine optimization would clearly reflect the increasing preference of the user’s needs in doing so.But saying things is lot easier than execute them that why you need an SEO company who can fill the gap between your customer from your business here I recommend Clear Vision SEO for your nest seo need .

 

Download Instagram photos

Instagram is the best social media platform for those who are crazy about clicking photographs whether portraits or selfies, it doesn’t matter. And with recent updates like amazing filters, bookmark photos in collection, and uploading stories option, a big problem still persists. One can like photos they are browsing but still, they cannot download them. However, there are many options available online which solves this problem of yours. It doesn’t matter whether you are using Instagram on Android, iPhone, or on PC. There is a solution to this problem for every user.

Downloading Procedure for Android Users

Android Users can download a third-party app called 4K Stogram to download photos on Instagram.  This app is a time-saver and can be legally downloaded from the Google Play store. It is very easy to use this app. Just download and install this app on your phone. Now, sign in the app using your Instagram account. Once that is done, the app will stream the photos. You can select the image or multiple images that you want to download and click on the save icon. A pop-up will appear which will ask for the location where you want to save the images. You can easily find the photos from the gallery of your phone. There are other apps available as well which can be used for downloading images such as- Photo saver for Instagram.

Downloading Procedure for iOS users

For iOS users, the best app to download photos on Instagram is ‘4K Stogram- a new way to view all your Instagram pics’. Just like its Android counterpart, this is also legally available in the app store and does not occupy much on the phone. Once the download and installation are done, just grant the permissions for the authorization it asks for and signs in with your user id and password.  It functions in the same way and one can easily select the photos they want to download and save it to a desirable location on the phone. You can view these images in the gallery of your device.

Downloading Procedure on PC

While there are many users who use PC to use this social media platform, even they don’t have this option to download images. The procedure is slightly different for them, but still not at all complicated. To download images from your Instagram account on PC, you need to open Instaport on your web browser. Once this is done, click on Login to Instagram. After signing in, you will get the option of selecting the photographs you would like to download. Select the photos and choose a desirable location for saving your photos. The website will save your photos in the desirable location in .zip file format. The steps followed are quite easy and takes only a few minutes.

 

A word of Caution- Use only trusted apps

When it comes to handling data such as photos, it is crucial that you use only trusted apps which won’t use your data for personal gains. Once you login to these apps, your Instagram data is accessible to these apps that can use them as they want. So, it is better to use only those apps which are safe to use. It is always recommended not to give your personal information on too many platforms as there’s a high potential of your data being misused.

Conclusion

There are plenty of options for downloading the images from Instagram. Whether one is using Instagram from an Android, iOS, Windows, or PC, it doesn’t matter as long as there are these third-party platforms for your rescue. However, one should remain cautious as there are some serious concerns today with sharing your data online.

It is better to keep a copy of your images that you put on Instagram- both of the filtered and the unfiltered one. This can be done from the settings option available in the app. Tap on the settings option in the Instagram and tap the ‘save original photos’. This will save a copy of your image automatically before uploading. A copy of the filtered image will also appear on your album. This procedure is quite handy and much safer to use.

What is a 401(k) fund?

A 401(k) is a savings plan which is sanctioned on the retirement of any employee. Before the taxes are taken out, it functions to save and invest a portion of the paycheck. Until the money has been withdrawn from the account successfully, the taxes aren't paid.

 

A 401(k) plan governs a section of the tax code and is used as a supplement to pensions. Over the course of retirement, these pensions are paid out to the ex-employee by the employer. A government employee is also eligible for receiving a pension. The replacement of the 401(k) has taken place primarily due to the escalating cost of the pensions. Now, the pensioner can control their invested money from the 401(k). Most of the options offered, date funds, stocks, bonds, money market investments but the most popular of them are conversions of them into date funds or bonds and stocks or conversion into precious metals such as gold or silver. One can transfer or rollover from one IRA to another within a period of 12 months.

Primary Benefits of the 401(k) Plan

When a 401(k) plan has been introduced, it has accompanied along with it a number of benefits.

• Savings become automated.
• Options for various investment plans widen.
• The companies match.
• The increased ability to borrow from the account under circumstances.
• The growth is tax deferred.
• Convenience

 

Many plans offer a various way for investment in the account, in such a way we know that the investment choices are limited. These investment choices will include mutual funds, bonds, and stocks from the company due to which the investment options for the 401(k) diversify.

 

Many companies have stopped offering pensions to their ex-employees and have started to offer them with a company match in which the employee might have invested in, which serves as a huge perk for the employees. This, in turn, helps the company reach its matching funds faster and this is beneficial for the pensioner. This feature has made the factor of convenience devoid of hassles, as the employee would be able to access the account funds under many plans and circumstances. Considering these factors, one should also know that loans borrowed must be repaid back within 5 years of time and on leaving the loan of the 401(k) outstanding, there would be a limited time period for them to repay their loan.

 

401(k) Precious Metals Rollover

This method of conversion basically includes the rollover of a 401(k) account to a precious metal IRA account. When the employee works in a company which offers and sponsors the 401(k) account then it is unlikely of the employee to rollover funds into precious metals like gold or silver. However, the factor might vary from company to company depending upon their policies.

 

The 401(k) accounts and plans can be rolled over by a former employer and the rolling over the process to a gold or silver IRA account can be done over a short period of time. Basically, the after selecting a custodian for yourself, make sure to finish all the paperwork to finish the transfer of funds the old account to the new IRA account. Once all the necessary paperwork has been completed, the IRA custodian might ask you to shop various gold or silver dealers for the products you might want to purchase. Once the choice is done, the precious metal dealer will contact the IRA custodian for the payment. Next, both the IRA custodian and the precious metal’s dealer will determine shipment of the precious metals into a depository.

 

Before this action has been carried out, the 401(k) account holder must be sure to consider the issues of choosing the right custodian, choosing the right depository, the gold or silver products which needs to be purchased and the contributors which have been on-going. The gold or silver precious metals which are eligible for purchase carry premiums which a low and are liquid in comparison to other products.

 

Investing in Precious Metal Rollover

One might consider investing in a rollover of their 402(k) to a precious metal IRA account under various factors like:

• Concerns of Inflation

Investors often invest in precious metals in order to ward off the drastic changes which take place in inflation period. We know that inflation is the sudden increase in the price of the goods and products reducing the demand of the purchasing class. On the onset of an inflation period, the returns on an investment might actually become lower than its normal returns. In the case of liquid cash, that is gold or silver, the value of the precious metals tend to remain more or less increased and hence can hence the increased prices can be hedged.

• Diversification of Portfolio

In today’s time, the investors look for various options and asset classes apart from stocks and bonds. In such a case, the gold or silver layer gives an extra diversification layer and correlates to the stock and bond exhibition adding to the portfolio diversification.

• Reliable Store of Value

The use or investment of money on precious metals dates back to the historical period of the barter system in Mohenjo-Daro. This proves its reliability and has also been inherited as a store of value even in today’s time.

• Peace of Mind

Unlike the paper counterparts, the value of the precious metals does not depreciate and hence prevents bankruptcy. This, in turn, provides a peace of mind as the history being witness to the value of precious metals and their reliability, brings about a comfort in the investment.

 

Final Verdict

Considering these guidelines, the rollover of a 401(k) to a precious metals IRA account holder has been introduced with the basic guidelines for the execution. However, if the account belongs to a previous account holder, one must always consult a tax professional regarding these issues. In order to encounter smooth operation, one must follow the guidelines which have been pointed out.

 

 

What is Auto Glass?

Auto Glass is a refers to automobile glass or Car glass which includes windscreens, side and rear windows, and glass panel roofs on a vehicle. Auto glass is generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and are bonded into the window frame.

Why is it used?

Normal glass if hit by a projectile can shatter into sharp shards which can harm the people inside as well as around. This is prevented from happening by using laminated safety glass which when shattered the pieces of glass stick together and tend to stays intact, thus preventing the shards of glass from scattering. Apart that it is a shield from the wind, and protects from debris such as dust, insects, and rocks, and also acts as an aerodynamic window at the front. The majority of car glass is held in place by glass run channels, which also serve to contain any fragments of glass if the glass breaks.

 

How does it get damaged?

Road projectiles such as rocks, debris and accidents are a few causes of damage in the glass and cause a chip or crack in the auto glass.

Should the glass be repaired or replaced?

Windshields that cannot be repaired have to be replaced. Replacement of a windshield typically takes less than an hour. To ensure the vehicle is safe to drive, time values called the Safe Drive Away Time have been established. Windshields which have been replaced must cure or bond sufficiently until they are able to withstand the forces of a crash.

The US National Windshield Repair Association states that depending on four factors: the size, type, depth, and location of the damage we can determine whether the windshield can be repaired or not:

• Cracks up to 6.1 cm (2.4 in) are within permissible limits for repair anything more severe than that needs to be replaced. The exact value changes depending on the local laws.
• If the damage goes to the edge of the window the structural integrity of the windshield is compromised and it needs to be replaced.
• Minor Circular holes, straight cracks, crack chips, dings, pits, and star-shaped breaks  etc can be repaired without removing the glass, eliminating the risk of leaking or bonding problems sometimes associated with replacement.

Some other types of damages that are very difficult to repair, or cannot be repair are as follows:

• On the inside of the windshield
• excessive damage on both layers of glass
• damage over rain sensor or internal radio antenna
• complex multiple cracks
• contaminated cracks
• very long cracks (i.e. over 18–24 inches long)
• edge cracks

How is the repair done?

In cracked windshield repair, air is removed from the damaged area on the windshield with a specified vacuum injection pump. Then using an injection pump, clear adhesive resin is injected to replace the air in the windshield crack. The resin is then cured with an ultraviolet light. When done properly, the damaged area’s strength is restored, as is 90–95% of the clarity. If proper time for curing is not given the passenger of the vehicle is not optimally protected in case of a crash or damage occurring to the glass.

With the invention of quick cure adhesives, mobile windshield replacements have become more prevalent. Often the temperature and humidity cannot be controlled for mobile installations this can increase the time needed for a sufficiently safe bond to form. A controlled environment always ensures the performance and safety of the windshield installation. If not properly cured, the adhesive bond could fail during a crash, allowing occupants to be injured, ejected, or causing other harm. Because of the variables and difficulties involved in mobile windshield replacement, many vehicle manufacturers do not recommend this method of installation.

Why Auto Glass Houston?

Auto Glass Houston understands the need for safety of vehicle owners and caution them not to drive with a broken glass. With locations all around Houston, the company is available 24/7 to repair or replace glass in store. They bring their services to the customers with their mobile services.

Auto Glass Houston also only employs technicians certified by National Glass Association, is the preferred provider with most insurance companies and uses OEM quality auto glass and materials.