Central Perk

sâmbătă, 23 iunie 2012

Damn Cool Pics

Whale Rainbow [Video]
Instaglasses: Filters for Real Life
How To Get More Likes, Comments & Shares on Facebook [Infographic]

Posted: 22 Jun 2012 10:20 PM PDT

A whale watcher caught the phenomenon on tape during a cruise in Nova Scotia. Video of the miraculous refraction has now gone viral.

"It looks as if the whale is blowing a rainbow out of its blowhole," rsean9000 posted along with the video on YouTube.

Instaglasses: Filters for Real Life

Posted: 22 Jun 2012 10:03 PM PDT

As all of you know Instagram is the photo sharing app with fun filters. German designer, Markus Gerke has come up with the idea of Instagram filters built into a pair of sunglasses. Since the proposal, many people have started working on the project, and we are eagerly waiting for these Instagramic sunglasses known as Instaglasses.

How To Get More Likes, Comments & Shares on Facebook [Infographic]

Posted: 22 Jun 2012 09:28 PM PDT

Social media data expert Dan Zarrella who tracked and analyzed more than 1.3 million posts from the 10,000 most-Liked Facebook pages has released details about which posts get the most likes, shares and comments on Facebook, from post type and length to the best time of day to add updates.

Photos bring in the highest number of engagement across the board, followed by text and video, according to Zarrella. News links bring in the least numbers of likes, shares and comments.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

Weekly Address: Congress Must Act on Transportation Bill and Student Loans

Your Daily Snapshot for
Saturday, June 23, 2012

Weekly Address: Congress Must Act on Transportation Bill and Student Loans

President Obama discusses the urgent need for Congress to act now on two common sense measures to help middle class families: preventing interest rates on federal student loans from going up and putting hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job.

Watch the President's weekly address:

President Barack Obama tapes the weekly address in the East Room of the White House, June 21, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

Weekly Wrap Up

Your quick look at this week on Whitehouse.gov:

G-20 Summit: Earlier this week, the President attended the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. There, he and other world leaders met to discuss the world's economy and how best to promote growth, and a large focus of the conference was spent on the Euro Zone economic crisis. Outside the official sessions of the Summit, the President also met in bilateral meetings with world meetings, including President Putin of Russia.

Down to the Wire: Unless Congress takes action before July 1, interest rates on federal student loans are set to double. This will mean an additional $1,000 of student loan debt for more than 7 million students, which is why the President has called on Congress once again to step up in favor of America's young people and the economy overall. The President also asked Americans to help urge Congress to act, asking people to use the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate to show their support.

40 Years of Fairness: On Wednesday, the White House Council on Women and Girls hosted an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of Title IX. Title IX bans sexual discrimination in all sports programs at schools around the country. The Obama administration is a firm believer in equality and that's why a new set of policies has been announced to increase the enforcement of full gender equity under Title IX.

1 Is 2 Many: This week the White House teamed up with professional athletes and other male role models to deliver the message that dating violence is unacceptable. Take a look at the video that features David Beckham, Jeremy Lin, Eli Manning, Evan Longoria and Jimmy Rollins (among others) alongside President Obama and Vice President Biden

This week we are proud to present the first West Wing Week video produced in Spanish, available here.

Stay Connected

This email was sent to e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com
Manage Subscriptions for e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com
Sign Up for Updates from the White House
Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy
Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House

The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

What kind of content will work for your site?

Posted: 22 Jun 2012 08:06 AM PDT

News stories, blog posts, dedicated product pages… Any SEO agency will tell you that you need compelling content on your site to boost your rankings.

But if you think your website already says everything you need it to then you might be a bit unsure about where you can add content, and how it will add value. Here's a rundown of some of the main options so you can see which will work best for you:

Landing pages

Landing pages have been around since the very first days of search engine optimisation (SEO). At their most basic, they simply consist of a description of a particular product or service, using the relevant keywords in prominent places.

With significant research done by conversion rate optimisers (CROs), including test creation, design, and understanding buying psychology, we know that there is significant return on investment in allocating resources in developing fresh landing pages.

Many website owners allocate a significant chunk of their budget to online advertising which help drive traffic, but with little or no consideration as to where traffic is directed. Therefore, it is imperative that website owners allocate resources in developing the most effective landing pages, which get visitors to take desired actions once they've found your site. Also, it helps keep your website content fresh if you regularly update product listings and prices.

Websites that make their revenue purely from advertising don’t really have landing pages in the traditional sense. This is particularly true for news and entertainment websites, where static content doesn't play a huge part in winning them traffic.

Blog posts

An increasing number of sites are growing their blogs rather than their static landing pages, and there are several good reasons for this.

Firstly, old blog posts (usually) don’t just vanish – your archive remains in place, growing with time, until your site contains potentially tens of thousands of search-visible pages.

Secondly, regularly updating your website shows Google (and your human visitors too) that your site is fresh and active – helping your search rankings and your appeal to readers.

Thirdly, blog posts are a little chattier than static content, giving you more freedom to relax the rules of grammar and tone of voice, which can help showcase a brand's personality and build loyalty.

In addition to the above three reasons, with Google's introduction of the authorship markup tag, blog authors are rewarded with their Google plus profile image being displayed alongside the search listing on SERPs, helping improve CTRs.

News updates

If you’re in a ‘professional’ discipline, and a relaxed, chatty blog wouldn’t be a good fit for your business, news updates can be a good alternative.

These give you the opportunity to comment on events and industry developments, and demonstrate that you have your finger on the pulse of your sector.

Like blog posts, they can be archived so that your site grows over time and they can have key phrases inserted into them to help with rankings.

Importantly, they can be promoted in several different ways – as part of an email newsletter, via RSS, as a headlines list on your homepage, or via Twitter and other social networks.

Multimedia content

Multimedia content is most often found in news and entertainment websites, but a welcome video or product demonstration is a fairly common feature of many ecommerce websites too.

Be careful about relying too heavily on multimedia – text is still the most search-visible format for your information to be in. Make sure each page has plain-text words for the search robots to index. A transcript can be a good way to do this, as well as being more accessible to visitors with hearing impairments.

Provided that you keep search visibility in mind, multimedia can add a new dimension to a website, giving a sense of interactivity and livening up an otherwise static page.

Just don’t force content upon your readers – unless it’s clearly the reason why they’re visiting the page, it may be wise to make sure that videos and audio clips do not auto-start.

Some people really dislike a noisy or fast-moving media clip that they did not expect to see, but it depends on your audience. Test pages to see what is most effective at keeping potential customers on the page.

Be innovative

Once your core website is up and running, don’t be afraid to try new things. Big brands often launch microsites which take nothing away from the main site, but offer information in a new or fresh way.

You can adopt a much more graphics-centric approach to microsites than you would for a main website or homepage, promote them to your social networking and email subscribers if their search visibility is not great, and generally use them as a testing ground for new ideas.

Remember, blog posts, tweets, and app-based gaming were all just somebody’s idea at some point; it’s not impossible that you might discover the Next Big Thing in internet content or gain viral support for a campaign.

Even if you don't, customers can appreciate a brand that takes the time to be playful and try new ideas.

Seth's Blog : Where does trust come from?

Where does trust come from?

Hint: it never comes from the good times and from the easy projects.

We trust people because they showed up when it wasn't convenient, because they told the truth when it was easier to lie and because they kept a promise when they could have gotten away with breaking it.

Every tough time and every pressured project is another opportunity to earn the trust of someone you care about.

• Email to a friend •

vineri, 22 iunie 2012

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Italy "Gasping Like Beached Whale"; Berlusconi Reiterates Euro Exit "Not Blasphemy"; Beppe Grillo Discusses "Taboo of the Euro"
Laugh of the Day: Stress Tests Show Spanish Banks Only Need €16bn and €62bn in New Capital; ECB to Accept ABCP Collateral One Step Above Junk as Collateral
German Supreme Court Delays ESM; Another Setback for Merkel; Creeping Bailouts; Reflections on German Expectations

Italy "Gasping Like Beached Whale"; Berlusconi Reiterates Euro Exit "Not Blasphemy"; Beppe Grillo Discusses "Taboo of the Euro"

Posted: 22 Jun 2012 02:17 PM PDT

On June 1, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said "Italy should dump the euro unless the European Central Bank agreed to inject more cash into the economy". One day later Berlusconi said the idea Italy should dump euro was a "joke".

It was not a joke, except perhaps as quoted. On June 20, Berlusconi says Italy euro exit "not blasphemy"

Italy should consider leaving the euro unless Germany agrees to the European Central Bank acting as a guarantor for sovereign debt and printing money to reflate the economy, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday.

"Leaving the euro is not a blasphemy," he wrote on his Facebook page.

If Germany does not agree to a new role for the ECB then it should consider leaving the euro itself, Berlusconi said. "I have spoken to some German experts who would be in favor," said Berlusconi, leader of one of two main parties backing pro-European Prime Minister Mario Monti.

The 75-year-old media magnate, whose People of Freedom party (PDL) lost heavily in local elections last month and has been shedding supporters steadily over the last year, is increasingly targeting the euro in a bid to regain popularity.

With less than a year before the next general election, Italy faces the prospect of at least two large parties running on an anti-euro ticket.

The Five Star Movement led by comedian Beppe Grillo, who urges an exit from the euro, has overtaken the PDL according to recent polls to become Italy's second largest party, with more than 20 percent of voter support.

The pro-devolution Northern League also often expresses skepticism or hostility about the single currency.

The Taboo of the Euro

Please consider The Taboo of the Euro on Beppe Grillo's Blog.

When the Euro is put under the spotlight, the indignant reaction is a chorus of "We cannot leave the Euro", as though Europe is identified with the Euro. It's possible to serenely remain in the EU without having to do without one's own currency. Of the 27 States making up the EU, ten have kept their currency, including Great Britain, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic and Denmark who are not risking any default. Another trick is the repetitive use of the term "single currency". There's is absolutely no single European currency. The Euro is limited to 17 States and those who are outside are taking good care not to enter the Euro zone. Who in Europe, is today in crisis? Right at the top are those countries with so-called "weak" economies that adopted the Euro.

To remain in the Euro we are starving the country, strangling the companies, transferring the private wealth to cover the interest payments on the public debt that is (unfortunately) in Euro. If it were in lira we could resolve the problem of the debt with the devaluation of our currency.

Italy is gasping like a beached whale. If to remain in the Euro and pay the interest on the debt to the banks, mainly German and French, we have to kill the economy of our Country, perhaps it's appropriate to stop and reflect. Especially if the public debt and the spread are increasing anyway while we are being strangled. The Euro must not be a taboo.

Five Star Movement

Outside Italy, very little attention has been given to Beppe Grillo and his Five Star Movement. Yet the Five Star Party is now the second largest party in Italy.

PDL, is now the third largest party and Berlusconi is now anti-euro, as is the Northern League. These are very significant events.

For more details, please see Six Reasons Why Italy May Exit the Euro Before Spain; Ultimate Occupy Movement.

Also note Monti Begs Germany to Stabilize Interest Rates; Merkel Pours Cold Water On "Theoretical Discussions"; Italy Official Denial #1; Why Monti's Days Are Numbered.

"See you in the next Parliament" Beppe Grillo said after the local elections in May. I repeat my position: Let's hope so.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Laugh of the Day: Stress Tests Show Spanish Banks Only Need €16bn and €62bn in New Capital; ECB to Accept ABCP Collateral One Step Above Junk as Collateral

Posted: 22 Jun 2012 07:51 AM PDT

The yield on 10-year Spanish bonds has fallen for the second day in a row, and now sit at 6.4% according to Bloomberg.

Yesterday's news was ECB to relax loan rules for Spanish banks

Benoît Cœuré, an ECB executive board member, told the Financial Times in an interview this week: "We certainly have to make sure that sound counterparties have the means to access our liquidity, including in terms of collateral availability."

He warned that collateral buffers had "become more strained in some places" and added: "There is an ongoing reflection on how to alleviate these tensions."

However, the debate is sensitive within the ECB council, with many of its members worried about the risks involved and the dangers of substituting actions by governments to strengthen public finances.

The decision on the use of asset-backed securities – bonds backed by loans – was taken separately from the wider review of collateral rules and appears designed to buttress efforts by eurozone authorities to strengthen Spain's banks. Under the new rules, such securities will be eligible for use as collateral providing they have a credit rating of at least BBB (minus), according to eurozone officials. Previously, the minimum requirement was for at least an A rating.

In his FT interview, Mr Cœuré warned that changes to the ECB's collateral rules would "have to come with strict risk control, in particular with haircuts".

Lie of the Day

It's more like lie of the day than laugh of the day as Madrid moves to ease bailout fears

Spain has sought to ease investors' fears that it needs a full-scale international bailout of its economy by publishing two "stress tests" showing that Spanish banks need between €16bn and €62bn in new capital.

The estimates of how much extra capital its banks might need fall well within the sum of up to €100bn that Spain requested for its financial system from its eurozone partners this month.

Fernando Restoy, deputy governor of the Bank of Spain, said the numbers were "a long way from the maximum that the eurogroup agreed to make available to Spain".
"The three biggest groups in the country don't need assistance in the form of new capital, even in the stressed scenario," he said in a reference to Santander, BBVA and Caixabank.

Got That?

Allegedly the three largest banks, created by mergers of smaller insolvent banks do not need any capital at all even though Spain asked for €100 billion and Citigroup thinks the banks need €350 billion.

For the past few days, yields in Spain have plunged from 7.28% down to 6.4% on a packet of lies and junk. It won't last, not that 6.4% is remotely sustainable in the first place.

Credit Risk

Meanwhile, yield on the 10-year German bond is creeping up.

Why shouldn't yields on German bonds rise? Every step by the ECB to add leverage or accept lower rated securities as collateral puts more credit risk on Germany.

For a discussion of credit risk, please see ...

The only realistic way yields can fall in Italy and Spain is if they rise in Germany.

Meanwhile, please recall that on Tuesday we saw this announcement Spanish Banking Audits Delayed Until September, Another €50 Billion Likely Needed.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

German Supreme Court Delays ESM; Another Setback for Merkel; Creeping Bailouts; Reflections on German Expectations

Posted: 21 Jun 2012 11:12 PM PDT

Reader "Bert" from Germany writes ...

Hello Mish

The German Supreme Court asked the president to delay signing the ESM. This is unprecedented. The court needs more time to study the proposal, they say.

So no ESM yet! I was waiting and hoping for this kind of action.

Kind regards and please keep going on with your very interesting mail service, I never skip a day.

Bert

Another Setback for Merkel

Bert sent this link from Faz: Gauck unterzeichnet Fiskalpakt vorerst nicht.

The Google translation was so bad I won't even post it.

Instead, please consider the Spiegel Online English version report Germany Faces Delay in Ratifying Euro Rescue Fund

Germany's highest court asked the country's president on Thursday to delay ratification of the permanent euro bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, and the fiscal pact into law next week. If he complies, the move could delay the implementation of the ESM by several weeks in the latest setback for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Constitutional Court, anticipating challenges to the legislation, wanted more time to review documents. German President Joachim Gauck, hardly three months in office, was already faced with an important decision. If he complied with the request from Karlsruhe, at least one piece of legislation proposed by Chancellor Merkel and her coalition government -- the permanent bailout fund known as the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) -- would undoubtedly be delayed. The ESM was originally scheduled to come into force on July 1, 2012.

Gauck doesn't want to sign the two laws, at least for now, when they are presented to the two houses of the German legislature -- the federal parliament, the Bundestag, and the upper legislative chamber, the Bundesrat -- for ratification next week. However, laws in Germany are only considered ratified, and therefore binding under international law, when signed by the president. Now it could take another two or three weeks before the court rules on possible emergency appeals.

Declining a request by the Constitutional Court judges, especially on such a delicate matter, would have created a massive conflict and set off a debate on the question of whether a German president in cases of doubt has the power to ignore Karlsruhe. It was a conflict Gauck was anxious to avoid. According to a statement by the president's office, Gauck intended to "comply with the request, in keeping with standard government practice among the constitutional bodies, and out of respect for the Federal Constitutional Court, as soon as the Bundestag and the Bundesrat have adopted the corresponding treaty laws."

Emergency Appeals by the Left Party and a Former Minister

For now, Germany's highest court has the final say. The Left Party and former Justice Minister Herta Däubler-Gmelin, a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), have announced their intention to file suits against the ESM and the fiscal pact. They are expected to file emergency appeals against the measures.

Almost no one in Merkel's coalition government of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) believes that Karlsruhe will actually stop the fiscal pact and the ESM. And neither does the opposition, which doesn't want to imagine the prospect of both projects failing on Germany's account. "The house is on fire," says a leading member of the Green Party opposition, in a reference to Spain. He is expressing the dilemma that the Constitutional Court also faces as it considers the possibility of legal challenges, namely that the judges are also keeping an eye on the nervous markets.

Reflections on German Expectations

The article notes that "almost no one" believes the supreme court will stop the ESM. However, note that Merkel and others were shocked by this delay in the first place.

Having followed such stories for over a year, the compromise position would be for the court to allow the ESM with various warnings.

And why shouldn't the court warn? More specifically, why shouldn't the court reject the ESM outright?

"Mistake to Pursue United States of Europe"

Flashback December 28, 2011: "It's a Mistake To Pursue a United States of Europe" says German Supreme Court Justice in Spiegel Interview ; Interpretation of Interview from Saxo Bank Chief Economist

Flashback September 26, 2011: Germany's Top Judge Throws Major Monkey Wrench Into Leveraged EFSF Machinery, Demands New Constitution and Popular Referendum for Further Powers

Please read those two articles carefully.

Does Merkel Care About Constitutional Issues?

It is not at all uncommon for politicians (in this case Merkel) to simply not give a damn about constitutional issues.

Moreover, and although I cannot speak for Germany, perhaps it is shocking for the courts to intervene this way. Certainly in the US we do not see laws delayed before they are signed by the president.

Creeping Bailouts

Although Merkel has stayed true to form against Eurobonds and other blatantly obvious transfer mechanisms, I believe the real reason is her fear the German supreme court might demand a referendum.

Even if the court allows the ESM, this is a further warning to Merkel to not stray too far.

Every step of the way, Merkel has caved in to demand for higher bailouts, as well as bailouts upon bailouts, all of which increase German taxpayer risk, as does ever-escalating target2 balances.

For further discussion, please see Discussion of Target2 and the ELA (Emergency Liquidity Assistance) program; Reader From Europe Asks "Can You Please Explain Target2?"

Has the Supreme Court Finally Had Enough?

With creeping bailouts caused by cave-in after cave-in by Merkel, and with Target2 balances skyrocketing out of sight, perhaps the German supreme court has finally had enough.

I doubt it, but let's hope so.

Addendum:

Reader Philipp ads this note about German courts ...

Hi Mish,

A correction to your post about "Germany Supreme Court Delays ESM". The federal constitutional court is not the supreme court of Germany. Actually, there are 5 supreme courts in Germany with different areas of expertise.

The constitutional court is situated above the supreme courts and its only job is the final interpretation of the German Constitution.

The difference to the US system is based on law jurisdictions. The US system is based on the anglo-saxon common law while most of Europe is based on the Roman Law system and the Corpus Juris Civilis of the East Roman Empire with influences of the laws of the Salian Emperors (Holy Roman Empire) and the Code Napoleonique.

Philipp

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

sâmbătă, 23 iunie 2012

Damn Cool Pics

Damn Cool Pics

Weekly Address: Congress Must Act on Transportation Bill and Student Loans

What kind of content will work for your site?

What kind of content will work for your site?

Seth's Blog : Where does trust come from?

Where does trust come from?

More Recent Articles

vineri, 22 iunie 2012

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Pagini

Persoane interesate

Arhivă blog

sâmbătă, 23 iunie 2012

More Recent Articles

vineri, 22 iunie 2012

Pagini

Persoane interesate

Arhivă blog

Subscribe to