Friday, July 5, 2019
5 Tips for Planning a Great Business Networking Event
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or professional looking to advance your career, real business insight comes from connecting with other founders, CEOs, and investors. That’s why business meetings are important.
They’re an important place to pitch your ideas to other innovators and to garner knowledge about your competition. However, since, most tech company leaders are busy people, organising them can be a tedious task. Not to worry, here’s a step by step guide to help you with that.
Plan to Provide Transportation
Relying Uber or any other public transport can become very costly? Availability can become an issue any time, and taking in a lot of people to your venue separately will cost you a pretty penny.
In such a situation you might want to charter a shuttle bus rental which ensures that the travel is smooth.
With the bus, remember to choose the kind of bus you’re using carefully. While, a student charter bus can raise a few laughs, it would create problems for many of the higher officials.
Choose Your Venue Carefully
The venue you choose should not be too far from the airport and the city. It should be navigable and the visitors should be able to reach there easily. And once you have looked after that makes sure your venue is spacious enough to accommodate all the guests.
Make sure that your venue is accessible to all the employees and the innovators that are invited. People would congratulate you for having a more wheelchair-accessible venue as well, as for having more open spaces for people to mingle and talk among each other.
Not only that, remember to choose a venue that doesn’t go too much into the interior and provides everyone the opportunity to reach without getting lost. Remember the people you’re inviting are business people, and the loss of time can mean a lot of offence for future partners in your endeavours.
Book Relevant Speakers
This is important. Even though most of the work happens face to face having keynote speakers in the meeting is a good way to attract the crowd and make the meeting more appealing. Check out their politics from the start.
One of the key points to keep in mind is that the speakers should be inoffensive. You might check out the speakers in that area’s TEDX convention, or even go for some Guru who knows about your field.
Keep in mind that the speaker would set the tone for the evening and help in navigating conversations so, choosing speakers who encourage conversations is the best way to go. Look out for speakers who might be affiliated to a rival company, they are a big no-no in such meetings.
Offer Multiple Speaker Tracks
No single speaker can manage different events, therefore it is important that there are different speakers for different events which target all types of audiences.
Multiple speakers also ensure that you have the chance to drive different executives to different rooms and have varied conversations with them.
This way you won’t be lacking for places to converse with your future partners and for discussing ideas. Also, the wide playing field would mean that you have more time to arrange the PR.
Organize Networking Time
No business meeting is a successful one without a perfectly planned schedule, therefore it is important for you to plan all the events carefully so that the attendees have enough time to interact with each other.
Maybe, organize a cocktail mixer where your employees can interact with the innovators and come up with ideas? Or organize a large dinner where the primary focus is on talking and introductions.
Another sure shot way to get through to a large group of people is by maintaining some good talking points which you can bring up whenever you’re running out of conversation materials.
from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/business/5-tips-for-planning-a-great-business-networking-event/
13 Key Takeaways from the Google Medic Update
The Google Medic Update that took place in August 2019 shook the digital marketing community and impacted many health and medical websites across the web.
For those who don’t know much about Google’s broad core algorithm updates which include the Google Medic update. These are often significant changes applied to Google’s algorithm, which assesses website content using over two-hundred factors — many of which are unknown.
Many websites experience a loss in ranking following these updates and struggle to regain traffic and site visibility.
The update in August appeared to target websites that provide medical advice, with Google being held responsible for its major influence over searchers making health queries.
Our guess — and many other search specialist’s suspicions — is that Google is becoming increasingly particular about championing expert content, especially when it’s linked to health.
If you run a health blog or work in content marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), or in any other digital marketing role, here are a few key takeaways that you’ll need to know:
- Marketers need to pay particular attention to Google’s E-A-T guidelines.
The acronym Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T) are used to describe the three measures that Google uses to determine content quality. More information on these can be found in Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.
It’s thought that the Google Medic update, along with the more recent core update in June, revolved around these metrics, as content lacking expert authorship and websites with fewer trust signals suffered the most. - There may be some truth in studies that show people trust Google more than their doctor.
Google’s Medic update was clearly centered around health, with some data showing that 41% of the websites affected were health-related.
This makes us think that some of the recent stories about Google surpassing the public’s trust in doctors are true. Either way, it’s clear that the search engine is clamping down on the weighting and accuracy of medical advice. - Google may be stepping up its game when it comes to medical advice because of Amazon’s Alexa.
Interestingly, Amazon’s Alexa — the core competitor of Google Home — has recently installed new Healthcare Skills. Most notably, Alexa has an in-built symptom checker that can provide medical advice and the ability to check the status of home delivery prescriptions.
Could it be that Google is threatened by these advanced features? - Google’s broad core algorithm updates aren’t always as “broad” as we think.
The term used by Google to describe its core updates is “broad”, meaning they’re applied at a universal level across the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and don’t specifically target one niche or industry.
However, the data paints a different picture. Medic is a prime example of an update that ended up highly targeting a specific type of content (see Takeaway #8 for more!) - The rise in content marketing activity is forcing Google to clamp down on sites with promotional calls to action (CTAs).
Some of the Google Medic case studies reveal that promotional CTAs in blog posts that contain advice are a no-no. One such case study is of a physician’s website that recovered ranking losses by tweaking blogs to be less sales-driven. - The Google Medic update affected health websites above all.
As noted in our second takeaway, Google’s Medic update primarily affected health websites. These websites ranged from healthcare blogs and personal blogs that provide health advice to e-commerce websites that sell medical devices. - The Google Medic update didn’t just affect health websites.
It’s clear that Google’s Medic update was largely focused on medical content, hence its name. That said, Google Medic also affected a variety of other websites, including business, finance, and gambling sites.
According to Yoast, Google Medic tweaked brand searches to include job pages in companies like IBM and McDonald’s — likely part of Google’s aim to better match search intent (the reason why a user conducts a search and what they’re looking to get from it). - Google is cracking down on Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content.
Content that gives advice that could affect a person’s health, happiness, or finances is under constant scrutiny from Google. Misinformation is rife and acting on information without having all the details can have devastating results.
As such, the Medic update severely clamped down on such content and devalued those lacking authority and expertise — it’s likely why health and medical websites were so adversely affected. - The Google Medic update is most likely linked to more recent updates (including June’s core update).
As Google continues to focus on search intent, it would appear that the two updates are inherently linked. Google’s focus may have appeared to get broader, but medical content continued to be affected, indicating that this is part of a wider move to streamline the SERPs.
Search Engine Land reported on June’s data and drew subtle comparisons. - Websites will struggle to recover ranking positions unless they start hiring expert content writers.
As has been highlighted by Google’s E-A-T guidelines, expertise is a huge factor when it comes to high-ranking content. Those that have lost ranking positions due to a recent update will have to work doubly hard to regain Google’s trust.
To do this, websites will need to invest in their content, specifically if it relates to medical advice or YMYL. Hiring a medical content writer is advised as one of the best ways to support recovery. - Google will continue to reward websites that have been previously “ignored” yet still deliver quality content.
Contrary to what SEO blogs might suggest, Google updates aren’t all doom and gloom.
The core focus of Google’s updates is to assess content quality — both good and bad — and either reward or devalue sites via ranking shifts. In this sense, some websites will see a ranking boost if they appear to be providing consistent value to users. - The search engine shows no sign of being more open about its algorithmic activity: Despite search writer Barry Schwartz’s desperate plea via Twitter for more information (like the good old days), Google isn’t opening up about its updates.
Instead, frustrated digital marketers are left to uncover the meaning of each change for themselves. - Even search specialists don’t have a clue what’s really happening with Google updates: It’s true. As Google is being ever more secretive about its search improvement activity, search specialists are really only scrambling to analyze the results of each update before coming up with a subjective opinion about what’s happened.
One Twitter thread even shows two search specialists bickering about whether or not Medic is an appropriate name for the update. For now, it’s all we’ve got to make sense of it all.
About the author:
Ramya Sriram is a UK-based digital content writer and marketer. She manages communications at Kolabtree, a London-based startup that helps businesses hire freelance scientists online. Her experience spans 10 years in publishing, advertising, and digital content creation.
from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/seo/13-key-takeaways-from-the-google-medic-update/
Thursday, July 4, 2019
All About Building Cross-Browser Compatible Websites
Your website may be optimized for different screen sizes. But does it look and work great on different browsers such as Chrome, Opera, Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer?
Users use different browsers to surf the web according to their preference. Just because your web page looks and works great on your machine, it doesn’t mean it will do so on others’ machines too.
It may not be possible to make your website design look exactly identical on every browser that users use. However, there are a few ways that can help you provide a consistent user experience across browsers. Go through these few tips for better website cross-browser compatibility:
Make sure your code is simple
Less is always more when it comes to coding. If you can create a feature through three lines of coding, you don’t have to dedicate ten lines to it. Simple codes are more cross-browser friendly. They are also easier to maintain if you ever have to adjust or debug your website for compatibility.
Make use of Frameworks
There are many CSS frameworks such as Bootstrap and Foundation that give you style code to help you achieve better cross-browser compatibility.
However, you have to familiarize yourself with its features if you want to build a responsive web application in a faster and easier way. By doing so, you can ensure that your application looks, feels, and behaves, appropriately, irrespective of the type of browser that is used.
Be careful while defining Doctype
The standards and the rules always vary from one browser to the other. So, if you don’t define your Doctype properly, the rendering engine will end up guessing it for you, leading to unnecessary bugs and inconsistencies.
You can avoid all this by defining a valid Doctype. Although this is not exactly an HTML tag, it will tell your web browser what version of HTML you have used to write the page.
Use CSS Reset
Every browser has its own set of CSS rules that it uses to style the different HTML elements of a website. This is why you come across variations in font sizes, table borders, and the colors that are used to identify links.
Also, this is exactly why your Submit buttons look different on every browser. If you want your website to look good on every browser you will have to use CSS Reset.
This will reset the styling of all the HTML elements of your website and bring them to a consistent baseline. If you have used frameworks however, you may not have to worry about CSS reset.
If you still face any of the design challenges, you can use conditional comments to link style sheets for various browsers.
Validate your HTML and CSS
If you want to avoid problems with your website performance you will have to validate your HTML and CSS. You can use CSS validator or W3C HTML validator to make sure there are no errors in your code. If there are any, the validator will fix it for you.
Prepare for the differences
You can’t expect a design to look exactly identical on every browser unless you have chosen an extremely basic design for your website. There will always be differences in typography and details of forms, irrespective of what rules you follow.
You’ll have to accept these differences, but you can still take steps to make sure none of your elements are out of place and all functions are accessible to all across all browsers.
Use a Cross-Browser testing tool
No matter how careful you are, it is impossible to be perfect every time you write code for your website. However, you can make sure your site works well on various browsers before you launch it online.
A Cross-Browser testing tool will help you test this across 1,500 browsers so that you know your users are seeing what you want them to see, whenever they visit your website, irrespective of the browser they use.
Ensuring cross-browser compatibility is one of the important ways to improve your website’s performance. One other way is to ensure your website follows the rules as per Section 508 compliance standards.
A well-designed and super-performing website is the dream of every business. You may not get it right the first time, but by taking the right steps you can improve its SEO structure and increase its visibility at any time.
from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/website/all-about-building-cross-browser-compatible-websites/
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Should you invest in cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is an interesting topic for a lot of people, especially those that want to invest in crypto and eventually get their money back. If you have even the slightest interest in investing your money wisely, cryptocurrency can be a good option. But what should you know before you invest in cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrencies will be regulated soon
There are a lot of people working or paying with cryptocurrencies. And the US is going to regulate cryptocurrency very soon this year. As a result, you will see crypto more and more in stores or especially online. If there are bills and protections against maleficent people, then this means protection and investing in cryptocurrency is a lot safer.
You broaden up your investment portfolio
It’s unwise to have all your eggs in the same basket. Especially if you are an investor. What you want to do is to try and broaden your investment portfolio. Make sure that you invest in a variety of things. But one thing is certain, cryptocurrency should be one of them. You can work with a cryptocurrency exchange development company or talk with other investors to find the best approach and make your experience better.
Amazing growth potential
The main advantage of cryptocurrencies is their nature. The more people use them, the more valuable they will become. Which is why it can make sense to study the market. That bitcoin growth was no accident, so try to study the market and make sure that you handle everything correctly, and you will be very happy with the payoff and the entire experience all the time.
Lots of options to choose from
There are multiple cryptocurrency options out there. Bitcoin is one of the best, Ethereum is another, but there are dozens others that might be worth your time. You just need to find which one is better for you and then go from there. It’s safe to say that all have their pros and cons, all you need is to find the best one for you.
Harnessing the power of the blockchain
Most cryptocurrencies are using the blockchain to make transactions secure. So you do get better security and plenty of other interesting options and features to consider. It really helps a lot and it goes to show just how impressive and unique this system really is. If you want to invest in something that’s secure, thencryptocurrency might very well be the best option for you!
As you can see, cryptocurrencies are definitely a great option for investors. All you have to do is to figure out what cryptocurrency is suitable for your requirements and just go from there. There are some great investment opportunities, just make sure that you take your time and go with the right ones if possible. It will be a challenge to find the right option, but try to focus on value and growth, then the payoff will be really good. And yes, cryptocurrency can be an amazing investment, but you need to study the market and have patience as you make the right decision!
from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/investing/should-you-invest-in-cryptocurrency/
Successful Phone Dating Tips for Moms
Phone dating can seem overwhelming but the fact that there are people who have succeeded at it means that you can make a phone relationship work. You just have to know and apply tips for successful phone dating. So, without further ado, here are tips to help make phone dating successful:
1. Ensure That You Communicate Clearly
Miscommunicating something can negatively impact your relationship. This is something that affects both dating in real life and chat line dating. However, its effects are worse when it comes to phone dating. As such, it is very important to communicate clearly to make phone dating successful. Communicating clearly will help you avoid confusion so try as much as possible to be clear with what you say.
2. Talk to Your Partner about the Things to Call About and Those to Text About
There are some things to talk about on the phone with your partner while there are others to text. It is a good idea to talk to your partner about things to call about and those to text about. Do this early enough to make your relationship work. Remember that there are some things that may be too long to text and texting them can annoy your partner. Therefore, it is good to agree with your partner on the kind of things to communicate and the times to communicate them.
3. Know Each Other’s Schedules
Knowing your partner’s schedules will help you avoid anxiety and worrying so much especially when your partner does not respond in a decent amount of time. Memorizing each other’s schedules or communicating your schedules in the morning can help you know the right time to call or text your partner.
4. Communicate Last-Minute Things or Last-Minute Schedule Changes
Communicating last-minute things or schedule changes will help you avoid thinking that your partner is ignoring you when this is not the case. I know that it can be annoying when you know that your partner is free only to send texts or call and get no response.
If you know that you know that a last minute change may make you unavailable, tell your partner about it. Sending a quick text will only take 30 seconds. These 30 seconds are very important as they can save your relationship.
5. Video Chat At Least on a Weekly Basis
I know that some people video chat more often than once per week but as a standard, it is good to video chat at least once a week to strengthen your relationship. Keep in mind that a video chat is a very important connection that can keep the spark in your relationship alive.
It may be better to schedule video chats with your partner on a weekly basis or coordinate “date nights.” The good thing about this is that it will make you feel like you are connected to your partner in person.
6. Consider New Ways of Sexting
Despite the fact that people don’t have sex when phone dating, there are ways to overcome this. Sexting can bring you and your partner close together hence making you desire your partner more. Ensure that your sexts are passionate, fun and entertaining. Sexting can become boring if you keep using the same ways over and over again. Pique your partner’s interest by trying new ways of texting and having phone sex.
7. Be a More Understanding Person
A phone dating relationship mostly requires an understanding person. In your phone dating life, there may be times when things look sketchy or you are not able to communicate with your partner for much of the day. You will need to be an understanding person to deal with such situations in the best way possible.
8. Talk about Emotional Disconnection When You Feel Emotionally Disconnected
While you may talk with your partner on the phone on a regular basis, there may be times when you feel emotionally disconnected from your significant other. When this happens, it is good to talk about it as this is the only way to deal with the problem. Let your partner know when he or she is being distant or when he or she isn’t giving you enough of your attention during your conversations. Talking about this problem is the only way to overcome it.
9. Give Your Significant Other Lots of Compliments and Reassurance
Reassurances and compliments can help you maintain trust and affection in your relationship. This is because of the fact that your partner can feel down on himself or herself as he or she is not there with you. Reassure your significant other how much you are attracted to him or her. Do so on a daily basis.
10. Avoid Text Fights
If you want to be successful at phone dating, avoid text fights by all means. Fighting over texting is never a good idea as there is too much that you need to talk about and texting may not be a good mode of communication as texts are usually meant to be short and sweet.
Texting will only make your fight long and draw out. In addition, when you take your fight to your fingertips, your significant other could may interpret what you are saying in his or her own way. This is because of the fact that your partner cannot read your tone through text.
Instead of text-fighting, call your significant other and talk about the problem. It is important to hear your partner’s tone of voice as it helps you know whether he or she is being genuine and what he or she is concerned about.
11. Stop Letting the Little Things Bother You
You should know that there are some little things that can be blown out of proportion if they are not dealt with early enough. Instead of letting these little things bother you, let them go. Avoid worrying about every small issue unless it is very important. Otherwise, every little issue will become a full-blown argument.
12. Talk about Relationship Expectations with Your Significant Other
The only way to make your partner know the number of times and the time you want him or her to call or text you is by openly talking about your relationship expectations. Make these expectations early enough so that both of you know what to expect in the relationship. This is the best and easiest way to avoid not communicating enough.
13. Don’t Forget That You Also Have an In-Person Life
The fact that your relationship is over the phone, does not mean that you should always be on the phone. You also have an in-person life to enjoy. So, have fun and then put your phone away by engaging in other activities such as spending time with your friends and loved ones. In fact, staying away from your phone once in a while can make you ready for important conversations.
from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/lifestyle/successful-phone-dating-tips-for-moms/
Is Your Job Affecting Your Mental State? Here’s What You Can Do!
No matter what kind of work you might be doing, there are always stressful moments involved. It happens even to people who were satisfied with their jobs when they started out.
But after some time, the company changes, the coworkers change, and perspectives change as well, leading to various issues.
Sometimes, work-related issues hit you like a tone of bricks and, in other situations, they slowly start boiling until you start feeling the heat.
Our jobs are really important and we have to work to be able to support ourselves and our families. However, this doesn’t mean that we should let them affect our mental well-being. If you are in this kind of situation, here are some steps you can take towards preventing further escalation.
Don’t be stubborn
The first step you absolutely MUST take when getting mentally worn out by work is to admit you’re in trouble. Wanting to do well at work and advance forward in your career is completely normal, but this doesn’t mean that you should sacrifice your mental stability.
Playing the martyr won’t get you anywhere and this might even jeopardize your work performance. If you burn out completely, who knows how much time you will need to come back from it. Additionally, this will mark you as “that” person who suffered a breakdown. This could hinder your career.
To start working on the issues you are having, you have to actually admit they’re there. The longer you wait to do this, the more potentially stressed, anxious, and depressed you will get.
Pinpoint the issue(s)
Before you can start improving your mental health, you will have to understand what is causing you distress. Try to practice more self-awareness while at work and see what’s bothering you. Is it the job itself, the work environment, a coworker, or your boss?
Pinpointing the exact thing that’s bothering you can, on its own, offer great relief because you’ve identified the problem. It’s become a real thing and not some force of nature you can’t combat. Even if the root of all your issues can’t be changed, understanding it can help you work around it.
In the worst case scenario, it can help you learn how to deal with it on a daily basis. Knowing the problem is the only way you can start dealing with it. Getting to a certain destination is much more difficult if you don’t know which route to take.
Talk with your peers
One of the easiest ways to get relief at work is to talk things out with someone who works there. After all, your coworkers are there with you every day and are affected by the same issues as you.
They will be able to understand what you’re talking about and give you their thoughts. Their advice might help you look at things from a different perspective and help you deal with the issue. Maybe they were in a similar situation and they’ve managed to solve it; who knows?
The important thing is to talk and verbalize your thoughts. You have nothing to lose and, in the worst case scenario, you will feel that relief of sharing your problems with someone who knows what you’re talking about.
Learn to take a break
In this competitive work environment, many of us get caught up in our jobs and we try to do as much as we possibly can during every second. This can often be the root of various other issues such as stress or anxiety. Fight off that urge to work hard all the time.
Take a break at work and decompress. Don’t think about work and try to relax while on your break. If you have a habit of working during your free time, stop it. It’s important to make a clear distinction between work time and free time.
On the other hand, if things are really bad, try and get some time off. Use this opportunity to go on a trip and get your mind off work entirely. When you are mentally and physically exhausted, you will be less productive so even if you work for 12 hours a day, you won’t be that effective.
Change your job
If you tried dealing with your issues in every way possible and they still won’t go away, then maybe you should consider switching jobs. For example, if you have an annoying boss that gets under your skin, the only solution is to quit and find another position.
Luckily, the best time to search for employment is while you actually have a full-time job. Don’t be committed to a position just because you feel that’s what you’re supposed to do.
Remember, your mental health comes first. Having a full-time job doesn’t have to be stressful constantly. It shouldn’t put a strain on your mental well-being. Don’t forget that you and your loved ones are more important than any job.
from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/uncategorized/is-your-job-affecting-your-mental-state-heres-what-you-can-do/