Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
7 TIPS BISNIS DARI PENGUSAHA SUKSES
1. Nikmati indahnya berpikir kreatif
Menjadi kreatif berarti selalu membuka pintu dan mengeksplorasi pilihan-pilihan. Seperti kata John C Maxwell, "Bakat saja tidak cukup. IQ juga tidak. Semua baru menjadi potensi, dan setiap potensi perlu menemukan pintunya." Caranya? Berani mencoba.
2. Kekuatan kesederhanaan
Tip ini berasal dari pengalaaman sukses Firmansyah Budi Prasetyo, pemilik Tella Krezz. Ia berhasil menaikkan gengsi singkong menjadi sama dengan french fries dan snack impor lainnya. Kunci sukses para pemikir sederhana, mereka mengerjakan hal-hal yang sudah dikenali dan akrabi sejak kecil.
3. Carilah struktur biaya yang rendah
Menurut Rheinald Khasali, berwirausaha bukan bergaya hidup. Kalau bergaya hidup Anda
menghabiskan uang. Dalam wirausaha Anda mengurangi pengeluaran dan mendatangkan penghasilan. Dengan pola pikir ini, maka bisnis yang dijalankan akan membawa untung.
4. Gunakan teknologi, jangkau sebanyak sebanyak mungkin orang
Saat ini bila Anda gagap teknologi maka akan rugi. Pasalnya, dengan teknologi, pemasaran produk akan menyebar pada banyak orang tanpa mengeluarkan biaya. Dengan Twitter, Facebook, situs, atau blog, promosi akan menyebar dalam hitungan menit.
5. Tiupkan ruh pada brand Anda
Artinya memberi kekuatan dan nyawa pada brand agar bisa bergerak sendiri, hidup dan berdaya. Brand Anda adalah karakter Anda, jadi jangan berkompromi pada hal-hal yang bisa merusak reputasi dan karakter Anda, karena akan berpengaruh pada brand. Buatkan story telling tentang brand Anda, biasanya orang suka pada kisah di balik sebuah produk.
6. Entrepreneurship DNA
Jangan percaya pada mitos, bahwa orang Padang jago berdagang, atau orang China pandai berbisnis. Semua orang bisa berbisnis dan memiliki entrepreneurship DNA. Caranya dengan meluaskan pengetahuan, banyak bergaul dengan pengusaha sukses yang beretika, dan bekerja keras.
7. Bersahabat dengan ketidakpastian
Dalam bisnis sering terjadi ketidakpastian, bahkan bisnis dianggap kegiatan berselancar di antara gelombang ketidakpastian. Ketidakpastian terjadi bila kita tidak mengenali sesuatu, jadi cara mengatasinya tak lain bersahabat dengan ketidakpastian itu. Cari data dan informasi, sampai Anda mengenali ketidakpastian itu serta risikonya.
smartnewz
Monday, May 7, 2012
Kesuksesan Angry Birds Bikin Kantong Rovio Tebal
'Burung-burung pemarah' berjuluk Angry Birds menjadi 'tambang emas' bagi Rovio. Dilaporkan, pendapatan developer tersebut menembus angka USD 100 juta pada tahun lalu.
Rovio menggeber angka-angka mencengangkan yang mereka raih di tahun 2011 tersebut di pernyataan resminya. Revenue sebanyak USD 106,3 juta dikantongi oleh Nokia dengan earning sebelum pajak berada di angka USD 67,6 juta.
Dilansir dari TechCrunch, Senin (7/5/2012), 30% dari angka-angka itu datang dari penjualan merchandise dan kegiatan berlisensi.
Angry Birds memang menuai kesuksesan yang luar biasa. Lompatan pendapatan Rovio tersebut sangat jauh bila dibandingkan dengan tahun 2010, di mana mereka hanya mengantongi revenue USD 7 juta (periode Juli-Desember).
Selain membeberkan mengenai pendapatan, Rovio juga menggeber jumlah pendownloadan game populer tersebut hingga akhir 2011. Dikatakan, total pengunduhan mencapai angka 648 juta dengan total jumlah pengguna aktif sebanyak 200 juta.
"Pertumbuhan pendapatan yang kuat menunjukkan popularitas brand Angry Birds," ujar Mikael Hed, CEO Rovio. "Untuk melanjutkan kesuksesan ini, kami harus kreatif dan tetap fokus untuk menghibur jutaan fans," tambahnya.
Untuk mencapai gol itu, tim Rovio pun mengatakan mereka akan mengembangkan produk-produk baru nan inovatif. Keberhasilan Angry Birds tentu saja berdampak pada jumlah karyawannya. Jika pada awalnya mereka hanya diperkuat 28 orang pada tahun 2011, kini sebanyak 224 orang telah terdaftar sebagai tim Rovio.
detiknet
Sunday, May 6, 2012
SEO Optimization -Get Key word Density Just Right
It has always been about being noticed. People dress well or do something bizarre in order to be noticed or make a statement. To get ahead in life or business one needs to be at the top, first in line. Now more often than not, the World Wide Web to functions along the same principles.
With tough competition between websites, articles, and e-commerce sites what makes one more successful than others is the position a site gets on search engines. The higher the ranking the larger the number of hits or traffic to the site. To achieve a higher position websites use the strategy of SEO optimization and content is written such that it is key word dense.
It is not as simple as using words repeatedly you need to know which keywords are relevant to your website and pages. Once you have a master list ensure that :
• Match keyword tag with content. Ensure that the keyword meta tag has around 900 characters or 25 words.
• Ensure that the keyword density in between 3-10% . And, avoid using the same word more than once in a sentence. Check keyword validators to determine the exact density percentage.
• Try and maximize use in the top half of the page. Many search engine spiders do not go beyond 25-50%.
• Be smart and spell your keywords with variations and also include plurals.
Go one step ahead and make use of a keyword density checker. This is an automated system that will comb through your web content and highlight words used in higher density. The system will enable you to perfect your pages and provide what search engines or spiders want.
A Keyword Density Cloud see http://www.webconfs.com/keyword-density-checker.php can be used effectively to crawl selected URLs, analyze word density, and remove common stop words. The tool can be added to your website and fulfil a vital role in SEO optimization.
It is all about knowing how to gather your audience or customers and the keyword density checker or cloud can help you through several stumbling blocks. The golden rules of SEO are: keyword density, keyword frequency, keyword prominence, and keyword proximity.
The basic rule of thumb is to know "what are the keywords your potential customers are likely to use." Key words must not be random but relevant to your line of business. The trick is to strike a balance neither too many nor too little. Too many can get your site banned and too little means you get lower rankings and your wonderful site goes unnoticed.
So, while sticking to your marketing plan and focus take a moment to take care of web content and its many nuances. Make content meaningful and relevant, find out the most important words that will be used to find what your site has to offer (put yourself in the user's shoes). And construct content using all the golden rules and keys mentioned above.
If you tread the right path success in the World Wide Web will be yours.
Author Bio
Aaron Brooks is a freelance writer for www.1888seoservices.com, the premier website to find Seo consulting, link buildings and professionals seo training, online marketing tips, seo tools and more. He also freelances for Submit Free Press Release site http://www.1888pressrelease.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Promoting Your Business on the Internet
When it's time to promote your business on the Internet, you will first want to make sure that your website looks good and is user friendly. If it does, it’s possible to gain trust and credibility, while poorly designed websites will have a hard time to appear trustworthy.
What to primary consider when your site looks good is to promote it on the Internet.
So what does that mean? To put it a different way, in dollars and cents, sacrificing your Internet marketing means sacrificing money from your business's bottom line. But which kind of marketing will make the most money for your company?
Most online marketing professionals agree that SEO, the short form for search engine optimization, is what can make your business the most money online.
This means that you are trying to drive traffic to your web site in order to gain new customers, make more sales, and make more money. No business in this day and age can survive without a full and complete Internet presence, and no online presence is complete without a search engine optimisation process.
So, how do people search in the major search engine?
Well, the most common is without doubt to search by keywords or phrases. That is at least what most people do when they sign on to the Internet and begin to look for something that they want.
That means they type one or several search terms into Google or Bing in an Internet browser. What you need to do as a business owner is think about what terms your customers might type in order to try to find your business. Make sure to use the kind of language as people do when they speak to each other, and not the technical terms as might be used by professionals in your business.
Further, you want to make sure those terms are listed prominently on your web site. Your web site should have these terms on them so people who are looking for your business will be able to find it without a problem. This is the most effective way to promote your business on the Internet.
SEO your way to success involves adding pictures with proper alt text to your Internet posts as well. In addition to alt text, you can list little strings of metadata in your articles, often referred to as meta descriptions. They are basically there to summarize what the article is about and will be visible for potential customers using search engines to search for your product or services related to your business.
Another SEO optimisation tool is to include outbound links to related web sites in your text. That way, users can navigate to and from your site, getting additional information to read.
Of course, you don't want to direct your customers and clients' to competitors' web sites, but perhaps you can link them to educational pages where they can learn about things that will make them convinced that they need your product or service. Regardless what which SEO procedures you use to promote your business, the point is that you can't go wrong by using this kind of process, and that in fact this process is essential to help you grow your business, find new customers, and move to fulfil your dreams as a business owner.
About the Author: Markus Jalmerot is an enthusiastic SEO Specialist from London. He has been working with website promotions and search engine optimization in particular for over 8 years. Recently, Markus completed an extensive SEO guide with detailed information about all steps required to get visible in search engines.
Source: www.isnare.com
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Wall Street Journal remains No. 1 US newspaper
U.S. newspapers reported a slight increase in circulation the past year as more readers purchased digital subscriptions, according to a media industry group.
Average daily circulation in the six months that ended on March 31, rose nearly 1 percent for the 618 newspapers that participated in the Audit Bureau of Circulations semi-annual study, which was released Tuesday.
Digital circulation, which includes subscribers who access content on tablet computers, smartphones, e-readers and websites, accounted for 14.2 percent of overall circulation. That was up from 8.6 percent in the October-March period a year earlier.
Demand for digital content helped offset a decline in print circulation. Weekday digital circulation grew 61.6 percent while print circulation fell 6.7 percent. Circulation of so-called branded editions, such as alternative-language editions of newspapers, increased 33.7 percent.
The Wall Street Journal remains the No. 1 U.S. newspaper, with average weekday circulation of 2.1 million, about the same as a year earlier. The Journal has more than 1.5 million print subscribers and nearly 560,000 digital subscribers, according to the report.
USA Today ranked No. 2, with 1.8 million, down less than 1 percent. The New York Times was third with 1.6 million, up 73.1 percent. The Times' circulation increased after it started charging online readers without a print subscription to gain unlimited online access. The newspaper now has roughly 780,000 print subscribers and 807,000 digital subscribers.
Circulation for the 532 newspapers that report Sunday data grew 5 percent. The New York Times had the highest Sunday circulation with 2 million, up 49.6 percent from a year earlier. Neither the Journal nor USA Today publishes on Sunday.
The Times said its print circulation continued to decline, but said the inclusion of a free digital subscription with a Sunday home delivery subscription helped increase Sunday print circulation.
Circulation numbers affect advertising rates at newspapers, which count print ads as their main source of revenue. Print advertising revenue has been declining in recent years as readers and advertisers shift to the Internet. The economic downturn accelerated the decline. Some newspapers have seen growth in digital ad revenue, but it hasn't been enough to offset the losses in print advertising.
detik business
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Asia stocks rise on hopes of new Fed stimulus move
Asian stock markets rose Monday in holiday-thinned trade as sluggish U.S. growth figures boosted hopes for more measures from the Federal Reserve to help the world's No. 1 economy.
South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,982.15 amid improving business sentiment among manufacturers. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8 percent to 4,396 as rising commodities prices helped push up its mining sector.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent to 20,978.72. Benchmarks in New Zealand and the Philippines also gained, while Singapore and Indonesia fell and Taiwan swung between gains and losses. Markets in mainland China and Japan were closed for public holidays.
Stan Shamu of IG Markets in Melbourne said that investors shrugged off the weaker-than-expected U.S. economic growth, as well as a second downgrade this year by S&P of Spain's debt, amid hopes that the Fed will launch a new round of bond buying to keep interest rates low.
The Fed has already carried out two rounds of bond-buying known as quantitative easing to stimulate spending and drive down long-term interest rates. Low bond yields generally encourage investors to shift money to buying stocks.
But riskier assets such as stocks could lose momentum Tuesday, when China is due to release its manufacturing index for April. Shamu said analysts expect a reading of 53.6 for April, up from 53.1 in March. Anything lower could disappoint.
Traders were also awaiting U.S. monthly jobs figures for April, to be released Friday, and the second round of France's presidential election on Sunday.
Polls suggest the election will be won by Socialist contender Francois Hollande, who wants to renegotiate a European treaty intended to limit excessive government spending to emphasize growth over austerity. Economists fear Hollande could upset France's delicate cooperation with Germany, which has been critical to Europe's efforts to resolve its financial crisis.
Elsewhere, confidence among South Korean manufacturers rose amid signs of an improving economy, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the Bank of Korea. An index that measures expectations among manufacturers rose to 90 for May from 85 in April, the central bank said.
Samsung Electronics, which on Friday announced record earnings for the first quarter, rose 1.8 percent. Hyundai Motor Co. added 2.9 percent.
Elsewhere, rising prices for precious and industrial metals helped Australia's mining giants. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, rose 1.8 percent. Leading rival Rio Tinto Ltd. added 1 percent, and iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.7 percent.
U.S. stock markets rose Friday despite a report that the U.S. economy grew at annual rate of 2.2 percent, below the 2.5 percent that economist had expected. It grew at a faster rate, 3 percent, in the final three months of 2011.
Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 11 cents to $104.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 38 cents to settle at $104.93 in New York on Friday.
In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.3247 from $1.3259 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 80.14 yen from 80.39 yen.
jakarta post
Monday, April 30, 2012
Google AdSense and AdWords - Like Yin and Yang
Many websites include a section or two with the "Ads by Google" above it or below it. These are ads displayed via Google's AdSense. When you do a search on Google and see ads in the search results pages, they are generally AdSense ads.
AdSense - The Yin:
Google's AdSense is programming that "senses" the content of a page or search. It finds keywords on a web page or in a search phrase to determine the subject of the content. It does this by either "reading" the page, or taking a look at the search term that was typed into Google Search. It can "Sense" which ads in the system are relevant to the content or search and display them - thus: "AdSense."
Before ads on a page are displayed, AdSense searches its database of advertisers and finds ads that are associated with keywords on the page or in the search. Now AdSense needs to decide which of the thousands of ads vying for position are actually displayed. To make this decision, AsSense looks at the advertiser's bids for the relevant keywords. The advertisers that have a combination of the highest bid, keyword relevance and best click through get displayed first.
Google tracks clicks on ads and advertisers pay Google the bid price for each click. When the AdSense ad is on someone's web page, Google pays the website owner a portion of the payment for each click. The term "monetizing" your site refers to taking your existing site and placing ads like AdSense on it to make money (or finding other way to make money with websites). If you get 10,000 visitors and 10% of them click an ad that pays you, theoretically, $0.75 per click, you just made $750! Not bad for just copying some AdSense code (which Google provides) into your popular website's HTML (if your site is not popular, learn about SEO - Search Engine Optimization - from sites like AcmeWebResources).
AdWords - The Yang:
The other side to AdSense is AdWords. AdSense ads have lists of relevant keywords associated with them. Each keyword is bid on by the advertisers for placement in the results pages and on web sites around the world. The words that will prompt a display of an advertiser's ad are bid on by the advertiser. When an ad matches the words on a page, the ads are displayed; thus: AdWords. AdWords is the system in Google that is used to place ads that display in AdSense.
You can enroll in AdWords to pay for AdSense ads to drive traffic to your site. The first step is to sign up with Google. The next step is to associate keywords to associate with your site.
The idea is to drive traffic to your site through the use of relevant ads. The more relevant the ad to your content, the more targeted your traffic will be. Compose your articles around your list of keywords. Next, write an ad based on the keywords and assign keywords to the ad. You will bid on the keywords at the time you associate keywords with the ad. If one of your keywords is searched for or relevant to a site, and you have a good bid and relevant ad, your AdWord ad will be displayed. Only when someone clicks your ad are you charged by Google.
The more popular keywords are wanted by many competitors, so the prices per click can get pretty high. It is not uncommon for a click to cost $5 or even $10. If you have 10,000 ad clicks, after you account for your conversion rate (the rate that you convert visitors into buyers) you better be sure you are making more than the ad click costs! But it should never break your bank because you can set the bid limits and the monthly budget.
What if you can't afford $5.00 per click? Since the more popular keywords are so expensive, it is best to bid on less popular keywords because the cost per click is lower. Google presently has a minimum bid of $0.05 per click. If you can get those, you can reduce your advertising budget.
A popular site can make a lot of money, however, a lot of money and time can be wasted. To avoid waste, you have to learn as much as possible and get the right tools to do the research.
Author Bio
Nicholas LaPolla has been a web applications developer for 11 years. He created www.AcmeWebResources.com to help others build or improve, market, and monitize their websites with a focus on web design, website seo / internet marketing, and working to make money online.
Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com
6 Penyebab Gagalnya Bisnis Waralaba
Jakarta - Banyak orang menyangka berbisnis waralaba merupakan langkah pasti menuju sukses. Tapi pada kenyataannya, banyak alasan yang membuat bisnis waralaba berakhir tidak seperti yang diperkirakan.
Dalam artikel yang dikutip dari investopedia, Selasa (16/1/2012) ini, kita akan melihat beberapa pertimbangan yang bisa anda kaji sebelum terjun langsung ke bisnis waralaba.
1. Modal awal dan royalti waralaba yang cukup tinggi
Modal awal dan franchise fee bisa sangat mempengaruhi laba penyewa bisnis waralaba. Sebagai contoh, jika anda ingin membuka waralaba McDonald's, anda harus punya lokasi sendiri (sewa maupun milik), belum lagi royalti waralaba sekitar Rp 405 juta (US$ 45.000) untuk memegang hak waralaba selama 20 tahun, setelah masanya habis maka bisa diperpanjang.
Jika dihitung-hitung secara total, biaya yang anda harus keluarkan untuk membuka sebuah restoran cepat saji McDonald's berkisar antara Rp 4,5 miliar sampai Rp 14,4 miliar.
Yang paling merepotkan adalah, franchise fee yang harus disetorkan per tahun. Setiap tahun, pemegang pemegang waralaba harus menyetorkan 12,5% omzetnya ke pemilik waralaba. Jadi, berapapun omzet anda atau sebaik apapun bisnis, anda akan terus terikat dengan peraturan ini.
Ongkos sewa tahunan ini merupakan syarat paling standar dalam dunia waralaba. Bahkan, Burger King meminta tambahan 4,5% jika ongkos waralabanya mencapai Rp 450 juta, sama seperti Dunkin' Donuts yang meminta tambahan 5,9% untuk franchise fee di kisaran Rp 360-720 juta tergantung lokasi.
Dikurangi gaji karyawan, uang makan dan pajak, bisa terlihat bahwa memegang lisensi waralaba tidak semudah seperti kelihatannya.
2. Biaya bahan baku yang mahal
Untuk anda bisa tetap berbisnis, kebanyakan pemilik waralaba memaksa para pemegang lisensinya untuk membeli bahan baku dari pensuplai yang biasanya masih ada hubungan 'spesial' dengan si pemilik waralaba. Biasanya, harga yang ditetapkan oleh pensuplai ini lebih tinggi ketimbang harga pasar.
Bahkan, beberapa pemilik waralaba makanan cepat saji mematok 5-10% lebih tinggi dari harga pasar untuk produk-produk seperti sayuran, tomat atau bahan baku lainnya. Padahal, sayuran tetap sayuran yang harganya biasanya hampir sama, tapi ini menjadi salah satu cara lain si pemilik waralaba menggenjot laba.
Jangan sekali-sekali anda membatalkan pesanan bahan baku dari si pemilik waralaba, karena bukan tidak mungkin ia kan memutus kontrak anda di tengah jalan sehingga anda tak lagi bisa berbisnis.
3. Minimnya pendanaan
Kebanyakan pemegang lisensi waralaba tidak punya akses ke pendanaan yang baik. Jadi, jika butuh tambahan modal, kebanyakan pemegang lisensi waralaba harus merogoh koceknya sendiri. Bisa dibilang, pemegang lisensi waralaba bergantung pada diri sendiri.
Beberapa pemilik waralaba mengetahui hal ini dengan baik sehingga memberikan opsi cicilan untuk franchise fee, modal awal, bahan baku dan peralatan untuk memulai waralaba. Situasi seperti ini biasanya lebih menarik para calon pemegang lisensi waralaba.
4. Minimnya kontrol lokasi
Beberapa waralaba punya aturan untuk tidak terlalu banyak membuka tokonya di sebuah kota demi menghindari saturasi pasar dan omzet yang anjlok. Akan tetapi banyak juga waralaba yang membuka toko sebanyak mungkin di sebuah kota demi menggenjot penjualan.
Itulah mengapa bukanlah sesuatu yang aneh jika anda melihat lima gerai McDonald dalam radius 8 km karena perusahaannya berusaha untuk meraup setiap uang yang ada di wilayah tersebut. Pemilik waralaba memang dapat untung banyak, tapi yang menderita adalah gerai si pemegang lisensi waralaba, karena tiap muncul satu waralaba di lokasi yang sama, maka omzetnya bisa turun sampai setengah.
5. Kurang kreatif
Sebauh waralaba biasanya mewajibkan keseragaman. Mulai dari dekorasi toko, papan reklame, produk yang ditawarkan sampai seragam pelayannya harus sama. Untuk orang yang menyukai kreatifitas, ini bisa membuat frustasi.
Jadi, jika anda yang terbiasa menjadi bos bagi diri sendiri, keseragaman ini mungkin cukup sulit dilakukan. Mungkin anda tidak cocok untuk berbisnis waralaba.
6. Pemilik waralaba kurang mengenal daerah baru
Anda pasti sering mendengar kalau kunci sukses dalam berbisnis adalah lokasi, lokasi, lokasi. Pasalnya, lokasi memang sangat mentukan sukses atau gagalnya sebuah bisnis.
Intinya, jika anda tidak bisa menemukan lokasi yang tepat untuk membuka waralaba, anda pasti akan kesulitan, karena si pemilik waralaba pun tidak bisa banyak membantu anda dalam menentukan lokasi.
Contohnya waralaba pizza. Anda tidak bisa dengan mudah membuka gerai pizza di sebuah daerah yang cukup ramai penduduk. Tetapi, anda juga harus perhatikan tingkat usia di lokasi tersebut.
Salah besar jika anda membuka gerai pizza di lingkungan ramai tapi isinya orang tua. Lebih baik anda cari lingkungan yang lebih sepi tapi isinya anak muda semua.
Riset seperti ini lah yang biasanya tak dimiliki oleh si pemilik waralaba. Si pemegang lisensi waralaba lah yang bertugas untuk melakukan riset ini sendirian tanpa bantuan kantor pusat.
Kesimpulan:
Menjalankan bisnis waralaba adalah sebuah keputusan serius yang harus dilaksanakan dengan hati-hati. Sebelum anda menyewa waralaba, banyak belajarlah mengenai perusahaan yang jadi target, begitu pula dengan produk dan lokasinya. Karena bahkan dengan produk dan lokasi yang baik, belum tentu anda bisa meraup laba. Jadi, pastikan adan tahu risikonya sebelum membuka waralaba.
detik finance
Google launches storage service for personal files
Google is hoping to build the world's largest digital filing cabinet in the latest attempt to deepen people's dependence on its services.
The Internet search leader began its pursuit of the audacious goal Tuesday with the much-anticipated debut of Google Drive, a product that stores personal documents, photos, videos and a wide range of other digital content on Google's computers.
By keeping files in massive data centers, users will be able to call up the information on their smartphones, tablet computers, laptops and just about any other Internet-connected device. Content can also be more easily shared among friends, family and co-workers by sending links to the information instead of emailing large attachments.
Google Drive is offering the first five gigabytes of storage per account for free. Additional storage will be sold for prices starting at $2.49 per month for 25 gigabytes up to $49.99 per month for one terabyte, equivalent to five laptops with 200-gigabyte drives.
The service is initially available for installation on Windows-based computers, Mac computers, laptops running on Google's Chrome operating system and smartphones powered by Google's Android software. A version compatible with Apple Inc.'s hot-selling iPhone and iPad is due in the next few weeks.
It may be several weeks before Google Drive is available throughout the world.
Offering online storage is part of a technological shift away from storing personal files on a single machine in a home or office to entrusting them to computing hubs accessible just about any time at any place with Internet access. The concept has become popularly known as "cloud computing."
For all its technological know-how, Google is a late arrival in what is shaping up into the Internet's version of storage wars. Other combatants with a head start include two other technology heavyweights, Apple and Microsoft Corp., and pioneering startups such as Dropbox Inc. and Box Inc.
Google is hoping to further differentiate its storage service by equipping it with more convenient and powerful tools. Google Drive will draw upon the company's expertise in Internet technology for text and images to make it easier to find data quickly. It also includes optical character recognition that can search for specific words contained in scanned newspapers or other sources.
Google Inc., which is based in Mountain View, California, is entering the fray five years after word first leaked out that the company was developing an online file storage service, then called Gdrive. It never came to fruition. In a Tuesday blog post, Google poked fun at itself for taking so long, likening Google Drive's announcement to the sighting of the Loch Ness Monster.
But Google still has plenty of time and, more importantly, plenty of firepower to topple the competition, said Gartner Inc. analyst Michael Gartenberg.
"This puts Google into the heart of the battle," he said. "We are entering this era where the personal cloud is going to be more important than the personal computer, so to remain relevant Google needed a service like this."
It marks Google's second foray into online storage. Following Apple's lead, Google last November opened a music store that included free storage for up to 20,000 songs per user.
Google Drive is starting out by undercutting the 5-year-old Dropbox, which has emerged as an early leader in online storage by attracting more than 50 million users who collectively sync about 1 billion files every two days.
Dropbox, which is based in San Francisco, offers only 2 gigabytes of free storage - less than half of Google Drive - and sells 100 gigabytes for $20 per month or $200 annually. Google Drive, by contrast, is only going to charge $5 per month, or $60 annually, for 100 gigabytes of storage.
Apple's iCloud service, which is designed for owners of the company's mobile devices and computers, also offers 5 gigabytes of free storage and charges $100 annually for 50 gigabytes of storage. Microsoft's SkyDrive offers 7 gigabytes to 25 gigabytes of free storage, depending on when the user signed up for the service. In a move that may have been driven by Google Drive, Microsoft announced Monday that SkyDrive will sell 100 gigabytes of storage for $50 annually.
Dropbox indicated it is counting on its unwavering focus on online storage to fend off Google, which has diversified from Internet search into email, photo sharing, social networking, online video and smartphones.
"Companies of all shapes and sizes have tossed in their hats over the years, but we've stayed ahead by building the best possible experience and making a product that millions of people love," Dropbox said in statement.
Dropbox, started in 2007 two graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is backed by $257 million in venture capital.
Google ended March with more than ?? billion in the bank.
But Google's deep pockets haven't always been enough for the company to overcome the early lead of smaller companies that carved out new niches on the Internet. For instance, Google hasn't been able to build an online social network to surpass Facebook, despite years of trying.
It's still trying to mount more serious challenges to online review site Yelp Inc. and online coupon service Groupon Inc.
Besides money, Google also has the advantage of being able to dangle the storage service in front the more than 1 billion people who already use its Internet search engine or other popular products that include Gmail, its YouTube video site, online software suite Google Docs, social networking service Google Plus and smartphones running on Android.
All those services have required users to entrust Google with valuable insights into their personal interests and intimate details about their lives. If Google Drive takes off, the company will become a bigger custodian of sensitive data. Privacy watchdogs fear Google already knows too much, but Gartenberg doubts those concerns will undermine Google Drive.
"A lot of people already trust Google," he said. "If you already feel comfortable using Google's services, then you will probably use Google Drive, too."
detik sci-tech
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Garuda joins Sky Team’s reservation system
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will use a new reservation technology provided by Spain’s Amadeus Altea to attract more international passengers in the coming years.
“The PSS community system will enable us to further enhance our networks with the Sky Team, which comprises 15 airlines,” Garuda Indonesia sales and marketing director Arif Wibowo said in Jakarta on Friday after the signing of the Service Agreement for Passenger Services System with the Spanish based technology provider for global travel and tourism industry Amadeus Altea.
The airline’s international route passengers throughout last year reached up to 3.2 million.
The Amadeus system will replace the airline’s existing reservation system, Arga, which has been used since 1997.
The PSS system will help Garuda’s passengers connect their flights with other flights provided by the Sky Team community such as KLM, Air France, TAROM, Czech Airlines, and Air Europa in a single flight number.
Sky Team members cover 926 destinations worldwide and the passenger traffic has reached 151 millions.
At present, Garuda Indonesia flies to 19 international routes in Southeast Asia, East Asia, Middle East, Amsterdam, and Australia and 36 domestic routes.
“Today, technology is a critical component of an airline’s infrastructure, and this new system will help us remain competitive among world class airlines in the region,” he said.
He also said that the new technology was part of the Garuda Indonesia Quantum Leap Program, which set targets for the airline to have 154 aircraft with an average fleet age of 5 years and 32.5 million passengers in 2015.
In addition, Amadeus Asia Pacific vice president John Chapman said that Garuda’s transformation and growth had been one of the most impressive success stories in Asia Pacific aviation in recent years.
“Amadeus technology solution will enable Garuda to refine its check-in and airport handling process, and benefit from the automation of currently manual tasks. We also will enable Garuda to continue their impressive growth trajectory and efficiently join the Sky Team alliance,” John said.
He said that the system had been used by more than 115 leading carriers worldwide, including Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Soffi, Lufthansa, Qantas, Thai Airways, ANA and Royal Brunei.
He said that Amadeus was in the middle of a discussion with other local airlines in the country.
However, he said that an agreement was unlikely to be reached this year.
Garuda will receive 21 new aircraft; consisting of four Boeing B737-800 Next Generation (NG) aircraft, two Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 10 A320 aircraft for Citilink, and give sub-100 Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft.
So far, the airline has received one B737-800 NG and a single A330-320 in February.
This year, the airline’s fleet will increase to 105 aircraft, of an average age of 5.5 years.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Leadership ought to be trained
Leadership isn't a by-product nature that we tend to were born. Leadership is learned. The key's to apply it before you've got an officer position or title.
Start by that specialize in the alternatives you've got currently, like who ought to be included within the team or where the acceptable business partner for your next project.
Acknowledge that you just might not understand some things. build selections based mostly on incomplete info could be a talent that each leader should master. Once you act, raise yourself: Is it the correct decision? have you ever been doing differently? this can accustom yourself to form selections, implement those selections and evaluate the results. Then learn from the mistakes which will not be avoided.
You will build information and insight and skills whereas you create the choice that the larger the impact with larger consequences are that each one leaders ought to do.
Motivation of Business
We choose ourselves of what we expect we are able to do, whereas others choose us by what we've done. so if you think that you'll be able to, do it immediately
Instead of slow growth that ought to you worry. However, you ought to be additional scared to not grow in the least. Then cultivate yourself with it at any speed.
If you are right, not too daring, and if you are scared, don't be too scared. as a result of balance may be a determinant of the precision of the perspective of your success journey
Our job isn't to succeed. Our job is to do, as a result of in attempting to find and learn why we have a tendency to are building an opportunity to succeed
You just near them that you just like. and infrequently you are doing not avoid those that you dislike, however from him that you just can acknowledge a replacement perspective
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Being An Entrepreneur
Being an entrepreneur is an exciting, however typically confusing, venture. There are numerous queries that a replacement entrepreneur will be left wondering whether or not beginning his tiny business was the proper selection. to not worry, we've done the analysis and compiled it here for you. you will find everything you would like, from tiny business concepts to legal problems.
Once you’ve chosen your business plan and learned a way to begin atiny low business, you’ll got to skills to plug yourself. tiny business promoting doesn’t have to be compelled to be an awesome task. We’ve answered all of your advertising, marketing, and sales queries. you'll notice info like winning client loyalty and advertising your business inexpensively and effectively.
You will conjointly notice info on monetary services and problems facing tiny business house owners, like determining your business money desires or a way to tell if somebody is embezzling from you.
If you have got human resources considerations, we’ve got that coated too. You’ll learn the way to induce the simplest hires, a way to keep loyal workers, and the way to suits human resource laws. If alternative legal considerations have you ever confused, our articles will facilitate ease your mind. From appealing zoning board choices to negotiating franchise agreements, our straightforward guides can justify it all.
Once you’re up and running along with your tiny business, you’ll wish to understand a way to total any management problems you will face. Wondering a way to monitor workplace productivity or a way to perceive the newest management techniques? Our articles can guide you in obtaining the simplest out of your workers.
If you’ve ever thought of the concept of beginning your own business, rest assured that you’ve return to the simplest place for helpful and straightforward to know info. We’ve gathered the simplest instruction for those with tiny and residential business queries and beyond.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Tips for successful Business Negotiation
The following article issues regarding business negotiation, business tips, building business, andbusiness relationship. If you've got a selected interest in such topics then this informative article is needed reading.
If you discover yourself confused by what you've got browse to the current purpose, do not despair. Everything ought to be crystal clear by the time you end.
Roberta Roesch, author of good Talk: The Art of Savvy Business Conversation , continually reminding every business to continually keep the flow of business conversation to stay it straightforward however easy. as a result of when a businessman includes a super solid daily schedule.
Pointed out the items you wish to mention to somebody you know-of-factly. certify your business associates have captured the large image of yourconversation before ending the meeting. build yourbusiness meeting weighty and not simply useless waste of your time.
The following points are necessary for you to think about when building a business conversation:
Casual however Serious
In talks business, your mindset is familiar with addressing a spread of things with a relaxed perspective should be modified. With anyone you are doing business, bear in mind that the idea of such cooperation is mutual trust and your seriousness additionally as business partners in maintaining commitment. The joke might became an ice breaker in a very business conversation, however opt for the joke and your comment rigorously therefore as not charged on ethnicity, race, faith and sophistication of person.
Formal Greetings
When discussing business with folks you only met, try and greet them with a proper designation, such as Mr., Mrs. or brother. it's necessary to realize respect and a spotlight of the person involved. Before he asks you to decision him by another name, it's still greeted with such designation. however bear in mind, to not forget his name if he had been told to you.
Good Listeners
Even if you're feeling lots of sensible concepts in your mind, try and hold myself to not be trapped into a conversation in one direction. provide chance to the opposite person to convey his plan additionally. Being an honest listener means that you've got to observe to point out a sincere interest within the different person and conjointly things that it conveys. Face-to-eye when speaking and accusing me comments at the proper moment ..
Control unhealthy Habits
Do not ever build your unhealthy habits throughout a businessconversation in progress, like talking along with his mouth full, scratching his nose from time to time nervous, and didn't examine the opposite person when aconversation that typically we have a tendency to do while not acutely aware. of these things ought to be removed as a result of it will bring a negative impression. typically a business deal will be canceled simply because somebody didn't feel snug along with his behavior ..
Topics Safe
If you're not conversant in your business partners well, opt for a neutral topic of conversation. don't till you have interaction in a very dialogue that would loosen the connection. If attainable, realize a subject of conversation that are each unpopular and controlled. Avoid talking regarding faith and politics, unless you specifically asked earlier. If the subject is 'forced' to be mentioned, certify your emotions don't bait and conversation is often in safe methods.
Do not Arrogant
A business man after you meet with a break is usually tempted to reveal all the benefits he had. Sell yourself however in fact cannot be done excessively. If wish to elevate yourself, do it with a light intonation and tone of joking.
Reduce Formalities
In a second meeting or when the connection with business partners are a trifle liquid, begin to scale back the degree of ritual in conversation. however examine the circumstances that exist therefore you're not impressed SKSD (quasi-familiar quasi-close). expect cues from the opposite person and begin gradually. No ought to rush to explore your sense of humor and business associates. the connection will be uncomfortable if he had not disconnected or maybe be offended to listen to your joke ..
Ending Conversations
End the conversation with a smile. Say the name of your business associates by using Sir or Madam 1st and jabatlah hands firmly. If you've got not exchanged business cards, then this can be an honest time to try to to it. after you run out of business cards, write numbers and e-mail address on a bit of paper. simply don't let the meeting ended with none chance to determine contact once more.
Keep establishes relationships through quality business conversations and weighted.
Now may be an honest time to put in writing down the most points coated higher than. The act of putting it down on paper can assist you bear in mind what is necessary regarding business conversation, business tips, Building Business, business relationship.
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