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New Asteroid Hunting App Released To Public By NASA.

Dennis Virag
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New Asteroid Hunting App Released To Public By NASA.

NASA released a new desktop app that allows the public to help identify new asteroids from telescope photography, the agency announced at a panel during SXSW.

nasaasteroid

Developed in a partnership with NASA and Planetary Resources, the app uses a special asteroid hunting algorithm and allows users to automatically check images for potential  asteroids using their PC.

The tool lets amateur astronomers analyze images from their telescopes and tells them if a matching asteroid record exists or not. Users can then report new findings via the app to the Minor Planet Center that confirms and archives the new asteroids.

The algorithm used is the winning asteroid hunting algorithm from the Asteroid Data Hunter challenge. The contest was part of NASA’s Asteroid Grand Challenge and offered a total prize pool of US$55,000 to those who improve algorithms to better identify asteroids in telescope-captured photographs. The challenge falls under NASA’s initiative to both identify potentially hazardous asteroids and highlight others as lunar orbit candidates for human exploration.

The winning algorithm was awarded to the best solution that improves detection sensitivity, reduces false positives, and supports all computer platforms. The chosen code increased new asteroid identification by 15 percent when images of the main belt asteroids between Mars and Jupiter were scanned.

The new asteroid hunting app is free to download from topcoder website and supports Mac and PC with a Linux client coming soon

Google Launches Revised Chromebook Pixel — Nicer, Still Not For Mainstream Buyers

Tim Cook
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Google Launches Revised Chromebook Pixel — Nicer, Still Not For Mainstream Buyers

The rumored, then-Google-confirmed Chromebook Pixel 2 is now finally here — and it’s just called the Pixel, again. Because Google, Apple, and everyone else likes to confuse the living heck out of us. It looks like a beauty, though, and this time around, the company has lowered the base price to something a bit more realistic for mainstream computer buyers: $999. Early reviews are in around the Web, and the consensus is that it’s a nice computer that few people need or will want to pay for — or, at least, pay what still amounts to a several-hundred-percent premium over garden-variety Chromebooks.

Chromebook Pixel

Let’s go over the hardware specifics. The new Pixel’s all-aluminum enclosure measures 11.7 by 8.8 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.3 pounds, putting it considerably heavier than the new MacBook and the existing two MacBook Airs, as well as many Windows-powered ultrabooks, if a tad lighter than the MacBook Pro Retina. There’s also an etched glass trackpad and what Google calls a contextually lit keyboard.

The Chromebook Pixel contains dual USB Type-C ports, putting a step ahead of the just-unveiled Apple MacBook. The ports can charge the machine, transfer data, or send out 4K video (with an optional adapter), and are frustration-free, in that you don’t have to orient the connector in a particular direction. The laptop also has two USB 3.0 ports and an SD card reader in addition to a standard-size 3.5mm headphone jack.

For the display, the new Chromebook Pixel features a 239ppi, 12.85-inch multi-touch screen at a bizarre (and very sharp) 2,560-by-1,700-pixel resolution — still rocking that strange 3:2 aspect ratio. The touch part is new this time around, and as a target machine for developers (like Nexus devices) including one makes sense; it just doesn’t do a whole lot now. You also get a 720p wide-angle front-facing glass camera, 802.11ac wireless on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, Bluetooth 4.0, stereo speakers, and dual microphones. It also has much longer battery life, as some reviewers confirmed: a claimed 12 hours. And not only that, but 15 minutes of charging time will give you two hours of running.

The Chromebook Pixel starts at $999 — a $300 drop from the last model — and comes in two versions. That $999 price gets you an 5th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with HD Graphics 5500, 8GB RAM, and a 32GB SSD. Moving up to the $1,299 LS configuration switches to a first-ever (for a Chromebook) Core i7, 16GB RAM, and a 64GB SSD–a nice deal, in our opinion, although that price tier puts it right back to the troublesome one the first version sat on. (Note: At the time of this writing, Google calls the top-level configuration LS in a blog post, but doesn’t call it the LS in the store itself; we’ll see how that shakes out over the next few days, and whether the LS moniker sticks.)

Scion Audio Visual: Innovation Through Art [InfoGraphic]

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Scion Audio Visual: Innovation Through Art [InfoGraphic]

Scion AV Infographic
Presented By Scion

How to Promote Your eCommerce Store

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How to Promote Your eCommerce Store

Managing an online eCommerce store is a great way to earn a supplemental income. For some individuals it is also considered their sole source of income altogether. Understanding how to go about promoting your eCommerce store with ease is a way to outperform competitors while helping to make a name for yourself and your professional brand’s image.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Social media is one of the greatest platforms to promote your online eCommerce store, especially when debuting a new item. You can also put social media to use by providing discount codes and offers for those who are your friends and family. Spreading the world with social media is a way to build notoriety with your brand while also increasing the overall professionalism you exhibit as a business owner in any industry.

Pay-Per-Click Marketing

Pay-Per-Click marketing gives you the ability to pay for advertising on relevant and useful websites with similar audiences and demographics. Using PPC advertisements gives you the freedom to set budgets while tracking performance of individual ads regardless of the number of websites and blogs you are utilizing to promote your brand. Using pay per click services is another way to go about targeting audiences and demographics that are genuinely interested in the products or services you have to offer.

Work With Other Bloggers and eCommerce Stores

Other bloggers who support your niche may be interested in trading links, improving page view and the overall visibility of your online eCommerce store. It is also highly recommended to partner up with eCommerce stores that sell relevant products to your own, avoiding entire competition while giving referrals to one another from satisfied customers.

Inbound Links and Linkbacks

Using inbound links and linkbacks are also essential with new blogs and eCommerce platforms. Network with those who create similar items or those who have products that are relevant to your own. Cross-promoting is not only a way to build relationships online but it also provides another platform to gain exposure to your own business and online eCommerce store, potentially generating leads and sales.

The more you know about eCommerce and how to build a following while generating leads, the easier it becomes to get to know your audience and target demographic on a personal level. Taking the time to keep followers interested in your latest products is key to creating a brand that is memorable, original and timeless.

What is CXM (Customer Experience Management) and what does it Mean for Your Business

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What is CXM (Customer Experience Management) and what does it Mean for Your Business

When it comes to technology and marketing, new tools, products, experiences, and approaches are always on the horizon, making it hard for some businesses to stay on top of all the options. Just when you finally get a handle on something, it always seems that something new appears.

The latest concept, process, and/or approach being used in many companies is CXM, otherwise known as Customer Experience Management. Basically, CXM refers to the variety of interactions a customer may have with a company, whether via email, social media, digital, or any other combination.

With CXM, a company will try to tailor their marketing efforts around the customer’s specific perspective. This is done through the use of multiple marketing platforms and in-depth customer analytics.

What does CXM mean for my business?

CXM can be an asset to your company. Most companies may be trembling at the thought that CXM means they’ll have to throw out their current marketing tactics and spend thousands of dollars on new systems or tools, but this is not the case. CXM doesn’t require you to throw out your traditional marketing efforts, but instead look at them from your customers’ perspective and determine where changes can be made or what other additional tools you can use.

Instead of creating a website, starting a social media campaign, and sending out a few email blasts, you need to combine all your efforts into a stronger campaign.

For example, take a look at the analytics for your current marketing strategies. Does your website see a lot of traffic, and do you notice that most of this traffic is coming from one specific source more than others, (e.g., social media, email, search, etc.)? If you notice a pattern, you’ll want to capitalize on this.

If you notice that the only email marketing campaigns that work are those that include call to actions that lead to your website, then you’ll want to ensure that all email marketing campaigns going forward provide a call to action that leads back to your site in order to improve traffic.

You can also use this as a way to tailor one specific campaign throughout all of your platforms. For example, if you’re offering a special promotion on your website, make sure this promotion is carried out through your social media channels, email marketing, digital marketing, and other campaigns as well. This concise branding will improve the customer experience.

How do I start implementing CXM?

As mentioned above, implementing CXM requires taking a hard look at your analytics and making decisions based on the information you receive. If all of this sounds like a foreign language, it’s better to hireCX customer experience consultants to help you. These companies are experienced in CX (customer experience) and have proprietary CX measurement tools that can help you get a better handle on your marketing efforts. Then, based on the information, these consultants can help you tailor a plan to help your company find CXM success.

5 Reasons Why Video Should Be Part of Your Web Strategy

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5 Reasons Why Video Should Be Part of Your Web Strategy

Does your business sell products online?  If so, online marketing is vital for success. Although there are several different strategies you can employ to reach your sales goals, many businesses feel that videos are a must. It can be easy to avoid this form of marketing because of cost and time. However, the following are five reasons why you might want to invest the money and time on video marketing.

1 – Display Videos on Your Website

More and more companies are displaying videos on their websites to help market their products, Milano and Luxyhair are great examples. Videos enable retailers to better showcase the product they are selling. They can also be more enticing than a basic webpage. For this reason, videos often help generate more sales as they give consumers a chance to view products in a different medium.

2 – Videos Are Informative

A video is a great educational tool. It can help a customer see the product up close, whether it is the details of a beautiful diamond ring or the key features of a car. In addition, a video allows businesses to properly present their brand image. They can add personality that may otherwise be missed on a static webpage.

3 – Keep People Entertained

Videos are a great way to keep people entertained. Most people get tired of reading a lot of text, so they miss the details on the website. When they watch a video, they are visually stimulated. As a result, they are more likely to pay attention through the entire video. They learn more and usually buy more.

4 – Reach More People

People love to share videos online. Whether they come across something at work or on their phone, it is easy to share videos using social media. A good video is likely to be seen by thousands of people around the globe. This allows a company to advertise and grow their brand at the same time. Usually, sales increase due the number of people watching the video.

5 – Persuade People

Businesses who create videos have the opportunity to be more persuasive about the product they are selling. They can truly sell all of the amazing things about it, because people can see it in person. Most people like to see results. A product might make a certain claim, but consumers are usually skeptical until they see it in person. Videos offer the proof that pushes people to purchase.

If you are not marketing with videos, start today. The results of this web strategy can be very beneficial for today’s businesses. Even better, there are several resources available to help you make great videos.

Understanding “The Cloud”

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Understanding “The Cloud”

By now you’re more than likely heard about “the cloud” in more than one instance, but you still might be wondering just what this cloud is. Simply put, the cloud is a type of storage service and software that exists entirely online as opposed to on your computer. If you’ve ever heard mention of Amazon Cloud Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, Netflix or Google Drive, then you’ve heard of a cloud service or software. So now that you know what the cloud is, it’s time to learn what it can do for you.

Up in the Clouds

If you were to lose your computer, have it stolen or simply forget it when you need it, what would happen to all of the videos, documents and images on it? With the cloud you can simply upload everything and have access to it on your smartphone, tablet and any computer that has access to the Internet. If you’re a fan of TV and movies, you can start an episode or film on your television and finish it on your phone or tablet while you’re on the go.

Another great thing about the cloud’s capabilities is the way that they merge mobile apps with your PC experience. For instance, many of the apps that are available on your phone are also available on your table and PC, allowing you to have access to everything across several different platforms. You can even have the pictures you take on your phone automatically backed up on the cloud so that you can view them on your tablet later in case you lose or forget your phone and have a picture that you want to show someone.

The Digital Downpour

For all of its advantages, the cloud isn’t without its downsides. For instance, you may not like the fact that your health care provider could be storing your personal medical files on a cloud for “safe keeping” or that your friends are uploading embarrassing pictures of you onto the cloud.

Another downside is that the security for cloud software and services isn’t created equal. You can do your part by making sure that the passwords you use for your cloud accounts are strong and secure.

Home of the Cloud

Whenever you upload something into the cloud, it’s stored in large data centers that are scattered all over the globe. iCloud has more than roughly 320 million users while Facebook experiences an excess of 400 billion photo uploads a day.

Whether you realize it or not, chances are good that some of your public or private information is floating in the cloud. Even if you don’t like the idea of cloud services and software, it still pays to be informed about what’s “out there.”

How Analytics Improves ROI for Mobile Marketers

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How Analytics Improves ROI for Mobile Marketers

The need to improve the effectiveness of mobile ads may come as a surprise to come. The first challenge to adapt internet advertising to mobile use was to create effective ads in a much smaller screen area. Once this was done, both providers and users felt that mobile ad format was optimized. If pressed, many might award themselves an A. However, the marketers consulted by eMarketer are not as impressed. They rated the current state of mobile ad effectiveness a B-minus. However, it was not all stone-throwing on the part of the critics. They provided a solution to go with the problem: mobile analytics.

How Marketers Evaluate Mobile Ad Effectiveness

The marketers’ goal was to gain insight and give recommendations in each of the following areas:

  • How do clickthrough rates for mobile display ads change over time?
  • What can the market expect for future provider costs?
  • What is the specific effectiveness metrics associated with mobile display advertising?
  • What is working well now? What need attention to increase effectiveness?

A Results Snapshot

eMarketer expects a steep growth in advertising dollars spent in the United States this year: 82.3%. In spite of this growth, experts remind the readers that this spending will continue to lag the amount of investment spending on the mobile devices themselves. For this reason, the increase in expenditure may not necessarily imply a similar increase in mobile display cost per 1000 units (aka cost per mille or CPM.) It will continue to be a buyers’ market, which will keep the CPM metric, relatively stable.

Using eCPM as an indicator of campaign effectiveness, agencies will be pressed to tailor their creative assets. In other words, rather than simply modify personal computer-type advertisements, they will need to leverage mobile device features. In addition, they will be expected to take the way consumers use their mobile devices into account.

Specific Analytics

A detailed strategy requires a granular identification of weak areas in mobile marketing campaigns. Some of the associated metrics and their ratings include:

Doing Well (A-)

  • Mobile location-targeted ads

Reasonable Performance (B+)

  • Facebook mobile add formats
  • Mobile video ad formats
  • Mobile sponsorships
  • Mobile reward-based ads

Sufficient Performance (B)

  • Twitter mobile ad formats
  • Tablet ads
  • Mobile ROI
  • Mobile rich media a formats
  • Mobile ad targeting

Needs improvement (B-)

  • Mobile interstitial ads
  • Mobile ad buying process

Needs significant improvement (C+)

  • Mobile result reporting process

Needs immediate attention (C)

  • Mobile static banner formats
  • Mobile measurement and analytics

Greatest area for improvement (C-)

  • Mobile creative capabilities

Prioritizing this list in reverse order, perhaps starting with mobile creative capabilities is an excellent starting point for an effectiveness improvement program.

Better Analytics Lead to an Improved ROI

As providers and marketers take advantage of better analytics, they are in a better position to understand the barriers to effectiveness in their current campaigns. By using superior measurement solutions, they are able to quantify the levels of present performance, and use the costs of an improvement program to determine an overall return on investment (ROI) and lifetime value.

Developing Tools

Interested ad providers can find advanced tools right now. By working with tool providers and their representatives, mobile advertisers can realize improvements in a timely fashion. In the future, these tools will likely become standardized, and powerful analytics will be available as off-the-shelf solutions.

7 Great Classic Cars to Restore

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7 Great Classic Cars to Restore

Do you dream of restoring 1950 Cadillacs and 1964 Mustangs? Did your grandfather pass down a beautiful Chevrolet Camaro just begging for a better engine and a new coat of paint? Whether you’re a first-time restorer or an experienced veteran of classic cars, here are just seven projects you might consider tackling the next time you’re in the mood.

1. Ford Model A

You’ll never feel like more of a restorer than when you’re working on a Ford Model A. This is because they were put together in the ’20s, so there’s literally nothing else like them on the road today.

2. Chevrolet Bel Air

Bel Airs are great for both original restorations and modern rejuvenations. Not only will their ’50s look turn every head on the street, but you can also outfit them with things like disc brake conversions for contemporary appeal.

3. Pontiac GTO

If you’re in the business of selling your restorations, you’ll definitely want to consider the Pontiac GTO. According to classic car experts, they currently have some of the highest resell values on the market, allowing you to make a pretty penny off your elbow grease.

4. Dodge Challenger

One of the most famous muscle cars of all time, the Dodge Challenger is great for restoration, especially when you put in the hard work yourself. You’ll be riding just as smoothly as Barry Newman in Vanishing Point.

5. Packard

Perfect for beginners, the Packard is relatively simple to restore. It’s also a remarkably sturdy car for something originally created in the ’50s, so feel free to drive it around town once you’re done. Just prepare yourself for double-takes and whistles of appreciation.

6. Buick Riviera

Not only are they gorgeous throwbacks to the ’60s, but Rivieras are also gaining popularity among classic car enthusiasts, meaning you’ll find it easy to locate the right parts and tools. Obscure cars are always harder to restore.

7. Lincoln Continental

Are you looking for a challenge? Continentals were hand-assembled in the ’70s, so you’ll need to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty to restore them the right away. If you can manage it, however, you’ll have an absolutely beautiful Lincoln.

If you’re a fan of classic car restoration, these are just seven models to consider for your next project. They might take time and effort, but the looks of envy from other drivers will make it all worth it.

5 Steps to Improving Client Relations

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5 Steps to Improving Client Relations

Anyone who runs a business knows that the interactions between the company and the client can make a big difference on the overall success of a business. Maintaining a good relationship can go a long way in keeping your clients happy and coming back for your services time and again. No matter what types of customers your business sees, you should do all you can to ensure that you get their business in order to see positive growth. Whether you choose to implement GPS tracking, make changes to personnel requirements or invest in some new strategies for improvement, consider trying out one or more of the following steps as well.

Utilize New Technology

Your workplace can seriously benefit if you are willing to invest in the latest and greatest technology. The fleet management world is constantly shifting, and if you don’t stay up to date, you could face falling behind. When your business relies on vehicles and speedy delivery, you want to make sure that both you and your clients know when they can expect to receive their products. There are many efficient tracking programs that you can choose from, so make sure to pick the one that works best for your unique needs.

Emphasize Customer Relations

If you have employees, they need to understand that your clients’ needs should always come first. With specific training, you can make sure that any employees you have that work directly with the public are able to provide the best service possible. By setting your employees up for success with your customers, you can develop positive experiences that go a long way in generating repeat customers. Friendliness and helpfulness should always be emphasized, regardless of the situation that your employees may face when working with customers.

Make Communication Easy

When your clients want to speak with you, they should not have to search for a line of communication. Your phone number should be displayed obviously on your website, but make sure to also utilize other forms of communication, such as email or chat, for those clients who would rather not make a phone call.

Start Up a Referral Program

Customers who appreciate your services are more likely to tell their friends and family about your business. You can make it worth their time to spread the word for you by implementing a referral program that rewards your customers when they refer you to another customer. You could try offering gift cards or discounts for any business your clients bring back to you.

Reward Loyalty

Those customers who keep coming back, and only have positive things to say about you, should be rewarded. You can let them know how much you appreciate their business by acknowledging them in the regular newsletters you may send out, or by offering discounts for your services. When your customers know how much you enjoy their business, you can really make your relationship grow into a mutually-rewarding association.

When you have customers who know and understand how much you care, you are more likely to have success. Word of mouth can do great things for business, so do what you can to make sure there are only positive things being said about your company.

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