Google’s AdSense is an attractive revenue making opportunity for small, medium and large web sites since a long time now but it’s against the rule of Google’s AdSense if you are running any website only for AdSense earning for which you need to include a few Affiliate links or sell your own product, too.

Googlehas a lot of forbidden practices when it comes to AdSense, and too many user are finding out they spoiled Google’s policies after the fact – because they never bothered to read the AdSense policies in the first phase.

Google AdSense is the Google program where you can host pay-per-click ads on your Website. When someone clicks an ad, you earn money. So if you are one of those people that don’t like the idea of paying for a site, this is an excellent way to earn your money back and then some.

How Much You Can Earn With AdSense?

The amount you’ll earn depends largely on the amount of targeted traffic you receive to your own site, how well the ads match your audience’s interests, the placement of the ads on your pages, and of course the amount you receive per click.

Ideally, you should create a site on a topic you know a lot about. That way you’ll have a much easier time creating a generous amount of content on that subject.

Determine a goal for what you want to earn using AdSense. Of course, you want to earn a lot, but make sure it’s realistic.

    Be realistic Forget about the fantasy story you read on internet about earning big money from Google. If you think of making a website and getting to be instant rich, it is likely to disappoint you. Imagine that if you build a small website with 100,000 page views per month with 0.5% CTR and 5c average payout, you will only get US$25 (100,000 x 0.5% x 0.5c). To achieve 100,000 page views a month, you possibly need 500-1000 users. By theory, your website can reach more than billions of internet users in the whole world, but there are also 100 millions of websites competing for users.
    Website promotion techniques especially search engine optimization and article marketing will bring more traffic to your site. You also need to have content that will attract the ads with the highest Pay Per Click (PPC) rate that are relevant to that content. Google is at least as interested as you are in having your ads perform well on your site and therefore provide the info you need to optimize your AdSense.
    Start building keyword-rich pages containing well researched, profitable keywords, and get lots of high quality links to your site. For example, if your site is about topics such as debt consolidation, web hosting or asbestos-related cancer, you’ll earn much more per click than if it’s about free things. On the other hand, if you concentrate only on top-paying keywords, you’ll face an awful lot of tough competition. What you want are keywords that are high in demand and low in supply, So do some careful keyword research before you build your pages.

How to Join AdSense:

Once you have pages ready for your website, go to http://adsense.google.com to apply.

When you are accepted, simply copy and paste the provided HTML code into any page that you’d like to show the ads. If you’ve done a good job of defining the content on your web pages, the ads that show should be relevant to the content of your page…increasing the chances of click-thrus by your visitors.

You can either display the ads vertically along side the page like Google does or in a banner-like formation horizontally across your pages. The placement is up to you. You can even customize the colors to match your site’s theme. Google AdSense allows you to specify up to 200 URLs for sites you want to bar from placing ads on your pages. The problem is that most times you won’t know the competitors are out there until their ads appear.

Google Money Making Tips on Succeeding:

    Create a website with your Don’t try to use a free web host because your site will likely have banners and pop-ups and get rejected because it looks unprofessional. A free web host will give you a website address like this:

http://www.thefreewebhost.com/yoursite/member1234/home.html instead of… http://www.yoursite.com Start by registering your own domain and then select a web host.

    Quality is the most important part of any web site. If your site does not contain the content of expected quality the visitor might not come back, if the main goal of your site is to make money with AdSense, be sure to choose a topic that you know a lot about so you can write lots and lots of content. A variety of size and shape ads for placing in your content are available. These can be text or image ads or both – you specify what you’ll allow. Ad units are full ads. Link units are simply a strip of text links that your visitors might want to click. Google allows you to put up to 3 Ad Units and 1 Link unit on each page of your Web site.
    Get traffic. Once your site is up and running you’ll need to learn how to get your site listed in the major search engines.
    Google AdSense for Search – This place a search box on your Web site. When a user enters a term and conducts a search, a search results page opens, that hosts more pay-per-click ads. You can customize the color scheme of the search results page to harmonize with your web site. Although Google doesn’t release exact details as to how they determine the ads to serve on a given page, they do say that it’s the text content of the page that matters, not the Meta tags.
    Google Referrals – You canmake money by referring visitors to use a Google product, like AdSense, AdWords, the Google Toolbar and other Google software. For example Google generates the code that you paste into the desired location on your web page. You can choose from a wide variety of buttons and text links of different colors. If someone goes to your site and clicks the link and signs up for an AdSense account, when that person earns a $100 from Google AdSense and receives a payout from Google, you’ll also receive $100 for referring them, if an ad dynamo happens to visit your site and uses your referral link, you can make money anyway!

Google AdSense Payments:

Google will not issue an AdSense payment until your earnings exceed $100. Unfortunately, there are loads of Google AdSense Forum entries about website operators who accumulated $90 or more in click through earnings only to get banned from Google and not get paid anything at all before they ever reached $100. This may be because Google doesn’t take a close look to see if you’re complying with their guidelines until it comes time to pay you.

Don’t's:

    Do not click your ads. If Google catches you, they will suspend your account and retain any earnings you might have. However, if you, by mistakes, click your ads for one or two times, Google will keep that earning but rather not to punish you as long as it doesn’t happen constantly.
    Google has a lot of restrictions on how the ads have to be displayed. One of the major reasons for account suspension is that webmasters tried to blur the ads and mislead others to think that it’s “content”. For simplicity, never attempt to use CSS to hide Google’s logo unless you’re authorized to do it.

Patience is key with Google. It can take a few months. Don’t create a hodgepodge site with topics on everything under the sun. Stay focused and make sure your site has an obvious theme.

Getting into Google is completely free and can bring in hundreds or even thousands of visitors per day. Then do the same with Yahoo, MSN, etc. All The Best!

By emarketinguide

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LONDON - Mobile company Orange is overhauling its cinema Gold Spots ads for the first time in seven years, consigning its popular Orange Film Funding Board concept to the archives.

Orange: new ads to feature spoof movie trailers

The cinema ads, known as the Orange Gold spots, have featured the Orange Film Funding Board since 2003.

Up until now, the spots have featured various celebrities such as Snoop Dog pitching their film ideas to a panel of Orange producers, who have tried to change the storyline to fit around the Orange brand.

It has also reminded audiences to switch off their mobile phones.

The new ads, created by Fallon, will explore the format, "don't let a mobile ruin your movie", and Orange will feature in spoof movie trailers of forthcoming films.

Across cinemas nationwide from today (30 April), Orange's first Gold Spot ads will tie-in with this summer's blockbuster, 'The A-Team', in partnership with 20th Century Fox.

An all-star cast will feature in the ad including Hollywood actors Liam Neeson as Hannibal, Bradley Cooper from 'The Hangover' as Face, Quinton Jackson as BA and Sharlto Copley as Murdock.

The Orange Gold Spot actors reference blatant Orange branding in a tongue-in-cheek way, while comical scenarios take place involving the ‘bad guys'.

Spencer McHugh, Orange director of brand UK, said: "The opportunity to take over a real Hollywood film set, the movie and its cast, is a reflection of our commitment and support of the film industry – resulting in an ad with the wow-factor that we hope our Gold Spot fans will love."

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A new business can be established with a maximum of nine days in Hanoi from Tuesday (November 17, 2009), instead of the 30 days it takes at present.

The announcement was made Monday by the deputy director of the capital city’s Department of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Van Tu. Under a decision recently issued by the Hanoi People’s Committee, selected staff from the planning and investment department, tax agency and the police will gather at the department’s business registration office to deal with applications for establishing a new business. With this arrangement, businesses don’t have to spend time running around to complete all necessary procedures, Tu told Thanh Nien. The department has also proposed adequate compensation for the staff so that they do not solicit bribes or engage in other actions that cause difficulties to businesses, he added. The government is making several efforts to streamline administrative procedures that have been criticized as time-consuming and too complicated. However, many failings found in the 2001-2010 administrative reform program has prompted the National Assembly to directly oversee it next year. Reported by An Nguyen

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V

The number of diabetes patients in Vietnam is increasing at one of the highest rates in the world with around 65 percent of people with diabetes unaware they are affected, health experts said Thursday.

The number of diabetics increases 8-10 percent every year, Vietnam Medical Association and the Construction Informatics and Consultancy Joint Stock Company said in their national communication joint-project on how to fight and prevent diabetes. Pham Song, chairman of the association, said 4 percent of urban residents in Vietnam have the disease with 2.5 percent in rural areas, accounting for 4.5 million patients across the country. The project aims to raise around US$5 million from individuals and businesses to establish consultancy channels and stronger connections between doctors and patients. The funds will also be used for public education specifically targeting the most vulnerable such as overweight children and people who don’t do physical exercise. Reported by Nam Son

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Miss Venezuela, Stefania Fernandez waves onstage after winning the Miss Universe 2009 annual pageant held at Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas August 23, 2009. Venezuelan Stefania Fernandez, an 18-year-old brunette, won the Miss Universe 2009 title on Sunday, giving her South American country its second consecutive win and its sixth title in the beauty pageant.

The svelte Venezuelan model defeated favourites from Australia and Dominican Republic to became the 58th winner of the crown in a show broadcast live around the world from the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas. The first runner-up was Miss Dominican Republic, Ada Aimee de la Cruz, while Miss Kosovo, Gona Dragusha, was second runner-up. Fernandez received the crown from fellow Venezuelan Dayana Mendoza, who won the 2008 Miss Universe contest held in Vietnam's resort city of Nha Trang. Overcome with excitement as the two Venezuelan beauties embraced, Mendoza initially fumbled and dropped the jewel-studded crown before placing it on Fernandez' head. It was the first time that a contestant from the same country won the title for a second year running. Oil producer Venezuela is famous for its beauty queens and has accumulated more international beauty pageant titles than any other country. The South American nation had produced five previous Miss Universe winners in 1979, 1981, 1986, 1996 and 2008 and has also won the Miss World contest five times. Only the United States has won more Miss Universe titles with 7. Fernandez was selected out of five finalists chosen from a total field of 83 contestants. The other five finalists came from Dominican Republic, Kosovo, Australia and Puerto Rico. In the deciding questions that preceded the announcement of the winner, Fernandez was asked by a judge what obstacles faced women seeking to become leaders of business corporations. "We've already reached the same level as men," she replied confidently, speaking through an interpreter. Before her, 21-year-old Australian model Rachael Finch, who had been widely favoured to win the crown, defended the swimsuit parade of the pageant, which has sometimes been criticized by critics of beauty contests. "I think our bodies are a beautiful part of a women and we should definitely show them to the world," Finch said. Government officials in the Bahamas, a scattered group of islands and keys southeast of the United States, were hoping that hosting the 2009 Miss Universe pageant would provide a much needed short-term boost to the islands' economy and tourism industry. Bahamas, like other Caribbean states, has been badly hit by the global economic recession which has reduced visitor arrivals and investment. Bahamas' unemployment rate has nearly doubled in the last year to just over 14 percent in May. The annual Miss Universe pageant -- which tries to present itself as something more meaningful than a swimwear parade -- was first held in Long Beach, California, in 1952. The event was taken over in 1996 by U.S. real estate mogul Donald Trump. Source: Reuters

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Multi-billion dollar foreign steel projects in Vietnam are likely to face delays because of the global economic slump, even though demand in the country is forecast to grow 20% this year and 10-15% next year.

Foreign investors, including Taiwan’s Formosa, India’s Tata Steel, South Korea’s Posco and Malaysia’s Lion Industries, have pledged to invest nearly US$30 billion in steel projects with total capacity of about 25-30 million tons by 2025. But Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, which groups the country’s major producers, said the global economic slump would hobble on those plans. “Most of the big foreign-invested steel mill projects are likely to be delayed because of their internal difficulties, such as finances,” he said in an interview on August 27. Cuong said the two partners in the country’s biggest steel project to date, a $10 billion joint venture between state-owned ship builder Vinashin and Malaysia’s Lion Group, had problems coming up with the money for the required investment. The only foreign company that had made any progress recently was Taiwan’s Formosa, with its $7.8 billion mill project in Vung Ang, in central Vietnam, Cuong said. India’s Tata Steel was still sorting out a “land allocation” issue for the plant’s site with authorities in Ha Tinh province for its $5 billion project, he said. No great leap forward Half of Vietnam’s annual consumption this year of about 11 million tons will be imported but domestic producers had already voiced concerns about oversupply once all proposed steel mills are up and running within the next five years. “There are many question marks around how realistic these foreign invested projects are, given all the problems they are facing, both internally and externally,” Cuong said. “There will not be a Great Leap Forward here for the steel industry,” he said. The industry had a painful start to the year, with a slump in prices and demand. Some companies slashed work shifts by as much as two-thirds and cleared inventories by selling at a loss to service bank debt, Cuong said. A chunk of money from the government’s stimulus package, which the Prime Minister’s office has valued at $8 billion, has gone into housing for the poor and infrastructure, buoying steel demand, which he said would rise more than 20 percent to 11 million tons in 2009. “The worst is behind us but we still cannot be too optimistic because of the uncertainty in the recovery and the fast rises in world commodity prices,” he said. Demand would increase 10-15 percent next year, he added. Prices have jumped nearly 40 percent so far this year and are set to rise around 5 percent between now and the end of the year thanks to robust demand, said Cuong, a former deputy director of top state-owned steel group Vietnam Steel Corp. Hence demand for scrap steel, the main source of feedstock for Vietnam’s mills, are expected to jump around 35 percent this year compared to 2008 to 2 million tons, Cuong said. At present the country does not import any iron ore as a few of its mills are designed to use iron ore but if the foreign-invested projects are completed they would have to import iron ores from mines in Laos, Australia and Brazil from 2012, Cuong said. Source: Reuters

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A technician checks equipment on a lake inside the presidential palace in Hanoi on Thursday. Researchers have begun testing mechanical "SediTurtles" they say will protect a legendary Vietnamese turtle while cleaning the historical lake in which the creature lives.

Experts showed off the German-developed sediment-eating machines this week as part of preparations before an expected cleanup of Hoan Kiem Lake, the heart and soul of Vietnam's capital. Nestled in the center of rapidly urbanizing Hanoi, the so-called Lake of the Returned Sword is home to an elusive turtle which symbolizes Vietnam's centuries-old struggle for independence. In a story that is taught to all Vietnamese school children, the 15th century leader Le Loi used a magical sword to drive out Chinese invaders and founded the dynasty named after him. Le Loi later became emperor and one day went boating on the lake. A turtle appeared, took his sacred sword and dove to the bottom, keeping the weapon safe for the next time Vietnam may have to defend its freedom, the story says. Occasional sightings of a giant soft-shell turtle draw large crowds, and photographs and amateur video clips attest to the claim that at least one turtle indeed still lives in the lake. Reported sightings of the turtle, a symbol of eternity, are deemed auspicious, especially when they coincide with major national events. The site's historical importance therefore requires a delicate clean-up operation, and the joint team of Vietnamese and German experts have been planning how to clean the turtle's home with minimum risk to the creature. Leonhard Fechter, of Berlin's Herbst Umwelttechnik GmbH, said he knows people care about the turtle, so his company made the SediTurtle with a "soft" technology that will not harm the animal. "We are sure we won't touch the turtle," he said as he demonstrated the devices at a fish pond on the grounds of the former home of Vietnam’s first president Ho Chi Minh. A thick red hose floating on the water was connected to what looked like a grey metal box. An attached dredging device was invisible below the surface, sucking out sediment from the bottom and sending it down the hose to another machine which separates sludge from water. The box moved with the slow, quiet movements of a turtle, winched along by ropes connected to a small blue boat. "That device is moving very slowly. That big turtle can easily escape" from its path, said Celia Hahn, the project manager from Dresden University of Technology. A second, more sophisticated SediTurtle resembles a giant corkscrew and operates by remote control "like a submarine," said Peter Werner, a professor also from Dresden university. This less obtrusive option is Werner's preferred choice because it would not need unsightly ropes to pull it around the picturesque Hoan Kiem Lake. Hoan Kiem has suffered the fate of all lakes. Over time, sediment increases and the water level drops, particularly in urban areas. The experts said Hanoi's much-photographed lake is only about 1.5 meters (five feet) deep - close to half a meter at its shallowest - but a four-tosix meter layer of sludge containing industrial pollutants has built up on the bottom. Draining the lake, the more conventional way of removing contaminants, is out of the question because it would destroy the treasured water body's entire ecosystem, experts said. "The big turtle is living from crabs or small fish," Werner said, adding that sediment removal will be done in phases, to ensure part of the lake is always left free for the animal. Christian Richter, of FUGRO-HGN GmbH, said his engineering firm has already assessed the lake's geology and hydrology. By the end of this year it will map areas of the lake where sediment can be removed without causing water to drain out, he said. The Vietnamese and German governments are funding the preliminary stages of the program but financing is needed for the estimated US$2.8 million cleanup of Hoan Kiem to begin, the experts said. "There are banks interested in financing," Werner said. Hanoi next year will mark its 1,000th birthday, and the lake cleanup was initially expected to be finished in time for the celebration. That deadline cannot be met because of the care with which sediment removal must be done, the engineers said. "Even if they start immediately, they would need at least one or two years for the removal," Richter said. Source: AFP

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The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak was chosen by the World Bank to host the WB-chaired informal mid-year Consultative Group meeting, which will review the efficiency of ODA use in Vietnam, on June 8 and 9.

The Central Highlands province, known as Vietnam’s “coffee capital,” will seize the opportunity to introduce its economic potential and boost investment promotion to local and foreign investors, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

The local government has asked Dak Lak Department of Planning and Investment to pick several locations for donors and business representatives to visit on the sidelines of the meeting in an effort to attract investment in the province.

According to the Department of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Trade Office, meeting delegates will join a field trip to inspect seven ODA-funded projects.

They include a coffee and cocoa beans processing project in Tan An-Buon Ma Thuot Industrial Complex developed by Vietnam-Netherlands Coffee Company, a drainage and environmental sanitation project developed by Dak Lak Urban and Environment Management Limited Company, and a health and education center developed by Dak Lak Health Department.

The remaining projects are Dak Man Export Coffee Processing Joint Venture, a water management and bio-diversity preservation project for Cu Yang Sin National Park, a vocational training project and a transport project for rural areas.

The local government said they hoped the Consultative Group meeting will help attract more investors to the Central Highlands province.

Photo courtesy of Swiss-Belhotel Dakruco Hotel

The province currently has 25 ODA-funded projects, of which 13 are managed by the provincial People’s Committee, totaling VND1.4 trillion.

The ODA-funded education projects mainly come from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Currently, the bank is financing three projects in Dak Lak province.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also granted non-refundable aids to the Central Highlands.

According to the Dak Lak Clean Water and Environmental Hygiene Center, JICA granted VND170 billion for a water supply project.

The World Bank-chaired Consultative Group is made up of representatives of the Vietnamese government and the foreign governments and international bodies that provide ODA to the country. The group usually holds its official meeting each December.

The informal two-day meeting will be held at the Swiss-Belhotel Darkruco Hotel in Buon Ma Thuot City in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on June 8 and 9, the ministry said.

Representatives from the Vietnamese government and some 50 international donors will discuss Vietnam’s economic policies, including poverty reduction strategies and the efficiency of ODA use in Vietnam.

Vietnamese and foreign non-governmental organizations and representatives from the Vietnam Business Forum will attend the meeting as observers.

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Vietnam’s leading retailer Saigon Co.op Thursday signed a deal with Tin Nghia Real Estate Company to take over its existing market in Bien Hoa Town and upgrade it into a supermarket.

The 3,000-square meter Co.opMart Tan Bien would be the retailer’s second outlet in Tan Bien Ward, an affluent business center in the city. Saigon Co.op said it is set to invest more than VND20 billion (US$1.1 million) to renovate Tan Bien market. Work would start next month, the retailer said, adding the supermarket would begin full operation in the third quarter. In July 2007, Saigon Co.op opened its first outlet in Dong Nai Province. Saigon Co.op’s revenues last year topped VND6.35 trillion ($372 million), a 48.9 percent year-on-year increase and it expects this to rise to VND9 trillion this year. It plans to have around 100 outlets by 2020. Reported by Vinh Bao

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A trade fair organized by Vietnamese manufacturers to showcase their products in Cambodia Several Vietnamese exports hold larger market shares in Cambodia than both Thai and Chinese products, said a local businessman familiar with the Cambodian economy.

Truong Cung Nghia, executive director of Truong Doan Company, said Cambodian customers preferred Vietnamese products to those from Thailand and China. Processed seafood products from Vietnam held an 80 percent market share in Cambodia while agricultural products made up 67 percent of that market, said Nghia, whose company specializes in Cambodian market research. Nghia added Vietnamese businesses supplied 68 percent of Cambodia’s steel demand. Nguyen Xuan Truong, head of Binh Dien Fertilizer Company’s Marketing Department, said Cambodians used similar daily agricultural products. Truong said his company’s brand was popular with Cambodian farmers in rural areas as the company advertized heavily in the countryside. Sales in Cambodia reeled in higher revenues for the company than its domestic sales did, said Truong. However, it was still risky to trade with partners in Cambodia as they paid in cash and rarely used banks, said Nghia. Truong said about 120 Vietnamese businesses and investors were operating in Cambodian markets, contributing to the US$1.7 billion bilateral trade with Vietnam last year. He said the figure would grow to $2 billion this year. Reported by Minh Quang

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Vietnam will probably produce an average of about 400,000 barrels of oil a day until at least 2030, the US government said, suggesting Vietnam will halt a four-year decline in output.

The projections accompanied the 2009 International Energy Outlook that the US Energy Information Administration released in Washington Wednesday. A report on Vietnam last month by the International Monetary Fund cited an anticipated drop in oil production “in the longer run,” while the World Bank last year identified “production capacity constraints” as hampering the country’s industry. Vietnam is opening new areas to exploration as it attempts to reverse the production decline. “There are some doubts about Vietnam’s ability to maintain its peak production level,” said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based senior principal at oil industry consultants Purvin & Gertz Inc., in a telephone interview Thursday. “The EIA projection is an optimistic outlook.” Vietnamese oil production has declined each year since peaking in 2004 at about 427,000 barrels a day, according to BP Plc. Through the first five months of this year, Vietnam produced about 6.95 million tons, or about 345,000 barrels a day, according to preliminary estimates from the General Statistics Office in Hanoi. Other scenarios Vietnam could maintain production of 400,000 barrels a day through 2030 in a low oil price scenario, according to the Energy Information Administration. In a high oil price scenario, Vietnamese production would be expected to slip to about 300,000 barrels a day by 2025, said the organization. Vietnam’s major oil field, operated by a Russian -Vietnamese venture, has been declining in output after more than two decades of production. But last year, ConocoPhillips, Nippon Oil Corp., Soco International Plc and Talisman Energy Inc. all began production from new Vietnam oil fields in which they hold shares. Premier Oil Plc, Soco and Talisman are among companies planning new output. “There’s a fair amount of exploration going on in Vietnam and no one has really started with the deepwater areas yet,” said Tony Foster, Hanoi-based Vietnam managing partner for the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, whose clients include oil companies. “A lot depends on the outcome of China’s power play in the area.” BP said in March that it would withdraw from a Vietnamese exploration area. The government in Hanoi said in 2007 that projects involving BP off its coast are in Vietnamese territory, after China cited concern over “actions” by its neighbor in the area. BP declined to comment in March on whether the territorial dispute influenced its decision. Source: Bloomberg

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As social media usage continues to skyrocket, companies are trying to get up to speed on not only using these tools, but finding a way to successfully integrate them into their existing business strategies. At the Business-to-Business Forum, Sandy Carter, Vice President, SOA, BPM and WebSphere at IBM Corporation, will help attendees not only learn more about social media, but also how and when these tools should be added to a company’s existing marketing mix.

In this interview, Sandy gives us her take on the importance of social media for businesses, and some background on some of the topics she’ll be covering during her session at the B2B Forum in Boston:

Q - At the MarketingProfs B2B Forum, you'll be leading a session entitled Marketing 2.0: Integrating Social Media Into Your Marketing Mix. How important is it for a company to consider integrating social media into their existing marketing plan, or should they try to make social media separate from the company's other communication efforts?

A - I believe firmly that social media represents a new set of marketing tools. By integrating the Web 2.0 technologies into a marketing plan, you strengthen the plan overall to drive business. If you isolate your social media team, you will not see the results that you need. In fact, I think just as strong compelling value propositions are core to all marketing, social techniques and the use of Web 2.0 technology should be core to all integrated marketing going forward. (You can learn more about a formal methodology I recommend by visiting the site for my recent book, "The New Language of Marketing 2.0") For example, if you run in-person events today to drive your business, you can add in a Twitter drive to the event to increase registrations. You can generate customer loyalty—or fans—by having them tell their stories on blogs, or post pictures on Flickr. You can even use web 2.0 to help follow-up on the leads with enurturing or form an online community to supplement your in-person customer boards. The point is that the magic is in the marketing mix. Not the tools!

Q - You obviously work at a very large company. What special considerations do you think a large company faces in trying to use social media, that a small business for example, might not have to worry about?

A - Well, I think everything is a trade-off. There are some advantages that the small companies have and some that the big companies have. Since I work for a large company, I am envious at times at how fast a small company can experiment. This area is changing so rapidly and so many new tools are being added daily, that I think that being able to change on a dime is crucial or to add in a new tool without having to get tons of signoffs could make the difference in a first-mover advantage. But large companies have more resources. And that comes with an advantage as well.

However, the bottom line is I think the primary difference here is not in big or small. But the difference is in how close you are to your customers. The hair stylist I go to just recently used Facebook to increase the purchase of one of his services by 500%. Why? Because he used social media tools with his traditional customer retention methods. He understands what his customers are looking for and could add value. This is similar as to when IBM really listens to its customers and develops its next product by learning not only from its current customers, and focus groups, but by dialoguing in the blogs on product requirements and betas. The bottom line is do you know your goals and your differentiation well enough to use the tools appropriately?

Q - As you know, many companies are interested in learning more about social media. What do you think are some of the common misconceptions these companies have about social media?

A - Great question! I think there are a few! First, some companies believe that social media is a magic elixir. They don't realize that social media is just another set of tools to add to the marketing toolbox. Second, some companies focus on the coolness of social media. They get enamored with the tools themselves, and don't focus on what they are trying to do—drive business! And finally I think that companies don't realize that this is brand new. It is not what they studied in college and is bigger than marketing. It encompasses the business. Social technologies should be part of your market intelligence, your strategic delivery, your development cycle, your customer support, your marketing and your sales. It is a cultural change in how we create business.

Q - One of the biggest concerns about using social media, is finding a way to get measurable results. For the company that's wanting to find the ROI of their social media efforts, what should they be looking to track to tell if their social media initiatives are effective?

A - We are all already in the practice of tracking the effectiveness of all the elements of our marketing mix. So it is a great thing to measure the value of social media. I love what Dell did with its Twitter channel by using a special discount code to enable it to track the value. At IBM we add in Web 2.0 elements and measure the effectiveness—whether driving new opportunities or progressing current opportunity—over time. That said, think about the value of a relationship—it is hard to measure that personal relationship just as it is in measuring the online one ! Now even as I write this, IBM and MIT did try to estimate the value of the online connection. IBM Research and MIT's Sloan School of Management found that the average e-mail contact was worth $948 in revenue. To unearth that and other data, they used math formulas to analyze the email traffic, address book and buddy lists of 2600 IBM consultants over a year!

However, you can't measure everything and just because you can measure something doesn't mean that it is the right thing to be watching!

Q - Is social media right for every business?

A - I think that this question is the wrong one. The right one is—what is your overall goal for your company and its business model? What is your compelling value proposition that truly sets you apart? Then you can decide which social media tools to add to your overall company strategy and execution.

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By Steve Schifferes Economics reporter, BBC News

Bank losses are even bigger than expected one year ago, the IMF says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned credit crunch losses could reach $4 trillion (£2.75tn), damaging the financial system for years to come.

It says that even if urgent action is taken to clean up the banking system, the process will be "slow and painful", delaying economic recovery.

Banks may need $1.7 trillion in additional capital, the IMF forecasts.

And it warns that the cost of the bail-out will severely hit UK government finances with its added debt burden.

The power to force banks to raise additional capital rests with national regulators, such as the FSA, not the IMF Robert Peston BBC Business Editor Read Robert's blog

But the IMF corrected its estimate of the cost to the UK of the bail-out from 13.4% of GDP, or £200bn, to 9.4% of GDP, or £130bn.

The Treasury confirmed that the chancellor will be making a "prudent" estimate of the cost of the bail-out in the Budget, but many commentators believe this will be around £60bn, or half the IMF estimate.

The US and Ireland will face even higher government bills for the bail-out, according to IMF estimates.

Rising bill

One year ago, the IMF estimated that total losses from the credit crunch would be $1tn, which has been exceeded, showing how rapidly the financial meltdown has escalated.

The IMF now says that banks are likely to lose $2.7tn, but other financial institutions such as insurance companies and pension funds are also coming under strain.

And it says that emerging market economies, which will need $1.8tn in refinancing next year, will be hard-hit by the collapse of cross-border lending. It predicts that there will be no net private lending at all to developing countries this year.

WHY $4TN LOSS MATTERS The banks' huge losses have made them reluctant to lend The lack of lending has pushed the world economy into a deep recession Government budgets are strained by the cost of the bail-outs, hitting taxpayers

The report comes as the IMF and World Bank are beginning their spring meeting in Washington, after receiving a promise of $750bn in fresh funds agreed at the G20 summit.

Policy response

The IMF's latest Global Stability Report says that the banking system has not yet been stabilised, despite the billions of dollars spent by governments.

But it warns that political support for further bank bail-outs is waning.

It says that there may be "a real risk that governments will be reluctant to allocate enough resources to solve the problem" because the public has become "disillusioned by what it perceives as abuse of taxpayer funds".

The situation is especially difficult in the US, where Congress appears reluctant to allocate additional bail-out funds above the $700bn approved last autumn despite the inclusion of another $750bn in President Obama's latest budget proposal.

Systemic risks remain high and the adverse feedback loop between the financial system and the real economy has yet to be arrested IMF

The US Treasury has instead proposed a private-public partnership to buy up troubled assets underwritten by loans from the Federal Reserve.

But the IMF comments that "uncertainty about political reactions may undermine the likelihood that the the private sector will constructively engage in finding orderly solution to financial stress".

Deeper recession

The IMF says that restoring the banking system so that it functions normally is likely to take several years, and this will make the recession longer and deeper than usual.

But it warns that if policies are unclear or not implemented forcefully and promptly, "the recovery process is even more delayed and the costs, in terms of taxpayer money and economic activity, are even greater".

It adds that the worldwide recession has deepened the financial crisis.

COST OF REBUILDING BANKS US banks: $275bn Eurozone banks: $725bn UK banks: $250bn Other European banks: $225bn Source: IMF, based on 6% capital/assets ratio

"Systemic risks remain high and the adverse feedback loop between the financial system and the real economy has yet to be arrested, despite the wide range of policy actions and some limited improvement in market functioning.

"Further effective government action - particularly geared toward cleansing balance sheets and strengthening institutions - will be required to stabilise the global financial system and to provide the foundation for a sustainable economic recovery."

On Wednesday, the IMF will present its world economic forecast.

It is expected to be the gloomiest for 60 years, with the world falling into a global recession, and an even sharper decline in output in the rich countries.

An earlier version of this story referred to an IMF estimate that the total cost of bailing out the UK banking system would add 13.4%, or about £200bn, to government debt. The IMF has since corrected this figure, and has returned to their earlier estimate that it would cost 9.4% of GDP, or about £130bn.

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Monopoly fuel supplier Vietnam Air Petrol Company has been fined VND3 billion (US$168,300) for cutting off supplies to Jetstar Pacific Airlines without justification on April 1 last year.

The Vietnam Competition Council said at a public hearing Tuesday the petrol company, known better as Vinapco, had abused its monopoly position and flouted the Law of Competition. A senior official of the council, who wished to be unnamed, told Thanh Nien that Vinapco had imposed unfavorable business conditions on its customer since it is aware that commercial airlines cannot turn to another source of supply in the country. The penalty was only cautionary, not punitive, because this was its first violation, another council member said. Vinapco, an affiliate of state-owned Vietnam Airlines, stopped supplying fuel to the Jetstar Pacific fleet on April 1, 2008 as the two sides were arguing over a price increase. The delay grounded 30 flights supposed to carry some 5,000 passengers. The government ordered Vinapco to resume supply, ending the impasse. The carrier said at the time that Vinapco had contracted to charge VND593,000 for a ton of aviation fuel for the whole year. But less than three months after the deal, Vinapco demanded VND750,000. Vinapco said it needed to increase fuel costs to cover the skyrocketing world oil prices, which went past $100 a barrel at that time. When the dispute broke out, Jetstar Pacific was known as Pacific Airlines. The domestic carrier later transformed into the low-cost Jetstar Pacific in May 2008 under an agreement with Australia’s Jetstar Airways. At the hearing on Tuesday the budget airline called for separating Vinapco from its rival Vietnam Airlines. The Vietnam Competition Council said it would forward the proposal to official agencies and tighten control over monopoly services. Vinapco has 30 days to appeal Tuesday’s ruling, which is also the first anticompetitive ruling the Vietnam Competition Council has made. Reported by Xuan Danh

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South Korea-based Samsung Electronics, the world’s No. 2 mobile phone maker, will put a handset factory in northern Vietnam into operation this month, a company executive said.

Most of the factory’s products will be exported and Southeast Asian countries would be the first markets, the executive told TBKTSG Online. Earlier, the Vietnam News Agency had said the plant, located in Yen Phong Industrial Park in Bac Ninh Province, would initially produce 30 million handsets a year and step-by-step increase its annual production capacity to 100 million units. The agency also said the factory’s total investment capital was US$670 million. The investment is in line with Samsung’s efforts to cut costs to improve global price competitiveness and meet fast-growing demand in Southeast Asia. In addition to the company’s domestic handset plant in Gumi City, about 250 kilometers from Seoul, Samsung also runs handset facilities in China, India and Brazil. Source: Thanh Nien

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A project to construct 600 apartments for low-income earners underway in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said Tuesday that supporting agricultural production is vital for tackling the economic downturn, as it would affect industrial production and exports.

At a government session in Hanoi Tuesday, the Ministry of Planning and Investment reported a growth of 3.1 percent in the first quarter, much lower than last year’s 7.49 percent. Dung also instructed concerned agencies to prevent plant and animal diseases, and better manage agriculture production to avoid situations where farmers suffer losses from bumper crops. Farmers should make a 30 percent profit on their investment, he said. The Prime Minister also wanted low-interest or no-interest loans given to farmers for purchasing farming equipment, televisions and motorbikes, and to build houses. To boost industrial production, Dung said administrative procedures have to be simplified and the policy to apply peak-hour prices for electricity consumed by the sector reconsidered. The disbursement of official development assistance (ODA) and foreign direct investment (FDI) should be expedited and the government would issue more bonds to raise funds to meet the capital needs of the production and commerce sectors, he said. Dung hailed the management of the financial sector but recommended that the State Bank carefully consider its policy to maintain inflation at around 6 percent. Small- and medium-sized enterprises will also be offered a 4 percent interest subsidy on two-year loans taken for new investment projects. Social housing At the session Tuesday, the government discussed projects to construct more houses for workers and low-income earners, and dormitories for university students. Earlier, the government had approved a plan to build dormitories to accommodate 60 percent of total students nationwide by next year. The Construction Ministry reported that only around 20 percent of between 2.2 million and 2.5 million workers in industrial parks nationwide had stable accommodation. Meanwhile, only one third of nearly two million civil servants own a house. The ministry proposed an VND8 trillion (US$469.42 million) plan to build housing for university students, workers in industrial parks and low- income earners in urban areas by 2015. Under the proposal houses would be built and leased to low-income earners at favorable rents, or sold with the help of low-interest bank loans. The government has allowed the municipal administrations of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to start building this year projects to provide accommodation for 200,000 students by 2010 and the second quarter of 2011, construction Deputy Minister Nguyen Tran Nam said. More stimulus packages The Ministry of Planning and Investment is considering another stimulus package of VND20 trillion ($1.14 billion) to spur investment and consumption, Deputy Minister Cao Viet Sinh said at the press briefing. He said government bonds worth VND36 trillion ($2.1 billion) had been sold in 2008. Recently, Le Duc Thuy, chairman of the National Finance Supervision Committee, had called for further stimulus packages to prevent the economy from slowing down and help it recover soon. It is now using VND17 trillion ($970 million) from a stimulus package to provide a 4 percent interest subsidy on loans to companies that export, import or produce essential goods. An official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said his ministry will propose a plan for not reducing state budget spending so that social welfare projects and other government activities have adequate funds. Reported by Bao Van – Xuan Toan

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The Ministry of Industry and Trade said Friday the new peak hour power pricing policy will stand as announced The new peak hour power pricing policy will stand as announced, but the government may consider assisting enterprises seriously affected by the increase, says Bui Xuan Khu, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.

Khu told a press briefing in Hanoi Friday that the ministry would suggest solutions to the government after learning of the impacts of the pricing policy from affected enterprises this month. Commercial power users are currently charged double the normal rates during peak hours – between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. and between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Before March 1, peak hour rates applied only to power used between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Many businesses have since protested the extension of peak hours, arguing it is unreasonable to be charged extra in the morning as it is a key production period. Khu said Vietnam is using much more electricity for production in the morning because of increasing demand from industrial and service sectors. Without measures to reduce power usage during peak hours, the national grid could collapse. He also advised firms to reduce unnecessary additional charges during peak hours or change working hours to mitigate policy impacts. In a note sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 19, the Vietnam Plastics Association said the production costs of members would increase by 8-10 percent under the new pricing policy. The association said that its members were already suffering a 30-40 percent decrease in output in the first two months of this year due to the global economic downturn, and the power price hike will aggravate matters further. “If the situation lasts for a long time, some firms will have to stop operations due to big losses, more people will lose their jobs, and this will contribute to social disorder,” the association cautioned. Vietnam’s power generation capacity is 7,000MW during low hours, and 11,500MW during peak hours. Average power prices have increased by 8.9 percent to VND948.5 (5 US cents) per kilowatt-hour under the new policy that took effect on March 1, 2009. Reported by Bao Van

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Vietnam Monday cut retail diesel prices by 1.8 percent to VND10,500 (61.8 US cents) per liter, in a move to help firms, especially transportation companies, cut operation costs.

The price cut took effect immediately, according to the Ministry of Finance. Prices of gasoline and kerosene remained unchanged at VND11,000 and VND12,000 per liter respectively. Vietnam exports about 16 million tons of crude oil each year but has to import all refined oil products. The country’s first oil refinery, Dung Quat, in central Quang Ngai Province, is scheduled to open later this month. Reported by Ngan Anh

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The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange moved lower Tuesday over growing concern about negative corporate earnings this year.

VN-Index lost 5.05 points, or 1.62 percent, to close at a 10-day low of 307.13. Of its 175 members, 26 gained and 113 declined. Trading remained quiet, with only 7.7 million shares being traded. “The outlook on corporate earnings is very gloomy, given the current economic situation,” Huynh Anh Tuan, chief executive officer of the Ho Chi Minh City-based SJC Securities, said. “Companies have started to release 2008 earnings and many of them have made losses or missed their profit targets. For those who managed to make some profit, it was because of the gains they made in the first half of 2008. “In addition, people also lost a lot of their confidence in the market after HSBC said the Vietnamese market is no longer investable for overseas investors. “Besides, almost half of January has passed but we are still not yet clear how and when the government is going to implement its US$6 billion stimulus package to boost the economy. So, the market has no momentum.” Dau Tu Chung Khoan (Securities investment) newspaper quoted Kim Long Securities Company Deputy General Director Pham Vinh Thanh as saying, “Companies with a strong cash flow and those not involved in finance are a good choice this year.” He added that petroleum, transport, technology and financial stocks would be his top picks when the market shows signs of recovery, without explaining his choices. How they fared Vinpearl (VPL) lost VND2,500, or 4.17 percent, to close at VND57,500. VFG Investment Joint Stock Company became a major shareholder in the resort operator after buying 5,045,000 shares, or a 5.05 percent stake last month, according to a report on the exchange’s website. Saigon Securities Inc. (SSI), the country’s leading brokerage, slipped VND1,100, or 3.63 percent, to VND29,200. ANZ Bank failed to buy around 1.4 million shares amid a “gloomy market and its low liquidity,” the exchange said on its website. ANZ now holds 18.35 percent in the Hanoi- based brokerage. Thu Duc Trading and Import Export Joint Stock Company (TMC) remained unchanged at VND21,500. The firm said on the exchange’s website that retail investor La Tang Duc bought 242,060 shares, or 6.05 percent, to become a major shareholder. Saigon Fishing Net Joint-Stock Company (SFN), a silk thread and fishing net producer, gained VND400, or 4.2 percent, its most in two weeks, to finish at VND9,900. The HCMC-based company will start buying back 100,000 shares from January 20, according to a stock exchange announcement. “The buyback volume is not huge, but given the daily trading volume of the shares, which is about several thousand a day, this buyback plan could move the stock,” Hoang Thach Lan, chief analyst at HCMC-based SME Securities Company, said. Reported by Hoang Uy

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If you are looking for space or a place to unwind, to treat our family to a getaway weekend or celebrate your honeymoon, there is a quite area on the Saigon River bank that is just the ticket.

Six kilometers from downtown, the Thao Dien Village offers guests the space they need in a luxurious, colonial setting. The newly opened “village” is a 13,000 square meter complex on Nguyen Van Huong Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s plush District 2. The complex comprises a 22 room colonial-style hotel called An Phu, an event hall, a water puppet theater and other facilities. Active sorts can make use of the fitness club with a variety of workout programs on offer, a sumptuous spa welcomes those in need of deep relaxation and its riverside pool is a good place to cool off. The greenery that surrounds the complex and the spacious lawn overlooking the river are ideal for children to “burn” their energy. Thao Dien Village has four restaurants with different styles that seem to have something for everyone. Well-known Vietnamese fine dining establishment Ngon Restaurant has opened its second location here with a beautifully decorated, dark wood traditional dining room. Ngon is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with main courses ranging from VND 120,000 to VND340,000 (US$6.84-19.40). Next door is a slightly funkier and less formal Japanese restaurant where the staff are all smiles, the sashimi is fresh and the menu is extensive and well priced. Only a handful of items on the twelve-page menu run over VND100,000 ($5.7). Of the Asian options, however, it’s the Chaba Thai Restaurant that has people talking. The soups, curries, vegetables and desserts are purported to be the best in town. The Villa Romain Restaurant beneath the hotel offers fine Italian dining with views across the lawn to the river. Upstairs, the hotel rooms are spacious with wooden floors, there are terraced areas and yet another lovely pool. The traditional water puppetry show, held three times per week, is well worth a visit by itself. Thao Dien Village is an antidote to the hectic city life and if you’re in need of a getaway, but short on time, schedule a day of two at the An Phu Hotel. Reported by Thuy Nhien

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