The first cell phone conversation took place in 1973 when Mr. Cooper of Motorola called a rival at AT&T in a very public marketing stunt which took place in a street in New York in front of an unbelieving New York crowd.

In 1983, ten short years later, Mr. Cooper yet again made history by introducing a 16 ounce Motorola cell phone. Seven years later, in 1990, there were over one million users of cell phones.

This was then! Today, there are more cell phone subscribers than land phone subscribers and cell phones weigh in at around 3 ounces and less.

From Dad to Mom, to our teenagers, families throughout the world have embraced this new technology and it is now not uncommon to see our younger kids (less than 10 years old) receive their own cell phones!

But with the advantages of the cell phone, come into place a whole range of risks as the use of cell phones and chat lines on the internet have combined to place our kids at risk from predators who will try to talk to them by phone with a view to see them in person!

Online predators pose an all together too familiar threat, widely reported in our media today, and throughout the nation, concerned parents worry that their own kids might fall prey to these characters. Whilst a kid should never be allowed to be contacted by an adult unless specifically authorized by their parents, parents should indeed immediately alert the local police and even the police if it does happen.

The bad news is that cell phone records are not public information and as such, it is extremely difficult to obtain the name and address of the unauthorized person who is actually calling our kids. What can we do then?

The good news is that once you know which service or website you can confidently access, this information need not cost you an arm and a leg. Indeed you can do a reverse cell phone search for all of $14.95 which barely covers the cost of a movie and pop corn if your kid comes to you for pocket money.

Posted: April 11th, 2008 under Communication.
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Many people become very frustrated when it comes to replacing their cell phone with all the models on offer; they now boast an ever increasing range of functions but just where does it end? There is much misinformation out there, which needs to be looked at before buying a cellular phone; some interesting buying facts are supplied in this article.

Every user will occasionally experience the race against battery life as they try to use up every ounce of power there is before recharging. The result of this being done constantly means you may find yourself buying a new cell phone battery prematurely as your existing one is no longer holding a charge.

One easy way to extend the life of a cell phone battery is to turn off the back light or reduce the brightness just so you can see what you need to on the screen. When the phone is operational, it is constantly searching for a signal which is ok when there is good signal strength but if this is lost, it still tries to find a signal using more power and draining the cell phone battery in the process; the same way that long conversations do. The longer you talk the more power you will use; limit your usage of cell phone games or Internet browsing as these are high users of battery power even though you’re not actually talking.

You will often find that wallpapers, ring tones and images that are downloaded automatically will have a charge even though this is not mentioned at the start so be aware. Many children have run up huge debts with this facility without knowing so parents should ensure they have control over this feature.

People that use a cell phone regularly, arrange for a monthly plan, this is a contract over 12 or 24 months but if the phone is not going to be used regularly, a pay-per use option is probably preferable. Users who make frequent calls will undoubtedly find a contact with a set amount of minutes the better of the two options available. You will find that as a kind of ‘thank-you’ for taking out a longer running contract, many of the latest feature will be included in the package.

Some plans do not include roaming charges which is something to consider if you travel a great deal as it could dramatically increase the cost. Some companies will replace your phone if it breaks or is lost or stolen so consider the insurance warranty before buying because they are typically carried around everywhere; which means they can easily get broken or damaged and a warranty will give you peace of mind.

It is always a good idea to buy a cell phone from a company you know and trust is reliable. Even if you are buying online there is no reason to accept a poor service or a phone that you will have problems getting accessories for because it is an old model.

Posted: April 11th, 2008 under Communication.
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Viral Marketing is one of the best ways for you to sell a product or service - in fact, it’s one of the best ways to make a lot of sales. In case you don’t have anything to sell, it is also one of the best way to sell as an affiliate.

How? Because thanks to the way that viral marketing works, you don’t need to have a big list, or a lot of money to put into an advertising campaign - but you can still have a huge impact.

First of all, let’s go over exactly what viral marketing is. According to Wikipedia, “Viral Marketing refers to marketing techniques that use preexisting social networks to produce increases in brand awareness, through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily. Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, images, or even text messages.”

But that sounds a little complicated, don’t you think? To break it down into plain English, basically Viral Marketing is just a way of getting a bunch of people to tell other people about something you’ve created to build a buzz about your product or service. And by passing it around to other people, it builds social proof. Sometimes you get lucky and the more it’s passed around the more it takes on a life of its own.

“Free Hugs” video on YouTube is a perfect example. Millions of people has viewed it, and the music - a song written by a group called the “Sick Puppies”. That video was not originally in intention for the launching of their singing career but it create a big impact. That video - and the story behind it went viral and caught the attention - and the hearts - of people all over the world. It even spawned a movement that is still going on.

Although you might not be able to pull off a viral marketing campaign that does as well as the “Free Hugs” video, if you are willing to spend a little time researching your market and your target audience, and can think outside the box, you can create a very successful viral marketing campaign of your own.

What kind of things can go viral? Obviously videos. In fact, if you look at most of the “gurus” in the Internet Marketing field right now, you’ll see they’re all heavily using videos to promote their launches and create marketing campaigns that go viral. However, if you don’t have the desire to do videos, you can go with that old standby - the “Special Report”, Podcasts, white papers, even case studies all have the ability to “go viral” and get a lot of people very interested in what you have to say - and sell.

In order to make a successful viral marketing campaign, the most important is you should find a right mix of media, marketing and audience. The targeted audience should be interested in what you have to say, and make sure the way you’re saying and the way you’re going to bring their attention should be tested carefully. If you prepare these three things right, you’re on the right track to be a winner of the race, and the next marketing campaign will definitely go viral too.

Posted: April 11th, 2008 under Marketing.
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