Monday, January 30, 2012

4 Facts About Facebook Timeline’s Inevitable Release to Fan Pages


Posted on 30. Jan, 2012 by Brian Moran
The great people over all AllFacebook.com recently posted an article outlining some activity surrounding Facebook’s upcoming Facebook Marketing Conference scheduled for Feb. 29th (AllFacebook’s post here). The post sites two sources who have hinted that Facebook could be announcing the release of their new “Timeline” for Fan Pages.
The release of Timeline for Fan Pages has always been a virtual certainty, the question has just always been, “When will Timeline be out for Fan Pages?”.
Now, were not here to speculate on wether the Feb. 29th conference will actually include the introduction of Facebook Timeline for Fan Pages, but for the sake of this post, let’s just assume that this announcement will be made and that Timeline will be introduced to Fan Pages in a few short weeks.
So here is a short list of thing you need to know about Facebook Timeline & its possible release for Facebook Fan Pages.

Facebook Timeline Loves Social Applications

Not too long ago, Facebook made the announcement that 60 social applications were to be “tightly integrated into the new Timeline format (those 60 apps listed here). These applications include what is called, “auto-post” ability.
You have probably already seen this in your New’s Feed with applications like Social Reader, Spotify, or even Pinterest. If your friends have “Allowed” these applications onto their profile, their activity within these applications is automatically posted to their personal Facebook Timeline & their friend’s New’s Feed, like the picture below.
facebook timeline social application 4 Facts About Facebook Timelines Inevitable Release to Fan Pages
“Auto-posting” can provide clear, powerful advantages to fan page owners who can leverage these social applications well. Facebook Timeline could offer Fan Page owners a great opportunity to increase exposure.

We Don’t Know What A Fan Page Timeline Will Be Like

While Facebook Timeline has been out for personal Facebook profile for some time, no one really knows what Timeline may look like for Fan Pages. Plenty of people out there have speculated on what a possible Timeline for Fan Pages layout might look like.
All of this is clearly speculation, as we cannot be sure of any exact specifications. I  can say fairly confidently that the widely popular, Cover Photo, will be a centerpiece of any Timeline for Fan Pages. But after that, there is no hard evidence to support much else.
What we do know is that when developing Timeline, Facebook did consult with business owners about the design. This lends credibility to the belief that whatever the new Timeline for Fan Pages looks like, it will have been developed with branding & e-commerce in mind.

Images Are King

After spending just a few minutes with the Facebook Timeline layout on your personal profile, it is awfully clear that images get a whole lot of attention. When posted, images tend to take up a large amount of space on the Timeline, and they also tend to stick around longer than other posts. Meaning, an image or group of images is visible longer than most other types of posts.
Below is an image uploaded to a friend of mine’s Timeline. You can see that most images take up almost 3 or 4 times the amount of space as other types of posts. This particular picture was added almost 48 hours before this screenshot, and was still sitting near the top of the page.
facebook timeline fan pages image 4 Facts About Facebook Timelines Inevitable Release to Fan Pages

Facebook Timeline for Fan Pages is Inevitable

Facebook will never stop changing. They will always seek to develop the “next big thing” in social media, and Timeline is their big idea for the moment. Fan Pages will be using Timeline in the future, and we will most likely know more about that after February 29th.
So don’t fight it! This doesn’t have to be a big, scary change. This is simply an opportunity waiting to happen, and there is one other thing you can take to the bank about Facebook Timeline. You can bet your house that your customers will still be on Facebook & that we will still be finding ways to get your customers to connect to your band no matter what change comes.
Now for a shameless plug: If you are looking to get an insurance policy on your Facebook Marketing, make sure you check out Fan Page Secrets. Fan Page Secrets is our top-selling product, and 1,000s of others have taken the plunge and leveraged their brand using Facebook with this great training.
The best part is that our training comes with free Lifetime Updates. Meaning, as Facebook continues to change, so does our training. You will never be left high & dry, giving you a professional insurance policy for your Facebook Marketing for about what you might spend on a date.
Click here to learn more about how you can insure your Facebook Marketing with Fan Page Secrets.

4 Facts About Facebook Timeline’s Inevitable Release to Fan Pages Posted on 30. Jan, 2012 by Brian Moran The great people over all AllFacebook.com recently posted an article outlining some activity surrounding Facebook’s upcoming Facebook Marketing Conference scheduled for Feb. 29th (AllFacebook’s post here). The post sites two sources who have hinted that Facebook could be announcing the release of their new “Timeline” for Fan Pages. The release of Timeline for Fan Pages has always been a virtual certainty, the question has just always been, “When will Timeline be out for Fan Pages?”. Now, were not here to speculate on wether the Feb. 29th conference will actually include the introduction of Facebook Timeline for Fan Pages, but for the sake of this post, let’s just assume that this announcement will be made and that Timeline will be introduced to Fan Pages in a few short weeks. So here is a short list of thing you need to know about Facebook Timeline & its possible release for Facebook Fan Pages. Facebook Timeline Loves Social Applications Not too long ago, Facebook made the announcement that 60 social applications were to be “tightly integrated into the new Timeline format (those 60 apps listed here). These applications include what is called, “auto-post” ability. You have probably already seen this in your New’s Feed with applications like Social Reader, Spotify, or even Pinterest. If your friends have “Allowed” these applications onto their profile, their activity within these applications is automatically posted to their personal Facebook Timeline & their friend’s New’s Feed, like the picture below. “Auto-posting” can provide clear, powerful advantages to fan page owners who can leverage these social applications well. Facebook Timeline could offer Fan Page owners a great opportunity to increase exposure. We Don’t Know What A Fan Page Timeline Will Be Like While Facebook Timeline has been out for personal Facebook profile for some time, no one really knows what Timeline may look like for Fan Pages. Plenty of people out there have speculated on what a possible Timeline for Fan Pages layout might look like. All of this is clearly speculation, as we cannot be sure of any exact specifications. I can say fairly confidently that the widely popular, Cover Photo, will be a centerpiece of any Timeline for Fan Pages. But after that, there is no hard evidence to support much else. What we do know is that when developing Timeline, Facebook did consult with business owners about the design. This lends credibility to the belief that whatever the new Timeline for Fan Pages looks like, it will have been developed with branding & e-commerce in mind. Images Are King After spending just a few minutes with the Facebook Timeline layout on your personal profile, it is awfully clear that images get a whole lot of attention. When posted, images tend to take up a large amount of space on the Timeline, and they also tend to stick around longer than other posts. Meaning, an image or group of images is visible longer than most other types of posts. Below is an image uploaded to a friend of mine’s Timeline. You can see that most images take up almost 3 or 4 times the amount of space as other types of posts. This particular picture was added almost 48 hours before this screenshot, and was still sitting near the top of the page. Facebook Timeline for Fan Pages is Inevitable Facebook will never stop changing. They will always seek to develop the “next big thing” in social media, and Timeline is their big idea for the moment. Fan Pages will be using Timeline in the future, and we will most likely know more about that after February 29th. So don’t fight it! This doesn’t have to be a big, scary change. This is simply an opportunity waiting to happen, and there is one other thing you can take to the bank about Facebook Timeline. You can bet your house that your customers will still be on Facebook & that we will still be finding ways to get your customers to connect to your band no matter what change comes. Now for a shameless plug: If you are looking to get an insurance policy on your Facebook Marketing, make sure you check out Fan Page Secrets. Fan Page Secrets is our top-selling product, and 1,000s of others have taken the plunge and leveraged their brand using Facebook with this great training. The best part is that our training comes with free Lifetime Updates. Meaning, as Facebook continues to change, so does our training. You will never be left high & dry, giving you a professional insurance policy for your Facebook Marketing for about what you might spend on a date. Click here to learn more about how you can insure your Facebook Marketing with Fan Page Secrets. Tags: facebook for business, facebook likes, facebook marketing, facebook marketing profile, facebook social applications, facebook timeline, facebook timeline fan page


Thursday, January 26, 2012

California high speed rail project update

http://www.scribd.com/doc/79528769/California-High-Speed-Rail-Project-Agency-Updates


Governor Brown’s State of the State 
Last week Governor Jerry Brown presented the State of the State speech to the legislature. In his remarks, he highlighted his commitment to build a statewide high-speed train project:

“Just as bold is our plan to build a high-speed rail system, connecting the Northern and Southern parts of our state. This is not a new idea. As governor the last time, I signed legislation to study the concept. Now thirty years later, we are within weeks of a revised business plan that will enable us to begin initial construction before the year is out.

President Obama strongly supports the project and has provided the majority of funds for this first phase. It is now your decision to evaluate the plan and decide what action to take. Without any hesitation, I urge your approval.

If you believe that California will continue to grow, as I do, and that millions more people will be living in our state, this is a wise investment. Building new runways and expanding our airports and highways is the only alternative. That is not cheaper and will face even more political opposition.

Those who believe that California is in decline will naturally shrink back from such a strenuous undertaking. I understand that feeling but I don’t share it, because I know this state and the spirit of the people who choose to live here. California is still the Gold Mountain that Chinese immigrants in 1848 came across the Pacific to find. The wealth is different, derived as it is, not from mining the Sierras but from the creative imagination of those who invent and build and generate the ideas that drive our economy forward.

Critics of the high-speed rail project abound as they often do when something of this magnitude is proposed. During the 1930’s, The Central Valley Water Project was called a “fantastic dream” that “will not work.” The Master Plan for the Interstate Highway System in 1939 was derided as “new Deal jitterbug economics.” In 1966, then Mayor Johnson of Berkeley called BART a “billion dollar potential fiasco.” Similarly, the Panama Canal was for years thought to be impractical and Benjamin Disraeli himself said of the Suez Canal: “totally impossible to be carried out.” The critics were wrong then and they’re wrong now.”

For a full transcript of his speech, visit: http://gov.ca.gov/home.php

Business Plan
In November 2011, the California High-Speed Rail Authority released a draft of its 2012 Business Plan which provides a comprehensive outlook on the financial, governance, and phasing plans for the statewide high-speed train project. The plan also outlines the alternatives that exist to upgrade our current transit system for the growing California population. A final Business Plan will be approved by the Board in 2012.

To review the Business Plan, please visit: www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/Business_Plan_reports.aspx.

Bakersfield - Palmdale Section
The Bakersfield to Palmdale regional team has continued to refine the proposed alignments in the Edison, Tehachapi and Antelope Valley sub-segments in preparation of presenting a Supplemental Alternatives Analysis Report to the California High-Speed Rail Board in February 2012. Refinements to the proposed alignments focus on value engineering along the entire segment.

For more information on the Bakersfield-Palmdale section, visit: http://cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/lib_Bakersfield_Palmdale.aspx

Palmdale - Los Angeles Section
The Supplemental Alternatives Analysis for the Palmdale to Sylmar section will be presented to the Board in April 2012. Following discussions with area stakeholders, more than ten alternatives were investigated throughout Acton, Agua Dulce and Santa Clarita/Sand Canyon. Upon further review by the Authority, the regional team will recommend to the Board alignment alternatives from Palmdale to Sylmar for study in the environmental review process.

For more information on the Palmdale-Los Angeles section, visit: http://cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/lib_Palmdale_Los_Angeles.aspx

I-5 Conceptual Study
In May 2011, the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board requested that the regional team assess potential alternatives along the I-5 to determine if new conditions and factors exist that would justify reconsidering the 2005 Program EIR/EIS decision to drop the I-5 corridor in favor of the Antelope Valley corridor.

The final study, released last week, reinforced the 2005 Program EIR/EIS. It concluded that the Antelope Valley corridor still has fewer potential environmental impacts and greater connectivity than the I-5 corridor. The Board agreed with staff recommendations at their January 2012 board meeting and requested that a proposed route through Palmdale be moved forward in the environmental review process. 

For more information on the study, visit: http://cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/pr_01122012__planning.aspx

Los Angeles – Anaheim Section
In March 2011, the California High-Speed Rail Board approved further study of a phased implementation plan for the Los Angeles to Anaheim section of the statewide high-speed train system.  This phased approach may bring early benefits to existing rail and commuter services and could improve mobility and rail safety for the local region.  This blended approach is being incorporated into the environmental document, as teams continue to work with the corridor cities, agency partners and stakeholders to develop the best solutions for the Los Angeles to Anaheim rail section.

For more information on the Los Angeles-Anaheim section, visit: http://cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/lib_Los_Angeles_Anaheim.aspx

Los Angeles - San Diego Section
In October 2011, AB 615 (Bonnie Lowenthal) was signed into law by Governor Brown, allocating $4 million in state funds to continue the environmental studies being completed throughout the Los Angeles to San Diego region.  This allows for further technical analysis to be completed in the areas of the section with multiple corridors under consideration.  We could not have achieved this funding without the support from various corridor stakeholders and agencies with an interest in seeing the planning work continue between Los Angeles and San Diego.  Further analysis and outreach to key stakeholders will continue with the submittal of a Supplemental Alternatives Analysis by the end of 2012. 

For more information on the Los Angeles-San Diego section, visit: http://cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/lib_Los_Angeles_San_Diego.aspx

SCAG 2012 RTP
The staff and board members of Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) recently drafted the 2012 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), a long-range transportation plan that is developed and updated by SCAG every four years. The California high-speed train is included in this long-term vision for the region, with the goal that early investment in existing passenger rail corridors identified for future high-speed train use will improve travel times and safety throughout Southern California. We want to thank the staff and committee members who have worked tirelessly to ensure high-speed rail is included in the 2012 RTP Constrained Plan.

For more information, visit: http://www.scag.ca.gov/rtp2012/index.htm



 

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Winter Blues? 9 Secrets to Staying Healthy and Energized at Work


As daylight hours decrease, many people experience sadness and fatigue. At work it may be difficult to concentrate, you may feel irritable, and your to-do list might feel more daunting than usual.  Winter blues, or seasonal affective disorder, affects up to 20 percent of us and there's more to it than just feeling unmotivated. The winter blues can lower your resistance and leave you vulnerable to colds and flu.
So how can you stay healthy and energized at work when all you want to do is hibernate til spring? Here are some easy ways to beat the blues.
Move it. Just ten minutes of activity can do the trick. Take a stroll around the parking lot; walk up a few flights of stairs, even gently stretching your arms, neck and legs can revitalize your body.
Play outside. Physical activity releases endorphins that can boost mood and health. Since most of us spend the majority of your lives indoors inhaling stale air, it's a good idea to take every opportunity to get outside despite the cold weather. It's even better if the sun's shining and you can soak up some mood-boosting Vitamin D.
Breathe. Sit in a chair and slowly count to four while inhaling through your nose. Visualize peace, energy and light filling your body. Hold it for a second then slowly count to four exhaling through your mouth while imagining tension and tiredness floating away. Repeat three to five times during the day.
Help out. Helping others less fortunate keeps your own life in perspective. Organize a group of co-workers to volunteer at a homeless shelter, for Meals on Wheels, or Habitat for Humanity. You'll break up the monotony and see your co-workers in a new light while helping out your community.
Have some fun. What's more fun than food? Plan a regular department potluck to liven things up. Consider adding a theme ? say Hawaiian ? and ask for tropical food and dress. Doing something different even for a few hours can boost your spirits and immune system.
Eat smart. Since most of us get sleepy in the afternoon, eat a healthy lunch that includes protein, non-starchy vegetables and fat for long-lasting energy. Good examples of balanced combinations include cooked chicken breast and carrot sticks, canned tuna and a lettuce salad, or fish with vegetables. Same principle applies for mid-afternoon snacks. Don't expect to stay energized if you're not eating right.
Set some goals. If you're feeling like every day is the same, shake things up by setting goals for yourself.  Tackle your list of must-read books, finish a long-neglected project, brush up on your skills, attend a seminar or take a class outside your comfort zone.  
Go fruity. Bananas, apples and grapes can give a much-needed lift because they contain natural sugars, vitamins and fiber. Bananas are one of the few fruits containing both simple carbohydrates, for instant energy, and complex carbohydrates, for endurance. Need something to keep at your desk? Try dates. They also include both simple and complex carbs and are loaded with essential nutrients and vitamins.
Keep it clean. A recent report states that the average desk has 400 times more germs on it than a toilet seat! And under the right condition, these germs can double every 15 minutes on shared equipment like copy machines, light switches, and coffee pots.  Think about all the items you touch on your desk alone - keyboard, mouse, phone, pens. They carry a surprising amount of bacteria. Always wash your hands after using the restroom, use hand sanitizer after touching shared equipment, and regularly wipe down your office area with antibacterial wipes. You also might consider upgrading your mousepad, keyboard, and other items to the new antimicrobial products that inhibit the spread of germs.
Don't let Mother Nature wreak havoc on your mental and physical well being. Check with your local Office Supply Dealer for even more ways to keep you happy, healthy and energized all winter long.