Climate blindness risked as satellites lose their eyes

OUR eyes around Earth are seeing less. US environmental satellites that helped forecasters predict superstorm Sandy are failing. By 2020, the fleet could have just a quarter of the sensors it has today.

In a paper posted online, Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, warns that new launches are not keeping up with the failures of older instruments. As a result, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could have just 20 sensors in orbit by 2020.

"We are basically going blind in terms of our ability to monitor the planet," says Antonio Busalacchi at the University of Maryland in College Park, who contributed to a recent report on the state of climate satellites.

There have been delays sending satellites into polar orbits. The first of NOAA's new JPSS satellites won't launch until 2017, which last year forced NASA to launch a stop-gap satellite called Suomi NPP. Any failures before 2017 will leave a gap in weather data.

Climate research is sensitive to launch delays, as new instruments need to operate simultaneously with old ones for a year to calibrate their sensors. Suomi's sensors may fail before 2017, warns Trenberth.

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CBS 6 Morning News, Kroger Card Giveaways Sweepstakes Official ...

Posted on: 12:00 pm, November 7, 2012, by Nick Dutton, updated on: 12:08pm, November 7, 2012

CBS 6 Morning News, Kroger Card Giveaways Sweepstakes

Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN, NOR WILL A PURCHASE IMPROVE ONE?S CHANCES OF WINNING.? Odds of winning will depend on the number of eligible entries received.

ALL FORMS MUST BE FILLED OUT COMPLETELY AND TRUTHFULLY. FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION AND PROVIDE TRUTHFUL AND PERTINENT INFORMATION MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM THE SWEEPSTAKES. DISQUALIFICATION IS IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF WTVR-TV AND/OR LOCAL TV, LLC.

WTVR-TV will conduct the CBS 6 Kroger Card Giveaway Sweepstakes (?Sweepstakes?) substantially as described in these Official Rules (?Rules?).? Participation in the Sweepstakes constitutes entrant?s full and unconditional agreement to, and acceptance of, these Official Rules. ?This Sweepstakes may be temporarily postponed or discontinued at any time without prior notice. The Sweepstakes is void where prohibited and is subject to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

This Sweepstakes, and all Sweepstakes material, is ? 2012 by Local TV LLC.? All rights reserved.

1. ?Eligibility: ?Entrants must be legal US residents, at least 18 years old or above, as determined by WTVR-TV and reside in Richmond/Petersburg Designated Market Area as defined by The Nielsen Company.?? Employees of WTVR-TV, Local TV LLC (collectively, the ?Sponsor?), the Sweepstakes?s participating sponsors and their advertising agencies, employees of other television or radio stations, and members of the immediate families of such persons are not eligible to participate and win.? The term ?immediate family? includes spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren, and any other person residing at the same household whether or not related.? Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

2.? Sweepstakes Period:? The Sweepstakes begins on Oct 29, at 6am EST and ends on Nov 16, 2012, at 7am EST.? Sponsor reserves the right to shorten or extend the Sweepstakes Period.

3. ?Sweepstakes Entry:? Entrants can enter the Sweepstakes by watching CBS 6 This Morning between 6-7am Monday through Friday and be the sixth (6^th) caller to correctly identify the location of the news photographer shown during the newscast. Each winner will be notified at the time the winning call is answered. Winners will be announced to the public the following morning from 6-7am.

4. ?Prize:? There will be a total of one (1) prize winner for the Sweepstakes on each weekday. The prize winner will receive one-thousand (1,000) dollars in Kroger gift cards that can be used at any Kroger location.

5. Winner Notifications:? The Sweepstakes winners will be notified by phone immediately after identifying the correct location of the news photographer. The winner will also be announced on air as set forth in paragraph 3. Winners must have a valid email address where they can be notified, or Sponsor reserves the right to award the prize to another winner.Winner must claim the prize by the time of the event in which their prize is issued or the prize will be forfeited.

6. ?Prize Acceptance/Restrictions: ?Only one (1) winner per household.? Winners are subject to verification by WTVR-TV of the winner?s name, age, address, phone number, and Social Security number (where the prize value is equal to or greater than $600.00).? In order to claim his or her prize, each winner must appear in person at the business offices of WTVR-TV, located at 3301 W. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230.? Winners will be required to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability and Publicity.? Failure to do so will disqualify the winner.? No entries from individuals under the age of 18 will be accepted.? If a winner is disqualified, Sponsor reserves the right to determine an alternate winner or to not award that winner?s prize at all.? Prizes cannot be redeemed for cash or substituted for any other items by any winner.? Prizes are non-assignable and non-transferrable.? Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a comparable prize of like or greater value, including cash, for any prize, for any reason.? Costs of transportation and accommodations, where applicable, are the sole responsibility of the winners.

7. Publicity Release:? By participating in the Sweepstakes, each entrant acknowledges that his/her entry in the Sweepstakes constitutes that entrant?s consent to use, publish, reproduce and for all purposes, including publicity, promotion and advertising, in any media (including without limitation, the Internet, television or offline promotions), each winner?s name, voice, likeness, and any portion thereof, each extending throughout the universe and in perpetuity without further compensation, credit or right of review or approval, except where prohibited by law.

8.? Telephone and Delivery Disclaimer:? Sponsor disclaims all liability for the inability of a participant to complete or continue a telephone call due to equipment malfunction, busy lines, inadvertent disconnections, acts beyond Sponsor?s control, or otherwise.? Sponsor disclaims all liability for any delays, misdelivery, loss, or failure in the delivery of any item sent by mail, courier, express, electronic transmission, or other delivery method.? Sponsor is not responsible for mechanical, technical, computer, hardware or software errors, malfunctions, or failures of any kind, including failed, incomplete, garbled, or delayed transmission of entries, traffic congestion on telephone lines, the Internet or at any website or lost or unavailable network connections, which may limit an entrant?s ability to participate in the Sweepstakes, and any injury or damage to entrant?s or any other person?s computer related to or resulting from participating in or downloading any information necessary to participate in the Sweepstakes.? Sponsor reserves the right to cancel the Sweepstakes if it becomes technically corrupted.

ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY CIRCUMVENT, DISRUPT, OR DAMAGE ORDINARY AND NORMAL OPERATION OF THIS SWEEPSTAKES, TELEPHONE SYSTEMS OR WEBSITE, OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW.? SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW AND TO DISQUALIFY ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE SWEEPSTAKES OR ANY OTHER SWEEPSTAKES.?

9.? Taxes:? Any valuation of the prize(s) stated above is based on available information provided to WTVR-TV, and the value of any prize awarded to a winner may be reported for tax purposes as required by law.? All taxes, including federal, state, and local taxes, are the sole responsibility of the winner.? Any person winning over $600.00 in total prizes will receive a 1099 form from Sponsor at the end of the calendar year and a copy of such form should be filed with the IRS.? Each winner must provide Sponsor with valid identification, and a valid taxpayer identification number or Social Security number for total prizes valued at $600.00 or more, before any prize will be awarded.

10.? Conditions:? Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this Sweepstakes or any portion hereof, or to disqualify any individual implicated in any of the following actions, if for any reason:? (a) infection by computer virus, bugs, interruption in wireless calling devices or wireless service, tampering, unauthorized intervention, actions by entrants, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which, in Sponsor?s sole opinion, corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Sweepstakes, (b) the Sweepstakes or any website associated therewith (or any portion thereof) becomes corrupted or does not allow the proper processing of entries per these Rules, (c) the Sweepstakes becomes corrupted due to wireless calling service interruption for any reason, or (d) the Sweepstakes is otherwise not capable of running as planned.? By entering, entrants represent that they are eligible and agree to be bound by and comply with the Rules and the decisions of any judges.? Any entrant who attempts to tamper with this Sweepstakes in any way or use fraudulent means to participate in and/or win the Sweepstakes shall be disqualified.? Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entrant at any time, for any reason, including, without limitation, language, activities or behavior deemed inappropriate. Sponsor and their advertising and promotion agencies are not responsible for cancellations, postponements, or delays.? Other than the prizes received by the winner, no entrant shall be entitled to receive any wages, benefits, fees or other compensation whatsoever as a result of participating in the Sweepstakes.? Sponsor shall have the sole discretion to administer the Sweepstakes and interpret and apply the Official Rules.

11. Indemnification/Hold Harmless:? By participating, entrants agree: (a) to the Official Rules and decisions of Sponsor, which shall be final in all respects; (b) to release, discharge, and hold harmless WTVR-TV, Local TV, LLC, Facebook, and their respective affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, officers, directors, employees, representatives, and agents (the ?Released Parties?) from all liability, injuries, losses or damages of any kind to persons, including but not limited to death or property damage resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the acceptance, possession, misuse or use of a prize, or from participation in and/or entry into the Sweepstakes or any Sweepstakes-related activity and for acceptance, delivery, or use of any prize; (c) that the foregoing parties have neither made nor are in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guaranty, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, relating to any prize.? In consideration for his or her participation in the Sweepstakes, each entrant agrees to hold harmless and indemnify the Released Parties from any and all claims, demands and/or causes of action of any nature or kind whatsoever, whether presently known or unknown, foreseen or unforeseen, that arise out of the entrant?s participation in the Sweepstakes, including attorneys? fees.

12.? Limitation of Liability:? The Released Parties are not responsible or liable for any incorrect or inaccurate entry information or other errors in the printing, offering or administration of the Sweepstakes or in the announcement of the prize(s) and assume no responsibility for (i) any error, omission, interruption, defect or delay in operation or transmission at any website, or wireless calling service, interrupted or unavailable network, server or other conditions, (ii) failure of any entry to be received by Sponsor due to technical problems, telephone service problems, human error, or wireless calling service, (iii) communication line, hardware and/or software failures, malfunction of phones (including wireless phones/handsets), phone lines, other communications malfunctions, unavailable network connections, cellular equipment towers, telephone systems or wireless service, (iv) damage to any computer (software or hardware) resulting from participation in the Sweepstakes, or damage to mobile phone or other PDA device, (v) theft or destruction of, tampering with, unauthorized access to, or alteration of entries and/or entry information, or (vi) entries which are late, lost, stolen, damaged, illegible, and/or unintelligible (or any combination thereof).? Any expenses incurred by the entrant during the application process, including but not limited to, postage are the sole responsibility of each entrant and the Sponsor will not issue reimbursement for any expenses.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL THE RELEASED PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, ATTORNEYS? FEES, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES.?

13.? Choice of Law/Forum:? All entrants agree, by participation in the Sweepstakes, to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts of Virginia.? Virginia law shall govern this Sweepstakes, without regard Virginia?s choice of law rules.? The courts of Virginia shall be the exclusive forum for any dispute regarding any Rule or activity associated with the Sweepstakes.

14.? Official Rules:? To request a copy of the Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to WTVR-TV, located at 3301 W. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230, November 16, 2012.? Written copies of these Rules are also available during normal business hours (8:30am-5:00pm EST) at WTVR-TV?s business offices or online at www.wtvr.com.

15.? Names of Winners:? For a list of prize winners, send a separate, self-addressed, stamped envelope to WTVR-TV, located at 3301 W. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230, or appear in person at that location between normal business hours (8:30am-5:00pm EST) after November 16, 2012.

16. Compliance with Law: The conduct of the Sweepstakes is governed by the applicable laws of the United States of America, which take precedence over any rule to the contrary herein.? Sponsor shall follow the applicable laws for conducting Sweepstakes.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Source: http://wtvr.com/2012/11/07/cbs-6-morning-news-kroger-card-giveaways-sweepstakes-official-rules/

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Video: Voting patterns in the ?five Ohios?

>> and let's do a deeper dive on the state of ohio , with us for that, our political director chief white house correspondent, chuck todd . and chuck, i know it is kind of popular in the political business to say ohio , which is such is interesting territory has given us eight american presidents , after all is more like five states, in and of itself.

>> reporter: they joke about it. it is the five ohios. so let's break it down, here it is cold country, and you see from the 2008 county map, of course the map that president obama won. you see he did well up there in the northeast part of the state. but even made some inroads here in cold country. this is where romney is expected to do really well. then you have this part here in northeastern ohio , this is where cuyahoga county and where democrats get a majority of their vote when they're doing well, or even when they're not doing well. it all comes out of here. that is sort of the second ohio , then we have the auto belt here, if you will. think akron, toledo, a lot of the areas bucking up against michigan. and then the two swing areas, the fastest growing part of the state which is the columbus area, growing in population, frankly while the rest of the state is shrinking. and finally, cincinnati, swinging the most, 2004 , bush carried cincinnati, 2008 , obama carried it. that is how it works. and watch how they put the math together tomorrow night. the real issue is the auto belt, why mitt romney is coming back to cleveland tomorrow because he has been under-performing with basically working class white guy guys. think of the ones working in the plants, the president has been doing well with white men in ohio than he has all over the country. and it is why the president is performing well in ohio , more than mitt romney or any other generic republican would, when you think about the demographics of ohio .

>> all right, chuck todd , the one prize tomorrow that could actually be like five states,

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/49702417/

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States scramble to help displaced residents vote

People, many displaced by Superstorm Sandy, line up to vote Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in Burlington, N.J., at a Mobile Voting Precinct. Many victims displaced by Superstorm Sandy are taking advantage of offers to vote early. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

People, many displaced by Superstorm Sandy, line up to vote Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in Burlington, N.J., at a Mobile Voting Precinct. Many victims displaced by Superstorm Sandy are taking advantage of offers to vote early. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

People, many displaced by Superstorm Sandy, line up to vote Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in Burlington, N.J., at a Mobile Voting Precinct. Many victims displaced by the storm are taking advantage of offers to vote early. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Voting equipment is dragged across dried mud and sand towards tents that have become a make shift voting locations at Scholars' Academy, PS 180, in the Rockaway neighborhood of the borough of Queens, New York, Monday, Nov. 5, 2012. Several normal voting sites have become unusable due to high water and wind damage in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Tj Cheng and his wife Quin Wang of East Windsor, N.J., stand together Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in Burlington, N.J., outside a Mobile Voting Precinct, as they inquire about voting. Many victims displaced by Superstorm Sandy are taking advantage of offers to vote early. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Dorothy Ann Van, of Surf City, Long Beach Island, N.J., who was displaced by Superstorm Sandy, stands at the front of a line to vote Monday, Nov. 5, 2012, in Burlington, N.J., at a Mobile Voting Precinct. Election officials say Superstorm Sandy had knocked out about 900 polling places in one way or another. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) ? One storm-battered New Jersey county was delivering ballots to emergency shelters Monday while New York City was lining up shuttle buses to ferry people in hard-hit coastal areas to the polls. With the presidential election looming just a week after Superstorm Sandy's devastation, authorities were scrambling to make voting as manageable as possible while election watchers warned that confusion over balloting could disenfranchise residents.

Election officials in both New Jersey and New York were guardedly optimistic that power would be restored and most polling places would be open in all but the worst-hit areas for Tuesday's election. In West Virginia, officials relocated a handful of polling precincts because of continuing power outages from Superstorm Sandy.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order Monday allowing residents to cast a so-called "affidavit," or provisional ballot, at any polling place in the state for president and statewide office holders, an opportunity New Jersey was extending to voters as well.

"Compared to what we have had to deal with in the past week, this will be a walk in the park when it comes to voting," Cuomo said.

Affidavit or provisional ballots are counted after elected officials confirm a voter's eligibility.

Authorities were also sensitive to concerns about potential disenfranchisement and were taking steps to ensure voters were kept informed of continued problems or changes to their voting locations.

Ernie Landante, a spokesman for the New Jersey Division of Elections, said fewer than 100 polling places around the state were without power compared to 800 just days ago, and that the state has abandoned its earlier plan to use military trucks as makeshift polling places. Most voters will be able to cast ballots at their regular polling sites, he said.

But Landante also said the state had taken extra steps to make sure people displaced by Sandy's destruction would be able to vote, like allowing "authorized messengers" to pick up as many mail-in ballots as they request for people in shelters or away from their homes.

"We are doing everything we can in this extraordinary situation not to disenfranchise voters displaced by Sandy. Their voices and their votes will be heard no differently than anyone else's," Landante said.

But authorities abruptly switched gears on an additional directive New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's office announced allowing displaced New Jersey residents to vote through email and fax.

The directive allowed voters to request and file a ballot electronically. But under pressure from voting rights advocates, officials said those voters would have to submit a paper ballot along with the electronic filing ? a rule the state's military personnel and residents living overseas are required to follow as well.

Larry Norden, a voting-rights advocate at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice, said the email and fax option wouldn't be viable for voters still without power.

"My biggest concern about all this is confusion. These places need to take statewide action to make sure people who have been displaced know there is some way they can vote," Norden said.

Some regions most affected by Sandy were seeking creative ways to help residents cast their ballot.

In Ocean County along the New Jersey coast, officials hired a converted camper to bring mail-in ballots to shelters in Toms River, Pemberton and Burlington Township. Some 75 people in Toms River alone took advantage of the service on Monday, officials said. The camper will either continue to serve the shelters or be converted into an emergency voting precinct on Tuesday.

"It's great. This is one less thing I have to think about," said Josephine DeFeis, who fled her home in storm-devastated Seaside Heights and cast her ballot in the camper on Monday.

In New York City, authorities planned to run shuttle buses every 15 minutes Tuesday in storm-slammed areas to bring voters to the polls.

Elections Commissioner J.C. Polanco said the buses would service parts of Staten Island, the Rockaways and Breezy Point in Queens, and the Coney Island section of Brooklyn.

"An election on a normal day in New York is difficult as it is. Think of how difficult it is after a hurricane," Polanco said.

Just 60 of the city's 1350 polling sites were unusable and residents who vote in those places would be directed elsewhere, Polanco said. He said if a voter relocated to another polling site didn't show up on the list of people eligible to vote, he or she would be given a provisional ballot.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg urged city residents to check the Board of Elections website to find out about polling changes.

"Vote. It is our most precious right. It is the one that guarantees all our other rights as Americans. It is the essence of being a citizen," Bloomberg said.

In a city of 4.6 million voters, bumps were inevitable.

In Brooklyn, workers were still pumping water out of Middle School 211, which was supposed to serve as a polling place. The neighborhood's new polling site, Canarsie High School, is a few blocks away, but there were no signs posted at either school alerting voters to the change.

Staten Island resident Paul Hoppe said he probably wouldn't vote. His home, a block from the beach, was uninhabitable, his family was displaced and their possessions were ruined.

"We've got too many concerns that go beyond the national scene," Hoppe said.

Five counties in West Virginia were moving or combining 14 precincts into a total of 10 temporary locations. Lewis, Randolph and Tucker counties are each relocating one precinct. Upshur County is moving four while Preston is relocating seven.

Secretary of State Natalie Tennant said officials will post notices on the closed precincts, and are spreading details through the media and on her office's website. West Virginia's elections chief, Tennant warned voters not to believe phone calls offering new precinct locations.

"Those are false calls," Tennant said, citing complaints alleging such ploys during prior elections. "Call your county clerk to double-check, or the secretary of state's office."

___

Fouhy reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Geoff Mulvihill in New Jersey and Karen Matthews, Michael Hill, Jennifer Peltz and Bebeto Matthews in New York, and Lawrence Messina in Charleston, W.Va., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-11-05-Superstorm-Voting/id-30f7d17d6b81499cac976f3ebe44f796

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Apple sells 3 million iPads over first weekend

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apple-says-sold-three-million-ipads-since-friday-135309834--finance.html

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25 Steps to Understanding Your Website Audience | Articles ...

Success on the Internet never comes out of thin air. Effective, successful websites are always a result of profound research and diligent, dedicated work.

Although optimizing a web page may seem like a daunting task and real ordeal for many website owners, with numerous manuals and practical advice available for absolutely free on the Internet, optimizing your website is just a piece of cake. This is where search engine optimization, content writing and target audience concepts come into play. It is essential to make your website attractive both to search engines and people. In fact, an average customer should be in a focus for any website, since it is the audience that you are going to interact with or sell goods to. It is impossible to please all Internet frequenters, yet it is possible to find the ones which are in search of information or services provided on your website. Below in this article we are going to dwell upon the importance of understanding your website audience, writing and optimizing your resource to meet your users? wishes.

In order to illustrate the theory with some practice, let?s imagine that you, being a proficient designer, have decided to move your business online. So, once you have a functioning website and a certain clientele, you may start your research.

1. Use Questionnaires

Gathering demographic data about your website users is probably the easiest and the most surefire method to see what people visit your pages. There exist various ways to implement this. For instance, you may offer a bonus or a gift in exchange for a filled out form. The gift could be an extra cookie, a gift certificate or a discount for example. The questionnaire should not look intimidating. A typical form should include but not limited to:

• age;
• sex;
• marital status;
• education;
• geographic location;
• income;
• occupation;
• food preferences (use a drop-down window, if necessary);
• hobbies and so on.

The questionnaire should include questions which would help you to create a profile of your average website user. For example, it could be ?a strict vegetarian? or ?a busy and overburdened student?.

2. Process the Questionnaires

Now when you have the information, you are ready to think up a successful marketing campaign according to your clients? preferences, as well as to make slight adjustments in the current company?s policy and goals. For instance, if most of your clients prefer vegetarian pastry or are going nuts for your apple and cinnamon strudels, you may focus on these recipes and hold over the unpopular ones. To surprise your frequenters you may add some new variations of the already existing recipes (the ones which are in demand, of course).

3. Maintain Your ?Contact Us? Page

All successful sites, large or small, should have a Contact Us page. At first glance, this page may seem insignificant, but it is the main gateway for your clients to contact you, especially if you don?t have a forum or run a blog. Make sure this page contains the actual, valid data. List all possible ways to contact you: e-mail, Skype, phone number and a physical address, if applicable. By doing so, you will raise your chances to get in touch with your direct customers.

4. Keep in Touch with Your Technical Support

In case you have a tech support which is run by another person or company, try to monitor its work. You can definitely learn a lot about your clientele from the most frequent questions they ask and problems they face when on your website.

5. Create a Forum

Forums are great tools allowing website owners study their customers? habits and preferences well. It is essential to let your customers write and express their thoughts regarding your service, website and related topics. When creating topics, select several categories and watch which ones are the most popular and which stay untouched. It won?t take much time and effort, yet creating a Forum page can be a recipe for your business success.

6. Encourage Your Visitors to Join the Forum Page

Insert links into your website posts leading to corresponding topics on Forum. Let the most active users be moderators. You may also create a kind of hierarchy, either funny or serious: Member, Silver Member, Gold Member; Strudel Eater, Experienced Strudel Eater, Master Strudel Eater or BA, MA and Ph.D. in Strudenomics, etc. (just a hypothetic funny hierarchy for a cooking website forum).

7. Spark up Discussions

In order to attract attention of your website and Forum customers, you can employ some tricks. Don?t hesitate to spark up discussions: controlled debate is a very good tool for your target audience research. However, you should not go too far when adding fuel to the fire.

8. Create a Contest

Launching an interesting contest not only allows your customers express themselves and receive gifts, but also gives a lot of information about your target audience. The contest requirements should not be very strict, so that an average user could join the competition: a photo contest, a recipe contest and so on. It is essential to point out requirements and think up the prime and secondary prizes. The prizes should have something to do with your business domain: a cookbook, a gift certificate or a weekly strudel supply, etc.

9. Encourage Posts

Allow your customers contribute to your website or blog by uploading pictures and writing articles. Of course, it does not mean you are obliged to post everything you receive. Your customers? pictures and especially articles will help you to get to know more about them than any questionnaire or forum. It is a really great pleasure for a person to see his or her creation on the web, especially if he or she does not run any web page. Other than that, with ?third party? posts your audience can increase rapidly, since contributors will want to share their works with their family members, close friends, colleagues and so on. So, by encouraging your website visitors writing posts and adding pictures you actually kill three birds with one stone:

• you receive unique papers;
• you learn more about your target audience;
• you get free advertisement.

10. Make Sure Your Customers Can Leave Comments

In order to study your target audience well, you need to know your customers? likes and dislikes. Allow website visitors commenting on your posts, pictures and products. Analyze your users? reviews and make right conclusions.

11. Writing a Review Page

In order to get the most sincere testimonials, you can create a Review page where everyone would be able to write an anonymous testimonial. Many websites today create such pages to fill them with fake reviews, though there is a more effective way to utilize those: by getting genuine testimonials you will know what gaps you need to fill and what adjustments to make.

12. Create a Profile Database

Although it can be very burdensome and take some time and effort, it is advisable to build a profile database for your customers. A personal profile is a great place to express your individuality and uniqueness. Many will make use of this advantage, because people enjoy seeing their personalized accounts with pictures next to their comments or articles on the web. You will also win from seeing your target audience personalized.

13. Create a Group on Facebook

Today you can hardly ever find an Internet user who has no account on Facebook. It is essential that your website includes different social media networks? icons enabling visitors to share the information they like. Social media are great tools to promote your business online. You can create your website?s appearance on Facebook, for instance, and post your news there. You can also create events, such as an Open Air Strudel Party, for instance, and use other great functions to remind your subscribers of your existence.

14. Employ Twitter

Twitter does not offer as wide functionality for business purposes, as Facebook, yet it is still a great tool in understanding your target audience. In fact, Facebook ?Likes? and Twitter ?Tweets? are great tools to calculate your posts success: just scan the recent posts for amount of Likes and Tweets, and you will see which topics have sparked up your reader?s interest.

15. Make Use of YouTube Insights

Did you know that you can gather some info about your clientele with YouTube insights (assuming that the chosen video has enough views)? You can scan the video for Likes, Dislikes, Comments, Favorites etc. It is also possible to track top viewers? geographical location and demographics. In case you do not have any own video, you can analyze your competitors? materials.

16. Monitor Your Ads

In case you display your own or third parties? ads on your website, you can track which ones are the most popular with your target audience. Commercials are a good indicator of a person?s concerns and interests.

In addition to aforementioned manual methods to investigate your target audience, there exist special online tools, both paid and free, allowing you studying your clientele in figures. The data obtained from tools described above are called qualitative, while information obtained with the help of analytics is referred to as quantitative. So, let?s move on to analytics tools you may use to understand your target audience better.

17. Hire a Team

Of course, if you are running a large website or a series of satellite pages with numerous visitors every day, and you take your target audience research very seriously, you may want to hire a professional team specializing in this domain.

However, in case of a small website you can gather some quantitative data yourself. Below we will dwell upon the most useful features of analytic tools, allowing you to see how visitors are arriving at your page, what they are doing once they are on your site, where they are from and much more.

18. Set up Goals

Analytics sites, such as Google Analytics, for instance, offer you an option of settings Goals for your enterprise. Let?s say, you want your visitors to go to the Pastry Catalogue once they are on your website and then go to the Discounts and Special Offers page. So, you can specify this route in your analytics tool. Thus you will get notification each time someone goes through these locations.

19. Measure Traffic

Measuring traffic allows you to see how many visitors come to your site per day. With special analytics tool it is even possible to track this data by the hour. By doing so, you will get information on how your website is performing on the web, such as which days of the week customers are most likely to visit your website. For example, you can notice that on weekdays, when people have no time to cook, they tend to order pastries via your website, while on weekends the clients flow is decreasing.

20. Know Your Bounce Rate

Measuring your website?s ?bounce rate? is very important, since it can make you think about adjusting your marketing tactics. Bounce rate indicates whether or not a visitor stayed at your page after arriving there. The lower the bounce rate, the better for your enterprise. High bounce rate shows that you may use wrong keywords or improper ads, and visitors cannot find a product/service/information they are looking for on your website. Bounce rate is an essential figure in understanding your target audience.

21. Know How Your Customers Find You

It is essential to monitor how customers arrive at your website: whether they found your page through paid advertising, search engine inquiry or through another source. Besides analytics, you may use manual methods to get this info: ask your customers how they found you when registering their accounts, for instance. Analytics is undoubtedly a powerful tool, yet it does not encompass cases of offline ads (in magazines, business cards, leaflets etc.), and word-of-mouth recommendations.

22. Join Discussion Groups of Other Websites

Browse around for customer discussion groups and forums related to your business. This is a good idea for those who still have no forums but would like to see what people are talking about. Look for groups which are as similar to your site?s main concept as possible, prefer groups with a lot of members.

23. Make Contact

In case you are running a small family business or anything like this, you can directly ask your customers (your friends, close relatives and colleagues) about what they might search for in the targeted topic, what they would not look for, etc. For instance, if your home bakeshop serves approximately twenty people a day, and all of them are frequenters, you may adjust the menu according to their preferences without any losses.

24. Use Competitors Experience

There is a plethora of data you can glean off of your competitors. There exist special websites allowing you analyzing your rival website performance. Of course, in this case you will not get in touch with your actual audience, but you will be able to pinpoint the type of audience you are going to deal with.

25. Stay Tuned!

It is essential to monitor your website?s performance regularly. Set new goals, measure your traffic, bounce rate and encourage your clients to write and express themselves. Stay abreast of the new developments in analytics and use as many tools as you can handle. Remember, success is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration!

?

Understanding your clientele will allow you to shift your marketing efforts into the right path and accommodate your average customer?s wishes. By narrowing your target market you will increase your sales. Remember, it is impossible to cater everyone?s needs: focus on a specific target, become an expert and be flexible in reacting on your target audience wishes.

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Image Credits ? Magnifying On A Keyboard via BigStock

Source: http://www.instantshift.com/2012/11/05/25-steps-to-understanding-your-website-audience/

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Jay-Z sings ?99 Problems But a Mitt Ain?t One? at Obama rally

The final Gallup poll released today shows Romney maintaining a one point lead over Obama. The poll, which has shown large Romney leads in recent weeks,?became a target for the Obama campaign, but is still being closely followed. The final numbers were first leaked by Gallup's editor-in-chief Frank Newport to Ira Boudway of?Blooomberg Businessweek?in advance of the usual 1 p.m. release time. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/jay-z-sings-99-problems-mitt-ain-t-230320623--election.html

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