More than just a cell phone.
If you think U.S. consumers were huge impulse buyers before the recession, just wait: Mobile-phone companies, banks and credit-card companies want to speed things up so people can simply swipe their cell phone to pay for everything from cups of coffee to cruises.
Banks such as Citigroup and a technology startup, Bling Nation, which ties its tags to PayPal accounts, have in the last year launched radio-frequency identification (RFID) payment stickers to attach to your cell phone. They will allow customers to rack up charges without even carrying a wallet.
And over the next few years, companies including Apple, Samsung and Nokia will incorporate special near-field communications (NFC) chips in smart phones that will let shoppers make purchases simply by tapping their phone against a terminal – no sticker required.
Mobile analyst Leif-Olof Wallin of Gartner Research says he expects half of all mobile phones to have the chips by 2015, pushing this tap-and-go payment into the mainstream and getting us one step closer to using our phones in almost every aspect of our lives.
The downside of fast money
But while the mobile wallet sounds incredibly convenient, experts say it could pose a potentially big credit risk, especially to younger consumers who may swipe and forget — and rack up big debt.
“There is certainly a disconnect when it comes to spending and using a credit card versus cash,” says Bill Hardekopf, the CEO of LowCards.com and author of “The Credit Card Guidebook.”
When you have to reach into your wallet and fork over several bills, write a check or even sign a credit-card receipt, you’re closer to the financial pain, he says.
“Your mind says, ‘Do I want to do this? Is this item worth it?’” But will that happen with something as painlessly quick as a swipe of the phone? Maybe not, he says.
Banks and other providers of this technology downplay this risk, saying it is just the next evolution in personal finance: Just as many of us have booted checkbooks from our wallets and purses, those old-fashioned plastic cards are the next thing on the way out.
“In five years, you’re only going to need to think about your phone,” says Mung-Ki Woo, the head of MasterCard’s mobile payments division. “Everything else will be inside your phone, including your keys.”
Revving up the spending machine
Why are credit-card companies and others so eager to get us paying with our phones? The answer is simple: We spend more.
•What’s your credit rating? Get an estimate in 10 steps
While Citi and several other companies declined to say how much more mobile-payment users spent, market-research firm Forrester Research says that consumers who express interest in mobile payments spend 22% more on average than people not interested in it. And they were more likely to make frequent purchases.
When PayPal account holders were offered the chance to use its Bill Me Later credit service on eBay, the size of purchases doubled, says Anuj Nayar, PayPal’s director of global communication.
The beginnings of a mobile revolution
The technology for this kind of swipe-and-go mobile payment has been in place for years, analysts say. It has already been used for public transportation and other types of purchases in Europe, Japan and South Korea.
But until last year, mobile payment in the U.S. was virtually nonexistent, outside some purchases made with a credit-card number on a smart-phone browser, or through applications from Amazon or eBay.
Fewer than 6% of U.S. adults online have used mobile payment, according to a report released last summer by Forrester. But, according to that report, 15% of adults are “interested” or “very interested” in using their mobile phone to pay for items in a store rather than whipping out plastic.
Is your boss a bully
Is your boss a bully? Here’s how to deal
By Alina Dizik,
Advanced Search >> The wrath of a bullying boss is something many workers will face during their career. In a 2010 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, an organization devoted to raising awareness about bullying in the workplace, 35 percent of workers say they’ve experience bullying firsthand and an additional 15 percent have witnessed it. Most of the time it’s same-gender harassment.
Bing: Know your workplace rights
“A manager who is overly watchful, aggressive and unreasonable in his or her demands can be a workplace bully,” explains Stacy Harris, director of human resources at Bersin & Associates, a research and advisory services firm.
Is your boss the bullying kind? Here how to deal:
Acknowledge the problem
Making excuses for your boss or blaming yourself for the problem can prevent you from taking steps to solve the problem. Acknowledging that there’s a problem and that it’s not your fault are important first steps. Understanding that you did not invite the problem is crucial, says Gary Namie, director of the Workplace Bullying Institute.
Don’t let go of your self-esteem
“People who bully feel weak and vulnerable. Making other people feel small makes them feel bigger,” says workplace consultant Esther Derby, president of Esther Derby Associates in Minneapolis. With constant pressure from your boss, it can be easy to forget how difficult bullying can be on your psyche. Spend time with friends and family, volunteering or participating in projects at work away from your boss and department. Seeing your value outside of your bullying boss will give you more strength to address the problem.
Have a measured response
Before speaking up, it’s important to build your case. Take notes to catalog the specific incidents and find out if others have complained about this person. Get a well-rounded picture. Additionally, be sure to manage your own aggression or hostility. While it can be easy to act unprofessionally toward a bullying boss, having a measured response will help you build a stronger case. “Meeting aggression with aggression can cause the situation to spiral out of control. You don’t want to turn into a jerk to tame a jerk,” Derby explains. “Accept that you can’t change the person and change your response.”
Present your problems to the right person
Knowing whom to turn to in the case of a bullying boss can be tricky. Unless your relationship with your boss is completely strained, it’s better to build your case and first let your boss know that you are unhappy with the way you’re being treated. Remember to document the response in the form of an e-mail or your own notes.
If the conversation did not have the results you hoped for, it may be time to turn to someone higher up at the company. Don’t start with your boss’s superior, who has likely seen another side of your boss, Derby says. “Many bullies behave very differently when they aren’t in a position of power, so their manager may see a very different sort of behavior from that person,” she says. A human resources representative can be another wrong turn and may simply tiptoe around the problem. “HR’s job is to protect the company’s interests, not the individual employee’s interests,” Derby says. “The higher in the management chain the abuser is, the less likely that HR will take action.”
Instead, opt for the highest-ranking official who would be able to hear you out in a respectful manner. It can be difficult to find the right person, but starting with a vice president or senior manager who can have an impact on personnel issues may be your best bet.
Consider switching gears
If there’s no way to work out a solution, it may be up to you to leave the company, which is common for those dealing with bullying bosses. “People who have options usually leave rather than put up with a bully boss,” Derby says. “Often the people who stay are the ones who are too beaten down to see other options for themselves.”
Kill Your Stutter Review – Stop The Embarrassment Of Stuttering In Front Of The Crowd
Do you find it hard to speak in front of the crowd?
It’s not only you, but many people are having a hard time when it comes to speaking in front of the public. Seeing a lot of people can give off mixed emotions and as these drives you on, you can’t help but stutter instead of saying the words clearly as you intend them to be. As one speaks with uncontrolled feelings of fear, anxiety, excitement, etc comes a big speech disaster.
Do you want to know some tips to prevent the fear of speaking in public? You are quite fortunate because I have here some useful guidelines on how to do it:
1. Start facing small number of people, let’s say around 10-20 people and start your speech before taking the stage in front of a bigger crowd. Starting with a few people makes a good practice and as you can adapt with it, you’ll be ready to face a bigger audience.
2. The key here is preparation. Staying prepared ahead of time will make you less tense and anxious over things.
3. Avoid memorizing; instead you need to understand the entire context to make it work much better. If you keep on memorizing, soon you will forget what you need to say and it can be quite embarrassing. Taking a good grasp of the subject leads to prevention of stuttering or stammering.
4. Do your best to make the people understand you better.
5. Make use of the space on stage, walk and use expressions along with gestures and hand movements if necessary. This will help you more on delivering the message spontaneously.
Those tips mentioned above are just few of the many things to learn. Stick with it carefully and time will come when you will be able to speak fluently even though you are facing a lot of audiences.
Kill Your Stutter is an e-book that you can apply habitually in your speech routine. Great results await you if you practice accordingly and stuttering will be gone forever.
If you are looking for an overnight cure for stuttering, then this program is not for you. Everything takes time and this is only for patient and disciplined individuals willing to embrace change for the good. Say goodbye to stuttering now by simply clicking here http://bit.ly/GetKillYourStutterProgram.
About the Author
Michelle Pheipher talks about getting healthy and being in the best possible shape. Her personal and (favorite) mottos are “you are what you eat” and “life is short, achieve the best today”. She only writes reviews based on what she thinks and experiences are good and beneficial for her readers here at ArticlesBase.
Review of Social Dynamix Course for Social Confidence
My fear of social interaction had always prevented me from climbing the career ladder like I desperately wanted to do. If your social fears are causing you the same problems, read on and let me tell you how I overcame my phobias.
My knight in shining armor was a course called the Social Dynamix Course. I was advised by a coworker and close friend that this course could really help me out with my social problems.
Not to blow my own horn, but I have always felt that I can come up with great ideas and solutions to problems that could really help out the company that I work for. However, no one ever hears my great ideas and solutions.
Until I took this course, I absolutely had no confidence. I couldn’t bring myself to present anyone with my ideas. I was afraid that they would think my thoughts were stupid, or frankly just laugh in my face. So I kept everything to myself and just blended in to the walls of my cubicle.
With the new found confidence I gained from taking the course, I now look forward to sharing my insights and solutions. My coworkers and even my supervisors have definitely taken notice too. They now come to me just to ask my opinion on certain situations.
I have really been able to stand out at work thanks to the disappearance of my social phobia. I’m not sure that most people around the office even knew my name before, but I know for a fact that they do now!
I have the Social Dynamix Course to thank for revving up my career, and I highly suggest it for anyone with social fears.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/review-of-social-dynamix-course-for-social-confidence-3913140.html
About the Author
I’m just a wannabe know-it-all who doesn’t know much at all.
The Flying Paster in Offset Printing
Essentially, a flying paster allows a web offset printing press to print continuously without having to stop.
The basic function is to paste a roll that is about to finish onto a new roll. What makes the flying paster unique though is that it does so by making the new roll match the surface speed of the exhausted roll. When it does, the splicer triggers the tape to stick to the two webs and quickly cuts the expired roll. Since the new roll is running at the speed of the web press, the change is virtually seamless and only wastes very few properties.
The process takes place by timing the position of the tape to the exact position where the splice will take place. A laser will ready a mark put on the roll so that it knows the speed of the roll that is turning as well as the position of the tape itself. The speed of the roll is adjusted to generate the position and timing. In this respect timing is critical. If it is slightly off, the splice will miss.
Flying pasters are used mostly on high speed web presses. Zero speed splicers are also common, but are more limited with presses that run as high as 100,000 copies per hour. Faster production necessitates a flying paster. Modern flying pasters can handle speeds well over one hundred thousand copies per hour.
Many manufacturers are now integrating various functions into the flying paster such as the infeed and web guides. The web guides are then no longer cared for by a tilt box, but instead by moving the roll itself. This takes strain off the web as you no longer have to twist it to line it up with the printing plate.
Flying pasters save the web press much in downtime and waste. Offset presses no longer have to shut down change rolls. In many cases, presses that have automatic blanket washing systems can splice during a wash saving further waste for the pressman. On most typical systems, the press wastes less than one hundred copies and retains the register and cutoff throughout the process as little web wander and tension fluctuation occurs.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/printing-articles/the-flying-paster-in-offset-printing-4440135.html
About the Author
James Pressman is employed in the printing industry and has worked as a pressman for over 20 years. He works with components such as heatset driers and flying pasters.
Offer Services to Earn Good Money Online
What kind of services can you provide?
If you have been having doubts on your abilities to be of service to others, then you need to take a peep into the internet world. There are thousands of jobs waiting for you out there. Just choose one that suits you and begin to earn. People all over the world require different kinds of services. When you offer services online, you are actually offering your services to people all over the world. If you have special skills, you will be in more demand. So basically, it is very easy on the internet to find a service job suited to your talents. You just have to search.
What kind of services are in demand?
People need different kinds of services. Some may need to clarify their legal queries while some others may need information about where to book their travel tours. Some may even be looking for virtual assistants to type their notes and make copies of their files. These kinds of jobs are available in huge numbers. Freelancers and writers will require such services. There are a wide range of services that are required. So, you just have to be in the right place at the right time and for you, the right place is the internet and the right time is now.
The scope of the job
The scope of the job is massive. For example, people who run home based business will not find it comfortable to have an assistant in the house as it will disturb the privacy of the other family members. Some of them may not need an assistant all the time. They must just need one once or twice a week to translate or type notes. So, instead of hiring an online assistant, a person can save a lot of money and trouble. If you are specialized in a field like medicine, teaching, legal affairs, counseling and even home improvement, you can offer your services for a fee. You will be amazed at the number of people who are in constant need of guidance.
Online tuitions
If you are a confident teacher, then there can be endless opportunities for you online. Since both the parents work these days in most of the countries, there is a constant need of a tutor who can guide children through their academics. Parents find it more comforting and safer to hire an online tutor for their kids. It will also be cheaper for them. You only will have to spend a couple of hours on the internet and you can teach the child. The teaching session can be made interactive through the use of web camera. The pay in these jobs is very good. You can make good money by contributing just a couple of hours of your time.
Be an agony aunt
A lot of people struggle with personal problems like issues with family and friends. You can offer your service in guiding and solving the problems of these confused people. If your solutions can get them out of trouble, then they will not mind paying you large amounts of money.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/online-business-articles/offer-services-to-earn-good-money-online-4441584.html
About the Author
Are you looking for ways Make Money Online? How about trying to Free Online Income from Home? If so, then I suggest you get your financial freedom intact in our site.
Sailing Supplies Guide
If you are a person that loves adventure, sunshine and the endless waves of the sea, then you may want to continue reading this article for useful tips on purchasing sailing supplies. This may be an expensive and luxurious hobby, which could put certain people off at first, but if you have ever sailed in your life then you fully understand the wonder and joy you experience and will realize the value of those expensive supplies you may need. Sailing can be one of the most surreal, peaceful and soul freeing journeys a person could ever take, and investing in the proper equipment to ensure your safety during sailing is a definite must.
First of all, you want to make sure you are dressed appropriately and are completely prepared for any weather changes that may occur. You will of course judge what you are going to wear initially by the weather in your sailing location, but remember to bring warmer/cooler options depending on where you are. You will want to invest in a pair of non scuffing tennis shoes or sandals that are comfortable and slip resistant, and a pair of sailing gloves which will be light weight and fingerless. Beyond the typical clothing including shorts, light weight pants, sweat shirts and cooler summer tops you will also want a set of water proof pants and a jacket. This is always good to bring with you, even on the warmest days, because you never know what they weather will do and it is always best to be prepared! Also, do not forget to bring the obvious items such as sunglasses, hats, swim suits and beach towels!
Sailing supplies are not just clothing, but personal care items and equipment for sailing as well! Always bring sun screen lotions or sprays with you, stock up on bottled water and snacks and don’t forget any prescriptions you may take on a daily basis. If you or a fellow passenger is prone to sea sickness, it is wise to invest in the appropriate medicine for this as well. Depending on what activities you set out to do for that particular day, you will want to make sure you have everything you and your passengers need to do so as well. Once you have set sail and made it out to see, it is no easy feat going back to shore to grab a forgotten pair of snorkeling goggles.
In addition to these basics, you will want to have on hand and readily available: any passports, identification and permits you need if traveling far. Also, you may want to bring safety gear such as flares, inflatable life boats and things of this nature, for you can never be too cautious.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/branding-articles/sailing-supplies-guide-4423549.html
About the Author
Alexander Sutton has captained a number of highly successful ventures, and enjoys helping people discover simple yet very effective ways to achieve great success. For more information, please visit Sailing Supplies.
Curiosity May Have Killed The Cat But Certainly Not Your Customers!
Have you ever been left wondering what two of your fellow work colleges are discretely whispering near the office water cooler?
Do you often find yourself picking up a gossip magazines to read about the latest intriguing romantic development that’s happening to your favourite Hollywood heartthrob?
Or have you been left wondering how French people stay so damn slim when they eat such rich and fattening food?
All of the above demonstrates various ways curiosity is evoked within us. When used in your headline, curiosity can instantly capture the attention of your potential customers and draw them to your message.
Curiosity can be seen as equivalent to having an itch you have to scratch. As humans, there’s nothing worse than the feeling of being left behind, when everyone knows something that you don’t. Conversely, there is nothing more satisfying than holding information and knowledge that nobody else has.
When building curiosity into your headline, you want to make it intriguing enough to capture your customer’s attention but also believable and not dismissed as just another big unrealistic marketing claim.
Now more than ever, we are exposed to thousands of messages per day and our unconscious ability to filter out the majority of those messages has never been stronger; hence why standing out from the crowd has never been more important.
Ways You Can Build Curiosity Into Our Headlines?
A couple of ideas below to help you to infuse curiosity into your headline:
Begin your heading with “How” – which tells your customers a story is involved. Everyone loves a good story and if you can make yours compelling enough, it will definitely draw potential customers to your message. For example, “How this man made $2 million dollars in two months”.
Hint a secret in your copy. This plays on the notion that as humans, we will want to know more and will be desperate to find out how this information can help us. For example, “The secret formula that has kept this Amazonian tribe from living to 120 years.”
Build incentives into your headline. One of the best ways to do this is by adding in the word “FREE”. Beware, in doing this, you need to make your headline still believable and not conjure up the “yeah right” response from your customers. An example of a realistic but attention grabbing headline would be – “This FREE booklet reveals how this new revolutionary cream has taken a 75 year-old man from death’s door to being a regular at his local gym”.
Make your statement intriguing. List out the benefits from your product without giving away the product information. For example, “A six-pack in 6 weeks. Sound too good to be true? Well this man reveals his 6 step process that has revolutionised the fitness world”.
Pose a question in your heading. Headlines written in the form of a question are very effective, especially if they identify a specific problem, need, desire or want of your readers. For example, “Have you dreamed of achieving financial independence and finally taking your family on that dream holiday? This man can show you how in this FREE one-off seminar”.
All of the above serves one sole purpose, to draw your potential customers to the next line of your copy. It also help your advertisement breakthrough the clutter of the many messages they are exposed to on a daily basis.
Apply these principles today and watch the difference it will make to your sales.
Best of luck,
Justin Borg
http://www.justinborgcopywriting.com/
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/direct-mail-articles/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-certainly-not-your-customers-4437439.html
About the Author
Justin Borg is a Melbourne-based freelance copywriter who has spent almost a decade of his life working in the advertising industry and assists small to medium businesses with their marketing needs. For more information call +61 (0) 413 287 944 or visit http://www.justinborgcopywriting.com
How to Believe That You Can Succeed – Reaching Your Goals Made Simple
Do you believe that you can succeed? Do you believe that you can reach your goals? That is probably the single most important question that you can ask yourself, because if you don’t believe in your own abilities, you are always going to struggle to reach your goals. Your success in life – regardless of your goals – starts with your belief that you can succeed. Here is how to believe that you CAN succeed at reaching your goals.
The problem is that doing something new, reaching out towards a new goal or a new dream, can be scary. All sorts of thoughts and emotions come up and distract you from reaching your goal. You begin to experience doubt, worry, and confusion. You wonder if you are really capable of reaching this goal. This starts a downward spiral that keeps you from ever having the belief in yourself that you need.
But you can change that!
Start by looking at your goal and asking yourself these questions:
1. Has anyone else ever done this before?
Chances are that someone, somewhere in this big world, has achieved something quite similar to what you want to achieve, right? So that means that your goal is doable! You are capable of achieving the same things as most of the people on this planet.
2. Have you ever done something similar?
If so, great! You have already proven to yourself that you can learn new things! If not, you have probably already accomplished some amazing things. Did you learn to ride a bicycle? Drive a car? Balance a checkbook? Use a computer? All of those are amazing skills! Now you simply ‘learn’ the new skills that you need to reach your goal. Reviewing your past successes is often a great way to build up your belief in yourself.
3. Why do you want it?
This is a big question, but if you want to know how to believe that you can succeed, you have to be able to answer it. If you have a strong reason why you want something, your belief that you can succeed is strengthened. And the stronger your belief in yourself, the more you will be willing to do in order to realize your goal.
Believe in yourself and your ‘self’ will never let you down! Know that there will be ups and downs in the road toward your dreams, but also know that as long as you keep moving forward you will eventually get there!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/goal-setting-articles/how-to-believe-that-you-can-succeed-reaching-your-goals-made-simple-4441210.html
About the Author
Bob Crawford is a personal development trainer committed to helping people achieve their dreams. Bob also hosts the popular internet radio talk show, “Growing Your SELF! with Bob Crawford”, and has helped countless people get started on the road to their dreams.
Money Making with e-Books
How to create e-books?
It is very easy to create an e-book. You don’t need to have an in depth knowledge about the creating internet pages or websites. There are a lot of software’s to help you with it. All the information you need for your books can also be got online. When a copyright of a publication or a book expires, it becomes public property. There are lists of such information in the public domain of the internet. You can choose your book and start your work. On the internet, rewriting is acceptable. So, you can take other e-books and rewrite it into your e-books. If you have original content, then it is even better. You can sell it better and they can prove more profitable.
What purposes can e-books are used for?
E-books can be used for a number of purposes. For example, you have a business and you want to advertise it on the internet. So, instead of trying to stuff all the information about your company into a single banner or a small ad space, you can publish an e-book and sell it online. You can even give offer and discounts for people who buy your company’s products through your e-books. If you are a good writer and can write good stories, then e-book will be the best way to market it. E-books are very good marketing tools. They give double your income by selling your products as well as the e-books.
How to make money through e-books?
Selling e-books on the internet is now very easy. Marketing is the keyword. Since the whole world logs into the internet, there can be no better platform for you to advertise your e-book. In fact, you can advertise your products by offering e-books as a complimentary gift. You can write an e-book on any topic ranging from health and fitness to lifestyle and sports e-books to religion e-books. Since there are people of all interests on the internet, you will definitely find buyers for your books.
Advertise on social networking sites
Social networking sites are the best place for you to advertise your e-books. Since word of mouth spreads like wild fire on these sites, your e-book will be able to pick up instant popularity if it is high in content. You can give offers and discounts to improve the sale of your e-books.
Tag affiliates to your e-book
There are a lot of people who make money out of affiliate programs. You can recruit people as your affiliates and pay them for every sale of your e-book through them. Since this will increase the publicity of your e-book, you will record more sales. By paying people for selling e-books, you are in fact earning more and what you pay them will seem insignificant. You can give gifts and offers to your affiliates to improve the sale of your e-book. There are a lot of websites, which are entirely affiliate sites. They usually have good traffic and can sell your e-books very effectively for you. Just make sure that the content in your e-books is plagiarism free and of a high content quality.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/online-business-articles/money-making-with-e-books-4441587.html
About the Author
Are you looking for ways Make Money Online? How about trying to Free Online Income from Home? If so, then I suggest you get your financial freedom intact in our site.