32 Ways to Use Facebook for Business

Facebook’s not just for keeping tabs on friends and filling out quizzes — it can also be used as a highly effective business tool. It’s great for marketing your products, landing gigs and connecting with your customers.

Here are 32 ways to use Facebook in your business.

Manage Your Profile

1. Fill out your profile completely to earn trust.
2. Establish a business account if you don’t already have one.
3. Stay out of trouble by reading the Facebook rules regarding business accounts.
4. Install appropriate applications to integrate feeds from your blog and other social media accounts into your Facebook profile. (Although you should be careful before integrating your Twitter feed into your Faceboook profile, as a stream of tweets can seem overwhelming to your contacts.)

5. Keep any personal parts of your profile private through Settings.
6. Create friends lists such as “Work,” “Family” and “Limited Profile” for finer-grained control over your profile privacy.
7. Post a professional or business casual photos of yourself to reinforce your brand.
8. Limit business contacts’ access to personal photos.
9. Post your newsletter subscription information and archives somewhere in your profile.
10. Connect and share with others Obtain a Facebook vanity URL so that people can find you easily.
11. Add your Facebok URL to your email signature and any marketing collateral (business cards, etc.) so prospects can learn more about you.
12. Post business updates on your wall. Focus on business activities, such as “Working with ABC Company on web site redesign.”
13. Share useful articles and links to presentation and valuable resources that interest customers and prospects on your wall, to establish credibility.
14. Combine Facebook with other social media tools like Twitter. For example, when someone asks question on Twitter, you can respond in detail in a blog post and link to it from Facebook.
15. Before traveling, check contacts locations so you can meet with those in the city where you’re heading.
16. Research prospects before meeting or contacting them.
17. Upload your contacts from your email client to find more connections.
18. Use Find Friends for suggestions of other people you may know to expand your network even further.
19. Look for mutual contacts on your contacts’ friends lists.
20. Find experts in your field and invite them as a guest blogger on your blog or speaker at your event.
21. Market your products by posting discounts and package deals.
22. Share survey or research data to gain credibility.
23. Use Facebook Connect to add social networking features to your web site.
24. Suggest Friends to clients and colleagues — by helping them, you establish trust.
25. Buy Facebook ads to target your exact audience.
26. Read up on Facebook Beacon to see if it might be useful for you.
27. Use Network, Group and Fan Pages Start a group or fan page for product, brand or business. Unless you or your business is already a household name, a group is usually the better choice.
28. Add basic information to the group or fan page such as links to company site, newsletter subscription information and newsletter archives.
29. Post upcoming events including webinars, conferences and other programs where you or someone from your company will be present.
30. Update your group or fan page on a regular basis with helpful information and answers to questions.
31. Join network, industry and alumni groups related to your business.
32. Use search to find groups and fan pages related to your business by industry, location and career.

Black Eyed Peas Tour Dates 2010 The E.N.D. World Tour 2010

The Black Eyed Peas are here tonight in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Event Center with their first of two concerts this week of The E.N.D. World Tour. Then, It's off to hosting New Year's Eve at LAX nightclub in the Luxor Hotel. http://www.blackeyedpeas.com

One of the original three Black Eyed Peas, Will.I.am, is set to host an event Jan 1. at Pure nightclub in Caesar
s Palace. http://www.purelv.com

The group will be in Atlanta in February 4,Miami February 6, February 23 In Washington, D.C., and February 24th in NYC at Madision Garden to name just a few of their upcoming concert dates.

The latest news is that Black Eyed Peas' first Dublin concert date ever, May 2, 2010 sold out within 20 minutes. We're sure that fans are hoping they'll consider adding another date.

Ticket info can be found at the Live Nation Web site.

The E.N.D. World Tour 2010 – North American Tour Dates
Feb. 4 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena
Feb. 6 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena
Feb. 9 – Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Feb. 10 – Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
Feb. 12 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Arena
Feb. 13 – Birmingham, AL – BJCC Arena
Feb. 16 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
Feb. 17 – Lexington, KY – Rupp Arena
Feb. 19 – Raleigh, NC – RBC Center
Feb. 20 – Charlotte, NC – Time Warner Cable Arena
Feb. 23 – Washington, DC – Verizon Center
Feb. 24 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Feb. 26 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
March 1 – Uniondale, NY – Nassau Coliseum
March 3 – Philadelphia, PA – Wachovia Center
March 4 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mellon Arena
March 6 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Air Canada Centre
March 9 – Detroit, MI – The Palace
March 11 – Milwaukee, WI – Bradley Center
March 13 – Chicago, IL – United Center
March 19 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
March 20 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
March 22 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
March 24 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
March 25 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena
March 27 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
March 29 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center
March 31 – Glendale, AZ – Jobing.com Arena
April 2 – San Jose, CA – HP Pavilion
April 7 – Sacramento, CA – ARCO Arena
April 10 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
April 11 – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – GM Place

Michael Jackson Moonwalk glove auctioned for $350,000

The glove worn by Michael Jackson
A rhinestone-encrusted glove worn by Michael Jackson the first time he performed the Moonwalk has been sold at auction for $350,000 (£212,000).

The glove, among 70 items belonging to the late singer which went on sale in New York, was sold for nine times the expected price.

A jacket worn by Jackson on his 1989 "Bad" tour was sold for $225,000 while a fedora hat went for $22,000.

The auction in New York attracted thousands of bidders around the world.

Auctioneer Darren Julien said the 1983 television appearance when Jackson first displayed the Moonwalk - wearing the glove - had been his "most historical performance".

The glove was bought by a Hong Kong businessman
Mr Julien said he had had no idea the sale would be so big.

Prices for Michael Jackson memorabilia now outstrip those for items belonging to Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe, he added.

"It's a tribute to his life and career - he's truly an amazing artist," said Mr Julien.

The glove was bought by Hong Kong businessman Hoffman Ma on behalf of a hotel in Macau China, where it will now go on display.

Including taxes and fees, the final amount paid was $420,000.

Michael Jackson died at his home in Los Angeles in June at the age of 50 after a drugs overdose.

British Airways and Iberia agree merger plans

The merger has been a long time in the planning.
British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia have reached a preliminary agreement for a merger expected to be completed in late 2010.

The merger, which is expected to get regulatory backing, would create the world's third biggest airline.

Under its terms, Iberia would take a 45% stake and BA, which last week reported a six-month pre-tax loss of £292m, a 55% stake in the new company.

Iberia says it can pull out if BA fails to resolve its pension deficit problem.

'Growing dominance'
"The merger will create a strong European airline well able to compete in the 21st Century," said BA chief executive Willie Walsh.

"Both airlines will retain their brands and heritage while achieving significant synergies as a combined force."

The deal would create an airline with 419 aircraft flying to 205 separate destinations, and would save the two partners 400m euros ($594m; £358m) in costs a year, the two carriers said.

Iberia's chairman Antonio Vazquez will take the same role at the new company, while Mr Walsh will become its chief executive.

Aviation analyst Douglas McNeil of Astaire Securities said BA would be "relieved" to have finally got the merger deal in place.

"I think BA will be pleased with the deal they have got - the headquarters in London, led by Willie Walsh, and BA will be majority shareholder," he said.

Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent, agreed that the planned merger was a good deal for BA.

"British Airways has come out of this pretty well, it will be the dominant partner," he said.

"Don't expect any great benefits [after the merger] if you are a passenger, but if you are a shareholder it could be a different story."

News of the deal did not go down well with Virgin Atlantic, one of BA's big competitors in the UK, which raised concerns about the new company's market share.

"The merger will increase BA's dominance at Heathrow with 44% of take-off and landing slots this winter. It is impossible for any other airline to replicate their scale," the airline said.

Big losses

Both BA and Iberia have been losing money during the downturn as businesses and individuals cut back on flying.

Mr Walsh has previously said a merger would help both firms cope with the recession.

The firms have considered a tie-up for a number of years and held talks on the issue in July 2008.

BA already owns 13.5% of Iberia and the two carriers have a code-sharing agreement under the One World grouping of airlines, which allows them to sell seats on each other's services.

If a merger is formalised, it would still require regulatory approval from the European Commission.

However, analysts say a deal is likely to be cleared, pointing to Air France's successful merger with Dutch airline KLM in 2004.

Financial woes
The agreement comes a week after BA said it would cut a further 1,200 jobs, as it reported a first-half loss for the first time.

Deploying Windows 7 : Free Microsoft Ebook

With the release of Windows 7 right around the corner Microsoft has released a free ebook called “Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource
Kit and TechNet Magazine”. The contents of the ebook are divided into chapters that have been taken from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and from Technet articles.

The Windows Resource Kit chapters are very technical and go into deployment details while the Technet chapters are addressing specific issues or providing general information about the Windows 7 operating system. Below is the list of available chapters in the Windows 7 deployment book:















The Windows 7 deployment ebook has a total of 332 pages and can be downloaded for free from the Microsoft website.

Windows 7

Windows 7 is the latest version of Microsoft Windows, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs and media center PCs. Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and general retail availability on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time.

Unlike its predecessor, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 is intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being fully compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista is already compatible. Presentations given by Microsoft in 2008 focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows Shell with a new taskbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup, and performance improvements. Some applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, including Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, are not included in Windows 7; some are instead offered separately as part of the free Windows Live Essentials suite.

Job cuts help Yahoo profits surge

Yahoo has cut jobs and relaunched its web portal
Internet giant Yahoo saw its third quarter profits more than treble - despite sales falling by about 12% - as it slashed costs.

Yahoo said it earned $186m (£113.6m) compared with $54m in the same period last year. Revenue fell to $1.58bn.

The firm has cut more than 2,000 jobs during the past year.

But it is still struggling to lure back advertisers that trimmed their budgets during the recession, and spent money on emerging websites.

Direction change

Unlike rival Google, Yahoo has been struggling to turn its position as one of the world's most popular website into profits.

The company has tried to change its direction since chief executive Carol Bartz replaced co-founder Jerry Yang in January this year.

Last month it relaunched its web portal, supported by a $100m global advertising campaign.

The company hopes the website refresh will boost both traffic and revenues.

Yahoo is also opening its home page to rivals, allowing users to integrate third-party web services like Facebook or Hotmail into its portal.

"We knew the new management could drive some of the cost out of the system, but we want to start to see what can be done to have the company return to growth," said Olin Gillis, an analyst at Brigantine Advisors.

"This is a company that's still very much in the process of being restructured. It's a mild positive. They're doing what they're supposed to be doing."

In July, Microsoft and Yahoo agreed a deal that will see Yahoo's websites use both Microsoft's search technology and search advertising.

Yahoo in turn will become the sales team for banner advertising for both companies. However, the deal still awaits regulatory approval and is not expected to be finalised before spring 2010.
article by bbc