Justin Germino Ramblings

For years, we were forced to sit back and hear how mobile would be the next big thing in marketing. Well, mobile has finally arrived, and while calling it the next big thing may be a stretch at this point, its significance can’t be understated. In this article, we will explain why it is so important to understand how consumers are using their smart phones to shop. 

Mobile E-commerce is the Rise

While very few consumers are using their smart phones to make actual purchases, numerous signs point to that changing in the near future. Merchants are increasingly creating mobile versions of their sites to cater to the fast growing crowd of mobile users. Consequently, this has resulted in a growing number of mobile payment services that connect the consumer to the merchant. One of the most interesting is Google Wallet. An innovative offering being perfected behind the scenes by the internet giant, Google Wallet aims to allow consumers to make purchases directly from their smart phones, essentially transforming those devices into universal wallets. With concepts such as this in the works, it could only be a matter of time before mobile shopping is as common as shopping online.

Smart Phones Already Essential in the Buying Process

Although the purchase represents the conversion the average marketer is after, it is not the only action indicative of how consumers shop with their smart phones. A recent study jointly conducted by Google and independent research company Ipsos OTX showed that people use their devices to aid in the buying process in a variety of ways. According to the findings, 48% of consumers users their smart phones to seek out coupons and discounts, 44% use them to find reviews and information regarding a product, and 34% use them to browse the inventory a retailer has in stock. This survey not only shows that smart phones are already critical in the buying process, it also reveals statistical data that could be extremely helpful to a marketer. 

Knowledge That Benefits Your Other Marketing Efforts

Chances are, you already have your hands full with one or more marketing channels. If so, taking the time to understand how smart phone usage weighs into the spending process is even more important. For instance, knowing that your audience members are using their devices to search for deals that will save them money could be incentive for you to put together a couple of email offers they can redeem upon visiting your store both on and offline. It is knowledge like this that could benefit your overall marketing efforts when used wisely.

Your Competition is Hesitant

Despite all the hype that surrounds the mobile channel, there are still quite a few marketers who are avoiding it. Some are intimidated by the mere thought while others still don’t see the value in trying something they feel is unproven. This is good news for you as some of your competitors are likely a part of the hesitant bunch. It is best to learn all you can about mobile marketing now because soon, the competition could be much more fierce than you’d prefer.

Author Bio:
Nan King, a tech geek and environmentalist at heart, is an advocate of business email marketing strategies that encompass the use of a permission based email marketing company.

Seriously I found a way around the limitations of the iPad 2 WordPress app to where it is now efficient for me to write blog posts in it with my bluetooth wireless keyboard, but I can’t figure out why no word processor or note application I use has the feature to display the number of words in your article? Seriously, I can’t get a word count in the WordPress iPad application or even Evernote for iPad 2.

[easyazon-image-link asin=”B003CGMQ38″ alt=”Apple iPad Case (CASE-ZML MC361ZM/B)” src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51fVSX3FZWL.jpg” align=”left” width=”250″]I would like to know if my articles reach the 200-300 word minimum I like, and it would be much more helpful if the WordPress iPad application build a word count when you click on the details. Surely this couldn’t have been a problem for them to implement, the details tab itself right now is so limited and merely offers 3 options.

I would be so thrilled if Microsoft or another company were to make a blogging application as fully featured as Live Writer for the iPad. I would pay a good $5-$10 bucks for that app and promote it to others if it had the right features and made my life easier when typing on the iPad.

Speaking of writing blog posts on the iPad 2, I know have written about 40 blog posts and 24 poems on the iPad 2 since I received it as a gift 2 months ago and I have to tell you that before I bought the bluetooth wireless keyboard I thought it was hopeless to replace the netbook with an iPad 2 for blogging. This changed when I got the Targus wireless bluetooth keyboard however which allows me to type at near 75wpm speeds and has the much needed arrow keys to move up and down in paragraphs.

If you want to use an iPad 2 for blogging then getting a wireless Bluetooth keyboard is essential and with one of these you can pretty much ditch a netbook if all you want to do is watch movies, blog and browse the Internet. The one I went up going with is the Targus Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad and I did a review of the keyboard on my technology blog, it is also one of the lower priced keyboards and is under $50 which is a great price since many of the wireless bluetooth keyboards are $99 or above.

-Justin Germino

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For those who are suffering in the struggle between work and family, there are many work options available that you can consider or request from your employer. The stress and frustration of not having sufficient time for the family can be debilitating and can even present many health problems.

And if quitting your job is not viable in terms of the need for an income stream for the family, then perhaps a change in structure of how work is performed may be the answer you need.

Flextime

This refers to not having a fixed schedule of coming to work. When your job is results based, you may request for this change as long as deadlines are met. You need not come in

Monday to Friday or from nine to five which is an advantage especially when you need to be doing something else for your children on certain work days to say attend a school concert or go with them on their field trips. You can then exchange a weekend for a weekday and vice versa depending on your personal needs for time.

Inform your employer that this will let them keep a skilled employer like you longer instead of you having to quit your job and them experiencing the hardship of finding an equally competent employee.

Job Sharing

Working part time can be a solution as well to give you ample time for your personal dealings with your family and at home. You can share a position with another person and schedule yourself on days and time that suits you. This gives you the flexibility you need to address other responsibilities beyond the workplace and thus provides you with a better sense of balance.

However be keen of the changes this may entail on your benefits as your company may split them as well. Discuss this with the person you are sharing the job with and ask if one of you can fore go certain benefits say like medical insurance if one of you can be under a spouse’s plan anyway.

Self Employment

If you are keen on working independently with having no boss to tell you what time to come in for work, then this can be for you. Having your own business lets you control your own day and time although the starting stage may be a bit overwhelming and eat up more time than you expect.

You may need to work long hours with no steady income flow. You need to therefore plan carefully on how you want to work this out without too much stress and more possibility of success.

Telecommuting

Similar to being self-employed, you can opt to work as a contractor for some companies, working at home. This is a popular trend nowadays and so you must take steps to avoid being scammed. Find companies that are trustworthy and reliable in their payment schemes to assure that you are working for something.

You may also request this from your current boss especially if the nature of your work need not require you to be present at the office anyway. Many companies are beginning to realize the relevance of this set up as obviously getting the job done is oftentimes prior to just showing up at the office.

Jessy Troy is frugal mom and blogger for Broadband Planfinder, a free service for comparing mobile broadband plan options available to Australians.

I was reading a news story on CNN last week about the latest life expectancy studies came out with the U.S. dropping and averaging quite a bit lower than peer countries like U.K., Canada, Japan and Australia. The average male in the U.S. has a life expectancy of 75.6 years with woman at slightly over 80 years of age.

In U.K. the average male lifespan expectancy was about 78 years and women were very close to American results. The study cites some reasons that America lifespans may have decreased and these include that 1 in 5 deaths occur from smoking related illnesses and that 1 in 3 Americans are considered obese. These keep average lifespans lower but the variation in states is what was unusual.

It was quite unusual to see an independant study cite also that there were more infant and child deaths in the U.S. than other countries but once an elder age was reached the U.S. fared better than many peer countries for keeping elderly healthy. It was also cited the lack of health care for a vast amount of the population makes most people forgo preventative medicine which is promoted in Australia and Canada.

Obviously genetics play a big factor in how long someone will live, but if you eat in moderation, exercise regularly and keep yourself fit, don’t smoke you will likely be able to live up to the limit of your genetic programming. Of course some would say there are always random accidents that can end any life instantly, but there is no reason to assume such an accident will occur and it is imperative people take responsibility for their own health and it has taken me years before I was finally willing to admit that I had to make sure I didn’t let myself fall into the trap of excessive eating, idle sitting or just ignore my health.

-Justin Germino

For some reason our stainless steel sink faucet has started leaking water at the joint where the faucet meets the stainless steel sink which is annoying as it causes a mineral buildup and the water here in Arizona is very hard.

We just put this stainless steel sink and faucet in less than 2 years ago and we might have to now start browsing around for new stainless steel sinks and hire a plumber to install it for me.

I do like that our kitchen sink comes with a separate nozzle for sprinkling water on dishes besides the main faucet.

I am finding as the house is passing 4 years in age there are more and more items that start needing attention and I am just not proficient enough at being a handyman to address all of the issues that need to be corrected.

-Justin Germino

Looking for some Zerg Queen wallpapers or images to commemorate the release of [easyazon-link asin=”B002I0KP4G”]StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm[/easyazon-link] which will be released in fall 2011?

Here are 10 Starcraft 2 Heart of Swarm wallpaper images some of which are fan art and others are from Blizzard.  Just click on the image to load the full size or right click and save as to save the full size image to your computer.

Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm now which features Warcraft III like character leveling as you play the mighty queen of blades herself trying to regain control of the brood, and I can’t wait until you can pre-order it!

-Justin Germino

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The Roman Colosseum is truly a sight to behold and it’s stature and presence are indescribable as you walk through the arches and tour the ruins of this once mighty gladiator arena.

To think that the Colosseum was once flooded with water where mock naval battles occurred and entire landscapes were erected to allow for animal hunts on public display is just hard to fathom.

One thing in common I felt as I am sure millions other do is the amazement that civilizations 2000 years old can erect such marvels of architecture.  Buildings that are both tremendous foundations and provide function as well as seem to double as artwork is incredible.

If you are ever thinking about visiting the Colosseum in Rome, Italy I can tell you that the lines get fierce.  The best times to go are very early at open and you can avoid the lines if you join a tour company group as there are separate group entrances that bypass the lines for regular tourists paying their own way into see the Colosseum.

Here are some pictures of our tour:

-Justin Germino

For some reason I have some problems connecting my iPad 2 to certain Wi-Fi networks and I can’t figure out why. It seems to work fine with my WPA2 wireless network at home and some public networks but it has problems connecting to services like GoGo Inflight Internet or even to a Verizon Mobile Hotspot phone.

[easyazon-image-link asin=”B0047DVWZS” alt=”Apple iPad 2 MC916LL/A Tablet (64GB, Wifi, Black) NEWEST MODEL” src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31gwzv%2ByXXL._SL160_.jpg” align=”left” width=”160″ height=”160″]What happens is the iPad 2 shows the Wireless network and seems to join it, but it only pulls down an IP and Subnet, it doesn’t show a router IP, DNS or any other information. It doesn’t let you open any browser as it just says your iPad isn’t connected to a network. I tried forgetting the network and re-joining, renewing the lease, and even tried fiddling with the http proxy by switching to manual or auto.

So basically I can’t figure out why the iPad 2 doesn’t work with some WiFi networks, has anyone else run into this issue or know a work around? Is there some limitation on the types of Wi-Fi networks or encryptions that have to be used for the iPad 2 to connect to them?

The odd thing is my wife was able to connect her iPod touch to a wi-fi network and my own iPad 2 couldn’t join to the same Wi-Fi network, nor could her iPad 2 so it isn’t just a simple issue with my own device.

I will have to do some more research and see if this is a common issue or there is something at else I have to do here that I am missing.

-Justin Germino

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It was funny waking up in Rome and looking to order breakfast, unlike the United States breakfast places all serve lunch meats like Salami, cheese, [easyazon-link asin=”B000BICL9O”]prosciutto[/easyazon-link], and even Pizza can be found at all hours of the morning. What I couldn’t find was a scrambled egg sandwich anywhere, the food is much more rich and seems like any meal of the day can be served anytime in Rome.

[easyazon-image-link asin=”B000BICL9O” alt=”Prosciutto Di Parma Imported from Italy aged 14 months” src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21KNtg%2BAVBL.jpg” align=”left” width=”125″ height=”96″]I had some of the greatest tasting pastries I had experienced while in Rome, at a small Caffe, I ordered a pastry with some sort of blackberry jelly filling the middle and it was fantastic. It cost only about .60 Euro as well. My wife enjoyed countless Caffe Latte’s from various locations but her favorite was from the Portofino Cafe which is located near the Vatican City.

The pizza is all very thin crust style in Rome and every stand sells Pizza, it has almost crackerlike crust and isn’t doughy but it all is fantastic. We ordered a pizza with huge hunks of parmesian reggiano on top of it which was mouth watering. The dinner’s were rich and cream, meat and tomato sauces are plentiful.

On the night we left we ate at a ristorante which served thick pasta that was like giant versions of Rigatoni with a pomodoro sauce. Olives are everywhere and taste delicious, the rich olive diet found in all of Italy, Greece and Turkey was evident in nearly every restaurant. I even bought body wash that was derived from olive oil on one of our excursions.

I won’t miss the food in Rome and that’s for sure, my wife also enjoyed Gelato during one of our evening dessert hopping runs. This trip will leave permanent lasting memories and I hope that one day we can return to Rome and even take the train to see more of Italy.

-Justin Germino

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It was when I took 15 hours worth of flights back to back that I realized at some point I am going to have to buy a USB Battery Backup + Charger at some point. I actually didn’t even know these devices existed until I saw one by Recharge in the Skymall magazine.

These battery devices plug into any A/C outlet and charge up, then you can unplug them and take them along with you. Some have 2 USB ports and you can plugin your USB devices like an iPad, iPhone, iPod, Galaxy Tab…etc and charge your mobile devices from the battery backup. This basically extends the life of your mobile device and the external batteries can be in sizes that range from not much bigger than an iPod touch.

I have seen a few different brands of USB Battery Chargers and they all seem to work pretty well, you have to make sure you buy one that supports 10 volt (2 amp) to support charging the iPad and also supports 5 volt (1 amp) to charge normal USB devices which don’t require as much power. There are even some which come with plugs to fit the Galaxy Tab if you have one of those.

Bottom line is that if you travel frequently and don’t have stops to plugin your devices to charge them in between those travels, you will need a fully charged backup battery that you can use to extend the life and even recharge your portable devices. I would have had a lot easier time with my iPad 2 on my return trip from Rome where I did not have enough battery to use it for the 10.5 hour flight to Charlotte and then again for the 4.5 hour flight from Charlotte to Phoenix where I didn’t have any layover or time to find a way to recharge it before getting on the next flight.

Here are some of the ones I found on Amazon.com that looked pretty good, I haven’t used any of them but will be adding one to my wish list soon.  Out of this list the 16,000 mAh i.Sound Portable Power Max looks the best as it can charge 5 devices simultaneously and supports any device that takes up to 2.4 amps.

-Justin Germino

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