Today we feature a guest post by Estelle Shumann:

The world is evolving, and the education system must change with it. However, being an institution steeped in tradition and pedagogy, the change in the hearts and minds of educators has been slow. The best online colleges are being accused of functioning as degree mills, not legitimate programs on the grounds that a campus is integral to student learning and many teachers are slow to adopt new technologies that enter their classrooms. Despite officials’ disdain for change, students are seeing the advancement of education as an opportunity to advance their careers and broaden their horizons.

The traditional education models seem to be offering less security and quality education for more cost lately, alternative sources of education are picking up the slack. Thousands of students around the all over the world are receiving first-rate teaching from passionate instructors, all for the cost of a WiFi connection. We often hear about the worsening state of education in the US. Class sizes are too large, budgets are too small, the quality of teaching is faltering, and all the while, tuition keeps going up.

In the past few years, online educational resources have been gaining a substantial following from web surfers curious enough to seek out knowledge further than their circle of Facebook friends. While average time spent online has been increasing for years, time online doesn’t have to mean time wasted. With the glut of social media sites and tabloid news online, it’s easy to forget how much information is available to people who never had a chance before, and many people are taking advantage of it.

The increasing popularity of the nonprofit TED Talks over the last couple years illustrates the internet’s power to proliferate interesting ideas and unique perspectives. TED stands for ‘Technology, Entertainment, and Design’, and TED videos cover an incredibly diverse array of topics that stretch those broad topics to cover just about any facet of life and are offered in dozens of languages. TED conferences have been an exclusive event since their inception in 1984, but since the TED Talks video site began five-years ago, the talks have reached a global audience of more than 500 million. However now that TED has been purchased by Netflix, it is likely that number will explode.

While the creative and often brilliant TED speakers can spark an interest in intellectual pursuits, Khan Academy instructs its visitors on how to apply complex concepts. Khan Academy is another education nonprofit with a goal of ‘changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere’. It is a simple goal to provide those without the means to attend the top traditional educational institutions, it could prove to be life-changing. Khan Academy videos illustrate concepts in science, math, humanities and test prep in simple, straightforward videos. The videos are rarely longer than 10 minutes and laid out in an intuitive, linear way, allowing a student to build upon their knowledge as they work through them.

The open and convenient nature of online learning is largely what sets it apart from traditional educational resources, and some of the best open-source online resources help users to continue online progress. Codec Academy, for instance, is a site that demystifies writing code in an social and simple way. “I thought about the best learning experiences I’ve had and realized it comes down to motivation and rewards systems,” Codec Academy co-creator Zach Sims said to Wired regarding Codec Academy’s peer-motivated philosophy. Team Treehouse, another site designed to make web design simple and intuitive, offers plans ranging from $25 – $49 a month. While Team Treehouse is only available for a charge, the skills customer satisfaction seems to be very high, as they’ve garnered strong reviews and have seen a 49% increase in membership each month.

Job markets are undoubtedly tough these days, and for many people with families and bills to pay cannot make further education a top priority. Yet these online resources are allowing even those working full time to continue garnering knowledge and marketable skills that can open options for advancement or even completely new careers. As academic knowledge becomes available to those far from the halls of traditional academia, the fresh perspectives on old ideas developed through open online sources may soon challenge our idea of what constitutes a traditional education.

By Edmond Hong
Publisher, FansBuy.org
Guest Writer

What do you think of when you hear small business? Certainly not big marketing of course! Well maybe it’s time you reconsidered. The boom in internet usage has opened up gateways for businesses and has forever changed the way we handle it. Huge marketing success is no longer for just the big wigs, but for those businesses who manage to stay ahead of the game. It doesn’t seem logical does it? Well throw in a bit of creativity and directed ambition and you’d be amazed how far it could take you.

Kickstart Your Reputation

Professionalism is key

Your website is one of the first things potential customers will see. Think of it as a business meeting. Are you going to show up in ripped jeans and a t-shirt, or a suit and tie? Professionalism is key when running a website. Make sure to update that website consistently and on a regular basis, with new options, features, and articles for potential customers to explore.

Doing this will keep your audience’s interest, and if you make enough of an impression, they might just have to report back to their friends. Your website is your storefront. It is where you can keep them up to date with the latest sales, promotions, feature items, or offer discounts.

A useful tool is to allow website viewers to subscribe to a mailing list. This will allow you to spread the word when it comes time for your latest marketing campaign. SEO, or search engine optimization also plays a huge role, as this will get the traffic flowing into your website quicker than you would believe. No matter how amazing your site is, it doesn’t amount to anything without customers.

The Beauty of Social Media

1. Hone Your Skills and Share Them

Blogging, now more than ever, has become an important weapon in the arsenal of small businesses. It allows you to get one on one with potential customers and build a relationship with them.

Blogging is very simple, nearly effortless, and allows you to create and maintain dialogue with people who are interested in what you have to sell in the first place. By doing this, they will quickly realize the value of you words, the consideration taken of their words, and their value as a customer. Also, any interactions you do have with potential customers can only add to your credibility and reputation, and make people feel and see that you are an expert in your field, and they can trust you to know what you’re talking about.

2. Using Facebook to Your Advantage

Over 100 million people around the globe use Facebook every day. Whether you are or aren’t good with computers, Facebook can be an excellent tool in establishing your reputation. Know your target audience and reach out to them. With millions of people who use Facebook for business daily, you should have no problem sharing your information with them, and inviting them in to get to know more about it. Post regularly and create a buzz for your business. You’ll increase your traffic in no time.

Once you have created your own page, be sure to include all of your business information, including any current offers and sales, as well as photos of your products, or events, and maybe even a few video clips. Also, make sure to include your profile picture. You can use whatever you want, but your best bet would be to use your company logo, as people will be able to immediately identify you. If you want to change it or edit it, your ability to edit your profile can be accesses in the upper right corner of your home page. These are top 20 tips to creating a facebook business page that you absolutely must be aware of.

After getting the visual representation of your business down, it’s time to build a fan base. Facebook provides Social Plugin Widgets, which allows you to promote your Facebook page from any website or blog that supports widgets. You can skip the waiting game and buy Facebook fans to instantly populate your site, but that can get quite pricy. So depending on how much you have to spend, purchasing an ad to promote your page to people who might have an interest in your site might be the right choice for you.

Remember, the most successful pages are the ones that keep it real. While it’s important to create content that provides a call to action, it’s just as important to interact with your visitors like you would a friend. Upload pictures of a recent trip you’ve taken and provide genuine conversation. People respond to the human touch and your business will reflect that. Most importantly, don’t let the perplexing nature and rapid progression of social media leave you falling behind the learning curve, dig in and get going.

No matter what you do, stick true to whatever it is you represent. Creating appealing content is a great thing, but it’s much more important to treat your customers as friends or family, rather than just a number. It’s completely acceptable to post pictures of a recent business trip, or even a personal one. Remember, you’re a human too, and people will respond more to an actual human than an automated machine.

Most importantly of all, social media can be a very fast paced environment, and it may or may not overwhelm you at first. Whatever the case, make sure to keep a tight grip and keep your head in the game, or you might end up falling behind.

3. Tweeting isn’t just for Birds

Twitter is a wonderful, simple bit of social media, and can be a heavy part of your success if you use it right. Twitter gives you 140 characters per post to say whatever you want. Gaining a fan base on Twitter is not as important as it would be on Facebook, and you can actually use it to direct more traffic to your own website or Facebook page. Make sure to update your Twitter fairly regularly with deals, sales, and features, along with anything else that might be relevant to your business.

A great way to get you started on the right foot is to include links of useful pages earlier on in the day. If you have any updates to your site, now would be the perfect time to let your followers know.

A nice idea as well would be to get your employees involved. It can actually become quite fun, and allow you to become pretty tight knit with them, something that bigger companies don’t have the ability to do. Another word of advice, never forget to post your twitter handle whenever you post your website address.

4. Getting LinkedIn

LinkedIn is not one of the more well known social media sites, but it is the world’s largest business network. Chances are if you or your business has a LinkedIn account, and someone happens to look you up, you will be right there on that first page. LinkedIn is very powerful in the world of search engines, and definitely adds quite a bit of credibility to your business. If you decide to make an account on LinkedIn, don’t forget to add links to your website, twitter, and any other sites that are important to bringing in more traffic.

Utilizing Mobile Devices

Mobile devices such as cell phones (smartphones in particular), iPods, and tablet pc’s are much more prevalent now than they were years ago. Take advantage of that to the fullest extent, as that will undoubtedly be a critical part of marketing your business. Many small businesses overlook this tool. Make sure to get in contact with phone apps and features such as Yelp!, Citysearch, Yahoo Local, and Google Places, among others. This will put you on the map and into people’s pockets, where they can access your information whenever they want.

The World of Information Marketing

Using Audio and Video to Your Advantage

What is better than someone admitting first hand about how amazing your business is? In the minds of many, this will immediately give credibility to your name. What makes them even better is not much work needs to even go into them to make them a success. Customers in our day and age do not want a sales pitch. They want honest, real recommendations and advice, and giving that much to them will immediately build trust, and add to their positive feedback. And even though video is an important part of gaining credibility, audio marketing still holds just as much clout as it did before.

A nice way to inform customers as well is to consider writing an E-book. Digital reading devices such as Kindle are on the rise, and are available on many mobile devices as well. An E-book does not have to be a life story, but can be as simple as a tutorial or pamphlet, and does not cost much to you, and should not cost much to the reader. Make sure to choose topics relevant to your business, and have it up for download on your website. Don’t forget to update your twitter or Facebook as well to inform your customers that it’s there.

Successful marketing has never been about getting everything perfect. It might very well be impossible to ever get anything such as that down to an exact science. Instead, look at it as art. There will never be one true way, as what works for some may not work for all. Just remember to stay true to yourself, your customers, and your business, and don’t be afraid to sometimes step outside of your comfort zone. You never know what may be in store.

Summary:

Staying ahead of the curve can be difficult for small business. Take advantage of a few creative and aggressive marketing strategies to take your business to the next level.

Keeping ahead of the game is never easy. Taking advantage of simple, but effective tools for marketing will pretty much seal the deal, and ensure that you are successful in your endeavors.

• Professionalism is key, and nothing less should be expected from your website.
• Get your potential customers involved by delving into their world via social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter
• Mobile devices are on the rise now more than ever. Use that to your advantage and put your information out there for your customers so they can research you on the go.
• Video and audio testimonials and ads are a great way to gain credibility. Use it wisely and see how fast you gain recognition.

Author Bio

Holding degrees in both Business Marketing and Civil Engineering from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, Edmond Hong is an expert on small business marketing. He owns a Facebook marketing website where businesses could buy fans for instant popularity online. He has been featured in both The Age Australia Business Section, as well as the New York Times.

Creativity doesn’t always happen by accident. Many times, a brilliant idea, essay, or concept results from methodical and strategic activities like brainstorming.

I’m presenting a group of mobile apps that offer excellent tools for capturing ideas and for thinking about them creatively. Use these to write down your thoughts when inspiration suddenly hits, or to flesh them out into more fully formed ideas.

Evernote

Evernote is such a frequently praised utility; it’s almost a cliché to mention it. But if you haven’t gotten on board with it, give it a try. As a writer, I’m constantly using Evernote to gather ideas, examples, quotations, and links for stories.

I used to create reference notes with Microsoft Word, but would spend great amounts of time shuffling through open windows on my computer screen and opening and closing files. With Evernote, I don’t need to assign file names or press “save.” Instead, my musings are autosaved and kept in a searchable database. I can keep hundreds of notes in a way that would be a nightmare to manage in a traditional word processing program.

For iPhone and iPad (iTunes), Android (Google Play)(All versions free)

WriteRoom

Whereas Evernote works fantastically for creating notes, WriteRoom is an invaluable tool for writing rough drafts. WriteRoom is exceptional for what it doesn’t have: Any formatting buttons or options. Instead, the app only features a plain black screen in which you enter text.

It’s a wonderful change-of-pace from writing on a desktop computer, where e-mail alerts, social media, and colorful icons vie for your attention. Once you’re finished writing, it’s easy to get your piece into a more robust program for formatting and editing.

For iPhone and iPad (iTunes) ($4.99)

Mindmeister

Explore your ideas with this beautiful app. While a whiteboard mind-map will always have its place, Mindmeister makes it easy to create and share mind maps. Take a bit of time to memorize its mobile phone and website shortcuts, and you’ll be pouring out ideas effortlessly with this tool. Using color codes and formatting, your product will look great on a high resolution screen like that of the new iPhones, iPads or the Samsung Galaxy.

For iPhone (iTunes), iPad (iTunes) and Android (Google Play) (All versions free)

Things

Though a task manager is not directly related to creativity, a good one can help you think with greater clarity and focus. You’ll simply think less about what you need to do, and think more about what you’re working on at the moment. (See “Getting Things Done” to learn more.)

Though there are many viable contenders for the “ideal” task management app, I personally enjoy and recommend Things. It’s easy for me to “unload” all my obligations and upcoming projects into this program, which offers multiple layers of organization. Unlike many other to-do apps, Things uses an open-ended tagging system, so I can sort my tasks according to criteria that matter to me.

For iPhone (iTunes)($9.99) and iPad (iTunes) ($19.99)

(Alternative: Wunderlist, which is also available for Android)

Classical Music and Classical Radio

These two apps, for iPhone and Android, provide easy-to-use means of accessing free classical music. The first one, Classical Music I: Master’s Collection, enables you to choose from a library of works, which you can stream. The second, Classical Radio for Android, offers a collection of links to classical music radio streams. Both feature beautiful interfaces, and are excellent for finding a quick fix of inspiration.

Classical Music for iPhone and iPad (iTunes)(free) and Classical Radio for Android (Google Play) (free)

Ashlee McCullen is a staff writer for ApronAddicts.com, a site about fashionable aprons and kitchen style.