The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday said the situation was "normal" in RR Venkatapuram village, where a styrene vapour leak from the LG Polymers plant claimed 12 lives and left over 300 people hospitalized with various ailments.

Two Indians, who were among the 363 nationals brought back to Kerala from the Gulf, have tested positive for Covid-19, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. With this, the total number of active cases has climbed to 17 in the state. The patients have been admitted to hospitals in Kozhikode and Kochi.

If you are not promoting your business on social media, you are asleep at the wheel. Here is what eight social media masters and Advisors in The Oracles told us about the channels and tactics that impact their businesses most.

complete article

All social media networks are not created equally.

While Instagram might be a powerhouse for one brand, it will do nothing for another – and while one business might have tons of engagement on Facebook, another business will gain more traction on LinkedIn.

With that in mind, how do you choose where to invest your time (and potentially ad spend)?

The best move is to have at least a presence on each of the major platforms, and from there, strategically choose which ones to double down on.

complete article

When you think about embarrassing social media behavior, you probably think about octogenarians who accidentally post their phone numbers in a Facebook status. But embarrassing social media perils are everywhere for users of all ages, particularly for actors. But it is 2019 and social media is as important to your acting brand as your signature monologue or audition song, so we want to help you avoid these digital landmines and lead with your best online foot forward.

complete article

Looking to get maximize your use of Instagram for business?

With a billion users and counting, and with more business options on the way, it makes sense to give Instagram more consideration in your process, and how it can potentially help you connect with your target audience.

To help with this, the team from TechWyse have put together this new infographic overview of Instagram business profiles and ad options, with a range of stats and insights to help you make best use of each.

complete article

Once you have decided to invest in social media marketing, your next key challenge is to decide which platforms you should be focused on.

This used to be relatively easy - you started a Facebook Page, set-up a Twitter profile, and then added others over time. But now, things have changed. Instagram is a much bigger consideration, Facebook's dwindling organic reach means it may be less of a priority, Twitters algorithm changes the equation, and LinkedIn's seeing more traffic. Pinterest, too, is on the rise, while if you're going to create video content, then YouTube definitely should be on your radar.

But you can not be active on all of them all the time - so which platforms are right for your business and marketing efforts?

complete article

The U.K.s new special cyber operations unit, 6 Division (6 Div), will move beyond the typical cyber capabilities within the military sphere into full-blown social media "information warfare." And here the primary adversary is Russia, which has turned the dark art of peddling fake news and political propaganda across major social media platforms into a national security strategy.

Much of the work of the new unit will be relatively traditional signals activities—jamming and intercepting enemy comms, supporting the field world of allied intelligence agencies.

complete article

Social media continues to surge as a channel for businesses to market themselves and engage with customers. And with its continued growth and popularity, there is no shortage of social media “how-to” advice out there directed at businesses trying to scale up.

If you make it a point to keep up with social media trends, you’ve likely found at least some overlap in these tips—but every so often, there are unconventional or uncommon practices that can lead to great results. As experts in social media marketing, the members of Young Entrepreneur Council shared their most surprising social media tips—that truly work—and how you can take advantage for your business.

complete article

1. Plan a content strategy and create an editorial calendar for your social channels.
Marketers are sometimes at a loss at what to post on social media.

Successful social media marketing doesn't happen on accident -- there's a strategy in place, just as there is with a blog.

Look at the big picture and come up with social content that will resonate with your audience.

Map out seasonal content, as well as content related to events or launches your company is planning.

Work closely with your editorial and marketing teams to know what's coming down the pipeline and strategize the best ways to promote it.

complete article

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. If you’re a smart marketer, you have been using the these top social media giants to share your content, promote your products and services and grow your business. But rival platforms are being created all the time, and while many of them don’t reach the same heights of success, a handful could give mega-popular platforms a run for their money. Moreover, if you’re an early adopter of up-and-coming alternatives, your company could reap the biggest benefits.

If you want to be ahead of the curve, keep your eye on the following five social media platforms to watch.

complete article

How have the rise of social media and spread of misinformation changed the news media landscape?

As a major election year nears and the public questions the role of Facebook in combating misinformation, Andrew Pergam, director of governance and strategic initiatives at Facebook, gave a glimpse of what is happening behind the scenes at the social media company during a symposium at the University of Utah on Friday.

Misinformation is one of the companys most pressing and scrutinized issues, he said. We are under an immense amount of pressure to do more to tackle viral information more quickly.

complete article

A sound, effective strategy involves these four steps.

A whopping 3.2 billion people, or 42% of the world's population, uses social media. On average, people spend over two hours of their day messaging and surfing social media networks.

After having a positive experience with a brand on social media, 71% of people will often recommend the brand to their friends and family. On top of that, 49% of people are taking their cues on what to buy from social media influencers.

Based on these statistics, it's crucial for businesses to have a solid social media marketing strategy in place. Unfortunately, many business owners have no idea how to handle social media marketing.

complete article

Ever since the idea of writing was conceived, humans have recorded historical events, the occurrences in our daily lives and even our deepest thoughts and feelings in diaries or journals. They reveal what our ancestors cared and thought about and handed down wisdom from one generation to the next. Social media has quickly moved into the space once occupied by personal diaries, although how we use it isn’t quite the same anymore. Two-way conversation A diary entry is usually a thoughtful process.

complete article

Apple has announced that Shortcuts, a powerful automation app for the iPhone and iPad, will come pre-installed on iOS devices starting this fall. This is great news because it is an incredibly handy app — based on Workflow which Apple acquired in 2017 — that lets you combine multiple actions to perform a specific task.

complete article

Imagine you got a spike of traffic from Facebook amounting to hundreds of thousands of visitors — but only a trickle of them converted.

And lets assume all the moving parts in your funnel are working properly; you’ve got a fast- loading website, great conversion copy, and well-functioning sign-up or contact forms.

Yet, with all of these things, your conversion rates from that spike of traffic were nothing to write home about. And what exactly could cause that?

complete article

Web based feed readers are kind of a pain to use. They often implement changes that you do not want, while taking away features that you like.  Local readers are much better when it comes to this, because you can revert to an older version in case of adverse changes.

complete article

Web based feed readers are kind of a pain to use. They often implement changes that you don't want, while taking away features that you like.  Local readers are much better when it comes to this, because you can revert to an older version in case of adverse changes.

Smart RSS Reader is a feed reader extension for Firefox and Chrome that I have been using for a week; I am quite impressed by it so far.

Install the add-on and click its toolbar icon to open a new tab with the extension's RSS reader. It has three panes, each of which has a toolbar at the top. The left pane is the feeds pane and lists all RSS feeds that you're subscribed too. Selecting a feed displays the title of the articles published by the site in the center pane. It also displays the author's name and the date when the article went live.

Apple has announced that Shortcuts, a powerful automation app for the iPhone and iPad, will come pre-installed on iOS devices starting this fall. This is great news because its an incredibly handy app — based on Workflow which Apple acquired in 2017 — that lets you combine multiple actions to perform a specific task.

What kind of things, you ask? Well, you can for example make it easier to open your favorite Apple Music playlist, find travel times to an address, create GIFs, and more. But one of its best uses in my opinion is use it as an RSS reader.

Barker Library - TA354.S77 2019

Two Indians, who were among the 363 nationals brought back to Kerala from the Gulf, have tested positive for Covid-19, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. With this, the total number of active cases has climbed to 17 in the state. The patients have been admitted to hospitals in Kozhikode and Kochi.

The Texans have started signing their 2020 draft picks. Field Yates of ESPN reports that they have signed fourth-round pick Charlie Heck. The tackle agreed to a four-year deal with the Texans. Heck started at right tackle for two years before swapping to the left side of the line during his final season at North [more]

The Cowboys still hope to hold training camp in Oxnard, California, this summer. The 49ers, Raiders, Chargers and Rams also are planning to have camp in California. But California was among the first states to entact stay-at-home orders and is expected to be among the last to allow large groups to convene. That means all [more]

The New England Patriots have been rapidly locking up their draft picks in the wake of the 2020 NFL Draft. They signed two more to contracts on Friday.

The Patriots announced yet another signing of a draft pick. Actually, they announced four, but three previously were reported. The team has come to terms with offensive guard Michael Onwenu, a sixth-round choice. He becomes the eighth choice to agree to terms, leaving only second-round safety Kyle Dugger and third-round tight end Dalton Keene unsigned. [more]

Fred Smoot compared the Cardinals' defender to his former teammate Sean Taylor.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- The New England Patriots have signed four additional members of their 2020 draft class.

Defensive tackle Derrick Brown, the seventh overall choice, became the league's initial first-round draft pick to sign his rookie deal. He agreed to a fully guaranteed, four-year, $23.621 million contract Friday. Uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a question of whether some owners might hold onto signing bonus money longer than usual. The Bills, [more]

The Ravens got another contract done with a 2020 draft pick on Friday. The team announced a deal with third-round offensive lineman Tyre Phillips. He's the seventh of their 10 draft picks to sign a four-year deal with the team this week. Phillips redshirted his first year at Mississippi State and served as a backup [more]