Friday, August 31, 2012

Ford 'Insources' Escape Ads By Featuring Actual Employees

















Ford?s new marketing campaign for its 2013 Escape crossover-utility vehicle extends the company?s focus on ?real people? by basing TV ads on the exploits of actual Ford employees. And their contributions deepen Ford?s devotion to its new ?Go Further? brand positioning for both external and internal audiences.

The ads have launched using Ford employees who ?went further? in designing and engineering the overhauled SUV, featuring popular distinctives including Escape?s ?hands-free? liftgate and its fuel-efficient EcoBoost engine option. The vehicle already is the fastest-moving nameplate in dealer showrooms, Ford said.

At the same time, Ford announced that it will launch ?an original episodic comedy series? to be broadcast online this fall called Escape My Life that will showcase the new vehicle ?in the context of everyday life.?

By harnessing the acting chops of employees who actually helped design and build the new Escape, Ford has further engaged its culture in a Go Further positioning that began as an internal-branding makeover early this year before the company unveiled the theme and also aimed it at consumers in the spring.

?Our managers are starting to break it out in meetings now, literally saying, ?If you put your Go Further hats on, what decision will you make??? Sara Tatchio, Ford?s manager of internal branding, told me. ?And in every plant there?s been a real reframing of, ?How do we work at the work we do???

Overall, the new Escape campaign enhances three new pillars of Ford?s marketing: the use of authentic characters; a determination to leverage the Go Further theme within the company as well as with consumers; and the generation of ample branded content to support its goals.

American consumers have gotten accustomed to Ford?s rolling out real people in its ad campaigns, both historically and again very recently. Its ?Quality Is Job One? campaigns in the Eighties featured prolonged glimpses of real Ford line workers, engineers and dealers doing their quality thing.

Over the last few years, Ford again has relied on the real-people approach. The ?Swap Your Ride? campaign featuring TV tough guy Mike Rowe is a long-running depiction of real consumers deciding they prefer new Ford models over their existing wheels. Its series of ?Press Conference? TV ads has featured genuine Ford owners riffing about their vehicles, albeit the ?reporters? in the ads have been actors.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2012/08/30/ford-insources-escape-ads-by-featuring-actual-employees/

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Customer Service Downsizing | Frederic Siegel Business

Where did everybody go? You and I both have been in stores where it?s hard to find someone who is available or willing to help you. And when you find someone, just how helpful are they? It seems to me that Customer Service has been downsized in this economy.

According to MSN Money?s article ?Customer Service Hall of Shame ? How Companies were ranked?, 77% of survey respondents expect the following from their customer service experience:

Knowledgeable Staff ? 44%
Friendly Staff ? 18%
Readily Available Staff ? 15%

Having a knowledgeable staff is number one with a whopping 44%. The good news is that we don?t have to downsize product knowledge when we downsize staff. Here are some high-impact, cost-effective steps you can take to keep your customers in the know:

1) Set the expectation ? Communicate to your staff that product knowledge is a key to their success as well as yours.

2) Ask your customers ? Do an informal survey and ask if they are getting the information they need to make purchase decisions.

3) Develop on-going training ? Consistent product knowledge training and role-playing keeps your staff in the conversation.

4) Award product knowledge expertise ? Recognize your employees who go above and beyond in communicating their knowledge with customers.

5) Share product questions ? At weekly meetings, ask your staff to share product questions and how they responded.

6) Vendor participation ? Ask your vendors to provide product training for your staff.

7) Product Events ? Hold in-store events for your customers to learn more about your products and services and have your staff conduct the training.

As they say, knowledge is power.

There is nothing more assuring for a customer to get answers they need about the products or services they want to buy. Make it easy for them. Choose to be a business that properly educates, trains, and motivates their staff to provide the best service possible.

Norma Huibregtse is an innovative Customer Relationship Consultant, Business Coach and Speaker. She is the Owner of Captivated Customers, an organization she founded to inspire business owners to captivate their customers and turn them into raving fans so that their businesses can experience increased profits and more fun. Norma has spent 20+ years in sales and customer service with both her own businesses and others. She is now dedicated to working with small business owners, helping them attract, connect and engage with their customers utilizing her high-impact Customer Service Smarts Program that will give them a competitive edge.

Source: http://fredericsiegel.net/customer-service-downsizing.html

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Samsung unveils quad-core Galaxy Note II smartphone-tablet hybrid

or whatever the crisis may be ? has a life of its own. Men and women keep dying, and U.S. policies keep accelerating the centrifugal forces that are driving the country toward civil conflict, which may have profound implications for future regional and international security." ? Sarah Chaynes, a senior associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in commentary published Sunday as analysts say that the a public worn down by a war that began just a month after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, no longer cares about Afghanistan, and that the war has slipped off the radar screens and is now considered by many to be over.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/samsung-unveils-quad-core-galaxy-note-ii-smartphone-170306996.html

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Thursday, August 30, 2012

What Mitt Romney will say: ?I wish President Obama had succeeded?

TAMPA ? The Mitt Romney campaign says these paragraphs below are excerpts of tonight?s speech, in which he?ll accept the GOP nomination for president ? but they look to be the bulk of his remarks.

Not many specifics, no direct attacks on President Barack Obama ? he also gives Michelle Obama a mention. Some mention of his church life. The most personal revelation is his dad?s support for his mom when she ran for U.S. Senate in Michigan.

And he embraces his years at Bain. To wit:

Four years ago, I know that many Americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president. That president was not the choice of our party but Americans always come together after elections. We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than divides us.

When that hard fought election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials finally came off the air, Americans were eager to go back to work, to live our lives the way Americans always have ? optimistic and positive and confident in the future.

That very optimism is uniquely American.

It is what brought us to America. We are a nation of immigrants. We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called America could be better.

They came not just in pursuit of the riches of this world but for the richness of this life.

***

Every family in America wanted this to be a time when they could get ahead a little more, put aside a little more for college, do more for their elderly mom who?s living alone now or give a little more to their church or charity.

Every small business wanted these to be their best years ever, when they could hire more, do more for those who had stuck with them through the hard times, open a new store or sponsor that Little League team.

Every new college graduate thought they?d have a good job by now, a place of their own, and that they could start paying back some of their loans and build for the future.

This is when our nation was supposed to start paying down the national debt and rolling back those massive deficits.

This was the hope and change America voted for.

***

I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division. This isn?t something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we CAN do something. With your help we will do something.

Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, ?I?m an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better! My children deserve better! My family deserves better. My country deserves better!?

So here we stand. Americans have a choice. A decision.

To make that choice, you need to know more about me and about where I will lead our country.

***

My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all ? the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would BE, and much less about what we would DO.

Unconditional love is a gift that Ann and I have tried to pass on to our sons and now to our grandchildren. All the laws and legislation in the world will never heal this world like the loving hearts and arms of mothers and fathers. If every child could drift to sleep feeling wrapped in the love of their family ? and God?s love? this world would be a far more gentle and better place.

***

My mom and dad were true partners, a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, ?Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation??

I wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like Governor Mary Fallin, Governor Nikki Haley, Governor Susana Martinez, Senator Kelly Ayotte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

As Governor of Massachusetts, I chose a woman Lt. Governor, a woman chief of staff, half of my cabinet and senior officials were women, and in business, I mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies.

***

Like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle of friends through our church. When we were new to the community it was welcoming and as the years went by, it was a joy to help others who had just moved to town or just joined our church. We had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregations of all walks of life and many who were new to America. We prayed together, our kids played together and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways.

And that?s how it is in America. We look to our communities, our faiths, our families for our joy, our support, in good times and bad. It is both how we live our lives and why we live our lives. The strength and power and goodness of America has always been based on the strength and power and goodness of our communities, our families, our faiths.

***

When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses.

So some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. We should bet on ourselves and on our advice.

***

That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples ? where I?m pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping; The Sports Authority, which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised. At a time when nobody thought we?d ever see a new steel mill built in America, we took a chance and built one in a corn field in Indiana. Today Steel Dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the United States.

***

But for too many Americans, these good days are harder to come by. How many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in America?

Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago. Hope and Change had a powerful appeal. But tonight I?d ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn?t you feel that way now that he?s President Obama? You know there?s something wrong with the kind of job he?s done as president when the best feeling you had, was the day you voted for him.

***

Today the time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us.

To put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations.

To forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be.

Now is the time to restore the Promise of America. Many Americans have given up on this president but they haven?t ever thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America.

What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn?t take a special government commission to tell us what America needs.

What America needs is jobs.

Lots of jobs.

***

To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: if Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right.

I am running for president to help create a better future. A future where everyone who wants a job can find one. Where no senior fears for the security of their retirement. An America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon.

And unlike the president, I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. It has 5 steps.

First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables.

Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance.

Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements. And when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences.

Fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget.

And fifth, we will champion SMALL businesses, America?s engine of job growth. That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most. And it means that we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing Obamacare.

***

President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and to heal the planet. MY promise?is to help you and your family.

***

We will honor America?s democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world. This is the bipartisan foreign policy legacy of Truman, and Reagan. And under my presidency we will return to it once again.

***

The America we all know has been a story of the many becoming one, uniting to preserve liberty, uniting to build the greatest economy in the world, uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness.

Everywhere I go in America, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for America. There is no mention of their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a living. They lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose. They pledged allegiance to the UNITED States of America.

That America, that united America, can unleash an economy that will put Americans back to work, that will once again lead the world with innovation and productivity, and that will restore every father and mother?s confidence that their children?s future is brighter even than the past.

That America, that united America, will preserve a military that is so strong, no nation would ever dare to test it.

That America, that united America, will uphold the constellation of rights that were endowed by our Creator, and codified in our constitution.

That united America will care for the poor and the sick, will honor and respect the elderly, and will give a helping hand to those in need.

That America is the best within each of us. That America we want for our children.

If I am elected President of these United States, I will work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future. That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us begin that future together tonight.

Source: http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2012/08/30/what-mitt-romney-will-say-%E2%80%98i-wish-president-obama-had-succeeded%E2%80%99/?cxntfid=blogs_political_insider_jim_galloway

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The Best Way To Liquidate Property Fast With Property ... - Marketing

The best and guaranteed way to liquidate real estate property is throughout auctions

The auction technique has been around since that time the person can remember, being highly famous right through the Roman Empire. Nonetheless, through our present day era, it?s only recently that auctions are becoming prevalent.

In conclusion, auctions definitely have a very prolonged past, with initial information setting the initial during 500 B.C., when in Babylon, women were being auctioned for marriage annually. Still, Romans employed this action in a huge number more politically-correct ways in addition: they provided make use of auctions to liquidate real estate investment of borrowers whose estate have been seized.

From 500 B.C., the auction industry has progressed a whole lot. Thanks to the advancement of Internet, auction houses now are accessible on the internet and now be considered a great deal more reliable and self-explanatory than ever before inside their time. In accordance with the nation?s Auctioneers Association, in 2008, the gross revenue in the auction niche for the entire year was roughly $268.4 billion.

Auctions on real estate investment have changed right into crucial business tools

The auction business has gained reputation (throughout the last couple of years specially) and the field has evolved noticeably in terms of the method along with type of marketing versus earlier years. The auction market undoubtedly has terrific advances possesses now broken into the online world, such as publishing available real-estate and goods over the web on sites as well as eBay and as well others.

Putting available for sale a family house with a net based auction may appear far more reasonable and practical as compared to traditional way
Companies just as Fortna Auctioneers & Marketing Group will not exclusively sell real estate in your neighborhood, and can also sport it live on account of an exciting new twist along with modern technologies making it on sale to everybody on earth using live, internet auction bidding. This also style of evolution is without question entirely important. When auction organizations don?t make use of and match the most recent types of technology they?ll inevitably crumble to the wayside.

What would you say, if a person of them days, you?d discovered your house on a Facebook page?

As a direct result of its tested beneficial practices, the auction market has organized over the difficulties from the last number of a few years it?s evolved into among the list of most crucial source for business tools. The truth is this kind of business niche certainly is the living proof of what precisely flexibility and being current with currently state-of-the-art technologies are capable of doing.

There?s one specific skill how the auction approach presents: it will eventually touch all possible purchasers and carry the crooks to one particular location without misusing energy and charging huge expenditures. Internet auction organizations employ each and every doable tool in the marketing field to notify individuals with the goods and housing being marketed like newspaper advertising, trade journals, magazines, direct mailing, email blasts, broker participation or a range of Online social marketing sites.

Marketing real estate auctions on the internet is certainly an extremely quick along with powerful procedure for identify the appropriate benefit of your piece. Through informing people of this products for getting sold and enabling those persons to competitively bid live on-site you possibly can really improve your odds of doing a fantastic deal.

A single brief take a look at each of the advantages the auction technique boasts, obviously shows the main reason you should consider these kinds of strategy. Using the auction strategy to sell real estate property and liquidate estate carries numerous benefits with the seller such as carrying expenses are entirely avoided, insurance, fees, house loan bills, interest fees, upkeep, heating & cooling prices.

An experienced auction business is definitely the finest treatment for ensure good results

There?s a massive choice of real-estate situations if the auction method a wonderful decision. Fortna Auctioneers & Marketing Group is retailing real estate property at auction for over 30 years and features noticed directly the dramatic modifications to real estate market over the last number of years. Call Fortna Auctioneers & Marketing Group. Fortna Auctioneers performs across the northeastern and perhaps everywhere coping with countless high-end residential and commercial properties coupled with bank and foreclosure portfolios, developer home sites coupled with business liquidations.

For a lot of selling your real-estate at auction please talk with Expert Auctioneer Bob Bering toll-free at 1-855-831-4242 or take a look at www.fortnaauctioneers.com.

Source: http://www.coolyourmyspace.com/social-marketing/the-best-way-to-liquidate-property-fast-with-property-auctions-online-which-incorporate-social-marketing-internet-bidding.html

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Bonanza of black holes, hot DOGs: NASA's WISE survey uncovers millions of black holes

ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2012) ? NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission has led to a bonanza of newfound supermassive black holes and extreme galaxies called hot DOGs, or dust-obscured galaxies.

Images from the telescope have revealed millions of dusty black hole candidates across the universe and about 1,000 even dustier objects thought to be among the brightest galaxies ever found. These powerful galaxies, which burn brightly with infrared light, are nicknamed hot DOGs.

"WISE has exposed a menagerie of hidden objects," said Hashima Hasan, WISE program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We've found an asteroid dancing ahead of Earth in its orbit, the coldest star-like orbs known and now, supermassive black holes and galaxies hiding behind cloaks of dust."

WISE scanned the whole sky twice in infrared light, completing its survey in early 2011. Like night-vision goggles probing the dark, the telescope captured millions of images of the sky. All the data from the mission have been released publicly, allowing astronomers to dig in and make new discoveries.

The latest findings are helping astronomers better understand how galaxies and the behemoth black holes at their centers grow and evolve together. For example, the giant black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy, called Sagittarius A*, has 4 million times the mass of our sun and has gone through periodic feeding frenzies where material falls towards the black hole, heats up and irradiates its surroundings. Bigger central black holes, up to a billion times the mass of our sun, may even shut down star formation in galaxies.

In one study, astronomers used WISE to identify about 2.5 million actively feeding supermassive black holes across the full sky, stretching back to distances more than 10 billion light-years away. About two-thirds of these objects never had been detected before because dust blocks their visible light. WISE easily sees these monsters because their powerful, accreting black holes warm the dust, causing it to glow in infrared light.

"We've got the black holes cornered," said Daniel Stern of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., lead author of the WISE black hole study and project scientist for another NASA black-hole mission, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). "WISE is finding them across the full sky, while NuSTAR is giving us an entirely new look at their high-energy X-ray light and learning what makes them tick."

In two other WISE papers, researchers report finding what are among the brightest galaxies known, one of the main goals of the mission. So far, they have identified about 1,000 candidates.

These extreme objects can pour out more than 100 trillion times as much light as our sun. They are so dusty, however, that they appear only in the longest wavelengths of infrared light captured by WISE. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope followed up on the discoveries in more detail and helped show that, in addition to hosting supermassive black holes feverishly snacking on gas and dust, these DOGs are busy churning out new stars.

"These dusty, cataclysmically forming galaxies are so rare WISE had to scan the entire sky to find them," said Peter Eisenhardt, lead author of the paper on the first of these bright, dusty galaxies, and project scientist for WISE at JPL. "We are also seeing evidence that these record setters may have formed their black holes before the bulk of their stars. The 'eggs' may have come before the 'chickens.'"

More than 100 of these objects, located about 10 billion light-years away, have been confirmed using the W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, as well as the Gemini Observatory in Chile, Palomar's 200-inch Hale telescope near San Diego, and the Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory near Tucson, Ariz.

The WISE observations, combined with data at even longer infrared wavelengths from Caltech's Submillimeter Observatory atop Mauna Kea, revealed that these extreme galaxies are more than twice as hot as other infrared-bright galaxies. One theory is their dust is being heated by an extremely powerful burst of activity from the supermassive black hole.

"We may be seeing a new, rare phase in the evolution of galaxies," said Jingwen Wu of JPL, lead author of the study on the submillimeter observations. All three papers are being published in the Astrophysical Journal.

The three technical journal articles, including PDFs, can be found at http://arxiv.org/abs/1205.0811, http://arxiv.org/abs/1208.5517 and http://arxiv.org/abs/1208.5518 .

JPL manages and operates WISE for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The principal investigator, Edward Wright, is at UCLA. The mission was competitively selected under NASA's Explorers Program managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The science instrument was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Logan, Utah, and the spacecraft was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. Science operations and data processing and archiving take place at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

More information is online at http://www.nasa.gov/wise, http://wise.astro.ucla.edu and http://jpl.nasa.gov/wise .

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/nnmQhAbFruE/120829144518.htm

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Leave a comment - Stellar Blue Web Design LLC

Your company?s domain names can say a lot about the business and be a great marketing tool. (Stellar Blue Web Design is actually registered under 12 domain names as a marketing benefit!)

The first step, however, is finding domains with creativity and ingenuity.?There are millions of domain names already registered in the world.?Stellar Blue wants to help you ?pick your baby?s name(s)? and discover great available domain names for your business. Whether you?re a new company or just looking to add some spice in your online marketing strategies, these tips will help get your gears turning.

  • Be Symbolic. Using words in your domain that have meaning to your company or industry can be a fun way to market. For instance, Stellar Blue client, Earth Sense Energy Systems is registered under many unique domains, and uses pellethead.com as its main name, for its pellet stoves.
  • Try out puns.?Stellar Blue used ?APP-tunities are endless? as a slogan to promote mobile apps. Have fun with puns and use them in domains! Play around with the sounds and slang sayings. Puns are much less likely than other kinds of names to have been registered because their component parts are not actual words.
  • Abbreviate or use different domain extensions. Think of how you can abbreviate your business name if it is long. Ex: Quality Custom Metal Fabrication Inc.?s main domain is qcmf.com. Also, do not forget about the domain extensions out there. If you?re abbreviated domain name is already registered under .com, try using .co or an extensions relative to your type of business (Find out about domain extensions by reading Stellar Blue?s previous blog post!

Once you have a couple names, make sure they are available with Stellar Blue?s domain checker HERE.

Interested in registered for a couple new domain names? Contact Stellar Blue today.?Stay connected with us through Twitter and Facebook!

Source: http://www.stellarbluewebdesign.com/php/blog/index.php/2012/08/finddomainnames/

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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Does Buying Lots of Shoes Make You a Better Person?

Still of Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City 2. Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City 2

Courtesy HBO/IMDb images.

A fashiony pal of mine was standing at a stop light on Madison Avenue and 57th Street when a similarly foncy broad alighted right next to her. The stranger looked down at my pal?s Prada-clad feet and, with an air of breathy reverence bordering on creepy, whispered one word: ?Congratulations.?

Yes, she was actually lauding my pal?s ability to own a pair of designer shoes!

Back in the last century only the shoe fabricator or the shoe designer would have been eligible for that kind of felicitation.

?Oh! Monsieur Herm?s, your top stitches are perfection. They are like kitten?s teeth!?

The notion of blowing hot air up any gal?s dirndl simply because she bought something did not exist.

Times have changed. What constitutes an accomplishment has now become very elastic?as elastic, in fact, as the logo?d waistband on my Calvin Klein underwear, the ownership of which will doubtless, 'ere long, elicit a spontaneous ejaculation such as, ?Congratulations on your undies.?

But back to footwear: In today?s world, purchasing a pair of nifty shoes, or better yet, multiple pairs of nifty shoes, is seen as a headline-making, gasket-blowing, praiseworthy accomplishment. I came, I saw, I snagged?and am therefore fabulous!

Pierre Hardy porno-pumps, Tabitha Simmons peep-toes, Reed Krakoff sling-backs, Alaïa ankle booties, Givenchy stilettos and Manolo Blahnik pointy toe pumps.

Clockwise from top left: shoes by Pierre Hardy, Tabitha Simmons, Givenchy, Manolo Blahnik, Reed Krakoff, and Ala?a

In the current everything-about-me-is-fascinating age of Twitter, acquiring those Pierre Hardy porno-pumps, Tabitha Simmons peep-toes, Reed Krakoff slingbacks, Ala?a ankle booties, and Givenchy stilettos is the ne plus ultra of achievement. Shoes are the new Nobel Prizes, or they would be if people were allowed to Nobel laureatize themselves.

How did we get ourselves into this seemingly ludicrous position? When did the vaunting and flaunting of designer shoes, shoe closets, and shoe collections become so vital to any gal in pursuit of social currency?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=015fa87c4d5b5580a17fa76f8af9431c

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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Friends tweet before dying in Md. train derailment

Officials inspect part of a CSX freight train that derailed alongside a parking lot overnight in Ellicott City, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. Authorities say the train, hauling coal from West Virginia to Maryland, derailed and fell from a bridge near Baltimore, killing two college students who were on the tracks. Howard County officials say 21 of the train's 80 cars flipped over around midnight Monday. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Officials inspect part of a CSX freight train that derailed alongside a parking lot overnight in Ellicott City, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. Authorities say the train, hauling coal from West Virginia to Maryland, derailed and fell from a bridge near Baltimore, killing two college students who were on the tracks. Howard County officials say 21 of the train's 80 cars flipped over around midnight Monday. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Officials walk past part of a CSX freight trail that derailed overnight in Ellicott City, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. Authorities said two people not employed by the railroad were killed in the incident. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

An official walks alongside part of a CSX freight train that derailed overnight in Ellicott City, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. Authorities said two people not employed by the railroad were killed in the incident. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Officials stand near part of a CSX freight train that derailed overnight in Ellicott City, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. Authorities said two people not employed by the railroad were killed in the incident. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Officials stand underneath a bridge where part of a CSX freight train derailed overnight in Ellicott City, Md., Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012. Authorities said two people not employed by the railroad were killed in the incident. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (AP) ? They were seemingly ordinary tweets from two friends hanging out on a railroad bridge in their hometown, enjoying one last summer night together before heading back to college.

"Drinking on top of the Ellicott City sign," read one. "Looking down on old ec," read another. Accompanying photos showed their view from the bridge and their bare feet, one with painted blue toenails, dangling over the edge. "Levitating," read another tweet.

Minutes after the messages were sent, a CSX freight train loaded with coal barreled down the tracks and derailed, killing the 19-year-old women and toppling railcars and coal on the streets below.

Investigators were still trying to figure out what caused the derailment. Witnesses heard squealing brakes and a thunderous crash around midnight Monday.

It wasn't clear whether the women's presence on the tracks had anything to do with the derailment. They were sitting on the edge of the bridge as the train passed a few feet behind them, Howard County police said, and their bodies were found buried under coal. Authorities said they needed to do autopsies before their cause of death could be determined.

Killed were Elizabeth Conway Nass, a student at James Madison University in Virginia and Rose Louese Mayr, a nursing student at the University of Delaware.

The railroad is easily accessible from the picturesque downtown of Ellicott City, and generations of young people have played and partied along the tracks. The railroad was completed in 1830 and crosses over Main Street in the city's historic district, following the route of the nation's first commercial railroad, according to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum.

"We grew up running on those tracks," said Ellicott City native Bridgette Hammond, 25. "It's actually really beautiful up there."

Nass and Mayr were on the dance team at Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicott City and planned to finish college in 2014, according to friends and their Facebook pages.

One of Nass' sorority sisters, Donya Mossadeghi, called her "a joy to talk to" and someone who "would never say a bad thing about anybody." Nass made the dean's list in the fall in the fall of 2010 and 2011, according to a university spokesman, and another friend said she was studying special education.

Tori Mace, of Ellicott City, knew Mayr through mutual friends. "She was really fun, really friendly," Mace said.

A person who answered the telephone at Nass' home declined to comment, as did a family member who answered at a number listed for the Mayr family.

The pictures and tweets from Mayr were no longer publicly available Tuesday afternoon, but friends confirmed they were hers and police said they were aware of the posts and looking into them.

Jill Farrell, who lives across the street from the tracks, said she heard what sounded liked squealing brakes and then a crash, followed by silence.

Benjamin Noppenberger was getting ready for bed when he and his wife heard what sounded like gunshots. They waited about 10 minutes before going outside.

"We could see all the cars that fell over. I just saw catastrophe," he said.

Jim Southworth, investigator in charge for the NTSB, declined to speculate on a possible cause. He said the brakes were applied automatically when an airline used to pressurize the braking system was disconnected. He did not say what role, if any, the brakes may have played in the derailment.

"This will be a very wide-range investigation. We will look into the maintenance of the track, the maintenance of the equipment, the maintenance of the locomotive ? everything you can think of," he said.

The crew of three ? an engineer, a conductor and an engineer trainee ? didn't see or feel anything unusual before the crash, Southworth said. They were not injured.

The train was equipped with video recording devices that investigators will review to help them determine what happened. It was going about 25 miles per hour but Southworth would not say whether that was an appropriate speed limit for the area.

CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said that the train was traveling from Grafton, W.Va., to Baltimore. It had two locomotives, was 3,000 feet long and weighed 9,000 tons, he said. The first 21 cars of the 80-car train derailed.

Environmental officials responded because about 100 pounds of coal spilled into a tributary of the Patapsco River, a major Maryland waterway that parallels the tracks. Maryland Department of the Environment spokesman Jay Apperson said much more coal lay along the edge of the tributary, raising concerns it could boost the acidity of the water or otherwise threaten aquatic life.

The derailment also damaged some of Verizon's equipment, disrupting land-line telecommunications services to clients.

The problems reached all the way to the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where pretrial hearings were delayed for a day for five men charged with orchestrating and aiding the Sept. 11 attacks because files on government servers were temporarily unavailable.

___

Gresko reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Barakat in Ellicott City, David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Md., and Karen Mahabir in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Online:

Mayr's Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/r0se_petals

Nass' Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/LizNassty

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-08-21-Md-Fatal%20Train%20Derailment/id-fff80431306e466a849bba1c9823add9

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Hotel of the Week ? The Grove : 19th Hole ? The Golf Blog From ...

The-Grove-HotelThe Grove hotel is a grand country house set on 300 acres of picturesque Hertfordshire countryside. The?luxury 5 star hotel is fully equipped to?accommodate any kind of break with a? superb golf course and practice facilities, lavish health spa and impressive corporate facilities.?It is not surprising that The Grove has seen a long list of celebrity guests including Tiger Woods, and even Queen Victoria enjoyed weekend breaks here. Therefore we assumed that if its good enough for a golfing superstar and the Royals, then its good enough for us Weekend Warriors. Here is our choice for Hotel of the Week?

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Location, location, location?

Situated in the beautiful county of Hertfordshire, just outside London, The Grove is one of the most luxurious and all encompassing golf resorts in the South of England and for those looking to explore the courses in and around London in true style; it quite simply is the perfect base.

With major travel links within a stone?s throw of the resort?s gates, getting to and from The Grove couldn?t be simpler. The Grove?s location close to the M25 allows those travelling by car to get around with ease while Watford Tube Station provides easy access to the centre of London; in fact, Kings Cross Station is only 35 minutes away. London Heathrow Airport is within easy reach of this fantastic resort as well, meaning golfers from overseas can easily access some of the finest golf and luxury accommodation on offer in the UK.

Accommodation

The Grove offers some of the finest accommodation a golfer could wish for in and around London. Guests can choose from a selection of room types, from the suites in the exquisite Mansion House perfect for couples breaks, to one of the 191 spacious rooms in the West Wing, perfect for families. The Mansion House provides a boutique hotel atmosphere, where 26 lavish guestrooms are on offer. The rooms are equipped with all the modern amenities expected from a hotel of this standard, however The Grove goes one step further in offering its guests designer toiletries, high-speed internet, a bose ipod or MP3 player and a 42-inch plasma television with satellite and on-demand programmes and movies.

Through the gardens towards the spa and Championship golf course is the West Wing. The luxury rooms in this part of the complex have a contemporary and classy design and boast beautiful views, many with balconies, over the gardens and golf course.


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The-Grove-Room

One of the luxurious rooms in the Mansion each designed in a modern boutique style.


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Dining

The Grove offers a wide variety of dining options with three separate restaurants and over 70 chefs! The hotel has its very own fruit and veg garden where fresh produce is handpicked ready to prepare and serve in the restaurants. Located within The Grove?s mansion, Colette?s fine dining experience has been awarded 3 AA Rosettes offering dining of the highest quality. The Glasshouse is buffet-style restaurant where guests can enjoy watching chefs prepare their meals in front of them. The alternative, and extremely popular, choice is The Stables restaurant which serves hearty gourmet pub-style dishes such as steaks and home-made pies perfect after finishing a round of golf. The hotel also puts on various private events for large groups such as barbecues, picnics and feasts in the Potting Shed, as well as?offering ?Colette?s Master Classes? with Head Chef Russell Bateman.


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The-Grove-Dining

Chefs preparing tasty dishes in front of guests in The Glasshouse restaurant.


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Leisure Facilities

Boasting state of the art spa and leisure facilities, The Grove is fully equipped to accommodate your every need. The Sequoia spa provides the perfect environment to relax and take a break from the stresses of everyday life, offering a range of treatments ranging from rejuvenation to relaxation. The Grove also has an excellent health and fitness centre which has just undergone refurbishment and now offers brand new Technogym equipment as well as an ozone swimming pool.


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The-Grove-Spa

Guests can immerse themselves in the tranquil environment of the Sequoia spa.


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Golf

As well as the outstanding dining and leisure facilities, The Grove has its very own Championship course designed by Kyle Phillips making it the perfect place for a UK Golf Break. The course is kept in immaculate condition all year round and has no members, which ensures that guests receive an incredibly warm welcome from staff who are very focused on customer service. While The Grove has its own course for guests to enjoy, London and the surrounding area is home to countless top class courses. The Grove hotel is the perfect place to stay for anyone looking to play the likes of Wentworth,?Sunningdale?and Stoke Park.


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The-Grove-Golf

An example of the pristine conditions and challenging approaches that The Grove?s Championship course presents.


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Nearby Attractions

Located by Watford, guests staying at The Grove can take a short 30 minute train journey to the centre of London and experience all of the sights and sounds of the city that has just successfully hosted the 2012 Olympics.

YGT?s Favourite thing about The Grove

While the facilities and golf course was superb, we thought the welcome platter of fresh fruit picked from the Walled Garden in the rooms was a nice touch.


For more information on The Grove and UK Golf Breaks, please visit www.yourgolftravel.com or call free on 0800 043 644.


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Source: http://www.yourgolftravel.com/19th-hole/2012/08/20/hotel-of-the-week-the-grove/

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Your Monroeville Heating and Air Conditioning System and Ventilation

The vent system in your home is vital to the operation of your Monroeville?HVAC system. Without successful ventilation, your home won?t have the necessary clean air to keep you and your family healthy. So, what does proper ventilation require and how can you ensure your home has it? Here are some quick tips.

Install the Right Parts from the Start

Proper ventilation should result in even air pressure in your home to avoid problems with gas pilot lights. It should also be as energy efficient as possible and provide clean air through proper filtration and cleaning of the air that comes in.

Energy Loss

Another major ventilation issue to keep in mind is energy loss. Ventilation tends to remove heated or cooled air from your home, forcing your furnace or air conditioner to work harder to replace it. As a result, you pay more for energy and it?s never quite comfortable inside.

To avoid this problem, ask your contractor about how you can improve your system?s energy?efficiency.

Supplements to Ventilation

Proper ventilation should not only provide fresh air, but it should also ensure your home has clean air. The air outside may be fresher, but it can be filled with pollutants like pollen, dander and smoke. These should be removed if possible. To do this, you need a full sized air cleaning system that removes particles from the air down to 0.3 microns.

HEPA filters can do this, as will electronic air cleaners which can ionize and remove smoke and gas particles. Make sure you discuss filtration and cleaning with your Monroeville?HVAC?contractor when they visit your home. If you have any questions about your HVAC system or you need to schedule a service, give?Boehmer Heating & Cooling a call!

Tags: Air Conditioning, Indoor Air Quality, McKeesport, Monroeville, Murrysville

Source: http://www.boehmerheating.com/blog/air-conditioning/your-monroeville-heating-and-air-conditioning-system-and-ventilation/

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Slacker Radio embraces Pussy Riot through 'Protest' station

DNPSlacker Radio embraces Pussy Riot through 'Protest Radio'

There's been plenty of talk about Russian feminist punk collective Pussy Riot in the global media over the past few weeks, but the neon-ski-mask-donning assemblage's music isn't particularly easy to come by here in the States. Streaming music service Slacker is throwing some weight behind the group by adding such government-riling gems as "Putin Wet Himself" and "Kill the Sexist" to its "Protest Radio" station. The station is free and will kick off with one of four PR tracks "for some time," according to the service. You can access the offering below, just make sure you've got some ear holes cut in your own ski mask before you do.

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Slacker Radio embraces Pussy Riot through 'Protest' station originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 05:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/20/slacker-radio-embraces-pussy-riot-through-protest-station/

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Ainslie may go for more Olympic sailing gold in Rio

Britain's quadruple gold-medal winning sailor Ben Ainslie said on Tuesday that he may yet carry on to the 2016 Rio Olympics after all.

Ainslie, 35, had said after winning his fourth gold at the 2012 Games this month that he was finding the physical demands of the sport increasingly challenging as he got older and was unlikely to carry on for four more years.

But as he prepares to take up a new challenge in the America's Cup, he told the BBC that he was reconsidering his decision.

"I'd love to be in Rio if it's possible," he said. "The next Olympics are a long way off and the focus is on the America's Cup now. But the Olympics have been a huge part of my life and I'd like to be involved in the next Games."

Ainslie will be competing as part of the British JP Morgan BAR team as the America's Cup builds towards the finals in September 2013 to be held in San Francisco.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge, himself an Olympic yachtsman, has described Ainslie as "the greatest sailor of all time".

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ainslie-may-more-olympic-sailing-gold-rio-003023029--oly.html

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Evangelism and Motherhood: 10 Lessons Learned Along the Way ...

In the midst of bottles, diapers, and sleepless nights it's easy to understand why motherhood is a season when we're apt to miss the harvest that surrounds us. Often we're like the workers Jesus spoke about in John 4:35, believing the harvest is months away when, in reality, the fields are ripe before us.

Throughout this season, I've watched the Lord draw women to himself through relationships made at playgrounds, preschools, doctor's offices, and neighborhood playgroups. The primary way my friends and I have sought to share Christ as mothers has been through forming outreach Bible studies. As I've observed a variety of these groups and experienced the Lord's work among them, here are some lessons I've learned along the way.

1. The fields are ripe.

Just as a fisherman knows there are better times of day to catch fish, some seasons of life are more fertile soil for evangelism. Motherhood is one of those times. Mothers yearn for answers and advice. Whether in the workplace or at home full-time, we long for other adults with whom to discuss questions about motherhood, marriage, and faith. I've found that many women would love to come to a Bible study. They're just waiting to be invited.

2. Wherever God places you, be all there.

When my oldest daughter began preschool, I didn't know any other moms at her school. Truthfully, I wanted to live closer to my friends so she could attend preschool with their children. It's often tempting to wish our circumstances were different and fail to see the place the Lord has prepared for us to serve his kingdom. Martyred missionary Jim Elliot once said, "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." This wisdom is especially true for us as mothers. Your neighborhood, the particular ages and dispositions of your children, your school district, your work outside the home, your husband's work schedule, your financial resources---all these circumstances we sometimes wish were different---are the very places to which the Lord is calling you to bring the gospel.

3. Enlist help.

After the initial year of being on my own, two of my friends from church moved closer and enrolled their children in the same preschool. I now realize how much we needed a team to be able to start a Bible study in the early years of motherhood. Each of our different gifts came together to form a beautiful whole. We divided up tasks, prayed for one another, and gave one another breaks during seasons of new babies being born. As the group grew, we needed more help, so a variety of women volunteered to serve in different areas.

4. Build the community the Lord brings.

As we formed the group, we hoped to create a place where women who'd never studied the Bible would feel comfortable coming and learning about Christianity. Instead, our initial Bible study was mainly ladies from church who shared our hopes to reach other women. In retrospect, I realize the Lord was building our community in those first two years so that we'd have a loving place to invite other moms. He gave us a community so that we could share it with others. And eventually he brought the women we were hoping to reach.

5. Study the Bible.

When it comes to starting outreach studies, it's important to explain that our purpose is to study God's Word together. We usually have ladies from a spectrum of denominations and beliefs. Studying what the Bible has to say, however, moves us away from opinions about disputable matters and toward the core truths of Christianity. Studying God's Word allows us to know Jesus in a deeper and more profound way. Week after week and year after year, the Bible is the most powerful tool we have in evangelism. God uses his Word to fashion hearts and transform minds. Honest discussions of struggles and heartache are bathed in the hope of the gospel as the Word becomes the center of relationships. His words, discussed and mulled over among a group of women, change lives.

6. Logistics are important.

It's important for women to know what's happening week to week among the group. They need to know when and where the group is meeting and what's being studied. It's also helpful to provide childcare in an environment close by so that mothers feel comfortable leaving their children. Such logistics can be among the most difficult barriers for the leaders to organize, but they are an important component of caring for the women you are hoping to reach.

7. Invite with boldness.

Invite the women you meet at the park, your doctor's office, your preschool, or wherever else the Lord places you. Our group began sending an invitation to each woman in our preschool for a "Back to School Brunch" to introduce ourselves and tell them about the Bible study. I find that inviting women is often a starting point for deeper spiritual conversations. Don't only invite women to the study, however; welcome them into your lives. Open up about your struggles and failures so they see Christianity isn't for perfect women, but for sinners who need a Savior.

8. Be aware of the battle.

Here's the reality of leading an outreach study: the enemy of our souls doesn't like women studying the Bible. Each year, at some point along the way, I'd face discouragement and want to quit leading the study. Discouragement, of course, comes in many forms---emotional and spiritual weariness, physical illnesses, unexpected trials, logistical complications, relational struggles, and so forth. In these moments, God's words to Joshua often brought me comfort: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Josh. 1:9). We must depend on God's presence for the courage to look past our temporal circumstances to fight the battles that war against kingdom advancement.

9. Abide in Jesus.

Unless we abide in Christ in our own lives, we will have nothing to give to the women we seek to evangelize. Jesus warned his disciples on the eve of his death: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). We must daily take hold of what we hope to pass on to others. We must be joyfully drinking from living waters if we expect others to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Ps. 34:8).

10. Prayerfully trust God with the results.

A fisherman cannot make a fish bite, nor can a farmer make a seed grow. They may increase in wisdom and understanding as they perform their tasks, but they must wait in hope for the results. Similarly, all our efforts must be entrusted to the Lord through prayer. We're not held accountable for the souls we're trying to reach, but for our obedience to Christ's call to "go and make disciples" (Matt. 28:19).

Nevertheless, the excitement of catching a fish or watching a plant grow greatly encourages the laborer in her task. I'm so thankful the Lord has allowed me to see lives changed. I have the same hope for other moms and am encouraged to prayerfully live by Jesus' words: "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers to his harvest field" (Luke 10:2).

Melissa Kruger serves as women's ministry coordinator at Uptown Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the author of The Envy of Eve: Finding Contentment in a Covetous World (Christian Focus, 2012).

Source: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/08/19/evangelism-and-motherhood-10-lessons-learned-along-the-way/

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Independent Video Gaming Rise | Blank Your Game

I had wrote this a while back about last year and I put it on a other site. Now that site is gone. So I felt like putting it back up again on my Site. This was my final essay for my English class so have a look and tell me what you think. Some of you might of read this before.

Independent Gaming: The New Future?

In recent years independent gaming is having an uprising surge of sales. More of the people playing games nowadays are turning to independent games for a new experience. Many of the corporate games that are developing are not bringing a lot of new experience to the players. People are still buying the big budget titles, the few major titles are selling in the multi-millions. A normal corporate game is selling high numbers, but the rate these games come out is turning away its customers. Some of the sales of indie games are putting a challenge to the corporate games. So why are corporate games not selling?

How come then corporate games not selling as much. Corporate games are working hard to focus test their games. Focus testing is just like how the movie industry or any company will conduct test. They will ask a couple of people who may play games or may not play games, and ask them a series of questions about their game. What they like what they don?t like about the game, if they can change anything what they would change. Corporations are spending thousands of dollars to try to get people to buy more of their games. They are looking at indie games and seeing what is it that is their hook factor, what?s making people play these games. People are not buying their games at sixty dollars apiece each week. So many corporations are putting out titles every week that the market can?t keep up with buying each title. At least once a month there will be two major titles that will be released that gamers will want, and spending over a one hundred and twenty dollars plus tax. Gamers are jumping from one new game to the next each month without enjoying a product. That is why cheaper games like the independent games are selling.

The very first video game was an independent game. A Galaxy war was a game that two guys made together. Before that, there was no such thing as video games they created the first. Corporations didn?t think of making video games, they were created by college students who had access to super computers. They wrote some code that helped them pass the time and have fun with each other. It wasn?t until they put a video game in a part of the school and made people put in a quarter for a chance to play. Later on the students decided to sell the video game to a major corporation and went off and started their own company.

Corporate gaming took off faster than a bottle rocket. In the 70?s & early 80?s gaming companies where starting up all over Silicon Valley.? Much like many companies they wanted games to be made as fast as they could and each one had to be unique.? This was the arcade era of gaming and it was expensive to make a game. The arcade era was the new sign of the future, it was something that allowed people to have a good time and it was cheap to play only .25 cents play. Everyone played these games from children to adults would spend nights in the arcades. From business men hanging out to try and beat each other?s score to mom?s playing a game to get closer to their child. It was becoming a social norm in which they wanted people to come and see something new and fun. The bad thing was that when something cheap and exciting like the arcades ruin the market. Corporations where making something new as soon as possible and flooding the market. They were making so many games at one time and charging thousands of dollars for an arcade cabinet. In the 80?s the get rich quick theme was start an arcade. When they started to put arcade?s in a mortuary it was a sign of it not being fun anymore.

The 90?s brought on a new outlook of the video game market with the compact disk drive (CD rom). Now it was becoming easier to program games and cheaper, because of the boom of the home personal computer (PC). Gaming companies where able to hire on higher quality audio teams and graphic programmers to bring three?dimensions (3D) animation to the screen. No longer would people have to deal with a two dimensions (2D) environment. 3D gaming brought a new depth and feel to the game. One major part of corporations were doing with PC gaming was that they created online gaming. Playing with other people from around the world was the latest and greatest. If you and a friend that lives back east can play together, then that was two games sales that spawned from one person.

Online gaming was a major selling factor for the 2000?s. With the advancement of graphics cards, the internet and home consoles this was a major selling factor. With the help of the CD-rom from prior years now came the DVD-rom drives which along with a graphics card, was a visual delight. ?Video games were better looking and allowed you to interact with them more. Corporations were putting bigger budgets into the game studios, graphics teams where the hot jobs. With the surge of game console sales, every game that was made brought in a lot of money. The major developers were raising the budgets into the low millions. By the time of present day independent games where coming into the scene, not as fast as a bottle rocket but it has a great power pushing it.

The first video games were considered independent games. It wasn?t until the early 80?s where independent gaming really started to take off. The home PC was expensive but the few people that owned one understood how to use it. Then a few bunches of those people understood or taught themselves how to program on it. They sold their independent games at computer repair shops on floppy disk. Some of these games where in zip lock baggies, with a piece of paper on it with the programmers contact information on it. People liked the fact that they could buy a game for 15 bucks, take it home and play unlimited times without having to pump quarters into it. Also games like ?Sid Meier?s Pirates? brought a level of humor and fun to games and some of the games that where coming out where a big craze in the Dungeon & Dragons community. Dungeon & Dragons where a table top game in which you needed at least one other person to play with and games took a long time to get going. People where making their independent games and you can play them by yourself. These homemade games did the entire math that you need in these types of games.

In the later 90?s video games where having a resurge of excitement in the console market. Video games across all platforms where selling, especially the PC market. In the PC market the games where the entire buzz was happening at. Games looked better and with the internet starting to take off with the home PC gamers were playing online with friends around the world. Independent gaming made a big turn in direction, called moding. Moding (short for modifying) was when a programmer would change the code in a game to change an appearance, or change how the game is played. For example an independent programmer would change a level of a game that had fantasy in it to a Star Wars theme. Instead of shooting bows and arrows at each other, or having a sword fight, programmers would change the arrows to a blaster gun, and the sword fights would become a light saber. Independent programmers would upload their modifiers on the internet for people to download them for free or they would charge a small fee to download it. Around this time in the 90?s a game came out called ?Half Life? which was a futuristic first person shooter (which is a shooting game from the eyes of the player). A few independent programmers unlocked the code of the game and changed the level design of the program.

Changing the level design of this game they made a whole entire new game called ?Counterstrike?. This was the modifier of all mods, the programmers change the way the weapons looked and how the level was designed. Instead of you playing against a bunch of AI characters you played online or in a LAN party with friends. Now you are playing as best as you can against friends or people from around the world. At first the game developers of ?Half Life? where upset with this, then what they did was later hire the programmers and gain the rights to the game ?Counterstrike?. Since then the company called Valve which made ?Half Life? made their game Open source, which is letting programmers use the code to make the game. You can?t sell your game because you are using their game code but you can share it on their web site.

Late 2000?s with this current gen consoles independent gaming is at an all time high. With the way the internet and technology is nowadays, programmers are able to share their game with many different types of medium. Programmers can upload their game to Facebook, make their own web site. Even now a programmer can upload their game to consoles. Xbox 360 has a section on its online store for independent games that everyday people make. The programmer will charge whatever he likes for his game, if he feels it?s worth a dollar, then that?s how much he can ask for it. Microsoft will ask for their percentage for uploading it to the store. Sony Playstation 3 is doing something similar but the difference is they will publish a higher quality of independent games on their online store. The reason being is Sony is not afraid to put an indie game right next to their high quality game to generate sales for them. Xbox has their own indie arcade section but it?s off to the side where most people don?t bother to look at it. These mediums have generated a surge of sales for indie games. Even spawning an Independent gaming expo where companies such as Microsoft and Sony will come and purchase game titles.

In some of the indie games you will not have to dedicate as much time to play a game. This will make it easier for new comers to pick up and play. You will not have to be a great at games to play a game like ?Limbo?. In ?Limbo? you have to solve a puzzle to find your sister. Many of these puzzles are done by trial and error. Compare to some games like ?World of Warcraft? (or WOW for short) were the player will have to spend hours and hours of game time. Playing a like WOW is still consider casual and slowly teaches the player as they level up how to play the game. Most people don?t have time to play as much.

Indie gaming is almost like the 70?s & 80?s era of arcade gaming. Each programmer wants to bring something fresh and new to the game and because they are working for themselves they can spend the time to figure something out. Where as a corporate gaming company may not take the risk that an indie developer might. Take the game ?Plants VS Zombies? where it is bit of an indie game but from a company that is becoming a corporate. They take the game idea of a tower defense, which zombies are attacking your house and you plant different plants that attack. The art style is drawn where it is not upsetting to players and is made to be played in short burst.

Are Indie games going to take over it all? Both sides of the industry are saying that they will or they won?t, but people?s feelings will change with each generation. Indie gaming has proven that it can compete in the gaming market with the larger bigger budget titles. With greater ways of dispersing their content on the web, consoles, phones, tablets and PC games. Indie games are something someone should not over look. Even though a person will say that they are not a gamer or they don?t play any consoles doesn?t mean they are not a gamer. Playing an indie game or major company game on Facebook every day or every other day is still considered a gamer. You just choose a different medium than I do.

There are people that will say that indie gaming is the next big thing and nothing can stop it. These people feel that corporate gaming is not bringing anything new or exciting to the game industry. They will still play corporate games but they prefer to play all the indie games.

The same thing can be said for people who only like corporate gaming. These people feel that they don?t want to waste their money for a game that is not that great looking or something that may not run as smooth. These are the people who will only buy major titles, they play only the sports games such as ?Madden Football? and ?Call of duty?. Which are good games but they limit themselves to just that.

So can the two different types co-exist? I say they both need each other. Corporate gaming is an industry that is always trying to gain that new hook. They want to get as many people playing their games as much as they can. They will play indie games in a focus test to see what they can do to keep people playing. Sometimes when you stop and play a different game from time to time you will look at your own game from a different perspective.? The same can be said for indie games. Programmers will look at how the corporate games will implement a new game type. It may be something that video games have been doing something for so long, but they change a few things and it?s the new trend. For example a power-up (a boost of power for a short time) has been in games for a long time now. A corporate game made it so that if you get three kills in a row then you got a power up which made the player try harder.

So both sides of the game industry can benefit from each other. Saying that one is better than the other won?t hold water. Each one will push the limits of each other and teaching each other something new as well. So the next time you play a game you should think about the people who made it. Also think about why you like the game, other than the fact that it?s fun, what is it that you really like about it? Try to play a game that you would never usually play as well. You may find something you might like.

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References

Thompson, Jim, Barnaby Berbank Green, and Nic Cusworth.?Game Design. Hoboken,
New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2007. Print

Indiegames.com. UBM TechWeb, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.indiegames.com/>.

Source: http://www.blankyourgame.com/independent-video-gaming/

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