Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

	November 28th, 2012 女 Posted 1 day ago by Koichi Mitsui to s a s u r a u 2 浜で。 Put the money where the spirit is: Giving Tuesday [video] Posted 1 day ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! ‘Tis the season of being reminded what the reason for said season really is, but those sentiments generally aren’t sounded until all those incredible Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are safely under wraps. A number of charitable organizations have decided to jump on the bandwagon begun by New York’s 92nd Street Y in an effort to encourage a new generation of charitable givers. "Our data and sort of trends show that the acquisition of new donors has been down by several percentage points over the past couple of years," says Steve MacLaughlin, who runs the Idea Lab at a company called Blackbaud, which advises nonprofits on fundraising. "So if you're not having new people coming in and starting to give to organizations that becomes a challenge because you're relying on existing donors." As we’ve seen with things like Kiva loans, a little money can go a long way, and according to an infographic from Heifer International, 79% of Americans would rather have a donation given in their name than receive a gift they won’t use. So, why not take that extra change and make a difference? The glow of giving may not be the same as the adrenaline rush from grabbing the last TV on sale, but it lasts a lot longer. Embedded media -- click here to see it. Full story at Giving Tuesday via NPR. The spirit of the season. 7 reasons your social media marketing isn't taking off Posted 1 day ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! Has your social media marketing lost that sparkle? Does it not seem to paying the same dividends as other companies in your niche? Anna Macky at McKremie has seven places to look for the weak link in your marketing strategy so you can start the new year off with a bang not a whimper. Lacking Goals That Are Clear If you are someone who is just sharing content with no goal in mind this is the reason as to why your marketing efforts are not paying off. Social media marketing is just like any other type of marketing – you must have an outcome that you are working towards. For example, are you trying to get more subscribers to your website or do you want more traffic to your website? Once you have a goal in place you then no what you are working towards. Without one it is obviously going to seem as though your marketing efforts are going to waste. Unreal Expectations Goals are something that is very important yet at the same time it is also important to make sure that the goals that you are aiming for are ones that are actually achievable. Social media marketing results is not something that is going to happen overnight. Instead it is one of the long term marketing strategies that internet marketers use. With that being said social media should not be the only marketing strategy that you are using. Full story at McKremie. Managing your marketing. Photo credit: Fotolia Do low prices make products seem shoddy? Posted 1 day ago by Futurity to Holy Kaw! The holidays usher in the biggest shopping season of the year, but sellers need to beware: sale prices can mean different things to different consumers. "In the case of price, most people simultaneously believe that low prices mean good value and that low prices mean low quality. But these two beliefs are not equally present in consumers’ minds all the time,” says Steve Posavac, professor in marketing at Vanderbilt University. Full story at Futurity. More research news from top universities. Photo credit: Jemaleddin Cole/Flickr Towers of nanotubes sprout from graphene Posted 1 day ago by Futurity to Holy Kaw! Chemists have successfully grown forests of carbon nanotubes that rise quickly from sheets of graphene to astounding lengths of up to 120 microns. A house on an average plot with the same aspect ratio would rise into space. “By growing graphene on metal (in this case copper) and then growing nanotubes from the graphene, the electrical contact between the nanotubes and the metal electrode is ohmic. That means electrons see no difference, because it’s all one seamless material," says Rice University chemist James Tour, who led the work.  “This gives us, effectively, a very high surface area of more than 2,000 square meters per gram of material. It’s a huge number." Full story at Futurity. More research news from top universities. Photo credit: Tour Group/Rice University Scotch tape 'smart' claw grabs water Posted about 23 hours ago by Futurity to Holy Kaw! After the holiday gift wrapping is done, Scotch tape may have a new job as a shape-changing “smart material” that can collect water samples for environmental testing. While using tape to collect pollen, doctoral student Manuel Ochoa noticed that it curled when exposed to humidity. The cellulose-acetate absorbs water, but the adhesive film repels water. “So, when one side absorbs water it expands, the other side stays the same, causing it to curl,” says Babak Ziaie, professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering at Purdue University. Full story at Futurity. More research news from top universities. Photo credit: Manuel Ochoa/Purdue University Sent by Posterous. Change your email settings or unfollow. Other questions? We'd love to help.