Chillies Latest News

10Gbps broadband for universities

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:28:02 +0200

South African universities and public research organisations will be connected to each other at a minimum speed of 10Gbps in just a few years, says deputy minister for higher education Hlengiwe Mkhize.

She adds that this is as a result of at least a R886 million investment into the South African National Research and Education Network (Sanren) project since 2007.

SA is ranked at 61 out of 138 countries worldwide on the network readiness index, according to the department. It notes that government has made significant investments in ICT infrastructure to turn the situation around, use ICT more to benefit the higher education sector and improve the country's global rating on the index.

Facing figures

“At least R500 million has been allocated for the rollout of a national wireless broadband network by Sentech, and this will be specifically focused on rural areas. The intention is to connect learning institutions located in rural areas to each other and to other institutions in the country, while at the same time fostering collaboration and exchange of information,” says Mkhize.

She says an additional R300 million has been allocated to upgrade the country's existing broadband, increase the network's capacity, and reach and provide a backbone for Sentech's broadband network.

“This is in addition to the R886 million that has been invested in the Sanren project over the past five years, and this is the country's broadband connectivity network for public research institutions and universities which is also linked to the international network.”

Enticing researchers

Sanren is a high-speed network aiming to connect more than 200 research and tertiary sites around the country with international research and education organisations around the globe.

The network architecture consists of a national backbone connecting Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London on a 10Gbps ring network. Metro rings are being installed in Johannesburg, Tshwane, eThekwini and Cape Town. A second phase of the Sanren project is extending the backbone to more remote sites including Polokwane, Grahamstown, Makhado and Mafikeng.

By the end of 2012, a total of R783 million is expected to have been invested by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in the complete Sanren network rollout. This includes the national backbone network, metropolitan area networks, backbone network extensions, connections to the South African Large Telescope and Square Kilometre Array sites, and associated equipment costs.

Dr Daniel Adams, chief director of emerging research areas and infrastructure at the DST, says one of the fundamental goals is to build a world-class network across SA, to prove to researchers around the globe that the country can offer them the same connectivity as any research network on the planet.

Source: Itweb.co.za

10Gbps broadband for universities

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:19:17 +0200

She adds that this is as a result of at least a R886 million investment into the South African National Research and Education Network (Sanren) project since 2007.

Facing figures

She says an additional R300 million has been allocated to upgrade the country's existing broadband, increase the network's capacity, and reach and provide a backbone for Sentech's broadband network.

Enticing researchers

Sanren is a high-speed network aiming to connect more than 200 research and tertiary sites around the country with international research and education organisations around the globe.

Source: Itweb.co.za

Snaps on Maps: Google Wants to Send Photographers Inside Your Business

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:42:04 +0200

Snaps on Maps: Google Wants to Send Photographers Inside Your Business

Google wants to get all up in your business — but in a good way.

The search giant just unveiled an expansion to its Business Photos program, which aims to put indoor images of businesses on Google Maps and Google Places profiles. The program now has a clear way to hook business owners up with local photographers with its “Trusted Photographers” initiative.

If you’re interested in getting better photos of your establishment online, all you have to do is head over to the Google Business Photos page, then click on “Get Started” to see a list of photographers in your area who Google know can do the job.

That job includes both high-res pics of your location (inside and out) as well as 360-degree panoramic views, like this one.

The panoramic views are one of the most challenging parts, says Chris Favis, a Google Trusted Photographer based in Orlando, Florida.

“It’s pretty systematic,” he says. “Google loans us the cameras, and within the business you have to follow the rules, like getting the set of panos [panoramic shots] as soon as you walk in. The timing can be complicated — it’s a very specialized thing.”

You can also go to http://maps.google.com/help/maps/businessphotos/index.html to find a photographer in your area.

Source - Mashable.com

Google’s Privacy Update: What You Need to Know

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:53:05 +0200

Google’s new privacy update that will allow the company to eventually integrate its products will kick in March 1.

Tuesday’s news that Google condensed its 70 privacy settings into one easier-to-understand and more transparent document, paves the way for the company to meld its products into a more integrated and intuitive user platform, i.e. Google needed to give itself permission to sync your products in the future.

Nothing will change tangibly on March 1 — Google products will all still look and function the same. Users can already share data across services such as Picasa and Google+. And Google already has numerous intuitive functions: the Google calendar can autocomplete using names in your Gmail account. But the new privacy rules give the company leeway to combine your Google products in cool ways in the future.

Not searching for a gym membership in January? Google will remove those ads from your search. Email a friend about adopting a puppy? You might see ads for animal shelters in your area. Your friend Jon doesn’t have an “h” in his name? Google Docs will remember this, too. By syncing your Google products, the ads you see and your search results will be customized. Google will be different for each individual.

Just like with iTunes and other online services, there is no way to opt out of a privacy policy, other than not using the service — and that’s unlikely considering Google is the world’s largest search engine. Users can, however, customize their privacy settings as integrated products roll out in the future.

When Google launched Search Plus Your World it had some people wondering if Google searches would be tainted with irrelevant Google+ results. With the service, users can switch between the original Google and Search Plus Your World by logging out of their Google accounts. Any future services will most likely have that option as well.

The company is adamant that it will not give your information to advertisers — Google uses the information, though, to place the ads it purchases.

Google says it’ll let you opt in if it wants to access “personal information relating to confidential medical facts, racial or ethnic origins, political or religious beliefs, or sexuality.” Your account information will not be shared with Google’s Double Click advertising network, either.

Source:mashable.com

Jailbreaking Exemption Law Could Expire Soon

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:52:14 +0200

Protection granted by the U.S. Copyright Office for people who modify their iPhones and other iOS devices so they can install apps not authorized by Apple (known as “jailbreaking”) is set to expire soon. That’s why the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is rallying supporters to sign a petition to renew the jailbreaking exemption law.

“The idea that you might face criminal charges because you altered your own property is totally unfair,” said Rebecca Jeschke, media relations director and digital rights analyst for the EFF. “The goal here is to make the law really clear.”

Three years ago the Copyright Office created an exemption to the1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act DMCA that would protect users who jailbroke their phones from legal threats. Without this protection, anyone with a jailbroken iOS device could have legal issues looming over their heads. Currently, jailbreaking an iPhone just voids your Apple warranty.

On Wednesday, the EEF — the organization that filed for the initial jailbreaking exemption that was put into place three years ago — called on users of jailbroken devices to send their comments to the Copyright Office and explain why the exemption should be extended. The EFF also wants tablets and video game consoles to be included in the exemption.

Comments to the Copyright Office are due by Feb. 10 [link to .pdf comment form on copyright.gov]. You can also visit jailbreakingisnotacrime.org to sign a petition supported by EFF and Andrew “Bunnie” Huang, author of Hacking the Xbox.

“The law was never intended to limit legal activity with a device that was legally bought,” Jeschke said. “It’s not good policy for consumers.”

Jailbreaking devices is useful for uncovering security issues within it, or simply installing a modified operating system so you can access third-party app stores like Cydia.

When news of the 2010 smartphone jailbreaking exemption made headlines, Jeschke said lots of people were flabbergasted to hear this was an issue. Apple fought against the exemption in 2010 — “Which I think would be a surprise to people who spent money on the phone to own it,” Jeschke added.

Apple released a software update late last year for the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2 and iPad, plus the third and fourth generations of the iPod Touch. The update would bring phones to 4.3.4. and protect users from malicious PDFs, but also prevented users from jailbreaking the phone with JailBreakMe 3.0.

The tug-of-war between Apple and Android for customers is ongoing and constant. Fans of Apple appreciate the company’s focus on design, while critics say Apple’s closed operating system is confining.

Source:Mashable.com

Anonymous Threatens Facebook Shutdown Jan. 28

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:02:37 +0200

Anonymous is planning to target Facebook in an attack Jan. 28 — at least that’s what a video uploaded to YouTube Monday is claiming in the name of the hacker network.

And you thought a day without Wikipedia was bad.

“An online war has begun between Anonymous, the people and the government of the United States,” the video begins. “While SOPA and PIPA may be postponed from Congress, this doesn’t guarantee that our Internet rights will be upheld.”

Following the U.S. government shutdown of file-sharing site Megaupload Friday, Anonymous attacked the U.S. Department of Justice’s website, among others.

Monday’s YouTube video calls on the American people to participate in the hack by downloading Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC), the tool that was successfully used to target the Department of Justice. LOIC crashes websites by sending thousands of information packets to their servers.

The video gives instructions for downloading and running the program, as well as a time — 12 a.m. on Jan. 28 — to launch the attack. No time zone, however, is distinguished.

“Would you like to become part of the greatest Internet protests and first official cyber war?,” the video asks. “Operation Global Blackout is ongoing and everyone can be a part of it.”

SEE ALSO: Anonymous Hacks CBS, Universal Music

Facebook, of course, is one of the world’s largest websites, operating through thousands of servers located across the world. In the video, Anonymous acknowledges the difficulties of attacking such a large site.

“While it is true that Facebook has at least 60,000 servers, it is still possible to bring it down,” says the Anonymous voice. “Anonymous needs the help of the people.”

YouTube commenters have raised an important question, Why would Anonymous want to crash Facebook, after the site came out against SOPA and PIPA?

The video essentially equates the privately-owned company with the U.S. government, with no explanation for the linkage. CNET postulates that Zuckerberg took too long to voice his opposition, landing his social network a spot on the potential targets list.

We’ve heard this threat before from the global network of hactivists, who promised to shut down the site Nov. 5, 2011, over user privacy concerns. Ultimately, no attack was executed and the loosely-connected hacker network called the threat the work of peripheral members.

Source: Mashable.com

How to Grow Your Business With Mobile Paid Search

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:16:21 +0200

Many business owners are trying to figure out how to use mobile marketing to grow sales and revenues. You may already have a mobile website, and may have even explored creating a mobile app for your business. But after that, things may have come to a standstill.

So, what’s the next easiest thing you can do to acquire new customers via mobile?

The low-hanging fruit in the mobile world just happens to be mobile search, which differs from regular search in that it appeals to prospects who are on-the-go and actively searching for a product or service. Mobile Marketer reported a study from Google, which revealed 70% of all mobile searches result in action within an hour. For desktop searches, that figure drops to 30%.

Here are some tips and techniques you can use to grow your sales and revenue using mobile paid search.

Start With Your Keyword List

When you’re creating a keyword list for your mobile campaign, it’s a good idea to consider what people are doing when they’re searching from a mobile device. People who conduct searches from their smartphones want information quickly that can be acted upon right away. They’re not looking for in-depth company bios or details about your corporate philosophy; they want short, quick answers about your street address, phone number or customer service department.

Google has a keyword tool that lets you research keywords used on mobile devices vs. desktops. That’s important because when people are doing a mobile search they’re often looking for something immediate.

As you develop your keyword list, be sure to add a mobile spin to it. For example, if you own a chain of restaurants, you’ll not only want to buy “Tony’s Italian Pizza,” you’ll also want to search “Tony’s Italian Pizza Locations” and “Tony’s Italian Pizza on Peachtree Street.” Also, don’t forget to buy zip codes (“Florists in 30342”) and urgency terms (“Plumbing Emergency Repair”).

How to Buy Mobile Keywords

1. List All Relevant Keywords For a Campaign.

Let’s say you’re a florist — you’d want to list all the keywords and keyword phrases that might attract people doing searches for florists. This includes obvious terms, like “Florist” and “Flowers for Birthday,” but it should also include broader terms, like “Anniversary Gifts” and “Birthday Gift Ideas.”

2. Split Keywords into Themed Ad Groups

Florists typically have seasons in which sales skyrocket, like Valentine’s Day, but they also have non-seasonal triggers. Therefore, you want to divide your keyword ad groups out by themes. Of course, one theme would be Valentine’s Day, but other themes could be groups like Birthday Gifts, Special Offers or Summer Promotions.

3. Refine Your List

Once you’ve done everything outlined above, review and refine your list. For example, you won’t want to bid on terms like “Flowers” because your ad would show up every time a gardener, biology student or artist searched for that term. You should also avoid using the same keyword in multiple ad groups within the same campaign, since that would effectively put you in competition with yourself. (Why is that a bad thing? You’d artificially bid the price of the keyword up.)

Also, using negative match keywords like “Free” will prevent your ad from showing up when someone is looking for free stuff – people looking for free stuff are not in your target market.

Writing Your Ads

Here are some tips to get a head start on what works and what doesn’t work in mobile paid search.

1. Focus on Your Product, Not Your Company

A common mistake many people make when writing their first paid search ad is focusing on their company instead of the product. In paid search, people aren’t buying your company – they’re buying your product (preferably at some sort of discount). For example, Valentine’s Day Specials would be a product-focused ad. Peachtree Road Florist is a company-focused ad, which is not as effective.

2. Provide Benefits in the Body Copy

Your ad should help people understand why your product or service is exactly what they’re looking for. Focus on the benefits of purchasing your specific product or service, not on a generic, fluffy description.

3. Include a Call-to-Action

Research shows that ads perform better when there’s a specific call-to-action in the copy. Be sure to have a sense of urgency – you’ll receive better results if you give people a deadline.

4. Develop a Mobile Landing Page, Not Your Homepage

In the example we’ve been using here, the florist would want the person who clicked the ad to land on a page that was selling Valentine’s Day flowers at a discount. Driving people to a generic homepage is a waste of money. More importantly, be sure your landing page is optimized for mobile – there’s nothing more frustrating than clicking on a mobile paid search ad, only to be driven to a page with text that’s too small to read.

5. Use Keywords in Your Ad

According to Google, the best-performing ads are the ones with keywords in the headlines. For instance, if you’re running an ad that has “Valentine’s Day Discounts” as a keyword phrase, you’ll want to regularly use that phrase in the headline of your paid search ad. That way, the user knows the ad specifically matches what he’s searched for.

Measuring the Success of Your Campaign

One of the great things about mobile marketing is that it’s digital, and therefore, can be easily tracked. One of the very first things you should do when setting-up a mobile paid search campaign is to figure out how you’re going to track the results of your ads.

Here are some things you should be measuring in your paid search campaign.

1. Click Through Rate (CTR)

As mentioned earlier, your CTR is one of the fundamental things you should be keeping an eye on. Less than 1% CTR means your ad is not targeted properly — in other words, the ad you’ve written isn’t matching the keywords people are searching for. If you have a CTR less than 1%, you’ll want to double-check that the keywords match what your ads are promoting (“Valentine’s Day Specials” vs. “Valentine’s Day Sale”).

2. Average Position

Be sure to check your average position to find out where your ad is appearing on the search results page. On a regular paid search campaign, there are up to 11 ads shown on any given page. But in mobile, that’s usually limited to two or three. So, if your average position in your mobile paid search campaign isn’t better than three, you’re really not showing up where you need to be.

3. Conversion Tracking

All roads in mobile paid search should lead to conversions, which in a classic sense, means a customer buys your product. For mobile paid search purposes, you may have to provide a coupon to track conversions. Since many mobile searchers are searching for locations (rather than ecommerce web pages), you can’t really sell to them via your mobile landing page.

What’s a business to do? Simply provide a mobile coupon on the landing page that can be scanned (and, thus, tracked) at your store location. By doing that, you’ll be able to drive people to your location and measure the results of your campaign when the coupon is scanned.

Source: Mashable.com

How to Pick the Right Name for Your Business

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:33:11 +0200

Abstract or dead simple? Clever irony? Cute and playful? There are endless paths to take when brainstorming your new business name. But for many small business owners and entrepreneurs, the naming process is fraught with uncertainty and doubt.

Yet, the stakes couldn’t be higher. A business begins with a name — the cornerstone of company identity that shapes branding, company tone and first impressions. Whether you’ll be name-brainstorming yourself or have hired a branding firm, here are a few tips to help you pick the right name for your new business.

1. Set the tone.

Your business name sets the tone for all that follows. Think about what’s important to you and your business. What’s the first thing you want a customer to think in regard to your business? For example, a young company breaking into the financial advising field may be more concerned about credibility, and thus forgo the edgy, attention-grabbing name. Your own tone can be playful or academic, edgy or professional. Just make sure it reflects what your business is and what you want it to be in the future.

2. Simple is strong.

A powerful name is easy to spell, pronounce and remember. After all, what good is word-of-mouth if your customer tells a friend, “You really should look up my caterer for your next event. I think their name begins with an A…”

If you need to explain a business name, you’ve failed to make an impact. One creative marketing consultant selected a variant of the name Agora for her business, loving the connection to the ancient Greek word agora, meaning marketplace. She quickly abandoned the name when a colleague’s first reaction was “I get it. Sometimes I feel agoraphobic when I’ve got a big project too.”

3. Do not use initials!

We all know the business landscape has an affinity for acronyms, but try to avoid using initials for your company name. A random collection of letters doesn’t inspire an emotional connection. And you can run into legal and branding headaches by juggling two different business names (the initials and the name spelled out).

4. Opt for a descriptive name.

A descriptive name helps frame your company better than a generic one. For example, consider Speedy Electronics vs. Speedy, Inc. Adding this qualifier instantly tells potential customers what your business is all about.

5. Don’t box yourself in.

While descriptive is good, you don’t want your name to be too descriptive, in case you end up expanding your offerings down the road. Imagine if Target still went by its original name, Dayton Dry Goods Company. You need to consider where your brand is today, as well as where you want to go in the future.

6. Watch out for language pitfalls.

A word in English may have a negative meaning in another language or culture. And enthusiastic business owners can be blind to awkward puns and double entendres. The best way to avoid creating an embarrassing or damaging brand situation is to test your name on your target audiences; they may see something you missed.

7. Give any new name time to sink in.

It can take some time for a new name to feel right, and you may need to use your name for several months before it starts to feel natural. This is particularly true when a name is off the beaten path, which is often the case for some the industry’s most memorable and impactful names. Just imagine the initial reaction to the name “Google.”

Along these lines, a strong brand or product can overcome a potentially ill-conceived name. When Apple first unveiled its tablet, I was skeptical of the choice in name. I was far from alone. Yet fast forward a few years and the word “iPad” is a natural part of my daily vernacular (and I never think of feminine hygiene).

8. Don’t finalize too soon.

The most important lesson is not to get too attached to any one name during the brainstorming process. When inspiration strikes, it’s all too tempting to start envisioning your company logo, web design, signage, business cards, etc. But you’ve got to make sure that perfect name is legally available for you to use — no one wants to be on the wrong end of a trademark dispute.

Source: Mashable.com

5 Strategies for Creating Magnetic Online Content

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:18:01 +0200

Traditional advertising worked through distraction — an interruption to our sitcom, a page between magazine articles, a banner teasing our attention at the top of a webpage.

Then entertainment channels fragmented as digital moved to the center of culture. “The goal now is to attract rather than distract, to engage rather than intrude,” as eMarketer puts it in its Top Digital Trends for 2012 report.

The result? Brands are content publishers. And the Holy Grail of brand-produced content is magnetic content — an emerging buzzword eMarketer describes as a form of marketing that “involves blurring the lines between content and advertising,” and calls out as one of the top trends for 2012.

The Role of Magnetic Content in Your Marketing Mix

Magnetic content is content that’s good — content that gets people’s attention with great story or outright hilarity. It’s the sort of thing people want to engage with and share.

As one element of a brand’s broader content marketing strategy, magnetic content is the premium stuff: It can powerfully augment the everyday flow of comments and questions and links you’re sharing in your social media channels, garnering earned media attention that drives interest in your brand and builds audience for it. But how do you do it right?

Here are five strategies to get you started defining magnetic content for your 2012 marketing mix.

1. Make It Brand-Relevant

Properly produced magnetic content manifests your brand strategy. If there’s no relevance to your brand, there’s no magnetism for your brand, so you want the content to reflect your brand aspiration and engage around its promise.

Denny’s web series “Always Open” features comedian David Koechner conducting short interviews of fellow comics like Will Arnett, Amy Poehler and Sarah Silverman in a Denny’s booth at a live, working restaurant. The quirky questions and silly interactions don’t open any new doors, but they meet Denny’s millennial target through recognizable actors and goofy situations, evoking a cultural sensibility toward diners as places where people come together and talk and eat in a casual environment.

2. Connect Across Time

The most magnetic content lives over time, building community around an experience — think of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Seinfeld. But that doesn’t mean it has to be episodic. In fact, you can maximize your impact if you design your content experience to live as a platform.

Look at Lancome’s Visions of Beauties, which invites people from around the world to share what beauty is to them through photos, videos, and tweets. As a crowdsourced campaign, Lancome has set up an aspirational, brand-resonant experience around beauty that anybody can participate in as a contributor or voyeur. The seductive, elegant interface speaks to a global audience. The experience evolves over time, bringing people together across space to weave together a story about the very thing Lancome’s products aspire to: beauty. The brand promise becomes the story, linking the brand’s global audience.

3. Extend Across Media

The Internet makes it easy to extend excellent content, creating a transmedia (multi-platform) experience that builds off an initial execution to offer many different ways to engage. Hornbach, a German home improvement and DIY chain, created the 10-minute film The Infinite House, to introduce the launch of its online stores.

While the video itself is a masterful story that speaks of Hornbach’s core values of loyalty, friendship, and neighborliness, it served as one piece of a broader experience that included Facebook profiles of the film’s characters and construction manuals for the furniture featured in the film. These extensions from the video provide ways for people to immerse themselves more deeply in the story and engage in a richer experience with the brand.

4. Inspire People

Magnetic content doesn’t have to offer something inspiring, but, when done well, inspiration can have an enormous effect. It can root the content in the brand’s values and associate the brand with a meaningful stand. Levi’s Now Is Our Time plays with this idea, pulling together brand values of pioneering, freedom, and equality to connect with its young, independent-minded customer.

The campaign extends across multiple media, but the film that provides a framework and platform for a series of crowdsourced philanthropic fundraising hits an emotionally resonant note that’s fresh and unexpected, especially from a brand: “Your life is your life. Don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission. Be on the watch. There are ways out. There is light somewhere. It may not be much light, but it beats the darkness. Be on the watch. The gods will offer you chances. Know them. Take them.”

5. Draw From the Everyday

Some of the best ideas are taken from everyday experience. Everybody relates to meeting friends in a diner; we all have personal experiences of beauty. Finding ideas that can produce magnetic content only means thinking hard about what a brand, product, or service stands for, and how we might relate it interestingly to our experiences.

Consider how IKEA Sweden communicated its promise of “better sleep for everyone.” It commissioned six Swedish musicians to modernize classic lullabies — a simple idea, harmonizing perfectly with the product’s promise.

Then IKEA took the idea a step further, extending beyond the simple lullaby (which it later sold as an album on iTunes, with an album cover that looked a lot like a banner for IKEA) to commission six different artists, each of whom created a music video for a lullaby, featuring IKEA beds. The lullabies aired on the radio and a website provided a place to watch the music videos and read about the artists and their beds.

Magnetic Content Tells a Story

The best magnetic content begins with a strong, compelling idea. It offers a platform and extension that goes beyond a simple, dead-end execution, and creates conversation around an experience that is relevant to your brand.

But that doesn’t mean the content is about your brand primarily, or even secondarily. The story must come first. Magnetic content is always about human experience. It is an attractor because it is fundamentally and meaningfully social. And its power lies in the degree to which it reflects and expands people’s vision of themselves.

Source: Mashable.com

4 Tips to Keep Your Website Ahead of the Curve in 2012

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:38:05 +0200

Sure, having a website for your business serves a practical need: to draw net-surfing users to your product or service. However, it’s also much more than slapping on a run of the mill two-column template and calling it a day. Nothing kills an online buzz like a poorly designed or drastically outdated website. Dry and boring default templates, broken assets, confusing pages and invasive widgets do nothing but harm a page’s style, which in turn reflects poorly on the company.

2012 is heralding a new wave of innovative web technologies and design, and a page that stays in step with these trends is bound to pique interest and lower your bounce rate. Even more, a well done and on-trend website remains effective well after the year is over, reeling users in with thoughtful design and building a design-conscious and taste-making reputation. Keep these tips in mind when you clean up your company’s website, and stay ahead of the curve for the new year.

1. Don’t Be Afraid to be Bold

Mail Chimp. Instagram. Pinterest. All of these websites are joined together by a commitment to bold designs and layout. Whether it’s an exaggerated footer, a turn to minimalism or a bold and new typeface, incorporating a key graphical element to a website speaks volumes about the overall composition of the layout — and a keen level of attention to detail. Opting for a bold design element is a great way to modernize a website and keep it on trend in the coming years.

A bold design can be obtained with very little money, especially for those who aren’t necessarily experienced in coding. For example, webpages operating on a WordPress can find a host of free templates that offer a wide range of customizable options to suit any business. New and exciting fonts can be found via Google‘s open API font styles and require a simple set of code to be dropped in for compatibility with a website. Inspiration and how-tos for more hands-on DIY upgrades can be found at coding/design blogs like A List Apart, One Extra Pixel and Mashable‘s Dev and Design channel.

For those with a little more cash to burn on a proper contractor, 99 Designs relies on crowdsourcing to gather great designers for companies looking for a reliable and cutting edge renovation. Companies on 99 Designs are allowed to name their own price, which means a promising design on a budget.

However you choose to go about it, a bold design dusts off the cobwebs on your old page and keeps it fresh for years to come.

2. Use HTML5 … With Care

For the last couple years, people have been buzzing about HTML5, and it’s not just chatter; HTML5 offers a lot of exciting flexibility that can make a website truly interactive. Seamlessly embedded videos, drag-and-drop interfaces and dynamic message posts are all achievable via HTML5, and with relatively little code work.

But it’s not enough to just call up your freelance web designer and throw up some HTML5 features. As with any programming language, there’s always an issue of browser compatibility. While your new and shiny UI outfitted with dynamic HTML5 might look stunning to a user running on the latest version of Chrome, your high-tech page may look like a series of broken features — or nothing at all — to a less tech-savvy user running Internet Explorer 7 (and there’s a lot of them).

This issue has been longstanding in the Internet world, but there are precautions to take in order to ensure that every user has a pleasurable experience on your website without you making a major investment. Modernizr is an open-source, JavaScript-based tool that offers feature detection for HTML5, and it’s just-as-snazzy brother CSS3. Instead of doing simple browser detection, Modernizr will figure out just what features the user’s browser can support and react accordingly. If a user is operating on an incompatible browser, then Modernizr will automatically decide whether to switch to a JavaScript-based fallback of the features or just create a downgraded version.

Make no mistake, this solution shouldn’t be implemented by a newbie to code, but it does provide a simple way to implement exciting and revolutionary features while still providing support for the little guys.

3. Cut the Fat

The traditional layouts for websites often call for separate pages that encapsulate the “About,” “Contact” and other informational areas of the website. 2011 saw minimalist designs from multiple websites, and that often translated to cutting these pages in favor of a sleeker overall design (think Tumblr). Some companies chose to forgo nearly everything to produce a strongly graphical one-page website — blogs like One Page Love and successful networking tools like Flavors.me show that people are drifting towards a bold singular statement that makes a big impact on fellow users.

As we move forward in 2012, further exploration into one-page websites is a given. But a single-page website has both its pros and cons. HTML5 can help create a one-page website that cleverly contains all necessary information via pop-up boxes or other media, but the amount of information that can be on a one-page website is still relatively limited. Do you want your website to make a bold statement about your company and focus less on a blog-style format? If so, a one-page website could be right in your wheelhouse. Are you more interested in showing off testimonials, case studies and blogs from your employees? If yes, then this trend would be worth passing on.

However, that doesn’t mean to forgo trimming entirely. Culling the best parts of your website and truncating the rest will result in a sleeker, more intuitive design — and sleek never goes out of style.

4. Tie in Social Media Intelligently

This tip could also be titled “Quit it With the Widgets.” Announcing your social media presence on your own website is an absolute necessity, but it needs to be done with care. Automatically updating widgets that stream in social media presence seems intrusive and outdated, not to mention that they can be a hassle for a DIY designer to install and maintain.

To put it simply, social media should absolutely be a presence on a business website, but it should not be a dominating presence. Integrating social media, whether in graphic links or a social ticker, should be done with the user’s eyes in mind. It’s simple on paper, but can be difficult to execute. When social media is done intelligently and with consideration, your website instantly will look socially connected and organized.

Source: Mashable.com

Chillies closing dates for December/January

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:11:24 +0200

Dear Valued Clients,

In celebration of this year's festive holiday, our company will temporarily close its business hours on Thursday, 15 December 2011. This is to give our Chillies staff a well-deserved rest.

Chillies will resume its business on 9 January 2012.

Should there be an emergency, feel free to email (webmaster@chillies.co.za) or call us (082 555 4453) for customer assistance. We would like to thank you for your loyalty and support.

A merry Christmas & a prosperous new year!

Kind Regards,

Nelio de SA

CEO

How to Increase Facebook Engagement Using Custom Page Tabs

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 06:59:22 +0200

The year 2011 brought exciting changes to social media marketing, especially when it came to Facebook. One such change is the ability to build customized landing tabs using iFrames, social plugins and geotargeting. These custom tabs open a world of opportunity for brands to increase Facebook engagement.

Brands that invest in building the right types of tabs on their Facebook Pages are more likely to increase Likes and achieve real engagement growth. However, simply throwing a tab up will not suffice. There are certain considerations and important steps to take in order to significantly increase engagement through a Facebook tab.

1. Know Your Audience

Understanding your audience is key to building a tab that will increase both Likes and engagement. “You should think about your audience and what interests them, then figure out how to build a relationship around those things,” advises Victoria Ransom, founder and CEO of Wildfire, one of the most widely used tools to build and manage Facebook tabs.

Prior to building tabs, the Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) sought out audience input by launching a consumer survey on its primary website. The survey asked what types of information people would like to get from the MTB Facebook Page. “The over 15,000 responses contributed directly to the architecture of each of the four tabs: Highlights, Celebs, Attractions and Press,” says Lane Douglas, executive vice president of vantage strategy. MTB Page Likes increased from 6,000 to 70,000 within a three-week period, and its “People Talking About This” index raised to 14,000 daily.

Audience-relevant tabs allow for delivery of on-point content and rich engagement. The great part about social media is that it eliminates the middle man. Each company can directly target and communicate with its customer base for inspiration.

2. Define Your Goals

Not to overwhelm you, but there are limitless possibilities with tabs. With that in mind, it’s not recommended to have just one goal per tab. According to Stephanie Chaparro, senior account strategist for Wildfire, “Brands don’t want to use simple goals like ‘increase likes’ or ‘engage fans.’ Instead look into the strategy of the tabs and consider what audience to target and what end action is wanted, for example, Like the page, watch a video, share stories or leave a comment. Be as specific as possible in the goals you are setting.”

Wildfire contracted Webroot Software to help build and monitor tabs for the company’s Facebook Page. Their goal was to deliver personalized content, build brand awareness and increase engagement on a Page that was, for the most part, stagnant and passive. Five months after launching Wildfire’s tabs, Webroot Software saw Likes increase by 40,906, a 523% improvement.

3. Build a Cool Tab

Once you’ve done the research and determined the optimal strategy, it’s time to build an effective tab. Focus on including these features: a hook, fresh content and a rich experience. “The best tabs are the ones that have a hook to get people to come back to the page on regular basis, but at the same time, provides a real opportunity for them to engage with the product and share,” says Ransom.

Blowfish Shoes implemented a Shoe-A-Day Giveaway tab, a year-long campaign in which the company gives away a different pair of shoes daily. At the end of the year, Blowfish found its Facebook Page Likes had increased by 2,488%. The giveaway tab was so successful, in part, because it contained all the key aspects of the most successful tabs. With a new pair of shoes to feature every day, Blowfish was able to constantly stream fresh content in the form of photos and videos. And by announcing new winners every day, Blowfish gave people another reason to check back. Finally, through strategically placed links, the tab provided an opportunity for product engagement. Sixty-four percent of entrants actually went on to browse the Blowfish Shoes website, and nearly half of all sales during the promotion came from contestants. Through a single tab, Blowfish was able to build brand awareness, grow its Facebook community and increase overall engagement and sales.

4. Manage Tabs

By implementing a clear strategy around tabs, organizations can benefit on an ongoing basis. But in order to sustain growth, there must be a strategic plan in place. “Companies that do the best are those who have a regular plan around their social media (including their Facebook tabs) and who take advantage of opportunities like holidays and events,” says Ransom.

Part of the strategic plan should include how to handle multiple tabs. “It’s important to be strategic in implementing and running multiple tabs simultaneously. We see a lot of brands put up multiple tabs, each requiring different actions. This can overwhelm the user, “ says Chapparo.

If you want to increase overall engagement, do not overwhelm users by requiring multiple actions on tabs. Instead, focus on keeping the wall engaging and fresh, while simultaneously providing tabs for a richer experience. Ideeli, a multi-retail channel, never runs multiple tabs that require actions. “We prioritize our tabs and realize we can only drive people away from our wall so many times,” Sarah Conley, social media manager at ideeli. Over the last year ideeli saw its Facebook Page Likes increase by 291%. The company also increased wall engagement by 48%.

5. Support Your Tabs

Facebook tabs cannot exist in a void. “Businesses need to realize the point is not to create a tab and expect to get tons of traffic spontaneously. Tabs can fail when businesses don’t have a plan for getting people to the tab,” says Ransom.

There are a variety of ways to drive traffic to tabs including Facebook ads, sponsored stories, Wall posts, email blasts, newsletters and share buttons. Webroot Software used video to drive traffic to its tabs. “With our marketplace in mind, we created three humorous videos that each ended with a promotional link to our Facebook Page. These videos have received over 32 million views and counting,” shares Chris Benham, chief demand officer at Webroot.

As traffic to the Facebook Page increases, so do Likes and community engagement. Community management will become ever-more important to handle the influx of Facebook activity. “Fans of Mexico came out of the woodwork. As the community began to grow and move through the tabs, they posted stories and photos of their best Mexico vacation experiences on the wall,” says Douglas of Mexico Tourism Board.

As Facebook’s popularity grows, it becomes more and more imperative to stand out from the crowds by offering valuable content and a thriving community. By executing on-point Facebook tabs, any organization, no matter its size, industry or age, can build a living, breathing Facebook community.

Source:Mashable.com

Google+ for iOS Gets Search and Big Pics

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 07:23:53 +0200

Google+ for iOS just got a little more useful with the addition of Search and the ability to upload full-resolution photos directly from your iOS device. These features, which Google added on Monday, work on all iOS 4.0 and later devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad tablet. No, this update — officially known as “1.0.7.2940″ — does nothing to enhance the visual experience on the iPad.

For now, though, anyone using the app on a handheld iOS device should find it faster and somewhat less buggy. In our brief tests, the full-photo-resolution upload worked smoothly. When we clicked on the details for an 8-megapixel image, it reported the resolution as 2,448 x 3,264 pixels. However, we couldn’t find any way within Google+ to view the image at its full pixel size. Even on the phone, we couldn’t pinch and zoom on our own uploaded photos. To do so, we had to download the image to our desktop. Then we could zoom in.

Google+ search on the iPhone worked well; there’s even an option to facet the search between People and Posts. The other new enhancement is the ability to +1 photos in your stream. There’s now a nice, big “+1″ in the upper right-hand corner whenever you view a photo. Tap and you’ve +1ed a photo. Commenting on the same photo appears unchanged.

So what do you think of Google’s latest Google+ update? Will it encourage you to check in more often via your iPhone or other iOS device? How do you currently use Google+ and are you as excited about it as you were three months ago?

Source: Mashable.com

Google+ Brand Pages: Multi-Admin Capability ‘Coming Soon’

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:26:26 +0200

Google+ will allow multiple admins to manage a brand page “before 2012,” Kristoffer Sorensen, a Google marketing strategist, said on in a live Q&A on Wednesday.

Currently, brand pages are tied to one admin account that has total control over the page and profile. This has been a point of frustration for social media managers who have multiple team members updating their company social profiles.

Until two weeks ago, when Google gave select third-party apps early access to the Google+ API, the only solution was for a team to share one login or for one person to maintain the Google+ page alone. These situations are less than ideal because they can cause security and workflow issues. When the social media management tools in the pilot program integrated Google+ posting, companies not using these tools were still at a loss. Even some social managers using one of the six select services with Google+ are struggling as they wait for the early Google+ API to iron out some kinks.

Sorensen and his team addressed other popular feature requests in the live Q&A. While scheduled posting and events integration seem to be up in the air, the Google reps said analytics, widely-available Hangouts on Air and mobile page management are in the works.

How might the multi-admin feature help your Google+ brand page? What other features are you most looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below.

Source: Mashable.com

Facebook said to be planning $10bn IPO

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:14:57 +0200

Facebook was considering raising $10 billion (R84bn) in an initial public offering (IPO) that would value the world’s largest social networking site at more than $100bn, a person close to the issue said yesterday.

The company might file for the IPO before the end of the year, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations were private. Exact timing for the filing had not been determined.

Facebook’s $100bn valuation would be twice as high as it was in January, when the company announced a $1.5bn investment from Goldman Sachs and other backers. Facebook aimed to capitalise on strong demand for social-networking IPOs, said Josef Schuster, the founder of Chicago-based IPOX Schuster.

“It’s obviously a very steep valuation,” said Schuster. “They are realising their window of opportunity, and they want to do it (soon).”

At $10bn, the offering would raise more money than any other technology IPO, a sign Facebook expects investors to clamour for a piece of the firm. The amount would dwarf that of the previous record holder, Infineon Technologies, which made $5.2bn in its 1999 debut. Agere Systems raised $4.1bn in 2000, putting it second.

Facebook’s IPO was far enough away that the details might change, said Lise Buyer, the principal of the Class V Group, an IPO advisory firm. “It’s far too early to accurately predict where the valuation will be on deal day,” she said.

Facebook expected to be required by US regulators to disclose financial results by April 30 next year, if it did not go public by then, the group said in January.

Facebook decided to wait until 2012 for its IPO to give chief executive Mark Zuckerberg more time to gain users and boost sales, people familiar with the matter said last year.

Facebook, which has 800 million users, is increasing its focus on mobile technology, aiming to take advantage of the shift to smartphones and tablets. The group expects its next 1 billion users to come mainly from mobile devices, rather than desktop computers.

Facebook spokesman Jonathan Thaw declined to comment on the IPO plans.

Google, one of Facebook’s chief rivals in the internet advertising market, raised $1.7bn in its IPO in 2004. It is now valued at $190bn.

Facebook’s valuation is pegged at $66.6bn by SharesPost, which handles trading of privately held companies. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Facebook was considering a $10bn IPO with a valuation of more than $100bn. The firm aimed at going public between April and June, the newspaper said. – Bloomberg

Making search more secure: Accessing search query data in Google Analytics

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:52:07 +0200

As search becomes an increasingly customized experience, particularly for signed in users, we believe that protecting these personalized search results is important. As part of that effort, today the Google Search team announced that SSL Search on https://www.google.com will become the default experience for signed in users on Google.com (see the Official Google Blog post to learn more). Protecting user privacy is important to us, and we want to take this opportunity to explain what the Google Analytics team is doing to help you continue measuring your website effectively in light of these changes.

How will this change impact Google Analytics users?

When a signed in user visits your site from an organic Google search, all web analytics services, including Google Analytics, will continue to recognize the visit as Google “organic” search, but will no longer report the query terms that the user searched on to reach your site. Keep in mind that the change will affect only a minority of your traffic. You will continue to see aggregate query data with no change, including visits from users who aren’t signed in and visits from Google “cpc”.

What is Google Analytics doing about it?

We are still measuring all SEO traffic. You will still be able to see your conversion rates, segmentations, and more.

To help you better identify the signed in user organic search visits, we created the token “(not provided)” within Organic Search Traffic Keyword reporting. You will continue to see referrals without any change; only the queries for signed in user visits will be affected. Note that “cpc” paid search data is not affected.

Our team continues to explore ways that we can surface relevant information, like search query data, to help you measure the effectiveness of your website and marketing efforts, and as always, we welcome any feedback or comments that you have. Thank you for continuing to help us improve Google Analytics.

Source:http://analytics.blogspot.com

Some Tips for Activating the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 07:17:04 +0200

Kevin O’Connor, co-founder of DoubleClick, is the CEO of FindTheBest, an unbiased data driven comparison engine, which he established in Santa Barbara, CA.

As an entrepreneur, I’ve been invited to guest lecture for entrepreneurial programs at colleges from Harvard to the University of Michigan. Each time I stood before a group of aspiring entrepreneurs, I couldn’t help but wonder whether people could actually learn the needed skills and qualities to become a successful entrepreneur, or if we’re born into said skills.

I did some research and, synthesizing my findings with my own experience as an entrepreneur, concluded that people are born with some of the traits and characteristics needed to be a successful, innovative entrepreneur. However, these characteristics can always be improved through education and experience.

I’ve been lucky enough to learn about entrepreneurship, leadership and teamwork from supportive family members and forward-thinking mentors. Here are 9 invaluable lessons I’ve taken away.

Become a Budding Entrepreneur

Believe in yourself and stand behind your convictions. If you choose the entrepreneurial path, you must believe in your convictions so strongly that you would stand behind your opinions no matter the discouragements. Although this positive way of thinking may attract a lot of nay-sayers, don’t lose hope.

Innovate and invent constantly. Great entrepreneurs rarely invent just one profitable product — they’re inventing and innovating constantly. Oftentimes you need to come up with a lot of bad ideas before you come up with the one that sticks. Be persistent and don’t give up.

Move rapidly. Successful innovators get things done quickly because they know time is not on their side. You might have a multi-million dollar idea, but if you don’t get it out there before someone else, the idea will no longer be profitable.

Encourage Innovation Within Your Company

Support a meritocracy. Create a work environment in which the most talented employees and the best ideas get recognized and promoted, regardless of age, experience or position. Not only does this create healthy competition, but it encourages employees to be vocal and participate in the bigger vision.

Host weekly brainstorms. I brainstorm constantly with my employees; it’s the quickest way to access the best ideas in the room. I call it The Brainstorm Prioritization Technique: narrow and specifically define your goal, encourage free-flowing brainstorming, then go back to clarify ideas. Finally, allow team members to vote on top ideas.

Lead by example. If you’re not moving with a sense of urgency and adding your own ideas to the mix, it will be hard to motivate a potentially innovative team.

Hire Innovators

Avoid stock questions. I ask a lot of unusual questions when interviewing someone, mainly because stock questions produce equally predictable answers. When trying to gauge if a candidate’s self-confidence, I’ll ask him, “Are you smart?” Their initial reaction will tell all.

Don’t write off rebels. I also like candidates that have rebelled against authority in the name of a cause or belief. I’m not automatically prejudice against someone who has been jailed for talking back to a cop or fired for telling his boss to shove it. Innovators have always swum against the stream.

Look for a history of thinking big. Have they set big goals or innovated in the past? This is a good sign you have the right person.

Source: Mashable.com

5 Ways to Turn Social Customers Into Brand Ambassadors

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:34:01 +0200

With the advent of social media channels, customer service has forever changed. Consumers are no longer willing to sit and listen to classical music on hold. In today’s age of hyper-responsiveness, customers expect instant responses from support reps on very public online platforms.

Instead of shying away from social media, smart businesses will leverage their social channels to spread a positive brand reputation, to connect happy customers and to step up their customer support efforts.

Consumers aren’t eager to blast negative messages about your company – unless your brand is unresponsive. I recently learned at an IBM conference that customers are five times more likely to post something positive than negative, and that companies usually have at least 10 warnings before someone posts a negative comment.

Happy customers who get their issues resolved tell an average of four to six people about their positive experiences, according to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs. It pays to treat your customers well, not only for the repeat business, but also to gain the positive word-of-mouth consumers now broadcast across social media. Satisfied customers can become your most influential brand ambassadors. They’ll help to answer customer service questions posted online and also tout their own positive experiences with your business.

Here are the five best ways to turn customers into brand ambassadors through customer service.

1. Be Fast

When a customer turns to social media for a support issue, he expects a brand to generate the fastest response possible. According to a recent UK study, 25% of social media users expect a response within one hour, and 6% expect a response within 10 minutes. If you allow a support issue to dangle for too long, you risk being perceived as a company that either doesn’t know the answer or doesn’t care enough to reply promptly.

Remember, most people on social networks aren’t itching to post negative comments. They only do so after a bad experience. Therefore, don’t give them enough time to have a bad experience.

2. Be Visible

Private and direct messaging on Facebook and Twitter is all well and good, but when it comes to customer service, it’s best to be totally transparent and visible. The answer you give to one customer could, in turn, help thousands more. Think of each post and interaction as a resource that future customers can reference. Not to mention, customers will be more apt to direct friends to your page with their own questions.

Social media sites foster an online community around your brand. Watch how customers discuss and respond to your products so you can join the conversation and better understand the community that supports your brand.

3. Be Consistent

It’s vital that you ensure all customer support answers remain consistent across the web and across all social channels. If a common question is posted on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, then each response should communicate the same solution. Conflicting answers create confused, unhappy customers. Just as people expect consistent experiences with your products, they also expect consistent service across all of your channels. Brand accuracy drives confidence and credibility, and helps build brand loyalty among your customers.

4. Be Organized

If consistency creates brand ambassadors, then being organized is equally paramount. Admittedly, the cross-company integration and management of social media continues to be challenging. Maintaining a successful social media presence on just one network is a full-time job. Trying to do it over multiple networks is impossible if your support staff isn’t properly organized.

Customers can spot disorganization a mile away, especially online. However, if you demonstrate that your company support knows what it’s doing, you’ll earn the respect and trust of brand loyalists. Organization goes beyond knowing who does what on the support team; it’s also vital that everyone on the team is on the same page. Each team member must know where to seek reliable answers, and each must source information from the same place.

5. Be Human

As cool as Siri is, she still hasn’t crossed from digital assistant to human entity. Until then, your social media customer support should remain as human as possible. On the bright side, social networks already take the formalities out of conversation. It’s one of their biggest draws.

Therefore, a customer’s name isn’t “Inquiry #83kd4z.” She’s Christie from Denver. People respond best when they feel like they’re talking to other people. Your customer support should make customers feel as if they’re posting a normal question on a friend’s wall. Creating that kind of relationship with your customer should be the priority of any company.

Using customer service to create brand ambassadors isn’t the Herculean task it once was. Social media is presenting countless opportunities to turn your company’s support system into an open, interactive community, where customers can share their positive experiences with one another and spread the good word about your products and services – all on your behalf.

Source: Mashable.com

Yelp By the Numbers: 61 Million Visitors a Month, $58 Million Revenue

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:59:17 +0200

Yelp opened the hood on its financial operations on Thursday, giving potential investors a look inside the company’s business.

In a prospectus filed with the SEC ahead of its planned IPO, Yelp revealed the company is not yet profitable, but has exhibited strong growth over the past year or so. Among the highlights:

Yelp had 22 million reviews on its network in September, an increase of 66% over the comparable period in 2010. The average review has more than 100 words.

The company’s website got 61 million unique visitors that month, up 63% over the year-ago period.

Five million mobile devices accessed Yelp in September.

There are 529,000 business locations that are on Yelp, up 114%.

The company posted $58.4 million in revenue for the first nine months of this year, up 80% over the comparable period in 2010.

Yelp posted a net loss of $7.6 million for that period.

The bulk of Yelp’s revenues — $40.3 million for the first nine months of 2010 — comes from local advertising. Another $12.7 million is from brand advertising, while the remainder — $5.4 million — is from “other services.” This includes the recently scaled back Yelp Deals offering.

Sales and marketing comprise $38.5 million of Yelp’s expenses.

Though the company warns it has “incurred significant operating losses in the past” and may not be able achieve or maintain profitability down the road, Yelp sees a strong opportunity in local advertising.

The company cites figures from BIA/Kelsey stating that local online advertising was a $19.6 billion business in 2010 and there are 27 million local businesses in the U.S. The implication is that Yelp has plenty of opportunity in the market to scale up.

Yelp cites a few factors in its favor, like the fact that online reviews are gaining credibility and that more local businesses are advertising online. The continuing adoption of mobile devices also benefits the company since so many mobile users are accessing Yelp to get reviews of local businesses on the fly.

Source: Mashable.com

Meet Art Levinson, Apple’s New Chairman

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 07:12:34 +0200

Apple has appointed Arthur Levinson, one of Silicon Valley’s most respected leaders, as the company’s new Chairman of the Board. Who exactly is Levinson, and why has Apple chosen him to lead the board?

Levinson has served on Apple’s board of directors for more than a decade. In 2000, Steve Jobs asked Levinson to join Apple’s board when Levinson was chairman and CEO of Genentech, the multibillion-dollar biotech company now owned by Roche. Only Intuit’s Bill Campbell and J.Crew’s Millard Drexler have served longer on Apple’s board.

“Art is a highly respected CEO and leads one of the most important and successful science-based companies of our time,” Jobs said when Levinson first joined the board. “We look forward to his insight and counsel.”

Levinson was born in Seattle in March 1950 to Sol and Malvina Levinson. From his childhood he was interested in the sciences. He points to Carl Sagan’s Intelligent Life in the Universe as one of the most influential books in his early life. That inspiration took him to the University of Washington, where he graduated with a B.Sc. in molecular biology in 1972. He received a PhD in Biochemstry from Princeton in 1977, a year before he got married.

His career at Genentech began in 1980, when he was recruited as a research scientist by Genentech co-founder Dr. Herbert Boyer. Levinson quickly moved up the ranks, becoming the VP of research technology in 1989 and senior VP of R&D in 1993. In 1995, Levinson was named CEO. In 1999, he was also named chairman of the board.

In 2009, Levinson stepped down from his CEO duties at Genentech after the company was acquired by Roche for $46.8 billion. He remains the company’s chairman and serves on a variety of boards, including the boards of Roche, Amyris and the Broad Institute. He also joined Google’s board of directors in 2004, but left in 2009 not long after the departure of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt from Apple’s board.

What kind of change can we expect from Apple with Levinson in charge of the board? Not much. Levinson has served as co-lead of Apple’s board since 2005, only relinquishing that title in August when Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO and became the company’s chairman. Levinson has been one of the company’s most visible leaders for a long time.

In other words, don’t expect Levinson to change Apple’s magic formula. He helped create it.

Source: Mashable.com