Online Video Marketing Traffic Explosion

Online video marketing is typically low cost and does not have the high advertising costs associated with television advertising. It can be said that its power is getting very close to traditional television advertisements. It is certainly more effective than print ads.

More and more businesses are starting to use internet video marketing in their advertising campaigns. It really is the way forward for your business and there are many possibilities. Isn’t it time you looked into online video marketing and moved into the future? Embrace it and look at the possibilities awaiting you in online video marketing internet content.

Know your business focus

What is it that you hope to achieve from your marketing? Are you looking to get new customers or subscribers? Would you like to increase your conversions and sales?

Whatever your ultimate goal, it is important for you to have a good video marketing campaign in place. Using online video marketing content will certainly go some way to helping you achieve your business objectives.

We prefer visual content

Ever since television appeared we have liked to stare at screens, being entertained by whatever it can throw at us. Television had a big impact on society for many decades and now the internet is doing exactly the same.

People actually spend more time online now than they do watching television. There are so many ways of being entertained by the variety of internet content available today. One of these ways is video content. Yes individuals and businesses have realised online video marketing offers great opportunities for them.

Imagine for a moment you wanted to sell your house. You contact a real estate company to advertise your house for you. Everyone else has a photo of their house on display, but you decide to go one better. You decide to take out your video camera and go from room to room recording every little detail.

When people come to enquire about a house, who do you think is going to get the most interest from potential buyers? It is most likely going to be you because you have done your online video marketing and have given them something visual to look at. Not just a dry static photograph like everyone else. We prefer to watch video and this is a prime example of the power of video marketing.

At one time banner ads were a popular form of advertising on the internet. They still have some effectiveness to be honest, but some of their power has been eroded in recent years. If a person is faced with the choice of looking at a banner ad or a video, they are more likely to watch the video.

As part of your online video marketing strategy you are allowing others to put the video they like onto their website or blog, or even share it with others. You are effectively giving out an online video marketing social experience, which will get you more traffic in the long term.

Product advertising

If your business has a product you wish to promote then video offers tremendous possibilities here. It is not so easy to explain what the product actually does in plain text. Is your potential customer going to bother reading through the explanation or are they likely to skim through it?

With online video marketing you can create an engaging video that will allow you to demonstrate your product visually. The viewer will have a better experience when they watch the moving pictures and hear a voice talking. As part of the video you could add a link of your website so that they can visit it and check out the product further. At this point you can go for the sale.

Why not give your products the online video marketing treatment they deserve and add a new angle to your marketing efforts.

Sales pages into video

Have you ever seen some of those long sales pages on the internet? If you’re anything like me you cannot be bothered to read all the way through. Paragraph after paragraph of long waffling text when all you really want to know is what it can do for you and how much is it going to cost.

A video sales page that you create as part of online video marketing will offer so much more than a static text sales page. You don’t need to appear on camera if you do not want to.

The video can be made up of text and somebody can be reading it out loud. You can also add in pictures or effects if you want to. It all helps to offer a great viewing experience and will increase the likelihood of you getting sales.

Is video marketing expensive?

The simple answer is online video marketing is a low cost method of marketing. You do not need expensive video equipment to make a good video. What you must ensure is that your video is engaging. Offer value to people and they will reward you by checking out further what you have to offer.

Hosting your video can be done on YouTube. This offers a number of benefits because millions of people worldwide visit this site on a daily basis. Think of the traffic you could get as a result of online video marketing. You will have more people coming back to your website as a result of people watching your video on YouTube. More traffic increases the likelihood of more sales and subscribers. Also it helps with your online marketing video seo efforts.

To host your video on YouTube won’t cost you anything either. You can even create your own channel and add many videos to it. If you have a website or blog then you can embed your video in it. YouTube is owned by Google so you can be sure it will help with your online video marketing search engine efforts.

You will discover that the traffic you get will be of benefit especially if you are doing local internet marketing in your business.

Video marketing services

If you feel you don’t have the time to investigate this novel way of marketing then you should consider contacting video marketing services. They will be only too willing to take care of your video sales pages, product advertising etc., leaving you free to concentrate on other aspects of your business.

Conclusion

There has never been a better time to investigate exactly what video can do for your business or product. Those who hesitate will only live to regret it later. You do not need to be an expert to do online video marketing, nor do you need to invest a lot of money. Just present yourself to your audience by producing an engaging video and this will motivate them to buy your product.

Common Things to Look Out for When Applying for Work From Home Jobs

Working at home has a lot of advantages and can be very rewarding. But there are also a lot of people who take advantage of this and con them. Luckily you can do something to avoid these scams and truly get the benefits of work at home jobs.Another thing to remember is that although there are a lot of big companies out there that are hiring people for home employment, more and more small businesses are also doing this. And this makes it harder to spot and avoid scams.Craigslist ScamCraigslist is one of the most popular websites to look for work at home jobs. But with its popularity comes some dangers of scams like employers hiring people without asking for their resume. Another sign of a scam is when the employer asks for an upfront fee and not to mention if the company does not exist or the employer does not want to give you the company details.Envelope and E-mail ScamsEnvelope scam is when your employers ask you to send out advertisements and stuffing them in an envelope. And these advertisements usually ask the receiver for some money.The E-mail scam is usually when you get a spam email that offers you at home employment opportunities in which you will be a financial agent for an unknown and shady foreign company. When you receive something like this in your email, try to check if the company gives you a huge amount of money for the said job because this is one of the indicators that this is a scam.Authority SitesOf course always make sure that the website you post your resume or look for a job is reputable and trustworthy. There are also tools that can help you get hired for real work at home jobs.Another way to avoid getting scammed is to confirm it from a friend or associate that has worked for the company or employer that is offering you an online job. You could also try looking for online forums that help people find home-based jobs. And try to avoid websites or job offers that have over-exaggerated text or advertisements that are too good to be true. There are also websites that offers job placement security for a small fee which can help you avoid scams.If you follow these tips you can be sure that to avoid any type of scam when applying for work at home jobs. Just stay vigilant and always do your research before applying for any kind of job online.

The 2 Most Important Things For Your Health and Fitness

There are many people in the world that would tell you that you need to pay them lots of money to get in shape and that being healthy is a very complicated task. However, the most important rule to being fit is KISS, or “Keep it Simple Stupid.”To be healthy you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars each month. You don’t need to go buy the latest supplements and vitamins and you don’t need to go hire a personal trainer at $70 per hour that really only knows how to get big biceps. There are however, two very important things you need to know about fitness. These things are so important that without them, you will never be able to be fit or truly healthy.1) Diet – You are What you EatYou absolutely have to remember that you are what you eat. If you eat a bunch of doughnuts and chips you can’t expect to be the next Mark Wahlberg or Jessica Alba. Diet is the most important thing if you want to be healthy and fit. You need to eat clean, nutritious, REAL food, not a bunch of processed and engineered calories. This means you need to be eating fruit, vegetables, and lean meats along with nuts and seeds.It seems like every other week a new fad diet is out that was designed to help you lose weight super fast while being able to eat all the great food you love. The truth is you aren’t going to be healthy if you are loading up on sweets and unhealthy fats such as mayonnaise. As a general rule if the ‘food’ has a long expiration date or a lot of ingredients you can’t pronounce then don’t eat it. If you eat healthy clean foods and drink lots of water you are on your way to being healthy and fit.2) Strong CoreThe second thing that is important to your personal health and fitness is having a strong core. If you don’t know core refers to the muscles of the trunk of your body; the abdominal muscles, obliques, and the lower back. These are the most important muscles in your back. Without them you wouldn’t be able to stand up straight, sit, or even get out of bed. Ensuring that these muscles are strong will prevent many issues such as low back pain or discomfort.Many people think that to do this you need to do hundreds of situps a day. This isn’t true. With a few basic exercises a few times a week you can develop a super strong core. The number one thing you can do to develop a strong core is to deadlift. You can’t do heavy deadlifts without a strong core; it just won’t happen. In addition to deadlifts you should be doing squats and some supplemental work such as hanging leg raises and gymnastic work like front levers.However, you should never EVER do any of these lifts without proper instruction beforehand. Getting some one on one teaching is crucial to make sure you do not get hurt as any of these lifts can be very dangerous if you do not know what you are doing.

Online Digital Photography Training

There are many ways to learn digital photography, the most obvious one being practice, but there are also less obvious choices… like the title of this article for example: “online digital photography training”.Learning how to take good pictures with a digital camera can be a hard task to accomplish, and I guess more importantly for some people, to make (a lot) of money from them can be an even harder task.But now after the huge thing called the internet, learning digital photography online has never been easier.Getting a mentorThere are many ways actually, to go through online digital photography training, for example you could hire someone to teach you personally, basically a mentor… but that would probably run you dollars up in four figures.Another way to learn digital photography is…Taking online classesSimilar to the previous option, except not only you get coached and you do it together (virtually, that is) with an entire class. Very expensive, but also very effective.The third option, which is my favorite, is to…Teaching yourselfNow studying and learning digital photography all by yourself may seem like a daunting task at first, but let me tell you one thing:There are hoards of courses online which you can get hold of very cheaply. A lot of them aren’t legit, so watch out. That would be the one drawback of purchasing some products online, but you just have to pick the good ones.Making money from your photosNow what I think is even cooler about the whole internet thing is that you can make a full time income just by submitting your digital photographs to certain websites, it’s really cool actually, and some people make serious money from it.Well that’s it for this article, feel free to research any of the above ways by yourself… I can’t do everything for you! Good luck with your Digital Photography!

Keeping Your Current Lifestyle in Retirement

It’s a question that many pre-retirees find themselves asking – How much money will I need to keep my current lifestyle in retirement? What’s more, will I have enough to live the retirement I’ve been dreaming about?A few years ago, as we struggled with a significant bear market and the country’s financial crisis, the idea of achieving an ideal retirement seemed to take a backseat to ensuring retirement essentials were handled. Today, people are again envisioning a truly fulfilling retirement. At the very least, most people want to carry over the lifestyle they became accustomed to in their working years. Given that people also will likely have more free time after they set work aside, retirement can mean much more.What are ‘lifestyle’ expenses?It is helpful to categorize different types of expenses you will face in retirement. For starters, there are essential expenses, the basic costs of living. This includes food, shelter, utilities, medical care and similar types of costs associated with day-to-day living. Lifestyle expenses can vary based on your own priorities. They may include:• Travel• Hobbies• Recreational activities• Owning and maintaining a second home• Investing in your own business ventureCosts for these types of expenses can vary widely depending on the types and specific nature of the activities you wish to pursue. For example, if you plan to travel the world for a few years after you retire, that may require a significantly greater investment than taking trips to various parts of the U.S. or spending time at your vacation home.Another nuance to lifestyle expenses is that they may fluctuate from year to year. Some retirees choose to pursue a very active lifestyle in the first years of freedom from work and their expenses may be higher in the early part of retirement as a result. Then lifestyle expenses may decline as they grow older and are less able to pursue certain activities. It’s important to consider how your retirement lifestyle may change over time.Good planning may help make your desired lifestyle a realityMost people who are able to achieve their ideal retirement don’t do so by accident. They plan ahead and develop a savings and investment strategy to make it happen. No matter your age, here are three important steps you should consider starting now:1. Map out your dreams for retirement. Try to identify specific goals and activities that you want to pursue.2. Estimate the costs of your ideal retirement lifestyle, in terms of monthly or annual expenses. Try to leave some cushion in your estimates in case actual costs exceed your expectations. Keep in mind that even with modest inflation it will likely cost more down the road than it does today.3. Develop a plan to fund those goals. This includes a dedicated savings strategy that is increased every year to account for inflation. Consider tempering the risk in your portfolio as retirement draws closer.The good news is that you can dream about retirement again. However, those dreams don’t become a reality without being proactive to make it happen. The sooner you start, the more successful you are likely to be.

Why Home Insurance?

Your home is the center of your life, the place where you eat, sleep, live, and relax. Because our homes are places of comfort and safety, oftentimes we forget that they are vulnerable to the same dangers we face out in the world. Getting the right home insurance will make sure that in case of damage done to your home, your life won’t get damaged in the process.Before signing on to just any insurance plan through any agent, be sure to research your potential coverage, based on your property. Insurance plans vary greatly depending on where you live. Condos, mobile homes, homeowners, and renters: everyone has different needs to be met by their insurance carrier.Standard homeowner’s insurance with Farmers will provide protection for your home due to damage or loss. Our plans cover the cost of replacement of personal possessions due to theft or damage, liabilities for negligent acts by your family or pets, and medical payments for visitors injured at your home.Renters can benefit from an insurance plan adjusted to suit their personal needs. For example, renters insurance covers protection of property as listed on your individual coverage plan, liability or medical payments for visitors injured who do not live at home, and additional living expenses should your structure become uninhabitable.If you own a condo, condo insurance will cover accidental damage to your renovations regardless of your association’s policies. Condo insurance also covers personal property, liabilities and medical payments.Mobile home owners can look to Foremost, America’s leader in mobile home insurance, for mobile home insurance. There are also insurance plans if you need coverage for landlord protection, investment property, or personal umbrella liability.

Custom Automotive Logos for Your Car

If you’re proud of yourself and the car you are driving. There is an easy way to show it to the rest of the world by adding your own personalized logos in the form of custom stickers. With all the new technology available to us, it is cheap and easy to develop your own design and get it screen printed.This process cause that the general bumper sticker became absolute and they tend to become weary and tacky after a while. In this modern world people became aware of their individuality and sick and tired of the normal bumper stickers.Really how many of the same slogans, logos and brands do you want to see on bumper stickers while driving down the freeway? The new age and vinyl stickers changed this whole concept, normally these vinyl stickers last for a life time.But then you must just ask your printer to use UV protected materials. You do get vinyl stickers for the indoors use only as the material use to print them on is not UV protected. These custom stickers is a great way to proof your individuality and who the car belongs too, and will cause your old car to look great again.You can decide yourself if your custom sticker will only be a normal bumper sticker or you want it more complex. If you decide on the more complex way it becomes very interesting. Complex stickers can change the complete look of your car and personalize it the way you want it.If you driving an older model car that may need an expensive paint job, and you want to customize it and haven’t got the money to do so. Considering these custom vinyl custom stickers, can make the whole process very interesting and much cheaper.Now you can design your own automotive logos and designs, by following the next process.
First of all visualize how you want your car to look when you are finish.
If you battle with that part there is a lot of free car custom software on the web you can download and play with.
Then you must clean the body and areas you want to custom with your stickers.
You must make sure there are no rust patches, if there are any you will have to tread them first.
Just tread them with anti-rust repellent and spray them.
These spots you can spray with a normal automotive spray in a can.
The anti-rust repellent and paint will prevent it to rust under the sticker.
Before you stick the stickers on make sure there is no oily substance on the body.
If you don’t know how to stick the stickers just ask the printer to show you how.
Normally custom stickers look great if they are place in proper places, like on the side windows and rear window. You can even decide to design fun stickers like flames, tattoo like swirls and popular cartoon characters that you can put on to the body parts. You can even take your cars original automotive logo and redesign it in something spectacular for the bonnet or boot.This custom designed stickers will allow you to have endless array of sizes, colors and styles whatever you wish you can have. If you really love your car and see yourself as an individual you might consider investing in custom designed stickers, if your car needs a paint job and you don’t have the money for that custom paint job.

India’s Move to Right to Education

BACKGROUND.It was Saturday afternoon; the world seemed to be on vacation but me, as I was busy serving guests at a lunch party at my masters’ residence. Chatting and laughing was loud enough to be heard in every nook and corner of the house. But those were of least concern to me, because I had to respond to every single call for any requirement at the very word of the guests or the master in particular. It was 2009, and I was just seven, wearing a sweater and a half pant, watching a bunch of people boasting about the achievements of their wards and trying to prove ones child better than the other. When suddenly, an old man read from a magazine that the government was to pass a new act namely, Right to Education Act. But to me those routine talks about the household work made more sense than this new coming up topic, because neither I could read or understand there high-level conversation, which had diverted there talks from their children, on top of that I didn’t even understand, what the word ‘right’ meant. That elderly fellow said something like…History of the Act:The Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2003 was the first attempt of the Central government to draft a comprehensive legislation on education after the 86th Constitutional Amendment that made education a fundamental right. The Bill was an excellent example of bureaucratic empowerment, creating up to 6 levels of various authorities to ensure the provision of free and compulsory education. Furthermore, the reservation of up to 25% of the private school seats for the economically backward students to be selected by these authorities ensured that the Bill was a throwback to the old licence-permit-raj regime. Following widespread criticism, the Bill was discarded.The Right to Education Bill 2005 is the second attempt by the Central government to set the education system right. Some of the important provisions of the Bill:• Promises free and compulsory education of equitable quality up to the elementary level to all children in the age group of 6 to 14.
• Mandates unaided private schools to reserve up to 25 percent of the seats for students from weaker sections. The schools will be reimbursed by the lower of the actual school fee or per student expenditure in the government school. The aided schools will reserve “at least such proportion of their admitted children as its annual recurring aid bears to its annual recurring expenses subject to a minimum of 25 per cent.”
• Requires all remaining students to be accommodated by opening new government schools and within three years of the passage all students to have a school to go within their own neighbourhood.
• Forms School Management Committees (SMCs) comprising parents and teachers for state schools and aided schools. The SMCs will own the assets of the school, manage the accounts, and pay salaries.
• Establishes a National Commission for Elementary Education to monitor the implementation of the Bill, State Regulatory Authorities to address grievances under the Bill, and several ‘competent authorities,’ ‘local authorities,’ and ‘empowered authorities’ to perform a vast number of regulatory functions and meet out punishment to defaulters.
• Assigns all state school teachers to particular schools from which they will never be transferred-creates a school-based teacher cadre.The finance committee and planning commission rejected the Bill citing the lack of funds and a Model bill was sent to states for the making necessary arrangements.INTRODUCTIONAs is evident, even after 60 years, universal elementary education remains a distant dream. Despite high enrolment rates of approximately 95% as per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER 2009), 52.8% of children studying in 5th grade lack the reading skills expected at 2nd grade. Free and compulsory elementary education was made a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution in December 2002, by the 86th Amendment. In translating this into action, the `Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill’ was drafted in 2005. This was revised and became an Act in August 2009, but was not notified for roughly 7 months.The reasons for delay in notification can be mostly attributed to unresolved financial negotiations between the National University of Education Planning and Administration, NUEPA, which has been responsible for estimating RTE funds and the Planning Commission and Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD). From an estimate of an additional Rs.3.2 trillion to Rs.4.4 trillion for the implementation of RTE Draft Bill 2005 over 6 years (Central Advisory Board of Education, CABE) the figure finally set by NUEPA now stands at a much reduced Rs.1.7 trillion over the coming 5 years. For a frame of reference, Rs.1 trillion is 1.8% of one year’s GDP.Most education experts agree that this amount will be insufficient. Since education falls under the concurrent list of the Constitution, financial negotiations were also undertaken between Central and State authorities to agree on sharing of expenses. This has been agreed at 35:65 between States and Centre, though state governments continue to argue that their share should be lower.KEY FEATURES OF THE ACT INCLUDE:1. Every child from 6 to 14 years of age has a right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education.
2. Private schools must take in a quarter of their class strength from `weaker sections and disadvantaged groups’, sponsored by the government.
3. All schools except private unaided schools are to be managed by School Management Committees with 75 per cent parents and guardians as members.
4. All schools except government schools are required to be recognized by meeting specified norms and standards within 3 years to avoid closure.On the basis of this Act, the government has framed subordinate legislation called model rules as guidelines to states for the implementation of the Act.The family, I had been working for, (walia family) had always been caring for me, with occasional slaps and abuses, to which I had become accustomed to and accepted them as a part and parcel of my monthly income of 700 Rs along with square meals and the discarded cloths of the children to the master. But then that was my life……bhaiya and didi (son and daughter to the master) were both elder to me by 4 or 5 years respectively and during my free time often played along with me, but again I was reminded of my being a servant whenever I forgot that…they had thought me to read and write my name in Hindi, which I always kept scribbling at the corners of the walls which resulted in a colour change of my cheeks to red from white, whenever caught. That Act being the burning topic of those days always managed to occupy some space at the front page of every news paper, which further became a topic of early morning drawing room discussion for the family as it was that day and just like every normal citizen he also started which his speech, with the critique of right to education act and its loop holes….LOOPHOLES IN THE ACTThe Act is excessively input-focused rather than outcomes-oriented. Even though better school facilities, books, uniforms and better qualified teachers are important, their significance in the Act has been overestimated in the light of inefficient, corrupt and unaccountable institutions of education provision. Then the Act unfairly penalises private unrecognised schools for their payment of market wages for teachers rather than elevated civil service wages. It also penalises private schools for lacking the infrastructural facilities defined under a Schedule under the Act. These schools, which are extremely cost efficient, operate mostly in rural areas or urban slums, and provide essential educational services to the poor. Independent studies by Geeta Kingdon, James Tooley and ASER 2009 suggest that these schools provide similar if not better teaching services when compared to government schools, while spending a much smaller amount. However, the Act requires government action to shut down these schools over the coming three years. A better alternative would have been to find mechanisms through which public resources could have been infused into these schools. The exemption from these same recognition requirements for government schools is the case of double standards — with the public sector being exempted from the same `requirements’. By the Act, SMCs (school management committees) are to comprise of mostly parents, and are to be responsible for planning and managing the operations of government and aided schools. SMCs will help increase the accountability of government schools, but SMCs for government schools need to be given greater powers over evaluation of teacher competencies and students learning assessment. Members of SMCs are required to volunteer their time and effort. This is an onerous burden for the poor. Payment of some compensation to members of SMCs could help increase the time and focus upon these. Turning to private but `aided’ schools, the new role of SMCs for private `aided’ schools will lead to a breakdown of the existing management structures. Teachers are the cornerstone of good quality education and need to be paid market-driven compensation. But the government has gone too far by requiring high teacher salaries averaging close to Rs.20,000 per month. These wages are clearly out of line, when compared with the market wage of a teacher, for most schools in most locations in the country. A better mechanism would have involved schools being allowed to design their own teacher salary packages and having autonomy to manage teachers. A major problem in India is the lack of incentive faced by teachers either in terms of carrot or stick. In the RTE Act, proper disciplinary channels for teachers have not been defined. Such disciplinary action is a must given that an average of 25 percent teachers are absent from schools at any given point and almost half of those who are present are not engaged in teaching activity. School Management Committees need to be given this power to allow speedy disciplinary action at the local level. Performance based pay scales need to be considered as a way to improve teaching.The Act and the Rules require all private schools (whether aided or not) to reserve at least 25% of their seats for economically weaker and socially disadvantaged sections in the entry level class. These students will not pay tuition fees. Private schools will receive reimbursements from the government calculated on the basis of per-child expenditure in government schools. Greater clarity for successful implementation is needed on:• How will ‘weaker and disadvantaged sections’ be defined and verified?
• How will the government select these students for entry level class?
• Would the admission lottery be conducted by neighbourhood or by entire village/town/city? How would the supply-demand gaps in each neighbourhood be addressed?
• What will be the mechanism for reimbursement to private schools?
• How will the government monitor the whole process? What type of external vigilance/social audit would be allowed/encouraged on the process?
• What would happen if some of these students need to change school in higher classes?Moreover, the method for calculation of per-child reimbursement expenditure (which is to exclude capital cost estimates) will yield an inadequate resource flow to private schools. It will be tantamount to a tax on private schools. Private schools will end up charging more to the 75% of students – who are paying tuition’s – to make space for the 25% of students they are forced to take. This will drive up tuition fees for private schools (while government schools continue to be taxpayer funded and essentially free).Reimbursement calculations should include capital as well recurring costs incurred by the government.By dictating the terms of payment, the government has reserved the right to fix its own price, which makes private unaided schools resent this imposition of a flat price. A graded system for reimbursement would work better, where schools are grouped — based on infrastructure, academic outcomes and other quality indicators — into different categories, which would then determine their reimbursement.Quality of EducationThe quality of education provided by the government system remains in question. While it remains the largest provider of elementary education in the country forming 80% of all recognized schools, it suffers from shortages of teachers, infrastructural gaps and several habitations continue to lack schools altogether. There are also frequent allegations of government schools being riddled with absenteeism and mismanagement and appointments are based on political convenience. Despite the allure of free lunch-food in the government schools, which has basically turned the schools into a “dhaba” and school teachers to “chefs”, many parents send their children to private schools. Average schoolteacher salaries in private rural schools in some States (about Rs. 4,000 per month) are considerably lower than that in government schools. As a result, proponents of low cost private schools, critiqued government schools as being poor value for money.Children attending the private schools are seen to be at an advantage, thus discriminating against the weakest sections, who are forced to go to government schools. Furthermore, the system has been criticized as catering to the rural elites who are able to afford school fees in a country where large number of families live in absolute poverty. The act has been criticized as discriminatory for not addressing these issues. Well-known educationist Anil Sadagopal said of the hurriedly-drafted act:”It is a fraud on our children. It gives neither free education nor compulsory education. In fact, it only legitimizes the present multi-layered, inferior quality school education system where discrimination shall continue to prevail.”For me this new topic was like Ramayana being recited in the house, although Ramayana was still Hindi, but this was complete alien…it was Wednesday afternoon and the family members were all taking rest when I decided to run away from that house, and then actually did…but when was back home I was scolded brutally by my father who said ‘here comes one more, person with his mouth wide open, good for nothing creature’. After few days, I was as well enrolled in local village school, which served lunch to every student who attended the school. But the food wasn’t easy here too, every pupil was made to cook food and wash dishes, the left out time was utilized in fulfilling the desires of the school teacher. I did everything in the school but study. But my sister was not as lucky as me, although for sake of attending school, she was only enrolled in there but the reality was that she hardly attended any classes due to engagement in the household work, as that was more important and education for marriage than that what was written the school books. The only day we had a feast was when inspection was on the calendar. I did wanted to study but my pockets didn’t allow me, I always pondered but couldn’t make out what was wrong with my school when compared to those big ones in the cities but the answers were nowhere for me……THINGS WHICH CAN BE DONE FOR THE IMPROVEMENT.The RTE Act has been passed; the Model Rules have been released; financial closure appears in hand. Does this mean the policy process is now impervious to change? Even today, much can be achieved through a sustained engagement with this problem.Drafting of State RulesEven though state rules are likely to be on the same lines as the model rules, these rules are still to be drafted by state level authorities keeping in mind contextual requirements. Advocacy on the flaws of the Central arrangements, and partnerships with state education departments, could yield improvements in at least some States. Examples of critical changes which state governments should consider are: giving SMCs greater disciplinary power over teachers and responsibility of students learning assessment, greater autonomy for schools to decide teacher salaries and increased clarity in the implementation strategy for 25% reservations. If even a few States are able to break away from the flaws of the Central arrangements, this would yield demonstration effects of the benefits from better policies.Assisting private unrecognized schoolsSince unrecognized schools could face closure in view of prescribed recognition standards within three years, we could find ways to support such schools to improve their facilities by resource support and providing linkages with financial institutions. Moreover, by instituting proper rating mechanisms wherein schools can be rated on the basis of infrastructure, learning achievements and other quality indicators, constructive competition can ensue.Ensure proper implementationDespite the flaws in the RTE Act, it is equally important for us to simultaneously ensure its proper implementation. Besides bringing about design changes, we as responsible civil society members need to make the government accountable through social audits, filing right to information applications and demanding our children’s right to quality elementary education. Moreover, it is likely that once the Act is notified, a number of different groups affected by this Act will challenge it in court. It is, therefore, critically important for us to follow such cases and where feasible provide support which addresses their concerns without jeopardizing the implementation of the Act.AwarenessMost well-meaning legislation’s fail to make significant changes without proper awareness and grassroot pressure. Schools need to be made aware of provisions of the 25% reservations, the role of SMCs and the requirements under the Schedule. This can be undertaken through mass awareness programs as well as ensuring proper understanding by stakeholders responsible for its implementation.Ecosystem creation for greater private involvementFinally, along with ensuring implementation of the RTE Act which stipulates focused reforms in government schools and regulation for private schools, we need to broaden our vision so as to create an ecosystem conducive to spontaneous private involvement. The current licensing and regulatory restrictions in the education sector discourage well-intentioned ‘entrepreneurs’ from opening more schools. Starting a school in Delhi, for instance, is a mind-numbing, expensive and time-consuming task which requires clearances from four different departments totaling more than 30 licenses. The need for deregulation is obvious.Today, I am 15 in age, out of school and again away from home, working only to earn hand to mouth, to boast that am literate I have gained my elementary education but the fact is, I only know how to write my name in Hindi along with few more things and that’s not because of the school but I owe that to Mr walias’ children. And today, the biggest question for me is, why should anyone get enrolled in a school to gain elementary education, when that education is doing no good to him in the future? After 14 I had to leave the school, in spite of me being still in standard four, I couldn’t support my studies further so ultimately all my efforts went in vain, leaving me all to myself, just to ponder what should I do????CONCLUSION:The Act has failed in identifying what actually ails our education system and so not surprisingly it offers solutions that are either redundant or counter-productive. Its unrelenting faith in the bureaucracy and its seething animosity towards private initiatives in education reflect a bygone era. However well-intentioned the government may be, the central planning approach cannot serve the future needs of India. It has failed in economics and it cannot do any better in education. The promises made in the Bill then amount to political grandstanding.The fulfillment of the constitutional obligation does not necessarily require the state to build and manage schools. It can discharge its obligation successfully by restricting its role to the provision of financial resources to those who cannot afford and enabling all parents to make informed choices. The education system should be designed in such a manner that there is competition and choice. The schools should compete with each other to attract students and the students should in turn have the freedom to choose their school. This would ensure the best allocation of scarce resources and an improving quality of education.One way for the government to finance education that would guarantee access to school and would create right incentives for improving quality is to fund government schools on the basis of number students in the school. Instead of a lump sum grant, the government fixes a per student charge, which multiplied with the number of students, determines the grant that a school would receive. The state can also provide financial support to students in the form of a voucher that can be redeemed only at educational institutions to cover the expenses of education. With this education voucher, the student would be in a position to choose from amongst the various public and private schools.This would ensure competition amongst schools and thus good quality education. Furthermore, the financial resources of the state would be put to more effective use by targeting them towards the poor only and by optimally utilizing the management skills of the private sector. There is no doubt that privately managed institutions have made a tremendous contribution to the cause of education, and in the last decade particularly the unrecognised private schools for the poor. It would be a tremendous loss of social capital if these schools were forced to close down. If the government opens a new school and runs well, there would be no reason for parents to send their children to a fee-charging, unrecognised school.They would go out of business automatically. One more reason not to outlaw these schools with the passage of the Act is the chaos and harm it would create since they will have to close down well before the government will be able to open new schools across the country. In its zeal to fulfill its constitutional mandate, the government would achieve the opposite.Instead of treating private initiative as inherently corrupt and exploitative, the government should channel the private enterprise to help expand access and improve quality of education. It has been done with great success in many areas.a

What Is Interim Management?

According to the Interim Management Association, “Interim Management is the rapid provision of senior executives to manage change or transition”.In simpler terms, an interim manager is a highly experienced and specialized executive whom you can employ in your firm for a short period of time to solve a specific business problem. He is a master project manager and will not only act as a consultant and give you advice, but also solve the problem for you.Let us take a hypothetical example to understand this better.Company X has been performing badly from the past 5 years. It is a family run business and due to the internal politics amongst the family members, the company has lost its competitive edge in the market.To make the situation worse, the Managing Director has suddenly resigned. Now, the Chairman of Company X realizes that the existing management team is inexperienced and incapable of running the company.So, he has two alternatives. He can source and hire an existing senior level executive from another company and employ her on a permanent basis. But finding the right person uses valuable resources. The placement of a new senior staff member may cause further conflict between family members and insecurities in their roles, and they may seek work elsewhere. And worse, if the new executive turns out to be the wrong choice, removing her will be difficult.The much better alternative is to employ an interim manager! Such an executive offers both past experience in short-term troubleshooting and company efficiency, and specialization in the particular field.The Chairman will be able to select from a panel of executives deemed suitable by the recruitment agency, and spend less time and money doing the legwork on his own. Existing employees will feel less threatened by the interim manager because of the limited time he will spend with the company.An interim executive provides the solution to any number of problems in business. They are committed to their role as a short-term staff member and their varied experience in critical situations gives them a strategic advantage when handling new problems.For a layman, it may appear that “interim manager” is just a fancy word for a management consultant. This is not the case! Some of their responsibilities do overlap, but there are very simple – and important – differences between them. Let us investigate this properly.What are the differences between Interim Managers and Management Consultants?There is a vast distinction between them. Although on the surface they appear to be similar roles, their functions are quite distinguishable.Essentially, an interim manager is a management consultant, but a management consultant is not an interim manager.Their core differences are outlined below:
Interim Managers

An interim executive is hired as an independent person on the basis of his or her personal abilities and reputation.
An interim will always try to cut costs and improve company effectiveness to achieve organizational goals as quickly as possible. This will assist in building his or her reputation.
An interim does not only advise on the situation, he or she also implements measures to solve the problem.
An interim reports directly to you, the employer, and not through a third party agency, so you are well informed and there is no conflict of interest.
An interim works with your own team, provided by your company as you see fit.
Interim Managers are usually specialists in their particular fields. Their experience is vast and relates to the particular field that you hire them for.

Management Consultants

A consultant generally works through an agency and is hired on the basis of the agency’s merits more so than his or her own reputation.
A consultant may try to push additional services or “stretch out” the service to increase his or her own revenue or that of the agency.
A consultant does advise on a situation, but will not implement his or her own advice.
A consultant reports back to his or her agency, who then reports to you, costing valuable time and other resources.
A consultant works with the people he or she chooses and brings them into your company instead of adapting to work with the people you already have.
Consultants generally do not specialize in one area, but are a “jack of all trades” in business.
It is clear, then, that an interim manager is able to perform a far more specialized job for your company, using your own resources and reporting only to you. He or she does a “start to finish” job: overseeing the company’s current operations, developing strategies for improvement and then implementing the strategies. A recent survey of 100 senior directors reported that 78 per cent of them feel that interim executives are a better option than management consultants.What this all means is that the interim management industry is beginning to expand. Companies increasingly prefer interims to their consultant counterparts because of the more complete service that they offer.Interim Management TrendsThe interim management industry is a relatively new field. It was borne into the European market in the 1970s and 80s and is projected to grow further in the coming years. It originated in order to be able to provide fast, specialized top management service in times of company and management crisis.For example, at the time of its introduction to the Netherlands in the 1970s, companies were dealing with long terms of notice and high termination payouts. The oil crisis had occurred and industries faced a major setback. As a result, highly skilled and experienced managers were required on an immediate basis in order to rebuilt companies that were failing.And so interim management was born.Similar situations have occurred in other countries in Europe. Over the past 20 years, the size of the market has grown steadily.The interim management market offers different areas of specialization, and these have different rates of demand. All are highly competitive.Areas with the highest demand are schools of Human Resources and Finance & Operations, which account for almost 20 per cent of all assignments. Lesser levels of demand are found in areas including Purchasing, Supply Chain and IT. However, the highest remuneration is for IT and Managing Director/CEO roles.The public sector employs almost 20 per cent more interim managers than the private sector, but there is evidence of a gradual growth in their employment within privately owned companies. Interim mangers are beginning to enjoy an excellent reputation for quick and effective strategic management, and this is contributing to industry awareness.The interim management industry as a whole has experienced excellent growth in the past few years and it is expected that it will continue to grow at an accelerated rate in years to come.What does this mean?Despite its relative youth in the management industry, interim management has grown steadily. There is an excellent opportunity for individuals to become involved in interim management while it is still growing – “on the ground floor”, so to speak. There is basis for thinking that interim managers will begin to take over from management consultants as companies become even further specialized and have even more requirements for quick solutions.Interim management is here to stay!

How Digital Marketing Companies in India Are Helping Businesses Stay Relevant Online

The advent of the internet has opened up novel vistas for doing business. As per a survey, India will have around 500 million internet users by 2017. This creates a fascinating opportunity for businesses to sell their services and products to a growing population of internet users.The internet has brought along with it newer ways of marketing. Obviously, traditional marketing or outbound marketing methodologies that use TV and radio ads, banners, hoardings and print ads in newspapers, magazines, brochures and other marketing collateral, do not work on the internet.Inbound or online marketing, is marketing on the internet or in the digital sphere. It takes into consideration things like page rankings in search engine searches, advertising on search engines, banner ads on other websites, marketing on social media, etc. These marketing campaigns are highly focused and target exactly the audience that a particular business wants to serve ads to.The need to market products and services on the internet has given rise to a new industry – the internet marketing industry. Digital marketing companies in India provide comprehensive digital marketing services for businesses. They usually employ a specialist team of domain experts in search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing (SMM) and social media optimization (SMO).A recent survey noted that 34% of the companies surveyed had an integrated digital marketing strategy and 16% companies said that they use internet marketing on and off. A staggering 50% of the respondents said that they do not have a defined strategy for internet marketing. These numbers suggest that there are still businesses that have not been exposed to the awesome capabilities and powers of internet-based marketing.It is imperative for Indian businesses, in particular, in this age to realize the importance of having an integrated internet marketing strategy if they wish to survive in a highly frenzied and competitive market. Without the help of Digital Marketing Services, they fall short of creating a strategy and face the dangers of seeing themselves become directionless. They will never know their online market share, their current market share will be gained by existing and start-up competitors and they will never have a powerful online proposition.A Digital Marketing Company in India can help businesses harness the power of a robust web-based marketing strategy. The use of novel platforms like the social media can be a game changer as more and more people are using them to engage with brands. It is an excellent place to gain followers, engage with them and serve them relevant and helpful content. Once they become loyal brand followers, targeted ads are served to them to convert them into customers.Online marketing is the present and the future. Businesses staying away do so at their own risk. It’s worthwhile to climb on to the digital bandwagon while the time is right.