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	<title>BLOG &#124; Digital-Minded :: Your future creative agency</title>
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	<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog</link>
	<description>The Digital-Minded Blog</description>
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		<title>Tips to Optimize Website Design to Improve Ranking</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/05/15/tips-to-optimize-website-design-to-improve-ranking/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/05/15/tips-to-optimize-website-design-to-improve-ranking/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 15:27:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=747</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… There are many website owners who do not consider web designs optimizing as an important part of their SEO strategy. This notion will therefore lead to failure in terms of search engine optimization process. It is very important to optimize your website design along with optimizing other things over [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>There are many website owners who do not consider web designs optimizing as an important part of their SEO strategy. This notion will therefore lead to failure in terms of search engine optimization process. It is very important to optimize your website design along with optimizing other things over your website including the content, page titles, links and Meta tags.</p>
<p>The structure you use in your website should be easily be recognized by the search engine crawlers and spiders. The idea behind optimizing your website design is to simply improve your site’s navigation and make things simple for spiders and crawlers. This eventually enhances your website rankings. The below is the list of some important tips to optimize your website design to improve ranking.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SEO-Ranking-Factors.jpeg"><img class=" wp-image-799 alignleft" title="SEO-Ranking-Factors" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/SEO-Ranking-Factors.jpeg" alt="" width="361" height="176" /></a></p>
<h2>Optimizing images</h2>
<p>You SEO strategy can be hampered if you are unable to embed images properly over the different web pages. There are three major elements for embedding images which improves your optimization part. This includes, the filename, Alt attributes and title attribute. While naming the files, you should use keywords which are relevant to the images. Also, the Alt attributes must use relevant keywords to your images. This therefore helps in indexing these keywords over the popular search engines. Lastly, the title attribute can help you to highlight the importance of any link and it relevant landing page to different search engines.</p>
<h2>Web page loading times</h2>
<p>The amount of time your web pages take to load decides your website ranking over the search engines. The search engines are meant to give the users the best results and hence consider the website with more loading time as negative thus affecting your site’s ranking. In order to reduce the loading time, you are supposed to carry out a couple of things. These include optimizing all your images found over your website, along with using file hosting service and optimizing your CSS. Lastly, if you see your webpage running any widgets or java script, it is highly recommended to set them up so that they simply load once the main content area has finished the loading process.</p>
<h2>The HTML 5 element</h2>
<p>The HTML 5 has basically two major SEO advantages. Firstly, you can control the load time and secondly, it gives a number of tags to the designers to use. HTML 5 is a great substitute for Flash as it gives you an opportunity to incorporate interactive media over your website which will avoid dragging it down too much. The designers can use a number of tags which they find from this option. This helps them to organize your website and structure its content. It therefore helps the search engines to comprehend your website in a proper way. The tags include things like header, foots, section, article, div etc. The HTML 5 tags are effective method to render additional signal to search engines to let them know that the specific section of web page or some page is relevant to the set of keywords.</p>
<h2>The CSS Stylesheet Element</h2>
<p>The CSS Stylesheet helps you to standardize your overall website appearance. You have the option to use either the internal or external CSS, but it is recommended to use the external ones. This will help your HTML codes to go in a concise and precise way.</p>
<p>There are number of methods which can help you to optimize your website designs for better rankings over search engines. With these tips and tricks as discussed above, you can certainly help to improve your website rankings. A consistent effort with these ideas can help you achieve your desired goal for your website.</p>
<p>Until next time, thank you for reading our post.</p>
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		<title>What Is Responsive Web Design?</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/04/13/what-is-responsive-web-design/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/04/13/what-is-responsive-web-design/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:35:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=726</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… It has been awhile since we last blogged, It feels good to be back. A common question that we have been receiving in the past several months is about the mighty Responsive Web Design technology. Below I will explain what RWD is, the pros and cons plus if it&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>It has been awhile since we last blogged, It feels good to be back. A common question that we have been receiving in the past several months is about the mighty Responsive Web Design technology. Below I will explain what RWD is, the pros and cons plus if it&#8217;s worth the switch.</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/responsive012.jpg"><img class="aligncenter  wp-image-769" title="responsive01" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/responsive012.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="264" /></a></p>
<p><strong>What exactly is responsive web design?</strong></p>
<p>Responsive Website Design is nothing new, back in the day tablet based designers either chose the fluid or static route. Today’s responsive websites take a comparable approach by using fluid widths in percentages and ems. They do not stop, but take a step further by using scalable images and adjustable layouts. All of which is based on what kind or screen-size you are using while browsing the desired website. There are three very important elements in responsive web design.</p>
<p>•    Flexible Layouts<br />
•    Flexible Images<br />
•    Media Querie</p>
<p><strong>Below are a few examples for you to check out:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.smashingmagazine.com/" target="_blank">Smashing Magazine</a><a href="http://earthhour.fr/" target="_blank"><br />
EarthHour</a><a href="http://2011.dconstruct.org/" target="_blank"><br />
DConstruct</a></p>
<h1>Pros:</h1>
<p>Having one version of your website that works on every device is always going to be a benefit to any website owner. More importantly, it means that if any changes are required on the website, they are quick and easy to do as only one template will need to be changed in order to effect all devices.</p>
<p>As screen sizes and resolutions change and develop &#8211; a separate version of the website will not need to be created in order to accommodate these changes as a responsive website will solve this problem automatically. This is a large time saver as screen sizes on different devices are constantly changing.</p>
<p>The mobile first approach is very useful when it comes to designing for all devices. By building from mobile up we can easily combat some of the issues that come alongside having a responsive website.</p>
<p><strong>Cons</strong>:</p>
<p>If a large amount of elements on a website aren&#8217;t needed for a mobile site and are hidden &#8211; the load time will still be the same as before they were hidden. This is one of the large downsides of responsive design as mobile internet is not yet the fastest and if a site takes an extremely long time to load &#8211; the viewer may end up closing the mobile browser.</p>
<p>Although images can be re-sized in order to suit the mobile better &#8211; the full sized image will always be loaded. This again adds to the load time on the device. This may not effect websites that aren&#8217;t entirely image based but for other websites that rely fully on images, a mobile version is probably a better solution than a responsive website.</p>
<p><strong><br />
CONCLUSION &#8211; IS RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN WORTH IT?</strong></p>
<p>In conclusion, not all sites suit a responsive design and under no circumstance should a responsive design be created just to keep with the &#8216;responsive&#8217; trend. The pros and cons of having a responsive website should always be thought about alongside the overall needs of the website. The uses of the site, who might use it and why and the amount of content needed on the site in browser in comparison to mobile should also be considered when thinking about making your website responsive or simply going for a mobile version.</p>
<p>I believe that although responsive websites are no doubt a good idea &#8211; they are not always necessary. More complex websites with members areas or a large amount of content should have a separate mobile or tablet site in order to save loading times and to ensure that everything works specifically for that one design. Large social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter have not gone down the responsive route despite the fact that a large amount of traffic comes through mobile devices &#8211; so surely not all of our websites need to be responsive?</p>
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		<title>How To Revamp Your Site On A Tight Budget</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/03/06/how-to-revamp-your-site-on-a-tight-budget/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/03/06/how-to-revamp-your-site-on-a-tight-budget/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:21:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=733</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… You have probably been postponing or pushing aside the idea of revamping your site, likely because you think it is too expensive or you just don’t have the time to do it. In this day and age where a website is the main source of information for customers about [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<article>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</article>
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<article>You have probably been postponing or pushing aside the idea of revamping your site, likely because you think it is too expensive or you just don’t have the time to do it. In this day and age where a website is the main source of information for customers about a business, you cannot afford to leave it to chance.</p>
<p>A recent study involving local consumers showed that 28% believe that having a smart website adds credibility and they are more likely to buy from the website. You therefore need to take time to ensure that your site fits the bill. The following tips will help you create an appealing website without having to spend a lot of money or time.</article>
<article></article>
<article><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/website_design_old_vs_new_1.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-735" title="website_design_old_vs_new_1" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/website_design_old_vs_new_1.jpg" alt="" width="486" height="280" /></a></article>
<article>
<h2><strong>Strategic blogging</strong></h2>
<p>If you don’t have a blog for your website, you need to have one. A blog allows you to update the content of your website frequently and easily. Blog about your niche industry, how to solve problems related to your field or how to accomplish a certain task for your readers. Hire a freelance writer to do this for you if you don’t have the time to do it. A blog is an information resource where visitors can learn about your industry without necessarily feeling that they need to buy from you to benefit. By providing value to visitors, you develop readership and authority which translates into sales in the long run.</p>
<h2><strong>Add video</strong></h2>
<p>The closest thing to real life on the web today is video. By incorporating video into your website, you add that extra touch of reality that your visitors can connect with.  About 60 hours of video are uploaded on YouTube every minute. You can decide to either tap from this huge online resource or take your own videos using a smartphone or a Flip video camera. You can start with a welcome video that tells your visitors what you do and what your business is all about right on the homepage. Your blog can also feature video posts where you post talking heads interviews or your own testimonials. Videos that feature industry thought leaders and ‘how-to’ content are particularly popular online and can help boost your website as a valuable resource for information.</p>
<h2><strong>Free resources</strong></h2>
<p>No one wants to buy all the time. As an expert you also know that there are many products and services or valuable information you can give out for free without hurting your business. For example, if you are a web designer, can you offer free tips on how to create a simple blog layout? If you are a software engineer, can you offer advice on how to hire the right developer for a web application? You can even offer a free download of the checklist you use before developing an application for a client. Being a free resource will allow you to garner a fan base that will be willing to buy from you when you finally launch a book or a service that they may need.</p>
<h2><strong>Social media tools</strong></h2>
<p>Almost every article you come across on the web has a sharing option to either Tweet it or to post it on your Facebook wall. This is a great way to build awareness about your brand’s products or services.  In addition, search engines like Google are using social elements to determine the relevancy of your content. The more your content is shared, the more valuable it is perceived by search engines and this will gain you more ranking points. Adding sharing buttons on your website has never been easy. There are free widgets across the web that give you the code needed to display the share buttons on your site or blog. Some even tell you where to place the code on your web page. By having share buttons on your website and blog, you make it easy for visitors to share your content right within your website without having to navigate to social networks. It is well-known that people are more likely to listen to their friends’ recommendations than to what an expert in the field might say. By not allowing sharing on your website, you are missing out being recommended by your visitors.</p>
<h2><strong>Install analytics</strong></h2>
<p>Analytics are software tools that you use to monitor how your website is doing in terms of website visits and conversions.  Free tools like Google Analytics can even help you determine where your website visitors are coming from, which pages on your site they are visiting and for how long. By looking at these statistics, you are in a better position to see how your site is performing and what you need to do to improve your website visibility. Google Analytics will even recommend what keywords people are searching and which ones are driving traffic to your website. By looking at keywords that perform well on search, you can then incorporate these into your site which will help boost your search rankings and help you be found easily. By learning how your visitors interact with your website, you are more likely to create content that resonates with them.</p>
<p>If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact Digital-Minded.</p>
</article>
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		<title>Why You Should Have A Mobile Site?</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/02/02/why-you-should-have-a-mobile-site/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/02/02/why-you-should-have-a-mobile-site/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:47:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=687</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… I was browsing on the web and found a cool graphical treatment of why a mobile site is a needed for your business to be successful. Check out the graphic below courtesy of www.skyrkt.com]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>I was browsing on the web and found a cool graphical treatment of why a mobile site is a needed for your business to be successful. Check out the graphic below courtesy of <a href="http://www.skyrkt.com" target="_blank"><strong>www.skyrkt.com</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/moblewebsite2.png"><img class="alignleft size-large wp-image-715" title="moblewebsite" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/moblewebsite2-328x1024.png" alt="" width="328" height="1024" /></a></p>
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		<title>6 Ways To Grow Your Business In 2012!</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/01/05/6-ways-to-grow-your-business-in-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2012/01/05/6-ways-to-grow-your-business-in-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:45:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=681</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… You know that your business is getting ready to set-up for growth..these next few years between 2012 to 2017 and beyond. It’s time to take your power back by growing your business by increasing your revenues through sales. Here’s six ways you can do this. 1. Social Media will [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>You know that your business is getting ready to set-up for growth..these next few years between 2012 to 2017 and beyond. It’s time to take your power back by growing your business by increasing your revenues through sales. Here’s six ways you can do this.</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/istock_000010376631large-plant-growing1.jpg"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-700" title="istock_000010376631large plant growing" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/istock_000010376631large-plant-growing1.jpg" alt="" width="462" height="307" /></a></p>
<p>1. <strong>Social Media</strong> will continue to transform your business. It will be a way to generate sales through your connections. Currently more than 22% use Social Media as a revenue generating tool. Learn how to do this.</p>
<p><em>“Public relations” is simply</em><em> accurate, consistent and timely communications</em><em> that convey the right message to the right audience.</em></p>
<p>2. <strong>Using publicity</strong><br />
This includes community activity, articles, public speaking, media commentary, relationships with other local are reporters and developing your professional citizenship. Certainly PR is effective to small business owners, freelancers, artists, Entrepreneurs at a grassroots level.</p>
<p>3. <strong>How are your customers finding you?</strong><br />
What’s your strategy to bring you more clients and sales. You need to know who they are and how they are looking for you to buy from you. Be sure to ask this question when they arrive to your site..you want to find out how they found you. What is the best lead-generation strategies that you want to focus on.</p>
<p>Determine a goal that you want to achieve, like how many people do you what to buy from you; how many distributors you want to have; how many referral partners you want.</p>
<p>4. <strong>Social Networking</strong> -<br />
It’s simplest form it’s a group of people who are tied through friends, links and who know who.  Social networks have also been used to examine how organizations interact with each other, characterizing the many informal connections that link executives together, as well as associations and connections between individual employees at different organizations. For example, power within organizations often comes more from the degree to which an individual within a network is at the center of many relationships than actual job title. Social networks also play a key role in hiring, in business success, and in job performance. It’s important that you develop connections and friends with the people you are most connected with. They’ll become your circle of connections of which can help you, to get more referrals and introductions.</p>
<p>5. <strong>Business Networking</strong> -<br />
When you go out to networking functions and meet other local business owners, sales people and reps of the company. Once you meet these people you need to follow up with them, even if it is just to say, it was a pleasure to meet them. You’ll want to do these networking meetings, simply to get to know people better and start developing a friendship with them. I used to say join 6 groups..sometimes this is just not possible – definitely join two groups locally. You can make up other groups on line – like LinkedIn and FaceBook.</p>
<p>Look through the cards and see who could become referral partners. Initiate a coffee meeting – and find out how you can help him or her. You are going to be asking them who their potential clients are and how can you refer business to them.</p>
<p>If they don’t respond to you in a positive way..then I would put them into a “C” pile. These people you will stay in touch 1 -2 x times a year. Out of this group – it they are not interested in staying in touch, I would just drop them, put them in the “G” (garbage) file.</p>
<p>6. <strong>Joint Ventures </strong><br />
When you partner up with someone who had the same audience as you, by offering your product or service to their customers. Both parties work together to help each other. Collaborating also works really well.</p>
<p>Good luck all, make this year special &amp; a successful one.</p>
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		<title>Happy Holidays From Digital-Minded</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/12/30/happy-holidays-from-digital-minded/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/12/30/happy-holidays-from-digital-minded/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:34:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Other]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=679</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… On behalf of Digital-Minded, I want to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season filled with joy &#38; happiness. Wishing you the best in the New Year. Stay tuned for frequent posts in 2012&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>On behalf of Digital-Minded, I want to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season filled with joy &amp; happiness. Wishing you the best in the New Year.</p>
<p>Stay tuned for frequent posts in 2012&#8230;</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/happy-new-year-2012-510x431.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-684" title="happy-new-year-2012-510x431" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/happy-new-year-2012-510x431-300x253.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="253" /></a></p>
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		<title>Designer Needed Apply Within</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/11/17/designed-needed-apply-within/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/11/17/designed-needed-apply-within/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:19:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>amir.sabahi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Employment]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=427</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… The creative team at Digital-Minded is growing again and we’re looking for a talented, passionate and super-cool designer to join the team on a contract basis. Are you Digital-Minded? Creativity: Definition: The ability to come up with ideas from scratch that can even stun the Creative Director; having the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>The creative team at Digital-Minded is growing again and we’re looking for a talented, passionate and super-cool designer to join the team on a contract basis.</p>
<p><em>Are you Digital-Minded?</em></p>
<p><strong>Creativity:</strong><br />
Definition: The ability to come up with ideas from scratch that can even stun the Creative Director; having the talent to naturally be creative with minimal reference material.</p>
<p><strong>Love:</strong><br />
Definition: Not being able to go one second of the day without being on your computer; constant thoughts of how much you Love this insane media industry; with a never dying passion to be the best.</p>
<p><strong>Passion:</strong><br />
Definition: Your heart pumps like you won the lottery every time you complete a website; you believe in yourself and know you can be the world’s greatest designer/developer.</p>
<p><strong>Dedication:</strong><br />
Definition: Even during crunch time, you never give up. You can knock me down one thousand times, with the mindset of a champion refusing to lose.</p>
<p><strong>Candidate requirements:</strong><br />
- College Diploma in Graphic Design or Digital Media<br />
- Working knowledge of HTML/CSS<br />
- Multimedia background<br />
- Excellent communication skills<br />
- Web design experience mandatory<br />
- Adobe Creative Suite 5.5<br />
- Strong Mac background<br />
- Minimum 3-5 years of experience</p>
<p><strong>Apply now:</strong><br />
If you feel you fit the description above, kindly forward your resume, portfolio link, a brief document why you want to be a part of the Digital-Minded Family to family@ digital-minded.ca Suitable candidates will be contacted promptly.</p>
<p>Thanks to all the applicants, we look forward to meeting you!</p>
<p>The Digital-Minded family…</p>
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		<title>2011 Business Excellence Awards</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/11/09/2011-business-excellence-awards/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/11/09/2011-business-excellence-awards/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:26:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=640</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… I just want to send out my wishes to all the nominees at the 2011 Business Excellence Awards presented by Rogers and hosted by Toronto Board of Trade. It will be a special evening and a time to remember to all the business professionals attending the event. Congratulations to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>I just want to send out my wishes to all the nominees at the 2011 Business Excellence Awards presented by Rogers and hosted by Toronto Board of Trade.</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/bea-logo-black.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-659" title="Print" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/bea-logo-black-300x215.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="215" /></a></p>
<p>It will be a special evening and a time to remember to all the business professionals attending the event. Congratulations to the upcoming winners this evening from all of us at Digital-Minded!</p>
<p>To view the nominees<strong> <a href="http://digital-minded.ca/bea-nominees.pdf" target="_blank">click here.</a></strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Connecting Canadians To The Business World</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/10/18/connecting-canadians-to-the-business-world/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/10/18/connecting-canadians-to-the-business-world/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:06:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=635</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Sorry for the late post however I feel this would be of importance to all the individuals caught up in the Facebook frenzy. The event is October 19, 2011 make sure you register today, tickets are still available. To view the flyer, click here. Details: The future of marketing [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>Sorry for the late post however I feel this would be of importance to all the individuals caught up in the Facebook frenzy. The event is October 19, 2011 make sure you register today, tickets are still available.</p>
<p>To view the flyer, <a href="http://www.digital-minded.ca/Oct-19-Facebook-Canada.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/jordan-banks.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-642" title="jordan-banks" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/jordan-banks-300x203.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="203" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Details:</strong></p>
<p>The future of marketing relies on a connected world where friends are able to inﬂuence friends. <strong>Jordan Banks, Managing Director, Facebook Canada</strong>, discusses how businesses can realize the power of connecting +18 million Canadians and their friends to the brands and things they care about most.</p>
<p>Thanks, hope to see you all there tomorrow morning!</p>
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		<title>124th Annual Dinner &#8211; Tickets Now On Sale</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/09/20/2012-annual-dinner-tickets-now-on-sale/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/09/20/2012-annual-dinner-tickets-now-on-sale/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:38:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=559</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Greetings all, It is that time of year again the 124th Toronto Board of Trade Annual Dinner. The biggest and most influential business event in Toronto. Tickets are now on sale and can be found at: www.bot.com/events. Event description: WHAT The Toronto Board of Trade Annual Dinner is considered [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>Greetings all, It is that time of year again the 124th Toronto Board of Trade Annual Dinner. The biggest and most influential business event in Toronto.</p>
<p>Tickets are now on sale and can be found at: <a href="http://www.bot.com/source/Meetings/cMeetingFunctionDetail.cfm?section=Upcoming_Events&amp;product_major=AD013012&amp;functionstartdisplayrow=1" target="_blank"><strong>www.bot.com/events</strong>.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124th-Annual-Dinner-Flyer-Final1.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-665" title="124th-Annual-Dinner-Flyer-Final" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124th-Annual-Dinner-Flyer-Final1-231x300.jpg" alt="" width="231" height="300" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Event description:</strong></p>
<p><strong>WHAT</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>The Toronto Board of Trade Annual Dinner is considered the first business gala of the year.</li>
<li>The gala is a spectacular evening of networking, inspiration and entertainment.</li>
<li>The 2012 edition will be the 124th Annual Dinner in Board history &#8211; a proud tradition stretching un-interrupted back to 1889.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><br />
WHEN/WHERE</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>This year’s gala takes place <strong>Monday, January 30, 2012</strong></li>
<li>The Annual Dinner will be held Constitution Hall at the Metro Convention Centre, North Building</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><br />
WHO ATTENDS</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>The Annual Dinner has attracted Prime Ministers, Premiers, Mayors and other senior politicians, as well as the CEOs and Chairs of the largest and most influential organizations in Toronto</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><br />
DETAILS</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Corporate tables and individual tickets are available, with preferred pricing for members</li>
<li>Regular Pricing for Corporate tables of 10 are <strong>$4250</strong> for members and <strong>$5000</strong> for non-members</li>
</ul>
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		<title>What Is HTML 5 &amp; How Can It Benefit Me?</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/09/06/what-is-html-5-how-can-it-benefit-me/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/09/06/what-is-html-5-how-can-it-benefit-me/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:27:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Digital-Minded</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=557</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Just found an interesting site about HTML 5 and thought I would share it with you all. The graphical chart created by Focus.com did an amazing job of illustrating how HTML 5 can benefit your web needs. Click below to view the chart: Sample HTML 5 sites: Sample #1 [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>Just found an interesting site about HTML 5 and thought I would share it with you all. The graphical chart created by <a href="http://www.focus.com/" target="_blank">Focus.com</a> did an amazing job of illustrating how HTML 5 can benefit your web needs.</p>
<p><strong>Click below to view the chart:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/HTML5__2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-564" title="Web" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/HTML5__2-274x300.jpg" alt="" width="274" height="300" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Sample HTML 5 sites:<br />
</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://beerblogging.org/" target="_blank">Sample #1</a><br />
<a href="http://www.camisetas.info/" target="_blank">Sample #2</a><br />
<a href="http://www.bifter.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sample #3</a></p>
<p>HTML 5 sure has all the benefits of being a game-changer in Web application development as it poses a strategic threat to Adobe, as well as to Microsoft and Java.</p>
<p>Happy coding all, let the creativity begin&#8230;</p>
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		<title>How To Maximize Your Facebook Page</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/08/25/how-to-maxmize-your-facebook-profile/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/08/25/how-to-maxmize-your-facebook-profile/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:08:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=520</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Facebook has grown to a worldwide success as millions of people are addicted to the Social Network. Many questions we receive is how can we best utilize Facebook to our benefit. Below you will find effective ways that really work, to help you accomplish your professional goals. 1.    When’s [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>Facebook has grown to a worldwide success as millions of people are addicted to the Social Network. Many questions we receive is how can we best utilize Facebook to our benefit. Below you will find effective ways that really work, to help you accomplish your professional goals.</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/facebook.png"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-554" title="facebook" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/facebook.png" alt="" width="256" height="256" /></a></p>
<p><strong>1. </strong>   When’s the best time to post? While weekends and off-peak hours from 2pm to 5am are the times when page admins are least likely to add a new post, those are the posts that receive the highest interaction rates. Thursdays, on the other hand, shoulder the highest number of postings during the week and the lowest interaction rate. And since a high level of postings results in a lower interaction rate from users, it only stands to reason that posting in off-peak hours means you’ll gain more interaction from fans.</p>
<p><strong>2. </strong>   How many times should I post per day? You’d think too many posts would offend your followers but the report suggests frequent posting increases interaction. As you might suspect, fewer posts reduce the chances users will see them. And while unsubscribe rates go up after three posts per day, they level off at higher frequencies. The secret is to find that balance between optimizing interaction and managing unsubscribes, which is going to be different for every business.</p>
<p><strong>3.</strong>    What type of content elicits the most interaction? By far, photos generate the highest interaction rate for the six varieties of content, with status updates ranking No. 2. Others &#8212; in descending order &#8212; include video, music and links. The fact that links are at the bottom is interesting, considering they are posted the most often. Photos rank at the top because they’re visual, easy to digest and they elicit emotion.</p>
<p><strong>4.  </strong>  Should I ask fans to Like or Comment on my posts? Absolutely. Just by taking advantage of a &#8220;Like&#8221; call to action boosts your interaction rate by 216 percent. Momentus Media analyzed 49,266 Page posts, comparing interaction rates for posts with &#8220;Like&#8221; and &#8220;Comment&#8221; calls to action and those without. And while only 1.3 percent of status messages had a call to action attached, those who used &#8220;Like&#8221; or &#8220;Comment&#8221; showed a huge boost in interaction rates.</p>
<p><strong>5.  </strong>  Should I ask my fans questions? You’d think that by asking questions you’d get a better interaction rate, but such is not the case. However, Facebook page admins looking to achieve the highest comment rate should pose questions and then directly ask for fans to reply with comments.</p>
<p><strong>6.  </strong>  How long should my status messages be? According to this study, size does matter. While there’s a higher posting rate for shorter posts (especially those that stay within the 140-character limit for cross-posting purposes on both Twitter and Facebook), interaction increases as the length of the status message increases.</p>
<p><strong>7.  </strong>  How long do my messages remain in the Newsfeed? In the first hour of a Facebook status update, half of the users who will click on the post will have done so, with 90 percent of the clicks occurring within nine hours of the post going live.</p>
<p>How has Facebook helped you? Leave comments below!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Effective Networking Tips</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/08/17/effective-networking-tips/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/08/17/effective-networking-tips/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:52:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=510</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Rules for Networking 1. Be prepared – bring plenty of business cards and marketing material. 2. Give without expectation. Expand or provide example. 3. Focus on quality not quantity. Expand or provide example. 4. Be positive and smile. 5. Be prepared to introduce yourself and your product or service [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p><strong>Rules for Networking</strong></p>
<p>1. Be prepared – bring plenty of business cards and marketing material.<br />
2. Give without expectation. Expand or provide example.<br />
3. Focus on quality not quantity. Expand or provide example.<br />
4. Be positive and smile.<br />
5. Be prepared to introduce yourself and your product or service in a group or individually.<br />
6. Know your message (practice your 30 second elevator speech beforehand).</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/6a00e54ff96dbe88340120a4e562ad970b-800wi.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-522" title="6a00e54ff96dbe88340120a4e562ad970b-800wi" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/6a00e54ff96dbe88340120a4e562ad970b-800wi-297x300.jpg" alt="" width="297" height="300" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Etiquette</strong></p>
<p>1. Arrive on time.<br />
2. Follow-up. Within a day or two, send a short handwritten note or e-mail to each person you met.<br />
3. Follow through.<br />
4. Do not try to sell. Networking events are not sales calls.</p>
<p><strong>Tips and Insights</strong></p>
<p>1. Have a goal. How many contacts would you like to meet? Is there a company that is going to be there that you would like to connect with?<br />
2. Be an Active Listener by asking questions and being interested.<br />
3. Move around. You should feel like you’re on an expedition. Work the room.<br />
4. Focus on quality contacts. Don’t linger with friends and associates.<br />
5. Act like a host, not a guest. You are President of your own network, even when you’re attending an organization’s event. Greet others and make them feel comfortable.<br />
6. Introduce people you’ve met to each other.</p>
<p><strong>Mixer Questions</strong>:</p>
<p>• What do you do?<br />
• How did you get your start in the ‘_________’ business?<br />
• What do you enjoy the most about your profession?<br />
• What separates you and your company from your competition?<br />
• What advice would you give someone just starting out in the ‘_________’ business?<br />
• What ways have you found to be the most effective for promoting your business?<br />
• Are you involved in any community organizations?</p>
<p><strong>Pay attention to these important factors;</strong></p>
<p>• Good quality of voice, good breath control– diaphragmatic breathing<br />
• Clarity in pronunciation and a variety of pitch<br />
• Using a warm resonance, taking time to communicate interest and empathy before starting your message<br />
• Appropriate volume – either one-on-one or the telephone – remember, we have four voices<br />
• Before a Networking event, rehearse in front of a mirror in order to evaluate how you might be perceived.</p>
<p><strong>Tips provided by:</strong></p>
<p>Kathryn Preston of www.so2speak.com<br />
Rick Mamros of www.Learn2Network.com</p>
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		<title>10 Ways To Grow Your Home Based Business</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/08/07/10-ways-to-grow-your-home-based-business/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/08/07/10-ways-to-grow-your-home-based-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:44:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=508</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… &#160; Starting a business is always an exciting venture and a challenge. You will face many obstacles along the way and issues you must deal with. Starting your business from home is an excellent opportunity to grow and expand as your overhead is extremely low. I will explain to you [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SuccessChart.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-512" title="SuccessChart" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SuccessChart-300x227.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="227" /></a></p>
<p>Starting a business is always an exciting venture and a challenge. You will face many obstacles along the way and issues you must deal with. Starting your business from home is an excellent opportunity to grow and expand as your overhead is extremely low. I will explain to you effective ways to help your home-based business turn into a full-time gig accordingly.</p>
<p>Follow these 10 steps to grow your home-based business into the personal and professional success it was meant to be:</p>
<p><strong>1. Focus on a single product or service, and then market it, sell it, promote it-do everything you can to increase sales of that one product or service</strong>. While it&#8217;s tempting to swing for the fences and try to be all things to all people, it&#8217;s often less risky and more profitable to pick a product or two that you can execute really well and just try to get on base.</p>
<p><strong>2. Expand your product line to offer complementary products or services.</strong> Once you&#8217;ve hit on a product or service that customers really like, don&#8217;t miss the opportunity to bring out related items to diversify your product line. Not only does that give your customers a wider selection, but it also makes your products more appealing to retailers who typically like to stock a line of products as opposed to a single item.</p>
<p><strong>3. Find ways to increase sales to your existing customers.</strong> It&#8217;s a lot cheaper than finding new ones. Even if you can&#8217;t expand your product line, you can boost revenues by selling more of your existing product or service to the clients you already have. One easy way to do this is through volume discounts. Especially if your products cost little to produce, offering your customers the chance to buy, say, two T-shirts for the price of one lets you ring up additional sales without sacrificing much profit. Another common practice is to reward loyal customers by giving them a punch card that entitles them to a free product or service for every 10 items they buy. This technique is common at hair salons, car washes and arts-and-crafts stores, but homebased businesses can use it, too.</p>
<p><strong>4. Hire someone to help you out-an employee, a freelancer, an intern, an independent contractor, even your kids.</strong> Not only does this free up cash flow by adjusting your expenses to the level of work you bring in, but it also enables you to cultivate a large network of talented people you probably couldn&#8217;t afford to hire full time.</p>
<p><strong>5. Create a Web site to advertise your company or sell products online.</strong> Thanks to the Internet, it&#8217;s no longer necessary to open a store to reach retail customers. For marketers of specialty products like rare books, collectibles and gourmet foods, a Web-based boutique lets you reach millions of shoppers around the world without paying for rent, utilities or garbage collection.</p>
<p>And while creating Web sites once required a big investment and the skills of an experienced Web designer or programmer, do-it-yourself Web sites are now available for less than $30 a month with no technical knowledge required. Typically, the companies that help you register your domain name (Web address) will provide online templates you can use to build your site, host your Web pages on their server and provide you with multiple e-mail addresses as well. E-commerce capabilities can often be had for an additional charge. You can also set up low-cost Web sites through Web hosting companies and search engines.</p>
<p><strong>6. Join forces with another business to promote your company.</strong> Partnering with a company in a related industry is one of the cheapest and easiest forms of marketing that you can employ. If you make spa products, for example, you may be able to convince a local health club to carry them in its store by offering a discount to its members. Likewise, you can send a free, one-day health club pass to anybody who buys your lotions and scrubs.</p>
<p><strong>7. Target other markets.</strong> If you sell to teens, start marketing to college students. If you sell to working moms, maybe your product will work for stay-at-home moms with a few modifications. Another strategy is to take a retail-oriented product or service and sell it wholesale. For example, a homebased catering business that specializes in cakes, pies and other tasty desserts can contact local bakeries to sell its goods on a wholesale basis. While the price you get from the bakeries will be lower (because the bakeries need to mark it up to their customers to make a profit), you&#8217;ll sell more products and generate consistent cash flow that you can bank on.</p>
<p><strong>8. Find new and different ways to market your business through e-mail newsletters or by doing guest-speaking gigs or by teaching a class.</strong> Marketing your homebased business doesn&#8217;t need to involve spending big money on newspaper ads, Yellow Pages listings, or TV or radio spots. Grassroots marketing techniques cost far less and are often much more effective. Most chambers of commerce and community groups are more than happy to provide a forum to a local business owner who&#8217;s willing to share his expertise at no charge. Sending out a weekly newsletter is also a great way to get your name out in front of new and potential clients. Thanks to the Internet, you can send out your newsletter via e-mail using online templates and automated delivery systems.</p>
<p><strong>9. Expand to another location.</strong> That could mean renting &#8220;virtual&#8221; office space in a business center or by sharing office space with another growing business. Brad Taylor, a CPA in Springfield, New Jersey, spends most of his time at home preparing tax returns, developing tax-planning strategies and revising his clients&#8217; QuickBooks files. But when he needs to come to New York City for a meeting, he sometimes rents space at a Manhattan business center operated by HQ Global, a national provider of temporary office space.</p>
<p>For a monthly fee or a la cart, business centers like these offer everything from conference rooms and receptionist services to remote-access voicemail, high-speed Internet connectivity and tech support, offering homebased business owners as much or as little outside office services as they need. Taylor pays just $10 an hour to use the space and is able to bill the cost to his client. &#8220;While I still want to run my business from home, this has allowed me to pursue new opportunities and network with other professionals,&#8221; Taylor says.</p>
<p><strong>10. Think about turning your business into a franchise or business opportunity.</strong> While most homebased businesses remain small, yours may have the potential to hit the big time through franchising, licensing or wholesale distribution. The key question to ask yourself is if your business can be converted into a business format that somebody else could operate (a franchise) or if you have a standardized product or service that someone could resell multiple times (a business opportunity). While you may think that expanding your business requires raising capital, hiring employees, buying equipment and leasing office or warehouse space, it&#8217;s often more profitable-and less risky-to license your product to a big corporation with manufacturing capabilities and an existing sales force to do the work for you.</p>
<p>I hope this was useful, contact us with any questions or concerns you may have by leaving a comment.</p>
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		<title>How Can Social Media Benefit My Business?</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/07/13/how-can-social-media-benefit-my-business/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/07/13/how-can-social-media-benefit-my-business/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:06:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=472</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… The key to success is in the planning. For that you have to understand the required steps and what should be shunned. An effective plan or guide or a few recommendations will assist you to reach your goals. You&#8217;ll find three helpful recommendations in this article which can help [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>The key to success is in the planning. For that you have to understand the required steps and what should be shunned. An effective plan or guide or a few recommendations will assist you to reach your goals. You&#8217;ll find three helpful recommendations in this article which can help you onward to success. You could greatly boost your chances of success by adhering to the following advice.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/social-media-1.jpeg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-501" title="social-media-1" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/social-media-1-300x250.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="250" /></a></p>
<p>When you decide to market with social media effectively, you&#8217;ll find it really is important that you do things properly. If you don&#8217;t, the effects may be regrettable. It may well turn out that you end up getting a lot of people annoyed with the way you handle yourself, or, perish the thought, even have administrators revoke your account.</p>
<p>Here is a short list of approaches to staying focused and staying far removed from problems.</p>
<p><strong>1. Understand that social networks aren&#8217;t places to spam your affiliate links</strong></p>
<p>You&#8217;ll have to understand that social networks aren&#8217;t places to spam your affiliate links because it prevents people from wanting to even come in contact with you, let alone do business with you. To not get this carried out might force you to create new accounts and you don&#8217;t want to go through the annoying registration process all over again. And so don&#8217;t ignore this key pointer!</p>
<p><strong>2. Create a group for like-minded individuals.</strong></p>
<p>Nearly as critical as understanding that social networks aren&#8217;t places to spam your affiliate links whenever dealing with the decision to market with social media effectively will be creating a group for like-minded individuals. You must clearly understand or know that this is really important. It helps to create a group of like-minded individuals that can interact and exchange ideas, a thing that almost any one wanting to market using social media wants.</p>
<p><strong>3. Have a way to bring traffic back to your site</strong></p>
<p>Lastly, when deciding to market with social media effectively you should be certain and have a way to bring traffic back to your site. This could help with an increase in various affiliate sales or even create prospects within your business, an essential portion of social media marketing. Failing this could cause you to aimlessly build a following but not make any money &#8212; and you will most likely agree that that may not be good!</p>
<p>As was established at the start for this article, in the case of you deciding to market with social media effectively, you should really avoid the types of mistakes that may lead to getting a lot of people annoyed with the way you handle yourself, as well as have administrators revoke your account. You really want a group of eager customers and prospects for your products/services, and you may make that happen by taking note of the recommendations in this article.</p>
<p>Thanks until next time, I hope this was helpful&#8230;</p>
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		<title>Cars101 Site Launched</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/06/12/cars101-your-car-experts/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/06/12/cars101-your-car-experts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:42:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=458</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Cars101, was a project we took on with a tight deadline. The project needed to be completed in one weeks time. It was a challenge and everyone at Digital-Minded made the deadline. Take a look below: Stay tuned for more projects launching soon&#8230;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p>Cars101, was a project we took on with a tight deadline. The project needed to be completed in one weeks time. It was a challenge and everyone at Digital-Minded made the deadline.</p>
<p><strong>Take a look below:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://cars101.ca/" target="_blank"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-474" title="Cars101" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cars-101-V1-300x297.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="297" /></a></p>
<p>Stay tuned for more projects launching soon&#8230;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>6 Tools For Start-Up Websites</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/06/05/6-tools-for-start-up-websites/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/06/05/6-tools-for-start-up-websites/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:51:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=438</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Today&#8217;s post we are going to talk about a number of effective tools to enhance your website. Whether you use it for business or personal usage the below tools will definitely be a great asset for you. Now let&#8217;s start to have a look at some of these tools: Get Satisfaction [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</p>
<p><!-- p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; line-height: 19.0px; font: 18.0px Georgia} -->Today&#8217;s post we are going to talk about a number of effective tools to enhance your website. Whether you use it for business or personal usage the below tools will definitely be a great asset for you.</p>
<p><strong>Now let&#8217;s start to have a look at some of these tools:</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://getsatisfaction.com/" target="_blank">Get Satisfaction</a> Touch Of Satisfaction:</strong><br />
Do you sell products or services online? Do you want to hear how you can improve your product or what can be really useful for your clients? Get Satisfaction is made for you, a simple nice charming website to get connected to your clients and your potential customers&#8230;let them ask you questions.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/" target="_blank">Survey Monkey</a> A Tool To Conduct Surveys</strong>:<br />
Conducting surveys are apart of any business, getting feedback and asking people about what they think and what they would like to have in your products or services. Survey Monkey makes it easy for you and allows you to get the feedback you deserve the proper way.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/" target="_blank">Google Analytics</a></strong>:<br />
Analyze your websites traffic using Google Analytics to know more about the in and outs of your website visitors and keywords. Set goals for different pages, keywords and monitor your progress to help your website expand. Tracking your daily hits know exactly where people are viewing your website all across the world. Google Analytics keeps track of everything imaginable to help your business grow.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.google.com/webmasters/" target="_blank">Google Webmaster Tools:</a></strong><br />
Using Google Webmaster Tools you can improve your website, enhance your sites functionality, and help grow your  business.</p>
<p><strong>Blogs Commenting and Sharing:</strong><br />
An inevitable part of websites today is communities, blogs and magazines. Many of your visitors are eager to share their opinion about a post, a news or a new release of a product or service. Using <a href="http://disqus.com/" target="_blank">Disqus</a> you can create community of people from different social networks around your content. Another very useful tool for your website is <a href="http://www.marginize.com/" target="_blank">Marginize</a>, Marginize provides you a widget and you can:</p>
<p>•	Show the Twitter conversation about your site and content.<br />
•	Spark new conversation and make your site easier to share.<br />
•	Deliver badges, notifications, and more to your visitors.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://mailchimp.com/" target="_blank">Mailchimp E-Mail Marketing:</a></strong><br />
If you want to have newsletters, monthly magazines or if you need to send emails related to your new products or services <a href="http://mailchimp.com/" target="_blank">Mailchimp</a> is going to deliver it all hassle free. With lots of cool options available, creating and monitoring<br />
e-mail marketing campaigns are quite easy.</p>
<p>Until next time, I hope this post was useful leave comments thank you.</p>
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		<title>New Site Launched, Always A Party</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/04/22/new-site-launched-always-a-party/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/04/22/new-site-launched-always-a-party/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Apr 2011 02:52:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=400</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Greetings all, Hope you all enjoy your long weekend and wishing you a Happy Easter. Just a brief post, we launched a new site and want you all to check it out below. Click here: Always A Party]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</em></p>
<p>Greetings all,</p>
<p>Hope you all enjoy your long weekend and wishing you a Happy Easter.</p>
<p>Just a brief post, we launched a new site and want you all to check it out below.</p>
<p>Click here: <a href="http://www.always-a-party.ca/home" target="_blank">Always A Party</a></p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Created-By-Digital-Minded-Toronto-Web-Design-Agency.png"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-428" title="Created By Digital-Minded, Toronto Web Design Agency" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Created-By-Digital-Minded-Toronto-Web-Design-Agency-300x269.png" alt="" width="300" height="269" /></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Launching Early May 2011</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/04/13/adobe-creative-suite-5-5-coming-soon/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/04/13/adobe-creative-suite-5-5-coming-soon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:43:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=331</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Adobe has announced they will be releasing the Adobe CS5.5 Suite in all versions. Depending on your skill set and clients needs the below suites are suitable for everyone. I highly recommend the Master Collection simply because it has all the programs you need to make good things happen. For more details click [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</em></p>
<p>Adobe has announced they will be releasing the <strong>Adobe CS5.5 Suite</strong> in all versions. Depending on your skill set and clients needs the below suites are suitable for everyone. I highly recommend the <strong>Master Collection</strong> simply because it has all the programs you need to make good things happen.</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-13-at-5.39.06-PM-23.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-415" title="Screen-shot-2011-04-13-at-5.39.06-PM-(2)" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-13-at-5.39.06-PM-23-300x248.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="248" /></a></p>
<p><strong>For more details click below:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/mastercollection.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Master Collection</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/design.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Design Premium</span><br />
</a><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/production.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Production Premium</span><br />
</a><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/web.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Web Premium</span><br />
</a><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/designstandard.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Design Standard </span></a></p>
<p>List of CS5.5 related videos and articles on adobe.com:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flex/articles/introducing-flex45sdk.html"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Introducing Adobe Flex 4.5 SDK</span></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashbuilder/articles/whatsnew-flashbuilder-45.html"><span style="color: #0000ff;">What’s New In Flash Builder 4.5</span></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/features._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_features%2Bby%2Bversion_sl_new%2Bsince%2Bcs5.html"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Dreamweaver CS5.5 Features</span></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.adobe.com/devnet/dreamweaver/articles/whats-new-dwcs55.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">What’s New in Dreamweaver CS5.5</span></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/flashcatalyst/features._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_features%2Bby%2Bversion_sl_new%2Bsince%2Bcs5.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Flash Catalyst CS5.5 Features</span></a></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashcatalyst/articles/introducing-flashcatalyst-cs55.html">Introduction to Flash Catalyst CS5.5</a></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adc-presents/introduction-to-flash-catalyst-cs55/">Introduction to Flash Catalyst CS5.5 (video)</a></span></p>
<p><a href="http://tv.adobe.com/watch/adc-presents/importing-artwork-in-flash-catalyst-cs55/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff;">Importing Artwork in Flash Catalyst CS5.5 (video)</span></a></p>
<p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/features._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_features%2Bby%2Bversion_sl_new%2Bsince%2Bcs5.html" target="_blank">Flash Professional CS5.5 Features</a></span></p>
<p><em><span style="color: #000000;">And many more&#8230;</span></em></p>
<p>To be notified of the launch date, <span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=product_notify" target="_blank">click here</a>.</span></p>
<p>The estimated launch date for <strong>CSS.5 </strong>will be early May and you can pre-order your upgrade now.</p>
<p>Hope your all staying current and I know upgrades can be expensive but it&#8217;s well worth it.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.adobe.com/" target="_blank">Adobe</a>, <a href="http://www.fitc.ca/" target="_blank">FITC</a></p>
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		<title>Sara G &#8211; R&amp;B Sensation Website Is Officially Launched&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/04/10/sara-g-rb-sensation-website-is-officially-launched/</link>
		<comments>http://digital-minded.ca/blog/2011/04/10/sara-g-rb-sensation-website-is-officially-launched/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Apr 2011 23:23:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://digital-minded.ca/blog/?p=315</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here’s another post, for your imagination… Sara G&#8217;s management approached us two years ago, looking for a web site to be developed. We took on the project and delivered a platform that was a solid foundation for her online presence. Built in Adobe Flash we delivered amazing results, however over time the site died down [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><em>Here’s another post, for your imagination…</em></em></p>
<p>Sara G&#8217;s management approached us two years ago, looking for a web site to be developed. We took on the project and delivered a platform that was a solid foundation for her online presence.</p>
<p>Built in Adobe Flash we delivered amazing results, however over time the site died down and change was needed.</p>
<p>Have a look at the before and after web sites below.</p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/sara-g.jpg"><img title="sara-g" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/sara-g-300x221.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="221" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/sara-g2.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-354" title="sara-g" src="http://digital-minded.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/sara-g2-300x252.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="252" /></a></p>
<p>We had to come up with a dynamic web site which allowed her team to update the content anytime. This was their main priority because as an upcoming music artist many ventures come up and they needed power to update content without harassing the Web Developer.</p>
<p>Our solution was to use the award-winning content management system (CMS) <a href="http://www.joomla.org/" target="_blank">Joomla</a> which enabled us to build Sara G&#8217;s site giving her the power to edit content freely. The power this CMS offers us is mind blowing from the ability to embed modules, applications and anything to meet our clients needs.</p>
<p>Our main conflict was coming to ends with everyone on her team. As many eyes were on the project we had to balance and all come to a  final result. The difficulties we had was receiving feedback from several people with wonderful ideas but didn&#8217;t quite fit the template which was built. Through effective communication, we made sure both parties were satisfied with the product being launched.</p>
<p>I hope you all like Sara G&#8217;s site and we look forward to continuing our success bringing you the best web solutions possible.</p>
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