Facebook gives $10 million dollars in free advertising to small businesses

What I have read recently on a web page ( Mashable Business ) and I found it really fascinating for small businesses is that Facebook gives them the opportunity to grow rich. In detail :

The program, Facebook Marketing Solutions, which includes a partnership with the National Federation of Independent Business and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will roll out over the next few months. In early 2012, Facebook will give each qualified business at least $50 of free advertising on Facebook.

The social network also promises free resources and information on how to market your business on Facebook. The company is sending its reps out to meet with small business owners in person. Since Facebook has a self-service ad platform that’s actually geared more to small advertisers than large ones, the program seems to be about building awareness, especially since 64% of small businesses think social media is unnecessary. The company took a similar approach to wooing the advertising industry in April with Facebook Studio, which also offers free resources, though there’s no free advertising component.

Source : Mashable Business

For more information on the topic, please visit this link : http://mashable.com/2011/09/27/facebook-small-businesses/

Read more »

In His Own Words: Cirque du Solei's Boss Reveals the Simplicity of a Producing Genius

Perched on the lofty edge of one of his many world castles, this one atop the Hollywood hills, billionaire big top tycoon Guy Laliberte talked to the the Los Angeles Times' Reed Johnson about his latest offering, Iris, designed to last 10 years at the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Whether audience interest will last ten years in a town famous for turning over product as fast as it can be "wrapped" and sent onto the road, is another matter.

Explained Laliberte on his producing philosophy, "We encourage mistakes because we believe that means they try things. The one thing we're very brutal with is that they [don't] repeat this mistake the second time."

Others on the creative staff of Iris, like prolific Hollywood soundtrack composer and rocker Danny Elfman, noted the generous artistic freedom they have enjoyed in their work "Guy doesn't come in and micro-manage like some producers can, " said Elfman. "They know that their best work comes out of allowing artists to be artists."

Elfman sees a parallel between Laliberte and movie mogul Louis B. Mayer, who would come around to view a rough cut, order cuts and revisions, leave and let the staff continue."

Cirque does "insist," according to the report, that each of its productions contain a "specified number of circus acts" and that it does not adhere to closely to a story line. Which may explain why many of you leave the tent more confused than when you came in.

Laliberte, something of a chain smoker it seems, likens his creative style to that of Pixar, believing they are similar in fostering a healthy "synergy" between artistic and business interests.

And the big boss encourages his staff to spend their off days in regenerative pursuits, such as sharing art works and taking part in charitable activities.

"I know I'm very privileged," said Laliberte to Reed while seated in his bare feet on his outdoor patio somewhere up there in tinsel town heights, "but the concept of people working all their life, seven days a week, piling up money, and dying being rich, I just don't get it."

Somehow, the image of all the smoke he is blowing into the air, not to mention its impact on his lungs, does not jive with his expressed advocacy for a healthy life style away from the bright lights.

The staff should encourage their boss, likewise, to tend to his health. Without him, this amazingly successful enterprise would likely suffer a sure slow death. From the incredible combination of talents that dance somewhere deep in Guy Laiberte's soul, come the Cirque shows, one after another.

Yes, some are floporamas. Others continue to astonish. Just like the top man said,, in order to succeed you've got to be willing and able to fall on your face or, might I add, slip, Banana Shepeel style.

(Note to the Cirque King: Frankly, Guy, that photo of you up there that appeared in the story, credited to your staff, is wretchedly awful. The lighting. Your stilted militaristic stance. Everything! And yet, in my pathetic desperation to illustrate your mug in my forthcoming book, Inside the Changing Circus, I actually contacted the Los Angeles Times about reprinting it. They wanted over $200! No thanks, Hollywood. Your people in Montreal, Guy, did not return my e-mails. No surprise. But you have an open invitation to meet me at my one-bedroom rental in Oakland. I have a balcony. On it, yes, you can smoke if you must.)

Read more »

Why people use Social Media?

I always wonderered: "Why people use Social Media?"

Well, this is not something you can answer with a simple phrase.

There are so many reasons for that. It depends on many aspects,

such as age, gender, personal interests etc.

Facebook, Twitter, You tube etc gives you the ability to connect with people from around the world.

It is "A Global Community" now! It is a virtual reality universe that gives you the opportunity to escape

from reality. I don't beleive that we should only communicate with Social Media. As social beings we need

to interact in reality with people.

On the other hand, we should pay serious attention on how to use this vehicle. There are so many freuds & dangers on the web...

How many of you receive almost every day spams on your personal email by sites that you entered and you gave your personal data? There are also criminal activities on the web as well...

Child's pornography and forums that encourage violence, racism and suicide!

My personal opinion is that parents should be very attentive when they watch their kid spending so many hours on the computer talking to strangers...

Also, there has to be made a certain type of education- information at schools on how children should use Social Media. I t is not always fun!

Social Media is a necessary evil. It is not to be avoided. On the contrary...

Social Media can make your business grow. They help you gain popularity! People started to share feelings & emotions through them. Recent psychologists studies proved that Social Media helped people to build strong confidence & even made them conquered depression! So, it is how to use them!

The video I posted here is about the isolation that Social Media cause when we become addicted to them!

Katerina Wilhelmina

Read more »

Living in Greece...

It is beyond doubt how bad the situation in Greece is... How could someone predict such disaster?

I try to be optimistic but I can't... How could I? For example:

There are so many lay offs daily. The Government makes new laws which are so unfair for the Greek

citizens...Retired people have a small wage which gets smaller & smaller in order to recover from the financial crisis...The employed receive a 500  euros monthly for an 8 hours work daily. The Greek Prime Minister, Giorgos Papandreou, has stated that he has decided to make changes no matter how hard they are...The tragic thing is that we call our political system "Democracy"...

In my opinion, democratic political systems are those who truly care about the people's needs and choose accordingly to those...This is a "Cold War"...Because of the huge unemployment there is a dramatic crime increase...

Greeks only care about how to survive.Depression and suicides have reached 25%.

How can you feel happy when you are not safe and respected?There is absolutely no health insurance & educational system.The kids at school don't have books.But the most important thing now is the trash problem.All streets are full of trash because of the dustbinments'strike.Our  health is in danger!

What annoys me is the indifference of our politicians. They are supposed to protect & care for us but keep on this self destructive strategy! Why? Obviously, they have lost their humanity!

Because I am a dreamer I want to finish this article with the optimistic thought that for every problem there is always a solution & with strong will & persistence everything is possible!

This is a video I made about the political crisis in Greece

Katerina Wilhelmina

Read more »

3-Minute Midway: Poema-Perfect Landings Seal the Deal

There's a great You Tube of the Poema act on Kelly-Miller Circus, the act itself finely staged and integrated into what I believe is their western production number. Little dude Adrian Jr., a great showman who has a life of high laughter and applause ahead of him, scores well, all the way through. Loved one of his interactive bits with ringmaster John. Very funny. Direction this year helps deepen the comic character in Adrian's Hannefordian soul. My only quibble with this well developed act -- it needs just a little something more at the very end, a little more punch or zing.

The family's stately risely landings (feet to feet) are what seal the deal. During the copy-editing phases recently for my forthcoming book, Inside the Changing Circus: A Critic's Guide to the Show, I added a paragraph on what I call "precision landings" to a chapter where I discuss the elements of a first rate circus act. Seeing the Poemas makes me glad I did.

Strong precision landings on the feet, when sure and masterfully erect -- do seal the deal. Gusto. Control. Vertically victorious posture ... Yes! They put the frosting on top of the frosting.

Read more »

Cirque du Soleil's "Iris" Wows L.A. Critics ... Are They for Real?

Los Angeles Times photo. Photographer unidentified.

It must be a glorious day for Cirque du Soleil down in tinsel town. And deja vu all over again. This is the place where the Montreal Monster conquered the world stage back in 1987 when it gambled all its kitty on a date in Japantown, wowed the entire city and soon after the world, and the rest is phenomenal history.

Twenty four years ago. Then, Cirque came bearing a simple though brilliantly inventive show under a little tent.

Now, 24 seasons later, it has returned full circle, back to the city of it's world birth, bearing a dazzling display of how it has reached into other venues and, finally, onto the stage.

I have felt all along that, in order for this gig to be big and last, it would have to be Cirque Grade A+ Nothing less. And maybe it is. But, even then ...

I am not quite ready to fully believe all of the raves I've read, for three reasons:

1. L.A. shares a special history with Cirque du Soleil, as noted above.

2. L.A. desperately needs a permanent anchor amusement to occupy and make more vital the Kodak Theatre, where previous tenants have failed.

3. The L.A. critics can come off on occasion as cheerleaders, either fooled by what they are watching or lacking in what I'd call New York critical independence. Time and time again, I've observed them to embrace a show, almost unanimously, that just was not that good. Example: The curiously rewritten Flower Drum Song, which premiered in L.A. prior to its "Broadway revival." L.A. reviewers issued virtual raves. Once FDS hit the New York boards, Gotham critics blasted it in a thousand different ways. It flopped within months.

Which is not to say that the critics are wrong on Iris. But I do wonder if some of their enthusiasm is driven by a burning desire, city wide, for the blockbuster draw that can bring much-needed live-entertainment luster to Hollywood and Hyland, where tourists flock to have their photos taken, gaze down upon the stars, buy a few souvenirs and quickly move on. Will Iris convince them to spend another night and a few hundred more dollars?

As one local said to a reporter, "They have no competition!"

For me, this will be a fascinating story to watch. By one account, if they can fill up 65% of the Kodak Theatre seats on average, they can turn some kind of a profit. Show is slated for a 10-year run. No where else in tinseltown do shows last even for a year.

For the moment, there is rare euphoria in the air. This is the town that put Cirque du Soleil on the map, make no mistake, and this is the town that may put them higher on the map. If Iris is as great as the reviews are saying, I can imagine watching it, maybe when I am in a wheel chair, when the ticket prices come back down to earth.

But, I doubt that. I can see discounts in a year or two. Blockbusters rise and fall here as fast as flats on a back lot.

Read more »

Sunday Morning with Showbiz David: Challenged More Than Ever by "The Ever Changing, Never Changing Circus"

My soul feels stretched like endless mist across time, by thousands of years as I consider how "circus" has meant so many things to so many different people across time's evolving sweep -- from the blood and thunder of Roman chariot races to the soaring poetry of today's virtual ballets in the sky.

My soul accepts the infinite reality that "circus" will never always be the same, not by a thousand triples or a hundred pratfalls. And so, my spirit surrenders to what is out there now in the ring, coming my way, trying to win me over -- as opposed to what is no longer there and may never return. And in the acceptance of this, I take my seat yet another time, glance upon the ring before me as a blank slate, and hope it will fill and overflow in ways both familiar and fresh, sweep me up on a ride and, at the end, send me out still half-way in the air, cheered, inspired, a believer once more.

I know it may not, but if I do not go, what might I miss?

History shows us, whether we like it or not, that the show is forever changing, as it must if it is to stay alive in the present. Who could have imagined 20-30 years ago that Ringling-Barnum would not always present a flying trapeze act?

Old timers once lamented the passing of the talking clown. They resented the disruptive enormity of "three rings" rather than just a single circle.

Like shifting sand patterns on the beach, so too the shifting patterns of clubs in motion, bodies off springboards, dogs onto horses turning clever tricks ...


I entered the tents barely in time to catch the last act of the old Roman horse races ending the show. Al G. Kelly & Miller Bros. still staged them, rough and real, as late as around 1960.

Midway through my spangled infatuations, the great Ringling ringmaster Harold Ronk, sitting out in the seats with me before a show at the Cow Palace, talked up the "four staples" he firmly believed to be circus essentials: "Elephants, flying acts, wild animals and clowns." How wise was he in his own time. Three of Harold's staples, in fact, match the only acts I can recall from my very first circus experience, around the age of five, at Polack Bros. Possibly Polack did not present wild animals, or they, too, I would have remembered.

Decades have passed. Now there is Cirque du Soleil, minus three of the staples. Now there is the "wheel of destiny," nearly a staple that was no where around when I peaked into the tent; now, dazzling ensemble variations on risley. And now, up there over the ring, young aerialists are carving out captivating new flight patterns in the big top skies.

Author Earl Chapin May called it "the ever changing, never changing circus." Lately, I have started to question his thesis. But then again, maybe in a broader sense he was right. Right if we accept the big top's surviving will and ability to reinvent its power to astound and amuse.

Next show, please! Stretch my soul in another unexpected direction, if you must. It feels more flexible, open, willing than ever. Show me whatever new magic you have that just might astound and amuse me. And renew my faith in the great spangled parade ...

Read more »