Monthly Archives: September 2012
Facebook Commerce: Marketplace or Just Referral Source? – Retail Spokes Blog
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about Facebook’s eCommerce efforts. Many believe it is the next big thing in eCommerce. According to IDC, in three to five years, 10 to 15 percent of total consumer spending in developed countries may go through sites such as Facebook. I agree that some consumer spending will go through social networks, but these numbers along with predictions by many others are somewhat inflated. Facebook’s initiatives like Open Graph, Like button, Facebook Credits and partnerships with retailers indicate a push towards making its platform more conducive for eCommerce transactions. But, it will take years before physical product sales become mainstream on Facebook.
What can really work in near future is Facebook as a referral platform. The real value for anyone trying to leverage Facebook comes from heaps of social data that the platform owns. But, collecting data is one thing and putting it to use is another. It will take a while before Facebook itself can effectively mine and use this social data, let alone its partner being able to make good use of it. Currently, when making a buying decision outside of Facebook, this data rarely helps. This is due to the fact that at a user level limited amount of product recommendations can be derived via Facebook APIs, and anything outside user’s immediate social graph very quickly becomes vague. But, if Facebook itself were to launch a product recommendation engine (or such), they would have huge amount of data to analyze and tremendous targeting opportunities.
E-Commerce Videos: Benefits And Optimization Best Practices – Retail Spokes Blog
For a long time, retailers held back from adding video content on their eCommerce sites. This delay was due to high production and hosting costs, inept distribution and marketing channels, and few optimization opportunities. All in all, there was no clear ROI for the investment. Today, technology advancement has cleared most of these roadblocks. About 68% of top 50 US online retailers offered some kind of video content on their site in 2009 (eMarketer). This number is growing rapidly as adding video content has now become the second-highest priority of multichannel retailers. According to a recent Forrester Research study, videos are 53 times more likely to generate a first-page ranking than traditional SEO techniques.
Turbans Unwrapped Published on YesPunjab
Sikh turban is an article of faith that has been made mandatory by the founders of Sikhism. It is not merely cultural paraphernalia. The symbolisms of wearing a turban are many from it being regarded as a symbol of sovereignty, dedication, self-respect, courage, devotion, and style, but, the foremost reason all practicing Sikhs wear a turban is just one – out of love, obedience and commitment to the wishes of the founders of their faith. The turban is deeply intertwined with the Sikh identity and is a manifestation of the mission given to all Sikhs – to fearlessly stand against tyranny and protect the downtrodden. Wearing a turban ensures that no Sikh can hide in the crowd and escape this responsibility. Turban was included in the Sikh dress code contrary to the prevailing diktat that only the superior class could wear a turban. The Sikh prophets sought to uplift the subjugated and make them the equals of the highest of the high. They diligently worked to create an egalitarian society dedicated to justice and equality.