6 Free iPad Apps For Planning Vacations

Over the past decade, booking travel plans has become exponentially easier. Gone are the days when we relied on travel agents to book flights, hotels and car rentals. Why call an agent when you can do your own research quicker and more thoroughly online? And now, mobile devices, including the iPad, are making travel planning even easier, giving vacationers the option to book on the fly.

The iPad is on its way to becoming the digital travel companion of choice — with games, books, music, news, magazines, social networking, e-mail, shopping and more, it has just about anything you could ask for to make your travels more entertaining. With increasing app options, it’s also making vacation planning much smoother.

While there are a ton of paid travel apps for the iPad, we decided to keep it simple and test only free apps. Your vacation will probably cost a hefty amount — why nickel and dime yourself with iPad apps to plan it?

We tested a slew of free iPad apps for travel planning, including apps for getting inspired, booking flights, hotels, car rentals and cruises, checking the weather and doing currency conversions. Check out our top six picks below and add your own recommendations in the comments.

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1. & 2. Inspiration: “Travel + Leisure” & “National Geographic Traveler”

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If you’re not sure where you’d like to go on vacation, there are a number of apps out there to get you inspired. We recommend Travel + Leisure’s iPad app, which just debuted earlier this month with its free holiday issue, the first issue formatted for the device.

Beyond the free holiday issue, subsequent issues will be made available for $3.99 each, but full digital subscriptions are not yet available. The app is only loaded with one issue so far, but it’s a promising look into the future with interactive features, including videos, slideshows and maps. While interactivity is limited, the current features beat out other travel-focused magazine apps for the iPad.

For narrowing down destination types, check out the “Destinations” feature, which enables you to plan your trip by type — including arts and culture, beaches and islands, food and wine, and more — and then choose a city to read more about it. Each city description includes a guide of Travel + Leisure’s top picks for what to see, do, eat and drink and where to stay. The only downside is that getting back to the “Destinations” feature requires navigating via the app menu — a simple “back” button would be extremely helpful in this case.


While the National Geographic Traveler iPad app isn’t focused on vacation planning per se, we also recommend taking a look at it, as it includes full issues of the paper magazine, enhanced by video, photo galleries and detailed maps. The interactive features are limited, with only a few additions per issue, but they function well and add to the content. As the world’s most widely read travel magazine, National Geographic Traveler features top-notch content about locations, cultures and experiences. You can’t help but be lured after reading about the destinations it covers.

The app is free and upon downloading, you receive a complimentary download of the previous month’s issue. Each subsequent issue costs $3.99, or a subscription for eight digital issues can be purchased for $10.

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3. Booking Flights, Hotels & Cars: KAYAK HD

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The easiest app to use for booking flights, hotels and car rentals is Kayak HD, hands down. We agree with KAYAK HD’s self description: “KAYAK HD brings you the best travel shopping experience for iPad.”
Booking flights is a breeze. After choosing your destination, dates and other preferences, the best flights appear by price. Tapping on a flight pulls up more flight details and information on which sites you can book the flight for the price listed.

Booking hotels and cars is just as easy. After inputting your preferences, options are displayed by price. Hotels can be narrowed down by stars, brands, name, and price, and cars can be sorted by price, agency or car/class. If you’re worried about location, hotels can also be viewed via an in-app Google Maps experience.

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4. Finding Cruises: Conde Nast Traveler: Cruise Finder HD

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Sometimes you just want to float out on the sea for a few days (or weeks), and that’s when cruises come in handy. Conde Nast Traveler provides a great app for finding the best cruise ships for your needs. Cruise Finder HD enables you to narrow down ships, cruise destinations, and your preferred features. Each result appears with an overall rating, ship size, ship features and a brief description. For example, I chose to search Caribbean cruises with shore excursions, spas and Wi-Fi. You can view search results on a map or in a list. My results are pictured above in the map view.

Choosing the “Read More” button on a listing takes you to a more descriptive page, where details such as price, cabin size, and number of restaurants, swimming pools and balconied cabins can be found. From there, you can also save a ship to your favorites, share it via, e-mail the listing, visit the cruise line’s website, find travel agents, or book the trip by phone.

One of the features we’d really like to see is the option to book a cruise from within the app. It currently offers a great way to find ships that fit particular lifestyles, but booking is limited to clicking through to the cruise line’s website or calling. And who uses phones these days, anyway?

Get this app while it’s hot. It is currently being sponsored by Bing for a limited time, making it free to download, but beginning December 1, it will cost $3.99.

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5. Weather: The Weather Channel Max

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One of the most important factors for a fun vacation is having the right type of weather. You can’t ski without snow, and a beach without sunshine isn’t ideal. Before you plan that early-January trip, make sure you already know a bit about the climate patterns of your destination, so you can pack accordingly.

As your departure date arrives, though, turn to The Weather Channel iPad app to keep tabs on the weather at your destination. Bookmark it and see the three-day forecast ahead. For U.S. or European destinations, video forecasts are oftentimes available as well.

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6. Currency Conversion: XE Currency

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With international travel, you’ll probably need to convert your country’s currency to the destination country’s currency. Being aware of current exchange rates will help you spot good deals and save money.

XE.com, one of the most reliable currency conversion sites out there, offers the XE Currency iPad app, supporting more than 180 currencies with up-to-the-minute rates. Choose up to 10 currencies, listing them in any order. To choose a base currency, simply click on the currency and enter the amount you’d like to convert; the base currency is always highlighted for easy recognition. For example, I chose to convert U.S. $100 to nine other currencies (as pictured above).

10 Biggest Gaming Disappointments Of 2010

Sure, 2010 had some truly excellent games – games that likely brought you hours of fun, red eyes and repetitive strain injuries of all kinds. But it also brought disappointment. We're talking about broken dreams, wet eyes and a pang in our hearts that not even the strongest alcohol seems to blot out.

While the games on our list might have turned out pretty well on the whole, we've selected the titles that had the highest expectations on them to begin with. We're talking about epic development cycles, big franchises and ravenous fans. So - even if they scored well, we were disappointed these games didn't quite achieve all they could.


Which games made our list of shame? Read on!

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10. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

After years of waiting for a true sequel in line with Sonics 1 to 3, fans collectively nerdgasmed over the purported return to the series' pure 2D roots. No silly side-quests, no lame characters – no awful voice acting, even – just the purity of high speed racing, jumping and ring collecting. How could it go wrong?

To be fair, Sonic 4 was completely playable – and it never went wrong, per se – but it also wasn't the perfect, shining example of how to do the 2D modern Sonic game that fans were expecting. Being merely very good isn't enough for a character like this; even saying 'this is the best Sonic game in years' doesn't have the kind of weight to it that it probably should. The controls and perspective, short length and limited replayability both held Sonic 4 back in our eyes.

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9. PlayStation Move

Sony isn't exactly new to alternative gaming interfaces – EyeToy has been around for years, the Sixaxis controller took a couple tentative steps into the Wii's court, and now PlayStation Move takes another significant stride towards a motion-controlled future. The tech works very well, blending the EyeToy's personal, full-body and voice activated interactivity with the accuracy of Wii MotionPlus.

However, we're disappointed with the overall experience so far. No game – compatible or specifically designed for Move – has convincingly shown the platform to be anything more than a me-too answer to Wii's motion control. There is no killer app yet, nor will there be until 2011. Given that it's the games that ultimately decide the success of the peripheral, Move is still unproven and a bit disappointing in our books.

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8. Lost Planet 2

There was a lot to like about the original Lost Planet – pace, verticality and an emphasis on pure-action gunplay that succeeded far more than it failed. As such, after a couple of years of teasing us with tempting snippets of co-op gameplay and revamped presentation, Lost Planet 2 was high on our most-wanted list games. Capcom fumbled this ball.

Not only did Lost Planet 2 fail to deliver the initially promising gameplay premise, it actually took a backwards step in several respects. The gameplay itself was hampered by an overly complex control scheme, the game's difficulty proved badly balanced and the online functionality was severely flawed by poor and short-sighted design choices.

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7. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days

Another sequel that looked to address the sins of the father, Kane & Lynch 2 was immediately visually striking. The handicam grain, disrupted video playback look and hyper-realistic lighting and colour scheme immediately turned heads – to the point where we hoped the team had similarly reworked the gameplay, polishing and tightening along the way.

Sadly, by 'reworked', Kane & Lynch 2 merely tosses together a cover system that never felt reliable along with enemies that took far too many rounds to put down. These grunts also poured out in serious numbers, which killed the realism and upped the repetition. In short, it was a flawed and repetitive shooter that, despite great art direction, never breaks free of being mostly mindless in execution. Once again, all that potential went to waste.

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6. Crackdown 2

Hey— if you had nine months to create and deliver a full game, you'd probably look at ways to cut corners too. Crackdown 2 is a sequel of the worst kind, delivering a nearly identical city, barely reworked beyond the colouration, and gameplay that is largely identical to the first game. Why does this game exist? Why?

Short answer is, it really shouldn't – or, at least, not in this form. Sure, adding a mutant infestation might've darkened the tone and upped the bloodletting, but the lack of story, structure and identical gameplay made for one of the biggest disappointments of the year. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with the gameplay, but a true sequel to Crackdown deserved more.

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5. Microsoft Kinect

Oh, Kinect. You and me – we need to have ourselves a frank little discussion before things go awry. Sure, you're making buckets of dough, and that bottom-line probably justifies the means – but that doesn't mean you're not a massive disappointment. When you were first unveiled, you were a sophisticated and impressive piece of hardware. Almost two years on, you're a sketch of the original idea; a watered down version of the idea we fell for.

Kinect's games and responsiveness have a lot to answer for here. The launch titles are fairly lacklustre, with a couple exceptions, and the lack of a longer-term line-up of more in-depth titles definitely hurts. The hardware itself has a lot of untapped potential, but the removal of a dedicated processor means that finer motor movements in the body aren't detectable and that really limits what can and cannot be done down the line.

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4. Fable III

So here we are again: another Fable game that has failed to live up to the tremendous hype generated by its parent company, compounded by comments from Lionhead CEO Peter Molyneux that drove expectations into the stratosphere. Such hyperbole has been Molyneux's undoing in the past, and Fable III, while completely playable and even very good in most respects, nevertheless disappointed anyone expecting a fresh or progressive experience.

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3. Medal of Honor

If you're going ape the tone and presentation of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise, at least make sure you emulate what really counts: quality of gameplay too. This year's reboot of the Medal of Honor brand probably deserved a different kind of booting – one that critics and gamers were all too happy to apply.

For starters, initial controversy levelled at depictions of the Taliban suddenly politicized the game, stirring up an ugly media frenzy. In an industry that already struggles with clichéd portrayals of violence, this was a messy situation. Then, after playing Medal of Honor, we were simply left wondering if the bigger travesty was, in fact, the sub-standard gaming fare. Consider Medal of Honor a guide on how not to relaunch a franchise.

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2. Gran Turismo 5

Six years and millions upon millions of dollars later, Gran Turismo 5 is finally – finally – on sale. Was it worth the wait? For ardent fans, undoubtedly. For everyone else, however, we really have to wonder if Polyphony Digital understands that it ultimately painted itself into a corner. The expectations placed upon Gran Turismo 5, built off the back of years of waiting, refining, teasing, rethinking, hyping and overselling ultimately took its toll.

IGN scored Gran Turismo a very fitting and great 8.5 – but, like several games on this list, we question if six years of waiting for a less-than-excellent game is really worth it. Are we disappointed? Youbetcha. But would we be willing to wait another year for that extra polish? Heck no. At least it's finally out, right?

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1. Final Fantasy XIII

Okay. Final Fantasy XIII is, without question, the biggest gaming disappointment of 2010. Square Enix promised fans so much and under-delivered in every area, apart from utterly gorgeous raw presentation values. It's true – XIII is pure spectacle, but the gameplay is so vanilla, linear and unmoving that we really wonder how the design process made it as far as it did without anyone raising some warning flags.

Being merely 'okay' isn't good enough for the Final Fantasy series. These games have a heritage and pedigree to maintain, and thirteen games in, this instalment indeed proved unlucky. The characters are routinely awful and uninteresting, the storytelling is a jumbled mess that meanders through bland subplot – and then there's the gameplay, which consists of essentially moving in a straight line for the first twenty hours, repeatedly hitting X.

Some have praised this entry for signalling a bold departure for the series; a change of direction and a new flavour. Frankly, if this is how Square Enix views the future direction of its major JRPG releases, we're more than a little irked.

So what do you think of this list? Do let us know

10 New iPad Killers

The iPad had it easy in 2010. There were virtually no viable competing tablets on the market until Samsung released the Galaxy Tab this month.

But it's only going to get more difficult for the iPad in 2011 as almost every major electronics manufacturer prepares to launch a new tablet.

While Apple is rumored to update the iPad in a few months, competitors are rushing to catch up with a slew of new Android and other OS offerings.

Here Are 10 New iPad-Killers You Can Buy Next Year

1) Rim's Blackberry Playbook

When it will come out: Early 2011.

What to expect: A 7 inch tablet that reportedly runs pretty darn fast when compared to the iPad. Could that be enough to make the PlayBook a true iPad killer? With a reported sub-$500 price tag, it could be.
 
2) HP will integrate Palm's WebOS in its next tablet

When it will come out: Some time in 2011.

What to expect: HP's Jon Rubenstein said the company would be rolling out a "great tablet" with Palm's WebOS operating system starting next year. We assume that means it'll be running WebOS 2.0 that will be released early next year.

3) The Samsung Galaxy Tab is already selling well. How will the Galaxy Tab 2 fare?

When it will come out: End of 2011, most likely.

What to expect: Samsung already has plans to start producing 7" AMOLED displays. It doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to guess what they're for. By the time the screens start rolling off the line next summer, consumers will be itching for a refresh to their favorite Android tablet. Samsung has already sold 600,000 Galaxy Tabs, so we know there's a significant demand for the device.

4) The Kno goes after the student market

When it will come out: The Kno is expected to start shipping at the end of this year. It's available for preorder now.

What to expect: The Kno is a massive device marketed as a "tablet textbook" for students. We took a look at it a few weeks ago. There are two options: dual screen (pictured here) and single tablet. It also comes with a stylus for writing and sharing notes with your fellow students.

5) The Motorola Motopad will likely be the first tablet to run Android 3.0

When it will come out: Most likely when Android 3.0 is released. Reports say that date will be around February 2011.

What to expect: A 7 inch tablet that will be the first to run a version of Android optimized for tablets. Verizon will offer 3G data plans and possibly integration with FIOS. You can bet Motorola hopes to have the same effect on Android tablet adoption as it did with Android smartphones.

6) Dell Inspiron Duo blends netbook and tablet

When it will come out: Most likely the by the end of 2010. It's available for preorder now.

What to expect: The Inspiron Duo is Dell's attempt at merging a netbook and tablet. It has a 10.1 inch touchscreen that flips and folds open into a netbook. There's also a JBL speaker dock (not included) that should provide a nice media playback experience. Check out the tablet's teaser video here.

7) The Asus Eee Pad is another Android tablet launching in the Spring

When it will come out: Engadget says March 2011.

What to expect: A 10 inch tablet running Android (3.0, we hope). There aren't too many details on the Eee Pad, but DigiTimes and others are saying that it will be part of a new wave of tablets running on the Tegra 2 processor.

8) Cisco Cius is Android for the office

When it will come out: March 2011, according to PC Magazine.

What to expect: The Cius will be an Android tablet targeted at business users. The 7 inch tablet will include Cisco's video conferencing, access to the Android Market, and HD video. Check out a full list of features here.

 
9) Lenovo's LePad tablet is waiting for Android 3.0

When it will come out: Summer 2011 or later, Crunch Gear estimates.

What to expect: Lenovo is releasing it's LePad in Asia soon, but it will only run Android 2.2. Like Motorola, Lenovo is waiting for the release of Android 3.0 before unveiling their tablet in the United States.

10) Acer just announced two Android tablets for next year

When it will come out: April 2011

What to expect: Acer announced that it will be launching two new Android tablets next year. There will be a 10 inch and 7 inch version of the device and Engadget reports they seem to be running Android 2.2. The 10 inch device has rear and front-facing cameras and an impressive 1280X800 display.

So do any of these tablets interest you? Do let us know

LG Optimus Series

Today my focus is on the latest mobile phones from LG using the power of Android - namely the Optimus

LG launched the LG Optimus One, a smart device powered by Froyo, the latest Android-version (2.2). Optimus One features cool Google Mobile Services such as Voice Actions, Voice Search, Google Goggles, Shopper and Maps. LG convinced 4 Google engineers to highlights their favourite features of Android 2.2 on the LG Optimus One - as shown in the video below



Froyo/Android 2.2 allows for two to three times faster and smoother internet browsing, web-page loading, application pop-ups and multi-tasking. LG also introduced *Optimus 7,* LG’s first Windows® Phone 7 device.

For more info about LG Optimus One - take a look here

And for LG Optimus 7 - take a look here

Here's a review of LG Optimus One and LG Optimus 7

Which feature of LG’s Optimus devices strikes you as ‘most innovative’? Do let us know

You can also join the Facebook page to share your comments.

Top 3 Mobile Apps Of 2010

In 2010, the mobile app really has become the new currency. With hundreds of thousands of apps available just in the Android Market and App Store, “there’s an app for that” is more than just a marketing slogan; it’s also eerily true.

Looking back through my collection, these are three of my picks for Best Mobile App. 

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1. Hipstamatic (iPhone)

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There are a ton of great photography apps for the various mobile platforms. On my iPhone 4, I have two full folders full of photo apps and utilities. Still, no app gets used as much as Hipstamatic [iTunes link].

The $1.99 app turns your iPhone into a toy camera with a degree of accuracy and retro-recreation that is unparalleled by any other photo app. From the viewfinder to the choice of film, lenses and body styles, the app is authentic in every way.

Not only can you share photos on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter, you can also order prints of your photos, and — get this — the prints are done on real photo paper and using a real analog process. Too cool.

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2. GoodReader for iPad

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When GoodReader for iPhone [iTunes link] first appeared on the scene, it seemed like the PDF and document reader that Apple just forgot to include in iOS.

Since its release, Apple has beefed up its native document support, but GoodReader still excels at opening up large files, and even more importantly, acting as a fantastic file manager and viewer. Here’s what makes GoodReader better than just a regular file viewer: You can easily connect to network or cloud-based servers or folders to download or upload, you can download file archives off the net, and you can annotate, make notes, and add drawings to your files.

In short, it’s a Swiss army knife of awesome. GoodReader for iPad [iTunes link] is $1.99 and is still one of the best business apps you can get for Apple’s tablet. It includes all the great features of the iPhone app, but thanks to the bigger screen real estate, you can really go read and view your files with more precision.
Good.iWare frequently updates its apps, adding new features and functionality. It is the $2 app that keeps on giving.

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3. Pulse (iPhone, iPad, Android)

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Alphonso Labs’ Pulse News made a big splash when it was first released for the iPad. That success led to the release of apps for the iPhone and Android.

Part RSS reader, part social aggregator, and completely beautiful to look at, Pulse is part of a larger trend of apps that are reinventing the news reading experience.

Earlier this month, Pulse transitioned from a pay app to a free download. It’s a great way to get the news across your devices and we love its integration with Posterous and other social services.

Those are our picks for “Best Mobile App” — but what about you? Let us know in the comments your top mobile app for 2010

5 Ways To Sell Your Expertise Online

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, the lessons you learn are valuable. Not only will those lessons help you succeed in your core business, but that expertise has value for your peers. Sharing your expertise and becoming a thought leader in your industry can help you to attract new customers and develop lucrative, long-term business relationships.

Beyond that, however, your expertise can also be utilized as a separate revenue stream in its own right. In 2008, the folks at software company 37signals announced that they had turned their expertise into revenue streams worth more than three quarters of a million dollars in just a couple of years. Here are five ways that you can follow in their footsteps and leverage your existing expertise too.

1. Newsletters

You may already have an email newsletter, and it's probably a great tool for customer retention. There's a lot of value in being able to reach out to customers with news about your products or services, offer discounts and provide value-added content that keeps people interested. But have you considered offering a more premium, paid newsletter? Whatever your business, you likely have expertise that people will be willing to pay for. Restaurants could offer a monthly newsletter with recipes using seasonal foods, for example, or a gym could offer a weekly newsletter with exercises and tips on staying healthy.

TinyLetter and letter.ly are two new services that allow you to quickly and easily create and sell subscription-based e-mail newsletter.

2. Consulting

The lessons and skills you've acquired over the course of building a successful business have immense value to your peers. People will pay for that knowledge if you offer it via a consulting service. While many startups are bootstrapped using funds raised by consulting gigs, it's unlikely that as a busy small business owner you'll have the time to put hours into consulting. Still, by setting aside a few hours each week or taking on a couple of consulting clients, you can build a healthy secondary revenue stream and potentially be introduced to unique investment opportunities.

One easy way to sell your advice is Ether. Ether is a web app that provides users with a toll-free 888 telephone number that forwards to your existing phone line. You set when the number is available and how much you want to charge, then you just open for business during your "office hours."

3. E-Books

E-books are old school and they take a little more upfront investment, but they're potentially very lucrative. 37signals pulled in $350,000 by selling downloads of its first business advice e-book, Getting Real. People could be willing to pay for your expertise, as well. A mechanic, for example, could sell a series of e-books on do-it-yourself auto and motorcycle repair. If you're a pet groomer, what about an email about caring for dogs? Think about what you know and about how it could be expanded into a 40- or 50-page book.

Once you've created your book, you can sell it as a PDF download using a service like DPD or PayLoadz. For a more complete, end-to-end solution, try TradeBit, which offers a marketplace, or Lulu, which can also turn your e-book into a printed book.

4. Webinars

Webinars might be the ultimate way to sell your expertise. By holding a paid webinar, you're literally charging people to watch you talk about and demonstrate whatever it is that you have to share. Because you're offering people access directly to you (the expert), webinars are worth the money to your peers. Software like WebEx can allow you to stream presentations, audio and video to up to 3,000 participants. You can take questions from your audience in real-time and the platform offers built-in e-commerce, so you can charge for access.

Also check out solutions from GoToMeeting and Adobe, though you'll have to handle payment yourself.

5. Online Courses

If live events aren't your cup of tea and static e-books don't convey your message clearly enough, another way to sell your expertise is by offering an online course. Using an app like Litmos, Odijoo or WiZiQ, you can create and sell web-based classes that not only share your expertise but teach it step-by-step. You can include multimedia in your courses, additional reading material (maybe you could even include your e-book as required reading), and provide tests so that participants can assess their progress.

So what do you think? Are there any other ways that we missed out? Do let us know

10 Social Media Pain Cures

For marketers, social media is becoming increasingly complicated. The number of channels continues to grow and the pressure to show how all this effort will impact the bottom line only grows stronger.

The pains of managing social media are obvious – now let’s look at 10 different cures to make those pains disappear.

#1: I can’t keep track of what’s going on!

Between answering questions on LinkedIn Answers and updating your Ning profile, you missed the fact that one of your customers just wrote a scathing comment on your Facebook page.


Cure: Start a social dashboard.

Social media management platforms allow you to consolidate multiple social media accounts into one place, so you can manage them all more efficiently. You get an overview of what is happening in different channels, all on one screen. The benefits extend far beyond that, but that’s enough of a reason to look into these solutions. Some solid choices include Hootsuite and Awareness. But different platforms work better for different needs.

#2: I’m talking to a bunch of nobodies!

You exchange 40 tweets with someone who is knowledgeable about your industry. Great! A real prospect! Then you find out that she is a 20-year-old college student (with 15 Twitter followers) writing a paper – and she has absolutely no ability to make a purchasing decision.

Cure: Understand social influence.

You should spend time engaging with people who can move your business forward. That means you need to identify the most influential social media people in your niche. Klout is a tool that tracks influence on Twitter and Facebook. Use it to see if that person is a thought leader, a connector, or a decision-maker.

#3: My customers are out there – but where?

You just know that your current customers are on social media. But your Facebook page only has 40 fans. Where are your customers, and how do you connect with them?

Cure: Check out your customers’ social profiles.

Flowtown and Gist both unify multiple social media presences based on your existing customer email database. This gives you a quick way to find out which of your customers are using different social media platforms, and which customers are influential.

#4: I share a lot of content – but it doesn’t drive visits to my site.

You’ve seen the recommendations from experts to keep your self-promotion to a minimum. Social media is about sharing. But you’re also accountable for your own metrics. How can you share, and still get people to check you out?

Cure: Create social media landing pages.

By giving you control of the frame of your link, ObjectiveMarketer gives you the chance to message and brand all of your social media links with customized content. You get all of the benefits of sharing great content with your followers, plus you can show them the interesting things that you’re up to at the same time.

#5: I can’t justify all the time it takes to do social right!

Your team spends hours each week retweeting, sharing links and joining the conversation. But now it’s the end of the year, and you need to make a budget for next year. You know you can’t go on with such a long to-do list, but you don’t have the metrics to show the impact.

Cure: Use your existing metrics – just show the social benefit.

Argyle Social tracks the response from your social media updates and maps them back to the conversion metrics you set up on your website. And it looks back up to 90 days in order to account for a longer consideration cycle – showing how a bunch of tweets adds up to an eventual sale.

#6: I don’t know what my followers are doing online!

You see what happens to your own status updates and blog posts – visitors come to your site, readers leave comments, etc. But you have no idea what they’re doing on the rest of the web.

Cure: Tell people what you like to find out what they like.

This is one place where the biggest names in social media can help you. Twitter and Facebook offer login credentials that any website can adopt (there are open source alternatives as well). Whenever possible, you should connect to other sites using one of these login protocols and “Like” content across the web liberally. Often, you can see who else in your network is also interested in that website. In this way, you’ve created a new opportunity for engagement.

#7: I can’t filter out the noise from the important stuff.

Every time you login to Twitter, you see that there are thousands of unread tweets. Your Facebook page is overrun with comments from people you’ve never heard from before. And there are 1,575 blog posts that are ready for a comment from you.

Cure: Get information fast – when you need it.

Cadmus can definitely help in this arena. It’s designed to show you the most important tweets from your network. If you’re looking for information from your network on a specific topic, Nsyght searches across your social network. It’s like Google but only for the people in your social network.

#8: All this engagement isn’t leading to anything!

You get retweeted by the same people over and over. You have the same conversation with multiple followers. You’re running in a hamster wheel, not moving your marketing forward.

Cure: Get yourself some game mechanics.

Game mechanics means linking your marketing efforts together, so that one interaction naturally leads to the next. You have to create a series of social media events that encourage your followers to engage more deeply – and game mechanics provide a solid framework for planning.

#9: There are not enough hours in the day!

As soon as you feel like your Facebook presence is strong, you know you need to create a SlideShare presence. There’s always one more tweet to write, one more blog post to comment on and new marketing campaign to support.

Cure: Make the case for dedicated resources.

Your marketing program needs to evolve, or it will die. That means your team needs new skills, and a more sophisticated understanding of social media. Work internally to make the case, based on your current success, to shift marketing dollars into social media. And make sure you find the people, whether internal or external, who can hit the ground running.

#10: I have all this content, but I don’t know what to do with it.

You’re doing a great job of engaging with your audience. They’re responding and you have some great quotes. But you’re not getting the full marketing benefit from this engagement.

Cure: Create a space on your site to feature the best social content.

Assuming that marketing involves bringing people to your site so they can take some action, you should feature some social content from your community on your site. This gives your best followers a pat on the back, and allows others to brag about you so you don’t have to. Testimonial pages are a great way to do just that.

What are your biggest social media pains? The community just might be able to cure them for you. If you’ve figured out how to cure them already, be sure to share your solutions in the comments box below.

Embracing Foreign Language Internet

Today the web includes not just English speakers but also foreign languages therefore, it is essential for businesses to embrace the foreign language internet

Foreign Languages on the Web

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A truly global web must represent the languages of its users. And with growth in usage of the web in foreign languages outstripping English, businesses are playing catch-up with their potential customers. They’re rapidly trying to get as multi-lingual and diverse as their current and prospective client base.

In the last ten years, the use of Arabic online has increased by over 2500%, while Chinese and Spanish rose twelve and seven-fold respectively. And English? It didn’t even triple.

Today, 42% of all Internet users are in Asia, while almost a quarter are in Europe and just over 10% are in Latin America. These stats shouldn’t sway businesses towards targeting one region over another, though — Latin American countries account for over 200 million people on the web.

However, the vast majority of all online searches are in a language other than English. English is losing its online market share rapidly, which is no bad thing for businesses that recognize and embrace the opportunities on the foreign language Internet.

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Optimizing the Non-English Web

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The rise of the foreign language Internet doesn’t change the fact English leads the world in terms of volume and depth of content. Whether your industry is car insurance, web design or musical instruments, achieving top rankings for your English-language website for lucrative search terms is getting ever more difficult. The English-language web is saturated and competition for key search terms is tough, which makes increasing your online visibility tough too.

Conversely, the saturation of key search terms on non-English language websites hasn’t reached anywhere near the level of the English-language web. This means that businesses can attain high — and lucrative — positions on search engines far easier on the foreign language Internet.

This also means that it costs less for businesses to achieve prominence on the foreign language web. So the return on your internet marketing investment in Brazil, Russia, India, China — whatever your target market — should be greater than in English-speaking markets.

And the successful web marketer’s advantage when tackling the foreign language Internet is that you already know the essentials to achieve prominence online. You’ve proved this in the web’s toughest language market: English.

Chitika Research found that the difference between first and second place on Google () is significant. In fact, a number one spot on Google attracts nearly double the traffic as the number two spot, and about the same amount of traffic as the second through fifth spots combined. For marketers, you’re several times more likely to hit top spot if you escape English-language levels of competition and target almost any other language market.

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Going Local

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Doesn’t everyone speak English? Although many non-natives of English do, studies have shown consumers are up to five times more likely to buy from a website with content in their native language.

It stands to reason that consumers would rather search for products and services in their own language. Even if a consumer does speak English as a second language, a report by Common Sense Advisory found that 85% of online shoppers required information in their own language before parting with their hard-earned cash.

So to really make the most of the foreign language Internet, you need search engine optimized localization — a hybrid somewhere between what an Internet marketing company and a translation service provider might offer.

Localization involves addressing the cultural and linguistic needs of each of your target countries. When it comes to search, this includes addressing different local search habits. It’s more complicated than simply translating the search terms that work for you in English. In Italy, for example, one of the top terms for low cost airlines is actually half English, half Italian (“voli low cost”). As British and Irish airlines pioneered low cost travel in Europe, it seems their language infiltrated the Italian psyche and made this hybrid term lucrative. Brands really need local knowledge if they’re to take advantage of commercial opportunities like this.

A 2007 paper by the Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) reported that $25 dollars was returned for every $1 invested in localization. And with e-commerce set to grow by over 10% (CAGR) in Western Europe alone over the next five years, and much faster in so-called emerging markets, businesses should be gearing up for the surge in Internet spending.

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Search and Social

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Google’s search algorithm uses many aspects of online activity to determine how highly a website is ranked for a given term. Social media is becoming an increasingly important factor. What does this mean for the multi-lingual digital marketer?

The number of tweets a piece of your content receives and the reputation of those tweeters is important. The same goes for “Likes” on Facebook () or “Diggs” on Digg (). From a foreign language perspective, increased use of social media around the world creates another opportunity to communicate with customers and a way to improve search rankings at the same time.

According to comScore, Latin American tweets are up over 300% between June 2009 and June 2010, followed by 243% in the Asia Pacific region, 142% in the Middle East and Africa, and 106% in Europe. By comparison, North America only increased by 22%.

So the “rest of the world” is actually leading the Twitter () revolution. Big, global companies have already taken action. Sony supports twenty international Twitter feeds, while Microsoft, Cisco and PricewaterhouseCoopers all offer Twitter feeds in ten or more languages.

Of course, to succeed locally with social media depends on the prominence of your local websites. A consumer is far more likely to follow your Twitter feed in French if they find it on your French language website. Developing global social media strategies and fully SEO’d localized websites should all form part of the same grand globalization plan.

This plan should also factor what social media platforms are popular locally. According to Comscore, Russia is the biggest country for engaging with social media overall, with Yandex the number one platform. Facebook isn’t even in the top ten most popular websites in Russia. And while Brazil is big on Twitter (alongside Indonesia), Orkut () rules the roost there as the mainstream go-to social network.
Similar patterns emerge across the world. Just because one social network leads your home market, this may not be the case in your target market.

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Putting the “World” in “World Wide Web”

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May 2010 saw a major development for the foreign language Internet — something that will make the web itself more localized. ICANN, the Internet regulator, enabled full URLs in non-Latin scripts. This includes the country code, which means that Arabic and Chinese characters can be used in web addresses.

This is another clear sign that the web is becoming less English-centric. Businesses that have thus far tackled only English-speaking markets online — with perhaps German, French or Spanish thrown in to help support their single biggest international markets — must cater to a more diverse user base.

The foreign language Internet is the low-cost gateway to global success. With online populations growing at a frenetic pace in the non-English speaking world, businesses need to plan how they’ll keep up. Consumers and businesses in the fastest growing markets of the world -– online and offline -– want to talk to you in their languages. And their languages are usually anything but English.

So what do you think? Do you think embracing foreign languages is indeed essential for businesses or is it a fad? Do let us know

11 Apps For Managing Your Real Life Social Networks

Managing your real-life social networks is a very trick process for most new ventures given the large number of people we meet everyday...here's 11 apps that will help you manage your real-life social network

Bring Your Friends Together

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The new Facebook Groups is a remarkable improvement over the original group application, and it is a clear indication that Facebook is taking group organization and collaboration seriously. Group Chat and Message Lists do a great job keeping large and loosely defined groups on the same page (no pun intended). My fantasy football league uses Facebook Group Chat to talk trash and discuss important games every Sunday. My (extended) family uses a Facebook Messaging list to keep in touch (the opt-out system is OK in this context because the group only includes family members).

For formal groups like clubs or organizations, GroupSpaces is a great solution. It manages members, organizes gatherings, and shares calendars and documents. GroupSpaces even allows you to collect money from members for dues and group events.

I just joined a soccer team for the first time in years. It’s great exercise, but it’s also an additional 12 friends with whom I need to coordinate. TeamSnap helps manage our game and event schedules, tracks who can attend each game, organizes fees and payments, and even tracks player stats.

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Communicate With Your Crew(s)

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I just discovered GroupMe, and it has changed my world. GroupMe provides you with a unique phone number for each of your social groups. If you text that number, everybody in the group receives a text. If you call that number, you start an instant conference call. For every one of my social groups (coworkers, family, college friends, founder friends, party-on-Tuesday-night friends), I have a GroupMe number.
 
I’ve also used it for short-term groups. I went to Vegas with a bunch of friends, and our GroupMe phone number is the only thing that kept us all together when we were on the go.

And going back to the basics, I use Facebook whenever I want to start a long message thread with multiple people. It’s quicker and easier than e-mail, and it feels more casual.

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Plan the Party

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Facebook Events is not the greatest RSVP-management tool, but it definitely has its place. It’s ideal for events with open guest lists such as big parties or gatherings. It works for me when I want to rally a group of friends around a particular event or when I just want to get the word out about something going on. We just used a Facebook Event to throw a Halloween party at our new office, and it attracted more than 300 people. We also use Facebook Events for the Tech Talks that we host with other startups in the Bay Area. For those, we just want to attract as many people as possible.

Since nobody pays attention to RSVP requests on Facebook Events, it’s not a good option for smaller or more formal gatherings. I use Pingg for formal or intimate engagements because the invitations are elegant, and recipients take the RSVP part seriously. For the really high brow, big-deal affairs, sometimes classic printed invites are necessary. Companies like Paperlinks bridge the gap between the digital and real worlds by letting you add QR codes to your printed invitations to give them another dimension. The codes can link online photos, videos and other visual elements to any paper invites you’re sending out to friends and family.

All that said, I’m a creature of habit, and I still use Evite. It’s a little clunky, and it has a bit of a bad rap, but it does the trick. For casual events with limited guest lists, Evite is (still) my go-to tool.

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Show Up

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There are a million online calendars and calendar tools, but I simply couldn’t survive without Google Calendar. It’s a classic, and it does everything I need. My Google calendar syncs with iCal, which I run locally on my laptop. They both sync with my iPhone, so I always know where I’m supposed to be (I make sure to set my alerts at least 20 minutes before every calendar event).

But how does it help me manage my social life? Simple: Sharing. I share my calendar with those in my immediate circles so they can always see what I’m up to and know when I’m free.

Working hours: It’s a new feature, but I’ve already started using it. Google now lets you set up working hours so other people know when they should invite you to events and when to leave you alone.

Invites: This might be the simplest and most amazing tool in Google Calendar. If you are planning an event with more than one person, simply invite them to the event when you add it to your calendar, and Google will send them an e-mail invite. If they accept, it will automatically get added to their calendar as well.

Find a time: This feature solves a real problem. When you’re trying to coordinate a meeting time for multiple people, you can easily compare schedules and pick a time that works for everyone.

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Keep in Touch

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Communication is key, whether you’re trying to schedule a one-on-one date or a huge party. I can keep on top of my conversations across social media platforms with Threadsy, which is a site that pulls all my e-mail and social feeds into one stream. So if I start a conversation on Twitter, continue it on Facebook and then e-mail with the rest of the details, I don’t lose track.

Etacts is a Gmail plugin that helps me manage my individual relationships. It’s almost like a personal CRM. My favorite feature of Etacts is that it automatically helps me stay in touch with my friends. For example, Etacts reminds me to connect with my college roommate at least once every two weeks. Making friends is easy, but keeping the relationship alive and strong is tough. For this, Etacts has been my tool of choice.

Once you manage to get the ol’ group together though, don’t forget to set up that “out of office” automated e-mail reply and step away from your smart phone. Those in-person interactions are what it’s all about.

So what do you think of these apps? Would you actually use them personally? Do let us know