Noordhoek Sunset Photo

In general, people like nice photos and – from what I see on Social Networks – they like good quotes. It may be thoughts they agree to and that they can easily endorse – LIKE -, something funny or witty that might make them laugh, something uplifting for the soul … ergo: something that appeals and they just want to share it with their friends.

To ‘share’ in the virtual world means to “Like” – and as “likes” bring advantages in one way or another, especially on Facebook – it’s all about collecting “likes”. So I hope you like my Noordhoek Sunset Photo with an unknown quote I came across this morning and that I personally like as I believe it’s something we should live by.

Noordhoek Sunset Photo

In today’s fast moving digital media world, people don’t like to read as they are already swamped with information from all sides – it’s simply impossible. Mass triumphs over quality… and often simply squashes it! How can we find what’s original and precious amongst the many heaps of re-tweets, re-publishes, re-I-dunno-what and all of this… re-gurgitated stuff?

Most definitely we have to learn to reduce and compress what we wish to express into something that’s easily understood, has the key elements and the message and most importantly: it’s absorbed in a snap!

Like a simple element – like my Noordhoek Sunset Photo -  with a thought added to it. It’s simple, human and it may just resonnate more with those who look at it – creating a reaction, a like, so-called conversation.
But that’s just a first step within the process of understanding basic human behavior in the digital era.

Time for Infographics

It’s time for Infographics.

While it’s really not new and we used to call it ‘illustrations’ … and I’m sure that’s what they are still called in the traditional advertising and publishing environment (you will book an illustrator for a job… as simple as that) – what’s new however, is the quality we can produce today on the Internet in terms of digital media design!

It’s smashing!

Amazing too as to how fast this is being accomplished by those with the knowledge and the skill… and with comparatively simple means.

This was impossible a few years ago and it is indeed wildly exciting in terms of future developments we can expect… and the oeuvre produced by some of the major illustrators out there…

Basically, it’s about a picture that’s meant to tell a 1000 stories. It is in most cases composed of an array of pictures, stats, graphs, text, headlines, images both simple and/or complex – all this arranged on a minimum of space to bring a message over fast and furiously.

First of all and most importantly however : it all starts with an idea we want to express… followed by the creative process of converting the abstract into something visual and making it understandable in a reduced and often – but not always – simplified way – always in excellent quality – that catches our attention in a snap!

When I see this work I just can’t help thinking: “WOO! Quality does count… again!” – only talking of the Internet now of course. And this I really … LIKE!

An interesting topic for the future that will definitely have an effect on Social Network Publishing – I will be back with more…

Relevant Online Marketing Seminars

Relevant Online Marketing Seminars like those offered by Ycademy since 2004 are in high demand by people who want to build a successful business online or bring their offline business to the Internet.

Following my article on How to do Online Marketing on Friday, here is some feedback with my personal conclusions from the first day of this astonishingly clear, quite complex yet efficient and hands-on Ycademy Workshop that provided each Seminar participant with a relevant Email Marketing setup on their WordPress based Author Blog on Semiomantics XO.

The above photo was taken at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa – a traditional Marketing eldorado of its kind!

Relevant Online Marketing Seminars

What emerged as a key element from the first day of this relevant Online Marketing Seminar by Ycademy was that today online marketing has to be “relevant” and “contextual”. These two words have to be remembered, specifically when focusing on Email Marketing and the integration of Emailing with Newsletters and/or Autoresponders into one’s CMS, eg. Author Blog.

With our high performing Semiomantics websites and blogs this is no easy task to start with.

It needs careful thought and weighing of what is needed versus what’s not needed and a close look at what serves our purpose best: free or paid solutions? On the surface, it looks like concessions will have to be made between the mailer and our website optimization… however, that’s obviously not what we at Ycademy will settle with!

Relevant Emailing

Relevant Emailing in a smart and contextual form is what the Ycademy Brainwave came up with despite some rather frustrating research into various unsatisfactory avenues. Relevant Email Marketing in a way that’s modern, permission-based, contextual and far beyond the batch and blast approach of the old days.

With all of us thoroughly fed up with the clutter still reaching our mail boxes despite spam filters, we need to know that this is only around 20% of the spam that actually goes out – and this still seems to serve a certain market… an indicator that even that still works.

However, for the marketing professional in today’s economic climate everything turns around customer retention – and emailing is a powerful way of keeping in touch, communicating and ensuring growth through customer retention. We all learned that it is more cost-efficient to work on retaining an existing customer than winning over a new one.

Bearing this in mind, we move away from large broadcast campaigns to more targeted engagements. However, delivering that relevance requires more sophistication and here the challenge is to invest in the analysis of response and behavior data in order to assist us in directing our marketing strategies in the most beneficial ways – beneficial for us on one hand to avoid losing our time and efforts and risking spam complaints and optouts – as well as for the customer who may well be interested in receiving hot information on the red sunlasses we offer but not the green bikinis we sell in a different chapter. This needs to be realized and attended to accordingly. This is what relevance and context in terms of reaching out to our readers and customers is all about. That we give them what they want without throwing anything else at them. Graceful Service with the right Attitude in my eyes. Just as an example.

Looking at our website publications – eg. Author Blogs – it appears that the Email channel is a natural extension to distribute and monetize content – however, it needs a customized approach and it needs a soft approach to ensure that our mails get delivered and… opened… and maybe even passed on.

Therefore, our goal as publishers must always be to deliver a relevant, contextual and personalized quality experience that our readers and customers enjoy!

How do we achieve this?

Ycademy Seminar on Online Marketing

While day 1 of the Ycademy Seminar on Online Marketing provided the conceptual understanding, the basic setup and the tools, day 2 (today) will complete this important chapter in order to not only serve our own purpose in terms of promoting our own products and services, however, for those of us who focus on customer satisfaction when it comes to Web Design and Customer Follow-up, to offer our customers a maximum of value and safety in firstly reaching out and staying in close contact with their customers with their highly search engine optimized WP based Semiomantics CMS.

I am looking forward to a highly informative Workshop at the Ycademy Seminar today.

Advertising for Semiomantics XO

At Friday’s Ycademy Workshop we decided to get back to Adobe Photoshop CS4 and create a 300 x 300 ad to do some Digital Advertising for our Semiomantics XO for example.

This size would be perfect to insert in the sidebars or widgets of any of our Semiomantics Blogs, be it Semiomantics Author, Semiomantics Business or Semiomantics Newscast.

Advertising for Semiomantics XO

As a first step to our ‘Advertising for Semiomantics XO’ exercise with a realistic background and a real purpose, everyone needed to define their personal topic: what would the ad promote and who was the target audience? What were the emotional keywords that would form the foundation for this web graphic design?And where would the finished Ad link to? Which website, blog or shop?

While most participants decided to promote their English, German or French Semiomantics XO Script, there were others who targeted something else – like Gene Line who went for a “Nr. One – Home Run”  in baseball, featuring his eldest son in full action.

Once the direction was clear, the words or a short slogan had to be found and the colour and fonts had to be chosen – bearing in mind the background picture or graphic.

The wording went on separate layers for easy shifting between them until the optimal position would be found – for which guides are very helpful. From here, a background picture was added and the task now consisted in finding a good balance between showing an essential glimpse of the background while having the slogan stand out clear, sharp and to the point.

The ad would then be inserted on a blog and linked to an Evolution Flash or the Semiomantics Shop – as close as possible to the PayPal button.

WP Best eShop

For our Semiomantics Scripts and Web Graphic Design Services please view our SHOP HERE.

Adobe CS5 Launch

As reported yesterday, I attended the official Adobe CS5 launch in Africa, headed by South Africa’s ADOBE Channel Manager Simon Bromfield and presented with a lot of speed, humor and wit by a team of so-called ADOBE Evangelists, who shot new awe-inspiring ADOBE CS5 features off into a large audience just when it was lying flat on the floor laughing and relaxing. They certainly mastered the ‘learn & play’ approach… very entertaining, decisively pro-Mac, shockingly professional inbetween… which just prooved they knew their stuff even when the keyboard failed or the mic only functioned on the nose… absolutely hilarious that Mo from India :).

Adobe CS5 Launch

Without going into the single Programs right now – namely ADOBE Flash, Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere Pro – as I really want to work with them myself first, the ADOBE CS5 Launch made a few things clear to me:

First, we all have to move to 64 bit – YES! We Must! And I did. . .

Second, we have to up RAM in a BIG way – maximum is 196 GB (yeah…)

Third, whoever has ADOBE CS5 – especially the Master Collection – has a gem! Learn it, use it – even if you focus on certain programs or specialize on them.

Fourth, there is by far not only the Web. There’s incredible Print to this day and then there is obviously 3D Animation and the whole Movie Production sector with a lot of potential here in South Africa. Even during the show e-tv was looking for an After Effects specialist with 3 years’ experience to contact them to talk ‘job’. Now that’s good to hear when jobs are scarce, isn’t it?

Within the vast audience, I was one of a few who actually is rather ‘web-based’ and had some idea of Flash. The vast majority focuses on printed media and tv – both of which I was heavily involved with for about 20 years in 1900-something :).

Digital a way Mass Media can reinvent itself

This reminded me of an interesting article on “Digital not replacing traditional Marketing” by none other than Miles Young, gobal CEO of Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide – who told us in Johannesburg that “… the great mistake of today’s business environment is to believe that digital can fulfill the role of marketing. It will not! (…)

Digital has prevailed in the US and the core of our business has lost its sparkle but the sectarian approach of digital has had a profound harm in the US and the UK… (…)

The critical lesson here is to integrate digital into one’s business strategy but not to look at it as a ‘world apart’.

There is a huge propaganda going on against TV… but TV is growing and not declining and the myth of its death is sometimes exaggerated. Therefore, we have to be very careful when saying that digital can do everything mass media used to do. Digital is simply a way mass media can reinvent itself and remain relevant.

Digital is not a channel itself because everything has to be digitised. However, it is a complementary component that has broadened and expanded advertising but is not replacing it.

You can measure digital but you cannot calculate its effectiveness.

As for print media, they have themselves to blame for messing up and giving away online content for free. However, at the end of the day it is all about content and future investments. One of our clients, the Economist, is still doing well – people are still buying and reading because they have invested in journalism.

Look, after all it is not the end of the world for traditional marketing.”

Interesting food for thought, however, coming from a powerful leader – after all, Ogilvy Worldwide was voted “Best Agency” at the Cannes International Advertising Awards 2009. New  Clients won in 2009 are Cell C, FIFA, SAA, PPC and Coca Cola.

Ogilvy is getting increasingly involved in the sub-Saharan African market, headed by its Johannesburg cockpit and meltingpot of incredible talent and creativity. Young called it “…one of our best… which has produced great results. That’s why I came here to learn and not to teach.”

So let’s keep learning… I’m off to ADOBE CS5!

Best Affordable Advertising

My article earlier today on a very competitive keyword combination – Best Affordbale Advertising – broke through the virtual light barrier on the online highway!

I actually presented some work I had done with Action Scripts in Adobe Photoshop, namely Ezine Double Stack – considering the fact that Ezine Advertising is a good and affordable alternative and strategy when bringing one’s products in front of an audience.

Best Affordable Advertising on Google

As mentioned before, we monitor the results of what we are doing on a regular basis.

I was thunder-struck to see that – within just about 15 minutes – my article “Best Affordable Advertising” hit Google Top 10… not just any position, but Number ONE on Goolge ahead of 18,6 Million Search Returns!!!

Best Affordable Advertising on Google Number One

What a satisfying result! Of course, our Publishing Network will push through as well now, picking up this article and occupying more positions, but isn’t it extraordinary to see such amazing results that fast?

Semiomantics Author

All I use is a Semiomantics Author Blog directly from my SHOP HERE, properly setup, configured and tuned… and I create good original quality content in terms of Copywriting, Digital Images and Web Graphics… and I apply proper Editing and Publishing.

These are all Web Services we offer at Web Design Consulting. Ww love what we do… perhaps that’s the secret to such a remarkable Success?

Targeted Ad Delivery

If you promote your Business on the Internet, it’s all about Advertising and being visible on Google Top 10 as that’s where most of the free Traffic is.

Traffic means people and visitors searching something on Google. They punch in a keyword or a key phrase – and if you offer what they need, you want your website or blog to come up like magic on the very first Google page that opens. There may be 10, 1000′s or many millions of search returns – what counts is the first page… and perhaps page 2. That’s the truth. Noone actually looks any further.

Based on this fact you realize that there is just one place where your Ad has to absolutely show up – and that’s on Google Top 10.

Targeted Ad Delivery

Targeted Ad Delivery is exactly what Best YORGOO Booster does for you – fast and at a surprisingly affordable price as you can see in our SHOP HERE.

Best YORGOO Booster is the most aggressive and efficient Internet Marketing Tool when it comes to bringing your Product or Service right under peoples’ noses; they are so attractive and irresistible that one simply has to click on them!

Best YORGOO Booster

With YORGOO Booster you have no worries: the technical setup and configuration based on your choice of keywords will be done by an experienced professional.

Besides, you have peace of mind as your new advertising arm will only be delivered to you once properly indexed on Google.

And lastly, this is a highly automated process designed to support and push your main blog to the top – as part of a mini network.

Digital Advertising

As you will see, what stands out is a huge, eye-catching ad right at the top of the page, so what counts is a real good image or graphic design that’s so tempting that people have a natural reflex to click on it.

Best YORGOO Booster offers lots of additional advertising space in form of widgets in the side bars as well as above, inbetween and below posts. Feature your Amazon Shop, run Google Ads etc – and most importantly: get your own Ad quickly up to Google Top 10 and pull your main blog with you.

Digital Advertising with YORGOO Booster becomes an interesting game – a smart strategy that brings fast results.

Talk to Bianca

If you need Captivating Web Graphics for your principal Ad, get in touch with me via the Contact Form on this site and let’s get that unique visual hook out there ASAP!

Wegowell Publishing

Wegowell Publishing was lost and no longer seen… but it will hopefully be completely regained as Neil Dimanond sings… in other words: it was rediscovered, totally cleaned out, upgraded to 2.8.4 on Semiomantics and brought onto a new path to Google Top 10 today!

Wegowell Publishing

While wegowell.com was initially planned for quite another purpose, our plans have changed and the new “Wegowell Publishing” will be focusing on Media, Communication and Design – all topics I have been writing about, with an emphasis on Web Design and Web Graphics as part of Design.

Wegowell Publishing Logo

To relax a bit from the boring clean-out, I started experimenting and designed a picture that could well be the start of a sexy Wegowell Publishing Logo.

What interested me here was firstly the background design with its original color array; I hope it’s not only my new screen that gives me such sparkling colors :) You may have guessed right: I created it from an original picture I took in my garden.
Secondly, I wanted to achieve an interesting tension between two sets of fonts, of which one should be in the initials in big – WP for Wegotop Publishing – and in transparent fonts.

Transparent Fonts

Transparent Fonts are achieved when playing with the many effects in the Layer Style Options of Photoshop.

I am not aware whether transparent fonts are available otherwise, but here practice makes perfect and the more we know our tools and exercise with the diverse options, the better the results achieved.

I never really focused on transparent fonts this consciously before, so I had to find my way through the jungle of fine effects and nuances of light and shadow. . .  and there’s room for improvement.

[singlepic id=61 w=460 h=345 mode=web20 float=]

What is fascinating is always what we find along the way when actually looking for something else… and so Photoshop never stops to surprise and amaze me; it has its price, but it’s simply a magnificent program!

I will come up with some other variations for Wegowell Publishing soon!

Guinea Marketing

Guinea Marketing was just an example to demonstrate the route that needs to be taken when looking for a name to brand.

Guinea Marketing on Google

Once a domain name is found and a blog or web site setup, the prime objective is visibility on Google – focus Google Top 10.

What count here is the Domain name (but not necessarily), an efficient Script – Semiomantics ideally as in my case here -, smart Editing and spiffy Publishing.

Guinea Marketing on Google – the proof within less than 24 hours and on 13,6 million search returns:

Editing Skills

Whatever we do on the Internet and at whatever level we may consider ourselves to be, we have to continue learning and improving in all sorts of areas – this will never stop. And it’s exciting as it constantly keeps us on our toes, offers new challenges and has our little neurons dancing!

Editing Skills will be the focus in the Ycademy October Seminar; so if you wish to refine your knowledge and skills, make sure you get a ticket in time HERE.

Guinea Marketing

“Guinea Marketing” – what is that?

Did you ever hear of a thing like that? Plus a noisy guinea fowl – you sure can’t miss hearing that one – with or without sound!

I beat this caught your attention!?! So what’s Guinea Marketing all about?

Guerilla Marketing

Having used the picturesque and typically African guinea fowls as a background in both picture and sound in Audios and Presentations on Auctiontalk LIVE, it was just natural to sooner or later think of  “Guinea Marketing” as a possible Marketing Brand – a creative thought process stimulated by a picture of a guinea fowl in the rain in my garden.

I immediately felt the probably quite marketing efficient proximity to “Guerilla Marketing”.

Therefore, before getting too excited… and as a normal and essential next step when choosing a name – any name -, I had to check what else there was on the market, whether the name was taken, and by whom… and of course, I had to refresh my memory on the concept of Guerilla Marketing.

The quickest way to find out is to look at wikipedia, which explains is as “… an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially interactive; and consumers are targeted in unexpected places. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz, and consequently turn viral. The term was coined and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing. The term has since entered the popular vocabulary and marketing textbooks.

Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such asintercept encounters in public places, street giveaways of products, PR stunts, any unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources. More innovative approaches to Guerrilla marketing now utilize cutting edge mobile digital technologies to really engage the consumer and create a memorable brand experience.”

I like this. . . it’s spontaneous, it’s imaginative, it’s modern… and if you’ve ever seen one guinea fowl create a BUZZZZZ you know what I mean… and you’d agree it’s a funny and very apt presentation!

[singlepic id=60 w=460 h=303 mode=web20 float=]

Guinea Marketing

But of course, “Guinea Marketing” was already taken… and while I immediately thought “guinea fowl” there’s the state Guinea… and Guinea Marketing has 12.7 million returns on Google – so that was that.

Digital Advertising

My point here is that in real life as in Digital Advertising – whenever we create or choose a name that we want to brand and build -, we need to first do some thorough research and based on the results make an informed decision.

How to Create Web Graphics 7

Graphic Design Services

Voila!

The new Graphic Design Services Blog on YORGOO Booster has been created and is awaiting indexing by Google.

Coolpix P90 Advertising by Bianca Gubalke

Digital Advertising with YORGOO Booster

YORGOO Booster is here to turn Webmasters into Digital Advertising virtuosos!

Obviously, we’re looking at yet another Script in the Google Top 10 efficient Semiomantics Line, meanwhile available in a very easy to navigate and operate Shop.

Digital Advertising with YORGOO Booster allows us to load header images in any size and to associate a link to each image – be it your home page (as in my case as my shop is still “in incubation mode”… but who ever is interested in getting targeted high-quality web graphics can simply contact me…) – or obviously it can be used for commercial purposes leading to salespages, shops, optins or any other target.

How to Create Web Graphics for the Header Ad

In YORGOO Booster it’s a huge header that conveys the commercial message – one cannot not see it! The goal is to make Digital Advertising with YORGOO Booster so attractive that visitors cannot but click on the header ad the moment they see it.

Learn how to Create Web Graphics for the Header Ad and much more in our weekly YCADEMY Trainings.

Alternatively, and as high quality professional Web Graphics gain considerably in importance on the worldwide web, invest in outsourcing to a professional graphic designer.  We will be glad to be of service to YOU!

. . .

How to Twitter

How to Present yourself on Twitter

In our past articles we established the importance of being or getting involved with Social Networks for the sake of creating more business for yourself – but to do so in a professional and polite manner.

Joining Twitter is easy enough – you simply register for free and you have immediately access to your own personal Twitter Account. That’s your first step towards Twittering!

If you don’t have an account yet, get one asap HERE – you will immediately have access to brilliant advice, guidance and even smart twittering tools – so don’t hesitate… simply get it done right away!

Your Twitter Profile

The next important step is to present yourself!

Of course you can leave your Twitter Homepage as is… but you can also talk through the “Twitter Look” you give yourself, the way you present yourself or your business.

Here’s an typical “Before” and “After” Twitter Look Example for Zoom Terre (an experiment on my wegobiz Twitter Account so far…) – which speaks for itself:

ZOOM TERRE on Twitter - no personalization

As Laetitia Paris is without an Internet connection for a while now as she is moving her domicile in France, she could not spend any time on the personalization of her Twitter Blog – which she normally would… especially as she’s a keen photographer.

Other people may just not have the interest, skill, time, patience or inclination… who cares about the reasons… the fact is howver that everyone certainly agrees that even on Twitter your Look, your Image, the Presentation of who you are counts.

Your Twitter Profile connects. It touches… It talks.

ZOOM TERRE is driven by a passion to discover and explore the world, starting with the Auvergne in France – an areas rich in volcanoes where Laetitia Paris lives – as reflected in her well-known Blog Fouchtra.

If you think what I think… nothing of that explosive ‘joie de vivre’ and to literally ‘zoom in’ on Nature and the world – come over in this triste and grey Twitter Homepage… our “Before” picture.

Now here’s the “After” Twitter Look:

Once we’ve personalized and dived into the explosive look that we would normally expect… and that corresponds to the ZOOM TERRE Image as reflected on Laetitia’s Blog… worlds apart, isn’t it?

ZOOM TERRE on Twitter - Personalized

CLICK to ENLARGE (Screenshot)

Twitter for Family and Friends

If you use Twitter just for friends and family the absolute same principles apply! In fact, there are wonderful ways to connect and touch through your Twitter Profile… and to sparkle interest and recognition… Think about it!

Your personal Twitter Look

As I enjoy doing Web Graphics and, after many years in the Fine Arts arena I am now developing my skills in Digital Art, I set up my own Twitter Profile just a few days ago…

In the beginning, it’s a bit tricky until you get where you want to go… I mean once you are no longer content with the simple uploading of the odd picture and changing the background and text colours. Once you want more.

Once you want it close and personal.

Bianca Gubalke on Twitter - Twitter Profile

CLICK to ENLARGE

Twitter Advertising on Twitter

Once you want your Twitter to have the Look YOU like – ideally reflecting something you want to show, share or what has to do with your business and/or service… give it the time, thought and finest execution it deserves.

At the end of the day it’s free advertising space for YOU – so why not use it?

Get your face on Twitter in Style

If you like what you see and you need a hand or a complete design – and you don’t have the time, skill or patience to create your Twitter Presence yourself, let me know…

I’m preparing a Twitter Service that gets your face on Twitter in style!

Twy2 to build your Twitter Network

The bigger your Twitter network the more Business you can attract – here’s a brilliant brand-new Twitter Tool that helps you doing exactly that – call it Lead Generation.

Grab your Twy2 HERE.

No cost, no hidden agenda. Viral. Automatic, Fun.

And. . . watch out for more “Before” and “Afters” :)

…

Graphic Tools for Digital Art

Once we’ve come to terms with our ‘inner self’ and decide on what exactly it is we want to do on the Internet following our Purpose and Passion, part of our Business Plan is to equip ourselves properly to at least give ourselves the means to become as good as possible – even an expert – in our specific field of knowledge.

Which doesn’t mean that buying the best equipment makes us an instant expert, however, just as we cannot win the Formula 1 with a rusty beetle, we cannot expect to do wonders without the right professional tools.

Digital Tablets and Digital Pens

Although “. . .  it all began with a mouse. . .” as Walt Disney said, and we all use it in various versions … and this with more or less ease. . . , when it comes to the digital manipulation of images, pictures or photos – like in Photo Retouche for instance, a huge market as no picture in any glossy magazine gets around the magic retouche mill – and from here to professional Digital Advertising and Digital Art etc – this is when a mouse is not enough and you need a tool that’s much closer to how we as artists used to work: holding a crayon, pen, brush, airbrush or the like between our fingers and working on a drawing table (let’s excluse painters standing in front of their easles).

This is the way we optimally control the creation to appear on paper or – applying this to the Graphic Computer – : on the screen. . .  our sensibility directing its inner flow… that finds it’s instant expression without any material obstructions.

"Troll" for TrigoPlus by Bianca Gubalke

Digital Image of a “Troll”

Although I’ve developed quite some skill with the mouse (. . . just surpassed by MadMax, my cat) – I’ve been working with an Intuos WACOM tablet a while ago when I designed a “Troll” for our TrigoPlus Project . . . and since then I know the difference!

If you intend to build a career creating digital pictures, there is no way around a digital tablet and digital pens – starting with one, but that won’t be the only one you use… just as we had different forms of crayons, brushes, pencils, pens, aurbrushes etc – it’s just part of your toolbox to create your own ‘cuisine’ as I used to call it… and I really went to work with all sorts of tools, materials and colours. From here you may find and then develop your own style, something that defines and differentiates you – or just simply do proper, clean, professional work.

Now, a big WACOM tablet – ideally Intuos – is of course the best and nothing beats it – but you may not have the space, or you want to be mobil with your laptop, or you have some financial constraints.

However, WACOM has come up with a sort of ‘simplified’ yet highly sophisticated small tablet that provides you with all you need – and this at a very fair price.

Do you believe in ‘coincidences’?

Well, I think we ’cause them to happen’ if we just focus our intent and/or desire long enough on the matter – and in my case it was definitely a WACOM tablet (and none other…) and of course the NIKON Coolpix P90 :)

The question was: while both are essential, which one first?
While I can easily get a digital camera here in the land of endless beauty when it comes to motives… there’s not even an official agent for WACOM here, at least I could not dig him out.

However, when going to my PC shop to get a new headset, something made me ask anyway – and, totally unexpectedly… I was shown the BAMBOO – brand-new and stunningly beautiful… a WACOM tablet and pen.

Irresistible!

Preciousness, Precision and Personalization

Needless to say where it is now… but I must applaud the producer for the precious packaging appealing directly to the senses! What a delight to literally peel the contents from an elegant, black, precious looking box with equally elegantly printed layers of papers and sachets… until the BAMBOO appears in almost lacquered black with a pen that lies ergonomically perfectly in one’s hand and those incomparable blue little lights like from out-of-space….

Quote WACOM:

“Bamboo is uniquely intuitive

Bamboo is a new way of working. It will let you use all your usual applications as well as do things on your computer that have never before been possible. The pen makes it easy and intuitive, and your experience as natural as using an ordinary pen. The ergonomics help say goodbye to sore hands. Try it. You′ll be amazed at what Bamboo can do – and by what you can do with Bamboo.
Express yourself. Make it personal.

The documents you create don′t have to be like all the rest. With Bamboo, it′s personal. You can add your own distinctive touches with handwritten notes, sketches, signatures and doodles. Bamboo sets you apart. Make it personal.

Want to know more about what you can do with Bamboo?
What you can do?
Free your imagination
Unleash your creativity with Bamboo, at work and at home. Paint, draw, retouch and create, making your work uniquely your own. Free your imagination, discover what you can do… ”

Smart Educational Tutorials

All this is accompanied by a CD with a well-designed Tutorial taking you through the main features… but only allowing you to proceed if you accomplished the tasks correctly. Educational and simply Fun!

Of course, it takes some time to get used and adapt to working with a pen again, but ideally you work with both. I’ve just started discovering or in a way ‘re-discovering’ how it feels… sort of getting on a racing horse when being used to a pony!

Not that a mouse is a pony… and I really will not separate from it, however… a new era starts and a faster and more professional one for sure!

It’s BAMBOO Time now!

. . .

Kick Art with Photofun

As Photofun seems to be the trend and the web graphics can be expressive, funny and straight down to the point, here’s a Glam & Joli version for the Nike Air Max Swarovski Custom Sneakers – ideal for a Pitt-Stop!

Kick Art with "Cool Kicks Angel"

Hey Gene… you were on my mind. . .  :)

Cool Kicks with Kick Art

While anything ‘cool’… or even ‘cold’ is not very much my cup of tea these days as down here in South Africa we are held in the icy grip of real winter – meaning torrential rains with serious floods everywhere, icy temperatures, snow… and thousands of people without a roof and freezing. Besides: shaky lines and connections… if at all.

The good news is that the sun seems to be back tomorrow… so we can defreeze our fingers and neurons for the next online parade. Until then: anything HOT is just right… which means let’s kick it right away…

Kick Art on Google

To warm up a little…  I had to check how our recent posts on ‘Kicks’ and ‘Kick Art’ are performing and WOW – as usual, Semiomantics Scripts do their job if the author-publisher does his… I mean  her’s :)… and while you may not be too impressed by all the top positions our YORGOO Business Network covers on “Cool Kicks with Kick Art” as there are just 410,000 search returns… do take note how the Social Networks (Twitter, MyBlogLog) sneak in to steal some of those Google Top 10 positions with our work… (hint… hint… wouldn’t it be better if you could see  YOUR post here…?) and see how news.bbc.co.uk sort of follows it all in style…

'Cool Kicks and Kick Art' on Google

The Power of the YORGOO Business Network

Our results may take a while… but they rarely disappoint… so the next shot I tried was a bigger one: “KICK ART” with almost 46 million search returns. Now lo and behold. . . what can I say but… “results speak for themselves”… look:

'Kick Art' on Google

Incredible:  Bianca Gubalke, Auctiontalklive and Brenda Baker on Google Top 10 – show me what beats that!

Join the next YCADEMY Business Building Seminar – Focus Social Networks and their Integration into our Marketing Strategies … on 25 and 26 July 2009 (weekend, online, limited tickets available).

Diarize… and watch this space to get your ticket in time.

HOT STUFF. . . !

Global Sports Advertising

KICK ART starts becoming the absolute insider buzz: once spotted on Google Top 10… it went straight into the galleries and museums of the world… and from there right back onto the streets…

Great fun. . . lots of i-motion… and with Semiomantics simply unstoppable!

Kick Art by Bianca Gubalke

Cool Kicks with ‘Kick Art’

It all started with a Kick. . .
I’ve been following the evolution of “Global Sports US” on the unique Semiomantics Press Scripts with great interest and admiration.

Global Kicks on Google Top 10

On one hand, I observed with awe how the ingenious finetuning between what a Search Engine essentially picks up… and what a visitor to the site itself actually sees and reads… by none other than Internet wizzard Yorgo Nestoridis… ‘kicked out’ and very rapidly occupied Google Top 10 positions on so many keywords imagineable and of great relevance for the client (Global Sports, London UK).

On the other hand, I truly wish to see the valued friends and first online business  customers of my long-term online business partner and friend  Felisa Ryan from London (ex Philippines…)  succeed!

‘Global Sports London’ have a sexy product for a vibrant, fast and i-motional market on the go - a product with a potential to reach out for the luxury level with the right Branding and Advertising.

Digital Advertising

Offline as online… in Advertising it’s the Visuals that count, the Artwork, the Creation… in other words the transportation of the Message via excellent Pictures, Images, Graphics… Art – and of course all this in combination with a good and memorable Slogan.  Their quality, expression and meaningfulness as regards the target audience make or break an advertising campaign. . . which is nothing but a powerful way to show with vigour and continued intensity what is being offered, what wants to find lovers, addicts, collectors – i.e. buyers. Ideally, tons of them! It’s a wise investment; otherwise large companies wouldn’t allocate the immense annual advertising budgets they do, year after year.

Here, ‘KICKS’ and ‘SNEAKERS’ are our product – so Ads are crucial! Clearly, they should be on the constant move just as the ‘sneaker runners’, ‘cool-kicksters’ and potential customers are: on-line and on-ipod… anything that enhances fast reactions… spontaneous, irrational behaviour… in a wild world where ‘Today’ is the Trend – from London to New York, from Shanghai to Dubai, from Cool to Glam, from Kick to. . .  Kick!

Digital Artwork in Development

The Nike Air Max Swarovski Custom Sneakers are fun and there are certain aspects that inspired my creative muscle to develop a series of ads starting off with nothing but a . . . kick!

Well, when receiving the ‘best picture’ of a kick on Saturday I wasn’t too impressed as with its tinted background it meant additional work… tedious work… to cut the kick out with precision… and doing that with a mouse is not easy (. . . and here I have News … something exciting for my next post, wait for it!!! Nothing beats professional equipment – online as offline… hint! hint!)…

Besides, I had no proper logo to use – meaning on a transparent background… MORE work! I took all this as part of my “…technical fulfillment learning curve…”  LOL…. and after a while, I had something to start off with and that looked acceptable on black or white or any background for that matter… as was published HERE.

Now I had material to work with and play on my digital instruments and imagination… from Art to Psychedelic to Glam to… Cool and the Beast :)

Some excerpts of the Artwork in development. . .

Global Kick Artwork

The above excerpt of  ‘ad stages’  shows an evolution until the version below. It’s one particular direction – and each picture contains a world of others and it may grab me and I just continue… especially as there was a special request and I ‘saw’ the next one immediately in my mind… so for me that’s pretty ‘irresistible’ :)

Global Art by Bianca Gubalke

As you see… I am getting my personal Kick out of Cool Kicks… and “Kick Art” is my artistic expression!!!

To be continued. . .

PS: Yes. . . the original are much bigger than on this display… and pretty sharp :)))

Best Buy Nikon Coolpix P90

Are you thinking of buying a Nikon P90?

In my view Amazon is the most trusted online shopping source these days offering:

~ Best price,
~ Free Shipping,
~ No sale taxes and a
~ Reasonable return policy.

They really make sure things are delivered to the buyer – so far that due to a lot of theft Amazon no longer ships to South Africa, which is a huge pity – but we have found a practical way to get it anyway :)

However, you can also consult with expert and user reviews before you make your decision.

Coolpix P90 Advertising

Get fast to my dedicated “Coolpix P90″ site HERE .

Please note the slightly changed background of the digital advertising image below and comment if you consider it to be an improvement!

"Coolpix P90" Ad designed by Bianca Gubalke

NIKON Coolpix P90 on Google

As you see below, my “Semiomantics Author” Script has so far carried me to spot 12 of 1,440,000 search returns on Google on “Coolpix P90″ – a search term many digital photography lovers would type in – interestingly, more than they would add “NIKON” before it.

"Coolpix P90" - today's Spot 12 of 1,440,000 on Google

Best Buy Coolpix P90

I invite you to go to my dedicated new Coolpix Blog HERE.

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Online Communication

NewsCast 12 Hour Promotion

Congratulations to all proud owners of a brand-new Semiomantics Script “NewsCast” !

On the Internet, it’s all about speed and visibility and never before  “…being at the right place at the right time” had more significance.

Digital Advertising

While Scripts that perform extremely well in terms of  Google Top 10 rankings depend largely on their technical ‘fine-tuning’ by the Web Designer – in my view rather a Web Coder…  or Web Decoder as the case may be – as well as the smart Editing and Publishing of keyword-oriented original Content, visitors are attracted by the visual aspect – the digital photos, digital web graphics or even digital art.

A Picture tells 1000 Stories

If the picture presented resonates with the viewer he or she may be inclined to stay and discover more. . .

"Touch Vision Talk" Online Newspaper by Bianca Gubalke

Online Newspapers

YORGOO Press Blogs – like TouchVisionTalk allow us as Editors and Publishers to really enhance our posts and articles with delightful pictures, photos and all kinds of digital images in various sizes and shapes – including a Photo Gallery and Video.

While the brand-new Semiomantics Line called “NewsCast” is even more versatile and flexible, I am very fond of this first Online Newspaper Blog that taught us all an aweful lot and that starts showing impressive results not only on Google (that’s getting rather ‘normal’ for Semiomantics Bloggers…) – but initiating the desired Online Sales that so many work for and rarely see happening:

Swarowski Crystal

For the ultimate KICK and Superstar BLING have a look at Swarowski Crystal on Global Sports US  HERE !

. . .

Digital Advertising

Finally our second YORGOO Booster was indexed by Google – and this after almost 3 weeks.

I hope this encourages those who set up their Blog with just as much care and enthusiasm as I did and then waited with nothing happening day after day, week after week. It is very disheartening and literally stops the production flow – or forces to focus one’s activities into another direction… but great to see things happening suddenly after all.

GOOGLE Top 10 ranking

Great results based on a great Semiomantics Script: once we did see our Blog, we saw it at the top and this reconciled us :)

Online Advertising

As Social Networks are exploding and increasingly determining developments and trends on the Internet, we will have to adapt our Communication Skills and Advertising Methods accordingly.

With the proven Semiomantics Line we are well equipped - provided Google finds us… my next Booster is still waiting. . .

. . .

Post Free Ads

Finally, our first YORGOO Booster has been indexed by Google! WOW! We’ve been waiting for this with quite some anticipation. Why this is taking longer at times than normally remains a mystery to me and I put it down to “Apartheid in Space”. . . the ‘civilized’ virtual world (HA!) simply ignoring us down here “in the sticks”. But it’s done and that’s what counts and drives us forward again. And besides… look at the great results:

GOOGLE Top 10 ranking

As can be verified on thet screenshot below it has immediately reached a brilliant GOOGLE Top 10 position!

Digital Advertising

Well it’s just a small niche in the making… but many small keywords have grown into major search returns over time … and who’s not interested in Posting Ads for Free? From Private People to Social Networks – everybody!

As we’ve seen: Digital Advertising is on the rise - no wonder with the way the Internet is evolving as THE market place where people buy and sell.

Lastly, it’s a matter of being found – and that’s where Semiomantics Scripts are Simply the Best!

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