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comment if you take, credit if you post on your flickr...first to post so ill know if u post it or not im js
New research suggests that ’likes’ and clicking links online are not enough to ensure long-term sales. Brands need to get people typing comments and more involved with content if they are to turn them into actual customers.The consumers who most actively use branded social media content are the ones most likely to maintain a relationship with those brands in future, claims new research for Marketing Week.
Seventy-eight per cent of people visiting and interacting with a brand’s Facebook page are likely to continue the relationship by visiting its website or considering it for purchase. Just thirty-four per cent of the people who say they are unlikely to interact with a brand’s social media presence on Facebook are likely to do the same.With the role of social media under question, Starcom MediaVest Group’s strategic development director Jim Kite explains: “The deeper the interaction with social media, the greater the likelihood of moving the consumer from enquiry to brand preference.”
The research draws on a study using a representative sample of 6,000 regular Facebook, YouTube and Twitter users in June. They were asked to spend several minutes interacting with content on brands’ Facebook and YouTube pages in product categories where they had already registered an interest. Respondents were asked to participate in activities requiring a range of involvement, from watching videos, posting comments, playing games and following brands on Twitter or tweeting about them.
The study claims that it is not just being aware of brands on social media platforms that leads people to continue that relationship or buy goods. It is the level of interaction or “doing something” with branded content that has a bearing.
To read the full article visit Marketing Week.
film.
no comments on dis one bc I say soooooooo
I seriously cannot wait to take more photos of him. Most fantastic hair ever.
Please leave a comment, only takes a few seconds!
One of many photos taken on a weekend in Leicester. Went to see lots of comedians and we met so many lovely people. Awesome weekend.
PLEASE leave a comment rather than just clicking that Favourite button, after all if you like it then please tell me WHY you like it :)
Comments appreciated - Stoli's a neighbours dog - its hard to catch him with his head up - often looking down at shadows & reflections.
" My intervention this evening will be difficult as I may not be able to match the comments of the two preceding speakers, Chairman Dr John Guneratne, and "Madam-Sir" Manel, to give her honourable designation. Let my comment this evening be something like a trailer for an exciting movie. Movie-trailers should entice viewers to decide definitely to see the full movie, the complete works. My trailer tonight I trust would compel people to read the real thing: the uncensored "Madame-Sir" in its entirety. John and I are, of course, under instructions from Manel to "indulge in friendly banter" so that this book launch is not an exercise in pious literary criticism and international relations theories but rather "a fun event to relax and enjoy" as she said a while ago.
Many of you lawlessly broke queues to have the book endorsed with a "Triple A" status ("authentic-author-autographed"). The title of the book , embodies, in a way, its predominant theme song - sex. I do not mean this in the conventional sense as many of you would have it, but rather in its global connotations as an issue involving the role, status, prejudices and human rights of both sexes - "Madame" the female appellation, and "Sir " the male appellation are combined. This is not a struggle between Women on one hand, and we-Men on the other. It a situation in which parity of rights and benefits between the two are sought to be ensured.
As all of you are aware, Manel was the first female Ambassador of our island and therefore a pioneer. She fulfilled all the tough criteria and tests that we men have to establish before approval and appointment as Ambassadors or High Commissioners in the Diplomatic Service. I speak now as in a sequence of a movie trailer. At page 36, she is cleared by her first Interview Board which had consisted of a trio including the Permanent Secretary of what was then the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Affairs. After the second interview, before the Public Services Commission, she had insisted that her father also comes along for the final test as she was scared of the "what-will-people-think-no-aney" syndrome had she been seen going for it alone. This was of course the VD test which she also passed. There were then no DVDs to record such special events.
With such achievements, she was able to attend the first UN Conference on Women held in Vienna with the then Prime Minister of Ceylon Madame Sirimavo Bandaranaike who had become the world’s first woman PM. Although the PM, justifiably and effectively made the keynote address, Manel acidly comments that the Conference was chaired ( not even shared) by a man, the Attorney General of Mexico. However, on her return home, Manel with the assistance of Miss Sunethra Bandaranaike (who is here watching this trailer), was able to get our Information Department to publish the first book where the starring roles are played by women. Other scenes of the tender often slender gender balance embellish the book, including a scene where Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, encountered her in Thailand when she was Charge d’affaires of Ceylon (the first such female). His Royal Highness observing this Madame-Sir had, a trifle in doubt perhaps, enquired (page 103) from her, "Are you really the Charge d’ affaires of Ceylon?"Manel replied, "Yes Your Royal Highness, God help us, I am!"
Beyond those majestic moments, Manel has done much to prove her mettle. She has helped to advance women’s rights when Prime Minister Premadasa set up Sri Lanka’s first Women’s Ministry – or to use its proper title ( I am not being funny or punny), the Ministry for Womens’s Affairs.
My first meeting with Manel was way back in 1966 when Jayantha Dhanapala and I (accompanied by our respective wives, Maureen and Chitra) flew to London. Jayantha was to take up duties as Third Secretary at our High Commission. I, foolishly, on swallowing faulty commercial intelligence, was to buy suits for my skinny body in London, in the heretic belief that all Germans were of very large girth and that I could not therefore buy, cheaper ready-made clothes to fit me in Bonn, my maiden posting, as I could in London. Alas, in London, the hotel bookings requested for Chitra and me had not worked out and it was Manel (who had come to the airport, officially, to pick up the Dhanapalas) who rushed about and patiently worked wonders in London to secure a room for me and Chitra which was well within our meager budget. She saved us from a daze in a maze of a city which we had seen only in the movies. That was our close encounter of the first kind with Manel.
Incidentally, her memoirs recall a German Shepherd called "Fuzzy", as well as a "Nihal" on her staff in Bonn. It must be noted that the Nihal she mentions should not be confused with Maalu Nihal, Nawala Nihal, or me, who some people persist in calling "Borella Nihal". The title applies only to my place of residence and not to any corporate connectivity.
A decade later we worked together on parallel duties for the 5th Non-aligned Summit in Colombo. It was the first Summit, significantly, to be chaired by a woman Head of State, and a Summit facilitated by the first woman Chief of Protocol – and this despite the Chief of Protocol claiming, in her book, to have got her legs "aligned" from a non-aligned status. I was on the political side. She recalls experiences she had with Kings, Presidents and Prime Ministers the likes of Tito of Yugoslavia, Gandhi (India), Boumedienne (Algeria), Sadat (Egypt), Gadafi (Libya), Kaunda (Zambia), Makarios (Cyprus), Birendra (Nepal) and many other political stars. Apart from the over 80 states which participated in the Colombo Summit, there were around 30 Observers, including Western countries and liberation organizations which later emerged as the independent states of South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Her script leaves out how she pitched her arguments on the request made by President Gadafi that she pitch a tent on Galle Face Green as his preferred accommodation rather than at a conventional hotel suite. She never lost her cool even when another VVIP was lost… and found later in a small hotel, well away, from the designated Summit hotels. There were other sensitive protocol duties like reducing the effect on blouses and cholis, worn by Sri Lanka’s own female assistants caused by excessive exposure to air-conditioning at the BMICH as well as the stares and glares that were provoked by the innocent ladies.
The protocol aspects, including the complex ceremonial opening session with scores of VVIP motorcades arriving and departing in well-timed sequence from the BMICH, were handled very efficiently and in an expeditious manner. In fact, when I was posted to our Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York to assist our Permanent Representative, Ambassador Shirley Amarasinghe in follow up work on the Summit, some Cuban colleagues sought our advice and some demonstrative film-footage recordings of the ceremonies for receiving Heads of State in order to help planning for the next Summit in Havana. Pages 129 onwards provide more footage on the Colombo Summit which was a great success. Lessons were learnt on practical protocol procedures and are reported from page 138.
A few more comments would be of interest on the issue of the "hit list" side of foreign affairs management about which John has already spoken. The political work of the Summit was excellently handled by Ambassador Shirley Amarasinghe who may have been, for reasons unknown, unfortunately on some "hit list". I should perhaps focus a close-up on that theme. In addition to being our Permanent Representative at the United Nations in New York, Shirley was at the same time also the President of the UN General Assembly for the Sessions in 1976, as well being Chairman of the Law of the Sea Conference which was reaching its most decisive stage about that time. Shortly after the NAM Summit, in 1977, there was a major change of Government in Sri Lanka. The New York Times reported President J.R. Jayewardene’s considered opinion that "there were only two Non-aligned countries in the world" - the United States of America and the USSR. He felt that Sri Lanka continuing to function as the Chairman of the Non-aligned movement until the next Summit (in Havana, Cuba in 1979) was not justified and even risky. He also decided that Shirley Amarasinghe needed to be replaced by a well-known lawyer, B. J. Fernando who was thus appointed Permanent Representative at the United Nations.
B.J. Fernando, on arrival in New York was convinced that there was great benefit to be derived by Sri Lanka continuing as Chairman of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM). The pros and cons were patiently explained to a cynical President by all of us. To President Jayewardene’s credit, he saw reason and eventually decided that Sri Lanka should continue on its full 3-Year term as Chairman of the NAM without quitting.
However, on the other hand, at a particularly crucial stage in the negotiations on the Law of the Sea, the President refused to permit the continuation of Shirley Amarasinghe as Sri Lanka’s nominee for the post of Chairman of the Conference. All advice went unheeded. Perhaps someone had Shirley nominated for membership in the "Hit List". Eventually, the entire international community felt that the services and sagacity of Shirley Amarasinghe were too precious, even indispensible to be rejected. I was personally approached by some UN member states on the issue including by one Permanent Representative who asked me, on behalf of his own Government, to inform Amarasinghe that diplomatic rank and nomination for continued Chairmanship could be provided, if necessary, by his own Head of State. Shirley’s sole obligation would be to make one, I believe, symbolic address annually to the Parliament of that country. I reported the offer to Shirley who expressed strong indignation and anger, berating me for "even listening" to what he called an "unacceptable offer" as he would continue to remain a Sri Lankan and not ride on foreign nominations or credentials. To fast forward the drama, eventually the entire international community represented at the United Nations decided, by consensus, to retain Shirley even without diplomatic rank….and thus he continued as LOS Chair. There was no precedent, nor I think any repetition of such an international consensus as far as I am aware.
Manel’s Memoirs describe also her involvement as perhaps the first woman to successfully cope in handling not one, but two hijacking attempts, combining a firm hand, a smiling face and a hard-working brain ( where ever she claims it is located). The first case involved an Indonesian aircraft that had been hijacked by some Islamic fundamentalists who were hoping to fly, transiting Colombo, to a destination in the Middle East. See the details from page 174 onwards. The second incident was one (early globalization of hi-jacking processes?) where a Sri Lankan, Sepala Ekanayake, had boarded an Alitalia Boeing aircraft holding 170 passengers hostage, as many of you would recall. Here Manel was helped by her own sex , meaning two women, one working in Royal Nepal Airlines and the other employed in a Travel Service company. I leave it to this audience to read all about it as Manel describes the encounter from page 186 onwards.
Eventually, like Chairman John and I, having hit three score years and 10 not out, Manel was re-cycled into various activities which she covers in the concluding chapters of "Madame-Sir"
Lakshman Kadirgamar (whose maiden speech as President of the Oxford Union was listened to in days long gone by a rapt Manel, as a maiden wrapped-up in saree seated on the ground), when Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka decades later, entrusted her with key assignments. They included updating of all the Foreign Ministry’s protocol circulars in order to streamline them and render them more practical, effective and, most important, relevant to changing times. She was also involved in working out training programmes for our new Foreign Service recruits including at the Sri Lanka Institute of Foreign Relations which came to be known as the Kadirgamar Centre. It is currently the venue of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission which includes, among its eminent members, two of the top-most retirees of the Foreign Ministry, Siripala Palihakkara and Rohan Perera who are both present here despite their busy schedules.
One of the Lessons Manel learnt and now seeks to teach and preach perhaps through the outreach of her book, are that there be nothing really "foreign" to a Sri Lankan Foreign Service officer’s work. Following the horrible events of 1983, she also served under Bradman Weerakoon who was Commissioner General of Essential Services when she learnt much about organizing temporary camps for violently displaced persons and what she describes as "the depths to which human misery can sink". She also deals with our relations with India in the aftermath of 1983.
In the final chapter of her book she lists 14 Lessons she has learnt. Two of them are particularly vital to anyone in any State Service. They are numbers seven and eight the essence of which I thought I should read out: Number seven urges that "unprincipled actions even if (one is) ordered" to take them by bosses should never be taken. Number eight urges one "to speak up to seniors" even of the highest ranks especially if they are "about to embark on a wrong track". Her experience, she states, is that leaders would "understand if matters are explained politely and with confidence and (they) realize that it is for their own good that you have spoken". She mentions proof for these assertions as provided by a lady. Read all about it in Chapter XI.
Have fun".
(The Island - 19/12/2010)
Ieri mentre ero al birrificio mi arrivavano ondate di odore di carbonella...ma detto così non direbbe nulla.
Invece a me ha portato indietro di qualche anno.
Mi ha fatto pensare alla spiaggiata, a quel momento che per me è meglio del Natale, del Capodanno di qualsiasi giorno dell'anno.
La notte del 14 agosto, l'alba del Ferragosto!
E ho ricordato la gente, gli amici, la preparazione della festa, la raccolta dei soldi, il fare la spesa con 5, 6 carrelli alla volta, mettere la roba nelle celle frigo, infilzare le decine di chili di salsiccia, preparare la sangria a decine di litri, allestire tutto in spiaggia, prendere il posto prima che lo prenda qualcun altro, lottare con il maestrale fortissimo, con la capitaneria, con il baracchino sulla spiaggia. Abbandonare la stanchezza, trovarsi in hotel da Gianluca per organizzare e pianificare tutto. I preparativi....
e poi la festa: grande festa grande sberla. La musica, la roba da bere e da mangiare, ma soprattutto la voglia di divertirsi, di mettersi in gioco e ballare, ballare tutto fino allo sfinimento, fino all'ultimo bicchiere, fino a buttarsi in acqua di notte, sfatto, fino a tornare a casa alle 10 del mattino sporco di sabbia, di sale, cercando di capire cosa ancora avevo perso, se una maglietta o cosa, ubriaco di sangria e di sorrisi, allegro con tanta energia, affumicato al profumo di carbonella...
la stessa che sentivo ieri.
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Comments by historian Michael Ferner:
"After winning the big prize at the Hoosier oval, Frame had invested part of his purse to purchase the radically new, streamlined "Catfish" of the Sparks-Weirick team, who were anxious to get back to the Sprint Car wars on the coast, and set off on a tour of the Eastern dirt tracks along with his old Duesenberg, the new car and the Indy-winning Miller-Hartz for "exhibitions" - this was the time to make hay with appearance deals, and Ralph Hankinson was happy to promote the winning driver and car of the big event along with the most eye-catching racing machine of the decade in one fell swoop! Everyone was happy until Frame crashed the Duesey in late July, putting himself out of action for more than a month - his injuries healed just in time to race at the Michigan State Fair in September, and finish last in the 100-miler there by "merely hanging on in" - not a glamorous result by any means, but enough to clinch the National Championship, or so it seemed... Now back to the fairgrounds in the East for a few more paydays, before a well deserved winter rest back home in California!"