Hotels In Northern California - Selling through social media

Source - http://www.charlotteobserver.com/
By - Charlotte Blogs
Category - Hotels In Northern California
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Hotels In Northern California

Every business owner seems to be at a different point in their journey with social media.  If you’re just starting out, take a moment to read Glenn Burkins’s recent articles that describe the popular social media sites and give general guidance on building your social media brand.  They provide an excellent primer for the newcomer.

If you've already laid a basic foundation for your business, such as creating a Facebook business page or LinkedIn profile, then you might be wondering about specific strategies for turning your efforts into revenue.  Your next step depends on what kind of business you’re in.

Ecommerce

If you sell products or services online, social media is likely your key to customer loyalty, referrals, and repeat purchases.

The Adobe Digital Index showed social traffic to online retailers doubled from 2011 to 2012.  When measured by “last click” referrals, this amounts to 2% of total online shopping traffic, which may sound small --  until you consider the possibility of continued doubling, year after year

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, applied Moore’s Law to sharing back in 2008, positing that “(N)ext year, people will share twice as much information as they share this year, and next year, they will be sharing twice as much as they did the year before.”  This idea has come to be known as Zuckerberg’s Law.

I predict that we’ll see a similar trend in the convergence of social media and ecommerce, with the percentage of ecommerce that is socially referred continuing to double every coming year -- to 4% in 2013, 8% in 2014, and 16% in 2015.  So what do you need to know to capitalize on this trend?

Mauria Finley, founder and CEO of Citrus Lane, is a master of leveraging social for selling, without ever asking for the sale.  Citrus Lane is a fast growing subscription company delivering monthly collections of curated baby products, and their Facebook strategy relies more on human psychology than hard-sell techniques for drawing in new converts into the fold.

Finley says, “We use our happy customers as our advocates and let the natural triggers of envy and scarcity do the selling for us.”  And indeed, the Citrus Lane Facebook page is full of pictures of subscriber babies clutching their latest sold-out toy of the moment, irresistible fodder for keeping up with the Joneses

Finley adds, “We don’t see ourselves as leading the conversation with our customers, but rather our job is to facilitate their interactions with each other.”  One recent post illustrates this principle by posting a question from “Patty,” who needs help with getting her 2-year-old to sleep in her own bed.  In less than 60 minutes, Patty’s question had 75 comments, a testament to their approach.

Traditional commerce

If you sell products or services through an offline model, social media can help you do everything from generate leads to increase foot traffic to advertise new offerings.  The key is to understand your customer’s habits and motivations.

Find out where your customers spend their time online and experiment to discover what content they’ll respond to.  What’s keeping them up at night, and conversely, what do they do to escape their worries for a while

Liz Guthridge, managing director and change management consultant at Connect, says she devotes time to participating in LinkedIn groups where her prospects hang out.  “The groups are an under-utilized feature of LinkedIn, and they’re a great way to see what your clients are discussing.  I’ll comment whenever I can add something of value, which builds my credibility as a trustworthy resource.”

In all of the hurry to get your message out, don’t forget to listen to your customers and act on what they say.  For example, use social media to poll your customers about what inventory you should be stocking.  When a customer sees that the cupcake flavor she voted for on Monday is on sale Tuesday, she’ll be that much more motivated to make a purchase.

You can also combine tracking your results from various social channels with incentivizing your customers by issuing different discount codes by channel.  For example, you might offer 10% off using code “ABC” on Facebook and using code “123” on Instagram.  These are sometimes called whisper codes and can generate useful insights as to whether Twitter is working better than Pinterest, or vice versa.

In summary, social is here to stay, and no matter if you sell online or offline, socially referred business is going to continue to grow as a driver of revenues.  So it behooves you to figure out where your customers are congregating, what content they want to see, and to create engagement in a way that builds loyalty to your business.

Vacations In Santa Clarita - U.S. Jobless Claims Jump 32,000 to 360,000

Source - http://www.marketwatch.com/
By - Jeffry Bartash
Category - Vacations In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

 

Vacations In Santa Clarita

The number of people who applied for new unemployment benefits surged by 32,000 to 360,000 in the week ended May 11, putting jobless claims at the highest level in a month and a half, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected claims to rise to a seasonally adjusted 330,000 from a revised 328,000 in the prior week. A Labor official said there was nothing unusual in the report and there was no evidence that reductions in federal spending under a law known as the sequester contributed to the spike. The average of new claims over the past month, which smoothes out weekly volatility, rose a much smaller 1,250 to 339,250 and remained near a five-year low. Also, the government said continuing claims decreased by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.0 million in the week ended May 4. Continuing claims reflect the number of people already receiving benefits. Initial claims from two weeks ago, meanwhile, were revised up to 328,000 from an original reading of 323,000, based on more complete data collected at the state level
 

Meeting Space Santa Clarita - Angelina Jolie Has Double Mastectomy To Elude Cancer

Source - http://news.yahoo.com/
By - Patricia Reaney
Category - Meeting Space Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Meeting Space Santa Clarita

Oscar-winning film star Angelina Jolie revealed on Tuesday that she underwent a double mastectomy after learning she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer and said she hoped her story would inspire other women fighting the life-threatening disease.

Jolie, an actress who has long embodied Hollywood glamour and has in recent years drawn nearly as much attention for her globe-trotting work on behalf of refugees as for her role as a celebrity mom, disclosed her choice in an op-ed column in the New York Times.

The 37-year-old performer, raising a family with fellow film star and fiance Brad Pitt, wrote that she went through with the operation in part to reassure her six children that she would not die young from cancer, as her own mother did at age 56.

"We often speak of 'Mommy's mommy,' and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me," wrote Jolie.

"I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a 'faulty' gene."

The actress, who won an Oscar as best supporting actress for her 1999 role in the film "Girl, Interrupted," said she opted for the surgery after her doctors had estimated she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, due to an inherited genetic mutation.

"Once I knew this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy," she said. She said her breast cancer risk had dropped to under 5 percent as a result.

Celebrities, cancer survivors and doctors expressed admiration for her openness, saying she was an inspiration for other women.

"I commend Angelina Jolie for her courage and thoughtfulness in sharing her story today regarding her mastectomy. So brave!" tweeted singer Sheryl Crow, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006.

Singer Kylie Minogue, another cancer survivor, thanked Jolie for helping women, as did television host Giuliana Rancic, who also had surgery after being diagnosed with the disease.

"Angelina Jolie reveals double mastectomy. Proud of her for using her incredible platform to educate women," Rancic said on Twitter.

PITT AT HER SIDE

Pitt was by Jolie's side through three months of treatment that ended late in April, she said. The two became engaged last year.

"Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie's choice, as well as so many others like her, absolutely heroic," Pitt told London's Evening Standard newspaper.

"All I want is for her to have a long and healthy life, with myself and our children. This is a happy day for our family."

Jolie opted for reconstruction with implants. Breast tissue was removed during surgery and temporary fillers were inserted in their place. Nine weeks later the surgery was completed with the implants.

"On a personal note, I do not feel any less of a woman," she wrote. "I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity."

The actress decided to be open about her surgery after finishing treatment to help women who might be living under the shadow of cancer.

"It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested," she said.

Breast cancer kills about 458,000 people each year, according to the World Health Organization. It is estimated that one in 300 to one in 500 women carry a BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation, as Jolie does.

CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin announced on Tuesday that she had breast cancer and was also getting a double mastectomy.

Sambolin, who anchors CNN's "Early Start" morning show, discussed her condition on the show while talking about Jolie's procedure.

"I struggled for weeks trying to figure out how to tell you that I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was leaving to have surgery," Sambolin, 47, said on Facebook. "Then ... Angelina Jolie shares her story of a double mastectomy and gives me strength and an opening."

Dr Chet Nastala, a breast surgeon at PRMA Plastic Surgery in San Antonio, Texas, said Jolie's fame and openness about her treatment will have a big impact on women faced with the same decision.

"It is difficult to go public," he said in an interview. "It shows a lot of courage."

In past 10 years the PRMA practice has done about 5,000 reconstructive breast surgeries and about 20-30 percent have been for preventative mastectomies.

Dr. Kristi Funk, director of the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills where Jolie was treated, also applauded her choice.

"We hope that the awareness she is raising around the world will save countless lives," said Funk at a brief news conference outside the clinic.

Richard Francis, head of research at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity in Britain, said it demonstrated the importance of educating women with the gene fault.

"For women like Angelina it's important that they are made fully aware of all the options that are available, including risk-reducing surgery and extra breast screening," Francis told Reuters.

Jolie also lends her star power to a range of humanitarian causes, including serving more than 10 years as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Santa Clarita Local Colleges - Salt Levels In U.S. Processed And Fast-Food Dangerously High

Source - http://www.upi.com/
By - Press Release
Category - Santa Clarita Local Colleges
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Santa Clarita Local Colleges

Voluntary reduction of salt in processed and fast-food failed as salt levels remain dangerously high, U.S. researchers say.

Dr. Stephen Havas, a research professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington assessed the sodium content in selected processed foods and in fast-food restaurants in 2005, 2008 and 2011.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found from 2005-11, the sodium content in 402 processed foods declined by approximately 3.5 percent, while the sodium content in 78 fast-food restaurant products increased by 2.6 percent. Although some products showed decreases of at least 30 percent, a greater number of products showed increases of at least 30 percent, the study said.

"The voluntary approach has failed," Havas said in a statement. "The study demonstrated the food industry has been dragging its feet and making very few changes. This issue will not go away unless the government steps in to protect the public. The amount of sodium in our food supply needs to be regulated."

A typical American consumes an average of almost 2 teaspoons a day of salt, vastly higher than the recommended amount of three-fifths of a teaspoon or no more than 1,500 milligrams. About 80 percent of daily sodium consumption comes from eating processed or restaurant foods -- very little comes from salt we add to food, Havas said.

"The only way for most people to meet the current sodium recommendation is to cook from scratch and not use salt," Havas said in a statement. "But that's not realistic for most people."

Hotel In Santa Clarita - Chris Sale throws 1-hitter as White Sox beat Angels

Source - http://www.usatoday.com
By - Press Release
Category - Hotel In Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Hotel In Santa Clarita

The Chicago White Sox needed a big start from ace Chris Sale, and he nearly gave them something historic.

Sale took a perfect game into the seventh inning before finishing with a one-hitter, and Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 on Sunday night to avoid a three-game sweep. The left-hander retired the first 19 batters he faced before Mike Trout's sharp single to center ended the perfect game bid with one out in the seventh, on his 70th pitch.

"I knew warming up in the bullpen I felt loose. My arm felt good tonight," Sale said. "Warming up in the bullpen I felt like I was creating some good stuff and just wanted to transfer that out to the field, and it ended up working out tonight."

BOX SCORE: White Sox 3, Angels 0

Sale (4-2) struck out seven on just 98 pitches for his first career shutout and third win in his last four outings. The one-hitter was Chicago's first since Zach Stewart had one on Sept. 5, 2011, at Minnesota.

The White Sox had lost two straight and were on the verge of being swept by a struggling Angels team. Before Saturday's loss, manager Robin Ventura called a meeting to discuss the team's woes.

"He understands how it's been going," Ventura said of Sale. "So it's one of those you need a guy like that that can go out and put together a game like that and give you a chance."

MOTHER'S DAY: Special baseballs in play

Sale pithed the third one-hitter in three days in the majors, joining St. Louis' Shelby Miller and Boston's Jon Lester, who both had theirs on Friday night.

Alexei Ramirez's two-run two-out single in the bottom of the seventh drove in Tyler Flowers and Tyler Greene to give Sale the lead and chase Los Angeles' C.J. Wilson. Alex Rios then doubled off reliever Michael Kohn to drive in Ramirez, who had three hits and scored a run.

Sale didn't require much more support than that in a game the White Sox needed badly.

"I think he (Sale) just likes the big games," Flowers said. "I guarantee you he knows everyone was watching on ESPN and that whole thing."

Wilson (3-2) gave up three runs and six hits while striking out three and walking four in 6 2-3 innings. He lost his second straight decision after losing to Houston on Tuesday.

Wilson got no support from his offense. Other than Rios' running catch against the wall on Howie Kendrick's drive in the second, there weren't any close calls for Sale.

"It just goes back to that competitive streak in you. You want to get that guy out there," said Josh Hamilton, who was 0 for 3. "Even though he is having a phenomenal night, you want to hit it hard somewhere, or barrel it up, if they make a play, they make a play, tip your hat. He did a good job."

Except for the seventh, Wilson pitched well enough to give the Angels what would have been a welcome sweep and four-game winning streak. They had lost five of seven before the series and won the first two in Chicago but fell Sunday to 10 games behind in the AL West.

"We need to carry some of the things we did well in this series forward," manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think if there is one thing we saw in this series, is that we have the ability to pitch well and I think we have to carry that forward."

For their part, the White Sox would like to prolong what happened Sunday.

Sale was eight outs away from the White Sox's 19th no-hitter in team history and their fourth perfect game after Philip Humber (2012), Mark Buehrle (2009) and Charles Robertson (1922).

The 24-year-old said he started thinking about a perfect game or no-hitter around the fourth or the fifth, but didn't sound disappointed with the one-hitter.

"I didn't wake up this morning and say I'm going to throw a perfect game or a no-hitter," Sale said. "I come to the ballpark every day when I'm pitching and say I just want to keep my team in this game and I want to win this game."

Hampton Hotels Santa Clarita - GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian Shares Pause After Rally, Yen At 4-yr Low vs Dollar

Source - http://www.reuters.com/
By - Chikako Mogi
Category - Hampton Hotels Santa Clarita
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Hampton Hotels Santa Clarita

The U.S. currency was buoyed as worries about soft patches in the economy faded after Thursday's weekly U.S. data showed initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level in more than five years, following last week's much stronger-than-expected monthly nonfarm payrolls report for April.

"It's global buying of the U.S., with more investors feeling comfortable buying the dollar. U.S. stocks are stabilizing four years after the Lehman collapse. It's a good sign for markets when funds target the U.S., where investors are willing to take on risk," said Goro Ohwada, president and CEO at Japan-based fund of hedge funds Aino Investment Corp.

Signs of a steady U.S. recovery could refuel speculation over the Federal Reserve scaling back its aggressive quantitative easing to push up U.S. yields, attracting funds from lower-yielding countries such as Japan.

Capital flows data showed Japanese investors were net buyers of foreign bonds in the last two weeks, reversing their relentless net selling since late January. They repatriated a total of 9.33 trillion yen in January-April. <JP/CAP>

The dollar extended its gains from Thursday to rise to a fresh four-year high of 101.20 yen, having stalled for a month after reaching a high of 99.95 yen in early April. The dollar was last at 100.92 yen, while the euro rose to 131.91 yen, its highest since January 2010.

"The market is returning to where it should be, to buying the dollar, mainly driven by the notion that the U.S. economy is on a positive track as seen by the jobs reports," said Hiroshi Maeba, head of FX trading Japan for UBS in Tokyo.

"The dollar buying after the initial jobless claims may have been a factor, but failed attempts to break the 100 yen had lightened positions and cleared the way for such a move. The euro's break below $1.3050 also helped remove a cap on the dollar," he said.

Maeba added that the dollar may see a near-term correction to the downside, but the 99 yen level will now signal a buying opportunity and markets may test 102-103 yen in coming weeks.

The yen's resumed downtrend is a boon for Japanese exporters and expectations of robust earnings drove the Nikkei stock average .N225 up 3 percent to its highest since January 2008. The index is up 6.5 percent so far this week, on track for its biggest weekly gain since December 2009 when it jumped 10.4 percent. .T

The currency moves had diverging impacts on Asian shares.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS shed 0.6 percent, after climbing to its highest since July 2011 on Thursday. For the week, the index is set for a gain of 1 percent.

U.S. stocks slipped from record highs on Thursday while the pan-European FTSEurofirst .FTEU3 closed flat to stay near five-year highs.

Australian shares .AXJO rose 0.3 percent after hitting a fresh five-year high earlier, as strong gains in the banking sector and companies with a strong exposure in the U.S. market rallied on the back of the dollar's gain against the yen. The Australian dollar hit a 10-month low of $1.0046 overnight.

"Whenever the U.S. dollar gains this much against the Australian dollar, then companies that make most of their earnings in U.S. returns will always look more attractive," said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG.

But the yen's decline hurt South Korean shares .KS11, which fell 1 percent, dragged lower by exporters on concerns that a weaker yen would curb their competitiveness against their Japanese counterparts, although the dollar's rise pushed the South Korean won sharply down to a one-week low.

Chinese shares were subdued, with Hong Kong .HSI down 0.2 percent while Shanghai .SSEC inched up 0.1 percent.

A firm dollar capped prices of dollar-based commodities.

London copper eased 0.1 percent to $7,344 a ton while spot gold added 0.2 percent to $1,460.81 an ounce.

U.S. crude futures fell 0.3 percent to $96.12 a barrel and Brent eased 0.2 percent to $104.29. <O/R>

Analysts said the dollar's direction against the yen from here largely depends on U.S. economic indicators, with a strong outlook for the world's largest economy likely to spur investment flows out of Japan, which is taking aggressive reflationary policies and depressing yields.

"The USD strength may prove short-lived unless backed by incoming April U.S. cyclical activity data showing a pickup in growth momentum from the softer tone in March. A series of key U.S. economic data next week, especially retail sales on Monday, will be critical from this perspective," Barclays Capital said in a research note.

Hotels In Northern California - World of Warcraft Loses 1.3 Million Subscribers in 3 Months

Source - http://www.escapistmagazine.com/
By - Stew Shearer
Category - Hotels In Northern California
Posted By - Hampton Inn Santa Clarita

Hotels In Northern California

The world of massively multiplayer online gaming has seen some dramatic transitions in the past few years. Even with landscape changing things like the advent and increasing quality of free-to-play games, however, one constant has remained untouched: World of Warcraft is the king.

That being the case, the king's subjects have been shrinking in numbers over the years. In 2010, the massively popular MMORPG had more than 12 million subscribers. Af ew years later that number would fall to about 9 million before climbing back up to 10 million following the 2012 Mists of Panderia expansion. While this uptick was good news for the aging MMORPG, it seems to have been only temporary. World of Warcraft's user base has again declined, falling by more than 1.3 million subscribers between January and March of 2013.

To its credit, the game's publisher, Activision Blizzard, doesn't seem at all phased by the news. Part of this has to do with the fact that the game still remains "the number one subscription-based MMORPG in the world' and is still a valuable cash cow. That said, a gradual decline in the game's user base is something its publisher had been expecting. "We do believe further declines are likely, and we expect to have fewer subscribers a year than we do today," said Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard's CEO. "We believe in the long-term value of this franchise and will continue to commit substantial resources to World of Warcraft."

Even if the publisher were to cut off funds tomorrow and shutter the long running MMO, it would still have had an impressive run. In addition to making oodles of money, the massive popularity of World of Warcraft helped expose more general audiences to MMOs. Likewise, while some gamers may be leaving, there are millions more who have stuck with World of Warcraft through thick and thin and remain enthusiastic members of its magical universe. The day might come where this isn't the case, but that's a future that seems so far off it's beyond the sight of anyone looking.