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Songs For The Breast Cancer Research Foundation Of Alabama
2012-08-19
/news/
News
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Published: 2012/08/19
Jay Gonzalez of Drive By Truckers, Greg Martin of The Kentucky Headhunters and Christine Ohlman of The Saturday Night Live Band are among the musicians who have contributed songs to a new benefit compilation, A Heaping Helping: Songs for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama. The 19-track record, which Gadsden musician Scott Ward recorded in honor of his mother?a breast cancer survivor?aims to raise money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama. Additional artists include Shelby Lynne, Paul Thorn, Will Kimbrough, The Oak Ridge Boys and more.
A Heaping Helping: Songs for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama was released earlier this summer on Lucky Dog Records. You can download the album via Bandcamp.
A Heaping Helping: Songs for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama Tracklisting
?Heaven?s Only Days Down the Road,? Shelby Lynne.
?I Urge You,? Jay Gonzalez.
?The Storm,? Christine Ohlman and Rebel Montez.
?That?s Life,? Paul Thorn.
?Sunshine Boogie,? The Mighty Jeremiahs.
?Any Old Time You Choose,? Oak Ridge Boys.
?Philadelphia, Mississippi,? Will Kimbrough.
?Life?s Little Package of Puzzles,? Spooner Oldham.
?Jesus Was All I Had,? Donnie Fritts.
?Good Days, Bad Days,? The Decoys.
?Too Old to Die Young,? Kevin Welch.
?Meet My Sweet Jesus,? Tommy Miles with Delaney Bramlett.
?From the Dark to the Light,? Tommy York and Thrillbilly.
?We All Fall Down,? Bekka Bramlett.
?No Night, One Day,? Mark Narmore.
?Mighty Field of Vision Anthem,? Stephen Foster and Howler.
?Baby Ruth,? Sailcat.
?It?s Only Romance,? Jackson Highway.
?1980,? Scott Ward Band.
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Article source: http://www.jambands.com/news/2012/08/19/songs-for-the-breast-cancer-research-foundation-of-alabama
Source: http://cancerkick.com/2012/08/19/songs-for-the-breast-cancer-research-foundation-of-alabama/
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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Ovarian cancer, a prevalent and malignant disease among women, is usually treated with chemotherapy. But what if the cancer becomes resistant to the treatment? New research shows that some cases of high-grade serous ovarian cancer can become chemoresistant.
David Bowtell, Ph.D., head of the Cancer Genomics and Genetic Program, and his colleagues found chemoresistance in women with high-grade serous cancer, a subtype of ovarian cancer. They believe this resistance is associated with the absence of the gene LRP1B, which encodes a member of a family of proteins to transport lipids into cells.
"We were interested in identifying the molecular changes that occurred in a tumor between the time when a woman first presented for surgery and chemotherapy, and the time when the tumor recurred and eventually became resistant to chemotherapy," Dr. Bowtell was quoted as saying.
In order to examine this, researchers took paired pretreatment and post-treatment tumor samples from each of their participants and analyzed metastatic lesions for spatial and temporal genomic variation, which are measures of how the tumors genetically evolve over time. Then, researchers compared the levels of genomic change among women who were initially chemosensitive to those who were resistant to chemotherapy from the beginning.
They found that tumors that were initially sensitive to chemotherapy later became resistant and evolved even further than tumors that were chemoresistant from the start.
"We were surprised by the extent of variation that was present among the tumor deposits collected at surgery, and by how far the tumors could evolve during therapy," Dr. Bowtell was quoted as saying. "The existence of multiple cancer genomes in an individual patient could provide many opportunities for the cancer to circumvent chemotherapy and may help explain why it has been so difficult to make progress with this disease."
"Many women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer experience an excellent response to initial chemotherapy, but unfortunately the disease often returns and becomes resistant to treatment," Bowtell was quoted as saying. "If we can comprehensively map the mechanisms that confer resistance, we may be able to predict whether some women are likely to respond to a certain drug or not, and find ways of reversing resistance."
This study forms part of an ongoing international collaboration effort, known as the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC). Its purpose is to systematically map the emergence of chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer and other solid cancers. Dr. Bowtell believes this effort is needed and will be necessary in understanding why treatment failure occurs.
Source: American Association for Cancer Research, August 2012
Source: http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=29895
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UCLA nose guard Brandon Willis spoke for so many Bruins' football players, past and present.
When asked whether he is sorry to see the old artificial turf at UCLA's Spaulding Field be replaced, Willis said, "No, not really. It was time for that to go."
The Bruins tested out the facilities' new turf field Saturday, and the reviews were raves. Of course, anything would have been seen as better.
It's not just that the Bruins have new turf, which cost about $800,000, it's that they are playing on an even surface for the first time in years. Several UCLA players have suffered injuries in non-contact situations in the recent seasons.
The Bruins lost quarterbacks Ben Olson (foot) and Patrick Cowan (knee) on back-to-back plays in 2008, with both injured turning around after taking a snap. Datone Jones, a senior defensive end, broke his foot running on the turf in 2010.
The new field was installed this summer.
"It's so much more bouncier," Willis said. "You can stick and go. I love the upgrades."
UCLA also installed a natural grass field.
Baca update
Senior guard Jeff Baca, who has been out nearly two weeks with a concussion, said he had a doctor's exam scheduled Saturday to determine whether he was close to returning to practice.
Baca, expected to start at guard, was at practice Saturday, but was not in pads.
Alberto Cid (concussion) and Greg Capella (calf) were also at practice but did not participate. Both were thought to be in the mix at guard.
The Bruins picked up an offensive lineman Saturday. Jacob Seydel, a freshman tackle at Riverside Community College last season, will enroll at UCLA. He joined the team at practice Saturday and has three years of eligibility left.
Lucien shines
Wide receiver Devin Lucien has not lost a step after missing two practices this last week with a minor concussion. Lucien had a string of good catches Saturday.
Lucien was a freshman redshirt last season and seems ready to make up for what he felt was lost time.
"I hated redshirting," Lucien said. "But it humbled me a lot. I came in thinking I would play right away and thought I should have played. But it was a blessing. I learned what goes into being a Division I football player."
Quick hits
Safety Dalton Hilliard missed practice because of a "family issue," Coach Jim Mora said. Hilliard was expected to return for team meetings Saturday night.? Cornerback Aaron Hester sat out practice with flu.? Freshman Fabian Moreau, who was moved from receiver/running back to cornerback this week, returned an interception for a touchdown Saturday. ? Inside linebacker Eric Kendricks, who missed practice this week because of a sore hamstring, returned to drills Saturday. ? Former UCLA lineman Nick Ekbatani was at practice for the first time since losing the lower portion of his left leg in a motorcycle accident this summer. The Big Nick Fund at http://gofundme.com/venb8 has been set up to help with expenses.
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The U.S. military is now requiring all personnel in Afghanistan to keep a fully-loaded magazine in their weapons at all times, following a spate of attacks on American troops by members of Afghan forces.
A senior military official told NBC News of the new policy Friday, just after an Afghan policeman ? whom NATO forces had just handed a new weapon as a present ? opened fire, killing two U.S. Special Forces service members.
That shooting in western Afghanistan was just the latest in a recent string of insider, or "green-on-blue," attacks on coalition forces. Such attacks left six U.S. Marines dead in two separate incidents last Friday.
The new requirement "could save precious seconds," the official told NBC News, in responding to the attacks and could save lives ? but the official acknowledged that any rogue armed Afghan officer or soldier "could always get the drop on" allied troops.
Alongside the new requirement, the U.S. Army is also requiring that one soldier, designated a "guardian angel," stand in a protected space with his weapon loaded at any gathering of U.S. military and armed Afghan security forces in order to enable a swift response to any threat.
For more coverage on the latest attacks in Afghanistan visit NBCNews.com.
The attacker in Friday's shooting had been recruited five days prior, and the Americans were in Farah province to hand out weapons and train new recruits, the province's deputy police chief told NBC?News.
A NATO spokesman confirmed that the Afghan attacker was later shot and killed.
Col. Hagen Messer, spokesman for the International Joint Command in the country, confirmed the deaths in a statement. "Officials are investigating the incident to determine the facts and as more information becomes available it will be released as appropriate," he said.
The killing, the sixth similar incident in two weeks, occurred around 8 a.m. local time after U.S. forces arrived in Kinisk to train members of the local Afghan police force, Farah provincial police chief Agha Noor Kemtoz told The Associated Press.
Attacks by Afghan allies on international troops have accelerated this year. At least 36 foreign troops have been killed, raising concerns about the strategy by coalition forces to train Afghan forces to take over the country's security when most foreign troops pull out in 2014.
The latest attack came one day after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing 11 people, including seven American service members. The dead included two Navy SEALs and a Navy expert in explosive ordnance disposal, as well as three Afghan soldiers and an Afghan interpreter.
NATO said an investigation into the cause of the helicopter crash was still ongoing, but U.S. officials told NBC news that the chopper was shot down, a claim confirmed by a provincial government spokesman. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for bringing it down.
And last week seven American service members, including a senior U.S. officer, were killed in Afghanistan in three separate attacks.
Source: http://feeds.nbcchicago.com/click.phdo?i=b82ffe762f8fcc5f61628e10c4985bec
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When are you able to say that your home needs a House Bolting? Be it a simple house to more complex buildings, foundation will always determine whether a structure can last a long, long time. It is very important because it functions as the support of the entire structure. On the other hand, it is a fact that foundation walls sometimes fail whether or not the structure is old or new, and repair will probably be necessary. Why fix your foundation anyway? How long will it take to have this fixed? Would it require me to pay much cash to have this done in my home?
As you know foundations are extremely important. Almost every foundation problem is a result of one of four things: the soil type, the quantity of water present in the soil, construction preparation or occurrence of natural disasters like an earthquake. It is quite simple to spot if your home would be need a house foundation repair. Examine the cracked bricks in your home?s exterior or cracked concrete blocks or concrete cracks in the porch or garage. Gaps around doors and windows and also uneven or bouncy floorings are also signs you will need a house foundation repair. More signs are a leaning or cracked chimney, bowed or cracked basement walls, cracked molding, creaking house noises, and sink holes in your yard. Of course, one shouldn?t neglect that poor construction may also be a potential cause of foundations requiring repair.
Don?t think twice to ask from credible service providers and ask for reasonable quotes to start repairing. These experts can be relied on for the best and efficient way to have your foundation repaired. In this way, you can even be assured that the repair can be done within a given period and will provide a lasting solution to the problem bringing on relief and a place where you can securely reside in. In the start of seeing indications of foundation failures, it is best to do something immediately. House foundation repair needs to be done because if you only let it be for a couple of years, things could be worse than when you initially noticed it. It is never a smart idea to take this for granted as a seemingly simple crack around the wall or water droplets may mean a deeper problem. Get to the cause of the problem immediately.
It is practical to think about an investment needed for repairing. More often, it will require a substantial amount. However be assured that it?s going to be worth it than taking the risk of putting in a small investment and suffering for the long term. There is always an option to do quick fix solutions over long term solutions. It is clear how the problem of the defective foundation will have to be taken care of. Often consider the lasting advantages of your significant investment, the resale worth of your home, your peace of mind in realizing that walls as well as the whole structure would not crumble anytime soon, and also the beauty of having the ability to take advantage of the living area fully because of the absence of repeated temporary repairs. The foundation constantly determines the story of a structure. Does it have a sad or perhaps a happy ending?
With regards to House Bolting, taking chances shouldn?t be an option. Fixing your Crawl Space Protection now, and forever, can bring the peace of mind of knowing your greatest investment is definitely once again, safe, secure and fully usable. It?s simply a wise investment that makes sense!
Source: http://www.niutranslations.com/finding-out-signs-for-house-bolting.html
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ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2012) ? Food isn't the only thing going organic these days. An 'all-natural' method for studying pancreatic islets, the small tissues responsible for insulin production and regulation in the body, has recently been developed by researchers at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) to try to track metabolic changes in living tissues in 'real time' and without additional chemicals or drugs.
It's an organically-minded approach that could lead to big changes in our understanding of diabetes and other diseases.
Assistant Professor Jonathon V. Rocheleau of the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism, and Toronto General Research Institute Affiliated Scientist, along with third-year IBBME doctoral student Alan K. Lam, devised a small microfluidic tool to carry glucose and fatty acid solutions through small channels holding live pancreatic tissues.
The tissues are then caught against a 'dam', only a fraction of a millimeter in height, which keeps them stationary while the glucose solutions flow by, making it possible for scientists to monitor metabolic activities in the tissues to the glucose solutions as they happen.
The method represents a vital paradigm shift in metabolic research.
"We've created a new opportunity for tissue studies" stated Professor Rocheleau. "Using our techniques, we're looking at metabolism as it occurs and as naturally as possible."
Standard studies involve either non-living pancreatic tissue, or require the addition of chemicals or drugs to track changes in living tissues. Now, with this new 'all-natural' approach, tissues are kept in conditions as close to their natural processes as possible.
Researchers are then able to track changes in the tissues in a pristine, natural state by viewing mitochondrial proteins in the tissue which are illuminated by their own, natural luminescence.
"We don't need to use any drugs," added Lam, the study's lead author.
The combined techniques and their results are the subject of a cover article for the current issue of Integrative Biology .
And the results so far have been eye-opening.
Within just twenty minutes of being subject to a glucose cocktail, the pancreatic tissues stopped metabolizing fat, its natural source of food during fasting, leading to a sharp metabolic change in the cells and possible toxicity.
Now that Rocheleau and his lab have tracked normal physiological responses to sugar spikes, the same imaging study can be used in diabetic tissue models, leading to a deeper understanding of the disease.
But the new, integrative approach to research also offers hope for research into other diseases. "I would love cancer researchers to be able to pick this up and use it to see how cells change their metabolism," said Rocheleau.
"This method is absolutely translatable to other diseases," said Lam.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/jnP7Lu8lobk/120817151521.htm
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In today?s planet various trends are ushered in at the drop of the Drew Brees Jersey cap as other people leave. Style is the thing that you make from it in ways, and there are many techniques to determine the most up-to-date clothing and styles. Read on for useful tips relating to checking up on trend.
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The EPA?s ?war on coal? has become a major campaign talking point for Republicans in Senate battleground states.
?Coal is a blessing,? Josh Mandel, Republican Senate challenger to Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, told a crowd in eastern Ohio. ?There are some who are trying to convince the country that coal is a liability? It?s not a Democratic or Republican issue. It?s an economic issue.?
Similarly, GOP Senate hopefuls in coal states have tied their opponents to what they describe as the Obama administration?s war on coal.
?As the owner of several coal-mining companies, I was on the receiving end of the President?s and Bob Casey?s costly, job-killing regulations,? said Tom Smith, Republican challenger to Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
?The EPA right now is strangling the coal industry,? said Republican Senate candidate John Raese of West Virginia.
Democrats are trying distancing themselves from Obama?s coal policies.
?This is politics at its worst. ?Anyone who would try to claim that Senator Manchin does not stand up for coal and West Virginia?s miners is either out of touch or been out of state for too long,? said Kathy Cosco, communications director for West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin?s campaign.
However, Brown and Casey have been criticized for voting in favor of the EPA?s Utility MACT rule, which aims to reduce hazardous emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Mandel issued a press release criticizing Brown for voting 22 times on measures that would hurt Ohio coal. Similarly, Smith attacked Casey for also voting in favor of the Utility MACT.
?The President?s EPA has clearly declared a war on coal ?? an industry crucial to our economy and Sen. Casey has done nothing to support the energy industry and the Pennsylvania jobs it creates,? Smith said in a statement.
The rule has been called one of the most expensive regulations ever for power plants by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and derided by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for the excessive burden it places on industry.
?Pennsylvanians know better than most the importance of balancing the economic benefits of coal with the safety of our communities, Casey said in a statement. ?I voted against this resolution after talking to my constituents and after careful consideration in the best interest of the Commonwealth.?
Manchin voted against implementing the Utility MACT, saying ?enough is enough? and that the rule would have ?devastating effects on our families, jobs and economy.?
He has also confirmed that he will not be attending the Democratic National Convention this year.
Coal companies have also shown strong support for Republican challengers to incumbent Democrats in coal states.
Josh Mandel has received $84,000 from coal companies and groups this election cycle and Tom Smith has received $20,500, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Still a strong ally for coal interests, Senator Manchin still receives the most from the coal industry, raking in more than $190,000 this election cycle.
Despite their criticized record on coal, Sherrod and Casey have strong leads in the polls. Brown leads his opponent Mandel by nearly 8 percentage points and Casey has a 13-percentage-point lead on Smith, according to the RCP average.
However, in 2010 Pat Toomey beat Democratic opponent Joe Sestak in the Pennsylvania Senate race by a 2-point margin. That same year, Ohio GOP Senator Rob Portman also handily beat Democratic challenger Lee Fisher by an 18-point margin.
The past two months have seen several coal companies announce layoffs in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
In Pennsylvania, PBS Coals Inc. and its affiliate, RoxCoal Inc., laid off 225 workers working in deep and surface mines in Somerset County, citing low demand and aggressive regulations.
This month, OhioAmericanEnergy Inc., a subsidiary of Murray Energy Corp., announced layoffs in Jefferson County, Ohio after five years of operation and about 50 employees will be affected. Murray Energy cited Obama administration regulations as the reason for the idlings.
Consol Energy announced it would lay off 318 employees this month in Brickmore, West Virginia due to EPA regulations. Arch Coal and Alpha Natural resources have also announced plans to cut their workforce in the state due to EPA regulations.
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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/coal-powered-republican-candidates-war-epa-battleground-states-203242851.html
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FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2011 file photo, a Monarch butterfly perches on a branch in the Sierra Chincua Sanctuary in the mountains of Mexico's Michoacan state. The Monarch butterflies arrive in central Mexico usually around the first week of November, after their yearly migration from Canada and begin their return around March. (AP Photo/ Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2011 file photo, a Monarch butterfly perches on a branch in the Sierra Chincua Sanctuary in the mountains of Mexico's Michoacan state. The Monarch butterflies arrive in central Mexico usually around the first week of November, after their yearly migration from Canada and begin their return around March. (AP Photo/ Marco Ugarte, File)
MEXICO CITY (AP) ? Illegal logging has practically been eliminated in the western Mexico wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly, according to a research report released Wednesday, and Mexican officials now hope to use the successful program of anti-logging patrols and payments to rural residents to solve other forestry conflicts throughout the country.
The government, environmental groups and private donors have spent millions of dollars to get residents of forest communities in the butterfly reserve to plant trees and start ecotourism businesses to benefit from widespread fascination with the monarchs' yearly multi-generational migration through Canada, the United States and Mexico. They hope a similar solution can work for areas where illegal logging has caused armed conflicts and killings.
"This has been a successful program," said Environment Secretary Juan Elvira Quesada. "We want to keep expanding it."
It is the first time that logging has not been found in detectable amounts since the mountaintop forests west of Mexico City were declared a nature reserve in 2000, according to a study of aerial photographs of mountain reserve.
"The battle is not yet won," said Omar Vidal of the environmental group WWF Mexico, saying that policing efforts in the pine and fir forests must be continued. He said small-scale logging may still be going on, and that more efforts are needed to offer economic alternatives to the communal farmers who live in the reserve and formerly made money from logging.
Logging was once considered the main threat to the reserve. At its peak in 2005, logging devastated as many as 1,140 acres (461 hectares) annually in the reserve, which covers 193,000 acres (56,259-hectares).
Around the same time, armed police were assigned to patrol the reserve and shut down illegal logging operations. Elvira Quesada recalled directing one of the first mass police raids against loggers in 2003, when saw mills and trucks loaded with logs were still a common sight. "There were hamlets that hung out signs saying 'no environment department official allowed.'"
Simultaneously, donor groups started nurseries in the local towns to grow seedlings for reforestation efforts and helped build tourism facilities, to give communal farmers alternative sources of income. Some are paid to be part-time guards and report the presence of loggers.
Lincoln Brower, an expert on monarch butterflies and emeritus zoology professor at the University of Florida said "it appears that the Mexican government has greatly improved their stand against massive illegal logging, for which I congratulate them heartily."
Brower cautioned in an email that "predatory individual tree removal (by individuals and small groups of loggers) is largely undetectable" by studying aerial and satellite images. He said he had seen forest degradation during visits to the reserve in 2010 and 2012, and said "until the government establishes a system of close and continuous year-round, on-the-ground monitoring and official guarding, this ongoing and progressive degradation will continue."
Vidal said climate change now appears to be affecting the forests that shelter the butterflies after their annual migration from the United States and Canada. The study shows that bark beetles, drought and a parasitic plant infestation of mistletoe, a vine that strangles trees, caused a combined loss of almost 52 acres (21 hectares) of pine and fir forest.
Changing climate patterns have alternately caused droughts, which stress the trees and make them more vulnerable to bark beetles, and also heavy rain and wind storms such as those in 2010 that caused forest loss due to mudslides. Brower criticized government efforts to remove fallen trees from those storms, saying it was better to let them lie where they had fallen.
The number of monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico dropped 28 percent this year, according to a report released in March, a decline some experts attribute to drought in parts of the United States and Canada where the butterflies breed and begin their long migration south.
The numbers of butterflies spending the winter in Mexico have varied wildly in recent years. Concern rose two years ago, when their numbers dropped by 75 percent in the wintering grounds, the lowest level since comparable record-keeping began in 1993. The number nearly doubled last year from that record low point.
The migration is an inherited trait; no butterfly lives to make the round-trip. The millions of orange-and-black butterflies cluster so densely on tree boughs in the reserve that researchers count them by the number of acres they cover.
Elvira Quesada said officials are trying the same approach in the Michoacan town of Cheran, where a conflict between illegal loggers and local residents has resulted in about a dozen deaths in recent months. Residents of Cheran put up roadblocks and demanded the army be sent in to protect them from logging gangs.
It is also being tried in the Chimalapas region on the border between the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, where Indian communities are fighting over land and forest resources.
The measures could be used in "land conflicts, environmental and law enforcement disputes, where the key to the solution is preserving natural resources," Elvira Quesada said.
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Denise Freeman, right, looks on as firefighters remove the wooden lattice on the side of her log home in Featherville, Idaho on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Freeman was among residents warned that they will likely have to evacuate their homes because of a nearby wildfire burning on 100 square miles, less than five miles from Featherville. (AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner)
Denise Freeman, right, looks on as firefighters remove the wooden lattice on the side of her log home in Featherville, Idaho on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Freeman was among residents warned that they will likely have to evacuate their homes because of a nearby wildfire burning on 100 square miles, less than five miles from Featherville. (AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner)
Denise Freeman, right, helps firefighters remove the wooden lattice on the side of her log home in Featherville, Idaho on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012. Freeman was among residents warned that they will likely have to evacuate their homes because of a nearby wildfire burning on 100 square miles, less than five miles from Featherville. (AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner)
Firefighters stand in view of a tree on fire Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012, near Cle Elum, Wash. Crews fighting the large blaze in central Washington hope to increase containment levels by Wednesday evening, but are keeping a wary eye on weather conditions later in the week. The fire burning near Cle Elum has burned dozens of homes and caused about 900 people to evacuate. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Firefighter Hector Gonzalez looks up at a fire as he prepares to work on a fire line Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012, near Cle Elum, Wash. Crews fighting the large blaze in central Washington hope to increase containment levels by Wednesday evening, but are keeping a wary eye on weather conditions later in the week. The fire burning near Cle Elum has burned dozens of homes and caused about 900 people to evacuate. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Flames surround a house Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, on a hillside above Bettas Road near Cle Elum, Wash. Wildland firefighters on-site advised that the house survived the fire. The fast-moving wildfire has burned 60 homes across nearly 40 square miles of central Washington grassland, timber and sagebrush. No injuries have been reported but more than 400 people have been forced to flee. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
FEATHERVILLE, Idaho (AP) ? Across the West, dozens of fires fueled by searing heat, dry weather and strong winds have added up to misery for weary residents who already are fed up with one of the region's worst fire seasons in decades.
On Wednesday, hundreds of residents of two small Idaho towns were packing their belongings and clearing out of the way of a massive wildfire burning in a gulch a few miles away and expected to hit town later this week.
Wildfires also tormented homeowners in Washington, Oregon and California, as arid conditions kept fire crews busier than usual across the region.
Jennifer Smith of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, said not only are more wildfires occurring in the West this year than last, but the nation's fires have gotten bigger.
As of Wednesday, 42,933 wildfires had been reported in the U.S. this season, burning 6.4 million acres. The 10-year average for this period is 52,535 fires but covering only 5 million acres, she said.
"Nevada has been hammered, and Idaho has some big ones that are going to burn until the snow falls," Smith said.
Idaho's Trinity Ridge Fire has burned more than 100 square miles in the past two weeks. It's bearing down on Pine and Featherville, recreation getaways in the mountains 105 miles northeast of Boise.
"It's not a question of if, but when," Boise National Forest Spokesman Dave Olson said of the fire reaching Featherville's outskirts.
On Wednesday, there was a steady stream of traffic with people leaving Pine and Featherville, a town with a single main street, saloon, motel, cafe and a handful of other shops. The area has 450 homes, with about half inhabited year-round and the others serving as summer and weekend retreats.
A veil of smoke has loomed over Featherville for several days, a signal for many that evacuation orders may soon be coming. Officials say a mandatory evacuation order could be issued within 24 to 36 hours.
Lorie Winmill, a 44-year-old who works at Cyndie's Featherville Cafe, was emotional Wednesday as she loaded her vehicle and prepared her 4-year-old granddaughter, Lizzie, to stay with relatives elsewhere.
"This is the only home Lizzie has ever known," Winmill said, tearing up.
Fire crews are battling a total of nine big fires in Idaho, including one in the Salmon-Challis National Forest that stranded 250 rafters floating the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. Authorities closed a backcountry access road due to falling boulders and debris caused by the blaze. Some of the floaters were stuck for two days before authorities began shuttling them out Wednesday.
In central Washington, hundreds of firefighters using planes, helicopters, bulldozers and hand tools managed to contain 25 percent of wildfire that has destroyed dozens of homes across about 35 square miles.
The containment figure announced Wednesday evening was up from the previous 10 percent.
Fire spokesman Glenn Kohler said officials ordered more evacuations late Wednesday on the Taylor Bridge Fire's north flank. He didn't know how many people were affected. Hundreds have left their homes.
The fire that started Monday has scorched more than 22,000 acres. More than 800 people were working to suppress it.
Authorities said at least 60 primary residences have been destroyed, but conditions were too dangerous to come up with an exact count.
In Northern California, firefighters already dealing with extreme heat braced Wednesday for the possibility of thunderstorms and strong winds as they tried to conquer several raging wildfires.
Crews fought to re-establish containment lines as the Chips Fire in Plumas National Forest threatened more than 900 homes and prompted voluntary evacuations. The blaze has burned 66 square miles and was about 20 percent contained.
It's among the largest of nearly a dozen major wildfires burning across California that some 8,000 firefighters are battling, state fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.
Fire officials also issued a statewide burning ban that will stay in effect until there's a significant change in the weather or until the end of fire season.
Also in Northern California, firefighters made significant progress against a wildfire in Lake County, despite dry weather and triple-digit temperatures.
The fire was 70 percent contained, and hundreds of evacuees were allowed to return after the fire that burned more than 12 square miles and threatened nearly 500 homes in Spring Valley.
In Southern California, wildfires threatened dozens of homes after burning through more than 19 square miles of brush in the midst of a brutal heat wave.
In rural northeastern San Diego County, a complex of five wildfires caused by lightning had burned more than 14? square miles of wilderness and was 5 percent contained, state fire Capt. Mike Mohler said.
Evacuation orders were issued for the communities of Ranchita and Santa Fe, covering about 180 homes and 400 residents.
The two largest and most active fires were above the desert floor in an area subject to erratic winds. Forecasts called for a return of monsoonal moisture that could create thunderstorms with even more erratic winds Thursday, Mohler said.
Meanwhile, authorities in Riverside County said residents can return to dozens of homes threatened by a 4?-square-mile wildfire in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains.
County fire officials said in a statement that evacuation orders were called off at 6 p.m. Wednesday for 47 homes.
The fire near the community of Aguanga between Hemet and Temecula has burned four structures, including at least one home. It is 15 percent contained.
A resident living in a trailer was seriously burned and a second resident received lesser injuries after the fire broke out Tuesday. Three firefighters received minor injuries.
In Oregon, four major blazes have been burning across the state since a series of lightning storms last week. Firefighters strengthened lines protecting about 20 rural homes outside Lakeview, but an evacuation advisory remained in force for those and a dozen more.
Meanwhile, the Barry Point fire continued to grow on the southern end in California, where it is burning timber and sagebrush on the Modoc National Forest. It remains 25 percent contained at 92 square miles.
Firefighters said higher humidity has helped them all but contain the Nevada portion of a huge wildfire burning on both sides of the Nevada-Oregon state line. They said the Holloway Fire died down and stopped spreading Tuesday night.
In Montana, a wildfire west of Polson burned about seven square miles of grassland and timber and forced the evacuations of 15 residents. The fire started Monday.
And in Wyoming, firefighters used a helicopter to rescue five California men from a fishing camp at a remote mountain lake after a wildfire threatened their only way out. The evacuation of the outfitter camp occurred Tuesday after the Alpine Lake Fire made a significant run in the Shoshone National Forest, fire spokesman Karl Brauneis said.
The fire has burned about 1,300 acres.
___
Associated Press writers Terry Collins in San Francisco; Nick Geranios in Spokane, Wash.; Jeff Barnard in Grants Pass, Ore.; and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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I recently read an article by Dan Gallagher of marketwatch.com. Usually just strictly financial stuff, I was amazed it talked about gamers and why publishers are experiencing a massive drop in revenue over the past few years and are finding their investors skipping town. If anyone is really interested in the numbers, I highly suggest checking out game publisher?s financial trends over the past 10 years. They?re freely available on Yahoo or Google?s financial trend pages. You?d think they?d be able to file for bankruptcy soon.
I started reading the article and thought everything was normal until I got to the explanation of why the game publisher?s investors are pulling out. I just couldn?t NOT write to the guy. It probably is TL;DR, but considering most of those ?analysts? don?t know their head from their arse when they talk about computer gaming I decided clarity was in order.
The following paragraph from the Market Watch report, I believe, is based on ?analysts? not understanding gamer culture at all:
?The culprit for diminished retail sales has been chalked up to several factors, including new multiplayer capabilities on the latest games that allow users to play popular titles like ?Call of Duty? for hundreds of hours, as well as the shift to new formats such as mobile and social games, though some analysts believe the latter?s effect has been exaggerated.?
It skips over several major issues with game publishers to date. I also believe it is the corporate side of game publishers that don?t ?get it? either, as far the issues are concerned.
First I?d like to address ?playing Call of Duty? for hundreds of hours. Considering that Gamers invest hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, yearly into PC and Console games, hardware and accessories, it really doesn?t lend well to the thought of game ?replayability? being a major factor in video game sales. I use a service called Steam, developed by Valve. It is a digital distribution platform for PC games. Steam allows me to add friends to my Steam friends list, recommend and buy/gift games to them and even see the games they?ve recently purchased or played.
Gamers, given the opportunity with major sales, such as the recent Steam Summer Sale, spend gobs of money on new games, whether the old games have a high replay value or not. So, analysts stating that ?playing games for hundreds of hours? is a major factor? pretty much, excuse the term, is B.S. Gamers play games, some play 1 or 2, but most ?Gamers? play at least 4 ? 5 games at a time.
As far as the second statement about mobile and social games, the analysts are probably right. At $0.99 to $5.99 a pop for mobile games, I don?t see this being a major contributor to a drop in PC or Console game sales.
I will however try to explain what could most definitely be impacting game sales.
I believe it all started with the incorporation of EULAs (End User License Agreements). Entertainment Software, in its infancy, wasn?t considered IP or Intellectual Property. It was just property that you purchased and owned. I went and bought a disk of Commander Keen and it was my disk of Commander Keen. Throughout the years, the vast resources of the internet, increased schooling in programming and computer use, people started creating modified games and office productivity software. This presented a problem to the publishers as their IP was slowly being modified and could result in stolen code. This resulted in EULAs being included in games and other software, which stated that you now didn?t own the game anymore. You couldn?t modify the publishers property anymore, since they owned the rights to the software. However, you did own a license that allowed you the use of the software within copyright law. I?don?t know if you?ve ever read a EULA, but I highly urge you to read Steam?s EULA, which recently was made even more unconscionable.
I?d like you to put yourself in my shoes?
I have over 95 games in my Steam library. Most games I bought full price and some I?ve purchased while they were available on Steam sales. So, I?ll use a conservative number, let?s say $30. So, throughout my years of use of Steam, I?ve invested almost $3,000 in-game licenses. But wait? I did say EULA earlier right? Please note that Valve refers to their EULA as a Steam Subscriber Agreement (SSA). If you spent the time to read the SSA you?ll also see that licenses are now referred to as subscriptions. Now, they weren?t always subscriptions. When I was vested, maybe, $1,000 in Steam licenses, they?d still called it a EULA. So, then the company forced the term subscriptions upon its users. The Steam client updated, and asked us to either acknowledge and agree to the new EULA (SSA) or disagree. If we agreed we would continue to be able to have access to our games. If we disagreed, the client would not launch and we would not be able to play our $1,000+ of games.
But, because Steam makes games easily available, has major sales and doesn?t require you to remember 100?s of serial numbers for different games, it still became a giant powerhouse in entertainment software distribution. Here is an excerpt from The Escapist forum:
?Valve co-founder Gabe Newell announced during a DICE keynote today that last weekend?s half-price sale of Left 4 Dead resulted in a 3000% increase in sales of the game, posting overall sales that beat the title?s original launch performance.
Newell also mentioned that new Steam customers jumped 1600% over the same weekend, according to G4TV. Retail sales remained constant.
Sales of Team Fortress 2 went up 106% following a free update to the game. Retail wasn?t left out in this case, with sales jumping 28%.
The massive Steam holiday sale was also a big win for Valve and its partners. The following holiday sales data was released, showing the sales breakdown organized by price reduction:
- 10% sale = 35% increase in sales (real dollars, not units shipped)
- 25% sale = 245% increase in sales
- 50% sale = 320% increase in sales
- 75% sale = 1470% increase in sales?
However, I?ll come back to digital distribution of games in a bit and I?d like to side track to how publishers have been developing and releasing games.
Publishers do not like investing money in the unknown. There?s been a trend for the past 9 years, just like in the movie industry, to ?play it safe.? Games or developers that were highly successful get swallowed up by big publishers like Activision, Electronic Arts, or Ubisoft (and others) to fill their investor?s pockets with known successful game designs. Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Crysis, Silent Hunter, etc. Game publishers buy successful companies and have them develop sequels to these successful titles so they can reap the monetary benefits of their inevitable success. Let us look at Call of Duty:
Original Series
Call of Duty
Call of Duty: United Offensive
Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 3
Call of Duty: World at War
Modern Warfare series
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Black Ops series
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Console and handheld games
Call of Duty: Finest Hour
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
Call of Duty: Roads to Victory
Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized
Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies 1 and 2
Call of Duty: The War Collection
Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified
So, here we have one major contributor. Repetitive game titles that bring limited or no new content to Gamers. Why would we want to play something in 2012 that we already played in 2003? Consequently, once a title doesn?t perform well, the developer of that title gets split up, and occasionally redistributed throughout the publisher?s development staff, or fired. Hence, overall creativity bottoms out and slowly independent game developers get squashed by the big players.
Additionally, lets look at how publishers have released games in recent years. Let us use Creative Assembly (CA) as an example:
CA developed a major title called Shogun Total War (STW) in June 2000. It brought them huge success. They continued on to develop Medieval Total War (MTW), then Rome Total War (RTW), which was another major successful title. Then came Medieval 2: Total War (M2TW), followed by Empire: Total War (ETW). Throughout the development of each of the titles after Shogun was released, CA had to patched each game days and months after release. However, when a new title was released, issues from the previous title either migrated to the next one, or got progressively worse.
Consequently, ETW was not even in a working state on the day of release. Gamers spent the day pre-loading the game and when they entered the license key, the key was not recognized. This meant Gamers could not access their game. Now, one of ETW?s major selling points was ?Naval Battles? and Naval Invasions by the game?s super intelligent AI. Yet, those things were actually non-existent. Pathfinding for units was broken, the game AI was glitchy, etc. The list would be more reading than you already want to do. Some of these items were addressed months after release. Some game-play issues were not addressed at all, as if support for the game wasn?t even worth continuing.
Now consider that the previous titles had a full color fold-out map, a full color fold-out chart of skill and progression trees for ALL the units in the game and even had a poster. So, I decided to invest $70 in a Special Edition of ETW. You could imagine how I was a little perturbed.
I?m not even considering the fact, that CA advertised a ?special? map, a ?special? art booklet, a History Channel DVD of the Revolutionary War of 1775 and a special in-game unit you could use, with the Special Edition. The map was a pure black and white line drawing (not grey scale), like someone just traced a plain outline of the world. The DVD was really only a part one of an entire series and didn?t show much ?Total Warish? content at all. The 5 page mini-booklet of game development art had drawings that were plastered all over review websites that were offered the material as media content for their sites.
Consider please, that review magazines and websites, like PC Gamer, gave ETW a 9.4 rating! I honestly couldn?t see how they even played the same game. These issues weren?t just mine? hundreds if not thousands of buyers experienced the same things I did and posted their discontent on forums.
Since that day, I have refused to buy any title from CA on release day.
Now let us look at Digital Rights Management (DRM). In the days of Neuromancer (a PC game from 1988) we used to have in-game questions, that could only be answered by looking through pages in the game?s physical manual, that verified that we actually bought the game. There were code wheels, code charts that weren?t able to be copied on xerox machines because of the dark paper/lettering, etc. Then, game publishers started resorting to serial number and license keys, which progressed into true DRM such as Star Force, SecuROM and other almost malicious software that behaved like root-kit viruses. They were untraceable and you couldn?t remove them from your computer. Yet, if you had software installed, such as Daemon Tools, often used by pirates for mounting virtual CD/DVDs, it would prevent the game from starting, regardless if you had a real CD in the drive and the game previously authenticated fine with a legitimate key. Occasionally PCs would actually freeze, exhibit performance issues or even blue-screened without the ability to get back into the operating system, due to DRM such as SecuROM. To their credit, since those days, DRM vendors have become a bit more open and have given people the tools to remove their software or update it regularly to prevent major issues.
However, since DRM was so intrusive, digital distributors like Steam, Direct-2-Drive, and Impulse became vastly popular. Because of the high success of Steam, publishers opted to start using Steam as their distributor. Empire Total War for example, was available through Steam, yet you could also go to a brick-and-mortar store to purchase it as well. However, even though you had the physical disks and license key, you were required to use Steam to launch and run the game. We?ll get back to that particular point later.
Correspondingly, because of Steam?s awesome success as a digital distribution platform, it meant that publishers could use Steam?s service to increase sales and DRM to reduce piracy.
Because of this success publishers like EA and Ubisoft started development on their own distribution platform. EA had the EA Download Manager (EADM) to try to compete with the Steam platform and Ubisoft continued to utilize Steam for some time, and still does. Today, EA morphed EADM into the Origin service and Ubisoft created uPlay, both online digital distribution services.
Ubisoft also went a step further and developed a highly malicious DRM called OSP, or Online Services Platform, because of the bad reputation of SecuROM and Star Force. This meant games would require an internet connection to not only authenticate the game as being legitimate, via a license key and Ubisoft account, but also required the gamer to stay connected to the internet 100% of the time, or lose the ability to play the game.
OSP was first rolled out with Assassin?s Creed 2 and Silent Hunter 5, two highly successful Ubisoft titles. Since the use of OSP and the need for a persistent internet connection (which by the way was not, and in some cases still isn?t, listed in the game specifications before purchase), OSP has had nothing but problems because of infrastructure issues with Ubisoft?s authentication servers. A gamer could not even fathom the necessity to require an internet connection to play single player games like Assassin?s Creed 2 or Silent Hunter 5. Gamers couldn?t play the game they had purchased whenever and however they wanted. This was the primary reason why I?ve refused to buy any Ubisoft title since Assassin?s Creed 2, despite the fact that it is one of my favorite series, along with Silent Hunter.
I?ll also use my father as an example? a?US Air Force Lt. Colonel Retiree and avid RV traveler, my father loves Diablo, a single player game created by Blizzard. He played Diablo 2 into the dirt. Yet, when I explained to him, that Diablo 3 would require him to always be connected to the internet, he refused to buy it. He would not succumb to someone dictating when and where he could play his game.
Similarly, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft have done the same to their consumer base. They?ve plagued their ?fans? with beleaguering DRM and authentication requirements throughout the past 8 years. Legitimate buyers of entertainment software, Gamers, have been unduly burdened by the very people who should be kissing their feet for paying their salaries.
If publishers spent more time worrying about producing a solid, functional and working title, instead of trying to figure out more ways to restrict piracy (which they have managed to barely stave off to begin with, no matter what their analysts say), they might actually manage to increase their sales. One would also question their business strategies, considering that a popular series, a solid and very strong title like Battlefield 3, developed by Dice under EA, would require a 100 million dollar marketing campaign?
Instead, publishers like Ubisoft and EA followed in Sony?s footsteps and started amending their EULAs with Class Action Waiver clauses. Sony realized after their two month extended PSN (Playstation Network) outage, that they would reap the wrath of their users because of Sony?s own incompetence. It wasn?t the user?s fault that Sony had a network intrusion and 77 million user accounts, log-on accounts, including billing and private information were hacked. Yet, the new Class Action Waiver clause was added to their service after that incident so that the company could go about its business without too much of a blip, even if they screwed up to begin with.
Consequently, EA and Ubisoft followed suit. They added similar clauses, thereby limiting Gamers to only arbitrate on publisher?s terms.
Here?s a recent story that helps explain why this is a problem:
A friend of mine, a soon-to-be lawyer in Jacksonville, and a gamer, was in the Army. He played a game developed by Blizzard that had a gamer created modification called DOTA (Defense of the Ancients). To play the game, you?d have to log into Blizzard?s online network called BattleNet. Like many vets, my friend was stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq and he did not have access to play DOTA for several months. When he came back state-side he tried to log into BattleNet to play DOTA. However, his account appeared to be locked, so he contacted Blizzard?s technical support. They told him that his account was banned for cheating and that if he had issue with this, that he would have to fly to California and arbitrate with them to get his account reinstated. They accused him of cheating during the time he did not have access to the account.
I?m sure that my friend would not go to his law firm (where he was interning), and tell his boss that he?d like a few days leave to arbitrate with Blizzard over getting a video game account reinstated. Plus, the $500+ air fare and hotel stay and the stress of having to deal with an entire legal team vs just himself. Just to play a game he?d legally purchased? entertainment? something that is intended to be fun and enjoyable.
Now, let me come back to Valve and the Steam digital distribution service. Steam appeared to be the last vestige of a company that somewhat respected their consumers. Sure they pulled a fast one, required people to re-sign a new EULA, now called SSA, made people accept the fact that the game licenses they previously owned, now were ?subscriptions.? Steam recently announced a change to their SSA, stating that they, too, will include a Class Action Waiver clause.
Now, my games are not just ?not mine? anymore, but if something goes wrong and my account gets frozen or banned, I?ll lose access to over $3,000 worth of games and have to arbitrate over my reinstatement? I?ll lose access to $3,000 worth of games because I refuse to give up my right to use the power of the masses against the publisher? What about games that I have the physical software and license for, that I didn?t purchase through Steam, but require the use of Steam/Origin/uPlay to play?
Conversely, by all these requirements, more and more gamers consider piracy because they?re already being treated like criminals. Most people who have issues with, for example, Assassin Creed 2, and not being able to play it anywhere they want. Those Gamers may download a pirated, or cracked version, which will allow them to do exactly that. Gamers also go to sites that host game?s cracked executable files to allow games to run without the CD in the tray so they are not limited by publisher?s increasingly restrictive DRM.
Publisher?s Quality Assurance is virtually non-existent as is evident by games that are nearly unplayable on release.
Some publishers drop support of a game months after the release due to the flaws being a major money sink.
Publishers treat legitimate Gamers like criminals, dictating when and where their purchases can be used.
There is no legal precedent or judicial system to support Gamers if the above issues become problematic.
The real problem is, publishers don?t get it. The corporate world doesn?t get it. Hell, the legal world doesn?t care. There?s no protection out there for gamers?
Only the gamers get it, and they?re the ones being crapped on by the very people they?re trying to support.
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Now, if you survived through reading that, what are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think that I?m just freaking out, or should we really be worried? If you?re really worried and would like to make a difference, or at least be an informed gamer, I suggest checking out ReclaimYourGame.com and GamePolitics.com.
References:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/videogame-makers-seek-way-out-of-slump-2012-08-09
http://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.383297-The-actual-Effect-of-Steam-Sales-or-putting-that-one-EA-argument-to-rest
http://www.geek.com/articles/games/ubisoft-drops-drm-but-future-games-require-internet-connection-20100127/
http://bf3blog.com/2011/04/battlefield-3-launching-this-november-with-a-100-million-ad-campaign/
http://preview.tinyurl.com/game-publisher-5yr-financials
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Source: http://geeksmash.com/games/video-games/downward-spiral-of-gamers-rights-81312/
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By Ryan Nicholas ? ?? 08/15/2012
There are plenty of things to know about email marketing, and you?ll probably just scratch the surface even if you spend the rest of your career trying to keep up. Hence this Top 10 of 2012 list. We feel these are the 10 things you must commit to if ?you?re going to succeed.
The top 10 list was chosen by Google rankings, and are composed of our own tips with some advice from other top bloggers as well. If you?re only going to read one email marketing post all year, this is definitely the one. Email marketing is a major part of many businesses, so make sure you take a look to see if any of these articles catches your eye.
How does your email marketing data compare?
A look at recent email marketing data shares statistics on open rates and click-through rates.
Today we have more data to share on email marketing campaigns throughout 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. The findings come from more than 1,100 brands, sharing benchmark data related to their email marketing efforts. These numbers will help you compare your own email marketing statistics with those of other brands.
All the statistics shared below come from?2012 Silverpop Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study.
Open rates
The unique open rates for the US, Canada, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) had a mean of 20.1%; a median of 15.0%; a top quartile of 43.7%; and a bottom quartile of 8.0%.
See full article here
Email marketing stats: How does your company rate?
Email marketing continues to be a valuable resource online and updated statistics helps email marketers prepare accordingly.
Every time I come across stats related to email marketing activity, I get excited to share them with the community. Recently I read a benchmark report from Emarsys, which looks at tens of thousands of email campaigns from over 1,000 companies. They?ve been updating this report over the past five years, so there?s comparison data included. Take a look at some of the findings below.
Bounce rate decreases
Over the course of the last few years, email marketers have been clearly paying more attention to improving bounce rates. As of 2009, the reported average bounce rate was 3.08%. In 2011, that number dropped to 1.84%. B2C companies have consistently reported lower bounce rates compared to B2B companies over this time (1.73% and 2.49%, respectively).
See the full article here
Simple email marketing tips & advice from top bloggers
Email marketing isn?t always easy. These days there?s so much junk email that it can be very hard to get your readers to open emails, let alone create a connection with them. Below are a few articles that should help improve your overall email marketing techniques to hopefully avoid people thinking your emails are a waste of time.
An insider?s guide to write powerful & simple emails
Many small businesses struggle with email marketing. Specifically, they often freak out at the idea of writing an email marketing campaign, let alone one email to their customers. I want to share how to get laser-focused on your target audience of your emails and offer several techniques to write simple and powerful emails that motivate your audience to act on your email marketing campaign.
The first thing I want to dispel is a myth that you?ve probably been told over and over again ? the myth is that you need a giant list in order to be successful. This simply isn?t true.
See the full article here
Email marketing focuses on engagement
Email marketing advice helps put actions in perspective.
I?ve been scouring the Internet for email marketing advice that focuses on the holistic approach. It?s nice to find a variety of opinions on an all-encompassing strategy for creating a database of email subscribers because it?s this information that will help publishers succeed in the digital age.
One recent?article compared email marketers to Olympic decathletes. As a fitting topic for this summer?s Olympic games, the author says, ?Top email marketers need to understand consumer behavior with social media, and how interplay between social and email can be used to create stronger email programs and enhanced social experiences.?
See the full article here
Email marketing tips for relationship-building
Are you having trouble gaining customers through email? Here are a few tips and advice from top bloggers on ways to communicate better through email.
To me, the hottest and sexiest social network right now is your inbox. Sure, I love Pinterest as much as the next guy (who likes Ryan Gosling?s abs), and I think it?s great that Zuck took the company public, made people angry for wearing a hoodie to Wall Street, and then got married. You already know I?m down with?Google+. But if you want to know the hottest opportunity in the world? It?s the inbox. Your inbox.
I?ve talked about this in speeches often, but I realize that I?ve not covered it on my site, so here you go.
See the full article here
Making waves with email marketing
Many people look at ?making waves? as a bad thing. It?s used to describe the creation of a disturbance or controversy. Today however, the only disturbance we?re discussing is the way to make favorable changes to your email marketing program.
Since the majority of email relationships begin at your website, there?s a need to not only have your landing pages designed with the intent of converting, it?s also important to have pages designed to facilitate the email relationship.
In this article I will discuss five areas of email marketing that represent a better user experience. These elements of email marketing are often website based, and will help email marketers develop better relationships with their audience members.
See the full article here
Using good journalism to build your email marketing list
With balanced content, audience members will be more apt to sign up for updates through email newsletters.
Google?s Penguin update, which rolled out in late April, brings a major question to mind: How balanced should my content creation be?
As we?ve seen, Google is hitting some websites hard, making them lose significant amounts of search traffic in the process. And in some of these instances, it doesn?t appear that black hat SEO is present. It does seem however, that Google is forcing content creators and digital publishers to go out and do a better job as a journalist.
For instance, one of the activities being penalized by Google is unnatural linking. This may include an excessive amount of affiliate links, exact match anchor text links, and cross-linking from your other sites.
These linking endeavors don?t really scream black hat SEO, but at the same time, they aren?t journalistically sound. Good journalists find multiple sources in their marketplace and they provide strong commentary on the breaking news that others share. They aren?t myopic.
See the full article here
The 14 best words that get people to open email
Last week I watched?The Science of Email Marketing hosted by an analytics nerd I admire, Dan Zarella.
In the webinar, he said bluntly, ?I would rather have an email?subscriber?than a Twitter follower.? We?d like to think it?s because email subscribers respond better to promotions, but according to Dan?s presentation, email and Twitter are almost equal in terms of lead generation. Still, our Twitter followers are often?fair weather?friends, aren?t they?
Dan reminded businesses that since 88% of people use their work email as their main email address, so email subject lines can?t be boring.??You?re competing with baby pictures and?invitations?to dinner,? he said.
Boring, jargon-y words like ?evaluation,? ?soon,? ?administration,? ?liked,? ?please,? ?minutes? and ?enjoyed? were the most common in top?unopened?emails.
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15 email marketing tips from 3 top email gurus
Looking for some help with email marketing? Here are a few tips that may help you not only get your emails opened, but might also help capture your readers attention after opening.
The four words that will get your email opened:
?You are not alone??In
two and a half years of sending all kinds of emails to all kinds of lists, the simple phrase ?You are not alone? is the most-opened subject line I?ve ever seen ? by far.
Because Aweber counts each email that?s been opened, even if they?re from the same user, that single subject line has had an average open rate of?90%, and has surpassed the 100% mark?several times.
See the full article here
Using video in conjunction with email marketing
Email marketing is used by 78% of marketers. Similarly, email newsletters are used by 59% of marketers. These stats were reported by eMarketer, and they came from a survey from Chief Marketer, which was released in late April. Out of all the marketing efforts listed, email marketing and email newsletters were used the most.
The popularity of email marketing is clear. Marketers and consumers both use the medium. And as opportunities develop, email marketing takes on new potential.
One such opportunity is using email to share video content. Since videos are rarely, if ever, placed directly in emails, email marketers need to use another way to utilize the growing popularity behind video. As it currently stands, video is hovering on mass-market status.?eMarketer predicts spending on online video advertising alone will reach $3.12 billion in 2012. This is an increase of 54.7% since 2011.
See the full article here
Posted in Email Marketing
Source: http://www.mequoda.com/articles/email-marketing/top-10-email-marketing-tips-advice-of-2012/
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