Wednesday 26 November 2014

Carina Nebula in Argo Navis constellation Canvas Prints

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A gorgeous design. Click to customize and personalize. Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it?


tagged with: stretch frame, carina nebula, argos navis constellation, carina the keel, star formation, galaxies and stars, gas clouds, ngc 3372, hrbstslr carnebngcttst, hrfptraz wallart

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hubble's view of the Carina Nebula shows star birth in a new level of detail. The fantasy-like landscape of the nebula is sculpted by the action of outflowing winds and scorching ultraviolet radiation from the monster stars that inhabit this inferno. In the process, these stars are shredding the surrounding material that is the last vestige of the giant cloud from which the stars were born. The immense nebula is an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina the Keel (of the old southern constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts, from Greek mythology).
The original image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken in the light of ionized hydrogen. Colour information was added with data taken at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission.

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image code: carnebngcttst

Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope; colour data from the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile

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Cute ponies for the bedroom and school

Black Cartoon Shetland Pony Love Hearts Stretched Canvas PrintBrown Pinto Cartoon Shetland Pony MacBook Air SleevesBlue Roan Cartoon Shetland Pony Courier Bags

Cute ponies for the bedroom and school

If you know a boy or girl who loves ponies then here's a collection that should give you some gift ideas.
Any boy or girl will love them - some for bedroom and some for school. Which of these would be best?

Click the image for more details and to buy. You'll also see more designs from the artist there.

Man Vs. Machine: Get Better Sales by Keeping Marketing Automation Human

Blogging with purpose

original post »
Image via Flickr user Peyri Herrera

Image via Flickr user Peyri Herrera

This is a guest contribution from Veronica Taylor.

Marketing automation without a human element is just a robot on autopilot. Before, during and after each automated campaign it is essential for real people to plan, edit and review. When campaigns aren’t working, they need to be tested and updated. Most people think of marketing automation as efficient yet impersonal. When used correctly, however, most automated marketing solutions now provide the possibility for highly targeted messages based on each customer’s personal interests, preferences and history. Here are a few tips for making your automated campaigns efficient and dynamic while also building stronger connections with your customers.

Have a Specific Goal

For each campaign you create, it is essential to know what you are trying to accomplish. Are you seeking more new signups? Trying to get leads to download your whitepaper? Simply raising awareness about your business or an upcoming event? If you have automated messages going out to customers but you don’t have a clear idea of what results you are trying to measure, you will not know if the campaign was successful. You won’t know which messages were effective and which ones need to be changed. If you are not measuring the response to your messages, you are not listening to your customers. The automated campaign will continue to run robotically, with no edits or improvements. Know what you are trying to achieve. If it’s not working, update it.

Survey and Track Customers

The best way to give marketing automation a personal touch is to use it to its full potential. Marketing automation now has the capability to track and store each individual customer’s preferences, history, important dates, interests, personal information and much more. With this wealth of data, it is possible to automatically create highly personally targeted campaigns for each customer. This way, the customer receives information that is directly relevant to them, making the experience much more personal. You can send out automated appointment date reminders, bill payment notifications, birthday messages, personalized promotions and so on. This type of personalized messaging builds stronger connections and reduces customer churn. When you want to update your customer information in order to provide even better targeted messages, survey customers to learn more and keep information up to date.

Know When to Write a Personal Message

Sometimes automation just isn’t appropriate. There are many instances in business where it is essential to take the time to manually write a message or a response to a customer. In these cases, a prompt message sent by a real person has a much greater impact than an automated message ever could. These are just a few examples: when a customer makes a very large purchase and you want to thank them with a special discount or free product/service, when a customer has been with you for years and you want to show your appreciation, when a customer takes the time to write to you with feedback, questions or comments, when you make a mistake with a customer’s bill, purchase or account, when a customer has a complaint, and when you have time to make personal comments on social media (automated social media management saves oodles of time, but you absolutely need real posts or tweets thrown in).

Review and Analyze

As mentioned before, if you don’t keep track of how customers are responding to your automated messages you are simply letting a robot control your marketing, which is going to show in your sales. Real people are essential to a marketing strategy because they try different things when they see something isn’t working as well as they had hoped. One of the greatest advantages humans have over machines is that they take chances and make mistakes rather than doing the same thing over and over again. The best way to increase revenue, boost customer life span and attract new customers is to listen to what your customers want. Automated marketing solutions provide you with all the data you will ever want. Keep a close eye on your reports, open rates, unsubscribes and other data. Review your campaign data after each campaign you send. Learn what customers respond to, learn what they don’t want and learn how to react positively when you need to make a change.

To summarize:

Your marketing is ultimately in your hands. Marketing automation makes it possible for businesses to save time and money, reduce the daily effort their staff has to put in and connect more effectively with their customers. Marketing automation is a powerful tool, but like any other tool it needs a skilled operator to make it work.

Veronica Taylor, Assistant Marketing Manager at SimplyCastenjoys writing about small business marketing, improving communication strategies, social media trends and more.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
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Man Vs. Machine: Get Better Sales by Keeping Marketing Automation Human

Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

Man Vs. Machine: Get Better Sales by Keeping Marketing Automation Human
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Architectural Landmarks Created with Bicycle Tire Tracks by Thomas Yang

Fun and Random

Architectural Landmarks Created with Bicycle Tire Tracks by Thomas Yang tires posters and prints bicycles architecture

Architectural Landmarks Created with Bicycle Tire Tracks by Thomas Yang tires posters and prints bicycles architecture

Architectural Landmarks Created with Bicycle Tire Tracks by Thomas Yang tires posters and prints bicycles architecture

Architectural Landmarks Created with Bicycle Tire Tracks by Thomas Yang tires posters and prints bicycles architecture

Architectural Landmarks Created with Bicycle Tire Tracks by Thomas Yang tires posters and prints bicycles architecture

Architectural Landmarks Created with Bicycle Tire Tracks by Thomas Yang tires posters and prints bicycles architecture

Architectural Landmarks Created with Bicycle Tire Tracks by Thomas Yang tires posters and prints bicycles architecture

Earlier this year we mentioned Thomas Yang over at 100copies used the prints from bicycle tire treads to create a poster of the Empire State Building. Yang has since explored three additional landmarks around the world that merge his passion for cycling and architecture including depictions of the Eiffel Tower, the Tower Bridge, and China’s Forbidden City. While it appears the individual prints are sold out, they are still available as a full set. (via Arch Atlas)

 
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 » see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/colossal/~3/L8CuJH8BEIA/

Explore Eight New Mind-Bending Worlds in Monument Valley’s ‘Forgotten Shores’

Fun and Random

Explore Eight New Mind Bending Worlds in Monument Valleys Forgotten Shores video games iPhone iPad

Explore Eight New Mind Bending Worlds in Monument Valleys Forgotten Shores video games iPhone iPad

It’s rare that we stop to consider apps and video games on Colossal, but when we do, it’s with good reason. Monument Valley (previously), a gorgeously designed Escheresque puzzle game for iOS, just released eight new levels, collectively titled Forgotten Shores. Over the last few months Monument Valley has proven so popular and ground-breaking that it picked up an Apple Design Award, released a soundtrack, and turned 10 of its levels into an open edition of giclée prints. I spent some time with my six-year-old son working through Forgotten Shores last night, and it’s every bit as fun and innovative as the first release. Get it here.

 
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 » see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/colossal/~3/X_tSXKrOIfY/