VCs passing on consoles in favor of mobile - GamesIndustry.biz

Venture capital fund OMERS Ventures was started last year with $200 million and a mandate to invest in technology, media, and telecommunications. The fund's portfolio now includes investments in HootSuite, BuildDirect, Wattpad, and more, but nothing in the gaming industry. That's likely to change soon, as OMERS is actively looking for gaming upstarts to invest in.

OMERS Ventures associate Bram Sugarman spoke at the Montreal International Game Summit to describe the sort of partner the company is looking for. He said OMERS wants to put its money behind disruptive industry dynamics, massive market opportunities, and people who are the best at what they do. While the talk itself was targeted for an audience with an intermediate understanding of the field, Sugarman sat down with GamesIndustry International afterward to discuss frequently misunderstood fundamentals, from the role OMERS sees itself playing in the industry ecosystem to the biggest mistakes people make when approaching the firm for funding.

Q: Suppose someone has a game company they want to get off the ground. What's the first step?

Bram Sugarman: The first step is really building product. These days with the lowered barriers to entry, you're talking about people with talent who have the capabilities to build something with the hardware they've got. If you're talking Apple App Store, it's a $100 developer license. If you want to do Android, it's free. It doesn't take much. People is kind of the biggest cost, and maybe the opportunity cost of [not having another] employer, making sure you're focused on it full time.

Square one is building a product and understanding what it means to go to market. It's important for companies getting off the ground to understand that full end-to-end chain, really understanding not only what it's like to build a product from a coding perspective but also how to go to market with it, what it means to launch in the App Store, what their processes are, and even having a keen eye toward what it means to utilize different distribution channels and user acquisition channels

"Venture capital is all about building companies. Building really large-scale companies is what we're looking to invest in."

Bram Sugarman

Q: So once they've got some of that down, how do they choose whether to look for venture capital, go with Kickstarter, indie incubators? It seems like there are a lot more options out there than ever before.

Bram Sugarman: Yeah, and that's exciting. Kickstarter's a really exciting one and that will help a lot of great games get built. But venture capital is all about building companies. Building really large-scale companies is what we're looking to invest in. So Kickstarter's a great option if it's, "we're looking to build a great game and see what happens there." There are also partnerships. What's exciting for me is that we've seen really rapidly the move toward a couple publishers looking to launch as go-to-market partners for some great studios. There's a company out of Toronto called Massive Damage that just decided to partner with ngmoco. You're seeing Zynga emerge on the publisher side of things.

Q: Do you find yourself having to compete against angel investors or indie incubators?

Bram Sugarman: No. One of our founding principles is to be a great partner for the ecosystem. Partnering is a big part of our strategy, working with incubators or angel investors. When we come in on our first investments, we do these investments that are about $500,000 and are sometimes seed investments. We hope to be involved with angel investors in a lot of those deals. We think it shows a lot of great partners can be around the table. Those people are great parts of the ecosystem and it's not a winner-takes-all kind of thing.

Q: What are the things you most want to see in a prospective company seeking funding?

Bram Sugarman: For us, we look at the companies that people can build. We're looking for those really big $1 billion companies, lots of heads, lots of people being hired, lots of big company ambitions. It's really about understanding that end-to-end funnel about how you go to market from a user acquisition perspective, how you understand game mechanics and design from a user retention perspective, and how you actually generate revenue from a user monetization perspective. A really deep understanding of those three categories is specifically what we look for.

Q: So you really want those parts of the puzzle solved before they get to you?

Bram Sugarman: At least be thinking critically about those parts of the puzzle. There are a lot of great businesses to be built around understanding one or two subsets of those categories. But at least show critical thinking around those. To me what's exciting about a lot of the opportunities today is that a lot of these things haven't been figured out. There's no playbook out there. There's no go-to strategy for a lot of this, so critical thinking on what the possibilities are gets exciting.

Q: What are the biggest mistakes you see people make when they're looking for venture capital funding?

Bram Sugarman: Not understanding what it fully means to go to market. People saying, "I've got this great idea for a game. I'm highly creative, highly talented, and haven't built anything yet. Here's my idea; I'd love to raise a whole bunch of money." That's the biggest mistake, not really understanding what those steps are along the way. And those could include in-house expertise or partnering with people.

"I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many funds looking at console gaming as an investment opportunity, similarly with some of the portables and similarly, but definitely not to the same degree, on Facebook."

Bram Sugarman

Q: Have issues like the slump in packaged game sales, the decline of dedicated portables, or the slump in social games impacted venture capital interests in the game industry?

Bram Sugarman: For sure. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many funds looking at console gaming as an investment opportunity, similarly with some of the portables and similarly, but definitely not to the same degree, on Facebook. I think maybe opportunities have changed on a platform like Facebook, but I think what you'll probably see over the next two to three years in terms of venture investments will probably be focused on mobile.

Q: So smartphones and free-to-play are the huge areas of opportunity. That seems like the conventional stance on where the opportunity lies. Is that not an issue when you're trying to find the next disruptive breakout success and you're chasing something everyone's chasing right now?

Bram Sugarman: Yeah, and I think that speaks to fully being a critical thinker around the repercussions of that. In a broad sense, it's what everybody's chasing, absolutely. But I really think there's a massive opportunity out there. I don't think we've reached full penetration from a mobile perspective or a free-to-play perspective. There's a lot of room to grow, and there will be a lot of great companies built. There will be stiff competition, so we really talk about those critical thinkers and the ability to be better than everyone else in the marketplace at those key characteristics. It's that type of thinking that will build the greatest companies.

Q: During your MIGS talk, you said venture capital isn't for everyone, that you have to want somebody to take a substantial portion of the company and at some point tell you what to do?

Bram Sugarman: [Laughs] There's a lot of sarcasm in that statement. It's not really a large portion of the company, ranging from 5 percent to 25 or 30 percent, depending on the company. And there are a huge amount of factors that go into that. And the "tell you what to do part" isn't really telling you what to do. It's really a partnership, and having voices around the table is the situation you want to be attuned to when you're raising capital. We can get in tons of arguments and tons of agreements, but at the end of the day, we know we're always working toward the same goal.

"Raising external capital, especially from venture funds, is about building your idea from being something today to something 10, 20, 30, 50-fold of what you're building tomorrow."

Bram Sugarman

The idea of venture capital isn't for everybody. It's really about scalability. If your goal is to build a great business for yourself, there are lots of opportunities out there. Raising external capital, especially from venture funds, is about building your idea from being something today to something 10,20, 30, 50-fold of what you're building tomorrow.

Q: Is there one key piece of advice you'd give to anyone considering this?

Bram Sugarman: Don't be afraid to test things. One thing we're seeing is that rapid iteration cycles and the relatively low cost of development has enabled people to just get out there and try things. The older mentality is that we have to perfect everything before it goes out to market. But if you have an idea, just go out there and test it. The market will tell you whether it's a product they want or possibly not. But the faster you can do things, the better off you'll be.

Q: Thanks for your time.

Source: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-11-21-venture-capital-for-beginners

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Mars is safe from radiation - but the trip there isn't

You needn't fry on Mars. Readings from NASA's Curiosity rover suggest radiation levels on the Red Planet are about the same as those in low Earth orbit, where astronauts hang out for months on the International Space Station. A Mars visit would still be dangerous though, due to the years-long return trip.

Unlike Earth, Mars has no magnetosphere shielding it from solar and galactic radiation. But it does have a thin atmosphere, and readings from two of Curiosity's instruments suggest this provides some protection.

"This is the first ever measurement of the radiation environment on any planet other than Earth," Curiosity team member Don Hassler said at a press briefing on 15 November. "Astronauts can live in this environment."

The rover's weather station recorded evidence of what is known as a thermal tide on Mars. Sunlight heats the planet's atmosphere on the side facing the sun, causing it to expand upwards and triggering a decrease in air pressure. But things chill quickly on the other side, so that the atmosphere deflates and becomes denser.

As Mars rotates, the bulge of heated air travels with the "day" side from east to west. Curiosity feels this effect as changes in air pressure over the course of a Martian day, rover scientist Claire Newman of Ashima Research in California said during the briefing.

Radiation shield

At the same time, the rover's radiation monitor saw daily dips in charged particles that match the increases in air pressure that come with a denser atmosphere. "The atmosphere is acting as a shield to radiation," Hassler said.

The scientists were not ready to put numbers to the daily radiation dose people would experience on Mars. But the overall levels are lower than those the spacecraft carrying Curiosity recorded during its interplanetary flight, and about what astronauts see on the ISS.

"It's roughly what we were expecting," astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell of University College London told New Scientist.

The biggest threat to Mars voyagers would be the cumulative radiation exposure during the long trip. NASA estimates that a return human mission to Mars would take three years. During that time astronauts might receive more than seven times the radiation dose they get during six months on the ISS.

Setting limits

Building up radiation exposure increases the risk of developing various cancers, so NASA has set limits on how much total radiation astronauts can experience over the course of their careers. Figuring out the exact risk on Mars is crucial to understanding the total dose a human mission would face and whether it is within safe limits, Hassler said.

Solar flares would also be a problem. On Earth these eruptions of charged particles from the sun are largely deflected by the magnetosphere. But Mars enjoys no such protection, and since Curiosity has yet to see a flare, it is unclear how much shielding the thin atmosphere would provide. '

Dartnell suggests that a base or colony on Mars could be built underground to avoid surface radiation. Or, with enough advance warning, astronauts could retreat to protective shelters during a flare. But is all that trouble worth it just to send humans where robots already thrive?

"An astronaut or geologist that's trained in science that has a brain and a pair of hands and pair of eyes with a rock hammer can do a lot more on the surface on Mars before breakfast than a robot can do in weeks," says Dartnell.

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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95% The House I Live In

All Critics (44) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (2)

The House I Live In is a work of journalism, not propaganda: Jarecki has done his research and leaves it to you to decide what to make of it.

If [it] takes a while to focus, it eventually becomes the conversation starter the subject desperately needs.

Jarecki takes a highly original approach to create a compelling, thought-provoking look at a highly relevant and controversial topic.

An absorbing, disturbing sit.

It's a film as profoundly sad as it is enraging and potentially galvanizing, and it's one of the most important pieces of nonfiction to hit the screen in years.

Jarecki's case is so compelling that, when he concludes by comparing the drug war to the Holocaust, the obvious charge of hyperbole doesn't quite stick.

An angry and personal attack on America's war on drugs contends it is a grotesquely wasteful public-works scheme.

Jarecki is a stickler for sticking to his subject, or sub-subject, until it squeals like a leech victim.

Jarecki offers 100 small conclusions rather than one big one for you to take away.

This urgent and formidably smart movie - perhaps the year's most important political documentary - has opened minds and changed laws already.

Tells a complex story with troubling ease.

Persuasively argues that punitive laws against users have historically involved disproportionately targeting poor, non-white communities.

Jarecki's parade of experts and eyewitnesses is impressive, as are his arguments that race and class prejudice enter into the policing efforts of America's drug warriors.

Jarecki's conclusion is powerfully plausible

There's no confusion about Jarecki's point of view in The House I Live In- he's out to make the case that America's drug laws cause far more damage, to individuals and communities, than drug use ever has

The film deserves credit for offering a unique perspective on a relevant social issue.

The House I Live In is depressing stuff, but it sparks the fires of anger, and from that anger, possible action.

This film could serve as a potent tool for those trying to change 40 years of public policy.

A thought-provoking, compelling documentary that encourages you to look at our national drug policy in a broader context.

Statistics abound in this thorough analysis of the declared war [on drugs] that, like Vietnam, we are losing.

A devastating dispatch from the front lines of America's war on drugs, the film tracks the rise of the prison-industrial complex as masterfully as the filmmaker's previous work took on its older military-industrial cousin.

You will hear a Lincoln historian, Richard Lawrence Miller, compare the War on Drugs to the Holocaust and be convinced. Then Jarecki finds a Lexington, Oklahoma corrections officer who finds his way to many of this man's same conclusions.

No quotes approved yet for The House I Live In. Logged in users can submit quotes.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_house_i_live_in/

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Breakaway unions strike across Argentina

Workers block with burning tires a bridge leading to Buenos Aires during a general strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Argentina?s biggest unions are holding their first national strike against President Cristina Fernandez to demand a higher minimum wage and protest against rising inflation, among other demands.(AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Workers block with burning tires a bridge leading to Buenos Aires during a general strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Argentina?s biggest unions are holding their first national strike against President Cristina Fernandez to demand a higher minimum wage and protest against rising inflation, among other demands.(AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

People wait in line for a bus during a general strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Argentina's biggest unions are holding their first national strike against President Cristina Fernandez to demand a higher minimum wage and protest against rising inflation, among other demands.(AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

A man enters to an empty subway station during a nationwide 24-hour general strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is facing a nationwide strike, led by union bosses who once were her most steadfast supporters. Many trains and bus lines are paralyzed; banks, courts and schools are closed; airlines have canceled flights and small groups of people have blocked highways in about a dozen places around the capital. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Tourists sit with their luggage at the airport as they wait for the rescheduling of their flights during a nationwide 24-hour general strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is facing a nationwide strike, led by union bosses who once were her most steadfast supporters. Many trains and bus lines are paralyzed; banks, courts and schools are closed; airlines have canceled flights and small groups of people have blocked highways in about a dozen places around the capital. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

The ticket offices of the Retiro train station stand empty where a poster of Argentina's soccer player Lionel Messi hangs above during a nationwide 24-hour general strike in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is facing a nationwide strike, led by union bosses who once were her most steadfast supporters. Many trains and bus lines are paralyzed; banks, courts and schools are closed; airlines have canceled flights and small groups of people have blocked highways in about a dozen places around the capital. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

(AP) ? Argentine President Cristina Fernandez faced a nationwide strike on Tuesday, led by the union bosses who used to be her most steadfast supporters.

Many workers stayed home as the strike made commuting a puzzle, with some trains and bus lines paralyzed and small groups of people blocking highways in about a dozen places around the capital. Banks, courts and many schools were closed, many hospitals offered only emergency services, most Argentine flights were canceled and garbage wasn't being picked up.

But in other ways, it was a normal day in Buenos Aires, where cafes and small stores stayed open.

The strike was called as a political show of force by truckers union boss Pablo Moyano, the longtime leader of Argentina's vast General Workers' Federation, and one of the closest allies of the president's late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.

Moyano and some other union leaders broke away from Fernandez this year as she tried to contain the demands of a now-divided labor movement by supporting a rival slate in union elections. He has increasingly appeared alongside her political opponents since then, speaking out against the government he long championed.

As his strikers tried to snarl traffic on Tuesday, Moyano said their demands include "the total elimination of income taxes," as well as other new salary hikes and benefits.

The point is to make the Fernandez administration understand that it "can't manage the country in the way that it does, without providing answers, with authoritarian attitudes, imposing everything and defying all the world," Moyano said in an interview with Argentina's Channel 13.

Fernandez, meanwhile, called on workers to act responsibly and defend all she's accomplished for workers in Argentina, rather than return to a past when a relative few enjoyed the benefits of economic growth.

"The first ones to become hungry or be left without jobs will be the workers," she warned in a posting Tuesday on her official Facebook page. "That's why I want to call on my comrades, the workers, to show great responsibility and defend, not my government ? not at all ? but the political project that has generated more than 5.5 million jobs."

Most union workers won pay hikes of 25 percent or more this year, in line with what private analysts say is Argentina's true annual inflation rate, much higher than the 10 percent a year cited by the government's widely discredited inflation index.

For most, those pay hikes put them over the threshold to begin paying income taxes, something many lower-paid workers never had to do before. For a single worker, that annual salary threshold is about $15,600. Tax rates then rise from zero to 35 percent, with most workers losing about a fourth of their take-home pay to income taxes.

"The government should stop robbing workers with the income tax," said the Workers' Party leader Nestor Pitrola, who joined a blockade of the Pueyreddon bridge over the Riachuelo river, a key access point from the south.

Most flights were grounded in Argentina, frustrating tourists at Buenos Aires' downtown airport, where machinists' union leader Ricardo Cirielli said 100 percent of the workers who maintain the jets of Aerolineas Argentinas and LAN Argentina were on strike. Other international carriers weren't affected, he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-11-20-Argentina-Strike/id-926afd0fe7cb4b8b81fbab53d2518de7

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Rebels pledge to 'liberate' Congo after seizing city

James Akena / Reuters

A United Nations peacekeepers' armored vehicle drives past rebels patrolling a street in Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after they captured the city from the government army on Tuesday.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo -- Rebel forces in eastern Congo said Wednesday they planned to take control of the entire country after capturing the city of Goma as United Nations peacekeepers looked on.

A spokesman for the M23 rebels -- a group widely believed to be backed by Rwanda -- said they planned to "liberate" the country by marching on the capital, Kinshasa, nearly 1,000 miles away.

The rebels had previously said they were seeking talks with Democratic Republic of Congo's President Joseph Kabila.

"The journey to liberate Congo has started now ... We're going to move on to Bukavu and then to Kinshasa. Are you ready to join us?" Vianney Kazarama, spokesman for the M23 rebels, told a crowd of more than 1,000 in a stadium in Goma.

PhotoBlog: Congo police surrender as rebels take control of Goma

Goma fell Tuesday when hundreds of rebel fighters poured into the city and government troops melted away after sporadic gunfire.

Rebels used local radio and television stations to appeal for calm, but there are fears of human rights abuses and tens of thousands of people had already fled days of fighting between the rebels and U.N.-backed Congolese soldiers.

Rebel soldiers attack Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels are allegedly backed by Rwanda and threaten troops backed by United Nations peacekeepers. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

Rebel army seizes control of Congo city as UN peacekeepers do nothing

The M23 rebellion has aggravated tensions between Congo and its neighbor Rwanda, which Kinshasa's government says is orchestrating the insurgency as a means of grabbing the region's mineral wealth, which includes diamonds, gold and coltan, a metal used in mobile phones.

While conflict has simmered almost constantly in Congo's east in recent years, this is the first time Goma has fallen to rebels since foreign occupying armies officially pulled out under peace deals at the end of the most recent 1998-2003 war, dubbed "Africa's World War" because so many countries became involved.?

Aid agencies have estimated that 5 million people have died from fighting and conflict-related disease since the 1998 war began.

Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

Twelve-year-old amputee Kakule Elie, who was hit by a stray bullet, lies in a bed in a hospital in Goma Tuesday.

Congo rebel clashes stoke fears of broader conflict

Diplomats at the United Nations and regional mediators in Central Africa have been seeking to prevent an escalation of hostilities in Congo, which is the size of Western Europe.

Kabila and Rwandan Paul Kagame were due to meet later on Wednesday after holding three-way talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni late on Tuesday, sources in the Ugandan presidency said.

Rights group blasts Rwanda winning seat on UN Security Council

In New York, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution late on Tuesday condemning the seizure of Goma and demanding that M23?s forces should withdraw and disband.

The council also expressed "deep concern at reports indicating that external support continues to be provided to the M23.?

Hague war crimes court to finds Congo warlord guilty

The French government expressed frustration with U.N. peacekeepers, who gave up the battle for the city of a million people after Congo's army retreated, saying it was "absurd" that the U.N. force did not protect the city.

"MONUSCO [the U.N. force] is 17,000 soldiers, but sadly it was not in a position to prevent what happened," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said of the U.N.'s Congo mission. "It is necessary that the MONUSCO mandate is reviewed."

Congo crisis exacerbated by heavy rains

But a senior U.N. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the withdrawal of civilian and military Congolese officials had left a void it could not fill alone.

"We're not the army of any country, let alone the Congolese army, and it's not for us to take positions by ourselves to stop a rebel attack or the movement of rebels," the official said. "Our job is to protect civilians.?

Reuters contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/21/15328515-rebels-pledge-to-liberate-congo-after-seizing-city?lite

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#8: OMNIMOUNT Product-OMNIMOUNT TRIA 2 B Tria 2-Shelf Wall ...

OMNIMOUNT Product-OMNIMOUNT TRIA 2 B Tria 2-Shelf Wall Furniture System (Black) by OmniMount Date first available at Amazon.com: September 1, 2012 (Visit the Hot New Releases in Home Theater Systems list for authoritative information on this product?s current rank.)

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50 Cent takes swing at promoting boxing in Nevada

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Rapper and entrepreneur 50 Cent is taking a swing at promoting boxing in Nevada.

Nevada Athletic Commission executive Keith Kizer said Monday the entertainer and businessman whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III won approval last week for a promoter's license.

The company is called SMS Promotions. It's handling a Dec. 8 bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas between Cuban-born Miami-based boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa and an opponent yet to be named.

Messages left Monday with the company in New York City weren't returned.

Kizer says 50 Cent and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. had been talking about forming a promotions company called TMT Promotions.

But the rapper told the commission those plans fell through, and the fledgling business was being absorbed by SMS Promotions.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/50-cent-takes-swing-promoting-boxing-nevada-010409668--spt.html

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Determing the best Copywriting Companies | Hugo Hosting

It?s easy to demonstrate that the right copywriting services may have a really positive effect on business results. But if you select the wrong copywriter, you might end up spending a good deal of money for a very average or even a poor outcome.Many people put up a web site and call themselves freelance copywriters, but however that?s number assurance they?ve a true understanding of how to produce copy that drives real-world business goals.So, how do you decide which copywriter will soon be able to supply you with powerful copywriting services?In my opinion, it is as simple as asking the best questions!1.) Do you?ve any professional experience as a copywriter? You had be surprised at how many people may react in the negative. I think, the fact somebody hasn?t worked as a professional copywriter on the company payroll doesn?t always ensure they will be considered a bad decision. But, it is much more likely somebody who has been settled with time by a firm has had to show their worth available. Ponder over it playing the odds. I will function as first to admit there are amazing self-taught authors out there, but there are many more who are, honestly, terrible.2. )Do you have any experience in my own specific subject? Yet again, I would maybe not disqualify someone quickly if they answer ?no.? A great copywriter ideas, researches and then gift ideas the proper information to the market. By no means is particular experience essential, but when someone comes with experience writing for your field, I had lean toward that prospect. I would say there?s one exception where I probably wouldn?t retain a copywriter that did not have a specific back ground and that is in a very complex or specially complicated field.3.) Do you have testimonials? This can be a big one and assuming you are running a business, I am sure you understand. If your specialist hasn?t been able to get any recommendations from satisfied customers, I had be quite hesitant about employing him or her. The fact is, it is simple for someone to talk about how exactly wonderful they?re. I?m a whole lot more impressed when another person is getting their popularity on the range by promoting a certain company provider.4.) Is it possible to show me some samples? Much like testimonies, samples give actual reliability in my own eyes. It means the individual you are speaking to really has work they?re proud to show. Ask them when they have any examples which are in line with the task you had like them to perform. Some authors are professionals and others just do not have any experience in the specific form of writing you might need. For example, there is an important difference between producing a case study and a quick email blast.Simply asking several brief questions can provide an entire pile to you of details about your possible copywriter. It?ll probably save a whole lot to you of time, stress and money. Good luck in your look for the right copywriting services!

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  2. American Writers & Artists Inc. Announces Direct-Response Legend Joe Sugarman Will Speak at its 2011 Copywriting Bootcamp
  3. American Writers & Artists Inc. Announces Dates in the 2012 Copywriting Bootcamp and Job Fair
  4. Loffler Companies Named by Minnesota Business Magazine as One of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in Minnesota 2012
  5. Direct Mail Examples ? 8 Secrets Of Direct Mail Copywriting!

Source: http://www.hugohosting.com/determing-the-best-copywriting-companies.html

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CelebVillage: Tia Mowry: Yes, My Son Co-Sleeps with Us!

In her exclusive blog for the iVillage series CelebVillageactress Tia Mowry -- who stars on the Style Network reality show Tia & Tamera -- reflects on her dilemma of having her 16-month-old son Cree (with actor husband Cory Hardrict) co-sleep with "momma and dadda." 

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/tia-mowry-blog-cosleeping-her-son/1-a-503099?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Atia-mowry-blog-cosleeping-her-son-503099

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Winter Time Snow Activities for Kids

'; } if (google_ads[0].bidtype == "CPC") { /* insert this snippet for each ad call */ google_adnum = google_adnum + google_ads.length; } } document.write(ad_code); } google_ad_client = "ca-pub-9879162776784828"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '3'; google_ad_type = "text"; google_targeting = "content"; google_ad_channel = "0402111599"; google_feedback = 'on'; google_skip = google_adnum; google_hints = "winter time activities,ice skates,ice skating,ice skating rink,snow activities,snow ball maker,snow gun"; There is no reason for the kiddos to be stuck indoors bored this winter. I have put together a list of some fun ideas for snow winter acitivies that are for sure to please.

When that first big snowfall comes be prepared with a great wood sled and some saucer sleds.

Have fun with a snow ball fight and be armed with the awesome snow ball makers. We've got everything from snow guns, ice skating rinks that go in your back yard and snowman kits!

You are going to love these winter activities ideas!

To view Flexible Flyer 48" Flexible Flyer Sled click here: Flexible Flyer 48" Flexible Flyer Sled

Your kids are going to love you when you get them this Backyard Ice Rink. This rink is really amazing because it can be used on uneven ground and can adjust to the size of your yard. The best part is you will need no tools when you install it in your yard.

Source: http://www.squidoo.com/winter-time-snow-activities-for-kids

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