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Benefits of Using Open Source Technologies

With an increasing number of businesses and government institutions relying on open source technologies, it is even more evident that price isn’t the only advantage that these platforms offer. Free and open source technologies hold a variety of other compelling benefits of businesses that are far more valuable than its price.

Security

The recent discovery of a number of defects in the Android Kernel makes an interesting point that the only reason such detection was possible was because the kernel code is open to the public. While the Android platform may not be entirely open source this example helps illustrate the fact that the more the number of people who can see and test a set of codes, the higher are the chances of the flaws being identified and quickly fixed.

Quality

It is evident that a software package that is developed by thousands of developers is bound to be much better than one that is created by a handful. Just like there are a countless number of people working to enhance security on open source platforms, there are an equal number of people working to innovate new features and enhancements for these products.

Open source technology helps deliver products that are closest to what a user wants. This is because the user, he or she has a chance to contribute in its making.

Customizability

Businesses can easily take a piece of open source software and alter it to suit their specific needs. Whether it is internal software, a website, a blog or an application that you wish to build, all you need to do is modify it and add the functionality you wish to have.

Top Reasons to Use Infographics in your Content Marketing

Considering the sheer amount of information that is developed especially for the internet every day, one of the biggest challenges you will face as a marketer is to make sure that your message is read. Infographics help in the aesthetic exhibition of large amounts of information that would otherwise look mundane and subsequently be ignored. By finding the right balance between design, content and analysis, infogrpahics make it easier for audiences to consume big data in small portions.

Here are some reasons why infographics now make a critical part of your content –

  • Infographics help reinforce your brand position effectively when the subject matter is able to complement your brand’s marketing goals.
  • Infographics attract individuals that prefer to learn through visual aids. It is said that 405 of the consumers tend to respond better to visual information as against plain text.
  • The colors and designs of these graphics helps appeal to the human eye, hereby bringing otherwise mundane stories to life.
  • It is possible to make large sets of information more coherent and interesting.
  • Infographics can be easily shared on social networks giving technical businesses a chance to go viral
  • Infographics are also proving to be an effective tool from an SEO perspective. These tend to score well with Google’s search engine algorithms, giving you a chance to bump up your rankings.
  • With attention spans and time both going down, using these graphics allow you to stand out in a mass data environment.

By making effective use of analysis, industry expertise and information and balancing it with the right design skills, it is possible for businesses belonging to a variety of industries to attract customers. Considering that content is still king, infographics allow your business to make its presence known across social platforms as well.

SEO Benefits of Opting for Responsive Web Design

Desktops are no longer the only medium used to surf the World Wide Web. Evolution in technology has resulted in the introduction of a variety of devices that allow us to surf the internet on the go. Responsive Web Design is a result of these evolutions that compel website designers to offer flexibility to users in accessing portals on devices that come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

In addition to easy accessibility, there are a number of SEO benefits too that are exhibited by websites that opt for responsive web design –

Improved Ability to Utilize

Google almost always wants to sends its users to websites that are most useful and relevant to them. If a visitor browses through your website and immediately returns to the SERP, the search engine notices that your site may or may not be of relevance to the user. With about 46% of consumers leaving a website that doesn’t work well on their mobile phones, make sure you incorporate responsive technology becomes important.

Avoiding Duplicate Content

With the help of a responsive website you needn’t worry about being hit by Panda for having the same content on your mobile and desktop website. With a responsive website, the content serves both visitors from the same URL.

Contributing to Mobile Search Rankings

Google is known to give special preferences to websites that are compatible to all devices such as desktops, tablets and mobiles.

Link Building

It also aids your link building initiatives, since when another website links to your main site they are automatically linking to its mobile version as well.

Finally, local search is further leveraged on since studies show that 50% of mobile users end up visiting stores or establishments after a successful search. Other benefits related to bounce rates, URL structure and optimization of images are also experienced.

Why Social Media is Important for your Business in 2015

Even though platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have been around less than a decade, it is hard to imagine a life without them. Over and above how we as user’s engage with friends, family and business associates, these platforms are also changing how we network, interact with customers and sell our offerings.

Today, there is a clear divide between progressive businesses that are already on the social media game and businesses that refuse to accept changing business scenarios.

The CEOs are Evolving

While your business heads are busy organizing face to face meetings with potential clients and networking with the community, there are younger counterparts out there that are investing time looking up mutual connections on LinkedIn and pursuing number crunching activities to assess the success of their Twitter campaigns. Considering that a major part of your audience is now available on these social platforms, old-school businesses must find a way to reach out new generation of social media obsessed consumers.

Startups are Getting a Head start

Some of the most successful social media strategies are those developed by startups that have learned the importance of using technologies to gain an edge. While old school businesses are shelling our millions of dollars in sponsoring sporting events, the progressive ones are generating buzz by creating interesting viral content and encouraging audiences to share them on the internet.

With budgets being a constant concern for marketers, 2015 is the best time to pursue social media tactics that can be easily deployed without having to spend millions. While businesses work towards redefining themselves in this technology driven scenario, customers are critical to these changes. While it may not be the job of a CEO to spend all day posting insightful comments on social media pages, it is time they realize the importance of these tools in driving decisions come 2015.