Forrester Research: Sponsored conversations make sense

According to an independent report published by Forrester Research on 2 March 2009,Sponsored Conversations is an evolving practical trend of marketing technique to stay and mature, especially when appropriately protected for disclosure and authenticity.

Sponsored conversations take place when marketers provide monetary or non-monetary form of award (or compensation) to bloggers who write and share their experience to the general public about their products, services, websites, etc.

If it is managed properly, this marketing approach is seen to be cost-effective, scalable, far-reaching and persuasive.

"The growth of sponsored conversation could lead to a whole new industry within the interactive marketing space and will have some dramatic effects on the blogosphere." -- Forrester Research

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Mind Mapping with XMind

Originated as the brainchild of Tony Buzan (a famous psychology author and educational consultant), Mind Mapping has been used by many people as a great and interesting method to visualize and organize their thinkings, ideas, decisions, planning, problem solving, etc.

Mind Mapping can also be used for group of people during discussions, brain storming, note taking, etc.



XMind is an easy to learn and easy to use general purpose mind mapping application. Its diagram objects can be easily switched for mind maps, fishbone diagrams, tree diagrams, org-charts, logic charts, and even spreadsheets.

Being developed in Java, it is cross-platform and can be run in Windows, Linux and Mac OS. For Ubuntu and Debian Linux users, XMind is also well packaged as DEB distribution file for easy installation. There is also a portable version which doesn't require installation to use.

XMind has user interface in different languages, including English, Chinese (simplified & traditional), Japanese, German, etc.

Starting from its Version 3, XMind which was once proprietary and selling at US$299 has gone open source since 14 November 2008. This is really a good news for mind mapping fans. This mind mapping application now comes in 2 flavours - the free XMind and subscription based XMind Pro.

Click here to read about how XMind can be used by different people, such as meeting organizers, project managers, teachers, department members, students, team managers, architects, designers, etc.

In order to download XMind or XMind Pro from their website, you are required to create a free user ID in their website. With this user ID, you can collaborate with other XMind users in the community, share your maps with others, etc. There is a huge collection of sample maps available in their website.

Silicone wiper with lifetime warranty

The boneless rubber wipers that I last bought have already served me for about 20 months now. Although they are still usable, I noticed that the rubber colour has faded over time. Therefore, I decided to replace them with silicone wipers, which are about the same price of my boneless rubber wipers.

I have selected silicone wipers this time, as silicone material (made of silicon-oxygen polymer) is known to be very durable and will not degrade from prolonged exposure to sunlight, UV, ozone, washer fluid, road residue, chemicals, etc. (Some people or even vendors called this kind of wiper as "silicon wiper", but I think the correct term should be "silicone wiper" instead.)

I ordered the SWV silicone wipers through their website. This brand has been around for years, and the wipers are said to be imported from USA and manufactured by the same manufacturer of SilBlade.

The price can be calculated online by providing the make and model of my car. After making my order with their online form, they called me 2 days after to arrange for delivery and installation. The payment term is cash on delivery (COD), and to my surprise, no deposit is needed before delivery.

They sent a guy to deliver and install the wipers to me at the location chosen by me. I was also given a Lifetime Warranty Card, and they'll provide onsite support for the wipers. The wipers can wipe really clean, and I am happy with them.

My boneless rubber wipers are now kept in my storeroom as they are still usable. Perhaps will give them to friend who want to try out boneless wipers.