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When President Obama was done with his turn the page speech, what seemed to resonate most with the pundits was his denunciation of cynicismand his critique of the media.

We already knew what he was going to say last night on taxes and new programs, so the networks spent little time on that. But who expected him to channel his 2004 speech about moving beyond red and blue states, to decry the medias focus on gotcha politics and gaffes, and to declare that I still believe the cynics are wrong?

NBCs Chuck Todd quickly returned to reality, saying, Does he have some sort of followup on breaking gridlock?

ABCs Jonathan Karl was surprised that Obama gave no nod to Mitch McConnell as the new majority leader: There was no mention of the fact that he was walking into a very different chamber.

Cokie Roberts, too, felt the rhetoric didnt match the appeal: This speech was all about a Democratic agenda, and not trying to get something done.

Even Robert Gibbs, Obamas former spokesman, said on MSNBC: I dont know that were going to change our politics over the next two years.

Rachel Maddow lauded the president for directly taking on the question of whether he had let the country down. For people who voted for him, and thought he could be transformative, that is the central question, she said.

But Chris Matthews seemed to take Obamas criticism personally: I think he made a mistake about cable TV. There are a lot of people, our network especially, who hoped and shared his hope.

On Fox, George Will said Obama was trying to come off as Mr. Congenial, but he pledged four, count em, four vetoes.

Juan Williams said he didnt think the audience would warm to Obamas crowing mode, but that his attack on crazy politics and call for worthy debates could strike a nerve.

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Media debate Obamas cry against cynical politics -- and coverage

Wake Up People! (The Truth Behind It All)
Paris prophet Mohammad! The truth behind it all. Don #39;t let the media control your thoughts!

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Wake Up People! (The Truth Behind It All) - Video

A mathematical study of how infectious diseases spread has demonstrated a surprising link between the progress of an outbreak and the way that outbreak is portrayed in the media.

The study suggests that when public health officials are speaking to reporters about an outbreak, they should include information about the rate at which a disease is spreading and not just the total number of cases in a population. The studys authors say that in a real-world situation, effective media communication could delay the peak of an outbreak by days or weeks, buying crucial time for health agencies to respond.

Its a really interesting result, said Abba Gumel, a professor of mathematical biology at Arizona State University who was not involved in the study. It shows that the quality of media coverage, especially during the early stages of an outbreak, is really important.

To quantify that importance, researchers led by Jianhong Wu, director of York Universitys Centre for Disease Modelling in Toronto, built a mathematical model based on a 2009 flu outbreak with data on case numbers from the Shaanxi province of China. In the model, the influence of the media has an effect on the number of individual contacts, which can spread the infection from one person to another.

We know intuitively that the media can change population behaviour, Dr. Wu said. What were trying to do is find the functional relationship between the media and that change.

When the media influence was removed or altered in the model, the team was able to study the difference in the way the outbreak proceeded. They found that the medias impact was not uniform across the duration of the outbreak but was strongest during the initial stages, when the rate of new infections is changing most rapidly.

In contrast to previous studies, they found that media impact seems to switch off as an outbreak nears its peak, despite the fact that this is when the probability of getting infected is at its highest. In a discussion of their results, published Friday in the journal Scientific Reports, the team said that the way media influence switches on and off as a disease spreads through a population may account for why some outbreaks feature multiple peaks.

A key finding of the study is that by emphasizing the rate of change of case numbers rather than simply the total number of cases, officials may be able to significantly slow the growth of an outbreak. In the case of a deadly flu pandemic, that would increase the opportunity for health agencies to develop and produce antiviral medications.

Every week you can delay, youre one week closer to getting a vaccine. You want to drag [the peak] out, otherwise by the time you get your act together, everybodys infected already, said Michael Gardam, director of infection prevention and control at the University Health Network in Toronto.

He added that the York study should encourage health officials to think more strategically about the role of the media as an agent of disease control.

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Media can help slow spread of disease, study finds

Piece of cake follow these tips to master how your brand engages fans and followers on social media. Photograph: Ognen Teofilovski/Reuters

Working for a digital agency, I know how much money clients will spend on the important things such as branding and websites, but they fail to recognise the importance of social media: leaving social accounts dormant, letting just anyone control them and posting tired, self-promoting posts. Where is the relationship building, the fun, the passion? Just as your company needs a strategy for success, so does your social media presence. Here are some basics.

It doesnt matter how much money you spend on branding, marketing and advertising; it all comes down to how well your products are perceived. These days the internet makes these perceptions accessible to anyone who wants to listen. Thats why we use Google before we buy anything. To me, word of mouth or should I say, word of tweet, status, Vine, video, Pinterest and Tumblr are gospel.

A quick way to demonstrate how great your company is and to fight off competitors in a web search is to use a star rating through Googles My Business. I will always pick a business or service that has a star rating next to it over one that hasnt. These ratings, even an average one, show people that your customers are happy with the service they receive. But dont panic about getting five out of five stars; a perfect rating can look suspicious and besides, seeing true ratings and testimonials can tell you areas that you need to improve on, so get some honest feedback. Plus, a star rating helps you to rank higher on Google search results pages.

Every company understands that the way you run your online accounts reflects your business. But people will be expecting more than a professional-sounding tweet. Companies that just tweet business updates via business-speak dont let their personality shine through, which is a shame. They need to have a think about their values and how they can get this across. Are you a caring company? Then adopt a more soothing tone of voice.

Demonstrate who you are, not just what you do. Being slightly tongue-in-cheek gets you noticed. Have some banter with a celebrity and watch your retweets go mad. Even if you manage to get followers, subscribers and likes, you wont retain them by being boring. Use a mix of media: tweet videos, infographics, Vines, gifs and links. Interesting content gets shared, commented on and liked.

By providing a relevant service, companies may immediately attract a fair amount of followers, but gaining followers isnt everything; you need to retain them. People are picky about who they follow and need an incentive to interact with your brand. A good way to keep your followers happy is to play games and competitions with them, and reward them for getting involved. Helpful hints and tips are a great way to keep people checking your page. Ill be honest here, I buy a lot of clothes, but I dont follow every clothing store online just the ones that post outfit ideas I adore. Give people a reason to check your posts.

Having plenty of followers on Facebook and Twitter is all well and good, but you shouldnt stop there. Each social media platform has its own unique audience: for example, Generation Z those born after the millennial generation (so those born around the early and mid 2000s) prefer quick blasts of communication, such as a six-second Vine. Millennials, meanwhile, will turn to Tumblr. As a brand, your aim is to reach everybody, so sticking to the same channels with the same limited audience is redundant. Research other methods on social that could boost your company. Time is money, so spend the time online.

Once you are on these channels, keep using them. If you stop posting, your followers and customers will assume you are missing in action and wont actively follow you. If they have a problem and are ignored, they will become frustrated and are more likely to tweet angrily about the situation. Relationship ruined.

Make friends and spend time interacting, chatting and laughing with them. Retweet, favourite and compliment them. Remember that its not all about you. Traditionally, if a person liked a shopkeeper they would continue to shop, despite competition, because of the friendship. Build lasting, meaningful relationships with happy, satisfied clients.

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Where your brand is going wrong with social media

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is closing in on Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, Multi Screen Media (MSM), a division of Sony Entertainment, and World Sports Group (WSG) in the Rs 425-crore facilitation fee scam.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is closing in on Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, Multi Screen Media (MSM), a division of Sony Entertainment, and World Sports Group (WSG) in the Rs 425-crore facilitation fee scam.

The scam revolves around the 10-year media rights of IPL matches awarded to WSG, starting 2009. The total contract value was Rs 4,792 crore.

An interim investigation report shows that Lalit Modi, BCCI and WSG fraudulently created an asset of Rs 425 crore outside India under the guise of a facilitation fee.

dna has accessed the interim report of ED.

The report said that there was no agreement at all, and it was all meant to put pressure on MSM to fork out a huge amount as consideration over and above the fee that was to be paid under media rights agreement. "We have done our interim investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). On its basis, we will send show-cause notice to all four," a top ED official told dna.

When contacted, Ratnakar Shetty, head of operation, BCCI, replied, "no reaction". An e-mail sent to MSM went unanswered.

Despite repeated summons, Modi has not presented himself at the ED, said one of the officials.

What exactly is the scam? At first, BCCI said it had awarded IPL media rights to WSG. Later, when the rights were awarded to MSM was made to pay Rs 425 crore to WSG for relinquishing its rights. In reality, there was no agreement between BCCI and WSG and WSG had no rights to relinquish either. Lalit Modi might be a beneficiary of the Rs 125 crore already paid by MSM to World Sports Group, Mauritius (WSGM), the ED report said.

How did the scam play out? A new firm called WSG Mauritius was brought into play just to park rights with them. Then, Modi sent certain e-mails to various broadcasters and sponsors, including MSM, saying that BCCI was was barred from signing any new agreement till a certain court verdict was pronounced. Later, in another mail, he said the verdict was been pronounced and BCCI was free to enter into any agreement for media rights. The e-mail also said BCCI just signed a new agreement with WSG.

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Enforcement Directorate closes in on Lalit Modi, BCCI in Rs 450-crore IPL scam