Mediaboss Marketing

INDIANAPOLIS, IN--(Marketwire -03/23/12)- Slingshot SEO, the innovative firm delivering digital relevance for deserving brands, is partnering with KA+A, a multi-discipline design firm, to present a free search media webinar on incorporating infographics into your online content strategy.

"Rethinking Infographics: Data, Design, Delivery and Discretion" will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 11 a.m. Eastern.

Infographics can play a major role in online marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), and when designed correctly, can prove to be an entertaining and engaging way to display sometimes complicated data. Pete Gall, Director of Brand & Content Strategy at KA+A, Kurtis Beavers, Senior Designer & Illustrator at KA+A, and Sharlene Boodram, Viral Media Coordinator at Slingshot SEO, will share experiences about producing and distributing successful infographic campaigns for clients.

In this webinar, participants will learn:

The webinar is free but registration is required. Sign up here.

About Slingshot SEOIndianapolis-based Slingshot SEO was ranked #58 on the 2011 list of Inc's 500 Fastest Growing Companies, and was #14 on the 2011 Tech200. Founded in 2006, Slingshot SEO provides professional SEO services to more than 150 clients across the country. The company's results are driven by a tireless passion to make deserving brands digitally relevant. For more information about Slingshot SEO and to read customer reviews, visit: http://www.slingshotseo.com

About KA+AKA+A is a multi-disciplinary brand and experience design consultancy. We help companies define, articulate and execute brand strategies and user experiences that drive long-term success.

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Slingshot SEO and KA+A Partner to Host Webinar on Adding Infographics to Your Marketing Campaign

Written by Chris Daniels Thursday, 22 March 2012 14:07

The St. James City Council will go paperless. In an effort to save money and be more environmentally friendly, the council has opted to change the way that members access information.

The council voted paperless for monthly packets. (City Clerk) Sarah Wheeler surveyed and discovered that with labor, cost of paper, copier costs, folders, and postage, we spend around $3,870 a year putting those packets together. After doing a quick look at the costs of going paperless, she found that we could do so around $4,000, Mayor Dennis Wilson explained. The city will request bids for ipads and laptop computers to see which would be the best option moving forward. Other advantages of going paperless are many. Weve had previous meetings when a topic arises from a past meeting. The council usually doesnt have last months packet on hand. By going with computers, they would have access to all of that data, Wilson said. Eventually, city codes would also be available to the council in the event a code needs to be reviewed. Benefits from cost alone made the decision easy, as the council unanimously agreed to pursue going to a paperless system. Time savings, easy access to record keeping, and better communication with citizens were also important aspects to the decision. Each council person will be assigned a city email address. If a citizen has a problem or concern they can call or email their ward. Apart from that we also want to go green. This building already has wireless, so there wouldnt be any additional cost to install a new wireless system, Wilson said.

Read the original here:
Aldermen going digital to save time and money

MARC HINTON

OPINION: It's to be hoped that Jerome Kaino departs New Zealand rugby for his two-year deal in Japan with cheers and not jeers ringing in his ears.

If ever a departing rugby star deserved a kind word and fond farewell it's Kaino who's been a fabulous servant for the New Zealand game and deserves his chance to provide a bit of financial security for his family.

No one -- with the possible exception of Richie McCaw -- has put his body on the line for the cause to the extent of this likeable 28-year-old.

He played all but one minute of last year's World Cup, and was the All Blacks' most consistent performer throughout the tournament. For that alone he has earned his pension in Japan where the workload, demands and attrition will be a fraction of what he faces in New Zealand.

This, I'm told, was a deal that Kaino could simply not turn down.

There's talk it could have been around the $2 million mark and it's a sad reality that the cash-strapped NZRU, who have committed so much coin to retaining Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and for the time-being Sonny Bill Williams, have no hope of going close to matching that sort of deal.

In fact there are some whispers around the traps that the new contract offered by the New Zealand Rugby Union was not that flash. One well-placed observer reckoned Kaino may have even been offered less money than he was on previously to stay on.

Whatever, the decision was a no-brainer for Kaino.

For starters yet another major shoulder injury must raise concerns about the loose forward's ability to survive the demands of the modern professional game in New Zealand.

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Kaino deserves nothing but praise for decision

Around 700,000 people turning 65 next year will be hit the hardest The tax will take 3.5billion from more than 4.4million pensioners Senior Tories say the move is the Chancellor's biggest blunder

By Tim Shipman and James Coney

PUBLISHED: 17:52 EST, 22 March 2012 | UPDATED: 19:20 EST, 22 March 2012

The full extent of George Osbornes stealth tax raid on pensioners was laid bare yesterday.

Around 700,000 people turning 65 next year will be hit the hardest losing 323 annually with the end of age-related income allowances.

In all, the granny tax will take 3.5billion from the pockets of more than 4.4million pensioners. Senior Tories have denounced it privately as the Chancellors biggest blunder.

Burden: Around 700,000 people turning 65 next year will be hit the hardest - losing 323 annually with the end of age-related income allowances

The new rules are so arbitrary that some OAPs will lose far more than others born a day before them.

Ros Altmann of Saga said: Middle-class pensioners are outraged. My inbox is full of angry emails from those who did save for their future but are now hit.

The message of this Budget is, dont bother to save for the future and if youre too old to work any more you dont count.

See the article here:
Granny tax backlash: Fury as full scale of Chancellor's raid on pensioners emerges

Australia's tax legislation is, according to urban legend, the longest piece of legislation in the world. One of our law professors reportedly has an entire room devoted to books of Australia's extensive tax law. Part of the story is that Australia has several tax Acts.

Best of all, 'if Australia keeps making new laws at the current rate, there will be 830 billion pages of tax legislation by the turn of the next century,' said Robin Speed from the Rule of Law Association in the Sydney Morning Herald. In 2006, 4100 pages were taken out of the tax legislation to 'improve readability'. What a relief!

Then there is the 10,000 rulings a year the Australian Taxation Office issues (based on the average between 2000-08). Each of them can have the same weight as an Australian High Court decision.

What does this mean for you? 'Australians pay at least 125 different taxes each year,' your Treasury says on its website. '...there could be as many as 160 different state taxes and 259 taxes nationally.' Then, on top of that, there are local government rates.

Our favourite taxes are the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET), which is 29% of wholesale sales. And the superannuation funds tax - yes, you pay taxes on money the government forces you to save in Australia.

But all this is simply not enough. And so the Mineral Resources Rent Tax is following in the footsteps of the existing Petroleum Resource Rent Tax. And the Carbon Tax is following in the footsteps of the failed European emissions trading scheme debacle.

Perhaps that law school professor will need a second room to house this ever-growing pile of legislation.

Why do you, as an investor, need to worry about this kind of politicking? Well, tax is theft. With the threat of violence thrown in for good measure. There is simply no way of getting around that basic truth, as uncomfortable as it might make you feel.

First, to the claim that taxes are a violent threat. If you don't pay taxes - and don't cooperate with the consequences of refusing to pay them - the police will happily lock you away. And if you refuse to be locked away, the police will use force to make sure you are.

But why is tax theft? Well, if you get together a group of friends and they democratically vote to take away your money, that's theft. But if a slightly larger group known as the Australian electorate and their representatives try it, it apparently isn't theft any longer.

Original post:
Australian Tax: Running Government at a Profit