Thursday, April 14, 2011

Bench Craft Company on the art of insurance




Fewer than 1 percent of website visits come directly from a social media URL according to research just released by customer satisfaction analytics experts ForeSee Results.


The company surveyed 300,000 consumers on more than 180 websites across a dozen private and public sector industries. The referring social media sites covered were not just the usual suspects like Facebook and Twitter, but over 40 sites including Flickr, Foursquare, Scribd, Stumbleupon, Meetup and Youtube.


It’s not all bad news for social media marketeers. 18 percent of site visitors (averaged across surveyed websites) report being influenced by social media to visit a website. However, there was considerable variation in the results for different companies.


The social media budgets of marketers is constantly increasing as the survey data to the right shows. Forsee Results’ research showed that the resources companies put into social media and the results they receive vary wildly. Spending more money does not automatically lead to higher numbers of visits to websites, brand awareness or sales.


Promotional emails are also sometimes neglected in favor of the more glamorous social media, in spite of the fact that such emails influence 32 percent of purchases.


Companies themselves seem a bit confused about their objectives when it comes to social media. Internet Retailer Magazine surveyed 400 U.S. companies (19 percent of them retailers) in December 2009 and January 2010. It found that 74 percent of companies wanted social media to drive traffic to their websites, while only 56 percent wanted it to increase sales. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?


Next Story: Why mobile app success is more than just download numbers Previous Story: Battle brewing at Microsoft over retail store expansion






Fewer than 1 percent of website visits come directly from a social media URL according to research just released by customer satisfaction analytics experts ForeSee Results.


The company surveyed 300,000 consumers on more than 180 websites across a dozen private and public sector industries. The referring social media sites covered were not just the usual suspects like Facebook and Twitter, but over 40 sites including Flickr, Foursquare, Scribd, Stumbleupon, Meetup and Youtube.


It’s not all bad news for social media marketeers. 18 percent of site visitors (averaged across surveyed websites) report being influenced by social media to visit a website. However, there was considerable variation in the results for different companies.


The social media budgets of marketers is constantly increasing as the survey data to the right shows. Forsee Results’ research showed that the resources companies put into social media and the results they receive vary wildly. Spending more money does not automatically lead to higher numbers of visits to websites, brand awareness or sales.


Promotional emails are also sometimes neglected in favor of the more glamorous social media, in spite of the fact that such emails influence 32 percent of purchases.


Companies themselves seem a bit confused about their objectives when it comes to social media. Internet Retailer Magazine surveyed 400 U.S. companies (19 percent of them retailers) in December 2009 and January 2010. It found that 74 percent of companies wanted social media to drive traffic to their websites, while only 56 percent wanted it to increase sales. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?


Next Story: Why mobile app success is more than just download numbers Previous Story: Battle brewing at Microsoft over retail store expansion




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New York Yankees reliever Pedro Feliciano likely done for season


Yankees lefty Pedro Feliciano will get a second opinion on his injured shoulder, but an MRI indicates he's likely done this year.


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Former ABC <b>News</b> President David Westin Announces Next Move - The <b>...</b>

He's named president and CEO of the News Licensing Group, launching this summer.


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Big Media Falls for GE <b>News</b> Hoax (Cont&#39;d) - Giovanni Rodriguez <b>...</b>

The Week takes a short look at what yesterday's GE news hoax may have actually accomplished: --"It was a glimpse of an ideal world." Idea here is that the fake storyline might have helped people imagine a world where businesses "biggest ...


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We’ve been hearing all kinds of Chatter that the next version of Final Cut Pro will debut in Vegas at NAB next week.  Thing is, we hear this every year and Apple hasn’t really done a NAB properly in awhile.  That’s OK, we’ll take that we can get.

Rumors are flying that Apple will be using the Vegas Supermeet to announce the next version of Final Cut Pro. Supposedly, Apple will be taking over the entire event for their announcement, cancelling all other sponsors, including AJA, Avid, Canon, BlackMagic, Autodesk and others, who were set to give presentations.

Philip Bloom just confirmed with me that Canon has canceled his appearance at the Supermeet. Canon was told last night that Apple has demanded ALL “lecturn” or stage time exclusively. Some sponsors who were not using presenters may continue to sponsor the Vegas event, but none of them will be presenting on the stage. I can’t imagine any news that would warrant this kind of “take-over” other than to announce and demonstrate the next full version of Final Cut Pro and possibly an entirely newly designed FCS4.

(UPDATE: Avid confirmed that Supermeet (Michael Horton) told them last night that their sponsorship had been cancelled. According to Avid, “Apple doesn’t want anyone to have stage time but them.”)

Who’s up for Vegas?

We heard the first concrete details about Apple’s all new Final Cut Pro coming during Spring this year, and recently some new information has come to light. Final Cut Studio expert Larry Jordan was one of the people at Apple’s meeting, demonstrating the upcoming upgrade to the professional film-making software.

Jordan can’t say much about the upgrade, due to an NDA with Apple, but he did say it is a “jaw-dropper.” Besides the “jaw-dropper” part, the thing we are taking most from his blog post is the fact that Apple allowed him to write it up. It appears that Apple already considers the software public knowledge. Afterall, Apple CEO Steve Jobs did tell a 9to5mac reader to buckle up for it.

Thanks to Charlie Sanchez

  • Next Final Cut Pro is a “jawdropper,” Apple considers it public knowledge, and will it drop at NAB? (9to5mac.com)
  • Apple says last Xserve orders shipping in April, here’s what’s next for XSAN (9to5mac.com)
  • Nasdaq to cut Apple’s weighting in rebalancing (9to5mac.com)
  • Feeling the heat, HP and Dell execs lash out at Apple, pray iPad will fail (9to5mac.com)
  • Certain MacBook Pro models ‘unavailable’ for reservation at many Apple Stores (9to5mac.com)
  • Apple asks Toyota to remove the Scion theme from Cydia (9to5mac.com)
  • New Final Cut Pro hits Spring ’11 and it’s the “biggest overhaul yet” (9to5mac.com)
  • iOS 5 pushed to the fall: major revamp, cloud-based, WWDC preview? (9to5mac.com)








Seas0nPass jailbreak tool has for both Windows and Mac has been updated with the latest untethered exploit to untether the jailbreak on second generation Apple TV, running on the latest iOS 4.3.1 (4.2.1)



For those of you who don’t know, Seas0nPass jailbreak tool is like PwnageTool for Mac, or Sn0wbreeze for Windows, which can can create custom jailbroken .IPSW files for your second-gen Apple TV.


Before you proceed with the jailbreak, you will need the following:



  • A Micro-USB cable

  • iTunes 10.2.1

  • iOS 4.2.1 (Based on iOS 4.3) for Apple TV

  • Seas0nPass


All download links are posted at the end of this article.


Step 1: Download and launch Seas0nPass.


Step 2: Now select “Create IPSW” option to build your own custom jailbroken 4.3.1 firmware for Apple TV.



Step 3: Now wait for Seas0nPass to download all the files required for creating custom firmware.



Step 4: When prompted by Seas0nPass, connect your Apple TV using a micro-USB cable (leave power disconnected), and hold-down both the ‘MENU’ and ‘PLAY/PAUSE’ buttons for 7 seven seconds.



Step 5: iTunes should now open automatically to start the restore process.



Step 6: iTunes will confirm the restore when complete. Once done, your Apple TV will be fully jailbroken, untethered on iOS 4.3.1.


Once complete, remove the USB cable and connect the HDMI cable.


Once you are done with the jailbreak, you can install the following apps on your jailbroken 2nd-gen Apple TV:



  • How to Install XBMC Media Center on Apple TV 2G [Guide]

  • Plex Has Been Ported to Jailbroken Apple TV 2G ! [VIDEO]

  • How to Install NitoTV Weather and RSS App on Apple TV 2G [Jailbreak]

  • Apple TV 2G Gets Web Browser and Last.fm Apps via aTV Flash [Video]

  • Exposed VNC Server Plugin Enables Remote Access On Apple TV 2G


Required download links are as follows:


Download iOS 4.3.1 (4.2.1) for Apple TV
Download iTunes 10.2.1 for Mac OS X
Download Seas0nPass for Mac OS X
Download Seas0nPass for Windows


You can follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fanpage to keep yourself updated on all the latest iPhone jailbreaking and unlocking releases.















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It’s not such a wonderful time to be a doctor, patient, hospital, health plan or pharma company, but judging by the quality and quantity of entries received for this edition of the HWR, it’s a wonderful time to be a wonk.


A couple weeks ago CMS released draft rules for Accountable Care Organizations. Several bloggers weighed in on that development:



  • Mark McClellan and Elliott Fisher at Health Affairs provide some historical context and argue that “those who care deeply about health care reform all have a common interest in the success of ACOs as a way of avoiding more classic fee-for-service payment cuts to providers.”

  • On a more downbeat note, The Road to Health concludes, “Dr. Berwick and his colleagues at CMS appear to have taken the ACO concept and made it into a financial program that only delusional practice administrators, or physician organizations bent on financial self-destruction, could love.”

  • The Healthcare IT Guy expects ACOs to be “far more lucrative and disruptive than Meaningful Use and likely to yield more patient quality improvements.”

  • GE Healthcare puts the emphasis on ACO change management challenges: “Healthcare executives and management teams are left to focus on preparing their organizations for a cultural shift of seismic proportions.”

  • HealthBlawg reviews the proposed rules and produces 8 takeaways. #2: “This is the Frankenstein regulation: A Medicare beneficiary must sit on the board of the ACO, CMS must approve all marketing materials before they are used.”


In the midst of the battle over funding the 2011 budget, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan came out with a plan to radically restructure Medicare and Medicaid starting in 2012:



  • The Apothecary likes much of what he sees and thinks the proposal may force Democrats to devise a credible plan of their own

  • John C. Goodman’s Health Policy Blog contrasts PPACA and the Ryan plan. “Obviously, the path we are on leads to an impossible place. So the only question is whether we are going to get off the current path in a planned, orderly way or whether we are going to let unplanned chaos do the trick.”

  • Wright on Health is less impressed and wonders, “if Rep. Ryan is so adamant about reducing the deficit, why is he cutting taxes for the wealthy and cutting programs for the poor and the elderly?”

  • Managed Care Matters is decidedly unswayed. “If you were looking for real solutions to the health cost problem, you’re going to be sorely disappointed… Unfortunately, he’s fallen into the same trap his Democratic colleagues did with their version of health reform – the Ryan plan does little to address costs.”

  • The Incidental Economist takes issue with Ryan’s plan to convert Medicaid to block grants and cut spending. “Should Medicaid be cut back, more people will be uninsured. Contrary to what some wish you to believe, those who become uninsured will suffer worse health outcomes”


As if the ACO rules and Ryan plan weren’t enough, there’s more on Medicare in the blogosphere:



  • The Covert Rationing Blog –always good for a lighthearted pick me up– “asserts that we are one giant step closer to the day when it will become illegal for all Americans to spend their own money on their own healthcare.”

  • Dr. Liberty discusses CMS’s deliberations on whether to pay for Provenge, a pricey prostate drug. “Decisions are made on the basis of politics, and the drive is to cover everything, leading to higher costs.”


Amid all the federal policy blogging, there’s still some room for technology talk:



  • Healthcare Talent Transformation has had it with Health Net’s repeated goof up’s leading to loss of confidential data. Although it may seem like there’s not much the average person can do, the blog argues, “You can make an impact on the security of your sensitive data by conducting due diligence when it comes to your insurance provider.”

  • The Healthcare Blog offers a video collage of the new Kaiser Permanente Center for Total Health. “The Center is  a pretty fascinating place–part tech and idea showcase and part meeting room. Certainly no other health care organization that I’m aware of has spent so much on a place designed to stimulate the imagination and enhance conversation–under the nose of the folks on Capitol Hill.”

  • Meaningful HIT News features a podcast with mHealth Initiative’s Peter Waegemann, who’s shifted over from EMRs to ride the mobile wave

  • Healthcare Economist delves into new papers that, “examined how to develop accurate algorithms to account for cancer stage in studies using claims data.”


It was encouraging to receive a couple submissions about  journalism:



  • Disease Care Management Blog asks, “Is the kerfuffle over National Public Radio (NPR) the long delayed comeuppance for liberal bias run amok, or a narrow-minded attack on the inconvenient truths from journalistic excellence?” The blog reaches into the world of medicine and discusses of “framing” and its impact on patient decision making to provide an answer

  • HealthNews ReviewBlog cites, “daily evidence of the need for improvement in health care journalism – especially when we see examples like hype of a tiny, preliminary study of strawberries for esophageal cancer.”


We always have room in the Health Wonk Review for some posts on medical ethics:



  • Nuts for Healthcare looks at the pharma industry and concludes, “Doctors need to take a more definitive stand against the specter of industry influence. A good target? Industry sponsorship of continuing medical education.”

  • Health Care Renewal is concerned that so-called government run programs are more private than we think. “The majority of Medicaid has been out-sourced to private health care insurance companies… We need to have some real discussions about the rise of corporatism in US health care, in other aspects of US society and around the world.”


And finally, a few odds and ends



  • Workers’ Comp Insider provides resources for employers concerned about radiation exposure

  • Colorado Health Insurance Insider chronicles the decline of bipartisanship in the creation of a health insurance exchange for that state. “Healthcare reform has become such a polarized topic that it’s difficult for lawmakers to have any stance other than for it or against it.  Even though the health insurance exchanges would be marketplaces that sell private health insurance, the word ‘exchange’ has been thrown around so much during the reform debates that many opponents of the PPACA see it as synonymous with ‘ObamaCare.’”

  • Last week I went to a health care direct to consumer marketing conference to see former TimeWarner CEO Jerry Levin interviewed by OrganizedWisdom CEO Steve Krein. I also shared my thoughts in the video clip below



Thanks for reading the Health Wonk Review! The Incidental Economist hosts the next edition.




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Great <b>news</b>: Working population percentage drops to three-decade <b>...</b>

Great news: Working population percentage drops to three-decade low.


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NBC <b>News</b>, CNBC, MSNBC All Particpating in NBCU&#39;s 2011 &#39;Earth Week <b>...</b>

The networks of NBC Universal, including CNBC, MSNBC and NBC News, are all lining up green-themed programming for the 2011 installment of the company's Green is Universal “Earth Week” April 17-24. On “Today” Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda ...


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