Tell your business story with Google+ Pages

When we launched Google+ Pages last November, we saw more than a million businesses create new profiles to better connect with their customers. Page owners have been hosting Hangouts, updating their customers on the latest news and deals, and sharing exclusive photos and videos. We’ve loved the creativity and wanted to share what some business owners have been learning as they use Google+.

Over the next couple months, we’ll be introducing you to some cool small businesses who’ve recently joined Google+, both here on the Small Business Blog and on the Google+ Your Business page. We’ll be sharing what they’ve learned along with their tips and tricks for managing a great page.

First up: Meet Best Made Company, a group of outdoor enthusiasts that specializes in designing and handcrafting wilderness supplies. Their passion is to inspire people to experience the outdoors — a passion that inspired us to share their story.



If you’re just getting started on Google+, here are a couple quick tips on how to create a great page:

1. Select your profile photo. This is the first thing people will see, so choose a good representation of your business.
2. Make sure to add five scrapbook photos, complete the “About” section, and add links to other destinations where you can be found on the web. These three sections help you get your story out there. 
3. Decide on a tone for your page and stay consistent in your messaging. You want your posts to feel personal and authentic. You can even link your personal Google+ profile in the “About” section so people know who’s posting. 

Want to learn more? Visit the Google+ Your Business site, and stay tuned for more Google+ stories and tips from the following businesses:

• North Bowl 
• King Arthur Flour
• Loluma
• Birds Barbershop
• Happy Hound Play & Daycare
• CoffeeCakeKC
• The Pablove Foundation (non-profit)

Have Google+ stories and tips of your own to share? We’d love to hear them. Add the Google+ Your Business page to your circles and tag your posts #mybusinessstory.

Posted by Evelyn Lee, Google+ Pages Associate Product Marketing Manager

Do You Want to Just Trade or Do you Want to Make Money?

Many traders on the road to CP believe that the more they trade, the more they will make. Not necessarily true. Yes, you need a lot of screen time when you are learning but have very specific trading pictures in your trading plan and just trading those makes more sense.

Every time you click that mouse, you are assuming risk. Only assuming that risk when your chances of making money are the greatest makes economic and psychological sense.

Achieving CP on only one picture on one market is easier than blasting around with a shot gun. Once you are CP on one picture, you can add additional pictures one at a time.

This morning in London was quiet. Light Crude was where I was. The day started with CL failing to change from a down trend to an uptrend. Like the Sherlock Holmes story "The Dog that didn't Bark in the Night", when something doesn't happen, it tells you a lot. After that failure which I caught with the first trade, it was all down hill (pun intended).

Long and Short Symmetry or Not

My back testing has become more and more sophisticated as the technology has improved. One of the things I had decided a long time ago was that my long and short parameters should be symmetrical. By this I mean, for example, that if the stop loss is $200 per contract then it should be $200 for long trades and $200 for short trades.

The reasoning for this was that I wanted to eliminate an element of curve fitting by not having data bias.

But the market trades differently when it is crashing out compared to when it is rising because markets just don't fall UP. I have known about this phenomenon for many many years but have stuck to my guns and have had symmetrical trading models, both discretionary and auto. The discretionary ones were less problematic as I used my discretion to deal with every trade individually and the impact of symmetrical inputs was somewhat less.

I haven't come to a firm conclusion yet and am still testing but it's worth thinking about.

It doesn't get much easier than the DAX in the London morning. The order flow took the market straight up with so much momentum that price never pulled back to the 33 EMA. I then went to slow blow the drive. Now that the snow has stopped, I'm waiting for the sun to come out to I can go and ski.

Why do we crave Pretty?

 Image by Pretty as a Picture on DeviantArt.com

I'm as guilty as the next person in craving Pretty.  I buy books that have Pretty covers or Pretty characters.  My favorite Disney movie is Beauty and the Beast. And I'm always on the look-out for art and photography that express Pretty through an artist's eye (like this photo above, which is stunning. Wouldn't that make a great book cover?)


But I digress.  Before writing this blog post, I got to thinking about Pretty in young adult literature.  I can only come up with a handful of main characters that aren't Pretty.  (And yes, I'm capitalizing Pretty on purpose, because the way I'm using it here makes it more of a proper noun. An entity unto itself.)  There was The DUFF by Kodi Kelpinger, although interestingly enough, the main character, Bianca, is neither fat nor ugly.  And there's The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, where the main character starts out fat and with low self-esteem, but gradually becomes a force unto herself (coincidentally as she loses weight).


And then I got to thinking, would people still read a YA (particularly the romantic books) if the characters weren't Pretty?  What if Anna from Anna and the French Kiss wore a size 14? Or what if your favorite kick-butt heroine was so plain she was almost invisible?  Even when the characters don't see themselves as Pretty, it turns out that everyone else thinks of them that way.  (Think Bella Swan or Lena Haloway from Delirium.)


Putting the media and marketers aside, why is it that we don't read books about normal looking people?  Or for that matter, why don't we as authors write more normal-looking people?  When was the last time you read a book where the MAIN CHARACTER had an acne problem?  Why do we consistently reinforce the message that you'll only ever be in a supporting role if you're not Pretty?  


I have all these questions swirling through my brain, knowing I suffer from these very problems myself, but I don't have any answers (short of calling myself shallow, that is).  I mean, did I not spend hours scouring the internet looking for the most beautiful brunette I could possibly find for the cover of my own novel?  And what can I do about it going forward without losing readers?  After all, you don't get the TV news from unattractive anchors.  Are people will to read about unattractive characters, even if their looks are not the focus of the novel?


So here's what I want to know -- particularly from any teens out there -- would you be more or less likely to read a YA novel where the character had a physical flaw or was less than attractive?  Would you pick up a book if the cover model looked like the girl on the right instead of the one on the left? Or or why not?

It's Snowing

This is what I woke up to. We'll it was dark when I woke up but as soon as it was light I saw this and took a pic. It's taken from the top floor of the farmhouse where we have our trading and entertainment room. The building on the left is a barn that you have seen before. This is the first snow down here in our valley for about a month or more. It will also top up our local ski areas (Chamonix, Megeve and more) about a 1,000 meters above us. We're only twenty minutes from the closest big ski area. Can hardly wait. Flo can do most of the work. I'll play. The DAX opens at 8am local time here and I can ski happily two hours later if the sun is shining. The U.S. RTH opens at 3.30pm so I can work again then.

Are You Ready For Some FOOTBALL - Erm, I mean NiNoCon?!?

K, so I'm sure lots of you are gearing up for SUPER BOWL SUNDAY on Feb, 5th. I know I am. Love it!!!

But, the day BEFORE the Giants go up against the Patriots is going to be even more awesome.

You want to know why?

It's NiNoCon.

Here's the deal (as told from Ali's website):

Ninja Novel Conference ~ an online writers conference for the daring, the dedicated, the ninja writer!

Ninja Novel Conference (NiNoCon) is the brainchild of the Ninja Pirate herself, Angela Kulig. She approached me with a plan to take over the world and hey, it sounded like fun!


Saturday, February 4th, 2012, will be the first NiNoCon, and we hope you'll join us!


NiNoCon focuses on publishing by non-traditional means. We're talking about doing what hasn't been done before, stretching your imagination to extend beyond your stories and into a world of your making.


We've invited top-notch presenters to share how they thought "outside the box". Come learn what they have to say and discover how you can make your own magic happen.

Can't wait to check it out. Hope to see you there. HiYah!!! 

Oh, and don't forget the chips and salsa for the big game.

Which team are you rooting for?


(Pics courtesy of Ali Cross and google.)

Making $ with the ES and The Best of All Worlds

This month will be the completion of a big project for me. I've been working on rationalizing my trading business into what makes the most money and the utilization of my capital, all with the least amount of screen time.

I've been tracking my P and L and use of capital and have come to the conclusion that I should do the following:

• Day trade as a discretionary trader for a few hours a day or as much as I enjoy it. This will not only make the most money per $ invested but will keep my head in the game. If I would only trade for a few hours a day as a discretionary trader, there is a limit on my size - both for my own psychological deficiencies as well as the problems of trading size with my style in the less liquid markets such as the DAX. This will use a very small percentage of my capital as day trade margins are very small. I expect that this will contribute about 10% of my monthly earnings.

• Autotrading a portfolio of different markets and different algos for the same markets. I will get diversification from both markets and the differences between algos trading the same market in different broker's accounts). My investment will be both in margin and drawdown and I will allocated about 25% of my capital to this and expect about 60% of my monthly earnings to be provided by FloBot activity.

• Option trading will utilise the balance of my investment capital doing the longer term strategies I have spoken about. This will bring in about 30% of my monthly earnings.

The nett affect of this will be a lot more time to do other things I want to do. It also provides a great deal of more passive (less active) income.

I'm talking about this because I think that it is important to be aware of the many ways of profiting in our industry. Perhaps you start out as a discretionary trader, perhaps as an auto trader. But there are limitations of either capital or time and there may be other ways you can make the money you want to other than what you first start to do. Most of the guys on the FloBot Workshop were discretionary traders who either wanted to add to their incomes by diversifying into auto or were wanting to switch to auto to earn more than they could as a discretionary trader.

Traders have been complaining bitterly about the ES. While the ES has much reduced volume and volatility, there is still plenty of money to be made in it. Although I like other markets better, the depth of the ES provides a lot of benefits for trading size. But adjustments need to be made. We are in Transitional markets and I've dropped the range bars to 3 points for today's trading. The results speak for themselves. Same methodology, I just adjusted my glasses.