How to Integrate Video Into Social Media

Benefits of Web Video Marketing

Video has a large appeal to audiences because most people want to “see” something before they will “read” something. Videos can be used to strengthen the consumer experience by educating the viewer about products or services, and by getting the corporate culture and personality of a company out there. This helps to increase awareness and build your company’s brand.

Video content

What are you going to put into your videos?

To begin with, you can create tips, “how to” items, news, or screen casts. A screen cast is where you capture your computer screen using software that shows what you are typing and where your mouse is moving around. Screen casts are great for technical presentations or for those that are “camera shy” and don’t want their face to be in the video.

Which software do you use for this type of video?

Screenflow for Macs, Camtasia Studio or Jing Project (a free version) are excellent options. You can also perform interviews through video conferencing. Tinychat.com, for example, allows you to interview multiple people on your screen. Then you can record them using Skype, Oovoo.com or Tinychat. You can record those using Screenflow, for example, and then you have a video ready to go. Be sure to get permission from people before you record them!

The recording process

The best length for social media videos is usually 60-90 seconds in length. Your viewer ship will start to drop off after 90 seconds. A minute to a minute and a half is best. If you are doing a show, like a “how to” TV show, then 8-10 minutes is best. The first 3-5 seconds need to really grab people’s attention. After three to five seconds, people can easily lose interest. We live in an attention-based society, so it’s important to keep the length of your videos short.

Tips for recording quality videos:

  • Maintain eye contact with the lens and portray strong energy. There is no amount of technology that will replace in-person contact, but video is the next best thing.
  • Strong calls to action in the video are crucial. Put text underneath your videos or tell your viewers what you want them to do. Always-always-always include a call to action.
  • Work with an outline that has bullets instead of a script. You do not want to feel like your reading. Connect with viewers and go with the flow.
  • Most cameras shoot in high definition so make sure your make up is good and your hair is fixed neatly. You want your face to look natural and your presentation to be clean.

Equipment and editing

Viewers will forgive bad visuals before they will forgive bad audio so always use a good microphone. Lighting is important and natural lighting is best, so don’t be in direct sunlight but rather take advantage of natural light. A good set location, for example, is standing next to a window.

Cameras that shoot high-definition but don’t cost an arm and a leg include:

  • Flip Camera
  • Kodak ZI8 is a good choice because it has an external mic jack.
  • Cannon Power Shot is excellent because it has a view finder that flips right around so you can record yourself. Don’t be shy. Start recording and, in time, you will lose your stage fright.

Edit your recordings with iMovie. It comes with your Mac. If you are a PC user, use Windows Movie Maker to edit your recordings.

Distribution of your videos for maximum exposure

Distribution of your videos is one of the most important steps of video marketing. If you create excellent videos, but no one sees them, then your company will not benefit from the video. We have included the top ten tips for video integration into social media. These are great tips for maximum exposure of your videos into your social media platforms.

Top ten tips for video integration into social media:

  1. YouTube channels are a necessity and it is a good idea to customize the skin of your channel. Embed your videos into your blog or web site. Be sure to put your URL and keywords in the video description. YouTube is owned by Google so keywords in the video’s description will help your SEO efforts.
  2. Connect Twitter to your YouTube channel by logging into your YouTube account and clicking your username, “settings”, then on the left of the screen, click “sharing”. You can connect Facebook and Twitter accounts into your YouTube channel to further market your videos and increase distribution. From within your YouTube “sharing” screen, you will have choices of activities. Good settings within your “sharing” options are “like” and/ or “favorite”. If you “like” a video, it will automatically post onto your Twitter account that you liked that video and also onto your Facebook profile with the player so people can easily watch the video and hopefully they will like, comment or share your video.
  3. To get videos onto your Facebook fan page, take the URL of the YouTube video and put that onto your Facebook wall.
  4. Re-post video content after a few days or so after adding them to your YouTube channel. This is a good way to re-use content with the same videos. Load your videos onto the Facebook app “default Facebook video app” so your friends can like, comment and spread your videos virally. Your fans can help you to spread your valuable video content inside Facebook virally.
  5. Use the “embed code” that you can get from YouTube while viewing the video and place it into an external site or blog.
  6. In addition to YouTube, you can get maximum exposure for your videos by posting them on Blip.tv, Viddler, and Yahoo video.
  7. To broadcast out your video to multiple platforms, try Tubemogul. It is an efficient way to post video content to different platforms simultaneously.
  8. Yubby and Blinks.com allow you to create multiple video widgets so you can display multiple videos on the same page. It can look busy, but definitely gets bang-for-the-buck on one page.
  9. Email opt-in boxes on your Facebook fan page are a good idea. Tabsite.com is a good way to build a permission based marketing list and then you can send messages to that list. Be sure to include a sentence that says something to the effect like “come on over to my fan page and write on my wall”. It brings your email list to life and lets people feel more connected to you.
  10. Go back to your videos and click the “like” button and it will automatically Tweet and Facebook your videos!

By creating professional looking and sounding videos, then distributing them among social media sites, your marketing efforts are magnified and you broaden your reach. Build your brand; reach more contacts with video marketing.

Jobs For Retirees – Virtual Employment Could Be Your Answer

You never expected to be looking up jobs for retirees. But your retirement dreams have turned into a nightmare. Your retirement investment funds have been hit hard with the collapse of the economy. Now there’s a sickening feeling every morning when you wake up. “Will I be able to keep up with the cost of living?” You’re not expecting to buy a villa in the south of France. Just to live comfortably without financial stress.It’s not like you can go back to work “out there”. Think of the competition. Each day, we hear of more companies laying people off or going under themselves. There is an unprecedented unemployment disaster among us. And every one of these laid-off workers will be looking for work. So what can you do?Have you considered a job where you could work from home? I’m not talking about scams ready to take advantage of you, either. I’m talking about a real work at home job. Nothing different than other employment except you work from the comfort of your own home.This is beneficial to retirees. You may have a disability where choosing your own hours to work is exactly what you need. You may be only able to devote a couple of hours a day to the job. But you can look for a job that fits with your lifestyle. No spending money on commuting and a special wardrobe, either.If you have a good computer system with high-speed internet access, you have what you need to look for a work at home position in the “homeshoring” or telecommuting industry. Some examples of work needed by employers are:
graphic design
clerical
virtual assistants
engineering
business
customer service
sales and marketing
transcription
human resources
programming
finance
virtual call center agents
Chances are that you have the transferable skills to appeal to an employer. Whatever your career was before retirement, you should be able to find and apply for a job with your credentials. So where do you apply? Many of them are not advertised in your local paper. You could be working for someone who lives thousands of miles away from you!Do research on the internet. Go to a search engine and type in “homeshoring or telecommuting jobs”. You’ll learn about this employment trend and have a better idea if it is something that would work with your lifestyle. Write down your skills and what you enjoy doing. Then set out to find the employers who are ready to hire you for a telecommuting job to see you through your retirement years.

A Beginners Insight Into Digital Photography

The term “digital photography” may be common to some; but for the rest of us, it is practically new and somewhat scary. With the advent of modernization, it is no effort to imagine that almost everything will evolve, let alone photography. For a beginner, digital photography is very confusing. Hence, here are some knowledge and basic know-hows on this matter.In its simplest explanation, this term, connotes a photography that uses digital technology to make images of subjects. In short, photographs taken are processed using digital and computer techniques and not by chemical processing.For us beginners, the very first thing that will come to mind if we hear this kind of photography is a digital camera. Almost all of us own one. Hence, it would be much easier for us to understand if we talk about digital camera and its advantages.Digital cameras are built to operate as a self-contained unit. For lower-end digital cameras, this usually includes zoom lens and flashes that cannot be changed. This is probably what most of us have. However, there are some high-end digital cameras that have sophisticated light sensors.Here are some advantages of using a digital camera:- Using a digital camera, any photographer can review the pictures instantly. You can either approve and save it or delete and reject it.
- Capturing hundreds of photographs is very easy now, without the hassle of changing any photographic film.
- If you have too much photos stored in your camera, you may use your computer as a permanent storage.
- If there is one much cost efficient advantage of digital camera is that a picture does not need to be scanned before viewing them, and you may be able to print photos using your computer printer.
- Most digital cameras now include a cable to allow viewing photographs using the television, at the comfort of your very own living room.
- It has anti-shake functionality, and others even have face detection.
- It can capture videos, not just still images.
- And it gives you the capability of converting the same photo from color to black and white, and you may even opt to add other effects.It does seem taking a photograph is easier using a digital camera, but please do note that convenience always comes with a price. But if you have the budget, by all means enjoy the convenience of this gadget. But if you don’t, a manual film camera will still do. After all, it is personal angle and expression that makes a picture beautiful.

Automotive Repair Manuals – Auto Mechanic Tips and Information

With today’s cars auto repair manuals are crucial for diagnosing and repairing vehicles in a timely manner. Some auto mechanics prefer paper books, others prefer to have a software program loaded onto their computer or to access information via the internet. However you prefer to access automotive repair information, this article includes some of the most popular companies that specialize in automotive repair information.Mitchell 1 On Demand is owned by the Snap On corporation and has been a popular choice for automotive repair information for years. Many auto repair shops use Mitchel’s information including repair procedures, torque specifications, TSB’s (Technical Service Bulletins) and auto repair tips. Mitchell offers the DIY information available online, branded as eAutoRepair. The online repair information company, eAutoRepair offers an abbreviated subscription for the DIY at a much lower cost than automotive repair shops pay. Each subscription covers only one vehicle, but this works out great for the DIY’er that needs to access automotive repair information and would like to get it with the convenience of the internet.ALLData is another very popular choice for automotive professionals. As with Mitchell, repair information that was provided by the car manufacturers are made available to the auto technician or car owner. Diagrams, timing belt marks, trouble code information etc. And ALLData has now made their products available online for the DIYer as well at ALLData DIY.There are many other good automotive repair manuals available from other companies as well, but these two are the ones that I’ve used the most over the years. The tips and information that these two companies provide are likely to make any DIY project a success.

Higher Technical Education: Distinctiveness of Humanities, Indian English, and ESP

I am grateful to the organizing committee for thinking about me and inviting me to deliver a guest lecture on distinctiveness of Humanities and social sciences in higher technical education. I feel rather uneasy and highly septic, as I stand here with no pretensions of a high-brow professor or specialist whose discourse goes overhead. I speak to you as a practicing teacher of English language skills, especially for science and technology, and Indian English writing, especially poetry, with interest in what concerns us in the Humanities division, which, unfortunately, enjoys little academic respect in the over-all scheme of things in almost every technical institution.Maybe, a conference like this augurs well for friends in the department of Humanities & Social Sciences, as they seek to explore interdisciplinarity, which indeed expands the scope of teaching and research. But I must provide a perspective to my several remarks that ensue from my reflections on the quality of intellectual activity in most technical institutions vis-a-vis the negligible support for scholarship in the Humanities, perhaps with the belief that the humanities are not ‘real subjects’ or that these have no bearing on learning of technical subjects, or these bring no demonstrable economic benefit.The discipline has declined more perceptibly with, to quote Nannerl O. Keohane, “the creation of increasingly specialized disciplines and rewards for faculty members for advancing knowledge in those areas.” We have a marginalized status in technical institutions even if we may have been playing a crucial role as teachers of languages and letters. I don’t want to dwell on them here. But, we should be aware of the ground reality.Yes, study in humanities is not always a matter of communicating ‘new findings’ or proposing a ‘new theory’. It is rather ‘cultivating understanding’ or thinking critically about some profound questions of human life; it is often the expression of the deepened understanding, which some individual has acquired, through reading, discussion and reflection, on a topic which has been ‘known’ for a long time. To me, practices in arts and humanities elevate consciousness, refine susceptibilities in various directions, create deeper awareness, and enable us to respond critically and independently to the ‘brave new world’ we live in. Arts and humanities alone can help us to explore what it means to be human, and sustain “the heart and soul of our civilization.” Perhaps, it’s the usefulness of humanities which is acknowledged by inviting me to speak to a distinguished audience like this.I intend to divide my brief into two parts: I would reflect on technical institutions as schools of higher learning; and then, I would say something about the business of English language teaching, which is my prime professional concern. Yet, much will remain unsaid, for I am aware of the controversies I may be raising.I strongly feel most university level technical institutions in India, like the general ones, have failed in promoting or upholding healthy intellectual attitudes and values, and academic culture and tradition, expected of a university, just as, it’s painful for me to observe, the culture has been virtually dismal in the case of studies in arts and humanities in the last four decades. The dullness and sameness has marginalized both creative and critical performance, or the standards handed down to us have become obsolete, or we have fallen into an abyss of unbecoming elitism, or we have become used to a cornucopia of pleasures formerly denied us: I won’t comment. But an opportunity, such as this, is necessarily not to offer any authoritative judgments but to reflect on, or to provide insights into, issues that concern intellectuals at the top of university teaching hierarchy. Should I say ‘non-university’? for I fear most of the faculty do not want to move beyond the parochial confines of narrow exclusivity. It’s the age of specialization they say, and discourage diversity, tolerance and inclusivity: they do not strive for intellectual mobility and change of attitude; we, as seniors, too, have not tried to reach out, or explore!As a university, we are not oriented to the transformation of our social order, nor are we obligated to act as a moral deterrent in inhibiting the growth of selfish motivation. We think of education in terms of laboratory or industrial practices in mineral and mining sectors, energy, electronics, engineering, computer application, environment, management, law, health sciences, life sciences, and all that, but hardly care for ‘producing’ fully competent and spiritually mature human beings. We do not pay attention to the growth of individual creativity and to an intuitive understanding of individual purpose. We do not bother to educate with, to quote Rabindranath Tagore, the “knowledge of spiritual meaning of existence” which is also the ethical and moral meaning. We have been, unfortunately, bogged down in schemes that inculcate a habit of the mind which indulges in seeking only better opportunities to survive, or higher pay packages.I’m afraid for too long we have practiced the “how to” of life and neglected the “why”. I believe it is comparatively easy to learn how to accomplish certain material tasks, but much more difficult to learn “what for”. If our educational system has failed over the years, it is because we have never come into a working knowledge of our humanity. We have gained incredible amount of technical knowledge, perhaps more than enough to resolve many problems with which mankind is presently faced, but we have never tried to reflect on how to apply it constructively and successfully for the good of all, with a sense of human dignity.Some of us rightly worry about the general lack of mutual respect for the rights and feelings of others, the tendency to be suspicious of the unknown, the tendency to take liberty with the sanctity of the individual person, and complain about the general lack of character and integrity, despite higher education. I see our failure in communicating with the spiritual insight which is marked by a balance between individual desires and social demands; I see our failure in creating the awareness of the world of values and principle of the spiritual oneness underlying the great variety found in the world. I see our failure in the humanity being torn apart by intolerance and fundamentalism, the suicidal urge for self-destruction. I see our failure in the rising ethnic, linguistic and religious tensions that now belie the scientific, technological and enlightened euphoria of the sixties.We seem to have lost a sense of obligation toward creating a good, tolerant, forward-looking society. Thanks to the role of money in democratic processes and institutionalization of corruption at all levels, people have lost faith in politicians, bureaucrats and government. The invasion of governance by the criminal-politician-bureaucrat nexus has done the country greatest harm than the shift of power following the wave of globalization, multinational capitalism, corporate economy, politics of war on terror, environmental concerns, human rights and all that. There is a reshaping of self, values and norms with dominance of the Western discourse in critical reasoning and reflection through perils and delights of growth and change; through survival skills vis-à-vis emigration, sex, parenthood, and age; through re-visiting past and present with vested awareness; through political orthodoxy in the name of democracy, religious fanaticism, casteist dominance, and repression of the liberals and the simple; and through the new processes of fossilization of the pre-colonial/colonial/post-colonial that renders many of us in the profession irrelevant. I wonder if we are not terribly dislocated in our small world.Let me not digress any further. Ladies and Gentlemen, every university is a school of higher education, but how high is high? If we are only interested in technical education for the sake of developing professional ability or skill in some area of life, then we are talking about a vocational school or polytechnic, and not a true university. Unfortunately, most universities (and technical institutions) have been vying with each other to become professional schools, not committed to the teaching of better morality, higher philosophy, universal order or universal culture. They are not producing morally and ethically conscious good citizens. I am afraid all one can expect from the present priorities in the so called higher education is survival, pursuit of money, and power.When science is transformed into technology, it becomes a form of power. And, as history would testify, power is the power for good and for evil. The technological culture we live in pervades and shapes our lives. The computer and internet culture, electronic gadgets, microwave, fridge, mobile phones, antibiotics, contraceptives and several such devices have been more than new means. Our sense of vulnerability has been changing fast. The new consumerist culture has taken away what was earlier meaningful and rich experiences of life.We in the Humanities & Social sciences department need to debate the multifaceted reality that modern technology offers-not only its devices and infrastructure which are its material manifestation but also skills and organization, attitudes and culture, perhaps constructively and contextually. Thinking through technology should make possible for us to develop and contribute to humanities philosophy of science and engineering just as different visions may be possible to discuss through social philosophy of technology. Researchers in the West have already been talking about technology as liberator, technology as threat, and technology as instrument of power. Our lives and ideas have thus changed and will continue to change. In fact, every field has been changing rapidly these days. The discipline (HSS) needs to incorporate their study, especially as media such as internet and social networking have already modified and redefined human relationship and identities everywhere and at all levels.Then, there is the emergence of what has been called ‘knowledge society’. The growth or creation of knowledge society that we have been talking about since the beginning of this century presupposes our capacity for idea generation. But if knowledge is not made freely available to all who seek it, how can one promote humanity or make it power for a liberal democratic society. Moreover, as scientific and technical knowledge spreads or becomes more powerful, it would become more problematic for the scientific community to assume moral responsibility for the use and abuse of scientific knowledge. To mitigate this challenge, one needs an education not so much in science but in humanities. When scientists say they want to live up to their social responsibilities, what they seem to mean is that they want more power than they have; it means they want to run things, to take charge. They should not end up ‘doing politics’ in the name of improving the world or society. Let them be interested in themselves, in facing the task of their own self-improvement, and learning how to think about their own responsibilities in a more serious and reflective way, their own moral education.As a faculty in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in one of the leading technical universities in the country, what I think the scientific and engineering community has to face up to is its own self-education, its own social education. Our budding engineers and scientists have to explore answers to such basic questions as: what is a good society? How do we go about achieving it? How do we-what do we-learn from history? What do we learn from political philosophers of the past? Or, why scientists think and speak the way they do? They cannot neglect this kind of educational enquiry in technical education because there is more and more to know as the fields proliferate. Which means, the department of Humanities and Social Sciences should equip them with the basics that helps them demonstrate understanding in and across the major disciplines: scientific understanding, technical understanding, mathematical understanding, historical understanding, artistic/humanistic understanding, cross-cultural understanding, and understanding of moral and political philosophy, and philosophy of science etc. There is need for providing new unfamiliar concepts and examples to promote such understanding which will later enable them to take enormous decisions vis-à-vis the complexity of the world science and technology has brought about.With the present consciousness, accept it or not, we, in educational establishments, have perpetuated living with a world in upheaval, and in some cases, have even shown a preference for it. But, with a higher order of awareness that approaches intuitive levels of understanding (something arts, culture and humanistic studies essentially seek to develop), we should be better able to look at an issue from many different dimensions, and rationalize how we ought to live in the future “as complete citizens who can think for themselves, criticize traditions, and understand the significance of another person’s sufferings and achievements,” to quote Martha Nusbaum from her book Not for Profit.A technical university needs to provide for education which also elevates the consciousness and extends the power of the soul; that is, we need to shift a part of the current educational priorities from the intellect to the heart, and from scientific and technical thinking to soul cognition. The end and aim of a university, be it technical or general, is the perfection of man, striving to evolve the consciousness in tune with the universe.The education we ‘sell’ needs to be re-tuned towards creativity, innovation, and respect for fundamental freedom; our policies and curiculums should help in strengthening the culture and values of a global society which is characterized by multiculturalism, intercultural interactions, mutual respect, tolerance, dignity and respect for values, and consciousness of ourselves as one human race, human rights and global responsibility for change in attitudes. We must, at every level, strive for a balance between the traditional attitudes and the need for a modern multi-cultural society.I believe most of the new technical institutions can maintain their distinctiveness by seriously opening to the diversity of our times, by sharing freely with students representing the diversity of our larger society, culture, and future needs. The enclave approach which seeks to shut out or at least seriously limit the diverse socio-cultural needs and understanding may not help any more to maintain distinctiveness of the institution.I also worry about the system’s unwillingness to nurture the ethos and sensibility that sustains a university spirit even as, according to the current govt. policies, an institution of higher learning is expected to run as a business enterprise which in days to come, will modify, perhaps irreversibly, our attitudes to teaching and research, our notions of knowledge, our administrative practices, and our relationship with the state and society. We need to make a move from the concerns of the immediate present to the future and visualize a different typology of cultural, linguistic and educational problems against the backdrop of a very fluctuating socio-political climate and pressures of all types.As part of the language and literature teaching fraternity for over 38 years and working in a specialized university, I know how significant Humanities teaching is to hone the mind, critical thinking and communication skills. I am tempted to quote Erwin Griswold (of the Harvard Law School): “You go to a great school not so much for knowledge as for arts or habits; for the art of expression, for the art of entering quickly into another person’s thoughts, for the art of assuming at a moment’s notice a new intellectual position, for the habit of submitting to censure and refutation, for the art of indicating assent or dissent in graduated terms, for the habit of regarding minute points of accuracy, for the art of working out what is possible in a given time; for taste, for discrimination, for mental courage, and mental soberness.”Now, let me talk about the business of English Language Teaching. I say ‘business’ because it has developed into a multi-million dollars commercial enterprise outside the native bases. We too, have an opportunity to capitalize on it in our own way, if we can. We can reach out to people in over 70 countries where English is one of the main languages.The global diffusion of the language has now taken an interesting turn: the ratio between the native speakers of English (in countries like the U.K., the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and the non-native speakers (in countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Philippines etc where English is used along with the mother tongue) is almost 40: 60, and it has expanded fast to other countries (like China, Japan, Egypt, Indonesia, Korea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, Taiwan, the Gulf Countries, and the countries of the erstwhile Eastern Bloc). It is virtually a native language in South Africa, Jamaica and West Indies. Its acculturation, its international functional range, and the diverse forms of literary creativity it is accommodating are historically unprecedented.As Braj B. Kachru notes, the situation today is such that the native speakers have an insignificant role in the global spread and teaching of English; they seem to have lost the exclusive prerogative to control its norms of use or standardization; in fact, if current statistics are any indication, they have become a minority.This sociolinguistic fact and its implications have not yet been fully recognized by most linguists, ELT practitioners, ESPists, administrators, language policy planners, and college and university teachers in India. What we need now are new paradigms and perspectives for linguistic and pedagogical research and for understanding the linguistic creativity, including the scientific and technical writing, in multilingual situations across cultures.You will appreciate the English we all speak is not like the English the native speakers of the language speak. We don’t need to. The yardsticks of the British or American native speakers, or their standards as reflected in GRE, TOEFL or IELTS etc, or their kind of tongue twisting, are simply damaging to the interests of non-native speakers. We have to develop our own standards, instead of teaching to sound like Londoners or North Americans. Pronunciation must be comprehensible and not detract from the understanding of a message. But for this nobody needs to speak the so called standardized English that makes inter- and intranational communication difficult. David Crystal too appreciates this reality and favours local taste of English in India and elsewhere.Our Indianness is clearly reflected in the pronunciation of certain vowels and consonant, in the stressing of words, in the rhythm and pauses, in the vocabulary and lexical acculturation, discourse patterning, code mixing, usages, grammatical deviations etc. The prolonged linguistic and cultural contact of English in various states of the Indian union has given it a unique character which deserves serious academic exploration. It has acquired a considerable functional range and depth, and it is preposterous to expect that the language would not be ‘shaped’ or ‘moulded’ according to the local needs or remain unaffected by the influences of local languages and literatures, cultures and users. It is, in fact, the result of such deep-rooted local functions, that we have now an institutionalized model of English for intranational uses. The way India’s multilingualism and ethnic pluralism have added to the complexity of Indian English, apart from ‘mixing’ words, phrases, clauses and idioms from the Indian Language into English, and in ‘switching’ from one language to another, perhaps to express the speaker’s ‘identity’ or linguistic ‘belonging’, the role of ‘native speaker’– the British or American– as become peripheral, as Kachru rightly asserts, unless he or she understands the local cultures and cultural presuppositions.I am not very much concerned with the literary perspective of Indian English here, even if I have been actively associated with Indian English literary practices for over thirty five years. I am professionally interested in the language use and usage of Indian writers, and scholars and researchers of science and technology, the localized educated variety they have developed to communicate indigenous innovations. You can appreciate this if you have noticed development of local registers for agriculture, for the legal system, for entertainment industry, for Environment, and so on. The publications of Indian practitioners of science and technology have certain discourse features which are unique to Indian English, but not examined.I suspect Indian English is not yet recognized as an important area of research for ‘English for specific purposes’ (ESP) that we teach. [It is also, however, very sad that though ESP as an approach is now firmly established, it still has fewer supporters in India, possibly because nobody wants any changes in the conventional teaching-learning practices?] Having been in the forefront of ESP movement in the country for over twenty five years, I am aware of the localized linguistic innovations in the huge output of Indian researchers, some of which has the potential for serving effectively and successfully as pedagogical texts or teaching materials. But it is unfortunate the English teaching academia are slow to recognize the pragmatic contexts–the importance of intranational uses of English and according to local needs – and continue to stick to the external norms of English. It’s more regrettable that the conceptual and applied research on ESP in the West has avoided addressing issues which are vital for understanding the use of English across cultures.The way ESP has turned international, teachers and researchers in Applied Languages in our country need to explore: what accommodation a native speaker of English may have to make for participation in communication with those who use a local (or non-native) variety of English; what determines communicative performances or pragmatic success of English in its international uses; what insights we have gained by research on intelligibility and comprehensibility concerning international and intranational uses of English; and what attitudinal and linguistic adjustments are desirable for effective teaching of ESP based on a non-native English, like Indian English. These are a few basic questions, not convenient to Western ESP enthusiasts.I have noticed in the Western ESP in general, and science and technology in particular, a strong bias towards ethno-centricism in approach and neglect of intranational motivation for the uses of English. It is not possible to practice ESP effectively unless we respect, what John Swales call, “local knowledge” and “localized pragmatic needs”. After all, we use the language as a tool and we cannot ignore the localized innovations that have “code-related” and “context-related” dimensions. We ought to view non-native innovations in ESP as positive and consider them as part of the pragmatic needs of the users. It is the attitudinal change that I plead for!Teaching of ESP in a university in the second language situation like ours is largely a “collaborative sense-making” with the class. When I say this, I am pointing to the interactive nature of formal instruction, which, in terms of actual language use, is essentially Indian in tone, tenor and style. I am also referring to the need for understanding the dichotomy between the rhetoric of EST teaching and the practice enacted in the classroom from the viewpoint of adult learners, and language skills development and competence in the Indian social setting. We need to evolve a dynamic model of ‘communicative teaching’ of ESP which seeks to develop (i)linguistic competence (Accuracy), (ii)pragmatic competence (Fluency), and (iii) sociolinguistic competence (Appropriacy), without ignoring interrelated aspects of local practice, research and theory and at the same time emphasizes language awareness, which is a significant concept in ELT, in that it covers implicit, explicit, and interactive knowledge about language and provides for a critical awareness of language and literature practices that are shaped by, and shape, sociocultural relationships, professional relationship, and relationship of power. The approach can also facilitate cross-cultural comparisons and contrasts, and promote genre-based studies (i.e. how language works to mean, how different strategies can be used, how meaning is constructed), basic to ESP, in that it truly develops individual’s performance competence.Friends, I have hopped from one point to another, perhaps jumbled up, in my zeal to draw your attention to several aspects of English, Indian English and ESP that have wider and deeper implications. They touch attitudinal chords of English language users, teachers and administrators too. Teaching of English, both language and literature, today is not only academically challenging but also opens new refreshing avenues for applied research. This is because of the spread and changing status of English, which has grown from a native, second, and foreign language to become an international language of commerce science and technology, spoken among more non-natives than natives in the process of their professional pursuits or everyday lives. I have also placed certain facts of science and technology education in the context of Humanities before you, raised issues, expressed my view, and now it is for the profession to accept, reject or explore their implications. Thank you.Copyright:
Professor R.K.Singh
Head, Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences
Indian School of Mines
Dhanbad 826004 India[This is the Text of my specially invited Lecture at SRM University's International Conference on 'Role and Responsibilities of Humanities and Social Sciences in Technical Education' on 17 March 2011]

Equipment Financing For Large Construction Projects Advisable

If your business involves the use of heavy construction machines or big trucks, you will need to consider your equipment financing very carefully. Whether it is a used dump truck for $40,000 or a Caterpillar track machine for $400,000, you do not want all your capital tied up in one or two pieces of equipment. You will have to consider financing if you want a well-equipped operation.

Equipment financing is the largest biggest expense of any business and you will want to be using your dollars wisely. It is always a good idea to go online and get a good feeling for the average price of the vehicle that you are wishing to lease or purchase. Carefully consider how much you expect to be using it: if you need it almost every day, you might want to consider a lease agreement as you will have fixed payments and you will have the advantage of being able to upgrade as newer models are brought on to the market. If you only expect to use the equipment occasionally, you might consider a short-term rental agreement. Or, buy it outright so there are no payments which must be paid, whether the vehicle is earning its keep or not!

Some equipment financing providers have a convenient clause which allows you to defer payments in slow seasons or when you are experiencing a cash crunch. They recognize that the heavy equipment business has its ups and downs and depending on the economy, there will be slow times, while in other situations, you can hardly keep up with the work.

If you are just beginning your operation, it is usually possible to find equipment financing for start-up businesses and new owner operators which tends to be more flexible. They may require a smaller down payment or collateral and they will also give you the option of skipping a payment if necessary. They are often more considerate than a bank or mortgage company at giving loans to operators who have a poor credit rating. Because they are in the business themselves, they realize that one rainy season can cause a fledgling venture to go under in a few short weeks, through no mismanagement of the operator or owners. Although their credit rating is hurt, they are still capable business people and deserve a second chance!

It is a good idea to have as much of your own capital as you can when you are starting up, before you look at equipment financing. If you can raise $50,000 to $100,000 yourself, you will be starting off in good shape. You can look around for items of your own to sell, such as that sports car you only drive on weekends, or your summer cottage at the lake that is only used for 30 or 40 days of the year. You can also opt to go to work on a job that pays extremely well, although they are not always in the most pleasant conditions, such as off-shore drilling rigs or positions that pay for tons of overtime. You work for 14 solid days, and then they fly you home for seven days. Make a promise to yourself that while making these higher wages you will put 90 percent of it into savings and that you will quit in a set amount of time, such as one year. With the proceeds you should have enough to get a good start on your entrepreneurial attempt.

You can also approach friends and relatives to invest in your business, but you will want to be diligent in your repayment schedule as no business is worth torn relationships with loved ones. Whatever method of equipment financing you choose, get lots of good advice from others in the business, tread slowly and thoughtfully, and work hard to gain confidence from your customers for great word-of-mouth endorsements. You will soon be enjoying the satisfaction and monetary benefits of business ownership.

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