Selecting a New Motherboard: A Beginner's Guide

Are you looking for a new motherboard? With so many models available, deciding which to buy can be difficult. However, if you use this checklist, considering each motherboard feature, you should be able to find one that's right for you.

1. Socket type: What socket type does your CPU require? A 775 for Intel Pentiums? Perhaps a 939 AMD. Start to narrow your selection with this most basic criteria, matching motherboard socket to CPU.

2. Form factor: The board has to fit your case. The size of the board is its "form factor". An ATX form factor case will accept 12x9.6 inch boards. But a microATX requires boards no larger than 9.6x9.6. Please note that any of the smaller boards can be mounted in an ATX case.

3. RAM: You'll probably buy a board that uses PC3200 RAM. But be aware that some older boards still on the market call themselves "PC3200 capable" but can only use it in up to two banks. Also, some boards only have two slots, rather than the more common number of three. If you need to run 3 GB of RAM, for extreme game play, you'll need a three-slot board.

4. Front Speed Bus: It's an oversimplification to say this number is the speed information passes through your motherboard, but it's a good enough definition for our purposes. Faster is better, but keep in mind that speed is money, if you're on a budget. The tops on AMD based systems is a whopping 2000MHz.

5. Video and sound on the motherboard: Do you want these two items built into the board, or would you rather buy cards and plug them in? Video on the motherboard is usually adequate, unless you're a gamer. In that case you'll want to forgo it in favor of the next feature.

6. AGP port: Gamers, video editors, 3-D animators, all want the best graphics card they can get, so they require an Accelerated Graphics Port. Most all boards have them, but make sure they will handle 8X or better speed, if you've got your heart set on a really fast card.

7. PCI slots: How many slots will you need for things like modems, capture cards, and the like? Some of the microATX boards come with only two, which may be inadequate. I favor boards with 4 or more slots, giving plenty of expansion capability.

8. Firewire: If you shoot and edit video, 1394 IEEE, otherwise known as firewire, is a necessity. If a board you're considering doesn't have it, figure on using one of your PCI slots for a card.

After you've gone through these eight items, you should be well on the way to making your selection.

Michael Quarles is the author of Building a PC for Beginners.

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Computer Motherboard Guide

The heart of any computer is the motherboard. It is that big board inside the computer that everything is connected to. It performs the role of traffic lights and policemen, directing flows of information to where they are needed, when they are needed.

Choosing the right motherboard does not have to be a huge issue, even though there is a lot to consider. I will start off with the most major parts and move onto the the things that are less important or non-essential.

Firstly is the socket type.

The socket is the place where the processor (CPU) connects to the motherboard. There is no compatiblility between sockets, so it has to be the right one. The socket connection needs to match the connection of the processor you have or the one you intend to buy for the computer.

Most older Intel Pentium 4s utilise socket 478. Newer ones use socket 775. AMD chips utilised socket A for a long time, but now the AMD Athlon 64 series and Semprons use socket 939. Just check with someone as to what yours or your intended one will have.

Your choice of chip will have a lot to do with your needs, but choosing one with an up to date socket type will ensure slightly longer motherboard life as you can upgrade the chip for a while.

Second is the memory type

DDR is the RAM of choice for most systems, but some newer systems, which includes all Pentiums with socket 775 use DDR2. These two kinds are not interchangable and have a different number of pins. Both DDR and DDR2 come in different speed ratings measured in MHz. DDR has a usual 400MHz denoted as DDR400 or PC3200, while DDR2 can go a little higher and comes in slightly faster speeds. Just make it match what the board needs.

Third is expansion slots

The expansion slots are the places where you put extra cards onto the motherboard, like graphics cards, extra sound card or a wireless internet card. The old standard is a PCI slot and these are appropriate for most expansion cards, excepts new graphics cards.

The most simple of graphics cards are sometimes available for PCI slots, but not too many. More common are AGP cards and the newer PCI express (PCIe) cards. AGP slots come in speed variants up to 8x, make sure the slot matches your card. PCI and PCIe are incompatible, so don't be confused by that. The PCIe slots are much longer and have a securing latch. If you want an SLI graphics card setup with two PCIe cards with SLI attached together, make sure the motherboard specifically states that it supports SLI.

Fourth is hard drive and optical drive connections

Two kinds are available, IDE and SATA, IDE is older with a thick cable and SATA is newer with a thinner cable. SATA capability is usually an add-on, you can see a dedicated chip on the motherboard. IDE is being phased out, but is still used for many drives and all optical devices like DVD and CD drives. IDE has speeds of ATA66, ATA100 and ATA133, SATA has speeds of 150Mbps and 300Mbps the latter sometimes referred to as SATA2. Make sure your board supports as much or more than you intend to install.

Fifth is the extras

The number of extras available on motherboard has increased greatly and so has the quality of the extras. Things to be expected are USB 2.0, a sound card and network slot. Other things which it may or may not have are firewire and extra USB slots.

So with all that in mind you should be in good stead to make a good decision on your purchase. Happy shopping.

Roundup

Socket type - A, 478, 775, 939

Memory (RAM) - DDR, DDR2

Expansion slots - PCI and one of AGP or PCIe

ATA - ATA66, 100 or 133. SATA or SATA2

Extras - USB, network and sound card (expected), firewire, extra USB, extra SATA slots (optional but becoming more common)

Peter Stewart is a computer enthusiast, his interest in computers and focus on practical down to earth advice inspired his two websites.
http://computer-buying-guide.com - Practical buying tips
http://computer-reviews.net - Fair and honest reviews and opinions

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Quick Guide to Buying a Computer Motherboard

The motherboard of your computer is considered the most essential part because it connects all the major components that allow them to communicate to get your computer running. It is important to understand the types of motherboard and the kinds of hardware it houses so you will know what to choose when buying a computer motherboard. Below is a quick guide that will help you in your choice of a suitable motherboard for your computer:

Form factors or the size:

- The ATX or Advanced Technology Extended - the standard size/form which can accommodate more ports and allows expandability.
- BTX or Balanced Technology Extended - this is larger than the standard size supposedly to address overheating and to lower power consumption rate but it failed to outpace or dislodge the ATX.
- MicroATX and MiniTX - smaller in size ideal for compact and low power boards, however, the expansion slots and ports are limited.

Take note that when buying a computer motherboard, always check your computer casing if it can support the form of your choice.

Classification according to the type of microprocessor:

Socket A, Socket 939 & Socket AM3 - These types are intended for the AMD processors with Socket AM3 as the latest to come out in the AMD market.

Socket 370, Socket 378, Socket T and Socket H - are compatible with the Intel Celeron, Pentium, Core 2 and Core-I series of processors.

Both the Intel and AMD are the microprocessors of choice nowadays. However, buying a computer motherboard will depend on the classification of the processor that you select.

Other factors to consider:

Front side bus (FSB) - refers to the pathway where the connection or flow of information to and from the processor and the rest of the hardware passes. The speed of the flow is measured in megahertz or MHz and gigahertz or GHz. Depending on your needs, the highest rate is currently at 3.6 GHz.

Random access memory (RAM )- the data and information stored in a ram is only temporary while your computer is switched on, and it is totally deleted once you switch off the system. The size of your ram which is now measured in gigabytes affects the speed of your computer. The higher the ram the more data and information it can support to speed up the processing of your computer. And because you motherboard houses the ram, it is very important to choose one that matches the size and the capacity of your ram when buying a computer motherboard. Like an ATX provides at least four slots for ram that can go as high as 32GB.

Whatever is your budget and the features that you may need for your computer, a basic knowledge of the hardware that you intend to purchase will always come in handy. Like in this case, buying a computer motherboard is no longer an overwhelming task once you have a better appreciation of its technical aspects.

Article written by Jeffrey Frasco. For more information about Buying Computer Motherboards visit BuyComputerComponents.com.

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Computer Motherboards - A Quick Guide

There are a lot of descriptions of a computer motherboard. Firstly motherboards are not unique to personal computers. Some domestic appliances have a motherboard in them. Back to the question! A motherboard is a circuit board (PCB-Printed Circuit Board), that provides a means of connecting the different components that go to make up your computer.  

But that is not it. There are different types of motherboard available. The most popular type of motherboard at the moment is the ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) type of motherboard which was first introduced in 1995. The ATX is available in a smaller form called the micro-ATX. There is a newer motherboard design, this is called BTX (Balance Technology Extended), introduced in 2004. Basically a BTX motherboard is a more thermally efficient design, the idea to have better air flow and therefore the components would be cooler. The problem is that you require a BTX case. A lot of case manufacturers have not bothered to re-design their cases. You can get efficient cooling with an ATX case and a decent set of fans and dedicated cooling,required in high powered gaming systems. ATX remains the popular choice.

Motherboards are available for Intel CPUs and AMD CPUs. There are no motherboards that support both.

Before you look at buying a new motherboard you need to have decided if you are going to have an Intel or AMD CPU. You also need to have an idea of the space where you will put your computer. Why? Because if you need a smaller case then you may want to go for a micro-ATX board. 

You can buy a good motherboard from your local high street store as well as several online retailers. One place that you may have overlooked is eBay. You can find a real bargain and save yourself a whole bundle of cash. My advice is if you find a motherboard that you like on eBay Google it to see if it is still current and what the RRP is. You might want to ask the seller if the motherboard comes with all documentation and drivers.

The text in this article was taken from build-a-computer.co.uk [http://www.build-a-computer.co.uk] A reliable source of FREE training and computer support.

I have been building computers for over 10 years now and wanted to find a good source of free information relating to computer hardware and software on the internet. I am always been asked where can I learn this stuff for free? So my friend and I set up a web site , this is where I have borrowed this text from, you can view it there along with a whole host of other articles. The site is called build-a-computer.co.uk. Most of the courses and information on the site are FREE to use.

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Motherboard Purchasing Guide

When you start building a personal computer, the model of motherboard should probably the first thing to consider. It connects almost all the other hardwares you need in a computer such as computer processor, memory, a AGP or PCI-E video card. All of them have to properly attached to the motherboard. As a result, the type of motherboard you choose would affect what processor and video card you can use.

You may not know exactly what brand you should choose when coming to motherboard since there are so many of them exist in the market such as gigbyte, esc and asus. Well, it would be wiser to look at the chipset rather than the brand of the motherboard since virtually all the motherboards use mainly 3 different chipsets regardless of who manufactures the motherboard. Basically, you will find all motherboards are equipped with either SiS, VIA or nVidia whereas SiS focus on the lower end market nVidia is known in the higher end chipset market. When you compare the motherboards, look at what are the chipsets on the motherboard because the north bridge controls the communication speed and processor, memory and video card. So if you want a faster CPU and memory, make sure your motherboard supports that or at least you motherboards supports a higher front side bus speed(FSB), which gives you the room you need for upgrading in the future.

There are a lot of things you can consider when purchasing a computer motherboard [http://www.computer-onlineinfo.com/computer-motherboard.html], to know more information about hardware such as CPU [http://www.computer-onlineinfo.com/cpu-basics.html], please visit computer hardware guide [http://www.computer-onlineinfo.com/].

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Basic Guide For Choosing Gaming Motherboards

The thing about choosing which gaming motherboards to buy is that it isn't really about the board. Gaming machines are a different breed, built by gamers with individually chosen parts. The motherboard's main requirement here is that it be compatible with the parts chosen.

What gamers really look for is extreme speed and stunning detail. A monitor has the capacity for high resolution display, but it needs a powerful graphics adaptor for this. In turn, a powerful adaptor needs a motherboard which has enough capacity to handle the card and transfer data quickly enough between the display card and other parts. This means the right form factor (size), heavy-duty chipsets and an efficient bus system.

The same criteria apply to every other part, including LAN cards, HDD, the memory sticks, power supply and the cooling fans. For the individual parts and the system to live up to their potential, the motherboard must be fast and rugged enough to keep up with each part. The bottomline is that compatibility is not enough for gaming motherboards. It has to be extreme compatibility.

Another thing worth noting is that motherboards have a lot of built-in cards such as display cards, LAN cards and sound cards. These are functional and sufficient for normal applications, but gaming is an entirely different scenario. As far as gaming is concerned, these built-in cards are redundant, and a motherboard should instead have more space to accommodate higher performance, more add-on cards and more memory.

Motherboards that satisfy all these points would still need to pass benchmarking tests. Buy only those boards which are rated positively by hardware and gaming review sites. Manufacturers make their products available to reviewers before it launches in the market, so every new board already has reviews that indicate clearly if it is good enough for gaming.

Another couple of very important requirements that need to be fulfilled are over clocking and upgrade possibilities. Over clocking is used to make parts run at faster clock rates than the specified ratings. Changing clock rates on a motherboard's bios setup is a critical procedure, because too much change will fry the board and take out some of the major parts along with the board.

For those wondering why fiddle with it, it is because gaming needs that edge beyond what a standard machine offers to everyone else. If every gamer has the latest parts and all of the gamers are equally talented, the one who wins is the guy who overclocked the machine. Gamers often use overclocking to push every part to the extreme end of its capacity. This means that gaming motherboards need quite a bit extra performance capability beyond the specs.

As for the upgrades, the problem is that the parts are good enough for at most six months or a year. After that, new games and versions are released which need the latest parts and won't work with old ones. If the motherboard is unable to accept a twice a year upgrade of all the other parts, then it's not a gaming motherboard.

In summarization, these boards aren't like the ordinary boards found in the usual computer. Gaming motherboards need be ultra-compatible with parts from any company, and need to have the capacity to keep up with high speed performance by other parts. Unless a manufacturer explicitly states the board is good enough for gaming, it's not a gaming motherboard.

I have even more reviews and information about Desktop PC Cases and gaming motherboards at my website. I will also let you in on a little secret: Where to get them cheaper than anyplace else on the web;) Many thanks for reading, and good luck!

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A Simple Buyer's Guide For Intel Motherboards

When it comes to getting a computer motherboard, there are basically two choices: an Intel-compatible motherboard, or an AMD-compatible model. We will cover Intel motherboards here.

Whether you already have the additional components, or plan on buying them, the major factor when choosing between Intel motherboards is making sure it's all compatible. With that in mind, here's a breakdown of things that will affect compatibility.

The form factor of the Intel motherboards varies, depending on the case you will put it in. Most common is "ATX," which covers the majority of desktop computers. There's also Micro ATX, Mini ITX, and other form factors, or sizes.

If this seems confusing, don't worry: all you have to do is make sure the case you are putting the motherboard into accepts the motherboard size. As long as it does, you are all set.

Our next focus when choosing between Intel motherboards is CPU support. If you don't have a CPU, or processor already, this is pretty easy: just buy the CPU your motherboard supports. You should do some research on the cost and speed of Intel CPUs that are available, so that when you choose your motherboard, you know what CPU you are "aiming for."

Now, how to tackle memory support? This one should answer itself; the motherboard you choose supports a certain type, and speed of memory. Buy as much as you can of this type of memory, and that's that. Look carefully at the Web site you are buying from, or the box that all Intel motherboards come in, to get your answer.

Now we've come to storage, and we'll talk about internal storage first. When it comes to hooking up DVD drives, and hard drives, SATA has pretty much established itself as the new standard. The old standard was called ATA (notice the missing letter?)

If you have older drives you want to use, your board should probably support both ATA and SATA. If you haven't got to worry about older drives, make sure that the board supports SATA, and that you buy SATA drives.

PCI slots are next on our checklist. The more, the merrier here; more slots means you can add more cards, for video, sound, and many other things. You will also want PCI Express slots, to support faster things such as video cards. Of course, the video card in that case will need to fit a PCI Express slot.

The power supply connector on Intel motherboards can vary, so make sure the board you purchase, and the power supply match. If not, then they aren't compatible.

The last thing to check: the other features Intel motherboards support. Does it have Built-in sound?  Is it Ethernet/LAN? How many USB, and IEEE 1394 ports? Built-in video is the bare minimum; you would probably be better off buying nearly any add-on video card. If you aren't sure about the other features, more is generally better.

There you have it; just follow this guide carefully, double check your work, and you will have a painless experience with your Intel motherboard. It's not as hard as it might seem.

Matthew Kerridge is a computer hardware engineer. For more information about Intel motherboards, please visit http://www.ebuyer.com/

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Motherboard Guide - What You Need to Know When Purchasing a Motherboard

The motherboard, or mainboard, is called that because all of the other components plug into it, and it is used as a hub of sorts for all of the components to communicate with each other. When buying a motherboard, the most important things to know is what CPU it is compatible with, what kind of memory, or RAM, it is compatible with, and the speed of the frontside bus.

CPU Compatibility:

The two main types of Motherboards follow along with the two main brands of CPU's, being AMD or Intel. An AMD CPU will NOT work in a motherboard configured for Intel CPU's and vice versa. Also, most motherboards have a range of speeds that they are compatible with (example) like 500 Mhz to 1.0 Ghz. Any higher would require a different motherboard.

Speed is not the only factor though, there are a lot of different styles of CPU, and each motherboard should tell you exactly what type of CPU it accepts. These are the reasons why you typically replace the CPU and the Motherboard at the same time, because they are so dependant on each other.

Don't worry if this is all going over your head, they sell bundles for just this occasion called Barebone Computers, which is usually a case, motherboard and CPU combo so you can't go wrong with these.

RAM Compatibility:

There are various types of RAM these days, which are described here, but to note them quickly, they are SDRAM, DDR and RDRAM. They all serve the same basic purpose, just in a slightly different way and speed. It is important to know what type of RAM your motherboard takes and the maximum amount you can have in it at one time, which is usually noted in the description of the motherboard.

Video Card Compatibility:

Video cards are not all created equally, there are several different types of video cards now, especially on the high end. The most common being AGP, and PCI Express. Though there are also various types within these groups. PCI Express is still new and doesn't have many variations yet, but AGP has been around and has several different variations, like AGP 4x, and AGP 8x, etc.

Most of the newer versions are backwards compatible, meaning that they will accept older versions, but it does not work the other way around, so you usually can not put an AGP 8x card into a motherboard that is labeled as only accepting up to AGP 4x.

Hard Drive Compatibility:

There are couple different types of hard drive interfaces today, being IDE, SATA, and SCSI. These interfaces are not cross compatible, so you need to know what kind of hard drives you have, or intend to purchase, and make sure that the motherboard you purchase supports the interface for that hard drive.

Front Side Bus (FSB):

Front Side Bus is important to know because if your RAM and CPU have high speeds and your motherboard does not, communication speed is limited and creates a bottle neck. While it is not necessary to get all of them exact, it is good to try to get them as close as possible.

Some other things to note about choosing motherboards are what features are built into them. These days it is not uncommon to see Audio, Lan and Video built into your motherboard. If you don't need amazing audio sound or an expensive video card, it's usually sufficient and MUCH cheaper than buying all of these separately.

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This article taken from Tweak Xpert - Motherboard Guide [http://www.tweakxpert.com/content/view/28/34]. View the website for more helpful guides.

Donny Duncan, the author of Windows Vista Tweak Xpert has been in the computer field for over thirteen years, and enjoys writing helpful articles about windows, computers, and electronics.

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A Guide to Buying Asus Motherboards

There are some who are unable to get their needs met with many of the computers that are offered out there. When people are into building their own computers, they have to consider many things. Asus motherboards are always one thing to consider and here are some of the reasons why.

As with anything, it is always important to evaluate the reason that you need the specific thing. You should think of the main reasons that you will be using the computer for and if it will pertain to things as gaming or other professional uses. As with most people, you are probably going to want to have a computer that is stable.

Most of those who build their own computers have concerns that relate to capabilities regarding expanding to when they want in addition to a system that is stable and a larger capacity. So, this means ports are something to consider, as well as add ons and RAM and hard disk space. The motherboard as many know is one of the most important components of the computer.

Generally, the kind of motherboard that a person gets for the computer will have to do with the operation of the computer. Often, the quality of the motherboard will relate to the overall operation of the computer. This has to do with the components on the circuit board.

This is the reason that you are going to want to make sure you get the kind of motherboard that will meet the needs that you have. The Asus motherboards tend to accommodate all of the needs that a person has, such as the P7H57D-VeVO motherboard.

This motherboard features two SATA 3. 0 along with two USB ports. Additionally, there are a number of outputs on this motherboard as well. In addition it houses PCI-e x16 slots in order to support the CrossFire setup it has. At this time however this motherboard has not come out on the market yet and there is no release on information pertaining on what kind of price range this will be in.

In any case, you are going to want to make sure the motherboard that you buy is capable of handling your needs. One of the things that is your best bet is to read all the things that you can that pertain to Asus motherboards. This way you will ensure that you are getting the right mother board for your needs.

Matthew Kerridge is an expert in electronic products. If you want more information about varieties of Asus motherboards or are looking for a reputable computer retailer please visit http://www.ebuyer.com

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Ultimate Motherboard Guide - Demystifying Motherboard Specs

A motherboard can be thought of as the foundation for any computer system. It is the largest component in your computer and provides pathways for all other devices, internal and external, to communicate with each other. Therefore, it is vital that you spend some time researching for a good quality motherboard.

Main motherboard specifications

Before you run out looking for a motherboard, it's best to know a little about the components that make up the motherboard.

Chipset

There are two main chipsets on a motherboard, the Northbridge and Southbridge controller. The Northbridge handles communications with high speed components such as the CPU, Memory, and graphics card. Conversely, the Southbridge handles communication from low speed devices such as I/O ports, hard drives, on-board audio and BIOS.

Motherboards are designed around these two chips, the Northbridge dictates what kind of CPU's and memory types are supported, whereas the Southbridge dictates things like the number of built in USB ports and whether or not the board comes with integrated audio, video, RAID, LAN, etc...

CPU

The CPU is inserted directly into a socket on the motherboard and is responsible for processing instructions. The types of CPU supported by a motherboard depend on the Northbridge controller chip.

Expansion Slots

The expansion slots on the motherboard allow you to connect external components, such as graphic cards, sound cards, RAID controllers, and other various add-on components. The slots come in varying speeds and some are intended for high speed components only, such as the PCI-E x16 and AGP slots for graphic cards.

Form Factor

Form factor refers to the size and shape of the motherboard i.e. its dimensions. When purchasing a new motherboard you need to be aware of its form factor because certain cases and power supplies only work with certain form factors. The most common form factor is ATX and these days most motherboards are based on the ATX form factor.

Memory

Sticks of memory or RAM are inserted into special memory slots on the motherboard; most motherboards typically have three or four slots. Motherboards typically only support one type of memory e.g. DDR, DDR2, DDR3, Rambus, since the different types have a different number of pins that connect to the slot.

Internal I/O Connectors

These are connections that connect directly to the motherboard from internal components or your computer case. Examples include power connector from power supply, USB, hard drive and fan connections from case, internal SATA connections from hard drives, etc...

Back Panel Connectors

These are the connections that you find on the back of your computer case where you plug in a mouse, keyboard, ethernet, printer, etc... The number and type of connections is dependent on the motherboard you purchase which mostly depends on the Southbridge chipset used in the motherboard.

BIOS

The BIOS is a small chip on your motherboard that initializes and prepares hardware on boot, so software can communicate with it. If the BIOS cannot initialize a hardware device it will send a special sequence of beeps to your computers' internal speaker that tells you which device is not installed or configured correctly.

Most, if not all BIOS's can be updated via special program from your motherboard manufacturer. The reason to update the BIOS is to fix hardware compatibility bugs, or to enable support for newer hardware, such as newer CPU's based on the same or very similar architecture. If everything in your system is working fine, do not update your BIOS, you don't want to chance an error occurring during a flash and the resulting hassle of fixing it.

Some Special/Unique Features

Ultra Durable

Some motherboards use newer solid-state capacitors that are less likely to leak or become defective. This is a relatively new feature and is nice to have if you can find it.

Advanced Cooling

Some motherboards add extra heat sinks to certain chips on the motherboard as well as a heat pipe for the north bridge; this allows the motherboard to run a bit cooler and is useful if you want to heavily over-clock your system.

Over-clocking enhanced

The motherboard, through the BIOS or a Windows application, provides fine-tune tweaking in regards to over-clocking. This type of feature isn't essential for over-clocking, most motherboards' BIOS provide some fundamental options that are used for over-clocking; this feature just provides more convenience and options to do so.

Dual Channel Memory

This feature allows you to install a pair of memory sticks in specially marked memory slots. This allows twice as much data to be sent from the memory to the memory controller, so it gets executed by the CPU faster. This feature will not double your speed, but may provide performance improvements with certain applications and hardware configurations, so keep an eye out for it. Also, this feature isn't dependent on the memory sticks themselves, just get a pair of the same memory and it should work in the motherboard.

Example of a motherboard specs

To get yourself familiar with looking at motherboard specs, go through the spec sheet of the Gigabyte DS3L motherboard.

www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx

How to pick out a motherboard?

Now that you have an idea of what constitutes a motherboard, you're almost ready to start looking for one. Today you can buy motherboards for under or around a $100 that are top notch, the catch is these boards usually don't come with features like on-board RAID, advanced cooling, dual PCI-E x16, etc..., but for most people these features will never get used, so save your money and opt for boards without them, unless you know you are going to use them.

Try to find motherboards that come with some on-board functionality such as on-board audio, USB ports, on-board LAN and SATA connections. Most boards, even the cheapest should have these features by now. Once you have an idea of what you need on your motherboard, just search around and make a list of some candidates. Once you have it narrowed down it is important that you do some pre-emptive problem finding. Your goal is to know the motherboard and all major issues with it before you buy it, you don't want to wait until you get slapped in the face with some major issue. An easy way of finding problems related to a motherboard is reading through negative comments and just using Google or whatever search engine to conduct searches like this "Gigabyte DS3L problems".

For more information on computers and electronics please visit us at BestMatchComputers.com [http://www.bestmatchcomputers.com].

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A Guide to Updating Motherboard Drivers

If you need to update your motherboard drivers, be sure you go about it the fastest and most effective way possible. Motherboard drivers are some of the most finicky drivers to install, so you need to be sure that you acquire the right driver. First, however, you need to pinpoint the cause of your problem.

What is the Motherboard?

The motherboard of your computer is really the hub of all activity. All system processes move through the motherboard, in essence, your motherboard houses your BIOS memory, CPU, hard disk processes, and many more. It also governs all of your startup boot information.

When your motherboard isn't functioning properly, it's difficult to really accomplish anything at all on your PC. You'll notice that you can't run your operating system properly, and it will probably be well nigh impossible to save anything on your machine.

High Cost for an Integral Unit

Since your motherboard basically controls your computer's operations, it can be prohibitively expensive to purchase a new motherboard. You may be able to repair the motherboard, but this is quite complicated and really should be left to professionals.

The best way to update motherboard drivers is to run the updates from an installation CD. If you don't have an installation CD, you might be able to acquire one by visiting your manufacturer's website, downloading the updates, an placing them on a CD-R or CD-RW.

Windows Update and Driver Updates

It's possible that your motherboard is only slightly awry, and in this case, you might be able to fix it with Windows Update. Windows Update is a tool built by Microsoft that basically searches for driver updates and then installs them when necessary. However, it's not known for identifying and implementing motherboard driver updates.

To utilize Windows Update so that you can update your motherboard drivers, try this:

Click "Start."
Click "All Programs."
Then, click "Windows Update."
You should notice "Check for updates" displayed in the left pane. Click this.
You can then click "View available updates" to look for any drivers that are available.
Click "Install" after you've located the drivers that you are looking to install.

Remember that Windows Update for motherboard drivers might focus on a specific motherboard process, such as your clock generator, BIOS functionality, or even drive management.

Of course, some people prefer to find and install manual updates for motherboard drivers. This is another perfectly legitimate way to update your motherboard drivers. It's nice to be able to search for specific drivers and then download the ones specific to your motherboard's issues. To find and install manual updates, follow these steps:

Click "Start."
Then, click "Control Panel."
You'll need to then go to "System and Maintenance."
Click "Device Manager."
Here, you'll see a list of all of the devices you need to update. Just double-click on the appropriate device.
Next, click the tab labeled "Driver," and finally, click "Update Driver."

Manual updates are good for PC users who can tailor their repairs and specify what updates are necessary for the motherboard. Remember also that you may be able to find some updates on the manufacturer's website.

Finding the Right Driver Update Programs

Finally, remember that there are some very efficient driver update programs available for motherboard driver updates. If you can find one of these programs, you'll benefit greatly, because this software quickly scans your system for outdated drivers, and then installs new drivers. Find good driver update software to update your motherboard drivers.

With over 100,000+ unique devices and over 3,000+ manufacturers, DriverBoost is guaranteed to update motherboard drivers with the correct and most up-to-date drivers for your PC in mere minutes.

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Choosing The Right Motherboard - A Buyers Guide

When it comes to choosing the right Motherboard, you may want to start out by finding out exactly what a Motherboard is and what it is for. A motherboard is the main part of your computer, if you have ever opened up your tower or brain, as I like to call it. The motherboard is the large circuit board attached to the case. The motherboard is the brain that helps your hard drive to tell the computer what to do. All of the main components of your computer are attached to the motherboard. It can also be considered the highway that transfers information from one part of your PC to another. The motherboard is also where the BIOS system is; you know that black screen that shows up when you turn your PC on.

Now that we have an idea of how important the motherboard is. We can go onto how to choose the right one. When you go to pick out the motherboard, make sure you choose one that is compatible with the hardware you already own, such as your hard drive, CD or DVD drive, floppy drive, processor, audio video cards, or any other external or internal ports. With all of the things I just mentioned and the others to come, I would recommend writing down your computers specifications.

Remember the two most important parts in any computer is the Processor and Motherboard. Some recommend buying your processor first, I personally shop for the motherboard first. One main reason is that processors can be bought at a variety of places while the motherboard depending on manufacturer cannot. So once you know what features you need or want on your PC, you can begin looking at the Motherboards. You want to be sure your motherboard has one of the following socket sizes for the processor, as these are the newest and most common. The socket sizes are 754, 775, 939, and 940.

Another bit of advice is reading the manual for the motherboards you are looking at. Many manufacturers have downloadable manuals online. Another tip is to check the power supply, having the wrong type can seriously cause major damage. Make sure the memory modules you are planning to use have the right pin number; the pin is the part of the module that attaches it to the motherboard. Some computers built before 2000 use SDRAM, however newer ones use DDR or even DDRII. This is not interchangeable and I would recommend that you upgrade to a newer motherboard, as the older memory will not run as fast. Also remember that your memory may not be able to handle the motherboard and processor upgrade, so you need to consider that when upgrading.

Another factor to consider is your graphics card; this will determine what programs and games you can use. Many newer games now require a minimum 128 MB or more. The hard disks on your computer are the Hard Drive, Floppy or Zip Drives, and CD or DVD ROMs.

Now that you have the basics on choosing your next or first motherboard, you might want to check out some of these top manufacturers, MSI, FOXCONN and ASROCK.

Harry Love writes on behalf of Spire Technology http://www.spire.co.uk/ and specialises in I.T and A.V equipment, with his experience in cutting edge technology and up to the minute product knowledge he prides himself at being at the forefront of the technology industry.

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Social Media Quick Start Guide For Small Business

Many small businesses are just getting started in social media. I've had many clients tell me they don't know where to begin. Regardless of what your budget might be there are some simple ways you can "test the waters" before jumping in head first.

Below are some tips to help you begin to integrate social media into some of your traditional marketing and business efforts. Social media should not be something separate from your traditional marketing efforts. Integration is key and will maximize your investment in all marketing, both online and offline.

Remember just like marketing, social media is not sink or swim. The best marketers are those that take risks, take time to listen to their customers and learn from their mistakes. Try, try, try and try again. If you are doing these three things you will eventually get it right.

Social Media Quick Start:

1. If you don't already have one, setup a Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn account. All 3 of these are must haves for most businesses. Blogs are usually beneficial for most businesses as well. You can start a WordPress blog for free.

2. Develop a marketing plan. If you don't have one, write one or hire an expert to help. It doesn't have to be 100 pages. At minimum take 30 minutes to formalize your goals and objectives. If you have no goals and objectives you will have nothing to measure your success and learn from.

3. Next, develop a timeline of the activities you have planned. Review the activities of last year, ROI and any data that can help you make improvements and better decisions for 2010. At minimum try to have at least one theme per month. This is a great way for small businesses to begin integrated marketing.

3. Co-Marketing Partner List: Make a list of your partners, local charities or other companies you can partner with for some co-marketing activities. Why not get together and share resources, run an ad together and maximize both your voice, market and brand a wareness.

4. Go-To Market Strategy: Once you have your calendar at least in draft format, add some key categories for each month. These should include the types of activities or mediums you use for marketing. These should or can include social media, internet marketing via website, local advertising, promotions and campaigns, charity activities and general events. Optional tactics might be fundraisers, seminars, webinars and email blasts.

5. CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT: Now the tricky part... what are you going to market? What are you going to promote, email, talk with your customers about? What are you going to tweet, share on facebook or discuss with LinkedIn business members? I find this is the area most small businesses struggle. If you don't already have a messaging platform, create one or hire someone to help. At minimum ensure you have a mission statement, vision, value proposition, company description, product(s) description, benefit statement and list, feature statement and list, tagline, and more. Developing this content one time at the beginning of the year will save you tons of time later. It will also enable you to be more agile when a new opportunity arises for a good deal on a quick ad or co-marketing opportunity, or charity sponsorship. It's about "Create Once, Use Many". I also suggest writing some monthly Twitter Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn posts for each month. I promise if you do this you will NOT regret it.

6. Map your calendar to your content. Since you created themes for each month during your marketing plan development, now you can start plugging in content from your message platform. What features or benefits are best to market in the summer, spring or fall? You will begin to have something to talk about and inspire your customers!! This is goodness friends!

7. LISTEN: Before starting social media you need to listen. Listen to your customers, partners, mentors and most importantly your customers. What are they saying about your product or similar products? How are your customers using social media? What social networks are they "hanging out on"?? You'll probably be surprised how many of them are using it effectively. Take notes of what you learn, and how you can contribute content to the social platform to inspire them to read, listen and respond to your content.

8. Develop your Social Media Plan: Based on what you learned in your research, develop a plan that includes goals, objectives and tactics for social media platforms, audiences, partners and content. This should be mapped to your over arching marketing plan. If you followed my directions, you will be able to easily map a social media strategy activities to the larger plan. Guess what this means folks...wala... you are on your way to an "integrated marketing" land! Congratulations!

9. Setup Your Social Media World: I don't have time in this blog post to go into detail on this section. I will be writing some content over the next few weeks that should break down some of the steps for you. Suffice it to say at minimum you need a Facebook Group and Business Page, Twitter Account, and Linked In. If you are targeting niche markets you may need multiple eventually but remember we don't have to dive in head first. There is much you can do with customizing each of these. Facebook has some awesome features where you can make it function almost like a web page. You can add html to enable email subscriptions, surveys, discussions and more.

10. EXECUTE: Now that you have some content it's time to just go for it. Start Tweeting the content you developed in your message platform. Post a Facebook post and share it with your friends. You'll be surprised how many people will respond, become fans of your Facebook page, join your LinkedIn group, take your survey and respond to an offer. Think positive! Hopefully people want what you have to offer. If not, I would question why you are in business.

11. ENGAGE: It is important you don't just blast out "noise". Listen to what your customers have to say. Respond when somebody posts on your Facebook wall. If you see a new Twitter Follower who has a common interest, send them a message. Social media is about conversations and relationships. Inspire your audience and they will follow you, listen to you and engage. Engagement leads to conversation which leads to a relationship built on trust and value added. It is not until after you have INSPIRED and CONNECTED with your target audiences that you will ACHIEVE the business goals and objectives you are seeking.

12. MEASURE your impact: Because you set goals and objectives you will know your key metrics. If you are a small business who couldn't hire an expert and didn't really know what to expect or measure, it's okay! Many companies are in the same boat. However, regardless measurement is key! Track your facebook fans, twitter followers. Track what content they responded positively to.

13. IMPROVE: Based upon the early learnings, tweak your approach, strategy, content and more. CONTINUALLY LISTEN, MEASURE and IMPROVE! This is the key to social media. There is no perfect way to send a TWEET. You will have good tweet days and bad.

14. DON'T GIVE UP: Keep going! You have made it this far do NOT GIVE UP. Document your findings, wins, successes, learnings, and losses. Keep your head up and have fun!

If you find yourself overwhelmed and realize now why the agency cost was higher than you thought it would be, then contact them for help! Social media takes time, focus and dedication.

It's easy to create a Facebook page or a Twitter account. The fun part is seeing your business grow, brand awareness soar and objectives met!

Remember you are not playing the social media game to be the most popular girl or guy on Twitter. Although that may be a nice perk, we all will have a hard time competing with the 3+ Million followers of Ashton Kutcher LOL!

Good luck and have fun!!!

Pam Moore, CEO and Founder, Fruitzoom, Inc. A passionate marketing, social media, brand and internet enthusiast with 15+ years experience building brands, communities and businesses with winning integrated Go To Market and Social Media Strategies and tactics to increase awareness, sales, and maximize ROI in both B2B and B2C markets.

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Digital Media Player Guide Review - Western Digital WD TV Live Network - Ready HD Media Player

If you are looking for more bang for your buck then the Western Digital WD TV Live Network-ready HD Media Player WDBAAN0000NBK-NESN has some of the best features and capabilities on the market. The WD TV live is a very popular digital media player, and is highly rated by its owners for ease of use and functionality. WD TV Live added some key upgrades from the previous release from Western Digital, the WD TV. This player is network ready, provides video playback up to 1080p TrueHD and digital sound though the media player optical output or the HDMI output. One of the biggest improvements were to the menu system for selecting your media.

Western Digital WD TV Live Network-Ready HD

The WD TV Live digital media player is a media streamer that allows you to stream your video, music, and photos to your high definition TV and play your audio via your home theater system. This player does not come with an internal hard drive, but rather must be connected to a USB mass storage device or network containing your media files. The recommended storage drive is the Western Digital My Book Essential USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive (1 Terabyte -1TB Model) which will provide ample room to store lots of movies, photos, and music. As it comes from the manufacturer, the WD Live HD is a hard wired network ready media streamer. There is nothing to prevent you from going wireless also with a USB wireless dongle. A popular wireless adapter for the WD TV Live is the Linksys Range Plus Wireless USB Compact Adapter that will let you connect to your existing home or business wireless network. Either wired or wireless this digital media player has it's competition cut out for it. It is very similar to the Patriot Box Office HD and the HDX1000 Network Media Tank, but it doesn't offer the feature of adding your own internal hard drive to the media player itself. If this isn't a concern then the WD TV Live is really a fantastic media player. It offers the latest and greatest including 1080p true high definition through HDMI and Dolby Digital and DTS Encoders. Here are the goods, on the WD TV Live:

Includes HDMI 1.3 port, Supporting up to True HD 1080p

Connect external hard drives directly or connect to your network to view movies, photos, and music

USB port for USB drives

Audio formats: MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS

Video file formats: AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9

Photo formats: JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG

Connections: Video: HDMI v1.3 (up to 1080p), Composite Video Out; Audio: S/PDIF Optical Digital Audio, Other: 10/100 Ethernet.

Remote Control Included.

About The Author:

Mitchell Pierce invites you to please visit the Digital Media Player Guide site today to find this article, WD TV Live HD, and other articles and free information regarding digital media players as well as links to where to get great deals at Media HD Player.

(C) Copyright - Mitchell Pierce, Digital Media Player Guide - All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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Media Training Tips for the Novice: A Guide for Those New to the Media Spotlight

Media interviews can be difficult even for those used to public and media attention --but they can be downright terrifying for those who've never been in the media spotlight before.

For many who've never interacted with the media, fear of the media usually stems from a feeling of lack of control in the process, and concern over the reporter's motives in doing the interview. Will I be able to answer the reporter's questions? How will I know the reporter won't make me look bad?

Reporters of course, understand many of their interview subjects will react this way, and good ones will do what they can to put their interviewees at ease. Reporters though have a tendency to believe people's fears about the media are for the most part, groundless. As a media trainer and former reporter, I know it's not that simple. Facts often don't speak for themselves and interview subjects can indeed look foolish, inept or worse, even if that wasn't the reporter's aim.

The goal of media training is to teach you how to serve both reporters' goals and your own, truthfully, factually, and with confidence. Media training is designed first and foremost to allow interview subjects to understand how to exercise the control they often don't even know they have over the process.

The first thing for the novice interviewee to understand is that he or she is in far greater danger from a reporter who doesn't get it, than from a reporter who is out to get you. The vast majority of reporters want to get the story right. If they work for a mainstream news organization, there are standards they must meet and higher ups to hold them accountable to those standards. That's not to say reporters don't sometimes get it wrong. It means if they're a professional, they have a stake in getting it right and value their reputations. That means you need to concentrate on telling them what they need to know to get it right. I firmly believe that it's always in people's best interests to engage the media rather than shun them. Here are some basic rules for media interviews for you to keep in mind:

No Spin: Don't lie to a reporter. Ever. It doesn't mean you have to tell all, explain all and reveal all. It means you need to maintain your credibility at all times by making sure the veracity of what you say can be counted on. It also has the advantage of reducing the need to correct statements later.

Preparation is key: Reporters are looking to tell a story others can relate to or at least find a connection with. Think beforehand about the main points you want to make with a reporter and how you want to get those points across. This is called messaging and it's a vital part of any interaction with a reporter.

Think about why you're being interviewed: You are probably not speaking with a reporter just to provide them with raw data. More likely, you're there to provide some kind of perspective. Concentrate then on the bigger picture regarding the issue or the event; as an expert, an observer or a participant.

Less is more: Speaking to reporters requires getting to the bottom line as quickly, and as quotably, as you can. Deliver the supportive data, facts and backup information after you're sure you've delivered your message. Try to make your message as accessible as you can to the greatest number of people (no jargon, slang, or "inside language") and if you tell a story, make sure it's a succinct one that makes the point you really want to make.

Practice, practice, and practice: It takes a while to get comfortable with developing messages, reducing them to a few well-spoken statements, and staying on message through questions. The more you do it, the better you will get. No matter which reporters you speak to, trade, local, regional or national, print or broadcast, follow the same process of knowing who you are speaking to, for what reason, and determining what you want to say.

Media interviews should be a process of mutual gain. The media gets information, perspective, an interesting story or point of view, and you in turn get to reach the audience watching and listening to that segment of media. So give reporters what they're looking for--access, good quotes and reliable information--and you'll be rewarded with access to their audiences. Don't let your lack of experience stop you from engaging with the media and with the public you want to reach.

Aileen Pincus is a former local and national television reporter, Senior Hill Staffer and leading executive communication coach, training corporate, government and non-profit executives in the art of communication. http://www.thepincusgroup.com

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Digital Media Player Guide Review - HD Digitech HDX 1000 Network Media Tank NMT 1080p HD Player

Price: $249.99 USD

First available to the public in July of 2009, if you have not yet heard of the HD Digitech HDX 1000 Network Media Tank then please let me introduce you to one of the best in the digital media player genre to date. There are some downsides to this player also, but the good far outweighs the bad. With a serial ATA (SATA) slot for adding an internal hard drive, and additional features like Bittorrent support, you can store your media on the device, and give your computer a bit of a breather. Couple those features with the latest video and audio processors, the HDX 1000 Network Media Tank supports video output up to 1080p and audio output of Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS HD-HR and DTS HD-MA, be prepared to blow your family and friends away.

The HDX 1000 Network Media Tank offers both hard wired streaming network support and wireless network support (TP-LINK TL-WN821N Wireless N USB Adapter) is available as an add on for around $20 USD. The HDX 1000 gives you the ability not only play media files from your computer or external hard drive, but this digital media player also supports streaming internet video from sources such as Youtube, Veoh, and Google Video. Connectivity is a breeze with Universal Plug N Play (Upnp) and DNLA Media Server support. The DNLA support will offer additional compatibility for your Xbox and PlayStation 3. You can also hook up to the slave USB port for direct copying of your media files from your computer. View your media in up to 1080p through the HDMI 1.3a port. The HDX 1000 also supports component video out and composite video out. HD Digitech went all out with the audio processing also, by offering Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS HD-HR and DTS HD-MA. Really top notch sound. It supports and plays almost any media files out there.

There are, like anything, some downsides to this player. The user interface, out of the box, is text based, but do not fear. There are third party plug-ins available that will help you navigate your media. YamJ Movie Jukebox is available from Google and will help you navigate through your media collection. Also there is no real instruction manual, but there is an instructional Wiki set up from NetworkedMediaTank.com.

Here is an overview of the features:

o Includes HDMI 1.3a port, Supporting up to True HD 1080p

o Includes expandable hard drive slot for future expansion for extra storage of movies, photos, and music

o Universal Plug-n-Play capability (UPnP)

o 3 USB ports for USB drives (1 is a slave USB for direct copy from PC)

o Audio formats: Dolby®/DTS(TM) encoders, MP1, MP2, MP3, WAV, WMA, WMA-Pro, AAC, LPCM 5.1/7.1, FLAC, DTS, AC3

o Video file formats: MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V), MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG), MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS), VOB, AVI, ASF, WMV, Matroska (MKV), MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4

o Photo formats: JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF

o Internet Connectivity: YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, VideoCast, DL.TV, Cranky Geeks, iPodcast, Radiobox, ABC News, Flickr, Picasa, RSS:Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! Traffic alerts, Yahoo! Stock, Cinecast, Traffic Conditions. Shoutcast.

o Connections: Video: HDMI v1.3a (up to 1080p), Component Video (up to 1080p), Composite Video (All Gold Plated) Audio: Stereo Analog Audio (Gold Plated), S/PDIF Coaxial Digital Audio, Optical Digital Audio, Other: 10/100 Ethernet, Serial ATA (SATA) port.

o Remote Control Included

About The Author:

Mitchell Pierce invites you to please visit the Digital Media Player Guide site today to find this and other articles and free information regarding digital media players as well as links to where to get great deals at Digital Media Player.

(C) Copyright - Mitchell Pierce, Digital Media Player Guide - All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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What is Social Media? A Guide to Profiting From Social Networking

SM is an umbrella term that encompasses the technologies and the activities that people use to share experiences, ideas and information with each other. The term is still evolving. The term "SOCIAL MEDIA" most often refers to activities that integrate technology, social (or human) interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio - better known as "user generated content" [an example of UGC would be videos on YouTube.]

Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing (crowd outsourcing), and voice over IP, to name a few.

Examples of social media applications are Google Groups (reference, social networking), Wikipedia (reference), MySpace (social networking), Facebook (social networking), Youmeo (social network aggregation), Last.fm (personal music), YouTube (social networking and video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), Flickr (photo sharing), Twitter (social networking and microblogging) and other microblogs such as Jaiku and Pownce.

--- What is Social Media Marketing (SMM)?

SMM is where you use social media networking and user-generated content platforms to promote a product, service or content. SMM typically involves creating and participating in a "conversation" with the target audience, rather than blatantly advertising to them.

SMM can also include creating and promoting viral content that is meant to be shared by users. Many marketers are not comfortable with the lack of control over social media but when approached properly, social networks can be extremely effective channels for building product evangelism, reputation management or corporate branding

--- Why is it becoming so popular?

I believe it's simply because it mirrors our true nature. We are gregarious by nature and for once we are able to use technology easily to reach out and connect in new and exciting ways. It's still all so new too, there are new frontiers popping up regularly and it's a bit like the early Internet "gold rush" days during the 90's

--- Is every Social Media site for every entrepreneur?

They might not think so, but it is. You do it naturally every day, SM online is simply the same thing applied technologically.

--- How does a business owner determine which site is the best match for them?

Good question. Not all SM Sites are equal. I typically advise people to think "classical marketing" and don't let the 'flashing lights' fool you. Visit the site, pat attention to the conversation. "Lurk" for a while. Ask a question, see what happens. Each environment has its own rules. Blunder in and start shouting and you'll get flamed. Respect the environments 'sub culture' and you'll do fine. An obvious example of this in action is a site that caters to "gamers" - you instinctively know that if you're selling insurance you would have a tough time in that environment. Like I said, think like a classical marketer.

--- Are there some "best practices" steps to starting and maintaining your SMM sites? And how do I make social networking work for me?

- Social Media Marketing

Many a company has forgotten the old maxim, "Act in haste, repent at your leisure..." The same warning should be applied to companies rushing to get in on the social media marketing wave.

If you hear things at work like "We should have a blog," or "Let's join Facebook," I suggest [respectfully] that maybe you are about to make a whopper of a mistake.

Here's why...

- Backwards is bad

You are starting your social media strategy design backwards - and this will lead to trouble.

In any other business endeavor we start by figuring out what we want to accomplish. Social media technologies are not magical. They're just tools too. It's time to stop doing social media marketing because it's trendy and instead do it because it works!

- 4 Things to Remember

(1) The web is about people. You need to know your audience. Understand their capabilities, their hangouts online, their language and behaviors. If you're targeting business travelers then consider rating and review sites for example. Just don't guess...

(2) Figure out what will be different when you are done. This is the "why" behind your plans. Do you want to create a close knit community or a product testing ground. Understand the motive's behind your actions.

(3) What outcomes and objectives are you seeking to achieve. Consider the end result and how you will measure it. A fuzzy or fluffy end result is almost as bad as not specifying one at all. How will you measure success?

(4) What technology to choose. Only answer this question when you've completed the others because then you'll know with clarity and confidence.

In conclusion, if you recognize classic business planning and management principles amongst these notes you'd be correct. The game may have changed, but the rules are still the same. Plan first, then act with confidence.

--- How long is this new type of marketing going to take to master?

The actual skills are quite simple - you likely already have them mastered. What you need to learn is the PROCESS. That takes a little time, but frankly not that much.

--- What if I don't know many people to invite to my network?

No problem. Answer this question "If you are the ANSWER, what was the QUESTION?" Armed with that answer you can locate groups of people who would need what you offer. You can then invite them to participate and you can SHARE your knowledge and expertise to PROVE you are the answer to their problem. Use your favourite search engine to locate these people - simply type in the QUESTION or problem. Remember, if people knew the answer they wouldn't be looking :)

--- How can I get business through SMM?

It's a funny thing when I'm asked this. We do it daily, so I marvel at the fact people think it's different online. Sure there's a layer of technology in the mix, but it's still about people getting to know people. Remember the old maxim, people buy from people they like and trust.

SMM simply enables (or should I say empowers) you to do this more effectively.

--- Why Most Brands Fail on Social Networks

A new report from JupiterResearch sheds light on what many online marketers suspected for quite some time. Most brands are failing to make impact on social networks...

Naughton's Law states: "We invariably over-estimate the short-term implications of new communications technologies, and we grievously underestimate their long term impacts." Every brand should be online in the best way, know its consumers, and maximize the benefit of its online offering to those consumers.

Here are some startling facts from the report:

- Startling Facts:

(*) The average branded social networking page has only 6,494 friends.

(*) Many advertisers are still building branded social networking pages that broadcast content rather than inviting users to interact.

(*) "Most advertisers simply don't know how to market properly within social networks." - JupiterResearch

- New Research Suggests:

(*) You should promote your SM pages with paid adverts rather than relying on viral marketing to get the message out. Building viral buzz is harder than you think.

(*) You need to engage users on the page. Even simple forms of engagement, such as contests, on average doubled the number of friends acquired by each branded page.

(*) You must also appeal to social networkers' love of multimedia to get noticed. Social Networkers are twice as likely to visit a branded page focused on media content than a branded page focused on products.

--- How does the non-writer do this type of marketing?

It really shouldn't pose a problem. The 'Net is vast and there's room for each of us to be AUTHENTIC. Even behind the shield of a computer many of us seem able to sense a scoundrel or someone "putting on airs".

If you can email you can do SM. If you can talk you can SM. If you have a pulse... you get the idea.

--- Do the Social Media Marketing sites have fees to pay?

Typically NO. I advise you to initially avoid any sites that ask for payment until you know precisely what you are paying for. There are some good fee based sites out there, but the good ones also offer a free version too - start there if you wish. Let the results determine the level of investment you are prepared to make.

--- Are there some sites that you would recommend for business people?

LinkedIn.com

eCademy.com

SelfGrowth.com

Ning.com - 'create your own' Social Media website.

--- Will I have to spend hours a day keeping in touch with all of the people who write to me?

You will need to invest time and energy in your online marketing. Whether it's YOU that does this or one of your staff is entirely up to you. But you cannot expect a "set and forget" solution to something that is inherently human.

--- How can I protect myself from "weirdoes?"

Be careful. Don't give away sensitive or private information online. You will always be exposed to some degree to odd people. I get some very odd emails and propositions, however you need to remember this is business, and although you are using "personal skills" to network online, never forget that.

--- How can I come across as a professional on these sites, and is it possible to do "real" business this way?

Yes. Publish a professional PROFILE. Show you are a professional and act accordingly and you will be perceived as such. Include family photos of you dressed as a clown at your kids birthday party at your own peril. Remember, online your "goofs" are eternal and will haunt you forever. Online reputation is area you need to tread carefully within. It's a bit off topic, but that's why I tell teenagers that they should be very careful about the pictures and posts they put on these social websites. Because in a few years the recruiters will be Googling them and this will be part of their "resume" and frankly it can be a career killer before it even starts.

--- Why do some people seem to get good results and others just get discouraged?

As with all things in life some people quit too early. Social Media Marketing and Social Networking takes time. It's like any relationship you develop with another human, rushing to the finish just gets you slapped... Metaphorically and literally too!

Also, success online isn't about one big thing, it's about a cluster of little things done consistently with focus and commitment. The strongest trees take the longest to grow. Online things happen a lot faster, but still there is a time commitment, think 6 to 12 months and you'll be thinking along the right lines.

--- Is there a "fast start" strategy once I sign up for a Social media marketing site?

There is. Create a professional profile. Publish some content establishing you as an expert in your field. The 'readers' will approve and so will the search engines. Explore the active or "hot zones" within the SM site, pay attention to the type of communication and then dive in. Give first. Build kudos and credit before you try asking for anything.

To keep up, use technology to "feed" your SM presence from your other sites like your blog or website. I use technology to syndicate and publish my content to all my SM sites with the push of one button. It makes connecting and staying up to date a breeze.

Remember to invite your friends to join you. Add a promotional button on your "other" sites - for instance if you decide to join Twitter, you can put a "Follow Me" link on your website. Connect, Communicate and Commit. Now 'rinse and repeat.'

--- Extra Topics...

- The 16 Rules of Social Media Optimization

Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, adding a Digg or Share This button, blogging and incorporating third party community functionalities like Flickr photo slides and galleries or YouTube videos. Social media optimization is a form of search engine marketing (SEO.)

Social media optimization is in many ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way the engagement with blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogsphere and special blog search engines such as Technorati.

Rohit Bhargava was credited with inventing the term SMO. His original five rules for conducting Social Media Optimization have grown to 16 (as of today.) For reference, here is an aggregated list so far:

1. Increase your linkability

2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy

3. Reward inbound links

4. Help your content travel

5. Encourage the mashup

6. Be a User Resource, even if it doesn't help you

7. Reward helpful and valuable users

8. Participate

9. Know how to target your audience

10. Create content

11. Be real

12. Don't forget your roots, be humble

13. Don't be afraid to try new things, stay fresh

14. Develop a SMO strategy

15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely

16. Make SMO part of your process and best practices

Much of what is listed here is common sense, some say it just Web2.0 marketing. Whatever you may think it's definitely good advice no matter what. I'm just pleased we are taking the subject seriously now and promoting strategic content creation as an important aspect in the mix.

- 15 Social Media Facts That You Should Know

(1) Approx. 3 out 4 people in North America use the web

(2) Women are a growth area online.

(3) 44% of the Internet users are between the age of 35 and 54.

(4) Approx. 3 out of 4 people in North America use social networks.

(5) They spend an average of 6 hrs a month on these social networks and view more than 800 web pages.

(6) 51% of social network users are female - they also consume about 200 pages more than men and spend an extra 2 hours online.

(7) Canada is a Facebook nation, the USA is a MySpace nation.

(8) 65.7% of Canadians use Facebook each month spending an average of 350 minutes and consuming 725 pages of content.

(9) 35+ is the biggest age growth sector on Facebook.

(10) Online video and multimedia has grown over 300% in North America.

(11) The average length of a video online is 3.4 minutes

(12) 89% of all Internet users have watched a video in the past month.

(13) 57% of all videos are consumed on YouTube.

(14) Blogs reach more than 60% of all (online) people in North America. Blogging is growing at almost twice the rate of the Internet.

(15) Social networking and multimedia has a reach of more than 80% of the North American population.

Bottom line, if you are not engaged in social media conversations with your marketplace, then you face a very uncertain future. As I'm fond of saying "Be Found, Be Noticed or Be History!"

JAMES BURCHILL Shows individuals and companies how to profit from the innovative use of Internet technologies, strategic content and social media marketing. James' innovative and creative solutions are the select choice for those seeking an advantage, and Jim's valuable money making, marketing, technology and business advice is published regularly on his website. You can find out more at http://www.JamesBurchill.com/about

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

The Complete Novice's Guide to Social Media

Introduction

This article is intended to be a very straightforward guide to Social Media and everything that Social Media encompasses including blogs, social networks and forums etc. It is intended to introduce both newcomers and perhaps even some more experienced people to the world of social media.

So, what is Social Media?

So, what is this social media that has the Internet buzzing with excitement? Well, Wikipedia (an interesting form of social media in itself) describes it as:

"information content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies that is intended to facilitate communications, influence and interaction with peers and with public audiences, typically via the Internet and mobile communications networks."

This can encompass not just text and information based services like blogs etc, it can also contain image and video based services such as Flickr and YouTube for example.

Social media instigates a sense of community, making users feel connected with each other through participation and communication via many forms of media. Technorati, a blog submission service, has over 133 million blogs indexed, displaying the staggering rise in popularity of people wanting to be heard and connect to each other.

Social Media and your Business

Social media can benefit any type of business and if approached correctly, can help build relationships with consumers and other companies through networking and raised awareness of your service.

With social media you can easily speak directly to your customers, using Twitter to gather feedback on customer satisfaction, raising awareness of a recently launched product through Digg or using YouTube to promote your move into a new office location for example.

An example of a company using social media in a great way is Starbucks. Starbucks created a whole new website and blog centred around customer suggestions for their service. A user would go onto the website and suggest a way Starbucks could improve, everyone registered on the website would then vote their favorite ideas and then Starbucks would post on their blog regarding which ideas they liked and how they would be actually implemented into the Starbucks service.

Companies are always thinking of better ways to run there service, social media gave Starbucks a way to connect with millions of existing customers and gave those customers an opportunity to build on the Starbucks service in a way only they could know how.

Burger King launched a Facebook application which encouraged users to 'sacrifice' 10 of their facebook friends in return for a free Whopper burger. It was taken down by Facebook not long after launch citing privacy concerns, however in the relatively short space of time the application was live, it gathered over 20,000 users and consequently over 200,000 friends were sacrificed in the name of free burgers. This social media example was well built, was easy to share and gave the user the incentive to network with friends which made it very popular in the short space of time it was available.

These are only two examples of successful social media solutions by companies on the Internet, companies like Sun, Ford, Dell and IBM are all currently reaping the benefits of using blogs, twitter accounts, Facebook pages and other social media tools to connect with customers and make there companies more transparent to consumers. Social media, blogs especially, aren't going to disappear overnight. They now act as invaluable customer service methods with the ability to conduct informal discussion with your customers and let them get to know more about you and your company in an inexpensive way.

Establishing a social media presence for your company gives you the ability to reach potentially millions of new customers through Facebook, Twitter, Digg etc, many of which may have been unreachable without a presence on these networks. Having profiles on the various social networks gives you the maximum potential to raise awareness of your brand, gain more visitors to your website and the capacity to convert those targeted visitors to customers.

Social Media in Numbers

2,000,000,000

searches through the Google search engine every day

1,360,652,987

tweets on Twitter as of March 2009

700,000,000

photos added to Facebook every month

900,000

blog posts every 24 hours

38,040

diggs the most popular bookmark on Digg has received in the last 12 months

412.3

years it would take to watch all of YouTube's content as of March 2008

13

hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute

Social Media Forms

Although social media can come in many forms, it has its main ones:

Blogs

The most well known of 'obvious' social media forms. Blogs act as a frequently updated hub of contextual information where users can get involved and give their input through comments.

Forums

The oldest form of social media, in use before the term 'social media' was made popular. Internet forums act as areas for online discussion, usually centered around certain topics.

Content Communities

Content communities differ from usual forms of social media in that they allow people to share and use particular kinds of content that blogs and forums don't fully concentrate upon such as images (see Flickr), interesting bookmarks (see Digg and del.icio.us) and of course video (see YouTube).

Micro-blogging

A relevant newcomer in the social media world. Micro-blogging combines blogging and social networking in that it allows people to update small amounts of content online through web-based, desktop and also mobile clients (see Twitter).

Social Networks

Social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo etc allow the easy creation of personalised web page accounts that facilitates communication between users.

The Distribution of Social Media

People only have a certain amount of time to check their favorite websites, this mightn't even include blogs or social networks. Couple this with the fact that people seem to be working longer hours than ever these days and also using blackberrys and iPhones to work away from the office, and you're faced with a daunting task of attracting people to your blog or website.

One remedy to this has been the introduction of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. RSS feeds allow a user to effectively 'subscribe' to a website or blog, meaning they are notified through a newsreader when new content is available.

RSS saves people a lot of time when reading blogs and website updates, meaning communities can grow and become more valuable to both the user and author saving both parties time and money.

Social Networks

Joining a social network usually involves creating your own web page with information about yourself, be it personal, professional or otherwise and you then connect with other people on that network.

Although most of these networks are relatively young in their age, a selection of them are very popular and have changed the shape of the Internet for the near future at the very least.

MySpace

After launching in August 2003, MySpace became the most popular social networking website in the United States in mid 2006, attracting well over 100million account holders.

MySpace has largely built it's popularity based upon its comprehensive music service where bands can upload tracks directly to their profile for fans to listen to, even launching it's own record label to release music from MySpace upon.

Bebo

Bebo is a popular social networking tool with more emphasis on the younger user than its competitors. It is also geared towards colleges, schools and other educational institutes which is where Bebo has found it's niche. It was purchased by AOL in early 2008 for over £400million.

Facebook

First available to University students, facebook was opened up to the public (people over the age of 13) in 2006 and it's userbase has skyrocketed ever since.

The service allows you to join networks and groups of organisations, sports teams, location specific groups etc and also offers developers the chance to write applications for the service at no charge

Facbook currently has over 235million account users.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has it's own niche in the social networking world in that it is targeted solely toward the working professional.

LinkedIn allows you to create your own career profile and network with past and present workmates and is mainly used for career-orientated networking and job / project searches.

LinkedIn has approximately 40million users.

Friends Reunited

Friends reunited is a social network based upon the theme of reuniting and connecting with former (and current) classmates. It is identified as the first social network to achieve prominence in Britain, surviving the dotcom bust.

Blogs

A blog (standing for web-log) is a type of website maintained by an individual or company that is commonly updated with news on latest events, opinions, reviews and any other material the author deems worth of publishing.

With recent developments in blog hosting technology, it's possible for anyone with a basic knowledge of the internet to create and run their own blog using platforms such as WordPress and blogger.

Topics

The reason blogs are so popular on the Internet is because they act as a hub of information for any given topic. This can include website design articles (see a list apart), celebrity news (see TMZ), politics (see Huffington Post) and technology news (see techcrunch).

Although some blogs contain posts around a number of topics, the most popular ones have a defined theme and user base.

Comments

Almost all blogs have a comments structure in place allowing readers to submit their views on that blog or article. Comments act as a networking tool in itself, with many people growing the reader-base of their own blog or website through the clicks they receive from commenting on other peoples blogs.

Forums

The Internet forum is the relative grandparent of the social media family, evolving from the bulletin board style of networking which was popular in the early years of the Internet.

Like blogs, forums can be about any number of topics and attract people mainly looking for information and discussion around a particular theme or subject. Where the two mediums differ are that whereas blogs are usually the views / news from one individual or company, forums act as a discussion venue where many discussions are ongoing at once in different locations called 'threads'. Also, a blog has a clear owner, again that may be an individual or company depending on the blog itself but a forum is effectively ran by its members.

Many forums have been running from the early days of the Internet and have thus gathered a huge amount of members, Gaia Online has over 16million registered members and is one of the most popular on the Internet.

Content Communities

Content communities don't particularly adhere to typical social network frameworks, as they aren't particularly intended for networking between people using the usual means. Two examples of this are Flickr and YouTube.

Flickr

Flickr is an image and video hosting website where people can create a personal account and upload photos they have taken. It's also used by bloggers and webmasters as an online photo storage system, where they can host all of their images in a searchable database. As of late 2008, it is claimed that Flickr holds more than 3billion images.

The social aspect of Flickr comes into play through the creation of various subject-orientated groups where users can comment on relevant images that have been uploaded.

YouTube

Youtube is the largest video hosting website on the Internet with well over 120million videos currently hosted through its service. Youtube members can upload their own footage, create channels / playlists of their favourite videos and share them with friends.

Youtube has quickly become one of the largest websites in the history of the Internet with more than 6billion videos viewed on the service in January 2009 alone. Before the public launch of YouTube in 2005, there were very few methods of video-orientated social networking available via the Internet, YouTube changed this with the ability for its users to dictate its content through the uploading of personal video.

Microblogging

Microblogging is the latest in the way of social networking, combining blogging, instant messaging and the popular status updates of the Facebook service into one neat package.

Popular microblogging services such as Twitter allow a small (in Twitters case, no more than140 characters) text based 'update' to be published on your twitter page and to those who are 'following' you.

Although it is a web based format, over 90% of 'tweet's published via twitter are by mobile, desktop or instant messaging applications. Twitter is largely used by the web industry as a way of passing useful links to one another, as well as a very quick and easy networking tool between account followers.

It has recently began to attract a lot of press attention due to the amount of well known people using the service. President Obama used Twitter in the run up to the election to keep voters informed of his campaign, connecting to a completely new audience to previous candidates.

Conclusion

Although Social Media is a relatively new factor on the Internet, the advances we have seen in a short space of time have been staggering. Two to three years ago MySpace was the service everyone was using to connect with each other, who would have predicted that within 24 months there would have been a service in Facebook that overtook it as the Internets leading social networking tool.

The future of social media is an exciting one, and we could see some interesting developments even in the short term such as the adoption of the mobile social network. Although a lot of people are using Social Media on mobile phones already, this number is expected to increase significantly in the near future with the development of more and more clients for social networks on mobile phones.

Social media is expected to evolve and grow into exciting new services and shows no signs of dissapearing any time soon. The potential for growth and monetary gain for businesses is too great for them to ignore social media, helping spread news of services and offers to hundreds, if not thousands, of friends in an instant. Some companies aim for that kind of promotion and never reach it, some pay millions to get it, with social media, it is in everyones grasp.

A company that neglects both social media and the benefits of search engine optimisation is shielding its services away from millions of potential customers.

Opening your company up to social media services allows you to connect instantly with new people, couple this with a comprehensive search engine optimisation plan and you are in a perfect position to attract new customers and network inexpensively.

Well that's it for our guide to Social Media, grab yourself a cup of tea (or coffee if you're that way inclined) and relax.

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