In “The Contract Negotiation Handbook: An Indispensable Guide for Contract Professionals,” author Stephen Guth offers insight into the world of contract negotiations by exposing real life negotiation tactics and ploys in the form of a practical, easy-to-understand handbook.

The Contract Negotiation Handbook: An Indispensable Guide for Contract Professionals

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) May 25, 2008 — In his most recent book, author Stephen Guth offers insight into the world of contract negotiation ploys and tactics that few ever see.

In “The Contract Negotiation Handbook: An Indispensable Guide for Contract Professionals,” Guth exposes real life negotiation tactics and ploys in the form of a practical, easy-to-understand handbook that can be used by novices and seasoned professionals alike. Says Guth, “Many books have been written on negotiation tactics and a few books have been written on contract drafting, but no book has combined the two disciplines into one practical handbook–until now.”

Resulting from over 10 years of actual negotiation experience, Guth details step-by-step how to spoil a seller’s ploys such as the Pop-Tart, Mirroring, and the Only Game in Town with buyer’s tactics such as the Columbo, the Price Slice and Dice, and the Signature Limit Lasso. To put it all together, Guth instructs readers on contract drafting tricks such as Expressly Implied Warranties, the Endless Indemnification, and the Unlimited Limitation of Liability.

While he describes negotiations from both a buyer’s and a seller’s perspective, Guth explains that his book is intended to benefit buyers and not sellers, “This book isn’t a feel-good book on win-win negotiations. It’s an insider’s view into real life negotiation ploys and tactics. If I’ve done my job, readers will never look at contracts the same way again.”

This latest book by Guth can be found on Amazon.com or at http://www.lulu.com/content/1718685. Guth is also the author of “The Vendor Management Office: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Sourcing.” Information on these books and other publications by Guth can be found at http://www.vendormanagementoffice.com. Mr. Guth also moderates a blog at http://www.vmo-blog.com, covering a wide variety of negotiation, contracting, and purchasing topics.

Stephen R. Guth, Esq. is the Executive Director of the Vendor Management Office at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association located in Arlington, Virginia. He has provided negotiation services, from both sides of the negotiation table, to numerous multi-national companies. Mr. Guth is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, received a Master’s from George Washington University’s Commercial Contract Management Program, and is a summa cum laude graduate of Saint Leo University. He holds the following certifications: Certified Purchasing Manager, Certified Technology Procurement Executive, and Certified Commercial Contract Manager.

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WEBWIRE – Thursday, May 22, 2008

ARMONK, NY – May 2008: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today released a new study which reveals 80 percent of consumers would prefer a service provider that gave them more choice in the applications and services available on their mobile device. The study, titled, “Go mobile, grow” produced by IBM’s Institute for business value points to how consumer demand for customization and personalization will drive innovation and open standards in the mobile marketplace.

The mobile web provides people with access to the Internet anytime and anywhere. The market for mobile Internet services is estimated to reach US$80 billion by 2011, with increasing usage expected to fuel growth in both the provision of services and mobile Internet advertising.(1) At the same time, the number of mobile Internet users worldwide is projected to approach 1 billion, a 191 percent increase from 2006 and a compound annual growth rate of 24 percent.(2) The ubiquitous availability of IP wireless broadband and more affordable advanced smart phones will change the way companies around the world operate and relate to their customers, employees and partners.

IBM surveyed nearly 700 consumers around the world on their preferences regarding the mobile internet. 69 percent of consumers reported they want devices that are open to personalization and configuration of applications.

The IBM survey found the mobile web will increasingly be used for utility and transactional services. For example, nearly 60 percent of consumers are interested in banking via mobile devices. Other utility services include e-mail, instant messaging, stock trading, news and information and general browsing. Also, entertainment applications are growing in popularity with the IBM study finding 53 percent of consumers interested in mobile TV and 45 percent interest in buying music via mobile devices.

“Clearly the same market forces which empowered consumers to choose personal computers that were open and enabled them to customize their applications are at play in the mobile web marketplace” said Dr. Sungyoul Lee, Global Consulting Leader, Electronics Industry, IBM. “Our survey found 60 percent of consumers do not have a specific brand preference when using mobile Internet services. With consumers clamoring for choice, the marketplace will need to innovate around open platforms and models to build loyalty”

Markets around the world will adopt the mobile web differently. In mature markets, IBM consultants predict the Mobile Web will extend and complement the personal computer. While in emerging markets like India and China, consumers are skipping their first PC purchase and going straight to high-end mobile platforms that deliver the same service. IBM consultants also predict that in semi-literate populations, people will use low-cost mobile phones, whose user interface will be voice-based, which will greatly expand their connectivity to people and data.

Implications and Recommendations for Mobile Device Makers
The IBM study, points to a number challenges which Mobile Device Makers (MDMs) will face in the “Era of the Mobile Web” In particular, competition with established Internet brands looking to the mobile web as a source of potential revenue poses a huge challenge. Also, existing business relationships and channel conflicts will be a major obstacle as MDMs could be perceived as threats to offerings by their network partners and impact the core device business of MDMs.

“These challenges from portal players and mobile network operators will force MDMs to compete where they excel most by delivering innovation that wows consumers” said IBM’s Dr. Lee. “Mobile device makers, confronted by numerous challenges to growth and profitability, need to develop new avenues to expand their core offerings. At the moment, the mobile internet market is still somewhat fragmented. But it is unlikely to stay that way for long. The time to act is now”

Based on the consumer survey results and further analysis by IBM industry consultants, the IBM study identifies a number of factors which will help MDMs secure market share in the mobile internet space. Namely, a focus on driving their design and business models based directly on consumer insights will be vital. Also, the development of a participation in a standards-based, open ecosystem for devices and services will be a boon for innovation.

To take advantage of the opportunities offered by the mobile Internet, the study says many MDMs may need to transform from device-driven to service-driven. This may require changes in marketing and brand perception, partnership strategies, content delivery and management, as well as revenue models. This transformation in business model will also require a scalable and cost-efficient infrastructure that enables them to rapidly ramp up services. This may include looking at the benefits of partnering with a third party (e.g. outsourcing partner, system integrator, etc.) in order to bring in the necessary expertise, while still keeping the costs low.

Handset sales have reached saturation point in emerging markets therefore compelling MDMs to move to higher end devices that enable more services. This could bring a double boost to earnings and revenue as it raises the average device price point and provides MDMs a cross sell opportunity to high margin services.

As part of its ongoing consumer research efforts, IBM has the full report “Go mobile, grow” available at this IBM website.

In addition to working with clients on mobile web initiatives, IBM is making major investments in software, hardware, services and partnerships related to the mobile web. IBM Research has a number of projects in its labs focused on bringing simple, easy-to-use services to the millions of people in the world who have bypassed using the personal computer as their primary method of accessing technology, and are instead using their mobile phone to access the web, conduct financial transactions, entertain themselves, shop and more. Additionally, IBM has opened several worldwide telecom solutions labs focused on research and development in areas related to the mobile web. For more information, visit www.ibm.com/press/mobileweb.

IBM Survey Methodology
The online survey conducted by InstantSurvey was fielded among a representative sample of 680 adults in USA, Germany, China, India and Japan the first quarter of 2008. The results can be considered statistically significant at the 95 percent confidence level and have a margin of error of +/- 0.0138 points.

If you have been thinking about making money online from a blog, but do not know much about blog installation and optimization; and blog marketing, you may consider writing for an established blog network and get paid for your contribution in the network. Generally, participating in a blog network is free or low cost and can help you learn a lot in setting up advertising opportunities for your blog.

There are quite a lot of blog networks on the Internet. Some are bigger and more popular than others. But it depends on what your needs are when choosing a network to join. You should choose the network that best suits your needs. Below are some of the most popular blog networks that pay people for blogging:

Weblogs Inc
Weblogs has been online for a long time and it is one of the most popular blog networks. Weblogs has 90 fine blogs covering a vast array of topics and subjects. If you are passionate about a topic, you can apply to write for one of their 90 blogs that cover your subject. The application process is simple, all you have to do is fill in an online form with three sample blog posts, then submit to Weblogs Inc editorial team.

Weblogs pays bloggers based on their contribution. The more blog entries you posted, the more you’ll earn.

451 press
451 Press is still in beta stage, but the network is accepting bloggers who want to make money by writing about their passions and gain exposure on the Internet. 451 Press blogs cover a wide range of topics and they do have a set of requirements to meet if you want to become a writer of 451 Press. You must have strong writing skill and be able to write in a unique voice.

If you get hired, 451 Press will take care of all the blog marketing and technical works. You are responsible only on writing the topic you’re interested. You will get the all the supports you need to succeed. 451 Press will actively find new advertisers for your blog and pays you 40% of all the advertising revenue generated from your blog. Besides that, you will have the opportunities to work with other bloggers and learn how to improve your writing skill.

Know More Media
Know More Media is a fast growing blog network specializing in business information and news. The owners of the network are always inviting people to become a contributing author of one of the business blogs in their network. They seek business experts who have experience in blogging and building online readership to join their network and publish at least one post a day, 5 days a week in their blogs.

Unlike other blog networks, Know More Media also requires bloggers to take part in blog promotion and networking to grow your blog traffic. So if you get hired, you’ll be spending a lot of time working on your blog in Know More Media. It is much like a full-time blogging position. And your reward will link to your effort. Know More Media claims that authors typically earn from $150 to $1000 per month.

Joining and writing for a blog network may be the best thing for you, especially if you are just starting out your blogging career but lack of blogging experience and technical knowledge needed to run a blog that generate income for you.

By becoming an author of a network, you will gain knowledge and experience helpful for your future blogging career.
(NOTE: This article has been reprinted from http://www.ArticleFeedster.com with permission.)

A new website, 100KCrossing.com, has recently launched. 100KCrossing.com consolidates every 100K+ job opening it can find in the market from other job sites and employer websites. The site has seen massive demand from job seekers since launching.

Pasadena, CA (PRWEB) May 17, 2008 — EmploymentCrossing.com has launched a new job research site for job seekers that researches and consolidates 100K jobs, 100KCrossing.com. 100KCrossing.com researches and consolidates jobs over $100K from other job sites and employer websites and puts jobs that pay over 100K on its site.

“Since 100KCrossing is taking 100k plus jobs from over 100,000 websites, we are really changing the way people look for over 100K jobs. Every other job site I am aware of charges employers and recruiters in some way to post jobs on its site and this severely limits the jobs on these sites,” says A. Harrison Barnes, the CEO of 100KCrossing.com. 100KCrossing.com is a research company and does not charge employers to post job listings. We take every 100K plus job in the market and put it on 100KCrossing.com and also offer free job posting for employers and recruiters.”

Since 100KCrossing is taking 100k plus jobs from over 100,000 websites, we are really changing the way people look for over 100K jobs. Every other job site I am aware of charges employers and recruiters in some way to post jobs on its site and this severely limits the jobs on these sites

In addition to jobs from major job boards and recruiter jobs, 100KCrossing.com posts job openings that are not widely known or publicized–which are the easiest jobs to get because they receive fewer applications,” says Harrison Barnes, founder of 100KCrossing.com. “We search websites including small regional newspapers and association websites that typically receive less traffic. 100KCrossing.com has been overwhelmed with the interest in our site since launching just a few days ago.”

Virtually every job seeker in the market is finding fewer $100K+ job listings at the present time due to the economic slowdown. In addition, in a tough economy, employers are less likely to work through recruiters who often charge steep fees of up to 40% of an executives annual salary to employers who hire their candidates. Higher paid professionals must pursue other job search methods.

100KCrossing.com is a research company that works for higher paid professionals across different industries with titles such as executive, manager, team lead, director, vice presidents, net developer, programming, senior marketing manager, business management, business development manager, attorney, public relations executive, healthcare executive, chief financial officer, SAP manager, consultant, business analyst, engineer, registered nurse, and sales executive. 100KCrossing.com researches job listings paying $100K+ and actually verifies with employers that they really offer $100K or more as a starting salary for the posted positions.

“Most job seekers use job boards for their search–but most jobs are actually on employer websites and receive very few applications,” Barnes says. “We highly recommend investigating 100KCrossing.com. 100KCrossing.com charges $29.95 a month to access our research.”

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I’ve been reading around the blogsphere today. Here are a few places to check out:

Problogger has a great post and video on the “5 Emerging Trends in Blogging“. In general blogs are become more sophisticated and community oriented. The topic of Multiple Author Blogs, and Topic are covered, but the gist of the comment is they evolution of two way communication online via blogs continues to accelerate.

There is also a very good post at SEOmoz about duplicate content. The Post titled “When Duplicate Content Really Hurts” is a very clear headed perspective on duplicate contents and Search Engine. I post articles and news stories at this site as do a lot of “New” portals. My personal feeling is duplicate content is not a good practice. I see where my rankings and traffic are considerably better with original content.

Have fun.