Online Black Friday Shopping Tips

Shopping online has become successful over these highly crowded . Whether it is an Xbox games console, newly released Amazon Kindle, or Apple iPad, one will discover anything at good prices on Black Friday. Butyou have to be very careful, due to the fact “Everything that glittersisn’t gold”. So, below are great tips and Ideas for Online Black Friday Shopping.

List Research:

Make a list for those items for which you would like to purchase. Then, just put important items at the top of list.And then, list-up famous online retailers like Amazon and Macy’s where those listeditems are available. As a result your online shopping simpler and less time-consuming.

Examine Costs:

Compare costs of items with the help of various price comparison sites like Bizrate and PriceGrabber. This can be one of the better advantages of shopping online – one has not to rush in the crowd or on stores to evaluate prices of a item.

Weekly Ads:

Continue to keep a watch at weekly advertising or online catalogs. Many online stores provide good discounts on some hand-picked products displayedinside their catalogs.

Online Coupon codes:

Online codes act as a cherry on cake on Black Friday. During christmas season manyonline retailers provide discount rates in order to attract as many customers as is possible. Using these special discount codes and promotional coupons,it’s possible to save more money on already discounted deals. Online codes have always been an awesome method for saving big during any season and event of the season.

Find Consumer Consideration:

Customer service may be the utmost importantsection of internet shopping just because it solves your concerns in a moment. Don’t be afraid to call at customer servicewhen you have any queries about the product or payment policies. It is usually a much better choice tomake your queries answered beforeputting in an order, rather than leaving all at God.

UseBank Cards:

Some stores provide unique cost savings while doing paymentsusing a particular visa or mastercard like American Express or Master Card.Wish to use one credit card while doing online shopping, so that you may know which credit card was used for doing payments for the online stores.

Some other notable findings about Black Friday deal-seeking include:

• The number of visitors to coupon sites on Black Friday grew 4 percent versus year ago to 3.6 million visitors, while the total number of visits to the category increased 16 percent to 7.4 million.
• BlackFriday.info was the most visited coupon site on Black Friday with 630,000 unique visitors, followed by CouponCabin.com (543,000), RetailMeNot.com (332,000 visitors) and Groupon.com (332,000).
• ShopLocal.com ranked as the most visited comparison shopping site on Black Friday with 2.1 million visitors, up 45 percent versus year ago.

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Ronaldinho looking for Olympic gold

Ronaldinho, the celebrated Brazilian football player, has recently expressed his intention to win a gold medal in the London 2012 Olympics.

”My dream is to win the gold medal in the Olympics. It’s a title still missing in my career,” said Ronaldinho, after the Brazilian team earned themselves a win over Argentina by 2-0 in a friendly match held in the city of Belem.

The 31-year-old player has helped his team earn various titles that include the World Cup, Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup among others. However, Brazil has not yet won the Olympics gold medal.

Ronaldinho was part of the Brazilian team when it qualified twice for the Olympics. When the prestigious international sports event was held in Sydney in 2000, Brazil failed to make it into the semi-final round as they were handed out a defeat by Cameroon. The 2004 Olympics held in Athens did not see any Brazilian action as they failed to qualify for the Games back then. However, Brazil was able to get the bronze medal in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The two-time FIFA Player of the Year is not only thinking about the Olympics, he is also looking beyond that tot he 2014 World Cup.

”I want to go step by step. Being in the Olympics will help me get to the World Cup, which is my ultimate goal,” added Ronaldinho.

Ronaldinho was part of the Brazilian team as they made their way in the 2002 World Cup. However, Brazil could not make much head way in 2006 at Germany, when the French cut their journey short by putting a stop to their progress in the quarter-finals.

Ronaldinho later joined the Flamengo club with a huge contract that is considered to be the most expensive one yet paid by any Brazilian club for the acquisition of a player. Ronaldinho signed the deal earlier this year..

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Posted in: Brazil,London 2012 Olympics,Ronaldinho

Mini jumps to unveil 2012 London Olympics special edition Cooper

The Olympics are coming to London and the games are apparently a perfect opportunity for Mini to launch a new special edition. To be fair, Mini would view a sunny Tuesday as the perfect opportunity for a new special edition. Still, the Mini London 2012 Edition is here, and it's arrival has been marked in a rather unique way.

Mini parked three examples of the all-new limited-edition Cooper side-by-side then enlisted the help of England Long Jump Champion J.J. Jegede to do what he does best.

Offered up in either Chili Red, White Silver or Lightning Blue, the Mini London 2012 Edition Coopers can be had in base, D, S or SD varieties. Each is outfitted with a pair of unique 17-inch gray wheels, red, white and blue interior stitching and a host of upgraded interior features such as lounge leather sport seats and chrome accents. The most notable interior feature, however, is the etching of the London skyline, which has a beautiful piano black backdrop.

Check out the Mini London 2012 Edition in the gallery, and click past the jump for all the details. 

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Posted in: 2012 Olympics,cooper,j j jegede,london cooper,mini cooper,mini london 2012 edition,special edition mini cooper

London 2012 Olympics: Smart phone strategy needed to secure memorable Games

What will everyone be saying about London and how the city coped with hosting the Olympic Games when it comes to 2013 or 2023?

Will it be that the city, a global financial centre, didn't miss a beat? That the Olympics saved the British economy? Tourists flocked to London? The transport system heaved but coped?

While transport and security are the two big unknowns, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson last week noted what he thought was a real reputational risk to the city – communications. He highlighted his concerns about the increasing reliance on smart phone technology and the challenges the city faces in keeping up with that demand as well as the exponential pressures hosting the Olympic Games will put on the communications systems.

His nightmare could be the world thinking: "London Olympics was a communications disaster."

Johnson is right, because the main commentators and journalists who arrive in London from afar rely on that technology and if it doesn't work adequately the whole world will know.

The London organisers haven't helped matters by charging each journalist £150 for computer access at the Olympic venues. So the first story written about London will be how WiFi and computer access is expensive. That fact, coupled with the constant phone drop outs in the middle of the city, even now, ahead of the Games, give potential for widespread negativity.

But as historians well know, the further in the past an event is, the larger the discrepancies of the facts are. In the past eight months at various breakfasts and conferences there has been a revision of history of previous Olympics and the reputational risks they encountered. The Sydney 2000 Olympics boosted the city’s tourism or caused dramatic falls in tourist numbers, depending on the speakers point of view. Atlanta was, according to various politicians and experts, a complete disaster because of the traffic congestion. And Beijing, despite its spectacular opening ceremony, couldn't attract crowds to the competition.

That all of these statements are incorrect matters for naught. As London will experience, it is the perception rather than the reality that is important.

Sydney did suffer a small drop in tourism numbers the following year because of the 9/11 terror attacks. Atlanta's traffic was not a problem, it was the hub and spoke system of transporting athletes that caused issues, and the city's reputation collapsed because of poor technology, a failure to control street vendors and the pipe bombing. As for Beijing, tickets were officially sold out – just as they are for London – but some events had a poor turnout of Communist Party officials from distant regions, who had been given corporate tickets, while government security fears restricted access to some open events like the road race.

All of this means, of course, that London officials need to make sure their communications system is robust enough to deal with the spike during the Olympics. Johnson is talking positively, saying he is confident all well be well. He knows, at the very least, to make it appear as if London is coping.

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Posted in: 2012 Olympic Games,London 2012,London Olympics

Indian field hockey team at risk of losing spot in London Olympics

Indian field hockey team at risk of losing spot in London Olympics

India has recently received a warning from the governing body of the world field hockey that there is a chance the country could miss the London 2012 Olympics because of an ongoing dispute in India about the governing body in the country.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) was made it quite clear that if the issue is not resolved, India would not be taking part in the Olympic Games next year even if it clears the qualification phases. The FIH has also expressed its dissatisfaction over the proposal of the Sports Ministry of India that Hockey India (HI) and the Indian Hockey Federation be allowed to run the sports in the country together.

The president of the FIH, Leandro Negre, shared his thoughts with the Indian sports ministry in a letter that said that the FIH only recognizes the HI as the organisation responsible for the sport in India and could only allow teams to enter the international sporting events through that medium only.

Furthermore, the FIH specifically suggested to the Indian government that the partnership between the two rival bodies will not be healthy for the sport of hockey in India.

"If the above is achieved... There will be no more concerns about the participation of Indian hockey team in FIH-sanctioned competitions such as London 2012 Olympic Games," Negre wrote.

Other than this issue, Negre also raised the subject of money, which the Indian government owes to the FIH. The money was borrowed by the Indian government for the purpose of organising the World Cup that was held in India last year. New Delhi played host to the participating teams in March for the World Cup.

The Indian government is working on the issue in order to reach a satisfactory conclusion for all the parties involved. According to Rahul Bhatnagar, an official from the Indian sports ministry, there will be a meeting between the Indian Olympic Association as well as the hockey officials. They will decide on the appropriate reply to be given to the FIH.

The Indian hockey team is currently preparing for a qualifying event for the London 2012 Games. 

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Posted in: India,International Hockey Federation,London 2012 Olympics

Coca-Cola Launches Global 2012 Olympics Campaign With Mark Ronson

Coca-Cola launched its marketing campaign today for the London 2012 Olympics, introducing British music producer Mark Ronson as the creative linchpin of a global effort called "Move to the Beat" that will bring together music, youth and sport. 

At an event held in the shadow of the new Olympic stadium in East London, Mr. Ronson was joined onstage by four of Coca-Cola's five up-and-coming athlete ambassadors.

Mark Ronson with Coke athletes

Mr. Ronson is creating a music track that will tie together the whole marketing campaign around London 2012. He decided which Olympic events he thought created the most promising sounds, and Coca-Cola then found a young athlete from each of Mr. Ronson's chosen events and sports to join the campaign and work as an ambassador for 2012.

Claudia Navarro, Coca-Cola's Olympic marketing director, said that the 2012 campaign is very different from Coke's effort at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She said, "Stories don't live in one specific media. Last time, we made a TV commercial. This time we are telling stories. And mobile has an incredibly different role -- it means there's an interface with our stories any time, anywhere."

Mother, London, is creating a global spot around a live performance of the song by Mr. Ronson and British singer Katy B this week in front of a select audience of 1,000, including students and the young athlete ambassadors.

Ms. Navarro said, "We are using London's rich culture and diversity as a backdrop. We've partnered with Mark Ronson because he's someone special -- he's a London icon who can bring our creative vision to life. The athletes only met for the first time yesterday, but already they are buddies and are tweeting each other."

The Olympic campaign is in keeping with Coke's efforts to reach young people with global music efforts.

Mr. Ronson has been travelling around the world, working closely with each of the five athletes to record them in training and pick up sounds to use in the new track. The song, still unnamed, will be released in March 2012.

The Olympic hopefuls -- all young, confident and cool in the media spotlight -- are from around the world: Darius Knight , 21, is a U.K. table-tennis player; Kseniya Vdovina, 24, is a Russian runner; David Oliver, 29, is a U.S. hurdler; and Dayyan Jaffer, 17, is an archer from Singapore. The fifth, 23-year-old Mexican taekwondo star Maria Espinoza, was absent.

Although Ms. Espinoza won a gold medal in Beijing, Ms. Navarro said, "The athletes weren't chosen because they are gold medal hopefuls. They were chosen because of their smiles, the way they talk and because they are the right fit for Coca-Cola."

At the launch event, Mr. Ronson played examples of sounds he has been collecting. As well as obvious noises like a table-tennis paddle and an arrow hitting its target, he has some more unusual ideas. Ms. Vdovina, for instance, obligingly ran on a treadmill until her heart was beating exactly 120 times per minute -- the tempo of the song -- so that the sound of her heart can be incorporated into the track.

Mr. Knight's grunts, which Mr. Ronson said reminded him of James Brown, and Ms. Espinoza's squeaks, also feature in the song. Coca-Cola is creating an hour-long documentary charting Mr. Ronson's global journey to create the track.

Ms. Navarro said "We will make [the documentary] available to all our markets and they will put it on TV, cinema, web, wherever."

As well as being released as a song, Mr. Ronson's work will provide the soundtrack for TV commercials, campaigns on mobile and other digital platforms, and Coca-Cola events during the Olympic Games.

"I was flattered to be asked," he said. "Coca-Cola has a great history of creating music, and everyone loves Coke. It was a no-brainer."

Talking about her inspiration when writing the song, Katy B said, "I thought about how I feel when I'm in London with friends and family, or at a festival or in the park."

Ms. Navarro said that the riots in London in August 2011 and Europe's ongoing financial crisis don't affect Coca-Cola's Olympic plans. "If anything it's made us more aware of the importance of the upbeat, optimistic message we are delivering," she said, "and the importance of the games in bringing people together."

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Posted in: 2011 London Olympics,2012 Olympics Campaign,Mark Ronson

Ronson to compose London Olympics anthem

London: Scottish rocker Mark Ronson has been selected to create the theme music for the Olympic Games here next year.

The track will have singer Katy B on vocals and include sounds of athletes from around the world -- including grunts and the sound of tennis balls hitting racquets.

Ronson, who is inspired by British table-tennis champ Darius Night`s sounds, will also use that part in his track.

"Sometimes he uses it to put off his opponents, and sometimes it is a sound of victory - to me it sounded like James Brown, so I knew I would use that," contactmusic.com quoted the 36-year-old as saying.

The theme will be unveiled in March next year.

IANS

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Posted in: anthem,London Olympics,London Olympics anthem