Retailers & Virtual Worlds – Retailers must make the move now and establish a presence -itsReal

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Virtual worlds, mobile coupons and bar-code readers on cell phones are the next technology wave that U.S. chain stores must ride if they hope to stay competitive in the fast-changing world of global retail.

While some retailers have started building stores in these virtual worlds, others should consider doing the same, Constable said, to extend their brands and eventually, boost sales. via sites like Second Life & Twinity

Retailers, gathered in New York this week for the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual convention, were urged to go high-tech to stand out in the crowd and improve sales, especially amid a flagging U.S. economy.

“The cell phone is shifting the way consumers shop, and U.S. retailers need to get ready,” said Pat Conroy, vice chairman at Deloitte & Touche USA, in a keynote speech at the convention.

More at Reuters

Beta SPAM – if managing all your social networks is not enough ? – itsReal NOT

Beta Spam – Coming to Your Inbox Sooner Than You Think

Source: NetworkWorld

If you’re like me you register to most Betas that are of interest to you. Even if they aren’t immediately appealing they can be a good resource of information for future content. If you’re pretty familiar with the Beta process and I’m going to assume you are, sooner or later you’ll receive an invite from the company holding the Beta. Now when I see any Beta invite in my inbox my eyes glow as if I’ve just attained the unattainable… and I quickly open that specific email to begin my Beta journey. I would say on any given month I apply to at least 20 new Betas and I use a simple method to track which ones I’ve applied to so I can follow up later.

Recently I’ve been noticing an increasing amount of Beta invites from services I’ve never applied to before. The emails are convincing enough and even read like every other beta invite except for a few minor details. The Fake Beta Invites tend to try to sell you on joining the Beta within the email whereas the real ones thank you and give you just the information you need to complete the sign up process.

Read More : NetworkWorld

Andrew Peters Relaunches APLINK.Biz with a new focus APLINK – Virtual Spaces

Full Story : APLINK – Virtual Spaces