Amber Alert GPS Will Keep Your Children Safe

On April 23, 2011, In business for sale, By Sonja Schuyler

Do you know that one of the greatest fear for a parent is losing their child? Would you like a way to help calm that fear? Amber Alert GPS can do just that. Imagine having a product that uses the latest in GPS and cellular technology. The company is run by parents for parents and revolves around the President’s initiative to protect children and give parents peace of mind.

Amber Alert Gps is rated a 4 out of 5 as the Editor’s Choice by gsmagazine.com in their new “The Ultimate GPS Child Tracking Buyers’s Guide. It has recently been reviewed in MSNBC.com’s article “A Good Find: GPS to locate the kids”. Amber Alert Gps is the leader in the US child location technology industry.

The Amber Alert GPS 2G is the world’s smallest, most powerful GPS tracking device. Tracking your child is as easy as placing a call or sending a text. Simply place this device in a pocket, purse, backpack or car, or attach to a wrist, ankle, or belt. Call or text the AAGPS device, and within seconds youll receive a detailed map and address of their exact location right on your web-enabled phone. You can also track one or more devices from your computer.

If you define a Safe Zone area in your neighborhood, you will receive an alert when your GPS is carried outside that location. The safe zone can easily be changed or cancelled in seconds from your cell phone or from our website.

You also receive an SOS Button. If your child ever needs help, he can press the GPS SOS button and you will receive an alert with his location immediately. If your child is in a threatening or dangerous situation, or has a medical emergency, he can press and hold the SOS button.

A Speed Alert will notify you when your GPS surpasses a specific speed. You know immediately when your child is in a car. This is great for speeding teenagers!

There are no limits to the uses of the Amber Alert GPS. Vehicle tracking, pet tracking, special needs children and seniors, luggage tracking, and more. An amazing and efficient new technology.

Keep your child safe! Click Here today to learn about the New GPS Child Location Device No competitor has anything close to the simplicity and sophistication of its technology. You will be glad you did!

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Reasons Why Infant, Toddler, Children Clothing Stores Need An Online Presence

On October 1, 2010, In business, By Henry Taylor

Ebay’s recently published Online Business Index report has revealed that 79% of small high street clothing retailers believed the introduction of online trade had helped save their business. Their OBI report suggests that small high street retail businesses are able to match and even beat the performance of other online firms when they set up on the internet and that shops perform at least as strongly as other online businesses on sales, prices and profit margins.

Taking the step of branching out online allows physical stores to be able to compete on the same level as online retailers. As the online economy continues to grow, it has become an increasingly important tool to accompany the traditional bricks and mortar business.

Entrepreneurial high street retailers are joining savvy online entrepreneurs by setting up their businesses online to support their offline income. In fact half of all online businesses also have a bricks & mortar presence, with 80% seeing an online presence as making their offline business more sustainable.

As a business owner, if you have been thinking about your business being online, this opportunity is applicable to any type of brick and mortar business, retail or service based. Having a presence online can allow you to reach new customers. The traditional physical store with no online presence is only known to customers in the local area; however a web presence allows customers world wide to see what you are offering. It is also possible to keep in touch with your customer base with this online presence.

Your customers are likely already online. What this means is that if you have no website or online presence, they will be drawn to your competitors’ websites.

Branding your business through the use of a website, social networking and email marketing is a way to engage your customers and put yourself at the forefront of your business field. These option are widely used by marketers who understand the importance of an online presence and engaging your customers in different ways.

By using these various alternate methods, you will be able to easily and quickly contact your existing customers and attract new customers at the same time. Research shows that this e-commerce is very viable.

An example of an online clothing store, that sells toddler clothing related products to customers, such as infant boy clothing, baby clothing, toddler gifts, infant apparel, visit www.infanttoddlerclothing.com to find the best example of an online John Lennon baby hoodies store.

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Cool Tips On Shopping For Toys For Babies

On September 26, 2010, In business, By Dorotea Herring

Being a parent, you are aware of all the major changes your child undergoes throughout the first year. These initial year prepares them for their growth advancement afterwards and getting it just right is critical in making sure your child’s intellectual and physical health will be recognized at their greatest abilities. Introducing the correct toys for your toddler is a sure way of achieving it. Some toys are inappropriate though. You will want to get baby toys that stimulate your child’s senses, including the all important sight, touch and sound senses. With this goal in mind, toy makers create a great number of toys for babies to be colorful, full of texture and can create sounds. The most well-liked toys for babies are perhaps interactive toys that can act in response to your baby’s touches, such as touch button stuffed animals, rattles etc. With countless available toys on the market these days, picking the right toy can be a daunting task. I have thus imparted a list of the most excellent baby toys that will delight your children.

Very important Things To Consider When You are Buying Baby Toys

Gender

As they are still very young at this time and their sexuality has not yet formed, there is no major difference when it comes to toys for baby boys and baby girls. Do not worry too much about having pink toys for girls and blue toys for boys, or just dolls for girls and trucks for boys either. At this time, babies can profit from the right toys despite what gender the toys are made for.

Safety

This is probably the first and major concern when purchasing baby toys. You will want to ensure that your very young babies only play with soft toys. Hard toys can harm them because they still cannot control their hand movements very well. Hard toys are appropriate, as long as for older babies because they are not sharp or pointy around the edges. Very importantly, babies shouldn’t be allowed to play with toys that come with removable bits and pieces, which can present a choking risk as babies may unknowingly swallow or bite on these small parts. In addition to this, keep away from toys that have painted areas because babies are known to lick their toys and paints may contain substances that may be poisonous.

Be Sure The Toy is Age Suitable

Youngsters from birth to 12 months are naturally at the first part of development, so picking a simple toy is the secret. Toys that are soft and elastic like rattles, plush toys, colorful balls, squeaky hammers, and fabric items turn out as excellent toys for babies. Fabric books developed with simple drawings of animals which the babies can feel, touch and learn from are also available. Very young babies are likely to learn better with black and white first, before taking advantage of playing with brightly-colored toys, images and patterns.

You can purchase toys that are developed with geometric patterns, vibrant colors and can create sounds for babies between birth and 2 months. These are inspiring enough to aid them in learning to be comfortable with voices and sounds. At this time, toddlers love seeing their reflections so giving them reflecting or mirrored toys is also suggested.

When they are a bit older between 3 and 5 months of age, babies begin to improve hand and eye coordination and keep developing their vision. Keeping this in mind, toys such as board books, picture books, or those that can create music, peek-a-boo, etc. are superb addition to your little one’s toy collection. Another thing at this stage is your baby may begin teething, so it’s a great idea to give them a teething toys that they can play with, and also chew on when they feel like it. Toys such as Sophie the Giraffe Teether is a harmless and excellent teething chum for your little one.

Your baby may begin sitting up or crawling around your house together with their improved physical strength and hand/eye coordination between the ages of 6 to 9 months. During this time, you might want to start to look for toys for mental improvement such as baby activity centers, musical toys, musical CDs, balls, stacking toys, shape sorters, etc. Reading to them from books can definitely benefit babies of this age group.

Only Buy an Easy to Wash Toy

Babies will not possess a sense of hygiene, and you can’t blame that on them. It is therefore critical to buy toys that can be washed either by hand or by a washing machine. Having washable toys will make it easy to keep them fresh and well preserved if your baby ever spills water or food on them. Following this basic guideline will aid you in getting your little ones the right toy to play with which is enjoyable, educating, easy to keep tidy and safe. Have fun shopping!

Christmas gifts hunting does not have to be nerve-racking. Save plenty of effort & money and get hold of hot toys for babies suggestions, and check out the hot Christmas toys for young people that we have rigorously examined.

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Frightened Of Dogs? Use Mace Canine Repellent Spray To Prevent Dog Attack

On September 6, 2010, In business, By Thom H Doubting

I live in southern California with two cute lovable boys. I bear the full responsibility of protecting my children since their father passed away four years ago. We have needed to live together and stay strong all throughout our lives.

It is extremely dangerous walking down the street knowing the fact that there are dogs that can attack you anytime. Our community has numerous dogs from canines to pit bulls. My boys like to roam around the neighbor hood to see what they can find, and that is why I am so worried.

But I’m very fortunate to find the Mace Canine Repellent Spray to avoid dog attack. They can always bring it since it’s very small and handy. It’s always accessible because of its safety cap which you can open within a second.

After school when I let the boys go play outside on their bikes and skateboards I make sure they do not leave the house without their Mace Canine Dog Repellent. It is a great personal spay repellent against dogs and other possible dangers!

Other parents who have tried using this dog repellent will agree with me with how effectively it works. It makes excellent kids self defense that both boys and girls can use to prevent an attack from dogs.

We all know that there are dangerous dogs out there that can attack us anytime. It’s better to be safe than sorry. This dog repellent is a very ideal non-lethal weapon kids and teens must always bring.

The best thing is that you can be 10 feet away from the dog when you start to spray it! Whether my boys are walking or riding on a bike, they will just press and spray the Mace Canine Dog Repellent in a second and any dog will be interrupted from making a dreadful attack.

This self defense our family uses is the best and most effective way you can! Once you try it you will never leave the house without it!

Robtnert B Tasmmery is the leading experts on non-lethal self defense devices. Choosing the right self defense device is more useful than spending years learning martial arts. You have many options, including stun guns, pepper sprays and personal alarms. He provides full support and information on how to use the devices.

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Pulling Off The Most Popular Characters Used In Halloween Costumes

On May 22, 2010, In business, By Adriana Noton

Each October rolls around and the buzz in the school yard starts coming home strong. There always seems to be an amazing amount of competition to have the most popular characters used in Halloween costumes. While many parents and adults feel that being as low budget as possible on this costume is important, for the kids it is so much more.

So very many children only wear their costume once that it becomes difficult to justify spending any significant amount of money on it. It would be far easier to do if you could find an excuse for them to be used repeatedly. So often younger children will actually get considerably more use from them since they are still apt to play dress up.

This holiday is a really big deal for most children. The cost makes no difference to them. Actually, children can at times become very competitive with each other for the best attire on that particular day of the year. Lasting impressions are formed in their minds about how people react to them in costume. They tend to remember Halloween year to year very well.

Many costumes that children request are inspired or based on popular movies and television shows. When looking into the licensed character merchandise you will likely notice the cost. They tend to be on the more expensive side. If you find yourself out searching for these very items, there are some ways to lessen the burden on your bank account. Look for them on clearance right after the holiday ends, then pick them up for the following year.

By looking ahead to the holiday a couple of months ahead of time you could find yourself getting a great deal in a consignment store. However, if you leave your planning at the last minute the selection will be picked over considerably. To take full advantage of what they have to offer you need to get in there early.

People who have a creative spirit have a particular advantage. Making it yourself can give you a lot of room for adding unique touches, and also giving your child exactly what he or she wants. By checking the sale ads at the craft stores in your area you can get everything you need for very little cost.

The talented seamstress will be able to create the same costumes that are found in the stores. The upside will be the superior quality. Keep careful track of how much money you spend at the fabric store, though. If you are not thinking about it this can easily cost you more than simply purchasing Halloween costumes upfront. Where this really makes sense is to put together something for a child that is difficult to fit properly.

Using ordinary clothes is a stroke of genius, if you can figure out a way to do it. By combining it with the right make-up and wig it will be truly unique and just the thing your little one had in mind. All in all, no matter which method you employ, your added efforts will ensure that your child has a wonderful Halloween.

Oya Costumes provides a massive selection of costumes to suit your seasonal needs. We sell everything from Halloween costumes Canada to general, everyday costumes – there’s nothing we don’t have!

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How To Get Jobs In Agencies

On April 18, 2010, In business, By Adriana Noton

People in this country are very concerned about the job market because the economy has been very unstable. One place to look which has a moderate rate of success is going to agencies jobs. There are temp agencies and other types of agencies who strive to find employment for millions of people.

There are so many types of jobs that people can find through an agency. One can find secretarial-type positions easily through a temp agency. There are a lot of data analyst positions or administrative jobs.

The process of finding a job in these agencies starts with asking the staff questions. They can provide a list of the exact jobs that are available. There is an application that needs to be completed which will give the agency all that they need to know to help employ the person. It will want to know how much school the person completed, and it will ask about their work history. Based on this information, they will try to match the person with the job.

Temps agencies try searching for nannies jobs to meet a variety of needs for people from many different backgrounds as far as educational focus and work history. So, these offices are usually quite busy, and now, particularly the offices can be full on a daily basis, which is when the professional job nanny come in handy.

There are other types of agencies that help employ people, but they have more specific job needs. One type of agency that helps those who are particularly aimed at helping find those who want to help either the elderly or young in their homes. That would include the elderly who need some sort of care because they are physically or mentally unable to take care of themselves fully on their own. That would go the same for young children who might need extra help at home, and the parent might need some assistance. There are agencies who hire people only for these positions.

Having some credentials is helpful when working this position. Being an LVN is helpful in obtaining these positions. When the elderly are being helped, they may need medications which would be given by the worker. They can take the blood pressure and blood glucose levels. The other parts of their job are to watch their client and help move them if they cannot walk on their own. They can prepare meals and keep them company.

These companies do thorough searches to find qualified people for their positions. They are also very good companies to find good employment. Temp agencies do look for people who need immediate work, and it is usually a temporary position. However, those temporary positions might lead to more permanent jobs. As for the agencies looking for care workers, those can most likely be long-term, and hours can be flexible.

This is a not the best year in employment for most of this country, so most of these agencies are helpful to a large amount of people. One can look online to find the locations of these offices locally, and they can complete an application. The agencies do a thorough search and try to find jobs for most applicants who come in.

This professional agency is committed to providing nanny job with the highest qualifications and standards. Our experienced nannies receive excellent compensation for their services, and they are also given extensive training to care for children with care.

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Turning Dreams Into Realities Is As Easy As Brushing Our Teeth

On February 20, 2010, In business, By Masami Sato

Can’t making dreams come true be just as easy? Can’t we free ourselves of our doubts? Is it not possible? How can we do it in a way so that it looks as easy as brushing our teeth? This is an excerpt form the book named ONE by Masami Sato and it shows how it can be done step-by-step, getting one ready to start walking towards one’s dreams today.

Every one of us has dreams. But every one does not have faith in themselves to have and live those dreams in their own lifetime. In reality, the secret of having such assurance is simple. The reason for our doubting it so much is also clear.

We can now start by asking ourselves the first question..

Why do we not do the things we want to do?

Often, our thoughts stop our actions. Sometimes the more we think about it, the less we become committed to accomplish what we initially wanted to do. Because the more we think about it, we come up with more and more reasons for not doing it.

Is it then possible to be sure that we will definitely accomplish what we want to do in our life?

Yes, absolutely! For a start, let’s look at the power of habits

If we are scheduled to go to a meeting tomorrow night, we wouldn’t spend lots of time thinking whether we can get there or not. We wouldn’t be concerned about the chance of having a car accident and missing the appointment. Just like when we are walking to the bathroom, we wouldn’t worry that the toilet might be broken!

We have so much more certainty about these types of ‘normal’ actions we take every day. They’re habits.

However, we doubt our dreams

Interestingly, there are so many things we are not so sure about. Especially the things we really want to do in our life – our Dreams!

So what’s the secret for the certainty that we will achieve our dreams?

First: Decide to make it a daily habit!

We can begin with being more assured about our actions to fulfil our desires – the type of dreams that really nurtures our life.

So, for example, if your dream is to give and contribute to society and giving is a key desire in your life, there is no reason to doubt that it’s possible for you to contribute to others. It can just become one of your daily habits.

Second: Make is as important (and equally easy) as brushing one’s teeth.

Realising dreams can be just like brushing one’s teeth. It simply doesn’t feel nice if we do not brush our teeth for pretty long, isn’t it? We can’t bother to spend hours considering which toothpaste we should use or wait to clean teeth till there is some need to do so. We feel a little out of sorts if our teeth are not clean. So we clean them. That is all!

Looking at our example, if giving is what we desire most, then we should ask ourselves a few questions: What if giving is truly as important as brushing one’s teeth? What if it is giving us a comfortable feeling? What if it aids in remaining healthy?

No matter whether we have a lot or very little just now, we can definitely start giving it and sharing it with others today. No matter how seemingly unbelievable it is to fulfil our dreams, we can start proceeding towards them today. We should view it as something crucial, a priority issue that we should practice every day! Then we would feel unhappy if we don’t do it. Just like brushing our teeth.

and Third: Give first, then we will get

When we start giving before we even have what we hope to get – that which we dream of – we are sending out a powerful message to ourselves which tells us, ‘there is enough, and more will come.’ It allows us to feel the joy today – the joy of giving.

If you want to be rich, be generous. And you’ll be blessed with abundance. If you want to be superbly intelligent, don’t be afraid to teach others. And you’ll know more. If you want to give, just give selflessly. Do not attach any expectation of return. Just let go. And joy will automatically be rewarded to you. The simple joy of giving.

So do not be hesitant to dole out and share what you have, for it will not prevent you from achieving your purpose, whatever it is. It will only help you to realise your dreams more easily. And your journey through that path would be full of joy.

But surely habits are much smaller in scale, compared to our BIG dreams?

Just do it, don’t worry about the ’scale’

Because anything is possible in life. We might start things in a small way. And these small things will always take us to another action, and another. Having certainty in our small actions and executing them one by one always takes us forward. But if we thought it was ‘impossible’ to do something now because it just seemed ‘too big’, it will never happen.

The power to achieve one’s dreams has always been there, and will always be there. Those who have managed wonders, sensations, and real joy, already know this. They go on using it.

Dreams and marvels are not accidents. We make them through our options.

So, would you start walking towards your dreams today?

Contents are excerpted with minor modification from ONE, a book written by Masami Sato. To get a free copy of ONE, visit www.B1G1.com and start sharing the joy of giving. Feel free to use or republish the content of the above article, fully or partially, as long as it is preserved in its original content, with proper attribution to Masami Sato and www.B1G1.com.

Discover more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing.

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The Secret Of Attaining What One Desires – Just “Give”!

On February 16, 2010, In business, By Masami Sato

The secret of attaining what one wants has been revealed. It is just the simple act of giving. The basis of this is explained in the background of the classical dictum “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” Chicken and the egg, continuously forming the cycle of life and renewing it, is a profound example of giving and getting what one wants: the circle of joy. This idea is fully analyzed in the resonant voice of Masami Sato, the author of the book ONE.

As humans, many of us have longings for all kinds of things. And of course, theories of economics inform us that while requirements are unlimited, resources remain limited. This provokes us to think, the more the range of resources that we have, the more the longing that we will be able to fulfill. That is why we tend to defend our resources. We feel that dividing it between others or giving the resources away will reduce the amount we can retain to get what we ourselves want. This is the basic game of success and failure that is being acted out.

Could it be true, then?

And if the answer is “no” what then? What if it actually goes against the secret of getting more? What if the secret to earn more is simple – just by managing to give more?

A person can get a thing by the simple act of giving. In the same way that he can get eggs by breeding chicks. In the most simple way. Naturally. Spontaneously. And it is a fully satisfying joyful sensation.

First of all, let us begin with some analogy to explain things.

Chicken and Egg: The Circle of Life

Many a philosopher has come out with this question from the beginning of time, “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?”

The answer to this riddle is simple. It actually does not matter which came first, as both eggs and chicks are already here. Still, if we want to get better results, we can choose to start somewhere.

Giving and Receiving: the Cycle of Joy

What happens, if we pose a different question? “Which comes first, giving or receiving?”

Again, if we want to have greater results, we can choose to start somewhere. Giving something to others is surely so much easier than trying to get it first!

What happens when we try to get it first?

If we yearn to own something, naturally we would try to get it. And once we get it, we would try to hold on to it. This is absolutely normal – it does make sense logically.

But the real results of ‘trying to get’ are often not abundance and real long-term rewards.

For example, wanting to see others being happy is not about getting the joy from them or controlling them to become happy. It is about how much joy we can give them and share with them. Period.

So how do we begin to get what we desire?

From the other end of the circle – by giving generously!

When we start giving before we even have what we hope to get – that which we dream of – we are sending out a powerful message to ourselves which tells us, ‘there is enough, and more will come.’ It allows us to sense the joy today – the joy of giving.

All that is required of us is to give out the love in abundance to others. It would somehow come back to us. Giving love is the only way to be completely loved. When we recognize others for the big things they do and great credentials they have, again it would come back to us. Others accept us because we accept them.

In the same way, if we wanted to have enough in our life materially, financially and emotionally, we just need to share the things we want generously with others.

Some people may choose to give materially by giving their time. Others would choose to give financially by giving their wealth. Those who give much more (like time, wealth, kindness, affection, principles etc.) have more of all these because it is the balance. And balance is the law of nature.

Remind oneself of the rules of the game.

Rule one: never hope to get anything in return when a thing is given.

When we have the anticipation that giving involves ‘getting’ something back, we become unhappy when we do not see the thing returning to us fast. We may even feel unhappy towards the one who gets the gift. And having a negative feeling for someone is definitely not a right state of affairs! So we can know the real pleasure of giving when we are doing it with the awareness that we are actually doing it for ourselves – we are doing it for our own pleasure!

Losing to win, giving to get..

It may initially feel like we are losing out. Yet at some level we know that getting without giving is not a sustainable life model. And we’ve known that from the very beginning. That’s why tithing has been such a natural part of the lives of many successful people. And they didn’t always do it publicly so it wasn’t done to gain a better reputation. It was just because that was the way it was.

Take a look around. ‘Simpler’ living things do it naturally. The bumblebees pollinate the flowers as they receive the honey so more flowers bloom in abundance. Naturally. That’s the game. They do not do it for conscience or justice. That is why they create such sustainability without even trying.

Giving is just being who we are, it is just like having; not greater or lesser. No difficulty, no conditions attached, just releasing oneself.

The gist of getting more can be summarised into two steps: Give first, and do not hope to get anything in return.

When we let go and give generously, what we want will be delivered to us. Naturally.

Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing.

categories: giving,women,children,cause marketing,BOGO,csr,cause-related marketing,education,society,business

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Life-Awakening Quotes By Masami Sato: Solving The Mystery Of Life

On January 27, 2010, In business, By Masami Sato

Part One of Three

This collection of beautiful quotes that will inspire you to awaken your curiosity about the mystery of life is excerpted from “ONE”, a book by Masami Sato, the founder of Buy1GIVE which is a global giving organisation sharing the joy of giving. The quotes in this first edition include topics that are profoundly related to our everyday lives, such as mystery, judgment and connection. This article is the first part of the 3 “ONE Book Life-Changing Quotes Series”.

On transforming judgment

“Judgment often has very little relation to reality.”

“Actions and words don’t always accurately reflect who we are. Every single one of us has had the experience of wanting to undo what we did or said.”

On the mystery of life

“It’s very, very clear that we don’t need to know all of the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of life to keep living on this planet.”

“There are so many things we don’t understand in life. In spite of that lack of understanding though, we often enjoy experiencing those things.”

“Seeing is important but trying to figure out everything isn’t necessary.”

“The scientists are not here to reveal the ‘truth’ because we are here to seek it forever. They are actually here to complicate the game (of life) so that we can have more questions and enjoy the game longer.”

Connection

“Connection is the core of everything. That’s what life is. Connection.”

“Every single thing we do is to satisfy the need for connection.”

“We cannot feel unhappy when we are feeling totally connected. It’s impossible!”

“We are designed to constantly seek ways to connect to each other and to a greater purpose.”

“’solutions’ coming from fear and doubt may not be the most effective ways. We end up feeling more and more disconnected from each other.”

“We can only truly celebrate the victory with others when we win together. Then we feel connected.”

“This is the game called ONE. The aim of the game is to ‘connect’! We keep connecting until we all become ONE.

Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing.

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BOGO

On January 22, 2010, In business, By David Anttony

Definitions of words often change quite quickly these days. In the distant past the meaning of words was often set in stone. Today the meaning can change in a blink. With new faster ways to communicate with wider and more culturally, socially and education

There is a growing global movement where consumers are asking businesses to take care of the things that they care about. The request is mainly tacit and despite it being an ironic request it non-the-less signals that we are in a time of change. Consumers these days want their ‘goodies’ but they don’t want the environment to be destroyed in the creation of their ‘goodies’. They want cheap products but they do not want workers to suffer to create those cheap products.

Until recently there was no real answer to this complex puzzle but today one actually exists. It exists in the reforging of a simple single word – GET. Today there is a new movement of consumers wanting to get and at the same time give. They are reforging the word GET into the word GIVE.

Every day I receive a notice from Google Alerts for two words – B1G1 and BOGO. It tells me all the new places that these words are being used on the Internet. I can now see that the new meaning of these words is coming alive ‘poco a poco’ [Italian: poco, little + a, by + poco, little].

B1G1 and BOGO are acronyms for Buy One GET One free. You buy one and they give you an extra one for the same price.

If you look on Wikipedia you will find these definitions for BOGO (there isn’t a definition yet for B1G1) -

* An acronym in the retail industry that stands for Buy One Get One. For example, you could say “Buy 1 DVD, Get 1 FREE!

* An acronym in slang British that stands for Britons Of Greek Origin or Greek Britons.

* Bogo, Cebu, a city in central Philippines.

* An alternate name for the Bilen ethnic group of Ethiopia or their language, Blin.

* An alternate name for the Bilen ethnic group of Ethiopia or their language, Blin.

* The mascot of the ITESM CEM.

* BogoMips, an unscientific measurement of CPU speed

* Bogosort, an ineffective sorting algorithm

BOGO Lights – torches that give

There is an organisation in the USA called SunLight Solar founded by a gentleman called Mark Bent. He has created a special torch that not only is an amazing and robust solar-powered light; his company also gives a free torch to a family in need in developing nations for each one purchased. If you look on their website you will learn about their “BOGOlight”.

BOGOlight.com. – “The BoGo – our Buy one/Give one – program has successfully provided lights to many, many thousands of people in the developing world, changing lives because of your purchase and participation.”

Mark Bent has managed to flip the meaning of the BOGO acronym upside down. For Mark along with thousands of his customers, BOGO now means Buy One GIVE One. A light is given whenever one is sold. Now each sale supports people in remote parts of the world who don’t have the benefit of electricity. They can now tap into solar power support themselves.

There are many other well known and less well know businesses now doing Buy One Give One giving or transactional giving as it is becoming known. Some of the famous ones are One-Laptop-Per-Child (OLPC) and TOM’S Shoes. Some of the less well-known ones (in the USA at least) are based in New Zealand, Australia and the UK – Earthstar Publishing, Maple Muesli, Blinds Couture, Figure 8 Body Chains, Sunsplash Homes, Honestly Women magazine and Thavibu Gallery based in Thailand are just a handful of special businesses that are heading the Buy One Give One movement.

Many Buy One Give One businesses are coming together under the single brand banner of Buy1GIVE1; a Singaporean based social enterprise which is becoming the home of transaction based giving. Any business can now choose to be part of Buy One Give One giving with ease. It’s like a CSR ‘plug-in’ to allow a business to start giving from each and every sale today – starting from just one cent. It is now not even a matter of giving an equivalent product to someone else. Instead it is about giving to a charity project that is in resonance with a company’s business activity. For example a magazine publisher cannot support the planting of a tree every time they sell a subscription, a restaurant can feed a child for each meal sold, a TV store can gift a cataract blind person with the gift of sight (Get Vision-Give Vision), and a builder or property developer can build a budget home for those in need who have lost their homes in a disaster (Buy1BUILD1) – the list is only limited by imagination.

The stats now add up saying consumers do care. The 2008 Goodpurpose global study of consumer attitudes revealed that nearly a huge 68% of consumers would remain dedicated to a brand during an economic slump if it supported a charity cause. This study also highlighted some other key points as well such as:

* 54% would promote a brand and its products if there was a good cause behind it.

* 52% of consumers globally are more likely to tell others of a brand when it supports a good charity cause over one that doesn’t.

* Globally consumers are voicing a distinct desire for marketers to associate their brands to social causes. Forty-two percent say that if two products or services are of a similar quality and price, commitment to a cause trumps factors like innovation, design and brand loyalty when selecting one brand over another.

Getting becoming Giving

The new concept of Buy One GIVE One is starting to replace Buy One GET One as the global giving movement led by Buy1GIVE1 ripples out. Right now if you search for the terms B1G1 and BOGO you will find that websites that do Buy1-Give1 giving are on the first page of Google results. Certainly with the large consumer demand shown for products from companies like TOMS Shoes, BOGO lights and OLPC – One Laptop Per Child, this tide is set to continue and spread.

I did a recent Google search to find the 25 top key words associated with the keyword BOGO. The results were very interesting in that none of them currently contained the word Give. I have displayed the results below. It will be interested to repeat this test in twelve months time and see what changes. Consumers are starting to drive major change and despite still wanting to receive free gifts (as in traditional B1G1/BOGO), they equally want to help others and the environment. This sentiment is validated by the 2008 Goodpurpose global study.

Keyword results:

Free, shopping, pics, join, prose, photography, blogging, discount, boots, groups, music, dallas, togo themes, wallpapers, buy, applications, skins, values, coupon, gift, sharing, networking, African.

Transactional or transaction based giving

Buy One Give One giving is transactional – every time you buy something, you give something. In the case of SunNight Solar, TOMS Shoes and OLPC they happen to give physical products of the same nature for everyone sold. However, in most cases, Buy1GIVE1 associated businesses give a charitable contribution from each sale. Giving can start from just a one-cent contribution per sales transaction and go up to thousands of dollars in the case of Buy1BUILD1. At 1cent any business in the world can afford to give from each sale especially when they also know 100% of the contribution goes to the cause.

The actual amount given from each and every sale is not the point of focus with Buy1GIVE1 transaction based giving. It is not about saying 10% is contributed or 5c from each sale – instead the focus is on the story and sharing the simple joy of giving. In the end, if you think that 1c is not a lot to contribute and is not likely to make much of a difference think again and consider the following.

From its origins in Ethiopia, where the main coffee production is still from wild coffee tree forests, coffee consumption has spread throughout the world. Today Brazil is still by far the largest producer producing an average output of 28% of the world’s total coffee. Brazil produced enough coffee in 2006 to make 216 billion four hundred million – 216 400 000 000 – espresso coffees. If we calculate that across global production then we get a daily global consumption of around 2,117,416,830 cups of coffee. The figures are hard to find but let’s guess that 40% of the world’s coffee is sold in coffee shops then we would get that 846,966,732 cups are sold commercially each day globally. This would equate to about’5,485,714 cups in the USA alone seeing they purchase around 21.9% of the world’s coffee beans.

If we considered the impact of the coffee industry alone taking up Buy1-Give1, imagine now that for every cup of coffee sold a child in a developing region like Sub-Sahara Africa received clean drinking water from a well and it only costing 1cent to do this. Surely any coffee shop could afford to contribute this amount from the sale of a single cup of coffee. Imagine the different that this one action alone would make in the world.

Transaction-based giving is the story of a thousand-mile journey starting with a single step. Digging a well costs a few thousand dollars, however when you break the cost down it only takes the sale of a single cup of coffee to give clean water to a single person for a day1. This is the incredible and simple power of transactional giving. It is like the compound interest of giving – a little turns into a huge amount very quickly.

So many companies are used to doing things on their own. Doing transactional giving is no different. A company can go out find a cause and start doing Buy One Give One giving. And yet they are missing the point when they do this. Buy1GIVE1 giving is about sharing the joy of giving and not trying to change the world. As soon as you step up and say you are going to change the world then the world will step up and challenge you. Within a heartbeat a company would experience the sharp scrutiny of the media inspecting their every move. And yet when a company steps up and says it is supporting what its customer want and joins with others in its industry to do that in a win-win way, the story is different. When companies choose to join together under a commonly recognised banner/brand they can have a powerful joint effect. The ripple that a single company creates is added to that of another and the ripple grows into a tidal wave that benefits so many. This is the power of giving and doing things together.

The final power of Buy One Give One transaction based giving is that everyone wins – the consumer wins – at no extra cost to themselves they have made a difference through their purchasing choices – the business wins in so many ways – and the worthy cause or charity wins because they can now receive small amounts from many sources all aggregated and paid as a lump sum from a single source if done through the Buy1GIVE1 service.

A new beginning

If you check Wikipedia today you should find that a new definition has been added for BOGO. It is time for a change. A change from focusing on GETTING to focusing on GIVING. The subtlety in the words that we use so often point to a deeper underlying meaning. I added this small addition to Wikipedia, “… an acronym in the marketing industry that stands for Buy One GIVE One.”

Just imagine our world where every time you shopped and bought something you gave something – automatically and seamlessly. This is the simple joyful magic of transaction based giving.

This is the world I choose to be a part of.

And remember – you don’t ‘get’ giving till you get giving.

References:

http://www.buy1-give1free.com/index.php/Partnering/Worthy-cause-charity-projects.html

http://www.buy1-give1free.com/index.php/Partnering/Worthy-cause-charity-projects.html

http://www.tesco.com/greenerliving/what_we_are_doing/ethical_clothing.page

http://www.coffeepoet.com/2007/09/

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee

http://www.dep.org.uk/globalexpress/13/page1.htm

http://www.coffeepoet.com/2007/09/

Footnotes: 1 The daily cost for clean well water per person is calculated by taking the average cost to dig a well then dividing that amount by its average expected life without major maintenance then divided it by the number of people in the community benefiting from the well on a daily basis.

Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing.

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