WebProNews » Pipeline

CNN Has Free Video In The Pipeline

WebProNews Staff — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:36:50 +0000

Not enough people wanted to pay for CNN Pipeline, the news network’s video service. Instead of killing it off, Pipeline will be integrated into CNN.

Fears at Resource Shelf regarding Pipeline can be put to rest. CNN has chosen to eliminate the subscription aspect of Pipeline, not the content.

CNN’s David Payne wrote at the CNN Behind The Scenes blog that Pipeline would change:

So, why are we changing to a new model and a new service? Couple of reasons. First, as popular as the service was, it became clear to us that reaching true scale was going to be impossible if the product remained a pay service.

Remember that our entire mission is about getting more news to more people on more platforms

WordPress Blogging Pipeline & Projections

Andrew Wee — Wed, 09 May 2007 14:16:20 +0000

One of the WordPress development team, Ryan Born, noted in his post WordPress 2.2 Release Candidate 1 will not include a tagging feature, the next version could include a comprehensive taxonomy framework which could open up the field for interesting plugins.

The year has been an interesting one for WordPress bloggers with the release of about 5 major and incremental upgrades since the start of the year.

It’s interesting to see WordPress grow from more a GNU General Public License hobbist project, to a comprehensive solution that corporates are increasingly embracing.

The fact that new WordPress versions currently do or will eventually include native functions like:

Email functions like (phpMailer)

Tagging (which helps out the information sorting and relevance process in the age of info overload)

Widgets (to expand its functions from it’s base text/graphics-information Content Management System publishing origins)

XML-RPC APIs for otherwise static “Pages” as distinguished from the dynamic “Post” counterparts

Further ATOM feed and API support for increased content distribution syndication

These initiatives give WordPress a big step up from other more Web1.0 corporate-oriented blogging platforms.

And ultimately it’s about choice. If you choose to do a cotton candy blog featuring Youtube videos you can do it just as easily as disseminating information on service uptimes and kernel updates via a corporate blog.

Even if your favorite features like tags aren’t natively supported in WordPress now, you can easily add the functions by installing the appropriate plugin. The techset is figuring out the next big thing too.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed to see native support for audio and video content. We might see it sooner than we think.

Also check out:

WordPress 2.2 features

WordPress 2.2 milestones

WordPress Dev team’s Dougal WordPress 2.2 post

Lorelle on WordPress: WordPress 2.2 Delay

Comments

How Leaky is Your Sales Pipeline?

Dr. Greg Chapman — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:02:55 +0000

Does your Sales Pipeline leak? If you answered no, you don’t even understand the question. Every business’ Sales Pipeline leaks to some extent. The question is: Have you done everything you can to ensure that it does not leak excessively? Do you even know what your Sales Pipeline looks like?

Very simply, a Sales Pipeline starts with an initial enquiry and ends with a sale. While the Sales Pipeline looks different in each business, there are still some similarities between them. In all businesses, there is a need to generate enquiries. This can be done through advertising, cold calling, public relations or word of mouth. This enquiry may be a phone call in response to an ad. Or, in retail, a customer may walk in your front door attracted by your shopfront marketing. This is the first step of the Sales Pipeline for any business. However, there are usually a number of steps from receiving an enquiry to generating a sale.

The next step might be getting an appointment with the prospect to establish their needs. In a retail situation, the sales staff will ask: Can I help you? Once need is established, a second appointment may be made to present a proposal, or a quote may be provided. The final step in this generic Sales Pipeline would be to close the sale.

It is essential that every business owner understands their Sales Pipeline and where it leaks. Using the generic pipeline above, what percentage of enquirers agrees to an initial appointment? How many of those agree to receive a formal proposal or ask for a quote? And finally, how many who receive a formal proposal or quote, are converted to sales? By understanding each step in your Sales Pipeline, you can measure the success in moving prospects along the pipeline, and spot where your sales process needs to be improved.

No Sales Pipeline is leak proof. In fact, there are some people who you don’t wish to become your customers. They may be the bargain hunters, the time wasters or people who are poor credit risks. So there should be a screening process to remove people who are not qualified to become your customers. To be effective, this screening process should remove unqualified prospects early in the pipeline, before you have invested too much time with them. But if you are turning away a high number of unqualified prospects, you should be looking at your enquiry generation strategy. If you sell luxury cruises, advertising in a tabloid newspaper will probably produce mostly unqualified enquiries.

All other prospects, however, are by definition, qualified. And their loss is one that you wish to minimise. If there is a large loss in getting that initial appointment, perhaps a script needs to be developed for staff to turn that initial enquiry into an appointment. If the losses are large in getting a request for a proposal or quotation, sales training on establishing rapport and need, creating desire and building value should be considered. If proposals (or quotations) have a low rate of acceptance, there could be a problem with the offer, or the way the sales person tried to close.

Put in place monitoring systems to measure the movements of prospects through your Sales Pipeline. Analyse the losses at each stage. By understanding your Sales Pipeline, you will understand what you are doing well, and where your pipeline leaks. Only then can you start plugging those leaks!

Dr. Greg Chapman assists small to medium sized businesses
with business planning, business systems and marketing
strategy. To find out how you can Multiply Your Profits &
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Pipeline Project to Cost More Than Expected

Chris Crum — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 15:15:51 +0000

India and Pakistan have expressed that they are serious about going forward with a proposed natural gas pipeline that would run from India to Iran through Pakistan.

The pipeline project was previously estimated to cost somewhere between four and five billion U.S. dollars, but now they are saying that it will cost more than that.

“That was an old estimate. Taking into account inflation, the large increase in steel prices, we think the project will cost $7 billion to $8.1 billion,” a government source told Reuters.

India and Pakistan officials released a statement after two days of talks in New Dehli about the project, which is expected to be in the next five years.

“Both sides conveyed their serious commitment to address various issues pertaining to the project so as to maintain the momentum of the dialogue,” said the statement. AFX News Limited reports:

India and Pakistan will meet again in August to thrash out remaining issues, including the pricing of gas, funding and legal aspects.

The two sides agreed to appoint separate financial consultants to advise on the project structure before signing an inter-government agreement that would allow work to begin early next year.

The project, which has been talked about for quite some time now, has been the target of criticism. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a while back that New Delhi should explore other ways to meet its energy needs.

In response to such criticism, India’s Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said, “We will not come under the pressure of any country.”

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.

India and Pakistan Form Working Group for Pipeline

Chris Crum — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 16:38:09 +0000

Today, Pakistan and India formed a working group led by the oil ministry secretaries of both countries to begin work on a $4 billion natural gas pipeline from India to Iran through Pakistan.

Mani Shankar Aiyar, India’s Petroleum Minister, began a visit to Pakistan Saturday to discuss the pipeline with leaders of the country. He is scheduled to leave tomorrow.

A meeting held yesterday was the first time India and Pakistan have ever engaged in discussions about matters in the energy sector.

Aiyar is optimisitic about the pipeline. “I am now confident we will be able to get the project off the ground in a significant sense by the beginning of the new year,” he said. “Instead of discussing what we need to do, we will start doing what we need to do.”

Amanullah Jadoon, Pakistan’s Oil Minister told ISN Security Watch, “We welcome India in the project and sincerely hope that the project would be seen as the most credible CBM [confidence-building measure] between the two countries.”

According to ISN Security Watch, the working group’s first meeting will take place as soon as this month or early next month. India and Pakistan will hold six expert-level meetings and three ministerial-level meetings within the next six months.

The United States has expressed concern about the pipeline. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that New Delhi should explore other ways to meet its energy needs.

“We will not come under the pressure of any country,” said Aiyar in response.

The natural gas pipeline project is estimated to cost somewhere in the ballpark of 4 billion US dollars. As India and Pakistan hold their talks, trade of Indian petroleum goods is also expected to be opened up across the border.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.

Aiyar Optimistic About Pipeline

Chris Crum — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 16:56:57 +0000

Mani Shankar Aiyar, India’s Petroleum Minister, began his visit to Pakistan Saturday in order to discuss a natural gas pipeline from Iran and Turkmenistan through the country.

Aiyar is scheduled to stay in Pakistan until Wednesday. This is the first time India and Pakistan have ever engaged in discussions about matters in the energy sector. A meeting was held today.

He talked with leaders in Pakistan, and is optimisitic about the pipeline. “I am now confident we will be able to get the project off the ground in a significant sense by the beginning of the new year,” said Aiyar.

“Instead of discussing what we need to do, we will start doing what we need to do,” he said. According to MoneyControl.com,

The meeting held this morning was based on some developments that took place yesterday. Incidentally, these are the first direct talks between India and Pakistan on the Iran gas pipeline project. India though, regards the issue as two sets of bilateral talks, those between Iran and Pakistan and Iran and India, rather than simple tripartite talks.

However, India is unlikely to commit to major investment in the project. It is gunning for Pakistan to invest the $4 billion in the 2700 km pipeline passing through the country. This, according to certain sections in Delhi, can be held as a safe guard against Pakistan disrupting supplies at any time in the future.

The United States has expressed concern about the pipeline. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that New Delhi should explore other ways to meet its energy needs.

“We will not come under the pressure of any country,” said Aiyar in response.

A big question about the pipeline is the issue of security. “On the commercial front, the crucial issue is to find out what Pakistan is thinking in terms of transit fee as also the cost of security, as the pipeline would pass through some geographically inhospitable territory,” the official said.

The natural gas pipeline project is estimated to cost somewhere in the ballpark of 5 billion US dollars. As India and Pakistan hold their talks, trade of Indian petroleum goods is also expected to be opened up across the border.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.

Aiyar Discusses Pipeline With Pakistan

Chris Crum — Mon, 06 Jun 2005 16:35:41 +0000

Saturday India’s Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar began a visit to Pakistan to discuss a natural gas pipeline from Iran and Turkmenistan through the country.

“We want to discuss all technical aspects with Pakistan for importing natural gas from Iran and Turkmenistan,” said Aiyar as he arrived in Lahore, Pakistan.

Aiyar is scheduled to stay in Pakistan until Wednesday. This is the first time India and Pakistan have ever engaged in discussions about matters in the energy sector. A meeting was held today. According to MoneyControl.com,

The meeting held this morning was based on some developments that took place yesterday. Incidentally, these are the first direct talks between India and Pakistan on the Iran gas pipeline project. India though, regards the issue as two sets of bilateral talks, those between Iran and Pakistan and Iran and India, rather than simple tripartite talks.

However, India is unlikely to commit to major investment in the project. It is gunning for Pakistan to invest the $4 billion in the 2700 km pipeline passing through the country. This, according to certain sections in Delhi, can be held as a safe guard against Pakistan disrupting supplies at any time in the future.

The United States has expressed concern about the pipeline. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that New Delhi should explore other ways to meet its energy needs.

“We will not come under the pressure of any country,” said Aiyar in response.

A big question about the pipeline is the issue of security. “On the commercial front, the crucial issue is to find out what Pakistan is thinking in terms of transit fee as also the cost of security, as the pipeline would pass through some geographically inhospitable territory,” the official said.

The natural gas pipeline project is estimated to cost somewhere in the ballpark of 5 billion US dollars. As India and Pakistan hold their talks, trade of Indian petroleum goods is also expected to be opened up across the border.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.

Pipeline Talks Taking Place in Pakistan

Chris Crum — Sat, 04 Jun 2005 17:54:26 +0000

Today India’s Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar began a visit to Pakistan to talk about a natural gas pipeline from Iran and Turkmenistan through the country.

“We want to discuss all technical aspects with Pakistan for importing natural gas from Iran and Turkmenistan,” said Aiyar as he arrived in Lahore, Pakistan.

Aiyar is scheduled to stay in the country until June 8. This will be the first time India and Pakistan have ever engaged in discussions about matters in the energy sector. According to People’s Daily Online,

Indo-Asian News Service Friday quoted a senior Indian Petroleum Ministry official as saying that this is the first in-depth dialogue between India and Pakistan over the issue.

After years of distrust, the dialogue is also seen as a positive move in bilateral relations between India and Pakistan, an outcome of the visit by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to New Delhi in April.

“The engagement is basically political. We have already had three rounds of talks with the Iranians, with considerable progress. But as the pipeline project is a tri-nation project, we need to engage with the third party,” said the official.

The United States has expressed concern about the pipeline. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that New Delhi should explore other ways to meet its energy needs.

“We will not come under the pressure of any country,” said Aiyar in response.

A big question about the pipeline is the issue of security. “On the commercial front, the crucial issue is to find out what Pakistan is thinking in terms of transit fee as also the cost of security, as the pipeline would pass through some geographically inhospitable territory,” the official said.

The natural gas pipeline project is estimated to cost somewhere in the ballpark of 5 billion US dollars. As India and Pakistan hold their talks, trade of Indian petroleum goods is also expected to be opened up across the border.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.

Pipeline to Encourage Peace and Trade

WebProNews — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 17:11:26 +0000

Iran’s Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said that the proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India through Pakistan will encourage regional peace and trade.

Kharrazi has been in talks with India’s Foreign Minister Natwar Singh in New Delhi in an effort to boost trade and discuss the pipeline project. He is supposed to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and give a speech to the Indian Council for World Affairs.

“The Indian government… has created an encouraging atmosphere for pushing ahead with this highly important project which, no doubt, would have a positive impact on regional convergence,” said Kharrazi.

According to a Reuters article,

“Iran, which has surplus energy and hopes to export large volumes of gas to India, said it wanted a feasibility study done on the proposed project quickly.

New Delhi, scouring the globe to feed its fast-growing economy with energy, says it wants security guarantees and assured supplies as the proposed pipeline would involve Pakistan, with which it has fought three wars.”

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Iran to India Pipeline May See Existence By 2009

WebProNews — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 17:07:49 +0000

A natural gas pipeline running from Iran to India may be ready by the end of 2009 depending on if an agreement is reached with Tehran.

A meeting will be held in June to reach a possible agreement.

“The $4-billion pipeline from Iran via Pakistan to import gas had been proposed for meeting the growing energy needs of Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Pakistan, which stands to earn millions of dollars in transit fees, has been keen on the project for years, but plans have made little headway because of political tensions with India.”

“I am going to Tehran in June and hope this would act as a catalyst in furthering an agreement on import of natural gas through a pipeline passing through Pakistan,” said Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.

India would not participate in the pipeline’s construction.

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Your source for investigative ebusiness reporting and breaking news.