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April 1 is traditionally a day for pranks and practical jokes. In recent years, Google has made a habit of making outlandish April Fool's Day announcements. One year, for example, Google announced the addition of mind-reading technology that would make searching a breeze. Another year, the search giant posted job openings for a new research center on the moon. A quick search for April Fool's Day pranks and hoaxes returns a treasure trove of gems. Here are a few highlights from Wikipedia and the Museum of Hoaxes: * In 1957, the BBC announced a bumper spaghetti crop in Switzerland. Mild winter weather and the near eradication of the "spaghetti weevil" were credited with the excellent harvest. The BBC report includes images of people harvesting spaghetti strands from trees. * In 1993, a San Diego DJ told his listeners the Space Shuttle Discovery would be landing at nearby Montgomery Field, due to issues at Edwards Air Force Base. Thousands of people turned out to see the landing... of a space shuttle that wasn't even in space at the time. * In 1996, Taco Bell announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell." In a statement, the company claimed the move was meant "to help the national debt" and that it hoped "other corporations [would] take similar action to do their part to reduce the country's debt." When asked about the hoax, White House press secretary Mike McCurry, playing along, said that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would now be called the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial. * Another fast-food-related April Fool's Day prank happened in 1998, when Burger King introduced the "left-handed Whopper." The new burger contained all of the same ingredients as its namesake, but the condiments were rotated 180 degrees, for the benefit of the 32 million left-handed Americans. Here's hoping you have a fun April first.

Joe Gass @ Heritage Printing & Graphics

5900 Harris Technology Blvd, Suite G, Charlotte, North Carolina 28269    704-551-0700     www.heritageprintingcharlotte.com

22725 Washington Street, Leonardtown, Maryland 20650   301-475-1700     www.heritageprinting.com

Veteran Owned and Operated Wide Format - Signs, Banners & Banner Stands, Displays, Posters, Wall and Window Graphics, Vehicle and Floor Graphics, Backlit Signs, Retail Point of Purchase, End Caps and Toppers, On-Site Installation, Kit Packing and Fulfillment Offset and Digital - Newsletters, Magazines, Publications, Catalogs, Conference and Meeting Materials, Brochures, Rack Cards, Presentation Folders and Direct Mail

Google may be the world's most popular search engine, but it's also a digital Swiss army knife. In addtion to traditional searching, here are 10 lesser-known uses for Google search: World clock. Find the time in any city by typing "time " and the city name, city and state, zip code, or city and country (e.g., "time New York City"). Google will tell you the current time in that city. Dictionary. Type "define: " and the term you wish to define (e.g., "define: monarchy"). Google will give you a list of definitions from a variety of online sources. Currency converter. Enter the amount you'd like to convert and the two currency types to convert to/from. For example, "345 USD to CAD" will show you the Canadian dollar equivalency to 345 US dollars. Calculator. Enter a mathematical problem to calculate (e.g. "3*2+(9sqared)"), and Google will give you the answer (e.g. "87"). Weather. Find the current weather conditions and forecast for many major cities worldwide by simply typing "weather " and the name of the city, city and state, zip code, or city and country (e.g. "weather Houston, TX" or "weather 90036") in the Google search bar. Flight tracking. Enter the airline and flight number (e.g. "american airlines 18") to see if it is arriving/departing on time or is delayed. Package tracking. Enter a UPS, FedEx, or USPS tracking number into the Google search bar, and Google will tell you the status of the package in question. Stock quotes. Enter a stock ticker symbol (e.g. "AAPL") to see that stock's current trading value and information about its fluctuation for the day. Unit converter. Not sure how many cups are in a gallon? Google can tell you. Enter your query (e.g. "cups per gallon"), and Google will do the rest (e.g. "1 US gallon = 16 US cups"). Sunrise/sunset times. Want to know when the sun will rise in Singapore? Just enter "sunrise " or "sunset " followed by the name of the city (e.g. "sunrise Singapore") in the Google search bar, and Google will let you know not only the time, but also how long from now the sunrise/sunset in question will occur. For even more search tips like these, visit http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/features.html. Joe Gass @ Heritage Print & Visual 5900 Harris Technology Blvd, Ste G, Charlotte, NC 28269 * 704-551-0700 * www.hpvisual.com  22725 Washington Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650  * 301-475-1700 * www.heritageprinting.com Wide Format â?? signs, banners & banner stands, displays, posters, wall and window graphics, vehicle and floor graphics, decals, backlit signs, point of purchase, end caps and toppers, on-site installation and fulfillment Offset and Digital â?? newsletters, magazines, publications, catalogs, conference and meeting materials, brochures, rack cards, presentation folders and direct mail  Veteran Owned and Operated

The continuing growth of social media marketing

Social media marketing is becoming an important cog in the wheel of many companies' overall marketing plans. According to HubSpot.com, U.S. advertisers spent $1.7 billion (that's billion with a "b") in 2010 on social media marketing. Of that, 53% was spent advertising on Facebook. Globally, companies spent $3.4 billion on social media marketing in 2010. Pepsi -- a staple of Super Bowl ads for decades -- has announced that it will not run any ads in this year's game. Instead, the company will invest more heavily in social media campaigns. So what are the most popular social media channels for large companies? HubSpot reports that 65% of Fortune Global 100 companies maintain a corporate Twitter account, 54% host a Facebook page, 50% have a company YouTube channel, and 33% run a company blog. Having a Facebook page, Twitter account, or blog is one thing. Keeping it active is something else entirely. Of the companies cited earlier who use Twitter, 82% post multiple tweets per week. Among corporate YouTube users, 68% upload at least one new video per month. On Facebook, 59% post at least once per week. And 36% of corporations with blogs update those blogs at least once every month. While HubSpot focused its research on larger corporations, social media marketing is ideally suited for small businesses, too. The cost of getting started is minimal, and commitment can grow and scale over time. If you aren't using social media marketing, I recommend you start. If you can't commit too much time, that's ok. Start small, and build your efforts as time allows. Begin with a Facebook page for your company, a blog (like this one), or a Twitter account. Make a plan for adding new content regularly. And engage with customers who engage with you online. Once you're started, include the address for each of your social media channels on your website. Add your Twitter name to your business cards. And begin to engage with your customers and prospective customers through social media. You'll be glad you did. If you'd like to see more from the HubSpot study referenced in this post, visit: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/8594/Social-Media-Marketing-By-The-Numbers-Infographic.aspx Joe Gass @ Heritage Print & Visual 5900 Harris Technology Blvd, Ste G, Charlotte, NC 28269 * 704-551-0700 * www.hpvisual.com  22725 Washington Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650  * 301-475-1700 * www.heritageprinting.com Wide Format â?? signs, banners & banner stands, displays, posters, wall and window graphics, vehicle and floor graphics, decals, backlit signs, point of purchase, end caps and toppers, on-site installation and fulfillment Offset and Digital â?? newsletters, magazines, publications, catalogs, conference and meeting materials, brochures, rack cards, presentation folders and direct mail  Veteran Owned and Operated