The Retargeting Playbook: How to Turn Web-Window Shoppers into Customers book review by Gloria Buono-Daly GBDaly Smile Rating - 5 smiles Up )))))

“At the moment (long after the proposal) the ads I’m currently being targeting with seem to be a little more accurate. Particularly on Facebook, where I’m no longer treated to engagement ring ads. I’m now privy to ads about hiring suits, booking wedding venues and going on honeymoon..." ~~ Christopher Ratcliff, on his retargeting experience, eConsultancy blog What is retargeting and why do you need it? Christopher's primary interests include social media, online video, digital music, content marketing, Stanley Kubrick, LEGO and being rubbish at karaoke. In his spare time he runs his own music website called Popdin.co.uk

Although more and more consumers purchase online, the statistic of 3% website conversion rates have remained constant virtually all over the internet over the past 8 years.

The internet population worldwide has more than doubled in the past 8 years (2005 – 2013 -- 1.04 billion to 2.79 billion) and 77% of that growth comes from users in the developed world (Source: International Telecommunications Union ). (Photo above left, courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.)

WHY DO 97% (or so) OF VISITORS LEAVE A WEBSITE WITHOUT CONVERTING OR PURCHASING?

There are many reasons why visitors quickly navigate away from websites: Be it annoying sounds, distracting pop-ups and interstitial ads, to bad navigation, too many clicks, poor grammar, typos and overall horrific design quality. LiveAdmins.com reports that “94-97% of website visitors leave a website within two minutes and completely forget about it once they leave.”

All the more reason why digital marketers need retargeting and why retargeting has acquired phenomenal momentum in such a short time. However, I highly recommend any website issues be corrected before implementing a retargeting campaign. You wouldn't want to remind one-time visitors why they've left your site in the first place, would you?

"The Retargeting Playbook: How to Turn Web-Window Shoppers into Customers," authors and industry “insighters” Adam Berke, Greg Fulton, and Lauren Vaccarello explain the importance of retargeting and how if implemented effectively, can increase conversions and sales. (Photos above right and below left, courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.)

The authors’ findings are from their decades of experiences and from their expert deep analyses of thousands of retargeting campaigns and case studies. They share a wealth of helpful tips and expertise throughout.

WHAT IS RETARGETING?

Without getting too technical, retargeting works by tracking the 97% of website visitors who leave without converting and then redisplays tailored “retargeting ads” as they visit other online sites (anonymous cookie visitors with a tracking tag ring a bell?).

WHAT MAKES RETARGETING SO EFECTIVE?

The reason why retargeting is so effective is that it keeps your brand at the forefront of all those 97% or so that left your website during their initial visit. Retargeting ads bring about brand recognition even though they left your site. Retargeting does all the work and in best practice.

With the right skills and implementation, retargeting has the potential to increase impressions, sales and conversions for all digital marketing channels. There are various retargeting platforms to choose from.

Retargeting saves tremendous amounts of campaign dollars and provides digital marketers with unlimited autonomy. Retargeting also works with many leading ad networks including AdX, Facebook, Google Display Network, etc.

RETARGETING IS THE BIG NEW HYPE

Retargeting is the latest technology for strategizing and is growing at a phenomenal rate. Retargeting has quickly become the best platform for connecting lost website visitors as they visit other websites. According to a recent article by Convince & Convert, “20 percent of marketers now have a dedicated retargeting budget.” Retargeting has room for all size budgets and various options for controlling your budget spending and strategizing.

“The Retargeting Playbook" teaches the ins and outs of everything you will need to know from early preparation, research, as well as how to set up a campaign initially, monitor, budget, gage, analyze results, etc.

“The Retargeting Playbook: How to Turn Web-Window Shoppers into Customers," by Adam Berke, Greg Fulton, and Lauren Vaccarello is a must-read for all media buyers, digital agencies, in-house marketing managers, ecommerce managers and comes highly recommended. Gloria Buono-Daly smile rating, 5 smiles up  ))))).


GBDaly Smile Rating -
5 Smiles Up ))))) (c) 2014

If you need to integrate marketing campaigns and want to connect with the 97% or so visitors who've left your site without purchasing or subscribing, you need to read The Retargeting Playbook: How to Turn Web-Window Shoppers into Customers by Adam Berke, Greg Fulton, and Lauren Vaccarello. The book is on sale at bookstores everywhere.
(Photo above right courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.)

RESOURCES:
    ▓ █
    ♦  ADRoll on Retargeting
    ▓ █
    ♦  Adam Berke, Gretory Fulton, Lauren Vaccarello authors of The Retargeting Playbook:, Wiley.com
    ▓ █
    ♦  New "Retargeting Playbook" Arms Marketers With Best Practices, ClickZ article
    ▓ █
    ♦  The Retargeting Playbook published by Wiley
    ▓ █
    ♦  Retargeting: 5 New Statistics That May Surprise You , Convince & Convert
    ▓ █ What is retargeting and why do you need it? , Econsultancy Blog by Chris Ratclif

Please check out all the links in the resource section above and share this on your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks you enjoy! Thanks!

Photos courtesy of The Retargeting Playbook authors and Wiley & Sons, Inc., unless otherwise mentioned.


Visiting this blog frequently and sharing this with your social media and professional network is much appreciated. Thanks.
GBDaly exclusive "Smile Rating" (c) 2013 created and conceptualized by Gloria Buono Daly. .

AUTHOR BIOS:

ADAM BERKE (@adamberke) is an online advertising industry expert and President of AdRoll. He is part of AdRoll’s founding team and is passionate about performance, advertising, and marketing analytics. Adam is a guest author for ClickZ and AdExchanger, as well as a frequent speaker at industry events such as SES, SMX, OMMA, South by Southwest and ad:tech. Prior to AdRoll, Adam helped to launch the CPL network at Aptimus, a publicly-traded ad network acquired by the Apollo Group. Outside of work, Adam is an avid surfer, kiteboarder, and barefoot runner. He lives in San Francisco.

GREGORY FULTON (@gregfulton) creates cutting-edge display products that are simple, scalable and effective as AdRoll’s Head of Product. During AdRoll’s earlier days, Greg was tasked with building an advertising operations department able to service thousands of advertisers. In doing so, he gained intimate knowledge about what truly successful retargeting campaigns can do for clients. Prior to AdRoll, Greg managed marketing communications at TechTribe, a career networking portal. Greg lives in San Francisco and has three passions outside of online advertising: surfing, mountain biking, and skiing.

LAUREN VACCARELLO (@laurenv) is a digital marketing thought leader, author, and AdRoll’s Vice President of Marketing. Well-versed in running both online and offline marketing campaigns, Lauren also coauthored the highly-regarded book Complete B2B Online Marketing. Prior to AdRoll, Lauren led online marketing at Salesforce, the market and technology leader in enterprise cloud computing. She was a member of the Google Tech Advisory Council and is a popular speaker at industry events such as ad:tech, South by Southwest, ClickZ Live, eMetrics and the Online Marketing Summit. She lives in San Francisco and enjoys boxing, pilates, and swordfighting.

HAPPY 450th B-DAY to William Shakespeare, world's most quoted yet mysterious author, April 23, 1564 No Google doodle?

William Shakespeare's B-Day: Today (4/23),
yesterday or tomorrow:That is the question.

“To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?
To die: to sleep ..." ~~ William Shakespeare
(26 April 1564 - April 1616), English poet and playwright; Greatest writer in the English language, pre-eminent dramatist. Also referred to as England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon," quote taken from "Hamlet"

HAPPY 450th B-DAY to William Shakespeare, world’s most quoted, most translated, most performed, yet most mysterious author.

Will Google be celebrating with a doodle? For sure will update this post if so. No Google doodle for Shakespeare this year? Shakespeare’s works -- including his collaborations, comprise of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, two epitaphs on a man named John Combe, one epitaph on Elias James, and several other poems -- used over 21,000 different words which are credited by the Oxford English Dictionary as introducing over 3,000 new words.

His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

WORLD REKNOWN, YET MYSTERIOUS
Interestingly, there is much skepticism and gaps in William Shakespeare that still remain a mystery to this day. Besides church baptism and court records, there is no proof -- no records, not even one original handwritten manuscript that exists nor any other evidence that William Shakespeare could even write a complete sentence.

There is also controversy as to how a small-town boy with no college education, who moves to London to work as an actor and begins to write masterpieces of such beauty and sophistication. Among the many doubters are novelists and essayists Henry James, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Sigmund Freud, Orson Welles and Sir John Gielgud.

SHAKESPEARE - MARKETER, ENTREPRENEUR, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER & INVESTOR
Besides Shakespeare’s writings on human nature, emotion, conflict and comedy, as well as his acting career, very few realize how successful Shakespeare was as entrepreneur, marketer, advertiser, promoter, real estate investor, developer and businessman.

Shakespeare built the largest open amphitheater in London called “The Globe Theatre.” The Globe was owned by actors who were also shareholders in Lord Chamberlain's Men.

Two of the six Globe shareholders, Richard Burbage and his brother Cuthbert Burbage, owned 25% shares each; the other four men, Shakespeare, John Heminges, Augustine Phillips, and Thomas Pope, owned a single share, or 12.5%.

Originally William Kempe was intended to be the seventh partner, but he sold out his share to the four minority sharers, leaving them with more than the originally planned 10%).

These initial proportions changed over time as new sharers were added. Over the course of his career, Shakespeare's share diminished from 1/8 to 1/14, or roughly 7%.

SHAKESPEARE BARBS IN EVERYDAY COMMON LANGUAGE
The way Shakespeare used phrases and words are so common in everyday life today they are heard on radio, TV, and digitally. Here are few of the many everyday words:
“Wild goose chase,” “vanish into thin air,” “good riddance,” “naked truth,” “a sorry sight,” “heart of gold,” “send him packing,” “a piece of work,” “slings and arrows of everyday life,” “to be or not to be, that is the question,” “O Romeo O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo," “I'll not budge an inch," "we have seen better days," "a dish fit for the gods," “it’s Greek to me.”

Also worth noting are Shakespeare’s popular phrases that were used by many politicians including political speeches: “fair play,” “foregone conclusion,” “one fell swoop,” etc.

Authors also borrowed Shakespeare phrases for book titles, e.g., Aldous Huxley's “Brave New World,” and interestingly Shakespeare’s “what the dickens” was around centuries before the birth of Charles Dickens in 1812; Amazon's ebook, “Kindle” was from Shakespeare’s 'Two Gentlemen Of Verona," ACT II, SCENE_VII “As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words.”

The phrases go on and on so much so that many cannot recall whether the words are from the bible or Shakespeare’s literature. Not surprising, Shakespeare’s writings remain the second most quoted with the first being the bible.

SHAKESPEARE EPIC INSULTS
There can never be enough of Shakespeare particularly when it comes to his epic “Bard” insults throughout his Elizabethan literature. Here is a few of his many:
"There's small choice in rotten apples" from Taming of the Shrew; "I desire that we be better strangers" from As You Like It; "Thou art a boil, a plague sore, an embossed carbuncle in my corrupted blood" from King Lear; "You have such a February face, so full of frost, of storm and cloudiness" from Much Ado About Nothing; "If you spend word for word with me, I shall make your wit bankrupt" from Two Gentlemen of Verona; "I'll beat thee, but I should infect my hands" from Timon of Athens.

SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTH
Records indicate Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26th 1654, and many historians agree he was probably born 3 days prior (April 26th).

He was the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local landed heiress. William had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Edmund.

Before William's birth, his father became a successful merchant and held official positions as alderman and bailiff, an office resembling a mayor. However, records indicate John's fortunes declined sometime in the late 1570s.

William Shakespeare was brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon and at age 18 he married Anne Hathaway (26 and 3 months pregnant), with whom he had three children: Susanna (May 25, 1583, and twins a son Hamnet and daughter Judith (born February 2, 1585).

Sadly, Hamnet died at the age of 11 (1596), possibly from the Bubonic Plague.

At that time in England about a third of all children died before the age of 10.

Shakespearean scholars speculate on the relationship between Hamnet and his father's later play Hamlet, as well as on connections between Hamnet's death and the writing of King John, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Twelfth Night.


SEVEN YEAR MYSTERY
After the birth of the twins (1585), oddly, there are about seven years of William Shakespeare's life where no records exist (1585 - 1592).

It is believed that beginning 1590, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and by 1592 became part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, which later became known as the King's Men after the crowning of King James I in 1603.

The King's Men company was very popular, and records show that Shakespeare had works published and sold as popular literature during that time.

The theater culture in 16th century England was not highly admired by people of high rank. However, many nobility were patrons of the performing arts and friends of the actors. Early in his career, Shakespeare was able to attract the attention of Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated his first- and second-published poems: "Venus and Adonis" (1593) and "The Rape of Lucrece" (1594).

Despite all of the great works attributed to Shakespeare, there is still very little known about Shakespeare himself, no account of his appearance, i.e., tall or short, thin or chubby, face, etc.

Shakespeare retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49, and died there three years later.

BARDOLATRY
Shakespeare’s reputation did not gain popularity until the 19th century.

The Romantics acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with such reverence that Irish playwright and Nobel Prize and Oscar winner, George Bernard Shaw, coined "bardolatry," the excessive worship of William Shakespeare.

In the 20th century, Shakespeare’s work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
A stage adaptation of the multi-Oscar award winning film, “Shakespeare In Love,” is currently in production, due to have its world premiere in London's West End in July 2014.

"Shakespeare in Love," the 1998 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard was among 1999's box office number-one films in the United Kingdom.

The film depicts a love affair involving Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) and playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) while he was writing the play Romeo and Juliet. The story is fiction, though several of the characters are based on real people. In addition, many of the characters, lines, and plot devices are references to Shakespeare's plays.

Shakespeare in Love won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Gwyneth Paltrow), and Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench).



RESOURCES:
♦ The Complete Works of William Shakespeare http://www.shakespeare.mit.edu
♦ Open Source William Shakespeare http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org
♦ To Be or Not to Be Shakespeare http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/to-be-or-not-to-be-shakespeare-127247606/?no-ist
♦ Wouldn’t It Be Cool If Shakespeare Wasn’t? http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/magazine/wouldnt-it-be-cool-if-shakespeare-wasnt-shakespeare.html
♦ William Shakespeare on Poets.org https://www.poets.org/wshak/‎
♦ William Shakespeare on Biography.com http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323
♦ Shakespeare’s Insult by Infographic http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-insults/
♦ 20 Epic Shakespeare Insults Every Drama Geek Should Know http://www.bachelorsdegree.org/2011/05/22/20-epic-shakespeare-insults-every-drama-geek-should-know/


Please visit this blog frequently and share this with your social media. Follow me @gbdaly Thanks.

All photos courtesy of Wikimedia; If any screen shots were taken from video and websites credit will be mentioned. All other photos will be credited as required.

NASA celebrates 44th Earth Day year with first #GlobalSelfie social media campaign: Wants to know where everyone in the world is on #EarthDay

“The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard." ~~ Gaylord Anton Nelson (June 4, 1916 – July 3, 2005) Founder of Earth Day, American politician from Wisconsin who served as a United States Senator and governor. Photo right courtesy of Mark Fisher, http://mustermark.co.uk, photo also on Wikimedia.org

Would you believe it, today is Earth-Day’s 45th event and 44th B-Day? It was April 22nd, 1970 when the very first Earth Day event was celebrated nationwide. A time when the norm was hippy-happy flower-child culture, psychedelics, the passing R&B icons Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water" song, college students streaking across campuses protesting the Vietnam war, etc. Also a time of top network TV programs "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," "Gunsmoke," "Captain Kangaroo," "The Carol Burnett Show," and "I Dream of Jeannie."

Who would think Earth Day would also mark the modern environmentalist movement? It was April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day, that led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

#EarthDay 2014 is not just about "green cities, water and sustainability." Earth Day 2014 also marks the first #GlobalSelfie SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN.

WHERE ARE YOU ON EARTH RIGHT NOW? EARTH DAY 2014 MARKS THE FIRST NASA #GLOBALSELFIE

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) wants you to let the world know where you are on earth during #EarthDay.

They are celebrating a milestone -- the first time in more than a decade of launching five Earth-observing missions in a single year. Photos above right and below left snapshots taken from NASA promotional video on RedOrbit.com

Click here to view NASA's promotion video for Earth Day 2014 #GlobalSelfieEarthDay #EarthRightNow #EarthDay Social Media Campaigns.

Let's hope our liberal, ultra-rich SCAM-artists don't snake oil this event with more “bogus climate control.”

Do you think our leaders are capable of implementing a realistic, sustainable climate control program? Some are (hopefully most), and I hope they put government spending into perspective and stop subsidizing the ultra-rich for their quaky, snake-oil programs. "We the people" need to know the real facts behind the outrageous ultra-rich alternative fuel subsizing.

"It's nice that someone managed to run his car on liposuction leftovers, but that doesn't mean he needs to be subsidized ... But why not at least agree that governments shouldn't pick losers to be winners? Unfortunately, that's exactly what is happening. The world is rushing to promote alternative fuel sources that will actually accelerate global warming, not to mention an alternative power source that could cripple efforts to stop global warming ... This is not just a climate disaster. The grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a hungry person for a year; biofuel mandates are exerting constant upward pressure on global food prices and have contributed to food riots in dozens of poorer countries. Still, the United States has quintupled its ethanol production in a decade and plans to quintuple its biofuel production again in the next decade. This will mean more money for well-subsidized grain farmers, but also more malnutrition, more deforestation, and more emissions. European leaders have paid a bit more attention to the alarming critiques of biofuels -- including one by a British agency that was originally established to promote biofuels -- but they have shown no more inclination to throw cold water on this $100 billion global industry ..." ~~ Michael Grunwald, writer, journalist, author; and a senior national correspondent at Time magazine. Quotes taken from his article "Seven Myths About Alternative Energy"

Obviously, according Grunwald's article on ForeignPolicy.com article (2009) titled "Seven Myths About Alternative Energy, the energy alternatives aren't magic tickets and they are not sustainable.

WILL YOU BE CELEBRATING EARTH DAY BY TELLING THE WORLD WHERE ON EARTH YOU ARE WITH A #GLOBALSELFIE ?

If so please have your #GlobalSelfie show support for "sustainable environmental programs" that cost significantly less and are more effective than the current government subsized programs that are unsubstantiated and subsidize the ultra-rich.

Here's my #GlobalSelfie

#GlobalSelfie #NASA #EarthDayNow #EarthDay2014 #EarthDayDoodle #EarthDay ShowNASA where in the world you are pic.twitter.com/KxJ42ZEAkk

— Gloria buono Daly (@GBDaly) April 22, 2014

Where's yours?

Earth Day is a national holiday created to celebrate the Earth and environment. The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, and was a response to the environmental crisis at the time, which included extremely polluted water and air.

The Environmental Protection Agency was created the same year as a result of activism and widespread popular support for cleaning up the environment. Children became very aware as many school programs brought about awareness of pollutants in the air and the importance of caring for the planet we live on.

Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year. The Earth Day Logo, above right, became the Official Earth Week logo that was used as the backdrop for the prime time CBS News Special Report with Walter Cronkite about Earth Day beginning 1970 through 1996.

In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day. Earth Day is planned for April 22 in all years at least through 2015. It may or may not change thereafter. Earth Day is credited to Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he called for an environmental teach-in, or Earth Day, to be held on April 22, 1970.

Over 20 million people participated that year, and this Earth Day is now observed on April 22 each year by more than 500 million people and several national governments in 175 countries. Ecology Flag, photo to the right, was created by cartoonist Ron Cobb in 1969.

Google Celebrated Earth Day 2012 with an animated Flower-power Doodle on its home page, photo left.

For 2014, Google created a lovely doodle with many different eco-creatures from the lovely humming bird to the not-so-lovely beetle dung; I was pretty grossed out by that portion of the animated doodle. To view go to google.com and share what you think.

Bing Celebrated Earth day 2012 with a picture of Nevada Solar One at sunrise in the Mojave Desert near Boulder City, Nevada, photo right.


Earth Day Timeline

1968 - Morton Hilbert and the U.S. Public Health Service organized the Human Ecology Symposium, an environmental conference for students to hear from scientists about the effects of environmental degradation on human health. This was the beginning of Earth Day.
1969 - John McConnell first introduced the idea of a global holiday called "Earth Day" at the UNESCO Conference on the Environment
1969 - The Ecology Flag was created by cartoonist Ron Cobb and published on November 7th in the Los Angeles Free Press, then placed in the public domain. The symbol is a combination of the letters "E" and "O" taken from the words "Environment" and "Organism," respectively.
1970 - The first Earth Day proclamation was issued by San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto on March 21, 1970. Nelson chose the date April 22nd in order to maximize participation on college campuses for what he conceived as an "environmental teach-in". He determined the week of April 19–25 was the best bet as it did not fall during exams or spring breaks. Also, it did not conflict with any religious holidays.
1971 - UN Secretary-General U Thant supported McConnell's global initiative to celebrate this annual event; and on February 26, 1971, he signed a proclamation to that effect, saying: “May there be only peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life.”
1972 - United Nations secretary-general Kurt Waldheim observed Earth Day with similar ceremonies on the March equinox in 1972, and the United Nations Earth Day ceremony has continued each year since on the day of the March equinox (the United Nations also works with organizers of the April 22 global event).
1978 – American cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead added her support for the equinox Earth Day, and declared: "Earth Day is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space…”
1990 - The Earth Day 20 International Peace Climb was led by Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mt. Everest (many years earlier), and marked the first time in history that mountaineers from the United States, Soviet Union and China had roped together to climb a mountain, let alone Mt. Everest. The group also collected over two tons of trash (transported down the mountain by support groups along the way) that was left behind on Mount Everest from previous climbing expeditions. The master of ceremonies for the Columbia Gorge event was the TV star, John Ratzenberger, from "Cheers", and the headlining musician was the "Father of Rock and Roll," Chuck Berry.
2000 - Earth Day 2000 combined the ambitious spirit of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. This was the first year that Earth Day used the Internet as its principal organizing tool, and it proved invaluable domestically and internationally. Kelly Evans, a professional political organizer, served as Executive Director of the 2000 campaign. The event ultimately enlisted more than 5,000 environmental groups outside the United States, reaching hundreds of millions of people in a record 183 countries. Leonardo DiCaprio was the official host for the event, and about 400,000 participants stood in the cold rain during the course of the day.
2009 - May 5, 2009 editorial in The Washington Times contrasted Arbor Day with Earth Day, claiming that Arbor Day was a happy, non-political celebration of trees, whereas Earth Day was a pessimistic, political ideology that portrayed humans in a negative light.
2010 - Billion Acts of Green (Beta) – Official Earth Day Network's "Billion Acts of Green" website for students and young adults
2011 - A Billion Acts of Green (®) – A "people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20" (as well as a registered trademark).
2012 - Earth Day 2012 – Mobilize the Earth 2013; Google Celebrated Earth day 2012 with an animated Doodle on its home page; Bing Celebrated Earth Day 2012 with a picture of Nevada Solar One at sunrise in the Mojave Desert near Boulder City, Nevada.
2013 - The Face of Climate Change.
2014 - Earth Day 2014 – Green Cities + Mobilizing Millions of People to Create a Sustainable, Healthy Environment by Greening Communities Worldwide. First Earth Day 2014 "SOCIAL MEDIA SELFIE CAMPAIGN" launch.


Earth Day Resources

Earth Day Network
The Canopy Project
Washington Post, Celebrating Earth Day around the world
History of Earth Day http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement
Voice of America, Earth Day Prompts Calls for “Green Acts
If you have additional resources please list them in comments and I will add to post. Thanks.
Please visit this blog frequently and share this with your social media. Follow me @gbdaly Thanks.

All photos courtesy of Wikimedia; If any screen shots were taken from video and websites credit will be mentioned. All other photos will be credited as required.

Happy 2014th Easter World, Sunday April 20th

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song."
~~ Pope John Paul II sometimes called Blessed John Paul or John Paul the Great, born Karol Józef Wojtyła (Polish: [ˈkarɔl ˈjuzɛf vɔjˈtɨwa]; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), was Pope from 16 October 1978 to his death in 2005. He was the second longest-serving pope in history and, as a Pole, the first non-Italian since Pope Adrian VI, who died in 1523.

Happy 2014th Easter America.

Easter (Old English Ēostre; Latin: Pascha; Greek Πάσχα Paskha, the latter two derived from Hebrew: פֶּסַח‎ Pesaḥ) is a Christian festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as described in the New Testament.

Easter is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Easter is for everyone, for adults it brings back memories of childhood days filled with beautiful spring flowers and fabulous Sunday celebrations.

Easter, like Christmas, is for children. Celebrating Easter with children is truly special – from colored Easter Eggs, Chocolate Easter Bunnies to Easter Egg hunts and parades and bonnets make this day extra magical.

Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the March equinox.

Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on 21 March (although the astronomical equinox occurs on 20 March in most years), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily on the astronomically correct date. The date of Easter therefore varies from 22 March to 25 April inclusive. Eastern

The precise date of Easter has at times been a matter for contention. By the later 2nd century, it was accepted that the celebration of the holiday was a practice of the disciples and an undisputed tradition.

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many languages, the words for "Easter" and "Passover" are identical or very similar.

Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church[12] and decorating Easter eggs, a symbol of the empty tomb.

Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades.

The Easter parade is an American cultural event consisting of a festive strolling procession on Easter Sunday. The parade is somewhat of an informal and unorganized event, with or without religious significance. Persons participating in an Easter parade traditionally dress in new and fashionable clothing, particularly ladies' hats, and strive to impress others with their finery.

The Easter parade is most closely associated with Fifth Avenue in New York City, but Easter parades are held in many other cities. Starting as a spontaneous event in the 1870s, the New York parade became increasingly popular into the mid-20th century—in 1947, it was estimated to draw over a million people. Its popularity has declined significantly, drawing only 30,000 in 2008.

Many Americans follow the tradition of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy. The Easter Bunny is a popular legendary anthropomorphic Easter gift-giving character analogous to Santa Claus in American culture.

On Easter Monday, the President of the United States holds an annual Easter egg roll on the White House lawn for young children. New York City holds an annual Easter parade on Easter Sunday.

Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide. The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans.

Eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility, and rebirth. In Christianity, for the celebration of Eastertide, Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus: though an egg appears to be like the stone of a tomb, a bird hatches from it with life; similarly, the Easter egg, for Christians, is a reminder that Jesus rose from the grave, and that those who believe will also experience eternal life.

The precise origin of the ancient custom of decorating eggs is not known, although evidently the blooming of many flowers in spring coincides with the use of the fertility symbol of eggs—and eggs boiled with some flowers change their color, bringing the spring into the homes.

Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red, the color of blood, in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ (and, of the renewal of life in springtime). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long dead time of winter.

The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a fantasy character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs.

Originating among German Lutherans, the Easter Hare originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behaviour at the start of the season of Eastertide.

The Easter Bunny is sometimes depicted with clothes. In legend, the creature carries colored eggs in his basket, candy and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holiday. The custom was first mentioned in Georg Franck von Franckenau's De ovis paschalibus[2] (About Easter Eggs) in 1682[3] referring to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter Eggs for the children. In many church services on Easter Sunday, a live rabbit representing the Easter Bunny, is brought into the congregation, especially for the children's message.

An Easter Bonnet represents the tail-end of a tradition of wearing new clothes at Easter, in harmony with the renewal of the year and the promise of spiritual renewal and redemption.

The "Easter bonnet" was fixed in popular culture by Irving Berlin, whose frame of reference was the Easter parade in New York City, a festive walkabout that made its way down Fifth Avenue from St. Patrick's Cathedral:



"In your Easter bonnet
with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade."
by Irving Berlin

At the depths of the Great Depression a new hat at Easter, or a refurbished old one, was a simple luxury.

Will you be celebrating Easter? Showing off your Easter bonnet or attending an Easter Day Parade?

RESOURCES:
♦ The 28th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition by Broadway Cares http://broadwaycares.org/easterbonnet2014
♦ Easter Day Parade http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_parade
♦ Easter Sunday on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Sunday
♦ Easter 2014 from Calendar 365 http://www.calendar-365.com/holidays/easter.html‎
♦ Easter Egg Hunts http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/events/index.ssf/2014/04/easter_egg_hunts_events_in_leh.html
♦ Easter Parade and Easter Bonnet Festival in New York City http://gonyc.about.com/cs/holidays/a/easter.htm
♦ Easter Parade – Fred Astaire and Judy Garland on YouTube


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