By silverdancer at Citysearch November 12, 2009
vqea ...read more
By willnotgive at Citysearch January 15, 2009
They hide behind several names including OakParkApartments , Mastercare and multiple LLCs so they don't have any liability. Once you give them a check you'll never see them again. They manage a lot of buildings in Oak Park and do a terrible job. It has been years and they still haven't repaired the doors that don't lock or shut. My back door does not open at all. It took two men ten minutes to open it and it still gives me problems. So if there is a fire in my building and I have to go out the back door I can't. If you call all you get is an answering service and they never call you back.In the time I have lived here I've never seen them wash the front hallway or clean a carpet, railings are falling apart, if it snows on the weekend - it will be days before it's shoveled. During the last ice and snowstorm they never shoveled the sidewalks next to the building. You had to walk over 2 feet of ice and snow just to get to the door. They never return calls or emails and if you try and get out of your lease they wont let you and sent a lawyer after you. They will just say that they are trying to get a hold of the owners and never get back to you . I had to stand in the office one day in order to get them to talk to me. Even then they still lied to me and gave me false information. I asked people who live in my building if they ha e problem and they all say that they have tons. They just call in other people to take care of it because Mastercare wont help at all. On top of all this Mastercare are trying to charge me an additional 700 to get out of my lease even if I find some one to take it over. Also if you cancel your lease and move out they will make you pay for the place. Even though you have moved out and no longer live in the building. They are just the worst people you will ever deal with. I am sorry I did this. I am telling you just run from these people. Mastercare is the worst kind of way to run a company I would not send anyone to rent from them ever ...read more
If you’re advertising your website online, you’re probably participating in some Facebook posts and Googling yourself on a daily basis to see whether or not your website pops up when you do a particular search. You might be feeling pretty good about your gradual organic growth over time, but there is still one unavoidable reality when you’re putting your name out there. The cold hard fact that Facebook and Google are businesses. They don’t care about your feelings or your success, they care about money (there’s a reason Facebook and Google experienced a 60% and 43% year-over-year growth, respectively, in 2016). In this latest post, we’ll dive into why “pay-to-play” is here to stay. SOCIAL Facebook used to operate in a much more organic way in its infancy. Before, if you posted quality content that acquired engagements, your post would be more likely to be seen. Though this is still true, the amount of scale (the potential for someone to see your message) and potential reach (the number of unique people who could see your message) has been squashed by the pay-to-play model. For example, if you look at Advertiser X below, this advertiser posts organically and spends millions of dollars on Facebook ads each year. Even with a known brand and high engagement on fun creative, around 2% of total audience reach is acquired in the old organic way. Even if you’re a nationally recognized brand, your reach levels still barely break the tens of thousands in some cases, compared to paying to be seen. Now let’s say you’re not spending millions of dollars each year and you don’t have a recognizable brand (yet!). Perhaps you’re putting time, effort, and maybe a little money into your organic posts. After you crunch the numbers, what are the eCPM amounts (effective cost per thousand people) you reach, and is it worth it? Let’s take a look at an example: Pete owns a gym bag company called Pete’s Bags and pays a company $200 a month to take pictures of his product in gyms and post two to three times per week. Pete has 5,000 users that like his Facebook page. When a post is made ~10% of these users will see the message each time there’s a post because Facebook’s algorithm favors paid postings. Over the course of a month this nets out to roughy 4,000-6,000 people seeing Pete’s messaging organically and these users aren’t always unique. This equates to a $50-$33 eCPM or the same amount to run a high impact ad on a top 10 website! Now let’s say Pete’s Bags uses these images and decides to pay-to-play (pay Facebook to advertise his posts). He’ll likely only spend a $3-$10 CPM (depending upon who he’s targeting) and he’ll reach more unique people (not just the same ones over-and-over). In this second example, Pete can reach nearly 17 times the number of people just by giving into Facebook’s business model. ORGANIC POSTING PAID POSTING SEARCH Let’s say social advertising isn’t your cup of tea and you’re more focused on search engine optimization (SEO), how can a pay-to-play environment get in the way of your strategy here? Google (or any other major search engine) wants to balance user experience with their own business goals which leads to a blend of organic results (results deemed the best thing you’re searching for) and search ads (ads that appear at the top of a page because they’ve paid to appear at the top). No matter the amount of keyword research, link building, and SEO investment you’ve put into your site, you can always be outranked if you’re outbid. We’re not dismissing SEO strategy or best practices, but it is undeniable that paying in a search environment captures users who are looking for your product or service immediately. If we take a look at Pete’s Bags once again, let’s say he’s typed in “Gym Bags” within a Google search. The first results are search ads from some of his largest competitors. And as he scrolls down the page, the first organic results are Amazon and Dick’s Sporting Goods. In this case, if Pete is competing in a paid fashion, he has has the ability to compete directly within the top results ads section, but he likely has a tough shot of completing with the largest etailer and brick-and-mortar sports good retailer in the country. What this shows is that at the end of the day, it is good to keep your organic roots, follow website best practices, and be true to your brand. However, if you want to be seen by new customers (or even the majority of your page followers) in the most popular online environments, the unavoidable truth is you have to pay-to-play. --------------------------- PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRIES: Who do they Think you Are? (A User’s Guide to Understanding Online Data) The State of In-house Programmatic Reverse Engineering Digital Advertising Success Understanding Ad Fraud Balancing Quality with the Fallacy of Efficiency Measuring Awareness Campaigns More at: https://www.valenceagency.com ...read more
By Valence Agency January 19, 2019
Working with Design Pros. How to choose a design professional? The importance of experience and the ability to understand of design language. References and reputation will be useful to your selection, however. Word of mouth and referrals from others, if possible, visit sites. Also make sure certain that you are comfortable with fee arrangements and the services to be provided. Some Architects charge by the hour; others charge a percentage up to 10-15% of the construction costs including Architectural Design and Engineering. While design requirements vary depending on complexity of the home, stinting on design is likely penny wise but dollar foolish. The point of building yourself is to get what you want in livability and location. A good Architect should help ensure that your house will really be your home, the realization of your dreams. ...read more
By TLC Contractors September 22, 2013
There is no mystery to planning, financing, scheduling, negotiating or managing construction- just preparation and diligence. Working with Design ProsMost people who plan to build a new home or renovate existing have some idea of what they want. Your ideas may range from a few vague desires to a very specific wish list. What type of design professionals should you consult? Most people start with a licensed architect.What Professionals Do?The overall goal in working with a design professional should be to develop a plan that serves your needs and tastes. The designer must be able to produce detailed drawings that satisfy local building authorities, whose permission is needed to start construction and obtain a certificate of occupancy.Most architects say they start by talking to clients to find out not only what they want but also they live. In addition to listening to your ideas about room layouts, expect your architect to ask questions about who you are your tastes and your lifestyle.Best Regards,Chester Chlebek, Lincesed ArchitectCHLEBEK ARCHITECTS, LTD.Phone:708-488-1755, Fax: 488-9496, email:info@charchitect.com,www.charchitect.comWho’s who in Homebuilding?BUILDER OF GENERAL CONTRACTORThe buck stops with him or her in construction projects. The GC secures bids for all work and materials: hires, coordinate and oversees subcontractors, files for permits and arranges for inspections, and generally makes the final decisions in all construction-related matters.BUILDING INSPECTOROne or more local officials who oversees and regulate every phase of residential construction.CONSTRUCTION MANAGERThe general contractor’s right hand man. Owner-builders should consider hiring a qualified manager to help plan organize.OWNER BUILDERThat’s you. An individual or family who finances and manages a homebuilding project with the intension of retaining ownership and residing in the home after completion.SUBCONTRACTORA specialist who undertakes responsibility for one phase or trade within the project and reports to the general contractor. In a typical homebuilding project subcontractors generally include: an excavation contractor who digs foundations and grades the site, masonry contractor who handles all concrete, block, brickwork and paving, a framing contractor, a roofing contractor, a heating, a plumbing, an electrical , drywall installers, finish carpenters. ...read more
By CH + Architects, Ltd. January 26, 2012
As technology brings the world closer and closer together, it's natural that business is going to follow suite. Firms are with increasing regularity establishing offices and acquiring employees overseas, and are enjoying a wider range of legal protection and benefits than ever. That said, establishing... ...read more
The basic function behind an Internet network is basically the same across the board when comparing that of an in-home network to one created for business usage. However, function and structure are two very different things and the needs of a business network exceed the need for basic user function th... ...read more