People with high arches tend have shorter foot length, experience pain while walking, running, jogging, or even standing, and have difficulty finding the right kind of shoes for the job. To determine whether you have a high arch, you need to see whether the space between the balls of your feet and the back of your feet has a defined arch or not. If this arch is higher than it seems normal, then you have high-arched feet. In order to avoid any injuries while walking or running, it is necessary that you buy running shoes for high arches. This helps eliminate pain along the arch, reduces stiffness in your feet, and avoids health risks concerning knees, hips, and calves.

In the following section, we will be discussing the fundamental requirements or helpful pointers (if you will) to find the right running shoes for high arches. Now remember, these shoes will be completely different from the shoes required for flat feet. This is because flat feet and high-arched feet are two opposite foot types.

Supination

First, we need to understand supination, also known as, underpronation. In this condition, the feet roll outwards a little bit, while running or walking. If due attention is not given, supination can lead to several chiropractic health hassles. Sometimes, people opt to operate themselves out of this problem, but if noticed in time, certain lifestyle choices (like shoe selection) make it a negligible issue. Actually, it is a very rare condition, and as such, often ignored. Don't make the mistake, make the right choice of shoes.

Feet with high arches are very rare. However, as the arch is too high to provide the support and help absorb the shock, it is essential for the shoes to provide adequate support and comfort. The best shoes for high arches will have cushioning for the heel and the arch of the foot.

Running Shoes for People with High Arches

• The high arch running shoes will be marked as such. When out for shoe shopping, make sure that you ask, specifically, for running shoes for high arches. Mostly the salesperson will ask you; however, it is important for you to be vigilant about it as well.
• The next step is to know whether the shoes you select have shock absorption technique. Your shoes will require adequate shock absorption so that you won't injure or experience pain in your knees, arches, and calves. Due to the supination, often the heel feels the shock and it doesn't get balanced across the foot. This causes injuries and pain. As such, when buying running shoes, keep in mind the balance factor.
• A running shoe for high arch will have several layers of padding. This is to balance and even out the pressure to avoid injuries. Less layers of padding will lead to pain in the shins and the foot.
• Good running shoes for high arches will be as light as possible. This is to facilitate better mobility and general comfort for the user. All in all, the shoe needs to be light weight and flexible.

Other Deciding Factors for High-arched Running Shoes

Whether the shoes are being bought for men or women, you should not sacrifice on comfort and flexibility. Adequate cushioning for the hollow area in your feet make a whole lot of difference while you're running, walking, jogging, or simply standing. Also, this way, you won't strain the muscles in your feet and entire leg. Your back will be supported properly and you won't experience any issues with lower back pain as well. As such, it is most advisable to go for running shoes with high arches as they are flexible. The shoes need to have some breathing space. Mostly, excessive sweating causes rashes or skin allergies. So, if there is no breathing space like a mesh, in the running shoe for high arch, overheating can cause excessive sweating. The running shoe for high arch will require several layers of padding for further comfort and support. Unlike flat footed people, people with high arches require more soft texture to even out the pressure.

You will find that many companies like Reebok, FILA, Nike, Puma, Adidas, and Spalding specifically design shoes for people with high-arched feet. Be sure to browse as many different shoes for designs, patterns, comfort, and colors. Once you find the right shoes that fit you well, there'll be no looking back.

With the surge of social networking portals, multifunctional cell phones, and gadgets, the face of marketing has undergone a major makeover in the past decade. It has in fact become an imperative practice for companies to follow the latest marketing trends to not just get new customers, but also to retain the existing ones. Aggressive, competitive, and innovative marketing strategies are the precept today. Technological advancement has become a blessing for consumers and given them a sense of empowerment. Product information is available at the click of a finger and there are more competitors than ever in the market. Hence, every company aspiring to rule the roost has had to embrace the metamorphosis of its marketing functions. In fact, this evolution has been a global affair. However, if Internet and technology has benefited the consumers, it has also created new media for marketing around the globe in the virtual world. Within this decade, new non-traditional marketing concepts have emerged, such as viral marketing, social media marketing, undercover marketing, and attraction marketing.

Out with the Old, In with the New
In the beginning of the 21^st century, companies were armed with human resources to build personal relationships with their customers to boost sales through one-on-one interaction in a controlled environment. Consumers believed the information dished out to them by sales professionals. The tables have turned around and it is now the consumers that have an expanse of verifiable information available at hand at the click of a finger. The past decade has also seen a change in the consumer attitude. They now expect more features for a lower price. According to the statistics given by Pew Internet & American life Project, as of May 2010, almost 80% Internet users conduct an online background research on a product before making a purchase decision. Customization and segmentation have emerged as the new indispensable marketing tools. Although, the objective of marketing remains the same, its approach has changed. The need for this development stemmed from the demand of consumers as witnessed with the commencement of this decade. The new-age consumers became more demanding, adventurous, and enthusiastic to try out different market offerings. Marketers exploited this behavior as an opportunity to steer consumers in their favor. This gave rise to greater emphasis on creating a brand value. A brilliant marketing strategy can even convince its prospective customers that the product will satisfy their needs and persuade them to overlook the product's shortcomings.

The New Age: Internet Marketing
You can buy almost everything online today. The internet has drastically changed the face of trade and commerce in the past decade. Hence, it is not surprising to note that it has also been responsible for marketing as it is au courant. The massive online presence of consumers prompted a revolution in the way of advertising and marketing. More companies have stretched these functions to the realms of the virtual world to influence consumer behavior in their favor. They are attempting to build a strong network that allows them to get closer to their clients. While online advertising began in the form of banner ads on websites, it has now taken the forms of viral videos, blogging, promotional campaigns on social networking websites, and consumer discussion forums. Marketers are beating their brains out to keep themselves abreast with the changing trends in consumer needs and tastes. In fact, internet has proved to be a reliable source for gathering data for the same. A marketer can research on the target market through surveys, polls, and interaction with focus groups through online media. This has enabled the consumers to contribute in the decisions pertaining to product offering. Nevertheless, the whole process can now be conducted much more speedily than ever before. It would be absolutely unfair to skip the subject of search engines here. They were the propellers of these changes in marketing. A product that has no mention in any of the domineering search engines, has instantly lost its reputation amongst prospective customers. An example of this trend in internet network marketing is the fundamental - "If Google doesn't know, nobody does."

Thanks be given to the world wide web, it is now possible for the marketing to facilitate instant sales through the option of mail order shopping, instant access to product information and subsequently, acceleration in the time taken to make a sale. Companies have transposed their focus to garnering online traffic to their websites, blogs, ads, and social networking accounts through search engine optimization of keywords, publishing extensive content, purchasing customer database from other companies, and establishing consumer-friendly interfaces to solve queries. The size of the company's scale of operations is no longer a factor for consideration to plan a fruitful marketing strategy. Ten years ago, companies could afford to rely on consumer loyalty to maintain a stake in the market. However, if a company does not make its market presence felt through adequate marketing, its position will be quickly taken over by its competitors.

Internet Marketing Statistics

According to HubSpot.com:

• Twitter has assisted 42% companies present on its portal to bring a new customer.
• 66% marketers rank blogs as an important source of increasing online traffic to company website.
• 57% company blogs are credited for acquiring new customers.
• Facebook has helped 67% B2C companies and 41% B2B companies to generate business.
• Inbound Marketing costs as much 62% less than outbound marketing.

According to Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies:

• 51% fans of a company's Facebook page will make a purchase.
• 79% followers of a company's Twitter account will recommend its products to others.

The Evolution of Marketing
Looking back at the past decade, the forms of marketing that nobody had ever heard about, are now into play and they are being employed with noteworthy results. Take the instance of electronic marketing. In the start of the millennium, e-mail marketing was the greenhorn. Today, it is an essential part of nearly every marketer's PoA. In the field of marketing, it initially gained recognition as a means to reach many customers through a single source of communication. Now, it is the medium of marketing that is used to send personalized messages to different target groups segmented into smaller sizes. And, this trend seems to be present in all other forms of marketing. Marketers have come to realize that each consumer has a varied psychology and in order to get more customers, they must reach each one discretely. While this knowledge was established during this decade, it was not until recently that the marketing strategies designed specifically concentrated on manifesting it. The concept of 'mass marketing' and 'high economy of scale' is now pass. A visionary company now spends a considerable portion of its budget to distinguish the consumers' needs and offer products that satisfy each one. This has resulted in horizontal diversification of the product line. Such an approach is less likely to culminate into the total failure of the marketing plan.

This is just a brief insight on how marketing has changed over the past 10 years. Not to miss out, the global recession crises and unfavorable employment rates in most economies has also prompted companies, big or small, to devise more riveting marketing strategies. The world population may be growing, but how many people can they really sell to? Marketing is the medium of stimulating sales in the future and subsequently, it's one of the most important functions of the management of a company. In the present consumer-driven market, companies cannot afford to let their competition have access to any window of opportunity to take the lead. Marketing is the solution to that. Take a closer look, marketing is not limited to just profit-driven companies anymore. Almost every person, organization of our commercialism-driven society is marketing itself today.

Environmental health is the most important concern of the modern-day world. The deteriorating quality of the environment and issues such as global warming has made all mankind search for renewable and safe natural resources that can be used for many generations to come. It is believed that the largest contributor to air pollution are gasoline vehicles. They not only release harmful gases but also dangerous and heavy metal particles that can result in environmental hazards, lung cancer, and many other respiratory disorders.

Agreed that one cannot stop using vehicles and thus stop air pollution right away. But at least one can look out for better alternatives and initiate a helping hand towards the cause of reducing air pollution, and thereby prevent further spoilage of the environment. Scientists have spent years to find out such an alternative. However, some researches and studies have revealed that the use of hydrogen cars can prove to be a better option over the conventional cars. But what exactly are these hydrogen cars? And what are all the hydrogen cars pros and cons? Well, the answers to all these questions are right here.

Concept of Hydrogen Cars

The definition of hydrogen cars can be put in simple words as a car or a vehicle that uses hydrogen as fuel for its engine to work. Now there are two types of hydrogen cars, or you can say that hydrogen can be used in the form of fuel in two ways. The first one is using hydrogen as a fuel to the internal combustion engine of the car, and the second one is to use hydrogen fuel cells for providing power to the car.

Hydrogen Fuel in Internal Combustion Engine
Both gaseous and liquid hydrogen in the compressed form can be used as fuel to power the internal combustion engine. Gaseous hydrogen is heavy and flammable, whereas liquid hydrogen is light but flammable too! However, either of the forms of hydrogen are useful and the decision to use them depends upon the frequency of use, and the cost involved in setting up the system.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Hydrogen fuel cells are mostly used for electric cars. Hydrogen and oxygen chemically react with each other to yield electricity. These gases pass through an electrically charged permeable membrane. Further, electricity is generated from the charged ions, and the electricity generated through this process runs the car. Unlike gasoline cars that produce harmful gases as a by-product of combustion, here, the hydrogen powered fuel cell cars release water and some amount of heat as by-products.

Pros and Cons of Hydrogen Cars

Now let us move onto the focus of our discussion, the pros and cons of hydrogen cars. Here are some hydrogen powered cars pros and cons, so that you get a better understanding of this concept.

Pros of Hydrogen Cars
Some of the advantages of hydrogen cars can be listed as follows:

• The first and the foremost advantage of hydrogen cars is that these are eco-friendly and do not pose any threat to the environment.
• Fossil fuels are limited and non-renewable, whereas hydrogen is available in plenty, and hence you need not worry about the depletion of hydrogen.
• In case of the hydrogen fuel cell cars, almost 90 - 95% of the energy generated by the fuel cells is transformed into electrical energy, which thus make these cars energy-efficient.
• Due to the efficiency aspect, this technology can be used for large and long-haul vehicles to better effect.
• No harmful gases are released as by-products. The only by-products are water and a little amount of heat, and therefore air pollution is prevented up to a large extent.
• On an average, a hydrogen-powered car will give up to 60 miles for every kilogram of hydrogen, which seems like a good deal.

Cons of Hydrogen Cars
The disadvantages of hydrogen cars can be listed as follows:

• The cost incurred in preparing the fuel cells for such cars is quite high. This is because the working of these fuel cells involve platinum, which is scarcely found, and is moreover a very expensive element.
• In case of damage, the cost for the repairs and replacement of the fuel cells is also high, which therefore makes the maintenance of these cars an expensive deal.
• Another major problem encountered in the use of hydrogen cars is its storage. Hydrogen being a highly flammable material, can result in a huge explosion of the car, even on the slightest of collision with some other heavy object.
• For proper performance, hydrogen-powered cars have some temperature restrictions. At places where the temperature goes below the freezing point, there are chances that the water in the fuel cells may freeze.
• If you are someone who is looking for speed and pick-up, then a hydrogen car will be a disappointment to you.
• As we speak, hydrogen is not easily available at fueling stations, which makes refueling a problem. A lot of money and effort will need to be put in to get the necessary infrastructure in place all over the world.

The concept of hydrogen cars is relatively new for most people, and therefore this was an attempt to make everyone aware of this future technology. Researches and experiments are still in progress to eliminate the cons and increasing the pros. However, let us look forward to this new technology and continue to contribute our bit towards making this planet a better and healthier place to live!