BLOGGING LEADS

Apple iPhone gets YouTube playback

2007-06-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

Author: Davedough

Fans of the Cupertino California based company Apple have long awaited the famed iPhone for its promise of being the all-in-one gadget to own.

With its ability to play music, watch videos and much more along with being a cellular phone, now anxious consumers can add one more feature to its healthy list. Apple has announced that users of the iPhone will be able to stream video through Wi-Fi connectivity directly from YouTube.

While YouTube has enjoyed great success for streaming videos to desktop users, there hasn't been much attention paid to mobile users. YouTube says they are now working on encoding a new format for their video streams to work seamlessly with cellular technology. Their hopes are that the new format will help aid in conserving battery life as well as keeping video quality up to the standards of the mobile user.

The Apple iPhone will be the first mobile device to receive YouTube's newly encoded content and is claimed to have some 10,000 video streams available when the iPhone launches on June 29th. YouTube also claims that new content will be added and available each week after the initial launch. While the phone will use service from AT&T primarily, it will not get the benefit of the company's high speed cellular data links. In response, Apple claims that the YouTube content will operate fine and efficiently over the phone's short range Wi-Fi network connections.

Source: Reuters

Yaro Starak's Blog Mastermind Program

2007-06-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

After waiting for so long, finally Yaro Starak, the Australian blogger has today opened the virtual doors for his new program Blog Mastermind.

In this program, he will teach to all bloggers how to become more professional in blogging, and how to make a living with this activity. If you consider that for early birds, up to seven days for today, you can join the program for only $47/ month( then the fee will go up to $77/month), you realize that this could be a very advantageous deal.

So, what are you waiting for? Go, and take a look at www.blogmastermind.com.

Good luck to us all!

Giovanni Busco

Google eyes the individual

2007-06-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

Author: James Ashton, Daily Mail

20 June 2007, 7:46am

Google has seen the future - and it's personal. Undeterred by ongoing rows over privacy, Eric Schmidt, boss of the £80bn internet giant, proclaims 'personal search is the next phenomenon'.

By that he means services such as iGoogle, which is 'exploding in use'. It has a unique home page and keeps track of an individual's search history to predict what he, or she, might be looking for.

Schmidt adds: 'We are trying to close the gap between what you want and what you type in.' Users would have to opt in, though.

Google recently bowed to EU criticism and agreed to scrub years of personal data, keeping records of only the last 18 months of web searches. Schmidt said that would be cut to just 12 months if legislation was tightened, adding: 'We have to follow the law.'

The company employs 2,500 people in Europe, mostly in Dublin for tax reasons, and it is growing at a breakneck pace.

Google shares have risen six-fold since it floated in August 2004, but tensions are rising with its rivals.

Microsoft cried foul after Google's £1.5bn acquisition of advertising group DoubleClick, while ebay pulled its advertising after Google ramped up its Check Out onloan payment system, a competitor to its own Pay Pal.

Schmidt says his business can avoid a consumer backlash by 'making decisions based on what the end user wants'. But as it mushrooms into maps, calendars and spreadsheets it may not be as easy as that.

The company makes its money by tagging search results with advertising. Schmidt is trying to adapt the technology for radio and television, grabbing further revenue from traditional media.

YouTube, Google's website for sharing video clips, is launching nine local language services from France to Japan. But the Google unit, which has six hours of videos posted on it every minute, faces a £50m law suit from US media giant Viacom accusing it of permitting piracy.

Users have been posting TV clips of their favourite shows on the site, breaking copyright. Co-founder Chad Hurley admitted increased exposure brought with it more 'issues'. YouTube will carry special video channels for partners, such as the BBC, Chelsea Football Club and 10 Downing Street.

The other co-founder, Steve Chen, wants YouTube videos to be watched everywhere, from mobile phones to TV sets.

Yahoo improves Go for Mobile

2007-06-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

Author: Elinor Mills

Yahoo on Tuesday launched the latest version of its Yahoo Go for Mobile with general available in the U.S. The enhanced service features reduced loading time for Web pages and the ability to read more types of attachments and view both satellite and hybrid maps and traffic conditions. Users also will have the ability to search Yahoo Address Book contacts, call or get driving directions with one-click, and view
Yahoo Calendar.

Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 will launch in fully localized beta versions on Friday in Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, Thailand and Vietnam.

Yahoo also has signed partnership agreements with six major mobile operators in Asia for distribution of Yahoo's OneSearch mobile search service. The operators are Globe Telecom in the Philippines, Idea Cellular in India, LG Telecom in Korea, Maxis Communications Berhad in Malaysia, PT Telekomunikasi Selular "Telkomsel" in Indonesia and Taiwan Mobile.

Yahoo OneSearch provides quick access to news, Web images, weather, photos and other sites to consumers using mobile phones.

Lala.com - A new way to listen to online music

2007-06-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Author : Zipporah Koganowich

Warner Music Group has announced that it will be making available its music through lala.com, which is an internet start up venture. Lala.com was started last year and was initially designed to let users exchange their CDs for a fee. However the company is now offering users a chance to store their iTunes library online on the site for free.

Lala.com said the service would enable iPod owners to play iTunes tracks from anywhere as well as share it with anyone. Users will also have the chance to buy songs to directly upload them onto their iPods."Before today music was ripped and trapped on PCs and Macs with desktop applications like iTunes.

The iPod is the greatest portable music device ever invented, and as avid iPod fans we wanted to create a service that blends the convenience of the Web with the portability and functionality of a truly universal platform," Bill Nguyen, a co-founder of the company revealed.Lala.com also said that a beta version is available for users who want to store their music or share it by hosting it on the site.

The site includes support for popular operating systems like Windows XP and Vista, Mac OS X v10 and advanced systems as well as for iTunes 7.Under the deal with Warner Group, users will be able to listen to an extensive catalog of music from Warner catalog, but they will not be able to download the songs.

Copyright © 2007 Respective Author

Second Life online game hacked, user data compromised

2006-09-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

Author: Amber Maitland

11 September 2006 - Second Life, the online game that lets people play out fantasy lives in a fantasy world, has suffered a zero-day attack that compromised the personal data of its hundreds of thousands of users.

Its 650,000 users were notified via email that they must reset their passwords in order to re-access their avatars, or online alter egos.

The hack was discovered on 6 September and was shut down the same day; however, Linden Labs, the company behind Second Life, has said that unencrypted information, include Second Life account names, real life names, and contact information, as well as encrypted account passwords and payment information, was compromised.

Unencrypted credit card information, stored on a different database, has not been compromised.

Second life “residence” design avatars for themselves, and are able to interact with other participants, as well as buy and sell land and set up business using Linden Dollars, which can actually be exchanged for real currency.

The canny businessmen behind the virtual world have even managed to sell virtual space to major multinational companies like Coca-Cola.

Toshiba's triple-layer HD DVD / DVD discs

2006-09-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

Author: Thomas Ricker

You know we likey our Blu-ray and HD DVD tech 'round here, but we heart hybrid capabilities even more. So today's announcement from Toshiba and Memory Tech of a triple-layer twin format HD DVD / DVD disc has certainly caught our attention.

The new disc is capable of either a dual-layer 30GB HD DVD and single-layer 4.7GB configuration, or single-layer 15GB HD DVD and dual-layer 8.5GB DVD. The resulting disc can be manufactured on the same HD DVD production lines with little modification and conceivably play either HD or DVD films (without flipping the disc) when fed into a regular ol' DVD or new fangled HD DVD player.

As our hi-def bros over at HD Beat rightly point out, the DVD TWIN standard is already in use by our Japanese overlords, albeit, in its lessor dual-layer format. The next step is for Tosh to present the new format to the DVD forum who, with any luck, will slap Toshiba up side the head and get 'em focused on the HD DVD / Blu-ray hybrid we're all waiting for.

Sprint brings full-length movies to your phone

2006-09-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

Author: Paul Miller

The war against your eyesight is on.

Sprint is busting out a new pay-per-view movie service that streams full-length flicks to your tiny screen. They've already got 45 titles lined up for the service, including popular titles like "National Treasure," "Spider-Man 2" and "Scarface."

The new Sprint Movies service is in addition to Sprint's current mSpot movie service, which offers an all-you-can-eat selection of video content for 7 bucks a month. Sprint Movies can be controlled much like a DVD, with the ability to skip between chapters and resume the flick where it gets left off.

Movies cost between $4 and $6 each, with rental periods ranging from 24 hours and one week, and 24 hour extensions are available for a buck. Check the read link for the full movie selection -- we're totally all over that Kindergarten Cop action.

Apple speeds up iMacs with Core 2 Duo

2006-09-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

Author: Caroline Mc Carthy

Apple Computer's iMac desktops are now equipped with Intel's new Core 2 Duo processors, the Mac maker said Wednesday.

The iMac lineup has also been expanded to include a 24-inch model, supplementing the company's 17-inch and 20-inch versions of the widescreen, tower-free desktop. According to Apple, the new machines will operate 50 percent faster than with the original Core Duo.

In June 2005, Apple announced that it was ditching its PowerPC chips in favor of Intel processors. The iMacs with Intel's original Core Duo chip debuted early this year.

With the release of the Core 2 Duo models, iMac prices have also dropped a notch. The 17-inch model--which cost $1,299 with the first Core Duo--is now $999 with a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo and $1,199 with a 2GHz version.

The 20-inch iMac, with a 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo, is priced at $1,499. The new 24-inch model, with the same processor speed, costs $1,999.

Apple's announcement was not limited to iMacs. Its Mac Mini budget desktop was given a processor upgrade too--from an Intel Core Solo to a Core Duo--not the new Core 2 Duo. The box-shaped Mac Minis, which come without a monitor, are now $599 for a 1.66GHz model and $799 for 1.83GHz version.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is expected to give more product news at a self-described "special event" in San Francisco next week.

Apple's iPhone: the rumor resurrected

2006-09-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

Author: Ryan Block

We're hoping on hope that Apple launches the iPhone at their event next week -- why? So we can stop reporting all this radio chatter about the damned thing and put it behind us already; it's been more than a year since the rumors really started flying, and as with just about every Apple event, now they're starting in again.

Today Shaw Wu, the oft quoted Apple lovin' analyst from American Technology Research, says it's to be believed that Apple's "near completion" of the production unit (which will take form as a candybar), and that the launch will go down next week, assuming the Jobs seal of approval.

Now, truth be told, we've heard from some reliable sources that Apple's not waiting on the hardware, but on Cingular's HSDPA infrastructure, but whatever the case may be, we hope you'll be merciful on us for our reportage, we're trying to spare all but the most important stuff, ok?

How a Yahoo/eBay merger could rock Google

2006-05-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Author: Phil Sim

While I’m on the online advertising beat, a post to Site-Point claims that Amazon is planning to get into the contextual advertising game and has a beta program already running.

It makes sense for Amazon, and even more so for eBay, to track down this path. I think the gap between online advertising and the actual closing of the sale has to shrink as we move forward.
The first step towards this happening is that advertisers need to get a lot more granular with their advertisements because AdSense is not good at generating income for a very substantial proportion of Internet sites (see my previous post).

So to use the example I used previously: You do a search on President Bush. Under AdSense you get nothing. However, if you’re running an eBay contextual advertising block, suddenly your sites starts feeding up a whole host of ads for related items being sold on its auctions or at any of the thousands of individual eBay stores.

Now, that’s contextual advertising. It’s all very well to microchunk you’re content, but it doesn’t really work across the breadth of the Internet until you microchunk you’re advertising as well.
Yet neither Yahoo or MSN are coming at their advertising programs at a way which solves this problem and therefore addressing the grievances of all those content providers for whom AdSense isn’t working.Companies like Amazon and eBay, on the other hand, who actually own catalogues of products can make an immediate impact in this space. For me, Amazon, as primarily a retailer isn’t nearly as well positioned as eBay, who exists solely as a selling platform.
Both Yahoo and Microsoft are going to struggle to compete with Google because they don’t have the advertiser critical mass. And without advertiser critical mass, pushing up rates and therefore increasing content provider’s income, the game is really difficult to turn around.

However, eBay is potentially, if it isn’t already, the biggest contextual advertiser on the Internet so it will have pretty reasonable critical mass right up front. If there isn’t an external provider to take inventory, it simply serves up one of its auctions (for which it doesn’t even need to charge for because it’s taking a cut of the sales revenue anyway).

Certainly, eBay will also realise that Google is edging onto their turf with GoogleBase so a counterattack makes even more sense. They also own Skype, so they can bring the buyer and seller even closer together via VoIP. I’ll be very, very surprised if eBay hasn’t launched its own advertising network within the next six months.

(By the way, the GoogleBase reference is worth thinking about. Google really needs to get sellers to get their product catalogues into GoogleBase and then tie that to AdSense so that they too can begin to sell at a more granular level. Arguably, this is a better approach in the long run as its a distributed model so you don’t need to be tied to a particular selling platform like eBay.

However, Google would appear to be a long, long way from making that happen, so eBay would definitely have an advantage in the short term).

Oh and one more thing. And it’s kind of a big thing. Could this issue finally be what brings a couple of the titans together. Think about a mega-merger between either Yahoo/Microsoft and eBay. In particular, I’d be bullish about a Yahoo/eBay combination. You get supply side and demand side critical mass all in one shot so that you’ve actually got something comparable to Google’s network. You get a far better suite of tools for connecting buyers and sellers - Overture/Yahoo’s SMB services/website builder/IM+Skype vs GoogleTalk. And finally you get an ability to profile your community which would leave Google for dead; ie eBay vs Froogle/Google’s Pagerank analysis vs Yahoo’s social networking profiles.
You tell me that doesn’t make a whole heap of (ad) sense?

About the Author: Phil Sim is the Managing Director of MediaConnect Worldwide and MediaConnect Australia. Prior to founding MediaConnect, Phil was a technology editor journalist at IDG Communications for 7 years, working variously on ComputerWorld, Network World and Australian Reseller News. Living in Sydney, Phil is part online entrepreneur and evangelist, part cynical, jaded hack who has a passionate, deep-seated dislike of over-hyped technology and tech companies.

Pioneer ships first Blu-ray drives

2006-05-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

19 May 2006 3:00 by dRD

Pioneer announced this week that it has started shipping world's first Blu-ray Disc -compatible PC drives. The drive will be capable of burning 25GB single layer BD discs and sells for about $1,000 in the U.S. according to various retailer sites.

The drive, called Pioneer BDR-101A is extremely costly by many standards, but compared to most offerings by its rivalling HD-DVD camp, the ability to burn discs in addition to reading them, is a huge bonus to many professionals and enthusiasts. And of course, it wasn't that long ago when recordable DVD drives used to cost more than a budget PC.

The drive will ship with blank BD disc from TDK and with Blu-ray -capable software bundle from Roxio that includes tools for authoring and burning HD content to Blu-ray discs. Blank single layer Blu-ray discs cost currently appx $25 in the United States.

Source: Pioneer press release

Apple MacBook (13-inch, 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo)

2006-05-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

CNET editor's review

Reviewed by ; Justin Jaffe
Reviewed May 17, 2006

Yesterday afternoon, our executive editor ran down to the Apple store on Market Street in San Francisco and nabbed one of the first MacBooks to be sold. (He also witnessed an alleged thief get gang-tackled by Apple's beefy security detail.) You can see the MacBook unpacking process in all of its pornographic detail in CNET News.com's slide show and on Engadget and Gizmodo.

I've been playing with the MacBook since then and have come to a preliminary verdict: Apple may have finally nailed it. The company has corrected a handful of the iBook's shortcomings, hit a totally reasonable price point (at least for the $1,099 baseline white model), and finally delivered a laptop with a 13.3-inch display, which I believe offers a better compromise between size and portability than any other screen size on the market. Although plenty of laptops out there start for many hundreds of dollars less than the MacBook, I believe that with the MacBook, the value gap between Apple laptops and the PC competition has narrowed significantly.

After spending a few hours with the MacBook, some early impressions:

Size, weight, materials: At 5.1 pounds, the MacBook weighs about a half-pound more than the 12-inch PowerBook; it's totally portable, though not exactly lightweight. It measures about an inch thick, 12.75 inches wide, and just shy of 9 inches deep. I'll get into more detail about the keyboard and display below, but suffice to say that the MacBook hits the sweet spot between portability and usability, much like the Sony VAIO SZ, another 13.3-inch laptop. The MacBook is glossy on the outside and matte on the inside; it feels sturdily built and quite well put together.

Latchless lid: Apple is getting a lot of design mileage out of magnetic attraction. The MacBook does without a physical latch, instead, using magnets to hold the lid closed. Like the MagSafe AC adapter, it's a perfect solution. A small notch on the front edge affords just enough room for your finger, and the lid and case separate very nicely.

Keyboard: This is perhaps the MacBook's most notable feature. It looks markedly different from what we're accustomed to with an Apple laptop. The keys have a flat top surface and are more rounded and less jammed together than the MacBook Pro's and PowerBook's. And with about half as much travel as other Apple keyboards, the MacBook's keyboard offers a considerably firmer typing experience. So far, I really like it, though I'm hesitant to make a final pronouncement until I spend more time using it.

Touch pad: Yes, there's still only one mouse button. Apple seems to be overcompensating for it, too, because the touch pad is simply huge--about the size of a Treo--and considerably bigger than the 15-inch MacBook Pro's. It still features all of the same magical, two-finger scrolling functionality that we've seen from the others, though.

Display: The MacBook's glossy display is a bit schizophrenic. It looks really nice from straight on: bright, crisp, and clear, and the 1,280x800 native resolution makes text readable and still gives you enough screen real estate to have a few windows open at once. From the side, however, the level of brightness drops off considerably, and like all glossy displays, the MacBook's picks up some serious glare from ambient light sources. If you work primarily in a dimly lit, cave-style office, you'll love it; if you spend a lot of time working outside, the glare may be too distracting. The MacBook's display delivered 230cd/m² on our Minolta luminance meter, compared to about 260cd/m² on the 15-inch MacBook Pro. Both are considerably above average for laptops.

Components: Again, a very competitive set for the price. Our $1,299 unit came with a 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo processor; 512MB of RAM; integrated Intel graphics; and a 60GB, 5,400rpm SATA hard drive. (The baseline $1,099 may be an even better deal. We'll know for sure after we test both of them.) The Dell Inspiron E1405, which has a larger display but weighs about the same as the MacBook, costs about $1,000, with an Intel Core Solo processor but otherwise configured as similarly as possible. Based on what we've found with the MacBook Pro, we think we can expect pretty competitive performance from the MacBook, though we're less sure about its battery life; we're currently running it through our benchmarks and will post our results as soon as possible.

Audio: Like the 12-inch PowerBook, the MacBook's speakers sit along the back edge underneath the screen hinge (when the lid is open) and somehow still deliver rich, multilayered sound. It's not as loud or powerful on the low end as what you'll get from the Dell Inspiron E1405, for example, but it's crisp, clear, and totally decent.

Ports and connections: This is a rock-solid lineup for the price. On the plus side, you get an optical output, which the iBook lacked and which is an awesomely high-end feature for a $1,099 laptop. On the downside, the combined DVI/VGA output requires an adapter (sold separately), and there's no ExpressCard slot, which narrows the MacBook's opportunities for future TV tuner and WWAN connectivity.

Left edge: MagSafe AC connector, DVI/VGA output, one 400Mbps FireWire port, two USB 2.0 ports, optical output, headphone jack, security cable slot
Front: battery indicator, infrared sensor (for the included remote) .

Right edge: slot-loading, multiformat DVD burner.

Networking: 802.11g wireless, Gigabit Ethernet, and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR; modem not included

Other notable features: On top of everything else, you get Apple's best-of-breed software package, which includes almost everything that comes with the higher-end MacBook Pro; a built-in iSight Webcam for videoconferencing; and a small, iPod Shuffle-looking remote for controlling iTunes, DVDs, photos, and videos from afar.

Digital Publishing - Make Your Fortune Here

2006-05-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Author: Jaz Lai

Ebooks are part of the new frontier of cyberspace. They are an entirely new medium for sharing marketing information, ideas, techniques, and expert knowledge. Each day the number of people accessing the Internet grows, causing the exposure of your ebook to increase incrementally. It's obvious why electronic self-publishing has become so popular so quickly.

And here's how you can make a fortune from digital publishing: The publishing industry, I hope, does not intend to forever banish the printed word to the dustbin of history. Books in print have their own special qualities and merits, and the world would be diminished by their disappearance. Having said that, let's look at what makes ebooks so important and so unique. Ebooks have certain abilities and qualities that other mediums do not possess. For example, ebooks are fairly easy to produce, and their production cost is inexpensive.

Just think about it: you don't need a publisher, an agent, a printing press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor. You just need a great concept, the ability to write it or to hire a writer, and the right software. Additionally, ebooks are easily and rapidly distributed online. They are also easily updated; they do not require a second print run. All you need is to go into your original creation and modify the text or graphics. Because of this flexibility, ebooks can change and grow as fast as you can type.

Ebooks are also immediately obtainable. You don't have to go to a bookstore or search through endless titles at an online bookstore. All you have to do is download it from a website, and presto! It's on your computer, ready to be read. Ebooks are interactive. This is one of the most unique and specific qualities that ebooks offer. You can add surveys that need to be filled out, order forms for customers to purchase your products or goods, sound and video that draw your reader into the virtual world of your ebook, even direct links to relevant sites that will expand your ebook outward.

The potential is virtually limitless. Ebooks have a particular kind of permanence that other mediums do not possess. Television shows and radio shows air once, and then may rerun a few times. Ebooks remain on your computer for as long as your choose, and they can be read and reread whenever you choose to. They can even be printed out and stored on the shelves of your traditional home library. Another wonderful quality is that ebooks have no barriers in terms of publishing. You don't need to go through the endless process of submitting your manuscript over and over again, and then once you land an agent, having the agent submit your manuscript over and over again. Nor do you have to shell out thousands of dollars for printing a self-published book. All ebooks require is a writer and appropriate software. Figure out your market, write your book, post it on your website, and with the right business savvy, your audience will come to you. Finally, you have creative control over your ebook.

You don't have to compromise with an editor or the publishing trends of the time. You don't have to haggle with a designer or wait for copyedited galleys to arrive by snail mail. You are in complete control of the design and the text.

About The Author: Jaz Lai is an Online Business Entrepreneur. He recently twisted the arms of 2 well-known internet marketers to share with you their secrets on How Little Guys can level the playing field and complete with the Big Guys For more information on how to easily create your own ebook, click here http://www.the-megapreneur.com

Blogging for Business: Blogging 101

2006-05-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

Author: Biana Babinsky

Not long ago a blog was simply an online diary. Initially, people decided that blogging was describing, in excruciating detail, how their day went, what they had for dinner last night, and why they spent the whole weekend doing laundry.

Since then, blogging made the transition into the business arena. Now blogs are frequently being used as business journals, tools that can help keep your customers and web site visitors up to date with what is going on with your company. A business blog is an excellent tool to toot your own horn, let the world know about your new products, and tell your target customers why they should do business with you, rather than your competitor.

Don’t have a blog for your business yet? No problem! Here is how you can start blogging in just five easy steps:
Set up a blog for your business. If you don’t want to have to set up things on your own, visit Blogger.com. Blogger will host your blog on its server, so that you don’t have to add anything to your own web site.

On the other hand, if you’d like to set something up on your own, get blogging software from WordPress.org

Make your blog an extension of your business identity. The look and feel of your blog should match that of your business web site. Don’t forget to include your logo!

Don’t make the blog into a giant ad. Your readers will immediately recognize that ruse and stop reading the blog. Instead, post the items that are of interest to your current and potential customers. Use the blog to post tips and ideas, articles, information about new products, etc.

Strike a balance between personal and business stuff. While customers like to read the blog to learn about the person behind the business, don’t use the blog as a tool to vent, complain and discuss the details of your personal life. You use the blog to converse with your customers, so the blog should be as professional as your newsletter and phone conversations with customers.

It is great to post a story about how you helped a client get an important product out on time, and how proud that made you feel. It might not be appropriate to post a story about an argument you had with a video store clerk over the weekend.

Leverage your Blog. When you are in business, you realize that many customers have similar questions/concerns. Address these concerns in your blog, and when another customer has the same concern, link directly to the blog entry that answers these concerns.

A blog is an excellent tool to reach potential customers, rank higher in search engines and generate more of the ever-important visitor traffic to your web site.

About the author: Biana Babinsky is the online business expert who has helped many business owners attract more web site customers, bring in more online publicity and increase the bottom line. Visit http://avocadoconsulting.com/free_newsletter.html to subscribe to her newsletter full of marketing tips and ideas and join her online business coaching program at http://www.MarketingSalad.com.

Is Blogging About Your Life A Mistake?

2006-05-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

Author: Yaro Starak

I hear many business blog teachers note the importance of staying on topic with blog content if you want to establish the right type of audience. I agree, this is a smart thing to do, however some bloggers worry when it comes to talking about their personal or business lives, whether they risk becoming too off-topic, too wishy-washy and unprofessional, especially if they are blogging for business purposes.

HOW TO DEFINE YOUR NICHE TOPIC

The most important thing is to pick a niche that is 100% in-line with your blogging goals. If your blog is designed to generate new leads for your small business you better produce content that is relevant to your target audience - your prospective customers. If you aren't exactly sure who your target niche is yet, don't worry, start writing about what interests you and your audience will define itself. If it's not the audience you want slowly take your blog in new directions and see where you end up. You are the captain of your ship and it's never too late to change course. You may lose some readers along the way if you keep changing focus, but eventually you will settle on a mix that brings in the right type of people to meet your traffic goals. It can be quite surprising to learn what people find interesting.

If you already know the audience you want you must be certain your content is interesting and relevant to them. See which articles get a better response and follow the methods that work best. Always remember to ask yourself "how does this benefit my audience?" and work towards helping others, don't just toot your own horn. If you aren't blogging purely for pleasure than you have to consider what others want first and beware of getting stuck too much in your own ego.

KEEP THINGS PERSONAL

One of the true strengths of blogging is the power of personality. Many bloggers blog in a traditional sense, diarizing their lives each week with personal anecdotes, stories and opinion. This is fine for hobby and personal blogs but if you are talking business blogging you don't want to turn people away by complaining about how big your bum is after all the food you ate at Christmas, including a bunch of pictures to prove it!

To get the right kind of traffic to a business blog you want to project your humanity but also stay tightly on-topic. One of the best ways to do this is to blog about your business mistakes. By explaining how you went wrong, what you learnt as a result and how you dealt with the situation you provide fantastic blog content. Your readers connect with you (rapport building) because they make mistakes too, all humans do. You provide a practical lesson that your readers will learn so as not to make the same mistake you made. You also demonstrate your professionalism by explaining how maturely you dealt with the situation. Of course this assumes everything did work out reasonably well in the end, but I'm sure you get my point.

The key to good business blog traffic is personality and focus without too much of either ingredient. You don't want to express your deepest darkest fears, fantasies and passions (unless that is the purpose of your blog - voyeur blogging perhaps), but you do want to inject your emotions, personality and unbiased opinion into your articles. Emotive and personal opinions should be used to enhance your content, not dilute it with rambling off-topic diatribe.

Here's to your blogging success,

Yaro Starak

Blog Traffic King

Wal-Mart To Sell Build-Your-Own Computers

2006-05-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

Source: Yahoo News.

Author: Emily Kaiser (May 3, 2006)

Wal-Mart currently offers only prepackaged bundles of personal computers and accessories in most of its stores. With the build-your-own-computer counters, shoppers can choose between several different components.

Such components include central processing units -- the brain of the computer that powers its basic functions -- as well as monitors, keyboards and mice that customers can combine to create customized packages they can load in a shopping cart and take home right away.

The retailer began testing build-your-own computer counters in about 20 locations last year, and is now introducing them in 1,200 of its 3,200 U.S. discount stores, spokeswoman Jolanda Stewart told Reuters.

It expects to offer the merchandise in some 1,400 stores by the end of the year, and possibly more in 2007.

Wal-Mart's entry into a category can raise alarms because the retailer's persistent price-cutting pressures competitors' profit margins. It has been blamed for bankruptcies in sectors ranging from groceries and toys.

But analysts said it was unlikely that Wal-Mart would pose much of a threat to the likes of Dell Inc. (Nasdaq:DELL - news), which mastered the made-to-order computer model and offers a much wider selection. They also noted that Dell makes most of its money selling computers to businesses rather than individuals.

Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, is the No. 1 seller of products ranging from dog food to diamonds, but it has not managed to gain as much market share in computers. Wal-Mart made a big splash last November when it sold laptop computers for $398 on the day after Thanksgiving, however.

Forrester Research analyst Ted Schadler, who follows the consumer technology sector, said Wal-Mart has the potential to become a key destination for computer shoppers.
"People buy on price," he said. "If Wal-Mart is competitive on price -- which of course it will be -- it's easy for Wal-Mart to be a destination."

Wal-Mart has been adding more upscale merchandise such as flat-panel televisions and fashionable clothing in the hope of getting customers to buy more than just food and commodity items, which carry low profit margins.

Just How Important Keywords Are To Search Engine Placement

2006-05-01T16:37:00.000-07:00

Author: Patrick Riley

Know what words your customers will use when searching. You might know what your customers search for. If not, find out. Is it a description of "pants" or "jeans?" One may be searched more often than the other, but why not target both? How about "executive gifts?" Maybe "desk accessories" will broaden your web site marketing strategy.

Ask all kinds of people. Get advice from people in all walks of life including management,
employees, customers, vendors, friends and family on how they would search for effective
search engine positioning keywords. Ask them how they would search for different products
and services. It's really not about what you think they would search for, its about what they
think. Believe me, they can many times be two totally different things.

Once you have successfully harvested a meaningful keyword list, remove any keywords that
are too targeted or not to specific. Also remember that keyword placement is important.
Try to put as many keywords as possible in the beginning paragraphs, and of course the
title line.

The higher the value of the keyword the more competition you will have. Every SEO utilizes
tools similar to the Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool and also know the value of a
keyword. The lower the value of the keyword the less competition we will have.

We don't want to aim too low but we also don't want to aim too high. We need to find a middle
ground. For you that may be a keyword with a value of no less than 1000 and no more than
10,000. It will be up to you to determine what you deem reasonable.

Also, the keywords should appear regularly throughout the opening Web page. It is
especially important that they appear frequently in the opening paragraphs. However, resist the temptation to overuse keywords. The search engines can spot it and will reduce your page rankings. Tools are available to help with optimal keyword density.

However, avoid software that writes the site's pages. Search engines can sniff these out, too.

A good rule of thumb is: Never sacrifice quality of content for keyword placement. This will
affect your page ranking. Most importantly, your site won't appeal to visitors. For a FREE
EBOOK detailing the fastest way to the top of the search engine, visit: http://www.ride-to-the-top.com and http://www.1stepsystem-premier.com

About the Author: PJ Riley has given away many of his FREE E-BOOK detailing the simplicity of making your way to the top of the search engines. See http://www.ride-to-the-top.com He has been reporting on new business opportunities for many years. He's not afraid to speak what's on his mind. He will be the first to tell you if it's a golden opportunity, but has had numerous occasion to report a scam in the making.

Inside a Web Hyperlink

2006-04-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Author: Mark Walters

A hyperlink, also called simply "a link", is a reference in a hypertext document to another document or other resource. It is an integral part of the hypertext transfer protocol (http) for World Wide Web, but it is used also in offline documents, such as .pdf (portable document file, Adobe Acrobat native format) and in .XML (extended markup language). Hyperlink can be used to fetch content and save it, view it as a separate document or display as a part of the reference document.

The history of the hyperlink

The history of the hyperlink began in 1965. Theodore Nelson in "the Xanadu Project" transposed the idea from fictional microfilm cross-referencing system into the computer world. In a series of books and articles published from 1964 through 1980 the general concept was changed from linking whole microfilm pages to connecting specific lines of computer text.

Primary concept was intended to use on single computer machine, however introduction of DARPA network boosted the idea into creating links between documents and files stored on several networked machines. The idea of connecting parts of a single document via hyperlink arose independently, but was quickly merged to the hyperlink system. Both concepts combined together were fundamental for creating World Wide Web.

How does a hyperlink work?

A hyperlink has two ends, called anchors, and a direction. The link starts at the source anchor and points to the destination anchor. However, the name hyperlink is often used for the source anchor, while the destination anchor is called the hyperlink target. Every browser shows text hyperlinks somewhat exposed (they usually mark it with a different color). Clicking on the hyperlink activates it and displays target document.

Hyperlink - measuring the Net

But hyperlinks are not only the way we surf the Net. Life on the Web without search engines is almost impossible today, because of unbelievable amount of networked information. Most search engines use so-called "page ranking" to measure which site may contain useful information. This mechanism is mostly based on hyperlink popularity. Although whole idea of "page rank" mechanism is more complicated, its general concept is based on a simple rule: the more pages have a hyperlink pointing to the ranked page, the higher rank that page gets. Of course, each hyperlink has different value, based on the popularity of the "source" site (This means simply that if your website is a target for hyperlink placed on the big site like CNet of Microsoft, it has much higher page rank than a site with several hyperlink connections from private sites). This mechanism is based on measuring of hyperlink's quality. Although not perfect, both mechanisms usually works well enough to determine which website has got good content and which hasn't.

Author Mark Walters suggests you learn more about Free Web Site Links.

The Internet Count

2006-04-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

A note by Giovanni Busco

Internet is fastly growing.

Recent statistics tell that in the first quarter of 2006, there are more than 56 million websites active, and on top of that, more than 13 millions of blogs!

It seems that the blog community is growing at a speed of around 50,000 new blogs per week.

I wonder if, at the current speed, the blogs will ever outnumber the websites, and what that could mean in terms of internet communication and new possibilities.

About the Author: Giovanni Busco is a web/business consultant, strongly interested in internet communication and marketing opportunities.

Blogs - Freedom Of Thought And Expression

2006-04-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

Author: Paul Wilson

A writer who writes and maintains a blog is a blogger and the journal that he makes available on the web is a blog. Most blogs are like personal diaries with material appearing in a chronological order. The blog is also a forum for exchange of ideas and opinions as the reader can, in turn, if he wishes write his own comments to the blog. This innovation to personal expression has its own lexicon and is fast emerging as a new way of communication.

Since its inception in around 1994, blogging has evolved from being personal views and diaries to news and commentary blogs. The question is are blogs just random thoughts and personal expressions or are they similar to well sourced traditional journalism?

Blogs straddle two worlds that of talk shows be it radio or television and reporting. Just as SMS made clear inroads into evolution of language, blogging is set to revolutionize journalism. What blogging brings to the fore is unfettered freedom of expression. The writers give flight to their inner voice and just as medieval writers of the periods of revolution did, state in no uncertain terms what they perceive as facts. More often than not, the information is not contained by editors or political affiliations or the patronage of people in power.

Blogging has caught the imagination of the young and old and established writers, lawyers, techies, and other professionals are using the avenue to "spread their thoughts and words." Blogging is on the fast track and has established a place in "opinion journalism." It is seen by many to be a form of self declared independence.

With blogging all you need to do is convert your musings or fire and brimstone into a pdf file and upload it for all interested to view. Gone are the days when you had to knock on the doors of editors and publishers to get your work published. And, if your blog is popular you could attract millions of readers each day.

Concerns serious journalists have is that blogs can be biased opinions and contain inaccurate information. Yet blogs contain skeptical analysis, critical commentary, and alternative perspectives that are rarely exposed by mainstream journalism. Very often in situations of unrest and war it is blogs that bring to life personal, colorful, and first hand experiences. Not all blogs are random thought, and writers often provide sources and links so that readers can verify facts. Surprisingly today often breaking news can be found on blogs earlier than in traditional media. And many bloggers have established for themselves a great standing in their field.

Blogging according to lawmakers needs to address closely aspects of trust, credibility, integrity, transparency, and ethics. Many bloggers feel that the very basis is to: disclose all pertinent information and never to state as fact anything but the truth; provide links to facts that are present online; publicly correct misinformation; note questionable and biased sources and opinions. Freedom must be savored and not misused.

Web blogs according to experts are all set to outrank the New York Times web site by 2007.

Blogging, the creation of pure love for writing and opinions, is all set to establish new trends in journalism. It gives wing to the freedom of thought and the written word.

About the Author: Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1866WebDirectory.com, the premier Website Directory provides human edited categorized website listings including business websites, news websites, gaming websites, shopping websites, travel websites and more. He also freelances for Jokes site http://www.1888Jokes.com

The Power Of A Book

2006-04-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

Author: Bette Daoust Ph. D.

Why does nothing push your expertise more than a book?

A book will push you further along the path to being an expert for various reasons. First, the book will contain comments from others in the form of testimonials which creates an aura of you as the expert. People tend to to put more credence into what others say about you than what you have to say about yourself. Second, a book means that you have put a lot of thought and effort into planning and expanding on your expertise. The book verifies that you really are the expert. Third, a book goes beyond your events and seminars, it is available to others that are in various parts of the country or the world. This even further emphasizes your expertise.

If you put on an event such as a seminar and place the title of your book on the advertising, you will likely obtain more attendees and, even better, you will obtain more sales for your book. If you decide to write a book, you must remember that it does take a lot of hard work to research your topics and place them into an understandable format. It is not a project that many can complete in a short period of time. It will take perseverance and scheduled time to get it completed.

I use a well tested formula for writing books (I have written over one hundred books, some of them in very technical subjects). Using a formula eases the writing process but it still does not replace research and ability. You may find that hiring a ghost writer or being coached by a professional will help you get there.

The important message here is that a book will substantiate who you are even if you say you are in the process of writing the book and it is not published yet. If you do say that, make sure you give a publication date that is realistic and that you can accomplish. Do not go talk about or mention such items unless you are serious as it may put your business relationships in jeopardy.

About the Author: Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprints for Success - Networking: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprints for Success Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2006. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

Million Dollar Home Page: Fad Or Here To Stay?

2006-04-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Author: Andre Bias

Many people that spend even a little time on the internet or that are fond of business know about Alex Tew and his million dollar home page. The million dollar home page is a website that was set up in 2005 by a young man that was desperate for cash to help him pay for college. He set up his million dollar home page with the goal of selling one million pixels of advertising space for $1 per pixel. Using a public relations specialist Tew was able to get the concept of his website in front of millions and the money from advertisers started rolling in.

One of the best things about that website was that is was creative. One of the worst things about it is that it sparked a lot of copycat websites. The numerous copycat websites have sparked the question throughout the internet community, is this type of advertising a fad or is it hear to stay. Obviously, it is a fad. Many of the people that created exact replicas of the million dollar home page made no more than a few thousand dollars. Some tried to mix it up by having virtual countries or buildings that people could buy for advertising space. Even with the many variations no one has a achieved the success Tew has. It is all about time that people began giving up and creating their own ideas.

About the Author: Andre Bias is the owner of http://www.kidfriendlyentertainment.com, and online source for top notch DVD's for children 10 years old and younger. He is also the owner of the websites http://www.pokergreed.com and http://www.mustseeauctions.com.

Expand Your Network - Forum!

2006-04-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

Author: Pat Marcello

Forum posts are a way to connect with other marketers and just as in offline business, networking is what online marketing is all about. When people get to know you, they trust you and this may spark them to buy your product or join the program you’re promoting. And, it’s always a great way to make new friends.

The first thing you must do after joining is to introduce yourself to the other members of the group. Usually, this will include information about where you live, what your interests are, and a blurb about being happy to be in the forum. Keep it simple and allow veteran members to welcome you. Then, respond to their comments or questions. It’s a great way to get your feet wet and to satisfy the “getting to know you” requirement of most forums.

Then, just read posts for a while. Old-timers in a forum, those who have been members a while, can often be great sources of information. You can learn a great deal just by reading posts, especially if the forum is very active. Take advantage of the free tutoring. It’s worth its weight in platinum.

Another advantage of posting to a forum is that you are usually able to use a signature file, meaning a link to a program or product you’re promoting underneath your signature. This is a great way to advertise! Your link attaches to every post you make or will ever make and it will add up to a lot of free advertising over time. Just be sure to follow the rules about posting signature lines. Some forums allow several, while others may allow none at all, and the last thing you want to be is a forum rule breaker. The members will never let you forget, if you do it consistently over time.

Don’t become a forum lizard, either. Posts that have no substance are generally frowned upon.

These are the “Yahoo!” posts or the “Sure, I agree,” posts with no relevant comments to legitimize them. Don’t spend all your time in forums, either. Find a thread or two that interest you and post something important to those. Reading every post by every member can take up most of your day in large forums, if you allow it. Just be involved enough to become known as someone whose point of view holds interest by providing food for thought, interesting URLs on a topic, or especially humor, if you’re able to write funny things without being corny. Forum members won’t mind if you post once or fifteen times, if what you have to say resonates.

So, get out there and make some posts, even if it’s only to respond to what others have posted.

First, read the terms and conditions of the forum and read some posts before you go barging into someone else’s living room. Get a feel for the tone of its posters. And never post ads, unless the forum has a specific board for doing so. That’s a big no-no and will get you into trouble. But don’t be shy. People in forums are generally nice and very helpful, and networking is what n-e-t-w-o-r-k marketing is all about!

About the Author: Pat Marcello is the owner of OVMarketing.net, OVEditing.com, and OVBLogger.com. She is also the author of 10 traditionally published books. Her favorite forum is NetMarketingForum, where you can find her most days of the week.

The Importance of Using Keywords in Blogs

2006-04-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Author: Brenda Boggs

If you've wandered around the blogosphere (yes, people really call it that), you may have come across discussions about using keyword-rich content. This is an important process to know, as it can help you get more traffic and better rankings in searches.

First, you need to understand what "keywords" really means. We're not talking about meta keywords here, we're talking about keywords in the content. When somebody does a search on Google, for example, the results will depend on the keywords Google finds on specific pages. If your blogs are keyword optimized, your blogs are more likely to be displayed.

When writing a blog, I would suggest writing it as you usually would. Before hitting that "Submit" button, though, go back through your blog. What is your topic? Who is your target audience? When people are searching for information, what might they search for that will bring them to your blog?

Choose a few keywords or short phrases, and work them into your blog entry. Don't over do it!

Nobody wants to read a blog that's just an obvious set of keywords.

For example, say you are writing a blog about working from home. Choose the phrase work from home and stick with it, using it when applicable.

Other ways to make the search engines know that specific words or phrases are important is by bolding them. Don't over do that, either, though, or it will be annoying to read and will just confuse things.

Using keywords in the title of your blog is important, too. Your blog title should be descriptive rather than vague, so that a reader knows at a glance what it is they're clicking on, and it should contain the most important keywords.

Knowing what kind of keywords people are searching for is the next step, to help you actually choose the right keywords to use. Here is a tool I use quite a bit and have found to be very useful. Plug in some keywords you're thinking about using and it will give you variations on it and the number of times they are searched per day at

http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/.

About the Author: Brenda Boggs is an Internet guru, in marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and new technologies. She successfully runs two revenue sharing websites, http://www.bloggerparty.com and http://www.reviewparty.com, where members actually MAKE MONEY just by participating.

Two Vital Tools For SEO – Well, For Me

2006-04-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

Author: Halstatt Pires

The Internet has revolutionized business and you need a presence to make money in the digital age. While everyone has their favorite tools, I prefer two in particular.

Most businesses build sites without really having a clue regarding how to go about it. The first step in developing a business site is not building it. Instead, you have to focus on the internet marketing aspect of the business and design accordingly. To this end, there are two tools that can be considered from my point of view.

The single best tool you need to become familiar with is Wordtracker. This tool is the proverbial golden egg of Internet marketing. Wordtracker lets you take a keyword and find out all the phrases people are using that incorporate the keyword. You can then take the list of keywords and find out how many searches are occurring on any of the big search engines – Yahoo, Google and MSN. On top of this, you can also determine how difficult it will be to get top rankings for the keyword phrases through search engine optimization.

Wordtracker is great because it allows you to determine if there is a market for your idea before you waste time and money on it. It can also be used to come up with ideas for sites. You simply type in a keyword like “travel” and see if there is a niche with a lot of traffic and a nominal amount of competition for rankings. If you find the niche, you tailor a business idea to it and make a boatload of money.

As if Wordtracker isn’t enough, there is a second tool I have come to love. Introducing the article directory. The key to being really profitable on the Internet is getting free traffic. You do this through search engine optimization or by getting publicity. With either area, this has traditionally been accomplished through link trading. Essentially, you agree to put another persons link on your site in exchange for them doing the same with yours. As you might imagine, it takes a long time to build up enough links to get high rankings and publicity. Article directories solve this problem, which makes them great internet marketing tools.

An article directory is exactly what it sounds like. You write an article and deposit it in the directory. Webmaster and editors from all over the world search the directories looking for content for their sites. When they republish your article, you get free publicity. Even better, you will create links in the author area of your article and they will publish those on their site as well. You are either reading this article in a directory or it came from one. Or someone ripped me off…lol.

Everyone has their favorite tools they use to have a go at marketing and SEO. I prefer these, but others would argue for others. In response, all I can say is this work for me and I am far too lazy to go find something new.

About the Author: Halstatt Pires is an internet marketing consultant with MarketingTitan.com. Visit us to read more Internet marketing articles.

Build Your E-Mail List For Perpetual Profits!

2006-04-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

Author: Karima Begag

If you are totally new to internet marketing the list is simply a collection of e-mail contact addresses from highly targeted prospects, in other words the list contains e-mails from people who signaled their interest to receive more information from you after they visited your website on the internet.

It is pretty straight forward, people like you and me surf the internet looking for good and free information on topics that interest them and when they “stumble” upon your website they learn that you have great products that can help them solve certain problems or just info-products on subjects they want to educate themselves in, like for example an e-book about “how to train your dog so it will obey you” or “great soup recipes” or “how to shed the last 10 pounds”…

However, most of the people won’t buy your product immediately no matter how excellent it is but they would be more than inclined to give you their e-mail address and their permission to send them more information for free. This information is usually a newsletter you publish and send to your subscribers on a regular basis or free good reports offering them the kind of quality information they are hungry for.

Many experienced Internet marketers discovered that some subscribers never buy before they have received 5 to 7 messages from you. And if you think about it for a second, having prospects to contact is like building a new relationship with someone you didn’t know before but you hope to become friends with , some day.

Invest in your Education and Make Money.

You would be very wise indeed if you respected and highly valued your subscribers by giving them the best service you can give them. A good way to do that is to keep educating yourself and by asking them what they would like to know and give it to them. Eventually they will buy your products and it goes without saying that your products must be outstanding! Meaning you should have a system for perpetual improvements in order for you to make perpetual profits selling awesome products to groups of people who are hungry for them and can use them to help themselves in some way or another.

Make your free information valuable to your subscribers and they will want to buy your products because they trust that the information they pay you for is outstanding. There are many ways to make your information stand out and valuable to your list but this is a subject for another article. In this article we’ll explore some creative ways to get people to willingly sign up in your list in the first place.

You surely surfed the Internet before and you probably opted in on some websites “subscribers box”. Now, stop for a second and think about it, why did you leave your e-mail contact info there? What attracted you to their website?

By answering these questions you will discover a lot about the art and science of building a profitable subscribers list. Furthermore, you can learn a lot from successful marketers so add any profitable list building strategies you discover to your online marketing efforts.

Creative and Appealing Strategies to Build You Subscribers List.

1. Here comes the “first commandment of internet marketing”. You have to include at least one sign up form / box where people can actually enter their names and e-mail contact. Don’t bother marketing your site unless you have a way to capture e-mail addresses from interested prospects. This marketing tool is perhaps the most important thing to have because if you have no list then you have no money-making business. You need to have an autoresponder to gather e-mails and do all the follow up with your subscribers by sending them your newsletters, new product announcements and the like. If you are on a tight marketing budget you might use a free autoresponder like Get Response: type Get Response on your Google search engine and you’ll find it. Good autoresponders cost around $20 per month but if you are starting off, a free autoresponder will do. Just get started and learn!

2. Offer your future customers one or more outstanding Freebies for example a free e-book or report that answers some pressing questions they have. Surf the net and look inside forums and groups from your targeted niche to find out first hand what kind of information people are looking for and most importantly what problems they want to solve. More likely than not people will also divulge the “solutions” they came up with or tips they have already tried but didn’t get them the kind of results they were hoping for, so there is your chance to make a “hot selling” product for them accompanied by new “hot Freebies” and they will give you their e-mail addresses.

3. Create an opt-in box in every single page of your site. This works great because people are encouraged to give you their e-mail when they see an opt-in box promising them an instant download of an excellent report and some people might come to your site through any page the search engine indexed other than your home page.

4. Write articles and post them on your website to increase your search engine exposure and invite people to enter their e-mails so you can send them more of the valuable stuff you have to offer. Article marketing will generate traffic to your site: post good articles on article directories. If you have some specialized or expert’s knowledge share it with the people and they will click on your link and make your list grow.

5. Show your autoresponder address when you place adds or in your author’s resource box so you can follow up with your prospects by sending them free info.

6. Use pop-up windows with a different “instant Freebie” and you will increase your e-mail capture rate dramatically. People are always interested in different free reports. Keep changing or updating your Freebies and adding more enticing stuff to give to your website visitors.

7. A clever way to get more prospects is to publish a really good ezine with tips and tricks they can use and ask them to share it with friends and associates. Some people would enter in a snail mail of their friends so send those a letter or postcard with a gift offer so they can visit your website, leave their e-mail and get a special Freebie not advertised otherwise.

8. If you have a physical or conventional business plus a website to sell products or services ask your customers to give you their e-mail so you can keep them up to date with changes and they can receive your helpful ezine.

9. Use contests so people give you their addresses but be careful and aware of any rules that may apply to certain types of contests.

10. Make a teleseminar and upload the audio to your site, create a pop-up window so the visitors who are interested have to enter their e-mail before getting access to your valuable audio seminar.

11. Interview specialists and ask people to enter the e-mail before they can access the new and hot information.

12. Think of new ways to make your website, free info and products attractive to your visitors. Ask them to leave feedback and to ask you questions and deliver to them what they want to know so they will buy what they want to have from you.

Internet marketing is a great money making opportunity and you need to be well informed and aware of your potential customers’ needs and the type of information they’re interested in, the kind of problems they want to solve, then simply do your very best to give it to them and watch your sales soar and your income increase. Never be dishonest, give them what you promise but I suggest you give them more, surprise them with higher quality, bonuses and they will be delighted to buy from you!

Please understand that not all people who become subscribers will buy from you but I know interesting success stories where some subscribers opted in 2 or 3 years before they bought anything. Some people subscribe, unsubscribe and then subscribe again to buy so make your products irresistible to your future customers and the business is yours!

To your online business success..

About the Author: Karima Begag is an internet marketer using powerful Internet Profits tools and techniques to make real money online even if you are a beginner. She is also a success, creativity and manifestation trainer and coach.

This is one of the many amazing and powerful techniques taught at: http://www.InternetGoldMentor.com

Build Your Internet Business For Success

2006-04-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Author: James Little

It has arrived! Millions of people are tapping into the internet era to do business; some are even generating good earning and live by it. If you are looking to kick off your internet home business, well, you’ll need to build a website that would entice and secure your visitors’ loyalty, turn them into paying customers and keep coming back. Good understanding of what works and what’s not will help you build a lucrative income generating internet home business.

Researches show the most critical area is the fact that you have only 10 seconds or less to quickly grab your visitor's attention, and make them wanting to stay on your site longer. This should be the root factor in designing your internet business website unless you are simply doing for fun or leisure where you are not looking to earn money from it.

For your internet based business, you need to have a clear understanding as to the fact that you are not simply just selling some product, but you are consuming people time! This is one of the most forgotten issues. In actual fact, visitors are allocating their time to you when they are viewing your website. So make sure your site do what it is expected in return for their precious time.

Once you have a website that’s able to draw customer’s interest into paying customer for your internet based business, you then need to further structure up the process so that you got the final “Yes” click thru. Whether the desired click is the "Order" or "Subscribe Now" button, you would definitely want to lead your customer to perform that action. In order to get to that goal, start creating the website from customers or visitors view point. In this aspect, your view point as seller does not count. It is really up to the visitor’s decision whether or not they would like to award you with business.

When you build and create a website for your internet business, you are actually creating an environment that provides the kind of expected benefits for the visitors when they drop by the site. They need to be clearly shown that your business website is able to provide what they are looking for.

Commonly, customers want to avoid risk, save money, get tools that help them and more. In that aspect, your business website needs to show visitors what is in it for them when they arrive at your site. In return, they will become your paying customer when they are satisfied with the service your business is able to offer.

The key point in building up your internet business, and effective money generating business website is to know who are your potential consumers, or will be; to clearly understand their needs, and turn them into loyal and paying customers who provide the basis of your business survival, let alone thriving.

Do spend time to do researches in order to find out more information about your targeted potential customer; in fact the more detailed the better. You need to know clearly what types of people will be patronizing your internet business, what they like to have…etc.

The more you know and understand about your potential customers, the more you are able to focus in building your business website to cater for their needs, thus the more successful your business as it goes in the long run.

Get Your Business listed in Biz Network Directory for business leads. Network sites consist Web Resources Search and Business Leads Center are also business platforms.

Will Video Overtake Rich Ads?

2006-04-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

Author: Dorian Sweet

Every day an article's published about how online enables free video content from major TV network programming. If you haven't read these articles online, you could probably watch the shows on TV and they'll tell you to go to the Web to view them again. TV broadcasters want you to go online and watch full shows for free.

Disney reportedly will offer its content online in a forced-advertising player that allows viewers to forward, pause, and rewind ads, but not skip them. What gets me is how Disney's telling its advertisers this will work out, but that's for later in our program.

Is this an end run around the DVR and on-demand time-shifters who avoid the TV advertising glut? Maybe. Then again, it could be all that TV broadcasters can do to survive: being where their audience spends more and more of its time.

"Video neutrality" has leveled the content distribution playing field. You can now watch a TV show tonight in the comfort of your living room or watch it online tomorrow for no cost. Is this really neutrality? For the audience it is. But for the advertisers buying :30 spots on the show, it could be perceived as an online value-add gyp... or benefit.

Brand advertisers that spend big bucks on broadcast spots will be grinding on the bone of contention with publishers who so much as mention charging for online, even if the TV spots do force commercial viewing. Is that really an ad model? Or is it just a quick way to avoid being neutered by online advertising? Maybe there's a new term here: "video neutering," video
neutrality's sad, sinister cousin.

The other option? We fall into a series of technology trends that influence advertisers to jump online with guarantees of impressions, richness, and a captive audience that can't wait to see small-format, digitally compressed shows while they do many other things online. Seems like a stretch to me.

Big brand advertisers should pay close attention to the fact online video isn't the panacea for the digital shift in their audience. At least, not yet.

Will this TV exodus to online going to overtake rich advertising? I don't profess any sure answers, just possibilities. If video wins the day, we'll surely miss a large quantity of great learning from rich media advertising. Video won't allow brand marketers the measurement detail they're used to or could enjoy with rich advertising.

Video is one element in an interactive experience (be it an ad or a Web site), not the whole experience. Most people don't make the distinction between video and a rich media banner ad in terms of advertising, but here's the issue at the core of the video onslaught:

Video isn't truly interactive.

Sure, you can interact with it. But you can't do much more than control the play (the cue points in the video), and where you control play isn't trackable, either. It's a very lo-fi interactive ad. It's a different story if you allow users to post comments or share, but a lot of the time we only see that on video sites such as IFILM and YouTube.

On the other hand, a rich media ad provides marketers with a multitude of interactions to track; too many, in some cases. As I've said before, there's a real opportunity in valuing an online ad interaction in league with conversions, unaided awareness, and the whole host of brand and direct response metrics out there.

As we push forward into the great unknown of interaction through digital media, we must remember a content shift isn't a forerunner of things to come but a reality that's already here. What's coming is the possibility to allow every image we see on a screen to no longer be static but to be the beginning of an interactive experience.

Oh, and we should have fun while we're getting there, too.

Join us for our Online Video Advertising Forum in New York City, June 16, 2006.
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About the Author: Dorian Sweet's is the executive creative director at Tribal DDB's San Francisco office, where he leads strategic development and innovation in online advertising, Web development, and customer relationship management programs. Previously, he brought award winning online solutions to such clients as Miller Brewing Company, GE, Visa, eBay, British Airways, Wells Fargo, Discovery Networks, Motorola, Kodak, Sears, 20th Century Fox, and others.

How To create & Manage A Successful Article Site

2006-04-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

Author: Mark Machaalani

The internet is flooded with an unlimited amount of websites, fresh ideas and free content and even now as we speak is growing at an unbelievable rate. Knowing all this, do you still wish to build a successful article website? The chances of success sound slim, right?

Well it shouldn’t because it actually isn’t that hard. I’ll get straight into it and tell you step by step the main paths I took to accomplishing my popular article website.

First things first, choose a niche topic or market, in my case it was ‘Self Help’. It is vital that you try to remain unique and focus your site on one single topic. Make certain that you do not get carried away and begin adding non-relevant content to your site.

When it comes to choosing a topic, it requires two important steps. Firstly, choose a topic that you are interested in so that you are motivated to build the site. Secondly, choose the topic keywords based on words that are searched for regularly online. Now, in order to get a rough indication of how many people are actually searching for the keywords I wanted to optimize my site for, I used the Overture search suggestion tool. It's not exact, and doesn't measure Google searches, but it does give a very good estimate.

Now it is time to start building the site! I was lucky that my brother is one of the developers of an Online Content Management system called ArticleLive. It’s created by Interspire and is so easy to use. I pretty much had an Instant Web Site that gave a feel and look of great quality. I was able to build and manage my own content site from scratch – and this was back when I had absolutely no technical experience!

One of the most vital factors in order to have a successful article site is differentiating your site from the rest and provoking visitors to always come back. How to do this is basic. Simply make sure that all you provide is quality information. And that was exactly what I did and still do.

There are literally millions of articles for me to upload onto my site from other article websites and from authors submitting their articles to me. Note that you are allowed to copy articles off other websites, so long as you keep the original author’s bio intact.

It is indeed tempting to quickly upload and add as many articles as you can to grow your site quickly and increase traffic. However, this will only be beneficial in the short term. For the long term, you wish for your visitors to come back to your site over and also continually attract new visitors. Quality articles will help make this happen. I made sure that every single article on my website was proof read at least once as well as be interesting and helpful. All articles trying to sell or advertise a service or product were not accepted. Articles with links in the body were also not accepted. Although this process does take more time and effort, the return on your investment can be huge.

One great form of promoting your article site is to do what I am doing right now. Write an article that relates to the topic of your article site – with your bio and link intact – and submit it to well known article sites around the web. This way your link is displayed all over the web, which as a result will help build your Google Page Rank (if you are unfamiliar with the term ‘Page Rank’ I highly suggest you begin researching and understanding the importance of it). In addition to this, your article can be read by millions of people all over the world who are highly likely to click on your link and visit your site, just like you are going to do after reading this article :)

There are of course other important factors that affect an article site such as:
• SEO – Search Engine Optimization
• Google Page Rank
• Customer / Visitor feedback and friendly support
• Website look and feel
• ROI – Return on Investment techniques

However, these factors would require an article all to themselves!

Nevertheless, I can not stress enough the importance of quality. Out of every factor mentioned, quality is the one thing that will guarantee your website success in the long run. An article site that offers free and high quality articles is surely guaranteed to attract new visits and sustain loyal visitors. By simply going through the easy steps I went through before, you could easily have one of the best article sites for your choice of topic.

Remember, quality content results in a quality website.

Mark Machaalani is the co-founder of the best online self help website http://www.accomplishlife.com/. He is also the co-founder of the internet's favourite Health and Weight Loss website http://www.shredweight.com/. Mark has an ardent interest in Self Help and Personal Development and aids people all over the globe through personal and private self help coaching at no cost at all.
Mark can be contacted via email at mark@accomplishlife.com.

Three Core Reasons Why Web Site Content Increases Your Web Site Traffic

2006-04-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

Author: Kenneth Doyle

It is now a well established fact that people primarily use the Internet to search for information on specific topics to solve specific problems. Now (of course) there are other ways the Internet is used too.

However, primarily, the Internet is an information delivery medium. It is NOT a "sell" medium (even though that happens). It's simply a matter of identifying the mediums marketing "logic" to work out how best to use it to sell on it.

In essence people on the Internet are looking for content that is relevant to their purpose, need or problem. They typically are not looking for marketing ploys.

Now, there are a number of ways to increase this content, Including having a search engine optimization company provide you with keyword rich articles. There are three primary reasons why more web site content increases your web site traffic.

The first reason more web site content increases traffic to your web site is that content articles tend to be focused on a specific topic. This focus will naturally lead to the repeated use of a specific keyword or phrase. The natural and repeated use of this phrased leads to higher search engine rankings, naturally.

Search engine rankings are the way findings/ results come back to an Internet user when they search for a 'solution to their problem' via a search engine.

If someone searches for the term dogs they will get many millions of pages of results. The order in which these results are displayed on the screen depends on a number of factors including how frequently the term is mentioned on the site and where it is mentioned on the site, and the exact phrase the user typed into the search field on their favorite Search Engine.

In other words, if you get the SEARCH key phrases right, and you continue to create content focused on that topic, you will ALWAYS be on the top of the search engines for that particular phrase.

The Internet is a content driven medium, thus the web site with the most (focused) content within a specific theme will always win.

It's as simple and as complicated as that.

Of course there are other offsite factors such as back linking and RSS etc, but this is not the focus of this article.

Research continually shows that people tend only to click on the first ten results a search engine offers them. Increasing your web site content will help you become one of these first ten web sites (within specific key phrases). This means more people than you ever thought possible will be clicking on your site in no time simply because of your top ten ranking for a specific keyword or key phrase.

Not only will you be closer to the top of the search engine rankings with more content, you will also be indexed by more search engines. This could mean that something like ninety percent of all Internet users seeing your web site in any one given Internet session for a specific key phrase.

The second reason more web site content increases traffic is more complicated. If you have strong, well written content on your site, you increase your credibility with customers.
Suddenly you are no longer a company selling homemade dog food; you are somebody who can offer knowledgeable advice about anything a responsible dog owner needs to know including house training, leash laws, and sleeping problems.

This increase in credibility not only makes people believe what you have posted to your site, it also makes them want to stay at your site LONGER to read the rest of your content articles on a topic about which they are PASSIONATE and ACTIVELY searching for on the Internet.
The more keyword focused content articles you have on your site the easier they will find you and longer they will stay there.

Keeping people on your site as long as possible is the key to selling your product to them.
You simply have more time in which to pitch them your product or service (in multiple ways) and thus close more sales. Not only will they stay at your site longer when your site has more focused content they are far more likely to return to your site the next time they search the Internet for information that's within your topic.

For example, if you are selling refilled printer ink cartridges, and you have content on your site which relates to all things printers you have a far better chance that someone might stay to look at a few of your other articles on your web site.

However, the next time they need digital photo printing tips, chances are good that they will remember what great content you offered them during their last Internet session, and they will return directly to your site just to read more of your topic focused content.

This means you have their complete, undivided attention for an even longer period of time this time. Moreover, if they are returning to your site on a regular basis, chances are good that they will recommend the site to other users like their friends and relatives which will mean even more traffic to your site.

The final way more web site content increases your web traffic is that it increases the probability that advertisers and reciprocal link exchangers will be attracted to your site. Reciprocal links are exchanged by web sites that have similar interests. The more relevant topics you are able to list, the more chances you have of someone with similar interests attempting to link to your site.

This could greatly increase your web site traffic because not only will people be able to find your site through search engines, they may also be able to find your site through other sites. And, advertisers are looking for sites that encourage customers they want to do business with. More keywords will mean more customers for you, which can mean more advertisers for you, which can mean more profits and visibility for you.

No matter which reason you choose to add more content to your site it will always increase your web site traffic.

This can only mean good things. Continually adding keyword focused content to your web site is one of the best ways to grow your web business. You can have these keyword rich content articles written for you, or you can write them yourself.

Whichever way you choose to go here be sure that your articles are well-written. Badly written articles will do little to increase your web site traffic, and most likely will affect your credibility.

About the Author: Kenneth Doyle Is A Writer And Internet Marketing Consultant, Find Out About His SEO Article Writing And Submission Service Gets Thousands Of Prospects To Read YOUR Offers, Here... *SEO Article Writing Submission Service*

CyberSpeak - What 'Web 2.0' Means To Us

2006-04-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

There has been a subtle yet incredibly important change with the way the Internet is used. It's been going on for at least a couple of years, but lately we're beginning to feel the enormous cumulative effects.The result is a very different kind of Net - one that has even earned its own name: Web 2.0.

This isn't a separate Web. In fact, chances are you've been using it. Unlike Internet2, which is a separate entity, when people speak of Web 2.0 they're speaking of the way existing technologies are being used to create an entirely different online experience.

You can't easily point to a piece of software or the way a Web page is designed and say "This is part of Web 2.0." The effect is cumulative. In fact, there isn't even agreement on what the term "Web 2.0" means. For some, it's about a new generation of websites that use a set of technology called AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) that allow them to offer applications - word processors, spreadsheets, and more - that work as smoothly and quickly as software on your hard drive. (Check out Writely.com for an excellent example.)

Others see it as a collection of sites and pages with well-labeled content (sometimes called "the Semantic Web"), so that information on one site is understandable to other sites. For example, if content on my page were labeled as breaking news on a particular subject, other sites that aggregate news content would know to grab it.

But there is a fairly common thread binding these visions of Web 2.0 - and it's the idea that defines the most important concept. Instead of treating the Web as millions of separate sites, each offering its own content, Web 2.0 operates as a gigantic collaborative effort, with everyone contributing directly to the community.

Think of Web 1.0 - today's Web - as a neighborhood where everyone's home or business is open to everyone else. You can walk into the Smiths' house and browse to see what's interesting.
In contrast, Web 2.0 is a single building, not separate houses, where everyone puts their things on the shelves for others to browse. It's labeled ("This appears courtesy of the Smiths"), but the content itself makes the community, rather than the separate buildings. The building is simply an aggregator.

It's a subtle but important distinction.

Tag you are it.

I have some photos on my website - you're welcome to browse. That's Web 1.0. But I also contribute to Flickr, as do thousands of other people. Flickr and its kin (such as Buzznet) create communities with content provided by their members. Because that content shares a framework - keywords in Flickr's case - you can browse through photos of a subject of your choosing.

In a way, you create ad hoc communities by using Flickr to look only at pictures of horses, for example. With Web 1.0, you could look at individuals' horse pictures, site by site. In Web 2.0, Flickr builds the framework for the community, aggregating all those equine images. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Another example: del.icio.us. Ostensibly a place to store lists of your favorite sites, it's evolved into a lot more. Del.icio.us lets you share your bookmarks using tags, similar to what Flickr does with images. If you find a great page about horses, you can give it a del.icio.us tag of "horses."

Others who come to del.icio.us and search on that will find the most popular sites with that tag.
In a way, it's sort of a human-generated Google. Rather than computers using algorithms to process a search, del.icio.us relies on its users' contributions. Search on "RFID" and the results aren't based on how often the word appears in the text, or how many sites link to it, but how many users found it interesting.

Take that very example. A Google search on RFID has RFID Journal as its first hit. The same search on del.icio.us brings up How To Make A RFID Blocking Wallet. RFID Journal is number two on the del.icio.us list; an article on making an RFID-blocking wallet is 30th on Google's (and it's a different article).

It's not just about a better or different search engine. As the del.icio.us folks put it, "You begin building a collaborative repository of related information, driven by personal interests and creative organization."

It's a world populated by human interest.

Two other examples of Web 2.0 are almost too easy, but I'll mention them just to avoid e-mail on the subject: Wikipedia, the user-created and -edited encyclopedia, and P2P file sharing via protocols like BitTorrent. Both use the power of the community, not individual site owners, to create a 'product.'

And sites like the aforementioned Writely word processor do more than let you use a Web-based application to do office work. They also let you easily share and collaborate on projects - again, using the Web to create a community, even if a small one.

What's mine is yours.

What does all this mean to the nature of the Web and how we use and share information? How does it change the notion of "content"? Or copyright?

Owners still own, creators still create, and both are acknowledged for their roles. Both retain some control over their creations; both can make money from them. But the default is changing. The expectation will be that content is shared. It does not become community property but the Concept of limited sharing ("only you and you can listen to this song") is deteriorating quickly in the digital age. It has to.

Web 2.0 didn't cause this sea change. It's a feedback loop. The seeds of change were planted with the first message boards and blogs, when people came together in communities. Web 2.0-esque applications came out of that, and accelerated the change as the Flickrs and Technoratis and del.icio.uses of the world caught on.

What the end result is, I don't know. (I don't know that there is an end result.) But I can clearly see that the future of "content" - and the future of creativity - lies with all of us, not each of us.

Source AP

Take Part in Blog Traffic Exchange Communities

2006-04-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

Author: Sheila Ann Manuel Coggins

For bloggers who wish to gain more readers, there can never be enough ways to promote one's blog. One way that blog owners market and promote their blogs is through taking part in blog traffic exchange communities like BlogExplosion (http://www.blogexplosion.com/) and BlogClicker (http://www.blogclicker.com/).

If you are a blog owner who wishes to try this route, it's easy (and free) to join these blog traffic exchange communities: Just visit the site, sign up, confirm your account, add your blog to the member directory/registry and then start visiting other members' blogs.

Often, you can add more than just one blog per account.

In order for you to maximize your membership, it's good to understand the general idea of how these communities work. Basically, you need to earn 'credits' in order to get blog traffic exposure. These credits are often gained by visiting other members' blogs. Some communities also offer 'credits' for a fee. However, when testing out a new blog traffic exchange community, it's probably best not to pay for 'credits' in the beginning. It's good to begin by visiting other blogs first. Then, when you're happy with that community, you can show support by buying credits and/or purchasing advertising space.

When you have enough credits, your blog becomes eligible for promotion. Usually, a link and/or graphic to your blog will be shown on the main site and/or in fellow members' blogs. This is how other people find your blog.

Of course, the more members there are in the community, the more potential visitors. So, if you are part of a blog traffic community, it's good to promote the communities you belong to as well.

Besides, when you promote the community through a referral system, you get more credits too.

Just remember that even though people may visit your blog through these traffic exchange communities, it doesn't mean that they will always do so. That's why it's important to make sure that every visitor to your blog must find reasons to return.

About the Author: Sheila Ann Manuel Coggins, aka Shai, is an internet enthusiast since 1997. She is a keeper of web logs, journals, and web sites. She hosts a podcast (Shai in 60 Seconds) and a video blog (FreshWave.TV). She is one of the co-owners of the b5media blogging network, and she is also an online instructor.

Microsoft Presents The New Samsung's Q1

2006-04-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

Microsoft on Thursday April 13, 2006 unveiled details for ultramobile personal computers (UMPCs), a new category of mobile computing devices that features small, lightweight, carry-everywhere hardware designs coupled with the full functionality of a Windows PC and a choice of input options, including enhanced touch-screen capabilities.

Samsung's Q1, which debuted at the CeBit show in Hannover, Germany, has a 7-inch 800-by-480-pixel TFT touchscreen, is powered by a 900MHz ultra-low-voltage Celeron M processor with 512MB of RAM, and has a 40GB hard disk. Samsung says the European model, due in May, will cost about $1,200.

Credit: Microsoft

We Blog, Thus We Feel More Real

2006-04-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Giovanni Busco

What blogging means? It comes from creating, maintaining a weblog, or even publishing an article or a comment on an existing blog.

People's ability and desire of organizing ideas and contents in a specific way are the main reason for the exploding success of internet blogs.

If you wish to run your own blog, the process of starting one is easy and fast, and many times absolutely free. You go, for example, to www.blogger.com, http://www.wordpress.org/, or http://www.blogcity.com/, and using their web-based interfaces in a few minutes your blog is online, and you can start updating it, with traditional computers, or even with a mobile approach, using hand-held devices or web-enabled mobile phones.

Everybody can potentially express him/herself through this powerful global media. Information in the internet is largely available, and through blogging, you can creatively organize all that information, and creating new one.

It’s interesting to report some comments from Steve Pavlina, very well-known blogger on this issue: "I’m hugely optimistic about the future of blogs and blogging. Blogs are quickly changing the face of media, injecting a much needed dose of truth...
… Typical newscasters look ridiculously phony when compared to typical bloggers. I think this will ultimately force changes in mainstream media. They’ll have to change as they begin losing business. The advertising dollars are already flooding into blogs, and that’s only going to increase".

Well, the magic with blogs is that they tend to pick up traffic at a very high speed, and this can result in very fast earnings for many, courageous internet entrepreneurs.

About the Author: Giovanni Busco is a web/business consultant, strongly interested in internet communication and internet marketing.

Google Rebuffs Feds On Search Requests

2006-04-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Author: Chris Hoofnagle

Google Inc. is rebuffing the Bush administration's demand for a peek at what millions of people have been looking up on the Internet's leading search engine — a request that underscores the potential for online databases to become tools for government surveillance. Mountain View-based Google has refused to comply with a White House subpoena first issued last summer, prompting U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this week to ask a federal judge in San Jose for an order to hand over the requested records.

The government wants a list all requests entered into Google's search engine during an unspecified single week — a breakdown that could conceivably span tens of millions of queries. In addition, it seeks 1 million randomly selected Web addresses from various Google databases.
In court papers that the San Jose Mercury News reported on after seeing them Wednesday, the Bush administration depicts the information as vital in its effort to restore online child protection laws that have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp., which operate the next most-used search engines behind Google, confirmed that they had complied with similar government subpoenas. America Online said it didn't fully comply with the subpoena but did provide a list of search requests already publicly available from other sources.

Combined, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and AOL handle nearly 90 percent of all U.S. search requests, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

Although the government says it isn't seeking any data that ties personal information to search requests, the subpoenas still raise serious privacy concerns, experts said. Those worries have been magnified by recent revelations that the White House authorized eavesdropping on civilian communications after the Sept. 11 attacks without obtaining court approval.

"Search engines now play such an important part in our daily lives that many people probably contact Google more often than they do their own mother," said Thomas Burke, a San Francisco attorney who has handled several prominent cases involving privacy issues.
"Just as most people would be upset if the government wanted to know how much you called your mother and what you talked about, they should be upset about this, too."

The content of search request sometimes contain information about the person making the query.

For instance, it's not unusual for search requests to include names, medical profiles or Social Security information, said Pam Dixon, executive director for the World Privacy Forum.
"This is exactly the kind of thing we have been worrying about with search engines for some time," Dixon said. "Google should be commended for fighting this."

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo stressed that it didn't reveal any personal information. "We are rigorous defenders of our users' privacy," Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said. "In our opinion, this is not a privacy issue."

MSN said it complied with the government's request "in a way that ensured we also protected the privacy of our customers."

As the Internet's dominant search engine, Google has built up a valuable storehouse of information that "makes it a very attractive target for law enforcement," said Chris Hoofnagle, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The Department of Justice argues that Google's cooperation is essential in its effort to simulate how people navigate the Web.

In a separate case in Pennsylvania, the Bush administration is trying to prove that Internet filters don't do an adequate job of preventing children from accessing online pornography and other objectionable destinations.

Obtaining the subpoenaed information from Google "would assist the government in its efforts to understand the behavior of current Web users, (and) to estimate how often Web users encounter harmful-to-minors material in the course of their searches," the Justice Department wrote in a brief filed Wednesday

Google — whose motto when it went public in 2004 was "do no evil" — contends that submitting to the subpoena would represent a betrayal to its users, even if all personal information is stripped from the search terms sought by the government.

"Google's acceding to the request would suggest that it is willing to reveal information about those who use its services. This is not a perception that Google can accept," company attorney Ashok Ramani wrote in a letter included in the government's filing.

Complying with the subpoena also would threaten to expose some of Google's "crown-jewel trade secrets," Ramani wrote. Google is particularly concerned that the information could be used to deduce the size of its index and how many computers it uses to crunch the requests.
"This information would be highly valuable to competitors or miscreants seeking to harm Google's business," Ramani wrote.

Dixon is hoping Google's battle with the government reminds people to be careful how they interact with search engines.

"When you are looking at that blank search box, you should remember that what you fill can come back to haunt you unless you take precautions," she said.

Source AP

Google Patents Voice-Activated Searching

2006-04-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Author: Matt DeAngelis

Now this is cool.

According to Silicon.com, Google has just filed a patent on a voice interface for search engines. Through the use of a language model, phonetic dictionary and acoustic models, a server generates an n-best hypothesis list or word graph.

Though the patent application was in 2001, it was just published this week. Google Voice, which has been up for some time (it is currently down), allows the user to call into Google and tell them your search over the phone. It will then display the results in a new window.

This would be a terrific cell-phone searcher.

About the Author: Matt DeAngelis runs http://www.affiliateblog.com/, that is his latest venture, and it was started as a resource to help site owners and bloggers to get more revenues from their sites.

Assure Readability To Your Domain Name

2006-04-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

Author: Giovanni Busco

Most of the desirable one-word, two-word and three-word dot com domain names are now taken. However, if you add plurals and hyphenated words, there is still a very good chance to get a productive domain name.

If you want to use a phrase or a compound word with two or more words combined together, you should use hyphens. All of the search engine robots read a hyphen as a blank space, so your domain name is not affected when you use hyphenated words.

Using a long url will annoy publishers and hosts, and will make difficult for the audience to remember your url. If you have a hyphenated url make sure you are clear as to the hyphen being included and don't make the url too long. Example: Your First and Last Name hyphen mylife.com. www.JohnSmith-mylife.com, is short enough that the hyphen can be easily used, and it will not negatively impact your web traffic.

Using the above example, it is also wise to think that people, while typing, will sometimes reverse the words, like www.mylife-JohnSmith.com. It is now so inexpensive to purchase domain names, that it is wise to purchase both versions, for assuring your targeted traffic.

Another good reason for using hyphenated domain names is when two, or more words, joined together in a domain name could imply or even state a different meaning. The following is an example: www.tennishopping could be read as tennis shopping or tennis hopping, two completely different thoughts and contexts. Please remember to use hyphens in a very intentional way, in order to avoid any confusion, that can potentially decrease your web traffic.

You need to consider also that if your url is without hyphens, it will look more professional. Catching the attention of a web browser could sometimes be a matter of a very fast first impression.

A domain name with hyphens is hard to describe when announced in a radio commercial, or when communicated by word of mouth, but with so many popular domain names not available anymore, sometimes using a hyphenated url is just necessary.

About the Author: Giovanni Busco is a web/business consultant, strongly interested in internet communication and internet marketing .