Learning a foreign language can be enjoyable - but exasperating. Anything you can do to accelerate learning or make language acquisition more enjoyable is a valuable weapon in your learning arsenal. Kathy Steinemann shares a helpful and unique approach to this challenge.
Take a look at the following two sections of text:
*Version 1
The sky is blue today. I'm sitting on the beach. A bully kicks sand in my face. Too bad for him! Here come my bodyguards!
*Version 2
One, two, a sky so blue. Three, four, a sandy shore. Five, six, a bully kicks. Seven, eight, he's sealed his fate. Nine, ten, here come my gunmen!
Now go back and re-read the verses.
Did you notice that you have already started to anticipate what comes next in the second version?
Conclusion: It is easier to memorize rhyming poetry than to memorize prose.
So what implication does this have for learning a foreign language?
If you memorize well-written *modern* foreign language poetry, you can accelerate your learning curve. (Notice the keyword 'modern'.)
Poetry written in the 18th Century may have deep cultural and educational significance. However, words penned to page over 300 years ago will utilize obsolete vocabulary, spelling, and grammar formations.
As an example: consider the popular King James Version of the Bible. If you started using 'thee' and 'thou' in your daily speech, people would understand you - but they would treat you like an alien in a time warp.
You can search the internet for poetry written by contemporary authors. Try searches like:
parallel translation poetry
parallel translation poems
parallel translation poems German English
parallel translation poems French English
parallel translation poetry Italian English
parallel translation poetry Spanish English
Substitute search terms as necessary with the name of the specific language you are studying. Review the webpages you find with a tutor, professor, or knowledgeable person to determine grammar and vocabulary suitability.
Attempt to have the poetry dictated and recorded by a native language speaker. Softly recite the poetry while you listen to the recordings. This will improve your verbalization skills. With luck, you may find online audio for some of the poetry.
Are you a budding poet? Try creating foreign language poems yourself.
No poetic talent? Attempt the following simple approach. If you are learning German, for example, you might produce a 'poem' like this:
the dog - der Hund
the mouth - der Mund
the air - die Luft
the scent - der Duft
to buzz - summen
to growl - brummen
little - klein
clean - rein
to brood - grübeln
to iron - bügeln
You don't have to worry about grammar - just definitions, pronunciations, gender, and spelling. Alcor (alcor.com.au) has several rhyming dictionaries that can assist you with this process.
If you have an audio dictionary on your computer, listen carefully to the pronunciation of each word. There are also excellent online dictionaries with audio.
Now produce your own poetry recording using audio capture software.
- First, dictate each English word or phrase and save as an individual file.
- Next, save foreign language audio clips from your dictionary or from the internet.
- Now load your audio capture software and play the files in the correct order. Try to create short productions of a minute or two in duration.
- Edit if necessary to eliminate excessive pauses or add definite articles.
- Finally, convert to MP3 or WMA. Now you can use your iPod or portable media player for something besides music.
The 21st Century is a wonderful time to be learning a foreign language!
About the Author
Find parallel-translation German-English poetry at: http://www.a-language-guide.com/german-short-stories/ - and other language resources at: http://www.a-language-guide.com/. Kathy is a webmaster and author who writes for 1st Rate Articles: http://1stratearticles.com/ and several other websites.
Monday, April 30, 2007
How can Google and Government make you rich
There are literally many easy ways to make money online - Google Adsense is one of the most popular methods. You partner with Google, they place ads on your websites and share the advertising revenue with you. Many people earn nice 6 figure income from Google Adsense alone.
You might be thinking: if Google adsense is that easy, why aren't more people become rich with it? The problem is, you need huge amount of quality and unique contents that attract visitors to your sites. Most people are not born writers. Let's say your goal is to put up 1 site per week, with 100-200 pages per site. Imagine the time and energy needed to complete the task! Sure you can hire writers, but it is not cheap. The going rate for average writer is $5/article. How much are you going to pay for 1000 pages of articles? Huge investment isn't it?
So, does it mean that you should give up Adsense altogether? Certainly not, because you are going to learn a secret on how government can help you to make money with Google Adsense!
Now what if I tell you, there are millions of free articles that you can legally rewrite, modify anyway you want, and even claim your authorship? These articles: -cover many profitable Adsense niche, including iPod, finance, health, pets etc. -are written by professionals; -practically nobody is using or talking about this resource!
Drum rolls... It's called "public domain" - Material that is not copyrighted, whose copyright has expired, or is un-copyrightable, including government publication, creative commons, and Wikipedia.
So what's so fascinating with Public domain? Simply but, you can take the contents from there, re-write it and put on your website without any problem! There are so many contents in government sites and Wikipedia. Don't believe? Do a search on Wikipedia and Google Government Search engine on ANY keyword.
For example, one of my favorite niche is health. It is a niche that is moderate in competition, high in searches. People are always looking for information on certain symptoms and disease. Most importantly health related keywords are one of those high paying Adsense keywords! It is very common to earn few dollars from just one click!
Now, at push button you will be able to find wide array of health articles in government websites, including diabetes, weight loss, sexual dysfunction etc. The articles are free for you to use.
There are people who sell articles to Adsense publishers. They called it PLR (Private Label Rights) articles where the articles rights belong to buyers' after the purchase. The average membership costs around $39-$97 per month for limited amount of articles. I am never a big fan of PLR articles. Simply but, why pay for something that is supposedly free?
Finally, one very important thing to keep in mind: always re-write the articles you take from public domain. Many webmasters have been de-listed for duplicate contents on their websites. If you want long term success with Adsense, unique articles is the way to go.
About the Author
Lai Chiayee is an experienced Adsense publisher. Learn how to find public domain articles, rewrite and profit from them quickly == > http://www.cylai.net/PDRiches.htm
You might be thinking: if Google adsense is that easy, why aren't more people become rich with it? The problem is, you need huge amount of quality and unique contents that attract visitors to your sites. Most people are not born writers. Let's say your goal is to put up 1 site per week, with 100-200 pages per site. Imagine the time and energy needed to complete the task! Sure you can hire writers, but it is not cheap. The going rate for average writer is $5/article. How much are you going to pay for 1000 pages of articles? Huge investment isn't it?
So, does it mean that you should give up Adsense altogether? Certainly not, because you are going to learn a secret on how government can help you to make money with Google Adsense!
Now what if I tell you, there are millions of free articles that you can legally rewrite, modify anyway you want, and even claim your authorship? These articles: -cover many profitable Adsense niche, including iPod, finance, health, pets etc. -are written by professionals; -practically nobody is using or talking about this resource!
Drum rolls... It's called "public domain" - Material that is not copyrighted, whose copyright has expired, or is un-copyrightable, including government publication, creative commons, and Wikipedia.
So what's so fascinating with Public domain? Simply but, you can take the contents from there, re-write it and put on your website without any problem! There are so many contents in government sites and Wikipedia. Don't believe? Do a search on Wikipedia and Google Government Search engine on ANY keyword.
For example, one of my favorite niche is health. It is a niche that is moderate in competition, high in searches. People are always looking for information on certain symptoms and disease. Most importantly health related keywords are one of those high paying Adsense keywords! It is very common to earn few dollars from just one click!
Now, at push button you will be able to find wide array of health articles in government websites, including diabetes, weight loss, sexual dysfunction etc. The articles are free for you to use.
There are people who sell articles to Adsense publishers. They called it PLR (Private Label Rights) articles where the articles rights belong to buyers' after the purchase. The average membership costs around $39-$97 per month for limited amount of articles. I am never a big fan of PLR articles. Simply but, why pay for something that is supposedly free?
Finally, one very important thing to keep in mind: always re-write the articles you take from public domain. Many webmasters have been de-listed for duplicate contents on their websites. If you want long term success with Adsense, unique articles is the way to go.
About the Author
Lai Chiayee is an experienced Adsense publisher. Learn how to find public domain articles, rewrite and profit from them quickly == > http://www.cylai.net/PDRiches.htm
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Mazda Accessories Fever Gets Even Hotter
Mazda maintains its strong and meticulous selection of vehicle accessories to come up with not just something hot and new but exciting and functional as well. In regard to this endeavor, Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) reported a 20 percent increase of sales of Mazda accessories through the first half this year. This figure is in comparison to that of the 2005 sales record.
Mazda’s new offerings include SIRIUS® Satellite Radio, remote-start systems, plus a full line of accessories for the new CX-7 crossover SUV. Consequently, the accessory fever continues as the automaker adds one great accessory to enjoy. Genuine Mazda Accessories launched an exclusive iPod Integration Module, which allows customers to connect, charge, and operate their iPod through their vehicle’s audio system. It can be recalled that Mazda was the first to offer iPod® Integration Module in all its 2007 cars and SUVs around the world.
To assess the performance of Genuine Mazda Accessories, sales of MAZDASPEED Performance Accessories is getting better and better. Sales have almost doubled each year since its introduction to the market. To boost the sales further, Mazda introduced its key offerings for this year which include upgraded suspension systems and cat-back performance exhaust systems for MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-8 and MX-5. MAZDASPEED, on the other hand, offers OEM-quality “cold air” induction systems with full warranty. Said system is used to augment horsepower without weakening emissions.
The overwhelming sales are proofs to overall customer satisfaction. According to Jack Stavana, director of accessory operations for MNAO, “Our objective with the Mazda Accessories program is to provide products that actually enhance the driving experience for Mazda customers. Mazda drivers are young and passionate, and Mazda accessories provide them with the means of expressing their enthusiasm on their vehicle.”
Mazda’s comprehensive accessories program also include in-dash single and six-disc CD changers, cassette players, MiniDisc players and the newly introduced PhatBox ® Digital Media Player. They are available at over 200 specific Mazda dealers across the country.
About the Author
Tom Bailey is a consultant for one of the country’s leading auto parts stores. He is also an editor of a reputable publishing company in his area. He is currently based in Atlantic City, New Jersey with his wife and 3 children.
Mazda’s new offerings include SIRIUS® Satellite Radio, remote-start systems, plus a full line of accessories for the new CX-7 crossover SUV. Consequently, the accessory fever continues as the automaker adds one great accessory to enjoy. Genuine Mazda Accessories launched an exclusive iPod Integration Module, which allows customers to connect, charge, and operate their iPod through their vehicle’s audio system. It can be recalled that Mazda was the first to offer iPod® Integration Module in all its 2007 cars and SUVs around the world.
To assess the performance of Genuine Mazda Accessories, sales of MAZDASPEED Performance Accessories is getting better and better. Sales have almost doubled each year since its introduction to the market. To boost the sales further, Mazda introduced its key offerings for this year which include upgraded suspension systems and cat-back performance exhaust systems for MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-8 and MX-5. MAZDASPEED, on the other hand, offers OEM-quality “cold air” induction systems with full warranty. Said system is used to augment horsepower without weakening emissions.
The overwhelming sales are proofs to overall customer satisfaction. According to Jack Stavana, director of accessory operations for MNAO, “Our objective with the Mazda Accessories program is to provide products that actually enhance the driving experience for Mazda customers. Mazda drivers are young and passionate, and Mazda accessories provide them with the means of expressing their enthusiasm on their vehicle.”
Mazda’s comprehensive accessories program also include in-dash single and six-disc CD changers, cassette players, MiniDisc players and the newly introduced PhatBox ® Digital Media Player. They are available at over 200 specific Mazda dealers across the country.
About the Author
Tom Bailey is a consultant for one of the country’s leading auto parts stores. He is also an editor of a reputable publishing company in his area. He is currently based in Atlantic City, New Jersey with his wife and 3 children.
What You Should Really Know About the Sony Mp3 Players
The Sony NW-HD5 20GB hard drive audio player is a solid competitor: It certainly has a leg up on its wheel-sporting white rival in the battery life department, and it has a couple of navigation features that should make Apple take note.
Sony has been struggling to keep pace with Apple's hugely successful iPod and iTunes, but it's been a losing battle.It lacks extras like an FM tuner or recording, but so does the iPod, and the lack of frills makes it very simple to use.
But despite the player's ease of use, very good sound quality, and (finally) native MP3 support, Sony's MP3 player is still held back by the required software and overzealous DRM.
The stylish-looking anodized-aluminum NW-HD5, available in red, silver, or black, measures 2.4 by 3.5 by 0.6 inches and weighs 4.8 ounces—significantly smaller and lighter than the fourth-generation 20GB iPod.
It has a very simple button layout on the front, below the 1.7-inch monochrome LCD, and a hold switch on top next to the headphone jack.
The removable lithium ion rechargeable battery is rated for 30 hours of continuous MP3 audio playback at 128 Kbps (or 40 hours for Sony's proprietary ATRAC3/ATRAC3plus formats).
When tested with a real-world mix of MP3 files encoded at 128 Kbps to 320 Kbps, the battery was found to last for nearly 24.5 hours—roughly twice the iPod's battery life. It also has adjustable screen orientation and shock protection, which senses when the player is dropped and releases the recording head to protect the hard disk.
The menus look very low-budget, but they are quite easy to navigate. Initials Search lets you jump to songs that begin with a specific letter—a handy feature that other vendors should consider implementing.
You can create standard playlists—Sony calls them Bookmarks—directly on the player, but they can't be edited in the bundled SonicStage software.
Likewise, playlists created in SonicStage cannot be edited on the player. And the Bookmarks have nothing to do with audiobooks, which aren't supported.
The NW-HD5's biggest drawbacks are the Windows-only SonicStage software and the strict DRM.
You can transfer tracks to the player only via SonicStage, much like with Apple's iPod and iTunes combination. The installation is a fairly long process and requires a restart, and the software isn't nearly as polished as iTunes.
But you also have to "authorize" the player via the Internet, which involves creating a Sony Connect account, letting you use the player with up to five computers—otherwise, the player is tied to a single computer.
SonicStage supports unprotected WMA files, but when transferred the same to the NW-HD5, they were automatically transcoded to Sony's proprietary ATRAC3 format. For online music services, you're limited to the mediocre Sony Connect.
Sony has taken a big step forward with native MP3 support, and the player looks and sounds very good. Its ease of use rivals even that of the iPod.
But we feel that the software and DRM present too many difficulties, and Sony still needs to figure out a better strategy to protect its vast catalog of music copyrights.
If you can live with the NW-HD5's DRM and software limitations, you'll find the player itself provides a very good combination of ease of use, sound quality, and battery life for the price.
About the Author
For more more information about mp3 players please visit http://www.i-pod-mp3-player.com
Sony has been struggling to keep pace with Apple's hugely successful iPod and iTunes, but it's been a losing battle.It lacks extras like an FM tuner or recording, but so does the iPod, and the lack of frills makes it very simple to use.
But despite the player's ease of use, very good sound quality, and (finally) native MP3 support, Sony's MP3 player is still held back by the required software and overzealous DRM.
The stylish-looking anodized-aluminum NW-HD5, available in red, silver, or black, measures 2.4 by 3.5 by 0.6 inches and weighs 4.8 ounces—significantly smaller and lighter than the fourth-generation 20GB iPod.
It has a very simple button layout on the front, below the 1.7-inch monochrome LCD, and a hold switch on top next to the headphone jack.
The removable lithium ion rechargeable battery is rated for 30 hours of continuous MP3 audio playback at 128 Kbps (or 40 hours for Sony's proprietary ATRAC3/ATRAC3plus formats).
When tested with a real-world mix of MP3 files encoded at 128 Kbps to 320 Kbps, the battery was found to last for nearly 24.5 hours—roughly twice the iPod's battery life. It also has adjustable screen orientation and shock protection, which senses when the player is dropped and releases the recording head to protect the hard disk.
The menus look very low-budget, but they are quite easy to navigate. Initials Search lets you jump to songs that begin with a specific letter—a handy feature that other vendors should consider implementing.
You can create standard playlists—Sony calls them Bookmarks—directly on the player, but they can't be edited in the bundled SonicStage software.
Likewise, playlists created in SonicStage cannot be edited on the player. And the Bookmarks have nothing to do with audiobooks, which aren't supported.
The NW-HD5's biggest drawbacks are the Windows-only SonicStage software and the strict DRM.
You can transfer tracks to the player only via SonicStage, much like with Apple's iPod and iTunes combination. The installation is a fairly long process and requires a restart, and the software isn't nearly as polished as iTunes.
But you also have to "authorize" the player via the Internet, which involves creating a Sony Connect account, letting you use the player with up to five computers—otherwise, the player is tied to a single computer.
SonicStage supports unprotected WMA files, but when transferred the same to the NW-HD5, they were automatically transcoded to Sony's proprietary ATRAC3 format. For online music services, you're limited to the mediocre Sony Connect.
Sony has taken a big step forward with native MP3 support, and the player looks and sounds very good. Its ease of use rivals even that of the iPod.
But we feel that the software and DRM present too many difficulties, and Sony still needs to figure out a better strategy to protect its vast catalog of music copyrights.
If you can live with the NW-HD5's DRM and software limitations, you'll find the player itself provides a very good combination of ease of use, sound quality, and battery life for the price.
About the Author
For more more information about mp3 players please visit http://www.i-pod-mp3-player.com
Friday, April 27, 2007
Travel Photography Tips and Preparation
I just returned from a trip through Europe as a tour photographer and gained some useful knowledge that could be helpful to any photographers, amateur or professional who are planning a trip. This article deals with: obtaining the necessary equipment, carrying the equipment and always being in the right place at the right time. If you are hoping to get a professional collection of pictures from a vacation or group tour in a far away place you should definitely consider some of these issues. If you would like to see a collection of my personal photos from some of my trips (in which I used these techniques) please visit the wallpaper galleries on picturecorrect.com.
-My Personal Equipment Preparation
Through many photography trips I gradually developed a strategy for traveling lightly and conveniently with a sufficient amount of camera equipment. On long trips I typically take along two cameras; one digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera and one small digital point-and-shoot camera. For the SLR camera I take two lenses; one midrange telephoto lens (70-200 mm) and one fixed wide angle lens (24 mm). With these two types of lenses you will be ready for effective people pictures and beautiful landscape and scenery photos.
In addition to the cameras I absolutely always have some sort of tripod readily available whether it is the simple mini type or the full size larger type (for traveling you should make sure the tripod is made out of a light-weight material). For memory storage I take a larger memory card for the SLR and typically a smaller capacity card for the point-and-shoot camera. I also recently purchased an ipod so as soon as the memory cards are full I just unload them onto my ipod.
-Carrying the Equipment
For long trips that are full of photo opportunities I only carry one shoulder bag for my photography equipment. I keep the SLR camera in the bag with the extra lens that I am not currently using. I then carry the smaller point-and-shoot camera in the pocket of my cargo pants or shorts. The newer small digital point-and-shoot style cameras have developed so much that sometimes I feel that the photos I obtain from that camera are better then the SLR camera's photos. If you keep a small camera in your pocket then you will always be ready for spontaneous photo opportunities (mainly people pictures). And that way you won't always have to have a huge camera hanging around your neck which in many places will make you an instant target for professional pick pocketers.
I can't emphasize how important a tripod is on vacation trips. I am thoroughly convinced that the best pictures I have taken have either been at sunset or at night with long shutter speeds made possible by the use of a tripod. It has also come in very handy for architectural photos inside many cathedrals and buildings that have huge areas that are not very well lit.
-Techniques for Professional Travel Photos
Of course for effective photos you should read some articles on composition, exposure, shutter speed, and aperture. But there are also many other issues that I have realized are very important for travel photos. For pictures of landmarks or landscapes you should make sure that you have some kind of foreground and background so your viewers will have a good perspective of what it would be like to visit the site themselves. You should also make sure that you take plenty of photos from one scene with different combinations of exposure settings and angles. I usually only find about 1 photo out of 10 that I really like even though all ten photos are taken of the exact same place. And remember that you will probably want to make sure that you get at least one good photo of each spot since it is likely that you won't return any time soon.
For people pictures it is important to get photos of the people that may be accompanying you on your trip as well as some photos of people native to the area that you are visiting. When people are looking at photos following a trip they like to see both photos of them visiting certain spots as well as close ups of them enjoying themselves or focused mainly on their facial features. On the occasions that I have been hired to accompany a tour and prepare a slide show I found that the photos that the people enjoyed the most were of them enjoying a funny moment or of someone doing something silly that makes them look like an ignorant tourist. But they also enjoyed seeing photos of some of the interesting kinds of people that they met in the foreign environments. One example of this is on my recent visit to Germany I took many pictures of the crazy soccer fans who were cheering in the streets and waving flags.
There is a seemingly endless supply of things you can learn about travel photography, but I would say that the most effective technique is just to take a lot of photos and a wide variety of photos.
About the Author
Richard Schneider is a digital photography enthusiast and founder of http://www.picturecorrect.com/ which offers tips and news about digital photography, digital camera reviews, and photoshop tutorials. Please also visit http://www.picturecorrect.com/freewallpaper.htm where you can find many examples of the techniques described in this article to use as your desktop wallpaper.
-My Personal Equipment Preparation
Through many photography trips I gradually developed a strategy for traveling lightly and conveniently with a sufficient amount of camera equipment. On long trips I typically take along two cameras; one digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera and one small digital point-and-shoot camera. For the SLR camera I take two lenses; one midrange telephoto lens (70-200 mm) and one fixed wide angle lens (24 mm). With these two types of lenses you will be ready for effective people pictures and beautiful landscape and scenery photos.
In addition to the cameras I absolutely always have some sort of tripod readily available whether it is the simple mini type or the full size larger type (for traveling you should make sure the tripod is made out of a light-weight material). For memory storage I take a larger memory card for the SLR and typically a smaller capacity card for the point-and-shoot camera. I also recently purchased an ipod so as soon as the memory cards are full I just unload them onto my ipod.
-Carrying the Equipment
For long trips that are full of photo opportunities I only carry one shoulder bag for my photography equipment. I keep the SLR camera in the bag with the extra lens that I am not currently using. I then carry the smaller point-and-shoot camera in the pocket of my cargo pants or shorts. The newer small digital point-and-shoot style cameras have developed so much that sometimes I feel that the photos I obtain from that camera are better then the SLR camera's photos. If you keep a small camera in your pocket then you will always be ready for spontaneous photo opportunities (mainly people pictures). And that way you won't always have to have a huge camera hanging around your neck which in many places will make you an instant target for professional pick pocketers.
I can't emphasize how important a tripod is on vacation trips. I am thoroughly convinced that the best pictures I have taken have either been at sunset or at night with long shutter speeds made possible by the use of a tripod. It has also come in very handy for architectural photos inside many cathedrals and buildings that have huge areas that are not very well lit.
-Techniques for Professional Travel Photos
Of course for effective photos you should read some articles on composition, exposure, shutter speed, and aperture. But there are also many other issues that I have realized are very important for travel photos. For pictures of landmarks or landscapes you should make sure that you have some kind of foreground and background so your viewers will have a good perspective of what it would be like to visit the site themselves. You should also make sure that you take plenty of photos from one scene with different combinations of exposure settings and angles. I usually only find about 1 photo out of 10 that I really like even though all ten photos are taken of the exact same place. And remember that you will probably want to make sure that you get at least one good photo of each spot since it is likely that you won't return any time soon.
For people pictures it is important to get photos of the people that may be accompanying you on your trip as well as some photos of people native to the area that you are visiting. When people are looking at photos following a trip they like to see both photos of them visiting certain spots as well as close ups of them enjoying themselves or focused mainly on their facial features. On the occasions that I have been hired to accompany a tour and prepare a slide show I found that the photos that the people enjoyed the most were of them enjoying a funny moment or of someone doing something silly that makes them look like an ignorant tourist. But they also enjoyed seeing photos of some of the interesting kinds of people that they met in the foreign environments. One example of this is on my recent visit to Germany I took many pictures of the crazy soccer fans who were cheering in the streets and waving flags.
There is a seemingly endless supply of things you can learn about travel photography, but I would say that the most effective technique is just to take a lot of photos and a wide variety of photos.
About the Author
Richard Schneider is a digital photography enthusiast and founder of http://www.picturecorrect.com/ which offers tips and news about digital photography, digital camera reviews, and photoshop tutorials. Please also visit http://www.picturecorrect.com/freewallpaper.htm where you can find many examples of the techniques described in this article to use as your desktop wallpaper.
Top Ten Ways To Market Your Web Site: Get The Traffic You Need
Copyright 2006 Angela Booth
Millions of people are online, and all those people mean you've got hundreds of thousands of potential customers who are looking for your products and services. Your site should get around 500 visitors a day without spending a cent on advertising. However, the number one question I get from Web site owners is: how do I get more traffic?
Here are the top ten ways to market your Web site. I guarantee you, if you use all these tactics you'll get at least 500 visitors a day within a couple of weeks. From there, if you keep implementing the tactics, your traffic will grow into a flood, and you'll have more business than you can handle.
=> 1. Send out press releases
Word for word, press releases give unbelievable value -- more value than any other tactic you could use to promote your business. And yet, many business owners don't use press releases. One owner told me: "It makes me look as if I'm begging for attention..."
I've been a tech journalist for years, and as a journalist, I scan news releases eagerly. I want a story! I need news, and I need it every day. If you send me a news release, I'm grateful. I might not use your story, but the next time I hear your business's name, I'll remember it. If you keep sending me story ideas, sooner or later I will get in touch, either to interview you for a story I'm writing, or to do a story on your business.
Sites like PRWeb will publish your news release free. Use this incredible publicity resource.
=> 2. Write articles
Articles are content, and the Web thrives on content. If you write an article a week, and publish it on several of the many article directories online, you'll drive traffic to your business.
=> 3. Network -- use your friends, family and colleagues and THEIR friends etc
Got friends? Of course you have. You've got friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Use your address book. Send out a message which says: "Hey -- have you seen my new site? I'm trying to get the news out about it, and would appreciate it if you'd visit, and would let your friends know about the site too. Thanks."
See? Easy.
=> 4. Classified ads in newspapers
Take out a weekly classified ad in your local newspaper with your site's name and URL, and a one-sentence description of the site.
=> 5. Get more content onto your site: blog
The search engines are indexing software. They need words to index. Google especially loves blogs. So start a blog on your site, and blog several times a week. Think of your blog as a "News" page for your site.
=> 6. Run a contest
Everyone loves contests. Run a contest on your site, with an Apple iPod as the prize, and you'll get lots of traffic.
=> 7. Use the social networking sites
There are dozens of social networking sites online. The best known is MySpace, but there are many others, like Gather and Ryze. Join one of these sites. Network.
=> 8. Word Of Mouth (WOM)
There's a saying that you can't buy WOM. Well, guess what? You can. Develop a process in which you reward WOM. You could offer ten per cent off your services to anyone who introduces three friends. Or ten per cent off a product, if the buyer buys a gift token too. There are many ways you can encourage people to spread the word about your site.
=> 9. Join barter networks
Barter networks are deservedly popular. Join a business barter network, and barter products and services for what you need. You're doing it not as much for the benefits of saving money, you're doing it to spread the word about your business and Web site.
=> 10. Barter advertising
There are many business networks which barter advertising through the network. You can run banner advertising on others' sites, and run banners for them on your own.
"Banner exchanges" were all the rage five years ago, and people went mad with them. This led to banners becoming ineffective. Don't join a large network. Join a small network, or start a small network yourself. Don't run more than one banner on any page.
There you have it. Ten ways to get traffic to your site. These methods work. Please try them, and become a business owner who has no trouble generating traffic.
About the Author
Angela Booth is a veteran copywriter and marketing expert. She writes Web site copy and content, and develops marketing plans for Web sites. Visit her creative copywriting site at http://angelabooth.com/ and her Creativity Factory marketing copywriting blog at http://www.angelabooth.com/wp/
Millions of people are online, and all those people mean you've got hundreds of thousands of potential customers who are looking for your products and services. Your site should get around 500 visitors a day without spending a cent on advertising. However, the number one question I get from Web site owners is: how do I get more traffic?
Here are the top ten ways to market your Web site. I guarantee you, if you use all these tactics you'll get at least 500 visitors a day within a couple of weeks. From there, if you keep implementing the tactics, your traffic will grow into a flood, and you'll have more business than you can handle.
=> 1. Send out press releases
Word for word, press releases give unbelievable value -- more value than any other tactic you could use to promote your business. And yet, many business owners don't use press releases. One owner told me: "It makes me look as if I'm begging for attention..."
I've been a tech journalist for years, and as a journalist, I scan news releases eagerly. I want a story! I need news, and I need it every day. If you send me a news release, I'm grateful. I might not use your story, but the next time I hear your business's name, I'll remember it. If you keep sending me story ideas, sooner or later I will get in touch, either to interview you for a story I'm writing, or to do a story on your business.
Sites like PRWeb will publish your news release free. Use this incredible publicity resource.
=> 2. Write articles
Articles are content, and the Web thrives on content. If you write an article a week, and publish it on several of the many article directories online, you'll drive traffic to your business.
=> 3. Network -- use your friends, family and colleagues and THEIR friends etc
Got friends? Of course you have. You've got friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Use your address book. Send out a message which says: "Hey -- have you seen my new site? I'm trying to get the news out about it, and would appreciate it if you'd visit, and would let your friends know about the site too. Thanks."
See? Easy.
=> 4. Classified ads in newspapers
Take out a weekly classified ad in your local newspaper with your site's name and URL, and a one-sentence description of the site.
=> 5. Get more content onto your site: blog
The search engines are indexing software. They need words to index. Google especially loves blogs. So start a blog on your site, and blog several times a week. Think of your blog as a "News" page for your site.
=> 6. Run a contest
Everyone loves contests. Run a contest on your site, with an Apple iPod as the prize, and you'll get lots of traffic.
=> 7. Use the social networking sites
There are dozens of social networking sites online. The best known is MySpace, but there are many others, like Gather and Ryze. Join one of these sites. Network.
=> 8. Word Of Mouth (WOM)
There's a saying that you can't buy WOM. Well, guess what? You can. Develop a process in which you reward WOM. You could offer ten per cent off your services to anyone who introduces three friends. Or ten per cent off a product, if the buyer buys a gift token too. There are many ways you can encourage people to spread the word about your site.
=> 9. Join barter networks
Barter networks are deservedly popular. Join a business barter network, and barter products and services for what you need. You're doing it not as much for the benefits of saving money, you're doing it to spread the word about your business and Web site.
=> 10. Barter advertising
There are many business networks which barter advertising through the network. You can run banner advertising on others' sites, and run banners for them on your own.
"Banner exchanges" were all the rage five years ago, and people went mad with them. This led to banners becoming ineffective. Don't join a large network. Join a small network, or start a small network yourself. Don't run more than one banner on any page.
There you have it. Ten ways to get traffic to your site. These methods work. Please try them, and become a business owner who has no trouble generating traffic.
About the Author
Angela Booth is a veteran copywriter and marketing expert. She writes Web site copy and content, and develops marketing plans for Web sites. Visit her creative copywriting site at http://angelabooth.com/ and her Creativity Factory marketing copywriting blog at http://www.angelabooth.com/wp/
Is Your Web Site Behind the Times?
In today's world, new technologies are being developed at a very rapid pace and are being adapted by the public very quickly. A year ago, did you use an iPod or any other MP3 player? Do you use one now? Have you heard about blogs, podcasts, and networking sites such as MySpace.com? Have you used them? Many consumers have already changed the way in which they get and use information from the web, which means you may want to take a closer look at your company's web site.
Although your company may not need to implement blogs and podcasts, you should at least be aware of the new technologies that are available today, and what kind of impact they are having on your customers and potential customers.
For instance, some of the newer technologies might not have existed when you first launched your web site. But today's users are often already comfortable with them, and ignoring technologies like RSS feeds or interactivity on your web site can give customers a negative impression. New companies and web sites entering your market today are taking advantage of what's popular with consumers, and are developing web sites with new tools and products that may not have been available when you built your web site.
If your competitors have new technology features on their web sites, you should consider what impact this has on your business. Web sites that provide RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, or other interactivity are often perceived as having more value than sites that do not. If your competition has a more up-to-date, feature-rich web site, will you still be able to attract new customers? Or even keep the interest of your current customers?
Try to evaluate these new technologies to see if your web site could benefit from implementing any of them. Not a blog user? Go find a blog you're interested in and check it out! (A good place to start is www.blog-search.com.) Consider adding news headlines from a RSS feed in your industry. Think about adding interactive features such as a dynamic calendar of events, maps, articles, how-to-guides, or even a site-search feature to your web site. Show your customers that your company is progressive by keeping your web site in step with technology, and the impression you make will be a good one.
About the Author
Lauren Hobson is the Editor of Biz Talk Newsletter, a free monthly publication designed to provide small businesses and non-profits with tips and techniques to help them make the most of their web sites and marketing efforts without spending a lot of money. Biz Talk is published by Five Sparrows, LLC. Visit us at http://www.fivesparrows.com or subscribe to Biz Talk at http://www.fivesparrows.com/biztalk.htm.
Although your company may not need to implement blogs and podcasts, you should at least be aware of the new technologies that are available today, and what kind of impact they are having on your customers and potential customers.
For instance, some of the newer technologies might not have existed when you first launched your web site. But today's users are often already comfortable with them, and ignoring technologies like RSS feeds or interactivity on your web site can give customers a negative impression. New companies and web sites entering your market today are taking advantage of what's popular with consumers, and are developing web sites with new tools and products that may not have been available when you built your web site.
If your competitors have new technology features on their web sites, you should consider what impact this has on your business. Web sites that provide RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, or other interactivity are often perceived as having more value than sites that do not. If your competition has a more up-to-date, feature-rich web site, will you still be able to attract new customers? Or even keep the interest of your current customers?
Try to evaluate these new technologies to see if your web site could benefit from implementing any of them. Not a blog user? Go find a blog you're interested in and check it out! (A good place to start is www.blog-search.com.) Consider adding news headlines from a RSS feed in your industry. Think about adding interactive features such as a dynamic calendar of events, maps, articles, how-to-guides, or even a site-search feature to your web site. Show your customers that your company is progressive by keeping your web site in step with technology, and the impression you make will be a good one.
About the Author
Lauren Hobson is the Editor of Biz Talk Newsletter, a free monthly publication designed to provide small businesses and non-profits with tips and techniques to help them make the most of their web sites and marketing efforts without spending a lot of money. Biz Talk is published by Five Sparrows, LLC. Visit us at http://www.fivesparrows.com or subscribe to Biz Talk at http://www.fivesparrows.com/biztalk.htm.
B-to-B direct mail: Don't get lost in the details
It seems that we business-to-business marketers too often get caught up in the details of direct marketing, rather than concentrating on the things that are most important: the list, the offer and the results.
Stop worrying about the unimportant details such as whether it is better to use gray paper or white for your B-to-B direct mailer. It really doesn't matter what color paper you use--if you're mailing to the wrong people with the wrong offer, your campaign is going to bomb.
For example, if you're sending a mailing about graphic design software to chief financial officers -- or sending a mailing about financial forecasting software to design professionals, you're betting against yourself with regard to generating sales leads or orders - no matter how good the copy or offers are.
When planning a business-to-business direct mail campaign, first determine your objective.
* Are you trying to generate sales leads?
* Are you trying to move prospects along the buying cycle?
Your copy and offer should be designed specifically to support your objective.
The next step is to consider your list.
When choosing a list for B-to-B direct marketing, focus on the important things--such as results--instead of worrying about less important details such as the percentage of undeliverables on the list.
A client of mine recently told me she was concerned by the high percentage of undeliverables from a business mailing list she rented. She was seriously considering not using the list again because of it. However, when I reviewed the overall results of previous mailings with her, it was clear that the same mailing list she was questioning generated more leads and sales than any of the other lists she had tested to date. In fact, that list resulted in the best overall return on investment. When considered from that important perspective, the list she was about to not use again was a real winner.
The next step and the best way to boost B-to-B direct mail response rates is to create a strong offer--that is, a targeted offer, or "call to action," that will entice prospects to respond.
In business-to-business direct marketing, educational offers work well for getting people to "raise their hands" and express interest. These types of offers include how-to guides, buying guides, reports, white papers, articles, case studies and invitations to events (e.g., webinars, presentations, seminars).
Also consider boosting your response rates by making multiple offers, each designed to appeal to people at different stages of their consideration/buying process.
However, don't make the mistake of offering something "cool," like an iPod. Yes, you'll get a high response rate, but those responses will be from people who want the iPod, not from people who want your product or service.
The last step is to always make it easy for prospects to respond to your call to action.
Your response form should include the various ways people can request the offer (e.g., Web address, e-mail, toll-free number or even fax). Your form could also include a few questions that elicit the information that you need to determine whether the respondent fits your definition of a qualified lead. Don't ask too many questions, however, as you risk turning off the prospect.
Successful B-to-B direct marketers understand that most of their campaign's success relies on the list and the offers. So be sure to determine the objective of your direct marketing, and then ensure that your list and offers support your objective. Your response rate will be much higher in terms of qualified sales leads.
About the Author
Stop worrying about the unimportant details such as whether it is better to use gray paper or white for your B-to-B direct mailer. It really doesn't matter what color paper you use--if you're mailing to the wrong people with the wrong offer, your campaign is going to bomb.
For example, if you're sending a mailing about graphic design software to chief financial officers -- or sending a mailing about financial forecasting software to design professionals, you're betting against yourself with regard to generating sales leads or orders - no matter how good the copy or offers are.
When planning a business-to-business direct mail campaign, first determine your objective.
* Are you trying to generate sales leads?
* Are you trying to move prospects along the buying cycle?
Your copy and offer should be designed specifically to support your objective.
The next step is to consider your list.
When choosing a list for B-to-B direct marketing, focus on the important things--such as results--instead of worrying about less important details such as the percentage of undeliverables on the list.
A client of mine recently told me she was concerned by the high percentage of undeliverables from a business mailing list she rented. She was seriously considering not using the list again because of it. However, when I reviewed the overall results of previous mailings with her, it was clear that the same mailing list she was questioning generated more leads and sales than any of the other lists she had tested to date. In fact, that list resulted in the best overall return on investment. When considered from that important perspective, the list she was about to not use again was a real winner.
The next step and the best way to boost B-to-B direct mail response rates is to create a strong offer--that is, a targeted offer, or "call to action," that will entice prospects to respond.
In business-to-business direct marketing, educational offers work well for getting people to "raise their hands" and express interest. These types of offers include how-to guides, buying guides, reports, white papers, articles, case studies and invitations to events (e.g., webinars, presentations, seminars).
Also consider boosting your response rates by making multiple offers, each designed to appeal to people at different stages of their consideration/buying process.
However, don't make the mistake of offering something "cool," like an iPod. Yes, you'll get a high response rate, but those responses will be from people who want the iPod, not from people who want your product or service.
The last step is to always make it easy for prospects to respond to your call to action.
Your response form should include the various ways people can request the offer (e.g., Web address, e-mail, toll-free number or even fax). Your form could also include a few questions that elicit the information that you need to determine whether the respondent fits your definition of a qualified lead. Don't ask too many questions, however, as you risk turning off the prospect.
Successful B-to-B direct marketers understand that most of their campaign's success relies on the list and the offers. So be sure to determine the objective of your direct marketing, and then ensure that your list and offers support your objective. Your response rate will be much higher in terms of qualified sales leads.
About the Author
M. H. "Mac" McIntosh is described by many as one of America's leading business-to-business marketing consultants and an expert on the subject of B-to-B direct marketing. To get more high-quality sales leads and turn them into actual sales read his B2B marketing blog, Sales Lead Insights™, visit http://www.sales-lead-insights.com
Thursday, April 26, 2007
The Ipod Audio Revolution
Do you know anyone who today doesn't know what an iPod is? Unless they've been asleep for the last ten years or are totally out of touch with today's technology, the answer is probably not.
But, in case you don't know, just be aware that the iPod, made by Apple (of Macintosh fame), is the absolute king of the MP3 market. Don't know what MP3 is? Well, that's for a seperate article. Speaking of articles, go check out more at http://www.foraudio.com.
The iPod is the most popular and successful portable digital music device in the world. Another way of explaining it is that he iPod is The Format for digital music, period. End of story. You can love the iPod or hate it, but it's hard to dispute the facts. And, or such a tiny device, Apple's iPod sure knows how to throw its weight around!
And, your iPod is about more than just music. Here are a few interesting things to know about an Ipod:
*The iPod is the latest educational tool
*Thanks to the emergence of the podcast, the iPod is a powerful tool that makes learning just about anything fun and more convenient to access
*The latest version of the iPod includes a video player feature
*The iPod is no where even close to being 'out of date'
*Moving your songs to the iPod is as easy as copy a file to a disk
*Although the iPod is an Apple product, it works with both Mac and Windows machines.
*The greatest advantage and disadvantage of an iPod is its small shape.
And there are many more features to mention.
Here is a surprising statistic that you may find of interest: Apple's iPod is turning 5. That's right, the iPod's development dates back to 2001. In that short time it has become such a huge success that some people have predicted that in the future Apple will be more of a music company than a computer company. Well, that remains to be seen, but it could happen.
But one thing is for sure, the iPod is still in the prime of its life and has many years ahead of it even without the upgrades and updates that are sure to come. Add the future improvements to the mix and we have a product that will be with us for many years to come. An iPod is many things to many people, but it can be much more than most people realize.
So, do you have your iPod yet? If not, be sure to do your homework and determing how you will use yours. There are other MP3 players out there, but if you are fashion-concious, the Ipod is your choice.
For many people, their iPod is a constant companion. Are you ready to jump on board?
About the Author
Yvonne Volante, the author, is a big fan of digital music and writes for foraudio.com, which is the premier audio resource on the internet. You can see all of the articles over at http://www.foraudio.com
But, in case you don't know, just be aware that the iPod, made by Apple (of Macintosh fame), is the absolute king of the MP3 market. Don't know what MP3 is? Well, that's for a seperate article. Speaking of articles, go check out more at http://www.foraudio.com.
The iPod is the most popular and successful portable digital music device in the world. Another way of explaining it is that he iPod is The Format for digital music, period. End of story. You can love the iPod or hate it, but it's hard to dispute the facts. And, or such a tiny device, Apple's iPod sure knows how to throw its weight around!
And, your iPod is about more than just music. Here are a few interesting things to know about an Ipod:
*The iPod is the latest educational tool
*Thanks to the emergence of the podcast, the iPod is a powerful tool that makes learning just about anything fun and more convenient to access
*The latest version of the iPod includes a video player feature
*The iPod is no where even close to being 'out of date'
*Moving your songs to the iPod is as easy as copy a file to a disk
*Although the iPod is an Apple product, it works with both Mac and Windows machines.
*The greatest advantage and disadvantage of an iPod is its small shape.
And there are many more features to mention.
Here is a surprising statistic that you may find of interest: Apple's iPod is turning 5. That's right, the iPod's development dates back to 2001. In that short time it has become such a huge success that some people have predicted that in the future Apple will be more of a music company than a computer company. Well, that remains to be seen, but it could happen.
But one thing is for sure, the iPod is still in the prime of its life and has many years ahead of it even without the upgrades and updates that are sure to come. Add the future improvements to the mix and we have a product that will be with us for many years to come. An iPod is many things to many people, but it can be much more than most people realize.
So, do you have your iPod yet? If not, be sure to do your homework and determing how you will use yours. There are other MP3 players out there, but if you are fashion-concious, the Ipod is your choice.
For many people, their iPod is a constant companion. Are you ready to jump on board?
About the Author
Yvonne Volante, the author, is a big fan of digital music and writes for foraudio.com, which is the premier audio resource on the internet. You can see all of the articles over at http://www.foraudio.com
eMarketing 101- Chapter 1: What is eMarketing and how is it better than traditional marketing
Marketing has pretty much been around forever in one form or another. Since the day when humans first started trading whatever it was that they first traded, marketing was there. Marketing was the stories they used to convince other humans to trade. Humans have come a long way since then, (Well, we like to think we have) and marketing has too.
The methods of marketing have changed and improved, and we've become a lot more efficient at telling our stories and getting our marketing messages out there. eMarketing is the product of the meeting between modern communication technologies and the age-old marketing principles that humans have always applied.
That said, the specifics are reasonably complex and are best handled piece by piece. So we've decided to break it all down and tackle the parts one at a time. This week we'll be looking at the "what" and "why" of eMarketing, outlining the benefits and pointing out how it differs from traditional marketing methods.
By the end of the series we're pretty sure you'll have everything you need to tell better marketing stories.
What is eMarketing?
Very simply put, eMarketing or electronic marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques via electronic media and more specifically the Internet. The terms eMarketing, Internet marketing and online marketing, are frequently interchanged, and can often be considered synonymous.
eMarketing is the process of marketing a brand using the Internet. It includes both direct response marketing and indirect marketing elements and uses a range of technologies to help connect businesses to their customers.
By such a definition, eMarketing encompasses all the activities a business conducts via the worldwide web with the aim of attracting new business, retaining current business and developing its brand identity.
Why is it important?
When implemented correctly, the return on investment (ROI) from eMarketing can far exceed that of traditional marketing strategies.
Whether you're a "bricks and mortar" business or a concern operating purely online, the Internet is a force that cannot be ignored. It can be a means to reach literally millions of people every year. It's at the forefront of a redefinition of way businesses interact with their customers.
The benefits of eMarketing over traditional marketing Reach
The nature of the internet means businesses now have a truly global reach. While traditional media costs limit this kind of reach to huge multinationals, eMarketing opens up new avenues for smaller businesses, on a much smaller budget, to access potential consumers from all over the world.
Scope
Internet marketing allows the marketer to reach consumers in a wide range of ways and enables them to offer a wide range of products and services. eMarketing includes, among other things, information management, public relations, customer service and sales. With the range of new technologies becoming available all the time, this scope can only grow.
Interactivity
Whereas traditional marketing is largely about getting a brand's message out there, eMarketing facilitates conversations between companies and consumers. With a two-way communication channel, companies can feed off of the responses of their consumers, making them more dynamic and adaptive.
Immediacy
Internet marketing is able to, in ways never before imagined, provide an immediate impact.
Imagine you're reading your favourite magazine. You see a double-page advert for some new product or service, maybe BMW's latest luxury sedan or Apple's latest iPod offering. With this kind of traditional media, it's not that easy for you, the consumer, to take the step from hearing about a product to actual acquisition.
With eMarketing, it's easy to make that step as simple as possible, meaning that within a few short clicks you could have booked a test drive or ordered the iPod. And all of this can happen regardless of normal office hours. Effectively, Internet marketing makes business hours 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for every week of the year.
By closing the gap between providing information and eliciting a consumer reaction, the consumer's buying cycle is speeded up and advertising spend can go much further in creating immediate leads.
Demographics and targeting
Generally speaking, the demographics of the Internet are a marketer's dream. Internet users, considered as a group, have greater buying power and could perhaps be considered as a population group skewed towards the middle-classes.
Buying power is not all though. The nature of the Internet is such that its users will tend to organise themselves into far more focussed groupings. Savvy marketers who know where to look can quite easily find access to the niche markets they wish to target. Marketing messages are most effective when they are presented directly to the audience most likely to be interested. The Internet creates the perfect environment for niche marketing to targeted groups.
Adaptivity and closed loop marketing
Closed Loop Marketing requires the constant measurement and analysis of the results of marketing initiatives. By continuously tracking the response and effectiveness of a campaign, the marketer can be far more dynamic in adapting to consumers' wants and needs.
With eMarketing, responses can be analysed in real-time and campaigns can be tweaked continuously. Combined with the immediacy of the Internet as a medium, this means that there's minimal advertising spend wasted on less than effective campaigns.
Maximum marketing efficiency from eMarketing creates new opportunities to seize strategic competitive advantages.
The combination of all these factors results in an improved ROI and ultimately, more customers, happier customers and an improved bottom line.
Next up in the eMarketing 101 series:
Having identified the "why" of eMarketing, our next article in the series will look at the "how". We'll be glancing at some of the weaponry in the eMarketer's arsenal, and looking at how these tools should be used to target customers.
SEO, >PPC, ORM, WebPR - the acronyms are never far behind. We'll take a brief look at each, defining what they are and giving some guidance in terms of which tactic to use in a given situation to ensure optimum ROI on advertising spend.
Later on, we'll examine each of these weapons more closely and see just how they are used to produce results.
Other Articles in the eMarketing 101 series:
* What is eMarketing and how is it better than traditional marketing?
* The Arrows in the eMarketer's quiver
* Blogging - everyone else is doing it, so why can't I?
* A focus on natural search (beginner's guide to SEO)
* Case Study
* PPC - you gets what you pays for
* Case Study
* Email marketing - no, not SPAM
* Affiliate marketing - because we all need friends
* WebPR and ORM - blah blah blah conversations
* Case Study
* Viral marketing - linkerbation is a normal, natural thing. Perfectly natural.
* Online advertising - throwing a banner into the works
* Conversion optimisation. Are you closing the deal?
* Case Study
About the Author
The services offered by Quirk eMarketing include everything from the conceptualisation of a comprehensive online marketing strategy, through to the implementation of the various methods needed to make that vision a reality.
The methods of marketing have changed and improved, and we've become a lot more efficient at telling our stories and getting our marketing messages out there. eMarketing is the product of the meeting between modern communication technologies and the age-old marketing principles that humans have always applied.
That said, the specifics are reasonably complex and are best handled piece by piece. So we've decided to break it all down and tackle the parts one at a time. This week we'll be looking at the "what" and "why" of eMarketing, outlining the benefits and pointing out how it differs from traditional marketing methods.
By the end of the series we're pretty sure you'll have everything you need to tell better marketing stories.
What is eMarketing?
Very simply put, eMarketing or electronic marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques via electronic media and more specifically the Internet. The terms eMarketing, Internet marketing and online marketing, are frequently interchanged, and can often be considered synonymous.
eMarketing is the process of marketing a brand using the Internet. It includes both direct response marketing and indirect marketing elements and uses a range of technologies to help connect businesses to their customers.
By such a definition, eMarketing encompasses all the activities a business conducts via the worldwide web with the aim of attracting new business, retaining current business and developing its brand identity.
Why is it important?
When implemented correctly, the return on investment (ROI) from eMarketing can far exceed that of traditional marketing strategies.
Whether you're a "bricks and mortar" business or a concern operating purely online, the Internet is a force that cannot be ignored. It can be a means to reach literally millions of people every year. It's at the forefront of a redefinition of way businesses interact with their customers.
The benefits of eMarketing over traditional marketing Reach
The nature of the internet means businesses now have a truly global reach. While traditional media costs limit this kind of reach to huge multinationals, eMarketing opens up new avenues for smaller businesses, on a much smaller budget, to access potential consumers from all over the world.
Scope
Internet marketing allows the marketer to reach consumers in a wide range of ways and enables them to offer a wide range of products and services. eMarketing includes, among other things, information management, public relations, customer service and sales. With the range of new technologies becoming available all the time, this scope can only grow.
Interactivity
Whereas traditional marketing is largely about getting a brand's message out there, eMarketing facilitates conversations between companies and consumers. With a two-way communication channel, companies can feed off of the responses of their consumers, making them more dynamic and adaptive.
Immediacy
Internet marketing is able to, in ways never before imagined, provide an immediate impact.
Imagine you're reading your favourite magazine. You see a double-page advert for some new product or service, maybe BMW's latest luxury sedan or Apple's latest iPod offering. With this kind of traditional media, it's not that easy for you, the consumer, to take the step from hearing about a product to actual acquisition.
With eMarketing, it's easy to make that step as simple as possible, meaning that within a few short clicks you could have booked a test drive or ordered the iPod. And all of this can happen regardless of normal office hours. Effectively, Internet marketing makes business hours 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for every week of the year.
By closing the gap between providing information and eliciting a consumer reaction, the consumer's buying cycle is speeded up and advertising spend can go much further in creating immediate leads.
Demographics and targeting
Generally speaking, the demographics of the Internet are a marketer's dream. Internet users, considered as a group, have greater buying power and could perhaps be considered as a population group skewed towards the middle-classes.
Buying power is not all though. The nature of the Internet is such that its users will tend to organise themselves into far more focussed groupings. Savvy marketers who know where to look can quite easily find access to the niche markets they wish to target. Marketing messages are most effective when they are presented directly to the audience most likely to be interested. The Internet creates the perfect environment for niche marketing to targeted groups.
Adaptivity and closed loop marketing
Closed Loop Marketing requires the constant measurement and analysis of the results of marketing initiatives. By continuously tracking the response and effectiveness of a campaign, the marketer can be far more dynamic in adapting to consumers' wants and needs.
With eMarketing, responses can be analysed in real-time and campaigns can be tweaked continuously. Combined with the immediacy of the Internet as a medium, this means that there's minimal advertising spend wasted on less than effective campaigns.
Maximum marketing efficiency from eMarketing creates new opportunities to seize strategic competitive advantages.
The combination of all these factors results in an improved ROI and ultimately, more customers, happier customers and an improved bottom line.
Next up in the eMarketing 101 series:
Having identified the "why" of eMarketing, our next article in the series will look at the "how". We'll be glancing at some of the weaponry in the eMarketer's arsenal, and looking at how these tools should be used to target customers.
SEO, >PPC, ORM, WebPR - the acronyms are never far behind. We'll take a brief look at each, defining what they are and giving some guidance in terms of which tactic to use in a given situation to ensure optimum ROI on advertising spend.
Later on, we'll examine each of these weapons more closely and see just how they are used to produce results.
Other Articles in the eMarketing 101 series:
* What is eMarketing and how is it better than traditional marketing?
* The Arrows in the eMarketer's quiver
* Blogging - everyone else is doing it, so why can't I?
* A focus on natural search (beginner's guide to SEO)
* Case Study
* PPC - you gets what you pays for
* Case Study
* Email marketing - no, not SPAM
* Affiliate marketing - because we all need friends
* WebPR and ORM - blah blah blah conversations
* Case Study
* Viral marketing - linkerbation is a normal, natural thing. Perfectly natural.
* Online advertising - throwing a banner into the works
* Conversion optimisation. Are you closing the deal?
* Case Study
About the Author
The services offered by Quirk eMarketing include everything from the conceptualisation of a comprehensive online marketing strategy, through to the implementation of the various methods needed to make that vision a reality.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Write Off Your iPod as a Business Expense
If you've been eyeing those sleek new iPods, but you didn't like the price tag, Uncle Same wants to help you buy one.
Before I go on, here's the standard CYA...
I'm providing this as information only. It's up to you and your tax professional to figure out if this is indeed a legitimate tax strategy for you. Now on with the show...
There are two principles at work here:
1) You have the right to deduct reasonable and necessary business expenses from your income before calculating tax on that income.
2) Continuing education to improve your business results has long been recognized as a reasonable and necessary expense.
So where does that shiny new iPod fit in?
If you're like me, you have many hours of mp3 recordings on your hard drive-- recorded conference calls, teleseminars, webcasts and other educational materials. I know I have well over 100 hours of such material on my hard drive.
There are also an increasing number of podcasts available dealing with business topics. Listening to those relevant to your business contributes to your ongoing business education.
There are also similar offerings on subjects like investing, tax planning, and so on.
Purchase your iPod through your business, and you can expense the total cost the year you buy it.
How's this for leverage?
You (meaning your business) spends $200 for a new iPod. You write off the entire cost this year, reducing your taxable income by $200.
You load up that 4 hour webinar you've been meaning to get around to, and listen while commuting. You learn something that adds $200 to your bottom line immediately.
Congratulations! You just got your iPod for zero net cost.
And the iPod is so small and light that you can leverage a lot of dead time (commuting, waiting in line, workouts at the gym, etc.) into productive continuing business education.
And it even plays music!
Music to help you concentrate while writing that new article or newsletter.
Making that music a deduction on its own.
As one guru said, the proper question is not
"Can I deduct this?"
The proper question is
"How can I deduct this?"
About the Author
John McCabe covers business topics like tax savings for the Success Letter, part of John McCabe's Web Guides
Before I go on, here's the standard CYA...
I'm providing this as information only. It's up to you and your tax professional to figure out if this is indeed a legitimate tax strategy for you. Now on with the show...
There are two principles at work here:
1) You have the right to deduct reasonable and necessary business expenses from your income before calculating tax on that income.
2) Continuing education to improve your business results has long been recognized as a reasonable and necessary expense.
So where does that shiny new iPod fit in?
If you're like me, you have many hours of mp3 recordings on your hard drive-- recorded conference calls, teleseminars, webcasts and other educational materials. I know I have well over 100 hours of such material on my hard drive.
There are also an increasing number of podcasts available dealing with business topics. Listening to those relevant to your business contributes to your ongoing business education.
There are also similar offerings on subjects like investing, tax planning, and so on.
Purchase your iPod through your business, and you can expense the total cost the year you buy it.
How's this for leverage?
You (meaning your business) spends $200 for a new iPod. You write off the entire cost this year, reducing your taxable income by $200.
You load up that 4 hour webinar you've been meaning to get around to, and listen while commuting. You learn something that adds $200 to your bottom line immediately.
Congratulations! You just got your iPod for zero net cost.
And the iPod is so small and light that you can leverage a lot of dead time (commuting, waiting in line, workouts at the gym, etc.) into productive continuing business education.
And it even plays music!
Music to help you concentrate while writing that new article or newsletter.
Making that music a deduction on its own.
As one guru said, the proper question is not
"Can I deduct this?"
The proper question is
"How can I deduct this?"
About the Author
John McCabe covers business topics like tax savings for the Success Letter, part of John McCabe's Web Guides
iPod Music Downloads – Free or Cheap Download Is Better?
iPod music downloads are available to music lovers either for free or at a cost. It can be perplexing to users as to why some sites could offer music downloads for free while some charges a fee. Let’s dwell a little deeper into the world of online iPod music and find out whether it is better to download free music or pay for your iPod music downloads.
When talking about free iPod music downloads, we are referring to downloading music files directly from sources such as Kazaa or LimeWire. These sites are essentially file sharing networks or what we term as peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where the music files are shared.
Now, there are some concerns associated with downloading free music from these networks. One potential problem could be the legality of the iPod music downloads. There could be instances where copyrighted music is uploaded and shared. This is in direct violation of copyright laws. Users could be toeing the line when downloading these copyrighted music files. While this may be true, there are millions of files that are uploaded by amateur musicians and singers who use these sites as a platform to share their music and songs and to launch their careers. These files are completely legal to download. In fact, talent scouting folks do scour these sites in search of the next Big Thing.
There are a host of other shortcomings you may have to deal with if you are considering if you should get some iPod music downloads from these specific sites. The security and protection from attacks of adware, spyware and viruses, or rather the lack of it when downloading the iPod music files is a cause for concern. The downloading speeds could be incredibly slow and the audio quality of the songs and music can be exceptionally poor. Some users have also complained that the songs are incomplete. You wouldn’t want to trade your precious time to download such iPod music that isn’t worth listening to. So it seems that there is some truth in the saying, “There aren’t any Free Lunch in this world.”
On the flipside of the industry is another group of iPod music downloads sites that have recently emerged. These sites offer users memberships to access millions of music and music video download files. It’s not free definitely, but you would be surprised to know that the price of lifetime memberships costs lesser than what you would be paying for a full-length music video DVD at some stores. Word has spread among the online music community that the problems discussed earlier about downloading iPod music files are non-existent at these download sites. It makes sense now why increasing numbers of people are turning to these sites to satisfy their iPod music hunger. Learn more at my blog about which are the iPod music sites that are fast gaining status as top sites for iPod music downloads.
The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.
About the Author
Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod music downloads - digital quality music and music videos instantly and easily from home at ipod--music-download.blogspot.com.
When talking about free iPod music downloads, we are referring to downloading music files directly from sources such as Kazaa or LimeWire. These sites are essentially file sharing networks or what we term as peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where the music files are shared.
Now, there are some concerns associated with downloading free music from these networks. One potential problem could be the legality of the iPod music downloads. There could be instances where copyrighted music is uploaded and shared. This is in direct violation of copyright laws. Users could be toeing the line when downloading these copyrighted music files. While this may be true, there are millions of files that are uploaded by amateur musicians and singers who use these sites as a platform to share their music and songs and to launch their careers. These files are completely legal to download. In fact, talent scouting folks do scour these sites in search of the next Big Thing.
There are a host of other shortcomings you may have to deal with if you are considering if you should get some iPod music downloads from these specific sites. The security and protection from attacks of adware, spyware and viruses, or rather the lack of it when downloading the iPod music files is a cause for concern. The downloading speeds could be incredibly slow and the audio quality of the songs and music can be exceptionally poor. Some users have also complained that the songs are incomplete. You wouldn’t want to trade your precious time to download such iPod music that isn’t worth listening to. So it seems that there is some truth in the saying, “There aren’t any Free Lunch in this world.”
On the flipside of the industry is another group of iPod music downloads sites that have recently emerged. These sites offer users memberships to access millions of music and music video download files. It’s not free definitely, but you would be surprised to know that the price of lifetime memberships costs lesser than what you would be paying for a full-length music video DVD at some stores. Word has spread among the online music community that the problems discussed earlier about downloading iPod music files are non-existent at these download sites. It makes sense now why increasing numbers of people are turning to these sites to satisfy their iPod music hunger. Learn more at my blog about which are the iPod music sites that are fast gaining status as top sites for iPod music downloads.
The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.
About the Author
Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod music downloads - digital quality music and music videos instantly and easily from home at ipod--music-download.blogspot.com.
iPod Download Tips - What You Don’t Know About iPod Song Downloads
The technology behind iPod downloads is interesting. If you are an iPod user, it is not new to you that you simply cannot download those stored song files in your iPod to your computer. In short, iTunes only allow a one-way transfer of files, from the computer via iTunes to your iPod device but not vice versa. People have questioned the rational behind this somewhat inconvenient shortfall in the design of these portable digital devices. We will find out in this article how we can work around this inconvenience and also explore other cost-effective ways to download tons of songs and music videos for pennies.
No, it is not because there is a design flaw but rather the design intention to ward off attempts of piracy, ie indiscriminate duplication of music files to be sold or shared. It may sound harsh to say that even sharing song files with friends could be illegal, but it is true that you may be in danger of infringing into copyright laws. The copyright laws are put in place to govern and protect the intellectual properties of their creators, the musicians, etc so that it remains profitable for them to run their music business. Without that, the music industry slowly wanes and dies a natural death. As a consumer, or music lover, you obviously won’t want that to happen right?
However, not being able to download iPod songs from iPod to computer meant that we cannot do a backup of our song collection. This can be a nasty experience if our computer crashes or when our iPods are faulty. There is a need for easy transfer of song files between the iPod device and any computer such that retrieval would not be so painful. The “piracy-proof” functionality of the iPod device to prevent transfers of songs to a computer ended up becoming a handicap for owners who genuinely just want to do proper backups.
Software developers saw this shortfall coming and have already designed some applications to work around this problem. iPod users can now conveniently carry out transfers from their iPods to their computers with ease, without fear of formatting problems. Here’s a list of iPod-compatible software applications supported by Mac/Windows Operating System that are available for downloading. Free trials are available for testing.
1. iPod Music Liberator
2. iPodRip
3. PodUtil
4. iPod Access
With the above software, you can rest at ease, knowing that your private iPod downloads of song and music collection is safe even when your iPod or computer is down. I am sure you have heard of horrific stories where folks who have painstakingly built up a huge iPod music collection only to see them wiped out with a technical glitch. It’s not a matter of effort only but the amount of money that has been invested into the iPod downloads.
Fortunately, there is now a better way to download iPod songs, music and music videos. In the past year, other than iTunes, many new players have entered into the market changing the business model of paid iPod downloads. Instead of charging per iPod download of song or music video, these membership sites are offering life-time membership for pennies. Considering the vast library of millions of iPod downloads they offer which range from the latest music to movies and TV shows, it is proving to be a more worthwhile investment for iPod users. Learn more about how you can access to unlimited iPod downloads of music and other media files at my iPod blog.
The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.
About the Author
Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod downloads - digital quality music, full length DVD quality movies, TV shows and videos legally and easily from home at ipod-downloads-site.blogspot.com.
No, it is not because there is a design flaw but rather the design intention to ward off attempts of piracy, ie indiscriminate duplication of music files to be sold or shared. It may sound harsh to say that even sharing song files with friends could be illegal, but it is true that you may be in danger of infringing into copyright laws. The copyright laws are put in place to govern and protect the intellectual properties of their creators, the musicians, etc so that it remains profitable for them to run their music business. Without that, the music industry slowly wanes and dies a natural death. As a consumer, or music lover, you obviously won’t want that to happen right?
However, not being able to download iPod songs from iPod to computer meant that we cannot do a backup of our song collection. This can be a nasty experience if our computer crashes or when our iPods are faulty. There is a need for easy transfer of song files between the iPod device and any computer such that retrieval would not be so painful. The “piracy-proof” functionality of the iPod device to prevent transfers of songs to a computer ended up becoming a handicap for owners who genuinely just want to do proper backups.
Software developers saw this shortfall coming and have already designed some applications to work around this problem. iPod users can now conveniently carry out transfers from their iPods to their computers with ease, without fear of formatting problems. Here’s a list of iPod-compatible software applications supported by Mac/Windows Operating System that are available for downloading. Free trials are available for testing.
1. iPod Music Liberator
2. iPodRip
3. PodUtil
4. iPod Access
With the above software, you can rest at ease, knowing that your private iPod downloads of song and music collection is safe even when your iPod or computer is down. I am sure you have heard of horrific stories where folks who have painstakingly built up a huge iPod music collection only to see them wiped out with a technical glitch. It’s not a matter of effort only but the amount of money that has been invested into the iPod downloads.
Fortunately, there is now a better way to download iPod songs, music and music videos. In the past year, other than iTunes, many new players have entered into the market changing the business model of paid iPod downloads. Instead of charging per iPod download of song or music video, these membership sites are offering life-time membership for pennies. Considering the vast library of millions of iPod downloads they offer which range from the latest music to movies and TV shows, it is proving to be a more worthwhile investment for iPod users. Learn more about how you can access to unlimited iPod downloads of music and other media files at my iPod blog.
The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.
About the Author
Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod downloads - digital quality music, full length DVD quality movies, TV shows and videos legally and easily from home at ipod-downloads-site.blogspot.com.
iPod Music Downloads – Download iPod Music to Your Heart’s Content
Downloading iPod music always brings thrill to users whenever they manage to find the tune they are searching for. Just not long ago, when radio was the only free source of music, people would stay tuned to their radio or portable receiver. Then CDs came along, followed by music MP3s. It is apparent that the MP3 player has invaded almost all the modern homes of America. Chances are you would find one MP3 player or more specifically an iPod in the homes since it is the most popular MP3 player. More than 21 million iPods were sold in just the last quarter of 2006 alone, boosted by the Christmas sales. Having a nice gadget with such enhanced capacity to hold hundreds to even thousands of songs and music is not enough. You need to know how and where to get hold of unlimited iPod music downloads in order to do justice to your iPod.
When people think of iPod music downloads, the first place they would think of is iTunes. If you do a quick review, you would discover that they have a wide selection of over 3.5 million songs, movies and over 200 TV shows, over 20,000 audio books, games etc. Prices range from $0.99 for a music track, and movies retail at $9.99 per movie, while TV show sells at $1.99 per episode. Frankly, that’s quite a large database of iPod media files and there are old fans who stick with it since that’s probably the very first site that they knew and got their first iPod music downloads.
However, there are others who feel that it is ridiculously expensive if they want to beef up a private stash of music and songs with tons of iPod music downloads. Naturally, they would switch to downloading iPod music at free download sites like Kazaa or Limewire. Why should anyone bother to download iPod music that comes with a price tag each time you do so? People quickly figured this out and as a result, huge demand for free iPod music downloads ensued. More download sites using the same concept as Kazaa pop up.
But there are some problems with downloading iPod music at sites like Kazaa. These download sites would expose your computer system to malware such as viruses, adware and spyware. In exchange for downloading iPod music for free, you are obliged to view those pop-up advertisements, or commercial ads. Needless to say, this would badly affect your PC’s performance such as speed and memory and its functionality. Imagine the kind of trouble you would be in should your PC crash on you and wipe out all your important files and documents. The reformatting, reinstallation and so on so forth is something most people would love to avoid.
Business owners saw the loopholes and pitfalls in these free iPod music downloads sites. In meeting the ever-increasing demand for cheap music downloads for iPod, new membership sites that offer lifetime access to millions of iPod music files, music videos, and other media files like business audio books, TV shows and movies came into the music scene. Instead of a pay-per-download fee structure, they go for a one-time fee based concept. Various download sites charge a different fee but it is generally in the low range of $40. The music community, especially iPod users has welcomed such a refreshing change. Music enthusiasts can now access to as many iPod music downloads as they wish, without expensive charges under an environment safe from malware attacks.
Read my blog to find out how it is possible to access to millions of iPod music downloads and get the latest tips and reviews of top iPod music sites.
The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.
About the Author
Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod music downloads - digital quality music and music videos instantly and easily from home at ipod--music-download.blogspot.com.
When people think of iPod music downloads, the first place they would think of is iTunes. If you do a quick review, you would discover that they have a wide selection of over 3.5 million songs, movies and over 200 TV shows, over 20,000 audio books, games etc. Prices range from $0.99 for a music track, and movies retail at $9.99 per movie, while TV show sells at $1.99 per episode. Frankly, that’s quite a large database of iPod media files and there are old fans who stick with it since that’s probably the very first site that they knew and got their first iPod music downloads.
However, there are others who feel that it is ridiculously expensive if they want to beef up a private stash of music and songs with tons of iPod music downloads. Naturally, they would switch to downloading iPod music at free download sites like Kazaa or Limewire. Why should anyone bother to download iPod music that comes with a price tag each time you do so? People quickly figured this out and as a result, huge demand for free iPod music downloads ensued. More download sites using the same concept as Kazaa pop up.
But there are some problems with downloading iPod music at sites like Kazaa. These download sites would expose your computer system to malware such as viruses, adware and spyware. In exchange for downloading iPod music for free, you are obliged to view those pop-up advertisements, or commercial ads. Needless to say, this would badly affect your PC’s performance such as speed and memory and its functionality. Imagine the kind of trouble you would be in should your PC crash on you and wipe out all your important files and documents. The reformatting, reinstallation and so on so forth is something most people would love to avoid.
Business owners saw the loopholes and pitfalls in these free iPod music downloads sites. In meeting the ever-increasing demand for cheap music downloads for iPod, new membership sites that offer lifetime access to millions of iPod music files, music videos, and other media files like business audio books, TV shows and movies came into the music scene. Instead of a pay-per-download fee structure, they go for a one-time fee based concept. Various download sites charge a different fee but it is generally in the low range of $40. The music community, especially iPod users has welcomed such a refreshing change. Music enthusiasts can now access to as many iPod music downloads as they wish, without expensive charges under an environment safe from malware attacks.
Read my blog to find out how it is possible to access to millions of iPod music downloads and get the latest tips and reviews of top iPod music sites.
The content of this article is provided for the purpose of education and illustration only and is in no way associated with Apple, iTune, or any company or subsidiary of Apple. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.
About the Author
Davion is a successful webmaster and author. Find out how you can access to unlimited ipod music downloads - digital quality music and music videos instantly and easily from home at ipod--music-download.blogspot.com.
Monday, April 23, 2007
The Digital Signage Industry and International Growth
Over the past several months we've been speaking about the growth in the digital signage industry on the NAMC Newswire and how this growth will continue to move forward in 2007 and beyond, not only in the United States but also globally. We've spoken about the companies that are actually offering digital signage solutions to advertisers and if you just take a stroll in Times Square in New York City you can see digital signage at its best.
But there are companies that play a vital role in the digital signage business that allow content to be delivered and changed at will, they allow for advertisers to reach their target market with the press of a button. They give retail stores, banks, shopping malls, convenience stores and other outlets the opportunity to either deliver their messages to their customers or generate additional revenue through the sale of advertising space on their digital systems.
Through the use of compelling content with advertising embedded within the content, such companies have the ability to seamlessly integrate an advertisers message with content that would attract the attention of consumers.
One other important element in digital signage are the actual units, the LCD or LED screens that you see at various retail locations that provide dynamic digital content. The problem has been that the expense of such systems becomes a blockade in more retailers implementing such systems.
New Age Media Concepts has found a solution that may intrigue more retailers, banks, shopping malls, airports, convenience stores and building owners to implement digital signage within their locations. New Age Media Concepts has long been a voice in the digital signage arena and they have formed NAMC Digital along with D2Ads to provide high quality digital signage solutions at affordable rates.
Through NAMC Digital venues will be able to not only offer advertisers the opportunity to advertise to their customer base but also integrate that with viable content making it less intrusive. Venues such as commercial banks or retail stores actually have the opportunity to feature the latest sales offers, events, new product launches and more at rates that are surprisingly affordable.
The beauty of the system is that all that is required is power, no cables are needed to be run through the locations, no computer or boxes are needed to be placed in a small room, this seamless integration within a venue provides ease of use and the ability to change or rotate content with ease.
As we move deeper into the mobile lifestyle, as I've written many times about, consumers are becoming more difficult to connect with. This is pushing more advertisers to seek alternative forms of advertising, from connecting with consumers via cell phones to dynamic digital displays, and they are doing it more now than ever. Commercial environments such as banks, retail stores and sports venues are beginning to see the value in digital signage and are implementing them within their venues, this is just the beginning of the growth and NAMC Digital along with D2Ads looks forward to playing a vital role in this growth.
Although major players in the digital signage industry include the likes of PRN Corporation; which creates in-store media networks for major retailers in the United States such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Circuit City (NYSE: CC) and Albertsons (NYSE: ABS). They are one of the driving forces in the digital signage industry but as technology advances so should they and currently they have a need to upgrade their technology, which is something that NAMC Digital and D2Ads would be able to do for them.
On the International front you have Focus Media Holding Ltd (NASDAQ: FMCN) they are heavily involved in the digital signage business in Shanghai China and recently acquired one of their competitors by the name of Dotad that operates the largest Wireless Access Protocol in Beijing China. With the growth in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, Focus Media is in a position to grow but their one problem is technology due to restrictions in the region. Even in this case NAMC Digital/D2Ads would be an asset to Focus Media Holdings in furnishing them not only with the technology but assist them in receiving approval in the region.
So in short NAMC Digital along with D2Ads has all the tools necessary to furnish any venue or retail store with the equipment, technology and content to suit their needs.
Charles Yoo, Preesident of the privately held D2Ads, has strategically positioned his company to make an impact in the billion-dollar digital signage industry. This is what he had to say in a brief statement "We are excited about our partnership with New Age Media Concepts' NAMC Digital division, we feel that this strategic alliance will afford us the opportunity to take advantage of the growth opportunities in the industry currently."
Keep in mind that companies such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), which is coming out with their new Zune shortly and Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL) which is on top of the heap in the digital entertainment arena with the popular iPod, are opening the doors wide open in the digital arena by connecting with users on the go. This is another avenue that is being tapped by advertisers, digital mobile marketing.
We can only predict what may happen in the future within the digital signage arena but to date the progress has not let us down one bit, advertisers and their agencies are beginning to see the value and the retail stores as well as the sports venues and shopping malls are all slowly but surely coming around.
So the combination of NAMC Digital and D2Ads makes them well positioned to capture new business and additional market share from existing digital signage customers not only in the United States but globally.
The group is also positioned to form strategic alliances globally to not only expand their reach but to tie in various other digital marketing vehicles around the world.
To find out more about what NAMC Digital/D2Ads offers or to contact them to inquire about a potential strategic alliance go to www.namct.com/digitalsignage or www.d2ads.com
Louis Victor NAMC Newswire www.namcnewswire.com
This article can be republished either online or in print as long as credit is given to the author and the NAMC Newswire. NAMC Newswire articles can now be listened to on StreetIQ.com http://www.streetiq.com/dir/NAMC.shtml
About the Author
Louis Victor is the host of the syndicated radio show and financial newsletter "Wall Street to Main Street" which is featured on the NAMC Newswire Radio. He has been involved in the financial industry for over two decades, on the retail and investment banking ends. He is also well versed in the advertising and marketing industries, which has given him insight into market trends and unqiue companies that may be under the radar.
But there are companies that play a vital role in the digital signage business that allow content to be delivered and changed at will, they allow for advertisers to reach their target market with the press of a button. They give retail stores, banks, shopping malls, convenience stores and other outlets the opportunity to either deliver their messages to their customers or generate additional revenue through the sale of advertising space on their digital systems.
Through the use of compelling content with advertising embedded within the content, such companies have the ability to seamlessly integrate an advertisers message with content that would attract the attention of consumers.
One other important element in digital signage are the actual units, the LCD or LED screens that you see at various retail locations that provide dynamic digital content. The problem has been that the expense of such systems becomes a blockade in more retailers implementing such systems.
New Age Media Concepts has found a solution that may intrigue more retailers, banks, shopping malls, airports, convenience stores and building owners to implement digital signage within their locations. New Age Media Concepts has long been a voice in the digital signage arena and they have formed NAMC Digital along with D2Ads to provide high quality digital signage solutions at affordable rates.
Through NAMC Digital venues will be able to not only offer advertisers the opportunity to advertise to their customer base but also integrate that with viable content making it less intrusive. Venues such as commercial banks or retail stores actually have the opportunity to feature the latest sales offers, events, new product launches and more at rates that are surprisingly affordable.
The beauty of the system is that all that is required is power, no cables are needed to be run through the locations, no computer or boxes are needed to be placed in a small room, this seamless integration within a venue provides ease of use and the ability to change or rotate content with ease.
As we move deeper into the mobile lifestyle, as I've written many times about, consumers are becoming more difficult to connect with. This is pushing more advertisers to seek alternative forms of advertising, from connecting with consumers via cell phones to dynamic digital displays, and they are doing it more now than ever. Commercial environments such as banks, retail stores and sports venues are beginning to see the value in digital signage and are implementing them within their venues, this is just the beginning of the growth and NAMC Digital along with D2Ads looks forward to playing a vital role in this growth.
Although major players in the digital signage industry include the likes of PRN Corporation; which creates in-store media networks for major retailers in the United States such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Circuit City (NYSE: CC) and Albertsons (NYSE: ABS). They are one of the driving forces in the digital signage industry but as technology advances so should they and currently they have a need to upgrade their technology, which is something that NAMC Digital and D2Ads would be able to do for them.
On the International front you have Focus Media Holding Ltd (NASDAQ: FMCN) they are heavily involved in the digital signage business in Shanghai China and recently acquired one of their competitors by the name of Dotad that operates the largest Wireless Access Protocol in Beijing China. With the growth in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, Focus Media is in a position to grow but their one problem is technology due to restrictions in the region. Even in this case NAMC Digital/D2Ads would be an asset to Focus Media Holdings in furnishing them not only with the technology but assist them in receiving approval in the region.
So in short NAMC Digital along with D2Ads has all the tools necessary to furnish any venue or retail store with the equipment, technology and content to suit their needs.
Charles Yoo, Preesident of the privately held D2Ads, has strategically positioned his company to make an impact in the billion-dollar digital signage industry. This is what he had to say in a brief statement "We are excited about our partnership with New Age Media Concepts' NAMC Digital division, we feel that this strategic alliance will afford us the opportunity to take advantage of the growth opportunities in the industry currently."
Keep in mind that companies such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), which is coming out with their new Zune shortly and Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL) which is on top of the heap in the digital entertainment arena with the popular iPod, are opening the doors wide open in the digital arena by connecting with users on the go. This is another avenue that is being tapped by advertisers, digital mobile marketing.
We can only predict what may happen in the future within the digital signage arena but to date the progress has not let us down one bit, advertisers and their agencies are beginning to see the value and the retail stores as well as the sports venues and shopping malls are all slowly but surely coming around.
So the combination of NAMC Digital and D2Ads makes them well positioned to capture new business and additional market share from existing digital signage customers not only in the United States but globally.
The group is also positioned to form strategic alliances globally to not only expand their reach but to tie in various other digital marketing vehicles around the world.
To find out more about what NAMC Digital/D2Ads offers or to contact them to inquire about a potential strategic alliance go to www.namct.com/digitalsignage or www.d2ads.com
Louis Victor NAMC Newswire www.namcnewswire.com
This article can be republished either online or in print as long as credit is given to the author and the NAMC Newswire. NAMC Newswire articles can now be listened to on StreetIQ.com http://www.streetiq.com/dir/NAMC.shtml
About the Author
Louis Victor is the host of the syndicated radio show and financial newsletter "Wall Street to Main Street" which is featured on the NAMC Newswire Radio. He has been involved in the financial industry for over two decades, on the retail and investment banking ends. He is also well versed in the advertising and marketing industries, which has given him insight into market trends and unqiue companies that may be under the radar.
Prepare Your Space for Great Study Habits
Something that has always been very frustrating to me is having the ability to study effectively. It always seemed that no matter how hard I tried there was always something that got in the way of my getting a good study session in so I decided to start from the beginning and make my study habits better so that I could get more out of my learning. The first thing that I did was to prepare my personal study area for more effective learning. Here is what I did.
The first thing that I did was to do a thorough cleaning. I made sure that the area was neat and that the only real things that I had there were the things that would benefit me when I was doing my studying. That meant getting rid of the TV, Ipod, radio and anything else that would keep me from learning. I then made sure that everything that I needed for studying was available and easily accessible. I also made sure that when I was in the study area that everyone knew that I was not to be interrupted for any reason other than emergencies. Unnecessary interruptions are always bad for study because it breaks your concentration and then you need to spend additional time getting back into your subject. A few other things that I was sure to do was to get a comfortable chair, make sure that the lighting was adequate and the temperature was right.
So if you are ready to get the most out of your study then you really need to start at the beginning with the proper preparation. This will get your study session off to a good start and help you to learn more in less time. Future articles will cover other aspects of study habits.
About the Author
For more information on TexasUniversities, CaliforniaUniversities, or the UniversityofSouthFlorida visit our website.
The first thing that I did was to do a thorough cleaning. I made sure that the area was neat and that the only real things that I had there were the things that would benefit me when I was doing my studying. That meant getting rid of the TV, Ipod, radio and anything else that would keep me from learning. I then made sure that everything that I needed for studying was available and easily accessible. I also made sure that when I was in the study area that everyone knew that I was not to be interrupted for any reason other than emergencies. Unnecessary interruptions are always bad for study because it breaks your concentration and then you need to spend additional time getting back into your subject. A few other things that I was sure to do was to get a comfortable chair, make sure that the lighting was adequate and the temperature was right.
So if you are ready to get the most out of your study then you really need to start at the beginning with the proper preparation. This will get your study session off to a good start and help you to learn more in less time. Future articles will cover other aspects of study habits.
About the Author
For more information on TexasUniversities, CaliforniaUniversities, or the UniversityofSouthFlorida visit our website.
The Ipod Audio Revolution
Do you know anyone who today doesn't know what an iPod is? Unless they've been asleep for the last ten years or are totally out of touch with today's technology, the answer is probably not.
But, in case you don't know, just be aware that the iPod, made by Apple (of Macintosh fame), is the absolute king of the MP3 market. Don't know what MP3 is? Well, that's for a seperate article. Speaking of articles, go check out more at http://www.foraudio.com.
The iPod is the most popular and successful portable digital music device in the world. Another way of explaining it is that he iPod is The Format for digital music, period. End of story. You can love the iPod or hate it, but it's hard to dispute the facts. And, or such a tiny device, Apple's iPod sure knows how to throw its weight around!
And, your iPod is about more than just music. Here are a few interesting things to know about an Ipod:
*The iPod is the latest educational tool
*Thanks to the emergence of the podcast, the iPod is a powerful tool that makes learning just about anything fun and more convenient to access
*The latest version of the iPod includes a video player feature
*The iPod is no where even close to being 'out of date'
*Moving your songs to the iPod is as easy as copy a file to a disk
*Although the iPod is an Apple product, it works with both Mac and Windows machines.
*The greatest advantage and disadvantage of an iPod is its small shape.
And there are many more features to mention.
Here is a surprising statistic that you may find of interest: Apple's iPod is turning 5. That's right, the iPod's development dates back to 2001. In that short time it has become such a huge success that some people have predicted that in the future Apple will be more of a music company than a computer company. Well, that remains to be seen, but it could happen.
But one thing is for sure, the iPod is still in the prime of its life and has many years ahead of it even without the upgrades and updates that are sure to come. Add the future improvements to the mix and we have a product that will be with us for many years to come. An iPod is many things to many people, but it can be much more than most people realize.
So, do you have your iPod yet? If not, be sure to do your homework and determing how you will use yours. There are other MP3 players out there, but if you are fashion-concious, the Ipod is your choice.
For many people, their iPod is a constant companion. Are you ready to jump on board?
About the Author
Yvonne Volante, the author, is a big fan of digital music and writes for foraudio.com, which is the premier audio resource on the internet. You can see all of the articles over at http://www.foraudio.com
But, in case you don't know, just be aware that the iPod, made by Apple (of Macintosh fame), is the absolute king of the MP3 market. Don't know what MP3 is? Well, that's for a seperate article. Speaking of articles, go check out more at http://www.foraudio.com.
The iPod is the most popular and successful portable digital music device in the world. Another way of explaining it is that he iPod is The Format for digital music, period. End of story. You can love the iPod or hate it, but it's hard to dispute the facts. And, or such a tiny device, Apple's iPod sure knows how to throw its weight around!
And, your iPod is about more than just music. Here are a few interesting things to know about an Ipod:
*The iPod is the latest educational tool
*Thanks to the emergence of the podcast, the iPod is a powerful tool that makes learning just about anything fun and more convenient to access
*The latest version of the iPod includes a video player feature
*The iPod is no where even close to being 'out of date'
*Moving your songs to the iPod is as easy as copy a file to a disk
*Although the iPod is an Apple product, it works with both Mac and Windows machines.
*The greatest advantage and disadvantage of an iPod is its small shape.
And there are many more features to mention.
Here is a surprising statistic that you may find of interest: Apple's iPod is turning 5. That's right, the iPod's development dates back to 2001. In that short time it has become such a huge success that some people have predicted that in the future Apple will be more of a music company than a computer company. Well, that remains to be seen, but it could happen.
But one thing is for sure, the iPod is still in the prime of its life and has many years ahead of it even without the upgrades and updates that are sure to come. Add the future improvements to the mix and we have a product that will be with us for many years to come. An iPod is many things to many people, but it can be much more than most people realize.
So, do you have your iPod yet? If not, be sure to do your homework and determing how you will use yours. There are other MP3 players out there, but if you are fashion-concious, the Ipod is your choice.
For many people, their iPod is a constant companion. Are you ready to jump on board?
About the Author
Yvonne Volante, the author, is a big fan of digital music and writes for foraudio.com, which is the premier audio resource on the internet. You can see all of the articles over at http://www.foraudio.com
Friday, April 20, 2007
The Ipod Audio Book Phenomenon of Today
The good sounding mp3 is one of the most exciting sound pieces of equipment today. I am amazed at how much high quality product they can put in that little piece of equipment. The surest bet is that the great ideas of today will be even better tomorrow.
For now the ipod audio book phenomenon of today is the star of the show. The mind of man, when inspired, will find new and better entertainment equipment to modify and invent forever.
For suppliers, distributors and manufacturers to stay in business they have to keep making better products for us to give us more benefits like fun, education and entertainment. Simple inventions from great minds spawn eternally new products and more innovative ways to use them.
As long as we keep buying them, inventors will come up with new ways to get desirable new products on the markets like the mp3 and of course the ipod audio book.
The ipod is one of the hot new technologies that is shooting up in consumer use. It allows you to take downloads of audio book discount products almost everywhere.
Young people like to listen to music as they wish. When they get older they will have to pay more bills and their mental outlook will change. They will want to listen to fiction book products and training oral books.
You can tune into your vast vault of sound product while doing many things. Do not get into trouble doing this while working or you could get in trouble with your boss.
Many listen to audio products while jogging though I wish they would walk, wish is safer and healthier for them. Listen to Dale Carnegie life training while you exercise at home without street noise distracting you because of your head phones.
The loaded ipod audio book comes with convenient and comfortable carrying devices for you. They are not as klutzy as some product of the recent or distant past, like the big boom boxes of yesteryear.
Sure you can still listen to your valued music but guess what my friend? The pen is still mightier than the guitar? I know, I know, if you are sixteen this sounds like a big lie.
If you have time for musical instruments and musical voices that is swell. Please keep in mind that there are limits to the value of music and rap.
Please also keep in mind that there is unlimited value to audible training you can get from your ipod mp3 player. If you are not reading you are seriously limiting your personal growth.
I realize your mind, eyes and physical body get tired after work and even play. Let me ask you something though? Have you ever listened to the creative writing genius of Stephen King in, Green Mile or other of his great works?
I promise you your mind will connect to his brilliance when you listen to his abridged or unabridged book stories being told. You will get smarter and more creative because this is how the human mind works. Silly sounding but true.
When you are depressed and bored sometime, like the next time, try clicking onto an audio book website. You will see thousands of tales and training and just plain fun stories all spoken to you by good speakers and even celebrities and original authors.
Any good audible web site will have free samples of almost all their presentations. Click on ones that appeal to you. Try some free downloads and eventually buy one that you like the looks of and make it your own forever.
This technique is called making time when you all along thought you do not have time. Like reading a book. Remember when a loved relative read you stories while you sat by them as a little shaver? Try and believe me that the warm satisfaction of this great experience is still there when you listen to an audio book being read to you.
The ipod audio book will have a magic solution to some of your problems. You can learn how to load them up and download them from my other articles and of course from your favorite web site that carries these audio goods.
It is fairly easy to learn how to do this and to load them onto your ipod mp3 player. This will expand your brain and concentration and listening power to the point of improving them. Sound good? I thought so!
Listen to Carnegie and Stephen while doing routine chores. Keep up to date and get up to date with your favorite foreign language training and dieting advice. Keep alert while driving your F-150 or semi with trailer. Know that you are doing this while keeping up with the rest of your life.
Your depression and loneliness will lessen. Your brain power will grow and make you feel better about yourself and give you more to talk to others about.
While there are lots of sites available for you to shop in you will soon develop your own favorites. Your listening desires will direct you to the areas you feel drawn to the most. You will find fiction book, true stories, training, education, self development and virtually everything else that has ever been printed.
So here you are. Are you ready to be a little happier? Are you ready to be a little smarter? Are you ready to meet the great minds of today and yesterday? Then my friend, the ipod audio book is surely for you and I do mean you.
About the Author
James M. Lowe has lots of audio books for your listening pleasure to have read to you{a href=" http://www.lisneen.com/"}downloadable audio books.
For now the ipod audio book phenomenon of today is the star of the show. The mind of man, when inspired, will find new and better entertainment equipment to modify and invent forever.
For suppliers, distributors and manufacturers to stay in business they have to keep making better products for us to give us more benefits like fun, education and entertainment. Simple inventions from great minds spawn eternally new products and more innovative ways to use them.
As long as we keep buying them, inventors will come up with new ways to get desirable new products on the markets like the mp3 and of course the ipod audio book.
The ipod is one of the hot new technologies that is shooting up in consumer use. It allows you to take downloads of audio book discount products almost everywhere.
Young people like to listen to music as they wish. When they get older they will have to pay more bills and their mental outlook will change. They will want to listen to fiction book products and training oral books.
You can tune into your vast vault of sound product while doing many things. Do not get into trouble doing this while working or you could get in trouble with your boss.
Many listen to audio products while jogging though I wish they would walk, wish is safer and healthier for them. Listen to Dale Carnegie life training while you exercise at home without street noise distracting you because of your head phones.
The loaded ipod audio book comes with convenient and comfortable carrying devices for you. They are not as klutzy as some product of the recent or distant past, like the big boom boxes of yesteryear.
Sure you can still listen to your valued music but guess what my friend? The pen is still mightier than the guitar? I know, I know, if you are sixteen this sounds like a big lie.
If you have time for musical instruments and musical voices that is swell. Please keep in mind that there are limits to the value of music and rap.
Please also keep in mind that there is unlimited value to audible training you can get from your ipod mp3 player. If you are not reading you are seriously limiting your personal growth.
I realize your mind, eyes and physical body get tired after work and even play. Let me ask you something though? Have you ever listened to the creative writing genius of Stephen King in, Green Mile or other of his great works?
I promise you your mind will connect to his brilliance when you listen to his abridged or unabridged book stories being told. You will get smarter and more creative because this is how the human mind works. Silly sounding but true.
When you are depressed and bored sometime, like the next time, try clicking onto an audio book website. You will see thousands of tales and training and just plain fun stories all spoken to you by good speakers and even celebrities and original authors.
Any good audible web site will have free samples of almost all their presentations. Click on ones that appeal to you. Try some free downloads and eventually buy one that you like the looks of and make it your own forever.
This technique is called making time when you all along thought you do not have time. Like reading a book. Remember when a loved relative read you stories while you sat by them as a little shaver? Try and believe me that the warm satisfaction of this great experience is still there when you listen to an audio book being read to you.
The ipod audio book will have a magic solution to some of your problems. You can learn how to load them up and download them from my other articles and of course from your favorite web site that carries these audio goods.
It is fairly easy to learn how to do this and to load them onto your ipod mp3 player. This will expand your brain and concentration and listening power to the point of improving them. Sound good? I thought so!
Listen to Carnegie and Stephen while doing routine chores. Keep up to date and get up to date with your favorite foreign language training and dieting advice. Keep alert while driving your F-150 or semi with trailer. Know that you are doing this while keeping up with the rest of your life.
Your depression and loneliness will lessen. Your brain power will grow and make you feel better about yourself and give you more to talk to others about.
While there are lots of sites available for you to shop in you will soon develop your own favorites. Your listening desires will direct you to the areas you feel drawn to the most. You will find fiction book, true stories, training, education, self development and virtually everything else that has ever been printed.
So here you are. Are you ready to be a little happier? Are you ready to be a little smarter? Are you ready to meet the great minds of today and yesterday? Then my friend, the ipod audio book is surely for you and I do mean you.
About the Author
James M. Lowe has lots of audio books for your listening pleasure to have read to you{a href=" http://www.lisneen.com/"}downloadable audio books.
Two Tremendous Budget mp3 Players Compared
As you are possibly aware from my previous articles, on my site at http://Buy CheapMp3Player.info, I have a shortlist of my top six favorite cheap mp3 players.
A couple of my top six are lower end of the price range machines from brand name manufacturers (Apple iPod and Sony).
Most people will be pretty familiar with these two companies and the quality of the products that they produce. Also, most of mp3 players that they have produced have been covered in some depth elsewhere, on review sites, in press reports and the like.
I therefore see little point in recovering well trodden ground by describing these machines in any detail.
What I would like to do instead is go into a little more detail with a short comparative review of a couple of cheap mp3 players from lesser known manufacturers.
Both of these machines, in my opinion, beautifully encapsulate the reasoning behind my impartial recommendation to buy a cheap mp3 player, rather than perhaps wasting our money on an expensive brand name machine.
The simple fact is that there are many cheap mp3 players that offer great quality at exceptional prices, and why pay more than you need to?
In other words, the two players that I have highlighted below simply provide tremendous value for money, and who amongst us doesn't want that?
iRiver iFP-700 (780T model - 128MB - @$60)
The first point to note about this player is the great sound quality, and my previous articles have all attempted to highlight how important this is. The bass response, in particular, is simply outstanding, making this a very good choice for those who will use their mp3 player mainly to listen to rock music, hip hop and the like.
The 128MB available to you translates into something like four hours of music, well within the lifespan capacity of the battery, which can easily last twenty hours plus in normal use.
It will play MP3, WMA & OGG music files, and can record from any sound source, not just through your PC. It also features an FM radio, is pretty resistant to the skips and jumps that are often a feature of Flash based players, and weighs in at just 3 grams!
So, there are a heck of a lot of good things that you can say about the 780T, making it an outstanding buy in its class and price range for me.
I do, of course, have a couple of small gripes!
First, the radio reception is often not particularly good. Obviously this is only relevant if you are interested in listening to radio, but, it is something to be aware of.
Second, I found the earphones a little difficult to use, and pretty uncomfortable into the bargain. Not that the 780T is unique in this, and, of course, earphones can be bought separately, but I didn't really like the standard phones that come with the 780T.
That being said, it is still a very, very good example of what you get if you buy a cheap mp3 player, and for the price, it is exceptional value for money.
SanDisk Sansa e100 (e140 - 1GB - $80)
This one comes with 1GB memory, so it obviously has the ability to load up considerably more music than the 780T above.
Again, this is five star mp3 player, great quality from a lesser known name, that can play mp3 or WMA files, weighs in at 0.4ozs and has a battery life of 15 hours continuous playback.
Also like the 780T, this one offers terrific sound quality, with its "TruBass" feature again adding considerably to the response at the lower end of the tonal scale.
The controls are extremely ergonomically laid out and are simple to use, and the backlit LCD screen, allied to the detailed album and/or song information shown on it, make this a very easy player to actually operate.
It has the added advantage that there is no requirement for special software to load songs on to it - simple Windows "drag and drop" is all that is required - and for pure functionality, the Sansa e140 is pretty hard to beat.
Again like the 780T, downsides are very few.
There does seem to be a noticeable (and slightly irritating) gap between tracks playing on the e140, but this seems to be a feature (or fault) that I have found with some other Flash based players a well, so maybe it is an inherent fault of the technology, rather than the manufacturers.
I also, once again, found the earphones uncomfortable, but (given the frequency that this appears to be the case) maybe I should blame that on the shape of my own ears, rather than on the phones!
In conclusion, the iRiver 780t and the SanDisk Sansa e140 represent all that is good about the idea of buying a cheap mp3 player!
Both retail for well under $100 in the high street or local mall, but, before buying, don't forget to check the special eBay deals from my signature at the bottom of this page for extra cheap prices!
Both offer great sound quality, excellent functionality, light weight and good looks.
So, your choice is pretty simple.
Do you want to pay the extra $30 or so necessary to move up from four hours of music with the iRiver 780T to the fifteen hours or so (before a battery change becomes necessary) with the Sansa e140? Otherwise, there is so little to choose between them....
As they say, you pays your money, you takes your choice!
About the Author
Steve Cowan is an avid fan of both music and spoken word mp3's. Get his "fabulous 30" free audiobooks at http://www.TalkAlive.com, then download his own unique free report "Top 99 Free mp3 Downloads" at http:/www.BuyCheapMp3Player.info. And, before buying an mp3 player, don't forget to check out Steve's unbeatable eBay prices at http://buycheapmp3player.info/ebayspecials.html
A couple of my top six are lower end of the price range machines from brand name manufacturers (Apple iPod and Sony).
Most people will be pretty familiar with these two companies and the quality of the products that they produce. Also, most of mp3 players that they have produced have been covered in some depth elsewhere, on review sites, in press reports and the like.
I therefore see little point in recovering well trodden ground by describing these machines in any detail.
What I would like to do instead is go into a little more detail with a short comparative review of a couple of cheap mp3 players from lesser known manufacturers.
Both of these machines, in my opinion, beautifully encapsulate the reasoning behind my impartial recommendation to buy a cheap mp3 player, rather than perhaps wasting our money on an expensive brand name machine.
The simple fact is that there are many cheap mp3 players that offer great quality at exceptional prices, and why pay more than you need to?
In other words, the two players that I have highlighted below simply provide tremendous value for money, and who amongst us doesn't want that?
iRiver iFP-700 (780T model - 128MB - @$60)
The first point to note about this player is the great sound quality, and my previous articles have all attempted to highlight how important this is. The bass response, in particular, is simply outstanding, making this a very good choice for those who will use their mp3 player mainly to listen to rock music, hip hop and the like.
The 128MB available to you translates into something like four hours of music, well within the lifespan capacity of the battery, which can easily last twenty hours plus in normal use.
It will play MP3, WMA & OGG music files, and can record from any sound source, not just through your PC. It also features an FM radio, is pretty resistant to the skips and jumps that are often a feature of Flash based players, and weighs in at just 3 grams!
So, there are a heck of a lot of good things that you can say about the 780T, making it an outstanding buy in its class and price range for me.
I do, of course, have a couple of small gripes!
First, the radio reception is often not particularly good. Obviously this is only relevant if you are interested in listening to radio, but, it is something to be aware of.
Second, I found the earphones a little difficult to use, and pretty uncomfortable into the bargain. Not that the 780T is unique in this, and, of course, earphones can be bought separately, but I didn't really like the standard phones that come with the 780T.
That being said, it is still a very, very good example of what you get if you buy a cheap mp3 player, and for the price, it is exceptional value for money.
SanDisk Sansa e100 (e140 - 1GB - $80)
This one comes with 1GB memory, so it obviously has the ability to load up considerably more music than the 780T above.
Again, this is five star mp3 player, great quality from a lesser known name, that can play mp3 or WMA files, weighs in at 0.4ozs and has a battery life of 15 hours continuous playback.
Also like the 780T, this one offers terrific sound quality, with its "TruBass" feature again adding considerably to the response at the lower end of the tonal scale.
The controls are extremely ergonomically laid out and are simple to use, and the backlit LCD screen, allied to the detailed album and/or song information shown on it, make this a very easy player to actually operate.
It has the added advantage that there is no requirement for special software to load songs on to it - simple Windows "drag and drop" is all that is required - and for pure functionality, the Sansa e140 is pretty hard to beat.
Again like the 780T, downsides are very few.
There does seem to be a noticeable (and slightly irritating) gap between tracks playing on the e140, but this seems to be a feature (or fault) that I have found with some other Flash based players a well, so maybe it is an inherent fault of the technology, rather than the manufacturers.
I also, once again, found the earphones uncomfortable, but (given the frequency that this appears to be the case) maybe I should blame that on the shape of my own ears, rather than on the phones!
In conclusion, the iRiver 780t and the SanDisk Sansa e140 represent all that is good about the idea of buying a cheap mp3 player!
Both retail for well under $100 in the high street or local mall, but, before buying, don't forget to check the special eBay deals from my signature at the bottom of this page for extra cheap prices!
Both offer great sound quality, excellent functionality, light weight and good looks.
So, your choice is pretty simple.
Do you want to pay the extra $30 or so necessary to move up from four hours of music with the iRiver 780T to the fifteen hours or so (before a battery change becomes necessary) with the Sansa e140? Otherwise, there is so little to choose between them....
As they say, you pays your money, you takes your choice!
About the Author
Steve Cowan is an avid fan of both music and spoken word mp3's. Get his "fabulous 30" free audiobooks at http://www.TalkAlive.com, then download his own unique free report "Top 99 Free mp3 Downloads" at http:/www.BuyCheapMp3Player.info. And, before buying an mp3 player, don't forget to check out Steve's unbeatable eBay prices at http://buycheapmp3player.info/ebayspecials.html
How to Copy Music OFF your iPod
So, you've got music on your iPod that you don't have on your computer?
It doesn't matter how you got in this predicament -- maybe you've lost a hard drive (or an entire computer), or you've accidently deleted just a little too much, and for one reason or another, you don't have the original source of the music.
If any of that sounds familiar, the time to fix it is now -- before you lose your iPod (and your music), or iTunes manages to get set to automatically sync your entire library (its default state, if you have to re-install it) and starts deleting all of the songs it doesn't know about.
Unfortunately, the standard tool for transferring music between your iPod and your computer (iTunes) is one-way -- it'll put music (or videos, etc.) onto your iPod, but it won't retrieve it back. Why? Uncle Steve wants it that way, I suppose.
Getting music off of your iPod -- the Windows Down & Dirty Method
Unusually enough, this is one place Windows users have an advantage over Mac users. If you have a Windows formatted iPod, Windows actually treats it as a removable drive, and you can go in and copy the files off if you know where to look.
Here's how:
1. Connect your iPod -- =Warning!= if iTunes loads when you plug in your iPod, and is set to automatically sync your entire library (erasing your iPod), you MUST stop it -- hit the little "X" in the upper right hand corner of the window.
2. Open your iPod -- It should show up on "My Computer" as a "Mobile Device"; right click and choose "Explore". Alternatively, go to the Control Panel, Portable Media Devices, and double-click your iPod.
3. Unhide the files -- By default, Windows hides hidden files and folders (thus the name). Go to Options (in the Tools menu), and on the View tab, check "Show Hidden Files and Folders".
4. Find the Music -- The music is stored (in current iPods) in the directory "\\iPod_Control\\Music". This may have a lot of odd looking stuff in it -- it doesn't matter; select everything and drag and drop them to a folder on your hard drive.
5. Configure iTunes -- Go into iTunes Preferences, and under the Advanced tab, check "Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized" and "Copy files to iTunes Music Folder when adding to the library" (settings move around a bit between versions of iTunes, but these settings will be there somewhere).
6. Add Your Files -- In iTunes, select File, Add Folder to Library, and select the folder where you copied the files from your iPod. Alternatively, just drag and drop this folder onto iTunes
Once you've done that, iTunes should sort out the files from the iPod folder structure, put the artist and album information back from the ID3 tags in the music files, and reorganize the whole thing in the iTunes library folder.
The one caveat with this is that what you won't get back is any "metadata" that isn't stored in the files themselves, such as ratings, play counts, last played and modified information, etc.
It's also very difficult to select individual files or groups of files doing this, as it's not terribly obvious which file is which just looking at them in the way the iPod stores them.
Last but not least, I've never seen (nor read about) this trick being tried with any of the "new" iTunes data types, such as pictures, video, games, etc., so I don't know how well it would work to retrieve that information, nor whether this will retrieve purchases from iTunes Music Store intact.
For more methods of copying data off of your iPod, including links to several free utilities that can copy all of your data, please see:
5 Ways to copy music OFF your iPod (Windows / Mac OS X)
About the Author
Chuck Lawson writes tips and reviews for technology and gadgets at Nonliteral: Metaphoric Engineering. Please visit Nonliteral for more information on this and other related topics.
It doesn't matter how you got in this predicament -- maybe you've lost a hard drive (or an entire computer), or you've accidently deleted just a little too much, and for one reason or another, you don't have the original source of the music.
If any of that sounds familiar, the time to fix it is now -- before you lose your iPod (and your music), or iTunes manages to get set to automatically sync your entire library (its default state, if you have to re-install it) and starts deleting all of the songs it doesn't know about.
Unfortunately, the standard tool for transferring music between your iPod and your computer (iTunes) is one-way -- it'll put music (or videos, etc.) onto your iPod, but it won't retrieve it back. Why? Uncle Steve wants it that way, I suppose.
Getting music off of your iPod -- the Windows Down & Dirty Method
Unusually enough, this is one place Windows users have an advantage over Mac users. If you have a Windows formatted iPod, Windows actually treats it as a removable drive, and you can go in and copy the files off if you know where to look.
Here's how:
1. Connect your iPod -- =Warning!= if iTunes loads when you plug in your iPod, and is set to automatically sync your entire library (erasing your iPod), you MUST stop it -- hit the little "X" in the upper right hand corner of the window.
2. Open your iPod -- It should show up on "My Computer" as a "Mobile Device"; right click and choose "Explore". Alternatively, go to the Control Panel, Portable Media Devices, and double-click your iPod.
3. Unhide the files -- By default, Windows hides hidden files and folders (thus the name). Go to Options (in the Tools menu), and on the View tab, check "Show Hidden Files and Folders".
4. Find the Music -- The music is stored (in current iPods) in the directory "\\iPod_Control\\Music". This may have a lot of odd looking stuff in it -- it doesn't matter; select everything and drag and drop them to a folder on your hard drive.
5. Configure iTunes -- Go into iTunes Preferences, and under the Advanced tab, check "Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized" and "Copy files to iTunes Music Folder when adding to the library" (settings move around a bit between versions of iTunes, but these settings will be there somewhere).
6. Add Your Files -- In iTunes, select File, Add Folder to Library, and select the folder where you copied the files from your iPod. Alternatively, just drag and drop this folder onto iTunes
Once you've done that, iTunes should sort out the files from the iPod folder structure, put the artist and album information back from the ID3 tags in the music files, and reorganize the whole thing in the iTunes library folder.
The one caveat with this is that what you won't get back is any "metadata" that isn't stored in the files themselves, such as ratings, play counts, last played and modified information, etc.
It's also very difficult to select individual files or groups of files doing this, as it's not terribly obvious which file is which just looking at them in the way the iPod stores them.
Last but not least, I've never seen (nor read about) this trick being tried with any of the "new" iTunes data types, such as pictures, video, games, etc., so I don't know how well it would work to retrieve that information, nor whether this will retrieve purchases from iTunes Music Store intact.
For more methods of copying data off of your iPod, including links to several free utilities that can copy all of your data, please see:
5 Ways to copy music OFF your iPod (Windows / Mac OS X)
About the Author
Chuck Lawson writes tips and reviews for technology and gadgets at Nonliteral: Metaphoric Engineering. Please visit Nonliteral for more information on this and other related topics.
So Easy, you too can make money Podcasting!
If Mr. Rush Limbaugh is podcasting, Why not You?
At least once a day, I am emailed with questions of how to rake in the cash by podcasting and have decided to begin looking at this and writing on the world of podcasting as a result. Hey if Rush Limbaugh can use podcasting to his benefit, so can you and make money while doing it. In future articles you will get a more detailed look into driving revenue from your podcasting, but for the time being you will just get an overview on the podcasting issues to get you started. Today, you can not wonder down a city street or an airport without seeing someone listening to their ipod and you have to assume some of those people are listening to a podcast. Have you tried to watch an evening of tv without seeing an Apple commercial? Obviously you will have plenty of consumers and competition with the overwhelming popularity of the ipod. So, we definitely have a demand for podcasting and this the first step in determining if you can make money in this marketplace. Podcasting content has become an important part of this hyped marketplace that is here to stay.
Now that this has been established, you have to also choose the right business model to base your efforts on. The choices can be endless here and can include charging a fee for each users downloads, asking users of your podcasting service for a donation, and charging advertisers for pushing their products on your podcasting site. In future articles, we will discuss each of these strategies to help you choose the best podcasting strategy for your needs. In the meantime, I will finish this discussion with you by providing an overview of how you can create a podcast and easily enter the fast moving world of podcasting. There are many programs out there that make podcasting very easy. Most notably, you can buy programs exceeding $49 from sites such as itunes and podcastblaster. Additionally, you can do a search for podcasting tools on MSN, Yahoo, and Google. This being said, I am going to save you a little time by providing you a direct source to create and quickly publish your podcast by going to LiquidShark.com. They offer a product called Quick podcast, which will let you create and host up to 3,600 one-hour talk show podcasts for as little as $3.99 per month. Please check it out and let me know what you think. I will follow this up shortly with a more detailed overviews to get you started so "Yes, you too can make money podcasting."
About the Author
The article on podcasting was written by David H. Butler. He has been consulting on internet commerce since the mid-1990's. He writes for various sources on web promotion, online marketing, hosting, domain registration and linking. The advice and commentary he has distributed is regarded as "expert advice written for the benefit of the readers." He currently operates Liquid
At least once a day, I am emailed with questions of how to rake in the cash by podcasting and have decided to begin looking at this and writing on the world of podcasting as a result. Hey if Rush Limbaugh can use podcasting to his benefit, so can you and make money while doing it. In future articles you will get a more detailed look into driving revenue from your podcasting, but for the time being you will just get an overview on the podcasting issues to get you started. Today, you can not wonder down a city street or an airport without seeing someone listening to their ipod and you have to assume some of those people are listening to a podcast. Have you tried to watch an evening of tv without seeing an Apple commercial? Obviously you will have plenty of consumers and competition with the overwhelming popularity of the ipod. So, we definitely have a demand for podcasting and this the first step in determining if you can make money in this marketplace. Podcasting content has become an important part of this hyped marketplace that is here to stay.
Now that this has been established, you have to also choose the right business model to base your efforts on. The choices can be endless here and can include charging a fee for each users downloads, asking users of your podcasting service for a donation, and charging advertisers for pushing their products on your podcasting site. In future articles, we will discuss each of these strategies to help you choose the best podcasting strategy for your needs. In the meantime, I will finish this discussion with you by providing an overview of how you can create a podcast and easily enter the fast moving world of podcasting. There are many programs out there that make podcasting very easy. Most notably, you can buy programs exceeding $49 from sites such as itunes and podcastblaster. Additionally, you can do a search for podcasting tools on MSN, Yahoo, and Google. This being said, I am going to save you a little time by providing you a direct source to create and quickly publish your podcast by going to LiquidShark.com. They offer a product called Quick podcast, which will let you create and host up to 3,600 one-hour talk show podcasts for as little as $3.99 per month. Please check it out and let me know what you think. I will follow this up shortly with a more detailed overviews to get you started so "Yes, you too can make money podcasting."
About the Author
The article on podcasting was written by David H. Butler. He has been consulting on internet commerce since the mid-1990's. He writes for various sources on web promotion, online marketing, hosting, domain registration and linking. The advice and commentary he has distributed is regarded as "expert advice written for the benefit of the readers." He currently operates Liquid
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Will the new Apple iPhone cause poverty?
There is a naïve belief that, as the rich get richer, they consume more of the world's resources and - in so doing - leave an ever dwindling amount of stuff over for the poor.
In which case, purchasing the new Apple iPhone must lead to poverty. As those from Naomi Klein, to UK-based Enough, to members of the far left, delight in continually saying, "The USA alone, with only 6% of the world's population, consumes 30% of its resources."
I did mention that they were naïve.
At worst the iPhone will have no material impact on the lives of refugees from the conflict in Darfur or those suffering under the dictatorship in Zimbabwe. They are not involved in its production and none of the materials required for its manufacture are sourced from hopelessly impoverished nations.
At best the iPhone will result in a globally improving standard of living. Consider the phone in isolation. To come into existence required the work of designers, materials manufacturers, software coders, factories and assembly lines. The iPhone may become as iconic as the iPod; in which case - on its own - it will result in the creation of thousands of new jobs simply to produce it.
Consider now the iPhone's impact on other phone manufacturers. If, as is to be expected from Apple, the phone is a technological leap ahead of its competitors, then they too will have to invest in their own products just to keep up. More designers, materials manufacturers, software coders, factories and assembly lines will be required. This will create even more new jobs.
More importantly, though, is the change to the overall standard of living. The base level of technology will rise. Our base expectations from the products we buy increases. In other words, even though - initially - the iPod will only be affordable by the wealthiest societies in the world, the ultimate effect will be that the new technology will spread everywhere.
Mobile phones were first the exclusive purvey of the very rich. As they became commoditised they spread to all reaches of society. Now, even a war zone like Somalia with no real government, has mobile phone access.
There are places in the world where it is completely uneconomical to offer formal banking services. Dangerous places where cash can easily be stolen. The ready availability of cellular technology has allowed sophisticated banking services to be offered in developing countries at a price that the poor can afford. MTN Banking, in South Africa, replaces a physical bank with a mobile phone, and requires only a phone call to subscribe.
Cellular phones have improved the livelihoods of millions of poor subsistence farmers by allowing them to contact buyers and learn what consumers want. Daniel Mashva, a rural farmer in South Africa, uses his phone to dial a virtual trading platform and sells his produce direct from his small thatched hut on the fringe of the vast Kruger National Park. "I check the prices for the day on my phone and when it's a good price I sell. I can even try to ask for a higher price if I see there are lots of buyers."
It is consumerism which has resulted in the technological revolution that created cheap telecommunications. And it is this rising standard of living that is improving the lives even of the poorest in the world.
So, congratulations Apple, we wish you every success in saving the world. Even if that wasn't your original intention.
About the Author
Gavin Chait is a director of, South African-based, Whythawk Ratings, (white-hawk) who promote economic development by impartially measuring and rating the effectiveness of the health, welfare and poverty relief interventions of development organisations and charities.
In which case, purchasing the new Apple iPhone must lead to poverty. As those from Naomi Klein, to UK-based Enough, to members of the far left, delight in continually saying, "The USA alone, with only 6% of the world's population, consumes 30% of its resources."
I did mention that they were naïve.
At worst the iPhone will have no material impact on the lives of refugees from the conflict in Darfur or those suffering under the dictatorship in Zimbabwe. They are not involved in its production and none of the materials required for its manufacture are sourced from hopelessly impoverished nations.
At best the iPhone will result in a globally improving standard of living. Consider the phone in isolation. To come into existence required the work of designers, materials manufacturers, software coders, factories and assembly lines. The iPhone may become as iconic as the iPod; in which case - on its own - it will result in the creation of thousands of new jobs simply to produce it.
Consider now the iPhone's impact on other phone manufacturers. If, as is to be expected from Apple, the phone is a technological leap ahead of its competitors, then they too will have to invest in their own products just to keep up. More designers, materials manufacturers, software coders, factories and assembly lines will be required. This will create even more new jobs.
More importantly, though, is the change to the overall standard of living. The base level of technology will rise. Our base expectations from the products we buy increases. In other words, even though - initially - the iPod will only be affordable by the wealthiest societies in the world, the ultimate effect will be that the new technology will spread everywhere.
Mobile phones were first the exclusive purvey of the very rich. As they became commoditised they spread to all reaches of society. Now, even a war zone like Somalia with no real government, has mobile phone access.
There are places in the world where it is completely uneconomical to offer formal banking services. Dangerous places where cash can easily be stolen. The ready availability of cellular technology has allowed sophisticated banking services to be offered in developing countries at a price that the poor can afford. MTN Banking, in South Africa, replaces a physical bank with a mobile phone, and requires only a phone call to subscribe.
Cellular phones have improved the livelihoods of millions of poor subsistence farmers by allowing them to contact buyers and learn what consumers want. Daniel Mashva, a rural farmer in South Africa, uses his phone to dial a virtual trading platform and sells his produce direct from his small thatched hut on the fringe of the vast Kruger National Park. "I check the prices for the day on my phone and when it's a good price I sell. I can even try to ask for a higher price if I see there are lots of buyers."
It is consumerism which has resulted in the technological revolution that created cheap telecommunications. And it is this rising standard of living that is improving the lives even of the poorest in the world.
So, congratulations Apple, we wish you every success in saving the world. Even if that wasn't your original intention.
About the Author
Gavin Chait is a director of, South African-based, Whythawk Ratings, (white-hawk) who promote economic development by impartially measuring and rating the effectiveness of the health, welfare and poverty relief interventions of development organisations and charities.
The Multi-purpose Mobile Phone
The mobile phone is moving quickly from being just a device you use to make phone calls. It is steadily moving into the world of personal digital assistants (PDA's) and entertainment devices. It is very easy today to get a mobile phone which serves as a phone, diary, MP3 player, video player, word processor, and games console. In short its one device but with many functions which you do not need to buy separately.
This is good news for the mobile phone manufacturers who are now classifying phones as multimedia computers. They are anticipating stealing business from companies who up to now have built single purpose gadgets such as MP3 music players. Interestingly, Apple, who sell the market leading music player, the iPod, have just announced they will manufacture a mobile phone.
It's also good news for the mobile operators who sell the phones, because they can sell a more expensive device with higher profit margins. They can also sell additional services such as music downloads over their mobile network.
The phone which I use is a Nokia E61 which does all of the above things. It has a keyboard which allows me to type notes or indeed articles such as this one. I can download my MP3 files and play them using it's music player, and also download and play video files. There are vast amounts of games which it can play, and I can hook it up to my office diary and email system. It weighs 144 grams and is about 12 cm by 7 cm with a depth of 1.5 cm. So it fits easily in a pocket.
With earlier phones which attempted these functions lack of memory storage space on the device was a severe limiting factor. However my phone can use a plugin memory card which can provide up to 4GB of storage space. In theory this would allow me to play many hours of movies on my phone!
There are many other models of phones offering all or many of the above functions. Some use the standard phone keypad layout so are not so good at typing large amounts of text. Others use a stylus based input mechanism for inputting text by writing on the screen.
So expect to see people doing more and more with their mobile phone. In fact attempts are now being made to use phones as a type of smartcard for paying for things in place of cash or credit cards. So it may not be long before the mobile phone replaces your wallet!
About the Author
This is good news for the mobile phone manufacturers who are now classifying phones as multimedia computers. They are anticipating stealing business from companies who up to now have built single purpose gadgets such as MP3 music players. Interestingly, Apple, who sell the market leading music player, the iPod, have just announced they will manufacture a mobile phone.
It's also good news for the mobile operators who sell the phones, because they can sell a more expensive device with higher profit margins. They can also sell additional services such as music downloads over their mobile network.
The phone which I use is a Nokia E61 which does all of the above things. It has a keyboard which allows me to type notes or indeed articles such as this one. I can download my MP3 files and play them using it's music player, and also download and play video files. There are vast amounts of games which it can play, and I can hook it up to my office diary and email system. It weighs 144 grams and is about 12 cm by 7 cm with a depth of 1.5 cm. So it fits easily in a pocket.
With earlier phones which attempted these functions lack of memory storage space on the device was a severe limiting factor. However my phone can use a plugin memory card which can provide up to 4GB of storage space. In theory this would allow me to play many hours of movies on my phone!
There are many other models of phones offering all or many of the above functions. Some use the standard phone keypad layout so are not so good at typing large amounts of text. Others use a stylus based input mechanism for inputting text by writing on the screen.
So expect to see people doing more and more with their mobile phone. In fact attempts are now being made to use phones as a type of smartcard for paying for things in place of cash or credit cards. So it may not be long before the mobile phone replaces your wallet!
About the Author
Colin Campbell is a mobile technology specialist. See his mobile business website at http://www.mobilebeacon.com
10 Websites You Can't Live Without
As anyone who has used the Web can testify, there are a lot of websites out there. Most of them are badly designed, difficult to use, or just plain boring. But in amongst the rough are a few gems -- websites that once you discover them, you'll wonder how you ever managed without! This list is dedicated to those sites which can make your life easier and more enjoyable; some you may already know, others you won't, but they are all worth at least a few minutes of everyone's time.
1) Google
THE search engine to use. Yes, Yahoo! might have slightly more visitors, but Google is by far the coolest search engine out there. No clutter, no annoying advertising, just pure, unadulterated search goodness. This truly is The Internet For Dummies -- just type what you want and let Google work its magic.
But Google is so much more than just a search engine. You can use it to do calculations, find images, get your local weather forecast and a whole host of other useful stuff. With its versatility and easy to use layout, Google will soon become you new best friend.
2) Amazon
Does shopping bore you? Does the thought of fighting the traffic to get into town only to be faced with hordes of manic bargain-hunters fill you with dread? If so then you're not alone, and luckily Amazon provides the perfect solution. You can now buy pretty much anything you can think of from the comfort of your own home, and it'll even cost you less! No more pushy sales people, no more queues, all you need is a computer, a credit card and a few minutes of your time. You can even do it in your underwear, something I wouldn't recommend when shopping in the real world...
3) eBay
Amazon is great for brand new items, but what if you're after something a little rarer, something that you can't find in your average high-street or online store? This is where eBay comes in. eBay is like the world's biggest yard sale, only instead of spending your afternoon trawling through one person's junk, you have access to over 200 million sellers worldwide. As eBay's slogan says, "Whatever it is... you can get it on eBay." This couldn't be more true; some of the items listed on eBay in the past include toenail clippings, a ghost in a jar and even the country of New Zealand, listed by an Australian guy who was fed up with his neighboring country! If you are after a rare bargain, eBay is the place to find it.
4) Wikipedia
This free, online encyclopedia stands head and shoulders above all others due to its unique nature. Wikipedia is a community-driven website, which means that anyone with a keyboard and half a brain can add their own articles. This means that this isn't your typical encyclopedia - as well as the usual articles about volcanoes and civil wars you also have the subjects that people really care about; stuff like Britney Spears and information on the latest series of Big Brother. With over 1.6 million entries, Wikipedia is a bottomless pit of useful (and useless) information.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the community-driven format is that it actually works. Rather than the poorly-written and badly-researched entries that were predicted, Wikipedia is actually full of well-crafted, comprehensive articles on practically any topic you can imagine. Once you discover it, you'll probably never need to open a book again, hooray!
5) YouTube
If you harbor a secret desire to watch a grown man solve a Rubik's Cube with his feet, or are looking for an instructional video on how to wash a cat then YouTube is the place for you. Home to several million video clips, this is the largest online depository of moving media ever. The interface is simplicity itself to use, largely thanks to the fact that Google bought the site and added their own search to it. You can now find videos of anything you can dream of, and you can even post your own comments or send the video to your friends.
The good news doesn't stop there though; if you fancy yourself as a budding TV star then why not create your own videos to share with the masses? It's simple to do and best of all it's completely free. In fact YouTube is becoming so big that TV talent scouts are even using the site to find their next presenters, so who knows where things might lead if you do post your own video?
6) MySpace
Visiting these cool websites is all well and good, but what if you want your own site where you can post your own stories, pictures, videos, and just generally brag about how darn brilliant you are? One option would be to register a domain name, purchase some hosting, learn how to code HTML, install an FTP program... zzzzzz. The second, much easier option is to register with a site that does it all for you. They handle all the boring stuff leaving you to focus on the fun bits.
MySpace is one of the leading sites for creating your own site without all the hassle. You can customize it by changing the colors, backgrounds, adding your own text, images, videos, music, whatever you want -- and it's all as easy as falling off a log. The best part of MySpace though is the message board where you can leave messages for your friends and they can leave messages for you. Just remind yourself to actually visit them in the real world occasionally, virtual friendships can suffer when your internet connection breaks.
7) Hotmail
Keep in touch with your family and friends with this great free web-based email. You can check your emails from any computer with internet access without the need to set up unnecessarily complicated software. It offers you oodles of storage space so you'll never go short, and you can even attach files and photos to your messages. They also offer free spam and virus filtering, to help keep your inbox and your computer clean and uncluttered.
8) BBC
The spiritual home of online news reporting, the BBC website provides instant access to all the breaking stories so you can stay at the cutting edge of current affairs. As well as written reports you can also watch videos, listen to broadcasts or even download stories to your ipod. You can find reports covering every topic from sport to education, business to entertainment. Rest assured, if it ain't on here, it ain't worth reporting. You can even sign up for automatic updates to have the latest happenings sent directly to your email or mobile phone.
9) IMDb
The Internet Movie Database is heaven for all movie and TV buffs. Quickly and easily find a list of all the films your favorite actor has been in, or find cast and production lists for your favorite show. Ever wanted to know who designed the costumes on the latest blockbuster? Well now you can!
You'll also find stacks of interesting facts, quotes and trivia about the people, movies and shows that you love. Then there's the message boards, where you can discuss and debate to your heart's content. To paraphrase Arnie -- if you visit once, You'll Be Back!
10) Monster
Fed up of your job? Think you can do better? Fancy a complete career change? Then Monster is the place to start. One of the largest online job sites, you can search by industry, location or keyword to find exactly what you're after. When a job catches your eye just save it to your favorite list, then get in touch at the click of a button. You can even register your resume for potential employers to browse, then if they like the look of you they can get in touch, making it even easier for you!
I strongly recommend you check out the above sites, they'll provide you with equal measures of fun and usefulness and really enhance your internet experience!
About the Author
Pete Williams is the author of www.beginnersguidetocomputers.com - a simple, jargon-free guide to everything you need to know about computers. It contains articles and tutorials covering all aspects of computers and their uses, including the basics, hardware, software, and the internet.
1) Google
THE search engine to use. Yes, Yahoo! might have slightly more visitors, but Google is by far the coolest search engine out there. No clutter, no annoying advertising, just pure, unadulterated search goodness. This truly is The Internet For Dummies -- just type what you want and let Google work its magic.
But Google is so much more than just a search engine. You can use it to do calculations, find images, get your local weather forecast and a whole host of other useful stuff. With its versatility and easy to use layout, Google will soon become you new best friend.
2) Amazon
Does shopping bore you? Does the thought of fighting the traffic to get into town only to be faced with hordes of manic bargain-hunters fill you with dread? If so then you're not alone, and luckily Amazon provides the perfect solution. You can now buy pretty much anything you can think of from the comfort of your own home, and it'll even cost you less! No more pushy sales people, no more queues, all you need is a computer, a credit card and a few minutes of your time. You can even do it in your underwear, something I wouldn't recommend when shopping in the real world...
3) eBay
Amazon is great for brand new items, but what if you're after something a little rarer, something that you can't find in your average high-street or online store? This is where eBay comes in. eBay is like the world's biggest yard sale, only instead of spending your afternoon trawling through one person's junk, you have access to over 200 million sellers worldwide. As eBay's slogan says, "Whatever it is... you can get it on eBay." This couldn't be more true; some of the items listed on eBay in the past include toenail clippings, a ghost in a jar and even the country of New Zealand, listed by an Australian guy who was fed up with his neighboring country! If you are after a rare bargain, eBay is the place to find it.
4) Wikipedia
This free, online encyclopedia stands head and shoulders above all others due to its unique nature. Wikipedia is a community-driven website, which means that anyone with a keyboard and half a brain can add their own articles. This means that this isn't your typical encyclopedia - as well as the usual articles about volcanoes and civil wars you also have the subjects that people really care about; stuff like Britney Spears and information on the latest series of Big Brother. With over 1.6 million entries, Wikipedia is a bottomless pit of useful (and useless) information.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the community-driven format is that it actually works. Rather than the poorly-written and badly-researched entries that were predicted, Wikipedia is actually full of well-crafted, comprehensive articles on practically any topic you can imagine. Once you discover it, you'll probably never need to open a book again, hooray!
5) YouTube
If you harbor a secret desire to watch a grown man solve a Rubik's Cube with his feet, or are looking for an instructional video on how to wash a cat then YouTube is the place for you. Home to several million video clips, this is the largest online depository of moving media ever. The interface is simplicity itself to use, largely thanks to the fact that Google bought the site and added their own search to it. You can now find videos of anything you can dream of, and you can even post your own comments or send the video to your friends.
The good news doesn't stop there though; if you fancy yourself as a budding TV star then why not create your own videos to share with the masses? It's simple to do and best of all it's completely free. In fact YouTube is becoming so big that TV talent scouts are even using the site to find their next presenters, so who knows where things might lead if you do post your own video?
6) MySpace
Visiting these cool websites is all well and good, but what if you want your own site where you can post your own stories, pictures, videos, and just generally brag about how darn brilliant you are? One option would be to register a domain name, purchase some hosting, learn how to code HTML, install an FTP program... zzzzzz. The second, much easier option is to register with a site that does it all for you. They handle all the boring stuff leaving you to focus on the fun bits.
MySpace is one of the leading sites for creating your own site without all the hassle. You can customize it by changing the colors, backgrounds, adding your own text, images, videos, music, whatever you want -- and it's all as easy as falling off a log. The best part of MySpace though is the message board where you can leave messages for your friends and they can leave messages for you. Just remind yourself to actually visit them in the real world occasionally, virtual friendships can suffer when your internet connection breaks.
7) Hotmail
Keep in touch with your family and friends with this great free web-based email. You can check your emails from any computer with internet access without the need to set up unnecessarily complicated software. It offers you oodles of storage space so you'll never go short, and you can even attach files and photos to your messages. They also offer free spam and virus filtering, to help keep your inbox and your computer clean and uncluttered.
8) BBC
The spiritual home of online news reporting, the BBC website provides instant access to all the breaking stories so you can stay at the cutting edge of current affairs. As well as written reports you can also watch videos, listen to broadcasts or even download stories to your ipod. You can find reports covering every topic from sport to education, business to entertainment. Rest assured, if it ain't on here, it ain't worth reporting. You can even sign up for automatic updates to have the latest happenings sent directly to your email or mobile phone.
9) IMDb
The Internet Movie Database is heaven for all movie and TV buffs. Quickly and easily find a list of all the films your favorite actor has been in, or find cast and production lists for your favorite show. Ever wanted to know who designed the costumes on the latest blockbuster? Well now you can!
You'll also find stacks of interesting facts, quotes and trivia about the people, movies and shows that you love. Then there's the message boards, where you can discuss and debate to your heart's content. To paraphrase Arnie -- if you visit once, You'll Be Back!
10) Monster
Fed up of your job? Think you can do better? Fancy a complete career change? Then Monster is the place to start. One of the largest online job sites, you can search by industry, location or keyword to find exactly what you're after. When a job catches your eye just save it to your favorite list, then get in touch at the click of a button. You can even register your resume for potential employers to browse, then if they like the look of you they can get in touch, making it even easier for you!
I strongly recommend you check out the above sites, they'll provide you with equal measures of fun and usefulness and really enhance your internet experience!
About the Author
Pete Williams is the author of www.beginnersguidetocomputers.com - a simple, jargon-free guide to everything you need to know about computers. It contains articles and tutorials covering all aspects of computers and their uses, including the basics, hardware, software, and the internet.
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