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Monday, February 28, 2011

How To Decide a Color Scheme for Home Pages

Your website should tell your visitors something about yourself. One way of doing this is by choosing a color scheme that you like. The home page is the first page that greets your readers. That is why it is important to choose a color scheme that will be warm and welcoming and at the same time show your viewers what type of personality you have. With a lot of colors to choose from, it can be hard to decide the color scheme of your page.

Here are some of the tips you can use on how to decide on the perfect color scheme that you will use for your main page:

1. Choose colors you like. To narrow down your choices, choose some of the colors that you really like. Eliminate the ones that are not attractive to you or the ones that you feel will not be right for your home logo page. When you have less choices to choose from, it will be easier for you to decide which one will go best on your logo page.
2. Browse for designs. Sometimes, you may not like a color by itself but it can be attractive when combined with another color. That is why it is also helpful to browse and view different wallpapers or backgrounds that you can use for your home page. You might be able to stumble upon a design that is really attractive or a color scheme that you otherwise might not have thought of.
3. Decide what you want to depict. Another tip is to know what type of website you want to depict. If you are a happy person and your website is about you and your daily activities, you can choose bright and fun colors. If your website is a bit on the serious side, you can work with earth colors and see what fits your website the best. No matter what color scheme you choose, make sure that you are happy with the choice that you make.
4. Check out Stripemania. One useful website that you can utilize is stripmania.com. This website allows you to create stripes in the colors of your choice. This will make it easier for you to choose a color scheme that will fit your home page. All you have to do is to visit the website, choose the background colors of your choice and see what the effect looks like. You can also choose the spacing, the stripe width and the orientation of the stripe. After creating your design, you can download the image and use it for your home page.

These are some of the tips that you can use when choosing the right color scheme for your home page. You can also use these tips for creating a home campus website or a home alumni web page. You can make the stripes out of the school colors and use it as the background. Before making a final choice, you can test the color scheme to see if it will look good on your website.

How To Create a Website Logo

How important is it to create a website logo? Creating a website logo is among the first and important tasks or steps that you should do if you are creating a website. It is the graphical trademark that you put on your website. It symbolizes ownership and privacy.

Here are the basic steps on how to create a logo, whether you are making a blog or an traditional website.

Technical

Before creating a website logo, you must first prepare the necessary materials and understand what you are about to form. If you are making a logo for your existing business then it is most probable that you already have the sign. And because what you're about to create is a brand mark, you should scan and use it as it is. In case you still do not have one, you can either pay a graphical artist or do it yourself.

1. Know the different applications that you can use to create website badge. There are several programs that you can use to create a logo. What you must remember when choosing the right software is the ease and simplicity of its use.
2. Know the type or format that you want for your website logo. Different formats require different applications or illustrators, so knowing it is a must.

Procedural

Having the necessary materials and software, you may now start creating your website logo.

1. Create your graphical design or retrieve your image. Again, you can either draw your own website logo or use your existing company or brand logo.

2. Layout the logo. What you have to do when you layout the logo is create a projection of what your design would look like when it is done. This gives you different alternatives for your web design logo.
3. Work on your text. Image and text logos are created separately. The integration or combination of these two is done after both of their designs were finalized.
4. Access your logo builder software and integrate your textual and graphical designs and save it under a new file name.

Posting Your Website Logo

Once you have finalized and created your website logo all that is left to do is posting it on your site.

1. Save your design in any of these three formats: GIF, PNG, or JPG. If your brand mark has a banner on it then it is advisable that you save it in either PNG or JPG. These two formats can preserve the color quality of your website logo once uploaded.
2. Post your website's graphical mark by uploading it in your website.

Aside from imposing ownership, a website logo can also make your website appear more official and hippy. You can use button logos and other menu logos in customizing your website. Choice of a color scheme is also a good way to make your site cooler. In creating a website logo, it is important that you have a bit of artistry and creativity.

How To Use Organic SEO

Organic SEO or search engine optimization refers to an authentic and natural means of optimizing a site. These sites by and large get good standing based on appropriate keywords and not because of sponsored relations and other inert processes. It is a form of website optimization which is done manually without underhand methods, black hat methods or automated scripting. Everything is natural and because of this, the interest of the site visitors is retained. It is said to be the purest form of website optimization benefiting search engines and gaining the term "organic." Follow these tips for how to use organic SEO.

1. To use organic SEO one should understand more about search engine optimization. SEO methods employ keywords described as specific word or term and enable visitors to see the list on the search engine's directory.
2. Using organic SEO is similar to a computer "spider" that crawls billions of websites instead of real people. Organic SEO determines the position of a website through calculations called algorithms.
3. Allow a keyword or key phrase to be used by the organic SEO. Search engine spiders, though how intelligent they may be, will not be able to read text that is not visible as text.
4. Place the key phrase or keywords on the description tag, title tag or header tag on top of the page of the organic search engine. If the key phrase is too long that organic search strategy will not be effective, cut the phrase and use another page.
5. Keyphrases or keywords must be a common conversational language for the search engine to return the result.
Organic SEO is neither cheating nor magic. Good search engine optimization is plainly ensuring that the program that makes your web site is running with the search engine's process for grading web pages that are pertinent to the user's search keyword.

To be successful in using organic SEO, you must understand search engine, keywords, and SEO in its entirety. The ranking of a search engine is very important. Internet users visit the highly ranked link on the search engine pages. SEO is a form of marketing via website links; as users you should be able to know its benefits and drawbacks.

Using the right keyword is one more concept that has to be appreciated. Without keywords SEO would take a while before it begins to work. If the selected keywords are wrong, it will not give the right result. To choose appropriate keywords, you need to have plenty of keyword study.

Domain name is the last term that you need to know before you can make use of organic SEO. People recognize your site through your domain name. Without a good domain name your site will have very little chances of a visit. In organic SEO, you want to contain your domain name with as much appropriate keywords as possible. Your product must be clearly reflected in your domain name. Creating a good domain, though, is difficult because your competitors must already have the domain name you plan to have.

If you're familiar with all the above requirements, using organic SEO should run smoothly.

How To Download Ringtones for Free

Cellphones nowadays have flooded our sights, strongly going against and eradicating the previous notion that it is a luxury only the rich people can have. It has become a necessity since its functions in our daily lives have grown tremendously throughout the years. Aside from texting and calling our family and friends, the cellphone has also suddenly become an embodiment of our rapidly developing technology. Some cellphones also function as media players with a built-in camera or a music player. Others allow video conferencing, surfing the Net and other activities that were not possible before.

You must find a way to spice up your own phone and make it a cut above the rest. One of the ways to attain this is to download ringtones that sound good for your phone. Here are some tips for how to download ringtones – all for free.

1. Make sure that your phone's audio is still in good condition. In order not to spoil the ringtones that you are going to download, it would be better if you check the condition of your phone's audio. Old phones tend to have an impaired audio, making the tones and other sound clips falter whenever they are being played. Doing this will not put into waste your effort in downloading that Britney song or that Disney ringtone.
2. Search the web for free downloads: For free ringtones, you can check out ringtones4all.com where you can download ringtones according to the music's genre. It also offers free wallpaper, themes, and logo downloads which you might also try checking. Who knows, you might not only end up bagging a cool tune to your phone, but also getting a colorful wallpaper. Meanwhile, gallery.mobile9.com organizes the numerous cellphone units under each cellphone brand and the corresponding ringtones that can be downloaded in every particular unit. This method makes it more convenient for you since some ringtones that are applicable to one unit may not be applicable with a different unit. In that case, you will not waste time downloading a ringtone that will eventually not be usable in your phone.
3. Take advantage of your network provider's free ringtone offers. To fare better in the competition for subscribers, most network providers offer freebies to their costumers. They include ringtones, wallpapers and screen savers. They usually come more often to customers who have long been under the network provider's service. Network providers send messages to the costumers and you just need to do what the messages tell you to do in order to get the freebie. Sometimes, they also include sample ringtones that you can listen to and help you decide whether to bite the free offer.
4. Do it on your own! Maker ringtones enable you to transform music files from your computer into a ringtone for your cellphone. Once this application is already installed into your desktop, you can start making ringtones and send it to your phone afterwards.

Ringtones add a certain sense of vibrancy to one's phone with the sound it brings to it. And this even comes better if you can have them free.

How To Add Affiliate Links to Your Articles

An affiliate link is a form of online marketing wherein a certain Web site’s traffic is utilized to gain customers via advertising the product on that specific Web site. Companies grant commission to the Web site when they gain a sale if a customer buys their product or if they gain a lead or a prospective customer all because of the affiliate link you have added. Each affiliate link is unique, so that the company will know where it came from and whom they will grant the commission to. If you write numerous articles and have them published online, then you might want to consider earning a living by adding affiliate links to your articles.

How do you actually add affiliate links to your articles? There are different sources of affiliate links, such as Google AdSense, Commission Junction, Link Share, and Amazon, among others. The key to finding an affiliate link to be added to your article is its relevance to your topic. With the Web sites mentioned earlier for sources of affiliate links, you can search loads and loads of products that you can add to your article. Once your readers gain interest and purchase the product, then you are on your way to receiving a commission. When you register with affiliate marketers, they may have to look into how much traffic your Web site is getting, and what its content is. So as long as you write articles that are decent and interesting and is viewed and patronized by quite a number of people, then you won’t have to worry about your registration’s approval.

Visit one of the affiliate marketers first to get an ad similar to your topic when you are to publish a newly written article online. Choose the one that you think will catch the interest of your readers and copy the HTML code that you are going to be provided with and paste it to your article post. Make sure that you track the status of your affiliate link. Do not expect to earn commission right away as you will undergo a trial and error procedure when adding affiliate links to your articles. If the first affiliate link you have selected does not earn you anything, then remove it and add something else.

So in order to earn a lot from adding affiliate links to your articles, be ready to put on your thinking cap and create as many informative and interesting articles as you want to put more traffic to your Web site and more funds in your bank account.

How To Add a Link to MySpace

MySpace is a free social networking site that has over a million subscribers all around the world. This social networking site allows its subscribers to connect with friends and relatives, and also the opportunity to meet new friends almost anywhere in the world. One can post blurbs which contains information about one’s self and who they would like to meet. Blogging is also supported by MySpace, as well as posting music, videos, pictures bulletins and reviews. With the advent of such social networking sites, anything and everything is possible. One can even customize their MySpace profile with fun and creative layouts. With this, MySpace subscribers can even add the links of sites they liked on their own profile. This article will provide a simple tutorial on how you can add a link to your MySpace profile.

1. Copy the link you want to be added to your MySpace profile. Take note of the link of the page you have stumbled upon on the Internet that you want to share to everyone on your friends list.
2. Look for a resource Web site that will help you generate the code for changing your profile layout. Try checking out this resource site pimpwebpage.com, and the code they have there is what you need to use when you are to add the link to your profile. Just don’t forget to indicate the complete URL of the link and the text or caption that will go along with it once it appears to your page.

3. Pull up your MySpace profile on the computer. Log on to your MySpace account and once you are on the home page, click on Edit Profile on the upper left-hand side of the screen.
4. Paste the HTML code you got from the resource site for the link. Once you are on the Edit Profile page, choose the field where you want the link to appear, like the Interests field. Once you are done with editing your profile, you will then see the link appear on under the Interests section of your profile. Once you have finalized what section to place the link to, just paste the HTML code you have generated on to that section. Hit Save to make sure the link appears on your profile.
5. Double check if the link was successfully added to your profile. Once you’re done hitting save, click Profile from the top of the page and you should see the link on the section where you pasted it earlier.

Now its not only you, but the people on your friend list can also enjoy the link that you have added to your MySpace profile.

How To Add a Lot of Friends on Facebook

Facebook is a widely known social networking site that allows you to connect with your friends and family. The idea of being able to regularly communicate and see updates from them, especially those that are living far away from you, makes social networking sites enticing for a lot of people. Even if you live miles away from each other, you can still catch up on what’s happening in their lives with photos, videos and other posts that can be shared with your contacts.
Facebook is such a user-friendly Website that will allow you to be able to add a lot of friends to your profile. Apart from being able to send invites to your friends’ email addresses, Facebook also allows you to import your friends’ email addresses, direct from the address book of your web email like Hotmail, Gmail, AOL or Yahoo, or from your email application like Outlook or Apple Mail. When you invite friends with this method, they receive an email inviting them to join and add you on Facebook so that you can view and share information with each other. Aside from inviting friends via email, you can also manually search for your friends. Facebook, again, makes it a lot easier for you to do so, as there is another way of searching for people you know aside from typing each of their names one by one. Facebook allows you to custom search people from your network. You can filter your search by location, by school or by workplace. The filter search by school also allows you to search people on a specific class year. Another cool method of finding friends in Facebook is by importing your AOL Instant Messenger Buddy List and Windows Live Messenger contacts.

Apart from being able to reconnect with old friends and family members you have not seen for a long time, Facebook also gives you the opportunity to meet new people. You don’t call it a networking site for nothing. So how can you actually add a lot of friends on Facebook? You can network based on your hobbies and interests. There are different groups and fan pages that you can join to meet new people. A wide range of groups and fan pages, from business, to Internet and technology, to entertainment and arts, to sports and recreation, basically almost anything and everything, can be found in Facebook. You can even create your own group or fan page if you want so that you can gather people who share the same ideas and interests as yours. Networking with lots of people might come in handy, especially if you are to start your own online retail shop, or something similar.

Lastly, promoting your Facebook profile is also possible with Facebook’s Profile Badge. With the Profile Badge, you can gain more friends especially if they see your Profile Badge on your other Websites. You can post it on Websites like Blogger, TypePad, or other Websites by copying the Profile Badge code and pasting it to your other profiles.

With numerous methods for you to add friends, who knows maybe in a week or two you already have more that 500 friends on your Facebook account. So start your Facebook networking now!

How To Add a Feedback Form to a Blog

Whether you use Web sites for personal or business use, you need to get a response from your customers or Web site visitors. This is called getting a feedback. Feedback is either positive or negative; thus, it is safe to say that getting feedback is synonymous to receiving a constructive criticism to help individuals and businesses to improve.

For a blogger, receiving feedback from your loyal readers and blog followers will often result to increased readership foundation because you know first hand what they want to see or read in your page. As such, feedbacks will provide more interaction between the blogger and the reader and retain readership loyalty from your subscribers.

So how do you go about adding a feedback form to your blog? These steps will help you in setting up a feedback form to your blog.

1. Review if your blog host offers options on getting a feedback from your readers. Blog hosts like WordPress makes it easier to install feedback forms to their Web site. Blog hosts like TypePad, however, don’t have that same option offered to its users. If you have TypePad as your blog host, then you will need to find a third-party feedback form host to assist you in embedding the form into your blog.
2. Design and download the feedback form to be embedded to your blog to your liking. For WordPress blogs, one can contemplate on using the plug-in from Clear Skys. If your blog host does not provide options for feedback forms, you can always opt to register for a third party online Web site resource tool providers like Freedback or Bravenet. You should have a set guideline in what you want to be entered on the feedback form; things like name, email address, gender, location, or any information of the same nature. You can also employ the use of CAPTCHA, a test now commonly used by many web masters, to guarantee that the person replying or leaving comments in your Web page is really a live person and not computer software. Using CAPTCHA will more or less, prevent unwanted spam like advertising.
3. Affix the feedback form to your blog. If you are using a third party resource tool provider, get the HTML code of the feedback form and paste it to the page you want it to appear. Ways on how to do this would totally depend on what blog host you are using. For example, if you have a Blogger blog account, add an HTML/JavaScript Gadget and paste the HTML code generated by your third party resource tool provider and save the settings.

After pasting and integrating the HTML codes, the feedback form can now be seen by everyone who visits your Web site.

How To Increase Your Blog Adsense Revenue

With AdSense, Google has positioned itself as a top player in the advertising industry. As a clearinghouse for enabling the display of text and graphical advertisements on publisher websites, AdSense has enabled all sorts of publishers—small or big—to earn from their websites easily.

Among the biggest beneficiaries of Adsense are blog owners. With AdSense, bloggers can start monetizing their content, and earn from advertisements even without being in direct contact with advertisers. All one needs is an AdSense account, and the ability to edit one’s blog theme or template directly. Earning from AdSense is no walk in the park, though. While most beginning bloggers might assume that all it takes to earn is writing a few posts and slapping on some AdSense code, it’s not easy as that. Earning adequate money from AdSense requires some optimization.

Here are a few tips.

Topic. Before even considering running AdSense advertisements or links on your blog, first determine whether your topic or niche can be easily monetized with contextual ads. For one, readers of certain topics are considered to be ad averse or ad blind, meaning they don’t click ads at all. And because AdSense is a per-click system, you won’t earn money if people don’t click on your ads. Topics that are often not very easy to monetize this way include technology and software. Tech-savvy readers often avoid clicking ads.

Also, consider the potential revenue per-click of your topic. Some advertisers have a huge budget per visitor, and therefore the per-click revenue you would get will be higher than, say, topics that have very low per-click payouts. High paying topics include medical subjects like cancer research, and the like.

Placement. The clickability of an ad will also depend on its visibility. In this regard, there are a few places in your blog that will be the pest positions to run the AdSense ads. Experienced publishers would recommend placing ads above-the-fold, meaning the ad links or images are visible even without the need to scroll down. Another position is right after the main content.

Styling. An advantage of AdSense ads is that they are contextual, which means the ad images or text will be related to the main content of the website it appears on. This makes it more likely that a reader will click on the ad. The trick here is to make the ad more attractive to click. A publisher can either make it stand out, by using different colors. Some might prefer to keep the AdSense ads look like ordinary links (in which case the default blue color might be helpful). Be mindful, though, that styling the ads such that they look too much like regular site links might be against the AdSense terms of service.

Traffic and marketing. By most estimates, a website will get anywhere from 1% to 10% of its traffic as ad clickers (when a site gets too much clicks as a proportion to its total traffic, this might warrant an investigation from Google). This means that the more visitors you have, the more clicks you get. In this regard, new blogs are not likely to earn much from AdSense. On the other hand, established sites can earn better, particularly if traffic level is high, and is consistently so.

Remember that Google AdSense is a contextual system, and a click-based system. This means that the pay per click will depend on the quality of your content. Your total revenues will also depend on how many people click the ads. Therefore, there is an incentive to place the ads in visible areas, and to make sure you market your blog well.

How To find Blog AdSense Placement Tips

The styling and placement of blog AdSense ads is a contentious issue for bloggers. While most bloggers are probably more concerned about writing and connecting with other bloggers, those who are monetizing their blogs with AdSense try to experiment with the best layouts, best color schemes and best placement on the blog layout.

There are different philosophies in blog AdSense placement, and different bloggers and online marketers would often explain the pros and cons of each.

Above the fold. Most publishers would recommend placing AdSense ads near the top of each page, meaning these can be seen without the reader having to scroll down. This way, the ad catches the attention of your readers, and they can easily click on the link. The disadvantage of this is that the ad takes precedence over your content, and a reader is likely to navigate away even before he reads your article. Placing the ad above the fold might include inserting the links or images right after a blog post title. A more common and less-intrusive way would be to place a medium-sized banner right beside your post title.
Right after the content. Oftentimes, it’s a habit of blog readers to look for related articles right after he reads a blog post. When you place textual ads right after the main content, people looking for related material would tend to click here. The disadvantage here is that the ad might not be as visible and attractive as one that’s above the fold. Also, readers who navigate away might not have the chance to bookmark or subscribe to your site first.

Sidebars. Placing an ad tower at the sidebars (either the left or right of the main content) would make them visible as your main content, although these would only be in the periphery of the main focus (which is the content area.

RSS Feeds. A recently popular trend in AdSense is placement of ads in the RSS feeds. Google’s recently acquired service Feedburner allows publishers to automatically insert AdSense ads right after each article in their syndication feeds. This is one good way to monetize RSS subscriptions.

Where to find tips. Most of these AdSense experiments, with results, can be found in blogs and websites that discuss problogging. The best of these would include Problogger, Performancing, Blogging Pro, and the like. These are written by experienced bloggers who make a big part of their living by writing on, and managing, blogs.

There is no surefire answer that will apply to all websites and blogs, though. The best way to find out where to place your AdSense ads would be to experiment by changing the location. For one week, you can place ad units at the top of each page (near the header, perhaps). For another week, you can place the ads below each article. Just be sure to identify each with their own channels, so you have a way to evaluate at the end of your test.

How To Make Internet Income

Making income from the Internet is easy. The best thing about it is that you can do it from the comforts of your own home. Also, you won’t have to follow schedules. You can work in your own time and make the best out of your skills. There are many ways to make income using the Internet.

Here are a few ways to make Internet income:

1. Online businesses are a great way to make money. Here is the buy and sell business with a twist. The Internet serves as free advertisement for your goods. You can sell anything from clothes to food. Handmade crafts are very good items to sell on the Internet. Take advantage of social networking sites, as they will give you contact opportunities. All you have to do is make an account. Try uploading photos of your goods on your site so your customers know what they are getting. You can choose to buy your own .com, but that will take a little more capital. Personalize your website store to give it a unique feel. Remember that like any other buy and sell business, you should check your income revenue and work income. Make sure that you take the proper precautions because if your business is mismanaged, your hard work will be wasted.
2. Yes, you can make money through blogging. Recently, more and more web log (blog) writers are getting paid. Usually, they are a part of a bigger group of writers where each one has a specialty. The best thing about blogging is you can choose any topic you want to write about. In blogging, the payments go in through the advertising done on the website. This means that your work income will depend greatly on how popular your website is. It is a great job for those who want to exercise their creativity.
# Computer savvy people can make a lot of money out of designing websites. Increasingly, website designers are in demand. If you have a knack for design and have a little computer know-how, you should give it a try. If you wish to go freelance, you will get paid depending on how many websites you can design. This means you will have to advertise yourself and depend on your own skills. You can choose to be a part of a group of designers, working together as a team. This will greatly make earning easier, as a team can accommodate more jobs.
# Web content writing is a great way to make Internet income. Typically, web content writers are paid per article. All the resources you need can be found on the Internet. Specific topics are given to writers. The articles you will need to write can be about anything from home improvement to sexual harassment. It is a great job for people who love to discover new things.
# Earning from the Internet is easy and convenient. Best of all, most jobs do not require specific educations. If you want to earn easy money through the Internet, follow these simple tips and you’ll be on your way to make money in no time.

How To Secure a Blog Application

You have set up your blog and now have installed some blog applications and tools. You are concerned about security concerns when you upload files, images, graphics, videos, audio, etc. You now wish to learn how to secure your blog application from arbitrary file disclosures to remote arbitrary code execution.

What most people do when they find that their blog has been attacked or hacked? Most run to their nearest accessible techie or nerd friends, and describe the problem. Others would engage someone who would use paid service. Hackers can either directly hack into your blog or would have uploaded some mischievous robot software that is intended to create random mischief. You have to first try and understand the problem even before you approach your known network. If you want to be hyper secure before using blog applications or software, you would want your friend, paid or otherwise, to help from attacks such as injection attacks, PHP remote file include, cross site scripting (XSS) whereupon he will probably use content and extension verification for PHP attacks to secure uploads to your blog application. You can also have your blog applications coded in XHTML and CSS for better protection.

On a slightly more technical way of securing your blog, here is Vincent Cheung’s site that tells you how to encrypt and password-protect your blog itself outside of logging into your blog with your username and password.

You want to know how to secure a blog application and what to do when your blog application is hacked without going into techno-babble or using hardware to secure your blog application.

Simple steps to secure a blog application

When you set up your blog, you are interacting with many people, known and unknown, unlike intranets which can be secured locally, your blog is wide open to the internet. Some of the simple steps you can take from your end are:

Blog hosts: If you can afford it, choose hosting companies to host your blog sites. Free blog sites means there is no guarantee, no assurance of security no matter what the hosts tell you. In blog sites maintained by hosting companies, you have recourse to the hosting company itself if your blog sites or blog applications are compromised by third parties.

Passwords: If a person can access your blog, he can create havoc with not only your content, but your blog applications as well. One of the simplest and quite effective ways of preventing access to your blog is your password. While signing in, use a good password – one with a combination of upper and lower cases, symbols and numbers. Avoid dictionary words or words connected to you, your personal information and / or relatives, friends or pets.

Updating: Update your blog application software and web server software as often as you can. Companies supplying blog software and blog applications, even if they are free, regularly post updates and revisions patching security flaws and leaks in their software and blog applications.

Local machines: keep you computer up to date with releases and patches as well. If you are a windows user, you already know what we are talking about.

How To Promote Your Personal Blog

Once you have your blog up and running, you want to promote it so that you get more visitors and traffic. There are many ways to promote your personal blog. The first appearance is one.

Many blog sites such as blogger.com, wordpress.com or typepress.com offer features that allow you to personalize your blog with graphics, images, fonts, counters, templates, gadgets and widgets to make your blog highly attractive. Remember that more features you use the slower your blog page would take to load. Find that balance where your blog loads fast and you won’t have to compromise on the elements that make your blog look good. Since the content of your blog will keep varying, try to vary the images and videos, if any, as well. But try to keep your background and graphics constant so that your visitors will feel familiar and comfortable with your personal blog and will keep revisiting, thus promoting your personal blog.

Networking to promote your personal blog
Once your personal blog has been set up to your satisfaction, you should begin linking your blog to others, preferably like-minded individuals with quality content that is related to your niche content. Once you begin the link, others will cross-link to your blog and so on creating a fine network that will begin to be self-sustaining and traffic will begin. Commenting (leaving your opinions and not merely saying “nice article” or “good one”) on other’s personal blogs will also encourage them to visit yours and in turn comment on your personal blog. This helps greatly in making new friends and promoting your personal blog.

Time and timing to help promote your personal blog

It does not matter how often you write. What is more important is your consistency. Make sure you have a schedule and stick to it. It is difficult for ordinary human beings to be flexible to change. Everyone finds a pattern and sticks to it. So if your posting is predictable, visitors will anticipate your posts and visit. If it is erratic and visitors find that on more than one visit there has not been a change in your blog, they may stop visiting it altogether.

Be patient. Do not expect a deluge of visitors overnight. Keep at whatever you’re doing to fill your personal blog and keep directing people you meet or speak with to your personal blog. Not only will they understand you better, but will in turn help promote your personal blog if they like it.

Technology to promote your personal blog

You can also use technology to work for you. Use bookmarks, RSS, links that open email clients, social bookmarking sites, gadgets, widgets, plugins and other software that help direct streams to your personal blog.

Netiquette to help promote your personal blog

Above all, learn netiquette. One of the worst things you can do is spam. Don’t get into prolonged and heated arguments with visitors who post your personal blog. Practice dignity. Others who read your interactions will appreciate you and they will promote your blog for you.

How To Write a Personal Blog

A blog is a site on the internet where a person gets to express his or her views. The views may be personal or professional or mere rants. Some write their blogs based on their personal experiences, some write to report things of interest. Many bloggers write their blogs in a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) fashion. Others are careful about their grammar, syntax, format and other presentation forms. There are even blog writing courses available online.

Preparing to start blogging

You would have heard of blogs from your relatives or friends, from news channels or news papers. You may wish to write blogs based on personal experiences that you wish to share with your loved ones and friends. A personal blog need not follow any particular pattern.

What to blog about

You can begin your blog with some activity you have recently undertaken. Mention what is interesting to you. Update your blog regularly about something new you have discovered while pursuing your activity. This will keep the interest of your readers alive and they will keep revisiting your site. Personal blog content and format

Have a good theme all the time. You can vary your blog with different posts. Put up a photograph if possible. Video is a good idea if you are sure it is interesting enough for visitors to have the patience for it to load. Your blog should be easy to read. Unless you are an academician who have fellow academicians or pedantically oriented fellow individuals who can read pages without paragraph breaks, your blog should be divided into equal paragraphs, headings, graphics and where possible, pictures to illustrate your point.

Use your personal style and let your style and personality come out but try and ensure your spellings, grammar and syntax are intact. If your personal style keeps varying according to your mood, then so be it. Even that attracts visitors.

Connecting personal blogs

Write your blog such that when you link it to others, preferably like-minded individuals with quality content that is related to your niche content, there should be a reverse traffic and link back as well. Once you begin the link, others will cross-link to your blog.

Blogging should be fun and not tedious. Keep yourself amused and interest by varying your topics. If you feel like ranting, do it in a humorous fashion. If you have a humorous situation, try to present it dryly. Give both perspectives while writing a topic that invites discussions or requires the need to present arguments. Interact with your visitors. You will find that your personal blog will also attract mischievous elements that only seek to wreak havoc with your personal blog. Ignore or block them, but do not let them discourage you from continuing to write on your personal blog.

How To Add Google News to the Google Toolbar

A majority of Internet users prefer the Web browser Google. And this is not surprising as Google, with its many innovations, has been the undisputed leader in virtually everything concerning the World Wide Web. Furthermore, Google lets its users customize the Google Web browser user interface window, which in turn allows the adding of various useful applications. This article will teach us how to add Google News to the Google Toolbar to get the latest updates on local and international news without having to search for them on the Web every time.

1. Download the Google Toolbar if you do not have it on your computer yet. Download Google Toolbar onto your Web browser of choice. Downloading Google Toolbar requires certain versions of Web browsers. For Internet Explorer users, you must have the Internet Explorer 6 or higher versions. Meanwhile, Mozilla Firefox users have to have the Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or higher version on their computers. Now, to download Google Toolbar, simply go to the official Web site and click on the Install Google Toolbar button found at the right hand portion of the window. Once you click this, you will be required to read the Google Terms of Service. If you are agree to the terms, click on the Agree and Install button. Click on the Install Now button on the Software Installation dialog box that pops up for the download and installation of Google Toolbar to commence automatically.
2. Restart your Web browser of choice. After downloading Google Toolbar successfully, you will be required to close and reopen your choice of Web browser. When you pull up your Web browser again, you should now see the Google Toolbar displayed on upper part of your Web browser's user interface window.
3. Select Google News from among the Google applications presented. To do so, click on the Search tab on the toolbar. A dropdown menu should pop up when you do so. Highlight and select Google News by clicking on it once. The Search for news articles icon represented by a colorful folded newspaper should now appear on the Google Toolbar.
4. Look for the Google News Feeds button from the Google Toolbar Button Gallery. Another useful source of news would be through the Google News Feeds application. Type in toolbar.google.com buttons into the address field of your Web browser and hit Enter on your computer keyboard. Once on the Google Toolbar Button Gallery, go to the News section. Right beside it is the clickable link View All News. Click on this to get more results for Google buttons. Scroll the Web page down and look for the item Google News Feeds. Once on this item, you will have to click on the Add to Toolbar button. A dialog box pops up prompting you to confirm the process. Simply click on the Add button for the download to commence. The Google News Feeds button will be positioned right beside the Google News button.

Just click on the Google News button when you want to be updated on the latest local news. Google News Feeds, on the other hand, will keep you posted on the most recent happenings in the international arena.

How To Post Videos on a Video Website

Posting videos on a website is a great way to be heard. If you like making or editing videos, you will surely want to post videos and share them with the world. Video websites make it easier for video makers to share their work.

Here the steps you should take to post videos on a video website:

1. First of all, you have to have an account on the video website. You can choose from a variety of video websites. To register to one, you have to have an email account first. This is where all the notifications for your videos, as well as your account, will be sent. If you already have an email account, you should go to the homepage of the video website. You will find all the steps for registration at the website. Usually, you will be asked for personal details like your name, age, sex, and such. You will also be asked to choose a password. It is best to choose your password wisely. It is highly recommended that you use alternating letters and numbers so that your password is hard to guess. Some video websites have age requirements, and you usually have to be 18 years old or above to be a member.
2. Choose the video you want to upload. Most video websites have restrictions and rules about which videos can be uploaded. This is why, before uploading a video, you should carefully read their policies. If you fail to follow certain rules and regulations, your video could be banned from the website, or worse, your account in the video website can be closed.
3. Make sure that your account has been verified. This is the usual dilemma of those who are new to video websites. Always remember that you will not be able to upload videos, or even comment on other videos, unless your account is verified. To verify your account, check your email address. If you have done the registration process correctly, the video website will have sent you an email with a link attached. All you have to do is click the link and your account will be verified.
4. Go to your account’s homepage. Once your account has been verified, you can upload videos. In your account’s homepage, click the “upload video” button. You simply have to choose your video from your hard drive and click the upload button. The time it takes to upload the video will vary, depending on how big your file size is. The bigger the file size, the longer time it will take to upload the video. When the video uploads, all you will have to do is input the title and save your settings.

Uploading your videos on a video website can be very fun. It allows you to share your work with the world. It also stimulates your creativity. Do not forget to use your chosen video websites responsibly. What you say counts. Follow these steps and start uploading your videos now.

How To Setup a Wordpress Blog

A great way to promote your website or to just share your thoughts and opinions with others is by blogging and a great blogging resource to use is Wordpress. However, it is not merely enough to proclaim that you are a blogger, you have to give it some thought and most importantly you need to set up a Wordpress blog for yourself.

While many new users find Wordpress extremely intimidating to set up, once it is all said and done it is a very user friendly way to go about your blogging. Here are some steps that will help you get your Wordpress blog set up:
Step 1

Read set-up instructions: Wordpress has the set up instructions right there on their homepage and you need to thoroughly read through them before you decide you actually want to go through with it or not. While Wordpress is wonderful software, like anything else, it may not be for everyone and your PC may not have what it takes to support it. By finding out first what the set up entails you will be able to determine if you want to proceed and this can save you time.
Step 2

Make a plan: Based on all the information you will read your next step is to formulate a plan. How will you use Wordpress? Will you set it up in the main directory, a root directory, or will you use it as a test site to gauge potential interest? If you are using it as a standalone then map out how the entire site will look before you get started.

Step 3

Install and configure: Once you have read all the information and have a game plan you can now install and set up Wordpress. Once installed you can begin to custom tailor your Wordpress blog by selecting a theme and adding various plug-ins. Before you save any changes you should view what they will look like first by clicking the ‘View Site’ link on top of the Administration page. The great thing about Wordpress is that help is but a few clicks away. They have a great FAQ page that covers almost anything you can think of that you may need to ask.
Step 4

Blog and explore: Once you have your Wordpress blog set up the way you want it is now time to start blogging about whatever you like. Be sure to adhere to Wordpress’ rules and regulations and of course you should have fun when you blog. As you go along your Wordpress journey take the time to explore different aspects of Wordpress. Wordpress is quite powerful software and there are many different tasks that can be accomplished by utilizing it. Keep playing around and keep learning and you will eventually become a Wordpress guru.

Yes everyone it seems now has a blog and if you don’t you stand to be somewhat of an Internet outcast. But don’t worry; with some simple planning, some installation, and some good old research and development you too can have a successful blog with Wordpress and never again drift away from the online populace.
Jason Kay recommends using the Webwej professional blog setup service to setup your Wordpress blog. Start a blog today and start promoting your product, service, or yourself.

How To Compare Web Host Services

There are many web host services on the Internet. Just throwing a search in any search engine will give you information about web hosts. Web hosting could be exclusive or shared.

What Internet services do you require?
You must ask yourself if you wish to post information about yourself or your company. Is it a personal website or a commercial website or a business website? Is your website merely for providing data? Is the information exhaustive and requires large amounts of data space?

What kind of software are you intending to run on the web site? The following are some considerations to bear in mind when you compare web host services.

* Price – The overall cost to set up and maintain your website.
* Set up fee – some web host companies will charge you a set up fee.
* Domain and multiple domains – such as www.yourname.com. Multiple domains may cost extra to buy and maintain. Also look for domain search, registration, transferability, parked domains, sub-domains, add-on domains, and domain privacy.
* Disk Space – many free web host services will give you a limited disk space. Others will charge you a nominal fee for additional disk space at their server while premium web host services could provide virtually limitless disk space.
* Bandwidth – you should take care to see that the bandwidth offered is high if your traffic is high. Free web host services could give very limited bandwidth.Features such as - Money Back, Uptime guarantee, Website builder, Traffic statistics.
* Email, spam protection, webmail, SMTP
* Scripts to be run on the website – such as audio / video, java, perl, etc.
* Server backups – this could also depend upon the disk space available.
* History of web host such as reliability, customer service, technical support, technical response, and ease of use.

Some web hosts provide services such as customer management, shopping cart, credit card processing, merchant accounts, password protection, signing certificates and other security devices.

While you compare web host services, you should look at price-value ratio. Host reliability, key features, bonus features, customer support, past and current user feedback, user-friendliness and hosting awards.

The web hosts can provide website wizards, templates, guides, FAQs and other easy to use tools to help you build your websites.
The popular web hosting service providers, based on number of visits per week, are InMotion Hosting Inc.; Hostmysite.com; The Planet; Codero; Lunarpages; SingleHop; Justhost; IPage; HostMonster; FatCow; SuperGreen; HostClear; BlueHost; Green Geeks Hosting and Yahoo!

How To Find Trading Courses

Commodities markets are a highly interesting part of the world’s economic and financial markets. Commodities trading refers to trading tangible or real materials. They are the building blocks of a real economy. Commodities trading was once thought to be less profitable.

However, recent hostility in the economic, political and financial arena led to a fall in the prices of stocks and bonds. During this period, commodities trading remained stable. Investors soon realized that investing and trading commodities could be as profitable as stocks and bonds.

During the current recession days, everyone would want to make an income online using the web. What could be easier than investing in commodities, stocks and bonds. The stock market has always been an area of interest among those interested in making a quick buck. However, one could earn well and also lose their fortune if they trade without proper knowledge.

Hence, it is necessary to firstly find trading courses and join one of them. These days it is not so tough to find trading courses, both online or otherwise. A Google search would give several links while the user types ”find trading courses” and the browser is full of several options.
One would find trading courses that claim to teach you a complete education on commodity trading, various income models, low risk trading and so on. One such search showed that Ken Roberts is a leading commodity futures instructor. It is advisable to do a detailed search, read reviews about where to find trading courses.

Now, those interested to take up a course, would find trading courses costing a good fortune. A two day course could cost between $1000 to $2000 too. One can also find trading courses that provide home courses. One can read about them at modustrading.com.

One can also find trading courses at Fidelity Investments online. They provide trading knowledge under the guidance of industry experts through interactive video tutorials. Another interesting way to find trading courses online could be at Thomas Wnorowski’s commodity trading course; trading academy.com or commoditiestrading.com.

So the question arises of the benefit of such trading courses. Apart from getting well informed about commodities trading, one can learn about price fluctuations and gain a better knowledge of volatility of the stock market. Interested investors may find trading courses cover all aspects of demand, supply and other market conditions.

Aspiring investors would also find trading courses that give a chance to practice trading online without the need to invest any real currency. It is all a part of an educational game and provides practical experience and gives an idea into different investment strategies.

How to Maintain Fitness in a Wilderness Setting

Most people equate working out with attending a fitness center. However, body weight exercises are a convenient and effective method to maintain fitness anywhere, without the need for expensive equipment. Besides, machines isolate specific muscles with movements limited to fixed, two-dimensional paths. These machines lack real world purpose. The world is your playground; use the natural environment to create a challenging workout that will not only give you functional strength but also give you an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors.


Instructions

1. Make an inventory of what you have available and different ways to use these items to mimic exercise movements typically performed in a traditional gym setting.
2. Walk through your intended workout area and path to check for hazards. For instance, if using a hill for bear crawls, check the terrain and vegetation for poisonous plants or sharp rocks. Test tree branches to ensure that they will support your weight.
3. Find a low-hanging branch that can safely support your weight for pullups. Stand underneath the branch and start from a dead hang. Your grip on the bar should be slightly wider than your shoulder width. Tighten your abs and squeeze your scapulae together. Keep your elbows close to your side. Aim for the maximum number of pullups you can do while maintaining proper form.
4. Do some pushups on uneven terrain or an incline to challenge yourself. To do a pushup, begin with your chest against the ground, and hands positioned at approximately shoulder width. Look straight in front of you. As you push yourself up, exhale and make sure your abs are flexed so your back does not sag or arch. Stop just before full extension because you never want to lock your elbow joints. Perform the maximum number possible with proper form.
5. Do a reverse bear crawl up a hill. Begin at the base facing away from the incline. Your opposite arm and opposite leg will move simultaneously as you progress up your chosen incline. Keep your hips low but do not let your knees touch the ground.
6. Sprint approximately 200 meters. Be conscious of your terrain to avoid stumbling.
7. Rest 60 to 90 seconds standing or walking around. Do not sit down.
8. Repeat this circuit three to five times.
9. Take a short cool down jog (approximately 10 minutes) to lower your heart rate. Stretching afterward is optional.

How to Search for Product Ingredients

It is important to know the ingredients contained within a product you want to use. Information regarding product contents is needed for the consumer to make informed decisions concerning purchase and use. Complications due to conditions such as allergies or other sensitivities can be avoided by not using products that contain irritants. If you have a product and are not sure of the ingredients, you can perform a search to help you determine the product's ingredients.



Instructions

1. Locate the ingredient label on the back of the product. The label lists each ingredient found in the product along with the amount of each ingredient used. Food labels also contain dietary information related to the ingredients. Medications will list active ingredients, meaning those that are involved in healing, as well as inactive ingredients, meaning the fillers that are used to make the medication into a usable form.

2. Browse the Household Products Database. The database alphabetically lists all of the ingredients found in common household products. The site also lists health effects that can occur due to prolonged exposure.

3. Enter the product's Universal Product Code (UPC) code into a UPC Product Search. The UPC code is the barcode located on the product. The barcode is a symbolic code used on products throughout the United States and Canada as a means of product identification. Since the product's information is linked to the barcode, the ingredients can be found by conducting a search.

4. Use the ingredients of similar products as a guideline. For example if you are searching for the ingredients in Jiff peanut butter, compare the ingredient list to another type of peanut butter to get an idea of the ingredients used.

How Can I Physically Secure My PC Tower in My Home?

Theft from a computer is usually a problem of stolen information from the computer. As a result, there are several programs available that are designed to prevent the theft of information in the form of firewalls, antivirus software and anti-spyware. While protecting information is important, it is not the only theft possible for a computer. A thief can also physically steal the computer. Securing the computer tower physically will prevent thefts by making the computer a difficult and risky item to steal.

Instructions

1. Make backup files of every important file on the computer. In case the worst happens and the computer is stolen or accessed, backup files prevent losing the important information.

2. Store backup files in a separate location. Since backup files are usually in a small format, such as CDs or flash drives, they fit in most any location. Hide these backup files somewhere safe, such as in a home safe, a dresser drawer or even under the couch. The hiding place is personal preference, but keep it away from the computer.

3. Get a security case for the computer tower. A security case for a PC is an item designed to make it difficult to steal. It adds extra weight to the computer tower and secures it to the desk. Depending on the type of security case, the way it secures the computer tower will differ. Some securing methods include adhesives made to hold the tower to a desk and others include chains that are similar to a bike chain

Ethernet to Serial Conversion

Using devices based on serial communications standards on an Ethernet-based network requires an Ethernet-to-serial conversion box. Ethernet converters allow remote administration of hardware using RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 type serial ports through servers specifically designed to handle serial data over an Ethernet connection.

Single Converter Box

Ethernet converters are used to transfer data from a serial device to a computer using an RJ-45 Ethernet cable. This type of converter allows administrators to remotely control serial-based devices without upgrading to a model with built-in networking capabilities.
Multi-Port Converter
Multi-port converters provide network routing for serial devices that require access to multiple network devices. This type of converter is typically designed to support a number of networking protocols. IP, TCP, UDP, PPPoE, DHCP and ICMP are among the protocols commonly supported by this type of device.
Terminal Server
Terminal servers that transfer data from serial devices work in conjunction with serial-to-Ethernet converters to provide network routing for serial devices. These devices are capable of providing network routing for up to 48 serial-over-Ethernet connections.

Introduction to Robotics Analysis Systems

The Czech writer Karel Capek introduced the word robot in a 1920 play. The word robot means servant in the Czech language. A robot in general refers to a reprogrammable machine that can perform a variety of tasks.

Robotics
As the robot industry entered into a period of fast growth in the 1980s, institutions began offering courses of study in robotics. Mechanical engineering, computer science and electrical engineering departments started offering such courses.
Robotics Analysis Systems
The design and operation of robotics analysis systems involves the mechanics to make the robot functional. This includes the use of dynamic systems modeling and analysis. It also involves feedback control, and sensors and signal conditioning.
Robot Sensors
Robot sensors, for instance, get input from the environment and send it to the robot controller as electronic signals. Much as human senses, such as sight and sound, provide humans input to function, robot sensors provide input to the robot.

How Does a Mainframe Encryption Processor Work?

Mainframes were the standard form of computing hardware before personal computers. Mainframes centralize computer computing power, which multiple terminals access. Consequently, the central unit handles encryption processes from remote terminals.



Mainframes vs. Servers
Mainframes are different than servers. Although both are centralized hardware to which remote terminals connect, mainframes can operate at much higher processor capacity than servers. This means that a single mainframe can do the work of several servers.
Encryption
Encryption refers to the process of obscuring the true content of a document into a code that is unreadable by anyone who does not know how to decode the obscured information. These processes can use simple ciphers, where a specific character corresponds to some symbol or different character, or complex mathematical equations that need to be solved to reveal the information. Many modern forms of encryption, such as Pretty Good Privacy, require a computer processor to perform such equations.
Mainframes and Processing
Mainframes have no dedicated processor for encryption. Rather, different terminals take turns getting CPU time, or time when the mainframe's processors perform the calculations the programs on a given terminal need to perform. Encryption is no different. The terminal sends the mainframe's processor the equations necessary to encrypt or decrypt the information.

Friday, February 25, 2011

How To Change the Default Email Address in Joomla!

Joomla! is a popular Content Management System (CMS) that provides you with easy to use web development and content management software. It is advantageous for both types of users, the one with little or no technical skills and the trained web developer. Joomla makes it easier for you to track all the contents uploaded to your website, from text, documents, photos, music, and videos, including those posted by users and visitors of the website. Joomla also offers a ‘Mail’ feature. One of the several functions of the Mail feature is to allow one to send auto responses to members of the website. In this article, we will discuss how to change the default email address in Joomla.

1. Log in to your own Joomla! website. Once you are logged in, click on the icon with a little screw driver. This icon is labeled ‘Global Configuration’. It will be on the lower right hand portion of all the ‘Control Panel’ icons.
2. Locate the ‘Mail’ tab. When you open ‘Global Configuration’ you will see ten tabs namely ‘Site’, ‘Locale’, ‘Content’, ‘Database’, ‘Server’, ‘Metadata’, ‘Mail’, ‘Cache’, ‘Statistics’ and ‘SEO’. Click on the seventh tab labeled ‘Mail’.
3. Change the email address written under the ‘Mail From’ field. When you open the ‘Mail’ tab, there will be eight fields displayed. First field is ‘Mailer’ where you can choose the mailer that will be used, and the choices are ‘PHP Mail Function’, ‘Sendmail’ or ‘SMTP Server’. The ‘Mail From’ field will be the email address shown as the sender, the ‘From Name’ field will be the name that will be shown as the sender, the ‘Sendmail Path’ field indicates the directory of the Mail server, the ‘SMTP Auth’ field is where you will specify if your host requires SMTP Authentication, the ‘SMTP User’ field is where you will indicate the username if SMTP Authentication is required, the ‘SMTP Pass’ is where the SMTP Authentication password will be indicated, and ‘SMTP Host’ field will be your website host. The ‘Mail From’ field is the one you need to change.
4. Click ‘Save’ once you are done changing the default email address. The new email address will not take effect unless you save it. Click on the ‘Save’ button from the toolbar to save the changes that you have made.

Just follow the steps outlined above and you will be able to change the default email address in Joomla! In case you encounter difficulties, don’t forget to check with your System Administrator or Web Master.

How To Not Get Scammed Online

The Internet is a valuable resource of information and opportunities. However, scam artists now use the benefits of the Internet to their advantage. It allows con men to reach millions of people all over the world and make it almost impossible to track down.

There are so many scams online. It’s tricky to sort through the legitimate opportunities from the fake ones because online scams have gotten so sophisticated. Here’s what you need to do to protect yourself from online scams.

1. Activate your mail filters. All email sites have a way of filtering spam. Let all the “offers” go directly to either your junk mail or your spam folder. Don’t bother to read them. You may get suckered into believing these sob stories or get rich quick schemes.
2. Stay away from pyramid and multi level marketing schemes. If you need to convince other people to join the bandwagon to make money, it’s a scam. Even if they have an actual product to sell, think about the usefulness of it. Would you actually need, buy or use one? The pyramid only work for those on top.
3. Don’t open email from unknown sources. Scam artists try a shotgun approach by sending out a barrage of emails hoping one or two will bite. Be especially wary of emails or messages from abroad and countries you’ve never even been to.
4. If you are selling a product online, be wary of offers that exceed the actual value of your product. Also, the buyer should be able to pay in the method that you request such as PayPal or a valid major credit card. Use a reputable auction or sell site.
5. If you are buying something online, search for products from reputable sites. Use a credit card that you specifically use for online transactions only. This will make it easier to cancel the card if there’s a problem and to track any unauthorized transactions. Check with your card what protection you have with regards to online purchases. As the buyer, be careful what you purchase online. Stay away from ridiculously low priced high-end goods such as designer watches and jewelry or electronics that you have no way of checking out. Don’t seize opportunities the first time you read about it. Take your time.
6. Stick with reputable auction sites such as eBay. These sites set up payment systems for the mutual protection of both buyer and seller. No guarantees are made on the products sold on any third party site so you still need to be vigilant.
7. Beware of products that are being sold at ridiculously low prices, such as brand new electronics at halt the price. If it doesn’t make sense, walk away no matter how good the deal sounds.
8. Never give your personal information online such as your social security number. Be careful with your credit card number. It’ a virtual world so if something goes wrong, how can you find the scammers?
9. Stay vigilant and informed of the current scams. There are several exposes on online scams that have been shown on TV shows and on major newspapers. These exposes reveal the modus operandi of the scam artists. Listen up because it might be done to you.

You are still your best protection against scammers. Be informed, be vigilant and use extreme caution. Use your common sense. Get real and think about it. If it sounds ridiculous, that’s because it is!

How To Monetize Your Website Without Google's Adsense

Google has strict terms and regulations for content. You don't have to worry if you are a Web publisher who can't meet the standards and requirements for using Adsense. There are different ways to earn money from your website. The following lists some of the alternatives that you can use to monetize your website without Adsense.

1. Look for an alternative ad provider.
You have to bear in mind that Adsense is not the only way you can earn through ads. The following are some of the top picks that you can use to replace Google Adsense.

* AdBrite. This is the most used ads provider next to Adsense. AdBrite got a great CTR (Click Through Ratio) because of its implementation of inline page links. AdBrite also has the “Interstitial Full Page Ads” that will make you earn money through traffic. They pay reasonably, considering they are pretty much lax with their terms and conditions compared to Adsense. If you are a blogger, AdBrite will prove to be a great ad provider for you.
* Clicksor. Among the small ad publishers, Clicksor prove to be the favored ad provider. The advertisement they show ads that are accurately matches your content. The chance of your CTR going over your expected number is possible since the ads are truly targeted for your website and its visitors.
* Infolinks. This ad provider specializes with in-text advertising. In-text advertising works this way: the system looks for keywords or phrases on your content and changes them to advertising links. When the visitor moves the cursor towards the link, they will see a box popping up, showing the ad and when they click within the ad, you get earnings for that. What’s also excellent with this service is that you can match it with another ad provider.
* Yahoo Publisher Network. Yahoo recently delved into advertising, as a response to Google introducing Adsense. You can try Yahoo for a while and see if their terms and conditions could accommodate your website content.

2. Earn through marketing affiliates.
What’s good about marketing affiliate is that you get a percentage of the profit just by displaying a banner on your website. You get a payout if your visitor clicked on the banner and ordered something from your affiliate. These products could be anything from clothes, software or magazine subscriptions. Here are two affiliate programs that got good reviews from webmasters all over the world.

* PepperJam Network.This affiliate got good ratings from most users. They have a highly regarded system and they offer at least a $10 commission if their clients send in or post comments and reviews about PepperJam’s services on your website.
* ShareASale. This affiliate got good reviews about their consistent payout dates. They also have good customer service support, which will make you feel at ease, especially when inquiring about your commissions.

Once you have chosen which marketing affiliate or ad provider to go with, what you need to focus on is your website content. You need to make sure that they both match in order to get a more positive result with your click through rates or page impressions.

How To Navigate Facebook

New subscribers who just recently jumped into the Facebook bandwagon may have difficulties navigating the social networking site. In this article, we will give you pointers on how to navigate Facebook.

1. Find all of the people you know on Facebook. Once you are logged in and on the Home page, at the top center of the screen you will see a Search tab. Type in the names of the people you want to look for and wait for the results to be generated. If your search did not yield the results you were looking for, you can still filter the search by specifying the location, school, workplace or email address of your friend. When you finally find your friend on Facebook, click on the ‘Add as Friend’ button and wait for them to confirm your friend request.
2. Add information about yourself to share to your friends. Click on Profile located on the top right of the Home page. By default, you will be directed to your Wall. Click on the Info tab under your name and click again on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information field, you can specify your sex, birthday, city and hometown details, family members, relationship status, political and religious views. Under the Personal Information field, you can specify your activities, interests, favorite music, TV shows, movies, books, and quotations. Under the Contact Information field you can indicate your email addresses, IM screen names, mobile phone number, land phone number, complete address and your website/s. Lastly, under the Education and Work field is where you can indicate your college/university, high school, and employers over the years. Providing all your personal details in the Info tab is not mandatory, so it’s okay if you don’t accomplish each field. You can also change the privacy settings if you want everyone on Facebook or just your contacts to view the information listed.
3. Post content to your Facebook Wall. When you post content to your Wall, you can do it both on the Home page and on the Profile page. On top of both the pages you will see a field labeled ‘What’s on your mind?’ where you can type in your status message. You can also post a photo, a video, an event or a link. Click Share when you’re done typing your status message or attaching content and it will appear on your wall and all your friends’ News Feed.
4. View all your friends’ Facebook posts. You can go to your friend’s profile to view the content they’ve posted on their Wall, or you can see it posted on your News Feed in the Home page. Everything, from status messages, photos, videos, events, links, new friends, and application posts can be seen on the News Feed. You can also comment on your friends’ posts.

Navigating Facebook for the first time can be confusing for some people. We’ve covered the basics for you and once you get the feel of the site, navigating Facebook will just be a piece of cake.

How To Choose an SEO Shopping Cart

SEO Shopping Cart software drives the e-commerce site of your business. Because of this intricate role, you must understand how to choose an exceptional SEO Shopping Cart right for your business.

The traffic using the search engine is an important factor in choosing an SEO shopping cart. Aside from this, the SEO shopping cart should also be user friendly. This means that necessary features of the crawlers and spiders should be available aside from the visible ones.

In order to make the SEO Shopping Cart user-friendly, it must be designed with optimization options. There are three optimization options for SEO Shopping Cart—the fully optimized, partially optimized, and the non-optimized SEO Shopping Cart.

SEO Shopping Carts come with various features. These features are useful in growing the business. However, having many features is not necessary if you do not know how to utilize the options.

Here are some practical pieces of advice that will be helpful in choosing an SEO Shopping Cart:

1. Consider the built-in features. Generally, you can be enticed by choosing a website design that looks appealing. But the beauty of the website does not have anything to do with the Internet searchability and ranking.
2. Take into consideration the affordability of SEO Shopping Cart. You must take note that SEO Shopping Cart empowers the engine of your site, therefore you need to choose the best shopping cart that can be accommodated in your budget. If your web site is income generating, then you need to invest in a powerful SEO Shopping Cart even if this means a little costly. Find a software company that has outstanding experience in Internet marketing.
3. Compare SEO Shopping Cart reviews. Contact the companies that provide SEO Shopping Carts and take note of the time it takes for them to respond. As you know, there are many companies that offer good traffic but only to give poor service after you have made the purchase.
4. Find an SEO Shopping Cart that is compatible with text-based browser. Also, view the SEO Shopping Cart while the Java script is disabled to know if the shopping cart works properly.
5. Find an SEO Shopping Cart that can grow with your business. E-commerce evolves in a fast pace, and so should your company be. Make sure that your SEO Shopping Cart contains features that will put your business ahead of the others.
6. Ask for SEO Shopping Cart trial versions. In this manner, you can learn about the technical support that the company offers. With the trial version, you can also learn if the SEO Shopping Cart that you will purchase will meet the demands of your business.

There are various SEO Shopping Carts available that makes decision making a tough task. Make use of the tips provided above in order to narrow down your choices. Bear in mind that the quality of your SEO Shopping Cart has a great impact on the quality of your business. Invest in a good SEO Shopping Cart and make a thorough search to find the best one that will fit in your business.

How To Choose an Email Name

Gone are the days when we depended on snail mail to send a letter to our relatives, friends and colleagues. Now the popular choice to correspond with people is via email. No more postcards, paper, pens, envelopes and stamps. You just have to log in to your email account from a computer and type away! No need to go to the post office to drop off your letter. And compared to a snail mail, you don’t have to count the days before the other party receives your letter; your recipient receives the email immediately. To get started with email, you need to create an email name first. This is a decision that you have to put some thought into because like it or not, your email name serves as a reflection of your personality.
First thing that you have to consider in choosing an email name is its primary purpose. Is it going to be used for your personal or professional correspondence? If you will be using your email for personal correspondence, you can use your nickname, your hobby, your favorite beverage, your favorite fruit or your favorite snack. If you will be using your email mainly for your work or for your business, stick with formal email names. You can use your first and last name, your initials, your title or position, or your business name.

When you’re done choosing an email name, visit the website of the email service you want to register to and check the availability of the email name you came up with. If you have a common name such as John Smith, you may stumble upon email name availability problems. Don’t fret if they say that the email name is already taken because you will be provided with email name suggestions. You can also add numbers or symbols to the email name to make it more unique. Just do away with adding personal information such as your Social Security Number. Make your email name friendly by carefully choosing the combination of words and numbers. It won’t do any good if people have a hard time remembering your email address.

When you have successfully chosen an email name, register with the online email service of your choice. Remember to create a strong password for your email address and never give it out to anyone. Once you’re all set up, proceed with advising everyone you know of your new email address. In return, get their email addresses so that you can build your contact list and start your correspondence to everyone you know via email.

How To Choose Keywords for Online Writing

The best thing about online writing is that you have a potential readership in the millions of people around the world who have Internet access. You just might be surprised at how much farther your article will go compared to if you just stuck to writing for any other media. But then again, one downside to writing articles online is the competition. You’d definitely have to be on your toes to get your article found, read and appreciated. And that’s where keywords come in. Keywords are the words or phrases that Internet users type in fields at search engines (such as Yahoo and Google) in order to find the information that they need. The relevant question is this: are you using good keywords in the articles that you write, so as to help your article get found by more readers? So if you’re looking to find out how to choose keywords for online writing, here are some handy tips to help you out:

1. Be updated. At any given time, there’s always an issue that people are talking about and it definitely pays to know just what this is. Keep abreast of current events, whether it is social, political, economic or cultural, and try to write about them. If you feel that you don’t have the expertise to write in-depth about that particular topic, then you may use it to relate to the actual topic that you’d want to write about.
2. Utilize tools. In relation to tip number one: you should use available online tools to help you know what topics people want to know about. Some of the most helpful tools you could use are the following: The New York Times Most Searched List, AOL Hot Searches, Google Trends, Yahoo Buzz and Yahoo Buzz Index.
3. Anticipate. You can go one step further than writing about what people are talking about and searching for. You could anticipate what people will want to find out next, based on the issues currently being talked about. One example is the earthquake in Chile. You may want to write about earthquake facts, or about what to do during an earthquake. Another way is to be very aware of issues that you would be able to predict upcoming ones. A movie coming up? Maybe you could start writing about the actors and actresses starring in it, or maybe about the underlying issues that it talks about.
4. Research on search engine optimization techniques. If you own or manage a website, it’s a good idea to utilize search engine optimization (SEO) tools. These tools assist in directing traffic towards your site. They also inform you about your customers’ or readers’ activities before reaching and while on your website, such as how they got to your website (what keywords they used) and what they clicked on. Read up on SEO at Google webmaster central.
5. Have a target audience. It’s highly important that when writing, you think like your readers. Brainstorm about what they would probably want to know about a particular topic, and what terms, words or phrases about that topic they would probably use. The more specific your target audience is (ex. golf enthusiasts), the more specialized terms you would be using, and the better chances that you will have the terms that they are looking for.

There you have it! These are just some tips to help you choose keywords for online writing. In summary, it’s just really important to stay updated on your readers’ interests! Good luck!

How To Collect Emails and Build a Large Email List

If you are starting a business and thinking of going the online route to spread the word or promote your business, doing it through email campaigns is really cheap and easy. Essential to this sort of marketing campaign is a subscriber base or email list. Here are some recommendations on how to collect emails and build a large email list.

1. Ask your family, close friends or acquaintances for their email address. The first step in creating a large email list is starting from your own social circles. Your family should be the first ones you inquire and if they can also refer some of their friends who would be interested in the service you offer, that will even become better for you. The same thing applies for your close friends and acquaintances.
2. Include your email address on business cards. On your business card, as a way of advertising, you would always want to include your email address. When people email you, you can then save their email address in your database for future use.
3. Acquire email addresses through your website. If you have a website for your services, make sure that you have a guestbook where clients are able to place their email address and then you, as a webmaster, should be able to collect them securely and include it on your email list.
4. Let walk-in customers in your shop sign up for a daily email digest. There are several ways you could obtain their email addresses, especially during the point of sale. You may want to place a small guestbook. You can also employ the use of email signup cards that you can give out at the counter and ask your customers to write their contact information. Or build into your computer system a place to type in their email as they stand there and tell it to you. Now you have it already, instead of waiting for them to give it to you later.
5. Ask for referrals and offer a program that would encourage your customers to refer a friend to your business. Another way to promote your business is through referrals. You may want to offer small freebies to your clients who manage to refer a few email addresses to be included to your email list, or maybe a small discount for every successful email referral.
6. When you have enough email addresses to build your email contact list, make sure you do not irritate or hassle your subscribers. Settle for a weekly, or maybe monthly, email digest. You do not want to irritate your contact list by sending them emails each day of the same content.
7. You must be careful not to get flagged as spam. Never use someone’s email address on a mailing list unless you have indicated that you will be doing so. Also, make sure they have an option to unsubscribe once they are on the list. If too many people identify you as a spammer, Internet providers can block your emails.

When you have built a large email list, you need take care of your email content. Make sure that your content is informative, fun to read and has real worth to your email subscribers -- making so will facilitate and build good relationship with your subscribers.

How To Start a Free and Easy Blog

People who love writing can now go online and get their very own blog in which they can share their thoughts. Having a blog is exciting and often educational. You will be able to share your everyday learnings and experiences with people and also gain knowledge from other people’s comments on your entries. It is very easy and does not cost much. All you need is a computer, Internet connection, electricity and your creativity.

* Set up shop. To get started, boot up your computer and enable your Internet connection. Open your web browser and search “free blogs”. The most popular ones being used right now are livejournal.com, blogger.com, blogspot.com, tumblr.com, and wordpress.com. Click on the button that says to register and fill out the information needed. You will be asked to type in your e-mail address. If you don’t have one yet, then open a new window or tab and choose from the number of available free e-mail providers. The most popular are Yahoo and Gmail. Sign up for a new account by filling out the requested information. Then, once this is done, you can continue with your blog registration. Once you’ve completed the registration process, sign in to your e-mail address and click on the verification link to get started.
* Personalize your blog. Each blog site allows you to personalize your blog with the use of layouts and themes. There are templates you can choose from, but if you’re into html and layout work, you can even make your blog design particularly specific, such as photos of yourself and your friends, or the things you are passionate about.

* Brainstorm. A usual tip for proper blogging is to think of one specific topic and to stick to it. For example, if you’re an athlete and like to try different sports, you can advocate for health and fitness by making this the center of your blog. If you’re a beauty or food enthusiast blog about the latest beauty trends and yummy restaurants. However, you can also simply choose to write about you and your daily grind. But, keep in mind that the whole world can read what you write so for security measures, try to use pseudonyms and be careful about posting your whereabouts. Think of a witty, funny blog name that will encapsulate who you are or what your blog is about.
* Blog regularly. To encourage traffic to your site, try to blog as regularly as possible. Keep things interesting and updated by adding photos as visual aid. Keep your words catchy but succinct. Always proofread to clean out grammatical errors or wrongly spelled words. If you get enough traffic onto your site, you might even be able to raise an income out of it from companies who want to place ads on your site. When you get comment from followers, make sure to reply to as many as possible. Acknowledging your readers is a way of thanking them for patronizing your blog.


At all times, practice proper etiquette. Refrain from using foul language and be conscious of other people’s beliefs, race and religion. Use freedom of speech at an appropriate level. True, you can say whatever you want, but never do so at the expense of others.

How To Target Website Traffic and Profit with Yahoo Answers

For months you have tried to drive traffic to your website with a very lukewarm response. Do not be disheartened. The Internet is full of all kinds of websites offering all sorts of wares and services so that it really becomes quite complex to make a major breakthrough when it comes to seeking a huge number of Internet users. If you think that you have tried every marketing strategy that you know, you’re quite mistaken. There’s a good chance that you have missed out on the golden opportunity provided by Yahoo Answers. Here’s how you can get people to visit your website through Yahoo Answers:

* Go to the Yahoo Answers website and sign up to become a member. This is the only way that you will be allowed by the Yahoo team of moderators to participate in the forums by posting your questions, commenting on the message boards, and answering questions from thousands of community members. Follow the instructions on registering as a member of the Yahoo Answers community. Once you’re in, you can now proceed to the next step.
* Browse through the various categories that are catered by the website. Choose the categories that fall within your specialization and expertise. It is very crucial that you know what you’re talking about when answering questions posted on the website because the best answer gets voted on depending credibility and content. Don’t play the field unless you are an expert on everything.
* Earn points by answering questions on the website. Since you are a new member of the website, you are initially allowed to post answers to a maximum of twenty questions a day. Each question that you answer nets you two points. If you get a vote for the best answer, you net 10 points. You will be allowed to provide answers to as many questions as you wish each time you level up and earn many points on each level. The more points you have, the more levels you can surpass.
* Always strive to be the early bird that catches the worm. This means that you have to be very quick at answering the questions on your preferred categories. If you become the first one to answer a question with authority and credibility, your chance of being voted the best answer increases ten fold.
* Post the link to your website when you are sure that you are a trusted source on the Yahoo Answers website. After some time of being first and receiving kudos for being voted as the provider of the best answers on the website, you can now introduce the link to your website but only if it is relevant to the question that you want to answer. That link should offer an expanded explanation of your answer to the question. This is allowed on Yahoo Answers but stay within the context of the question. The moderators of the website will be able to tell if you’re leading people to your site to get a sale or earn money by soliciting help to get your website going.


If you use Yahoo Answers prudently and wisely, you will become successful at driving people to check out your website. However, if you violate the rules of the website, you will get banned from the community and thus lose the opportunity to make a breakthrough. Choose to conduct your business with dignity and you’ll find your best business partner in Yahoo Answers.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

How To Set Up a Password for a Website

When running a website, you might sometimes want to protect certain web pages or folders within your website using a password. This way, unauthorized users not to have access to the files or information therein. You might also want to set up a password for the website itself, if it contains private information, or if it is intended for certain people only. Another great thing about setting up password protection, is that search engine bots will not have access to the information contained in the website, which can be useful if you want to hide the information from Google, Yahoo! Or Bing searches.

One of the ways by which to protect your website by using a password is through a method known as User Authentication. With the use of this method, you can easily set up a directory on your server, which will require the user to fill in the appropriate username and password before gaining access. This assumes you know how to modify your web hosting account’s .htaccess files.

* Determine the directory that must be password-protected. If you are planning to have the entire website protected by a password, you are going to work on the root directory of the website, which is usually located in your /public_html folder. If you have specific subdirectories or subdomains to be set up with a password, determine the directory of those web pages, and work on the .htaccess files there.
* Create or modify the .htaccess file. Open a standard text editor (Notepad, for example). Leave it blank and save the file with the file name .”htaccess.” Take note of the period that comes before the “htaccess.”
* Add the codes to your .htaccess file. While the text editor is still open, add the following codes to your htaccess file:

AuthUserFile /insert/directory/here/.htpassword
AuthName “Title to appear when the password is requested”
AuthType Basic
Require valid-user
* Do not forget to edit the given “insert directory here” text according to your needs. The first line should include the full path of the directory, the second line includes the title for the password request window, and the third and last lines should be left as is. Once you are done editing, save the .htaccess file to the directory you have determined earlier. If your home, root or public_html directory already has an .htaccess file, you can simply download and edit it, and then re-upload it once the edit is done.
* Create or edit the .htpassword file. Telnet to your web hosting provider or use any another similar method using the command prompt. Use the command:

htpasswd -c .htpasswd nameOfUser

Inputting this command will have the server create a password for the user indicated by “nameOfUser.” The system will ask for your password, and you will have to enter it twice. Set up as many username and password combinations as necessary.
* Set the .htaccess file and the .htpassword files as read-only. It is important to set the .htaccess file and the .htpassword file as read-only, so that these cannot be altered by any third party. If you are using an FTP client, you can right-click on the files, and change the file attributes accordingly. Or if you can get shell access to your server, you can use the CHMOD command. For best results, use 644 or 755. Avoid using 777, as this permission level grants “write” permission to everyone.


Bear in mind that this process of setting up a password for a website is more advantageous than using a content management system, because you have essentially hard-coded it right into the web server. You can use other methods, such as cPanel’s password protection applet, which will create the same .htaccess and .htpassword modifications.

How To Write an HTML Hyperlink

Hyper Text Markup Language or HTML is one of the basic programming languages commonly used for building websites. The basic purpose of HTML is to create a set of descriptions for web browsers to read and execute. HTML is a set of tags that is invisible to the eyes of the human browser, but is being read by the Internet browser in order to publish coherent pages.

* Discover Hyperlinks. One of the most common uses of HTML is through hyperlinks. Hyperlinks are texts within a document that points to a separate element; this element can be within the same document or a different document. Hyperlinks are commonly used in websites, most especially for sites with massive texts. Hyperlinks are also used for jump-out commands, including sending e-mails.

* Know the anatomy of HTML hyperlink. The most common use of HTML is to link it to a web address, or a URL. To spot an HTML hyperlink on a document, the color of the texts is usually different from the rest of the document. In some cases, the hyperlink can also be underlined or in bold font face to create a distinction. When you point your mouse on a hyperlink, you will notice that the icon will change.

* Learn the basic commands. As HTML is a series of commands, you need to know the basic commands to use in order to execute an HTML hyperlink. The first command that you need to master is keying in “”; add the final code “ to change the color of the hyperlink. The command refers to “Anchored Hypertext Reference”. Using your HTML editor, key in “Google and try running your commands. You should be able to see the word “Google” on your screen, with a hyperlink that would point you to the website.

* Putting it to use. There are several ways wherein you can apply hyperlinks on your website. Once you master the basic commands, you can perform more complicated hyperlinks, allowing you to jump outside of your document or within the document.

* Point within the document. If you wish to give an option to go back to the top page, you can insert a hyperlink that commands, Top of Page. You will see a hyperlinked “Top of Page” on your output.

* Point to a new page. If you want to provide references for other websites, you can choose to command a hyperlink to open to a new browser. At times, the idea of clicking on a hyperlink that opens on the same browser can be troublesome. Key in the command “Visit corporate website“. Insert the URL or the address wherein you wish to point your users to.

Modern HTML editors are now equipped with shortcuts that allow you to attach hyperlinks easily. Simply highlight the word or words you wish to attach hyperlinks to and right-click on your mouse. Find the “insert hyperlink” option and type the URL pertaining to the link. Alternatively, you can use your keyboard and press “ctrl+k” to launch the hyperlink tab.