Bloggers Affiliate Gateway ~

Bling IT

2008-03-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

HTML Quality Optimizers

2007-12-14T01:53:00.000-08:00

Cut back on extra and unnecessary HTML code that can be cut out without impacting end users or the intended visual effect.

An easy way to cut out bandwidth is simply to cut out unnecessary HTML code, Javascripts and any other components which you simply don't need. Below, we present to you tips, ideas, and suggestions on how to cut out those non-essential tags and excess HTML which most web designers don't need and won't affect visual impact.

Strip Comments
Strip away all comments on your web pages. If you use comments, even at all, then your using up bandwidth. Even though a one line comment may not seem like much, consider the effects of the same comment distributed throughout all your users and on all your webpages. The net effect could result in significant savings over the long term.

Trimming White Space
Remove any excess white space, tabs and carriage returns that you don't need.

Remove Unnecessary Tags
Webmasters include tags that don't need to be closed such as
, and . If you are using these tags, delete away as they are unneeded.

Minimize Your Headers
No content can be displayed until the header has been read, move all Javascripts to the bottom of your pages and shorten any excess META Tags which you don't need. For example, often an HTML editor will add a default tag known as the Generator tag such as

Row Alignment
Instead of aligning each cell individually, try aligning the entire row. For example, most designers will use the "align" and "valign" attributes of the TR and TD tags in order to align content. Instead of using these attributes on each TD element, consider using it on each row. For example, consider using: TR align=centerleftright for each row instead of repeating TD align=centerleftright for each cell.

Remove Descriptions From Irrelevant Images
If your using images which do not need a description with the ALT attribute of the image tag, consider stripping away the associated description which are embedded with your images. For example, a typical image tag may appear as: img height="40" alt= "This is the description of my image" src="http://www.blogger.com/myimage.gif" width="50" . In this example, consider striiping the alt="..." portion such that the revised code appears as img height="40" src="http://www.blogger.com/myimage.gif" width="50" .

Minimize Image Usage
Each unique image on your web pages requires an HTTP request. In addition, each HTTP request has a wait latency and requires additional overhead from the browser and server to deliver the image. However, images which are re-used through the cache do not require additional overhead from either side. For this reason, you should try cutting back on image use and try re-using the same images multiple times.

Minimize DHTML
DHTML has some amazing effects but bears a large toll. Some DHTML effects weigh in at 40-60k in accompanying Javascript code. Try using low bandwidth DHTML effects or using Flash as a possible substitute.

Move Client Code to Server Side
Any client-side error checking that is done in VBScript or Javascript should be pushed to the server side. These error-checking scripts often take too much bandwidth and have loopholes which can be more rigoursly enforced if error checking is done on the server. For example, users who have Javascript/VBScript disabled will not go through error checking.

Simplifying Javascript
Anywhere you use names for your variables or functions in Javascript, try to reduce their length. Instead of using long variable/function names, try limiting them to a single character and using shorter code if possible. As well, try snipping out any comments in your Javascripts which you don't need.

Use Relative Pathways
When creating links to pages on your own domain, use relative paths rather than complete links to your pages. An example shows this best:

A HREF="http://www.yoursite.com/link_goes_here/" (Absolute Link)
A HREF="/link_goes/here/" (Relative Link)

= Joe Bucks =

NEW TWIST CONCERNING THREAT AND EXTORTION E-MAILS

2007-12-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Investigative Programs
Cyber Investigations

01/09/07—There is a new twist to the IC3 alert posted on December 7, 2006 regarding e-mails claiming that the sender has been paid to kill the recipient and will cancel the contract on the recipient's life if that person pays a large sum of money. Now e-mails are surfacing that claim to be from the FBI in London. These e-mails note the following information:

An individual was recently arrested for the murders of several United States and United Kingdom citizens in relation to this matter.
The recipient's information was found on the subject identifying the recipient as the next victim.
The recipient is requested to contact the FBI in London to assist with the investigation.
It is not uncommon for an Internet fraud scheme to have the same overall intent but be transmitted containing variations in the e-mail content, e.g., different names, e-mail addresses, and/or agencies reportedly involved. See our related top story on the hitman scam.

Please note, providing any personal information in response to an unsolicited e-mail can compromise your identity and open you to identity theft.

If you have experienced this situation please notify the IC3 by filing a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

Due to the threat of violence inherent in these extortion e-mails, if you receive an e-mail that contains personally identifiable information that might differentiate your e-mail from the general e-mail spam campaign, we encourage you to contact the police.

Tweaking: The Hidden Marketing Secret

2007-12-12T19:47:00.000-08:00

Wonder why some people get better marketing results than others? It's because they tweak.

One rarely discussed marketing secret (except amongst rabid direct marketers or online marketers), is the arcane art of tweaking. Tweaking your marketing is literally the key to getting more response to any marketing activity you attempt.

Tweak means to adjust or fine-tune.

And this is exactly what people fail to do when it comes to their marketing. In fact, most do the opposite: They develop a web site and never change a pixel for years; they settle on a marketing message and never try anything new; or they give a speaking engagement and don't try various "pitches" to get cards from participants.

The Science of Tweaking

Tweaking is what scientists do. They test something using an experiment. They get a certain result. Then they change a measurable variable and see what new result they get. They keep at this until they get the desired result (or not).

Good marketers are like scientists, but they have more fun.

Instead of experimenting on rats, they experiment on prospects. They try one marketing tactic at a time and measure the result. Then they change a measurable variable and see if the prospect responds differently.

Good scientists, if they are persistent, get grants to keep experimenting. Good marketers, if they are persistent, attract more clients and often get rich.

Let's look at a few marketing experiments you can tweak.

1. Ezine signups from a web site.

Growing a big eZine list is a great way to grow your business. Let's look at the two main variables: a) home page of web site and b) eZine sign-up page of web site.

To conduct this experiment you must know:
a) how many people land on your home page in any given period
b) how many people click onto the sign-up page
c) how many people actually sign up

Using a simple web tracker that counts visitors and subscribers, you can get these statistics very easily.

So let's say in a week, 100 people go to your home page. Of those, 40% click onto your sign-up page. And then 25% of those actually sign up for the eZine. That makes a sign-up rate of 10%.

Now you start tweaking.>>

You work at making changes to your home page so that more visitors click through to the sign-up page. You might improve the design, the graphics, the headline, the offer for the report you get with the eZine, etc.

Several tweaks might increase the number of people who click on the sign-up page to 50%. Now your total sign-up rate is 12.5%

Next you tweak away on the sign-up page. Perhaps you change the name of the report (more results-oriented), and you change the sign-up form (by making it simpler) and the placement of this form (you put it higher on the page).

Several tweaks of this kind may increase the number of actual sign-ups to 40%. Your total sign-up rate is now 20%. You've doubled your sign-up rate. And that's how tweaking pays off!

2. Getting cards after a speaking event

What I used to say was, "I have a report that covers most of the material I discussed today. If you'd like a copy, just leave me your card and I'll send it to you by email".

That pitch got me 30-40% of cards. So I tweaked my pitch.

I now say: "Here is a report that covers most of the material I discussed today. Who would like a copy? (and I get a show of hands) Great, please give me your card with a current email address and I'll send it to you by email."

That pitch gets about 80% of people in the room giving me cards. The tweak is that I got people to raise their hands saying they wanted the report. It more than doubled the results.

3. Your Audio Logo

When I use a problem-oriented Audio Logo: "I help Independent Professionals who are struggling to attract clients," I get about five times the response than a solution-oriented Audio Logo: "I help Independent Professionals attract more clients."

Go figure.

You don't have to know all the reasons your tweaking changed the results, you just have to keep tweaking until the results improve.

What are you currently doing in your marketing that isn't working as well as it could?

Time to start tweaking!>>

Farewell CompUSA: Company to shutter remaining stores

2007-12-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

By Jacqui Cheng Published: December 07, 2007 - 09:50PM CT

So long, CompUSA, it's been a good run. The electronics retailer decided to finish what it had started earlier this year, announcing that it would sell or close the remainder of its stores in the US after the holiday season. The company, controlled by Mexican retail management company Grupo Sanborns since 1999, has been sold to Gordon Brothers Group, a restructuring firm that will be responsible for selling off the remainder of its assets.

It was only 10 months ago when CompUSA first announced that it would close over half of its retail stores as part of its retrenchment strategy. At the time, CompUSA CEO Roman Ross said that changing conditions in the retail electronics market caused the company to close stores with "low performance or nonstrategic, old store layouts, and locations faced with market saturation."

That situation apparently didn't get any better, despite the company's $440 million cash infusion in February. Gordon Brothers Group will "initiate an orderly wind-down" of CompUSA's remaining 103 stores and plans to sell select stores in key markets. The firm also plans to sell CompUSA's tech service business, CompUSA TechPro, and CompUSA.com. Retail locations that are not sold will simply be closed.

The upside, if there is one, is that we will see some great deals at the remaining stores, just as we did in February during the closure of 126 stores. Gordon Brothers Group promises that consumers will be able to find "attractive holiday bargains" as part of the sale process—I know a good number of geeks who will be making a mass exodus to the soon-to-be-extinct stores over the weekend to get some holiday shopping for themselves done, for sure.

Although the store has all but lost its relevancy in today's market, the news still strikes me as the end of an era. So many people I know have done time at CompUSSR worked at CompUSA back in the day—here's a shout-out to the old CompUSA in Schaumburg, IL, that was closed during the first round. But the company has faced some stiff competition in recent years, not only from big box retailers like Best Buy, but also against popular, cheap, and convenient online retailers. After all, what geek goes to CompUSA first anymore over someplace like Newegg—or even Fry's—except in an emergency?

Still, it's been good to know you, CompUSA. Rest in peace. (Now, go ravage those stores!)

What is Affiliate Marketing?

2007-02-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

Affiliate marketing is internet marketing that allows websites to share traffic and revenue using banner and text advertisements. Merchants who sell goods and services online pay commissions to website owners (Affiliates) for sending traffic to their site. Affiliates can earn and are paid commissions when one of the following events occur:

Cost Per Sale (CPA)

A visitor referred by the Affiliate purchases goods and services from the Merchant. This payment structure is referred to as - cost-per-sale or cost per acquisition (cpa).

Cost Per Lead
(CPL)

A visitor referred by the Affiliate
completes a form on the Merchants website. This is payment
structure is referred to as - cost per lead (cpl).

Cost Per Click (CPC)

A visitor to the
Affiliates website clicks on a Merchants banner and visits the Merchants website. This
payment structure is referred to as - cost per click (CPC).

Affiliates - Affiliate marketing allows you to earn high income from your website while providing related services to your visitors.You can start earning money today with your website by joining one of the thousands of Affiliate programs located on this site.

Affiliate Choices ~ PayPal affiliate

2007-02-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

PayPal-Earn up to $1,000.00 USD for Each Referral!

Spread the Word About PayPal and Earn Extra Cash!

As a PayPal user, you can collect up to $1,000.00 USD for each new merchant you refer. The Merchant Referral Bonus program rewards you for bringing new businesses to PayPal.

Start Referring Merchants Today — It's Easy

Here's how to get started:
-Log in to your PayPal account
-Get your personalized referral link to send out in emails, add as a banner to your website, or incorporate into your e-commerce application.
-Each time a new merchant signs up for a PayPal Business or Premier account via your link or banner, you'll immediately start receiving 0.5% of their payment volume - up to $1,000.00 USD.

How to Select Keywords - An In-Depth Guide

2007-01-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

When beginning a Search Engine Optimization campaign, there are a few basic steps that every SEO knows to take before they begin. The first is always to build a keyword list of which there are varying methods of doing so. The right methods will aid you in creating and supporting a site-wide SEO strategy. The wrong methods will run you in circles, wondering what went wrong.

It is the intent of this article to teach an effective method of keyword selection that will enable you to land more keywords on the first page with less work.

Getting Started: Know the Site
To create a great keyword list, you will need to know your website backwards and forwards. You should know what the site features, and just as importantly, you should know what it doesn't feature.

The first step is to brainstorm a list of somewhat generic keywords. For example, if you are a shoe store in Poughkeepsie, the temptation will arise to try and rank number 1 for the term "shoes." Well, that's a start, but ranking for the word "shoes" is probably aiming a little too high for a mom and pop shop in Upstate New York, which is why it's very important that you know the site well enough to come up with a good list of pseudo-generic "modifiers" for your keyword:
* Location (Poughkeepsie shoes, shoes upstate New York, shoes 12601)
* Price (cheap shoes, affordable shoes, quality shoes, comfortable shoes etc)
* Types (running shoes, walking shoes, jogging shoes etc)
* Industry specific (anti-pronation shoes)

Lengthening the List
At this point you should have a good list of pseudo-generic keywords. The next step is lengthening that list using your favorite Keyword tool (I will be using Overture in this example).
Each time you plug a keyword into your tool of choice, it will return the number of searches conducted for that term over a given period of time. It will also suggest keywords from the tool's database that are similar to the one you entered.

The basic idea now is to go through the list returned by the keyword tool and copy any and all similar terms as well as their corresponding search values, which relate directly to the site you're optimizing. Then, paste them to a spreadsheet program so that they can be further edited later.

Once you have copied and pasted, just go through the list row by row. Delete keywords that don't have to do with the website you're optimizing (which is why it's important to know what the site doesn't feature) and repeat with the next pseudo-generic keyword on your list. The idea is to identify as many keywords as possible.

Narrowing the List
So you have a long keyword list; it's time to narrow it down. I narrow my lists by deciding if the potential gain for a keyword is relative to the competition. In order to make that decision, I need to know three variables:
1. The number of searches on a particular keyword (already got those from Overture)
2. The Amount of Competition (I'll show you how to find your competition in this section.)
3. Will the keyword lead to conversions (this is up to you)

Below is a method for thoroughly determining competition for various keywords:
1. Do a search for one of your keywords
2. On the first SERP find the last listing with the keyword in the title tag that is either a homepage of any kind or is a sub-page which is not associated with a domain whose Pagerank is greater than 6. (This is the page you will need to beat, if one does not exist, ranking will generally be easier)
3. Find out how many unique links with the keyword in the anchor text whose linking page has a Pagerank of 1 or higher for the competitor (This is how many quality backlinks you'll need to acquire)

The aforementioned is a meticulous method for determining the competition for all of your keywords, and unless you're planning on building a tool that will automate this process, I would suggest taking a more general approach by using advanced search strings in the search engine of your choice.

IE7 problems (Microsoft)

2006-10-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco →
Published Thursday 28th July 2005 21:46 GMT

Update Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 went on a limited beta release today and contains a nasty surprise for some users. Users with search toolbars from Yahoo! and arch-rival Google have discovered that these vanish.

Other third-party toolbars designed to block pop-ups or aid with form filling appear to be working normally, according to reports from Reg readers. The default search engine is MSN Search. There are sound compatibility reasons for Microsoft disabling third-party toolbars in an early cut of the software. The beta is only available to Vista beta testers, and is available either as part of Vista itself or as a download for Windows XP, and affects only a few thousand people.

But it does raise ominous echoes of Microsoft's previous tactics of foreclosing competition by hiding the alternatives available to users. For anti-competive reasons, Microsoft is unlikely to risk such a move in the finished product. We'll have to see.

Read all of this article: The Register

Google Sitemaps: 10 Uses

2006-08-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

There are many ways Google Sitemaps can improve the experience of your website visitors as well as helping you fix a broken site:

Google Sitemaps will tell you if you have an incorrect custom 404 error page set up.If your custom 404 page forgets to set/reset the error code correctly Sitemaps will tell you.
Google Sitemaps will tell you which pages on your site have an error.Anything in the 400 and 500 series of HTTP codes will be reported in a table and easily downloaded into a spreadsheet.
Google Sitemaps will validate your robots.txt file for errors.There's a special section for it. You can even run through new versions of your robots.txt file to ensure all the bugs are out before you put it live.
Google Sitemaps will tell you all the pages blocked by your robots.txt file.This allows you to find pages you may have blocked by accident - something that is very easy to do!
Google Sitemaps will tell you incorrect links, both internal and external. If you see any pages listed 'not found' that you know don't really exist and never have are the result of incorrect links, either internal or external. Fix if you can or setup 301 redirects to capture the otherwise lost page rank.
Google Sitemaps will help your site gain traffic. It will tell you which keywords you are found for, and which ones are your top referrers. If you're being found but not clicked on then you need to modify your title, description or page content to try to boost click through rate. This is the only way to know which terms your site is ranked but for which you get few clicks.
Google Sitemaps will let you know if Google has banned or penalized your site. Lucky enough I've never seen this message, but it does exist - they even make reinclusion easy through an available form, and in addition they have stated that reinclusion requests through the form receive higher priority than other reinclusion request methods.
Google Sitemaps will let you tell Google whether the www. or non-www. version of your site name is the correct one. This should fix duplicate content issues caused by Google indexing both versions.
Google Sitemaps tells you the last time Googlebot crawled your site.Useful information if you're concerned your site is not getting indexed.
By submitting a sitemap file, you ensure Google has a list of the URLs on your site you want indexed. Isn't this the reason for sitemap's existence? Well if you've fixed all the spider indexing issues on your site then this is unnecessary.

The Google Sitemaps set of tools are indispensable for optimizing your website.

They're so useful and so sucessful even Yahoo has started their own sitemaps style interface.
Google Sitemaps can be accessed at http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/.
Yahoo Site Explorer (sitemaps) can be accessed at http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

Dylan Downhill is Technical Director of Elixir Systems, search engine optimization consultants located in Scottsdale, Arizona. www.elixirsystems.com

Create a Blog for your Affiliate links

2006-06-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

To get that ranking on Google or Yahoo, you need your own web address.
Blogger is great, and a valuable tool to ad presence to any website. But to gain in ranking among the search indexes you must have your own URL.
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2006-05-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

California Property Definitions

2006-04-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

Mortgage definitions and Real Estate Terms are available for free. Representing the Real Estate and Mortgage finance industry. This free consumer information site contains several tools and guides to aid in purchasing or refinancing commercial property or a home.

Example:
Due-on-sale clause

Part of a loan agreement that gives a lender the right to demand repayment of a loan when the property is sold

Lenders include a due-on-sale clause in a mortgage to preventbuyers from taking over a seller’s existing mortgage. Lenders don’t benefit when this happens because the existing mortgage usually has a lower interest rate than current market rates. A due-on-sale clause is a type of acceleration clause.

The MySpace Economy

2006-04-11T17:05:00.000-07:00

Burlingame, Calif.
Tens of millions of people show up regularly at MySpace, News Corp.'s suddenly popular virtual hangout. That's good news for News Corp. boss Rupert Murdoch, who raised eyebrows by shelling out $580 million for the Web site last summer. But it's also an opportunity for ambitious entrepreneurs who have figured out how to make money by catering to the site's hordes of visitors.

Like mega-sites eBay and Google before it, MySpace is creating its own economic ecosystem, populated by small businesses that do everything from helping users decorate their profiles to creating tools that let advertisers target MySpace users.

It's unlikely, though, that the MySpace spinoffs approach a fraction of the revenue News Corp. is generating from the site itself. Even though some mainstream advertisers have expressed reservations about participating in MySpace's wild, just-about-anything-goes atmosphere, plenty are willing to get in front of the site's users, who have made it the second-most trafficked site on the Internet, according to ComScore Networks. Analyst Richard Greenfield of Pali Research estimates that News Corp. sells $13 million in ad revenue each month.

Source: Forbes.com - Rachel Rosmarin, 04.10.06, 6:00 AM ET

Interview with Kiefer Sutherland

2006-04-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Rolling Stone's new interview with Kiefer Sutherland is packed with interesting factoids, such as the tidbit that the actor's real name is "Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland" and that he used to share a house with Robert Downey Jr. The actor is also weird about some foods: "Avocado used to freak me out, I've never liked cheese, and runny eggs make me want to ralph," he says. Er, "ralph"?

Anyway, the story is a fast and fun read, though after reading the first paragraph, I was shocked that he has signed on for three more years of 24. Sutherland is also in a new movie called The Sentinel, which co-stars Michael Douglas and Eva Longoria and comes out April 21.

Source: Whitney Matheson

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Google, EarthLink Win S.F. WiFi Deal

2006-04-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

Article source WebProNews

The City of San Francisco finished its review of proposals to create a city-wide wireless broadband network, and chose the EarthLink/Google submission out of the six finalist proposals they considered.

An announcement was made yesterday, disclosing the selection of the combined proposal. Now the City will begin negotiations with Google and EarthLink to hammer out contract terms for establishing the service. Free basic wireless service and faster connections for a monthly fee should be part of the final contract.

"San Francisco has undertaken a thorough, innovative, and transparent process to reach an audacious goal: free wifi for our residents," said DTIS Executive Director Chris Vein. "By undertaking two competitive processes, we asked the citizens of San Francisco what they thought we should do and we asked the best and brightest technical minds what they thought we should do. Today's announcement will take us one step closer to making universal and affordable broadband a reality."

Google had previously agreed to install antennas and equipment throughout San Francisco, and to deliver an ad-supported free wireless broadband service. They would also pay the City for access rights to utility poles and other locations to place its WiFi equipment. That part of the proposal has been shifted to EarthLink.

It appears EarthLink will do the heavy lifting on the customer service side of the equation. Although Google plans to provide Tier 1 support via email and an online help center, the proposal noted that if "a network outage or issue affecting multiple customers exists," Google may pass the issue to EarthLink support.

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The Da Vinci Code

2006-03-29T12:52:00.000-08:00

Directed by Ron Howard

Writing credits (WGA)
Akiva Goldsman (screenplay)
The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown (novel)

Plot: A murder in the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the foundations of Christianity.

Actor Patrick MacNee hosts this thought-provoking inquiry into the conspiracy theories surrounding the works of Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci. Exploring the claim that Da Vinci hid secret messages and coded symbolism in his paintings of "The Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper," historians discuss the artist's beliefs regarding the relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary.

Editor:
I believed from the start Da Vinci Code, was taken from Holy Blood, Holy Grail. There were no such theories, written in such congress, before Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

Dennis Sweatt

Audio and Video Syndication

2006-03-24T03:25:00.000-08:00

By Jack Humphrey (c) 2006

While it was "the word of the year" for 2005, most people still have no idea what Podcasting is really about outside of being able to download music at iTunes.com.
And, frankly, it's because the people who "get it" are, for the first time ever, keeping quiet about it! Or at least keeping the information of how they are profiting wildly with Podcasting behind closed doors and in small groups.

And I am not going to get too far into it here for the same reason as the others: I don't want the competition that will be here by the end of 2006 to come any earlier because I blabbed about how it is done in public!

Sorry, but you will have to pay something to become a millionaire using this information!
But I will give you a clue. Go to iTunes.com and download the frëe software that allows you to, yes, download music. But ignore that part for a minute.
With the iTunes software you can grab Podcasts from major news organizations and tiny garage websites mostly focusing on short comic bits.

Pay attention to what you are NOT seeing. One thing is there isn't a lot of video Podcasts - period. Not even comedy! And there are no how-to podcasts save a couple from the people I talked about above.

The savvy marketers are already in the game and getting traffïc from a source all other marketers seem to be totally discounting right now. To the tune of 6 million or so pairs of eyeballs dying to see and hear more content, especially video content, at iTunes.com alone!
Last year you could see the word "Podcasting" uttered thousands of times by marketers trying to gauge the buzz worthiness of it among their customer lists.
Well, without showing people how marketing with Podcasts is done, and with article marketing doing a great job of bringing people traffïc in ways they COULD understand, not too many marketers really got into it.

We were lucky recently to have a guest speaker from none other than the Hawaiian Tropics site come in and talk to our clients about how easy it has been to blow away the likes of Playboy and other major competitors by offering their content through Podcasts.
We got to see the inner workings of a successful marketing campaign on a very very high level. And we gained valuable insight into how marketing with Podcasts can be done on the guerilla marketing level.
You watch. By the end of this year you will wish you started caring about including Podcasting in your marketing a year ago!

Article syndication is not dead. It actually has yet to see its true "boom" period. I say that because until the content people syndicate gets MUCH better overall, we are basically using sophisticated software and networks to distribute garbage.

Adult 18+ only

"How could God let something like this Happen?"

2006-02-22T14:14:00.000-08:00

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this Happen?" (regarding Katrina)

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.

And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school . the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Bloggers Gateway is complimented

2006-02-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

I used to see a few Blog index links, ("Chicklets" like Feedburner) on the left or right side of other Blogs. And I have seen ALOT of Blogs, it's what I do.
But, since Bloggers Gateway came out in December 2005, we have seen a lot of "Chicklet Ladders" like the one started on this Blog.
We accept the compliment. You are right, we did have it right. Granted this kind of linking was an inevitable future in Blogging. But it is rare to be first among 1 billion web pages and over 7.8 million Weblogs.
So we thank you for the affirmation and cheers to your continued success.
I hope we helped.

Hypnosis and Sex-Do I have your attention?

2006-02-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

FINALLY! If you are suffering from Impotence or other sexual dysfunction this may be of interest to you. My experience with Hypnotherapy for sexual dysfunction proves time and time again that the subconscious is where the problem is, not in the sex organs. Lack of desire, inability to climax , sexual pain, inhibitions,... are almost always rooted in an emotional memory.

Wendi Friesen CCHT, certified clinical Hypnotherapist, Master Hypnotist, Trainer

The Results Speak for Themselves
With Hypnotherapy you can release the root cause and enjoy life just a little bit more. I have many tapes I have created and an interesting book that will give you ideas for improving your passion and pleasure. I also make custom CD's for specific problems, and to overcome specific or unusual problems.

Impotence.
A problem shared by many men, and most simply suffer quietly. Unable to discuss it or find the solutions that can restore a full and powerful sex life, many men and their partners settle for the silence... A lonely and tense battle. Afraid to try again and fail, too embarrassed to seek help. And in that silence you are denying yourself one of the most powerful and nourishing forces of life. You have tried Viagra, maybe even penis pumps and herbs, and you are still not happy? Hypnosis is better than Viagra some men say. The sex drive comes back, testosterone levels increase, erections last longer. Find out more-CLICK HERE.

Pay Pal Account Users!

2006-01-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

This article is for those who aren't aware of hackers using PayPal e-mail scams. An email arrived in my best friends Yahoo account and it was an almost perfect copy of PayPal's online form.
See PayPal's Protect Yourself from Fraudulent Emails web page, PayPal customers only.
PayPal is one of the most secure sites on the web.

Safe Log In: To log in to your PayPal account or access the PayPal website, open a new web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape) and type in the following:https://www.paypal.com, if PayPal has a security update they will tell you on the site itself.
Three key items you should be aware of on any secure website that conducts transactions on the web!

PayPal is a secure site, the "padlock icon" must be at the bottom of the page.

PayPal sites begin with "https" not "http."

You must log into PayPal first before filling out any forms!

The "Secure Site Icon"

This is the official PayPal site link.
Look for the "https" in the address Bar and the Secure link at the bottom.

Always enter the official site of any banking or money web site. If your bank or credit card company wanted to update your files, they would ask you to go to their site and do so. It only takes a second to enter BofA.com, PayPal.com, Visa.com etc.
Here's a short cut to tell your friends: Type the name of your bank into the URL/address bar and just hit Ctrl+Enter on your keyboard. Your browser will fill in the rest.

Jobs is in negotiations to join forces with Walt Disney

2006-01-23T15:29:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES: Steve Jobs could be considered the Walt Disney of his era, breathing new life into animated movies with hits like "The Incredibles" and "Toy Story," and reinventing Apple Computer as a media darling with its hugely popular iPod.

Now Jobs is in negotiations to join forces with Walt Disney itself.
A deal would involve the sale of Jobs's Pixar Animation Studios for more than $6.8 billion to Disney, according to three people apprised of the negotiations. The sale, whose terms are still being negotiated, would make Jobs a major shareholder and director at Disney, which has been trying to find its footing in the changing world of animation...

Full story >> http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/20/business/disney.php

Social Security Opt Out Procedure:Credit check

2006-01-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

There is something all your friends and family need to know. As of January 1, 2006, all credit reporting bureaus now sell your information to the highest bidder. I have worked in the mortgage industry for 3 years. Recently our new customers began getting calls from dime store mortgage companies. As soon as we ran their credit, they would be inundated with sales calls and junk mail. We have never sold information about our customers to anyone! http://www.sierrawestern.com/
That would be like cutting off our own nose. We expect to help refinance our clients year after year. My information comes directly from CBC Innovis, our credit reporting company.
Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion now sell their reports, for marketing purposes, on new credit checks to anyone who will pay them. Whether you like it or not.
This is not some urban legend.
The "OPT out" option can also be done online... https://www.optoutprescreen.com/opt_form.cgi

Copy and paste the blue portion, into an email to someone you care about...
Do this first:
Call this number to OPT out >> 1 (888) 567-8688 <<
This number is not a live person. I have used the service for myself and our clients.
This procedure will take 5 days to initiate. You need the following information ready when you call...

Your current telephone number
Confirm your current address
Your full name
Social security number
Date of birth

Do not have anyone run your credit until the 5 business days are up! Once your information is sold it stays out there and becomes resold again and again. Send this web page to everyone! They can e-mail me from this site, or leave a comment. http://ca2ohio2florida2ca.blogspot.com/

Governor's Web Mail in California >> http://www.govmail.ca.gov/ >> governor@governor.ca.gov

If you don't take this seriously, imagine this; Your credit report, your whole life, where you shop, how much you owe, what kind of car you drive, your social security number will end up on the desk of a complete stranger. 95% of all mortgage companies are sharks in suits. Trust me, I know these people. The do not call list, will not stop them.

Blog the new world, Blog it right

2006-01-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

Blogging is a free service on the World Wide Web. My 62 year old mother has a Blog. Those of you, who think having your own Blog or Weblog, are beyond your capabilities on the computer, you may have a surprise coming.

You don't have to know HTML (code that web pages are written in) to be apart of the fastest growing section of the internet. Blogging is an online journal of your experiences, likes, dislikes and views that can only come from your perspective. The internet is fast becoming one big online commercial. Blogs are created by individuals for individuals, who want to communicate with a world outside of their own. There are no specific requirements in creating your own live journal. Some Bloggers simply write an account of what happened in their lives that day or that week, about their jobs, their kids, their vacations or their desires.

Ranging from the shocking to the mundane, Weblogs create a sense of community as like minded surfers link their favorite Blogs back to their own site. If you feel the need to divulge your appreciation of basket weaving, simply search for "blog+basket weaving" and that Blog will probably have links to other weavers just like you.

Blogosphere is a term related to all Weblogs or Blogs as a community. Blogs have grown their own culture and interconnectivity on the web. No subscription is required to share your experiences or enjoy or be repulsed by someone else's life, detailed for your reading pleasure. 30,000 - 40,000 new Weblogs are being created each day; link indexes like Technorati are now tracking over 7.8 million Weblogs. This Blogosphere is doubling in size about once every 5 months. It has already done so four times, in less than 2 years; the Blogosphere has increased in size by over 16 times.
People just like you are taking back the web from the large corporations one personal journal at a time, from California to Ohio to New York and everywhere in between. Blogger.com is an example of the new World Wide Web for the people, as it offers almost unlimited web space for posting pictures, Photoshop creations or artist renderings.

The Bloggers Gateway began as a place to write my stories and has blossomed into something more. New Bloggers were asking for help getting published and getting indexed. I am a member/listed with most of the Blog links on this page.
Use them to spread your message!

My friend Jenilynn has a Blog

2006-01-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

Jenilynn's Blog has just begun. It's Me, Only Better Stop by and tell her we sent ya.

Link exchange with us...get some hits free!

2005-12-29T18:01:00.000-08:00

This site is also a Bloggers Gateway.
Sites that support Blog Indexing and XML Feeds are listed here to assist other Bloggers, and support their Blogs. Use the links to the left of this page to find Blog support on the web.

Send us your "chicklet" or banner, no larger than 110x30 pixels.
We'll post your's when we see ours is up on your site.Free!
E-mail to:sweattshop@sweattshop-logographics.com
Looks Like:

Copy This Code:

California to Ohio to Florida or Some like it hot!

2005-12-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Enjoy this story, leave a comment love it or not.

The Sweattshop

Press "Control+D" to book mark this page for future updates.

.....Flight Depart 6:00 am (Oakland) America West Airlines,Arrive 8:55 am(Phoenix).....on time......
November 28 -

Depart 6:00 am (Oakland) America West Airlines
Arrive 8:55 am (Phoenix)

Depart 10:02 am MST Northwest Airlines #264
Arrive 3:47 pm EST (Detroit)

Depart 5:15 pm EST Northwest Airlines #3058
Arrive 6:05pm (Toledo)

I have broken some personal records this week, in travel distance, time and patience.
At the behest of my life long friend Steve, I left Oakland Airport to parts known. Toledo, Ohio home of the Mudhens, Jamie Farr and Tony Packos Cafe amongst others. Steve helped his mother relocate to Florida as the winters in Ohio can be harsh. My assistance is needed to help pack heavy items and help make the two day drive tolerable.

Three planes, three airports and 9 hours of terminal education. Traveling up, down and across, it became a crossword puzzle of the physical. Airports spend a great deal of money on art and people rarely have time to see it. Friendly conversation can be found, but the risk is great as your temporary flying companion may be a rambler of the inconsequential, and less knowlegable about the myriad subjects he or she projects than they assume.
Patience Icarus, patience.

Lacking a window seat, I peer over my forced companion to take measure of the distance between me and the safety of mother earth. I am not a flyer, nor am I a white knuckler, but grounded I certainly feel more at home. I can report no alien space craft, gremlins or unforgettable sunset in my semi unfettered view. My third plane to Toledo gained me a window seat during a clear night sky. A short hopper, twin engine vibration machine, gave me a front seat and window directly across from the right propeller and the unwanted but unavoidable visions of severed blades careening through my window and directly into it's nearest target. Maria, our English challenged flight attendant, flew through the in-flight instructions faster than the rotation of the spinning swords out my window.

Toledo was small airport, our landing was two points shy of smooth and mother never looked so good, even covered in tarmac and grey. My bag arrived mostly unmolested and sporting only two unrecognizable scuff marks, but still intact. Tired of sitting and too tired to stand without swaying, 9 hours after my departure I simply became with one with Steves truck seat as we drove to his home in Ohio.

As with all real friends, it had seemed time had not passed and no bonds had been broken as we spoke of things then and now. The air was brisk but not intolerable. We ate, we talked, I showered, I slept and then an Ohio morning rose before me.

The next afternoon, Steve gave me the tour of Toledo and other cities and is good at telling bits of history about a place. We ate at Tony Packos but spent more time reading the autographed hot dog buns than we did fueling our heart burn generators with oversized, world famous chili dogs.

Over 1,000 signed hot dog buns line the walls of the Front Street restaurant.

Arriving home we worked up enough motivation to start packing the truck and the U-Haul with household items, Momma Crowders Christmas decorations and Steves African hunting trophies. For those of you who have never been to Africa, take two North American Forrest animals, deer, bears etc., and put them together to equal one African beast. The male Lion was the size of a large desk, stuffed in a prone position for all eternity.

We left on a crisp Thursday morning, a lite covering of snow highlighted window seals and tree branches, small flakes drifted into my vision and disappeared. It is a long road to Florida from Ohio and with each pit stop and fill up, language inflections would begin to change. Occasionally I had to take assessment of my surroundings and remind myself I was still on the planet earth, as people would say things like "Thank you" and "Good morning" without provocation or asking for your credit card number. After three rest stops in Georgia, I found myself saying Y`all and I was quite A`ppalled.

We checked into a Hamilton Inn just in time to catch Bill O'Riely, but had trouble catching sleep in our first attempt. Forcing our brains to stay awake for 11 hours of driving was playing havoc with our body clocks. The complementary breakfast was quite good and the free USA Today helped pass the time as I read exerts from the worldy news.

Before I can continue with this traveling tale, I must report a blight on the American landscape. A misguided, franchised fascist food trough, known as Waffle House. It's black and urine colored fluorescent sign, with it's undistinguished common font blots the happy travelers otherwise scenic view.

This bastion of baked, fried and boiled breakfast bouquets appears at every exit and sometimes even on opposite sides of the same direction opposed freeways. I will live a long and happy life if I never chance to see one again.
Now, back to our tale of traversal...

The southern states must buy stock only in buffets as they seemed to be half of the culinary options available to a hungry traveler. We frequented these establishments twice on our voyage to the south eastern United States, and I was hard pressed to find someone smaller in girth than I am. I cannot completely blame them, the fried chicken was awesome, but another sign I was no longer in California is that whole butter, milk and other sundries were offered without any dietary restrictions.

Day two arrived and went, as we made our way into Palm Bay, Florida. The air and the view changed from rolling and green to nothing but green and flat. Subtropical and wet, Florida is liken to Fiji in the summer, or so I am told. After a day in this American paradise I began to long for stucco and concrete as every direction of vista provided me only green, green, green.
Finally we arrived at Mother Crowders home where I knew hugs and cherry cheesecake awaited me.

The housing prices are phenomenal, what would cost you ten years pay in California would cost you two in Florida, with a view and no alligator tax. Drenched in cherries and cradled in Graham, Mom Crowder’s cheesecake was superb. We ate, we talked, I slept and a sunny Florida morning rose before me. I heard creaks, cracks and groans, and my body had only made it to the bedroom door. Revel in thy youth O’man.

Tourist attractions hold no sway over me, I prefer to mix with locals and get a sense of how they live and possibly make long distance friends. But we did stop by the Ron Jon surf shop boasting its own indoor waterfall. Damn, these places can be craftfully laid and planned to dull your senses and create a shopping urge.

I did have one desire while in this region of Americana, and that was to visit Kennedy Space Center. Baby this place is cool, a nerds delight to satiate any space flight dreams just short of shooting through the troposphere itself.

These may look like unused rockets to you, but actually they are time folding machines.Let me explain, as you aproach the rockets and as they begin to grow larger in your vision, your age begins to reduce to previous numbers you thought forever lost.

In other words, the closer you get the younger you feel. The closer you get the more you remember watching Buck Rogers, and Star Wars and dreaming of your own rocket ship built to take you to the stars.

I think this guy was a Nasa recruiter.

Plan a Kennedy Space Center Visit - click here.

This was an eye opening journey, starting in California and ending only when I pass from this Earth. There were no perilous adventures, or flaming dragons along this long road to another ocean. I simply stepped out and put my foot on the road without expectation, but ended up on a different path in coming home. Thank you Steve for your generousity. Thank Mom Crowder for the cheesecake and tell her I will return.

I am forced to think and ponder what may be and will become. There is a catharsis in letting go of ones control and putting into a man made flying machine. There is a certain degree of stepping outside of one self.

So I am to conclude and no longer to wonder what my epitaph will not read, and you may ponder the same.

Will your tombstone say "He flew too high" or "He never spread his wings"?

I prefer "His feet never seemed to touch the ground."
More to come, years to go, always on my way to somewhere...

Dennis Sweatt

About the author:

Dennis is a father, an artist, webmaster, sometimes writer, and single male living in California who plays harmonica in the shower when no one is home.

Send me mail:

sweattshop@sweattshop-logographics.com

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