No Spec Work - Rewarding Creativity Properly

It even surprised me.

Yes, even though I have been pointing out the possibility since July, and was forced by demand to release my study findings before my book was even half finished, I was shocked when I heard the news as well.

You see, I was sure we were at least a year off from this glorious day.

The News

Yahoo has had a little facelift, which you’ve probably read about by now. The real news is more important for your site - the “My Yahoo!” page looks different too.

On September 28, 2004, surfers who logged in to their personalized Yahoo area saw an announcement explaining the RSS and Atom files that show updated information to a website as content feeds, effectively pushing news feeds into the mainstream.

The new look to this section of Yahoo was presented as a full page ad to every single account holder upon first log in that day, and even now, there remains a notice posted.

When I logged into my page in the “My Yahoo!” section, I saw a big difference in the number of feeds left to choose from, as well as in the way they were presented.

Currently, the RSS module boasts “150,000 sources”. If your site isn’t one of them, its crucial that you act now. If you have one and you’re not getting the results you’d like from your set-up, there are small changes you can implement that will make a huge difference in your listing.

Best results aren’t as easy as submitting your feed now, but you’re still within the window of opportunity - if you do it properly.

What the News Could Mean For Your Site If You Act Now

One of my clients recently called this “the back door into Yahoo”. Whether that statement is accurate as far as getting included, or receiving an increase in rankings within Yahoo’s search engine via your feed, depends on your site, and whether you create your feed correctly.

If you could use a daily stream of traffic from even a small portion of Yahoo’s estimated 20 million users, this could be your final wake-up call. You’ll want to learn how to create a feed that gets well listed immediately.

Currently, the RSS module boasts “150,000 sources”. Yahoo will still need hundreds, perhaps thousands more, even if it only intends to list the “creme de la creme” of the submissions it gets. Being in that group is as easy as submitting your feed.

Being at the top of the list isn’t. However, you’re still within the window of opportunity if you take the time to learn how to do this properly. You can get free details on how to do that at helpmerss.com .

“My Yahoo!” RSS Headline module Coming Out of Beta?

If I had to guess, I’d say all signs point to yes. When that happens, Yahoo’s RSS/Atom directory will likely contain only those who added their feeds early. New feeds seeking to be included will probably face stricter standards.

If you don’t have one yet don’t worry, because it’s never been easier to make one. If you can cut and paste, there are tools all over the Net that will show you how- some will even generate the file for you.

However, there are still certain guidelines you need to follow with your feed to get a good result out of Yahoo - it’s not as simple as adding your feed now that there are more competing listings.

Yahoo is still accepting new sources for RSS feeds. Readers of my last book state that they are getting excellent results following my instructions, though initial inclusion no longer occurs at the same rate. Plenty of markets have few feeds available, or none at all. Your site could fill that void.

That means you still have a chance at a first page ranking. The traffic I get on a daily basis from My Yahoo readers alone sounds like I just like to brag.

And I do, but that’s hardly the point.

The point is, there’s no place you can even go to buy the caliber of exposure to the quality of audience that reads feeds. The typical audience that accesses information by feed are also blog readers. A study this summer estimated that the 69.3% of blog readers are aged 29-50, and that 40% of this audience are people who have household incomes greater than $90,000.

The type of surfer that would subscribe to your feed has pre-qualified themselves as a lead, with a certain level of understanding and interest in your topic, often on a professional level. And if you don’t spend every post hitting them over the head with your sales pitch, they can be both loyal and interactive.

(If you do, they’ll unsubscribe from your feed faster than you can spell s-p-a-m.)

And if you’re in the business of providing information you can use, in a way that shows how you can solve their problem, it’s like preaching to the converted. If your product solves their problem, and you show that you deserve the trust of this subscriber, you’ll also find the route to a sale an increasingly downward slope.

The bottom line - this is the power surfer’s favorite toy. And if your content appeals to them, you need to learn how to play.

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Learn how Tinu saw a 75% increase in both traffic and sales from feeds at http://freetraffictip.com/rssbook . For free reprint rights to her articles (and a potential $500 bribe) send a blank email to moneyarticles@freetraffictip.com .

Violence is on the increase all over the world. Whenever a city reaches a population of one million people crime and particularly violent crime explodes. How adept are you at avoiding becoming a victim?

Below are ten topics. For each topic you will find four descriptions. Choose the description that best describes your attitude. If no description fits your lifestyle precisely just choose the closest one. Make a note of your answer A, B, C or D on a piece of paper so you can refer to it at the end of this article. Remember to be honest with your self-appraisal, otherwise this test will be meaningless for you.

Topic 1 - AWARENESS: - How aware are you of your surroundings?
A - sometimes
B - often
C - rarely
D - always

Topic 2 - WALKING: - Describe the general manner with which you walk.
A - normal gait
B - slowly or with frequent rests
C - dawdle along
D - rapidly with purpose

Topic 3 - FITNESS: - Describe your general fitness.
A - fit with a strong athletic appearance
B - overweight with little athletic ability
C - average fitness with normal appearance
D - infirm - require use of a cane, frame or wheelchair

Topic 4 - SELF DEFENSE: - Rate your understanding, knowledge or ability in self defense.

A - have no knowledge at all about self defense
B - have attended at least one self defense seminar that required some practical training
C - have trained for at least six months in a martial art (eg karate, kick boxing, boxing, aikido, ju jutsu)
D - have read some articles on self defense or a book on it

Topic 5 - ALCOHOL & DRUGS: - What is your attitude towards alcohol and drugs.
A - drink a lot and regularly take drugs
B - alcohol and mind-altering drugs are a way of life
C - rarely consume alcohol and never take mind-altering drugs
D - drink moderately and occasionally dabble in drugs

Topic 6 - ENVIRONMENT: - Choose your normal evening environment.
A - go out a bit - mostly to restaurants, movies and friends’ homes
B - party person - go out frequently
C - go out occasionally but normally stay home

D - party animal - consider night clubs, bars and saloons the place to be

Topic 7 - SITUATIONS: - What is your normal interaction with others on a daily basis?
A - I make rude and offensive comments and gestures when others deserve it
B - I can’t help myself - I often involve myself in the business of others
C - I just mind my own business
D - I will intervene if I feel a situation warrants it

Topic 8 - TRANSPORT: - What is your normal mode of transport?
A - usually it is my private vehicle
B - I usually catch a train
C - I normally catch a bus
D - taxi is my usual transport

Topic 9 - MONEY: - How much money do you normally carry?

A - only plastic cards and a small amount of cash
B - more than $500 on most occasions
C - up to $100 usually
D - several hundred dollars

Topic 10 - DRIVING: - Choose your normal driving attitude.
A - I always drive safely and show courtesy and patience to other road users
B - Some people just deserve the “fingers up” or a blast of the horn
C - I speed a little, am somewhat impatient and like to toot my horn
D - I regularly chastise others for their stupid mistakes

YOUR SCORECARD:

Mark your answers below and tally up the numbers to give a score.

Topic 1 - A = 7, B = 15, C = 0, D = 20.
Topic 2 - A = 6, B = 3, C = 1, D = 8.
Topic 3 - A = 10, B = 2, C = 6, D = 1.
Topic 4 - A = 1, B = 4, C = 6, D = 2.
Topic 5 - A = 2, B = 0, C = 15, D = 8.
Topic 6 - A = 8, B = 4, C = 10, D = 0.
Topic 7 - A = 0, B = 2, C = 12, D = 10.
Topic 8 - A = 8, B = 1, C = 2, D = 6.
Topic 9 - A = 4, B = 1, C = 3, D = 2.
Topic 10 - A = 7, B = 0, C = 5, D = 2.

Now check your score with the RESULTS TABLE below:

RESULTS TABLE:

85 to 100 - you have an excellent expectation of not becoming a victim.
75 to 84 - your chance of not becoming a victim is very good.

60 to 74 - you have a moderate chance of becoming a victim.
40 to 59 - your chances of becoming a victim are fairly high.
20 to 39 - you need take a look at your lifestyle and improve your personal safety.
5 to 19 - you definitely need to make some radical lifestyle changes NOW.

To learn more about self-defense you can visit the Motivation and Self Esteem website. Go to the “Zen Garden” page, scroll down and click on the articles in “Self-Defense Corner.”

This article comes with reprint rights providing no changes are made and the resource box below accompanies it.

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary’s email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his
Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website where you can receive his “Zenspirational Thoughts” plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book “The Power of Choice.”

In this digital age, your company’s web site is your electronic business card. A strong domain name is the key to your Internet presence. It should be recognizable and relate to your business name, brand, product, and/or activities. Make sure it fits on a business card and is easy to remember whether seen in print or mentioned over the phone.

Use the name people know you by. Don’t abbreviate, unless the abbreviation is your company’s trademark. Ask your co-workers, your customers, your friends, and your family what domain name they’d expect your company to have.

Don’t forget to include your domain name in your site’s logo. And put your domain name on all company promotional materials such as business cards and stationary.

Length Matters

Conventional wisdom states that a good domain name is easy for customers to remember, easy to spell, and short. That said, it’s increasingly difficult to secure short domain names among top level domain names such as .com, .net and ,org. In these cases (and you have 67 characters to choose from), it’s preferable to choose a meaningful statement such as Lawreferralservice.com” or Hotelreservationservice.com,” rather than lrs.com or hrs.com

Give a Good Impression

We all know that first impressions can be crucial, so choose your domain name carefully. Domain names often come without spaces, so pay careful attention to the total package. For example, PatternsExchange can look like patternsexchange.

Select Alternate Names

If your first domain name choice is not available, you can check the “whois” information box for the domain name, contact the person listed, and see if they’re willing to sell it. If they want to sell, they will likely charge more than the $24.95 registration fee. An easier alternative is to register a variation of your first choice.

For example, if your company name is Mrs Smith’s Cookies, but mrssmithscookies.com and the more obvious cookies.com are registered, try adding a small letter such as “e” to indicate that it’s an online business. Or add the word online. Or add your location to attract local customers:

ecookies.com

Cookiesonline.com

CookiesNewYork.com

Alternatively, try registering a local domain name:

mrsmithscookies.ca

mrsmithscookies.us

Use a little creativity, and you may find your alternative beats your original choice. Once you’ve got a list of alternatives for your online business, test them with your friends and colleagues to see which ones they like best. Make sure these names can be easily pronounced and spelled by your test audience. Then, rank them in order of popularity.

Consider Spelling Mistakes

Consider mistakes people will make when typing your web site address and how your domain name sounds when you have to read it over the phone to a customer. Explaining special characters, abbreviations, and spelling is awkward and doesn’t make good business sense. Will customers accidentally make spelling mistakes? Will they use the plural form of a word instead of the singular form, or visa versa? Make a list of possible mistakes, and register additional domain names that incorporate these mistakes.

Register Multiple Versions of Your Name

Register all possible domain name variations related to your company name. If your company’s name is hard to spell, register common misspellings. Register every domain people might use to find your company. It only costs $24.95 a year to register each domain name, and that’s a small expense to keep a customer.

Take this example: Before America Online acquired Time Warner for $178 billion, it registered at least 21 domain names that might be useful to the new company, named AOL Time Warner, from AOLTW.com to AmericaOnlineTimeWarner.com. Alternatively, web sites exist that capitalize on misspellings using them as advertising vehicles and diverting customers from your site.

Register Product Names

When users search the Internet for a particular product or service they often search by product or service, rather than business name. To increase the chances of having your site found, register extra domain names that relate to your core business or products. If you owned the hypothetical company name of Widgets & Widgets co. but you sold an array of household products, you could register generic domain names relating to all aspects of household goods. You may be too late to snap up obvious domain names such as detergent.com or vacuum.com, but a little creative thinking into alternatives can be lucrative. These alternative domains can be easily linked to your main web site.

Avoid Trademarked Names

Ensure someone else has not trademarked the name you register. You cannot register names already registered as copyright (for example, McDonalds). Like company names, domain names are unique and cannot be duplicated. Avoid registering domain names that are similar to your competition or to famous trademarks. Businesses have lost their rights to registered domain names due to conflicts with existing trademarks for off-line companies.

Register Locally

If your company is located in Canada, you can register a .ca domain name even if your business activity includes export trade. If you have an international presence, a top-level domain such as .com, .net , or .org is more suitable. Many businesses choose to register all three, and we suggest doing so. All three addresses can “point” to the same e-mail account and web site.

Conversely, you might open a virtual office in another country. For example, bread.com could also register bread.ca, which may “point” towards the same site, attracting a larger audience. Don’t forget to check to see if a local presence is required in the country you wish to register.

Use a metaphor

If your .dot com businesses does not have a name, the world is your oyster. One Internet incubation company decided on the metaphor campsix, referring to the final basecamp on the Everest climb rather than a straight description of services. The name reflected the difficulty and challenges of building an Internet company to the scaling of Everest. Bear in mind that if your web site is the primary tool for business, the company name must be the company URL.

GPS, or Global Positioning System, is the latest thing in keeping from getting lost when trekking out to visit your Aunt Louise. Years ago you had to rely on landmarks, your handy compass or the guy at the corner gas station, assuming he knew where everything was. Today for about a hundred bucks you can get a little gadget that will tell you exactly where you are, any place on Earth. By using some basic mathematical calculations and a rather complex system, you can be in the middle of the desert, lost as can be, push a button and have your GPS tell you exactly where you are so that you can hopefully find your way back home.

So what exactly is GPS and how does it work?

GPS is actually a very complex and expensive system but the fundamental concepts of the system are very simple.

The GPS system is a group of 27 Earth orbiting satellites. Twenty-four of them are in operation and 3 are backups in case one fails. The system was originally created for the US military but was eventually opened up to everyone else.

Each one of these satellites, weighing in at about 4,000 pounds, circles the Earth at about 12,000 miles per hour and makes 2 complete rotations everyday. The orbits are arranged so that at any one point in the day 4 of these satellites are visible from any place on Earth.

The complimenting receiver that was created to receive signals from these satellites has the job of locating 4 or more of these satellites, figure out the distance to each and from that information determine where on the planet the receiver itself is located. It then transmits this location back to the person who happens to be in possession of the receiver. The operation is based on a simple mathematical principal called trilateration. To simply explain how this works, let’s say someone tells you that you are 10 miles from Newark, NJ, another person tells you that you are 15 miles from Maplewood, NJ and a third person tells you that you are 20 miles from Woodbridge, NJ. By taking those three facts you can figure out exactly where you are because each radius of each distance when linked together will intersect at only one point. That point is where you are located.

In order to actually do the calculation from space the GPS receiver needs to know 2 things. The location of at least 3 satellites above you and the distance between you and each of those satellites. The reason that only 3 satellites or spheres are needed is because the Earth itself can act as a fourth sphere. The GPS receiver itself works by radio waves which are a kind of electromagnetic energy and travel at the speed of light The receiver can actually figure out how far the signal has travelled by timing how long it took for the signal to arrive from each of the satellites.

In the next article on GPS we’ll go over exactly how this system works to measure distance.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Global Positioning Systems
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