Friday, September 12, 2008
10 Free Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Site
Driving traffic to your affiliate site is not difficult, you simply need to focus on methods that have been tried and tested to work. Let's take a look at 10 of the very best and proven methods for driving traffic to your website.
1. Blog Comments
Commenting on blogs related to your niche can drive remarkable amounts of traffic. The key to getting a link to stay on these blogs is to make your reply helpful and relevant. It is no use just writing a short sentence then linking to your site, you need to write a long, useful reply and then point people to your site advising them that further information can be found there. Of course, there is no need to tell anyone that it's your site!
2. Forum Signatures
Posting on related forums with a link to your site in your signature can work well, if the forum admin allows it. It is always wise to build up a credible forum account before trying this tactic.
3. Social Sites
4. Article Submissions
Article marketing can literally be the only method of traffic generation you do and if done well, can bring you traffic for years. The best place to submit articles to is ezinearticles.com. Make sure your resource box has an enticing call to action for people to visit your site.
5. Videos
Submitting a video to YouTube can have an astounding effect. If your video is viral in nature, that is if people will want to share it with friends, then the potential for web traffic is enormous. Your videos should have relevance to your website and of course display your site URL in the video itself plus in the description box.
6. Viral ebooks
Giving away free ebooks is a great way to gain traffic. People love anything that is free, so handing them an ebook in exchange for their email address not only gains you visitors but also builds your mailing list for future use.
7. Email marketing
After you start building a list you can begin emailing them. It is important not to flood the list with offers or people will unsubscribe. Ideally you should provide useful information regularly and every so often include an offer or product recommendation using your affiliate link. List members will then respect your opinion as you have provided them with so much value.
8. Squidoo
Squidoo.com allows you to create your own page called a lens. A lens can contain any information, many affiliate marketers post articles related to their niche and a link to their website. Because Google loves Squidoo, it is possible for your lens to rank very high in the search engine and as such, lead people to your website. You can also promote products directly on your Squidoo lens.
9. Yahoo Answers
Yahoo Answers provides an excellent platform for gaining visitors but you must tread carefully. Answering questions in a helpful manner plus slipping in your website link in a subtle way is a great tactic.
10. Free Blogs
Similar to the Squidoo strategy, creating a free blog at blogger.com or Wordpress.com may increase your chance of ranking well in the search engines. These sites become like mini satellite sites to your main site and add yet another method of traffic generation to your arsenal.
The above ten free traffic generation methods all work. How well they work will depend how much effort you put into each one and of course, how useful your website is to visitors.
High Quality Free Targeted Traffic in Just 4 Steps
You had a great looking website, you worked the hell out on crafting the perfect product but soon you found that there are no takers. This is one of the most common frustrations that a webmaster gets while trying to get quality traffic. It is quite true that paid advertising yields great results but obviously you have to shell out a good sum of money to get the traffic. There have been a lot of discussion, articles, talk on various websites, forums and blogs on traffic building techniques but all the techniques only create greater confusion in the webmaster's mind. Following a single technique with dedication would often produce better results than not.
If you would ask what is the best single technique that would prove to be most effective for my business? Then, with my 7 years of experience in SEO, I would answer - tell people about your product or service and they will come to you. The more people know about what you provide, the better would be the response for the same. As I mentioned above to tell people, advertising is thought of as the sole medium. This isn't totally true, yet another way that can give you quality free traffic day after day is by writing articles. You might already know this, but as I said may be you did not put adequate attention and dedication.
I would try to explain a quick 4 step process that would guarantee high quality targeted traffic to your website. These steps might require at least 10 iterations. The more iterations, the more better, the more traffic!
The 4 Step Traffic Building Model
1. Researching keywords
It is very important to know which keywords would aid you in your quest and prove to be the most effective ones. Researching keywords is not as difficult as it earlier used to be. If the title of this article says Free Targeted Traffic then I won't tell you about wordtracker (paid keyword researcher tool) instead I would like to talk about free options. I used to use Google AdWords Tool (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal) but the other day I found out a nifty tool that lets you see how many people search for your keyword on a monthly basis. The tool is named Spacky and can be found at http://www.spacky.com. Dumb name... really but an awesome tool (somehow their slogan says the same). The spacky tool lets you see how many people search for a particular keyword on Yahoo, Google or Microsoft Network. If this tool is used in conjunction with the Google AdWords Tool, you have your keyword research done.
2. Creating an effective article title
After you have researched your keywords, you need to form a effective catchy title which would include the keywords. Make sure you don't get over enthusiastic and create an all keyword title. Try to be rational in your approach. For example, if you are a children clothing selling company and your researched keywords are clothes for children, child clothes, cheap child clothes, funky child clothes, birthday child clothes, etc; you can make a title like Cheap and Funky Children Clothes. You can cover other keywords in different titles (when you iterate the 4 step traffic building process)
3. Writing your article
This is the most important aspect of the traffic building process, so you would need to be very careful on this. So, you have the right keywords, you have the right title and now it's time to write the right article. To write an effective article, make sure what your title says is reflected in your article, make sure you cover all your primary keywords and try to add related ones too. This would ensure you pass Google's Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) technology. Now, the most important thing you should keep in mind is that you need to be very professional while writing your article. Try to write in a way that is easily understood by readers and would influence them into clicking your link whilst trying to maintain the quality of writing. You need to actually guide them about the title you have prepared rather than keeping just selling in mind. If you are successful with this, 90% of your job is done.
4. Submitting your article
I would immediately like to warn you about automated submission tools. These tools would provide a dirty way for you to provide your article to thousands of article directory based websites but it won't give you the natural credibility of creating your own account and submitting manually. You get the picture - create an author account, select proper category for your article, paste your article and submit it - totally manually. If you have an account you can always return back and submit more articles. This would give you more credibility through the website's perspective as well as will help you create a substantial article base which would in turn bring you high quality targeted traffic.
As I mentioned above to be successful in this pursuit you need to repeat these 4 steps as many times as possible and write as many articles as possible related to your business service or product. Remember; don't expect things to happen all of a sudden, a formalized, proper and dedicated approach would surely ensure that your efforts are paid off. The best thing about this process is that you get traffic month after month repeatedly with just one stretch of work.
A few list of sites you can submit your articles to:
1.) ezinearticles.com
2.) buzzle.com
3.) tunearticles.com
4.) articlesbase.com
Make sure, you tweak and change your article just a little bit for each article submission site. So, your article would be different for each site and your chances of one of them getting ranked, would be higher.
How to Advertise Your Website For Free - Proven Tips For Tons of Traffic
In this article we are going to quickly cover a few easy ways to advertise your website for free. Now, before we go on, I'm NOT going to cover any odd, esoteric or silly strategies like link exchanges, surfing for credits and any other nefarious nonsense that won't do you any good. Rather, I'm going to cover timeless and elegant techniques that work for ME everyday, and will do the very same for you in rapid fire turn around time if you put them to use. So if you've got BIG ambitions, but a very small budget, read on as we get to work!
Press Releases are Priceless
If you aren't writing press releases, you are leaving a ton of free publicity on the table on a daily basis. What do YOU have going on that worthy of submitting a free press release? Anything you want. Most online directories that accept free submissions WILL reprint your release if you have something topical to say, and the EASIEST way to do that is simply tie something you are doing with a newsworthy event. How about a Halloween oriented promotion? Or a McCain/Obama debate deal? Who cares - if you can say something entertaining, and incorporate your own personality with a promotion, you WILL get good coverage via a free press release. ( and great search engine placement to boot if you use your keywords well!)
Article Marketing is Easy Advertising for Years To Come
I love article marketing. I really do. I do a ton of it in so many different niches that I could simply rely on JUST this one strategy for a full time income if I wanted to. And the truth is, so too can you! If you have a business to promote, and a budget that hasn't evolved to meet your ambitions, writing content rich articles is the most expeditious way of getting an avalanche of traffic, and for FREE. Now, there ARE few tricks to amping UP your response - you want to test lots of good resource boxes ( where you place your click able links) and do some good and wide keyword research to boot, but if money is an object, this is THE way to start without a doubt!
Submit your WEBSITE to over 500 directories
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Friday, August 29, 2008
How to Make Money Using MySpace
In today’s increasingly expensive society, a need for a second income arises more and more each day. The problem with this is that no one has the time to get a second job, so we often Google various methods of making money online. Unfortunately, with all of the money making schemes online today, it’s hard to really trust that one method really works. Spending money on e-books that tell you all these “easy” ways to make money can empty your pockets rather than fill them, especially because most of these schemes require you to have some sort of expertise of the internet. Now because of this, these schemes may seem like scams, but you have to look at them from a different way. It’s very possible to make money using MySpace as your gateway.
Steps
Generate revenue.
Join an affiliate program network (Clickbank or Commission Junction). Affiliate programs are when you will advertise a product for a specific seller. Every person that is forwarded to the seller’s website through your advertising, you will make a percentage of the profit, it’s that simple. The seller will provide you specifically coded links that you can post anywhere on the internet, and these links will refer back to your program every time someone uses them. On your blog you can have PPC ads which generate revenue for you. After a while, it’s money straight into your pocket.
Get people to click your links and visit your site. This is where MySpace comes in. With MySpace, you can use bulletins, messages, or comments to post these links, but you have to do so carefully and discretely. You don’t want it to look like spam. So you need to create a good profile on MySpace that looks attractive.
Start making friends. With a large friend list, you can reach all of your friends with the push of a button. This is where it can become tedious and boring. That's why some use a MySpace friend adding program like FriendAdder. With a program like this, you can add 500 friends per day, and reach out to millions automatically. This program alone can generate hundreds of thousands of referrals to your affiliate programs and a great deal of money in your pocket.
Start sending bulletins and comments. Now, here's where it can get tricky. You don’t want to make the bulletins seem like huge advertisements. So one method some use is to make up an interesting story that will make other MySpacers want to follow your link. Sometimes, it's even a good idea to create a landing page with some non-advertising information on it, and stick your affiliate link on that page. It might save you from being flagged for spam. With FriendAdder, you can automatically send bulletins on a regular schedule and also send comments to all of your friends at once. This helps generate tons of back-links and hits.
Adjust everything accordingly. If one type of bulletin is not working, try changing it around, or changing your landing page.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Boost Your Traffic and Profits with Content
Developing your Child's brain
Monday, May 19, 2008
Starting a Small business
As previously mentioned, not quitting your day job is in fact a great thing for you as you start your small business. As the name implies, a small business won’t let you earn enough money to cover your bills immediately. It takes time. So having a job to keep the money coming in, is a great help. You should not expect to make a profit as soon as you start. You have to keep in mind that starting and gaining traction will be slow at first. You will need to buy your resources or materials, probably rent a place, advertise and market your products or services. Then after a while, when you are able to cover your expenses, that’s the time you can think about leaving your paid employment.
You should try to think of several small business ideas that can fit your personality and lifestyle. It should be something that’s attainable and something that you are passionate about. Most small businesses grow from hobbies of the owners. If you opt for something that you really love doing or something that interests you the most, that’s when you come up with the best results and useful products or services. That’s when people start noticing you and that’s when you start building a name. Thus, a good idea of starting up a small business is to go for an industry or field that you love the most.
On the other hand, if you think you are not the creative type of person who can create something for a small business, a better idea would be to buy a franchise. If you can’t build or manufacture something unique, then selling another manufacturer’s products or services might be better for you. The franchisor will guide you when you are setting up your franchise business. If you think that starting up a small business involves an original idea, or a new product, then franchising has just proven you wrong. In fact, another business that does not have to be completely new is the food business. What is more established than selling food, yet people are entering the business daily and making their fortune from it.
Another great small business idea is perhaps opening a small coffee shop or pastry shop. All you need to do is to consider how your customers will accept your product and your service. What are they looking for? Is it a cheap price? Is it the tasty pretzels or donuts that you are offering? Is it the promo you have every early morning? All you need to do is to find the right niche for your small business and find what out what people want that can’t get now, and you have found your business.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Unlock your brains - 5 keys to creative mindset
A creative mindset is not the same as an artistic skill; creativity is the mental phenomenon of getting ideas and finding solutions. It comes out of the blue, some say is divinely guided. If you've ever had a great idea, you know what the exhilaration feels like.
Holding a creative mindset is key, especially in this era of rapid change and growth. Here are 5 things you can start doing today to move your mindset over to the side of creativity and unlimited possibility. When you open your mind to innovation and spontaneity, they'll become your daily companions and reward you both in business and in life.
1. Practice gratitude daily
Oprah Winfrey, no slouch in the success department, credits her daily gratitude list as one of her secrets to success. If you're ready to write this off as a fluffy self-help indulgence, then think again. Shifting to a mindset of gratitude opens your eyes to look for new things, namely the good in your everyday surroundings. It's problem solving at its best- imagine being stranded with a flat tire in the rain and you suddenly ask yourself what you could POSSIBLY be grateful for. Suddenly, everyday items become lifesavers and the simple fact that you're safe and alive floats to the heart of your awareness.
2. Add a big dose of appreciation
Appreciation is the next step in the gratitude process. It's when you open your heart to the greatness of someone or something. I advise my audiences to find something homely or ugly and find things to appreciate about it. Whether it's the fact that someone bothered to make it, or that the colors are pleasing to someone somewhere, EVERYTHING has at least a tiny bit to appreciate about it. This creative exercise stretches into all aspects of business and life. Try it and see!
3. Take time out
Albert Einstein's theory of relativity was not discovered when he was crunching numbers. He claimed it dropped into his head while he was listening to music. Working through a problem is not the best way to find a creative solution. Trust that the answers are coming to you; sitting in a workspace isn't necessarily the best place for that to happen. Get up, get out, and maybe your big break is outside waiting for you.
4. Zap your limiting beliefs
A limiting belief is anyplace in life where you throw your hands up in the air and exclaim, "That's just the way things are!" You may hold the belief that your expertise is of no use to the world, or that you have nothing valid to contribute to the masses. You may hold the belief that you aren't ready for something or that you need permission to stride to your next level of accomplishment. Put those beliefs aside, recognize them as illusions and watch things take off for you. This will unlock your creative blocks for sure.
5. Surround yourself with winners
I advise all of my clients to create a "Personal Board of Directors", people who serve as advisors, brainstorm partners, and mentors. A member of your personal board must be someone you trust, respect, and who holds your best interests in mind. (I call them your cheerleaders). Now that you've activated your creativity, you'll need good people to run these great ideas past.
The creative mindset rewards you greatly in both business and in life. It exercises your brain, invites new ideas and possibilities, and helps you come up with original, fresh ideas that will help you stand out from the crowd. Invite creativity to become your daily companion and watch the opportunities unfold before you.
How to Create The life that is right for you
Creativity isn't just about writing stories, painting pictures, composing music and all of the other recognised creative acts from cooking to architecture and film making to video game design.
The biggest creative project of your life IS your life.
You create yourself, moment by moment, day by day, experience by experience, and become the person you want to become. Right?
Well, it's not always quite that easy. Any number of other factors play a part in what seems like a grand conspiracy to steer you off course from your true path as often and as dramatically as possible.
There's one underlying fact though that never changes. It's the secret to why your creative life is always yours to make of it what you wish.
That secret is "choice".
Though often it may not feel like it, you have the choice in how you react to situations. You have the choice in what you do with your time. You have the choice in how creative you want to be. You have the choice in the person you want to be.
It's never too late to reclaim this power of choice, and here's a powerful technique you can use to get you started:
Reclaiming Your Choice
Think of one or two situations or areas in your life where you feel you're not where you want to be, or you're not in control of where you're heading. Then, take the first area and write out a statement in the following form:
Instead of (situation now) I will (ideal situation).
Insert the situation as it stands now in the first part, and the situation how you'd like it to be in the second part. Here are a couple of examples:
Instead of feeling I have no time to create, I will feel like I'm spending a minimum amount of time every day on the creative projects I enjoy.
Instead of fearing how each project will turn out, I will approach every new venture with confidence and passion, and create the best I can.
Instead of feeling I have no ideas, I will have a steady flow of new ideas and be able to develop them to their fullest potential.
Then when you have a few, pick just one statement. Ask yourself what action you can choose to take to move you closer to how you want to be. Use this kind of format, write it down:
3 steps I could take towards this in the next 48 hours are:
1.
2.
3.
The final step is where you're going to put your words into action. Pick one of the 3 steps you've written, and commit to taking it. Today. Right now.
Just the process of writing out these kind of statements reconnects you with the fact that you have a choice in where you're heading and who you are.
Use this exercise as often as you need to, to stay in touch with the power of choice, and to create the life that's right for YOU.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
It is through wedding favors that a special keepsake or memory-filled item is taken home to serve as a reminder of the beautiful ceremony and precious union of two people. Below you will find five approaches on how to select wedding favors that not only perfectly match matrimonial themes, but also infuse a personal style that complements both the bride and groom.
1) Say It With Chocolate
When choosing wedding favors, you can't go wrong with candy items. Today, any shape, style, or subject wedding favors can be fashioned into chocolate keepsake. Depending on the theme of your wedding, the possibilities are limitless to only what the imagination may conjure. A few ideas may include chocolate flip-flops for a beach-themed wedding, decorative flowers to match the chosen floral arrangement, or delicious treats displaying the name of bride and groom. There truly is no limit to the kind of molds a pastry chef may create for designer chocolate.
2) Toys, Toys and Toys
It doesn’t matter how old the attendees are, wedding favors as toys are fun keepsakes that allow bride and groom to personalize an array of possibilities. Some of the items that have found their way to a range of reception tables include kazoos, yo-yos, carved wooden items, and the very popular bobblehead doll.
3) Nothing Wrong With Tradition
Traditionally, wedding favors have included the well-known arrangement of five white or multi-colored Jordan almonds nestled in a simple favor container. Some couples opt for small boxes of chocolate hearts, truffles, or other sweet treats. While some couples look at this approach as boring, there is nothing wrong with siding with tradition. Today, more and more of these types of wedding favors now display an upgrade. Decorating the outside of a candy box with a photo of the newlyweds, or placing Jordan almonds in non-conventional packaging (such as personalized champagne glasses) are just some of the ways to embrace tradition.
4) For the Environmentally Conscious
While choosing wedding favors made from recycled materials helps newlyweds do their part to save the environment, there are other ways to make a more profound impression on guests. A few ideas to consider include sending family and friends home with flower bulbs or baby trees that they may repopulate the world with natural beauty in honor of your wedding.
5) Personalization is Key
To make sure guests remember one of the most special days in your life, you may select from a wide range of personalized wedding favors that allow brides and grooms to express themselves in a multitude of fun and fresh ways. Commonly personalized wedding favors may include matchbooks and mugs showcasing names and dates, but today, a new world of personalization is possible. Try considering embroidered pillows, silver picture frames, Visa gift cards, over-sized beach towels, and T-shirts ("I went to the Smith and Baker wedding and all I got was this lousy T-shirt").
Thursday, May 8, 2008
If you believe you and your girlfriend have something special and you know deep down that she is the love of your life, then you owe it to yourself and her to make an honest attempt at getting her back. If this is the case don't sit and stew and let your mind play through 'what if' or 'if only I had done that' senarios - this is just not constructive.
You may be going through all sorts of emotions; anger, regret, fear and longing. That's ok, it's normal. Realize though, all the back and forth only wears you out. Make a decision to let her go or get her back - that's it!
If you decide to get her back, then you must decide how. You can go the direct, honest and heartfelt route, (and this is what worked for me), If that's all it takes consider yourself lucky. Just tell her you love her and want her back and that you are willing to work at the relationship. If you feel you made a mistake you must be willing to ask for forgiveness, if you feel she was the one who screwed-up, you must be willing to forgive and not dwell on past insults or grievances.
If you want to be more manipulative - and you know she's jealous, just her seeing you with an attractive lady could be enough to send her running back to you. You know your lady and if you feel that will work, go for it - just realize - that it may backfire.
Getting back your girlfriend can be tough, and friends may not always be supportive. If you are truly serious about getting your ex-girlfriend back, let me recommend a complete program that is designed for people in your exact situation, it's a great resource for keeping your most valuable relationship healthy. To discover more - visit my site in the "About the Author" section. I wish you the strength and wisdom to get your ex girlfriend back - and keep her by your side.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Make $400 monthly selling pictures
Friday, April 18, 2008
Why continuing your education online is so easy!
Community colleges have technical training and certificates for careers. If you want a training certificate, college degree, PHD or master's degree, then you can do this online as it is easy and manageable.
Job training and college can be brought into the home through online education. Just picture being at the computer with some juice, in your PJ's on a morning and you are pursuing a certificate or degree. This is possible with education online and students are pursuing this option more and more. When your education is done online there is no commute to and from school, stressing about attending classes late, staying back late after class, or having to leave your job early to make it to class. You would not have to do without an income so that school can be finished or getting a job to go around your schedule. Education online brings scheduling flexibility and freedom.
You can locate these programs very easy if you utilize the search engines. There are many directories of education and these have a lot of information about the programs at your fingertip. You can research if the school has your field of study, certifications or the degree that you want to pursue. A good method of finding reputable education classes online is to locate the main websites of universities and colleges that are desirable. Many of them have information about their education programs and courses that are online.
Money can be saved on tuition is you stay local. Many more schools are jumping on the bandwagon of distance education and even schools in small towns are offering at least some of the online courses. Call the local university or college to see if they have certificates or degree programs online. Find a distance education catalog for other opportunities that may have been missed when you did your online research. Get advice from family members or friends that may have already done distance courses. People who have done the classes sometimes know about future offerings before the information is put out by the college offices.
Once you locate a desirable program, start the process of application and enroll in classes. Many of the online classes use discussion forums, email or class boards online, where grades and assignments are posted online by teachers. Use the first day to get familiar with the set up, how to contact fellow students and teachers and how to turn in assignments. When you are comfortable, time can be organized and learning can begin.
Everyone can use the ability to advance by utilizing distance education. You can manage a full course load easier and have a better ability to schedule appointments. Many students like the advantage of the freedom and simplicity they obtain from distance education. Anyone who is in possession of a computer that can access the internet has the ability to advance their education that can be done in a way that is comfortable for them.
Five Good Reasons To Choose Online Schools
1. Convenience: Making time to attend campus-based classes can be a nightmare for the average working adult. Family and employment obligations will almost certainly interfere with any regular set schedule of classes and homework assignments. No worries with online schools, however. Students can log on while at home or on a lunch break, whenever it's convenient. If an interruption occurs, the student can simply press the "back button" and resume the online lesson with ease.
2. Technologically Advanced: If you think lessons and homework assignments will be sent back and forth through "snail mail", think again. Today's online schools employ a sophisticated array of technological advances, including downloadable lessons, books and exams. Professors can conduct class via streaming video or real time video, and participants can interact with one another through dedicated chat rooms, forums and blogs.
3. Value: There is low or no overhead, so tuition costs are generally much less with online courses.
4. Accreditation: If you are careful to choose an online college that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency, you can rest assured that your education will be just as high in quality and value as degrees from traditional colleges and universities.
5. Pace: The flexible pace of online schools is unsurpassed. Most online degree programs provide a very wide window of time to complete. You can ease your way down the academic path a little at a time, or blaze a trail to success at lightning speed. The choice is yours.
6. (Yes, I know I said only five reasons, but here's a bonus ) Availability: Whether you live in the farthest reaches of the boondocks or right in the heart of New York City, online schools can be accessed from anywhere, as long as you can get a connection to the Internet.
So, don't let your worries keep you from considering the option of earning a degree online. Open your mind to the possibility that, with online schools, you really can have it all!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tips to improve your speaking style
1.Make sure your speech is not wordy, chatty or unfocused. Get to the point.
check back next week for the complete tips.
Students! welcome
I want to assure you of enthusiasm. My web page has a lot to offer you all for free and easy, you are welcome.
How To Avoid Giving Offense Or Being Misunderstood
In modern business language, the spoken and written word has become a battleground. Terms once regarded as benign have turned into "fighting words." Women, various ethnic groups, older parties, and other parties (such as homosexuals, or "gays") have become much more sensitive to language they believe may denigrate them. Using them "wrong" words can injure your reputation, and even destroy your career. Thus, it's up to you, as a speaker, to choose your words carefully.There are certain general principles you can follow that will minimize the chance you will unintentionally offend a member of the most sensitive groups. But let's be candid: almost any usage will offend or at least irritate someone. In this area, "zero defects" probably is an unattainable goal.
Here are five principles you can use that will help you avoid saying something offensive:
1. Identify people the way they want to be called. If some people of African heritage want to be called "African-Americans," then do so. If other individuals want to be called "Blacks," do so. The same principle applies with "gays' (rather than "homosexuals") and "Latinos" (rather than "Hispanics").
The caution here is that some people don't like the proliferation of "hyphenated Americans" (Italian-Americans, Greek-Americans, and so on). Some people feel that the hyphenation turns people into partial Americans. These people are in the minority, but there are not alone.
2. Whenever possible, don't generalize about groups; talk instead in terms of individuals. In other words, don't say, "Women are submissive"; and don't say "Men are aggressive." Individual women may be submissive, as individual man may be aggressive. Generalizations about groups are always wrong, if not totally, at least partially.This limitation is that this approach is easy in theory, hard in practice. How, for example, is a company's "affirmative action" officer to avoid generalizing about groups? Also, in time of heightened racial, gender, and ethnic awareness, is it realistic to expect people to stop generalizing about such matters?
3. Don't use words that imply certain jobs or roles are filled only by a certain sex or gender. In other words, don't talk about "policemen," but rather about "police officers"; don't refer to the mailmen," but to "mail carriers." And don't refer to our "forefathers," but instead tour "ancestors."
The question here is not a matter of principle, but of practice. Specifically, will the day be carried on this point by the adoption of the gender-neutral word "person"? That is, will words like "policeperson," "chairperson," "mailperson." and waitperson" become standard usage? It appears the term "person" is a ubiquitous in our society as the designation "Comrade" was in Chairman Mao's China.
4. Avoid the "he/she" pronoun problem by making singular nouns into plurals. For example, suppose you say, "The engineer is a problem solver; he does not know the meaning of the word "impossible."' If you say that, some people might be offended by the male referent "he." A simple way to overcome that problem is add an "s" to "engineer." That makes the sentences read: "Engineers are problem-solvers, they don't know the meaning of the word "impossible."'
This approach seems to solve the problem with wordiness inherent in always having to say "he and she." Some notable experts on language usage may object to the principle; their point is that historically, "he" as a pronoun reference could refer either to males or females. These individuals seem to be fighting a losing battle.
5. Refer to people with disabilities as that, "people with disabilities." In the eyes of many people, calling such individuals "handicapped" or "disabled" is to confuse the individual with the disability.
A caution about using the term "physically challenged." To some people, this well-intentioned term implies that diseases such as multiple sclerosis or "Lou Gehrig's Disease" are "challenges." The further implication would be that people who don't overcome their "challenge" have somehow failed is a ridiculous notion.
In the politically correct and sensitive society that we are now living in it is almost impossible to give a speech without someone taking offense to something you say, but by following these five principles you can greatly reduce your chances of giving offense or being misunderstood.
Students and cashflow
Rich Dad has authored a new great book. This time he focuses more on how a student can be free financially and escape the "rat race". cashflow quadrant is the name of his great book. check it out at www.richdadbook2.com
Rich Dad's Education
check out this educational website which I stumbled upon yesterday evening. its cool and I believe you would like it.
How I went to UNIVERSITY
Thinking of schooling and going to the university, I must confess it wasn't a day's job. I lost my dad when I was only 6 years old. I felt abandoned and rejected. I feel like crying now and I don't wish to continue with the narrative story of my life. But do check back again for the entire story.
Maths Games for children
A Book Scavenger Hunt
This is a game that teaches counting and ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd...). The first thing to do is find a book for each child. It works well, and takes less time, for all children to use the same book title and edition, but it is not necessary. The idea is that the answer will spell out a sentence or two and the winner is the first one to decipher it. Each child will be provided with a clue sheet which will list directions for finding each word.
An example would be to say "find the 5th word of the 3rd paragraph on the 11th page after page 101." The children would then look for this word and write it down. You can also work in math problems, such as "go to the page that is twenty-one less than eighty-four and find the 7th word in the 2nd paragraph from the end of the page." Increase the complexity for older children and simplify for younger ones.
Picture Shapes
Math games for kids, especially the younger ones, can benefit from including pictures from books or coloring books. This game accomplishes this by using a picture that has obvious shapes in it, such as balloons for circles, doors for rectangles, etc., then seeing who can find the most shapes hidden. For older children you can include things such as octagons, cylinders, and cones.
Taking Directions
This is a great math game for a larger group of kids to play. The great thing about this game is that it shows us that math games for kids do not need to involve sitting at a table with a pencil in hand. This is played outdoors and involves putting a mat, or other flat object, in the yard and pairing the kids up. One child in each group wears a blind fold. The other child will give them directions.
The goal is for the child with the blind fold to follow the directions so that he/she ends up on the mat. The trick is that the child doing the talking can only give a set number of clues and can only use numbers for how many feet or yards, and the words forward, backward, right, or left. You can put obstacles in the way such as orange road cones or beach balls that they have to maneuver around to get to the mat. The kids giving the directions must stay stationary while giving the clues. Make sure this game is supervised by an adult who can make sure that the kids do not run into one another or trip and fall.
Board Games
Board games offer a variety of creative and interesting ways for teaching math concepts to children. There are many math games for kids that are in board game format. Some of these include Sorry, Yahtzee, and Rummikub. There are also many board games for kids that can be altered to include math skills. One example is to play Scrabble and give triple the points for each math term spelled out, as well as having the children keep a running score for every player.
Matching Math Cards
This is a twist on Old Maid where the goal is to match two cards by putting all of them face-down and turning over two cards at a time on each turn to see if they match. This game is different than Old Maid because it is centered around math concepts. You start by writing a math problem on an index card, using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Then you make another math problem on the next index card that is different but has the same answer. After you have made between twelve and twenty of these cards you lay them face down. Whenever someone turns over two cards with the same answer they get to keep them. The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
Learning math does not need to be dull and boring. It can be fun and challenging by using the above math games for kids, where math becomes play instead of work.
Maths Games for children
A Book Scavenger Hunt
This is a game that teaches counting and ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd...). The first thing to do is find a book for each child. It works well, and takes less time, for all children to use the same book title and edition, but it is not necessary. The idea is that the answer will spell out a sentence or two and the winner is the first one to decipher it. Each child will be provided with a clue sheet which will list directions for finding each word.
An example would be to say "find the 5th word of the 3rd paragraph on the 11th page after page 101." The children would then look for this word and write it down. You can also work in math problems, such as "go to the page that is twenty-one less than eighty-four and find the 7th word in the 2nd paragraph from the end of the page." Increase the complexity for older children and simplify for younger ones.
Picture Shapes
Math games for kids, especially the younger ones, can benefit from including pictures from books or coloring books. This game accomplishes this by using a picture that has obvious shapes in it, such as balloons for circles, doors for rectangles, etc., then seeing who can find the most shapes hidden. For older children you can include things such as octagons, cylinders, and cones.
Taking Directions
This is a great math game for a larger group of kids to play. The great thing about this game is that it shows us that math games for kids do not need to involve sitting at a table with a pencil in hand. This is played outdoors and involves putting a mat, or other flat object, in the yard and pairing the kids up. One child in each group wears a blind fold. The other child will give them directions.
The goal is for the child with the blind fold to follow the directions so that he/she ends up on the mat. The trick is that the child doing the talking can only give a set number of clues and can only use numbers for how many feet or yards, and the words forward, backward, right, or left. You can put obstacles in the way such as orange road cones or beach balls that they have to maneuver around to get to the mat. The kids giving the directions must stay stationary while giving the clues. Make sure this game is supervised by an adult who can make sure that the kids do not run into one another or trip and fall.
Board Games
Board games offer a variety of creative and interesting ways for teaching math concepts to children. There are many math games for kids that are in board game format. Some of these include Sorry, Yahtzee, and Rummikub. There are also many board games for kids that can be altered to include math skills. One example is to play Scrabble and give triple the points for each math term spelled out, as well as having the children keep a running score for every player.
Matching Math Cards
This is a twist on Old Maid where the goal is to match two cards by putting all of them face-down and turning over two cards at a time on each turn to see if they match. This game is different than Old Maid because it is centered around math concepts. You start by writing a math problem on an index card, using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. Then you make another math problem on the next index card that is different but has the same answer. After you have made between twelve and twenty of these cards you lay them face down. Whenever someone turns over two cards with the same answer they get to keep them. The person with the most cards at the end of the game wins.
Learning math does not need to be dull and boring. It can be fun and challenging by using the above math games for kids, where math becomes play instead of work.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
15 Secrets To Boost Your I.Q In Less Than 30 Days by:
Friday, April 11, 2008
Students, take care of your finances
by: Tubersmike
Taking control of your financial situation is one of the most important learning experiences you will have in your entire college career.
A large majority of students do not fully anticipate the many extra costs of college life. Before you plan on living at college, you should sit down and list your expected daily or weekly living expenses. While at college you will most likely encounter costs you did not prepare for, so this article is meant to help you sort out some of those things you may have forgot. Identifying these costs is not your last step, but it is a great start to financial stability.
One obvious strategy is to spend less. Buying what you need, rather than indulging on impulse or emotional buying. Track your daily spending for a month, and develop a realistic budget for the semester. Try not to let friends or social situations push you into spending money on something you don’t necessarily want or need. As mentioned earlier, you will encounter costs or discover things you planned for will be more expensive than you previously thought. Described below are some of those very things.
Food.
If you plan on eating out, budget heavily for it. Even purchasing pizza once or twice a week can really rack up your bill real quick. If you are lucky enough to have a meal plan on campus, use it! You already paid for it, it’s already cooked, and should give you a variety depending on the time of day you go to use it. Try to avoid expensive party stores or gas stations for purchasing groceries; they will always be cheaper at grocery stores. Avoiding vending machines is also a good idea, as a few dollars every time can begin to add up very fast.
Textbooks.
Weighing your options for your textbooks can save you hundreds each year. Borrowing books or exchanging them somewhere else besides the campus owned store will usually save you money in the long run, and isn’t usually difficult.
Personal expenses.
Toiletries, clothes, entertainment, and haircuts quickly add up. You can also make some lifestyle adjustments to live within your budget, but about $850 per semester is a fair estimate for "miscellaneous" spending.
Electronics: Replacing a lost or stolen laptop, MP3 player, cell phone, or camera is expensive and unnecessary if you are protective of your stuff. Watching your backpack, wallet, and keys are vital. Keep your valuables out of sight and lock your room at all times—even for bathroom runs or to visit your neighbor for a few minutes. Protect all forms of personal identification, including your Social Security number and mail. Local police and campus security will sometimes have etching devices to help engrave names and/or addresses into everyday items for further security.
Travel.
Most students travel home from time to time to visit friends and family, or just for breaks. Car pooling or looking for student fares when you purchase bus, train, or airline tickets is also a must. Sometimes your student ID will automatically get you discounts, but it’s always important to ask.
Personal habits.
Observe your favorite indulgences from a budget perspective. Whether you love to buy music, shoes, lattes, or clothes, failing to practice moderation is a surefire budget buster.
Observing costs and preparing yourself are two simple steps in helping your financial situation. Doing just these few things will already place you way ahead of most students and the lessons learned will carry over after college and will help you for the rest of your life.
How to choose the right nursing school for you
Location & Tuition
One of the most important and first questions on most students minds is the location and tuition of the university or program. This is because unfortunately money often dictates the type of education that we get. With unlimited funds it is not difficult to choose a program clear across the country, but for most it is a huge factor. That is one thing that must be evaluated first, the location of the school and whether or not the tuition can be afforded. Universities have different tuition rates and offer many options of financing. If financial aid or grant money is something that you are looking for than it is important to choose a college or program that offers federal financial aid or other methods of payment. Compare the per credit hour or cost of the program rate to other universities in the area as well as their reputation and what it offered. Other factors to consider are public versus private and in state as well as out of state tuition rates.
Specialties
Not every program or university will offer the same specialties in nursing. This is very important because if you are planning a specific track or career the program must prepare you or you will not be eligible to take your state exam. Check with the admissions office or counselor before making a decision. Ask what programs are available and whether or not you have an option of a more advanced degree. For example, if you are enrolled in an LVN program, do they offer an RN or BSN? This may not be something that you are concerned with this moment, but maybe something that you are interested in after completing that particular program.
Accreditation
With the addition of online classes and universities there has been some concern over accreditation and licensure. This is important because even after completing the program if the university is not accredited the state may not allow you to test. It is important to not only ask the university about their accreditation, but also check it out with your states licensing board first. A good rule of thumb is if the university offers Federal Financial aid they are most likely accredited by the appropriate authority. This information can be found by searching on the internet or contacting the board of higher education within your state or federal government. This is not something that you want to take a chance with or ignore because it could cost you thousands of dollars and a great deal of grief.
Preparation And Success Of The Program
Something else that may factor into your decision about the right school for you is the university or programs past graduate’s records. Do these students pass their state exam, are they successful at finding employment and what their pass/fail rate is. This is something that can be inquired about at the admissions office or the respective state licensure board. A wise student is one that makes sure that the program successfully prepares them with both academic and hands on preparation. Clinical rotations and class size greatly affect the way that a student is prepared and should be asked about. If the class sizes are enormous that divides the instructor’s attention that much further and can leave a gap in the learning environment. The smaller the class is the better chance of interaction and more hands on experience that the student receives. That is not to say that the larger classes are not good, but there is not as much personal attention in the large class versus the smaller class.
There are many things to consider when entering into a nursing program. Not only should the student evaluate the program, but also must decide on the particulars of their specialty. It is a good idea to do a little bit of research, talk to an admissions counselor and also talk to those in the profession to answer any questions that you may have about choosing the right program for you!
Chemistry, The central science
Some of the basic subdisciplines of matter studied include (but are not limited to): analytical chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, nuclear chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and theoretical chemistry.
Alchemy most often refers to both the early form of investigation of nature and philosophy that combine elements of many disciplines. Having been studied everywhere from Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to Classical Greece and Rome as well as the orient and the Mediterranean for well over 2 millennia, its diversity may be as great as science itself.
In history, Alchemy (from Arabic – al-chimiya – likely similar root word from Egyptian) was more than simply connected to many disciplines; it was composed of them: art, astrology, chemistry, medicine, metallurgy, mysticism, physics, semiotics, spiritualism, etc.
The Greek philosopher Empedocles championed the idea that all things were composed of four basic elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. The four elements were attributed properties: cold, dry, hot, and wet. The interaction of these four elements can be demonstrated by the following relationship order: Water – wet – Air – hot – Fire – dry – Earth – cold – Water (ad nauseum). Around 350 BCE, Aristotle conceived of a fifth element that he called “quintessence” which made up the heavens.
Initially an “Element” was defined as a body in which other bodies can be decomposed and which itself is not capable of being divided into other bodies. This definition is nearly identical to the concept of the atom as the indivisible component of matter.
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274) suggested in his writings from the 13th century that a body of matter is able to change, but is not able to simply disappear. While his theory was incomplete, it is likely to have inspired those conservationists of the 5 centuries that came after him until the Law of Conservation of Mass was fully formulated in 1789 by Antoine Lavoisier (the father of modern chemistry).
When the scientific community figured out that the substances never disappear, then they were finally able to embark on thorough studies on the transformation of substances.
Following the chemical revolution, the physical science of chemistry began to relate to smaller and smaller parts. Then, of course, physicists discovered subatomic particles and decided that atoms were not indivisible. The atom consists of electrons (British physicist Sir Joseph John “J.J.” Thomson, 1897), protons (the “father” of nuclear physics, Lord Ernest Rutherford, 1918), and for most atoms, the neutron (physicist Sir James Chadwick, 1932).
In time, it was discovered that both protons and neutrons are composed of “elementary particles” called quarks (Murray Gell-Mann, 1961). Quarks are a type of fermion (Enrico Fermi + suffix “on”) which is one of the two basic constituents of matter. The electron is an example of the other constituent, the lepton (from the Greek leptos meaning “thin”) (physicist Leon Rosenfeld, 1948).
Quarks, so named as a nonsense word to rhyme with “pork” and spelled to match a word from Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce (though it should rhyme with “Mark”).
Six flavors (or types) of quarks are known to exist: up, down, top, bottom, strange, and charm. These terms were abitrarily coined based on necessity of names which were easy to use and remember. All subatomic particles are composed of 3 of the 6 quarks combined in specific ways. Each quark has a different mass and fractional electric charge. They are held together by the strong nuclear force and mediated by gluons (glue + suffix “on”).
The discovery of the buoyant effect of our planet’s atmosphere on the weight of gases was of key importance to the transmutation from the Art of Alchemy to the Science of Chemistry. This allowed for quantitative studies on the transformation of substances thus in turn leading to the idea that chemical processes themselves are simply reactions between chemical elements of different amounts.
How To Learn Foreign Languages In A Fun Way!
by: Tubersmike
I've always been a computer geek and always loved to play computer video games. Someday, when I started wondering about things (usually this happens in bathroom...), I started questioning myself how did I learned English (I'm from Mexico, so my first language is Spanish). A good percentage of my English was learned at school, but what I discovered was that most of my English came from video games, especially RPG's (Role Playing Game). Then, a marvelous idea came to my mind: why not do the same with French and/or German? Immediately I began my search for some games.
After a good research, I remembered I had a game called The Secret of Monkey Island, the CD version, which came in several languages. I began playing it in Italian (I didn't know any Italian, 0%, nada), and after around 30 minutes, I noticed I started to understand a lot of words. After beating the game in 2 days, I was able to talk some Italian (just some... I wouldn't survive in Italy... or maybe I would, but just because the Spanish is like a brother to the Italian). Then, I decided to start the game again (damn, I love that game), and during this second time I was able to understand around 70% of what the characters were saying. And after beating it the second time, I started it in German. Well, I guess you got the point by now.
The most important thing about this technique isn't how fast I started to get a catch about the words, grammar, etc., but how long I lasted playing the game! When I study French the classical way, I only last about 30 minutes without a headache... when I study French playing a video game, I only last... well, I'd last until I gotta go to college.
If you believe you can stand against studying languages the classical way, do it! You'll learn in a better quality way. But if you are struggling because of all those headaches, I recommend to try this out.
Don't have a video game to start studying? Well, you can download The Secret of Monkey Island. This game is so old they made it abandonware (it's free). Or you can buy a video game which comes in several languages.
If you don't like video games, or you're really lazy to be playing one, you could try listening to music in that language. I learned a lot of German just by listening to bands like Rammstein.
I hope this technique will be useful for you. Remember, once you have acquired some vocabulary and understood somewhat the grammar of that foreign language, I recommend you to start practicing it as much as you can!
