Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Simplicity In Form And Function

Web design is an issue web owners routinely often misunderstand. Questions arise as to the look and feel of the website. There are questions as to whether a new site design is needed. These questions can be taxing on the psyche of the website owner.

One of the primary mantras for site design is simplicity. The whole notion that a website must be simplified can actually render website owners a bit confused.

If your idea of a simplified site is to remove items from your website so the focus is on a small grouping of products or information you may have an unbalanced view of simplicity in site design.

The idea of simplicity extends to the flow of the site. What I mean by that is the design can be rather complex, but the simplicity factor is made evident in the ease of navigation and fully defined segments of the site.

In essence, simplicity is less about a lack of information or design elements and more about a comprehensive means of helping your site visitors find what they need - when they need it - on their terms.

In defense of a simple looking site, I will say that it can be a bit overwhelming to find a site that has every available spot filled with something. Most sites need a bit of breathing room, but the removal of items from your website does not necessarily mean you have a simplified site design - it may simply mean you cleaned house and now there's room for a more functional set of furnishings.

Think about it this way; when you travel on a busy interstate would you find it more helpful or less helpful to have fewer signs along the freeway? Sure there are some signs you could do without like the endless stream of billboards, but what about the signs that tell you where the exits are to the destinations you are ultimately trying to reach? What about the signs that help you discover where to refuel your automobile, find a hotel or even places to eat? These signs may be important ways to assist you in your journey.

This is exactly the point of a simplified website. Remove only what is useless and make the rest of the site easy to navigate with clear helps on where to find the tools that will aid you in a positive site experience.

Site design is all about making sure your visitors can leave satisfied with a positive test drive - and reason to consider coming back.

About the Author

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites at: http://www.highpowersites.com. Start your own ebook business with BooksWealth at: http://www.bookswealth.com

Who's Afraid Of Internet Marketing?

It's no wonder so many business owners have the ultimate desire to employee a marketing director. There are so many different means and methods to marketing a company to the public it can be difficult, at best, to mange them all and run a business.

There are certain elements that share a commonality between traditional marketing and online marketing, but there are elements to Internet marketing that may seem foreign to the sensibilities of a traditional marketing specialist.

Some of the more common themes are news items such as press releases that encourage the news media and interested individuals to keep up your firm's latest news. There is also the general commonality of simply getting your name in front of people. The differences often come in the 'how' and 'why' of marketing and not the 'what' and 'should'.

Most businesses understand the need to get people tuned into what their business is doing. Long standing brick and mortar marketing principles would suggest traditional media outlets such as newsprint, radio or television as obvious choices. While these media outlets certainly have a place in marketing, the bulk of successful Internet marketing happens online.

Marketing for the web requires an understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques along with linkable connections scattered throughout the web. What this means is that every time you post on a blog or forum you should make sure a link to your business is included in the signature box. This also means you ask business associates to consider placing a link to your site on their websites.

One of the most cost effective means of advertising your online business will be Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. This is one of the smallest advertisements you will ever see, but they are highly targeted so you have the best chance of reaching prospects that can be turned to customers.

Internet marketing may also mean developing knowledge-based articles or ezines that can readily connect with your customers. Many site owners have either personally developed articles or hired a freelance writer to produce an ebook on the subject of their business that can be passed along to members of their site either through autoresponders or as part of an opt-in membership. These members help you establish a mailing list online. List building techniques include offering a freebie to customers and often result in a very low cost means of growing your contact list.

Internet marketing is vitally important to the establishment and growth of your ecommerce site, but it may require learning a new language and developing new marketing skills. If you can't afford a marketing specialist you can still learn the skills needed to grow your site into a premier online ecommerce destination.

About the Author

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites at: http://www.highpowersites.com. Start your own ebook business with BooksWealth at: http://www.bookswealth.com

Top 10 Ways To Stop Identity Theft

Few scams are as frightening as identity theft. When criminals gain access to your personal information, irreparable damage can be done to your finances. Your bank accounts can be emptied, your credit cards could be maxed out with purchases you didn't make. Bank and investment accounts can be opened, bad checks can be written, cars can be rented and not returned, and many other major crimes can be committed...all in your name!

In this age of advancing hacker technology, digital credit, and global communications networks it is vitally important to do everything that can be done to avoid becoming an identity theft statistic. Here are ten suggestions to help protect you from identity theft.

10. Install decent anti-virus and firewall software to be sure that unauthorized users cannot access your computer.

9. Don't leave emails with sensitive information like passwords or account numbers in your inbox at free email websites. Download them to your hard-drive and encrypt them. Use encryption software on all sensitive data on your PC. PGP is free and offers excellent privacy protection. It is nigh un-crackable.

8. Use a secure web browser to surf the internet. Internet Explorer is notorious for security holes. It seems hackers love to hack Microsoft! Firefox with Google Toolbar is a good alternative choice as it's free and is generally considered to be faster and more secure than Internet Explorer.

7. Don't leave receipts behind when you use your credit card.

6. Destroy all private documents that you no longer need. Never throw financial statements in the trash! Use a data shredder to delete files and a paper shredder to destroy the old fashioned kind. 5. Sign your credit cards in permanent ink as soon as you receive them and always know where your credit cards are. Keep a list of your credit card numbers and information somewhere safe so it can be given to your credit provider in the event of a lost or stolen card. If your card is lost or stolen report it immediately.

4. Get a copy of your credit report and get frequent updates. Monitor it for suspicious activity.

3. Pay attention to your monthly credit card statements and be watchful for any purchases you didn't make.

2. If you do your banking online be sure you log out of the bank's website fully when you finish your banking session and then clear your computer's cache to erase any temporary files which may contain personally identifiable information. Firefox with Google Toolbar makes this easy to do by simply pressing Ctr+Shft+Del or going to: Tools>Clear Private Data

1. There are hundreds of scam emails in circulation that claim to be from a bank, or the IRS and state that your personal information needs to be confirmed. Don't fall for this fraud. Never give your SSN (SIN in Canada) to anyone other than the government, financial institution or your employer. Know who you are communicating with before giving out personal information. Organizations that deal with your money will never send you such a request by email or phone.

Its a shame to have to worry about online identity theft but if you are "on your toes" and follow these guidelines, you are well on your way to making your online experience a much safer and secure one.

About the Author
Steve Greene publishes scam alerts and exposes email scammers and internet frauds on his blog Email Scams Info

How to Double Your Sales with this Easy Secret

One of the most important aspects of Internet marketing is the ability to sell multiple items to the same customer. If every person who came to your site only bought one item and never came back, you would have to continuously drive more and more fresh traffic to your site to experience growth in profits. This is how many Internet marketers go about running their business. I have found that the more sales you can make to each and every one of your visitors, the easier your job becomes. It is a known fact that people who have already bought from you once will be much easier to sell to on subsequent occasions. Think of how much more profit your online business would be producing if every one of your customers made at least four separate purchases from your site over time.

I have found that the best time to get many people to make a second purchase is immediately after they place an order. It is at this time that their trust in you is at an all time high. You have successfully convinced them that you are looking out for their best interests and are offering something of great value. If they didn't feel this about you they would not be ordering. So how do you go about selling the person another item right after they have finished making their first purchase? It is actually quite simple. I am amazed at the number of marketers who fail to utilize this tactic. Here is what you do: Create a thank you page your customers are taken to after they finish ordering. On this thank you page include an enticing offer for another related product. This product should compliment or enhance the item the person just purchased. The reason this works so well is that you catch them when they are still in the mindset to buy. They probably still have their credit card out. This makes selling them on the second product much easier.

You will find many people respond positively to your thank you page offer and order. This will make your profits explode. I have seen my Internet profits rise by 57% since implementing this simple thank you page offer. If you don't have a second product to offer that's no problem. You can easily offer an affiliate product. All you need to do is find something that matches what you already offer and recommend it. This is a simple and effective remedy if you don't have a second product of your own to offer. I strongly recommend that you don't let the selling power of thank you pages go to waste. Add this simple offer and watch your profits explode!

About the Author
Checkout my website with more hot information on internet marketing. Be sure to sign up to receive the FREE e-Course on writing powerful ad copy that will explode your sales. Pick up a copy of best-selling ebook: The Ultimate Guide to Internet Marketing Success.

How To Boost Your Sites Traffic

It is said that in the Internet realm, content is king. If you want your Web site to be noticed by millions of Internet users, you have to have something interesting enough to lure them to your site, read and browse around for some time. To be able to do this, you need to write quality articles that give important information and come up with a Website look that is sure to make your target market stay and look around.

However, merely coming up with great content is not enough. Your Web site may have hundreds of unique articles and still not get enough backlinks and recommendations. All you have worked for, content, design, constant updates, will go to waste. If this is your dilemma, it's time to seek refuge under the wing of Web directories.

There are several kinds of Web directories. Some are very general and host quite a number of Web site themes in one roof, while some are targeted and specific to help the Web user find the kinds of sites they need faster and more conveniently. Before you submit and add URL to Web site directories, find out first which categories you fall under. There are shopping directories, business directories, simple general link directories and other online directory themes. It's best to get listed on several targeted directories than with general Web directories because you are able to get connected with your market faster.

In addition, it will not do you well to submit to just one Web directory. If you want more people to notice your site, get listed in hundreds, even thousands, of online directories. This is quite a tedious job and would take a lot of your time, no doubt, but you'll be thankful you made the effort when you start seeing millions of hits on your site after a while. If guaranteed listings are what you're after, you should go with paid directory listings. There are free Web directories and listings out there but you are not assured of a slot. With paid directories, you are sure to see your links listed within a week or less from payment.

Not all sites are qualified for Web directory listings, even if you can pay the required fees. Most online directories screen their members before getting into an arrangement for the purpose of quality control. Thus, you can't simply send in unfinished, crude-looking or amateurish Web site links; you have to fulfill some of the requirements certain Web directories seek in terms of design, content, theme, or what not.

In short, in order to catch the attention not just of Web directories but your target market, as well, your Web site has to look professionally made and contain the right and pertinent information. One will not stand without the other -- you can't come up with a nice site design and have zero-value content, or place great content within a crappy and eye-straining site. Web directories might need the paying clients, but they won't go so low as to welcome sites that do not hold any water at all.

About the Author

By Chuck Fraser - Directory Links Expert Add Your Site To Web Directory Business Directory and Artist Directory

Everyone Webmaster Is Looking For The Same Thing Traffic

Most Internet marketers will tell you how to write good ads and pay the write amount per click at Google and Yahoo, but what they won't tell you (usually because they don't know) is how to get free traffic that will actually convert into more revenue than the paid traffic. Here are 5 easy ways to get quality targeted traffic to your website free of charge.

1. One of the easiest ways to gain exposure to your website for free is to become a member of a few popular forums that are related to your niche market. 2. Write Articles and submit them to many article sites with links pointing back to your site. 3. Post your link on directories 4. Exchange links with other websites 5. Add content to your site every couple of days

Search engines are crazy for fresh content on practically every topic under the sun. You may have all the tools, and all the bells and whistles necessary to maintain the business, including a unique and interesting website, a follow up system in place, the best product anyone has ever seen, but without adding content visitors will have no reason to continuously visit your site.

Make no mistake though: highly targeted traffic is what we are talking about here, and the best way to achieve this nirvana of the internet world is to learn and implement the right marketing strategies from the start. You are now ready to step up your marketing efforts and want to use the World Wide Web to reach your potential market. The surge in popularity of Google's Adwords is very evident as you can see many sites that have adopted this marketing strategy.

Everyone is yelling and screaming (with their links and ads) trying to get the attention of their market. What Google AdWords does is display relevant text based ads within its search engine results pages termed as "Sponsored Links".

Links to your page will count towards link reputation and link popularity. By getting one way links or exchanging links this helps your link popularity and helps your site move up in the search engine rankings.

When webmasters talk about generating traffic they are talking about getting targeted visitors to the website with a constant flow. Targeted traffic is visitors who are looking and actively searching for the product or service and are ready and willing to purchase or take action. When you receive targeted traffic it means that these are the visitors that want to look on the website and who searched for the information rather than visitors that are forced to show up at the site, the forced visitors are usually created from some type of traffic program. This type of traffic is far more profitable to you - your visitors are far more likely to purchase from you, simply because you have what they want.

About the Author
David Marc Fishman is the owner ofhttp://www.linknetics.com, article submission and directory site. The link marketing software that promotes link exchange

How to Get Better Acceptance in Article Submission

Article submission has become an important question in the present circumstances. Most of the web developers have joined the race to submit maximum number of articles in the article directories. But the fact is that hardly a few of them are only successful in the race with the effective article submission. Hence, one of the most discussing topics among the web marketing people is how to increase better acceptance in article submission. Unfortunately no simple short cuts can be pinpointed for the better acceptance for the article submission. The close to the answer solution will be to follow the successful practices of the experts in the article submission.

The acceptance rate of article submission has arisen as an important issue with the evolution of the search engine optimization techniques. Search engine optimization is inevitable for a webpage as its existence in the search engine will be the primary requisite to meet its commercial preferences. According to search engine optimization experts, link exchange adorn key role in the search engine ranking and they have listed several methods to increase the number of link exchange. Article submission is one of the effective methods listed for enhancing the number of link exchanges. Hence, web developers are in the thrust of increasing the article submissions since it will open a path for more link exchanges, and the race will be ultimately rewarded with better ranking in the search engine.

The basic strategy to enhance the acceptance of article submission will be to fulfill the guidelines of the article director. Most of the directories are becoming stringent in their regulations since the number of directories is increasing and 'quality assured articles' only can help them to withstand in the competition with the counterparts. The article directories are increasing day by day since the people are wandering for articles to enrich their site as content in the site will be the major criteria of the search engine ranking. As link exchange is the main intention of article submission, the use of the most subject relevant articles will be the focus of the visitors of the directories. You can include your information in the articles for submission and can be benefited from the web traffic.

As foresaid, content is the king in the search engine.

The publishers of the articles also give priority to the content in the acceptance of the article submission. The matter of the article has to be essentially relevant to the categories listed in the directory. Most of the directories are focused on the commercial topics rather than fictions. Now most of the directories accept articles in any topic, as the web browsers are looking for fresh topics. However, the popular topics will be arts, finance, business, internet marketing, health, self-improvement, travel, sports, computers, sports, entertainment and faith. The topic of the article must be related to the listed category and you can do a mini research to find out the competition you have to face to have a chance of better acceptance. The 'step by step' articles and 'how to' style articles have better chances since they are often searched by the web browsers.

Apart from content, the writing style of article is also important in the acceptance of article submission. The articles must be essentially readable and ideas must be clear. Usually the vague sentences and close minded approach to the topic is not tolerated in the article submission. As the article directories are evaluated by manual editors, even the minute details of the articles are thoroughly appraised. Most often realistic and substantial writing style is appreciated rather than fictitious writing. To comprehend, the articles must be essentially checked for any spelling errors and must be devoid of grammatical errors.

Now article submission is feasible with manual as well as electronic article submission. The manual article submission is usually slower than the electronic submission. Moreover electronic submission assures the article submission in more portals, which is an essential requirement to attain the basic mission behind the article submission. However, the experts recommend giving importance for the acceptance in the popular article directories rather than the number of submissions. Some of the popular article directories include Article Alley, EzineArticles.com, ContentDesk.com, IdeaMarketers.com, Articles Factory, GoArticles.com, SearchWarp.com, ArticleWorld.net and UltimateArticleDirectory.com. The testimonials show that the acceptance in these popular articles directories is not a big task, if your article is ascertained about its quality.

About the Author

Manish Mathukiya is President of Inetzeal Network, They offers Manual directory submission service. They also offer link building and article submission services

The Advantages Of Choosing Linux Web Hosting

Linux web hosting refers to web hosting services that are based on a server that is running the Linux operating system. It is probably the most widely used type of web hosting, especially for individuals and small to medium sized businesses, simply because Linux web hosting is cheaper than other options like Windows based hosting. The reason for this is that Linux is an open source software product and as such does not incur the high licensing fees that other operating systems do; you can freely download and use it at no cost. On the other hand, a web hosting service that offers Windows based hosting has to pay for the software and maintenance fees.

Some of the advantages of Linux web hosting are: cheaper than Windows, support for PHP scripts and MySQL databases and some hosts may offer telnet accounts at no or little additional cost. In many circles Linux is believed to be more secure than Windows, and for that reason it is also the more popular choice for web designers and programmers. Linux web hosting also offers users many configuration and customization options.

The Linux operating system is also very stable, so you can expect high uptime from a Linux web hosting service. Linux supports most scripting languages and types of web files, and you can use files with all the following extensions: .html, .htm, .pl, .php, .shtml, .asp, .xml and others. The biggest disadvantage of a Linux based web hosting solution is that it is not compatible with Microsoft technologies, like ASP scripts.

On the other side of the coin is Windows based hosting, which is generally more expensive, but it does support ASP and, usually for an extra fee, can support Cold Fusion, Access databases and SQL Server databases.

In conclusion, if you are new to building websites and web design, Linux web hosting is the better, and cheaper, option. However, if you need specialized services that are Windows specific, then you will have to use a Windows web hosting service.

About the Author

Evert DuToit is a writer and website publisher from Pittsburgh, PA. To learn more about web hosting, and finding the best web hosting provider, please visit us athttp://www.webhostingpages.info.

Google Goes For Quality

Google continues its march toward being the ultimate search engine in terms of relevancy and quality, and if you aren't paying attention and keeping up with their changes, you're going to be left in the dust, with ineffective campaigns and hefty minimum bid prices.

This is just another move in the latest flurry of changes Google is making to weed out the "scrapers" and arbitragers. You'll find the following in the Google Quality Score Section:

* Link to the page on your site that provides the most useful and accurate information about the product or service in your ad.

* Ensure that your landing page is relevant to your keywords and your ad text.

* Distinguish sponsored links from the rest of your site content.

* Try to provide information without requiring users to register. Or, provide a preview of what users will get by registering.

* In general, build pages that provide substantial and useful information to the end-user. If your ad does link to a page consisting of mostly ads or general search results (such as a directory or catalog page), provide additional information beyond what the user may have seen in your ad or on the page prior to clicking on your ad.

* You should have unique content (should not be similar or nearly identical in appearance to another site). For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.

You have to love how clear Google is with this. If your sites aren't meeting these requirements, expect your Quality and Relevancy scores to plummet. You have to be providing good content to your users and you need to make sure their experience with your site is logical and helpful. Sure, this may mean you need to do some tweaking or make some outright improvements to your sites, but the end result is that Google remains the search engine people trust and expect to deliver them quality results. And your end result is that people will click through to where you want them to be and hit that "buy now" button more often.

About the Author
Kevin Dahl is a software developer with 20+ yrs experience developing Windows software. You can visit his sites at http://www.pdf4u.com and http://www.affiliate-marketing-advantage.com

Alice in Webland : Internet Trials and Tribulations

After her adventures in Wonderland, Alice heads off to college with a brand new computer. She is a relative newbie to the internet, and when she goes online she is subject to a myriad of influences. There are temptations, lures and come-ons on every page ... pop-ups and tantalizing links ... everything from ads promising a brilliant new product at rock bottom prices to flashing signs that announce she is visitor 1,000 and the soon-to-be recipient of a lap top computer.

On subsequent visits to the site Alice notices that the flashing 1,000th visitor sign lights up every time the page loads, erasing the "special me" rush she had first time in. She also notes that in order to obtain the lap top she has to respond to a marathon questionnaire. Twenty minutes later, after filling in the answers, she discovers there is a requirement to purchase one of the products before becoming eligible for the lap top. This legitimately annoys her because the sign announced that she had won the lap top fair and square without conditions. And that's just the beginning of the frustration and anxiety that sets in as she wonders deeper into the electronic rabbit hole where nothing is quite what it appears to be.

The psychological effect is not reassuring. Over time she develops a cynical tolerance for con games, email scams, advertising gimmicks and false personae. There are exceptions of course. Sites that are true to form and that actually deliver as promised. But nevertheless the dominant impression is that anything goes in this strange habitat, and unlike the real world where you can call 911 when danger lurks, you have to pretty much fend for yourself.

A friend recently remarked that everyone seems more paranoid and defensive these days. He puts it down to the "internet effect". It's true, the web can have a paranoia inducing effect, and its not far fetched to believe that the private anxieties of millions of users can build into a contagion of sorts.

For example a blogger using a pseudonym is likely to worry that the boss might figure out her identity, especially after the long gripe she posted about the lousy pension plan at work. An employee who has said something indiscreet about the boss in an office email wonders if it will go against her. All of this stuff tends to create a conspiratorial climate, with people wondering what A, B and C know about D, E and F. And the thing is, there is no cure-all. No magic bullet. If you are a determined surfer all you can do is develop survival skills and coping mechanisms.

The other challenge Alice faces as she wonders deeper into Webland, is the need for more and better security. Her first password "alice2" no longer offers the protection she thought it did, especially since she has been using it for twenty or so different accounts. A nosy room mate spotted it on her wordpad and gained easy access to her financial records. To make matters worse she even discovered Alice's user names and got access to even more accounts!

So Alice begins to dream up fiendishly long and complex passwords, such as Wh-i!Te-r+aB*biT6788450. So long and fiendish even she can't remember them. After the scare with the nosy associate she no longer keeps passwords on the computer. Now a little black book is required in which she religiously notes down user names and 16 letter passwords, just to be able to come and go out of the places she frequents in the electronic rabbit hole.

Is this a recipe for neurosis? Very possibly. Add to the complexity of passwords, all of the new fangled security devices she requires - the precisely configured firewall, spyware trasher, snoopfreedom ware, anti-keylogger detective and other programs designed to keep her safe, and paranoia is already beginning to build. She realizes that Webland has begun to take her over. Every escape route proves to be deceptive and she finally concedes there is no way out. This is her life. She has glimpsed the future and this is it - passwords, up-dates, virus checks, spyware scans, defrag drills, registry maintenance, spam elimination etc etc.

She thinks nostalgically back to the days when life was simple. Days when she was free, unshackled to a keyboard. Free to wonder in the park without a care in the world, without having to worry if someone was hacking into her financial files or reading her emails from Wendel, the romantic dentist in Barbados.

But it's too late, too late ... that very important date is no longer a flesh and blood escort who picks her up in his car. Now he arrives on a screen in the form of a batman avatar and addresses her in text. It could be worse. At least she knows if he turns out to be a jerk she can boot his avatar with a nifty program, send his details to rot in Iggy Land and pulverize his pics and messages with her super efficient Shreddermatic.

What a life!


http://www.articles-hub.com/Article/143006.html

Searching the web

Google, Yahoo, MSN, Alta Vista and so much more… There are so many search engines out there today that we sometimes don’t know which one is the best, or which one we should use.

The reality is, Google is the dominating search engine and it didn’t beat Yahoo for nothing. Google was the first to implement a conversion ratio together with click price in order to rank pay per click websites.

Every time you search on Google, ads appear on the right side of the page. Every time you click an ad like this, you are making Google money – and sometimes 1 click can make Google up to $5.

These are advertisers that have posted their advertisements for a per-click fee. Yahoo and many other search engines have this also – but in the traditional search engines, what made your advertisement be first on the page was your click price that you set.

So if Joe is advertising on a keyword for $2, but I advertise on the same keyword for $3, I’ll be ranked higher than Joe.

The problem here, that Google fixed, is that people might prefer Joe’s product to mine. So Google implemented a new way of ranking – mixing CTR and price per click. CTR is your click ratio – for example in 50 impressions, I get 5 clicks, which results in a 10% ratio. However if Joe gets 50 impressions with 10 clicks, he will have a 20% ratio.

A higher ratio means that the advertiser has given to the demand – if people click on the ad, it’s because that’s what they are looking for. Google has been trying to be the best at what they do, and they have done it.

So now, even if Joe is paying a dollar less than me, he will probably be ranked higher than me because he has a higher conversion.

This is only one way how Google tries to provide it’s users with quality content – and there are many more.

I’m sure that using Google is probably giving you quality results over the other search engines, and this is because of their effort in being good at what they do.

Google has started diversifying in their services – they now have Blogger and so many more services. Some people think that diversifying isn’t the way to go – that you should rather keep a constant effort in your service, in this case, providing quality results to users.

Google has swept the planet quickly and quietly – and now it is the #1 search engine, probably worldwide.
If so many people use Google to find information, just imagine how much power this company has. They can literally filter out information before it comes to you by choosing only certain websites to display.

This is actually what is happening in China.

Can it be happening in your country?

Chris Tremblay is a staff writer at a Montreal based search engine, www.SearchMTL.com . This search engine is great for finding quality content and services.

http://www.articles-hub.com/Article/147183.html

Searching for People Online

Do you actively use Myspace, Yahoo personals or any other service, such as friendster or something of the sort? These have been taking over the Internet, and many people visit these websites daily to add comments to their friends’ pages or to meet new people.

Are these people-search websites helping us, our deteriorating our values? Has it come to the point where we are so lazy, isolated and non-outgoing that we have to sit at home to meet others?

Recently, a group of aboriginals came to my local area and talked with me a little. Their first remark about my city was that people were grumpy and that we are not very talkative.

Yes, all these things that happen around us – shootings, theft, kidnapping – they isolate us since we get scared of talking with new people – but is using people search websites any better?

People who want you to come and meet them, or people who start stocking you, or people whom you don’t want to see anymore. This happens online too, so please don’t think just because you’re using a computer that everything is safe.

Yes, many times, a marriage resulted from people search websites, and there are many happy stories.

Going to clubs to find people to go out with isn’t always the best thing to do, and today, many people find the only way to meet people is online. It’s an easy way, but it’s also lazy and isolated.

In the olden days, we used to be so much happier with social meetings and our social values. It has come to meeting people through a screen, not in person. It could be great over long distances, but often that’s not what people search is used for.

A lot of us have lost our connection with the environment by staying inside and being at home all day.

The moral here is that we should go out, do things, meet people, be outgoing and have fun. Meeting online is fun, but try not to over do it by staying on the computer for hours.

If you want to meet fun people, SearchMTL has developed a database of thousands of people living in your area. Go and see for yourself how fun this free service is: http://people.searchmtl.com

Using online people search can be profitable, but please watch out.

Chris Tremblay is a staff writer at SearchMTL, a Montreal based search engine, SearchMTL.SearchMTL has also developed a SearchMTL people search, great for
finding people in your area.

http://www.articles-hub.com/Article/147186.html

Irish Search Engine Ireland MetaSearch

a search services are a popular method of getting a range of results promptly from the multiple search engines. Meta search, a web searching technology uses innovative metasearch technology to make simultaneous searches at major search engines and chooses the most relevant results instantaneously. Meta search also known as metacrawlers or meta search tools, sends your query out to many major search engines, immediately returning the results to you, saving you time rather than visiting each major search engine individually. The idea is that by searching multiple search engines you are able to search more of the web in less time and do it with only one click.

People use meta search services when they have a specific information need. Meta search is designed to help you select search services that provide access to the widest number of major search engines. Obviously everyone has their own opinion about major search engines, the major search engines are those that provide access to unique and well-known catalogs of the web. Some of the well known search engines include MSN, Yahoo, Google, Northern Light, AltaVista, and the Open Directory.

To be familiarize yourself with the workings of a meta search service try a search on Google, Yahoo or MSN search engines, and you'll see differences when comparing the results each return. There is a difference is because leading search engines commonly have different databases of listings than their competitors and because they use different methods of sorting these listings in response to searches. Compare the results using the meta search engine metasearch.ie and you’ll find a much better coverage of the web and more specific Irish results. Notice that the search services used are listed at the top of
your results and you and browse what each search engine has supplied.

Why people use metasearch engines?

The benefit of using a single search service to scan multiple search engines and high possibility of finding the preferred page(s) make metasearch engines popular with those who are keen to weed through the lists of extraneous matches. Another use is to get at least some results when no result had been obtained with traditional search engines.

When to use metasearch engines

If you want to save time and you have specific information need a Metasearch engine take less time than carrying out the same search in each search engine individually.

MetaSearch.ie … Search more of the Irish Web

For whatever you are lookinf for MetaSearch.ie an Irish specific search engine is a versatile tool to find exactly, what you expect and need from various Ireland based search engines. Their instant search technology takes the waiting out of searching the web, it retrieves web results and suggestions as you type. Begin typing in search the search box and automatically you will receive suggestions based on the letters you have entered.

It's appealing clean simple look is designed to help it load fast and return results instantaneously. More and more Irish people are starting to appreciate Irish oriented results from the Irish based search engine, metasearch.ie.

Ragguu Tecer is a meta search engine specialist working on various meta search services and technologies and has helped develop an Irish meta search engine metasearch.ie

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Internet and Retirees

Ok, when we were kids, the terms PC or Home Computer or even Laptop where not words yet. A computer in the home? The thought of that was absurd. The computers would never fit. They were huge.

Now a day the retirees are more and more become internet surfers. They are finding out that they can surf, buy, read the new and many other things on the internet. Many major grocery chains even have at home delivery. One can simply order online their food and have it delivered to their front door.

By learning the internet from a young person you may have some hard times understanding their terminology. Take time and enroll in a class. They are there and better to help you with your learning. Many youngsters get impatient with older people, they don’t understand that it’s like a fish out of water to many.

Don’t hesitate to surf the internet and read all your “HELP” categories with your programs you purchase for your computer. If you bought a Word program for typing, or maybe you are writing a book, read the help and don’t be afraid of making errors. It happens to the best of us.

The books at books stores are vast on intro to computers and if you want a book that is an aid for you the series of “FOR DUMMIES” books are the best. The will point you in the right direction and foremost and the most important thing, don’t hesitate to ask the people at the book store some questions too.

Author is Michele Rogers, owner of http://www.lilyputts.com Lilyputts Gift Baskets , an online gift basket retailer. Also hosted is a http://www.lilyputts.blogspot.com BLOG that reviews gifts and welcomes other comments as well. Please visit Lilyputts Gift Baskets for descriptions and product presentations. Please, if you use any portion herein be sure to email author first.

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Feeling Safe about Internet Purchases for Retirees

More and more the internet has become a part of a lot of lives. We find it easy to surf by most well we fear some purchasing on line. With the security features that most web sites have we should not hesitate to buy just what we want.

By using precautions online while we are buying is smart. Whenever you purchase your items, first be sure to check if you have a secure connection, by checking to see if somewhere on your screen you have a little padlock that is locked. By clearing all cookies when you are finished is another way to allow you to safely buy and surf.

Some retirees may wonder if the sites are secure themselves. Most are encrypted language, which will protect you. Be aware of emails that you receive, as some are scams. While some look harmless, read between the lines. Make sure you keep notes of recent purchases and the company from whom you purchased your item.

Remember when your parents told you never to give out your Social Security number? Well the time for that is past. Most places need it and will not set you up for pay plans or accept payments from you, such as utilities. Keep a list of where and when you gave your number, if there are any future problems, you can address them.

Lastly be sure that when you receive your billings statements that there is only one purchase on the card, for your item. Read you billings and be aware of your purchases. Keep your billings from your credit cards for about 5 months. That way if you forget whether or not you used your card you may be able to find a pattern if your card numbers were stolen.

Author is Michele Rogers, owner of http://www.lilyputts.com Lilyputts Gift Baskets , an online gift basket retailer. Also hosted is a http://www.lilyputts.blogspot.com BLOG that reviews gifts and welcomes other comments as well. Please visit Lilyputts Gift Baskets for descriptions and product presentations. Please, if you use any portion herein be sure to email author first.

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Safe Internet Navigation for the Novice Surfers

Surfing the internet for the novice should be a fun experience. Take time to find a home page you like and start there, be it Yahoo or MSN. Both have very interesting content that changes throughout the day.

When surfing, avoid sites with too many popups. These popups can really make your experience frustrating. A lot of these popups will stick a cookie on your system and then, there you will have a popup problem. Also you can go in to your windows tab and see the sites security. If the site has a low security, avoid it in the future.

By clicking on your Tools tab in your Internet Explorer you will see the words “internet options” click on this and then it will bring you up a menu to your other features, from there click on your privacy tab. From this point you can tell your computer no more popups.

For future reference, you may want to avoid sites that have popups that clutter your surfing. Many directories have rules against popups, but there are still some sites that have them. Stick with the sites that you feel most comfortable with.

At the end of your session of surfing, it is smart to find your cookies folder and clear it out. This will also get rid of any problems that you may have and, also will cut down on files that are being stores with really no use.

Author is Michele Rogers, owner of http://www.lilyputts.com Lilyputts Gift Baskets , an online gift basket retailer. Also hosted is a http://www.lilyputts.blogspot.com BLOG that reviews gifts and welcomes other comments as well. Please visit Lilyputts Gift Baskets for descriptions and product presentations. Please, if you use any portion herein be sure to email author first.

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Save Money And Time With a High Speed Cable Connection

have a high speed cable connection to my computer and my sister has a dial up connection. I never realized how important a high speed cable connection to the Internet was until I did not have it. I did not realize how much slower a dial up connection in comparison.

I quickly became very frustrated with the slow connection. At first, I thought that there was something wrong with my sister's computer and I was worried that I had unwittingly caused the problem. After checking and rechecking the computer, I found that there was nothing wrong with it aside from the computer not having a high speed cable connection.

Even though I was relieved that her computer was fine, I was still worried that I couldn't get everything done that I had set out to do with the slower connection. There was a lot of research involved in my assignment and I just could not bear to think of waiting and waiting for websites to download just to find that I couldn't use the information. I didn't realize how spoiled I was with my high speed cable connection to the Internet but I soon found out.

I have no patience. This is why I opted to choose a high speed cable connection for my computer. I find myself clicking and clicking as sites are downloaded. This only makes things worse. The slower Internet connection is simply maddening for me. I am too busy thinking about my next step and I haven't even taken the first step. By the time the site downloads, my mind is on to other things. I need a high speed cable connection just to maintain my sanity.

The other obstacle I came across with the slower dial up connection was that I could not use the telephone while I was using the Internet. This is just unthinkable. I can think of dozens of times that I was on the phone while I was using my computer. My high speed Internet connection does not interfere with my phone service.

My sister uses call wave. Call wave alerts you when you have a phone call. It also takes messages. It also costs money. I figure that for the price of the answering service, my sister can afford a high speed cable connection for her computer. She works from home three days each week and her work requires her to be available to answer the phone. With a high speed cable connection, she could use her computer while she is working.

I still haven't talked my sister into getting a high speed cable connection, but I'm going to keep trying to persuade her. I do have a stake in this. I can save a lot of time and I can save myself a lot of frustration if she has a high speed Internet connection while I'm babysitting. Otherwise, my niece will just have to come to my house.

Muna wa Wanjiru has been researching and reporting on Internet Marketing for years. For more information on High Speed Cable Connection, visit his site at High Speed Cable Connection

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