Internet dating services are popping up online like dandelions in the spring, and sometimes for a newcomer, it’s hard to recognize which ones are the reputable dating sites that are willing to offer you the best Internet dating service to earn your trust, and which ones are out to take your money with false promises!

In order to find an online dating site that you will be comfortable with, you have to visit each one individually online, view their services, and hopefully the information they provide makes you feel at ease!

How do you know if one particular dating service is more genuine over the other dating services? At first you don’t know, because you’re relying on their written sales jargon!

When you land on their page it looks nice and fancy, and it shows lots of single members with beautiful photos, and well written profiles, but do you ever ask yourself, is that person’s photo real, were the relationships posted true, or is this a way to entice you to join?

If the above questions are a concern to you, then you have to do your research, read and fully understand their policy and privacy statements, and most of all go with your gut instincts if something doesn’t sound right!

Most of the top dating relationship sites offer free dating services such as free personals, and free matchmaking to secure your trust, but they also make it clear that they provide more advanced services for their online members with many options and secure features.

So for any reason you stumble on a so-called free dating web site, make sure you find out where they are getting money to support their dating business. Nothing is totally free, and you have to be very careful they don’t have a hidden agenda.

Never provide personal information such as your credit card number, or online banking information if you’re not completely satisfied with a particular Internet service and their lack of security features!

The online dating industry is truly exciting, and it is a fantastic way to conveniently find singles that have your same interests in mind.

By saying this, there are many online matchmaking businesses that have a very good reputation, and have proven to be successful in providing avenues for single men and women searching for relationships on the Internet.

However, always do extensive research, and use your best instincts to make sure your safety is first priority. Once you feel comfortable, you’re ready to take the next step to finding your true love online.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Internet dating services are popping up online like dandelions in the spring, and sometimes for a newcomer, it’s hard to recognize which ones are the reputable dating sites that are willing to offer you the best Internet dating service to earn your trust, and which ones are out to take your money with false promises!

In order to find an online dating site that you will be comfortable with, you have to visit each one individually online, view their services, and hopefully the information they provide makes you feel at ease!

How do you know if one particular dating service is more genuine over the other dating services? At first you don’t know, because you’re relying on their written sales jargon!

When you land on their page it looks nice and fancy, and it shows lots of single members with beautiful photos, and well written profiles, but do you ever ask yourself, is that person’s photo real, were the relationships posted true, or is this a way to entice you to join?

If the above questions are a concern to you, then you have to do your research, read and fully understand their policy and privacy statements, and most of all go with your gut instincts if something doesn’t sound right!

Most of the top dating relationship sites offer free dating services such as free personals, and free matchmaking to secure your trust, but they also make it clear that they provide more advanced services for their online members with many options and secure features.

So for any reason you stumble on a so-called free dating web site, make sure you find out where they are getting money to support their dating business. Nothing is totally free, and you have to be very careful they don’t have a hidden agenda.

Never provide personal information such as your credit card number, or online banking information if you’re not completely satisfied with a particular Internet service and their lack of security features!

The online dating industry is truly exciting, and it is a fantastic way to conveniently find singles that have your same interests in mind.

By saying this, there are many online matchmaking businesses that have a very good reputation, and have proven to be successful in providing avenues for single men and women searching for relationships on the Internet.

However, always do extensive research, and use your best instincts to make sure your safety is first priority. Once you feel comfortable, you’re ready to take the next step to finding your true love online.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

USB Internet Phone is a technique with which you can make your calls using the internet. Phones like Definity Phones, Partner telephones, Toshiba Telephone have come up with VOIP Telephone Service. VOIP Telephone services are quite cheaper then the customary PSTN lines. It is rated as one of the best telephone service giving meaning to the word quality. VOIP phones are one of the excellent series of phone help increasing productivity with hard working features that enhance the ability to communicate.

VOIP telephone service provides the cost saving solutions which are very helpful for making international calls at a much lower rate as compared to the other modes of communication. If you want to have these service you just need to have an internet connection and an appropriate device in order to make a call anywhere in the world with much reduced cost.

Manufacturers like Siemens, Panasonic, Philips; linksys etc. offer these services incorporating maximum features and these services are comfortable, efficient and easy to use too. There are number of individuals and corporate organizations who are always interested in to purchase the latest VoIP telephones.

Used in various communications needs and requirements, VOIP telephones are very common. Many Voip handsets are available in the market such as VoIP 4331 MSN Messenger phone from Gigaset and Philips, WIP330 Wireless-G IP phone from Linksys and C460 IP DECT VoIP Telephone from Siemens having VoIP Telephone services.

There are many leading web stores offering these cost effective VOIP phone services. So, have a VoIP phone and talk at length from your office or home to your near and dear ones at lower rates. The phone service is very well suitable for current and future business need which is technically sound and quality oriented. Additional to this, you will find good sound quality, increased standby and talk time with these phones.

If you want a change, you can easily exchange and can easily sell used telephone Telephones understanding various needs of major brands for telecommunication and supplies. Matching the existing needs, VOIP telephone services are easily selected by the customers.

VOIP telephone services are gaining popularity as the most successful key system in the marketplace. They had established a great presence on the web which is of particular interest to small businesses, especially those looking to grow by providing improved customer service treating businesses as a strategic tool it’s the perfect way to interact with their customers.

Thompson is an expert author and webmaster of Telephones website. The website having details partner telephones, t1 internet services, usb internet phone, voip telephone, norstar t7316e, norstar phone system http://btxchange.com

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Just what is internet business? This may be categorised into almost any form of business now probably with the exception of physical requirement businesses such as manufacturing, farming etc. For example, will the internet ever be able to replace a filling?

Thus the question must be asked, are all other forms of business deemed to become extinct in the future or is this merely a part of what is to become.

While it is theoretically possible to achieve almost anything with the internet, even things such as legal services, architectural services, even accounting and financial advisory services with the internet, the fact remains that the internet (in 2007) cannot think and hence cannot draw upon personal experience- some people may say that their own professional advisors don’t think-or supply opinions that, in legal terms may even create new precedents.

Additionally, people traditionally like a personal touch, so whatever field one examines, this may be the case. But to answer the initial question, internet business is business that can be transacted using the internet, either with or without human intervention.

If I sound like I am picking on the legal professions, I am not, just using them as an example, indeed paying them a compliment as they are pillars of society.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

In today’s world, the increasing trend is to continually reduce costs, sometimes to the detriment of the business itself, so internet business provides a great means of doing this as it removes traditional costs associated with business, for example office rent and rates, travelling expenses, health and safety requirements etc.

However, on the downside people lose that daily interaction, they lose the office “feel”, the personal touch with any customers is lost etc.

Internet Business Ideas

The obvious internet businesses are ones such as the travel industry or any kind of consulting or marketing goods of any description. To expand on this, just look at the travel industry- what is the first thing you do when you are looking for a holiday or flight- you open up the internet and search so the potential is there to be very successful and examples of a possible internet business can be found almost anywhere.

Other examples would include PC repair or tutoring, but if one thinks long and hard enough, they can sell any service or good via the internet, removing the need for vans or shops for example.

So what does this mean for traditional business?

Is this the demise for business as we have almost known it?

Personally, in the foreseeable future I am certain not. I will explain. Lets look at retail- people will always go into town to visit favourite cafes and go shopping, wanting to see the goods for themselves.

One must remember that it is also a social thing where people interact and meet other friends, or (especially in most countries) go to the local market for produce etc. This cannot be done via the internet.

Summarising, internet is fantastic, but for goods that are directly connected with one’s person, food, clothes etc. it is limited.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

With so many Internet dating service web sites popping up these days, it’s starting to have many online daters scratching their heads and wondering which dating service they would prefer!

Everyday there seems to be dating sites with titles such as Internet dating, dating free, dating personals, and Internet singles. Every time you do a search more pop-up like weeds in spring, but which dating site do you feel would fulfill your dating needs would be the ultimate question, and to find the answer, we have broken down some major relationship sites that offer individuals services that target certain personalities.

Yahoo Personals: This dating personals site has an appeal to singles world wide, and you can easily meet hundreds of single people from all over the globe, to many matches in your own backyard. They provide you all the tools from emailing, chatting, and photo submission, to special personality tests to find you compatible matches. Keep in mind the more services you require, the more the monthly fees will cost, but if you’re into having all the tools at your disposal, then your online dating experience could be fun and entertaining. This service targets free spirit individuals, and singles that want an experience that is more casual to start, leading up to possible longer-term relationships.

TRUE: Is a site that targets online dating singles that are searching for a serious relationship, and if you’re out to have a good chat with singles only looking to have online friendships, then don’t involve yourself in this dating service. However, if you’re tired of the dating scene, and you’re ready for a quality matchmaking service that can help you find true love, you will definitely find this service to be the right one for you. Online members are screened with strict guidelines and dating policies, and any false information will not be tolerated. So don’t even think about changing your name, or using an alias! This online dating site tailors to the individual that have been dating in the community, with more date experience, and currently had enough of the head-games involved in trying to establish a connection with their soul mate.

YouCanGetMe: This unique dating and matchmaking site offered out of the UK, attracts singles world wide, and is one we had to leave for last to talk about! They have taken the next level of dating by adding leading edge technology, and cater to the singles that want more in an online dating experience. With the combination of interactive features such as audio and visual tools that allow the single men and women to view and hear who they’re actually meeting online, the days are gone with this service of trying to establish if the photo your looking at, or the email you’re reading is actually the person you’re communicating with. What better way than to see and hear your future match, so you can make sure you’re actually meeting the right person.

This online matchmaking service is for single individuals that are not too comfortable with the Internet dating process, or just want the additional filtering features to help in their decision making process in finding a quality match.

In the end all these dating services are online for one purpose, to find you a compatible match. What it comes down to when selecting a personals or dating site is your budget, and your specific needs in meeting someone online. Whether you’re searching for a good friendship, a long lasting relationship, or a variety of discreet encounters, one thing to keep in mind is that sourcing the most reputable dating services over the Internet will end up saving you time, money, and most of all offer you the best online personals experience that will provide hours of fun, as well as possible serious encounters.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Internet dating services are growing in popular demand, however, there is a decline in memberships, and many of the dating singles are now happy to be experiencing matchmaking quality versus quantity!

It’s very easy to see who are the major Internet dating service players on the Internet, and with the current growth of online dating you will quickly notice the dating values on these sites are increasing.

What this means to you, is the quality of these sites are becoming more important than quantity, and many dating services online are adopting this with important features that cater to you as an individual that seriously wants to find a compatible person online.

Dating singles have demanded more from their singles service providers, and as they sign-up to become a member, they want to know that their dating site can offer a quality database of reputable singles, with the many matchmaking features.

As these reputable dating companies listened to their members, they have provided easy to use communication tools, and a safe, secure, discreet environment! For new people, they’re still offered free personals services, but with limitations.

Most single individuals don’t mind the free personals that are provided to new guests. It gives them an opportunity to explore the services offered before signing up, but once they want to proceed further and start meeting the currently available internet singles, it’s time to take it to the next level and pay for their membership and additional services.

Free members and dating members are the big difference in finding that right man or woman online that fulfills all your personal needs! As the dating sites started to only offer limited access for the free memberships, this had created a decline in bogus, non-serious members, and the end result is that it attracted more long-term online single members.

Now with the opportunity to experience better matches and a higher success rate in a dating relationship, even though memberships have started to decline over the years with many of the dating personal sites, this has been great news for the women and men that are paying to truly find their romantic partner for a quality not quantity experience!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

You timidly suggested to your nephew that you were considering a move to a faster form of Internet service. Perhaps you have heard the term “broadband connection.” He probably heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Finally!” he said. But when you asked for guidance on which service to choose, you soon were sorry you asked. In two or three short sentences, he left you behind, babbling in technical gobblydegook that you couldn’t possibly follow — when all you really wanted to know was, “What should I get?”

Breathe easy. We’ll explain what the options are for faster Internet connections (which is what’s meant by “broadband” or “high-speed Internet”), with just a teeny bit of “how it works” so you have some sense of what you’re choosing and why.

In doing so, we don’t expect that you want to become a computer wizard. All you want, we assume, is the ability to get the advantages of fast Internet access: a computer that is always connected to the Internet, that permits you to zip around Web pages faster than you imagined possible, and that opens up a whole new set of ways to waste time online. Oh, we mean, a whole new set of ways to be productive. Whatever.

Let’s start out with the key question, and then work our way back to the underlying issues.

Q: What should I get? DSL or Cable Service?

Most technical people will give you all sorts of “this is how it works” answers, and they’ll talk about performance (that is, is DSL or cable service faster?) and setup (that is, how will you get your computer hooked into the modem?). There are differences between the technologies, and we’ll get to those in a moment.

But for someone who’s simply trying to find a simple and credible answer, the truth is that “fastest” is not really the most important issue. It’s just like choosing a car. Yes, auto enthusiasts discuss performance and 0-to-60 speeds and other things that matter primarily to other car aficionados. But if all you want is a car to commute to work, then what matters most is reliability, gas mileage, and the phone number of a mechanic whose work you trust. And affordable. It should be affordable.

In terms of high-speed Internet connections, that means:

* Find out if you have a choice at all. In many places, you can get one kind of service but not another. (We’ll explain the reasons why in a little while.)
* Choose a provider you trust. If you hate your phone company or if you are already irked with the cable TV provider, why add agony to your life? Choose the provider whose service you trust the most (or whom you hate the least, which may be closer to the mark).
* When you check into pricing, be sure to find out about installation options. Many cable and DSL providers will come to your house or business to set up the network and Internet connection. If one provider does so and the other does not, your decision is easier. As with many things in life — such as garage door openers — it’s important to get your high-speed Internet service installed right in the first place, or it’ll never quite work correctly. It can be worth the expense to pay a professional.
* If company-supplied installation is not an option, then ask your “local techie” — that same nephew who’s sure he knows everything — which type of service to get, and follow his advice. If you rely on family-provided technical support, then it makes sense to choose an option with which that family member is comfortable. Doing so avoids those nasty “I told you so” conversations over the Thanksgiving table.
* Consider price as just one element of the equation. In most cases, the difference in cost is negligible. But your existing phone and cable company may be able to sweeten the deal; for example, some cable companies may offer a reduced price if you get Internet access, telephone services, and TV stations from them.

What — none of those things are about technology! Isn’t that the key issue? Shouldn’t I choose the one that’s better?

Yes, there are technical differences between the two kinds of service. There can be major speed differences. But in the real world, “convenience” is often much more important.

Q: What do DSL and cable services have in common?

Both types of service provide an “always-on” connection. That is, they’re automatically connected to the Internet as long as the computer is turned on. You need not worry about busy signals or any connection/disconnection process.

Both are billed on a monthly basis, often on the same invoice with your phone or cable TV service.

Both work with your Windows or Macintosh computers without fiddling. They’ll also work with other operating systems, too. However, the typical high-speed Internet service technical support representative may be unfamiliar with the details of getting everything to work with your “alternative choice.” It may take extra expertise, and you may need additional help (that is, expect to buy the nephew a nice dinner).

In most places, DSL and cable access cost about the same.

Q: How is Internet speed measured … and to what degree does it matter?

When computer techies talk about Internet connection speed, it’s generally in mbps: millions of bits per second. This can be confusing since everything else in the world of computers is measured in bytes. Bits and bytes aren’t the same thing. But to put it in context: to send a photo that’s 2.2 megabytes (MB) when stored on your hard disk, it’ll take about 3 minutes for the transfer if you have a 5 Mbps Internet connection.

If we were to get technical, we’d quibble with the reliability of those numbers and whether they’re useful for more than a general comparison. So would your helpful nephew. If you later decide to explore the underlying technology, you’ll learn the reasons for this. But for now, simply assume that 6 Mpbs is faster than 5 Mpbs, as a useful oversimplification.

Obviously, most people prefer faster speed to slower. Many providers price their services accordingly.

Realistically, if you’ve been using a dial-up modem to access the Internet, it will all seem blazingly fast. If you’re planning to use the Internet for relatively ordinary purposes, such as e-mail, Web browsing, and instant messaging, then your provider’s “basic” speed is probably enough whether you choose cable or DSL. Speed matters a lot more if you expect to work with large files, such as movies, photos, music, games, and any other application that caused the computer salesperson to say, “Hmm, you probably should get a bigger hard disk.”

Q: Why do Internet providers list upload and download speeds separately? Should I care?

One aspect of connection speed that is important is the difference between upload speed and download speed. Download speed measures how quickly the information on the Internet is sent to you, such as the email you receive or the Web pages that appear in your browser. Upload speed indicates how fast the information is sent from your computer to…well, to anywhere else.

In many cases, especially with cable service, the upload speed is much slower than the download speed. That sounds like a bad thing, but in most cases the upload speed isn’t a key issue. Think about how you got to this article. You probably typed something into a browser window (such as “compare dsl and cable service” in a search engine). You clicked on a couple of links. And that was about it. A few words of typing, and the clicks. Those didn’t need to speed up the line at warp speeds; you could manage it even if your typing skills are generously described as “hunt and peck.”

But the computer where this page is stored is sending you several pages of information — so you want the download speed to be fast. (This is a very simple example. Your “just a few clicks” could also have shown you a movie, which would have a lot of data to download!)

In some circumstances, the upload speed matters. But for ordinary home use it’s fine for the upload speed to be much lower than the download speed.

Q: How do cable modems work?

A cable modem connects a single computer to the Internet using the cable TV network. If you have cable TV service in your neighborhood, you can almost certainly get cable service.

Specifically, the cable modem is a black box with blinking lights. It connects to the computer with a network cable, which may be Ethernet, USB, or some other kind of plug. No matter how old your computer is, it almost certainly has one of these plug-connections available.

Q: Do you need cable television to use a cable modem?

No. You do need to be in an area to which the cable company provides service, and the cable company needs to physically get the cable to your location if it hasn’t done so already.

Also, expect a sales pitch on choosing cable TV service to accompany your new Internet access, perhaps with price encouragement (”do you want fries with that?”), but technically speaking there’s no need for you to sign up for HBO just so you can send e-mail faster.

Q: How does DSL work?

DSL (digital subscriber line) connects a computer to the Internet using the same wires as a regular telephone line. Although it sounds like it will make your phone line “busy,” DSL doesn’t work that way; the phone service isn’t affected by the Internet connection. In most cases in the U.S., the DSL connection is a phone socket, and your existing house wiring carries both phone and data. It, too, may use a black (or white) box with blinking lights.

Q: Why is distance an issue with DSL? And distance to what?

A key difference with DSL is that its speed relies on the distance to the “central office” or CO. That term sounds as though there are office workers slaving away doing paperwork, but in most cases the CO is a large building with a huge number of wires — no humans at all. The farther your computer is from the CO, the worse the signal quality, and thus the connection speed is decreased.

Don’t take out a tape measure. When the phone company judges your distance to the CO, they measure the wires installed between your home and their equipment, which is probably not a straight line.

While it isn’t a technically accurate analogy, imagine shouting to someone across a field. At some point, the other person won’t be able to hear you. If you’re within 5,000 feet of the CO, your Internet access speed will be faster than if you’re 15,000 feet away. And if you’re 22,000 feet from the CO, you probably can’t even get DSL service because the provider knows you’d never be happy with the performance.

There are different kinds of DSL service, and you may be able to use one of them even if you’re (relatively speaking) far from the CO; but you won’t be able to expect top connection speeds.

Q: Why are there different flavors of DSL? Do they matter?

When people talk about DSL, they generally mean ADSL (Asymmetric DSL). It would be easy to get extremely technical here, but the simplified explanation is that ADSL is intended primarily for low use, with download speeds many times faster than upload speeds. That’s fine for most residential purposes.

In contrast, the upload speeds on Symmetric DSL (SDSL) are almost the same as its download speeds. That matters if you plan to do a lot of online gaming or to run any kind of Internet server (the latter is unlikely for home use, but the former is quite common if you have children at home). However, SDSL is more expensive than ADSL, and you usually have to be fairly close to the CO to be able to get the service.

There are a few other kinds of DSL connections. You’re unlikely to choose these, but you may want to be familiar with the names when you see them on price lists. Very high bit-rate DSL (VDSL) and Rate-adaptive DSL (RADSL) are of use primarily for businesses. IDSL is based on ISDN technology, and can connect from as far away as 50,000 feet with the currently used versions; it’s a lot more expensive because it’s based on another telecom technology.

Q: I’ve been told that one is slower than the other…?

It depends on whom you talk to. Cable service detractors point out that you are sharing the connection with all the other Internet users in your neighborhood. Thus, one person playing an interactive game can hog all the resources and reduce your connection speed, particularly during peak hours (such as when the neighbor’s kid ought to be doing her homework).

Those descriptions make it seem as though you’re on a telephone party line (if you’re old enough to remember those…), with a neighbor listening in on your conversations. It’s not like that; the situation is much closer to waiting in a long line at the bank at lunchtime. They never seem to have enough tellers to deal with the sudden up-tick in customer demand.

On the other hand, the people who criticize DSL point out that residential DSL is also over-subscribed, and the Internet access speed suffers — another example of the missing bank tellers.

So the summary is: yes, one is slower than the other. But which is faster will depend on the area in which you live, and which service is more popular!

Q: What if I have more than one computer?

This essay was written assuming that you have only one computer at home. But many families (and many individuals) use more than one computer, in which case you want them all to use the same fast Internet connection. To do so, you’ll need to set up a small home network, in which one computer (connected directly to the cable modem or DSL connection) acts as a referee for all the other computers in the house.

The setup for such a network is outside the scope of this article, but be reassured that it isn’t difficult to get one working. You should be able to find a local computer consultant (or brilliant nephew) to assist you if you don’t want to take on the challenge yourself. In addition, some providers will sell you networking setup at an additional price.

Q: Does it matter if I’m running a business, versus connecting to the Internet from home?

Maybe. It depends on the nature of the software you’re running at your business, and how many people need to use the Internet at the same time.

For most small businesses, with only a few employees, there won’t be any difference between residential and business service, without regard to DSL or cable. A business in which several (say, ten or more) employees are concurrently using the Internet should probably examine the business services branch of the DSL or cable provider. These cost more than the residential versions but they also give you additional services, such as more e-mail accounts.

Another reason you’d need business-class DSL or cable services, even in a solo home office, is if you choose to run certain kinds of Internet software, such as an e-mail server or a Web server. Those applications require something called a “dedicated IP address,” which we’ll get to in a moment. Should you plan to add Internet servers to your business, you’ll probably need professional help. It’s more likely that you’ll arrange with another company to manage your Web site and e-mail, which makes the DSL versus cable issue much simpler.

Q: What’s all this stuff about “IP addresses” and why should I care?

Under most circumstances, you won’t need to know what an IP address is. However, you’re sure to come across discussions about them while you’re shopping for broadband services, so you might as well have a basic understanding of the term.

Most simply: think of the IP address as the “telephone number” of your computer. Just as you need to know his phone number to call your nephew for help, the computers with which your computer interacts online need an address to reach it, at least for the duration of the current conversation.

With both DSL and cable connections, the standard type of IP address is called a “dynamic IP.” That is, the Internet service provider can change the IP address of your computer at any time. That’s never a problem when, so to speak, your computer is the one calling out. Just as it doesn’t matter to your nephew from what phone number you called him, the only thing you both care about is that you dialed the right number so he could pick up the phone.

However, Internet servers (such as the computers that manage and send out e-mail or host all the pretty Web pages you look at) must have an unchanging address, called a “static IP address.” It’s one option when you look at business-class DSL or cable modem service, and it does cost more.

Q: Do I need to buy extra hardware?

Usually, you don’t need to buy anything more than the cable or DSL provider includes with the service. If your computer is an older one, you may need to buy a network card (the techie nephew might call this a “NIC”), which should cost about $10. If you decide to network together your home computers you’ll probably buy additional equipment. But in general, you don’t need to spend additional money.

Q: What about security?

This is a bit of a tangent from DSL-versus-cable, but it’s an important item to mention for anyone who is considering moving from a dial-up connection to an always-on Internet.

In most ways, a faster Internet connection will be a wonderful experience. It will change the way you work online and give you more freedom to explore the world.

But there’s one disadvantage that someone needs to warn you about. You’ve probably heard about computer viruses, spyware, spambots, and other “malware” (malicious software). You’ll now be more vulnerable to it. One side effect of your faster connection is that it’s easier for Bad Guys to exploit your computer because the computer is more regularly accessible.

The result is that you’ll need to acquire anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and probably a software firewall — particularly if you use a Windows-based computer. (Other types of computers aren’t immune but they are much less at risk.)

You deserve to get the most out of your services, whether it’s high-speed Internet, phone, cable, or HDTV. Digital Landing is here to help, making it easy to find out everything you need to know about digital services for your home.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Broadband internet services are much faster and more reliable than a dial up connection. What many people do not realize, though, is that there are several types of broadband internet options.

* Broadband Internet Access – This is a blanket term that includes DSL, cable and satellite high speed internet connections.
* DSL Broadband Internet Access – A DSL connection runs through the phone line, but it is not set up like regular dial up internet. DSL internet connection actually shares the space while it gives you very high internet and connection speeds.
* Cable Internet Connection – Cable internet connections have the distinction of being at the top of the list for user retention. They also get very high marks in speed, reliability and efficiency.
* Satellite Internet Access – A satellite broadband internet connection is great for a broadband subscriber who lives in a rural area. It is also a great choice for those who are unable to get DSL or cable broadband internet connections.
* Wi-Fi Internet Access – Wi-Fi simple means wireless networking. A wireless internet connection allows you to connect to the internet, regardless of where you are as long as you are near a “hot spot.”

When people wish to see how fast their internet connection is they use a broadband speed test. There are many high speed internet speed tests that are available for free online. Periodic speed tests will keep you informed on your broadband’s performance and level of function.

You can find several different broadband speed tests online that can tell how fast your broadband internet is operating. When you access the site you will likely be required to enter your area code, your connection type and your internet service provider in order for the speed test to run. The test will then return to you an evaluation and comparison that details the speed of your connection and compare it to the speed of other internet service providers in your area.

If you learn that your high speed connection is not as fast as you thought it was there are several steps that you can take to maximize your connection speed.

* Remove your spy ware
* Tweak your computer yourself
* Purchase software programs to maximize speed
* Purchase hardware that will increase your internet speed
* Alter your network settings to get more speed

When you check your broadband internet speed, check it at various times of the day. When the internet itself is busiest, your connection speed will also be slow. Also, use several different broadband speed tests to make certain that you are getting an accurate measure of your connection speed.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you high-speed Internet service providers have found the right place at the top are looking for the best deals. Fashion and cut the cable, DSL, and Internet services through the back of confusion through the satellite. You just have a cash rebate directly from the ISP that provides free online top team will get to everything.

Selecting the Right Internet Service Providers

“Why pay more for the same broadband”.

There to save money almost every major Internet retailers, why not, when high-speed Internet service providers to select the online only has been campaigning. We believe that only you and not a penny more than you pay for what should have. Therefore, we want you to find what helps is the development of a simple process. First you must understand the different levels of motion and said that there is one to fit the specific needs are know.

1st Step: Select a Broadband Speed Quadrant That Fits Your Lifestyle
In the event you are already familiar with the different speed levels being offered by Cable or DSL Providers, you can skip the step above and jump right to the top online only deals section.

Benefited DSL Providers

The advantages DSL Providers have to offer include great speed with a dedicated bandwidth. This basically means that the speed does not fluctuate depending on how many people are using the internet in your neighborhood. The following are our top picks and consistently rank at the top picks by consumers.

At&t DSL: This was the number one pick among consumers on our website last year. They not only have some of the top online DSL deals but they also rank at the top in consumer satisfaction according to JD Power and Associates in 2009.

Att uverse: If you are looking for an advanced experience in both television and internet services, you definitely need to check out At&t U-verse. Everything from total home DVR to some of the fastest internet out there. If Uverse reaches your neighborhood you should truly check them out.

Verizon Internet Service: Another great service, Verizon offers great deals on many of the starter packages. Their slogan “More Speed. Better Value” says it all.

Verizon FiOS: This is another one — If the service reaches your area, it is a must. They run what is called in the industry FTTH “Fiber-To-The-Home. This basically means that they run the fiber optic line all the way to your house not just to the demarcation point at the curb.

Cable Providers

However, high-speed cable Internet access is generally faster than the average DSL line and can be more expensive. What is said in the cable bandwidth is shared, when others in their neighborhood, you can have fun speed Internet access are not the meaning. The speed of how many people are online at any time will vary depending on. Major Internet service providers such as Comcast several introductory offers, including great deals is a cash discount. Some other major cable providers including: Internet Charter and Time Warner Road runner.

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T1 internet service for your business can make online communicating easier for your company. By using a T1 line for internet , faxing and telephone service you have bypassed the phone company going straight to the long distance carrier.

This move can save your company over the course of a year. There will be an up front cost as with any internet provider. The T1 service will enhance your company’s work load making it easier and more proficient.

If your company has a website to maintain, customers or vendors to keep in contact with, employees at different locations and others that work from home then T1 internet service is what you are looking for .

This service will make everyone happy. No bandwidth problems with large files being uploaded through an FTP client. No glitches or hiccups when more than one employee is online or when someone needs to send a fax. The line will handle all of your data needs.

No matter how large or how many different locations your company has a T1 service will keep everything and everyone moving with no lag time. Need to have a web conference with employees in different locations? Then this service is for you. All of these pluses are just that for your business needs. Things will run smoothly when you use T1 internet service.

With T1 internet service your business can maintain a website,upload and down load with no strain on the bandwidth. This means more employees doing their jobs with no down time. This makes the cost of T1 service worth every dime over the period of time you sign a contract for.

Your bandwidth is not shared with other customers of the provider as with local internet services. This is the service to use if you have several employees that need to communicate quickly with each other . Especially if they are sharing files. This service is made just for that. You will find it makes things move faster for everyone to do their job. The bottom line for you and the company is a better prepared work force.

The technology behind T1 internet services will get a company on the right track to being a finely tuned machine. Your employees will love having instant access to the internet with no interruptions. Everything they do that involves communication will be more cost efficient as well as quicker for everyone. The T1 internet service will be a good investment in your companies future.

Article written by Van Theodorou, for a free analysis, telecom audit and a free consultation go his site for free T1 line quotes

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Business continuity and disaster recovery are two of the most talked about challenges facing enterprises today. As disasters hit, whether man made or natural, many businesses have fallen short with recovering in the aftermath. It has been reported that two out of five businesses that experience a disaster will be out of business in five years. While businesses can’t predict every disaster, there are certain measures that can be initiated to lessen the impact and reduce unnecessary losses.

Satellite internet service providers offer organizations the ability to quickly and cost effectively access the internet, send and receive communications and access network information in the event of an emergency, disaster or even for everyday communications. Whether fixed, occasional or to address mobile communication needs, satellite internet services bridge the gap between no service and maintaining communications.

Enterprises today can leverage fast satellite network access, increasing productivity and efficiency. When addressing the challenges associated with business continuity, satellite network access offers enterprises the ability to maintain mission critical communications, especially during times of inclement weather, disaster recovery or infrastructure outages. Finding a satellite internet provider that can address the needs of scalability as well as multiple, remote and offsite locations is crucial to your organization’s success.

In situations where terrestrial communications may be disabled or nonexistent, being able to maintain production schedules, provide support and continue the sales process is often only possible through satellite network access. Organizations can leverage more bandwidth for a fraction of the cost and even consolidate all your communication needs (phone, internet, video, voice and fax) through one seamless and reliable provider.

The advantage of satellite internet services is the ability to streamline communications through a viable solution for businesses communicating among multiple office locations. This is particularly important when recovering from a disaster. Satellite network access brings the power of communication to a whole new level and ensures that a disaster recovery plan can actually be carried out and communicated to all personnel.

Many providers offer reliable connections, but few have the service or staff available to handle large scale deployments across numerous continents. Leading satellite internet providers have top notch quality and support teams that offer 24×7 assistance. As businesses expand and increase in mobility with e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging and cell phones, the challenge for IT departments to provide a communications infrastructure that meets the growing demands can be easily managed by housing much of the communications support through satellite network access.

If you have offices across the world, you will want to find a global business satellite internet provider that can leverage the bandwidth needed for all of your locations and communication needs. Ensuring the ability to communicate is a necessity when dealing in the aftermath of a disaster. Harnessing the power and mobility of satellite internet services can help address many of the challenges associated with small, medium or large businesses worldwide.

Kimberly Green provides insight into the satellite internet provider community and evolving technology solutions including satellite internet services highlighting the options available through satellite internet providers

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Everyone’s on the internet these days. It’s practically unheard of for any home to be without internet access. How quickly this modern invention has become an integral part of our existence! Sure, you’ll find a few folks who suffer from technical skepticism and a considerable lack of tech savvy who long for the bygone days of rotary-dial phones or stone tablets and chisels, but internet service has blessed and benefited us in oh-so-many ways!

What is your level of satisfaction with our internet service? Obviously, convenience is a big factor when it comes to people’s enjoyment and ease of internet use. Dial-up connections (which are linked to one’s home phone and land line) are slow and often unpredictable. Sometimes connections are not even available. Of course, if anyone in your household is using the phone line for its traditional purpose (talking), that means you will have to wait to get online until the phone is no longer occupied. Download speeds can be slow as molasses, too. Dial-up internet will either instill the patience of Job or rapidly escalate your blood pressure. This is not a speedy medium.

Speed is extremely attractive when it comes to internet services. That is why satellite internet services as well as cable internet have gained such well-deserved popularity. In all but the most unusual circumstances you’ll have a fast connection when you employ either satellite or cable to access the worldwide web. Download speeds are impressive, too. Little time is wasted on the frustrating and unpopular task of waiting.

The venue in which satellite really makes its mark is with remote users. If you live in a somewhat remote locale or in any vicinity that benefits from the wireless connections afforded via satellite, this service is an absolute life saver. The wonders of satellite internet have swiftly propelled inhabitants of under-populated regions into modern times, bringing the wonders and convenience of the technology we all depend on to people who otherwise may feel notably disconnected from our increasingly high-tech universe.

There are some very reputable providers available who offer satellite broadband services and whose well-trained staff are terrific resources to edify any would-be satellite internet users.

The next time you look upward to wish upon a star, it very well could be a satellite in the sky. They certainly have answered many technological wishes! And the convenience and widespread access they allow in regard to internet usage is in fact a dream come true for many.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Verizon, one of the leading telecom companies in the United States, offers DSL or broadband services to customers across the country. Believed to be one of the largest broadband operators in the U.S. market, Verizon’s DSL service offers its customers a whole range of features than greatly enhances their surfing experience. Ranging from high speeds, 24×7 customer service support, free email, online storage space, to security suites, Verizon offers highly competitive DSL services to all its customers.

The Advantage

Verizon’s high-speed Internet packages are offered at affordable rates to customers. The firm creates packages such that customers, who sign up for annual packages as opposed to monthly ones, stand to gain a lot in terms of cost. The firm boasts of a 24/7 customer servicing machinery that promptly attends to customer queries and issues on a priority basis. Verizon’s DSL subscribers are offered the MSN Premium Internet software that includes a browser with built-in security features like pop-up blockers and anti spam software. Subscribers get high-speed Internet packages that come with 9 free e-mail addresses and a self-installation software kit. Verizon also offers a 10 MB of free online storage space to its subscribers. Finally, there is a 30-day money back guarantee on Verizon’s high speed Internet services.

The Cost

The price of the initial plan for a Verizon high speed Internet connection is $19.95 per month, for the first three months. Those customers who choose to sign up for the Verizon packages can save on the shipping and activation charges. Those customers who decide to continue their subscription need to dish out an additional $29.95 per month for the length of their subscription.

Availability

Verizon’s high-speed Internet connections are offered throughout the United States. The moment one needs to apply for the business or residence high speed connections, one can simply log in their telephone number on Verizon’s website. The site would indicate the next steps for getting an Internet connection from Verizon.

Verizon FiOS

Verizon FiOS (Fiber Optic Service) is another service that bundles together a high speed Internet connection, television, and telephone. The service is unique in the sense that it uses fiber optic cables in place of the conventional copper wires. This helps in delivering a crisp and distortion-free image over the Internet. Through this service, Verizon offers up to 100 high definition channels, and around 14,000 titles of video on demand. Verizon offers the FiOS service to more than 2.7 million homes across the United States. The service offers subscribers speeds in excess of 50 Mbps that aids in downloading movies and other heavy applications very quickly. This service is offered at a price of $95 per month to subscribers across the U.S.

Highspeed-internet-providers.com brings to you a list of DSL services and providers that you can go through to opt for the best provider. Check Verizon high speed internet services for more details on Verizon FiOS.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The Internet’s arrival in the U.S. and all over the world changed the process of selling products or services via the Web. Seeing an opportunity to capitalize from the advent of the internet, many people tired to start a business online only to discover that it is not easy at all. Many people agree that cyberspace is the new place to generate an income in 2006. But as with any traditional “street-side” business, if you want to make it work, it is absolutely key that you acquire skills that benefits your trade. The good news is that the market is big. An analysis of internet related industries will show a rising demand in this market. The capacity for further growth here is amazing. Aside from the obvious power that you have at your disposal, the internet alone cannot find a franchise opportunity on your behalf. Finding an opportunity that matches your personality will come down to old fashion research and preparation. Research and preparation should be your main objective. The internet is an amazing place to make money, it is true, but an important thing to keep in mind is that although the market is big, the competition is overwhelming. Success on the internet can be tricky at first, specifically because the marketplace for selling online is mostly dominated by big players.

Dominating the World Wide Web

As I mentioned before, the internet is a great place to make money and the market is huge. So efficient is ECommerce, that the numerous ways you can make money online is baffling. Scam artists have manipulated this situation by offering unsuspecting individuals get-rich-quick scams. And although there are many legitimate ways to make money online many people fall prey to this kind of deception all of the time. Out of fear of being scammed, a many novice entrepreneurs will attempt to start their own business. But starting an independent business may be difficult unless you put in a lot of time and effort. You must be resourceful. You must have the capital and relentless energy. Remember that only a few entrepreneurs became successful in a short time with little effort. An analysis of the failure rates of businesses and fraudulent opportunities reveal one principle problem facing investors: risk. The solution is franchising! If you don’t have the time or resources to start a work at home internet business or you don’t like taking risks don’t get your hopes up. .

It’s easy to see why so many first-time entrepreneurs start out through franchising. The advantage of franchising is both brilliant and simple in comparison to independent businesses. Whether or not it is clear to you, the right franchise opportunity can deliver in ways that a traditional business cannot. Franchises normally don’t deal with the failure rates that traditional businesses experience. Franchises succeed ninety-five percent of the time because they operate on a proven model. Once you purchase a franchise company that interests you, in a sense you’re guaranteed to win.

Finding a Niche for a Work at Home Internet Business

After you understand how a franchise can deliver better results than a traditional business with fewer efforts and less capital, the next reasonable thing you ought to do is find an opportunity that works best for you, your skills, your experience and interests. The reality is that not every franchise opportunity will be perfect for everyone. Put happiness before anything else, even when it comes to business. If you ask around you will find out that happiest and most successful entrepreneurs genuinely enjoy their line of work . Don’t let a high income job that you may not particularly like compensate for happiness. With that said, read on to learn about some of the highly profitable franchises for sale in the Internet Business arena.

The number of internet franchises for sale on popular franchising websites has evolved into something truly amazing. There are more opportunities for every income and education level for sale on the internet than ever before. AIS Media Franchise is one of the hottest internet franchises for sale right now. In the one hundred billion dollar internet service industry, AIS Media Franchise is highly popular amongst entrepreneurs searching for a six-figure income opportunity. AIS Media is a work at home internet business with a low cost entry level; another characteristic making this company a top competitor for entrepreneurs seeking an independent lifestyle.

Sooner or later, every business in the world will be using the Internet as an essential tool to reach more prospective clients. Other opportunities with a market potential are Small Business Web Hosting and Small Business Web Design. A Web design business or web hosting business can be a great franchise to own, especially if you have some technical knowledge.

If you have additional technical knowldege that you can put to good use, however, the IT Market also offers explosive opportunities with a potential for making a big income. Internet consulting and Internet services are two areas that have already experienced tremendous growth and are positioned for significant growth in the future. TeamLogicIT, a company worth looking into, has had outstanding growth in the area of internet consulting and internet services.

We have not covered all of the options being offered in the online arena. You have the world Wide Web at your disposal, and believe it or not, that is a popular way to find a legitimate, risk-free franchise company. you must do business only with reputable websites. Single out an area in franchising that interests you, such as Internet Service Franchise Opportunities and research the information on the internet. Visit online franchising web sites to learn about all of the possible franchises that are being sold today.

Franchise Online is committed to helping prospective franchisees find the best possible information on internet franchises and business opportunities before starting a business

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The services that you had always wanted to provide to your cherished customers are now available at no extra cost. There are many firms that allows you to provide free or paid internet services by wifi hotspot gateway to your customers. These companies also allow you to make the WI-FI zone available to the customers with your own branding. On top of that they also allow you to provide these services without paying any money to the service provider. In fact there is no need to sign up for any revenue sharing or monthly charging schemes with the service provider.

All this has made the job of providing the internet services to your customers on the WI FI hotspot gateway all are more easier and interesting. It does not matter whether you are a small time coffee shop owner or running an internet cafe. Various kinds of wireless hotspot gateway services are available that would suit the kind of internet service you wish to provide to your customers. There are hotspot gateway services that take the visitor to the landing page on which your brand name is displayed and the customer is then provided with the free internet access for a limited or an unlimited duration.

There are wireless hotspot gateways available in which software is made available to the service provider that can store thousands of unique five letter codes that can be sold to the customers as internet access tickets. These kind of hotspot gateways are used by the people who run internet cafes. Another type of hotspot gateway that is used by many small time coffee shop owners is the one in which a single code is used by many visitors.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Internet Business Services are thriving. Every day there are more and more consumers logging on and now cost-effective to carry on business services via the internet.

To operate an Internet Business Service you will need less operating costs as you no longer require a brick and mortar store and you can now have specific niche businesses or items that would have failed if they had been in a traditional business setting. Best of all, Internet Business Services will allow you the freedom to be able to work from anywhere – the office, on the road, at home…anywhere!

That being said, not all Small Business Internet Services prosper. You can still sink allot of money into your business and have it flop. There is homework involved for the Internet entrepreneur as you have to research the business you are considering as there is so much competition out there that it may be infeasible to try to go head to head with a company or in an industry you have no chance in turning a profit it.

Use concrete data to contribute as the basis of your Internet Business Services. Likely the main factor over all to be considered is the demand for the Internet Business Service you want to create.

Here is a scenario: You are considering an Internet Service Business to sell contact lenses in the Philippines. What is the average gross margin on sale? What are the price points to be considered? Is there enough volume in terms of population demographics to support the need? If you can not get enough traffic there is no need to be in that business.

Be very wary of your competition. Who are other Internet and non-Internet Business Service providers that cater to the same need? There could be few competing Internet Businesses in your niche, but if there is not enough traffic to begin with, you are better off to find another niche

How do you intend on making your money? Will you be acquiring your revenue from online sales, affiliate commission revenue, advertising revenue, email marketing…?

After you have done your homework and determined what niche is a fit for you and you are sure of the likelihood of success with your Internet Service Business get to work on your site. Make sure it is unique, interesting and useful. Launch it-and let the sales roll in!

But the next question is who is going to build your Internet Service Business website and how are you going to pay for the construction of the site and all that goes along with it? Today there are options for financing your website. You will likely need to put some investment into the site construction and development but if you finance the site, you can make the site much more professional and high-end and then pay for it over time as your sales come in.

For Web design Cost also see Low cost web design, Website design cost, Ecommerce Web Design, Cheap web design, Ecommerce website design, web design quote, website design quote, web design quotes, web site design quote, Web design packages, Website design packages, Web design package, Website design package, Website design price, Website design prices, Web design price, Web design prices and Website design pricing.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Living in a remote part of the world can be both tough and inconvenient. Not only must a resident of such secluded areas travel miles for simple things like groceries and entertainment but are almost always limited in the types of internet connections available to them. Furthermore the connections made available in isolated parts of the world are often inadequate for even casual users. Most residents will find that dial-up is the only way they can access the web and while a lucky few will be given access to DSL, Cable is a mere fantasy to those who reside in less populated communities.

There are of course alternatives to dial-up internet connections which consist of mainly no connection at all or one may opt to look into satellite internet services. Internet connections through a satellite provider have been around far longer than one would expect. In fact satellite internet first became available before the turn of the millennium and the late 90’s saw many of today’s satellite companies plant a firm foot in the ground. In these days however satellite connections were a last resort as they were often plagued by extremely limited bandwidth restrictions, horrid ping rates, and in many cases users would find themselves repeatedly being disconnected.

Living in rural areas and utilizing satellite internet services no longer means that you’ll be beleaguered with the myriad of problems that were once prevalent in the world of remote connections. The majority of satellite internet providers these days have worked hard to eliminate such issues and have done so with great success. In testing satellite connections side by side with Cable and DSL connections satellite has fared well and regularly measures up to its two successful cousins. As satellites have become far more powerful than they once where more and more people are choosing satellite internet services over dial-up and rightfully so.

Aside from making its mark in the private community, satellite connections are becoming commonplace for businesses who set up shop in these same remote areas. In many cases it is because of the improvements in satellite services that those who once stayed out of desolate areas, are now beginning to do business within them. Without satellite internet services many areas would be unable to grow economically and would continue to remain “off the map”. Things are changing rapidly however as business can also be taken on the road should a user utilize a satellite connection. There’s no doubt that the improvements in satellite internet services have allowed us not only more opportunities but allow us to be productive, even when on the move.

Kimberly Green provides insight into the satellite internet service provider community and evolving technology solutions including satellite internet services highlighting the options available through satellite internet providers

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Who isn’t skeptical these days? We’re bombarded with telemarketers, sketchy promotions, and mortgage brokers all wanting to dip into our wallets. Going online can be just as horrifying with internet offers promising free computers, and get rich quick schemes. Buy into all this and you might be left with 15 credit cards, 6 mortgages, and a stolen identity.

The good news is the internet offers much more than just bait and switch scams. Honest people and websites presenting free offers are out there, it just takes some looking. Here are a few good, honest, legitimate and free opportunities to get you started. Happy surfing!

annualcreditreport.com

Annualcreditreport.com is the only free credit report site that is sponsored by the three nationwide credit reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Credit reporting companies sell your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, a mortgage, insurance, employment, or renting an apartment. It’s your credit so you have a right to know your score.

createblog.com

A peculiar pecking order has been created that judges a person based on the appearance of their Myspace page or blog. Createblog.com gives users free layouts, scripts, graphics and tutorials to spruce up their page with out having to know how to decode the Matrix.

epoll.com

Ever feel like your opinion falls on deaf ears? E-Poll is a consumer research company. Not only do they want to hear what you have to say, but they pay you with gift cards to major retailers for taking online surveys. Sign up is easy. Survey invitations are sent to your email. Give your honest opinions, and earn gift cards. No strings attached.

expotv.com

It’s like YouTube for consumer products. Expo TV has thousands of consumer-generated product reviews, informative ‘how to buy’ videos and original content all available in full-motion video, all for free. The product reviews are from real people with no biased or secondary messages, just straight forward honest opinions.

faxzero.com

Even as email has become the dominant from of messaging, sending a fax has been a cornerstone form to deliver documents and messages for over 30 years. Faxzero allows users to send a fax from their computer for free. All you need is an email address and internet access.

gizmoproject.com

The means of communicating is changing dramatically with new emerging technologies. The Gizmo Project allows you to make phone calls whenever, wherever for free from your computer. There are no long distance fees and no minimum minute charges. The program uses your internet connection to connect to another computer and talk using your speakers and microphone. You do everything else from your computer; why not make phone calls too.

kayak.com

No, they don’t sell kayaks, but they can help you find the best deal on flights, hotels and rental cars. They are a travel search engine meaning you don’t have to scour dozens of travel sites to find the best deal. kayak.com does it for you. Enjoy your trip!

lastfm.com
Welcome to the death of terrestrial radio as we know it. Last.fm is a free internet radio service where you create custom radio stations by artist, genre, style or era. You can also network with other users and see what they like. It’s a great way to discover new music.

rememberthemilk.com

It’s a to-do list on steroids. Rememberthemilk.com gives users a free online task management tool. Users can be reminded of tasks by email, instant message or even a text message. It’s worth a look and it may just help you get your chaotic life in order.

Kenneth Walker is Director of Marketing for E-Poll Market Research, a place where consumers can express their opinions (for free of course) in exchange for gift cards to major retailers.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

We have had Comcast for digital cable with HDTV, digital video recorder, internet and voice for about 6 months now, and have been able to review all of the services in a fair amount of detail. I have tried to summarize some of the key findings a few paragraphs, and hopefully they will help you make your own decision.

The best thing about this service is that it does not require a contract. You can cancel your subscription at anytime if you don’t like the service.

Digital Cable, HDTV and the DVR

Overall, channel selection is very good. The high definition channel selection keeps getting better. Comcast used to have relatively few HDTV options; the major networks, HD Theater, PBS, ESPN and INHD and a few more. Recently, however, (I’d say in or around November 07) they have added a whole bunch more. The include high definition versions of HGTV, A&E and TNT just to name a few. The picture quality of the HD channels is excellent (up to 1080i resolution), and I must say that the overall quality is very good. This is probably still fewer than Direct TV, which advertises that it currently has 85 HD channels

The cable set-top box is good, except for a few nagging problems. The biggest one is that sometimes it gets slow – the channels don’t change, the box doesn’t respond, until all of a sudden, it “catches up” and executes all your commands at once. This is definitely an annoyance, but it is something that we have gotten used to.

Another issue is that the EPG (electronic program guide) doesn’t always have the right information. For example, it won’t always state that an episode of a show is not new, and this can cause issues with your DVR, especially if you have set it to record “only new episodes”. The DVR on the whole is great though. It can record both standard definition as well as HD programs. The HD programs take up more space – about 4-5X that of regular shows, so in reality an 80-hr DVR is more like a 15-20-hr DVR for high definition programs.

The DVR has the ability to change your tv-watching habits. The ability to skip through ads is fantastic. Here’s a tip; set the program that you want to watch to record. Then, while it is still recording start watching it about 10-15 minutes later. Yes – you can watch the show while it is recording! This way, you can skip through the ads… a 1 hr show is really only about 40 minutes! You are actually saving time by using the DVR – a great selling point for spousal approval ! One more thing – the DVR box has 2 tuners; you can record 1 channel while watching another.

By the way, some users have experienced issues with the setup of the cable box, particularly for high definition. There is a good description
href=”http://www.desicrazy.com/2007/11/24/comcast-hd-setup-issues/”>here of what to look our for.

Broadband Internet

Internet service is generally very good and reliable. DSLReports shows that we have a download speed of 4925 Kbps and upload speed of 2156 Kbps, with a latency of 36 ms. (This is while accessing the internet wirelessly). This is fast, especially compared to DSL which I had for 5 years prior to switching to Comcast. We regularly download movies, music, software, watch online trailers and such with no problems. In terms of reliability, we never experienced an outage over the last 6 months since we’ve had the service

Digital Voice (VOIP)

I was very surprised by Digital Voice. The voice quality is really amazing – I would say that it is much better than our regular phone service here in the Bay Area. Long distance calling, Caller Id, voicemail and other services are bundled free. (We’ve never had caller ID before – and I must say that it is really useful – you can tell when telemarketers are calling!) I was concerned about “what happens when the power goes out?”, and “does 911 work?”. The answer to the first question is that the box that Comcast installs has a battery backup – so you are protected from power failures. The second is that yes, 911 service does work, so you are protected there as well.

Conclusion

So, what is my conclusion? I would say Comcast Triple Play is good value. Plus. There is no contract, so you can try it and then cancel if you don’t like it. I also found this link for ordering which gives you up to $200 cash back if you order Triple Play (I tried it and did get the money back!) – so you can try it out risk free!

Mital P is a technologist and contributer to the reviews, technology and deals site Desicrazy

The Comcast cable special referred to in the above article can be found at Comcast Triple Play Deal with Cash back!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you are planning on switching to high-speed internet, you will have to choose between going with a cable or DSL connection. Although both have their pros and their cons, you may want to consider a few things because choosing either of the two.

Speed is more than likely the most important aspect of your internet experience. Cable hook up speeds are generally quite a bit faster than DSL hook up speeds. DSL typically offers speeds of up to approximately 10 Mbps, whereas cable services can provide their customers with speeds of up to 50 and 60 Mbps. Most of the cable services are looking to increase those speeds over the next coming years.

As far as interruption to your connection speeds goes, both cable and DSL cannot constantly guarantee perfect service. DSL is a distance-sensitive service that gets its connection through your home phone connection. This means that the farther away you are from this central location, the more likely it is for you to loose your connection. The amount of traffic that goes through your connection will also have an impact on your connection. If there is a lot of traffic at one time, the speed of your connection will certainly decrease.

Online security is also a very important factor that plays into your internet selection. With DSL, you have your own personal line, so they tend to be highly secure and safe. With cable, however, you will be sharing a connection with others in your area, so you run the risk of a less secure connection. As long as you take full advantage of computer security systems, however, you will more than likely be just fine.

XO Communications is a long distance service provider and high speed internet access. Find the best broadband and long distance services for your business. Jonathan Wickham is a freelance writer.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

With technology expanding rapidly in our daily life, high speed internet connection has penetrated into our homes and offices if your local internet service provider offers high speed internet connection services. In this world of instant gratification where people do not have the patience to wait anymore, it is easy to see that high speed internet connection is becoming the mainstream norm as compared to dialup connections. However, before jumping onto the high speed internet bandwagon, it is essential that we considered all the options that are available to us and most importantly the cost associated with it.

1) Local dial-up – They are simple to setup and can be costly as some companies charges phone bill while you are connected. Speed can typically range from the slowest at 26k to 56k connection speeds.

2) Cable connection – It requires a cable modem and are usually provided by company which offer cable TV. Speeds can range from 512k to the high speed of 10Mps.

3) DSL – A DSL modem is needed to be installed on to your computer. Speeds typically range from 512k to the high speed of 9Mps. The cost involved could be twice the amount of a basic dial-up.

4) Broadband – This is typically referring to a cable, DSL, wireless connections or satellite internet connections. Speeds typically range from a 512k to 1.5Mbs.

5) Wireless connection – A wireless modem is needed to be installed on to your computer and are available in limited area. Speeds typically range from 2Mbps. The advantage is that you do need a wire connection to be connected.

6) Satellite internet connection – Upload speed and download speed can be different. For example, you may be able to download through satellite and upload through dial up. This is the most expensive option out of all the options given, but this service is available anywhere throughout the world. Speeds are available at 500k onward.

Which type of high speed internet connections do you really choose? Well, the answer lies in what you need. One thing for sure, if you are tired of waiting for a standard dial up to connect and download, you are ready for a broadband connection. Plus, once you have experienced the power of a broadband connection, you will never ever go back to dial up again.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Normally, internet marketing is all about marketing on the internet. Well, maybe this is no longer always the case. Things have changed recently which the internet marketers would probably observe, that more of their colleagues, rather than going ‘online’ are opting to go ‘offline’ to the local businesses rendering their services of internet marketing.

This has been the ‘talk of the net’ giving rise to many questions like this, “why in the world would people do that, when you can outreach more people being online? The logical reasoning would be, if people are doing it, then they surely must be earning more profit than doing the same online. Did you ever think that being an online freelancer, undertaking writing and designing assignments, would fetch you less than if you were to apply these skills offline to the local business owners? That is in fact true, instead of earning meager few dollars for an article-writing job or a couple of hundreds for designing services, people are earning double, triple or more than that, by using their skills offline. The offline businesses should not be underestimated, the potential is good, the competition not that stiff as online. Along with your skills, you need to market yourself too, not virtually but realistically.

Success of article marketing is no longer a secret to local business owners and they want to go for it themselves, even ready to give $25 per article writing or more! Can you believe that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and web design services, are giving returns worth thousands of dollars out of the conventional offline businesses. I have taken up projects worth $15,000 with offline businesses for doing what I would do ‘free’ for myself; simple on-site optimization (SEO), fixing up the company website and taking charge of the internet marketing. This is something that most internet marketers do and do it expertly without much effort.

Did you say that you are not so good at this job? That does not matter, as long as there are freelancers working online wanting to make their buck (maybe people like you). You simply need to outsource the work to them at lower rates, bill the offline business handsomely and make a profit without making much effort yourself. No wonder why people are going offline, selling their internet marketing skills and earning a lot more, for times to come.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

In a tough economic climate, businesses do everything they can to cut their costs and maximise their profits. Unfortunately, if you’re considering cutting the cost of your business Internet provision by switching to a cheap Internet service, you may find yourself counting the cost and not the saving.

Slower Speeds
They may say that they can provide fast speeds in your area, but the truth of the matter will really slow you down. Many cheap Internet services can only manage as little as 1-2MG, which is simply not good enough for today’s business broadband user. If you’ve signed up for a long contract with these cheap, slow Internet providers, you’ll be regretting it when you can’t get the speed you need. If your download speed is slow, imagine how terrible your upload speed is! If your business relies on speedy Internet, choose a business Internet service with speeds that really match your requirements.

Download Limits
If like many businesses, your company relies on the sending and receiving of considerably large amounts of data each month, you may come unstuck with a cheap Internet service. They often impose unrealistically low download limits and charge you heavily if you go over your agreed usage. A business broadband user needs to have boundless limits on their downloads.

High Quality Internet Telephony
Does your cheap broadband provider offer the kind of service that can support high quality voice telephony? If all you get is patchy quality with frequent drops in service, you simply can’t use that service for customer contact or client calls. Choose a business broadband provider that offers you a stable, reliable service for all your VOIP telephony requirements.

More Down than Up
When you choose to sign up to a cheap Internet service you may discover to your cost that their service is down more than its up and running. To most businesses these days, downtime means a serious dent in the profits. Always choose a business broadband provider with the very best connection stability.

Low Value Customer Service
When you choose a cheap Internet service, you often have to pay a premium price to call their customer service. When you do finally reach one of their operatives, they may be based outside the UK, and English may not be their first language. Poorly trained staff in oversees call centers at the end of premium phone lines means wasted time and money. When you select a business broadband provider, choose someone with a great record on customer service.

Before signing up for any business broadband package, check that all of the above areas have been satisfactorily discussed. If your business depends upon excellent communication and connectivity, choosing a cheap Internet service for your company could end up costing you much more than you save.

Save yourself time, money and hassle by switching your Business Internet Service to Gradwell, we’ve got the experience and expertise to keep your business running online 24/7.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Before you sign up for satellite internet service you will first want to compare satellite internet services that are available in your area. The first thing that you will want to look at is the type of internet connection that is utilized by the service provider. For example do they offer a one-way multicast connection, a one-way connection with a terrestrial return, or do they offer a two-way satellite internet connection. The second thing that you will want to look at is the connection speeds that they offer. Providers may charge you more for service packages that offer faster connection speeds. Keep this in mind when you are comparing service packages. The final thing that you will want to look at is whether or not you will need to use a supplemental service like dial up in order to use the service.

The first of the internet service providers to be looked at is hughesnet. They offer a two way satellite internet service that doesn’t require a dial up system back up. However, if you regularly participate in time sensitive activities online where a 1 second delay would impair your ability to continue with this activity then you can add a dial up option to your hughesnet package for about $15 per month. The fastest connection speeds offered by this provider is up to 500kbps for uploads and up to 2 mbps for downloads. These speeds are associated with this provider’s business internet package.

In order to compare satellite internet services you will need to look at more than one provider. The second provider in this comparison is StarBand. Star Band has had financial difficulties in the past, but they seem to be gaining strength with their new owner. StarBand is a two-way system that is offered in the U.S. They utilize the VSAT system technology in order to deliver quality service to consumers. Their top connection speed is 1000 Kbits for downloads. This two way system typically doesn’t require a dial up service.

In the market for a satellite internet provider? Nationwide Satellite Solutions is your provider of HughesNet internet services as well a great resource that will answer any questions you have. Find out if it available in your area. For more on satellite technology visit the online resource directory.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Are you tired of the slow download speeds of a dial up internet?

In today’s world, you would probably want a high-speed internet to improve your way of life and your business. This is possible by using a broadband internet connection.

With the broadband internet’s popularity growing, it becomes more and more affordable and available for everyone. You would probably want to switch into a faster and reliable internet connection to catch up with the demands of present living.

Fast and reliable internet access is not the only advantage in getting broadband internet connection. There are many more benefits from this technology.

Here are a few examples of broadband internet benefits:

With broadband internet, you can download or upload files and software faster than a dial up has to offer. With broadband connection, you can also send large files like movie clips to your friends, family or your clients who wants a video presentation of your product.

If you are a student in need of a research, you no longer have to go to your local library for it. The internet itself is a library. With broadband internet connection, you can research faster and you can research more websites. With dial up, this can take a while; even waiting for a single webpage to load is often slow with dial up.

This technology changes the way you play multiplayer games. With the recent boom of the massively multiplayer online role-playing games, you can play RPG games with other people from all over the world and at the same time lets you talk to them. You can play either online game through your PC or gaming consoles. Some examples of these are the Playstation2 or Xbox.

One of the best benefits a broadband internet connection offer is you can easily view web cams with faster refresh rates around the world.

This means, if your family or friends have web cams you no longer have to just email them, but also chat either through voice or text and view them in real time. The best thing about this, it is free.

Broadband internet can enable you to watch streaming videos in the internet such as, internet TV, watch your favorite music videos and other online short films. In dial ups, this is possible but often results in choppy video.

Buying and downloading music is easier. With broadband internet connection, you can buy music singles or albums much cheaper than your local music store. All you have to do is visit a website that sells music downloads and you can directly download the music file, fast.

With broadband internet connection, you can now use your computer as your personal phone. With VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol, you can call you family and friends with little or no long distance calls.

You can also use VoIP for video conference meetings, fax, and other features free that traditional phones charge expensive fees for these features.

The internet can also be a radio station, you can now “tune in” to internet radio faster and without interference. With dial up, you can also play the internet radio but often encounters problem like choppiness due to low speed internet.

There are so much more uses for broadband internet connection, whether you use it at home or work the possibilities are vast. More innovations to benefit with this technology are being developed. Organizing your life and work is easier with broadband internet connection.

Since there are so many types of broadband internet services in the market today, it is up to you to choose which package that will suit you best. Research and compare broadband internet providers.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Nowadays high speed Internet service is like TVs and radios, a must have in one’s modern life. However, high speed Internet connection via cable or DSL line is not available everywhere in the country. This especially refers to remote area where you can hardly find any cable ports.

When dial up and cables are not available, satellite Internet comes into the picture. As you might already knew, satellite system is the latest structure used for high speed data communication. Internet connection is theoretically available everywhere in the world via satellite Internet system: no matter you are in the vessels navigating middle in the ocean or in the ice land at the North Pole.

What are the benefits?

One of the major plus point on satellite Internet is that it brings access to information, knowledge, online services, and communication to the extreme remote regions. Think of doctors accessing to their online knowledge database for new found disease in remote area, mother communication with son far away from the villages, and economic development possibility via high speed Internet services; extending Internet coverage via satellites would give all regions equal opportunities to share the reimbursement given by Internet.

In France, satellite ISP CNES has conceived a pilot project called the “communications-enabled village”, combining satellite and other broadband technologies. Picture a tiny village perched high up a mountain. You might think it isolated, in the middle of nowhere. That need not be the case, since a satellite can connect it to the rest of the world. With just a single satellite antenna—on the roof of the village hall, for example—is sufficient to provide broadband coverage for everyone via a radio link to cheap Wi-Fi antennas in each home.

Satellite Internet system in your home

Implementing satellite Internet service in your home is easy. This is especially true if you happen to live in the United States. Generally, what you need is to order the service from a retailer (Hughes Net in United States for example) and they will provide the necessary system and install it at your place. To get online via satellite system, you will need a satellite dish pointing to the clear sky of south, connected to a modem and then to your PC.

At the time of writing, Hughes Net service offers connection speed range from 700kbps to 1.5mbps in an affordable price. Yes, without doubts the upload and download speed for satellite Internet service is much slower when it’s comparing to cable or DSL connection. However, when compare to normal dial up modem, satellite Internet connections are more or less 10 times faster!

To learn more about high speed satellite Internet access as well as Dish Network and DirecTV offer, visit http://www.satellitetvissue.com

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Satellite internet service for business is a great way to increase your competitive edge. First it offers you almost unlimited mobility. As long as you can get a clear shot to the south you will be able to connect to the internet via a satellite connection. Secondly it offers you a faster connection than traditional land based internet services. This means that you can upload and download data faster. This saves you time and money. Finally satellite internet service offers you the ability to access more and transmit more channels of data and information.

You can utilize satellite internet service for professional use in several ways. First you can use it to link your field staff to office resources via satellite internet for laptops. This will allow anyone in your business to connect to the internet from any locations. This could help them to research problems or to connect to data and files on their office computer. Digital satellite internet can also be used in the office in the form of wireless internet. This will give your in-office staff the ability to move between offices without losing their internet connection, or you can utilize the wireless connection to offer internet service to all of your employees without having to run cables or network computers in your office.

When you are looking for internet service for your office you will want to look for specific features. First you will want to look for a service that is priced competitively for the type of services that it offers. Secondly you will want to look for satellite internet providers that offer the bandwidth that you need for your business activities. Finally you will want to look for a service that offers you the type of modem connection that you want. For example you can choose from one-way, one-way with terrestrial return, or a two way modem system.

In the market for satellite internet services? Nationwide Satellite Solutions is your provider of HughesNet satellite internet as well a great resource that will answer any questions you have. Find out if it available in your area. For more on satellite technology visit the technology and internet directory.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

In order to get satellite internet service you will first need to live in an area that is serviced by a satellite internet provider. Next you will need clear access to the southern skies. This is because the satellites used for internet service are located above the equator. If you live in an area that is typically cloud covered or if you live in area that is surrounded by tall trees or geographical formations that will obstruct your satellite dish’s sky access most of the time then this is not the right type of internet service for you. To get satellite internet service you will need a satellite dish with a mounting kit, a feed line, a feed horn, a ULNB Connector, and a DVB-S PCI card or an external DVB modem with an adapter that will make it compatible with an Ethernet card. Some services will also require that you have a phone line, modem and ISP (land based).

Satellite internet providers, like HughesNet, will sell to you the equipment that you need to get set up to use their service. If you have selected a provider that offers 2 way satellite internet service they will also probably handle the installation, for a fee. You should know that you are only required to have a professional install your satellite system if it will be sending and receiving signals. It is legal for you to install a 1 way system yourself. However, if you are not technically or mechanically inclined get a trained professional to do it. Your service provider will also provide you with the software and instructions needed to gain access to the WWW using their satellite system. Finally they will offer you satellite internet access via a 1 way system or 2 way system. They may also offer you wireless internet access options.

Prices for satellite internet services are going to vary by provider and the type of service package that you select. However, there are a few common fees charged: a monthly service fee, equipment fees, and installation fees. The monthly fee will vary by provider, however, some major providers charge rates that are similar to land based ISPs. The equipment is expensive. This can run you hundreds of dollars. The final charge is for installation. If you are using a 2 way system you are required by the FCC to have it professionally installed. This will probably run you around $100 to $200. If you are installing a 1 way system you can hire a local contractor or you can do it yourself if you don’t want to utilize the satellite ISP’s technicians. This can help to save you money.

In the market for a satellite internet provider? Nationwide Satellite Solutions is your provider of HughesNet internet services as well a great resource that will answer any questions you have. Find out if it available in your area. For more on satellite technology visit the online resource directory.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Internet services are a part of life, for every computer user without an Internet connection they are looking at an over priced typewriter for the most part. Buying a computer for home or work means the need for Internet service and this is where things can get confusing for many people. Even the location a person lives needs to be taken into account when talking about Internet service choices, because not every type of Internet service is available in all areas. There are some services that are only available in the more populated areas for computer users, that means living outside of these areas it is impossible to use the service and can stay that way for years.

What makes Internet service different, is the type of connection the service has, this can be a connection that uses telephone wires, cable wires or a satellite dish. Each has their own benefits and each have their own problems.

The first of these and the oldest way to connect to the Internet is with a dial up Internet service, this type of service uses the home telephone lines to connect. The problem with this is unless there are two phone lines in the home connecting to the Internet means the telephone is tied up, it also means if someone calls the Internet service can be disrupted. Dial up Internet has been the only way for many people to connect to the Internet even after other services became popular there are many areas these services are not available.

Then there is DSL, this is a high-speed Internet connection that is available in areas that are populated and even some outlying areas, like suburbs with housing developments. This Internet service also uses telephone lines, but it does not tie the home telephone line up, this is because it uses a different type of signal within the telephone line.

There is cable Internet, this is popular for the speed the computer user has and it is available in many areas where cable television is available. This type of Internet service has the speed computer users want, but it is also only in select areas and there can be extended down time with the service.

The last of the choices for Internet service is the most dependable for several reasons, satellite Internet can be used in any location. There are no telephone wires or underground cables it needs to depend on to connect to the Internet, this means living outside of an area where the other high-speed services are provided is not a problem. One thing that makes it so dependable is the fact that it does not need these wires or cable; it uses a small satellite dish. The things that can affect service do not affect satellite Internet for this reason and that is also why it can be used in outlying areas. The speed of this type of Internet connection is as fast or faster than the other types of service, this and the lack of down time makes it a good choice for the computer user that depends on not having an over priced typewriter.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Technology Parks have successfully differentiated their property marketing by customizing their services and infrastructure to meet the needs of their tenants who mostly consist of tech companies. A survey conducted by AGIT Consulting however, has been done to various technology parks around the world to determine the effectiveness of its Internet services which includes offerings of broadband, IPTV, wireless network and such. What was glaringly clear was that tenants of technology parks from Ireland, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and India are not too overly satisfied with the service offerings in their parks. In fact, except for a few tech parks, Internet services remains much the same as it is outside the park. The result of this survey is intended to highlight to management of technology parks as well as to potential investors who may consider locating to Technology Parks

Science Technology Parks (STPs) have mushroomed all over the world since 1950s beginning with the first establishment in Silicon Valley at the University of Stanford. Initially, the purpose of developing STP was to generate income. Today, however, Technology Parks are considered as an essential tool for economic development. Such a tool is even more needed in a country such as Malaysia whose economy is entering a stage of transformation from Agricultural and Manufacturing based to one which is a knowledge driven.

Definition

Technology Parks are sometime referred to by others as Research Parks, Technopole, Technology Precinct and various others. For the purpose of this report, STP is defined in accordance with the definition given by the International Association of Science Park (IASP) which clearly stated that “Science and Technology Parks are the perfect habitat for businesses and institutions of the global knowledge economy. Science & Technology Parks promote the economic development and competitiveness of regions and cities by:
• Creating new business opportunities and adding value to mature companies
• Fostering entrepreneurship and incubating new innovative companies
• Generating knowledge-based jobs
• Building attractive spaces for the emerging knowledge workers
• Enhancing the synergy between universities and companies..

The quintessential composition of a Science Technology Park is that it should be designed with the following objectives
1. to encourage the formation and growth of knowledge based organizations who are normally residents on site
2. to have links among its tenants consisting of Universities, Research Institutions and Companies
3. to have other value added services together with high quality space and facilities

The last objective will be the focus of this report. Various STPs have declared that the services and facilities, ie the infrastructure, provided by their parks are of high quality, if not of world class. Such are the claims made by STPs from Edinburgh Technopole , Northern Ireland Science Park and various others. The definition of quality should also mean that the physical infrastructure provided by the STPs meets the requirement of its customers or in this case, the tenants in the park who consists of Multinationals and small medium companies both local and international. The objective of this report is to assess whether some of the Technology Parks’ physical infrastructure are of high quality. One way of gauging this is by measuring the success of the Technology Parks itself, such as the number of tenants it generates compared to its goals. However, this proposal will instead conduct a research that will assess whether the physical infrastructure provided, have sufficiently met the requirements of its tenants through a survey. From the survey, evidence will also be gathered as to whether such infrastructure particularly the internet services which may consist of dial up, broadband, wireless and added value such as IPTV contributed to the country’s economic development and growth.

Result of Study

Based on the result of the study with the assistance of a market research company, namely AGIT Consulting, summary of the findings are as folows:

70% of tenants in Irish Blanchardstown Tech Park are satisfied with their Internet services in general. While in Singapore with was 63% and in Malaysia it was 60%, the rest of the countries scored poorly with Thailand at 35% and India, Thailand and UAE at 10 and 15% respectively. The main reason of dissatisfaction in Ireland is due to the high cost of Internet and broadband in general and as one tenant illustrated, there was no difference between using Internet within or outside the park. Countries such as Malaysia and Singapore cited that cost and service efficiency as the main problem while in United Arab Emirates, tenants were more dissatisfied with the limited number of Internet Service Providers that are available to choose from. In India however, the main

Malaysia’s tenant in Cyberjaya believes that the additional service providers that are available solely for Cyberjaya as well as the number of free wireless LAN service available were the main good points for Internet services within the park. In India, tenants of ITPL looks positively at the Internet services in terms of the price that it offers.

Most of the tenants consider Internet services as more important than the Transportation and utilities that are provided within their park except for tenants in Ireland where 62% considers electricity and water supply as more important. All tenants however regard as the location of the park as well as the amenities to be the utmost important issue when residing in the park.

Although IPTV has already made its entrance across the world, all of the tenants surveyed have yet to witness such service in their Park. WiMAX which is already available for some of the park was also not mentioned as the preferred use for Internet access. The broadband speed and price are considered the important element when choosing their Internet Service Providers as oppose to the brand or customer service of the ISP. In Malaysia, TMnet is the preferred broadband service however, most tenants are eager to subscribe to its competitor P1 who deploys WiMAX. Most subscribers of tenants across the countries prefer the country’s main broadband service providers.

The full scale of the report, which also looks into the category of companies involved and the weight that tenants put on the importance of services can be obtained from AGIT Consulting at http://www.agitconsulting.co.uk

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Satellite Internet service offers high speed Internet access anywhere in the U.S.

Imagine having an always-on connection with speeds up to 50 times faster than dial-up service. Imagine not having to log on and wait to get connected. And imagine being able to download photos and music files in seconds, instead of minutes or hours.

Now, with new lower prices, you don’t have to suffer with with slow-as-a-turtle dial-up Internet service any longer.

Satellite Internet Features

* Satellite service is available to anyone in the U.S. who has a clear view of the southern sky.

* You can get speeds up to 5 Mbps – that’s 50 times faster than dial-up service.

* You can take calls and talk on the phone while working on the Internet

* An “always on” connection means you don’t have to dial in, log on, then wait to get connected to the Internet.

Compare the Best Providers

HughesNet

Of the top four satellite providers, HughesNet is the largest and oldest, with more than 400,000 customers and 30 years in the business. They charge $59.95 for their 1 Mbps service, they offer free installation, and they also offer a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

WildBlue

WildBlue is the second-largest provider, with more than 100,000 customers and 6 years in the business. They charge $69.95 for their 1 Mbps service, and installation is free after a $99.95 activation fee.

Skyway

Skyway is the third largest provider. They charge $59.95 for their 1 Mbps service plus a $25 activation fee. You can install their equipment yourself or pay $100 for a professional to install it.

Starband

Starband is the fourth-largest provider. They charge $69.95 for their 1 Mbps service. They require you to pay for professional installation (prices vary).

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for the fastest speed, HughesNet offers speeds up to 5 Mbps which is four times faster than their nearest competitor. If you’re looking for superior service, HughesNet has has more than 400,000 satisfied customers – four times as many as their nearest competitor. And they’re the only provider that warrants their service with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

For those who are relocating or moving from dialup to broadband internet access, choosing a broadband ISP can cause some headaches. Should you go with DSL or cable internet access? Which ISP is better? You may need to spend hours or days visiting individual ISP sites, reading detailed service plans, checking for service availability in your area. Here are some simple tips to help you choose a good ISP.

The first thing you need to find out is service availability. In the past, you might have to go to the websites of different ISPs and scan for service availability for your geographical area. This is no longer necessary as some broadband service resellers have installed sophisticated software technology. This technology allows you to compare and choose from dozens of national ISPs simply by entering your phone number or home address.

What about price? Should you pick the one with the lowest price? Before you can make an objective comparison, ask yourself: what do you do most over the internet?

If you like to play real time online games or you need to download video clips, music files, games and software frequently, connection speed should be your primary concern. In general, ISP and service plans offering higher connection speed also cost more.

For a family with more than one PC at home, the ability to set up home networking is important. If you have a large family, you may want to choose a plan offering multiple email accounts. However, this is less important these days as free email accounts can be obtained from other sources such as Yahoo and Google.

For family with children, parental control is a useful feature. You can also compare the entertainment pack which comes with high speed internet access.

Almost all broadband ISPs provide free virus protection, pop-up blockers and anti-spam software. However, high speed internet access is often connected via a static IP address which makes your computer vulnerable to hacker attacks. You should also install a good personal firewall program yourself.

Read the terms and conditions of service carefully. Do you need to sign a one-year contract? Does the ISP provide money back guarantee? You may be charged a penalty fee if you cancel the service before the contract ends. It is also important to check if the ISP provides good customer service and 24/7 technical support.

You can ask your friends which ISP they currently use. However, please bear in mind that internet connection speed is affected by many factors. For examples, DSL internet speed is affected by the distance from ISP service center and the speed of cable internet is affected by the number of people sharing the bandwidth in your neighborhood. Therefore, people from different locations may experience different connection speeds using the same ISP. Usually, you will get a better idea of actual performance by getting feedback from your neighbors than friends living in other areas.

To sum things up, although price is an important factor in choosing an ISP, you should also consider your personal need, family structure, features and terms of the service plan, and the reputation of the internet service provider. Using comparison tools provided by some broadband service resellers can also save you time and money in the selection process.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Free Internet dating services are essential to society. They offer invaluable services that will ensure that singles are connected to matches. There comes a time when you feel you need to be hooked up to somebody. You try the traditional way and it proves not to yield the right results. You do not have to wish for a mate because you can easily get what you are looking for. Free Internet dating services are what I’m talking about. If you have never tried dating this way, you need to get some information on this. The Internet will provide you with the information you need. Start by looking for sites that are most popular. You will find very many services reviewed so that you can make the decision you like. You will find many features that will make your free Internet dating experience a pleasant one. Many free Internet dating services are responsible for thousands of connections or matches.

I think you should identify a service that has experience in the industry. You will know the success and experience of the particular service by looking at the membership. People will want to join those sites that have been seen to yield good results. Some of the services include Plenty of fish, Friend finder and the list goes on. There is so much to look forward to when you join these services. First, the fact that the service is free is a definite plus. You will not be required to part with any amount of money. Ensure that a service is absolutely free before you join. Consider the kind of features the service offers. The following features will enable your dating process to be easy and exciting. I’m talking about emails, chat rooms, forums, message boards, advice and the list goes on. All singles should start by going through dating advice. We can all learn something when it comes to dating. If you are not over past relationships, you will know how to conduct yourself, as you plan to enter into new relationships. If you need to sharpen your dating skills, many services will offer the right direction.

Take time and compare the various kinds of advice and, you will be more empowered in this regard. There are free services that restrict the number of email messages that you can send. Find out the services that will have no restrictions to you. Taking time to find out will prove to be worth it. Another thing you can consider is how to chat in this service. The following are some of the things that will be paramount to help you make sure you chat in the right way. You need to avoid bad chat up lines as this is pretty common with singles. The best thing is to ask questions and show genuine interest. Judge the mood of the person you are talking to and, you will not be disappointed. Finally, when you get contacts of the other person, you do not have to telephone them; start with a text message and you will be alright.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

TV and Internet services are quite of an interesting combination, because they actually represent the entire future of TV watching and of the Internet itself. One of the biggest differences between two such powers for media like TV and the Web, is the fact that the audience is usually passive, while watching TV show, whether becomes extremely active, when browsing the Internet. This allows a completely different TV environment and by definition, the advertising one as well.

TV and Internet services make possible watching a show and ordering products on the same time, or for the curious ones, it makes it possible to find out more information on the show currently watched. Of course, on game shows, or political talk shows, with the Internet it is even possible to interact in real time without having to divide yourself between your TV and your computer or, like in the old days, between your TV and your telephone.

A perfect example of how to combine TV and Internet services could definitely be TV charity marathons. Imagine for a moment to be able to watch the whole thing online and at your convenience be able to charge your credit card for a donation, on the same very website. This is very convenient and absolutely unbeatable. The future is leading us to such an environment and we should be prepared to accept it and using it for our best interests and benefit. Of course, some technological changes will occur, but the very important thing is to understand the concept and the philosophy behind the Internet.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Satellite Internet Reaches Virtually Everywhere

In less than a decade, broadband has gone from an extravagance to a must for many of us. With the extensive availability of satellite Internet services in the country, residential customers and commercial enterprises can benefit from fast connections which would require no more dialing in and no more delays. Satellite Internet services offer customers a significant upgrade from dial-up. But not all forms of high speed Internet are easily accessible, not if you’re in a rural location. DSL and cable modem providers require much infrastructure to reach homes or small offices in regions not hitherto connected.

In the case of two-way satellite services, customers won’t be facing such problems. At present satellite Internet services from major providers are available all over the continental United States in rural and urban locations. The place where the customer resides should offer a clear view of the southern sky. Obstacles such as mountains or trees could cause a disturbance or reduction in speed, but this is generally thought to affect only around 5-10% of customers.

Download Speeds up to 1.5Mbps!

This type of service generally come in many packages depending on your requirements as well as budget. The two-way satellite service equipment is installed at your residence, home office or small office by professionals. The equipment consists only of the satellite dish and satellite modem.

A maximum speed of 1.5 Mbps is offered by major broadband providers. The bottom-line is that with satellite Internet the customer gets plenty of choices on the packages and user-friendly plans. Time to upgrade from dial-up.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

It’s not been long since Japan embraced internet but most people in the country face a severe problem of internet access. Most people in Japan were accessing internet through their mobile phones but things have started to change now and broadband internet access is being welcomed by more and more people.

There are several providers in Japan for internet access but the two most popular and top internet services in Japan include the ADSL and Hikaro or fiber optic connections. The top providers for ADSL internet access as well as Hikari include SoftBank, which is doing it through the Yahoo! BB brand and NTT (Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.) through their brand called Flet. One of the biggest internet service providers in Japan is BBapply as they are the authorized agents for both Flet and Yahoo! BB and hence are able to provide a broad range of internet connections. The internet services are available in a variety of packages and differ from each other on the basis of speed and cost. One of the most important aspects is that all the packages are not available throughout Japan or in every city.

Although Japanese people can choose between Yahoo! BB and Flet (NTT) ADSL and Hikari connections, the market leader in ADSL is definitely Yahoo! BB. They not only have the best offerings in terms of cost of internet access, types of plans etc. On the other hand Flet by NTT is the leader in the fiber optic or Hikari market and has overwhelmingly captured the market. Flet is offering Hikari connection to almost all urban areas and now is reaching out to the rural areas as well.

ADSL vs. Hikari

Hikari or fiber optic internet services in Japan are available in two main formats. The first format is called the standalone or “Family” service where you can pull a wire directly from the street into your home or apartment. The second format is the shared service also known as the “Mansion” where you can buy the service from the street near your home to the nearest server device installed, which will deliver the internet signal to each home or apartment in a particular vicinity or block.

As of today, almost 40% of the apartments in Japan have installed the Mansion-type Hikari connection. The connection is made available within two weeks from the day you apply for it.

On the other hand, the ADSL internet service available in a variety of speeds is provided through a metal telephone wiring system. You can use the ADSL connection with or without your landline telephone service. It takes about a week to install the ADSL connection if you have already installed a telephone service. If the adequate telephone service is not there then it will take anywhere between 2-6 weeks for installation of the connection.

Both the connections have the ability to offer high speed internet access and hence will play an important role in shaping up the future of Internet in Japan.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The ever-increasing demand for fast-paced Internet access has resulted in new cutting-edge technologies being offered by various service providers. Apart from being fast, these Internet services are cost-effective, user-friendly and hassle-free.

Choosing the right type of Internet service primarily depends on which technology is available in the area. The major types of high speed Internet access services include cable, DSL, wireless and satellite.

Cable Internet technology uses co-axial or fiber optic cables for accessing the Internet speedily. Apart from delivering television channels, cable wires are capable of handling Internet connections as well. Splitting the cable wire into two, with one connected to the television and the other to the computer, facilitates faster connectivity and access. Cable Internet service is extremely fast compared to traditional dial-up, is unlimited and reasonably inexpensive, as there is no cost for extra phone calls.

DSL Internet or Digital Subscriber Line Internet makes use of the existing bandwidth in telephone lines for Internet connectivity, as the telephone wire is capable of carrying data on varying frequencies. For using DSL Internet, it has to be ensured that the DSL signals do not interfere with telephone signals. Some of the prime advantages of DSL include being able to use the phone line while the Internet is on, a much higher speed than regular modems, and no requirement of fresh wiring.

Satellite Internet uses the technology of connecting to the Internet via satellites. The signals travel between the computer, satellite and ISP source. This technology is mostly used in areas where terrestrial Internet access is not possible, or in places which require frequent movement. Whether vessels at sea or remote military locations, satellite connections are available globally.

Wireless Internet access facilitates accessing the Internet while on the move, through mobiles and pocket PCs. This latest technology is still being improvised at various technological research centers. Based in areas which are frequented while traveling, like airports, hotels and restaurants, this service works on a wireless node.

All these technologies have succeeded in providing an impetus to communication via the Internet, by ensuring access at unprecedented speed.

High Speed Internet provides detailed information on High Speed Internet, High Speed Internet Access, High Speed Internet Services, High Speed Satellite Internet and more. High Speed Internet is affiliated with Satellite Internet Access.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Internet Services Reviews are great way for helping you save time. Many new internet marketers and online businesses get derailed over support functions. This is because these services and products are normally very new to the business owners and they become overwhelmed with the wide variety of products, services, and options. This is unfortunate because these “sidebars” take away from people being able to more quickly build a successful business and slow down their overall learning curve. For this reason, anything that can be done to help reduce these detours is at a premium. One such source is using internet services and product reviews.

The websites who do significant reviews in this area provide a high quality service for new and older internet businesses. By providing comprehensive reviews on all the products or services in a specific niche, business owners and internet marketers can quickly reduce their research time and assess which ones will be right for them. In addition, the best review sites will cover a wide array of companies so that you can get a complete picture of what is available in any given niche. This puts you, the buyer, back in control by letting you truly see what is being offered. Since no two businesses are alike, this can be invaluable as it lets you choose the product or service that most fits your needs rather than have to settle for the generic cookie cutter service or what is being overly promoted.

Since such internet services reviews are surprisingly rare, it pays to follow the websites that deliver this service across the board. Pay particular attention to see that all the reviews are comprehensive as they should discuss key issues of the individual company like its facts, product or service descriptions, company profile, benefits, drawbacks, and more. In addition, this should be true for all the top companies in the service or product. This adds credibility to the site and should not be overlooked.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

How do you access the Internet other than dial-up if you live too far from a phone company office for DSL and there is no cable TV on your street? The answer is satellite Internet service. Satellite system is the new alternatives to connects you to the Internet via latest space data communication technology. Such Internet connection does not use telephone lines or cable systems; instead, it uses satellite dish for both upload and download data communications.

Theoretically, satellite Internet services are available worldwide. With satellite Internet services, you should be able to enjoy high speed Internet connections no matter you are in the vessels in the middle of south pacific or the jungle of Amazons.

At the time of writing, satellite Internet speeds range from 700kbps to 1.5mbps for an affordable package. Both upload and download speed for satellite Internet service is much slower when it’s comparing to cable or DSL connection. However, when compare to normal dial up modem, satellite Internet connections are more or less 10 times faster!

Generally, satellite Internet can be divided into three categories: One-way Multicast, One-way with Terrestrial Return, and Two-way satellite access. The main differences of these services are the equipments setup and the core connection method.

In general, One-way multicast satellite Internet systems are used for IP multicast-based data, audio and video distribution; while for One-way terrestrial return satellite Internet systems, connection are done with traditional dial-up access to the Internet, with outbound data traveling through a telephone modem, but downloads are sent via satellite at a speed near that of broadband Internet access. As for two-way satellite Internet service, date is sent from remote sites via satellite to a hub, which then sends the data to the Internet. The satellite dish at each location must be precisely positioned to avoid interference with other satellites. The oscillators in some radar detectors can cause interference with these systems.

As technology advanced, stable satellite Internet connections are now available in a very low price to the public. As in United States, Hughes Net is one of the top companies that offer Internet services via satellite. They offer four service packages that each offers their own unique set of features and connection speed parameters.

The price of each package will depend on how fast the connection speed is, how many email accounts are included, and if you want a dial up connection added to your service package. You can save money by selecting the service package that meets your basic requirements for internet access.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

You have already paid your bills. You have ordered r your next meal. You have checked how much money you still have at the bank. You have discovered that your high school best friend is now doing well in some country in Europe. You have already ordered some flowers for your mother’s birthday this week. You have already confirmed your tasks for next week with your boss who is currently in Singapore. You also have read the latest news. You have done all this through the Internet.

Interestingly, the Internet has been one of the major avenues for getting, receiving, sharing and uploading information. Information is considered as one of the basic commodities to man at present.

However, you can’t stand your current connection to the World Wide Web. Your connection takes you a lot of time to download information that you need for your meeting. You find it hard to stay by your computer watching the information transferred to your computer slowly.

Thanks to innovations in the world of the Information Superhighway, there are wireless Internet services available for consumers. Companies and businesses are marketing and offering wireless Internet services for people who are interested in using it. Information is available on the Web.

The benefits of having wireless Internet services is that you can be very flexible. As long as there are hot spots, or places where your computer can receive a signal, you can access the Internet. You also don’t have to wait for your computer to establish a connection to the server.

Some companies claim that wireless Internet services are cheaper than the usual way of getting connected in the Internet. They claim that with wireless services, a customer only needs to pay the service fee. This is probably be true, because compared to the other means of connecting in the Internet, you have to pay for the services, as well as the phone line, and the cable you use to get connected.

Wireless Internet provides detailed information on Wireless Internet, Wireless Internet Access, Wireless Internet Services, Wireless Internet Providers and more. Wireless Internet is affiliated with Configuring Wireless Networks.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Internet services enable communication between individuals in the form of sharing information, both text and graphics, and entertainment at a speed. Improved technologies increased the speed by using parallel medium like cable and wireless networks. Satellite Internet technology enabled communication to reach remote locations that were unreachable through other technologies at almost the same speed.

Satellite Internet services are of two types. One-way service uses DVB-IP (Digital Video Broadcast- Internet Protocol), which is only for inbound connectivity. IP multicast protocol enables one-to-many-point communication. This is similar to push technologies like TV and radio where the contents are pushed to the users with little interactivity. Hence, one way service is ideally suited for webpage viewing. The downlink speed is at least 500 kbps.

Two-way services provide complete broadband services to the users. Two-way service enables high-speed access for both download and upload. The upload speed will always be slower than the download speed. This platform is ideal for SOHOs and small and medium enterprises. Satellite Internet technology provides mobile applications that can be mounted on trucks and ships.

Satellite Internet doesn’t allow faster access to Virtual Private Networks, as satellite Internet technology can’t decrypt packet header of data. Besides emails and web surfing, satellite Internet allows for voice over IP, a service very valuable in remote and mobile locations. In large enterprises, failure of standard broadband access such as cable and DSL could mean financial losses. Hence, satellite Internet acts as a business continuity mechanism.

The level of satellite services depend upon the plan provided by the service providers. The scaling up of uploading speed will result in many new services. Latency is a severe constraint in the adoption of this technology.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

T1 Internet Services empower all sorts of business enterprises to access to the Internet. It speeds up communication and data transmission from one point to another within local, metropolitan, or global scale. The T1 Internet Services Provider (T1-ISP) offers range of services to give end-users the best solutions for Data and Internet Services on the following key areas:

1.) Dedicated Internet Access

DIA is a high bandwidth 24/7 Internet connection which lets clients connect directly to providers core hardware and it is dedicated to one client, not shared with nor aggregated with other business clients. It is faster and more scalable than DSL, wireless or any kind of switched service. Guaranteed bandwidth and speed assures low latency as well as solid network performance.

Dedicated Internet Access is most recommended for mission-critical business applications such as e-commerce, businesses which requires they host their own servers, and companies requiring the transfer of large files between local and global offices as well as from customers, suppliers or employees off-site. DIA improves internal communication via e-mail and browsing capabilities. It also allows access to servers from remote locations and facilitates Intensive bandwidth multimedia activities such as Internet Streaming, Distance Learning, Webcasting.

2.) Ethernet Solutions

Ethernet solutions is now on the rise with the current trend of connectivity clutter. Ethernet today has evolved into the complex networking technology that today underlies most Local Area Networks (LANs). Its reliability of network connections and data transmission has made it the most widely used network by offices and industrial buildings. Furthermore, the networks are scalable from the simplest to the most complex and once hardware is connected to the network, it can be monitored or controlled by remote access through the Internet.

Ethernet today has evolved into the complex networking technology that today underlies most Local Area Networks (LANs).

3.) Hosting and Colocation

Web Hosting Services makes it possible for the websites of individuals or organizations to be accessible on the Internet. In addition, T1-ISP has data centers where space is provided for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity. T1-ISP can also provide allow the clientele’s servers to be connected to their data center, through Colocation. The client places equipment in racks, cages or private colocation suites. The colocation data center provides and manages the physical security, filtered uninterruptable power, back-up generators, cooling, Internet connectivity and network security for the clients servers.

Colocation hosting is recommended for clients preferring to run their servers in a high availability data center without taking incurring the cost for infrastructure and staff necessary to maintain a high quality data center.

4.) MPLS Services

Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), is now the technology of choice for transmitting high-speed data or digital voice in a single connection. MPLS with its proven reliability and increased performance, also often decrease overall costs through increased network efficiency. It is engineered to prioritize mission-critical traffic such as voice, video, and data applications over non-urgent traffic such as e-mail and Internet browsing making it the perfect solution for traffic across a network.

MPLS has the ability to label data packets. MPLS greatly speeds up the traditional routers by labeling each packet as it arrives on the network. Network efficiency is increased as MPLS lightens the load on an organization’s routers, freeing up needed resources. The speed of packet transmission is increased as well as reducing the load on network infrastructure.

5.) Private Line Services

Private Line Service is a dedicated point-to-point and multipoint inter- or intra-local access and transport area digital data service. It is a service that involves dedicated circuits, private switching arrangements, and/or predefined transmission. It transmits at speeds that are higher than conventional communication setups. Private line transmission service is engineered to transmit data in a digital format between specific locations thus the signal quality is high, secure, and very reliable.

Private Line Service rates are usually affected by three factors: (1) transmission speed (2) a fixed rate for central office termination such as access charges or local loops) and (3) a mileage charge for the fiber facilities used to carry the digital transmission over a distance. These charges are usually billed monthly by the service providers.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Internet services refer to the internet service provider (ISP) or to internet services such as the World Wide Web (WWW), internet e-mail services, file transfer protocol (FTP), or Telnet. Internet services give us the opportunity to interconnect with other computer networks and exchage data. This is possible through packet switching using standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). There are also various ways and technologies you can use to access the internet such as dial-up connections and digital subscriber line (DSL).

The World Wide Web or WWW, as an internet service, is the system of distributed servers that handle hypermedia documents such as those using the HyperText Markup Language or HTML. This is the method of presenting information in which selected words or phrases in the text are hyperlinked to other related information. These links can be other documents, graphics, videos or audio files. File Transfer Protocol or FTP, on the other hand, is an internet service that you can use to send, receive and share files across networks. There are different websites and applications that provide FTP services that you can use to move and keep your files in. This is also the internet service used for transferring files which are used for publishing websites.

Internet Service Provider or ISP, which is also called Internet Access Provider, is a company that provides individuals and business with access to the internet. There are different types of ISPs and these include:

* online-services – such as American Online (AOL) and Microsoft (MSN)
* national ISPs – such as EarthLink and Mind Spring, are large companies that offer internet access in a wide geographical area
* small and independent ISPs – operate in local or regional markets

You can find the best ISP that will meet all your needs by checking the different companies offering this kind of internet service. You can actually start out by using those that come with your computer or you can ask experts on this matter to help you out.

Once you have decided on which Internet Service Provider to use, the next step is how to access your ISP by means of internet access and internet connection. There are different ways to access the internet and these include using:

* Dial-Up connections – this needs a phone-line, a modem and an ISP connected to your computer
* ISDN – Integrated Services Digital Network, a type of Dial-up connection with a faster speed but more expensive
* DSL – Digital Subscriber Line such as Asymmetric DSL and Symmetric DSL
* Cable – cable internet is connected through coaxial cables similarly used for cable TV
* Tier Carrier – consists of many tiers of speed
* T1 – Tier1 – very expensive but slow
* T3 – Tier3 – very fast and very expensive
* T2, T4, T5
* Optical Cable – with speed of up to 1 Gbit

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Prices for broadband internet services fluctuate with the times, and with the economy being so difficult, compromising your access to the internet seems to be the next logical choice. Before you do something hasty and cancel your internet connection altogether, here is a list of the cheapest online options for your computer to give you a better idea of your choices. If you can get the same quality internet access for a cheaper price, it may help you to continue to enjoy your ability to get online, so let’s start here and help you to set your wallet at ease.

The best way to determine which broadband internet services are cheaper is to first, compare their rates of speed. Broadband is typically used as a name for services that offer 768 kilobits per second speeds or higher, and with speeds in many plans starting at 6 megabytes per second, you can get a very slow internet connection speed that considers itself broadband. Make sure the amount of money you’re paying is equal to the maximum amount of speed you can have access to for that price, this truly determines how cheap your service can be, while providing you with a quality connection at the same time.

Most services are pretty competitive, and you may find that the prices from provider to provider are quite similar. A great way to determine if you are getting a cheap deal on your broadband service is to determine how many fees you are charged outside of your service. From state and federal taxes to usage charges based on proration and charges based upon stopping and restarting services, your monthly bill can become expensive. Some companies have created deals with local government and do not include any taxes or fees with their services. These companies usually offer excellent service and equally excellent download and upload speeds, so be sure to inquire about that.

Another great way to get a cheap service and an additional bang for your buck is to see what kinds of perks and incentives your provider will give you for remaining their customer. From cash back, to free months and being entered into drawings where you could win cash or other great gifts, you may make up for any additional charges by racking up these great perks. There are some broadband services that actually pay you $100 for becoming their customer which is enough to cover 1 – 2 months of service, and perks like these can go a long way. Also, look into referral fees that will either put money in your pocket or take money off of your bill.

Uma Ilango is a programmer from profession. Has lots of interest in non-technical writing too. She has written articles in several topics. Her hobbies include reading, surfing, writing and playing chess. She writes regularly at Bigarticlepool.com.

Bigarticlepool.com is a source of expert content in the form of short, informative and educational or entertaining articles. We provide experts in hundreds of different niches from around the world. Thousands of new articles are added every month.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

With the internet age growing more quickly than most people can imagine, it’s almost impossible to work or play without some kind of internet services. Many of these services can be expensive, but there are ways to locate some great deals to help keep you connected.

Here are some recommended tips to help save you money on your internet services.

1. Decide what services are important: This is an important step because you will find there are many levels of service and products available on the market today. You can find a simple dial up internet service all the way to a service that connects via satellite. Decide what features are important to you, such as connection speed, email options, and mobile technology.

2. Shop around: There are so many companies that now offer internet services and the pricing can vary greatly. Take the time to gather some prices quotes before you decide upon one company.

3. Check with your phone company: Many telephone companies are now offering great packages for internet services, home phone and cellular service, and digital TV systems. You can find several companies that offer special pricing for two to four services at once. Many will offer introductory specials; however, be aware of how long these prices will last and what the new package price will be once your initial period is over.

4. Buy your equipment: Several companies will lease modems and other internet equipment instead of having you buy them outright. If you purchase the modem outright, you may see significant savings if you stay with the same company for many months or years.

5. Look for coupons: You can search online for websites specifically designed for coupons. Not only can you find coupons for virtually every type of item in your household, you will also find coupons for services as well. Many of these coupons can include months of free or greatly reduced service fees, or even free shipping on modems and other internet service equipment.

6. Don’t be afraid to change providers: If you find another internet service provider that offers a terrific deal, don’t be scared to switch. Be sure that you are not locked into a contract, however. Many of the providers charge steep fees to get out of that contract.

7. Look locally: Many of your local internet companies will offer services comparable to that of the larger, well known internet powerhouses. You may find the services offered locally have better customer service and lower rates.

8. Utilize free trials. Most of the larger internet service companies offer free trials to new customers. Use these to help determine which company you like the best. If you cancel service before the end of the trial period, be sure to check your bank account to see if the monthly fee was taken out anyway. It can be a time consuming process to get your money back.

Research is the key to finding affordable internet services. Make use of online coupon sites, local providers, and package deals to get the most for your money.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

People are using dating internet services more and more these days. Despite the media-advertised perils of meeting people over the internet, it is becoming common practice. Wired magazine recently commented that in twenty years it will seem odd not to prescreen people you want to have a relationship with through a dating internet service. Indeed, in 2004, internet dating services were the largest segment of paid web content in the US.

There are at least four types of internet dating services: general dating sites, compatibility sites, niche sites and networking sites.

General Sites

Most general dating internet services are free. You usually post a profile, and you can look at other people’s profiles. Most general dating sites have features that help you connect with people you are interested in. Look for forums, chat rooms, messenger functions and buddy lists.

There are zillions of these sites, so it may be a bit difficult to sort out the ones that you want to participate in. Get recommendations from friends if possible. Find out if your friends have tried some of the sites, and ask what their experiences were like.

Remember that there is no way to know if the information in someone’s profile is true. People do post inaccurate information for a variety of reasons.

Use safe internet practices when posting on dating internet services, too. Never give personal information to someone you don’t know, and never post your address or phone number in a public forum. Always meet new people face-to-face in a public, neutral place. Use common sense to protect yourself.

Compatibility Sites

These sites charge for their services because they do more than just provide a meeting place. Compatibility sites usually have you do some kind of personality or compatibility assessment and they try to match you with people who have similar profiles.

Most people subscribe to a compatibility dating internet service hoping to find a long-term relationship or marriage. E-Harmony is probably the best known of these sites, and they have been successful in helping many people find life partners.

Niche Sites

A niche dating internet service is a good option if you are looking to meet someone with a particular interest or slant on life. You may want to spend time with someone who shares your interest in Motocross, or who raises pigs, or who is a square dancer. There are specialty online dating sites for just about any niche you can think of. Some niche online dating sites are free and some are not.

Another way to use niche dating internet services is to find someone who practices a particular faith. Some people prefer to date within their faith community, and niche online dating sites meet their needs.

Networking Sites

Networking sites, such as MySpace, are not dating internet services, but they are a great way to meet people. And meeting someone is the first step in deciding if you want to date him or her. People often begin dating relationships through a network site.

It’s important to remember, however, that dating is not the primary purpose of networking sites. Many of the people you meet there are not interested in dating.

Dating internet services are an excellent way to find people you might be interested in. Some sites help you screen potential dates, too, to find those that you are most likely to be compatible with. Your chances of finding someone you enjoy spending time with are probably better with a dating internet service than they are with a blind date… or Uncle Joey’s cousin’s sister… or the guy your mom wants to fix you up with…

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Satellite Internet is a new way of Internet connection that utilizes satellite technology in data communication. As most satellite TV providers nowadays teamed up with satellite Internet Service Provider (Satellite ISP) and offer their service via the same system, satellite Internet is also commonly known as satellite TV Internet. In general, satellite Internet services are used in location where terrestrial Internet access is unavailable.

Who needs satellite Internet service?

In the beginning, satellite Internet is mainly for those who need Internet access a lot but cannot get it: Armies, offshore site engineers, and shipping crews are some of the pioneer satellite Internet users.

As days go by, satellite Internet technology revolved and was commercialized to the publics. In this day and age, satellite Internet is meant for almost anyone who is looking for high-speed Internet services. If you travel a lot, if you live in rural area where DSL cables are unreachable, if you want alternatives for your cable DSL connection; satellite Internet service is for you.

As the service cost is getting cheaper and cheaper, satellite Internet turned out to be a common house hold services nowadays.

What is the speed limitation for satellite Internet?

Currently we are seeing around 500kbps to 1.5mbps on satellite Internet speeds. Nothing impressive when compare to DSL cables; however in contrast with dial-up connection, satellite Internet is definitely the better choice of high speed connection.

Getting into satellite Internet services

Basically, you will need to approach to different local satellite ISP if you wish to owns the system. In normal circumstances, satellite Internet services are available worldwide thus one need not to worry about the availability of satellite Internet services in his or her area. Common installation of satellite Internet system at home will requires two modems, a satellite dish that pointed to the south sky, coaxial cables that link up satellite dish and you modem, and of course, a PC. In United States, Hughes Net is one of the top satellite ISP that you should be familiar with.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Change is unavoidable in everything you see and do. This is precisely what you will and should hope from the Internet everyday. One facet that has completely eliminated MLM off the map and made internet marketing a far better option is social sites.

The truth on MLM business is that people are forced to rely on their primary program and fixed sales pitch. MLM promoters are out to fill their levels so that they can make money, and don’t care about their prospects and customers. The prospect’s needs are irrelevant to an MLM promoter.

Internet marketing has the wonderful advantage of giving you the chance to really know your customers and what their needs are instead of just going into a standard sales pitch. Nowadays building a rapport like this is key to successful internet marketing simply because people understand that they have lots of entrepreneurs to choose from.

Regardless of your competitors, you must still stand out from the crowd by offering unique items and service. One key to building a customer base is to engage the prospect. Discuss their wants and needs. Make the effort to really converse with your potential customers, in order to create a positive impact. By being engaged, and engaging, you stand the highest likelihood of a return contact by your prospects when it is time for them to make that purchase decision.

Here is where the importance of social sites comes into play. Social networking sites have had a massive impact on business in the online marketing industry. Such sites enable communication with people in your niche. You can pick up suggestions from them, and offer your own input as well.

By using these web pages, it becomes far easier for you to meet up with new prospects and establish a personal relationship. Once you have established a personal relationship, they will be far likelier to choose your business in the future.

There are a variety of social site resources available for your cause. Some of the more well known ones include; Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Individually, they all have theirs unique benefits.

These sites are important, but so are the many blogs and forums available online. These will give you many ways to meet new people, find out what they’re looking for in an opportunity, and give them advice and share your knowledge on every subject under the sun.

The reality is that MLM is extinct. Stop wasting your time parading around about how amazing your product is and start making an impression on the people you see and talk to through social sites.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Business owners can be the best PR managers. Using social media and the Internet as a distribution platform you can match the results of even the best PR agency. However, the amateur marketer can need a little help learning the short-cuts to early success.

Here are some easy steps to get these social media tools returning real PR and branding results:

1. Set-up your PR and Branding Platform. Start small and focused. This platform is going to be where you drive people to learn more about your business, products, and services. Pointing back to this central focal point with all of your PR and branding campaigns with assist lead generation.

If you are technically inclined a simple blog is a great place to start. However, it is not necessary–you can chose to make Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn your personal brand platform. Make sure a visitor is engaged with your strategy when they arrive.

2. Listen First. Once you have a good platform, a base station, you need to start listening to your market. Consumers are all over the Internet and making it easier and easier to survey their needs.

A great place to start listening is on Twitter–the premiere social networking and conversation tool. Search for key words associated with your market in the Twitter search engine, then sit back and see what they expect.

3. Participate. Listening is important, but participation builds trust, relationships, and targeted audiences. Ultimately, and online PR and branding strategy online is community building.

Community building means conversations and conversations build audiences. Audiences that will trust your recommendations, marketing, and services. Participation in your community will create sales leads for your business, if done appropriately.

4. Give Value First. Consumers are naturally skeptical, especially online. Nothing brings a sale faster than “giving first” and breaking that natural skepticism. Online publishing tools and platforms have made is a snap to leverage the Internet for big-time audience generation and distribution.

Creating valuable content targeted at solving problems for your ideal customer can make a big impact. This can be as simple as a blog post, eBook, or amateur video. This little effort and value given freely and distributed widely will bring enormous return.

5. Build Relationships. You have to care! Consumers and customers see this in a heartbeat–and they react. Quickly returning emails, phone calls, and even tweets show a passion for your business and the customers you serve.

Customers greeted with a sense of urgency can be the biggest advocates and promoters of your products and services.

6. Be Helpful. Consumers are using the Internet more and more to find information and solutions to their problems. Being helpful is one the most powerful marketing tactics. The psychological principle of reciprocity can produce incredible returns on a simple helpful tip, pointer, or referral.

If you know the answer to a question–help someone. There are lots of ways to help online and build your brand. Check out LinkedIn Answers or Yahoo!Answers.

7. Promote Others. Having a successful PR and branding strategy is not all about you. Promoting others builds your audience and reputation. This technique has two benefits: Getting the reciprocity of helping someone else with a campaign. Second, you get the attention and trust of those who follow your advice and gain value.

Promoting others is like doubling your product base and increasing your marketing reach.

7.5 Engage PR and Marketing Professionals. With so many social media tools available and free advice on the Internet it is easy to rush in without a plan. Doing PR and branding without clear objectives and concise messages can be an obvious train wreck to consumers–a lasting bad impression.

Professional advice and guidance from PR and marketing professionals can help you set firm footing and foundation under your idea. Then you can make do-it-yourself have real impact.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

When I was a child growing up, I recall pornography was predominantly limited to Playboy, Penthouse and a few other magazines that featured nudity that my parents told me were inappropriate and insulting to women. Those who bought and viewed this material were considered dirty old men. Child pornography was something that you seldom heard of, and always happened somewhere else. It was a small segment of society who engaged in this type of behavior, and while a problem, it was not considered a significant one.

Today, this has changed. According to a recent of a recent US government study, the volume of online child pornography has increased by 1500% in the past 10 years. The Internet has become the mainstream tool that predators are using to exploit children in growing numbers. The Internet is an uncensored medium to exchange information, and those who would prey on children are using it to their full advantage.

While the United States and a handful of other countries have taken some precautionary steps to try and stem the growing tide of online child sexual exploitation and predation, countries like Brazil, India, and several Far East nations have become safe havens for predators. These countries offer few protections or safeguards that restrict or in any way prohibit the distribution of child pornography online. Bangkok, Thailand and the country of Myanmar are among two of the top countries in the child sex slave industry, and South America and parts of Europe are quickly catching up to this sickening, but lucrative industry that preys on innocence. India is a growing hub for online child pornography, yet government officials have taken few steps to halt its growth.

At any given time, there are more than 100,000 known child pornographic sites online, and investigators say the number is growing at an alarming pace. An estimated 20,000 new child porn sites are being set up each month around the globe, much faster than agencies who combat this crime with significantly limited resources can take them down. In a global culture of death where abortion on demand is available in most countries, life is no longer valued and abuse of children is a sad, but real byproduct.

Because the Internet is anonymous, and global in scope, those who exploit children by online means can (for the most part) remain themselves anonymous and cover their tracks well. Agencies who attempt to gather information to arrest and prosecute these sick individuals often run into dead ends, as the predators remain unidentifiable and unreachable in a virtual world. Policing the Internet is almost impossible, especially with the limited resources of law enforcement and a lack of cohesive laws to outlaw such behavior.

Social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Yahoo!Chat, YouTube and Orkut are being used to help expand the predator’s reach. Orkut, one of the larger social networking sites, has an estimated 60-70 million users. The Brazilian government has reported that almost 90% of all the illicit sexual material coming from their nation is flowing through Orkut. In 2007, 624 cases of Internet crimes were prosecuted in Brazil, and two-thirds of those cases (420) were linked to child pornography on Orkut.

Thousands of pornographic images and video clips make their way onto the Internet daily, and many of these are of children as young as 5-7 years of age. And as you can see, it is not just the private, backroom sites that predators share through their private channels, but to social networking sites like MySpace, Orkut, and YouTube. Plus, new cell phone technology is making it easier to capture images and video and transmit this to other cell phones, as well as the Internet.

The miniaturization of wireless cameras have also led to a rise in the gathering of images and video from unsuspecting children and adults. Cameras can be hidden in stuffed animals, book spines, air conditioning vents, clock radios, and other innocent locations that can beam a video signal to a nearby collection point for recording and later distribution onto private websites, DVDs and social networking sites.

Children are also adding to this growing problem by posting nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves online. Vanessa Hudgens of the Disney High School Musical movie series had inappropriate images she had sent to her boyfriend and co-star Zak Efron nabbed and uploaded to the Internet. One of the Cheetah girls, Adrienne Bailon, has also been linked to the release of nude photographs. This has led to impressionable young girls and boys posting their own images, or sharing them with others, only to have these images make their way to the World Wide Web and into the hands of those who would distribute them or view them for their own sick, twisted ends.

According to the Dauphin County (PA) Child Predator Unit, more than 181 Internet predators have been arrested since they began operations in 2005. In 2008 along, they made more than 70 arrests, more than in any previous year. Attorney General Tom Corbett said, “Predators know that kids become more active online as the weather turns colder and the days grow shorter, and they also know that more young people are home unsupervised, either before or after school.” He added, “Time and distance mean nothing to Internet predators because computer technology allows them to reach across the street, or across the country, to ‘groom’ young victims for sexual meetings or to flood their computers with sexually graphic photos and videos.”

Parents should be aware of their children’s online activities, and not allow them to have individual access to the Internet in rooms where their activity cannot be monitored. We suggest you place the computer in a centrally-located area of the home, in plain sight, so that everyone can monitor the family’s Internet usage. Parents should also teach their children to be alert for strangers who pose as online friends or engage in sexually explicit language. If they are sent explicit photos or videos, solicited for sex, or asked to meet face-to-face, they should notify their parents and law enforcement should be contacted immediately.

Sexual predation is not limited to children, and teens (and pre-teens) are increasingly becoming the prey. As children in their pre-teens and teens go through emotional swings, predators have found they are more easily manipulated, especially by those who are lacking in self-esteem or having difficulties fitting in. Through social networking sites, predators will befriend children, teens and even adults in an effort to gain their trust and confidence, all the while grooming them for an anticipated face-to-face encounter or to persuade them to either send pictures or video, and in some cases pose or perform online.

As a society, we need to do more to make sure that social networking sites are truly social places, and not predatory hangouts. Turning a blind eye to the problem doesn’t make it go away. Reporting deviant behavior and online material to law enforcement is an important first step, and taking the high road yourself to make sure that you and your family members are not contributing to this growing epidemic is another.

Social networking sites offer a great opportunity to meet and communicate with people from all over the world; however, it is important to remember that you really don’t know these people, and anything posted online can and will be used against you if it is accessed by the wrong person. It is also important to remember that once something is placed online, it is there foreve. The Internet doesn’t forget, nor does it forgive, wrong choices. And the consequences could have a lasting impact on you, and others.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Over the course of the past few years, social networks have come to be used for far more than socializing. Indeed, a growing number of business enterprises that are in operation on the Internet and World Wide Web today have taken to utilizing social network websites as a means of promoting their own website operations. Perhaps you have decided to utilize a social network page as a means for promoting what you are doing business-wise on the Internet and World Wide Web at this juncture in time.

First of all, one of the most basic and fundamental steps that you can take to optimize a social network page for maximum impact is to include appropriate backlinks to your main or primary website on a social network page. Through this type of linking effort, you will be able to garner traffic from people who have already expressed an interest in you or what you are doing to by spending at least some time on your social network page or on a social network page that is set up to assist in the promotion of your business enterprise.

Second, you can also enhance the effectiveness and value of a social network page by including keyword enriched copy on your social network page. As with other Net based content, you can end up attracting the attention of valuable search engines through the utilization of keyword enriched content within or on your social networking page.

Finally, you can increase the effectiveness and usefulness of your social networking page by including blogging or a blog (or reference or a link to a blog) through your social network page.

By following these suggestions, you will be able to garner the greatest usefulness and value from a social network page – an enhancement that will serve your interests today and into the future

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article writing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide’

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

As search giants, Google, Yahoo and MSN continue their fierce battle to become king of the search engines, internet marketers are faced with increasing challenges to dominate in the rankings. As algorithms and methodologies change, savvy entrepreneurs and Madison Avenue continue their heated battle for a coveted Top 10 spot in search engine rankings.

Social search is not officially here but the debut is not far off. Yahoo, MSN and Google are all purportedly working on methodologies to converge search and user generated content all while walking the tightrope known as “privacy.” Yahoo has been beta-testing Yahoo Answers since December 2005 and has hired powerhouse, Raghu Ramakrishnan, the co-author of Database Management Systems and co-founder of QUIQ. Mircosoft is in talks with Eurekster.com, a company specializing in social search and Google is experimenting with Google Base Beta.

Why are these internet behemoths investing so much in social search? Social networks such as MySpace and Friendster are threatening the domination of established search giants.

>> Social networks are pulling in a significant and increasing share of web traffic.

Social network sites are actively working to improve their internal search capabilities and provide an even richer experience for their members. Search giants such as Google, Yahoo and MSN must accelerate their social search efforts or they may be left out of the search game that they now dominate. Search giants must step it up or they will get left behind.

It is hard to believe that in the early days of the net, there was an underlying assumption that technology would replace or hinder human interaction. There were those that believed users would prefer getting their information from a computer rather than a person. Social networking is really something old made new by bringing it online. It turns out we humans still rely on other humans and technology simply allows us to expand the boundaries of our social networks. Studies have proven what we already knew intuitively, we pay attention to recommendations from real people. Social search, viral marketing and social networking are not at all new concepts. Social search is really the technology derivative of asking friends and colleagues for recommendations. In the long ago, dark ages before we “googled”, if you needed a mechanic you asked your neighbor, your colleagues and your friends for a recommendation. We now google for mechanics and visit websites to gain information that will help us in our decision. Social search will enable users to combine the two for a robust result that combines user driven content or the human element with the power of technology. Pretty heady stuff, when you contemplate the impact of this new era of search.

>> What does all of this mean to the internet marketer?

The internet marketer’s goals remain the same – drive traffic and convert that traffic to profitable sales.

Social search will not change the foundation of marketing but it will change the way in which you present your information to generate leads. In other words, you will still need to apply good old fashioned Public Relations and Marketing tactics to the new fangled Social Search Medium, fondly dubbed SMM by some.

>> Drive traffic to your site from social search and search engine optimization

To take advantage of social search, the first step is to develop a plan. Who is your ideal customer? Contrary to popular belief, the world is not your customer. Do you merely want 200,000 hits per day or do you want 200,000 hits from people that have a problem your product or service can solve? Often the focus is on pure traffic results, but none of that matters if you’re not hitting your sales goals. So, what does your ideal customer look like? What complementary products or services do they buy? How often do they make purchases? Take the time to identify your target market before you launch a marketing plan.

Now that you have identified your niche, you’ll have a much easier time capturing them using SMM. Marketing whether online or off is all about relevancy, visibility, and credibility. As an internet marketer you want to dominate your niche market by establishing yourself as the expert in your area, delivering content to your potential customer that is relevant to their needs and preferences and have greater visibility than your competitors.

>> Steps that you can take to achieve expertness with SMM:

1. Become an expert source of information.

Use the bookmarks and article submission features of sites such as Digg to establish yourself as a credible and recognizable source of information.

2. Hitchhike on a blog.

Post relevant and informative content on high profile blogs in your industry. Contributing to a blog on relevant subject matter will increase your visibility and credibility with your target market.

3. Share, share, share.

Create a Squidoo lens, write and publish articles to online article banks (i.e. EzineArticles.com), contribute to wikipedia. Issue quarterly press releases through PR Web. Providing content will establish familiarity with your name (the “haven’t I heard of you?” effect) and enable you to cement your expertise with your audience. You will then drive pre-qualified users to your site, who has already established interest in what you have to sell.

4. Create your own friendly network.

Link sharing with complementary products and services is still a great way to expand your social network, and hence your visibility.

5. Build on your existing foundation.

The technical aspect of search will not be eliminated with the dawn of social search. Rather social search will augment technical search. Thus, it is important to continue utilizing the tools and resources that drive technical search including optimization techniques and paid inclusion.

6. Apply innovation directly to your site. Here’s an example:
http://microsaw-swicki.eurekster.com/ that we are using, and it’s a free service.

Summary:

Social search will not entirely replace the traditional technical driven search but does open up yet another avenue for internet marketers. One of the more exciting aspects is that smaller businesses are better positioned to make the most gains from the social frontier. We have seen the power of the “regular Joe” community in driving site popularity and outpacing Madison Avenue marketing efforts. YouTube, MySpace and Facebook owe their growth to the power of viral marketing. Big Business has not yet mastered the art of getting up close and personal with its users providing savvy entrepreneurs with the opportunity of a lifetime. By using the simple techniques outlined in this article you will be well poised to take advantage of that opportunity.

Social Marketing Resources:

Digg, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Flickr, StumbleUpon, Newsvine, LinkedIn, Del.icio.us, MySpace, Ma.gnolia, Yahoo Answers, Reddit, Technorati, Squidoo, Shoutwire, 43 Things, YourElevatorPitch, Ning, Yahoo 360, BlinkList, Shadows, Wetpaint, Jotspot

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

A recent study done by Wetpaint (wetpaint.com) and the Altimeter Group (altimetergroup.com) showed that companies who actively participated at social networking websites experienced a growth in sales of up to 18% over their competitors. What is the secret of their internet marketing strategy? Social Engagement.

Social Engagement is the act of using social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook, to interact with customers and get them involved with your business. For years, companies struggled with figuring out how social networking fit into their internet marketing strategy. Some viewed it as a thing to be scorned, fearing that their brands would suffer in this new era of transparency. Others, like Starbucks and Dell, are being handsomely rewarded for embracing social networking as an integral part of their internet marketing strategy.

These companies realized that customers were using these channels to talk about their businesses. They understood that the world isn’t like it used to be. In the past, any experience a customer had with a business, positive or negative, could only be relayed to people in the customer’s immediate network. This naturally limited the impact the customer had on the business. These days, though, with the global reach of the internet, one customer’s complaint could be heard around the world. Literally.

But doing damage control and staunching the loss of business due to the chatter of unhappy customers isn’t the only reason to get involved in social media. An internet marketing strategy that includes Social Engagement enhances your brand by giving your business the credibility it needs to encourage your customers to trust you. In addition, the network you build will expand your reach and influence in the world. Most importantly, though, Social Engagement offers you an opportunity to learn more about your customers and what they value. This, in turn, will help you provide them with the products they need.

Although using social engagement as part of a holistic internet marketing strategy requires a dedicated effort, it is well worth the work. But before you rush off to join that hot new social networking website, there are a few things to keep in mind when mingling with your customers.

The most common mistake businesses make when using social media for the first time is to immediately pound customers with their sales message. Social networking is about connecting with people. If you start hammering at them with your sales pitch before they get to know you they will, instead, ignore you. This would be like running up to a person in a parking lot and hard selling them on your product. It doesn’t work there and it won’t work on the internet.

Instead, draw customers to you by posting valuable content such as useful tips or links to informational articles. Since social media is a two way conversation, it is important that you talk to your customers. Read and respond to their posts. Pass along interesting things that they say to others in your network. This shows that you are interested in them and likewise they’ll be interested in you.

Another mistake you want to steer clear of is social media overload. Most of the big boys have dedicated teams of specialists who watch and participate in all of the networking websites. Unfortunately, you probably don’t have the time, money or help so avoid stretching yourself too thin by focusing your efforts in only one or two places.

Jumping into the social media arena will give your internet marketing strategy the boost it needs to be effective. You’ll love interacting with your customers as much as they’ll love getting to know you. And that, as we all know, is the start of every great relationship.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Today you come across many social sites on the Internet that you can join absolutely free of cost. Some of the most popular sites that you can join are MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. All these sites are accessed by millions of people across the world. Apart from the main goal of making friends and socializing virtually with people, these sites also offer other advantages as well such as helping you build your business.

You can now promote your blogs through these websites. A blog refers to an on line space where you can write about a niche such as your business. You can also promote your business website through these social websites. You can also join special business groups and interact with people from the same field. Hence the Internet and the social sites in particular help you a lot in making your business successful. You can increase your network as well. You can use anything from email to instant messaging to blogs to chat to make your business successful.

Technology has grown at a fast pace over the last few years. Members as young as 16 year olds are joining the social networking sites. In fact these young guns have started their business from home by using just a computer and an Internet connection. On social networking sites you can expect total communication anonymity and gratification. The social networking sites have become the next wave in communications. You can just introduce any content you want to your profile and even post messages in a group and within an instant it will be uploaded for everyone to see.

People today have come to know the impact of these sites and how they have set ground making standards for business on the whole. Also you will be able to experience the talent and expertise of other people on the sites as well as to how they are promoting their products and services. Competition is fierce and you always have to stay ahead of competition. Today people share their ideas on the social networking sites and they stand to gain a lot of knowledge. People are adopting these latest technologies to bring forth their business name and you should not fall behind. You have to adapt yourself to these technologies and implement what you have learned from the social networking sites.

Through these sites you can go for two types of communication, e.g. one to one communication and one to many communication. In case of one to one communication you interact with one person on a personal level while on a one to many communication you interact with a group. Both forms of communication have their advantages and you must optimize the benefits of both. Sites like LinkedIn have 11 million people who have joined the site purely for business purposes. These people represent about 150 major industries and many more sub industries under these major industries. So you can just imagine the impact of these positive sites on businesses.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

No doubt has an individual’s personal life dramatically changed from writing down one’s thoughts and feelings on a notebook known as a diary to posting pictures, videos and blogs of one’s life in a webpage. This is yet another full proof of how technology and the internet have made its impact in our daily lives a nd how globalization spread outs in different fields.

The function of both technology and the internet in our present society continuously expands and attracts people from the many walks of life. And with the introduction of social networking and blogging sites, more and more people are being drawn to the magic of the internet. This doesn’t only holds true towards kids and teenagers but for adults as well.

Social networking and blogging sites initially had the youth as its captured market. And since this has now developed into profit generating means, those beyond their 20’s have engaged in the use of these internet-based recreations.

But what pros and cons has this new era of internet-based innovation brought about to the society? For globalization and reaching out to people, this has by far made a really great impact on how we go about socialization. Individuals can now keep in touch with people they haven’t seen or heard from for a very long time. They can also get connected with complete strangers form different countries who wish to acquire as many friends as they wish or relatives who are in a different country. This is also a means to speak one’s mind and be visible. At the same time it is used as venue to brainstorm questions and answers to the millions of information and topics around the globe. A large number of people have taken advantage of this by simply making money out of just sharing thoughts and opinions. As for this part, it doesn’t sound bad at all.

On the other side of the fence, reality check, once anyone posts anything on the internet through these sites, one has agreed to publicize certain aspects of his life that used to be known just among family, closest friends or professional contacts. It is true that these sites have encourage connectedness and globalization in a different aspect, but take note of the fact that this kind is more on a very personal level. A very personal level, that at times not even an individual’s parents are aware of these unless they have read or since it in one of those social networking sites. And not to forget the attacks on sensitive information such as password and credit card information. There are also concerns regarding harassment over these sites. In addition, this has also brought about lower productivity and more conflicts due to excessive use of use sites even during working hours.

Both social networking and blogging has its benefits and drawbacks. A remind for anyone and everyone to take precautions while enjoying this perks of the internet. So if you’re the type of individual who values privacy too much, be extra careful in venturing into this. It has made both money and friends for a lot but it has also caused a lot of trouble for some. This significant era of internet-based technology and feature have more in store for the world in the future and millions are continuously patronizing it. It would always be better to learn and understand it before jumping into it or even if you’re already a part of it.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you’re looking for successful results, Social media is an important strategy that should be a part of any internet marketing campaign. Companies form internet marketing campaigns for the sole purpose of increasing brand awareness and attracting quality traffic to their website. It is becoming a popular trend with businesses all over the world, as it is an easy and cost effective method to spread the word out to their consumers. According to statistics, one conversation of a consumer can have the impact of 200 TV commercials! Human behavioral studies suggest that a person is more likely to consider a friend’s recommendation or opinion, than over what they see or hear from other respectable sources.

The results of these studies, have triggered a number of companies to literally stoop down to the “grass root levels” of the Internet, in order to mold themselves within the number of popular social media websites. Snail mail being ancient history, now even email usage has slowly declined as more and more people prefer using online community websites to converse with each other. The younger generation makes up a majority of the social network population. Businesses are also aware that the younger generation is good at spending a majority of the money they earn. These consumers hold the strength and the power in their words and what they communicate to others. Community websites have increased the efficiency in the way that we communicate to one another. Users recommending or expressing their disappointment in a particular product or service, can make or break a company’s reputation. The popularity of a product through online social network websites triggers what most marketers refer to as a “buzz”, which can indisputably boost a company’s profits overnight.

From the feedback and conversations of consumers through communal websites, corporations can assess how to alter their merchandise and services to the specific requirements of the consumers. Businesses have to be willing to listen to the feedback and act upon it within reason. Create interest by giving a reason for users to visit the company website. No matter how simple or unappealing your product may be, there is always a way to establish interest. Think of what the customer would want. Having a page of entertainment on your website would not be such a bad move. Many businesses have taken the initiative to integrate games, free sample offers, videos, blogs and interesting updates onto their websites in order to lure users and build traffic.

To incorporate social media into your internet marketing campaign you should begin with research. Scope out your competitors, see how they’ve designed their website and what they are doing to captivate social network users to visit. Study the wants and needs of the consumer. Conducting online surveys to understand exactly where you are doing well and where you are lacking would be a good way to embark on your research. Accordingly you can formulate a plan as to what online communities your company will target and what kind of information you can offer. There is no set formula to gain exposure through social community websites. Test out different combinations of social networks and online community platforms to see what works best for you. The main benefit to this strategy is that changes can be made almost immediately, to produce the desired effect. With a blog, companies can keep followers updated about their latest merchandise and advancements.

If your internet marketing campaign is running successfully, continue analyzing and monitoring the trends. It is definitely not something you can keep stagnant. Constant changes and updating of new content is required to make social media a lucrative strategy for your business.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

As the power of the Internet to put pictures in front on consumers, and then add sound and video, online marketing has grown and flourished. That all took place during the online era that will be labeled as Web 1.0. Web 2.0 introduced social networking on a wider scale, allowing applications to be run by people no matter what kind of computer they are using, or where they may be located. In response to Web 2.0, the millions of people who use the Internet on a regular basis began sharing, and that has created a phenomenon all in itself.

The concept of sharing is vital to successful social media Internet marketing. The idea is that you present visitors with something that is so informative or amusing or useful that the person wants to pass the info along to someone else. If you tell two people, and they each tell two people, there are only 10 levels required to reach a thousand people, and from there the numbers start to get big pretty quickly. And people want to share. They share their favorite videos, their favorite pictures, they talk about which products work the best, and ask another for advice about new furniture. Your goal is to be a part of that conversation.

A few well placed social media Internet marketing campaigns can have a notable impact on site traffic. This is especially true with the use of video banners, and amusingly eye-catching link images. If you make someone laugh, they will want to pass on the joke to someone else, because laughter is contagious. With video, you have direct access to a viewer’s emotions, and that can be a valuable opportunity.

Social media Internet marketing depends on frequent participation in message forums, on blog sites, and in the various social network sites. Having a listing in LinkedIn is not helping your bottom line unless you are actively participating on the site so people know you are there. In fact, the whole point of social media Internet marketing is to make sure people know who you are, and what you have to offer. Social media simply allows you a broader range of options in how to reach the people you want to be in contact with.

I cannot stress the importance of social media Internet marketing enough. It has grown from an off-shoot of web design to a complete and thriving industry in its own right, reaching into all parts of the Internet, and having a great deal more impact on our daily lives than most people even realize.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Social marketing has evolved into a VERY influential type medium whose effects are felt both on and off the internet today. From our recent presidential election, to the public opinion of the California Octuplets’ mom, social media has had a significant impact.

Spawned from the growing popularity of ‘all things web 2.0′ social network sites are popping up all over the internet. With little surprise it hasn’t taken online marketers’ long to see the potential for generating ‘free traffic’ from these sites for their business. If fact if you market anything online and haven’t included social network marketing into your online business strategies you’re ‘behind the times’ and missing out.

Effectively speaking social network marketing can be considered an online form of ‘word of mouth’ advertising! These online communities whose intent are to be gathering locations for social interaction are the perfect environment to ‘casually’ mention a new business or product.

These unstructured environments are perfect for any internet user who doesn’t want to deal with the regimentation associated with many onsite locations.

Undoubtedly both social network and social media sites offer the potential to put your viral marketing efforts on steroids. Imagine the impact these sites can have on your business when used correctly?

Imagine NOT having to create a ‘free giveaway’ product to gain the viral marketing effects that are so beneficial to any online business? By just visiting and participating at any social network site or perhaps posting photos or videos at a social media location you can gain the same benefits. Does it bother you there would be little ‘work’ involved also?

Let’s have a look at just a few of the countless social sites found on the internet with a quick synopsis of how they work:

• Digg

This online community is based upon the popularity of news articles. If members like an article it will hit the ‘front page’ of Digg. When this occurs the potential for thousands of visitors exist to view the article. If you can tailor your article to the apparent likes of this community and rank highly there is the possibility of a landslide of visitors to your site.

• Delicious

This social bookmarking site allows you to store your ‘favorites’ at their site. By viewing the favorites of other members you can better determine their reading interest. With this information you can organize a more effective marketing approach suitable to their likes or perhaps determine they’re not a candidate for what you have to offer.

• You Tube

This site uses short videos and viral marketing to the max. There must be something to it since even the Pope can be found here! By simply posting a short video of interest due to its humor or sensationalism you can generate significant traffic for your cause.

• LinkedIn

This online community focuses on working professionals. Like many other online communities you can locate categories or niches within the site that better relates to your field of interest or experience. The ability to offer services or products to like minded professionals allows you to target an audience with a pre-determined interest in what you may have to offer.

Ah yes no doubt I’ve left out one of your favorite sites but wait! I may just include it with the following ‘all encompassing’ sentence. Just ‘Google’ web 2.0 sites and then sit back and see if your favorite can be found.

Harnessing the unlimited potential of social marketing is not difficult. Heck even a caveman can do it! By simply ’socializing’ at few of these online communities and casually mentioning your business, product, or cause would be all it takes. Your results likely would be a significant surge of free traffic to your site!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

We’ve discussed the huge impact of online videos. We’ve also discussed the huge impact of social networking for driving traffic. Now, it’s time to discuss the monumental impact of these two factors when combined together. Yes, according to experts and analysts, social networking and online videos are far ahead in the popularity race as compared to other digital media trends.

According to an Ipsos Insight’s study, it was found that video clips on the internet had replaced music and become the new driver of growth. The study further elaborated that 46-50% of all U.S. web users watch videos or TV shows online. While these numbers may have already gone up as we write this article, the power of social networking can’t be ignored.

With one in five people, aged over 18, visit social networking websites worldwide, it was found that Facebook was the 6th most busy site, while MySpace was the 10th most busy site over the Internet.
Small business owners can especially delight in these statistics, as social networking websites allow them to interact directly with the end user and give them precise information that can help build and grow their businesses as per market demand. With various communications avenues such as online chat, email, text messaging, voice chat, video and file sharing, blogging, and forums and discussion groups, business owners can build strong relationships with end users and drive traffic to their own websites.

Fortunately, social networking memberships are free and today, they have become a much sought after vehicle for effective and result-oriented internet marketing for one and all.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

How do we to get the biggest bang for our social media buck? In other words, understanding the metrics of Twitter is on everyone’s mind these days. As marketers attempt to determine the efficacy of their overall social media marketing strategy and how “the new kid on the block” fits into it, the challenge becomes, how do we optimize and monetize our efforts? In other words, how do we quantify Twitter?

As noted in the first two articles in this series, Twitter has taken the world by storm. Or to use a corny pun, Twitter has the Internet a-flutter! The fact is, the growth rate of Twitter is nothing short of phenomenal. The mini-blogging phenomenon has taken the social media world by storm, 140 characters at a time. On Thursday, June 25, 2009, Alexa ranked Twitter #17 in the world, up 66 in 3 months, with an average rank of 36. The growth has been steady, with quite a few peaks and very few valleys. In fact, the valleys seem to be reflective of daily usage patterns rather than any sort of a dip in popularity. The only two areas of decline are in Pageviews/User and Time on Site, down 14.2% and 5%, respectively. The popularity of Twitter in the United States is immediately apparent, with 43.5% of all traffic coming from the States. However, the social media phenomenon is also ranked high in South Africa at #10, #13 in Australia with 2.6% of all traffic to the site originating Downunder, #14 in the US and UK, with 6.2% of all Twitter traffic originating in the British Isles. Significantly, Germany is ranked #20, contributing 8.7% of all traffic to the site, second only to the US. Finally, Japan #137, Russia #153, France #161, and China #169 are at the bottom of the list, in terms traffic rank for those countries listed by Alexa.

One of the most remarkable things about Twitter is that it is entirely free, at least in terms of dollars and cents. Interestingly, the real cost, and one difficult if not impossible to quantify, is the cost in terms of time. As Marc Warnke notes in “ONO: Options Not Obligations,” his masterpiece on “Family First Entrepreneurship,” “money is time.” Marc Warnke discusses, at length, the link between family and business, the book is an awesome template for business and life. “Money is time,” not the other way around! An interesting point, crucial to understanding the real value of time, one that takes some time to get your thinking wrapped around. The book is an awesome template for business and life, one that places emphasis where it belongs and creates a new awareness of the value of time and family.

Money is time!

With Marc’s words in mind, it is easily recognized that Twitter can be addictive. Beyond that, the real benefits of having a presence on the social media platform may be difficult to track in terms of traditional “metrics.” Yes, I know I just used a gobbledygook term! “Metrics!” The real and lasting value of an online presence on Twitter, an Internet image if you will, may rest with the fact that the social media platform offers the “newbie,” just beginning to emerge as an Internet marketer, to establish himself or herself with a foothold, a place to test the waters and hone their message and skills. The advantage to such a presence should be immediately apparent, particularly if the entrepreneur has chosen the Internet marketing niche, a niche that may appear incredibly incestuous at times. A social media presence may allow the new marketer an opportunity to assert himself or herself in what some have referred to as an “old boy network,” and others have referred to as a “high school clique,” of sorts. Whether a valid point or not, the difficulty for the “newbie” to break into the Internet marketing niche is eased somewhat by the ability to connect, build relationships, and indeed bond with perspective clients and fellow entrepreneurs, alike.

So, how do you track the effectiveness of your social media marketing campaign on Twitter or on any other social networking site for that matter? Remember, I called that phrase, “social media marketing,” an oxymoron in a previous article! Beyond that, what is the return on investment (ROI) in this case; and, the chief investment being…time? Before we get into the various tools available to track message and impact, the balancing act between message and selling must be addressed. In other words, when does your message become spam and when is it posting useful information? Because of the nature of this very unique social media platform, it is recognized, even by Twitter, that because you consent to follow someone, either by following or following back, that the dynamics of the relationship come with an implied permission to message. If you don’t like the message, you may simply unfollow the messenger!

During an unscientific study conducted over the course of an hour on one of the slower days for Twitter, Saturday, June 27, 2009, I counted links. Peak days are actually Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The next highest “tweeting” day of the week is Friday, probably as a result of #FollowFriday, then Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and finally, Sunday. I counted tweets during the peak period for tweets on any day, from 12:22pmEST to I:22pmEST. And, I counted the number of links per page at 5 minute intervals, for 10 minutes at a time. The number of links was actually pretty surprising! Of 800 tweets, 20 per page, 200 every 10 minutes, there were 636 links provided by 612 Tweeple. Interestingly, 2 Twitterers or Tweeple linking up more than once on the same tweet, 1 with 3 on the same tweet. That’s 79.5% of all tweets having links, provided in 76.5%of all tweets provided on the individual Twitter result pages or TWRPs!

Spam or not to spam, that is the question?

Whether ’tis nobler to tweet for tweets’ sake, as opposed to “for Pete’s sake,” little pun there, or is it OK to link away? The evidence seems to suggest that the group-think allows it, if not by rule, certainly by action. However, I cannot help hearing the admonition of Mark Twain, written in his 1904 Notebook, that…”

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).”

Certainly, the majority, by example seems to condone and even encourage what I have come to call “linking up!” I have covered my feelings on this topic at length in a previous article, and intend to address it again in an upcoming series, but suffice it to say that while I too, from time to time “link up,” I am a reformed “linker,” a reformed “linkaholic,” if you will. I do suggest an occasional program and even offer an affiliate link now and then but “I can handle it!” Sound familiar? I wonder! The fact is, linking up may be hazardous to your social media life, and to you Internet image. Why? For a myriad of reasons, some already covered and some we will cover in the upcoming articles.

Back to “metrics,” and how to quantify your Twitter experience. The first tool worth mentioning is TwitterCounter. This application has a number of useful features. The feature immediately apparent upon entering the site is the graph showing the recent follower buildup. The side panel also displays other recent trends, such as growth per day and predictions for the future. It is also possible to compare Tweeple, more than two at a time if you ever had a need for such information. Additionally, you can track your overall follow/follower growth over last few months, as well as the number of tweets during that period. The app also provides a “badge” for your blog or website, featuring the latest Twitter follower stats. There are also a number of other toys you can play around with but they are distractions, beyond the scope of this article.

The next tool to review, one that is also basic like TwitterCounter, yet offers a few nice advantages and is actually quite a powerful application, is Tweetstats. This Twitter application allows you to track how active you have been with a rather nice, colorful graph providing the number of tweets per hour, per day, per month, a nice Tweet timeline, the number of reply statistics, and the number of @’ed Tweeps. On the day this article was written, the number one spot for @’ed Tweeps belonged to DonnieWahlberg with 133, and that was as of 2:33pmEST. The day’s Top 10 Twitte apps are listed as follows: the web, as in Twitter direct, led the way with 58.6%; TweetDeck was next, at 8%; mobile web (iPhones) followed, at 5.7%; and, twitterfeed was right behind, at 5.6%. TweetStats also includes the day’s “Top 10 Trends” and “Current Trending,” useful information for marketers. The application also provides two clouds, one with the “Top 50 Trends of All Time” and the other “Today’s Twitter TrendCloud.”

While a very attractive tool, and one with a great deal of promise, the length of time required to access the information is a real drawback and one that may push Tweeple out the door, particularly those with too little time to wait for the system to load the information requested. I got this as I waited:

“Please be patient while I load your tweets. You are currently queued, with 439 other people. – Have a party! Hey, what can I say – people want their stats! ;o)”

Interestingly, once the information is finally available, in my opinion at least, it was worth the wait. Tweetstats provides a “Your Tweet Timeline,” broken down by the day (tpd) and by the month, a “Tweet Density” broken down by the day and by the hour, very cool, “Aggregate Daily Tweets,” “Aggregate Hourly Tweets,” “Replies to @’s” (as a percentage of total tweets), the “Interface” most often used (i.e., web, TweetDeck, etc.), and “Who You Retweet” (RT’s as a percentage of total tweets). This is a great tool for tracking time spent, when that time was spent, and whom you have been tweeting with, to, and about. On a single page, this offers as much useful information as any tool available.

Next in line is a site called Twist Flaptor, just one of the applications offered by Flaptor, a very useful information retrieval engine. You may already be familiar with another Flaptor application, TwitterSearch Flaptor. The Twist Flaptor application is very helpful for breaking information down over periods of time, providing a glance at various trends and activity patterns, as well. The big difference with Twist is the fact that it is very powerful and quite up-to-date. Not only can you get trends for the last 24 hours, you can get them for the past 7 days and the last 30 days, all on the same graph. It will also provide the actual tweets for any keyword, and trend, you are interested in for any given day. Very useful! The side panel on Twist also provides the current “Trending topics,” including the most popular links, something the others do not offer. Overall, this application is quite useful, particularly when used in concert with other apps, and may add to our overall marketing strategy.

Last but certainly not least is Hubspot’s Twitter Grader! The Grader application is available for Twitter and for facebook. Twitter Grader is very interesting and useful, collecting data and then running it through an algorithm to establish the measure of an individual’s reach, authority, and even their power on Twitter. As the developer of the Grader explains how it measures and “grades” users, “when you tweet, what kind of an impact does it have?” The application measures number of followers you have, the power of those followers, the number of updates and the recency of those updates, the following/follower ratio is accounted for, and the “engagement” level, based on the reach of an individual user. Once all of the above factors are entered, a grade calculation, a ranking, and an evaluation as to “areas of concern,” if any, are delivered. The Twitter Grader also offers a powerful search application, several features of adding badges to blogs and websites, others for making tweeting easier, and still others for discovering the top users, cities, states, and countries are. Overall, the HubSpot Twitter Grader is a very nice application and one every marketer should have in his or her arsenal.

There are other Twitter tools we will discuss in the next article in this series on Twitter and social media. Some of the tools to be discussed are awesome for tracking links, some are great for ascertaining overall influence, some for helpful for tracking “ReTweets,” and still others are good for establishing how deep and wide your reach is on Twitter and in social media generally. Additionally, we will discuss applications with marketing possibilities, particularly those tracking up-to-the-minute keyword and trends on a display similar to a Twitter page. Overall, Twitter offers a number of possibilities for marketers and should be considered a valuable tool. However, it is still this author’s opinion that many are simply not using Twitter properly or at least to its fullest advantage. We will continue to discuss this position during the ongoing series of articles on social media, and yes, “social media marketing.”

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Internet marketing has dramatically changed the way both people and businesses promote goods and services. The internet has really only been part of the public’s conscious awareness for a little over ten years. It is astonishing how much impact it has already had on the marketing strategies of both off and online businesses.

Even in the last couple years the advent of social marketing has revolutionize what was considered the norm for online marketing.

What new changes are in store for us next and where will it lead are questions yet to be answered. The only certainty is the changes are here to stay!

Let’s have a look at 5 ways traditional marketing strategies have been changed by the ever evolving online world:

Business Expenses

Online marketing has dramatically reduced the costs affiliated with promoting anything to the general public. The ability to contact and send messages to literally anyone online free of charge has significantly decreased the cost of advertising for many businesses big or small.

Formerly attempts to direct promotional messages to the masses were conducted thru channels that cost money. Television, radio, billboard advertising, and even direct mail could quickly chew up even the hardiest advertising budgets. Now free access to the internet has significantly relieved the pressure on business expenses due to reductions in advertising costs.

Performance Metrics

With the added ability to track marketing results online through various software applications business expenses can be even more closely monitored.

To be able to quickly and efficiently determine the performance metrics of any given promotion is priceless to any business. Reaction time to necessary cost adjustments or decisions is greatly reduced. This time savings can lead to significant profit increases or cost savings.

Global Access

The internet no longer binds people by geographical boundaries. This unlimited access has opened opportunities for businesses both large and small that formerly were not available.
Additionally, due to differences in time zones, many firms can now conduct business 24/7 with the aid of computerization. Imagine the growth potential of any business now that both the market size and hours of operation have been expanded!

Reversal of Marketing Direction

Traditional marketing strategies typically used a more aggressive approach when pursuing customers. This type of advertising relied upon delivering the intended promotional message to the consumer. The desired effect was to CREATE a need or want within the consumer to attract them to the product or service being advertised.

The typical online shopper now makes their OWN decision based upon a search they conduct. This selection is made with little influence from the promoters themselves.

Online marketing promotional efforts now direct their efforts more towards positioning their product for selection as opposed to directly promoting to the consumer. As a result promotional tactics formerly used known as “push marketing” have now transitioned into more of an approach referred to as “pull marketing.”

These types of marketing strategies requires the proper use of keyword research and utilization on the part of the seller. Also the correct usage of search engine optimization is needed to better position goods and services for higher search engine rankings.

Social Marketing

As the internet continues to evolve so do the preferences of the user and the way they interact online. Blogging as a result has seen a growth in popularity due to the interaction between users and site owners thru the ability to leave comments. Another leading factor in the growth of blogs is the frequency with which fresh content is posted.

Users want more involvement and stimulation from online sites and blogs answered this need. As of result social network sites started to dot the internet landscape and have now have fully blossomed to dominate the internet mainstream.

Marketers both big and small have recognized the potential of these sites for promotional purposes. Now social marketing is one of the most dynamic and effective means with which to promote just about anything online. From Wall Street to Main Street you can find just about any type product or service being offered on many of these hugely popular sites.

No doubt internet marketing has made an indelible impact on a global scale. From the change in promotional tactics to the geographical expanse it affordably offers, online marketing is here to stay. As it seems to continue to evolve merchants need to recognize and utilize the newly efficient ways in which goods and services will be brought to the consuming public.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

23-year-old Jonathan Rodriguez is a student of genetics, who loves interacting with new people, especially on the Internet. Being a member of several online communities, he has an impressive friends’ list that reaches out to all corners of the globe. When Jonathan was diagnosed with a brain tumor early this November, doctors advised him a complex surgery in order to save his life. However, the surgery was expensive, and it was difficult for Jonathan’s family to foot the bill. When Jonathan informed his friends about his situation, they launched an online fund raising campaign, collecting enough money to help him meet his medical expenses. Today, after a successful surgery, Jonathan is preparing to take up research in genetics, heading for a bright future.

17-year-old Carole Smith was a bubbly teenager who loved spending time with friends and family. Addicted to the Internet, she spent a lot of time chatting with friends on social networking sites. After splitting up with her boyfriend, Carole started seeking solace from her online friends. It was only after a failed suicide attempt that Carole’s horrified parents learnt of her friends’ role in the matter. In fact, the group gave lessons to Carole in self-destruction, and had providence not played a major role, Carole would have been dead by now.

Both the above incidents illustrate the far-reaching impact of social networking in our lives. With numerous websites offering facilities for social networking, the Internet has become a virtual meeting ground for people from all corners of the earth. Today, with the help of social networking websites, it is possible to find a potential life partner or get in touch with a long lost friend. You can interact with people of similar likes and dislikes, make new friends, or rally in support of some noble cause. Most social networking sites also offer facilities like blogging or chatting. While the former helps you to express your thoughts and feelings to the world, the latter can give you a feel of real time conversation.

Of the various online communities, the most popular are the ones that promote features like alumni reunion, dating and gaming. Several online gaming communities have come up in the recent years and are very popular with young users. Other online communities typically include business communities, parents’ communities and professional communities.

However, with such limitless possibilities in store, a social networking website can have a far-reaching impact on an individual. Unlike the real world, one cannot verify a person’s identity on the Internet. This at times can be a risky proposition, as unprincipled individuals may take advantage of the situation to commit a criminal act, as was evident in the case of Carole. Online communities may also become a meeting point for terrorists and extremists, posing considerable threat to national and personal security.

It is therefore, advisable for one to exercise a degree of caution and restraint while using a social networking website. Never divulge sensitive information like contact number and address to an unknown person. Meeting a person without sufficient interaction is also a risky prospect, and it is always prudent to schedule first meetings in some public place like a café or a restaurant, in order to minimize personal threat. Avoid interacting with people of extremist notions, and keep away from hate groups. Register with renowned networking sites that monitor user activities from time to time.

However, despite the possible drawbacks, the concept of social networking has become one of the most popular things in today’s world. Millions of people across the globe use social networking sites to interact with each other, breaking down barriers of distance, time, culture and religion. In fact, social networking sites foster the development of a global community, promoting peace, harmony and fellow feeling. In a world ravaged by incidents of terror, strife, disharmony and discord, social networking sites offer a hope of redemption by breaking down boundaries and bringing people together.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The influence of the Internet has caused a change in the way we communicate, learn and shop.

The Internet is probably most famous for the ability to spread information, fact or fiction. We were once limited to news editors of a local paper, then to national cable news. Now anyone can search the globe, visit local papers in foreign countries, and see the views of all sides. This ease of information has also brought with it a large amount of hoaxes, money schemes, and fallacies.

There is no question that easy access to the Internet, like the introduction of mail service and the invention of the telephone, has changed the nature of people’s connection to others in their social world. Mail made possible connections among people without physical proximity, and the telephone facilitated communication among distant people, making rapid connections possible across long distances.

But has this communication revolution changed the pure nature of interpersonal and group processes?

On the one hand, since the primary use of the Internet is communication, some people might speculate that the Internet will have positive social consequences in people’s everyday lives because it increases the frequency and quality of interpersonal communications among people. People with easy access to others would feel better connected and more strongly supported by others, leading to happiness and engagement in families, organizations, communities, and society more generally.

But, on the other hand, the ease of electronic communication may lead to weaker social ties, because people have less reason to leave their homes and actually interact face to face with other people. The Internet allows people to more easily work from their home, to form and sustain friendships and even romantic attachments from their home, to bank from their home, to vote and engage in political and social issue based discussions with others (from home).

In this variety of ways, Internet communications can potentially displace face-to-face communications. I think this point is important because psychologists in many researches have described and proved such face to face and telephone connections as being of higher quality, when viewed in terms of their contribution to satisfaction and well-being.
Reading a series of longitudinal and experimental studies (e.x. McKenna, Green, and Gleason), who test a theory of relationship formation on the Internet, these researchers directly address the argument that the psychological quality of Internet social interaction is lower than is the psychological quality of traditional face-to-face interaction.

Consider my own use. I’ve received several e-mail messages in the past hour. My boyfriend confirms the dinner for tonight. Even though it is weekend, my colleagues send me questions about the pending exam expects a quick answer. So does some graduate student from Europe, that I recently met on “MySpace” with an urgent request for a letter of recommendation. My friend Ksenija sends me an IM to tell me the latest news about her new love. And so on and so on…

I assume that I am also living a virtual life, and what’s the most interesting of all, all of my friends online, are also my friends in real life. And if they weren’t that in the past, I somehow managed to bring my cyber friends into my real life, so I could here in my real life enable real communication, real face-to-face “talks”, real exchange of emotions, feelings of happiness, satisfaction and well-being. I’d say for me, the Internet is a great new way for doing old things.

So, what else conclusion can I bring except the one that Internet life cannot stand on itself without real-life communication. It is simple: If we understand the qualities of face-to-face communication that influence the impact of such communication on people and their social interaction, we would be able to predict the probable influence of any new communication technology. However, researchers show that people sooner or later convert their cyber contacts into more traditional face-to-face, the same as I do. People use the Internet, in other words to help them achieve their real-life goals. And rather than technology’s changing people’s social and psychological reality, in other words, people change their use of technology to facilitate their creation of a desired social reality.
Internet users should closely examine their behavior, to ensure that excessive time online will not negatively impact their personal well-being. We shouldn’t throw our computers out the window, but neither should we charge on blindly into complete dependence on the Internet. As with many things in life, it seems that moderation and balance are key to maximizing the Internet’s positive effect.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

You would have to be doing the modern day version of Rip Van Winkle to not be aware of the controversy Internet Social Networks are creating. Everything from MySpace and Facebook to YouTube and LinkedIn have gained in popularity over the past few years. These sites do serve a purpose and among other things provide their users with a sense of community often lacking in the brick and mortal world.

These sites create the habit and practice of sharing, be it videos and music or friends, business connections and ideas. These sites reflect the general and specific tastes of their users. They reveal lifestyles and sensibilities, behavior patterns and perspectives. Overall, such revelations are good things for they are the celebrations of social and culture diversity in an increasingly complex civilization. Social networks help people of like minded tastes find each other, even in distant cities or nations. Their interchanges I am sure strengthens interests in a variety of lifestyles.

But then in certain hands access to such personal information may not be such a good thing. According to a report on CNN forty-three percent of employers roam the Internet in search of insight into the particular lifestyles of current and prospective employees. While I must seriously wonder whether a full 43 percent of employers use Social Networks to review their job candidates’ personal lives, cyber prying calls a lot of ethical issues into question. One has to wonder, where does scrutiny become invasive?

There are other issues as well. One has to wonder how a candidate’s personal lifestyle has an impact on his actual job qualifications. Now surely if a candidate is a habitual substance abuser or has a criminal record or even write ups for sexual harassment or sexual assault, these practices can have a most negative impact on their professional behavior. A worker with issues concerning substance abuse or volatile or criminal behavior is hardly your ideal candidate. His off the job activities can most certainly be factored into his qualifications for employment.

But then his behavior is obvious and generally accepted as unfitting behavior in or out of the work place. But then there is the other character, the guy or gal who can do his job with great facility but has made lifestyle choices that are not necessarily keeping with mainstream corporate life. The candidate could be a spiritual creature, adroit in metaphysics, but they are the unacceptable type of metaphysics, the kind that can keep him from a decent job. Some companies may consider his beliefs “witchcraft,” for example, when, clearly, they are far from it.

We are all aware of onsite surveillance of the work place. We are aware of the video cameras and the probability your email is being monitored. We can be sure with relative probability that you’re playing around on overtly sexual or questionable website during the working hours is subject to discovery and possible embarrassment. You are almost certain to leave yourself open to scrutiny when you use your company credit card to purchases items of a more personal nature.

But then these are all work related issues. You are not supposed to be surfing the Internet, whether you are shopping or looking for romance. You are supposed to be working. You are supposed to use your business credit card for business. You have seen enough Governmental Investigative Commissions, and you have certain enough horror stories about email coming back to bite you where it hurts, and that using company email for intimate or private correspondence is just plain stupid.

Most companies have clearly stated policies against personal use and abuse of company email and instant messaging. There are also clearly stated policies against posting on your own blog or posting personal information on corporate blogs. And if you are posting personal information on a corporate blog, you have to be pretty stupid or harbor a very strong desire for self-destruction. And for those of you who are uncertain about company policy, I suggest you read your company handbook. So few of us ever do,

If you have any reason to show pause, perhaps these statistics will encourage you to change your ways. According to CNN, 26 percent of America’s businesses have fired employees for misusing the Internet, and another 25 percent have discharged employees engaged in the misuse of corporate email. That’s approximately one in four who are looking for work, thanks to their penchant for email and the Internet. Then, of course, you should consider that what you post on your email or leave up on your computer is subject to the scrutiny of your coworkers. They are all gossips, after all. Oh, I didn’t mean you. But consider this, if you pay you bills on the Internet or work out your social relations over the Internet, chances are you are a sidebar in the water cooler dialogues..

But as I wrote earlier, this is all the stuff you do in the work place. As the cofounder of a background checking service, I am used to hearing anecdotes from puzzled and troubled employers. Most HR Managers have legitimate grievances in voicing their concerns. Although you might not think it fair they your Human Resources Manger is expecting, more or less, a full day’s work for a full day’s pay, that’s how it is sometimes in this cold cruel world of ours. But then, this is all work related.

What about the things you do at home, things that reflect your lifestyle, your sexual practices, politics and buying habits? Is it fair that these personal activities are being assessed by your employer? From an ideological level, it is really known of their business. From a realistic level, people will pry when given the opportunity. Visitors will sneak a peek inside your medicine and employers will read your page on My Space. It isn’t fair. But it is the reality.

I would love to advise you to resist these intrusions, to stand up for your rights and to fight tooth and nail against these invasions of privacy. But then this is the real world and you have to do those petty things like eat and pay the bills. You need the job, and more often than not the job needs you, even if your bosses have a bewildering way of showing it. Besides, if it is possible to monitor someone’s behavior and lifestyle, then the greatest probability is that your employers will continue to look into your life. Once the proverbial cat is out of the proverbial bag no one is motivated to try to stuff it back in.

In the end it’s safe to say that must of you for the most part live clean and decent lives that when combined with a little bit of fun and different interests make you unique but hardly a threat to society. As for those of us who live more esoteric lives is enough to satisfy most bosses who already know this about you anyway. Let’s face it, in today’s world of branding and segmentation there are few out there who don’t wear their behavior and beliefs if not on their sleeves then in their jeans or khakis. We are social beings, in the office as well as on the Internet, and what we like and dislike is pretty obvious to those around us.

As for the few surprises out there, perhaps they should be discovered before they disrupt the workplace. There are, after all, substance abusers, office thieves, sexual deviates and for that matter psycho killers who went undiscovered until the damage was done. Only then did we learn what percolating under the guy who was, otherwise, “quiet and kept to himself.”

So there is no real answer as to how to remedy employers spying on their workers. We could pass laws, but laws, as they say, are made to be broken. We could complain; a lot good that will do. Or we can realize it’s our life anyway, we only live it once. Live it well and take your chances. The chips will fall where they may. Remember, there is nothing worse than being boring. Almost, anyway.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The internet is now so embedded in our daily lives that all generations are becoming digitally fluent. This has had a massive impact on the way we acquire knowledge and e-learning is on the rise across the all areas of education from school to university and workplace learning. A recent Chartered Institute of Personnel Development survey showed that 80 per cent of public sector organizations use e-learning and 49 per cent of private sector businesses. In higher education, 79 per cent of students access course-specific materials at least once a week and Web 2.0 is used to discuss coursework (73 per cent use social sites), source material and communicate with both peers and lecturers .

It is now accepted that for technology to be used effectively in the learning process it must be led by firm educational principles rather than being driven by technology as an end in itself. This has led some experts to suggest that the term e-learning is replaced with something perceived as more inclusive such as interactive flexible learning . It’s also crucial to design learning solutions which users can get the best from instinctively. Expert Dr Matt Jones of the University of Swansea’s Future Interaction Technology Lab says that IT systems now play such a central role in modern life that ensuring they are designed so that their users interact more effectively with them is of paramount importance.

The impact of technology on communication
Undoubtedly the internet and devices used to access the internet are having a dramatic impact on the way we interact with all our contacts, from our peers to organizations and educators. Increasing use of social networking tools is helping to increase engagement and learners’ well being. Online tools can help usually shy or unexpressive learners to shine through use of mechanisms such as learner-generated podcasts, video podcasts, Powerpoint presentations or online contributions to discussions. New technology can also encourage deep reflection: the thought required to developing a podcast or a blog can help to improve cognitive learning, lead to better critical thinking and deep learning.

Today the relationship between learner and tutor is often less hierarchical and adopts more of a partnership approach, with formal meetings to review progress replaced by emails, ‘phone calls, texts or messages via a virtual learning environment. Most educators would agree that collaborative and blended learning approaches can help to ensure that the benefits of personal contact are combined with the undoubted benefits of elearning. Some distance elearning courses, for example, for dispersed workforces include ‘webinars’ or web seminars where the group interacts online with the tutor via text or webcam and text. Blended courses also include face-to-face sessions to encourage the group to bond and collaborate through activities such as away days or more formally in teaching sessions. And not all elements of the courses need to be online: many learners prefer to have hard copy documents, manuals or books which they can annotate and to use e-learning tools to participate in discussions and seminars online.

Social aspects of learning such as wikis and online social networking
Social networking is currently only used by a quarter of those on the internet but that figure is sure to rise. It was only four years ago in 2004 that Mark Zuckerberg developed a website which was the first iteration of the Facebook phenomena . In an indication of the growth in popularity of social networking sites, News Corp paid $580m for the parent company of MySpace in 2005 when it was just taking off and had a mere 17m members ; now it has an estimated 110m . Just two years later in 2007, Facebook was valued at an estimated $15bn . It is the UK’s number one social network with over 8 million users . Businesses are starting to use social networking tools for a variety of reasons from locating knowledge or experts within the organization to easing the path for new employees or to help post-merger bonding.

Social software can encourage learners to use e-learning as a way to collaborate and take greater control of their own learning. Learners perhaps do need to be more self-motivated than previously – in universities and in the workplace alike they are encouraged to find their own materials via the web. Web 2.0 tools also open up more possibilities for informal learning and group learning, which follow the popular social constructivist pedagogy.

Open source e-learning system Moodle was the creation of Martin Dougiamas, who holds graduate degrees in Computer Science and Education. Martin’s later Ph.D. studies examined “The use of Open Source software to support a social constructionist epistemology of teaching and learning within Internet-based communities of reflective inquiry” and this research has strongly influenced some of the design of Moodle, providing pedagogical aspects missing from many other e-learning platforms .

Moodle can be used with social networking tools in various ways and embedding social networking within a learning management system avoids ‘death by navigation’, the switching between applications identified by IT industry analysts IDC as a major hidden cost in the use of technology . Embracing social networking and including it in course management systems will help to ensure social networking is used for learning as well as social reasons. Course developers can’t afford to ignore social networking: the single largest growing Facebook demographic is people over the age of 25 who “typically spend their waking hours in the corporate world” and Facebook records show that already 30,000 Microsoft employees and 20,000 Accenture employees are subscribers. It’s certainly here with a vengeance: technology research specialists Forrester predict that “enterprise 2.0″ will spend almost $5bn on social networking tools by 2013 .

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Whether you are an internet marketing newcomer or have been around the block a few times, you are bound to make some mistakes. However, there are some mistakes that can be costly to you and your business. Fortunately, you can catch yourself prior to compromising your chance with a successful online career.

When coming in from a 9 to 5 job to internet marketing there is far more freedom given to you when you have your own business, which will present a number of challenges. Two of the most difficult things to do are to be focused and manage your time efficiently. To make an immediate impact and to help create an atmosphere that will influence your success with an internet marketing business or any home based business, you have to designate some space that will be solely allocated for your business. In addition, you must reject the urge to watch TV or play with the kids and get your work done.

Secondly…How you spend your time working is vital as well. When first starting out it is critical you take the time to research the market and the competition in your market so that you know who you are targeting and who is currently targeting your marketing. By knowing your target market you can do away with wasting your time marketing to people who are not interested. By knowing your competition you can quickly determine what marketing strategies work and what marketing strategies do not work. The idea here is to embrace the successful strategies and tweak or dismiss the unsuccessful ones. Researching the market and competition should be an on going process during the time you are actively running your business as well.

Once you have researched the market and your competition, you should select an internet marketing opportunity you feel will provide you with the best opportunity to be successful. In doing so, select an opportunity in which you will conform to your income goals and has a mentored training arrangement which will assist you in developing your business. This way you will not have to reinvent the wheel and can take advantage of the experience he or she has to offer.

The next pitfall to avoid with internet marketing is not promoting your business during the time it takes to get your web site up and running. Far too many people wait until their site is completely developed because of the fear that people will not like their site. The problem is by postponing the announcement of your site you are just taking away any potential business you could be getting.

Once you have your website up and running and have visitors coming to your site, customer service needs to be one of your top priorities. It can be easy to forget about the customer with all of the responsibilities you have as a small business owner. But, you have to remember it is the customer that determines whether or not you make any money. Therefore, put the customer at the top of your list.

Lastly, there is no room for passivity in your internet marketing business. Just because you never see your customers and may never talk to them on the phone does not mean you do not have to be social. Internet marketing is as much social as anything else. You have to be willing to go out on the internet and find prospects and build relationships if you want to have success.

You are bound to make mistakes along the way of creating your online business. However, these are some of the more costly mistakes you can avoid in starting your internet marketing business on the right foot.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Social Media Marketing combined with your website, will offer increased exposure and higher search engine rankings.

I know this sounds phenomenal and simple, but the hardest part about social media is simply getting involved and interacting with online communities. Some of the most popular communities that can be utilized to gain website traffic are: LinkedIn, Technorati, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Social media is considered one of the best standalone internet marketing strategies, this type of marketing has now become a recommended process for all SEM experts. There is a direct advantage that websites can obtain from utilizing social media. The most natural question at this point is: how does social media have an impact on search engine listings?

The Social Impact

So here we are, trying to figure out the different ways that we can improve search engine rankings. The 3 main ways of doing this are:

Inbound Links: Yes! You guessed it! Everyone needs inbound links, but very few website owners focus on getting relevant and high quality inbound links. Quality inbound links will encourage effective search engine optimization and have a positive influence on the overall ranking of your website. One of the greatest benefits of inbound links obtained from web 2.0 websites is this; they are all considered to be natural links and not reciprocal links. Hence, it is important that all website administrators, developers and designers to give the necessary importance to inbound links.

Reputation management: This social marketing method can help in building and managing your reputation on the internet. Some of the most popular and high ranking websites can help in building your online brand value and promote a positive image of your business or company over the Internet. Reputation is a very important aspect that can take your company down or help initiate a tremendous growth. Therefore, if your website is listed in Digg, Technorati, MySpace, Folkd, or others – then you should reap some benefits to your websites Trust, Authority and Page Rank.

Note: S.M. marketing has its finer points and if you are not careful about the social media website you want to be associated with then you can even have a disastrous effect on your SEO campaign and create a negative reputation on the Internet. You want to do everything carefully and make it appear to be natural progression. So don’t obtain 1,000 links on Monday and not do another thing for months – the search engines are starting to cater to common sense.

Ranking on websites like Digg, Folkd and others: Not every website can get a high rank from Day 1 itself. Ranking a website takes time. In order to succeed in these websites, you must interact regularly on them to build up your authority with each individual website. You must also provide high quality information that sets you apart in your industry, so that other people will promote your content or media. The reason social sites are beneficial is this : if you learn how to you them correctly – their authority can carry over to your website.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Has there ever been anything that has impacted society the way the internet has? Maybe fire, electricity, the automobile, the airplane or perhaps the printing press would be the closest comparison. The printing press made knowledge available to the common person. Over time it gave many great minds a chance to express themselves and share their knowledge and opinions with the rest of society. Books also motivated people to want to learn to read and write. To be able to share in knowledge and understanding.

With knowledge and understanding came motivation and the desire to aspire for a better life. Courage to fight for freedom and rights. Desire to change your circumstances and the combined will to fight oppression. The internet today shines a light on oppression and those in power are unable to hide behind lies and deception as they did in the past. The whole world is aware of what’s taking place via the internet.

With change comes pros and cons, benefits and detriments, good and bad. All aspects are debated. Those for and Those against. Through it all society evolves towards higher knowledge and better understanding.

Is the internet good or bad? I believe it is good. A true benefit to society. Providing an amazing benefit to society over all. It has it’s negative aspects such as the explosion of porn, misuse of information and the distortion of truth. For me the good out weighs the bad. Knowledge does and will set us free. The evolution of mankind does and will depend on increased knowledge.

My advice. Embrace the internet or be left behind. Control it’s intrusion into your life. Do not let it control you. Utilize it in your business because your competition is going to. Make it work for you. Do not let it work against you.

Larry Matthews

Larry Matthews is a successful entrepeneur and has operated various successful business ventures for the past 30 years.Over his life time he has risen from poverty to being a successful business person . He and his wife Peggy have been together since teenagers and his two grown daughters are active in his business along with his wife’s sister and her son. Larry has been awarded a certificate of recognition by the local municipal government for 25 years of quality service to the public and a resolution was passed by the government of Nova Scotia recognizing Larry and Peggy for their preseverance and hard work.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Every once in a while there is a creative revolution and out of the blue massive amounts of original thought appear. One would get tired trying to record it all or give credit to each and every idea, and even if they did, would each of these revelations and creative concept breakthroughs be the work of a creative genius; or would it be an incremental effect that builds very quickly, as ideas are shared and splinter and are then shared once more?

Sometimes new ideas in one area of science have applications unknown to the innovator in multiple industries, and other sectors of science. Thus, spawn new innovations and hyper-advances in those other endeavors. Perhaps, the Internet, which is often considered the greatest communication device ever created in the history of mankind has sparked another creative revolution. simply because it allows us to share information, innovations, inventions, and our research worldwide within minutes.

Does that mean that every innovator that uses the Internet to help them come up with revolutionary concepts and innovations is a creative genius? Well, it is often said that the imminent achiever creative genius is the one that comes up with the inventions or innovations. But if they did not do it themselves, and they were using tools such as the massive flow of communication, then in reality their personal flow of creativity was hyper advanced and supercharged by the communication medium.

This is not to say we shouldn’t give credit to the creative mind, or use their creative revolutionary concept to do good with it, to help solve the problems of mankind; we definitely should. Still, it makes it difficult to define who is actually a genius, and who is merely using the tools to the best of their advantage.

Now then, one could say since all humans have a brain and it is a tool for creative thought that each person who is considered a genius, is merely using their personal tools of their bio system better than the rest of us. Therefore, we call them a genius. But if half of the information of humankind is stored on the Internet, and the individual no longer has to memorize facts and figures, and all the concepts that came before them, then the Internet and the world’s information is only an add-on memory to the human brain.

Therefore let’s re-ask the question; are modern-day creative revolutions in innovation actually the work of a genius? Think of that.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

When people want to check out the latest products and services, one option and more convenient way for most is to search for it online. Online shopping is getting popular especially to those who don’t have the luxury of time because of a very busy lifestyle. With a few clicks, online shoppers can compare pricing, availability and when applicable, the shipping time frame. As competition in today’s business continues to build up, both big and small companies are devising plans to get ahead by way of online marketing.

Internet marketing simply means utilizing the web to market products and services. With more and more people getting online and searching for a lot of things other than academic concerns, this type of marketing is a good way to integrate your present traditional business model with modern ways to reach the market.

Also called e-Marketing, web or online marketing, this type of marketing can reach many people in any part of the world that uses the internet in a very short span of time. Internet marketing is not simply a website promotion activity. It involves different business models to be effective.

Aside from the technical aspects (that is by having a business website to begin with), it also incorporates the design, content, advertising and development to the marketing plan. Search engine optimization and marketing, use of PPC and even email marketing may be used to complement the total strategy.

Most traditional businesses use internet marketing to gather leads and explore additional market. This is a good way to gauge the market and improve on current services and products.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you’re not presently using an Internet or email fax service
you could be losing out on a lot of benefits and advantages.
Any company or individual must closely examine the benefits
of using Internet fax, you may be pleasantly surprised at what
you will discover.

First, as you probably already know, Internet or email faxing
uses the Internet and your email system to send and receive faxes.
You simply sign up with an Internet fax service provider and
receive the use of a Toll free or local fax number for a small
monthly fee. You can check and send faxes from your own online
login control panel and you can also store your faxes online.

Once you start using an Internet fax service you will realize
it has many advantages. Here’s a quick run-down at what you
will find:

1. Lower Costs

The set-up cost of any Internet fax service is much cheaper.
There is no need for a traditional fax machine and NO need for
an extra phone line. This will save you or your company money in
the short term and over the long haul. If your faxing requirements
or needs are very minimal, you can sign up for a lite service with
very inexpensive monthly or yearly fees. Some yearly fees are as
low as $20 or monthly fees under $5.

2. Convenient And Portable

Internet fax is very convenient and portable, you can access
it anywhere, anytime — wherever you find the Internet.
And these days that’s just about anywhere on the planet.

Because it’s web based, you are not tied down to the office fax
machine or limited to any physical location. Online fax services
are perfect for mobile professionals and business travelers.
It is also ideal for those people who work in the field: real
estate agents, sales people, medical personnel, engineers and
architects. Those workers will find Internet fax is flexible,
portable and very convenient to have.

3. Scalable For Any Business

Internet fax is completely scalable to meet any company’s
faxing needs, big or small. Most Internet fax services will
offer special rates for large scale fax broadcasting and other
faxing requirements of large businesses. It can be a good
alternative faxing service for most companies, one that is
easier to manage and run. A viable alternative to the old
fax machine whose days may just be numbered.

4. It’s Easier and Less Messy!

Internet fax is very easy to do, just attach a TIF, PDF, or
JPG file to an email and hit send. It is also a lot cleaner,
no more messy inks or paper jams. It truly is faxing simplified.

5. Internet Fax Is Progressive

Not to sound like a technical or business snob but Internet
faxing is the modern way to fax. In our increasing technical
world, it is probably the right route to take, unless we
want our company or business perceived as operating in the
dark ages. Granted, this is more a perception than actual
fact. Many companies and workers would rather have their
work confined to the office and the old fax machine — don’t
bother me after business hours, thank you please!

However, from a competitive angle, it would be beneficial for
any company or business to be permanently tied into their
work or clients. Imagine not getting that latest real estate
bid or losing that million dollar order that came in by fax
over the weekend and had to be finalized immediately, ouch!

As you can see from the examples and points stated above,
Internet fax does have many advantages and benefits. Online
faxing can save you money and help make your company more
competitive. Using or switching to Internet Faxing is one
business move that requires some thought and consideration
on your part.

Online faxing is the wave of the future and it is gaining ground
quickly in the business community. Since an Internet fax service
has so many advantages over faxing the old-fashion way, can you
really afford not to test-run this relatively new way of faxing?
The benefits of using an Internet fax service will make it worthwhile
for you or your company. It is a smart way to do business.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Of the many different methods of communication today, faxing is perhaps one of the most popular kinds. Faxing or facsimile, makes use of communication devices (such as a telephone network) to transmit a copy of a document from one place to another. Faxing is popularly used either for personal communication or for business purposes. It’s an easy and reliable method of conveying information over long distances.

Because of the advent of the more advanced Internet technology, even faxing has become more efficient and modern. We can now send fax documents online. This is done through the Internet fax.

Internet fax or also called as Email-fax or E-fax, is a communication method where a person uses the Internet and e-mail address to send and receive fax documents. The fax is transmitted with the use of an online fax provider and with a toll-free fax number.

Compared to traditional faxing, Internet faxing is more reliable, more cost-friendly and more flexible. Many people are converting to this type of fax technology today.

Internet fax has several advantages over the conventional method of faxing documents.

* You won’t have to worry about getting a fax machine- Fax machines are bulky office equipments, and using them can cause several drawbacks, such as paper jam problems and extra phone line installations. With Internet faxing, all you need to have is an efficient PC with an Internet connection and a functional e-mail address. There’s no more need for messy paper rolls.

* You can simultaneously receive multiple faxes- With the typical fax machine, you have to wait for a fax to finish transmitting before you can send another. This can be time-consuming. With Internet faxing, you can send and receive fax documents all at the same time.

* You don’t need to print out hard copies of the documents that you would be sending. If you have a computer-typed document to be faxed, you need to print it out before you can fax it. But with Internet faxing, all you have to do is save and attach the document to your e-mail and then send it. You can also keep the fax messages in the e-mail for safe-keeping.

* Internet fax messages are more personalized and protected. Since you can store your faxes in a typical password protected e-mail, the risk of another person reading your fax documents is lower.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Offline Network Marketing was once something that people easily got success in; that was before there was a definite negative stigma about MLM. You still hear stories in magazines published in various MLM companies about how someone achieved the highest pin in the company in a dramatically short period of time, typically a year or less. That always nearly occurs in the economies of third world countries, such as China, India, Mexico, South Africa, etc.

Why do you think there’s such a difference between first-world countries such as Australia and USA, and third world countries such as China and Mexico? Is it because third-world countries still haven’t achieved matured economies; economic development is still progressing? Or is it because people in third-world countries see the opportunity as something with more value and work harder than people with “good” lives in first world countries? Is it a reflection of the quote “Sometimes the good things in life get in the way of the great things in life” often passed around MLM communities? Is it because everything thinks “It’s a pyramid!!” much the same way as they think about get-rich-quick schemes? Well, there are some truth in those explanations and more.

Network Marketing is essentially just a form of distributing products, a kind of “human franchising”. Instead of buying products from shops and stores, people buy products from people. If it just stays that way it’s just like running a business as a Sole Trader without the shop. But people nowadays are always skeptical; people don’t buy with logic, they buy with emotion and back it up with logic. Emotion changes the way people think about everything in the world.

The interaction between buyer and seller is much more personalized because there is no store or shop separating the two. Thus there is much more emotion involved, it’s face-to-face and that’s where it gets interesting. Instead of getting “profit” as a Sole Trader would, the distributor of the MLM gets “commission” to the outside world (or “retail profit” to the insiders). There are two sides to every story, and just the phrasing of the end result of a buy-sell transaction changes the opinions of people.

Outsiders, the buyers, think that the distributor gets “commission” because they still see them as employees working for a business, rather than being independent business owners. Essentially they are operating their own business (or franchise, per se) without any of the headaches of traditional small-business owners. Insiders, the sellers, believe that they receive “retail profit” because they do believe they are running a true business (as reinforced by the trainings and teachings of their upline).

Along with profit that distributors receive when they sell products, they also receive bonuses, overrides or royalties (depending on the terms used in their particular MLM) on the sales of the people the introduce into the business. This is especially hard to explain to prospects as they still think in their “employee” eyes, and this is where MLMs are confused with get-rich-quick schemes.

Essentially people in first-world countries forgot about the profit they get from selling products and only focus on the royalties they receive from their downlines, which is where the real “passive” income comes from. This changed the whole concept that network marketing was thought as; distributors only cared to promote their business opportunity to everyone they met.

After the effects of being hit by advertisements twenty-four seven and the modern lifestyle of instant gratification, distributors only cared about generating a massive downline in order to generate the large amounts of money that was promised in the opportunity meetings. Distributors, about 99% being ordinary people, lacking the money to use marketing techniques that traditional companies use, were forced to heavy-handed tactics involving prospecting anyone in a 3 foot radius, cold calling, and inviting your friends and family to “just a meeting”.

After a couple of decades of such techniques a negative stigma surrounded MLM, much the same way as one is cast around telemarketers and dodgy car-salesmen. Even the mention of the word “MLM” or “network marketing” caused people to shut their eyes and ears and attempt to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

Even so, stories of people involved in MLM in third-world countries rave of fast-tracked success despite the problem of the negative stigma attached to MLM. Why is that? Like what was described above, emotion cause people to view the same thing in different ways. People in third-world don’t care about the negative association with MLM, all they care about is getting out of the life that they are currently in. And this might mean the difference between an early death of starvation and life. Reportedly in Mexico prospects could not even afford the price of one product, and so instead they buy a portion of one product until they had enough income from selling products to buy the business license!

The problem with MLM in first-world countries is the stigma that surrounds it, and the complexity of a modern lifestyle in a striving economy. There are only two reasons why people stay with a MLM: a love of the product, or relationships with people who undertake the MLM. The main problem to even get success in MLM in a first-world country, or even achieve success faster in a third-world country is to generate enough leads that will convert to either distributors or customers.

The stigma of MLM prohibits promoting the business opportunity directly. Sure, you could do that but the result will be very little leads for any amount of effort. You can promote the product and after the prospect becomes either a lover of the product or builds strong relationships with people involved in the MLM, they might ask about the business opportunity. But promoting a product in a modern world filled with advertisements and competition everywhere you look is going to be tough for a single person. Yes, you might get help from your team members but in the end people are working for their own individual results.

A new solution arrives in the form of the internet. However hasn’t the internet been around for decades? Yes, but much like everyone else who uses the internet to promote their business, network marketers just increase the advertisements and sales pitches that the internet is already overflowing with. People turn a blind eye to advertisements or sales pitches on the internet much the same way as on television, radio, newspapers, magazines and all the posters on the walls.

Business in the modern world is about relationships. Relationships with the customers will make them trust you more easily and keep them coming back for more. There’s enough competition out there even different network marketing business opportunities for them to just take their business elsewhere. But how do you do that on the internet?

Get rid of all the sales pitches and paid advertising; put forth quality content that doesn’t even promote any products and people will start flocking to you. Who would someone rather do business with? The person who gave out good quality information for free, or the person who just puts out sales pitches or advertising like the rest of the competition. If you position yourself as an expert and build good relationships with potential prospects even before they become customers, they will trust you. When you do promote your business opportunity to them on the back-end after they’ve become customers, even with the negative stigma attached to MLM, they will have known you and trusted you long enough to consider it as a real option.

You’ve read the article, but don’t where to start using the internet to attract high-quality MLM leads?

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Lets think about this rationally, would you ever try to fix a broken bone, cure a headache, or make your belly feel better by rubbing stuff on them. NO! Well, then why would you choose to do that with Acne? A ton of the main line commercial ache treatments, for example Active as as Proactive for example, only try to control ache from the outside, and don’t do anything about the internal issues that are causing it. Your are often just left with a red – and now men.

You have acne just because your body is out of balance, and acne is a way of your body letting you know that you need to change what is happening on the interior. But you do not want to do that with hard machines, which can hurt your liver and have other dangerous effects, so it is best to seek out quality natural paths to cure acne. There are many special blends of herbs, botanical, and/or natural compounds such as Vitamin E and Alpha Lipoic Acid, which are all available widely and cost awfully little.

Why Go Natural?

Simply because it is the most effective way that it has worked – worked – and worked for me, personally – in the long run. No one how simply uses topical treatments ever has a completely clear face, and relying on medicines from a doctor can be very damaging in alternative routes. They are regularly terribly hard medications and should not be treated trivially. A natural approach is the modern solution to this problem. Treat yourself better and your skin will be better as a result.

For girls, acne is mainly caused by two different hormones, that will become out of alignment. The hormonal imbalance causes the body to secret more oil, which ultimately becomes clogged in your pores, and then forms the lovable little red bump that we can a pimple.

Antioxidants are also very potent as hormonal equalizers, as well as “blood purifiers”, and they actually can aid your body in getting over current acne breakouts, acne scaring, and help seriously in stopping new breakouts as well.

1.) Fix the hormonal imbalances in your body that are causing the difficulty in the 1st place.
2.) Reduce the quantity of redness, flakiness, and swelling, and return your skin to its healthy state.
3.) Make sure to drink at lot of water. This helps seriously with your skin.
4.) Relax. Try a calming exercise for when you get stressed out.
5.) Use a light, non-oil based sunscreen, so as to make sure that you don’t clog your pores further and make your breakouts even worse.

This, however, only scratches the surface, as eat all that you can be doing, very simply and without spending much at all. There are various guides on the Internet, but I think that the one by Chris Gibson is truly top notch. He is an authority on the subject, having spoken on TV many times, and truly has a great natural guide that helped me get rid of my acne very quickly indeed.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Your mind is like a gold mine and it can bring you great riches if you would only harness it.

Indeed Philip Emeagwali did give us great wisdom in his September 23, 2006 speech delivered at University of Alberta, entitled “Ideas, Not Money, Alleviate Poverty”.

Ideas, which certainly issue forth from the human mind, are the true riches that could take any person (or nation) from poverty to prosperity. Have you heard the story of the man who spent a life time in poverty searching for riches out there, only to find, on his death bed, that his house was sitting on top of a rich gold mine? If you think this man’s case is pathetic, then think again of any man who in his twilight years discovers the great riches, (far more plentiful than any gold mine) that reside in his mind — the storehouse that fills your cup to overflowing when you harness is properly.

Inside every person are multiple oil wells and gold mines as richly exemplified by the great discovery and magnificent contribution to science and hence wealth and prosperity by Philip Emeagwali (Africa’s Bill Gates) himself.

I have for long cherished a quote I borrowed from the Courier Magazine to the effect that, the greatest resource of any nation is contained in the brains of her citizens, their ingenuity resourcefulness and hard productive work.

I have since read tons of volumes which all attest to this same truth which has just been refreshed in my mind by Emeagwali’s great speech. He says “The potential for progress and poverty alleviation … relies on capital generated from the power within our minds, not from our ability to pick minerals from the ground or seek debt relief and foreign assistance”.

Many people think that only money could create prosperity, but experts have for long disputed this notion; prosperity and all riches are the result of the crystallization of ideas into concrete form.

Take care of your mind and nurture its development as your greatest resource, your gold mine and oil well, and you will never be without riches. The control of the mind and directing of it toward the achievement of worthwhile goals is the little known secret that is responsible for the difference between poverty and prosperity.

The Storehouse of Ideas

Ideas are the fruits of the great and often neglected garden of the human mind. Yes, your mind; the great riches of the human mind so perplexed Earl Nightingale that he asserts, with great enthusiasm, in his gold record “The Strangest Secret”: you see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth! How right he is! For truly in spite of the major strides made in science we are yet to get to the depths of the secrets of the human mind.

You can generate many useful ideas by simply using your imagination. The synthetic imagination is the faculty of the mind that uses known facts and ideas to arrange them into new combinations. This could be of great use to you if you fix in your mind what you really want out of life. If you clearly define the object of your creation and keep it refreshed in your mind, you can use your synthetic imagination to solve many problems like the great inventors of old did. The world’s great inventor, Thomas Edison of electric-lamp-fame used synthetic imagination for most of his inventions.

The creative imagination, though, is the workshop of the real genius; this is the medium of communication resorted to by the genius when synthetic imagination would not yield his desired results. Through creative imagination, you can commune with the Source of All Knowledge. Hold in your mind a clear mental image of what you want to create, ACT the part and then leave the rest to The Creator.

In spite of the great achievements of our great universities, it is through this Source of All Knowledge that the most reliable and infallible knowledge and Ideas are received. In the words of Robert Collier, author of “The Secret of the Ages”, creative imagination “is the means by which we avail ourselves of all the good which God is constantly offering to us in such profusion. It is the means by which we can reach any goal, win any prize”. And as he put it elsewhere, CREATIVE IMAGINATION BRINGS FINANCIAL REWARDS!

Harness the resources of your mind and out of it will flow abundant riches!

It Cannot Be Done?

“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt” says the Bard of Avon. William Shakespeare’s words are as true today as they were when he uttered them centuries ago. Man’s greatest enemy is himself in that he doubts his own capacity to perform miracles. Yet the oldest of admonitions is, “man know thy self”!

A clear case of one man who harnessed the resources of his mind and created riches is Nigerian-born Kase Lawal who came to the United States as a student and having completed his studies went into business growing his CAMAC Holdings from humble beginnings into an oil industry giant. His company, reports Ebony Magazine, “raked in a mind boggling $1 billion in 2005 alone”. Kase Lawal’s advice to young people is to go out there and be courageous. You should not let the lack of money hinder your progress. Teaching youths to learn from his personal experience, Kase advises that you should have the courage “to go out there meet with people to tell people what you want to do, what you are trying to do and what you can do.”

Out-of-the-box thinking

Philip Emeagwali did mention in his speech, that he used out-of-the box-thinking to create his most outstanding contribution to the sphere of knowledge; a great feat that earned him the enviable accolade of being “A Father of the Internet”. This same kind of thinking could be used to solve your personal problems, and national socio-economic and political problems currently besetting the world. Do not just think of things as they are, but rather use your imagination to perceive things as they COULD/MIGHT be.

The mind was made to soar; you should not confine your thinking to established norms and trends only. If Galileo and Newton shackled their minds to then-conventional thinking, the world would not have made such giant strides as we all proudly cherish in our modern civilization today. If Emeagwali and his contemporaries did not get “out of the box” you would not have been reading this article because there would have been no such thing as the internet!

Free your mind of its fetters and let it soar as it was designed to be, be receptive to flashes of inspiration and hunches and strengthen your thoughts and efforts with faith; this is the key to success in any field!

The productive utilization of your mind, that idea-generating machine, is a great compliment to the Creator. Mine ideas from your mind and ACT on your ideas, for truly Ideas, not money, are the key to enduring riches!

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Learning English can be a challenging and daunting task. Fortunately, technological advancements have now made learning the English language much more easy, fun, and convenient. One technologically advanced method that has improved the way people learn English is the Internet. This modern form of communication has opened the world to a whole new way of learning the English language. The vast resources on the web makes learning English a less intimidating undertaking.

When one embarks on the process of learning English, they require a number of learning materials such as text books, videos, and audio tapes. Traditionally, it was difficult to locate all of the appropriate educational materials. It took a lot of time an effort to find the most appropriate learning tools. Now, with a simple click of the mouse, one has a world full of materials that they can access. For instance, sites such as YouTube contain many video lessons on learning to speak English.

They are also English language learning sites where you can find every resource needed to learn the language. These special English languages learning sites are designed so that one can learn the language online in the comfort of their own home. These sites provide learning material in such areas as pronunciation and vocabulary, fun learning games, quizzes, English books, articles, magazines to read online, English chat forums that provide a place where one can meet other learners and practice conversational English, lessons for beginners, as well as a place to share English stories and poetry. Instead of buying piles of newspaper, books, and magazines and then sifting through information that does not interest you, you can find anything that interests you. The Internet has just about every medium that uses English. This includes English newspapers, magazines, journals, video, music, e-books, online news networks, and radio. You can find just about any topic online. It is much more fun to learn English with a topic that is interesting.

There are also online English learning sites that provide teachers who give lesson plans that includes tests, converse live with students, or correspond with them through email. Lessons can be obtained any time and any where. All that one requires is access to a computer and the Internet. For those with a busy life, students have the ability to learn at their own pace. These programs are designed to meet the students’ needs and have top native-English speaking teachers.

The Internet also contains sites where learners can utilize internet voice communication tools to practice their language speaking skills. People can speak with others in order to practice and even make some great friends. It is always beneficial to have good support system that will help motivate you to keep learning. There are also discussion boards, chat rooms, and email, where people can practice how to write and speak English properly. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are a great way to meet and interact with English speakers.

Learning the English language will improve job opportunities and open up the doors to career advancement. Because the Internet has become a big part of most people’s lives, the wealth of information posted from all over the world makes it a valuable tool when learning to speak and write the English language.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Modern technology is a great help for every people search. Whenever people need some answers, every individual turns their head directly to the computer and search in the internet. There are lots of information that you can learn from the computer, as we all know that internet is a one-stop shop for all the information that people need.

There are lot of people who take a resource on the computer to search for solutions and answer to the questions that arises from their mind. Because of these, there is a continuing increase in numbers of those people who uses this method. Whenever there is a need for people to search like those products which they need to use regularly or some products that they need to avail, they usually consult the internet. This is how in demand the internet is when it comes to the needs of every individual.

The information on what and how people search for a product allows the manufacturer to understand why people need that certain product. It gives a clear market for all the products that people need. It also gives the manufacturer to exert more effort to develop more about that product. In this way, they can meet the demands and requirements of the consumers.

The internet shows a clear vision on how important the internet to both consumer and manufacturer. It is a great help for making some innovations to improve the product. It gives satisfaction for every people search. You can find people, products or services by using people search online.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

An IP changer just may be the solution among Internet surfers who are concerned with keeping their identity anonymous on the Internet. It gives a better solution in maintaining an Internet user’s privacy while browsing online. Furthermore, frequent IP address change also provides better security.

There are many benefits of using an IP changer software by frequent changes in one’s IP address while surfing the Internet. IP Change can help people who frequently visit blog sites hide their activities on the sites they visit. One can also change their IP address when they want to remain anonymous as they participate in different chats and forums.

There are also people who prefer to have an IP changer once they participate in ICQ and when sending emails as a means of protecting their email activities. An IP changer can also be a helpful tool when playing online games when the online site game bans players from other countries. When using P2P, a change in IP address can help one to use well-known torrents. With FTP, changing IP will allow secure exchange of information between friends. When using the World Wide Web, frequent change of IP address can also protect one’s general and personal internet activities.

Because of the innumerable benefits of frequent changing of IP address, there are several IP changer solutions available these days. Because hiding the IP address is an effective solution for preventing intruders from obtaining valuable information from one’s computer. Software for IP changer can be a helpful tool in keeping anonymity throughout Internet surfing.

Many IP changer software have tools that can help one technically change its user’s IP as well as execute other performances such as hiding the IP address and the ability to change the address according to your chosen country. This valuable tool can help hide a person’s identity on the web, protect financial information of a user such as their credit card information and other personal information.

A good IP changer can help make these changes without unnecessary trouble with the Internet connection and is easy to use and access. It helps prevent information theft to take place as well as improve the Internet speed with better data encryption about websites and instant messages.

With these benefits, an Internet user has the advantage of researching on the net anonymously, block hackers from getting access to their port, and avoid spam mails and unsolicited ads from one’s email inbox. It gives them better pleasure of browsing the Internet securely with better privacy protection free from malicious snoops of third parties in the Internet.

With the modern technologies used in IP changer software there is better solution from the common problems of security issues when using the Internet, banning of IP addresses from some websites and information theft. Some software for changing the IP address has added tools and functions that can aid with online marketing. It can allow its users enjoy secure web mail services use multiple IP locations, monitoring overseas campaigns on search engines, and other entrepreneurial uses. These make IP changer software valuable for enjoying better protection and invisibility on the Internet.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The Heroes of the Internet World

Assuming that everything runs as expected, in the near future there will be great heroes coming out of the Internet world who will be hailed throughout the world. Who are they? No, they are not Santa Claus(es). They are the founding members of a free money-making program. When this article was written (March 18, 2007) there are thousands of people all over the world who are excitedly waiting for the official release of this Program’s Viewbar which will add the screen features of million computers of its members world wide and at the same time add to their source of income while surfing the Internet. Since November 2006 the founding members of this program have been working hard to build the so-called Economic Network. Various ways, both online and offline are used by the members to grow their network. Up to this time (March 18, 2007) there is one member who has gathered over 25,000 downlines in less than 4 months. Translated into monetary unit using the Program’s Online Calculator, it will give him or her (This member prefers to remain anonymous, possibly “him” since his title is Mr.) more than US $100,000.00 monthly. It will be a truly shocking and nerve-racking news to many established millionaires who have been working so hard and spending so much to earn their fortune, because this person spends very little or almost none if you exclude the fee to get access to the Internet.

New Concept of Internetting

Going on line or surfing the Internet to many citizens of the world, especially those of the under developed and developing or the third world, equals to going to a big mall. By that statement, the author wants to emphasize the fact that to many people of this class, going online is on their lowest priority list. Why do you have to go to a mall if you get nothing to spend or if you cannot afford even to pay the bus fare to go there. All this time, the access to the Internet belongs to those people who are able to pay for it and the Internet itself belongs to a limited number of the Internet geniuses wearing the clothes of ISP (Internet Service Providers), Internet Industrialists, and Online Merchants. For the majority of the Internet users, it is merely a means of information searching, long distant communication by email, chatting, video conference, alternative entertainment in the forms of online gaming, audio and video streaming, and education in the form long distant schooling. It is very unlikely that these people will feel that they own the Internet.

The coming of this free money-making program will change the way people view the Internet and the true Power of Networking. More people will be invited to use the Internet since they know that this modern facility offers them a new source of income without having to invest much beyond the fee to get access to the Internet Service. At this difficult time where million of people are jobless, an opportunity offered by this program is truly like an oasis in a vast desert. Where else can you go to be paid while doing something you really like doing even for nothing? This free money-making program is possibly the only answer to that question, at least for the time being.

Positive Impacts Brought by A Free-Money Making Program

The presence of a free money-making program will certainly bring many positive impacts on the whole world. Among those impacts which can clearly be seen and predicted to happen in the near future are:

1. There will be more people attracted to use the Internet for economic reasons, which is good for boosting the activities of interstate economic relationship and distributing welfare and prosperity throughout the world.

2. As more people use the Internet, it will be more appreciated as a an effective medium of advertising, communication, business, information searching and dissemination, and hopefully education for the citizens of the whole world.

3. The problem of digital divide will hopefully be resolved as more and more governments realize the importance of the Internet for the improvement of their citizens’ quality, welfare, and prosperity.

4. The Internet will hopefully be an agent of equalizing of information, education, economy, welfare, and prosperity.

The statement “You Own the Internet.” seems to be logical when applied with the concept that this free money-making program is going to implement soon. It is very much expected that more positive uses of the Internet will be realized and negative uses will be minimized.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Using criminal background checks to find out the truth about people is nothing new. In fact, they have actually been around for a very long time, ever since the 1800’s. Nowadays, you can harness the wonder of the Internet to make your background checks as powerful and revealing as possible.

Criminal background checks are essentially where you get a report of someone’s criminal past from a company who deals with public records. A ‘background report’ is basically a report which details such background information as someone’s financial details, criminal past and marital history. They actually allow you to keep your identity anonymous whilst revealing the truth about other people. Because background checks have long been seen as a way to quickly find out someone’s criminal past, you can easily use them to determine exactly what someone has been up to, without any bias in the matter.

Performing criminal background checks on the Internet is all about trying to find the most information about someone from one background check. This means that you need to be able to use a website which actually has the most amount of records & information about people, giving you the best possible glimpse into their past. There are several different background checks websites online, but the most popular (and often cited as the best) is called “Public Records Pro”.

This website not only has over 400 million different records, but it also stores a multitude of records for each background check. This means that when you perform one background check, you’re actually getting access to a lot more information than just someone’s criminal history. You’re getting access to such high quality information as their past marriages, financial history and criminal convictions

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Suffering from a bad credit history?

If you have a poor credit score, you are most likely to get a loan that does not involve the credit check. It can be hard to find lenders who are ready to give unsecured loans with no credit check. This is because the unsecured loans do not need any collateral and they would need the credit score to be good. Bad credit score can prevent you from getting accepted. Credit plays a vital role in the approval process. There are lots of lenders who would straight away neglect your loan application after finding that the credit history is not good. Accepting people with bad credit history would mean high risks for the lender.

Getting unsecured loans through the internet:

There are many solutions for people requiring these loans. It is difficult to get the loans with a bad credit history. But it is not impossible. I will tell you few solutions in this article that will help you get these loans as soon as possible. The best solution to get the unsecured loans is to use the internet. There are so many lenders waiting to give you the loan. They require no credit check and thus this might be the best solution for all people with a poor credit. The process is so simple that the loans would be given in a very short period. Unsecured loans do not require any collateral. But a major disadvantage of these loans is that the rate of interest is very high. Make sure you get the right amount of cash you need. Do not get more than what you really require. This will only amount to higher interest.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

So where did it all start? In the first of three posts on the history of the Search Engines, I look at the history of the internet itself and the forerunners to modern, web-based search engines (in the period immediately prior to the emergence of the first widely-used web browser). In this whistle-stop tour, I take in now forgotten tools like Archie, Veronica and WAIS.

A brief history of the Internet

The internet is arguably the greatest invention of the 20th Century, allowing the almost limitless connection of people to each other and to the resources they seek. Whilst the invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio and computer set the stage for this communications revolution, it was a series of rapid developments in technology during the 1960s that paved the way for the creation of the internet.

The grandparents of the internet were arguably J.C.R. Licklider and Leonard Kleinrock, both at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Licklider was the first head of the computer research program at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and in August 1962 wrote a paper about a “Galactic Network” of globally interconnected computers, through which everyone could quickly access data and programs from any site. Kleinrock made this dream achievable through his work on packet switching theory (from 1961 to 1964) and the creation of the first (however small) wide-area computer network (or WAN), in 1965 (connecting a TX-2 computer in MIT to a Q-32 in California).

Kleinrock worked closely with Lawrence G. Roberts in the creation of the WAN and it was Roberts who went on to pen the design for ARPANET (the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) in late 1966, collaborating increasingly with teams from the National Physics Laboratory (NPL) in the United Kingdom and the RAND Corporation (both of whom had independently developed packet switching technologies without being aware of each other’s work).

During 1968, Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN) were selected to build ARPANET and in September 1969 the first node was installed at the University of California (UCLA). A month later, the second node was added (at Stanford Research Institute) and the first Host-to-Host message ever to be sent on the Internet was launched from UCLA. The month in which I was born!

During the period from 1970 to 1972, many computers were added to ARPANET, protocols developed and software written. In October 1972, March Ray Tomlinson at BBN developed the first email system and sent the first email (”quertyuiop”). In the following year, the first ARPANET connections outside the US were made, to NORSAR in Norway and to University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom. For a great 1972 video documentary on ARPANET, visit my blog.

Whilst the original ARPANET grew quickly during the 1970s, it remained mainly an academic preserve. The key next step in the development of the modern web began in 1982, with the adoption by many participants of the TCP/IP protocol, which was faster, easier to use, and less expensive to implement than earlier protocols. This in turn made it much easier for small networks to connect to the network and for those links to branch in every direction. From this point on, all networks that use TCP/IP refer to themselves as part of the Internet (rather than ARPANET) and the standardization on TCP/IP allows the number of Internet sites and users to grow exponentially.

To use an analogy, these developments created the easel but there were still precious little paints for the artist to use. Most early mass-market internet tools were overly technical in nature and difficult to use. Any of you remember terms like WAIS (wide-area search), Archie (file search), Gopher (data retrieval), Newsnet and more?

Two key tools were to change all this forever. In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee and the team at CERN (the European Particle Physics Laboratory) invented the hypertext-based World Wide Web. Four years later, in 1993, the world’s first commercial-strength web-browser, Mosaic, was launched by Marc Andreesen of the National Center for SuperComputer Applications (NCSA) in the US. Tim’s original specifications for URIs, HTTP and HTML were further refined over the coming years and Andreesen went on to develop the Netscape web browser, based on the original MOSAIC kernel.

The rest, as they say, is history! Since this point, the internet has grown exponentially. According to internetworldstats.com, in December 1995, there were just 16 million internet users (0.4% of the world population) but this had grown to 361 million by December 2000 (a 2,300% increase) and 1,018 million by December 2005.

The World’s first search engines

The father and mother of the modern search engine were Archie and Veronica. Archie, developed in 1990 by Emtage, Heelan and Deutsch (students at McGill University in Montreal) was, in a sense, the world’s first search engine. Archie was a tool used to index FTP archives and allowed users to search for and find specific files. The user had to have a pretty good idea of the file name they were looking for, as Archie only indexed filenames (although wildcards were supported, which helped).

In the earliest versions of Archie, the system worked by simply running a job once a month to log-on to each of the member FTP servers and request a listing. These listings were stored in local files to be searched using the Unix grep command. Once a user had found a file in the Archie index, they had to connect to the FTP host and rummage around until they found the file they were looking for (much like the early days of Napster music file sharing nearly 10 years later). This was not for the faint-hearted and the system was only heavily used by the tech-head or academic!

The name Archie derives from the word “archive”, but became associated by users with the comic book series of the same name, created by Bob Montana (featuring the fictional teenage characters Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Forsythe “Jughead” Jones characters). As such, when Gopher began to take off in 1992, Foster and Barrie (at the University of Nevada) named their newly developed Gopher search engine Veronica after Archie’s comic book girlfriend. Officially, Veronica stood for “Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computer Archives”.

Veronica was a constantly updated database of the names of almost every menu item on thousands of Gopher servers and could be searched directly from most major Gopher menus. Veronica was, technically, an improvement on Archie in that it (a) indexed the full title of a document rather than just the filename and (b) connected the user directly to the source file with a single click. What neither Archie nor Veronica did, however, was to fully index the target document. This meant that both lacked so-called “semantic ability” – i.e. the ability to connect documents with diverse titles but similar content.

In 1991, Brewster Kahle (at Thinking Machines) launched Wide Area Information Server (WAIS) at Xerox PARC. WAIS only enjoyed a brief presence on the stage of internet history. However, it could certainly be described as the first genuine forerunner to modern search engines, in the sense that it was the first to fully index all the text in Gopher and other internet documents. As Kahle put it at the time, he wanted users to be able to “jump into the middle of the scroll”. WAIS supplemented Veronica, which only searched the menu titles of Gopher sites, but was itself quickly rendered obsolete by the rapid growth of the World Wide Web (which came to replace or front-end all major FTP, Archie, Gopher and WAIS properties).

Comment

At time of writing, internet sales are approximately 15% of all sales in the UK (having risen by 50% over the last year). The numbers are higher still in North America. U-Switch predict 40% of all sales will be over the internet by 2020 and Google is now the world’s number one ranked brand; not bad for a business less than ten years old! Sometimes it seems incredible to me that so much has happened so quickly. My reasons for writing this series of articles is, in part, to pay testimony to those early internet and search pioneers, lest we forget their vital contributions.

In part two of the series, on my blog, I review web search before Google came to dominate; looking at the first web crawler, WWW Wanderer, and early pioneers like Altavista and Northern Light.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

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How To Cover Your Tracks On The Internet
By John Deprice

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Every single time you access a website, you leave tracks. Tracks that others can access. If you don’t like the idea, find out what software can help you cover them.

Anti Tracks

Anti Tracks is a complete solution to protect your privacy and enhance your PC performance. With a simple click Anti Tracks securely erase your internet tracks, computer activities and programs history information stored in many hidden files on your computer.
Anti Tracks support Internet Explorer, AOL, Netscape/Mozilla and Opera browsers. It also include more than 85 free plug-ins to extend erasing features to support popular programs such as ACDSee, Acrobat Reader, KaZaA, PowerDVD, WinZip, iMesh, Winamp and much more. Also you can easily schedule erasing tasks at specific time intervals or at Windows stat-up/ shutdown.
To ensure maximum privacy protection Anti Tracks implements the US Department of Defense DOD 5220.22-M, Gutmann and NSA secure erasing methods, making any erased files unrecoverable even when using advanced recovery tools.

Free Download: http://www.deprice.com/antitracks.htm

East-Tec Eraser

East-Tec Eraser goes beyond U.S. Department of Defense standards for the permanent erasure of digital information and easily removes every trace of sensitive data from your computer.

Completely destroy information stored without your knowledge or approval: Internet history, Web pages and pictures from sites visited on the Internet, unwanted cookies, chatroom conversations, deleted e-mail messages, temporary files, the Windows swap file, the Recycle Bin, previously deleted files, valuable corporate trade secrets, business plans, personal files, photos or confidential letters, etc.
East-Tec Eraser 2005 offers full support for popular browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, America Online, MSN Explorer, Opera), for Peer2Peer applications (Kazaa, Kazaa Lite, iMesh, Napster, Morpheus, Direct Connect, Limewire, Shareaza, etc.), and for other popular programs such as Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, etc. Eraser has an intuitive interface and wizards that guide you through all the necessary steps needed to protect your privacy and sensitive information.
Other features include support for custom privacy needs, user-defined erasure methods, command-line parameters, integration with Windows Explorer, and password protection.

Free Download: http://www.deprice.com/eastteceraserstandard.htm

Ghostsurf Platinum

GhostSurf Platinum ensures your safety online by providing an anonymous, encrypted Internet connection, and GhostSurf stops spyware, eliminates ads and erases your tracks. GhostSurf lets you customize your privacy level in real-time to suit your surfing needs. A variety of options enable you to block personal information, mask your IP address, route your data through anonymous hubs and even encrypt your Internet connection. GhostSurf’s Privacy Control Center allows you to see and block every piece of data that your computer emits over the Internet, preventing even your Internet Service Provider (ISP) from creating a profile on you.

Free Download: http://www.deprice.com/ghostsurfplatinum.htm

CyberScrub Pro

Sensitive data can easily fall into the wrong hands. And because Windows is not capable of deleting information beyond recovery, you are at risk!

Passwords, financial documents, even those “about last night” e-mails are fair game for the IT professional, computer technician or hacker.

CyberScrub allows you to purge, wipe and erase data with methods that far exceed US Department of Defense standards for file deletion (DOD 5220.22).

CyberScrub Erases:

* Selected Files/Folders beyond recovery

* Cookies

* Cache (Temporary Internet Files)

* All traces of Peer2Peer activity (16 popular apps)

* Website History

* Chat Room Conversations, Instant Messages

* Pictures viewed

* Email & “previously deleted files”

* Recycle Bin, Recent Documents

* Swap and other “locked” files that contain sensitive data

* Peer2Peer Applications activity

Free Download: http://www.deprice.com/cyberscrubprofessional.htm

John Deprice owns and operates http://www.deprice.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Deprice

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* MLA Style Citation:
Deprice, John “How To Cover Your Tracks On The Internet.” How To Cover Your Tracks On The Internet. 8 Aug. 2005. EzineArticles.com. 10 Oct 2009 .

* APA Style Citation:
Deprice, J. (2005, August 8). How To Cover Your Tracks On The Internet. Retrieved October 10, 2009, from http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Cover-Your-Tracks-On-The-Internet&id=58041

* Chicago Style Citation:
Deprice, John “How To Cover Your Tracks On The Internet.” How To Cover Your Tracks On The Internet EzineArticles.com. http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Cover-Your-Tracks-On-The-Internet&id=58041

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The World Wide Web was created in 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and has since been seen as one of the greatest inventions in modern history.

The internet is a growing phenomenon and there are unlimited uses for it. Some people use it to keep in touch with family and friends and others use it as a powerful source of information.

One use of internet is to find items for free but is finding freebies on the internet really possible?

Commercial organizations view the internet as a marketing tool where they are able to create a loyal following to their brand and increase their customer base. One of the ways they do this is by giving away free samples of their product.

This marketing technique has been used by many multi-national companies such as Gillette, Coca Cola and Pepsi. The idea behind the technique is to let people try a sample for free and if they like they will go out to stores in their area or order the same product online in the future.

Research suggests that this method increases sales due to increased brand awareness due to the rapid viral effect of the internet. The use of word of mouth can spread a marketing message to millions of people in a short space of time, all for the cost of a Gillette razor blade or can of Pepsi. Due to this, it is no wonder that large organizations opt for this type of marketing method as it is quick, memorable and cost effective.

Finding freebies on the internet is certainly possible. There are many popular blogs, forums and websites which are updated daily with the latest free samples and offers.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you decide you have what it takes to start and run a business, next you have to decide on the product or service you would like to offer. And that’s not always easy.

Maybe you have already made up your mind and are certain of the kind of enterprise you would like to start. However, chances are that like a majority of others, you may be strongly inclined towards a particular product or service without knowing how to decide one way or the other.

Before you start putting in money, time and your efforts, you have to make sure that your idea for a product or service fits in with the demand and current dynamics of the market. You have to understand that a project as large as complex as this will require a combination of factors – your skills and expertise but also what the consumer expectation is. Which brings us to the question – how do you know what customers want?

Here are some ideas to get you started in the right direction. Do not limit yourself to what is listed here but use them as guiding points.

• Design a well thought out and fairly brief survey which can be given to prospective customers to understand how they feel about the products and services that you are intending to provide.

• Speak to retail sellers. What are they looking for and what would make them change suppliers?

• To get in touch with possible customers, put up an informative website. Compile email lists from talking to people or from visitors to your website.

• Invest some money and take a booth at a trade show. Prepare prototypes and try to demonstrate how your product or service works. Try to hold some product demonstration at fairs and flea markets.

• Read all you can about your industry and its performance history including present trends from industry trade magazines, both online and offline. You would also do well to speak to industry insiders both employees and executives.

• Use information available from various sources to research statistics for your particular industry.

• Try and speak to other business owners, certainly to those who belong to your industry but also to those who are not. All should be able to point out the pros and cons of entering a particular industry. They will also provide valuable information about potential pitfalls for those who are just starting their business.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article writing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide’

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The ego covers your consciousness and filters everything you sense and do. It’s like trying to look through a pair of glasses that has been splashed with different colors of paint. You can’t see anything the way they truly are.

And since every ego has been shaped by different events, this also means you will never see anything the same way as someone else. This is the reason one person can remain unaffected by an event while another falls into depression.

Have you ever seen a child with her newest doll? When you take the toy away, she cries and will do anything to get it back. A few days later when she gets a new toy, she couldn’t care less what happens to the doll.

When you took the toy away, it was the lessening of the ego that caused the pain, not the loss of the toy itself. It is the same with us. As we grow older, it’s our hot girlfriend, our house on the beach, or our bank account that identifies our ego.

The ego can take control and obscure your peace. You have to learn to overcome this powerful ego to make money as employment on the Internet. What are these blotches that can mar your perfection?

They represent the little things that you take for who you are: your likes, loves, and hatreds. They are the history that you can’t let go of. They are your memories, your hopes and dreams, habits and mannerisms. All of these combine to make your ego.

We have forgotten who we are; we’ve forgotten the true core and consciousness that has been covered by all these details. It’s sad, because the core contains everything we seek, everything we look for in the goals we chase, solid peace and joy.

Only you can control your ego. Stop the thoughts before they overtake you. Stop the ego from telling you how to live your life and from marring your peace. Do not let your ego identify with everything you have experienced.

I’m not saying that having a past is bad, most of our pasts have been terrific. But you pick and choose what you want to keep. Nothing is permanent and only you have the control to hold on or to let go; therefore, form your individual ego.

Worst of all, the ego is never satisfied for long. No matter what your goals are, you’ll only gain a temporary satisfaction from achieving it, and then your ego will force you to go out and seek more.

We all deal with our individual ego, but being aware and one step ahead is valuable in helping you to overcome the issues with your ego to make money on the Internet.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Today, hundreds of contests are being held online either by institutions linked in the academe or enterprises trying to increase their online client base. These contests, although mostly built in a commercial if not profit-making agenda, are advantageous in the side of the target customers or participants in as much as these activities foster the use of talents and creativity, which is something that is not being exercised on a daily basis. Contrary to natural perception, winning a contest on the net is not that difficult. Just pursue this further and discover how to win today in all contest on the Internet.

There are several kinds of contests online, but they can basically be categorized into five groups, namely, the writing contests, the photography contests, the cooking contests, the video contests, and the trivia contests. These categories are generally self-explanatory, and tips on how to emerge the winner in these contests are elaborated below.

Geek Yourself Up in Trivia Contests. Trivia contests basically rely on answering different types of quizzes where questions are related to the products, services, present promos or history of the enterprise sponsoring the competition. For instance, coffee manufacturers will logically run trivia contests related to coffee farming, production, personalities, new ingredients, technologies, and the like. In answering those trivia quizzes, make sure that your encyclopedia software is open, as well as other websites that give interesting facts on coffee.

Read As Much As You Can in Writing Contests. Writing contests usually revolve around a seasonal campaign. For instance, a shampoo company runs an essay writing contest related to Mother’s day, or Christmas, or graduation. In writing the piece on Mother’s day, therefore, there must be a concrete imagery of a mother doing something with her or her children’s hair. Such frameworks also works with cementing the relevance of Christmas and shampoo, or graduation day and shampoo.

How To Win Today in All Contest on the Internet relies on how sharply you assess what the contests aim to do, and how you work within those very aims. It is also helpful to research whether such contest is being held annually, and if yes, check the kind of writing of former winning entries.

Learn Product Branding in Photo and Video Contests. Next to writing contests, the most predominant contest on the Internet today is photography competition. In the recent years however, with the emergence of video streaming technologies, a number of video clip and short film making contests are also growing very fast. Most of these contests are about endorsing latest products and services, or delving on a lofty slogan that embody those products and services.

In these online contests, you should never underestimate the capabilities of your competitors, especially when the prize at stake is very high. This is one of the points that you must not forget on How To Win Today in All Contest on the Internet. Even if the contests are tagged as “amateur”, there will definitely be a number of highly creative entries that can pass as professional. If you want to really win the prize, be dedicated enough to bring 120% of your talents. Plan ahead, research on the brand aesthetic of the company sponsoring the contest, execute your plans perfectly, and submit your entry a day or two before the deadline.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Who are you, who, who? In this day this day and age of kids cheating on tests, athletes taking steroids, politicians hiring high-end hookers and once considered genius financiers heading up the largest Ponzi Schemes in history, it appears we have a bit of an integrity issue in our population. Still, it’s not just in real life you have to watch yourself, consider the massive posting of information on the Internet by those cloaking under anonymity?

How bad is the problem, well, it’s out of control says one think tank, worse, trying to track down who it is posting the information is nearly impossible. One rumor can take down an entire company and their stock, costing 100s of millions of dollars and 1000s of jobs. Sometimes disgruntled consumers will go out of their way to slam a company or the competition finds a way to do it first. We all know the sliming tactics used in politics, but it’s now happening faster than the gossip at a hair salon in LA.

One of the best ways to determine if information is legitimate is to consider the source. But a made up avatar or screen name surely shows that the individual making the statement is not staking their reputation on it. This type of info cannot be trusted and it certainly cannot be used for cited material, you just cannot trust it, even if there may be some truth to it or perhaps it was bathed in truth recently.

Over the years I’ve read my share of nonsense online and had detractors attack my expertise, but those who do so under anonymity are nothing more than detractors hiding in the bushes shooting spitwads, and there is certainly no honor in that. Perhaps you might wish to reconsider what you take in as fact and what you chalk off as creative writing fiction online.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Think that something weird is going on behind your back? Did the thought that your spouse is cheating on the internet cross your mind? Need to know how you can catch the cheater? Here are a few tips that will help you to discover the truth!

If he/she is cheating – you need to find where and on what website. You can check the URL bar at the browser and see if there is something interesting. I really suggest to download a file recovery software and undelete the internet history (I know it’s probably deleted on daily basis) to check all the websites your spouse enters every day. You can probably find there social networks, chat rooms, dating websites. Now go and make a fake profile on one of the sites you’ve found and start a conversation with your spouse. Ask him/her about their relationship until your spouse admits that he/she is looking for something out of the marriage!

Look for clues on the computer – if your spouse has someone else there are probably photos of the lover somewhere on the computer. Try to look for them through the windows search tool, or just go and open every folder on the computer. Finally you will find something. Another thing you can look for is passwords to important accounts like email, or maybe dating websites! If you will be lucky enough you will be able to log into your spouse email account and see what’s going on there!

Use a keylogger to record your spouse’s internet activity. The keylogger will record for you everything your spouse does online and offline: every website he/she enters and every password he/she types to log into their accounts. It will monitor chat room activity and social networks activity. With this software you will get in one day all the evidences you need to confront your cheating spouse successfully and make him/her admit! Or on the other hand you can find your spouse is innocent.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

It is possible for every individual to purchase their own furniture no matter how hard their finances are. Now there are varieties of furniture that you can buy out in the market. There are wide ranges of furniture that you can buy out in the market from expensive to cheaper prices of furniture. People have different misconceptions on owning furniture. They usually think that you have to spend huge amount of money just to make your home beautiful and elegant. But if you do some researches you will know the right way and information on how you can get them in a cheaper price. There are lots of changes that happen over time. And these changes have transformed the features of the modern furniture. The features of the furniture are far different from the traditional furniture that we have before. The style and pattern is different that cause their prices to get high.

The main difference between the furniture today with the furniture before is that modern furniture is made from cheaper materials, such as aluminum, vinyl and glass. Though this furniture is made from cheaper materials, they still have expensive price. People are more convenient using that furniture today because of the comfort that they can get out of it. There are tables and chairs, beds and other furniture with comfy cushions that makes people very comfortable as they use them. Furniture from the early years uses durable materials but most of them are available without any cushion that makes people uncomfortable using them. But because this furniture are known for their durability they are still in demand.

Now as you search out in the market, you will notice that there are modern furniture that have cheaper prices. The reason for this is that they are being manufactured in quantity on an assembly line. There are different companies who manufacture the individual parts of the furniture and then later on they will be assembled in order to make different modern furniture. Furniture that is being manufactured this way is known as modular furniture and this kind of furniture are offered at lower price. This cheaper modern furniture is available out in the market.

If you want to be sure that the furniture that you want are the cheapest furniture that you can buy, internet is the right place to do your search. There are different furniture stores online. You can do the search by visiting different sites that sell modern furniture in cheaper price. You can be sure that they are the right piece to acquire because you can make comparison with the other furniture that are available online. In this way you can transform your home into elegant and stylish home without spending too much.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

With the advent of the internet and the progress of related technologies changed the way we do things from research, business and our lives. Such is the importance of the internet that a lot of the comforts that we enjoy now would simply not be possible without internet technology. The internet provides services that made our lives much more convenient and comfortable, ranging from communications, online shopping, online education and online banking. A lot of things that we used to do physically can now be done online from the comfort of our homes or just about anywhere with a computer and internet connection. So much has changed because of the internet, and while this technology has brought about a lot of positive changes; it can also be used for something more sinister.

The internet also gave birth to a new breed of criminal elements. Cyber crime and terrorism is a very real threat right now. Criminal elements have evolved as well as technology changed. Cyber terrorism is a real threat to the modern society. Our society and our way of life are under terrorist threat everyday. Terrorist have been constantly innovating, finding new and more frightful ways to terrorize the free world. It’s almost unbelievable that even in the virtual world of cyberspace terrorist could still threaten our way of life but the truth is they are even more of a threat in cyberspace than in the physical world. True that they are not much of a physical threat in cyberspace; however, the extent of damage cyber terrorists can do through the internet can be more extensive. The internet can be accessed by anyone with a computer and internet connection from anywhere in the world. Through the internet any individual with criminal intent can reach out to any country and perform his act of terrorism beyond the reach of the law.

It has been known that some terrorists are very well educated; even graduating and getting their degrees from some of the world’s foremost universities. Contrary to popular belief that terrorists are uneducated individuals blinded by religion or their cause; a lot of terrorists come from affluent families perfectly capable of providing the best education for their children. Cyber terrorism can be done by any individual who has the necessary skills and technical knowledge of the technologies involved. Cyber terrorists can cripple economies if left unguarded. They crash the stock market hurting a country’s economy seriously. Just imagine if cyber terrorists were to crash the stock market of a country, bring the traffic control system down, and freeze all transport systems that are dependent on computer and internet technology. Such acts of cyber terrorism can cripple a nation’s economy and bring the nation to its knees. Such an act will not only affect one nation since almost all economies are interconnected. The ripple effect of such an act can cause damage of great proportions to other economies as well.

Law enforcement and other agencies around the world acknowledge this as a real threat. That’s why major economies commit considerable financial resources in order to ensure that such a thing wouldn’t take place. Criminal elements are evolving rapidly, law enforcement and other agencies are hard pressed to evolve as well in order to be able to combat and neutralize this new threat.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The history of the Internet is so very fascinating, its origins and it’s first uses too. Interestingly enough the Internet was not actually invented by Al Gore although he was a big proponent of the “information highway” concept that a few of the researchers schemed up as the transfer technology was moved from ARPA and Bell Labs into the private sector.

The earliest forms of the Internet greatly assisted in the sharing of knowledge and research amongst the top Universities and scientists. In fact, by sharing information at a rapid pace they were able to accelerate their research and studies even faster. The entire story is so very fascinating considering now that the Internet permeates nearly every sector and all aspects of life.

It is my contention that you owe it to yourself to learn a little more about the history of the Internet so that you understand its beginnings and consider how it grew and then think about what it has become today. Why? Well, this way you can begin to ponder what it might be like in the next 5 to 10 years.

So, I tell you what, let me take this opportunity to recommend an extremely well written and researched book about the Internet, indeed this is a book, the best book I have found on the subject that clearly illustrates how the modern internet came into existence. If you spend a good deal of time on the Internet, you ought to know about the history:

“Where Wizards Stay Up Late; Origins of the Internet” by Katie Hafner; Simon and Schuster, New York, NT; 1998.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Reading on the Internet should really have only positive effect to a reader’s habit. Without opening the pages of books or newspapers, you are able to read about interesting topics, fresh news, and any kind of information.

The news from around the different parts of the world can be read on the Internet anytime. More often than not, you don’t have to wait for the newspapers anymore. Anyone who uses RSS feed learns about the latest news in advance. Within seconds, you can find an article through searching the Google news.

However, a lot of people are starting to speculate on the credibility and validity of the news found on the web. Some newspaper companies claim that the online news articles are deliberately written with a bit of exaggeration to make them catchy and attention-grabbing. This claim is highly debatable though. But people are starting to realize that the Internet is not a reliable source of true and correct information at all times.

Without going to a library or a bookstore, you can find books to read on Amazon or other websites which sell books online. While learning to read, the Internet is good for getting kids interested on studying. There is a wide choice of reading materials on the Internet that the kids can choose from. Short stories with colorful 3D drawings and animated illustrations often hold the attention of kids longer than books. Indeed, the Internet offers a great wealth of wisdom for those who want to learn.

On my personal opinion, reading on the Internet should not be the only source of knowledge and information for anyone. It should depend on the need of the moment, and also the mood.

If you read because you want to relax, you must find a good book and a comfortable chair. Reading while sitting outside in the garden, and while the birds chirp and bees hum around, your tired body and mind will be fully recharged in no time at all.

I do not recommend reading on the Internet before bedtime. Staring on the computer screen for long periods of time is not healthy. This habit is not good for the eyes. The easy accessibility of the Internet allows you to browse as many websites as you like. Thus, stimulating the brain and keeping you awake when you should be sleeping.

Reading a book in bed is more conducive to sleep, not because books are dull and uninteresting. The computer monitor emits out bright light and flickering images, which make the mind active.

Obviously, reading on the Internet is a lot different from reading a book. Even a good e-book could not replace the enjoyment that you will get from a real book. Some things just cannot be copied in perfection by modern technology because something gets lost in the process.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

It would be hard to imagine our modern-day existence without the use of computers and the Internet. Our cyberspace identities are virtually an extension of our real selves, and it is becoming increasingly slow. You can do on the Internet today almost anything you would do in life otherwise, from making friends to making money, from studying to gaming.

The usage of the Internet can be divided into four broad categories: Business, networking, entertainment and education.

The Internet provides boundless e-commerce possibilities, such that you can sell, buy and find anything on the Internet. The Internet is not just an avenue for advertising today; it is as much a channel for carrying out business itself, buying and selling products, services and advice.

The Internet has also entered our social sphere in a big way, as we make new friends whom we have never seen but know as persons, real persons. We get to know people from across the world, irrespective of religion, color, nationality, even language, as we all come together in the cyber world. And we come together to meet as friends, business associates, prospective life partners, or as simply casual passers-by on the information highway.

Entertainment is another very major use of the Internet nowadays. With a proliferation of websites and services, there is something for everyone. From streaming video to online radio, from web video communities to real time chatting websites, to P2P download services, it is all out there. The Internet, which is limitless, is for film and music lovers, the biggest archive they could ever ask for-it contains everything. Sports fans can now watch their matches on streaming video, or get regular sports updates.

The Internet is also a major source of information and education to people of all ages, with their own specific needs. Many people look to the Internet, with its interactivity, to remain informed of the goings-on of the world around them. For others, the Internet is the way to find out about education opportunities anywhere in the world, sitting in the comfort of your home. With many universities and institutes starting even online courses, people virtually anywhere in the world can enroll for courses and education in the top universities. The Internet, in many countries, has also emerged as a major tool in adult and rural education programs.

So exactly what do people use the internet for? The uses of the Internet, as you can see, are many. Today, you can do just about anything, find anyone, and learn about everything you ever wanted to know. And all of that, in the comfort of an easy chair in front of a computer.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The ISPs short term for Internet Service Providers is the gateway to your wonder World of Internet. They give different types of access to Internet. The types of connection are broadly defined as per the equipment and its type of connection used to connect you to the Internet.

The Analog connection called as a Dial- up access was the earliest ways by which connections were established to the Internet using the Telephone Lines. It is both economical and slow. You use a Modem connected to your PC, and dial a phone number to connect to the Network. Typical Dial-up connection speeds range from 2400 bps to 56 Kbps.

The next better option came in the way of ISDN connections or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) for sending Voice, Video, and Data over digital Telephone lines or normal Telephone wires. Speeds range from 64 Kbps to 128 Kbps. The B-ISDN, the Broadband ISDN is similar to ISDN but it transfers data over Fiber Optic Telephone lines.

The DSL has become the standard way to connect to the Internet and it provides an always on connection because it uses existing 2-wire copper telephone line and is always on. The two main categories of DSL for home subscribers are called ADSL and SDSL.
The ADSL short for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line supports Data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data (known as the downstream rate) and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data (known as the upstream rate). ADSL requires a special ADSL modem.

The SDSL, short for symmetric digital subscriber line, a Technology that allows more data to be sent over existing Copper Telephone Lines and supports data rates up to 3 Mbps. SDSL works by sending digital pulses in the high-frequency area of Telephone wires and can not operate simultaneously with voice connections over the same wires.

The VDSL or Very High DSL (VDSL) is a DSL technology that offers fast data rates over relatively short distances — the shorter the distance, the faster the connection rate.

Internet is provided in modern times through Cable TV lines by use of a Cable Modem and you get a broadband Internet and the Cable speeds range from 512 Kbps to 20 Mbps.
Wireless Internet Connection is one of the newest Internet connection types by using Radio frequency bands providing an always-on connection which can be accessed from anywhere.

In addition to these types of basic connections we have more types of leased lines like T1, T2, and T3 connections which are fully dedicated Lines giving exclusive access to Internet at much faster Data transfer speeds.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The color drained from Ben’s face when he was handed the report. His hand shook when he picked it up and scanned the contents.

It was a log of everything he had done on the Internet since the beginning of the year — every website he had visited, every IM conversation he had had, every email he had sent out and received — not only by the company mail but those sent from his Yahoo and Hotmail accounts.

Everything he had said and done on the Internet during the last year lay before him, and it wasn’t a pretty picture.

His boss’ face was expressionless. The HR woman sitting beside him looked grim.

“I’m afraid we are going to have to let you go, Ben,” Mr. Donaldson said at length. “You’ve been wasting company time and resources, and the websites you’ve accessed and the mail you’ve sent and received are, well…”

Ben’s hand shook as he dropped the report on the desk top. He nodded spastically, and for a minute he thought his head might fall off his shoulders.

As if it had been severed by a guillotine.

After they escorted Ben out of the building, Sam Donaldson sighed and looked at the HR Person, Mary Tyler.

“I didn’t like that,” he said. “Ben Morgan was basically a good employee. He was creative and put out a lot of good work.”

Mary shrugged and tapped the edge of Ben’s file on the desktop. “We can’t have that kind of thing going on here. He was accessing gambling sites and his email messages were questionable.”

She left the office, making her way through the line of cubicles in which employees now worked more feverishly than ever. Sam Johnson watched her go, and decided he didn’t like the way the atmosphere of the workplace had changed. He didn’t like what this kind of employee surveillance had done to morale.

The uneasiness he felt was almost palpable.

We’re watching you

It’s no secret that the days of worker privacy have long since passed. With the serious potential of harassment lawsuits and security breaches that involve the release of company private information, most companies large and small have implemented Internet monitoring spy ware.

A recent Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey report has revealed that companies are “increasingly putting teeth in technology policies.” Workers have been fired from 26% of the companies surveyed for misuse of the Internet, and 25% have terminated employees for misusing e-mail.

As of 2005, fully 76% are monitoring employees’ website connections and are blocking inappropriate web URL’s. Employers track content, keystrokes, and time spent at the keyboards. e-Mail is under scrutiny with 55% of those surveyed storing and reviewing messages.

Morale and Big Brother

But the question becomes, is high surveillance really counterproductive? What happens to employee productivity when management decides to tightly monitor Internet use and computer resources?

The answer to that question appears to be: tight Internet monitoring as well as punitive use of the results may have severely deleterious results.

In an April 2003 article on Medzilla.com, a leading recruiter for the Medical Profession, Dr. Frank Heasley, was quoted as saying “Excessive monitoring of employees’ Internet activities is damaging for morale. It signals that the employer doesn’t trust its staff, and it sends the message that the employer thinks that any activity that cannot be directly attributed to ‘work’ is simply goofing off.”

He goes on to say it is seriously “demotivating and ultimately will stifle creativity and damage productivity.”

Toward Internet Enlightenment…

Today, employers find themselves caught between two extreme and opposing points of view. Both are fraught with peril.

The first viewpoint involves defining strict policies of Internet and email use, close monitoring, and exacting punitive measures when the policy is violated. The second is to allow virtually unrestricted use of Internet and email resources; a “laid back” approach that might encourage dangerous employee abuse.

If Dr. Heasley is to be believed, the first is damaging to morale, and could ultimately result in a serious loss of resources (as employees leave the company in protest) and a diminishment of productivity as work slows down because of lack of motivation and unrest.

The second can produce a “free for all” situation in which company privacy can be seriously violated.

Somewhere between these two extremes lies an approach that protects company assets but at the same time allows enough freedom for the employee to feel she is not placed on some sort of “short — and intellectually strangling — leash”.

One needs a policy that protects the company and creates an intellectually free atmosphere of company loyalty, creativity, and high productivity.

“I kind of feel like, someone is watching me…”

Although 80% of all employers surveyed say they notify employees that they are being monitored, it is not clear how much of a deterrent to private Internet and email use and abuse this truly is.

The fact that an employee “intellectually” knows the company is surveying its staff translates into, “Yeah, but there are so many employees they’ll never notice me, and besides what I’m doing isn’t that big a deal.”

The employee will go on personally using the Internet until the day she suddenly finds herself in her boss’ office discovering that her web and email use has been tracked, and she is about to be escorted off the premises.

In addition, unfair and inconsistent application of policies and discipline leads to morale problems. While one employee, known to be a productive worker and highly valued for her skills, is allowed to go shopping on line, another worker is disciplined for it.

If you think that policies applied unfairly or inconsistently are not noticed (and resented) by the workforce, think again.

Practices like these translate into low morale, low productivity, and in extreme cases…lawsuits.

Toward an Alternate Internet Policy

How, then, can an Alternate Internet Policy be developed, one that boosts morale, encourages productivity and still protects the company from time and resource waste, compromise, and exposure to lawsuits?

To develop such a policy, Company Executives need to consider and do the following:

1) Implement a consistent surveillance program that uses software capable of recording and logging email messages, sites and chat rooms visited, time spent on sites, and Internet message and chat room conversations.

2) Define what “reasonable use” is and what can and can not be tolerated. Are 10 – 15 minutes spent checking company and private email, shopping online, or paying bills ok? Is this to be distinguished from a five hour online video game session which may use up considerable bandwidth during times when the client is uploading data?

3) Determine whether email conversations between friends, or even between clandestine lovers, are as serious and worthy of attention as email sent out to encourage revolt against the boss, disparage a fellow coworker or divulge private company information.

4) Establish a written policy of Internet, email and phone usage. Define disciplinary steps and measures which will modify employee behavior, rather than punish it.

5) Inform employees of the policy and state plainly that they are under surveillance. State clearly that Company Management is not looking for occasional violators, but serious abusers and define what serious abuse is.

6) Be prepared for the Internet addict. The Internet is a seriously addicting environment. For some it is like placing an alcoholic in front of a cabinet of booze. Before firing a productive employee, try to work with that individual to overcome his/her addiction. Perhaps removing the Internet from their computer altogether is the solution.

7) For a very small company with a tight budget, perhaps having one computer with Internet access and installed surveillance software is the solution. The computer can be clearly marked with a warning sign that Internet usage is monitored. Abuse of the Internet is less likely to occur when its usage is public, and not private at the employee’s desk.

You are probably already saying, “We’ve already done this.” I would, however, like to take this one step further — make Internet and email use part of the employees’ Performance Review.

The Internet Usage Review

A Performance Review usually covers many different aspects of the employee’s performance throughout the year and grades her on whether or not she “met or exceeded expectations.”

There are certain expectations of how an employee makes use of his or her time, and that usage includes that of the Internet and email. A report in hard copy routinely presented to the employee at Review Time along with a performance grade of the time spent on the Internet can be effective.

Most modern surveillance programs not only log the sites visited but the time spent on those sites. An employee can be shown in black and white how much time she is spending on sites unrelated to her job. Inappropriate sites visited by the employee will be clearly – and glaringly — displayed.

To the employee’s surprise, a “meets expectations” can be granted to a certain amount of personal Internet use with little comment by the supervisor. The Review can proceed to recognizing actual contributions and productivity.

Such an approach is a way to remind the employee that Management is indeed monitoring Internet activity, but is displaying a certain degree of tolerance of its use. If handled correctly, the Internet can come to be regarded as a “perk” or “gift” from Management. An approach such as this can actually boost morale.

Employees found to be wasting a great deal of time on unauthorized, band-width sapping activity, visiting inappropriate sites, or giving out company information in IM messages or emails should be confronted long before the year-end review — within the first day or two that the activity is noticed. This sort of activity would not be tolerated long enough to reach review time.

A consistent, fair, and generous Internet policy will boost morale and productivity.

A Management that is fair, even-handed, and generous (within reason) of company resources in the long run will out-compete its competitors. This attitude will translate into lower turn-over and higher productivity.

A relatively generous and enlightened Internet and e-mail policy, applied fairly but with caution, will signal the work force that Management is watching but is still a benevolent and somewhat tolerant “Big Brother”, or maybe a “Big Uncle”.

Clear definition of policies, fair application, and generosity will in the short term improve company morale and productivity. Monitoring that is open and above board will create an expectation in the work force that will in and of itself help to prevent abuse and protect the company from litigious situations and intellectual property loss.

In the long term, this policy will go a long way toward establishing your company in a top position with its competitors because of low employee turnover, high morale, and top notch productivity.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

The World Wide Web was created in 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee and has since been seen as one of the greatest inventions in modern history.

The internet is a growing phenomenon and there are unlimited uses for it. Some people use it to keep in touch with family and friends and others use it as a powerful source of information.

One use of internet is to find items for free but is finding freebies on the internet really possible?

Commercial organizations view the internet as a marketing tool where they are able to create a loyal following to their brand and increase their customer base. One of the ways they do this is by giving away free samples of their product.

This marketing technique has been used by many multi-national companies such as Gillette, Coca Cola and Pepsi. The idea behind the technique is to let people try a sample for free and if they like they will go out to stores in their area or order the same product online in the future.

Research suggests that this method increases sales due to increased brand awareness due to the rapid viral effect of the internet. The use of word of mouth can spread a marketing message to millions of people in a short space of time, all for the cost of a Gillette razor blade or can of Pepsi. Due to this, it is no wonder that large organizations opt for this type of marketing method as it is quick, memorable and cost effective.

Finding freebies on the internet is certainly possible. There are many popular blogs, forums and websites which are updated daily with the latest free samples and offers.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

With the advancement of technology and new innovations in the field of communication, high speed Internet connection is slowly emerging as the most preferred means of Internet access today. High speed Internet connection has not only entered our offices and houses, but the local Internet service provider also offers various Internet access packages and cheap prepaid Internet plans for accessing high speed Internet services.

Modern day people are very busy and also much inclined towards instant gratification. They hardly have time and patience to wait for anything, so naturally in case of accessing the Internet also people do not approve of a very slow process. That is why high speed internet connection is gaining more preference in comparison to dial-up connections.

Now, what exactly high speed Internet service is? High speed Internet service is a fast Internet service that transfers data much faster than the 56K telephone modem.
You can access high speed Internet service with the help of standard telephone dial-up modem which ties up the telephone line. Most notable advantage of high speed Internet is that it is almost five times faster than the standard dial-up connection, and is also cost effective. Today many of the Internet service providers, including AOL and Netscape, offer high speed Internet access without even charging any extra amount.

In case of broadband service, you can avail as high a speed as 70 times than the standard dial-up connection. Moreover, broadband uses Digital Service Line, cable, satellite, or radio towers to access the internet and does not tie up the telephone line while you are on the net. In broadband connection, to access Internet anytime he wants, the user does not require to wait for the modem to dial.

With a high speed Internet access you can certainly find innovative and innumerable ways to enhance the speed of your work. Further, the cost factor also hardly matter, because with various service providers, like AT&T, Cingular, Nextel, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon offering multifarious access packages featuring Internet speed range, cost and facilities the users can avail advanced Internet access in a quite affordable price.

So, downloading videos or a 400MB file, listening to radio in few minutes is no longer a distant dream. With a myriad of prepaid Internet packages and cheap plans you may even expect a lot better performance from your high speed Internet connection.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

In the past year and a half, internet companies, namely social networks, have broken ground on platforms that will directly influence and dictate the the internet of tomorrow: how it works, who uses it, what it has to offer, and how money will be made.

A host of social networks, including Facebook, Myspace, and Friendster have created open APIs (application programing interfaces), where third party developers can build programs or widgets, which can then be used by and distributed to members of their social networks. This fierce competition has led to a variety of new rich internet applications including favorites like “iLike” and “Top Friends.” What is this war leading to? How have these new advancements influenced the rest of the internet thus far? How will third party developers influence the future of the internet and the personal computing experience?

Historically speaking, developer platform warfare is nothing new. Even before the advent of the internet, Microsoft and Apple battled each other for years in the late 70s, each company tenaciously attempting to develop a platform to attract application developers. These early platforms evolved into modern day operating systems, such as Windows and Mac OS. The goal was simple: develop an open platform that would attract as many outside developers (application creators) as possible. The strategy was even simpler – the more developers that would sign on and build applications for the operating system, the higher the value of the operating system. The new applications would cater to businesses and consumers worldwide: law firms, government agencies, financial companies, small businesses, and all types of people around the world. In the end, Bill Gates and Paul Allen (pictured right) convinced developers that their OS was the best – the rest is history. Thousands of developers created applications – word processing programs, spreadsheet programs, etc. Microsoft won the battle, and nearly 30 years later, the company’s market value is a cool 257 billion dollars. You get the picture. Are social network companies waging a similar war?

You bet – the internet has only increased the size of the playing field. Instead of development only being practiced by a group of super nerds with unique technical know-how (sorry Bill Gates and Paul Allen), the barrier to entry in the social network developer space is extremely small and virtually insignificant. Although the competition is fierce, a large variety of application design programs exist to assist the not-so-super-coder developer build applications with relative ease, as opposed to the early days of Microsoft when much of the material was created from scratch or constructed using proprietary tools. These modern developer tools can be found in a popular program like Adobe’s Flex 3. The implication – an abundant influx of viral applications have hit the market in a relatively short amount of time. With many of these applications offering similar services, how will this market pan out? Aren’t many applications supposed to be a good thing?

David Gal, professor of management at Northwester University, recently elaborated on this issue in a VentureBeat article. Gal suggested that the best applications won’t necessarily rise to the top, and that so much competition in a an internet-style environment can actually be a negative thing:

Darwinian selection does not work so well in a networked world. Multiple competing applications may coexist in a category, leading to diminished overall adoption of the category. Moreover, those applications that come to dominate a category will not necessarily be the best or the best-maintained; rather, they will likely be the first to attract a large number of users in a particular category.

Gal is implying that many awesome third party applications may attract a tremendous amount of users, at least initially. The problem lies in the fact that there may not only exist one or two attractive applications of a similar category, but tens, hundreds, or even thousands. With so much variety, the reliability of the ‘darwinian selection’ process may fall victim to the numbers. With so many millions of social network users selecting one or any combination of many different applications within one category, the category (for example, music applications) will get viciously drawn out and chopped up, with no clear cut application ever rising to the top and taking the cake. Where does this leave the future of the internet?

A couple conclusions, or predictions, can now be drawn or formulated in relation to the developer application war, brought on in recent times by the social networks.

First, and foremost, the future of the internet, in terms of available rich programs and content, will be dictated by third party user-generated customizable applications, not necessarily by already established software giants (like a Microsoft). These larger established companies, including the social network companies, will most likely merely provide the means for these developers to work with. Developers will follow this model until a single company wins the platform war outright, where at that point, all developers will migrate to this popular platform. History will repeat itself, in relation to the early days of Microsoft and its first operating system. The key will be, once again, to attract these rich internet application developers scattered around the world.

Second, increased competition resulting from an almost non-existent barrier to entry may dilute the entire space, influencing the destruction or impairment of an application’s ability to blow up and dominate in its specific category. An application’s ability to attract many users initially wouldn’t mean that it would be guaranteed future success and predictability. This may already be apparent in current social networking platforms.

Third, the winner of the platform war will undoubtedly characterize and define the internet in the coming years. As I have alluded to in my other posts, I believe this platform will be an entirely web based system that is not reliant on local desktops. The platform will be free of charge to consumers (goodbye to the $100 OS), and offer every type of program imaginable, anything from simple notepad applications to advanced money management tools. Questions to be answered – how do you monetize the system, and how will developers get paid, especially if the platform is free? Most likely, either developers will charge small fees for their applications (no more $150 software, competition will be too fierce) or the mother company (winner of the platform war), will channel some of its advertising revenue to these developers for compensation.

Finally, the winner of the platform war will be an innovative company that can strategically forward its current user base onto its new platform. Social networks may be the perfect candidates for this because of their gigantic and reoccurring user bases. Is this to say that a Facebook (pictured above) will become the next generation Microsoft? It’s possible. Transferring and attracting users may be the largest hurdle that a platform candidate must overcome in order to defeat its competition.

The stakes are big and the space is wide open for the taking – the race has started and competition will only become more intense. The company that develops, not necessarily the best platform, but the platform that attracts the most amount of developers and achieves critical mass will be worth billions almost overnight.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

If you own a computer – and in today’s world who doesn’t – sooner or later, you will want to have access to the Internet.

The Internet for some is the Holy Grail of the modern age, and not having access to it is seen in some quarters as sacrilege.

But how do you connect to this Holy Grail – the Internet?

You need an Internet Service Provider or ISP who will give you access and you need to decide between dial-up service which uses a regular telephone line, and broadband service which, very often comes in the form of Cable, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Satellite or T1 connections.

Do not get thrown off by all the computer talk. The option really is yours to decide on the type of service you need especially if you are working within a budget.

You must first determine what you will be using the Internet to do. If you will be checking email and accessing the Internet occasionally, then, you may need to consider dial-up service.

Dial-up service is cheap with a couple of disadvantages. It uses a telephone line to dial-in to the ISP’s network and when the connection is made, you are not able to take or make calls.

With dial-up service, you need to make sure that the ISP offers local numbers where you are located because you do not want to incur any long distance charges which can be expensive and unnecessary.

Additionally for dial-up, you will need to ensure that you have the right hardware to interface with the ISP’s network. You will need a modem for this service and these are not very expensive today.

If you have determined that dial-up service is not for you, then your choice is going to be one of the following: Cable, Satellite, DSL or T1.

Cable can be a good option because of its speed and the fact that you can receive a bundle of services at discounted rates depending on the provider you choose.

Some cable providers will have special pricing packages on Internet service if you sign-up for regular cable TV service as well. They will even give you, free of charge, antivirus software to protect you computer from being infected by viruses.

For a cable connection to work, you will need a network card and a cable modem. If you have a modern computer, a network card may already be installed as these are now being included as standard components in computer systems in recent years. You can buy a cable modem or your ISP may include one with the plan you choose.

Another option, DSL uses a telephone line for Internet access. Your local telephone company may offer this service or you may be able to obtain service from an independent provider who does not offer regular telephone service. Just check with providers in your area to see what is available.

DSL, like cable, is faster than dial-up, and like cable, actual connection speeds will vary depending on your location and how many persons are actually connected at the same time. You may want to verify how many persons in your area are being serviced by the same ISP to assist you in your decision making as to which provider to choose.

Satellite and T1 connections can be expensive but may be the option available to you depending on where you are located.

If you have to use a satellite connection, bear in mind that you will need satellite equipment for the system to work and you must have an unobstructed view of the southern sky.

One very important point to consider if you will be using a broadband connection is that your computer will always be connected to the Internet unless you turn your system off. You will therefore need to protect your system by installing a firewall and antivirus software.

Ultimately, the final decision is yours. The good thing is you have choices so do some research before you buy.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Most of us like to consider ourselves computer literate if we can check our email, update our social network status and send text messages with instant messenger software. If you are really smart then you might be able to build a web page, program a software application or even edit the Windows registry. But how much do you really know about the internet? This article will discuss ten things about the internet that you should probably know but that maybe nobody told you before.

1. The Internet Started As A Military Project Called DARPA-NET

In the late 1960’s a division of the Department of Defense called the Advanced Research Projects Agency created one of the first decentralized computer networks that was first used to transmit research papers between scientists. This was the first time that a computer network of that nature had been developed, and it slowly began to grow into a community of those people who used the network to download and upload increasingly complex data.

Today we take for granted the fact that you can use your web browser to access information on a computer server located thousands of miles away, but this type of decentralized and nonlocal communication capability did not always exist. This initial primitive form of the internet we know today began by connecting universities, research facilities and military installations, with the further development of networks in other countries.

2. You Don’t Need To Be A Spammer To Make Money With Email

Ask your parents how they think you might be able to make money on the internet, and their response might be “sending out those darn Viagra emails!” But it is possible to use email to make money without spamming, and it is something called opt-in email marketing. Opt-in marketing is where you send a newsletter or individual emails to a list of people who have agreed to receive it, and there can sometimes be a double opt-in procedure to make sure that it is a legitimate lead. This form of emailing usually is targeted at specific niche market segments, such as automobiles or stock traders.

If you are going to try your hand at email marketing, you need to know what the terms “safe list” and “suppression list” mean. A safe list is a list of email addresses by people who have agreed to receive posts and advertisements in exchange for being able to send out their own. A suppression list is a list of email addresses that have requested not to receive any emails from a particular source, and continuing to send email to an address that is listed on a suppression list could be a potential legal violation.

3. You Can Build A Website Using Only Notepad And Paint

Most people who want to start their own website end up not doing it for a number of reasons, such as not knowing how to build one themselves or believing that they need the most sophisticated software around in order to build a website. However if you have knowledge of basic HTML, you can build a website using just the default tools that come with your computer. And it doesn’t need to be a website that looks like it was built in 1993 either, because there are thousands of free website templates available that look very professional and can be made unique with some basic HTML and image editing.

You can use MS paint for literally all of the image editing that you will need on your website, but you will want to save the file as a 24-bit bitmap file so that it has the sharpest picture. If you are willing to spend some money on your venture then you do not need to purchase a full-fledged digital editing suite but it might be a good idea to use a JPEG compressor so that the images on your website will load faster.

4. You Can Use Your Home Desktop Computer While You Are On Vacation

Imagine that your daughter or your wife is sitting at your home computer reading emails, when suddenly new programs start opening up and the text editor opens itself and starts typing “What do you think you’re doing?” Thinking the computer has become possessed, she runs out of the room terrified. She then hears the phone ringing, and it is you from your hotel room in a foreign country letting her know that it is you who is controlling the computer.

Most operating systems come installed with remote desktop software, which can allow you to use a virtual private network connection and operate one computer from another computer. If you are concerned about having your laptop scanned as you go through the airport, it might be a good idea to just keep all your sensitive information on your home computer and then access that information from your laptop using remote desktop software.

5. You Can Use Your Internet Service Just Like A Phone Service

There are some companies that now offer a phone service called VoIP which stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, which acts just like a traditional landline phone service except it uses your existing internet connection to make calls. There is also free software available which can do the same thing, except you can just use your microphone and speakers on your computer to talk to the person you are calling.

One of the traditional benefits of having a landline phone is that it will still work during an event such as a power outage, so it is important to consider the fact that a VoIP phone line would not work at a time like this.

6. Your Neighbor Might Be Able To See Your Passwords

Even if you use a home wireless internet network that has a password to be able to access it, it is still possible to view somebody else’e data that is transmitted wirelessly. There are a number of different types of software and hardware that can be used to accomplish this, although it is much easier to view information that is unencrypted as opposed to password protected information. A popular wireless transmission protocol called WEP can be cracked without needing to resort to traditional methods such as brute force password attacks if you have smart enough computer software.

Every year in Las Vegas there is a conference called Defcon where the smartest computer hackers and programmers descend on the city for a few nights. Sometimes they will post something called the “Wall of Sheep” where they will run software that will automatically intercept any wireless data that can be interpretted, and if there is anything like financial data or account passwords they will post it up on the wall for everyone to see, because you were not smart enough to secure your data.

7. The Internet Can Be Accessed With Cell Phones And Mobile Devices

Most people who do not have the latest mobile gadget assume that internet access must be confined to a desktop computer or server, but in fact most cell phones and mobile devices that are being released today have built-in internet access. Some devices can make use of any Wi-Fi network that is within range to reduce any long distance communcation charges.

Today many important and essential functions can be performed using an internet-enabled cell phone such as internet banking or even trading the financial markets. Most new cell phones also contain the capacity to forward emails to the phone and even contain a typical computer keyboard for composing documents.

8. An .SHMTL Extension Means That The Web Page Is Secure

Most people are familiar with the basic extensions that web pages have such as HTML, HTM, or PHP, but the extension SHTML is not seen as frequently and it is important to note it when you see it. Today’s web browsers can inform you whether or not a web page is secure, which means that any information that you enter cannot be intercepted, so it is a good idea to see whether or not you are on a secure web page.

As you might have guessed, SHTML would stand for Secure HyperText Markup Language or Secure HTML. This type of page format would not be important for a typical video or content site, but if you are on a web page where you need to enter sensitive financial information then it is important to know that your information is secure.

9. You Can Host Your Website From A Home Computer

It is possible to host a website using just a home computer without the need for a server room or typical hosting costs. While this is not an option recommended for people who do not know enough about computers to run an operating system such as Linux, there is no reason why you cannot use a fast computer to host your website from home. This option should only be used for small websites that would not attract a lot of traffic, such as if you just had some personal documents of files that you wanted to upload and have access to from any computer.

This approach has some obvious limitations and pitfalls, such as the fact that your computer could only handle a certain number of queries which would create a traffic bottleneck, and you need to keep your computer and internet access on 24 hours a day.

10. In As Little As A Few Years, Basic Internet Access Could Be Free

There are many skilled and brilliant people working at both large and small internet service provider companies in America and abroad, and with the incredibly rapid rate at which technological advances are occurring the idea of metering bandwidth and storage might soon be as outdated as 8-track players.

There was a time where 8-tracks were at the cutting edge of modern technology, but now they can’t be given away. With large hosting and ISP companies switching to things like solar energy to run and cool their servers as well as microprocessor chips that are getting smaller and faster, surely prices will continue their descent downward to the point that internet access may become as universal and ubiquitous as water.

“This article is brought to you by Gus Woltmann”.

Anyone can earn an income on the Internet. Even if you are 15 years old or 65 years young. It does not matter what age you are, or where you come from. The main thing that you need to posses, if you want to earn money from home online, is to have these essential things:

1. A computer with high speed connection
2. A credit card for advertising
3. A strong desire to succeed
4. And most importantly, knowing where and what to advertise.

This brings me to the point where I want to share with you 5 easy steps that you can take to earn an income on the Internet.

OK, let’s get started.

Step 1. If you want to be a professional, the first thing that you want to do is to register your own domain name on the niche that you want to focus on. A domain name is this: yoursitename.com

Step 2. On the Internet, there are thousands upon thousands of online products that you can sell. It can be anything. Here is a very small list of the things that you can sell online.

Piano lessons, work at home opportunities, posters, natural cures ebooks, history ebooks, CD’s, tapes, books, chef ebooks and anything that you can think of.

Find a niche that you want to focus on and find a company that has an affiliate program. Go to a search engine like Yahoo or Google and do a search for an affiliate program on that niche. What you will do, when you find a good affiliate company, is to sign up with their affiliate program. They will then give you your own link that you can promote. Once you have that, you can sell it on your website.

Step 3. Once you have your own website up and your affiliate link in it, you will want to start bringing in traffic to it. Many people make the same mistake and think that just because they have a website up and live, people will come to it without them doing any advertising. This is wrong thinking.

No one will see your website without you doing advertising. It is not going to happen. You need to go to the major search engines like Yahoo, Google, and MSN and set up a Pay Per Click campaign. The easiest way to do this is to see what other advertisers are doing in your niche. What ads they are putting up. What product descriptions they are using.

Now, in terms of keywords, you will need to enter that too when you first get started in Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. If you are not sure what keywords to use, go to Google and do a search for “keyword search”.

The first one that you will come across will probably be “Google AdWords: Keyword Tool”. Click on that and do a search for keywords in your niche. Then add each one and bid as low as you can. the bids usually go for $0.10-$0.50 cents.

Step 4. One of the most important aspects to your website is to get an email newsletter going. If you take a look at my website below in the resource box, you will see that I have about 4-5 ways for a visitor to subscribe to my e-newsletter on the website itself. Giving this option to your visitors, will allow you to follow up with them and make more money in the future and you build a relationship with them through email.

Now, if you are going to have an email subscription form on your site, then you will need an autoresponder company that you can join. I recommend two companies that specialize in this. They are called Getresponse.com and Aweber.com.

I am not going to go into specifics on how you should set your account up so you need to do some research on that. These companies have their own tutorials on how to set up and account, how to set up your follow up emails, and how to get a form on your site so that your visitors can subscribe to your free newsletter.

Step 5. If you find a niche that you want to focus on and know about the subject, a good way to get some free traffic to it is to write articles like this one and have your website link at the bottom of your article. A good article service that you can use is called EzineArticles.com. They are one of the best article directories out there online. I have been writing articles for almost 2 years and EzineArticles.com is