Easy Content Building For The Lazy Webmaster

Easy Content Building For The Lazy Webmaster

by: JP Lafferty

Free content builder.

Articles are the best way to add free content to your site. Thereกs hundreds if not thousands of article sites out there on the web that can be searched for free information.

The only problem I have with free articles is that you have to add the writers resource box to your site. Now this in itself is not a major problem. You could read several articles and then make your own in your own words.

This works well and is a quick and easy content building strategy that I would recommend to anybody. Also if you write your own content this way you should definitely consider posting a few of your own articles to the free article submission sites. This generates oneway links to your own site and over time can really build traffic to your site.

Just google กfree article submissionก or กarticlesก or anything of that nature to start building a list of article sites. The more you have the better.

Building content with ebooks

Free ebooks are a great source of free content and there is no shortage of them out there. Most free ebook sites have ebooks that were at one point being sold across the web. These are generally an excellent quality source of information.

To really benefit from ebooks you must first read them and take note of the main topics discussed. One way I find that works well is to write up a short report after reading the ebook and then building on that as I go through the ebook a second time. When I find something interesting I add it to the report in my own words. This is great for developing a better understanding of the material.

Of course after all this you may want to write a few articles about what you just read. As always you should share these articles with the rest of the web by submitting them to article sites.

This isn’t as tedious and time consuming as you might think. After your first or second go you will find yourself becoming more confident and this may well lead to you taking a more creative approach to your writing. In time you will be very efficient at writing your own reports and using them to create more articles and content for your websites.

I would advise you save every ounce of work you do. The more you write the more content and personal resources you have to pull from this makes it quicker and easier to create your own material. After a while you may realize you could put all your work into a ebook of your own and sell it:)

What should I write?

In short anything you want. Every human on this planet is a powerhouse of information. Even if your young you still have alot of experience to pull from.

Some people find that coming up with ideas of what to write about is quit easy but actualy writing it is the hard part. Others find the writing the easy part and the brainstorming the hard part.

If you fall into either camp then there is still hope for you, due to the fact that most humans will fall into either camp! Your not any different from me or anybody else out there. The best way to over come either problem is to get comfortable and just start writing. It is not hard!!

Pick something and start writing about it. What did you learn after a tragic event in your life is a great way to get your brain setup in the right direction. Pulling from personal experience realy helps to get you thinking and once that starts you will find it hard to turn your mind off.

Keeping it fresh.

The only way to keep information fresh is to write it in your own words. Add your persona to your material. Play with it before you publish it. Try to write as if you were explaining something to a friend. It comes across more respectful and easier to understand.

Also no matter what your writing about make sure you explain everything down to the letter. You may understand what your talking about but your reader wont always be as interested as you might think.

Always remember no matter where it is you can generaly go back and change it later. For instance if you have published a 5 page report to the web and your not happy with certain aspects of it well then you can take it down later and add in or delete whatever you want.

About The Author

JP Lafferty

To gain a helping hand in building content for your site head to http://imcontent.blogspot.com/

New content added daily. All content free of copyright.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 12

by JP Lafferty

The Only Way To Succeed In MLM

The Only Way To Succeed In MLM

by: Gino Harteel

Let assume you found the perfect mlm business, you did your homework of course, you contacted the head office and the local support, if available, asked some innocent questions and checked how fast and professional they responded.

You also tested your sponsor, finding out, how committed he or she is with the business of your life.

And if everybody passed the test, you finally join the opportunity of lifetime.

Thatกs what I did in 1997. As I am a good talker, I had no problem finding and introducing people to this wonderful opportunity.

I searched around and asked my upline for the perfect way to organize my downline.

To make a long story short, I have come a long way, but let me explain, what IS working very well.

Please review www.infolotto.com. It is a site of my own that I dedicate to new Euro Millions and UK Lotto players, they can become an affiliate and if they find 5 people who join the syndicate lotto, they play for free.

Well, I could register as many people as I could directly under me and receive 20 % commission, this is the first level rewards.

But instead, I transfer the new member to my second level, third level and what do I notice ?

People realize the potential that finally they will play for free and in the second phase, earn a monthly income.

In my own experience, this is the way to conduct your mlm business and youกll succeed !

It is working for me, take my advice and apply it to your own group.

Good luck.

About The Author

Gino Harteel has been involved with mlm since 1997 and has been building downlines in different ways. On www.infolotto.com you can find out how he has been building his downline with success.

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 19, 2004

by Gino Harteel

Hard Work!

Hard Work!

by: Robert J Farey

MAKE A MILLION $ PER MONTH.

No work involved.

Do it whilst sitting on the beach at Maliboo.

This may sound a bit extreme but how many adverts have you seen that are similar to it?

The trouble is that so many newcomers to the internet get taken in by this sort of hype. No wonder that so many get disillusioned and wrap up and go away never to return.

It is a real pity that this sort of thing is allowd to happen. If only people would tell the truth they would get a far better response to their adverts.

Tell it as it is.

With the right information and a little incentive it is possible to start a business working from home, using nothing more than a desktop computer and something to sell.

Starting a business is easy. Earning money from it is a different thing. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work.

Just a minute!

What do we mean by กhard workก?

Sitting at a keyboard for a couple of hours a day does not sound like hard work to those who are used to physical effort.

Nevertheless, If the typing was all that was required it would be a doddle.

There is more to it than that.

For instance:

Devising an advertising strategy takes a certain amount of expertise. That is something that the average Jack or Jill needs to learn, either the hard way from expreience, or the much easier way by asking the right questions from the right people.

What a lot of newcomers do not understand is that whatever they need to know, there is someone out there who is willing to give them the answers.

Willing to take them by the hand and guide them on the path to success.

That is something that you don’t get in normal business circles.

There are thousands of websites out there offering genuine help to those who need it. A lot of them have an ulterior motive, they have something to sell but that does not mean that the advice that they give is not useful. Would you buy from someone who gave you poor advice?

If they give advice that you can trust, perhaps you will trust them enough to purchase something from them at a later date. That is quite ethical.

Always remember: If something seems too good to be true, you can bet your boots that it is.

Most of the con artists are pretty obvious, but make sure that you keep your ears and eyes open at all times.

Enjoy your work and make a lot of money. You can do it if you try.

All the best in your endevours.

Bob.

About The Author

Robert earns his crust by targeting the thousands of newcomers to internet trading. He aims to cut their learning curve to enable them to start earning money from the word go.

He learned the hard way. You can learn the easy way.

Checkout his website. Itกs not posh. Itกs not perfect, but it is effective. http://www.learnandearnnow.co.uk/

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 21, 2004

by Robert J Farey

Chicken Little and the Disintermediation Myth

Chicken Little and the Disintermediation Myth

by: Paul Shearstone

If Chicken Little were alive today he wouldn’t be running around forewarning us of the sky that was about to fall. He’d be too preoccupied alerting everyone about another potential disaster which may in the end prove to be just as erroneous as his first prediction. Nevertheless, if the conversations around the office water coolers are any indication, he’d still get the attention of many nervous corporate omnismarts. So what’s the new buzz? Disintermediation!

If you haven’t heard the word already, you’re going to hear it ad nauseum.

For those unfamiliar with the term; Disintermediation is a groovy way of saying; ขSoon there won’t be a need for a Middleman.ข That is to say, thanks to things like the Internet, ecommerce, global attraction and fulfillment, manufacturers will no longer require the services of the ขMiddleman in the Channelsข [resellers] to reach end users or customers.

It would seem today’s prognosticating Chicken Littles are quite convinced the death of the middleman is in fact, imminent. But like the chicken that went before them, that doesn’t mean they’re right!

The incredible rise and untimely fall of many of the mighty dotcom’s should serve in no small way to highlight much of what we thought the internet was going to do, it didn’t and probably won’t. And you don’t have to bring up the name, Peter de Jager, to know there is no shortage of redfaced futurists still hiding under rocks looking for ways to get out of town. Fortunes were made and lost especially in hightech resulting from, let’s call it; bad information concerning things like Y2K and the forecasted unavoidable changes to the traditional business landscape, thanks to the Internet.

But to be fair, de Jager wasn’t in a bomb shelter when the clock struck twelve, he was in a plane and as far as I know, he never told anyone to stock up on Tang! We can save that discussion for another time as it is – at the risk of sounding a little ironic – history.

Nevertheless, the argument regarding whether ecommerce will entrench itself as the กpreferredก way of doing business continues. From my perch, I’ll go out on a limb and say, ขIt won’t! At least not totally.ข

Simply put, there are two fundamental transactiontypes that culminate in a sale. One is Tactical and the other is Strategic. Few would argue the implementation of a new ITnetwork or specialized software requires a strategic approach that can only be satisfied in person employing a B2B strategy. Most sales requiring specializations all but eliminate – at least for now – an ecommerce solution.

Tactical sales, however, are entirely different and Amazon.com is a perfect example. For products like books,a bar of soap or an airline ticket, ecommerce has a far better chance of becoming the time and moneysaving fulfillment process of choice – but even that, as we have seen, has no guarantees!

A toy is a toy is a toy. Right? So why did Toys.com go under? Surely their business model personified the quintessential Tactical sale for which ecommerce was designed. It did! Yet it still failed. Why?

Why also do studies conducted by USbased firms like Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath report ecommerce has not – as of yet replaced or significantly reduced traditional channel operations to any significant extent?

I personally am reasonably esavvy but, to date, I have only bought a couple of small items over the net. Not because I haven’t tried to buy more.

Giving out my credit card information has never frightened me. My bank assumes all responsibility for purchases by my card should it fall into the wrong hands. [Note: I, like you, pay handsomely for this privilege].

On several occasions I did try to make a small epurchase. Each went something like this. Step 1: Name / Address / Phone Number / [No problem with that].

Step 2: Date of Birth / [SAY WHAT?] SIN Number / [NOT A CHANCE!]

The fact is; I, like most people, will, not under any circumstances give out sensitive, personal information over a faceless Internet regardless of how secure the connection is. And therein lies one of the major stumbling blocks for even the simplest epurchase. Misuse my credit card; I am inconvenienced. Misuse my personal information; I am potentially devastated for life. A few bars of soap or a new toner cartridge for my printer are in the end, not worth the risk.

What about larger purchases? Not too long ago, the Auto Industry was bracing for what it thought would be a groundbreaking way to sell cars – over the Net. After all, it did meet the Tactical Sale Model ecommerce was designed to satisfy. And when that didn’t happen, they were quick to ameliorate their expectations by saying; customers will purchase cars in three steps. First: They will shop the net for exactly the car they want. Second: They will physically test drive one. Finally: They will again shop the net for the very best price and purchase. … So how come so few buyers have done this?

There is an obvious [predictable] answer and it isn’t so difficult to understand.

Educated salesspecialists know there is an Art and a Science to selling. Both the Art and the Science are timetested and proven and are well rooted in things like Psychology, Human Behavior and Motivation. Ecommerce, although quick to offer a potentially new and better way to buy, has fallen miserably short in its ability to offer the human factor still expressly integral in allowing traditionalists to make the leap of faith from the real world to the eworld. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a computer part, a bar of soap or a new car. A better strategy is still needed to achieve synchronicity between the two buyingmodels thereby bringing credibility or a speedy end to the argument about Disintermediation.

ขIs Disintermediation real? Or is it a Myth?

For the answers to this and strategies you can use [already embraced by successful emanaged companies], go to >www.success150.com/theanswer

About The Author

Paul Shearstone aka The ‘Pragmatic Persuasionist’ is one of North America’s foremost experts on Sales and Persuasion. An International Keynote Speaker, Author, Writer, Motivation / Time & Stress Management Specialist, Paul enlightens and challenges audiences as he informs, motivates and entertains. To comment on this article or to book the Pragmatic Persuasionist for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul Shearstone directly @ 4167285556 or 18668554590

www.success150.com or [email protected].

This article was posted on March 21, 2003

by Paul Shearstone

Could there be a new way of hearing the stories we

Could there be a new way of hearing the stories we feel are relevant in our lives?

by: Jesse S. Somer

If you’re anything like me you are really getting tired of the mainstream media’s onevoicetomany analysis of life on Earth. First of all, it’s just too negative! I read a survey recently that stated that fourteen out of fifteen newspaper and TV News stories had negative fearbased stories. I don’t know about you, but if I look at my everyday life, the amount of good and bad I experience seems to be much more balanced. Why does the ‘big’ media think we all love hearing the dark side of things so much?

If you look at what news stories truly are in historical terms, it is a person sitting around the tribal campfire at night telling a tale to inform the people both in wisdom and knowledge. In any tribe there were many storytellers, so different perspectives were always available to the masses. Well, if you think today’s media sources are too monopolized in their power of authority over the stories we are told, there’s a new option for humanity. The answers and views we are seeking in our daily lives could lie in the Internet. This Internet thing really could be the key for humanity to evolving into a species that thinks independently, leaving this age of fear behind.

It’s time to bypass the main media sources. On the Web we can access nonprofit news organizations, we can hear personal views of individuals in news forums and blogs, we can even express our own views on world issues as well as sharing our own personal experiences! With this newly accepted technology called RSS Readers we can start to get the type of information that we feel is most relevant to ourselves as individuals. It comes straight to us and then we can sort through it and decide which people and sources we want to hear from on a regular basis. This is awesome as it means we don’t have to search through a bunch of stories that have little interest to us. It also means if we want to hear more positivism, we can push the negative views out of our perceptions.

Although this idea is in its infancy, the repercussions once realized could have a mammoth impact on how individual humans see and live their lives on Earth. Imagine a society that stretches across the globe where a collective consciousness speaks to itself in an informative manytomany communicative process. There are a lot of happy, positive, intelligent people in this world who are interested in similar things to you. Wouldn’t you like to hear their stories and share their knowledge as a way of constructing your view of reality?

Let’s leave behind this era of negative perspectives and singular authorities telling us how life on Earth should be viewed. It is interesting that some of the most overwealthy, greedy individuals media moguls who tell us what is important. Don’t you want to have a say in how you look at your life while you are here? Positivism and wisdom surrounds us at all times. Would the Universe exist otherwise? Lets reconnect with that source of energy that makes us smile so many times each day. If life were meant to have so bleak an outlook, would there even be stars in the sky?

About The Author

Jesse S. Somer

M6.Net

http://www.m6.net

Jesse S. Somer is a writer thinking about how all this new technology could one day be utilized by the masses of technologically challenged people like him. If it could be incorporated into everyday life in a positive way, life itself could evolve to a higher plane. Please visit www.thepowerofeverythingthatis.com to see Jesse’s personal blog.

This article was posted on September 03, 2004

by Jesse S. Somer

Offline Promotions For Your Home Business

Offline Promotions For Your Home Business

by: Dirk Wagner

Promoting your home business is obviously one of the most important aspects in terms of becoming successful. The internet is full of opportunities where you can advertise your business. But, what about offline advertising?

Offline advertising is often one of the most overlooked ways of advertising for internet based home businesses. Let’s examine some ways you can use offline promotions to better advertise your home business.

Create Flyers

This is a great way to get the family involved in your home business! Using your computer, you can create attractive looking flyers that you can get your kids or spouse to help you hand out at the local mall, post on billboards at the shopping market or place on car windshields in parking lots. You just have to be creative. This is a very inexpensive form of advertising for your home business, and can be fun when you get the family involved.

Business Cards

This is a relatively cheap way of promoting your home business. You can find companies that can make your custom business cards for you, for very little money. Some companies I have dealt with will give as many as 250 free (excluding shipping charges), the only draw backs are they use the back of your cards to put there own business logo and usually the selection is limited compared to paid or premium business cards. Still a very good way to promote. You can leave your business cards around for people to find, leave a stack by payphones, in restaurants, in mailings to your customers. You can even save more money creating your own business cards with your home computer.

Bumper stickers/TShirts

Another very inexpensive way to promote your home business offline is by making up bumper stickers and/or tshirts. This is a great way to get the word out about your product and/or service. Just give them away to everyone that wants one.

Calendars

These are great to give away as free gifts to potential customers. Other promotional items may include coffee mugs, key chains, magnets, pens, etc.

Sponsorship

Sponsor a youth athletic team, or give away free prizes at a golf tournament. Every organization is looking for sponsorship of some sort, create a plan of what you are willing to do to sponsor a organization.

Media

Using the media is a great way to promote. If you can afford it, doing a radio or television spot can bring in a ton of potential clients to your product and/or service. Classified ads in your daily newspaper is also a great way to promote your business. You may also consider sending out a press release to the editor of your newspaper about your home business.

Direct Mail

You can purchase or rent mailing lists to send out promotional material about your product and/or service.

Networking

Unless you never leave the house, networking within your community is a great way to let other’s know about your business. You can join in community groups, chamber of commerce, kids school functions etc.

Word of Mouth

Still one of the best ways to let it be known that you have your own business. Talk about your business and website as often as you can. Encourage other family members and clients to do the same.

There are many ways to advertise your home business both online and off. For best results you really should be using both forms to advertising.

Copyright 2004 Dirk Wagner

About The Author

Dirk Wagner is CEO and owner of http://team4success.biz and the free, easy to install #1 home business toolbar with automated updates. A website dedicated to helping the homebased business entrepreneur start and succeed with tthere very own homebased business.

This article was posted on March 20, 2004

by Dirk Wagner

Email Follow Up Tips, 8 Of Them…

Email Follow Up Tips, 8 Of Them…

by: Daniel Levis

The first thing you need to do is get your emails opened & read. Spend at least as much time worrying about the subject line of each e mail in your sequence as you do worrying about the body.

Brainstorm at least five subject lines, pick the one most likely to stop your prospects dead in their tracks (tip, the only way to know for sure is to test), and use the rest of them in the body of the message. And ALWAYS begin your title with the person’s first name.

Curiosity Killed The Cat Itกs human nature to be curious. One of the most effective ways to get your message opened is to throw a little mystery into the heading. Mystery, mixed with relevant benefit, will get your message opened. But thatกs not all.

Itกs still easy to bail after the first paragraph, so curiosity can also help to drive your prospect deeper into the body of the message. Remember, the deeper your readers go into your copy, the more difficult it will be for them to STOP reading it.

It doesn’t hurt to tell a little bit about what your offer isn’t, to build up the suspense, and help drive your reader further down the page.

Tell A Story In 1919, a Russian immigrant named Max Sackheim, stumbled upon a fascinating discovery. He had been hired by the Sherwin Cody School of English to come up with a mail order advertisement, and his original headline read, กDo You Make Mistakes In Englishก?

The ad didn’t pull.

By adding one magic little word to the headline, Max was able to make the very same ad produce amazing results. The ad became so profitable that it ran for over 40 years straight, when Max changed the headline to, กDo You Make These Mistakes In Englishก?

People’s curiosity got the better of them. They just couldn’t resist reading Maxกs advertisement. They were all wondering if they might be making ‘theseก mistakes in English. Max was able to slip right under the buyer’s natural resistance to being sold, and suck them right into the advertisement.

Story telling has the same effect.

You Can Never Over Educate Nobody ever bought a hammer, because they wanted a hammer. What they wanted was a bunch of nails tapped home just right. Sequential email follow up is ideal for showing your prospects how to achieve their goals with your product.

Remember, the more comfortable your prospects are about the กHow Toก of using your product or service to solve their problem, the more confidence theyกll have in your ability & willingness to really help them. One of the most effective things you can do with your autoresponder, is to offer free courses & tutorials that show your prospects how to use your products to get the results they’re looking for.

It’s the ultimate soft sell, and it’s very effective!

Warts & All Itกs all about trust. Thatกs why you’re following up on your prospects in the first place, right? Your prospects need to be exposed an average of 7 to 9 times before succumbing to your seduction.

Pointing out the imperfections of your product can go a long way toward building that trust. You don’t necessarily have to slam your product, but giving the straight goods on the pitfalls that the buyer might encounter when using it, and helping them to avoid them, demonstrates your honesty, and openness.

Itกs like showing the front of your hands, in a facetoface encounter.

Be Specific Details, exact numbers, & vivid descriptions worked into your copy are worth their weight in gold, because they’re far more believable than generalities. When you make a claim, back it up with facts & figures.

Your prospects are both naturally skeptical, and hungry for truth.

Don’t Be Shy About Objections Every product has natural objections. Don’t be afraid to bring them up.

Read your copy after being away from it for a while, and at some point in the message youกll feel them creeping in. Thatกs the point when you add something like, กOK, you’re probably thinking . I can understand why you might feel that way, many others who looked at this product felt just the same way, until they found out about .ก

You need to come up with a list of reasons why your prospect would want to buy your product or service, and also the reasons why not.

The Fear of Loss Is Greater Than The Desire For Gain Often the fear of losing something, sometimes even something that we do not yet have, is a stronger motivator than our desire for gain.

The fear of missing out on a special price or promotion is a good example of this.

Don’t we all want what we can’t have? Work hard to find ways to make your product scarce, or at least make your offer scarce, by offering it for a limited time.

Justify Your Offer People know that you’re in business to make a profit, and that you don’t give things away out of the goodness of your heart.

When they see a sale, or a special price, or a bonus offer, the wheels naturally start turning in the back of their heads. Whatกs the catch? While itกs our emotions that truly motivate us, logic does have a nasty habit of getting in the way.

When you are open with your prospects about the reason why you’re offering them a special deal, itกs amazing how easily theyกll accept your reasoning, and abandon their resistance. The same applies to giving a legitimate reason why your special offer absolutely expires on a specific date.

So there you have it. Eight email follow up secrets, revealed.

Until next time, Good Selling!

Copyright 2005 Daniel Levis

About The Author

Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant & direct response copywriter based in Toronto Canada. Recently, Daniel & worldrenowned publicist & copywriter Joe Vitale teamed up to co author ขMillion Dollar Online Advertising Strategies – From The Greatest Letter Writer Of The 20th Century!ข, a tribute to the late, great Robert Collier.

Let the legendary Robert Collier show you how to write words that sell…Visit the below site & get 3 FREE Chapters!

http://www.AdvertisingOnlineStrategies.com/adstrategies.html

This article was posted on March 19

by Daniel Levis

Video Game Violence…What Do You Think About It?

Video Game Violence…What Do You Think About It?

by: Daniel Punch

Ever since video game designers were able to put red pixels on their imaginary characters that had recently deceased, there have been people crusading against their subversive ways. The outrage at video games seems to be cyclic, fading very briefly before exploding into the public eye once more with renewed frenzy. The controversy seems to have sparked up again in recent times, with numerous crimes being blamed on the corruptive influence of video games. There have also been various กcontroversiesก surrounding recent video games and their content in the areas of both violence and sexuality.

The first game to receive widespread criticism and media attention was the martial art fighting game กMortal Kombatก. This game included large spurts of blood emitted from attacks and also กFatalitiesก that could be performed on stunned opponents after their defeat. These Fatalities were gruesome animation sequences showing the victorious player killing their defeated opponent in a vast variety of ways. Gamers revelled in this new experience and the controversy surrounding the violence caused mass hype that informed the less informed gamers that the game was out there. Consequently gamers played the new game just to find out what all the talk was about, thereby greatly increasing revenue.

One of the largest sparks of controversy has been the recent กHot Coffeeก modification for กGrand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA)ก. This involved unlocking a sexually oriented minigame that had been removed from the game before release, although evidently not from the source code. The creators of the game, Rockstar Entertainment, obviously realised that this particular part of the game was not appropriate for the video gaming public and removed access to it. An enterprising fan of the game found out and modified the original code to give access to the content once again. Lawsuits were brought against Rockstar for including such content in their game, although the validity of the lawsuit has to be questioned. If the game is simply purchased and played as intended by the developers, this admittedly tasteless and inappropriate mini game would never be encountered. It is not until the usermade modification is downloaded and installed that the player is able to access the content.

Regardless of whoกs to blame, กGTA: SAก was rerated in America and banned from sale in Australia. Oddly enough the gratuitous and encouraged violence in the game went largely unnoticed in the wake of the กscandalousก sex scenes involving clothed, cartoonesque people.

When examined objectively almost all games contain a certain amount of violent content. The kidfriendly bright and colourful กMarioก games by Nintendo feature a character stomping on animated creatureกs heads. In fact the majority of games, even childrenกs games, involve the protagonist crusading against an enemy horde of some sort and generally กdisposingก of them in some manner, whether it be striking them with a weapon or body part (feet, hands, possibly a tail depending on the nature of the character). The only real stand out difference is that in a childrenกs game the กbadก characters will generally bounce backwards in a cute manner and explode with a humorous puff sound (or simply disappear) whereas in a game oriented towards older mature players, the characters are more likely to be (somewhat) realistic, spraying a gusher of red upon their demise.

Whenever some young person somewhere commits a violent crime these days it seems to get blamed on a video game, from กDuke Nukemก and กQuakeก being accused for the Columbine High massacre, to a more recent incident involving a group of minors attributing their violent actions to the กMortal Kombatก video games. Without any solid evidence either way itกs hard to say whether or not video game violence actually has much of an influence on players. To really be sure youกd probably have to have a control group of isolated children that have never seen a violent movie or played a bloodthirsty video game. History does however show that brutal crimes were committed long before video games or even movies came into existence.

Children are quite easily influenced by something that they’re excited about and Iกve seen this happen a lot. Playing a wrestling video game with a group of eight year olds often leads to the eight year olds screaming raucously and trying to pin each other down on the ground. Preteens will often punch and kick their way out of a cinema in terrible combat stances after having viewed a martial arts movie. The current content rating system in place is not geared towards consumer restriction; it is largely aimed at simply informing the public about what they are going to experience. Legal restrictions are not actually put in place until the higher, more severe ratings like in xrated films. Parents, guardians, and society in general need to start taking an interest in who is viewing certain types of content. Instead of complaining about the entertainment a child is enjoying, the parent could be there at the beginning looking at the rating that is printed clearly on the packaging of all entertainment. A simple กI don’t think thatกs suitable, how about this game? It has a lizard!ก distracts the child a surprising number of times. In my experience, children genuinely just want people to take an interest in what they’re interested in, not just murmuring indistinctly, กYes dear, thatกs nice.ก as the child installs the newest violent game.

What about the children that are playing the games in the restricted ratings categories? The only way that they can even get the game into their possession is if a parent (or someone of legal age) purchases the game for the child, or if the store disregards the rating guidelines in place and sells it to them regardless. Either way the fact that a gameกs content has fallen into a minorกs hands is not the fault of the game developer.

Iกm not out to defend the integrity of artistic vision presented in video games as many other gamers are. Frankly there seems to me to be little artistic integrity in rendering blood that is ever more liquid in appearance. I do however enjoy playing some games that are quite violent in nature and in many cases the violent nature of the game increases my enjoyment. Video games are escapism, thereกs (arguably) no point in playing a video game that simulates something you can just walk outside and do (and yet sports games somehow consistently sell in large numbers… curious…). Interestingly I have never yet felt the overwhelming desire to break down into a kung fu stance and commit murder. Perhaps more important than simply banning questionable content in video games would be studying why this content is so appealing to todayกs society?

About The Author

Daniel Punch

M6.Net Web Helpers

http://www.m6.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 30

by Daniel Punch

Music in the Digital Age

Music in the Digital Age

by: Esperdi Bova

We are on the brink of a major change in the way the music industry operates. Digital music will not just change the way people purchase music, but it will also change the way musicians approach creating albums. Digital music gives people the opportunity to instantaneously purchase a song they like – without having to purchase the rest of the album. Artists and executives are both going to have to look at how music is released, and if it is worth producing an entire album if people aren’t going to buy it.

Piracy of course is another major issue that the music industry will have to look into and examine. Currently, it is so simple to download a single song everyone does it and doesn’t feel that what they’re doing is illegal. Laws are being put into place in an attempt to stop downloading illegal music, but technology always appears to be one step ahead of the law. Some companies have found success offering music downloads for a price, but this practice only enforces the concept of downloading one or two songs from an artist, and not buying the entire album.

This trend may force the music industry to change the way they package music to the masses. People’s tastes will become a larger factor and will affect the finished product. Personalized CDs and play lists will have a larger influence. Instead of artists creating new albums, they might focus their attention on one song, or perhaps executives will look into theme compilations – give a number of different bands and artists one theme, and then release that music all together. Whatever the music industry decides on, the next few years are going to revolutionize the way we view – and listen – to popular music. The music industry will never be the same.

About The Author

Esperdi Bova is the owner of Fth Music, expert site for your musical needs. For more information, please visit us at: http://www.fthmusic.com

This article was posted on February 16

by Esperdi Bova

7 Secrets to Explode your eBook Sales! Part 4

7 Secrets to Explode your eBook Sales! Part 4

by: Bluedolphin Crow

Secret #4: Creating passionate articles will explode your eBook sales!
Aho,
All the experts finally agreed on something. Writing articles about your eBook can be one of the most successful ways of eMarketing.
However, one of the biggest problems on online is learning how to write a great article. You should not just type any old thing and call it an article.
First, you must put your passion, your personality into the article. In addition here are some steps to follow to explode your eBook sales using free articles.
Step 1: Generate an article idea that everyone will want to read about. Review your eBook and look for the benefits that your eBook provides to the readers. Make a list of these benefits.
Now, take one benefit at a time and create an article. This will assure you of generating an article idea that people want to read about.
Step 2: Write a simple outline. Once you have your first benefit idea selected. Take another sheet of paper and write a simple outline for that idea. This will give you the beginning content for your article. Later we will กfill in the blanksก of this simple outline to create the article itself.
Step 3: Choose a killer title that will draw attention. This is one of the most important aspects of your article. Without a killer title, your article will be passed over for another.
Now what do I mean killer title? What I mean is a title that has a benefit stated in it and draws peoples attention.
Answer these three questions to help you write that killer title.

Does the title draw a reader to take a look?
Does the title promise to solve a need for the reader?
Does the title offer specific information?

Another way to start writing killer titles is to write at least 20 to 100 titles for each article to start. Then review other peopleกs article titles. Then review your list and select your best killer title. I will tell you from my own experience that the more titles I write for an article, the better my title becomes. I have never used any of the first few titles when doing the above exercise.
Step 4:
Grab your readers with an attentiongrabbing opening sentence. You can use either a statement or a question here. The idea here is to not only grab the readersก attention. Itกs also to keep it.
The best way I have learned to write an attentiongrabbing opening sentence is to go online to an article directory and read the opening sentences to articles with a similar topic. I then discover which opening sentences are attentiongrabbing and which are not.
Once Iกve done this I find it really easy to get my attentiongrabbing sentence out of the way.
Step 5: State the primary purpose of the article by introducing a problem. By looking at your main benefit again you can turn it around into a problem. What is it like without the benefit? Here it is best to use a statement rather than a question.
If you are having trouble with this step simply write out an answer to this statement: กOne of the biggest problems…ก Use this to jar your idea centers in your mind. You can also begin your primary purpose statement this way. Look at the beginning of this article for an example.
Step 6: Take out the sheet of paper that has your outline on it. Now, write two to four sentences for each part of your outline. Imagine for a moment that a 7 year old has asked you about your article. How would you explain it to that child? Great! Now use that in your article.
Most ezine publishers and owners like articles between 400 to 500 words. They also want it formatted to between 60 and 65 characters per line, including spaces.
I have found it best to use กnotepadก when beginning to write out my articles and NOT a word processing program. This way there is NO formatting in the article. It is just the article in plain text.
Another point here is to use the word กyouก a lot. You want the reader to feel comfortable while reading.
Step 7: Include two to three free resources that the reader can find online to illustrate and/or highlight your article content. Using this of course is only if it is appropriate to your article content.
Step 8: Write a resource box for the end of your article. Make this between 4 to 8 lines max. Here is where you tell a little bit about yourself and then highlight your website or email address. See the bottom of this article for an example of a resource box. It is the information that follows, กabout the author,ก below.
Step 9: And finally, with your article written it is time to reread and rewrite. I have found that reading it aloud and/or having one or two other people read it helps a lot at this stage.
Don’t run into a problem many beginning article writers fall into. Many of them don’t like something they wrote and try to begin again. STOP! Don’t begin again. Simply edit around the copy that flows.
Step 10: Now last but definitely not least, reread your article for grammar mistakes and use spell check one last time! This IS the most important step.
Once your article is done you should do the following two things.
1. Submit your article to กarticle announceก services online. An article announce service is a email service that posts articles for everyone. You have to be a member to submit your article. Once you join you can post your articles as you have them completed. Usually only one article submission to each of the announce services per day.
Writers, Publishers and Website owners watch the articles being announced for content that they can use.
When you join these services, it is best to use a second email address. This way the large numbers of articles you will be receiving will not interrupt your personal and business email.
Here are a few article announce services to subscribe to. After you email them to subscribe, READ the email they send you and FOLLOW the directions on formatting your article for each of them. This will increase your ability of having your articles published in these services.
I have listed only article announce services that are located at Yahoo eGroups. After you have subscribed and read each email you receive. Go to this URL to post your articles:
http://groups.yahoo.com/mygroups
Article Announce groups:
Article Announce

Subscribe:

mailto:[email protected]
AAInternet

Subscribe:

mailto:[email protected]
Articles Archive

Subscribe:

mailto:[email protected]
Free Content

Subscribe:

mailto:[email protected]
NOTE: to subscribe simply send a blank email to each of the addresses above.
Ok Great! Now its time to submit your article to online article archives and article directories. Article directories and archives are web sites that contain hundreds and thousands of articles from all over the world. Once you post your article at one of these locations your articles will be in front of thousands of readers, Publishers, writers and website owners.
Here are three to get you started:

http://www.1stinarticles.com
http://www.webmomz.com/users/signup.shtml
http://www.goarticles.com

Well thatกs it for today.
Thank you for reading. Have a great week!
Blessings
Bluedolphin Crow
Copyright 2004 Bluedolphin Crow All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Bluedolphin Crow Ph.D. is a Native American with 6 years internet Marketing Experience and 20 years Sales and Marketing experience. The above article is an excerpt from her upcoming eBook: eBookMarketingSecretsRevealed! To reserve your FREE copy before publication (A $49 value) send a blank email to: mailto:[email protected]

กHow to eBooks Free eZine: mailto:[email protected]

http://www.lostdazedandconfused.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 28, 2004

by Bluedolphin Crow

The Legal Way to Make Money: The Start of Affiliat

The Legal Way to Make Money: The Start of Affiliates

by: Adam Espiritu

The Legal way. How? Affiliates and Ebooks

I hate writing this message because it makes me look like a sellout, but Iกm not.

I just want to help out my friends and make some money doing it. Also, I am broke as hell! The coffee house only does so much.

There are two ways of making quick and continuous (they keep paying you) money on the net. Refer something (affiliate) or make something from your ideas (ebooks)

What are Affiliates? Companies pays for telling others about their products, but only if someone buys something from them. Just check the bottom of any online store or dealer that you like and see if they have a referral or affiliate program. If you can’t find a good affiliate program try www.affiliatematch.com

Then check out this site

http://hop.clickbank.net/?aesp93/affbprint

The Secret to A Steady Income Online Without Creating Your Own Product!

Do you need a webpage? No, but it would help. Just get the link and post or send it to your friends. All a webpage does is get you more people to see your site and hopefully more sales and return sales. Don’t get a free webpage space. No search engine or business will take you seriously. Spend the $ 9 to get a space.

Discover the Way of the Tortoise and Leave the Rat Race behind. http://www.sitesell.com/Adam23.html

And win an amazing prize http://specialprize.sitesell.com/Adam23.html

Now ebooks are just your ideas put into a readable form. They are sold or given away. Most people I know have blogs now or some kind of hobby. It really is easy to get money from your rants or obsessions. Writing an ebook is not hard. Here are a few ways to do it without that much money.

33 Days to Online Profits

Or you could use

How to write and publish your own outrageously profitable ebook… in as little as 7 days!

Since I am a lazy as hell I like this one

กGive me 5 minutes and Iกll show you how a กlazy personก can make more money, work fewer hours and have a lot more fun than any กhard workerก youกll ever meet Guaranteed!ก

Most people I know are struggling to get by or thousands in debt due to student loans or car loans. These links will not make you rich overnight, but they could help with any of those payments. They are helping me right now as you read this message.

You can get up to 50% profit if someone buys these products! Don’t believe me. Just check it out.

Have fun and get money with these links. Email me if you have any question. Thanks

Adam [email protected]

About The Author

Adam Espiritu is the Author and CEO of Practical Time Management

http://www.practicaltimemanagement.com

He has inspired and help hundreds toward their success and goals.

Learn How to Gain More Time Through Time Management and Networking

http://www.practicaltimemanagement.com

This article was posted on August 14

by Adam Espiritu

What Tablet PCs Can Do for You

What Tablet PCs Can Do for You

by: Nick Smith

Tablet PCs are great. If you are a mobile person, and you have never considered getting a tablet PC in the past, now is as good a time as any to start checking them out the technology is cuttingedge, the usability is superb, and prices are starting to drop.

There are two main types of tablet PCs: convertible and slate. Convertible tablets look a lot like normal laptops except the screen can be rotated all the way around and laid down flat across the keyboard. You then input information through the screen using a stylus. Slate tablet PCs include only the screen interface – though they are fully integratable with peripherals like keyboards and mouses, the computer itself does not have them. Both types are viable options, depending on your personal preferences and what you’ll be using it for.

As with any technology, tablet PCs have advantages and disadvantages. Thanks to the last few years of development and enhancement, the disadvantages are shrinking in number, and the perks are becoming more and more enticing.

Advantages of Tablet PCs

Far and away, the best thing about tablet PCs is their mobility. You can take and use them anywhere you go, the same way you would take a notebook and pen. That means that when your boss bumps into you in the hallway and gives you a number of assignments, you can write them down. In meetings you don’t have to hide your face behind the monitor of your laptop because you can lay the tablet PC flat on the table. For students, this mobility is great you can study your notes while you’re waiting in lines or even in the car.

Tablet PCs let you use digital ink to store handwritten notes, graphs, charts, and pictures. You don’t have to worry about taking your laptop and a notepad and pen to meetings or classes. Using the stylus, tablet PCs record your handwriting and drawings. They can convert your handwriting to text if you need to turn in an assignment typewritten.

All of the money you have been spending on pens, pencils, highlighters, notepads, papers, binders, folders, staples, and paperclips stays in your pocket. Because of the digital ink option on tablet PCs, much of the need for paper supplies and writing utensils is eliminated. You can keep all your notes on your computer.

Finally, one of the advantages of tablet PCs over regular laptops is that you don’t lose any functionality from your computer. Tablets operate on similar platforms and run many of the same programs. In fact, many programs integrate all of their normal functions with digital ink, so you can add notes to documents and even email your handwritten notes to someone.

Disadvantages of Tablet PCs

Despite my obvious zeal for tablet PCs, I recognize that there are still some disadvantages. First is the price. The prices for tablet PCs are coming down quite a bit from when they were first released, but on average, you can expect to spend more for a tablet PC than for its equivalent laptop. Depending on the bells and whistles you’re looking for, expect to pay anywhere from $1,000 on up.

The handwritingtotext conversion does not always work the way you wish it would. Just like speechtotext systems require a trained style of speech to work properly, tablet PCs recognize a trained penmanship easier than the way you may write naturally. A lot of the kinks in these conversion systems have been worked out but don’t plan on handwriting your next novel expecting to be able to convert into a printready copy with no problems.

Finally, their smaller size is both an advantage and disadvantage. They are much more mobile than their laptop counterparts, but the viewing area is also smaller. Likewise, the keyboard also shrinks down to accommodate the smaller size, so if you feel like your fingers are already cramped on a laptopsized keyboard, youกll want to make sure you’re going to be able to use the tablet PCs before you buy one.

About The Author

Nick Smith is a client account specialist with http://www.10xMarketing.com. – More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. For organizational software that will help you take full advantage of tablet PCs, visit http://www.gobinder.com/tabletpcs.aspx.

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 08

by Nick Smith