Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Residential Solar Gadgets
Another one of my passions, other than writing and marketing and home improvement, and gardening...and, and... is solar energy.Here's an article I wrote originally for Clean Energy Authority and it has now been picked up by Associated Content.
It's called: Backyard Residential Solar Gadgets - enjoy!
Memorial Diamonds - DNA2Diamonds
Just a quick note to let you all know I've published another article on Associated Content. It's about memorial diamonds and DNA2Diamonds.Go ahead, and take a minute to read my article on Memorial Diamonds now! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it...
Also, if you want more information about this company that makes these stunning memorial diamonds, check out DNA2Diamonds. They have an excellent selection of colors, cuts, and some beautiful settings as well.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
My Article on Cremation Diamonds
Well, I did it! My article on 'Cremation Diamonds, a Unique Keepsake Memorial' was accepted and published by the Associated Content!Click Here to Read it Now!
I think it's a big step to write that first article and get it approved. Many people wouldn't take the time to sit down and write something, never mind go the extra steps (and there were many) to register, create a profile, jump through all the hoops and then submit that article, fingers crossed, to the editors. So, when I saw the acceptance email this morning...I did a little "YAY ME!" dance!
The potential for me to repost, use social media, social bookmarking, and other internet tricks and tips to promote this article, myself and more importantly, my client, is huge. It's like discovering there was one more cold diet coke in back of the refrigerator on a hot summer day, when you thought you were out! Ok, now you know - me, and diet coke, we go way back...we've had a long term relationship and I don't see that changing anytime soon! Gotta have my DC. Hmm, maybe I need another one RIGHT NOW! But, I digress...This article means a great deal to me and will be the start of a huge initiative to create content for publication for this particular client, DNA2Diamonds, myself and other clients. I hope you enjoy it:
Cremation Diamonds, a Unique Keepsake Memorial
by Maureen McHale
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Maureen McHale in Lake Mary Life Magazine
ProNet Career Resources: A hire calling
Howie Appel’s nonprofit is devoted to helping the unemployed
as seen in Lake Mary Life Magazine January/February 2010 issue, Pages 14 and 15
By Peter Reilly
It’s 5:30 p.m. Time for Howie Appel to go to work. He raises his arms and calls the monthly meeting of ProNet Career Resources to order in a loud voice. For the next two hours, the 62-year-old dynamo will move at a pace that most 20-somethings would find hard to keep up with. Partcheerleader, part-coach, part-instructor, the executive director of this nonprofit unemployment support group, encourages, advises, and critiques his way around the room of jobseekers. Gesturing at his Power Point presentation one moment, taking questions the next, he is on a mission to help the unemployed find meaningful employment.
“My heart is in ProNet,” he says. “I’m passionate about helping people.”
Howie, who lives in Lake Mary with Marla, his wife of 32 years, started running the local chapter of ProNet in 2003. At the time, most of the networking was done online. In June 2008, members started asking him to hold an in-person monthly meeting because an increasing number of people were out of work. Because of his day job, he scheduled the meeting at night.
And then his life changed. The hardest working man in job placement suddenly found himself a victim of the recession. A recruiter who specializes in hiring engineers, Howie was laid off almost a year ago. But knowing that people are counting on him, he has continued running ProNet, while conducting his own job search.
The father of two grown children is taking the same advice he gives other folks who get downsized – don’t dwell on the past. Be motivated and proactive, and use ProNet to start building your future.
Membership in the group is free. ProNet, which has about 500 members, exists solely on donations, and is in the process of establishing 501(c)(3) tax exempt status so that the organization can apply for grant money.
On the night Lake Mary Life attended the monthly meeting, about 40 unemployed and underemployed people –mostly professionals in the over-50 age group – came to the meeting room at the Central Branch Library in Casselberry looking for support, advice, and information. Howie, and the 15 dedicated volunteer members of the steering committee who help him run the program, were more than equal to the task.
During the meeting, Howie urged participants to modernize their approach to job searching. He recommends the online business network LinkedIn as a resource for contacting and being seen by potential employers.
“It’s not who you know,” he says. “It’s who knows you. You’ve got to be unique. You’ve got to stand out.”
Jobseekers also eagerly participated in the resume breakout session. During this time the group broke into smaller groups led by human resource professionals who helped applicants improve their resumes. Some of the tips included: making sure resumes are free of typos and abbreviations, avoiding use of the word I, and starting off with a summary of how you can help the company instead of listing your objective.
“The company doesn’t care what you want to do,” says Howie. “They want to know what you’re going to do for them.”
The meeting ended after guest speaker Inez N. Rodriguez, a career management consultant, gave attendees information about parlaying volunteer work into a career. Then Howie held a gas money 50/50 drawing and raffled off donated burrito and ice cream coupons as door prizes to encourage cash-strapped visitors to return to the next meeting. The truth is he doesn’t have to. Each month attendance increases. Most come because of word of mouth, but many are so grateful for Howie’s help; they keep returning as volunteers even after they are employed. Lake Mary resident Ray Shedden was out of work for six months before Howie and the ProNet team gave him the tools to land a new job as director of sales and marketing with Multicom in Longwood.
“Volunteering is very important to me,” says Ray, an engineer by trade. “ProNet helps on a number of different levels. First, it gets you out of the house. Some people give up. It’s so easy to get down. If you get out, you start thinking about options. You meet with positive people. You get an emotional and mental recharge. You network and slowly but surely people are finding jobs.”
Public relations and marketing professional Maureen McHale of Longwood says Howie showed her how to see herself in a new light after she left her most recent job. She started marketing her skills and became a freelancer with several clients.
“I have a lot of reason to be thankful to Howie and ProNet,” she says. “He provided the motivation, support, and knowledge at a turning point in my life.”
If you think ProNet might be able to help you, Howie suggests searching for ProNet on LinkedIn or Facebook and visiting www.ProNetCareerResources.org. Then come to the January 25 meeting.
“ProNet’s whole team and even its members really embrace newcomers,” adds Maureen. “That first night I left with three leads. But, what’s more important, during the meeting listening to Howie and the others speak about tactics and tips and tell some jokes, it really did make me smile, relax, and remember that I was a skilled professional…and that I would get a job.”
“My heart is in ProNet,” he says. “I’m passionate about helping people.”
Howie, who lives in Lake Mary with Marla, his wife of 32 years, started running the local chapter of ProNet in 2003. At the time, most of the networking was done online. In June 2008, members started asking him to hold an in-person monthly meeting because an increasing number of people were out of work. Because of his day job, he scheduled the meeting at night.
And then his life changed. The hardest working man in job placement suddenly found himself a victim of the recession. A recruiter who specializes in hiring engineers, Howie was laid off almost a year ago. But knowing that people are counting on him, he has continued running ProNet, while conducting his own job search.
The father of two grown children is taking the same advice he gives other folks who get downsized – don’t dwell on the past. Be motivated and proactive, and use ProNet to start building your future.
Membership in the group is free. ProNet, which has about 500 members, exists solely on donations, and is in the process of establishing 501(c)(3) tax exempt status so that the organization can apply for grant money.
On the night Lake Mary Life attended the monthly meeting, about 40 unemployed and underemployed people –mostly professionals in the over-50 age group – came to the meeting room at the Central Branch Library in Casselberry looking for support, advice, and information. Howie, and the 15 dedicated volunteer members of the steering committee who help him run the program, were more than equal to the task.
During the meeting, Howie urged participants to modernize their approach to job searching. He recommends the online business network LinkedIn as a resource for contacting and being seen by potential employers.
“It’s not who you know,” he says. “It’s who knows you. You’ve got to be unique. You’ve got to stand out.”
Jobseekers also eagerly participated in the resume breakout session. During this time the group broke into smaller groups led by human resource professionals who helped applicants improve their resumes. Some of the tips included: making sure resumes are free of typos and abbreviations, avoiding use of the word I, and starting off with a summary of how you can help the company instead of listing your objective.
“The company doesn’t care what you want to do,” says Howie. “They want to know what you’re going to do for them.”
The meeting ended after guest speaker Inez N. Rodriguez, a career management consultant, gave attendees information about parlaying volunteer work into a career. Then Howie held a gas money 50/50 drawing and raffled off donated burrito and ice cream coupons as door prizes to encourage cash-strapped visitors to return to the next meeting. The truth is he doesn’t have to. Each month attendance increases. Most come because of word of mouth, but many are so grateful for Howie’s help; they keep returning as volunteers even after they are employed. Lake Mary resident Ray Shedden was out of work for six months before Howie and the ProNet team gave him the tools to land a new job as director of sales and marketing with Multicom in Longwood.
“Volunteering is very important to me,” says Ray, an engineer by trade. “ProNet helps on a number of different levels. First, it gets you out of the house. Some people give up. It’s so easy to get down. If you get out, you start thinking about options. You meet with positive people. You get an emotional and mental recharge. You network and slowly but surely people are finding jobs.”
Public relations and marketing professional Maureen McHale of Longwood says Howie showed her how to see herself in a new light after she left her most recent job. She started marketing her skills and became a freelancer with several clients.
“I have a lot of reason to be thankful to Howie and ProNet,” she says. “He provided the motivation, support, and knowledge at a turning point in my life.”
If you think ProNet might be able to help you, Howie suggests searching for ProNet on LinkedIn or Facebook and visiting www.ProNetCareerResources.org. Then come to the January 25 meeting.
“ProNet’s whole team and even its members really embrace newcomers,” adds Maureen. “That first night I left with three leads. But, what’s more important, during the meeting listening to Howie and the others speak about tactics and tips and tell some jokes, it really did make me smile, relax, and remember that I was a skilled professional…and that I would get a job.”
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The End of Hand Crafted Content
Old media loves nothing quite so much as writing about their own impending death. And we always enjoy adding our own two cents – the AP not knowing what YouTube is, the NYTimes guys reading TechCrunch every day, etc. Speaking broadly, I like what Reuters
But as one of the innovators in the last go round, I think there’s a much bigger problem lurking on the horizon than a bunch of blogs and aggregators disrupting old media business models that needed disrupting anyway. The rise of fast food content is upon us, and it’s going to get ugly.
Old media frets over blogs and aggregators that summarize content and link back to the original source. They can’t make a business in that world, they say, so they run the other way and try to find a way to protect and charge for content.
These are the cavemen, or whoever, who were afraid of fire when it was discovered because it burned, or was too technologically advanced to really understand. The smart guys used it to cook their meat and keep them warm, and multiplied.
For our part, we throw a party when someone “steals” our content and links back to us. High fives all around the office. At least there’s some small nod in our direction. And the aggregators like TechMeme
But for every link there are dozens of sites that outright steal our content with no attribution. Not just spam blogs, even the NYTimes does it. This isn’t a copyright issue – the stories are rewritten by actual people. But it’s far cheaper to simply take the news and rewrite it – if you can get away with it – than to hire people who do actual journalism. Over time, it becomes a competitive tax that is difficult to bear.
But even then, companies like ours can find a way to compete.
So what really scares me? It’s the rise of fast food content that will surely, over time, destroy the mom and pop operations that hand craft their content today. It’s the rise of cheap, disposable content on a mass scale, force fed to us by the portals and search engines.
On one end you have AOL and their Toyota Strategy of building thousand of niche content sites via the work of cast-offs from old media. That leads to a whole lot of really, really crappy content being highlighted right on the massive AOL home page. This article, for example, is just horrendous
On the other end you have Demand Media and companies like it. See Wired’s “Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model
These models create a race to the bottom situation, where anyone who spends time and effort on their content is pushed out of business.
We’re not there yet, but I see it coming. And just as old media is complaining about us, look for us to start complaining about the new jerks.
My advice to readers is just this – get ready for it, because you’ll be reading McDonalds five times a day in the near future. My advice to content creators is more subtle. Figure out an even more disruptive way to win, or die. Or just give up on making money doing what you do. If you write for passion, not dollars, you’ll still have fun. Even if everything you write is immediately ripped off without attribution, and the search engines don’t give you the attention they used to. You may have to continue your hobby in the evening and get a real job, of course. But everyone has to face reality sometimes.
Forget fair and unfair, right and wrong. This is simply happening. The disruptors are getting disrupted, and everyone has to adapt to it or face the consequences. Hand crafted content is dead. Long live fast food content, it’s here to stay.
SOURCE (This was too good not to scrape and paste! Here's to New Media!!)
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics
1) Title Tags or Permalinks
Two of the most determining factors in Google's ranking are your domain name and title tag. For example, a domain name such as: http://www.web-development-sydney.com will generally get ranked higher than http://www.companyname.com, assuming that they had identical keywords and page content.
Keywords in the domain may not be possible for some that have already registered a domain, so it’s too late to change. An alternative -- and also a useful tactic -- is to add your keywords into the names of your pages, such as:
http://www.companyname.com/web-development-services.html
2) H1 Tags
The Google ranking algorithm dictates that if you're using an h1 tag, then the text in between this tag must be more important than the content on the rest of the page.
Here's a quick example:
By enclosing the text between h1 brackets, Google sees this text as more important than text enclosed in "p" brackets.
By default, H1 tags aren't the prettiest in terms of formatting, so using a CSS style to override the default look is usually a good idea: H1 { color: blue; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 16px }
3) Top Site Submission
Submit to Google
Submit to Yahoo (registration required)
Submit to MSN
Submit to Dmoz.org
4) Sub-Directory Submission
Directories are a wonderful way to get links to your site, and as a bonus, you will often receive very targeted traffic. While some are free listings, other are paid listings, so be sure to read the rules for each site before submitting your site.
You also should choose your categories wisely, especially when there are multiple categories that are suitable at one site. There are many different techniques for selecting one category over another. They include:
a) Choosing the category that is closer to the root directory (the index page of the site). For example, a link on www.example.com/business/index.html would be much more desirable than a link on: www.example.com/business/homebiz/home/index.html
b) Selecting the category with the fewer links. With fewer links, and thus less competition, you increase your odds of a visitor clicking through to your site. Also be wary of categories with more than 100 listings per page.
c) Select the category that has the higher PageRand or WebRank. Since links with higher PR are more beneficial, this is another important way of selecting which category to list in.
d) You will also find directories in many different market areas. Do a search in Google or Yahoo for directory with keywords that compliment your site, and you will likely find more to submit to.
e) You also want to ensure that you are submitting to directories where the link will benefit your site. Some directories are set up so that you will get zero value for that link in the search engines, and the only benefit will be from the traffic on that directory that happens to click through to your own site.
When making new posts or pages, make sure that you are targeting your search keywords properly. Try to include those keywords in the titles for which you want to be searched and indexed. If your content is unique and you have chosen the right keywords, search engines will quickly pick up your articles and index them. Use variations for your keywords and include them in different phrases.
Search engines rank your pages by keywords in the following order:
- Prominence and accuracy of the keywords
- Frequency of the keywords
- Concentration of the keywords
- Closeness within the keywords
- Placement of the keywords in the content
So, be sure that you have a balanced article before publishing it to your audience and please do no spam your keywords because everyone hates it, including the search engines.
Sprinkling keywords throughout your page content can also improve your sites keyword density. Keyword density simply means the ratio of optimized keywords to the rest of the content on your page. It is usually expressed as a percentage, and should be between 7% and 10% for each page on your site.
Don't overdo the keyword density, however, but don't overlook it either. A good example would be:
Before: Company name provides web design and site management services to our clients.
After: Company name provides web development services to the
7) Links Should Have Meaning
Update your anchor text (the text acting as a link) to have better keyword value. Both internal and external links should have meaning, and stay away from using “here,” “click here,” “this,” etc. as links.
Incorrect: If you’re looking for Twitter badges for your site, click here.
Correct: Here are some Twitter badges for your site.
8) Internal Linking
The more internal links we have, using our key words to link from page to page, the more the search engines will recognize our site as important for those terms and give us a higher page rank.
9) Content is King
I can’t emphasize this enough. The quality and richness of your content make more of an impact on page rank than any of the tips to follow. Strive to have unique and frequently updated content on your website and blog, and it will drive up your ranking.
10) Social Bookmarking Plugins
With the introduction of social bookmarking websites like Del.icio.us, Stumbleupon, Redditt, Digg etc., getting targetted traffic to your website is easier than before. People will bookmark your website if it is useful to them and has good content. Every person who bookmarks your website helps you in getting an incoming link.
You can link to the bookmarking sites so that its easy for your visitors to bookmark your website. Once someone bookmarks your website, there are chances that he will return back to your website sometime later. He might even share that bookmark with his friends/family which can get you more visitors.
A social bookmarking plugin should be installed to enable visitors to bookmark and submit our website and blog posts to various bookmarking sites like Digg, Reddit, Stumpleupon, etc. The most popular plugin for social bookmarking nowadays is AddThis.
11) Back Links
The toughest part of the Google SEO process is back-links. Back links are websites that link directly to your website. The general principal is the more back links you have, the higher your pages will be ranked, as your website must be good if so many other sites are linking back to it. When considering the inbound links to your website, you just can’t get enough of them.
Setting up back links takes time and needs to grow in steady, slow, natural increments or the search engines will suspect you're using a link farm (not a good idea). By posting in forums, on other blogs or websites, each and every day will build back-links (keeping in mind that the sites contacted should be relevant but not competitive) e.g. - If you sell chocolate, partnering with a company that sells Roses may just be a good idea. Within a couple of weeks, you should have a good 100 or so sites linking back to yours.
12)
a) Link Exchange
The most widely used and predominant link building technique is the exchange of links with other like-minded websites. This can be done through one-way link exchange, reciprocal link exchange or a clever three-way link exchange. One way link exchanges are hard to do as it only requires the target website to link back to you. People will only link to your website if they are paid or in lieu of any other incentive.
Reciprocal link exchanges are easy because you are also putting the target website’s link on your website, therefore, the give and take rule applies here.
Finally, there is the little known three-way link exchange technique. Let me give you an example of how its done. Say, you own websites “A” & “B” and want good inbound links for website “A”. You go out and do a three-way link exchange with a webmaster who owns the website “C”. When doing the exchange, you put C’s link on your website “B” (instead of putting it on website “A”), and C puts “A” link on their website. So, you are basically gaining one way link for your website “A” without losing any Page value.
In order to initiate a link exchange, you will have to contact a website’s administrator by sending an email stating what you want to do. Make sure your e-mail is courteous and you explain what benefit the other website will get out of the link exchange. You can also try visiting different webmaster forums where you can find many people wanting to do link exchanges.
b) Link Baiting
This is the most organic way of getting unlimited back links. Link baiting basically means offering some kind of unique content (bait) to your visitors and in turn they link back to your website. For example, e-books, templates, custom scripts, custom graphics etc. I guess you get the idea. You can insert your website’s link in that content and as long as that content holds value and is available on your website, it is certain that people will use it and link back to you automatically. It will have a lasting effect for your website’s page rank.
c) Article Submissions
Depending on the niche of your website, you can write quality articles and submit them to various free article directories on the Internet. Article directories allow you to put link back to your website in the author resource box so that will give you back links and traffic too. If people like your article, they might even directly link to it.
d) Press Releases
Another effective way to spread the buzz about your website is by doing press releases. You can write press releases about your website or a particular section and submit them to press release distribution services such as clickpress, webwire, businesswire, openpress etc.
e) Blog Commenting
When you are visiting other people’s blogs, you can leave comments on their posts. Some bloggers allow you to put your website’s link along with the comments which can help you build links. Sometimes, the link that you put will have a no-follow tag attached to it which will not give any page rank value to your website, but it can still send some extra visitors.
f) Forum Posts
Try and become a member of all the popular forums that are related to your website’s topic. Most of the forums will allow a certain number of links which can be added to your signature below every post you make. You can add your website(s) link(s) there and build back links.
g) Creating Contests
Last but not the least, a viral way to make good back links is to hold a number of contests on your website. You can even offer a small amount of money for the winner of the contest. If money is short, then you could offer something else that is readily available with you as the prize. You can then ask people to link back to your contest and this will get you some quality one-way links.
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