Bryan's Journal - Information and News

World War Iphone Alliance Code 2S2D3T China

2012-01-13T20:44:00.000+10:30

World War Iphone Alliance Code 2S2D3T China. My country is China and alliance code is 2S2D3T. I only will add Chinese Flag. Chinese Brothers and Sisters, please add me and let's form a powerful World War alliance. If you are not Chinese flag, will consider adding you into alliance as well but you must be of high level and a player with integrity and play fair. I don't like players who keep sanctioning other world war players and also those who keep farming especially farm on low level or inexperienced world war players. ATM is definitely welcome, please send me a link and I will definitely welcome your generosity. Once again, please add my World War Iphone Alliance Code 2S2D3T and flag is China.
-------------------------------
World War Iphone Alliance Code 2S2D3T China.
World War Iphone Alliance Code 2S2D3T China.
World War Iphone Alliance Code 2S2D3T China.
World War Iphone Alliance Code 2S2D3T China.
World War Iphone Alliance Code 2S2D3T China.

10 Tips for Effective Time Management

2009-05-17T14:22:00.002+09:30

10 Tips for Effective Time Management
Does having "too much to do and not enough time to do it" sound familiar? If so, it's time to work smarter, not harder so you can increase productivity decrease stress and have more time for fun! Leading Brisbane recruitment-to-recruitment company, Galaxy Recruitment offers the following tips to help you get the most out of your time.

1. Set Goals and Plan
As the old saying goes, "by failing to plan, you plan to fail". Set your goals and develop a realistic plan for your direction.
2. Prioritise and use a To-Do list
Differentiate between the urgent tasks that produce short-term outcomes, and the vital tasks that produce long-term outcomes. Rank your priorities by numbers, colours, or symbols - use a system that suits you.
3. Learn to say "no"
It's a small word, yet many people find it extremely difficult to say "no"! By saying "yes" to everyone just to please them, you may end up overcommitting and letting them down instead. If it helps, remember to phrase your response so that you are saying "no" to the project and not the person. e.g "No, I can't take this project on right now. I simply don't have the bandwidth to complete the task properly."
4. Delegate
If you can, delegate routine activities that aren't part of your core competency. Remember you are delegating, not abdicating!
5. Avoid procrastination
Procrastination usually sets in when a task is perceived to be difficult to achieve. Try breaking your task into smaller milestones that you can satisfy systematically. Crossing off these smaller tasks as you complete them helps you make track of your progress and keeps the end outcome within sight.
6. Be flexible
Be realistic about your goals and allow time for interruptions, distractions and the unplanned "emergency" - they are inevitable.
7. Plan around your "Prime Time"
If possible, plan your tasks in accordance with the the time of the day that you perform at your peak. If you're a "morning person" plot your work schedule around fulfilling the challenging tasks during the day, and the more routine aspects of your work such as data entry, responding to emails or making telephone calls during the afternoon. If you're more of an afternoon or "night owl" reverse the order.
8. Keep a journal with you at all times
Always be ready to write down your best ideas in an instant - you never know when a killer idea might strike! Your journal should also be used as a goal-tracker that you can go through weekly to make sure you are on track.
9. Reward yourself
When you meet your goals and objectives, be sure to celebrate your success and achievements. A bit of positive reinforcement now and then serves to remind you why you are doing what you do for a living.
10. Effectiveness over efficiency
Although you should aim for both outcomes, try not to bog yourself down in processes if they add no value to the outcome. In the scheme of things, completing tasks effectively is much more important than doing things quickly.
Source: Galaxy Recruitment

SA Median House Prices (December Quarter)

2009-04-14T21:15:00.002+09:30

The latest South Australia median house prices for December 08 is up. Overall, both metropolitan and regional areas have dropped in prices. With the worldwide economy deteriorating and the Australian economy moving into recession, house prices will continue to drop.

Government unveils $42 billion economic stimulus package

2009-02-03T22:31:00.002+10:30

MORE than 10.6 million Australians will receive cash bonuses under a $42b Government plan to boost the economy.

As the Reserve Bank prepares to announce another cut in official interest rates this afternoon, the Government has released details of its plan to support up to 90,000 jobs. It also revealed a $22.4 billion fiscal budget deficit will blow out to $33.3 billion by 2009-10.

Under the economic stimulus package:
FROM March, families eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part A will receive a $950 Back to School Bonus for each eligible child.One-off $950 payments will also be made to: AROUND 1.5 million single-income families who receive Family Tax Benefit Part B; FARMERS and rural-dependent small business owners receiving exceptional circumstances assistance;YOUTH Allowance, Austudy, Abstudy and Education Entry Payment recipients;FROM April, workers earning up to and including $80,000 will get a $950 tax bonus;THOSE earning $80,000 - $90,000 will get $650;PEOPLE earning between $90,000 - $100,000 will receive $300.

The Government will also: INSTALL free ceiling insulation in 2.7 million homes;CONSTRUCT 20,000 public and social housing dwellings and 802 Defence houses;DOUBLE the rebate to landlords who install insulation in rental properties to $1000 INCREASE the Solar Hot Water Rebate from $1000 to $1600;SPEND $850 million on fixing roads, building boom gates for rail crossings and building community infrastructure such as town halls, libraries and sport centres.

Schools will also benefit: ALL 9540 Australian schools will receive up to $200,000 for maintenance and building works; EVERY primary, special and combined Prep - Year 12 school will receive money for large-scale infrastructure such as libraries and multi-purpose halls;ABOUT 500 new science laboratories and language learning centres will be constructed in high schools.Meanwhile, businesses will be eligible for a share of $2.7 billion worth of investment tax breaks. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan will hold a press conference this afternoon to discuss the plan and the budget and economic outlook.

Avoiding the Blame Game Between Sales and Marketing

2009-01-31T18:27:00.002+10:30

Avoiding the Blame Game Between Sales and Marketing
by Anneke Seley
coauthor, Sales 2.0: Improve Business Results Using Innovative Sales Practices and Technology

One of the strategic prerequisites of Sales 2.0 — the use of innovative sales practices enabled by technology — is the alignment of sales and marketing. Organizations often have different executives with separate goals, perspectives, and compensation-plan objectives running sales and marketing. This can lead not only to internal unrest but also to negative customer experiences or perceptions of your company, not to mention poor sales results. Those companies that engineer their organizations to guarantee sales and marketing cooperation, however, achieve both competitive advantage and improved revenue.

One company that exemplifies a high level of collaboration between sales and marketing is newScale (link to newScale.com), a company that offers IT service catalog and service portfolio management software solutions. This is due to the close working relationship and shared compensation-plan targets of the company’s EVP and head of sales, David Satterwhite, and VP of marketing, Mark Hamilton. Their partnership commitment is so strong that they not only co-develop integrated programs and practices, but they also make presentations as a team. These executives’ dedication to collaboration, elusive in many companies, earned them a market-leading position in its field, with more than 1.5 million users worldwide, including 20 percent of the Fortune 50.

David and Mark are evangelists of sales and marketing communication and collaboration at the top level.

They make it a priority.
Both believe alignment has a critically positive impact on both top- and bottom-line results and frees them to focus on making their numbers. They also stress that it is a prerequisite to a healthy and productive company culture.
David and Mark maintain their commitment to alignment by considering each other members of their management teams, attending the other’s management meetings, and holding weekly one-on-one meetings or phone calls. They treat the annual marketing plan as a customer proposal, with sales being the customer, and share staffing and head-count planning.

They develop shared rules of the road.
This includes assuming a positive rather than adversarial intent on the part of the other department, which they model at the highest level, and recognizing that they have a shared ultimate metric of success — revenue growth — on which compensation in both sales and marketing is based.
David underlines the importance of upbeat psychology, as well as personal relationships, in business. By coaching his sales team to give marketing staff the benefit of the doubt when something goes wrong and by helping them resolve conflicts through trust, he avoids hours of management “therapy” and keeps his group focused on sales effectiveness and efficiency.

They leverage each other’s strengths.
David contributes his sales instincts for what produces revenue, understands what motivates his customers to buy and his sales team to sell, and has highly developed skills negotiating and winning deals. Mark is expert at operations, systems, and processes, distilling and analyzing complex concepts, and seeding and growing markets.

They collaborate on designing and implementing sales tools and technologies.
Price lists, closed-loop lead processes, weekly sales tips, win/loss programs, and continual surveys of marketing-program effectiveness are some of the tools the company developed that have passed the sales “sniff test.” Because they are designed by both sales and marketing, they actually get used.
Mark describes the difficulty he faced getting newScale’s sales people to report on lost deals. Sales people like to celebrate successes, not dwell on failures. By documenting the deals they haven’t won, sales people may feel they bring attention to their weaknesses in sales process or skills. When he asked his marketing group to call “lost” customers, though, Mark uncovered a solution to the problem of engaging the sales team. The calls revealed that many customers weren’t lost at all, as they weren’t happy with their chosen alternative solution to newScale’s product. Though newScale’s sales team didn’t win these sales initially, these customers became part of the pipeline a second time through Mark’s calling program. The sales group happily adopted the program when they understood it as a sales campaign that could unearth recycled, newly qualified leads.
Mark also recognized an opportunity to improve lead qualification and pipeline building using products from Genius.com (link to genius.com), but he wouldn’t dream of signing up to try them without running the idea by the manager of David’s deal-development team. Genius’ products truly support a Sales 2.0 (link to phoneworks.com/sales20) collaboration between marketing and sales by allowing reps in both departments to track and act on important data on potential customers (such as who is responding to e-mail messages, and what web pages they are looking at right now and for how long). By including the sales team in the evaluation and decision-making process, Mark succeeded in bringing a valuable sales tool into the company that is enthusiastically embraced by the lead qualifiers.

As customer requirements and economic conditions change, the old way of selling — independently of or in contradiction to marketing efforts — doesn’t work. Sales 2.0, the evolution of the sales function, includes rethinking sales strategy, people, process, and technology. With a business strategy that emphasizes sales and marketing alignment and collaborative planning and execution, companies will stay competitive and achieve sales success.

Anneke Seley is the CEO and founder of Phone Works, a consultancy that helps large and small businesses build and restructure sales teams to achieve predictable, measurable, and sustainable sales growth. As the 12th employee at Oracle, she designed the company’s revolutionary inside sales operation. Her book, Sales 2.0: Improve Business Results Using Innovative Sales Practices and Technology, is available at online retailers including amazon.com, bn.com, booksamillion.com, and borders.com. For more information, visit www.sales20book.com.

Customer Experience and Satisfaction Key for Marketers in 2009‏

2009-01-31T18:20:00.002+10:30

Companies Missing Big Opportunity to Turn Customer Pain Into Competitive Gain, Says CMO Council Report

Despite overwhelming agreement on the importance of customer experience and word-of-mouth, senior marketers admit their companies are failing to take decisive, company-wide action to integrate customer voice and experience into key business and marketing processes, according to a new study by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council.
Sponsored by Satmetrix, the Net Promoter Company, the study, titled "Giving Customer Voice More Volume," revealed that a surprising 58 percent of the 480 executives surveyed said their companies do not compensate any employees or executives based on customer loyalty, satisfaction improvements or analytics. Some 38 percent said their companies have no programs in place to track or propagate positive word of mouth among customers. In addition, only 29 percent said their companies rate highly in their ability handle and resolve customer problems or complaints.

The CMO Council study underscores critical deficiencies in the way companies measure, optimize and leverage customer experience to drive loyalty, improve brand value and increase business performance and growth, including:

-- Insufficient availability and aggregation of real-time customer
experience data across touch points that should be shared across the
organization

-- Poor use of customer interactions to collect insights and intelligence
or maximize up-sell and advocacy opportunities

-- Lack of Internet processes and systems to track online word of mouth
and drive customer advocacy

-- Intermittent or deficient monitoring of customer experience that fails
to provide true and timely insights into problems and opportunities

-- Too few compensation programs tied to customer experience, loyalty and
satisfaction gains

"Customer experience is one of the most critical determinants of brand strength and business growth. Yet, most organizations and senior marketers suffer from major blind spots and gaps in the way they interact, handle and respond to customer issues or problems," said CMO Council executive director Donovan Neale-May. "CMOs must assume ownership for the customer experience and establish enterprise-wide measures and disciplines to ensure continuous improvement. We are missing a major opportunity to turn customer pain into competitive gain at every touch point through better use of web and contact center technologies and processes."

Customer listening, learning and leveling are critical qualities that need to be part of an institutionalized corporate culture, notes the CMO Council. Yet, survey data demonstrates that most companies are not taking advantage of these opportunities to drive company-wide performance improvement and business growth. Instead, most companies treat customer interactions around service situations and incidents only as a problem that needs quick resolution:

-- Only 38 percent of companies gather customer insight from customer
engagement situations.

-- Just 32 percent look for ways to turn problems into new sales
opportunities, and only 15 percent introduce new products or services to
further monetize the relationship.

-- Merely 17 percent use the opportunity to identify and cultivate
potential customer champions and advocates.

While companies have a long way to go in turning detractors into brand advocates, senior marketers are clearly aware of the importance of customer experience. In fact, 83 percent of respondents said it is either "essential" or "increasingly important" in driving brand advocacy and business performance. In addition, 84 percent said positive customer experiences and word of mouth have helped their brands and businesses grow. There were 44 percent of respondents who admitted that high-profile negative customer experiences had at some time compromised their brands.

Only 31 percent rate their company's commitment to customer listening highly, but another 35 percent say it is "getting better." Although 34 percent of respondents said their companies have made no changes to the way they track and analyze customer experience in recent years, it can be seen as a positive development that 45 percent of respondents say their companies have taken steps to better integrate and analyze customer data. Another 39 percent said they have increased personalization and intimacy in their customer communications, 20 percent say they have embraced intelligent Internet analytics and 18 percent are capturing real-time information at the "point of pain."

"Companies must become more sophisticated and committed to both leveraging customer experience as a key business metric and instituting company-wide processes that drive improvement," said Laura Brooks, Ph.D. and vice president of research for Satmetrix. "The Net Promoter Score has been proven to be the most reliable customer metric for business growth, but measurement is not an end in itself. Companies need to commit themselves to understanding the key determinants of their score and continuously strive to improve their customer experience competitiveness." Brooks is co-author, with Satmetrix CEO Richard Owen, of a new book, titled "Answering the Ultimate Question," that offers a new operating model for NetPromoter success.

Other key findings of the study include:

-- Nearly two-thirds of companies do not have a formal Voice of Customer
program in place.

-- Only 13 percent of companies have deployed real-time systems to
collect, analyze and distribute customer feedback.

-- While 74 percent say they receive customer feedback via e-mail, only
23 percent say they track and measure the volume and nature of these
messages.

-- Customer voice has gone online, but only 14.5 percent track word of
mouth on the Internet

-- Only 12 percent are using a word-of-mouth marketing platform to drive
online customer advocacy.

Tips on How to Choose A Trade Show Display Company

2009-01-16T20:08:00.000+10:30

The backbone of your trade show exhibit displays is the trade show display company which plans and designs your trade show exhibit. You must look for an organization which offers wide range of options for you to choose from. They also assign experts for your project who will take care of every possible factor which can prove to be advantageous for the upcoming trade show.

While opting for a trade show display company you must check that their package offers international services so as to meet your increasing demands. Their package must also be flexible as per your needs. They should be ready to replace your exhibit rentals with custom exhibits whenever you feel like doing so.

Lastly, never forget to compare the prices of different trade show display companies so that you don't end up overpaying for your project.

Sales 2.0: Improve Business Results Using Innovative Sales Practices and Technology

2009-01-14T03:02:00.000+10:30

What is your sales organization doing about the current economic downturn? What will make a difference for your company? While the economic forecast may be “uncertain,” it is certain that our customers are reducing their budgets and spending more carefully, forcing their vendors to do the same. This economic challenge will accelerate the adoption of Sales 2.0 from a “nice to have” to a “need to have” philosophy. Companies that continue to sell the way they sold in the past will become less profitable or fail altogether. Customer preferences, the ever-rising cost of sales, and the availability of next-generation technologies are making change mandatory for companies that want to outperform the competition and minimize the impact of the economic slowdown.

What is Sales 2.0?
Sales 2.0 is not a new technology. It is the use of innovative sales practices to improve business results, creating value for both the buyer and seller, and is often enabled by Web 2.0 or next-generation technology. Sales 2.0 initiatives typically center on process and customer-engagement improvements to increase sales productivity. Sales 2.0 practices combine the science of measurable, process-driven operations with the art of collaborative relationships, using the most profitable and expedient sales resources required to meet your customers’ needs. The goal of Sales 2.0 is to produce greater, predictable, repeatable business results, including increased revenue, decreased sales costs, and sustained competitive advantage.

Sales 2.0 initiatives require changing mindset and adjusting sales strategies. A relatively simple Sales 2.0 practice involves selling more through video or web conferencing. This can be done by inside salespeople or by field salespeople who perform more of their jobs from their desks. Selling more efficiently should also mean selling more effectively, as many buyers now prefer to meet remotely via conference calls with video or web conferencing, and salespeople benefit from additional selling time that otherwise would be spent traveling. A traditional sales process that included three or four onsite visits might now have zero or just one face-to-face visit. The financial impact of reducing travel expenses can be significant and is easily measured, but the economics of giving your most expensive sales resources — your field salespeople — additional selling time is even more compelling.

Many products and services, especially those of relatively small to average value, can only be sold profitably with a remote or low-touch sales model. The definition of “small to medium orders” is different for every company, but they are generally those that fall into your bottom 50% in value. If ignored, these mid-market customers or transaction types are missed opportunities for organizations that rely solely or too heavily on a field-based sales model. And when they are sold through field sales, these smaller opportunities can derail focus and drain the organization’s profitability.

Another Sales 2.0 practice uses some “science” to accurately capture key market information and metrics such as average sales cycle, average deal size and sales-cycle conversion rates. By using a defined sales process and data analytics, you can determine how your sales force should be structured and which customers and transaction types justify the assignment of field account executives, inside salespeople, channel partners or no selling effort at all. Data analytics in this sense can range from rudimentary (pen and paper) to moderate (spreadsheets, CRM, and most reporting systems) to advanced (dashboards and on-demand sales intelligence). Rather than simply measuring the final result (revenue), a Sales 2.0 approach measures the effectiveness of every stage in your sales process by salesperson, giving managers the opportunity to provide targeted coaching. Data analytics also can be used to correlate and analyze the specific characteristics of your most profitable customers (size, industries, locations, buyer types, etc.) that produce the most revenue and profit. Sales and marketing leaders can then use this information to fine-tune your sales model and activities to ensure the loyalty of your most valuable customers and find more prospects like them.

How do I begin a Sales 2.0 initiative with limited staff and budget?
A key Sales 2.0 tenet involves experimentation, often through testing new process ideas and piloting new technology. Testing a new sales message, pricing options, new technology, or even a new sales process enables the organization to be innovative with minimal risk. Small pilot programs that use minimal resources enable ineffective ideas to fail on a small scale, while good ones can be rolled out more aggressively.

Becoming a Sales 2.0 organization requires that we proactively adapt and continually improve so we can become closer to our customers and weather the economic storm better than our competitors.

New Year. New You. New Nest Egg.

2009-01-10T01:28:00.003+10:30

Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is: Investment Strategies for Lifetime Wealth - Natalie Pace

Build a better nest egg with 6 easy, sound strategies for 2009. The stock market lost 38% in 2008, but if you lost more than 20%, your problem wasn't really the stock market, it was the design of your nest egg. Storms occur in markets, as they do in the real world, but your home shouldn't be flooding every time it happens.

You know intuitively that your retirement plan doesn't work. Your nest egg has drowned twice now in the last eight years. You were elated with your returns in 1999 and then devastated when your assets imploded during the DOT COM bust of 2000-2002. Same thing when Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through 14,000 in October of 2007, only to drop below 8000 in 2008. If you had a healthy fiscal plan, your nest egg wouldn't be sinking all of the time.

And contrary to what your financial advisor may be telling you, the markets returned only 4% over the last ten years, not 12%. That was less than a percentage point above Treasury Bills, at 3.3% annual gains, with a whole lot more risk.

Sound Nest Egg Strategies:
Rule #1: Always keep a percent equal to your age. Modern Portfolio Theory, the cornerstone of a healthy nest egg, has been around for half a century and Harry Markowitz, the economist who wrote it, won a Nobel Prize in 1990. Many financial professionals are paid on commission to sell you mutual funds, so, if you weren't protected from the 2008 financial crisis, chances are that either 1) your guru just didn't know the theory, or 2) s/he wasn't paid to employ the theory, or 3) s/he had bosses who pushed sales hard and couldn't employ the theory, or 4) s/he was dumb enough to think s/he could outthink a genius Nobel Laureate.

Grade Your GuruYou wouldn't hire an architect whose buildings flood in a storm. Since there are so many ìprofessionalsî and ìpunditsî who are spouting off -- when in reality they drowned their clients' nest eggs in 2008 -- it's your job to take charge and design a better dream life. As TD AMERITRADE Chairman Joe Moglia says, "Nobody cares more about your money more than you do." Bears get lucky in bear markets. Bulls get lucky in bull markets. Sound nest egg strategies work in any market!

HOW TO GRADE YOUR GURU
Add up your losses. If you lost more than 20% in 2008, your guru isn't making the grade.
Check your allocation. If you didn't start 2008 with a percent equal to your age SAFE in Treasury Bills and/or high-rated bonds (GM, Fannie, etc. DO NOT QUALIFY), your guru isn't looking out for your best interest.

MY GRADES
NEST EGG: The pie charts and strategies outlined in Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is saved Bill (a handyman) and Nilo (an office administrator) Bolden's nest egg, while Nilo's bosses lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since employing my strategies, they haven't lost anything.

TRADERS:Before I give you the details on my track record this year, which was outstanding, please note that novices have no business trading individual stocks in this financial storm anymore than beginning surfers should race into the jaws of a tsunami. Don't trade individual companies in 2009 unless: 1) you know how to buy put options and have had a few years of successful trading long and short, and 2) are willing to take your profits early and often. Obviously, if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to focus on sound nest egg strategies first and education second -- perhaps at my Get Rich and Enrich Retreat. (Check out the banner ad on the home page at NataliePace.com for more details.)70% of the companies I featured in my 2008 monthly article and stock report cards were winners. Of those winners, more than half (58%) were shorts, i.e., companies that we expected to go DOWN in value.

ACT NOW TO GET IN GREAT FISCAL SHAPE!
Blind faith lost you a lot of money in 2008. 2009 is poised to be another stormy environment in stocks, which means that if you don't pull your head out of the sand and get a better dream life plan, you're going to be get buried.

My Golden Nest Egg Formula
ALWAYS KEEP A PERCENT EQUAL TO YOUR AGE SAFE. Treasury bills are the safest investment today. (High-rated bonds, money markets and CDs are traditionally and will be again in the future.)

DURING RECESSIONS, OVERWEIGHT 15-20% ADDITIONAL INTO SAFETY. Cash is King in a recession, i.e. not losing is winning. You will not be stuck overweighted in cash forever. If the markets continue to drop in 2009, as they are poised to do, you'll be glad you employed this defensive strategy. And you will have cash to invest, while those around you are scrambling to hang on and/or are forced to sell low to cover basic needs.

REMAINDER IN YOUR NEST EGG SHOULD BE DIVERSIFIED INTO 10 ETFS. You will find detailed pie charts in Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is.

EMERGING INDUSTRIES, NOT DYING COMPANIES. General Motors and Ford Motor Company combined are worth less than one-tenth of Toyota Motor Company's $102 billion. It is not just that Ford and GM have more expenses. GM and Ford lost market share this decade because their gas guzzlers were far less popular than the fuel-efficient Prius and other Toyota models.

KNOW WHAT YOU OWN, i.e., not mutual funds. The top mutual fund holdings in the U.S. in 2007 included some of the most poorly run companies, including General Motors, AIG, Fannie Mae and Phillip Morris Tobacco Company. ETFs allow you to target sections of the stock market by size (small, medium and large), style (value and growth), industry (gold mining, clean technology, international, biotechnology, etc.) and more.

DON'T TRADE. If you don't know how to take your profits early and often and/or if you don't know how to buy put options, do not buy and sell individual companies at all in 2009. (Own companies you love in ETFs where you are more protected from the price fluctuations of any one individual company.)

If you used this 6-step formula and rebalanced only once a year (say in January), you could have captured your gains in 2000 at the NASDAQ high. Likewise, in January of 2008, you would have captured your Dow Jones Industrial Average gains before the major fall-off and redistributed. Identifying where your gains are coming from allows you to increase your assets and redeploy your holdings back into a sound, dream life blueprint – which is a combination of Modern Portfolio Theory, ETFs, common sense and basic investing recipes. These strategies and more are outlined in my book, Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is. Buy it now as part of your New Year; New You; New Dream Life! And be sure to forward this article to a dozen of your closest friends, family, clients and co-workers who need to get fiscally fit.

Green Shopping Bags

2008-12-10T21:43:00.002+10:30

Non Woven Bags Direct Australia directly manufacturers and imports eco-friendly non woven polypropylene bags commonly referred to as green shopping bags, green bags or eco bags to Australia.

Non Woven Bags Direct Australia chooses strong, premium quality non-woven polypropylene, an eco-friendly and non-toxic material used in surgical wear. Their non woven bags are 100% recyclable and washable, which is an easy and cost effective way to promote your business

They have 39 colours of non woven fabrics in stock. For orders of 10 000+, you may choose from any colour from the Pantone Matching System (PMS) range.

Our Non Woven Bags containers are directly shipped to major cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. When you order through Non Woven Bags Direct Australia, there are no hidden import costs and many businesses across Australia are happy dealing with them for their no hassle, cost effective business practices. Non woven polypropylene bags are also known as green shopping bags or green Bags. The more green bags you order, the less expensive the price. They can also supply their quality green bags to international markets directly from their factory in Shenzhen, China.

SA Median House Prices (September Quarter)

2008-11-18T20:35:00.003+10:30

SA median house prices. The biggest drop is within the Adelaide metro region. Regional SA prices have also dropped as well. With consumer confidence dropping, SA median house prices will continue to drop into the year 2009.
SA median house prices

A Sydney Escort Erotic Story

2008-08-21T22:40:00.004+09:30

Here is an interesting Erotic Sydney Escort story which I got from this Sydney website
“So, what was she like?” I asked my friend David. Last night he’d hired a Sydney Escort for the first time. He’d been pretty nervous but at the same time excited about it beforehand, and now, he was speechless – almost. “Mind-blowing,” he kept saying. “Just amazing…I had the best time.”
Finally he came out of his dreamy state long enough to go into details about the previous evening’s sex encounter with Bryony from one of the top Sydney escort agencies. He’d gone to her city apartment and been greeted by Bryony, a green-eyed blonde with perfect olive skin, and an hourglass figure that included a fantastic pair of natural boobs and lovely tight ass, all clad in a sexy black lace negligee. David could hardly believe his eyes or his luck!
Bryony led him into the lounge, gave him a drink and asked him to tell her exactly what he liked. David had no trouble recounting his desires to this stunning and sexually available woman who was only to happy to accommodate him.. He handed over his money, confident of a good time.
He wasn’t disappointed. Bryony led him into the bedroom, slipped out of her negligee and gave him a massage that included a full body slide. It didn’t take long for David to get hard as Bryony gave him a blow job. She teased his cock, flicking it with her tongue before taking it into her mouth and sucking until David came.
Only half an hour had passed, so after a short rest during which time Bryony did a masturbation show for him, David climbed on top of her and slipped his cock into her warm, wet pussy and began to fuck her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper into her vagina, fucking her harder until they’d both cum.
I made a note of the Sydney escort agency’s name and resolved to give Bryony a call.
Big Black Book which is based in Sydney has one of the best selection of sexy Sydney Escorts. Do check out this website! They also have a great list of strippers, erotic massage, adult stores etc.

Top 21 Casinos

2008-02-13T22:14:00.003+10:30

Looking for a online casions resource site? Top 21 casinos is one good site that you should visit. Online casinos are the way of the future rather than going to the real casinos in person. Online casinos let you play your favorite games anywhere at any time. The best online casinos are out there, and normally you have to look far and wide for them, but not any more! Top 21 Casinos has taken all the searching away from you because they have reviewed and rated a huge range of The best online casinos, and presented to top 21 online casinos for you right here. This includes several objective reviews of top rated online casinos including those that accept U.S. players.

How to Unshrink Clothes (Wool Sweather, etc)

2007-07-15T00:09:00.000+09:30

Here is an article which tells you exactly how to unshrink wool.

When wool gets wet and warm, the fibres in the wool lock themselves together and don't want to let go, resulting in shrinkage (you can get wool warm or wet, but not both), which kind of makes washing wool garments a dangerous business.
To un-shrink the wool, soak the garment in warm water with a mild wool friendly soap for about 10 minutes. This unlocks the fibres in the wool. Then lay the garment out on some towels in a cool place. Stretch the garment out to its original dimensions. The stretching pulls the unlocked wool fibres away from each other. Once this is done relax and allow your wool garment to dry. The absence of heat from the drying process allows the wool fibres to set in place without locking together and shrinking the garment again.

Free Online Games

2007-07-12T22:48:00.000+09:30

Looking for free games to play online? Look no further, play free online games has a great archive of all games that you can play for free online. There's action, board/puzzle, casino, RPG, strategy and many more games. My favourite is their RPG section where they have more than 100 free RPG games to play.

Three Column Blogger Template

2007-07-07T02:02:00.000+09:30

This is by far the best site to download three column blogger template. It has all the blogger templates and it is really easy to install. Most of the sites I've visited have very limited templates or either have problems or makes it very difficult for a beginner to install. Check Webtalks blog out.

MarketingFirst Group

2007-06-27T22:31:00.000+09:30

David Herlambang's marketing blog. He's got some very interesting and good marketing related posting. http://www.marketingfirst.blogspot.com/

The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005

2005-12-20T22:45:00.000+10:30

The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005
http://web2.wsj2.com/the_best_web_20_software_of_2005.htm

Website history

2005-11-22T19:19:00.000+10:30

Wanna see how other websites look like in the past? Check out Wayback Machine for an archive of all websites since 1996. This is cool.

Good Quotes

2005-11-03T20:10:00.000+10:30

Good quotes from Brand Autopsy:

Aspire to Be the Dumbest Person in the Room
It's Impossible to be Happy Without Momentum
The Antidote to Fear is Action
Do What You Are

Button Maker

2005-09-27T22:59:00.000+09:30

Want to create new buttons for your blog or site? Try these sites out:
http://kalsey.com/tools/buttonmaker/
http://www.gtmcknight.com/buttons/

Quotes

2005-08-22T23:55:00.000+09:30

3 quotes that I believe in and have act upon:

"You get what you give"

"The solution to overcome fear is action" - "Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."

“世界上最宽阔的是海洋，比海洋更宽阔的是天空，比天空更宽阔的是人的胸怀。”

6 Hats Thinking by Dr. Edward de Bono

2005-08-22T23:20:00.000+09:30

Continuation from my posting in http://www.livejournal.com/users/bryanong/:

White Hat
When you think of white, think of neutral. de Bono has categorized information as a neutral subject. The white hat has to do with data and information.
What information do we have here?
What information is missing?
What information would we like to have?
How are we going to get the information?
When you ask for white hat thinking at a meeting you are asking people to forget about proposals and arguments and to concentrate directly on the information. What information is needed, what is available, and how it can be obtained.

Red Hat
When you think of red, think of fire and passion. The red hat allows people to show their emotions on a subject, their gut feelings. People don't need to justify their statements. It is often important to get feelings out in the open, rather than have people at a meeting have hidden agendas, feelings, or misgivings. The red hat allows these feelings to be expressed, to come out in the open.
This is what I feel about the project...
My instincts tell me this won't work.
I like this, I don't like that. The idea is that these statements are known to be "feelings" and nothing more. Once they are stated, the meeting can move on to a more constructive approach.

Black Hat
When you think of black, think of negative, or caution. The black hat is for critical judgment. It points out what cannot be done. The hope is that the black hat role will prevent us from making mistakes.

Yellow Hat
When you think of yellow, think of the sun and sunny, positive thoughts. The yellow hat role is for discussing ONLY the positive view of problems and solution possibilities. The yellow hat looks for benefits (and feasibility), but must be logically based, not intuitive like the red hat.
We are often better with the black hat. We are good at seeing what won't work, as opposed to what will. Forcing ourselves to look only at the positive aspects can be very valuable, since otherwise we don't always move forward.

Green Hat
When you think of green, think of plants and growth. The green hat is for new ideas, for creativity, for new alternative solutions.
Could this be done in another way?
Might there be another explanation?
Does anyone have another idea? (See brainstorming)

Blue Hat
When you think of blue, think of the sky and an overview. The blue hat is the hardest one to understand. It deals with controlling the thinking process. The blue hat is often "given" to one person, who controls what hat will be "worn", hence controlling the type of thinking being used. The different colours don't always follow in the same order. Depending on the situation, and the mix of people, it might be better to let people get their negative thoughts out first, or their intuitive sense, and then use yellow or green to move ahead. The blue hat comments on the thinking being used, asks for conclusions, decisions, etc. The blue hat can move from person to person, or can be a chairperson.

Source

Never present a problem without a solution

2005-08-11T23:22:00.000+09:30

A posting from Brand autopsy that really makes us think.

Do SomethingOne of the earliest business rules I can recall that made a HUGE difference in my professional style was...

Never present a problem to your boss without having a suggested solution ready. Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution.In their book, Why People Business People Speak Like Idiots, Fugere, Hardaway & Washawsky take this lesson further. They call it... Do Something.

Here's an excerpt of the passage...

"...Never present a problem without actually doing something that represents a positive step to fix it. Even if it's nothing more than scheduling a trip to visit the disgruntled customer, do something. Show momentum toward and answer, even if you don't know what the answer is. There's a difference between bad news with signs of hope and bad news presented from the deepest pits of despair. You don't want to be the happy messenger, but it's not much better to be the hopeless prophet of doom."

For those passionate professionals wondering how they can position themselves for the next role at their organization this is one of those priceless tips.

For more tips on being better at your job, I highly recommend the book The Unofficial Guide to Power Managing by Alan Weiss. We've mentioned this before on Brand Autopsy... This book is so good you won't want to tell your co-workers you're reading it.

Digital Point Tools

2005-07-31T00:40:00.000+09:30

http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/
Webmaster tools & Search engine optimisation tools

Spiral Logos

2005-07-14T00:11:00.000+09:30

Logos with spirals: http://www.splorp.com/critique/ Pretty Cool eh?

The Yes Man

2005-07-04T22:47:00.000+09:30

A definitely must watch sites where you see guerrilla media activists, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonnano exposing the evil of corporates and politicians in a very unique funny way. See them impose as WTO, George Bush's website and many other more.
http://www.theyesmen.org/
http://www.rtmark.com/

Google Labs

2005-06-29T21:56:00.000+09:30

Google labs showcases all their favourite ideas that they are developing as well as those that have graduate out of beta mode:
http://labs.google.com/

Knowledge Management - Systems Thinking

2005-06-29T19:12:00.000+09:30

Came across this site today which discusses about knowledge management. It basically talks about in an information and knowledge packed world of today; we need to learn how to effectively manage ourself - we are all manager of ourselves not others. It is not about managing people to do the work but to do these 3 things:
1.) Establishing strategy, setting goals, showing leadership and measuring results rather setting and policing rules for workers.
2.) Less management of people and more about giving them the right goals, the right motivation and the right tools, and clearly articulating how success or failure will be measured.
3.) As a knowledge manager, we should look to our manager for the broad strategic direction and we should look to ourself for the ability to manage our day. We must develop this crucial skill, because if we're waiting to be told what to do... then our job is in serious danger of being automated or outsourced.

There isn't a great future for those who do not rise to the knowledge management challenge. As organizations continue to automate, outsource and offshore, those people who remain will become invaluable to the success of the organization. They will be the knowledge managers.

This is the same as what the term of knowledge is all about as depicted in this site in which it talks about knowledge management:
- Information relates to description, definition, or perspective (what, who, when, where).
- Knowledge comprises strategy, practice, method, or approach (how).
- Wisdom embodies principle, insight, moral, or archetype (why).

The site mentioned above has alot of resources regarding systems thinking as well as other management issues in business and organisations. I think it is a site worth looking at to which we can broaden our thinking and how we see & manage things. Now, this make me start to think, what has knowledge management got to do with systems thinking? Systems thinking is really about see the big picture and understanding that every little thing is part of a bigger system. A function or another will depends on alot more other factors in which it can operate. Just like the body, we all need the different parts of our body in order to operate as a body system. Similar to the organisation and environment which is also a living system: different departments and different environmental elements work together in order to create the system. There is always a cause and effect in any little thing that is done. Just like the butterfly effect, a small action can lead to a big change and results.

In order for creative knowledge management, we need systems thinking to help us look beyond what we are doing everyday. Almost everything that exists within the organisation, environment or body will have its role and something to do with what we are doing. Systems thinking with really help us to achieve the 3 elements of knowledge management. Without systems thinking; we will never be able to attain the wisdom level. As wisdom is the ability to look beyond what we can just see or just touch and all factors that will play a part in a 'systems'.

Six Sigma: Measurement of Quality

2005-06-28T22:35:00.000+09:30

What is Six Sigma? - The Roadmap to Customer Impact, from GE.com
Globalization and instant access to information, products and services have changed the way our customers conduct business — old business models no longer work. Today's competitive environment leaves no room for error. We must delight our customers and relentlessly look for new ways to exceed their expectations. This is why Six Sigma Quality has become a part of our culture.

What is Six Sigma? First, what it is not. It is not a secret society, a slogan or a cliché. Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that helps us focus on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services. Why "Sigma"? The word is a statistical term that measures how far a given process deviates from perfection. The central idea behind Six Sigma is that if you can measure how many "defects" you have in a process, you can systematically figure out how to eliminate them and get as close to "zero defects" as possible. Six Sigma has changed the DNA of GE — it is now the way we work — in everything we do and in every product we design.

There are three key elements of quality: customer, process and employee. Everything we do to remain a world-class quality company focuses on these three essential elements.
1....the Customer: Delighting Customers
Customers are the center of GE's universe: they define quality. They expect performance, reliability, competitive prices, on-time delivery, service, clear and correct transaction processing and more. In every attribute that influences customer perception, we know that just being good is not enough. Delighting our customers is a necessity. Because if we don't do it, someone else will!
2...the Process: Outside-In Thinking
Quality requires us to look at our business from the customer's perspective, not ours. In other words, we must look at our processes from the outside-in. By understanding the transaction lifecycle from the customer's needs and processes, we can discover what they are seeing and feeling. With this knowledge, we can identify areas where we can add significant value or improvement from their perspective.

3...the Employee: Leadership Commitment
People create results. Involving all employees is essential to GE's quality approach. GE is committed to providing opportunities and incentives for employees to focus their talents and energies on satisfying customers.
All GE employees are trained in the strategy, statistical tools and techniques of Six Sigma quality. Training courses are offered at various levels:

Quality Overview Seminars: basic Six Sigma awareness.
Team Training: basic tool introduction to equip employees to participate on Six Sigma teams.
Master Black Belt, Black Belt and Green Belt Training: in-depth quality training that includes high-level statistical tools, basic quality control tools, Change Acceleration Process and Flow technology tools.
Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) Training: prepares teams for the use of statistical tools to design it right the first time.

Quality is the responsibility of every employee. Every employee must be involved, motivated and knowledgeable if we are to succeed.

From isixsigma: According to the Six Sigma Academy, Black Belts save companies approximately $230,000 per project and can complete four to 6 projects per year. General Electric, one of the most successful companies implementing Six Sigma, has estimated benefits on the order of $10 billion during the first five years of implementation. GE first began Six Sigma in 1995 after Motorola and Allied Signal blazed the Six Sigma trail.

Complexity of Selling

2005-06-28T20:51:00.000+09:30

Came upon a blog today: http://www.gapingvoid.com/ and in it, it has a posting from Cardboard spaceship on the complexity of selling:

Understanding the Market
Understanding the Offering
Finding likely customers
Prospecting
Initial discussions
Engagement
Managing the Sales process – External Sale
Managing the Sales process – Internal Sale
Handling the Competition
Qualification
Handling Objections
Demonstrating capabilities
Negotiation
Closing the Sale
Handing over the delivery team
Managing the post sale
Account Management
Extending the footprint
Managing the support and services revenues

This looks like a long list, and it is. Complex selling is exactly that, and the ability to manage this complexity successfully is one of the main reasons that it is a rewarding.

This reminds me of my managing the sales function course that I took last term.

Podcast: All about Podcasting

2005-06-22T23:52:00.000+09:30

Podcasting, a term derived from a combination of Apple's "iPod" and "broadcasting", is a method of publishing files to the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically. It first became popular in late 2004, used largely for audio files. Podcasting is distinct from other types of audio content delivery because of its subscription model, which uses the RSS 2.0 file format. This technique has enabled independent producers to create self-published, syndicated "radio shows", and has given broadcast radio programs a new distribution channel. Users subscribe to podcasts using "podcatching" software (also called "aggregator" software) which periodically checks for and downloads new content. It can then sync the content to the user's portable music player.

How to Podcatch (getting podcasts):
First, you will need to install a Podcast client like iPodder or Doppler.

Getting the feeds:
Second, you will need to get (subscribe) the feeds and add it to the podcast client. Alternatively, you can also immediately download the audio files just by clicking on the audio link (mp3 file etc) on the website/blog and save it to your computer. However, this way you have to do it manually and one at a time. The purpose of getting (subscribing) to these feeds is so that you can automatically download new songs from mutliple sites/blogs from one point (your podcast client). There are many directories out there such as podcaster.net and podcasts.org for you to get feeds of any categories or you can just type 'podcast' in the search engines.

How to make your own podcasts and feeds:
There are millions of ways that you can make podcasts. To look at this really simply; it is just recording your own song/sound and convert it into an audio file such as MP3 or RM. Here is a link that will teach you how to create your own podcasts.

Creating podcast feeds is the same as creating RSS feeds. You can use feedburner to create your podcast feeds or you can create it using audioblog.com. I personally use feedburner as it is really easy to use.

Posting of Podcasts in Blogger:
To post a Podcast-able item within Blogger: 1. Click the Posting tab to begin a new post. 2. If you enabled the Link field, it should now appear below Title on the posting form. 3. Place your Podcast media URL in this field. Be sure to include the http:// protocol part of the URL. 4. Publish your Post. The title of the post will link directly to the item in a web browser. In your FeedBurner feed, the item will link to the original Blogger post, but an element will contain the URL from the Link field. http://forums.feedburner.com/viewtopic.php?t=20

Here are some further information on podcasting:
http://www.rss-specifications.com/podcast-tools.htm

- Learn how to podcast

The Long Tail

2005-06-22T21:34:00.000+09:30

The phrase 'The Long Tail' was first coined by Chris Anderson in a October 2004 Wired Magazine article, describing the effects of the long tail on current and future business models. Anderson observed that products that are in low demand or have low sales volume can collectively make up a market share that rivals or exceeds the relatively few current bestsellers and blockbusters, if the store or distribution channel is large enough. Examples of such mega-stores include Amazon.com, Netflix and even Wikipedia. The Long Tail is a potential market and, as the examples illustrate, successfully tapping in to that long tail market is often enabled by the distribution and sales channel opportunities the Internet creates.

A former Amazon employee described the Long Tail as follows: "We sold more books today that didn't sell at all yesterday than we sold today of all the books that did sell yesterday." In the same sense Wikipedia has many low popularity articles that, collectively, create a higher quantity of demand than a limited number of mainstream articles found on a professional site such as Britannica.

Chris Anderson also has a blog that has more information about long tail.

Google's Site Ranking Algorithm: The secret is out

2005-06-21T15:08:00.000+09:30

Google has recently filed a US patent which allows us to know how Google rank sites now. The postings below is taken from Search engine Journal:

Google’s Patent Application contains a lot to read and reading it may take some time, but if you own any type of website, this is all information you need to know. It also brings some interesting points up. While I go over some of the important points, know that no one knows which of these factors is given more weight than the others.

Domain Name Registration - Google is now going to track when a domain is registered among other things. An older domain will get a higher ranking. No more throw away domain names. No more jump to the top of Google results in thirty days.
They will also be tracking the length of renewal on the theory that a person that renews for ten years will be more likely to build a worthwhile site than someone who only holds their domain for a year.

Google will also be keeping a blacklist of known spammers and will be using this list when checking dns records of websites. So spammers who make sure to get their new throwaway domains with different nameservers in order to throw Google off may have to try something new.

Google Spyware? - They are using “user behavior” to rank sites. In my book, if spyware removers try to remove Alexa every time I run it, then this function of the Google toolbar can only be called spyware. Yes, you may check the box on the terms of service for the toolbar, but it still tracks your internet browsing.
But, I think the theory will make search engine results much better.
Google will be tracking the number of times a document is selected from the search engine results. This is a great idea. It means you now have to write the titles of your pages to grab the searcher’s attention. And since the search terms are highlighted in the results, maybe placing them at the beginning of sentences in your page may make then stand out due to capitalization. But I also see a way that this can be spammed by a network of “search and click” spammers.
They will also be tracking the amount of time a person spends on the page that they find. I don’t know about you, but I have been around long enough to notice a spam page and I am gone in two seconds. This may help drop them out of legitimate results.

Content Changes - I think this comes down to just updating your information the way it should be updated. If you have a forum that hasn’t been active in a week, the one that is very active with new posts every minute will definitely rank higher.
But the document also mentions that some stale sites may not be ranked lower if not updated that much. For example, a site on the Civil War will not be expected to change as much as a news headlines site and an older, more stable site may get the rank boost.

Query Analysis - A search for “American Idol Winner” will produce different results than it did last year, even if a page on last year’s winner has more links pointing to it.
Google will be following trends by the increase or decrease in the usage of certain search terms or phrases. I am not sure how this will be implemented. Will there be a quicker ranking algorithm for new trends? Or will sites that have a tendency to break new topics get top billing for such terms?
The search engine will also be sensitive to terms that could be used for different subjects. When you search for “Deep Throat” are you looking for Mark Felt or a Linda Lovelace movie? Google will track what searchers are actually looking for and changes in searching trends.

A Google Browser? - Google also says that they will attempt to track bookmarks and favorites files along with cache files to help determine the ranking of sites. The only way I see this happening is through their own browser and again, this brings up the question of spyware.

Topics - Pages will now be tracked for the topics they cover. Maybe this is what Site Flavored Search is all about. Google says that changes in topic will traced for scoring. So a drastic change in a site may drop in down in the search results. I think this must already be in effect, just for some of the things I have seen with my own sites.

Anchor Text - Google says that links to pages from other sites tend to have differing anchor text if they are obtained naturally. Atrificial linking campaigns tend to produce anchor text that is the same.
Anchor text that changes when the page the link is on changes will be counted as being more relevant.
Anchor text that changes with time may indicate a change in topic on the site.
Anchor text that is no longer relavant to the site linked to may be discounted.

Traffic - Google will track traffic to a page to determine if the content is stale or not. This is a cue that sites will no longer be create and forget. Google will also factor in Advertising traffic.

Linking - Google says that legitimate sites attract links back slowly. Whether this is true or not depends on the definition of “slowly". I know of sites like stumbleupon.com, where users comment and rate sites constantly and one site sent into the mix can get hundreds of links to it within a day just from comments posted about it.
Google also says that exchanging links, purchasing links, or gaining links from documents where their is no editorial discretion are all forms of link spam. Does this mean that if you link to someone and they link to you, that is spam? Than a lot of bloggers out there who aren’t really trying to spam may get accused of doing so.
They will also be measuring the authority of the page that the links are on, mentioning government documents specifically. This smacks of information control. Who assigns this authority and what makes one person more of an authority of another? If a political issue is searched for, will a Democrat’s or a Republican’s page come up first?
The freshness of the page that the link is on will also help determine the freshness of the linked-to page. This is a good argument for using a blog and pinging after your entries.
A page that is updated while the link on that page remains the same is a good indicator of the relevant link.

Ranking History - Ranking change is another feature that Google will use to detect spam. Not that all sites will be flagged as spam sites if they see a huge jump in ranking. Some of these sites could be topical. The authors of the site may have caught onto a new trend just as it was rising.
But Google also will measure the change in a sites ranking to determine if the content is becoming stale, i.e. a drop in links to the site.
Now this must mean some sort of balance and I hope they have leeway for traditional SEO. For example, If you have written new software and have created a PAD file for it, you can literally get hundreds of new links in a weeks. It only takes a second to submit.
What about if you started your own affiliate program. You can get a lot of links quickly that way? Will Google see this as spam? We will have to wait and see.

Finally Hope - Competition always inspires a better product and more options for internet users. Despite the focus on Google in search engine forums and its name being used to define “search for something on the internet", i.e. I Googled him, Google hold on the market has actually dropped.
When once you could optimize for Google and leave it that, now the combined use of MSN and Yahoo is greater than Google, with Yahoo nipping at Google’s heels.
This leaves options for us as search engine marketers and internet searchers. If one search engine doesn’t suit us, at least we know that it isn’t the only one we have to choose.

Other sources: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-10-2005-71368.asp

RSS: All About RSS

2005-06-09T23:43:00.000+09:30

What is RSS??
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Link

For user, RSS allows you to gather news and information from various sources of the internet and displaying all of it at one single point for you. This means that you do not have to visit numerous websites to gather all the related news that you want. You would need a RSS reader to do this, please see below. For web publishers, they can publish and promote their news and information from their site to interested readers and users which is updated daily. Please also see below why do sites make RSS feeds available. RSS Tutorial will also give you some explanation of what RSS is.

How to use feeds?
Aggregators are the most common use of RSS feeds, and there are several types. Web aggregators (sometimes called portals) make this view available in a Web page; my Yahoo is a well-known example of this.

There are also other RSS software or RSS readers that will allow you to use feeds or translate feeds into news for you. I personally recommend and use RssReader, this is a free RSS reader that will display any RSS or atom news feed (XML) on your computer. This means that all you need is this reader and you can read all the news that you want at one single point on your comp. This is cool.

Gecko Tribe has a product call Jawfish that will allow you to display multiple feeds (news) from different sources on your site. Feedroll also has a similar service but you can't custome design the layout which Gecko Tribe can. However, Feedroll is free and not Gecko Tribe's Jawfish although they do have a free trial period. Jawfish do have some problems where I can't display any other feeds (news) when I was trying it out.

Understand how aggregators work

Why make an RSS feed available?
Your viewers will thank you, and there will be more of them, because RSS allows them to see your site without going out of their way to visit it.
While this seems bad at first glance, it actually improves your site's visibility; by making it easier for your users to keep up with your site - allowing them to see it the way they want to - it's more likely that they'll know when something that interests them is available on your site.
For example, imagine that your company announces a new product or feature every month or two. Without a feed, your viewers have to remember to come to your site and see if they find anything new - if they have time. If you provide a feed for them, they can point their aggregator or other software at it, and it will give them a link and a description of developments at your site almost as soon as they happen.

News is similar; because there are so many sources of news on the Internet, most of your viewers won't come to your site every day. By providing an RSS feed, you are in front of them constantly, improving the chances that they'll click through to an article that catches their eye.

How to create RSS feed:
http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/ has the technical way of creating and publishing feeds

To create RSS feeds, here is a link that will make creating RSS feeds easier.
http://www.rss2html.com/ has a free function that will allow you in creating URL on your website to display RSS. If you would like to let people see your blog in the form of a RSS feed, do use FeedBurner. I use this for my Marketing Blog. There are also other free tools for you to create RSS feeds.

Displaying RSS Feeds on your site:
Websites containing information on how to display RSS feeds on your own website or blog
http://www.rss-specifications.com/displaying-rss-feeds.htm

Below is a list of websites that allow you to display RSS feeds from different categories/industries (Free RSS News Feeds):
http://w.moreover.com/site/products/ind/rss_feeds.html
http://ezinearticles.com/
http://chordata.info/

Promoting your feed:
Below is a list of websites that has information on how to promote your RSS feed:
http://www.rss-specifications.com/7-steps-to-rss.htm
http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/ - Best Blog Directory And RSS Submission Sites

Ksoft has a software that has automatic submission of RSS feeds to Blog and RSS feeds directories. Even if you do want to buy it; you can find a list of these directories on their content. All you need is time now.