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Resolutions recorded on liquid surfaces! Having made an ardent promise to myself and my readers that I would henceforth cease to be a drop out and would spend time writing a blog a day, I have failed to keep my word.  It seems these resolutions...

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What is so addictive about blogging? I never did think that I would drop out of blogging.  Yet I have been so tardy with my posts that I am nearly a drop out! So, it is clearly a time to examine why did I start this blog in the first place...

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Laser Hair removal When cutting, waxing, and shaving is no longer desirable or feasible, some patients seek laser hair removal.  Most people have hair covering their bodies that is lightly colored and fine and therefore,...

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Gardenia If you receive a bouquet of Gardenias you can be sure that the sender thinks you symbolize purity and sweetness and they are telling you of their secret love for you. Since a gardenia plant or bouquet...

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Freelancer alert: Not an export code-A purpose code! While we have been busy speculating on what is an export code and what it takes to get one issued from DGFT, paypal has issued a clarification that it is not an "export code" but a purpose code which needs...

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Gardenia

Category : Communication, Freelance content, General, Information highway, website content

If you receive a bouquet of Gardenias you can be sure that the sender thinks you symbolize purity and sweetness and they are telling you of their secret love for you. Since a gardenia plant or bouquet can cost anything between $39-50 in the market and a single gardenia flower can cost as much as $11 and a gardenia flower with a bud can cost up to $15, they must really mean what they are saying with the flowers!

Summer brides often choose bouquet of gardenias for their weddings. It has featured in Royal and celebrity weddings. The Princess of Wales Diana, choose a bouquet of gardenias for her wedding with Prince Charles. The exotic, spicy sweet fragrance of the gardenia flowers and the pale ivory color the petals contrasts with the dark glossy leaves to create an impression of beauty and grace as the bride walks down the aisle. It also complements white bridal wear and appropriately symbolizes the purity of the bride.

But, did you know the Gardenia really belongs to the coffee plant family? The white multi layered petals of this beautiful flower belies this fact, does it not? Yet it is true that the Gardenia belongs to Rubiaceae family and is native to tropical and sub tropical regions of Africa. There are more than 250 species of this genus. The flower is named after Dr.Alexander Garden a Scottish born American naturalist.

The gardenia plant is a small evergreen shrub or a small tree that grows to 1-15 meters in height. The leaves are set opposite each other or in whorls of three or four. They have a dark green glossy and leathery texture. The flowers bloom singly or in small clusters and can be white or pale yellow. The tubular-based corolla has 5-12 lobes and is often 5-12 centimeters in diameter.  These plants flower from mid spring to mid summer and may or may not have a strong scent.

Chinese farmers raise the gardenia for the dye that can be produced from its fruit. In East Indies this plant is nurtured for a gum that exudes from its bark. In South Africa the hard wood from the tree is considered valuable. In America the plant is grown for the waxy blossoms it produces.

The gardenia flower has also been used extensively in oriental perfumes and oils. It is known to be an aphrodisiac. It is also used for medicinal purposes as an anti inflammatory drug, anti bacterial medication and for its fungicidal properties. It adds an exotic flavor to tea.

Since the gardenia is a tropical or sub tropical plant, growing gardenias in other climates can be difficult. They are finicky houseplants and require the bright southern light. If you must grow gardenias at home grow lights must be used to supplement natural lighting in cold places and in winter. A timer must be used to ensure that the plants have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. They must be watered with distilled water kept at room temperature. Hard or cold water will stunt their growth. The soil used to grow these flowering plants must be moist and must not be too wet and slushy.

Cosmetic Procedures: Fillers

Category : Medical content, website content

Plumping thin lips, enhancing contours, softening wrinkles, and improving appearance of recessed scars may be accomplished with injectable fillers.  Several different types of fillers may be used and include collagen, human fat, hyaluronic acid, hydroxylapatite, and PMMA.

Collagen, a natural protein, may produce results that last up to four months.  Certain types of collagen may require preliminary allergy testing in some patients.  Results of six months or more may be achieved by hyaluronic acid, a natural substance found in our bodies.  This may be used to fill in creases or plump lips.

To fill in deeper folds near the nose, frown lines, or to enhance fullness of the cheeks, hydroxylapatite may be used.  This is a compound found in human bones that is suspended in gel form and has mineral-like qualities.

Human fat harvesting and injection requires more extensive procedure because it uses liposuction to do the harvesting before the filler injection may be done.  This can fill in creases and contours to enhance fullness of the face.

FDA-approved PMMA is recommended to correct facial wrinkles such as smile lines.  PMMA is 20% polymethylacrylate and 80% purified collagen gel.

Though there is wide variance in results, patients may expect results to last up to a year in some instances.  Preserved fat injection results are more favorable if the fat is used at time of harvest.  Some filler may be FDA approved on a basis not specified to a particular application.

Patients may expect almost immediate improvement in appearance with some potential for bruising or swelling that will resolve.  There may be redness, sensitivity or itching briefly after the procedure.  Complications are rare and will vary depending on the type of filler used.  Rarely, filler may migrate to an unintended area producing temporary paralysis or there may be skin necrosis. There may be overcorrection. Milder symptoms from some fillers should resolve in just a few days, while the fat injections may produce symptoms that endure for a few weeks.   For the most part, fillers produce marked improvement in appearance and are safe and effective.  Choosing someone who is trained specifically in administering fillers and other types of rejuvenation is important.

Patients may experience anxiety about the procedure and are encouraged to have realistic expectations and ask questions.  Many variables affect results of fillers, and the results are not permanent though the substance is.  Issues such as continued aging and the way that the body absorbs the material will affect duration of results.  Without repeated treatment, issues such as thin lips or wrinkles and scars will reappear over time. With aging, fillers may shift or clump and surgical removal may be required to avoid unwanted changes in texture of soft tissue.  Consultation is required prior to treatment, but follow up visits take only moments.  Costs vary greatly, but many surgeons have financing available. Patients should inquire about their surgeon’s board certification and membership, years of experience, accreditation, the procedure and recovery period, and the way in which complications might be handled.

Optical Storage Discs: Will it solve backup problems?

Category : Information Technology, Storage devcies, website content

Storage of mission critical data is one of the biggest concerns of corporations.  The cost of storage, the method of storage and the retrieval of stored data are engaging the attention of IT Administrators in a way that it never did before. In the early days of the Information revolution, data was stored in tapes and cassettes and secured offline with a time horizon of 30 years.  However, this storage was voluminous and often chaotic and data retrieval was a pain.  Newer storage devices now provide alternate storage methodologies that are attractive.

Pioneer has announced a 16 layer read only optical disc with a mega storage capacity of 400 GB.  What is so interesting about this device? This storage device has been hailed as one of the most important breakthroughs in storage technology. Earlier versions of optical discs were riddled with problems. They were unable to relay signals clearly from the different layers and cross talk rendered the device useless.  Pioneer has solved the problem of cross talk from adjacent layers by using a disc production technology that was first introduced into the DVD arena. The prediction is that future optical discs will provide much denser storage per layer and will continue to evolve as the science of optics is studied.

Ultra Density Optical (UDO) discs are third generation optical discs designed for very high-density storage of video data. Currently available Ultra Density Optical discs have an estimated shelf life of 50 years. They have been introduced into the market and found to be reliable and durable for short-term use. Currently the UDO is used by banks, health care facilities, and financial corporations.

Pioneer said in a recent statement released from Japan that the growing storage needs of many corporations is expected to drive the demand for higher capacity discs. The company also mentions that buying just one high capacity optical disc is equal to buying numerous other commercially available discs. This way, resources can be conserved and put to better use.

The experts meanwhile are not impressed. David Hill, an analyst at Mesabi Group argues that such technology may be more “suitable for storing video and archiving at the consumer level”.

Likewise, Greg Schulz an analyst with Storage IO mentions that for years there has been talk about holographic storage but, “if you are holding your breath for that, you had better get a scuba tank”. So far the optical disc storages have not proven to be worthy in a commercial market and there are many kinks that have to be sorted out.

However, most experts do agree that the Blu ray at both ends of the market and in specialized verticals such as video is improving data storage and preservation. Despite the great advances in hardware capabilities, the dinosaurs of data storage, the disk and tape, that were long ago acknowledged to be dead, continue to be pertinent because they are constantly being improved, cost a lot less and are durable.

The Future?  Most experts predict that future data storage will be achieved by a hybrid of RAM based or sometime of flash based solid state memory, perhaps even a touch of holographic technology.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Top Storage Blogs you may like to read!

http://blogs.netapp.com/dave/

http://blogs.hds.com/hu/

http://marksblog.emc.com/

http://esgblogs.typepad.com/steves_it_rants/

http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/InsideSystemStorage

http://storagethoughts.blogspot.com/2006/10/seeing-whats-next-in-storage-industry.html

http://storagemojo.com/

http://drunkendata.com/

http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/campbell

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/en-us/storage/default.mspx

Journeys on record: train gains

Category : Creative writing, News and society, Travel content, Types of content, website content

Traveling on the Palace on Wheels in India is an experience that is often recommended to tourists who visit the country. You are given a taste of the luxurious world of the rajahs of yore,  who commandeered every kind of comfort for themselves. Yet one gets a glimpse into the real India only when one travels in other ordinary trains that chug their way through the length and breadth of the country.

Looking out of the window one is awed into silence as the landscape changes with every mile. Mountains, rivers, dry fallow lands, jungles of thorn bushes, small villages that totter on the verge of collapse, cities where the train tracks are considered open toilets, glimpses of towering luxury apartments, silent heritage buildings in the horizon, churches, mosques, wayside temples and what not…. You turn your eyes away from the scene and you would find a dozen  curious eyes fixed on you expectantly–humans who know that they have to share the next 18-36 hours with you and would like to know what makes you tick. They will not hesitate to ask you the most embarrassing personal questions.

The interrogation begins innocuously enough:

Are you a native of x or y? No? Are you going all the way? No? Where will you get off? Why are you going there? Where will you go from there? and so on…

Then would come the next level of questioning. Are you married? How many children? what are they doing? Do you work? Does you spouse work? Do you have in-laws staying with you? How many brothers and sisters you have?  …

Deeper still. Was your’s an arranged marriage? No? Wow, love marriage? Tell me all about it!  You were divorced? Your fault or your spouse’s? …….

Of course, this is interspersed with a lot of information about themselves–it does not matter that you do not ask questions. If they have a right to know about you, you have a right to know about them!!  Logical eh?

While this exercise lasts  for a good two or three hours( –there are generally six passengers per unit and this makes it a fertile ground for investigation), the “confidantes” feed each other with whatever eatables they have brought with them for the journey or buy from the vendors passing to and fro.  Once everyone has been “throughly” introduced to everyone else, matters of general interest are permitted to take over. Someone holds forth on politics; another holds forth on music.  It does not matter that either of these people have nothing to do with the subject in their daily lives and would not dare to speak about it in other forums! Who is to question their authority?  The shaking coaches have shaken their reticence about unknown subjects and they feel that it is ok to pretend authority for the tenure of the journey.  Arguments, contradictions and even categorial assertions on impossibles, are wholly possible. No one cares. It helps bear the tedium of the journey and everything is OK in this confined world. After all, journeys end will diperse the companions and memories are short. Unimportant discussions drain out of the mind as the journey ends and one is free to move forward in life…..

Horrified? If you are pure British you would be. If you are American, you are expected to be friendly. If you are Indian, you are expected to be a bosom companion–irrespective of the fact that you may have lost your roots and are a British Indian or an Indian American. The Desis will have their tools ready to dig into you and turn your out…After all train gains are spiritual experiences that should not be missed…..Indian Railways is an effective platform!

So, if you are planning a trip to India for appreciating India as it lives in the masses or to gain some spiritual insights, take a train journey…. You will not regret it?

Tracking the Trackers

Category : Content Marketing, Keyword search, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine marketing, website content

trackingTracking the trackers is the game that we have played out again and again all our lives! I do not think there is a single human being in this world who has not used this game to strategize and learn how to manipulate events to an advantage.  Are you wondering what I am talking about?

I am talking about the process of learning to relate, collate, attract and in a sense organize actions and reactions to things and events around us.  For instance, we watch  our parents  intently to understand what they smile upon and what they frown upon. We learn what is acceptable behavior.  We know they are tracking us for this “acceptable behavior” and frowning on “unacceptable behavior”. Our tools are their expressions and reactions. We learn how to track them using this tool. Thereafter we behave in ways that would appease the trackers and make them smile more than frown.  We do the same in school, college and at work.  The tracked trackers teach you how to track them and we creating tracking conditions that make sure they track us the right way!

Google-Keyword-SearchSearch Engine Optimization is nothing but an online version of track the trackers.  We have a product we wish to promote. We track user behavior by searching for frequently searched keywords that are associated with our business. We use tracking tools that are available online to track this behavior. Once we have tracked it, we use the keywords to make sure that search engines track us and place us where trackers(browsers) of the keywords see us and visit our sites!

We use the same tools to track the competition and to check where they are placed vis-a-vis our website.  We examine what kind of traffic flows to their site and use tracking strategies to divert the traffic to our own site. Here we are tracking the competition.

We again track websites that may be interested in using what we have to offer or which sell a complementary product or service. We use this tracking information to find out if these websites could partner with us and link back to us reciprocally or one way to promote our products. We find partners and affiliates in this manner.

Therefore, if you are in the business of creating websites or are contemplating creating websites, you need to just consciously play the game you always played instinctively! Use the innumerable tools that are available for free or at a price on the Internet and track the trackers so that they track you correctly. Alternately, you could hire the investigators called web consultants and SEO experts to do the investigation and play the game for you.  Tracking the trackers is challenging and may even be profitable! So why wait? Start now! Get the mastery you seek!

Getting creative about a dustbin

Category : Creative writing, Product Reviews, Types of content, website content

DustbinsA dustbin? You want to be creative about a dustbin? How can you be creative? It is so uninspiring and yuck! Well, if you had a contract brief that you need to be creative about a dustbin–can you be?

Well, creativity and innovation can be a natural outcome of associating with all that is beautiful and attractive.  Being creative about the unattractive is the challenge. Do you agree?  Being creative about a dustbin is a challenge that I decided to take head on.  So, join me in lovingly dwelling on the dustbin!

Title: Dustbins that make a fashion statement

Body: Beautifully decorative and specatacularly clean interiors are exquisite examples of meticulous planning.  If you are decorating, forget the loud colored plastic configurations we use for dustbins and consider the discreet wooden waste disposal systems that blend with the decor and are available at hand for those who seek to throw away their rubbish. Cigarette butts,  lipstick stained tissues or even the efforts at poetic erudition that end up as screws of paper must find their way into handily located wooden dustbins that are fashionable and discreet.

Modern dustbin manufacturers are conscious of the importance of this littleWoodColorComparisons piece of furniture and go that extra mile to create them with mahogany, oak, rosewood or any other kind of wood that complement the decor.  Dustbins today make a fashion statement.  Premium grade wood hand rubbed to wearable grain densities could enhance your decor. Tambour design wooden wastebaskets made from natural oak, mahogany, stained walnut, genuine walnut, natural cherry or dark cherry could add meaning to the corners of your room.

Place your dustbin right next to your office desk or nestle it amidst the flora and fauna in your room! The shapes and sizes of these wastebaskets can be tailored to match the varied needs of the allocated space. A 24 quart square basket or a round basket that has a 16 inch diameter or a 13 inch one can add the right touch to the furnishings.

Make your fashion statement even with the dustbin you use for the rubbish!

###

Voila! Was that creative enough? If I have succeeded in making you want to buy a little wooden waste basket to blend with the paneled decor of your room, I have been creative!

Visual content: Pictures Speak Louder Than Words

Category : Communication, Content Marketing, Types of content, website content

Normally, the term “content” is instantly associated with articles, posts and other such forms of written content. This notion that content only includes written matter within its ambit is incorrect and this post looks to increase your awareness to the existence of another, arguably more powerful, part of content beyond mere words and sentences – a part of content that is commonly referred to as visual content.

Visual content is an all-important part of content that is often not granted the attention it deserves. Content developers tend to treat words as primary content matter (true content) and hence relegate visual content to a secondary role, that of backing up and supporting the said primary matter. However, facts state otherwise.

It is found that visual communication can often be far more effective than any number of words or flowery sentences. Most learning happens only when visual aids are also present. When a child first learns his alphabets, A only makes sense to the extent that it is associated with the image of an apple (A for apple), and in order to be able to do this the child must first know what an apple is and for this too it is necessary to offer a graphic drawing of the apple. Numbers are no different, requiring a visual display of quantity in order to communicate the value of a numerical sign. This is basically how learning continues for almost anything all through our lives.   So if you want people to better understand what you’re saying you’d best use pictures and images! Further, visual communication is a more powerful means of communication than words as pictures can be understood by a more universal audience.

The simple truth is that pictures speak louder than words. If you truly want to enrich your web content, you’ve got to accept this truth. Adding quality visual content to your site will help you further fully understand its overwhelming power and importance in reaching out to a global audience.

Here are a few pictures that prove the point!

1964

Woman mourning her husband : Greek Turkish War

burning-monk

Monk protesting against religious persecution

Tsunami

Tsunami: woman mourning the dead

Buying Content Off The Shelf With Copyright : Is Content a New Age Product?

Category : Content Marketing, Types of content, website content

There are many things that you are accustomed to buying off the shelf, it’s safe to say that content is not one of these things.  It’s not on the list not because it is an impossible idea but simply because nobody’s made it possible to do this so far. But that’s no longer the case, in a market changing step content is all set to become the most desired new age product right here on consult4content.com

When buying content through ‘regular’ means (from article directories or through auction sites) the possibilities available to a consumer are limited. In the case of article directories you are left with no option but to take the content in the form that it is given whether it is fully satisfactory to you or not. With auction sites, the difficulty lies in ascertaining the quality of the content that you will be paying for. If you haven’t had a long term relationship with a writer you can never be assured of a particular quality standard. On c4c, we’ve made content a consumer product and in doing so have simultaneously eliminated most of the issues that commonly plague all of you who are looking to buy content online.

The primary issues of concern in regard to content, as identified before, are that of quality assurance and relevancy. However, when shopping for your content on c4c you need not worry about either of these issues. This is because c4c allows you the opportunity to read sample articles and content already posted on its pages and ensures that all the content sold through the site meet the quality standards as shown in these samples. So before you buy your content you know the quality that you can expect. Secondly, c4c provides not only readymade content that can be instantly bought but also provides content made-to-order that will be written to suit your needs and requirements while maintaining the same quality standards. By doing this we ensure that the content you buy is of the highest quality and also entirely relevant to your particular site.

By now I’m sure there’s a little alarm bell going off in your head screaming “what about copyrights?” The content available on c4c is entirely copyrighted content, unique, exclusive and non-infringing on the copyright of any other content already available. Upon purchase, the copyright will be vested into the hands of the buyer. Once sold, it will not be available for purchase by any other customers.

So it’s unique content, exclusive content, meeting all quality standards and can be tailor made to suit your particular needs. And it is content with copyrights. What more do you need to convince you that content truly is a new age product ready to be snapped off the shelves? Find out for yourself right here on consult4content.com.

Successful Websites: Content Must Sizzle

Category : Types of content, Video content, website content

content-is-the-keyOn a website there are two things pf primary importance:

a) Written content and

b) Visual content.

All your tools, functions, facilities, user options etc. in some way make use of either of these two types of content and are hence deemed to fall under them. Thus, in reality, there’s really only one thing that counts on a website – and that’s content.

It is commonly said that a website becomes popular when it effectively caters to the wants or needs of a particular audience. It must be convenient, must provide the reader or user with the information or facility they desire and it must be reliable, secure, fast, efficient etc. However, in reality, it all comes down to one thing really, the quality of the content. For example, there are now hundreds of websites or online encyclopedias that provide you with ready reference on diverse topics and yet Wikipedia continues to reign supreme. You my say this is because of its popularity, long presence on the internet and customer patronage. But take the line back a bit and you will realize that all of these reasons became possible only because the content on the site was of a high quality. If initial users had found the content mediocre or unreliable it would have spelt doom for the site. It’s only because initial reviews were positive and there have been continual improvements in the quality of content that the site is able to retain its popularity until today.

If you’re looking to start a website, or have already started one that seems to be going nowhere you need to take a look at your priorities. The likelihood is that you’ve been spending too much time on beautifying your interface or creating cool graphics while neglecting your content. You have to realize that fancy graphics make a good first impression, but if there’s no quality matter on the site nobody’s going to keep coming back just because your site looks pretty. Reshuffle priorities or create new ones, do whatever it takes but there’s no two ways about it, when the content sizzles, over time, the site does too!

What is the true name of the game?

Category : Communication, Content Marketing, Defining Content, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine marketing, Types of content, social media, social media marketing, website content

cyber-warIf you are a fan of fantasy fiction, you must have read “The Inheritance Triology”.  The characters in the book are extremely anxious that no one guesses their true name. The true name is nowhere defined, but one can infer that the true name is the real essence of the person and it can be figured out by people who know the innermost thoughts of the individual.  If you know the true name of a person, you can have complete control over his thoughts and actions!

Perhaps the characters in the novel would be amazed if they were to encounter the techies and consultants of today who are struggling to guess the “true name” of websites!  Is this a game for better control of business or……… what?

It is clear that the players of the game “Web Presence” begin with a well defined  set of rules. The rules fall into neat categories–Search Engine optimization, Search engine marketing, Keyword optimized content, link building, Page ranks, site scores, Partnering, affiliating and so on.  Each rule based evaluation produces a tally. The tally and subsequent rank, marks the extent of control or lack of control.

The contest–as usual–is with the opponent–your competition (such fierce competition at that!) to grab positions (page ranks, incoming links etc) and seize assets (keywords, traffic) and wage cyber wars for a variety of reasons–sometimes based on rules and sometimes lawlessly (if you consider the hackers, virus producers etc). The “web presence” or “true name” will also be determined by how effectively and efficiently you win the cyber wars and stand terrorizing the attackers.

On the stands are the hordes of spectators who watch the game and influence it. These are the poeople who blog, twitter, forum or socialize and create the traffic to the site and also discuss among themselves about the merits of the site (with or without reference to the tally). These are people who have something to say about what intersts them and what the “true name” should be.

Ultimately, getting at the “true name” may well prove to be too much to “bite off” and chew….

So, what is your take on that?

Targeted: the power of language

Category : Communication, Creative writing, Defining Content, website content

abc-blocksWhen looking to reach out to the unknown public at large – written language is by far your most invaluable tool. From eras gone by till this very day, advertisers and publicists alike have made effective use of the multiple mediums of language, video and audio to grab the attention of the public.  And its not only about commercial publicity or the achieving of organizational objectives–language is  an essential and effective interface for fulfilment of even the most basic of tasks. You may use it to achieve something as ordinary as getting  your parent or sibling to act in the way you want them to! Basically, when it comes to reaching out to people, whether known or unknown – written language says it all.

It is the testimony of psychologists  that language is a powerful tool that can be exploited to create a cult, brainwash an audience and prompt them to behave in predictable ways. This power of language stems from its ability to communicate, inform, incite, prompt, attract, fascinate and capture the attention of the recipient. In fact, a whole new industry has grown up around this concept of communication through language–it’s referred to as social media consulting. There are  professionals in this industry who make it their business to tell you how you can exploit the power of language in social media sites to reach out to a vast audience and brainwash them into using your product.

In order to make the most effective use of language you need to first develop a customer base that consists of your actual target group. Having done this, you can then use language tools to build content that attracts, informs, prompts and brainwashes your customer base into behavorial modes that bring a business advantage to you! Working with the assistance of content developers, social media consultants and advertisers you will then be able to determine the best ways to exploit the power of communication that is inherent in language and other auditory and visual modes in order to facilitate the maximum recognition and notice for your product. You can also opt for other mediums of mass linguistic communication such as  blogs, microblogs, social networks  and consumer groups in order to reach out to your select audience. In this way you will be able to draw a greater mass into the thrall of your language – in essence creating your own cult!

Sadly, despite its all powerful role, language is often the most underexploited tool! Making language work for you could very well prove to be your greatest advantage yet! Get on the bus now, and you can watch as your erratic customer base transforms itself into an organized, vast, cult-like, mass of loyal  believers!

Why should you visit my blog about content?

Category : Defining Content, Information highway, Types of content, social media marketing, website content

I had sent out a few invites to friends to come and visit my blog and leave a feedback.  The few who took the pains to visit the blog sent me a question “So what do you want us to do on your blog?”  What does one really do on a blog?

  1. Read the posts
  2. Leave comments about the post
  3. Blog about content (if you are permitted to)

My blog is all about content. What makes for “intelligent content”. How intelligent content is important in the Information age. How content gets indexed; how content adds value to a website; how content is a marketing tool and so on….

Chris Baggott, will certainly dismiss the purpose the purpose of my invite–to share my knowledge– as so “first generation”.

If I say my blogs are all about citizen journalism, I stand in danger of being dismissed as “so second generation”.

If I say that my blog is a compendium to attract human visitors, I would probably be branded as “third generation” blogger!

So whatever the “generation” to which I belong, at the end of the day, I basically want more active, vociferous visitors. I want visitors who share my views or are willing to at least disagree with my views actively. I want them to argue a case or add to my argument in meaningful ways. I want the blog to be a social platform where I can share my views or argue a case with my friends and visitors on the exact nature and quality of content and its role in our daily lives.

So join me in actively discussing the different nuances of content and create the necessary verve and interest around a blog post–so that others too, are prompted to join us in the debate.

If you are visiting my blog on invite or suo motto, please do read the posts and pitch in with your own comments on the rightness or wrongness of the hypothesis that is being expostulated per post! We value your opinion and would love to debate on issues with a gusto!

Cheating for Links

Category : Article Directories and content, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine marketing, website content

Picture6 LinksSearch engines rank pages on the basis of perceived statistical importance. What does that mean?  A page is very important if a number of other websites link to the page.  Links that are incoming then determine the rank of the page.

Not surprisingly a whole new industry has sprung up around link building. Specialists have emerged. Links are being bought and sold.  Link building strategies are discussed and link builders perform co-citation analysis and link analytics for your site. Link building is regarded as mix of public relations exercise and SEO.  Link builders chase links. Search engines like Google validate this and the industry thrives.

So, what are the links that one can buy? How can one get another site to link to your site?  How can you work your way into the higher ranks on search engines?

There are a number of directories that allow you to submit your website URL to their site. The sites do this for a fee or for free. While paid links are immediately listed, free links may or may not be listed.  They make their kill by accepting your URL.  A few directories will agree to host your link for free provided you host their link and the link of a number of their clients on your site.    It follows that if you URL is listed in a number of link directories, Search engines will be hoodwinked into believing that your site is considered important enough by a number of sites and your rank will creep up the hierarchy. So everyone scratches everyone’s back and alls well with the world.

Article directories are a better option. These directories allow you to submit content to their sites. You may embed a link20021223_05_mistake or two to your site in the article you submit. The articles are hosted for free and anyone can pick up the article and post it on their site—provided they keep the links and the author box intact. Your URL travels as a link to all the sites that pick up your article for posting on your site. So, a single article may generate a host of links to your site. Search engines, only see the statistical frequency of the incoming links and is happy to rank you high on their list.

Unfortunately, the surfing user is completely unaware of the “behind the scene acts”.  He trusts that a keyword search will reveal to him the most relevant sites that contain the information he seeks.  Often, he finds his trust misplaced. The incoming links and the frequency of the keywords will prompt the search engine to rank a site number one.  The rest is history.

Sadly, link chasers are missing the point. Valuable links can be earned by using valuable content. This type of link is more permanent and will attract visitors over a period of time. If you want to make a quality statement, patience, hard work and honesty of purpose will serve you well.  Link experts, too are conscious of the importance of valuable content and they urge you to develop and host high quality content if you want to retain your visitors and convert them into customers.

License to drive

Category : Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine marketing, Types of content, social media marketing, website content

trafficJust putting up a showroom or creating a website will not bring your customers to you. It is just like acquiring a license to drive without actually driving in traffic! Online marketing like offline marketing requires a lot of effort and persistence. Here are a few trips to make your online marketing a success.

Search engine optimization or SEO is the prime mover.  This is because people normally reach your web page via search engines. Search engines need to index your pages on the basis of keywords and their density/frequency on your page.  Your content needs to be search engine optimized so that search engines will rank your page higher than that of your competitors. The best part of this process is that it is FREE. All you need to do is make sure your content displays the keywords in sufficient and meaningful regularity.seo-top-of-google-results

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is all about tidying up the website and filling out appropriate forms that search engine crawlers can use to identify context and reward it with a high page rank. Of course, this requires you to invest time and money and you need to ensure that your advertisements are placed in the right pages on the right sites.  You also pay to ensure that your advertisements are displayed on relevant search queries and you again pay if someone clicks through the advertisement to your site.

Blogs and online content can be a marketing tool if you know how to exploit its potential. The bottom line is that you will have to blog everyday to attract visitors to your site via the blog. You can use your blog to publish content on the web that is replete with the pertinent keywords and score on SEO. Blogs also develop an online community that is entirely based on the content you display and the product you are marketing.

Social Media marketing is the new mantra of the decade.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Digg help in developing a strong social network that can be exploited for business gains. It also helps to develop an intimate relationship with your customers and readers.

Email marketing is another effective method of reaching out to customers. These marketing campaigns are easy to create and almost free. However, one must be cautious in the use of this tool. It can backfire. It can be treated as spam and your site can be black listed for generating spam!

So if you have acquired the license to drive, it is time to learn how to drive!

Have passion for content. Content is communication

Category : Communication, Types of content, website content

Ultimately social interaction is all about effective communication.  Speech, art, literature, music, video or even online chats are means of communication. They are also different facets of content.  So content is the means of communication or communication uses content to reach out.

monalisa Good communicators leave lasting impressions and are revered for their ability create communicative content.  Michael Angelo and Leonardo da vinci were effective communicators and their content was art. , Dan Brown choose literature to reach out.  Britney Spears, music.  All these people have reached out to you with the kind of content that they are best at creating. You loved it, enjoyed it and fanned over it.  They became famous for the content they created!

So, what is your forte?  What kind of content do you create? You are not a novice to the art. Yet, you may not have given it a thought!

Stop now awhile and identify your communication needs.  You have products tobritney_spears_2 sell? You have services to sell?  How do you communicate with your customers? How do you entice your target market?  You write to them letters, distribute brouches, pamphlets, advertise on media and use a host of other means to communicate? Remember, each effort creates content.  Content that communicates. Content that speaks for you and your product. Content that ultimately converts a lead into a sale.

Some of the content is under your control and some not!

danbrownMoreover, all this is expensive.  Your advertising costs seem to escalate with every communication effort. Your content needs to be written, rewritten; you need sales personnel who will send out the communication and distribute your brochures. You need teams who will do oral selling for you.  The content soon passes out of your control. You must rely on your team to speak for you!

How do you get a medium of communication that you can control and yet has a large reach at a small cost?  Your website of course!

Your website is one means of communication that is available to you.  It is ready at hand and is a cheap medium of communication.  You are the master of the content that appears there.

So why should you not be the next great artist and stun the world with your ability to communicate? If you, personally,  are not a good communicator, hire someone who specilizes in the art of communication/content creation and say what you need to say effectively and efficiently!  Use the content of your website as your means of communication. Watch your leads convert to sales!

Have a passion for communication. Have a passion for content. Communicate well.  Communicate effectively. The health of your business depends on it!

Are search engines killing content?

Category : Defining Content, website content

Are search engines really killing content?  A brief review of the history of search engines and their impact on the Web will be an eye opener.

Search engine algorithms were designed with only two concepts in mind–the frequency of keywords and the linking between pages.

The first algorithm aims to index the relevance of pages on the basis of  statistical frequency of the keywords that users may input into the search engine.  They were not concerned with the quality of the pages being indexed or the intrinsic value of the content that is to be found on these pages.  The higher the frequency of a keyword, the higher the relevance of the page. So keyword stuffing and spamdexing became the order of the day. Of course, Google is trying to get round this problem with its new algorithms.

The second type of algorithm was designed to analyze the way  web pages link with each other on the web.  This algorithm aims to find out whether the page is considered relevant on the web and if the linked pages has similar keywords etc ,  so that the rank of the page can be determined vis a vis other similar pages on the web.  Here too, the intrinsic value of the page content is irrelevant.

It is therefore, no wonder that the web user is often frustrated when he finds that pages that have been ranked high on the search engine result page contain nothing but a list of keywords scattered over the page or has just rubbish in the place of the information he is looking for.  It follows, content and information are not taken into consideration by the all powerful search engine algorithms that influences users choice of which websites to visit!  In this context, it must be admitted that search engines  seem to be killing content.

Increasing commoditization of content demands that brand value content be distinguished from mediocre or rubbishy content.  What is the mechanism to be adopted for this purpose?  The future will be a witness to that!


Why invent the wheel? Use your competitors wheel to roll out your site!

Category : website content

A lot of people would like to know how their competitors are making their websites pay.  They would give anything to be able to imitate the content on those sites and create a niche for their product.  Do they all succeed?  Well yes and no.

Why “Yes” and “No”? Yes because imitating someone who is successful can provide you with a framework for operation. No, because, no one really reveals what goes on behind the scenes for you to imitate. That is their trade secret.

Since it is not possible to know his trade secrets, you should intelligently en-cash on your rivals “open” marketing gimmicks.

See what kind of content he has onsite.  Does he make an effort to educate his customers?  Does he inform his customers of what they can expect to find on his site?  Does he tell them the merits of his product vis a vis that of his competitors?  Does he offer them incentives to remain loyal to him? Is he keeping track of the browsing habits of his customers and does he make sure that he has sufficient information on the pages that his customers frequently visit? Is he relying on his offline customers to come online or does he strive to get his online customers to become his permanent offline customers or both?  What kind of traffic does he aim to attract? What is the geographical and demographic distribution of his visitors?

You can cull out all this information and more, if you study his website in earnest and use the different tools available on the Internet to review these sites.  Those are the gimmicks you can imitate.  You can go a step further and provide your readers with more informative and educative content in areas that your rival has omitted to provide.  You can optimize your content for keywords that your rival has not taken into consideration.  The pictures, images and text on your site can be based on research of reading habits of customers.

So why wait till you are able to invent the wheel again. Use your competitors wheel to roll out your website!

Online games–content for entertainment

Category : Game reviews, Information highway, Types of content, website content

online games
online games

Computer graphics and computer gaming technology have come a long long way since the ubiquitous Pong to DOOM 3.  A very substantial evolution since the inception of online gaming!   The history of gaming is tricky to track as it often diverges from computers to independent gaming consoles and arcade machines and back again with forceful enthusiasm.

While a newbie gamer is aware that this is a billion dollar industry and that he can be hugely entertained by the products, he has almost no idea as to which games to begin with. How does he go about gathering information about the best games on the Internet and how to play them?  The resource has to be offline gaming magazines, word of mouth or online website content of course!!!

Offline or online gaming content can be Product descriptions, game reviews, instruction manuals, user reviews, game cheats and a host of related content that tells the gamer exactly what he can expect and what kind of value he can get from the game! The best retail sites make the effort to provide the user with the kind of content that he comes looking for.  Product briefs describe the product from the user perspective.  Good product reviews outline the modus operendi of the game, the rules of the game and the number of players who can play simultaneously. The brief will also give him the inputs on hardware and software requirements. Product reviews will elaborate on the good and bad features of the game and also briefly discuss the technology improvements, upgrades and value additions to the game over a period of time. These reviews may give the gamer a comparative analysis with other games in the same genre.  User reviews are likely to dwell on difficulties encountered by the user while playing the game or focus upon the items that the gamer is looking for and cannot find. Users may also comment on how entertaining or boring they found the game.  Instruction manuals and tutorials are supportive material that will guide the user over the bumps and humps of the game.

All this is content and very valuable content!  A good quality online game with poor quality content will soon lose its ResidentEvil_GS_300x250_copy2following.  A poor quality game with good quality content may stay on forever!  What is the logic?  Any game that makes sense to the audience is enjoyed.  Let us look at a simple example. Snap dragon is a game for children that has been around for centuries!  Children being introduced to the game are given elaborate instructions and are verbally guided through the game by their elders (who had enjoyed the game as children!).  The elders too, begin the introduction to the game by telling the youngsters, what pleasure they had derived from the game and how much the latter will enjoy it!  The introduction excites the children and makes them ready to be entertained. The simple instructions make the game easy to grasp and play. The actual play gives them a hands on feel and they learn to appreciate the entertainment value of the game. If you study the process carefully, you will see that the player was given a lot of quality content to chew upon!

The content that is required for introducing online games is no different. Users still look for what the product does or what the game is about. They look for instructions on how to play it. They look for reviews that tell them why this game is superior to an earlier version or a competitive game.  They try to find out if others in their peer group enjoyed the game or not!

If your website does not provide some or all of the above information, your visitors will wander away to search for a website that gives them the information they are looking for.  So, if you are a website selling games, check what you have on offer and what you need to include to address the concerns of your website visitors!

Frustrations of the information highway

Category : Information highway, Keyword search, website content

Everyone who owns a computer and uses it to access the Internet, will know the all too familiar sense of despair  that assails us the moment we begin a keyword search. Like Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner  we must admit to frustration arising from useless plentitude on the information highway.  A keyword search will throw up millions of documents that contain the keyword, but not even one gives us the relevant information!

Why is that so?  This is a legacy of a period when webmasters keen to get their websites listed into search engines threw commonsense out of the window and just included meta tags that contained all the keywords in their html pages., so that they get listed on search result pages.  They had a one point agenda–to get high ranking on a search engine result page, so that they could get the customer to the website and sell their product !  Unfortunately, they ignored the crying need to actually include information about the product in the context of the keywords.  They talked about their company, the CEO and then listed out the products manufactured by the company without a single word about why a customer should buy their product over that of the competition or what are the significant features of their products in layman terms!  A few posted pictures of the products (as if the website was part of their display window) relating to the keywords with little or no information about them.   You see, alt tags are crawled by web spiders for listing relevant pages!   A smarter breed of websmasters, just filled their webpages with lists of the keywords repeated endlessly! Of course, this is ignoring the scores of websites that buy the top space in search engine results for a price!  So, browsing these pages  for information was, and still is,  a very frustrating exercise.

It is in this scenario that a content rich website that actually informs the visitor about the products, comes as a pleasant surprise. Recent studies on browsing habits of visitors to websites indicate that visitors tend to spend more time on websites that provide detailed information on a product.  They tend to revisit the site several times and also refer others to the site.  Such readers also navigate to the sites of the competition only if the latter provides comparable information.  So if your site provides only pictures and feature lists, it is quite likely that your visitor will leave your pages quickly and  permanently.

Search engines too, have become wise to this fact.  Modern search engines use sophisticated algorithms to track quality of content on websites, the relevance to keywords listed in the meta tags vis a vis the content and the relevance of the pictures to the meta tags and so on.   You will find that sites that were listed number one on search engines in the past, have slid down the rows and are now listed somewhere deep inside the search result pages.  This is to the advantage of readers, who prowl the net for all kinds of information.

It follows, that the “survival of the fittest” in the context of websites today, is a matter of hosting plentitude of informative content.  The better the quality of content, the better the possibility of converting a casual visitor into a lead and a lead into a sale!  So, if you are a websmaster and are competing for attention with thousands and millions of competitors across the globe, have a relook at what you have to offer to your cyber customers! Your business could depend on it!

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