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Corporate Blogging Alphabet – What Is It?

I built this alphabet to showcase what I think are the benefits and best practices of corporate blogging. Not all of these entries will apply to every individual blogging scenario, but they all apply to corporate blogging in general. So here you have them, corporate blogging benefits and best practices … from A to Z.

Accountable

Accountability applies to corporate blogging in two primary ways. With single-author blogs (such as CEO blogs), the author can inspire trust among readers by “owning” his or her commentary. But companies also assume a certain level of accountability for all blogs under their umbrella, regardless of disclosures to to the contrary. So blogging accountability must be carefully considered at both the individual and corporate level.

Believable

Used properly, a corporate blog or CEO blog can make a company more believable. And in the low-trust, post-Enron world of corporate skepticism, a little believability goes a long way. Use your blog to tell an honest story in a passionate way.

Candid

A common mistake in corporate blogging is when organizations use the blog as “website, part two,” shoveling press releases and other corporate literature onto the blog. To achieve the believability mentioned above, a corporate blog must take on the candid, heartfelt voice of the author. Sure, it takes courage to do this (and probably a set of corporate blogging guidelines), but your readers will reward you by becoming advocates.

Direct

Corporate blogs are direct. You write your message, click the “Publish” button, and your words are directly viewable across the Internet. This removes intermediaries from the corporate communication chain. There are no journalists or editors to put their own spin on things. The message goes from the author directly to the audience. Never again will your message be diluted or mis-aligned (unless you do that yourself).

Enthusiastic

In my opinion, only enthusiastic bloggers should be allowed to represent the company. Half-hearted commentary stands out like a purple elephant in the corporate blogosphere. This kind of commentary does more harm than good, whether it comes from the CEO, the communications chief, or Joe Employee. Enthusiasm comes across in blog posts — and it’s contagious.

Flexible

One of the great things about blogs is the versatility with which they can be used. A corporate blog, for example, can be used internally or externally. It can be a news channel, a customer-feedback forum, an educational tool, or a combination of these things.

Google-friendly

And Yahoo-friendly, and MSN-friendly, etc. A corporate blog can help you increase your search engine visibility in a number of ways. For one thing, a blog gives you an easy way to expand your website with new content. If you blog daily for a year, you’ve got 365 new pages of topical content (and 365 new items for people to find through search engines). Blogs are also more “social” than websites, so in time a well-written blog will acquire links from other blogs. This kind of link popularity does wonders for your search engine ranking.

Happening

Nine times out of ten, a corporate blog is more “happening” than its website counterpart. Blogs are easier to update than a regular website. And when you update a blog often with quality content, it becomes an active resource that people are more inclined to revisit.

Informative

When you keep your customers well informed on new products, services or “behind the scenes” company happenings, you increase the likelihood of future business from those customers. Corporate blogging is a simple but effective way to keep people informed.

Jargon-free

Generally, corporate blogs are not the place for corporate speak. At least, not a customer-facing corporate blog. Save that language for your annual report. Business blogs evolved from online diaries, single-author sources of information and insight. Much of this plain-speak expectation carries over to corporate blogs, so the potential power of blogging for business purposes lies within the blog’s frankness, not its jargon.

Knowledgeable

Use your corporate blog to show readers how knowledgeable you are on your subject. When your readers see how much information you have to share on a subject, they’ll recommend your blog to others who are interested in the subject. These are the kinds of readers you want. Just remember, some of your readers will know as much about the subject as you do. So check your facts before posting.

Limitless

Corporate blogs can be configured in endless ways to serve endless roles. They can stand alone, be part of a website, or be part of a larger network of blogs. Because the technical aspects of a corporate blog are limitless, so too are the uses for the blog.

Manageable

Blogs reduce the technical side of web publishing to such a degree that anyone can blog, regardless of their web experience. Blogs are so manageable, in fact, that even a large web presence built on blogging technology can be managed by a single individual. In this way, blogs are only an initial burden on the IT department. Once a blog is setup, it can be managed by the author alone.

Non-invasive

Corporate blogs “pull” readers to the message, rather than “push” the message to the reader. People can sign up for a blog in total privacy, simply by pulling the blog’s RSS feed into their feed reader. In this way, corporate blogs are non-invasive for readers. The readers come to the blog — the blog is not thrust upon them, like other forms of corporate communication. As long as blogs adhere to this non-invasive, respectful approach, they will be held in higher esteem than other communication channels like email.

Operational

Corporate blogs are more than simple communications tools. With their versatility and ease of use, a corporate blog can server operational roles. This might include internal collaboration (like an intranet) or outward instruction (like an interactive Q&A forum). Blogs can be an active part of your organization’s daily operations.

Purposeful

The key to a good blogging experience is to have a purpose. Sure, you can plunge right into corporate blogging and figure out your purpose as you go. That’s part of the appeal. But your blog will be more effective (and easier to produce) if you have a blogging plan and purpose. Maybe your blogging purpose is to educate readers on what goes on behind the scenes at your company. Maybe you want to increase your visibility on the Web. Or maybe the CEO wants to share his ideas on the business to foster interaction. Fill in the blanks as needed, just be sure you have a purpose behind your blogging efforts.

Qualitative and Quantitative

When corporate blogging is done well, it has both a quantitative and qualitative affect. Because blogs are easy to publish, they help you increase the quantity of content on your website. This increases your blog’s value to readers, as well as its visibility to search engines. If the content is also useful and informative to your key audience, the blog adds quality. A well-managed corporate blog can enhance your web presence by adding both quantity and quality.

Reusable

Blog content can be reused for a variety of purposes. For example, if you expand on a blog post (or compile several blog posts), you can create articles that you can syndicate online. This will help you grow your web presence and even more. This is one of the strategies I teach through my blogging guide mentioned at the end of this article. Another example of reusing blog content — Seth Godin’s book Small Is the New Big is simply a compilation of his blog posts over the last few years.

Straightforward

Okay, so this is somewhat repetitive of ‘C’ for candid. But it’s worth repeating. The most popular of the corporate and CEO blogs reached their level of popularity by being straightforward. And here, I’m referring to both the design and the content of the corporate blog. Blogs that are “overly designed” don’t really look like blogs at all. They look like corporate websites, which (I believe) takes away some of their candidness and authenticity. The same is true of blog content. Blog postings that are straightforward and candid will generate more trust, interaction and “buzz” among the blog’s readers than thinly-veiled corporate speak.

Thoughtful

The best corporate blogs are thoughtful. I don’t mean thoughtful in the sense of “kind,” although kindness goes a long way on the Web. I mean thoughtful as in “full of thought.” Blogs with a lot of “fluff” don’t fare well in the corporate blogosphere. So be sure you put some thought into your blog’s content.

Usable

Your corporate blog should be easy to navigate and read. In fact, any blog should be easy to use, or any website for that matter. Web readers and researches are skilled at hopping from site to site. They don’t need much of a reason to bail out on you, and they’ll do just that if your blog is hard to navigate. Review a list of the most widely read blogs on the Internet, and you’ll find they have something in common — they all have simple designs with high levels of usability.

Voluntary

You should blog because you want to, not because you think you have to. If you start a corporate blog just because people say you should, it will lack the heartfelt enthusiasm that’s a hallmark of great blogs. (See ‘E’ for enthusiasm above.)

Wise

Your corporate blog is the ideal place to share your wisdom about your industry. This will help you position yourself as an authority in your field, and will also help foster the trust that’s mentioned under the letter ‘T’ above. Show people what you know about your industry, but do it in a conversational way. A “tip of the day” series is a prime example of this. It’s a great way to share your wisdom, and it’s the kind of thing others will link to if it’s full of useful content or advice.

Xstensible

Okay, so I cheated with this letter. But blogs are certainly extensible (and you try to come up with a good adjective starting with ‘X’). Corporate blogs, business blogs, CEO blogs — any blog — can grow as the company grows. You can add additional authors, additional sections, whatever you need. And it doesn’t require and act of the I.T. gods to get it done. By design, blogging programs are meant to be extensible.

Yours

If you ask me, anonymous blogs are not blogs at all … just plain old websites. A corporate blog can have one author or several authors, but it should be somebody’s blog. It should be yours, or his and hers, or all of yours. Somebody needs to own it. Otherwise, nobody will trust what it has to say.

Zippy

The definition of zippy is “lively and full of energy.” These are great traits for a corporate blogs. Some people equate the word “corporate” with “dull.” Show them otherwise. Inject your personality. Show them the passion you have for your industry. That’s the only thing that will keep them coming back.

* You may republish this article online if you retain the author’s byline and the active hyperlinks below.

Brandon Cornett is the publisher of CEO Blog Watch and the author of a new blogging guide. Download your copy of the blogging guide by visiting http://www.ceoblogwatch.com

Going through a divorce can be taxing at the very least. For many, a divorce completely alters the course of life. Along with adjusting to changes in family structure, home life, income, and social relationships one must also adjust to life as a single person, and that includes so much more than changing from the pronoun “we” to “I”. One of the most challenging aspects of becoming single following a divorce is adjusting to a new life as a single parent. Not only is there an absence of adult conversation in the home, it is also often the case that children’s behaviors change, and not always for the better.

Children are often left feeling very confused following a divorce. On one hand they may feel relieved that Mom and Dad are not arguing anymore. On the other hand, they may miss having relatively unlimited access to both parents, sometimes at the same time. One of the things I have noticed within my own children is confusion and stress related to issues of loyalty. Although we made it a point not to cause our children to feel as though they had to take sides during our divorce, they still felt that way. Consider the situation in which a child has returned from a visit with a non-custodial parent. The child had a great time during the visit and just cannot wait to tell his other parent about his fun weekend. However, the child may refrain from sharing these details because they fear the reaction of the custodial parent. They may feel as though they are betraying the custodial parent by having had a good time with the other parent.

One of the main causes of confusion for young children post-divorce is when their parent(s) begin dating again. This can be very anxiety-provoking for young children. It can also be the root of angry outbursts, aggressive behavior, withdrawal, or defiance. I need to point out that some children breeze through the experience displaying no apparent effects at all. That is great, but I do not believe that is often the case. I was fortunate because my children adjusted quite well to the idea of their parents dating other people. As a result of my personal experiences in this realm, as well as watching others go through the same thing, I have developed a few guidelines for parents to follow when deciding how or when to tell their children they are dating. The guideline assumes the parents have made the decision to resume dating, and they have begun the process already. I have also developed a few guidelines regarding how to introduce your children to your significant other.

Wait it Out.

The first guideline I can provide is to avoid telling children you are dating the moment you have your first post-divorce date. This can be difficult, especially if you view dating as an exciting event, but I encourage you to wait it out. It is likely to be wise to make sure the person you are dating is someone you think you will be dating for a while, like more than a date or two. Children may see dating as an act of betrayal of their other parent. They may wonder why you don’t love Daddy anymore, or how you could do that to Mommy. These are difficult emotions, and difficult questions to answer. Putting your child through this every few weeks as you change dating partners is not only difficult for them it is something they are not likely to understand. I would suggest waiting at least a couple of months before telling your children about your new relationship. This is the safest action you can take for yourself and for your children.

Be Open, Honest, and Direct.

Once you have made the decision to tell your children about your new relationship it is time to decide how you will tell them. This causes anxiety for many parents, and with good reason. As adults we too can feel as though we are somehow betraying our former spouse by dating again, and we also worry about our children’s reaction to our new situation. Although there is no golden rule or magic conversation that is guaranteed to work, I have discovered that what worked best for me was to be completely open, honest, and direct with my children.

I began the conversation by reminding my children how much I loved them. I told them my love for them was never going to change. I also made sure they knew that their father loved them as well. Then I told the children that I had been going on dates, and I asked them if they knew what that was. Though this might sound crazy, young children are often “going out” as early as the second or third grade. To them dating may mean sitting with someone new at lunch, because that is what they know going out to mean.

Once I knew my children had an accurate understanding of dating, I told them about my new relationship at a level they could understand. Parents, please spare the details here. Remember, your children are young and do not need or care to know everything about your relationship. That is what co-workers and same-gender friends are for! I remember asking my children if they had any questions several times throughout the conversation. To my surprise one of my children asked if I had a picture of my new friend. I did, and I showed it to them. I used the picture to open the lines of communication for questions about my date. My children asked me what his name was. They asked me what he did for a job. They asked me if he had children too. All of their questions were completely appropriate. Parents do not tell your children any more than what they ask. Keep it simple.

Finally, I made sure they knew that it was alright for Mom to be dating, and that no laws were being broken. This may be easier or more difficult for you depending upon when you resume dating, but it is still something that must be said. Remember, your child should hear about your new relationship from you, and not second-hand through a grandparent, friend, or your former spouse. They may worry that you are doing something you are not supposed to do. Ease their worries, and let them know you are alright. Do try, however, to avoid brining your former spouse into this part of the conversation. Children do not need to know that it is alright for Dad to date because Mom was dating before the divorce was even final. Again, please spare them the details.

At the conclusion of the conversation, the children asked when they could meet my friend. They were actually eager to meet him. When they did meet, a few weeks later, they were worried or nervous because they had been thoroughly prepared. This is not something parents should spring on their children by saying, “Oh, you want to meet him? That’s great because he is on his way over right now!” Please give your children time to digest your conversation. It is a lot to process as a young child.

Make it Public.

When it is time for you to introduce your children to your significant other do your best to ensure they will be meeting in a public place. This can go a long way in terms of easing anxiety or awkwardness. It also gives the meeting a central focus. For example, when my children met my significant other (who is now my husband) the meeting took place at a local arcade. We were able to bowl together, play video games and mini golf together, and then eat together in the snack bar. Conversation flowed because we could talk about the gutter ball I just bowled or how my daughter just made a hole in one. It was also a very relaxed and kid-friendly environment, which was much better for my children than meeting at a formal dining establishment. We laughed together, played together, and ate together. It was a great event. It also offered me an opportunity to see how the children related to my significant other in a public setting, and also to see how he interacted with them. I do not believe the meeting would have been as smooth and comfortable if we had met in one of our homes. Meeting in public offered safety, security, and an arena in which it was alright to enjoy ourselves without guilt.

No Replacements

Following the meeting, it is appropriate and important to make sure the children know that your significant other will never replace their other parent, and nor will any other person you may date or marry. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Please give your children your verbal permission to continue loving their mom or dad. Contrary to popular belief, they need to hear this from you. This goes back to the loyalty issue I referred to earlier. It is alright for your children to feel loyalty to their other parent. Please tell them this. I remember telling my children that even though we had gone through a divorce they were still very fortunate because they had a whole lineup of people who were just waiting to love them and to be a part of their lives. Who wouldn’t want to hear that?

The way children react to divorce, dating, and remarriage is largely the responsibility of their parents. If the parents mope around for months on end acting like it is the end of the world, their children will mirror their behaviors. On the other hand, if parents are very matter of fact with their children, telling them that divorce is a sad thing, but that they will heal in time, the children are likely to view the situation the same way. I have frequently said that our children will take their behavioral and emotional cues from us, and the arena of divorce, dating, and remarriage is definitely a situation in which my statement has proven to be true. Our children are watching us and listening to everything we say. Allow your child to see and hear positive things. They may thank you for it one day.

Thank you for reading this article authored by Laura Riness. Laura is a freelance writer, National Certified Counselor, adjunct professor, doctoral psychology graduate student, wife, mother, and general information “junkie”. If you would like to read more of Laura’s work, please visit her blog at http://psyreflections.weebly.com, or her website (and video blog) at http://lsrinsideoutwellness.weebly.com.

All those who use a vehicle are well aware how important it is to change the oil and fluids in the car at regular intervals. It is not so difficult to change the oil and lubrication of the entire vehicle but the problematic areas are the brakes usually. You have to take lot of precautions and then carefully perform everything. It is not only the question of disassembling or reassembling them but you have to regulate the brake fluid as well as keep air out of the brake lines. There is this vacuum necessary when you perform the work because if the air seeps out into the system, the brake might become sluggish and there is probability that it might fail also.

The brake bleeders simplify this process of changing the brake fluid and save you from getting into any other problem. These brake bleeders are not only easy to use but also are pretty inexpensive and you will get these without any difficulty. Even if you do not know much about mechanics, you can manage with the help of this kit. There is no need of any experience or mechanical expertise to use Brake Bleeders. Although the price is very reasonable, it is worth paying for it than taking the risk of doing the work on your own. It is always better to take precautions when it comes to the brakes of any vehicle.

If you are a new mechanic with little or no experience, you will require a lot of Engine Repair Tools. You would prefer and try to save some money on buying these tools and at the same time you would prefer to buy good quality and durable tools as well. If you are looking for both these things, try and follow precautionary guidelines and look for lifetime warranty before you buy.

Brake Tools at HandsOnTools.com. Best source for Brake Bleeders, brake lathes, Engine Repair Tools, brake testing tools etc.

Is it in the cat’s best interest to be included in the travel plans?

Many people like to take their animals with them as they travel. While cats are most comfortable in their home environment, some cats can adapt to travel rather well. Certain life situations such as relocation, an extended stay with a relative who is ill, or a serious relationship headed toward marriage or cohabitation, may require your cat travels with you on an as needed or routine basis. I discourage traveling with cats, because they are incredible athletic and it’s is extremely easy to loose your pet as you pack, travel, stop at rest areas and once you’ve reached your new destination. Most cats get very nervous traveling and may become dehydrated or ill. If you are relocating, your cat is likely to become agitated and may try to run away before or after your move. If it’s in the best interest of your pet to include them in your travel plans, or if you are relocating, the following tips may help.

Preparation.

Before you plan a trip with your cat make sure that the pet will have a safe place to stay once you reach your destination. When you stay at a hotel, even if you’ve stayed at the same hotel dozens of times, confirm each time you travel that they still accept pets. When you stay with friends, don’t assume they will love your cat as much as you do, and make sure no one has a cat allergy. Find out if they have pets and whether their pet is very friendly with all animals in their home. Many friendly dogs and cats become very aggressive when another animal is placed in their home. Most often, I discourage anyone from subjecting a cat to another animal for a short period of time. It’s traumatic to most cats and increases the likelihood your cat will run away–given any small opportunity.

Help your cat love the carrier.

Several weeks prior to your trip or move, purchase a cat carrier for each cat. It should be large enough for them to stretch, turn around and lie down. If you have more than two cats, they all get along very well, you have a long trip, and you have a vehicle like a mini-van, you may want to consider buying a dog kennel that will accommodate all your cats. Whether you’re using a cat carrier or a dog kennel, pad the bottom of the carrier with a fluffy towel, or an old sweatshirt. If the towel or sweatshirt smells like you, your cats comfort level is increased. Get the cat comfortable with the carrier a few weeks before you travel. Keep the carrier door open and feed them in or around the carrier. For example if you have two cats and two cat carriers, I suggest placing a little wet food in each carrier at meal time. Do this 3-4 times a week for a few weeks before your trip. Leave the carrier door open so the cat can leisurely walk in and out of the carrier.

Avoid injury and minimize trauma for the cat.

Never haul cats in a carrier in the back of a pick up truck exposed to wind, weather and the elements. If you’re moving and renting a moving truck, keep the cat in the carrier with you in the truck cab. Never load a cat in the back of a loaded truck or moving van. The carrier and your cat could get crushed as your belongings shift. You could kill or injure your pet.

What to do when your trip or move is in the near future.

Shortly before you begin your trip or move, locate and pack your pet’s health certificate or veterinary records. When you travel with pets the rabies vaccine must be current. Many states have additional requirements. If your pet needs any vaccinations, get these done at least two weeks prior to your trip. This gives the cat an opportunity to recover from the vaccinations, and minimizes the risk of illness. Tape the health certificates or veterinarian records to the top of each carrier. Be sure your veterinarian’s phone number is on the record as well in case you have an emergency or a law enforcement official needs to check your records. If you do not normally use a collar on your indoor pet, it would be good to do so now. Write your phone number on the collar so it can be read from a distance, and make sure it’s easy to read. It’s wonderfully, shocking how many lost cats are reunited with their guardian because their collar had a phone number.

If you are relocating, your pet is old, or your trip is more than a couple hours, purchase a small, flexible, disposable litter pan for each cat. These can be placed in the carrier (before you load the cat in the carrier) the day you travel. Your cat may lie in the litter, but it encourages your cat to use the litter pan. If your trip is less than two hours, a towel or sweatshirt in the bottom of the carrier is sufficient.

The night before your trip or relocation.

Keep cats enclosed in a familiar area, such as a bedroom or kitchen-make sure they have a litter box available. Cats seem to be amazingly psychic and like to hide the day of the trip. Put the carrier in the room and leave the carrier door open. This will make it easier to load the cat in the carrier in the morning. Feed the cat its normal meal the night before your trip, but do not over feed. You may want to try and use an herbal produce called pet remedy. I use this every time I relocate with my cats and it helps reduce their stress. At least 5-6 hours before your trip remove all food. Remove water a few hours before your trip.

On your day of travel

Make sure your vehicle is packed first and in such a way as to leave room for the carrier(s). Pack the cat(s) last. Be patient! If your cat has been easily going into the carrier with a little food try to get them to do so again. If they won’t go in, pick them up, gently place them on the floor in front the carrier with their tail or butt near the carrier’s open door-you are going to back them into the carrier. Keep one hand around the cat’s ribcage, take your other hand and with an open palm press against the cats face so they will back into the carrier. It helps to have the carrier back against a wall. Once the cat has back into the carrier, keep one hand on the cat and gentle swing the door closed as much as possible. Slide your hand out but keep an open palm as you close and lock the door. This keeps the cat from bolting out of the carrier. Make sure the carrier door is secure and load your cat in the car. Try to get this right the first time. The more often you’re unsuccessful at loading your cat in the carrier, the more difficult this procedure becomes. Feel free to practice this once or twice several weeks prior to your trip. (When practicing prior to your trip, open the cat door immediately after a successful load, and give your cat a treat or meal.)

Begin your journey.

Now that you and your cat are safely in the car you can breathe a sigh of relief. Most cats meow for up to an hour as you begin your trip. I’ve had some cats that meowed a few minutes and then settled down, and other cats who let out blood curdling cries for an hour. Sometimes it helps to cover the carrier with a dark, but breathable fabric, or you can cover ¾ of the carrier, leaving the door uncovered. Covering or partially covering a carrier helps a cat feel more secure. Make sure the cats are kept in moderate temperature at all times during your trip. Also, play soothing music as you drive, and as much as possible ignore them. The most important thing you can do now is arrive at your destination safely. If your trip is less than six hours, leave your cat in the carrier until you arrive at your destination. The only thing you need to monitor is how much the cat pants. Since cats do not perspire, they will pant when their heart beat is elevated and when they are hot. It’s normal to see some panting because a car ride is very stressful for most cats. If you see excessive panting, your cat drools or begins convulsions stop as soon as possible and call your veterinarian.

Upon arrival

Carry your cat (in the carrier) inside the new destination and place the cat in a single secured room, such as a bedroom or kitchen. If you have multiple cats, bring all the cats in first, before you open any carrier doors. Also, bring in a litter pan and water bowl. When you open the carrier door, let your cat come out by themselves. Be sure your cats have continuous access to water during as you settle into your new surroundings. It’s best to keep the cat in a single room or small area until, you are certain the cat could not get out. If the cat is an indoor/outdoor cat and you’ve relocated-even if it’s in the same city, keep your cat indoors for 14 days. If a cat has just been relocated or is in a new environment and gets out during the first few days it’s very likely to get lost, become disoriented, and maybe hit and killed by a car.

The week following a trip or move.

Watch for signs of illness and dehydration. It’s normal for some cats to have diarrhea, sleep even more than normal, or vomit once or twice the day after the trip. If these conditions do not clear up in a day or two, if you notice blood in the urine or stool, or if the cats skin can be pulled and does not spring back into the body, seek veterinary care immediately. The sooner you catch and treat illness or dehydration, the more likely and quicker the cat will return to good health.

Final thoughts.

Every cat is different. I once had an orange tabby that loved to ride in the car with me. He ran to the front door when I picked up my car keys. I never used a carrier with him. He peacefully sat on my lap every time we got in the car. I currently have a large grey tabby that likes to ride in non-motorized boats. You know your cat better than anyone else. Check with your veterinarian if you have questions about the best way to travel with or relocate your cat. Keep in mind that cats are athletic and like security. Many easy going cats get agitated, dehydrated or run away while traveling or moving, so please use caution with your pet.

Kate Garvey is a former Vet Tech and animal rights supporter. She teaches Sound Healing Workshops (throughout the US) and treats clients by appointment in the San Diego area. For more information on how you can use sound for optimal health please visit http://www.InstituteOfSoundHealing.com

Kate is also a freelance writer, published author, and the author of several books; “Aging, Death and Euthanasia-A Guide for People with Pets”, “Summer Pet Care Tips”, and “The Low Risk Guide for Real Estate Investment.”

Sony TVs are built to last and often receive higher consumer reviews than other television leaders including Panasonic televisions and Samsung television. Unfortunately, there are many Sony televisions to choose from and choosing the one that best suits your needs takes a lot of consideration.

When looking at either a plasma TVs or LCD televisions, the first consideration that should be taken into account is television resolution. To be considered HD TVs, all televisions must have a resolution above 720p, although today most high-definition televisions come with at least 1080p. The higher the resolution, the better the television clarity will be, although the higher resolution televisions are often twice as expensive. An added benefit of purchasing a television with higher resolution is that you will be able to enjoy all of the benefits which come with Blu-ray DVD players and the latest video game systems.

When you are shopping for LED TVs or plasma TVs, another consideration which must be taken is contrast ratio. A contrast ratio is the measurement between the lightest light colour and the darkest dark colour. The higher the ratio, the more impressive the television will appear. To be safe, you should select a television with a contrast ratio of at least 10,000:1, although several new LCD TVs manufactured by Sony, have contrast ratios approaching 15,000:1.

The next consideration that needs to be taken is the size of the television. Sony high-definition televisions range widely in size from 20 inches up to 60 inches. While most people instinctively want to purchase the largest television they can afford, purchasing a small television may make more sense. If you have a smaller room, and will be sitting within 12 feet of the screen, you should select a television which is 42 inches or smaller. Also, if you do select a larger screen TV, it is quite important that you select the higher resolution option to ensure clarity.

The last consideration when looking at TVs is connectivity. Most HDTVs come with at least HDMI and S-Video connections, but depending on your needs, more connections may be needed. You should also look for televisions which have a composite connection, component video splits, and, DVI inputs.

Find a range of electrical products including; Sony televisions, LED TVs and Plasma TVs from leading brand names.

There’s a wide range of car insurance options in Australia, which is impressive for a country of its size. It’s easy to become overwhelmed given the number of companies offering “the best”, “the cheapest” or “the best and cheapest” car insurance, but there are 7 things you need to consider before you commit to one particular insurer:

1. What kind of insurance are you looking for?

Compulsory third party insurance – Known as Greenslip Insurance, this is the most basic form of car insurance for an Australian driver and is compulsory for Australian-registered cars. While it doesn’t cover damage to the policyholder’s car or cars and property of others, it does cover personal injuries of crash victims.

Third party property insurance – This pays for any damage you cause to another person’s car or property. However, it doesn’t cover the cost of repairs for your own vehicle. Third party fire or theft insurance, an extension of third party insurance, insures you against the loss of your car through theft or fire.

Comprehensive insurance policy – This combines all of the above. As such, if yours and another person’s car are damaged through your own negligence, your insurance policy will extend to cover repairs for both parties.

2. Can you buy the policy online?

An insurance company that allows you to sign up for car insurance online has a distinct edge over one that doesn’t. Online insurance policies, usually paid for by credit card, are more affordable due to the reduction of processing fees. It’s also very convenient for the buyer as it can be done at any hour or any day of the week. You’re also likely to make fewer mistakes on the application form because you can take your time in filling it out, and there is less or no pressure for you to complete as compared to completing one over the phone.

3. Do they offer a multi-policy deal?

Many insurance companies provide insurance for the home, travel and health in addition to car insurance. In many cases, insurance companies may offer a more favourable rate to customers who purchase more than one type of insurance from them.

4. What’s your demographic?

Did you know that the cost of car insurance premiums can vary based on where you live? Premiums can differ even further based on your address within the state itself as well. Varying intra-state car insurance premiums are mainly down to the risk an insurance company perceives you and your car to be.

Therefore, the higher the risk of your vehicle encountering an accident or being stolen, the higher the premiums you have to pay. For instance, residents of New South Wales, which has a high population density, pay the highest car insurance premiums of any state.

Age and gender too, are parameters that need to be considered when comparing car insurance. Young men are perceived to be more of an insurance risk, and this is reflected in their insurance premiums. Additionally, the owner of a newer, more expensive car is likely to pay higher insurance premiums based on the risk such a vehicle poses for the insurance company.

5. Have you tried asking for a discount from your existing provider?

Sometimes, people compare car insurance when they’re thinking of switching to another insurance company. In this case, a person has nothing to lose by asking their current insurer if they’re able to match or surpass a cheaper quote from another company. Revisiting the terms of your present car insurance policy may also allow negotiation of better terms for you; there may be discounted premiums for drivers above 25 years of age. Tailoring your car insurance policy to match your personal requirements can make it even more affordable.

6. Look beyond the bottom dollar

A cheap insurance quote is very attractive. However, when comparing quotes from different insurance companies, you need to ensure that the policies themselves are similar too to prevent comparing apples and oranges. By scrutinizing policies closely, you won’t wind up paying less but receiving inferior or limited insurance coverage from Insurer A, as opposed to paying Insurer B slightly more in return for more benefits and security.

One of the first things a person looks at when comparing car insurance is the premium paid. At first glance, a cheaper premium is certainly tempting. Having extra cash available is always welcome. Yet, is an annual difference of $200 really such a bargain if, in the event of a write off, the insurance company deems your car worth less than you expected?

You need to ensure that the bottom value an insurance company quotes for your car isn’t too far away from your car’s actual worth. If the terms of the policy are otherwise in your favour, obtaining an “agreed value” policy is your best bet so that replacing your car won’t be such a financial burden in the event of a write off and if the company undervalues it.

7. How does a point-for-point comparison of different policies add up?

There are sure to be similarities when you compare the basic policies of most major car insurers. A consumer needs to look at the cost of the policy and any extra benefits that particular insurer provides and ask about them if they’re not immediately obvious. For instance, comprehensive car insurance may entitle you to a hire car if your car needs repairs, until a claim is paid, or your car recovered (if it was stolen). Different insurers also have varying conditions pertaining to no-claim bonus and excess payable.

Different insurers offer different hire car periods that may also vary based on the premium you pay. Additionally, the time it takes to process a claim may take longer (months) than the period to which you’re entitled the hire car (days). Additionally, the maximum value insured for items inside the car that are damaged or stolen may vary between companies.

In the event car repairs are needed, most insurance companies have workshops authorized to carry out the necessary repairs. Some people, though, may be more comfortable appointing a mechanic of their own or who can finish the job more quickly. Aside from determining if this option is available to you, be sure to determine who bears the cost of transporting the car to the garage and if roadside assistance is provided.

These are just some of the things you need to consider when you’re making a car insurance comparison between different insurance providers. Comparing car insurance policies may not be such a chore when you consider that Australians are paying an excess of more than $3 billion in unneeded comprehensive car insurance coverage.

After years of working in the executive staffing and recruiting industry, collaborating with countless hiring managers and human resource administrators across various industries, I acquired a thorough understanding of what these individuals were looking for in potential job candidates. I began to see patterns, consistencies, universal tendencies, and I began to see just how important a good resume really is.

As a point of fact, hiring managers only spend around 15 seconds perusing over a new resume and they are really only looking for a couple of things when they do. They’re on autopilot, for the most part. They want to know:

1) Who have you worked for?

2) Have you had steady employment?

3) What notable achievements and recognitions have you had throughout your career?

4) What do you have to offer which will meet with their specific needs?

An effective resume will answer those questions with a minimal amount of effort and, as with any effective marketing tool, it will also leave the reader wanting to know more. You want to give them just enough info to prompt them into action. That’s when they pick up the phone and call you for an interview!

So your resume is your professional introduction. It’s your only chance to make a memorable first impression and I can tell you right now that if you do not take your resume seriously, then your resume will never be TAKEN seriously. It really is that simple.

Now, if you feel you are capable and qualified to write a compelling and dynamic resume, then by all means give it a shot. However, if you’re not extremely confident in your skills as a writer and/or marketer, I would sincerely recommend you hook up with a professional resume writer to help you craft the perfect resume for you. A seasoned veteran in these matters can be an invaluable resource. After all, I trust my mechanic to work on my car because he works on cars all day, every day. Well there are people out there who work on resumes all day, every day…so trust us!

For those who are convinced they have what it takes, this article should help you with some of the finer points. Although job markets and technologies are always changing, there are some things which are fairly universal and constitute the basic principles of a winning resume. To guide you along, I have compiled a comprehensive list of resume writing Do’s and Don’ts, complete with secret tricks of the trade as well as a collection of common mistakes people make. So pay close attention, take my advice into consideration, and you’ll be on your way to landing that dream job in no time!

DON’T

Misrepresent the Truth – Lying on your resume is never a good idea. You don’t want to start a professional relationship based on the misrepresentation of facts. Just as you would hope the employer is not lying to you about the job requirements, salary, etc, they expect you are not lying to them about your background and/or skill sets. It’s the decent and respectable way to conduct yourself and there is no room for dishonesty in the workplace because, sooner or later, these things always have a tendency to come to the surface. Remember: The truth shall set you free!

Use Slang or Jargon – You need to be as professional as possible in the context of your resume if you expect to be taken seriously as a professional. For this reason, you should avoid using familiar lingo, slang, or jargon in your resume. The exception to this rule is when using very industry-specific terminology to describe your particular skills. This can actually help to lend you credit as a knowledgeable individual and an expert in your field, but your such terms wisely and tactfully.

Include a Picture – Unless you’re a model or in a professional dependent on physical attributes, I always advise against putting your picture on your resume. In my experience, it can do more harm than good. So keep the formatting of the resume simple and let the hiring manager use their imagination until they call you in for an interview. Plus, your looks should have nothing to do with your professionalism or the credentials qualifying you for the position. In the business world (even legally), your appearance should have no value as a selling point for you as a competent job candidate.

Include Irrelevant Info (AKA “Fluff”) – If it’s not important, don’t add it to your resume. If you were a cook 10 years ago but now you’re looking for a job in retail management, don’t clutter up your resume with irrelevancy. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager and ask yourself what they would see as important. How does your background correspond with their needs as an employer? Anything else is fluff. Don’t add your hobbies to your resume. Don’t add your references (if they want them, they’ll ask at the appropriate time). And don’t include your high school education either. Finally, don’t be redundant and repeat yourself throughout the context of your resume. It’s OK to reinforce themes, but don’t push it. If your title has been Branch Manager at each of your past three companies, find a way to differentiate each of these positions and highlight your most notable accomplishments. Don’t just copy and paste the line “Managed a team of branch employees” three times. That will get you nowhere.

Include a Core Competencies Section – I find Core Competency sections to be fairly worthless in a professional resume and I’ll tell you why: It doesn’t matter if you’re a waitress, an administrative assistant, a nurse, a teacher, or a sales executive – it doesn’t matter what kind of background you have – anyone can describe themselves as “Self-Motivated”. Anyone can say they are “Goal Oriented” and “Results-Driven” and everyone has “Strong Verbal and Written Skills” when they’re applying for a job. I can say with some degree of certainty that the majority of hiring managers and HR administrators skip right past a Core Competencies section and with good reason. The key to a successful resume is in SHOWING a manager how you are “Results-Driven” and “Goal Oriented” instead of just TELLING them! Your accomplishments speak volumes, let them do the talking. If you are going to include a Core Competencies section, make sure it’s unique and adds value. Again, vagueness will often work against you here because it cheapens the experience of reading your resume.

Rely on Templates or Sample Resumes – If you are surfing the web and looking for a good resume sample or template to use as a guideline for your own resume, make sure the sample you settle on is appropriate considering your background, the industry you’re in, and your career intentions. Because when it comes right down to it, different styles of resumes should be employed in different industries. By way of illustration, a computer programmer’s resume will vary greatly from that of a sushi chef. They both have very different skill sets which need to be highlighted in very different ways in order to be effective. If both those individuals tried to write their resumes in the same format, it would be a disaster. Hiring authorities, respectively, each have their own expectations and some resume formats are better than others at addressing those individual expectations.

Write a Novel and Call it a Resume – I repeat: Do NOT write a novel and call it a resume. Too many people make this mistake. They want to write this wordy, drawn-out thesis outlining their life story and their career aspirations. They have all these skills and accomplishments and they want to include them all in there somewhere, but the problem is most people just don’t know when to stop. Don’t be afraid to leave out some of the details and explore those further in the interview process. My advice is to highlight only those aspects of your background which are most applicable for the job, or types of jobs, you are planning to apply for.

Limit Yourself to One Page – In contrast to the last point, you may not want to limit yourself to a 1-page resume. A common misconception is that a professional resume HAS to be one page. However, that’s not really the case these days. I while back, before the miracles of technology, I may have agreed. But now that most resumes are being read on a computer screen versus on paper, there’s no need to limit yourself in such a way. Those who try to cram all their info on 1-page resume usually resort to smaller font and zero spacing. When viewed on screen, this is not an attractive format and it’s hard to read. Now, I’m not saying you should write a 20-page catalogue of your experiences, nor am I advocating the use of size 20 font. Instead, I would say 12-14 size font should suffice and I recommend you keep it at two pages. That leaves plenty of room to say what needs to be said. Of course, if you have limited experience then a 1-page resume will do just fine.

DO

Use Bullet Points – When it comes time to explain your experiences in your resume, use bullet points to outline your accomplishments. It is much easier to read and even easier to skim, which is what hiring managers are doing most of the time anyways. Bullet points draw attention to important information. They are also visually appealing and make the information seem more accessible to the reader. So keep them short and meaningful. Some people opt for a short paragraph explaining their duties and responsibilities, followed by bullet points highlighting their most notable achievements. This too is acceptable, just make sure to keep that paragraph very succinct and avoid any redundancies as well.

Have a Strong Objective Statement – Although this is a matter of some debate these days, I firmly believe a strong, concise Objective Statement can go a long way. First off, it immediately tells the reader what job you are applying for. That can be a big deal when you’re submitting your resume to a HR representative who has their hands full with many different job openings. Recruiters as well. And if you’re a senior manager, you don’t want to get thrown in the pile with the mail clerks, right? Not only that, but an effective Objective Statement will briefly summarize your qualifications so a hiring manager can make an instantaneous decision whether or not to keep reading. They do that anyways, so why not address their needs in the intro and add value by showing them what you have to offer right off the bat. Remember, I’m only talking about one sentence here. One sentence to market yourself. Once sentence to spark their interest. You don’t want to give the reader too much to think about, rather you want them to proceed on and read the rest of your resume. So grab their attention, establish your professional identity, show them your value, and let them move on to the good stuff!

Choose the Right Format – One thing you need to remember is that there is not one universal formatting methodology because, in truth, there is no cookie-cutter way of writing a resume. What works best for one person may not be best for another. Some people will benefit from a Chronological resume whereas that format may be detrimental to someone who has jumped around a lot in their career. The only thing I can suggest is that you do your homework. Know the different types of resumes (Chronological, Functional, Targeted, and Combination) and know the distinct merits of each. Then make an informed decision as to which style is best for you. If you are surfing the web and looking for a good resume sample or template to use as a guideline for your own resume, make sure the sample you settle on is appropriate considering your background, the industry you’re in, and your career intentions.

Cut to the Chase – Don’t waste time…get to the good stuff. As I said before, a hiring manager will most often skim, scan, and glance over a resume. Keep in mind that they have specific questions in mind when they review a resume for the first time and they expect specific answers. One of the most important questions they are asking is: “Who has this person worked for in the past?” For this reason, I always suggest that serious job seekers highlight their experiences first and foremost. Right below your one-sentence Objective Statement you should transition into and Experience section. In this section you should list your past employers, the years you worked for them, your job titles, and a brief description of your duties there. Of course, this may not be the best approach for some people. If your background is heavily dependent on your academic experience, then you may want to jump into that first.

Focus on Your Target – My reasons for saying this are as follows: An unfocused resume sends a very clear message that you are unfocused about your career. And a hiring authority doesn’t want to see that. They want to see that you have career goals and that those aspirations correspond with their needs as an employer. So keep in mind that a customized resume, modified for a specific position, is always preferable to a generalized and vague resume. If you’re serious enough about a job then you should take the extra time and effort to tailor a resume to that job’s requirements. I assure you your efforts will not go unnoticed.

Be Articulate and Grammatically Exact – In my humble opinion, it’s of the utmost importance to be eloquent within the context of your resume and to make sure you’re using proper grammar and syntax. For your current job description, use the present tense. For past jobs, use past tense. This seems like a no-brainer, but again you’d be surprised at how many people make this mistake. Being articulate can go a long way as well. Most hiring managers will consider it a plus if you can convey your level of intelligence in your written communications. So don’t be afraid to break out the thesaurus and make sure you have someone else edit your resume before you send it out to potential employers. That’s imperative!

K.I.S.S. – A wiser man than me once made this bold statement and it’s extremely applicable when writing your resume: Keep It Simple, Stupid! Too many people make too much of an effort to “stand out from the pack” and in doing so they may unwittingly be hurting themselves. In some professions, such as the creative design field, it may be advantageous to show your originality and imagination, but in other business fields this kind of flamboyancy in a resume is unnecessary and can actually be injurious to your cause. In terms of formatting, the same holds true. I have found that people tend to have much more success when they opt for an uncomplicated formatting style. Some people still want to get all jazzed up with pictures and text boxes and funky font, but that’s just fluff. It’s noise. It is irrelevant to the purpose of your resume, which is to sell yourself through highlighting your skills and accomplishments. And hiring managers see right through that!

Take Your Resume Seriously – As previously stated, if you don’t take your resume seriously then your resume will not be TAKEN seriously. If you choose not to work with a professional, then at the very least have an impartial third-party edit it for you and give you some constructive feedback. This is for your own sake. What happens when you accidentally type “Manger” instead of “Manager”? Do you think Spell Check is going to bail you out? Whatever you do, don’t send it out to potential employers without having someone else look it over. Some people just need to swallow their pride because when it comes right down to it, you may be the best at what you do, but if you don’t write resumes for a living then chances are there’s someone out there more qualified to write your resume than you are. Please consider that if you’re serious about being taken seriously!

So there it is…everything you need to know about writing your resume. I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your endeavors and feel free to contact me if you ever need any assistance. I’m here to help!

JR Hindman is a freelance resume writer and career counselor with an extensive background in executive staffing and recruiting. He is currently the President of BudgetResumeBuilder.com, a website for entry-level candidates and job-seekers with less than 10 years of industry experience, as well as ProResumeBuilder.com which caters to more tenured professionals and managers.

In this article we will look in depth at a relatively new wrinkle in marketing for law firms known as “attorney-client matching services”. First a little background is in order. The legal services market segment is expected to reach $82.5 billion in 2008 according to Euromonitor International a market intelligence firm. In recent history consumers have been finding attorneys through word-of mouth or through the yellow pages. Often the word-of mouth advice does not deliver people to the best possible solution for their particular needs and the yellow pages is certainly not a great place to select a lawyer I am sure you would agree. Additionally, according to the Pew Internet & American Life over four million consumers and small businesses currently search for legal services via the Internet every month with these numbers expected to rise to over seven million by 2007. I think you can see this is a huge market getting larger. It is imperative that attorneys understand this marketplace if for no other reason your potential clients and clients are moving to the Internet and yellow page advertising is a dying marketing for law firms vehicle. Understanding attorney-client matching services is one new way to tap into this Internet marketplace.

What I will not be talking about here is attorney-listing services. Please don’t get confused between attorney-listing services and attorney-client matching services. The two majors in the attorney-listing services arena are Lawyers.com or FindLaw.com that are used by many in marketing for law firms. With attorney marketing one might want to get a minimal listing on one or both of these two major sites. Both do drive a large amount of traffic to their sites for sure (in the millions of visitors per year). If you do get a listing then track your results carefully and see if being in the middle of a pack of listed attorneys actually does produce clients for you. Please don’t spend more on them than the basic listing that will run about $150 or so per month, at least until you can document results with the basic listing. Also, don’t buy your website through either of them, even if after testing you find good results, for many reasons that can be found under the Internet marketing tab on my website. One last note here, you probably don’t want to test most of the lesser attorney-listing competitors like lawinfo.com, lawcore.com or attorneyfind.com is my take, however if you do be sure to track your results. The rest of this article is about attorney-client matching services.

Attorney Marketing Via Five Attorney-Client Matching Players

In the attorney-client matching field there are five competitors for the attorney marketing dollar offering online attorney-client matching services. The first and originator is LegalMatch.com and its newer competitor being CasePost.com as well as a third competitor LegalFish.com. The two big players that offer almost everything in attorney marketing, Lawyers.com and FindLaw.com; have also recently begun to offer a version of attorney-client matching services.

Lets begin with LegalMatch that was established in 1999 and is based in San Francisco. LegalMatch uses a double blind matching system. By double blind they mean the consumer does not see identifying information about who the lawyers are and the lawyer does not see identifying information about who the consumers are although all the cards are put on the table for both to see before any contact is made between them. Through an allocation model LegalMatch makes the decision about which lawyers get the consumer’s information. Consumers can opt into “priority service” for a fee to talk with a LegalMatch staff attorney about their case and work with that attorney in selecting the attorney for their case. LegalMatch does have partnerships with the Utah State Bar Association, ATLA and NACDL. Membership fees for this marketing for law firms vehicle run from $2,500 to $25,000 per year (they will finance the membership fee if desired) depending on practice area and geographic location of the attorney. For example, a PI attorney in Los Angeles would likely be charged more than a family law attorney in Los Angeles, while the family lawyer in Peoria is likely to pay less than the family law attorney in Los Angeles. Their guarantee consists of extending your membership at no fee until your revenues have exceeded the fee you paid them.

Are There Legal Marketing Ethics Issues with Attorney-Client Matching?

A relevant digression here, since this model is not a lawyer referral program, a pre-paid legal service plan, a joint or cooperative advertising or a directory listing service it is not subject to ethics rules around much of marketing for law firms it has been asserted. Recently the Professional Ethics Committee of the Texas State Bar was looking into these practices and that committee received a seven-page letter (May 26, 2006) from the FTC that was agreed to by a unanimous vote of the FTC commission members that this attorney marketing practice is indeed ethical.

Already the states of North Carolina and South Carolina found the practice ethical. The Rhode Island Supreme Court specifically named in an ethics opinion that online matching services are ethical. Finally, the Utah State Bar (a mandatory bar) has retained LegalMatch as their lawyer referral service clearly indicating their thinking about LegalMatch’s ethical nature it seems to me. Naturally you do need to check with your state bar to be sure this is an ethical practice in your state. Now back to the options in the marketplace.

CasePost.com, based in Southern California, was established in 2002 is a second player in this area of marketing for law firms. They operate in a similar fashion as LegalMatch in matching clients with lawyers; however, the directory of attorneys is shown to the consumer immediately. The consumer can decide whether they want to remain anonymous or give their contact information to the attorneys. The consumer is limited to four attorney responses. Thus the consumer determines what attorneys will get their information. In May of 2006 CasePost has made a major expansion as a result of their partnership with HandelOnTheLaw.com that is powered by a successful nationally syndicated radio show on over 120 stations with attorney Bill Handel. This show has been running since 1985. They also have a strategic relationship with LegalZoom.com that began in 2006 that has increased their reach. Like LegalMatch the membership fees for this attorney marketing vehicle are from $2,500 to $25,000 per year (financing is available if desired) depending on practice area and location. Their guarantee to a member is based on a minimum amount of referrals over the year.

LegalFish is a third player in this arena. It entered the marketplace in 2003 and is based in Chicago. It is a bit different than the other two in a few ways. Like the other players the consumer can input their information and post their cases to the site as well give their identifying information or not. In a number of cases LegalFish will contact the posting consumer themselves by telephone or email to delve deeper into the needs of the consumer so they are not totally automated. There is an allocation model used by LegalFish in referring the cases to their members. Another difference is LegalFish charges a monthly fee for this marketing for law firms vehicle ranging from $180 to $750 to members that are non-contingency based practices. For contingency based practices the fee ranges from $1600 to $5000+ monthly only if the client retains the attorney. If LegalFish does not deliver a referral to a member that retains that attorney they don’t charge a fee to that attorney for the month (a form of a guarantee). Creating something of a “shared risk” system. Naturally, with this type of shared risk system, long-term success for both parties is based on LegalFish’s ability to generate new client opportunities and create demand for legal services, and their member attorneys’ ability to convert those referrals to paying clients. Both parties have to “pull their weight”. Finally, LegalFish reports they are particularly committed to serving the solo and small firm market with ten employees or less.

The next player in this marketing for law firms arena is Lawyers.com (mentioned earlier in this article about their directory listing or attorney-listing service) with their new Attorney Match Service. If you go to their homepage what stands out on that homepage is their “Find A Lawyer Quick Search”. This is their free to the consumer attorney-listing service (this is why you might want to test a listing with them and track results). To get to the Attorney Match Service you have to know to click on “Contact Lawyers” navigation tab or notice it up there at the very top of the Lawyers.com home page. Clicking on that takes you to a page where you input your zip code and the practice area you are seeking, however, it also tells you how many lawyers there are listed that “are interested in receiving your request”. You are required to fill in the identifying information with other case information. Once you do that you see the attorneys listed and pick the ones you want to send your request to and wait for their replies. The fee for the attorney member is $495 per year, however, you must have a biographical level listing on lawyers.com to be on the Attorney Match Service and that is $150 and up per month depending on the size of your firm. There is no guarantee for this service.

The final player in this marketing for law firms arena is Thompson’s Findlaw.com (mentioned earlier as an attorney-listing service) with their new attorney-matching website http://www.LegalConnection.com. The FindLaw system is similar to the Lawyers.com system with three steps of #1 Select your legal need; #2 Tell us about your case; and #3 Choose the attorney that’s right for you. It is different from Lawyers.com’s system since they have broken it out of their attorney-listing services completely with its own dedicated website. Their fees generally run from $500 to $1000 per month depending on your practice area and geographic location. They do not have a guarantee. They do report that they do set targets for each geographic area as well as practice combination and then will manage their marketing to get positive results for attorneys.

Well, now we have all the players in this particular niche of marketing for law firms with a lot of information. I think it would be imperative for me to mention one more item. Both Legal Match and CasePost have negative information on the Internet and it needs to be considered. If you go to Google and search just the term LegalMatch and then do the same with CasePost you will be able to find details about the negative information. One location that covers the negative information on LegalMatch with relevant links is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LegalMatch although that is disputed as not being sufficiently neutral in tone, which is one of Wikipedia’s requirements..

Conclusions and Recommendations on Attorney-Client Matching

Let me list my current thoughts/conclusions in this marketing for law firms niche of attorney-client matching services and from there it is up to you to make your decision:

1. This marketing for law firms vehicle clearly has some merit. This approach can deliver business to you that you would not get otherwise and get it to you now. Yes, you can do better and at least arguably cheaper for yourself through the right Internet attorney marketing strategies (see my website). However, it is not going to happen tomorrow and attorney-client matching can happen tomorrow. You can build your own systems while using these systems and then decide if you want to continue their systems or not. They will always probably get some business you would not have gotten otherwise even if you had your own online systems.

2. Unfortunately you are only “renting” the methods used to get the business you are being sent and don’t “own” the business methods used. If you had the correct Internet marketing for law firms system up you would have a salable asset in those systems and be driving traffic exclusively to you, which is better than this option almost certainly in the long run for most if not all attorneys. Additionally, as a general principle it is not good to be dependent on any one source of referrals as I am sure you know. That said I still think attorney-client matching services are a good option before you have your own Internet marketing systems and/or other marketing systems up. You may even want to continue these services after you have your own systems up. Having your own systems up makes you more secure and now you are at choice about staying with the service or not.

3. Who is this marketing for law firms vehicle for really?

a. Someone who needs more business right now. These systems have a stream of business coming right now and they can send it your way right now. Other attorney marketing systems will take some time to make happen and yield results.

b. Someone who is very, very clear they don’t want to be involved in the marketing process and are willing to pay someone else to do it for them even if it costs them more and they are “renting”. If that is you, then this is probably a good move for you. That said, you still are going to have to “close” the client they send you via email or on the phone so you are going to be involved in marketing at that level, just less marketing. You are never going to get away from that aspect unless you are an associate who does nothing but technical work in someone else’s practice (not that there is anything wrong with that).

c. Someone who is doing some attorney marketing that is not working for them or not working very effectively for them since if you stop what is not working and do this type that is working you may be able to reduce your marketing costs while increasing your revenue stream.

d. Finally, a partner level attorney who has a senior associate that has good people skills that could work this marketing for law firms vehicle and close the referred clients.

4. Who is this type of attorney marketing not for?

a. Someone who won’t attend to the referrals from the matching service most if not nearly every working day.

b. Someone who does not have fair to good “closing skills” or “bedside manner” (Note: you can get some coaching from these firms to improve this aspect if needed and/or see my website for more information on this skill set). You are not the only attorney getting the referral from the match firm so you need to “shine” well enough to get hired. There is still an element of competition involved with maybe 3 to 5 other attorneys who got the same referral.

c. Someone in a geographic area that does not generate a lot of referrals in your practice area. Like a rural area or small town or maybe an estate planner in a low-income area. So you see this marketing for law firms vehicle is not for everyone.

5. The negative information on LegalMatch and CasePost is somewhat troubling to me even though much of it is from the past and has been positively addressed. The negative information of the past on LegalMatch appears to have not troubled the Utah Bar, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This is reassuring to me.

6. If you were reasonably sure this type of vehicle is for you I would go with LegalMatch first. I am presuming you are willing to work their system diligently and have at least low average “closing” skills (they will work with you to get your closing ratio up if you need some support in that area). Why LegalMatch? They have over 1500 members currently (a good sign I think), over 90 employees and have been in business longer. I figure that gives them an edge in knowledge, results and staying in business over time. Additionally, their “footprint” of bringing business to their members is almost certainly larger since they have more resources to drive business to their site than the others. If for some reason you are uncertain if this type of marketing for law firms is for you then I would go with LegalFish first. Why LegalFish? The LegalFish option would allow you to get into this marketing for law firms arena now with less expense and less risk than LegalMatch or CasePost. Do realize the LegalFish attorney marketing “footprint” is going to be much smaller than either of the other two services so they won’t be sending as large a volume of business your way almost certainly. Do be sure you have in your agreement with LegalFish that they will not charge you for the months they do not send you business. If you had a good experience working the referrals from LegalFish, diligently worked the system almost daily, realized a good return on your investment and you wanted to do more then I would look into LegalMatch next. Either starting with LegalMatch or LegalFish, if you find that you really liked this approach to marketing for law firms there is nothing wrong with belonging to two or even three of the services.

7. If you decide to become a member with LegalMatch, Case Post and/or LegalFish do remember your financial arrangement and term of membership are somewhat to greatly negotiable. Do negotiate a win/win agreement for yourself. Naturally, if you can get references of current members to contact from them in your practice area and in a similar type market to yours so much the better before you sign your agreement.

8. I probably would not go with Lawyers.com at this point. Why? First, no guarantee. Next Lawyers.com does not appear to me to be promoting that part of the site enough. Additionally, I am not sure it is worth the cost of the bio and the fee that together will run at least $2,400 for the year. I suspect this money could be better put to use with one of the “big three”. Lastly, given the consumer has a list of attorneys that could be large (search on the site for your zip code and practice areas and see how large it is for your area) you are going to be in a crowd I fear. Thus it looks like not much business and it seems no way to impact the consumers’ thinking in your direction at the point where they are selecting who to contact. An exception to this thinking is if you already have a bio listing with them (and it is delivering business to you) this add on service might be a useful attorney marketing move given you are only spending $495 more per year. That said keep good records and see if it produces you any business. If not you would stop the service of course.

9. With respect to LegalConnection.com I probably would not go with them at this point. Why? No guarantee. I do see it as an advantage that it is a stand-alone away from the FindLaw.com site. For that reason alone I would favor it over Lawyers.com, however, I don’t see LegalConnection.com or Lawyers.com as being in the same class as the “big three” at this point in time.

You can download free now the 125 page Report titled “31 Proven Law Firm Marketing Strategies” by Henry Harlow and much more. You can increase your income; reduce your work hours as you serve your clients better than ever – guaranteed. http://www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com

A freshwater fish tank is the best option to be considered for either beginners to the world of fish tanks, or for individuals looking to cut down on the time requirement necessary to maintain the tanks. When people think about fish tanks, they are most often picturing the freshwater variety. From cost, to set up, to ongoing maintenance, a freshwater fish tank can be a terrific way to add new pets to your home while minimizing the effort necessary to maintain them.

When setting up a freshwater fish tank, you’ll first need to assemble your supplies. The first supply, quite obviously, is the tank itself. One of the hardest parts of deciding which tank to use is the size of the tank. For a beginning fish enthusiast, your best bet will be to choose a smaller tank. This will mean less water and surface areas to maintain, and less fish to care for. Once your experience with fish tanks builds, you’ll be able to move to larger and more expansive tanks. You may find along the way, however, that a smaller tank is simply a smarter option to maintain in your home.

You will need to gather additional supplies beyond the tank as well. Some of the most important supplies you will need are gravel to line the bottom of the tank, a filter to ensure the exchange of clean water within the tank, a tiny vacuum to help maintain the water and gravel quality within the tank, water test kits to ensure healthy water property levels, a heater depending on the type of fish you will maintain in your freshwater fish tank, and cleaning supplies to be able to perform regular maintenance within the tank.

Once you’ve chosen your freshwater fish tank and assembled your supplies, you’ll next need to locate the perfect spot within your home to set it up. Ensure that you do not choose an area of high traffic – the danger would be too great that someone – human or other pet – would accidentally bump into the tank and cause it to break. Pick a sturdy table, desk, or platform to set the tank up on. Remember that you will also need room to store your supplies nearby. Once you have set up the actual aquarium, carefully wash it, inside and out. Also wash all of the supplies you have chosen for your freshwater fish tank. You can then begin to add water to your fish tank. Do so slowly and carefully.

Once the water is added, you may be anxious to add your fish, but you still will need to test the water, create a balanced pH environment, set up your filter and heater, and ensure that the tank itself is in good working order before fish are introduced. Once you are sure that all other aspects of the freshwater fish tank are in place and tested, you may then begin to add your fish to the tank. Do so one at a time so they can acclimate to their new home. Going forward, with simple and careful maintenance, you can work to enjoy your freshwater fish tank for many years to come.

GetaHugeTank.com offers freshwater fish tanks, large fish tanks and fish tank accessories.

Barbie doll clothes are an important part of the fun of playing with

the Barbie doll. When Barbie first came out, the clothes were

fashion model outfits. Since then, however, outfits can be worn for

almost any occasion or situation. The only limit is the imagination.

Children love to play with the exquisite little Barbie clothes and the

fun accessories that came with each outfit.

Close attention was paid to the design and creation of these tiny

clothes. Barbie Doll clothes have hems, zippers, minute buttons

and even linings. &nbspThe quality finish of these dolls clothes was

achieved by hand finishing.

The fasteners used on the Barbie doll clothes were miniscule.

Mattel had these custom made in Japan. A company called YKK was

founded and managed by Yoshida Kogig. This was dedicated to

manufacturing fasteners and other miniature accessories which

accompanied each set of Barbie clothing. For example, the “Nighty-

Negligee Set” #965 1959-1964 contained a baby-doll set of a night

gown with a matching robe in the traditional pink. The accessories

included pom-pom slippers, a toy stuffed dog, an alarm clock, diary,

and an apple for a midnight snack.

There are certainly plenty of Barbie clothes to choose from to dress

your Barbie doll.

Where can you find Barbie doll clothes?

Obviously you will easily be able to find Barbie doll clothes at retail

stores. These stores will certainly have the latest clothes available.

However this isn’t the only place to find &nbspdoll outfits for

Barbie.

A great source to pick up bargains of doll clothes for Barbie is on

eBay. Usually the approximate age of the clothes is indicated. You

can find vintage or modern Barbie clothes, and they are auctioned

in different quantities as well.

Another place to look for Barbie doll clothes is in local garage and

yard sales and also thrift stores. You can often find some great

bargains, as people’s children have out grown them, and will sell

them very reasonably priced.

Barbie doll clothes are an important part of the fun of playing with the Barbie doll. When Barbie first came out, the clothes were fashion model outfits. Since then, however, outfits can be worn for almost any occasion or situation. The only limit is the imagination.

Children love to play with the exquisite little Barbie clothes and the fun accessories that came with each outfit.

Close attention was paid to the design and creation of these tiny clothes. Barbie Doll clothes have hems, zippers, minute buttons and even linings. &nbspThe quality finish of these dolls clothes was achieved by hand finishing.

The fasteners used on the Barbie doll clothes were miniscule. Mattel had these custom made in Japan. A company called YKK was founded and managed by Yoshida Kogig. This was dedicated to manufacturing fasteners and other miniature accessories which accompanied each set of Barbie clothing. For example, the “Nighty-Negligee Set” #965 1959-1964 contained a baby-doll set of a night gown with a matching robe in the traditional pink. The accessories included pom-pom slippers, a toy stuffed dog, an alarm clock, diary, and an apple for a midnight snack.

There are certainly plenty of Barbie clothes to choose from to dress your Barbie doll.

Where can you find Barbie doll clothes?

Obviously you will easily be able to find Barbie doll clothes at retail stores. These stores will certainly have the latest clothes available. However this isn’t the only place to find &nbspdoll outfits for Barbie.

A great source to pick up bargains of doll clothes for Barbie is on eBay. Usually the approximate age of the clothes is indicated. You can find vintage or modern Barbie clothes, and they are auctioned in different quantities as well.

Another place to look for Barbie doll clothes is in local garage and yard sales and also thrift stores. You can often find some great bargains, as people’s children have out grown them, and will sell them very reasonably priced.

Barbara enjoys writing about Barbie dolls and Barbie doll clothes [http://www.barbiworld.com/barbie_doll_clothes/barbie-doll-clothes.html] at Barbiworld.com Check out her Everything Barbie Blog [http://www.barbiworld.com/blog]

As a psychologist and career counselor, I have worked with thousands of people over the years who are choosing or changing careers, and who are wondering whether they would really like to be in a particular career. Based on this experience, I believe that most people who want to go into a career they think they’d like do not really explore the questions they need to in order to be sure that it’s the right career for them.

Here is a list of 20 questions to find answers to before concluding that a career you think you’d like is really right for you, followed by 9 sources of information for answering these questions:

Questions:

1. In general, why do you think you’d “like” this career?

2. Why is going into this career important to you? What values, needs, and goals does it satisfy?

3. What do you actually know about this career?

4. Do you have any direct experience in this career? Have you had any jobs or volunteer experiences?

5. Have you talked to people who are in this career?

6. Have you done any reading on the career?

7. What are the opportunities? What kinds of money can you make in this field, and where are the openings?

8. What would your typical day be like in this career?

9. What are the drawbacks, disadvantages, and roadblocks of this career?

10. Do your interests match the interests of others in this career?

11. Do you have the aptitudes, skills, and abilities to be successful in this career?

12. Do you have the education or training to get into this career?

13. Do you have the personality characteristics that will make you successful in the new career?

14. Do you have the motivation and energy to follow through and do what you would need to do to get into the new career?

15. What are your “transferable” skills? That is, what skills or knowledge do you now have that you can use in the new career?

16. What skills or knowledge do you have that would not only be transferable, but that would also be a unique advantage in the new career?

17. What will it take to get into the new career? What kind of additional training, education, or experience would you need?

18. Have you developed a specific plan, including timetables and specific goals to be accomplished?

19. Do you have a network of support from family, friends, co-workers, or significant others?

20. Having answered all of the above questions, do you still “like” the career and think it’s a good idea to get into it, and why?

I think you’ll find that there are many resources you can use to help you answer the above questions. Among them:

1. Reading. This would include not only the hundreds of books and pamphlets on careers and career choice, but also publications describing careers (such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Department of Labor and available on the Internet).

2. Practical experience. Not only is it possible to get a full-time or part-time job, but one can also volunteer at an organization or a company a couple of hours a week, just to get exposure to the area. Usually, any organization is glad to have this kind of help (unless they think you’re an investigative reporter from some newspaper or TV program).

3. Job search counseling. Anyone changing career directions needs a highly competitive job search strategy. This should include resume, cover letter, and job interviewing strategies that are specific to your situation. This may also include advice on researching the job market.

4. A thorough self-assessment. This is not an assessment BY yourself, but an assessment OF yourself. A good career counselor can provide this kind of assessment, which would include counseling and testing.

5. Career tests. In general, tests divide into three categories: 1) aptitude, ability, and skills tests, 2) career interest tests, and 3) personality and motivational tests that focus on characteristics related to the career world.

6. Career coaching. Guided discussions with an expert can help you to clarify your goals, strategies, and commitment.

7. Education and training. Before you launch full-time into a degree program, it is possible to take one course, or a seminar, or a workshop, or a brief certificate program in the new career.

8. Networking. There are many job clubs and career resource centers available to explore new careers. Schools, career counselors, and other professionals can usually give you information on these resources.

9. Informational interviewing. It’s usually not a good idea to go into a career if you haven’t talked to at least a few people who are already in it and can give you the lowdown. You can also talk to people in academic and training programs.

Armed with all of this information and all of these insights, you should now be in a better position to judge whether taking the next step in this new career area makes sense for you.

Sander Marcus, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified Professional Resume Writer in Chicago. He has over 3 decades of experience in providing career counseling, aptitude testing, job search coaching, and resume writing to tens of thousands of individuals. He is the co-author of 2 books on academic underachievement, various tests, and numerous articles. He can be contacted at marcus@iit.edu, 312-567-3358.www.center.iit.edu

If you think that you are ready for the world of gourmet delight and would like to bone up on your skills; then buy a cookbook that does not begin with, you must first thaw your hamburger meat before making a hamburger patty.

If you know how to go to a supermarket and pick a fine quality English roast and have the butcher grind it to your specifications then you are ready to give gourmet cooking a try.

What Cookbooks should you buy?

What kind of cookbooks should you buy to become a gourmet cook? You should try ethnic cookbooks. You can give Julia Child’s books a start and then back off to learning how to make a fine rice pilaf from either a Greek or from a Middle Eastern cookbook.

The key is to read upon the topic as much as possible as this will help you to gain a broader understanding of the subject. Plus it can be a lot of fun and you can learn lots of new exciting cooking techniques that make meals delicious.

How do gourmet cooks talk to each other?

When you begin to cook with the intention of producing an artistic meal rather than a filling meal, you will have reached a gourmet’s cooks conscience. And, by that time, you will have read and learned from gourmet cooks what they mean by add salt to taste or a standing rib roast.

As you read more you will become increasingly versed in the subject which will further help you to understand how and what gourmet cooking is all about.

Gourmet Cooking DVDs? focusing on the subject of Gourmet Cooking.

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Snow skiing is one of the most popular winter sports in the world. Millions of people hit the slopes every year for fresh air and fun, and a large percentage of them are beginners. This is a fun sport, but it is equipment-oriented. Without the proper ski gear it can be frustrating, discouraging, and even dangerous.

This article will help guide you in selecting the best equipment for your level and style of skiing. Skis are the single most important piece of ski equipment. Choosing the right pair of skis will help you get the most enjoyment out of your skiing time.

Your Skill Level

The most important factor in choosing a pair of skis is your skiing ability. Beginners and intermediate level skiers need skis that can be easily maneuvered, while experts require more specialized skis. When choosing a pair of skis, the variables include materials, type, length, shape, and stiffness.

Materials Used In Skis

Skis were originally made of wood, but very little wood is used in modern skis. The most common materials used today are aluminum and fiberglass. Other more exotic materials like Kevlar, carbon, titanium, and boron fibers are also used.

Skis are frequently made from a variety of materials to provide various degrees of flexibility and strength in the different sections of the ski. The core of the ski can be made of foam, wood or some other material. The tops and sides are usually made of aluminum and fiberglass. The base of the ski is a synthetic polyethylene, with edges of steel.

Type Of Skiing

There are several different types of skiing and, therefore, different ski designs. For example, cross country skis are longer and thinner than downhill skis, because they are made for gliding along straight paths, rather than making quick turns down a hill. Furthermore, downhill skis come in a variety of shapes and styles, depending on whether they will be used for freestyle, powder, racing or packed trails.

Length Of Skis

Most beginners start off with a pair of short skis because they are easier to turn; also some freestyle skiers use short skis. Longer skis are faster, so racers and expert skiers who like the challenge of a fast run use them. They are also suitable for a greater variety of snow conditions. Skiing ability, style, and the weight of the skier determines the proper ski length.

Various Shapes Of Skis

Skis come in various shapes to match the different types of skiing. For instance, skis that are narrow in the boot area are capable of making sharp, fast turns. Skis that are wider in the boot area offer more stability and will make broader turns. The overall length of the ski, when taken into consideration with the various shapes, results in skis with a wide range of characteristics.

Appropriate Stiffness

The stiffness of a ski is determined by the materials and shape. Shorter skis offer a greater maneuverability at the expense of high-speed stability, while longer skis are more stable at high speeds. Your skiing level and style will enable you to choose skis of the appropriate stiffness.

In Part 2 of this article we will examine tips for renting and buying the right skis for a successful and fun day on the slopes.

Visit Ski snow to learn more. Ron King is a researcher, writer, and web developer, visit Articles for authors.

Copyright 2006 Ron King.

As a beginning student of PHP, you must understand 3 important fundamentals. Your lesson will begin with three definitions.

- scripting language

- start/end tags

- interpreter

A scripting language is the way a programming language was created to read and process your programming code. A scripting language like PHP uses start and end tags to start and end this process. These tags tell the built in interpreter that PHP programming code is between these tags. Line 1 and line 3 below are the PHP Start/End tags.

Example 1

The PHP Interpreter is the built in part of the programming language that reads and processes the code that you write. The code that you write is your program. In the example above, the Interpreter reads line 2. Line 2 is a comment, a way to place information inside your PHP program so you can remember it.

PHP is an interpreted language, which simply means the processing of your program is done on the fly. As your programming code is read by the interpreter, it is processed in that very moment — line by line.

[note]

Java, on the other hand, is a compiled programming language. It has a built in compiler. Java is the opposite of PHP, and the ‘in the moment processing’. The built in compiler processes (reads) your code and creates a compiled copy before it can be used.

PHP is a scripting language. The code you write is processed in the moment. This processing begins when the built in interpreter finds a PHP start tag. It then reads and processes your programming code. This continues, line by line, until the interpreter finds the matching PHP end tag.

The interpreter is the ‘processing engine’ of PHP. It runs behind the scenes reading in your PHP programming code, processing the instructions that you wrote, and then performing the actions you commanded it to do. This process is automatic. To start and stop the Interpreter (processing engine), you must use scripting tags.

There are two main PHP Scripting Tags. One is the the PHP start tag, the other is the PHP end tag. Start and End tags tell PHP to start ‘processing’ your page

For example, using PHP to output your favorite color to the screen, you would type:

Example 2

Line 1 and line 3 are the start and end tags. These tags tell the interpreter to start interpreting (reading and processing) the PHP commands contained within them. In this case the Interpreter reads the line 2:

echo ‘My favorite color is blue’;

The built in command ‘echo’ tells the processing engine to output to the screen whatever follows it. In the example above. The output to the screen would be:

My favorite color is blue

EASY PHP PROGRAMMING STEPS:

Step 1. Start the processing by writing the start tag as shown on line 1.

Step 2. Place your PHP commands next. Do not forget to end all your commands with a semicolon.

Step 3. End the processing with the end tag as shown on line 3.

Step 4. Save your program file with a ‘.php’ extension (i.e. getTheDate.php)

Conclusion

PHP is a scripting language. It has a built in interpreter. A scripting language uses start and end tags to call the interpreter. An interpreter reads and processes your programming code. Your PHP program can be one line or thousands of lines. But it starts and ends the same way every time — with a PHP start tag and PHP end tag.

Paul Markovich is a Lead Technical Trainer.

He has been designing and building custom web sites for entrepreneurs since 1997. He’ll help you get the answers to your burning open source programming questions!

Looking For More PHP Programming Tips?

Discover Proven Programming Strategies.

Learn faster, save time, energy, and money!

http://centeroftech.com

Dogs are amongst the most amazing creatures because they give unconditional love. Dogs love their masters and the masters reciprocate by providing them with all the things of comfort they can afford. Dog supplies are important and useful things for keeping your dog healthy and happy, and include items for dog grooming and maintaining good dog health. Canine or dog supplies can be classified into several sub categories, including dog training supplies, dog grooming supplies, and even more specialist items like hunting dog supplies.

Dog Grooming:

Dogs are gods of frolic. Undertaking thorough dog grooming is like having a permanent job requiring lots of patience, yet packed with exercise and the general fun of bringing up a dog and ensuring it lives a long and carefree life. Dog grooming is an important practice which should not be underestimated – a practice which ensures good dog health and hygiene and should also help to eliminate most dog health problems.

Dog grooming is in fact a somewhat intense program of dog health care that covers the entire life span a dog. Puppy care, canine health care, giving a hygiene bath, washing, combing, brushing, checking ears, paws, teeth and underside, nail trimming, removing dog fleas and insects, and fixing regular meetings with a professional veterinary are all important activities that a dog owner should undertake. A dog’s masters should follow a schedule of regular grooming sessions.

Puppy care is a very important practice that requires a lot of diligence and patience. Like children, puppies require some extra special attention. A puppy needs to be handled with extreme care, and should be groomed properly, fed carefully and well, and bedded properly.

Dog Grooming Supply:

Good dog grooming supplies are required to help undertake the important activities of dog grooming and care. A dog supply may include a dog house, dog furniture, dog carriers, dog beds (and designer dog beds), dog toys, dog collars and leashes, dog bath tub, dog soaps, dog perfumes, dog odor removers and mouth fresheners, dog clothes, designer dog clothes, dog t-shirts, dog jewelry, dog food, dog tonics & supplements and dog medication.

Dog Beds:

A dog bed is a bed designed especially for the sleeping comfort of a dog. It should be the snug retreat to where it retires to take sweet dreams at the end of a long and active day. Good dog beds play a very important part in keeping your dog in good health. An improper sleep may very much affect the health of a dog, thus dog masters should be very careful when buying dog pet beds. Dog beds and dog bedding include a dog bed mattress, dog bed sheets, dog bed cover, dog bed cushions, dog pillows, dog blankets and dog quilts or duvets.

Dog beds are available in numerous designs and sizes including luxury dog pet beds, large dog beds, wicker dog bed, leather dog beds, top quality dog beds, orthopedic dog beds etc. There are a number of designer dog pet beds available. Dog beds can also be purchased online, as there are many dog pet bed manufacturers now selling their dog beds through their websites.

“Perhaps the dog is the only animal that has seen its god, as a man is a dog’s idea of what God should be.”

Paul MacIver writes articles about Pets [http://www.information-spring.info/?cat=12] and pet health care. Visit Ultimate Dog Beds [http://www.ultimate-dog-beds.info] for further info on dog grooming, Dog Beds [http://www.dogbeds-online.info] and pet health care.

You may freely reprint this article as long as nothing is changed, this resource box is included and all links are intact.

For those who don’t know, health insurance is simply the coverage of medical claims of an individual, against the medical costs. Like many others you may not be able to afford an expensive insurance policy – but you can eliminate all the frills you don’t need and get the low cost health insurance you want and still be adequately covered. Health insurance, as with any kind of insurance today, whether individual, personal, business or family health insurance, is always a gamble. You’re gambling that you’ll take out more than you are paying in and your health insurance company is gambling they will pay out less.

You want to know what to look for in any type of good insurance. If you have always had a health insurance benefit where you’ve worked and especially if you were a state or federal employee and now find you have to buy your own, you may not be able to afford the level of coverage you used to have. Finding good low cost health insurance today is easier than most people think.

To start, shopping for free health insurance quotes online is the easiest and best way to find low cost health insurance coverage. If you have any permanent health problems, such as diabetes, or have had cancer at any time in your family history, your monthly cost could easily be more than your house and car payment combined, but there are many different good insurance plans available today in the US.

The cold hard facts are the older you get the more important your health insurance policy becomes; this isn’t to say that you should not be concerned about your insurance when you’re younger. In case your doctor decides that something is an absolute medical necessity and it’s not covered under your current policy, the insurance company may exercise its discretion in paying for it, but don’t hold your breath. Many report they were eventually covered yet many more people get turned down.

One of the best ways to find low cost insurance is to get free health insurance quotes online. You can generally get very fast quotes and you want to compare several companies, as they will all have different criteria. This will be the fastest way to find low cost insurance.

Most importantly, you want a health insurance provider or company that has a good track record for paying without fighting you on every little detail. Your local agents may only be able to offer what they have currently available and not be able to offer you what’s best for both your pocketbook and your health.

The death rate in any given year for someone without insurance is twenty-five per cent higher than for someone with insurance so you want to make sure you get the best coverage you can get at the lowest cost as soon as possible. Heart-attack victims who don’t have insurance are less likely to be able to get angioplasty, which is often the treatment of choice. People who have pneumonia who don’t have insurance are less likely to receive initial or follow-up x-rays or necessary consultations.

In general because people who are uninsured are sicker than the rest of us because they can’t afford proper medical care, they can’t get better jobs, and because they can’t get better jobs they can’t afford insurance, and because they can’t afford insurance they get even sicker.

Although it does increase your risk, one way to lower your insurance costs is to set a higher deductible; if you’re in good health you’ll like come out ahead, barring an unforeseen event such as an accident, etc. Keeping yourself in better health will help you with less health insurance claims. All the insurance companies have to be very competitive because it’s so quick and easy to compare them with the other competing companies online.

Children without any insurance are less likely to receive proper medical attention for serious injuries, for recurrent ear infections, or for asthma for example and you want to avoid having to face a $100,000 open heart surgery without having any insurance.

So taking out insurance with higher deductibles and spending a little time online comparing at least five or more companies will make it more likely that you’ll find the best low cost insurance. There are many different health plans so make sure you get an understanding of all the low cost health insurance policies that are available from each company. Cheap or low cost insurance does mean a lower price and in some cases lower quality, but the price may be more important to some than the quality of the health plan. You don’t want to pay for more than you need but you want to consider any possible future health events you might encounter too.

Finding good, hopefully cheap, low cost insurance without giving up quality does not simply mean looking for the lowest premium but it means fully understanding all of the costs that will be involved in your policy. And finding the best health insurance is easy to do online, whether you’re shopping for long-term or short term health insurance from California, Texas or Florida.

With the rise of medical insurance costs today, most people look for low cost health insurance premiums that will ensure quality medical attention at the time of need, but at a price they can simply afford. Make sure to keep in mind that with low cost insurance options, you’ll need to compromise somewhat on the variety of services covered. Proceed surely but carefully.

Save money with free low cost health insurance tips and find the best affordable health insurance online go to a nurse’s website http://www.LowCostHealthInsuranceGuide.com for low cost health insurance advice and how to save money on your health insurance quotes

To be successful at Search Engine Optimization, it’s important that you continually test out new theories and ideas. Before I use new SEO techniques on a client’s website, I always test them on one of my own. In order to better understand the application of SEO to blogs, I decided to implement the following experiment:

I would create a blog for each American Idol contestant. Using a pseudonym, I would blog each candidate until they got booted off the show.

Once the final 12 candidates were decided, I would step up my posting pace. Being that this was an SEO project, I didn’t aim to provide any valuable insights into the candidates…I only planned to “blurb” news articles that mentioned each contestant.

The goal at the end of the project (besides gaining useful knowledge) was to have 1-2 “sustainable” blogs in place, while generating massive traffic the week of the final show.

Several weeks into the project, I discovered two things:

The Bo Bice Blog received considerably more traffic and better search engine rankings than the other blogs I had created.

Bo Bice was the first Idol contestant in 4 years that TOTALLY ROCKED. I very much wanted him to win.

So, while keeping my SEO experiment going, I decided to really “blog” about Bo Bice. In doing so, I learned many valuable lessons about creating a successful blog that can generate sustainable traffic, including many repeat visits.

Beginners Lessons:

Have a narrow focus: The quickest way to drive traffic to your blog is through excellent search engine rankings. If you blog about lots of unrelated topics, you won’t rank well for any of your key terms. Even if you don’t know much about SEO, you can still create a blog that will rank well in the search engines. Pick a narrow topic and keep your posts on topic. Choose a group of keywords relevant to your chosen topic and make sure you feature these terms prominently in your posts.

Build a base of content: Unless you already have a built-in audience, very few people are going to read your early blog posts because they will be extremely hard to find in either the blogosphere or the search engines. So, save your best content for when you’ve already developed a steady stream of web traffic. Blogging newspaper articles is a good way to build up relevant content quickly. All you need to do is subscribe to Google news alerts to get relevant articles featuring your top keywords. As your receive new articles, create a blog entry for each article, excerpt a relevant snippet (making sure to credit the source), and comment on the piece. This might not be interesting to your readers…but the objective here is to reach a point where you can start creating original, unique content that people will actually read because your blog can be easily found. For the more advanced beginners, adding an RSS feed that is focused on your targeted niche will also be of great value to your blog.

Try to make several posts each week. You’ll be amazed how much content you can build up in a short period of time.

Monetize your blog (if appropriate): I placed a combination of contextual and affiliate advertising on my blog. The advertising revenue on my blog was poor given the amount of traffic I generated…however, if you are blogging successfully in areas of business and technology, you could make a good deal of money from such advertising. Google AdSense is a ubiquitous way for bloggers to earn money from blogging. Once you’ve placed the AdSense javascript snippet in your blog source code, Google’s contextual ad technology will automatically choose ads relevant to your blog content and when someone clicks on the ad, you get paid.

Advanced Techniques:

“Blog and Ping”: There is a reason why news spreads so rapidly through the blogosphere. When you update your blog, depending on your blog host, a “ping” might be sent to one or more blog search engines that track the blogosphere, showing that you’ve made a new post to your blog. People who have subscribed to your blog, or people interested in your blogging topic, can be notified about your post and read it / link to it. An active course of “blogging and pinging” will help greatly in building links to your blog and generating more traffic.

Websites and software exist that will allow you to manually send pings to dozens of known blog search engines. Ping-o-matic is a website that allows you to ping 18 different blog search engines on demand. I’ve been using RSSSubmit from Dummy Software to submit all feeds to over 70 such services at the push of a button.

“Conventional” Link-Building: To maximize your blog search engine rankings, I strongly recommend building links for your blog just as if it were a website. I did not do this for the Bice blog and that oversight (probably) came back to bite me.

Google’s “Bourbon” update hit several days before the American Idol final and this blog was the only “Bourbon” casualty in my entire portfolio…vanishing from Google the Saturday before the final. My intuition (plus other anecdotal evidence) tells me that had I built a foundation of links outside the blogosphere prior to Bourbon, the blog would not have been hit…of course, I’ll never know. The blog reappeared in Google with its excellent search engine ranking 10 days after the Idol final, depriving me of a tremendous volume of Bo Bice web traffic for the time surrounding the final…Thanks, Google:.)

Linkmarket.net is by far the best link-trading site on the Internet. They now have more than 20,000 sites that are potential link partners. For $24.85 per year, you have unlimited ability to trade links with any site on the network. No matter what your site niche is, you should be able to find hundreds of potential trading partners and generate large numbers of inbound links quickly.

Press Releases: Online press releases are an excellent way to generate notice for your blog. I created a press release announcing the launch of the blog, and once I decided to “actively” blog Bo, I wrote a release each week recapping the show and featuring highlights from the blog. Online press releases can get thousands or even tens of thousands of reads…especially if you are writing on a “hot topic”. Many of the press release readers will become blog visitors.

PRWEB and PRLeap are the two most prominent online press release bureaus. Both allow free submission of releases and both allow you to pay for better “placement”. Your press releases will also get spidered into the search engines and (sometimes) will end up in Google or Yahoo News as well. I’ve seen my Bo Bice press releases as high as #3 in Google News for a “Bo Bice” search.

Best Idea Yet

When my blog reached a consistent 500 visitors a day, I decided to actively solicit posts from Bo’s fans. Sure, most blogs give readers the ability to post comments…but I thought that if I ran the comments as actual posts, I could create a “buzz” about the blog and generate large numbers of repeat visits. I ended up getting 5-15 e-mails every day from Bo’s fans wanting their information to be posted on the blog. So long as the post met my minimum blogging criteria, I ran the submission. Traffic spiked immediately and the quality of the submissions was generally excellent.

My idea worked strategically because the readers unknowingly submitted content that was SEO’ed for the keywords that were the focus of my blog… “Bo Bice”. By running reader posts, I generated large amounts of SEO’ed content that helped generate and maintain my top search engine rankings. And, my “Blog and Ping” strategy ensured that each and every new post (several per day) was broadcast all over the Internet.

Top Search Engine Rankings Confer “Authority Status”

For most of the duration of American Idol 4, I ranked #2 -4 in Google, and #6-15 in Yahoo for “Bo Bice” and I learned such rankings conferred an enormous amount of “authority” in my chosen subject. A sampling of my e-mails I received included:

After Bo performed “Vehicle” by “The Ides of March” (the first time), an original member of the band e-mailed a message to Bo’s fans through the blog. He even asked me if I knew how to reach Bo…which I didn’t.

A CBS Early Show Producer contacted my blog to promote Bo’s appearance on the show…asking his fans to show up at their New York studios.

What’s more, I received multiple messages from the person running the AOL American Idol fan poll soliciting votes for Bo.

Results:

Currently, my Bo Bice blog is generating sustainable traffic with very little work on my part (barring any unforeseen search engine calamity). As the American Idol Concert tour rolls this summer and as Bo gets to work on his first post-Idol album, I expect the traffic to increase.

One doesn’t need to be a SEO ace to be able to create a blog that can generate a large number of visitors. Whether you wish to blog for business lead generation, ad revenue, or personal reasons, if you follow the techniques described above, you can create and sustain a well-trafficked blog by following the techniques listed above.

Todd Mintz is the Director of Internet Marketing & Information Systems for S.R. Clarke Inc., a Real Estate Development and Residential / Commercial Construction Executive Search / Recruiting Firm headquartered in Fairfax, VA with offices nationwide. He is also a Director & Founding Member of SEMpdx: Portland, Oregon’s Search Engine Marketing Association.

The game of bowling does not change much when rules and scoring are concerned. The only difference between the games is whether or not a handicap is used to score. This is what makes a handicap and scratch bowling tournament different from the other.

In a handicap tournament, you have an advantage when playing against a competitor who is a higher average than you. This is not true of a scratch bowling tournament. You also have to play a few games to get that average total to be able to use the formula for the handicap. This is also not applied in a scratch bowling tournament. What makes the scratch bowling tournament harder than other tournaments? The answer is simply that your average is unchanged by the handicap score and your game score is your average. For example, if you roll a 180 on your game, your scratch bowling tournament score is also 180. Nothing changes the scratch bowling tournament score.

Many players love the scratch bowling tournament that is held near their area. It is definitely not hard to find one. You can be of any age to join a scratch bowling tournament. There are scratch bowling tournaments for junior players, senior age players, and everything in-between. Age is not a factor in the great sport of bowling. Fun should be had by all no matter if they are in a scratch bowling tournament or not.

Scratch bowling tournament games would seem to be more fairly matched than those games offering the player a handicap. The scratch bowling tournament games also seem to be more competitive and worth more effort especially if your average tends to be lower than the other players. This means you will work harder to bring up your average for those Scratch bowling tournament games. You seem to become a more spirited player when participating in a scratch bowling tournament.

It is possible to play Scratch bowling tournament games not only in individual divisions but also in team, doubles, and triples. The difference is the scores are really what you bowl. This makes the game easier for the members to score. The scratch bowling tournament game seems to be a lot more fun than that of the handicap game. Less to concentrate on and more raw bowling skill happening.

If you are interested in joining a scratch bowling tournament league in your area, it is best to talk to someone who works for your local bowling alley. They can tell you who to get in touch with concerning membership in a scratch bowling tournament league team. Remember, handicap bowling is fine for some but when it comes right down to a good old fashioned game of bowling; nothing beats the scratch bowling tournament. Not only does it bring out the best in those participating, it also brings out their competitive nature. You will not be disappointed in the scratch bowling tournament at any point of the game.

Jordan Matthews is an internet entrepreneur with a 239 average, who enjoys bowling at local ABT tournaments every weekend. Visit Jordan’s Bowling Website for more information about bowling in tournaments and improving your scores.

As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is maximizing its exposure. The internet is an increasingly popular tool for promoting original art, and if done properly, can be quite profitable.

One of the most effective (and free!) online marketing tools for artists is the blog. Artist blogs provide an easy way to display your art, discuss your creative process, post exhibition announcements and more. Best of all, blogs require no working knowledge of HTML and the search engines love their dynamic content.

What is a blog and how will it sell my art?

A “blog” is a web-based diary or journal. The author of a blog, also known as a “Blogger”, publishes content on a regular basis about a focused topic. These regular postings typically provide a “community” feel by allowing site visitors to post feedback to your journal entries. This mode of communication can deepen relationships with potential art buyers, leading to increased sales.

Blogs also have the ability to archive all of your previous posts, dynamically creating an individual page for each journal entry. The feature is great for art buyers using search engines to find original art. For example, if you have a blog post describing a painting that you just completed of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset and an art buyer in Florida goes to Google and searches for “painting of Golden Gate Bridge at sunset”, there is a very good chance that your blog entry will appear pretty high in the rankings. Cha Ching!!

Many artists have felt the pain of email marketing losing its effect due to spam filters, junk email overloads and virus paranoia. Blogs provide a new way to communicate with clients, fans and industry professionals. This trend can support your email marketing efforts by allowing blog subscription options for site visitors so that they are notified whenever your blog is updated along with providing a permanent place on the web for all of your postings as opposed to newsletter emails that are typically deleted.

How to start a blog

1. Blog Publishing Tools

   To begin, visit some of these free blogging sites, all offering unique template options that even an artist can appreciate, image uploads and syndication ability.

   • Blogger.com (blogger.com) – Simple to set up and multiple authoring ability
   • MSN Spaces (spaces.msn.com) – Create your own mini site, with an exceptional blogging feature
   • Live Journal (livejournal.com) – Requires a bit of ‘blogging knowledge’ to get it set up
   • Blog Drive (blogdrive.com)

   If you’re interesting in reviewing additional blog features, these sites require a small monthly fee to maintain.

   • Typepad (typepad.com) – starts at $4.95/month
   • Tripod Blogs (tripod.lycos.com) – starts at $4.95/month

   Note to artists with MySpace accounts: MySpace provides members personal blogs, but it is important to know that MySpace blogs are not currently listed in search engines, which as noted above, is one of the main reasons to get a blog. While MySpace works to remedy this issue, it is recommended that you blog using a tool that is accessible to search engine spiders.

2. Decide on a title for your blog

   The title of your blog should be brief and to the point. You can get creative with your language in the blog description / tag line. A focused title will help with higher search engine rankings and make it clear to visitors what the blog is about.

   For example, the title for ThePauper.com blog is “Diary of a Pauper”. The blog description is “Rants and raves about the careers and lives of starving artists.” The title is concise, stating exactly what it is, while the description is a bit more creative.

3. Blog theme

   It’s important to establish yourself as a professional working artist if you want to use your blog as a vehicle to sell your art. Blog theme involves the layout and color of the page, quality of the artwork images displayed and verbiage used for blog postings.

   Select your blog template carefully and make a habit to review your blog from the perspective of a potential client. Is the page visually appealing? Do the images of your artwork provide a link to an extra large version to see detail? Does your content have a consistent theme?

   Here’s a good example of a working blog by mix engineer, Ken Lewis: http://protoolsmixing.com/blog.html

   The content theme is exceptionally consistent, plus the colors and page layout match his website.

4. What to write

   What’s beautiful about blogs is that there are no rules on what to write, but if you want to attract and keep an audience, you might consider some of these suggestions.

   • Keep your posts creative and interesting. Move and inspire your readers by being completely honest about your creative process.
   • Use keywords in your blog title and post. Using the example mentioned earlier – if your post is about a Golden Gate Bridge painting, be sure to use that exact phrase in the title and body of your blog. Think about what people might type into search engines to find your content and then use those keywords in your blog. This technique will help increase the ranking of your web page on search engines.

   • Post daily, or at least twice a week. If you publish blog entries frequently, you will see more return visitors, subscriptions to your blog and comments from site visitors.

   • Proofread and preview your blog entries before posting. Some blog HTML editors have a way of creating weird symbols out of certain characters and a quick spell-check never hurts. (Note: be sure to create your blog entries using Word or some other text editor. Many blogging tools tend to “time out” after a certain amount of time and you could potentially lose hours of work.)

5. Publish your blog

   Finally! Your blog looks great and has unique content. Now, depending on the blogging tool that you selected, follow the steps to publish it to the World Wide Web. Test the live URL that now houses your blog. If all of your graphics appear correctly and the copy is flawless, then you want to make sure that you promote your blog on your personal website, in your email signature and by word of mouth.

   Using the tools you already have to spread the word while testing your dedication to frequent posting is the best way to get started. Part 2 of will unveil tons of ways to promote your blog online.

Kristin Royce is a search engine optimization and online marketing professional contributing online marketing and promotional content for artists to The Artrepreneur E-Zine and newsletter.

The Artrepreneur offers articles helping artists focus on proven techniques to accomplish any goal. Read More: http://www.theartrepreneur.com

Copyright © 2005 Arctic Mouse, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Image: Jacques, the manager of a huge large pipe manufacturing business describes team dynamics.

“A pipe, no matter how thick or long it is, is only as strong and reliable as its thinnest, weakest part. All our pipes come out looking great on the surface. It’s only when we put them through our scanners that we can see whether the pipe is fit for shipping. So, too, like our teams. We only know how competent, strong and functional they are under the stresses and strains of everyday manufacturing demands. Sometimes they just blow up!”

What A Team Is: A group of individuals working in sync, with competence and motivation to accomplish a common objective. A high performing team has a dynamic, sometimes conflicted, energy that propels it forward in the service of achieving its purposes.

A Group is Like: A bunch of people on a bus. All heading in the same direction. Driven by the bus driver. People don’t talk with each other. They get on and off as they please. The only commonality is the vehicle.

Key Action Words/Phrases of A Team: Accountability. Self-responsibility. Conflict. Problem-solving. Clear Objectives. Formal leader. Informal leaders. Celebration. Temporary. Individual roles are critical to and subordinate to team goals.

“I” is each of the parts that forms the “we” that pull together to make it about the bigger “us.”

Working Images of Teams: Cirque de Soleil. Top Gun. An aircraft carrier. A surgical team. A flash mob dance.

Dysfunctional Groups: The Senate. Detroit Lions Football Team.

Each individual on a team is responsible for the approach, achieving the assigned goals and the internal processes that helps or hinders progress.

Business is a team sport. Actually life is a team sport — a fact which many people ignore at their peril.

A team without a leader is like a child without a supervising adult. The best teams are self-governed and enforce their own peer-based discipline and they have a formal leader to guide them. The Miami dolphins without Don Shula would not have had a no-loss season. Microsoft with Bill Gates? Apple sans Steve jobs?

A team generates and regulates a sense of unity among its disparate individuals. It also leverages individual performances into team accountability and outcomes.

Without an effective management team a company will not likely be able to develop its teams.

Incompetence flows downhill.

Policies and corporate strategies do not a high performance team culture make.

Managers, as team leaders, have the tension-filled, opposing challenge of exercising the right authority and inclusiveness. That’s the art.

It is best when a team sets its own goals and processes based upon the inputs from its members. That’s the science.

A well-mixed team made up of individuals with differing style and skills, and who are committed to the team, can produce for the organization.

A high functioning team is flexible enough to shift – sometimes smoothly, sometimes with turbulence — leadership roles among the members to fit the situation.

To get your FR.EE Instant Copy of — A TASTE of GENIUS — an introduction to building team competencies and motivation for fun and profit. Go to http://www.subject2change.ca

From Dr. Jim Sellner, PhD.,DipC. — working with Zoomers & Super Zoomers managers to experience more joy, health and a sense of abundance.