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January 28, 2007
Become a Performance Artist Web 2.0 Style
Miranda July the performance artist that wrote, directed, and stared in the critically acclaimed independent film “Me and You and Everyone We Know”, has been collaborating on a unique Web 2.0 site called Learning To Love You More that captures the essence of her performance art style – taking everyday things and making a story from them.
This new website gives visitors inane tasks that may or may not be included in an upcoming book in 2007. Some task examples you can take on:
- Make a flyer of your day
- Write your life story in less than a day
- Record the sound that is keeping you awake
And my favorite:
- Write a press release about an everyday event
There are #61 assignments to pick from and in true 2.0 fashion your submissions get listed on the site for others to view. I believe a vistor comment, rating, and review option, would really make this site take off.
The website needs some design help and is broken in a few spots, but it is an extremely unique take on how to use the power of Web 2.0 – remember its not all about making money, its about creating something in collaboration with others. This site offers a unique chance at doing this. Check it out.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:51 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2007
Email Fax Website
Lately, I have been trying to "single source" all of my data. Currently, my cell phone does email, calendar, web surfing and plays MP3s. So I figure why not try combining the functions of some of the things I do in my home office? I want my data all in one source - my computer. A website I use for my faxes, Metro Hi Speed, offers an inexpensive alternative to telephone based faxes in the form of their email fax services that allows me to send and receive faxes conveniently through my email program.
I found it to be a real easy service to set up. All that was required to use this service was an email account and, to send faxes, a scanner or digital camera. The image is converted and sent out to a fax machine and is properly rendered on that end. The email fax numbers they provide are from your own area code or, if for some reason that area code isn't available, you will be provided with a toll free number. The toll free email fax number is also available for people whose area codes are available for an additional fee.
For educators and students this service is a highly convenient way to bring all your communications needs into one convenient location (your PC). I recommended service for anyone who sends and/or receives faxes and wants to avoid the second phone line, bulky equipment and poor quality a traditional fax machine. The best part for me is that since I can get email on my cell phone I can even use my phone's fax-viewer to review faxes while on the road.
Posted by Idea Man at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)
January 25, 2007
Traffic Through Inbound Links [Part 1]
An important step to have your site found is getting other websites to link to your new website. Without links pointing to your website, you simply will not be found by the search engines. If the search engines can't find and index your site, neither will the human visitors that you really seek.
With today's search engine algorithms, links are like votes, and the more votes you have the more popular your website will be. The main question is, how does a new website get links? The following are the two most popular methods currently being used by webmasters:
Link Trading
You trade links with other webmasters. They link to you, you link to them.
Pros: Easy cheap way to get links pointing to your website.
Cons: Many believe that traded links simply cancel each other
out so neither site benefits.
Link Exchange websites
- Gotlinks
- LinksManager
- Link Exchange Forums
- LinkPartners
Bottom Line: Link exchanges help to some degree, but trades
with less than 50 total websites that are extremely relevant to your own website.
Link Directories
You buy a link or beg to get listed in some of the many great directories that are out there.Pros: Many directories offer solid one way links for a small fee.
Cons: Good free listings are hard to get. Also, don't expect much traffic from a directory listing.
Directory websites
- Yahoo
- Expensive, but offers high quality link backs.
- The Best of the Web - Old as Yahoo, almost as good and cheaper.
- Little Directory Getting in earlier on small directories like this often payoff in the long run as they become more established.
- DMOZ - Free, very long wait to get in. But if you do get in, the links back are thought of highly by the search engines.
Bottom Line: Directory Websites can cost a bit of money, but are a step that every new website should take.
We'll explore other less popular but highly effective ways webmasters are getting links to increase traffic in a future.
Posted by Idea Man at 02:34 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2007
Traffic Generating Website Ideas
The number one thing commercial websites want and will pay for is targeted traffic. As I wrote earlier; traffic equals money on the web. In fact, YouTube.com was sold to Google for 1.65 billion dollars. The amazing thing is Google already has Google Video which in my opinion is much better technology-wise than YouTube, the difference is 100 million videos a day are watched on YouTube, so what Google bought was traffic.
There are plenty of sites out there that are making millions off business models that send targeted traffic to websites for some type of fee. Adsense and TribalFusion are two examples of businesses that quench the webmaster’s never ending thirst for quality traffic.
So if you are wondering what kind of an idea you can come up with that is a ‘sure thing’ to make money on the web, think about ways you can bring other website’s quality traffic. Because if you can charge a website $100 for traffic that nets it $120 in revenue you no doubt become wealthy – either from running the website yourself or selling your idea to someone that can implement it successfully.
Posted by Idea Man at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)
January 19, 2007
Stress Related Illnesses
I have been doing some research on stress related illnesses lately because of the damage they can cause in a persons' life. During this research, I found an interesting mind-body medicine resource that I though I would share.
Like all of us, you probably know someone who's not been well, and just doesn't seem to be able to get better. They've been to their Doctor time and time again but it's really not made the difference. Especially if they've have got a stress related illness that the doc couldn't diagnose easily.
I've found a website that's worth looking at because they offer something a bit different. A woman called Dr. Concorde, has done lots of work in the field of stress and its impact on health. It could be well worth it to take some time out of your stressful life and take a look at Concorde Initiative website.
Posted by Idea Man at 11:18 AM | Comments (1)
January 17, 2007
Organized Mayhem
Web 2.0 has taken all kinds of different twists and turns – some good, some bad. Since I have a few website ideas that I may want to implement in the future, I always spend a bit of time looking at some of the new Web 2.0 ideas that are out there. Occasionally, I discover a site that is truly unique that I somehow missed.
Yesterday I found a website that is a cross between a free-for-all chatroom and a structured forum. At first, it took me a while to figure out and then I found myself wasting time reading mind-numbing posts. I also discovered that the site may be habit forming.
The website has been around for about 5 years and apparently has quite a large following, however, yesterday was the first I ever heard of it. Warning: I wanted to respond to a post/tread but discovered new members are only allowed 'in' by receiving an invite from a current member invite.
Anyway, the site is called YayHooray - if you think you can handle it - enter at your own risk!
Posted by Idea Man at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2007
More Website Traffic = More Money
No matter what revenue model your website idea falls under, the most important thing you need is traffic. No traffic equals no money, it’s as simple as that. So how do you build traffic to your website? Unfortunately, unless you are flush with venture capital money and can afford to buy targeted web ads all over the Internet, you will need to develop traffic to your website organically.
Getting Organic Website Traffic
The three search engine websites Google, Yahoo, and MSN offer the best deal in the history of advertising. People search for what your site is about and your listing is presented to millions of people absolutely free. Unfortunately, unless you are in the top ten for your “money” keyword phrases, being listed in the search engine isn’t going to help much. Several studies have shown that searchers rarely go beyond the first ten links that come up in their web searches.
Your first step is to write a list of 5 keyword phrases you would like to get ranked in the top 10 and focus your effort on those phrases. If you get all 5 words in the top 10, you will no doubt rank for hundreds of other related keyword phrases. Your main keyword phases should all be 2 or 3 words long. Only the highest power websites will ever rank for a one-word search so your effort is best spent on multiple keyword phases that visitors would potentially use to find your website.
So how does a search engine determine the top ten websites that it will list? If you search Google for the phrase “Website Ideas” you will see at the top right of the search result page that Google has 150 million or so sites that are in their database for the phrase “website ideas”.
This means that sites in the top 10 for this keyword phrase are considered to be a better match than 99.9999999 % of all websites in Google’s database – so if you think about it, getting ranked at all is quite an accomplishment. To get in the top 10, you really need to know what you are doing.
Anyway, so how do you get your website ranked in the top 10? The search engines have some fairly complex algorithms (way to complex to describe in detail here) so I’ll give you the “Big Seven” components of how search engines rank websites:
1.) Inbound Links
a. Anchor text of inbound links
b. Quality of inbound links
2.) Age of the website
3.) Title of the webpage
4.) Headings of your pages
5.) Meta descriptions of your website pages.
6.) How many times the keyword is mentioned on your site
7.) Amount of traffic that clicks on your site when you come up in a search
In future posts, I will go into detail on each of the “Big Seven” search engine algorithm components, and what you need to do to take advantage of them.
In the meantime, if you want some heavy reading, here is a link to Google’s Search Engine Patent.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2007
How to Make Money on the Web
We live during a unique time of unprecedented opportunity. Anyone with half a brain, some know-how, and a strong work ethic can make money on the web. How much money you make is only limited by how much time you spend on your website idea and your ability to make your website standout from the millions of other websites already out there. Not an easy task but doable.
People often ask me how they can make money on the web. Well, as you probably suspect, there is no quick answer, heck a lot of bad and good books have been written on the topic. Since I can’t give a quick answer, over the next few months, I’ll write several posts illustrating ways people can and do make money on the Internet.
There are four basic ways people make money on the web:
1.) Sales Websites: Selling a product or service to your visitors.
2.) Affiliate Websites: Selling products or services for another website for a commission on sales generated.
3.) Advertising: Building enough traffic to your website in a specific niche and sell ads to other websites who want to reach your visitors.
4.) Combination: Some combination of two, or all three of the methods above.
In my posts on this topic, I’ll point you to important websites, web tools, and tricks of the trade that you need to know about to get you on your way.
Whether you want to make some extra mad money or make a living, the opportunity is there if you have the motivation to do what it takes to succeed.
For now, lesson #1: Start reading and participating in the Webmasterworld forum for one or two hours per day. If you do this, you’ll not only start learning how the web really works, you’ll have access to thousands of successful webmasters who are happy to answer any questions you may have.
Stay tuned for my weekly posts on this topic.
Posted by Idea Man at 01:32 AM | Comments (2)
January 13, 2007
Stress and Anxiety
In today’s hectic world, stress and anxiety attacks are all too common. Universities, by their very nature, produce about as much stress and anxiety as education. This is reflected in the extremely high drop out rates of students in their freshman year.
In fact, I was sad to hear a friend’s daughter just dropped out of college after barely making it through one semester of college. Unfortunately, the stress was too much for her to handle and she has scaled back her education plans to the community college in her hometown.
Because I know there are other students with similar issues, I thought I would list a few excellent resources on the web that will help you get more information on this important topic:
College Stress
Anxiety Self-Help
Managing Stress and Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are part of life. We all deal with them on a daily basis so if you want to be successful in life, it’s best to learn how to not only cope, but to thrive in stressful situations.
Posted by Idea Man at 01:04 PM | Comments (1)
January 12, 2007
Picture Games
I discovered this great website picture game where you need to find what is changing in the pictures before the little green bar disappears. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check it out (but don’t waste too much time).
Posted by Idea Man at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2007
Great job: designer
My friend Vicki has a great eye when it comes to design. I have called her to my house and asked for advice and she always comes up with some fabulous ideas, and they are not always difficult to accomplish. She can turn a boring bachelor pad into a slick living space, and a cluttered house filled with kids' toys into an organized, comfortable home.
She has always been into fashion, too, cutting pictures out of magazines and trying out new styles.
Now that her kids are in school, she is considering going back to school herself to get a more formal education about design. I have seen some interior design schools featured on the Web and she is trying to find a way to make it work out for her schedule. She would love to have a career in the field that she has always been passionate about.
She's also interested in fashion design schools. She could use this training to work with a designer or as a personal consultant. Hopefully she won't be so busy that she can't help an old friend with some design tips.
Posted by Idea Man at 03:46 PM | Comments (0)
January 05, 2007
Top Records of 2006
The Rollingstone magazine released their top 50 albums. So I thought I would list my favorite albums of 2006:
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Richard Butler - Richard Butler
The Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Grant Lee Phillips - Nineteeneighties
John Mayer - Continuum
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers
Neil Young - Living With War
Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawler, Bawlers, & Bastards
I know there are others, what have I missed?
Posted by Idea Man at 06:48 PM | Comments (0)
January 04, 2007
A beach in Dubai sounds good right about now
I'm always on the lookout for new places to get away, relax and enjoy the beach. Who isn't?
A friend of mine told me about this city on the shores of the Arabian Gulf. My family likes to rent houses instead of hotels rooms so that we have a kitchen, living areas and our own space to move around in. I found some furnished apartments in Dubai that are gorgeous. Who wouldn't want to stay there?
So I did more research on this city. There are a lot of nationalities represented there. Dubai has a blend of old and new and has become an ultramodern city. I didn't know much about it, but it is a major hot spot for tourists because of its beautiful white sandy beaches. It also hosts golf tournaments and horse races.
The Web site for furnished Dubai apartments says the city has the tallest hotel in the world at 321 meters high. It's called Burj Al Arab. Definitely bring a camera if you go to this hotspot. And your bathing suit, a good book and an appetite for some world-class restaurants.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2007
Credit Card Debt
Because of all the “easy credit card” offers university students get while in school, they often find themselves with a ton of credit card debt after graduating. I thought I’d pass along a link to a great website I found that helped me get things in order before they got out of control.
Credit card debt has no easy solution. After listening through numerous debt podcasts, reading many debt settlement press articles, and getting debt settlement & debt consolidation advice from my friends and family, I felt that I needed a complete solution to my financial obligations. Debt consolidation or credit counseling is a viable alternative for debt relief when the credit card companies agree to the terms of the debt management plan. However, with the new bankruptcy laws and stringent creditor policies, card companies have lowered their initial commitment to debt consolidation agencies. Furthermore, the fact that creditors like Citibank, Bank of America, et al. have stiffened their policies, the net benefit of a debt management plan has been sourly effected. This leaves individuals in the uncomfortable position between avoiding bankruptcy and failing to meet minimum payments. Debt settlement may then be the only effective debt relief alternative.
I stumbled upon a help forum on debt settlement that talked about good and bad debt settlement companies and gave credit to some debt settlement and debt consolidation companies more than others. That's when I found out about Xcelerated Debt Relief and their debt forecasting program. Instead of negotiating with creditors, they were going to structure their program around my abilities and work with the creditors. I was also impressed by the fact that they qualified me for credit counseling and only proceeded with commencing a debt settlement resolution plan after we discovered that the payment plan for credit counseling was 20% higher than what I could feasible afford. With a plan in hand, I proceeded with repaying my creditors according to the schedule Xcelerated Debt Relief had forwarded to my creditors. None of us intended into unmanageable debt in the first place, but I'm glad I found a respectable alternative to filing for bankruptcy.
Posted by Idea Man at 04:47 PM | Comments (5)
January 01, 2007
Giant Web 2.0 list
Web 2.0 sites have made the web more popular than ever over the past few years. What is Web 2.0? Well, if Web 1.0 was one-to-many, Web 2.0 is many-to-many; it brings the minds of the masses together to create a common collaborative website.
I am sure most of you have heard of the major 2.0 sites, but web2magazine.blogspot.com has a fairly comprehensive list of some of the best and most popular.
Posted by Idea Man at 12:53 PM | Comments (1)