Internet Marketing Strategy - Insiders Secrets to Making Money Online

Internet Marketing Strategy was Corey Rudl's genius. Insider Secrets for Marketing Your Business on the Internet was a labor of love developed by Corey. And it didn't happen easily for him. Hours of learning and research went into gaining this knowledge and compiling this internet marketing strategy system for making money online.

In June 2005, tragedy struck when Derek Gehl lost his good friend, colleague, and mentor, Corey Rudl, to the sport Corey was most passionate about -- car racing. Corey's passing stunned the entire internet marketing community. But one thing became very clear, very quickly: everyone was adamant that Corey's Internet Marketing Strategy must continue, no matter what.

And so, while Derek had always been content to work "behind the scenes," he suddenly found himself thrust into a very public role. With the blessing of Corey's family, and the support of all of Coreys customers, Derek began running the company. Corey might be gone but his internet marketing strategy system is still very viable for making money online, and I would suggest you take a serious look at it.

Frankly when I finished studying Coreys internet marketing strategy, -The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet, - I was overwhelmed by the huge amount of information he managed to pack into this tutorial. The package included two hefty binders with over 1,300 pages, 4 guidebooks and 3 resource CDs. But I guess I shouldn't have been surprised; after all, when the box containing these materials showed up at my door, it weighed in at over 10 pounds!

That's 10 pounds of the most comprehensive internet marketing strategies, test results, case studies, tools, and ideas for making money online that I have ever read. In fact, the only negative here is the time I needed to study all the information packed into Insider Secrets.

If you're unsure who Corey Rudl was, you should know that he was a recognized expert in online marketing strategy for the last 10 years. Not only did his Insider Secrets generate millions for him in online sales, his sites still attract thousands of visitors a day.

His package includes step-by-step advice for starting your own internet business. It covers how to build a website for under $100.00 and where to find those hot niche products that everyone talks about. It showed me many free and cheap online tools, resources and software that I found invaluable.

Of course, getting visitors to your website is always the first priority and Coreys system showed me how to get new qualified visitors for free. He went into detail on how to get high rankings in the search engines, even Google. He also shared his secrets on writing sales copy that helped increase my sales substantially. Derek Gehl has kept this information up to date, changing the techniques as the internet grows and changes.

What's really great about Coreys Insider Secrets is that it can show anyone how to build a profitable internet business even if you're completely technically challenged like me.

And if you already have an internet business making money online, as I do, this excellent information will take you to the next level. The advanced sections of his system show you how Corey increased his profits dramatically.

It will take time to go through this package and really get a total grasp of all his techniques and strategies. After all, it contains two binders of lessons plus the three CDs and the four guidebooks. You may be a little confused at first but reread it again because it will all make sense.

This review is meant to be a useful, educational and an instructive resource for anyone interested in making money online with proven internet marketing strategies.

This package is not a quick fix as I said. It will take time and patience, but it was worthwhile for me.

I feel completely comfortable giving the Insider Secrets system a 9 out of a possible 10! It is 1,300+ pages of step-by-step lessons containing the exact internet marketing strategies Corey personally used to build a highly successful internet business. If you follow this plan like I did, you too will build a business on the internet, in a reasonable period of time.

Copyright © 2006 Mary Hanna All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

Mary Hanna writes eBooks, Software Reviews and Practical Articles on Internet Marketing, Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at: http://www.GardeningHerb.com http://www.FirstCruiseBestCruise.com.Georges Blog58686
Gian Carlo Blog8033

How Much Should A Website Be Able To Make In Sales?

Is that a million dollar question? Or only a $50 question?

For some people, it is a MULTI MILLION dollar question.

If you set up a nice website on line, how much can you expect it to make?

I was curious to see what internet marketers say about this, so I went to Google and typed in How much should a website sell.

Well, the number one organic (not sponsored) response was this following link

Bored.com - Fun Stuff To Do When You Are Bored

Get Rich Online - Dozens of free tools you can use to create your own website. Sell stuff online or make a site and sell ads on it.
www.bored.com/ - 90k - 20 Sep 2006 - Cached - Similar pages

So I clicked through.

They are a pretty good site if youre bored I guess, they have access to lots of on line games, word games, silly photos, funny lists things like Make George W Bush dance! etc. And up on the top left hand corner of the page, (which is one of the most viewed points on a site) was this: Earn cash online

So I clicked on it. And it was a page telling you lots of ways to earn cash online.

According to them you can join up to fill in surveys (and get paid from .35 to $4) You can get paid 10 cents an email to read emails. You can play games on line and earn unlimited amounts of money. The pages slogan was this: When youre a member of InboxDollars.com money really DOES grow on trees.

So, shall we all abandon our businesses and go and fill in surveys, or learn how to play Tetris at a professional level? Sometimes it can feel tempting, especially if you have just put up a site, or just redone one, and you feel its looking pretty good, your product is excellent . . . AND NO ONE IS BUYING FROM YOU. Maybe, you think, I will go and fill in surveys for . 50. At least its sure money.

So what do you do? You feel like you need the internet equivalent of those wobble boards that Dominoes Pizza use on the side of the road at peak hour. You need to jump up and down, wave something and get peoples attention. But Dominoes has the advantage over us they are free to go and stand on the side of a high way with their wobble board. You need search engines to direct traffic to you.

Yes there are other ways that you can get known, you can put lots of articles on line, and there are some great sites to submit articles to that will get you published all over the web (if youre good). You can have press releases, and you can buy advertising on all the major search engines, and on adsense sites as well. But, at the end of the day, you also want the search engines to like you, as they will send traffic to your site all the time if they do. (For free).

So how do you woo Google and friends? There is a lot to it. One thing that can help is blogging on a blog attached to your site. In an earlier newsletter we talked about Blog Power! And blogs are a really good way to attract search engines.

A lot of the things that make blogs attractive can be applied to your site in general.

So lets have a recap of what makes blogs search engine friendly:

The content is updated regularly; the content tends to be specific to certain key words; blogs contain a lot of words search engines like words A LOT (as opposed to images or white space!); Search engines are weighted in favour of blogs thinking that intelligent people with relevant things to say write them.

The last pro blog point is a bit difficult to adapt to your website, it is, after all, a website and not a blog. But the first three if applied to your site will help your rankings. Search engines like these three things because they equate them with relevant sites. At the end of the day search engines want to present their customers (the searchers, also your potential customers) with the sites that are most relevant to the searchers search.

So they want to know what youre talking about (you need to have words),

they want you to add new relevant information regularly (a site last updated in 1996 is NOT going to rank well generally, unless it is from a government or a university),

and you will do better if you specialise in a few key areas. For example - dont sell cook books, Ferrari logos and wholesale baby nappies on the same site, because you will find it really hard to rank well for three such diverse areas.

However, there is more to do to rank well in the search engines.

You can get a quick indication of how important Google thinks you are by looking at your page rank or PR. You can find out a sites page rank fairly easily.

Download Google Toolbar

If you go into what ever is your browser (Internet Explorer, mozilla etc) and do a search for google toolbar it will pop up with the google tools page and there is an upload button that you can hit to install the tool bar. There is also an illustration of google tool bar. On it is PR, this is the page rank number.

The Alexa rating that the tool bar gives is also interesting. It is a measurement of how viewed the site is. 1 indicates the most viewed site and it was a wedding mall last time I looked. Alexa rankings descend down into the millions (the least viewed site). For various reasons Alexa is an indication rather than fully accurate. But it is good to see your Alexa rank improve.

PR 1 is not great. Neither is PR 2. PR 3 means that youre beginning to get somewhere, PR 5 and 6 are worth boasting about and to have a PR 8 or 9 is fantastic.

To recap what PR is, it is an indication of how valuable Google thinks a particular page is in your site. Different pages within your site can and will have different PR. The more valuable a page is, the more likely it is to be turned up as a result for a search term. PR is good to use when looking at your competitors web pages. You can get a quick idea of how easy they will be to replace by looking at their PR.

That being said, a good PR does not GUARANTEE that you will be no 1 on Google, the algorithm is complex, but PR is a good indication.

So if you have an Alexa of 10 million a PR of zero and no customers, how to you go from woe to go?

You need a plan. Just like a good business has a plan, a killer website is also (generally) a planned affair. There are people who get lucky and just have good marketing genes, but most of us have to work at it.

Youll be happy to know that good website marketing is not voodoo, or an art, it is a science. It is a fast changing very information heavy science, but it is a science, meaning that the laws of cause and affect apply.

But bear in mind that website marketing laws can be as difficult to understand and change more quickly than taxation promises before an election. Google in particular tweaks its algorithms regularly, and staying fully on top of online marketing is a full time job, or a very exciting hobby! But there are things that are a pretty good foundation upon which to build your site plan, with regards to wooing the search engines.

We use these basics when planning our sites:

Search engines like stability, so plan for it:

Search engines attach greater relevance to sites that have been around longer. Google wont even look at you until you are past its sandbox period (a few months). So dont put up pages, spend time and money getting them good PR and then, while redesigning your site, remove those pages. What a waste of effort. Plan your site well ahead.

The same goes for domain names.

Chose a good name from the start. Something keyword relevant, short and easy to remember is good. Try not to change your domain name. If you have one now that you know is a dead loss, then you may have to change it. But please try and register good domain names from now on! It is very sad to get a domain some PR and google recognition and then can it.

Domains are like on line real estate. People sell domains, they watch for domains currently in use to come up for expiry so that they can buy them if the current owner doesnt renew them. A domain is something of value and should be chosen carefully.

Make sure that you have a good web host.

What do you think when you click through a search result link on google and the site isnt found? I tend to think that the site no longer exists. I definitely dont return tomorrow and check again.

But it could be that the site still exists and it just has a bad web host. Before putting your site to host with any one, check them out. Can you get them at 11.30 pm if you have a problem?

Are they available via email contact only? (Not good. When your site is down you want to be able to phone someone straight away.)

Where are the servers that theyre selling space on? Some countries are more reliable than others.

Cheaper is not always better. If you are down 1% of the time you are with a bad host.

Make sure that you have a good web designer.

We recently did a site inspection and a redesign proposal for a business that wants a new site. The site had a few problems that the owners were aware of, and some that they werent. One of the things that we did was have a look in the source coding.

The whole site was full of empty tables. Tables with nothing in them at all.

They didnt show up when you uploaded the regular page, but they were there in the source coding. They were messy, and they were the sign of a designer who was not very professional. They most likely would have been caused by the designer using drag and drop type programs (such as Dream Weaver).

Dream Weaver etc are not bad if they are used as the first round of design, but it is best if your designer can also read html script and can clean up after themselves.

This is especially important if you want to rank well in the search engines. Search engines dislike coding errors and so your designer needs to be able to recognise what a coding error is. Coding errors do not necessarily show up on the web page, but they are visible in the source code and search engines read your source code.

Make sure that your site is easy to navigate.

Your links need to work, you need a short path between customer entry point to order point. People do not want to read a page of text and then have to click through to another page to keep reading. Web sites are not books. Every time you give someone the option of clicking through to your next page you are actually giving them the option of clicking AWAY from your site completely.

There is a lot more that can be said upon the importance of having a website plan, and it will have to be said another day.

I hope this has got you thinking and made you aware of what you might need to do to get your site to sell well!

Oh, and to answer my initial question, how much should a website sell?

According to Derek (ceo of a $50 000 000 on line business) that depends upon your product price, but if your product is priced at $50 US then two out of every hundred visitors to your site MINIMUM should be buying.

Cheers
Katie

Katie Mackay is a copy writing and seo expert at http://www.websitetips.com.au. If you are interested in contacting us please do so at http://www.websitetips.com.au.Giselle Blog86914
Hildegard Blog72567

Crossbed Truck Tool Boxes

The crossbed truck tool box is the most popular style of truck bed tool boxes. I see more of these boxes on the road then any other. Crossbed boxes have more storage space then most other pickup truck tool boxes. They also come in a variety of styles and designs to fit nearly anyones needs.

The most common truck bed box is the single lid box. This crossbed design has one single lid with two latches to open the lid from either side of your truck. These boxes can range in price from under $200 to around $600.

The two lid crossbed truck tool box is another common style. These boxes open from either side of your truck. They are priced about the same as the single lid. Remember there are many manufacturers of all these crossbed boxes, so take your time and look around.

There's many manufacturers of these boxes. Some of the most popular companys are Dee Zee, Delta, and Deflecta-Sheld. Crossbed boxes are available in aluminum, steel, and plastic. They can also be bought as a low profile box, which is not as tall as a standard crossbed box. The low profile box allows better visibility through the rear window, and a less obvious look to your truck bed.

If you'd like your crossbed box to be easily removable, there's some new products that can make that happen. There are some new manufacturers that make truck boxes on a rail system so you can slide your crossbed box from the front to the rear of your bed. There are also installation systems that allow you to easily fasten your box to the truck bed, so you won't need a single tool to remove it.

Whatever style you choose, make sure to look for the best deal. Don't forget the shipping costs either. Some online retailers have free shipping for any of their truck boxes. Freight charges will apply to any truck box purchase without free shipping, so look for free shipping before you buy.

Travis Richmond created his websit http://www.truck-tool-box-directoy.com over a year ago. He's a mechanic, truck enthusiast, and avid off roader. Guoqi Blog30362
Hazel Blog2328

Christmas Gifts for a New Baby

Baby's first Christmas is pretty much like baby's first birthday party it is more for the adults than for the baby. The new bundle of joy isn't going to even know it's Christmas.

It is hard to resist buying up half the store for the new baby. If mom recently had a baby shower, she probably has everything the baby needs. So Christmas presents for the new baby can be keepsakes.

Since the baby isn't going to like or dislike any of the gifts, consider what the parents might enjoy opening up. Things such as Baby's first Christmas ornament or a special engraved photo album or frame will be cherished for years to come.

On the more practical side, savings bonds or the start or a college fund would make a nice Christmas gift for the new baby. Remember, the new baby is not going to like or dislike any gift at that stage.

Personalized Christmas gift items for the new baby, although it may not be appreciated for years, are still good to give as a memento. A jewelry box is a beautiful gift to give a new baby girl. Include a nice inscription.

While some families go hog wild with presents for the new baby, not everyone is in a position to or don't choose to. In that case, baby booties make a great practical and needed gift that both parents and baby will enjoy.

Also practical, yet still fun to shop for are baby clothes. Whether girl or boy, you won't be able to help yourself once you see those adorable tiny little outfits. You could get one outfit that fits the baby at Christmas and a summer outfit a size bigger to fit six months later.

Lastly, for a very simple, affordable Christmas gift to give the new baby - one that will still be around years later - pick up a newspaper on the day you exchange gifts. Write a personal note, telling baby how the earth is a better place because s/he was born and that the enclosed newspaper will detail what was happening in the world on baby's first Christmas.

Taurie Lynn writes for Baby Talk Radio http://www.babytalkradio.com, a weekly podcast for the baby crazy crowd.Heli Blog73202
Harley Blog94779

The Perfect Gift For A Second-time Mom

So much about being a second-time mom seems exhausting taking care of child No. 1, refurbishing somewhat worn maternity clothes, trying to figure out which shoes to wear since none fit anymore. And then theres the angst of second-time shower.

Heres what all those friends, sisters and aunts of second-time moms should remember theres never been a better excuse for a party than a baby, and theres never been a more deserving person for a baby shower than a woman who already has a little one at home.

This is a time to celebrate motherhood again, with a more mature approach. Moms know their babies can live for months in rompers. Twelve charming church outfits in size 6 months are overkill. Think past the silly shrink-wrapped gift sets and think toward what a second baby and the mom really need.

Think diapers.

Dont settle for sacks of disposable diapers, however. Set the tone for this party with a baby-friendly idea place a stunning diaper cake, decorated to match the theme of the shower, in the center of the table. Every experienced mom knows theres no such thing as too many diapers, and every shower deserves at least one item that strikes a fanciful yet totally practical note.

Next, think logical.

The first baby certainly had a favorite blanket and wont be eager to donate it to the new occupant of the house. Luxurious baby blankets will comfort both mom and infant. An exquisite baby blanket, one with satin, soft knit, a vintage look, or to wrap the baby for religious blessings, is something to be cherished for a lifetime.

Think elegant.

Little girls are so special. Charming baby jewelry, specially crafted to honor a daughters significant moments in her early life, shows others she is the light of her parents lives. Pearl bracelets and necklaces, sized to fit babies and toddlers, are perfect gifts for showers, to mark a babys christening or commemorate her name day.

Finally, think long-term.

Gifts at showers for second-time moms acknowledge this bundle of joy will grow quickly. The baby will need softer-than-air hairbrushes and combs, all the better if they are of keepsake quality. Parents will want a special place to save that first penny, lock of hair and loose tooth.

With gifts that are fun and functional all in one, both second-time mom and her new baby will know theres joy in every heart with the arrival of that newest family member.

Jeanne Spreier is a free lance writer who writes informative articles on various topics. For more information on this article and additional ideas, please visit http://www.swaddleandcoddle.com.Gerry Blog81167
Hardy Blog16738

Successful Work from Home Careers

Just search for work from home careers in Google and you will see thousands, in fact millions of people are competing to get you to read their 'unique' ideas about working from home. Each one claims to be the best, however having spent the past few years trying out various work from home businesses, I found that many of them required the skills and time that I just didn't have.

My career allows me to work from my home, in the comfort of familiar surroundings, and has proven to me that a work from home career can be both exciting and straightforward. The most unusual opportunity to me has become the most valuable, ensuring my high income of around $11,000 over eleven months - it has been totally enjoyable and, above all, easy.

I started out in business thinking that I had to buy into business to make it. Losing me money along the way, I fell for numerous scams. One of the most memorable was an opportunity that taught me that we can't all sell products and earn a living. The thing here was that I did not find a suitable product that had not been on the market already, and I don't have the best of selling skills. Bearing in mind that I could only earn from that opportunity by selling products, this meant that working from home wasn't always an option. This career failed and moved onto the work from home career that has made me a success.

Having no knowledge of how to sell and market a product was not an issue in my current work from home position. I didn't need to be an expert in anything, in fact I literally spent very little time building up what is now a very lucrative and top ranking online business.

Building careers by working at home used to be an unusual way of earning money, but now it is seen as one of the easiest ways to make money. You can even save money by not having to drive to the office every day, and because you do not need to rent office or shop space, most of your money is profit from the day you begin your work from home career.

The formula I found to earning an income this way was indeed a great lesson to learn and has led me to see results, not just by the number of hits my site (http:///www.mysecret2success.com) sees daily, but by the figures on my bank statements.

Simply being true to yourself and ensuring that what you want is out there to be had, then thats the first step. Being sceptical before you begin a work from home career will see you fail even before you begin - a lesson here is to be confident that you are going to achieve fantastic results and you will see those results over time.

Basically by following a proven program that has already been tested by a team of like-minded people, will ensure you see success.

Can it be done by giving away free products?

Well, of course the answer to this is quite simply a yes! Being part of a program that was giving away free learning products without obligation to my customers was the beginning for me, and it can be for you too. Think about how much you want to achieve by taking very little time out of your already busy day. I found this working from home careers opportunity around a year ago and it has started paying more than I could have earned by selling and marketing products that nobody seemed interested in.

By giving away free products and services, you can be an online success. Work from home careers can be made easy by becoming part of that big team, all you have to do is be confident in yourself.

Following the huge success of his website Kelvin Tan has, in just ten months, earned just over $10,000 which began with just a few emails based around his interest in work from home careers. Kelvin now enjoys a regular income from his work and continues to offer fantastic advice and business opportunities without having to leave his office. For more information and an amazing limited free bonus e-book How to Make Money the Simple Way, visit his website right now at http://www.mysecret2success.com. Harborne Blog74625
Garth Blog66128

Its All Good: There Is No Such Thing As Bad Press!

Its one of the oldest riddles in the history of music: If a band rocks hard in the forest and theres no one there to hear itdid it ever really happen? Its a fact: you may be the most talented musician in the galaxy, but if no knows about you, youll probably never advance past playing to your one and only fan in the mirror in your moms garage.

Writing, recording and performing terrific music is half the battle, but the other half may be even tougher than the challenge of creating a #1 hitthe task of publicizing it. Without publicity, your great opus might very well sit, gathering dust on your closet floor with the other 999 copies you had printed, cased and shrink-wrapped. Getting your name/your bands name out there is quintessentially the most crucial step to: gigs, management, fans, radio, label exposure and rock n roll stardom.

But what if your new found press is not-so-positive? Should you turn away a chance to pimp your band to the masses if the article is entitled, Worst Bands In The History Of Sound or CDs You Wouldnt Listen To If They Washed Up Next To You On A Desert Island? Is all press good press? Is it always a positive move for your band if the average music lover reads your name in print; even if the articles content is not exactly what youd frame for your dad on his birthday? In a word, Hell Yeah!...Well, that was two words.

The following are a few tips that may help you to utilize both the positive and the negative press that may come your way:

1.) Never Turn Down Press---If people are talking about you, youre doing something right. Dont throw away free exposure by becoming your own publicist and deciding who can say what about you. Brittney Spears can afford to hire a PR genius to nix an upcoming article on Overweight Pop Stars Looking For A Comeback After Two Kids. You, however, should tell your vocalist to pooch out her gut, grab her babies and smile for the camera. The only thing more important in the music business than who you know is who knows you. So, remember, bad press" is good and good press is outstanding.

2.) Make Sure They Print Your Name---The single most important key to success in entertainment is the recognition of your name. A magazine may print, The John Smith Band sounds like a toilet flushing. Weeks later, most people will only remember that they have heard the band name. This is the beauty of press. Plus, even if rabid music listeners now associate your band with potties, they will probably check you out just to see if youre really that terrible. How many songs/bands do you think are horrific yet, when they come on the radio, you listen anyway? Name recognition is essential to the success of your band. Whether theyre praising or dissing, everybody needs to be talking about you.

3.) Turn Bad Press Into Good---Theres no way around itbad press happens. Even the hottest band in the world has just as many hate sites as fan sites. But what reads to you as bad press doesnt always have to translate as bad press in your press package and mailers and on your web site. There are two easy ways, to turn bad press into good. First, edit it. Its your press after all and not every word can be bad. Simply omit the parts that make you want to run screaming and leave the rest to make up at least a decent review. Second, interpret the negative as positive. No matter whats in the article, act like you think its a great thing. Turn criticism into irony, insults into humor, and bad ratings into humility. Make it seem as if the reviewer was on your side and dont let on that it upset you at all. Again, in the long run, it will only matter that you got the publicity nod in the first place.

4.) Complaining Only Makes Bad Press Worse---Bad press will come and go, but your making an issue out of it will surely last longer than the review itself. Press is only as current as its latest issue and soon enough, what feels like the ruin of your band will be replaced by the ruin of someone elses. But, repeat mentions of it on your websites, My Space pages, etc. will keep the negativity alive as long as you refuse to let it go. I realize that your art is precious to you and that youre easily hurt by bad press but continuing to ruminate on it, only serves to keep the wound open way past the original issue date. The energy you put into bad press should be focused onto getting newer, better press for the band. You will remember the bad press long after everyone else has forgotten about it so let it go and move onto more positive things.

No one every said that the music business was going to be all sugar and spice and everything nice, so it should come as no surprise that youll probably garner as much bad press as good. Foster the positive publicity as much as you can and chalk up the negativity to a small pothole on your road to success. Its true that it doesnt matter what they say as long as theyre talking about you so be thankful for the free PR, take the high road, and let the bad reviews roll by your band and into oblivion where they belong. Its unrealistic to think that you can get everyone to like your music, so make it your goal to get everyone to remember your name.

Sheena Metal is a radio host, producer, promoter, music supervisor, consultant, columnist, journalist and musician. Her syndicated radio program, Music Highway Radio, airs on over 700 affiliates to more than 126 million listeners. Her musicians assistance program, Music Highway, boasts over 10,000 members. She currently promotes numerous live shows weekly in the Los Angeles Area, where she resides. For more info: http://www.sheena-metal.com.Garry Blog39024
Hallie Blog13017

Technology Initiative in Detroit Public Schools

New Technology Partners

The Detroit Board of Education revealed four new key partners in the ongoing technical development of Detroit schools. These partners will work together with Detroit schools for the next five years to improve the quality and access to technology throughout the area. The following companies, three of which are Detroit based, will be part of the program:

VisionIT, which is located in Detroits New Center, has offices in Chicago and Atlanta, and counts Wayne State University, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Xerox, Dell and Siemens among its many clients. VisionITs services will include management of the data center, network services, application systems, data warehouse, help desk, and field services and technology curriculum. VisionIT will team up with SYNC Technologies, Inc., a minority and woman-owned firm that has been in business for nearly 20 years, and Unisys to execute the contract.

Management Systems Consultants, a Detroit-based firm that has provided e-solution consulting and project management services to various clients for more than a quarter of a century. It will provide web technology services, including the design and maintenance of all websites and web applications.

Universal Sales, a Detroit-based company whose employees collectively have more than 170 years of audio-visual experience.

GVC Networks, a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) that is licensed to provide telecommunications and information technology services in 41 states. GVC Networks maintains a presence in Downtown Detroit.

How the Companies Were Chosen

Detroit schools entertained bids from seventeen companies nationwide before choosing the four technology partners. The competition was fierce and there were some very difficult decisions to be made in the interest of serving the Detroit school population as well as possible. The superintendent, William F. Coleman III, expresses optimism about the new partners, stating: We are pleased with the caliber of the companies that won this contract. Most of these companies are companies that are familiar to us. We know and admire their work. I have no doubt that our students, faculty and staff will benefit enormously from their rich and varied experience.

In addition to their roles as technology providers, the four partner companies will also play another interesting part in Detroit schools. All of the companies will be creating internships for Detroit school students to work and study in the real world. Superintendent Coleman was particularly interested in these internships programs when selecting the companies to win the bid as technology partners. In this way, Detroit school students benefit in more ways than simply having more technology available to them in schools. Students will begin working in internships at the companies and learning important real life skills as well as improving their college applications and professional prospects. These students and many more will therefore see how business and education can work together to provide opportunities for Detroit school students to learn more about the world of technology. The technology partnerships with these four companies are sure to bring new ideas and new products into the Detroit school system and help students compete in the twenty first century.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on Detroit schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Michigan/Detroit/index.htmlGordon Blog1129
Herrick Blog51290

The First Bed For Your Baby - Bassinet

A bassinet is the very first bed for your little darling. It is a French word meaning a basin. So in general it refers to a small oblong bed for a new born. They are suitable up to the age till when the kid can not sit unassisted.

The coziness of the small space within the bassinet appears to be comforting to the infant. Most of the baby bassinets are portable with wheels which can be secured at one place with locks. So it gives comfort and security to the baby and the sense of safety to the parents. If you are planning to breast feed the baby during night, the baby bassinet can be directly placed in to your bed.

Most bassinets come with detachable hoods, and sometimes with foldable legs for saving space. They are made up of lightweight materials such as wicker or wood and painted white to be gender neutral. But different colors and finishes can be imparted to make it exclusive and to match with other nursery furniture. You can decorate the bassinet with matching frilly skirts, or flounces circling the base, ribbons, hanging toys, mobiles which will keep the baby entertained.

Before buying a baby bassinet you should check out if it conforms to the prevailing safety guidelines. There should not be any rough edges to cause a bruise to the delicate skin of the baby. Make sure the mattress pad fits securely. There should never be a gap between the pad and the bassinet edge of more than 2.5 inches as this can entangle the delicate fingers or body parts of the baby. A wider gap can result in accidental suffocation. The mattress should not leave any thread or string.

If it comes with the option of folding, make sure the locks and latches are set properly. If it vibrates or rocks with some electronic arrangement, find out what type of batteries are being used and they do not pose any overheating hazard. The decoration and finish should be non toxic lead free substance. You should consider one most important point before buying a bassinet for your baby. If you have older children or a pet, dont let them tip over the bassinet or cradle.

Ter Soo Kiat offers advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Babies. Get more information by visiting http://www.moses-basket-bassinets-swings.com. Granville Blog45735
Gil Blog33247

Great Ways to Earn from Home

Some people find it impossible to leave home every day. Others simply prefer to stay at home. For example, mothers with small children may prefer to take care of them than to leave them at childcare while they are at work. Artists may prefer to stay at home and combine art and work. Writers, on the other hand, may want to isolate in the tranquility of the home in order to work uninterrupted. For all these people it will be better to earn from home than to go to work each day.

The fact that you have chosen to earn from home does not give you an unconditional freedom. Veterans in earning from home admit that there are some basic principles and some requirements, which must be followed. Here are given some of these requirements:

Make up a professional agenda. Make an effective personal schedule and be sure you keep it. No matter if, it is rainy outside or whether you feel sleepy, you should not be able to afford yourself to take a rest day. A day off will make you lose momentum. As the saying goes, it is much easier to keep going than to get going. I also remember a physical law which says that a body in motion stays in motion; a body at rest stays at rest. If you want to earn from home, you will have to work hard as well. Earning from home does not mean working less.

Put on some clothes. The daily care for your external appearance is very important even if you are earning from home. A well-groomed person is much more productive. You have to do the everyday things like shaving, showering and brushing your teeth in order to feel in your normal state while you are earning from home. Never mind that nobody can see you working in pajamas, this is just the opposite of your proper behavior. The pajamas predispose you to sleep not to work.

Try not to be interrupted. May be this is the most difficult to accomplish tasks of all. Ask everyone who is the house to leave you alone in order to be able to work. Each earn from home worker finds this very hard. The spouse, roommate, or other comes to tell you something, somebody calls you on the phone to remind you of something, the children are constantly getting into a mischief and so on. Ask everybody to imagine that you are at a job you had to drive to and treat you the same way, as you do not exist in the house. Ask them whether they will visit you the same way at your workplace. Ask them whether they will call to ask you something about the TV channels for example.

If your efforts appear to be ineffective, try a signal system. Each earn from home worker should try with some kind of signal system. I took a hanging sign Do Not Disturb from a hotel and I usually place it on my door. Moreover, I do not pay attention to any knockings, throat-clearings or crocodile tears. Earning from home requires full concentration of mind.

Finally, I feel myself obliged to warn those who are new to earn from home. While searching for earn from home, always try to make sure that the job offer you found is not a fraudulent business scheme. Once I read something on a homeworking.com forum employers are never begging people to work for them. They always offer a particular job and look for a particular person with the needed skills. If a job offer gives no details, have in mind that this may be something wrong. Such type of jobs often requires you send money or to invest money. No job should require any money from you. After all, you want to earn from home, not to spend from home!

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning money. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting http://www.makingmoneymanual.com/making-money/making-money/great-ways-to-earn-from-home.html.Glasgow Blog38276
Heli Blog73202

So Glad We Waited: A Hand-Holding Guide for Over-35 Parents (Book Review)

About thirty-seven years ago when a friend of mine gave birth to a baby boy, she called herself Grandma Moses. That sounded far from the truth, because she was only forty-two and her baby and her family came along just fine through the child-raising process. It has been quite a few years now since her very brilliant son has become a successful medical doctor.

When I came across this astute and practical book, "So Glad We Waited: A Hand-Holding Guide for Over-35 Parents," I remembered my friend and smiled. So much has changed over the last few decades and for the better. Luckily, educators like Lois Nachamie have come along with books on the subject and have founded classes and therapy groups for older parents. This book makes parenthood in later ages something to aim for, because during the more mature ages, the babies are created by design and desire.

In the author's words: "As with every other family issue, we older moms have the same concerns as everyone, but our age intensifies the experience. We have more options--yet more at stake."

"So Glad We Waited" is divided into three parts.

In the first part, "Who We Are and How We Got Here," the first chapter addresses who the older parents might be, and the second chapter lets the mature mothers speak their minds on the subject with their own words.

In the second part, "Rearranging Our Lives," are the chapters three to ten as the true meat of the book or its how-to resources, dealing with domestic duties, reconnecting as a couple, one adult families, mothers coming to an understanding with their own mothers, working, careers, nannies, aging bodies, hormones, relationships, and sex. The author gives down-to-earth advice to parents of advanced age with conviction and persuasion. Her interviews with the contented mothers prove the thesis that being an older parent is just as blissful and may not be as difficult as surmised by most.

The third part of the book, "Raising Our Children: Tailor-Made Parenting Tips," has three chapters, bringing the book to thirteen chapters in total. In the last chapters, the author alerts the parents to possible pitfalls of child raising during the advanced ages like overindulgence and dealing effectively with discipline problems.

The final chapter, "Assuming the Mantle of Parenthood," is my favorite chapter. Feeling a slight envy, I wish this book had existed--in addition to Dr. Spock's--and I had read this chapter thirty some years ago when I was raising my children, although I was barely thirty at the time. This goes to show that, while this book may be addressing mature mothers, any parent of any age can benefit from it because of its very sound parenting advice.

The author's writing style is direct, warm, and convincing throughout the book's 272 pages. A reading list and selected web sites are recommended at the end of the book. "So Glad We Waited" is in paperback with ISBN: 0609803468.

The author, Lois Nachamie, MFA, CSW, LMSW, is a psychotherapist in Manhattan, specializing in family and parenting issues, and also, the founder and director of the So-Glad-We-Waited Network. Aside from her contributions to newspapers and magazines, her other book is "Big Lessons for Little People: Teaching Our Kids Right from Wrong While Keeping Them Healthy, Safe and Happy."

In my opinion, most parents and parents-to-be will find this book very helpful. "So Glad We Waited: A Hand-Holding Guide for Over-35 Parents" may make a valuable addition to any library.

This article has been submitted by Joy Cagil in affiliation with http://www.BabyNameVote.Com/ which is a site for Baby Names. Joy Cagil is a writer in http://www.Writing.com. Her webpage is at: http://www.writing.com/main/handler/item_id/1084695.Hera Blog92813
Gunseog Blog16648

How to brew cheap wine

Preface: Ive never done this before, and im totally inexperienced about brewing. I did a little bit of research online and found this was the easiest and cheapest way to brew wine, which seems like the easiest of all alcoholic drinks to make. Follow these directions at your own risk

Like the title says, this method of brewing is not expensive (cost me roughly $12. This will make me 2-3 gallons of wine. maybe more), but the returns arent for connoisseurs. This is for cheap-asses, college kids, and 15 yr olds who cant buy anything themselves. If you do it right, its enjoyable, cheap, easy to do, and most importantly, alcoholic. Plus, it only takes a maximum of 2 weeks to fully ferment!!!

Step 1:

Buy ingredients. Get the cheap stuff. It doesnt matter what quality it is because its hobo-wine.

I made a gallon jug of this. The recipe calls for:

2 cans of juice concentrate (room temp) I chose welchs concorde grape. You should be able to use any type of concentrate like strawberry, kiwi-whatever etc. Two juice concentrates makes 1 gallon.

2-3 cups of sugar
water
water container (I used a water jug that was 60 cents at the store, plus I got to use the water)
Active Dry yeast
bleach
funnel
rubber band
balloon

Step 2:

Sterilize everything youre going to use to keep the fermenting wine in. You dont want unwanted bacteria growing in your wine, it ruins it. Bleach out your funnel and your jug. Rinse well, and wash with dish soap. Air dry.

Step 3:

Go ahead and bring your water to a near boil. What I did was let the water boil just for a bit to kill anything in it (just in case), and then I took it off the heat and let it cool. I heated mine in separate pots because I didnt have any large enough to hold it all.

Step 4:

While youre waiting for your water to heat, go ahead and add your room temperature juice concentrate to the clean, dry jug. Use the funnel if you need it.

Step 5:

As the hot water cools, dissolve 2-3 cups of sugar in the water. Most recipies Ive read say 2 is fine, but i added 3 so the yeast had enough nutrients and so that the wine would be sweeter. Stir while pouring.

Step 6:

Activate the yeast. Follow the instructions on the back of the packet. For me, I added 1 teaspoon of sugar into a separate bowl along with 1/4 cup of water at 100-110 degrees Farenheit. Add the yeast to the concoction and stir briefly. Let sit for 10 minutes. The yeast should be very frothy now.

Step 7:

Pour the dissolved sugar-water into the jug thats holding the juice concentrate. Your juice/sugarwater might be warm. Cool it off a little by placing the jug in the sink and fill the sink with cool water. When you introduce your yeast to their syrupy mix, it cant be too hot or it will kill the yeast and ruin your project. I waited until the jug was just warm to the touch. 80-90 degrees i estimate.

Step 8:

When the mix is cooled enough, add the yeast to the mix.

Step 9:

Cap the jug containing your sugar water, juice concentrate, and yeast and shake violently. Try not to spill. Do it enough just to mix everything up.

Step 10:

Remove the cap, place a balloon over the top to allow for expansion. The yeasties produce CO2, and its got to go somewhere. You cannot introduce air to the mix or it will ruin it/make vinegar. Bad bad bad! Some people use valves, some make tubing that runs from the jug to a glass of water so air cannot get in, but it allows the CO2 to escape. I use a balloon.

Note: when using a balloon, make sure it doesnt over inflate and pop. Again, this will ruin your batch.

If you want you can put a rubber band over the ballon to further secure it. If you really want to i suppose you can tape it as well. I didnt.

Step 11:

Keep your jug in a relatively warm place (room temp). The yeast can handle 60 degrees, but i wouldnt want to chance it. Also, i wouldnt expose it to direct sunlight.

There it is! I just brewed it up tonight, now I just wait 10-14 days and then i can

Step 12:

ENJOY!

When youre done fermenting, you can siphon the good stuff out while leaving the clumpy yeast in the jug. To repeat, just make sure to sterilize again and youre good to go.

Again, im way not a pro at this. I just thought some of you might want to try this with me and we can help eachother along. If you know what youre doing, post in here and give advice. Id love to hear it.

Pictures and conversations can be found here: http://www.leftofme.com/how-to-brew-cheap-wine/

Thomas Barrett runs http://www.leftofme.com - The best source for pictures of Thai girls.Gayathree Blog63360
Henri Blog70542

Baby Shower Games Can Be Fun And Inexpensive

Are you planning a baby shower? Are you trying to figure out what to do? If so, here are a few fun baby shower game ideas for you.

The key to great baby shower games is to be short and fun. The games will serve as ice breakers if the guests do not know each other, and the themes should always be babies. For a typical baby shower in which no full meals are served, expect to be able to play two or three games.

Icebreaker Games

These games will get your guests interacting.

Who Am I, the Baby Version - In this game, players are each given a piece of paper with the name of a famous person on it. They do not look at the name, but tape it to their forehead. They then must figure out who they are by the reactions of the other guests. In the baby version, consider using only famous celebrity mothers, or perhaps cartoon characters. Be creative!

Who Is That Baby? - Before the party, have guests send you photos of themselves as a baby. Have each guest try to match the baby picture with the correct adult. The person with the most matches wins.

Don't Say It - When guests arrive, give them each a pacifier on a ribbon which they can wear over their neck. Instruct them that they are not allowed to say "baby" during the party. If another guest catches them at it, the can take their pacifier. At the end of the party, the guest with the most pacifiers wins.

Word Games

Baby Boggle - Come up with a fun sentence about the baby and the mother-to-be. See how many baby related words guests can make in three minutes from the letters. Everyone reads their list, crossing off duplicates, and the person with the most remaining wins. Use a phrase such as "So there's going to be a new [parents' last name] in the world!"

Advice Poem - Have someone write down a short piece of advice to the new mother. Then have the next person write down a line to create a poem about advice they have for the new mom. Continue with each guest adding a line, but each time, fold the paper so that the only line visible is the last one that was written. At the end, have someone read the finished poem. It is sure to contain lots of good advice in quite a funny way. This can also be done with guests writing a poem about the mother-to-be. This is especially good at a "Pamper Mommy" themed party.

Time Capsule - Have each guest write a short note to the baby. Seal the notes in a plastic bag and place them in a box for the mother-to-be, telling her she can open them with her child on his or her fifteenth birthday.

Games with Gifts

Assuming everyone is bringing a gift, you can easily create a game around them.

Baby Box - Ask every guest to bring a small item such as a rattle or a pacifier. As they arrive, place the items in a box which has a small hole cut in the side. After all the guests have arrived, give each person 20 seconds to touch as many items as they can (no peeking!), then have them write down what they felt. The person with the most correct wins.

Active Games

These games will get the guests up off the couch.

Diaper Tower - Have guests stack as many diapers as they can without the tower falling over. Of course, the mother-to-be gets to keep the diapers!

Tree Planting - Have guests help plant a tree in honor of the baby. This is especially nice if the mother-to-be recently moved into a new home. (Of course, get her input on the type of tree she would like.)

Dirty Diapers - Buy ten different chocolate candy bars (Snickers, Hershey's, etc.). Melt the bars and put each into a separate diaper. Hang diapers along a clothesline before the guest arrive. Give each guest a piece of paper and have them smell all the diapers (take lots of pictures!). The winner is the guest who correctly identifies each candy bar.

Other Games

Are You Hungry? - Before dessert is served, bring in a tray of various baby foods, with the labels removed. Number each bottle and have the guests look at each (no tasting or smelling!) and write down what they think it contains. The winner is the person who identifies the most correct foods.

Pacifier Pass - Have everyone put a pen or pencil (or chopstick) in their mouth. Place a pacifier on the end of one of the pencils. Guests must pass the pacifier around the circle without using their hands. If a guest drops the pacifier, they are out. The winner is the last person still in the circle.

Bottle Race - Time guests drinking juice from a bottle - the fastest time wins! This is best done as a race, with white grape juice or something else that won't stain. And once again, the mother-to-be keeps the bottles.

Gifts for the Winners

Gifts for the winners of the baby shower games can vary, but something inexpensive like shower gel or coffee will do nicely. Or guests can rack up points for each game they play (100 to the winner, 90 to second place, etc.) and at the end of the night the grand prize winner can take home something a little nicer, such as a restaurant gift certificate or bottle of wine.

While you can buy baby shower games from most party stores, the games that are the most fun are those you create with the mother-to-be specifically in mind. A new mother will also appreciate it if any of the games result in baby items she can keep, and the guests will love a door prize. One way to get something every mother needs: tell guests that there is going to be a raffle, and the cost of entry is a pack of diapers. They can enter as many times as they would like. Then either buy or make a gift basket. For instance, the prize could be a bottle of wine, pasta, sauce, parmesan cheese, and some yummy cookies in a basket. It could also be a gift certificate to a restaurant or spa. This will keep the new mother in diapers for quite awhile!

Jennifer Barnett is a successful party planner providing valuable tips and advice on planning a baby shower that is inexpensive, fun for the guests with baby shower games, and choosing the perfect baby shower gift. http://www.about-baby-showers.comHana Blog34064
Georgette Blog72735

Create Referral Systems That Really Work

I think its the dream of every professional to have their business grow by referral only. Imagine not having to cold call or advertise! What a way to grow a business.

Can it really be accomplished? Yes it can. In fact, I know a handful of professionals that not only grow their business by referrals, but have SO many potential clients, they need to turn some away!

So the question is: If it really DOES work, why havent most of us created a business which is filled by referrals? The answer lies in understanding several important issues. Generally, people dont know how to properly ask for referrals and dont put in enough effort to create a steady stream of them.

Learning How to Ask for Referrals
How do most people ask for referrals? Most of the folks I know ask a variation of the question, Who do you know? Heres how it comes out:

Who do you know who could use my services?
Who do you know whod like to lower their premiums?
Who do you know I could call on?

A variation of this is the Thank You letter that reads: Thank you for your business Ive enclosed a couple of my business cards. Please pass them along to anyone who could use You get the idea.

Or sometimes people will ask a client to take out their Rolodex/Contact List/Address Book and go through it with them, trolling for possible referrals.

My sense is that most everyones experience with theses approaches is about the same. Not only do they not work very well, but they make us uncomfortable even asking for referrals. The result is that we stop asking. If we could come up with an effective, professional way to get referrals, wed never stop asking for them.

Let me talk about why the typical methods dont work and then discuss a few methods that do work. Generally, the typical methods of asking for referrals dont work for one or more of six reasons. First of all, if you ask someone to think of a list of names, they cant. Basically, youre asking them to recollect names plucked out of the universe. The pool of names is so great that they arent able to focus on any particular ones. Secondly, most people dont think about their insurance very often and almost never DISCUSS it with others. When you ask a client, Who do you know, youre either asking them to name someone who recently mentioned insurance to them or youre asking them to make a judgment about whether someone they know has a need. The likelihood of someone mentioning insurance in a conversation is pretty slim. Also, I dont know about you, but I wouldnt want someone else making a judgment call as to whether a prospect needs my services or not.

A third reason that people generally wont offer up names is that they may not be sure of what youll do with them or say to them. Most people have a certain level of caution when it comes to sharing the names of acquaintances. A fourth reason is that people are living in their own world. Thats not to say that theyre selfish, but rather that when they go about their day, theyre generally thinking about their own tasks, needs and issues not yours. Asking someone to pass out your cards is unrealistic. It happens, but not too often. The fifth reason that asking for referrals usually doesnt produce results is that most people dont really know who your best client would be. Inotherwords, even if theyre inclined to send prospects your way, they wont if they cant identify someone as an ideal candidate for you. The final reason that typical methods are ineffective is that most people dont really understand what you do and how youre different. Ever had a client say, I didnt know you do that!? Thats a sure indication that you arent effectively educating your clients and/or your network.

All this is well and good, but what will work? Actually there are a number of referrals approaches that overcome the shortcomings of the typical referrals methods. Effective referral generation methods must 1) not rely on the person to recall names, 2) educate the person as to who you are and what you do, and/or 3) build confidence and credibility.

Briefly, here are four proven methods that work.

1. Offer clients a list of neighbors or nearby businesses to identify names from. As part of the process, have a follow-up process in place that allows clients to see how youll be contacting those people.

2. Start sending a monthly Tips letter out to a select group of existing clients. It should be useful, informative, not be focused solely on insurance, and should remind them about sending you referrals.

3. Develop a large (100 person) network of other business people to stay in touch with on a regular basis. Send out a monthly mailing to help everyone get to know one another, and highlight yourself each time as well.

4. Develop one or more neighborhood newsletters (similar to the ones real estate agents do) and build awareness and credibility with an ever-widening population.

Put in Enough Effort

Each of the above referral systems work. The challenge is to implement them effectively and to use them long enough to see results. The first method will start producing results right away, but takes some groundwork and some follow-through each time to do properly. The other methods also require some strategy to be effective and, more importantly, require time and diligence to produce consistent results. Each method obviously requires more detail than this article can address, but you should be able to get a sense of the various strategies of effective referral generation.

You CAN generate a steady stream of referrals for whatever you do by taking the time to understand human nature and then consistently apply methods that work. The more people you help, the more success youll have!

Written by Michael Beck, The Insurance & Advisor Coach. Michael, an Executive Coach and Recruiting Activist, helps insurance and financial professionals succeed faster and easier. He can be reached at 866-385-8751 or mbeck@theinsurancecoach.com.Harborne Blog74625
Germano Blog90682

Lead Generation: The Marketing Rule Of 10 x 10

Have you ever wondered why some businesses thrive and other business owners struggle to survive day after day just managing to pay their bills.

Now if the statistics are correct 80% of businesses fail in the first 5 years, then this could quite possibly be you.

Lets face it, when someone first goes into business its usually for one of three reasons:

1. They just received a huge pay out from somewhere, maybe an inheritance, redundancy package etc.

2. Youve lost your job and cant find another one or you dont want to find something else so you figure its a bout time you work for yourself instead of making someone else rich.

3. You think your boss is an idiot and figure, guess what I can do a better job than this guy. FYI. If you already employ people then guess what they are thinking J

Anyway, so you decide to go out beg, borrow and steal as much money as you can and instead of working for an idiot, you know work for a lunatic: yourself!

I have seen it time and time again working with business owners; the problem is they dont plan enough to really make a success of their chosen business.

In fact they kind of just fly by the seat of their pants, putting out fires as they go.

Im getting a little off track at the moment so Ill get to the point.

Weve all heard the wealth gurus talk about creating multiple streams of income in your life. The problem is most people only have one: their job.

And remember what that stands forJust Over Broke.

But the same thing applies for your business, most people have only one way of generating new customers and its usually the yellow pages.

But guess what happens if that strategy fails to pull enough new clients to sustain your overheads?

Thats right, you go out of business.

But its really quite simple to correct, its a brilliant idea that I learnt from one of my mentors, its called the rule of 10 X10.

What this means is that instead of having only one way to generate 100% of your clients, you find ten ways to generate 10% of your clients. So if one particular way fails, then you dont care!

This is the easiest way I know of to make life far less stressful when it comes to attracting new clients to your business.

Scott Patterson has been marketing for the past 14 years, he has helped many business owners grow their businesses any where up to 600% http://www.the-marketing-mind.blogspot.comGennaro Blog66894
Gerry Blog27520

Parenting With Consequences Not With Punishment

Parenting in the modern age can be a particularly daunting task. We are constantly being told that smacking a child is not appropriate and that punishment in general is not effective parenting. However, punishment and consequences are not necessarily the same and is definitely a positive way of disciplining your children. A proper form of discipline teaches the child to become a responsible adult with self-discipline and consideration for other people.

Consequences, when used correctly, encourage good behaviour and help to keep the lines of communication open between parent and child. However, it is not enough to use negative consequences solely in teaching children to behave appropriately as this only teaches them what not to do rather than teaching them more appropriate behaviours. It is also necessary to use positive consequences for good behaviour as well as being open and honest with your children as to what you expect of them.

When you focus on the good behaviours and praise the children for these behaviours, the bad behaviours generally decrease and negative consequences are needed less often. Remember that consequences are only there to apply boundaries and reinforce rules when verbal reminders haven't worked.

It is important to think carefully about the type of negative consequences used for bad behaviour as overuse or inconsistency can render them ineffective.

There are three types of consequences and these will each be explained in the following paragraphs. The three types are natural consequences, logical consequences, and loss of privileges. Each of these can be used as required, depending on the behaviours displayed by the child.

Natural consequences can teach your child lessons without your intervention. However, these can be either good or bad. An appropriate natural consequence may be where a child refuses to eat a meal. The child will then feel hungry and will learn quickly that refusing to eat is not appropriate and leads to personal discomfort.

In a bad sense however, the consequence of behaviour may lead to injury in which case it is important for the parent to intervene in order to protect the child. Also, natural consequences can actually reward bad behaviour. For instance, a bully is rewarded when the victim gives in to demands.

A logical consequence is one that is in relation to the behaviour displayed. An example of this would be where the child throws food or drink on the wall or floor in temper. When the behaviour has subsided, the child would then be expected to clean up the mess. This form of consequence gets the child to think about what they have done and the consequence of their actions. These consequences are fairer as they are relevant to the particular behaviour.

Loss of privilege may be used as a negative consequence for some behaviours such as swearing and aggressive behaviour and may range from losing the privilege of watching a television program to not being taken on an outing.

The use of time-out is appropriate when the child is being particularly difficult or where both parent and child are feeling angry and need a short break to calm down in order to address the situation more appropriately.

Although negative consequences are an important tool for parenting, it is important to be aware that encouragement for good behaviour will lead to less need for these consequences. To bring about this situation, children need to understand exactly what is expected of them. Obviously, if the child then ignores rules and subsequent reminders, then negative consequences need to be applied. However, these need to be consistent and must apply to all children in the family regardless of age and gender. Otherwise, the child will see it as favouritism toward other children and this may lead to a diminished sense of self worth.

Also, keep the consequence short in order to give the child a chance to try again. Dont take the toy away for hourstake it away for fifteen minutes or so. The consequence does not have to be long or harsh for it to work.

It is also important to implement the consequence calmly and without getting personal. Refer to the bad behaviour not to the bad child. Remaining neutral and in control lets the child learn from the situation rather than worrying about how angry the parent is with them.

All children display negative behaviours at times. How you deal with these behaviours as a parent can make all the difference in maintaining that close bond with the children. Dont confuse negative consequences with punishment and use the negative consequences in a constructive manner. Happy Parenting!!!

Anne Wolski is the owner of http://www.travellintunes.com and has been involved in internet marketing for several years. She is both a mother and a doting grandmother. She has a wide variety of interests and loves to write.Garth Blog66128
Grey Blog48956

A Cool Tool for Mom - Infant Massage!

There are so many benefits to using infant massage with your baby.

Infant massage relaxes and soothes:

Not only will your baby feel relaxed so will you! Nurturing touch is a naturally rewarding way to relieve stress for both you and your baby. It has been proven that touch decreases the levels of Cortisol (stress hormone) in our bodies. Cortisol is always present in our bloodstream, but high levels of this hormone can be found in our bodies during times of extreme stress.

Deepens Bonding:

Infant Massage provides you with essential one-on-one time that will enhance your family bonding, understanding and ability to nurture. During massage Oxytocin is released in both the giver and receiver's body. Also known as the hormone of love, Oxytocin is our feel good hormone. This hormone helps to provide us with loving, nurturing feelings which helps us to bond. An increased production of Oxytocin occurs for mothers during labor and breastfeeding. Research now shows that even close physical contact and nurturing touch also stimulates Oxytocin production. Great news for all of the dads out there who didn't give birth to their baby, you can still produce the same hormones through the use of loving touch.

Improves Communication:

Touch is our very first form of communication. So you can assume that communicating through touch enhances your natural ability to understand your baby's special needs and respond with appropriate care. Through the use of infant massage your sensitivity and confidence in understanding your baby's unique cues and forms of communication is increased. You cannot spoil a baby by picking them up when they cry. When babies receive attentive responses to their needs they grow to become healthier and more secure in adulthood.

Contributes to Development:

Stimulates growth and healthy development of your baby's body, mind and spirit. Massaged babies gain healthy weight better than babies who do not receive massage. Additionally, nurturing touch helps to enhance the digestion process. The systems of the body are stimulated during massage which assists in the absorption of nutrients and elimination of what is not needed. For some babies infant massage has also been shown to be effective at reducing the symptoms associated with Colic.

Helps Baby to Sleep Better:

Not only does massage help your baby to release stress which builds daily from new experiences, it allows them to relax. During this special time both you and your baby have time to relax. Massaging your baby helps your little one to sleep deeper and for longer periods of time which can translate into you being able to sleep longer as well!

Through massage you will not only increase your loving, nurturing bonds with your baby, you will assist in their healthy and happy development!

Copyright (c) 2007 Liddle Kidz Infant and Children's Pediatric Massage

Looking for tips and techniques to improve your child's health? Find answers to all your questions about infant massage and childrens massage at http://www.liddlekidz.com . Infant Massage Instructor Trainer with the International Association of Infant Massage, Tina Allen, founder of leading childrens health and nurturing touch organization Liddle Kidz, shares over ten years of expertise working with children and families.Hatsumi Blog76289
Hee Blog52522

Change Domain Names

Do you have a domain name on your server and wish to change it? If so, then read on and find instructions below. However if you wish to change your domain name to a new web host or change the domain name on your current host, then you will need to contact your hosting company because those are changes you are unable to make on your own.

The changes need to be made on the registry of the computer, so you will have to have access to it. If you are operating a server from your computer at home or your office, then this is something you will be able to do when you want to change your domain names.

However, you should keep in mind that messing around in your registry can be tricky so make sure you know what you are doing before you change anything or you may make a mistake that leaves you unable to operate your computer at all.

Before you can change your domain name, you will have to break the trust connections which exist. You will have to remove it from both sides on the trust. Then terminate all of the back office services like Microsoft Exchange Server, Internet Information Server, and the SQL Server. Put all of these services on manual startup.

Now you can change the domain name on PDC. So you will need to reboot it which causes the entry to pop up on the WINS server so you can enter the new domain. If you apply WINS for NetBIOS in place of TCP/IP names resolution, then you will force the copying of the PDC primary WINS server onto all the other WINS servers which will transmit your entry you have for your new domain name.

Now, reboot. After you restart, you will also need to copy all WINS server information which transmits the entry and once that is done, you will have to reestablish your trust connections.

Now you will need to set up your back office services again and get them back online. Apply the start up button to bring up the account and once they are all online, switch back to automatic start up. Now just reboot the back office services in the correct order.

You will also have to change the domain names on every server and workstation. You may also need to change workgroup names. Once the domain change has synchronized through out the system, the domain name change is complete.

Jane Wyvern is an established freelance writer. You can find more of her writing at http://www.domain-name-hunter.com and http://www.webhostmatters.com.Harvey Blog41880
Ginevra Blog54373

Car Donations: How to Make Your Next One Easy

Each day, someone in the United States makes the decision to donate one of their vehicles. Although a relatively small number of individuals make the decision to donate their cars, many more think about doing so, but end up not. One of the reasons for this is because many individuals think a car donation is too much work, despite the good that could from it. The reality is that car donations are only difficult if you make them. There are a number of ways that you can go about making your next car donation a smooth and easy one.

Perhaps, one of the reasons why many individuals assume that a car donation is too much work is because they try and donate their car on their own. With this, you must find and contact local charities or non-profit organizations. This could be extremely time consuming and there is even a chance that you will not find anyone who wants to accept your car donation. However, there is a way that you could make your next car donation count, a much easier way.

Instead of trying to donate your car on your own, you are advised to seek professional assistance. That assistance should come from a car donation program. Car donation programs exist all across the United States. Their goal is to make sure that non-profit organizations are given cars or, at least, the money for those cars. They do this by, personally, collecting the cars themselves. Then, they will spend their own time trying to find a non-profit organization for your car donation. Essentially, this makes donating a car as easy as it could possibly be.

As previously mentioned, most car donation programs will arrange for the pick up of your car donation, but not all will. For car donation at its easiest, you are advised to request a pickup. If one is not available, you will want to find a program that offers this additional feature. You will find that it will not only save you time, but even gas money. A well-known and reputable car donation program or center should be more than willing to pickup your donation for you, even if they do not outright advertise that they will.

If you plan on using your car donation as a deduction on your taxes, you will need to get the proper documentation. When using a car donation program, you will not always be provided with these documents upfront; they will often be sent to you after your vehicle has officially, been donated. To ensure that you do get the proper credit for your car donation, you are advised to request a small certificate of donation or pickup. This will ensure that you will be protected, in the event that anything should go wrong with the car donation program that you used. Although it is almost guaranteed that everything will go right, you are advised against taking any unnecessary risks.

By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should be able to donate your unused or unwanted vehicles with little or no hassle. It is likely that your donation will be greatly appreciated, by whoever gets it.

Mariah Cruz is a writer for Car Angel . com where you will see abundant amounts of information on things such as a Car donation and other related information.Harriet Blog61336
Gerarda Blog35901

DIY Domain Name Disputes: Expert Tips

This is a distillation of the wisdom acquired through years of involvement in domain name dispute proceedings. It wont make a hopeless case winnable, but it might stop you from making a strong case un-winnable.

(1) Know your chances

Make an assessment of your chances of winning before embarking on a dispute.

You will need, at a minimum, to read and understand the rules governing the relevant kind of complaint; learn when complaints are upheld, and when rejected. Unless the case is very clear-cut or youre a very quick learner, your initial view may lack nuance, but you should at least know whether you have a chance of succeeding or none at all.

If you cant form an initial view, some lawyers will be prepared to look at the papers and consider whether you have a prima facie case without charge.

(2) Write first time

It is usually worth writing to the other side about a domain dispute before making a complaint. There are two main reasons. First, the cost and aggravation of a domain name dispute can sometimes be avoided by a simple exchange of letters. Second, even if the dispute isnt resolved by correspondence, the fact that you have tried to resolve the dispute without recourse to arbitration proceedings will create a favourable impression with some panellists.

Neither goal is likely to be achieved if the correspondence is disproportionately aggressive or sarcastic: your letters should be lucid, polite and concise.

The problem with writing before filing a complaint is that the domain registrant could transfer the domain to another person before you get a chance to file - possibly to a person with better rights in the domain name than the registrant. You should assess this risk carefully before deciding whether to write first. In making this assessment, one important consideration will be the cost of filing a complaint and thereby blocking transfers. In Nominet (.uk) proceedings, it costs nothing to file a complaint and have domain transfers blocked until the dispute is resolved; however in most other kinds of domain name proceedings, the complaint fee is payable upon filing.

(3) Know your limits

Time limits, that is and word limits. In domain name disputes both time limits and word limits can be short. Its important not to contravene either: missing time limits can be fatal to your case, and looks careless at best; exceeding word limits will annoy the panel.

Panellists will tell you that they dont get paid enough to read what they don't have to read, when they don't have to read it.

(4) Tell a story

The pleadings of domain name arbitration proceedings complaints, responses and (in Nominet proceedings) replies are never going to make great reading. The formal requirements of these documents make them tedious, even for readers professionally acclimatised to tedium.

The easiest way to make the document more interesting is to write it as you would a simple story. Insofar as the document recounts facts, these should usually be in chronological order. You also need to be clear about which person or entity is undertaking which action. This is obvious in the case of natural persons, but can be unclear where you are dealing with legal entities such as companies and partnerships.

Even the non-factual, argumentative sections of your pleadings can be organised in the same way as a story, with a clear beginning, middle and end - although the order an argument will be logical rather than chronological.

(5) Keep cool

Your Complaint or Response should be dispassionate and measured - and give the appearance of objectivity. Remember who is likely to be making the decision, and where: a middle-aged lawyer in an air-conditioned office. Although you need the sympathy of that lawyer, you it's best not to be seen to be asking for it.

(6) Fit the facts to the rules, the rules to the facts

Rarely, if ever, will the rules fit the facts like a glove. More commonly, youll find that the facts have an extra finger, or the glove is too tight, or too capacious.

Your handling of the tensions between the facts and the rules will be a key factor in the success or failure of your argument. By careful presentation of both the facts and the law, it is possible to make it look like the latter was made to fit the former. In this way, weaker arguments can be made stronger, and stronger arguments can be made compelling.

(7) Weight your evidence

One kilo of evidence is too much; one gram too little. To reiterate: panellists will tell you that they dont get paid enough to spend their weekends reviewing your appendices. However, a certain quantity of documentary support is necessary in all cases, to demonstrate the prior dealings of the parties, the use of the domain name in dispute, the rights of the parties, and so on.

As a rule of thumb, you should not include more than one file of evidence and, if possible, that file should be slim enough to allow the panellist to review its contents in less than 15 minutes. (Of course, you may need to break this rule in some cases.)

(8) Find a precedent or two

The major dispute resolution services have now built up a substantial body of case law. Few if any panellists read every decision; most read only a small percentage of the decisions issued.

Panellists dont want to make decisions that are inconsistent with previous case law: they dont want to invite the criticism of their colleagues or academic commentators; nor do they want to have their decisions overturned on appeal. You can help the panellist avoid these ignominies by pointing him or her in the direction of a decision or two which supports your interpretation of the rules.

Dont however go overboard with the authorities. Generally, you should cite only one or two authorities in each case. However, in some circumstances - for example, where there is a well-known case, or your opponent has cited a case, which contradicts your case theory - then you may need additional authorities to establish your case.

Sometimes it may be necessary to cite a court judgment; only do so if it really is necessary.

(9) Be a pedant

Panellists are usually lawyers; lawyers are professional pedants. You dont want the condescension of the panellist, so try to avoid typos, inconsistent usage, and errors of grammar and spelling. Once your document is prepared, proof read it; then have a friend proof read it; then proof read it again.

(10) Read, re-read and re-re-read the rules

Read the applicable rules before drafting your complaint (or response); and during; and after. Check that your document meets all the formal requirements.

(11) Use your service provider

Youre the customer and, although you cannot be always right when the service is dispute resolution, you can be a little bit always right. They wont give you much in the way of substantive advice, but most will help clear up procedural issues.

(12) Stay relevant

Irrelevant material is most unwelcome to the panellist. You may think you can make your opponent look bad by telling the panel how he or she stole your money, or killed your cat. Resist that urge: it will only make you look bad. Ensure all of your arguments and evidence are directed to the rules upon which the panel must make its decision.

Hagit Ben-Artzi runs Sequitur IPS (http://www.sequitur-ips.com), which represents both complainants and respondents in domain name dispute arbitration proceedings. Hadley Blog62578
Gay Blog17319

Know Your Wood Well

Lost when it comes to wooden furniture? Cant make out ebony from teak? Cant decide between Amish Oak Furniture and Antique Mahogany Furniture? Heres a ready guide to make you an expert at recognizing different woods, decide their finishes and know what they are best suited for. So now you can go ahead and buy your hickory coffee table set or the Amish Furniture Set youve been eyeing with complete confidence.

The woods that are used for furniture making fall into three categories: Hardwoods, Softwoods and Composites.

Even the term 'hardwood' or 'softwood' is deceptive. Hardwoods aren't necessarily harder, denser material. Softwood trees are evergreen trees while the hardwoods are got from deciduous trees.

Hardwoods are considered the highest quality and are the most expensive. Hardwood furniture is least likely to warp or bend. Softwoods are less expensive than hardwoods, but they require extra care and are less durable. Composites are manufactured and not grown and are the cheapest form of wood. Provided its affordable, you should always go for hardwood furniture. Here we will look at the properties of some of the common hardwoods:

Ash
Strength: Very strong. Not likely to split.
Color: White to light brown.
Texture: Straight grain and medium to coarse texture.
Uses: Secondary pieces in connection with Oak such as bentwood furniture, frames and veneers.

Beech
Strength: Very strong.
Color: Reddish brown with dark brown specks, slightly paler than that of birch.
Texture: Straight grain and coarse texture.
Uses: Bentwood furniture, framework of chairs, tables, and bedsteads, furniture joints etc.

Birch
Strength: Very strong.
Color: Pale yellowish brown color.
Texture: Fine grain and even texture. Works and finishes well.
Uses: It is used in the better kinds of low-priced furniture.
If polished or varnished, it looks like satinwood, but is darker, and by staining can be made to resemble Honduras mahogany.

Chestnut
Strength: Fairly strong. It is light, elastic and very durable.
Color: Grey to white. Looks like white oak.
Texture: Coarse grains and texture.
Uses: Large-scale infestation has depleted the availability.

Ebony
Strength: Heavy and strong. High decay resistance but is brittle.
Color: Deep black color.
Texture: Straight or wavy grain with a fine even texture.
Uses: Luxury furniture, carving, musical instrument parts, primary pieces and inlay.
It is very expensive so Pear and other woods dyed black are often substituted for it.

Mahogany
Strength: Very strong. Easy to work.
Color: Reddish brown to dark red.
Texture: Interlocked or straight grain, often with a ribbon figure, and a moderately coarse texture. Excellent finishing qualities.
Uses: Tables, chairs, carved pieces, cabinetry, high class joinery, interior trim, boat building, vehicle bodies, paneling, plywood, and decorative veneers.
As its value is so great, it is generally veneered on to some less valuable wood. The heaviest mahogany is generally the best.

Maple
Strength: Very strong and hard. Difficult to work with. High resistance to abrasion, indentation, and shock.
Color: White to reddish yellow.
Texture: Straight or birds-eye grain and fine texture.
Uses: Furniture, flooring, cutting surfaces, cabinets, decorative woodwork, musical instruments, bowling pins and utensils

Oak
Strength: Heavy and strong.
Color: White to light brown.
Texture: Straight grain and medium to coarse texture. Finishes well.
Uses: Primary pieces which are not carved, joinery, turning and veneer.

Rosewood
Strength: Very strong and hard.
Color: Dark, with some curl. Purple to black.
Texture: Straight grain, medium texture and streaked figure.
Uses: Furniture, cabinetry, paneling, mathematical instruments, brush backs, inlay, sculpture, boat construction, hammer heads, and decorative flooring.

Satinwood
Strength: Very hard and strong.
Color: Orange to golden brown.
Texture: Striped or interlocked grain and fine texture. Finishes well.
Uses: Furniture, cabinets, inlay, joinery and turning.

Walnut
Strength: Strong and durable. Less inclined to warp.
Color: Dark brown to purple and black.
Texture: Straight grain and medium to coarse texture.
Uses: Primary pieces, tables, chairs, cabinets, drawers, joinery, turning and veneer.

Alder
Strength: Very strong. Easily carved and finished.
Color: Yellow to light brown.
Texture: Straight grain and even texture.
Uses: Turnery and primary pieces.

Cherry
Strength: Strong and hard. Easy to work.
Color: Red brown to red.
Texture: Straight grain and fine texture.
Uses: Primary pieces and turnery.

Elm
Strength: Very strong.
Color: Light reddish brown.
Texture: Straight or interlocked grain and coarse texture.
Uses: Furniture frames and secondary pieces.

Hickory
Strength: Very hard and strong. Difficult to work with.
Color: Sapwood is yellow white and heartwood is red brown.
Texture: Straight to wavy grain and coarse texture. Average finishing.
Uses: Bentwood furniture and rustic furniture.

Teak
Strength: Moderately strong. Low stiffness and shock resistance. Moderate bending strength.
Color: Yellow brown to dark brown.
Texture: Straight to wavy grain with coarse, uneven texture and rich figuring.
Uses: Indoor or outdoor furniture, joinery, turning, and veneer.

Yellow Poplar
Strength: Soft and light. Easy to work and finish.
Color: Sapwood is white, heartwood is greenish brown.
Texture: Straight grain and fine texture.
Uses: Carved members, joinery and smaller pieces.

For more information visit: http://www.amish-furniture-home.com

Sarika Kabra is an expert in the field of interior design and home improvement. Granville Blog34290
Haroldo Blog75829

Stringing Me Up (With Guitar Strings)

Most musicians know that different guitar strings are better for playing different styles of music. For playing rock, lighter gauge strings are better because bending the strings can raise a note up 3 or 4 semi-tones and lighter gauge strings are easier to bend. However, jazz would be the other extreme. Jazz guitarists prefer strings that are of a heavier gauge because they rarely bend a string to raise a semi-tone but rather they pick the notes. Classical guitarists use nylon strings. Blue Grass guitarists most often use standard wound strings. Country guitarists usually use medium to light gauge strings.

The problem with buying sets of strings, no matter what genre music you play, is that prepackaged string sets dont allow for personal preference and individual styles. As you become more accomplished, you will most likely find that you like certain gauge or type strings over others.

Several (more than a few) years ago I found that by using different gauge strings, I could bend the strings and play a different chord using the same chord position. For example, when making a simple F chord, I could also play a Bb by bending the strings.

Years ago I discovered that using a .009, .011, .016, .024, .032 and .038 were the gauges that gave me the added effects that best suited my style. I had to buy each string separately because prepackaged strings didnt come in those gauges. Now Erie Ball has prepackaged sets of guitar strings that are pretty close and other string manufacturers do as well. There are Ernie Ball prepackaged sets of guitar strings that use the .009, .011, .016, .024, .032 and .042. Now I buy that set and a single .038. (I have a drawer full of .042s if anybody needs them.) :-)

Personally, I prefer Ernie Ball because they seem to hold their brightness longer but you might prefer another brand. The best thing to do is just to experiment until you find the brand and the gauges that suit you best. You can buy Ernie Ball and other brands of strings at http://tinyurl.com/uabuf.

Woody Bridges is the author of the Guitar Lessons With Video system, which is used to teach people worldwide how to play the guitar - in any style desired. With over 60 years of experience as a lead guitarist, he has played with greats such as Willie Nelson and George Jones, as well as other well-known musicians and performers on stages all over the country. You can learn more about Woody and his Guitar Instruction at http://www.guitarlessonsonvideo.com.Georges Blog63822
Hema Blog90944