Same Old, and Brand New, DVD Talk! – by: Josh Nowell

The war is everywhere. Not the Iraq war, but the heated battle between the HD-DVD and the Blu-Ray formats. The rising interest in that war, though needed to steer the industry in the right direction in the near future, is causing the market to miss out on present opportunities, of less than ideally explored features of DVD products.

Without the war, the industry already boasts a vast pool of products to offer consumers. Thus, ink and space in this review will focus on those under-used functions of the DVD, especially the creative concept of DVD editing and morphing.

The search phrase of “DVD morpher” on Yahoo! returns 201 000 results, with the top 3 all on Avnex’s product of DVD Player – Morpher. DVD morphing is not too new. However, probably not many of us know how to “morph” DVD, though few are unaware of DVD music and pictures. DVD morphing is a concept of creative self-exploration in the high-end world of the visibles and the audibles: users can not only enjoy unmatched picture and sound quality, but also enhance the displayed image as well as modify what they hear with special effects, all to their best imagination. The “morph” tools duly refresh the developed concept of a personal entertainment experience. And with products such as the AV DVD Player-Morpher Gold’s 44 video and audio effects in various combinations, your experience could truly be personal.

Currently, there should be 8 major players in this market, with various levels of products going for as low as $30. The more expensive packages are perhaps the most value-for-money, offering complete tools to define your DVD experience the way you wish to: the above-mentioned 44 cool effects and so much more of the AV Morpher could be yours for $99.95. Such low prices could lead to a boom in the number of “morphers”, when users become more demanding of their players for features such as capturing crystal-clear digital images, converting those pictures into video format and recording and burning their own versions of movies.

Little does an average movie lover know that he can now easily possess such powerful tools to personalize his favourite hits, as the 8 producers are continuously expanding their sales and distribution networks, expecting sales figures to sky-rocket as much as the DVD boom of the past 7 years. Packages are getting more and more complete; users could produce a fully personalized movie disc, from picture enhancement to audio modifications and even to label printing. Yes, these convenient DVD players are increasingly allowing you such level of personalization; you could get rid of the usually bare disc cover and have your family’s pictures in the pack of Home Alone II. At the moment, however, it seems that few producers offer this cover creation feature, with the rare exception of Media Morpher.

In view of the attractive prices and packages, with possibilities to go “even lower and more complete in the future”, according to industry gurus, the market is going to be poised to boom. The question is not when, but how much. This defining edge of the DVD industry could help continue the boom of the fast-growing consumer goods. So, it’s time to get away from the tech-war between the over-mentioned Sony and Toshiba, and bring it on with the evolving products of the under-noticed Media Morpher and ULead Systems.

About The Author Josh Nowell is a Media Morpher writer specialized in multimedia software products. He could be contacted at media@audio4fun.com

Why Directories Might Save Your Website’s Lifeby: Mike Cheney

Many business owners and online marketing experts focus their efforts on search engine optimisation and ensuring high search engine placement for a website. Although search engines should play a crucial part in any online marketing campaign they are but one element to that equation.

Although they are unlikely to send as much traffic to your website as search engines, directories are an essential online resource that need to be considered when developing your online marketing plan.

Directories differ from search engines in a few ways though the most important ones are as follows:

• Directories usually have some form of human involvement in the editorial process
• Because of the above there is a quality check in place
• Because of the above fewer sites will get listed
• Because of the above the quality of traffic from them will be higher

Surfers use directories differently to search engines. With a search engine a user would normally just enter in a phrase and hope for the best. With a directory the user is encouraged to drill down to the relevant area and select the appropriate category from a list.

This means that visitor who comes to your website from a directory is far more likely to convert into a customer as they will already have a greater understanding of the products and services you provide. Whereas those coming from search engines may simply have matched your website to three of four words in a phrase.

Directories are often categorised on a regional basis or by industry sector which means that visitors finding your website via a directory are more likely to be relevant potential customers and therefore will be easier to convert into clients.

So – don’t rule out attracting traffic using directories as part of your online marketing campaign. It is an essential element in the over all online marketing mix.

Mike Cheney
www.magnet4web.com

 

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Mike Cheney is making over $19,000 a month just from AdSense and his videos show you how he does it: http://www.adsense-videos.info

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About The Author You can get free access to lots more of my articles plus a FREE Special Report “How To Turn Your Website Into A Customer Magnet” worth a value of £47 ($85) here: http://www.magnet4web.com/website_services/?page=freeguide

What are Swinging Clubs? – by: Julia Tanner

When being on the computer just doesn’t do enough for you, then you may want to venture out of the house and find some swinging in person. Unfortunately, not every city has a swingers club. But there are ways to find out who’s in the scene, and where you can go. You’d be surprised how much you can find when you ask.

Finding your swinging environment

The Internet has become the easiest way to find swinging resources in your local community. You can go into any search engine and find whatever you pleasure is. Actually, you may want to get specific as to your fetishes and fantasies. Why not find EXACTLY what you’re looking for?

Once you’ve gotten a list of clubs and other swinging locales, then you want to grab your partner and make some phone calls. You need to know what to expect and get all of your personal questions answers. And interestingly enough, a lot of clubs will want to talk to the both of you to see what your intentions are and what their rules state. Many clubs only accept married couples, for example.

A lot of beginning couples will also want to ask if the environment is no-pressure or not. You don’t want to be too overwhelmed at first. And if the phone call is difficult or you realize that you’re having trouble communicating, then you may realize that you’re not ready.

But let’s say that you are.

What to expect

All swinging clubs are different and have different rules. You want to find out ahead of time what the dress code is and if there’s anything that isn’t allowed. Men will usually want to avoid jeans and sneakers, while women want to dress to thrill. Be sure to bring your identification with you as well.

Some clubs have theme nights and women can have a good time matching their outfits to these fun and creative nights.

Once you’re in, each club is different. If you’re in a pressure-free club, then you can pretty much do whatever feels right to you. Maybe you just want to watch the ‘festivities’ for the evening. Maybe you want to participate. Just don’t feel like you have to.

Something to remember

If you feel pressured, then you’re in a bad situation. You want to have fun your first few times in a swingers club, and then take baby steps to the next, even more hot and exciting level. Being talked into something that you don’t want to do is not sexy and makes for uncomfortable next mornings. If you don’t want to do something, then say so. No one should question that or make you feel bad for saying no.

Most swinging clubs are very good at helping you with any questions that you might have and have employees available if you’re just not sure about something. If you’re ready to try swinging, then this can be a great way to meet other couples with the same interests and within a safe and supportive environment.

About The Author Julia Tanner has written an amazing swingers minicourse . You can get it absolutely free at http://www.swingersvillage.net. Find out everything that you absolutely need to know if you are a swinger, or if you are considering swinging

Have You Settled On First Choice When Choosing A Title? – by: Nick Vernon

Short Story Writing Tips –

We’ve established what a title should be and we’ve also established your title is your selling tool. So if it can make or break the sale of your story, then we’ll have to agree that it is extremely important. How much emphasis have you placed when selecting a title?

1. You can’t write a story before titling it, so you jotted down the first thing that came to mind.
2. You added it as an afterthought when you completed the story.
3. You put a lot of thought into it and selected the best one.

I hope it was the latter – and I hope you did this…

1. You noted down as many titles as you could think of
2. Then crossed out the titles you thought were ‘so-so’
3. And kept the most grabbing title of them all?

You did do this, didn’t you?

About The Author Besides his passion for writing, Nick Vernon runs an online gift site where you will find gift information, articles and readers’ funny stories. Visit http://www.we-recommend.com

If You’d Like to Know Why Reading Matters – by: Barbara Freedman-De Vito

Here Are Some of the Reasons Why Reading Is So Important for Children

Why Do We Tell Children to Read ?

We’re always telling children that books and reading are good for them, but have we ever really thought about why that’s true ? Exactly what do older children get out of reading novels ? What do younger kids get from reading children’s stories and being read to ? Does reading matter ?

The purpose of this article is to say that, yes, it’s true, reading really is important, and that there are some solid reasons why that is so. Let’s begin with the practical benefits and then move on to the less tangible rewards of a life filled with reading.

Books Help Children Develop Vital Language Skills

Reading is an important skill that needs to be developed in children. Not only is it necessary for survival in the world of schools and (later on) universities, but in adult life as well. The ability to learn about new subjects and find helpful information on anything from health problems and consumer protection to more academic research into science or the arts depends on the ability to read.

Futurologists used to predict the death of the printed word but, ironically, Internet has made reading more and more a part of people’s daily lives. The paperless society is a myth. The computer’s ability to process and analyze data means that endless variations on reports and other types of documents can be and are generated. Internet, itself an enormous new source of information and recreation, is based on the humble written word. To effectively utilize the web and judge the authenticity and value of what is found there, both reading and critical thinking skills are of prime importance.

The more children read, the better they become at reading. It’s as simple as that. The more enjoyable the things they read are, the more they’ll stick with them and develop the reading skills that they’ll need for full access to information in their adult lives. Reading should be viewed as a pleasurable activity – as a source of entertaining tales and useful and interesting factual information.

The more young children read stories and are read to, the greater their interest in mastering reading. Reading out loud exposes children to proper grammar and phrasing. It enhances the development of their spoken language skills, their ability to express themselves verbally.

Reading, by way of books, children’s stories, magazines or websites, exposes kids to new vocabulary. Even when they don’t understand every new word, they absorb something from the context that may deepen their understanding of it the next time the word is encountered. When parents read aloud to children, the children also hear correct pronunciation as they see the words on the page, even if they can’t yet read the words on their own.

Reading Can Open Up New Worlds and Enrich Children’s Lives

As mentioned above, reading opens doors – doors to factual information about any subject on earth, practical or theoretical. Given the wealth of available resources such as Internet, libraries, schools and bookstores, if children can read well and if they see reading as a source of information, then for the rest of their lives they will have access to all of the accumulated knowledge of mankind, access to all of the great minds and ideas of the past and present. It truly is magic !

Through books and stories, children can also learn about people and places from other parts of the world, improving their understanding of and concern for all of humanity. This, in turn, contributes towards our sense that we truly live in a “global village” and may help us bring about a more peaceful future for everyone. This can happen through nonfiction but, perhaps even more importantly, reading stories that are set in other places and time periods can give children a deeper understanding of others through identification with individual characters and their plights.

Through stories and novels children can vicariously try out new experiences and test new ideas, with no negative consequences in their real lives. They can meet characters who they’ll enjoy returning to for comforting and satisfying visits when they reread a cherished book or discover a sequel. Books also give kids the opportunity to flex their critical thinking skills in such areas as problem solving, the concepts of cause and effect, conflict resolution, and acceptance of responsibility for one’s actions. Mysteries allow children to follow clues to their logical conclusions and to try to outguess the author. Even for very young children, a simple story with a repetitive refrain or a simple mystery to solve gives a confidence boost. Children can predict the patterns and successfully solve the riddles.

Children are influenced by and imitate the world around them. While a steady diet of violent cartoons may have a detrimental effect on children’s development, carefully chosen stories and books can have a positive influence on children, sensitizing them to the needs of others. For example, books can encourage children to be more cooperative, to share with others, to be kind to animals, or to respect the natural environment.

Reading Can Enhance Children’s Social Skills

Although reading is thought of as the quintessential solitary activity, in certain circumstances reading can be a socializing activity. For example, a parent or grandparent reading a story aloud, whether from a traditional printed book or from an ebook, can be a great opportunity for adult and child to share some quiet, relaxed quality time together away from the rush and stresses of the business of daily living. They share a few minutes of precious time, plus they share the ideas that are contained in the story. In addition, older children can be encouraged to read aloud to younger ones as a means of enhancing their relationship.

At school or at a library story hour, books can bring children together and can be part of a positive shared experience. For some preschoolers this may be their primary opportunity to socialize and to learn how to behave around other children or how to sit quietly for a group activity. Make the most of this experience by encouraging children to talk about what they’ve read or heard.

Reading Can Improve Hand-Eye Coordination

It may sound funny, but ebooks can be a way for children to improve their fine motor skills and their hand-eye coordination, as they click around a childfriendly website or click the backward and forward buttons of online story pages. They may also be picking up valuable computer skills that they’ll need in school and later in life.

Reading Can Provide Children with Plenty of Good, Clean Fun

I’ve saved the most important point for last. Reading can provide children with endless hours of fun and entertainment. All of the pragmatic reasons above aren’t at all necessary to justify reading’s place in children’s lives. Stories can free up imaginations and open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality. They allow children to dream and may give them a good start on the road to viewing reading as a lifelong source of pleasure; so read to your young children every day.

Inspire your older children to read. Give them access to plenty of reading material that they’ll enjoy and discuss it with them. Sample everything – traditional printed books and ebooks on Internet, classic children’s novels and fairy tales, as well as more modern stories.

If a child wants to hear the same story over and over again, don’t worry about it. Children take comfort from the familiarity and predictability of a beloved story that they know by heart. There’s no harm in that. Reread old favorites and, at the same time, introduce your children to new stories. Your child’s mind and heart have room for both.

So Reading Really Does Matter After All

There are so many ways in which reading continues to be both a vital skill for children to master, and an important source of knowledge and pleasure that can last a lifetime. Nurture it in your children. Make the most of all the resources that are available and waiting for you: printed books, online stories, magazines and so forth. Encourage follow-up activities involving creative writing skills and the arts, as well, so that your children can reflect upon or expand on what they’ve absorbed and, at the same time, develop their own creativity. As you help your kids appreciate the magic of reading, you’ll find that there’s a whole wonderful world full of children’s literature out there that YOU can enjoy too.

About The Author Barbara Freedman-De Vito © 2005 Barbara Freedman-De Vito, children’s librarian, teacher, professional storyteller, and artist, writes and illustrates animated children’s stories which are available at http://www.babybirdproductions.com which also has free games and educational activities for children, teachers and parents. Clothing and gift items decorated with artwork from the stories are also available. mail@babybirdproductions.com

Top Ten Brainstorming Techniques for Business Success – by: Bea Fields

We experience creativity every time a fresh idea pops into our minds. We recognize creative imagination in everything from a pastel painting to a business plan. By trying these ten tips, you will discover some amazing creative abilities that may surprise you.

1. Substitute someone else’s perspective for yours. How would a teacher, lawyer, actor, artist, explorer, journalist, psychologist, engineer, homemaker, child, or accountant approach your idea or subject? Don’t know? Ask them!

2. Look at your idea through the eyes of a critic. For each idea, make a list of all criticisms that may arise. Try to develop as many solutions as possible for overcoming obstacles or repairing weaknesses in your idea.

3. Connect your idea to other worlds or fields. Look at the worlds of Politics, Art, Science & Medicine, Hollywood, The Ice Age, Astronomy, Astrology, Ballet, Animation, The Army, Asia, Teaching, Music, Europe, and the like. Can you make an analogy, and what ideas can you draw upon from these fields and worlds?

4. Magnify your idea. What can you do to enlarge, expedite, extend, strengthen, exaggerate, dramatize, or improve your idea?

5. Simplify your idea. Can you condense, trim down, compact, minimize, or narrow your idea?

6. Change your idea. Modify the name, color, sound, shape, form, function, smell, taste, and properties of your idea.

7. Make your idea meet the needs and wants of the masses. Does your idea meet the basic needs and wants of more comfort, money, food, shelter, time, space, convenience, attractiveness, health, and beauty? If not, alter your idea to meet one if not all of these needs and wants.

8. Add more value. What will add more value? Add extra features, durability, safety, thickness, accuracy, guarantees, uses, and freebies.

9. Examine what others have done. Emulate professionals and experts who have had great success with a similar idea or product. Are you facing a problem that has already been solved? Use the past as a tool for experimentation and learning.

10. Flip a coin. When you cannot make a decision, flip a coin. Once the coin falls, use your intuition and gut to make a decision. If you feel comfortable with the result, go with it. If you feel uncomfortable with the coin toss, make the opposite decision.

About The Author Bea Fields, Southern Pines, NC, USA bea@fivestarleader.com http://www.fivestarleader.com Bea Fields is an Executive Coach and a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach. She is also a Consultant, Trainer, Public Speaker and author of the Five Star Leader e-course. Her area of expertise is that of Leadership Development and Marketing for Executives, Managers, Small Business Owners, and Political Leaders.

9 Myths About Being Single – by: Susan Dunn, MA

More than 48% of US households are headed by unmarried individuals. The American Association for Single People projects that by 2010, 47.2% of adults will be unmarried. Being single does not mean being alone, nor does being in a couple for the holidays ensure happiness. Let’s dispel some myths!

Myth #1: Single people are lonely at Christmas.

Reality: No moreso than anyone else. This is a projection of people who fear “being alone for the holidays,” a fear of the unknown.

Myth #2: Single people need you to invite them over to your celebration.

Reality: Contrary to perceptions, single people are v. popular at Christmas, and we generally receive lots of invitations. If you want us over, we’d love to be invited, but would prefer it’s because you like us, not because you think we need it.

Myth #3: Single people don’t know what to do for the holidays.

Reality: On the contrary, we are used to planning our social lives actively, good at generating options, and used to making unilateral decisions. We’re pros!

Myth #4: Single people are available to perform certain social tasks during the holiday celebration.

Reality: We like to be cherished guests. We don’t like to be the steer among the bulls – invited to get people who don’t get along off of one another’s throats. If you don’t like your family and friends, why would we? “Can you come over and help out with Aunt Edna?” is not an invitation.

Myth #5: Single people are available to do certain physical tasks during the holiday celebration.

Reality: Nor is this an invitation: “It’s John’s in-laws and I want to impress them. Can you come over and help with the hors d’oeuvres?” As best-friend, yes; as the only working-guest, absolutely not.

Myth #6: Single people are misfits, outsiders.

Reality: On the contrary, most of us have highly developed Emotional Intelligence skills; that’s the reason we get the ‘rescue us’ invitations! Outsiders? It’s about half the adult world now. Take another look!

Myth #7: If a single person isn’t part of a couple, or doesn’t spend Christmas with a couple or family, they will be miserable.

Reality: Come on now. Is it so horrible to celebrate Christmas on a cruise to the Caribbean, coming back rested, tanned and relaxed?

Myth #8: The only “happy” way to spend the holidays is if you are a couple or part of a family.

Reality: If that were so, half the articles on the Internet this time of year wouldn’t be about how to cope with the annual holiday dinner with the relatives, and the divorce rate in the US wouldn’t be 50%.

Myth #9: Single people have “nowhere to go” for the holidays.

Reality: Nowhere to go? We have everywhere to go! I loved my years as Mrs. Santa. Now I’m on-the-go. I’m thinking about Germany this year. There are so many places to go I can’t decide!!

In fact I have so many neat ideas for spending Christmas on-your-own, if you’re stuck I’ll give you a FREE coaching session.

About The Author © Susan Dunn, MA Clinical Psychology, cEQc, The EQ Coach™, http://www.susandunn.cc. Coaching, teaching, training, and eBooks for your personal and professional development. Check out the best ebook library on the Internet – http://www.webstrategies.cc/ebooklibrary.html. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE eZine. I train and certify EQ coaches. Email me for information on this fast, affordable, comprehensive, no-residency program.

Beyond ADHD… The Real Child – by: News Canada

(NC)—Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobiological disorder that affects three to seven per cent of children. The disorder causes difficulties concentrating, sitting still, controlling emotions and listening. ADHD is one of the best-researched psychological disorders and the overall data on its validity are far more compelling than for most mental disorders. It is officially recognized by the World Health Organization.

Children with ADHD are not problem children, but children who have difficulty functioning. These difficulties can be addressed. These children often have special characteristics, such as being energetic, adventurous, intelligent, having a great sense of humor and the ability to throw themselves into their goals. Unfortunately, these characteristics sometimes go unnoted strictly because the difficulties caused by ADHD always seem to be front and centre.

The tendency of children with ADHD to be disorganized, forgetful and easily distracted sometimes makes it hard for their true colours to shine, but the potential is there and often just needs a helping hand.

Physicians, parents and educators routinely offer guidance by teaching children with ADHD that the disorder is a challenge, not an excuse. With the help of medication, which can correct the underlying chemical imbalance, along with appropriate counseling, they have a fair chance of reaching their full potential.

All medications currently approved to treat ADHD belong to a class called stimulants. A number of new investigational ADHD treatments offer great promise and in the future Canadians will have more choice in ADHD treatment.

Research has shown that up to 60 per cent of children continue to have symptoms into adulthood and this can cause career difficulties due to disorganization and attention deficiencies, but those who adapt to their condition as children can thrive personally and professionally.

For more information on ADHD, please visit your doctor.

- News Canada

About The Author News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web. News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial “fill” items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

The Secret Benefit Of Search Engine Optimisation: Increased Usability – by: Trenton Moss

A higher search ranking is what many website owners dream of. What they don’t realise is that by optimising their site for the search engines, if done correctly, they can also optimise it for their site visitors.

Ultimately this means more people finding your website and increased sales and lead generation. But are search engine optimisation and usability compatible? Aren’t there trade-offs that need to be made between giving search engines what they want and giving people what they want? Read on and find out (although I’m sure you can guess the answer!)…

1. Keyword research carried out

Before you even begin building your website, you should carry out keyword research to identify which keyword phrases your site should target. Using publicly available tools such as Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com), you can discover which keywords are searched for the most frequently and then specifically target those phrases.

Doing keyword research is also crucial for your site’s usability. By using the same keywords in your website that web users are searching for in search engines, you’ll literally be speaking the same language as your site visitors.

For example, you might decide to target the phrase, “sell toys”, as your website does in fact sell toys. Keyword research would undoubtedly show you that web users are actually searching for, “buy toys” (think about it – have you ever searched using the word, “sell”, when you want to buy something?). By placing the phrase, “buy toys” on to the pages on your website, you’ll be using the same words as your site visitors and they’ll be able to find what they’re looking for more easily.

2. 200 word minimum per page

Quite simply, search engines love content – the more content there is on a page the easier it is for search engines to work out what the page is actually about. Search engines may struggle to work out the point of a web page with less than 200 words, ultimately penalising that page in the search rankings.

In terms of usability, it’s also good to avoid pages with very little content. A page with less than 200 words is unlikely to contain a large amount of information, so site visitors will undoubtedly need to click elsewhere to find more detailed information. Don’t be afraid to put a reasonably large amount of information on to a page. Web users generally don’t mind scrolling down anymore, and provided the page provides mechanisms to aid scanning (such as employing sub-headings – see point 6 below) it shouldn’t be too difficult for site visitors to locate the information that they’re after.

3. 100kb maximum HMTL size

If 200 words is the minimum page content size, then 100kb is the maximum, at least in terms of HMTL file size. Anything more than this and search engines may give up on the page as it’s simply too big for them.

A 100kb HMTL file will take 20 seconds to download on a 56k dial up modem, used by three in four UK web users as of March 2004 (source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/intc0504.pdf). Add on the time it takes for all the other parts of the page to download, such as images and JavaScript files, and you’re looking at a highly un-user-friendly download time!

4. CSS used for layout

The website of Juicy Studios (http://www.juicystudio.com) saw a six-fold increase in site visitors after switching from a table-based layout to a CSS layout. Search prefer CSS-based sites and are likely to score them higher in the search rankings because:

• The code is cleaner and therefore more accessible to search engines
• Important content can be placed at the top of the HTML document
• There is a greater density of content compared to coding

Using CSS for layout is also highly advantageous for usability, as it leads to significantly faster download times.

5. Meaningful page title

If you know anything about search engine optimisation you’ll know that search engines place more importance on the page title than any other attribute on the page. If the title adequately describes the content of that page then search engines will be able to more accurately guess what that page is about.

A meaningful page title also helps site visitors work out where they are, both within the site and the web as a whole. The page title is the first thing that loads up, often quite a few seconds before the content, so a descriptive, keyword-rich page title can be a real aid to help users orientate themselves.

6. Headings and sub-headings used

Search engines assume that the text contained in heading tags is more important than the rest of the document text, as headings (in theory at least) summarise the content immediately below them.

Headings are also incredibly useful for your human site visitors, as they greatly aid scanning. Generally speaking, we don’t read on the web, we scan, looking for the information that we’re after. By breaking up page sections with sub-headings that effectively describe the content beneath them, scanning becomes significantly easier.

Do be sure not to abuse heading tags though. The more text you have contained in heading tags within the page, the less importance search engines assign to them.

7. Opening paragraph describes page content

We’ve already established that search engines love content, but they especially love the first 25 words or so on each page. By providing an opening paragraph that adequately describes the content of the rest of the page (or the site if it’s the homepage), you should be able to include your important keyword phrases in this crucial area.

As web users, whenever we arrive at a web page the first thing we need to know is whether this page has the information that we’re after. A great way to find this out is to scan through the first paragraph, which, if it sufficiently describes the page content, should help us out.

8. Descriptive link text

Search engines place a lot of importance on link text. They assume that link text will be descriptive of its destination and as such examine link text for all links pointing to any page. If all the links pointing to a page about widgets say ‘click here’, search engines can’t gain any information about that page without visiting it. If on the other hand, all the links say, ‘widgets’ then search engines can easily guess what that page is about.

One of the best examples of this in action is for the search term, ‘miserable failure’. So many people have linked to George Bush’s bio using this phrase as the link text, that now when miserable failure is searched for in Google, George Bush’s bio appears top of the search rankings!

As web users, we don’t generally read web pages word-for-word – we scan them looking for the information that we’re after. When you scan through text you can’t take any meaning from the word ‘click here’. Link text that effectively describes its destination is far easier to scan and you can understand the destination of the link without having to read its surrounding words.

9. Frames avoided

Frames are quite an old-school technique, and although aren’t as commonplace as they once were, do still rear up their ugly head from time to time. Using frames is one of the worst possible things you could do for your search engine ranking, as most search engines can’t follow links between frames.

Even if a search engine does index your pages and web users find you through a search engine, they’ll be taken to one of the pages within the frame. This page will probably be a content page with no navigation (navigation is normally contained in a separate frame) and therefore no way to navigate to any other page on the site!

Frames are also disadvantageous for usability as they can cause problems with the back button, printing, history and bookmarking. Put simply, say no to frames!

10. Quality content provided

This may seem like a strange characteristic of a search engine optimised website, but it’s actually crucial. Search engines, in addition to looking at page content, look at the number of links pointing in to web pages. The more inbound links a website has, all other things being equal, the higher in the search rankings it will appear.

By providing creative, unique and regularly updated content on your website, webmasters will want to link to you as doing so will add value to their site visitors. You will also be adding value to your site visitors.

Conclusion

Optimising your website for both search engines and people needn’t be a trade-off. With this much overlap between the two areas, you should easily be able to have a website that web users can find in the search engines, and when they do find it, they can find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently.

About The Author This article was written by Trenton Moss. He’s crazy about web usability and accessibility – so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy ( Webcredible – http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

The Inestimable Mind with Music – by: Dr Julie Trudeau

Music is the manifestation of the human spirit, similar to language. Its greatest practitioners have conveyed to mankind things not possible to say in any other language. If we do not want these things to remain dead treasures, we must do our utmost to make the greatest possible number of people understand their idiom.

By: Zoltán Kodály

Music has an immense power in it. With Music one can get “amped up” or “mellowed out;”. Music can soothe, arouse, amuse, irritate, and delight us. Music for the Mind is an exclusive, auditory stimulation program using the rich and obscure Digital Music.

Digital Music offers an exclusive and powerful opportunity for promoting active listening for several reasons. All the music is improvised which gives it a free quality, while the unusual harmonic and rhythmic structures cause the brain to be attentive in a dramatic way.

With repeated listening the language of the Digital Music starts to reveal itself, yet we constantly encounter slight twists and turns that prevent the mind from placing the music into a known format.

Since auditory stimulation programs often are created to move us from a place where we are stuck, Digital music seemed particularly well suited for our purpose of encouraging active listening.

Know more about the digital music from Dr. Julie.

To visit our site: www.drjulietrudeau.com

About The Author Dr. Julie Trudeau – A native of Kankakee, Illinois,in 1984, Dr. Julie Trudeau graduated from the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa in America, at the age of 22, and has been a licensed natural health care provider in Australia since 1985. drjulietrudeau@gmail.com