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Today's 3 Hatchbacks - More Bang For Your Buck. + Battle of the Mega Cars – Ferrari v Bugatti v Jaguar

Today it appears that even the economy driver is much more discerning than ever before with regards to value for money.

In this article we are going to take a look at three of these so-called current hot hatchbacks.

These three columns on the Renault Clio 2L, the Mini Cooper S and the Vauxhall Corsa VXR.

The initial perception with regards to the Vauxhall is that it is a much nicer car than previous versions.

For a small car it develops a massive 189bhp from a 1.6 L turbocharged diesel engine and would genuinely appear to have the getup and go to match the good looks.

It is up again serious competition however. Perhaps this is a selling off how important the market is.

From an inauspicious start the Clio does start perform and with 194bhp coming from a 2 L engine once underway to car starts to fly (so to speak).

Producing 173bhp from a 1.6 L engine that is turbocharged, the Mini Cooper S. has more than enough grunt.

All three cars have a great number of positive things about them with the power and handling of the Vauxhall comparing very favourably with the lightning reactions and good performance of the Mini. In turn comparing more than adequately with the overall power of the Renault once you've got it up and running.

On the inside the poor plastic facia of the Mini Cooper does tend to let itself down whereas in the Renault though the interior may be a quality it was difficult to get yourself comfortable. With regards to the Vauxhall the interior design was great but at the cost all of compromised visibility.

How would these cars pan out in the long run was one of the other key issues. It appears that the strong second-hand price of the mini could make it an excellent prospect for its owners. With regards to the Renault a heavy depreciation in the value of the car would tend to offset the definite advantage of the discounts available on purchase. Lastly, the folk soul was cheap as to get up and running and potentially better equipped to three but this was offset by the quite steep running costs of the car.

Looked at objectively all three of the cars are actually quite good value for money but probably the Mini Cooper S. comes out on top the handling speed and overall performance of the Mini means that it has quite the strong support to place despite the amazing fact that the inside looks cheap but hardly any boot in the rear seats are extremely small. Certainly one of the aspects of the Mini is that the extras are surprisingly expensive.

Set against the mini you look at the Vauxhall and think that this is a good all rounder of a car. The performance is excellent and the handling superb has an excellent interior. The downside is the fact that the visibility is compromised another negative factor is that it does not appear to have as many safety features as the other two.

Surprisingly the Renault Clio comes in third despite an excellent showing in the performance stakes. Indeed probably once you've managed to get the car wound up in going this is the best of the lot.

I guess the 1980’s had to leave many a legacy of which, greed, avarice, dodgy haircuts, box jackets and designer stubble were but a few! Their was however another hidden legacy that carried right through to the 1990s and that was the development and manufacture off ridiculously expensive and massively overpowered very elite road cars.

I guess if you had the cash to splash around on any of the beasts that we're about to talk about then you didn't really have to worry about most of the day to day mundane issues that most of the rest of us have to fret about.

Here we are going to take a nostalgic look at the Ferrari F40, the Jaguar XJ220 pounds and last but not least the Bugatti EB1 10SS.

These were really well and truly the big beasts off their day and quite frankly had performance figures and specifications that would frighten you almost as much as the price tag.

I guess though, as is being said on many an earlier article if you had the cash to splash on any of these three vehicles then you wouldn’t really have to give a damn about many other problems anyway.

Let's take a look briefly at the various specifications of these beasts. The Ferrari F40 had 32 valve V8 2936cc engine that developed 478bhp @7000 rpm and had a maximum torque of 426lb/ft @4000 rpm. It had a five speed manual transmission driven from the rear wheels, rack and pinion brakes and a naught to 60 of 4.6 seconds and a speed that topped out at almost 3 times the legal speed limit at 202 miles an hour. The price tag was, wait for it a staggering $328,000. There were only ever 1315 of the F40 made between 1997 and 1992.

The Jaguar XJ220 on the other hand had a 24 valve V6 3498cc engine that developed 542bhp @6500 rpm and had a maximum torque of 473lb/ft @4500 rpm. It had a five speed all-synchro transaxle driven from the rear wheels. It had servo assisted ventilated disc brakes and a naught to 60 of over a staggering 3.6 seconds! The top speed was reputed to be 211.9 miles an hour and the price tag at the time would have set you back a cool $850,000! Was there any surprise that there were only ever 218 of these cars ever built between 1991 and 1992.

Lastly let's look at the Bugatti. The EB11 OSS had a 60 Valve V12 3500cc engine that developed 603bhp @8250rpm and had a maximum torque of 479lb/ft @ 4250rpm. The Bugatti had a six speed manual transmission that was driven from all four wheels. Like the HJ 228 had servo assisted ventilated disc brakes and claimed a naught to 60 of 3.1 seconds! The top speed of the Bugatti was again claimed to be 218 miles an hour. The prize tag was a mere $576,000. Again like the XJ220 production tally barely got into three figures with 123 cars being built between 1992 and 1995.

Truly it could have been said that if you had been a proud owner of any one of the above and actually took it out on the road to drive then you possibly had more money than sense. That having been said, again if you actually had the money to own one of these cars then you wouldn't have had to give a damn about what other people thought anyway!

Provided by ArticleGOLD: Articles Directory - Article Directory

Your 7 Step Guideline to a Successful Marketing Online Company && Article Marketing Services And Why You Need Them

Beware of the Wolves in Sheep's clothing. They present themselves as solid marketing online companies, have a stimulating sales pitch, and their compensation plan doesn't look too bad either. They have large corporate offices with all kinds of people back there to ensure your success. Sounds nice, yes? Companies that sell products like lotions, potions, pills, miracle juices or miracle gas saving products aren't often to the advantage of the average person for a variety of reasons, some of which are:

The truth of how many loop holes they have in their comp program is terrible. They pay roughly 2% to 15% so many levels deep. Then you're told that once you've filled the matrix, the money will just begin to pour in. The reality of not having enough people on your right side or too many on your left makes it virtually impossible to reach the higher level payouts.

Their pay levels are only approximately 2% - 15% deep. You'll be told that once you've saturated the medium, you'll never have to do anything again, the money will just flow in. In truth, nobody reaches that level due to the numerous loop holes they have.

This is a favorite - the incentive of a free car or vacation for selling X amount over X amount of time. Of course if your personal volume and your group volume are at an imbalance, then you no longer qualify! So sorry! But they are very appreciative of all the money you made them trying to get that car or vacation package!

Everybody has family and friends, right? House parties-that's the way! Why not make them feel obligated to buy this junk from you? Here's the thing... if I wanted weight loss, I'd go to GNC. If I wanted Lotions, I'd go to Longs, Save On, or my favorite department store. If I wanted to put additives in my gas tank, I'd go to Kragen, Chief or Pep Boys and buy a product from STP or Penzoil. You get the gist... .? And if it doesn't work, or I don't like it, I can simply return it, and they'll probably give me my cash back.

The number of online marketing companies selling juices number in the hundreds. We have juices made from Acai Berry, Goji berry, Mangosteen fruit and some kind of marine life. How many claim to cure some chief illness like cancer? Are these online marketing companies suggesting that if there was a cure for cancer we would simply be lackadaisically checking it out? Give me break! I don't argue that some of these products might have some beneficial properties, but I wouldn't go into business with them. Not if I wanted to make money.

How do you choose an online marketing business in which you can profit and be satisfied to represent? How do you know which are genuine and which are not? Well, having made the assessment that out of the number of companies on the internet that are simply bogus and only a very few are legit, I offer this simple but effective guideline to use.

Naturally your ultimate goal is to make money, honestly and wisely. What I've learned and these guidelines will help you determine what online marketing company is right for you. In weighing up a company, keep these seven steps in mind:

1. If you have to have 1000, 10,000 or 20,000 people in your organization before you make any real money. DO NOT Join. Most people will NEVER get there.

2. If you are not making at least 75% of the upfront commission when you make a sale, forget it. This means that you are doing all the work and the company and/or the person above you is making all the money.

3. If they instruct you to host home parties, and try and convince you your path to success is through selling to your family and friends - RUN.

4. If they teach you to hold home parties and invite all your friends. Run away fast.

5. If you can't break even or get into profit with 3 sales, forget it. This is a hard and fast rule!

6. If they have a sales pitch 2-3 times a day and only 2-3 training classes per week. This means that the company is more interested in selling you than training you how to make money long term

7. If you can't break even or get into profit with 3 sales, forget it. Remember this one!

Naturally, these are not all the rules for success on the internet, but it is a great guideline to use when accessing a marketing online company. Beware of the Wolves in Sheep's clothing. They present themselves as solid marketing online companies, have a stimulating sales pitch, and their compensation plan doesn't look too bad either. They have large corporate offices with all kinds of people back there to ensure your success. Sounds nice, yes? Companies that sell products like lotions, potions, pills, miracle juices or miracle gas saving products aren't often to the advantage of the average person for a variety of reasons, some of which are:

The truth of how many loop holes they have in their comp program is terrible. They pay roughly 2% to 15% so many levels deep. Then you're told that once you've filled the matrix, the money will just begin to pour in. The reality of not having enough people on your right side or too many on your left makes it virtually impossible to reach the higher level payouts.

Their pay levels are only approximately 2% - 15% deep. You'll be told that once you've saturated the medium, you'll never have to do anything again, the money will just flow in. In truth, nobody reaches that level due to the numerous loop holes they have.

This is a favorite - the incentive of a free car or vacation for selling X amount over X amount of time. Of course if your personal volume and your group volume are at an imbalance, then you no longer qualify! So sorry! But they are very appreciative of all the money you made them trying to get that car or vacation package!

Everybody has family and friends, right? House parties-that's the way! Why not make them feel obligated to buy this junk from you? Here's the thing... if I wanted weight loss, I'd go to GNC. If I wanted Lotions, I'd go to Longs, Save On, or my favorite department store. If I wanted to put additives in my gas tank, I'd go to Kragen, Chief or Pep Boys and buy a product from STP or Penzoil. You get the gist... .? And if it doesn't work, or I don't like it, I can simply return it, and they'll probably give me my cash back.

The number of online marketing companies selling juices number in the hundreds. We have juices made from Acai Berry, Goji berry, Mangosteen fruit and some kind of marine life. How many claim to cure some chief illness like cancer? Are these online marketing companies suggesting that if there was a cure for cancer we would simply be lackadaisically checking it out? Give me break! I don't argue that some of these products might have some beneficial properties, but I wouldn't go into business with them. Not if I wanted to make money.

How do you choose an online marketing business in which you can profit and be satisfied to represent? How do you know which are genuine and which are not? Well, having made the assessment that out of the number of companies on the internet that are simply bogus and only a very few are legit, I offer this simple but effective guideline to use.

Naturally your ultimate goal is to make money, honestly and wisely. What I've learned and these guidelines will help you determine what online marketing company is right for you. In weighing up a company, keep these seven steps in mind:

1. If you have to have 1000, 10,000 or 20,000 people in your organization before you make any real money. DO NOT Join. Most people will NEVER get there.

2. If you are not making at least 75% of the upfront commission when you make a sale, forget it. This means that you are doing all the work and the company and/or the person above you is making all the money.

3. If they instruct you to host home parties, and try and convince you your path to success is through selling to your family and friends - RUN.

4. If they teach you to hold home parties and invite all your friends. Run away fast.

5. If you can't break even or get into profit with 3 sales, forget it. This is a hard and fast rule!

6. If they have a sales pitch 2-3 times a day and only 2-3 training classes per week. This means that the company is more interested in selling you than training you how to make money long term

7. If you can't break even or get into profit with 3 sales, forget it. Remember this one!

Naturally, these are not all the rules for success on the internet, but it is a great guideline to use when accessing a marketing online company.

Like I said before, many of us do not have the vacant time to share out to regulation marketing. Because of this fact, a new service has arrived where individuals or companies are exhilarated to give in your exclusively written articles to many condition directories, which is more often than not at tiniest twenty, for a fee of direction. A good few of these folks and companies also offer commentary writing and capitulation armed services, whereby not only will they defer to your stipulation, but they will also compose it for you. This can free up all the time that you at present devote to piece of writing marketing. Now you can use that time to help grow your business.

There are numerous sites on the web that offer these critique submission essential services, and they all pretty much propose to the same item directories. Of progression, you want to be sure that your traineeship are getting submitted to the best of the available directories, like ezinearticles.com.

Of path, you shouldn't heart your perfect internet marketing battle on thing submissions. There are many another techniques you can use to attain coming in links and thus drive stream of traffic to your site. One of these techniques is yearbook submissions. The idea is the same as article submissions, you acquiesce your site to many cyber- directories that pigeonhole your site and spectacle it, similar to ashen pages.

Another technique is text link ads. These are ads that webmasters will put on their site linking back to your site. Usually, you will have to offer them rather in proceeds. Sometimes, this is assets or some fresh form of payment. Others, it's a equal link which goes to a web page of their choosing.

It is crucial to pile up as many backlinks as possible, since they will help you drive transactions to your site and help push you up in the pursuit diesel locomotive rankings. But, that's for alternative section. However, it's safe to say that you should be putting a chief labor into getting backlinks.

Because of this, clause marketing has by now become incredibly common, however it is my opinion that soon abundant it will become markedly larger and a must for any person trying to do high rankings in the examination engines.

The best advice I could give is to edge writing dead-on now and if, like many others, you don't have enough time, find star to transcribe for you for a fair charge. As in many other areas of life, the harder you work the more the reward. Well, at least the smarter you work.

This holds true on the internet as well, you can't carve one term, or have one printed, and expect to see a dire improvement in your sites circulation or hunt tank locomotive rankings. Set your sites on writing half a dozen tutelage per week, or so, and you will see a huge transformation in your site road traffic after a few months and perhaps even before then. I know it sounds like hard work, but retain there are always ways to work smart. Sometimes it's as simple as having celebrity else work hard.

Time is wherewithal and it's essential that you know what your time is importance. For illustration, if your time is substance $250 per hour, and you can note down 3 articles per hour, each editorial is costing you $80 or so.

In my opinion, it's pretty easy to explain the cost of paragraph writing and term submissions due to the more time it frees up which can be spent on more proceeds generating activities. Like I said before, many of us do not have the vacant time to share out to regulation marketing. Because of this fact, a new service has arrived where individuals or companies are exhilarated to give in your exclusively written articles to many condition directories, which is more often than not at tiniest twenty, for a fee of direction. A good few of these folks and companies also offer commentary writing and capitulation armed services, whereby not only will they defer to your stipulation, but they will also compose it for you. This can free up all the time that you at present devote to piece of writing marketing. Now you can use that time to help grow your business.

There are numerous sites on the web that offer these critique submission essential services, and they all pretty much propose to the same item directories. Of progression, you want to be sure that your traineeship are getting submitted to the best of the available directories, like ezinearticles.com.

Of path, you shouldn't heart your perfect internet marketing battle on thing submissions. There are many another techniques you can use to attain coming in links and thus drive stream of traffic to your site. One of these techniques is yearbook submissions. The idea is the same as article submissions, you acquiesce your site to many cyber- directories that pigeonhole your site and spectacle it, similar to ashen pages.

Another technique is text link ads. These are ads that webmasters will put on their site linking back to your site. Usually, you will have to offer them rather in proceeds. Sometimes, this is assets or some fresh form of payment. Others, it's a equal link which goes to a web page of their choosing.

It is crucial to pile up as many backlinks as possible, since they will help you drive transactions to your site and help push you up in the pursuit diesel locomotive rankings. But, that's for alternative section. However, it's safe to say that you should be putting a chief labor into getting backlinks.

Because of this, clause marketing has by now become incredibly common, however it is my opinion that soon abundant it will become markedly larger and a must for any person trying to do high rankings in the examination engines.

The best advice I could give is to edge writing dead-on now and if, like many others, you don't have enough time, find star to transcribe for you for a fair charge. As in many other areas of life, the harder you work the more the reward. Well, at least the smarter you work.

This holds true on the internet as well, you can't carve one term, or have one printed, and expect to see a dire improvement in your sites circulation or hunt tank locomotive rankings. Set your sites on writing half a dozen tutelage per week, or so, and you will see a huge transformation in your site road traffic after a few months and perhaps even before then. I know it sounds like hard work, but retain there are always ways to work smart. Sometimes it's as simple as having celebrity else work hard.

Time is wherewithal and it's essential that you know what your time is importance. For illustration, if your time is substance $250 per hour, and you can note down 3 articles per hour, each editorial is costing you $80 or so.

In my opinion, it's pretty easy to explain the cost of paragraph writing and term submissions due to the more time it frees up which can be spent on more proceeds generating activities.

Writing Good Blogs

by: Jesse S. Somer

‘Bad blogs have got to go, blogging could be really cool if done properly, maybe even with a pinch of love.’

There’s a lot of blogs out there on the Web, most of which don’t entice one to go back regularly to read updates. What is missing from these on-line journals that would essentially make them ‘good’ blogs? Well, the answers in life usually come down to simplicities. So let’s look at the problem like we were children. Children don’t complicate life with miscellaneous information, and when they speak they tell you straight to the point exactly how they feel and think about a subject.

First of all, we should ask the questions,” Why do blogs exist? And what are they here for?” Well, in an ideal world ‘good’ blogs would help people connect, sharing knowledge and feelings about issues in life. As they are journals written by individuals we would hope that they’d be readable and open to comment by all other people, not just a select group of friends. The key is speaking in a way that is understandable by the masses, get rid of acronyms and local slang that only few will comprehend. Keep the sentences grammatically simple and generally short and concise.

Try to write in your blog as often as possible because if people enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas they’ll want to communicate or at least be filled in regularly on ‘your world’. Ask questions, comment on other blogs of similar content, start communities with others you’ve never met, based on your interests. Keep focused; if your blog is about thoughts on war and peace, keep your thoughts on the latest movie and how hungry you are for somewhere else. The idea is to incite intelligent communication so that in time our collective stockpile of knowledge and wisdom will gradually grow like a tree in fertile soil.

I think of most importance is the fact that you want this journal to be ‘good’ reading. Of course we all have ideas about what genres and styles we like, but writing from your heart and soul is imperative for the connection with others that you’re looking for. Share yourself; don’t hide behind walls of fear of ridicule and judgment. In real life relationships trust, respect, intimacy, and unity are all necessary for a bond to form. It’s the same in the ‘virtual’ world; people want to hear from real people-not just one-sided, highly opinionated arguments from egos that don’t want to hear the ‘other side of the coin’.

Now, in my last article I really tore apart most writers out there, and here I’m giving some pretty complex ideas on how to fix the problem of ‘bad’ writing. In my next article I’ll attempt to go back to the simple basics of how to write for beginners. I hope I haven’t come across as too judgmental, I just truly believe the ‘blog world’ could become a real asset to humanity, and at the moment it’s missing the mark.

Ideas about sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, using a thesaurus (varying terms used so as not to sound repetitive), whether or not your blog is suitable for a personal or professional approach, are all important to creating a simple and enjoyable read for the blogging visitor. If you are a beginner, please check out my next article on the basics.

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About The Author

Jesse S. Somer is a writer hoping to help potential bloggers to write interesting and informative on-line journals.
Jessesomer@hotmail.com

Why Journal Writing On The Web? Blogs Are Journals Giving Anyone An Identity, And An Awesome Forum For Sharing Thoughts And Ideas With Others Of Simil

by: M6.Net

Journal writing used to be a private, personal experience done late at night, scribbling hardly legible thoughts and daily occurrences down on paper amidst the haze of a barely lit room. When read over on a later date one could find connections and coincidences that sometimes brought deeper insights into the meaning of life. Also, old ideas could be rekindled that otherwise may have been forgotten forever.

In the 21st century a strange new type of journal writing is becoming prevalent in contemporary society. Called Blogs, these are journals used by the masses. Why are people sharing their thoughts instead of keeping them private like the days of old? These journals are found on the World Wide Web and can be used for a number of purposes. The Web is a public sphere and human souls are realizing that sharing their ideas and beliefs can have that same epiphany type of effect on others as the old type of journal had on the personal writer. People are also feeling that they have an identity, and putting it on the Web is a great way of expressing themselves. Anyone can do it, and besides words, visuals can also be integrated into the journal, often making the Blogs very appealing to readers/ viewers.

Blogs are becoming an excellent way of sharing information on any and every subject. Instead of searching Google for general sites about surfing, or 60’s music, one can go straight to a Blog on the subject in question and read daily thoughts and ideas by others with the same interest as well as expert points of view. If you own a business, you can see what entrepreneurs already based in your proposed field feel about the industry. As it’s a journal structure, the reader can see how certain individual’s beliefs have changed over time.

As the world around us is constantly in transition, humans have always looked for better ways of living and growing as a species. The Information Age has helped our society in innumerable ways. On-line journals are becoming the next step in giving voice to every person who has access to a computer and the Net. As well as putting one’s identity ‘out there’ with the masses, people are hearing the inner workings of minds with similar interests. Blogs are a phenomenon helping to create a more interconnected, socially aware global community.

Jesse S. Somer
M6.net
http://www.m6.net

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About The Author

Jesse S. Somer is a human hoping to help integrate technology with the average person in society. And currently he is writing for M6.net

sales@m6.net

Who Needs T.V. News, Newspapers and Radio News? “Not I!” Says The Happy Human Living In The New World

by: M6.net

T.V. and radio News got you down? On-line current events and News blogs make being informed a much more enjoyable experience. For many the News on television has become a trying time of the day. Focused mainly on negative events, you may have to wait through the whole program just to hear the one story you were waiting for. If you miss the 6:00 p.m. show, waiting until the late night segment can be a real drag, especially if you’ve got a lot to do, or have to wake up early the next morning.

My friends, there is an answer to this problem: News blogs or on-line current events. You can find all of your favorite broadcasters (E.g.: CNN, BBC) on the Internet, getting up-to-date information at any time of the day or night. You can even read personal journal entries written by multiple correspondents out in the field reporting on several different stories down to the current minute. Instead of hearing all News from one voice (often an irritating one), now you can read different human opinions straight from the scene of interest.

Often News on-line has a section called “themes” which allows the reader to only hear about the specific areas that interest them. No more waiting through several wars to get to the positive story about the current medical breakthrough that could mean a cure for disease, or the technological idea that might mean the end to extreme pollution levels. Like a newspaper, you can go straight to the “jobs” theme and search through all the current employment vacancies available. If you are obsessed with the negative, themes such as “Disaster and Tragedy” and “Crime and Punishment are still readily accessible.

As the News is now on the Internet it has also become an interactive experience in numerous ways. First of all now you can send News stories straight to the News companies yourself! If the story is deemed worthwhile and verifiable, you may even be published. This is also the case with photographers who have pictures of important events. It really means anyone can become a part of the action as a freelance consultant. Some News on-line have “witness” sections where you can tell your story if you happen to have been in the right place at the right time. This option means that we can hear many different views on contentious issues giving a wider perspective to the ‘big picture’.

Some News sites also have interactive sites within. For example, on the BBC News Blog there is a learning site (BBCi Learning) that involves interactive activities and over half a million pages of factual information and resources available for children, adolescents, and adults. There are competitions and all sorts of games to help educate people in any and every area of interest imaginable.

Another great aspect of these on-line News sites is the ability to access archival information. You can watch video and listen to audio recordings of famous historical stories right on the computer. If the day is Feb.3, you can read articles from Feb.3’s from fifty years ago. Looking up any date and year recorded is as easy as pushing a few buttons.

Some services have subscriptions where instead of looking up the website, the News you want is sent straight to your email. Being in the know, and being in the now, has never been such an objective, enjoyable, and simplistic experience as in the 21st century. Partaking in a new perspective on life is what on-line current events and News Blogs are all about.

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About The Author

By Jesse S. Somer
M6.Net http://www.m6.net

Jesse S. Somer is a human hoping to help other novices like him see the magic of the world of the Internet.

priyankaa@m6.net

Web Blogs Defined, Explained and Understood

by NotePage, Inc.

What are Blogs?

Having heard the term previously but not having paid much attention most are just to afraid to show their ignorance and ask the question, what is a blog? Lets face it; the term blog does not conjure pleasant images.

Blogs are web logs that are updated regularly, usually on a daily basis. They contain information related to a specific topic. In some cases blogs are used as daily diaries about people's personal lives, political views, or even as social commentaries. The truth of the matter is that blogs can be shaped into whatever you, the author, want them to be.

Where Did Blogs Come From?

The roots of blogging can be traced back to the mid 1990's. Who the very first blogger actually was is unclear, as the art of blogging did not really take hold until 1999. The original "weblogs" were link-driven sites with personal commentaries. The very first blogs were human guided Internet web tours. While initially thought of as diaries or online journals, blogs have evolved into the latest fresh web content.

The Future of Blogs

A buzz word in techie circles, "blogging" is the wave of the future. Whether its a fad, or proves to be a new way to communicate with existing and potential customers it deserves at the very least a cursory look.

Why is Blogging Helpful to Businesses or Individuals?

Just as animated .gifs were once cool, blogging is the trendy thing to do. That does not mean that it is not beneficial to businesses. Webmasters struggling to keep fresh, attractive content on their websites to lure visitors back, have found blogs the answer. Content is a necessity for online businesses, both for purposes of being found by search engines but also because it gives visitors a reason to come back.

Now that we have established that blogs are not only trendy but also beneficial to businesses, its important to understand how they can be used to your advantage. We currently manage and update two blogs on a daily basis. The first is our new business blog at:

http://www.notepage.net/blog.htm

This professional business blog allows us the opportunity to tell potential, or existing customers industry news, updates, or generally how mobile or paging software can be used in specific situations to alleviate problems. The bottom line is we control the content. Its updated daily, which increases the chances that search engines will spider on a regular basis and it helps with page rank because it's been submitted to all the blogging directories. Initially started on a whim we've found it beneficial to report tips, tricks or make visitors aware of new regulations related to the mobile or paging industry.

The second blog we manage is at:

http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/blog.html

This blog is less formal and contains marketing tips, or promotional advice for software developers or online marketers. We found that we had overflow from our monthly newsletter. Generating a daily blog would require very little effort and would assist us in creating fresh content which our readers told us was of significant interest.

Blogs & Your Business

The bottom line is you need to determine how a blog will benefit your business, determine a schedule and adhere to it. Let your readers know what to expect and when to expect it. Blogs provide great supplemental content and direct attention to areas of your business that you want to showcase; you direct the content but let your readers guide you.

Creating a Blog

There are numerous online tools that can be used to create a blog. We found that because of security concerns, it would just be best to use a standard html program. In our case we used Dreamweaver and create daily posts. Its really not much more complicated than typing an email. The content is then sent via FTP to a web server. If you want to test the waters there are online web-based tool that helps you publish to the web instantly. The most popular web based tool is likely Blogger http://www.blogger.com.

Other Advantages to Blogs

While you may initially create a blog for your existing customers, you may find that you can attract new customers by illustrating your expertise in a specific field. There are numerous websites that act as "blog search engines", be sure to submit your sites to these websites to increase your exposure. This will also help with your page rank and possibly increase the likelihood you will receive decent ranking with Google. You can also create an RSS feed in order to syndicate blog content and gain additional exposure.

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About the Author:

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.monitoring- software.net

The Fearful, Ignorant Guy Has Got A Blog On The Internet. It Must Be Easy!

by: M6.net

Of all people in the world I was easily one of the most pessimistic about computers, the Internet and now that I even know they exist-blogs. I think blogs are pretty cool but I never thought I could have one. I thought the processes of getting a site; domain name and the actual building of the blog would just be out of my league. I’m a complete novice when it comes to technology, but I do like writing a journal, and I thought having a journal on-line would be both fun and make life simpler for me. No more writing with pens, other people can read my stuff and comment on it, and I could add pictures to illustrate my points and make things look more interesting.

Well, now I’ve got one! It’s awesome. I won’t lie and say it was easy, but I think if you hook up with a good web hosting company it’s not such a daunting experience as you might expect. I got a few work mates to help me. I went through a couple administrative hitches when filling in my personal information forms for the registration-just because I’m a bit silly in the head. We had a little trouble with the blog program we used, but these challenges were eventually overcome. My boss says he’s going to make a simple program that people can hook up easily.

I chose my domain name: thepowerofeverythingthatis.com. It’s my own name-no one else on Earth can have it. I own it. I picked a nice picture out for the background-it looks really sweet, much better than a blank sheet in a diary. I got it from a site that gives photos out without charging a royalty (the first few): www.istockphoto.com.

I just want you to know the great feeling I got when I first typed in my domain name and my site came up! It was the equivalent to a person who’s afraid of heights being accepted into an astronaut’s mission into outer space. Or maybe it was like a turtle driving a Ferrari 300km per hour. Possibly it was like all the ants in the world getting together for peace talks.

It’s a real blast having this blog. I can write on it any time, anywhere, from my laptop, at an Internet cafĂ© etc. I can write as much as I want, and I’m hoping one day my writing may inspire others to communicate with me about the subjects that I’m interested in.

Look, if you like writing about anything, and want to have your thoughts and opinions on the Internet, maybe meeting others similar to yourself in the progress; you have to get a blog and get it now. Don’t be afraid any longer, the world is in the palm of your hands; it’s time to get on!

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About The Author

Jesse S. Somer is a human hoping to show his fellow Earth citizens the beautiful opportunities the Internet is making available for all our lives.

M6.Net http://www.m6.net

priyankaa@m6.net

Blog Problems

by: Jesse S. Somer

The real bloggers must come from another planet. I can’t find any here on Earth.

What in the world is up with the world of blogs? Blogs are meant to be this great new technology where people can share their ideas and interests with others around the globe. As far as I’m concerned the state of blogs is one of chaos, confusion, and anti-interactivity. The other day I decided to do some research on the Web and try to connect to some blog writers out there that interested me. Let me tell you it was not an enjoyable task as I had envisioned. I spent four painful hours surfing through around a thousand on-line journals, and I found only a few that interested me. What are we doing out there people?

First of all, just getting to a blog can be a pain in the arse. For example, you type in the words ‘Philosophy blogs’ and a whole bunch of sites come up. Some are conglomerate sites with thousands of journals, but the area you’re searching for may have only one blog in it! This is because they separate the blogs into a million different categories, like ‘love’, ‘lovers’, ‘lovable’ etc. Why not have just a few main categories to choose from?

The next problem is the content. People with ‘philosophical’ blogs are having personal chats with their mates about the local dance competition on Tuesday! Why not go to a chat room if you just want to talk to your friends? Blogs are supposed to be a personal viewpoint expressed to the whole Web community. Wouldn’t you actually like to meet more people like yourself? How is this going to happen if you talk in strange uncommon slang and acronyms that you and your friends can only understand? Please stick to the subject at hand, and take it at least half seriously.

Another major problem is the fact that you can find a really cool blog that sparks an interest, but then find that the writer hasn’t added an entry in over a year! What’s it doing on the Net? Have these people passed away? I seriously doubt it, as there are so many blogs in this ‘lost’ state. Having a blog is a responsibility; it’s a shared diary for the whole community. How can someone form a relationship if you only write in your blog once a millennium?

Back to the subject of content: These on-line journals are a real chance to communicate regularly with others with similar views to yourself. We can learn a lot from each other, as each human is an individual with special traits and skills that only they have. So why do we see so many blogs just talking about trivial nonsense like ‘Who the coolest movie actor is.’ Humanity is an intelligent species evolving everyday towards a higher consciousness. So where are all the thinkers out there, the people who have taken us to the next levels of spirituality and scientific exploration? I’d really like to hear what you’ve got to say, but all I can find are philosophical beliefs on why died pink jeans express one’s true inner self.

The issue of making comments on someone’s blog is also a controversial one. Why have comments sections if you’re not going to reply to people who have expressed an interest in what you’ve had to say? How is this community going to function if all the conversation is one-way! Come on people, wake up and smell the onions! Let’s change the blogging community into the awesome structure of shared knowledge that it was intended for. Please don’t let it turn into the small-talk world of chat rooms.

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About The Author

Jesse S. Somer is a concerned human attempting to inform his fellow people of the real possibilities hidden in the Internet.
www.thepowerofeverythingthatis.com

Blog Construction

Blogs like all forms of writing are an art form that takes knowledge and practice to do well.

Writing…Blogs…Blogs are on-line journals where people express themselves through writing. Writing…Writing is the process where one puts down words of a language on a format that others can read. This process has not been around very long, to use one of my writing teacher’s favorite sayings, “Writing has only existed for one day in the one year that humanity has existed.” Speaking and thinking come much easier than writing. These processes just flow out naturally like a river of consciousness; sometimes we hardly have to think about doing them. Anyone and everyone can write words down on paper but that doesn’t mean it’s ‘good writing’, myself included. Like most things in life, our society already takes writing for granted which is proving to expose more of our ignorance. Writing is a new form of expression, and if we want to do it in a way that the masses can connect with our ideas, we have to think much more simply and clearly about this art.

Now that was quite a big paragraph, you’ve got to wonder if I really needed to say as much as I just did to introduce this article on the best way to write your blogs on the Web. I didn’t even mention this main idea, and that’s what an introduction paragraph is meant to be for. This is a common mistake in many blogs out there. We try to get too many ideas across in one paragraph, sometimes even in one sentence! The key, as in all things in life-is to keep it simple. Simplicity means that readers won’t get confused about what your journal entry is actually about. Introduce your main general topic at the start, and use the subsequent paragraphs to discuss separate ideas that relate to this topic. Try to tie everything up in the concluding paragraph, your main argument and the reason why you’ve written in the first place.

Grammar and sentence construction are not easy systems to master, especially if you come from a school system that spent more time telling you about historical battles and quadratic equations than on how to read and write. This is a real problem. When we speak we can get messages across to others easily, but if we put these words down on paper, the writing just isn’t interesting and doesn’t connect with people’s curiosities and fascination. When you write you are not talking to a close friend. You can’t use slang and colloquialisms that only your local community can understand. The aim is to connect with all the people in the world, so let’s make it crystal clear and enjoyable to read.

Your computer has spelling and grammar checks, as well as access to a thesaurus. Use them, but remember that the machine can’t decipher all the intricacies of language. Language is a world in itself, and much of its territories are undiscovered by the masses. So, again keep it simple. Short, precise sentences with single ideas are great. Many words in the English language have the same meanings (synonyms). Use the thesaurus so you don’t repeat the same word over and over throughout the text. It keeps the story fresh and doesn’t turn the reader off. There’s nothing more boring than repetition. Using different words can be a lot of fun and a learning experience, just make sure you use a dictionary (also on the computer/Internet) to make absolute sure of the word’s definition.

Readability…Simplicity…Make your blog accessible by all people. You can even take into consideration that many readers will have learned English as a second language. As I’ve said in previous articles, keep to the point-don’t go on tangents. Stick with the article’s topic, and definitely stay within the realms of your blog’s main area. If your blog is entitled “Jazz music”, people who go there don’t want to hear about how your football team won on the weekend! Please be consistent. How irritating is it to visit a blog that hasn’t been written on in months or years?

I hope these little tips will help you on your quest to producing ‘good’ writing that brings new friends and acquaintances of similar outlooks into your world. If you want people to read, the aim is to produce an emotional reaction in your reader. Pretend you are writing to another form of yourself, if it were not readable, interesting and fun…would you stick around?

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About The Author

by: Jesse S. Somer

Jesse S. Somer is a ‘grasshopper’ writer attempting to inform other beginner writers on how they might one day become masters or ‘sensei’s’.
Jessesomer@hotmail.com