My 2¢ Worth

ow! It's hard to believe another week has gone by already. It sure begs the question, "Where does time go?"

remember when you were a child and you had all the time in the world? Time was this slow cumbersome thing that never passed quickly enough? Is it my birthday yet? Is it Christmas yet? I can't wait until I'm a teenager.

ell eventually you did become a teenager and this time thing seemed to pick up the pace a little bit and move at what you might have considered a reasonable rate.

ow let us move into our 20s and 30s. Time has now sprouted wings and sails right along a very good clip.

ow I am forty-something, pushing fifty and time is moving at warp speed! I've barely just begun and my life is passing me by faster than I can see it.

nd then there's this memory thing... Ah, but that's another subject...

Feature Article

Articles are a good way to get Google's attention

by: Rick Hendershot Linknet Network

You probably know that trying to get good Google ranking for your site is an on-going battle. You can redesign the site, "optimize" it with all the right keywords...and still...nothing.

Well, we've found a CHEAPER way that often gets you almost immediate recognition.

"Articles" about your product or service.

Even if you have to hire somebody to write it for you, this often turns out to be the cheapest, fastest way to get Google ranking.

Why? Because Google loves articles.

I can virtually guarantee that if you write, post, and "submit" an article or two, you will find that at least one of them will get ranked almost immediately by Google.

And once you have an article or two "in the can", you can rework them, spice them up, change the titles, and resubmit them to create even more exposure for your site.

Pretty cool trick, wouldn't you say?

Make it Interesting — for Real People

Like all web content, articles should be written with two audiences in mind: the Search Engines, and the Real People who you hope will read them.

For the real people in your audience, look for a snappy, interesting angle on your subject matter, and give it a catchy title. One of my most read, most indexed articles is called "Vinyl Banners don't get no respect". Even though this is about a relatively obscure product, this article has been picked up by a number of websites, and has been read hundreds of times.

Think of the free publicity it has given the company.

Another example is "Free Business Cards mean Big Profits". This is another article about a "niche" product -- business card displays -- but it is aimed squarely at the "business opportunity" folks, and the appeal to "free" and "big profits" gets them every time.

Always include a "resource box" at the end of your article. Make it as clear as possible who you are, what your "credentials" are, and include links to your site and your contact email address.

Write for the Search Engines too

Your other audience is that group of super-beings called the Search Engines — especially Google. Once your article is written and posted in a number of article directories, you will want to submit it to Google, Yahoo, and a number of other engines. So write it so it will rank as high as possible for your "most important key words" (MIKW"s).

There are some important techniques you can use to get good ranking, and I can't give them all away here. But here is a quick summary:

1. Use all the normal SEO techniques in your article. Bulk up your "MIKW"s, and make sure they are included in your titles.

2. Build in as many links back to your site as you can. In its extreme form this is known as "Google bombing", but used sparingly is a perfectly legitimate tactic.

3. Submit your article to as many online ezine directories and article indexes as you can find. Some of these sites are better than others. Some actually submit for you, or are indexed by Google automatically because they are very active. Others distribute your article to their mailing list, so everybody on the list gets to read it, visit your site, publish your article on their site, etc.

Distributing your articles

Getting your articles to the ezine directories and article indexes can be a very time-consuming task. One of the best tools available for this is Jason Potash's Ezine Announcer. This is a very complete article submission tool that lets you enter your article once and submit it to many different sites semi-automatically. The program also comes with a regularly updated database of directories and indexes. It is hard to describe how much information Ezine Announcer contains, and how much it can help you, but take my word for it, Ezine Announcer is worth buying.

Of course, you may not be terribly confident in your own writing skills, or may be too busy running your business to think about this stuff. If that's the case, drop me a line and I'll give you an idea how we could get an article writing program going for your business.

**************

Rick Hendershot is based in Conestogo, Ontario, Canada. He publishes the Linknet Network a series of more than 35 websites and blogs that offer low cost advertising and link promotion opportunities to website owners.

Form "focus" method

One of the things we have seen used a lot on the Web lately is the Form "focus" method. What's it do? It brings the typing cursor right to the input box that you designate. Google.com is one site that does this, and it is very handy to begin typing immediatly.

To automatically focus your forms, add the following code to your page and manipulate the attributes in red to suit your needs:

<body onload="document.thisform.username.focus()">
<form name="thisform">
<input name="username" type="text">
</form>

* Get these syndicated tip feeds for yourweb site, free. *

Second Article

How the Heck Do CDs Actually Work?

by: Adam Platzer Spinergy

Most of us use CDs and DVDs almost every day, yet few people have any idea at all how they work. To make matters worse even less is known about the difference between a CD-ROM and CD-R. Understanding how different types of media work, what they cost and the advantages of each can be very valuable when deciding how to proceed with your next project. Asking for only what you’re familiar with may be comfortable, but isn’t necessarily the best use of the technology or your budget.

First we will explain the difference between a CD-ROM and a CD-R. CD-ROMs are manufactured through the process of injection molding to form data with a plastic polycarbonate and is referred to as replication. CD Replication is more economical to use on larger run jobs above 500 pieces. CD-Rs are made by using a laser to burn marks in a special dye on a recordable disc and is referred to as duplication. The laser changes the form of the dye, encoding the information into it. CD Duplication is typically used on smaller job below 500 pieces.

Now we will get into how both forms of media actually work. What must first be known is that all CDs store information on them in a digital format, meaning data is read off the media as ones and zeros. On a CD-ROM there are millions of “lands” and “pits” representing the data that span in a spiral path starting from the center going out. Because the spiral starts in the center, CDs can be made into smaller versions like business cards and mini rounds. It is best to imagine this as a road with hills and valleys. The valleys are the pits and the hills are the lands. When the CD laser passes over a land (hill), the red light reflects back to a sensor and is interpreted as a one. If the laser passes over a pit (valley), the laser reflects away from the sensor representing a zero. The incredibly small dimensions of the lands and pits make the spiral track on a CD extremely long. If you could lift the data track off a CD and stretch it out into a straight line, it would be 0.5 microns wide and almost 3.5 miles (5 km) long.

CD-Rs do not have lands and pits like a ROM, but have a reflective metal layer that is on top of a special dye. When there is no information on the disc, this dye allows light to shine through and reflect back off the metal. But when heated, this dye layer becomes dark and does not allow a reflection. So when a CD is burned it is actually burning this dye layer in the form of ones and zeros, putting the data on the disc. When the disc is playing and the red laser is able to shine through reflect back, it is interpreted as a one. If the red laser is unable to reflect back due to a darkened area, it is interpreted as a zero. So even though a CD-R does not have “lands” and “pits” it still performs like a regular disc because of the special dye layer.

DVD-ROMs and DVD-Rs function similarly to their CD cousins, but DVDs get more complicated in that they can have multiple layers as well as data on both sides of the disc.

For more information on how CDs and DVDs work go to:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/cd.htm
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/dvd.htm

**************

Learn more about CD Replication, CD Duplication Adam Platzer Marketing & Commmunications Coordinator Spinergy - www.spinergymedia.com CD/DVD Manufacturing, Duplicating, and Screen Printing

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