My 2¢ Worth

've been busy programming the last couple of weeks in between my other commitments. I've had to program a couple database scripts. One script to update the database from a browser and the other to search the database.

his has definitely simplified things for me, because now that the programming is done I can just go online and update the database when I need to make changes. It used to be that I would have to change three different HTML pages when changes occurred.

ou see, this search function I have didn't use a database before - just standard HTML pages and you don't need to have a special script to perform a search if you know what you're doing.

o why didn't I do this before? Because the Web site which uses this gets a new Webmaster every couple of years — some very inexperienced, and I thought (Wrongly) that I was simplifying things for the next person, because there is a certain amount of maintenance required on most databases.

ell, to make a long story short, the database I have programmed for is simply a pipe deliminated text file and requires absolutely no maintenance at all. Oh, you should back it up once in a while, but you should be doing that with any type of database anyhow.

ctually, every single file on a Web site should be backed up somewhere. You never know when a server may go down and lose important information. Just because your Web host promises dailly backups, don't rely on them. Make your own backups as well to be on the safe side.

Feature Article

Is There Too Much "Noise" In Your Message?

by: Heather Jacobson 10freetips.com

I am all for advertising. It’s a way of life, and it is needed. I know that without advertising, my local broadcast channels would not be free. I know the power of advertising. I have used advertising in various methods, and I place other people’s ads on my blogs, websites, and in my newsletters.

However, there comes a time when it’s too much.

I subscribe to two paid print newsletters every month. They are both put out by well-known marketers, both men I believe are at the "genius" level when it comes to marketing. I admire them, and I aspire to be like them, so I jumped at the chance to subscribe.

In order to avoid publicly bad-mouthing anyone, I’ll call them Marketer A and Marketer B.

Marketer A’s came first - a 16 page newsletter in a booklet format that was nicely formatted. I gobbled up the information in the newsletter, as well as in the CD that accompanied it.

Marketer B’s came later - the envelope was huge and I assumed that it was packed with information. While it did include some great content, the majority of it was information promoting his other products. It took me some time to weed through everything to find the newsletter, and when I finally did, I couldn’t differentiate between the information and the advertisements! I put it away, thinking I would come back later to read it. It’s still sitting there.

This month, Marketer A sent his newsletter, and again I dove right into the information and walked away from it thinking he’s a genius. Marketer B’s newsletter arrived the next day, again filled with advertisements.

I’m confused, and a confused mind says no. I’m sure there must be some wonderful information within those 16 pages, but I can’t get past all the ads. When the CD came, it was only a recording of a free teleclass promoting someone else’s $1200 course!

When I sign up for a free teleclass I expect sales and hype. There’s a reason that it’s free. I can get past it. But when I pay for it, I’m not expecting to pay for another ad.

Not only that, but because I’m a “valued subscriber” I receive at least one fax a week asking me to join something else that costs $197 a month. Even as I wrote this article, I received an email mirroring what the fax said.

This is just my personal opinion. However, I wonder how many others get distracted by all the "noise" in various newsletters. This man is greatly respected in the marketing community, and it bothers me that I’m not able to digest the information.

If the newsletter was free or low cost, I don’t think I would mind as much. However, I pay $40 each month for this information, and right now it is a wasted $40. I have not been able to find anything in this newsletter to apply to my business.

So here are a few guidelines for including ads in your publications:

1. Have a good balance of ads and information. If your ads outweigh the information, people probably are not reading what you have to say. If you offer a paid subscription, your ads should be no more than 20% of your information. They are paying for your knowledge, not your ads.

2. Place your ads where they are seen, but don’t let them distract from your information. Don’t hide the content that your readers are interested in.

3. Make sure your ads compliment the information that you are conveying. If you’re discussing how to build a website, then an ad about a domain name sale or web hosting would be acceptable; a Viagra ad, on the other hand, would not.

The fact is ads are part of our society. For many of us, it’s how we keep our publications or services free. However, when the information gets lost in the ads, the message we are trying to convey gets lost, t. Our credibility has the potential to be diminished, and we may lose readers in the end. So what is the rule of thumb for using ads in a publication? Keep the noise low so you can hear your subscribers sing your praises!

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

Heather Jacobson doesn’t pay for advertising and marketing if she doesn’t have to and has grown a successful virtual assistant business spending less than $100 in marketing costs. To discover how she did it and claim 10 inexpensive marketing tips visit www.10freetips.com

Descriptive links

As you point to links on a web page, most browsers will display the address which that link points to on the status bar. Do you think that's boring? Well, why not spice up your pages by describing those links?

Simply add the "OnMouseOver" tag (or event) to your anchor in the following format:

<A href="index.html" OnMouseOver="window.status='Enter our home page...'; return true;">

NOTE: Since OnMouseOver is a JavaScript event, your description will only appear on JavaScript enabled browsers such as Netscape 2.x+ and Explorer 3.x. Other browsers will ignore this tag. The same goes for those surfing with JavaScript turned off in their browsers.

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

Second Article

Computer Repair Is Something We Should All Be Familiar With

by: Bert Cervelli Avid Computer

In this day and age, a large number of the world's population has a computer in the home. Computers are wonderful machines that make our lives much simpler. We can keep in contct with others, take care of business issues, and makes friends all from the comfort of our home. A computer problem, then, can mean disaster, so you should know a little something about how to fix your computer.

Many people who have computer problems, no matter how small, decide to take them to their local repair shop. If you check out the computer when it first has a problem, though, you can probably solve it on your own. The major exception are hardware issues, which you may need help to solve.

The most common problem associated with computer repair is broken files, viruses, or something within the OS (Operating System). Most users have Windows as their OS, which is the common shipping platform with new computers. Although Windows is the most common, repair places are trained and familiar with all Operating Systems.

If you try to open a program and cannot, the error often is a missing file. The file that is missing is needed to open the program. Many new users will panic when they see this problem, thinking that some is very wrong with their system. In reality, you can likely fix this glitch by uninstalling and reinstalling the program you could not access.

While most people have virus protection, it can be a problem when they get them. There are so many viruses in existence that you should have virus protection software and keep it updated. There are many horror stories out there about viruses, and you can ask people about them if you don't see the need to protect yourself. Viruses won't destroy your computer. They can, however, delete files or cause other problems with your data.

There are programs out there, such as Norton Systemworks that will help you with your anti-virus and basic computer repair. Programs such as this one will keep you free from viruses, as well as fix minor and common problems with your pc. All you need to do is run it once a week or so, and you'll be error free. Thousands of people rely on these programs for a reason - they actually work!

If you have a major problem such as a power supply failure or a motherboard crash, you may not want to fix it yourself. If you have experience in computer repair, you will probably be ok to fix the problem. Otherwise, you should take it to a local repair company, tell them what the problem is, and see how much they charge to fix those types of problems.

Even if you don't think you'll do much repair and would rather head to a repair shop, you still may want to learn a little about repairing the computer. A midnight crash on Friday can be agony if the computer repair shop doesn't open back up until Monday morning. Overall, learning some basic techniques can help you to be self-sufficient when it comes to your computer.

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

You'll find Bert Cervelli at Avid Computer. You can find top notch computer information and resources at computers. Check out past articles (along with future ones) at: www.avidcomputer.com/news/

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