Getting your Blog Posts Noticed
After you have composed and posted your blog entry, what next? Do you just leave and hope that people will browse to your website or do you promote your entry and let the greater community know, what has been written?
I use WordPress to manage my blog, a benefit of using WordPress is to be able to install plugins to automate required actions. Twitpost is a plugin that automatically updates my twitter account with the post’s link once it has been published. If you don’t have a WordPress site, you may need to make the twitter entry manually.
I also have a Digg account, where my I submit the details of every blog post, this only takes a couple of minutes as you place the url of your website and add details of the post and the category of the entry.
My favourite is to add my entry to Ezine Articles, the same information posted on their website will quite often rank higher and sooner on Google than your actual blog entry. The article at Ezine Articles will have a link back to your website, you will be able to track and measure your traffic flow from Ezine to your website. Another benefit of Ezine is that fellow bloggers and article writers can use your article as long as they acknowledge you as the author. You can see the visited links showing Ezine Articles above my actual blog post.
Facebook is a favourite for many, I use Facebook for my business, any posts that are relevant to my business are shared on Facebook.
Having RSS Feeds available on your website will allow previous visitors to recieve updates from your site. Your visitor will need to be signed to a feed service to receive the updates.
After every new post it will be automatically updated on Twitter. Posted by myself on Digg, Ezine Articles and if relevant added to Facebook. All subscribers to my RSS Feed will be notified with in 24 hours of the posting.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Credible Blog Comments
Credible Blog Comments
Sunday morning and I am browsing the WordPress Dashboard, checking for upgrades and viewing the stats for this website while having the mandatory cup of coffee.
WordPress has a plug-in called Akismet, which comes as part of the standard install. This plug-in monitors the comments left and separates the spam from the bona-fide comments.
While savouring my second coffee I started to ponder which of the thousands of spammed comments could have been suitable for approval to this website. Having comments on your Blog improves the websites accountability. It shows that people are reading your blog, and helps provide a sense of community. The comments increase the content of your blog and also offers someone else’s opinion to your blog, which could either agree or disagree with your post.
Below is a sample of what is picked up by Akismet, does it sound credible to you, and would you allow it to be posted on your website?
“Just had to take the two seconds to post a thank you. Read through through your website and really liked the written content, bookmarked and I plan on coming back soon!”
For me, well it just doesn’t sound all that credible, and in my personal opinion I can not see it enhancing my websites accountability.
At the moment this site is starving for meaningful comments, I am asking my readers, should I be less fussy and accept comments like the above or should I stay true and only accept on topic comments?
Sunday morning and I am browsing the WordPress Dashboard, checking for upgrades and viewing the stats for this website while having the mandatory cup of coffee.
WordPress has a plug-in called Akismet, which comes as part of the standard install. This plug-in monitors the comments left and separates the spam from the bona-fide comments.
While savouring my second coffee I started to ponder which of the thousands of spammed comments could have been suitable for approval to this website. Having comments on your Blog improves the websites accountability. It shows that people are reading your blog, and helps provide a sense of community. The comments increase the content of your blog and also offers someone else’s opinion to your blog, which could either agree or disagree with your post.
Below is a sample of what is picked up by Akismet, does it sound credible to you, and would you allow it to be posted on your website?
“Just had to take the two seconds to post a thank you. Read through through your website and really liked the written content, bookmarked and I plan on coming back soon!”
For me, well it just doesn’t sound all that credible, and in my personal opinion I can not see it enhancing my websites accountability.
At the moment this site is starving for meaningful comments, I am asking my readers, should I be less fussy and accept comments like the above or should I stay true and only accept on topic comments?
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Australian Artists – Hobby Vs Business Highland Accounting Services
Australian Artists – Hobby Vs Business Highland Accounting Services
I recently Googled to see what was out there on the subject, and was shocked at what I found. There seemed to be a lot of information, but many of the facts are so often lost in the stories told.
Lets dispell a myth first: there is no dollar threshold that constitutes being in business as an artist.
(e.g at $5,999 its a hobby and at $6,000 you are conducting a business)
So how do you determine that you are conducting a business?
The following indicators must be considered when determining whether you are carrying on a business;
Whether the activity has a significant commercial purpose or character; this indicator comprises many aspects of the other indicators;
An amatuer will undertake their activities for personal pleasure, a professional on the other hand will use their abilities towards a commercail end.
Whether the artist has more than just an intention to engage in business;
If it is your intention to carry on a business, do the following apply?
Regular activity, systematic, organised, business like approach to the activity, attempts to bring the art work or services to the public, actual sales of art work or services to the public and so on.
Whether the artist has a purpose of profit as well as a prospect of profit from the activity;
Is your motive to make a profit? Are you marketing your art, creating industry contacts, offering and selling your work to the public, doing commissions and consulting, publically exhibiting your art, entering competitions and building your reputation?
Even if you are doing all of these and no profit is made, that doesn’t exclude your motives.
Whether there is repetition and regularity of the activity;
As the artist are you producing regular work and participating in regular activities to promote and enhance your standing as an artist?
Whether the activity is of the same kind and carried on in a similar manner to that of the ordinary trade in that line of business;
Are you carrying on your business like a recognised industry peer, do you have qualifications, recieve public recognition, becoming eligible for Government Grants, been offered positions on a board or as a teacher?
Whether the activity is planned, organised and carried on in a business like manner such that it is directed at making a profit;
As an artist, do you keep good records of income and expenses, use contracts to record agreements, use business professionals, have a business plan, rent exibition space?
The size, scale and permanency of the activity.
The activity must be beyond your personal needs and the volume of output must be sufficient enough to provide your work to the relevant markets.
So if you are in the business of being an artist you would be attempting to build public recognition, and awareness of your work, find suitable markets to sell your work so you can gain a profit from your abilities.
On the other hand if you are creating art for your pleasure and the sales that are made are to family and friends. The costs involved far outweight any income received and there is no intent to make a profit, then your creative work is considered a hobby.
I have attached a link to taxation ruling TR 2005/1, it contains about 45 pages of reading, with examples and cases.
I recently Googled to see what was out there on the subject, and was shocked at what I found. There seemed to be a lot of information, but many of the facts are so often lost in the stories told.
Lets dispell a myth first: there is no dollar threshold that constitutes being in business as an artist.
(e.g at $5,999 its a hobby and at $6,000 you are conducting a business)
So how do you determine that you are conducting a business?
The following indicators must be considered when determining whether you are carrying on a business;
Whether the activity has a significant commercial purpose or character; this indicator comprises many aspects of the other indicators;
An amatuer will undertake their activities for personal pleasure, a professional on the other hand will use their abilities towards a commercail end.
Whether the artist has more than just an intention to engage in business;
If it is your intention to carry on a business, do the following apply?
Regular activity, systematic, organised, business like approach to the activity, attempts to bring the art work or services to the public, actual sales of art work or services to the public and so on.
Whether the artist has a purpose of profit as well as a prospect of profit from the activity;
Is your motive to make a profit? Are you marketing your art, creating industry contacts, offering and selling your work to the public, doing commissions and consulting, publically exhibiting your art, entering competitions and building your reputation?
Even if you are doing all of these and no profit is made, that doesn’t exclude your motives.
Whether there is repetition and regularity of the activity;
As the artist are you producing regular work and participating in regular activities to promote and enhance your standing as an artist?
Whether the activity is of the same kind and carried on in a similar manner to that of the ordinary trade in that line of business;
Are you carrying on your business like a recognised industry peer, do you have qualifications, recieve public recognition, becoming eligible for Government Grants, been offered positions on a board or as a teacher?
Whether the activity is planned, organised and carried on in a business like manner such that it is directed at making a profit;
As an artist, do you keep good records of income and expenses, use contracts to record agreements, use business professionals, have a business plan, rent exibition space?
The size, scale and permanency of the activity.
The activity must be beyond your personal needs and the volume of output must be sufficient enough to provide your work to the relevant markets.
So if you are in the business of being an artist you would be attempting to build public recognition, and awareness of your work, find suitable markets to sell your work so you can gain a profit from your abilities.
On the other hand if you are creating art for your pleasure and the sales that are made are to family and friends. The costs involved far outweight any income received and there is no intent to make a profit, then your creative work is considered a hobby.
I have attached a link to taxation ruling TR 2005/1, it contains about 45 pages of reading, with examples and cases.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Oil Addiction | Geoff's Blog - Day to day happenings.
Oil Addiction
The dictionary meaning of Addiction:
Do we have that habitual dependence, both psychological and physiological on oil. YES
I am going to run you through a typical morning routine just to demonstrate how dependent we are on oil and the products made from oil. The alarm sounds, wake up and get out of bed, have breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee. Shower, wash hair, shave, brush teeth, get dressed for work, jump in the car and head to work. I am guessing this is a fairly typical morning for most.
For most I will go through the list of products that are oil based that we encounter during the morning ritual. That blasted digital alarm, mattress, pillows, bed clothes and furniture.
Making breakfast there will be utensils, fridges, containers, cabinets and bench tops. Sitting down having breakfast it could be your chair, table, placemats.
Into the bathroom and there is the sink, bath, towels, toothbrushes, tooth paste, shaving cream (I am a male, worse for females with cosmetics), shampoo, soap, body wash and razors.
As you can see just in that morning ritual we have used a copious amounts of oil products. Just recently we have watched 92 Million Gallons (348 Million Litres) of oil spew into the Gulf of Mexico, a huge environmental disaster. We need to feel anger at BP for letting one of the worlds worst oil spills happen.
Unfortunately BP are supplying the world a product for which there is a colossal demand, I would be surprised if a single human could live a day without using directly or indirectly a product which has been made from oil.
If you were saddened by the effects of the Gulf Oil Spill, don’t just blame BP, take time and examine your own contribution to the Gulf Oil Spill. We all know what we should do,javascript:void(0) but are we being accountable for our own actions?
The dictionary meaning of Addiction:
Habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one’s voluntary control.
Do we have that habitual dependence, both psychological and physiological on oil. YES
I am going to run you through a typical morning routine just to demonstrate how dependent we are on oil and the products made from oil. The alarm sounds, wake up and get out of bed, have breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee. Shower, wash hair, shave, brush teeth, get dressed for work, jump in the car and head to work. I am guessing this is a fairly typical morning for most.
For most I will go through the list of products that are oil based that we encounter during the morning ritual. That blasted digital alarm, mattress, pillows, bed clothes and furniture.
Making breakfast there will be utensils, fridges, containers, cabinets and bench tops. Sitting down having breakfast it could be your chair, table, placemats.
Into the bathroom and there is the sink, bath, towels, toothbrushes, tooth paste, shaving cream (I am a male, worse for females with cosmetics), shampoo, soap, body wash and razors.
As you can see just in that morning ritual we have used a copious amounts of oil products. Just recently we have watched 92 Million Gallons (348 Million Litres) of oil spew into the Gulf of Mexico, a huge environmental disaster. We need to feel anger at BP for letting one of the worlds worst oil spills happen.
Unfortunately BP are supplying the world a product for which there is a colossal demand, I would be surprised if a single human could live a day without using directly or indirectly a product which has been made from oil.
If you were saddened by the effects of the Gulf Oil Spill, don’t just blame BP, take time and examine your own contribution to the Gulf Oil Spill. We all know what we should do,javascript:void(0) but are we being accountable for our own actions?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Highland Accounting Services - The ATO Environmental Policy – Are they taking it seriously?
Highland Accounting Services - The ATO Environmental Policy – Are they taking it seriously?
The Australian Taxation office has an Environmental Policy which can be found at www.ato.gov.au a short extract is as follows.
“To acknowledge the impact the ATO has on the environment and outline the ATO’s commitment to being a good environmental citizen by reducing its environmental footprint.”
Recently, in January 2010, the Australian Taxation Office substantially upgraded their software system, this has resulted in major changes on how the ATO reports to the individual taxpayer in regards to their yearly Notice of Assessment (Tax return).
The average Notice of Assessment has now gone from 1 sheet of paper to 2 sheets of paper, and if the taxpayer has an outstanding debt, or is in business, then the number of sheets of paper will increase even further as they will receive a statement of account. One may ask themselves, what is the extra information about the taxpayer that is included on the extra paperwork, well nothing, fundamentally it is the same information just formatted across more paperwork.
So you may be asking, what is another sheet of paper? Try over 12 million sheets of paper as there are 12 million taxpayers in Australia, which equates to, on the minimum, 24,000 reams of paper, 1440 trees and 130 tons of green house gases.
In today’s climate of being more aware of our usage, and our waste, why is the Australian Taxation Office not only doing the contrary to public sentiment but to their own Environmental Policy.
The Australian Taxation office has an Environmental Policy which can be found at www.ato.gov.au a short extract is as follows.
“To acknowledge the impact the ATO has on the environment and outline the ATO’s commitment to being a good environmental citizen by reducing its environmental footprint.”
Recently, in January 2010, the Australian Taxation Office substantially upgraded their software system, this has resulted in major changes on how the ATO reports to the individual taxpayer in regards to their yearly Notice of Assessment (Tax return).
The average Notice of Assessment has now gone from 1 sheet of paper to 2 sheets of paper, and if the taxpayer has an outstanding debt, or is in business, then the number of sheets of paper will increase even further as they will receive a statement of account. One may ask themselves, what is the extra information about the taxpayer that is included on the extra paperwork, well nothing, fundamentally it is the same information just formatted across more paperwork.
So you may be asking, what is another sheet of paper? Try over 12 million sheets of paper as there are 12 million taxpayers in Australia, which equates to, on the minimum, 24,000 reams of paper, 1440 trees and 130 tons of green house gases.
In today’s climate of being more aware of our usage, and our waste, why is the Australian Taxation Office not only doing the contrary to public sentiment but to their own Environmental Policy.
Western Digital WD TV Live
I have always wanted to add a Media Player to my entertainment system. It all started when I bought the Samsung Blu-ray, which enabled me to plug in a USB with a media file to be played via the Blu-ray.
Having seen media players before and knowing how they work it was the prompt that was needed to start my investigations. I recently upgraded my AV Receiver to enable the use of HDMI for inputs and outputs and was keen to get a media player that had HDMI incorporated.
My purchase is the Western Digital HD TV Live, this media player displays photo’s on the TV, playback music and video files, it also has the ability to connect to the internet. The internet function wasn’t something I was looking for, but at the place of purchase the internet enabled player was on special and was substantially cheaper than the non internet version.
The media player needs of course, storage. An one terabyte external hard is connected via a USB, the WD TV live has 2 USB’s so there will be no need to worry about space. I don’t use any compression on the movie files as I prefer quality to saving space, the average movie uses about 5 GB of space, so on a terabyte HDD that is about 200 movies. If I need more space then 2 & 4 TB external hard drives are an option.
The software that I use to back up my DVD’s to the hard drive are DVD Decrypter to take it from the DVD and store in a folder on the hard drive as DVD (vob) files. Then I use Avidemux to take the multiple DVD (vob) files and make a single mpeg file. I prefer not to have any compression so the quality of the movie remains the same, Avidemux performs this task well.
I have watched both hi definition and standard definition movies via the WD TV Live and am pleased with the sound and picture quality.
Having seen media players before and knowing how they work it was the prompt that was needed to start my investigations. I recently upgraded my AV Receiver to enable the use of HDMI for inputs and outputs and was keen to get a media player that had HDMI incorporated.
My purchase is the Western Digital HD TV Live, this media player displays photo’s on the TV, playback music and video files, it also has the ability to connect to the internet. The internet function wasn’t something I was looking for, but at the place of purchase the internet enabled player was on special and was substantially cheaper than the non internet version.
The media player needs of course, storage. An one terabyte external hard is connected via a USB, the WD TV live has 2 USB’s so there will be no need to worry about space. I don’t use any compression on the movie files as I prefer quality to saving space, the average movie uses about 5 GB of space, so on a terabyte HDD that is about 200 movies. If I need more space then 2 & 4 TB external hard drives are an option.
The software that I use to back up my DVD’s to the hard drive are DVD Decrypter to take it from the DVD and store in a folder on the hard drive as DVD (vob) files. Then I use Avidemux to take the multiple DVD (vob) files and make a single mpeg file. I prefer not to have any compression so the quality of the movie remains the same, Avidemux performs this task well.
I have watched both hi definition and standard definition movies via the WD TV Live and am pleased with the sound and picture quality.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Hardware and Software Requirements for Making Websites.
Hardware and Software Requirements for Making Websites.
A little while ago my old laptop needed replacing, it was over 3 years old and the battery had a 10 minute charge life and the charger was needing to be replaced. A quick visit to ebay and for less than $500 Australian a new Toshiba laptop was delivered.
About the same time I visited a friend who had spent over $1,500 on a laptop from a large electrical retailer. My friend mainly uses the laptop to check emails and create simple word documents, I was thinking that maybe a $1,500 laptop was extravagant to their needs.
As a web page designer and article writer I feel that my $500 laptop completes my tasks with complete ease.
Most visitors to my MakingWebsiteBlog are beginning their learning path, my blog covers information in regards to content, domain names, web hosting and SEO. I though why shouldn’t computer hardware and software be covered to, after all it is what is use to browse, compose and submit our work.
As you can see I don’t think bigger is better, the $500 laptop has Vista as the operating system, 2GB of ram, 160GB of Hard Drive and the CPU is a Celeron 2.2Ghz. The tasks that this laptop needs to undertake are, web browsing of course, simple picture editing (cropping, resizing and compressing for the web), text editing and when I just want to be slack, my favourite game.
Now you know what hardware I use for my web design, I will now run through the list of my essential software;
- Web browsers – IE8, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari. So I can check that the page views ok across a variety of platforms.
- Gimp – For my picture editing.
- Dreamweaver MX 2004 – Mainly used in text editing mode, and I like the site manager.
- Xampp – Xampp creates a server on my PC so I can create a full working page so it can be tested before I upload.
- Fireftp – A Firefox plugin to transfer files.
- And the last an most used software is windows notepad – I am using it now as I am writing this article. My Blog and EzineArticles have a feature where I can copy and paste text in to the “new post” form.
The above are my choices for hardware and software, some of you may like to use a desktop machine and would prefer to use a graphical interface to create your pages. I would like to know, and I assume that some the readers of my blog would be interested what you use. Please take time to comment, and share with us your hardware and software that you use to make your websites.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Making Websites - 6 Figure Incomes from a Website, a get rich quick story?
Making Websites - 6 Figure Incomes from a Website, a get rich quick story?
6 figure income from a website, does it really happen? Of course it does, all you need to do is to follow these 3 easy steps and you will be on your way to financial freedom never needing to work again.
I am wondering, how many of these website owners are actually earning their cited 6 figure income?
I guess I am or can be very cynical when it comes to get rich quick stories/schemes, I believe a website should have credibility that has been created over a period of time. The websites that promote financial freedom all have the same feel and design, like they have all come from the same template.
Yes I do earn an income from my websites, and if you include the cents it is a 6 figure income. My style is to create websites that I have an interest in, something I enjoy doing. I focus on getting a good ranking on the search engines, provide quality advice and content, and getting visitors to my site.
Once I have accomplished these items I explore methods of making an income from the site. To be able to sell a product I find it easier to endorse if I believe in the product.
In most cases I will use affiliate marketing to produce an income from my new site. Affiliate marketing is being paid for a lead, referral or click to a merchants website by means of a commission, a set referral fee or cents per click.
When you are deciding on your path of earning an income from the web, will you go with the template style website that will provide you with riches beyond your dreams, or will you go building a reputable presence on the web?
6 figure income from a website, does it really happen? Of course it does, all you need to do is to follow these 3 easy steps and you will be on your way to financial freedom never needing to work again.
- Select a niche product
- Market the niche product
- Build a rapport with your customer
I am wondering, how many of these website owners are actually earning their cited 6 figure income?
I guess I am or can be very cynical when it comes to get rich quick stories/schemes, I believe a website should have credibility that has been created over a period of time. The websites that promote financial freedom all have the same feel and design, like they have all come from the same template.
Yes I do earn an income from my websites, and if you include the cents it is a 6 figure income. My style is to create websites that I have an interest in, something I enjoy doing. I focus on getting a good ranking on the search engines, provide quality advice and content, and getting visitors to my site.
Once I have accomplished these items I explore methods of making an income from the site. To be able to sell a product I find it easier to endorse if I believe in the product.
In most cases I will use affiliate marketing to produce an income from my new site. Affiliate marketing is being paid for a lead, referral or click to a merchants website by means of a commission, a set referral fee or cents per click.
When you are deciding on your path of earning an income from the web, will you go with the template style website that will provide you with riches beyond your dreams, or will you go building a reputable presence on the web?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Top 10 Womens Perfumes for 2010
Discover the top 10 perfumes for women in 2010? Discover the information that is needed to find the best perfume, whether for yourself or as a special gift for a loved one. Don't buy perfume till you read the top 10 for 2010.
With so many different fragrances out there, finding the best can be difficult. However, even with this, there are many people who would agree that each of these top 10 perfumes for women in 2010.
- At number 1, the Lovely Perfume, from Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker.
We have seen many celebrities with fragrances, and often they are OK, remember the OK point, but this is a perfume that has nice scent. This is a fragrance that is both sexy, sassy and sensual, Lovely is a women's scent with notes of fresh mandarin, bergamot, rosewood, lavender, martini and orchid, which is a good combination.
If you are looking for a flirty, feminine womens scent in a stunningly stylish bottle, Lovely is a great option. Price wise, it is fantastic, and at such a low price, it is amazing that you get such high quality. A great day time fragrance. - At 2, we are including the Armani Code Pour Femme. This is a top selling fragrance, and is slightly more expensive than Lovely. It is a fragrance that is sure to leave a lasting impression on the wearer. It has a nice bottle, and the fragrance has notes of interesting ingredients, such as orange, ginger, sandalwood, and even honey! It is truly a sexy and sophisticated perfume, perfect for mom or sister.
- They say that diamonds are forever, and they truly are! At 3, we place the Armani Diamonds. This is truly a sensual and alluring aroma. If you are glamorous, you need this!
- Number 4, Calvin Klein's Euphoria holds the position. This is a fragrance that makes all the difference, and is truly luxurious and a stunningly versatile scent.
- At position 5, we have the popular Calvin Klein Eternity. This is a nice fragrance, which is better for the mature lady. Try this amazing combination of wild potent flowers, and delicate fruit.
- Diesel's Fuel for Life takes the number 6 position. This has a nice bottle, and is also a powerfully pretty perfume. A perfect Christmas present for the woman in her 20's.
- Vera Wang Flower Princess holds the 7th on the top 10. This is a nice bright pink heart-shaped bottle, and looks great on any dresser. This is a sweet and fruity floral fragrance.
- Elle Perfume is at 8, and Yves St Laurent's latest women's scent, 'Elle'. If you have a best friend, this is the fragrance to get them.
- 9th, we have Opium Perfume, and again, this is made by Yves St Laurent. This has been best seller since 1977, and is a favourite for many.
- Kenzo Flower Perfume hits 10th spot, and is a great Japanese item. It delivers as a strong and pure fragrance, that you will remember. It is an all round winner.
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