Stumble Upon is a tool that offers you website recommendations based on your preferences and reviews or recommendations from people who have similar interests. It helps you connect with other people who have similar interests, it saves time browsing through search engine results, and it introduces you to sites you may not have otherwise found.

Here’s how to use it:

Step 1. Head to the website, www.stumbleupon.com and click Join Now.

Step 2. They’ll ask for your email, your user name, your birthday, gender, and a few options for you to check or uncheck.

Step 3. Choose which web browser you want to add it to. It will be added to your toolbar. If you’re using Internet Explorer when you visit Stumbleupon then it’ll assume that’s the toolbar you want to add it to. If you have both browsers installed on your computer, join StumbleUpon in the browser you plan to use it with. For example, if you use Firefox 90% of the time then you may want to join StumbleUpon in Firefox and have it added to that toolbar.

Step 4. Click Install Now.

Step 5. Restart your browser to get the program up and running.

Step 6. Check your email. You should have a welcome message from Stumble Upon complete with a password and directions to get started. Now you can update and set your preferences.

Step 7. Now you can start stumbling. Click on the icon in your toolbar and get started. On your toolbar you’ll see such things as stumble images, stumble videos, stumble news etc…You’ll also see a thumbs up or a thumbs down icon to rate the site. They do ask that you rate what you see to provide value to other stumblers.

I admit I am a Stumbling Addict! Here’s my Stumble Profile ~ http://terrapin719.stumbleupon.com/

Simply click on the icon of your choice and get stumbling. It’s fun. Enjoy!

Just about anywhere you go from the local coffee shop to a hotel and even in the airport, you’ll find Wi-Fi hotspots. These are areas where you can log onto the internet if your computer has a wireless card or wireless adaptor. You will want to be aware of ‘evil twins.’ These are folks sitting in the same area and simulating a wireless network. For example, if you’re sitting at a coffee shop and their wireless network is ‘drink coffee.’ Someone sitting at the table next to you could be sending out a signal on a network with the same name. The risk is that they can gain access to your computer, and everything on it and at the same time use your computer to send spam. Not fun. Don’t let this scare you from enjoying the convenience of Wi-Fi!

Here’s how to do it safely.

Step 1 Make sure you have your personal firewall up and running.

Step 2 Turn off your file sharing. Different operating systems have different instructions on how to do this. Check out your support documentation to determine how to do this for your specific computer.

Step 3 Create a password for your system and important files.

Step 4 Make sure your antivirus is up and running.

Step 5 Do not access personal information like bank accounts or financial documentation while in a Wi-Fi hot spot and try to use only web based email programs to communicate while in a wi-fi hotspot.

Okay, that’s what you need BEFORE you hit the hotspot, now here’s what you need to do once you’re there.

Step 1 Take a look around and be aware of the folks on computers.

Step 2 Ask the retailer if there is a password or logon to access the wireless.

Step 3 Logon. This generally happens one of two ways. You can open your web browser and quite often the Wi-Fi will pop up and ask a few questions. The other situation is where there is Wi-Fi available but you have to look for it and establish a connection. To do this you will want to view your wireless network connections available. You can view this by going into your control panel or on some computers you will have a wireless network connection icon on your running programs menu on the bottom of your computer screen.

Step 4 Once you are able to view the available wireless networks, you can choose the one that is available via the coffee shop, retailer, etc…

Step 5 Before you click to connect yourself to the network, make sure it is the one that is being made available and not an ‘evil twin.’ Once you’re comfortable, click on connect and you should be ready to go.

Wi-Fi makes working on your computer easy to do just about anywhere. While there are some precautions to take, getting online when you’re away from home is a real convenience.

Many people have started using Google’s AdSense program, but there are some who find it a bit too uncertain or simply not suiting their own requirements from an ad program.

But thankfully for such people, there are many alternatives to AdSense which attempt to alleviate some of its shortcomings. Here is a list of the most noteworthy ones from the lot with a description concerning each one. All of the links in this post are straight links, there are no affiliate or referral links.

AllFeeds (http://www.allfeeds.com/?action=publishers)
AllFeeds has a great pool of online advertisers to choose from. It also features many display formats that you can choose from. These include banners, buttons, XML feeds, DHTML pop-ups and so on. It also features real time reporting of your ad status. The site will mail a check every month, provided that you earn more then $25.00, while rolling over earnings for the next month if you don’t. Another interesting thing about AllFeeds is that it integrates with Google AdSense, maximizing your earnings with AdSense.

MarketBanker (http://www.marketbanker.com/mb/sell.php)
MarketBanker allows you the unique possiblity to set the pricing for your site. It also allows you to allow or reject any link that appears on your site (although AdSense itself does a very good job of this as well, with URL filters) There’s also a statistics section which will allow you to see how well your site is doing. The ads are small just like AdSense’s and they’re just as easy to set up. Also, registration for MarketBanker is free.

BidClix (http://www.bidclix.com/PubTop.html BidClix is different because it has advertisers compete for clicks on your site, which in turn is meant to generate the highest possible profits for your page. It also has a very large pool of advertisers which ensure there are plenty of people to choose your site. However, it does require more polish on site contents then AdSense. As most sites, real time statistics are available and its very easy to get started with this service, but it's also very flexible.

Chitika (http://www.realcontext.com/index.php?option=RealContext:+Contextual+Targeting+Engine)
RealContext uses Artificial intelligence to retrieve the most relevant ads for your page. And there’s an extra feature which makes RealContext unique as well. Keywords are selected based upon which previous selections payed off and which didn’t. That means there’s a constant feedback process that ensures you gain better revenue from your ads. It also supports blocking certain adds and child-safe filtering and many more options.

AdHearus (http://adhearus.com/webmaster.php)
AdHearus is a very feature-packed contextual ad provider. As with AdSense, advertisements are targeted but it doesn’t stop here at all. The ads are very flexible, you can select from text-ads, banners, rectangles, pop-ups, pop-unders or skyscrapers. You can also display your own ads, through rotation, both on your site and on other affiliate sites, which makes AdHearus a hybrid with conventional advertising technologies. There’s a very comprehensive on-line real time reporting feature and, as usual with such services, starting out is free and it’s a breeze.

AffiliateSensor (http://www.affiliatesensor.com/)
AffiliateSensor has highly customizable ad blocks, which you can make for yourself with an easy to use on-line interface. You also get realtime reporting with clicks-by-domain, page and refferer. There’s integration with Google AdSense as well, through the google_alternate_ad_url so AffiliateSensor can be used as a substitute for Google PSA’s (Public Service Ads).

Kanoodle Bright Ads (http://www.kanoodle.com/about/brightads.cool)
Kanoodle’s offering allows publishers to get ads related to topics or segments, and not the traditional keyword oriented ads. The site also groups publisher sites with advertisers by hand to ensure high-revenue generating ads. And speaking of revenue, the amount of money you receive is a clear 50% share of the amount of money Kanoodle recieves for an advertiser.

TargetPoint (http://publisher.targetpoint.com)
TargetPoint is oriented more towards content publishers. It offers full control over the look the ads, statistics over your site’s overall performance and better revenue. It’s free to register and you earn a guaranteed 60% of the total revenue. You can get payed with Paypal of Bank checks and (most times) wire transfers as well.

Clicksor (http://www.clicksor.com)
Clicksor will earn you as much as 60% from the amount of money your website produces. What you get is about the same as AdSense, there are targeted text ads, you can view the revenues from your website in real time. You can receive money via PayPal or through a check every two weeks, provided that you have earned more then $50. If you haven’t made that much, your earning roll over to the next period

Bidvertiser (http://www.bidvertiser.com/)
Like AdSense, Bidvertiser displays text ads in your page. But the difference lies in the fact that advertisers bid over your advertising space, ensuring you earn as much revenue as you possibly can. This also means that bids will increase over time, earning you even more cash. You also get a great way to customize your ads with a very easy to use tool and detailed reports on your site’s status.

Quigo AdSonar (http://www.quigo.com/adsonarpublishers.htm)
Quigo AdSonar achieves relevancy by placing a filter according to your site’s categories. It also offers you on-line reports of your site’s status and the possibility to add your own custom ads replacing ads that don’t gain you any revenue. The setup is very simple, in a similar fashion to AdSense’s and quite customizable as well.

Vibrant Media IntelliTXT (http://www.vibrantmedia.com/vibrantvideo/index.asp?referrer=Intellitxt.com)
Vibrant Media IntelliTXT offers user-activated ads, highlighting certain words within the content of the page and presenting relevant ads when a user hovers his mouse over them. It uses a pay-for-performance pricing scheme and can easily be used along with other advertising methods, because it is unobtrusive. It places you in full control, allowing you to easily integrate it within your site with some simple JavaScript.

Nixie (http://www.nixxie.com/display.php?section=Partners)
Nixie claims to hold a technology that can read and understand your site, enabling it to display the most relevant content to your site. Besides text ads, Nixie also features price comparison listings as well as live auction advertising. It’s very easy to implement and has a good payment policy as well.

MIVA AdRevenue Xpress (http://www.miva.com/us/content/partners/arx.asp)
MIVA AdRevenue Xpress is targeted towards small and mid-sized publishers. It implements Search Box functionality and also features things like a Category Directory as well as the handling of 404 error pages. It can be integrated with your page using a simple on-line wizard.

Value Click Media (formerly FastClick) (http://www.valueclickmedia.com/)
Valueclick offers you an impressive 65 percent of what it makes from a click on your website. Payments are done monthly, via PayPal or through checks. The ads can be formatted as you wish, and Valueclick even offers a free support serice for its members and no fees are required to register with the service.

contextWeb ContextAd (http://www.contextweb.com/Corporate/publisher/publisher.shtml)
ContextAd offers the possibility of contextual ads for dynamic pages, meaning ads will change as soon as your page does. It’s very easy to use and free to sing up for and offers a transparent payment policy. The ads are fully customizable and real-time reports are available 24/7.

AdBrite (http://www.adbrite.com/)
AdBrite offers publishers the possibility of integrating text ads in their pages. These are done on your own rates, with the websites you approve by hand so it bares some similarities with a classic advertising scheme. You also have the option of adding a “Your Add Here” button that buyers can immediately click to ad space on your page. It can also be used in conjunction with Google AdSense, maximizing your CTR and offering advertisers the possibility of showing their links in your Google AdSense space. You have full control over the look and feel of your adds and finally, you get an incredible 75% of what the advertiser pays for on every click.

So, as you can see there are many offers for this kind of advertising, and many hybrids based on AdSense like advertising. Also, a lot of services can work together with AdSense to earn you an even greater amount of revenue for your ad space.

Individuals, of all different ages, enjoy meeting and communicating with other internet users. Despite the fact that individuals of all ages use the internet to socialize, there are certain groups of individuals that do more than others. Those groups of individuals include students, both high school students and college students. For that reason, it is only fitting that there should be a social networking website that has a focus on these particular individuals. That networking website is known as Facebook.

Facebook may not be as well known as other popular social networking websites, such as Yahoo! 360 or MySpace, but it is still popular. That popularity is mostly among high school students and college students, mostly because Facebook focuses on these individuals in particular. With Facebook, you are required to register for a specific network. That network can either include the high school or college which you attended or are currently attending. Once you have joined the website, you should easily be able to make contact with others who are in the same network.

The network in which you join can be considered an advantage of Facebook, as well as a disadvantage. See, Facebook does not work like most other social networking websites. Instead of being able to communicate with all site members, you are limited to contact with those that are in your particular network, the high school or college you that selected. The creators of Facebook state that this is for your own safety. Although it is safer for your profile and personal information to be viewed by a small number of individuals, you may not necessity want it to be that way.

Although a large amount of focus is placed on high school students and college students, Facebook has added another popular feature to their website. That feature is workplace networks. By joining a specific workplace network, you will be granted access to other community members who work for the same company as you. This feature is nice, especially since many companies have become large corporations or expanded across the country. You may be able to make contact and become friends with a long-distance coworker that you never knew you had.

Another aspect of Facebook that you may find inconvenient is their lack of available information, before you decide to become a community member. When viewing their online website, which can be found at www.facebook.com, it is hard to tell whether or not the site is free to use. Most online social networking sites will make this known right upfront, but Facebook does not. Aside from the price, you should easily be able to obtain additional information on Facebook, before making the decision to become a member. This additional information may include how Facebook works, why you should become a member, how the invite process works, and general rules and restrictions that are in place.

Too many or none at all? While there is no magic number it is a good idea to find two or three internet marketing blogs that you really enjoy, because they can help you on a day to day basis when you are developing your online business.

Why is this?

continue reading "How Many Internet Marketing Blogs Do You Read?"

RSS, Really Simple Syndication, is an excellent way to add content to your website. More relevant content on your website means a higher search engine ranking and a benefit to your visitors. Here’s how to add RSS to your website.

Step 1 Find a reader to subscribe to. There are many available online. A quick Google Search will provide you with many to choose from. Look for ones that offer PHP scripts rather than JavaScript. JavaScript isn’t read by search engine spiders and the content will not help your search engine ranking.

Step 2 Register. Generally all you need to provide is an email address and your website URL. A confirmation will be sent to your email along with a password and logon.

Step 3 Confirm via email and logon with your assigned password and logon ID.

Step 4 Customize your content. Choose the topics you want to cover. For example Google News, Yahoo Finance, or Reuters Health. You can choose several. Make certain to choose topics that are relevant to your website subject. You wouldn’t want to choose finance if your site offers health information.

Step 5 Choose keywords. You can customize your feeds by choosing specific keywords. For example, if you have a website dedicated to fitness you can add the keyword “fitness” to your code.

Step 6 Choose appearance. You can customize the shape and size of your content block. Whether there are pictures included, the author, the title of the article and so on. This is usually a check the box type menu.

Step 7 Choose formatting. Here you can choose the font you want, size of font, and the general formatting of your feed.

Step 8 Generate the code and follow the directions to get it onto your website. Generally the code is given to you in PHP or JavaScript. PHP is recommended because JavaScript is not read by search engine spiders. If you’re using RSS to add content to your site, you’ll want to use the PHP script offered. PHP isn’t automatically added to HTML so if you have an HTML based site, you’ll need to add a bit of code to it to have it recognize the PHP. No worries, the RSS feed you use will offer you instructions on how to do that.

RSS is a technology that is fairly easy to use and it can add significant content and value to your website. All it takes is a few simple steps and you’re done. Quality content with the click of a button.

Twitter is a social networking site that helps to keep you connected with friends and family. By using instant messaging, SMS and Web interface you can send and receive message from anyone on your list with ease.

Connecting with family, friends or even coworkers just became easier with Twitter. As a work at home business owner it is not uncommon to miss that office chit chat every now and again. You can think of Twitter as your virtual water cooler. It’s nice to be able to talk to others who know how you feel and understand what you are talking about.

The best part about Twitter is that you can have the chit chat when YOU have time for it. If you’re busy working on a project and just need a break jump on Twitter and “twit” away. When you’re break is done, no problem, just sign off and come back and catch up on anything you might have missed later when you get a chance.

Twitter can be activated on your cell phone so you can stay in touch no matter where you are. You can send and receive Twitter updates right on your instant messenger too. I spend most of my day on the computer and have my Google IM up all the time. With Twitter updates I’m always on top of what’s going on with my family and friends.

With Twitter you can make new friends or block people you don’t want to talk to. It’s easy to navigate through Twitter to find people who like the same things you do or may even know some of your friends and family. Plus you always have the option of blocking anyone you don’t want to communicate with.

Twitter is a social network that works for you no matter who you are, where you are or when you might just need that how are you? It’s also a great way to market yourself and let your friends know when you’ve made a new post to your blog, added a new product or service to your website or even found a news story online that you think they could benefit from. Just send the URL over Twitter and they’ll have it right there!

Go ahead and check it you might just find that one person you’ve been looking for all this time.

Follow me on Twitter !~ http://twitter.com/retta719