There’s no doubt that most of us use the Internet for research purposes.  But how do we know that the resources we’re using on the Internet are telling the truth?  There are lots of Internet marketing companies out there that advertise various products and services, but how do we know that those services are reliable?  If you think about it, anyone can design a web site or page to make it look professional, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the information they are presenting is truthful.

Problems with Information

The Internet is a big place occupied by many people.  There is no shortage of information on any topic that you so desire.  However, much of the information on the Internet ranges in its accuracy and reliability.  For example, unlike published books that you can buy at the bookstore, the Internet doesn’t require all of those copyrights, etc.  Just about anyone can upload just about anything they want and claim it as their own…..at least, until they get caught. 

C.A.S.T. Your Worries Away!

The next time you use the Internet for something, think about what your goal is.  What are you looking for?  Does it require statistical evidence? Once you’ve figured that out, then you can begin to “C.A.S.T” your worries away:

• Credibility- Is the source you’re using credible?  Does it have have an author?  Does the author’s credentials trace back to other reliable sources.  Never trust a site that has no author or does not give the last name of the author.  Also look to see how the page is set up.   Does it look like and amateur designed it?  Are words misspelled? Did you see the same information word-for-word on someone else’s page?  If so, the document might be plagiarized.
• Accuracy- How does the information presented on the one web site compare to other reliable sources that you know of?  Look for references throughout the page and then attempt to trace a few of the references back to their source.  Can you find a source for the information presented?
• Source Reliability-  When examining the sources, look for dates of when things were published.  casino online in italianogiochi keno in lineacasino gratis slot machineall slots casinogioco di roulettecasino 10 euro gratisgioco pc casinoscaricare casino gratiscasino online comslots machine downloads gratuito,slots machine,giochi gratis slots machineroulette online,per vincere alla roulette online,la roulette onlinevip casinoplay kenoroulette gamesbaccarat onlinewww casino on lineaprire un casino onlinevideo poker da scaricare gratisgiocare alla roulettevideo poker online,giochi online video poker,video poker online gratisdownload slotscasino on line italiano,casino on line,giochi casino gratis on linegioco kenoplay free kenocasino online in italiacasino on line conblack jackmetodo roulettecasino tropez bonus codeslots gratis3d roulettegiochi blackjack in lineagiochi keno inlineacasino on line senza depositogold casinocasino da scaricare gratiscasino venezia on linegiochi keno gratis in lineavideo poker pcgiochi on line roulettejack black in lineaautomatic video pokermobile casino games,online casino games,casino gamesvideo poker per pcgiochi black jackonline casino gamesla rouletteroulette europeaslots casinocasino on net com,casino on net,questionario casino on net Make sure the authors’ names match up with other credible sources.  Some well-known sources such as CNN.com or Wikipedia will sometimes suggest sources of information.  Try to start with a credible source that is well known and then branch out from there.
• Traceability-Test out the links on the web page.  Do the links lead you to a dead end?  Do the links lead you back to information that is extremely outdated?

These are all important points to think about and consider the next time you are out “surfing” for information.  If you know how do distinguish bogus information from credible information, you’ll have no problem getting what you want out of your Internet experience.  For more information on Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth.

Tags: Blogging, Social Networking by Janelle - 2 Comments »

So, what are the benefits of keeping a diary online as opposed to in the privacy of your apartment or home?  One might suggest that part of the appeal stems from the fact that so many people spend a good portion of time on the Internet anyway.  After all, who wants to leave their computer, walk across the room to get a piece of paper and write?  Writing stuff down is so overrated!

 Before you know it, people are going to forget how to write anything by hand.  All they’ll be able to recite to you is how your hands are set up on the keyboard:  ”a, s, d, f, j, k, l, ;, spacebar”.  Just kidding, I hope.  With all these online journals and blogs, perhaps we should ask ourselves, “Is the Internet negatively affecting how I communicate?”  For example, every Christmas, I used to write out (by hand) thank-you cards to all of my relatives.  When I first went away to college, this was also how I communicated: by writing letters, going to the post office and mailing them.  However, in recent years, I’ll send a “thank-you email” (even though I still follow that up with a hand-written thank you).  The same thing goes for letters to friends.  It’s simply more convenient to take five minutes to write an email because you know it’s going to get to that other person in like 5 seconds as opposed to five days.  So, maybe this is the same thinking with online journals and diaries.  It’s a matter of convenience.  You don’t have to worry about toting a book around containing personal information.  Instead, you can type your thoughts and come back to them later.  After all, you’ll probably be back at a computer in no time anyway!

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Blogging, Social Networking by Janelle - 2 Comments »

Keeping a diary or a journal used to be something that you did in private.  You’d get a little notebook and a pen and wait until no one was around so that you could write down your innermost thoughts.  Then you’d take your diary and shove it back under the matress where no one else would find it.  Well, now people are ditching the pen and paper and are choosing to keep their diaries online.  That’s right.  People actually keep online diaries that everyone (including your mom and dad) can read. 

There are several online diary web sites floating around out there.  But, perhaps one of the most popular ones I’ve seen is something called LiveJournal.com.  This is a site devoted to those who wish to keep a record of their thoughts for others to see.  For example, I just read a journal post from someone who was talking about all of the things they needed to do today to include getting their graduate school paperwork together and visiting family in Green Bay.  The cool feature about LiveJournal (and other sites like it) is that you don’t have to make your diary “public” if you don’t want to.  You can choose to keep it private so that only you can read it…at least, that’s what they tell you.  Who knows, perhaps somewhere, there’s a bunch of computer geeks huddled around one computer in a basement pointing to your journal entry and laughing while they exchange high fives.  I guess we’ll never know.

For more information about Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth today.

Tags: Blogging, Social Networking by Janelle - 2 Comments »

All across the United States, more people and businesses are turning towards their computers to save money as well as get ahead. There is now a wave of people out there who are using the Internet to create social networks as well as facilitate the exchange of information. Internet marketing has been around for a little while, but it still seems like brand new to a lot of people. Companies see the value in marketing on the Internet as opposed to other, more traditional means of advertising such as news media and print (you’ll recall my blog on the Yellow Pages).

So, why the Internet? Why is there this huge push for Internet marketing, and why (like that Kevin Bacon game) does everything seem to lead back to it lately? Well, for starters, Internet marketing is beginning to change the way that most companies do business. Even smaller businesses can jump in because Internet marketing is still fairly affordable. It’s a cost effective means that save businesses tons of money in advertising costs. It also helps to facilitate communication around the world. For example, any business owner can simply type a question into Google or any other search engine and more than likely find the answer he/she was looking for. Within a matter of minutes, you can send a detailed email message with pictures and links to other articles or videos to you business partners in Asia or your best friend around the block.

Additionally, marketing/advertising campaigns for most companies can be expensive. For example, it may cost a company anywhere from $10k-30k for a one page advertisement in a newspaper or some other form of traditional media. However, if that company decided to advertise on the Internet, it would cost them only a tiny portion of what they paid. The smarter choice, it would seem, would be Internet marketing. With all the craze of the World Wide Web and everyone using it for every and anything, it doesn’t automatically mean that traditional advertising in newspapers and magazines will end….at least- not yet…

Tags: Blogging, Social Networking, Business Networking by Janelle - 6 Comments »

Almost anyone with any sort of decency knows the value in having good manners; things like holding the door for the person behind you, taking small bites at meals, not chewing or speaking with your mouth full of food, etc, etc.  But remembering your manners isn’t just for the dinner table and social setting anymore.  It now applies to Internet usage as well.  Especially if you’re a business owner who conducts a lot of online correspondence, a little net-quette can go a long way.  Here are some useful suggestions:

1. Check & Respond.  Hardly anyone opens up forwarded email or junk email.  However, if you do receive a message from someone, regardless if it’s an old friend or a potential client, alway respond and respond promptly.  Even if you send an email to the person to say that you don’t have time to talk at that moment, something is better than nothing.
2. Be Selective.  Clicking “send to all” can be tricky at times.  There’s nothing worse than getting a mass email saying “hello” that has been sent to a bunch of other people.  It makes the recipient feel less important and can be interpreted negatively.  Sending work messages can be sent this way, but private messages should remain private.
3. Keep it Professional.  If you’re at work, try to avoid sending emails or messages that aren’t work-related.  If you absolutely need to send a personal email to your spouse, friend or family  member, try to wait until lunch time or whenever you take a scheduled break.  Some companies will view checking and sending personal emails on company time as grounds for dismissal.
4. Regularity.  If you’re the kind of person who checks their email 500 times a day, great. On the other hand, if you’re the type who only checks your email once a month, make sure others know that.  Nothing irks people more than sending an email (especially if it is semi-important) and then not hearing anything back.
5. Addresses Galore!  When you send out an email to a bunch of people, consider using an address function that doesn’t list EVERYONE’S email addresses in the “to” header.  The reason for this is twofold: a) it’s annoying to have to scroll through a long list of addresses to actually get to the text and b) some people may not want their email information displayed to others.
6. Choose carefully. When sending an email out, make sure you put a relevant subject heading in the subject line.  Something that is going to grab the reader’s attention will more than likely get them to read the email versus something like, “Re:”.  This goes both for business purposes as well as personal.

For more information on Internet marketing, visit Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Blogging, Business Building, Business Networking by Janelle - 3 Comments »

Ok, so my brother didn’t actually join myspace on his own.  I had mentioned the web site in so many conversations, that I finally told him I would create an account for him so that he could try it out for himself.  He was extremely reluctant, but I also knew how reluctant I had been and how quickly I had succumbed after trying it for a few minutes.  I showed him the profile I had started for him, and just like that- Kenny was in.

I had a few friends in the academic world who I talked to about myspace and they would point out how silly it all seemed.  “Don’t you think it’s a little childish?” they would ask.  I would always vehemently respond that I only used the web site as a means of keeping in touch with my friends (which was pretty true).  But upon closer examination, after a while, I realized that I wasn’t keeping in touch with my friends through comments or messages anymore.  In fact, all I had been reduced to was looking at people’s profiles to find out what was going on in their lives.  During conversations with my mom, I would report any new news I had found out stating things like, “I found out that Danni had breast augmentation done.  Can you believe that?”  “Who told you that?” my mom would respond back to me.  I guess I could’ve said that Danni told me herself, since she had put all of that information on her page along with pictures to boot.  But it was myspace.

A few times I tried to quit myspace.  I began by downsizing my friends, you know, deleting the people I didn’t really talk to.  I changed and rearranged my “top friends” list narrowing it down from having eight top friends to having four.  I even deleted some of the fancy web design stuff on my page and made it more simplistic.  I tried to ween myself off of myspace slowly by only allowing myself to check my account if I received an email stating that someone had left a message.  Eventually, my boyfriend told me that the whole thing was stupid.  I realized that the only way to rid myself of the whole thing was to cancel my account. So, that’s what I did.  Without any warning, I woke up one morning and, without dwelling on it, deleted my entire myspace account.  I’ve been myspace-free now for almost eight months now.  I still check my email accounts like a hundred times a day and surf the web even more than that…but that’s another story

For more information on Internet marketing, contact Create Business Growth.

Tags: Blogging, Social Networking by Janelle - 3 Comments »

Overnight, I had become a myspace addict.  It was that easy and that difficult.  Checking my myspace account actually took precedence over checking my email accounts, which I already checked like a hundred times a day.  I found myself adding people to my “friends list” who I didn’t even really talk to throughout high school/college that much.  I even added bands that I listened to.  I would sit down at the computer promising myself that I would only check my account to see if there were any new comments or messages.  It should only take a few seconds, I believed.  But somehow, the time slipped by and four hours later, I was commenting back and forth with my friend Maria about how I needed to change my web page design layout.

I would upload pictures of myself with friends but I was always careful.  My profile was set to “private,” which meant that you had to be on my “friends list” to view it.  Unlike a lot of my friends who would pepper their pages with personal information about themselves such as where they were born, cell phone numbers, addresses and the names of their family members and animals, I included none of this.  I didn’t even give details as to where I worked.  The only thing my friends knew about me was my name, age, hometown and fire sign.  It felt good to receive comments and messages from all of my friends.  As I became more and more addicted, I found myself beginning to recruit other people to join the social network of computer addicts. I even got my brother (who is pretty much anti-computers) to join…which is another story in itself….

For more information about Internet marketing, visit Create Business Growth.

Tags: Blogging, Social Networking by Janelle - 1 Comment »

Why are sites like myspace and facebook so popular?  What is it about them that draws the crowds in?  I used to have a myspace account.  It was great.  I heard about myspace from one of my very good friends.  She told me about this free Internet site that everyone was joining.  It was “cool” because it allowed you the creative space to make your own webpage and put information on there about yourself so that your friends and who ever else you chose could read it.  At first I thought it was dumb.  Why on earth would anyone want to broadcast personal information about themselves for all the world to see?  But my friend was persistent.  She claimed that it was a great way to keep in touch with friends, that it was harmless, and that I could quit at any time if I really thought it was stupid.  Ok.  I figured, what the heck and gave it a try.

I typed in the web address for the site and followed the directions for how to set up my page.  I was surprised to find that it was really user friendly.  Within seconds, I was a member of this social network of millions of people.  No sooner had I just joined the ranks of adoring myspacers, then I received my first “friend request”.  It was one of my friends from high school who I hadn’t talked to in years!  How on earth did she find me?  Three hours later, I was still on the website looking up hundreds of profiles of people who I hadn’t spoken to in what felt like ages.   After my first day of “myspacing” it up, I knew more details about my friends’ lives than I did my own.  It was instantly addicting and I wasn’t sure if and/or when I’d ever be able to ween myself away from it…

For more information about Internet marketing, visit Create Business Growth today!

Tags: Blogging, Social Networking by Janelle - 3 Comments »

Discourse comes from the Latin word discursus meaning “running to and from”.  Today, discourse is defined as communication that goes back and forth, such as debate or argument.  On the other hand, social media is defined as the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction and the contruction of words and pictures.  This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and “building” of shared meaning, as people share their stories and understandings (Wikipedia).

Discourse plays a significant role in how social media operates.  For example, where Internet marketing is involved, businesses may rely on the way in which words are formulated on a web page to communicate with consumers while other business owners may rely more on pictures or graphics.  There are numerous ways in which social media plays a role in our everyday life.

Myspace is one of the most popular social media sites today, but how did it get that way?  Simple.  It is a social outlet on the Internet that connects people with people in a fun and free way.  It allows you the creativity to design your own webpage layout (in a matter of speaking), post pictures to your account and exchange information (to include pictures, video and even text messages) with friends and family.  You can join online groups, download music to play on your page.  It seems like the possibilities are endless! It’s no wonder people are hooked.

Some other examples of social media sites include: 

• Facebook- used mostly by college students and professors in similar fashion as Myspace
• YouTube- used to exchange short clips of videos normally
• Flickr- used to exchange pictures 

There are many forms of social media besides the ones listed above.  The most important thing to take away from social media sites like Myspace as well as others, however, is that it connects people to people.  It allows for the exchange of messages, thoughts and ideas, thereby increasing communication while fostering healthy debates.

For more information on Internet marketing, visit Create Business Growth. 

Tags: Blogging by Janelle - 1 Comment »

Here’s an opportunity to have your very best blog post of 2007 featured in a comprehensive 200 page e-book designed to serve as the ultimate resource for online business bloggers (and generate a lot of links back to your site!)

We are challenging bloggers to find their Best Post of 2007 to be included in the e-book with all links in tact. We will then publicize the e-book on all of our sites and in all of our online communities.

Your name (or author’s name) , the name of your blog, and a link to your blog will be listed at the beginning and end of each story to drive readers and potential subscribers back to your site for more.

Your Post Should Fit into One of These Four Sections

• Marketing
• Business
• SEO
• Blogging

No doubt you had a post this year that really generated buzz in the Blogosphere and caused your subscription rates to jump. Now it’s time to blow off the dust of that power post and leverage it to:

• Drive traffic to your site
• Reach out to a new audience
• Increase RSS subscribers
• Generate lots of backlinks to your blog

We plan to release the e-book in January 2008. We encourage you to let other bloggers know about the project so please announce this on your blogs and networks to help us fill the pages of this powerful resource. The more you publicize the book the more reach your own post within the book will have.

How to Submit Your Post for Publication:

Add a comment here linking to your Power Post of 2007 and let us know which category you feel your post belongs in. Do this ASAP as we will closing the opportunity for submissions on December 24th 2007! Posts will appear in their respective sections of the book in the order in which we receive your submission – so find one today and comment with the link!

Kudos to Fred for this great idea!

Tags: Announcements, Blogging, Business Building, Social Networking by Adam - 56 Comments »