How Hot is Your URL?

Click to read MediaPost Publications - Is Your URL Hot Or Not? - 11/28/2007

From the article:

DOs
1. CapitalizeTheFirstLetterOfEachWord.
2. Whenever possible, use YourBrandName.com.
3. If .com is not available, use YourBrandName.net.
4. If .com and .net are taken, find a new brand name. Seriously.
5. Use YourSlogan.com when running an integrated media campaign.
6. Use subdomains when driving people deeper than your homepage -- e.g. Product.YourBrandName.com.

DON'Ts
1. Don't include www. We know to go to the World Wide Web to find you.
2. Don't include http://. If your audience isn't Web-savvy enough to know where to type the URL, you shouldn't have a Web site.
3. don'tusealllowercase (canyoureallytellwhereonewordendsandthenextbegins?)
4. DITTOFORALLUPPERCASE
5. No-hyphens/or slashes.
6. Don't use acronyms, abbreviations, or numbers unless your brand is widely known as such.
7. Don't bury your URL at the bottom of a billboard. I'm the only nerd driving around with a 4x zoom lens to find URLs.

This is a great article and references the author's blog, GoodURLBadURL.com, which might be worth a look. Check it out. I loved how he closed the article with Goodbye URL. LOL

To My Friends
All Over the World...
I Give Thanks for You
This Weekend and
Always!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all

I won! I won! I won!

Kate at Electric Venom held a Spank Google, Win Flowers haiku contest. Check out Kate's blog and the other haikus. I must admit that I entered many times because it was just after the page rank snafu.

My winning haiku:
They said “do no harm”
Altruistic brainy boys
Playing with our lives.

I won $80 worth of flowers to be delivered worldwide! I choses a huge fruit basket and had it sent to my cousins in New York. My sister will be there for the holiday, so it will surprise her, too. If you think a fruit basket is a weird gift, I do not believe in cut flowers, and my cousins are diabetic and keep kosher, so it was easy to settle on the fruit basket. Thanks, Kate!


Be an Angel to a Warrior this Christmas

Since 2003, SoldiersAngels.com has been helping soldiers serving on foreign shores and their families. The GalleryCollection.com has donated Christmas Cards, through Soldiers Angels, to be sent to every soldier on active duty to wish them Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and Thanks! They also donated a blank card and envelope so the soldiers may send a card home to their family.




Donate to SoldiersAngels.com. Support the Warriors this Christmas.

New Boomer Social Network

Nothing is worse than having to be a parent to your parent, but a new boomer social network, Caring.com, will help you cope. There are 34+ million adults in the USA that provide care for someone 50 or older. Many of these adults have children at home as well.
Mr. Cohen was inspired by his struggle a few years ago to care for his lung-cancer-stricken mother, who was living in Chicago. The former manager of Quicken, Mr. Cohen lived in San Francisco and was continuously trolling the web for good resources on how to care for his mother, from what kind of wheelchair to buy to how to handle her financial and legal affairs. There was a void in the market, he said, because sites such as WebMD are focused on health issues and sites such as AARP don't offer the caregiver point of view.
The target market is not the elderly parents, but the baby boomers who care and make financial and health decisions for them. Now, there is one place where you may go to get help and support. As a baby boomer who cared for two aged parents while raising a child as a single parent, I am glad to see that there is a support system evolving.

If you would like to recognize a caregiver, please view this post.

Dare You Watch THE MIST?

Stephen King has a knack for writing books that scare the bejeezers out of you. Not all of his books have translated to the big screen easily, but The Mist by Stephen King looks to have made the cut. I just watched the trailers and now I know I have to see it. I have not read the book as carpal tunnel syndrome prevents me from lifting it, but it is easy to see Mr. King's handiwork in this movie.

Rather than the danger in the mist, The Mist is a story of the danger in the heart of humankind. Most of the townspeople are trapped in a grocery store when the mist (fog) closes in. The people in the store represent a cross section of America. We have the people who do not believe anything supernatural is happening, we have a woman that sees the end times in the mist, we have a man trying to protect his son as the crowd grows unruly, we have the screamers and the criers, the over reactors and the heroes. Who lives and who dies is up to whatever it is that lives in the mist.

There is something about a crisis that strips us bare, leaving only our character, or lack thereof, exposed. I have been blessed not to be involved in any real life catastrophes except for a few flash floods and being first to arrive at multi-car pileups. Usually I am the voice of reason, which is not my usual persona, but one that slides easily into place when needed.

The first time I found this persona was after a wreck on the Katy Freeway (I-10) in Houston. A car that was several cars in front of us hit the middle divider after crossing two lanes of traffic and being hit at least twice by cars desperately trying to miss her. Several cars spun out after hitting or avoiding the first car. We were faced with cars coming head on or slewed sideways in our path. Our driver kept his head, dodged several cars and pulled to the side of the highway.

Several people got out of their cars and everyone was yelling. I was a 17-year girl who weighed 120 pounds soaking wet, but I knew that someone had to get control of the situation. There were no cell phones back then, so I dispatched one car to call the Sheriff. I directed others to place flares directing traffic to the center lane only. I asked if anyone had medical background and we had two Viet Nam veterans in the mix, thank God. They saw to the injured parties in the cars on the side of the highway.

Then came the hardest part. The woman in the first car, the one that hit the middle divider and stayed there, was not moving. She had been hit by two other cars and there was not much left of her car. I knew if she had a chance of surviving, we had to get her out of that car before it caught fire or was hit again. I gathered my friends and asked what they thought our chances were of getting to the car and back again. These were teenagers, but they were courageous that night. Roy said, "You stop the traffic and Robert and I will get her out and bring her back here.”
To make a long story short, we got the woman out of the car and back to the side of the highway. We elevated her legs and covered her with a blanket for shock. Her face was completely gone, but she was breathing through her mouth. I folded up my coat and put it under her head and started praying. It was perhaps two minutes after we got her settled that a car came zooming down the far left lane, ran over the flares and hit her car. Both cars exploded.

Luckily, the EMS and a fire truck arrived then. The Sheriff arrived soon after. I was happy to turn the whole mess over to professionals. I waited while they closed the freeway, directed traffic around the mess in the middle of the highway and rendered emergency aid to the woman. She was put in an ambulance and that was the last I saw of her. The Sheriff wanted to know why were there and I said, "I just need to get my coat from under her head and we will be gone.” After all, we were just teenagers and could be no help in a crisis.


Comcast Under Fire for Blocking Access

On November 15, Jon Hart, represented by the San Francisco-based Lexington Law Firm, filed the suit in state court, asking for the court to stop Comcast’s bandwidth-shaping policies and for compensatory and punitive damages.

This class-action lawsuit against Comcast charges that Comcast's blocking of certain applications constitutes fraudulent and deceptive business practices and a breach of contract. On November 16, FCC was petitioned for a ruling in this matter.

Click to read World Wide Web - FCC Petitioned for Rules on ISP Throttling
Video provider Vuze, a company that distributes HD video using BitTorrent, has petitioned the FCC to take up the issue of whether ISPs such as Comcast should be permitted "unfettered discretion to restrict or block traffic carried on their networks" and to discriminate against services that they perceive as competing with their offerings.
For more information on Comcast, please view prior blog posts here and here.

Blog Your Blessing : Sufi Prayer for Peace

With the hurricanes, earthquakes and floods in much of the world, I feel compelled to pray for peace of the souls and bodies of the victims of weather. The trouble is only beginning, for crops and farmland, homes and schools, churches and marketplaces were destroyed.

We must put aside our differences and help these people who lost everything in the space of moments. Lost, all lost! Families, belongings, animals, even the very land on which they lived.



Send Thy peace O Lord,
which is perfect and everlasting, that our souls may radiate peace.

Send Thy peace O Lord,
that we may think, act and speak harmoniously.

Send Thy peace O Lord,
that we may be contented and thankful for Thy bountiful gifts.

Send Thy peace O Lord,
that amidst our worldly strife, we may enjoy Thy bliss.

Send Thy peace O Lord,
that we may endure all, tolerate all, in the thought of Thy grace and mercy.

Send Thy peace O Lord,
that our lives may become a Divine vision and in Thy light, all darkness may vanish.

Send Thy peace O Lord, our Father and Mother,
that we Thy children on Earth may all unite in one family.

Amen


The Blue Panther Experience is host for Blog Your Blessings. Click this link and grab the blogroll code. Just add the blogroll code to your blog, leave a comment on Blue Panther Experience and post your blessing. We are of all faiths, creeds and races, so everyone is welcome. Join us on Sunday as we blog our blessings.

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Garage Sale on Freedom of the Press

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to give away local ownership of local broadcast stations to newspaper chains to help their cash flow:

Click to read The Daily Show

The commission should modify only one of the four rules under review — the one that bars ownership of both a newspaper and a broadcast TV or radio station in a single market. And the rule should be modified only for the largest markets.

Marty Kaplan at the Huffington Post has summed up this outrage against the American people better than I could. Please read his article, especially what he says about newspapers being the "white boys' club." I love this guy.

Click to read FCC at Work

The public has given away, for free, its airwaves, to stations that generally do a dreadful job covering politics in their news programming, but that reap big bucks from political candidates, who in turn get the billions they spend on political ads from the public, and now the public is being asked to cut the newspaper industry in on that extortion racket in order to save democracy.
I am tired of the wholesale giveaways to big media, big oil, big timber and corporate America. Yet, if you oppose anything being done by the current administration, you are automatically labeled as "unAmerican." When we stop allowing our rights to be undermined in the name of "democracy?"

Blog Your Blessings : Computers

I was happy to find this prayer about computers. For the oppressed, computers are a way to find and share freedom and truth. For the homebound, computers are a lifeline to the outside world and a social network. For the shy and phobic, it is a tool for communication and growth. For me, it is an outlet for creativity and the way I make my living. We are all blessed by computers.


Prayer for my time on the computer

Gracious God,
even in the wondrous tangle of wires and connections,
you make yourself known.

May my computer be more than a machine of information
and become an altar on which I am able to offer my thanks
for the abundance of gifts in this richly textured world.

As I scan through images, as I learn and explore,
as I create and produce, bring my soul to the awareness that
I am not alone in this vast world of human energy.

Fill me with that energy and give me a heart of gratitude.

Amen

Copyright ©1999-2007 explorefaith.org


The Blue Panther Experience is host for Blog Your Blessings. Click this link and grab the blogroll code. Just add the blogroll code to your blog, leave a comment on Blue Panther Experience and post your blessing. We are of all faiths, creeds and races, so everyone is welcome. Join us on Sunday as we blog our blessings.

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Net Neutrality : Keep the Internet Free and Equal

Click to Read: Just An Online Minute » Blog Archive » Just An Online Minute… Network Neutrality Squad To The Rescue?

From the article:
The recent revelation that Comcast was slowing down traffic to file-sharing sites like BitTorrent raises a host of questions, not least of which is what other ISPs are impeding service.
More information on the actions of Comcast and other offenders of net neutrality here.

As reported in the post, Save the Internet and Net Neutrality, back in August, this issue affects everyone.

Congress is being pushed to abandon network neutrality that ensures a free and open Internet. Click here to take action or watch control of what you do online be dictated by companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast.


Heart of Care and Alzheimer's Disease



This year, give a gift that helps support thousands of people in the USA every day. Purchase a holiday gift from the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) store. Proceeds from the sale of these products support the programs and services of the AFA and its member organizations.

If you know someone who helps care for a person with Alzheimer's, there are stunning gifts in the heart of care jewelry line perfect for them. First, there is a matched set--necklace, bracelet and pin--complete with the heart of care pendant in sterling silver. Perhaps you want to give a rugged braided leather band bracelet with a sterling silver heart of care charm. Another good choice is a sterling silver lapel pin with the heart of care pendant.

A very practical gift is a set of four DVDs called Your Time to Care: Basic Skills for Caring for Individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias at Home. This set includes the topics of Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia, Principles of Personal Care, Behavioral Management and Safe Home Care. This DVD set is a perfect gift for someone who has just found out that a loved one has Alzheimer's Disease. The unknown can be frightening! Help them be prepared with this educational program designed to help family and caregivers provide quality care in the home setting.

Finding a cure for Alzheimer's is important. Also important is supporting those individuals who care for patients with this disease, usually family members. Most important is establishing a nationwide standard of excellence in care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.

To this end, the AFA has developed an initiative called Excellence of Care, which offers the opportunity for care facilities to document that their facilities meet the Excellence in Care guidelines established by the AFA for environment, education, staff-client interaction and programming. Care facilities that meet these standards are certified as being members of Alzheimer's Foundation of America Excellence in Care Dementia Program of Distinction.





Facebook : Social Advertising

Click to read article: Facebook Is Marketing Your Brand Preferences (With Your Permission) - New York Times

From the article:
. . . a Facebook user who rents a movie on Blockbuster.com will be asked if he would like to have his movie choice broadcast out to all his friends on Facebook. And those friends would have no choice but to receive that movie message, along with an ad from Blockbuster.

In a slight twist in permission-based advertising, Facebook has begun to let members share their brand preferences with their network. According to Facebook, members already share this type of information with their network. So, why not let advertisers break into that that conversation?

Facebook has 60 advertisers already signed up as partners in this social advertising platform. Last night (11/6/07), 100,000 new profiles were added to the site to promote brands, products, bands and other marketable commodities.

Oh, joy. Social Spam. I guess I will be going back to Facebook and deleting my network.

BlogBlast for Peace 11/07

Mimi Writes.......: The Eve of Dona Nobis Pacem

Bloggers from all over the world will be blogging for peace today. Please visit Mimi's blog (above) for the story of how it all started and to get your Peace Globe.

Do Not Track Initiative

As reported on CoolAdzine for Marketers last week, Facebook is unleashing an advertising model that will allow advertisers to serve behaviorally targeted advertising to members of social networks based upon their profile information and contacts.

Click to read: Social Network Ads: Too Close, Too Personal?

From the article:
Analysts and agency executives say the moves to uncover what a News Corp. executive once called the "digital gold" of user-interest data and social connections could herald the evolution of behavioral targeting as the greatest advance in Internet advertising since Google perfected keyword-targeted search ads seven years ago.
Some privacy groups have responded by creating a Do Not Track initiative. I responded by uninstalling all applications and making my profile private on Facebook. How will you respond?


Deals on Technology-Related Products

This is a review of Techbargains.com, a web site dedicated to help save you money when buying tech-related purchases such as discount computers. The web site is updated 24/7, even on weekends and holidays.

On the top right of the homepage is a link to the Site Guide. Take a moment to learn your way around the web site. It will save you time later.

You may want to subscribe to their weekly Newsletter for the latest in technology products, hot deals and discount bargains. Or, if you are looking for a specific product, sign up for Deal Alert by email.

You may also add the site Feed so the latest deals are instantly accessible to your reader. Daily updated Bargain News is available to WAP-enabled devices, such as personal digital assistants and cell phones.

Home Page-The latest deals are added in the center of the home page in the Bargain News section. Most of these deals are time sensitive. On both side columns of the home page, you will find links to hot products, hot rebates, hot tips and product reviews.

Coupons-Techbargains has discount coupons for most of the major online stores, like Amazon, BestBuy and Dell. At the bottom of this page are Family Online Coupons, where you will find all types of coupons, online coupons, coupon codes and deals for general merchandise.

Deal Request-Techbargains thrives on feedback from their customers. If you are looking for a specific deal, this is the page to request it. While they may not email you directly, if they find the deal, it will appear on the website.

Rebates-On this page are the rebates for notebooks, digital cameras and other products.

Vendor Info-You will only find reputable vendors on Techbargains web site. All the vendors are listed here with phone number.

Find Lowest Prices-This is the Pricegrabber search engine, which will find the best deals on all items, such as products for the home and garden, baby and kids, or flowers and plants.

With Christmas coming up, you may want to bookmark this awesome site.

Blog Your Blessing : Bless the Poor

Fall colorMarian Prayer of
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
(1910-1997)

Give us a heart as beautiful, pure,
and spotless as yours.
A heart like yours,
so full of love and humility.

May we be able to receive Jesus

as the Bread of Life,
to love Him as you loved Him,
to serve Him under the mistreated face of the poor.

We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.


Amen


From Catholic Doors



The Blue Panther Experience is host for Blog Your Blessings. Click this link and grab the blogroll code. Just add the blogroll code to your blog, leave a comment on Blue Panther Experience and post your blessing. We are of all faiths, creeds and races, so everyone is welcome. Join us on Sunday as we blog our blessings.

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