Lets start with copyright infringement.
It is easily explained as copying someone else’s work without gaining permission first. This includes publishing other peoples work to your web site, newspaper, magazine or even just downloading it to your computer can be seen as copyright infringement. The last is known as a grey area.
Other peoples work means anything created by a person. It can be written content, graphical content, musical content or even html, JavaScript, PHP, CGI, patterns, textures, animations. It is anything tangible that’s created by a person. NOTE: A idea cannot be copyrighted due to the fact it is not tangible.
Example….
I have just finished reading a book on how to service my car. The author of the book explains in detail the different ways a person can go about the job. He also details tips and tricks he has learnt over the years that speed up the servicing.
Now after putting into practice what the author wrote I could go and write my own book on how to service my car, right?
Right!
Why? Well the author can only copyright the content of his book (words, pictures… etc) he cannot copyright the practice or idea there in. This can be viewed in many different ways so if your unsure it is always best to at least email the author before taking any action with there material.
The short and sweet way of looking at this is your content no matter what creative medium it falls under is automatically copyrighted to you for the duration of your life. It can only be broken if you decide to give your content away for free (you must state that it is copyright free material) or you die and nobody registers for the copyright to your material.
This leads us to Public Domain material…..
Before 1978 copyright only lasted 27 seven years. These days it lasts the duration of the creators life. Therefor from the minute you create your work it is automatically copyrighted to you. It is still important to state this wherever you decide to publish your material.
Public Domain material has no copyright and can be used in anyway you see fit. Also unless you change it in someway it is still Public Domain. So if you find a book that is in the Public Domain and you start selling it on EBay, there is nothing stopping the people who buy it from selling it themselves. That’s why it is important to change the material. Add something to it so it stands out or modernize the language so people can understand the material better. Any changes copyright the “new” book to you.
Anything published before 1928 falls under Public Domain. That is of course unless someone got there first and changed the material in some way. You have to watch out for that. It could get you into trouble.
That’s the basics. For a more detailed insight into copyright go to GOV.
Also depending on your country things maybe different so make sure you know where you stand.
Personal Note……
Copyrighting your work is a good thing. You are the sole owner of what you create and so you should be. There is a problem here though. Once your material is published to the web, book, magazine or even TV your leaving your material open to abuse.
This could be viewed as unfortunate but truthfully if it wasn’t for copying other peoples HTML code I would have never learned HTML. It was the same for Java Script and Graphic Design. Even writing and game creation were learnt from copying others first.
It is also well known that internet marketers keep something called a Swipe File on there computer. This is where they paste items of interest they find on the web. It is a digital scrapbook basically.
People learn by first copying and then creating. It is the natural order of life to copy others. So if you want to be strict about your copyright that’s fine. Just remember how you learnt what you know before you draw a line in the sand:)
To gain a helping hand in building content for your site quickly, head to IM Content. New content added daily.
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The bother of physically going to a betting hall is more than enough to let it be unless you have to. Those traffic jams, the bother, and task list this entails don’t justify the toil for the possibility to lay your bets at betting hall, on the other hand, if you happen to be the sort who is greatly fascinated by wagering then going online will probably be the evident answer.
It isn’t required to abandon the comfort of your home to try your hand at online wagering simply because you’ll do all this from your familiar home office assuming you own a PC and, obviously, a broadband connection to the Internet. Though allowing for this, you’re advised to read on as there’s a fair number of details that you will positively want to realize about online wagering, in particular if you are still lacking first hand experience regarding this subject. So cool down those hormones and scan the facts that follows. Here is a guide which expounds what to take into consideration when locating a reputable, secure online wagering Web site. The foremost thing that I as a well informed Web high roller should suss out is an online wagering web site of the category that promotes high winnings. See below for a few select fresh guidelines and details about spotting your virtual video poker etc web site.
You definitely must ensure the virtual video poker etc web site is legally licensed, e. g. by probing the govt. authorization as filed on the casino site page. If you fail to locate any govt. authorization on any given virtual video poker etc web site, don’t try to place a wager there. Following next, I would advise you comprehensively check out the different promotional deals that the virtual video poker etc web site displays.
British woman wins $401,847.25 in online casino.
Moreover, another tip is obviously to lay your bets at first with negligible amounts instead of blowing so much it will hurt instantly. First thing, check the health of this specific virtual video poker etc operation rather than triggering any serious adversity– in particular in terms of money! Finally, here is another vital word of wisdom about virtual card playing. It must be to bear in mind always that any kind of gambling is all about amusement and not about making a buck. Casino betting is certainly no vocation, instead it’s a pastime that is intended to let you feel happy and living pleasurable.
If you have kept to the expounded guidelines, you’re now at liberty to submit to the draw of virtual video poker etc. 
Why can’t I have a baby? That was a question I used to ask myself all the time. When you want a baby so badly, it seems that every other woman in the world just has to blink her eyes and presto! She’s pregnant. You’re left marinating in your own thoughts of failure, unworthiness, and not deserving to have what you consider to be the most rewarding and joyful experience of your life.
I spent 6 years trying to have a baby. It goes without saying, that’s a long time! But during those 6 years I learned a lot about myself and about the way I attract what I want in my life. Initially, my husband and I decided to pursue fertility treatments. We tried medications, inseminations, and IVF twice. The medications and inseminations didn’t work at all, and the IVF’s ended in miscarriage and the removal of one of my fallopian tubes. We decided to discontinue our fertility treatments because we had spent about $25,000 and wound up worse off than when we started. But, after doing much research, I realized that even though I was over 40, I still could get pregnant. Just because my fertility treatments failed, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t have a baby, it just meant that the ‘high tech’ route was not the answer. Afterall, I had always been an advocate of ‘clean living’ — I rarely took medications, and I’ve always been one that enjoyed an ‘all natural’ lifestyle. It should have been no surprise that fertility treatments didn’t work. All the drugs and hormones associated with fertility treatments basically bombarded my system with what I now consider to be toxic chemicals. Is that anyway to try to bring a child into the world? Not for me.
Now, just for the record, let me say that some women do need fertility treatments depending on their diagnosis. For instance, if your tubes are totally blocked, the only way to get around that is IVF. But for many people who fall into the ‘unexplained category’, fertility treatments may not be the answer. After much research, I developed a ‘pregnancy protocol’ which resulted in 4 pregnancies over the age of 40! Once I started getting pregnant, my problem became miscarriage, not infertility. The first 3 naturally conceived pregnancies ended in miscarriage, but as I refined my protocol and as I got healthier and more hormonally balanced, I finally carried my last pregnancy to term without complications. I was 44 when I had my beautiful daughter.
One piece of my pregnancy protocol was changing what I call my ‘pregnancy mindset”. When you’re struggling with infertility or miscarriage, you start to believe that a successful pregnancy is impossible and you fall into the “why me?” trap.
You become a victim of infertility and “victimhood” is very disempowering. Instead you need to change your thoughts to thoughts of success. Instead of saying “I can’t have a baby”, you need to be happy and joyful that your baby is on the way. You need to open your heart and your mind and tell yourself that your baby will come when the time is right. The problem is that when you’re so far down, it’s hard to climb out. It’s hard to get your hopes up only to deal with the constant disappointment of either not getting pregnant, or miscarrying.
If you were a new soul ready to make your journey into the world (or in this case - into the womb), wouldn’t you prefer to come into an environment that was calm, peaceful and receptive? When you’re struggling with infertility, you’re usually in a place of anger, disappointment, jealousy, and frustration. Is this the environment you would choose? Honestly, I think that’s one reason that some couples get pregnant after giving up their dreams of having a family or after deciding to adopt. They finally let go of their ill feelings and move into acceptance. They quit trying to force things in to place which makes room for success. Believe me, you can’t force babies into anything. They will do things in their own time, on their own schedule.
One technique I used for changing my mindset was visualization. I would picture my baby in my mind. I would hold her, I would play with her, and I could feel the love for her deep down in my soul. My visualizations were so strong that I would find myself smiling without even knowing it! When you have such loving thoughts, your mindset is automatically lifted and this becomes your point of attraction. Alternately, when you’re feeling angry and deprived, your point of attraction is heartache and pain and this is what you manifest in your life. I brought myself to a place where in my mind I already had a baby. If I saw other pregnant women, instead of being jealous, I would look at them and think, they have such a miracle inside of them, just like me. I planned out my maternity wardrobe, I planned my nursery, it was a done deal. When you’re in the right mindset it’s easy to succeed. It becomes hard to fail!
Don’t be afraid to picture success. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re going to set yourself up for disappointment. These thoughts may be keeping you from the very thing you want so much. You can create what you want in your life whether it’s having a baby, or anything else. If you go back and examine your past, think of all the things you’ve achieved. Can you see how you manifested them? Take credit! It was no accident. Your point of attraction was success.
Copyright © 2006 Sandy Robertson
Sandy Robertson is the author of You Can Get Pregnant Over 40, Naturally. She is a stay-at-home mom who also writes and teaches part-time at a local community college. She has volunteered for her local infertility organization as the women’s support group leader and continues to speak to women and couples struggling with infertility and miscarriage. She recently started the Get Pregnant Over 35 and 40 online support and discussion boards.
Today’s fast-moving business environment demands that the effective manager be both a well-organized administrator and highly adept in understanding people’s basic needs and behaviour in the workplace. Gaining commitment, nurturing talent, and ensuring employee motivation and productivity require open communication and trust between managers and staff.
1. Understand their behaviour
People at work naturally tend to adopt instinctive modes of behaviour that are self-protective rather than open and collaborative. This explains why emotion is a strong force in the workplace and why management often reacts violently to criticisms and usually seeks to control rather than take risks. So, in order to eliminate this kind of perspective and to increase employee motivation, it is best that you influence behaviour rather than to change personalities. Insisting what you expect from your employees will only worsen the situation.
2. Be sure that people’s lower-level needs are met.
People have various kinds of needs. Examples of lower-level needs are salary, job security, and working conditions. In order to increase employee motivation, you have to meet these basic needs. Consequently, failures with basic needs nearly always explain dissatisfaction among staff. Satisfaction, on the other hand, springs from meeting higher-level needs, such as responsibility progress, and personal growth. When satisfaction is met, chances are employee motivation is at hand.
3. Encourage pride
People need to feel that their contribution is valued and unique. If you are a manager, seek to exploit this pride in others, and be proud of your own ability to handle staff with positive results. This, in turn, will encourage employee motivation among your people.
4. Listen carefully
In many areas of a manager’s job, from meetings and appraisals to telephone calls, listening plays a key role. Listening encourages employee motivation and, therefore, benefits both you and your staff. So make an effort to understand people’s attitudes by careful listening and questioning and by giving them the opportunity to express themselves.
5. Build confidence
Most people suffer from insecurity at some time. The many kinds of anxiety that affect people in organizations can feed such insecurity, and insecurity impedes employee motivation. Your antidote, therefore, is to build confidence by giving recognition, high-level tasks, and full information. In doing so, you only not refurbish employee motivation but boost productivity as well.
6. Encourage contact
Many managers like to hide away behind closed office doors, keeping contact to a minimum. That makes it easy for an administrator, but hard to be a leader. It is far better to keep your office door open and to encourage people to visit you when the door is open. Go out of your way to chat to staff on an informal basis. Keep in mind that building rapport with your staff will effectively increase employee motivation.
7. Use the strategic thinking of all employees.
It is very important to inform people about strategic plans and their own part in achieving the strategies. Take trouble to improve their understanding and to win their approval, as this will have a highly positive influence on performance and increasing employee motivation as well.
8. Develop trust
The quality and style of leadership are major factors in gaining employee motivation and trust. Clear decision making should be coupled with a collaborative, collegiate approach. This entails taking people into your confidence and explicitly and openly valuing their contributions. By simply giving your staff the opportunity to show that you can trust them is enough to increase employee motivation among them.
9. Delegate decisions
Pushing the power of decision-making downward reduces pressure on senior management. It motivates people on the lower levels because it gives them a vote of confidence. Also, because the decision is taken nearer to the point of action, it is more likely to be correct. Consequently, by encouraging them to choose their own working methods, make decisions, and giving them responsibility for meeting the agreed goal will encourage employee motivation among your staff.
10. Appraising to motivate
When choosing methods of assessing your staff’s performance, always make sure that the end result has a positive effect on employee motivation and increases people’s sense of self-worth. Realistic targets, positive feedback, and listening are key factors.
If you follow these simple steps in increasing employee motivation, rest assured you will have a good working relationship with your staff at the same time boost you company’s productivity. Just bear in mind that people are employed to get good results for the company. Their rates of success are intrinsically linked to how they are directed, reviewed, rewarded, trusted, and motivated by the management.
For more great employee motivation related articles and resources check out employeemotivation.hrhaven.com
You don’t have to knock down walls to make a room seem
bigger. Sometimes it takes a little imagination and a
lot of know how to create that spacious space you
crave.
Here are 9 easy ideas that you can do right now to make
your room appear larger.
1. Use light colors on your walls. Light colors on your
walls will give a more open, spacious feeling to your
room. Light colors on your walls will have your walls
recede, where as dark colors will create a “closing in”
feeling.
2. Unify your walls. When painting, paint your
baseboards, chair rails and window trim the same color
as your wall. If you have doors in your room, paint
your doors the same color as well. This will remove all
the visual distractions on your walls, unifying your
walls… and making your room appear larger.
3. Simplify your windows. A small room is not the place
to have fancy, fluffy window treatments. Keep it
simple, with roman shades, or simple lined drapes. Have
the fabric of your window treatments the same color as
your walls. This will unify your walls even more, and
creating a larger space.
4. Avoid area rugs. Keep the floor as clean and open as
possible. This helps to create a spacious feeling to
your room. This concept also works when creating a
spacious feel for multiple rooms. Having your floor all
one material will have your rooms flowing into each
other and creating a larger space.
5. Reduce the clutter. With small spaces, you want to
create as much open space as possible. To do this you
need to clean up the clutter, minimize the amount of
furniture and stay organized.
6. Small furniture and dark colors. Although, you
should use light colors for your walls, the opposite is
true for your furniture. A club chair upholstered in a
light color will appear larger than if you covered it
in a rich chocolate brown. The same is true for your
wood furniture. Lean towards rich dark stains that help
minimize the size of your furniture. The more contrast
with your walls the smaller your furniture will seem
and the larger your room will feel. There is one
exception to this rule. You could also consider
upholstering your furniture in the same fabric as your
window treatments and the same color as your walls…
your upholstered furniture will “disappear” into the
walls.
7. Avoid patterns. Some pattern is nice for interest,
but avoid loud, busy patterns in a small space. Stick
with patterns that read as a solid.
8. Let the light in. If you have windows, create window
treatments that allow the sun to shine in during the
day. Natural light and the appearance of windows can
really open up a space.
9. Use mirrors. Adding a mirror to a wall creates the
illusion of open space. It also reflects light to add
brightness to the room. Have a wall that you’re not
sure what to do with? Add a framed mirror.
Following these simple rules will create an open,
spacious room. You’ll be amazed at how your small room
will transform into a bright, larger room.
Happy Decorating!
Jennifer Thoden
Discover free home decorating ideas for all rooms of your home. Visit http://www.homedecoratingideas4u.com to enjoy free interior designer tips, home decorating ideas and dozens of interior decorating articles.
www.homedecoratingideas4u.com
Goldfish are hardy freshwater fish. While most people know about them, they do not necessarily know all about them. This article attempts to tell you a lot more. They originated from the Gibal Carp. Over the past 2000 years, beginning in China, Goldfish were the result of breeding and early genetic like experimentation. Unlike many other species, various genetic traits can be changed over 3-4 generations with Goldfish.
Wild “Goldfish” live in an environment of ponds, lakes, and other water holes and can be found in Moving and still water ranging from 50 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit / 10 to 32 degrees Celsius. The largest types of goldfish can grow to be upwards of 12 inches/ 30 cm and with weights around 5 pounds / 2.5 Kg.
In the wild, their colors tend to be darker and paler which seems to be a direct result of the amount of light in their environment. Their colors actually include gold, bronze, and pink. They have a couple sub-hues of the sort too, metallic and calico.
It is time to shatter a myth, a dream about keeping goldfish. Those cute little bowls that are often sold containing goldfish are not the right environment for Goldfish. They need more room, as they can grow large and need high oxygen levels in the water. Something that is hard to maintain in a bowl. Small aquarium tanks are never wise for aquarists, as they can have more drastic (and fast) changes in the water quality. This means that the water very fast can turn toxic and kill your goldfish. You sometime hear people being proud that my new goldfish has lived for 3 or 6 month or something like that. A six month old goldfish is really nothing to be proud of as these fish can become 30 and even 40 years old with the proper care.
For a Goldfish aquarium tank, it is advisable to have a tank with a lot of surface area as that allows more water contact with the air which means more oxygen in the water. For every inch of Goldfish, you should have 30 square inches of surface area. Do not forget that they will grow, and some variety can become as large a foot / 30 cm.
Goldfish should be kept in freshwater and can in some areas be taken directly from the tap. Check with a local fish store to se if the water in your area is good enough to house fish in and use a good water preparation chemical. Make sure that new water that you add to the aquarium keeps the same temperature as the old water in the aquarium. You should always let your aquarium stand for about a week after first adding water to it before adding any fish. This process is called cycling and makes the water more suitable to support life.
Gravel on the bottom is wise, as it will help the Goldfish to feel more at home. About 1/8 inch is good. It is a good idea to avoid dyed gravel, as it might have contaminants that your Goldfish will not appreciate in terms of health.
Filtration are not, with good water changes, as necessary for Goldfish as they are with many other fish, though still a good idea and strongly recommended, as it will make your task a bit simpler and help you keep the water conditions good. The filtration will also start a current which increase the oxygen levels in the aquarium tank which is beneficial
Oxygenating is a good thing as well. It will help release some harmful chemicals in the water, and helps oxygenate the water as well. A simple air stone, and pump for your Goldfish will help them live happier and healthier, and the cost are worth every penny of it.
Goldfish, like most other fish, do enjoy some environment to play in. Places to hide and find shade in. One other aspect, it is wise to have at least 2 goldfish, as they do like company. Loners in the fish world probably are not that much different from those in the human one. Do not leave your precious pet alone without someone to play with. Make sure all things in the tank are meant to be in a fish tank, and that they are clean, so they don’t add harmful chemicals. Don’t use any detergents to clean the fish tank and/or any part of decoration and equipment.
Lighting will help the fish to maintain the best color. Florescent Normal Output bulbs do well for Goldfish, although high output bulbs can make your goldfish colors look and be even brighter.
You should take care bringing the Goldfish home. Darkness, room temperature, and gentleness are a great idea, as they will help lessen the stress on the goldfish during the move. Another aspect is that it is wise to dim the lights before adding them to the tank to further reduce stress. Before releasing them into the tank you should let the bag float on top of the aquarium for a while. (At least 15 minutes) you should thereafter open the bag and but about a cup of water in it and than wait another 15 minutes. You should repeat this process 4 times before you release you fish in their new home. This will give the goldfish the possibility to slowly adept to the new water conditions.
Once things are up and running, you should change some of the water in the tank weekly. This helps remove stale water and clean out some debris. You should siphon about 15% of the water out and from the bottom at the gravel where the debris fall. Then replace the removed water with the fresh water, make sure that the new water has the same temperature as the water in the aquarium. If the water changes causes big changes in the water values it might stress the Goldfish.
Goldfish have special nutritional needs that are often available as “Goldfish Food.” For example, Goldfish need more carbohydrates in their diet than many other fish species. It is wise to only add enough food for them to eat fully in 5 or 10 minutes. Any more will likely be waste resting at the bottom and worsen the water quality. It is better to feed them 2-3 times a day then it is once a day.
Click on the link to learn more about goldfish or some other fish species.
According to criminal law, crimes are offences against the social order. In common law jurisdictions, there is a legal fiction that crimes disturb the peace of the sovereign. Government officials, as agents of the sovereign, are responsible for the prosecution of offenders. Hence, the criminal law “plaintiff” is the sovereign, which in practical terms translates into the monarch or the people.
The major objective of criminal law is deterrence and punishment, while that of civil law is individual compensation. Criminal offences consist of two distinct elements; the physical act (the actus reus, guilty act) and the requisite mental state with which the act is done (the mens rea, guilty mind). For example, in murder the ‘actus reus is the unlawful killing of a person, while the ‘mens rea is malice aforethought (the intention to kill or cause grievous injury). The criminal law also details the defenses that defendants may bring to lessen or negate their liability (criminal responsibility) and specifies the punishment which may be inflicted. Criminal law neither requires a victim, nor a victim’s consent, to prosecute an offender. Furthermore, a criminal prosecution can occur over the objections of the victim and the consent of the victim is not a defense in most crimes.
Criminal law in most jurisdictions both in the common and civil law traditions is divided into two fields:
* Criminal procedure regulates the process for addressing violations of criminal law
* Substantive criminal law details the definition of, and punishments for, various crimes.
Criminal law distinguishes crimes from civil wrongs such as tort or breach of contract. Criminal law has been seen as a system of regulating the behavior of individuals and groups in relation to societal norms at large whereas civil law is aimed primarily at the relationship between private individuals and their rights and obligations under the law. Although many ancient legal systems did not clearly define a distinction between criminal and civil law, in England there was little difference until the codification of criminal law occurred in the late nineteenth century. In most U.S. law schools, the basic course in criminal law is based upon the English common criminal law of 1750 (with some minor American modifications like the clarification of mens rea in the Model Penal Code).
Types of criminal law are: Arrests and Searches, Drug Crimes, Juvenile Law, Drunk Driving / DUI / DWI , Parole, Probation, Pardons, Violent Crimes, White Collar Crimes and Military Law.
Criminal Law, please visit Free Legal Information.
When it comes to hotels, things boil down to a tradeoff between low cost and convenient location. In many cases, especially when traveling to major cities and popular attractions, the closer the hotel to the city or attraction the more you can expect to pay. The best way to save money, particularly in large cities, is often to stay in the suburbs.
Of course, this means that you will spend more time getting to the places you want to visit, and this will mean spending additional money on gasoline, etc. It is important to compute all these costs to make sure that you will really be spending less on a less convenient hotel room.
There are of course a number of ways to save money on hotels and motels without compromising quality. For one thing, a membership in AAA or a similar auto club also entitles you to discounts on hotel rooms, as does military service and senior citizen status. When inquiring about a hotel room, always inquire about discounts that may be available.
In addition, shopping early for a hotel room can often yield the best deals. That is because hotels often reserve a block of low cost rooms, and when they are gone they are gone. Thus, the last room at a hotel may be much more costly than the first. Getting the best hotel room deal is often a matter of timing.
Of course getting a great deal on a hotel will mean nothing if the place is a dump. Shopping for a budget hotel should not mean settling for a hotel that is dirty, poorly run or in an unsafe location.
Fortunately, finding a good budget hotel has been made much easier with the help of the internet. What used to take weeks or even months to research can now be done in a matter of hours or even minutes. Many hotels, even budget properties, feature pictures of the property and the surrounding area, so be sure to research the property you are considering if you have never stayed there before.
It is important to research the area in which the hotel is located as well. Be sure to check out things like restaurants and attractions within walking distance of the hotel. Doing research on the area will help ensure you do not end up staying in a dangerous neighborhood just to save a couple of bucks.
The internet also provides a number of review sites where those who have stayed in various hotels share their experiences and their impressions of the hotel properties. These review sites can be very useful for travelers, particularly those traveling to a new location for the first time.
In addition, the internet hosts a number of comparison web sites where travelers can easily find and compare hotel properties for their individual dates of stay and destinations. These web sites offer a number of ways to search, including distance from a particular tourist attraction, price, star level and more. The only caveat to consider when using such a web site is its independence. Some comparison web sites feature only properties that pay an advertising fee, so using a comparison site does not necessarily guarantee the best price. It is best to use a number of such web sites to get a true picture of the lowest prices available.
For more information about securing cheap or discount hotel rates, visit these sites, Cheap Hotels and Discount Hotels
There are things we do; well some of us do, when living in a foreign country that we would never consider doing at home. Having landed in Uganda in the midst of a boom year for grasshoppers my wife and I have been working on the title for our Ugandan cookbook. We have thought of calling it Matoke Madness and filling it with recipes such as Greasy Grasshoppers Greet the Pallet with Garlicky Crunch. In the States the same plague of grasshoppers we are witnessing here would cause farmers to say that it is a bad year, but here it is a good year for grasshoppers in that there are more than usual. November in central Uganda is apparently always grasshopper season and a time that children and adults delight in. The fact that they are a delicacy around here makes a certain amount of historical sense. Apparently, unlike the Mormons of Utah who were saved from a plague of locust by seagulls sent by God, Ugandans have had to count on themselves. Thus, when a plague of grasshoppers arrive there are two choices, allow them to eat the crops and starve yourself, or eat them and the crops and thank God for the extra protein.
There are two children who live next door to us, a boy about age seven and a girl around age five. These two were the first people we saw gathering grasshoppers and until we went to the weekly market we thought they were just playing. It turns out that children all over are collecting grasshoppers, but they are not they primary harvesters. In certain places, soccer fields seem to be especially coveted, entrepreneurs have set up big outdoor lights to attract the hoppers at night. The unsuspecting insects pile up around the lights and make for easy harvesting. They are then carted off to markets. Here in Entebbe at the Tuesday market there are huge piles of them. Many people buy them whole and in bulk and take them home to cook, but they are also sold legs and wings off and hot from the skillet for those who want to snack as they do their weekly shopping. We have been told that if grasshopper season goes by, and you haven’t eaten any, it is very bad year if you are Ugandan. When cooked they turn a translucent yellow color. In some ways they are similar in character and appearance to shrimp, but the ones we ate at the market were a bit too oily for our taste; however, with spice and more time to get used to local customs, we may look forward to next years harvest with the anticipation a child has for birthday cake.
Hank Snow writes with humor on travel, lifestyle, and many other topics. His articles can be found at http://www.apexfood.com/articles/index.html and many other fine websites.
We have a running joke in our office that one day we’ll load a page and it will say “You have reached the end of the World Wide Web” and it will be the truth. I’ve visited so many web sites in my time, it’s unreal. There are a few web site features and practices that keep popping up, in spite of their highly detrimental nature. I find myself, day in and day out, advising clients to remove something or other from their web site, as it is stunting their online business potential. But cleaning up the World Wide Web one client at a time isn’t very efficient, so I’ll share with you the Top 10 most ludicrous things you can do on your web site, and hopefully we’ll get this mess cleaned up.
1. Frames - Most of you are probably rolling your eyes right now, saying “I know, I know” but there not only still is a large amount of sites that use frames, there’s actually a very dangerous counter-argument to this going on.
Frames section off your web site, making multiple smaller windows within one page. It sounds harmless enough, but the code behind a page with frames is very short, only referring to the pages that fill in the smaller windows. This hides any text you have on the page, any headings, any links, image names and alt text, comment tags, and a lot more from search engines. In short, frames hide 99% of your site’s content from the view of search engines, fooling them into thinking your site is virtually bare.
Now, recently Google has announced that their search algorithm is newly able to see past frames and find all of your site’s content. Problems remain, though, in that the algorithm does not yet index pages with frames well. This also doesn’t fix the problem with other search engines.
There’s some kind of Rebel Frames Force or something that use Google’s new indexing ability as an argument for frames, among other even less valid points. “But what about this and what about that?” they argue. I say to you, rebel framers, why bother? I really don’t understand why this inane argument continues. You can easily avoid any potentially harmful side-effects of frames by using tables. It looks exactly the same, if not better, and we know for sure that all search engine robots can decipher the uncomplicated table code. A smart site owner would simply not take the risk.
2. Keyword-rich Text Embedded in Images - Another fabulous way to shoot yourself in the proverbial foot. Search engines can’t read text in an image, so if most of your web site’s textual content is within images, you’re pretty much done for. Come on people, keywords are what make the Web go ’round! The idea is to have as many applicable keywords as possible within your site visible by search engines, right? So it really doesn’t make much sense to take some of those keywords and hide them. There is no counter-argument to this. It’s simple, if you want traffic, get your keywords out of images.
3. Entrance Pages/Flash Intros - This practice will not just have a negative impact on search engine optimization, it also subtracts from your site’s user-friendliness.
Search engine robots want to find out what your site is about as soon as they can. In other words, they want to find content on the front page. This means that there absolutely must be keyword-rich text on your opening page. It is fairly easy to comply with this while having an intro page, but it doesn’t solve the user-friendliness issue.
Think, for a moment, about how you surf the web. If you’re like the majority of surfers, you’re looking for information and you want to find it fast. Simply put, an intro page is one more step that has to be taken before getting to the good stuff. Speaking from personal experience, if a site has a flash intro or an entrance page and I’m in a rush (which defines my life), I’ll leave and find another source of the info I’m looking for. Essentially, I feel that sites with such opening pages, have little respect for my time and I don’t want to venture into the site any further to find out how many other ways the site owner has found to elongate the simple act of supplying information. It’s simply easier to find another site. Really, what exactly is the purpose of an entrance page? Try as I might, I just can’t think of one.
4. Music - O.K., This is my biggest pet peeve. There is nothing more annoying than sitting down on Sunday morning, steaming cup of coffee in hand, opening iTunes to listen to the latest R.E.M., starting to surf the web and suddenly hearing a midi version of Greensleeves turn Losing My Religion into something that sounds more like a cat dying.
With the growing popularity of mp3s, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t listen to their own music while they’re on the web. It is absolutely guaranteed that you’ll turn some visitors away from your site if you insist on having music load with it.
“But, what if I offer a button that will turn the music off?” some people ask. Most web site visitors who are listening to music won’t stick around long enough to find your off button. In my case, as soon as I hear one note, I hit the back button. There is always another site to find the information I’m looking for.
5. Large Media - Java applets, video media and images can be a real pain in the you-know-what when they haven’t been optimized. There are so many poorly written java apps out there that will actually crash browsers. Large videos and images will cause your site to load slowly and visitors to leave before they even see the fully-loaded page.
Make sure you test any java apps across several browsers. If there’s any delay in loading, trash it or fix it.
Optimizing large images is also necessary. Adobe ImageReady will significantly cut down the loading time of your image while saving it’s quality and dimensions.
Video should be an option. Never have it load with your site. Most people don’t have the time to sit around watching videos on web sites, let alone wait for videos to load. Pictures and text will tell your story just as easily.
Internet users still use dial-up accounts and with the rise of people accessing the internet from their mobile devices, shaving every second possible off the loading time of your site will ensure that visitors do not get impatient and leave.
6. Limited ways to contact - Believe it or not, I’ve actually come across commercial web sites that have absolutely no way to contact anyone associated with the site. Unless you hope your web site visitor’s reaction to the online representation of your business to be a string of profanity, I wouldn’t suggest taking this route. In fact, I’ve always urged clients to offer as many ways as possible to contact them on their web sites. Phone, fax, e-mail, contact form, mailing address, etc.
Everyone has their own preferred method of contact. A lot of my clients prefer talking on the phone and probably wouldn’t be my clients if all I offered as a contact method was e-mail. Me, I hate talking on the phone and filling out forms. If you don’t offer a link to your e-mail address on your site, you probably won’t hear from me. But what about spam, you say? Well, you’ll just have to decide for yourself what’s worse, losing potential paying customers or getting more spam.
7. Long Pages/Entire Site in One Page - When loading a site, finding a page that seems to go on forever can seem daunting. The same amount of information, organized into several pages will seem a lot less scary to your visitors. Labeled pages and sections will lead your visitor to exactly the information they’re looking for as opposed to making them search lines and lines of text to find it. Well organized content on several pages is also something that pleases the search engines.
8. No Link Exchange Policy - A lot of web sites out there don’t exchange links as a rule. This will not only stunt the growth of your link popularity, but potential traffic that could come directly from those links would be lost. You don’t have to exchange links with every interested site, but turning them all away is a dangerous practice.
9. Cross-Browser Compatibility Check - Always, always, always check what your web site looks like and how well it functions on other browsers. Do this whenever you update, make new pages, or new versions of browsers come out. I’ve seen some pretty funky stuff around the web that’s been caused by non-compatibility. Title images on the bottom of the page, invisible links, missing images, even some sites that cause browsers to crash.
Here are some of the more popular browsers:
Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE)
Netscape
Opera
Mozilla
Apple Safari
Download a copy of each of these and check your site! I realize most of you use Windows and can’t check your site on Safari, so find a friend who has a Mac. Mac users are growing in numbers and can be some of your web site’s visitors. Make sure what they see is what you want them to.
10. Free Web Space/No Domain Name - This one is all about professionalism. To avoid having your business seem about as serious as little Sally’s lemonade stand down the street, don’t host it on free web space like Geocities, Angelfire, etc. Get your own domain name. It costs an average of $30/year and you can find good hosting for $10/month, sometimes less. If you can’t afford that, I suggest you turn off your computer and sell it for food. Free hosting is straight cheese, and your visitors will get the feeling you’re not taking your business seriously.
So, there you have it. The top 10 most ludicrous things you can do with your web site. I’ve heard some web site owners argue that their site visitors have complimented their videos, java apps, music, etc. Just keep in mind, the visitors who don’t like this stuff leave and you probably won’t hear from them.
The goal of your commercial web site should be to soak up every last potential paying customer from the web. Any of these 10 points can turn paying customers away. Respect your visitors’ time, try to make their experience on your site as quick and full of information as possible. Be organized and professional and let your audience see that you know what you’re doing.
About The Author
Courtney Heard is the founder of Abalone Designs, http://www.abalone.ca, an Internet Marketing and SEO company in Vancouver, Canada. She has been involved in web development and marketing since 1995 and has helped start several businesses since then in the Vancouver area. More of Courtney’s articles are available at www.abalone.ca/resources/
courtney@abalone.ca
