Everyone knows that building links to your site is essential to getting your site to rank higher in the search engines. The number of backlinks you have to your pages is one of the primary ways for the search engines to judge how popular your site really is. While there are many ways to get links to your sites, one of the best ways is to submit your pages to social bookmarking sites.
There are hundreds of social bookmarking sites on the web today. Most of these sites allow you to create your own public profile and submit your urls to them. An added bonus is that if you submit great content, there is also a possibility that other users might like what you are posting, and also add your links to their profiles as well. This is a great way to take advantage of the viral nature of the web.
One great thing about submitting your urls to these sites is that you can pick your own anchor text for your backlinks. This is done by writing a good title for your submission. As you may know, the anchor text is an important factor in ranking well with the search engines. Also, most of these sites support the concept of tags, which allows you another place to add in all the keywords relevant to your site.
Creating a profile and submitting your pages to each site can be a very time consuming task. To help with this process, there are several free sites like socialmarker.com that can help you bookmark your site. If you're willing to pay a little bit of money, you should also check out a program like Bookmarking Demon. BookmarkingDemon is a desktop program that makes it very easy to create accounts and submit your urls to the major social-bookmarking sites.
Since there are so many social bookmarking sites, you probably want to be a little selective in choosing which sites to submit to. One thing to look for is to see if a particular site will give you do-follow links. A lot of the popular ones have a high pagerank so if they are do-follow, then you'll get a certain amount of link-juice passed onto your own site. If the site's links are no-follow, then it's probably not worth your time. Also, make sure that you are not blatantly obvious with submissions of your own pages. This is where a program like BookmarkingDemon comes in handy as it has some innovative features to minimize the appearance of self promotion.
As you can see, submitting your pages on social bookmarking sites should be an essential part of your linkbuilding campaign. It is an easy way to get a lot of backlinks pointing back to your site and will definitely help your site's rankings in the search engines.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
When to Use a Pen Name Or Not
A rich tradition has existed for hundreds of years for fiction writers to use pen names. The most famous pen name, of course, was Samuel Clemens writing under the name Mark Twain. A lesser known use is Romance writer Nora Roberts who uses the pen name J.D. Robb when writing suspense novels.
"Alice in Wonderland" was authored by Lewis Carroll which was a pen name used by Charles Dodgson who had gained a considerable reputation as a mathematician and didn't want to create confusion by writing fiction under his real name. As a book marketing expert I have represented a long list of authors, some of whom have chosen to use pen names. Others have asked me about the wisdom of using a pen name. My general response is to advise against a pen name but there are good reasons not to sign a book with your real name.
Nora Roberts certainly has a marketable name. After all, her name has appeared on the NY Times Best Seller List for a combined 660 weeks - 100 weeks in the number one spot. Over 280 million copies of her books are in print, including 12 million copies sold in 2005 alone. So with a marketable name like that, why would Nora Roberts ever want to use a pen name? (By the way, Nora Roberts also is a pen name; the author was born Eleanor Marie Roberts).
In 1992 Putnam publishers asked Nora Roberts to come up with a second pen name because they could not keep up with the prolific writer's romance novels let alone the new genre of romance suspense novels she wanted to write. So she took the initials J.D. from sons Jason and Dan and shortened Roberts to Robb. She also has written under the pen names Jill March and Sara Hardesty.
One of my clients served as a Navy Seal in the Iraq War and then returned to write a book on the war that was critical of Islam. To protect his personal safety and maintain security for his family, my client wrote under the pen name Chuck Bravedy. The author was concerned that extremists living in America would be offended and angered by his controversial book and come after him or his family.
My biggest concern for Chuck Bravedy was security. Could one of these terrorists hunt him or his family down and kill them? What if an extremist was offended by an opinion in the book or by something my client said in an interview? (Think about Salman Rushdie). It's harder to find somebody who's "not in the phone book," so to speak. Being anonymous can be a good thing. The fact that Bravedy's name was "not in the phone book" raised some attention from the Pentagon who called me to inquire about Chuck Bravedy because they did not have his name in their files. The Pentagon was concerned because they want to keep phonies from impersonating military officials.
One client I represented, who asked my advice about using a pen name, was a former CIA operative. He was concerned about the impact a pen name would have on promoting his book. He wondered whether radio and TV interviewers would be willing to use the pen name during an interview or would insist on using his birth name. Some CIA friends of my client also had published books and used their real names without problems. To cover his bases while he decided the former CIA officer went ahead and registered web domains under his real name and under his pen name. After talking with him about the options my client decided to use his real name.
I also have represented authors who used a pen name because they had a past they were not proud of and wanted to protect their family members and loved ones from public embarrassment. From a marketing standpoint if your real life identify is associated with a business and you want the book to promote your business, or vice versa, than a pen name should not be used. But if you have success, and don't want that success threatened by pursuing an avocation of writing, than a pen name would be in order. Pen names may create marketing challenges, most of which can be overcome, and so the marketing implications need to be examined before publishing.
Reasons for using a pen name include
To avoid embarrassment
For personal safety or security
If you write under more than one genre
If your name is hard to pronounce or spell
If your name is not marketable
If your name conflicts with the name of another author
To hide gender (a male writing in predominantly female genre)
To avoid confusing readers if you are well known in another field
If you want to hide from the public and from people you work with or worked with, etc., than a pen name is fine. But, if it's not important than why bother? So, my vote is to use your own name. Here are just a few points to ponder.
· Use real name if you are not trying to hide from anyone. · Use real name to brand your name for speaking gigs or consulting assignments · Use real name if you are planning to write a series of books · Use real name so acquaintances can better locate your published works · A real names builds trust and confidence amongst readers · Its far easier to brand a real name than a pen name · Expertise is validated by an individual's real life experience · Long-term loyalty with readers is easier to build with real name
If you want to brand your name for speaking gigs or for consulting engagements then use your own name. Furthermore if you are planning to write a series of books then using your own name makes the most sense to me.
"Alice in Wonderland" was authored by Lewis Carroll which was a pen name used by Charles Dodgson who had gained a considerable reputation as a mathematician and didn't want to create confusion by writing fiction under his real name. As a book marketing expert I have represented a long list of authors, some of whom have chosen to use pen names. Others have asked me about the wisdom of using a pen name. My general response is to advise against a pen name but there are good reasons not to sign a book with your real name.
Nora Roberts certainly has a marketable name. After all, her name has appeared on the NY Times Best Seller List for a combined 660 weeks - 100 weeks in the number one spot. Over 280 million copies of her books are in print, including 12 million copies sold in 2005 alone. So with a marketable name like that, why would Nora Roberts ever want to use a pen name? (By the way, Nora Roberts also is a pen name; the author was born Eleanor Marie Roberts).
In 1992 Putnam publishers asked Nora Roberts to come up with a second pen name because they could not keep up with the prolific writer's romance novels let alone the new genre of romance suspense novels she wanted to write. So she took the initials J.D. from sons Jason and Dan and shortened Roberts to Robb. She also has written under the pen names Jill March and Sara Hardesty.
One of my clients served as a Navy Seal in the Iraq War and then returned to write a book on the war that was critical of Islam. To protect his personal safety and maintain security for his family, my client wrote under the pen name Chuck Bravedy. The author was concerned that extremists living in America would be offended and angered by his controversial book and come after him or his family.
My biggest concern for Chuck Bravedy was security. Could one of these terrorists hunt him or his family down and kill them? What if an extremist was offended by an opinion in the book or by something my client said in an interview? (Think about Salman Rushdie). It's harder to find somebody who's "not in the phone book," so to speak. Being anonymous can be a good thing. The fact that Bravedy's name was "not in the phone book" raised some attention from the Pentagon who called me to inquire about Chuck Bravedy because they did not have his name in their files. The Pentagon was concerned because they want to keep phonies from impersonating military officials.
One client I represented, who asked my advice about using a pen name, was a former CIA operative. He was concerned about the impact a pen name would have on promoting his book. He wondered whether radio and TV interviewers would be willing to use the pen name during an interview or would insist on using his birth name. Some CIA friends of my client also had published books and used their real names without problems. To cover his bases while he decided the former CIA officer went ahead and registered web domains under his real name and under his pen name. After talking with him about the options my client decided to use his real name.
I also have represented authors who used a pen name because they had a past they were not proud of and wanted to protect their family members and loved ones from public embarrassment. From a marketing standpoint if your real life identify is associated with a business and you want the book to promote your business, or vice versa, than a pen name should not be used. But if you have success, and don't want that success threatened by pursuing an avocation of writing, than a pen name would be in order. Pen names may create marketing challenges, most of which can be overcome, and so the marketing implications need to be examined before publishing.
Reasons for using a pen name include
To avoid embarrassment
For personal safety or security
If you write under more than one genre
If your name is hard to pronounce or spell
If your name is not marketable
If your name conflicts with the name of another author
To hide gender (a male writing in predominantly female genre)
To avoid confusing readers if you are well known in another field
If you want to hide from the public and from people you work with or worked with, etc., than a pen name is fine. But, if it's not important than why bother? So, my vote is to use your own name. Here are just a few points to ponder.
· Use real name if you are not trying to hide from anyone. · Use real name to brand your name for speaking gigs or consulting assignments · Use real name if you are planning to write a series of books · Use real name so acquaintances can better locate your published works · A real names builds trust and confidence amongst readers · Its far easier to brand a real name than a pen name · Expertise is validated by an individual's real life experience · Long-term loyalty with readers is easier to build with real name
If you want to brand your name for speaking gigs or for consulting engagements then use your own name. Furthermore if you are planning to write a series of books then using your own name makes the most sense to me.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Ten Reasons Why E-Books Are Better Than Hard Copy Books
Here the top 10 reasons:
1. Price. E-books are cheaper to make and they don't cost as much as real books.
2. There is no shipping fee or gas money wasted driving to buy an e-book.
3. E-books do not get old and fall apart like real books.
4. Read e-books anywhere at any time now with cell phones, PDAs, computers and now e-book readers.
5. You can only carry so many books before you start having back problems. With e-books you can have access to thousands upon thousands of books at the palm of your hand.
6. If you are getting old and you cannot see as well as you used to and your books are starting to get harder to read, with e-books you can always change the font size much larger so that you can see what you are reading.
7. You can read an e-book in the dark since the screen is lit up. With hard cover books, you cannot..
8. You can have a reading program read your e-books for you like an audio books if you would rather not read.
9. You can always back up your e-books to a CD or to your computer in case of an emergency. 10. It is easier to make your own book and sell them without a big publishing deal and start making money right away.
1. Price. E-books are cheaper to make and they don't cost as much as real books.
2. There is no shipping fee or gas money wasted driving to buy an e-book.
3. E-books do not get old and fall apart like real books.
4. Read e-books anywhere at any time now with cell phones, PDAs, computers and now e-book readers.
5. You can only carry so many books before you start having back problems. With e-books you can have access to thousands upon thousands of books at the palm of your hand.
6. If you are getting old and you cannot see as well as you used to and your books are starting to get harder to read, with e-books you can always change the font size much larger so that you can see what you are reading.
7. You can read an e-book in the dark since the screen is lit up. With hard cover books, you cannot..
8. You can have a reading program read your e-books for you like an audio books if you would rather not read.
9. You can always back up your e-books to a CD or to your computer in case of an emergency. 10. It is easier to make your own book and sell them without a big publishing deal and start making money right away.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Book Promotion and Book Marketing With Online Book Reviews
Book promotion used to be all about book tours and book reviews in print media. These days the reviews that count are not all in the print media. They're mostly on online bookstores, especially the Amazon bookstore community.
Amazon has become so powerful that authors will invest scarce resources to get reviewed there. Many authors have false beliefs about what it takes to get an online book review. It's actually quite simple and straightforward.
As a prolific reviewer and a published author, I have experienced the process and have some tips to share with authors who want to make online reviews a key part of their book promotion.
First, I am horrified to learn that authors pay freelancers and agencies to write reviews for them. This is a huge waste of money. Instead, use your budget to send review copies to the most prolific reviewers in your genre. Read the reviewer's past reviews to discover his or her tastes. For example, if you have a book on parenting newborn babies, look at other books on this topic. Notice which reviewers seem genuinely interested. They'll probably be happy to review your book, too.
Anyway, one or two great reviews will not save your book. Even if one or two reviewers think your book ranks up there with War and Peace and the top-selling Stephen King novel, they can't save your book. It's the cumulative ratings that create viral marketing for your book.
Do not ask reviewers to write a review based on one chapter or a pdf version of the book. Send a hard copy of the whole book.
Once a reviewer agrees to consider reviewing your book, move on to your next marketing step. Do not hound the reviewer. Most prolific reviewers have backlog of books in the "To Review" pile. Some reviewers will choose not to review a book (especially one from a self-published author or small press) if they don't like the book. They reason that it's going nowhere,so why add to the author's pain?
And you cannot complain about your review. Believe it or not, the most convincing reviews are balanced. The puffy reviews are not taken seriously. Online readers are smart and their authenticity radar is finely-tuned.
Do not spend a lot of money on packaging. Skip the gold wrapping paper, ribbons and glossy flyers. I can't imagine how they would influence a reviewer.
In fact, the best way to get a handful of 4-star and 5-star reviews is to (drum roll, please!) write a good book. Nothing will compensate for a bad book, even if you somehow convince your friends and family to write glowing reviews. The online book community will pick up vibes from those reviews and you may be worse off. Readers actually complain, "The first 20 reviews look like they came from the author's mother."
You may be able to blast your way to best seller status with a big campaign. But you won't get authentic five-star reviews unless your book truly earns them.
Amazon has become so powerful that authors will invest scarce resources to get reviewed there. Many authors have false beliefs about what it takes to get an online book review. It's actually quite simple and straightforward.
As a prolific reviewer and a published author, I have experienced the process and have some tips to share with authors who want to make online reviews a key part of their book promotion.
First, I am horrified to learn that authors pay freelancers and agencies to write reviews for them. This is a huge waste of money. Instead, use your budget to send review copies to the most prolific reviewers in your genre. Read the reviewer's past reviews to discover his or her tastes. For example, if you have a book on parenting newborn babies, look at other books on this topic. Notice which reviewers seem genuinely interested. They'll probably be happy to review your book, too.
Anyway, one or two great reviews will not save your book. Even if one or two reviewers think your book ranks up there with War and Peace and the top-selling Stephen King novel, they can't save your book. It's the cumulative ratings that create viral marketing for your book.
Do not ask reviewers to write a review based on one chapter or a pdf version of the book. Send a hard copy of the whole book.
Once a reviewer agrees to consider reviewing your book, move on to your next marketing step. Do not hound the reviewer. Most prolific reviewers have backlog of books in the "To Review" pile. Some reviewers will choose not to review a book (especially one from a self-published author or small press) if they don't like the book. They reason that it's going nowhere,so why add to the author's pain?
And you cannot complain about your review. Believe it or not, the most convincing reviews are balanced. The puffy reviews are not taken seriously. Online readers are smart and their authenticity radar is finely-tuned.
Do not spend a lot of money on packaging. Skip the gold wrapping paper, ribbons and glossy flyers. I can't imagine how they would influence a reviewer.
In fact, the best way to get a handful of 4-star and 5-star reviews is to (drum roll, please!) write a good book. Nothing will compensate for a bad book, even if you somehow convince your friends and family to write glowing reviews. The online book community will pick up vibes from those reviews and you may be worse off. Readers actually complain, "The first 20 reviews look like they came from the author's mother."
You may be able to blast your way to best seller status with a big campaign. But you won't get authentic five-star reviews unless your book truly earns them.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Using Social Bookmarking in SEO
The first thing to say before we go any further is that we're not suggesting the overuse (A.K.A spam) of social bookmarking as an SEO technique - we would consider this unethical and a poor use of everybody's resources.
Web 2.0 has brought an influx of great link sources for the everyday SEO, but like everything else in life, it's often a case of 'it's not what you do, it's the way that you do it'. By that I mean just because social bookmarking offers a relatively easy method of attracting massive quantities for back-links, it doesn't mean that we should be out there flogging it like a donkey.
As someone who believes in an ethical approach to SEO, I think there are more constructive ways to attract back-links from social bookmarking. The major suggestion I have for doing this is for you to ensure that you always ADD VALUE to a resource instead of just doing the bare minimum to get your link.
By adding value to a resource you're ensuring that it remains of value to the visitor and in turn more valuable to the search engines. In turn, this will have a positive impact on the value of your back-link.
We like to call this 'link karma', treating your link source with respect for the good of its audience and yourself.
So what are we talking about here then? What's acceptable when you're building links via bookmarking?
1 - Don't use automated software - that's just wrong 2 - Don't bookmark pages that you wouldn't want to read yourself 3 - Don't bookmark 1000's of page a day 4 - Do build bookmarking into your daily routine 5 - Do ensure you write descriptive titles and descriptions 6 - Do ensure that you group links by tags
We've got approximately 100 sites that we use for bookmarking on a daily basis. Each is regularly monitored for quality and topic to ensure that we don't post irrelevant sites or articles to them.
After the initial bookmarking process (where every main page is covered once on each relevant site) we only include new articles and news pages in the roster from then on . . . Thus avoiding spamming the main site pages and risking reprisals from the site owners.
The main message I'd like to give here is that social bookmarking can be an extremely quick and effective method of attracting back-links. However, it can also be easily exploited. By finding a balance between the two, you should get the perfect formula.
Web 2.0 has brought an influx of great link sources for the everyday SEO, but like everything else in life, it's often a case of 'it's not what you do, it's the way that you do it'. By that I mean just because social bookmarking offers a relatively easy method of attracting massive quantities for back-links, it doesn't mean that we should be out there flogging it like a donkey.
As someone who believes in an ethical approach to SEO, I think there are more constructive ways to attract back-links from social bookmarking. The major suggestion I have for doing this is for you to ensure that you always ADD VALUE to a resource instead of just doing the bare minimum to get your link.
By adding value to a resource you're ensuring that it remains of value to the visitor and in turn more valuable to the search engines. In turn, this will have a positive impact on the value of your back-link.
We like to call this 'link karma', treating your link source with respect for the good of its audience and yourself.
So what are we talking about here then? What's acceptable when you're building links via bookmarking?
1 - Don't use automated software - that's just wrong 2 - Don't bookmark pages that you wouldn't want to read yourself 3 - Don't bookmark 1000's of page a day 4 - Do build bookmarking into your daily routine 5 - Do ensure you write descriptive titles and descriptions 6 - Do ensure that you group links by tags
We've got approximately 100 sites that we use for bookmarking on a daily basis. Each is regularly monitored for quality and topic to ensure that we don't post irrelevant sites or articles to them.
After the initial bookmarking process (where every main page is covered once on each relevant site) we only include new articles and news pages in the roster from then on . . . Thus avoiding spamming the main site pages and risking reprisals from the site owners.
The main message I'd like to give here is that social bookmarking can be an extremely quick and effective method of attracting back-links. However, it can also be easily exploited. By finding a balance between the two, you should get the perfect formula.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
How to Do a Book Tour - Part 2
So, the first thing to do with any kind of promotion is to identify your market. Who is the ideal reader? Who will relate to your characters and find the story interesting, and hopefully, exciting.
With some books it's obvious. My last novel was about cowboys. It was about a boy aged 12, a boy in a coming-of-age life experience, a boy who would appeal to readers both younger and older (which is rare) than the main character. I also knew a young readership familiar with horses and cows would be drawn in to the story immediately. Geography might also play a part, since there were several locations developed in the novel, along with relevant historical events.
Now, let's look at your book. If you're not sure who would most identify with your main character, create a character sketch for him or her that includes such things as age, interests, and challenges faced in the novel. Your ideal reader doesn't have to be the same age as your main character - she just has to be able to find some common link with your main character, so that she's interested in finding out more about her. Try to establish a generation of reader, such as young mothers or newly retired men or women climbing the corporate ladder.
Of course, then you'll want to examine your plot and consider who will, because of their own life experiences, be drawn to the story. One of the novels I've published revolved around snowmobiling, and while it sold well in some rural and northern areas, city readers didn't give it a second glance. With some topics, it won't matter on the when, so much as the what - for example, if your novel is about a man returning from war to find his life in upheaval, it can appeal to generations of readers from the world wars through the Vietnam War to the War on Terror.
Geography can be a factor in your marketing, particularly if you've used a specific setting. Some settings are exotic and may appeal just because of where they are, say for example, a romance on a tropical island. With my historical children's books, I plan the setting and circumstances to fit into school curriculum, so it's easier to attract my audience.
Linda Aksomitis owes her publishing success to the Internet! She's been a virtual citizen for over fifteen years, during which time she's published 19 books for all types of markets, the first five being e-books and the remainder all with traditional publishers from around the world. In fact, her book publishers have come from Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. She's published over 1000 articles in numerous markets including newspapers, magazines, and the Internet, plus had her fiction on radio. With a Master of Vocational/Technical Education, Linda also spends a lot of time in cyberspace as a teacher, where she shares the secrets of her success with thousands of students from around the globe.
With some books it's obvious. My last novel was about cowboys. It was about a boy aged 12, a boy in a coming-of-age life experience, a boy who would appeal to readers both younger and older (which is rare) than the main character. I also knew a young readership familiar with horses and cows would be drawn in to the story immediately. Geography might also play a part, since there were several locations developed in the novel, along with relevant historical events.
Now, let's look at your book. If you're not sure who would most identify with your main character, create a character sketch for him or her that includes such things as age, interests, and challenges faced in the novel. Your ideal reader doesn't have to be the same age as your main character - she just has to be able to find some common link with your main character, so that she's interested in finding out more about her. Try to establish a generation of reader, such as young mothers or newly retired men or women climbing the corporate ladder.
Of course, then you'll want to examine your plot and consider who will, because of their own life experiences, be drawn to the story. One of the novels I've published revolved around snowmobiling, and while it sold well in some rural and northern areas, city readers didn't give it a second glance. With some topics, it won't matter on the when, so much as the what - for example, if your novel is about a man returning from war to find his life in upheaval, it can appeal to generations of readers from the world wars through the Vietnam War to the War on Terror.
Geography can be a factor in your marketing, particularly if you've used a specific setting. Some settings are exotic and may appeal just because of where they are, say for example, a romance on a tropical island. With my historical children's books, I plan the setting and circumstances to fit into school curriculum, so it's easier to attract my audience.
Linda Aksomitis owes her publishing success to the Internet! She's been a virtual citizen for over fifteen years, during which time she's published 19 books for all types of markets, the first five being e-books and the remainder all with traditional publishers from around the world. In fact, her book publishers have come from Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. She's published over 1000 articles in numerous markets including newspapers, magazines, and the Internet, plus had her fiction on radio. With a Master of Vocational/Technical Education, Linda also spends a lot of time in cyberspace as a teacher, where she shares the secrets of her success with thousands of students from around the globe.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Public Speaking - Tips For Calming Nervousness and Improving Your Speaking Skills
Moaning, groaning, and sorrowing sobs could be heard all the way down the corridor of the Office Building. People rushed to the cubicle where several employees had gathered and found Valerie lying in the floor curled into the fetal position.
"What happened?" one employee asked seriously.
"Valerie was asked to give a presentation at a corporate meeting and she freaked out."
That was before she became a Toastmaster.
Stage fright is common to all speakers who are concerned about their performance, yet for some it controls decisions, creates limitations and causes drastic responses in the body. You may not think you need any training in public speaking because you never do any public speaking. Regardless of whether you ever speak in front of an audience, you are a public speaker, every time you open your mouth.
Whatever you verbalize in public even one on one is public speaking and it is a reflection on who you are! Some of you are required to make presentations and I'm sure you want to do your best to make your point as clear and as effective as possible. How do you get past the fear of speaking in front of a panel of managers at a job interview? Here are some useful tips to help you control nervousness and appear calm and knowledgeable when you suddenly asked to speak.
1. Practice Yogic breathing for a few minutes before you take the stage. Yogic breathing means bringing air all the way to and from your abdomen. It calms the nerves and delivers a better flow of oxygen to the brain.
2. Practice impromptu speaking. While you are alone, think of a topic and pretend someone has asked you to speak about it. Begin organizing your thoughts. Think of an opening reply to the question or topic, the give your opinion and to close, summarize what you just said. Try to do this in less than two minutes. You'll be surprised how much this will help you think on your feet when someone puts you on the spot.
3. Get involved with Toastmasters. There you will find a non-threatening environment in which to learn and practice the essential communication and leadership skills. The cost is less than $100 per year and includes your materials. Find a club near you by putting your zip code into the search box at toastmasters.org/find/default.asp. Now that you are aware of some things to do to cure stage fright, I'm sure you will not be the one huddled under your desk when it's time to make your presentation.
"What happened?" one employee asked seriously.
"Valerie was asked to give a presentation at a corporate meeting and she freaked out."
That was before she became a Toastmaster.
Stage fright is common to all speakers who are concerned about their performance, yet for some it controls decisions, creates limitations and causes drastic responses in the body. You may not think you need any training in public speaking because you never do any public speaking. Regardless of whether you ever speak in front of an audience, you are a public speaker, every time you open your mouth.
Whatever you verbalize in public even one on one is public speaking and it is a reflection on who you are! Some of you are required to make presentations and I'm sure you want to do your best to make your point as clear and as effective as possible. How do you get past the fear of speaking in front of a panel of managers at a job interview? Here are some useful tips to help you control nervousness and appear calm and knowledgeable when you suddenly asked to speak.
1. Practice Yogic breathing for a few minutes before you take the stage. Yogic breathing means bringing air all the way to and from your abdomen. It calms the nerves and delivers a better flow of oxygen to the brain.
2. Practice impromptu speaking. While you are alone, think of a topic and pretend someone has asked you to speak about it. Begin organizing your thoughts. Think of an opening reply to the question or topic, the give your opinion and to close, summarize what you just said. Try to do this in less than two minutes. You'll be surprised how much this will help you think on your feet when someone puts you on the spot.
3. Get involved with Toastmasters. There you will find a non-threatening environment in which to learn and practice the essential communication and leadership skills. The cost is less than $100 per year and includes your materials. Find a club near you by putting your zip code into the search box at toastmasters.org/find/default.asp. Now that you are aware of some things to do to cure stage fright, I'm sure you will not be the one huddled under your desk when it's time to make your presentation.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Is Regular Training the Answer to Tighter Security?
Every single time we go online, go about our business or do any other business activity related to the internet, we are running the risk of letting someone through our defenses. It stands to reason then that we need to be doing everything we can to keep our business security levels as high as possible. Every single business that has ever experienced a security breach will tell you that it is one of the most worrying and disruptive events that a business can go through.
But does that point to training for all members of staff in a company that has a big presence online? Is that the way to make sure that cyber security levels are kept at the best possible level?
In truth, while it isn't the only way that you can keep your business safe it is certainly a step in the right direction. The best solution is to hire the services of a knowledgeable company that exists to make sure other businesses are kept safe online. However that does not automatically mean that you have no responsibility to train staff regularly in order to help your cause as well.
Put simply, regular training can help prevent security breaches from taking place at all, because quite often loopholes or areas of fragility are created in a business and its daily dealings purely because a member of staff has done something - or not done something - that is essential to maintain a high level of internet security. If businesses take more responsibility and organise regular training sessions for employees then there is less chance of a security issue being raised at all.
The best way to think of this kind of training is as a first line of defence. We are talking about the basics here, and not an advanced security course that the majority of employees won't understand. You should always hire the experts to come in on a regular basis to make sure all your systems and processes are as safe as they can be, and perhaps even to get suggestions on how to train staff so that you keep them up to date with what is going on.
It is a fact that many employees won't realise that some of their activities - while done completely innocently - may be compromising the safety and security of your business. For example, using unauthorised software during their daily routines is a big no no, and yet some people do it without thinking.
By running regular courses that educate people as to what they should and shouldn't be doing with regards to issues like this, you can prevent many problems from occurring in the first place.
But remember that you cannot solve everything yourself, and when it comes to giving yourself the best possible chance of avoiding the hackers you need to call in the experts to share their knowledge of how to do that. Using the multi-pronged approach to internet security like this is by far the best way forwards.
But does that point to training for all members of staff in a company that has a big presence online? Is that the way to make sure that cyber security levels are kept at the best possible level?
In truth, while it isn't the only way that you can keep your business safe it is certainly a step in the right direction. The best solution is to hire the services of a knowledgeable company that exists to make sure other businesses are kept safe online. However that does not automatically mean that you have no responsibility to train staff regularly in order to help your cause as well.
Put simply, regular training can help prevent security breaches from taking place at all, because quite often loopholes or areas of fragility are created in a business and its daily dealings purely because a member of staff has done something - or not done something - that is essential to maintain a high level of internet security. If businesses take more responsibility and organise regular training sessions for employees then there is less chance of a security issue being raised at all.
The best way to think of this kind of training is as a first line of defence. We are talking about the basics here, and not an advanced security course that the majority of employees won't understand. You should always hire the experts to come in on a regular basis to make sure all your systems and processes are as safe as they can be, and perhaps even to get suggestions on how to train staff so that you keep them up to date with what is going on.
It is a fact that many employees won't realise that some of their activities - while done completely innocently - may be compromising the safety and security of your business. For example, using unauthorised software during their daily routines is a big no no, and yet some people do it without thinking.
By running regular courses that educate people as to what they should and shouldn't be doing with regards to issues like this, you can prevent many problems from occurring in the first place.
But remember that you cannot solve everything yourself, and when it comes to giving yourself the best possible chance of avoiding the hackers you need to call in the experts to share their knowledge of how to do that. Using the multi-pronged approach to internet security like this is by far the best way forwards.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Billy and the Birdfrogs by B B Wurge
A Highly Creative Imagination - A Wacky Adventure
"Billy and the Birdfrogs" is a zany story of adventure beneath the streets of New York City. Billy's mother was a paleontologist. Billy's father worked as her head assistant on her archaeological projects. While still a young child Billy's mother mysteriously disappeared. As a result of her disappearance his father deserted Billy. As the story begins Billy is living with his unconventional grandmother.
The Manhattan townhouse where Billy lives with his grandmother contained and underground passage. Threatened by strange birdfrogs, coming up from the tunnel, Billy's grandmother boarded up the basement door. To ward off further attacks by the birdfrogs she boarded up all the doors of the house They became virtual prisoners within their own home. Trap doors, wooly mammoth fossils, and underground caverns all became a part of Billy's intriguing exploration.
Wurge creative imagination triggers a chain reaction as the plot develops. The reader is confronted with brain exploding wild images, visualizations, and ideas of their own. Wurge uses mystery, suspense, conflict, to build a plot of non stop adventure. His character development is superb. I found I empathized with Billy and his grandmother. I felt a disdain for the villains Mr. Earpicker, Miss Pointy, and Mr. Jubber.
The book is filled with clever illustrations, delightful humor, and a marvelous story. The book is line designed to be enjoyed by children ages 9 - 12, but with an appeal for all ages. An ideal book for reading aloud to young children. "Billy and the Birdfrogs" is entertaining, downright funny, and highly imaginative. A great read.
"Billy and the Birdfrogs" is a zany story of adventure beneath the streets of New York City. Billy's mother was a paleontologist. Billy's father worked as her head assistant on her archaeological projects. While still a young child Billy's mother mysteriously disappeared. As a result of her disappearance his father deserted Billy. As the story begins Billy is living with his unconventional grandmother.
The Manhattan townhouse where Billy lives with his grandmother contained and underground passage. Threatened by strange birdfrogs, coming up from the tunnel, Billy's grandmother boarded up the basement door. To ward off further attacks by the birdfrogs she boarded up all the doors of the house They became virtual prisoners within their own home. Trap doors, wooly mammoth fossils, and underground caverns all became a part of Billy's intriguing exploration.
Wurge creative imagination triggers a chain reaction as the plot develops. The reader is confronted with brain exploding wild images, visualizations, and ideas of their own. Wurge uses mystery, suspense, conflict, to build a plot of non stop adventure. His character development is superb. I found I empathized with Billy and his grandmother. I felt a disdain for the villains Mr. Earpicker, Miss Pointy, and Mr. Jubber.
The book is filled with clever illustrations, delightful humor, and a marvelous story. The book is line designed to be enjoyed by children ages 9 - 12, but with an appeal for all ages. An ideal book for reading aloud to young children. "Billy and the Birdfrogs" is entertaining, downright funny, and highly imaginative. A great read.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Social Bookmarking: What is It?
Social bookmarks are a way for internet users to store, organize, search, share and manage web pages on the internet that they find of interest. They replace the traditional method of browser-based system of folders by encouraging users to organize their bookmarks with tags. Social bookmarking means storing your bookmarks online, tagging them and sharing them online with other users.
Users from all over the world bookmark sites or specific pages using their favorite social bookmarks. They can search through their bookmarks by keywords or by tags, and can access their bookmarks from any internet connection. Almost all social bookmark sites have the same basic features like browser bookmarklets for one-click link saving, RSS feeds, tags and sharing capabilities.
In a bookmarking system, users save links to web pages they want to remember or share by the use of RSS feeds. These bookmarks can then be organized into a list of tags that describe what the site is about. People are always searching for information, and search is probably the most important application on the web for surfers to find what they are looking for. Search engines give more relevancy to sites that have been recently modified or have added new content.
This is where social bookmarks are one step ahead, notifying users when a site has been updated through the use of the RSS feeds. Instead of going into a search engine, typing something in, you can quickly narrow down the items to what you are looking for by searching the tags. You can even search through what other people have bookmarked as long as they remain public. So, what started out as a way to send bookmarks to friends has really grown into social search engines.
Social bookmark sites allow others to see your bookmarks and comment about them, creating interactivity among bookmark users. Social bookmarking is all about the collective voice and the power of the people. As these services have matured and grown more popular, they have added extra features such as ratings and comments on bookmarks, the ability to import and export bookmarks from browsers, emailing of bookmarks, web annotation, and groups or other social network features. A social bookmarking system can rank a resource, or website, based on how many times it has been bookmarked by users, whereas conventional search engines rank resources based on the number of external links pointing to it.
Social technologies are here to stay, and are already growing in popularity. Social bookmarks continue to be one of the driving forces of this evolving web. It is all about labeling the web, making it easier to find the content that you're looking for by passing on what you've found. For users, social bookmark sites can be useful as a way to access a consolidated set of bookmarks from various computers, organize large numbers of bookmarks, and share bookmarks with contacts. Social bookmarking can allow you to share the sites that you own to others with relevant tastes, driving traffic to your site, and creating valuable backlinks.
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