Grim Anniversary of Hurricane Rita

I do not know which is worse: not knowing then what would happen or looking back today at what did happen. This is my post from one year ago. The link still works and the Red Cross is still helping.

Over One Million Homeless after Hurricane

Published by CyberCelt on 8/31/2005 at 12:36 PM.

God Bless the survivors In Buloxi, Gulfport, New Orleans, and Slidell.

Over one million people have become homelesss, jobless sand rootless - overnight!

The survivors cannot find their dead. If they could, they have no way to bury them.

Most of the 3rd largest port in the USA is underwater and 80% of New Orleans remains buried in a basin filled with silt and debris.

Unmoored oil rigs bob around in the gulf like giant sand toys, entire fleets and barges stand close to port as if they do not know what else to do.

If you can give money, click link above. If you would like to see what else you might do to help, click this link: Help Hurricane Victims Today


Tags: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Red Cross, grim anniversary

Wordless Wednesday

One Year Ago - Not Much Has Changed

Cool Blog : Free Grabber

Please visit the Cool Blog of the week, Free Grabber. This is a new blog, but is being updated very few hours with new goodies.This site is loaded with giveaways!

Here are just a few and only from the first page.

• Dove Calming Night Soap Free Sample
• Free Deluxe Sample Kit from Givenchy
• Free HUGGIES Supreme® Diapers

From the website:

You are here because you like FREE Stuff! You came to the right place. Nothing here is illegal, these items are from many companies offering free items. This site was created to share free stuff on the internet with everyone. Please check back often for frequent updates and let your friends know about this site.

Please visit FreeGrabber by clicking on the thumbnail above the arrow in the sidebar. If you have a WordPress account, please leave a quick comment that CyberCelt sent you. No one else can comment?!

Tags: free stuff, free samples, free products, FreeGraber

Click and Comment Monday

On Mondays, Cat has been promoting Click & Comment Day. I am also posting this to remind you how important it is to comment on other blogs. It truly DOES increase your readership and you most often gain regulars that will visit your blog day after day.

What I encourage is for you to click my renter or a link on my blogroll. Comment on the blog and click their renter or someone on their blogroll. Then you comment on that blog and click their renter or someone on their blogroll. Do this for as many blogs as you can. Sometimes they go full circle, and you end up at the originating blog, then just look up a blog in the blogroll and start the cycle again.

Tags: click and comment Monday, visit blogs and leave comments

Apogee Search SEO Glossary

Apogee Search Marketing Glossary is a great resource. If you have ever been befuddled by search engine optimization jargon and wanted one site you could bookmark that contains an SEO Glossary of the terms used in Search Engine Marketing industry, this is it . . . Apogee Search Marketing Glossary.

I really liked the one-click interface to find out the meaning of a search optimization terms, from Alexa to Google Analytics to Long Tail Keywords to Page Rank Leakage to ROI to SEO Copywriting to Taguchi to Yahoo Match Driver ...

Do you know what Google bomb means? Can you write an AdWords Haiku? Define a flog. What is Black Hat SEO and how is it different from White Hat SEO? Which will lead to the Google Death Penalty? If you have questions on the terms, and they are not just limited to SEO terms, Apogee Search Marketing Glossary will help you. Bookmark this page today: SEO Glossary


Tags: SEO Glossary. Search Marketing Glossary, Search Engine Marketing Glossary, Search Engine Optimization Glossary, Apogee Search Marketing Glossary, Online Marketing Glossary

Roll Back Stereotypes, Prejudice & Discrimination

Wal-Mart Stores has hired a gay-marketing marketing firm, joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and offers domestic-partnership benefits to its employees.

With these three bold moves, Wal-Mart has declared that Wal-Marts are family friendly and families come in all flavors and colors.

Welcome to the 21st Century, Wal-Mart.

Tags: Wal-Mart, Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, all are welcome

What do you think? What is your take on net neutrality?

From the proceeds of the Aspen Summit 2006, Global Competition, Convergence & Culture from the Freedom & Progress Foundation held this week:


Deborah Platt Majoras, Federal Trade Commission Chairman, asserted that while phone and cable companies are exempt from FTC regulation for common carrier services, the FTC can regulate non-common carrier services, including their activities as internet providers.

Verizon, AT&T and other large telephone companies want to charge ISPs and content providers fees based on bandwidth usage of their new fiber lines. Yahoo, Google and Microsoft claim the plan will lead to the development of a slow lane on the Internet for most consumers as preferred packets of information would take precedence over your online activities.

Legislating precisely is tough enough; it can be difficult to choose the right words to cover situations that you want to cover, while excluding those you do not especially given that no one knows what new situations will arise.

Chairman Majoras said the FTC has the authority to regulate net neutrality and said that the FTC will step in IF regulation is needed. Ms. Majoras has formed an Internet Access Task Force to study and report on these and other issues raised by calls for network neutrality laws.

. . . when fear of marketplace disadvantage arises, there is a tendency to quickly turn to government to seek protection or help . . . I just question the starting assumption that government regulation, rather than the market itself under existing laws, will provide the best solution to a problem.

Read Chairman Majoras' entire speech (PDF) from The Aspen Summit.


Andy Schwartzman, head of the Media Access Project, a public interest law firm, said that the FTC essentially created net neutrality when it places the condition of open access on the Time Warner/AOL merger. Media Access Project has a good explanation of open access.

---

What do you think? What is your take on net neutrality? Let me know how you feel in a comment.


Tags: net neutrality, Federal Trade Commission, Progress and Freedom Foundation, Media Access Project

Do You Love to Shop? Pricepirates is for YOU!

Pricepirates is a FREE handy price comparison tool that enables you to compare prices of items listed in eBay with online stores (via Shopping.com and Amazon Marketplace). Pricepirates allows you to find the best deal AND to track and manage your results. Pricepirates is compatible with US and international eBay sites.

Freeware! No spyware, no ads, no popups!
Receive free support via web site and email.

Pricepirates provides support for searching with advanced eBay options, storing favorite searches, and managing email notifications. All these functions are available in an easy-to-use tabbed interface that allows you to quickly switch between the items that you are comparing. Pricepirates may just be the best price comparison tool I have used.



Tags: Pricepirates, price comparison tool, freeware

Do You Find it Hard to Organize Your Thoughts?

Visual Thesaurus presents words and their relationships in a graphical format, taking the brainstorming process so far beyond what you have been able to accomplish with a piece of paper and pen.

Visutal Thesaurus not only helps you think of other words, but also stimulates the creative process by depicting word relationships. Change the word focus of the thesaurus by simply double-clicking on one of the outlying words. Want to change it back? Double-click the original word. Visual Thesaurus will make your next brainstorming session painless.



Tags: Visual Thesaurus, graphical organizer, brainstorming tool

Get Beyond British Petroleum : Its a Start

Ogilvy & Mather came up with British Petroleum advertising campaign using real people interviews and making BP stand for beyond petroleum.

Each spot ended with a list of beyond petroleum initiatives in which BP was involved, such as alternate energy sources and emissions reduction. And then the closing line: It's a start.

Great idea, no follow-through...


I wonder who is going to do the advertising campaign to clean up BP's image?

The environmentally-friendly BP has spilled thousands of gallons of oil onto the North Slop tundra in Alaska.

The Prudhoe Bay pipeline, which supplies 8 percent of US oil production, was corroded and leaking for many years because no one in BP (or bp) thought you might have to inspect it.

Maybe their advertisements might have touched on the responsibility of environmental stewardship in oil exploration.

Perhaps BP should have spent the advertising budget sending their pipeline engineers to Pipeline Maintenance 101?

It's a start.




Tags: beyond petroleum, British Petroleum pipeline, you are what you advertise, north shore alaska

Click and Comment Monday : Win Credits

Click and Comment Monday is a day to click, to read, and to comment on other blogs you may not normally view in your daily surfing. C&C Monday is a an idea started by Cat. The concept is to increase readership, make new blogging friends, and to strengthen the bonds between similar blogs. Click and Comment Monday will bring you more readers, subscribers and comments.

How do you participate? Click on my renter in the sidebar, read a blog post or two, comment and tell them you came for Click and Comment Monday from CoolAdzine. Then click the blog of their renter, comment and tell them you came from their landlord. If a blog has no renter, then click a link in their blogroll or sidebar. Keep going until you run out of blogs.

For information about the contest, you should read this post. Follow the directions and win some credits.

Tags: click and comment Monday, win credits, visit blogs and leave comments

Cool Blog Contest : Jane Loves Tarzan

The Cool Blog of the Week is Jane Loves Tarzan. I read this blog quite often as the blog owner is a "tell it like it is" woman. While many people hide their problems with addiction, mental illness, emotional turmoil, and the insanity that is family, Jane truthfully chronicles her experiences and shares them with her blog readers.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ Cool Contest ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Please visit the Janes Loves Tarzan. I know you will enjoy it. Just look for the blog thumbnail on the sidebar. If you want a tiny incentive, I am running a little contest.

1. Please visit Jane Loves Tarzan.
2. Read a post or two, leave your comment, and tell Jane CyberCelt sent you.
3. Return here and post the name of the blogpost on which you commented.
4. Add your member name for Blog Advance, Blogazoo, BlogMad, BlogExplosion or BlogSoldiers.
5. One person will be awarded 50 credits to their blog exchange of choice at the end of the rental period.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

If you are not a member of one or all of the Blog Traffic Exchanges above, join. Click here to read about feed and blog marketing using blog-only traffic exchanges.

Tags: Cool Blog, Jane Loves Tarzan, blog traffic exchange, feed marketing

Blog Soldiers Back in Action !

Blog Soldiers is a blog-only traffic exchange offer 2:1 surf ratio, blog directory, text links, banner exchange as well as upgraded memberships. Blog soldiers has a wonderful education section that provides video instruction on adding your blog, links and banners; assigning and converting credits. Wide Awake Radio is a new talk-radio station on the site. Lots of action on the site. Blog Soldiers is back ...

This week, John Bambenek, of Pentex Net, Inc. of Champaign, IL, acquired BlogSoldiers. John has hit the ground running and is offering new members bonus credits for joining and discounts on upgrades; current members also enjoy incentives such as referral bonus, 5 levels of referrals, surfing and referral contest.

If you are a member, get your blogs in rotation. If not, I would appreciate if you sign up under me. Thanks!

Tags: BlogSoldiers, blog traffic exchange, surf contest, referral contest

Support New Orleans Musicians and Music

While Hurricane Katrina may have devastated the streets, homes and businesses of New Orleans, the storm did not even dent the soul of New Orleans--the music.

New Orleans is the birthplace of Southern Comfort, so they want to help musicians get on their feet and on with their music. To this end, they hired an ad agency to launch Start The Music Up.

Please visit the SoCo Music Fund site and view the short films that reveal the personal stories of survival and highlight the music of many unique musicians that call New Orleans home. One such band is Cowboy Mouth, and their story and their performance will pluck your heart and strum your soul.

The marching bands will roll
I found the city in my soul
Because I plan on growing old
... on the avenue

The parades will ride again
I'll see my family and friends
Because this will not be the end
... of the avenue

After viewing the stories and listening to the music, donate to the SocCo Music Fund. I have always heard that artists must suffer to create; perhaps this is why there is extraordinary music coming from the Big Easy. Help keep the music playing ...

Tags: SoCo Music Fund, New Orleans music, Big Easy, Start the Music Up

HOT : User Generated Content and Social Networking

eMarketer estimates that during 2006, marketers in the US will spend $280 million on advertising and marketing on social networking sites, with an additional $70 million in expenditures projected on an international level.

The latest tracking data on fastest-growing web sites (July 2005-July 2006) from Nielsen NetRatings found that UGC (user-generated content) sites, which are Internet web sites for sharing photographs and videos or for blogging account for five out of the top 10 fastest-growing Web brands.

Top Three Web brands overall:

• MySpace tops the list, increasing 183 percent, from 16.2 million unique visitors to 46.0 million.
• Google ranks second, growing 23 percent, from a unique audience of 76.2 million to 94.0 million
• eBay is number three, increasing 13 percent, from 51.1 million to 57.8 million unique visitors.

Tags: social networking, user generated content, eMarketer, Neilsen NetRanking

Short Copywriting Course

We all have to write copy. Here is a short process you may use to write your next piece, whether it is an article, web content or book. If you work through this process and still need help, CoolAdz.com is just a click away!

• Focus on your purpose - what are you doing? Do you want to sell something, or to have the person complete a form or to click through to another website?
• Organize important message and supporting details - what benefits await the reader who completes the required action (your purpose)?
• Improve the flow of ideas - read it aloud, let your friends look over your copy, run it through a spell checker and grammar checker.
• Persuade your readers - did something work for you? A testimonial from you is the most persuasive tool to use. Your excitement about a product does not make it work.
• Weed out extra words - action words usually make people take action. Everything else is fluff.
• Energize your copy - not with extra exclamation points or all CAPS--but with your motivation. Even on paper, enthusiasm comes through to your reader.
• Achieve the proper tone - your readers should be impressed by your grasp of key concepts, but not overwhelmed with your hyperbole (better known as BS).
• Improve the format and structure - intensify your presentation by experimenting with layout, white space, size and positioning of graphics.
• Reach your target audience - say it with style--YOUR style! Highlight what you think is important, lead the reader down the page to the final action-producing button, form or click.
• Track all changes - if you make changes to copy, layout and design, keep records. If the element works, great; if not, change it.

Tags: copywriting, writing, advertising+writing, writing for success

Carnival of the Blogging Chicks

Do not miss the wonderful posts coming your way on Sunday. Spend an hour or so in the morning or afternoon reading entries made by the Blogging Chicks, a diverse group of women who will make you think, laugh, weep and blog mark their blogs. All we need now is a ringmaster...


Tags: Blogging Chicks, Carnival

Cool Blog : Sensational Sites

The Cool Blog of the Week is Sensational Sites. Quinn lives in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada and is probably NOT trying to survive 100+ degree heat. I feel cooler just thinking about it.

The Cool Blog, Sensational Sites, is a compendium of websites and blogs that will amaze you. I think my favorites are the Elastic Enthusiastic and Painted Room Illusions. No, I am not linking to them, you will have to discover them for yourself!

With a Blog Explosion nickname like circusstreet, you may guess that he is a big fan of the big top. Quinn Spicker is the webmaster of Circus-Street, an online community for circus artists and their fans, and has written a short history of the circus.

Please visit Sensational Sites by clicking the blog thumbnail. You may find it above the big blue arrow (*LOL*). Please explore the site and leave a comment or two.

Tell Quinn that CyberCelt sent you.

Tags: cool blog, Sensational Sites, circus

Connect with Click and Comment Monday

MONDAY

Click on the guest blog in the sidebar, leave a comment. Then click their guest blog and comment. If the blog you reach does not have a renter, click on a link in the blogroll or just StumbleUpon one. More information here.

Tags: click and comment Monday, connect, visit blogs and leave comments, StumbleUpon

Bloggers are Unique Tribe of Internet Users

Every day, thousands of …

* Artists publish their photographs, paintings, poetry, scrapbooks and works in progress as an exquisite feast for the senses and the soul …

* Proud new parents virtually share their joy of parenthood, the latest picture or funny story for our pleasure ...

* Individuals with extraordinary courage clinically detail their disease, mental health or disability and their hopes and fears with us ...

* Comedians, good and bad, see the humor in life and relay it in their own particular style, for free ...

* Environmental activists, civil libertarians and human rights advocates carefully document information that could otherwise be lost in the media circus that is network news ...





Then, they wait for someone to visit, to comment, to validate their efforts, to share advice--TO CONNECT.






Tags: Blogging Chicks, Carnival, What Do You Love About Blogging?

What Do You Love About Blogging?

Every woman with a blog is invited to participate in the Blogging Chicks Carnival this week.

You do not have to join BloggingChicks to participate. Try it, you will like it!

The topic this week is:
What Do You Love About Blogging?

Here is what to do TODAY!

1) Write a post on your blog about what you love about blogging.
2) Write a teaser sentence with a link to your blog.
3) Send the teaser and live link to your blog in an email today to:



Tomorrow, go to BloggingChicks and attend the carnival! Visit the blogs, read the posts, comment if you like. It is a great way to discover blogs that you would never know existed! Make friends, have fun, enjoy visits and comments on your blogs. It is an enjoyable, relaxing Sunday activity.

Tags: Blogging Chicks, Carnival, What Do You Love About Blogging?

Cool Blog : Fixing Foibles and Follies

Cool Blog of the Week is Fixing Foibles and Follies : Emerging Internet trends. Alternative energy. Sustainable business. Sliced and diced daily.

Jonathan Shaw is a brilliant young man with an education in philosophic thought, an interest in entrepreneurship, topped by a background in training, human resources, and web development. He will be starting school to attain an MBA next semester.

Mr. Shaw describes his blog:

This blog is a warm and personable review of issues Im particularly fascinated with, namely: How can business become more environmentally sustainable and socially equitable? How can technology improve personal productivity and well-being? And how is the Web affecting identity and community development?

As you can see, philosophy has definitely colored his world. I am glad. As a baby boomer with an environmental activist bent, I have often worried about who will take up the causes when all the old activisits die off. After reading Fixing Foibles and Follies, I do not think I have to worry. The Mr. Shaws of the world will fix the mess that will be left to them.

For those of you that are Linkedin, check his profile there. Please visit Fixing Foibles and Follies by clicking on the thumbnail to the right. Tell Jonathan that CyberCelt sent you.

Tags: Fixing Foibles and Follies, cool blog, environmentally sustainable business, socially equitable business