Info-Leeches and other E-Invertebrates

Standing out at a Job Fair can make a difference in your job hunt. Job Fairs are starting to pick up, and a major job search company is running some nice ones, called Targeted Job Fairs. At a Bay Area Career Fair in early 2010, 10 companies as showing up, and Dice has 82 job fairs scheduled for this year across the US.

How do you rise above the crowd at a Career Fair? The contention can be sizeable, but you can help yourself stick out from the gang with early planning. At AA-Careers, we have a simplified step-by-step process to get ready. Planning to go? Here’s how to prepare:

First, research the companies that are going and pick your targets. Use the World Wide Web to research the organizations that are there beforehand. Go to their sites and see if they have their openings posted. Pick a reasonable number to go after, and get ready to spend an hour researching each one. It’s hard to do more than ten in a day, and five or six is a much more reasonable target. For each hiring company, you want to know: recent news, key product lines, and exectuve names. Try to see if you know anyone at the target companies. You will end up with with a page or two of research for each company/job.

Second, if there are job openings on the web, read them to see what the hiring department is looking for. Create a mapping of your accomplishments and skills to the requirements of the job. Make the nomenclature match. If the hiring company calls customers "clients", your resume should do the same thing. The achievements should be written in the style of the hiring organization.

Third, create a ‘brief sales pitch’ for each likely organization/position combination. Write down a 60 second ‘thumbnail’ that you can repeat out loud describing why you are a key candidate for that position. You’ll use this in your resume and when you meet the team from the company at the job booth.

Fourth, modify your resume for each job type. The objective on your resume should exactly match the position you’re aiming for. The executive summary should be a written form of your “mini sales pitch” for the job. Then choose the achievements and skills that most clearly match the job prerequisites. Especially at a Career Fair, the purpose of your resume is a sales tool for you – to get you on-site job interviews. It should be obvious to see that you’re a match based on your resume.

Fifth, dress and prepare as if you’re doing on-site interviews. Dress nicely and be properly groomed. Don’t overdress (this isn’t a date!) and don’t underdress (no jeans or t-shirts, no matter how much you paid for them). Avoid strong cologne or perfume.

Finally, practice your ‘mini-sales-pitch’. Collect your research and the resume for each position - bring a couple of copies for each – and put each in a clearly marked folder. Keep them in a lightweight briefcase or folio.

Remember to smile, and good hunting!

Since my last post was about making the switch to Sufix Performance Braid, I thought I would keep with the trend and tell you about the other change I made - Vicious Fluorocarbon.

I have been using fluorocarbon line for everything from dropshotting to flipping for a while (except for my topwater rods where I still use monofilament), but this season I switched all of my rods over to Vicious. The reason I made the change is because you simply cannot beat the sensitivity, abrasion resistance, or impact and handling characteristics of Vicious Fluorocarbon.

With Vicious Fluorocarbon I can feel the lightest dropshot bites or slam a jig home with a flipping stick and not have to worry about getting them out of the cover. Add to that great handling characteristics and almost no memory, even on a spinning rod, and you have one awesome fluorocarbon! And you cannot beat the price - $10.99 for a 250 yard spool of 15# line.

There have been a lot of advances in fluorocarbon lines over the last few years and Vicious Fishing is leading the way. So, if you have been reluctant to spool-up with fluorocarbon because of the bad press it has received in the past, you should not hesitate to try a spool of Vicious Fluorocarbon- this is the best fluorocarbon line out there…seriously. And if fluorocarbon just isn’t your thing, Vicious also makes a copolymer line called Vicious Ultimate - check it out.

Visit FishingRecreation for fishing pictures, articles, blogs and forums.

So what is a Blog? Well a blog can be summed up as this: A
frequently and instantly updated website focused around an
industry, topic or personality. A blog can be considered an
online diary of sorts with your daily/weekly entries being
called posts. There are two cool things about blogs: 1) You can
have visitors post comments to yours 2) You can update your blog
instantly from anywhere in the world with just an Internet
connection giving you much more flexibility over the traditional
website.

I bet you are wondering now how a blog works? Will it’s very
simple really. Let’s take blogger.com which is owned by Google
for example. If you have an account already(if not you can set
one up very quickly) just sign in, find your blogs name, click
on new post, put in your title, web page link and what you want
to say and finally click publish post. It’s that easy. Your post
is automatically published to you blog for the world to see.

Blogs can be a great tool for your online or offline business.
Blogs provide fresh content regularly, an informal voice (your
voice) which your visitors can not only respond to but get to
know and they can also be a source of revenue via outgoing links
and adsense. Blogs are great if you are on a shoe-string budget.
You can run your business from one using outgoing links. You can
generate revenue by posting ads and products on your blogs. Your
blog can be submitted to search engines such as Google and
Yahoo. The best part is that you can do all of this for free!

Blogs are becoming more and more popular not only with people
but with search engines as well. Search engines like blogs
because they are updated frequently, they are usually
interlinked, are better organized and built structurally. A blog
is something you should seriously consider. Not only can they
link to your site( if you have one) but they can link to your
affiliate products sites and thus generate revenue.

So go out and get your blog started today. Make sure you keep
it updated at least weekly and put some adsense links up. It’s
all free!

My Web Page Updated - December 22nd, 2005

I have added a New Page to my Web Site. This page allows you to
find many items like flowers, cellphones, steak, jewellery, pet
supplies, pet medicines, rings, puzzels, kids toys, window
blinds, food, wine, and much, much more. I will continue to add
on more as time goes on. I am trying to make a “One Stop
Shopping” experience online for those that do not have time to
surf and find the things they need. Or sorta like a window
shopping experience. I have purchased items from the companies
that I have listed so I know first hand they are legitimate and
trustworthy. They are many discounts I have worked out for my
web site visitors as well. So when you visit… be sure to save
as favorite places so you can revisit. I will continue to have
more companies as the weeks go by as well as more specials.
Merry Christmas to All and we wish you a very properous New
Year.

******************** One Stop Shopping

Jim’s Favorite Shops

Click Link Below to Visit My New

“One Stop Shopping”

http://www.jimbonham.com/OneStopShop.html

When you think of the term blog, does it represent money to you? Do you believe that you could make money with this new craze? Well let it be known, that yes people really are generating more business to their companies and they are making money. When it comes right down to it, blogging can easily enlarge your net authority, and increase credibility and market value. Some people even claim that they are only in business because blogging has made it possible for them. They also claim that the business they have gotten has increased significantly as a result of it.

The object is to have a niche and to keep everything small; if you are looking for range of view or balance you will find yourself lost in the shuffle. The general premise of a blog is to sell an idea, anyone who makes blogs are not merely asking for money because of the blog itself, the ideas are the star of the show and the blog is merely the vessel to transport it to the clients. It is one of the best ways to gain reputation in business networking, this in turn leads to more business and finally to what you have been striving for which is profit. They are kind of like a tool that you need to transport information in short bursts, as to not confuse or overwhelm the customer. By keeping them short, many business people believe that the original message or core idea remains intact. There is thought amongst the net industry that far more intangible ideas and products are being peddled online these days, this in turn decreases paid content value, rerouting the connection between the business and the client is the primary goal.

One of the best methods to date, to generate business and profit is to employ a good blogger. Bloggers have a way of gaining trust; they also can capture the market with the use of strategic reputation. Microsoft is one of the leading employers of the blogging trend, and uses the blogs on all their sites and sales pitches. Microsoft feels that if they have multiple blogs that give small portions of information and tid-bits, of needed content they can reach a broader market and keep people informed on what they are doing in the business and any market adjustments that may come your way. If more companies go this route, you could easily see a change in the face of business. Faster communication between client and company, more precise information packets that are not stressing to understand, and an overall cleaner appearance are the goal with the blogging industry. These little vessels of information just may be here to stay.

George Christodoulou, Whitestone, NY, USA
Georgechristodoulou88@msn.com
More Details about home business at: http://www.pluginprofitsite.com/main-13351
If a home business is right for you go to:
http://www.easymoney-direct.com

Blogs as an online promotional strategy if done right could save you huge dollars in reaching out to people. This is also a medium where you need have absolutely no dependence whatsoever on any professional help and you can do everything yourself. That is money saved right from the beginning.

So what is a blog and how does it work? Blog is simply a web log or a diary which you maintain online posting various comments every day or even several times a day. In all aspects it is like a web page. With small differences. No more the fancy html pages, page links, graphics etc.

While you can have all these, the purpose is not show design excellence but to provide juicy information, news, and happenings from your specific industry. Each posting is like a web page technically atleast as the the Search Engines looks at it as a separate page. We will see more on search engines later. The posts also carry links to other similar pages where you can direct people who visit your blog. Your visitors too can post comments and you have the option of editing it or even deleting it.

How does one use a blog as an online promotional tool?

You are a specialist in the area of your business. You also have people working for you with specialized domain knowledge of that particular area. You make hundreds of observations during the course of a week, you come across useful news and articles, websites, all which if collected in one place could act as the source of information for your customers, your public and even the trade and competition.

All you need to do is write a couple of lines in a conversational tone as if you are speaking to someone close about what you feel and think about anything you come across and provide the links for more details.

There you got a web page rich in key words! Key words to put it simply are a lot of specific words about your trade which is how the search engines find you and list you.

Blogs offer features like linking, pinging, RSS feeds etc. which are very simple features about which you can learn as you build your blog. However the idea is not to get technical. Remember we are here to talk about promotional strategies that could save you money and explode your sales.

Blogs are a comparatively recent phenomenon. There are an estimated 5 million blogs growing by the thousands every hour. Dont despair. 5 million is nothing compared to billions of web pages and website available on the www. You are still far ahead of your competition. And in your area of business or profession you may be the first. That means you just occupy the top slot in search engines.

So get in right away and post all the rants, ravings and all that you ever wanted to say but couldnt.

How does a blog help you earn revenues or improve your sales?

Now let us say you have set up your blog. Ask yourself as a person of the trade or as a customer what all you would like to know everyday. Whatever is your answer is what you post every day. You also come across news or websites which you think might be useful to your customers. Simply make a mention of it with a link to the news or website. The idea is to make people come to your blogs every day seeking information. So you become famous as a specialist in that area. All your visitor are in a way interacting with you everyday and begin to accept your words and your recommendations if they see the benefits. But be sure to be very honest and transparent. It is like your personal or social relationships where any dishonesty would make people shy away from you.

You can always put in a few posts about your work, your employee who got a promotion or birth of a daughter or anything which also makes it a little warm and personal. You can post about your launches, your predictions, products which are running out, and even promote products not moving well but you feel can benefit the customer.

What you blog can reach millions globally within hours. As an illustration take the example of the recent Tsunami which hit parts of Asia. I am from the southern part of India which is one of the worst affected areas. While the conventional media was struggling to reach their reporters all over within the hour bloggers flashed the news including the details of the people lost and found, mobilized resources for the affected and the world wide web was abuzz with all the bloggers picking up and linking and connecting everything and everyone. This is an illustration of a social cause for which blog was put to good use.

Similarly there have been many instances when business news have been picked up by the industry and consumers through the RSS feeds.

The possibilities of using a blog is endless. The key to building a successful blog is listed below.

Remember to be focused on a topic that relates to your area of work.

Your entries must be in a conversational tone speaking directly to them as if you are sitting across with a friend in a restaurant or playing golf to add personalization to your marketing effort.

Post entries or comments which would benefit people.

Post as often or frequently and keep the blog updated.

Encourage visitor participation. Ask for comments and feedbacks.

Create a huge web of outside resources and other similar blogs to help you achieve both outgoing as well as incoming links to enhance search engine popularity. This also shows your customers that you are widely knowledgeable and clued in on your field of expertise.

While it may be a good idea to post a few photographs to break the monotony keep the blog simple and straight without too many graphics and photos.

Content is the key to making your blog successful and encourage repeat visits. In the beginning you may not have many visitors but as the content improves there would be a lot of traffic as well as inbound links.

This is truly a gorilla marketing tool that can make a huge difference to your total marketing efforts.

R.G. Srinivasan is a Certified Trainer, Writer and author of eBooks with more than two decades of managerial experience. He is featured as an expert author by leading content syndication sites. You can view his home-business resources blog at http://www.home-businessresources.blogspot.com for online marketing tips, resources, opportunities and online promotional strategies.

Currently there are over 30 million blogs on the internet and thousands more being created each week. Assuming ownership of one blog per person, that’s a minimum of 30 million people slinging around their personal opinions on all that exists under the sun. This is a good thing. The free exchange of thoughts and ideas is what prevents the world from becoming a stagnant pool of dictatorship with the appropriate green scum floating on top.

However, to steal a line from the movie Spiderman, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’. Blogging has become a way for the voice of the people to be heard. We must be careful, though, not to abuse our power through thoughtless acts that hurt the credibility of bloggers and blogging. One place that continues to be our Achilles heel is when good posts go bad.

In the United States, libel and slander are the two categories of defamation. In many states, courts have begun treating them the same as the only difference between the two is that libel is a false written statement about a person, place or thing that harms his/her/its reputation while slander is the verbal act of the same offense. Whether blogged on the internet or whispered offline to your mother, the common denominator is that what is said is false.

Since I’m psychic, I already know what you are thinking. ‘The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects me. As long as it is the truth, I can say whatever I want.’ Well, sort of. As crazy as it sounds, truth is not the silver bullet defense for every case of libel or slander. A judge may require that besides being true the information relayed is in the public interest to know.

So reporting that the CEO of a major corporation had been caught pilfering money from the employees’ retirement fund would probably get dismissed from civil court whereas telling the world that your neighbor has smelly feet could get you into more trouble than you want. Even if it were true, why would it be in the public interest to know that your neighbor’s feet could clear out Yankee Stadium?

Now, the First Amendment does protect your right to an opinion. If you think that the Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap, you are certainly free to tell anyone within earshot as long as you make it clear that it is your opinion on the subject. Likewise, if a person puts forth a negative sentiment with regards to their experience with you and it is clear to any reasonable person that it is their opinion, your legal recourse against them is severely limited.

Parody and satire are also protected. If they weren’t, Saturday Night Live and South Park would have never made it past the first episode. And criticism of a public performance such as a symphony, a play and even a book is protected under the Fair Criticism and Comment clause.

Now the internet contributes some interesting layers of complication to the whole blogging shebang. Instead of being contained in a localized area, libel has the potential to cross international borders and not every country handles these cases the same. One of the major problems courts around the world are having to deal with is the one of jurisdiction. If I live in the US and I libel someone who lives in the UK where exactly does the case take place and who’s laws do we go by? Several cases have set a scary precedent that leans towards being able to sue anywhere around the world for libel published on the internet.

Then there is the issue of third party liability. Say you are a responsible blogger who is careful about her posts to avoid a troublesome libel accusation. One of your readers posts a libelous statement on your blog. Can you be held responsible for that person’s actions? Well, so far the law has only made provisions for internet service providers stating that they cannot be held responsible for how their customers use their services (as it pertains to defamation). Likewise, blog service providers such as Google and Six Apart would likely be immune to any lawsuits arising out of a person’s use of the service.

Whether or not you would be held responsible may come down to if you moderate your comments. If you allow comments to be posted automatically, you may be protected under Section 230 of the US Code (for US Citizens). It may be a different story, however, if you approve comments before posting them. It could be argued that your posting of the comments equates your agreement to them. To date, no one has shown up in court to argue this, hence the fact that we are kind of forced to make it up as we go along.

Defamation is a tricky issue and one that needs to be tread carefully if one is to avoid landing in court. Here are a few tips to help keep you out of trouble. Note: I am not an attorney. I don’t even get to play one on television. If you and your blog deal with some highly controversial issues or you’re just not sure how much trouble you would get into if you published that post about your best friend’s boyfriend, I recommend getting in touch with a lawyer to get the best advice.

1. Change the names. By far the easiest thing you can do is to change or to avoid using the name of the person you are talking about and to strip away as much identifying information as possible. If a reasonable person can visit your hometown and quickly identify the “mealy-mouth cow” you blogged about online, you might want to do some editing.

2. Make use of a disclaimer. Kevin S Brady has an excellent one on his website. Even something as basic as “By making use of this blog site, you agree that the opinions expressed are the property and responsibility of their respective owners” may provide some defense in the event of a lawsuit. (Check with a real attorney please).

3. Consider writing your rant as a parody or satire. Extreme exaggerations that no reasonable person would believe are not considered defamation because, quite frankly, they are unbelievable. Be careful though, this type of writing takes a certain je sais quoi, and could easily backfire on you. Have a reasonable person proofread your entry to make sure it passes the believability test.

4. Watch your language. Be sure to use wording that makes it clear that this is your opinion about the subject. Statements like, “That Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap” makes it sound as though you are stating a fact when in all actuality you are making a personal judgment about the toy. Something like “I think that Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy is a piece of crap” or “That Mr. Squiggly Toddler Toy fell apart after the first use” are safe bets. At least as far as the law is concerned.

5. And last but definitely not least, don’t tell false tales. Now this may seem like common sense but how common is common sense these days? Really. If you feel the need to resort to lying about a person, you may want to seek professional help in examining why you want to do that. ‘Cause chances are, it’s not to protect the public.

Blogging is a great way to meet people and stay current in the world and doing so responsibly will only make the experience better. Stay safe, stay sane and most of have fun.

Indigo Black is a freelance writer with an innumerable number of interests that include: writing, blogging, erotica, mythology, philosophy, web and graphic design. Currently, she is the administrator of SmutWriter a resource site for erotica authors and Blogilepsy a resource site for novice and pro bloggers alike.

Niche marketing is an old and very successful marketing strategy whereby a company focuses on marketing and selling to a clearly defined segment of potential consumers. The company earns by supplying a unique product or service to this narrowly defined market which other companies have not met or provided.

Are there potential buyers online? According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s latest figures, there are over 185.55 million internet users in the United States alone, of these around 139.52 million active users. The Computer Industry Almanac which compiles statistics on global internet users, records a staggering 934 million users for 2004 and this market continues to grow.

Do these users buy online? Statistics gathered on internet users, show they do and their numbers are increasing. For instance, in December 2004, online sales rose by 53%, from $795 million of the same month 2003, to $1.22 billion 2004, (gathered by CMP Media a service provider of information and marketing services to the technology and healthcare industries). For each unique marketing hook, product and service, your business blog can tap in, that’s how many niche markets you can serve.

The next question then to answer: Can your blog be the perfect vehicle for reaching and marketing to your niche?

You should realize that successful blogs go a step further in providing excellent content, as well as regular updates or new content. Most websites provide these services. Rather it is the ability of these blogs to provide the author and the readers’ a venue for one-on-one conversations, in an impersonal medium. By sharing commentaries, thoughts and opinions, the author positions himself or herself as being an authority in his or her field of work. If you write content that is relevant to their needs, they’ll remember and keep returning to your blog.

But that’s not all; you need to have an abiding passion for the subject matter or product you’ll sell. Without this, your blog won’t stand out and carve itself a niche apart from the other blogs.

In essence, a well researched and crafted business blog is a potential revenue center. It has the authors’ personal touch and speaks to the need of this particular consumer. As every marketing analyst knows, when a seller understands his or her consumers well, this seller gets their business.

Copyright 2005 Mal Keenan

Mal Keenan is editor and publisher of the Home Business Tips Blog:
http://www.home-business-tips-newsletter.com/blog/

Visit his Internet Marketing Plug In Training site for great strategies and step by step processes in running a successful online business:
http://www.pluginprofitstraining.com/

Blogs, the abbreviation of Web Logs (online journals), are becoming more and more popular all the time. People are starting new blogs at an astounding rate so it’s safe to assume that there are constantly people out there who want to know how to get a blog going. Despite personal feelings about the actual quality of the majority of blogs out there on the Internet, that’s what I hope to be able to help you do with this article.

First things first, you need somewhere to deposit your thoughts. You need to decide how you want to attack this. Your choices are:

- To use a blog hosting service such as eBloggy (http://www.ebloggy.com) or BlogEasy (http://www.blogeasy.com).

- To host a blog yourself on a server of your own choice.

Both options have their free or paid subsections. The blog hosting services mentioned here are free but there are paid services out there. MSN now offer ‘Spaces’, which are essentially blogs attached to your MSN account and may be of interest to some. Web hosting can also be free or paid but you’ll find it difficult to find a free service that will offer you the features you’ll need to run a blog backend. One place to look is your Internet Service Provider (ISP) that may offer some free web space. This web space often contains as many features as many professional web hosting packages although it offers less space. Blogs tend not to take up a whole lot of room so this shouldn’t be a problem. The advantage of hosting your own blog over using a service is that you have greater control over how it works, how it looks etc. You also don’t have to put up with there being ads on your page (unless you find some free hosting which usually has advertising put at the top of your site). The downside is that it can be a bit more complicated to function.

If you’re going to host your own blog you’ll need to find yourself a blog backend. This is the program that runs on the server and allows you to upload new journal entries while allowing other people to view them. You’ll have to either choose a backend that fits within your web hosting package’s limits or a hosting package that meets the backend’s requirements. The general requirements are PHP and MySQL but you can get some backends that work solely with PHP or even Java. It’s important to make sure that you can change the read/write permissions of the PHP files on your server (using CHMOD or an equivalent, talk to your host—they’ll know what you’re talking about). There’s a nice breakdown of many different beckends and their features and requirements that can be found at, http://www.asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm. I personally use Pivot because it doesn’t require MySQL and it has RSS distribution, which is nice.

Once you’ve got yourself a hosting package and a backend you need to install the backend. This can get tricky but most of them come with an install program and you should be able to work through it if you follow the instructions that will undoubtedly come with the package. If you run into difficulties your hosting provider’s support team should be happy enough to help you along.

So now you have yourself a blog up and running; it’s time to fill it with content. What you write is up to you. Generally people write about their lives, how they feel, what they think, and similar topics. You can be much more diverse and creative than this though. You could for example post creative writings on your blog, as well as discuss news and current affairs, or anything else that you can imagine. It’s your personal space to write what you like and get it out there for others to read and give their opinions on.

Making people come and read your blog could take some effort. You need to make them aware that it exists and keep it interesting so that they continue coming back. Nothing kills off a readership base like a lack of updates. At first you can start small with your ‘publicity’ by telling friends and family about it. Put a link to your site in your MSN or other messenger program nickname. Put a link in your email signature so that everyone you email sees it. Get your friends interested and they’ll tell others and you’ll probably be able to build up a small community with relative ease. For attracting the broader public you need ways to let the wider community know you are out there. Spend time at other people’s blogs, make it a habit to head over there and read their posts. If it’s appropriate put a link to your site in a comment box or guest book on their site. Visit forums related to blogs (or just forums in general) and become an active member there. As long as you have a link to your site in your signature, people will probably head on over for a look.

You can also submit your blog to lists such as Blogrank.net (http://www.blogrank.net). These are sites dedicated solely to getting people into blog sites, and while it may be hard to climb into the higher ranks, simply having your site listed will probably improve your hit rate. You could also submit your site to as many search engines as possible. Perhaps you could even write yourself an article like this one with your link in the bio field. Beyond this you’re going to have to work out your own methods for publicizing your site. Just think creatively about how and where you can get a link put in and you’ll be fine.

Getting your blog set up and running can be an involving task but the results will be worth it. A final word of warning: Don’t get too engrossed in your blog. You need a life in order to be able to write about your life! As I wrote in a previous article it has been found that blogging can sometimes have a detrimental effect on a person instead of the positive effect that it was designed for. Try not to write only for yourself; it’s a public forum for others to read so try and write entries that will be of some benefit to the wider community as well as to you. Blog safe and have fun!

Daniel Punch
M6.Net Web Helpers
http://www.m6.net

Tags - Revolutionary or Just Folly?

Just another trend or something else?

Trends happen overnight! Some catch on fast
and explode very quickly into our every day use.

Most of these trends you can ignore as silly folly
or at the most fine amusement. Anyone remember
pet rocks, Farrah Fawcett hairdos, or last year’s
killer fashions?

Others, you have to pay more attention to: cell phones,
digital cameras, mini-sites, optin lists, or email.

Right now, there’s another trend you should keep
your eye on: ‘tags’.

What are tags? And why should you care about them?

Tags are a way of sorting and linking all that information
in blogs and RSS Feeds. It groups together all the
information on one particular subject.

It’s a democratic ’search engine’ for blogs.

Think of a ‘tag’ as a ‘keyword’ to be used in blogging
and RSS Feeds (Feed tags are still in the works).

Tags have hit the radar lately because Technorati, which
indexes 4.5 million blogs, started sorting blog posts by
using tags.

They have created a folksonomy, drawing tags from
different sources, mainly Flickr.com which sorts or
groups pictures and from del.icio.us — where you
create a tag when you bookmark a page.

Or if your blogging software has categories — this will
be recognized by Technorati as a tag.

If you want to create a ‘tag’ it’s very simple; just place
this code in your blog:

<*a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Computers" rel="tag">Computers<*/a>
(remove asterisks in actual code)

and you will have created a tag for computers.

A tag makes it easier and faster to find information on
your favorite subject. It gives you a cross section of real
views and opinions floating in the ether.

There are some inherent problems in this system; will the
posts grow so quickly and so large — it’s like ‘finding a
needle in a haystack’ or will you have to dig thru a lot of
muck to find the scattered diamonds. Or maybe a ranking
system will be put in place but this goes against the
‘democratic code’ of blogging.

Regardless, the traffic and marketing potential of ‘tags’
could be very beneficial to those who use it to their advantage.

A marketer with a product to introduce or promote could
aggressively target tags as part of their advertising
budget. As blogging increases in popularity — it’s something
to watch!

As a website owner — tags could be a great source of
targeted traffic. And the keyword here is ‘targeted’.

It’s the kind of visitor you want coming to your site or blog.
It can only lead to a better quality visitor. Similar to
a visitor coming from the major search engines. One that
is really searching for your information.

The next big question, how will marketers exploit these
tags to make a few bucks? Everyone knows that’s coming!

Will we have a ‘tag search engine’ that can rival the quality
of a Google or Yahoo? Or do we need one?

As with any new trend — you never know how it will play out.

Some interesting questions have yet to be answered:

Tags are basically keywords for blogs — but as everyone
knows the quality of links to these tags are not all equal.
Will someone step in and rank these or will they remain
democratic?

Just how will tags work for building content or links to your
site? How will the search engines use these tags? How will
marketers and advertisers exploit the potential of all this
content and the content’s viewers?

Will we have tag-spamming? (Just what we need another form
of spamming!) Someone flooding these tags with thousands of links
to get traffic or sell a product.

Not to hype it too much but there’s a real ‘we’re entering unknown territory’ feeling with blogging and RSS lately. Heady days for those keeping a close watch on the events unfolding. There are countless applications probably already in the works for tags!

It could be the start of something big or it could just fizzle.

In any case — keep your eyes peeled to that cursor! There’s
probably a tag on the end of it!

This trend may just offer more than fine amusement.

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Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins of bizwaremagic.com.
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