Sunday, August 10, 2008

How to Choose a Right Web Hosting Service?

Indeed, choosing a right web hosting service for your website is not an easy task especially when there are thousands of web hosting providers all offering almost identical web hosting packages. Therefore, it is important to know few major considerations even before you start your web hosting search. Below are three major criteria for web host seeker:

Web hosting features requirement

This is probably the most important consideration to start finding a host for your site. You need to decide the technical requirements for your website, this including:

a) Server platform and hardware requirements
If you plan to set up a website that uses programming environments such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Visual Basic scripts, Cold Fusion or Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL database, in this case, you will need to find a web hosting service that supports Windows platform such as Windows NT or Windows 2000 servers.

Likewise, if you plan to use programming languages such as Perl, CGI, SSI, PHP or mySQL database, then any web hosting plans that support Unix/Linux platform should be sufficient to meet your hosting requirements. Once you have these server platform and hardware requirements in mind, you can decide the best web hosting plans for your need. For more information, you can read "How to select a web server and server platform?"

b) Disk space & Bandwidth requirement
Here is another technical requirement that you need to consider before selecting a web hosting plan, i.e. disk space and bandwidth. If you intend to publish a website that does not have a lot of contents (meaning, web pages), then the disk space requirement may not be a big concern to you. In general, a disk space with 200MB to 500MB should be enough to meet your hosting requirement. In contrast, if you plan to host a website with enormous amount of graphic pictures, mp3 or video files, then you should consider a web hosting plan that provide huge disk space, for example, 500 MB to 1,000 MB.

Similarly, the bandwidth requirement will depend on your site traffic estimation. Obviously, a website that expect to attract high traffic will consume the monthly bandwidth allowance very fast. If so, you will need to find one web hosting service that offer huge bandwidth with 40 GB to 100 GB per month. Depending upon your website requirement, choosing a web hosting service that provide sufficient amount of disk space and bandwidth is crucial consideration to prevent paying extra costs in the future should you overuse the monthly disk space and bandwidth allowance.

c) Other hosting features
While the above requirements are utmost important, there are other hosting features that you have to consider too. Can web hosting provider support video clips on your website, if you have? Is the web hosting service compatible with Dreamweaver or FrontPage web authoring tool? Do you plan to set up a virtual store online? Can the host support the e-commerce features without adding extra cost to your monthly payments? On top of that, you may also want to find out the number of email accounts provided, number of FTP accounts, web statistic software (analyze your web traffic), type of control panel supported (manage your web hosting account), database and scripting languages supported and etc.

Reliability and scalability

A first-class web hosting provider offers reliable server uptime and fast Internet connection. You should only choose a web hosting service that guarantee at least 99% server uptime with high-speed Internet backbones using at least OC3 (Optical Carrier) lines (155 Megabits per second) or above instead of T1 or T3 lines. A reliable web hosting provider usually invests heavily on their data center infrastructure with high performance servers, high speed multiple backbones providers with fail-over redundancy, backup power generators and firewall software protection in place to ensure they meet the uptime guarantee specified in the terms of service.

Similarly, you should choose a web hosting service with hardware facilities that designed for scalability, so that they can grow with your business. For example, if you need to increase more disk space, bandwidth or number of mySQL databases, you should be able to upgrade as needed without any problems.

Customer service and support

The last major consideration in choosing a web hosting service is to find a web hosting providers that offers excellent customer service and support. You should always search for a web hosting provider that offers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week technical support that fielded with highly experience technicians, so that any web hosting problems will be resolved within a reasonable amount of time. You may also want to consider to test how responsive is their customer support by sending few inquiry emails to the web hosting provider. In general, any response in less than 24 hours is considered acceptable. It is a sign of poor customer support if they take more than one day to response.

In addition, a web hosting provider with excellent support should also provide multiple support channels, such as toll-free phone support, 24/7 email support, live chat, online knowledgebase, Interactive flash tutorials and FAQ.

Above are few major considerations before you choose your web hosting service. In addition, how long has the web hosting provider in business and the number of customers that they currently have are also a good indication of the quality of their hosting products as well as the stability of the company. Even though cost of the web hosting service is also important but it should not be your major consideration. Because the price of a web hosting service has been declining over the years due to competition, as a result, the price of most of the web hosting services offering quality hosting features has been converging to less than US$10 per month. If you can't afford less than $10 per month, you probably isn't in the online business for the long haul. Therefore, price should not be a major deciding factor.

On the other hand, it is more important to ensure the web hosting service that you choose is able to meet your website hosting requirements, guarantee your website is always accessible with satisfying speed, provide scalability to grow and expand your website as well as offer excellent customer supports. Depending on your web hosting requirement, you can take advantage of our site, Cheap Web Hosting Review to find the recommended web hosting services that can match the three major criteria above. Good luck to your search.

Andrew Loh is the owner of Web Hosting Services, a website that provides complete and detail reviews on web hosting services. You can visit his website at:http://www.lowest-price-web-hosting.com/

Avoid, Shun, Thwart, Prevent, and then Filter Spam

Email is rapidly becoming the standard means of communication among businesses, associates, and even friends. While many people have now been using the internet and email for years, there are thousands of new users on the internet each day. With inexpensive web hosting, free email services, and the blog burst upon us, getting your own slice of the internet pie has never been easier.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional looking for a refresher course, or you’re new to the internet and email and want to start off right, here are some easy steps to follow to reduce the amount of spam you receive.

Don’t choose an obvious email address. Spammers will generate lists of email addresses based on common names. A common list would be something like: nick@yahoo.com, nick1@yahoo.com, nick2@yahoo.com, etc. If you create an email account with less obvious combinations of your name plus some numbers, chances are better that you won’t find your way onto one of these lists.

Treat your personal email address with care. Only give out your personal email address to close friends and family who you trust. Give your direct business email only to clients and other contacts you trust to only use your address for legitimate business purposes.

Use different accounts for different functions. Create different aliases with your business’s domain name or create a few free accounts from free email servers like Hotmail, Yahoo!, Excite, etc. Use one account that you don’t care about for posting to forums or discussion groups. Use another to subscribe to newsletters and newsgroups. When any of these addresses starts to get spammed too heavily, simply delete the account and switch to a different one.

Remove your email address from your website. Between blogs and cheap web space, it seems everyone has their own piece of cyberspace. Before you put a link to your email address on your site, remember that spammers have bots that harvest these addresses. They will even find addresses printed in plain text. Consider using a web-based form for communication from you website, or place your address as a gif or jpeg.

Do not open, respond to, or purchase from spam. Interacting with spam in any of these ways indicates to the spammer that not only is your address valid, it’s also active. Do not respond with “unsubscribe” in the subject line, or click on any links to remove your name out of the database, as both of these are common ploys to confirm your email address. Remember, because sending email is so inexpensive, spamming can be profitable even if only a small percentage of people purchase what they’re selling. Don’t support what you’re trying to stop.

Finally, Filter you incoming email using filtering software. Even if you guard your email address religiously, you’ll likely still receive spam. Filtering software is usually inexpensive and effective, but there are some important features to consider with any filtering package:

• Make sure you can control what comes to your inbox and what gets deleted. The best programs create a spam folder for you to review before permanently deleting emails.

• The software should block images from incoming emails. Many jpegs in spam actually hide code that notifies the spammer when the email is viewed. Blocking images will not only keep offensive content off your screen but will also help prevent more spam in the future.

• Choose software that provides you with updates - as new spamming techniques are created and proliferated, filtering software should keep up.

While eliminating spam from coming to your email address is nigh unto impossible, following these simple steps will mean you’ll have to spend less time deleting spam from your inbox, giving you more time for the important things of life – like reading this article.


About the author:
Nick Smith is a client account specialist with 10x Marketing - More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. Find more information about how to filter spam at ContentWatch, Inc.

Create Your Own Download Links

One of the great features of working with the web is the ability to download a file by clicking on a link. As most earthlings know, a link is most frequently visible as blue underlined text displayed on a website, or on an HTML email. Links can also be presented as hot spots on an image, or a button which can be clicked.

Sometimes when we click on links, we are magically transported to a new web page. Behind the scenes, we are actually receiving new files from a web server, and our browser software is "rendering" the files on our screen according to instructions contained in the files.

These new files could be served up by the same web server which served up the previous page, or with equal ease we could be receiving files from a totally different location, possibly from halfway around the world! Such are the wondrous ways of the web.

Other times when we click on links, we get a different experience. Our browser offers to download a file and patiently awaits our answer. When we accept and possibly tell our browser where to file the download, the web server sends the file to our computer and a download takes place.

The usefulness of this functionality is obvious. We don't always want to see the information painted on our screen, sometimes we just want to use it. Consider a spreadsheet file as an example.

If I want to share my spreadsheet with you, I can easily send it to you as an email attachment, but what happens if the file is too large? Chances are, your file attachment could hit a bottleneck somewhere in your, or your recipient's email system and may never deliver.

However, if I send the file as a download, email system bottlenecks are bypassed and the pipe is wide open. Here's how it works:

1. First, I upload my large file to a web server somewhere.
2. Then, I place a download link to that file in my email to my pal.
3. When he receives the email, he either clicks on the link or pastes it into the address bar of his browser.
4. He easily downloads the file.
5. He is incredibly impressed.

To do this, here is what you will need:
1. Rights to a web server to host your file - many web hosting companies offer this.
2. Software for uploading your file - for starters you can actually use Windows Explorer.
3. Knowledge of the correct "path", or URL which will allow your recipient to access the file. This should be available from your web hosting company.

The format of the URL will look like this: http://www.domain.com/downloads/myspreadsheet.xls
Where "domain" is the domain you have registered for your use, which is targeted at a folder on a web server, which has a subfolder named, for example, "downloads". Your example filename, in this case, "myspreadsheet.xls" should match the actual filename exactly. Filenames should not have spaces or odd punctuations.

In case the above steps seem too intimidating or labor intensive, there is a software/webhosting package available called Personal FTP (www.poingo.com).

The software uploads your large files to your private webspace on the Personal FTP server, opens a new email, and places a download link onto the email, all in a few clicks. In addition, you get your own subdomain, which not only adds your identity to the link, but also enhances the reliability of the download.


About the author:
Mark Meshulam offers Poingo Productivity Suite, unique & inexpensive software which speeds your work and makes it more fun. Includes: Email reminder system. Create JPGs and PDFs. Edit images in Outlook. Do anything with Hotkeys. http://www.poingo.com SeeMark's blog, educational ruminations on people and technology in the workplace at http://www.poingology.com

Create Your Own Download Links

One of the great features of working with the web is the ability to download a file by clicking on a link. As most earthlings know, a link is most frequently visible as blue underlined text displayed on a website, or on an HTML email. Links can also be presented as hot spots on an image, or a button which can be clicked.

Sometimes when we click on links, we are magically transported to a new web page. Behind the scenes, we are actually receiving new files from a web server, and our browser software is "rendering" the files on our screen according to instructions contained in the files.

These new files could be served up by the same web server which served up the previous page, or with equal ease we could be receiving files from a totally different location, possibly from halfway around the world! Such are the wondrous ways of the web.

Other times when we click on links, we get a different experience. Our browser offers to download a file and patiently awaits our answer. When we accept and possibly tell our browser where to file the download, the web server sends the file to our computer and a download takes place.

The usefulness of this functionality is obvious. We don't always want to see the information painted on our screen, sometimes we just want to use it. Consider a spreadsheet file as an example.

If I want to share my spreadsheet with you, I can easily send it to you as an email attachment, but what happens if the file is too large? Chances are, your file attachment could hit a bottleneck somewhere in your, or your recipient's email system and may never deliver.

However, if I send the file as a download, email system bottlenecks are bypassed and the pipe is wide open. Here's how it works:

1. First, I upload my large file to a web server somewhere.
2. Then, I place a download link to that file in my email to my pal.
3. When he receives the email, he either clicks on the link or pastes it into the address bar of his browser.
4. He easily downloads the file.
5. He is incredibly impressed.

To do this, here is what you will need:
1. Rights to a web server to host your file - many web hosting companies offer this.
2. Software for uploading your file - for starters you can actually use Windows Explorer.
3. Knowledge of the correct "path", or URL which will allow your recipient to access the file. This should be available from your web hosting company.

The format of the URL will look like this: http://www.domain.com/downloads/myspreadsheet.xls
Where "domain" is the domain you have registered for your use, which is targeted at a folder on a web server, which has a subfolder named, for example, "downloads".

Your example filename, in this case, "myspreadsheet.xls" should match the actual filename exactly. Filenames should not have spaces or odd punctuations.

In case the above steps seem too intimidating or labor intensive, there is a software/webhosting package available called Personal FTP available at www.poingo.com.

The software uploads your large files to your private webspace on the Personal FTP server, opens a new email, and places a download link onto the email, all in a few clicks. In addition, you receive a subdomain which adds your identity to the link and enhances the reliability of the download.

About the author:
Mark Meshulam offers Poingo Productivity Suite, unique & inexpensive software which speeds your work and makes it more fun. Includes:

Send files using FTP. Email tickler system. Create JPGs and PDFs. Edit images in Outlook. Timestamp filenames. Hotkey shortcuts to anything. Cropped screen capture. Much more.
http://www.poingo.com

See Mark's blog, educational ruminations on people and technology in the workplace. http://www.poingology.com

How To Rake In the Sales From Your Loyal Opt-In Subscribers for Free

If you're anything like me, you've probably heard it a thousand times before, stored it in the back of your memory bank, and haven't had the desire to go back there to get it. Well, now's the time to start acting on what I like to call “The Undiscovered Gold Mine.” What I'm talking about is the marketing power of an opt-in email list.
But what is the most compelling offer to truly get your visitors to opt-in?
Without a doubt...a Free Newsletter is your best bet!
In this lesson, we'll dive deep into the importance of a well-written newsletter, its impressive money-making potential, and the art of writing a profitable newsletter that your subscribers will eat up like candy!
Email marketing is a blessing for small business owners. An effective, targeted email-marketing campaign can drive traffic to your site, get your name in front of qualified prospects and turn leads into sales - for much less than what you'd spend on a traditional direct-marketing campaign. Once you have developed your email list, how do you turn those devoted subscribers into sales? No matter what strategies you used to get your subscribers to opt-in on your emailing list, many of them are already pre-sold to your product. Now, you just have to close the deal.
In this lesson, I'm going to show you why your site needs a newsletter and how to maximize your sales by using this powerful incentive. Offering a free newsletter is the best way to collect loyal subscribers who are actively looking for answers to their problems. If you offer to provide potential subscribers with information they need, they'll be glad to subscribe to your newsletter. But obviously the secret is out, and most online businesses are taking full advantage of the powerful capabilities of this marketing tool. And as a result, there has been a mass of newsletters on the Internet full of nonsense and spam - leaving Internet visitors with a wary concern about handing over their email addresses to just anyone.
This doesn't, however, mean that you shouldn't start your own newsletter. And it doesn't mean that you've missed the boat. All it means is that you are going to have to work at providing your subscribers with quality information that they deem worthy enough to entrust their email address with you. Not a problem! Just create a newsletter that people read faithfully, that is considered to be a reliable source of quality information, and that attracts a consistent number of opt-in subscribers.
The best part about newsletters is that you can produce them with little to no cost at all! Of course you can hire a ghost writer to compose your newsletter, but the best way to truly acquire a lasting relationship with your customer is by simply “talking” to them.
Nowadays, it's easy to get away with informal conversations with someone you don't know all that well. In fact, many people actually feel more comfortable with the fact that you're talking to them like a friend. Don't underestimate the power of this kind of relationship!
If you are communicating on a regular basis with your subscribers, giving them valuable information, and allowing them to get to know and trust you, you shouldn't be too surprised about how many of them will actually become devoted customers. Email newsletters are one of the great bargains in marketing. They keep your company in front of your customers on a regular basis for very little cost.
Newsletters aren't right for every audience - I wouldn't recommend them if you're targeting the local B-I-N-G-O crowd - but if you're in the web hosting business, there's a good chance that 100% of your customers and prospects use email, making newsletters a great tool!
Email newsletters are proven to increase sales, if used properly. It has been reported by rigorous research and testing that up to 50% in sales can be generated from newsletter auto-responder follow-ups! And I'm sure you'll also be glad to hear that if used properly, up to 10% of opt-in subscribers will purchase the product being sold. In case you didn't get that - it's been reported that...
10 people out of every 100 subscribers will buy!
That's enough to make me want to send out newsletters! But there are a few things that you have to be cautious of when preparing your newsletter. If you want to rake in the ALL of the financial benefits possible, you need to follow the tips below. Trust me, there's an art to creating a thriving, profitable newsletter.
There's no doubt about it - a free newsletter is your best source of generating a list of subscribers you can send promotions to in the future! But how should you go about delivering your message to your potential customers without coming off as a huge advertisement billboard? Because so many of us are already overwhelmed by the daily flood of email, your newsletter will need to be much more than just ads for your products. Including informative articles, interviews, or other information may help entice your subscribers to actually open and read your newsletter. Light “plugs” in the body of your newsletter aren't a bad idea, but remember that your subscribers are looking for quality information - not a salesletter…that's what your webpage is for.
To increase your sales and get the most out of your newsletter, we highly recommend following the tips listed below…

§ Registering New Subscribers
When asking visitors to sign up, ask only for the information you need - perhaps just the email address. Remember, that every additional bit of info you collect is another deterrent to customer signup. People don't like to give away their private information, so don't ask for anything more than what is needed.
Make it easy for subscribers to share your newsletter with others. They can simply forward the message, of course, but if you include an explicit send-to-a-friend link you are giving your customers and subscribers a gentle “nudge” to recommend your material to their friends and colleagues.
§ Check out your competition
Every business has competition. Find out what they are doing by researching their product or service. Sign up for their newsletters, and then make yours better than theirs. What could you do better? Is there a gap in their service you can fill?
§ Content
The first thing I want to tell you is that “Newsletters must be simple.” You do not want to be the next “delete” button in your subscribers email account. People get a lot of email. They don't have time to read a lot of text. Newsletters must be designed to facilitate scanning, but then again you want to give them the opportunity to get a “full dose” of what you have to offer. So the best recommendation is to provide links like “Click Here for the Full Report”, or “Discover the Answers To Your Problem by Clicking Here”.
Above all, deliver content with real value. We're all flooded by email, and if your users don't perceive your newsletter to be worthwhile, they'll just delete it and move to the next message in their inbox. That's why it's important to track your click-through rates: they're proof that your messages are being read - not just your message views. Also, if you have a newsletter that covers a ton of topics and starts to get too long, be sure break it into separate newsletters.
§ Write a Good Subject Line
Writing good subject lines is especially important, both to encourage users to open the newsletter, and to distinguish the newsletter from spam. I recommend including some actual content from the individual newsletter in each subject line, even though it's a difficult job to write good within the 50-60 character limit that is imposed by many email services.
§ HTML or plain text?
It's really a matter of what you think will most appeal to your readers. There really hasn't been much difference as far as which one sells the best. It truly depends on your target audience. So if in doubt, offer two lists: one in plain text and the other in HTML. Then let your subscribers decide which one they want to receive.
§ Let's Make a Profit! Selling to Your Audience
Many people try and sell their product or service directly from their emails. However this is really the job of your web site, not your newsletter. The purpose of your email campaigns should be purely to get people to click to your web site. Two of the most successful ways to do this are
a) A “Single-Topic” Article in Your Newsletter
Create a single article that describes a common problem that your product solves. BUT, don't necessarily mention your product in the article but do point out some of the things to be considered when choosing a solution. Close your article by simply saying something like "To read more about this problem and discover our Tried-and-True solution - Click Here". This link should then direct your opt-in subscribers to you product sales page at which point the user is already thinking about the problem and what to look for in a solution. Then, they discover your product, which just happens to solve their problem. Viola!
b) A Series of Articles in Your Newsletter
In each issue of your newsletter, focus on one particular problem that your product solves. But again, don't necessarily mention your product - simply talk about some of the things to be considered when choosing a solution. Dedicate the whole issue to describing this problem and what to look for in a solution. At the end of each issue point them in the direction of your product's sales pages. Again by the time they hit your web pages they will be primed and ready to learn how your product solves their problem.
Then, in your next newsletter series, you can incorporate a “new” problem that your product also solves. Get the picture? It's a great strategy once you get the hang of it.

Never send your newsletter to anyone who hasn't specifically requested to receive it. Remember, new anti-spam regulations require every marketing email to include an opt-out condition and a valid physical address.
Email newsletters are a blessing to small businesses. They are a great way to generate a credible relationship with your customer, drive subscribers to your site, create demand for your product, and thus skyrocket your sales!
Establishing your credibility is the key to making your product or service attractive to potential customers. But once you've done that, your loyal subscribers will WANT to know more about what you have to say. They'll be extremely receptive to your offers. The most valuable customer is the one you already have - right there in your email list.
Be sure to check out the next lesson. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to boost your opt-in mailing list by up to 10 times!


About the author:
If you liked the lesson and want to learn more about building your email list and tapping into an undiscovered gold mine of profit, visit InstantPopOVER.com and get your free copy of 7 Days To Building a Booming Email List right now!

Choosing Your Web Hosting Reseller Software

As a web host reseller, one of your most important business decisions is your choice of web hosting control panel software. The web hosting software you use will save or cost you time, money, and frustration.

What reseller control panel features will reduce your workload? What hosting software programs are integrated with the reseller control panel or work with it? What website control panel features will your clients like?

In this article, we’ve compared four quality web hosting reseller software programs:

• Alabanza
• cPanel
• H-Sphere
• Plesk

All of these reseller control panels come with control panels for your clients. They all have numerous features — advanced email management, web statistics, pre-installed scripts, multi-language support, and more. They all work on Linux platforms, while H-Sphere and Plesk also work with Windows. According to the cPanel website, a Windows version of cPanel is in development.

Other features that set these control panels apart are their degree of automation, the number of features and ease of use for the end user, and the features and ease of use for you, the reseller.
Alabanza

When you become an Alabanza reseller, you don’t just have a reseller account — you lease a dedicated server from Alabanza. Alabanza owns the control panel the server, and you resell directly for Alabanza. If you lease a dedicated Alabanza server, you can create your own reseller accounts. However, only you can set up hosting plans; resellers below you will be limited to hosting plans that you create.

Alabanza offers resellers a high degree of automation with its Domain System Manager (DSM), which can significantly reduce overhead and time spent on routine tasks:

• Account creation
• Billing and invoice management
• Credit card processing
• Domain registration
• Email notifications
• Ordering fraud protection

Even novices can sell hosting with this level of automation.

DSM also integrates with bulkregister.com for domain name registration. It does not easily integrate with other domain registrars, though.

A key Alabanza feature that resellers can offer their clients is the Xpress Product Suite, which provides web development and email management tools. The Xpress Product Suite includes SiteXpress, a website-building program that features over 300 templates and requires no web design skills.

cPanel

For resellers and end users, cPanel is known for its ease of use and range of features. cPanel’s collection of over 50 pre-installed scripts and Fantastico auto installer help clients set up their sites with little web development knowledge.

A basic cPanel reseller account comes with two separate programs for resellers to manage their business:

• WHM (Web Host Manager) is used to create accounts and packages, add and suspend sites, modify passwords, view bandwidth usage, park domains, install SSL certificates, and perform other administrative functions.
• From the reseller’s cPanel control panel, a drop-down menu takes the reseller to the control panels for each of the sites on the reseller account, including the reseller’s site.

With the addition of an optional program, WHM AutoPilot, you can automate account creation and suspension, email notifications, and other tasks. WHM AutoPilot also integrates with common payment gateways and has a helpdesk, an invoice module, and other tools.
H-Sphere

H-Sphere is designed for both Linux and Windows platforms. Moreover, resellers can set up plans for both Linux and Windows and administer sites on different servers from the same control panel. The control panel, actually a separate server, also provides administrative access to the integrated helpdesk.

The H-Sphere control panel server automates account configuration, credit card processing, domain registration, and email notifications. It also includes a built-in billing module and supports over 20 payment gateways.

From the reseller’s point of view, H-Sphere has a higher learning curve than most other control panels because of its numerous features. For example, when setting up a new plan, the administrator has two pages of features to choose from, including setup and monthly pricing for optional services.

Beginning webmasters may find H-Sphere too complicated for their needs. More advanced users, however, appreciate the features and control that H-Sphere offers the end user. A key feature is the ability to have control over separate domains with multi-domain hosting.

H-Sphere comes with the website builder SiteStudio, which guides users through a variety of style choices and stores content separately from the layout. No HTML or FTP knowledge is required.
Plesk

Plesk is known for its stability and security. Resellers and end users like its simple navigation, its clean interface, and its professional appearance. It comes in versions for both Linux and Windows platforms.

With Plesk, all users use the same control panel but with different levels of control:

• Server administrator
• Client / reseller
• Domain owner
• Mail user

Each level of the control panel gives the user control of that level and the level(s) below it. Email users, for example, can log into their mail user control panel to change their password, add autoresponders, and change other personal settings without having access to the domain owner control panel.

Plesk handles SpamAssassin at the mailbox level rather than at the domain level.
This feature enables users to whitelist or blacklist email for each email address, allowing each email user to have individual settings.

SWsoft, the company behind Plesk, also offers SiteBuilder, a five-step website builder using pre-built templates. SiteBuilder has over 300 templates in different categories to choose from, and users can publish their sites without any HTML or FTP knowledge.

If your Plesk reseller account is with a web host that offers HSPcomplete, you will have some automation available with your account, such as credit card charges and email notification.



About the author:
About the author: Lois S. is a Technical Executive Writer for Website Source, Inc. http://www.websitesource.com. Her established writing skills coupled with experience in the website hosting industry have provided internet professionals with marketing, product and service ideas for many years.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Forex Trading: The Perfect Forex Trading System

Trading the Forex market has became very popular in the last few years. But how difficult is it to achieve success in the Forex trading arena? Or let me rephrase this question, how many traders achieve consistent profitable results trading the Forex market? Unfortunately very few, only 5% of traders achieve this goal. One of the main reasons of this is because Forex traders focus in the wrong information to make their trading decisions and totally forget about the most important factor: Price behavior.

Most Forex trading systems are made off technical indicators (a moving average (MA) crossover, overbought/oversold conditions in an oscillator, etc.) But what are technical indicators? They are just a series of data points plotted in a chart; these points are derived from a mathematical formula applied to the price of any given currency pair. In other words, it is a chart of price plotted in a different way that helps us see other aspects of price.

There is an important implication on this definition of technical indicators. The fact that the readings obtained from them are based on price action. Take for instance a long MA crossover signal, the price has gone up enough to make the short period MA crossover the long period MA generating a long signal. Most traders see it as “the MA crossover made the price go up,” but it happened the other way around, the MA crossover signal occurred because the price went up. Where I’m trying to get here is that at the end, price behavior dictates how an indicator will act, and this should be taken into consideration on any trading decision made.

Trading decisions based on technical indicators without taking price action into consideration will give us less accurate results. For example, again a long signal generated by a MA crossover as the market approaches an important resistance level. If the price suddenly starts to bounce back off that important level there is no point on taking this signal, price action is telling us the market doesn’t want to go up. Most of the time, under this circumstances, the market will continue to fall down, disregarding the MA crossover.

Don’t get me wrong here, technical indicators are a very important aspect of trading. They help us see certain conditions that are otherwise difficult to see by watching pure price action. But when it comes to pull the trigger, price action incorporation into our Forex trading system will definitely put the odds in our favor, it will generate higher probability trades.

So, how to create a perfect Forex trading system?
First of all, you need to make sure your trading system fits your trading personality; otherwise you will find it hard to follow it. Every trader has different needs and goals, thus there is no system that perfectly fits all traders. You need to make your own research on various trading styles and technical indicators until you find a concept that perfectly works for you. Make sure you know the nature of whatever technical indicator used.

Secondly, incorporate price action into your system. So you only take long signals if the price behavior tells you the market wants to go up, and short signals if the market gives you indication that it will go down.

Third, and most importantly, you need to have the discipline to follow your Forex trading system rigorously. Try it first on a demo account, then move on to a small account and finally when feeling comfortably and being consistent profitable apply your system in a regular account.

About the author:
Raul Lopez is a full time Forex trader and founder of www.straightforex.coma high quality Forex training company.

Staying Out Of Trouble With Ebay’s Listing Policie...

While you can sell most things on eBay, quite a few things are banned. If you try to sell any of these things then eBay will remove your auction and all bids will be void.

Here is eBay’s full list of prohibited or questionable items:

Academic Software
Airline and Transit Related Items
Alcohol (also see Wine)
Animals and Wildlife Products
Anti-circumvention Policy
Artifacts
Authenticity Disclaimers
Autographed Items
Batteries
Beta Software
Bootleg Recordings
Brand Name Misuse
Catalog Sales
Catalytic Converters and Test Pipes
Celebrity Material
Charity or Fundraising Listings
Comparison Policy
Compilation and Informational Media
Contracts and Tickets
Counterfeit Currency and Stamps
Counterfeit Items
Credit Cards
Downloadable Media
Drugs & Drug Paraphernalia
Electronics Equipment
Embargoed Goods and Prohibited Countries
Encouraging Infringement Policy
Event Tickets
Faces, Names and Signatures
Firearms, Ammunition, Replicas, and Militaria
Fireworks
Food
Freon and Other Refrigerants
Gift Cards
Government IDs and Licenses
Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Items
Human Parts and Remains
Importation of Goods into the United States
International Trading - Buyers
International Trading - Sellers
Lockpicking Devices
Lottery Tickets
Mailing Lists and Personal Information
Manufacturers' Coupons
Mature Audiences
Medical Devices
Misleading Titles
Mod Chips, Game Enhancers, and Boot Discs
Movie Prints
Multi-level Marketing, Pyramid and Matrix Programs
OEM Software
Offensive Material
Pesticides
Plants and Seeds
Police-Related Items
Political Memorabilia
Postage Meters
Pre-Sale Listings
Prescription Drugs and Devices
Promotional Items
Real Estate
Recalled Items
Recordable Media
Replica and Counterfeit Items
Satellite and Cable TV Descramblers
Slot Machines
Stocks and Other Securities
Stolen Property
Surveillance Equipment
Tobacco
Travel
Unauthorized Copies
Used Clothing
Warranties
Weapons & Knives
Wine (also see Alcohol)

Most of this is very obvious – of course you can’t sell illegal things like drugs, pyramid schemes or stolen goods. Almost everything that is on the list is there because there is law against selling it. Some of the reasons, though, are a little strange.

The ‘autographed items’ entry, for example, doesn’t mean that you can’t sell anything that’s been autographed – it just means that you can only sell it if it comes with a certificate of authenticity. The ‘artifacts’ entry prohibits you from selling Native American graves; ‘celebrity material’ means you can’t sell unauthorised pictures of celebrities; ‘embargoed goods’ means that you can’t sell anything that comes from Cuba… on and on it goes, and most of it you never need to know.

If your chosen kind of item seems to be on the list, though, and you’re concerned that you might not be able to sell it, then check the full list at http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/items-ov.html to see whether the item is banned entirely or there are just a few restrictions.

eBay says it will remove any items that it believes violate copyright law, but in reality they don’t have that many people to monitor the site. You will generally only find that your auction gets removed if someone decides to report you – and even then, they might not get around to it.

Really, buying and selling on eBay can sometimes feel more complicated than it really is, thanks to all the rules surrounding it – not to mention the jargon. Our next email is a ‘jargon buster’, to help you learn the language of eBay.

About the author:
Kirsten Hawkins is an Ebay and internet auction enthusiast from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.auctionseller411.com/for more great tips on how to make the most from Ebay and other online auctions.

The Uses in Forex Trading of Moving Averages and M...

Moving Averages: If you consider the "trend-is-your-friend" statement of technical analysis as a true sentence, the moving averages will be very helpful. Moving averages tell the average price in a given point of time over a defined period of time. They are called moving because they reflect the latest average, while adhering to the same time measure.


A weakness of moving averages is that they lag the market, so they do not necessarily signal a change in trends. To address this issue, using a shorter period, such as 5 or 10 day moving average, would be more reflective of the recent price action than the 40 or 150-day moving averages.


Alternatively, moving averages may be used by combining two averages of distinct time- frames. Whether using 5 and 20-day MA, or 40 and 150-day MA, buy signals are usually detected when the shorter-term average crosses above the longer-term average, i.e. price will likely go up. Conversely, sell signals are suggested when the shorter average falls below the longer one, i.e. price will likely go down.


There are three kind of mathematically distinct moving averages: Simple MA; Linearly Weighted MA; and Exponentially Smoothed. The latter choice is the preferred one because it assigns greater weight for the most recent data, and considers data in the entire life of the instrument making of it a more accurate indicator.



MACD: Moving Average Convergence Divergence: MACD is a more detailed method of using moving averages to find trading signals from price charts. Developed by Gerald Appel, the MACD plots the difference between a 26-day exponential moving average and a 12-day exponential moving average. A 9- day moving average is generally used as a trigger line, meaning when the MACD crosses below this trigger it is a bearish signal and when it crosses above it, it's a bullish signal, with the corresponding implications for the currency’s price in each particular situation.


As with other studies, traders will look to MACD studies to provide early signals or divergences between market prices and a technical indicator. If the MACD turns positive and makes higher lows while prices are still tanking, this could be a strong buy signal. Conversely, if the MACD makes lower highs while prices are making new highs, this could be a strong bearish divergence and a sell signal.

About the author:
Adrian Pablo; Forex traderand freelance writer.

>> http://www.1-forex.com

InvestorIdeas.com presents “The Insiders Corner", ...

InvestorIdeas.com presents “The Insiders Corner", from Michael Brush.
New feature follows Insider Trading of small and micro-cap stocks.


POINT ROBERTS, Wash., Delta B.C, Nov 30, 2004 - InvestorIdeas.com, a global investor news and research group of portals is pleased to announce it has added a new weekly feature for investors to track trends in insider trading among small and micro-cap stocks. InvestorIdeas.com proudly introduces “The Insiders Corner,” a weekly feature by well-known financial writer and author Michael Brush. Mr. Brush also writes a weekly market column for CNBC on MSN Money. Mr. Brush has covered business and investing for the New York Times, Money magazine and the Economist Group.

“The Insiders Corner” excerpt:

"Corporate insiders, as we all know, offer excellent signals about where the stocks of their companies might be headed - through the open market purchase and sale of that stock. After all, they have front row seats. The research services tracking insider activity, however, typically focus on big companies only. This is because these research services want to land big clients who can only buy big stocks.

That’s where our weekly “The Insiders Corner” column comes in. It offers analysis of significant insider purchases at small-cap and micro-cap stocks. That means anything under $1 billion in market cap. But generally the companies will be much smaller than that.

The insider signals at smaller companies like these can precede phenomenal gains in a stock, exactly because few investors are watching companies in this part of the market. These tiny companies, for example, typically don’t have any Wall Street analyst coverage. So in many cases, the insider signal is one of the only ways that we - as outsiders - can get the message that good things are about to happen."

http://www.investorideas.com/insiderscorner/ - Visit each week for new updates

Recent Exclusive Feature Articles by Michael Brush for InvestorIdeas.com:
Toying With Profits in the Toy Sector http://www.plushcollectible.com/Companies/WildHeart/News/Toy_Sector.asp
Put Some Defense in Your Portfolio with Homeland Defense Stocks
http://www.homelanddefensestocks.com/Companies/HomelandDefense/HDS/Defense.asp

Mr. Brush is the author of Lessons From the Front Line, a book offering insights on investing and the markets based on the experiences of professional money managers.

InvestorIdeas.com does not make stock recommendations, but offers a unique information portal to investors and industry to research specific industry sectors including homeland security, renewable energy, nanotechnology, RFID, wireless and other industry sectors representing long term growth.

InvestorIdeas.com is a top-ranked investor site on major search engines, and offers a series of industry-specific web portals used by industry leaders, institutions, government, media, brokerage firms, Fortune 500 companies, and investors to research public companies and the latest developments in various market segments.

For small start up companies, or large industry leaders, we have become a key destination. For small companies, we can help you get found by the industry and investors following your sector. For large companies, we become a valuable research tool about the industry.

ECON owns the following industry sector portals: BeverageStocks.com, BorderAndPortSecurity.com, China-AsiaStocks.com, FireSafetyResearch.com, FuelCellCarNews.com, Gold-MiningStocks.com, HomebuilderStocks.com, HomelandDefenseStocks.com, IndiaStockMarket.com, InvestingInWireless.com, LowCarbInvesting.com, NanotechnologyInvestment.com, NaturalGasStocks.com, RFIDInvesting.com, RenewableEnergyStocks.com, OnlineInvestorConference.com, Water-Stocks.com.


Hear founder Dawn Van Zant, from HomelandDefenseStocks.com every Friday at :08 and :38 after the hour for “The Business of Homeland Security” only on www.HomelandDefenseRadio.com

SOURCE: InvestorIdeas.com

Disclaimer: ECON Corporate Services Inc (ECON) is the owner of this domain.
ECON is a privately owned corporate communications company specializing in: media relations, investor relations, and research on public companies and industry sectors, for the investment community. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any specific products or securities. All investments involve risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results, therefore investigate before you invest! Although we attempt to research thoroughly, we offer no guarantees as to the accuracy of any information presented. We encourage all investors to use our sites only as a resource to further their own research.
The site is compensated by its "Featured Companies,” as outlined in our on-line disclaimer at www.InvestorIdeas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp

For more information contact:

Dawn Van Zant 800-665-0411
Email: dvanzant@investorideas.com
Trevor Ruehs truehs@investorideas.com
Brian Noer bnoer@investorideas.com




About the author:
Mr. Brush is the author of Lessons From the Front Line, a book offering insights on investing and the markets based on the experiences of professional money managers.

How To Buy a Product or Service With No Money

I have been involved in an age old system of swapping goods and services for no money. The system is called "Barter". The dictionary definition of this is "To trade goods or services without the exchange of money".

I am an Affiliate Marketing Manager and my business is to develop online sales for companies that are either already trading online but need more sales or want to implement an affiliate program and don't know how to or indeed have the time that is required in looking after a huge online sales force.

My story is I wanted to buy a hot tub for the garden and after research found the best one at £2300.00. My wife hit the roof so I went to the firm with my idea. I wrote a simple email offering them the opportunity of me implementing an affiliate program for them for their top of the range hot tub. I didn't really expect a reply but 3 days after the initial email I had the company owner email me to ask for more details.

We chatted extensively on the phone and struck a deal. I would install the affiliate program software, place the affiliate program on the affiliate directories that counted and find super affiliates to start generating sales as quickly as possible. We agreed that I would receive my hot tub when the goals and objectives were met. I achieved them within a month which worked out to around 40 hours work, not a bad deal I thought.

I have since Bartered for a Plasma TV, an MP3 player, 2 Digital Cameras and am now looking for a car.

I have started a online community forum that is specifically for people want to start Bartering or even for people who Barter already view the site here http://www.barterwise.com.

The Barter system is a fantastic opportunity for people to gain what they want by offering what is some surplus stock or some time.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

ECOMMERCE SOLUTIONS…THE CALL OF THE TIME

There really is no doubting the impact of Information Technology on our lives. And a significant example of this is the application of ecommerce in business. Conducting business transactions has been changed to a great extent. Just what are ecommerce or e-commerce solutions? Ecommerce or e-commerce is the purchasing or selling of goods or services as well as the transfer of funds in any way by means of electronic communications in inter-company and intra-company business dealings. Moreover, ecommerce solution is also a key to conduct business by means of technology through the internet. There are actually four types of ecommerce existing today and these are the following: business to consumer ecommerce, business to business ecommerce, consumer to business ecommerce and the consumer to consumer ecommerce.

The business to consumer ecommerce involves businesses selling products and services to various individual customers. This kind of ecommerce is also known as online trading and auctions. On the other hand, the business to business ecommerce involves the transactions commencing between companies in which they sell to other businesses. This type of ecommerce also includes a transfer of well thought-out messages with other business partners over private networks or internet in order to create and transform business processes. Moreover, the business to business ecommerce is deemed toward the improvement as well as the simplification of the various business processes inside a company. This type of ecommerce is also geared toward the maximization of the efficiency when it comes to the many transactions that a company engages into. Likewise, the business to business ecommerce is designed to achieve a quicker and flawless transaction that is controlled. Aside from that, business to business ecommerce is also effective in maintaining limited inventory as well as efficient enough to perform product refill and many more.

The consumer to business ecommerce is actually considered an unusual internet trend. Examples for this type of ecommerce are those individuals who for example are looking for hotels but have limited budget. What they do is that they place an ad on the internet saying that they are looking for a hotel at a rate that are just within their budget and then they also place there their contact numbers or email addresses if ever some hotels are interested. This example simply shows the marvelous capability of the internet to bring people together and create a cyber market wherein various people can transact their business.

On the other hand, the consumer to consumer ecommerce is considered to be the internet’s equivalent of an advertising market. This is where individual web users are allowed to put their ad for other consumers to react to. The advantage of this type of ecommerce is that people are able to save on advertising and then their ads are much faster and are easily reached by an unlimited number of customers like themselves.



About the author:
Jinky C. Mesias is a lover of simple things and of nature. She spends most of her time reading and writing poetry.

For comments and suggestions about the article kindly visit web placements

THE Secret Weapon For Gaining Wealth

Recently a friend of mine was talking about all the opportunities that seem to come her way without her even searching for them. For example, someone tells her about a house she can buy as a rental property investment. Next thing you know, someone else tells her about another one. Then, she’s at a spa one day talking to the spa owner and now she’s investing in owning a spa.

What is it that causes such things to happen to one person and not another?
I asked her what the secret was. Can you believe it? The secret was so simple. It was GIVING.

Think about times in your life when you have been in your greatest flow of positive energy. During those times I bet you will remember that you were in a very generous state of mind, giving freely in various aspects.

I once read a Proverb that said, “If you want friends, show yourself friendly.” I now know that the reciprocal effect of everything is the same. If you want money, give money, if you want love, give love, and so on.

The other day, I gave money to an organization when I really didn’t feel like I could afford it. Because I had not used up my 10% tithe amount for the month, I decided I had better keep my financial integrity in tact and give the money. It’s unbelievable in a way, but the next thing I knew I had a check in the mail from previous work I had done and forgotten that I had not been paid. I got a new client in my life coaching business, who called me from having seen some of my work. And, I was able to get into a training program I wanted as a result of the other person’s generosity!

Here is something that may catch your attention. Jennifer is a newly graduated college student who has a heart for health organizations. She joined the Team In Training efforts of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation and is training to run the marathon in San Francisco this year.

What will she get in return?

Some of what she will get is:
Physical fitness.
Encouragement and support from family and friends.
Admiration from people who can imagine how hard that training is.
Fabulous training she can carry with her throughout her life.
Warmth from knowing she has honored a person who is living with and battling Leukemia
More than we can imagine right now.

What will you get in return for going to Jennifer’s Team In Training link http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=tntgaJFedero and giving toward the cause? I don’t know. What I do know is you will be richly rewarded in some unexpected way.

If you want friends, give friendship; if you want love, give love; if you want money, give money.


About the author:
Juanita Bellavance, the author of this article is known for understanding what a client needs to succeed. She can look at what’s missing and lead a client into seeing for themselves their own power over it. Because of this realization of their power, people have a shift in belief level. And that shift ignites them into action! Visit Juanita at: www.surefireonlinetradingsuccess.comContact her at: results@assuredsuccesslifecoach.com

Surviving Tough Times Online

With economic problems dominating the headlines, all
businesses, online and off, need to make the most of every
single customer contact if they hope to stay in business!

Consumers want to hang onto every dollar and only spend
money for things they feel they really "must" have.

To put yourself and your business in the best position to
survive and thrive in the current economy, follow these
simple rules for making every website visitor count.

The first step in making every visitor count involves
knowing exactly what people want from you. The vast
majority of businesses never bother to ask what customers
and visitors want, and therefore, they make fewer sales
than they could with a little research.

Smart online business owners use surveys regularly to stay
in touch with customer needs, tastes, and preferences. It
costs next to nothing to ask a customer what they want and
then simply give it to them. But, it may cost you
everything if you don't take the time to ask first.

Next, businesses hoping to make it in these uncertain
economic times must form alliances with other business
owners who cater to the same audience. Other business
owners have the traffic you need in order to grow your
business.

For this reason, you must constantly look for creative ways
to work with them. The easiest way to profit by working
with other website owners involves endorsing each other's
products to your own lists or, at a minimum, trading links
to funnel traffic back and forth.

Creating traffic from "scratch" rates the slowest and
costliest way to bring customers to your website.
Persuading other people to send targeted traffic your way
puts you on the fast track to profits.

The third step for triumphing in uncertain economic times
entails building one-on-one relationships with your
customers and prospects, even if you have thousands of
them. They must feel as if you are speaking only to them
in all of your communications.

The quickest way to accomplish this involves specializing
in one highly specific area of concern for them. In other
words, no matter what you sell, you'll never succeed as
"Wal-Mart." To succeed, your online business must
completely meet the needs of your customers in one,
specific area.

Time to face facts: the Internet won't go away! In fact,
despite the well publicized "dot bombs" of a couple of
years ago, the Internet forms a more integral part of our
lives than ever.

Even if you feel like your business, your job, or some
other important aspect of your life doesn't depend on the
Internet today, what about tomorrow?

Finally, everyone must stay current at all times with the
ever-changing landscape of the Internet. At some point,
virtually every one of us will find the Internet an
integral part of our business lives.

As effective business people, we must develop the ability
to adapt to change and give customers what they want - not
in months or years -but in the space of hours or days.

About the author:

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-
author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to
use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted
visitors to your website or affiliate links...

Simple "Traffic Machine" brings Thousands of NEW visitors to
your website for weeks, even months... without spending a
dime on advertising! ==> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com

The Simple Tactic the Internet Gurus use to Turn T...

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to spend years and waste thousands of dollars trying to make there home business “work” while others seem to just hit the ground running? Do you ever wonder why some people seem to have a sort a magical Midas touch when it comes to making money while others don’t?

I’ll tell you exactly why. Are you ready? Those that make money know that time is money and those that don’t make money have not realized this. That’s really all there is to it.

Let me explain, all business really is is the act of you trading your time for your customers money. If you are effective at doing the tasks that make this transaction happen as efficiently as possibly then you will be perceived as one of those with the mythical Midas touch. If not, then you’re just like most of us. That is, most of us will do the exact opposite.

It seems sort of paradoxical. Why would we spend so much time doing things that aren’t going to help us make money?

Honestly, it’s human nature that holds us back. We don’t know that we’re not doing the tasks that are going to make us money, because we think we are. In essence, we trick ourselves.

Let me explain what the typical online home business entrepreneur does. First, He’ll see an enticing eBook that seems to show some promise then he’ll buy and read it. After that, he’ll try to put some of the theory he’s learned into action.

This my friends, is where he messes up.

He’ll try to put what he’s learned in the book into action without research and without proper preparation. Then when things don’t turn out correct he’ll get discouraged and quit until he finds a next hot eBook title that arouses his interest. Then he buys that one and the whole process cycles again. A year passes and all this guy knows is that he’s spent thousands of dollars and effectively learned nothing concrete.

You see, the typical home business entrepreneur thinks he is doing what’s most effective and will lead to earning the most money by dropping what didn’t work and shifting his resources to the next idea. He thinks eventually he’s going to hit the jackpot and find the diamond in the rough. Ironically, it’s this exact attitude that will ensure that he’ll never find that diamond in rough. You see, in actuality, there is no diamond in the rough.

This is an important point so pay attention, EVERY eBook and every article our typical home business entrepreneur has read had been sold to him in the SAME WAY! He didn’t even notice it! He was too busy learning all his cool new business strategies. Let me repeat the last point for you, all the information that he had learned was different, but the median for its distribution was always the same.

That’s the secret the guru’s don’t tell you. The sales model is ALWAYS the same.

So, here’s the difference between the average home business entrepreneur and the home business entrepreneur with the Midas touch. Those that seem to hit the ground running learn the fundamentals first. They learn basic marketing principle then find something to market and then lastly try all the fancy stuff the guru’s tell them. And well, we already know what average home based business opportunity seeker does.

The gurus are masters of basic marketing principles. So, the most effective use of your time and money from the outset if you’re serious about becoming a successful home business entrepreneur is to master the basics of marketing.

It’s all marketing! Nothing more and nothing less…



About the author:
Daegan Smith is the Ex-NCAA Wrestler Turned Webmaster of
Perfect Home Based Business Opportunities
- The Internet's Top Home Based Business Opportunities Free Information Resource!

Alternative Business Client Gifts

(ARA) - It is customary for businesses to give gifts of appreciation to their clients and employees during the holiday season; one that says a lot about a company’s values, makes a real difference in the world and honors clients and employees is a gift to a charity in the customer’s name.

Dan Guzman, a broker in the Dow Jones futures pit at the Chicago Board of Trade, had great success with this concept, last year, when he decided it was time to show the public that traders not only have hearts, they understand others don’t have it so good. He suggested that his co-workers offer their support for the work of Heifer International, a nonprofit organization that provides farm animals to poor families in 48 countries around the world. He was overwhelmed at the generosity of the approximately 30 traders in the Dow pit who gave -- they collected $15,000.

“I call it the Dow challenge,” says Guzman. “The money you raise isn’t the most important thing. What’s important is the awareness you raise.”

Guzman learned of Heifer when reading about poor children spending all their waking hours hunting for food. He imagined his own nine-year-old in that situation and his heart broke. “It felt great presenting the check to Heifer International’s Chicago regional director, Rosemary Larson, on the trading room floor. I knew lives would be forever changed for the better,” says Guzman.

Bob Stiller, CEO of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, had a similar experience. “I first became aware of Heifer International and the work they are doing to end world hunger when I received their gift catalog. I thought the symbolic gift of animals was a great idea and over the years personally used them to honor my friends and business colleagues. Last year, my office coffee division used the animal gifts for their best customers. The life-affirming gifts were well received by our customers, who told us this gift reflected our company’s core values,” says Stiller.

Heifer International is leading a response to the alternative business-to-business giving trend by creating its first “Most Important Gift Catalog in the World,” for businesses. Heifer makes it easy for businesses to convey their gift by offering special cards and a new book, called “One World, One Family” as fulfillment pieces. The book’s beautiful photos tell a story of lives that are changed through partnerships with Heifer International. To order this catalog, call (800) 696-1918, or go to www.heifer.org/business. To learn more about Heifer, the leader in world hunger solutions, visit www.heifer.org

Courtesy of ARA Content






About the author:
Courtesy of ARA Content

What MACD & RSI Mean in Forex Trading?

As a forex trader your main objective must be to become a profitable trader. In order to achieve this goal, it is vital that you learn how to use the widely known technical indicators. These are very useful parameters that will tell you with a high probability what the forex markets are more likely to do in their apparently disordered behavior as observed on the forex charts.

Among these indicators you will find the MACD and RSI; but what’s the meaning of these letters?, you may be asking yourself. Well, here is the answer:

Moving Average Convergence Divergence: MACD is a more detailed method of using moving averages to find trading signals from price charts. Developed by Gerald Appel, the MACD plots the difference between a 26-day exponential moving average and a 12-day exponential moving average. A 9-day moving average is generally used as a trigger line, meaning when the MACD crosses below this trigger it is a bearish signal (time to sell) and when it crosses above it, it's a bullish signal (time to buy).

As with other studies, traders will look to MACD studies to provide early signals or divergences between market prices and a technical indicator. If the MACD turns positive and makes higher lows while prices are still tanking, this could be a strong_buy signal. Conversely, if the MACD makes lower highs while prices are making new highs, this could be a strong bearish divergence and a sell signal.

RSI stands for Relative Strength Index. The RSI measures the markets activity as to whether it is over bought or over sold. It gives a trader an indication as to which way the Market is moving. It is important to note, that this is a leading indicator and thus allows one to see what the market is about to do and then act accordingly. The higher the RSI number, the more over bought it is and conversely the lower the RSI number, the more over sold it is. It is a great leading indicator for the micro and macro reversals in the forex market. By using an RSI on the 1 minute chart set at a period of 18 and overlaid on the bottom of your charts tend to give the best entry signals. This can also be applied to the 5-minute chart as well. The two significant entry numbers are 25 and 75.

About the author:
Adrian Pablo; Forex trader and freelance writer.

>> http://www.1-forex.com

Are You One of the New Disposable Workers?

Part III - American Dream or American Myth?

At the beginning of the 1900’s the industrial revolution was the new engine of the american economy and workers were a disposable commodity. The typical worker lined up at the factory door each morning before dawn hoping to hired on the for the day. Only a few skilled workers (tool and die makers and machine set-up specialists) were “full-time”, and there were no regular raises, holidays, vacations, or benefits. Corporations and “trusts” called the shots and workers took what they could get.

Part of our barbaric “Robber Baron” past you say? Think again. Fast forward 100 years and the working world is beginning to look very much the same. Approximately 25% of our workforce is comprised of temporary workers and that number is projected to grow to 40% by the year 2010! The largest employer in the U.S. is Manpower Inc., a huge “temp” agency trading the latest commodity...your labor. The difference between now and 100 years ago is that its not just the labor of muscle and sweat, it is the labor of skill and specialized knowledge, and includes attorneys, accountants, college professors, scientists, software engineers, and business executives. This growing army of “contingent workers” typically works for 8 to 40% less than their “full-time” counterparts, without benefits, and on an as-needed “just-in-time” basis.

Is this new employment model an evil plot by corporate america to suppress the american worker? Not really. Corporations just do what they are structured to do. They minimize costs (including labor) and maximize profits for their shareholders within the boundaries of the market place and the market for labor is now global. During the last 20 years or so the american corporation has quietly evolved and restructured. In large part they have just adapted to a new global and digital economy. It would not be a stretch to say that we are in the middle of a “new economy” revolution every bit as disruptive as the industrial revolution a hundred years ago and that labor (skilled and professional), especially american labor, is at the short end of the stick.

The old corporate model was rigid and highly structured. It was one of high vertical and horizontal integration, somewhat slow to make and implement decisions, highly controlled, and formally structured. It was also highly unionized with a relatively permanent workforce that enjoyed high wages, pensions, and health insurance (i.e. General Motors and U.S. Steel). This model dominated after WWII when the U.S. dominated the world economy and U.S. corporations faced very little global competition.

However, global competition, free trade, and a digital age required a new model capable of rapid change and maximum flexibility. As corporate america evolved into this new model, american workers experienced “re-engineering”, downsizing, “rightsizing” (after mergers), off-shoring, outsourcing, the death of pensions and the birth of 401K’s, shared healthcare costs, and the rapid rise in population of the just-in-time or “contingent” worker. At the extreme the “new” corporation is “virtual”, with a few key employees and executives at the core and a network partner companies and contingent employees always in flux to meet the demands of a rapidly changing global market.

This new trend of contingent labor has also spread to the public sector and shows no sign of slowing down or stabilizing. Many highly skilled and educated workers have been turned into reluctant “free agents” whose value has been bid down by a global labor market. These workers may think they are entrepreneurs, but they are really just employees without health benefits, no different than the factory worker of a 100 years ago lining up at dawn and hoping to be hired on for the day.

About the author:
John Van Doren is former turnaround and startup executive in the manufacturing sector. His is currently an independent entrepreneur with a website {www.youramericandream.info} devoted to redefining the American Dream in the context of a digital and global economy.

E-currency Exchange Trading

I have searched high and low and tried MLM's such as Market America, Quixstar, Trek Alliance and Amway. The business idea works, however people need to sell products and build their downline to be successful. I hated the idea of trying to convince people that Market America, Quixstar and all the other MLM's worked. In fact, that was the hardest thing to do was to convince somebody that these MLM's worked!

I have finally found a system that involves no selling, no downline and and garunteed profits with a little learning involved. I thought this couldn't be true, I actually don't have to sell something and didn't have to build a downline!

Let me explain how it works. There are hundreds of companies on the internet that deal with electronnic funds, such as Netpay, PayPal and INTgold. Currency exchanging is relatively unknown but incredibly lucrative business opportunity. While Currencies are traded all over the world (like with Forex), there are both US-based and offshore trading houses that need your flow of dollars to facilitate their business operations.

This is where you,"The Merchant" comes in. By making funds temporarily avaliable to the Global Exchange Network creates float. The company we work with is able to borrow against this dollar amount and the commissions come back to us. The funds you lend to the network are typically returned in a 24 to 36 hour time frame. For example, by pushing $100 in INTGold to another person in exchange you recieve a fee of $3.50. This process takes about 30 seconds. When the funds come back into your account you make another $1. $4.50 isn't bad for something that takes 15 seconds to do. There are other ways to cycle this money back through the system and reinvest profits to your bottom line. On top of building float, your investment is compounded daily and you easily make gains of .35% off of your investment per day. How much is that? Well if you invested $100 that would be 35 cents per day profits. Now imagine when your investment grows to $1000 and $5000.... even $10,000 your daily profits are easily $35 per day. Remember the best part about this is that is compounded daily!

How much can you start with? You can start with as little as $25.00 I recommend a few hundred dollars until you get to know the system and become more comfortable with the exchange network.

I learned the e-currency exchange network through a group of friends online. It is extremely difficult trying to learn how to do this sitting in chat rooms and reading posts. I finally gave in and purchased a guide that literally enabled me to double my investment in under a month. I am very pleased with my results and I can now kiss those MLM's that require downline building and selling goodbye forever!



About the author:
If you would like to inquire more information about e-currency exchange visit our website at wwww.mazumoney.net

If you have any questions don't hesitate to e-mail us at onlinesupport@mazumoney.net I am very down to earth and would not have any problems speaking to you personally if you request a phone call through our support e-mail.

URL: www.mazumoney.net
E-mail: onlinesupport@mazumoney.net

Please don't hesitate. Take a look at this opportunity, I can garuntee as long as follow the steps to invest properly you will not be sorry!

What Part Do Commodities Play in the Market and

Commodities are any goods or wares that are up for sale or trade. These things include such things as food, furniture, cars, or anything that is generally manufactured, sold or traded.

Commodities are a part of life! We use them all the time! The coffee on your cupboard, the cereals, the soap, the shampoo, the toothpaste – all of these constitute everyday commodities.

The word commodity comes from the French word commodité. This means ‘benefit’ or ‘profit.’ This too comes from the earlier Latin word commoditas which refers to good quality or propriety. The word commodité is related in meaning to the French word biens. Biens means goods. Many people use goods and commodities interchangeably.

Definition

As a business word, commodities are products that can in fact be worth more to their owner if sold instead of used. For example, you might have a large stock of canned goods that you won’t be able to consume before it expires. It would be better to sell them off instead, since you would benefit more from the sale than from just eating all of them.

In the business world, the most common examples of commodities are oil, chemicals, raw materials, canned goods and other consumer goods that are often bought or sold.

Originally commodities were things that had value. Commodities had to be uniform in their quality and mass produced by different entities to be considered as such. There is an unwritten contract among these producers that their products must be of such standard that they can be at least interchangeably used to some degree. This allows the consumers to, for example, to switch brands of flour when baking without having to agonize too much over the brand of the flour product.

Let us take, for example, producers of powdered milk. Although they belong to different brands with different organizations and process management, they will still be expected to produce a powdered milk brand that is similar, in category. There will be differences in quality, taste and some other attributes. However, when you think of powdered milk, these products will have to fit the bill.

Strictly speaking, commodities will often refer to wholesale or brandless goods. This means that the commodities will come from direct suppliers of these goods and do not go through the process of marketing, and branding.

A good example of this is oil. The supplier in this case does not matter. Oil is assumed to be oil, and that the use of such should not depend on the supplier. That is why, in commodities trading, once you’ve seen one barrel of oil, you’ve seen them all.

Branding

Producers may want to have their products distinguishable from other products. To do this, they employ branding. Branding is the activities engaged to make a product, from a certain producer, stand out from other products of the same kind. Taking the milk example from earlier, we could give one of the producers the name, Moo Milk. It could be told apart from others because of its label, marketing, and container. It might differ a bit from other products in quality.

This will most definitely increase the price of the goods. The upside to this is that the particular product with the best brand name and brand recognition is sure to get a better portion of the market.

About the author:
David Arnold Livingston is a successful business owner
and entrepreneur. He recommends the resource:
For Commodities

Customer Relationship Management

Changing consumer attitudes are driving Customer Relationship Management. Fuelled by Internet induced expectations and an even increasing mood of self reliance among customers, companies have to compete in an environment where communication, buying processes, data management, delivery and service are all-important in the battle for longterm, profitable relationships.

Customers now require:

- Control over the buying process (information, comparison,
selection, easy to find, use and respond to)

- The best possible price (including delivery, and without
compromise to brand or product quality)

- The quickest, slickest delivery system (preferably free)

- All payment options (secure)

- Communications designed to suit the particular need
(computerised; complex; caring)

The above apply whatever the form of trading:

- Direct
- Traditional
- Retail
- E-commerce
- Wholesale
- Combination

These attitudes combined with the development of new technology and the growing convergence of a number of 'new - new' and 'emerging - new' communications and distribution technologies such as:

- 'Fixed link' telephony and telemarketing
- Internet and VOIP
- Mobile telephony, SMS etc.
- Digital TV, Cable, Satellite

is leading to an increasing focus on Customer Relationship Management by all types of organisations, as they realise that technological change allows them to re-organise the way that they manage customer relationships and make them more profitable.

Organisations are searching for something far more holistic, consistent and yet dynamic.

To achieve that and a sustainable competitive advantage in Customer Relationship Management means working with the management team, staff and suppliers of the company, where reasonable and cost effective using technology (e.g. intranet, extranet) to help to deliver the actions necessary to maximise performance.

One must:

- Define profitable market sectors and customers
- Understand customers needs and expectations
- Identify profitable product and service propositions
- Create effective, efficient, adaptable, cost effective
infrastructures

Customer Relationship Management is: the customer focussed management of the whole relationship with each customer, in order to measure, create and increase income and reduce costs for each customer and customer segment and thus to generate greater positive lifetime value across the portfolio.

Customer Relationship Management requires the organisation to know the answers to questions such as:

- Which of my customers are profitable or unprofitable?

- Do I know their lifetime value?

- Which of my products and services are they buying and not
buying?

- Have I measured customers' purchase behaviour patterns, their
loyalty/retention/repeat purchase and multiple product
purchases?

- What channel preferences do customers have?

- Who are my most profitable customers and what is their
ranking/grouping by risk, by product service grouping, by
profit, and by revenue?

- What strategies can I use to improve a customer's
profitability profile?

It also requires the organisation to deliver customer value. Customers must feel that
the organisation:

- ‘Understands what I want’
- ‘Communicates with me’
- ‘Provides me with added value’
- ‘Gives me reasons not to switch’
- ‘Treats me as an individual’

To achieve these answers Customer Relationship Management requires focus on both sides of the equation:

- Customer Communications Management
- Process Quality Management

and on three key delivery mechanisms, those of:

- Proposition
- Processes
- People

To be fully effective at Customer Relationship Management an organisation has to position the business unit or enterprise (proposition, processes and people) so that the customer is as the centre of their business. True Customer Relationship Management means that the business has streamlined customer management through the integration of all customer 'touch points', such as marketing, customer service and payment in such a way that true customer satisfaction and loyalty appear to occur effortlessly.

Customer Relationship Management is not a 'fad' it is a business philosophy that helps to increase revenue, reduce costs and to build and retain a loyal customer base.

About the author:
Richard Hill is a director of E-CRM Solutions and has spent many years in seniordirect and interactive marketing roles. E-CRM http://www.e-crm.co.ukhelps you to grow by getting you more customers that stay with you longer. We provide practical solutions that pay for themselves. We help you to make sure that your marketing works.