Helping You Rock Out Your Site Like A Rockstar!

Anyone who knows me, or regularly visits knows that I support causes like Breast Cancer Awareness, and Relay for Life. These are important causes to me because I know so many women around me that have suffered from breast cancer and various others suffer from other types of cancer. For those of you that know people with cancer, or are survivors of cancer should really read the rest of this post. It is a way to support the cause just by walking.

I came across a great cause called BeeWell Miles . From April 1st until October 31st of this year (2009), Bumble Bee Foods will donate 15 cents per mile walked towards Breast Cancer.

The great thing is that anyone can do it and all you have to do is walk and log the miles at their website, BeeWellMiles.com. It is a win-win situation as you can lose weight and also support a cause at the same time. Since I have been exercising, and now that the weather is warmer, I will most likely be joining this cause. Besides logging miles on the website, you can enter your meals in and get the tabulations on calories and have access to health experts to help you along the way.

This is a great opportunity especially for mothers who are wanting to get out and about.

For most, hosting is really a big deal. When you pay to have your own domain and webspace, you expect to have your money’s worth. Web Hosting Geeks allows you to review your webhost.

Why is it important to review your webhost. Well, for one if they are giving decent services, the reviews work like ‘word of mouth.’ These reviews could be something that may entice others to purchase the same services. If your webhost was under par, well… it can alert potential clients to beware when making transactions with a particular webhost. Also, these reviews can serve as a learning experience with the webhost.

Web Hosting Geeks also offers an informative blog to educate their users on all sorts of subjects concerning hosting, from finding the right host, and even news about webhost companies.

I really liked the article SSL For Your E-commerce Site a it not only explains what SSL is, but also how to purchase a SSL certificate, install and design for SSL. Even if you are not new to the hosting scene, this is a wonderful resource to share with your friends.

Have you submitted a review about your webhost before? If not, would you consider reviewing them? If you have, what other webhost review sites do you recommend submitting reviews?

I went out to shop today, but can you believe it, nothing seems to interest me. I still had gift cards from Christmas time and have not spent anything yet, even the VISA rechargeable cards. I am not sure if it was the fact that I have a list of things to get. I need more clothes, but also I could use more books for graphic design and such. It is a hard decision.

However, I decided to do a little shopping online and came across a bath and body type site called Sabon NYC. Despite my geekiness, I tend to have a vain side that loves nice smelling lotions and soaps. I came across reed diffuser and thought it was interesting. After seeing some commercials with other brands and seeing diffusers in stores, none seemed to have that smell I wanted to have. Also, usually I do those plug in scents and those can be a bit overbearing at times.

What is a reed diffuser? Well, in the case of what I was looking at on Sabon NYC, the reed is made of bamboo and spreads the scent through the air. Usually turning the stick keeps the air fresh and lasts up to three months. I am going to try the Paradise scented oil, which is suppose to contain tropical fruits. My hope is that perhaps they might make and sell a cherry blossom one, which is my favorite scent.

One thing I really am into is that my house has to smell great. My guests always comment on how great my place smells, but I tend to use the same thing. Perhaps the reed diffuser will be a big hit? I usually buy my scents in person, so I am really taking a gander with this.

Do you use a reed diffuser? If not, what do you use? Would you buy a scent online, or prefer to buy it in person.

I have been thinking of getting certified in Microsoft for some time. In fact, I have college credits toward it through one of local colleges around here. However, since I have been into online schooling for some time, I came across Network+ Training and the site also contains courses on different Microsoft certifications, even in networking. I am seriously thinking about it as it is online and seems to be something you can do in your own time.

Of course, I could probably do this at one of the local colleges, but considering the price of gas and the fact that the cost might rise again, the convenience of studying online makes it both greener and less costly.

Have you tried online courses of any type? If so, what was the course and where did you study at? If not, would you consider it if you needed a course to get ahead in your career?

This year marks 10 years since I graduated high school. Can you believe it? Just thinking about it, I cannot. It makes me feel a bit old. Since then, I have dedicated myself to developing my passion in writing and even art in general, like web and graphic design. I never profess myself some guru in the fields, but I have a lot of experience.

The reading, the practice, the schooling, it has all been worth it. Although I am still in college for another degree, I hope it brings me closer to what I want to do, which is to be a business owner. Right now, I am making it by myself barely as a entrepreneur. It has not been easy. And considering most web designers take an average of 10 years to make it, I believe I am doing fine.

My one thing that I fear is high school reunions. So far, I have heard nothing, and I remember that even my father had one when he was younger. I came from a huge high school, and I have moved around quite a bit in the past 10 years. I often think about those I use to be acquainted with and what they are doing. Of course, I hope they are doing well.

If you have graduated high school, what have you done since?

I always love nifty things, especially when it comes to more opportunities to check out other search engines. I came across LeapFish, which I thought was pretty cool. When I typed in ‘blondish’ a drop down appeared with possible results and immediately the search engine pulled information from Google. I also noticed that users can select to have their information pulled from other blogs, Yahoo!, Ebay, YouTube, and MSN as a single query. Not only did my own site appear near the top by the time I completed typing, but also other searchs like Yahoo! Answers and possible images and videos. I did all of this without even having to click a button!

LeapFish is boasted to be one of the fastest search engines and has been blogged about by places like MSNBC. With my search being conducted as I type it in, I am convinced it is a great resource, especially when you can also get results from other search engines there too. For anyone else interested in search engines, you can follow LeapFish‘s official blog. Is this the next step in search engines? And for those who like it, I wanted to mention that they have a toolbar you can install as well. If you need more information, take a look at their LeapFish about page.

Sometimes when you cannot market yourself due to time constraints or lack of knowledge, especially if your site is important to you and you want to increase your site’s popularity, it may be a good idea to invest in an internet marketing agency. One of the places I came across, Pepperjam, is highly popular and is a full service internet and search engine marketing agency.

What does that mean? Well, anyone who invests with Pepperjam will receive services that will do things like maximize the traffice and leads volume to a site. Search Engine Optimization is one of the specialties this company can provide. They focus on areas like meta tags, content optimization, and URL structure. Some of these points I have touched base on within my Webmaster Resources in the Articles section.

Pepperjam is very prestigious with it being the 75th company in the top 500 Inc. With clients like eBay, DNKY, and even Playboy, they are the real thing when it comes to what they do. The great thing about Pepperjam is that they provide services that are organic, search engine-wise so your site is indexed properly! It might cost a bit of money depending on what your expectations are, but my philosophy is that if you cannot do it, then get it done right even if it might cost. As Donald Trump says, “You have to play big to win big.”

Of course, if you are not sure about Pepperjam, they offer a free analysis and proposal which will allow you to see what they can offer.

Sometimes developing anything online can seem boring, but IDUG contest has found a way to put a real kick into producing a short XQuery. Their contest, the XLM Contest, asks entrants to produce an XML rap by simply pointing a camera towards the computer screen while you are working.
Their main terms are that the video refer somehow to XML, XQuery or DB2. The terms are fairly simple and once you are done, upload the video, post about it with an embedded file of your entry and mention the IDUG contest so others might have a chance to enter. Videos can be no longer than 5 minutes, so it is simple for anyone who might be a bit zany enough to document their experience for the contest.

Some helpful pointers is to fit in about the application are things like: security, how unique your item is, how easy your solution is to understand, and above all, how useful it is. The contest is great for students as it could be a stepping stone for future job hunts. So, if you are a developer, try out the contest even if for fun. The prizes given vary, but some of the prizes recently offered were an iPod and a Zune.