InstantOnlineBiz

Why Streaming Audio And Video Is A Trend You Must Not Ignore!

2006-03-31T18:02:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed it already? What is the biggest change on the internet in the last five years? If you haven't already noticed it, it is the growth of audio and video on ordinary websites.

How often recently have you browsed onto a webpage and an audio track has started instantly? Until about a year ago it required an expensive studio setup to be able to stream audio across the web. Now there are free open source programs that will let you record straight to your hard drive. The quality is good enough, without any editing, to be used online. The piece of software that is used to create the streaming audio file is inexpensive enough for anyone. In fact members of my site have access to it included in the resources section.

Video is now taking the net by storm as well. Within the very near future you will begin to see the sort of "info-mercial" that currently appears on late night cable channels appearing on the web. New compression technology means that videos can be streamed within the web page, making them accessible to almost anyone with web access.

At the other end of web video check out the "mobloggs" already appearing with video uploaded straight from mobile phones! As this technology becomes widespread imagine the possibilities for a busy mum of being able to run an interactive web site from just a mobile phone.

Recently the increase in the use of "Screen Capture" videos to demonstrate the way to use programs on your computer has been credited with the growth of a new type of surfer. The Non Reader.

The younger generation as a whole do not read books. Recent statistics in the UK show that over 60% of twenty year olds have not read a book in the last twelve months. 27% claim not to have even read a newspaper! American figures are probably not dissimilar.

Yet most of these people are comfortable using computers, frequently for gaming. These are the people who would not read a web page. The Television generation. Yet these are the people that are surfing frequently on their mobile phones. Uploading videos straight from their mobiles. If you think that is a long way off think again. It's already big business in Japan, and the technology will appear world wide in the near future.

If you haven't heard of The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) you should take note. It is their strength that is driving the market. Through their work no one platform has gained the upper hand, so the speed of change is accelerating all the time, without being held back by competing standards.

Check out FoneBlog, the world's first and leading mobile blogging solution designed and built for the mobile operator with the focus to drive MMS revenue and build mobile communities. It allows users to instantly send and post content, including text, photos, audio and video from a camera phone to a personal website that can be set as a private location or shared with the world.

Imagine a generation that sets up as a matter of course personal websites running from their mobile phones. Multi media diaries that they can share with anyone or everyone. Imagine the possibilities...

If you cannot see that embracing the use of audio and video are essential to the continued growth of your web business then you are going to be like the president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp, Ken Olsen who famously said in 1977 "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

Graham N Barton Is a Scot who is now located in Yorkshire.
He has spent over 20 years involved in sales and marketing, mainly sales training within the direct sales arena.
Hear it See It Do IT

Email "Toll Booths" Coming Soon by Jim Edwards

2006-03-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

Email "Toll Booths" Coming Soon
by Jim Edwards

Jim Edwards I Gotta Tell You Newsletter
http://www.igottatellyou.com/blog/

Copyright 2006 Jim Edwards

The end of the free ride for email marketing looms on the horizon.

The days of building up or buying a big email list and freely using it to market and sell online are numbered like the dinosaurs heading for an ice age cold snap.

The technical and time costs of dealing with email traffic (primarily driven by rampant illegal spam) will soon break the back of both Internet service providers (ISPs) and online email services.

Major online players like AOL and MSN are currently wrestling with two solutions to the problem, but I personally think the almighty dollar will win out in the end.

The two solutions proposed to stem the tide of commercial spam once and for all revolve around either "white listing" email senders or charging a "toll" (typically .25-1 cent per email message) to allow email through.

Currently, ISPs and email providers can either maintain their own white lists, as in the case of AOL, or they can share one.

In the "old" days, companies could (and still do) subscribe to "black lists" (like SpamHaus.org) which exclude email senders based on reports of spamming and other factors.

Though the "black list" method rates the least accurate, it's currently the most popular simply because it requires the least effort by companies trying to block spam.

However, as spammers get smarter, black listing has proven an ineffective spam deterrent and ISPs must get proactive if they hope to survive.

However, an inherent weakness in the "white list" system makes charging for commercial email inevitable.

Since white listing requires effort on the part of the ISP or email provider (they must ultimately pay real people to manage the list), this means additional cost.

Unlike a relatively inexpensive subscription to a "black list service" which gets implemented automatically by software filters, white listing requires people to do work which carries a real world cost.

Bottom line: most ISPs and email services will not be able to create, maintain or implement a white list for very long without charging.

Yet, consumers tired of the avalanche of spam are demanding effective protection by those they pay for Internet and email access.

Thus, any service hoping to survive long-term must adopt a hybrid of both the white list and "toll booth" approaches.

This means not only evaluating the legitimacy of every commercial email sender's methods, but also charging them for the email they send through a particular service or network. It's inevitable.

Now, the cry that immediately goes up at this point sounds like this, "What about the "little guys" who can't afford to pay the fee or the family newsletters that aren't commercial? What about them?"

In a perfect world, their email would go through.

In the real world, their email will get lost even more frequently in the future than it does now in the existing tangle of email filters and inconsistent white and black listing.

The hope of survival and prosperity for the "little guy" lies squarely in the hands of blogging and RSS feeds.

Since blogging and rss feeds enable consumers to subscribe directly to information using an RSS "reader," they completely bypass the need to send email.

This eliminates the "middle man" of an email provider and puts control over what content gets received squarely in the hands of the consumer.

Though this technology has existed for several years now, awareness by mainstream consumers of what RSS feeds are and how to subscribe to them has been relatively slow.

The biggest contributor to the slow adoption in the mainstream has been the absence of a universally distributed RSS "reader" on every computer (similar to how Outlook or Outlook Express on every Windows PC helped make email universally understood).

But that should also change shortly as more RSS readers get included in Web browsers and email programs in the near future.

So while the "big guys" will push their messages to consumers by paying what will surely amount to an ever- increasing "toll" to get their emails through, the "little guys" will "pull" consumers to them with subscriptions to blogs and RSS feeds.

Whether it happens this year, next year, or the year after - make no mistake - the email "toll booth" is coming for commercial emailers and newsletter publishers.

So, if you depend on sending email for your company's profits, either get ready, plan, and budget for the new tolls, or start making arrangements to distribute your content via blogs and RSS feeds, because the market will shortly force you to make a choice.

---
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and co-author of an amazing program that teaches you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com

Does adding audio to your salespage make a difference?

2006-03-08T07:33:00.000-08:00

The number of websites out there that spring to life with either audio or video
is increasing daily.

Obviously the idea is that audio is a lot more personal than the written word,
and anything that personalises your product is bound to add benefits.

To test this I am using audio on a new membership site that I am launching. Early results show that audio makes a considerable difference. So far I have tested three variables, no audio, autoplay that starts as soon as the page loads, and an option where the visitor has to start the audio. So far the audio that is under visitor control is a clear favourite. The software I have used to record the track was Audacity, which is a free file available from Here. It is better quality and easier to use than several paid programs that I have tried.

It was converted into streamable form using Instant Audio Streamer.

Why Work From Home?

2006-01-04T02:46:00.000-08:00

Working from home is a dream for many – but actually going ahead and starting a home business is full of drawbacks. So what makes so many people want to do it, and why would you ever try such a crazy thing? Here are some common reasons, and some things to consider.

You Can Realise your Dreams

It suddenly hit you like a bolt of lightning: you’ve thought of a great business idea. This is perhaps the number one reason that people go into business from home: they’ve come up with something great that they really believe in, but can’t afford to rent any business premises. It does depend on what the business is, but working from home is often ideal in these situations.

Remember, though, that even the best ideas take hard work to become a reality. The kind of ideas that are good for a home-based business are ones that can become profitable quickly and start bringing in an income – you shouldn’t sit at home for a year working on something that’s making you nothing whatsoever.

You Can Make Your Hobby a Job.

Most people have something that they’re really passionate about, and would spend the rest of their life doing if they could, just for the enjoyment of it. Getting paid for doing what you love is obviously appealing – even if you only earn a living wage, it’d be your idea of paradise.

Make sure, though, that there is a market for whatever you want to produce so you can make a living from your passion. It’s the things we’re closest to that hurt us the most – think of how you might feel if no-one buys what you’ve made, or if they send it back and with a note saying “what rubbish, I demand a refund!”
Is your hobby capable of being turned into a commercial enterprise?

You’re Tired of Your Boss.

It seems like everyone hates their boss. They try to pretend like they’re your friend, but they’re not fooling anyone, are they? You’re forced to work to pointless deadlines and targets. Anytime you spot a better way of doing something you’re told that it’s impractical, or, worse, that it’s great but the stupid way of doing things is already ‘established’ and ‘policy’. You know that you are telling lies to the customers but that is what you are told to do!

What you might not realise is how much self discipline ‘being your own boss’ requires.. If there was no-one to make you get up in the morning and do any work, would you? Your home is supposed to be a place of rest and entertainment – and when it’s full of the equipment and temptation to do anything but work, working there can be hard. It is also very hard to discipline your family to respect your "work time".
Just because you are there all the time you may find that you are expected to do all manner of things around the house. If your partner doesn't support you 100% either forget it, or do what I did. Find a new partner!

Everything You Need

2005-12-22T23:51:00.000-08:00

Have you ever tried to make money on the Internet? Have
you committed one or all of these common
but fatal mistakes:

* Thinking that product creation is a cinch and you can do
it overnight.

* Thinking further that you could churn out countless
products at a profitable rate.

* Believing that what you know is enough to guarantee your
success.

* Choosing more affordable services for your business at
the expense of quality.

* Being confident that an effective
marketing strategy doesn’t have to cost a dime.

The truth of the matter is that Internet marketing requires
a lot of skills, a lot of dedication, and either a lot of Money,
Or A Lot of time and effort, whether you accept that fact or not.
This is how the online moneymaking game is played.

Thankfully, the rules are about to change, and you’re
cordially invited for the ride.

John Delavera, the father of the highly acclaimed and
widely received TURBO line of products which include the
JVManager, the Buy Me A Beer and Buy Me A Product programs,
the Dynamic Pricing Generator, several blockbuster eBooks,
and the long running Turbozine newsletter, is offering you
something that has never been offered in the history of
online commerce.

* * * EVERYTHING * * *

Everything that you’ll ever need to run a successful
business on the World Wide Web, including access to his
super sellable items, a persistent factory of information
products that would create exclusive goods just for you, a
web hosting service including website design and support,
an excellent autoresponder system for your follow-ups, and
much much more.

Most important of all, John Delavera is offering
to be your mentor and your friend, by committing
himself to support you every step of the way.

This is an offer that you won't see around very often without
an enormous price tag beside it. I saw $1500 for five hours only
today.

John has continually "Broken the Mould" with his innovative products
and his unusual marketing. This time he has really outdone himself!

With all honesty, this is an opportunity that could define
your success and eventually change your life. You’ve heard
plenty promise the same thing before, but this guy doesn't only
Talk the Talk, he walks the walk as well!

Take a peek at the future of the industry:

TurboMembership Click here

Make sure you check it out!

Why you need a website and just how easy it can be!

2005-11-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

If you don't have a website, then you might not realise all the great things they can do for you. Maybe you think there wouldn't be any point, because your business is too small – or maybe you don't even have a business! Perhaps you think it'd be a lot of work for little reward. Or maybe you paid big bucks for a site back during the dot-com 'boom' days, only to get nothing but trouble out of it and shut it down a year later.

Whatever your situation is, though, you need a website, or alternatively you have the option of easily creating a Blog like this.

1. People Will Look for You Online.

Sooner or later, someone's going to type your name into a search engine. What do you want them to find? Nothing? These are people who want to find you, and if you don't have a website or a Blog then you're letting them down – they expect you to be online. For many people, you might as well not exist if you can't be found with a search engine. Not having a website is like not bothering to get listed in the phone book. Whether it's customers or old school friends you're hoping for, very few people are going to find you if you aren't online.

2. Websites Cost Next to Nothing.

Once, it cost a lot to run a website – but those days are long gone. There are 'pay as you go' services out there now charging as little as $1 per gigabyte of bandwidth. If you're sensible about the size of your pages, that dollar could last you a whole month, or even longer! If you don't want to pay for design, it's never been simpler to do it yourself, or find free software to do it for you. Really, it's never been cheaper to have a website than it is today.

3. Websites are Great Advertising.

Whatever you're advertising – your services, your products, or just yourself – a website is a great way to do it. Every other kind of advertising going costs a premium, especially if you want to target a specific kind of person, and there's no guarantee that they're paying attention. Websites are like brochures that are free to reproduce, interactive, and quickly distributed to people who are already looking for them. No advertising medium even comes close to the ease-of-use and effectiveness of a website.

4. A Website is a Worldwide Presence.

On the web, it doesn't matter whether someone is next door to you or on the other side of the world – they can see your website just the same as anyone else can, at no extra cost to you or to them. Phone and post both cost enormous amounts long-distance, but a website lets you send information anywhere without any extra effort or expense. You can make friends and contacts in places you've never been and will never go – suddenly, working globally is no more effort than working locally.

5. Your Website Can Make You Money.

There's a lot of money on the web, and it's not hard to get some – the longer you're online for, the bigger your share can get. If you have something to sell, you can sell it worldwide, thanks to credit cards. Doing business online eliminates almost every overhead there is: all you need to do is have the goods. If you've written something useful, you can put it out there with a few ads. You won't get rich overnight, but you can set up a steady trickle of income... and there's no limit to the number of trickles you can set up.

6. Your Website Can Save You Time.

Giving out information takes time, whether it's on the phone, or in brochures, or even if it's just emailing your family. Websites are designed to save you time. All your family and friends can read your online diary (known as a weblog or Blog), but you only had to write it once. Customers can see your whole product catalogue without ever needing to talk to you or visit you. This is the power of the web: things on it are written only once, but can be downloaded endlessly – a good website runs itself, and keeps being useful to people for much longer than you'd expect.

Once upon a time, building a website was very expensive. Now, though, you can have a site up and running for the price of a used book, if you're frugal and careful. Getting the cheapest website you can is a great first step on the ladder, to get started on the web and see if it's for you.

Now domain names are widely available from $7.95 a year

Free Software.

Nowadays, it's easily possible to build a website using nothing but software you can get for free – most of the best scripting languages are free, and each one has had a lot of free software built for it by hobbyists. Check out sourceforge.net, which is a big repository of free software.

You might think that free software would be less functional than paid-for software, but you'd be wrong. Plenty of free software is simply implementations of standard software, and it works perfectly well – if you want a forum, for example, there's no clear advantage in paying massive license fees to vBulletin (the biggest seller of forum software) instead of just installing the free phpBB. The free software gives you more flexibility, and yet comes at no cost.

Free software has become an ideological movement, for people who want to be able to modify their own software, and much of the free software out there is quickly becoming widely-used and standard. Using free software doesn't make you look cheap, because users are used to seeing it everywhere – even better, the chances are that they already know how to use it.

Templates.

Depending on what kind of website you're running, you could use the design templates that come with your free software – they're usually perfectly adequate. If you don't want to do that, then a quick look around at a site like templatemonster.com is sure to turn up something suitable for your website that only costs a few dollars.

Pay as You Go Hosting.

Instead of asking you to pay monthly for hosting, more and more hosts are starting to offer 'pay as you go' hosting, which means that you only pay for what you use. This saves you a lot of money, because websites that are starting out rarely use all the features and bandwidth they're paying their host to provide.

At nearlyfreespeech.net, for example, you add money to an account and then pay one dollar for each gigabyte of bandwidth you use. Most of these hosts allow you to start an account with very little money – the minimum is usually $5. If you keep your site light on graphics, that first $5 can last you a very long time.

If you want full feature web hosting http://www.cyberultra.net does a starter package giving you 200Mb for less than $30 a year!

Guerrilla Marketing.

Finally, What can be one of the biggest costs associated with any website is marketing it – whether you're planning to pay for banner ads or ads in search engines, marketing can run away with your money. There is actually no need to pay for advertising though, by resorting to more 'guerrilla' techniques, such as becoming involved in online communities than you think might be interested in your website your costs can be negligible. The biggest free marketing technique out there is SEO (search engine optimisation), which is when you build your website in a way that makes it more attractive to search engines, getting you targeted visitors for free. An equally effective (and often a lot quicker) method is to find other people whith complementary websites and do "joint ventures" with them.

Taking it Further.

Once you've built your budget website, do you need to upgrade it later on when you start to get lots of visitors? Often, the answer is no. You might wish to buy a more prestigious .com domain name, and you might want to pay a professional designer to improve your design, but in most cases the path from a budget website to a big one isn't all that costly either. You might think you're building a website 'on the cheap' but, really, that's the most sensible way to do it now – Frequently the simple websites are the ones making money. What matters is your content, not flashy graphics!

Do you have what it takes to be an e-entrepreneur?

2005-11-23T17:03:00.000-08:00

Copyright © Stone Evans, The Home Biz Guy
Author of "Dotcomology - The Science of Making Money Online"
These days, it seems like everyone wants to work from home and make money on the Internet. But before you even turn on your computer, the first question you have to ask yourself is whether you’re cut out for this kind of work.The fact is, building a home-based business isn’t for everyone. Some people like the commute. They really do enjoy having a boss who tells them what to do, and they like the routine of working nine-to-five for an ordinary salary that can barely pay the mortgage. Personally, I think they’re nuts.More reasonably, there are people who are concerned about the risk of starting up their own business. They’re not sure it’s worth the investment of time and money, and they’re scared of the responsibility that comes with running their own company. They wonder if there is another way to escape the rat race.I’m sure there is. You could win the lottery or wait for your Aunt Sue to keel over and leave you her condo. Or maybe you could sit down with a pen and paper and draw the blueprint for "The Next Big Thing". Anything can happen... Right?For me, what happened was creating a successful, self-running Internet marketing system. It didn’t happen without effort. It didn’t happen without at least some initial investment of both time and money and, of course, it doesn’t happen now without me making sure that the taxes are filed and the paperwork is done. But it happened.I’m my own boss. I work from home according to my own schedule and I get to pocket all the cash my business makes. If you’re prepared to give an e-business the time, the work and the money it needs to get started and get growing, it can happen for you too.
Article excerpted from "Dotcomology":Don't Pay A Dime For Any Ebook, MarketingCourse, Software Program Or Anything Else UntilYou've Read This Groundbreaking Document...Click Here to Discover "Dotcomology" Now!

Plug in profit site

2005-11-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

All I can say is how nice it is to see Stone Evans updating Plug In Profit Sites yet again.
This is definately one of the premier opportunities for the newcomer to the net. Follow Stone, do what he says, and you have one of the best foundations that you can possibly find anywhere online. And at minimal cost.