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	<title>Affordable SEO Services, Packages, and SEM Consulting</title>
	
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		<title>The Truth about On-Page and Off-Page SEO</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/M0uQZkWf7Ic/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/search-engine-optimization/the-truth-about-on-page-and-off-page-seo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 May 2011 17:51:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HTML]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keywords Contents Meta]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RSS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[URL]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=720</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To make a web site appear in the first places in every search engine, there are certain guidelines to follow in order to achieve this. This optimization consists of a series of small -or sometimes big- changes inside a web page in order to make it more visible to the public. By applying these changes, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap">To make a web site appear in the first places in every search engine, there are certain guidelines to follow in order to achieve this. This optimization consists of a series of small -or sometimes big- changes inside a web page in order to make it more visible to the public. By applying these changes, the web site will be easier to index and to be found in the first places.</p>
<p>The page optimization must be planned carefully to achieve maximum effect. There are two main areas where these optimizations can take place: the On-Page <strong>SEO</strong> and Off-Page <strong>SEO</strong>.</p>
<p>The first one refers to the changes to be applied inside the contents of the page, and they include:</p>
<p>* Usability, navigation and site structure.<br />* Servers, hosting and <strong>URL</strong> forming<br />* Keywords<br />* Contents<br />* Meta tags<br />* Internal links and site map<br />* <strong>RSS</strong> feeds and newsletters</p>
<p>Inside the page there are many elements that, when combined, will help achieve an optimal On-page <strong>Search Engine Optimization</strong>.</p><span id="more-720"></span>
<p>One of the first elements on the page itself is the ìtitleî tag. This tag, located inside the ìheadî tags of the page, should include a unique name for each page inside the site. This title will be the first thing users will see when searching for certain words so it is important to use relevant terms: precise and short.</p>
<p>Another important element is the ìmeta tagsî. The ìdescriptionî Meta tag, as the name says, should have a longer description of the site and its contents. These contents will appear below the main title of the page in every search engine, giving the user a glimpse of what they will find on your page. The use of human-readable URLs is also another great technique to use in order to achieve a better positioning inside the search engines.</p>
<p>If the main content of the page is other than text/<strong>HTML</strong> (flash, videos or graphics, for example) there are many search engines that are capable of ìreadingî these contents, but not all of them. Adding a text-based navigation with the most important keywords in the menu text, help search engines index the contents.</p>
<p>Writing clear and concise content is very important. Easy readable texts, with short and clear sentences with a keyword density optimized according to the general volume of words, and keywords used that relate to the main topic of the page are the most important elements to consider while doing an On-page <strong>SEO</strong>. This applies also for the image descriptions.</p>
<p>But the previously described techniques are only part of the job. There are also some tasks to be performed ìoutsideî the web site and the pages, the so called Off-Page <strong>SEO</strong>.</p>
<p>There are sites for Social networking that were built based on the user interaction and they allow us to get certain groups of people interested in one topic and gather them together in one location. These include forums, blog sites and groups inside the most known social networks. Find out which of these include users who may be interested in your site and blog or write inside their different forums the <strong>URL</strong> link of the site and contents of your pages and thus help build your back-links.</p>
<p>Finally, not all the promotion has to be made in electronic media, the world outside the web also needs to get in contact with your site. Promoting the web site outside the Internet also helps a lot. You can start by printing the <strong>URL</strong> on your business cards, letterhead and other printed media normally used to promote your business.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/M0uQZkWf7Ic" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>The Key Foundations of Search Engine Optimization</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/-5jcn-8f98E/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/search-engine-optimization/the-key-foundations-of-search-engine-optimization/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:53:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=722</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimization is the key foundation which all online businesses are based on. Without effective search engine optimization, a business would not be able to achieve any results what so ever. For those of you that are wondering, the complex term ìSearch Engine Optimizationî is basically the online way to market a product so [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap"><strong>Search Engine Optimization</strong> is the key foundation which all online businesses are based on. Without effective search engine optimization, a business would not be able to achieve any results what so ever. For those of you that are wondering, the complex term ì<strong>Search Engine Optimization</strong>î is basically the online way to market a product so that it is made noticeable in the market. So how does it all work?</p>
<p>Any time a person wants to buy something over the internet including your self, the first thing that you tend to do is search for the product in a search engine such as Google. Being presented with hundreds of different results to choose from, we usually end up making our purchase from one of the top four websites that appear in the results page. Search engine optimization is all about getting your website up in those top ranks when a keyword relating to your product is searched for.</p><span id="more-722"></span>
<p>There are a number of different techniques that are required in order to achieve successful search engine optimization of any particular webpage. Having a balance of all these techniques is a key for one to achieve the best possible results. All of the techniques are based around keywords. Keywords are terms that search engines use to present results. In layman terminology they are simply the main terms that we use to search for a product or service that we are looking for online.</p>
<p>For example if Iím planning to buy a laptop online, I would type in ìonline laptop purchaseî. That phrase in it self is a keyword. Obviously different people will use different keywords for the same product that they are searching for which is where the entire concept of search engine optimization comes into play.</p>
<p>One of the techniques that a person would be required to follow is known as On-page <strong>SEO</strong>. This basically refers to having your webpage content with the right keyword density. According to professional internet marketers, a keyword density of 2% per 500 words is perfect for long term <strong>SEO</strong>.</p>
<p>What that basically means is having your chosen keyword appear ten times in every 500 words of body content on your website. It is important to research which keyword to go for. In most cases you will find yourself having to use more than one keyword due to the nature of how people search.</p>
<p>The second technique involves Off-page <strong>SEO</strong> which has a lot to do with building backlinks. This technique is mainly based on having rich keyword density content on other high authority websites that have been around for a long period of time. Backlinks are small hyperlinked texts that are integrated into your body of content which lead back to your website. High authority websites are mainly article directories such as Ezine, ehow, wikipedia etc.</p>
<p>It is important to have a right balance of both techniques in order to achieve effective search engine optimization for your website. Do keep in mind that this is a long term process however it will promise long term results as well.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/-5jcn-8f98E" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Search Engine Optimization: Get Noticed or Go Bust</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/buAal5hVZTw/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/search-engine-optimization/search-engine-optimization-get-noticed-or-go-bust/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:55:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Articles Base]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Building Backlinks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CNN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=724</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimization (aka SEOófor major word conservation) is means by which you can improve your websiteís visibility to search engines. Complex algorithms, code and virtual logic goes into the inner-workings; however, all of that is provided completely by Google and Yahoo.
Your part of the equation entails crafting the right keywords and keyword phrases that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap"><strong>Search Engine Optimization</strong> (aka <strong>SEO</strong>ófor major word conservation) is means by which you can improve your websiteís visibility to search engines. Complex algorithms, code and virtual logic goes into the inner-workings; however, all of that is provided completely by Google and Yahoo.</p>
<p>Your part of the equation entails crafting the right keywords and keyword phrases that will go into your site. Additionally, you have to psych yourself to compete in a fiercely-structured <strong>SEO</strong> market that exists and is continually expanding.</p>
<p>On-page <strong>SEO</strong></p>
<p>On-Page <strong>SEO</strong>, as contrasted with Off-page <strong>SEO</strong>, is exactly what it sounds like: itís the integration of keywords and strings right on your website or blog. This involves placing internal links within the appropriate section of your site, and doing so in a natural way. <span id="more-724"></span>This means: donít sprinkle key phrases and words around; rather, make them blend-in perfectly with your content. <br />For example, say you are selling an e-book; the word ìe-bookî as just read it should be clickable and must lead the viewer directly to where you want him or her to buy your e-book. The phrase ìon-page <strong>SEO</strong>î itself has taken-on a number other terms, like linkbait, anchor text or simply ìembedded tags or linksî.</p>
<p>Off-page <strong>SEO</strong></p>
<p>Off-page <strong>SEO</strong> is typically what you concentrate-on after you have on-page <strong>SEO</strong> down-pat. It is also an indispensable tool to driving up your page rank (aka, <strong>PR</strong>). This mainly concerns the following:</p>
<p>* Competing for the lowest <strong>PR</strong> rank possible. E.g. Facebook is probably a top contender, as of this writing, for the number 1 or number 2 spot in major search engines. <br />* Letís put that into proper context: Having a high page rank, or high link popularity, in the single or double digits (0-99, out of well-over two million) means that you are among the ranks of Google, Facebook, and <strong>CNN</strong> themselvesósome of the very masters of the entire internet.&nbsp; <br />* Article directories are the very first stop for many article marketers who use <strong>SEO</strong>. With each article that you publish to the over-abundance of article directories (like <strong>Articles Base</strong>, Ezine or Suite101), you typically get a ìresource boxî. This resource box is generally at or near the end of articles and is a kind of virtual container for your link to your website. <br />* When youíre writing articles, donít forget about on-page <strong>SEO</strong>. Keyword density is generally one through two percent, and shouldnít normally go beyond that. In addition to NOT ìbunching-them upî in one area, you need to spread the keyword or keyword phrase out among the body of the article. <br />* Craigslist and forum marketing can also be valuable off-page <strong>SEO</strong> methods. With forums, create a signature (with your websiteís link in it) that will automatically be posted anytime you make a post. <br />* Also, do a search for ìtriangular linkingî. This method has not been around long and it is somewhat questionableóbut the premise sounds promising at the very least.</p>
<p><strong>Building Backlinks</strong></p>
<p>All of this is building backlinksóbacklinks which people will click and, hopefully, make the viewer want to remain at your site, read through and absorb your content and lead him/her to your product. Practically saturate your every footstep on the web with your backlink(s). Be very tactful about it thoughóas you do not want to come off as a spammer or ìspambotî to potential customers.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/buAal5hVZTw" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Implementing Successful SEO Techniques</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/wgoda9jvhsk/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/search-engine-optimization/implementing-successful-seo-techniques/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:57:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HTML]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=726</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Using Search Engine Optimization requires you to have an on page HTML code reconstruction and focused keyword strategy. However, to have real success in using Search Engine Optimization you also need to use off page SEO. Using on page SEO deals with inner-link structure within your website, whereas the off page SEO is what the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap">Using <strong>Search Engine Optimization</strong> requires you to have an on page <strong>HTML</strong> code reconstruction and focused keyword strategy. However, to have real success in using <strong>Search Engine Optimization</strong> you also need to use off page <strong>SEO</strong>. Using on page <strong>SEO</strong> deals with inner-link structure within your website, whereas the off page <strong>SEO</strong> is what the search engines collect of your data that are the pages not within your domain.</p>
<p>When having a web page, the majority of us know that you need to have a specific keyword strategy and density and an on page <strong>HTML</strong> code reconstruction. You also need to have off page <strong>SEO</strong> as these contribute to the success in search engines. Which means, if you have more off page data, and examples are link popularity, online directories, and a keyword theme, the better you will do in the search engines.</p>
<p>There are a few important factors in regards to on page <strong>SEO</strong> and they only holds 44% of the weight when search engines like Google makes a decision based on it. <span id="more-726"></span>However, in other search engines it could be between 50% &#8211; 90%.</p>
<p>When using keywords make sure you have a keyword density, meaning the number of keywords that are used throughout your website. These can be just words or keywords phrases. Having a targeted keyword density helps you to have the right percentage to give your website the right amount of prime results. You should aim to have a keyword density between 3% and 5%. To calculate your density it is the number of keywords divided by the number of words on your page. Using the right amount of keyword density will help you in getting your website in the first top ten in the search engine listing, which will give the maximum exposure to your site.</p>
<p>Another way to create a successful search engine optimization is by building backlinks. Backlinks allow you to have links from other websites, to your website. If you want to have a high ranking in Google, it is best to have links from other websites. So, in other words backlinks are like popularity votes, the more you have the higher you will be in their search engine.</p>
<p>Backlinks ensure that you will create traffic to your website, and increase attention of your website to search engines like Google. A great way to create backlinks is through article marketing. Using article marketing will help you in getting a lot of keyword anchored backlinks. There are many article directories that will accept your article such as ezinearticles.com or go articles. You can submit your article and in return you can receive links.&nbsp; Building a backlink for your website is great way to get your website in the search engines, but this is something that does take time.</p>
<p>To have a successful search engine optimization, you need to ensure that you have the right amount of keyword density for your website. You need to build backlinks to boost your listing in the search engines. Knowing what on page and off page, will also help in getting the best out of your website and getting the best results for your search engine optimization.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/wgoda9jvhsk" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Choosing The Best Internet Connection</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/ZRzeIDnVmMc/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/internet-freedom/choosing-the-best-internet-connection/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:08:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Subscriber Line]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DSL]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=5</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you live in a rural area, then your internet service provider may not be able to give you more than a dialup connection to the internet. This unfortunately means a slower connection, and perhaps not being able to use your phone while you&#8217;re on the internet. This will hopefully change in the future, especially [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap">If you live in a rural area, then your internet service provider may not be able to give you more than a dialup connection to the internet. This unfortunately means a slower connection, and perhaps not being able to use your phone while you&#8217;re on the internet. This will hopefully change in the future, especially with the advent of satellite and wireless technologies. But for now, it&#8217;s in the cities and their surrounding areas where the optimal internet connection choices exist.</p>
<p>Broadband internet was introduced fairly early in the internet revolution, and gradually began to replace dialup systems because of the much higher speed. The first form of broadband introduced to the public was a type of transmission called a Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL. <span id="more-5"></span>This continued to use phone lines, but using a technology that moved the data much more quickly. But soon afterward, the cable companies got into the game and began to offer internet services as well. With the introduction of much better connection and data transfer speeds, not just the choices expanded but the things people could actually do online changed too.</p>
<p>Cable internet is one of the two main current forms of connection, with DSL as its main rival. In many cases it is the front-runner, because it comes through a cable connection that already exists for most homes. This doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean that subscribers are also required to subscribe to the television services offered by the cable company; they could still get their television through satellite, for example. Often, when both cable and the internet connection are &#8220;bundled together,&#8221; the user gets both services at a lower cost.</p>
<p>But other types of internet connection alternatives are rapidly gaining ground and may eventually threaten both DSL and cable as a means of getting online. Internet and video services are now offered, for example, through wireless connections or even via satellite. Each of those, of course, has its own challenges that are still being worked on, given that they are newer technologies. Satellite reception, for example, can be interfered with when there is precipitation. But development continues with all of these technologies in an effort to make your internet connections both easy and reliable.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/ZRzeIDnVmMc" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Internet Freedom FAQ</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/6WEmpmlmZTg/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/internet-freedom/internet-freedom-faq/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:25:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet Freedom Act]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=20</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you stop and consider how much the internet has been and will be used, it is staggering. People use the internet every single day. Some use it primarily for work and some use it as a means to find information for personal use. And then there are those that like to just play games [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap">If you stop and consider how much the internet has been and will be used, it is staggering. People use the internet every single day. Some use it primarily for work and some use it as a means to find information for personal use. And then there are those that like to just play games on the internet. But how many people know about internet freedom? And for those that are somewhat familiar with it, how much do they really know? This article can answer some of the questions that can arise from such a vast, and often vague, subject. There are lots of definitions behind what it is but you still need to know what most of them encompass.</p>
<p><strong>Does the government have the right to monitor your internet activities?</strong></p>
<p>Internet freedom should be about having complete freedom on the internet to do as you please. But it really is not that way. Anything you post on the internet can be traced back to your computer and you. So the government does have legislation and laws passed that can aid them in monitoring y our internet activities. <span id="more-20"></span>For many this feels like an invasion of privacy. Others counter this claim by saying that there are certain things that should not be done whether it is on the internet or real life. It is a very fine line and it is a debate that has sparked a lot of controversy.</p>
<p><strong>Can you legally use someone else&#8217;s internet connection?</strong></p>
<p>Technically if you use someone else&#8217;s internet connection without their expressed permission you are stealing. And theft, in all countries, is against the law. But there is an issue with proving that someone is using your WiFi connection to use the internet. The internet is free and there is even an Internet Freedom Act but people have to pay for their connection. So is it really free? No, it is not. So when you use someone else&#8217;s service, which they have paid for, it is akin to stealing someone&#8217;s electricity or water. You can be caught and then fined or jailed. You definitely will not have a happy neighbor if you are stealing his or her internet connection signal.</p>
<p><strong>Having internet freedom has given us a lot of benefits but what are some of the negatives associated with it?</strong></p>
<p>Internet freedom is great. The benefits are endless but with all sweets come the sours. There are negatives associated with having internet freedom. The most common negative is privacy. You have to install software to ensure that your information stays your own. Otherwise hackers could obtain your personal and financial information. Then you have people who create malicious viruses and worms just because they can. With the anonymity of the internet most people also are careless about their posts and comments. Face to face communication is vastly different. Even schools have to know educate children about cyber bullying and the dangers associated with the internet such as pedophiles and kidnappers.</p>
<p><strong>Is there a way that having internet freedom to post whatever you want can come back to hurt you?</strong></p>
<p>Many people think that internet freedom gives them the right to say whatever they want to say without being held liable. This is partially true. There are some posts and comments that you can make that are just going to make other people angry. You may get banned from the forum or messaging board. But there are some comments that could trigger a flag with the government. Some countries heavily monitor their citizen&#8217;s posts and comments and will jail people based on these comments. And it is possible to trace your post back to you. So you have to be careful what you say and who you say it to when posting anything.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/6WEmpmlmZTg" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Hillary Clinton Speak Out On Internet Freedoms</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/5qPoxMDp5Jo/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/internet-freedom/hillary-clinton-speak-out-on-internet-freedoms/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Mar 2010 01:17:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hillary Clinton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yet Hillary Clinton]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=15</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When network services first appeared and the internet began to grow, people were certain it would open up the world, both politically and with respect to the spread of information. But in some countries, almost the opposite has happened, where governments have clamped down and imposed heavy censorship. However, in two recent speeches, Hillary Clinton [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap">When network services first appeared and the internet began to grow, people were certain it would open up the world, both politically and with respect to the spread of information. But in some countries, almost the opposite has happened, where governments have clamped down and imposed heavy censorship. However, in two recent speeches, Hillary Clinton has made it clear that for the Obama administration, internet freedom is now on the diplomatic agenda.</p>

<p>Ms. Clinton began with a response to the 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom. In her remarks, Clinton urges that people remember dual values espoused both by the American Bill of Rights and the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights: freedom of religion, and freedom of expression. She recognizes freedom for people to practice their own religion, or not practice any, as being an absolute right.</p>

<p><span id="more-15"></span>Yet Hillary Clinton also insists that this means people should be allowed to criticize religions if they wish, and not have their writings banned or censored. People have every right to express their own critiques too, even if they include negative comments. Government involvement should only be in the area of protecting people from discrimination, and reaching out to minority religious groups.</p>

<p>The rights that the Secretary of State talked about extend well beyond religious freedom, however, and into political freedom as well. Hillary Clinton followed her November, 2009 remarks with a speech in January of 2010, regarding internet freedoms in general; political freedoms in particular. In the text of this speech, she envisions the internet as a &#8220;great equalizer.&#8221; If people can gain access to knowledge, and even access to potential markets, says Clinton, they may discover opportunities that they would never have encountered any other way. But also implicit in her speech is that the American government will stand firmly behind any company that tries to resist or circumvent censorship policies of oppressive governments.</p>

<p>Probably the two main targets of these speeches by Hillary Clinton were Iran and China, yet there are other repressive governments attempting to censor both freedom of religion and freedom of speech on the internet. One only has to remember the calls to ban the Danish illustrator&#8217;s cartoons about Mohammed to know that attempts to ban freedom of expression are everywhere. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are demonstrating that this kind of censorship is simply unacceptable.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/5qPoxMDp5Jo" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Future Concerns About Internet Service</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/R7Ku_M4T5Dw/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/internet-freedom/future-concerns-about-internet-service/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:15:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Big Brother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DSL]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=10</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Free speech may not be at the forefront of your mind when you&#8217;re deciding what company to go with for your internet connection. You, like most other average users, are probably more concerned with questions about how much you&#8217;ll pay, whether DSL, wireless or cable would provide better internet service, and so on. But in [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap">Free speech may not be at the forefront of your mind when you&#8217;re deciding what company to go with for your internet connection. You, like most other average users, are probably more concerned with questions about how much you&#8217;ll pay, whether DSL, wireless or cable would provide better internet service, and so on. But in the next few years, some of the biggest issues surrounding the internet will center on things like freedom of speech and security.</p>
<p>The issue of security is one that virtually every regular user of an internet service is already used to. Most people still think of this issue in terms of personal security. You are undoubtedly aware of computer viruses, Trojans and malware, and there are all sorts of programs to help you block those. <span id="more-10"></span>You may also have done financial business online, trusting that the businesses or banks have made their websites completely secure. Yet there are still dangers of hackers getting in through inadequate security systems and either funneling money away or, sometimes worse, committing identity theft from customer records. So network services will need to work harder to make systems secure against ever more clever and devious hackers.</p>
<p>Security issues extend much farther than just to individuals or single businesses, however. Cyber attacks on an entire country&#8217;s internet infrastructure have happened more than once in the past few years. For example, in 2007, the country of Estonia, one of the most wired countries in the world, had its infrastructure attacked by what appeared to be hackers working out of Russia. In that attack, Estonian citizens pretty much had no internet service for several days, particularly for banking and government functions.</p>
<p>Between attempts by governments to impose censorship on the internet, personal and national security issues, and questions of who has the digital rights to what internet material, internet service could get a lot more complicated in the near future. Questions of DSL versus wireless or whether to start a blog could be swallowed up by a fear of downloading or emailing files, not to mention worries about whether anything you say online might come back to haunt you, and a large-scale concern about whether or not &#8220;Big Brother&#8221; is watching your every online move.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/R7Ku_M4T5Dw" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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		<item>
		<title>Free Internet Access Program A Utopian Dream</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/brettbruce/~3/5l10TpXuQeU/</link>
		<comments>http://www.brettbruce.com/internet-freedom/free-internet-access-program-a-utopian-dream/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:13:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Brett Bruce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet Freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DSL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ISP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TV]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://brettbruce.bmsseo.com/?p=8</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s hard for people to remember now, but in the early days of the internet the assumption was that eventually everyone would get online through a free internet access program. People expected the monetary value in the internet to be derived not from those who browsed, but from advertisers who would make a lot of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="dropcap">It&#8217;s hard for people to remember now, but in the early days of the internet the assumption was that eventually everyone would get online through a free internet access program. People expected the monetary value in the internet to be derived not from those who browsed, but from advertisers who would make a lot of money from all these surfers. So advertisers would support the infrastructure, while users would click on ads as they themselves gained access to knowledge, which was unlike anything that had been available before.</p>
<p>The idea seems kind of utopian now, but offering free internet access was briefly employed as a marketing tool by several corporations. You just need to enter the search term &#8220;free internet access&#8221; into search tool at www.cnet.com and several articles spring up. One of these describes how, in mid-2000, Ameritrade offered free internet to anyone who would put Ameritrade&#8217;s navigation bar on their screens. <span id="more-8"></span>This bar would have ads that led back to the company&#8217;s own site. E*Trade did the same thing, offering free DSL internet to some of its customers.</p>
<p>Free internet access offers seemed to fail for one reason or another; most of the time it was because the sponsor behind the program went belly-up. Remember that this all occurred during the halcyon days of the dot-com bubble, when venture capital was invested in internet companies in the belief that they would rake in spectacular profits as the internet exploded. Many an internet service provider (ISP) leapt on the bandwagon, believing they could participate in this profit-making in some way. And some free services were simply bought up and shut down by ISPs who made money through paying customers rather than ad revenue.</p>
<p>Some discount internet services still exist, but don&#8217;t offer very much. There were a couple of big reasons for the failure of the free internet access program as a concept. One was the bursting of the dot-com bubble itself, with hordes of internet companies collapsing. But another reason was that users simply didn&#8217;t click on all those ads, thus giving advertisers the anticipated return on investment. This medium allowed them to ignore ads more thoroughly than they could on TV and radio. So the services finally had to be supported by paying customers, and free service almost completely vanished.</p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/brettbruce/~4/5l10TpXuQeU" height="1" width="1"/>]]></content:encoded>
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