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Enjoy Music? Listen to these cool Mixtapes on mp3.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:24:17 +0100

Enjoy Music? Listen to these cool Mixtapes on mp3.

Download some cool mixtapes to listen to while your are relaxing.

Click here to listen now!

Play the tracks from Sounds Mixes.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:24:23 +0100

Play the tracks from Sounds Mixes.

Recorded in Dolby 7.1 digital sound, and transferred to MPEG Layer-3 audio.

Using Videos in Viral Marketing.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:24:45 +0100

Using Videos in Viral Marketing.

Using Videos in Viral Marketing

More and more advertisers are adopting video as broadband continues to rise and ad-serving technologies become more sophisticated. Online video advertising is really taking off. Users’ attention can be captured and ads stand out from the crowd in an increasingly ad-cluttered online environment. It is true that video formats cost five to ten times more to serve than standard banners and they involve a lot more production and implementation work but they may well be worth all of that if they achieve greater response rates.

Where to use online video if wishing to maximize its effect, is what advertisers must carefully consider. Video to be used on the Internet should be information and communication focused while video to be used on television should be focused on entertainment.

Like everything else, there are good ways and bad ways to use video advertising. Right now most marketers are incorporating their audio-visual content into existing embedded ad formats like banners or over-content formats like pop-ups. Though this could reach a potentially large audience, viewers are likely to be less captivated and more annoyed by these disruptive and distracting placements.

Cached or streaming video on a specific destination site offers the best chance of interesting consumers in brand messages, but it is not likely to reach a large audience unless it generates a viral outcome.

Whatever you come up with, don't forget to make it easy to open and distribute. File size is important, as is the media format. If your viral video has been created for a particular type of software that not many people use, how will you get people to spread it like wildfire?

Also, if you've made a video the impact will be better if you send the clip as an attachment rather than stream it. It's cheaper and, if you're not hosting it, it's more viral, too.

What Not to Put in Your Social Network Profile.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:24:53 +0100

What Not to Put in Your Social Network Profile.

What Not to Put in Your Social Network Profile

Online social networks have rapidly increased in popularity, especially over the past couple of years. Social networking websites are popular because they easily allow you to find, connect with, and develop friendships with other internet users, often ones that share the same interests as you. To find those individuals, you must join a social networking website and create a profile. It is often advertised that your social networking profile is the key to making and finding friends online.

As previously mentioned, your social networking profile is important when it comes to meeting other Internet users. This is because, in most cases, Internet users are looking to chat with someone who has the same goals, views, beliefs, and interests as they do. Without a personal profile, it would be difficult or impossible to tell what your interests are. That is why social networking profiles are not only important, but they are needed.

When it comes to social networking profiles, a lot of focus has been placed on what you should include in your profile or display on your profile page. It has been said that pictures produce the best responses, as well as detailed personal information. Although a picture and detailed personal information may help to increase your page views, you may be getting views that you do not necessarily want. Despite what you may believe, most social networking websites do not have restrictions on who can view your personal profile. In fact, Internet users, even those that do not belong to your online community, can easily see profile.

Since anyone, literally anyone, can see your social networking profile, on most social networking websites, you are advised to be cautious. Essentially, this means that instead of focusing on what you should put in your online profile, you should be focusing on what not to put. This is one the best ways to protect your safety, both on and offline.

As previously mentioned, pictures are often recommended with social networking websites. If you are interested in positing a personal picture of yourself in your online profile you can do so, but you are advised to carefully choose that picture. While you will want to look your best, you are advised against posting a picture that is too revealing or seductive in nature. Most Internet users can look at these types of pictures without feeling a thing, but for others these types of pictures spell danger.

If you make the decision to post a picture of yourself in your social networking website profile, you need to be careful about the rest of the information that you post. Although you may not necessarily think about it, a picture is just a picture, but combined with your name and address, it could be a deadly combination. You are advised to only post your first name in your profile. This will make it more difficult for anyone to try and contact you off of the Internet.

It is also advised that you carefully choose your location. A large number of online social networking sites require that you select a city, as well as a state. If it is allowed, you may only wish to list your state and not the city. If you are required to list the city and the state that you live in, you may want to think about using a nearby city or town, especially if you live in a small town. If an Internet predator wanted to contact you and you lived in a small town, it could be fairly easy for them to find you. That is why it is advised that you carefully select the answer to the location question.

In addition to the above precautionary measures, it is advised that you do not post detailed information on your children, the location of your home, your income, or when you will be leaving for vacation. By keeping these and the above-mentioned points in mind, you should be able to enjoy online social networking without having to always look behind your back.

Getting a “Buzz” On.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:25:02 +0100

Getting a “Buzz” On.

Getting a “Buzz” On

Viral marketing has matured a bit over the years. There seems to have been a shift to the web not just being seen by agencies and brands as another tick box for any ad campaign, which is significant enough, but now being the medium where a campaign is launched to create a buzz before it hits TV and print. Even before a movie is released which used to be seen as the pre-launch buzz-generation activity. Big business “gets it”.

Buzz works! It can work for small and start-up businesses, as well. The planning stage of a viral campaign will set out objectives and develop the viral theme for a buzz. There are three core components to any viral campaign and businesses of any size can use them. They are:

1. The creative material: the viral agent that embodies the message you want to spread in a digital format (image, video, text, etc). The trick is to put together material that people will be eager to share with their family and friends and people are much more eager to share “entertainment.”

2. Seeding: distributing and placing the agent online in places that provide the greatest potential spread. Direct viral material downloads or links on specialist viral third-party web sites in order to create awareness and spread before users get to the campaign destination site.

3. Tracking: Measuring the spread of the campaign to provide accountability and prove success. It is absolutely vital that you know what is or is not working. The only way to get that information is to track the results of your seeding.

Lessons have been learned, trends have been developed and there is definitely some science involved in creating a buzz successfully. The buzz technique is here to stay and, if used strategically, it can make a difference to the success of your e-business.

Generating Revenue With Good Planning.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:25:26 +0100

Generating Revenue With Good Planning.

Generating Revenue With Good Planning

For anything to work well, care must be taken to make firm, workable plans to execute it and the same goes for website designs. With a well thought out website design, you will be able to create a site that generates multiple streams of revenue for you. In fact, may websites turn into online wasteland because they are not well planned and do not get a single visitor. Gradually, the Webmaster will not be motivated to update it anymore and it turns into wasted cyberspace.

The crucial point of planning your site is optimising it for revenue if you want to gain any income from the site. Divide your site into major blocks, ordered by themes, and start building new pages and subsections in those blocks. For example, you might have a "food" section, an "accommodation" section and an "entertainment" section for a tourism site. You can then write and publish relevant articles in the respective sections to attract a stream of traffic that comes looking for further information.

When you have a broader, better-defined scope of themes for your website, you can sell space on your pages to people interested in advertising on your page. You can also earn from programs like Goole’s Adsense and Yahoo! Search Marketing if people surf to those themed pages and click on the ads. For this very reason, the advertisement blocks on your pages need to be relevant to the content, so a themed page fits that criteria perfectly.

As Internet becomes more widespread, advertising on the Internet will bear more results than on magazines or offline media. Hence, start tapping in on this lucrative stream of profit right away!

10 Ways To Promote Your Blog.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:25:37 +0100

10 Ways To Promote Your Blog.

10 Ways To Promote Your Blog

1. Share your post on Facebook. Share the picture with a short teaser of the text from the blog as the caption and a link to your blog post. Keep the teaser text likable and sharable. This will make it easy for your friends to support you and promote your content.

2. Promote your Facebook status update with your blog link. This is a tool that Facebook has given you to keep your content in front of people who like your page. Think about how much content filters through your Facebook newsfeed; realize that the people who like your page are not going to see your content unless it is engaged with (liked, commented and shared). Give people the chance to see your content by promoting it. How much? Depends on how many people like your page. Start with a small budget and grow it as you improve your content.

3. Share your blog post in a Facebook group, or three. You want these blog posts to be relevant to the group. If you like and comment on other people’s content in the group, your content is more likely to be engaged with.

4. Tweet a link to your blog post; include relevant hashtags. These can be location-based and content-based. Don’t try and be cool and #makeupstupidhashtags, use relevant hash tags that are searchable. For this post, for example, I will use #socialmedia, #marketing, #sanfrancisco, #bayarea. If you are blogging for your yoga studio, consider hash tags such as #yoga, #meditation, #vinyasa, #SF, #bayarea (change your location as relevant for your studio).

5. Share a status update on LinkedIn (play with sharing to just your LinkedIn network and everybody). If your content is relevant to a group you are in, start a discussion with a link to your blog post. This is a great way to share your knowledge with your business network and establish your credibility.

6. Pin your picture on Pinterest and include the teaser text in the caption for the picture. Edit the picture and you can now add a link to your blog post. When people click on your image on Pinterest to enlarge it, and then click on the image again, they will be taken to your blog post.

7. Instagram your picture. You can filter the image to make it look different. This is a great way to keep your content spreading and your presence growing.

8. Post a link to your blog post on Reddit. This is just another resource for engagement that we can not ignore!

9.Comment on blog posts that are relevant to your blog post and share a link to the blog as a reference. Remember that your comment must be good or your link will not have an impact. You do not want to be treated as spam; you want your comment to be so good that people want more!

10. Share it again. Really. Go ahead and Tweet it a day later. Share in a different group on LinkedIn. Share the post from your page personally on Facebook. Play with variations of how and where you are sharing the content. You have to remember that only a small portion of your network will see your content, each site filters what people see. If your content is good, it will get seen by more people. Rinse and repeat.

Sharing your blog posts is a great big experiment, like all of our activity with social media. You have to be willing to play and be okay with being wrong. The more you share your knowledge and passion on your blog, the more you have to promote it and make sure we see your content. It is not enough to be brilliant anymore, you have to share what you know. The more you give, the more you will get.

If you know someone who blogs, start by sharing this blog post with them.

Should I Create a Website? The Guide.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:25:45 +0100

Should I Create a Website? The Guide.

Should I Create a Website? Do I Need One?

People always want to follow the latest thing, be it in fashion, sports, that kind of thing. Websites have become a necessity to almost everyone. Companies, businesses, individuals, even young adults have created personal websites with their respective purposes, be it for profit, or for entertainment.

What one must consider, however, before creating a website, are the factors in which must be put to thought before doing so, such as the cost, maintenance, use, web host and so forth.

Firstly, associating with the cost, we must always try to find an affordable host, not spending too much, nor too little. A cheap host does not exactly symbolize a credible reliability rating, but we must always look for value for money deals. Also, regarding the efficiency and server/web host reliability, there are many cases of web hosts not providing the service they had assured other people, some had even shut down and were nowhere to be seen. Keep this note in mind, as if you would like a long-lasting website, this would be the first thing to look for.

Next, would hiring a professional be affordable? Is it the best option? For simple websites, we could always pick up the coding, or even use programs, as it is relatively simple. However, when it comes to more complex coding, and when you want it to do a tad more than just providing information, hiring help in doing so would be the best way. Not only in terms of design, but security is also a key factor in assuring a quality website. If the website also acts as a portal for businesses, security would definitely be the issue here.

So, having considered the things to do before building a website, do we actually NEED one? If creating one would boost sales or promote positive implications to oneself, then by all means, go ahead and do what’s best. Yet again, planning is the key to success, in everything we do.

What is Social Networking?

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:26:02 +0100

What is Social Networking?

What is Social Networking?

Social networking, we have all likely heard of it before, but not everyone knows what it means? If you were asked to define what social networking was, would you be able to give an accurate definition. Unfortunately, most individuals cannot, even though it is likely that they participate in some form of social networking, especially online.

Social networking is defined as the grouping of individuals together into to specific groups, often like a small community or a neighborhood. Although social networking is possible in person, especially in schools or in the workplace, it is most popular online. This is because unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with millions, if not more, of individuals who are looking to meet other internet users and develop friendships.

When it comes to social networking online, websites are used. These websites are known as social networking websites. Social networking websites are, in a way, like an online community of internet users. Depending on the social networking website in question, many of these online community members share a common bond, whether that bond be hobbies, religion, or politics. Once you are granted access to a social networking website you can begin to socialize. This socialization may include reading the profiles or profile pages of other members or even contacting them.

The friends that you can make are just one of the many benefits to social networking online. Another one of those benefits includes diversity. Unlike in most schools or workplaces, the internet gives individuals, from all around the world, access to social networking sties. This means that although you are in the United States, you could develop an online friendship with someone in Japan. Not only will you make a new friend, you but may also learn a thing or two about a new culture.

As previously mentioned, social networking often involves grouping specific individuals or organizations together. While there are a number of social networking websites that focus on particular networks on the web, there are others that do not. These websites are often deemed traditional social networking websites. These types of websites typically have an open membership. This means that anyone can become a member, no matter what their hobbies, beliefs, or views are. However, once you are inside this online community, you can begin to create your own network of friends; thus eliminating others that do not meet your criteria.

If networking on the internet sounds like something you would be interested in, you are encouraged to learn more about it, such as the dangers of social networking. These dangers often involve online predators or individuals who claim to be someone that they are not. Although danger does exist with networking online, it also exists with networking out in the real world. As when you are meeting friends at a bar, school, or work, you are advised to proceed with caution online. By being aware of your surroundings and who you are talking to, you should be able safely enjoying social networking online.

Once you have learned everything that you feel you need to learn, about social networking online, you can begin to search for networking communities to join. This can easily be done by performing a standard internet search. Your search will likely return a number of results, including MySpace, Twitter, FriendWise, FriendFinder, Yahoo! 360, Facebook, and Orkut.

Pros and Cons of Flash-based Sites.

Steve Timmins - steve@sounds-mixes.com (Steve Timmins) — Sat, 29 May 2021 22:26:31 +0100

Pros and Cons of Flash-based Sites.

Pros and Cons of Flash-based Sites

Flash-based sites have been a craze since the past few years, and as Macromedia compiles more and more great features into Flash, we can only predict there will be more and more flash sites around the Internet. However, Flash based sites have been disputed to be bloated and unnecessary. Where exactly do we draw the line? Here's a simple breakdown.

The good:

Interactivity

Flash's Action script opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers have used Flash to create interactive features ranging from very lively feedback forms to attractive Flash-based games. This whole new level of interactivity will always leave visitors coming back for more.

A standardized site

With Flash, you do not have to worry about cross-browser compatibility. No more woes over how a certain css code displays differently in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. When you position your site elements in Flash, they will always appear as they are as long as the user has Flash Player installed.

Better expression through animation

In Flash, one can make use of its animating features to convey a message in a much more efficient and effective way. Flash is a lightweight option for animation because it is vector based (and hence smaller file sizes) as opposed to real "movie files" that are raster based and hence much larger in size.

The bad and the ugly:

The Flash player

People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by using Flash your visitor range will decrease considerably because not everyone will be willing to download the Flash player just to view your site. You'll also have to put in additional work in redirecting the user to the Flash download page if he or she doesn't have the player installed.

Site optimization

If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn't be able to index your content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there will be less traffic heading to your site.

Loading time

Users have to wait longer than usual to load Flash content compared to regular text and images, and some visitors might just lose their patience and click the Back button. The longer your Flash takes to load, the more you risk losing visitors.

The best way to go is to use Flash only when you absolutely need the interactivity and motion that comes with it. Otherwise, use a mixture of Flash and HTML or use pure text if your site is purely to present simple textual and graphical information.