Category: Lifestyle

  • Humor Turns E-Mail Viral

    Humor Turns E-Mail Viral

    A study by Sharpe Partners, an interactive marketing agency, revealed that 89% of adult Internet users in America share content with others via e-mail. This is excellent news for those companies who use self-propelling word-of-mouse” e-mail techniques to sell their products.

    The study generated some interesting results regarding the type of content that is most often forwarded, as well.  The most popular content is humorous material.

    The second most popular category is news, followed by healthcare and medical information, religious and spiritual material, games, business and personal finance information and sports/hobbies… in that order. So it is easy to see that humor is the best content for your viral e-mail campaign.  

    Cartoons, jokes and funny video clips are among the things that can be added to an e-mail to insure that it will go viral. People will want to pass along something that makes them laugh.

    They are a lot more likely to hit the forward button and send your email to their friends and relatives if it is an “advertainment” rather than an advertisement.  

    Not along ago, about 35 million people got an e-mail containing a picture taken in Disneyland. It took a minute to see it but there was Donald Duck lying prone in front of the famous Cinderella Castle.  The title of the picture was “Bird Flu has hit Disneyland”. It was a viral e-mail advertising Disneyland and used the edgy strategy of making light of what’s serious… and it works.

    I’d guess that most people who own a computer have seen that picture… and thus the advertisement for Disneyland.  The bird flu epidemic is newsworthy and has the potential to attract an enormous amount of attention to any brand that might, for whatever reason, associate itself with it.

    Remember that people are much more likely to share a joke or a funny picture than anything else so you would be well advised to include humor in your e-mail campaign.

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  • Smart Secrets to Budgeting

    A Little Goes a Long Way: Smart Secrets to Budgeting

    There’s nothing more we want than to be able to efficiently manage our money. After all, the money that we want to manage is money that is oftentimes, hard earned. This is where a budget comes in. A budget executed properly, should help you see where your money is going, get more utility out of every buck, and help you save some extra for future use.

    The first smart secret to a budget is to set a goal. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to correctly appropriate your income into bills payments? Do you want to put an amount aside for a big purchase or a huge investment? By having a goal, you will be able to shape your budget to best serve your interests.

    Secondly, you would want to take note of where your money usually goes. This includes bills, major but regular purchases (like grocery costs, healthcare costs, and the like), and everyday miscellaneous purchases. Only when you list down where you know your money usually goes will you be able to identify which expenses you can do without. Once you’ve identified these regular expenditures, take into consideration what you can cut back on. How much do you spend on your daily caffeine fix in the morning? How much do you spend on newspaper deliveries to your front door? The measly $2 or $5 of these small purchases cumulatively translates to more than $3600 a year! Instead of buying your expensive latte or reading the newspaper on print, put aside the amount you would usually pay for these small routine purchases in a small container. You will be surprised at how much you’re saving out of your older budget.

    Being indebted is a vicious cycle on its own. You’re talking about continuous payments, not to mention huge interest rates. The best way to deal with this is to pay the minimum on all of your debts in order to avoid paying extraneous late fees. Whatever cash excesses you may have, you can opt to add on to the payments you make in your biggest debt. This way, you are concentrated on getting the biggest debts first that cost you the greatest interest rates. Doing this progressively, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll get off your huge debts.

    The last and most important step is to jot down the amount you earn the sum you spend. You can make use of computer cash management programs, or make database sheets of your own. Make a system that works for you and will help you keep track of your monthly budgeting progress.

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  • How to Find Free Beauty Tips Online

    Are you interested in keeping up-to-date with the latest beauty trends or are you just looking for information on how you can properly apply your makeup?  If you are, your first though may be to go out and buy a beauty magazine or even a number of them. Although beauty magazines are a great way to go about familiarizing yourself with popular beauty trends, there is a much easier way to do so as well.  That way involves using the internet.

    Perhaps, the best thing about using the internet to familiarize yourself with beauty tips is that it should be free to do.  Online, you will find that you have access to a number of different resources.  For instance, you can gain access to the online websites of printed magazines and these online websites often have sample articles from their magazines and much more.  You may also be able to find online beauty magazines, which are like printed magazines, but in online only formats.  There are also traditional websites out there that are made by beauty experts or even individuals like yourself that have a focus on beauty and fashion.

    Now that you know where can find some free beauty tips online, you may be wondering exactly how you can go about doing so.  If you are interested examining the online website of a well known and popular beauty magazine, you will want to try typing the magazine name and then “.com” in.  This will usually bring you to the online website of a printed fashion or beauty How to Find Free Beauty Tips Onlinemagazine.  Should you not be able to find the website yourself, you should be able to find it by performing a standard internet search. When performing a standard internet search, you will want to search with the name of the magazine in question.

    If you are interested in viewing an online beauty magazine, you will also want to perform a standard internet search.  Online magazines are increasing in popularity, but they are still not as popular as most printed magazines; therefore, you will likely need a standard internet search to help you out.  When performing your standard internet search, you may want to think about searching with phrases like “online fashion magazine,” or “online fashion magazines.”  Your search results should include the links to the websites of online fashion magazines. The thing that you need to be on the lookout for is that a large number of fashion magazines are free to view, but not all are.

    As for traditional websites that have a focus on beauty, you can also find these websites by performing a standard internet search.  When performing a standard internet search, you will want to keep what you are looking for in mind. For instance, if you are looking for age defying skincare cream recommendations, you may want to think about performing a search with phrases like “skincare cream recommendations,” or “age defying skincare products.”  Customizing your search to include exactly what you are looking for is a great way to save yourself a lot of time.

    As a reminder, using the internet to get free beauty tips, advice, and information on the latest beauty trends is a nice way to proceed, but it isn’t your only option.  In addition to using the internet and buying printed beauty magazines, you may also want to think about turning on your television.  There are now a number of shows on the air that have a focus on both fashion and beauty.

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  • Job Search Tips

    If you’re not sure what to do, here’s a list that might help.

    1. Know thyself.

    Identify what really interest and excites you. Understand that these traits define you and use it to explore career choices and opportunities.

    2. Take a career assessment test.

    There are a lot of career assessment tests available online. Find the time to take one. The test gives you a lot of insights about your core competencies and work preferences.

    3. Ask others.

    It’s actually quite difficult to see yourself as others do. It would be to your advantage to ask friends and family on your traits and skills. Your co-workers are also a good source of information. Knowing how they perceive you, what they like and don’t like about you and what skills or traits need to be changed can be helpful in determining your professional profile.

    4. What moves you?

    Would you be more interested in status or a six figure salary? Do you want to make a difference in your community and the world or just on your company’s net worth?

    5. Take charge.

    In the ‘80s, when you worked for a large company, you usually could conclude that you would be working there for your entire career.  In those days, the corporation drove your career path, advancing as it saw fit.

    At the turn of the century, times have changed.  In the span of your career, you would probably work for at least five companies. In most cases, you will probably work for more than five.  Know which career track you desire, and make sure that track brings you to where you wish to go.

    6. Determine the company fit.

    With the current emphasis on streamlined and productivity-focused companies, the cultural and company fit are just as important as the professional goals. Consider the values and principles of the company and compare them with your own.  It is important that you feel comfortable and fit in with company.

    7. Free your mind.

    The career path you choose is about change and more change. It includes expansion and new opportunities. All of these changes require a desire to journey and discover.

    8. Balance is the key.

    A huge amount of time is devoted to your career when you are in your 20s and 30s. When you reach your 40s, your personal life might take precedence and maybe more important to you. Find a corporation that will provide you with a balance in your work and your life.

    9. Don’t hang around.

    If you’re not satisfied with the way your career is going, go do something. Always be in control of your career path to have a satisfying career.

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  • How to get a car rental

    There’s more to renting the car than just reserving it and paying for it, to make sure that you get the best deal follow these steps and tips.

    STEPS:

    1.Choose three to four car rental firms that fit your wants and needs, do this either through the phonebook, or through the internet, remember to scan every possible firm before you make a choice, you don’t want to overlook the best car rental because you got bored from looking

    2.Contact the agency and ask about their special offers, location, availability, pickup sites, rates, special rates, hotel and airline partnerships, extra charges, insurance, everything you can think of that can help lower what you have to pay for your car rental, or what would make the car rental more convenient for you.

    3.Choose a pickup point; find one that is near you so it won’t be a hassle, some car rental companies pay for the cab ride you have to take, some pick you up at your home or at the airport to take you to your rental.

    4.Pick a car, depending on your needs, find a car that could fit all the people you’ll have in it, and if you’re alone just use a compact, some rentals charge higher for larger vehicles.

    5.The next thing to do, after you’ve totally decided on which to take, remember to reserve it, some car rentals include the reservation fee on the overall rent, some make it out to be an extra fee, you should also look out for this when get a car rental.

    TIPS

    For the best deals for your money here are some tips when looking, finding and taking out a car rental.

    1.When getting a car rental check for available upgrades at no charge, you’d want the best deal so you’d want the best car, to do this, you should go pickup your car early in the morning, when the other cars haven’t been returned yet, this way there would be a shortage on economy cars and the firm might just give you an upgrade for a lower price.

    2.Get an internet car rental. These types of rentals offer internet only discounts, and sometimes even accepts find a car at your own price methods where you just give them your budget and they’ll find the best deal for you, plus you wont have to go anywhere to get a rental.

    3.Fill the gas tank before you return your car, car rentals will charge you, at an inflated price, the cost of the gas needed to fill the tank.
    How to get a car rental
    4.Look for packages like fly-drive-stay or fly-drive, these will get you great discounts on rentals, and what’s more you won’t have to worry about other details like a hotel or an airline, everything’s there. You can find these packages on must travel agencies.

    5.If your frequent flyer discount or free flight is about to expire, there are some car rental companies that offer to exchange these discounts to discounts on your car rental, although its more cost effective to just fly with your frequent flyer discount, if its going to expire anyway, why wait?

    These are just a few of the things you’ll need to know, but always remember to be pesky, ask questions, ask for discounts, the only reason why people don’t get better value for the things they buy is because they’re too shy to ask.

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  • Google Products and Services Discontinued in 2009

    Google Products and Services Discontinued in 2009

        Audio Ads – Radio advertising program for US businesses. Rolled out on May 15, 2007 through the AdWords interface. Discontinued on February 12, 2009.
        Catalogs – Search engine for over 6,600 print catalogs, acquired through optical character recognition. Discontinued January 2009.
        Dodgeball – Social networking service for mobile phones. Users could text their location to the service, which would then notify them of crushes, friends, friends' friends and interesting venues nearby. Development ceased on January 14, 2009; discontinued over the next few months; replaced by Google Latitude.
        Google Ride Finder – Taxi, limousine and shuttle search service, using real time position of vehicles in 14 US cities. Used the Google Maps interface and cooperated with any car service that wished to participate. Discontinued on October 2009.
        Shared Stuff – web page sharing system, incorporating a share bookmarklet to share pages, and a page to view the most popular shared items. Pages could also be shared through third party applications, such as Delicious or Facebook. Discontinued on March 30, 2009.
        Google Page Creator – webpage-publishing program, which can be used to create pages and to host them on Google's servers. However, to focus on another Google Webpage-publishing service called Google Sites, new sign-ups are no longer accepted since 2008. All existing content on Page Creator was transferred to Google Sites in 2009.

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  • 5 Simple Steps to Posting Your First eBay Auction.

    5 Simple Steps to Posting Your First eBay Auction.

    It's surprisingly simple to get started posting your very first auction on eBay. Here's what you need to do.

    Step 1: Open an eBay seller's account.

    If you've bought things on eBay, then you already have an account – just log in with it and click 'Sell' in the toolbar at the top of the page, then click 'Create a seller's account'. If you've never used eBay before, then you'll need to open an account first using the 'register' link underneath the toolbar, and then click 'Sell' and 'Create a seller's account'. The eBay site will then guide you through the process. For security, this may involve giving card details and bank information.

    Step 2: Decide what to sell.

    For your first little experiment with eBay, it doesn't really matter what you sell. Take a look around the room you're in – I'm sure there's something in there that you're not all that attached to and could put in the post. Small books and CDs are ideal first items.

    Step 3: Submit your item.

    Click 'Sell', and you're on your way to listing your item.

    The first thing you need to do is choose a category – it's best to just type in what the item is and let eBay choose for you. Next, write a title and description. Include key words you think people will search for in the title box, and all the information you have about the item in the description box.

    Now set a starting price. $0.01 is the best starting price, as it draws people in to bid who otherwise wouldn't, and items will almost never finish at such a low price. The next thing to set is the duration of the auction: 3, 5, 7 or 10 days. This is up to you: longer sales will usually get more bids, but will also seem to drag on forever. If you've taken a picture, add it now – items with pictures always sell for more. Finally, tick the payment methods you will accept (just PayPal is best for now), and where you will post to (limit yourself to your own country to begin with). Submit and you're done!

    Step 4: Wait for it to sell.

    This is just a matter of sitting back and letting eBay do its thing – buyers will find your item and leave bids on it. Some bidders might email you with questions about the item, and you should do your best to answer these questions as quickly as you can.

    Remember that if your item doesn't sell then you can list it again for free.

    Step 5: Collect payment and post it.

    eBay will sent your buyer emails guiding them through the process of sending you payment for the item. Make sure you have the money before you send anything.

    Once you've got the payment, all you need to do is pack the item for posting (make sure to use some bubble wrap), take the buyer's address from the confirmation email eBay sent you, and write it on the parcel. Put some stamps on, post it, and you're done!

    I hope you enjoyed selling your first item. Now that you're starting to get into it, the next email will give you a checklist of things you need to do to be a successful seller.

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  • Saving

    Saving is income not spent, or deferred consumption. Methods of saving include putting money aside in a bank or pension plan. Saving also includes reducing expenditures, such as recurring costs. In terms of personal finance, saving specifies low-risk preservation of money, as in a deposit account, versus investment, wherein risk is higher.

    There is some disagreement about what counts as saving. For example, the part of a person's income that is spent on mortgage loan repayments is not spent on present consumption and is therefore saving by the above definition, even though people do not always think of repaying a loan as saving. However, in the U.S. measurement of the numbers behind its gross national product (i.e., the National Income and Product Accounts), personal interest payments are not treated as "saving" unless the institutions and people who receive them save them.

    "Saving" differs from "savings." The former refers to an increase in one's assets, an increase in net worth, whereas the latter refers to one part of one's assets, usually deposits in savings accounts, or to all of one's assets. Saving refers to an activity occurring over time, a flow variable, whereas savings refers to something that exists at any one time, a stock variable.

    Saving is closely related to investment. By not using income to buy consumer goods and services, it is possible for resources to instead be invested by being used to produce fixed capital, such as factories and machinery. Saving can therefore be vital to increase the amount of fixed capital available, which contributes to economic growth.

    However, increased saving does not always correspond to increased investment. If savings are stashed in or under a mattress, or otherwise not deposited into a financial intermediary such as a bank, there is no chance for those savings to be recycled as investment by business. This means that saving may increase without increasing investment, possibly causing a short-fall of demand (a pile-up of inventories, a cut-back of production, employment, and income, and thus a recession) rather than to economic growth. In the short term, if saving falls below investment, it can lead to a growth of aggregate demand and an economic boom. In the long term if saving falls below investment it eventually reduces investment and detracts from future growth. Future growth is made possible by foregoing present consumption to increase investment. However savings kept in a mattress amount to an (interest-free) loan to the government or central bank, who can recycle this loan.

    In a primitive agricultural economy savings might take the form of holding back the best of the corn harvest as seed corn for the next planting season. If the whole crop were consumed the economy would deteriorate to hunting and gathering the next season.

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  • Dealing with Changes in your Sexual Relationship when you are 60 or Older

    There are going to be some changes in a person’s life as they get older, there is nothing that can be done about it. One of them is that your sexual relationship is going to change. For some people it is for the better and for others it leaves them wishing for their younger days. Those that seem to enjoy sex more as they get older often find that with the reduction of stress in their life they can get more out of it.

    They may find they aren’t exhausted anymore too because life has slowed down for them. They may be retired now so the daily grind of work isn’t causing them to go to bed so tired they can’t even think about sex. They have plenty of time to spend looking and feeling good. This means they can also spend more time with their partner.

    As many individuals know, having a quality relationship on other levels with your partner leads to better sex. You may find that now that you have time to spend with each other on fun activities instead of just household chores you enjoy each other more. It can bring an entirely new level of intimacy to the bedroom for you as well.

    Many people over 60 that are retired also travel. The excitement of seeing new places with someone you have a sexual relationship with can rejuvenate your sex drive as well. You may find new locations for the activity to take place is quite a turn on. Where you are and what activities you are enjoying can also play a role in that.

    Not everyone will have such an increase in their sexual behavior though as they get older. Some people may really want to have sex more often but their body isn’t cooperating. They may find it harder to get or maintain an erection for the act to take place. This can lead to a great deal of embarrassment as well as anxiety.

    The body may just simply start to feel older and more worn down too. This can result in a person having less sexual activity than they did before. It can be frustrating when a person isn’t ready for these issues to take place. Sometimes you can get results if you take to a doctor. Other times you will have to be able to come to terms with some changes in your sexual behavior that are the result of aging.

    Talking to a counselor about it can be very helpful as well. Some older individuals become depressed when they find their sexual relationship isn’t what it once was. They may blame themselves for it and need help to cope. Others may become angry at their spouse due to their changed feelings towards sexual activity. It is very important for the relationship to be open enough to discuss such matters.

    Dealing with changes in your sexual relationship when you are 60 or older may not be your cup of tea, but you may find you have no choice. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that sex gets better for you as you get older. You may also find that the best is behind you. Yet you can still have a good time with it if you are willing to make some adjustments.

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  • College Students and Sex: Tips

    Are you a student in college?  If you are, you may spend most of your time focusing on studying and your grades.  With that said, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have other needs.  You may have a need for a relationship and a need for sex.  If your sex life is say nonexistent, you may be looking for tips on how to “get with the program.”  If you are, please continue reading on.

    To have intimacy with another individual, you first need to get out and meet other people.  How you do so should also depend on your wants and your needs, in terms of intimacy.  Are you just looking for a good time or would you like to have a full-blown relationship?  If a relationship is what you are after, consider attending on campus events, such as concerts.  You may also want to join a college run program, such as a charity organization.  This will help you meet other college students who are not only nice and attractive, but ones that share the same interests.

    As nice as it is to have a relationship, you may not have the time or the need for a serious relationship when in college.  If that is the case, you may just be after a good time here and there.  If that is what you are looking for, you may want to target social events, both on and off campus.  There is a good chance that a party is happening somewhere near your college this weekend.  If so, go attend.  Another great option is to visit a bar.  If you live in or around a college town, there is a good chance that bars are stocked full of other young students who are also looking to have a good time.

    As a young adult, you likely already know the importance of safe sex, but it is still a topic that needs be to mentioned.  Never have unprotected sex, no matter who you are having relations with.  Birth control does not protect you against any sexually transmitted diseases.  There is nothing worse or life changing than realizing you have a sexually transmitted disease, even if yours can be treated or cured with medication.  Don’t let the lack of protection mess up your future or the good grades you have been working so hard to achieve.

    It is also important to remember to keep your expectations in check.  If you are looking for a relationship, do not automatically assume that your new sex partner is as well.  As previously stated, those who spend their nights at parties or at bars aren’t always looking for a serious relationship.  Be sure to have fun and be safe, but don’t automatically start thinking that the guy you are with is and will forever be “the one.”  This can often cause you trouble and heartbreak.  Don’t let anything impact your future or the grades that you are working so hard to get.

    In conclusion, attending college is more than just about getting good grades and starting your future.  It is also about having a good time.  If you are a sexually active college student, you can continue to get your needs fulfilled while still getting the education your future needs.  Just remember to use your head.  Many college students have multiple sex partners so your chances of catching a sexually transmitted disease increase significantly.

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