"NO THANKS" he said "I have a REAL JOB"

In this day and age should we have a home business or put all our confidence in the traditional good paying job?

I emailed a potential prospect the other day with an invitation to join me in my home business and he e-mailed me back. "No thanks"he said" I have a real job" boasting as though having and working a home business was foolish and a waste of time.

Well I have a real job too I thought to myself. I own my own window cleaning business. Although my window cleaning is very profitable I still have to be there to make it fly. If I don't go to work the money stops. I guess I could hire employees but why be bothered with that hassle.Yet still I am my own boss and I set my hours and to a certain extent my rate of pay. Personally I love the freedom it gives me. I can take any day off I want too. Far better than working for someone else.

So this guy has a " real job " What exactly does that mean I pondered. I say it means "Just Over Broke". You see the company tells him when to show up and when to go home. He trades hours for dollars. Usually 8 hours a day. They pay him what they decide and maybe he gets a 50 cent an hour raise every 6 months if he sticks with it but truthfully it is not enough to make ends meet.

Then of course they can lay him off if they want too or even fire him. But hey he likes the company benefits he pays for like medical, extended health, and maybe life insurance. At the end of his "working for someone else" career he gets a gold watch and a pat on the back. Maybe they throw him a retirement party or maybe not as they hand him his hat and coat on the way out the door. What then? Maybe he qualifies for a pension but it isn't enough to live on. He looks back on the years and his family and realizes he doesn't really know them because he was always working to get ahead. Getting ahead never happens though because the power was always on the employer's side. But hey he had a "real job"

Now let's look at a home business. The term residual income should be the key word here. That means it is money that comes in even if you stop working. Possibly it can still build as you can benefit from the work of others you have introduced to the company. This is called leverage. Leverage and residual income are terms Bill Gates is very familiar with.

So let's say you continue to work it a just few hours a day. It still has the potential to grow even bigger and here's the thing. With today's technology on the internet you don't have to do the old fashion thing of having silly meetings in your living room or making a list of your warm market and then bugging your relatives. No everything can be done by group mailers or voice dialers. Hardly the same as the old days.

I guess it is kind of like the flee in the jar syndrome. You can take the lid off but the flee never jumps out of the jar. Why? Because the flee has been trained that is as high as he can go. Most people would rather be the flee. Sad isn't it.

No it's not even an argument to me. Why not have a real job for a season and work a home business too. I think I would be a fool not to try to add another income especially when it only takes a few hours a day. My friend the flee can have his "real job" and put all his eggs in that basket if he wants too.

Fitness Tip of the Week

Fitness Tip of the Week

Don't hold your breath as you work out. You could black out from lack of oxygen if the stress is excessive. Exhale during the effort portion of the exercise and inhale during the recovery or easy phase.


Funk Roberts
Don't Rush the Beat

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Any Funk Roberts Blog reader can now save 10% off items purchased on the Supplement Source website by entering funkroberts in the savings box.

In addition the Supplement of the Week entry that is sponsored by Supplement Source will give you a 20% off savings. (A code will be presented to you).

This is a first of many benefits that Funk Roberts will bring to all dedicated readers and friends.

Funk Roberts

Don't Rush the Beat

BusinessWeek on online travel in Asia (with a China bias)

Nice read from BusinessWeek called "Asian Tourists Love to Click and Go". Interesting fact that I took from it was.

In China...Ctrip and eLong enjoy a combined market share of 72%...

We all suspected as much. Of course the article does not talk about how most of what is online in China is actually offline but still interesting.

How to use the new Search Query Performance report

For those who haven’t already noticed, we recently introduced the Search Query Performance report in the AdWords Report Center. This new report shows performance data for the search queries that triggered your ads that were clicked on to show. More importantly, this data can be used to gain a better understanding of how users are finding your ads and how they react to them.

Since the new report includes both search queries and the corresponding performance data, the report is commonly used to fine tune existing keyword lists. Specifically, you can use this report to identify both new keywords and negative keywords that you'd like to add to your account to better specify when you'd like your ad to appear.

Here’s a quick example:
Say you’re an online florist and you're working on adding some more keywords to your Anniversary campaign. Not a bad idea, since your campaign currently contains one ad group with the following keywords:

'anniversary'
'anniversary flowers'
'wedding anniversary flowers'

Rather than simply guessing which new keywords to add, you decide to first find out what users (a.k.a. potential customers) are searching on when they find and click on your anniversary-related ads today. To do so, you run a Search Query Performance report. Here's what your report looks like:

(Click the screen shot for a full-size image.)

Based on the data above, your ads are showing when users search on 'anniversary flowers,' but they're also appearing on these queries:

anniversary bouquet
anniversary gifts
anniversary centerpieces

The Search Query Match Type status for these queries is "broad." This means that keywords in your account that are similar to these queries are enabling your ads to be shown. Since 'anniversary bouquet' and 'anniversary gifts' are highly relevant to your product offering, you might consider adding them as keywords to this campaign. This will ensure that your ads will always show on these queries. Take it a step further, and create two new ad groups with ad text specific to gifts and bouquets.

If you don’t want your ads showing on queries like 'anniversary centerpieces' because you sell bouquets and not arrangements, you might consider adding 'centerpieces' as a negative match keyword. However, keep in mind that users may find your ad relevant even if the query they used to find and click on your ad didn't correspond exactly to the product(s) advertised. For example, in the report above, you'll see that users who found your ad using the search query 'anniversary centerpieces' clicked on your ad and also converted on your website.

Finding new keywords and new negative keywords is just one way use this new report. You could also use it to:

• Delete existing keywords and replace them with better targeted keywords
• Create more tightly knit ad groups based on common groups of search queries
• Ensure you've selected the correct match type (i.e. broad, phrase, exact, or negative) for existing keywords

Lastly, it’s important to keep the following points in mind when analyzing a Search Query Performance report:

• The report only includes queries for ads that were shown and clicked on
• The report includes search network data only
• Search query performance data is available from May 2, 2007 and onward
• Search queries are different from keywords, so data from this report will most likely not match up to a Keyword Performance report or your Campaign Summary page
  

Instructions on how to run a Search Query Performance report can be found here. For more information on the new report, check out the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Judy, Inside AdWords crew

Flight Centre and PEP: This time it is really over

First Australasian private equity giant Pacific Equity Parnters (PEP) wanted to buy all of Flight Centre. But shareholder Lazard said "No".

Then, PEP and the Flight Centre founders came back fighting with a new proposal to give PEP control of 33% of the business - a proposal that did not need shareholder approval.

Now the word on the street (or stock exchange in this case via e-travel blackboard) is that this deal is also dead. This time the deal died not at the hands of an errant shareholder but at the hands of the founders. Seems the founders commissioned an expert's report from Ernst & Young that valued the company at more than was being offered by PEP. In business stock exchange announcement double speak the Chairman Bruce Brown is quoted as saying

“While the creation of a leveraged joint venture had the potential to deliver significant benefits to FLT and its shareholders, it was also a highly complex and costly transaction, and the value proposition has become considerably less attractive for shareholders as a clearer picture of the costs of the transaction has emerged,”

No idea what that means. This one sentence has those great "stock" phrases "creation of a leveraged joint venture" and "value proposition". Wouldn't we all love it one day to see a Chairman say "the financial terms were crap and we think we can do it better alone".

Regardless of the way they phrased it, I do not believe that Flight Centre can do it alone. As I said before this highly successful business needs a business model rewrite. It needs a clear and unambiguous refocus on Internet distribution. I was asked once how a shareholder would be able to tell that the Flight Centre management was taking the Internet seriously. My answer was a quick and simple one - you will know that Flight Centre "gets it" online when the Chairman announces:

1. That a new Head of Online has been appointed, reporting directly to the CEO with direct control over all brands online, free reign on how to market and promote those brands and with a fund of money to invest in large acquisitions;
   
2. That a target for online sales has been set at [some big number like 20%] of turnover by 2009 (maybe 2010); and
3. That Flight Centre is embracing the need to be a technology company. Setting up a team of developers (or buying a development shop) devoted to online only activities, reporting to the new Head of Online.

That is - separate online from offline, make online growth the number one target of the business and embrace the geeks needed to make it happen.

If history is a guide this is not the type of announcement we could expect out of Flight Centre under the current management or structure. They will need another private equity deal or other structural shake-up to provide the drive for this change.

UPDATE - News reports are that the PEP is very unhappy with this decision (no surprises). The amazing part from the report is after PEP and Flight Centre working on this deal for what must be more than a year, the SMH is reporting that PEP and its advisers found out that the deal was dead with only 20 minutes notice before Flight Centre send the obituary to the stockmarket.

UPDATE 2 - Am trying to understand the Flight Centre Board machinations that led to this deal being killed by Flight Centre. Specifically - who on the Board was pro the PEP deal and who was against it. From my original post it seemed that the Board was behind Chairman Bruce Brown when he said the deal was a dud. But he update with news reports indicating that PEP has almost no warning of the deal being pulled indicated that there were some senior execs/Board members that were as surprised as PEP was.

A quote from CEO Graham Turner (in August 24 2007 Travel Today quoting an AFR.com report) confuses things even more. He says

"The shareholders have been the big losers in this [the failed bid]...I suspect Iwill be proved right in two or three years when shareholders could have got a serious dividend or buyback as well as retained significant equity in the company."

This indicates that Skroo is unhappy with the failure of the bid and means that Flight Centre's top boss and largest shareholder does not agree with the structure of the company. Weird.

Campaign Optimizer now available

Today, we're happy to announce the launch of a new ad performance tool called Campaign Optimizer. It's an on-demand AdWords tool that provides personalized campaign ideas in just minutes. We're always looking for ways to help you improve your account performance and increase your advertising return, and we're excited that this tool can help jumpstart your optimization efforts. To start, click on the 'Optimize Campaign' link on the 'Campaign Summary' page, as shown in this screenshot below.

(Click the screenshot for a full-size image.)

Here's how Campaign Optimizer works: first, the tool analyzes your campaign to see what settings have or haven't worked well for you recently -- this process typically takes a minute or less. Next, it generates a customized proposal of ideas for your campaign aimed at improving your performance. Finally, you'll be able to review each proposed change and apply the ones you like directly to your campaign. As you can see in the screenshot below, it's easy to evaluate each change.

(Click the screenshot for a full-size image.)

Here are some of the ideas that Campaign Optimizer might propose to help improve your campaign's performance:

• Change daily budget. Budget adjustments can affect your ad visibility and bring you more traffic.


• Add new keywords. Campaign Optimizer proposes targeted keywords that relate to your landing page.


• Change keyword matching options. The right matching option can help you reach customers more effectively.


• Adjust keyword maximum cost-per-click bid. Your maximum CPC bid (in addition to your ad quality) affects your ad position.


• Change ad text. Your ad text affects your click-through rate.

Since Campaign Optimizer is an automated tool, we suggest that it be the first step -- not the last -- in optimizing your account. You'll find that Campaign Optimizer is more effective on campaigns that have been running for at least two weeks. Use it to generate ideas and provide direction for your own optimization efforts. Once you've used Campaign Optimizer, you might review our optimization resources, as well as our previous posts on optimization tips for additional information on how to improve your account.

Try Campaign Optimizer now and let us know what you think by clicking on the feedback link on the right side of your Campaign Optimizer proposal.

Posted by Vivian, Inside AdWords crew

Поздравления! Поздрав!

Two more languages -- Bulgarian and Serbian -- have just joined the AdSense for content family, and AdSense for search has also launched in Serbian. We know that web publishers in these regions have been waiting for for a long time -- thank you for your continued patience.

To get started with AdSense for content or AdSense for search, log in to your account and follow the wizard located under the AdSense Setup tab. If you don't have an account yet, you can sign-up for AdSense in just a few minutes.

If you have questions about using AdSense for content or AdSense for search, visit our Help Center or email us via our Contact Us form.

Keep working on your content and let it work for you!

Posted by Gergana Marinova (Bulgarian) and Ilinka Zaharčeva (Serbian) - AdSense Publisher Support

Who's coming to Australia next?

Often it is the job ads the give you the best guidance as to who is launching where when. There was an advertisement in this weekend's paper for this role

General Manager- Global Internet Media Company - Australia Launch!

A unique opportunity exists to launch a new venture for one of the world’s leading online media companies. This NASDAQ listed company, headquartered in New York, is experiencing significant growth and is well positioned for expansion into the Australian market.

The General Manager, Australia will be responsible for launching the business, winning and maintaining key accounts as well as the online consumer. This appointment requires an entrepreneurial leader with a passion for new media and the travel sector....[MORE]

I have a very strong suspicion as to who this is but have a little bit of inside knowledge that I promised not to reveal. What do you think, what's your guess? Either way - interesting to see the Australian market having reached a new stage where a media/advertising supported travel business model is attractive enough to support expansion plans.

UPDATE - the cat is out of the zoo, the role was for Travelzoo and ex-Lastminute.com.au Hotels GM Brad Gurrie got the job

innocence of kids! haha

a sweet joke about the height of innocence of kids...:) read on...


A six-year-old boy told his father he wanted to marry the little girl across the street. The father, being modern and well-schooled in handling children, hid his smile behind his hand.

"That's a serious step," he said. "Have you thought it out completely?"

"Yes," his young son answered. "We can spend one week in my room and the next in hers. It's right across the street, so I can run home if I get scared of the dark."

"How about transportation?" the father asked.

"I have my wagon, and we both have our tricycles," the little boy answered. The boy had an answer to every question the father raised.

Finally, in exasperation, his dad asked, "What about babies? When you're married, you're liable to have babies, you know."

"We've thought about that, too," the little boy replied. "We're not going to have babies. Every time she lays an egg, I'm going to step on it!"

hope you smiled at least if you didnt laugh.. i laughed, i got a kid whose as innocent as the one above:))

Your Home-Based Business and MySpace

I happened to be over at Ezinearticles.com and came across a good article about how to make the most of marketing your home business products and services through the huge social networking site, Myspace. I think a lot of the tips can be applied to any social networking site. If you haven't used social networks to build relationships and contacts, I'd highly suggest you get started now. It is a great marketing strategy you can use for free!

That said, here is the article:

Marketing With My Space - An Interview
By Jinger Jarrett

Matthew Sherborne started marketing on the internet in 1998 with his first website devoted to his commercial diving business. Matthew accumulated real-life knowledge of using low-cost advertising techniques and continually searched for new and innovative marketing methods. Through all of his research looking for the perfect system of promotion, he's discovered the most successful method has always been word of mouth advertising. With that knowledge he's been an enthusiastic supporter of searching and utilizing viral marketing techniques.

Since selling his diving service business in 2002 he's traveled from San Diego to Hawaii and finally to the San Francisco Bay area. Working a variety of labor intensive jobs, above and below ground and water, he decided in early 2005 to put 100 percent of his effort into internet marketing.

Since that time he's focused exclusively on the most effective low-cost marketing techniques to boost his online business. He now offers the very same techniques that's made him successful and yielded incredible results. Matthew has a passion for marketing and it shows as he shares today's most radically effective promotional techniques.

Matthew will take you behind the scenes to show you exactly how he makes his lucrative income and how he markets his own business online. With his "nothing held back" philosophy you can expect to get all of the inside secrets and sales boosting tactics to use on your very own online business.

Question: I read your ebook, "MySpace Cash Machine", and it is excellent. How did you get started marketing on My Space, and how did you find all of the techniques for marketing on My Space?

Answer: I got started marketing on My Space quite by accident in late 2005, in fact if not for a musician friend of mine, I would have missed it entirely.

He sent me to his My Space profile and told me how he was receiving some great exposure to his website from linking there. I'd heard in the media that My Space was literally exploding in popularity and that was enough for me to take the opportunity seriously enough to learn more. I discovered not only was My Space fast becoming the most popular website online, it held the potential to reach millions of people for free.

After some research I found that the most commented on and popular profiles were the ones that focused entirely on one subject and did so enthusiastically. Then I carefully studied what others were doing on their My Space profiles in regards to sending bulletins, comments and setting up profiles. My ultimate goal was to uncover exactly how they were making money.

I then replicated the successful money-making techniques by fine tuning my profile and website offer. By targeting one specific high-paying niche, it maximized results and brought more income. I then looked for other high interest topics within My Space and started experimenting with a variety of niche topics with different themed profiles designed to funnel people to websites exactly suited to their wants.

Question: Why do you think My Space is such an effective place to market your business? Why would you recommend My Space?

Answer: For starters, My Space currently has more than an 80 percent market share over all social networking websites. This accounts for a total number of profiles in excess of 100 million and My Space is currently ranked the 5th most visited website on the planet. As you can imagine the sheer number of people on My Space makes it an extremely attractive place to find hungry customers.

Coupled with the fact that My Space allows you to customize your own webpage with HTML code and CSS to give it any kind of look you want and link to outside sources is irresistible. Imagine the potential of having a popular profile centered around a lucrative keyword and linking it to your own Adsense monetized website or sales page.

Once you've got a popular profile it becomes an incredible opportunity just waiting for you to plug in to it. Through the use of groups, forums, messages, events, comments, blogs, videos and classified advertising you have a multitude of ways to reach people interested in your products and turn them into your customers.

You can use My Space to get targeted customers for virtually any product you have to offer and you can grow your opt-in lists to continue the selling process. The best part is, you can use My Space to tap in to the most powerful kind of marketing ever known, word of mouth.

Question: What marketing technique do you find to be the most effective, and how do you use it? Would you tell us one or two of your best marketing tips?

Answer: As a marketer, the most important key to remember is that your My Space profile is created to attract viewers to your website. To do this, you must determine the most remarkable aspect of your product and turn that into your own persuasive story. Your whole profile must reflect your unique story and be structured so that it not only appeals to your target audience but compels them to find out more.

Your My Space picture is often the first thing that people see; make sure you have one that stands out. The best pictures stir up an emotion in its viewer. A good rule of thumb is to select pictures that are relevant to your product and audience. My favorite strategy is to use a movable gif that is a little larger than the average and captures the viewer's attention.

You'll want to spend time selecting a strong headline for your profile since it will appear next to your picture. It will also be visible from comments you leave on other profiles and on the My Space search function. It's important that you use proper search engine optimization techniques in your headline and throughout your profile's content. The headline should reflect your overall strategy with important keywords.

Leveraging the efforts of many is key to building a profitable My Space marketing business. One of the best ways to market your offer on My Space after you've established your profile is through the use of groups. You have the opportunity to start a group on virtually any topic you want. When you start a group you have control over who can join and its content. To get your group started send a bulletin to everyone on your friends list. Once you've got a loyal following to your group, people will gladly share the information with others.

If you want to send viewers to a specific offer, sending bulletins to your My Space profile's friends list will get you instant results. You can use bulletins to offer something of perceived value to gain the acceptance of friends and have them become outspoken advocates for your product.

Commenting on popular profiles will get people coming to check you out. People on My Space love to share things with each other. If you have a unique video, funny picture or contest, you can post it on popular profiles and really spread your message. Once the word is out, its potential to spread is limitless.

Question: What trends do you see in marketing on My Space? What do you see in the future of My Space?

Answer: My Space has grown so fast due in large part to its success facilitating direct person to person interaction. Whether it's sharing pictures, videos or content, people are moving away from disruptive media sources and embracing those that involve user generated content. You can expect to see more consumer created media begin to appear on profiles and anticipate more people willing to share it.

In the near future people will not only research a particular product, but go to My Space to learn about the product's creator. Building relationships and connecting with others of like mind is what My Space is all about . For savvy marketers, this means allowing the consumer to feel like they have a direct connection with you.

Marketers who expose others to non interruptive sources of information will have the greatest success, as quality content becomes the accepted norm. Competition will intensify among traditional advertisers as the ad dollars spent on social networks approaches the billions. With its massive success My Space will branch out to being viewed via cell phones and expand to other countries like China and Japan.

Most importantly, successful online marketing will transform to become continually viral. Instead of buying a product based on brand alone, consumers will seek out and follow the recommendations of others. Marketers who have framed their message to be extraordinary will benefit from having it shared and heard worldwide.

Question: What projects are you currently working on, and where do you plan to take your business from here?

Answer: My future is focused primarily on helping other small business owners strategically place themselves in their market to stand out among the corporations without spending a fortune. The objective is to build resources that bridge the gap between consumers and marketers and generate customers who become outspoken supporters.

I plan on taking my business forward by concentrating on the most effective new forms of media. You'll hear a whole lot more of me as I venture into online video, audio products and viral promotions. My business plan incorporates a series of interconnected products all pursuing the goal of pushing the marketing boundaries to new limits.

Jinger Jarrett is the author of the book, "Internet Marketing for Free: The GUIDE (on Amazon). Get your free ebook download at Ask Jinger Now Matthew Sherborne is the author of the ebook, My Space Cash Machine

sushmita sen speaks

Actress Sushmita Sen is currently neck deep in the pre-production work for her ambitious English film "Jhansi Ki Rani", which she says is a homage to a woman she admires tremendously.

"By producing 'Jhansi Ki Rani' and casting myself in a role that I've cherished for ever, I'll be paying homage to a woman I admire tremendously," Sushmita told IANS.

"I feel Rani of Jhansi isn't just a source of inspiration for me but also very relevant to our times. When I went through her story and read about her interaction with friends, family and enemies I realised sometimes you need to look at the past to know what mistakes you don't make in the future."

Making a period film is not an easy job as it involves a lot of risks but the actress is unperturbed.

She said: "The truth is whenever you create something, there's bound to be risks, financial and creative, involved. When have I ever been afraid of taking risk?"

However, she is ensuring that all the homework is done carefully.

"Once we go into production I don't want to be caught in any kind of uncertainty. Neither do I want to be an interfering producer. I want to put everything in place as a producer so that once we start shooting I'll focus only on the acting," said the actress who is yet to finalise the director.

Asked about Ketan Mehta's film on the same subject with Aishwarya Rai in the lead role, she said: "I'm very happy for both of them."

Excerpts:

Q: You seem to be totally consumed by the idea of making "Jhansi Ki Rani".

A: You bet! My interest isn't just professional but also personal. By producing "Jhansi Ki Rani" and casting myself in a role that I've cherished for ever, I'll be paying homage to a woman I admire tremendously.

Q: And how is your project progressing so far?

A: So far so good. I think we're on the right track. For me "Jhansi Ki Rani" is the only raison d'etre at the moment. But then the world doesn't come to a standstill for the sake of one's passion. I will continue to fulfil my other obligations as an actor.

Q: You are the sole producer of "Jhansi Ki Rani"?

A: Yes absolutely. My company Tantra is the producer. And there's no fear of falling from my high horse because Rani of Jhansi rode across the horizon fearlessly. If I'm making a film on the life of a fearless woman I'd better be fearless. This woman inspires me like none other.

The truth is whenever you create something, there's bound to be risks, financial and creative, involved. When have I ever been afraid of taking risk?

Q: Any fear of failing with a female-centric film?

A: None whatsoever. Please remember I started with a woman-centric film ("Dastak"). Sure, my recent films "Chingaari" and "Zindaggi Rocks" revolved around me and they didn't work at the box office, whereas a film like "Main Hoon Na" where I had, at the most, an extended cameo, brought me tremendous appreciation.

But do I stop going by my instincts because of commercial failure? Or do I try to see where I've gone wrong, correct myself and move ahead on the path I've chosen? That doesn't really need an answer, does it?

"Jhansi Ki Rani" is not the kind of film that you shoot over two months, release and forget about it. It's a film about history that hopefully will have a history beyond the average lifespan of a film.

Q: And about the director?

A: Frankly, I'm still not decided on that. We've a few names short-listed. They're all filmmakers with a track record for an epic vision.

Q: So what steps are you taking to ensure that "Jhansi Ki Rani" doesn't go wrong?

A: I'm making sure we're doing our homework very carefully. Once we go into production I don't want to be caught in any kind of uncertainty. Neither do I want to be an interfering producer. I want to put everything in place as a producer so that once we start shooting I'll focus only on the acting.

Q: How long have you been prepping for "Jhansi..."?

A: A year-and-a-half. It's my dream project. And life for me has always been about living out my dreams. I feel Rani of Jhansi isn't just a source of inspiration for me but also very relevant to our times. When I went through her story and read about her interaction with friends, family and enemies I realised sometimes you need to look at the past to know what mistakes you don't make in the future.

Q: What would be the film's language?

A: It'd predominantly be in English. Since a majority of the characters would be British, English does seem the logical language. My "Jhansi Ki Rani" would be a totally global film. Anybody who wants to get inspired will want to see it.

Q: Finally, Ketan Mehta is also a planning a biopic of "Jhansi Ki Rani" with Aishwarya Rai.

A: I'm very happy for both of them.

sushmita sen speaks

Actress Sushmita Sen is currently neck deep in the pre-production work for her ambitious English film "Jhansi Ki Rani", which she says is a homage to a woman she admires tremendously.

"By producing 'Jhansi Ki Rani' and casting myself in a role that I've cherished for ever, I'll be paying homage to a woman I admire tremendously," Sushmita told IANS.

"I feel Rani of Jhansi isn't just a source of inspiration for me but also very relevant to our times. When I went through her story and read about her interaction with friends, family and enemies I realised sometimes you need to look at the past to know what mistakes you don't make in the future."

Making a period film is not an easy job as it involves a lot of risks but the actress is unperturbed.

She said: "The truth is whenever you create something, there's bound to be risks, financial and creative, involved. When have I ever been afraid of taking risk?"

However, she is ensuring that all the homework is done carefully.

"Once we go into production I don't want to be caught in any kind of uncertainty. Neither do I want to be an interfering producer. I want to put everything in place as a producer so that once we start shooting I'll focus only on the acting," said the actress who is yet to finalise the director.

Asked about Ketan Mehta's film on the same subject with Aishwarya Rai in the lead role, she said: "I'm very happy for both of them."

Excerpts:

Q: You seem to be totally consumed by the idea of making "Jhansi Ki Rani".

A: You bet! My interest isn't just professional but also personal. By producing "Jhansi Ki Rani" and casting myself in a role that I've cherished for ever, I'll be paying homage to a woman I admire tremendously.

Q: And how is your project progressing so far?

A: So far so good. I think we're on the right track. For me "Jhansi Ki Rani" is the only raison d'etre at the moment. But then the world doesn't come to a standstill for the sake of one's passion. I will continue to fulfil my other obligations as an actor.

Q: You are the sole producer of "Jhansi Ki Rani"?

A: Yes absolutely. My company Tantra is the producer. And there's no fear of falling from my high horse because Rani of Jhansi rode across the horizon fearlessly. If I'm making a film on the life of a fearless woman I'd better be fearless. This woman inspires me like none other.

The truth is whenever you create something, there's bound to be risks, financial and creative, involved. When have I ever been afraid of taking risk?

Q: Any fear of failing with a female-centric film?

A: None whatsoever. Please remember I started with a woman-centric film ("Dastak"). Sure, my recent films "Chingaari" and "Zindaggi Rocks" revolved around me and they didn't work at the box office, whereas a film like "Main Hoon Na" where I had, at the most, an extended cameo, brought me tremendous appreciation.

But do I stop going by my instincts because of commercial failure? Or do I try to see where I've gone wrong, correct myself and move ahead on the path I've chosen? That doesn't really need an answer, does it?

"Jhansi Ki Rani" is not the kind of film that you shoot over two months, release and forget about it. It's a film about history that hopefully will have a history beyond the average lifespan of a film.

Q: And about the director?

A: Frankly, I'm still not decided on that. We've a few names short-listed. They're all filmmakers with a track record for an epic vision.

Q: So what steps are you taking to ensure that "Jhansi Ki Rani" doesn't go wrong?

A: I'm making sure we're doing our homework very carefully. Once we go into production I don't want to be caught in any kind of uncertainty. Neither do I want to be an interfering producer. I want to put everything in place as a producer so that once we start shooting I'll focus only on the acting.

Q: How long have you been prepping for "Jhansi..."?

A: A year-and-a-half. It's my dream project. And life for me has always been about living out my dreams. I feel Rani of Jhansi isn't just a source of inspiration for me but also very relevant to our times. When I went through her story and read about her interaction with friends, family and enemies I realised sometimes you need to look at the past to know what mistakes you don't make in the future.

Q: What would be the film's language?

A: It'd predominantly be in English. Since a majority of the characters would be British, English does seem the logical language. My "Jhansi Ki Rani" would be a totally global film. Anybody who wants to get inspired will want to see it.

Q: Finally, Ketan Mehta is also a planning a biopic of "Jhansi Ki Rani" with Aishwarya Rai.

A: I'm very happy for both of them.

are you a good friend?

Friendship

Laughing over a cup of tea
the world falls away.
A phone call at midnight,
assured of a kind ear.
Love and trust must hold
hands to survive.
Often our family of choice
consists of our close friends,
without them our lives
would not be complete.
Appreciate companionship.
Nurture it.

Are you being a good friend? Do you have friends that you appreciate? Would you like to improve your friendships? Is your loving partner your best friend?

1) Mistake: Try to fix the person. Solution: Ask the person if they want your help and the kind of assistance they wish to have. Some examples are to just listen, or tell them what you would do in their situation.

2) Mistake: Be impatient. Solution: Be patient. We all appreciate when others are patient with us.

3) Mistake: Be unforgiving. Solution: Forgive others when they blunder. We all make mistakes.

4) Mistake: Discount or judge the other person's feelings. Solution: Accept all their feelings and help them express them constructively.

5) Mistake: Take personally what your friend says. Solution: Understand that what people say or do is a reflection of them and not you.

6) Mistake: Be indifferent when they are upset. Solution: Comfort the other person when they are hurting by being compassionate and reassuring, listening, giving them a hug, etc.

7) Mistake: Tell people what to do. Solution: Help them solve their own problems with win-win solutions.

8) Mistake: Be jealous of their success. Solution: Be happy for them when they experience success and reach their goals.

9) Mistake: Drop them when you are romantically involved. Solution: Continue to connect with your friends even when you are in romantic relationships.

10) Mistake: Withhold your thoughts and feelings. Solution: Tell them your thoughts and feelings in a loving way. Take responsibility for them by beginning your sentences with "I feel" or "I think."

11) Mistake: Break your agreements Solution: Keep your agreements, or inform them before that you wish to change the agreement.

12) Mistake: Do not feel worthy or deserving of the friendships. Solution: Realize that you deserve loving, supportive friends.

13) Mistake: Take them for granted. Solution: Let them know that they are important to you and you are grateful for their friendship.

14) Mistake: Expect them to help you overcome your loneliness. Solution: When you love and like yourself, you are not dependent on others to fulfill your needs.

15) Mistake: Bombard them with your problems. Solution: Ask them first if they are open to hearing a problem you are having and keep it short and to the point. Then focus on the solution.

16) Mistake: Be their leader or follower. Solution: See each other as two equally powerful people.

17) Mistake: Be too busy for friends. Solution: Set aside quality time for your nurturing, supportive friends.

18) Mistake: Try to make them just like you. Solution: Honor who they are and be aware of how you complement each other.

19) Mistake: Be disrespectful and hurtful. Solution: Respect them and be kind.

20) Mistake: Be willing to take abuse. Solution: Love yourself enough to remove yourself from abusive relationships.

21) Mistake: Expect them to be your therapist. Solution: If you need professional help, seek a therapist.

How can you take your Enterprise Search to the next level?

Posted by Cyrus Mistry, Enterprise Product Manager

12,000 employees? 56 offices worldwide? Nearly 100 million documents? Yup - we'd say our enterprise search problem was pretty big... Of course, we were able to get a great discount on a couple powerful Google Search Appliances! :)

In fact, we really exploited the power of the Google Search Appliance in many unique and interesting ways so we thought this blog could be a great place to let you in on some of our Intranet search secrets and best practices...

To start with, we chose to place a checkbox underneath the search box which allows users to pass their search queries to an alternate front end where we can try neat experiments (like different ways to return the results, new and interesting OneBox implementations, etc.). Since only some percentage checks the box, it gives us a great way to test out new ideas and new technologies before releasing them to the main search results page. For instance, you might want to use this alternate front end to test out a different look-and-feel for your XSLT; you might want to filter out certain domains to see if it improves the results; you might want to try out some new OneBox modules; you might want to turn on/off Query Expansion (word stemming, synonyms, etc.); you might want to try source biasing. In future posts we'll talk about the many ways in which we've used this Next search screen.

To add an alternate experimental front end and a checkbox to get to it is not very difficult. Click here to see the simple 3-step process.

The screenshot below shows all the tremendous amount of rich information we provide when users even enter just a simple three letter query.

This is an actual live screenshot (with some data sanitization, of course) showing what users see once they query for 'gfs'. You'll see that, in addition to the highly relevant search results, the user is able to see a variety of useful OneBox implementations such as Googler information and user-created bookmarks, they can segment their search to just tech documents, they can narrow their search even further, or, they can add their own KeyMatch if they didn't find the result they wanted.

In upcoming blog posts, we'll talk about how to implement some of these other features. Some of you may choose to follow along with these posts and try out these methods and we encourage it! If you ever have any questions, please feel free to join or write to our Google Search Appliance group at http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Search-Appliance.

Stay tuned for much more!

Are you ready to go back to school?

As students across the country get ready to head back to the classroom, we'd like to invite you to do a little learning, too. Check out the Google AdWords Learning Center for free access to a variety of text-based and multimedia "how-to" lessons to help you with your campaigns.

Whether you're optimizing a campaign to appeal to back-to-school shoppers or looking for easy ways to track your campaign's performance this fall, the Learning Center offers all the information you need to improve your ads and brush up on your AdWords knowledge. And to really get yourself in the back-to-school spirit, take the quiz at the end of each lesson!

Posted by Heather, Inside AdWords crew

Which AdWords optimization tips do you want to read about?

Over the past several months, we had featured a series of posts on AdWords optimization tips, advice from a specialist from the Optimization team. While we wanted to stick to general topics and common issues that advertisers commonly face in that series, we think it's now time to explore specific issues in depth. So whether you're having trouble selecting the right keywords for your online cat toys store or want help creating more effective ad text for your dog walking service, we want to hear about your specific questions and concerns. Your questions will help us determine the topics to cover in our next series of optimization tips -- so, please email us at inside-adwords@google.com to let us know what topics you want to read about.

And no, you don't have to be in the pet business to email us. :)

Posted by Feng, Inside AdWords crew

Google Apps migration tools

Posted by Scott McMullan, Google Enterprise Partner Team

In the spirit of celebrating small successes, I want to give a shout out to Google Enterprise Professional partner LimitNone, who recently passed the 100 customer mark for their gMOVE/gXFER Google Apps migration products.

These tools help Microsoft Outlook and Gmail users migrate their data to Google Apps, and complement some of the other migration tools available today, including our own IMAP migration feature.

Congrats to the team at LimitNone!

Is eBay Really Paying Attention?

Judging by this post on "The Chatter" eBay is listening regarding the new search, or "finding experience," changes.

I found the post very informative regarding how eBay is testing and what they're still working on in regards to changing the search. They actually say they're not happy with what the search results page looks like (neither was I when I tested it) and they address the major issue of integrating stores and completed listings into the search. (These don't appear now in the Playground version, but the explanation is that they wanted to roll it out to be tested before they added these and a few other components into it. As a former programmer I understand that would save them a lot of backtracking in their coding, but couldn't they have stated that up front?? Leaving stores out of anything on eBay is certainly going to raise issues - and tempers - with store owners.)

The section on "Multiple paths to the same inventory" was interesting and implies that sellers won't necessarily need to pay double to list an item in two similar categories. The new search will provide a multi-dimensional result for sellers searching by category. They explain it in the example and it sounds like a great idea.

If you haven't gone to eBay's Playground to try the new search and leave feedback, please take a few minutes and do so. It appears that they're actually paying attention.

How to Create the Ultimate Sales Letter For Your Home Business

Today's marketing tip is the final one based on a conference call I participated in a few weeks ago. It has to do with creating good sales copy.

Many home based business owners feel that they cannot do this themselves, or if they give it a shot, struggle with it. Even if they end up hiring someone, the sales copy is still bad.

What was suggested on the call is to record yourself or have someone record for you as you talk about your business and its benefits. You would just be speaking from your heart and be yourself. Then, you turn this into a sales letter. It is amazing how great this turns out.

I think that was a very interesting idea. You could save yourself lots of money to by doing it this way.

The Airline Industry - Wharton Style

Did not mean for a series to develop but it has. First I pointed to the Economist talking about the ills of the US aviation industry (esp customer service) and then NPR. Now a good read from Wharton called "Feel Free to Move About the Airport: Turbulence Continues to Roil the Airline Industry".

The article continues the list of horror stories for delays and customer non-service but in Wharton style tries to find the reasons (beyond Airline stupidity). Reasons discussed include:

• The hub and spoke system being at fault because it is not a scalable and small shocks at one airport effect everyone;
• Over protective bankruptcy laws making airlines inefficient;
• Simply the record demand levels;
  
• Antiquated safety rules slowing down take off and landing (such a prohibition on being within 20 miles of a plane that took off before you);
  
• The lack of an economic penalty for bad service and delays meaning then is no incentive to improve; and
• Limited access for better run and more customer focused competitors.

Agree with all of these. Thanks to Madame BOOT for sending through the article.

If you love a list of hotel sites, you'll like (and hate) TOP 100 HOTEL SITES

Found this site while surfing around. Claims to be a list of the "Top 100 Hotel Sites". List is generated using

The URL of every Hotel site was found in multiple internet searches and the amount of mentions of site's addresses is used to generate the rating. Hotel directory and travel guide. Includes information on tours attractions, restaurants, hotels reservations, travel jobs and more.

Whatever. There are some really bizarre rankings here. TripAdvisor is number one, Orbitz three, Booking.com four, Hotels.com five and Expedia six - all of which sounds find. However stuck at number two is myswitzerland.com, which undermines the whole list. Missing from the list are Wotif, HotelClub, RatesToGo, Rakuten and probably many more. Can't say either way if this is run by legitimate enthusiasts or just a link farm...and don't care. If you ignore the rankings and order, it provides a decent list a lot of the main (but also the minor) online hotel players.

Getting your forum site to perform well with AdSense

When Amit Kumar co-founded MegaGames Forum in 1998, Google Inc. was being run from a Menlo Park garage and AdSense didn’t even exist yet. Fast-forward 9 years to 2007: Amit still runs MegaGames Forum just as a hobby, but he earns enough revenue through the AdSense program to run a dedicated server and continue growing his site.

Amit wasn't so successful with AdSense right from the start. When he first started using the program in 2005, his earnings were nothing to write home about, and it was largely because he chose his ad placement, formats, and colors at random. After recently optimizing his ads, however, Amit was able to more than double his AdSense revenue and even improve the user experience on his site. Results may vary since every site is unique, but here are some tips that any forum site, large or small, can also try out to increase revenue.

1. The welcome box ad
   Many forums have a message above the fold on their pages welcoming users to the site and encouraging them to register. Placing a large (336x280) or medium (300x250) rectangle next to this message catches users’ attention right when they walk through the door (so to speak). By the way, these are our best performing ad units, and may also increase the number of site-targeted ads on your pages.
   
   
2. The forum post ad
   
   Based on previous testing, integrating ad units into your page content can improve clickthrough rate (CTR). It also provides a better online experience, since your users see relevant ads side by side with normal content. In forums, the highest visibility content is often the first post, so it makes sense to place the ads here. Again, large and medium rectangles are your best bet!
   
   
3. Blending colors and breaking down borders
   
   Colors are important for making an ad visible to the user, but they should still blend with the design of the site. Removing the borders on your ads helps even more with this concept of blending. Don’t worry -- even with a well-blended implementation, the 'Ads by Google' label keeps your users from confusing ads with content.
   

Bonus tip: Improve ad relevance with section targeting

With forums, the first post often contains the most relevant content on the page. By using the section targeting feature to emphasize this content, you can potentially increase CTR with better targeted ads. Visit this 'section targeting' link we mention for instructions.

If you decide to try out these tips, we’d love to hear about your success.

Posted by Magnus Yang - AdSense Optimization Team

Decision Points and Data Models

The "Holy Grail" of BPM is to provide tools that "real" business people can use to automate their own business processes. This is really hard to do, in part because the tools are created by programmers (like me) and programmers don't generally think the same way that "real" business people do.

Most BPM tools operate on the principal that "drawing" is easier than writing. Draw the "flow" of the process using symbols (BPMN) rather than create a written description of the process. In my experience, "drawing" the process is a big win. It's fairly easy to teach anyone the symbols and how to "read" a process diagram.

Process diagrams are pretty much flow charts... Draw a symbol for all the tasks that may be performed and connect them with "arrows" that indicate the sequence of the tasks. If the sequence is not "fixed", then add "decision points" to the diagram to steer the process flow to the appropriate tasks.

Using standard BPMN notation decision points are drawn as a diamond shape as is shown in the following diagram:

After Task 1 is completed, a decision is made whether to perform Task 2A or to perform Task 2B, or to perform both of the tasks at the same time.

Here's where we have to depart from our "draw the process" approach: We have to resort to a written description of how to make the decision... something like:

• "If the amount is greater than $50,000, then do Task 2A."
• "If the amount is less than $50,000, then do Task 2B"
• "If the amount is exactly $50,000, then do Task 2A and Task 2B"

Surprisingly (to a programmer) "real" business people can have a lot of problems coming up with these statements. Many seemingly simple decisions may involve a lot of variables, a lot of nuance, and a fair amount of "gut feel". Ambiguity is a reality for business people, but it drives programmers nuts.

Not surprisingly, this is the point where BPM tools begin to be difficult for "real" business people. Tools can help, but resolving ambiguity is never easy... and the process definitions must be precise.


Once the hurdle of ambiguity has been cleared, the next hurdle is to identify the specific process variables that impact the decision. Programmers who build the BPM tools are masters at this sort of thing, but it's not as easy for business people.


Programmers and business people see data differently. Programmers see data as structured arrangements of elements that can have hierarchical relationships to each other. We see types and lists and maps and transforms and a host of other constructs that allow us to efficiently sort and search and organize and store data. We separate data from it's presentation to the user... the "same" data can be displayed in many different ways.


Business people generally see data as unstructured and flat... just like a spreadsheet. Data is associated with "forms". Data is information that is written on a piece of paper (or a computer screen). There is no separation between "the form" that is filled out and the data fields on the form. If a value, perhaps a person's zip code, is needed on another form, then it is copied from one form to the other.


In a BPM tool, when the business person is asked to "write down" how a decision is made, they're usually forced to use the programmer's view of data, not their own.


For example, let's assume that a decision involves a process variable called "LoanApplication" that has a field named "Amount". In most BPM tools, the business person would be expected to "know" the data model:


Condition for executing Task2A: LoanApplication.Amount >= 50,000

Condition for executing Task2B: LoanApplication.Amount <= 50,000


This example is not too bad, since the data model is fairly flat... but what if we get a bit more complicated? Suppose the information is in a nested structure in a list. Suppose that we have multiple Applicants and each Applicant has multiple Loan Applications. Our relatively simple statements become something like the following:


Condition for executing Task2A: ApplicantList[i].LoanApplication[j].Amount >= 50,000

Condition for executing Task2B: ApplicantList[i].LoanApplication[j].Amount <= 50,000


I've had business clients go into brain-lock when I show them something like this... I know that's hard for those of you out there with programming backgrounds to believe this, but it's a very common reaction.


What's generally missing from Process Design tools is a "conversational" method for discovering what the process variables are. Many processes involve a large amount of data, but in most instances the flow of the process is determined by a very small subset of the data. It's a needle in a haystack problem... Out of that mound of information, what really effects the flow of the process?


When a business person is drawing a process and comes to a decision point, they have a general idea what "variables"are necessary to make the decision.

What's needed is a "map" between the business person's view of the variable, and the programmer's implementation of the variable.


The trick is to take the business person's general knowledge about the process variables and work backwards to find out where each "variable" actually originates. In which steps of the process could a variable be created? In which steps of the process could that variable be changed? If you can work back and figure out "where" in the process a specific variable came from, then you have a much better chance of presenting the variable to a business person in a recognizable manner.

Customer reactions to the latest Google Earth Enterprise

Posted by David Bercovich, Product Marketing Manager

We launched the latest version of Google Earth Enterprise today, with a number of new features, including the ability to display enterprise search results (from say, the Google Search Appliance) on the globe inside Google Earth. You can read all about it on the Google geo blog.

We're very excited to enable customers to easily publish Google Earth Enterprise datasets in a browser, so that employees across the organization can leverage the power of Google Earth. I thought I'd share a little about what our customers are saying:

• Dell is pleased to take advantage of the new features of Google Earth Enterprise for both marketing and customer support. By visualizing global website traffic at www.dell.com in Google Earth, we are building a stronger sense of community with our internal and external partners through awareness and better visibility around traffic trends and patterns. In addition, our global Enterprise Command Center gains a global view of customer activity at a glance, ensuring optimum responsiveness for customers with Enterprise Silver, Gold and Platinum Plus support. Google Earth gives us the intuitive yet powerful interface to critical business information that we need to manage effectively in today's fast paced business environment.

- Jamie Wills, vice president of sales and marketing systems, Dell

• Norsk Hydro welcomes Google Earth Enterprise as an innovative tool for our global exploration efforts. With Google Earth's intuitive 3D geo-browsing experience, researchers can visualize data more effectively, allowing us to explore areas of interest more efficiently than ever. Deployed in our Research Centre in Bergen, Norway, the Google Earth Enterprise system is used to synthesize large quantities of global data including high resolution imagery and terrain models and dozens of vector layers that are relevant to Hydro's interests. It's an eye opening experience to see years of accumulated geological and geophysical data appear with just a few clicks.

- Ole Martinsen, Head of Exploration Research, Norsk Hydro

• Google Earth Enterprise enhances our ability to identify, track and update critical infrastructure throughout Alabama. Our Virtual Alabama information sharing database is anchored by Google Earth Enterprise. The incorporation of Google Earth Enterprise into the Virtual Alabama model will dramatically improve the speed and accessibility of Virtual Alabama to our user population.

- Jim Walker, Homeland Security Director, State of Alabama

We'd love to hear how Google Earth Enterprise is helping your business benefit from geographic information, so please let us know.

what is an adams apple? kids info

You're at the high school baseball game with your friends, and you see your big brother's friend Justin in the dugout drinking from a water bottle. With every sip he takes, a big bump moves up and down on the front of his neck.

The boys your age don't have bumps like that, you think to yourself. And come to think of it, neither do any of the girls you know, no matter how old they are. What's going on here?

When kids hit puberty, their bodies and minds go through tons of changes. One change that every kid can count on is lots of body parts growing and changing shape. Almost every part gets in on the growing action, including the larynx (say: lar-inks).

Another name for the larynx is the voice box, and it's in the throat. The larynx is what gives you your voice, whether you're talking, laughing, whispering, singing, or screaming! You can find your larynx by touching the front of your throat and humming. When you feel vibrations under your fingers, you've found it!

When the larynx grows larger during puberty, it sticks out at the front of the throat. This is what's called an Adam's apple. Everyone's larynx grows during puberty, but a girl's larynx doesn't grow as much as a boy's does. That's why boys have Adam's apples. Most girls don't have Adam's apples, but some do. It's no big deal either way.

But why is it called an Adam's apple? If you think it's called that after the story of the Garden of Eden where Adam ate a piece of the forbidden fruit that got stuck in his throat, you're right. An Adam's apple sometimes looks like a small, rounded apple just under the skin in the front of the throat.

This larger larynx also gives boys deeper voices. Actually, girls' voices get a little bit deeper as their larynxes get larger, too. But because boys' larynxes grow so much more, it makes their voices deeper than girls' voices.

The larynx doesn't grow to its new size overnight, though. If you've ever heard a teenage boy's voice sound squeaky, you've heard a larynx trying to get adjusted to its new size!

pani puri recipe - I love it!

this is my favourite road side delight... easy to prepare at home but i prefer it out on the road, in a group, with either friends or relatives.its everywhere around the corner of India and two most famous places are mumbai and Calcutta.its not eaten to satisfy our pangs of hunger but does give satisfaction when you crave for mouth watering savoury stuffs... its spicy,tangy and stingy taste refreshes best and you wont find any alternative... trust me.when your minds craves it, you must have it! so do i find any other soul who matches my mind??

'Pani puri'also commonly called 'Gol gappas' by Indians can be bought from Indian supermarkets or chaat shops in bags ready to be filled. If pani puri masala is not available, mix 1/4 tsp chilli powderr, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp kala namak, 1 tbsp tamarind pulp & a pinch of salt.

Pani puri recipe Ingredients

250g Pani Puri or gol gappa
125g black chickpeas
100g steamed bean sprouts (lentils should just begin to sprout) - optional
125g potatoes, boiled and coarsely mashed
1 bunch of mint leaves
1/2 bunch of coriander leaves
salt to taste
1/4 tsp chilli powder
6 tbsp pani poori masala
mint chutney
tamarind chutney


Method

Grind the mint and coriander leaves into a paste.
Mix pani puri masala in 2 litres of cold water. Add mint and coriander paste and the ice cubes.

Wash chick peas and soak overnight. Next day, boil in a pan or pressure cook with water and salt, until soft. Drain and keep aside.

Add salt, chilli powder to the potatoes and mix in the chick peas and the bean sprouts, if using. Make a hole on one side in each gol gappa, and fill it with a teaspoon of the potato mixture.

Top with a little mint and tamarind chutney. To eat, dip each gol gappa into the prepared water and eat.

celebs and their make up

i wonder how do celebs get away with glowing skin, how do they manage to look perfect even after exposure to the sun or even in the winters, when our skin actually tends to feel pale.what are the secrets? here are some tips revealed by our celeb make up artists...

below are some beauty secrets:

Sweat free!
Walking the red carpet in the hot L.A. sun is not just a challenge for celebrities; makeup artists need to focus on sweat-proof makeup for the heat, humidity, and scrutiny of all those flashbulbs! Greasy skin does not look pretty in pictures or in real life. If you want to have skin as smooth and satiny matte as your favorite celeb, then a good product to have on hand before you apply your foundation is a mattifying gel.Origins Zero Oil ($10) has been around for more than 10 years,blotting out unwanted oil on celebrities everywhere. Apply it under or over makeup to instantly matte out any shiny areas on your skin like in your t-zone. Put it all over if you know you are going to be out in the heat, and have a tendency to glisten.

J. Lo's Glow

That flowing hair, that gorgeous face, that toned body—but it’s her skin that is the real attention grabber. JLo simply glows. How does she get that luminescent look? Other than that fact that her skin is in amazing shape, a foundation mixed with a liquid highlighter will give you that “glow from within.” But a powder that has light reflective pigment in it will definitely give an airbrushed quality, too. It’s the illusion of perfect looking skin.

After you apply your foundation, set it with a loose powder like Prescriptives Magic Liquid Powder ($35), which is meant to diffuse the light, making your skin look flawless. Lines, wrinkles, and pores are less visible. You don’t have to worry about this powder looking too cakey because it’s actually 70 percent water. Even if perfect skin is just an illusion, it’s great that everyone can get a little bit of J. Lo’s glow

Looking Fresh After Flying
How do celebs look so fresh after flying? In order to jet set like a pro, there are a few easy essentials you need to carry with you.


You need to moisturize while on the flight, so bring your daily moisturizer, preferably one without an SPF this time, because you are going to be reapplying it at least twice. Drink a lot of water, which will keep you from getting dehydrated. The only real makeup you should start with when you get on the flight is mascara. Then, right before you get off the plane, tap a little cream blush on the cheeks and blend it with your fingers. Take a foundation stick and use it to quickly cover up uneven skin around the nose area and under the eyes. Lastly, swipe on a coat of rosy lip gloss, and you are ready to de-board!

The True Cost of Hair & Makeup
Having hair and makeup professionals at your beck and call is not cheap. Wouldn’t everyone love to have someone artfully apply their makeup each morning? But alas, only people with unlimited means can afford to have help on hand to keep them beautiful at all times. So what does a makeup artist cost a celebrity?

Makeup artists and other style makers are usually represented by an agent who gets them work with celebrity clients. The Wall Group is a popular agency that has a pool of talented artists, including famous makeup artist for Dior, Patti Dubroff. Art & Commerce also represents a number of prominent makeup artists, like Gucci Westman Neville (Lancôme’s artistic director) and Tom Pecheaux (creative director of Shiseido). More established makeup artists can earn quite a high rate starting at around $1000 a day, and going up depending on who they are working on. When travel is involved, that gets taken care of by the celebrities or the studios.

Celebrity Skin Wellness
Celebrities can afford to have top estheticians and dermatologists tending to their skin. Anyone with the right skin care routine can have a beautiful complexion. You have to remember that any makeup is only going to look as good as your skin does. Makeup on top of skin that isn't cared for correctly is going to fall into pores, lines, and build up on dry skin.

Get your skin in peak condition by using the right cleanser for your skin type. Cleanse twice a day. Moisturizer containing an SPF for day will help protect your skin for the future. To get rid of dead skin cells and maintain a clearer, brighter complexion, you need to exfoliate. This will help you prep your skin for your makeup. Exfoliate no more than three times a week because any more than that just strips away your skin. If you can see a skincare specialist like Hollywood’s Best Kept Secret, Kate Somerville, do it. She has a world-renowned “medi-skin” clinic in Los Angeles, and takes time to analyze each client's unique skin care needs in the hopes of achieving “total skin wellness.”

Know Your Best Feature
Stars are used to makeup artists and stylists determining how to make them look the best they possibly can. In the beginning of practically any interview with a celebrity, the reporter inevitably describes the celebrity’s beauty with or (usually) without makeup. A writer once described Salma Hayek’s skin as “having no pores”. Well, that’s just crazy!

Stars do have a way of finding their best features with the help of a good a makeup artist. They understand that flaws can be deflected by focusing on other better features. For example, if someone has thin lips, then they can play up the eyes, and take the focus away from their lips. Or, show off killer cheekbones with a highlighting powder dusted along them to make them pop. Take a look at your face in the mirror. What do you like best about your features? What do you want to highlight and showoff? Don’t be afraid to say what you think is beautiful about you and use it to your advantage!

Remove Your Makeup
When actors have been in heavy makeup on the set all day or at a red carpet event, they understand the importance of taking it all off. They can’t wait to get their skin clean because they know the secret to having great looking skin in the morning is removing all that makeup at night. If you leave it on overnight, it can clog your pores causing all kinds of breakouts, blackheads, and uneven skin tone. Plus, your skin renews itself at night and can’t effectively do that if it’s covered in old makeup.

You need two separate products to remove your makeup—a facial cleanser best for your skin type that has a makeup solvent in it, and, if you wear eye makeup, an eye makeup remover to help remove stubborn mascara, eyeliner, and leftover shadow. You don’t want to scrub your eye area with your regular cleanser, it’s too delicate. Regular facial cleanser just won’t remove all traces of eye makeup. The holy grail of eye makeup removers is Lancôme’s Bi-Facil ($24). This dual-phase liquid easily removes every last bit of eye makeup and won’t irritate the eye area. Then, you’re ready to go get your beauty sleep, which is also one of those essentials that everyone needs!

i now know the secrets! it isnt that easy after all.comments anyone?

The Internet in a tube map

Japanese based design agency iA have put out what they call a "Web Trend Map". Using the eye catching mechanism of a tube/subway map they try to visually track the "200 most successful websites on the web, ordered by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective". Can't see how this improves your thinking or planning but sure is interesting to look at and worth a few minutes of your time. As it comes out of Japan it has a much more global feel than any other trend documents that I have seen. Travel companies Expedia and Rakuten get a mention. Unclear why Rakuten gets a mention but the equally large Booking.com and Hotels.com do not but who cares as it is fun to look at anyway.

Relationship Building and Your Home Based Business

Hope everyone is having a great week so far.

This is a continuation on business building strategies that can make a powerful difference in your home business based on a conference called I heard a few weeks ago.

Tip #4 Make sure you are with a team or company with a good understanding of marketing. This takes knowing people who are savvy and have expertise in many areas. Marketing is much more than simply selling something your home business has to offer.

The wrong way to market is using high pressure sales techniques since 90% of the population hates this approach. The right way is to build relationships. People have to see that you are someone who will not pressure them in anyway; that you like taking the time to talk to them, and have no agenda.

When they see how genuine you are, it will be greatly appreciated. Eventually, they will trust you and began to ask questions about what you do. They will be open to your testimonial and ready to listen to what you have to say because that relationship has been built.

What a powerful testimony on how just showing someone you care can make a big difference in your home-based business.

Got SEO or Search Engine Optimization

By Luis Galarza - Affiliate Marketing Beginners Training Guide Blog

Do You Really Need To Focus On SEO or Search Engine Optimization? Why This Should Matter To You?

You need to know that in Internet marketing the two main things that can insure online business success is highly targeted web traffic and sales conversions, and this is the exact reason why seo or search engine marketing is so important for any one who trying to build a real online based business.

Click on the image above (pic by Eyetool) to make the picture larger and see what the Golden Triangle, which is the area of a web site that most Internet users pay attention to. Here what Jon Rognerud from Entrepreneurs Mag SEO blog have to said about this:

Once a search engine visitor types a query into the search box and receives results, findings have shown that:

• Natural Search receives 250% more traffic than the paid search.
• Natural search converts 30% higher than PPC
• 1st Page on SERPs gets at least 80% of the clicks
• 2nd page on SERPs gets much less at about 10% of the clicks

• 
  

Click here to read Jon post...

If you see the heatmap very closed you will notice that the some people does random click or mouse movements but all around the Golden Triangle, meaning that all your important stuff should be right on that area.

Now those numbers up there are very impressive... And are only telling you how crucial is to apply "white hat" seo or search engine optimization techniques for your site if you want to get the most traffic for free, and better sales conversions.

To learn more about how to have your own seo Lab working for you click here.

To your success,

Luis Galarza, Internet Marketing Consultant


About Author: Luis Galarza is a respectable Internet Marketing and Small Business Consultant in the area of Leominster and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Also, he had teach 100's of entrepreneurs how to make money online without a their own product. For more information about his Free Affiliate Marketing Course.

A proud member of

The International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs
.

News: Cheap Google Search Technology For Small Business

By Luis Galarza - Affiliate Marketing Beginners Training Guide Blog

Google Search Technology Now Available With A Cheaper Price Tag For Small Businesses!

As you know Google has been offering their search technology applainces called Google Mini for midium and large enterprises for a few years, but the price was just to high for small business to implement on their company sites. Now looks like Google wants to let you know that they want your business, that's why they just made a version of their enterprise search technology with an afforable price tag for small firms with websites.

The price for the search technology is only $100 here is what Entrepreneur Magazine blog have to said:

Good news: This week Google announced the “Custom Search Business Edition” of their search technology, with a price tag of only 100 bucks for up to 5,000 pages (other pricing models exist). You can be up and running within the hour, and with no hosting nightmares or additional, hidden costs. The Google Co-Op program requires a Google account, but it’s easy to sign up and you probably already have an email account with them.

“Millions of businesses have a web presence but offer users no ability to search their site,” said Dave Girouard, vice president and general manager, Google Enterprise.

There some good features and benefits that can improve website usuability for any small business, check Entrepreneurs SEO blog post about Google Search for a list of features and benefits. I think this is great news for many webmasters that had been looking for such a tool to improve their firm's web site.

To learn proven online marketing strategies to promote your business on the Internet click here.

To your success,

Luis Galarza, Internet Marketing Consultant


About Author: Luis Galarza is a respectable Internet Marketing and Small Business Consultant in the area of Leominster and Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Also, he had teach 100's of entrepreneurs how to make money online without a their own product. For more information about his Free Affiliate Marketing Course.

A proud member of

The International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs
.