Posts Tagged ‘Simple’

How Twitter Works And How It Can Help Your Business. Simple Guide To Using Twitter For Business

Friday, May 14th, 2010

If youâ??re reading this, itâ??s probably because you are trying to know what the huge deal is about Twitter. And youâ??re probably wondering, “Can Twitter really help my business?”   The answer is, “very much so!”

But, what is Twitter again?Twitter, like Facebook, started life as a tool for college students. Allowing only 140 characters per message, a “Peep” was used to update acquaintances and family in a casual way via the tagline “What are you doing?”   It has since evolved, and, what at first seemed to be about as far away from the world of business as it can be, is now considered a “must have” marketing tool for any serious business, large or small.  Hereâ??s a touch you need to know.  Each day 5 to 10 thousand new people join Twitter, and it currently has around 5 million users, according to the State of the Twittersphere report. Thatâ??s a lot of opportunity waiting for your business!How it works:â?¢Â Â Â  Twitter allows you to post fleeting updates (AKA Tweets) as evenly as you want; they are limited to 140 characters. â?¢Â Â Â  Follow other users, and youâ??ll be able to read their tweets. â?¢Â Â Â  When they follow you, theyâ??ll read your tweets.  â?¢Â Â Â  A business should follow everyone who is following them, because when they follow you, it means that they want to engage in a conversation.  This is an opportunity to make a connection with your existing or prospective customer.  Can you see the potential yet? Here are a few more reasons why you need Twitter for your business:1.    Your message can reach hundreds and thousands of people instantly, so you wonâ??t have to chase after customers.  They will find youâ??for free.2.    You can grow your reputation as an expert by offering advice and/or referring people to appealing business-related articles.  As long as you go simple on the self-promotion, people will come to trust your advice and will be more open to visiting your website to find out more about you and your business.3.    You can provide coupons and special offers in a topic of seconds with a Peep.  When it comes down to it, Twitter provides tiny snapshots of what’s going on in your business world, all day, every day. The limited number of characters per Peep means there is no over-thinking or having to craft everything perfectly. It’s about having relaxed conversations with your customers, your potential clients, and your peers in a no-pressure environment.What could be more useful to your business than that?Lastly, here are some of our favorite Twitter related air force, which makes tweeting even more fun:â?¢Â Â Â  Twitpic.com lets you share photos on Twitter.â?¢Â Â Â  Cheaptweet.com scans Twitter for the best deals, coupons and sales that people are tweeting about.â?¢Â Â Â  Twitterholic.com gathers data and updates a list of the most standard twitter users. Whoâ??s the most standard Twitter user? Our new head with 346,422 followers.â?¢Â Â Â  Crazybob.org searches your friend graph and picks out people who you may like to follow.Pleased tweeting! And you can, of course, follow us on Twitter . Looking forward to your Tweets!  :)

Perez-Simons Content Solutions, provides SEO (search engine optimization), Internet marketing, website design, and website translations in the Greensboro / High Point / Winston Salem area.

Really Simple Syndication (rss)

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Reckon of it as a distributable “What’s New” for your site. Originated by UserLand in 1997 and subsequently used by Netscape to fill channels for Netcenter, RSS has evolved into a standard means of sharing content between sites. RSS solves myriad problems webmasters commonly face, such as increasing traffic, and gathering and distributing news. RSS can also be the basis for bonus content distribution air force.

RSS is the up-to-the-minute thing in Web communication. It powers many standard applications such as weblogs, knowledge management networks, and news syndication.

Weblogging, a term coined by Jorn Barger in December 1997, is one of the most standard and quick growing applications of RSS. A blog is a name’s personal dated ‘log’ frequently updated with new information about a particular subject or range of subjects.RSS is varying the world of publishing news and searching for news. RSS File Format :

RSS defines an XML grammar (a set of HTML-like tags) for sharing news. Each RSS text file contains both static information about your site, plus dynamic information about your new tales, all surrounded by matching start and end tags.

Each tale is certain by an tag, which contains a headline TITLE, URL, and DESCRIPTION. Here’s an example: RSS Contains :

* Blogs Feed

Many blogs are catalogued in an RSS feed, with each blog entry summarized as a feed item. This makes it simple for visitors to scan blog posts for bits and pieces of interest.

* Article Feed

Articles are evenly placed into feeds to alert readers when new articles and content are available. The feed entry is typically an article summary or introduction. Readers can then ascertain if the article is of interest and read further.

* Forum Feed

Many forums now have add-ons that allow participants to receive forum posts via RSS. The RSS feeds evenly will show the newest discussion topics; if users are interested they simply click to penetrate the forum to participate in the discussion. As the topic is updated they will see new entries in the RSS feed.

* Schedule Feed

Schools, clubs and organizations will evenly use feeds to communicate meeting times, places and events that might be occurring. The RSS feeds are evenly used to publicize events, say the community of schedule changes or meeting agendas.

* Discounts / Specials Feed

Retail and online stores have begun using RSS feeds to deliver their newest specials and discounted offers. Some online retailers have taken this a step further, allowing user to make their own feeds based on keywords or phrases.

RSS feeds can be used by realtors to communicate the time and place for open houses, announce new property listings or promote decreased mortgage rates. Content feeds can also be used by universities to communicate sports scores or event schedules. Computer service professionals can make feeds to say clients of potential security breaches, virus risks or outbreaks. Ultimately, RSS is molded to meet the communication needs of many sectors. Consider how RSS can benefit your business and supplement your communication needs.

Get High Pagerank Backlinks Free, It’s Simple – Find Out How, By Reading This

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

To get a high page rank it all starts with the building of the back between system, that you want to use with your website. To get high pagerank backlinks for free, its simple make your website the most eye grabbing and standard as you possible can. This will help you maintain your website and also help you maintain a excellent cash flow from running your website.

The best way to get your website well known in the search engines is to have a excellent back between tool. Excellent website back between tools will get your website more known to the public eye. A well of back between tool is called Directory Bot, it submits many web directories to the world wide web.

If you send out directories, the benefit is back links, you will receive high page ranks on Google, excellent back links and it helps with giving your website the popularity boost it deserves. This program submits directories for you, so you don’t have to manually.

Google is varying the way you get a high page rank from them. You need a significant amount of back links to your website. You need high feature back links to your website that are of no cost.

Free back links or back links, are one solution to helping you sell your product that you might be selling on your website. If you want people to start finding your product in search engines more, you’ll need to get directory bot and start submissions straight away.

To get a excellent back between system built up and getting #1 on the page ranking, its hard and it requires hard work and determination. With those two efforts, you can be successful in making a excellent back between system for you to make some cash from.

To get high back link feature you need to start looking at websites that are in the top page of the Google page rankings. Any website that places a url link back to your website on theirs, is considered a back link to you. The more of these you get the better off your page ranking will be and the more attention your website will get.

Hopefully now you know what to do when looking for back between programs, or back link feature. Hopefully you know what you’re looking for to now when looking for free back links.

RSS(Real Simple Syndication)– EXPLAINED In Plain English

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

RSS(Real Simple Syndication) is the talk around the net these days because of its many benefits.

I’m sure you’ve expected several emails(like I have) telling you to jump on the “RSS” band wagon and that it’s the answer to all your Internet and Email marketing woe’s because of its syndication capabilities.

With RSS Directories and Search Engines coming into the mix as well these days for RSS feeds you really have to choose whether or not you really want it get in on the “RSS” craze.

Now, previous to I get to far ahead of myself here I want to make sure you know exactly what RSS “IS” and WHY it’s becoming such an elemental tool for Your online business and other businesses around the world.

I’ve expected a lot of pointer from people just early out online and/or other webmasters who are not reasonably sure asking… “what is “RSS” in Plain English and do I need it for my online business?”.

I wrote an article earlier this year stating the “10 MOST Powerful Reasons WHY You Should Be Using RSS”, but I guess I clearly didn’t clarify what “RSS” IS which left the readers kind of stumped.

If you wish to read that article as well I’ve provided the link not more than.

http://www.internetwondersezine.com/article_15.html

With that said, lets ‘Now’ define what RSS(Real Simple Syndication) “IS” in plain english for those of you who are NEW to it and for those of you who are still a small bit confused about it and its uses.

RSS is by definition — an acronym for “Really Simple Syndication” or “Rich Site Summary”, and the .XML extension is the format used for distributing YOUR news headlines via the Web, which is known as “Syndication”.

“Syndication” is where the TRUE power of RSS is unleashed, getting your message or information across the web in an INSTANT to websites, your subscribers and/or readers.

Now, to place this in plain english, “RSS” is simply a technology that distributes YOUR information(whatever it might be — ex. Articles, Special Offers, Product Reviews, Resource Announcements) by syndicating it across the net.

It’s that simple.

It doesn’t have to get any more complex then that.

The more websites, subscribers and/or readers that opt-in to your RSS feeds, the more FREE targeted TRAFFIC you’ll receive from their websites.

How can you take advantage of this NEW technology… Early Today?

Set up a BLOG!

Blog’s are fantastic because they are “RSS” ready.

If you don’t know what a “BLOG” is here’s a link to a further earlier article I wrote that clarifies BLOGS in full detail since the nature of this article is to make sure you know what “RSS” IS.

Here’s the link:http://www.internetwondersezine.com/article_12.html

You can set-up a Free BLOG account through Blogger.com — http://www.blogger.com — and start posting to it within minutes.

All you have to supply is the ‘Content’.

Well, there you have it, “RSS(Real Simple Syndication)– EXPLAINED In Plain English”.

I truly hope this article cleared up any confusion you might of had about “RSS” and will help you take that next step to deciding whether or not “RSS” is for You and your business.

My final thoughts are, don’t be worried to do a small research, you’ll be amazed at what you might find if you spend a small looking for it on the net.

How to Earn Money From Blogging – The Simple Guide

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Blogging is one of the ways to earn cash online. Most people like to learn the best way to blog and be able to earn cash from it. Blogs are an extraordinary method to make cash on the internet, mainly when you are early out as a newbie. It requires no technical experience and they are simply to receive web traffic unlike most usual websites. When you learn the best ways to blog you are going to make lot cash from it, same as any blog you build. In order to get the best out of it all you need to perform a thorough research to conclude on the topic you wish to blog about.Promoters refer to it as “finding a niche”. A niche is simply the subject of your blog. It may be about reviews, harvest like TV, iPod, software, fishing, sports, hunting etc. These are some of the category you are likely to make cash from. Stuffs that will interest people, meaning they are going to read it and like it, and also come back or even subscribe to your upcoming posts. Pun stuffs or crazy stuffs like how pun your cat is or how crazy your brother is are cool, even though people are going to read it but it isn’t gonna make you lots of cash. The reason is because this category of readers is not searching for anything to buy.What you require is to learn to blog in a method which will bring audience searching for the niche of your blog and are ready to pay for it. When you’ve come up with the niche of your choice, then you can start with the creation of your blog.Not more than are three preferences you can choice from when thinking of the kind of blog you need.-    Option of obtaining a free blog like blogger or Wordpress-    Option of making your own blog from scratch-    Option of purchasing an by now made blog or question for somebody to make it for youIt is right that free is cool in some instance. The terrible side of a free blog is that you can’t use what you didn’t pay for. You won’t have many options like: ability to edit your blog to your own taste. That means you can’t make your blog appear the way you need it, and it won’t be very qualified.If you have no cash for a paid blog, you can start off with a free one. Use free blog like blogger.com. Simply buy a domain, find a hosting company that gives you a service like Fantastico. Fantastico is a set of programs which comes with varieties of harvest, with it you can set up your own blog on your web server using just a few clicks, search for a template, edit it to your taste (that is you add your kind of colors, graphics and revenue programs to earn cash with it and then start blogging. You also have the option of purchasing a blog which has by now been produced and made available for sale.When your blog is ready, there are some best options which you can use to earn cash using it.-    AdSense-    Affiliate programsAdSense is simply a program own by Google which displays matching ads on your blog based on the keywords you use on your blog. You earn cash on any click on the ads placed by Google on your blog and also for impressions.Affiliate programs are a way of selling the harvest of others and when you make a sale you get paid. Assuming you produced a blog about fishing, you may find some affiliate programs related harvest which pertain to fishing. Place it on your blog and wait for sales. Every week try to write a small article about fishing related stuffs to make your blog content fresh and unique.

Blogging to the Bank is a site that unveils techniques which you can use to earn a lot of cash from blogging. You can earn up to a thousand buck from applying the secrets offered by them. You can find more about it by visiting http://modospot.com/review/bloggingtothebank.html

Update Your Websites Content ‘Automatically’ 24/7 Using RSS(Real Simple Syndication) and RSS Feeds

Friday, February 19th, 2010

RSS(Real Simple Syndication) is the newest form of content syndication to hit the Internet and is usually becoming the best known way online to deliver fresh targeted content to your website(s) to whatever audience you’re targeting 24/7/365.

Now for those of you who aren’t reasonably up to speed on “RSS” here’s the basic definition — RSS is an acronym for “Real Simple Syndication” or “Rich Site Summary”, and the .XML extension is the format used for distributing your news headlines via the Web, which is known as “Syndication”.

“Syndication” is where the TRUE power of RSS is unleashed, getting your message or information across the web in an INSTANT to websites, your subscribers and/or readers.

Why is this such Excellent News for website owners who publish content on a Daily or Weekly basis for there audiences?

Simple.

By having “RSS” plugged into your website with targeted RSS feeds you’ll now have an endless supply of Fresh targeted content delivered to your website for your visitors and/or subscribers 24/7/365 without you ever having to lift a finger.

Just imagine how much time what would save you and how it would allow you to focus on other vital tasks related to your business.

Time is a touch we are permanently fighting for and since web surfers primarily come online in search of ‘Information’ it can be a very time consuming ordeal to deal with on a Daily or Weekly basis.

The other fantastic thing about “RSS” is it’ll keep the ‘Search Engine Spiders’ coming back more frequently since “RSS” involuntarily updates your selected feeds ‘Daily’ with Fresh targeted content.

And if you know anything about Search Engines then you’ll know that they LOVE fresh content to digest.

Now that you have a general thought of what “RSS” can do for you and your website(s), your probably wondering how you can take advantage of this right now and where to find these ever so valuable ‘RSS Feeds’.

The answer is simple — ‘Article Directories’.

Now, not all ‘Article Directories’ have adopted “RSS” at this point But they will soon catch on once they see the value RSS offers there publishers(you) and readers.

Not more than I have listed a few ‘Article Directories’ offering RSS feeds in every category under the sun for you to choose from.

Article99.comhttp://www.article99.com/rss-feeds/

GoArticles.comhttp://www.goarticles.com/rss-feeds.html

EzineArticles.comhttp://www.ezinearticles.com/rss/

Now, all you need to get your hands on(if you don’t by now) is a “RSS Reader Script” and have it installed on your server so that you can show the ‘RSS Feeds’ on your website(s).

All you have to do is a simple search on Google using the keyword “RSS Reader Script”.

Once you’ve done all that and updated your website(s) pages with your RSS code, you can now just sit back, relax and let RSS(Real Simple Syndication) do all the work for you 24/7/365 while you go focus on other vital tasks.

One Dead Simple Way to Make MAJOR Money (Without Having to Write a Word!) From Blogging

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Are you struggling to come up with content for your blog? You obviously aren’t the only one! In the surveys and consultations I’ve done with my own clients and readers, the largest obstacle that most people need to hurdle, when it comes to making cash with a blog is content creation. Coming up with material to write and post. And then learning how to monetize that content once it’s live.

The excellent news?

I know some SUPER successful (as in 7 figure successful..:-) bloggers who not only despise to write, they are probably a total lot LESS literate than you! But where they may lack in literary genius, they make up for in ingenuity, a FAR more useful resource for a blogger to master, even when you have a Shakespearean command of the English language like myself.

Let’s take a super simple, yet really insightful look at how you can make LOADS of blog content without having to really “write” any of it yourself.

Filed Under: White Hat AutoBlogging Solutions

Most people look at “auto-blogs” as spam. Truthfully? Most are. But they certainly don’t need to be…..and many people have made a MINT using re-purposed content from around the web that’s perfectly “white hat” (or ethically republished) and involuntarily updated on a daily basis to boot. The key? It’s in the content sources you select to republish. If you are only looking for RSS feeds, for example, you’re going to be publishing “splogs” or spammy blogs. But if you’re smart? You can republish data feeds or product catalogs. You can augment those with full ARTICLES from article directories that encourage distribution of their content. You can republish videos from any number of standard video sharing sites. You can turn TEXT articles into video these days as well…..with incredible technology that wasn’t available to the “masses” even a year or two ago.

The bottom line?

There are so many POWERFUL ways to re-publish, re purpose and re-distribute QUALITY content these days, that if you’re smart, savoir-faire and a bit capable, you can TRULY make an auto publishing empire in just a few fleeting months, even if you never write a word!

Update on RSS – Really Simple Syndication

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Updates on RSS Directories

RSS directories are standard these days. RSS is usually used initially by news sites to allow others to syndicate their news tales. Now, a lot of other websites are using RSS. It is being used in flagging new forum headlines, auction listings, sales listings and others.

The meaning of RSS is really not clear. RSS may or may not be an acronym, really. RSS may stand for Really Simple Syndication. But others say its Rich Site Summary and sometimes Rich Syndication Standard. The noted creator of RSS directory would be Netscape. It was released sometime in Development 1999. The included a UserLand application which is called scripting news. Netscape stopped developing it, but UserLand continued doing so. A further company, RSS-DEV Working Group also released their own version.

RSS directories are sites that collate all RSS links and place them in different categories for other applications to use. This is similar to webhosting, only instead of web pages, they contain RSS links. These links will pop out on the website and when you click it, you will be directed to the main source of the link.

RSS poses a lot of uses for those who like to use the Internet for marketing or commerce. Here are the things you can do with it:

Make links from their website to yours. If you are selling or promoting a touch, web traffic is vital. The more RSS directory you upload, the more chances you have people seeing those and checking your site out. And if they have customized their sites with your RSS feeds, then they would get updated listings from your site to theirs involuntarily.

Collating analysis. If you have a brand and you? like to know how your competitor is doing, you may use RSS to see what they have so far. Get a directory of their product or service so you.l know first hand what they have come out with. With the data gathered you now can plot on how you can counter them.

Tracking your own progress. If you can check out your competitor, of course you like to check out too how your business or product is going too. With an RSS directory of your own, you can know how many people are interested in what you are selling or offering.

Increases productivity. Putting up RSS directories, let say for newsletters, adds efficiency to your company. If you use RSS for sending out newsletters instead of mailing them to recipients, you? eliminate the possibility of your letter being classified as spam by users, or being sent in a closed mail account.

Increases efficiency.There are a lot of websites or news articles that could be beneficial to your brand or company. At times, you like to add them to your site. Without the use of RSS, you have to copy the entire thing down and note where you got it. If you use RSS, then the headline and part of the tale shows up on your site. And this is an automatic process now. If you use RSS, you just include the directory and involuntarily, the headline appears without you doing much.

Posting RSS directories could cost you some. But the benefits override it. Some sites even place forward free RSS directory posting. If you are just early up, you may like to check those out. The more RSS directory you have up, the more the possibility that you are sending out information to the people interested in your goods. Reason behind is that people will only get the RSS feeds that they are interested in. If they get yours, they sure are the target market.

Disseminating information online has become simpler with RSS. The technology provided a cost-effectual way of transferring facts and figures out. Utilizing it would certainly add up to your marketing approach. With it, you have an avenue of reaching out to even more people so easily.

RSS uses XML to syndicate pages. Though that sounds a small technical, there a lot of websites that has user-friendly interface to guide in building your directory. Go ahead and place up your RSS directory up now. RSS has proven to be elemental. It has stopped to be an option; it has become a necessity.

Five Simple Steps to Twitter Optimization

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

All types of internet marketers and home based business owners are wondering how Twitter plays into Google’s search engine ranking.  The five steps listed not more than should clarity some of the common misunderstandings in addition to offers some simple pointers you can implement when optimizing your tweeting.

1. Account and Usernames

The username you choose to you should have relevance to your company or brand and your followers should be able to easily remember it since its attached to the end of your Twitter url.  Your account name shows up frankly after your username and can be the same or different.  Choose on an account name which not only promotes your company but also you as an individual and chief.

2. Bio information

There are two different ways to tackle this area.  On one hand you could include only the most keyword-rich verbiage as a means to maximize optimization.  This strategy is more obviously noticed users are only given 160 characters, but, it’s evenly less personal and down-to-earth.   By draw a distinction, other marketers choose the more personal route without the keyword stuffing.  These descriptions are evenly more effectual in relating to the reader, but, lack the potential for optimization.

3. Tweeting

The first several characters, or the “lead-in”, in any peep hold more weight in relevancy.  Several studies show that this text carries more significance to search engines since it determines the peep’s title tag.  Count on the first thirty to fourty characters influencing the “lead-in”.  Keep in mind that you need weigh the keyword density with conversational verbiage to it retains a personal touch.

4. Your “Retweetability”

Since Twitter only allows for 140 characters, its evenly hard to include your message along with the “RT” and username text in the case of retweets.  Remember that retweets will feature some of the most recent usernames who have also retweeted the message.  Viral tweets that spread like reproducing fruit flies should be no more than 120 characters to allow for several retweets.

5. Spread the word

Disperse your profile URL as usually as possible.  Common ways of doing this are writing social media articles or press releases so that people will come across your company or brand when learning about the growing industry.  Youtube videos that place forward news or instructional content are also key for spreading your twitter information as a byproduct.

Does anyone have some simple guidance for embedding a Quicktime video to a website hosted by Blogger

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

39 Ways to Place Yourself on the Web

Whether you’re interested in blogging, making music, shooting videos, publishing your fresh, or early your own social network, these fantastic air force can help–in many cases, for free.

blogging, blogger,blogspot,make cash from blog

Illustration by Mick Wiggins

The Web is not a spectator sport. Sure, you can watch videos and do countless other low-brainwave activities online, but the Web’s outlets for self-expression and creativity are boundless. In fact, the medium doesn’t come alive until you take advantage of the participatory Web–the sites and air force that can present you and your talents to the world.

blogging, blogger,blogspot,make cash from blog

Whatever your passion–making video, networking with acquaintances or colleagues, blogging, running a business, making music, or publishing a fresh–you’re bound to find a site or service that can help you pursue your goals. While many of these air force are free, others may charge from a few bucks to thousands of dollars. We’ll give you our favorites in each category. And in our companion tale, “Six Rising Stars on the New Web,” we’ll introduce you to six people who are making a living by distributing their creative efforts on the Web.

Star in Your Own Videos

blogging, blogger,blogspot,make cash from blog

The best thing about a lot of video-posting sites is that they let you earn cash based on the number of views your videos generate. And if you’re a fledgling auteur, some can help you get exposed by the entertainment industry.

Metacafe Metacafe claims over 1 million users a day. Equally vital to video creators, though, is the site’s revenue-sharing program, which pays $5 for every 1000 views, even if payments don’t arrive until your clip receives 20,000 views and an average viewer rating of 3 stars (out of 5) or higher.

RevverAnother income-sharing site is Revver, which offers a 50-50 revenue split based on views and ad clicks. You can disable the ads that run previous to your video starts. Some Revver clips play on Verizon Wireless VCast phones, which extends your opportunity for cash and exposure.

CrackleIf you’re waiting for Hollywood to learn you, Crackle can be your online casting agent. This Sony-owned site limits file uploads to 100MB, so don’t post your feature film here. Crackle’s contests place forward prizes such as pitch meetings with studio execs.

VeohSeveral innovative features distinguish Veoh, a hidden gem whose video-playback feature is a notch above that of most sites. If you have an account on Google Video, MySpace, or YouTube, Veoh involuntarily posts your clip to those sites too (you must activate this feature first). And it imposes no size limit on video uploads–a infrequency.

YouTubeIt’s no secret that YouTube has the largest audience of video viewers, so genuinely you’ll want to post there. The site’s playback feature isn’t fantastic, particularly when compared with that of Crackle and other newer sites. You won’t find a video site that’s simpler to use, but, and its Video Toolbox section provides helpful shooting and editing tips from the pros.

SpikeFormerly known as iFilm, Spike provides a platform for fledgling filmmakers. You can embed your Spike-hosted clips on personal sites, including blogs and MySpace pages. The service offers no revenue sharing, though. Your file uploads can be as large as 500MB–many sites limit you to 100MB.

JibJab is the place to submit video jokes: You’ll find everything from stand-up routines to the ever-hilarious guy getting kicked in the groin. JibJab accepts photo, audio, and text jokes too. The site’s editors choose if your bits are pun enough to post; if they’re not, well, there’s permanently YouTube.

Yahoo VideoYahoo Video lets you link clips to your blog and drive traffic to your site.

Google VideoVideos are a breeze to upload at Google Video, thanks to the service’s intuitive (and bare-bones) interface. The site provides an optional desktop uploader for files larger than 100MB. It doesn’t place forward revenue sharing, and we’d like to see more (or at least some) integration with YouTube, but Google Video’s huge-name pedigree and utter simplicity make it a excellent place to post your videos.

Be the Center of Your Social Network

If you’ve went beyond Facebook, LinkedIn, or Orkut and are ready to build your own online community, either for personal or qualified use, these sites will let you make a social network, complete with discussion forums, RSS feeds, member profiles, and other essentials. Constructing a simple social network expenditure nothing, but you’ll likely want to upgrade to the sites’ paid air force as your network gains members, or to remove the ads that show on networks you build for free.

NingThe best design tools we’ve seen for building a social network are at Ning. Organize your network’s main page by dragging a text box, forum widget, or other component into the layout window. Then select fonts, colors, background images, and other page elements. Invite acquaintances and associates by importing addresses from AOL Mail, Gmail, MSN Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, and other Web mail air force–but not from Outlook or any other desktop mail clients, unfortunately. Your finished product has a polished and qualified appearance.

A close second is Nexo, which provides a fantastic site builder that is simple enough for anyone to use. Just choose a design template, or start out with a blank page and insert your choice of more than two dozen modules, including forums, feeds, images, and polls.

KickAppsThe page-design tools at KickApps are targeted more at Web-savoir-faire developers who have built sites previous to. Getting your KickApps network to look the way you want may take time, but experienced designers will appreciate the site’s advanced tool kit.

Me.comFor people whose Web-design experience ends with their MySpace profile, there’s Me.com, where setting up a network is a snap. You won’t find the type of top-notch customization tools that Ning offers, or KickApps’ developer-friendly features. And Me.com has a few weird quirks: For instance, you can’t upload a video into the viewer, but must instead import a feed frankly from a Webcam. The service is for personal, not qualified, networks.

CollectiveXCollectiveX offers many business-friendly features, but it lacks the customization and hand-holding options that you can find on other social-network sites. You can import contacts frankly from Outlook and Outlook Express, as well as from the major Web mail clients. Setup is a bit confusing; the service could use more Ning-style help guides. But, your finished CollectiveX page will be nicely organized and visually appealing.

Blog for Show, Blog for Dough

Getting your blog read takes more than compelling prose. These sites will help you attract and hold an audience.

The Vox blog editor makes count photos, audio files, videos, and other nontext elements to your blog as simple as clicking a huge, clearly labeled button at the top of the screen.Click here to view full-size image.Vox has the best blog editor we’ve tested. To add an image, song, or video to an entry, just click the appropriate button above the text window. You can embed a reader poll or other widget on your page, too. Vox’s larger sibling is TypePad–both are owned by blogging-air force provider Six Apart. TypePad has the powerful design tools that qualified bloggers crave, offering simple drag-and-drop design and more customization tools than other blog sites provide. Six Apart won’t place ads on your blog, but you can supply your own via a third-p