Why are babies cute? Why is cake sweet? Philosopher Dan Dennett has answers you wouldn’t expect, as he shares evolution’s counterintuitive reasoning on cute, sweet and sexy things. For a topping, try his new theory on why jokes are funny.
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17Mar
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17Mar
You’ve got to hand it to Samsung, they are the masters of getting free ad space by producing killer videos. This one is complete BS, but the finished product made me laugh out loud all by myself.
[via Metafilter]
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17Marorkut, Google's social network, lets you keep track of the birthdays of your friends. There's a birthday reminders section that can be enabled in the settings and you can add a gadget to Google's personalized homepage.
orkut's blog announced that there's another way to view the birthdays: in Google Calendar. "Now, in conjunction with Google Calendar, you can see all of your orkut friend's birthdays for the whole year. If you've already used Google Calendar before, you will shortly see a link (right below the "upcoming birthdays" section) where you can add your orkut friends' birthdays to your Google calendar."
If you don't see the promotional link, use this URL to subscribe to the calendar. Google uses a special kind of calendar that requires authentication and doesn't support notifications. That means you won't be able to receive email or SMS notifications that remind you of the birthdays.
{ via orkut blog and ToThePC. } -
17Mar
These days, people are hungrier than ever for real authority. They’re tired of fluff, hype and “know-it-alls”. In the beginning of your writing, you’ll likely write with some uncertainty as you keep learning and growing - much like a child taking his first steps, but there comes a time where your writing “grows up” and you start to speak with greater directness and purpose.
Journalists do this exceptionally well. Read your local paper or watch the news. You’ll never hear them say things like, “I think they meant _____” or “It has been my experience that _____”. Journalists simply state facts - but facts alone can be dry and boring. This is where it’s up to you to infuse your blog post or article with perspective and background. Tell a story, share a personal experience. Make it “real” to the reader. Then you’ll know you’ve hit the spot where your writing has “grown up”.
People naturally like others who are confident and sure of themselves. Writing with authority brings out an air of credibility and honesty that simply can’t be faked (at least not for long). As with most things, the more you practice these methods, the better you’ll become and the sooner you’ll slide into your own unique tone and conversational style. Try them on your next writing project and see how many more comments you get as a result.
1. Make Sure You Know Something Worth Sharing
If you feel even the slightest bit hesitant, oftentimes it will show in your writing through the words you choose. Adding words like “might”, “may”, “believe” and “hope” are a sort of disclaimer we add to our posts and articles to pad ourselves from a backlash of negative feedback - which often never happens. Go ahead and share your expertise. Your readers are looking for a leader - be one.
2. Write Powerful Steps that Can Be Followed
Everyone wants some “proven method” or strategy that has worked before and nobody wants to look like a fool or have their decisions questioned. When you write with authority, you don’t feel afraid to walk the reader through certain steps or explain things in a direct way. That doesn’t mean you should be forceful in your writing and bark orders, but writing with a solid understanding of how a process is done or how your readers can learn more will put you at the top of their loyalty list as opposed to someone who only writes based on what other people are doing or using.
3. Share Your Experience
Like I mentioned in my second paragraph, you want to make sure your readers know about your first-hand experience with the subject - either through a story or your own experience. Even if you’re writing about something you enjoy as a hobby, chances are there’s someone just starting out who wants reviews or opinions on a particular product that will find your insights helpful. The more you practice and keep learning about the product, service or industry you’re involved with, the better you’ll become over time. Don’t be afraid to go back to some of your early articles or blog posts and rewrite them to flow more directly to your readers. They’ll thank you for it.
4. Follow Through with Your Promises
There’s nothing people hate more than a false or wanna-be authority. And people can spot a fake a mile away. No matter how stellar your writing, if you fail to keep your promises and do so consistently, you’ll see your reputation vanish, and that can be difficult, if not impossible to build back up. Keep your promise you stated in your headline and opening paragraph by ending your piece with a call to action such as “Call me now at…” or “Click here to…”.
5. Be Open to Feedback
No one knows everything. Stop struggling with what you don’t know and focus on what you do know. Keep learning and thank people for bringing something new to your attention. You’ll begin to form a network of people you can go to for advice and suggestions to help improve on your existing knowledge and that’s something that no authority writer can be without!
So make a concentrated effort to take your “first steps” in your writing now. Push the uncertainty aside and write with purpose by following these tips. You’ll gain many more readers, buyers and loyal fans as a result.
About the Author: Sherice Jacob is a web designer, copywriter, and author of Get Niche Quick. Don’t forget to follow Sherice on Twitter.
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17MarDemographic targeting can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. Applying some small business common sense to the topic can bring you some great rewards, once you understand who wants to buy what you're trying to sell. ...
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17Mar
With all the layoffs we’ve been hearing about in the car industry lately, it means that a lot of manufactures will probably be closing their doors in the following year. What better way to pay for all that unutilized floor space than by transforming it into amusement parks?
[Source]
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17Mar
Yes, as we’ve seen before, printers can act like spoiled brats sometimes, but who knew that some pretty sweet music could come out of them? Check it out!
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17MarHow many SEOs have suffered because of unrealistic expectations from clients? That situation can be avoided if you spend the time before an agreement is signed to have a frank and sincere discussion with your client about what they can expect from your efforts. ...
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17Mar
StatOwl is a website presenting internet usage statistics in a comprehensive way.
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17Mar
Travel agents... gone.
Stock brokers... gone.
Real estate brokers... in trouble. Photographer's agents, too.
Literary agents?The problem with being a helpful, efficient but largely anonymous middleman is pretty obvious. Someone can come along who is cheaper, faster and more efficient. And that someone might be the customer aided by a computer.
The airlines don't want to pay travel agents, because the travel agents were making more money on each flight than they were. Some house sellers hesitate to pay real estate brokers because they don't believe the 6% payment is an opportunity, they see it as a tax. Investors abandoned full service stock brokers because trading stocks directly is faster and more accurate than using the phone.
Middlemen add value when they bring taste or judgment or trust to bear on a transaction that isn't transparent. Literary agents are crucial when publishers believe that their choice of content is essential but have too many choices and too little time. But publishers don't trust every literary agent. They trust agents they believe in. Key point: anonymous agents are interchangeable and virtually worthless. Agents that don't do anything but help one side find the other side in a human approximation of Google aren't so helpful any more.
Think about how anonymous the typical real estate broker is. He will sell almost any house or represent almost any buyer. When selling a house, he has a fiduciary responsibility to represent that house to the best of his ability. Just like every other broker. The great real estate brokers do far more than this.
Travel agents still survive, but in a very different way than they used to. Now, the best ones are paid by the traveler, not the airline. The best ones provide a differentiated service that is worth paying for. Instead of being middlemen, then, they are the front men, the attraction, a key asset to the traveler.
To thrive in a world of self-service, agents have to hyperspecialize, have to stand for something, have to have the guts to say no far more than they say yes. No, you can't publish this book. No I won't represent you. No, don't take that flight. No, I won't sell this house, it's overpriced, list it yourself.
The second thing agents must do to make a smart transition is to consider who they are selling to. Should talent agents only sell to Hollywood? Literary agents only to book publishers? Should ad agencies specialize in Google Adwords, not just Super Bowl spots? When markets change, agents can lead the way, not follow along grudgingly.
