Based on my research, this seems to be the basic principle that website owners have been following to get passive income online: * Get many people to come to your website * Get them to click on your Adsense links Sounds simple enough. Get people into your website from Google search, then link out to an Adsense Ad. Search In – Adsense Out. Practically applying it to get sufficient commendable income, however, can be quite a challenge. The first problem is how to get many visitors to your website. That’s where Search Engine Optimization comes in. However, this is really easier said that done. It’s a bit of an artwork. You basically have to read the mind of an Internet user. What keywords would he use? Why would he visit your website? Do you have the content go get people interested enough to get to your website? Basically, your goal is visibility. You have to be seen. You can do this using SEO or using traditional brand-building methods. Tell your friends, family and colleagues. If they have websites, politely ask if you could link with each other. For those lucky few that are already on top of the search engines, this is not a problem. Others (including myself) would have to work hard at it. Look at FilipinoLinks. It’s been around for a very long time and has made quite a foundation. It would not be too difficult for its owners to tweak the website for SEO. Experts have varied opinions on what to put in a website. Some say, put relevant important content – with around 500-1000 words on each of your website. Some say provide simple 300 word news posts. Another option to get clicks would be to advertise online for keywords. Adwords is an example of a tool that can allow you to do this. There will be marketing expenses in this scenario. The goal here is to get more Adsense income than Adwords Expenses – which is really basic business sense. This is easier said than done, I tried it and got dismal results. The next problem would be how to get visitors to click on Adsense links. Well, the first thing that needs to be done is to get an Adsense account. It’s pretty easy to setup. After that, you need to put the Adsense links on your website. There are people who say make it blend it when the rest of your pages. Here, on my website, you can see my Adsense Ads that seem to be part of the overall theme. Other experts say the more noticeable the advertisements, the more they will be clicked. In this case, the Ads stand out prominently – with a different, and sometimes contrasting color scheme. One tip given was actually position the Google Ad right next to an image/picture. Viewers tend to click on picture links, so more income potential income there. What does this all mean for a Filipino Entrepreneur? In my point of view, it means opportunities. Although I have just started experimenting on all of this myself, there seems to be a real possibility of gaining a little revenue. For example, I started this website (last January) and have, in my first month I gained US$7 from Adsense. It’s not much but consider this: * My expenses so far have been the webhosting (US$4 monthly), and domain name (US$3 for one year – got it at a discount). * If I continue getting US$7 a month, that would be, US$84 a year. * My year’s hosting would be US$48 * My theoretical income for one year would be US$33. There are other costs, of course, from writing the content for this website – electricity, less time to do other things, etc… I didn’t include it yet. If you had pre-existing content, this wouldn’t matter to you. Just upload it and you should be ready. For example, if you had a song lyrics database, you could find a pretty reliable web developer, have him upload your database, and include AdSense. Optimize it for search and you should soon get some revenue. It will probably not be big, but enough to get you interested. I remember on my last test with the wordtracker application, “Pinoy Ako Lyrics” were some of the top keywords I found. People were actually looking for lyrics of Filipino songs. Since new songs come out every month, whoever gets the lyrics out soonest would be found earlier. If you had a database of all Philippine Lotto Results ever since it began, you could probably have a statistics analyzer custom-made from your website. It could give suggested lotto numbers based on historical info. That would be something a lot of people would go to. There are probably other more interesting opportunities for the web-savvy Pinoy entrepreneur. As long as you get people to your website, and get them to click on an advertisement, there will be revenue.
Friday, 30 September 2016
Is your home hazardous to your health how indoor air pollution may trigger illness
: We tend to think of our homes as our havens--safe places to go in order to retreat from the assault of modern life. For the most part this is true. But there is a hidden danger lurking in the seemingly tranquil and protective confines of our houses, and it’s something we ought to sit up and notice. That hidden danger is the quality of indoor air. The act of breathing is so natural we don’t even realize we’re doing it, but what about the air that we take in every time we inhale? When was the last time you stopped to think about the quality of the air you were taking into your lungs, transmitting deep down into the cells of your body? If you were recently standing on a polluted corner of a busy city sidewalk, well, maybe you did stop to wonder about what sorts of dirt and dust molecules were seeping into your body. But for most of us, especially when we’re in our own homes, the quality of the air we’re breathing is not a big consideration--or not even a consideration at all. The truth of the matter is, the quality of air indoors (even in seemingly clean homes) can actually be far poorer than that of even the biggest, most industrialized, and dirtiest urban centers! To put that in plainer language: the air in your home could be worse for your health than the air you breathe walking through New York City or Beijing or San Francisco. What causes such potent and potentially harmful indoor pollution? For starters, the indoor usage of substances like cigarettes and cigars, paint, coal, furniture polish, cleaning fluids, asbestos, space heaters, and so on, can create a build-up of hazardous particles. The degree of severity often depends on whether or not there is adequate ventilation--how much outdoor air can get into the house, and vice versa. A home with very poor ventilation will pose a much worse health threat to its inhabitants than a home with lots of open windows and excellent ventilation. That’s not to say that homes with good ventilation can’t still be polluted--in fact, they certainly can be. Because most of us spend most of our time inside, rather than out of doors, the build-up of chemical and other airborne pollutants can pose serious health risks, triggering various ailments over time. This is especially true when the inhabitants of a home are elderly, chronically ill, or very young, or if they already have certain types of respiratory disease. The particular physical response depends on the type of contaminant. Biological pollutants may provoke allergic reactions, while types of tobacco smoke and other contaminants can trigger asthma attacks or create asthmatic conditions. Molds and mildews can spread more serious health problems, and the presence of contaminants like carbon monoxide can even result in death if the proper alert system (a carbon monoxide detector) is not in place and fully functioning. The good news is that you don’t have to live with hazardous air. Just recognizing the possibility of indoor air pollution is the first step toward creating an environment that is free of hazardous airborne particles. Read the related articles on air purifiers and air quality to learn what steps you can take to achieve cleaner air and a healthier lifestyle. About:
Clothesline fresh country myth breaker 17
Clothesline fresh, country fresh scent, smells like a country garden, those of us from the city have all seen our share of country clad laundry soap commercials. The token red barn glows in the distance. Closer in, clothes adorn the line. Each piece is so straight and evenly spaced you’d believe a team of sophomore geometry students hung them as their final class projects. Even more perfect, the lightest of breezes launches an ‘oh so soft’ billow along the stain free front row. Even I think, who wouldn’t want their clothes to be clothesline fresh? And, don’t those people own underwear? Ahhhh! I use my clothesline. I must. There is not a man in the five-state region willing to rise to the challenge of touching my daunting propane line and antiquated fuse box. Like my outhouse, my dryer is purely ornamental. Despite this forced march to my clothesline the results can be startlingly adequate. Yet as a good Cidiot (city idiot), It would be negligent of me if I did not point out a few hazards of clotheslines to budding country converts. Beware, hanging your skivvies in the wild is not all its cracked up to be. Consider these dilemmas. Seven of Ten Birds Prefer to Defecate Out of Doors – Avian species have a remarkable instinct for textile quality. Anyone doubting this should hang their Thai Silk robe on one end of the clothesline. Put a flannel shirt on the opposite side. At the end of the day tally the results. Sheets Attract Wind – Kids have a new kite? You can plan your day around it, guaranteed! Just wash your bedding in the morning and place it on your line. Rest assured, Mariah herself will blast through your backyard. Kites, bedding, lingerie, pugs - anything with a flat surface will dance its way through the sky, only to impale itself in full display atop the silo of your local feed mill. Remember the One Foot Rule – Most educated people know the three second rule. No matter where in your home you drop a piece of silverware, if you can retrieve it in three seconds or less you can eat off it without rinsing first. The one-foot rule, however, is only taught in rural school districts. It goes like this: Any textile on a clothesline that sags to within 12 inches of sweet Mother Earth, via the wind or any other means, must immediately be scent marked by every male canine (dogs, coyotes, wolves or prairie dogs) inside a three mile radius. Animals Have Hair – Strangely enough farms are inundated with animals. Go figure. With all due respect to clothespins, they do little to remove hair. It takes four fabric softener sheets and a small nuclear plant to fluff out an intricate weaving of fur and feathers. During the spring shed I keep a HAZMAT team on stand by just to clean my lint traps. Remodeling Your House? – You can save a fortune in costly building materials. Just hang your cotton towels out to dry on the clothesline. Not only will they dry stiff enough to be use as support beams, the bird shit will act as an adhesive for roofing projects. Remember on that warm spring day, when the cottonwoods are spawning and your best angora sweater has just hit the line, imagine, within a matter of hours it will be more than you ever dreamed possible. And, as always, it will smell ‘clothesline fresh!’
Home selling strategies for a normalizing market
: After a solid five year run of record home sales, the market is readjusting itself to a more normal level. Most of those who wanted to move have moved. Interest rates are rising again, lowering the upper end ceiling for buyers overall. With buyers qualifying for a lower mortgage today than they might have a year or two ago, the buyer pool for higher priced homes is shrinking. The large inventory of homes currently for sale is resulting in an overall downward trend of housing prices. With increased choices, buyers can be more choosy and take longer to make their decisions. As a result, longer market times may caution a buyer away from a property. There are three important factors for selling your home in today’s market: condition, price, and time. Condition reigns supreme over anything else. Buyers have so many choices right now that anything that looks like it needs work can be enough to kill your chances of selling. People prefer move-in condition, so if your property isn’t, you probably need to do what it takes to make it that way. It is worth the money to remove old wallpaper, paint, replace carpet, and replace the roof if it’s almost at the end of its life. Offering an allowance doesn’t work in these market conditions because buyers tend to overinflate the costs of these improvements, anticipating double or triple what it will actually cost you. Plus, with the number of homes for sale, if yours is the one that needs to be painted, chances are it’s also the one that won’t sell. There are exceptions, such as homes that need a complete overhaul, so it’s a good idea to discuss your home and your plans with your listing agent before getting started. A word about home improvements – consider improvements as solidifying your home’s value rather than increasing it when deciding on a price range. The kitchen you recently renovated or the room you added may help your home sell more quickly than the one down the street because it’s in better condition, but it won’t necessarily increase your home’s value.
If you’re not looking to sell your home right now, spending the money on upkeep and maintenance now can help you avoid needing to spend a lot all at once when it is time to sell. The second factor is price. You want to have the best price on the market. That doesn’t necessarily mean the lowest price, it means value. It’s a good idea to price your home aggressively because there are so many options available. If there are 40 homes for sale in your price range, you want your home to stand out as the best home for the money.
Misperception or misunderstanding of the current market conditions can lead to improper pricing which in turn can lead to excessive market time or even no sale at all. What you paid for your home or what your neighbors sold their home for last year are irrelevant when deciding on your asking price. Factors you and your Realtor should consider are your home’s current condition, the condition of other homes for sale in your price range, the asking price of homes similar to yours, and which homes are selling and which are not. Accurate pricing from the outset increases the likelihood that your home will find the right buyer quickly. The first three weeks on the market are the most important – that’s when people are excited to see the new kid on the block. A strategy of starting on the high end and then lowering it over time is rarely successful in a normalizing market. By the time the house is where it should be, interest has peaked and buyers have moved on. Finally, accept that it still takes time. There are only so many buyers out there and they have a lot of choices.
Average market times have been three to four months, so your goal is to reduce the selling time by carefully preparing your home and improving its condition plus adopting an aggressive pricing strategy. Then you just need patience and faith that the right buyer will see your home and decide that’s the home for them. Everyone’s situation is different, so be sure to discuss your situation with your Realtor and decide on the best strategy for your needs.
Today it takes twice as much work to be the best value in your neighborhood. Hard work and diligence can pay off. Today it takes twice as much work to be the best value in your neighborhood. Hard work and diligence can pay off.
Choosing an australian franchise opportunity
Purchasing a franchise is one of the best ways to start a business. It can definitely jumpstart your career as an entrepreneur. A franchise might as well be referred to as an “instant business”. If you are in Australia, there are a number of Australian franchise opportunities that you can check out for yourself. Australia has a steady economy. Getting a franchise business here would absolutely be in your favour. Australia is known to have an organized system when it comes to the franchising process. Documentations and other requirements are clearly pointed out to you once you decide to get a franchise. The application process is relatively easy and fast as long as comply with your franchiser’s requirements. If you are thinking of starting a franchise business in Australia, one of the key things that can help in choosing the right franchise is know your field of expertise. You should be able to know your business first hand as you would be responsible in training your employees and overseeing the operation of your franchise business. One of the most popular franchise opportunities in Australia is in the food business. Food is very marketable simply because to eat is a necessity to everyone. A food franchise is a relatively easy business to market and operate because you have a number of options of what food types that you are about to sell. Popular food franchises are pizza, burgers, popcorns, health foods and drinks and other to-go food. Food carts are becoming a popular thing in the franchising industry. It does not only have one of the lowest investments, but it also a versatile business and you can have your cart virtually everywhere you want. Just remember that foot traffic is very important in this type of business. You can also try home-based business for franchise. These are the types of business that you can start from the comforts of your home. If you have a computer at home, you can start an internet-based home business. Most of franchise businesses of these types are affiliate e-stores where you act as a merchant of a direct manufacturer. There are other franchise businesses that you can start from home like a cleaning service or repair service. You can have your home double up as your office and receive clients. The basic thing you need here is a phone line and a team that can work for you, you can either have a permanent employees or hire freelancers. If you have a certain interest in things like photography or other creative stuff, you can find a suitable franchise opportunity for you as well. There are roving photography vans that are open for franchise. You can set up your mobile photography on-the-go during events like weddings, anniversaries, birthdays or corporate gatherings. Aside from these, there are also traditional photography shops, complete with studio that you can get for as a franchise. Wellness, health and beauty are also popular in the franchising industry. You can set up beauty salons and offer a number of services like haircut, make-up and hairstyling. You can also open up a franchise spa where you can offer massage therapy and other spa services. Franchise opportunities can also offer beauty home services. You can commission “on-call” beauty specialists if you offer such service. Communication is also a popular business for franchising. There are a number of documents and parcel courier services which you can have for a business. Manpower is important in this business, as you would be handling logistics plus sending and receiving packages all over Australia. Aside from courier service, you can also find a franchise that offers long distance telephone services from Australia to all over the world. If you are looking for a franchise opportunity in Australia, you can do you a quick research on the Internet. There are various franchise directories in Australia where you would be given a number of options in different industries. When choosing a franchise, remember that the business that you should run should be something that interests you. You should also have the expertise to operate your own business. Remember that a franchise business, although termed as an “instant business” would never give you instant success. You should also give sufficient time and effort to make your business profitable. If you already chose the right franchise for you, add in a strong determination to succeed and you are sure to turn your franchise business into something winning!
Cleaning mitts work wonders with the ultimate cloth
Housecleaning has been the bane of my existence for as long as I can remember. At the ripe old age of 50, I finally came to accept the fact that I would never be named "Housekeeper of the Year." I think that my recalcitrance stemmed from my belief that housekeeping was, to a large extent, pointless. Take the kitchen, for example. I would spend an hour or two scrubbing it to spotless perfection, only to cook a meal and have grease-spattered countertops and smudged cupboards defiantly stare back at me. In my heart, I just knew that all of the dust in the neighborhood chose my house as its final resting place. The stuff accumulated on the blinds, on picture frames, on ceiling fans, on knick-knacks - and of course on coffee tables and the top of the TV. My shortcomings as a housekeeper were never more obvious than when I went to visit my two closest friends. To say they are tidy is an understatement. A dust mote wouldn't dare cross the thresholds of their homes. I suspect that one of my friends cleans her house with the thought that Martha Stewart will show up any day to give it the white glove test, while the other spends part of each Saturday morning on a stepstool, cleaning the tops of her doorframes. On more than one occasion, I found myself rolling my eyes, wondering if they didn't have more productive ways to spend their time. Deep down, however, I was just a tad bit envious. After all, it's not that I don't enjoy the tranquility of a clean home; housekeeping just never came out at the top of my list of priorities. About a year ago, my perspective shifted when the three of us were out to lunch and one friend mentioned in passing that she'd misplaced her cleaning mitt. My other friend was empathetic, and I sat back as the two discussed the wonders of an ultimate cloth that made cleaning a breeze. As they waxed poetic about a mirafiber cloth that was washable, bleachable, and guaranteed for five years, I realized that they didn't spend an inordinate amount of time on housecleaning. Rather, they had found a product that made housekeeping a breeze. Although it went against my nature, I decided to give this ultimate cloth a try. What I discovered was eye-opening. Essentially, I could clean my whole house (and my car) with water and a cloth. I didn't need a whole cabinet full of cleaning supplies, and I didn't have to waste paper towels. Instead, I could wet the cloth, wring it out, wipe down the surface I was cleaning, and then walk away knowing it was all streak free. I could get rid of everything from hair spray and grease to dust and soap scum without using any chemicals at all. I even got a cleaning mitt, which worked great for blinds, ceiling fans, and small items. I'll still never be named "Housekeeper of the Year," but with my ultimate cloth, I discovered that keeping my house clean doesn't have to be an unpleasant chore. I don't have to choose between having a clean house and doing the things I love. Now, I can "clean as I go" and keep my house spic and span, and still have plenty of time for the things in life that are most important to me.
Chances for winning by the losers
In baseball, it has come close (see 2005 San Diego Padres, 1973 NY Mets). In the NFL, only two .500 teams have made the playoffs since 1991 (1991 NYJ, 2004 STL). In the NBA, however, it has been the norm to find teams with a losing record compete in late April and into May. Below, a table of the number of .500 win percentage teams, the number of first round games they have won, and the number of series they have gone on to win. First Round Playoff Stats Last 10 Years Year Teams at .500 or under Total first round games won Series Won 1996 2 2 0 1997 3 2 0 1998 1 2 0 1999 1 1 0 2000 0 0 0 2001 1 1 0 2002 0 0 0 2003 0 0 0 2004 4 4 0 2005 0 0 0 2006 3 Courtesy: Basketball-Reference Parody just hasn’t existed in the NBA playoffs. These 15 teams in the last 10 years have combined to win just 12 playoff games and have never advanced. In 2004, four teams in the East had the shot and surely one could pull off the upset? Not even the four vs. five could do it. The last time a team with a losing record entered the playoffs and won a Series was 1988. Then, the Seattle Supersonics boasted a 39-43 record as the 7-seed and made it all the way to the conference finals. They upset both Dallas and Houston, before being swept by Pat Riley’s Los Angeles Lakers. Since Seattle, a total of 31 teams have entered the playoffs with a record at or below .500. And these teams are 0-31 in playoff series. So, how good of a chance do Milwaukee (40-42), Chicago (41-41) and Indiana (41-41) have this year? I’m not going to say “none,” because that’s why they play the game—but let’s delve into these match-ups. (1) Detroit vs. (8) Milwaukee One-seeds haven’t lost since 1999. But there was a technicality about that year: First, 1999 was the NBA lockout year, and only 50 regular season games were played. Second, three other teams had the same 33-17 record, but Miami won by a tiebreaker. In a full 82-game season, it was the 1994 Denver Nuggets who upset the top-seeded Supersonics to advance to the second round. With Flip Saunders at the helm, we’ve seen the Pistons play looser offensively, but still maintaining impressive defense—leading them to their best regular season record ever (64-18). Don’t worry about the nonsense concerning Ben Wallace not getting along with Flip: This team is focused when it comes to the playoffs. Having said this, Milwaukee has their hands full. Let’s just look at player vs. player matchups. Detroit Milwaukee Advantage PG Billups Ford Detroit SG Hamilton Redd Detroit SF Prince Simmons Detroit PF R. Wallace Bogut Detroit C B. Wallace Magloire Detroit Billups will substitute size for speed and can dominate Ford. Hamilton is a workhorse. Prince is undoubtedly better than Simmons. And I’ll just point out the experience from the front court to suffice my argument for the Wallaces. To make matters worse, the only type of success they had against Detroit was when they played Toni Kukoc at the three. Kukoc is already banged up and will miss the first game, so his health will be a definite factor. Prediction: Pistons in a sweep (2) Miami vs. (7) Chicago Chicago is the hottest of the East’s bottom-3, finishing 12-2 in their final 14 to slip into the show. They had a similar run in the final month of the season last year, winning 15 of their last 19 games. The Bulls’ only win against the Heat in the regular season came back on April 15 when the Heat rested most of their stars. In the playoffs, it comes down to defense and though the “Baby Bulls” are young, they do buckle down, leading the NBA for the second straight season in defensive field-goal percentage (.426). Offensively, the Bulls’ patented “drive-and-kick” out game has given opposing teams a hard time. Ben Gordon ranks 2nd in the Eastern Conference, hitting 43.9-percent from 3-point land, and point-guard Kirk Hinrich has shot 42.9-percent from behind the arc in his last five games. Although the Heat have been locked into the No. 2 spot since basically January, I don’t see them having trouble kicking into high gear. Even when the Bulls shut down Wade in their meetings this year (12.3 ppg), the Heat have found a way to win. The Bulls have no answer for Shaq, who had 14 points and 6 rebounds in just 20 minutes of action on April 15. Prediction: Heat in 5 (3) New Jersey vs. (6) Indiana This might very well be the best shot for a team at the .500 mark in the regular season to win a Series. The Nets came from the weak Atlantic Division that sent no other teams beside themselves to the playoffs. The two teams have similar defensive work ethics, as they are 5th and 6th in points allowed, respectively, in the NBA. The interesting thing about this series is the way they view each other: New Jersey players have said the Pacers are a good transition and look to slow it down, while Indiana players have said the exact same thing about the Nets! Wow, this should be a fun series to watch! Jermaine O’Neal looks to be healthy into the playoffs, having played 30-plus minutes in his final 11 regular season games, but I don’t foresee him being the difference. The difference must come from the defense side of the ball, in particular, the ability to stop Vince Carter. Peja Stojakovic and Stephen Jackson must play top-notch to pull the upset. I have a feeling this series will go seven. The Nets were 29-12 at home, fourth-best home record in the Eastern conference, so that’s the way I lean. Prediction: Nets in 7 Bet the NBA Playoffs @ WagerWeb Sportsbook wagerweb/sportsbook