The West Antarctic ice sheet may start to collapse if sea temperatures rise by 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit), triggering a thaw that would raise world ocean levels by 5 meters (16 ft), US scientists said.
Such a rise in sea levels -- taking thousands of years -- would swamp many coasts and cities and wipe some low-lying Pacific islands off the map.
West Antarctica, the part of the frozen continent most vulnerable to climate change, has thawed several times in the past few million years, most recently 400,000 years ago, according to Thursday's edition of the journal Nature.
The study "suggests the Western Antarctic ice sheet will begin to collapse when nearby ocean temperatures warm by roughly 5 C," David Pollard of Pennsylvania State University and Robert DeConto of the University of Massachusetts wrote.
The study helps plug big gaps in understanding Antarctica's likely reaction to modern global warming by improving knowledge of the history of the ice.
Pollard told Reuters the 5 C estimate for triggering a collapse was a rough guide, based on an computer model. The bigger East Antarctic ice sheet had not thawed in past warm periods studied.
The UN Climate Panel has projected a best estimate that world atmospheric temperature will rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 Celsius by 2100 because of emissions of greenhouse gases that could bring floods, droughts, heatwaves and more powerful storms.
Higher rises were possible unless the world reined in the growth of emissions, it said. Oceans temperatures lag far behind the rise in air temperatures.
"The required ocean warmings, of the order of 5 Celsius, may well take several centuries to develop," wrote Philippe Huybrechts of Vrije University in Brussels in a commentary.
"But such an outcome could result from the accumulation of total greenhouse-gas emissions projected for the twenty-first century, if emissions are not greatly reduced," he wrote.
A related paper in Nature suggested that past collapses of the West Antarctic ice were linked to the earth's rotation.
"The pattern of collapse suggests an influence of 40,000-year cycles in the tilt of Earth's rotational axis," Nature said of the study led by scientists in New Zealand.
2009年3月18日星期三
2009年3月5日星期四
Learn Chinese: Wishing to Learn Chinese
The Chinese language is illusive to English speaking world, almost seems to be a complex mystery intimidating to unravel and to understand. If you wish to learn Chinese, then approach it delicately and thoroughly as a bridge to not only communication with this beautiful culture, but learn Chinese to harvest the history and ways of their world as well.
If you are soon to visit China, then you probably would want to know at least minimal amount of the language to be able to communicate your needs while in their country. This would require a little more in depth teachings, because speaking Chinese is a lot more difficult than the English language. The phonetics, and tonal components require a little practice.
For those wishing to learn Chinese worldwide has tripled in the last decade, making it an increasingly popular language to learn. With that, a standard form of Chinese instruction used these days is called "Hanyu Pinyin", or simply, Standard Mandarin. It is a universal form of teaching used worldwide to help people learn Chinese. Without it, learning this language might seem to difficult to commit to.
The Chinese language is undoubtedly a intricate and diverse language to comprehend, with characters, phonics, tones, meanings and speaking so different from the language native to each of us. However, with the proper teaching tools and discipline, learning Chinese can be a eloquent and beneficial goal. Today's world demands multi cultural merging in communications, especially with business and now, internet as well.
Your value doubles if you have successfully picked up a second language, more career doors open as a result. And with the world becoming so much smaller in business and communications, thanks to the internet, learning Chinese as your second language may be exactly to your advantage.
What to learn in the Chinese language is all up to you. If you are just seeking soul meaning for your next tattoo, then exploration into Chinese characters is where to begin. If amusement is your calling, there is a fun online site called mandarin tools which takes your name and applies the mandarin form of your name, meaning included. Seeing your name have such a deep essence is push enough to want to continue learning even more of the Chinese language.
If you wish the more private, unscheduled form of learning, then optimally the online courses are designed for you. This articulate language is easier understood by listening to someone who is native to the Chinese language. By hearing the phonetics and tone involved, may make learning Chinese easier. Tutors and private instructors can be hired to teach you proper speaking of Chinese. Also available are online courses which include lessons that let you hear how words are put together or spoken, so you are able to learning Chinese online. The most difficult part to master when you learn Chinese language is all the characters, but the grammar aspect will be a cinch for most as it is not nearly as complex as is the grammar used in English language.
The Chinese language is without a doubt a striking art form as well as it is a language and we are hungry to understand what it all means when we look at the characters written on a page or on art hanging on a wall next to us. Our curious nature draws us that much closer to discovery of the Chinese culture and deepens our appreciation for it when we finally choose to teach ourselves more and more about it. To learn Chinese is another journey began.
If you are soon to visit China, then you probably would want to know at least minimal amount of the language to be able to communicate your needs while in their country. This would require a little more in depth teachings, because speaking Chinese is a lot more difficult than the English language. The phonetics, and tonal components require a little practice.
For those wishing to learn Chinese worldwide has tripled in the last decade, making it an increasingly popular language to learn. With that, a standard form of Chinese instruction used these days is called "Hanyu Pinyin", or simply, Standard Mandarin. It is a universal form of teaching used worldwide to help people learn Chinese. Without it, learning this language might seem to difficult to commit to.
The Chinese language is undoubtedly a intricate and diverse language to comprehend, with characters, phonics, tones, meanings and speaking so different from the language native to each of us. However, with the proper teaching tools and discipline, learning Chinese can be a eloquent and beneficial goal. Today's world demands multi cultural merging in communications, especially with business and now, internet as well.
Your value doubles if you have successfully picked up a second language, more career doors open as a result. And with the world becoming so much smaller in business and communications, thanks to the internet, learning Chinese as your second language may be exactly to your advantage.
What to learn in the Chinese language is all up to you. If you are just seeking soul meaning for your next tattoo, then exploration into Chinese characters is where to begin. If amusement is your calling, there is a fun online site called mandarin tools which takes your name and applies the mandarin form of your name, meaning included. Seeing your name have such a deep essence is push enough to want to continue learning even more of the Chinese language.
If you wish the more private, unscheduled form of learning, then optimally the online courses are designed for you. This articulate language is easier understood by listening to someone who is native to the Chinese language. By hearing the phonetics and tone involved, may make learning Chinese easier. Tutors and private instructors can be hired to teach you proper speaking of Chinese. Also available are online courses which include lessons that let you hear how words are put together or spoken, so you are able to learning Chinese online. The most difficult part to master when you learn Chinese language is all the characters, but the grammar aspect will be a cinch for most as it is not nearly as complex as is the grammar used in English language.
The Chinese language is without a doubt a striking art form as well as it is a language and we are hungry to understand what it all means when we look at the characters written on a page or on art hanging on a wall next to us. Our curious nature draws us that much closer to discovery of the Chinese culture and deepens our appreciation for it when we finally choose to teach ourselves more and more about it. To learn Chinese is another journey began.
2009年3月4日星期三
SEO for CEOs - Search Engine Optimization Unmasked for CEOs
If you're like most other CEOs, the term "search engine optimization" will mean very little. Either that or it means expense! But it doesn't have to be that way. If you feel like you're standing in a dark room handing money to strangers to get you in the search engines, then this article is for you.
This is an article written by a business owner for other business owners and CEOs. It explains Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) in layperson's terms. It won't make you an expert, but it will give you some insight into what you're spending your money on, what you should be spending your money on, and just as importantly, what you shouldn't.
But before launching straight into an explanation of SEO, let's talk a bit about search engines. Approximately 75%-80% of website traffic comes through search engines. What's more, research shows that most people don't look beyond the first 2 pages of search results. This means if your website doesn't rank in the first 2 pages of the major search engines, it's only receiving 20% of its rightful traffic. and revenue. (And remember, being ranked number 1 when you search for your company name or web address doesn't count. You need to rank highly for the words your customers use at search engines.)
The biggest concern for search engine companies like Google, Yahoo, etc., is finding content that will bring them more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). They do this by using complex algorithms to determine whether a site is useful and should be included in their search results.
This is where SEO comes in.
SEO is the art of ranking in the search engines. Nothing more, nothing less.
SEO means creating your site such that the search engines consider it useful. The two main weapons in your arsenal are:
. Keywords
. Links to your site
KEYWORDS
Figure out what words your customers are looking for at search engines, and use those words at your site. By frequently using keywords that are important to your customers, you tell the search engines what you do. These keywords are used in your copy and in the code behind the page. Generally speaking, the more you use the keywords, the more relevant you are to searches in that field.
Keywords in Your Copy
The use of keywords in your copy is easy to understand. But it's not easy to do. You can't just pepper your site with a meaningless array of words. The trick is using the most important keywords a lot without compromising the readability of your copy. It's a balance between writing for the search engines and writing for your reader.
TIP: If you find this too time consuming, a website copywriter can take care of it for you. And if you know your keywords already, it should cost you no more than normal web copy.
Keywords in Your HTML Code
The use of keywords in your HTML code is harder to understand, but it's easier to do. There are four main places these keywords are used:
. Keywords
. Description
. Alt
. Title
TIP: When you hear people talking about meta tags, this is what they're talking about. To see how meta tags are used in practice, go to Google and pretend you're a customer. Search for something your customers would search for. e.g. If you're in car audio, search for "car audio". Click on the first couple of results to bring up their website. Right-click on the home page, and select "View Source". You'll see a whole lot of code. You can ignore most of it. What you're looking for are the following.
Meta name="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="keyword 1,keyword 2,keyword 3"
Meta name="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="Meaningful description of page using the main keywords"
This is an article written by a business owner for other business owners and CEOs. It explains Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) in layperson's terms. It won't make you an expert, but it will give you some insight into what you're spending your money on, what you should be spending your money on, and just as importantly, what you shouldn't.
But before launching straight into an explanation of SEO, let's talk a bit about search engines. Approximately 75%-80% of website traffic comes through search engines. What's more, research shows that most people don't look beyond the first 2 pages of search results. This means if your website doesn't rank in the first 2 pages of the major search engines, it's only receiving 20% of its rightful traffic. and revenue. (And remember, being ranked number 1 when you search for your company name or web address doesn't count. You need to rank highly for the words your customers use at search engines.)
The biggest concern for search engine companies like Google, Yahoo, etc., is finding content that will bring them more traffic (and thus more advertising revenue). They do this by using complex algorithms to determine whether a site is useful and should be included in their search results.
This is where SEO comes in.
SEO is the art of ranking in the search engines. Nothing more, nothing less.
SEO means creating your site such that the search engines consider it useful. The two main weapons in your arsenal are:
. Keywords
. Links to your site
KEYWORDS
Figure out what words your customers are looking for at search engines, and use those words at your site. By frequently using keywords that are important to your customers, you tell the search engines what you do. These keywords are used in your copy and in the code behind the page. Generally speaking, the more you use the keywords, the more relevant you are to searches in that field.
Keywords in Your Copy
The use of keywords in your copy is easy to understand. But it's not easy to do. You can't just pepper your site with a meaningless array of words. The trick is using the most important keywords a lot without compromising the readability of your copy. It's a balance between writing for the search engines and writing for your reader.
TIP: If you find this too time consuming, a website copywriter can take care of it for you. And if you know your keywords already, it should cost you no more than normal web copy.
Keywords in Your HTML Code
The use of keywords in your HTML code is harder to understand, but it's easier to do. There are four main places these keywords are used:
. Keywords
. Description
. Alt
. Title
TIP: When you hear people talking about meta tags, this is what they're talking about. To see how meta tags are used in practice, go to Google and pretend you're a customer. Search for something your customers would search for. e.g. If you're in car audio, search for "car audio". Click on the first couple of results to bring up their website. Right-click on the home page, and select "View Source". You'll see a whole lot of code. You can ignore most of it. What you're looking for are the following.
Meta name="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="keyword 1,keyword 2,keyword 3"
Meta name="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="Meaningful description of page using the main keywords"
US private sector cuts 697,000 jobs in Feb
US private sector job losses accelerated in February, according to a report by ADP Employer Services that suggests hefty employment declines are on the way in the government's payrolls report due on Friday.
ADP said on Wednesday that private employers cut 697,000 jobs in February versus a revised 614,000 jobs lost in January. The January job cuts were originally reported at 522,000.
People search for jobs on computers at the California Employment Development Department in San Francisco, California, February 27, 2009. [Agencies]
It was the biggest job loss since the report's launch in 2001 and showed the misery of declining employment spreading broadly and evenly throughout the economy.
The service sector, which often resists the grip of recession longer than other areas, accounted for more than half of the total losses, reflecting the rapid deterioration of the economy in recent months.
"None really escaped the sword here," Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, whose firm jointly developed the ADP report, said about the service sector.
Economists had expected 610,000 private-sector job cuts in February, according to the median of 23 forecasts in a Reuters poll.
The forecasts in the poll ranged widely from a drop of 730,000 to losses of 500,000.
Still, on Wall Street, stock futures held onto earlier gains. Government bonds, which generally benefit from weak economic data, extended their losses.
"I was actually expecting it to be a little worse. Every month we've had data come in worse than expected," said Dan Faretta, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago.
"Until we get positive news about housing or industry or anything like that, the numbers will continue to get worse. The numbers keep weighing on all the markets."
Economists expect Friday's payrolls report, which gives a more comprehensive picture of the labor market, to show the economy shed 648,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.6 percent.
The US jobless rate is likely to push well above 8 percent by mid-2010 and may even top 9 percent, Prakken said.
Prakken added that the unemployment rate would top 10 percent without the government's economic stimulus plan.
Prakken also told a teleconference of journalists that he expected the US economy to lose 3 million jobs this year even with the stimulus plan in place. He said he expected the economy's contraction in the first quarter to be similar to the drop in gross domestic product seen in the fourth quarter, when the economy shrank at its fastest annual rate since 1982.
ADP said on Wednesday that private employers cut 697,000 jobs in February versus a revised 614,000 jobs lost in January. The January job cuts were originally reported at 522,000.
People search for jobs on computers at the California Employment Development Department in San Francisco, California, February 27, 2009. [Agencies]
It was the biggest job loss since the report's launch in 2001 and showed the misery of declining employment spreading broadly and evenly throughout the economy.
The service sector, which often resists the grip of recession longer than other areas, accounted for more than half of the total losses, reflecting the rapid deterioration of the economy in recent months.
"None really escaped the sword here," Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, whose firm jointly developed the ADP report, said about the service sector.
Economists had expected 610,000 private-sector job cuts in February, according to the median of 23 forecasts in a Reuters poll.
The forecasts in the poll ranged widely from a drop of 730,000 to losses of 500,000.
Still, on Wall Street, stock futures held onto earlier gains. Government bonds, which generally benefit from weak economic data, extended their losses.
"I was actually expecting it to be a little worse. Every month we've had data come in worse than expected," said Dan Faretta, senior market strategist at Lind-Waldock in Chicago.
"Until we get positive news about housing or industry or anything like that, the numbers will continue to get worse. The numbers keep weighing on all the markets."
Economists expect Friday's payrolls report, which gives a more comprehensive picture of the labor market, to show the economy shed 648,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.6 percent.
The US jobless rate is likely to push well above 8 percent by mid-2010 and may even top 9 percent, Prakken said.
Prakken added that the unemployment rate would top 10 percent without the government's economic stimulus plan.
Prakken also told a teleconference of journalists that he expected the US economy to lose 3 million jobs this year even with the stimulus plan in place. He said he expected the economy's contraction in the first quarter to be similar to the drop in gross domestic product seen in the fourth quarter, when the economy shrank at its fastest annual rate since 1982.
2009年2月23日星期一
WOW to Host the WOW Iron Chef of Web Design Competition at Macworld Boston
The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW) and IDG World Expo today announced the debut of the WOW Iron Chef of Web Design Competition at Macworld Conference & Expo(R) in Boston. During the live competition, attendees will get a first-hand look at what it takes to conceive and create a working Web site. Macworld Conference & Expo will take place July 12-15, 2004 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC); the competition will take place on the exhibit floor on Wednesday, July 14.
The WOW Iron Chef of Web Design Competition will feature teams of three competing head-to-head -- against the clock and against other teams. Monitors will display to the crowd all keystrokes made by each team as they design, code and deploy a working Web site for a non-profit institution. At the end of the competition, one winning Web site will be selected by a panel of judges for use by the non-profit institution.
Each team of three will include designers and developers who will identify the main needs of the non-profit institution for whom they are creating the site; create a visual design for the site including graphics and navigation; render three to five pages of its content in HTML; add any specialty features they can adequately plan for in the time allotted; address a specific Web design challenge pre-conceived by the judges; and be able to describe to the judges their process and rationale for the design approach taken.
To qualify, participating teams must have no knowledge of the non-profit organization's Web site needs prior to the event. In addition to providing a general design, navigation scheme, and deployment of the site, each site will have one specific, identified challenge to overcome. While discussion of server-side technologies certainly should be brought into the planning of the site, the focus will be on the client-side needs: visual design, markup, and style. Teams will not be allowed to use any external or third party resources to assist in their design, using only common Web design tools and skills to achieve their goal.
About IDG
International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, research, and event company. A privately-held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers including Bio-IT World, CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Network World, and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide including LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R), Macworld Conference & Expo(R), DEMO(R), and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.
About WOW
The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW) is a non-profit professional association dedicated to the support of individuals and organizations that create, manage or market Web sites. WOW provides education as well as certification, technical, employment and member advantage services to thousands of aspiring and practicing Web professionals worldwide.
The WOW Iron Chef of Web Design Competition will feature teams of three competing head-to-head -- against the clock and against other teams. Monitors will display to the crowd all keystrokes made by each team as they design, code and deploy a working Web site for a non-profit institution. At the end of the competition, one winning Web site will be selected by a panel of judges for use by the non-profit institution.
Each team of three will include designers and developers who will identify the main needs of the non-profit institution for whom they are creating the site; create a visual design for the site including graphics and navigation; render three to five pages of its content in HTML; add any specialty features they can adequately plan for in the time allotted; address a specific Web design challenge pre-conceived by the judges; and be able to describe to the judges their process and rationale for the design approach taken.
To qualify, participating teams must have no knowledge of the non-profit organization's Web site needs prior to the event. In addition to providing a general design, navigation scheme, and deployment of the site, each site will have one specific, identified challenge to overcome. While discussion of server-side technologies certainly should be brought into the planning of the site, the focus will be on the client-side needs: visual design, markup, and style. Teams will not be allowed to use any external or third party resources to assist in their design, using only common Web design tools and skills to achieve their goal.
About IDG
International Data Group (IDG) is the world's leading technology media, research, and event company. A privately-held company, IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers including Bio-IT World, CIO, CSO, Computerworld, GamePro, InfoWorld, Network World, and PC World. The company features the largest network of technology-specific Web sites with more than 400 around the world. IDG is also a leading producer of more than 170 computer-related events worldwide including LinuxWorld Conference & Expo(R), Macworld Conference & Expo(R), DEMO(R), and IDC Directions. IDC provides global market research and advice through offices in 50 countries. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.
About WOW
The World Organization of Webmasters (WOW) is a non-profit professional association dedicated to the support of individuals and organizations that create, manage or market Web sites. WOW provides education as well as certification, technical, employment and member advantage services to thousands of aspiring and practicing Web professionals worldwide.
Former governor Locke likely commerce nominee
Gary Locke, a former governor of Washington state, is the "likely nominee" for US commerce secretary, an administration official said on Monday.
Locke, a Democrat, is the third nominee for the post. The first two, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Republican Senator Judd Gregg, withdrew their names from contention.
Locke, 59, served two terms as governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005 and was the first Chinese-American governor in US history. He oversaw a state with a diverse economy that includes corporate giants like Boeing and Microsoft, as well as wheat farmers in the less-populated eastern half.
At the Commerce Department, he would be in charge of a huge bureaucracy functions of which range from export promotion to monitoring global climate change.
Locke has a law degree from Boston University and began his career in public service as a deputy prosecutor.
He was elected to the Washington state House of Representatives in 1982 and later served as chief executive of King County, Washington, which includes Seattle.
President Barack Obama has had an usually hard time filling the top job at commerce, typically seen as the chief advocate for business within the cabinet.
His first choice, Richardson, withdrew in the face of a legal probe into a California-based financial company that had done business with the New Mexico state government.
Richardson denied any wrongdoing, but said he feared the inquiry would delay his Senate confirmation at a time when Obama needed his top economic aides quickly in place.
Gregg, a Republican, withdrew two weeks ago in an embarrassing setback to Obama's efforts to bridge party differences on the economy.
The third-term senator said he realized his policy differences with Obama were too great and it would be a "bigger mistake" to stay and serve in the administration.
The vacancy at the Commerce Department highlights other administration jobs that are not filled.
Obama still has not named a replacement for Tom Daschle, who withdrew as nominee for US health secretary because of personal tax issues.
And the Senate Finance Committee has not scheduled a hearing yet on the nomination of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk to be US trade representative. That hearing is now expected next week at the earliest.
There are also many senior positions at the Treasury, Commerce Department and trade office that remain empty.
Locke, a Democrat, is the third nominee for the post. The first two, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Republican Senator Judd Gregg, withdrew their names from contention.
Locke, 59, served two terms as governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005 and was the first Chinese-American governor in US history. He oversaw a state with a diverse economy that includes corporate giants like Boeing and Microsoft, as well as wheat farmers in the less-populated eastern half.
At the Commerce Department, he would be in charge of a huge bureaucracy functions of which range from export promotion to monitoring global climate change.
Locke has a law degree from Boston University and began his career in public service as a deputy prosecutor.
He was elected to the Washington state House of Representatives in 1982 and later served as chief executive of King County, Washington, which includes Seattle.
President Barack Obama has had an usually hard time filling the top job at commerce, typically seen as the chief advocate for business within the cabinet.
His first choice, Richardson, withdrew in the face of a legal probe into a California-based financial company that had done business with the New Mexico state government.
Richardson denied any wrongdoing, but said he feared the inquiry would delay his Senate confirmation at a time when Obama needed his top economic aides quickly in place.
Gregg, a Republican, withdrew two weeks ago in an embarrassing setback to Obama's efforts to bridge party differences on the economy.
The third-term senator said he realized his policy differences with Obama were too great and it would be a "bigger mistake" to stay and serve in the administration.
The vacancy at the Commerce Department highlights other administration jobs that are not filled.
Obama still has not named a replacement for Tom Daschle, who withdrew as nominee for US health secretary because of personal tax issues.
And the Senate Finance Committee has not scheduled a hearing yet on the nomination of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk to be US trade representative. That hearing is now expected next week at the earliest.
There are also many senior positions at the Treasury, Commerce Department and trade office that remain empty.
2009年2月12日星期四
Top 10 SEO Mistakes
Every search engine optimization (SEO) campaign is a double-edged sword. It’s like traveling in space: one wrong calculation here and one there and you can end up billions of light-years away from your destination. In this post I’m going to suggest 10 SEO mistakes that you should definitely avoid. There are 100s of things that can go wrong, but these top 10 SEO mistakes can cause you the most harm. Here they are:
1) Wrong title of the page
Your title is the first thing the search engine crawlers encounter when they visit your web page. Your title tells the search what your page is about. Even when your link appears in the search results page, it’s your title that attracts the users and makes them click the link. Avoid deceptive titles. Use keywords in your title and be as clear as possible. Another mistake regarding the titles is that sometimes all the pages belonging to a website have the same title: this is a big mistake. Every page of your website should have its own unique title.
2) Wrong selection of keywords
Almost every SEO effort revolves around the chosen keywords and lots of money and time is spent on obtaining a high ranking for the keywords. All the effort will go down the drain if you focus on the wrong keywords. Carefully study what keywords and key phrases your target market is using to find what you have to offer, and then optimize accordingly. Use the free and commercial keyword-analysis tools to zero-in on the precise keywords. Never assume on your own what keywords your target market is using.
3) Having no textual content
No matter how snazzy a website you have, if it doesn’t have enough text, the search engines will never find out what you represent and what product or service you intend to sell.
4) Having wrong content
It is as good as having no content because your bad content will give all the bad information to the search engines. This is partly related to selecting the wrong keywords because even by selecting the wrong keywords you can easily generate wrong content.
5) Choosing the wrong target market
You should know to whom you want to sell, and only then you can properly steer your SEO campaign. If the target market is wrong, how can optimise your website correctly. With wrong target market you’ll be choosing the wrong keywords and misplaced search engine campaigns. Always be sure of whom you want to target.
6) Indiscriminate use of graphics and animations
Graphics and animations look cool, but they only look cool once. They are like a movie: the more times you see them, the less attractive you find them. Unnecessary frills bloat your pages and push your real textual content downwards. Always remember that when the search engine crawlers visit your website they can make no sense of your graphics; they are only looking for the text content.
7) No use of header tags
Header tags— are very important tags because they are supposed to highlight the gist of your web page. To create heading people often use bigger fonts for the
1) Wrong title of the page
Your title is the first thing the search engine crawlers encounter when they visit your web page. Your title tells the search what your page is about. Even when your link appears in the search results page, it’s your title that attracts the users and makes them click the link. Avoid deceptive titles. Use keywords in your title and be as clear as possible. Another mistake regarding the titles is that sometimes all the pages belonging to a website have the same title: this is a big mistake. Every page of your website should have its own unique title.
2) Wrong selection of keywords
Almost every SEO effort revolves around the chosen keywords and lots of money and time is spent on obtaining a high ranking for the keywords. All the effort will go down the drain if you focus on the wrong keywords. Carefully study what keywords and key phrases your target market is using to find what you have to offer, and then optimize accordingly. Use the free and commercial keyword-analysis tools to zero-in on the precise keywords. Never assume on your own what keywords your target market is using.
3) Having no textual content
No matter how snazzy a website you have, if it doesn’t have enough text, the search engines will never find out what you represent and what product or service you intend to sell.
4) Having wrong content
It is as good as having no content because your bad content will give all the bad information to the search engines. This is partly related to selecting the wrong keywords because even by selecting the wrong keywords you can easily generate wrong content.
5) Choosing the wrong target market
You should know to whom you want to sell, and only then you can properly steer your SEO campaign. If the target market is wrong, how can optimise your website correctly. With wrong target market you’ll be choosing the wrong keywords and misplaced search engine campaigns. Always be sure of whom you want to target.
6) Indiscriminate use of graphics and animations
Graphics and animations look cool, but they only look cool once. They are like a movie: the more times you see them, the less attractive you find them. Unnecessary frills bloat your pages and push your real textual content downwards. Always remember that when the search engine crawlers visit your website they can make no sense of your graphics; they are only looking for the text content.
7) No use of header tags
Header tags— are very important tags because they are supposed to highlight the gist of your web page. To create heading people often use bigger fonts for the
tag which is totally wrong. Search engines look for important keywords within your header tags so always use them to highlight the main points of your text, and if possible, use the keywords within the header tags.
Excessive use of keywords
People think the more keywords their pages have, the better is the chance of getting ranked hire; this is a complete misconception. Excessive use of keywords can get your website blacklisted on various search engines. Although you must have your keywords and their synonyms in your text they don’t have to appear in every sentence. Just have them in the beginning, within your title and other header tags possibly as anchor text.
9) Wrong linking policy
Linking is a very potent SEO services methodology, but only if done properly. Indiscriminate incoming and outgoing links can severely harm your search engine rankings. Try getting inbound links from reputed websites and never link to websites that are considered “bad” (porn, spamming, scams, etc.) by the search engines.
10) Not blogging
Not blogging is a mistake because even if it directly may not affect your rankings (or it may), you can rest assured that your competitors are using it to boost their search engine rankings to get highly relevant traffic.
So avoid these top 10 SEO mistakes and gradually keep climbing up the ladder of higher rankings.
Romance blooms at the office, US survey say
Forty percent of US workers have dated an office colleague, with 31 percent of them going on to marriage, according to a survey released on Tuesday.Ten percent work with someone they would like to date and 18 percent have dated a co-worker twice or more at some time in their careers, the office romance survey for online job website CareerBuilder.com showed.
Those eyeing a co-worker was skewed between the sexes, with 14 percent of men but just 5 percent of women saying they would like to date a colleague.
Of those who dated a co-worker in the last year, a third said it was someone with a more senior position in the company. Of those, 42 percent have dated their boss, said the survey.
Nearly three-quarters said they did not have to keep their romance a secret but 7 percent said they had left a job due to an office romance.
The survey of 8,038 full-time adult employees was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between November 12 and December 1, 2008.
The overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 1.09 percentage points, it said. CareerBuilder.com is owned by Gannett Co, Tribune Co, The McClatchy Co and Microsoft Corp.
Those eyeing a co-worker was skewed between the sexes, with 14 percent of men but just 5 percent of women saying they would like to date a colleague.
Of those who dated a co-worker in the last year, a third said it was someone with a more senior position in the company. Of those, 42 percent have dated their boss, said the survey.
Nearly three-quarters said they did not have to keep their romance a secret but 7 percent said they had left a job due to an office romance.
The survey of 8,038 full-time adult employees was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between November 12 and December 1, 2008.
The overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 1.09 percentage points, it said. CareerBuilder.com is owned by Gannett Co, Tribune Co, The McClatchy Co and Microsoft Corp.
2009年2月3日星期二
President to visit Africa to consolidate friendship
President Hu Jintao will pay state visits to four African nations as well as Saudi Arabia from Tuesday to Feb 17 in his first overseas trip this year, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu announced Tuesday.Analysts said the trips to Mali, Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius would help prove Beijing's sincerity in consolidating friendship with the continent.
Jiang said the purpose of the visit was to help in "further consolidating China's friendship with these countries and promoting the implementation of the measures announced at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation".
At the Beijing summit held in November 2006, President Hu announced an eight-step package to provide assistance to Africa in three years. "This November will be the deadline for China to fulfill its promises," Xu Weizhong, an expert on African studies with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told China Daily.
Zeng Qiang, another researcher with the institute, said the Chinese government had completed roughly 80 percent of its work in fulfilling the promises.
In an interview with the Beijing News last month, Xu Jinghu, director of the African department under the Foreign Ministry, said China has signed financial aid deals with 48 African countries and preferential loan agreements with 20 nations.
At the Beijing summit, China also promised to cancel 168 debts owed by 33 African countries, which matured by the end of 2005, and 150 of them have been settled, he added.
Premier Wen Jiabao, when meeting with Angolan President Jos Eduardo dos Santos at the end of last year, said that China would not reduce its aid to Africa despite the global financial crisis.
Hu's Africa visit will also indicate that Beijing values the importance of Africa not on its resources, as some western media have suggested, but on the friendship and from a long-term view, said Xu Weizhong.
Strengthening cooperation in the financial crisis will also be a major topic during the visit, Xu said. Trade volume between China and Africa reached $106.8 billion last year, fulfilling the goal of $100 billion two years ahead of the agenda.
"And there might even be a tiny increase in Chinese investment in Africa, as the financial crisis has forced Chinese enterprises to explore other markets," Xu Weizhong said. Other benefits Hu's visit might bring to Africa include expanded cooperation between China and Africa on infrastructure construction, he said.
"That's exactly what Africa needs. The ongoing 12th African Union Summit of heads of state has even picked the infrastructure issue as their theme," he said. Hu's visit to Senegal will be the first visit by a top Chinese leader after the two countries re-established diplomatic relations in 2005.
Senegal broke relations with Beijing and turned to Taiwan in 1996, but it severed relations with the island nine years later. Hu last traveled to eight African countries on a visit in 2007.
Jiang said the purpose of the visit was to help in "further consolidating China's friendship with these countries and promoting the implementation of the measures announced at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation".
At the Beijing summit held in November 2006, President Hu announced an eight-step package to provide assistance to Africa in three years. "This November will be the deadline for China to fulfill its promises," Xu Weizhong, an expert on African studies with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told China Daily.
Zeng Qiang, another researcher with the institute, said the Chinese government had completed roughly 80 percent of its work in fulfilling the promises.
In an interview with the Beijing News last month, Xu Jinghu, director of the African department under the Foreign Ministry, said China has signed financial aid deals with 48 African countries and preferential loan agreements with 20 nations.
At the Beijing summit, China also promised to cancel 168 debts owed by 33 African countries, which matured by the end of 2005, and 150 of them have been settled, he added.
Premier Wen Jiabao, when meeting with Angolan President Jos Eduardo dos Santos at the end of last year, said that China would not reduce its aid to Africa despite the global financial crisis.
Hu's Africa visit will also indicate that Beijing values the importance of Africa not on its resources, as some western media have suggested, but on the friendship and from a long-term view, said Xu Weizhong.
Strengthening cooperation in the financial crisis will also be a major topic during the visit, Xu said. Trade volume between China and Africa reached $106.8 billion last year, fulfilling the goal of $100 billion two years ahead of the agenda.
"And there might even be a tiny increase in Chinese investment in Africa, as the financial crisis has forced Chinese enterprises to explore other markets," Xu Weizhong said. Other benefits Hu's visit might bring to Africa include expanded cooperation between China and Africa on infrastructure construction, he said.
"That's exactly what Africa needs. The ongoing 12th African Union Summit of heads of state has even picked the infrastructure issue as their theme," he said. Hu's visit to Senegal will be the first visit by a top Chinese leader after the two countries re-established diplomatic relations in 2005.
Senegal broke relations with Beijing and turned to Taiwan in 1996, but it severed relations with the island nine years later. Hu last traveled to eight African countries on a visit in 2007.
Google in need of SEO
I had one of the best laughs of my life recently while reading a page explaining what Google's homepage would look like if they had to Search engine optimization their site like everyone else.
It was beautiful, and I'm so jealous I didn't think of it first.
So with that funny story firmly planted in my mind, we got an enquiry at SearchMasters coming from the search term "search engine". Because we are optimized for "search engine optimization", by default we are optimized for "search engine" as well.
As I normally do, I went out and scoped out the SERPS to see what was happening...
Above: SearchMasters outranks google.co.nz for the term "search engine"
Outranked!
Funny how SearchMasters and others are beating Google for this phrase. Maybe if Google applied some of the seo services suggestions recommended in the above link, they could rank top for this term :)
Clearly there isn't any bias being applied here - Google's homepage isn't optimized for this term, and it's not ranking top as a result. Great to know we are (at least sometimes) operating on a level playing field.
Update
So after thinking it through, I thought it a little unfair to pick on Google over this one, so I decided to check out Yahoo and MSN as well.
Nuff said really. Out of the 3 major engines, Google is ranking itself best. Even Yahoo is listing Google as the first result, which says all kinds of things really. I kept these results to NZ only for consistency with the original Google result, but upon thinking about it, MSN probably doesn't have a NZ site and could well be filtering itself out of the results. Yahoo on the other hand is branded as Yahoo Xtra, so one would assume this is a New Zealand site, or at least it should be.
If you search the worldwide versions of these phrases, you get all kinds of funny results. MSN lists every major search engine you can think of, except itself, on the top 10 results.
It was beautiful, and I'm so jealous I didn't think of it first.
So with that funny story firmly planted in my mind, we got an enquiry at SearchMasters coming from the search term "search engine". Because we are optimized for "search engine optimization", by default we are optimized for "search engine" as well.
As I normally do, I went out and scoped out the SERPS to see what was happening...
Above: SearchMasters outranks google.co.nz for the term "search engine"
Outranked!
Funny how SearchMasters and others are beating Google for this phrase. Maybe if Google applied some of the seo services suggestions recommended in the above link, they could rank top for this term :)
Clearly there isn't any bias being applied here - Google's homepage isn't optimized for this term, and it's not ranking top as a result. Great to know we are (at least sometimes) operating on a level playing field.
Update
So after thinking it through, I thought it a little unfair to pick on Google over this one, so I decided to check out Yahoo and MSN as well.
Nuff said really. Out of the 3 major engines, Google is ranking itself best. Even Yahoo is listing Google as the first result, which says all kinds of things really. I kept these results to NZ only for consistency with the original Google result, but upon thinking about it, MSN probably doesn't have a NZ site and could well be filtering itself out of the results. Yahoo on the other hand is branded as Yahoo Xtra, so one would assume this is a New Zealand site, or at least it should be.
If you search the worldwide versions of these phrases, you get all kinds of funny results. MSN lists every major search engine you can think of, except itself, on the top 10 results.
2009年1月14日星期三
US retail sales plummet for 6th month in a row
Retail sales plunged far more than expected in December, a record sixth straight monthly decline as consumers were battered by a recession, a severe credit crisis and soaring job losses, none of which are likely to ease anytime soon.The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales dropped 2.7 percent last month, more than double the 1.2 percent decline that Wall Street expected.
For the entire year, retail sales were down 0.1 percent, a sharp turnaround after a 4.1 percent gain in 2007. It was the first time the annual retail sales figure has fallen on government records going back to 1992. Before 2008, the weakest year for retail sales had been an increase of 2.4 percent in 2002, the year after the 2001 recession.
The weakness in consumer spending has been a prime contributing factor to the economy's current swoon and analysts say they don't see that turning around soon. They predict the current recession, already the longest in a quarter-century, will continue at least until the second half of this year.
The 2.7 percent December plunge in sales, which followed a November drop revised upward to 2.1 percent, confirmed private sector reports that retailers had suffered their worst holiday shopping season since at least 1969.
Since consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of total economic activity, the weakness is a major factor depressing overall economic activity. The country fell into a recession in December 2007, reflecting a severe slump in housing.
The economy's weakness intensified in the fall when the financial system was engulfed in its biggest crisis since the 1930s as billions of dollars of losses on mortgages and other types of loans forced the government to put together a massive rescue effort to try to get banks to resume more normal lending.President-elect Barack Obama has promised to push a sweeping economic stimulus program of around $800 billion through Congress in the next few weeks, but even with that assistance, economists say the country is facing a prolonged period of weakness.
Many analysts believe the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, plunged at an annual rate of 6 percent in the just-completed fourth quarter after dropping by 0.5 percent in the third quarter.
For December, virtually all areas of retail sales showed declines. Auto sales fell by 0.7 percent and are down a huge 22.4 percent from a year ago.
Excluding autos, retail sales were down a record 3.1 percent. This reflected declines at department stores, specialty clothing stores, furniture stores, hardware stores, restaurants and service stations. The 15.9 percent drop at service stations was heavily influenced by the steep decline in gasoline prices during the month.
Automakers closed out a dismal 2008 with General Motors Corp. having its worst year in nearly a half-century and both GM and Chrysler LLC having to take emergency loans from the government's bailout fund.
Last week, the nation's major chain stores reported dismal sales results for December. Even Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported smaller gains than economists expected. Among the retailers reporting big declines were Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Sears and Kmart stores, luxury retailer Saks Inc. and Gap Inc.
Departing Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott on Monday told the annual National Retail Federation convention that while a new economic stimulus package from the government will have "some impact" on the economy, he doesn't expect a quick rebound since "fundamental changes" in consumer behavior - an increased focus on saving and less buying - will likely linger.
Scott, who was making his last public speech as CEO and president of the world's largest retailer, predicted that the first half of 2009 will be "extremely challenging," and said he hopes the second half would be a little easier.
For the entire year, retail sales were down 0.1 percent, a sharp turnaround after a 4.1 percent gain in 2007. It was the first time the annual retail sales figure has fallen on government records going back to 1992. Before 2008, the weakest year for retail sales had been an increase of 2.4 percent in 2002, the year after the 2001 recession.
The weakness in consumer spending has been a prime contributing factor to the economy's current swoon and analysts say they don't see that turning around soon. They predict the current recession, already the longest in a quarter-century, will continue at least until the second half of this year.
The 2.7 percent December plunge in sales, which followed a November drop revised upward to 2.1 percent, confirmed private sector reports that retailers had suffered their worst holiday shopping season since at least 1969.
Since consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of total economic activity, the weakness is a major factor depressing overall economic activity. The country fell into a recession in December 2007, reflecting a severe slump in housing.
The economy's weakness intensified in the fall when the financial system was engulfed in its biggest crisis since the 1930s as billions of dollars of losses on mortgages and other types of loans forced the government to put together a massive rescue effort to try to get banks to resume more normal lending.President-elect Barack Obama has promised to push a sweeping economic stimulus program of around $800 billion through Congress in the next few weeks, but even with that assistance, economists say the country is facing a prolonged period of weakness.
Many analysts believe the overall economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, plunged at an annual rate of 6 percent in the just-completed fourth quarter after dropping by 0.5 percent in the third quarter.
For December, virtually all areas of retail sales showed declines. Auto sales fell by 0.7 percent and are down a huge 22.4 percent from a year ago.
Excluding autos, retail sales were down a record 3.1 percent. This reflected declines at department stores, specialty clothing stores, furniture stores, hardware stores, restaurants and service stations. The 15.9 percent drop at service stations was heavily influenced by the steep decline in gasoline prices during the month.
Automakers closed out a dismal 2008 with General Motors Corp. having its worst year in nearly a half-century and both GM and Chrysler LLC having to take emergency loans from the government's bailout fund.
Last week, the nation's major chain stores reported dismal sales results for December. Even Wal-Mart Stores Inc. reported smaller gains than economists expected. Among the retailers reporting big declines were Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Sears and Kmart stores, luxury retailer Saks Inc. and Gap Inc.
Departing Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott on Monday told the annual National Retail Federation convention that while a new economic stimulus package from the government will have "some impact" on the economy, he doesn't expect a quick rebound since "fundamental changes" in consumer behavior - an increased focus on saving and less buying - will likely linger.
Scott, who was making his last public speech as CEO and president of the world's largest retailer, predicted that the first half of 2009 will be "extremely challenging," and said he hopes the second half would be a little easier.
What is Website Promotion?
Search Engine Optimization: How important is SEO to my Website? Extremely important! Again, many web designers do not know how to properly optimize a Website for the search engines. It is important to have someone who specializes in SEO to go over your Website and make sure it is ready to get crawled and indexed by the search engines.There was a time when SEO was all-inclusive with link building, Website promotion, search engine marketing, etc. Times have changed somewhat and the search engines have become more complicated, so now many people specialize in certain aspects of Search engine optimization.I define SEO as coding the Website properly, writing text that contains the proper amount and correct keywords and phrases, search engine submissions, and some link building techniques.Search Engine Marketing: What is SEM and how important is this to my Website? Search Engine Marketing by my own definition is marketing your Website through Google Adwords, MSN AdCenter, and other keyword purchasing programs as well as purchasing links, ads, and sponsored listings.Again, many people are specializing in an area they have success with these days. I am very good at seo services, but I have limited experience with SEM. Therefore, I can make your Website ready to be crawled, do link building, and write text that helps you attract good search engine rank and traffic, but I would not be the guy you would hire to manage your Adwords program.Website Promotion: Yet another category with a relationship to SEO and SEM. How important is this category? In my opinion it tops the list. What is Website Promotion? This category includes Article Marketing, Press Releases, Link Popularity, Buying Traffic, Blogging, Forum Posting and more.Why do I consider it more important? First, none of the things mentioned here can stand-alone. You need to consider all of the different aspects as important. However, search engines change constantly. Depending on search engines for all or most of your traffic and sales is putting your life in Google's hands basically since they account for 60% of all searches now.If you are comfortable with one company having that much control over how well you do on the web, then ignore Website promotion and just do SEO and SEM. You need traffic from many different sources if you want to be successful. That way if one source dies out, you are not affected nearly as much as someone who only had one or a few sources of traffic would be.Focus on getting traffic from every source you can. Post comments in Blogs and Forums related to your topic. That means actually join the forums or blogs and actually get involved in the conversations there and post quality comments. Be helpful to people at the forums and blogs. Ask questions. No one will mind that a link in your SIG line goes to your Website is you are a real participant. If they do object at that point, find a new place to join.
2009年1月5日星期一
Diplomats seek truce as Gaza toll rises
Diplomats and European leaders raced around the region in search of a cease-fire, but with Palestinian rocket fire continuing, Israel said it won't stop its crippling 10-day assault until "peace and tranquility" are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of fire.
The operation's ground phase, which began Saturday with a withering round of artillery fire, was going according to plan, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu told Israeli TV. Israeli forces were sweeping through Palestinian rocket launching locations near the border and the militants were suffering many casualties, he said.
But no militant casualties were seen Monday by an Associated Press reporter at Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip's largest. Instead, the hospital was overwhelmed with civilians. Bodies were two to a morgue drawer, and the wounded were being treated in hallways because beds were full.
Gaza health officials reported more than 550 Palestinian dead and about 2,500 wounded since Israel began the campaign 10 days ago, including 200 civilians. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters in New York on Monday that UN officials believe at least 500 people have been killed in the fighting and that as many as 25 percent are civilians.
At least 20 Palestinian children were killed during the day, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a health official. Most confirmed deaths have been civilians.
The three young brothers from the Samouni family died in an attack on a town outside Gaza City, a Gaza health official said.
Five Israelis have been killed during the offensive, including a soldier in the ground operation. Heavy Israeli casualties could undermine what has so far been overwhelming public support for the operation.
The three brothers, reportedly were killed in an artillery strike Monday, were carried to a cemetery in an emotional funeral. One of them, Issa Samouni, 3, was wrapped in a white cloth, showing only his pale, yellow face. A man delicately placed him in a dark grave cut into the earth.
In one of the first major gunbattles of the ground campaign, Israeli troops and Hamas militants clashed at close quarters on the outskirts of the crowded Gaza City neighborhood of Shajaiyeh, Israeli defense officials said.
Troops seized control of three six-story buildings on the outskirts, climbing to rooftop gun and observation positions. Residents were locked in their rooms and soldiers took away their cell phones, a neighbor said, quoting a relative who called before his phone was seized.
"The army is there, firing in all directions," said Mohammed Salmai, a 29-year-old truck driver. "All we can do is take clothes to each other to keep ourselves warm and pray to God that if we die, someone will find our bodies under the rubble."
Fighter jets attacked houses, weapons storage sites, a pair of mosques and smuggling tunnels, as they have since the start of the offensive Dec. 27. Israel has attacked several mosques during the campaign, saying they were used to store weapons.
The operation's ground phase, which began Saturday with a withering round of artillery fire, was going according to plan, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu told Israeli TV. Israeli forces were sweeping through Palestinian rocket launching locations near the border and the militants were suffering many casualties, he said.
But no militant casualties were seen Monday by an Associated Press reporter at Shifa Hospital, the Gaza Strip's largest. Instead, the hospital was overwhelmed with civilians. Bodies were two to a morgue drawer, and the wounded were being treated in hallways because beds were full.
Gaza health officials reported more than 550 Palestinian dead and about 2,500 wounded since Israel began the campaign 10 days ago, including 200 civilians. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters in New York on Monday that UN officials believe at least 500 people have been killed in the fighting and that as many as 25 percent are civilians.
At least 20 Palestinian children were killed during the day, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a health official. Most confirmed deaths have been civilians.
The three young brothers from the Samouni family died in an attack on a town outside Gaza City, a Gaza health official said.
Five Israelis have been killed during the offensive, including a soldier in the ground operation. Heavy Israeli casualties could undermine what has so far been overwhelming public support for the operation.
The three brothers, reportedly were killed in an artillery strike Monday, were carried to a cemetery in an emotional funeral. One of them, Issa Samouni, 3, was wrapped in a white cloth, showing only his pale, yellow face. A man delicately placed him in a dark grave cut into the earth.
In one of the first major gunbattles of the ground campaign, Israeli troops and Hamas militants clashed at close quarters on the outskirts of the crowded Gaza City neighborhood of Shajaiyeh, Israeli defense officials said.
Troops seized control of three six-story buildings on the outskirts, climbing to rooftop gun and observation positions. Residents were locked in their rooms and soldiers took away their cell phones, a neighbor said, quoting a relative who called before his phone was seized.
"The army is there, firing in all directions," said Mohammed Salmai, a 29-year-old truck driver. "All we can do is take clothes to each other to keep ourselves warm and pray to God that if we die, someone will find our bodies under the rubble."
Fighter jets attacked houses, weapons storage sites, a pair of mosques and smuggling tunnels, as they have since the start of the offensive Dec. 27. Israel has attacked several mosques during the campaign, saying they were used to store weapons.
Campaign looks to free Web from porn
A month-long campaign has been launched against websites that "spread pornography and threaten the morals of young people", the government said Monday.
The campaign, whose targets include Google and Baidu, is being run by the Ministry of Public Security and six other central agencies, a statement posted on the government's website said.
Cai Mingzhao, deputy director of the Information Office of the State Council, said in the statement: "These websites violate public morality and harm the physical and mental health of young people."
Huang Chengqing, deputy secretary-general of the Internet Society of China, said: "Pornography is banned in China and websites that feature erotic content are morally offensive."
Google and Baidu, the most popular search engines in China, failed to take "efficient" measures after receiving notices from the Internet watchdog that they were providing links to pornographic material, the statement said.
Web portals Sina and Sohu, and a number of video sharing sites and bulletin boards were also said to have "problematic photos, blogs and postings".
Cui Jin, a public relations official for Google China said "finger pointing should differentiate between the producers and non-producers of pornographic materials".
"Google does not produce nor own any content or websites," she said.
The firm has always abided by local laws and will delete links to sites if we are told they contain illegal content, she said.
"We have also adopted 'safe search' as the default setting, which automatically blocks sites with such content," she said.
The campaign, whose targets include Google and Baidu, is being run by the Ministry of Public Security and six other central agencies, a statement posted on the government's website said.
Cai Mingzhao, deputy director of the Information Office of the State Council, said in the statement: "These websites violate public morality and harm the physical and mental health of young people."
Huang Chengqing, deputy secretary-general of the Internet Society of China, said: "Pornography is banned in China and websites that feature erotic content are morally offensive."
Google and Baidu, the most popular search engines in China, failed to take "efficient" measures after receiving notices from the Internet watchdog that they were providing links to pornographic material, the statement said.
Web portals Sina and Sohu, and a number of video sharing sites and bulletin boards were also said to have "problematic photos, blogs and postings".
Cui Jin, a public relations official for Google China said "finger pointing should differentiate between the producers and non-producers of pornographic materials".
"Google does not produce nor own any content or websites," she said.
The firm has always abided by local laws and will delete links to sites if we are told they contain illegal content, she said.
"We have also adopted 'safe search' as the default setting, which automatically blocks sites with such content," she said.
In House SEO Adoption
There's not much information available on the rate of adoption of in-house SEO, but driving some of the demand is poor experiences with SEO services companies. Some of the results delivered may have been disappointing and other times it was believed the SEO provider could do magic, and make Google behave and accept a Web site and keyword positioning that was inappropriate. Other times, the SEO provider couldn't interface with competing in house stakeholders and get them to work together to appeal to Google's needs. The company then considered bringing it in-house so that magically, everyone would come onside and work together to achieve organic search visibility, and Google would step in line with the company's preferences.
In dealing with corporate clients, I do often act as intermediary between competing internal departments, holdouts, and others who don't understand or appreciate the business value of SEO. However, in the end, the company itself must see SEO as important and not something done by the "temp." It has to be organized by an executive who champions the cause of SEO - obviously the visionary who can see the huge potential. Bringing a newbie in and giving them a desk to sit at, will not do much to solve internal squabbles and create respect for SEO. In fact, it will often degrade the perception of SEO and what is really needed for your company to succeed.
An important truth about Search engine optimization projects is that once they're up and running, only ongoing maintenance and development are normally needed. With the bulk of the work correctly implemented, there's no need for an in-house specialist. So before you get saddled with a yearly salary for questionable performance and lost opportunity, consider the true value of an SEO consultant who is dedicated to top results. There's no reward for 5th place.
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