Stuart McHenry - My Internet World

If you have a child or several of them for that matter you will want to look into the new Kizzog by McKremie.com. The word (yes they made it up) comes from combining the words Kids + Blog = Kizzog. To describe it in a short manner a Kizzog is an all-inclusive personal website for parents about their kids.

Baby Boy Kizzog

click here for larger view

What actually makes the Kizzog super cool is the Kizzog Image installer that allows you to easily change the pictures in the website design with just a click of the mouse. Why is this super cool? Well, kids grow up so fast and if you do spend a few hundred dollars on a custom web design more than likely the kids pictures will be out grown rather quickly. Plus the Kizzogs come installed with 12 themes.

The themes range from newborn babies to sport themes like snowboarding, basketball, soccer and football. There is even a “Dog-House” theme one can use for a child or a dog. Yep, some people like to blog about there pets too.

More information can be answered in the frequently asked Kizzog questions section. I think the cool thing is the price at only $49.95 per year and that includes everything!

In the recent years websites have become a necessity to almost everyone. Companies, businesses, individuals, even school kids have created personal websites or blogs.

What you need to consider before creating a website, are things such the cost, maintenance, content, web host, and purpose. You’ll need to ask questions like, what I do want the visitor to do when they’re on your website? Do you want to just provide the information about your business or do you want to them make a purchase, or maybe you’re looking for their contact details.

Firstly, you’ll need to register a domain name which is roughly around $8 for one year. Ideally you should purchase at least two years or more because that will benefit on search engines. Next would be a “cheap” hosting solution, getting this step right can save you from hours, even days of stress. The key here is RESEARCH, read people’s posts in forums and blogs and see what’s good and bad out there. I would spend half of day if not more doing this. Companies that have been around for 5+ years are usually pretty safe, but never pay for one full year the first time, and if they don’t the monthly option then I would look elsewhere, unless it’s recommendation from your friend.

So now you have all the technical things sorted out and you wonder what’s next. Your website! Depending on your level of interest and knowledge in web design, you could buy a software package like Dreamweaver and try to do it yourself. That can be fairly time-consuming and could end up costing you more in the long run. The alternative option is to find a professional web designer to do this for you. A professionally designed website should last you about 2+ years without any major changes. Have a look around on net, there’s a lot good web designers out there, so finding someone that fits your budget shouldn’t be difficult. Since most web designers have a portfolio site, you can see what they have done and whether or not his design style fits in with your business. An easy way to find out whether he/she is the right person for the job is to compare his work with your competitors’ website. A good web designer should be able to do well in both design and coding, and some will also have knowledge of Search Engine Optimization. If possible try to hire someone who has some SEO knowledge, and let them know your preferred search keywords before he/she start building the website. A website that built with SEO in mind can greatly benefit from free search engine traffic. One thing to remember is always find out exactly what you will get in the end before starting the project.

Not all industries can see huge benefits in having a website, some can benefit more than the others but having one will certainly give you an edge over your competitors who doesn’t, even if it just has your logo and contact details on there!

Everyone desires to have a professional looking website. No one wants that the website should appear generic. Creating a custom website is not an easy process because it involves a lot of coding and similar stuff. There are many templates available on web which can be used t build a website, but those templates are not customized according to your needs. Further, the templates give a generic look to your website. The website created from templates cannot build the confidence among the visitors and looks more like a blog and not a professional website. Therefore, instead of buying a template one should look for a freelance web designer who can build custom websites according to your needs.

Freelance web designers have the knowledge of all aspects of building a website and are capable of building a website that matches your expectations and requirements. Building a professional website without using a template is not easy job as it requires coding to be done in languages such as HTML. XML, PHP, and JAVA. Freelance web designer made website that has its own identity and is different from other websites on Internet and attracts visitors. The most important thing in web designing is that the website should be such that it bring backs the same visitor again and this is only possible if your website has something different from other websites and if not generic.

A professional freelance web designer builds a website from scratch so they know everything in the website. Therefore in future if you need any changes to be made in the website, those can be made very easily by the freelance web designer. In contrast, if you want to make any changes in the template then it’s not possible for you because mo one knows its structure and flow.

The best thing about freelance web designer is that they work individually and are not a part of a big business firm. Therefore, it’s easy to contact them and get the website customized according to your requirements. Further, they give you individual attention and agree with your terms and conditions of sending payment. Freelance web designers also add more features than templates because they exactly know your requirements. Freelance web designer can also provide your annual maintenance contracts for very low fees and enables you to maintain your website properly.

Freelance web designer are innovative and keep suggesting new features during maintenance contract and thus help you to upgrade constantly your website as well. They also make sure that the website has a good navigation and the links are properly presented and adds additional features such as related content etc.

The cost at which the freelance web designer work is also very less. Freelance web designer also want that your website should work well and you give him further contracts because they are not a part of big business.

Therefore, the conclusion is that freelances are better than buying a template for your website. They offer cheap and quality services and help maintain your websites and make sure that they work and function properly 24-7.

The US real estate market has been down for a while now with the turning point AUG 2007. Today when I was out I saw more real estate agent vehicles than I normally see on a Saturday. Are they getting desperate or are more people starting to buying homes again?

Some markets have stayed strong, the high end buyers looking for Beverly Hills or Palm Springs real estate are effected by the US mortgage mess. Most of these higher end buyers have significant amount of cash as a down payment and usually have outstanding credit scores. The area hot the hardest are the middle class and lower income areas. Most of these areas people got into the cheapest loan and are now paying high payments, if they can even make the payments.

Even though I see more real estate professionals out and about I still think we are in for another 6-8 months at least of dealing with declining sales and the mortgage mess. I wish I was wrong as numerous websites we own are in the real estate mortgage industry.

This year Andrew and I went to Pubcon, this being my third year and Andrew’s first year. For anyone that has been to one of these industry conferences knows that it’s all about networking. Some of us just network in a fun way.

We got in on Monday and our rooms where at the Palms. Last year I stayed at the Venetian and I like it there except when you are drunk off your ass trying to find your way back to your suite is a pain. So the Palms wasn’t bad, the rooms aren’t great but I didn’t really spend that much time there anyway. Monday night we watched the crazy football game and played a little poker.

Tuesday we woke up early went over to the conference location and took in the keynote by Craig Newmark. Craig is an interesting person but not a very dynamic speaker, before he was done half the room had cleared out. After this we caught a few sessions about social media marketing then blew off the conference the rest of the day. We went and played poker for the afternoon and rested ourselves for a night of parties.

We meet up with Jeremy and Dave and hung out with the Rubicon people in their suite before going over to Pure Nightclub. Nicole and the people at Rubicon know how to put on a party. We were treated like VIP’s, there was a huge line outside the nightclub and we didn’t have to wait. Once inside we had a section set aside for us to hang out, drink and dance. By far the best private event at Pubcon 2007!

Wednesday we went to a few sessions and then… poker, drinking and more socializing. I meet some interesting people on Wednesday a few of the most interesting where Dick Masterson (this guys always on Dr. Phil) and the I Can Has Cheezburger? guys. The BOTW guys (Brian & Greg) of course were there and seemed to have their own craps game going on. I ended up going back to my room around 3:30 AM and it’s good I did. I heard that Dave had to give the cab driver some extra money when Andrew puked all over the cab ride back.

Thursday was chill… woke up did a few sessions then went and played more poker. That night we played in the Purpose Inc’s poker tournament. (some money went to charity) This was a fun event a few of my buddies did well, I was knocked out in # 17 place. After this a handful of us hung out at a club to the wee hours of the morning.

With the way the mortgage melt down is happening it’s putting many families into debt. Families are turning to there credit cards to help bail them out. What they really need is some debt relief for the situation. Using credit cards can help you get by in tough situations but may hurt your credit and put you further into debt in the long run. Keep in mind that 30% of your credit score is based off of your revolving debt and when you tend to carry more than 50% of your credit limit it looks like you are stretching yourself to thin, which lowers your credit score.

If you look in the right places you can often get 0% APR credit cards or even go through a professional company that can do the credit card consolidation thing. Companies that offer the 0% APR are Discover Card, Capital One, Washing Mutual and Chase. It’s important no matter what route you go you ensure to fully understand the conditions and what will happen. On most of the 0% APR credit card offers if you happen to miss or are late on a payment the 0% APR goes away. The credit card debt reduction companies all have rules they must go by as well so it’s important to look into them.

The federal government has some great tips on how to protect yourself.
Be wary of credit counseling organizations that:

-charge high up-front or monthly fees for enrolling in credit counseling or a DMP.

-pressure you to make “voluntary contributions,” another name for fees.

-won’t send you free information about the services they provide without requiring you to provide personal financial information, such as credit card account numbers, and balances.

-try to enroll you in a DMP without spending time reviewing your financial situation.

-offer to enroll you in a DMP without teaching you budgeting and money management skills.

-demand that you make payments into a DMP before your creditors have accepted you into the program

Offers for new credit cards seem to come from everywhere. Two to three times per week I get offers for new credit cards some from the same companies week after week. I heard that one guy saves up all the offers with the preaddressed envelopes and mails them to other credit card offers. So when someone in the mail room of a credit card company opens an envelope expecting that apply for a credit card form, they get a surprise. It’s junk mail that was sent to them. I find it funny but I don’t have time for that.

I have really good credit, it wasn’t always that way but now on the rare occasion I apply for a credit card I not only get the cards but I get a huge limit to go with them. Some cards of mine have a high enough limit to go out and purchase a car on them. I have good discipline and almost always pay off my cards when the statements come every month. Anyway, I’m now going to start contacting the companies that keep sending me the junk mail so they can stop. I read some credit card articles that mention this works well with most of the companies and should stop most of the junk mail. It’s also my small way of going green, less paper sent to me has to be a tree saved some where, maybe.

If you are looking for a design firm check out Anaheim web design. They are professional and complete projects on time and under budget.

The US economy has headed downhill since early summer with the mortgage meltdown and the affects will be felt through 2008, if not longer. Crude oil prices are poised to cross the $100-a-barrel mark, soaring gasoline and energy prices. Wages stagnant, record level consumer debts, price increases, and declining housing prices, consumer spending will most likely decline even further.

Let’s first mention the 450,000 subprime mortgages that are expected to increase every quarter this coming year. Let’s face it most of the people that see an increase in their mortgage will not have the money and will continue to add to the foreclosure rates. We will go into more of how the real estate market effects numerous other markets in a minute, but first.

Ben Bernanke the Federal Reserve Chairman predicted an economic rebound by mid-2008. Let me tell you this is complete bullshit! (I wish it weren’t) Ben is trying to boost confidence in an economy that is sinking faster than Rosie O’Donnell trying to swim.

Anyone reading remember what Newton’s Third Law is??? “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction” well old Newton might of been referring to particles but it holds true to the real estate mess. Homes aren’t selling so this brings down a huge sector of the US economy. Realtors, agents, brokers, construction workers, asphalt companies, pool builders, security & alarms companies, lumber yards, roofers, A/C and heating companies, landscape companies and many more are directly affected by the market. We have already seen tons of these types of companies go under and many more are forced to lay off employees.

New car sales are starting to take a hit with some dealership reporting double digit sales decreases last month alone. And don’t get me started on travel because I just booked a 4 star room in a major US city for $70.00 per night. That same room was $135.00 two weeks ago and since I take this same trip every year I can tell you the price last year was $200.00 per night.

In 2008 we will see a record number of small business going under. Many small business owners rely on equity in their homes when times get tough or when they need new equipment. Guess what? There is no equity to get out of most homes and if there is it’s too little to qualify under the current lending conditions. When George the owner of the local auto shop has equipment that breaks or Ron the photographer that tries to get money out for camera equipment, won’t be able to, and their business will suffer.

I paid $3.45/per gallon for gas today, I have neighbors around me in foreclosure, some of which have already been laid off and one who owned a small business that went under. In my area of the country 1 in 43 homes is now a foreclosure and did I mention consumer spending is down. Put your seatbelts on America because 2008 will be one of the toughest years in many of our lives.

I’ve been working on a large project that has numerous people involved. The co-founder of the project is in New York and other key players are in Michigan and Nevada. So I’ve been looking for a way to bring all of us together for some meetings. I found a few websites that offer a web conference. This is a cost effective way to bring my team together. In the long run it will save tons of time and energy as the alternative is emailing, texting and working on AIM to complete this new project of mine.

Web conferencing has been around for a few years and cost as little as $75.00 per month. If you consider how much money it is to bring a team together for just one meeting your savings can well exceed thousands of dollars. Cost like flights, hotel and rental cars adds up quick not to mention meals. While researching I found a company that even offers web seminars. Web seminars are often called webinars and are great for consulting and training. A few buddies of mine that own high end Internet marketing companies often use these to train in-house search engine marketing.