Google's New Way Of Serving Ads

Google has been making a lot of changes these past few weeks. I am going to an 80’s costume party and wanted to get some ideas, yea I know last minute. Well, when I did the search on Google, the ads were served differently. Instead of having the usual two sponsored links at the top and other ads on the right hand side of the page. You can see there were a total of 11 ads, but I have to click to see the other eight. Since I find the natural, or left hand side of the page, search results to be more of what I’m looking for, I don’t plan on “clicking” to see more sponsored links. Is Google trying to get companies to bid higher for positions one or two? Will they lose revenue or is this just another test?

#TwitterTip – Who to Follow by Interests

For those of you now testing out the new Twitter web interface, one tip for growing your Twitter following is to follow other relevant Twitter accounts. Featured on the right side pane, under “Who To Follow” is a small “Browse Interest” link for following suggestions. Although this feature is easy to overlook, you will find that the “Browse Interest” feature is a very useful tool. It provides you with the ability to browse for other Twitter accounts by interests such as business, charity, deals & discounts, health, and technology to name a few.

Trying to grow your brand’s Twitter following? Try using this tool to find more targeted accounts to follow, who will find your brand’s tweets valuable. Remember, when trying to grow your following, follow additional accounts on an ongoing basis – don’t just follow thousands of accounts at once. Use this tip as an ongoing tactic.

Does this tool work well for your brand?

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents The Internet Marketing Model

Join Jay Berkowitz, InternetMarketingClub.org Founder, as he presents the highly anticipated webinar, “The Internet Marketing Model.” This live webinar will teach the fundamentals of the Internet Marketing Model and Funnel.

This presentation will explain the following topics:

• Review of the Natural Sales Process within the Internet Marketing Model
• Proven methods for generating more qualified traffic with Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, Online Media Advertising and more
• Fundamental Tactics within the Internet Marketing Sales Funnel
• Advanced Strategies for Generating More Upsells and Renewals

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, October 27, 2010 12:30pmEDT – 1:30pmEDT. To register and for more information please visit: The Internet Marketing Model

LinkedIn Adds New Profile Sections

LinkedIn is now offering even more ways to enhance your professional online profile. This week, the business-oriented social networking site launched 5 new profile sections allowing its 80 million users to add even more robust content to their profiles. Here's the basic rundown:


1. Publications: This one is especially useful to my writer friends. Now you can provide links to your published works as part of your profile.
2. Skills: Have a skill writing code in any number of languages? Know your way around a Windows Server? Are you the world's most talented juggler? List it here.
3. Languages: In the melting pot of South Florida, this one is a big advantage. Tell the world you speak another language... or several.
4. Certifications: MSCE? CPA? CFP? CCNA? MFC? DTR? List all those handy certs on your profile and feel good about that re-certification course you just aced. (and, yes, those are all REAL certifications. Look 'em up!)
5. Patents: List your pending and granted patents here.

What's the marketing angle? Well, if I'm trying to reach individuals with a particular skill set, language or certification, LinkedIn can serve up a more targeting advertising module for my marketing plan. Isn't this the social network where people are actually trying to do business together, after all?

Are Facebook and Privacy Oxymorons?

This is an interesting question to ask and one I think is deserving of more discussion.

Why do Facebook users always seem to have issues with privacy on Facebook? Maybe it has to do with the apparently prevailing mindset of Internet company executives right now. Eric Schmidt of Google said a whie back with regards to privacy and I quote, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."

How does this sentiment, expressed by the head of the most powerful public information gathering operation the world has ever known, jibe with the traditional American ideal of "A right to privacy" which American Courts established long ago? It doesn't. At all. In fact, its quite repugnant to that ideal.

So "What does this have to do with Facebook? That's Google", you might say. And you're right. But take a good look at all the past Facebook privacy issues. Take a look at most of the initiatives brought to the fore by Facebook. You will notice a very similar pattern emerge, a pattern of exposing more and more of your personal information to both the public and to advertisers. A pattern indeed in line with the sentiments expressed by Mr. Schmidt. Not to mention Mr. Zuckerberg of Facebook himself has stated "The age of Privacy is over." How nice of him to declare that for all the rest of us on the planet.

As a marketer, I love this as it allows me to better serve my clients. As an American, I get somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of every detail of my life potentially exposed to half a billion people.

What do you think? Weigh in and let us know.

Tools for Reserving Your Social Media Real Estate

As I’m sure we can all agree, lately it seems there are more and more sites launching that you want to claim your business or brand’s handle (username) in. But how do you manage to surf the hundreds of websites in just enough time to reserve your handle, if you even have the time and resources to do so? Luckily, there are a few handy tools out there that make this process much easier. Below are two solutions for you to test:


Although UD.com provides a more simplistic approach to searching for your brand across websites, it is ideal for preliminary brand searches. UD.com allows you to search if your brand has been taken as a domain name, social media username (a limited amount) or trademark, in a very user-friendly way (red is taken and green is available). Don’t expect an extensive list from the site, but do expect a high-level view to get started.


KnowEm.com is the solution to searching for your brand on over 400 popular social networks as well as emerging social media websites and common domain name availability. KnowEm.com covers everything from blogging, bookmarking, business, community, design, entertainment, health, information, microblogging, music, news, photo, tech, travel and video.

Please leave a comment below and let me know if you find these sites helpful.

Unfriended by Your Facebook Friends

I just finished some Facebook housekeeping and what I mean by cleaning is getting rid of some of my (what do I even call them after I defriended them?) acquaintances.

As reported in a new study conducted by the University of Colorado, below are the top 5 reasons why you get unfriended on Facebook.

1. Frequent Unimportant Posts: Sorry, but your friends don’t really want to be getting minute-by-minute updates of your band… You might want to try Twitter for that!
   
2. Religion and Politics: If you’re using Facebook to air your political and religious beliefs, you’re bound to offend somebody! Remember, if it’s not a good topic for a dinner party, don’t bring it up on Facebook either!
   
3. Inappropriate Posts: Keep it PG please! If you’re constantly posting crude or racists comments, you can’t really blame your Facebook friends for unfriending you. If your mother shouldn’t be hearing it, don’t post it on Facebook!
   
4. Offline Behavior: While 57% of surveyed participants unfriended for online reasons such as the ones above, 26.9% unfriended for offline behavior. So to get and keep all your Facebook friends, not only do you have to stop being annoying and act appropriately on Facebook, you have to do so in real life too!
5. Social Hierarchy: Just like in real life, there is also a social hierarchy on Facebook. The study found that those making the friend requests are much more likely to be abruptly unfriended, while those who unfriend have the dominant role in the relationship. So while you won’t be unfriending your mother any time soon, you might unfriend that “friend” who requested your friendship after meeting you at freshman orientation that one time.

I can say that 99.5 percent of the people I removed were for one of the reasons listed above. Which one of the top 5 reasons listed above annoys you the most? For me, the unimportant posts drive me mad. I do not care that you just went to the bathroom or that your dog woke you up at 5am for a walk.

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Lining Up Your Stars for A Successful Webinar

Join Jay Berkowitz, Chief Executive Officer of TenGoldenRules.com, and Gaylene Van Dusen of the Internationally known, ChorusCall.com, as they present, “Lining Up Your Stars for A Successful Webinar.” They will team up to deliver an overview of the planning, technical considerations, delivery and follow-up process of webinars. This primer is sure to help anyone new to hosting a webinar approach the project with more confidence.

This presentation will explain the following topics:

• Proven Methods for defining your objectives
• Understanding the difference between a webinar and a webcast
• How to take advantage of the advanced technical features
• Fundamental Tactics for planning your presentation
• Delivering an impressive webinar performance with helpful tools (Q&A)

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, October 20, 2010 12:30pmEST – 1:30pmEST. To register and for more information please visit: Lining Up Your Stars for A Successful Webinar

TrafficWave - OceanSwell TEAM Update (#64)

If you are involved with Team OceanSwell's optional second program (Global NPN), and sent me a personal photo and the other info I asked for, you will be receiving your unique, hosted ad shortly.  Some of you have already received yours, but everyone who has asked will get one.  This weekend, I've been side-tracked by getting set up with this new promotional system that all TrafficWave members can use, called, Infinity Cash Formula.  While on the surface, it doesn't appear to have anything to do with TrafficWave, it actually IS designed to help you grow your affiliate downline with TrafficWave, specifically.

Obviously, the Team OceanSwell co-op is a plan and a system for growing your TrafficWave affiliate business that strongly encourages the use of the autoresponder itself.  I highly recommend Get Referrals Fast for similar reasons.  It's a downline-builder for TrafficWave and it has systems and training to help anyone get the most out of the product and email marketing in general.

Infinity Cash Formula is a variation of these ideas in that it's a downline-builder that's packed with training material.  The difference is that the system is first and foremost, a marketing plan for a famous program called, Infinity Dowline.  In fact, if you have no intention of joining Infinity Downline, then this system isn't for you.  However, getting set-up with with new promotion plan is a multi-step process in which the system asks you to join Infinity Downline and TrafficWave (along with a couple of free lead-generation programs).  The catch is, that the software won't let you advance to the next step until you complete the each one, in order.  The goal is to have the prospect join all these programs, in order to receive a special link to their own personal back-office through which they too can market this system.  It's quite clever and, overall, this is a very slick package and effective presentation!  But it's not for everybody.  For one thing, it's a lot of work to set up and the promotional activities that they recommend take a lot of thought and a LOT of effort.  Also, the concept behind Infinity Downline's comp plan is very complex and hard for many to wrap their heads around at first.  Of course, you have to ask yourself the question, "How bad do I wanna' be rich?"  Only you can answer that, but your answer will determine what you're willing to learn and do in order to get there.

But speaking of questions, you may be asking, "Well, what if I'm already in TrafficWave or Infinity Downline?  Can I still use this program?  Technically, the answer is no.  However, it's really up to your sponsor.  Since I'm putting this Team Update out to existing TrafficWave members, I clearly don't care if you join this program with your existing TW account.  If I'm your sponsor, it's fine with me!  Which brings me to the final topic regarding this new promotion system.  In the back office, you are supplied with a very compelling squeeze page, a letter series and detailed instructions on how to plug the letters into your TrafficWave AR.  However, if you do this, take your time and do it right.  This is a crucial part of getting set up with the system and doing it right means that you won't regret doing it wrong later!  Trust me, this thing is complicated enough.  If you get excited about how much you can earn and then start rushing things, you can end up with an AR series that's a sloppy, screwed up mess.  If you're really going to do this, think, plan and act... carefully.

To be honest, I'm not exactly in love with the AR series they've written for this thing.  I think that there's too many letters and they are they sent out too often.  But that's just a matter of personal taste.  Also, the original author put his own name in there from time to time and includes some irrelevant links in the p.s. in some letters.  I deleted some of those p.s. comments and even a couple of the letters too.  There are spelling errors as well (even in some of the headlines) that lead me to suspect that writing the AR series was a hurried affair done towards the end of this thing's development process.  If you are going to use the squeeze page with this letter series, you will have to slowly and methodically go through the letters, line by line, in order to switch out the links, change all references to name & gender to yours, and correct grammar and punctuation where necessary.  Like I said, it's a big job but you only have to do it right one time.  And one more thing, they very oddly instruct you to convert the letters to plain-text format, though I see no need to.

Oh, and before I wrap-up this Update, I need to mention that Ms. Marla Scipio has been awarded the $40.00 cash bonus this month for being a long-time, loyal Team promoter.  She can do with it what she wishes but (as always), I suggest that it be used to purchase a share in Brian Rooney's December co-op.  What would be a better Christmas present than some new, Active referrals, huh?

Facebook, Bing and social signals for search relevance – Are they the new Google Killers?

The announcement that Face Book and Bing have agreed to integrate Face Book’s social signals into Bing’s search results has almost created a firestorm in the search community. As expected, you have your usual litany of yeas, and nays, but this time with quite a bit of analysis to go along with the commentary.

It seems as if the world is always asking who the next Google killer will be, or what technology will come along to knock Google off its perch at the top of the heap. As we all know, Face Book probably stands the best chance of actually making this happen. And I suspect Google knows this too. In fact, I bet they’re losing sleep at night because of it.

Why do I say this? It speaks to the future of the Internet itself. Back in 2001, a specification was written for the Resource Description Framework (RDF), or what is known as the semantic web. This was to change everything on the net in so far as if implemented, the actual servers on the web would be able to speak to each other and pass much more relevant information between themselves when a query was presented to them. I won’t go into the details but suffice to say that through the use of a subject, a predicate, and an object (Called “Triples”) very precise, dead relevant, accurate information could be found and presented on almost any topic. This was to be library science and information retrieval at its best.

The problem is not many (read almost none) coders and programmers wanted to change to adopt this code. Google has tried over the years to slowly push people into this (micro formats, results extensions, etc.) but resistance has been high. In comes Facebook and they’ve built their entire system based on this. Facebook’s platform is the closest thing on the Internet to an actual implementation of the social graph. Google knows this as also knows that the potential for a Bing/Facebook combination, due to Facebook’s platform, may make Bing’s results more relevant that Google’s. And in the search wars, relevancy wins over customers.

So crowd-sourcing search relevancy may be a new and improved thing, but we will all see shortly just how much more relevant (if at all) this makes Bing’s results. I’m not 100% confident that what my friend(s) likes has anything to do with my search for black dashikis from Madagascar. I suggest placing two browsers side-by-side and performing the same search in both Bing and Google. When you do, feel free to come back and share with us your comments on your results.

#BeatCancer Aiming for a World Record

I know I already shared my weekly content this week but this initiative is really important me. Having lost my mother to cancer when I was very young, this disease has always cast a dark shadow over my life. Cancer impacts us all. I am sure you have personally lost someone to this horrific disease. Our own, Stuart Smith, posted a very personal missive on our blog last week thanking Facebook for helping him get through the loss of his grandfather. My husband's grandmother was diagnosed and died within 8 weeks over 5 years ago. Sadly, we've all been touched.

According to mashable.com, Livestrong is hoping to leverage social media for good and beat its own Guinness World Record for “Most Widespread Social Networking Message.” The record was set last year with 209,771 unique mentions in 24 hours using the #BeatCancer tag.

The best part is PayPal and SWAGG will donate $0.05 for every mention with the hashtag to cancer charities. They raised $70,000 with a $0.01 donation. You can also visit beatcancereverywhere.com and pledge to donate more money.

I know we can beat it. Join me...get the message out there!

Social Media & Sports

I read an interesting article on The Washington Post's website explaining how the new owner of the Washington Wizards, Ted Leonsis, has empowered his team to harness the power of social media. Like a good coach, he simply gave his social media team the rules of the game, gave them the freedom to work within those rules and then sat back and watched them get the job done.

It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes attributed to Theodore Roosevelt:

"The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it."

What exactly did Mr. Leonsis do?

• He quickly pushed the franchise into the Internet age with such moves as assigning a reporter and videographer to follow the team, effectively allowing the club to cover itself
• Responded to countless e-mails and Facebook queries from fans
• Sent out team updates via an enewsletter
• Created a Faceboook page and community with more than 23,000 "likes"
  
• Created a Twitter account with 13,000 followers
  
• Set up events via MeetUpo
  

You can even follow a few players on Twitter
Check out John Wall @jimmywa11

Now, of course, they are just getting started so they are a bit behind our local team The Miami Heat with more than 317,000 Facebook fans. But then again, it's Miami. They have a trifecta of amazing talent this year so gaining ground in social chatter is just a little easier for the Heat. They have a fantastic marketing team who understands the channel and are, quite frankly, the only South Florida sports team getting it right. For now.

TrafficWave - OceanSwell TEAM Update (#63)

A hearty welcome to our newest Team Members!  And since everybody wants to know about our Team-Build for Global NPN, I am pleased to say that we've had eight(8) new ones within the last week or so.  They have enrolled through the Team Ads and so the system is working as intended, and will continue to do so indefinitely.  I cheer these new Team Members and wish each of them the best during the remainder of 2010 and beyond!  And to make certain that they have every resource available to them, I have decided to start helping people on a one-on-one basis when it comes to self-promotion.  To show you what I mean, here is an ad that I created.  (new window)  If creating an ad for yourself is an area where you could use some help, then send me a picture and your location (town, state and country) and I will set you up with a hosted ad.

You see, when it comes to our proven concept of the Team Ad/Team Rotator system, what everybody wants to know is, 'How fast does it work?'  Of course, that's a question I can't answer because it's impossible to do so.  But if you're a part of the Team-Build, there is something that (as an individual) you can do to make it work faster.  You can promote for yourself in addition to promoting the standard Team Ads!  I've been suggesting this to many of you individually, but it seems that hardly anybody understands what I'm talking about, or they just 'don't get it', can't do it or simply won't do it.  It's that last group that irritates me the most, because (in my experience, at least) the ones who complain the most are generally the ones who will DO the least.  It's always the same.

Will they create their own unique ads and promote themselves? They will not.

Will they concentrate upon building their email contact list? They will not.

Will they create their own blogs and add unique content regularly? They will not.

Will they use social networking to build contacts and back-links? They will not.

I could go on, but... you get the idea.  What I have found is that the people who join Team OceanSwell, follow our Internet Marketing tips, treat this like a business, never stop learning, and refuse to quit, will experience similar success to what I am having. However, those who won't accept this, refuse to learn anything new and don’t treat this like a business - will fail. And when they fail, they complain about everything!  However, those that are out there learning, growing and applying creativity and personal initiative, I rarely hear from. I just see them having success when I look at the matrix reports. They understand that this business is all about having a plan and a system you can follow, a system that is duplicatible- and, if followed long enough, will bring rewards and continue to flourish.  I believe that we have that system, but please (whatever you do) don't limit yourself with a 'poor me' mentality.  We're all capable of being and doing so much more than we think we are.  Don't doubt yourself and don't cling to the notion that you'll never make it in this business.  It isn't true.  Avoid such thoughts as you would avoid being miserable. 

Lastly, with regard to your downlines in Global NPN, please tell me when someone cancels an account, because they need to come out of the Rotator.  This is important, because I can't maintain the list accurately without the help of everyone involved.  I'm help you, so please help me too!

Quote for the day:  “You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” —James Allen

Small Businesses Will Soon Be Able to Serve Ads on Twitter

For those small businesses out there that enjoy connecting with customers via Twitter as part of your social media strategy, you will soon have the opportunity to expand your customer base with Twitter ads. Twitter’s CEO, Dick Costolo, was quoted saying Twitter, “would offer a self-serve tool for local businesses to buy Twitter ads, and is working on ways to deliver those ads based on location,” starting next year. Similar to the algorithm of Promoted Accounts ads, local businesses will be able to serve relevant ads to those following accounts similar to theirs. For example, a pet store will be able to target ads to users following other pet stores in a given city.

This ad platform will afford Twitter the edge it has lacked, scale. However, how laser targeted will Twitter ads really be? Using Facebook as an example, the company collects quite a bit of demographic and interest information, unlike Twitter. In fact, the information Twitter currently collects is so minimal, there really aren’t many choices for filtering ads except the obvious (Twitter accounts you follow).

It will still absolutely be worth testing though. Will you test Twitter ads for your business?

Image credit: Shawn Campbell

Does social networking really pay off?

It absolutely does!  But like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it.  In fact, it's an area of specialization when it comes to Internet Marketing.  You can spend 100% of your marketing efforts on working forums and social networking sites, and that's what many people do.  It's a good idea to get good at it!

By the way, never, Ever, EVER combine your personal social networking profiles with your business activities.  On Facebook, for example, that will lead to your friends and family unwittingly 'friending' network marketing people who will then deluge them with daily offers and other incredibly annoying messages.  If you make a social networking profile, make it for your personal (i.e. real life) self - OR - for your business (i.e. internet marketing) self.  Don't ever combine them!

Anyway, on this subject, I am going to recommend a site other than the obvious choice of Facebook (which is superb, by the way).  If you are a Team OceanSwell member, then you've seen this before.  But I seriously recommend MyNetworkworking Pro if you want to go all-out when it comes to social networking in order to gain fresh affiliate referrals.  They used to be called 'DirectMatches', but that doesn't matter.  In my humble opinion, this is the thicket in which to test your strength if you are really and truly hungry for success.  This place is nothing but Internet Marketers marketing to each other.  It's intense, it's brutal, and you're down there in the pits battling for attention.  In fact, it's like a bunch of dogs running up a pile of raw meat.  BUT... that's where your customers are - especially newbies, because there's plenty of those there too (trust me).  It's definitely a thick, rich vein of ore in which you can mine for gold.

Everyone's always looking for new places to advertise and new ways to get their message before potential customers/recruits.  Well this is it, I can assure of  that.  But there's a couple of 'problems' that I'd like to warn you about:

1)  Your inbox will get bombarded with 'hello' messages from those who always mail to new profiles.  Expect it.  But that's a good thing.  If you dive into MyNetworkworking Pro, then your sole purpose is to make contact with as many fellow marketers as possible - on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.  Respond to every email with a professional, easy-going style and include a link (or signature line) to whatever it is you want them to see.  Do this in a robotic fashion, on a daily basis, and you will get referrals sooner or later.  It's a mathematical certainty.

2)  The Free account doesn't get you very far.  Yeah, yeah... nobody wants to spend any money.  Well I'm here to tell you that you have to spend some to get some.  Anyway, it's Free to set up your profile, so you might as well do that.  But the upgrade gives you unlimited internal messages (which is what you're after) and ads that get shown to other members - and the membership is in the hundreds of thousands.  Naturally, it has an MLM-style affiliate plan too.

Anyway, if you're looking for new ideas, if you're 'stuck', if you need more leads, etc., then this is something you should consider exploring.

MyNetworkworking Pro :  Check it out!

InternetMarketingClub.org Presents Article Writing with a Marketing Focus

Join Christopher M. Knight, CEO of EzineArticles.com, as he teaches the fundamentals of article marketing in, “Article Writing with a Marketing Focus.” Learn how to sharpen your article writing and marketing skills with his renowned expertise.

This presentation will explain the following topics:

• Strategies for successful article marketing
• Tips for producing more articles in less time
• Master the basics of article writing for syndication and marketing
• Proven methods for developing content creation ideas
• Advanced tactics for increasing article views

Christopher M. Knight is a seasoned entrepreneur who excels at creating & leading high-performance Internet startup companies with an obsession of delivering a fast and positive end-user driven experience.

This free webinar will take place Wednesday, October 13, 2010 12:30pmEST – 1:30pmEST. To register and for more information please visit: Article Writing with a Marketing Focus

Thank You Facebook

People use Facebook for all kinds of reasons and recently I found myself using Facebook in a way I never thought I would.

My grandfather battled cancer for over two years and last Tuesday, he lost the battle. I was devastated as he was more of a best friend to me than anything else. I would always call him on my way home from work to talk about our day. He would tell me about his and I would share with him how my day went.

I’m horrible at dealing with death and was having a terrible time expressing how I felt about losing him. I didn’t want to talk to family or friends and had pretty much shut down.

I’m not exactly sure when I made the status update, but it said “R.I.P. Grandpa, you were my hero, a father to me, a mentor to me, but most importantly, you were my best friend. I’ll see you on the other side but until then I want you to know how much I love you and there will not be a day that goes by that you will not be in my thoughts…” Within a minute of me making the post, I started receiving comments from my friends. I cannot even begin to explain to you how important those comments were to me. I needed to hear them even though I didn’t want to talk to anybody on the phone.

The next thing I did was replace my profile picture with one of my grandfather. I needed to honor him and by showing all of my friends his picture, it helped me accomplish this. I wanted everybody to see the man that I had loved so dearly.

For the next few days my status updates included a poem about death to me sharing with my friends that my son had decided to dedicate his football game to his great-grandfather who had just passed. My friends continued sending me messages and comments helping me through this difficult time. It was last Friday that I decided to make one final post about my Grandfather. I needed my friends to know I was okay and as a result I made a status update that read “Coming out of the darkness tonight...time to party friends!!!” And that’s exactly what I did - I celebrated his life with a bottle of Captain Morgan and friends.

There are no words to thank you Facebook; you helped me through one of my darkest times. You gave me a way to grieve my loss and to express how I was feeling. You also gave my friends a way to reach out to me when I didn’t want to talk to anybody. You made all the difference Facebook and all I can say is thank you from the bottom of my heart…

Will You Use The Revamped Yahoo Search Engine?

Yahoo just launched their new search approach in an attempt to make search results easier to navigate when searching for music, movies, or news. This vertical tab navigation allows you to select from a variety of options such as overview, events, videos, Twitter etc. There is also real estate available on these tabs for search advertisers to purchase sponsorship space. And from a mobile perspective, Yahoo improved upon their web search by using HTML5 which allows for better visuals.

So, what do you think about this new search layout? Does it entice you to ditch Google for a while to try out the new and improved Yahoo? Unfortunately, I believe it may be too late for Yahoo to try and rejuvenate itself, but it is an interesting attempt to try and break the typical “list of search results” format.

Discover More with New Yahoo! Search Experiences @ Yahoo! Video

An essential tool for serious Internet Marketers

I cannot say enough good things about adkreator.  This product keeps getting better every month.  In fact, it's so MUCH better than anything else like it, nothing else even compares.  There's just so many things that you can do with this and truly creative people are making spectacular-looking ads with the infinite combinations that are available.  Bottom line:  I can't recommend this product strongly enough.  Did I mention that you can use it for FREE? 

Check it out...

TrafficWave - OceanSwell TEAM Update (#62)

"What's going on with Global NPN?  I haven't heard anything in days!" 

"I don't have any referrals yet and I've been in this thing for three weeks already!"

"Is this program dead?  You said it was going to be big!"

These are a sampling of some of the questions/comments that I've been receiving lately with regard to the (optional) second Team-Build launched by the famous Team OceanSwell this fall.  Fair enough, but this one is the best one of all.  In fact, I'm going to base this entire Team Update on it.  Are you ready for this one?  Received 10/2/10:

"I joined Global NPN through Team OceanSwell almost 30 days ago.  I paid $11.00 once and am about to be charged again.  $11.00 might not be a lot to you, but it's a LOT to me and that's why you owe me some answers right now!  I want to know, from you, what you DO on a daily basis to promote this Team.  Do you just count money all day, or do you actually work like you expect the rest of us to?  What I want is an ACCOUNTING of what you actually do on a daily basis.  If you expect to receive $11.00 from me every month, sir, I expect a detailed list of your promotional activities.  Because I don't think you do a damned thing.  And If I don't hear from you in 24 hours, you will hear from ME again and again until I get the answers that you owe me."

OK, that email is a word for word copy-and-paste but it's simply a more elaborate version of, "I joined the Team but I'm not making money.  Why?" 

So here's your answer.  If you joined Team OceanSwell and you want to know why you haven't received direct referrals yet, it's because:  1)  It takes longer than you imagine it should.  2)  You aren't doing anything to help yourself.

The Team Ad/Team Rotator system that we use is a proven concept.  It's worked in the past.  It's working today and it will continue to work.  The proof is the fact that this month will be our one-year anniversary and Team OceanSwell has gone from three people to over 1,500 in that span of time.  Are those people direct referrals to me in TrafficWave and Global NPN?  Of course not.  Our plan and our system sequentially placed them under participating Team Members, over and over again until we are where we are today.  Has it been perfect?  No.  Show me something perfect.  Has it been 'fast'?  I don't know, because 'fast' means different things to different people.  What I can tell you with 100% certainty is that there is the speed that people imagine things should happen (and demand!) and then there is reality.  The reality that about 97% of the people involved with Internet Marketing REFUSE to accept, is that this business takes time... and quite a bit of it.  But did you know that you (as in you) can control that?

There is absolutely nothing - nothing - preventing any Team Member from promoting an ad of his or her own creation that links to their affiliate page for TrafficWave or NPN.  You can make your own ad, put your picture in it and even link it to an AR series in order to build your critically important email-contact list.  All the ad needs to be is a picture of your smiling face with a headline that says, "I joined Global NPN through Team OceanSwell and so should you!".   When someone enrolls as an affiliate through your unique ad, they are free to join the Team and become active downline members with my help, and the help of the other Team Members!  All they would have to do is contact me.

Yes, yes, yes... the Team Ads are the core of our promotional system.  And the minimum, expected weekly page-count from each Team Member is necessary for order and continuity.  But beyond that, there's about a MILLION things that you can do on your own to help your affiliate sales force grow faster!  Like, why not do those things?  If you need suggestions, our Marketing Tips series gives you plenty.

As for what I (as in ME) 'do' on a daily basis, here's a short synopsis:

1)  I have a JOB, that I am obliged to go to - sometimes up to seven(7) days a week - and that includes the drive back and forth.  I also have to eat, sleep and occasionally interact with family members.  Believe it nor not, just these few things take a significant amount of time.  And that assumes that I never have any family emergencies, car breakdowns, catching a cold or whatever.  Oh yeah, and I have to mow the law and stuff like that too.

2)  I answer emails - dozens a day - from people demanding to know what I'm doing.  The bigger the Team gets, the more of them I receive.  I do my very best to answer any kind of anticipated question here on the blog or in the AR series, but it doesn't matter.  A certain number of people will want to hear from ME (personally) on a regular basis and nothing short of that will satisfy them.  If I didn't care, I wouldn't asnwer this daily deluge in my inbox.  But because I DO care, I answer each and every message in the best way I can.  That takes an enormous amount of time.  In fact, it takes so much time that I could literally do nothing else every single day and still never finish it.

3)  Like you, I surf the TE's and open safelist emails for credits.  That takes time, and I can only give it about 2 hours a day - MAX - sometimes more on weekends.  I wish I could do more, but there's not enough time.

4)  I add content to my blogs (this isn't the only one, BTW), comment on other blogs, skyping with Didi, build back-links to this blog (and the others), constantly revise my AR series, maintain my Adwords campaign, work some forums, work my multiple Twitter accounts, update the Team OceanSwell Ads, check out new products and software that might help us promote (i.e. endless webinars and videos)... and about a million other things, as time allows.  I advertise this Team in a lot of places and am always looking for new ones!  And you know what?  If there's something ELSE I should be doing, but am neglecting to do, I'm all ears and my email inbox is open to suggestions.  Please let me know!

Now I realize that what I've just written isn't going to satisfy those who are desperate for me to supply them with downline members today, but the truth is still the truth and our Team-Build system is what it is.  What else can I say?  But for now, I've got to slip away and get back to work.  I'm simply out of time...

Are you a prisoner of your own mind?

Like the ghost of Jacob Marley, everyone is dragging around an unseen ball and chain or two. Life is hard, and so is this business. But successful people cast off their chains as they grow with knowledge, ability and (above all else) faith. Speaking from personal experience, your invisible ball and chains can be any number of things: lack of knowledge and experience, low self esteem or lack of confidence (both of which stem from lack of knowledge and experience), laziness, substance-abuse, guilt, regret, a family member, friend or partner who want to share all their “drama” with you on an hourly basis - i.e. energy vampires. All of these things WILL slow you down and you can’t get on with life or online business because you can’t walk down life’s road comfortably dragging all those chains.

In short, you can find a form of freedom through online business, but you will never, ever find it if you are holding yourself back in the process of striving for it. If there's one thing about online business and MLM-affiliate programs in particular, it's that the eternal window-lookers, doubting tire-kickers, new-hot-program junkies, the lazy, the lightning-fast quitters, the stupid and/or illiterate or (my personal favorite) the why-haven't-YOU-changed-my-life-yet beggars all share one common trait: They are holding themselves back. It's not anyone else or anything else. What I am trying to communicate, in my own unique way, is that if I have any kind of success online (and I do enjoy a little), it's because I unclipped a lot of those chains from my legs over the past few years. And I also know that you don't give a damn about me. You want to know 'what's in it for you' when it comes to Team OceanSwell. But that's not a mystery, is it? If you read my AR series, exchange emails with me and keep up with this blog at all, what I do for the Team and how I do it should be obvious.

The point of my message today is simply this: if you're a Team Member who's feeling disenchanted, disillusioned or even angry at your results so far, don't blame our Team. The Team is what it is and will continue to do what it does. But if you feel helpless to grow your online business at the speed in which you 'somehow know' it should be growing, all I can tell you is that YOU hold the key to the cage that you imagine surrounding you. By becoming an OceanSwell Team Leader yourself, you can control your own destiny and I will help you in every conceivable way.

So what about you? Are YOU ready to unclip the chains, unlock the cage and fly free as a Team Leader? And if not that, then how about in some other way? I know that everybody remains excited about the possibilities with our Team and they will always want (and expect) things to happen faster, faster, faster. But if things aren't happening fast enough for you, don't email me every other day asking why. Look in the mirror and ask yourself why. Our Team is very real and it has produced real results for hundreds and hundreds of people. That isn't going to stop. But my guess is that most folks who have read this far are capable of so much more than they think they are. I'm not any 'luckier' or smarter than anybody else, but I finally 'got' Internet Marketing after a two hard years of struggle. I don't know much, but if I can do it then anybody can. With TrafficWave, Global NPN and our famous Team OceanSwell, you have everything you need to break the chains and fly free.

But there's a problem.  The problem is that you have to start... TODAY.

(By Jim Rohn)  The problem with waiting until tomorrow is that when it finally arrives, it is called today. Today is yesterday's tomorrow. The question is what did we do with its opportunity? All too often we will waste tomorrow as we wasted yesterday, and as we are wasting today. All that could have been accomplished can easily elude us, despite our intentions, until we inevitably discover that the things that might have been have slipped from our embrace a single, unused day at a time.  Each of us must pause frequently to remind ourselves that the clock is ticking. The same clock that began to tick from the moment we drew our first breath will also someday cease.

Time is the great equalizer of all mankind. It has taken away the best and the worst of us without regard for either. Time offers opportunity but demands a sense of urgency.  When the game of life is finally over, there is no second chance to correct our errors. The clock that is ticking away the moments of our lives does not care about winners and losers. It does not care about who succeeds or who fails. It does not care about excuses, fairness or equality. The only essential issue is how we played the game.  Regardless of a person's current age, there is a sense of urgency that should drive them into action now—this very moment. We should be constantly aware of the value of each and every moment of our lives—moments that seem so insignificant that their loss often goes unnoticed.

We still have all the time we need. We still have lots of chances, lots of opportunities, lots of years to show what we can do. For most of us, there will be a tomorrow, a next week, a next month, and a next year. But unless we develop a sense of urgency, those brief windows of time will be sadly wasted, as were the weeks and months and years before them. There isn't an endless supply!  So, as you think of your dreams and goals of your future tomorrow, begin today to take those very important first steps to making them all come to life.

“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.” ~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt

At the end of the day, it's YOU who holds the key...