Have you surfed real estate sites lately? Many still make some fundamental mistakes that tend to drive visitors away, rather than offering a rich experience that people will return to.

A visitor who has come back to your site several times is well on his way toward picking up the phone or sending an email, and beginning a business friendship with you.

The primary goal of a website should be to establish your message quickly and simply. Visitors scan sites rapidly, and want to move immediately to information that benefits them. Here are some ways to stop them from doing just that!

1. Force visitors to sit through your flash introduction. (It’s a bird, it’s a plane…no, it’s the title to this website. If you need a Skip Intro button, you’re off on the wrong foot.)

2. Impress your visitors with some cool text on top of background graphics, or, even better, some cool text on top of background text. (Honey, where are my 3-D glasses?)

3. Shake things up with a blast of your favorite music. (It’s midnight, and I think I’ll do a little house hunting before bed.)

4. What is this? Blue text over black background. (I thought this was a website, not a cave. Honey, where’s my flashlight?)

5. Come up with a spiffy new layout for each page. (Let’s see, which site was this anyway?)

6. OK, folks, let’s see how well you can find your way around! Notice we have dozens of links scattered around the page. (Honey, get out the ball of string and bread crumbs.)

7. Here are some fun link puzzles! You’ll find that some links duplicate other links, but with different names. Try to guess which! (Oh-oh, I opened this one already.)

8. Oh boy, it’s one of those ads that flash at lightning speed. (May cause nausea, headaches, blurred vision…)

9. If one font does not make your site interesting, try six or seven, plus some bold, and a SMATTERING OF ALL CAPS. (A little subtlety, please!)

10. Hmm, the middle of the page is moving, but the sides are just hanging there. This does not seem quite right… (Children, don’t ask why, but a long time ago, people used a thing called frames.)

11. So, what’s the main course on this site? Well, tonight we’re having some canned content: Seven Deadly Mistakes Sellers Make. (Who cooks up this stuff, anyway?)

12. Excuse me, folks, this text is for Google! (Repeat after me…home for sale, for sale home, sale home, home sale, for home, home for…)

13. Pop ups! (Back button, please! I’m out of here.)

14. Have we got a ton of photos for you! Just sit back and relax. They may take a while to load. (Oh, here they are on their trip to Vegas.)

15. And speaking of myself, there is sooo much more to say! (And, in 1982 I received several awards for…)

16. And now you can read my new syndicated real estate blog! (The other day I was chatting with an agent who sits in the cubicle next to me at the office about the use of open house signs…)

17. I’m game! Let’s see how long can we make this page? (It’s three feet long! Oh wait, there’s more.)

18. Cram your hundreds of reciprocal links on the main page. (What is all this stuff at the bottom? Aah, helpful links. Car repair in Bulgaria?)

19. OK, people, let’s cut to the chase: You either fill out this questionnaire, or nothing doing! (Oh, well, I didn’t really need to be doing this right now.)

20. Wait, don’t leave! Here’s some interesting real estate trivia! (Why is the Terra Amata site famous?)

21. Not so fast, folks! Welcome to Hotel California. Your fancy back button has been disabled! (Relax, said the night man, we are programmed to receive. You can check out anytime you like… but you can never leave.)

Technorati Tags: Away, Estate, Real, Turn, Visitors, Ways, Websites

Title says it all!

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Caress sings a spontaneous rendition of Rehab at her 21st birthday party wearing her tiara.

Technorati Tags: 21st, birthday, Caress, Party, Rehab, Winehouse

I need ideas for crazy scavenger hunt items, things to do, pictures to take, etc. anything goes; I’m having this as a part of my 21st birthday, so funny and random things are great! or, if you know of any good scavenger hunt lists with points, that’d be great too!
Image taken on 2008-03-16 11:32:25 by UltraCore.

Technorati Tags: answer, Everybody, give

yayz

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At Planet Hollywood.

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We have seen in the previous article “It is a Dog Eat Dog Nonprofit World” that the romantic and idealized notion that many of us carry around that the nonprofit world is a better place to be, may be flawed. Instead of cooperation, we encounter competition; instead of collaboration we encounter self-will; and instead of dedication to mission, we find adoption of cut-throat business practices.

There are, however, many ways that a nonprofit can thrive in this environment. It means acknowledging that the resources of philanthropy are a finite amount of money. It entails a commitment to recognize opportunities and develop strategies for turning them into successful projects.

Here is a checklist of stratagems to consider.

1. Fundraise twelve months a year, not just in November and December.

2. Sponsor fundraisers that can be repeated year after year, and which people look forward to.

3. Disarm your competition by joining with them in joint ventures where you all benefit by creating a better overall charitable climate.

4. Start using some proven techniques from the commercial sector to attract and retain talented personnel.

5. Become actively involved in your professional associations, whether they are fundraising associations, or “trade” associations.

6. Be the leader in initiating a collaborative meeting of the nonprofits in your market area. Host the first meeting at your offices, and get commitments from the attendees to attend regular conferences in the future. Better the devil you know.

7. Join fundraising programs that give your organization a unique offering, and provide a needed service to your constituency.

8. Try thinking more as if you were in the commercial sector competing for people, money, sales, recognition, and providing superior customer service.

9. Upgrade your office equipment to provide the efficiencies that will allow you to save money by making everybody’s job easier.

10. Redo your website to reflect your comfort with technology.

11. Hold regular meetings with your community to get their observations about how you are doing, and their suggestions about what other things you could do.

12. Use technology to network. Join online social networks like LinkedIn and Care2.

13. Play fair with your competition, and be direct with them when you think they have not played fair with you.

14. Position your organization to develop and promote your brand.

15. Develop a short term and a long term strategic plan that includes a chapter on how you are going to survive in this new highly competitive environment for nonprofits.

16. Consider partnering with companies in the commercial sector for your mutual benefit.

17. Re-evaluate how you look at activities which might be considered unrelated to your specific mission.

18. Update your accounting program to allow you to monitor projects, programs, employees, and growth.

19. Associate your organization with good outside talent, including accounting and legal.

20. Be alert to situations which would warrant the issuing of a public service announcement for free inclusion in newspapers, magazines, radio stations, and TV.

21. Become known as a good citizen by sponsoring open meetings, adopting a section of road, or providing free services in the schools.

According to the Urban Institute, the ranks of registered nonprofits have swelled from 1.2 million to 1.4 million, up 17 percent in the last five years. Some of those new nonprofits have your organization in their sites. Additionally, with the diminution of funding from the Federal Government, nonprofits have to scramble just to stay even. Some may do so at your expense. That makes it urgent that you look at yourself as existing in a competitive world, and that you make plans to address it.

Technorati Tags: 21st, Century., Competitive, must, Stay, Things

Best night ever!!

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Okay so my 21st birthday is in 5 days and my mom is a hairdresser. I currently have small blonde highlights with auburn hair. I’d like to put more in but I still want to keep a little brown so it doesn’t completely wash out my face. Does anyone know of any good websites where I can check out pictures and show to my mom???? Thank you!!!
Image taken on 2008-03-16 11:32:27 by UltraCore.

Technorati Tags: Blonde, BUT....., more, putting

Satellite Tv = www.SatelliteSoft.com = Go To www.SatelliteSoft.com = Go To www.SatelliteSoft.com = Go To www.SatelliteSoft.com = Go To www.SatelliteSoft.com = $$$. New Products Available! Affiliates Go To: www.SatelliteSoft.com.

Technorati Tags: Affiliates, Available, Products, www.SatelliteSoft.com.