I'm just a learner who likes to delve into websites as a hobby. Hobbies are what make life so enjoyable for me. I tried many other things - pastel and watercolor painting, organic gardening, kayaking, dinghy sailing, kite, origami, photography, drawing, carpentry, rock collection, the Livestock snake and many other unusual activities. Somewhere, over time, and for some reason, they gradually become a bit of historical interests and for me. Turning in the middle of its interests, the Internet presents itself.
From the first day I learned to surf the Internet, I was impressed by it. I could not recall whether it was the incredible amount of knowledge that can be found there, or was it the quality of reading means that struck me. But he did.
I was hooked. At that time, I was collecting information on how to take a kayak. Well, not all information has been exactly as I wanted, but carefully by all assemble pieces of information at the same time, I managed to use them to make a kayak fully functional, tailored to me.
At the bottom of the inside of me, I was so excited by this technology, so I wanted to get involved too.
Then, a MLM company that appeals SkyX (not their real name) arrived on the scene. They were supposed to go to revolutionize the business online. They operated their business very much like a pyramid scheme, with their main products being a Web design software, some learning tool and web hosting for a year that teaches one how to make Web sites. For me, at this time, it was the product I was looking for. Being very new to the Internet, I have not tried to consider other options.
That is what the company wanted! The trap has been suspended. Sweet me to speak with their attractive carrot bait, the members made me lose my grip on myself and I succumbed to their enticements. Although I was aware that people have been conned into pyramid schemes before, I was somewhat influenced by explanations on their multi-level marketing concepts and how their corporate structure was a little different from pyramid schemes. They have really been able to play on my emotions and weakness to their advantage.
They had all the functioning of a well-established network that supports all members, the organization and conduct presentations functions. What I do then? As I was already part of the network, I had to do my part to get more members. If not, I will not get my money. So, for a very short while I just did.
Ultimately, this company was prosecuted and it went bankrupt. This was the end of the chapter. My money was only in the sink! It was a bitter and expensive lesson to learn.
But the lesson was well learned. I bit the bullet, picked up the pieces, and behaved as if nothing had happened. I was determined to make full use of what I had purchased. Looking at the situation again, I recalled that participation in MLM activities was never on my agenda in the first place. Learning to make websites was.
And this awkward beginning, which makes use of the product, and on work when I have time, and completely at my own pace, I managed to learn the basics of Web design. I borrowed books from the library to supplement my knowledge. I learned HTML basic color notations, photo editing and other simple steps. The websites that I created were very crude.
But it is fun and exciting for me. This is a new toy. And it's magic.
After surfing for some time on the Internet, to my knowledge has increased gradually. I picked up pieces everywhere. By that time, the MLM collapsed, I was already well versed in HTML and I was more than expenses. I had also acquired the photo editing skills to make presentable websites.
I bought a scanner and began to generate images for my websites. Unfortunately, most of my photos were transparent. So I had to copy and make photo prints before I can scan.
I looked around for a little web-hosting companies that offer free accommodation and decided to test my new skills. It took a while but I got around to get used to their habits eventually. My first efforts on these free hosting companies are nothing to boast. (Although I did get comments from people who said they were good. Surprise, surprise!)
I also learned how to use search engines, and I found it very useful. They opened a whole new way to find information for me. Almost any topic could be found in a few mouse clicks.
As I dug both information over the Internet and library books on the design and manipulation of images, I became more and more competent. I learned how to use FTP to transfer my files to the host server. It saved me a lot of time. The most important of all, I saved on Internet call charges on my phone bill.
The reading what the experts say, I've come to the conclusion that one of the most important characteristics of a good website is the content and speed of loading. I have seen some sites that provide very flashy animations and impressive, but unfortunately, have been rather slow loading. I decided in favor of functionality.
My Web sites must be quick loading and full of content. I also found that, to make quick page loading, the size of files, images should be low. So I have all my best photographs Web accordingly JPEG and GIF format to make their small file sizes.
Then I looked at other things to make my websites crawler friendly. (The spider in search engines will crawl inside the Internet to find your site. This spider is not the creepy crawly guy who will give you goosebumps, but they work on the Web as a real spider )
Although I am aware that the html editor software that I use is not so effective in creating html own, and it adds a lot of extra HTML tags that are licensed, making the largest files than required, I'll leave it as it is for the moment. There is still much more that I want to explore and develop.
One of them is e-book creation. E-books are one of the most effective ways to present information to people. They can be published completely with text, images, color, hyperlinks, animations, sounds and CDs and diskettes. They can also be downloaded via the Internet or send e-mails. (But first make sure that the mail server can handle the file size)
Making e-books presented a need for an entirely different range of knowledge and skills that are formed on each other. It is not as simple as it sounds. For those who do not know much about computers, Internet and web design, it can be quite a fight!
For these people, I have a solution. Maybe they could use my service to the design of e-books. I have the knowledge and skills that people can use.
Think for a moment. Almost everyone has something to say who is precious to someone else. Each person has his or hers own experience. A secondary student May. know how to make a lovely and adorable rag doll easily obtainable materials. A housewife might want to reveal who is a recipe handed down from generations past who could become the springboard to fame.
Carpenter to retire in May or amateur how to make a piece of furniture to fit the square in the lobby of an apartment. A car enthusiast May know some tips on selecting and testing a used vehicle. An amateur sport May to share his secrets to mark a certain Thursday A player May initiated some advice it wants to sell. All this knowledge is likely to be exploited and sold.
Talk on the Global Economy! That is it! Everyone is capable of contributing to the global economy. If the information is useful, and it may be written or illustrated, you'll find someone on Earth who wants to pay in order to draw lessons.
E-books have an advantage over books printed on paper. Distribution is instantaneous, cost is low and the format is colorful and interactive, and most important of all, self-publishing for the author unknown. You do not even find a publisher for your e-book! And you do not have to sell on the spot. You can expose anywhere on the Internet.
Although the Internet has leveled the playing field a bit, I found that key players are still dominated by companies in the USA. When I'm around screening for a reasonably priced facility that will allow me to receive a payment for purchases by credit card, I could not find many around that accepts participants from my country.
Well, after searching for some time, I did find one that fits my budget - a reasonably priced one that I can use.
Next I went to affiliate marketing. The concept is simple. My site serves as a showcase for other merchants banners. When people who are attracted by the merchant banners, click on them, they were transported to the site of a merchant. If the visitor buys something, a percentage of purchase price will be paid for me.
I find it a little money can be made of this situation. It depends on how you design your website and how you encourage your visitors to click on banners. Your website has to be carefully designed and selected formulations to encourage people to go to the merchant that you represent. Some merchants pay 5%, 10%, and a few others. By choosing carefully the merchant to match the content of your site, you will get more click-through. More click-throughs means more sales. It is a game of numbers.
Anyone placing on the market will know that the more visitors than I have, the more potential for a sale. I must find out how to save for visitors. The most logical is to address the search engines. It is estimated that 80% of all traffic comes from search engines.
This time, I explored search engine optimization. How can I put near the top of search engine ads? By optimizing for search engines, people will be able to search for my site and released it up and not somewhere in the thousandth position. But it is a continuous learning process. Search engines are constantly changing their algorithm beat the spammers. Yes, there are spammers on sites too, webmasters who tries to beat the search engine rules.
As my knowledge Web improved, I became more and more adventurous. I noticed that many Web sites have forms that allow visitors to complete and the site owner is receiving the information. It is a great way to collect data. So, I found how. It's very fun to receive messages from someone across the world.
Then there are the scripts. They can do magic on the site. The dates can be automatically displayed and updated. The calculations can be made. The images can be changed automatically. Counters can display the number of visitors. Guest books can be signed. They are fantastic pieces of code done by talented programmers.
Because they are so wonderful, I had to use them. Some scripts were described as simple. Indeed, most of them are very simple to use. However, when I looked at their source code, they are extremely incomprehensible to me. I really admire the work done by programmers of these scripts. Maybe in the future, I may want to pursue this line of programming. I can see great possibilities.
At that time, cgi scripts capture my attention. CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface. They need some modification in order to work because they must be carried out on the web server on the host. Recently I had the chance to install a CGI script on a server. It took me a few days to modify and communication before, he worked as it should. They are not for the weak heart beginner. But once the novice has acquired the necessary knowledge, these scripts should not be a problem to install. Once they work, you can forget, because they will be managed by themselves automatically.
Would a learner me to be able to teach people? Maybe. After passing through many years of practice and discipline to study Web sites, software and the Internet, maybe I have acquired sufficient knowledge that people might be willing to pay to know. Perhaps it could be another e-book.
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