Example of a good expired domain = 5,000 pages indexed by Google. Don’t dream of finding these domains anymore. Several SEOs have already found them. Example of bad expired domain = 0 pages i.e. not indexed by Google at all.

Now, granted, Google is not really paying close attention to these domains anymore, and the biggest drawback is that when you have these links, you need to extract them and generate pages about them so that you can have the benefit. Plus, there are going to be some sites that remove your link so you don’t get the PR benefit.

Doesn’t matter. Most important is you already have a Google index. No paying, no extra hassle. Just update your site, put up a sitemap and you should be all right in terms of being found by Google Bot.

If you want to get a chance to get great domains, you must seek out foreign language sites. I found a Korean domain which had 13,800 pages indexed. Unfortunately, I don’t read or write Korean. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. I’m certain that there are many more in Japanese, Korean, Chinese websites that have expired.

Most newbies suffer at this. They don’t know how to play with a software. Some because it’s the first time they have ever used software. In case you didn’t realize, people who are used to playing with software know how they look like and are intuitively able to use it. This is also the same reason why MS Word and MS Powerpoint typically have similar navigation. Any software that falls out of this structure tends to be less popular.

So by that reason alone, it may not just be your fault!

Recently, I purchased a really complex software to use. I understand it being complex, but I didn’t believe it had to be. Software must be user friendly, and therefore, people will buy it. At the same time, user-friendly software are also not as heavy in features. So we need to strike a balance somewhere.

What you need to do is to look at the value of a piece of software – personal productivity – and then buy it to explore it within the next few days. Yes, it may take some time for you to develop competence using it, but you have to start somewhere. Good software has help files and technical support surrounding it. Go ahead and develop this skill and you should be well on your way to being a tech “guru” over time.

For instance, if you are not familiar with Web Hosting, understand this.

A web host is the place you keep or store information. It is a specialized computer, which is stored in a rack. These racks are housed in something known as a datacenter.

Your computer can’t be seen by external visitors without specialized software. If you want to have a page from your laptop to be seen by an external visitor, you need a permanent internet connection, and you also need a server software to be installed on your computer.

So, what this means is that you have to upload files from your computer through the internet connection into a web host.

The way to do this is via FTP, or File Transfer Protocol. The software, Filezilla, allows you to do this easily. It’s free.

Once you upload content to your webhost, visitors can then view that through the web.

A typical webhost will have an address (URL) that looks like this:

http://66.112.31.21/

If you have registered a domain name, you should be able to get a domain name that you like. Be creative in selecting your domain name!

Then, in your account set up from your Domain Name Registrar, you will be able to do something known as a DNS (domain name server) change. Change your DNS to the one indicated to you by the web hosting provider.

Once you pair up the domain name with the web host DNS, instead of typing in

http://66.112.31.21/

you can now type in the name you registered that goes to this web address.

Now, you have a webhost, with a regular domain, your house is in order! All you need now is to have some content uploaded to your site, which I will deal with in my next post.

Resources:

STEP 1:
Get a domain name

STEP 2:
Get a Web server

STEP 3:
Change the DNS from your domain name registrar to suit the name servers of your web host. If you are not familiar, you might want to either get someone to install this for you, or you might want to learn how to do this yourself!

STEP 4:
Learn to create web pages. You will need a visual HTML editor to do this, such as Microsoft Frontpage or Pagebreeze.

STEP 5:
Get a free FTP program.
Learn to upload files into your web server using the FTP program.

STEP 6:
Continue to upload more content on a regular basis!

STEP 7:
Learn to drive traffic to your website.

Everyone wants to get on the Internet. But most people are wary of it. The only sites you can trust are those that presently have an ongoing discussion and have a lot of people. Call it social proof. Call it mass persuasion. Whatever you like. The fact is, people like to see people express their views.

While this may seem frivolous to some of you, you will beg to differ when you watch popular blogs. Most popular blogs are the ones that generate a huge amount of controversy. Perhaps, this approach fosters the new phenomenon of link baiting. However, the psychology behind it is very clear – if you want to really build your popularity, you have to express things that get people’s attention, so sometimes it may mean treading on controversy and dangerous grey areas.

As the Investigative Marketer begins to seek out new angles, the truth of the matter is that social expression is a new psychological desire amongst people. It’s the new Utopia of democracy. Each of the engines that have demonstrated huge spurts of growth include Podcasting, blogging, social bookmarking and all similar elements. Even the once popular foums and bulletin boards have not died. Groups on Yahoo and Google still thrive if specific rules and regulations are established.

The entire culture of people can be formed once a popular concept has been created. It’s like a new breed of nationality. Different factions are created, and expression-wars can be waged on cyberspace. This new trend has taken the world by storm, and is likely to be the next goldmine in marketing.

Why?

Let’s look at this objectively. First of all, expression generates pages. With more pages on a website, it grows in size and therefore is more easily found on the search engines. Second, expression of views leads to someone building a vested interest in that comment or post. This ends up creating a far more loyal band of users than normal. Third, social expression engines like Digg and Flickr are also opinion sites. People now have the power to express their opinions. Anonymously or in person, this doesn’t really matter. What matters is that these opinions make one feel connected to that opinion that was made. Third, social expression lends itself to a conversation. It’s a new way of looking at interaction online. The web has evolved into a completely new entity, with the capability for multi-media. Your blogs now come alive. Your comments can be replied with via video MP4s. You are no longer restricted by text alone.

What implication does this have?

We all know that marketing requires some kind of target market. So the question is, how do you utilize the power of this concept to generate such a powerful social expression engine, that people will treat it as a part and parcel of their lives? Look at a simple tool like Outlook. Every opportunity Outlook users have in replying emails is like how we used to pass notes in class from one side of the room to the other while the teacher was droning away. Messaging is like conversation.

Now imagine a world where you can express anything you want. Everybody can do this on a site. You can decide collectively as a whole whether or not to make a decision. Usually, it is also a sign of the times. This creates a community. Decisions are made such that everyone is affected. You decide whether someone’s blog comment is valuable or not on Digg. You decide the popularity of a photograph as posted on Flickr. Whatever the case, you have inherent power. Your vote can skew opinions.

A marketer then has to start to recognize the sheer power of social proof on such an engine. Imagine a product being reviewed on a site that receives world wide tagging and sharing. Information becomes available immediately. People can then determine if that product is popular and useful. This is a very powerful concept.

Imagine you had hordes of traffic due to individuals gathering for a specific cause and sense of community. This goes beyond community. It essentially brings the internet business model into a much higher frame than before. This means you need to respect the masses who buy from you. This means you have to create value to affect people. This means you cannot just involve the audience – you may have to polarize them and get them to experience you wholisitically.
The more your social expression engines begin to evolve, the more creative ideas will come up. Watch the Digg and Swarm of Digg.com. The entire site is alive with constant updates and regular connections. It’s a microcosm being affected by the macrocosm. The small universe being created, a virtual reality. The next phase in development of social expression will bring more intimate interaction to the world. In the near future, perhaps you will have encounters with real people, much the same way as in mass multi-player role playing games like Warcraft. You might meet individuals online and speak to them, as though you were there in person. You might create a completely new world and live in it as if it were real.

In marketing, you now begin to see how traffic gets built. The most massive element for the moment is the way in which places like MySpace, sold at $580 million, continues to build social networks, and social bookmarking sites like Del.Icio.Us continue to involve users in their opinions and votes. Eventually, internet marketers will need to look at ways to leverage on these technologies, combine them, then infuse them with the marketing message. Such blended technologies will help internet marketers reach a higher level of sophistication and build much higher levels of contact and interaction online. As a result, the game rules of persuasion and copywriting may change. Individuals will probably need effective face-to-face communication skills as the web evolves into a true interactive engine. The rules of product positioning will change, and therefore affect the way in which the features are expressed – and whether the majority of people like them or not.

Opinion polls will matter more than ever before. You can now even decide the ideal product to create before the individual buys it because you can approach a site with a social engine like this to build understanding first. Imagine how powerful it will be when you can hit the nail on the head and create a product that people instantly know they will buy and love. It’s a really powerful concept.

What to do next?

Build your social engine? Sure… and hope that some media mogul will buy it for $580 million? Well, the truth is that many clones are gaining popularity in the market. Even the large community at Sourceforge is building a system for the purpose of bookmarking called Scuttle. This will be the next phase of evolution for websites! Just like blogs and content management systems are taking over the development of traditional websites, social expression will eventually be commonplace as a website of your choice. It’s like how starting pages 10-12 years ago would never have had music or video on them, but today it would almost seem odd without them.

Look to converging technologies? This is another option. You look at how websites will eventually be built with audio and video, plus a polling function that enables them to express what they feel about what you think or say in your blog. Then, ensure that there is a tagging function. At present tagging is chaotic, running pretty much like in the concepts of Chaos Theory. When some order is generated from the apparent buzz, something phenomenal like Digg happens. Yes, interactivity, profiling and possibly even the convergence of phone and broadband connectivity in the future will generate the real virtual reality world. But as a user of the internet today, your marketing methods must begin to employ the soft side of marketing such as loyalty building, and opportunity for opinion, plus other harder sides such as copywriting and content creation.

Ignore this – and face the consequences?
I truly think that social expression engines will be the mother lode of traffic and ecommerce. Read about them, and consider them very carefully. The future, as it seems, is right around the corner!

To check out social bookmarking, click here.

To check out one of the hottest social networks today, click here.

By Zachary Rodgers | October 9, 2006

Google will acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion, marrying the dominant force in Internet search with the first and most powerful brand in networked Web video sharing, the companies announced. The deal is expected to close in Q4.

YouTube will retain its brand identity and keep its offices in San Bruno, Calif.

http://www.autoresponders.com/10-reasons-why-i-hate-server-side-and-desktop-autoresponder-software.html

It basically reveals the biggest reason (that I myself agree with as a former user of MailLoop) why I don’t use desktop software for my mailings.

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Woah – I just sent a note to the list of friends I have — and suddenly I have a blog which has generated numerous comments (…tears…). Hey – I thought there was nobody visiting this blog!!!

Anyhow, just to let you know, I’m probably going to launch a small learning club online soon, but I’m going to get to the details of it only after my Internet Money Secrets program. This could save you time, and loads of money, while helping me cover basic and recurring expenses. So… let me go think about this, and I’ll have maybe a fortnightly thing to teach basic concepts. Remember, it can’t really be ‘hands-on’ in this way (which is obviously more valuable and therefore costs more), but it would give a much stronger understanding of the more complicated things on the internet.

Thanks once again everyone. Looks like the community is beginning to REALLY come forward.

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MSN Accelerates Live Music Streaming Plans

By Enid Burns
September 27, 2006
MSN brokered a deal with Control Room, a company formed by the producers of AOL’s phenomenally successful Live 8 effort, to stream live music acts on MSN Video. The multi-year deal gives MSN exclusive online global live distribution rights.

MSN, which has hotly pursued live event streaming as a content development strategy, will carry performances from John Legend at Royal Albert Hall in London and John Mayer from Webster Hall in New York City. The company also holds the rights to stream the shows on other platforms, including Xbox 360 Live, MSN Messenger, Windows Media Player, and Windows Media Center Edition.

Advertisers will have the option to integrate in and around the content through display, text and streaming video ad units.

“By partnering with Control Room to add original, exclusive content, we are building an even deeper relationship with our global audience and creating significant new opportunities for advertisers,” said Rob Bennett, GM of entertainment and video services at MSN, in a statement.

Bennett hinted about the partnership as a “knee-jerk” announcement at a public appearance at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s MIXX 2.6 event yesterday. “Experiences are blending together and the consumer is blending experiences,” he said. “It is up to us to deliver content in a way they want to experience it.”

Control Room was formed a year ago as Network LIVE, and has put on about 59 shows. It’s partners have included AOL, XM and sports and entertainment company AEG. To signify the importance of the exclusive partnership, and the exit of its original joint venture stakeholders, the company on Tuesday changed its name from Network LIVE to Control Room. A source at the company said the name is more relevant to its business.

Music, and in particular live music events, is an area of interest for MSN and Microsoft as a whole. It sponsored the New Orleans Jazz Festival this spring, and previously dedicated space for Mark Burnett’s “Rock Star: INXS. Microsoft’s gaming group also began featuring Epic Records recording artists each month on Xbox Live, with unique content in high definition.

http://www.mezzoblue.com/archives/2004/05/19/what_is_rssx/

Watch as Google and MSN battle it out for second spot. Very interesting read for those of you who want to track changes in the Giants’ strategies…

http://awis.blogspot.com/2006/08/msn-passes-google-for-2-spot.html