Opinion http://www.webupon.com/tags/Opinion New posts about Opinion Marketing for Beginners: How to Setup a Winning Bio Page http://www.webupon.com/Blogging/Marketing-for-Beginners-How-to-Setup-a-Winning-Bio-Page.127992 No matter whether you are a writer that writes articles or blogs, it is extremely important that you create a Bio Page to introduce yourself to your audience. Most online publishers provide their writers tools that allow the author to create a bio page. Find the feature on the publisher's website that you write for, and then use it to communicate with your fans.

A winning bio page should be a reflection or an extension of the writer's personality, but that does not mean that it is somehow OK to disrespect your audience by using foul and vulgar remarks. Warm and inviting author introductions will always win more favor with your fans than being short and sweet with your audience.

When writing your bio page, write a clear thought using correctly spelled words and avoid using Internet shorthand and Internet slang. Writing using Internet shorthand (example: IMO instead of “In My Opinion”) interrupts the reading flow and usually is a big turn-off to most readers.

Introduce yourself to your audience by telling us about yourself. Share with your audience and fans what you enjoy doing when your not at the computer. Tell us what you like writing about and be specific, unless you write about anything and specializes in nothing.

Add a photo of yourself and not your pet, child or anything that is the replacement image of yourself. Your readers are people and people respond more warmly to a photo of the author than a photo of some other image. Why? Because, using an actual photograph of yourself is sending a sincere message that you want your audience to know who you really are.

Some publishers allows their writers to add at least one personal website that they own or belong to, so if your publisher offers this feature, then that full advantage of the opportunity and use it, if you have or belong to another website. If you write more than one blog or write for other publishers, then make sure to write the website address in the next to the last paragraph, before closing the introduction.

If a writer belongs to any club or social network that is geared towards the content that they write about, then include this information in the introduction. Many times a writer will discover that if they include a shout out to their favorite forum, social community or club, then the members of those places will show some love and visit your site.

If you want your audience to subscribe to your blog or article feed, then ask them to. Don't just expect that they will on their own, because there are still many people who are not aware that they can subscribe to your blog or article feed. When you politely ask or remind your audience to do something, then many times they will respond positively to your request or invitation.

Remember, your bio page grants your audience a little peak into your life and depending how well you write your bio page, it demonstrates a sampling of your writing abilities. If you do not use a dictionary or spellchecker when editing your bio page, then you are in fact damaging your reputation and making a bad first impression on those who you should want to impress.

Your audience and your fans are everything, so it is very smart to think about how your audience and fans will receive you. But, that is another marketing story that we will save for the next article that I will write for you.

]]> Thu, 22 May 2008 01:38:45 PST 10 Outrageously Weird Websites That Make The Web Fun http://www.webupon.com/Web-Talk/10-Outrageously-Weird-Websites-That-Make-The-Web-Fun.102193 These 10 bizarre websites make the Internet bigger, but not necessarily better is just another reason to check them out.

The Internet is a very big place where the normal world ends and the weird wonderful world of bizarre begins. These ten websites are no exception, but the exception and you'll soon be on your way to discover all of the wacky, wonderful subjects and topics that some people have thought would be awesome to dedicate an entire website to their bizarre sense of taste.

1.

Are you spending too many afternoons locked up in a room while flipping through a Victoria Secret catalog and spending some quality time with yourself? If the answer is yes, and you need some help, then look no further than this website. Complete with articles, and other information developed to help break the addiction and give hands around the world a much-needed day off.

2.

According to the website, T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. stands for Test With Inorganic Noxious Kakes In Extreme Situation. In 1995, Rice University designed and performed a series of tests to test the properties of the sponge desert snack known as the “Twinkie”. An entire website dedicated the Twinkie is pretty darn weird, but in this case interesting, too.

3.

This website is dedicated to condiments (not condoms, don't let the first entry on this list confuse you), but if you want to learn about mayonnaise your out of luck. Learn about some of the most popular condiments available to dress up any of your favorite sandwiches or fries.

4.

Just accept the fact that some fads just won't die. This website glorifies the obsession with the world's most horrible hairstyle faux pa. Everything that you never wanted to know about mullets can be found on this website.

5.

Now here is a collectible that I would have never thought about pursuing. Collecting barf bags is nothing but weird to me. So, if you are interesting in seeing some barf bags from around the world, then stop making excuses and pay this website a visit.

6.

This website is extremely weird even bordering dangerously close to stupid. Truthfully, I have found it terribly difficult to describe. To make things even worst this website allows its visitors to submit their own “Oo” to the list. This website is totally useless, incredibly difficult to explain and worthy of its place on this list.

7.

This website is the perfect place to find stupid gifts, gags and goodies that are as bizarre as this website is. Imagine the expression on your love ones face when they receive a Tattoo Sleeve, a Hillary Nutcracker or an electronic yodeling pickle as a gift from you. Just remember to remove the receipt, because payback is hell and there are plenty of odd, stupid and bizarre gift ideas to choose from and worst yet you might receive one of them as some kind of bizarre gift-giving payback.

8.

Finally a website that I can get behind even though it is bizarre. The Darwin Awards are awarded individuals who improve the world by accidentally removing themselves from it. Within the pages of the Darwin Awards are hilarious stories and events that chronicle the enterprising the demises of people doing some really bizarre things. Warning: Some people may realize that they can do two things at once; laugh and pee at the same time.

9.

Who farted? Rule number one should be, whosoever farts in a crowded elevator should have to endure fart jokes for the rest of the ride. Being the butt of jokes should make one think twice before cutting the cheese after the elevator door closes. Seriously, this is a bizarre website that outlines proper elevator etiquette especially when not riding alone.

10.

Have you ever wondered? I know I sure have. This website is the prefect ending to this article, because, well…Click if you dare. Believe me, it is a liberating feeling to have closure, finally.

]]> Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:20:50 PST Five Tips For A Great Online Debate http://www.webupon.com/Web-Talk/Five-Tips-For-A-Great-Online-Debate.94475

  • Be Civilized

    Swearing and personal attacks are generally big no-nos. No one's going to respect you or your opinion if you aren't respectful of others. Even if the discussion gets a little heated, take your time and state your views calmly and tactfully. After all, you want people to agree with you, right? So your best bet is to sound reasonable. Plus it's more satisfying in the end to shred someone's argument calmly and rationally than to simply fly into a rage and let a good discussion degenerate into insults and fodder for comments like “That's the trouble with [insert political/racial/social group here.]

  • Beware of Sarcasm

    Sarcastic comments are fun. Sometimes they're even a good way to make a point. Unfortunately, sarcasm is normally indicated by tone of voice, which can make it hard to pick up over the Internet, and as an added bonus, many sarcastic statements can be offensive if taken the wrong way. When talking to people you don't know personally or well, be on the safe side and keep it serious, or else find a way to make it very obvious that you're just kidding-like saying so. Similarly, if another discussion participant makes a particularly outrageous or offensive statement, look for signs that it might have been tongue-in-cheek.

    Of course, it's entirely possible that it wasn't, but it's worth making sure.

  • Use Correct Spelling and Grammar

    For some reason a lot of people balk at this, which says a lot about how lazy we as a people are. Chatspeak and other shortcuts (like not capitalizing) are fine for chatrooms and IMs. But when you're trying to have a serious conversation about something important-especially via a medium such as a discussion board, where your response doesn't have to be immediate-go the extra inch and use real English. Shortened words, acronyms, lack of punctuation or capital letters, and slang are all annoying to read and, quite frankly, they make you seem less intelligent. It's not fair, but it's true. And again, no one will respect you if you sound like an eighth grader-even if you are.

  • Back Yourself Up

    No, really. That's a cardinal rule of debate. If you can't support your argument, you don't have an argument. And remember, if you're going to cite studies or statistics or anything of that nature, ideally you should have more than one example from (relatively) unbiased sources. Also, examples are useful in making a point or explaining a concept, but they don't necessarily count as support on their own. Think of the old “exception makes the rule” thing. Even if you've got a great example, someone else might have one that shows the opposite. So have some real, in-depth information about your statements.

    By a similar token, if someone points out an unsupported claim and you can't back it up, don't just pretend they didn't call you out. Odds are other people noticed, too. Either find some support or concede the point.

  • Don't Jump To Conclusions

    Or, Read Carefully. Before leaping to counter something someone else said, make sure you understand WHAT they said. It sounds like a no-brainer, but misinterpretations happen more often than you'd think. Read their comments over again to make sure you didn't miss anything, and if you're not entirely sure what they meant by something, it's ok to ask. In fact, it's a lot more ok than making an assumption that turns out to be wrong.

    • Also: don't put words in anyone's mouth. Attempting to prove someone wrong by twisting their argument around makes you, not them, look like the jerk.

    ]]>     Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:40:16 PST     The Good and the Bad of Social Forums http://www.webupon.com/Social-Networks/The-Good-and-the-Bad-of-Social-Forums.89143 Let's talk about the good of it first. There are really several factors to it all. As far as I'm concerned, whenever I have any forms of questions in my head, I would log on and try to obtain the answers that I need to the never-ending questions in my head. And to be honest, 90% the whole time I am able to get the answers that I seek and need. In short, social forums do give me the best information ever; like whose who, the best economical car and stuff and a great many things. In fact, whenever I have doubts to anything at all that I couldn't possibly get the answer from my friend or something, I would seek help and answers from a social forum. There are a few of my favorites actually, and there are 1 or 2 that I like that help me to even earn some pennies while I seek the answers. Pretty interactive, and fun nevertheless, right?

    Now, to the bad of it. The information that you sometimes get from social forums could be purely incest to make bad out of a situation. Like some people say, "Making a mole out of a hill." I think it is true up to a point, and the bad of it in social forums would be that people tend to exaggerate and will keep sprouting nonsense and add on to any doubts that you may have and hence, giving you that kind of uncanny feeling that you dread. Another bad thing would be that if you are the type that rely too much on a particular forum, is bad as well. I wouldn't want to be in that kind of situation, really.

    So, general readers, you make your choice. But personally to me, as long as you know when to draw a line between good and bad, then social forums are still safe for you to venture into. Make the best out of it, and try to get good, social fun. Just as the name suggests. Other than that, then you are out to finding trouble. There are also cases whereby people get new ideas in getting new hobbies and stuff like that, and even to the point of finding new ways to earn money from the internet. Interesting, if you ask me and personally, I would never separate myself from social forums. Let's just say it's my way of life, hmm?

    ]]>     Mon, 03 Mar 2008 04:34:16 PST     Three Compensating Online Survey Companies Worth Your Time & Effort http://www.webupon.com/Web-Talk/Three-Compensating-Online-Survey-Companies-Worth-Your-Time--Effort.89112 About 80% of the paid or compensated survey companies I've come across on the web are a complete joke. Many are just glorified “offers,” where you must join, purchase, and participate in other companies to receive any rewards. Some are just a glorified mailing lists and never actually invite you to take part in any surveys, but fill your inbox with junk from their “associated companies.” Others are legit but only request your input once, or twice, in a blue moon. These three have passed my rigorous and painstaking examination.

    1. MySurvey

      2. Earn points for taking surveys and referring friends to do the same. You can redeem these points for cash, prizes, or charity donations. You receive an automatic entry into the $10,000 sweepstakes for being a member, an entry to win the $10,000 each day you log in to MySurvey.com, a chance to win 50,000 Reward Points when you take the First Chance Survey, and one lucky member wins 10,000 points each and every day. From personal experience, survey invites arrive in your inbox about 2 times a week and a monthly newsletter with winners, new items you can redeem your points for, and latest survey results, as well. Learn about new products and services that some of the most popular brands in America are trying out and let your opinion affect pricing and options. You may opt out at any time.

    2. Ipsos i-Say

      3. By simply joining, you will have a chance to win their $5,000 Members' Sweepstakes. By participating in their online surveys, you not only become eligible for cash and prizes, but you may also see new ideas or test new products and services before the rest of America. Most of the time, you receive points, as opposed to cash, for completing surveys and can delegate your points into monthly drawings for some great prizes. Included this month selection of prizes: $1000 cash, $1200 flat screen TV, $500 Best Buy gift card, and more. From personal experience, you should expect to receive between 4-6 survey invitations weekly. You may opt out at any time.

    3. Opinion Outpost

      4. This site, by far, has the best payout of the three. Some surveys can earn you $10 or more for completing just one. For each survey you take, you earn opinion points redeemable for cash. You can refer friends and earn points when they join. Besides payment, you also get the inside on some of the new products companies are about to introduce. From personal experience, you should receive 2-3 survey invites a week, by email. You may opt out at any time.

    ]]>     Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:17:24 PST