Top 10 Marketing Tips

1. Make your advantages easy to understand

For instance, Computer Resources International AS originally sold consulting, for which they used proprietary software. Only when they started selling the software first, and then customization and consulting as extras did their business take off. Buying software was easier to understand than the more intangible consulting. LifeUSA insurance, and many other businesses, focus on speed in every aspect of their business. They make fun of the slower industry standards and provide a simple advantage clients understand. Other ways to set yourself apart are through great service or association with worthy causes.

2. Don't try to be everything to everyone

Just as customers screen you, you should decide who you want to serve. Printing Resources originally took any printing business that walked in the door. When they realized which kinds of customers they worked with best, they were able to cut down their marketing costs and make more money. Some computer consulting firms only work with one customer per industry so they will have no conflicts of interest. You can bet they select customers carefully, and that customers are flattered by the partnership approach. Consider creating a checklist of who shouldn't hire you! It will help you focus, and may impress the right customers if you share it with them.

3. Work for referrals

Word of mouth is the least expensive, most effective way to get new business. Barry Farber has new customers write on the back of their business cards why they bought. These become mini-testimonials. Bob Brassard calls at least one client a day just to keep in touch. This builds the relationship by showing he doesn't just care about them when he wants something, allows him to update files, and generates referrals. One upscale dentist put up a Web page. He got about six extra referrals a month because his clients thought it was "cool" that their dentist had a Web page.

4. Use online marketing

You don't have to have a Web site like Eastern Mortgage Services to do business online. You can send personalized e-mail like Michael Swartz of DNA Software. You can pay only for the leads generated for you by advertising on many sites. You can research potential clients for better presentations. You can gather customer input inexpensively as Ritchey Design does. Or you can post free ads in discussion groups.

5. Don't sell, help people buy

When you truly put the client's interests above your own, you will become a consultant, a team member, and a partner for your client. When you've earned trusted advisor status, doing business is no problem. For instance, computer consultant, Amadaeus Consulting Group, helps its customers make more money by using computers to help their clients sell more. Of course, the extra business comes around as the client grows. A small accountant's client felt they needed a "Big 5" firm to handle their audit because they wanted to go public. Instead of resisting, the accountant helped the client select a Big 5 firm, thus maintaining and extending the relationship with the client. Conrad International added warehousing services near overseas clients so they could afford to buy in bulk for a lower price. When you put the customer first, you earn long-term loyalty that is more profitable than a larger quick sale.

6. Partner with other companies reaching your market

This might be neighborhood merchants cooperating on a sidewalk sale, or Digital Equipment partnering with Infinite Technologies to better serve the Bank of New York. Or it could be you partnering with a charity to create a fund raising event that brings attention to both of you, like Service Merchandise and Goodwill did.

7. Shift the risk to yourself and you will profit

A believable guarantee makes it safe for prospects to give you a try. Very few people will exploit a generous guarantee compared to the extra business it generates. YoyoDine is one of many companies that guarantee you results from their online advertising. Even Kaiser, the big HMO, found a money-back guarantee to be successful.

8. Be personal

To build relationships you have to build a personal connection. A handwritten invitation pulled great for Frank Candy, president of the American Speakers Bureau and for restaurateur Murray Raphael. Internet consultant Dan Janal gives clients links from his page. One nursing home created a waiting list through great referrals by greeting visiting relatives by name and filling them in on their loved ones at the start of each visit.

9. Create free publicity

Our old Construction Computer Applications Newsletter had a hard time finding reviewers for computer programs of interest to readers. Our reviewers not only got publicity from their reviews, but we gave them referrals. A large CPA firm specializes in citrus growers. Every year they do a survey of their clients' costs of operations. The survey data helps their clients benchmark their operations, positions the CPAs as the experts, and gets the CPA firm publicized in trade articles. Inquiry Handling Services gets regular publicity from newsletters and articles, as well as a book they wrote for their industry. And Luxury Limo received major coverage about a special rate created to allow three
"regular" women to share the commute in a limo at about the cost of carpooling.

10. Integrate your marketing

This means that everything you do should convey the same message and represent what you stand for. Putnam Investments manages $150 billion in assets. All their literature, and even their office, conveys the same message. Viva Knight, a script consultant, rents mailing lists from the same magazine he advertises in. If he also wrote articles for the same magazine, it would add to the integrated approach.

Whether you use high tech or shoeleather approaches to marketing, the best methods will be comfortable for you and prospects, build relationships, and support the setting up of a system that can be done regularly. And perhaps that's the main secret of successful marketing - to get started and keep doing something on a regular basis.

Top 10 mistakes to avoid when buying a bra

1. Baggy back = too much slack:
The back band of your bra provides 90 percent of the support, so the ideal fit should be firm yet comfortable. When such bands are too loose, the back of the bra rises up, causing breasts to sag. This "see-saw" effect also can emphasize what every woman wants to hide: unsightly back fat.

2. Resisting revolution:
As women age they often need to alter our skincare, makeup and even our hairstyle. The same holds true when it comes to bras. Thanks to weight loss and gain, nursing and hormonal changes, a bust line can change at least six times throughout a woman's life. For optimum style and comfort, make sure you get fitted for a bra yearly.

3. There is no perfect bra:
Buying a bra may take a little time. Don't just get the one your best friend raves about -- everyone's body is different. To find the most flattering fit, be sure to try on several styles. Tip: Slip on a shirt so you can see how your shape will appear when dressed.

4. Don't be a softy:
Most women find underwire bras to be uncomfortable, so they make the mistake of wearing a soft, non-underwire cup. The problem? There's not enough support, especially for full-figured gals. A properly fitted underwire bra should rest comfortably against your rib cage with a soft cotton casing. The end result: lift, support and comfort!

5. The big bind:
Minimizing bras, commonly worn by big-busted women, actually bind and compress breast tissue, resulting in a loss of firmness. To appear taller, smaller-breasted and even pounds slimmer, voluptuous ladies should stick with bras that lift and center the bust line.

6. Confusing cups:
Wearing the wrong-size cup is a common mistake. The telltale signs? Breasts that spill over, or worse yet, breasts that don't fill out the cups (resulting in wrinkles). Ideally, cup sizes should be proportional to the body frame.

7. You get what you pay for:
Department stores and specialty boutiques often carry low-quality, poorly made bras that fit badly. Higher-quality brands, which offer more size options, are designed for real women's shapes and sizes.

8. Self-service slip-up:
Don't sacrifice service, style and comfort because you're embarrassed to ask for help when buying a bra. Go ahead, ask questions! You'll be much happier (and more comfortable) in the long run.

9. De-compressed breasts:
Athletic women often rely on sports bras, which compress rather than support. A sports bra with seams, shape and cup depth will prevent jiggling while jogging.

10. Forever free of seams:
While seamless bras are comfortable and look great under your tight T-shirt, wearing them daily is a bad idea. Give your girls the support they need. Since seamed bras offer more support, try alternating between the two.

10 Controversial Banned Books.

1. The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie

“The book that is worth killing people and burning flags for is not the book that I wrote.” Salman Rushdie, Time Magazine , shortly after the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988.

Banned in most Muslim countries as also in India, the book was called a work of blasphemy by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeina who issued a fatwa against Rushdie for “insulting Islam, the prophet Muhammed and the holy Koran.”

As Rushdie saw it, his book “isn’t actually about Islam but about migration, metamorphosis, divided selves, love, death, London and Bombay,” he told Time.

2. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

Jesus wasn’t divine; he married Mary Magdalene, a woman of possible ill repute, and they had kids. The Vatican appealed to all Christiians to shun the book. The bestseller, which is now being made into a movie starring Tom Hanks, is a breathless thriller with madcap chases through the Louvre, code-crunching and sinister intrigue in Rome (particularly the Vatican).

3. Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia- Jean
Sasson

A true expose of life in a conservative, Muslim society, Princess is the ghost-written story of the life of a royal princess of the ruling Saud dynasty of Saudi Arabia. The book created a furore in the Muslim world and was banned in the Gulf countries. Some deeply disturbing accounts
narrated in the novel: teenage girls forced to marry doddering old men; young women killed by drowning, stoning or starved in a padded, windowless cell for sexual misconduct, or worse for having got pregnant after being raped.

4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Although it was published in Paris, it was soon (1956) to be banned there for being obscene. John Gordon, editor of the popular Sunday Express, had called it “the filthiest book I have ever read” and “sheer unrestrained pornography.”

Lolita is the sad story of Humpbert Humpbert, a middle-aged European’s obsession with a 12-year-old American girl. The mother’s accidental death proves the catalyst for the unlikely pair of lovers to set off on a cross-country trip where Humpbert indulges his most secret fantasies. The book details the relationship, ever-changing, always taboo, between Humpbert and Lolita, a relationship that, by its very nature, seems doomed to ultimate failure.

5. The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison

Eleven-year-old black girl Pecola Breedlove prays for blue eyes, “each night without fail” believing her ugly reality will be made beautiful through them. She years to be beautiful so that people will look at her. Instead she is spat upon, ridiculed, and ultimately raped and mpregnated by her own father. This novel by the Pulitzer prize-winning author was pulled from a high school in Alaska in 1994 and cited for being too “controversial.” The novel was both challenged and banned in Pennsylvania in 1994, and faced challenges in both Florida and Massachusetts due to the book’s sexual content.

6. Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert

In 1856, after publishing Madame Bovary, Flaubert and the editors of the Revue de Paris were put on trial because Madame Bovary was considered to be morally offensive. Madame Bovary is the story of Emma Bovary, an unhappily married woman who seeks escape through forbidden relationships with other men. Ultimately, Madame Bovary’s indiscretions and her obsession with Romance lead to her downfall.

7. Lady Chatterley’s Lover – D H Lawrence

The publication of the book caused a scandal due to its explicit sex scenes, including previously
banned four-letter words, and perhaps particularly because the male lover was working-class. The story concerns a young married woman whose upper-class husband has been paralysed and rendered impotent. Her sexual frustration leads her into an affair with the gamekeeper, Mellors, eventually culminating in their marriage. .

8. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

This novel depicting a teenager’s nervous breakdown has been repeatedly banned and challenged for reasons such as “profanity,” “sexual references,” and the charge that it “undermines morality.” As recently as 1983, “the book’s contents” were cited as justification to ban the book. The book chronicles Holden Caulfield’s journey from innocence to experience and is the quintessential coming-of-age novel—though it’s an unusual one, in which the hero tries to cling to the simplicity of childhood, achieving a kind of maturity almost in spite of himself.

9. Little Red Riding Hood

This could feature in Ripley’s Believe it or not! This classic fairy tale, a favourite with children through generations, was banned by two California school districts in 1989. THey found it very disturbing that a little girl should be carrying wine for her grandmother (in one version she is carrying wine and cake for her ailing granny.

10. "Lajja"

The authorities in Bangladesh have banned the latest novel by the controversial exiled feminist writer, Taslima Nasreen.
The political parties use religion for their own interests and whenever they find any criticism about religion, they can't tolerate it Taslima Nasreen Police have been told to confiscate all copies of Wild Wind, after the Home Ministry declared its publication, sale and distribution illegal. It is the third time in a decade that one of Ms Nasreen's works has fallen foul of the country's laws.

Top 10 Fashion Ideas

1. Hubwear:
   Aspiring entrepreneurs often ask us for ideas that don’t require hundreds of thousands of dollars, euros or pounds to get started. Look no further than the burgeoning arena of t-shirts. Bearer of profiles, of lists, of any kind of self-expression really, the humble t-shirt continues to bestow riches on creative entrepreneurs, or at least guarantee some low-risk entrepreneurial fun. So here’s yet another cool t-shirt start up: Hubwear. Its t-shirts display a wearer’s favorite travel routes, in airport codes (think JFK, AMS, MIA, HKG and so on).
   
   
2. Denim doctors:
   Jeans can now go into therapy. Yes, you heard that right -- New York's Denim Therapy restores, rejuvenates and injects life into worn-out, tattered jeans. Playing on the fact that many consumers have an emotional attachment to their jeans, the service repairs jeans with unwanted holes, denim that's worn, tattered or just plain falling apart. Using a unique
   reconstructive technique, Denim Therapy places existing denim fabric into the jean to replace the holes.
   
   
3. Mormor:
   Nostalgia. Design. Generation C. Storytelling. Knitting. Senior citizens and baby boomers. All these 'trends' beautifully come together in Danish Mormor.nu, an online store that sells baby and children's wear from the time when grandma herself was a wee lass. ('Mormor.nu' is Danish for 'Grandma.now'). In fact, the company's employees stem from an era when everything was made by hand, the youngest employee being 68 years old. All products are handmade, from pure wool, alpaca wool or cotton.
   
   
4. Culturally sensitive sportswear:
   Designing headscarves that can be worn for sports and play, Nike and Capsters are ffering Muslim girls and women a practical alternative to the traditional hijab. Created by young Dutch designer Cindy van den Bremen, Capsters are sleek head coverings made from comfortable, stretchy fabrics, and come in a variety of styles to match different activities and sports look.
   
   
5. Shoes for good:
   While traveling through Argentina, Blake Mycoskie came across canvas shoes that his feet took an instant liking to. He took the alpargatas--comfortable utility shoes that resemble espadrilles--reworked them a bit, and started TOMS Shoes. Not just casual chic slip-ons that were spotted all over L.A. this summer, TOMS Shoes give new meaning to 'two for the price of one'. For each pair purchased (USD 38), TOMS gives a pair to a disadvantaged child in South America.
   
   
6. Vending that kills the frizz:
   Born out of frustration from hearing their female friends complaining of frizzy hair, entreprenuers Richard Starrett and Neil Macka took it upon themselves to devise a solution. They came up with the Straight Up machine. Trading under the name Beautiful Vending Ltd, the two men realised there was a gap in the market, since English weather can turn perfectly styled hair to frizz, ruining a night out for women fixed on having pin-straight hair.
   
   
7. Wearing your profile on your sleeve:
   Here's something that captures the zeitgeist in a novel yet simple way: Canadian t-lists are t-shirts that list the owner's top 5 for *anything*, from five worst movies or five most admired musicians, to five best products ever, or five things he or she will never eat.
   
   
8. Niche-niche skincare:
   Created by UK native and long-time vegan Leesah B, and based in New Jersey, Inky Loves Nature produces products from community traded and traditionally extracted exotic butters and oils from Africa, biodynamic herbs, and other minimally processed plant based ingredients. Exclusively vegan and packaged in funky, eco-friendly and recyclable containers. With names like Warrior Queen Cleanser and Nappaliscious Nutritious Scalp Butter, the company wants its products to "call out to the culture-craving brown skinned urbanista.
   
   
9. Nail taxi:
   Regular readers of Springwise will know that we're a big fan of mobile concepts; they're easy for entrepreneurs to set up, and so very convenient for consumers. Quick spotting from the world of beauty: Nail Taxi, based in the greater Washington D.C. area, provides nail care at customers' homes, offices, hotel suites, hospital rooms. They'll send a professional nail technician wherever a manicure or pedicure is needed.
   
   
10. Bold for bald:
    As a dedicated head-shaver, Abe Minkara tried every shaving product on the market, but none of them worked as well as he wanted. Discovering an underserved segment in the growing male grooming market, Minkara developed his own formula. His new company, Bold For Men, specializes in innovative skincare products for head-shaving men.
    

Source: http://www.springwise.com

Top 10 Digital Cameras

Whether you want a simple point-and-shoot camera for family photos or you're a serious photographer who wants greater creative control, there's a digital camera that's right for you. We've rounded up 10 of the most popular and feature-packed models out there.

Top 5 Point-and-shoot Cameras



Canon PowerShot A620Packing a host of features into an easy-to-use, compact point-and-shoot, the Canon PowerShot A620 is tops in its class. This high-performance camera has a 7.1- megapixel CCD and customizable shooting settings that let you decide how much control you want and how much to leave on automatic. Its large 2-inch LCD screen has a grid option to help you line up and center your subject. You can also shoot movies up to 1GB in high-quality video mode or up to 60 seconds in fast-frame mode.



Canon PowerShot A610If you don't really need 7.1 megapixels, you can save money with the Canon PowerShot A610, which has the same features as the A620 but only 5 megapixels. That's still plenty for most people to zoom, crop and print richly detailed photos as large as 8 by 10 inches. Like the A620, the A610 offers 4X optical zoom, a 2-inch LCD and a number of shooting modes to make picture-taking simple, even if you're a novice.



Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P200Small camera; big LCD. The compact Sony DSC-P200 is only 4 inches wide, 2 inches high and 1 inch deep but has a high-resolution 2-inch LCD so you can instantly enjoy viewing and sharing photos. It also has a robust 7.2-megapixel CCD and a quick auto-focus, 3X optical zoom lens to help bring your subject closer. Pre-flash metering sets exposure and reduces red-eye for great flash shots. You can also shoot in movie mode, recording as much as your selected Memory Stick can hold.



Kodak EasyShare Z740If you want to shoot close-up subjects and still enjoy the simplicity of a point-and-shoot camera, consider the Kodak EasyShare Z740, which gives you a powerful 10X optical zoom. If that's not enough, there's also 5X digital zoom for a total of 50X zoom capability. The exclusive Kodak Color Science Chip gives your pictures vibrant color even under difficult lighting conditions. Choose one of 16 shooting modes to get your perfect shot, whether it's a beach scene or a self-portrait.



Fuji FinePix S5200Toeing the line between point-and-shoot and digital SLR is the Fuji FinePix S5200. It's larger and heavier than the average pocket-friendly point-and-shoot, but just the right size if you like to use a long lens and have more control than the typical weekend snapshooter. Its 10X optical zoom and 5.7X digital zoom give you a total of 57X total zoom range. Intuitive controls on the body allow you to set up shots quickly without navigating through menus.

Top 5 Digital SLR Cameras



Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTA great camera for amateur digital SLR photographers, the EOS Digital Rebel XT offers the easiest operation in its class. It features an 8.0-megapixel CMOS sensor, Canon's own DIGIC II Image Processor and compatibility with more than 50 EF Lenses. Improving on its predecessor, the Digital Rebel, the Digital Rebel XT has an all new lightweight and compact body, nearly as small as digital SLRs get, with the responsiveness of a bigger semi-pro model.



Canon EOS-5DThe new Canon EOS 5D boasts a full-frame 12.8-megapixel CMOS sensor in a relatively compact magnesium-alloy body. Canon's DIGIC II Image Processor provides outstanding image quality, and "Picture Style" color control gives you superior command of color balance, contrast and sharpness. Pictures look great from almost any angle on the large 2.5-inch LCD, and easy-to-use menus simplify shooting operations so you can focus on your vision.



Olympus EVOLT E-500Never worry about dust on the image sensor interfering with your pictures with the Olympus EVOLT E-500. This easy-to-handle digital SLR camera uses an exclusive vibrating filter to eliminate dust and produce spotless pictures no matter where you change lenses. It has an 8-megapixel CCD and 25 shooting modes so you can take great pictures with a minimum of effort. A high-resolution, 2.5-inch LCD lets you view and share your shots from a wide viewing angle. And it's all housed in a lightweight, portable chassis.



Konica Minolta Dynax 5DIt's called the Maxxum 5D in North America, the Dynax 5D elsewhere, but no matter which name it goes by, this is a great little digital SLR camera from Konica Minolta. It employs an exclusive built-in anti-shake technology, enabling blur-free shooting in just about any situation, even at slower shutter speeds. Its 2.5-inch LCD displays detailed, easy-to-read information about settings and exposure values. And it has a wide variety of customizable settings so you can control color balance, contrast, saturation and sharpness in every shot.



Nikon D50Compact and lightweight, the Nikon D50 can go anywhere you do, and its lithium-ion battery lets you shoot about 2,000 images before needing to be recharged. It has a high-performance 6.1-megapixel CCD and is compatible with Nikon's wide variety of high-quality Nikkor lenses. High-speed continuous shooting allows you to shoot for up to 137 uninterrupted frames, depending on the type of SD card used, and a new small-picture function lets you choose the resolution you want when saving each shot, maximizing your storage capability.

Source: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com

Top 10 mobile phones of 2007 we can't wait for

Everyone's been talking about it the last few weeks - the blogs haven't buzzed this much since the Lonelygirl15 scandal; the chippies are wrapping pieces of cod in newspapers' sycophantic gushings about it, heck, even your own Aunt has asked you how integrated the OS X will be in it. Yep, we're talking 'bout the iPhone. However, in the shadow of Steve Jobs's phallic phone, many worthy mobiles have been cast aside - until now. Take a look under the jump for Shiny Shiny's list of the Top 10 Mobile Phones Of 2007 We Can't Wait For. And, err, admittedly the iPhone is on the list, not just to sate the Apple fans' thirst for More, More, More Pictures of The Great Shiny Object, but because it's actually a pretty great phone once you ignore all the buzz. Read on, fellow mobile geeks!

1.) LG Shine. A favourite amongst us Shiny Shiny girls, and not for the obvious reasons, this Black Label mobile (our beloved Chocolate is also part of this range) features a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, MP3 playback, 1GB of onboard storage space, and is also able to set user-recorded video as the phone's wallpaper. Pure bliss on a stick. Available in the UK 7th February, expect our full review shortly.

2.) Sidekick 3. Already available in the States, this baby descended on Blighty back in December, but sold out within days, since then it has been announced T-Mobile, the only UK stockist, had discontinued it. However we have hope another UK stockist will pick it up, due to its success in the States. Featuring all the goodies we're used to in Paris and Nicole's phone du jour, it's got email, a 1.3 megapixel camera, MP3 player, miniSD slot, and T Mobile's Web'n Walk feature. Hopefully reissued again sometime in 2007, expect our full review shortly.

3.) Nokia N93i. The hugely-antipicated update to the N93, it possesses MPEG-4 VGA video capture at up to 30 frames per second, a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 3x optical zoom, 1 GB miniSD card (hurrah!), Wi-Fi, and an MP3 player. Thankfully, it's been on a diet, and is much slimmer than its predecessor. Available in 2007's first quarter.

4.) Apple iPhone. You knew it was going to be included in the top 5, but are you surprised it's not at number 1? As you no doubt know, it will have a 3.5 inch diagonal touch screen, 2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and run Apple's Mac OS X system. There'll be two versions available, a 4GB, and 8GB, handy for all those tunes you're likely to store. Available in UK Winter 2007, if that.

5.) LG enV. Another phone which has been available in the US since November, we're including this on our list due to its smartphone capabilities - it's got a full qwerty keyboard, 2 megapixel camera, integrated GPS, wireless synchronisation for emailing purposes, and of course, Bluetooth. Check out our video of it at CES. No word on UK availability, but we guess around Spring 2007.

6.) LG KE850 Prada. The recently announced mobile from LG, made in conjunction with the fashion house Prada, will pip the iPhone to the post to being the world's first completely touch screen mobile. It's got a 3 inch display, with a 2 megapixel camera, LED flash, Bluetooth, and a player supporting MPEG 4. Due February 2007 in the UK.

7.) Sony Ericsson SO903iTV Bravia. Based on Bravia technology (you remember those telly ads with the bouncing balls, right?) the SO903iTV boasts a 3 inch screen, with a slide function for horizontal viewing. It's got a 2 megapixel camera, and microSD card slot for storing those all-important pics of your friend downing three Sambuca shots in a row. Available in Japan in June, let's hope it launches here sometime this year.



8.) Samsung Ultra Edition 12.9. Formerly known as the D900, this new model is only 12.9 mm thin, with a 3 megapixel camera, 2.1 inch screen, quad-band, and not only that, claims it's the world's slimmest slider phone with a 3 megapixel camera. Due out sometime late 2007.

9.) Google's Switch. Ok, so it hasn't been announced yet, but with shady photos cropping up all over blogs, and stories about it being made by Samsung, yet branded as Google, we will hold our breath for a 2007 launch UK-side. It's rumoured to have GPS with Google Maps based navigation features, a contact application using Gmail, Google Talk, and traditional messaging, and absolutely no internal memory, as everything will be served up over the network. No word on availability, as it's still just a rumour, d'oh!

10.) Samsung SCH-W559. It's the first touchscreen mobile to use Immersion's VibeTonz, a technology which provides tactile feedback for touchscreen interactions. This is good news, as there isn't a traditional keypad on the mobile, it's an LCD display, and with the VibeTonz feature, it ensures your touches will feel real, like actual keys. Not only that, it's got handwriting recognition, Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and audio and video playback. No word on availability, but it's sure to launch in 2007.

Top 10 Online Marketing Predictions for 2007

With 2007 in full swing, here are the predictions by "Ryan Buchanan" for the rest of the year to come. In prior years we have given you a mix of business and personal lifestyle predictions, but this year we're sticking to just the online marketing world.

10. Social networking will get more and more niche.
Social Networking has blanketed the news for the past 18 months because it works. YouTube and MySpace have built loyal communities through entertaining user-generated content and great tools for communicating with other like-minded people.

However, Social Networking is going NICHE. People use specific tools to connect, recommend, rate, and communicate within their niche groups. For this reason, there are many types of Social Media now and there will be five times this many by the end of next year:

B2C: MySpace, Facebook, Gaia, Friendster, Second Life
B2B: LinkedIn, Jigsaw
Search: Digg, Delicious, Wink, Technorati
Shopping: Wists, ThisNext, Woot
Expert Communities: Blogs, Wikis
Mapping: Geosearch
Video: YouTube, TurnHere, Splashcast
Images: Flickr

9. Viral campaign Web sites will have a purpose.
Over the past couple of years, I've been forwarded hundreds of quirky sites that are experimenting with viral marketing and have no further purpose whatsoever. There are no calls to action or indications as to why these sites exist.

A few examples of pointless viral sites: Patron's SimplyPerfect, eROI's WearShortShorts, and CareerBuilder's popular Monk-e-Mail. Next year will feature more substantial viral campaign sites, like Philips's ShaveEverywhere, PassportToFlavor from Kettle Foods, and Snakes on a Plane.

8. User-generated content will be a component on most new Web sites.
Many companies are just starting to realize the great potential of Web sites with user-generated content that enable customers co-create with their brands. Ultimately, allowing users to post their stories through text, images, and video helps to build community and long-term brand loyalty. In short, it works, and companies large (Diesel-U-Music) and small (Dunderdon Workspace) will employ this strategy much more frequently next year.

7. Email marketers will demand more strategy from their marketing agencies.
From the client-side email marketer's perspective, there are only minor differences between the top email marketing software platforms. Email marketers will demand to know more advanced strategies for their email programs by asking questions like these: How does this email render in the default settings of the different email environments (AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.)? What content shows up above and below the fold on the email preview? What content and call to action will really resonate with my target audience? How can I be a resource and still convert click-throughs into qualified leads?

6. Great content is king. Quality content is more important now than ever before.
Each of us receives dozens of email newsletters daily. There are over 100 million viewings daily on YouTube. One in twenty visits on the Web is to a social networking site where new content is generated every second. There is a glut of content, and it's only going to get more crowded.
The key point worth noting is that the few companies providing great content are huge winners because of all of the online and offline marketing channels that work together in a sort of crescendo effect, amplifying the messaging of well-positioned brands. Word-of-mouth spreads so much faster than it used to through blogs, iTunes, YouTube, MySpace, Web sites, and online press.

Fans of the TV program "Grey's Anatomy" can convert nonbelievers because the content of the show is good enough to keep them once they've heard about it. The opposite holds true of "Snakes on a Plane," which had a huge online following but bombed at the box office because the content sucked. Keep this in mind when strategizing and implementing your next viral marketing site or email campaign.

5. Most successful companies will become media companies.
Microsoft became a media company when it began its blogging program a couple years ago. The lawyers lost and marketers won; revealing the inside scoop at Microsoft was virtually the only thing that has healed the company's battered reputation.

More and more companies are starting their own blogs, helping them to become more relevant and newsworthy to a greater audience within their niche. Blogging has essentially forced companies to step into their customers' shoes and provide them with more industry knowledge and news rather than simply ramming products down their throats.

4. The Democrat majority in Congress swings the tide of online marketing.
Marketers will push the envelope far more aggressively in 2007 now that the fear of death by Republican firing squad has been reduced. Moral depravity will run rampant in advertising, and the largely Democratic online marketers will revel in the end-result of their twisted creative brains.

3. Greater integration of video into all Web sites.
When I last visited the homepage of CRM juggernaut Salesforce.com, I was immediately struck by how quickly the video flash piece engaged me. Video is not just for TV and YouTube anymore. The ShaveEverywhere site proved that the use of video within viral sites is hugely engaging and effective in converting sales.
We will see many more large, medium-sized, and small businesses integrate video into their primary and campaign Web sites in 2007. One trend we will likely see will be an increase in the use of "webisodes," 3-5 minute daily or weekly video clips that entice users to come back to sites for more all-Web programming.

2. Email mantra:
list segmentation + relevant content = improved results. eROI published an email study in early 2006 showing a direct correlation between smaller, more relevant lists and higher open and click through rates. Instead of sending all emails to a Main List of all of their contacts, marketers are starting to segment their lists into product categories, service categories, press lists, webinar lists, etc.

Marketers who fail to take the extra hour or two to do this list segmentation every 3-6 months will see continued email list fatigue and a resulting drop in performance. Emailers will learn that content needs to focus less on selling a product and talking at recipients, and more on talking with recipients. Updating email content and starting a conversation will be more important than ever as people move toward seeing their inboxes as sacred places that they don't want violated by one-way advertising messages.

1. Thoughtful, cause-related marketing is the biggest winner in 2007.
Pay attention. If you do this right, you will put your company on the map—and make the world a better place. This may just be the best business advice you get all year: Ask your coworker, your department, your entire company what one nonprofit they want to support—and throw a lot of energy behind it. Better yet, co-create a new program or new event with an existing, reputable nonprofit, and you'll see that your employees, customers, and prospects, as well as your kids and your spouse, will help you take this cause, and indirectly your company, to the next level.

The best example of this is a brand we used to take for granted: Dove. Dove launched "The Campaign for Real Beauty" and let the fact be known that the company no longer simply sells soap. Dove is now so much more than a set of commodity products. Dove sells real beauty; natural beauty; non-superficial beauty.

The Campaign for Real Beauty Web site features a one-minute film that shows the transformation of an average-looking woman into a strikingly gorgeous supermodel. Only by seeing this process can we truly comprehend the illusion of what are, essentially, fabricated dream girls.

The beauty of this site is that it doesn't end with just awareness of the problem. It launches immediately into an actionable item for 8-12-year-old girls to sign up for Dove's real beauty workshops. The workshops teach girls about the importance of identifying beauty within themselves in the pre-teen years, before the peer pressure to be like the mythical supermodel drives them to anorexia or bulimia.

A couple of years ago, eROI began its own partnership with Portland-based nonprofit, Friends of the Children, by co-creating an event called Friends Art Fair. In just two years, the event has raised $55,000 and has garnered 2.5 million media impressions thru email marketing channels, print media, and media sponsor KPTV Fox 12 News.

Top 10 Email Marketing Must-Dos

This time of year, every expert predicts the trends for the next 12 months, but we wanted to provide email marketers with something a bit more useful to help kick-start the year. While I believe all of our must-dos truly are critical, if you can focus on only one thing in 2006, put your resources toward our first point-- getting relevant.

1. Get relevant-- dive into personalization and segmentation.
The greatest capabilities of email marketing technology -- segmentation and personalization -- are likely the most underutilized by most companies. Your emails are competing for attention with an increasing number of messages in your subscribers’ inboxes. The emails that resonate most, through personalized subject lines, offers, articles, products showcased and follow-up emails based on recipient activity, will be the clear winners. It is crucial that you begin this process, even if it is simply personalizing the content of the subject line or sending modified emails to several different segments of your list. Once the process is started, you can then work toward the promised land of dynamic content and lifecycle-based messaging.

2. Resolve or minimize deliverability and rendering issues.
Always send pre-campaign test messages to uncover delivery problems before sending the actual message to recipients, and then monitor results after each message to spot potential ISP blocking, filtering and blacklisting. Test your email messages in different email clients (Outlook, Lotus Notes, AOL, and web clients like Hotmail/MSN, Gmail and Yahoo) and platforms (PC and Macintosh) and correct problems. Establish authenticity as an email sender by publishing SPF code in your DNS record.

3. Redesign email messages for the inbox and for users who view them in the preview pane and block images.
Redesign your emails to render properly and be easily read and acted on in a world of preview panes and blocked images. In 2006 Yahoo Mail and Hotmail will add preview panes to their web-based clients, adding to the significant usage of preview panes by Outlook and Lotus Notes users. Also, redo your message templates to deliver maximum information in the top two to four inches and increase creative use of HTML fonts and colors, while relying less on the use of images that ISPs or recipients' email clients might block.

4. Optimize the beginning of the email relationship.
Focus special attention on the beginning of the email relationship, because the most significant decline in email performance comes two months after recipients opt in. Engage your new subscribers immediately with an organized program that includes a welcome message sent out upon confirmation, followed by the current newsletter or promotion, and emails offering a set of best-of newsletter articles or an email-exclusive offer just for newcomers. Lastly, make sure you manage subscribers’ expectations from the start by adequately explaining the email program’s value proposition, frequency, type of content and privacy policies.

5. Get on the permission train.
Review your permission practices across your company’s websites and at all customer-contact points within the company. Convert any opt-out address collection (loading a subscription form with a checked box or sales offers emailed to prospects without permission) to opt-in. While not required by the CAN-SPAM Act, permission-based email has become the standard practice in the industry. Companies that send unsolicited email risk damaging their brand and losing customers.

6. Focus on metrics that matter.
Quit worrying about process-oriented metrics such as open and clickthrough rates. Email marketers need to focus more on their end goals by tracking conversion rates, revenue per email, whether specific desired actions were taken, et cetera. Newsletter publishers need to drill down and track which type of articles and format style motivate subscribers to click through to read more, and then adjust content and formats accordingly. Use open and click rates as indicators of trends and possible delivery and rendering issues rather than as stand-alone measures of program success.

7. Take better care of your long-term subscribers.
EmailLabs estimates that 30 to 50 percent of a company’s email list may be inactive, meaning that subscribers have not opened or clicked on a link over a reasonable series of messages or time period. Marketers need to wake up these dormant subscribers by trying different subject lines, frequency of mailings and new formats, sending them special offers or best-of newsletters, surveying them, and getting them to update their demographic, preference and interest profiles. Analyze these “inactives” to uncover potential trends such as how they opted in (sweepstakes offer, free whitepaper, et cetera) and their demographic profiles.

8. Maximize search with email.
Search is now a dominant means to acquire customers and leads, but if you don’t integrate your email programs with your search efforts then you are throwing search engine marketing dollars in the trash. Include an email offer as a secondary objective on the landing page. Invite visitors to opt in to a newsletter, download a whitepaper or try a product/service demo if they don't want to buy or take other desired actions. Then, use email to move your subscribers along the sales lifecycle.

9. Test, test, test and improve.
Things move and change quickly in email marketing. What works for a competitor or worked for you six months ago might not work today. Companies need to test variables continuously, including format, design, copy style and calls to action, subject line approach and offers, personalization, content types or product categories and more. Start with simple A/B split tests, and repeat the test at least a few times to verify results.

10. Create an email marketing plan and align resources.
Do you have an actual email marketing plan with specific goals, success metrics and action steps outlined? Because email marketing is still so new to many organizations, budget and resources for the channel are often not in line with the opportunity and potential ROI. Develop a plan that clearly demonstrates to management the value and ROI of a strategic and well-run email marketing program. Make sure your plan includes enough budget and resources to enable significant improvement in ROI through increased personalization and segmentation, better deliverability, continuous testing, analysis and improvement and use of advanced technology.
To sum this all up, yes, it's a long list, and it probably looks pretty intimidating if you haven't developed your email program beyond batch-and-blast. But remember that a profitable email-marketing program can't be developed overnight. You can't fix an underperforming program overnight, either.

10 best success models

1. Remember newsgroups are still pretty popular.You could post your ad in ones that allow it or youcan leave messages with your sig file included. Oneof the fastest ways to get your message noticed in anewsgroup is to ask a question. For example, "Howdo I..." or "Where do I…?" People have beenraised their whole lives to answer questions.

2. Spend money on targeted advertising instead ofmass media advertising. You don't want to wasteyour ad dollars on people who aren't interested.For example, you don't want to buy a businessopportunity ad in a football magazine unless it isrelated to sports. If you are sending your ad to ageneral audience, make sure they have a section foryour particular sub-set of that audience.

3. Increase your profits by concentrating on smalldetails. Improving small things like text size, color,or graphics can really make a positive difference.For example, if people can't read small text how arethey are going to buy your product? Anotherexample, why would somebody spend time at yourweb site if your colors are all bright ones and hurttheir eyes?

4. Keep your offers flexible. If you offer a set pricefor your product, you could offer the people whocan't afford it an optional payment plan. Forexample, you could offer a Gold Plan for $47, aSilver Plan for $37, a Bronze Plan for $27 and afree plan to give them a taste of your product orservice.

5. Offer your knowledge or consulting as a bonusproduct. You could offer a free 15- or 30-minuteconsultation. This will add value to your product.For example, you could say, "Get A FREE 30-Minute Marketing Consultation!" You could alsooffer it as a freebie to get them interested in buyingyour product.

6. Personalize all your e-mail messages so they getread. Include the recipient's name in the subject line.This will grab people's attention quickly. For example,wouldn't "(your name), Learn How To..." get yourattention more than just "Learn How To..."? Ifigured you would say that.

7. Keep your web site consistent. You don't wantthings on your web site that are unrelated to yourtheme. For example, if you went to a web site andone page was blue and the next page was pink, thenthe next page was green, wouldn't you think veryhard before purchasing their product? It would lookvery unprofessional to you.

8. Attract more subscribers to your free e-zine bygiving them free bonuses like e-books, software,online services and other incentives. For example,you could say, "Get A Free E-book For SubscribingTo Our Award Winning Marketing E-zine!" Anotherexample, "Receive A Free Ad In Our E-zine WhenYou Subscribe!"

9. Sell advertising space in your e-zine and on yourweb site. This will create an extra income streamfor your business. For example, if you publish ane-zine, you could sell classified ads, top sponsor adsand solo ads. You could also sell advertising onyour "Thank You for Subscribing" page or e-mail.

10. Make your web site ready for the public. Havean "About Us" page and clear descriptions of whatactions you want your visitors to take. For example,you could say "My name is (your name). I startedthis candy business back in 1975 with my brotherJim. In 1999 we brought our business to the weband now we ship our candies to 50 countriesaround the world."

To 10 yahoo searches

Top 10 Overall Searches

1. Britney Spears
2. WWE
3. Shakira
4. Jessica Simpson
5. Paris Hilton
6. American Idol
7. Beyonce Knowles
8. Chris Brown
9. Pamela Anderson
10. Lindsay Lohan

Top 10 Celebrity Searches

1. Britney Spears
2. Shakira
3. Jessica Simpson
4. Paris Hilton
5. Beyonce Knowles
6. Chris Brown
7. Pamela Anderson
8. Lindsay Lohan
9. Jessica Alba
10. Mariah Carey

Top 10 TV Show Searches

1. American Idol
2. Lost
3. Days of Our Lives
4. Family Guy
5. Deal or No Deal
6. Grey's Anatomy
7. The Simpsons
8. Dancing With the Stars
9. Smallville
10. South Park

Top 10 Sports Team Searches

1. New York Yankees
2. Dallas Cowboys
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Boston Red Sox
5. Manchester United
6. Arsenal FC
7. Detroit Tigers
8. Chicago Bears
9. Real Madrid
10. St. Louis Cardinals

Top 10 Song Lyric Searches

1. Hips Don't Lie
2. My Humps
3. Grillz
4. Unfaithful
5. Bad Day
6. Beep
7. Laffy Taffy
8. Buttons
9. What Hurts the Most
10. Unwritten

Top 10 News Story Searches

1. Steve Irwin death
2. Anna Nicole's son dies
3. Iraq
4. Israel and Lebanon
5. U.S. elections
6. Fidel Castro stroke
7. North Korea nuke
8. JonBenet confession
9. Saddam Hussein trial
10. Danish cartoon

Top 10 Celebrity Baby Searches

1. Suri Cruise
2. Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt
3 .Sean Preston Federline
4. Jayden James Federline
5. Kingston Rossdale
6. David Banda
7. Moses Martin
8. Grier Hammond Henchy
9. Barron William Trump
10. Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern

Top 10 Blog/Blogger Searches

1. Perez Hilton
2. The Superficial
3. Pink Is the New Blog
4. Huffington Post
5. TMZ.com
6. Daily Kos
7. Jossip
8. A Socialite's Life
9. Little Green Footballs
10. Gawker

Top 10 Politician Searches

1. George W. Bush
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
3. Bill Clinton
4. Hillary Clinton
5. Dick Cheney
6. Mark Foley
7. John Kerry
8. Barack Obama
9. Nancy Pelosi
10. Tom Delay

Top 10 Movie Searches

1. Spider-Man 3
2. X-Men 3
3. Pirates of the Caribbean 2
4. Star Wars
5. Superman Returns
6. Transformers
7. Saw III
8. The Da Vinci Code
9. Talladega Nights
10. Borat

Top 10 Social-Travel Networks Sites

Planning a trip?
Those who love to travel know the essence of all travel is about you and the road. For a true traveler the destination is only a minor detail in planning a trip, experiencing and delving deeper into an unfamiliar culture is paramount. Before you begin to crack the travel guides, pick a destination or plan a travel itinerary, visit some of these off the beaten path travel sites. Whatever level of expertise you tout, whether it is international travel, student travel, discount travel or just plain old USA travel, these sites are guaranteed to expand your horizons:

Social-Travel Networks

1. IgoUgo.com

Honest advice to get you going.
It’s no wonder IgoUgo won the 2005 Webby Award for the Best Travel Site in
the U.S. It definitely stands apart from other online travel communities
that allow travelers to share photos and stories. Their newly added Travel
Deals provides the best bargains in the coming week from a variety of
travel sites, saving you the hassle of online booking research. IgoUgo
rewards contributing writers and photographers with GO points, which can
be redeemed at online retailers and used for frequent flier miles.

Cool Feature:
Have a favorite IgoUgo member? You can search for a member, view their
profile, and stay up to date on their travels.

2. Triporama.com

Plan Together. Travel Together.
Triporama enables you to plan a group trip and share the details with
your group. It’s like your own personal trip website. Tools on the
site include storing and sharing your research, manage invites, and posting
messages to your group.

Don’t Miss!
- Group Travel Guide’s Recommendations.

3. Tripadvisor.com

Get the truth, then go.
Tripadvisor.com has compiled over 5 million traveler reviews and opinions
on hotels, vacations and more. Here you can find the honest truth about
your destination, without feeling like you’re being 'sold'. Reviewers
have the option of uploading their own vacation pictures. The hotel website
may show you a room with a view, but the travelers pictures may tell a
different story...

Cool Feature:
goLists- Travelers create a list of what to see
and things to do in a certain destination.

4. Triptie.com

Tying Travel Together.
Triptie.com was created based on the idea that travelers make the best
travel agents. By allowing travelers to share personal vacation itineraries,
stories, and photos, everyone becomes someone else’s agent. Unlike
similar travel sites, you can easily pull pieces from other itineraries
and make them a part of your own.

Cool Feature:
Create your hometown Itinerary for when friends…or
travelers from around the globe come and stay.

5. Iagora.com

Connecting Internationals Since 1998
Looking to get away, and stay away? Iagora.com offers information on internships,
study abroad, and permanent positions available abroad. This site will
help you find housing, hotels, and provide tips for working and living
abroad. By signing up for premiere membership you can submit your resume
and network for job offers from around the globe.


Cool Feature:
iPeople- Browse through member profiles and contact information to get
personal information on others who are working and living abroad.

6. Bootsnall.com

The Ultimate Resource for the Independent
Traveler
BootsnAll features guides, stories, book reviews, and insiders from every
continent. The site also has message boards, blogs, and travel deals.
You can book flights, hotels, and even hostels through provided links….they
really do live up to the ‘nall when it comes to traveling.


Don’t Miss!
- 50 Most Recent Travel Stories.

7. Wayn.com

Where Are You Now?
Think Myspace, for travel lovers. WAYN.com (where are you now?) allows
users to keep a log of their travels…past, present, and future.
The idea is that you share them with other members, and maybe even meet
some of them along the way.


Cool Feature:
An integrated instant messaging program.

8. Planetware.com

Your Unlimited Travel Guide to the World
Many of the most popular travel sites provide little information on U.S
destinations. It may be hard to come across a site with detailed guides
for U.S cities. That is what sets Planetware.com apart from other destination
guide websites. Their ultimate goal is to eventually database every attraction
in the world.

Cool Feature:
Enter your Hobbies and Activities and it will bring up destinations that
can entertain them.

9. Realtravel.com

Real People, Real Advice, Real Experiences.
Voted as one of the 12 Best Travel Sites by Forbes.com, Realtravel is
an online community for all things related to travel. Featuring photos,
blogs, member profiles, and links to the latest in travel deals, it is
a great way for people to obtain and share advice on travel experiences.

Cool Feature:
Featured Destination Page

10. Hotspottin.com

Think Zagat-for international nightlife, without the attitude. Arranged
by city, users can submit a “hotspot,” rate it, and even upload
their own madcap photos from their night out.

Don’t Miss! Most Popular Hotspot-
because that makes it the hottest spot.

Top 10 Travel Insurance Tips

You spend hours and hours agonising over where to go on holiday, yet most people either book their travel insurance at the last minute or – horror of horrors - don't take it out at all Leave your travel insurance to the last minute and you will probably end up paying a lot more for your policy. And while no one likes to think that things will go wrong, unfortunately sometimes they do. You could miss your flight or ferry, lose your baggage or money, or, perhaps worst of all, become ill or injured while you are abroad.

Travel insurance can help you deal with these emergencies. For many people it enables them to continue their holidays. For those that have to curtail their holidays because of illness or injury, they have the peace of mind that they will receive the treatment they need and if necessary be brought home.

It has emerged recently that the terms and conditions of many credit cards contain clauses that mean many people are not insured when travelling abroad, even though they believe they are. It's vital to be insured and it's vital that you are covered for every eventuality. Here's 10 things to consider when choosing travel insurance:

1. Does the policy provide sufficient cover for any medical eventuality and repatriation? The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recommends that the level of cover should be £1 million for Europe and £2 million for the rest of the world.

2. Does the policy provide a 24-hour emergency service/assistance company?

3. Does the policy cover a full refund of your costs if the trip is cancelled or cut short for any reason?

4. Does the cancellation cover start immediately?

5. Does the policy cover all the activities and sports that you might do? Many policies do not cover various activities, particularly "extreme sports" such as bungee jumping and sky diving.

6. Does the policy cover personal liability, in the event that you accidentally cause injury or damage to others and their property and they sue you?

7. Does the policy offer reimbursement of legal expenses incurred if a damage claim needs to be made?

8. Does the limit for stolen, lost or damaged possessions sufficiently cover what the items are worth?

9. How many children are covered under a family policy?

10. If you are travelling regularly during the year, would it be cheaper to take out an annual policy rather than single-trip cover each time?

Source: MSN Money staff

Top 10 downloads of the past 10 years

Number 10
ICQ

Today instant messengers are ubiquitous, but when ICQ ("I Seek You") was first released in 1997, it was truly the first of its kind. Though competitors such as Yahoo Instant Messenger and AIM have since encroached on ICQ's territory, this chat client remains enormously popular with international users, and it has remained one of Download.com's most popular applications since its launch.

Number 9
Winamp

Arriving fast on the heels of the emerging MP3 digital format, Nullsoft's Winamp was one of the darlings of the burgeoning digital audio scene in the late '90s. This free audio player quickly gained popularity, becoming one of the most popular files on Download.com, and Nullsoft was eventually acquired by AOL in 1999.

Number 8
Napster

Who doesn't remember this controversial file-sharing kingpin? Developed by Northeastern University student Shawn Fanning, Napster was a groundbreaking application that enabled users to share MP3s painlessly for the first time through a peer-to-peer network. Napster has since been sued, shuttered, and reborn as a subscription music service, but its legacy remains.

Number 7
Firefox

Developed by the open-source Mozilla project in 2003, Firefox was the first browser to show the promise of breaking Microsoft's stranglehold on the browser market. Lightweight, secure, and packed with useful features, Firefox exemplifies the promise of the strengthening open-source movement.

Number 6
WinZip

When CNET Download.com launched in 1996, WinZip was among the first programs in the library, and in the past nine years, it has remained near the top of the Most Popular list. The reason is simple: For many years, WinZip was an essential utility. You couldn't download or send large files without it. Even the fact that Windows XP now has built-in ZIP support hasn't diminished its popularity. The keys to WinZip's success are its simplicity and its singularity of purpose: it does one thing--compressing and decompressing files--and it does it very well.

Number 5
iTunes

Apple's music player and organizer makes our top 10 list for the sheer beauty of its product design. iTunes is not only a full-featured media player and library in its own right, it's also the gateway for Apple's iPod and popular music store, creating an elegant and simple interface for buying and organizing music. If only all software were this easy to use.

Number 4
Ad-aware

Almost as soon as there was software to download, there was adware coming along for the ride. Lavasoft did its part to hold the line with Ad-aware, a spyware scanner and remover. Its simple interface and excellent results have gained the program acclaim over the past five years, including a recent monopoly on the No. 1 slot in Download.com's Most Popular list. We wouldn't download files without it, and apparently, neither would most of you.

Number 3
Skype

If Internet signals can travel over a phone line, then voice calls can travel over the Internet, right? With a Voice-over-IP (VOIP) program such as Skype, they certainly can. The prospect of making free calls to folks all over the globe has persuaded millions of people to install the software; the ease of use and surprising voice quality have earned Skype a loyal user base and accolades that include a CNET Editors' Choice and a Webby.

Number 2
RealPlayer

Ten years ago, the Web was full of static content. The 1995 debut of RealPlayer changed all that. Streaming audio and video in a free media player was a bold step forward into making the Internet a viable entertainment platform, and RealNetworks was there. Today the software plays almost every media format, and the online music store sells tunes compatible with most MP3 players--even the iPod. RealPlayer hasn't always been at the head of the class, but it was there first, and it keeps adapting to the developing world of online media.

Number 1
Adobe Acrobat Reader

Bridging the gap between print and Internet publishing, Adobe's portable document format (PDF) lets publishers distribute their articles, newsletters, and documentation online without worrying about formatting problems or unauthorized alterations. By giving away the Acrobat Reader early on, Adobe helped create a nearly unassailable market position. If you want to read magazine archives or software manuals online, you need Acrobat Reader--as its nearly seven-year occupation of the Most Popular list can attest.

Source: http://www.cnet.com/

Top 10 Broadband Phone Service Providers

Use your broadband internet connection to make phone calls.

1. Vonage : basic 500 ($14.99/mo); Premium Unlimited ($24.99/mo)
   
2. VoiceEclipse : basic plan ($12.95/mo); Premium ($19.95/mo)
   
3. EarthLink trueVoice : basic ($14.95/mo); unlimited ($24.95/mo)
   
4. SunRocket : limited ($9.95/mo); annual ($199/year)
   
5. VoicePulse : local unlimited ($14.99/mo); americal unlimited ($24.99/mo)
   
6. AT&T CallVantage : local plan ($19.99/mo); service plan ($29.99/mo)
   
7. Packet8 : freedom unlimited ($19.99/mo)
   
8. Verizon VoiceWing : VoiceWing 500 ($19.95/mo); VoiceWing Unlimited ($24.95/mo)
   
9. Lingo : Lingo Unlimited ($19.95/mo)
   
10. BroadVoice : unlimited in-state ($9.95/mo); unlimited world ($19.95/mo)
    

A few more Broadband Phone Service Providers

1. Speakeasy : broadband + voip combo ($83.90/mo)
   
2. VoxFlow : residential class ($24.95/mo)
   
3. QuantumVoice : regional ($19.99/mo); premier ($29.95/mo)
   
4. Cogeco : ($44.99/mo)
   
5. ViaTalk : vt_500 ($9.95/mo); vt_unlimited ($15.95/mo)
   

Top 10 Mysterious Diseases

There are many sicknesses doctors can cure with the swish of a pen across prescription pad. But for all we understand now about some illnesses, there are even more that still stump the pros, confound the public and rage on uncontested.

Number 10
Morgellons Disease

This mysterious illness, which has cropped up again recently, displays almost sci-fi symptoms. Sufferers complain of intensely creepy-crawly skin and odd fibrous strands which protrude from open wounds. Some in the medical community blame the “disease” on psychotic delusion, but others say the symptoms are very real.

Number 9
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue is a classic MUPS (medically unexplained physical symptoms) disease, with a diagnosis based only on the ruling out of other possibilities. More than just feeling a little tired, CFS patients are often bed-ridden for days at a time.

Number 8
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

One version of this rare brain disorder is better known—Mad Cow—and can be contracted by eating contaminated beef. “Regular” CJD is also always fatal, quick-acting and is the most common form, but develops in most patients for reasons doctors have yet to figure out and can not prevent.

Number 7
Schizophrenia

Experts consider this the most puzzling of mental disorders, one which robs the sufferer of the ability to logically distinguish between reality and fantasy. Symptoms range wildly between patients and include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, lack of motivation or emotion, but the disease has no defining medical tests.

Number 6
Autoimmune Disorders

A catchall term for a host of afflictions including Lupus and MS, autoimmune disorders treat the body’s organs and normal functions as enemy invaders. They’re usually chronic, always debilitating, and doctors can do little except ease their symptoms.

Number 5
Pica

People diagnosed with Pica have an insatiable urge to eat non-food substances like dirt, paper, glue and clay. Though it is believed to be linked with mineral deficiency, health experts have found no real cause and no cure for the peculiar disorder.

Number 4
Avian Flu

Humans have no immunity to the powerful flu virus carried by birds, which health official fear could mutate into a strain that can be transmitted between humans. Death rates for human infected are around 50 percent but, so far, humans have been infected mostly by direct handling with infected birds. A recent cluster of cases, however, appeared to involved its spread between people.

Number 3
The Common Cold

Even with an estimated one billion cases in the United States every year, doctors still know very little about the nose-running, cough-inducing cold, whose root causes number in the hundreds (some headway is being made). Time and chicken soup, not antibiotics, is often the only prescription that helps.

Number 2
Alzheimer’s Disease

Not to be confused with the forgetfulness that affects most everyone in their later years, Alzheimer’s is a degenerative brain disorder that manifests differently in each of its sufferers. The exact cause isn’t understood and it can’t be effectively treated.

Number 1
AIDS

Twenty-five years since it was first identified, there is still no cure for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS remains among the world’s most potent killers, especially in developing countries. The disease likely started with a chimp to human jump, recent research confirmed.