Good Plum » News http://goodplum.com Internet Marketing, Online Business, Tech & Web Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:44:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Why Mommy Bloggers Have Become So Popularhttp://goodplum.com/general/mommy-bloggers-popular/ http://goodplum.com/general/mommy-bloggers-popular/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:50:45 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=715

When moms first began blogging, barely anyone took notice. Now, even the captains of industry are taking notice. What is it exactly that has made mommy bloggers so popular?

Mom blogs have far reaching influence. Journaling was a way to relax and share stories. But, with the advent of social networking, moms began to connect with others and form friendships and alliances they treasured as well as relieve stress of day to day life.

Here are a few reasons why mom blogs are being watched carefully:

1. Moms are knowledgeable. Mothers come from all walks of life and generations. You have the baby boomers, Generation X and the new Millennium moms to name a few. Each brings a fresh perspective to their blog about life and raising children. For newbie moms, the women they call “mom mavens” offer trusted advice on everything from raising children to saving the environment.

2. Moms can blog anywhere. All mom bloggers don’t sit home all day on the computer. They have jobs and blog after work, on the train, during naptime and at the park. With so many technological gadgets at their disposal, when the inspiration hits, they can share it right away with the world.

3. Moms are genuine. With so much information on the Internet today, it is hard to know what is true and what is constructed as a veiled sales pitch to influence you. The main motivation for mom blogs is to share their experiences and connect with other adults. When you run a business from you home or homeschool your children, there is little adult interacting going on.

4. Moms hold the family purse strings. Even if mom isn’t the major or a 50 percent breadwinner, she is the one who decides how the money is spent. With more than 80 million moms in the United States (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), that is a lot of buying power. Here’s a scenario: Let’s say that a mom discovers a minivan that has all the amenities she needs to haul her three kids and their friends to sporting events and dance recitals. She will recommend that vehicle on her blog and those looking for a new car will flock to that dealer.

5. Moms are not afraid of technology anymore. Before, moms went to the Internet to find information and see what was out there. Now, moms are embracing social networking and Internet marketing as a way to reach more moms and keep up with their families. Moms are not just carrying the diaper bag when they leave the house but also the PDA, the mp3 player and the cell phone which doubles as both a PDA and a music player.

Not only are moms blogging, but they’re turning their blogs into home businesses. Work-at-home-moms (WAHM) are one of the largest groups of home businesses on the internet.

Please leave comments with your favorite mommy blogs and WAHM blogs out there.

You Also Might Like

]]>

When moms first began blogging, barely anyone took notice. Now, even the captains of industry are taking notice. What is it exactly that has made mommy bloggers so popular?

Mom blogs have far reaching influence. Journaling was a way to relax and share stories. But, with the advent of social networking, moms began to connect with others and form friendships and alliances they treasured as well as relieve stress of day to day life.

Here are a few reasons why mom blogs are being watched carefully:

1. Moms are knowledgeable. Mothers come from all walks of life and generations. You have the baby boomers, Generation X and the new Millennium moms to name a few. Each brings a fresh perspective to their blog about life and raising children. For newbie moms, the women they call “mom mavens” offer trusted advice on everything from raising children to saving the environment.

2. Moms can blog anywhere. All mom bloggers don’t sit home all day on the computer. They have jobs and blog after work, on the train, during naptime and at the park. With so many technological gadgets at their disposal, when the inspiration hits, they can share it right away with the world.

3. Moms are genuine. With so much information on the Internet today, it is hard to know what is true and what is constructed as a veiled sales pitch to influence you. The main motivation for mom blogs is to share their experiences and connect with other adults. When you run a business from you home or homeschool your children, there is little adult interacting going on.

4. Moms hold the family purse strings. Even if mom isn’t the major or a 50 percent breadwinner, she is the one who decides how the money is spent. With more than 80 million moms in the United States (according to the U.S. Census Bureau), that is a lot of buying power. Here’s a scenario: Let’s say that a mom discovers a minivan that has all the amenities she needs to haul her three kids and their friends to sporting events and dance recitals. She will recommend that vehicle on her blog and those looking for a new car will flock to that dealer.

5. Moms are not afraid of technology anymore. Before, moms went to the Internet to find information and see what was out there. Now, moms are embracing social networking and Internet marketing as a way to reach more moms and keep up with their families. Moms are not just carrying the diaper bag when they leave the house but also the PDA, the mp3 player and the cell phone which doubles as both a PDA and a music player.

Not only are moms blogging, but they’re turning their blogs into home businesses. Work-at-home-moms (WAHM) are one of the largest groups of home businesses on the internet.

Please leave comments with your favorite mommy blogs and WAHM blogs out there.

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/general/mommy-bloggers-popular/feed/ 2 Bloggers: Link Cloaking Plugin for WordPresshttp://goodplum.com/general/bloggers-link-cloaking-plugin-for-wordpress/ http://goodplum.com/general/bloggers-link-cloaking-plugin-for-wordpress/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:26:35 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=724

I was recently searching out a plugin for WordPress plugin that just allowed me to shorten or cloak URLs. I knew I could use this to manage all of my affiliate links in one place. I found a few plugins, which worked okay – but there was one major drawback… NONE of them listed the saved links in my blog post editor so I could easily input them into posts. As much of a blunder as that is – I new there had to be something out there that would work. And I finally found it!

Not only can I shorten affiliate links and easily insert them into posts, but I can easily manage all my links, track clicks and even create link campaigns. I can even have any keyword appearance in my entire blog automatically linked using one of my affiliate links.

Think about that for a minute.

This plugin goes through your entire blog, finds a keyword you tell it, and links that text to any URL you want! For instance, if you have an affiliate product related to Google AdSense – you could theoretically tell this plugin to link every instance of “Google AdSense” to your affiliate product.

This is the one WordPress plugin that actually makes your blog a passive income generator almost instantly after you set it up!

You can probably tell I’m excited about this, but it doesn’t even end there… below is a quick overview of the power this affiliate link management plugin gives you:

Create professional-looking short links.

Now you can easily create professional and short link like:
http://www.yourblog.com/go/CoolProduct or http://www.yourblog.com/recommends/CoolProduct or whatever you like, the choice is yours. It’s completely flexible and you can redirect them to any affiliate link you want.

Manage all your affiliate links in one central place.

You can group and manage all your affiliate links in one central place. That means you’ll have a clear overview of which affiliate program is doing good and which is not.

Also, if one affiliate program shuts their doors then you can easily change the link with another affiliate program anytime you like.

Track how many people are visiting your link and from where.

From the plugin’s management screen you can see exactly how many people have visited your link and also from where they’re coming. No guesswork trying to figure out which marketing effort is actually creating results.

Cloak your link so nobody steals your commission.

When you use a full affiliate link (you know, the long one with all the tracking code), there’s always a possibility that others can replace your affiliate information with their own and earn commissions instead of you. By using this plugin, you can stop the commission thieves right away so no one can ever steal your hard-earned commissions.

Turn keywords into links.

And, I’ve saved the best part for the last. The “Keyword to Link” feature – that means by using this plugin you can convert any keyword in your WordPress blog to an affiliate link which will passively earn you commission forever.

My Summary

I’m not sure what took me so long, but I’m glad I finally came across this. You’re probably wondering how you can get it for yourself. Follow the link below to read even more information, testimonals, and videos of the plugin doing it’s magic.

Click Here to Learn More about the “Ninja Affiliate” WordPress Plugin.

Good luck with your new and improved marketing!

You Also Might Like

]]>

I was recently searching out a plugin for WordPress plugin that just allowed me to shorten or cloak URLs. I knew I could use this to manage all of my affiliate links in one place. I found a few plugins, which worked okay – but there was one major drawback… NONE of them listed the saved links in my blog post editor so I could easily input them into posts. As much of a blunder as that is – I new there had to be something out there that would work. And I finally found it!

Not only can I shorten affiliate links and easily insert them into posts, but I can easily manage all my links, track clicks and even create link campaigns. I can even have any keyword appearance in my entire blog automatically linked using one of my affiliate links.

Think about that for a minute.

This plugin goes through your entire blog, finds a keyword you tell it, and links that text to any URL you want! For instance, if you have an affiliate product related to Google AdSense – you could theoretically tell this plugin to link every instance of “Google AdSense” to your affiliate product.

This is the one WordPress plugin that actually makes your blog a passive income generator almost instantly after you set it up!

You can probably tell I’m excited about this, but it doesn’t even end there… below is a quick overview of the power this affiliate link management plugin gives you:

Create professional-looking short links.

Now you can easily create professional and short link like:
http://www.yourblog.com/go/CoolProduct or http://www.yourblog.com/recommends/CoolProduct or whatever you like, the choice is yours. It’s completely flexible and you can redirect them to any affiliate link you want.

Manage all your affiliate links in one central place.

You can group and manage all your affiliate links in one central place. That means you’ll have a clear overview of which affiliate program is doing good and which is not.

Also, if one affiliate program shuts their doors then you can easily change the link with another affiliate program anytime you like.

Track how many people are visiting your link and from where.

From the plugin’s management screen you can see exactly how many people have visited your link and also from where they’re coming. No guesswork trying to figure out which marketing effort is actually creating results.

Cloak your link so nobody steals your commission.

When you use a full affiliate link (you know, the long one with all the tracking code), there’s always a possibility that others can replace your affiliate information with their own and earn commissions instead of you. By using this plugin, you can stop the commission thieves right away so no one can ever steal your hard-earned commissions.

Turn keywords into links.

And, I’ve saved the best part for the last. The “Keyword to Link” feature – that means by using this plugin you can convert any keyword in your WordPress blog to an affiliate link which will passively earn you commission forever.

My Summary

I’m not sure what took me so long, but I’m glad I finally came across this. You’re probably wondering how you can get it for yourself. Follow the link below to read even more information, testimonals, and videos of the plugin doing it’s magic.

Click Here to Learn More about the “Ninja Affiliate” WordPress Plugin.

Good luck with your new and improved marketing!

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/general/bloggers-link-cloaking-plugin-for-wordpress/feed/ 0 Bring Social Media Comments Into Your WordPress Bloghttp://goodplum.com/general/bring-social-media-comments-into-your-wordpress-blog/ http://goodplum.com/general/bring-social-media-comments-into-your-wordpress-blog/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:08:53 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=606

Backtype, a web site that allows you to find and follow comments from across the web has recently released their first crack at a WordPress plugin. Installing the plugin to your WordPress blog allows you to show conversation and comments from Twitter, FriendFeed, Digg and more related to your content. Users can then post replies right on your blog.

As for your existing comments, they just seem to mesh right in with comments pulled from around the web. It looks, well, brilliant to be honest with you.

Disqus has an early release that it seems only Mashable has access to right now, but it doesn’t seem as blended as this Backtype version. I’ll be disabling Disqus in the next few days to try this Backtype plugin out on Good Plum.

Features (from Backtype’s site)

  • Display comments from other blogs, Twitter, FriendFeed, Digg, Reddit, and more
  • You can configure exactly what sources you want to display related conversations from
  • Summarize, display comments inline, or append them to the end of your comments section
  • Your readers can even respond to the comments BackType Connect displays

What do you think of this implementation? It seems that anyone with a WordPress blog may want to try this out. If you’re not adventurous, you may want to wait until the bugs are worked out in version 0.2 :).

You Also Might Like

]]>

Backtype, a web site that allows you to find and follow comments from across the web has recently released their first crack at a WordPress plugin. Installing the plugin to your WordPress blog allows you to show conversation and comments from Twitter, FriendFeed, Digg and more related to your content. Users can then post replies right on your blog.

As for your existing comments, they just seem to mesh right in with comments pulled from around the web. It looks, well, brilliant to be honest with you.

Disqus has an early release that it seems only Mashable has access to right now, but it doesn’t seem as blended as this Backtype version. I’ll be disabling Disqus in the next few days to try this Backtype plugin out on Good Plum.

Features (from Backtype’s site)

  • Display comments from other blogs, Twitter, FriendFeed, Digg, Reddit, and more
  • You can configure exactly what sources you want to display related conversations from
  • Summarize, display comments inline, or append them to the end of your comments section
  • Your readers can even respond to the comments BackType Connect displays

What do you think of this implementation? It seems that anyone with a WordPress blog may want to try this out. If you’re not adventurous, you may want to wait until the bugs are worked out in version 0.2 :).

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/general/bring-social-media-comments-into-your-wordpress-blog/feed/ 7 Free Webinar: Twitter for Small Businesshttp://goodplum.com/general/free-webinar-twitter-for-small-business/ http://goodplum.com/general/free-webinar-twitter-for-small-business/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:58:04 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=537

With all the questions around the web right now involving “how should I use Twitter for my business,” I’m glad that a panel of experts put together from different areas of business has come together to help.  Put together by Eric Glazer of The MarketingStudio, the panel members are impressive – including Aaron Strout of Powered, Inc.

I was slated to be on this panel too, but due to time conflicts, have replaced myself with B2C social media expert and writer, Monica Valentinelli.

Anyone who is interested in what Twitter has to offer them, how to use it for their business, you should consider attending.  They’ll be tackling all angles – from B2B, B2C, networking and more.  The webinar is completely free to everyone and takes place on March 11, 2009 at noon Eastern.  See all the details and sign up right here!

You Also Might Like

]]>

With all the questions around the web right now involving “how should I use Twitter for my business,” I’m glad that a panel of experts put together from different areas of business has come together to help.  Put together by Eric Glazer of The MarketingStudio, the panel members are impressive – including Aaron Strout of Powered, Inc.

I was slated to be on this panel too, but due to time conflicts, have replaced myself with B2C social media expert and writer, Monica Valentinelli.

Anyone who is interested in what Twitter has to offer them, how to use it for their business, you should consider attending.  They’ll be tackling all angles – from B2B, B2C, networking and more.  The webinar is completely free to everyone and takes place on March 11, 2009 at noon Eastern.  See all the details and sign up right here!

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/general/free-webinar-twitter-for-small-business/feed/ 0 Webmasters: How To Switch Your Feedburner Feed to Googlehttp://goodplum.com/general/webmasters-how-to-switch-your-feedburner-feed-to-google/ http://goodplum.com/general/webmasters-how-to-switch-your-feedburner-feed-to-google/#comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:04:24 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=454

This is something I’ve been putting off until now.  It may even be something you don’t know about yet!  Feedburner, a tool many of us use to keep track of our RSS feeds, was purchased by Google in May of 2007.  It is now being rolled-up on the Google brand, forcing all users of it’s service to move their account by the end of February, 2009.

They make the process relatively easy – it only took me a few minutes – and, it’s required.  So you better get to it!

Pro Blog Design posted a really good write-up on everything you need to do in order to make the transfer. Take a look at their article here.

In just a few minutes, you’ll have your new feed links and can make any adjustments you may need on your website(s).  If you have any questions about the process, feel free to ask me in the comments!

You Also Might Like

]]>

This is something I’ve been putting off until now.  It may even be something you don’t know about yet!  Feedburner, a tool many of us use to keep track of our RSS feeds, was purchased by Google in May of 2007.  It is now being rolled-up on the Google brand, forcing all users of it’s service to move their account by the end of February, 2009.

They make the process relatively easy – it only took me a few minutes – and, it’s required.  So you better get to it!

Pro Blog Design posted a really good write-up on everything you need to do in order to make the transfer. Take a look at their article here.

In just a few minutes, you’ll have your new feed links and can make any adjustments you may need on your website(s).  If you have any questions about the process, feel free to ask me in the comments!

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/general/webmasters-how-to-switch-your-feedburner-feed-to-google/feed/ 1 Free Icon Sets for Your Web Sitehttp://goodplum.com/general/free-icon-sets-for-your-web-site/ http://goodplum.com/general/free-icon-sets-for-your-web-site/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:01:56 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=434

While designing blogs and other web sites, I’ve often had the need for free icons that I either don’t have the skill to design myself, or don’t have the time (usually both!).

The free icon sets available for download out there are abundant, but good ones seem to be few and far between.  There are a few icon sets that I tend to rely on for many projects I work on and I wanted to share those with you.

Below are a few of my favorite icon sets you can download for free.  Make sure you add your favorites to the comments!

Famfamfam Silk Icons

From the site:

“Silk” is a smooth, free icon set, containing over 700 16-by-16 pixel icons in strokably-soft PNG format. Containing a large variety of icons, you’re sure to find something that tickles your fancy. And all for a low low price of $0.00. You can’t say fairer than that.

Silk is, by far, the most-used icon set on the web today.  So many popular web sites use one or some of these free icons, a list of them would be a post all it’s own.  Virtually any type of icon you could possibly need for web site or software development is in this package.  All he asks for is a link back to his site.

“Social Me” Icon Set

From the site:

Social.me is an icon set consisting of 30 individual icons of the popular social networks/Web 2.0 sites out there.

I use the Social Me icons on Good Plum (see the top bar) and have recommended them to many others.  They’re simple, clean icons that can represent links to your many social profiles across the web.  The Social Me free icons are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Function

From the site:

We’ve tried to keep a consistent style with quite a glossy look to the icons, admittedly some are better than others, but our first attempt at a set of icons I’m happy how they turned out. We’ve Included some of the main Social Media Icons such as: Design Float, Digg, Delicious, Furl, Technorati, Flickr, Stumble Upon, Twitter & Many more…

As they mention on the site, they include some of the main social media icons, but the depth of free icons is deep here – providing 128 really great web icons.  All they ask in return for using their free icons is a link back to the page.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of free icon sites (legal!) for you to download.  Which ones are you using?  Let us know in the comments.

You Also Might Like

]]>

While designing blogs and other web sites, I’ve often had the need for free icons that I either don’t have the skill to design myself, or don’t have the time (usually both!).

The free icon sets available for download out there are abundant, but good ones seem to be few and far between.  There are a few icon sets that I tend to rely on for many projects I work on and I wanted to share those with you.

Below are a few of my favorite icon sets you can download for free.  Make sure you add your favorites to the comments!

Famfamfam Silk Icons

From the site:

“Silk” is a smooth, free icon set, containing over 700 16-by-16 pixel icons in strokably-soft PNG format. Containing a large variety of icons, you’re sure to find something that tickles your fancy. And all for a low low price of $0.00. You can’t say fairer than that.

Silk is, by far, the most-used icon set on the web today.  So many popular web sites use one or some of these free icons, a list of them would be a post all it’s own.  Virtually any type of icon you could possibly need for web site or software development is in this package.  All he asks for is a link back to his site.

“Social Me” Icon Set

From the site:

Social.me is an icon set consisting of 30 individual icons of the popular social networks/Web 2.0 sites out there.

I use the Social Me icons on Good Plum (see the top bar) and have recommended them to many others.  They’re simple, clean icons that can represent links to your many social profiles across the web.  The Social Me free icons are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Function

From the site:

We’ve tried to keep a consistent style with quite a glossy look to the icons, admittedly some are better than others, but our first attempt at a set of icons I’m happy how they turned out. We’ve Included some of the main Social Media Icons such as: Design Float, Digg, Delicious, Furl, Technorati, Flickr, Stumble Upon, Twitter & Many more…

As they mention on the site, they include some of the main social media icons, but the depth of free icons is deep here – providing 128 really great web icons.  All they ask in return for using their free icons is a link back to the page.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of free icon sites (legal!) for you to download.  Which ones are you using?  Let us know in the comments.

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/general/free-icon-sets-for-your-web-site/feed/ 1 Free Screen Capture Softwarehttp://goodplum.com/general/free-screen-capture-software/ http://goodplum.com/general/free-screen-capture-software/#comments Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:34:08 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=421

A good (free) way to take screen shots, record on-screen video of your movements (screencasting), and get those pictures and videos to the masses has always been a pain.  There is some great paid software, but for free… a lot was left to be desired.

Then a couple months ago, I found Jing.

The free screen capture and screencast software is a development from TechSmith, the creators of the popular Camtastia Studio.  Although the application has a Pro (paid) version, the free software has become such a integral part of my work flow, I don’t think most of you will have a reason to upgrade from the free version.

Easy

This is what it’s all about for me.  As a web developer by day, I always have the need to share bits of my screen with others – so they can see exactly what I’m talking about.  With Jing, I just swipe across my screen to select the area I want to capture, and then save or copy the clipped image into an email.

You can also create short videos within the swiped boundry.  This allows me to show an action I’m doing without the person needing to be right behind me.  Though the Pro version has higher quality and longer time allowed, the free sofware, for me, is perfect.

I encourage you to take a look at their great features.  For a free screen capture program, I’ve yet to see anything that beats it.

You Also Might Like

]]>

A good (free) way to take screen shots, record on-screen video of your movements (screencasting), and get those pictures and videos to the masses has always been a pain.  There is some great paid software, but for free… a lot was left to be desired.

Then a couple months ago, I found Jing.

The free screen capture and screencast software is a development from TechSmith, the creators of the popular Camtastia Studio.  Although the application has a Pro (paid) version, the free software has become such a integral part of my work flow, I don’t think most of you will have a reason to upgrade from the free version.

Easy

This is what it’s all about for me.  As a web developer by day, I always have the need to share bits of my screen with others – so they can see exactly what I’m talking about.  With Jing, I just swipe across my screen to select the area I want to capture, and then save or copy the clipped image into an email.

You can also create short videos within the swiped boundry.  This allows me to show an action I’m doing without the person needing to be right behind me.  Though the Pro version has higher quality and longer time allowed, the free sofware, for me, is perfect.

I encourage you to take a look at their great features.  For a free screen capture program, I’ve yet to see anything that beats it.

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/general/free-screen-capture-software/feed/ 0 Free Stock Photography and Royalty Free Images for Your Bloghttp://goodplum.com/general/free-stock-photography-and-royalty-free-images-for-your-blog/ http://goodplum.com/general/free-stock-photography-and-royalty-free-images-for-your-blog/#comments Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:14:20 +0000 Elliott Kosmicki http://goodplum.com/?p=283

Even if you don’t consider yourself a blogger, chances are no matter what home business you’re working – you should be blogging.  Using images with blog posts helps a reader cue-in to what the subject is.  If someone is just skimming along your site, the image will catch them before any text, so it’s a great idea to include an image with each blog post.

The key is to do this legally.  Sure, you can search Google images and put up any picture you find, but the fact of the matter is that 9 out of 10 times you do this, you’re breaking the law as you don’t have the right to use someone else’s intellectual property without permission.

I’ve put together a list of 10 royalty free stock photography sites where you can find images to use with posts on your blog.  All of these sites offer images submitted by users that have leaniant, royalty free licences allowing you to use the images you find for many reasons, including posting on your blog.

Stock.XCHNG

Stock.XCHNG is a stock photography site that I’ve used for a long time, and it continues to be my favorite.  Many royalty free images to choose from — maybe the largest you’ll find anywhere.

stockxchng

Morgue File

Another one of the largest royalty free image galleries you’ll find, the Morgue File is quite impressive with a deep library of stock photography for creative people to use.

morguefile

Stock Vault

Stock Vault is a very well designed site for photographers and designers who can share their photographs with each other.

stockvault

Open Photo

A nice royalty free photography site which, as far as I can tell, only requires attribution when you use a photograph.

openphoto

Every Stock Photo

The search engine of the bunch, Every Stock Photo searches across many royalty free stock photography sites to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

everystockphoto

Free Photos Bank

A nice, simple site with some quality stock images for you.

Web Photo Mart

This is a pretty well designed site that doesn’t yet have the quantity as the other big guys, but there are some good quality photographs here.

From Old Books

This one is fun – a collection of images scanned from old public domain books.  Some interesting images in here for sure!

Yale’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Another fun one, this is a database of public domain historical images.  Make sure you click around a bit, it’s not always easy to get right to an image you want!

Photos8

This is a well designed stock photography site that lacks a large amount of images, but if you can get past that, it has potential.

If you’re looking for a low-cost method to always find the image you need, no matter what the occaision, check out iStockPhoto.com.  iStock is the web’s original community-driven royalty free image site.

Is there any site that you can’t believe isn’t on this list?  Let me know in the comments, and come back again soon!

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/general/free-stock-photography-and-royalty-free-images-for-your-blog/feed/ 7 Music as an Emotional Releasehttp://goodplum.com/personal-development/health-sleep/music-as-an-emotional-release/ http://goodplum.com/personal-development/health-sleep/music-as-an-emotional-release/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 13:39:16 +0000 Elliott Roberts http://becomng.com/?p=77

An Emotional Release

An Emotional Release

How come so many messed up rock stars and musicians become so successful?  The reason: They have learned to channel their emotions and suffering into their music and their art. And if there is something we as humans understand, and can relate to, it’s suffering. Plus, many of today’s artists have an unlimited supply of angst, childhood trauma to draw from and of course addictions.

Music for so many individuals has become a release for pent up emotions, by helping get issues off their minds. Learning to channel your emotions into a positive way can become the greatest way to ease your troubled mind.

Tips for using music as an emotional release:

1. See a concert:
Seeing music live is the ultimate rush. It can take you from a terrible mood, into a more relaxed state of being almost instantly.
2. Write a happy tune:
Sometimes the easiest way to get yourself out of a funk, can be to write a song that is light hearted and poppy. The effort of getting yourself into the mindset that it takes to write a track like that can quickly pull you out of you any emotional cesspool.
3. Write a sad song:
Having issues with love and rejection? Stop dwelling on your sadness and bottling up inside, write down how your feeling and turn it into a song that everyone can relate to. We’ve all been hurt before, but people like to know that we are not alone in this and that someone else understands what they are going through.
4. Release the anger:
A lot of people relate releasing anger with punk and heavy metal. Yes, these genres are mainly built on those principles, but a song doesn’t have to be aggressive to release anger. Think of the song ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’. Nothing aggressive about that song, but the release in writing those words most have been intense.
5. Write a love song:
Are you torn with love sickness? Don’t cut off your ear! Write a song about the person who has put you in this emotional state and how they make you feel inside. Pour your emotions out onto the page and feel the lightening of your emotional baggage.

Music is the ultimate emotional release, and you don’t have to be a great musician experience it. Next time you are feeling blue, angry or sad, pick up the pen, or a guitar, and just let the words flow out of you. Just watch as your turmoil quickly turns to a feeling of accomplishment at having created something beautiful from your suffering.

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/personal-development/health-sleep/music-as-an-emotional-release/feed/ 0 7 Steps to Self-Improvementhttp://goodplum.com/personal-development/7-steps-to-self-improvement/ http://goodplum.com/personal-development/7-steps-to-self-improvement/#comments Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:14:44 +0000 Erin McKellar http://becomng.com/?p=59

Self Improvement

Self Improvement

I seem to lost count on how many times I’ve read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left and right. Not that I care (and personally I don’t), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and glamour. I suppose we all have to stop sticking our heads in the clouds and face reality.

There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should all try not to lose our own sense of self.

So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? Here are some of the things you can think and improve on that should be enough for a week.

1. Know your purpose
Are you wandering through life with little direction – hoping that you’ll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.

This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there’s always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference to yourself.

2. Know your values
What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals for 2005 – check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values – you may want to reconsider it or revise it.

The number shouldn’t discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.

3. Know your needs
Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and get them met before it’s too late!

4. Know your passions
You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who has inspired you to become the very person you wanted to be.

5. Live from the inside out
Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind. For most of us city slickers it’s hard to even find the peace and quiet we want even in our own home. In my case I often just sit in a dimly lit room and play some classical music. There’s sound, yes, but music does soothe the savage beast.

6. Honor your strengths
What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three – if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.

7. Serve others
When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit – your essence. The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.

Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn’t always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room. The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better.

You Also Might Like

]]> http://goodplum.com/personal-development/7-steps-to-self-improvement/feed/ 2