It is that time of year again, when the World goes dark, time zone by time zone, for 1 hour each. It's Earth Hour 2009. To participate all you have to do is shut off your lights, and preferably heaters, computers, and other electronic devices for just 1 hour, starting on March 28th, 2009 at 8:30pm your local time. This is a perfect opportunity to have a quiet evening with family or friends. Play games by candle light with your kids, or spend a romantic candlelit evening with that special someone. If there are clear skies where you live, it will propably be a perfect time to gaze into the heavens and see the beauty of the stars. If you live in a brightly lit city, it may be one of the few times, besides a power outage to see the stars.
The environmental group WWF - World Wildlife Fund www.worldwildlife.org started Earth Hour on March 31st, 2007 in just 1 City, Sydney, Australia with 2.2 Million of It's residents participating.
By 2008 others around the world in 35 Countries and More than 400 Cities had joined in to the tune of 50 Million people. From Rome's Colosseum to the Sydney Opera House and even all the way to Antarctica, Normally floodlit icons of civilization went dark for Earth Hour in a worldwide campaign to highlight the threat of climate change.
"What's amazing is that it's transcending political boundaries and happening in places like China, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea," said Andy Ridley, executive director of Earth Hour. "It really seems to have resonated with anybody and everybody."
In the US alone over 36 Million People flipped the switch Off for Earth Hour in 2008.
Not quite everyone participates in the event, Ireland's more than 7,000 pubs elected not to take part in the 2008 Earth Hour. Partially because of the risk that Saturday night "revelers" (Nice word for Drunks) could end up smashing glasses, falling down stairs, or setting themselves on fire with candles. Well I guess drunk people, highly flammable beverages and Fire are never a good combination.
Google showed it's support for the 2008 Earth Hour by Blackening their normally white home page and telling visitors: "We've turned the lights out. Now it's your turn."
Earth Hour is a largely symbolic event, since it will have no Major effect on yearly energy usage, but the World Wide comrodery, and awareness it creates is a step in right direction toward a better World. I hope You will join us this year for an hour of darkness and tell your friends and family members to do the same.
I Hope You Enjoy Your Candle Lit and Quiet Evening with someone special.
You can find additional information and get signed up to participate, on the Earth Hour website: www.EarthHourUS.org
You may be getting scammed Right Now by your very own Credit Card Company!
It's the latest kind of attack on your money, and so far it is perfectly legal. Credit Card Companies are lowering limits on people's credit cards BELOW what they already owe, and then charging them "Over the Limit" Fees, sometimes to the tune of several hundred dollars a month, I have heard. I don't know about you, but this really infuriates me. As if the credit and economic situations were not bad enough, now this.
The Credit Card Companies are doing this without any warning, and then sending you a letter via Snail Mail, but by then you could be thousands of dollars over your limit. Some people are finding out the hard way, by going to the store and trying to make a purchase and then finding out they are declined because they are over their limit. How rude and embarrassing is that!
Imagine the families struggling to make it in our tough economy right now, and are carrying their Grocery/Gas debt on a credit card, until they can get caught back up, or start that new job etc... Now I'm not talking about the slackers who don't make payments etc... I'm talking about the person that makes payments every month, on time, but just can't pay the "Full Balance" right now. Now imagine that the CC company decides to cut that families limit to less than what we owe, they immediately owe that outstanding balance, or they will continue to receive"Over the Limit Fees" until they do. Now also consider that the CC Company reports this to the Credit Bureaus, and destroys your good credit. This could destroy families budgets to the point they would fall behind on other debts causing them to lose their homes/cars etc...
This could make our economy so much worse than it is already. I can see that CC Companies have the right to lower the amount of credit they extend to people, However, the fact that they are doing without notice (Before the letters even arrive) and doing it to an amount that is below the amount the person owes, sure makes it seem like a scam to bilk people for as many Fees as they can. I just hope anyone who has this happen to them remembers who did it to them, and tells everyone they know to boycott that company until they are out of business.
The article I found this information on was from SmartMoney.com and has more important information you should know about. For Instance, To make things worse the article states: "Federal Reserve rules requiring lenders to give cardholders 45 days notice before reducing a credit line to the point that it would trigger penalties won't go into effect until July 2010... [Until] then, there are no federal protections..." If they are passing Federal Rules to stop this, in my opinion than anyone doing it (the under the limit stuff, with Fees) seems like a total fraud just after the Fees, and should be run out of business, as punishment for thier acts of Greed!
All data and information provided on this Blog are for informational or entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the opinions of any affiliated Brokerage(s). Web TCS, LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this Blog and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use; including, but not limited to, blown gaskets, body odor, Computer and Keyboard Rage. All Blog posts are the constantly changing opinion of the author(s) and may occasionally contain bad opinions. They are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
You may know by now that I am a multi faceted Real Estate Guy. If not, well here is the short version. I help my wife Laura build an promote Her Real Estate Transaction Coordinator/Virtual Assistant business, However I am also a Licensed Real Estate Professional in Utah as well. So sometimes I Blog about different sides of each business.
(Real Estate Guy Talking/Blogging now... )
We just picked up a stack of Utah Valley's 2009 Spring Home and Garden Expo Tickets. These tickets are good for One $5 admission each. I have set up a special webpage on My Real Estate website where Residents in the Utah area can claim their Free tickets, compliments of My Real Estate Side of Things - UtahCountyHomeTours.com. Just visit www.UtahCountyHomeTours.com and scroll to the bottom of the page to see the Utah Home Expo information and additional links.
Utah Home Expo Information
Utah residents know, to get the best ideas to create your perfect home, you must attend the Utah Valley Home and Garden Expo (at the McKay Events Center) in Orem, Utah. With Over 200 Exhibits, Expert Advice and Ideas on Home Improvement inside and out, the Utah Home Expo is the premier Utah Home Show event in all of Utah Valley. There's no Utah Home and Garden Show like the Utah Home Expo in Utah Valley. The Utah Valley Home Expo is a Home Show and Garden Show in one amazing event. Remember to look for the many "Expo Specials" to save even more money as you get your home ready for summer, and year round enjoyment. For 2009 at the Utah Home Expo you will find all kinds of information about Landscaping, Fencing, Custom Garages and Accessories, Interior Decorating and Design, Flooring, The Latest and Greatest Home Technologies and Electronics, Home Energy Saving Ideas, Child Play Areas, Indoor and Outdoor Furniture, Concrete Specialists, New Home Construction or Remodeling and More...
Wait That's Not All, besides seeing all of the great home & garden booths and getting the chance to win thousands of dollars in giveaways, you can enjoy Free Ice Cream from the BYU Creamery. Also Enjoy food from Bajio Fresh Mex and Rumbi Island Grill. I'm getting Hungry Just Thinking About It! The 2009 Utah Home Expo is going to be a great show packed with Exhibits from over 200 top home-oriented businesses, good Food , Free Prizes -Door prizes hourly (valued at over $300 per prize)-, Multiple Seminars, Children's Play areas, and Much Much more... Each year nearly 13,000 visitors enjoy Utah County's largest Home Expo, we hope to see You there!
When You Sign up to get your Free Utah Valley Home Expo (Spring Utah Home and Garden, Home Show) tickets, we will keep in contact with you and you will be first in line to get your Free Autumn Utah Valley Home and Garden Expo Tickets from UtahCountyHomeTours.com, when it comes to town around September 2009!
Tis' the season to Recycle your Tree before all the needles Fall la la' all over your floor. Christmas Tree Recycling is an important part of a responsible Christmas, and with locations all over the country to recycle your tree, it shouldn't be that hard to be green, even after your tree has started to turn brown, this year.
Earth911.com has some useful and interesting facts about recycling Christmas trees like: "There are about 500,000 acres in production for growing Christmas trees. Each acre provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people." By my calculations that is enough to meet the daily oxygen needs of 9 million people! Amazing fact, I know, just don't hyperventilate or the # will go down :) You can read all the Christmas tree facts on the Earth911.com website @ http://earth911.com/garden/christmas-trees/facts-about-treecycling/
Finding recycling locations for Christmas trees and most other recyclables is easy with Earth911.com's recycle search tool. It is available on the TreeCycling page listed above, and also on their home page http://www.earth911.com/ (right on the top of the page, green search box) Just start typing what you want to recycle and it will pop up suggestions, select on the right one and then enter your location in the next box and hit "Go". It will give you the locations listed in your area.
Earth911.com's tool doesn't have all locations listed (Like in Utah for example), so if one doesn't come up close to you, I would suggest contacting your City or your local Yard Waste facility to find out where to take them. Some areas even have a curb side pickup on certain days, again, I would check with your city to find out more. You can also search online for your states "Recycling Coalition" or search for "Yard Waste" locations in your area. For example, in South Utah County http://suvswd.org/ has information and locations for yard waste, and locations where you can drop off Christmas trees. It doesn't list winter hours on their website, but when calling their phone # it says they are open in winter on Friday 8-6 and Saturday from 8-5. I would just call to verify the winter hours, if they are not listed in your area.
In Utah you can find Christmas tree recycling information at these locations:
Cache County:
• Environmental Department: (435) 716-9755
Davis County:
• Bountiful Landfill (801) 298-1883
• Wasatch Energy Systems Layton Area (801) 614-5600
Salt Lake County
• Salt Lake County Recycling Hotline is (801) 874-6902
All data and information provided on this Blog are for informational or entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the opinions of any affiliated Brokerage(s). Web TCS, LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this Blog and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use; including, but not limited to, blown gaskets, body odor, Computer and Keyboard Rage. All Blog posts are the constantly changing opinion of the author(s) and may occasionally contain bad opinions. They are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Keller Williams Westfield Real Estate has Officially moved in to their new Orem Location. We moved in just before Christmas under snowy and windy conditions, proving that you can move anytime of year :)
Web TCS also moved into our new office location in the Keller Williams office, our new address at the KW office will be: 841 North 900 West, Orem, UT 84057. (Just east of I-15 off of 800 North)
Keller Williams Westfield Real Estate is planning on hosting an Open House/Grand Opening on January 16th from 2-6pm. That date and time may change, so I will update it as we get closer. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me (Jason) @ (888) 553-2539 Ext: 7
***Grand Opening Update***
The Official Grand Opening Date has Been set, and it will be accompanied by one of our favorite events "Death By Chocolate" the details are included in the graphic below.
All data and information provided on this Blog are for informational or entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the opinions of any affiliated Brokerage(s). Web TCS, LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this Blog and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use; including, but not limited to, blown gaskets, body odor, Computer and Keyboard Rage. All Blog posts are the constantly changing opinion of the author(s) and may occasionally contain bad opinions. They are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Keller Williams Westfield Real Estate is supposed to be "Officially" moving in to their new Orem Location, tomorrow Friday December 19th 2008! We will be their to help everyone move in. It looks like it will be another snowy day in Utah, so we may just have to put the furniture on ski's and slide it on into the building.
Web TCS will be in the new office location, our new address at the KW office will be: 841 North 900 West, Orem, UT 84057. We are extremely excited about being in the new location which is just east of I-15 off of 800 North. The brand new building is beautiful and has a great view of Utah Lake.
If your in the area stop on by next week and say HI. we are looking forward to helping many people with their real estate needs in Orem and the surrounding areas.
All data and information provided on this Blog are for informational or entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the opinions of any affiliated Brokerage(s). Web TCS, LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this Blog and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use; including, but not limited to, blown gaskets, body odor, Computer and Keyboard Rage. All Blog posts are the constantly changing opinion of the author(s) and may occasionally contain bad opinions. They are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
I received an E-mail today from Zillow on how to show up higher in the search engines by doing a few simple steps. I noticed you can do the same types of things with your ActiveRain account. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) doesn't have to be hard. Just a few simple steps can take you a long way toward search engine domination, or at least contention :-)
Want to show up higher in results on search engines like Google? We can help. Zillow has a lot of "Google Juice" and we want to share it with you. By using Zillow and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you, too, can boost your Google search results.
Don't be scared - it's pretty easy.
Here are 3 tips:
1. Post your listings on Zillow with good links to your site- Zillow is one of very few sites where your listings actually improve your Google ranking. To enjoy this, make sure your listings on Zillow link to your Web site - preferably with links to the exact listing pages on your site.
2. Join the Zillow Professional Directory- When you create an active profile on Zillow, it will automatically load into our "Find a Pro" directory. Make sure the link to your Web site from the Zillow Directory is accurate so your ranking on Google improves. Join the Directory
3. Update and optimize your Zillow Profile - Complete or update the "About Me" section of your Zillow Profile. In your description, use keywords that you want to be recognized for in Google and link those words to your Web site or blog. By using links to your Web site within Zillow, your profile gains authority in the search engines. Update My Profile
Bottom line: The more active you are on Zillow - through your listings, profile, directory, or discussions - the better your Web site or blog performs. Learn more about how to ensure that your listings are helping you to rank in Google.
All data and information provided on this Blog are for informational or entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the opinions of any affiliated Brokerage(s). Web TCS, LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this Blog and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use; including, but not limited to, blown gaskets, body odor, Computer and Keyboard Rage. All Blog posts are the constantly changing opinion of the author(s) and may occasionally contain bad opinions. They are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Coming up with fresh ideas to blog about can sometimes take more time than writing the blog itself.
When I think of ideas for a blog I write them down in one place. That way later when I am ready to actually commit the time to writing, I can look over my list and choose one idea that sounds good at that particular moment in time.
I was teaching a Blogging class yesterday at my local real estate office. I was looking through my Website/Blogging placement tips, tricks and Bookmarks that I have noted in the past and came across an article that I bookmarked earlier this year, and then promptly forgot about.
It is 106 blogging content ideas specifically for Real Estate Agents. If you Thinkyou have nothing to write about, or just can't conjure great ideas at the drop of a hat, then it is a great article to reference when thinking about your next post.
A couple of the ideas to write about, from the article, include:
"4. New businesses coming to area"
"5. Job market in local area"
"17. Do I need to worry about radon?"
"23. What is curb appeal?"
"33. What homeowners can do to save on energy costs"
"56. Fire Safety Tips for your home (also discuss 2 story homes, condos/high-rises, small children, the elderly, etc.)"
All data and information provided on this Blog are for informational or entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the opinions of any affiliated Brokerage(s). Web TCS, LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this Blog and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use; including, but not limited to, blown gaskets, body odor, Computer and Keyboard Rage. All Blog posts are the constantly changing opinion of the author(s) and may occasionally contain bad opinions. They are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Copyright® 2008, Web TCS Transaction Coordination Services "106 Blogging Ideas for the REALTOR who has Nothing to Write About"
When I wrote that post I had other reasons in mind as well...
Besides the content I wanted to share about abbreviations and web placement, I was running a little experiment for a Blogging Class I am teaching tomorrow at my local Keller Williams Real Estate office.
I wanted to show the importance of writing good keyword relevant content, and how it can boost your web presence in a short time. My hope was that it would show up by the following day, so I could make my point in time for class. I was pleasantly surprised to see my Google Alert for "Real Estate" "Transaction Coordinator" go off in less than 2 hours with my latest blog post listed. I then went to Google and put in the term "Utah Real Estate Transaction Coordinator" and was even more pleased when I saw my still infant post at #2 in the rankings already, and even better was that #1 still belonged to my wife's ActiveRain profile, and #7 belonged to our main website; so our Transaction Coordination Business was well covered in the results.
and as if to underscore my abbreviation blog, the term that showed up was an example I gave in my first post to show how the full search term nets search engine results, but the abbreviated version of those same keywords does not; and that full keyword string is what placed in less than 2 hours!!! It doesn't get any better than that!
Showing agents the power of blogging and the power of The Rain in class tomorrow just got a little easier!!!
All data and information provided on this Blog are for informational or entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the opinions of any affiliated Brokerage(s). Web TCS, LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this Blog and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use; including, but not limited to, blown gaskets, body odor, Computer and Keyboard Rage. All Blog posts are the constantly changing opinion of the author(s) and may occasionally contain bad opinions. They are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Copyright® 2008, Web TCS Transaction Coordination Services "From ActiveRain Blog Post To #2 In Google Results In Less Than 2 Hours"
Abbreviations are so common anymore with the popularity of text messaging, but should they stay in the text messaging realm and stay off your ActiveRain (AR) Blog posts?
(I have put some common abbreviations in parenthesis after their full versions throughout this post to show how easy it is to simply replace those words with abbreviations.)
I was reading an ActiveRain (AR) post last week, and someone wrote ROTFLMAO, and I stared at that for several minutes scratching my head, and then had to search it online and found the answer on Wikipedia.org. ROTFLMAO meant "Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Arse (clean version) Off". After finding the answer I was not ROTFLMAO or LOL, and I thought to myself has all this abbreviation stuff gone too far. Personally I can't stand the abbreviation LOL, is ANYONE actually Laughing Out Loud when they use that abbreviation, I mean really belting out a roaring laugh? I think it is way overused, like the "Fist Bump" (Another Rant for another day perhaps)
Then today it just hit me, is all this abbreviation hurting your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
The answer is Yes and No!
So, how can these abbreviations hurt your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Search Engine Marketing (SEM)? Let's say that you are trying to brand yourself as a Keller Williams (KW) Real Estate (RE) agent but you are always using "KW RE agent" instead of the full version. However when most people search online they likely would put in the full version because KW RE agent is not a common and well know abbreviation. Another example would be someone looking for a Real Estate (RE) Transaction Coordinator (TC). Most searches would be done for the full version, so if all my posts abbreviated those terms as RE TC, then I may save a second or two while writing, but it could cost me many pages of placement in Search Engine (SE) rankings.
When I search "Utah Real Estate Transaction Coordinator" in Google our business comes up (at the time of print) #1, 2 and 7 on the first page and even the 18th result that shows up on the second page of the results. On Yahoo! We are #2, 6, and 7 on the first page. However if I use the term "Utah RE TC" in either search engine, not only do we not show up in the first 100+ results, and the results are not even closely related to Real Estate (RE) or Transaction Coordination Services (TCS). So, just because I know what RE and TC mean, that doesn't mean that others are looking for my services using those abbreviations.
Now that we have seen how using abbreviations at the wrong time can hurt your Search Engine Marketing/Optimization (SEM, SEM). Let's look at how the use of abbreviations can be appropriate.
If I am an expert on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) then only using the term "Search Engine Optimization" and never using the term "SEO" could actually hurt me in the rankings, because in the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) world the term SEO is very common. In this case I would want to make sure to use each version equally in my blogging endeavors so I would show up under both of those terms. Again if I was an expert on "Real Estate Owned" (REO) properties, I would probably want to use a mix of the full and short version, so I can be found under both search terms, since they are both well used and known in the REO world.
In short, don't use too many abbreviations just to save a second or two, but if your abbreviation is also well known and commonly searched, then mix it in your posts so you can get placement juice with both the full and the lazy, I mean short version J
Now why didn't I abbreviate the word abbreviation in this post with the abbreviation "Abbrev.", because I had to type abbreviation a lot of times in this post and it is a really long word to describe shortened abbreviated words? J
Written by your Awesome KW RE TC on AR talking about SEO and SEM. OMG I am LOL!!!!...Not really, just SOL (Smirking Out Loud).
All data and information provided on this Blog are for informational or entertainment purposes only. It does not reflect the opinions of any affiliated Brokerage(s). Web TCS, LLC makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this Blog and will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use; including, but not limited to, blown gaskets, body odor, Computer and Keyboard Rage. All Blog posts are the constantly changing opinion of the author(s) and may occasionally contain bad opinions. They are not approved to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Copyright® 2008, Web TCS Transaction Coordination Services "How Saving a Second or Two Typing Can Cost You in Search Engine Placement"
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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