Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A Great Online Education is at Your Fingertips

Have you ever thought about enhancing your education by going back to school? If so, you probably have wondered whether you should go your local college or university. If you haven't been to one recently, let me paint you a picture.
There are usually acres of buildings, jammed parking lots, and lots of other students. You might have to commute for miles in terrible traffic, and then find it impossible to park near your classes. You may spend hours traipsing back and forth across campus, lugging 30 pounds of books on your back. You stand in line to register your classes, only to find that they are all full. Or if your class is available, it's at 7:00 a.m. or 9 p.m. If you have a family to juggle, it gets worse -- the kids get sick you get to miss classes. And most of the students closely resemble your youngest child, making you feel like a dinosaur.
Does the above scenario fill you with dread? Could it be the reason you haven't pursued higher education before now? What if you could achieve your educational goals without leaving the comfort of your own home, and maybe even do it cheaper?
If this is music to your ears, you should consider getting an online education. All you really need is a computer, an internet connection, and the desire to learn. No traffic nightmares, no weather worries. No scheduling conflicts or babysitter problems, and you can even go to school in your pajamas. Wow! That's my idea of school. You take the classes you need at the times you want, at your own speed, and still achieve your chosen goals.
Online education does not mean that the classes are easier, it just means that they are easier to take. You will still have to study, do homework, write papers, take midterms and final exams. Yes, you do have to work! But the good news is, you can do it in the comfort and convenience of your own home.
The advantages of getting an online education are virtually endless. If you have ever considered getting more education to improve your chances of landing a job, or making more money, or maybe even changing careers completely, now is the time to do it. There really is no excuse for not pursuing the wonderful opportunities available through distance education.
For many people this is all the motivation they need to get going. However, it is important that you know your limitations. If it's impossible for you to have quiet time on a regular basis, if you find it difficult to focus with all the insanity going on around you, or if you just can't discipline yourself to do the job, then distance education might not be for you.
However, if you are adept at managing the ins and outs of your personal life while dealing with the demands of going to school, you should be able to juggle the extra balls that an online degree program might toss at you.
During the past 10 years, distance education has finally come into its own, and now many programs are even eligible for federal financial aid such as grants and loans. So it's entirely possible for you to attend school without breaking the bank. You can find classes and online education programs in a large variety of topics, starting with getting your GED and going all the way up to masters degrees and Doctoral programs.
Some online schools have brick and mortar campuses and some don't. Some require occasional meetings with students and teachers, also called limited residence requirements. Many have no such requirements, and your education is simply based upon the classes you complete successfully. Some schools require you to attend online live or prerecorded lectures or interactive classes, while others just give you the class materials online and let you take exams when you are ready.
It is important that you research the options thoroughly and carefully. Whether you're planning to take trade courses, business classes or any type of higher education, make sure the distance learning program is accredited by the appropriate agency in your state. There's nothing worse than wasting your time, money and energy to get an education that you won't get credit for, unless of course you are doing it just for fun.
What you need to do first is decide what career you want to pursue or what subject you want to study or, then look for the online education learning program that's best suited to meet your needs. Whether you want to learn web design, culinary arts, business management or something else, you'll be able to find a distance learning program that will give you what you need.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Career Education Institutes

Career education essentially means vocational education that develops basic skills required to execute jobs in technical fields. There are many career education institutes that guide students who are looking for the right opportunities to enhance their careers.
Individuals exploring different fields of work, changing professions, or simply looking for a career description are briefed about different vocational careers. The counselors or qualified specialists at career education institutes inform potential students about various colleges and institutions imparting vocational courses that can prepare them for fruitful careers. They also enlighten students about financial aid programs from various sources and summer job programs - both locally and nationally.
Career education resources that offer an extensive assortment of circulating books, pamphlets, audiovisuals, electronic databases, software and periodicals. They assist students in dealing with job search strategies, resume and letter writing, making the right career choices, employment and academic test preparation. They conduct pre-employment tests to determine the skill and personality of the candidates to analyze whether they are fit for a particular job.
Career education institutes also provide assistance to people who are unhappy with their career or job choice. An assessment is done using a series of questions. Answers to the questions are evaluated and students are giving the appropriate advice to help them take effective steps in planning for a job or career change.
There are websites of vocational centers that provide details on career exploration, career and education, work opportunities, trade and technical schools and career related reference resources. People can register and seek necessary guidance from professionals. The sites also provide information on several career descriptions. They also give information on educational sites relating to a particular career such as tutorials, directories, industry news, glossaries and associated academics. Career education institutes have proved to be a boon for people on the look out for suitable jobs.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Understanding Educated Gambling

As an entry level position to PR, I found myself typing up a forecast by a major Public Relation's firm for a major pharmaceutical company of what life would be like in the year 2000. Market research predictions included telephones with monitors that could help you see people while you talked, fax machines that could transmit information over telephone wires, microwave ovens for reducing food defrosting time from hours to minutes and other devices that have certainly come to pass. In the lifestyle area, predictions proved less valid. Not only would Americans be enjoying longer lives, it foretold, but they would have shorter work weeks, more vacations and overall, a more leisurely lifestyle. An iota of truth, but mostly wishful thinking when we read 2005 front pages.
I will always remember being called to account because the final document the Client saw had several typos. Presentation counts in this field.
PR firms attempt to influence the major media who in turn help persuade viewers, listeners and readers to think or act in a particular way. The people who enter the profession and those in the media usually have a gift of gab, a facility with the written word, a decent IQ and a certain love affair with risk.
Fortune tellers don't make much money. But most PR firms charge a substantial amount of money to present their client, product or service in a positive light to the media. People are continuously reporting polls or surveys as if they are fact, when, in truth, often the questions asked are the reason for the results tendered. Trends are so swift these days, just when buzz begins, another bee is buzzing a different tune.
Here is the PR agency drill. A brainstorming session consists of several persons who try and identify a project, tag line or campaign hook that will capture the right response from the media while delivering the Client message. Then a qualified person writes the plan, another person interfaces with the Client and still other people "pitch" the media. Often times in large firms, a separate TV department usually has close ties with the producers of various programming. You can pitch the same story to ten different venues, and come up with ten different responses. It is an expensive process.
Since everyone is trying for the biggest hits first, and the spots are truly limited, the pitchers have to be focused and persistent. Then it becomes a numbers game. The more balls you throw, the more likely you are to get a strike. The more strikes you pitch, the more likely your team will win, and the competition will be beaten. The more consistent your story, the more believed you will be. The more you can afford to spend, the more you get to use credible spokespeople to help tell your story. It is a numbers game.
So by all means pitch "Oprah" first if you have a story that will hug her heart. Next work the syndicated morning shows. Then try the syndicated writers at the major news services when your news is hard and important. Talk to AOL when you have the money, or put it in the movie theatre, the newest venue for enlightening if not annoying a captive audience.
But you can also tell your story with incredible reach and exciting response if you
use syndicated articles publicity via a service which currently targets the Internet with your original article. Your message usually gets printed exactly as you tell it, or your captioned color illustration tells the story just the way you approved it. You've increased your chances of the public reading a product or service mention by making it more informational than promotional, and you've had the help of expert PR people with years of presentation skills behind them. Your story will stay on their editorial website for six months to a year, and you get quarterly usage reports to help impress you if you are the business owner or your Clients if you are an agency.
Best of all, the educated consumer gets to find you online and to learn something informational that can help them and their family live a better life. It seems likely that any marketer would find this a low-budget risk worth taking.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Businesses Use Online News Submission As Part of Their Marketing Efforts

Businesses are always seeking new opportunities of presenting their services and products more efficiently and effectively to a wider and more varied audience. At the same time, they look for more cost effective methods of advertising, and obtaining greater exposure without spending highly significant amounts of money. By utilising online news submission sites, they are able to achieve these advantages and benefits, when compared to the traditionally accepted forms of marketing.
The correct use of online methods provides the capability of tracking and monitoring the progress and results, of any changes made to the content, as and when needed. This is not possible with traditional methods of marketing or advertising.
Web marketing
With web marketing, specific information displays details of an individual's gender, age and their location. Additional information includes levels of education and occupations, making for easily determined and accurate target marketing.
In every business, there is news to interest and attract potential customers, and with online news distribution, this is again attainable with relative ease and accuracy. Web hosters distribute news to the appropriate online outlets and provide visibility worldwide quickly. Excellent content receives recognition on major search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.
Other online news distribution services associated directly or indirectly to your particular business may also pick up your content. By utilising the use of links, keywords and videos in your release, your online visibility will grow and attract greater site traffic volume and the resultant attention.
The transmission of news is in various forms. Macys provide an example of an innovative inhouse situation, by making changes to their in-store shopping experience. Setting up customer kiosks, where customers key in their information and the product wanted and then pay electronically. Particularly with cosmetics, electronic consultants reply with advice on products. In general, people appreciate and enjoy the convenience of shopping online. Therefore, this idea of kiosk shopping for items such as cosmetics is one that should prove most beneficial for the store sales and profit.
As the world economic climate remains unsteady, businesses have to optimize their cost base, thereby hoping to boost their profit drive online. With Google reviewing the quality of link building, the impact on the search engine industry has caused a revision by online commerce and blog sites, with the delisting of major link networks.
Social Media
The use of social media for online news distribution, such as Facebook or twitter gives business exposure to news with a long-lasting impact on prospects for the future and the potential of attracting new customers.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Best Way to Learn About Indian Employment News

Employment News is a famous Indian Weekly giving A to Z news about the employment opportunities in India. The weekly is released in English, Hindi and Urdu by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. This journal carries ample information about the various job openings all over India. It also gives useful tips to students who are preparing for various government examinations.
This journal's fame remains unshaken even in this web dominated era. A copy of this weekly can be found in all the major public libraries. Several rural students who do not have access to internet or any other modern means of communication, consider Employment News weekly as their best guide to land lucrative government jobs.
This weekly is the largest distributed career guidance journal in India. The weekly had helped aspirant Indian youth, interested in Government jobs find a bright future since 1976. Though there were some other journals similar to it like Competition Success Review, Employment News is a unique and one of its kind journals by all means. Here is a slight introduction on what you can find in this knowledge source.
1. Employment News weekly gives details about all the state and central government jobs.
2. The weekly gives news about all the public sector openings, banking jobs and the jobs in educational sector.
3. The weekly gives details about the various examinations necessary to get these jobs and the applications for them.
4. Notifications regarding all the major examinations like Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the State Services Commission (SSC) are published in this weekly. The results of these exams are also published in the Employment News weekly.
5. Rojgar Samachar is the Hindi version of the weekly. Both versions are available online too.
6. This journal contains applications for all the professional courses in government colleges, details about the fee structure and the examination details.
7. Vacancies in all the autonomous colleges and Universities in India are advertised in this weekly.
8. The editorial section of Employment News weekly features useful articles which help people choose the career best suitable for them. The articles in this section give ample information about the new fields, upcoming opportunities in the less known areas and many more.
9. All the details necessary to write railway, bank and Civil Service exams are provided in this weekly, including the exam dates and application forms.
The target audiences of the weekly are poor rural youngsters. Most of them are first generation school goers in their families. They need a vivid description and guidance of what to do and what not to do when it comes to applying for government jobs. The Employment News weekly journal provides exactly the same.
Government jobs are still a dream for many rural students hailing from backward communities. These students have the brain and academic record to land the same. All they lack is guidance. The Employment News weekly serve as their silent companion that helps them make their dream come true.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Top Websites For Space News

If you are trying to find the top websites for space news then you have a lot of options to choose from. With a quick Google search, you will get more than 1 million possible options. So how can you tell which ones are worth your time? There are a number of different things to consider, however two factors tend to stand out from the rest. The news must be current and consistently updated, and the website needs to be an authority on the subject. With that in mind, here are the four of the top websites for space news that you should definitely look into.
1. Space.Com
It makes sense. If you want news about space, then Space.com should be able to provide the goods. Space.com was first launched in 1999 and is now considered to be the number 1 source of news for sky-watching, astronomy, space exploration, and commercial spaceflight. They have excellent, in-depth articles, interviews, and videos that anyone can access. Additionally, Space.com is regularly featured by the most popular online news outlets include Yahoo! News and MSNBC. This website is maintained by the Tech Media Network, which also manages other extremely popular websites like TopTenReviews, TechNewsDaily, LiveScience, and OurAmazingPlanet.
2. UniverseToday.com
While UniverseToday.com may have the most basic appearance, it is definitely an excellent source for all types of space related news. The content on the website is definitely never in question. It is extremely timely and well researched. If you want a simple site to give you daily updates about news relating to space then is a great site for you. The only noticeable problem is that it can be difficult to navigate at times, and some people think that it is a little heavy on the advertisements. However, the excellent content easily overcomes these issues.
3. SpaceRef.com
SpaceRef.com was created by SpaceRef Interactive out of Toronto, Ontario. This website provides a number of unique benefits in terms of a space news website. Not only is it an excellent resource on its own, but it also connects you to other excellent space related websites within their family of websites. These sites include NASA Watch, OnOrbit, SpaceRef Canada, and Commercial Space. Plus, they have an excellent newsletter that you can sign up for. It will deliver the top space news stories to your inbox on a daily basis. This is especially helpful if you don't follow RSS feeds, but still want to get the top space related news on a regular basis.
4. Science.NASA.Gov
If you are talking about the top websites for space news, then you can't forget about the NASA website. This website is unique for several reasons. The first is that along with providing you with up to the minute news about space, it also features unique analysis from NASA researchers and also has sections dedicated to educators, students, and kids.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

How News Reporting Differs From Article Marketing Writing

Are You A News Writer Or An Article Marketer?
Fresh out of journalism school over 20 years ago, one of my first jobs was with The New York Times (D.C. Office), where I had the opportunity to work for some of the most talented and celebrated journalists of today (Maureen Dowd, Gwen Ifill, Thomas Friedman). I learned a great deal about writing and editing news articles (I went to a lot of congressional meetings:), and understood on a more meaningful level the art of news reporting.
Fast forward ten years later. I was married and had a child with another one on the way and I was trying to transition my career as a psychotherapist into one that I could do online because I wanted to stay home with my children. At first I didn't know how I was going to make that successfully happen, so I thought the easiest thing I could do while I figured things out was to write.
As I wrote more articles for the web, I began to realize that how I was trained to write was not going to get me the results I was looking for - for people to actually read the articles!
The two styles of writing are completely different and you need to be really clear about what kind of writer you are when looking for results on the web.
1. News reporting means that there is an issue or an event that a reporter (writer) is going to investigate, research, and report about. There are no opinions in news reporting - just facts.
In article marketing, there can be a variety of article types. There can be fact reporting, opinion, how-to and many more approaches to the writing. There are no rules on the type of articles you will read on the web. In fact, more often than not you will read an article that has a unique perspective on a topic of interest.
2. News reporting is timely. It is not evergreen. You typically cannot read a news article that was written last year and it still be relevant the following year.
Good article marketing articles are evergreen. This means that the articles apply to today and will remain relevant the next year and even longer. While this is not always the case, for the most part, this is a good standard to write by for the web.
3. Good news reporting requires a great deal of research. In fact I would say that 70% of the work of a news article is the research that goes into it. The other 30% is the energy and talent that it takes to pull all that information together into a cohesive and interesting article that people will read. Needless to say this takes a lot of time. Research has to be searched for, found, and then validated.
On the other hand, article marketing requires less "research" on your part. While there may be some initial research for content you may want to add to your articles, the real purpose of article marketing is to educate or entertain the reader about a topic that you specialize in. You shouldn't have to do a lot of research and fact checking. In fact, people are more interested in your perspective and your opinion on the topic -- not just "the facts".
4. News articles typically begin with a lead (the point of the article), the facts (supporting information), and then the background information (background info and interviews). This is pretty standard among most publications.
Web articles used for article marketing do not have to fit the same stringent criteria as news articles.You can discuss a point you are trying to make using storytelling. You can build to your "point of the article". You also do not have to include a lot of background information, etc. because you don't have a lot of time or words to get your point across to your reader.
People who read The Times know that they have to devote at least 10-15 minutes to an article. They are use to it and have been conditioned to expect that. Web readers do not have that type of attention span.You have to get to the point quickly and succinctly. No more looking to "fill" your articles with stuff. Just talk about the things that people really care about and move onto the next article.
5. News articles tend to be copy heavy for the reasons I've already stated above. Long, in-depth articles are expected.
It is the opposite on the web. Dense articles can give readers headaches and a reason to click away. Readers need white space and visual breaks between paragraphs.
Web articles are read on computers, tablets, and smartphones. Also again there is the attention span issue. Readers have less and less time these days. If they are reading you at all -- it's better not to bore them to death with too many paragraphs of filler and fluff.
6. News articles do not have a resource box at the end of their articles. The writer is given a byline and maybe a blurb if it's a news column.
What makes article marketing unique is the use of the resource box. The key to a good article marketing strategy is to use a resource box to give the reader a call to action to follow after they've finished reading your article.
7. Finally and probably most importantly is the fact that people who pick up a newspaper are reading to find out what the news is of the day. What's going on in the world or in their communities.
The readers on the web are looking for solutions. They are looking for answers to specific questions. So if you are an article marketer, make sure that you write articles that solve problems for people in your niche, because that is what will ultimately separate you from a writer just reporting the facts. Your Expertise.