Introducing Nitro Digital

For several years, I have been helping people with establishing a presence on the net - this includes individuals as well as companies. Most of the time, I just point them to professionals who can help them set up a web site and in case they already have one, to market their sites online.

I always keep an eye out (and ear open) for companies specialising in web design and online marketing. It's quite hard to recommend a good one considering the fact that there are so many companies out there as well as freelancers involved in this area.

Among the criteria I look for includes whether the companies were established (when they started) and their portfolio.

One company I recently came across is 'Nitro Digital'. The compay was established in 2001 and started out as Nitro Ventures before changing to the current name. They specifically target pharmaceutical companies looking for agency to take care of their website - right from design and updating to marketing and driving quality traffic to it.

Nitro Digital is a succesful medium size Media Agency specialising in Web Design, Development and Online Marketing for Pharmaceutical companies (including PPC, SEO, Viral and Social Network Marketing, Online Display Advertising, You name it...)

Was quite impressed by their list of clients and case studies. I would defnitely recommend them to anyone looking for such services.

The Freemium model

The 'Freemium model' is the latest concept from Chris Armstrong, Editor-in-chief of Wired and best known for his 'Long Tail' theory.

I read the exclusive interview with the author on the 123-reg blog, where Chris discusses his latest concept and clarifies some misconceptions about the Long Tail theory. He also shares his thoughts on social networking as well.

In the interview, Chris mentions how online companies "experiment with giving away one thing to sell something else." I guess commercial blogs work with the same principle but in a slightly different way. That is why you see ads and sponsored posts on a number of popular blogs.

I specially found the interview with Chris really interesting because it is quite relevant to my doctoral research topic. It was also the first time I heard about the social networking site Ning (www.ning.com). That doesn't sound good for someone who's doing research on the Internet and show how no one can claim to be a "Net Guru" as the Internet is evolving so quickly with new applications and sites emerging every day. Looking forward to his new book.

Free press release distribution service

The importance of having a good public relations or PR cannot be overstated. In fact it may be crucial to your business especially in times of crisis and may a good way to defend yourself against critics. One of the easiest ways is to come up with regular press releases.

If you want to create awareness about your web site, business or project you might want to check out the press release distribution service provided by PRBuzz.com.

This online service is totally free and your press release can be up and online within 24 hours. Definitely a great idea to improve the search engine results page (or SERP) rankings for your desired keywords.

I am going to try it out now.

Place to shop for cheap printer inks

If you are like me and print out a lot of stuff, the printer seems to run out of ink so fast. A replacement cartridge doesn't come cheap especially if it's for your colour inkjet. In my case, it's worse because I am using a laser printer.

Well if you are looking for the Lowest prices for inkjet cartridges go on over to Ink and Stuff. The online stores has a great range of inkjet and laser printer cartridges as well other stuff.

All customers get 10% off on their first order. Remember to use the voucher code BZZ11Z at checkout.

3 Skypephone competition

I lot of guys have been asking me about the 3 Skypephones. Well I have some great news from you. The guys at 3mobilebuzz.com are running a competition. The winner stand to win not one but three 3 Skypephones, the second place gets two and third place gets one.

Also, two devices will be awarded to the blog that refers the winning entry. So, I may win too if you name me as your referrer.

All you have to do is say why you want a 3 Skypephone – and this is not limited to bloggers. It can be a forum thread, a webpage, a set on Flickr or even a YouTube video. Check out the the clip below:

It depends on your creativity. However, the content should be original.

Finally, one more thing - don't forget to inform Jack (the hallowed keeper of prizes, enforcer of rules and judge of all) about your entry by emailing him at Jack@3mobilebuzz.com

The deadline for submissions is midday on Monday 17th December

Check out the post on the 3mobilebuuz.com site for more details: "3mobilebuzz is running a competition!"

Removal of spider and varicose vein

Two cosmetic problems that affect a number of women are spider veins and varicose veins especially during and right after pregnancy. Spider veins are small dilated blood vessels near the surface of the skin, usually on the face. On the other hand Varicose veins are veins that have become enlarged and twisted. They usually occur on the legs. The later can be a serious problem as they are often painful. These veins can be removed through surgical or non-surgical means.

Removing these veins are considered harmless and may be necessary for medical reasons, for patients suffering from extreme discomfort or pain. However, most of the removals are for cosmetic reasons. Among the various available techniques and procedures for removing these veins, two of the most popular treatments options are the laser vein treatment and intense pulsed light therapy (IPL).

In case you are considering having such a treatment, do check out HealthySkinPortal.com which offers a list of pre-screened consumer rated medical spas and laser clinics. In case you are wondering about the Cost of Vein Removal, I found out that the average cost is around $300 per session, depending on the type of treatment and size of the treated area.

The site has been helping consumers find qualified medical spas and laser skin clinics since 1998. They have various skin treatments ranging from light skin refreshers to anti-aging treatments. The featured skin care procedures include BOTOX cosmetic treatment, cellulite removal, laser hair removal, lipodissolve, mesotherapy, restylane and stretch mark removal.

The Healthy Skin Portal is part of the SignatureForum network of consumer websites. This is an elite network of service providers where members have to maintain a minimum level of service to retain their membership. The laser clinics and medical spas listed on the site are selected for their quality service and are rated. You can call them at 866-471-8874 for a free consultation.

Some Great Links

Azwan Hadzree (MY): [one] blog, world, life. Live It!

Eches Blog (MY)

Edwardkhoo.com (MY): Edward Khoo's blog.

Cambridge Executive Development: Marketing, HR and Management skills training.

Chris (KZ): Kazakhstan Blog from Astana.

genki desu yo!! Gib

NAFASG

NSN Group of Companies: Official website of the NSN group of companies, owned by my friend Nicos Nicolaou from Cyprus.

Pinksterzisme: A Malaysian student in Egypt.

The Power of Gâc

Many herbs have been traditionally used throughout the World for medicinal or health purposes. Some herbs need to be cooked or specially prepared before they can be taken internally or applied externally. Some are taken raw without any preparation.

In Asia, traditional herbal medicines are widely used, as are other alternative medicinal practices. Slowly but steadily, these exotic and amazing herbs are gradually been introduced to the people in the West. Many of these herbs which have traditionally been used for ages in the Asian countries have been found to contain nutrients or other useful chemical compounds on testing in laboratories.

Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng., commonly known as 'Gac', is one such plant commonly found in South East Asia, especially in Vietnam. It has been traditionally used as both food and medicine there.


The plant grows as dioecious vines that bear abundant red fruits. The Gac fruit has been found to be rich in lycopene, beta-carotene and other potent antioxidants.

It is now available as a dietary supplement from St. Paul Brands. The R.G. Skin Revitalizer consists of pure oil extracted from the 'Gâc' fruit and sells for $44.99 (MSRP). According to the site, it can be used as a daily skin nourishment product.

Ladies into golf

A lot of my friends are golf crazy and their wives have resigned to the fact that they can't compete with the game. However, of late I have noticed a new developments. A lot of ladies have also caught the golfing bug. Many started out accompanying their husbands on their weekend golfing sessions. Tired of waiting in the restaurants, they started hitting some balls on the deriving range and that was it.

Some of the ladies are there on the green, every chance they can get and some of them are really good. I am sure some of you reading this post are one of them. Several special golfing shops targeted at women and specializing on golf apparel ladies have come up. Loads of great comfortable and cool clothes and shoes to choose from.

Get the entire dermalogica range at reasonable prices

One of the most famous brands in the cosmetics industry is Dermalogica, which is known worldwide as the 'professionals' choice'. Founded in Los Angeles in 1986, their range of products were developed by The International Dermal Institute. Theydo not use artificial colors, synthetic fragrances, S.D. alcohol, lanolin or mineral oil in any of their products. Further more, they do not test on animals. It was nice to learn that they ensure that all ingredients in their products come from eco-safe sources and are packaged in recyclable containers.

Though the company does not sell their products online, it is still possible to obtain the entire dermalogica range at Beautysleuth.co.uk at extremely reasonable prices.

Charlotte Cosmetic Dentist

A dentist who is also into amateur photography- sounds strange. Well, Dr. Tom Farley, is a dentist who uses his hobby to document his dental work. The photographs have proven useful to visually communicate with patients, labs, insurance providers as well as his peers.

Dr. Farley is a qualified cosmetic dentist who resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. His clinic offers a full range of dental services from restorative to periodontics to whitening. In case you are wondering, his portrait studio is situated right in his office.

I later found out that he's a blogger as well. check out his blog here.

Test your internet speed

It was reported that more than half of UK homes have broadband now. You may find it hard to believe but customers in the UK have a bigger range of ISPs to choose from than in the US.

However, it was reported that many of the ISPs are not delivering the promised broadband speeds, with customers in some places reporting less than one fourth of the promised download speeds. Of course, there's always a warning in fine print:

Download speeds may vary substantially depending on where you live and technical factors such as the quality of your telephone line

Take the Internet Speed Test to find out whether you are getting the speed your ISP said you would. It is easy to use. All you have to do is press the "Begin" button and you will get the download and upload speed results. It's totally free. The website also has links to a number of freeware links as well as tips and tweaks.

Turning your photographs into works of art

Recently while visiting Warwick castle, I was looking at the big portraits and was thinking that it would be great to have a portrait of our small family. Nothing ostentatious, without the gilded frames and not too large either - just a simple one. Sitting for portrait session is so old fashioned and of course with the kids, would be almost impossible unless you kept them tied down to the chairs.

Learn to Dream is among the companies who can convert your photographs into paintings.

They do more than just enlarge your photos. After you have sent the picture of your choice to them as a printed photo, a negative, or in digital format, there will be a personal consultation process. They will discuss the best choice of material and photograph manipulation techniques to create works of art from your photographs.

You can have the pictures printed on a number of materials - ranging from art paper and photo paper to canvas and image blocks. My personal choice is the canvas. They are even willing to give you a full refund in case you are not satisfied.

Myvesta Foundation Individual Voluntary Arrangement

Today Chancellor Alistair Darling has asked banks in the UK to be more selective in lending. Debt is an issue of concern here with consumer debt soaring to record levels (£1.35 trillion, according to a BBC report).

A lot of people in serious debt often see bankruptcy as the only way out. They think they have no choice. However, according to the Myvesta Foundation, a lot of these people would prefer to avoid bankruptcy if given an option. Entering into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) with creditors to repay some of what they owe over a sensible time period is a rather attractive option. Often people would rush into commercial IVA organisations after watching their ad on TV. If you are considering bankruptcy or thinking of an IVA, call Myvesta at 0800 1116 885. You can even chat with them online for free.

Myvesta UK Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) were developed in conjunction with a firm of auditors and chartered accountants. Customers would be provided with a unique solution that best fits each person. FYI, the Myvesta Foundation was created to fill the need for qualified, compassionate debt assistance that worked for consumers. Their founder, Steve Rhode himself went through personal bankruptcy in 1990. he came up with this service to provide real help to people in trouble. Their website carries a number of free and helpful information about almost every topic related to debt issues.

Skin care products for pigmented skin

I thought I had oily skin but I have been having dry skin problems since I got here in the UK, especially in the winter. Have been helping myself with my wife's moisturizing creams. Talking about skin care, I learnt that it is important to find the right skin care products for your type of skin. aivng friends inthe cosmetic industry has helped me understand a bit about skin care products. However, I just learnt that it may not be enough to simply divide skin into four categories: dry, normal, combination and oily.

ORIKI Cosmeceuticals has a range of products specially formulated for people with born with pigmented skin. These products are meant specifically for those with Asian, Mediterranean and other Olive (AMO) skin types. AMO skin types apparently respond differently to UV and scarring as compared to white skin. Skin pigmentation problems also take longer to resolve and is more resistant to treatment than fair skin. ORIKI solves this by incorporating the pigmentation factor into the skincare line specially formulated for people with AMO skin.

The fact that their range of Products are designed by an American Board Certified Dermatologist and Biochemist, is really reassuring.

I know that most guys don't like to talk about cosmetics because it's not exactly a "macho" topic. I guess it is the advent of the metrosexual male that has really changed the way men look at skin care products and personal hygiene. Some years back you won't have caught me talking about such products on my blog.

Search for company profiles, products and services with Mastersaeek

Searching for a company profile or contact information on the web can be really frustrating sometimes. Search engines can throw up thousands of unrelated results and and we have skim through hundreds of links before we finally find what we are looking for.

If you are looking to find business partners, new suppliers or sales opportunities etc., visit Masterseek, a new global Business-to-Business (B2B) search engine that provides quick and free access to information from more than 45 million companies in 75 countries.

You can search for company profiles, contact information, and descriptions of products and services from the listed industries as well.

I love Coke Zero

Coca Cola had always been my favourite soft drink. I later changed to Diet Coke because I wanted to reduce my sugar intake. Somehow, it wasn't the same and I never did like the taste of the latter. I was really glad when they brought out the Coke zero. It tastes just like the original Coke and I can drink without guilt knowing that it doesn't contain any sugar. As their tag line goes:

Coke zero : Life as it should be : Real taste, zero sugar

Take a look at their new campaign “Life as it should be”. It really great and interactive fun. They have come up with a few old black and white movie clips. You can choose one of them and manipulate the movie. You can make one of the actors say what ever you want them to say - just add your own words. You can then send the movie to your friends. It will then go on to compete with other movies to be the highest rated.

US Military Campground FamCamp location guide

AllStays.com has relaunched an enhanced version of their Military Campground (also known as FamCamps) location guide in the US. These Military Campgrounds provide lower cost camping options for military, veterans and their families. They are much cheaper than even the normal campgrounds and RV parks with some camps offer rates as low as $3 a night.

The site lists over 200 of these sites by placing them on a United States map (including Alaska and Hawaii locations) using Google. You can zoom on the sites as well. Clicking on the site which is represented by green tents, bring up more information. This includes location, contact number, number of sites, seasons of operation and link to websites (if any). Should prove useful to members of the US armed forces and their families.

New Blog Directory

Promote! Promote! Promote!

That's the mantra, if you want more traffic to your blog.

One of the things that you need to do to increase traffic to your blogs is to submit them to as many blog directories as possible. Reaching out to a wider audience may get your blogs searched, browsed, rated and reviewed and hopefully, all these will translate to a higher page rank.

One of the blog directories on the net is Alive blog directory where you have several listing options. For example, you can have your blogs as a "Featured Listing" for a year (by paying annually) or to have a permanent listing by paying a one off payment (naturally costlier). There are also annual and permanent listing options for regular listings as well.

Gossip Girl TV premiere coming up

The teenage consumer segment is one of the most important from marketing point of view. In fact, in some houses they decide almost every purchase the family makes. Very often now, my younger relatives are the ones to tell me about the latest gadgets or interesting websites.

Talking about teenagers, I first heard about the Gossip Girl series of novels by Cecily von Ziegesar, from one teenage cousin. She told me that it was about the lives of some teenagers as seen from the perspective of the narrator, "a blogger" she told me excitedly.

It was interesting to learn that they have adapted the best selling series for American television. The teen drama was created by Josh Schwartz, creator of The O.C., and Stephanie Savage. The CW's Gossip Girl revolves around the lives of young socialites growing up on New York's Upper East Side who attend elite academic institutions. Like all teenagers they have to deal with sex, drugs, and other teenage issues. At the center of the show will be best friends Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) and Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), and their shared romantic interest, Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford). Dan (Penn Badgley) and Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) are the outsiders. The unseen narrator / blogger character "Gossip Girl" is voiced by Kristen Bell.

Though it is obviously targeted at teenagers, I won't be surprised if it develops a fan following among older generations as well. Remember Beverly Hills, 90210 during "our time".

The first season of the show will premiere on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, airing on Wednesday nights. Do check out their MySpace Fan Page as well.

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