Rabu, 17 Desember 2008
75 Cara Untuk Meningkatkan Traffic Blog Anda
Belajar seo dan belajar untuk mendatangkan traffik ke blog memang butuh ketekunan, mungkin selama ini, banyak sekali pertanyaan: bagaimana ya Cara Untuk Meningkatkan Traffic Blog/website, jika anda seorang blogger atau pemilik sebuah website, anda pasti menginginkan traffic yang lebih banyak untuk blog atau website anda tersebut. Anda mungkin sering mencari-cari informasi di internet tentang bagaimana Cara Untuk Meningkatkan Traffic Blog Anda/website anda. Pada tulisan ini saya akan menjabarkan 75 Cara Untuk Meningkatkan Traffik Blog/website Anda. List ini berbeda dengan yang lain karena simple, ide asli dan unik. Jika anda ingin mencari orang untuk melihat website/blog anda, berarti anda sedang membaca artikel yang tepat.
Semua dari 75 Cara Untuk Meningkatkan Traffic Blog/website ini saya yakin dapat bekerja dengan baik untuk site/blog anda. Berikut adalah 75 cara tersebut:
Semua dari 75 Cara Untuk Meningkatkan Traffic Blog/website ini saya yakin dapat bekerja dengan baik untuk site/blog anda. Berikut adalah 75 cara tersebut:
- Tulis contain lebih banyak. Jika anda menginginkan traffic, anda harus menulis contain. Orang-arang tidak akan mengunjungi site anda jika anda tidak menulis contain yang baik, menarik & berkualitas, dan pengunjung baru tidak akan kembali ke blog anda. Maka teruslah menulis postingan yang menarik.
- Design & layout yang baik. Jika design site anda berantakan, navigasinya sulit, warnanya tidak match atau mengganggu penglihatan (silau), atao juga full error, pengunjung pasti tidak akan betah untuk berlama-lama diblog anda.
- Gunakan nama domain sendiri. Saya yakin jika anda memiliki nama domain sendiri anda akan dapat traffic yang lebih banyak. Site kamu akan dilink oleh lebih banyak orang & orang akan lebih mudah untuk mengingat URL anda & blog anda akan terkesan lebih profesional. Cobalah untuk mendapatkan nama domain sendiri & “have it from the start”. (Sampai saat tulisan ini dipost saya sendiri belum menggunakan domain sendiri, he he he …)
- Gunakan StumbleUpon. Saya memiliki pangalaman sukses dengan stumbleUpon. Ketika sebuah artikel yang baik dari blog anda di “StumbleUpon”, diharapkan banyak orang akan menilai baik blog anda dan akan “mengstumbling upon” blog anda.
- Post di blog orang lain. Tawarkan tulisan kepada orang lain untuk dipost blog miliknya. Lebih baik lagi apabila tulisan tersebut sudah siap dipost. Biarkan blogger tersebut tau bahwa anda mempunyai tulisan yang siap untuk di post di blognya, jika mekera setuju. Ketika anda menulis artikel untuk dipost di blog orang lain, carilah post di blog anda anda yang relefan & buatlan link ke post tersebut. Sebuah link anda dapatkan di blog mereka & dapatkan traffic dari sini.
- Mulailah “tagging” image diblog anda. Ketika anda menyisipkan image dipostingan anda, anda harus selalu memberi identitas (tagged). Pastikan ukuran lebar dan tinggi gambar anda ketahui. Tetapi yang paling penting adalah tuliskan keywords gambar pada tag “alt” & “title”. Contoh: img src=http://superbloggingtips.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/kenya-smokey-me-001.jpg alt=”Tortoise Shell Kitten Mix in Sink” title=”Tortoise Shell Kitten Mix in Sink” height=”300? width=”350?. Untuk keterangan lebih lanjut, klik disini.
- Respon segera commentar & email. Orang akan menyukai blog yang pemiliknya interaktiv & yang merespon segera commentar dan email yang masuk. Jika anda melakukan ini akan banyak pembaca yang akan setia dan menyukai anda & anda akan mendapatkan traffic dan link lebih banyak.
- Gunakan MyBlogLog. SignUp ke MyBlogLog & join ke semua MyBlogLog communities (max. 15 communities per hari), dan anda akan melihat visitor akan berdatangan ke blog anda dari MyBlogLog.
- Jangan buang waktu anda. Jangan buang waktu anda dengan program2 penghasil uang seperti PTC, PTR, Pay to surf , pay to search atau yang sejenisnya. Program seperti itu tidak akan menghasilkan apa2 melainkan hanya akan membuang-buang waktu anda. Tulislah contain yang berkualitas & traffic akan datang dengan sendirinya.
- Perhatikan dan pelajari statistik anda. Pelajari statistic dan google Analitic anda. Lihat keyword apa yang digunakan pengunjung untuk mencari blog anda & artikel apa yang disukai atau yang tidak disukai pembaca blog anda. Ini akan membantu anda untuk menentukan tulisan anda selanjutnya yang bisa popular & disisipi dengan keyword yang efektif.
- Link ke potingan lain. Ketika anda link ke potingan pada blog lain, maka hal itu akan membuat trackback, atau pingback. Ketika anda ngelink ke postingan blog lain, jika mereka mempunyai trackback yang diaktifkan maka anda akan menerima sebuah linkback di bagian comments postingan yang anda link.
- Pada postingan anda, tanyakan pada para pembaca blog anda beberapa pertanyaan. Para pembaca akan merasa senang jika dianggap penting & sebagian besar dari mereka akan senang untuk tukar pendapat. Jika lain kali anda buat tulisan sebaiknya tanyakan para pembaca sebuah pertanyaan atau pendapat mereka terhadap sesuatu. Maka anda akan mendapatkan banyak komentar dan banyak visitor akan suka untuk kembali.
- Buat “Lens” di Squidoo. Di Squidoo, anda dapat membuat “lens” anda sendiri, juga aka & halaman pada site mereka. Buat sebuah “lens” yang berhubungan dengan blog anda dan pastikan anda mengelinkannya dengan blog anda. Di Squidoo anda juga bias menghasilkan uang. klik disini untuk pelajari lebih lanjut.
- Comment pada blog lain. Ketika anda memberikan komentar di log lain 99.9 % ada box dimana anda dapat menuliskan alamat URL blog anda. Dari sini ketika seseorang melihat komentar anda mereka dapat mengklik URL blog anda. Berikanlah komentar pada blog yang berbeda sebanyak-banyaknya, makin banyak anda memberikan komentar maka akan semakin banyak traffic yang anda dapatkan.
- Tulislah List Posting. Semua orang suka akan list posting. Post ini berisi list poting yang ngelink ke potingan-postingan lain. Misalnya: “Top 10 Blog Themes”’ “25 Uses for Vinegar”, & “5 Helpful Website Tools”. Postingan List biasanya ngelink ke lebih banyak potingan & bisa mendapatkan lebih banyak traffic dari pada postingan biasa.
- Submit Blog anda ke search engine. Banyak orang yang mayoritas trafficnya didapat dari search engine. Ketika orang mencari dengan keyword anda dan menemukan site anda, anda akan mendapatkan traffic! Klik disini untuk submit blog anda agar diindex oleh google jika anda belum pernah melakukannya, dan ingat untuk tetap menulis contain baru agar blog anda tetap memiliki peringkat di search engine.
- Jalin kerjasama dengan blogger lain. Kembangkan kerja sama dengan semua blogger lain terutama yang blognya sejalan dengan blog anda. Berikan komentar pada blog mereka buat percakapan, link dengan mereka & jalin persahabatan. Dan sebelum anda mengetahui mereka akan mengelink blog anda yang tentunya akan mendatangkan traffic ke blog anda.
- Gunakan Traffic Exchange. Saya kurang yakin anda akan terkena penalty dari adsense jika anda menggunakan traffic exchange. Traffic exchange akan membawa para pembaca yang loyal jika blog anda cukup baik disamping mendapatkan traffic yang berkelanjutan. Lihat posting mengenai BlogMad traffic exchange.
- Link ke postingan anda yang lain sebanyak yang anda bisa. Link internally ke potingan dalam blog anda. Ini akan membantu ranking blog anda dan juga akan membantu traffic. Jika orang yang datang ke blog anda tidak ada pilihan lagi untuk dilihat maka mereka akan pergi. Ketika anda ngeling ke postingan anda yang lain meraka akan klik link anda dan akan tetap di blog anda lebih lama.
- Sign up ke Yahoo! Answer. Di Yahoo Answer anda dapat menjawab pertanyaan orang lain & menolong orang lain. Disana ada box dimana anda dapat menuliskan sumber dari jawaban anda. Jawablah pertanyaan yang ada dan buat link ke blog anda sebagai sumber.
- Sign up blog anda di top blog list. Blog top list adalah sebuah blog yang me listing semua blog yang menjadi member pada blog tersebut. Blog anda akan berada pada peringkat yang lebih tinggi jika memiliki lebih banyak traffic, lebih banyak vote & lebih banyak visitor. Cara joinnya sangat simple, plus cara ini akan dapat menambah traffic. Klik disini untuk melihat beberapa blog toplist (dunia) yang dapat anda join & pelajari lebih lanjut.
- Submit ke site directory. Beberapa directory melisting ratusan site, & beberapa ribuan. Blacklink dari directory adalah baik, tapi traffic dari directory hanya sebuah tric kecil, bahkan hampir tidak ada hasil. Walaupun demikian submit dengan nama site anda menggunakan keyword anda akan dapat ranking yang lebih tinngi di Google untuk keyword tersebut, yang akan berarti traffic yang lebih banyak.
- Jangan Gunakan Link Train. Hal ini tidak secara langsung berhubungan dengan traffic, tetapi ini merupakan hal yang perlu diketahui. Saya pernah membuat kesalahan dengan bergabung di ViraLink and ViralTags, dan anda sebaiknya jangan melakukan itu, kecuali jika para pembaca anda menyukainya & mereka membaca blog anda lebih lama.
- Baca ulang, edit dan lanjutkan posting artikel anda. Tidak ada yang akan mau me link sebuah posting yang tidak berkualitas, walaupun potingan itu sebuah ide yang brilian jika penuh dengan ejaan dan gramatikal yang salah. Tidak ada yang melink berarti tidak ada traffic.
- Submit postingan anda ke Blog carnival. Kunjungi Blog Carnival website dan submit sebanyak-banyaknya artikel anda ke carnival yang berhubungan dengan niche anda. Ketika artikel edisi carnival yang anda submit diposting, tidak hanya anda akan dapat linkback, tetapi anda akan mendapatkan visitor yang lebih banyak ke blog anda. Jika anda tidak mengerti apa itu blog carnival silahkan pelajari disini.
- Pertahankan blog carnival anda. Menurut saya blog carnival sangat menyenangkan untuk dipertahankan. Orang akan submit artikel mereka ke carnival anda, & hampir semua orang2 ini akan mengunjungi edisi carnival anda untuk melihat link mereka disana. Dan carnival anda dapat juga menjadi yang utama & tampil di homepage website Blog Carnival.
- Tukar Link dengan site lain dilingkungan anda. Di manapun tukar link dibuat, entah itu di sidebar pada setiap halaman site, di dalam halaman site tersebut, ataupun di postingan itu terserah anda. Tukar Link dengan orang lain yang memiliki blog yang berhubungan akan banyak membantu. Dan ketika site mereka menjadi besar maka akan lebih banyak membantu.
28. Gunakan Feedburner untuk orang subscribe to blog anda. Ketika seseorang subscribe blog anda via RSS atau mendapatkan update blog anda via email, mereka akan melihat postingan anda ketika ada yang baru. Hal ini akan menjadi vital untuk menjaga para pembaca tetap berhubungan dengan blog anda & menarik mereka kembali.
29. Gunakan Youtube. Buat account di youtube, dan kemudian pada profile anda anda akan dapat melist alamat2 website anda. List alamat blog anda disana & mulailah buat video. Ketika seseorang melihat profile anda kemungkinan ia akan mengklik blog anda.
30. Mintalah blog yang lebih besar untuk sebuah link. Bangunlan relation ship yang baik sebelum anda meminta sesuatu. Pastikan anda melink mereka dulu dipostingan anda. Sebelum anda melakukan ini silahkan and abaca “Kumiko’s post” . Jika blog anda mendapatkan banyak link tidak hanya akan mengangkat page rank anda tetapi juga akan mendapatkan banyak traffic.
31. Gunakan Techorati tags. Mendapatkan lebih banyak category pada Techorati berarti anda akan mendapatkan lebih banyak expose, yang berarti mendapatkan lebih banyak traffic. Jika anda ingin mengetahui lebih banyak tentang Techorati silahkan kunjungi Court’s post.
32. Tulislah mengenai celebrity. Tidak perduli tentang apa blog anda, anda akan dapat cara untuk menyesuaikan dengan topik blog anda tentang celebriti. Sebagai contoh, 6 Lessons Britney Spears Can Teach You About Blogging. Orang akan mencari info tentang celebriti setiap waktu dan menyukai gossip tentang mereka. Lipatgandakan traffic anda ketika anda mendapatkan sebuah gosip tentang celebriti setelah sesuatu yang terjadi pada celebriti tersebut. Sebagai contoh, misalnya tentang pencukuran rambut mereka, hari ulang tahun anak mereka, perkawinan mereka atau tentang kematian mereka.
33. Menganjurkan pembaca untuk meng”Digg” artikel anda. Digg adalah sebuah site yang mengumpulkan vote pada artikel. Dengan kata lain pembaca suka atau tidak artikel tersebut. Teman blogger anda akan dengan suka rela meng”Digg” artikel anda jika anda memintanya dengan sopan, atau lebih baik tambahkan tombol Digg pada bagian bawah semua postingan anda. Pastikan artikel-artikel terbaik anda mendapatkan Digg & jika postingan tersebut cukup baik maka akan mendapatkan ribuan visitor tiap hari.
34. Dapatkan “plugin” ke social bookmarking site. Pada setiap artikel blog sering didapati barisan tombol yang mempersilahkan para pembaca untuk submit dan vote artikel ke social bookmarking site (Digg, Reddit, Netscape, atau yang lainnya). Saya sendiri menggunakan AntiSocial plugin. Jika anda anda mengimplementasikan plugin ini artikel anda akan tersubmit ke social bookmarking site yang berarti traffic yang lebih banyak.
35. Link ke “A-listers”. Teknik ini digunakan untuk meminta A-lister untuk sebuah link atau membujuk mereka untuk memberikan sebuah link kepada anda. Makin banyak anda melink ke A-listers dan probloggers makin banyak kemungkinan mereka mengenal anda, lalu mungkin mereka akan melink ke artikel anda yang akan memberikan banyak traffic ke blog anda.
36. Tulislah sebuah post pilar. Pilar post tidak hanya merupakan list post. Pilar post merupaka inti dari blog anda. Potingan ini biasanya panjang, authoritative, & instructional. Pilar post membutuhkan waktu yang lama untuk menulisnya. Anda harus melink ke pilar post sebanyak mungkin dalam blog anda & pastikan pilar post mendapatkan perhatian terbanyak. Pilar post akan mendapatkan banyak link & mendatangkan banyak traffic.
37. Ketika masa perayaan tiba, tulislah tentang hal itu. Ketika Easter, Lebaran, Thanksgiving, Chrismas, atau hari-hari libur/perayaan lain tiba, buatlah post tentang hal itu sebulan sebelumnya. Pastikan postingan anda terindex & dilink. Ketika harinya tiba, kemungkinan akan dicari oleh banyak orang & blog kamu mungkin akan ditemukan.
38. Gunakan smart URLs di WordPress. Jika anda menggunakan wordpress dan menggunakan messy URL mereka, anda sebaiknya gunakan plugin ini untuk menukar URL termasuk tanggal dan nama post di link. menggunakan plugin tersebut tidak akan menghilangkan statistic search engine anda atau yang lainnya.
39. Buat pengunjung blog anda merasa seperti dirumah. Jika anda seseorang yang tidak sopan, jangan pernah memberikan apapun kepada pembaca blog anda, jangan menjawab komentar atau email, jangan menolong blogger lain, atau selalu sinis dan tidak membuat para pembaca blog anda merasa seperti dirumah mereka sendiri, maka besar kemungkinan mereka akan berhenti untuk mengunjungi blog anda. Tapi jika anda membuat mereka seperti dirumah sendiri anda akan mendapatkan banyak traffic.
40. Jadilah manusia, bukan robot. Jika di dalam semua poting anda selalu hanya meneriakkan business secara extrim, misalnya tidak menampilkan diri anda, hanya berbicara tentang hal yang sama setiap waktu, atau 100 % sempurna, hal itu kan membuat mereka menjauh. Saya tidak bermaksud mangatakan anda untuk selalu sopan, berbicara tentang diri anda setiap waktu, melenceng dari topic anda, atau berbuat banyak kesalahan. Tetapi biarkan para pembaca anda tahu bahwa anda juga seperti mereka, bahwa anda juga manusia biasa. Jangan buat blog anda membosankan.
41. Keluarkan iklan dari blog anda. Untuk meningkatkan traffic hilangkanlah iklan anda. Ketika anda tidak ada jalan untuk mendapatkan uang dari blog anda, anda akan merasa sayang, tapi yakinlah bahwa anda akan mendapatkan traffic dan pembaca yang loyal jika blog anda memang berkualitas. Dan jika sudah memungkinkan anda bisa memasangnya lagi untuk memulai meraup uang.
42. Mulailah membuat blog directory anda sendiri. Buatlah blog directory, misalnya di miserably. Ketika anda buat directory pertama kali, buatlah semua link dengan gratis dan dapatkan sebuah link submit form, dimana submission akan mengirimkan anda email. Anda dapat melakukannya mingguan/harian tergantung link yang dikirimkan kepada anda, atau anda dapat assign linknya ke “proper Categoies” yang disediakan. Ketika blog anda sudah menjadi besar, anda dapat mengajukan pemintaan “reciprocal link” & akan mendapatkan “featured site table” yang ngelink ke blog anda.
43. Post tentang A-listers. Misalnya tentang blogger Darren Rowse dan John Chow. Anda dapat menulis tentang mereka sebagai personal atau sebagai blogger, atau anda dapat menulis tentang bagaimana mereka melakukan sesuatu. Anda dapat mempost pikiran anda tentang yang mereka katakana atau mengembangkan postingan mereka dan kemudian tinggalkan pesan dipostingan mereka bahwa anda juga sudah melakukan hal yang sama.
44. Interview blogger lain. Interview blogger lain biasanya akan memberikan beberapa posting & links. Link berarti traffic.
45. Buatlah postingan link yang digemari. Saya mencoba membuat post link yang saya sukai setiap 2 kali seminggu. Ini hanya potingan link ke artikel di blogosphere atau ke web yang saya suka, terutama yang relefan dengan tema blog saya. Hal ini tidak hanya akan mendapatkan trackback, tapi juga akan memberikan anda kesempatan untuk mendapatkan medapatkan link balik yang berarti traffic.
46. Buatlah kontes berhadiah. Ini adalah ide yang baik. Buatlah kontes dengan hadiah yang menarik. Orang orang akan mengikuti blog anda dengan harapan akan memenangkan hadiah. Jika anda memberikan hadiah yang menarik beritanga pasti akan tersebar, tapi sebelumnya pastikan dulu bahwa bahwa blog anda memiliki banyak pembaca yang setia.
47. Berpura-puralah menjual blog anda. Ini adalah salah satu cara untuk mendapatkan traffic, tapi saya tidak merekomendasikannya. Anda dapat membayar beberapa dolar untuk melist blog anda di marketplace & dapatkan traffic dari para pembeli potensial. Lalu batalkan penawaran dan keep blog anda. Tidak akan ada dari traffic anda yang akan kembali. Ini bukan targetnya dan hanya akan membuang uang. Tetapi jika anda ingin hanya mendapatkan traffic sesaat cara ini boleh dicoba.
48. Jadilah comedian. Buatlah pengunjung tertawa. Ini susah susah gampang. Jika anda dapat membuat pengunjung anda tertawa dan senang mereka akan mengingat blog anda & akan memberitahukan yang lain tentang blog anda & akan kembali lagi.
49. Tolonglah blogger yang membutuhkan anda. Jika ada blogger pemula yang meninggalkan anda komentar atau email bantulah mereka. Siapa tau suatu saat mereka akan menjadi besar & akan selalu mengingat kebaikan anda.
50. Buatlah poll pada blog anda. Orang-orang menyukai voting & selalu ingin melihat hasil dari sebuah polling. Polling itu popular & popular akan mendatangkan traffic.
51. Buatlah blog baru. Jika anda masih dapat menanganinya dengan baik buatlah blog baru, baik itu di hosingan gratis atau domain anda sendiri. Apapun yang anda inginkan usahakan traffic untuk setiap blog yang anda miliki, & pastikan semua blog anda ngelink terhadap yang lainnya, terutama blog yang kecil harus di link oleh blog yang lebih besar. Diharapkan siapapun yang membaca salah satu blog anda dapat diperkenalkan blog anda yang lain.
52. Buat atau hack plugin wordpress. Oke, ini hanya untuk yang pitar “nge-hack” atau membuat plugin wordpress. Saya belum pernah melakukannya. Tapi jika anda bisa, anda akan mendapatkan banyak link & traffic dari semua yang menggunakan plugin anda.
53. Buatlah blog theme (wordpress, blogspot, atau apapun). Sama halnya seperti membuat sebuah plugin, traffic akan datang seiring dengan link. Bahkan membuat blog theme lebih mudah dari membuat plugin atau belajar seo.
54. Buatlah gambar yang dapat digunakan oleh orang lain. Jika anda membuat gambar yang gratis, yang dapat digunakan orang lain untuk blog mereka, anda akan mendapatkan traffic dari sini. Dan jika anda professional dalam membuat gambar, anda bisa mendapatkan tambahan uang dari sini.
55. Buatlah gambar untuk site social networking. Orang yang menggunakan Myspace, facebook, dan semua site tipe ini menyukai menggunakan gambar. Banner berwarna, gambar animasi, gambar berkedip, jika membuat ini maka mereka akan menggunakannya, Tempatkan link anda disana.
56. Gabung di Myspace dan dapatkan banyak teman. Bergabunglah di Myspace klicklah “browse” dan add people. Jika anda sudah mendapatkan banyak teman buatlah link ke blog anda pada bulletin dan di profile anda atau dimana saja yang anda bisa. Ini akan mendapatkan traffic jika anda melakukannya dengan benar.
57. Jawablah pertanyaan yang anda dapatkan dari komentar ataupun email dengan sebuah post. Jika seseorang memberikan komentar atau pertanyaan dan jawabannya cukup panjang, Jangan buang waktu anda jawablah dengan link ke potingan anda. Jika postingan mengenai hal itu belum ada, buatlah sebuah postingan mengenai hal itu.
58. Kerjakan Search Engine Optimization. Semakin baik rangking anda di search engine maka akan semakin banyak visitor yang akan mereka kirimkan.
59. Buatlan sebuah serial award/penghargaan. Luangkan waktu anda untuk membuat sebuah trophy atau banner untuk sebuah award atau penghargaan. Pastikan award itu memiliki tema atau nama, misalnya, “Tropy Penghargaan Untuk Blogger Terbaik”. Lalu linkkan banner tersebut ke 5 blogger lain yang menurut anda terbaik. Buat peraturan bahwa kelima blogger tersebut juga melakukan hal yang sama dengan banner tersebut, link dengan lima blogger lain yang menurut mereka terbaik. Pastikan di dalam banner tersebut terdapat link anda sebagai pembuat banner. Jika ini berjalan maka akan ada banyak linkback kepada blog anda & anda akan menerima banyak traffic.
60. Order review melalui ReviewMe. Jika anda order review pada blog lain dengan ReviewMe atau PayPerPost orang banyak akan membaca tentang blog anda. Review adalah cara terbaik anda mengiklankan blog anda untuk mendapatkan pembaca yang setia.
61. Pasang iklan di Google Adwords. Jika anda ada uang lebih tidak ada salahnya anda membeli iklan di Google Adwords. Mereka yang tertarik akan mengklik iklan anda. Sebagian dari mereka akan menjadi pembaca yang setia dan mungin sebagian lagi tidak. Ini adalah jalan yang baik untuk mendapatkan traffic.
62. Gunakan ReviewBack untuk mendapatkan review gratis. Anda akan mendapatkan review gratis disini, berguna untuk mendapatkan traffic. Check di ReviewBack.
63. Tulislah sebuah Press Release. Klik disini untuk mengetahui bagainama caranya.
64. Dapatkan favorit list di Techorati. Tachorati top 100 favorited list direview di sini. Akan sangat sulit untuk mendapatkannya, anda memerlukan beberapa ratus favorite atau bahkan beberapa ribu jika anda menginginkan berada ditempat teratas list. Tapi ini akan menghasilkan banyak sekali traffic jika anda berhasil melakukannya.
65. Join forum dan & message board. Bergabunglah dengan forum dan message board yang relevan dengan tema blog anda. Jika diizinkan link blog anda dimana yang anda bisa. Orang yang melihatnya akan senang untuk mengecheck blog anda.
66. Tambahkan link blog anda di forum signature. Ide lain, tapi tetap hanya jika diizinkan. Tambahkan link anda di forum signature dan aktiflah berkomunikasi. Link anda akan terlihat di setiap posting anda. Anda akan mendapatkan traffic yang lumayan jika forum banyak membernya.
67. Tulis sebuah post dengan title yang menarik, gampang diingat & mengandung keyword. Postingan dengan title yang menarik & gampang diingat biasanya akan mendapatkan traffic yang lebih banyak, apalagi jika mengandung keyword. Anda akan mendapatkan rangking di search engine, dan jika seseorang melink artikel anda dengan keywords tersebut anda akan mendapatkan rangking yang lebih baik dan akan mendapatkan traffic lebih dari google, yahoo, atau yang lainnya.
68. Gunakan gambar pada postingan anda. Jika postingan hanya berupa text postigan akan menjadi cepat membosankan. Gambar juga berguna untuk SEO jika seseorang mencari gambar di search engine. Tapi saya merekomendasikan hanya menggunakan 1 gambar per posting, agar tidak terjadi kesimpangsiuran pada search engine.
69. Tulislah sebuah review. Jika anda membuat sebuah review yang baik terhadap suatu product, hal itu akan menjadi perhatian dari orang orang yang tertarik terhadap product tersebut. Buatlah review terhadap sebuah product yang lagi digandrungi saat ini.
70. Buat tulisan yang lebih berkualitas. Jika artikel-artikel anda ada yang di Digg atau StumbleUpon oleh para pembaca blog anda, postinglah artikel yang lebih menarik dan lebih berkualitas. Biarkan pengunjung blog anda tau bahwa blog anda adalah blog yang berkualitas dan mereka akan datang kembali.
71. Post tentang event-event penting yang berhubungan dengan blog anda. Jika sesuatu event penting yang sesuai dengan tema blog anda akan datang, tulislah mengenai hal itu sebulan sebelum event itu tiba, berikan kesempatan search engine untuk mengindext artikel anda. Dan jika event itu tiba anda akan dapat traffic dari orang-orang yang mencari artikel tentang event tersebut.
72. Berbagilah rahasia anda dengan pembaca blog anda. Baik itu rahasia sukses bisnis anda, rahasia belajar seo ataupun rahasia hidup anda orang pasti akan senang mengetahuinya dan tidak akan menjadi antipati terhadap anda.
73. Jadilah lain dari yang lain. Bangunlah citra dan lakukan sesuatu yang berbeda yang orang lain belum pernah melakukannya. Anda akan mendapatkan ucapan terima kasih karena pembaca anda mendapatkan sesuatu yang baru. Nama anda akan diingat dalam waktu yang lama, tapi bukan selamanya. Muncullah dengan konsep baru yang orang lain belum pernah melakukannya.
74. Teruslah kembangkan blog anda. Para pembaca anda akan kembali lagi pada blog anda jika blog anda terus berkembang secara konstan. Usahakan menulis setiap hari, terutama menulis tentang topik belajar seo.
75. Jadilah diri anda sendiri. Internet adalah tempat yang terbaik untuk tampil tanpa nama, tetapi jika itu anda lakukan tidak akan ada orang yang mau menghubungi anda atau tetap mengunjungi blog anda. Jadilah diri anda, jangan berpura-pura jadi seseorang yang lain, dan orang-orang akan menyukai anda.
http://indo-me.blogspot.com/2008/01/75-cara-untuk-meningkatkan-traff
Citroen & Ford Tetap Komitmen di WRC
Reky Herling Kalumata - detiksport
Jakarta - Mundurnya Subaru dan Suzuki tidak membuat tim lainnya goyah. Citroen dan Ford telah memastikan komitmennya tetap tampil di World Rally Championship (WRC).
Krisis global yang menghantam dunia berimbs pada balap otomotif dengan mundur dua pabrikan asal Jepang, Subaru dan Suzuki dari ajang WRC. Namun hal itu ternyata tidak menghambat Citroen meneruskan keikutsertaannya di WRC.
"Citroen akan tetap masuk dalam WRC 2009 dan seperti rencana dengan dua kru, Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Marti," ungkap Bos Citroen Sport Olivier Quesnel seperti dilansir Auto Sport.
Quesnel menyayangkan mundurnya dua pabikan mobil asal Jepang itu. "Tentu saja kami menyayangkan baik Suzuki maupun Subaru memutuskan mundur dari kompetisi. Namun kami tak dapat mengomentari keputusan mereka."
Citroen pun sudah memasang target di tahun depan untuk mempertahankan gelar juara kontruktor dan juga pereli yang telah diraihnya di musim 2008. "Target kami tetap sama, memenangi konstruktor dan gelar pembalap," tegas Quesnel.
Bukan hanya Citroen, Ford juga telah memastikan untuk terus bertarung di musim 2009 nanti. Pabrikan asal Amerika Serikat in juga tak sabar untuk mengejar target yang sama dengan rivalnya menjadi juara kontruktor dan pembalap.
"Ford telah mengumumkan sejak Reli Inggris Raya bahwa kami akan berpartisipasi di 2009. Kami tak sabar mengulangi tantangan dengan Ford Focus RS WRC baik di pertarungan pabrikan atau pun pembalap," ujar Ford dalam statemennya.
( key / a2s )
Jakarta - Mundurnya Subaru dan Suzuki tidak membuat tim lainnya goyah. Citroen dan Ford telah memastikan komitmennya tetap tampil di World Rally Championship (WRC).
Krisis global yang menghantam dunia berimbs pada balap otomotif dengan mundur dua pabrikan asal Jepang, Subaru dan Suzuki dari ajang WRC. Namun hal itu ternyata tidak menghambat Citroen meneruskan keikutsertaannya di WRC.
"Citroen akan tetap masuk dalam WRC 2009 dan seperti rencana dengan dua kru, Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena and Dani Sordo/Marc Marti," ungkap Bos Citroen Sport Olivier Quesnel seperti dilansir Auto Sport.
Quesnel menyayangkan mundurnya dua pabikan mobil asal Jepang itu. "Tentu saja kami menyayangkan baik Suzuki maupun Subaru memutuskan mundur dari kompetisi. Namun kami tak dapat mengomentari keputusan mereka."
Citroen pun sudah memasang target di tahun depan untuk mempertahankan gelar juara kontruktor dan juga pereli yang telah diraihnya di musim 2008. "Target kami tetap sama, memenangi konstruktor dan gelar pembalap," tegas Quesnel.
Bukan hanya Citroen, Ford juga telah memastikan untuk terus bertarung di musim 2009 nanti. Pabrikan asal Amerika Serikat in juga tak sabar untuk mengejar target yang sama dengan rivalnya menjadi juara kontruktor dan pembalap.
"Ford telah mengumumkan sejak Reli Inggris Raya bahwa kami akan berpartisipasi di 2009. Kami tak sabar mengulangi tantangan dengan Ford Focus RS WRC baik di pertarungan pabrikan atau pun pembalap," ujar Ford dalam statemennya.
( key / a2s )
Force India ke McLaren, Tata ke Ferrari
Jakarta - India terus menggencarkan upaya "bermain" di ajang balapan paling bergengsi, Formula 1. Jika tim Force India menjalin kerja sama dengan McLaren, Tata malah bergabung dengan Ferarri.
Tata yang dimaksud adalah produsen mobil asal negeri Bollywood itu. Perusahaan yang sudah eksis sejak 1945 itu dilaporkan telah menjalin kerja sama dengan Ferrari sebagai salah satu sponsor tim F1 asal Italia tersebut.
"Untuk pertama kalinya sebuah brand India akan melekat pada Ferrari. Ini sejarah," ujar presiden Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, seperti dilansir Reuters, Rabu (17/12/2008).
Berapa lama Tata akan menjadi sponsor "Kuda Jingkrak" dan berapa nilai kontraknya, hal tersebut akan dijelaskan pihak Ferrari dalam waktu dekat ini.
Kerja sama Tata dengan Ferrari menjadi lebih memungkinkan karena Tata sudah memiliki sebuah join venture dengan perusahaan induk Ferrari, yakni Fiat, untuk memproduksi mobil di Maharashtra, sebuah negara bagian India.
India memang sedang giat mendorong perkembangan F1 ke negara berpenduduk terbanyak nomor dua di dunia itu. Sejak Narain Karhikeyan pernah menembus karir di ajang ini, pada gilirannya mereka juga memunculkan Force India sebagai tim pertama F1 yang dimiliki India.
Beberapa waktu lalu tim reinkarnasi Spyker itu, yang dipimpin konglomerat India Vijay Mallya, menjalin kerja sama dengan McLaren. Mereka menjadikan tim top F1 itu sebagai partner teknis mulai 2009.
India juga sudah mulai membangun sirkuit F1 di pinggiran New Delhi. Sirkuit yang dikerjakan sejak Oktober itu direncanakan menghajat Grand Prix untuk pertama kalinya di tahun 2010.
( a2s / key )
Tata yang dimaksud adalah produsen mobil asal negeri Bollywood itu. Perusahaan yang sudah eksis sejak 1945 itu dilaporkan telah menjalin kerja sama dengan Ferrari sebagai salah satu sponsor tim F1 asal Italia tersebut.
"Untuk pertama kalinya sebuah brand India akan melekat pada Ferrari. Ini sejarah," ujar presiden Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, seperti dilansir Reuters, Rabu (17/12/2008).
Berapa lama Tata akan menjadi sponsor "Kuda Jingkrak" dan berapa nilai kontraknya, hal tersebut akan dijelaskan pihak Ferrari dalam waktu dekat ini.
Kerja sama Tata dengan Ferrari menjadi lebih memungkinkan karena Tata sudah memiliki sebuah join venture dengan perusahaan induk Ferrari, yakni Fiat, untuk memproduksi mobil di Maharashtra, sebuah negara bagian India.
India memang sedang giat mendorong perkembangan F1 ke negara berpenduduk terbanyak nomor dua di dunia itu. Sejak Narain Karhikeyan pernah menembus karir di ajang ini, pada gilirannya mereka juga memunculkan Force India sebagai tim pertama F1 yang dimiliki India.
Beberapa waktu lalu tim reinkarnasi Spyker itu, yang dipimpin konglomerat India Vijay Mallya, menjalin kerja sama dengan McLaren. Mereka menjadikan tim top F1 itu sebagai partner teknis mulai 2009.
India juga sudah mulai membangun sirkuit F1 di pinggiran New Delhi. Sirkuit yang dikerjakan sejak Oktober itu direncanakan menghajat Grand Prix untuk pertama kalinya di tahun 2010.
( a2s / key )
Rossi Terima Tantangan Bayliss, Duel di Superbike
Madrid - Harapan Valentino Rossi bertarung dengan Troy Bayliss tampaknya akan menjadi kenyataan. Duel antara juara MotoGP dan Superbike itu kemungkinan besar bakal digelar.
Adalah majalah motorsport di Spanyol, Solo Moto, yang mengabarkan bahwa Rossi bersiap duel head to head dengan Bayliss. Bahkan tempat dan tanggal pun sudah direncanakan yaitu di Qatar pada 14 Maret 2009.
Seperti dilansir Euro Sport, majalah Solo Moto juga telah mengklaim bahwa kesepakatan sudah diungkapkan dan telah dilakukan. Duel tersebut akan digelar di sirkuit Losail saat putaran kedua Superbike Dunia musim depan.
Rossi kemungkinan besar akan menunggangi motor Yamaha YZF-R1, yang akan dipakai oleh pembalap Yamaha Tom Sykes and Ben Spies di ajang Superbike. Sedangkan Bayliss akan melaju dengan motor yang sudah sangat dikenalnya, Xerox Ducati.
Bayliss sudah menyatakan pensiun dari ajang World Superbike setelah meraih gelar ketiganya dengan Ducati di tahun ini. Sementara Rossi pun sudah kembali meraih tahtanya sebagai juara MotoGP, setelah sempat direbut Nicky Hayden (2006) dan Casey Stoner (2007).
Pembalap Italia ini sebelumnya telah menantang Bayliss untuk duel satu lawan satu dengan memakai motor Superbike. "Saya sedih tak dapat balapan melawan Bayliss di trek. Sekarang saya akan menantangnya di Superbike," ujar Rossi beberapa waktu lalu.
Tentu saja klaim majalah Solo Moto ini membuat harapan Rossi melawan Bayliss akan terkabul. Meski demikian belum ada konfirmasi resmi dari kedua pembalap tersebut guna memastikan kabar ini.
( key / a2s )
Adalah majalah motorsport di Spanyol, Solo Moto, yang mengabarkan bahwa Rossi bersiap duel head to head dengan Bayliss. Bahkan tempat dan tanggal pun sudah direncanakan yaitu di Qatar pada 14 Maret 2009.
Seperti dilansir Euro Sport, majalah Solo Moto juga telah mengklaim bahwa kesepakatan sudah diungkapkan dan telah dilakukan. Duel tersebut akan digelar di sirkuit Losail saat putaran kedua Superbike Dunia musim depan.
Rossi kemungkinan besar akan menunggangi motor Yamaha YZF-R1, yang akan dipakai oleh pembalap Yamaha Tom Sykes and Ben Spies di ajang Superbike. Sedangkan Bayliss akan melaju dengan motor yang sudah sangat dikenalnya, Xerox Ducati.
Bayliss sudah menyatakan pensiun dari ajang World Superbike setelah meraih gelar ketiganya dengan Ducati di tahun ini. Sementara Rossi pun sudah kembali meraih tahtanya sebagai juara MotoGP, setelah sempat direbut Nicky Hayden (2006) dan Casey Stoner (2007).
Pembalap Italia ini sebelumnya telah menantang Bayliss untuk duel satu lawan satu dengan memakai motor Superbike. "Saya sedih tak dapat balapan melawan Bayliss di trek. Sekarang saya akan menantangnya di Superbike," ujar Rossi beberapa waktu lalu.
Tentu saja klaim majalah Solo Moto ini membuat harapan Rossi melawan Bayliss akan terkabul. Meski demikian belum ada konfirmasi resmi dari kedua pembalap tersebut guna memastikan kabar ini.
( key / a2s )
Korban Diancam Akan Direkam Video Porno
Jakarta - Korban penculikan warga Rusia, Alexandre, sempat mendapat perlakuan kasar dari ketiga pelaku, Richard Sihite (WNI), Alex dan Igor (WN Rusia). Di dalam mobil setelah dijemput di Bandara Soekarno-Hatta dalam perjalanan menuju tempat di mana Alexandre disekap, Alexandra sempat dipukul.
"Saya dikata-katai kasar. Dan saya sempat dipukul," ujar Alexandre kepada polisi di Mapolda Metro Jaya, Rabu (17/12/2008).
Alexandre kemudian memperlihatkan tangan kanannya yang memar karena pukulan dari salah seorang pelaku. Kepada polisi, Alexandre juga menceritakan bahwa dirinya sempat diancam akan direkan dalam video untuk mempertunjukkan adegan porno dengan seorang wanita apabila tidak mau menelepon istrinya untuk mentransfer
uang.
Nantinya, video tersebut akan dikirim ke istrinya di Rusia. Karena takut, Alexandre kemudian menelepon istrinya untuk dikirimi uang. Istri yang curiga, kemudian menghubungi Kedutaan Besar Rusia di Indonesia untuk mecari tahu keberadaan Alexandre.
Kedubes Rusia yang pernah mengalami hal yang serupa kemudian melaporkan hal tersebut kepada polisi. Hanya dalam sepekan, kemudian polisi berhasil membekuk ketiga pelaku di perumahan Victoria Blok A VII No.18 Serpong, Tangerang.
"Saya dikata-katai kasar. Dan saya sempat dipukul," ujar Alexandre kepada polisi di Mapolda Metro Jaya, Rabu (17/12/2008).
Alexandre kemudian memperlihatkan tangan kanannya yang memar karena pukulan dari salah seorang pelaku. Kepada polisi, Alexandre juga menceritakan bahwa dirinya sempat diancam akan direkan dalam video untuk mempertunjukkan adegan porno dengan seorang wanita apabila tidak mau menelepon istrinya untuk mentransfer
uang.
Nantinya, video tersebut akan dikirim ke istrinya di Rusia. Karena takut, Alexandre kemudian menelepon istrinya untuk dikirimi uang. Istri yang curiga, kemudian menghubungi Kedutaan Besar Rusia di Indonesia untuk mecari tahu keberadaan Alexandre.
Kedubes Rusia yang pernah mengalami hal yang serupa kemudian melaporkan hal tersebut kepada polisi. Hanya dalam sepekan, kemudian polisi berhasil membekuk ketiga pelaku di perumahan Victoria Blok A VII No.18 Serpong, Tangerang.
Dubes Rusia Berterima Kasih pada Polda Metro Jaya
Jakarta - Upaya Polda Metro Jaya menguak penculikan warga negara Rusia, Alexandre, patut diacungi jempol. Hanya dalam waktu sepekan saja, polisi sudah berhasil membekuk komplotan yang menipu korban lewat chatting di internet tersebut.
Bahkan, Konsulat Kedutaan Besar (Kedubes) Rusia, Vladimir Pronin, yang datang ke Mapolda Metro Jaya, Rabu (17/12) kemarin berterimakasih kepada polisi yang dengan sigap menangkap para pelaku.
"Atas nama Duta Besar, saya mengucapkan terima kasih kepada polisi yang cepat-cepat tangkap pelaku," ujar Vladimir.
Korban penculikan, Alexandre, berhasil dibebaskan dari rumah tersangka di perumahaan Victoria Blok A VII No.18 Serpong, Tangerang, Rabu (17/12) kemarin. Alexandre merupakan korban penculikan kedua yang menimpa warga negara Rusia. Sebelumya, pelaku sempat menyekap korban SEV alias Igor.
Dengan modus mengiming-imingi bisnis melalui chatting, korban disuruh datang ke Indonesia. "Ini merupakan modus baru. Masyarakat diimbau agar tidak mudah percaya dengan bujukan-bujukan seperti itu, meskipun yang menawarkan itu teman dekat kita sendiri," ujar Kepala Pelaksana Harian Humas Polda Metro Jaya AKBP
Mahbub ketika dihubungi detikcom, Kamis (18/12/008).
(mei/nrl)
Bahkan, Konsulat Kedutaan Besar (Kedubes) Rusia, Vladimir Pronin, yang datang ke Mapolda Metro Jaya, Rabu (17/12) kemarin berterimakasih kepada polisi yang dengan sigap menangkap para pelaku.
"Atas nama Duta Besar, saya mengucapkan terima kasih kepada polisi yang cepat-cepat tangkap pelaku," ujar Vladimir.
Korban penculikan, Alexandre, berhasil dibebaskan dari rumah tersangka di perumahaan Victoria Blok A VII No.18 Serpong, Tangerang, Rabu (17/12) kemarin. Alexandre merupakan korban penculikan kedua yang menimpa warga negara Rusia. Sebelumya, pelaku sempat menyekap korban SEV alias Igor.
Dengan modus mengiming-imingi bisnis melalui chatting, korban disuruh datang ke Indonesia. "Ini merupakan modus baru. Masyarakat diimbau agar tidak mudah percaya dengan bujukan-bujukan seperti itu, meskipun yang menawarkan itu teman dekat kita sendiri," ujar Kepala Pelaksana Harian Humas Polda Metro Jaya AKBP
Mahbub ketika dihubungi detikcom, Kamis (18/12/008).
(mei/nrl)
Polisi Ringkus 1 Penculik Lagi
Jakarta - Polda Metro Jaya berhasil menangkap 3 pelaku penculikan Alexandre (warga negara Rusia) yakni Richard Sihite, Alex dan Igor kemarin pada pukul 10.40 WIB. Tidak lebih dari satu hari, polisi meringkus satu orang pelaku lainnya.
"Ya, kita sudah tangkap kemarin sore," ujar Direktur Reserse Kriminal Umum Polda Metro Jaya Kombes Pol M Iriawan kepada detikcom melalui pesan singkat, Kamis (18/12/2008).
Pelaku berinisial GS ini merupakan warga negara Indonesia. Menurut sumber di Polda Metro Jaya, pelaku ditangkap di rumahnya, di kawasan Tangerang, Banten.
Dengan demikian, polisi berhasil menangkap empat tersangka penculikan Alexandre. Sebelumnya, polisi menangkap 3 pelaku di sebuah bank saat hendak mengambil uang di bank tersebut. Dari hasil pengembangan, kemudian polisi menangkap GS.
"Pelaku akan dikenakan pasal 368 jo 333 jo 351 KUHP. Ancaman maksimal 12 tahun penjara," kata Iriawan.
(mei/nrl)
Father offers daughter to shoe-thrower
CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian man said on Wednesday he was offering his 20-year-old daughter in marriage to Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad on Sunday,
The daughter, Amal Saad Gumaa, said she agreed with the idea. "This is something that would honor me. I would like to live in Iraq, especially if I were attached to this hero," she told Reuters by telephone.
Her father, Saad Gumaa, said he had called Dergham, Zaidi's brother, to tell him of the offer. "I find nothing more valuable than my daughter to offer to him, and I am prepared to provide her with everything needed for marriage," he added.
Zaidi's gesture has struck a chord across the Arab world, where President Bush is widely despised for invading Iraq in 2003 and for his support for Israel.
Amal is a student in the media faculty at Minya University in central Egypt.
Zaidi's response to the proposal was not immediately clear.
(Reporting by Mohamed Abdellah, Writing by Jonathan Wright)
Yahoo cuts data retention to three months
By Kim Dixon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Search engine Yahoo! Inc will cut to three months the time it stores personal data gathered from Web surfing, making its retention policy the shortest among peers, the company said on Wednesday.
The company will "anonymize" the computer addresses of its users within three months in most cases, from a prior standard of 13 months. It is reserving the right to keep data for up to six months if fraud or system security are involved.
Internet search companies have come under pressure from European and other data protection officials to do more to protect the privacy of users.
Earlier this year, industry leader Google Inc halved the amount of time it stores personal data to nine months. Microsoft Corp has said it will cut the time to six months if its rivals did the same.
"Google first went to 18 months and started this competition," said Ari Schwartz, vice president at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a privacy advocacy group.
Yahoo's pledge is "significant because they are getting rid of some data after 90 days and they actually have an implementation plan to get this done," he added.
The company is also expanding the scope of the data it is making anonymous, to include page and advertisement clicks and views, from just search log data alone.
The European Union has recommended that companies keep data no more than six months and urged the sector to adopt an industry-wide standard.
"This was our attempt to put a stake in the ground" on the issue, Yahoo vice president of policy and privacy chief Anne Toth said.
Internet search engines get their revenue by matching advertisements to searches, so advertisers can peg their ads to what is on the searcher's mind.
RIVALS WEIGH IN
Microsoft said it welcomed the move, but made a distinction between the timeframe and the method of making data anonymous.
Yahoo will delete the final segment of the Internet Protocol (IP) address, which it said makes it no longer unique or identifiable.
Microsoft is deleting all of the Internet address, which it said will break any potential link to a particular set of search queries, according to Brendon Lynch, director of privacy strategy at the software giant.
"The best anonymization is to get rid of all the identifying information," Schwartz said. "We are still not there on an industry standard."Holyfield eager to prove doubters wrong
By Mark Ledsom
ZURICH (Reuters) - Four-time world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield will be fighting for all the world's 40-somethings when he takes on towering Russian WBA champion Nikolai Valuev this weekend, he said on Wednesday.
Holyfield, 46, is bidding to become the oldest heavyweight champion when he fights in Zurich on Saturday against the tallest and heaviest boxer to hold a world title belt.
As well as being 11 years younger than Holyfield, Valuev is 24 centimeters taller -- at 2.13 meters -- and expected to be some 100 pounds heavier than his American opponent.
"His head is exactly where it needs to be for me to hit it," Holyfield (42-9-2) shrugged when asked at a Wednesday media conference about the difference in the two men's statures.
"I honestly do not think that size really matters. It is about how each individual fights. I know I have more experience so I'm just looking forward to showing my talents in the ring."
For some critics, Holyfield's 'experience' is simply a euphemism for being too old to box, a view that the fight's promoters labored hard on Wednesday to dispel.
"We've been criticized from all sides for letting him box," acknowledged organizer Wilfried Sauerland.
"But it was Evander who came to us asking for this fight and we said 'ok, but you will have to go through extensive medical tests' which he did and passed with flying colors.
"He has built up a reputation as a warrior and I think he will put up a very good fight against Valuev."
Holyfield said on Wednesday he had lost count of the number of times he had been asked about his age but paid no attention.
"I'm happy to talk about my age, and let people look at me and say 'wow, he looks as good as any of the younger fighters'.
"It's a testimony to good living and to not quitting, so my aim is to go and win this fight for all the 40-somethings out there and prove that it's not really fair to put people all in the same pot based purely on their age."
While downplaying Valuev's height advantage, Holyfield acknowledged that he had been working with some oversized sparring partners, including the aptly-named 2.16-meter tall Julius Long, in preparation for Saturday's fight.
"It's not something that I'm worrying about though," Holyfield insisted.
"If he were ten feet tall he would still be a man and this world is not run just by big people or small people. It's run by the people who make the right decisions at the right time."U.S. cell-only households keep climbing
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly 18 percent of households in the United States have no traditional telephone and rely on wireless services only, which is up several percentage points from a year earlier, the government said on Wednesday.
In the first half of 2008, 17.5 percent of households were wireless only, up from 13.6 percent a full year earlier, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The statistics have a margin of error of plus or minus 0.9 percentage point, according to the agency, which collected the data as part of project to determine if national health polls were being skewed by the trend.
Service providers such as Verizon Communications, AT&T Inc, Qwest Communications International and others have seen a steep increase in customers cutting the cord on their home phones.
Qwest said recently that the trend was exacerbated by the weak economy as some customers were disconnecting home phones to save money.
The percentage of households with a landline and a wireless phone declined slightly in the first half of 2008, at about 58.5 percent, compared with 58.9 percent a year earlier.
The figures come from national in-person interviews of approximately 30,000 households per year with at least one adult or child.
The agency concluded that polls were indeed being skewed because they have in the past only called those with traditional landlines. They and other organizations are moving toward incorporating wireless customers into their surveys.
For example, wireless-only households are more likely to contain binge drinkers and smokers, compared with those having landline phones.
Meantime, about 2.5 percent of U.S. households had no phone at all in the first half of the year, compared with about 1.9 percent in 2007, according to the agency.
(Editing by Maureen Bavdek)
Paul McCartney, Britney Spears top "Idol" wish list
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Beatle Paul McCartney and pop star Britney Spears are at the top of Simon Cowell's celebrity wish list as possible mentors on the upcoming season of "American Idol."
But the chances of getting McCartney to appear on the most-watched American television show seem slim.
"We try every year to get Paul McCartney on but for whatever reason he won't come on," the British judge told reporters on a conference call on Wednesday.
Cowell said he would welcome the chance to see Spears on the show, which returns for its 8th season on January 13. The singer is on a comeback roll with a No.1 album and upcoming tour after almost two years of personal woes.
"She would be first on the list. I would love to see her mentor the contestants. But if she doesn't want to do that and she wants to come on the show to perform, I would welcome her any time," Cowell said.
He said he would also like to see Beyonce and would welcome back singer-songwriter Lionel Richie and movie director Quentin Tarantino, who was a guest judge in 2004.
"American Idol" has produced some bonafide stars since its 2002 debut, including Grammy award winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
Former contestants Jennifer Hudson and Jordin Sparks were both nominated earlier this month for Grammys.
"I absolutely love it when that happens," Cowell said. "There is so much snobbery in the music business about what we do on this show. So I think it is fantastic."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
Honda shares fall after cutting outlook
TOKYO (Reuters) - Shares in Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 4.76 percent in early trade on Thursday after Japan's No.2 auto maker cut its annual operating profit forecast by two-thirds due to a firmer yen and tanking global car sales.
Honda shares were down 4.92 percent at 1,798 yen as of 0013 GMT, compared with a 0.58 percent fall in the Nikkei average .N225.
The company now expects an operating profit of just 180 billion yen ($2.06 billion) in the year to March versus the 550 billion yen it forecast in October.
Honda also said on Wednesday it would cut capital spending, delay new plant construction and product launches and reduce its third-quarter dividend.
Automakers everywhere are under enormous pressure to cut costs and save cash to weather the storm as a global recession and tight credit hammer demand.
($1=87.33 yen)
(Reporting by Taiga Uranaka)
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4BH06E20081218
Take-Two outlook disappoints
By Jennifer Martinez
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), "Grand Theft Auto" video game publisher, set a 2009 profit target far below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, citing weakness in retail sales, and its shares fell 20 percent.
The company also reported its fourth-quarter net loss more than doubled, and it missed the average analyst target.
Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick told Reuters the company "witnessed significant softness" in store sales. That was a shock for investors after total video game U.S. sales rose 10 percent in November, indicating the industry was weathering the downturn better than most.
Take-Two expects profit to range between nil and 20 cents per share for the year ending in October 2009, significantly missing the average analysts' estimate of $1.21 per share.
The company forecast first-quarter revenue between $175 million and $225 million, below Wall Street estimates of $311 million, as per Reuters Estimates.
"There's no full version of 'Grand Theft Auto' coming out this year. That's a big problem. GTA is their big moneymaker," said Wedbush Morgan analyst Edward Woo. "They are definitely having a weaker outlook than what everyone expected for them to have. The industry is healthy."
The company reported its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $15 million, or 20 cents a share, from $7.1 million, or 10 cents a share, a year ago.
Excluding stock-based compensation expenses, expenses related to unusual legal matters and business reorganization costs, New York-based Take-Two earned a fourth-quarter profit of 2 cents per share, missing the average Wall Street estimate of 4 cents profit, according to Reuters Estimates.
Take-Two forecast an adjusted first-quarter loss ranging between 70 cents and 85 cents, sharply missing the average analyst estimate of 4 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
Chief Executive Ben Feder called the forecasts "a prudent response to the difficult current and possible future business conditions."
Shares of Take-Two fell to $9.65 in extended trade on Nasdaq after closing at $12.07.
Wedbush's Woo said Take-Two's falling stock is a "disappointment" for the company's shareholders, but a positive for rival Electronic Arts Inc (ERTS.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which dropped a hostile bid to acquire Take-Two for roughly $2 billion in September.
(Reporting by Jennifer Martinez and Peter Henderson; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4BG7CP20081217
U.S. Somalia peacekeeping idea hits resistance at U.N
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. chief and France on Wednesday cast doubt on U.S. calls to authorize a U.N. peacekeeping force for Somalia quickly, saying the situation was too dangerous for blue helmets.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday for the first time that the U.N. should deploy peacekeepers in the unstable West African country. Washington will push for a Security Council authorizing resolution by the year's end.
But U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "the situation is not ripe, the conditions are not favorable ... If there is no peace to keep, peacekeeping operations are not supposed to be there."
Instead, Ban suggested bolstering an African Union force, known as AMISOM, that is supposed help Somalis themselves to restore security but has so far proved ineffectual.
The Security Council on Tuesday authorized countries fighting piracy off the Somali coast to take action inside the country and in its airspace, with consent of the government.
France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, asked if Rice's proposal was realistic, said: "No, it is not ... We think it's not feasible and it's not desirable."
The situation had to be stabilized before U.N. peacekeepers could be deployed, Ripert said.
Council members agree they must tackle violence, chaos and humanitarian catastrophe in Somalia, Ripert said. But they disagree on how to act.
Islamists control most of southern Somalia, feuding clan militias hold sway elsewhere, and Ethiopian troops backing the weak government plan to pull out.
A previous attempt by outside powers to help end starvation in Somalia ended badly. Eighteen U.S. soldiers died and 73 were wounded in the "Battle of Mogadishu" on October 3 and 4, 1993.
The battle, which inspired the film "Black Hawk Down, marked the beginning of the end for a U.S.-U.N. peacekeeping force that left in 1995.
Ban told the Security Council last month around 10,000 highly skilled troops would be needed to stabilize Somalia. After that, a U.N. peacekeeping force of some 22,500 troops would be deployed, along with additional police and civilians.
But after contacting some 50 countries, Ban said none had volunteered to lead a stabilization force and only one or two would be willing to provide troops.
The United States has offered funding, training, equipment, airlifts and logistics -- but no troops.
Rice said some African states were ready to send troops. U.N. diplomats say Washington has proposed converting AMISOM to a U.N. force while training and equipping more troops from Burundi and Uganda, which already have 3,200 soldiers there.http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1733610320081217
Obama team backs Emanuel in Blagojevich probe
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top adviser to President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday expressed support for chief of staff Rahm Emanuel whose talks with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office about filling Obama's Senate seat have come into question.
Blagojevich has been charged with corruptly plotting to sell Obama's Senate seat and the presidential transition team has been working to distance Obama and his inner circle from the scandal-tarred governor.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported on Wednesday that Emanuel had privately urged Blagojevich's administration to appoint Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett to the Senate seat that Obama vacated when he was elected president November 4.
Emanuel, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Illinois chosen by Obama to be his White House chief of staff, had asked the appointment to be made by a certain deadline, the newspaper said.
Obama senior adviser David Axelrod strongly backed Emanuel on MSNBC a day after Obama refused to answer a question about the case at a news conference because the U.S. attorney has the case under investigation.
"I've known Rahm ... for a very long time. I've worked with him closely. He is someone who I think has enormous integrity and unparalleled skill. And I think we're lucky to have him," Axelrod said. "I have no concerns about Rahm. He is an enormous asset to us and will be an enormous asset to the country, as he has been in the Congress."
The scandal has been an unwelcome distraction for Obama as he focuses on plans to rebuild the U.S. economy when he takes power on January 20.
Last week Obama said his office would release details within days about the contacts between his team and Blagojevich's office. But on Monday he said he would delay the release until next week at the request of the federal prosecutors.
He said he had no contact with Blagojevich about the Senate seat and any discussions his team had were not inappropriate.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Obama said it was a "little bit frustrating" that he was unable to release the information now but he was abiding by the request of the U.S. attorney's office.
"There has been a lot of speculation in the press that I would love to correct immediately," Obama said.
Discussing the Senate seat would not be illegal. But it in unclear whether Emanuel or Jarrett, who removed herself from consideration for the Senate seat, knew Blagojevich was seeking a financial reward from whomever was picked.
Axelrod said Obama's report would clear up the doubts.
"It will corroborate what the president-elect has said, which is that he never spoke with the governor or any of his aides about this and that. There were no inappropriate discussions between members of his staff and the governor's office in this manner. And that, I think, will be very clear," he said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4BG5CS20081217
Obama picks highlight energy policy; Schapiro to SEC
By Caren Bohan
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday named former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to head the Agriculture Department and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar to become interior secretary, saying they would help further his goal of energy independence for the country.
Calling the two "guardians of the American landscape," Obama told a news conference they would help spearhead efforts to use less imported oil while expanding use of renewable energy such as biofuels.
The selections moved Obama closer to his goal of completing most of his Cabinet selections before he leaves on Saturday for a vacation in Hawaii, where he grew up.
Obama has also chosen Financial Industry Regulatory Authority executive Mary Schapiro to become chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a Democratic official said. The SEC is under fire for failing to detect the massive fraud perpetrated by investment manager Bernard Madoff.
Schapiro served as an SEC commissioner for six years, then became chairwoman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 1994 during the Clinton administration.
At the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Schapiro leads the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business with the U.S. public.
Also on Wednesday, a senior Democrat told Reuters Rep. Ray LaHood, an Illinois Republican, had been offered the job of transportation secretary and would likely accept the job.
The pick would help Obama, a Democrat, fulfill a pledge to include members of the opposing party in the top tier of his incoming administration. Obama has already announced that he plans to keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has served under several Republican presidents, in his current job.
LaHood, who hails from Obama's home state of Illinois and is said to have a rapport with the president-elect, is expected to accept the Cabinet position, the Democratic Party official said.
Salazar is a first-term senator from Colorado and Vilsack was a popular two-term governor of Iowa, a leading farm and ethanol-producing state.
REDUCING RELIANCE ON FOREIGN OIL
"I will do all I can to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil," said Salazar, who will take over an agency that handles leases of federal land for oil drilling along with other issues including national parks.
Vilsack said he would try to improve farm income in the face of the U.S. recession and to put healthier food into public nutrition programs.
Obama supports a $250,000 a year "hard cap" on farm subsidies with no exemption, a tightening of rules that could save $100 million to $200 million a year. He says he would encourage continued rural leadership in renewable energy.
A backer of renewable fuels, Vilsack ran for the Democratic presidential nomination for three months before withdrawing in February 2007 and supporting Hillary Clinton.http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4BF0QZ20081218
Fed unleashes greatest bubble of all
By: John Kemp
– John Kemp is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own –
– John Kemp is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own –
Like the sorcerer’s apprentice, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his predecessor Alan Greenspan have unleashed a series of ever-larger asset bubbles they cannot control.
Now the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates to between zero and 0.25 percent, coupled with a promise to keep them there for an extended period, and the threat to conduct even more unconventional operations in the longer-dated Treasury market risks the biggest bubble of all, this time in U.S. government debt.
THE ASYMMETRIC EXPERIMENT
Bubble mania is no accident. It is the direct consequence of the Fed’s asymmetric response to shifts in asset prices. Pressed to “lean against the wind” and adopt counter-cyclical interest rate and credit policies in the asset market, senior Fed policymakers have repeatedly demurred.
Led by Bernanke and Greenspan, officials have argued it is too hard and subjective to identify bubbles until afterwards, and not the Fed’s job to second-guess asset allocation decisions of professional investors.
Even if bubbles could be identified, they argue, pricking them would require swingeing rate rises that would inflict widespread damage on the rest of the economy.
Far less damaging to allow asset markets to follow their natural cycle and stand by to cut interest rates sharply, supply liquidity and contain the fallout when the bubble bursts.
But the Fed’s asymmetric policy response to rising and falling asset prices (colloquially known as the “Greenspan/Bernanke put”) directly led to much of the excessive risk-taking which has humbled the financial system over the last eighteen months.
More importantly, the Fed’s decision to respond to the collapse of the technology and stock market bubble by lowering rates to 1 percent and holding them there for an extended period is now widely accepted as a mistake that contributed to the bond bubble and subsequent housing market boom in the middle of the decade.
If the low-rate strategy was a mistake, it was a conscious one. In testimony to the UK Parliament last year, former Bank of England Governor Eddie George admitted the bank had deliberately sought to stimulate the housing market and house prices to support consumption during the downturn.
Greenspan, Bernanke and Co seem to have adopted a similar approach in the United States.
The real mistake, however, was not creating one bubble to offset the collapse of another, but believing they could control what they had wrought.
When the Fed did eventually start to raise short-term interest rates in 2004, long rates remained stubbornly low for a year, and then rose much more slowly than anticipated, a development the puzzled Fed chairman and his able assistant Dr Bernanke described as “the Great Conundrum”.
Even as rates eventually rose, the alchemy of securitization ensured the real cost of credit remained far too low until the subprime bubble finally burst in late 2007.
The second mistake is a basic design flaw in the Fed’s “risk-management” approach to setting monetary policy. Risk management is a nice idea, but not terribly useful. As engineer will explain, risk management involves trade offs and is not cost-free.
The Fed has struggled to formulate a response to “low probability, high impact” events such as the threat of deflation in the early 2000s. Its response has been to cut rates aggressively to ward off the danger of extreme downside events, a strategy officials liken to taking out an insurance policy.
That’s fine, but when these low risk events have not in fact occurred, as was never statistically likely, the resulting policy settings have proved far too loose, and the central bank much too slow to change it.
Concentrating on theoretical but small risks such as deflation has too often blinded the Fed to much larger risks near at hand of bubbles and asset inflation.
INTO THE UNKNOWN
Even as officials recognize policy has played a role stimulating an endless series of bubbles, the Fed finds itself trapped with no way out. Following the collapse of much of the modern banking system, the risk of pernicious deflation is now very real–more so than in the early 2000s.
So like the sorcerer’s apprentice, the Fed has cranked up the Great Bubble Machine for what policymakers hope will be one final time.
The Fed’s “unconventional” monetary strategy comes in four parts:
(1) Cutting interest rates to near-zero to lower the cost of borrowing.
(2) Injecting short-term liquidity into the financial system in the form of bank reserves (quantitative easing).
(3) Trying to pull down yields on longer-dated Treasury bonds through a combination of the jawbone (promising to keep short rates low for an extended period) and the threat to intervene in the market directly by buying longer-dated paper.
(4) Trying to reduce credit spreads above the Treasury yield for other borrowers, and increase the quantity of credit available, by buying mortgage-backed agency bonds for its own account, and financing other market participants to buy securities backed by other consumer credits, auto loans and student loans.
Most attention has focused on the zero-rate policy and quantitative easing at the short end of the curve. But the real significance lies in the unconventional operations targeting Treasury yields and eventually credit spreads at the long end.
Operations at the short end are designed to bolster the banking system and restart lending. But the Fed knows the banking system is not large enough to replace the much more important sources of credit from securities markets.
Operations at the long end are designed to get bond finance and securitized credit flowing. Short-end interest rates and quantitative operations are significant because they help shape the whole term structure of interest rates embedded in the curve.
ONE LAST SUPER-BUBBLE
The strategy has already succeeded in halving yields from over 4 percent in mid October to just 2.25 percent now.
By convincing investors interest rates will remain ultra low for a long period, the Fed has made them willing to lend to the U.S. government for up to ten years for what is a paltry return.
There are two risks. First, the massive rise in bond prices and compression of yields has come in the secondary market. The U.S. Treasury has not yet succeeded in placing much of its massively expanded debt and new requirements for next year at such low levels. But given the panic-driven demand for default-free assets, officials should not have too much difficulty.
The bigger one is that the Fed is misleading investors into the biggest bubble of all time. Bernanke is making what learned economists call a “time-inconsistent” promise to hold interest rates at ultra low levels for an extended period.
The problem is that if the unconventional monetary policy works, and the economy picks up, the Fed will come under pressure to “normalize” rates and reduce excess liquidity to prevent a rise in inflation. The resulting rate rises will inflict massive losses on anyone who bought bonds at today 2.25 percent rate.
Bizarrely, Bernanke and Co are in fact inviting investors to bet the policy will fail, the economy will remain mired in slump for a long period, deflation will occur and interest rates will remain on the floor, as Japan’s have done since the 1990s.
Buyers of real estate and subprime securities have recently been lampooned for foolishly overpaying at the top of the market. Bernanke and Co are gambling memories will prove short and investors will prove just as eager to pay top prices for long-term government and private debt even though the downside is large.
Let us have one last bubble, and when it collapses, we promise not to do any more in future…honest.
Selasa, 16 Desember 2008
5 Ways to Improve YOUR English without even Trying! for people who speak English as a second language
by: Kim Rogers
Learning a second language can be a very stressful and arduous task if you let it. Somehow, the words you learn in the books don't seem to apply very well to real life situations. Those small and seemingly un-important elements the show a person to be in command of not only the language, but the culture of the people who speak it cannot be adequately expressed by words on paper.
So, how do you learn these little secrets of mastering the ability to articulate yourself in another language?
Here are 5 proven techniques that will help you improve your English without even trying, if you are learning to speak English as a second language. Do they really work? Yes. I've tried them myself as I've had opportunity to live somewhere where English wasn't the primary language. I found it to be a fun, exciting, and painless way to learn both the language and the culture. The culture is simply learning the way the natives express their own words. The genuine accent, facial expressions, hand gestures, sighs, moans, groans, laughter, smirks, and other things that go along with everyday conversation.
Regardless of how extensive or not your vocabulary is, if you master the ability to "sound" like you know the language and can speak it, people will be more than generous to assist you.
1. Watch Movies!
Watching movies is always a fun thing to do. In order to get the most out of your movie watching experience, if your vocabulary is limited, watch a movie in English that you are very familiar with in your own language so you always know what's going on. Try not to translate as you go because you lose blocks of conversation this way. Instead, watch the picture and listen. Hear all the words, but determine what's going on by the pictures you see and the words you're hearing that you already know. Believe it or not, other words will sink in too, and so will the accent and everything else that went with what you saw and heard.
As your vocabulary grows, expand your movie selections to other movies you'd like to see but are only available in English. Try to be able to see the film more than once if possible.
According to the location and type of film you intend to view, you will be able to experience different accents, and other cultural expressions of the English language. Pick and choose the things that you think will suit you best. If it doesn't work out, pick and try something else! Have fun with yourself and your efforts.
2. Watch Soap Operas
The place where extreme expression and limited vocabulary meet! This is such a fascinating way to learn a foreign language. Every accessory that goes with the expression of a word is demonstrated on a soap opera. "Outrage" expressed with a word, facial expression or two, and perhaps even a subsequent face slap, all of that being understandable in any language. "Love", another universal subject, or violence, good versus evil can all be discerned quickly and easily on a soap opera. Plus, soap operas are naturally designed to allow anyone just tuning in to pick up the story quickly. The characters are easily loveable and deliciously "hate-able" so you turn to it again and again to see what's going on, and not only improve your English each time, but reinforce what you've already learned.
3. Read the Comics/Funny Papers
Very non-stressful! Pictures with words, or words with pictures, however you want to look at it, it's a great way to learn! For each thought presented there are words that match a picture, and vice versa. It doesn't matter if you read comic books, or the comics in the Sunday newspaper, read whatever will make you laugh and cause you to enjoy learning at the same time.
4. Read Children's books
If you know any little kids between the ages of 5-8, try reading one of their books to them. Usually little kids know their favorite books by heart, so if you stumble a little, they'll be able to help you.
If you enjoy this method of improving your English, and you find yourself to be pretty good at it, then try reading a few Dr. Seuss books. The rhyming will challenge you, but once you master it, your pronunciation of English, and your delivery will have been considerably refined and improved.
5. Take a service job like waiter or waitress; bartender, or sales person.
This type of job can be done if you have a decent vocabulary of verbs, and know how to say "I, we, she, he, they", etc. The only other thing necessary is a working vocabulary of things relevant to your specific tasks and goals.
For example, as a breakfast waitress, you want to be able to ask if they want their eggs, "scrambled or fried", if they want "more coffee", if everything is "alright", do they want "anything else", and the total of their bill in their own language!
If you sell real estate, you'll want to incorporate words like "mortgage, loan, co-sign, 30 year fixed", etc.
If you sell shoes, you need words like "how does that feel", are they "too tight, too loose, to short in the toe, to big", etc.
The longer you work at your job, the more your working vocabulary will improve.
6. Learn these two sentences and you'll be set for life . . . seriously!
"How do you say (blank)", in English (Spanish, French, etc.), and "What is that called?" (Point if you have to, and smile too). Smiling is a universal language. Once I learned how to ask these two questions, I was on my way to being conversant in the language of my choice!
I could use my limited vocabulary to ask the question and then when I got my answer I would repeat it a few times to make sure I was saying it correctly, and "BAM" I had a new vocabulary word. And, because I asked my question to the best of my ability in the native tongue, the natives realized my sincere desire to learn, and helped me!
7. What happens if you make a mistake?
Nothing. The world won't come to an end, and you haven't embarrassed yourself to the point where you can't show your face again. Just apologize if that's what's called for, or laugh at yourself, make the correction, and count it as a learning experience.
Once I was in a restaurant and I wanted to ask the waiter for a "to go" box, however, I was speaking to my kids in English, and trying to think of what I wanted to ask for in Spanish, and I promptly and incorrectly asked him for a "house to go". He looked at me kind of funny, but he was very courteous, and didn't laugh until I laughed.
I've committed other language faux pas as well over the years, all of which have been a learning experience, and if given enough time, will become a humorous story as well.
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/education/article_1456.shtml
Learning a second language can be a very stressful and arduous task if you let it. Somehow, the words you learn in the books don't seem to apply very well to real life situations. Those small and seemingly un-important elements the show a person to be in command of not only the language, but the culture of the people who speak it cannot be adequately expressed by words on paper.
So, how do you learn these little secrets of mastering the ability to articulate yourself in another language?
Here are 5 proven techniques that will help you improve your English without even trying, if you are learning to speak English as a second language. Do they really work? Yes. I've tried them myself as I've had opportunity to live somewhere where English wasn't the primary language. I found it to be a fun, exciting, and painless way to learn both the language and the culture. The culture is simply learning the way the natives express their own words. The genuine accent, facial expressions, hand gestures, sighs, moans, groans, laughter, smirks, and other things that go along with everyday conversation.
Regardless of how extensive or not your vocabulary is, if you master the ability to "sound" like you know the language and can speak it, people will be more than generous to assist you.
1. Watch Movies!
Watching movies is always a fun thing to do. In order to get the most out of your movie watching experience, if your vocabulary is limited, watch a movie in English that you are very familiar with in your own language so you always know what's going on. Try not to translate as you go because you lose blocks of conversation this way. Instead, watch the picture and listen. Hear all the words, but determine what's going on by the pictures you see and the words you're hearing that you already know. Believe it or not, other words will sink in too, and so will the accent and everything else that went with what you saw and heard.
As your vocabulary grows, expand your movie selections to other movies you'd like to see but are only available in English. Try to be able to see the film more than once if possible.
According to the location and type of film you intend to view, you will be able to experience different accents, and other cultural expressions of the English language. Pick and choose the things that you think will suit you best. If it doesn't work out, pick and try something else! Have fun with yourself and your efforts.
2. Watch Soap Operas
The place where extreme expression and limited vocabulary meet! This is such a fascinating way to learn a foreign language. Every accessory that goes with the expression of a word is demonstrated on a soap opera. "Outrage" expressed with a word, facial expression or two, and perhaps even a subsequent face slap, all of that being understandable in any language. "Love", another universal subject, or violence, good versus evil can all be discerned quickly and easily on a soap opera. Plus, soap operas are naturally designed to allow anyone just tuning in to pick up the story quickly. The characters are easily loveable and deliciously "hate-able" so you turn to it again and again to see what's going on, and not only improve your English each time, but reinforce what you've already learned.
3. Read the Comics/Funny Papers
Very non-stressful! Pictures with words, or words with pictures, however you want to look at it, it's a great way to learn! For each thought presented there are words that match a picture, and vice versa. It doesn't matter if you read comic books, or the comics in the Sunday newspaper, read whatever will make you laugh and cause you to enjoy learning at the same time.
4. Read Children's books
If you know any little kids between the ages of 5-8, try reading one of their books to them. Usually little kids know their favorite books by heart, so if you stumble a little, they'll be able to help you.
If you enjoy this method of improving your English, and you find yourself to be pretty good at it, then try reading a few Dr. Seuss books. The rhyming will challenge you, but once you master it, your pronunciation of English, and your delivery will have been considerably refined and improved.
5. Take a service job like waiter or waitress; bartender, or sales person.
This type of job can be done if you have a decent vocabulary of verbs, and know how to say "I, we, she, he, they", etc. The only other thing necessary is a working vocabulary of things relevant to your specific tasks and goals.
For example, as a breakfast waitress, you want to be able to ask if they want their eggs, "scrambled or fried", if they want "more coffee", if everything is "alright", do they want "anything else", and the total of their bill in their own language!
If you sell real estate, you'll want to incorporate words like "mortgage, loan, co-sign, 30 year fixed", etc.
If you sell shoes, you need words like "how does that feel", are they "too tight, too loose, to short in the toe, to big", etc.
The longer you work at your job, the more your working vocabulary will improve.
6. Learn these two sentences and you'll be set for life . . . seriously!
"How do you say (blank)", in English (Spanish, French, etc.), and "What is that called?" (Point if you have to, and smile too). Smiling is a universal language. Once I learned how to ask these two questions, I was on my way to being conversant in the language of my choice!
I could use my limited vocabulary to ask the question and then when I got my answer I would repeat it a few times to make sure I was saying it correctly, and "BAM" I had a new vocabulary word. And, because I asked my question to the best of my ability in the native tongue, the natives realized my sincere desire to learn, and helped me!
7. What happens if you make a mistake?
Nothing. The world won't come to an end, and you haven't embarrassed yourself to the point where you can't show your face again. Just apologize if that's what's called for, or laugh at yourself, make the correction, and count it as a learning experience.
Once I was in a restaurant and I wanted to ask the waiter for a "to go" box, however, I was speaking to my kids in English, and trying to think of what I wanted to ask for in Spanish, and I promptly and incorrectly asked him for a "house to go". He looked at me kind of funny, but he was very courteous, and didn't laugh until I laughed.
I've committed other language faux pas as well over the years, all of which have been a learning experience, and if given enough time, will become a humorous story as well.
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/education/article_1456.shtml
Learn To Speak French Free
by: Jane Morgan
I have put together a collection of words and phrases that will help you learn basic French words. Once you have committed these simple phrases to memory you'll be able to have you very first French conversation!
Part 1 -
These are the first French words you will need to learn. They are very basic and easy to remember. Once you have mastered these then you can move onto section 2.
Yes = Oui
No = Non
Please = S'il vous plaît
Thank you = Merci
You’re welcome = De rien
Part 2 -
Start with part 1 – if you can't understand what someone is saying, simply use these phrases to help get you out of this sticky situation.
Part 1 -
Excuse Me = Excusez-moi
Sorry = Desolé/Pardon
I don’t understand = Je ne comprends pas
Here are some basic questions that will help you whilst you are out and about vacationing in France. Once you have committed these phrases to memory move onto section 3.
Part 2 -
Do you speak English? = Parlez-vous anglais?
Aidez moi, s’il vous plaît = Can you help me please?
Combien ca coûte? = How much is it?
Part 3 -
Here are the some essential words that will help you meet and great new people in French.
Hello = Salut
Glad To Meet You = Enchanté
Good Morning/Good day = Bon jour
Good Evening = Bon soir
Goodbye = Au revoir
My name is = Je m'appelle
Here are two great tips to help you learn basic French words and improve your vocabulary.
1 – Make your very own vocabulary book. Every time you learn new word, simply add it to your book. Be sure to keep it with, and you will have your very own tailor made phrase book.
2 – Make some flash cards. Write the French word of phrase on one side of the card and the English translation on the other. Flip the cards and test your French knowledge.
You see, its easy to learn basic French words when you know how. I hope my handy words and phrases and top tips have helped to get you on the right track.
I have put together a collection of words and phrases that will help you learn basic French words. Once you have committed these simple phrases to memory you'll be able to have you very first French conversation!
Part 1 -
These are the first French words you will need to learn. They are very basic and easy to remember. Once you have mastered these then you can move onto section 2.
Yes = Oui
No = Non
Please = S'il vous plaît
Thank you = Merci
You’re welcome = De rien
Part 2 -
Start with part 1 – if you can't understand what someone is saying, simply use these phrases to help get you out of this sticky situation.
Part 1 -
Excuse Me = Excusez-moi
Sorry = Desolé/Pardon
I don’t understand = Je ne comprends pas
Here are some basic questions that will help you whilst you are out and about vacationing in France. Once you have committed these phrases to memory move onto section 3.
Part 2 -
Do you speak English? = Parlez-vous anglais?
Aidez moi, s’il vous plaît = Can you help me please?
Combien ca coûte? = How much is it?
Part 3 -
Here are the some essential words that will help you meet and great new people in French.
Hello = Salut
Glad To Meet You = Enchanté
Good Morning/Good day = Bon jour
Good Evening = Bon soir
Goodbye = Au revoir
My name is = Je m'appelle
Here are two great tips to help you learn basic French words and improve your vocabulary.
1 – Make your very own vocabulary book. Every time you learn new word, simply add it to your book. Be sure to keep it with, and you will have your very own tailor made phrase book.
2 – Make some flash cards. Write the French word of phrase on one side of the card and the English translation on the other. Flip the cards and test your French knowledge.
You see, its easy to learn basic French words when you know how. I hope my handy words and phrases and top tips have helped to get you on the right track.
Free and Easy Basic French
by: Jane Morgan
I have put together a collection of words and phrases that will help you learn basic French words. Once you have committed these simple phrases to memory you'll be able to have you very first French conversation!
Part 1 -
These are the first French words you will need to learn. They are very basic and easy to remember. Once you have mastered these then you can move onto section 2.
Yes = Oui
No = Non
Please = S'il vous plaît
Thank you = Merci
You’re welcome = De rien
Part 2 -
Start with part 1 – if you can't understand what someone is saying, simply use these phrases to help get you out of this sticky situation.
Part 1 -
Excuse Me = Excusez-moi
Sorry = Desolé/Pardon
I don’t understand = Je ne comprends pas
Here are some basic questions that will help you whilst you are out and about vacationing in France. Once you have committed these phrases to memory move onto section 3.
Part 2 -
Do you speak English? = Parlez-vous anglais?
Aidez moi, s’il vous plaît = Can you help me please?
Combien ca coûte? = How much is it?
Part 3 -
Here are the some essential words that will help you meet and great new people in French.
Hello = Salut
Glad To Meet You = Enchanté
Good Morning/Good day = Bon jour
Good Evening = Bon soir
Goodbye = Au revoir
My name is = Je m'appelle
Here are two great tips to help you learn basic French words and improve your vocabulary.
1 – Make your very own vocabulary book. Every time you learn new word, simply add it to your book. Be sure to keep it with, and you will have your very own tailor made phrase book.
2 – Make some flash cards. Write the French word of phrase on one side of the card and the English translation on the other. Flip the cards and test your French knowledge.
You see, its easy to learn basic French words when you know how. I hope my handy words and phrases and top tips have helped to get you on the right track.
I have put together a collection of words and phrases that will help you learn basic French words. Once you have committed these simple phrases to memory you'll be able to have you very first French conversation!
Part 1 -
These are the first French words you will need to learn. They are very basic and easy to remember. Once you have mastered these then you can move onto section 2.
Yes = Oui
No = Non
Please = S'il vous plaît
Thank you = Merci
You’re welcome = De rien
Part 2 -
Start with part 1 – if you can't understand what someone is saying, simply use these phrases to help get you out of this sticky situation.
Part 1 -
Excuse Me = Excusez-moi
Sorry = Desolé/Pardon
I don’t understand = Je ne comprends pas
Here are some basic questions that will help you whilst you are out and about vacationing in France. Once you have committed these phrases to memory move onto section 3.
Part 2 -
Do you speak English? = Parlez-vous anglais?
Aidez moi, s’il vous plaît = Can you help me please?
Combien ca coûte? = How much is it?
Part 3 -
Here are the some essential words that will help you meet and great new people in French.
Hello = Salut
Glad To Meet You = Enchanté
Good Morning/Good day = Bon jour
Good Evening = Bon soir
Goodbye = Au revoir
My name is = Je m'appelle
Here are two great tips to help you learn basic French words and improve your vocabulary.
1 – Make your very own vocabulary book. Every time you learn new word, simply add it to your book. Be sure to keep it with, and you will have your very own tailor made phrase book.
2 – Make some flash cards. Write the French word of phrase on one side of the card and the English translation on the other. Flip the cards and test your French knowledge.
You see, its easy to learn basic French words when you know how. I hope my handy words and phrases and top tips have helped to get you on the right track.
| |
Customer Service Is Dead In Britain!
by: Mark A Robinson
A Working Man's View
So What? Who cares? What is Customer Service? What are the repercussions? What does it represent? Who are the culprits? What can be done about it?
Dear Reader,
I've had enough. After being brought to the point of anger where profanity would've been my next utterance, I've decided to 'vent my spleen' in this article, highlighting the cause & effect the breakdown of quality customer service is having on our society.
I'm sure if you've ever had a bad experience with customer service, you will appreciate some of the points and suggestions I make in this article. Before I begin, let us first establish what is 'good' & 'bad' customer service.
WHAT IS GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE?
To be greeted politely with eye contact & a pleasant countenance;
To be spoken to with a clear, even, tone.
Always ready to listen than assume;
Always prepared to provide assistance.
Ensuring the customer is never kept waiting unnecessarily.
Ensuring your attitude is geared to assistance & understanding;
Providing unknown but helpful advice to the customer;
Delivering/responding on time.
WHAT IS BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE?
Intolerably long queues/idle staff;
Calls not answered within 2 minutes.
To be put on hold for more than 3-5 minutes;
Following call-scripts instead of listening to the customer's problem;
Late or no arrival of delivery with no explanation;
Unexplained & unwarranted blocks on credit/debit cards;
Unjustified high service charges or penalties by financial institutions;
Misinformation causing expense to customer;
Poor workmanship;
Sour, cynical, unhelpful attitudes;
Overcharging/hidden charges;
Withholding useful/valuable information;
Inadequately trained staff.
WHO ARE THE MAIN CULPRITS?
Mainly Banks, Supermarkets, Home Shopping Centres, Mobile Phone Companies, Mechanics, Fast Food outlets, Service engineers - plumbers, gas fitters etc.
Virtually any large institution is, but not exclusively, a culprit of bad service.
WHO CARES?
We are in a time where a majority of people are in debt and we are in debt to the very major institutions that provide poor service.
If I'm going to spend my hard earned money with you and possibly add to my debt, the very least I can expect is to get what I pay for without fuss, rudeness and with value for money. It's as if these institutions think "you or someone else is going to spend your money with us anyway, so why should we bother about customer service? - You'll be back!"
Banks, Home Shopping Centres et al
We all lead busy lives where time is of the essence, yet the queues in Banks etc. get longer & longer. It is not unusual now for someone to spend 45 minutes of their lunch hour waiting to be served in a bank.
There have been numerous times when I've had to ask a member of staff to open another till to alleviate the queuing - why couldn't they do this of their own accord? Why did it need me to point out the obvious? This is indicative of the attitude business has towards their customers.
By the way, you are legitimately allowed to ask a member of staff or management at any venue or outlet to open another till & start serving customers if it's obvious the queues are too much for the member/members of staff currently serving.
WHY ARE THEY GETTING AWAY WITH THIS?
We are in a time where government is increasingly forcing us to 'accept our lot' in life; 'SHUT UP, BE HAPPY'!
(To prove my point I could expand here into 'Game Theory', 'Negative Freedom' and our budding totalitarian state, but I'll leave that for a future article!).
Add to this the 'sheep' & 'don't make waves' mentality of the British and you have a nation that is ripe for arrogant, sloppy business practices. >If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.
The irony is that under the present political climate it is assumed by government and the captains of industry that what we buy is a true representation of our wants & needs and therefore a true representation of democracy.
Yet we fail to see the power that belief gives us, the consumer. No matter how much small print and word trickery is invested into an organisation's Terms & Conditions, we are still protected under Consumer Law which has been strengthened considerably over the past decade.
HOW DID THESE PRACTICES SEEP INTO OUR NATION?
I would like to suggest a number of possible factors:
One factor is the Americanisation of Britain - our government taking existing American policies and tailoring them to suit the British economy - that was started under the Thatcher era, and continued with fervour under the Blair government.
Anyone who's visited the West Coast of America frequently like I have will know that 'service with a smile' is not a standard approach, be it from a public servant or an average serving citizen. The "Time Is Money" principle is applied with fervour.
A second factor is the practice of globalisation. We are in a world where foreign companies can own any company in any country, even if it's considered to be a major culturally important institution of that country.
Successive British governments from the Thatcher era onwards have made it clear that anyone willing to invest is welcome & ensure our virtually non-existent union laws make this country a viable prospect.
Add to this the fact that a company residing in Britain may have a telephony service in India and a production factory in South-East Asia, and you can see how loyalty to an ideal can be become a passing thought.
A third factor is technology. The advent of automated lines, email & text communications, in addition to internet shopping, is creating a nation where person-to-person communication is rarely practised, therefore there is less patience when performing the art of speech. Pitch, Inflection, Courtesy, Tone, Understanding, Rate & Enunciability are fast becoming a quaint approach to communicating.
A fourth factor is immigration. With a large influx of people from all over the globe, the importance of good customer service in this nation needs to be highlighted when you have people from Australia to Zaire whom haven't been raised with the British shopkeeper mentality & may have been brought up to believe that getting the job done is good enough. It isn't.
A fifth factor is staff consideration - which may range from poor pay to poor working practices to poor working environment. Good pay is not enough to motivate staff; almost every employee survey carried out on job satisfaction puts pay 3rd as the most important requirement for an employee.
Giving an employee a sense of worth goes a long way to a happy workforce - although this needs to come from the employee as well; if money is the only motivation to work and nothing else, make sure you never deal with customers. Go and work on a production line somewhere - we don't have to deal with your lack of ambition or self-worth.
Taking pride in whatever you do goes a long way to affecting your approach to a task.
HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE IN BRITAIN?
Policies can direct and shape a culture.
Policies shape the decisions of what products will or will not be available; how they will be available; how much they cost. These in turn will shape our buying and shopping habits.
This in turn will help to shape attitudes and practices throughout society.
Modern day communications have made vast savings for big business; the trade off of unhappy customers as a result seems to be worthwhile in their eyes.
Britains reputation and culture was built on its customer service. The nation continues to trade on that reputation from being the first called to provide UN relief to being the first contacted to train police forces of the developing nations. The British workforce used to think it a grave slight on their character if they were accused of bad service. Now, in the event of a complaint, the manager pretends indignation in front of the customer and ridicules their 'pettiness' behind their back. "The Customer Is Always Right" is from a bygone age.
WHAT ARE THE REPERCUSSIONS?
The repercussions are already being felt.
The increase in these no-win, no-fee companies is a testament to that.
The second stage is the unpleasant aspect of public servants being attacked, verbally or otherwise. Indeed, were the figures for physical assault on public servants and shop assistants to be measured over the past 20 years, I'm guessing they would show a sharp increase.
The third stage - which has already begun - is when customers start taking individual action in small claims courts when they are not happy with the conclusion of a complaint to a Customer Services Dept. Increased, continuous litigation on big business cannot be a good thing for a company in terms of cost and man hours.
WHAT CAN BUSINESSES DO?
Branch Services
-Any organisation that makes sure customers are not queuing for more than 5 minutes per customer will see their volume of visits triple.
-Make sure there are never more than 5 customers per till person.
-Make sure that whatever your staffs is doing - no matter how important & time sensitive they think it is - as soon as a long queue has developed, get them on the tills or assisting to clear the queue.
-Even if customers are still queuing for some time, they will appreciate the attempt and the importance you place on their custom.
-If there are processes & procedures that have to be performed throughout a business day, there should be a flexible contingency method that enables the staff member to help clear long queues then get back to their procedural matters or conclude them in a quiet period.
-Any branch of any business that takes the above stance will see their volume of customers increase.
Telephony Services
-Ensure the option to talk to an actual person is on the 1st list of menu options offered.
-Teach your staff to actually listen to the problem.
-Teach your staff not to be menu-driven when giving support.
-Ensure the Reduction of waiting times is a constant priority.
-Design the menu options you offer from the customer's point of view.
WHAT CAN CUSTOMERS DO?
Vote with your feet!
&
COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN!
When making a telephone call, have a piece of paper and pen ready.
Always seek the name & job title of the person you're speaking to and write it down.
Ask to speak to/see the manager or senior member to make a verbal complaint.
If that fails, seek the name of their customer services manager - they have to give to you.
Seek the address of the customer services department for complaints - it may be different than their standard customer service dept.
Find out the email address of the person or department you need to speak to.
Write to the relevant person. In these instances the pen is truly mightier than the sword.
Send letters recorded delivery. Someone has to sign for it.
Organisations still have to reply to a written letter by law.
Go to http://www.parkingletters.co.uk
click on "Useful Links" and you will see links and information on a number of organisations who provide invaluable help in this area.
WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SEE?
The Present
Customers to respond to bad service with their feet. Don't go back.
If it's a chain store, don't visit that branch; better still, the whole chain.
If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.
The Future?
-A website database where a customer enters the place of business, the person who served them, their own name and a contact no.
-A list of the good and bad accessible to all.
-Management of respective business presented with a daily/weekly/monthly list of complaints to resolve. Their response monitored.
-Highlight bad/good Company of the week/month.
-Arrange boycott of bad company/branch through their respective local press. Promote good company/branch.
BIG BUSINESS BEWARE,
WE THE CONSUMER HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!
A Working Man's View
So What? Who cares? What is Customer Service? What are the repercussions? What does it represent? Who are the culprits? What can be done about it?
Dear Reader,
I've had enough. After being brought to the point of anger where profanity would've been my next utterance, I've decided to 'vent my spleen' in this article, highlighting the cause & effect the breakdown of quality customer service is having on our society.
I'm sure if you've ever had a bad experience with customer service, you will appreciate some of the points and suggestions I make in this article. Before I begin, let us first establish what is 'good' & 'bad' customer service.
WHAT IS GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE?
To be greeted politely with eye contact & a pleasant countenance;
To be spoken to with a clear, even, tone.
Always ready to listen than assume;
Always prepared to provide assistance.
Ensuring the customer is never kept waiting unnecessarily.
Ensuring your attitude is geared to assistance & understanding;
Providing unknown but helpful advice to the customer;
Delivering/responding on time.
WHAT IS BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE?
Intolerably long queues/idle staff;
Calls not answered within 2 minutes.
To be put on hold for more than 3-5 minutes;
Following call-scripts instead of listening to the customer's problem;
Late or no arrival of delivery with no explanation;
Unexplained & unwarranted blocks on credit/debit cards;
Unjustified high service charges or penalties by financial institutions;
Misinformation causing expense to customer;
Poor workmanship;
Sour, cynical, unhelpful attitudes;
Overcharging/hidden charges;
Withholding useful/valuable information;
Inadequately trained staff.
WHO ARE THE MAIN CULPRITS?
Mainly Banks, Supermarkets, Home Shopping Centres, Mobile Phone Companies, Mechanics, Fast Food outlets, Service engineers - plumbers, gas fitters etc.
Virtually any large institution is, but not exclusively, a culprit of bad service.
WHO CARES?
We are in a time where a majority of people are in debt and we are in debt to the very major institutions that provide poor service.
If I'm going to spend my hard earned money with you and possibly add to my debt, the very least I can expect is to get what I pay for without fuss, rudeness and with value for money. It's as if these institutions think "you or someone else is going to spend your money with us anyway, so why should we bother about customer service? - You'll be back!"
Banks, Home Shopping Centres et al
We all lead busy lives where time is of the essence, yet the queues in Banks etc. get longer & longer. It is not unusual now for someone to spend 45 minutes of their lunch hour waiting to be served in a bank.
There have been numerous times when I've had to ask a member of staff to open another till to alleviate the queuing - why couldn't they do this of their own accord? Why did it need me to point out the obvious? This is indicative of the attitude business has towards their customers.
By the way, you are legitimately allowed to ask a member of staff or management at any venue or outlet to open another till & start serving customers if it's obvious the queues are too much for the member/members of staff currently serving.
WHY ARE THEY GETTING AWAY WITH THIS?
We are in a time where government is increasingly forcing us to 'accept our lot' in life; 'SHUT UP, BE HAPPY'!
(To prove my point I could expand here into 'Game Theory', 'Negative Freedom' and our budding totalitarian state, but I'll leave that for a future article!).
Add to this the 'sheep' & 'don't make waves' mentality of the British and you have a nation that is ripe for arrogant, sloppy business practices. >If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.
The irony is that under the present political climate it is assumed by government and the captains of industry that what we buy is a true representation of our wants & needs and therefore a true representation of democracy.
Yet we fail to see the power that belief gives us, the consumer. No matter how much small print and word trickery is invested into an organisation's Terms & Conditions, we are still protected under Consumer Law which has been strengthened considerably over the past decade.
HOW DID THESE PRACTICES SEEP INTO OUR NATION?
I would like to suggest a number of possible factors:
One factor is the Americanisation of Britain - our government taking existing American policies and tailoring them to suit the British economy - that was started under the Thatcher era, and continued with fervour under the Blair government.
Anyone who's visited the West Coast of America frequently like I have will know that 'service with a smile' is not a standard approach, be it from a public servant or an average serving citizen. The "Time Is Money" principle is applied with fervour.
A second factor is the practice of globalisation. We are in a world where foreign companies can own any company in any country, even if it's considered to be a major culturally important institution of that country.
Successive British governments from the Thatcher era onwards have made it clear that anyone willing to invest is welcome & ensure our virtually non-existent union laws make this country a viable prospect.
Add to this the fact that a company residing in Britain may have a telephony service in India and a production factory in South-East Asia, and you can see how loyalty to an ideal can be become a passing thought.
A third factor is technology. The advent of automated lines, email & text communications, in addition to internet shopping, is creating a nation where person-to-person communication is rarely practised, therefore there is less patience when performing the art of speech. Pitch, Inflection, Courtesy, Tone, Understanding, Rate & Enunciability are fast becoming a quaint approach to communicating.
A fourth factor is immigration. With a large influx of people from all over the globe, the importance of good customer service in this nation needs to be highlighted when you have people from Australia to Zaire whom haven't been raised with the British shopkeeper mentality & may have been brought up to believe that getting the job done is good enough. It isn't.
A fifth factor is staff consideration - which may range from poor pay to poor working practices to poor working environment. Good pay is not enough to motivate staff; almost every employee survey carried out on job satisfaction puts pay 3rd as the most important requirement for an employee.
Giving an employee a sense of worth goes a long way to a happy workforce - although this needs to come from the employee as well; if money is the only motivation to work and nothing else, make sure you never deal with customers. Go and work on a production line somewhere - we don't have to deal with your lack of ambition or self-worth.
Taking pride in whatever you do goes a long way to affecting your approach to a task.
HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT CUSTOMER SERVICE IN BRITAIN?
Policies can direct and shape a culture.
Policies shape the decisions of what products will or will not be available; how they will be available; how much they cost. These in turn will shape our buying and shopping habits.
This in turn will help to shape attitudes and practices throughout society.
Modern day communications have made vast savings for big business; the trade off of unhappy customers as a result seems to be worthwhile in their eyes.
Britains reputation and culture was built on its customer service. The nation continues to trade on that reputation from being the first called to provide UN relief to being the first contacted to train police forces of the developing nations. The British workforce used to think it a grave slight on their character if they were accused of bad service. Now, in the event of a complaint, the manager pretends indignation in front of the customer and ridicules their 'pettiness' behind their back. "The Customer Is Always Right" is from a bygone age.
WHAT ARE THE REPERCUSSIONS?
The repercussions are already being felt.
The increase in these no-win, no-fee companies is a testament to that.
The second stage is the unpleasant aspect of public servants being attacked, verbally or otherwise. Indeed, were the figures for physical assault on public servants and shop assistants to be measured over the past 20 years, I'm guessing they would show a sharp increase.
The third stage - which has already begun - is when customers start taking individual action in small claims courts when they are not happy with the conclusion of a complaint to a Customer Services Dept. Increased, continuous litigation on big business cannot be a good thing for a company in terms of cost and man hours.
WHAT CAN BUSINESSES DO?
Branch Services
-Any organisation that makes sure customers are not queuing for more than 5 minutes per customer will see their volume of visits triple.
-Make sure there are never more than 5 customers per till person.
-Make sure that whatever your staffs is doing - no matter how important & time sensitive they think it is - as soon as a long queue has developed, get them on the tills or assisting to clear the queue.
-Even if customers are still queuing for some time, they will appreciate the attempt and the importance you place on their custom.
-If there are processes & procedures that have to be performed throughout a business day, there should be a flexible contingency method that enables the staff member to help clear long queues then get back to their procedural matters or conclude them in a quiet period.
-Any branch of any business that takes the above stance will see their volume of customers increase.
Telephony Services
-Ensure the option to talk to an actual person is on the 1st list of menu options offered.
-Teach your staff to actually listen to the problem.
-Teach your staff not to be menu-driven when giving support.
-Ensure the Reduction of waiting times is a constant priority.
-Design the menu options you offer from the customer's point of view.
WHAT CAN CUSTOMERS DO?
Vote with your feet!
&
COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN! COMPLAIN!
When making a telephone call, have a piece of paper and pen ready.
Always seek the name & job title of the person you're speaking to and write it down.
Ask to speak to/see the manager or senior member to make a verbal complaint.
If that fails, seek the name of their customer services manager - they have to give to you.
Seek the address of the customer services department for complaints - it may be different than their standard customer service dept.
Find out the email address of the person or department you need to speak to.
Write to the relevant person. In these instances the pen is truly mightier than the sword.
Send letters recorded delivery. Someone has to sign for it.
Organisations still have to reply to a written letter by law.
Go to http://www.parkingletters.co.uk
click on "Useful Links" and you will see links and information on a number of organisations who provide invaluable help in this area.
WHAT WOULD I LIKE TO SEE?
The Present
Customers to respond to bad service with their feet. Don't go back.
If it's a chain store, don't visit that branch; better still, the whole chain.
If we can't be bothered to take action, they don't need to respond.
The Future?
-A website database where a customer enters the place of business, the person who served them, their own name and a contact no.
-A list of the good and bad accessible to all.
-Management of respective business presented with a daily/weekly/monthly list of complaints to resolve. Their response monitored.
-Highlight bad/good Company of the week/month.
-Arrange boycott of bad company/branch through their respective local press. Promote good company/branch.
BIG BUSINESS BEWARE,
WE THE CONSUMER HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!
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