How to ride the social media wave

By: Guy Allon

We have entered the era of the web 2.0 and for those who never really got it, never understood it and decided to ignore it STOP right there!

And stop thinking that way! Embrace this moment because now is the chance for you to emerge in the social media scene. If you miss this opportunity then you'll be kicking yourself for not starting it sooner. This is your opportunity to get in while it's still in its infancy, at ground level.

Social media is the hottest area of web development at the moment. It has the highest valuation and is worth a lot of money.

I have recently listened in to a webinar spoken by Perry Belcher, a cracker of a guy (in British terms it means outstanding ;-)) who runs one of many websites called winning at social media. In it, he talks about how social media transcends everything that media stands for today, including the internet and how major advertisement companies are clawing at ways to make social media work for them since they see it as a giant tidal wave waiting to be unleashed but are still unsure of how to use it.

Perry Blecher went on to say that social media is becoming such a powerful force that as an individual it gives you a greater advantage over a lot of companies out there who are looking to spend a lot of money on it. According to statistics only 16 about you and 20% about what you do. Your house (blog) should convey to your friends the type of person that you are by the pictures that you hang on your walls, the sports gear you store in your closet, the DVD collection you have on your shelves and the type of food you store in your fridge (yummy). In other words share with your audience your interests and passions in life. Humanize yourself and allow your visitors to get to know the real you first and foremost.

Once you establish a rapport with your visitors and they get to know you a whole lot better wait for them to ask you what it is that you do. Then and only then you can begin promoting whatever it is you are looking to promote in the first place. Patience is the key to networking wisely.

So now that you are ready to get socially networking it's time to find out about the next step to riding the social media waves...

To do that please click on the link below to visit my blog and find out more :-)

Having recently set up his own blog, Guy Allon, a film producer by trade, is on a mission to convert those out there who are new to the web 2.0 concept to get their own blogs up and running and onto the path of success. Visit his blog at http://guysword.com

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Choosing A Broadband Provider

Why take the time to compare Broadband Providers? Aren’t all Broadband Providers essentially the same? It is not just those who are new to the Internet who think in this way. You see an advert on the TV for a Broadband Provider who is promising an all singing, all dancing service and think ‘That sounds great… where do I sign up?’.

However, it is essential to know what you are getting before agreeing to a service, so you may be wandering what main points you should look at when doing a comparison…

• Speed: The desire for a fast connection is fuelled by online gaming and services such as Limewire and iTunes. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the actual speeds available to you. Take note that you are far from guaranteed to get the speeds advertised and ‘Up to…’ will become an all too familiar term.

• Reliability: In addition to a fast connection, be sure to consider reliability. A fast connection is essential if you are planning on making use of a service like BBC’s iPlayer, but if your connection isn’t stable it will render the programs unwatchable.

• Download Capacity: Whilst the number of Broadband Providers offering unlimited downloads is growing, this shouldn’t be taken for granted. Many services still have a cap on the amount you can download, and when mixed with a fast connection this can be used up quickly. However, take note that even so called ‘Unlimited’ deals occasionally come with a ‘Fair Use’ policy which prevents excessive downloading.

• Customer Service: Even if you pick out a service which ticks all the boxes, imagine you have a problem regarding the service once it has been installed, and then you are forced to sit in a queue on a premium rate number only to be given the wrong information. Be sure to read customers reviews prior to signing up, and you’ll have a sneak peak at the service you can expect.

Compare broadband, and run a broadband speed test online to ensure you have the cheapest and most efficient broadband on the market.

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Why Firewall Security Is Necessary To Protect Your Network

In your car, the firewall sits between the engine compartment and the front seat and is built to keep you from being burned by the heat of the combustion process. Your computer has a firewall, too, for much the same reason – to keep you and your data from being burned by hackers and thieves who are the unfortunate creators of "Internet combustion" and destruction.

The firewall, a "combo" approach of software that regulates and monitors hardware and communications protocols, is there to inspect network traffic and all the "packets" of information that pass through to your inner sanctum, your CPU and hard drives. A firewall will rule out the possibility of harm, or at least greatly minimize, by noting and quarantining potentially harmful "zones" and will either deny or permit access to your computer based on the current set of rules that applies at the time, depending on many (very many) factors.

Basic tasks and settings

The basic task for a firewall is to regulate of the flow of traffic between different computer networks that have different "trust levels." The Internet is full of countless overlapping zones, some safe and some totally deadly. On the other hand, internal networks are more likely to contain a zone or zones that offer a bit more trust. Zones that are in between the two, or are hard to categorize, are sometimes referred to as "perimeter networks" or, in a bit of geek humor, Demilitarized Zones (DMZ).

Without proper configuration, a firewall can simply become another worthless tool. Standard security practices call for a "default-deny" firewall rule, meaning that the only network connections that are allowed are the ones that have been explicitly okayed, after due investigation. Unfortunately, such a setup requires detailed understanding of network applications and a great deal of time and energy to establish and administer.

Who can do what?

Many businesses and individuals lack sufficient computer and network knowledge to set up a default-deny firewall, and will therefore use a riskier but simpler "default-allow" rule, in which all traffic is permitted unless it has been specifically blocked for one of a number of possible reasons. This way of setting up a firewall makes "mysterious" and unplanned network connections possible, and the chance your system may be compromised becomes much more likely.

Firewall technology had its first growth period in the computer technology revolution of the late 1980s, when the Internet was a fairly new in terms of its global reach and connectivity options. The predecessors to today’s hardware/software hybrid firewalls were the routers used in the mid 1980s to physically separate networks from each other. However small the Internet began, it was ultimately undone by supremely fast growth and the lack of security planning, and therefore there were the inevitable breaches caused by older ("prehistoric") firewall formats. Fortunately, computer pros learn from their errors, and the firewall technology continues improving daily.

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