Copyrights...part two

Infringement and Creative Commons

With the invention of the internet a lot of issues have come up around copyright laws. In the past few years there have been a lot of questions about what is and is not covered by copyright. Is anything I post on the internet automatically protected? Can you use any picture you find on the internet for whatever you want?

First off let me say, no, you cannot use anything you find on the internet for your business use. You must check to see if it is covered by a copyright, patent, or trade mark. It is your responsibility to check. If someone else is using an image in violation of a copyright and you also use it, you are still guilty of copyright infringement. So check your source or purchase your images from a reputable source.

With the ongoing arguments and lawsuits over copyright infringement, there are a lot of different ways that peoples works are protected. The first and easiest is a copyright. In part one of this series I explained that when you put something in print, or post it on your website, it is covered by a limited copyright. It is your idea that you have memorialized in print and is protected. Applying for a copyright gives you more protection though.

So, how can you get your work out there without losing your connection to it? Creative Commons license might be your answer. (http://creativecommons.org) There are different levels or types of creative commons license but in general, they let other people use your work as long as they cite and link back to you. You can allow people to modify your work if you want or limit commercial use of it. It is simple and free to use.

Citations: http://creativecommons.org, http://www.youtube.com/t/creative_commons

Other work from home ideas

Not into blogging?

I understand that everyone might not be into blogging or writing constantly. If not, I have added a page to help out. I do a lot of research for this blog and sometimes come across things that are cool but not directly applicable to blogging. I have added a page to post these cool finds. So if you are interested in working from home but not blogging, check out the Other Work from Home Idea's page. 

Copyright laws...part one

The basics:

Did you know that the moment you publish, i.e upload it to the internet or in print, you are covered by copyright laws? A copyrights is automatic when your work is created. It just has to be in a hard copy form, and not just in your head. You have more protection if you register your it officially though. But either way, if someone copies your work off the internet without giving you credit, you have legal recourse.

Minors can hold copyrights also. The only limitation is on selling their copyright as they are not of a legal age to make a contract. So if you are under 18, make sure your parents do any dealings when it comes to buying and selling copyrighted material.

If you are an employee of a company, they hold rights to anything you make on work time or for your employer. What that means is, don't use your work computer to work on your music, program, or any other project. You might lose all rights to it if you do.

What is not covered: names or titles. Anything that has not been “recorded.” Ideas in your head. We have all had them. I great idea that then someone else comes out with a year later. I thought of Amazons Whispersink years ago! But I never did anything with it. Lesson learned.

In the next article I will cover specific copyright concepts like how it effects your YouTube videos or website pictures. 

Citation: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf

Review: ColourLovers: Themeleon

Make your Twitter page look great

If you are using Twitter to promote your business, you have to check out Colourlovers: Themeleon. It is easy to use and has thousands of options. It is also completely customizable. So, even if someone else uses the same background, you can choose the colors that best fit your business. To top it all off, it is completely free. You do have to sign up for the service. I have not received any spam or any emails from them other than a confirmation email. I highly recommend using them as an easy way to distinguish your website from others. They also keep track of what background you use so if you want to rotate between a group of backgrounds, they make it easy.

Distinguish yourself from everyone else in no time at all by using ColourLovers: Themeleon.

http://www.colourlovers.com/themeleon/twitter

The $10 marketing experiment

The beginning

To make a long story short, I have started a new blogging experiment. Every month I am going to spend $10 on advertising. That's it, just 10 bucks. It is looking to be a lot harder than I though, but I guess that is what makes it interesting. I am dedicating a page to this experiment. So check out the experiment on astutely named "$10 marketing experiment" page. 

Twitter for marketing...part 2

Some good etiquette to follow.

I definitely suggest using Twitter to drive more people to your website or blog. It is a great way to reach new people and keep your followers up to date on what you are doing. Start by following people and companies that are similar to what you are doing. I follow Google, android, a programming company, and some other bloggers. Tweet as often as you can but make sure you are writing about things that are relevant or interesting. Don't send a lot of spam tweets out or no one will want to follow you. I started out doing two tweets a day, then adding more as I got rolling. According to Hubspot, 15-25 tweets a day is the “sweet spot.” I find it difficult to have that much relevant or interesting information on a daily basis. But do what is comfortable and works for you.

 Follow people that are following you. Send them a private message thanking them for following you. Ask them to check out your blog or like your Facebook page. You can send them a private message, or what twitter calls a direct message by using the gear icon at the top right of the screen. 

Make sure to tweet every time you put a blog post up. Tweet with a link back to the post to drive more traffic your way. Use a couple relevant hash tags to direct people to your tweets. Tweet a few times throughout the day to catch people who may be in different time zones or on different schedules.

Always check out the Trends screen. It is on the left side of your twitter home screen. This shows you what searches and topics are popular at the moment. If you see something relevant to your topic, tweet about it with the hash tag. It will draw a lot of extra traffic to your twitter feed and your website. 

AdSense... part 1

An introduction to AdSense

If this is the first time you are hearing about AdSense I will give you a quick description of what it is. AdSense is a Google program that runs ads on the side of your blog. It also works on YouTube by running ads before your video plays. The page or YouTube video makes money for people clicking on the ads. There are other similar services but AdSense is one of the largest.

You can only register for AdSense once you have an established blog or YouTube stream. They are looking to see how much content you have and how many followers. AdSense gears its ads to what you are blogging about, so you have to have articles for them to read to decide if there are ads that would be appropriate. I recommend giving it a month or two before applying for AdSense. It is free so there is no loss if they deny you. Try again in another month.

Another thing to know about AdSense is that the rules for using it are strictly enforced, so it is a good idea to read them and know them. Two important things to know are: is that you can't click on your own ads. AdSense will also revoke their services if you violate copyright laws. It is in your best interest to know the laws so that you do not accidentally violate them. Work hard to get people to your blog or to watch your videos and you will see AdSense work for you. 

Twitter for Marketing...part 1

A quick introduction:

I held out on Twitter until just recently. I was annoyed with all the news about which celebrity said something inappropriate on twitter. I thought it was all about people saying things I didn't really care about. But since starting this blog and its associated Twitter account I am learning that it is a lot more than that. I am also learning how Twitter works in regards to advertising and getting more page views. If you are new to Twitter there are a few things you need to know to make Twitter work for you.

The first is hash tags. You have likely already seen a lot of hash tags if you watch TV or roam around the internet. Hash tags look like this: #word . You see them on Facebook or on overlays during your favorite TV shows. Hash tags allow people to search for posts about topics. So if you search #blog on Twitter you will get posts that have to do with blogging. It is a great way for people to be able to find your post if they are interested in your topic. Don’t put more than one or two in your post.

The next is what I look at as reciprocity. There are a lot of people on twitter trying to make a name for themselves. You never know who is going to follow your Twitter feed. If it is a person or business that has something in common with what you tweet about, then follow them also. It gives both of you more visibility. Re-tweet things that you find interesting or relevant

The last is @ tags. If you are talking about someone’s product, website, or concepts, include an @ tag for their Twitter feed. This lets them know that you are talking about them, and if you are reviewing their product, they may ask you to review other products. They may also provide you products to review if you have enough followers. 

Starting a new blog

I won’t start by saying you are going to make a living blogging. I don’t think it is possible if you are not already famous. According to Forbes, 13 million women bloggers make some money from blogging. Many also get free products to review. But how do you do it? The first step is having any idea. That, to me, is the hardest part. Think of something that you like, something that you know about or are interested in. Start coming up with ideas to write about now. Search the internet, search your life and surroundings for things that interest you and might interest others. Next step is to make a blog. It can be easy to make a basic average blog. If you want something different, exciting, and unique, you will need some knowledge the internet, in programming HTML, marketing, and social media. There are different ways to get that done. There are books you can read and do it yourself or you can hire someone. In addition to this blog, I also do blog design and logo design for people starting a new blogging business. See my Get Started Now page for more info.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/larissafaw/2012/04/25/is-blogging-really-a-way-for-women-to-earn-a-living-2/

Finding your niche

There are over 164 million blogs out there. Writers, artists, photographers, moms, dads, kids! Everyone seems to have a blog now a days. Writing a blog is a great way to express yourself, meet like-minded people, and possibly make money. The first step is determining what you want your blog to be about. Look at yourself. What are you about? What do you love and have knowledge in? What do you want to learn about in the process. Writing a blog should be about expanding your readers knowledge as well as your own. Once you have a topic, next you need to find a specialization or niche area of that topic to focus on. The more focused the less like everyone else you will be. there are a lot of photography blogs. Some are about nature, or technique, or lighting. So find a topic, then find the niche that will make you blog stand out.

The first post

This is my first attempt at blogging. I am learning how to do it for a new business idea. I will be adding more and making it more distinct and understandable as soon as possible. If you are actually reading this, thanks.