Nothing can bring the family closer together, creating warm memories that last a lifetime than a wonderful summer vacation. This year, many will forego their annual summer travel under the fire of ludicrous gas prices and air industry difficulty. With the media hammering home in what poor state the economy is in, there may be many families who decide that this year would be best spent at home, enjoying the meager joys their towns have to offer.More

It seems that businesses of every size and from every industry are jumping on the social media bandwagon. They’re blogging, creating Twitter accounts, and expanding their presence on YouTube. Those who engage in social media marketing (SMM) properly are experiencing the benefits of increased brand awareness, improved relationships with their target audience, higher search engine rankings, and so much more. Unfortunately, most companies aren’t “engaging in social media marketing properly.” See, just Tweeting consistently and writing a blog now and then doesn’t constitute an SMM strategy. That’s a blind man’s approach to things. Instead, you need to actually sit down and create a strategy with goals and methods for tracking the success of your SMM campaign. Read More

According to the most recent estimates, there are currently nearly 150 million blogs online. So therefore, there is a blog on every topic imaginable. With such a crowded blogosphere, what can you do to stand out in the crowd? It’s pretty simple: just be a better blogger. And believe it or not, better blogging isn't brain surgery. Here are 7 tips to get you started. 1. Blog as you talk (be yourself!)—Blogging is all about communicating and connecting with your audience. The best way to do this is simply to be yourself. Sure, this advice sounds a little Oprah-esque, but it’s true. See, the only way you can truly be different than the millions of other bloggers is to be yourself. This means blogging like you talk in real life. Give your honest opinions, and never be insincere. Your readers will respect you for it, and you’ll start to find your own way in the crowded blogosphere. 2. Be passionate about your niche—Maintaining a...more