Afters Cool Society

How to Find The Best Travel Deals Online

Feb 152012

The last thing anyone wants to do when enjoying a vacation is worry about their finances. The internet has made it easier than ever to run price comparisons, discover new options and consult with others. It used to be that booking a complete travel itinerary involved agents, travel companies, hours of discussion and exorbitant fees. Now the entire process can be done yourself in your own home.

Travel search engines like Expedia, Travelocity and Hotwire can aid you in planning your entire vacation, including flights, rental cars, hotels and even activities. By running a search on one of these websites, you can find the cheapest package available. These websites often have promotions as well, which are special deals that are available for a limited time. Using a travel search engine can be the best way to start planning your special vacation.

If you are particular about the airline, hotel or rental car company that you use, you can look at their website directly. Most companies now offer online reservation systems, and many come with discounts. Additionally, you can use these websites to quickly compare different rates to go at different times. The cost of travel items and services vary considerably based on timing, so travel search engines and company websites can help you in determining the best possible time to go.

A final option for the undecided, adventurous traveler is to start checking Deal a Day websites or group coupon websites. These sites often offer travel packages to exotic locales on specific days for extremely low prices. This can be an excellent way to not only decide where you’re taking your vacation, but to discover a place that you had never previously considered visiting.

The best travel deals are found through research, comparisons and patience. It is a good idea to plan your vacations well in advance, and to periodically check on pricing. If you are aiming for a last minute deal, checking the websites consistently may be the only way to catch the perfect deal in time. Travel comparison websites have made it easier than ever to get more travel for your money.

Websites That Help You Find People

Websites No Responses »

Jun 142011

The internet is a great resource to find people. Whether your goal is finding long-lost friends or relatives, performing background research on people, or hooking up with someone new, there are multiple sites that can help. Websites that allow searches for people are broken into four main categories—social networking, professional networking, directory assistance, and dating sites.

Social network sites work well to find people you have lost touch with such as acquaintances and relatives. The most popular social networking sites are Facebook.com and MySpace.com. Facebook requires a free user account to search for people. Myspace allows search of its database of users without opening an account. The amount of information available on any person is controlled by the account holder’s privacy settings. Both sites allow searchers to send messages to other users. Classmates.com is one of the older social networking sites and is useful if the high school or college of the person being sought is known. The site provides basic information for free, and has all-access memberships to view full information on members. All the social networking sites require people to set up a profile, so only people who have joined these sites can be found in these forums.

Professional networking sites are similar to social networking sites, but information is similar to a job resume. User accounts typically list current and previous job titles and responsibilities, companies worked for, and references from current and former colleagues. LinkedIn.com is the largest professional site. It is searchable without creating a user account; however there is more flexibility in searching for people if you have an account. It is an invaluable tool to find contacts within companies when looking for a new job or career change.

Directory assistance sites offer general information about people such as home address and telephone number. Many sites also offer information such as age range, gender, and other household members names. You can search across the country if you don’t know a particular city or state to limit your search to. Whitepages.com and Peoplefinder.com offer basic information similar to the phone book white pages, as well as approximate age. A search on these sites will also bring up hits from web pages such as Peoplesmart.com and Mylife.com that offer detailed information for a modest fee. Peoplesmart.com offers several payment schemes to access information.

Spokeo.com is another information site that can be used to find people and learn more about them. This an easy website to use. Just plug in their contact information and it provides a vast amount of information for free. Name, address and phone number are available, along with social networks the target belongs to; approximate credit score, home value and net worth; and often a street level view of the physical home address. Additional information can be gained for a nominal fee. It is one of the best sites for do-it-yourself investigators.

Dating websites are popular for meeting new people, and there are as many sites as types of people. Popular sites include eHarmony.com, which matches clients based on compatibility of answers to a lengthy questionnaire, Match.com, and Chemistry.com. Newer sites such as Zoosk.com cater to a younger demographic.

A final way to find people is to use website search engines such as Google.com or Yahoo.com. Searching a person’s name will often bring up more information than can be found on any of the websites already mentioned. Searches can return hits from a variety of sources that can ultimately lead to finding someone. No matter what the reason for needing to find someone, the internet has made finding people easier than ever and there are a multitude of websites ready to help end your search.

Increasing Website Traffic with Promotional Items

Websites No Responses »

May 082011

Advertising can be challenging and expensive. Pricing for prime time television and radio spots can be very high; magazine and newspaper ads can also cost a lot of money. The down-side of this is that unless these advertisements are repeatedly seen or heard by the consumer, then can easily be forgotten. This means that more and more money must be spent on advertising.

There are better and less expensive ways to keep a business or product fresh in the minds of customers. Novelty items that have the business name, telephone number and web address imprinted on them are far more effective in generating a “buzz” about goods or services.

Almost everyone has at least one or two commonly used items that were free and that have advertising of some sort on them. From coffee mugs to bookmarks to bracelets and t-shirts, advertising is everywhere.

Promotional items can be very inexpensive and serve many purposes. The foremost of these functions is making and keeping the public aware of a business. For a current customer, having a trinket with their favorite merchant’s name on it also increases their loyalty. Every time a person uses their promotional item, it is possible that someone else will see it. This results in people to talking to each other about the business, which can become a vital source of new business and repeat business. Most importantly, these promotional items will be around for a long time to come.

People tend to hang on to little things, especially if they are novel or useful. Everyone loves to get things for free and no one seems to really mind being a vehicle for advertising. This is especially true when they have a positive feeling about the business. It makes sense then, for companies who wish to promote their websites to use this knowledge to their advantage by giving out promotional items with their web address on them. An analytics tool such as kissmetrics should also be installed on the website.

“Freebies” can range from the simple and fun, such as a key chain, sticker, magnet or pencil, to the useful, such as tote bags and lunch boxes. High-end promotional items can also be used, such as unique miniature electronic devices and jewelry. No matter what form the promotional product takes, they all serve the same purpose. They are a constant source of advertising; a reminder to purchase a certain product or service, or to visit a website.

The likelihood that a person will visit a website that is advertised on a promotional key chain or pen is good but it can be even better under certain circumstances. Take, for example, the promotional lanyard or bookmark with business information and a call to action. This “call to action” can take the form of a message to the customer about an opportunity to save money or to “win” something. If this is the case, most people will usually be eager to participate.

For instance, say a promotional lanyard told a customer that if they visited a particular website every Friday they could enter a contest. Most people love a little fun and know they can jump onto a website and make a contest entry in just a few seconds. A business could use this opportunity to promote a product.

Not only are people likely to visit a website more as a result of a call to action on a promotional item, they are also more likely to tell others. These people in turn will probably also visit the website and can then tell other people. The possibilities for free advertising are limitless with a relatively small investment when promotional items are used to drive traffic to a website!

How To Save Money As A Starving Artist

Saving Money No Responses »

Apr 212011

Being an artist is tough. People often do not want to pay much for art from painters, writers, photographers and other artists that they have never heard of before. No matter how talented an artist is, it takes some time for them to make it so that they have a big enough name to command the money that it takes to pay the rent on art alone. If you are looking for ways to save money so that you can get by while you stay true to your art, the following are a few ideas.

1. Do Not Live Alone
You may not want to live with roommates that you do not know, but you might have to do it to save a lot of money. Renting out a space with someone else can literally cut your rent in half. You can look on rental websites and college websites for people who are looking for random roommates.

2. Learn To Make Your Own Food
Eating at restaurants is one of the things that really can ruin a budget. You have to pay so much money to have someone else serve you. The food might be good, but you will save money if you learn how to make it yourself. The cost of the labor is what you are paying for at a restaurant, not the cost of the food.

3. Protect Your Health
While you are trying to save money, you might forget to worry about your health. For example, if you do not eat well, you will risk getting sick more easily. While it may seem contradictory, get health insurance, but make sure you choose the right insurance. Most people who are trying to save money end up in financial trouble whenever they get hurt. You have to get the coverage that’s right for ou.

4. Look For Sales When You Shop
When you are buying this food, buy whatever is on sale. Do not worry about getting things that are made by the big companies. Do not worry about buying all of the expensive items that you might crave. Buy the simple items that will fill you up and that are on sale.

5. Do Not Go Out Too Often
Living in a city like New York might make you feel like you need to go out all of the time and join in with the nightlife, but this is not a good idea if you want to save money. You will pay as much for two drinks at the bar as you would pay for a whole case that you could bring home with you. One key strategy in budgeting is to reduce your costs. If you want to party with your friends, invite them over to your house.

6. Consider Low-Income housing
If you cannot find a roommates, you should contact the New York City Housing Authority and ask them about the low-income housing options that they have. Big cities usually have a lot of different choices. You will need to be able to prove that you are not making much money since those who make under a certain amount are allowed to live in these places.

7. Do Not Buy A Car
Making car payments is expensive. Fuel is only going up in price. Parking in the city is ridiculous. Insurance premiums are going up. These are all reasons that you should use the public transportation instead of your own car.

8. Get A Day Job
This is not really a way to save, but you might find that saving is not enough. If you get a job that is unrelated to art, you will be able to make ends meet while you do art on the side. Many artists do not want to do this, but you should if you have to choose between getting a job and buying food.

In the end, there are ways to survive while you pursue your art. You just might have to be ready to cut the extras out of your life. If you can do this, you can push through these tough financial times.

How To Promote Your Artwork Offline

Art No Responses »

Mar 142011

An artist needs to be able to earn a living just as anyone else, trading their effort and boundless creativity for material gains, reaffirming the time and effort spent. Today, there are ever-increasing online resources that an artist can use in order to draw interest – professional networking sites, eBay, amazon.com, all of these and more serve as a base from which to expand awareness of your work. However, online presentation and promotion means little if the art doesn’t have publicity to draw interested buyers. Offline marketing helps to solidify the image of the artist, and strengthens their digital marketing base. What are some methods to bring your work into the public eye?

1. Community Events
Does your city or surrounding community have annual events? Festivals, fairs, a Farmer’s Market-type area for a variety of products? Perhaps a day or a week promoting your art at a stand or exhibition will make visitors and areas of the community aware of the work that is available. These provide a wide range of coverage for awareness of your work – a larger event may draw people from other cities and even other parts of the country, and most other events are guaranteed to draw people just passing through town that stopped to see the sights.

2. Publish a Newsletter
A newsletter is created by the artist, allowing for the opportunity to target an audience with little direct effort. They can be handed out at events, inserted into larger community newsletters or brochures, and left in stores and shops to be picked up from the counter (provided you have permission to first). It may even be a good idea to collaborate with other community members with their own individual small-business’s, creating a newsletter that promotes a number of people. You need not view them as rivals for business – a selection of artists that work in different mediums and materials than yours, or a selection of people that own things like art supply stores could draw more attention collectively than a single sheet about one small business.

3. Specialized Events
Non-profit organizations are often looking for guest speakers to visit membership events and meetings. There is an audience all ready to listen, and you have complete control over what promotional conversation you wish to express about your work. This may be an area where practice can refine your presentation – the more times you do it, the easier it becomes the next time.

4. Published Coverage
Magazines, newspapers, and larger community newsletters are often looking for interesting content to write about – and not just at the local level. If you actually write an article that includes coverage of your art, be extremely careful to not write blatantly self-serving coverage, or downplay other artistic talent if the article covers more than one person. The other way to see your work promoted through this medium is by interview, and it is perfectly acceptable to request to be interviewed. The worst anyone can say is “no”. Then try another time, or visit a different publishing source.

5. Trade/Networking Organization
There might be a community of fellow artists in your community or city that holds events together, or professional organizations that are in the business of art trade. Anywhere within the range of casual to professional face-to-face social networking is a great opportunity for support and promotion.

These five examples are far from the only offline options available for an artist to generate awareness of their work out there. Try variations, combine methods, be creative. Done effectively and consistently, the offline awareness is an invaluable tool.

How to Find Fellow Artists in Your Community

Art No Responses »

Feb 072011

Whether you are an aspiring or advanced artist, who is relocating or visiting a place that you have never been before, a potential goal on your “to do list”, might be to locate other artists who are living in the area. Now this may not be as important an issue for one artist as it is for another, because everybody’s situation is different. For one this may be a full time job and the individual is dependent on his or her artwork as a main source of income, while for another it is not, but just a hobby.

In either case, moving to a new area brings with it unfamiliarity to the person who will be ready to exhibit his or her works in the public domain and are interested in knowing where the local art galleries are located, the schedule of art festivals, and above all the art clubs that are available and their membership rolls. To help make the task less burdensome, listed below are a few ideas that will lead to a successful search for a fellow artist:

Advertising

While for an artist being a stranger in a new area is hard enough, having to locate its different activities where the artist is concern can be an even more challenge. There are several options to advertising your interest in finding other artists in the area including:

• Chamber of Commerce. Every town has some type of Chamber of Commerce that is the vein of the town. This is where all the information about new businesses, schedule of activities, and any other important info that pertains to the city’s happenings are found. A visit here will result in a handful of brochures that will get you started in the right direction.

• Word of mouth. Take a ride or walk around the downtown area, if it is a small place, or in your local neighborhood, for example, at a restaurant; learn and inquire about where the art centers or galleries are located, along with names of some of the local well-known artists. The best form of advertisement has always been your mouths. Use it!

• Ad in the local newspaper. You could never go wrong with placing an ad in the newspaper, and with most at no cost. Introduce yourself to the community and inform them that you are new to the area or just visiting and would like to know about other artists in the region. A good section to place this in would be the local classifieds section. If you are not shy about leaving contact info, list a telephone number, email address, or any other type of information where the individual(s) can respond to the advertisement.

• Brochures and business cards. You are an artist. Create a unique brochure about yourself, as well as business cards, describing what it is that you actually do and pass them out. There are businesses that do not mind you leaving them at their establishments, where they will place them on their front counters for customers to view and to pick up if they are interested.

• Local Art clubs. Every town has some type of art club. Find one that best suits you and join it. This is where most of your well-known and not so well-known local artists are found. They usually have meetings on a monthly basis to discuss art exhibitions and other pertinent information of the art club. Some have membership fees, while others allow members to work voluntarily a set number of days per week in the art gallery to help relieve the necessity of having to pay someone else to do it. In addition, you have the opportunity to display as well as sell your artwork in the process.

Finding others who are in your line of work is not as hard as one may think it is, especially as an artist. Although this article was written with artists in mind who find themselves in a new environment seeking other artists, this information can be applicable to any artist in any situation who is looking to do the same. With just a little ingenuity, time and patience, it can be done.

How Make Your Own Video

Video No Responses »

Jan 022011

One of the best ways to promote a movie is online. Video has the potential to go viral like nothing else on the Internet. People will visit video-sharing websites just looking for something to watch that might be entertaining. When they find it, they have the opportunity to pass it around to all of their friends. If the video appears to all the friends like something that is worthy of the praise it has received, they also can choose to spread it around. The video has just gone viral.
In order to be the next Internet sensation, movie makers must know how to create a film for online viewing. The first thing to do is to decide whether the film will be a love story, a science fiction film or a drama of some sort. After film makers know what type of film they will be making, they can set out to watch as many of those films as they can to become familiar with the genre; if they are at a loss for ideas, watching other films may help inspire them.

A film can be made in different ways. Some movies are completely fiction and require that a writer indulge in an entirely creative process. Other films are documentaries that are telling a story about a particular point in history, for example. The film could also be a narrative with a voice narrating the story from behind the scenes.

The film’s plot is important to plan out before the story can be told. Without a good plot, the audience will not have a chance to become engaged in the story, and the movie will fizzle and go away. This can be avoided by choosing a story that is truly engaging to the film maker, because this is how movie makers can conjure up interest in their audiences for the subject matter.

Knowing how to write a script makes making a movie much easier. Aspiring film makers who need to brush up their skills can take courses in this area. They will need to display everything that will be done in the movie such as the actions that will be performed by the actors.

Speaking of actors, a movie maker is going to need some. Amateurs will work for free if they are receiving credit for being in the film. It will be something they can show off as experience.

If the movie is to be made on location, film makers will have to actively seek these places out, and plan to shoot their movies there. Those who have specifications that cannot be met on location can create their own sets by building them.

Now it is time to acquire the equipment to be used to make the film. The equipment, the camera, the lighting, the microphones, will need to be tested before the film is scheduled to be shot. It would set back production a lot if it had to be shut down because something ceased to function.

The production may require that makeup be applied to create an effect. The film may also need costumes. These things can be decided upon at this point depending upon what type of movie is being filmed.

Finally, it is time to film the movie. At this point, film makers have worked out what shots they are going to make. A scene generally requires that film makers shoot a wide shot, a medium shot and a close up.

After the film has been shot, it can be edited and the sound effects added to it. When it has been completed it can be placed on the Internet for everyone to enjoy.

Great Songs for the Winter

Songs No Responses »

Dec 142010

There’s nothing like a great song to create a winter-like mood. Although most people think of holiday classics when they imagine “winter,” a number of pop and rock singers have produced great songs for the winter that have nothing to do with holidays. The very best of these wintery songs have been compiled into a top ten list, which is included below.

10. “Winter” by The Cure

Written nearly thirty years ago, “Winter” is a classic Cure outtake that was not originally included in an album. A sad tale of lost love, this song uses a wintery landscape to reflect the songwriter’s own cold feelings.

9. “Valley Winter Song” by Fountains of Wayne

Using phrases such as “the snow is coming down,” this Fountains of Wayne song paints a poetic picture of a New England town during the winter. Residents in sunnier areas may enjoy imagining what it is like to live in an area where snow piles up in drifts over the course of a day, as it does in this song.

8. “Snowblind” by Black Sabbath

Released in 1978, “Snowblind” is a song that can resonate with today’s youth, as well. With language that describes the iciness of a winter day, combined with a strong heavy metal sound, this song is popular with fans of this genre.

7. “Winter” by the Rolling Stones

This song is written about the cold winter following the Christmas holidays. Many can relate to the cold and empty feeling that comes after this festive season. The protagonist’s constant desire to visit California during this cold winter is also a longing that many listeners will understand.

6. “Winter Song” by Screaming Trees

Written and performed by Screaming Trees, “Winter Song” compares a potential or ex-lover to this frosty season. Adolescences and adults alike understand this classic tale of a cold love interest that doesn’t share the same feelings.

5. “Always Winter But Never Christmas” by XTC

With the title a clever reference to C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, this XTC song consists of a series of negative situations, such as “always aging, never birthdays.” Those who are not fans of this icy season can understand how sad a Christmas-less winter would be.

4. “Winter Wonderland” by Liz Phair

Originally released many decades ago by Bing Crosby, Liz’s Phair’s version of “Winter Wonderland” is a modern classic. This is the same seasonal song that everyone knows, with a modern twist.

3. “Winter” by Tori Amos

With delicate piano music and lyrics that reference winter, “Winter” will remind anyone of this chilly season. This song is about her relationship with her father and how the seasons of life change. One of her most popular releases, “Winter” is beautiful and critically-acclaimed.

2. “Winter” by Caesars

Unlike most of the songs on this list, Caesers hit is actually written about the season and includes little underlying meaning. The instruments and lyrics in this song combine to create a truly frosty feeling.

1. “Hazy Shade of Winter” by Simon and Garfunkel

This dreary winter song is classic Simon and Garfunkel. With beautiful vocals and poetic lyrics, listeners will feel as if they are truly experiencing a cold, early winter day, complete with brown leaves and gray skies. Released decades ago, this song has stood the test of time, making it the number one winter song.

While there is always a place for holiday songs, sometimes people want to experience a good rock or pop song that simply evokes the feeling of the winter season. Perfect for the times before and after Christmas, these popular songs do just that.