Many studies have proven that radio is a good medium for product advertisements. People listen to the radio for entertainment, usually to listen to the latest music or to their favorite radio program. In between the program, advertisements on products and services are being played.

For many years, this has been the trend in advertising. But now that the radio medium is almost behind the audio-visual medium, the TV, and the Internet, other marketing strategies have to be employed to continue the benefits of advertising through audio.

It is then that the benefits of using music on websites were discovered. Before, music on the Internet was just available in downloadable forms as mp3. Even through hosting downloadable music on their servers, companies were able to get much traffic on their sites. And everyone engaged in Internet marketing knows that website traffic plays a big role in boosting product and service sales.

However, there had been a problem with illegal music download in which artists, musicians and record companies have lost millions of revenues.

Then, came the popularity of Internet music streaming. Unlike the former, radio streaming does not allow download of the music files. Thus, the copyrights of the artists and record label owners are protected.

So, how can this be done? There are several ways to stream audio from your site. First, is to stream a radio program from your site or blog. You can find free affiliate programs that allow you to stream their radio content from your site.

What will this mean to you? This means that your site will have new audio content every time it is visited. What's even great is that the content is being updated even without much effort from you.

In this case, what you needed to do is to signup with an Internet radio station and have the link embedded on your blog or website.

Another way is to stream mp3s. To do this, you just need to upload your mp3files on a server and add the files' links to the page. When the link is clicked, the browser opens a media player window and plays a file. However, since the file is in mp3 format, it may also be downloaded. Downloading music files without the authorization of the copyright owner is illegal. Therefore, if you will be using this type of streaming, make sure that you have the appropriate permit to do so.

A third way to add audio to you blog or website is to stream music through organizing playlists. Playlists are m3u files, which if downloaded, will not play music if offline. Using this process, however, can be complex. Here is a short instruction on how to do it.

1. Save your mp3 or wma file on the server. You may skip this step if you know that the file exists on another server and know the link to that file. Make sure that the link has a .mp3 or .wma extension.

2. Open your text editor and type the path to the file. Include the http:// and the file extension. Repeat this step until you have included all the links to the files that you would like to be included in the playlist.

3. Save the playlist with a .m3u extension.

4. Upload the m3u file on the directory where the music files are hosted or to your server.

5. Open your html editor and embed the link to the m3u file. Through this, you can also set if you want to have the playlist to autoplay if someone visits your site of if you want your visitor to control playing the music. You can also set the volume level.

After the code is embedded on the html file, and whenever your site is visited, the songs in the playlist will be buffered, streamed and played one after another. If your playlist has several songs, the user can skip forward or go back a song in the playlist using the media player controls.

Doing this setup works for many website owners. Through this you can customize the type of music being played on your site. You can even play recordings related to your product to boost product awareness.

It requires knowledge of html to be done. But if it will be the best way to increase traffic to your site, why not request assistance from programmers. After all, having audio on a website is a proven way to increase sales.

Summary:
Some people just seem to naturally know how to be confident in any given situation. Let's face it; learning how to be more confident can seem like a daunting task. However, if you want to have the courage to go after your dreams, you owe it to yourself to learn the secrets to being a more confident person.


Keywords:
confidence building, self confidence, lack of, gaining, how to be, Peter Murphy


Article Body:
Some people just seem to naturally know how to be confident in any given situation. Let’s face it; learning how to be more confident can seem like a daunting task.

However, if you want to have the courage to go after your dreams, you owe it to yourself to learn the secrets to being a more confident person.

1. Think yourself confident.

There is a part of your mind that can work wonders in changing your life. It’s your subconscious mind. The remarkable thing about this part of your mind is that it doesn’t know the difference between something that you’ve imagined and something real.

If you spend time vividly imagining a goal, a hope or a dream, the subconscious accepts that that goal or hope or dream is yours. Then, instead of trying to talk you out of it, it literally sets out to make the blueprint a reality.

2. Write it down.

The subconscious also doesn’t know the difference between something you write that is only a dream or if it is a reality. So write things in the present tense. Get in the habit of seeing things from the end.

In other words, see yourself as someone who knows how to be confident in any situation. If you picture yourself as a public speaker, write down a story about detailing what a great speaker you are. Picture the audience laughing and smiling- they are really enjoying your presentation.

Describe in as much details as possible how you are feeling as you stand up in front of this group of people. Concentrate on how confident you are that things are going well. Write a mini-movie, with you as the director, producer and star!

3. Cut and Paste.

Most of us have, at one time or another made a collage. A collage is a collection of pictures, usually things that are meaningful to the person that’s collecting them.

Find and cut out pictures that represent the desired outcome. In this case, you might want to find pictures of people that are engaged in activities that you want to do. They know how to be confident in this situation and look like they are having a good time.

Don’t just pick photos that you think will do. Be picky. Remember, you are the leader of your own life. Take your time and choose, cut and paste pictures that really speak to you. If you see a picture that shows someone doing something that you wish you could do, but the picture makes you feel anxious or nervous, don’t use it.

Likewise, you won’t want to choose something that is too unbelievable. The subconscious may not know the difference between a vividly held dream and reality, but it won’t believe you’ve become an astronaut unless you believe it yourself!

4. Take Action.

Take advantage of any public speaking classes or workshops offered in your area. Remember, learning how to be confident is like learning any other skill - it should be practiced.

Join a group, take a class - taking daily actions towards your ultimate goal will get you there faster.

You can learn how to be confident in many situations. The most important thing is to enjoy the process. Whatever the goal, the subconscious will help bring about amazing results.

Summary:
Tom Standage's new book invites you to see the world in a whole new light: through the glass of a drink. Starting with the dawn of civilization, and taking us right through modern day "beverage globalization", this book is an excellent refresher course on world history with page after page of insights into the human experience.


Keywords:
Books, Book Review, History, Drinks, Reading, World History, Drinking, Alcohol, Beverages


Article Body:
World History is a long and complex topic. Though many accomplished authors such as Bill Bryson and H. G. Wells have attempted to condense history into a single book, very few have succeeded. There is just too much of it. Attempts to boil down the last 10,000 years have resulted in either superficial books with very little depth, or great textbook like tombs too inaccessible for the casual reader.

Happily, A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage succeeds where others have failed. Standage's book does this by sacrificing the breadth of every possible topic for an impressive depth and focus. Instead of trying to sum up the complete history of man, this book spotlights a single topic, in this case beverages, and then takes the reader on a journey through time to see how his topic interweaves the past. Standage is a delightful writer, mixing his light hearted style with exceptional historical savvy not just on the topic of drinks, but throughout.

Despite my now positive opinion of this book, I have to confess that when I first picked up A History of the World in 6 Glasses, I did not expect to enjoy it. Not only am I skeptical of any book claiming to sum up the antiquity of man in 300 pages or less, but I myself do not drink any of the 6 beverages this book discusses. As such, learning the history of these drinks did not sound immediately appealing. However, what I quickly learned is that this book is not a history of 6 drinks, but rather just as the title states, a history of the world, told through the story of 6 drinks. As the book points out in the introduction, second only to air, liquid is the most vital substance to man's survival. The availability of water and other drinking sources have "constrained and guided humankind's progress" and "have continued to shape human history". Throughout time, beverages have done more than quenched our thirst; they have been used as currencies, medicines, and in religious rites. They have served as symbols of wealth and power, as well as tools to appease the poor and downtrodden.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses is broken down into six sections, one for each drink, the first of which is beer. Man's first civilizations where founded on surplus cereal production, much of which was brewed. Ancient day beers were high in vitamin B, a vitamin previously only obtained through meat. This allowed the population to focus their nutrition efforts more and more on cereals, effectively ushering in the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers. Additionally, because early beers were boiled (to convert more starch into sugars), the beer was significantly safer to drink than water. This significant improvement in lifestyle "freed a small fraction of the population from the need to work in the fields, and made possible the emergence of specialist priest, administrators, scribes, and craftsmen." Not only did beer nourish man's first civilizations, but in many ways, made them entirely possible.

Wine, the next beverage in the book, played a major role in the flourishing Greek and Roman cultures. As wine did not originate from the Mediterranean, the Greek's desire for this drink opened up vast seaborne trade, which spread their philosophy, politics, science and literature far and wide, and still underpins modern Western thought. A History of the World in 6 Glasses points out how these advancements originated and grew at formal Greek drinking parties, called symposia. The Romans, who absorbed much of Greek culture, continued the strong use of wine. As the book notes, if you trace the wine drinking areas of the world on a map, you will find you have traced the Roman empire at its height.

After a thousand years of hibernation, Western civilization was awakened by the rediscovery of ancient knowledge, long safeguarded in the Arab world. However, in an attempt to circumvent this Arab monopoly, European monarchs launched massive fleets into the sea. This age of exploration was greatly enhanced by the Arab knowledge of distillation, which made a whole new range of drinks possible. A History of the World in 6 Glasses describes how these condensed forms of alcohol (namely Brandy, Whiskey and Rum) were so popular, especially in the new American colonies, that "they played a key role in the establishment of the United States."

The fourth beverage presented in this book is coffee. Because of its sharpening effect on the mind, coffee quickly became the drink of intellect and industry. Replacing taverns as the sophisticated meeting place, the coffeehouse "led to the establishment of scientific societies and financial institutions, the founding of newspapers, and provided fertile ground for revolutionary thought, particularly in France." A History of the World in 6 Glasses goes on to recount the intricate effect coffeehouses had on Victorian culture, going so far as to dedicate an entire chapter to what the book calls "The Coffeehouse Internet".

Even though the inception of tea date back many thousands of years, it didn't take hold upon western culture until the mid-seventeenth century. Once established as England's national drink, the importing of tea from first China and then India led to trade and industrialization on an unprecedented scale. A History of the World in 6 Glasses describes the immense power of the British East India Company, which "generated more revenue than the British government and ruled over far more people", wielding more power than any other corporation in history. This imbalance of power had an enormous, far-reaching effect on British foreign policy, and ultimately contributed to the independence of the United States.

Like most of the drinks discussed in A History of the World in 6 Glasses, Coca-Cola was originally devised as a medical drink. More than any other product, Coca-Cola has stood as the symbol of America's "vibrant consumer capitalism". Rather than shrink at the challenge, Coca-Cola took full advantage of the challenging times it found itself in, gaining ground through the depression, and then traveling alongside our soldiers into WWII, becoming a global phenomenon. According to the book, Coca-Cola still accounts for "around 30 percent of all liquid consumption" today.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses makes it clear that the history of mankind is a history of our consumption. Whether we are drinking "liquid bread" in Mesopotamia, pondering revolution in a Coffeehouse in Paris, or throwing tea leafs into the ocean in Boston, these drinks have had a profound impact on who we are. As Standage says in the introduction to his book "They survive in our homes today as living reminders of bygone eras, fluid testaments to the forces that shaped the modern world. Uncover their origins, and you may never look at your favorite drink in quite the same way again." I highly recommend this book to anyone thirsty for knowledge about the world around them... or even if they're just thirsty for a good drink.

Summary:

Stop thinking and feeling as if you’re a failure, because you’re not. How can others accept you if YOU can’t accept YOU?

Keywords:

self-improvement, purpose, value, need, passion

Article Body:

Everything that happens to us happens in purpose. And sometimes, one thing leads to another. Instead of locking yourself up in your cage of fears and crying over past heartaches, embarrassment and failures, treat them as your teachers and they will become your tools in both self improvement and success.

I remember watching Patch Adams – its my favorite movie, actually. Its one great film that will help you improve yourself. Hunter “patch” Adams is a medical student who failed to make it through the board exams. After months of suffering in melancholy, depression and suicidal attempts – he decided to seek for medical attention and voluntarily admitted himself in a psychiatric ward. His months of stay in the hospital led him to meeting different kinds of people. Sick people in that matter. He met a catatonic, a mentally retarded, a schizophrenic and so on. Patch found ways of treating his own ailment and finally realized he has to get back on track. He woke up one morning realizing that after all the failure and pains he has gone through, he still want to become the a doctor. He carries with himself a positive attitude that brought him self improvement and success. He didn’t only improved himself, but also the life of the people around him and the quality of life. Did he succeed? Needless to say, he became the best damn doctor his country has ever known.

So, when does self improvement become synonymous with success? Where do we start? Take these tips, friends…

*Stop thinking and feeling as if you’re a failure, because you’re not. How can others accept you if YOU can’t accept YOU?

*When you see hunks and models on TV, think more on self improvement, not self pitying. Self acceptance is not just about having nice slender legs, or great abs. Concentrate on inner beauty.

*When people feel so down and low about themselves, help them move up. Don’t go down with them. They’ll pull you down further and both of you will end up feeling inferior.

*The world is a large room for lessons, not mistakes. Don’t feel stupid and doomed forever just because you failed on a science quiz. There’s always a next time. Make rooms for self improvement.

*Take things one at a time. You don’t expect black sheep’s to be goody-two-shoes in just a snap of a finger. Self improvement is a one day at a time process.

*Self improvement results to inner stability, personality development and dig this …. SUCCESS. It comes from self confidence, self appreciation and self esteem.

* Set meaningful and achievable goals. Self improvement doesn’t turn you to be the exact replica of Cameron Diaz or Ralph Fiennes. It hopes and aims to result to an improved and better YOU.

*Little things mean BIG to other people. Sometimes, we don’t realize that the little things that we do like a pat on the back, saying “hi” or “hello”, greeting someone “good day” or telling Mr. Smith something like “hey, I love your tie!” are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we’re being appreciative about beautiful things around us and other people, we also become beautiful to them.

*When you’re willing to accept change and go through the process of self improvement, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. The world is a place where people of different values and attitude hang out. Sometimes, even if you think you and your best friend always like to do the same thing together at the same time, she would most likely decline an invitation for self improvement.

We should always remember that there’s no such thing as ‘over night success’. Its always a wonderful feeling to hold on to the things that you already have now, realizing that those are just one of the things you once wished for. A very nice quote says that “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” We are all here to learn our lessons. Our parents, school teachers, friends, colleagues, officemates, neighbors… they are our teachers. When we open our doors for self improvement, we increase our chances to head to the road of success.

If you are interested in learning more, probably the best self improvement information resource online today can be found at http://www.selfimprovement.thegreat.info.

Each year, thousands, if not millions, of Americans make the decision to remodel their kitchens. Kitchen remodeling can include something as simple as replacing your kitchen sink, but it can also include something extravagant, such as changing around your whole kitchen, from the lights all the way down to your flooring. As nice as it is to have your kitchen remodeled, it can get fairly expensive. That is why a large number of homeowners make the decision to do their own remodeling. When doing so, many turn to kitchen remodeling books for assistance, but are they really worth the money?

Before you can begin to determine whether or not kitchen remodeling books are really worth the money, it is important to examine exactly what they are. Kitchen remodeling books, also commonly referred to as kitchen remodeling how-to guides, are books that are designed to help readers know as much as they can about remodeling their kitchens. It is not uncommon for a kitchen remodeling book to be filled with directions, including step-by-step pictures, lists of materials needed, as well as safety tips. Kitchen remodeling books also come in a number of different formats. It is not uncommon to find a kitchen remodeling book that focuses on a number of kitchen remodeling projects or a book that just focuses on one project.

Now that you know what kitchen remodeling books or kitchen remodeling how-to guides are, you can begin to examine whether or not they are really worth the money. Perhaps, the easiest way to do this is to determine what you need to learn how to do. For instance, if you would only like to remodel your kitchen by replacing your kitchen countertops, it may be worthless to purchase a big kitchen remodeling book, one that focuses on a number of different remodeling projects. Your money may be better spent purchasing a kitchen remodeling book that has a specific focus on kitchen countertop installations. When installing your new counters, or just about anything else for that matter, you will often find that there is more than one way to do something. A detailed kitchen remodeling book, one that focuses on one project in particular, may help to give you more options.

When determining whether or not kitchen remodeling books are worth the money, it is also important to focus on what can be found inside them. Many times, you will find that most kitchen remodeling books come with written directions, as well as step-by-step pictures. Although step-by-step pictures are nice, not all books have them. If you need to see pictures of what you are doing, you will not want to waste your money on a kitchen remodeling how-to guide that does not include pictures. Also if you are looking for directions on how to do a certain project, such as replacing your sink, you will want to make sure that the book you are about to purchase has exactly what you need. Unfortunately, too many homeowners mistakenly believe that a kitchen remodeling book has exactly what they need inside of it. That is why it is important that you know what you are buying.

The cost of a kitchen remodeling book will also have an impact on whether or not it is worth it. Depending on where you shop, you should be able to find a collection of low-cost and affordable kitchen how-to guides. Kitchen remodeling how-to guides can be purchased online, from most book stores and home improvement stores. You can easily find kitchen remodeling books that sell for as low as ten dollars and some that sell for as high as fifty. What is nice about purchasing kitchen remodeling books is that you can decide what you want to buy, as well as how much you are willing to pay for it.

Since there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to using kitchen remodeling books, you will need to make your own decision. If you have little or no kitchen remodeling experience, you may find that a kitchen remodeling how-to guide is more than worth the money.