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Viral techniques to increase web traffic
February 29th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

The phrase Viral marketing is a very good tool used by email marketers to generate the traffic required by them however the term viral has a negative meaning and stands for flu which no one wants to have.

Viral marketing is an internet marketing tool which is made in such a way as to be capable of being passed on from on e person to another. It is called viral due to its ability to be passed on to a growing number of internet users through the email. Through viral marketing, an email message can reach thousands if not millions of people.

To most people familiar with the terms, network marketing or word of mouth is what best describes viral marketing. Viral marketing is like a fire in which smoke spreads in to every little crevice, eventually attracting everyone’s attention.

To be successful, viral marketing makes use of a product that has a universal appeal and which is freely and readily available to most people. Aside from easy transmission, the product must also be easily accessible to the receivers, for it to become viral.

Viral marketing can be an effective method of reaching millions of people. Marketers offer free items, like e-books and e-videos, that will appeal to people in their target market. This free product is passed on from the original marketer to his friends and clients who, in turn, pass it on to their own contacts. At this rate it isn’t long until hundreds of potential buyers are made aware of the website.

Viral techniques can be as easy as sending free email courses to target clients. Wanting their friends to benefit from the said service, the original targets pass on the free email courses until it creates a multiplier effect. Using email signatures can also increase traffic to your website. This is easily done by adding your website address and some comments below your name. Offering free screensavers to computer users is also one way of creating an email database since those who want to download free screensavers are required to register using their email addresses. Once the client has logged in his email address, the internet marketer can do his job by sending emails redirecting the recipients to his website.

Setting up an affiliate program is also a viral marketing technique. This can b e accomplished by allowing users to refer customers to your site and giving them a certain percentage for each sale. Affiliate programs can be easily searched in the internet as these sites are submitted to affiliate directories.

Often website owners require those who are hired to participate in discussion boards and forums to use e-signatures that are linked back to their home websites. This method of collecting information is very effective as participants come from many different backgrounds and the link to the signature page provides the website owner with a trace back to their home sites.

One must be sure that the postings which are there on the forums should be related to ones websites. Signature link should be used for the authentication purpose to get what one wants.

One of the best viral techniques is the use of articles to increase website traffic. Under this technique, numerous articles of different topics are created and are redistributed for reprint in other websites but with a resource box which serves as a link to the original website. This way, the website owner who lacks articles and materials for his website benefits from the free articles. On the other hand, the article owner gets to advertise his website link for free in exchange for the article. Among the most popular articles are do it yourself articles, how to articles, self employment articles and usually articles about beauty, health and money. People will always be drawn towards anything that will give them the most benefit at little cost.

Having a great product and a good website is not enough to be successful on the internet. To be competitive, a website owner must take advantage of the latest email marketing tools to draw customer traffic to their website. Viral marketing and other marketing tools are not expensive but require a commitment of time and creativity.

Other ways to enhance the traffic flow to ones website is to collaborating with the partners who have different products then our websites. The exchange of links will send different kind of people to both the websites.

Regardless of the specifics in your plan for email marketing, it’s vital to get enough people genuinely interested in or excited about your site so that traffic continually increases.

Alex Perez-Prat is the webmaster and owner of Resale Rights Kingdom Dot Com. To find out more e-marketing tips, resources and tools go to Resale Rights Kingdom

- Alex Perez-Prat


Will paperbacks survive?
February 24th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

Did you know that audio books are becoming more and more popular by each day? For example, in 2004, over $124 million worth of audio books were sold in the UK and $120 million in Germany during 2005. Experts say that this year the market is expected to rise by 20% in Europe, and audio books seem to be even more popular in the USA. A survey showed a 6 % increase over 2005 with audio book sales now estimated at $923 million.

You save time, because you can listen to such books anywhere and everywhere just like an mp3 audio, and you can even do other things at the same time. You can listen when driving to and from work, when walking the dog, cycling, working around the house or at the computer, exercising, and so on. The possibilities are endless.

If you love reading but don’t have enough time, these books can give you the opportunity to read many more books that you would otherwise have time for. Such books are a great way to fill the “dead” moments we all have in our lives.

Books are good for older, ill or recovering people and can be a wonderful gift for someone in a nursing institution. This is a gift they can remember and enjoy time after time. There are many more benefits of using these books, but even these few reasons should be enough to convince you to enter the exciting world of the spoken books.

These books can be a blessing for blind people, disabled people or people with impaired vision. There are approximately 10 million blind and visually impaired people in the United States alone. Audio books can enhance their life personally and professionally.

First, audio books can help blind people enjoy the experience of reading books.

Secondly, audio books can take blind people’s education one step forward. Learning foreign languages, poetry, literature, English grammar etc. could be optimized using audio books. Did you know that there are approximately 93,600 visually impaired or blind students in the United States?

Thirdly, blind people can develop habits and hobbies using audio books. Whether you belong to the blind and visually impaired people or not, we strongly advise you to join the audio book experience now.

The most important skill a child can ever acquire is probably the ability to read, and books can be easily used to stimulate literacy in children. Books can be listened to by children while following the story in the paper book. Or they could listen just to gain and improve vocabulary and communication skills. If you want to instill in your child the love of reading, books can be an excellent start.

NoPaperback is the blog of Audado.com. Audado offers over 5,000 downloadable audio books from major publishers such as BBC, Harper-Collins, Simon and Schuster, and Time Warner. Books are organized by categories like biography, fiction, history, humor, religion, and self help.

- Ruben Alvarez


Lead Capture Page : Popular In Multi Market Companies
February 17th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

For anyone who is unaware of what a squeeze page is, it is a page designed simply to ask for people to ‘opt-in’ to some further action. When encountering these squeeze pages, people will be asked to continue on with a certain transaction or not. Many squeeze pages give only two options to those who arrive at them, the one being ‘opt-in’ and the other being to simply leave the page.

Squeeze pages are often utilized to give people the needed opportunity to peruse options for additional business opportunities. Some would argue that there is no real category of different squeeze pages.

Rational

Why bother with a website that is there simply to ask if people would like to continue forward with a transaction? Squeeze pages exist simply because marketers know that the products and services that they promote by the means of the Internet are not likely to bring results from people on their first encounter with them. The squeeze pages are actually designed simply to gather the email addresses of those who may have an interest in a product or service, as well as to get consent from them. With these items at their command the marketer becomes free to market further, and will proceed with further sales proposals and other materials for marketing.

Elements

A quality squeeze page combines much useful data from all over a site and draws the eye of the reader where you want it to be. The best such pages consist of a list which ends abruptly with a click needed to continue. More often than not, the user will follow that link.

Email Use

The most efficient and effective squeeze pages employ emails to be able to garner traffic. These emails contain interesting facts which are hard to resist. These emails are propagated by the agents of the product or service. The basic concept is that the email will lay down the foundations for selling the product, just like a ‘pre-sale’ effort.

Seeps

Many visitors to a website have now learned how to avoid the squeeze page causing what might be called “leakage” of business from the website. Leakage can be prevented by a smart marketer who has the knowledge he needs to encrypt the follow-on page’s URL. Another way to prevent this from happening is by using email to reiterate the promises that were made on the squeeze page. Like the old saying says, “curiosity killed the cat”, and many people are so anxious to see what’s on the other side of the squeeze page that they willingly provide the information the marketer was after.

The best squeeze pages are often seen as personalized websites - specifically designed to target the user viewing it. There is even software available allowing the marketer to be able to create a squeeze page which will look personalized. In fact, often squeeze pages contain information about the user’s life - including things such as what kind of pet they have or what television they own and so on.

Name squeeze pages have the alternative name of lead capture events. Multi-level marketing uses them to create down lines. They have been proven to increase profits. These are effective because they produce a list of reasonable prospective clients. The best squeeze pages offer data that is most important to those who will be utilizing it. They are fairly easy to create because someone only has to create a site that will people will visit.

There are those who will question the abilities of name squeeze pages with regards to increasing your profits. However, examining the manner these systems work should reveal their logical basis. Further, the track record of such pages for making money cannot be denied.

Alex Perez-Prat is the webmaster and owner of Resale Rights Kingdom Dot Com. To find out more e-marketing tips, resources and tools go to Resale Rights Kingdom

- Alex Perez-Prat


Master Resale Rights And Electronic Books
February 17th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

One thought that rarely crosses an author’s mind during the negotiation of publication contracts is that of master resale rights. The publisher, however, is immediately considering the lucrative aspects of a deal in which ebook resell rights are not specified. This is because the person who holds these rights, particularly if the book sells well, has the potential to make a great deal of money.

A great use of information technology has been the advent of electronic books and successful ebooks with resale rights can be a great source of wealth for the person who holds the master resale rights to any ebook. However, this is only true for those ebooks that are huge hits. Unfortunately, there are far too many of these books available and most of them will not be on the bestseller list or ever become popular.

Because of this, anyone who wishes to make some money both collecting and selling master resale rights for this medium must do thorough research and investigation of this domain of information technology prior to spending any money, lest they do so foolishly. Several websites proffer an information kit that outlines the hottest prospects for buying these rights, along with some starting titles. These advertisers let the buyers know of the ability to pass the rights to future customers, along with the fact that the purchaser can benefit from these amazing sales.

Many of the e-books are not very profitable. In order to make a profit you have to purchase the master resale rights to a best selling book. This however does take a lot of time and is quite involved with few people succeeding in this area. The purchaser also must be ware of the possible format conflict; you must be able to receive the material in the downloadable format.

On other sites, you will find the type of software which is constructed to allow authors to create their own works. These works are then advertised in accordance with the instructions provided on that site, and they often go on to sell large numbers of copies. The authors then go on to offer their own master resale rights for sale with each copy sold and are able to make a handsome profit.

Anyone who is considering utilizing this technology should study it thoroughly before embarking on an enterprise which, though very widely promoted, rarely succeeds. While a few people do earn money this way, it is sad but true that it is much more probable you will fail than that you will succeed.

Edson Buchanan sells “ebooks with resale rights” on ebay. In less than 90 days, he was able to achieve powerseller status. If you would like to take advantage of his complete ebook collection, visit http://www.resalerightsexplosion.net

- Edson Buchanan


SEO Works For Small Businesses, Too
February 17th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

The major challenge of search engine optimization (SEO) for small business owners is that the rules change often. While some small business owners may have a basic understanding of SEO techniques, many do not have the time to stay on top of current trends. The result is that most small business websites are either completely unoptimized for today’s search engines or they are partially optimized using oldor outdated steps. Here, I will share some SEO tips that are beneficial to most websites, are proven to be effective, and are relatively simple to implement.

First of all, your site must be visible to search engines, which is not the same as being visible to humans. Search engines must be able to “read” your site; they cannot understand and rank your web site if their “spiderbots” cannot follow links between pages. Therefore, every website should have a sitemap at a minimum. Simply do a search for “create sitemap” to find sites where you can create and download your own sitemap.

In addition to a sitemap, your website should also use HTML-based text links to connect all your pages together. Some search engines have difficulty reading links contained within certain languages such as Flash and Javascript. While a sitemap will help the engines see a basic outline of your website, using text links will enable your site to be indexed and ranked appropriately.

Now that we are sure your site can be found, a second major step is to provide quality information, or content. Providing “quality” content means information that is closely-related to the rest of the site, is recent and not stale, and presents a unique perspective (even if only slightly different). How often your site is updated depends on your resources, time committment, and other factors; however sites that are updated frequently and regularly have a decided advantage in search engine rankings. Any content added should reflect one of the basic themes or areas of focus on your site. Websites with no focused topics find top rankings impossible to achieve. After adding your new content, be sure to link your other pages to the new content - taking care to use descriptive words in your link text (often called “anchor text”).

Sites that offer useful content updated regularly will eventually attract a lot of internet surfers. However, SEO for small business cannot be considered complete without strategies to speed up the process. The general term for this process is link development (or “building link popularity”) and is a third major step in effective search engine optimization. Building link popularity can involve actions like sending out keyword rich press releases whenever newsworthy events occur regarding your business. Other forms of ethical link development include contacting other websites and directories with similar content or groups and request for a link to the site.

Many options exist for affordable website design. When considering potential web design firms, consider more than just cost alone - ask about their knowledge of search engine optimization techniques. Web designers today should include basic SEO principles at a minimum, or else their hard work may go completely unnoticed or even ignored by major search engines.

An SEO web designer’s strategy is to increase natural web traffic and improve your search engine rankings. True SEO web design isn’t a miracle, it’s an art that necessitates following a fairly distinct path of website expansion including valuable reader content, properly design pages, significantly placed key search terms, search term modification and page assessment. Search engine optimization is first about getting your site listed in the search engines, secondly about ranking well and, most importantly, about bringing the right visitors to your website.

Jason McGhinnis is an experienced web designer, search engine optimizer, and internet marketer. Contact Jason to learn more about SEO for your business.

- Jason McGhinnis


Are Americans more eligible for credit card debt settlement or bankruptcy?
February 17th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

Back in 2005 there was a turn around in the bankruptcy laws. This reform changed the laws making it much harder for a American to file Chapter 7. A Chapter 7 will completely wipe the slate clean of the debts owed. If someone does not pass the “means test” to be excepted for Chapter 7 then they will have to file a Chapter 13. With a Chapter 13 the court will assess your complete financial state of affairs to come to a determination how much you will be forced to pay back towards your debts over the course of five years.

As you can probably tell a Chapter 13 for most is not as nice of a deal as what a Chapter 7 is. This drives most individuals away from filing bankruptcy to look for other systems of credit card debt relief. One of the quickest growing and more attractive methods then becomes credit card debt settlement.

This is a method in which one must default on their unsecured debts’ while saving up the required money on the side, to then negotiate a one time settlement, at a much lowered amount from the original balance owed. While debt settlement does have a temporary harmful effect on someone’s credit rating, it is not anywhere near as harmful as bankruptcy. Settlement is not made a public record like bankruptcy.

A debtor can be expecting to save themselves roughly 50% of what the debt was originally. And look to have themselves become free of their debts within a matter of 2-3 years for some much sooner. Obviously making credit card debt settlement a much more attractive proposal than a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

The fact that in many situations debtors will save more money with debt settlement, is almost reason enough. But then toss in the fact that it will take at most 3 years. When compared to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that will take five. Plus settlement being a private issue and not made a public record for the rest of your life, as with a bankruptcy. Then of course the issue of the credit report, debt settlement looks a lot better than bankruptcy.

There are three ways that a debtor can settle the debts they owe. First off you can do it yourself, which is to a great extent advised against if you do not know how to negotiate properly. Then a debt settlement company can be hired to help settle someone’s debts. There are many honest debt settlement companies however one must due diligence on a company to make sure they are reputable and honest. Then you can contact a debt settlement attorney as well. You can get more protection utilizing a law firm, and the majority of the time they can work out lower settlements as well. And being that attorneys must be active members of their States Bar Association you get the additional protection in knowing that they must account to a higher authority. There are far less unethical operations that are law firms then debt settlement companies.

Joe Rodgers is a credit card debt analyst with the US Consumer Advocate, which practices in credit card debt reduction.

- Joe Rodgers


Three Ways to Create a Graphic Backdrop
February 17th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

It is important to have a backdrop system for your trade show booth or sales presentation that can be easily and economically updated. You will also want to control transport and assembly costs. A design concept that has prohibitive costs attached to it won’t be satisfactory no matter how professional it appears. An appealing and versatile concept that can be used in all sorts of places will help control costs too.

1. Standard PopUp Display

Standard graphic popup displays are very popular and are usually found behind the podium at most conventions, special events, or announcements. The width of a Standard popup displays ranges from 8′ to 10′ and the height is approximately 8′. Traditional popup display systems are often used when the event is short term or when it involves a series of announcements where the presenter moves around from location to location.

Normally, fiberglass or aluminum tubes are used to make the folding frame of a popup display. The display panels which cover the frame, are either Velcro-ready fabric panels, or printed graphics. Printed graphic panels are made of a material like Duralex which are printed in full color and are protected by lamination or a special protective coating.

Before the frame is made to “popup” it comes folded down to a unit approximately 8″ square by 30″ wide. When it is unfolded, the frame “pops up” to a skeleton approximately 8′ (or 10′) wide by about 8′ high. This frame normally weighs about 15 lbs. and is stable enough to just sit on the floor without any anchoring or external support.

The frame is covered with a series of panels about thirty inches by eight feet long. They are affixed to the frame with magnets on the back. After the panels are affixed, the entire display becomes even more stable. When a panel is removed from the frame, it is designed to be rolled up and put into the carrying case along with the rest of the display. The case can also be used for shipping and is small enough to fit in most cars.

2. A Popup Fabric Wall Display

The fabric display represents an evolution of the popup. It uses the same kind of folding frame as the standard popup display. But it does not need additional graphic panels, or a mechanism to attach them to the frame.

Rather, the fabric graphic features a specially printed fabric graphic that is pre-attached to the frame. To set it up all you have to do is to remove the unit from its case and extend it upward until it is fully unfurled. As it expands, the long-lasting, beautifully-printed fabric will stretch out smoothly. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

Like standard popup displays, fabric displays are available in 8′ and 10′ widths. But you can also buy narrower ones in 4′ widths that can be used instead of banner stands.

A fabric display is sometimes called a fabric wall. This type of backdrop display can be taken down and stored in a lightweight but very durable carrying case for ease of transportation. Setting it up or taking it down takes a single person approximately five minutes.

Fabric displays are a great option for product intros, event marketing venues, lobby signs, or almost anywhere where you would like to make a bold statement. Normally fabric is printed using a process called dye-sublimation, which transfer colors directly into the fabric. This process creates a great deal of stain resistance, and also guarantees that they will keep looking fresh and new for years. The quality of the printing is also exceptionally sharp and brilliant.

3. Fabric Banner Backdrop

The Fabric Banner Backdrop is a low cost solution for creating a graphic wall for the back of your trade show space, behind a speaker’s podium or on a stage at a convention, conference or sales presentation.

The Fabric Banner Backdrop usually consists of an adjustable tubular frame that telescopes from between 3′ and 8′ wide and between 4′ and 8′ high. Larger frames can be purchased as well, but the 8′ x 8′ (fully extended) model is the most popular.

A one-piece fabric banner printed in full color is hung on the frame using pole pockets at both the top and bottom, while the frame rests on the floor. Though this method is slightly more complicated to put together than a popup made of fabric, the costs are cut nearly in half. It’s also more dynamic than the other banners because the size of the frame is adjustable and the printed banner can be changed fairly easily if you need to modify what it says or how it looks.

Great deals on fabric popup display and fantastic image quality. Great for your conference, convention, sales presentation, band, or trade show booth. SEO strategy works.

- Rick Hendershot


Fire Safety Program for Your Day Care
February 17th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

Fire safety is a major consideration when planning to open a day care facility. The safety of every individual who may enter your premises, staff, children, parents and visitors, is paramount and ultimately, your responsibility. It is vital therefore that you have an effective fire safety management policy as fire safety is achieved via this policy combined with adequate fire safety features in your premises. Simply, your goal is to effect whatever measure necessary to minimize the risk of a fire occurring and if a fire does breakout to ensure that staff and children are evacuated swiftly and safely.

You will need to put a fire safety program in place in order to realize this goal. Much of this is common sense and good housekeeping practice so should not cost much in terms of time or money. One member of staff should be assigned responsibility for the fire safety program and they should be involved in drawing up a brief written statement outlining the elements that constitute your program.

The fire safety program should detail what fire prevention measures are in place at your day care i.e. what steps are you taking to reduce or eliminate the risks of a fire occurring. These can include not storing flammable gases or liquids in the building, regular checks ensuring that all gas and electrical appliances are in safe working order, ensuring safe cooking practices in the kitchen, utilizing non combustible materials where possible.

Ongoing staff training is a vital element of fire prevention so that staff know what to do in the event of an emergency and can do so calmly and quickly. All staff should be aware of the location of fire exits, fire fighting equipment, fire protection equipment and fire detection facilities. Training should also involve the use of this equipment where necessary and the procedure involved in emergency procedures and evacuation drills. This training can be undertaken during staff induction however regular refreshers should occur annually.

In order that staff can react effectively in an emergency you should implement regular fire drills at your day care. Monthly emergency evacuations should be planned and occur without warning.These drills should take into consideration the following factors, how many people are on the premises, if any of them are disabled or sleeping as these individuals should be given high priority. All persons should be evacuated to a pre arranged assembly point where designated staff members should ensure everyone is present and accounted for. The roll book will have been evacuated also to accommodate the roll call. Every fire drill should be reviewed in the Fire Drill Report to identify any problems or cause for review.

Up to date fire safety records should be maintained at your day care detailing all aspects of your fire safety procedures. You will include in this record the name of the day care and person running it, address, designated fire safety person, person responsible for calling the fire brigade, how many children are catered for, a plan of each floor, details of staff training and fire drills and a list of fire fighting equipment with details of inspections.

You will need to ensure the adequacy of the fire safety features of your individual premises i.e. actual structure, windows, doors, equipment, appliances, fittings and furnishings. If in doubt about any area of your premises seek the advice of your fire officer. Ultimately, leave nothing to chance. If in doubt seek professional help and have your day care premises up to speed in all matters relating to fire safety from the outset.

Fiona Lohrenz drew on her 10 years experience of running a day care to found ChildCareOnly.com and produce a ‘How to Start a ChildCare Business’ DVD guide: StartChildCare.com Fiona can be reached at her website: ChildCareOnly.com

- Fiona Lohrenz


Ebook Resell Right Can Profit For You
February 17th, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

Having an ebook resell right can be an extremely profitable venture once you get to understand how to use it. It can be very easy once you have the information in front of you. There are many sites out there which teach this valuable resource information to you. Even if you don’t want to get into the sales side of the business, the information can still be valuable, in helping you build your own business and increase sales, as well as getting more visitors to your own internet site.

It can be both exciting and very profitable to sell your e-books and software products online. If you want to get in on the action, all you need to do is to go on the Internet and look up information about your “ebook resell right”

You’ll discover everything about “book resell right”, and how you can make money online with a profitable resale rights - money making, cash generating, income creating online business. You’ll discover what are the hottest ebook and software resale rights packages, as well as find out how you can use them to earn cash and make money online.

You’ll learn about which E-Books or Software packages sell and which don’t through other people’s personal experiences. One thing is for certain you want to do your research on this, making sure you have all the information that you need.

Some people succeed with online businesses, while many others fail. The opportunity known as “Ebook resell right” has established itself as a way for people to make lots of money quickly online. While many people do not make money this way, it is possible that they are failing because they do not properly grasp the fundamentals of putting up payment links on their sites or uploading the products that they are selling.

Your web page should clearly display “private label rights“. For that matter, all rights should be indicated. If you can avoid such pitfalls, your products will be sellable for years, won’t lose their value, and will always be in demand. You will be loved for this, especially by your bank manager!

Edson Buchanan trades on eBay under the username “digitaldirect4u” and earns over $1000 per month on autopilot. To see how he does it, visit his eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/Digitaldirect4u

- Edson Buchanan


GPS Security And Privacy: Should Safety Trump Privacy?
February 3rd, 2008 under Other. [ Comments: none ]

The Global Positioning Satellite System, or GPS, has brought many benefits to society. Examples include easier navigation and position-finding in unfamiliar terrain. However, it can result in various invasions of privacy. GPS privacy and security issues have become newsworthy recently. Many people believe that, despite the problems that can arise, the GPS system is still a new positive for society.

GPS vehicle tracking devices can be used to monitor many types of data such as how many miles a car has been driven, how fast the automobile was going, and where the vehicle is located. This all varies depending on the device and system that is utilized.

This is also widely regarded as an invasion of our personal privacy. To give one example, a standard rental car contract will often stipulate that if you go over 79 miles per hour, you will have to pay extra for the wear and tear that the car suffers. The car rental company can find out if you are going too fast by receiving information from the GPS tracking devices that are attached to the vehicle. Thus, if you go over 79 miles per hour, they will know, and you will be billed.

Although some people worry about the invasion of privacy issues with GPS devices, most parents find that knowing that their child can be found if necessary trumps the privacy issues. Parents have been known to use cell phones to track a child’s actions and movements. If the parents find that the child has disobeyed, they might lose privileges, such as driving or going out.

GPS cell phones allow people to track their loved ones with a much smaller investment. There are now options available for this from cell phone companies. However, the GPS data is not usually directly accessible to the user and an accurate determination of location needs assistance from the wireless network, thus the GPS data is only transmitted if a 911 call is made.

Another area in which GPS security and privacy issues have become important is with cellular phones. Many people do not know that their cell phones can be used to keep tabs on them. They make it easier for police officers to go about their business, because cops can track both victims and suspected criminals much more easily. Stolen cars are also easier to locate now. Each year, the tracking devices become better and gain new features. While these tracking devices can help keep you safe and protect your family and property, they can also be abused to invade your privacy.

Global Positioning Satellite Systems has added security to our lives but is it an invasion of privacy? GPS is available in many different products today and is increasingly used as a tool by the police department, concerned parents and GPS vehicle tracking devices are often used by rental car agencies. GPS cell phones are also available. The cell phone owner can be located by dialing 911 in an emergency. GPS security and privacy is a hot topic but most agree that the benefit is great. We can feel safer when we are more connected.

- Brad Seabourne