Want to start a blog? Good for you, it’s a great way to speak your mind, contribute to the greater good, and possibly make a living with someday.

After years of running over 50 blogs we have realized we could of done things a little easier and better from the start if we knew then what we know now. So in the fairness of the greater good (the true hacker code) we decided to create a step by step tutorial on how get a wordpress blog started off with style and smarts.

(This is done with a account from DWHS Website Hosting using their auto installer software.)

We also assume that you have nothing other then a credit card and some time, if you do have a hosting account already just skip to step 3.

1. Get domain registration, we recommend www.ezdomainname.com for Domain Registration
2. Get web hosting, we recommend www.dwhs.net (domain web hosting service) for Web Hosting the $3 a month micro plan will survive for now. You can always upgrade later for no extra fee with DWHS.
3. Go into your CPanel and click the Happy Face icon (Fantastico) then in there click WordPress to install the latest version.
4. Once installed, log into the admin section click: Appearance > themes then notice the default themes are boring lol. So next we need to get a good theme from the popular section of wordpress’s theme section: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/browse/popular/
5. After you find one FTP the new theme into the theme section of your blog called: blog folder > wp-content > themes
6. Then go back to the admin section and again click: Appearance > themes and activate the new theme.
7. Now that you have a nice looking blog you need to tell the world about your posts by pinging out. To do this add this list of pinging sites to the form section called: Settings > Writing > Update Services here is the current list of live ping sites (check marketing spot) for updates :
   

   http://rpc.pingomatic.com/

   http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

   http://bblog.com/ping.php

   http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2

   http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php

   http://ping.feedburner.com

   http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2

   http://api.feedster.com/ping

   http://api.moreover.com/ping

   http://api.moreover.com/RPC2

   http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2

   http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping

   http://bitacoras.net/ping

   http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC

   http://blogbot.dk/io/xml-rpc.php

   http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc

   http://blogmatcher.com/u.php

   http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc

   http://coreblog.org/ping

   http://ping.bitacoras.com

   http://ping.blo.gs

   http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc

   http://ping.blogmura.jp/rpc

   http://ping.myblog.jp

   http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php

   http://ping.weblogs.se

   http://topicexchange.com/RPC2

   http://trackback.bakeinu.jp/bakeping.php

   http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b

   http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php

   http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates

   http://www.blogsnow.com/ping

   http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi

   http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc

   http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php

   http://www.mod-pubsub.org/knapps/blogchatter/ping.php

   http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2

   http://www.weblogues.com/RPC

   http://xping.pubsub.com/ping

8. Next, you will need some original content. A general rule of thumb is to have one picture on top of each post and to keep this image the medium size as fitted by wordpress. It’s better to let word press size the pictures so they all blend well and look professional.
9. Now that you have a good looking wordpress blog, original content, and have told the world about your new blog you probably want to make it better. A couple great ways to improve your blog is to add a contact form in the plug in section. Just search simple contact form and you will find a good one, you will need to create a contact page and add the code there for the simple contact form to work. Also Akismet is a must to filter spam, but like all spam filters be weary it will filter some real comments. Google site maps is a good plugin to help your SEO with Google. Next do a search in the wordpress plugin search for I love social bookmarking this will allow your readers to bookmark you for later reading of they choose. With DWHS web hosting you have stats in your cpanel that work great, so we do not recommend adding them in wordpress unless your host does not have them already. Too much junk in your wordpress can slow it down or cause extra server load.
10. Now that you have a advanced blog the final touches are needed to make it really stand out. To do this you will need some web design experience or outsource to someone like www.pagealive.com for web design services. With the right tools you can edit your header and side bar with nice graphics that fit your style more. This is done by changing the files through ftp in the themes section of your blog folder.

57.7% of companies plan to incorporate social media in their plans for next year

Social networks may still seem like an emerging medium, if an ad medium at all, on some parts of Madison Avenue, but a new report on the media buying plans of advertisers and agencies indicates that having a “presence on social networks” is one of the top priorities of their media plans for next year. The report, the 2010 Media Planning Intelligence Study, which is being released today by the Center for Media Research in conjunction with InsightExpress, found that 57.7% of respondents “ideally” plan, and 56.3% “realistically” plan to include social media in their media plans next year.

That finding is significant, because it shows the rapid speed with which social media, including social networks like Facebook, micro-blogging services such as Twitter, and other new and emerging formats connecting people to each other online have taken a precedent with both consumers and marketing and advertising industry professionals. It also comes only a few months after Madison Avenue’s de facto bean counter, Interpublic forecaster Brian Wieser, conducted a lengthy research and soul-searching process concluding that social media is not a form of advertising, consequently leading him to omit it from Interpublic’s official ad spending forecasts.

“We expect that the data and insights in the study can assist agencies and other media planners and buyers to make the case for particular media spending next year,” said Chuck Martin, Director of the Center for Media Research, which is a unit of MediaPost Communications that publishes the daily Research Brief newsletter and a variety of research reports aimed at marketers and advertising agency media planning and buying professionals.

lresearch reports.

The base for the new report is a survey of 1,972 MediaPost subscribers conducted between July 17 and Aug. 10, 1,164 of whom said they have “planning, buying or approving responsibility” for their organization’s 2010 media plans.

Interestingly, “non-traditional” media such as online, mobile and other emerging media platforms, slightly outweigh the “traditional” media (TV, radio, print and out-of-home) plans among these respondents for 2010: 57% to 43%.

The study also asked respondents to distinguish between what they “realistically” intend to buy in 2010 vs. what they would ideally like to buy, and found that digital and emerging media are the most likely forms to be on their 2010 budgets.

Email marketing was the No. 1 medium, cited by 56.8% of respondents as being a realistic part of their 2010 media plans, followed by social networks (56.3%), keyword search (49.7%), radio (42.2%), magazines (42.1%), online display (40.5%), event sponsorship (36.9%), rich media display (35.5%), direct mail (34.7%), regional TV (32.8%), regional newspapers (31.7%), out-of-home (31.2%), email sponsorship (29.5%), online video (26.7%), mobile SMS text (26.1%), and others. Interestingly, national TV (18.2%) and national newspapers (14.8%), ranked near the bottom of these respondents’ realistic 2010 media buying plans.

The report also delineates the differences among respondents based on their job functions, titles, whether they are agency or brand marketing executives, and the degree to which they are responsible for traditional or non-traditional media. It also breaks down the differences between their realistic and idealistic buying expectations and provides an index on the relationship of those plans.

Grant Harrison, 45, created B-cycle — automated kiosks that let riders rent bikes at prices akin to mass transit — at Humana, in partnership with Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Trek. The national rollout will bring 50,000 bikes to a dozen U.S. cities in the next three years.

“Health-insurance companies have to change. We can’t focus solely on policy reform; we’re hoping to become a health-creation company. The focus for us is to make fun things healthy. Fifty percent of people drive to work less than 5 miles in their cars. They could be doing this on a bike. If somebody starts commuting this way, within a year, he or she will have lost 13 pounds on average.

When we launched our companywide bike-sharing program, 2,400 of our 10,000 employees signed up to use the bikes within the first six weeks and 12% of those people hadn’t ridden in years. When you get people on two wheels, you unlock this feeling of being a kid again. Biking is going to be a great advocacy source for change for cities and for health as well.”

From the 1950s until the early 2000s, advertising and marketing followed along the path of the industrial revolution. Mass marketing followed mass production. Bigger supermarkets beat tiny markets. Chain restaurants replaced cafes. But the thing is, people’s tastes seem to be changing. We don’t enjoy the same beer anymore, an all-American Budweiser, like everyone else does. Instead, we like what the place down the street makes. It tastes better, it’s local, and there’s something cool about being able to talk to the guy who brewed it. And that does not just apply to beer, it applies to everything.

Report after report is coming out in favor of mass customization, the ability to “skin” products, to design them with us in mind. We want our own mark on everything. And with this desire for personalization in our product selection, our taste for mass communications is shifting back to a desire for more personal interactions.

Now that email overload has crushed us, long after fax marketing came and went, with mainstream newspaper and magazine advertising in decline, and with television ads being deleted by digital video recorders, new methods are being tested all the time. Social media is one of these methods, and its intimacy is hitting a core group of people. They’re sick of being pandered to, so they’ve stepped out of that line because the product at the end isn’t interesting to them anymore. But it turns out they do love something else: the ability to connect with new people, share real experiences, and work toward a common goal, the same human interests that have meant a lot to us throughout human history.

We talked earlier about how the Web creates democracy, and it’s important to think again about this as it relates to scale. The Web allows us to work within Dunbar’s number. It means that we can build business relationships in different ways: Instead of just locally or in a specific vertical, we can channel and stripe and slice in many different ways.

It is vital to understand, though, that this medium has limits. There’s a risk once you start thinking about mechanizing your online presence. Think of the difference between writing a personal message (in email or on paper) and sending out an e-mail newsletter. The language changes. The personality changes. It shifts to what we’re all trying to avoid.

To that end, think hard when planning. Think about this whole Build an Army concept with intention. This isn’t about capturing the “most.” It’s the difference between passionate home-brewed beer aficinados and mass-produced mainstream beer. You’re angling for the former, not the latter. Some quick advice on this front: If you scale, be sure to keep these details in mind:

* Simple gestures matter. Saying a few words back to everyone you can touch in a given hour is a nice way for people to feel heard and seen.
* Remember to visit other people’s sites, to participate in other people’s things, and to make the conversation about them.
* Give as much as you can to your loyal community. Empower people within it to lead in their own ways. Promote people within your community to help them feel part of the core experience.

From the 1950s until the early 2000s, advertising and marketing followed along the path of the industrial revolution. Mass marketing followed mass production. Bigger supermarkets beat tiny markets. Chain restaurants replaced cafes. But the thing is, people’s tastes seem to be changing. We don’t enjoy the same beer anymore, an all-American Budweiser, like everyone else does. Instead, we like what the place down the street makes. It tastes better, it’s local, and there’s something cool about being able to talk to the guy who brewed it. And that does not just apply to beer, it applies to everything.

Report after report is coming out in favor of mass customization, the ability to “skin” products, to design them with us in mind. We want our own mark on everything. And with this desire for personalization in our product selection, our taste for mass communications is shifting back to a desire for more personal interactions.

Now that email overload has crushed us, long after fax marketing came and went, with mainstream newspaper and magazine advertising in decline, and with television ads being deleted by digital video recorders, new methods are being tested all the time. Social media is one of these methods, and its intimacy is hitting a core group of people. They’re sick of being pandered to, so they’ve stepped out of that line because the product at the end isn’t interesting to them anymore. But it turns out they do love something else: the ability to connect with new people, share real experiences, and work toward a common goal, the same human interests that have meant a lot to us throughout human history.

We talked earlier about how the Web creates democracy, and it’s important to think again about this as it relates to scale. The Web allows us to work within Dunbar’s number. It means that we can build business relationships in different ways: Instead of just locally or in a specific vertical, we can channel and stripe and slice in many different ways.

It is vital to understand, though, that this medium has limits. There’s a risk once you start thinking about mechanizing your online presence. Think of the difference between writing a personal message (in email or on paper) and sending out an e-mail newsletter. The language changes. The personality changes. It shifts to what we’re all trying to avoid.

To that end, think hard when planning. Think about this whole Build an Army concept with intention. This isn’t about capturing the “most.” It’s the difference between passionate home-brewed beer aficinados and mass-produced mainstream beer. You’re angling for the former, not the latter. Some quick advice on this front: If you scale, be sure to keep these details in mind:

* Simple gestures matter. Saying a few words back to everyone you can touch in a given hour is a nice way for people to feel heard and seen.
* Remember to visit other people’s sites, to participate in other people’s things, and to make the conversation about them.
* Give as much as you can to your loyal community. Empower people within it to lead in their own ways. Promote people within your community to help them feel part of the core experience.

With a handful of state-owned banks and around 19 private commercial banks, there is no lack of options if you’re looking to open an account
in Costa Rica.  All of these banks offer services to foreigners, whether residents, students or workers.  The majority offer accounts in colones or dollars, and in some cases, euros.

The first decision you’ll probably want to make is whether to open an account with a private or a state bank.  State-owned banks guarantee all deposits and have the most branch and ATM locations.  For example, Banco Costa Rica (BCR) offers the most ATM locations
– 400 scattered all around the country.  While there are a number of advantages to state banks, there is one very important downside to keep in mind: long lines.

Patience is the first requirement when doing business with state-run banks in Costa Rica.  The experience will either build your patience or drive you completely insane.  Adjusting your mentality to expect a long wait, and bringing a good book or a few Sudoku puzzles can greatly alleviate any destructive desires that crop up as you wait in a line that barely snakes forward.  If you’re able to bear this one main disadvantage, state-run banks may be a good option.

If you simply do not have the time or patience to wait, consider one of the private banks, such as the Canadian-owned Scotiabank.  In addition to much shorter wait times, many of the private banks are more likely to have a banker or teller that can assist you in English if your Spanish is limited.

What do you need to open an account?  Whether you’ve chosen a state-run or private bank to open a savings account (checking accounts generally require a few more hoops to jump through), there are a number of guidelines we can offer.

1) Identification – All banks will require your passport if you’re not a resident, and may ask for an additional form of identification, such as a driver’s license (from country of origin is acceptable).

2) Utility Bill – You’ll also need to obtain a copy of a utility bill that confirms the address where you reside.  (The bank accepted a receipt listing the building owner’s name from this author.)

3) Purpose in the Country – This requirement varies bank to bank, but if you’re a retired resident, you’ll want to bring your residency card or some document from immigration or your lawyer that shows you’re in the process of obtaining it.  Students should provide a letter from the institution where they study stating their purpose in the country, and any foreign workers should provide their orden patronal – a small document that reports income
and proves payment into social security, or La Caja.

4) Initial Deposit – This amount varies widely, ranging from 3,000-25,000 colones, or $10-500 for accounts in dollars.

5) Letters of Reference – Most banks will require an average of two reference letters.  There is some variation in what is expected, but in general, these are letters from other banks where you have made deposits.  They can also be as simple as letters from friends who have accounts in the bank where you are applying, stating your relationship and their confidence in your reliability.  In fact, if you can talk this friend into it – by buying them coffee, dinner, or both – it can help facilitate the process if they can accompany you to the bank.

As long as you’re not rushed and have all your required documents, you will find most bankers and tellers to be very friendly and helpful.  Finally, the Association of Residents of Costa Rica provides, among other services, banking assistance to its due-paying members.  Good luck in your personal banking, and see you in the ATM lines!

Starting your own nonprofit organization may be the perfect way to be your own boss without facing the trials and tribulations of a traditional for-profit company. The exact definition of “nonprofit” (also known as not-for-profit) is hazy at best because there are so many versions of nonprofit organizations. These groups can be educational, scientific, religious or charitable [source: IRS]. Roughly half of these groups are 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charities [source: NCCS]. Basically, a nonprofit takes the money it makes and puts it directly back into its causes and missions instead of sharing profits among its employees or stockholders.

The key to calling your group a nonprofit organization is quite simple — don’t make a profit. You can still receive a salary in exchange for your work and hire employees, but the overall goal of a nonprofit organization is to keep administrative and fundraising costs to a minimum. So think about that dream. Would you like to start an animal shelter? Raise money for medical research? Beautify your city? You can go ahead and start working toward that goal right now. Say goodbye to Hawaiian-shirt Friday and hello to your future.

In this article, we’ll discuss the requirements for starting and maintaining a nonprofit organization, fundraising ideas to help your project thrive and available grants for the nonprofit sector. Read on to learn about the basic requirements for starting your own nonprofit.

Non-Profit Organization Requirements

Cinema Saviors
In 2006, a group of movie lovers started The Friends of the Penn to support the historic Penn Theatre in Plymouth, Mich. In its first year, more than 100 volunteers logged more than 6,000 hours. Their hard work paid off when 27,000 patrons rolled through the theater’s doors in that first year [source: Penn Theatre].

Taking the leap into running your own nonprofit can be overwhelming. There are plans to draw up, funds to find and partners to build solid, trust-based relationships with. And there’s going to be some paperwork — maybe a lot of paperwork. But when your life goals and dreams are pointing you in the direction of an exciting, nonprofit adventure, a little time spent getting the process rolling will be easily trumped by the benefits. When you start to feel a little freaked out by the idea of setting up the organization, remember that more than 1.4 million nonprofits are alive and well in the United States — and they all had to start somewhere [source: Blackwood, Wing, & Pollack]. You can do it, too.

Here are the steps you need to take to get started:

* Write a mission statement for your chosen organization.
* Find a group of trusted individuals to form a board of directors.
* File an article of incorporation with your state. You can find this document on your state’s government Web site. There may be a small fee when you send in the form.
* Write a list of bylaws for the organization.
* Write to the IRS to request nonprofit status. Once you’ve been approved, you’ll need to apply for the same status through your own state. You may have to fill out other forms or register with other state-run offices depending on where you live.
* Formally register your nonprofit organization with your state and apply for sales tax exemption.
* Contact your city government to find out if you need a solicitation license.
* If you’re going to be sending out a lot of mail, you can apply for a nonprofit bulk mail permit from your local post office.
* Get insurance. There are many kinds of insurance for nonprofits, so do your research and shop around before you settle with one company.

[sources: SNPO, ISOS]

Now that you know how to get started, it’s time to think about financial backing. Read on to learn about fundraising ideas for your nonprofit organization.

Fundraising Ideas for Non-Profit Organizations

Nonprofit organizations rely on money given by others to support their goals. The key to fundraising is to show these people exactly what they are giving money for and to make it fun for them. It helps to have some kind of “reward” for the donors. When money is tight, donors are more likely to pitch in if they’re getting something in return.

You’ve probably seen groups of teenagers in swimsuits washing cars on a hot summer day to raise money for their high school sports team. You can build on this concept by coming up with simple ways to raise funds. You can sell a variety of products, including candy bars, cookie dough, magazine subscriptions, lottery scratch cards, restaurant gift cards and lollipops.

If you’re looking to raise a large amount of funds for a particular project, you’ll need more than a little candy. In this case, you can throw fundraising events to get the attention of large groups of donors. You can get local businesses to donate free items for an auction. You can host raffles, parties or sales. There are endless ideas for creative events, such as miniature golf tournaments, dance-a-thons, fashion shows and cook-offs. Brainstorm creative ways to get people’s attention and have fun. Think about the needs and wants of your local community, and set your sights on what will make them pitch in for your cause.

If fundraisers aren’t your thing, you can apply for local and national grants. Read on to learn about grants for nonprofit organizations.

Grants for Non-Profit Organizations

Grants are not a loan or “free money.” Grants are amounts of money given to organizations or individuals for specific purposes. You can obtain grants from businesses, foundations and the government. You can obtain large sums of money for your projects or research if you tap the right resources. Think about your project’s goals and mission, and then research groups that share similar interests.

Grants come large and small. It’s easy to think that a giant organization such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation might support only large projects. In 2009, it funded a grant for $9,950,000 to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India [source: BMGF]. However, the same month it also awarded a grant of $306 to a small organization called Bike Works Seattle “for general operating support” [source: BMGF]. No matter what your needs are, there’s most likely a grant you can apply for.

You can also look for grants from your state government — start with the state’s official government Web site. Some states even offer specialty Web sites that provide keyword or category searches, such as the TexasOnline eGrants Search site [source: TexasOnline].

Then there are the big dogs — federal grants. The United States government has a plethora of grants to choose from. Go to the Grants.gov Web site to search by category, agency or keyword [source: Grants.gov]. Remember to read the fine print when applying for any grant to ensure you can fully comply with the agreement. Once you get started, you’ll see it’s easy to raise the money you need to fulfill your dreams.