Power to Earn Money

Open Office Program

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I like saving money when possible. And, in these economically challenged times, whenever I find a free program that makes a job easier – I’m particularly happy.

Open Office is such a program. Originally designed from one piece of software it has evolved over the last 20 years into a suite of programs that can handle almost any project one might have including . . .

Word Processing
Spreadsheets
Presentations
Graphics
Databases
and more

Open Office is an open development project meaning that literally anyone can enhance the software, ask for new features or report a bug they may find. It is an easy to use program and if you’re familiar with any other Office package you’ll have no problem at all using Open Office right away. The fact that has been released under the LGPL license means that you can install it on as many computers as you like, give copies to anyone you like and use it for any purpose you like . . .

Personal
Commercial
Public Administration
Educational
Non-Profit
Group, etc. . . .

everything “downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose”.

Available in almost any language, Open Office will work on most common computers with data being stored in an international open standard format. And, if you have files using some other office software program – chances are Open Office will probably be able to use those files – both read and write.

What-if you need more than the basics?

Not a problem. There are over 100 ‘add-on’s’. A sampling are . . .

MYSQL - “The MySQL Connector for OpenOffice.org installs a native MySQL database driver. It is faster, seamless integrated, easier to administrate and there is no need to install and setup a JDBC or ODBC driver separately”*

Special Characters – “Compose Special Characters lets you type two or three characters and use a keyboard shortcut to convert them into a single accented or special character. You can also compose unicode characters using the 4 character unicode value. Writer and Calc are currently supported.”*

Report Builder – “Create with the Sun Report Builder stylish, smart-looking database reports. The flexible report editor can define group and page headers as well as group and page footers and even calculation fields are available to accomplish complex database reports.”*

Obba – “. . .provides a bridge between spreadsheets and Java classes. With Obba, you can use spreadsheets as GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) for your Java libraries.”*

* Quotes taken from OpenOffice.org

In addition, there are other pages offering . . .

News
Support
Project Information
Downloads

All you need do to take advantage of this program is register. You’ll be asked to create an account – using either a Username or Email – and then choose a password. It’s that easy. As with anything there are always Terms of Use, so please take a moment to review those. Visit OpenOffice.org here.

Final Thought

Open Office is one way to save. Another way to save is to get an economical Toll Free service for your business. Not only does having your own ’800′ number make operating your business easy, but also gives it a more professional, ‘blue-chip’ appearance.

Get instant activation of your ’800′ number starting at only $2.00 a month here!

Why You Need an EIN, Employer Identification Number

You hear a lot about identify theft these days. One way to help protect yourself is by getting an EIN number – Employer Identification Number.

Having an EIN number is a good idea not only if you’re planning on registering for affiliate programs but also for using just about anywhere else you would use or need your SS number.

Once you’ve signed up, you will receive a unique 9-digit EIN number to use. Don’t let yourself get confused either, the EIN goes by more than one name and depending on the form, application, registration process, etc. you may see it as . . .

TIN – Tax Identification Number

FEIN – Federal Employer Identification Number

FTIN – Federal Tax Identification Number . . .

they are basically all the same, and valid in all states for tax filing, banking and other business purposes. Also, once you’ve been assigned your EIN number, it will not expire nor will it be re-issued.

Who Assigns EINs?

These numbers are assigned to individuals and businesses by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) for the purpose of identification.

One distinction can be made regarding the multi-names, when the EIN number is used for identification rather than employment tax reporting it is referred to as TIN; when the number is used for reporting employment taxes it is referred to as EIN.

EIN and Affiliates

In my opinion, having an EIN number is particularly important if you are planning on registering for any type of affiliate program. To register with an affiliate program you will be required to fill in a form with certain information – name, address, SS number, etc. Your EIN number – rather than your SS number - will then be used by affiliates to report earnings to the IRS, who in turn use that number to identify you with regard to commissions earned.

Affiliate programs may also ask you to fill in a W-9 Form, sign, and then fax or mail it back. This W-9 form is a Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. It is just another instance where you can protect your SS number by using an EIN number and still keep everything acceptable and legal.

While you – as an individual – can use your EIN in place of your SS number when registering as an affiliate, for tax returns and other various business tax issues, it can also be used by:

Sole Proprietors
LLC (Limited Liability Companies)
Corporations
Partnerships
Non-profit Trusts
Non-profit Estates
Government Agencies

So, What’s the difference between SS and EIN Numbers?

Your SS Number can be validated as to year of issue, origin and state; EIN numbers have no such history.

Think there might be confusion when using an EIN vs. your SS number?

No . . . they are easily distinguishable and there is no problem for say a credit bureau to tell the difference between an EIN number and a SS number.

For example – a credit application would require your actual SS number where it would be scrutinized in a protected and secure manner. To the contrary, EIN numbers are not considered sensitive and may be more freely used. Less worry for you.

EIN numbers can be applied for on line. It’s easy and quick. To get your EIN number online …. click here.

Twitter: Inactive Accounts

Social Marketing - My Space, Facebook, etc. and mirco-blogging – Twitter are very popular not only as a personal means of communicating with family and friends, but also as a means to get your business out there. However, they are not without some snags.

Facebook recently was in the news for changing default settings making some private information available. And, you may run into a snag with Twitter concerning inactive accounts – yours or someone else’s that has the username you want.

This situation was addressed in the most recent monthly issue of Search Engine News. I’ve place the Q & A below for those that may find themselves in a similar situation.

Don’t have Planet Ocean? Read More Here

Begin quote:

Question:I attempted to set up a Twitter account for my business and my chosen username was taken. When I visited the account it appeared to be inactive. Is there any way I can get Twitter to release that account to me?

Answer: Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward way to get Twitter to release an inactive account, but there are a few different methods you can use to varying degrees of success.

Twitter will not release inactive accounts unless the account has terms of service violations or has been out of use for about nine months (and even that’s on a case-by-case basis). Terms of Service violations can include brand violations, breaches of privacy, harassment, impersonation, name squatting, pornographic content and promotion of illegal activities. If you notice the account in question is participating in these activities, you can send a direct email with the username to terms@twitter.com.

If the account has been inactive for a while, it may become available soon. Accounts that are legitimate but have just been abandoned can’t be released on an individual basis but they are culled by Twitter from time to time. Clearly, waiting around and hoping that the user will release the account isn’t an ideal option. To that end, here are some suggested proactive steps you can take to speed along the process.

1. Get in touch with the user via an @reply. Start your quest by following the user and then sending them an @reply. They will be notified of the reply if they have the “notification of new follows” option activated. Since this option is the default option, they will probably get notified and get in touch. This may not always work, but it’s a good starting point.

2. Check out the user bio. Some inactive accounts may not have a user bio, but for those that do you can find their Web site and contact them through that channel. Visit their URL and use their contact information to inquire about the Twitter username.

3. Leverage your Twitter follower list. Ask your current followers who owns the account. It’s worth a shot, especially if the account was once active and no longer is. Ask for retweets on the request.

4. Search for the domain. If your desired username is different from your URL, you can search for the domain Username.com (replace Username with the actual username you are looking up) to try to contact the user. Many Web site owners register a Twitter username based on a URL and then don’t develop either one.

Once you find the updated contact information, drop a line and explain that you’d like to use the Twitter name. Add a link to your site to show the relevance and note that you’ve noticed they haven’t used the account in X months. They may willingly give up the username or want to make some sort of trade. It’s up to you as to how much a Twitter username is worth to you. Trading a service or spending $20 to secure the name should be considered money well invested.

- Casey Markee, Writer & Lead SEO Consultant, Planet Ocean

End Quote

Every month Planet Ocean addresses a miriad of different topics relating to ….

Search Engines
Social Marketing
On Line Business
Internet Marketing

In these difficult economic times, anyone that has any thought to keeping their business moving forward – or taking it to the next level - needs Planet Ocean .

Dont’ have Planet Ocean? Get it Here!

PLR-Private Label Rights

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If you’re one of those people that agonizes over writing, whether it’s for your website or blog, this program is for you. And, even if you’re one of the lucky ones that finds writing easy, you’re gonna love how this new program frees up your time.

This program offers free access to PLR articles – and much more – for use on your blog, website or in article directories.

And best of all, it’s free. The program I’m talking about is PLR Wholesaler.

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Get FREE Access to PLR Articles Now

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For those who may not be familiar with PLR, that stands for Private Label Rights. This can refer to . . .

Articles
Ebooks
Software
Templates
Videos
WP Themes
and more

. . . that have been created for use by others. Each PLR product usually comes with some restrictions. These restrictions should be reviewed because they will vary depending on the source. There are those that allow full access (those are best), while others may have some limitations as to what you’re allowed to do.

When using PLR articles, you should remember that even though you are allowed to use the article, you will want to spin or re-write the article to a degree. This re-write should be from 50-75% of the article. You want to do this so that the article does not fall into being classified as duplicate content. If you want to see how many times an article you have chosen has been used, take a short block of text from the article, place the text inside of quotes and perform a search. This should give you an idea of that article’s exposure.

A re-write can easily be accomplished by adding an introduction sentence in your own words, and re-writing the first paragraph using synonyms and then mixing up the order and construction of the sentences in such a way as to maintain sense and continuity. Once this is done, you can then re-write the remainder of the article’s paragraphs – perhaps ending with another unique sentence in your own words to conclude it.

For most PLR products, you have the right to resell the product and keep 100% of the profit. You can also make changes to the product using your own brand to sell or offer say software, ebooks or reports as an incentive for your viewer taking an action. While some PLR products come with no restrictions, you should verify that you are allowed to use your name and brand as the creator/author before sending out or selling a product.

Get your Free access to PLR articles, ebooks and more here!

Tips & Tricks – HTML, Graphics & WordPress

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Regardless of what we’re doing, most of us try to find shortcuts along the way to help make the job easier. Maintaining a website and blog are no different. However, if you haven’t started thinking about shortcuts, I’ve listed some of my favorites below to help get you started.

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HTML Time Savers

Create templates for HTML pages, tables or blocks of text you plan on using repeatedly.
Use the <!– –> tag to embed information in the web page. This information can be anything – inventory number, location of item; information relevant to your advertisers, or you may want to save page details such as alternate background color, font names, etc.
Use <center> </center> tags for each block of text, table, etc. that is to be centered. This may seem excessive, but when I want to move or delete something, I don’t have to worry if doing so will impact the overall layout of the remainder of the page.
Use pixel shims or transparent images as spacers- or when needing visual help in laying out a table.
Use ‘Control + A’ to view everything on a page. This is helpful if you’ve used hidden letters, numbers or punctuation marks in the same color as the background to create negative space. Note: Do not use this technique to place ‘hidden’ links – those links to your other pages or websites that are the same color as the background so as not to be visible to the eye – to try and boost your search engine rankings. It’s a definite no-no.
If you’re having trouble laying out a table, using a border to see where the columns and rows are makes finding mistakes easy. Once you’ve fixed the problem and have the table like you want, remove the border.

GRAPHICS Tips

Use layers for building complex images or graphics with multiple elements. It is much easier to change one layer than re-create the whole graphic.
Save both the multi-layered original and one-layer finished images. And while you’re at it, use the same name for both only end the layered image with a unique notation such as psp. (This is the file extension for Paint Shop Pro that designates a layered image.) Using the same name makes it easy to find both images if you need to make changes, and at the same time be able to easily tell the difference.
When using layers, include one informational layer that contains the hexidecimal colors and the font names used. By doing this, you’ll always have the correct information for making any changes. Unless you only use one font or are very familiar with the font names, it can be difficult to remember which font was used.

Word Press Tips

Use HTML tables to include rows, columns in a post. To do this you will need to select HTML rather than Visual.
Use tables to include sections with a different background color. This is good to highlight a section or advertisement.
Use dots for additional spacing or lines in your WP blog. To do this, place the dots where you want the extra spaces or additional lines, and then make them the same color as the background. This allows you to include extra lines to space pictures or text – or place more space between words if desired.

This is a non-spaced line, do you see any dots?

This is a spaced line. ……..Do you see the dots?

[Note: To see the dots I used to put space in the second line above, hold the Control key + A at the same time and the dots will appear. ]

Conclusion

Develop your own shortcuts and time-savers and put them in a single folder where you will be able to find them quickly and easily. If you prefer keeping the shortcuts and templates in multiple folders, you may find keeping a single Word Pad document with notes and locations helpful.