Saturday, December 5, 2009

Latest Tips from MakeUseOf.com

Latest Tips from MakeUseOf.com

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How To Value Your Blog Or Website To Sell It (Part Two)

Posted: 05 Dec 2009 04:01 AM PST

thissiteforsaleThinking of a new website and creating your new website and marketing your new website is one thing, but what do you do after that? That's right, you sell the website and make money off your hard work.

Yesterday, Dean posted some tips about selling your website, but if you are new to this, you might not know where you should list it. But not to worry, you will find out shortly. These 8 sites are intended for the smaller websites only. If you are going to be selling a large, highly profitable website, it is best that you seek some legal advice first.

Before I list these sites, I’d first better give you some quick tips:

  • List as much information about your site as possible – website statistics, earnings, monthly revenue.
  • Don’t stop running your website until you have sold it and changed hands.
  • Be honest with all your information you provide.
  • Ask for a reasonable price – too low people won’t look at it, too higher, people won’t look at it.

Sites to Sell Your Site

So now it’s time to list your website on the market. It is always a good idea to mention on your website that “this site is for sale. Contact us if you are interested“, but you want the people who are looking to buy websites to find you, and not just your visitors.

So here are some listing directories that are dedicated to selling websites and some Forum Marketplaces.

Listing Directories

Flippa

Although to list your site it costs $19 then another 5% of the sold price when sold, Flippa is a good place to get started if you are serious about selling your website.

Listing your site on Flippa is a pretty easy 6 step process. One of the main advantages Flippa has over other directories is that it is very similar to how eBay works when selling your item. You can have a “Buy Now” price, or list it as an auction. The site is very easy to use, and the help section is an easy read.

flippa

WebsiteBroker

WebsiteBroker is another excellent site to list your website for sale. Although you have to pay an initial listing fee, you do not have to pay a commission when sold. So if you are asking for a higher price, I would suggest choosing WebsiteBroker over Flippa.  The listing price starts at $9.95 which lasts for 90 days, but you have the option for a premier listing for $29.95 which gives your site more exposure.

websitebrokers

Forums

Forums are a great free way to publicise the sale of your website.  However, many have restrictions on if you can post. For example, you may have to be a member of the forum for a certain time, or you may need a certain amount of posts to be able to have access to the marketplace.

If you use a forum, remember that you have to communicate to your buyer through your own communication channels, so a safer way is to use one of the listing directories I mentioned above.

iWebTool

With over 15,000 members, iWebTool is a dedicated forum to discuss websites, promotions, SEO tools, search engines and to list your products in the marketplace. However, to be able to post in the marketplace, you’ll need a minimum of 20 posts.

iWebTool

Search Engine Forums

SEF is another great forum for tips and tricks of the trade. There are a few rules you must follow when posting in SEF, and they provide you with some tips of what you should include in your post.

Digital Point

dps_logoDigital Point is a very active forum with almost 60,000 active members and just over 12 million posts. Your site will surely be seen in their Buy, Sell or Trade section. Make sure you have a read through their rules and get some Do and Don't tips which you may find interesting.

Webmaster-Talk

Having over 100,000 members and just under 1 million posts, Webmaster Talk has a variety of categories for your website to be listed in.

webmaster_talk

dnforums

dnflogo2The dnForums Developed Websites for Sale section allows you to list your website for sale. However, you are only allowed to post one thread per day, and you have to pay for a subscription, or a lifetime package to be able to post. Make sure you have a read of their rules before you list your site for sale.

DaniWeb

DaniWeb is a popular forum that focuses on Hardware, Software, Software Development, Web Development, Internet Marketing, and is a great site for you to promote your website on.

daniweb

Now that you have a starting point for sites to list your website for sale, you should now receive more exposure and more applicants interested in buying your website.  Please bear in mind that these are only tips and you should seek legal advice before selling a website that creates a decent amount of revenue.

Have you sold a website before or do you have some other tips to share? We would like to know.

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Cool Websites and Tools [December 4th]

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 05:01 PM PST

cool websites Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. All listed websites are FREE (or come with a decent free account option). No trials or buy-to-use craplets. For more cool websites and web app reviews subscribe to MakeUseOf Directory.

 

(1) Browsera – Ensuring that your new website looks and behaves the same way on different browsers is a task that requires considerable amount of time and effort. Browsera is an online tool that can help you out. It can automatically compare the output of each browser and find inconsistencies in your pages, so that you can quickly fix them. Read more: Browsera: Test Your Site In Different Browsers

(2) PlaylistNowFM -  This is a crafty music discovery tool that creates playlists based on what you are doing right now. It essentially combines Twitter and other music services like Blip.fm and Last.fm. Instead of asking for your favorite artist or song, it asks you what you are doing and gives you an appropriate playlist for it. Read more: PlaylistNowFM: Creates Playlist That Match What You Are Doing

(3) PetFinder – Picking, and then finding the perfect pet is a tough task for any family or individual. Many of the information will be new and much of it found on the internet can be inaccurate. Pet Finder is a website owned by the Discovery Channel (so you know you're getting good, solid info) aimed at helping people find and adopt a pet for free . Read more: PetFinder: Find & Adopt A Pet For Free

(4) LuggageLimits – Different airlines have different luggage policies. Frequent travelers would know the inconvenience it can cause when one has got extra luggage and the airline either refuses to accommodate it or charges exorbitant fees for carrying it. LuggageLimits is a useful website that can help you avoid such situations. Select the airline, departure and arrival airports, and get the corresponding luggage weight limit. Read more: LuggageLimits: Check Airline Luggage Weight Limit Online

(5) Remindo – This is a free web based intranet collaboration platform for businesses which includes most of the features which a company intranet is supposed to have. The tool includes things like instant messaging, private tweets, file hosting and sharing that would help employees collaborate with each other and with clients. Read more: Remindo: Free Web Based Intranet For Businesses

Submit Your Web App

 

These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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How To Automatically Tweet “Loved” Last.fm Tracks [Mac]

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 02:01 PM PST

In a recent poll on our Facebook fan page, we found out that Twitter still isn’t very popular among the general public. Although, I believe that I will get an earful from hardcore Twitterers begging to differ. The truth is, Twitter is popular but its popularity is confined to a particular niche.

Nowadays, more and more services are springing up on the Internet; and they integrate the social features that Twitter direly needs. Photo sharing, for example, is a pretty decent example of a feature Twitter is missing and TwitPic comes to the rescue. It very seamlessly integrates the ability to post photo on Twitter, reaching all of your followers at once. If you’re a budding Twitterer, you may want to check out this post by Nancy — How to Turn Twitter Into Your One-Stop Lifestream as well as MakeUseOf’s PDF Guide Twitter: Best Practices and Tips.

Honestly, I wouldn’t consider myself an avid Twitterer. I’m more of a Tumblr kind of guy. In the past few weeks, however, I’ve sort of integrated Twitter into my daily routine. With the addition of NewsFire to my list of must-have apps, accompanied by TweetDeck; I began tweeting furiously. Unfortunately, even with the slew of web services available; I still can’t consistently tweet my music properly.

The solution I found was pretty basic. It would automatically tweet a Last.fm “loved” track — and that’s all I needed. It’s not necessary to spam my followers with every song I listen to. This method is perfect for mind-numbingly easy music sharing on Twitter. I call it my personal music recommendation service.

First of all, you’ll need a Last.fm account. If you don’t have one then it’s probably a good idea to register and start scrobbling — that’s the term used to tell Last.fm what songs you’re listening to. Not convinced to create an account? This post will probably change your mind.

Once you’re registered with Last.fm, the next step is to start scrobbling. There are a couple of scrobblers available for Mac like GimmeSomeTune and Bowtie. I would actually recommend ScrobblePod because it makes “loving” a track incredibly simple. Besides that, it also scrobbles tunes played on your iPod (a feature that’s not available on any other scrobbler).

Download ScrobblePod, install it then launch the app. What you need to do at this point is to link it with your Last.fm account. Click on the app’s menu bar icon and then Preferences. Click on the Last.fm tab and authorize ScrobblePod on your Last.fm account.

Once you have got both ScrobblePod and Last.fm connected, start listening and check if it works! It may take a while for songs to appear in your Last.fm profile. As soon as the song titles are listed, try “loving” a song — click on ScrobblePod’s menu bar icon and in the menu that appears, click the double left arrows to reveal Last.fm extra features and love the track.

Then check your Last.fm profile to see if it has been “Loved”. Success? Then let’s move on.

We’re going to rely on a web service that will pull all “Loved” tracks and publish them on Twitter through your account — LastFM love. All you need to do is sign up using your Last.fm username and your Twitter credentials. After that, you have the ability to customize the format of the published tweet.

That’s all to it. Now, every time you “Love” a track with ScrobblePod, it will automatically be tweeted along with a link to the song in Last.fm.

How is this different from Twisten.fm? Good question — Twisten.fm’s library isn’t as extensive as Last.fm’s so you may not find some songs on Twisten.fm. Also, Twisten.fm’s interface is cumbersome and requires you to log in before you are able to search and tweet a song. Using the ScrobblePod+Last.fm+LastFM love combination, the whole procedure is as effortless as a few mouse clicks.

Do you use Twitter? What do you usually tweet about? Will you be sharing your music on Twitter now?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Technology Explained: How Do Websites Use Cookies?

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 12:01 PM PST

cookie monsterChances are that you’ve probably heard about cookies – those little pieces of data in your browser on your computer that some say track the sites you visit and compromise your security. There are plenty of rumors going around about them, and in this article, we’ll sort through the myths and truths that exist about how websites use cookies.

While they aren’t the chocolate kind you eat, cookies did cause a quite a security commotion a few years ago and it’s surely worth knowing how they work and what they do on your computer. Cookies are small bits of text data stored in your computer by websites you visit and are organized in a name:value pair along with a separate domain and expiration value. Cookie data is also sent back and forth between certain sites you visit whenever you travel to that site.

Google Search might place a cookie on your computer if you adjust your search preferences with the site for example. If you set your default Google display language to “Ewmew Fudd”, than Google will place a cookie on your computer with the following text: “ID=87d29aeaeaf65698:U=4906f9bfc2fcadbb:LD=xx-elmer:NR=10:TM=1259122802:LM=1259165259:GM=1:S=tUvbIFprv_XP1fQP”. You can see the word “elmer” and an ID in there, but the rest is not human readable- only data Google uses to store the rest of my search settings and language preferences. Many sites though simply store an ID for your specific computer to keep settings for you when you visit next. But, every time you visit Google again, their site will read this cookie and show you your results in “Ewmew Fudd” language.

how do websites use cookies

Other popular examples where sites store cookies on your computer can be seen in shopping carts, and any site that requires a login or remembers you uniquely somehow during a “session” with that site. Analytics and visitor tracking to monitor how many times you return to a specific site are also another large source of cookies. Also, online ad services such as Google Adsense also store cookies on your computer to display and remember what kind of ads it thinks you might like.

how do websites use cookies

The danger of cookies to some is that they can be used for targeted advertising online, and as I mentioned earlier, sites that use Google Adsense or Doubleclick can keep track of your preferences and ad likings and then target certain types of ads that you specifically like at you as you browse the web (but only on the sites that also use the same ad networks). Different organizations though have different privacy policies, and it is key to understand that targeting is not a threat or danger to your computer; it just makes some people uneasy if they are aware they are being targeted with certain ads.

The Network Advertising Initiative offer a simple page that you can visit here for example that allows you to opt out of some types of targeted advertising from many major ad networks, all on one page.

how do websites use cookies

Most current browsers have an easy-to-use utility to view and remove cookies that sites have stored on your computer. Firefox for example allows you to right-click on a page you are viewing, click on “View Page Info” and then on the “Security” tab. From there in the “Privacy & History” tab, you can click on “View Cookies” to see any cookies that that site has stored on your computer. Chrome also allows you to . While disabling cookies might impair your browsing on many sites, if you’re worried about your cookie security, you can also simply clear out all of your cookies from within your browser’s “Clear Private Data” (Firefox) or “Clear Browsing Data” (Chrome) option. Internet Explorer also allows you to delete your browsing and cookie data every time you exit the browser from Tools > Internet Options.

Do you often clear out your browser history to get rid of cookies or do they sit for months in your computer? Share your thoughts below in the comments.

Image Credit : scubadive67

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How To Value Your Blog Or Website To Sell It (Part One)

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 11:01 AM PST

saleMany of us have blogs and websites that have become like children to us. We nurture them with SEO and watch them grow using Google Analytics. We see them get their first pay cheque when we start using affiliate links or Adsense. Then the day comes when we can take them no further. We just haven't got the time or the skills to take it to the next level. So it’s time to let them go.

Selling a website can be a tricky business. After all, it’s not like you’re selling a tangible object such as a car or a house. When it all boils down to it you’re selling a sequence of ones and zeros that you somehow own the rights to.

Value

Obviously, you must value your website. Since we’ve given our blogs and sites some of our best work this is often the how to value a blog hardest step because we're in a very biased position. Asked off the top of our heads we’d probably value our websites at an astonishing figure purely out of love. But you’ve got to put aside all of that and do some realistic math.

We’ll use a basic valuing formula which is multiplying your annual revenue on a website by the yearly commitment a buyer could be expected to make until he/she sees a decent turnover.

Firstly, decide which category your site fits into. Is it :


a) A timeless, long-standing website that can easily evolve. An example of this would be MakeUseOf or Lifehacker.

b) A blog or site that has an expiry date. An example is one attached to a specific product or service that will eventually decrease in popularity (although retro fan sites are the exception).

c) A new emerging site that could easily be modified and changed due to the low-traffic but still has high-potential.

d) Another site such as affiliate marketing or B2B.

Then take your category and multiply your yearly ad revenue by these corresponding values:

a) 3

b) 1.5

c) 1.5

d) 1.5 – 3 depending on popularity and credibility

If your site is new or you haven’t monetized it yet you will have to make estimates for your annual advertising revenue. This is specific to your niche and the type of content you create. It’s worth monetizing your site for a few months purely to get an idea of this (and to make a few bucks on the side).

You should now have a ballpark figure for your site. Add on other income streams (or potential income streams) which your site owns. For example, extra features such as newsletters, eBooks, forums and apps which could all easily be monetized need to be added on. Use the same ‘ annual income X yearly commitment’ formula we used above.

Also, if your site has a shop or a product for sale, you can value those as well. Then total up the approximate value for your site and tweak it until you’re happy with the figure and you think it’s attractive to buyers.

Online Valuation Tool

For an easier way to value your site (or just to get an idea) use WebsiteOutlook. I tested dozens of valuing tools and this is the only one I would recommend. Other services gave me laughable valuations. For example, I just started a blog last week and one service gave me a valuation of over 30K even though my revenue is down at a couple of dollars a week!

When you go to Website Outlook, enter in the URL of your website in the text-entry box in the top right-hand corner. If your site is only a few days old this may not work for you but if it’s live for more than a week then it’ll work just fine.

how to value a blog

When you hit enter, a page such as the one above will display. The top part gives you a rough evaluation of your blog. The screenshot below shows you the traffic data for your website and the Alexa rating. Perhaps more important in the quest to advertise and sell your website (which Jack will cover in the second part of this series) is the traffic origin tool. This tells you from which country your traffic arrives. So if it’s all from the US then you may want to try selling it to a company in the US.

how to value a blog

It’s important to keep in mind that this tool will only give you an average based on revenue from similar blogs. It also doesn’t take into account any other income streams such as the ones we discussed above. You’ll have to add those on yourself.

One final tip I’ll give you on valuing your website before you decide to put it on the market is to think rationally. Would you buy your site for the price you’re asking? If your answer is ‘no’ then it’s time to rethink.

Look out for part two of this post where Jack looks at nine online places where you can put your site up for sale.  Stay tuned for that!

Image Credits : TheTruthAbout

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The Top 4 Risks You Face When You Use Facebook

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 10:01 AM PST

facebook risksFacebook is continuing to grow and has passed the 300 million user mark. Every 100 million extra have added faster. The first 100 million obviously took years, but the second 100 million took eight months and the third 100 million took about 5 months.

Facebook attracts all kinds of people and connects people from all over the world. From your old high-school friends to your colleagues or even your parents (unfortunately).

Now, as any Windows user can tell you, with size and high market share come risks and attention from people with bad intentions.

So what are the main Facebook risks you need to worry about while staying connected to your friends or growing your crops?

Facebook Risk #1: Remember Who Your Visitors Are

facebook risks

When you receive friend requests often, it might be tempting to accept them all. You might be thinking the more the merrier or you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you should really remember who you have friended over time.

There are multiple examples of people who have said too much on Facebook and have got in trouble for it. If you call in sick for work or school make sure you haven’t posted photos from the boozefest of the night before, or the citytrip you’re making today.

Also don’t forget that one of the first things employers do when looking at job applicants is Google them and trying to find them on Facebook.

The way I see it you have to make a choice between writing everything you want on your profile while restricting the people you allow very much and choosing your words and photos very carefully and allowing everyone.

For more information on how to safeguard your Facebook privacy read this article by Mahendra. He explains things like lists, photo privacy and application use. When you do friend your boss, co-worker or anyone else with whom you don’t want to share everything with read this article by Tim.

Facebook Risk #2: Protect Your Private Information

That sounds pretty straightforward right? Keep your private information to yourself because it’s private. You wouldn’t give your credit card number or street address to any stranger in the street so you have even less reason to give it to any stranger on Facebook. You should also be careful because other than your own private information you can give individuals or applications the possibility to access the information of your private friends and even talk to your friends in your name.

Because of this it is important to mind what applications you use. I say use and not authorize because every application you use, you also authorize.

facebook risks

You can keep an eye on which applications you have authorized by going to “Settings” and clicking “Application Settings“. Then, on the “Show” dropdown menu select “Authorized” and you’ll see the applications that can access your data and are allowed to post and view information from your contacts.

You can also completely remove applications here or even block them from contacting you, so you’ll never get superpoked again. It’s also wise to have a look at your own stream now and then, just click on your name at the top of the page. It may be a bit narcissistic but just view it as taking a look in the mirror to see what you’re presenting to other people.

risks of using facebook

You can control which friends or other contacts can see what information when you go to the “Setting > Privacy Settings“. There you can also have a look at your profile the way other people see it. Beware that networks are usually authorized, but can be very large. Many people are, for instance, members of the network of their city or country which can be millions of people. When you go to “News Feed and Wall” you can also deauthorize Facebook to show your name to your friends in social ads. This can happen when you’re a fan of a page. It is not true that Facebook uses your photos in ads. Read more on the Facebook blog.

risks of using facebook

Facebook Risk #3: Treat Strangers As Strangers

risks of using facebookYou don’t know a person right away when you meet them in real life, but online it is even more difficult to get a feeling of who you’re dealing with. Some people make a sport out of exaggerating or making up their life or persona. Even worse, some people make it their business.

People only need a little of your personal information to take over your identity and apply for store cards or even commit crimes in your name. Social engineering, the process of tricking people into giving information has always been around, but is especially useful on Facebook. Ryan has written an excellent and controversial post on how to trick people on Facebook in giving up their data. It might help you protect against these kinds of attempts.

Some people use Facebook precisely to meet strangers, in the form of dating. While this can of course be fun you should treat strangers as strangers. Even when you’ve known people for over months online and connect spiritually, you still don’t know much about them.

Pictures also don’t prove much. Never send money to people asking for it. Don’t give out your home address. If you want to meet in real life just meet in a public place with lots of people where you can leave within five minutes if you smell something fishy or the date is just disappointing. It’s OK to check some of the claims a person makes, like by calling the company he or she works for to ask if that’s true.

Facebook Risk #4: Internet Addiction

It may become increasingly attractive to wander around in the virtual world. This of course counts for anything online that’s entertaining, but Facebook lends itself very well to sucking you in and keeping you there for hours on end. There are so many things to do, chatting with friends, looking at photos or posting your own, playing a game or searching for old classmates.

It’s not good when this starts to become a large part of your life and gets in the way of other things that need to happen or activities that are fun like hanging out with friends in real life. Just try to keep an eye on the time you’re spending there and take a break now and then. You can use Facebook as an reward after useful things are done. Remove a game that is taking up too much time or maybe take an entire break from Facebook for a week or so. The harder that is, the bigger your problem.

It might look as if I condone the use of Facebook and try to say that behind every avatar there’s some pervert that’s trying to scam you out of your money. This is of course not the case and you should use Facebook as it’s intended; hanging out with friends and having some fun. It’s just that online relationships are different from relationships in real life and when love or money are involved strange things may happen.

Images credit: Todovisual, Sappymoosetree

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4 Great Gadgets To Spice Up Your Google Wave Experience

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 08:01 AM PST

google waveYou wouldn’t put it past them, and now they’ve done it; Google has reinvented email.

The news has reached most people by now, but just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, I’ll start out with an – admittedly oversimplified – explanation. Because that’s the thing with Google Wave: everybody knows it’s cool, but few people really know how to explain it.

The ‘old’ concept of email is still pretty much based on paper post. People sending static messages to other people. Everything is based on the process of sending and receiving. When working in the group, this poses a number of problems. For example, Reply to All creates a new static message, and again sends duplicates to everyone involved.

In contrast, Google Wave creates one dynamic copy, and hosts it in the clouds. Everybody reads one and the same message. And that’s just the core idea. People can edit the message (hence, dynamic) and even put their reply right in the middle of it! Unless turned off, people can read up as you type, and you can edit messages with multiple people at the same time. That, dear people, is Google Wave.

Learn more about Google wave in this 1 hour and 20 minute looooong video.

google wave gadgets list

Another important aspect of Google Wave are the gadgets. These are in fact small web-applications that can be embedded in a wave. When you first start using Google, you’ll notice the two that are present by default; the Yes/No/Maybe- and Map Gadget. But anyone with a bit of programming knowledge can create their own. Below are five that everyone should add.

Invity

Ever noticed how time-consuming it can be to create a multi-person Wave? Instead of adding them all manually, it’d be real nice to have a decent grouping feature. Until then, we’ve got Invity.

Invity is actually a robot (yes, as in a chat bot), but it’s more useful than many gadgets. Instead of installing, just add pw-invity@appspot.com on Wave.

google wave gadgets list

To create a group of contacts, add them to a wave together with Invity. You can then create a new group. The next time you want to create a Wave, simply add the Invity, and invite everyone over! Easy as that.

Napkin

google wave gadgets list

Napkins are known to serve as an outlet for creativity, and now you’ve got one in Wave. You can use it to draw a quick doodle beneath your message, or even draw simultaneously with your friends.

Ribbit Conference Gadget

google wave

This begins to show how far Wave has left the conventional email threads behind. With Ribbit’s gadget (free for now, but probably not forever), you have VoIP in your inbox. You can call your friends from a Wave and even create a conference.

iFrame

No pretty picture here, but any one would fit. An iFrame allows you to open a window to any page on the internet. You can use it to add virtually anything; a flash app, the latest Dilbert cartoon, a stock gadget — whatever you can find online.

Here are the Gadget XML and Installer XML. You can use these links to respectively use, or install the gadget in Google Wave.

Know any other cool Google Wave gadgets or robots? Tell us your favorite in the comment!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

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The Graffiti Creator – Write Your Name Graffiti Style Online

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 06:01 AM PST

graffiti my nameSo, you want to write your name in graffiti style, eh? After all, nobody wants a bland-looking font, especially when it comes to your title. The style your name is spelled out in should maybe say a little bit of something about you, don’t you think?

You don’t have to be an artist to achieve that graffiti-type style lettering. You don’t need Photoshop or other expensive software either. Thanks to The Graffiti Creator, it’s all possible to do for absolutely free online. Best of all, it’s simple, fast, and fun!

The Graffiti Creator is an easy-to-use Flash application that allows you to make your very own graffiti-styled logotypes, so it can be your name or basically any text you want. It’s more than just a boring font generator, though. Everything is highly customizable and straightforward.

write my name in graffiti


First off, choose from one of the seven creators available: Jedimind, Throwup, Wavy, MindGem, OldSchool, Flava and Bubbles. The creators’ interfaces can vary slightly, but they’re all more or less the same. What does change is the style of the graffiti, along with some of the customizable features that you can play around with.

Once you’ve picked your favorite style, type in your name into the text entry box. Hit the Generate or Create button and your text will appear in the space above the tools panel.

write my name in graffiti

Now, you can customize the text to your liking. You may want to start out with scaling the letters by adjusting the Width, Height, and Rotation slider bars. Keep in mind that you can drag and drop all characters wherever you please and you can choose to control particular letters and not others.

write my name in graffiti

For example, if I want to make the first “c” in my last name lowercase, simply click on all the other letters to deactivate them. Those characters will now become inactive and any changes you make will not affect them.

Alright, now let’s try liven things up a bit with some color. Make sure that you have all the characters you want colored activated and hit the color of your choice. Feel free to use the RGB controls on the left-hand side to find a specific color.

You may notice that the first color you choose only affects the top coat of the text. To bring color to the rest of the characters, go to the right-hand side of the tools panel for the advanced options.

graffiti my name

From there, you can add color to the sides, outlines, and even add cool effects. Remember that the effects will vary depending on which creator you chose, so keep an eye out for different ones.

Once you are happy with your masterpiece, you can print it out. Unfortunately, there’s no working option to save your name, but you can always take a screenshot and do it that way.

graffiti my name

That’s how mine came out. How did yours? Also, do you know of any other websites where you can write your name in graffiti style? Let us know in the comments.

Image Credit : Brian Auer

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Improve Your Memory With Free Flash Cards for Pocket PC

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 04:01 AM PST

free flash cards for pocket pcI hear you are looking to be productive and maximize your time and you want to use your Windows Mobile Device to do it? Well I have found a nifty little application that will let you set up and use free flash cards for your pocket PC. It is called Portable Note Card Freeware (Flash Card) 2.1.

The application is in a zip file. The zip file contains the manual and the exe file used to install this application. It will be installed via Active Sync on your next sync. You will be asked if you want to install it to your local memory or your storage card – either one will work.

The icon can be seen in the bottom right hand side of my start menu:

free flash cards for pocket pc


Click on the application to open it up. You will see the splash screen:

free flash cards for pocket pc

Once you get the application installed you will want to get your questions and answers into it – because without that it would be pretty worthless – right?

You need to create your text file with your questions and answers. For ease of use create them on your computer. You can do it from your phone but you will have a MUCH easier time on your computer.

Fire up your favorite text editor and write a question on one line and an answer on the next. Repeat until you have added all your questions and answers. This part actually helps me as much as the flash cards. Creating the cards (or cheat sheets back when) was how I memorized everything!

Here is what my file looks like:

free math flash cards

Transfer the file to your device or memory card. Now go back to the application and hit the file button and browse to your text file like so:

free math flash cards

Next hit File – Open and you will see a file open dialogue box. Choose your TXT file from there. You will also notice that you will see your notes in here as well. Hit your file and it will open in the application like so:

free math flash cards

and if you hit the A button on the right hand side of the number of questions that are in the system it will display the answer like so:

make flash cards

Use the single forward arrow to move to the next question or the double forward arrow to move to the last question. You can also move backwards with the single and double arrows in the same method.

I hit the single forward button and see my next question (#2):

make flash cards

You can continue on going through your questions and answers until you have them all memorized. I am using this right now to study for my Microsoft 70-291 exam for my Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer certification. This has proven to be an invaluable resource for me and my studying.

Taking a look at the settings, we can see that we can modify the look and feel of the application:

fc8

make flash cards

And under Options you can choose to either shuffle your questions or show them in order.

Do you have another Windows Mobile Application or website that provides free flash cards for the pocket PC? If so share it with us in the comments!

Portable Note Card Freeware (Flash Card) 2.1.

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